BJP today slammed as undemocratic its leader Arun Jaitley being stopped at Jammu airport from visiting riot-hit Kishtwar and accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of not allowing the truth to come out in the communal clashes.

Jaitley said there was "anarchy" and "non- accountability" in Kishtwar as no arrests had been made so far in the violence. "Unfortunately, the state government does not want the truth to come out...There is complete anarchy and non- accountability.

"It is widely perceived that a minister of (state) government who belongs to Kishtwar town is behind this. Officers such as SP and Collector posted by him for hours remained silent spectators when this violence was on...We will raise the issue tomorrow in Parliament," Jaitley said on his return to Delhi.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today sought to puncture the development card of his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, saying it was "not fair for one person" to take credit for the work of the entire Gujarati people, known for their enterprising nature.

"The credit for the development of Gujarat goes to the industrious nature of the Gujarati people, who have also contributed substantially to development all around including in Maharashtra as also in London and the United States.

One man taking credit for the work of the Gujarati people is not fair" Chavan told reporters. Modi, who is the BJP's face in the next Lok Sabha polls, has often sought to take credit for the development of Gujarat under his tenure and organised "Vibrant Gujarat" conventions to showcase the progress and attract investment in the state.

Chavan, who is a senior Congress leader, also wanted Modi to articulate his views on how to deal with Pakistan as also how to address the problems confronting the economy at a time when it was facing a crisis due to the slowdown.

Apparently rebuked by the JD(U) leadership, Bihar Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh today said he "regretted" his remarks giving clean chit to Pakistan for the killing of five Indian soldiers on LoC.

However, at the same time, he accused the media of twisting his comments out of context.

"I regret my remarks giving clean chit to Pakistan for the killing of five Indian soldiers on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday last," Singh told media at a hurriedly-convened press conference at his official residence.

"I am sorry if my remarks have hurt the sentiments of any individual," he said categorically, but again shifted the blame on media for "twisting" his remarks out of context.

Singh also candidly admitted that he was ill-informed that Indian soldiers were killed by militants to create a wedge between the two neighbours, but he has now come to know it was the handiwork of the Pakistani Army for which the Indian government should take the sternest possible action against Islamabad.

Four more bodies were today extricated from under a coal dump which crashed at an open cast mine of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd in Odisha's Sundargarh district yesterday, taking the toll to 14, though the police confirmed 10 deaths.

An official of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd maintained that 14 bodies had so far been recovered from the site of the mishap at Kulda in the Basundhara-Garjanbahal coal mine area.

However, Sundargarh Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Arora confirmed death of 10 persons in the incident that took place when a heap of coal dump caved in, burying people from nearby villages who went there to collect coal.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: "You hate Gujarat, don't speak about it. Take the Tamil Nadu example and speak about the development there. How to feed the poor is something you have learn from Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh who has fed all the poor through the PDS system," said Modi.

"Go to Madhya Pradesh and see the developmental programme for the girl child. "When India got its Independence, Rs 1  was equal to $1. Today, a rupee is more than $60 which is the age of our finance minister (P Chidambaram).

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: "I want to remember NTR (former Andhra Chief Minister N T Rama Rao) today. What is the best way to honour such a man? Kick out the Congress and I am sure that is the best way to honour him. The Telugu Desam Party has the legacy of NTR and hence it is upon them to fulfill this dream," said.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: "Why should you fight among each other? In Surat there are 4 lakh Telugu people, in Surat and 6 lakh in Ahmedabad. We live happily with each other. Why cant you too? The only intention should be to develop Andhra and Telangana and beat Gujarat," Modi said.

"During the Vajpayee regime, all the poor had food to eat. Today, the UPA needs a Food Security Bill as they have robbed the poor of their food. The Congress speaks of inclusive growth. According to me, they have excluded everything. The Congress has become a burden for India," he added. 

"The Congress had assured that it would give Telangana four years back. They got the most number of members of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh. What has the Congress given to all of you? Small states was a promise by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. States were formed under Vajpayee and both regions were distributing sweets," he said.

"What are they doing in Andhra? They are dividing the people. The BJP was always in Telangana's favour, and I had said that Telangana will be formed if we form the government in 100 days," he added.

"But we had said at that time that Seema-Andhra will not be neglected. There should be a city more prosperous than Hyderabad in Seema-Andhra. Why didn't the UPA start building a new capital in 2004 itself? This shows their seriousness," he said.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: On the killing of fishermen by Italian marines off the Kerala coast,he said, "What about the killing of fishermen by Italian marines? With whose influence did they get bail? The Italians said we will not send them back and only after the Supreme Court's intervention did they come back. I am saying all this because the UPA is not serious about the problems of India."

