Expressing disappointment over the "clean chit" given to BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by a court in the 2002 Gujarat communal riots, a US-based coalition of Indian Americans has said it stands with victims of the violence including Zakia Jaffri, the widow of a slain MP.        

 

The Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) leaders have said brining to justice those responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots would have deterred people from the 2002 riots in Gujarat.        

 

"As disappointing as the Metropolitan Court's judgement is, it was sadly to be expected in a state that routinely denies justice for victims of Modi's government and his supremacist movement," said Shaikh Ubaid, a founding member of CAG, which is a broader coalition of over 40 US-based Indian American organisations.        

 

On December 26, a Metropolitan court in Ahmedabad rejected a protest petition filed by Zakia challenging the clean chit given to 63 persons, including Modi, by the Supreme Court -appointed Special Investigation Team in the riots.  Zakia's husband Ehsan Jafri was among 68 people massacred during the Gulbarg society riots.

Our correspondent in Kolkata reports that Suchitra Sen's sugar level is fluctuating, according to sources in the medical board looking after the diagnosis.  

 

She is suffering from age-related complications, and it will be a while before she is discharged from the hospital, sources tell Rediff.com.

Legendary actress Suchitra Sen is in a serious condition after she was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata following a respiratory tract infection, doctors said on Sunday.  

 

The 82-year-old actress, who lives a secluded life and stays locked up inside her apartment, was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic earlier this week after she complained of breathlessness.        

 

The clinic has formed a five-member-committee to monitor the health of its star patient 24x7 led by cardiologist Dr Subrata Moitra. Sources in the Belle Vue Clinic said Sen is now on oxygen and has complained of chest pain following which her chest's CT scan was also done. She is being administered antibiotics and oxygen, they said.        

 

Beginning her career with the Bengali film 'Shesh Kothai' in 1952, Sen went on to receive a National Award for her performance in the 1955 Hindi film 'Devdas' and is the first Indian actress to be awarded at an international film festival --  best actress award for 'Saat Paake Bandha' in 1963 Moscow film festival.        

 

But after her 1978 movie "Pronoy Pasha" with Soumitra Chatterjee flopped, she disappeared from the public eye and even allegedly refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2005 preferring not to make a public appearance.

Anticipating protests by workers of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party following the truce between Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and actor Amitabh Bachchan, police have provided additional security at latter's bungalows in suburban Juhu.   

 

"As a precautionary measure, we have deployed our men at Jalsa, Prateeksha, Janak -- three bungalows of Bachchan," a police officer told PTI.   Patrolling in the area has been stepped up, the officer said, adding that, "as the SP and BSP are upset with the patch-up between Thackeray and Amitabh, their workers may resort to any activity disturbing law and order. Hence we are alert and deployed our personnel outside the bungalows."     

Burying their five-year-old hatchet, Bachchan shared dais with Thackeray at the seventh anniversary of MNS's movie industry wing `Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena' at the Shanmukhanand Hall in Central Mumbai last week.     

 

Raj Thackeray had earlier targeted Bachchan for becoming the brand ambassador of Uttar Pradesh. Wife Jaya Bachchan too incurred MNS's wrath when she said that being from Uttar Pradesh, she would prefer to speak in Hindi rather than in Marathi.     

CNN: An explosion at a train station in Volgograd, Russia, killed at least 18 people on Sunday, Russian media reported. Russia's National Anti-Terror Committee told CNN that preliminary information suggests the blast was caused by a female suicide bomber.The RIA Novosti news agency also said dozens were injured, citing police.

 

The ITAR-TASS news agency reported a lower death toll of 13.It is the second bombing in the southern Russian city in two months and comes less than six weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, located less than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Volgograd.No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.  

Just in: Former Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has been hurt in a skiing accident, according to reports in France, SKY NEWS reports on Twitter.

CNN IBN: Union minister Kapil Sibal attacked BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi's blog after the recent ruling by an Ahmedabad court in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, wondering 'which brothers and sisters' is Modi referring to.  

 

Sibal commented that the Gujarat CM's 'pain came only after 11 years of silence'.  

Veteran actress Tanuja says she is proud of her daughter Tanishaa Mukherjee's stint in the seventh season of reality show 'Bigg Boss' which concluded last night.        

 

Tanuja, 70, who came for the finale got emotional after seeing her daughter.

 

"I watched the show every day as there was no other way to get in contact with her. I felt good to see her. I cried whenever she cried on the show. I am very very proud of her," she said.        

 

Model-turned-actress Gauhar Khan won 'Bigg Boss 7'. According to sources, it was tough to convince Tanuja to come for the show.        

 

Earlier there were reports that Tanishaa's family was not happy with her participation in the show. But Tanishaa rubbished such gossips.

A youth was arrested for allegedly recovering money from people on the pretext of offering membership of Aam Aadmi Party in Raipur, police said today.        

 

Likhesh Singh (26), a resident of Telibandha area, was nabbed while he was allegedly collecting money through the fake receipt of the AAP for its membership last evening, Telibandha Station House Officer Rakesh Baghel told PTI.        

