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38 students get degrees at convocation ceremony of Punjab University correspondence school.

As many as 38 meritorious students received the degrees during the convocation. A large number of students received prizes and many amongst them were girls.

University School of Open Learning (USOL), Panjab University (PU), celebrated its third Annual Convocation and 43rd Annual Prize Distribution Function on Tuesday.

As many as 38 meritorious students received the degrees during the convocation. A large number of students received prizes and many amongst them were girls.

Prizes were awarded for academic excellence, creative writing, public speaking and recitation.

In its academic journey since 1971, USOL has been catering to all sections of the society and has as many as forty courses which includes eighteen post-graduate, eight undergraduate and many professional and certificate courses. USOL now has more than 22,000 students on its rolls. Padma Shri recipient, PU Gyan Rattan Awardee and a former Vice-Chancellor of GNDU, Amritsar, Professor JS Grewal delivered the convocation address. In his address, he traced the illustrious history of the open and distance learning systems at both the national and international levels.

 Addressing the convocation, PU Vice Chancellor, Professor Arun Kumar Grover, said that the optimum use of technology and the introduction of state of the art facilities would certainly double the number of students enrolled for USOL. He said that the open learning was the need of the hour and it could enable the peer group of open learning students to interact in a healthy way.

Founder Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Punjab, Professor Jai Rup Singh was the Chief Guest at the annual prize distribution function.

Professor Jai Rup Singh described USOL as a Mini University catering to various needs of different sections of society. He analysed the connecting links between the rise in population, the increase in the number of colleges and universities but the decline in the quality graph of education.

He traced this decline to the decreasing grant from the state and the rise of commercial centres of education run by private managements. He advocated the motto of each one, teach one. 

ICC World Twenty20: Bachchan wants Gayle hundred, Indian win. Check out how Gayle responded to Big B

Chris Gayle had earlier smashed the fastest ICC World Twenty20 hundred against England. His form against India will be key for West Indies in the second semi-final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

West Indies batting star Chris Gayle dropped in to meet Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan in his Mumbai residence yesterday, days before his side's ICC World Twenty20 clash against India at the city's Wankhede Stadium. (Full World T20 Coverage )

Gayle, who blasted the fastest World T20 hundred against England at the same venue in their opening match in this edition, is widely loved and adored in India, thanks to his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

Bachchan, known fondly as Big B, has been one of Team India's most vocal celebrity supporters. He was present at the Eden Gardens for the marquee India-Pakistan clash and even sung the national anthem before the start of the game. The senior actor was recently in the news when he joined several other fans in slamming Andrew Flintoff after he trolled Virat Kohli on Twitter. (Also read: Virat Kohli back as top-ranked T20I batsman )

Both Bachchan and Gayle took to social media to share a picture of them posing together.

Gayle thanked Bachchan for his hospitality and revealed that the actor wanted him to score a hundred but hoped for an Indian victory. Gayle said he would much rather take the win instead of the ton.

Gayle did not bat against Sri Lanka, missed out against South Africa and scored only 4 against Afghanistan. But if he returns to any of the form that saw him destroy England with a 48-ball hundred at the Wankhede Stadium, India could bid their chances of winning the World T20 goodbye.

Voters turn up in droves to greet 'Mr Clean' Bratya Basu

Kolkata: Bratya Basu is known for being an actor, a theatre personality, a politician and a key minister. But on the campaign trail, his supporters tried to portray a completely different identity of him in the consciousness of the voters in Dum Dum, that of a teacher.
 

As his campaign rally crawled through the winding lanes of Dum Dum, a lieutenant stressed on the word, "adhyapak (teacher)", every time he urged residents to vote for Basu, who used to teach Bengali at City College. Sporting a printed blue shirt and a pair of black trousers, Basu stood in an open-hood jeep as he reached out to his electorate. "He is a gentleman. Unlike the trend in the party, he has kept himself away from any major controversy," said a party worker.
 

It was, however, difficult to say if the huge turnout for the 3-km road show between St Mary's School on Dum Dum Road and Dum Dum Cantonment was owing to the minister's "unblemished record" or a massive mobilisation drive by the local party unit. But the spontaneity among his supporters was palpable. As the jeep, with Trinamool flags fluttering on the bonnet, crawled through the narrow R N Guha Road, women stood on either side, blowing conch shells and showering flower petals on Basu. "He is a regular in the area. He visits here on Tuesdays when he meets people and tries to redress their grievances," said Subhra Naskar, whose husband sells phuchka in Baguiati.
 

The hundreds of youths who accompanied Basu on the road show belonged to a local club that had received largesse from the government apparently for development. "He made sure that every club in Dum Dum received grants from the government," said Bablu Sau, an unemployed youth who lives at Kalindi off Jessore Road.

But not all are happy with Basu's work in the past few years. "Only houses have come up in the name of development. The drains are clogged, the roads are cratered," said a resident, pointing to the potholed streets. His discontent could have some truth in the rows of new buildings and construction material dumped by the roads.

Poll veterans in Dum Dum felt that Basu's path to his second term in politics might be undulated but he would successfully manoeuvre the blocks this time.

Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat requests Governor KK Paul to allow them to prove majority

  

Rawat also claimed that they have full majority and all their members are intact. The figures

being touted (about our government's strength being reduced) are totally wrong, he said.

