PATNA: It is one of the prime sites of the state capital where the Bankipore jail once existed. But next year, the site will become of one of the major attractions of Patna, courtesy Rs 150-crore Buddha Smriti Park. Construction work is already on and the ambitious project, spread across over 20 acres will boast of landscaped area, a stupa, meditation halls and a museum which will house the holy relic of Lord Buddha.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar is himself taking keen interest in the project which will be an attempt to recapture the Buddhist legacy. The area could have easily been developed into a mega commercial complex but the government opted for the Buddha Smriti Park proposal hoping to attract tourists in a big way.
"The project should be ready by mid-next year" the chief minister said while addressing the 40th anniversary of the "Visva Shanti Stupa" at Ratnagiri hills in Rajgir on Sunday. The Bihar government has engaged New Delhi-based realtor Parsvnath Developers to execute the state-of-the-art project which will be located right in the heart of Patna.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Kate Hudson : A-Rod to convert to Buddhism for Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson’s baseball star beau Alex Rodriguez is reportedly considering converting to Buddhism for his ladylove.
The ‘You, Me and Dupree’ actress was raised in her maternal grandmother’s Jewish religion, but her family also practiced Buddhism.
“It’s an important part of her life,” Us magazine quoted an insider as saying.
“And it seems Alex really wants to make her happy,” added the source.
The ‘You, Me and Dupree’ actress was raised in her maternal grandmother’s Jewish religion, but her family also practiced Buddhism.
“It’s an important part of her life,” Us magazine quoted an insider as saying.
“And it seems Alex really wants to make her happy,” added the source.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Assembly poll outcomes a blow to Mayawati : SAMAY
By Sharat Pradhan
Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) poor showing in the Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh assembly polls has dealt a blow to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her dreams of ruling the country.
The BSP, which she heads, failed to open its account in Maharashtra - the land of the party's biggest icon B.R. Ambedkar - and failed to score beyond one seat even in Haryana. It is yet to take birth in Arunachal.
Mayawati had not only projected her party as a potential "kingmaker" in both Maharashtra and Haryana but she had also pumped in a lot of energy to carve out a place for the BSP in both states. Hoardings outside the Mumbai airport as well as other parts of Maharashtra showed her as the country's "future prime minister".
According to the party's own evaluation, its vote share has gone down in comparison to that in the April-May Lok Sabha polls. As against a 15 percent vote share in the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, it plummeted to a paltry 7 percent in these polls. In Maharashtra, this figure has fallen from five percent to 4.5 percent.
What made matters worse for Mayawati was the BSP's sworn political foe Samajwadi Party marching way ahead, by bagging four seats in Maharashtra.
A pall of gloom has descended at the party headquarters here. Party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra, known to be Mayawati's closest confidante, has chosen to go underground, in an apparent facesaving bid.
Mayawati had been banking on the support of Dalits in the poverty-ridden and Dalit-tribal dominated Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. However, the only seat the party managed to touch in the number two position was Latur city and this too was attributed to the dominant Muslim vote.
Of the 24 Maharashtra seats on which BSP stood at number three position, seven had Muslim candidates.
As for Haryana, the party's nominees lost their deposits in bulk. The sole winner - at Jagadhri - was a Muslim, Akram Khan, who defeated his Congress rival by a margin of more than 4,000 votes. Only on two seats could the BSP manage to stay on at second position, while figuring at the third place in 12 places.
Evidently, Mayawati's biggest worry now is forthcoming by-elections to 11 state assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh early next month. If the outcome of these polls has any bearing on them, bad news may be awaiting her.
Mayawati's pan-India dream bites the dust : TOI
NEW DELHI: Bahujan Samaj Party's fortunes continue to plunge since its Lok Sabha debacle in its UP backyard, with the party failing to make an impression in Haryana and Maharashtra.
It has barely won one MLA in Haryana and drawn a cipher in Maharashtra. These states were firmly on Mayawati's radar when she romped UP in May 2007 and set her eyes on taking the Dalit movement across the country.
It is a critical development for BSP which, while nurturing the dream of expanding nationally for a longtime, saw the post-victory period as the best for its pan-India growth.
Maharashtra and Haryana were seen as the best turfs to encash popularity. The former has a history of Dalit movements, starting with Ambedkar who is the foremost in the BSP pantheon. Kanshi Ram failed to make a dent in Maharashtra but Mayawati felt it was time to take the party to another level in the state.
The 2009 LS results proved that Mayawati's appeal had subsided following its two-year rule in UP, as it failed to even match its 2004 role of spoiler when it ruined Congress-NCP's chances in Vidarbha.
