Denying his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, accused Faheem Ansari on Monday alleged in the trial court that he was forced by the police to prepare a map of target locations after he was arrested in this case. "I am innocent and have not committed any crime," said Ansari in reply to questions put to him by the court on evidence presented against him by the prosecution. The accused said it was not true that he had obtained a Pakistani passport.
Apparently exasperated over frequent disruptions, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has called an all-party meet on Monday to discuss possible changes in rules for smooth running of House.
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which undertook the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, sent out e-mails to all its operatives and supporters following the terror strike.
Besides, various representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and their allies are also aiding in hand-delivering the invitations.
India and China have to narrow down differences and build on convergences by exploiting the potential of Panchsheel, the five principles of peaceful co-existence propounded by the two countries along with Myanmar in 1954, Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Saturday.
Though the Mumbai police have sought for the custody of Sabahuddin first, Ansari's interrogation will be the key to the Mumbai terror attack case. While Sabahuddin played the role of a financer more than a plotter, Ansari is the man who did the recce in Mumbai and also prepared sketches of the locations that were attacked on 2/11/2008.
The vice-president will be the second Indian to be accorded the honour at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Nikhil Lakshman reports.
A sessions court in Mumbai has issued warrants against Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed asking the Uttar Pradesh police to produce the duo on September 23, as the Bombay high court has admitted state's appeal against their acquittal in the 26/11 terror attack case.
Pained by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's critical remarks against him, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said it would be difficult for him to work in such circumstances.
Ahsan Ullah Khan, the additional district and session judge of the MP-MLA court in Sonbhadra, also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Gond which would be used in the rape survivor's rehabilitation.
Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and conveyed the new Indian government's interest in furthering bilateral ties, even as he flagged off India's concerns over border related issues during his parleys with the top leadership in Beijing.
Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, acquitted in the 26/11 attacks case and currently lodged in Arthur Road jail, are yet to be shifted to Uttar Pradesh prisons as the Mumbai police have still not decided on their escorting team, sources said. Fahim and Sabauddin, allegedly involved in the terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force camp at Rampur in UP on December 31, 2007, were brought to Mumbai in December 2008.
The Calcutta High Court on Friday upheld death sentences for key accused Aftab Ansari and close aide Jamiluddin Nasir convicted of involvement in a 2002 attack on American Centre in Kolkata in which six policemen were killed.
Trinamool Congress, a major constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Monday night decided to support the alliance's vice presidential poll candidate Hamid Ansari but oppose any decision to open the multibrand retail to FDI and bills on forward marketing in commodities and privatisation of pension fund in the monsoon session of Parliament.
Modi referred to the Lok Sabha polls as a "Kurukshetra (battle)" in which "there is development on one hand and 'vote jihad' on the other".
The Hurriyat chairman said a final decision would be taken only after a formal invitation from the Centre and consultations within the separatist amalgam.
Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday left on a five-day visit to China where he will hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart Li Yuanchao and attend events to mark the 60th anniversary of Panchsheel agreement.
VP Hamid Ansari's office clarified that he was not invited to the yoga day event in the capital after his absence was questioned.
Considered an intellectual with Left-of-the-Centre inclination, Ansari has carved out a distinct place for himself as a diplomat, academician and a writer specialising in international issues.
The 70-year-old Ansari was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top leaders at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
In the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, there were 135 women candidates while in the second phase, there were 100 women candidates, bringing the combined total for the first two phases to 235 women candidates.
Setting aside its differences with the Congress, the YSR Congress Party of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednessay decided to support the candidatures of United Progressive Alliance candidates -- Pranab Mukherjee for president and Hamid Ansari for vice president.
Vice President Hamid Ansari will file nomination papers on Wednesday for his re-election to the post amid expectations in the United Progressive Alliance that he is set for a comfortable win.
A meeting of leaders of political parties, called by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to break the deadlock in the House over coal block allocation issue, remained inconclusive on Thursday.
"I look forward to discharging my duties as Vice-President of the India and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to the best of my abilities. I will urge all the members of the House to work towrads the realisation of the aspirations of the people of India, all sections of the people of India," Ansari told media persons in New Delhi
The upholding of acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed Shaikh by the Supreme Court on Wednesday left Mumbai police's elite crime branch red faced after it linked the duo with the 26/11 attacks.
It is no surprise why Left parties have chosen to impose him on the UPA as the consensual candidate.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist and Forward Bloc on Monday declared their support for incumbent Hamid Ansari in the Vice Presidential poll but another Left party Revolutionary Socialist Party will abstain.
University Grants Commission Member M M Ansari has lashed out at Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, accusing her of "abruptly" discontinuing mid-session teaching of German language in Central schools and said her tenure so far as been "far from satisfactory".
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Aam Admi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev were among the first few to cast their votes in the Delhi assembly election on Wednesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav, who had criticised Vice President Hamid Ansari for not attending the main yoga day celebrations here on June 21, called on him on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted the nation on New Year, hoping that 2016 brings peace and prosperity in everybody's lives.
'Patriotism is like love: When it has to be enforced, it isn't real.' 'And the enforcement of a homogeneous view of love for the country is a particularly divisive feature that has ripped apart societies throughout history.'
Rajya Sabha Secretary General Yogendra Narain is the returning officer for the vice presidential election.
On Monday, special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam said that he would be recommending the state to initiate appeal against the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed before the Supreme Court.
The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) has busted an Al Qaeda module and arrested four members who hail from Bangladesh but have been living illegally in Ahmedabad, an official said on Monday.
Mohammed Hamid Ansari found himself homeless after being sworn-in as vice-president and was taken to Haryana Bhavan, which will serve as a makeshift residence for him for the time being.
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