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president of Karnataka unit ofJanata Dal (Secular).

According to Owaisi, his partyfeels that both the national parties,the BJP and Congress, have failedto live up to the expectations andhope of the people of Karnatakaand that's why they have decided tosupport the JD-S completely. "Wewill not be putting up ourcandidates," Owaisi said, addingthat he has already spoken toKumaraswamy and assured himabout his party's support to the JD-S. He said his party members,including him, would go out andaddress public meetings to garnersupport for the JD-S in theupcoming elections. "I hope people

of Karnataka would once againrepose faith in the JDS so that aqualitative change can be broughtin Karnataka. "It's in the interest ofKarnataka and in the interest of thenation that a non-Congress, non-BJPgovernment comes to power both inKarnataka and subsequently (at theCentre) whenever theparliamentary elections are held,"he added. The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) hasseven members in the TelanganaLegislative Assembly. Meanwhile,the BJP today announced itscandidates for 82 more seats for theKarnataka Assembly polls, takingto 154 the number of constituenciesfor which it has declared its

HYDERABAD, APRIL 16 /--/ TheAIMIM today announced its decisionto back the JD-S, led by former PrimeMinister H D Deve Gowda, in the May12 Karnataka Assembly elections.

The party president AsaduddinOwaisi said it has decided to supportthe JD-S after "due consideration andconsultations". Earlier, the partyhinted at fielding its own candidatesin the polls. "All our efforts andendeavour would be to ensure that theJDS gets maximum number of seats.(HD) Kumaraswamy should becomethe chief minister and the party ledby Deve Gowda should be rulingKarnataka," Owaisi said.Kumaraswamy is son of former PrimeMinister H D Deve Gowda, and is the

Karnataka polls: Owaisi'sAIMIM to back JD-S

nominees. Polls for the 224-member Assembly are scheduledfor May 12.

The BJP released its secondlist of candidates, a day after itscentral election committee methere to finalise the names of itscandidates for the high-stakeselection. The BJP on April 8 haddeclared its first list of 72nominees that included its chiefministerial candidate B SYeddyurappa, and senior leadersK S Eshwarappa and JagadishShettar. The Congress had onSunday released its list of 218candidates. The BJP is making anall-out bid to oust the Congressfrom power in the southern state.

BJP releases 2nd list of candidatesTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,APRIL 16 /--/ Medicalservices in Keralacontinued to be hit todaydue to the ongoing strikeby government doctors,even as the CPM-led LDFgovernment warned thataction will be taken if thestir was not withdrawnimmediately.

State health minister,K K Shylaja, saidgovernment would hold

Kerala docs continue stir, govt saystalks only after strike called off

talks with the doctorsonly after the strike wascalled off. Governmentdoctors in Keralalaunched an indefinitestir on April 13,protesting thesuspension of a doctor ata health centre atPalakkad and extensionof out-patient (OP) time.The services of post-graduate doctors andhouse surgeons are being

used by the governmentto attend to patientsvisiting OPs. Medicalcollege hospitals are notparticipating in thestrike. "We are coming togovernment hospitalsfrom far-off placesgetting into four buses aswe cannot afford to go toprivate hospitals. Thestrike is not against thegovernment, but againstthe poor people," apatient said.

Describing the strikeas 'illegal', the healthminister warned that thegovernment would beforced to take actionagainst the doctors. "Weare not for declaring awar with the doctors.They have gone on strikewithout giving notice,"she said. While pointingout that the governmentwas not adamant, shesaid their only conditionwas the strike should bewithdrawn first, onlyafter which anydiscussions will be held.The doctors hadchallenged the patientsby going on an agitation,she said. "There was noreason for them to launchthe agitation, anddenying treatment topatients was unfair," shetold newspersons here.

She also saidprobationary doctorsshould immediately joinduty, failing which actionwould be launchedagainst them. The KeralaGovernment MedicalOfficers Association(KGMOA) should notforce them to continuewith the strike, theminister said adding thegovernment will begincollecting from todaydetails of probationers,who were participatingin the strike.

Shylaja also said thereare about 4,000 doctorsin the list of PublicService Commission(PSC) and governmenthad sought details. Theattempt was to defeat thegovernment's 'ArdramMission' which envisagesbasic facilities to allhospitals in the State andmaking governmenthospitals patient-friendly, she said.

Measles & Rubella Vaccination campaign was conducted at Vivekananda KendraVidyalaya, Rangat in Middle Andaman on Monday. Paramedical medical staff fromthe Health Department assisted by staff of the institute vaccinated around 209 studentsduring the camp. (Pix: V SENTHIL KUMAR)

Hoax hartal call on socialmedia over Kathua incident

triggers tension in KeralaTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 16 /- -/ A 'hoax'hartal call on social media to protest the alleged gangrapeand murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu andKashmir's Kathua region triggered tension in various partsof Kerala today, prompting the police to sound a high alert.

A message had been spreading via social mediaplatforms since Sunday that a state-wide hartal against theKathua incident would be observed on Monday, urgingpeople to join the protest. Hundreds of persons were takeninto custody in various places of the southern state forblocking public transport buses, forcibly downing shuttersof shops and pelting stones at vehicles in the name ofhartal. In Kannur, police resorted to lathicharge to disperseprotesters, who also tried to barge into the Town Policestation besides trying to disrupt traffic and forcibly closingdown shops. Some police personnel, including a deputy SP,suffered injuries in the incident, police said, adding thatover 40 persons were taken into custody in this regard. Thepolice also removed posters carrying inflammatorymessages in Kannur. A KSRTC bus driver got injured instone pelting in northern Kasaragod district, the policesaid. Public vehicles were blocked and shops remainedclosed in various places in Malappuram, Kozhikode,Palakkad and Wayanad besides the capital city ofThiruvananthapuram. Protest marches holding pictures ofthe hapless rape victim were held in various places,including the Ernakulam district.

The police, however, asserted that no political party oroutfit had called for the hartal. They said that the hoaxhartal call went viral as social media users shared themessage without checking its veracity. The minor girl, whobelonged to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, haddisappeared from her house in Kathua on January 10.

HYDERABAD, APRIL 16 /--/ Police sounded an alert inHyderabad following thejudgement of a NIA courtacquitting all five accused inthe 2007 Makkah Masjidblast case.

Police beefed up thesecurity in the communallysensitive old city. More than3,000 policemen andpersonnel of paramilitary

Alert sounded in Hyderabad after Makkah Masjid blast case verdictforces were deployed as partof the security arrangements.Senior police officials weremonitoring the securityarrangements at the historicmosque located near theiconic Charminar.

Deputy commissioner ofpolice V. Satyanarayana saidthe police had taken allnecessary measures toprevent any untoward

incident. Satyanarayanasaid the police would keep aclose watch on themovement of people atsensitive places throughCCTV cameras.

He said the police woulddeal firmly with any attemptto disturb law and order. TheNIA court acquitted all fivemembers of right-wingHindu group Abhhinav

Bharat as the prosecutionfailed to prove chargesagainst them. Eleven yearsafter the powerful explosionkilled nine people andinjured more than 50 duringthe Friday prayers near theiconic Charminar here, thecourt held that none of thecharges framed against theaccused were proved. Alawyer for one of the

accused told reportersoutside the Nampallycriminal court complex herethat the court held that theprosecution failed to provethe charges.

Nine people were killedand 58 others were injuredwhen the explosion rippedthrough the mosque duringFriday prayers on May 18,2007.