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: He said, "The people of India want peace. The government cannot provide us peace. The United Progressive Alliance is drowned in vote bank politics. The Border Security Force has been told to go easy on intruders on the Bangladesh border. Why are we inviting the intruders? How can we trust this government?."

"Instead of raising the order issue with China sternly when he went there,  the foreign minister (Salan Khurshid) instead said that I would love to stay on at Beijing.' Drown, drown, drown these people who run our government today in Delhi. The same minister goes to Jaipur and feeds biriyani to the Pakistani prime minister) and then says it is protocol. Can we have a protocol with those who kill our soldiers?" he thundered.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: Speaking on the killing of jawans at the LoC, he said, "Who do we trust? When five soldiers were beheaded, the prime minister said that we won't tolerate it next time. Last week, Pakistan has once again killed our soldiers. Today the country wants to know what are you doing about it when Pakistan goes on committing such crimes."

"The people of India want peace. The government cannot provide us peace. The United Progressive Alliance is drowned in vote bank politics. The Border Security Force has been told to go easy on intruders on the Bangladesh border. Why are we inviting the intruders? How can we trust this government?," he added.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi commenced his address in Telugu at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium to a thundering applause.

Addressing each one as Garuji (addressing people with respect in Telugu), Modi spoke a couple of lines in Telugu much to the amusement of the crowd. He sought the blessings of Tirupathi Sri Venkateshwara and the people of Andhra Pradesh.

"It is my honour that the Hyderabad liberation day and my birthday fall on the same day," he said.

Modi also cleared the air about the Rs 5 registration fee controversy. He thanked the people of Andhra Pradesh for paying Rs 5 to register at the event today, which he said would go for relief work for Uttarakhand flood victims.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: Looking at the crowd in Hyderabad, one could say that the Modi event is already a success. The number of people gathered to hear Modi is nearly a lakh, and people of Hyderabad say that he wouldn't have gotten these numbers in even Ahmedabad.

Modi's meet is a roaring success, and has garnered a crowd that Andhra Pradesh has not seen in a long time.

The organisers could accommodate only 50,000 people at the LB Stadium. The state BJP has requested some of the theatres to telecast the event live.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Hyderabad: Dressed in an Orange kurta. Modi arrived at the Lal Bahadur stadium Hyderabad to a roaring applause.

He was treated to some folk songs followed by a dance programme comprising the Bollywood number All the Best. The crowd is extremely noisy at the stadium; one could say that it is even deafening.

Scientists have inched closer to solving the mystery of 'Mona Lisa's' identity after they dug up a tomb in Florence to extract DNA, which they hope will identify the real-life muse for Leonardo da Vinci's painting.

The tomb contains the family of Lisa Gherardini, a silk merchant's wife who is believed to have posed for the artist's famous 16th century masterpiece. Scientists cut a round hole in the stone church floor above the family crypt of Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

The tomb lies behind the altar of the Santissima Annunziata Basilica in Italy, 'BBC News' reported. The DNA extracted from bones in the tomb will be compared with that of three female skeletons that were found buried last year at a nearby convent.

One of the skeletons is believed to be that of Gherardini. Researchers believe that some of the bones belong to at least one of her blood relation, probably her son, Piero. "When we find a match between mother and child -- then we will have found the Mona Lisa," said researcher Silvano Vinceti.

Taking a dig at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over his visit to Hyderabad, where he is slated to address a public meeting today, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that the BJP had lost polls wherever the former campaigned for it in the past.

"We are not afraid of Modi. Wherever he had gone for campaigning, BJP got defeated in the polls," the Congress general secretary said.

Singh was talking to reporters after his arrival here to take part in a Congress rally to be addressed by the top leaders of the state.

Making clear its stand over UPA's ambitious Food Security Bill, DMK today said it would support it only if it incorporated all the important amendments sought by various political parties and not in its present form.

"If the Bill comes with all the important amendments as sought by various political parties, then DMK will support it. If the Centre is firm on bringing it in the present form, without making any amendments, then DMK will oppose it..," party President M Karunanidhi said in a statement.

Responding to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's set of questions to the DMK on the issue yesterday, he said his party's parliamentary leader T R Baalu had already submitted the necessary amendments in Parliament on August 7.

On her comments that nowhere in his earlier statement did he say that DMK would oppose the Bill, he asked, "Does that statement say anywhere that the DMK would support the Bill?"

He also pointed out that the Chief Minister's letter to the prime minister had only said that necessary amendments needed to be made and had nothing to the effect that AIADMK would oppose the bill.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today regretted his minister Narendra Singh's remarks giving clean chit to Pakistan for the killing of five Indian soldiers by the Pakistani army on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district recently.

The Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh's remarks on martyrdom of five Indian soldiers is regrettable, Kumar told reporters in reply to question.

