BHUBANESWAR: At least two tribals were killed on Friday when police opened fire at a mob that attacked a police station in Orissa’s Koraput

More than 300 people allegedly attacked the police station at Narayanpatna, some 500 km from here, to protest frequent police patrolling in their area, considered a hotbed of Maoist activities.

The protesters were activists of the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha, a local tribal group. The police opened fire when the mob tried to loot weapons, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeeb Panda told IANS.

“A mob of about 300 people attacked the police station and tried to loot weapons. Two people were killed in the police firing,” he said.

Force has been deployed in the police station to prevent further attacks. The area is tense but the situation is under control, Panda said.

Police claimed the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha is a Maoist-backed outfit, which has forcibly occupied hundreds of acres of farmland belonging to non-tribals in the district.

While the outfit has denied links with Maoists, they say they are fighting for the rights of tribals in the region.

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to test all his ministers, Manmohan Singh on Friday demanded his men submit a ‘performance report’ for his personal

monitoring. The deadline for submission given by the PM is November 30.

The Prime Minister’s message, which was conveyed in a letter written by Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar, is for all ministries stating that each one of them will have to submit a performance report for the PM to have a close check on each minister.

Reacting to the same, ministers have voiced their opinion with most of them welcoming this move by the PM.

Sporting Minister MS Gill said, “I will reply once I get the PM’s letter.” Others like former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh also welcomed the move saying, “I think that is a welcome step and we all welcome this initiative taken by the Prime Minister. I think it will create a good image of the UPA and the ministers; they have to perform.”

Some believe the people are the ultimate evaluators. Farooq Abdullah, New and Renewable Energy Minister said, “I don’t know anything about it. I have not been asked. I think it is just the ministers themselves whose performance is seen by the public itself. Public knows who is performing and who is not performing.”

But for now, it is the Prime Minister, who wants to grade his minister’s performance, yet the jury is out on whether it will improve governance on the ground.

After the recent embarrassment to the government where it was forced to back down by the Opposition on the sugarcane price ordinance, clearly the blamegame between different ministries is still on. However, it remains to be seen how a theoretical performance grading system will work or will it just be another governance move just on paper?

Srinagar: With mobile users affected by the general ban on prepaid connections in Jammu and Kashmir, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday joined the chorus protested against the decision of the Center.

The Ministry of Interior of the Union has banned prepaid connections mobile phones in the state from November 01, on “serious security concerns” following reports that militants were receiving prepaid SIM cards of false identities.

However, the J & K CM has spoken out against the comprehensive ban, saying the move also punishes legal users. According to Omar, the ban on prepaid services should be lifted and security controls must be strengthened to curb its misuse.

The Interior Ministry, while the implementation of the ban, had said that the move “comes in the wake of reports of adequate verification is not being done while providing such connections prepaid mobile service providers and suppliers. In some cases, a single person had been issued with the number of multiple connections.

The J and K police earlier this year indicated that an improvised explosive device was triggered in north Kashmir through a wireless phone SIM card had been issued in the name of a senior army official in the northern district Kashmir Baramulla.

“False documents and identity cards are used by sellers, especially in the case of prepaid connections. This situation has led to serious security concerns. Therefore, the decision”, the ministry had said.

The use of mobile phones to explode IEDs is one of the most easy and widespread attack the security forces and militant after sowing of FDI can be exploited for miles.

Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah, who holds the office of the Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy, Interior Minister P Chidambaram had also to reconsider the continuation of the ban on prepaid mobile services in J & K. According to Farooq, a ban on prepaid services had created anger across the state.

Outrage in the streets

The “walk and talk” generation in the state are furious that has been badly beaten with terrorists who use pre-paid connections.

“Are we extremists?” Shahid Khan, a student, asked in anger and frustration. “There are millions of prepaid subscribers terrorist connection?” He asked.

The decision to add this service has resulted in a total chaos among subscribers.

“It’s strange that I should be punished because someone somewhere might be misusing the facility. This is regrettable and reprehensible,” said Muzaffar Ahmad, 23, a university student in Srinagar.

There are some 3.8 million pre-paid connections in the state. Most of them are Airtel (one million), and new enterprises have entered the state as Tata Indicom, Idea, Aircel, Reliance. There have been large investments, and they too are angry.

“This is a bad move,” said an official of a leading mobile service provider said.

Facing severe internal flak over the joint agreement with Pakistan at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt earlier this month. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be replying to all charges in the Lok Sabha today. NDA parliamentarians had earlier met President Pratibha Patil and submitted a memorandum on the Sharm-el-Sheikh agreement, criticising the contentious points in the agreement, which include delinking of terror talks from the composite dialogue process and reference to supposed Indian interference in the Baloch province unrest. The Prime Minister is expected to clarify the government’s position over the agreement amid criticism that New Delhi has softened its stand against Islamabad.

As the H1N1 influenza spreads, authorities have assured that they have stepped up action. But at a school in Panchgani where 17 children have tested positive we disovered none of the students were wearing masks.

On Tuesday, the J & K assembly witnessed some tense moments - rather ugly moments. An emotional Chief Minister Omar Abdullah threatened to resign after the opposition tarred him with allegations of a sex scandal. But National Congress patron and Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah has jumped to his son’s defense saying he took the right step.

BAGHDAD: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq on Tuesday on a surprise visit, foreign news agency reported.

SRINAGAR: Held Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday threatened to resign after allegations against him by the opposition PDP.

PDP leader and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Beig linked the held Kashmir chief minister to the infamous sex scandal that had rocked Srinagar in 2006.

In his speech assembly session, Omar Abdullah said,” I can”t bear this kind of humiliation. I am innocent until proven guilty.”

Omar’’s name figures at 102 on the list of offenders involved in the sex scandal, the opposition alleged. His name is being probed by the CBI, it claimed. “I have to say with regret, there is the name of Omar Abdullah, son of Farooq Abdullah, in the list. He has lost the moral authority to rule the state. He must resign,” Muzaffar Beig said.

In reply, Omar Abdullah said, “I am going to submit by resignation to Governor N N Vohra. I know it is a false allegation. But I want to resign till I am cleared of this false allegation. I cannot work till I am proved innocent. It is a blot on my character.

NEW DELHI: As rain fury unleashed over Delhi, at least 11 people are killed near Noida after a wall collapsed due to heavy rain. All of them had taken shelter during the torrential rain on Monday night.

The victims were rushed to the Noida district hospital. At least a dozen more injured are being treated there at the moment. The dead includes four children and two women

The incident took place in sector 58 of Noida. “The wall collapsed due to heavy rains,” an official said.

SRINAGAR: Held Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Governor N N Vohra after being accused of involvement in a sex scandal.

His father Farooq Abdullah accompanied him to the governor’s residence.

PDP leader and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Beig linked the held Kashmir chief minister to the infamous sex scandal that had rocked Srinagar in 2006.

In his speech assembly session, Omar Abdullah said,” I can”t bear this kind of humiliation. I am innocent until proven guilty.”

Omar’’s name figures at 102 on the list of offenders involved in the sex scandal, the opposition alleged. His name is being probed by the CBI, it claimed. “I have to say with regret, there is the name of Omar Abdullah, son of Farooq Abdullah, in the list. He has lost the moral authority to rule the state. He must resign,” Muzaffar Beig said.

In reply, Omar Abdullah said, “I am going to submit by resignation to Governor N N Vohra. I know it is a false allegation. But I want to resign till I am cleared of this false allegation. I cannot work till I am proved innocent. It is a blot on my character.