President's Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand today after days of political uncertainty

triggered by a rebellion in the ruling Congress, prompting Rawat to accuse the 

BJP-led central government of murdering democracy.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan source said President Pranab Mukherjee approved the union 

cabinet's decision to dismiss the Rawat-led Congress government. The cabinet

met Saturday night with Prime Minister NarendraModi in the chair and recommended

central rule in the hill state.

The president signed the proclamation, which also recommended placing the state

assembly in suspended animation, the source said. This is Uttarakhand's first 

experience with President's Rule since it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Governor KK Paul, the chief minister did not

spare the central government and Prime Minister Modi too.

Modi had the "blood of the aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand on his hands", 

he said, alleging that the BJP-led central government slashed the budget for his state 

and even cut funds for the restoration of the Kedarnath temple, devastated by the 2013 

flash floods, and the Kumbh Mela.

He hinted that the Congress may move court against the decision to impose President's Rule.

"We will take support to all legal options. This will be decided by our advocates. I was 

heading a very delicate majority. If Congress comes back to power, we will increase the Vidhan 

Sabha seats from 70 to 90."

The central government justified the Uttarakhand decision, saying the state was "a textbook

 case for enforcing President's Rule" on grounds of "breakdown of governance".

"I believe there cannot be a better example (for implementing President's Rule)," Finance 

Minister Arun Jaitley said in New Delhi. "For the last nine days, the constitution was being 

violated in Uttarakhand."

The crisis in the state began when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister 

Vijay Bahuguna, who Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was happy to support them.

On March 18, things came to a head when the assembly passed the budget appropriation 

bill by voice vote even as more than half the members in the house sought a division, which 

would have led to recorded voting.

The rebel Congress lawmakers supported the BJP's demand for a conscience vote. Speaker 

Govind Kunjwal declined the request.

Before the rebellion, the Congress had 36 members in the 70-member house and the BJP 31. 

With nine of its lawmakers aligning with the BJP, the Congress was left with 27 and six from 

smaller parties backing the Rawat government. The chief minister was asked to prove his 

majority on Monday but the central government decided to act a day earlier.

On Saturday, the 69-year-old chief minister was shown striking an alleged multi-crore rupees 

deal for bringing the rebels back into the party. The sting operation was aired by an Uttarakhand 

channel.

The Congress leader denied the allegation and accused the BJP of "buying" the Congress rebels 

to topple his government. He said his two former colleagues - Bahuguna and Harak Singh 

Rawat - had connived with the BJP.

The Congress said it was not surprised.

"The real desire of the government of India is to bring down duly-elected governments of small 

states in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner," party general secretary Ambika Soni said.

"At every step, constitutional rules have been broken...it is so glaring for everyone to see."

The Uttarakhand decision also came under fire from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said his party was not averse to forming the next 

government in Uttarakhand if given an opportunity.

Congress moves High Court against President's Rule in Uttarakhand

Top Congress leaders and lawyers Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal today moved the High Court in Nainital against the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand.

A day after President's Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Harish Rawat is likely to meet Governor KK Paul today.

Senior party leader Kapil Sibal said President's Rule was imposed a day before the floor test in the Uttarakhand Assembly as the Centre knew that Chief Minister Harish Rawat would be able to prove his majority.

"We will approach the courts. We will file a petition challenging the imposition of President's Rule in the state and demand its revocation," he said.

"We will explain the law to them in court. We will show the court that the people in the central government are the ones responsible for destabilising every state which is under Congress rule because their policy is to have 'Congress mukt Bharat'.

"I am shocked that any government which believes in democracy and believes in the Constitution would seek to wipe off the legacy of a party," Sibal said, alleging that BJP is a "past master in the art of horse-trading".

The senior lawyer, who has been representing the party in Supreme Court in the Arunachal Pradesh case, added that he will also raise the issue there and tell the court that the Centre will "replicate" the model in other states as well.

Capping a nine-day high-voltage political drama, the Centre on Sunday brought Uttarakhand under President's rule citing a Constitutional breakdown in the state.

President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and placing the Assembly under suspended animation on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.

Relief for Congress as Uttarakhand High Court orders fresh floor test

Relief for Congress as Uttarakhand High Court orders fresh floor test on Thursday

In a major relief to the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand, the High court today asked for a fresh floor test in the state Assembly on Thursday, two days after the state was put under President's Rule.

Hearing a petition by Rawat, the court also said that all nine Congress rebels who were disqualified by the speaker will be allowed to take part in the vote. It said the result of the voting should be presented to the court on April 1.

On Monday, a single bench of Justice US Dhyani had admitted a Congress petition on the imposition of the President's Rule and directed the Centre to file a counter reply. Rawat was represented by senior Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi while the central government was represented by Assistant Solicitor General Rakesh Thapaliyal.

During the proceedings, Singhvi cited the cases of Rameshwar Nath in Bihar and SR Bommai case in Karnataka and said that a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had ruled that the proving of majority was to be done on the Assembly floor.

He contended that the Harish Rawat-led Congress government was dismissed on the eve of a floor test to save the nine rebel Congress MLAs and prevent the government from proving its majority in the Assembly.

Singhvi pointed out that the rebel Congress legislators were taken in a chartered plane and seen "in public domain" with the BJP MLAs. He pleaded that after the disqualification of nine legislators by Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, the house strength was down to 61.

The crisis in the hill state erupted on March 18 when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against Rawat's government, resulting in flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The BJP met the Governor the same day and staked claim to form the government.

However, the Centre imposed President's Rule last Sunday, a day before Rawat was supposed to take the floor test in the Assembly.