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| 12/03/2010 | Teenager sexually assaulted at bus stop |
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A teenage girl was sexually assaulted in Oldham.
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| 12/03/2010 | New BNP membership rules judged to be biased |
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The British National Party’s new membership rules are likely to discriminate against non-white people, a judge ruled today. Last month the far-right group scrapped its whites-only policy following the threat of a possible court injunction from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). 
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| 12/03/2010 | Winners announced at EMBF awards |
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Businesses and individuals were celebrating following this year's Ethnic Minority Business Forum Awards. Winners were selected by audience members via an interactive polling system at the ceremony which was held at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral last night. 
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| 12/03/2010 | Inspiration for school girls with the world at their feet |
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Pupils from schools across Manchester took part in an inspirational event aimed at encouraging them to widen their career choices.
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| 10/03/2010 | Shyam Benegal celebrated at film festival |
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One of India’s leading filmmakers, Shyam Benegal, is in the UK for a series of events exploring his vast career and celebrating his achievements in Indian cinema. As part of the Tongues on Fire 12th Asian Film Festival, the director is attending a range of functions across London, including a BAFTA interview, a director’s workshop at the University of Westminster, and a talk on women in films at the Nehru Centre. 
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| 08/03/2010 | From tea-boy to Bollywood star - Abhishek Bachchan on his climb to fame |
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In a 36 hour visit to the UK, Abhishek Bachchan gave London audiences an insight into his life and work at the 12th London Asian Film Festival. The actor opened the ten day series of events with a BAFTA interview and gala dinner on Friday, wrapping his jam-packed visit with an Actor’s Masterclass at a West End cinema on Saturday, before flying home. 
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| 03/03/2010 | Akshay Kumar kickstarts shoot for Tees Maar Khan |
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Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and Bollywood’s most lovable director, Farah Khan have just kick-started their already-hyped new venture Tees Maar Khan at Mumbai's Film City. Akshay is currently shooting his introductory shot in the film - a major action comedy scene on a huge jumbo jet constructed by set director, Sabu Cyril. 
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| 03/03/2010 | Hrithik Roshan on the colours of love |
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On the occasion of Holi, Hrithik Roshan speaks up on his colourful life and his upcoming movie Kites, which stars Brazilian actress Barbara Mori and the beautiful Kangana Ranaut in a never-seen-before role. 
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| 08/03/2010 | 12th London Asian Film Festival attracts Bollywood stars |
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Bollywood fans in the UK will get the chance to interact with some of the biggest names in the Hindi film industry at the Tongues on Fire 12th London Asian Film Festival (5-14 March 2010). Leading Bollywood figures are scheduled to attend including Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Jaya Bachchan, Soha Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore. 
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| 01/03/2010 | Abhay Deol raring to go with Road, Movie |
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One of the big winners at the weekend Filmfare awards was Abhay Deol starrer Dev D, which bagged a handful of statuettes.
Now the poster boy of offbeat Hindi cinema is back with his new release, Indo-American production Road, Movie. 
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| 24/02/2010 | Search is on for the next Rishi Rich Project band members |
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Music producer Rishi Rich has launched the search for the next Rishi Rich Project group members. After successfully putting together Juggy D and Jay Sean as part of the original chart topping Rishi Rich Project, he is now looking for the stars of the future. 
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| 22/02/2010 | Official Asian download chart announced |
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The BBC Asian Network has announced that it will broadcast the world’s first official Asian download chart. Presented by Bobby Friction, the three hour extended show is set to launch on Saturday 27 March from 3pm – 6pm. 
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| 22/02/2010 | Anurag Basu rubbishes rumours that Rajkumar Hirani is to edit Kites |
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Director Anurag Basu has rubbished reports that producer Rakesh Roshan wanted 3 Idiots helmer Rajkumar Hirani to edit his film Kites. 
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| 12/03/2010 | Apprentice’s Saira talks to local businesswomen |
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Apprentice star Saira Khan showed that women mean business at an exhibition showcasing the finest female-run businesses East Lancashire has to offer. Saira, runner-up in the first series of Lord Alan Sugar's smash hit BBC reality show, was guest speaker at an event celebrating International Women's Day. 
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| 12/03/2010 | Greater Manchester Labour Party supports Palestine |
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Greater Manchester’s Labour Friends of Palestine held its inaugural dinner to raise money and awareness of the plight of the Palestinians.
