Cancer ‘curse’ on governor

Bhopal: When the Madhya Pradesh governor recently put the curse of cancer on the corrupt, he may have pictured himself as bravely hitting out at politicians and bureaucrats. Instead, Balram Jakhar is being accused of insulting cancer patients.

The 83-year-old Congress veteran had told a public meeting in Indore that those amassing wealth dishonestly would die of cancer.

t has led to the Indore mayor, Dr Uma Shashi, and fellow doctors attacking Jakhar for being insensitive towards cancer patients. Dr Vinod Kumar of Indore’s Palisa area said: “There is no link between a particular disease and a person’s integrity.”

Jakhar’s defence is that he had only resorted to a manner of speaking. “When I say the corrupt will die of cancer, I mean ‘Keep away from corruption and dishonesty’.”

Sources said Jakhar had been upset by a series of events, one of them being the unseemly scramble for the post of vice-chancellor for Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai University.

Gandhigiri pill for Coca-Cola

Jaipur (PTI): Accusing Coca-Cola of exploiting groundwater in the area, an NGO plans to garland truck drivers carrying its products and request them to take the consignments back.

“Thousands of bottles... are loaded every day from the Kaladera plant but despite a number of agitations... the company has not taken any corrective measures,” said Sawai Singh, convener of the NGO Rajasthan Smagra Seva that plans to hold the protest on Saturday.

He said there would be no violence as they were devoted to Gandhigiri.

Pollution ban

Srinagar (PTI): Registrations of nearly 600 trucks have been cancelled by the regional transport office in compliance with a high court order on pollution control norms.

The court had directed cancellation of all 25-year-old commercial vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir as they posed pollution hazards.

Thackeray case

Mumbai (PTI): A court has issued summons to Bal Thackeray to appear before it on February 8 in a case of contempt of court. Advocate Munna Tripathi has alleged in his petition that Thackeray had said at a rally that courts issued him summons but he appeared as and when he desired.

Pakistani robbed

Kanpur (PTI): A Pakistani was robbed on the Mahabodhi Express by a woman and her accomplices who allegedly forced him to inhale chloroform. Kallo, who arrived in New Delhi by the Samjhauta Express, is in hospital.

About 40 sailors from the Southern Naval Command band will perform in Kochi on Saturday as part of Navy Week celebrations. They will play martial, classical, jazz, pop and film music.