Haryana ranked even higher on party's priority, if only because the state has 19% Dalit population. Mayawati, in the aftermath of her 2007 victory glow, played her cards shrewdly, giving a clarion call that "Haryana needs a non-Jat chief minister".
The gambit was to rally non-Jats around SCs against the socially dominant Jats. With Bhajan Lal fading from the scene, the attempt appeared even more astute.
The party began to flounder post-LS polls dismal performance in UP. While she got 15% votes in LS in Haryana, it did not convert to any win. That it has failed to cross the threshold even in the assembly elections where smaller constituencies make winning an easier proposition is a grim reminder of its fading fortunes. Its voteshare has fallen to a pathetic 6.7%.
Now, BSP is reconciled to focusing its energies on UP, with its idea of growing outside UP virtually an abandoned dream.
The limits of Mayawati riding her appeal post-UP polls became clear in November 2008 when four key states -- Delhi, Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan -- went to polls. With Mayawati-for-PM slogan renting the air, it was felt that her winning over of upper castes could work her magic outside UP too. She failed in her first objective of cutting into Congress votes to deny it victory in big states -- MP and Rajasthan -- and then to become indispensable for Congress in smaller ones -- Chhattisgarh and and Delhi.
Since then, the LS polls and the fresh assembly polls have confirmed that BSP would rather focus on UP and consolidate its withering base.
It has barely won one MLA in Haryana and drawn a cipher in Maharashtra. These states were firmly on Mayawati's radar when she romped UP in May 2007 and set her eyes on taking the Dalit movement across the country.
It is a critical development for BSP which, while nurturing the dream of expanding nationally for a longtime, saw the post-victory period as the best for its pan-India growth.
Maharashtra and Haryana were seen as the best turfs to encash popularity. The former has a history of Dalit movements, starting with Ambedkar who is the foremost in the BSP pantheon. Kanshi Ram failed to make a dent in Maharashtra but Mayawati felt it was time to take the party to another level in the state.
The 2009 LS results proved that Mayawati's appeal had subsided following its two-year rule in UP, as it failed to even match its 2004 role of spoiler when it ruined Congress-NCP's chances in Vidarbha.
Haryana ranked even higher on party's priority, if only because the state has 19% Dalit population. Mayawati, in the aftermath of her 2007 victory glow, played her cards shrewdly, giving a clarion call that "Haryana needs a non-Jat chief minister".
The gambit was to rally non-Jats around SCs against the socially dominant Jats. With Bhajan Lal fading from the scene, the attempt appeared even more astute.
The party began to flounder post-LS polls dismal performance in UP. While she got 15% votes in LS in Haryana, it did not convert to any win. That it has failed to cross the threshold even in the assembly elections where smaller constituencies make winning an easier proposition is a grim reminder of its fading fortunes. Its voteshare has fallen to a pathetic 6.7%.
Now, BSP is reconciled to focusing its energies on UP, with its idea of growing outside UP virtually an abandoned dream.
The limits of Mayawati riding her appeal post-UP polls became clear in November 2008 when four key states -- Delhi, Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan -- went to polls. With Mayawati-for-PM slogan renting the air, it was felt that her winning over of upper castes could work her magic outside UP too. She failed in her first objective of cutting into Congress votes to deny it victory in big states -- MP and Rajasthan -- and then to become indispensable for Congress in smaller ones -- Chhattisgarh and and Delhi.
Since then, the LS polls and the fresh assembly polls have confirmed that BSP would rather focus on UP and consolidate its withering base.
Assembly poll outcomes a blow to BSP
LUCKNOW: The Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) poor showing in the Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh assembly polls has dealt a blow to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her dreams of ruling the country.
The BSP, which she heads, failed to open its account in Maharashtra - the land of the party's biggest icon B.R. Ambedkar - and failed to score beyond one seat even in Haryana. It is yet to take birth in Arunachal.
Mayawati had not only projected her party as a potential "kingmaker" in both Maharashtra and Haryana but she had also pumped in a lot of energy to carve out a place for the BSP in both states. Hoardings outside the Mumbai airport as well as other parts of Maharashtra showed her as the country's "future prime minister".
According to the party's own evaluation, its vote share has gone down in comparison to that in the April-May Lok Sabha polls. As against a 15 percent vote share in the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, it plummeted to a paltry 7 percent in these polls. In Maharashtra, this figure has fallen from five percent to 4.5 percent.
What made matters worse for Mayawati was the BSP's sworn political foe Samajwadi Party marching way ahead, by bagging four seats in Maharashtra.
A pall of gloom has descended at the party headquarters here. Party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra, known to be Mayawati's closest confidante, has chosen to go underground, in an apparent facesaving bid.
Mayawati had been banking on the support of Dalits in the poverty-ridden and Dalit-tribal dominated Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. However, the only seat the party managed to touch in the number two position was Latur city and this too was attributed to the dominant Muslim vote.
