LATEST RESULTS

Acharya Nagarjuna University PG II & IV Sem Statistics Results 2012   

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University UG Spell-I April/May-2012 Hall Tickets           

EAMCET Hall Tickets 2012

Karnataka State Women’s University PG(PHD) Results 2011 

 

Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University BCA 6 th Semester Exam Result 2011  

 

Univ.Of Kerala II,IIISem B.Tech Part-time 2008 Scheme(Restructured–2010 Admissions)Degree Results

Kumaun University Pre Ph.D Course Work Exam Revised Results 2010/11 http://www.manabadi.co.in/results/KU-PhD-Exam-Results-30042012.asp

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Sunny Leone is not Karen Malhotra!

Mumbai: The ‘too hot to handle’ adult film sensation Sunny Leone is in news yet again. This time the smokin’ hot beauty has stirred the hornet’s nest over her name.

The hottie became a household name ever since her debut on Indian TV, through superhit reality show ‘Bigg Boss 5’. And that Karen Malhotra was Sunny Leone’s real name was made familiar to all by Salman Khan when he introduced the sizzler in the last season of ‘Bigg Boss’.

However, it has now emerged that the Canadian adult film star`s real name is not Karen Malhotra, but Karenjit Kaur Vohra.

This has been ascertained on various websites which have carried a picture of her passport with her actual name.

But why did she change it to Malhotra and then to Leone? Well, sources say that her surname `Leone` was coined from `lioness` because she is a Punjabi Kaur.

Talking about the name game, Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar remarked, “A lioness is a lioness, whether you call her a Kaur Vohra, Malhotra or Leone. After all, what`s in a name? It`s the mindset, intelligence, intellect and personality that make a gritty lady what she is. And Brand Sunny Leone has that grit in abundance.”

Hmm…no denying that.

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Kim Sharma Hot Stills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Big B wants to work with Rekha again

Ever since Rekha’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat has been confirmed, it is highly speculated as what would be the scenario when Rekha and Jaya Bachchan would come face to face at the Rajya Sabha.

With her nomination another development cropped up whether Amitabh Bachchan would again reunite with Rekha. Big B in an interview said that he is open to work with Rekha if any good script comes up.

"Why not? Well, if someone comes to me with a good script, and I like it, I'd surely do a film with her," Amitabh replied promptly.

Amitabh and Rekha was touted one of the hottest couple of the 80’s. They have delivered many hits together like `Mr Narwarlal`, `Muqaddar Ka Sikandar` were among others. ‘Silsila’ was their last film together.

Rekha and Amitabh’s on-screen chemistry is still talked about.

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Nupur Talwar surrenders, court to decide on bail plea

Nupur Talwar, facing an arrest warrant in the double murder of her daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, surrendered in a Ghaziabad court today and was taken into judicial custody. She also applied for bail.
On Friday Supreme Court directed her to surrender before the CBI court

in Ghaziabad. A special bench of justice AK Patnaik and justice KS Khehar asked Nupur — accused of dodging several summons —  to appear before the trial court on April 30.

Nupur is expected to surrender after 10:00am. Her lawyers will be filing for regular bail. But if the magistrate rejects her bail plea, she could be sent to judicial custody.

A few days ago, the CBI raided Nupur's residence in the Hauz Khas area to execute the warrant to ensure her presence in the court.

The warrant was issued even as she moved the SC for reviewing its judgment, upholding the CBI magistrate's summons.

But the apex court did not stay the summons. "We will take this matter (the review petition) with ease. Meanwhile, you must surrender," justice Patnaik told Nupur's counsel, Mukul Rohatgi.

On May 16, 2008, Aarushi, a 14-year-old Class 9 student, was found dead with her throat slit in her parents’ home in Noida.

Suspicion initially fell on the family's live-in domestic help Hemraj, who had been missing. But the following day, his body was found on the terrace of the same house.

The police first arrested Aarushi's father, Rajesh, for allegedly committing the double murder. But Nupur accused the Noida police of framing her husband and requested then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati to transfer the case to the CBI, which took over the case on June 1, 2008.