The dinner was held at Lal Qila Restaurant in Wilmslow Road, Manchester and was organised by Komal Adris, a key Labour Friends of Palestine executive committee member based in Bolton. 
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| 12/03/2010 | Pakistani Sheikh issues fatwa against terrorism |
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Pakistani Cleric Sheikh ul- Islam Dr Tahir ul-Qadri has issued a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing. His 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, aims at completely dismantling al-Qaeda’s violent ideology. The scholar developed his fatwa last year as a response to the increase in bombings across Pakistan by militants. It has now been brought to Britain in the backdrop of the Government's Prevention of Violent Extremism efforts to counter extremism and radicalisation on British soil. 
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| 12/03/2010 | Machete-wielding robbers slash shopkeeper |
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Police are hunting violent robbers who slashed a shopkeeper's hands with a machete.
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| 12/03/2010 | Passionate people needed to shape new Great Places venture |
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An award-winning housing association is looking for volunteers to steer the work of a new project to help minority and migrant communities. Great Places Housing Group has launched its great communities project and now needs enthusiastic committee members. |
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| 12/03/2010 | Support and skills programme launched for home carers |
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Hard working voluntary carers in Lancashire will be among the first in the country to take part in a new support and skills programme – Caring with Confidence – which will be piloted in the sub-region by the Blackburn-based support organisation, Enterprise4All. The free Caring With Confidence sessions will focus on the skills and support required by those who routinely provide voluntary care support for friends or family members across Lancashire. |
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| 11/03/2010 | 40 years for kidnappers |
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Four men from Leeds have been sentenced to a combined total of over 40 years in jail after the kidnap and torture of a 16-year-old man.
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South Asia National News from AussieIndoLanka
| 12/03/2010 | NAM flays Ban’s move on Lanka |
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The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) has expressed concerns over moves by UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon to appoint a panel of experts to advice on accountability issues on Sri Lanka.
The Chair of the NAM Coordinating Bureau in New York, in a letter to the UN Chief, has said that the appointment comes without taking into consideration the domestic situation in Sri Lanka and without consulting the government of Sri Lanka.
NAM recalls that President Rajapaksa has already confirmed in public his intention to appoint a domestic mechanism to address accountability issues voluntarily and that the UN has no mandate to intervene in domestic matters of a State.
"The Non Aligned Movement strongly condemns selective targeting of individual countries which it deems contrary to the founding principles of the movement and the United Nations Charter," the NAM Coordinating Bureau said.
NAM says the move by the UN Chief could do more harm than good to the country’s ongoing and relentless efforts aimed at reinforcing reconciliation and national unity and as such Sri Lanka should be given room to complete its domestic process.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2293-nam-flays-bans-move-on-lanka.html
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| 12/03/2010 | SF Court martial next week |
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General Sarath Fonseka is to be produced before a court martial next week over seven charges including for engaging in politics while serving in the army and violating army regulations when procuring weapons, the military said.
Military Spokesperson Major General Prasad Samarasingha told reporters a short while ago that the court martial will be held on March 16 and 17 at the naval headquarters before a panel of three major generals. (SD)
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2292-fonseka-to-be-court-martialed-next-week.html
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| 12/03/2010 | The Delhi Dossier |
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On February 25, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao handed over three files containing dossiers of terrorists to her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir. These three files are: dossiers of Pakistan nationals involved in Mumbai terror attacks; dossier on al-Qaeda commander Illyas Kashmiri; and dossiers on terrorists based in Pakistan and fugitives from Indian justice. The last file contains a list and accompanying profiles of 24 terrorists, including five Pakistan nationals, who are presently seeking refuge across the border.
While seeking cooperation from the Pakistan government for apprehending the 24 terrorists and handing them over to New Delhi for investigation and trials, India has accused these extremists in the following cases:
* Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh assassination (August 13, 1995)
www.indianexpress.com/news/the-delhi-dossier/589962/
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| 12/03/2010 | SC/ST posts not filled up in Railways, says panel |
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Expressing dismay that large number of Group C and Group D posts meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have not been filled up in railways, a Parliamentary committee on Thursday asked the ministry concerned to make concerted efforts to fill the vacancies.
"It is a matter of great concern that the vacancies of 61 SCs and 73 STs in Group C and 121 STs in Group D during the year 2009 are still to be filled up and no serious effort seems to have been made for clearance of vacancies reserved for SCs/STs," the report, submitted by the committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, said.
The committee, headed by Gobinda Chandra Naskar, in its latest report has impressed upon the Railway Ministry to make credible and concerted efforts so that vacancies reserved for SC/ST are not carried forward.
