Quote:Of the Congress's 36 legislators who have resigned, 11 are ministers. From the TDP ranks, four had quit Sunday, taking the number of legislators from the region who have quit to 73.



Telangana accounts for 119 legislators in the 294-member assembly. The Congress has 52 members, including two of the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), which recently joined with the ruling party.



TDP has 37 members from the region while Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has 11.



All 33 legislators of TDP and 36 of the Congress party submitted their resignations to Deputy Speaker Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka as Speaker N. Manohar is in the US.

Quote:The Kerala Women's Code Bill 2011 maintains that violation of family norms will be deemed a legal disqualification and parents will not be eligible to receive any benefits from government. It insists on that religious and political outfits should not be allowed to discourage population planning and any such effort on their part should be censured by the governor.



The report reads, "No person or institution shall use religion, region, sect, cast, cult or other ulterior inducements for the bearing of more children".



The commission was constituted following a state government order issued on August 7, 2010 to prepare a code for the rights and responsibilities of children and women. Those parents who violate the norms will be regarded as 'legally disqualified person''. The report specifies that children will not be disentitled to any of their rights or claims. It is also suggested to provide a cash incentive of Rs 5,000 to women who marry after the age of 19 and their first child after 20. This benefit will be available for the first two children. Couples below poverty line, who marry after the age of 20 and have their first child after the mother attains the age of 21 will be given Rs 5,000.

Quote:[left]Terming the recommendation as anti-democratic, Sunni leader Mr Abdul Samath Pookunju said that the report was against the secular and democratic concept of the country. "It is against the Islamic belief and if the government implements any step that will reduce the number of children,[color="#FF0000"] we will be forced to react to it violently[/color],’’ he said.



Indian Muslim League leader and industries minister Mr PK Kunjalikutty was also up in arms against the panel’s proposal. "We cannot accept the recommendation as it is against our faith. I hope that the government will discuss with all parties concerned before taking a decision.’’



Kerala Catholic Bishop Council chairman Bishop Mar Andrews Thazathu minced no words in criticising the proposal. "The proposal will erase humanity from the earth. It is against the will of god and killing foetuses is a grave sin. We won’t allow such a step from any quarters," warned the pontiff.[/left]

Quote:The Congress got its first blow in Uttar Pradesh before the assembly election next year when two of its leaders crossed over to the BJP on Wednesday.



This must have come as a shock for the party because the two leaders were from the parliamentary constituency of Rahul Gandhi.



Rashmi Singh, block pramukh of Amethi, and Dal Bahadur Kori, an important leader from the Tiloi assembly constituency, joined the BJP in the presence of party vice-president Vinay Katiyar.



The Congress claimed their desertion would make no difference to the party. It said the two leaders switched loyalty because they had been denied tickets from the Amethi and Tiloi constituencies. "Those who are with us only for poll tickets may be disappointed. It is good if they leave now," UP Congress spokesperson Subodh Srivastava said.



But Rashmi said she left the party as it doesn't respect grassroots leaders. "Despite having mass following in rural areas, I was feeling suffocated in the Congress.



There are either VIPs or helpless workers. There is no middle-level cadre. I left as soon as I found a better option." "I've given decades to the Congress and got only humiliation in return. So I left it," Kori said.

Quote:KOCHI: If Justice Krishna Iyer-led panel’s recommendation of a fine of Rs 10,000 (and the three-month imprisonment) for having a third child as part of the draft Women’s Code Bill had many fuming there is another cash offer that has not quite made news till date.



The Kalpetta-based St Vincent De Paul Forane parish in Wayanad has already offered a reward of Rs 10,000 by way of a fixed deposit for those couples going in for their fifth child.



In a bid to get the parishioners to get over any sense of shame for having many children as in the olden days, the parish has a pat for those who make it to the fourth child stage by way of honouring them at a meeting of the parish members.



And for those who beget the fifth child the church takes that extra step - a fixed deposit can be redeemed after 18 years.



According to a banker, a Rs 10,000 deposit over 18 years at current rates will fetch Rs 54,195.



Salu Abraham Mecheril, Malabar Region coordinator of Pro Life Committee of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), coordinator of the scheme, said it was not an attempt to induce couples to have more children by offering money but just a recognition for them.



“It matters that we have more members in the community. If we study the population, we can see that the numbers of members in the Nair and Namboodiri communities have come down after family planning was launched,” he said.