 

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Chhattisgarh: IAS abduction enters day 9, no end to crisis

Raipur: The hostage crisis in Chhattisgarh entered its ninth day on Monday as Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon continued to remain in the captivity of the Naxals.

Meanwhile, after days of drama over the name of the mediators, the two Naxal-appointed interlocutors on Sunday returned after holding the first round of talks with the Maoists.
Following the talks, the mediators said that the abducted IAS officer, who is an asthma patient, is safe and in good health.
The Naxals have demanded that 17 prisoners be freed to secure the safe release of the abducted Sukma collector.
Reacting to the demands, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has said the demands will be considered only within the legal framework.

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Aarushi case: Nupur Talwar surrenders in CBI court, taken into CBI custody

Ghaziabad: Murdered teenager Aarushi Talwar's mother Nupur Talwar on Monday surrendered before the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad, following which she was taken into custody.
Minutes after the surrender, Nupur's lawyers moved a bail application on which the CBI is slated to reply in some time.
Her lawyer Satish Tamta said, "Nupur has been taken into custody. The CBI has to file a reply by 11.30 am."
 
Earlier, Nupur had arrived at the special CBI court in Ghaziabad along with her mother and husband Rajesh Talwar.
This comes after the Supreme Court directed Nupur to surrender before the trial court while refusing to stay the non-bailable warrant against her.
The lawyers of the Talwars filed a plea for regular bail for the mother of the slain teenager.
Nupur's husband Rajesh Talwar is on bail till May 7 and the CBI has challenged it as well.
The court had earlier extended the non-bailable warrant against Nupur Talwar till April 30. The CBI had sought an extension of the warrant date and said that Nupur Talwar won't be arrested until the Chief Justice takes up the matter.
She got a temporary breather from the Supreme Court. Her plea against a non-bailable warrant is still pending in the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the Ghaziabad court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Nupur Talwar after she failed to appear before a special CBI court despite a deadline given to her.
Rajesh Talwar and his wife Nupur have been accused by the CBI of being involved in the murder of their teenaged daughter Aarushi in May 2008.
Aarushi, 14, was found dead inside her Noida residence in May, 2008 with her throat slit and the body of the Talwars' domestic servant Hemraj was recovered from the terrace hours later.
An outcry against the shoddy investigation by Uttar Pradesh police had led to the then Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh handing over the case to the CBI.
Aarushi murder: The case so far
May 16, 2008: Aarushi is found dead at home; domestic help Hemraj goes missing.
May 17, 2008: Hemraj's body is found on the terrace of the Talwars' house.
May 18, 2008: Police suspect insider job; say murders with surgical precision.
May 22, 2008: Family under suspicion; honour killing angle probed.
May 23, 2008: Aarushi's father Rajesh Talwar arrested for both murders.
June 2008: Rajesh and Nupur Talwar undergo Lie Detection Tests
September 4, 2009: Hyderabad lab claims that submitted vaginal samples were not Aarushi's.
September 14, 2009: Delhi police finds Aarushi's mobile phone in Bulandshahr.
December 2010: CBI files closure report; names Rajesh Talwar as sole suspect.
February 9, 2011: Special CBI court summons Rajesh and Nupur Talwar as accused.
February 21, 2011: Talwars move Allahabad HC challenging the CBI court summons.
January 6, 2012: SC rejects Talwars' plea to squash proceedings in Ghaziabad court.
March 2: SC rejects Talwars' petition to shift case from Ghaziabad to a Delhi court.
March 14: Rajesh gets bail; Nupur asked to appear in court within 30 days.
April 11: Nupur Talwar skips court again, is served a non-bailable warrant.
April 13: CBI Assures SC Nupur won't be arrested till her plea against arrest is heard.
April 27: SC refuses to stay non-bailable warrant, orders Nupur to surrender.

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Five-star Azarenka marches into Stuttgart final

World number one Victoria Azarenka booked her place in the final of the Stuttgart WTA clay-court tournament with a 6-1, 6-3 semifinal win over Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday.

With Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Radwanska all in Saturday's semifinals, this was the

first time since Wimbledon in 2009 that the world's top four players had reached the last four at a WTA tournament.

"It's excellent for women's tennis to have all of the world's top four players in the semi-finals," beamed Azarenka after her victory.

This is the fifth time this year Azarenka has beaten Radwanska after seeing off the world number four on hard-court in Sydney, at the Australian Open, in Doha and at Indian Wells.

It was the pair's first meeting on clay, but Azarenka needed just 24 minutes to blitz Radwanska to take the first set as the Polish number one managed just 11 points.

In the second set the Belarusian kept up the pressure with an impressive selection of shots. Despite claiming her tenth overall victory over Radwanska in just 77 minutes, Azarenka insisted it had been far from easy.

"I think she is such a good player that I have to step up to beat her, I think she brings the best out of my game," said Azarenka.

"We had some good rallies and I was just trying to stay in control of the game."

Despite needing nearly three hours to beat wildcard Mona Barthel in Friday's quarterfinal, Azarenka said she was feeling little fatigue.

"Sometimes the long games make you feel tired, but sometimes they energise you and give you confidence," she said.

"I felt good on the court."

In the other semifinal, world number two Sharapova takes on Wimbledon champion and world number three Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic for a place in Sunday evening's final.

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Puyol: Guardiola departure is a heavy blow to Barcelona

Barcelona defender Carles Puyol has confessed to being heartbroken with Pep Guardiola's decision to step down as coach at the end of the season.

The 41-year-old announced on Friday that he will leave the Camp Nou club at the end of the campaign at a press conference, which was attended by several of his players.

He named the exhausting nature of the job as the reason to bring an end to a successful four-year reign, but Puyol admitted that the players were caught off-guard by the decision.

"It is a heavy blow that Guardiola leaves," he told reporters at a resulting press conference. "Inside the dressing room, we all wanted him to stay.

"He told us on Friday morning, right before the training session.

"We will forever be thankful to him. He has left a lot of things in football. He marked an era and that is very important.

"Life goes on and we will try to follow our path and do things as well as when he was here."

The Spanish defender then commented on soon-to-be coach Tito Vilanova, insisting that the assistant to Guardiola is the best possible choice.

"The fact that Tito will be the new coach is the best news we could get," Puyol added. "This is the continuation of a project. 

"Tito knows the team better than anyone and the club's philosophy. He has worked with Pep for five years.

"He is the ideal person to carry on the project. It will be more or less the same."

Puyol went on to dismiss reports about a growing tension between Guardiola and Lionel Messi, which were motivated by the fact that the Argentine was not present at Friday's news conference.

"After the practice session, the team got together and we decided that only the four captains would go," he explained.

"Leo wanted to go, but when he saw that the four captains were going, he took a step back. He wanted to be at the press conference.

"But then more players decided to show up of their own free will. Messi has never had a falling out with Pep.

"The entire squad will be at his farewell. You can say a lot of things, but we are with Guardiola to the death."

 

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IOA welcomes Tendulkar’s nomination

Indian Olympic Association on Friday welcomed the government’s nomination of Sachin Tendulkar for a Rajya Sabha seat, saying the IOA is happy that its long—standing demand to include sportspersons in the Upper House has been accepted.

“This is another feather in Sachin’s cap as he has become the first sportsperson to be nominated to Rajya Sabha,” IOA Acting President Vijay Kumar Malhotra said in a statement.

“IOA is happy that its long standing demand to have sportsperson nominated to Rajya Sabha has been accepted. We hope this will become a rule than exception,” he added.

Stating that sportspersons play a great role in unifying the country by their stellar performances and deserve recognition by the state, Malhotra said, “this nomination is a step towards that.”

Malhotra also applauded the election of former hockey captain Dilip Tirkey to Rajya Sabha.

“I hope that nomination and elections of these sporting icons will encourage the young sportspersons to give their best for the country, especially during the London Olympics.”

