When Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, Western leaders warned Russia against trying the same trick in mainland Ukraine. Russia is now trying the same trick in mainland Ukraine. Over the past several days, masked, heavily armed men have seized strategic locations in eastern Ukraine.

 

In Kharkiv, pro-Russian armed forces have occupied City Hall. In Donetsk, they have taken control of the regional legislature building and the interior ministry. In Luhansk, they have taken the compound of the state security agency. In the city of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, armed men shot their way into police headquarters.

 

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The Election Commission has revised ex-gratia payment to the families of polling personnel who die or suffer injuries during election duty.             Assistant CEO in West Bengal Amitjyoti Bhattacharya today said that after the revision the minimum amount to be paid to the next of kin of an official killed on election duty would be Rs 10 Lakh.

The compensation would get doubled to Rs 20 lakh in the case of death caused by violent acts like bomb and road mine blasts or armed attacks, he said.

In the case of permanent disability like loss of limbs or loss of eye-sight, a minimum ex-gratia payment of Rs five lakh will be paid. The amount will double if it is caused by acts of extremists or anti-socials.

A man in the US who was wrongly locked up in prison for nearly 25 years has sued the state for $25 million, a million each for the years he spent behind bars. Derrick Deacon who spent almost a quarter-century behind bars for a crime he did not commit, has hit the state with the $25 million lawsuit and hopes it will teach authorities a lesson about bending the rules to gain a conviction.

"These people have to pay for every day they made me suffer behind the wall for no reason," Deacon, 58, who was freed last year by new evidence, told The New York Post.

Deacon, from Brooklyn, was convicted of murder on December 21, 1989, in the fatal shooting that April of Anthony Wynn, 16. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Deacon was granted a new trial on June 20, 2012, after a Jamaican said a fellow gang member killed Wynn.

After Narendra Modi's jibe at him, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today said the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate is "incapable" of speaking the truth even by mistake and accused him of spreading blatant lie.

Ramesh shot off a letter to the Gujarat Chief Minister addressing him "My dear Shri Narendra Modi", a day after Modi took him on in his home district of Chikmagalur in Karnataka in connection with his remark made four years ago that "India deserves a Nobel Prize for filth". "I read in the newspapers this morning that at a rally of yours in Chikmagalur on April 13 you accused me of saying India is the dirtiest and laziest country in the world during my foreign visits.

"...I know you make outrageous statements. However, even by your own standards, your accusation against me is bizarre. I have never said what you attribute to me," Ramesh said. "It is clear that even by mistake, you are clearly incapable of speaking the truth," the senior Congress leader said, putting Modi in the line of fire.

Accusing Narendra Modi of having a "confrontationist" attitude towards Pakistan, Congress leader Amarinder Singh today hit out at BJP's Arun Jaitley, saying he should seek his prime ministerial candidate's permission before promising to open trade between Amritsar and Lahore.

Singh is pitted against Jaitley from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat. Referring to Jaitley's "frequent wish-list" of developing Amritsar as an important trading centre, the former Chief Minister said it required good neighbourly relations with Pakistan.

"But will it be possible with Modi already having spelt out his confrontationist agenda with India's neighbours, particularly Pakistan?" he said. "Because Mr Modi is speaking an entirely different language (from Jaitley) that is purely jingoistic and confrontationist," Singh said.

"Mr Jaitley happens to belong to the same party whose prime minister accompanied by Parkash Singh Badal had taken a bus ride to Lahore while intruders from Pakistan were in India's backyard in Kargil," he said.

Having got into trouble for praising RSS, Aam Aadmi Party candidate against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi Kumar Vishwas on Monday said the Hindu nationalist group's discipline was as "good' as that of militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Earlier this month, the 44-year-old AAP leader had praised RSS as a "disciplined force' and asked "if an organisation speaks in favour of a larger majority, does it mean it is communal'.

However, the remarks did not go down well with Muslims who demanded his expulsion from the party."I have said RSS' discipline is very good. The discipline of Lashkar-e-Taiba is also very good, people are ready to die. Learn discipline from (them)' Do not learn Hindu Rashtravad from them," Vishwas said.

Commenting on reports of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi's willingness to contest elections from Varanasi, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday said that Gandhi would have been thrashed if she had done so, as she drinks too much alcohol and has a bad name.

"They saved her. She would have got a thrashing. She is very unpopular, she drinks too much alcohol and she has a bad name, her husband has a bad name," said Swamy.

Yesterday, Swamy had called Gandhi an ungrateful daughter for going to see the prisoners in jail who assassinated her own father.

He also said that it was Priyanka Gandhi and not Varun Gandhi who has gone astray and had added that the former and her party were not able to digest the latter's success.

