being an Indian, i will not accept this happening to us, specially our leaders to be frisked by any foreign airline to do this to our leaders or any of us. They should know that they are not bigger/better than our laws and leaders. I am proud of being an Indian, but this has shocked even me. Continental Airline should realize that they will regret this very dearly, for what they have done. Our leader are not going to sit quietly on this. It will be judged, and i will be done BIG TIME.

Here is the News Coverage i found on this incident:

Former Prez Kalam frisked at Delhi airport

In what is seen as a clear violation of protocol, Former President APJ Abdul Kalam was treated as a commoner as he was frisked by the ground staff of Continental Airlines at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on April 24, 2009 at the insistence of the company’s American boss. The former President was on his way to Newark on Continental Airlines Flight CO 083. Kalam was reportedly forced to wait on

the aerobridge even as the airlines security personnel debated whether to put him under the security scanner or not. Kalam was asked to surrender before the security officials for a complete body check and remove his footwear as well. However, the Continental Airlines defended the same saying that it was a regular security check as the policy of the company is to frisk everyone. They also went on to add that there is no special rule for VIP or VVIP’s. “He had to go through the entire security check because it is our policy to frisk everyone. This is the policy Continental Airlines follows over the world. There is no special rule for VIP or VVIP. Infact, Kalam was cooperative and underwent the entire process which happened over a month ago,” said the Public Relation Officer of Continental Airlines. Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that corrective measures will be taken if anyone is found wrong. He added, “We will ask for correction action from the airlines and incase they are proven wrong, we will ask them to tender and apology.” Any airline operating in India is given a set of guidelines, which includes the point that Our Presidents and former Presidents are on the VIP list and are exempted from security checks-let alone frisking. This kind of a incident is not one of a kind. There have been instances where Indian VIPs have been treated shabbily at foreign airports. Earlier, our then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was forced to undergo security checks at the ceremonial lounge in the Moscow airport in 2008, while he was on his way back to India.

Related New I found:

Patel takes action; to apologise to Kalam

Taking a serious note of the “unpardonable” act of frisking of former President APJ Abdul Kalam at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, the government on Tuesday (July 22) slapped a show cause notice to the US-based Continental Airlines for violating guidelines. Praful Patel, the Civial Aviation Minister, while addressing the Rajya Sabha went on to say that he would personally go to Kalam and apologise for the incident. “Not only the preliminary inquiry has been ordered but we also have a preliminary report on the basis of which the Continental Airlines has been issued a show cause notice why action for willful violation should not be taken,” said Patel. Associating himself with the strong sentiments expressed in the House during Zero Hour, Patel said, “this act of frisking the former President is absolutely unpardonable and beyond the scope of laws of our country”. Patel said he would not only take action against the Airlines, but also speak to the Minister of External Affairs on the issue. Responding to Left members’ demand that the operation of Continental Airlines be suspended immediately, he said any action that India takes would be in consonance with international practice. “We cannot take action in isolation”. He said the airports security is handled by the Central Industrial Security Force and frisking happens only at the embarkation point, manned by the airlines staff. He added, “I can assure the House, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security will take most stringent action,” Patel said, adding that he would “personally explain the position and express regret to Kalam.” Patel was responding to the anguish expressed by the entire House, including Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan, over the “humiliation” meted out to the Bharat Ratna, whom they described as the tallest figure and a national hero.

Uproar in political circuits Demanding a probe into the incident, Sitaram Yechury CPI-M wondered whether the frisking had anything to do with the name Abdul Kalam. He said if that is so, it is “much more serious”. Yechury spoke out about the Kalam issue alleging bias. He also went on to say that the incident is really unfortunate. Speaking to a bunch of reporters outside the Parliament, he said, “This is a most unfortunate incident. The airline security officials may not have had knowledge that he was a former President of India. Or whether this has something to do with his name, in which case it is a more serious issue.” Meanwhile, Former Union Minister George Fernandes too reacted to former President APJ Abdul Kalam being frisked by Continental Airlines at the Delhi airport. Fernandes said that it was a disgraceful act on the part of the airline, and not just the airline but even the US government should apologise for what has happened. Fernandes himself had been frisked on a tour to the US in 2003. He said, “This is a disgrace that the American airline did so. They should not have done that. Kalam has visited America when he was a President and not just the airline but the US government should regret for this as well.” Kalam was frisked by the Airlines at the embarkation point some time back when he was going to the US. Kalam was reportedly forced to wait on the aerobridge even as the airlines security personnel debated whether to put him under the security scanner or not. Kalam was asked to surrender before the security officials for a complete body check and remove his footwear as well.