The Acting President pointed out that the IOA, on its part, has also taken a big step in giving due recognition to sportspersons by appointing three—time Olympian Ajitpal Singh as chef de mission for the upcoming London Games.

“This is the first time that a sportsperson will lead the Indian contingent in Olympics,” said Malhotra.

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Sonia attacks BJP in Karnataka

Virtually setting the ball rolling for next year’s Assembly elections in Karnataka, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP and asked her partymen to set aside individual ambitions and work together to bring it back to power.

“People want a change from the political corruption and the corruption of the BJP. And they want a change from the divisive communal politics of the BJP”, she told the delegates of a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee meeting here.

For so many reasons, the people were disenchanted with BJP, she said adding the so called “party with a difference” had been fully exposed and its “double standards” on corruption and political corruption are more than apparent to the people.

Ms. Gandhi said for the past so many years, the Congress had not been able to receive people’s mandate in Karnataka for “many, many reasons including party’s own weaknesses”.

Congress is not able to convert people’s goodwill into electoral success, she said.

Ms. Gandhi told the Congress leaders that individual ambition should not come in the way of the party’s larger interests.

Party must come first and the overriding objective must be to bring the party back to power.

Ms. Gandhi participated in the 105th birthday celebrations of Siddaganga Math head Sri Sri Shivakumara Swami who has a large following among the dominant Lingayat community, in a bid to woo it back to the Congress.

Former Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa belongs to the Lingayat community.

In a blistering attack against the BJP, Ms. Gandhi said its Government had betrayed the mandate of the people and destroyed all what Karnataka stood for and is known for.

The BJP government had “scant respect” for rule of law, she said, noting that the post of Lokayukta had remained vacant in Karnataka for almost an year in contrast to UPA’s determination to enact a strong Lokpal bill which was “held up in Rajya Sabha by the BJP”.

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ndian politician jailed for four years for bribery

NEW DELHI — A former top leader of India's main opposition Hindu nationalist party was jailed for four years on Saturday for accepting a bribe to swing a fake arms deal in a media sting operation.

Bangaru Laxman, former chief of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was secretly videotaped accepting the bribe from journalists pretending to be arms dealers 11 years ago.

The sting footage was aired on television channels nationwide, creating a political storm for the then BJP government, headed by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Additional Sessions Court Judge Kanwaljeet Arora sentenced the 72-year-old Laxman to four years' "rigorous imprisonment" and imposed a 100,000 rupee ($2,000) fine on the politician under India's anti-corruption act.

"Balancing the twin interest of society and that of the convict, I am of the opinion that the interests of justice would be met if the convict is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a term of four years," the judge said.

India's courts have taken an increasingly activist role in cracking down on corruption which has become a hot-button issue with the Congress government reeling from a slew of graft allegations that have sapped its popularity.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said it was necessary to send a signal that "rampant corruption" will not be tolerated.

Indian investigative journalism outlet Tehelka had taped the footage of Laxman accepting the money in connection with a fictitious arms deal.

Laxman, who was then BJP president, had told the New Delhi court he had been framed.

The court rejected Laxman's plea for leniency and ordered that he be taken into custody to serve his sentence.

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Inter 1st year results 2012 with marks

Inter 1st year results 2012 with marks @examresults.ap.nic.in | Ap Inter 1st year results 2012 @examresults.ap.nic.in with marks

Today 20th April 2012 has announced the BIEAP (Board Of Intermediate Education Of Andhrapradesh) will released the reuslts of intermediate first yer results of the academic year 2011-2012 after 11:00am.Here i'am providing you all the details and information to check your results on the internet.

http://examresults.ap.nic.in/Gen/Inter1GENGetRoll.htm
http://examresults.ap.nic.in/
http://results.cgg.gov.in/
http://eduzone.tk/
http://apit.ap.gov.in/
http://manabadi.com/
http://schools9.com/
http://eenaduprathiba.com/
http://www.sakshieducation.com/
http://manachaduvu.com/
http://bieap.gov.in/
http://bieap.cgg.gov.in/

Regarding the 1st inter results 2012 of Andhrapradesh with full marks and grades will be available on the aponline centers and eseva centers of Andhrapradesh.

