Heartland storm over varsity name

Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government?s decision to rename Lucknow University after former chief minister Chandra Bhanu Gupta has triggered a string of protests, reports our special correspondent.

While Opposition parties are sniffing caste motives, the academic circle is frowning on “undesirable political interference”.

The Lucknow University executive council has refused to accept the proposal with members saying that changing the institution’s name would amount to loss of identity.

The Samajwadi Party government apparently decided to name the university after Gupta as it considers him to be the architect of modern Lucknow.

BJP legislator Narendra Singh Gaur said the move was a “dishonour” to the university as Gupta was not an educationist. The Bahujan Samaj Party alleged that Mulayam Singh Yadav was trying to appease the Vaishya caste by renaming the university after a leader from the community at a time when the BSP was going all out to woo the group.

SC slams poll official’s trick

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has taken serious note of a returning officer?s ploy to reject the nomination papers of a BJP candidate for the Uttaranchal Assembly elections in 2002.

The candidate, Anil Baluni, said in his plea that the returning officer at the Kotdwar constituency had marked his nomination papers valid (vaidh in Hindi) in front of him. However, after he left the room, “aa” was added before vaidh to make it aavaidh (invalid).

Forensic tests later confirmed that “aa” was added some time after vaidh was written.

The court subsequently set aside the election of Surendra Singh Negi of Congress from the seat.

Flight blaze

Amritsar (PTI): Nearly 250 passengers of a Canada-bound Air-India flight from New Delhi via Amritsar had a close shave when one of its wheels caught fire soon after it landed at the International Rajasansi Airport here.

The blaze was soon brought under control and all passengers are safe.

Cops detained

Shivpuri (PTI): A group of women detained two policemen in confinement for two hours after they allegedly beat up two persons, including a 12-year-old, at Khyawada village in Madhya Pradesh. The protesters staged a roadblock after the policemen were rescued.

Double murder

Mumbai (PTI): A sessions court has acquitted a beggar in a case of double murder because of contradictory evidence. Sanjay Das was accused of beating to death fellow beggars Moharum Shah and Abdul Khan on July 9, 2004.

Five US universities, including the University of California, have inked a three-year pact with the Amrita University in Tamil Nadu to promote science and education through e-learning.