The committee has also noted that not a single SC/ST official has been selected to the posts of Vigilance Inspector/Investigating Inspector in South Western Railway.
www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-st-posts-not-filled-up-in-railways-says-panel/589698/
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| 12/03/2010 | CBI backs Lalu Yadav in DA case in SC |
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CBI on Wednesday stood by RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has parted ways with the UPA Government, in the Supreme Court by opposing the decision of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to challenge his acquittal in a disproportionate assets case.
Prasad and his wife’s stand that Bihar government has no locus standi to appeal against their acquittal was supported by CBI which said the right to file an appeal lies with the agency which probed and prosecuted the case.
"The case was investigated and prosecuted by CBI and it is for the Centre and not for state government to take a decision to file an appeal in the case of acquittal," senior advocate A Mariarputham, appearing for the agency, submitted before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.
Bihar Government’s submission evoked sharp reactions from the Bench which wanted to know how in a case, which is investigated by CBI, the state government can come in the picture to file am appeal against the acquittal.
ibnlive.in.com/news/cbi-backs-lalu-yadav-in-da-case-in-sc/111346-37.html
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| 12/03/2010 | Putin arrives in India, to ink big defence deals |
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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Thursday night for 22-hour visit during which India and Russia are expected to sign deals worth $10 billion and also finalise policies on the way forward on Afghanistan.
Putin will build on a relationship he revived in the post Boris Yeltsin era and eyeing space, energy and defence contracts, which have been Russia’s traditional strengths.
The Russians are expect to signed up to 15 agreements worth $10 billion.
Setting a positive tone for Friday’s talks, India’s Ccabinet Committee on Security cleared the $2.35 billion fresh price for the Admiral Gorshkov.
The long-delayed renegotiated pact for the carrier, renamed INS Vikramaditya, is among the defence deals that the two countries will sign.
Both the countries will also sign an umbrella civil nuclear deal.
India is likely to buy an additional 29 more MIG-29K fighters for the Navy. Both the countries will also finalise the deal to jointly develop a fifth generation fighter and a transport aircraft.
ibnlive.in.com/news/putin-arrives-in-india-to-ink-big-defence-deals/111418-3.html
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| 12/03/2010 | In Lok Sabha, UPA has need to reach out |
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Two days after celebrating its victory in the Rajya Sabha, the UPA today agreed to put the Women’s Reservation Bill on hold pending consultations with “all concerned.” The Bill awaits passage in the Lok Sabha after having been cleared by the Elders.
Sources said the Bill had been held back “only for now” and the government had bought time not only to facilitate the passage of urgent financial business in the Lok Sabha — to avoid a crisis after March 31 — but also to assuage the angry Yadav trio: SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav and RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The Congress, some leaders said, was also keen to foil what it saw as a BJP strategy to widen the gulf between the ruling alliance and the SP-RJD combine, both potential allies. There was a realization that it was advisable not to replay the Rajya Sabha script in the Lok Sabha. Also, a postponement gives the government elbow room to better plan its course in the Lower House.
www.indianexpress.com/news/in-lok-sabha-upa-has-need-to-reach-out/589885/
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| 12/03/2010 | India rebel offensive intensifies |
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Indian security forces have intensified their operations against Maoist rebels, officials say.
Thousands of forces have joined those already operating in jungle areas of three eastern states where the rebels have a formidable presence.
A major security offensive - Operation Green Hunt - to flush out the rebels is under way in several states.
More than 6,000 people have died during the rebels’ 20-year fight for communist rule in many Indian states.
The rebels have a presence in about a third of India’s 600-odd districts.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India’s "greatest internal security challenge".
The newly-arrived federal forces are now moving into the jungles of West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand states that may house a number of rebel hideouts.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8561361.stm
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| 12/03/2010 | Sri Lanka’s General Fonseka goes on trial next week |
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The Sri Lankan military has announced it is putting defeated presidential candidate and former army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka on trial next week.
The general faces court martial proceedings on charges of engaging in politics while in uniform and also for breaking army procurement rules.
Gen Fonseka was arrested after he lost January’s election to the incumbent President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He denies any wrongdoing and intends to stand in April’s parliamentary poll.
But it is not clear whether he would be able to contest the election if he were found guilty of any of the charges.