Singh on Tuesday had given a clean chit to Pakistan saying that he did not think that Islamabad was responsible for the killing of five Indian soldiers on the LOC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir and had said that the attack might have been carried out by terrorists from across the border in the disguise of Pakistani soldiers.

He had also described Pakistan as India's 'younger brother' and a neighbour during a press conference in his native Jamui district yesterday.

For the first time and just before the 67th independence day, government has deployed "armed" security personnel to guard 'Rajghat' -- the memorial of the father of the nation and apostle of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi -- in the national capital.

The issue of deploying armed guards at the venue on the banks of the Yamuna, thronged by VVIPs and common people round the year, was kept aside since the last over six years considering Gandhi's principles of non-violence and 'ahimsa' and the emotions attached in this context. All other nine memorials in the vicinity of Rajghat like Shakti Sthal (Indira Gandhi), Veer Bhumi (Rajeev Gandhi), Vijay Sthal (Lal Bahadur Shastri) among others have been brought under armed security cover since 2004.

The Union Home Ministry recently, after top-level deliberations with the Ministry of Urban Development and other government agencies, decided to deploy weapon carrying CISF men to take over the 'Rajghat' security from August 1 based on some vital intelligence inputs.

Vicky Nanjappa reports: Gujarat Chief Minister Modi is at the Park Hyat hotel in Hyderabad. His trip to Andhra Pradesh to kick-start the southern election campaign will not only be political but business oriented as well.

He will meet with industrialists, and discuss development and investment related issues. He also held a meeting with the AP BJP leaders and chalked out the strategy for the forthcoming elections.

Sources said that there were no issues pertaining to poll alliances discussed.

Only what was needed to be done on the ground was spoken about. Modi will address a rally today at 4 pm. The expected crowd is around 1 lakh people, but the stadium which has been booked, can accommodate only 60,000 people. Traffic is being diverted and police expect massive jams during the day.

The killing of five Indian soldiers along the LOC and Defence Minister A K Antony's "goof-up" on it have "inflicted irreparable damage on the reputation" of the government, BJP leader L K Advani said today.

He also charged the government with mishandling the Telangana issue and accused the ruling party members of creating pandemonium in Parliament due to which the current session till now has proved "utterly barren".

"Because of the mishandling of the Telangana issue, the Parliament Session has till now proved utterly barren.

But a serious tragedy occurred last week on the LOC, which has inflicted irreparable damage on the reputation of this government '" particularly because of the goof-up on the day of the tragedy itself by Defence Minister A K Antony," Advani said on his blog.

The government will introduce tomorrow in Parliament the Bill to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Act that would give more powers to the capital market regulator Sebi.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram would introduce a "Bill further to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996", according to legislative business listed in the Lok Sabha for Monday.

Besides, the Minister would lay in the House an explanatory statement showing reasons for immediate legislation (The Securities Laws Amendment Bill, 2013) by promulgation of the securities laws.

Last month, President Pranab Mukherjee had promulgated an ordinance amending the securities law that would provide more powers to the capital market watchdog.

In a bid to rein in pesky calls and text messages, telecom regulator Trai has blacklisted 15 telemarketers and issued notices to 246 of them, while deducting Rs 1.36 crore security deposit for violations of various norms.

According to official data, 15 telemarketers have been blacklisted from September 27, 2011 -- when Trai issued guidelines on unsolicited commercial communications -- till June 25 this year.

The Telecom Authority of India has sent 246 notices and deducted Rs 1.36 crore from security deposit of telemarketers for violations during the period from September 27, 2011 to July 30, 2013.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was today today prevented from leaving her residence for a visit to communal violence-hit Kishtwar district in Jammu region by authorities.

"A police team has been deployed outside the main gate of my residence and we are not being allowed to leave the premises," Mehbooba told PTI.

The PDP president said she along with some other party colleagues wanted to visit Kishtwar town, which has been hit by communal violence since Eid on Friday.

"My cavalcade has been stopped from reaching here (Gupkar residence of Mehbooba). Only my personnel security officer has been allowed to come in," she said.

The PDP president said she had a duty towards the people of the state as she is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.

Vicky Nanjappa reports: Amid Telangana related protests, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will kick-start the southern election campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party at Hyderabad today.

Under the banner nayi soch nayi umeed (new thought, new hope), he will address a conclave at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium in Hyderabad at 4 pm.

The Andhra Pradesh BJP is hoping to make the best of this programme and says that the fortunes of the party will change for the better.

"We are expecting a huge gathering and Modi's presence is good enough to pull a lot of votes as he is the preferred choice for prime minister in a majority of the state," Kishen Reddy the party's chief in AP told rediff.com.

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