 

Police swung into action following a complaint by local members of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party about a miscreant reportedly engaged in recovering money from people against providing them membership AAP, Baghel said.         Bundles of bogus receipts in the name of AAP and cash collected by him from public were seized from his possession, he said.

The employees of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, who have not been paid their salaries for the past 17 months, today said they will seek help from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in getting their dues.       

 

"In the past, we have requested to both the Congress and the BJP to intervene in the issue. But none of them did come to our help. We will now approach Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and seek his help in getting our dues cleared," a Delhi-based Kingfisher Airlines employee told PTI.        

 

He said a section of employees from Delhi will soon seek an appointment with Kejriwal to apprise him of the "trauma, agony and the financial hardship" that around 2,000 unpaid employees are going through for almost a year and a half.        

 

Kejriwal sounds a "different" politician unlike others who are high on rhetoric but low on action, he said adding, "We are quite hopeful that Kejriwal will intervene in our issue in whatever way he can."        

 

The grounded airline has over 500 employees in Delhi. "We are all more hopeful from him as he is the one who works for common man unlike the two national parties who get elected with the common man's vote but forget them soon after the polls," the employee said.

Narendra Modi held a rally today in Jharkhand's capital, Ranchi, where the BJP's prime ministerial candidate wondered why, despite its enormous mineral resources, the state faces poverty.

 

Highlights of Mr Modi's speech:

People of Jharkhand want to decide their own future

They want to use their capabilities to improve conditions of their people

But the center govt didn't listen to them, ignored them Atal (Bihari Vajpayee) ji understood the feelings, needs and ambitions of the people of Jharkhand

The dreams, vision that Atal ji had for Jharkhand need to be fulfilled

Chhattisgarh developed and progressed while Jharkhand lagged behind

 

Read more on NDTV

Veteran actor Farooq Sheikh died of heart attack in Dubai on Saturday morning. His body will be brought back to Mumbai today for his funeral after completing the formalities in Dubai.

 

The Indian film industry mourned the death of veteran actor Farooq Sheikh. Many Bollywood actors and directors took to Twitter to express their shock on the sudden demise of Sheikh. Sheikh who is best known for his contribution to parallel cinema in the 1970s and 1980s, had been a part of several notable films such as Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Chashme Buddoor, Kissi Se Na Kehna and Noorie.

 

Read more on CNN IBN

Against the backdrop of drugs seizure at the popular Sunburn festival in Goa, state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar admitted that revellers consume drugs during such events and said organisers cannot be blamed as "people come to enjoy".        

 

 A youth from Chhattisgarh was arrested yesterday for possessing drugs inside the Sunburn festival venue.        

 

"Music revellers feel that musical parties like Sunburn cannot be enjoyed without consuming alcohol and drugs," Parulekar told reporters last evening on the sidelines of   India travel mart-Goa in Panaji.        

 

The tourism minister further said, "Drugs are freely available all over the world and Goa is not an exception."  Despite the music festival being declared a 'no drugs zone', the banned substance was openly sold and consumed at the venue, he said.       

 

"You cannot blame the organisers, people come there to enjoy," Parulekar said. The Sunburn festival is expecting more than one lakh footfalls during the three-day event.

India is checking the tax status of Americans working at schools in the country, after the arrest this month of an Indian diplomat in New York. Devyani Khobragade was handcuffed and strip-searched while in custody.

 

Her detention on charges of visa fraud and underpayment of her housekeeper sparked outrage in India. India would no longer turn a blind eye to tax violations by diplomats' spouses taking up work in the country, Reuters cited an unnamed official as saying. "Spouses and children have no more immunity. So if there is a parking offence or... something else happening in Bangalore etcetera, they would be held liable."

 

Read more on BBC

After Rahul Gandhi, it was the turn of RJD chief Lalu Prasad today to visit the camps of riot victims in Muzaffarnagar. Prasad, whose party is expected to have an alliance with the Congress for the next Lok Sabha polls, left for Muzaffarnagar early morning.        

 

His visit is being coordinated by Rajya Sabha member Mohammed Adeeb. Adeeb was made the member of the upper house with the support of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.        

 

Prasad is expected to visit half a dozen relief camps inhabited by members of the Muslim community. Prasad is considered a popular leader among the community and his party RJD had been in power in Bihar for 15 years largely on the basis of MY (Muslim-Yadav) combination.        

 

Prasad, who had arrested BJP leader L K Advani during the Ram Janambhoomi movement in the 1990s, has been projecting himself to be a true secular and talking about playing a larger role in halting the march of Narendra Modi-led BJP.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may be set in his decision to not opt for any security cover as he goes about discharging his duties, but Delhi police is urging the incumbent to take protection as "it is needed".        

Stepping up its attack on Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over the rejection of the judicial commission report on the Adarsh Society scam, the BJP and Shiv Sena has accused Chavan of "shielding" senior politicians indicted by the panel and sought his resignation on moral grounds.        

Here are some of today's top stories:

A correspondent reports: Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari's allegation against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Congress is not mere political rhetoric but it has some substance, said a source in the party.