On Saturday, while accompanying Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at Amethi while filing nomination papers, Priyanka had said that Varun Gandhi has chosen a wrong path and needed to be led in the right direction. -- India Today.

Senior BJP leader LK Advani today hit out at Nitish Kumar's decision to split from the NDA over Narendra Modi's elevation last year saying he had dishonoured a friendship for which he will be doomed in future.

"Nitish has unilaterally snapped friendship with the BJP and launched an all out attack on the BJP. His conduct is a far cry from BJP's belief to always honour friendship with allies," Advani told an election meeting in Banka.

He said that all these years, BJP had honoured its friendship with allies and never criticised them. "But Nitish Kumar not only dumped the BJP, but criticised it too."

The senior BJP leader said that Nitish and George Fernandes had arrived at the party's national executive in Mumbai in 1996 to explore formation of a front with BJP to oust Congress from power.

The objective, he said, was achieved soon after with the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee wresting power at the Centre.

Let it be said of Narendra Modi that he is petty, that he does not forget easily, and that he never forgives. Like all tyrants, Modi has a fundamentally primitive view of criticism. Read

Mint has taken down this column since it appeared on their website.

On the campaign trail in Rajasthan, Narendra Modi gives it his all. "The Indian Constitution has bestowed us with rights and not the present government. The Congress leaders are still not ready to listen or learn. They are still mudslinging. Yeh Congress jisne paani ke naam pe logo mein jhagde karwae, hume desh ko inke saaye se nikaalna hai (The Congress has made people fight in the name of water, we have to take this country out of their shadow).   

"Peace, unity, brotherhood will take this country forward. Poison of caste-based politics can never  take our country forward. This Congress has broken the country to pieces and now they are giving a sermon to us?" he says.

Follow the latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that the saffron party leaders were capable of "killing their own men to come to power".

Referring to a recent sting done by a news portal which alleged that the 1992 Babri mosque demolition was a "planned act of sabotage" he said, "BJP people also undertake killings of the Hindus, children and their own cadres. They are not concerned with Hindus and Muslims. For coming to power, all are equal for them. Why dont we understand this?"

He was speaking at a book launch "Dehleez Par Dil" co-authored by AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey. The book revolves around Kejriwal, Pandey and the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement.

The picture tweeted by AAP at the rally in Punjab today.

Election forecasting in India depends only partially on opinion polls. It is essentially a hit-and-miss exercise where expectations are based as much on anecdotal evidence (the academic euphemism for beltway gossip) as personal voting preference. Read

On this day...
1865: Abraham Lincoln is shot
1912 : RMS Titanic hits an iceberg
1944 : Explosion rocks Bombay Port

Rahul in Latur says, "We want to remove the 'Made in China' and create 'Made in India', 'Made in Maharashtra' and 'Made in Latur' tags on products. The day we are able to achieve 'Made in Latur' tags , the problem of unemployment will be solved.

Rahul Gandhi is now addressing a rally in Latur, Maharashtra, the former bastion of the late Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh.

The Yadav bahu takes to the streets. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's wife and local MP, Dimple Yadav today claimed the Samajwadi Party-led government has done more development work in two years than any other government in the past.

Dimple, who arrived in Kannauj in a helicopter, took part in a road show in her parliamentary constituency and also took a halt at the party's district office where she was given a rousing reception by party workers.

An Australian ship leading the hunt for missing Malaysian jet MH370 will deploy a mini-sub "as soon as possible", the head of the search has said.

"Ocean Shield will cease searching with the towed pinger locator later today and deploy the autonomous underwater vehicle Bluefin-21 as soon as possible," said Angus Houston, who fronts the Joint Agency Coordination Centre. Read

Mamata Banerjee today issued an impassioned appeal to prevent the division of votes in the first acknowledgement of the uncertainties plaguing the four-cornered elections in Bengal and the BJP's potential to play spoiler.

"Daya kore samataler vote bhangben na. Amader kei votedin. Ekta vote anya kauke deben na (Please do not divide the votes in the plains. Vote for us. Do not vote for any other party),' the Trinamul leader told a rally in Siliguri.  Read more

Joining issue with Narendra Modi over criticism of his party besides the ruling AIADMK, DMK chief M Karunanidhi today said BJP leader's comments will only earn him the wrath of people of Tamil Nadu but remained tight-lipped on Rajnikanth's praise for the Gujarat chief minister.

"He had launched his election campaign for the first time in Tamil Nadu. And he made a very nice statement. (He) needs no other reason to earn the wrath of the people of the state," Karunanidhi said in response to reporters' queries.