FIR against unrepentant US airline

Sources have told TIMES NOW that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has decided to file an FIR against the unrepentant Continental Airlines in connection with the the frisking of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. Even after news of India’s former President Abdul Kalam has got politicians outraged, Continental Airways has issued a letter stating how the rule of frisking passengers is a must with no exceptions. The letter by continental is unapologetic and states that the Transportation Security Administration requirements impose a final security check in the aerobridge just before boarding the aircraft. Also, the Airways has clarified that the procedure is followed by all carriers flying to the US from most of the countries in the world and there is no exemption to this rule.

The Indo-US civil nuclear deal will not be held “hostage” to India signing the CTBT, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear on Saturday.

File Photo

“No. not at all,” Clinton said in an interview to Times Now TV channel when asked if the deal would be held hostage to India signing the treaty.

“I worked very hard for the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. I am very committed to its full implementation,” she affirmed.

However, she said that during her discussions with Indian leadership in New Delhi starting on Sunday she would explore how India could help the US to ensure that nuclear material and knowledge is kept out of rogue states and non-state actors, Clinton said.

She said she would also like to find out “what is the appropriate non-proliferation programme for the future. India has the capacity to determine where it wants to go in this particular area.”

Ruling out any role for the US as a “broker” between India and Pakistan in resolving the Kashmir issue, she said “the decision has to be between India and Pakistan and it must take into account the feeling of people of Kashmir.”

Right now I am going through a little rough time. My employers are in process to terminate my services. my PIB card of journalism is seized. not worried, support of gursikhs giving me strength. parmatma sahayee hai and these hurdles are nothing. As of now i would be more comfortable in replying to others queries.

“Khalsa ji, We should not forget what happenned in 1984. It was third ghallughara against sikhs. I am not in favour to misguide our youth to wrong path but at the same time we need to learn lessons from it. we remember our shaheeds every day in our ardaas. Sikhs have always fought against injustice, not able to understand how Prime Minister is asking us to forget the massacre. Would he or his party can ask muslims to forget gujrat riots?  if not then why asking us. I don’t consider myself as a second grade citizen. Only coward sikhs can forget this massacre.” Guru Nanak Sahib said ‘je jeeve pat lathi jaaye sab haraam jeta kich khaye.’ and guru tegh bahadur sahib said ‘bhay kahoo ko det nahin nanh bhay manat aan’. If we dont follow the path of our gurus then nothing would left in sikhi. We need to live with honour.

Comments, quires, and feedback welcome.

Posted on behalf of:

Jarnail Singh,
Journalist,
New Delhi.

Officially and exclusively posted on http://www.webjassi.com

Hey friends,

These are the pics of my trip to mumbai. featuring ME [Jassi], Sonu, Sukhi, Komal, Ashish Redkar.

Today I wanted to reach out to you today regarding infrastructure. The BJP has recently released an “Infrastructure Vision”, which list out a number of recycled ideas for India’s infrastructure. The BJP has alleged that “the UPA rule has proved to be a disaster for infrastructure development”.

Successful Congress Leaders

Once again, the BJP is providing blatant untruths in order to mislead you, as it has little to show for its own performance when in power.

The document in the attached link puts forward some facts that show how the Congress-led UPA government outperformed the BJP-led NDA government in every sphere of infrastructure development.

Who has worked on improving India’s Infrastructure – Congress-led UPA or BJP-led NDA? Some Facts

You will notice that the UPA has invested almost 80% more on infrastructure than the NDA did. The UPA has shown far better results across infrastructure sectors, such as telecom, power, roads and ports.

