Nominees with criminal charges galore in Bihar

IIM-Bangalore professor and Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) chairman Trilochan Sastry on Saturday admitted that election-watchers had their limitations in differentiating between the history-sheeter candidates contesting polls and political and social activists chargesheeted in various criminal cases involving some untoward incidents in course of their political and social agitations.

Attributing such a handicap to the absence of a seperate code for the political incidents in the Indian Penal Code, Sastry said as sections of the same Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) applied to both categories of wrong doers hardened criminals and those involved in criminal cases in course of their social and political activism, differentiation is next to impossible under the present laws.

Releasing a joint ADR and National Election Watch on Bihar Elections report, Sastry put forth a party-wise data of the candidates facing criminal charges contesting election in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. According to the data relating to the first phase of polls released by the two organisations, 16 out of 90 Independent candidates fall under such category.

Six out of eight nominees of the ruling JD(U) in the first phase are facing criminal charges. CPI-ML (Liberation) has same number of aspirants facing criminal charges as of JD(U). Six out of 10 RJD nominees contesting first phase of elections, too, are facing criminal charges. In case of BSP, this number is of five out of a dozen aspirants. Five out of the elevan Congress nominees are facing criminal charges, while one out of two LJP nominees contesting in first phase of elections is facing criminal charges, says the report.

On the basis of the affidavits filed by candidate with the election commission, the two organizations also released the name of 23 candidates having Rs one crore-plus wealth and assets.

Kirti Azad to contest from Darbhanga in Bihar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Darbhanga in Bihar. The party Thursday released its list of candidates for 15 constituencies in four states.

BJP president Rajnath Singh finalised the list at a meeting here. The party announced seven candidates for Delhi, three for Gujarat, two for Jammu and Kashmir, and three for Bihar.

BJP general secretary Vijay Goel has been given a ticket from the New Delhi constituency. Goel was initially considered for the Chandni Chowk seat but he wanted to contest from the New Delhi seat.

The general elections will be held April 16-May 13 in five phases. The counting of votes across the country will take place May 16.

60 expelled on first day of +2 exams in Bihar

At least 60 examinees were on Monday expelled for using unfair means on the first day of plus two examinations, being conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

According to the BSEB control room, eight examinees were expelled at Munger, five at Bhagalpur, four at Ara, three at Patna, 11 at Muzaffarpur, eight at Siwan, one at Samastipur, 17 at Saharsa, two at Nawada and one examinee was expelled at Sheohar.

Altogether 5,82,309 examinees are appearing at the Intermediate examinations at 459 examination centres across the state. Compared to last year, 72,000 more examinees are appearing at the examination this year.

Discovery Channel to telecast film on Bihar's Super 30

The success story of a Bihar-based coaching institute will be telecast by Discovery Channel this weekend, showing how its underprivileged and marginalised students make their way to India's premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).

"The Discovery Channel would telecast the inspiring story of Super 30 Sunday afternoon and March 21 and 29. This is the first time Discovery has chosen something positive from Bihar for telecast," said Anand Kumar, who runs the institute, called Super 30.

Super 30 selects a group of 30 IIT aspirants from poor and marginalised families and provides free coaching, food and accommodation. Last year all the students of Super 30 passed the highly competitive IIT entrance exam.

"It was the first time that Super 30 achieved 100 percent success. The success of Super 30 lies in hard work and proper guidance for achieving excellent result," Kumar said.

An hour-long documentary, produced by Veronica Hall and directed by Christopher Mitchell, captured all aspects of the mission started by mathematician Anand Kumar seven years ago. The film, shot over a year, shows how the students develop confidence in themselves despite their impoverished backgrounds.

"It is a very inspiring story which the people would certainly like to see and know. This is the reason Discovery decided to show a one-hour documentary on the successful experiment of Anand, which has shaped many lives," said Rajiv Bakshi of the Discovery Channel.

Director of the film Christopher Mitchell said the film had evoked tremendous response.

"Super 30 is an amazing initiative and it needs to be taken to maximum people around the globe," said Mitchell, whose film also bagged the Audience Choice Award at the sixth Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.link

Three killed, 24 injured during Holi in Bihar

Holi celebrations in Bihar turned bloody today as three persons were killed and 24 others injured in separate incidents.

Govind Yadav (40) and Narayan Yadav (45), two brothers, were shot dead and six others injured when people from two castes clashed over mud-throwing at Asahni village in Chhapra district, police said.

In another incident, a child received gunshot injuries and 18 others were injured in a clash following a quarrel over Holi celebrations at Rivilganj bazaar.

A youth was shot dead by three gunmen after he resisted uprooting of plants from his land for 'holika dahan' (a ritual symbolic of destruction of evil) at a village in Nawada district last night.

While Holi was celebrated in the rest of Bihar peacefully, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his bete noire RJD supremo Lalu Prasad refrained from celebrating the festival to empathise with the victims of Kosi floods and Mumbai terror strike.link

Bihars folk music industry booms ahead of Holi

With festival of colors just round the corner, markets in Bihar are selling a variety of folk music in celebration of Holi. India's most vibrant festival of colors indicates the end of winter and onset of spring. The festival is also called Phaag Utsav as it falls in the phagun month of the Hindu calendar. The zeal and enthusiasm of Holi celebrations is translated into a lot of singing and dancing. Cashing in on the mood, music companies have flooded markets with both audio and video CD’’s of popular Holi songs. We sell both kinds of music CD’’s and cassettes, one of songs which are clean and another ones, bordering on vulgarity. But nowadays, people prefer to buy music laced with crudity and bordering on vulgarity and the sale of such cassettes and CD’’s is much more as compared to those of clean songs, said Iqbal Ahmed, a shopkeeper. Songs add tempo to the celebrations as people shed inhibitions and dance and revel. Mostly, fast with loud beats find favor with the locals and set the right mood for the festivities. Holi is a festival of enjoyment and fun and frolic. People like listening to vulgar songs as those songs have loud beats which are good to listen to. So we purchase these cassettes to enjoy, said Deepak Kumar, a customer. Holi, which is celebrated to mark the triumph of good over evil, would be celebrated across the country on March 11.link

Class 10 student gives birth in examination hall

An 18-year-old appearing for class 10 exams in Bihar's Madhepura district gave birth to a child in the examination hall, official sources said on Friday.

Suchita Kumar gave birth to a boy in the exam hall on Thursday at Keshav Kanya Balika Uccha Vidhyalaya in Madhepura town.

Nageshwari Devi, Suchita's mother, said: "She was expected to give birth anytime after Wednesday. But she was determined to appear for the exams."link