Of the 24 Maharashtra seats on which BSP stood at number three position, seven had Muslim candidates.
As for Haryana, the party's nominees lost their deposits in bulk. The sole winner - at Jagadhri - was a Muslim, Akram Khan, who defeated his Congress rival by a margin of more than 4,000 votes. Only on two seats could the BSP manage to stay on at second position, while figuring at the third place in 12 places.
Evidently, Mayawati's biggest worry now is forthcoming by-elections to 11 state assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh early next month. If the outcome of these polls has any bearing on them, bad news may be awaiting her.
The BSP, which she heads, failed to open its account in Maharashtra - the land of the party's biggest icon B.R. Ambedkar - and failed to score beyond one seat even in Haryana. It is yet to take birth in Arunachal.
Mayawati had not only projected her party as a potential "kingmaker" in both Maharashtra and Haryana but she had also pumped in a lot of energy to carve out a place for the BSP in both states. Hoardings outside the Mumbai airport as well as other parts of Maharashtra showed her as the country's "future prime minister".
According to the party's own evaluation, its vote share has gone down in comparison to that in the April-May Lok Sabha polls. As against a 15 percent vote share in the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, it plummeted to a paltry 7 percent in these polls. In Maharashtra, this figure has fallen from five percent to 4.5 percent.
What made matters worse for Mayawati was the BSP's sworn political foe Samajwadi Party marching way ahead, by bagging four seats in Maharashtra.
A pall of gloom has descended at the party headquarters here. Party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra, known to be Mayawati's closest confidante, has chosen to go underground, in an apparent facesaving bid.
Mayawati had been banking on the support of Dalits in the poverty-ridden and Dalit-tribal dominated Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. However, the only seat the party managed to touch in the number two position was Latur city and this too was attributed to the dominant Muslim vote.
Of the 24 Maharashtra seats on which BSP stood at number three position, seven had Muslim candidates.
As for Haryana, the party's nominees lost their deposits in bulk. The sole winner - at Jagadhri - was a Muslim, Akram Khan, who defeated his Congress rival by a margin of more than 4,000 votes. Only on two seats could the BSP manage to stay on at second position, while figuring at the third place in 12 places.
Evidently, Mayawati's biggest worry now is forthcoming by-elections to 11 state assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh early next month. If the outcome of these polls has any bearing on them, bad news may be awaiting her.
BSP MLA booked under SC/ST Act in UP
LUCKNOW: Sant Kabir Nagar district police on Saturday slapped a criminal case under SC/ST Act against local Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA for arson and destroying the house of a landless SC farmer.
Reports reaching the DGP headquarters here on Saturday said that BSP MLA from Khetraha Tariq Khan and his brother Iftikhar Khan own a huge farmfield on the outskirts of their constituency. The two had entered into a dispute with a landless farmer Ram Lakhan after he built a thatched hut on a plot of land situated next to the MLA's field.
The Khan brothers were reportedly unhappy with Ram Lakhan and asked him to shift his hut at a distance away from their farm. But Ram Lakhan tried to explain that the piece of land on which he has built his hut belonged to his employer and the MLA had no right to force him away. The situation was resolved when Ram Lakhan approached the local Bakahira police.
However, late on Friday night, Ram Lakhan was fast asleep when miscreants torched his hut. When, he woke up and tried to salvage his belongings from the burning hut, some miscreants thrashed him.
Allegations are that the miscreants were led by Iftikhar Khan, who was joined by his brother Tariq. Lakhan alleged that he was held hostage and forced to watch his hut being reduced to ashes. The miscreants also threw other belongings which were lying outside the hut, into the flames, leaving him with the only clothes he was wearing.
Lakhan lodged an FIR, accusing the two brothers and their associates as accused. After a preliminary inquiry into the allegations levelled against the MLA, his brother and others confirmed that the charges were not totally baseless, police registered a case against the Khan brothers and their accomplices with charges of arson, violence and unprovoked attack, resulting in loss of property. The police also slapped charges under sections of Criminal Law Amendment Act on the accused.
Reports reaching the DGP headquarters here on Saturday said that BSP MLA from Khetraha Tariq Khan and his brother Iftikhar Khan own a huge farmfield on the outskirts of their constituency. The two had entered into a dispute with a landless farmer Ram Lakhan after he built a thatched hut on a plot of land situated next to the MLA's field.
The Khan brothers were reportedly unhappy with Ram Lakhan and asked him to shift his hut at a distance away from their farm. But Ram Lakhan tried to explain that the piece of land on which he has built his hut belonged to his employer and the MLA had no right to force him away. The situation was resolved when Ram Lakhan approached the local Bakahira police.