Once again, I hope you will note that the facts speak for themselves.

Please feel free to share both these documents with others, in order to generate informed discussion and decision-making.

Data Source: Congress

I have had the chance to assess in detail some of the claims being made by the BJP on the work done by the Congress-led UPA government on the economy, and I think it is safe to say that there is at least one party that adheres strongly to the belief that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will come to start believing it.

Congress (INC)

In response to 5 big myths that the BJP is attempting to propagate, we have prepared a short document that lays out the facts. The full document is available on: Five Myths About the Economy Propagated by the BJP

The following is a brief summary.

Myth 1: The Congress has “mismanaged the economy and it is in recession”
Fact: The BJP’s claim of the economy being in recession is both technically and substantively untrue. India’s average economic growth rate during the five years of the UPA government was 8.5%, compared to 5.8% under the NDA. Even in the last year of the UPA government, when the world economy went into recession, India’s growth remains resilient (and was higher than it was during the NDA regime).

Myth 2: The Congress led government has “hobbled both the organised and unorganised sectors of the Indian economy”
Fact: The growth rate of the industry and services sectors increased from 5.0% and 7.7.% under the NDA to 7.8% and 10.5% under the UPA respectively. In addition, the UPA instituted landmark programmes for the unorganised sector (such as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for workers) which did not exist under the NDA.

Myth 3: The Congress’ “fiscal indiscipline has resulted in frittering away the tremendous gains of the NDA years”
Fact: The UPA has actually reduced the fiscal deficit from 6.0% under the NDA to 4.5% under the UPA. The UPA has done this even as it as substantially increased funds for social programmes such as the SSA, NHRM, NREGA, Bharat Nirman, etc. and has given much higher sums of money to all State governments (Rs 544,000 crore more than the NDA).

Myth 4: The agriculture sector (is) “suffering on account of the Congress’ gross negligence”
Fact: Agriculture growth rate has actually increased significantly under the UPA government to 3.1 % as opposed to 2.3% under the NDA. for wheat and paddy, for example, the MSP was increased by 71% and 68% respectively. The UPA also implemented the historic farm loan waiver programme benefitting 3.68 crore farmer families.

Myth 5: The UPA Government has given a “step motherly treatment to BJP ruled states” during its rule
Fact: The Congress led UPA Government has given more funds to the BJP ruled states than the NDA government even conceived of giving. The Congress-led UPA government increased Central Funding to the four BJP-ruled States . Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Rajasthan . by 63% (increase of Rs 73,824 crore) in its tenure, compared to the NDA government.

As always, please feel free to share this document with others, in order to generate informed discussion and decision-making.

Data Source: Congress

A “Virtual Gurdwara” on the Web where anyone can come at any time and be in the presence of the Guru through Gurdwara services from around the world – Kirtan, Ardaas, Hukum – all broadcast live 24/7.

Now we have come a bit closer to that vision by launching a brand new multi-channel SikhNet Radio service that allows Gurdwaras around the world to broadcast their daily Kirtan program live on the internet. Live broadcast streams from six Gurdwaras in India, Canada, and the USA. So any time of the day or night you can tune into Kirtan that is happening live somewhere in the world! In addition to the live Gurdwara broadcasts.

Goal is to create a network where you can watch or listen to Gurbani Kirtan live, in real-time from Gurdwaras all over the world. Each Gurdwara becomes a “Channel” (Like a TV Channel) on the SikhNet Radio Network, and will be featured on SikhNet.com, so thousands of people can listen in from all over.

Channel 1 –All Gurbani Styles
Hear all different types of Gurbani music from hundreds of different musicians. This is the original SikhNet Radio channel that you have gotten used to hearing all these years.
Channel 2 –Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)
Live Harmander Sahib Broadcast

Live  Harmandir Sahib Broadcast
(LIVE 3:30 AM to 8:00 AM – Evening 05:30 PM to 8:00 PM)