Proceedings are set to start on Tuesday 16 March at the naval complex were he is being detained.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8562508.stm
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| 12/03/2010 | Modi summoned for Guj riots, Cong wants him to go |
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The 2002 Gujarat riots returned to haunt Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday when a Supreme Court-appointed investigation team summoned him for questioning on March 21. The Congress immediately asked him to step down.
The SIT summons led the Congress to demand that Modi should step down as the chief minister.
Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said: "What has happened today should have actually happened many, many years ago. A chief minister of Gujarat and his government presided over the worst massacre of minorities that independent India has witnessed in the last 62 yuears.
"It is perhaps for the first time that a sitting chief minister has been summoned to appear before a SIT on mass murder. It would be appropriate that he should step down before appearing before the SIT."
But Tiwari quickly added that "it would be too much to expect" from Modi to do so.
ibnlive.in.com/news/modi-summoned-for-guj-riots-cong-wants-him-to-go/111403-37.html
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| 11/03/2010 | UK explains Miliband’s actions |
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A visiting British official today explained to Sri Lanka that UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s recent participation at the Global Tamil Forum conference in London was aimed at encouraging them to support efforts to achieve peace in Sri Lanka.
Sir Peter Ricketts, the Permanent Under-Secretary (PUS) of the British Foreign Office, at a meeting with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama today had said that during his speech the Foreign Secretary had urged GTF members to maintain their commitment to peaceful methods and to support domestic attempts within Sri Lanka to achieve a political solution.
"Sir Peter Ricketts explained that Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers and officials regularly engage with expatriate Sri Lankans from all communities to encourage them to support peaceful efforts to achieve peace in Sri Lanka," the Foreign Ministry said.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2265-uk-explains-milibands-actions.html
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| 11/03/2010 | Lankan team to head for EU |
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A Sri Lankan delegation will head to Brussels next week for talks with the European Union (EU) on the GSP plus trade concession and other issues, Minister G.L Pieris told reporters today.
Those included in the delegation are Treasury Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Foreign Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe, Justice Secretary Suhada Gamlath and Attorney General (AG) Mohan Peiris (PC).
The EU last month decided to withdraw GSP for Sri Lanka but has given Sri Lanka time to negotiate and attempt to retain the facility.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2257-lankan-team-to-head-for-eu.html
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| 11/03/2010 | TMVP demands 13th amendment |
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The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) has demanded the implementation of the 13th amendment soon after the General Elections and has also rejected the Oslo Declaration, party officials said today.
TMVP Spokesperson Azath Maulana told Daily Mirror online that the party’s main election policy mentioned in its manifesto was the implementation of the 13th Amendment and the TMVP’s rejection of the Oslo Declaration.
Maulana quoted Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakantha as stating that he would hold discussions with the government soon, to implement the 13th amendment soon after the polls.
"We have already informed India the importance of implementing the 13th amendment. India has also agreed with us and said they will support us," Mr. Maulana said.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2264-tmvp-demands-for-13th-amendment.html
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| 11/03/2010 | Lanka unmoved by LTTE lobbyists |
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The government says senior officials will continue with their overseas visits as scheduled despite the threat posed by some LTTE lobbyists in the west. Government Defence Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella told Daily Mirror online that despite the LTTE being defeated militarily by the army, the LTTE diaspora continued to function overseas, posing a threat to the government ministers.
However Rambukwella said that despite such threats, the government would continue their official visits overseas in order to strengthen its international ties.
"We had a threat even when the LTTE was active in the country. However they were wiped out by the army. We will not back out from traveling overseas just because of the LTTE lobbyists," Rambukwella said.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2268-lanka-undeterred-by-tamil-diaspora.html
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| 11/03/2010 | JD(U) rift deeper than meets the eye |
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Differences within the Janata Dal (United) that erupted over support to the Women’s Reservation Bill in its present form seem to be deeper than what meets the eye, notwithstanding denials of split by both Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and party chief Sharad Yadav.
Both admitted the prevalence of differences over the issue of reservation for women but were quick to add that these were minor and would be sorted out in due course of time.
Mr. Yadav and Mr. Kumar were said to have held a telephonic talk over the diverging stands of party MPs in a bid to iron out their differences. Mr. Kumar also talked to Ranjan Yadav, MP, and Shivanand Tiwari, Rajya Sabha member, explaining his position.
Much as he told journalists in Patna, Mr. Kumar, sources said, assured the two MPs that he had no plan to split the party, that he had deliberately denied in a rather vague manner media speculation to this effect and that he ignored such reports.
www.hindu.com/2010/03/11/stories/2010031164001200.htm
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