However, late on Friday night, Ram Lakhan was fast asleep when miscreants torched his hut. When, he woke up and tried to salvage his belongings from the burning hut, some miscreants thrashed him.
Allegations are that the miscreants were led by Iftikhar Khan, who was joined by his brother Tariq. Lakhan alleged that he was held hostage and forced to watch his hut being reduced to ashes. The miscreants also threw other belongings which were lying outside the hut, into the flames, leaving him with the only clothes he was wearing.
Lakhan lodged an FIR, accusing the two brothers and their associates as accused. After a preliminary inquiry into the allegations levelled against the MLA, his brother and others confirmed that the charges were not totally baseless, police registered a case against the Khan brothers and their accomplices with charges of arson, violence and unprovoked attack, resulting in loss of property. The police also slapped charges under sections of Criminal Law Amendment Act on the accused.
BSP fails to open account
NAGPUR:
The Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati failed to click once again in Maharashtra. Though it contested from 281 constituencies in the state,it could not open its account. But this was more on an expected lines because of the cobbling of a unity among 14 factions of the Republican Party of India under leadership of Ramdas Athavale which split the Dalit votes.
"It was a well-orchestrated move of the Congress-NCP. They created a hype about the Third Front and the so-called RPI (United) just days before the state elections. Similarly the ruling parties in the state promoted Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to split the Shiv Sena-BJP vote. The twin moves were enough for the Congress-NCP to ensure that all media attention was focussed on the MNS and the Third Front, so that votes of the opposition parties were split. Thus without doing much, the Congress-NCP retained power despite all negatives factors like increasing poverty, price rise, farmers' suicides and poor law and order," BSP general secretary Veer Singh summed up.
Speaking to Rising Media about party's poor performance, Singh said, "The BSP had in last two years worked very hard in the state especially in Dalit dominated region of Vidarbha. But then we were done in by the bogus claims of the RPI United. Now it is for everyone to see how the Congress-NCP once again used the situation to its own benefit. The money-bag politics of the Congress was also something we could not counter as voters were influenced by that party on the election eve in a big way," alleged Singh. "But we have not given up hope. Our leader Kanshi Ram built up the Ambedkar movement by patiently fighting for Dalit empowerment for decades. We will emulate him," said Singh.
What has come as a shock for the BSP is that its vote share in the state which had gone up to as high as 4.8% in 2009 Lok Sabha elections has not dipped to around 2.5% in the recent assembly elections. Earlier the party had become notorious as spoiler for major parties like the Congress and NCP and even the BJP after it started giving tickets to non-Dalits. But, now that nuisance value has also receded. While it could not win a single seat, the only consolation it has is that the Athavale-led RPI(U) also drew a blank. This could help the BSP retain its cadre base painstakingly from those disillusioned by the RPI's splintered leadership.
The Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati failed to click once again in Maharashtra. Though it contested from 281 constituencies in the state,it could not open its account. But this was more on an expected lines because of the cobbling of a unity among 14 factions of the Republican Party of India under leadership of Ramdas Athavale which split the Dalit votes.
"It was a well-orchestrated move of the Congress-NCP. They created a hype about the Third Front and the so-called RPI (United) just days before the state elections. Similarly the ruling parties in the state promoted Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to split the Shiv Sena-BJP vote. The twin moves were enough for the Congress-NCP to ensure that all media attention was focussed on the MNS and the Third Front, so that votes of the opposition parties were split. Thus without doing much, the Congress-NCP retained power despite all negatives factors like increasing poverty, price rise, farmers' suicides and poor law and order," BSP general secretary Veer Singh summed up.
Speaking to Rising Media about party's poor performance, Singh said, "The BSP had in last two years worked very hard in the state especially in Dalit dominated region of Vidarbha. But then we were done in by the bogus claims of the RPI United. Now it is for everyone to see how the Congress-NCP once again used the situation to its own benefit. The money-bag politics of the Congress was also something we could not counter as voters were influenced by that party on the election eve in a big way," alleged Singh. "But we have not given up hope. Our leader Kanshi Ram built up the Ambedkar movement by patiently fighting for Dalit empowerment for decades. We will emulate him," said Singh.
What has come as a shock for the BSP is that its vote share in the state which had gone up to as high as 4.8% in 2009 Lok Sabha elections has not dipped to around 2.5% in the recent assembly elections. Earlier the party had become notorious as spoiler for major parties like the Congress and NCP and even the BJP after it started giving tickets to non-Dalits. But, now that nuisance value has also receded. While it could not win a single seat, the only consolation it has is that the Athavale-led RPI(U) also drew a blank. This could help the BSP retain its cadre base painstakingly from those disillusioned by the RPI's splintered leadership.
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