The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate had said arch rivals DMK and AIADMK settle political scores whenever they were in power.

The role of the regional parties in the formation of the next government in Delhi is crystallising. The Trinamool National Congress [TNC] led by Mamata Banerjee has spoken loud and clear. No ambiguity here. Mamata is dead against a BJP government, will only support a Congress-led or Congress-backed government and is confident of a key role in the making of India's next leadership. Read MK Bhadrakumar's column on Rediff.com. 

A day after Narendra Modi took him on in his home district of Chikmagalur, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today wrote to the BJP leader accusing him of spreading "blatant lie" about his four-year-old statement made here that "India deserves a Nobel Prize for filth".

"I read in the newspapers this morning that at a rally of yours in Chikmaglur on April 13 you accused me of saying India is the dirtiest and laziest country in the world during my foreign visits. "...I know you make outrageous statements. However, even by your own standards, your accusation against me is bizarre. I have never said what you attribute to me," Ramesh said.

"It is clear that even by mistake, you are clearly incapable of speaking the truth," the Union Minister said addressing the Gujarat Chief Minister as "My dear Shri Narendra Modi".

Addressing a rally in Chikmaglur yesterday, Modi had slammed Ramesh alleging that during his foreign visits the Union Minister had called India the "dirtiest and laziest" country in the world.

"Nowadays, there is a minister in Congress who has studied in a foreign country and was born here in Chikmagalur. "He says India is the dirtiest and laziest country in the world. What type of a son is he of Mother India. He goes to a foreign land, eats food in his aunty's house and starts abusing his mother (India)," Modi had said.

Responding to Modi's allegation, Ramesh said, "Just for the record, I have said that India deserves a Nobel Prize for filth. I said this in New Delhi some four years ago and I continue to hold this view."

AAP's Kumar Vishvaas, tweets that the BJP government was formed in Rajasthan promising action against Robert Vadra, but four months since it was formed, no action has been taken by CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia. Varun Gandhi said development happened in Amethi, Smriti Irani says no development has happened. BJP is confused.

Vishvaas says that only he has a house in Amethi, the other two candidates (Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani) are political tourists, fooling people.

When former Maoist commander Badranna is not tending to plants at the public park in Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur town, he likes to spend time with his ten-year-old daughter Manisha and her pet parrot at their small house. Badranna's wife, Latakka, once a Maoist guerrilla herself, works with the State police after the couple surrendered in the year 2000.
Read Rahul Pandita's piece for the Hindu.

An analysis of affidavits filed by some of the prominent candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls reveal that many of them possess silver assets - including jewellery and articles. Value of these items has grown considerably on the back of increased prices. Here's a look at how much silver some major politicians own. Read

In other news: A group of Indian women are leaving gender stereotypes behind in a cloud of dust by embracing what was once a male-only activity: riding motorcycles. Read

Sonia Gandhi addressing a rally in Aonla (UP). Paying her tributes to Babasaheb Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, she says, "Jo log sirf kursi hasil karna chahtey hai, aise logo ko aaphi shikasht de saktey hai aur zaroor dengey. (Only you can defeat people people who want nothing else but a power, and I know you will.) Some people are putting false allegations against us; they talk of curbing corruption, but it is we who gave you RTI," says Sonia.

Follow the latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections

A six-time MP has not filed his income tax (I-T) returns so far, while a former legislator does not even have a PAN card.

These details came to light during scrutiny of nominations in Mahbubnagar.

Filing his nomination for the Nagarkurnool LS seat, Nandi Yellaiahrevealed that he had not filed his income tax returns as he does not have taxable income. However, the total value of his movable assets is Rs 20,48,969 and he owns immovable assets whose market value is Rs.50 lakh.

Meanwhile, Mahbubnagar district TDP president and former legislator Bakkani Narsimulu claimed that he does not even possess a PAN card.

Another FIR has been lodged against controversial SP leader Mohd Azam Khan for allegedly making a provocative speech at an election rally in Nehtaur in Bijnor district.

Khan has been accused of flaring up communal feelings and trying to divide communities on religious lines by his speech on April 11.

A 10-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries sustained in an attack on his family when some unidentified persons had opened fire at their house in Shamli district for apparently voting for a particular candidate in the April 10 Assembly polls held in Muzaffarnagar.

Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in India and Modi and BJP are the same, Rajnath Singh on Murli Manohar Joshi's remark.

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Sunday disputed that there was a Modi wave in the country and said the Gujarat model of development touted by the BJP's prime ministerial candidate could not be applicable for all states.