Students can also get their Inter first year results through free IVRS call service :

BSNL Subscribers : INTER to 53345 OR 53346
Airtel Subscribers : 543212222
Idea Subscribers : 5545678
Tata Subscribers : 129660
Vodafone Subscribers : 56731
Reliance Subscribers : 56566
Tata Gsm Subscribers : 54321234
Airce Subscribersl : 52800
Uninor Subscribers : 51234

Inter first year results through free SMS Service:
All users for regular results send IPE1 to 5676750 and for Vocational results IPEV1 to 5676750.

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Shah Rukh Khan returns back to India - NewsX

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Is ‘Didi’ Headed For a Fall?

Aamra ekhon-o boli ni kon kagoj porte hobe, kintu agami dine kintu setao bole debo. (Till now, we haven’t told which newspapers must be read, but in the future, we will do that as well.) – West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking on March 29 in defense of her government’s decision to bar all but 13 newspapers from more than 2,400 government-approved libraries across the state.
“Kunal Ghosh, associate editor of Sambad Protidin, a Bengali newspaper, Nadimul Haque, owner of the Urdu newspaper Akbar-e-Mashrique and Vivek Gupta, director of Sanmarg, a Hindi daily, have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament, on Trinamool Congress tickets.”- Indian Express, March 18
Ms. Banerjee seems to have adopted a divide-and-rule strategy when it comes to managing her public image, using hostility on one hand and appeasement on the other to counter a recent flood of bad press. The combination of banning some of the state’s most widely-read newspapers from libraries, while naming journalists from favored papers to cushy political spots seems designed to improve her public image.
On Thursday, in perhaps her most iron-fisted attempt to date to take control of her public image, she even had a Jadavpur University professor of chemistry, Ambikesh Mahapatra, and his neighbor, Subrata Sengupta, arrested for making and circulating a mild-mannered cartoon of the spat between Ms. Banerjee and the former railway minister, Dinesh Trivedi.
Ms. Banerjee’s public relations strategy has turned the urban, intellectual, well-educated voters who once supported her, against her. But the minister’s problems may go far beyond the reaches of a public relations exercise, according to interviews with analysts, commentators, bureaucrats and legislators within her own Trinamool Congress Party.
They paint a picture of a chief minister for whom very qualities that won her the hard-fought state election, including a single-minded sense of purpose and indomitable fighting spirit, are becoming liabilities as she tries to govern. If the chief minister continues on this path, they say, her party could crumble, making it easier for the Communist Party of India, Marxist — which held West Bengal for decades — to make a return.
“She does not listen to anyone,” a Trinamool Congress legislator who joined the party more than three years ago, won over by her movement against land acquisition in Singur for Tata’s Nano factory, told India Ink on the condition of anonymity. “She just does what she feels like,” he continued. “Delegation of power is a no-no. She wants to do everything herself,’’ he said. “She does not trust anyone.”
“She is in a hurry, in a tearing hurry,” said a senior bureaucrat who has worked for the state government for more than 20 years. “And so, suffers from what you can term as ‘what-nextism.’ Every time she has to make a new promise, announce a new project, without even realizing the ground realities or the preparedness of the government.” In January she announced that the tenders for building the Subarnarekha Bridge had already been floated, when it wasn’t until Feb. 22 that the Planning Commission approved the project.
The senior leader of the Trinamool party, Subrata Mukherjee and the chief spokesman, Derek O’Brien, both of whom were regularly interviewed in the days before and after her victory, did not respond to numerous phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.
Armed with the mantra of “Ma, Mati, Manush” (mother, motherland and people) and the promise of “poriborton” (change), Ms. Banerjee came into power in style, with a historic electoral victory, putting an end to the 34-year-old Left rule in the state. “Saviour Didi” was soon credited for bringing in a new work culture, her poriborton mantra working a Midas touch even on the city’s film festival and book fair. Energetic and very hardworking, Ms. Banerjee said she dreams of turning Kolkata into London, complete with a Kolkata Eye just like the London Eye, and is painting the city blue to make it a Blue City, just as Jaipur is a Pink City, in order to build a global brand for the city.
