News in brief from across Gujarat (updated)

Ahmedabad, 2 January 2013

-Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi will flag off Reliance Sabarmati Marathon Amdavad 2014 on Thursday, January 5th at 5.45 am at Sabarmati Riverfront.

-Gujarat Parivartan Party today held a meeting which was again not attended by party president Keshubhai Patel.

-A local court in Ahmedabad today accepted the jurisdiction of a criminal defamation suit filed by suspended Gujarat IAS officer Pradeep Sharma against columnist-activist Madhu Kishwar with regard to the snooping scandal. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) H G Pandya today while deciding the jurisdiction issue of the suit, said it is maintainable. The court had heard arguments by Sharma’s counsel regarding the jurisdiction of the matter and had reserved its order for today on December 5.

-The city of Surat continued to witness strike of rickshaws over gas price on second day. The strike was also effective in some central and south Gujarat towns including Bharuch. However late in the evening on Thursday, with the intervention of local MP, Mayor and others, rickshaw drivers withdrew their strike.

-Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has expelled 20 employees of Engineering department and 28 employees of Health department on strike. The employees were on strike under the banner of anti-Modi govt lawyer and NGO operator Mukul Sinha.