"Modi is the representative of the party as the prime ministerial candidate. And whenever a dynamic person moves with the support of the party, he creates a very strong sympathy and support for him, because of his track record also. So its not a highly personalized thing, it is a representative wave. He gets support from different parts of the country, from different sections of society, and from all leaders of BJP. So, he represents the general mood and the desire for change.

"You may call it a Modi wave, there is no harm in it. But it is a sum total of what is happening inside the country, it represents that," Joshi said in an interview to Manorama News.

On the 123rd birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, Narendra Modi today attacked Rahul Gandhi saying he was "insulting" the chief architect of the Constitution by taking credit for enacting laws and giving rights to the people.

"It is unfortunate that these days Congress party's 'shehzaade' (Rahul Gandhi), I don't know why, enjoys humiliating Baba Saheb Ambedkar by repeatedly saying that Congress has given this right or that right. All the rights and laws have been given to us by Ambedkar," he said.

"If someone claims that he has given any right or law for the country, then he is insulting Ambedkar. Those who do not know the Constitution, they are today taking credit for these things due to political reasons," the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate said.

Modi's comments have come at a time when Rahul Gandhi and Congress have claimed that the UPA government has given the Right to Information, Right to Education and Right to Food to the people in the country.

Follow the latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections

"I get angry when people throw ink or slap him -- but Arvind takes all this in his stride. People make fun of him and point out his mistakes, but they haven't seen his sacrifice...

''If you understand his commitment towards this country, you will not dare say anything against him."

Dr Bipin Mittal, a longtime friend and family doctor of the Aam Aadmi Party leader, tells Rediff.com about the Arvind Kejriwal few know. Read

Follow the latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections

The Election Commission's order banning two political leaders from addressing public meetings and rallies for their divisive and inflammatory speeches during the ongoing election campaign sends out a strong message to those who seek to exploit communal sentiments for electoral gains. Such resolute action is bound to find resonance with a vast majority of the people. Read

The Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh partnership has its share of complexities, but it has been an enduring one. Read

In 2004, journalist Sanjaya Baru joined Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his media adviser. The Prime Minister's Office comprised old hands as well as men who had never held important posts. To top it, the PM had to contend with another centre of power -- headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. It was an era of consensus and diplomacy -- and of unending battles, Baru writes in a new book. Excerpts from the book, on the men who formed the ring around the PM.  Read

Dr Dinanath Batra, who successfully litigated to have Penguin withdraw copies of Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa what India will be like if the BJP under Narendra Modi forms the next government. Read

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today told NDTV that  there was no proposal for her to run against Narendra Modi in Varanasi, but stressed that her family including brother Rahul have told her they would whole-heartedly back her if she ever decides to contest an election."No one in my family would ever stop me from contesting an election. My brother, mother and husband would wholeheartedly support me if I wanted to contest," she told NDTV.

"My brother has expressed to me many times that he thinks I should contest,' she said, adding that she will for now continue to focus on managing the campaigns of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in their constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

"My decision to not contest is personal. I will only change it when I feel from within I should," she said.

Senior Congress leader and party spokesperson Digvijaya Singh on Sanjaya Baru's tell-all book: "There will be no damage, do you think the public will read Sanjaya Baru's book?  Yeh sab prayojit hai, Narendra Modi ji ka paisa khoob beh raha hai (This has all been planned, Narendra Modi's money is flowing)," he said. 

Manas Chakravarty writes: It's likely that the Indian economy's 9% plus growth was an aberration, brought about as a result of a debt-fuelled global binge. Read

Nandan Nilekani paced up and down a small oval space surrounded by over a hundred garment workers, mostly women, in a dimly lit hall at the southern tip of Bangalore.

Only 10 kilometres separate the narrow lanes of Bommanahalli with their dozens of garment sweatshops from Electronics City, the headquarters of many of the country's top technology firms including Infosys, the IT giant Nilekani headed till 2007.

But the workers he was speaking to late in the morning shared little with the world of boardrooms and bureaucracy that Nilekani had inhabited till he plunged into this election, prodded by Rahul Gandhi.

Worse, his audience only understood Kannada. And Kannada is not among Nilekani's strong suits.  Read more

Celebrity has been at play in politics in south India long before Mamata Banerjee discovered its utility in the east.

So has dynasty that has found the soil fertile in almost every topographical segment in the country.

Karnataka, home to Bangalore and its new-age enterprises, has combined celebrity and dynasty to come up with a hybrid whose trial runs are being conducted during the Lok Sabha elections this time.  Read more

Two leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were attacked, one of them brutally, in separate incidents on Sunday. While stones were pelted at AAP leader Shazia Ilmi at a rally in Madhya Pradesh, party candidate from Bihar, Pranav Prakash was thrashed with iron rods. Read

Follow the latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections

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