Ms. Banerjee also made it clear early on that she hadn’t come to the top spot only to listen to others. Just 13 days after assuming office, she had the director of Bangur Institute of Neurosciences suspended for “insubordination and noncooperation” because he had dared to tell her that her entourage – which included five television crews and a host of print journalists – was causing problems for patients inside the hospital. The neurosurgeon, Dr. Shyamapada Ghorai, had six critical surgeries lined up for the next day, including a brain tumour removal, but he was suspended later in the night upon Ms. Banerjee’s orders.
Most recently, Ms. Banerjee stripped Dinesh Trivedi of his rail ministry for proposing what he said was a much-needed rise in fares in his Union Railway budget last month. Between Dr. Ghorai and Mr. Trivedi, she has randomly reshuffled portfolios of ministers, sometimes even without their knowledge, earning the wrath not just of the Congress party, an ally, but also sections within her own party. She even involved the state government in restructuring of portfolios at Kolkata Municipal Corporation, an independent body.
The seemingly random upheaval, combined with her perceived inability to listen to others or give them responsibility has turned supporters into critics in a remarkably short time.
The Trinamool Congress Party’s rule has become “anarchic” and “chaotic,” said social activist Anuradha Talwar, once a Banerjee sympathizer. “It is difficult to get her appointment. And without her we are unable to take up any issues with the government because she has not authorised anyone else for the job.”
A joke often heard in the corridors of power is : “If Ms. Banerjee is sick for a day or two, the state would take ill, too.” A phrase often repeated in the corridors of Writers Buildings, where the state’s bureaucrats work, is “Didi should not talk and let others do their work.”
The Trinamool Congress Party is now a head with no other vital organs, claims the author, filmmaker and columnist Ruchir Joshi, who chronicled her meteoric rise just a year ago. “It seems every decision, even at a panchayat or village level needs to be run past her,’’ said Mr. Joshi, who authored “Poriborton: An Election Diary.” He told India Ink from London, “MamBan,” as he refers to her, is “childishly megalomaniac and fascist of a different type.”
“The joke is there is now a new law in Bengal, ‘Didi bolechhey,’”Mr. Joshi said. The last part translates as, “Didi has said.”
“Defection from the T.M.C. ranks to the Congress could be a high possibility,” predicted Om Prakash Mishra, general secretary and spokesperson of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, which is affiliated with the Congress Party. “Intolerance and antagonism is a characteristic of her governance and shall spell disaster for her party and government,” he added.
Mr. Joshi agreed. “I see interesting new alliances forming in the near future, perhaps in one year or so,” he said. “Unless Mamata Banerjee’s learning curve shows a steep rise, which is unlikely, the political landscape of Bengal is in for more upheaval.”
While Ms. Banerjee’s critics are vociferous, some of her supporters are still big enthusiasts.
The state’s tourism minister, Rachpal Singh, whose car was attacked in a clash between two Trinamool factions last month, dismissed the criticism. “T.M.C. is a strong party and enjoys a huge mass support,” he said. “Ms. Banerjee has been a very successful chief minister.”
In the tourism department, for example, she “took the onus on herself to get the cooperation of other agencies and departments for an inter-disciplinary action to develop and promote tourism in the state.” The group plans to announce new tourism services soon, Mr. Singh said. “This is something that others had not been able to do earlier,” he said.
“She is very thorough in her work and that makes it tough to handle her because you got to do your homework really well,” Mr. Singh said. “She has tremendous energy and expects the same from others.”
Ms. Banerjee’s demanding, sometimes school-marmish demeanor has sparked laughter, as shown at an investors meet in January where she took a roll call of investors and foreign delegates, asking, “Are you interested in investing money in Bengal, or no. Yes? My China friends? Mr. Jindal, when will the industry be set up? We have done everything, now you hurry up too.”
But, ministers and bureaucrats who are at the receiving end of her often-public rebukes and reprimands, say her demanding, unpredictable nature is no joking matter. “She scolds us, and very badly,” said a senior bureaucrat. “It is difficult to predict her. She can be extremely mercurial, throwing files one moment and chattily cheerful the next.”
Ms. Banerjee’s gaffes and conspiracy theories in recent past have been a major source of embarrassment to the party and government officials alike, say party insiders and bureaucrats.
Whether it has been a case of rape, infant deaths in hospitals or farmers’ suicides, her response has been quick and nearly always the same: The issue is related to a conspiracy to malign the government. In the Park Street rape case, while her transport minister, Madan Mitra, raised questions on the victim’s character, Ms. Banerjee said the case was “concocted” to “malign” her government.
On the Katwa rape case, she went on to suggest that victim had staged the “drama” backed by the opposing Communist party because her husband belonged to the party. The woman’s husband had passed away 11 years ago.
In both cases, she was proven wrong by the police, who investigated and made arrests. But neither she nor anyone from her party apologized.
Trying to understand what makes Ms. Banerjee act the way she does has become something of an armchair sport. Many people cite her hard-won fight to the minister’s seat, which occupied the better part of 30 years and left her literally battered, with a fractured skull included among her injuries.
“Mamata Banerjee has always been someone in ‘opposition’, someone used to picking fights with the rest of the world as an underdog,” Mr. Joshi said. “She has no governing experience, nor, it seems, any serious vision. She’s still searching for enemies, for people who are against her, who she can fight. Having got into power now her fight is merely about how to stay in power,” he added.
“Street politics backed by populism seems to be her key. She’s a fighter without ideology and a very insecure person,” Ms. Talwar said.
This “fighting spirit” has trickled down the rank and file. On the rise are not only campus violence and attacks on teachers, but also clashes between the Trinamool party’s various factions. “The gunda politics, the thug culture of Bengal has only shifted loyalties” from the Communist party to Trinamool, Mr. Joshi said.
Whether the unrest Ms. Banarjee is stirring in her own party and among the educated middle-class and intellectuals will actually translate into a comeback for the Communist party is unclear.
“Didi has her math right where it matters, that is her vote bank in the rural areas of Bengal,” the Trinamool party legistlator said. “Her extreme populist measures, such as no price-hike policy, has kept them happy and will continue to do so.”
During last year’s election campaign, the legislator said, he met people who had never cast a vote in their life, thanks to the Communist Party of India, Marxist’s oppressive rule. “For these villagers Didi is goddess,” he said.
Industrial development, while a focus of her election campaign, is on a slow track — though she has taken some baby steps on land reforms — for it’s time now to focus on the villages. Perhaps with the upcoming panchayat elections in mind, the party is doling out sops to farmers and minorities, and announcing honorariums to imams.
At the same time, she seems to be quietly trying to appeal to the culture clan and intellectuals who once rallied behind.
In this year’s state budget the allocation of funds for information and culture was raised by 125 percent, the steepest in any section, to 110 crores, or 1.1 billion rupees, or $21.5 million. One of the main ways the money is to be spent is on awards for drama and music.

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Explosions, gunfire shake Afghan capital

A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack by militants on three neighbourhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.
There were attacks about the same time in two other eastern cities — Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on.
The first explosions in Kabul struck the central Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood, which is home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighbourhood as sirens wailed.
More than 10 explosions in all shook the capital, and heavy gunfire continued to shake the city more than 30 minutes after the initial blast.

British embassy possible target

Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. It was not immediately clear what they were targeting, but shots appeared to be focusing on the nearby British embassy.
At about the same time, residents reported a blast near the parliament building across town. A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
Meanwhile, an AP reporter at the Turkish military base on the outskirts of the city said the installation was under direct attack from mortar fire. Turkish and Greek forces were responding with heavy-caliber machine gun fire.
It was the first attack in Kabul since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in February in which a ministry employee turned a gun on NATO advisers and shot two soldiers dead.

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