CHENNAI, APR 12 (UNI) British warships - HMS Exeter and RFA Grey Rover - will visit the city from April 15 to 17 to brief and prepare with the India Navy's eastern fleet for the Indo-UK exercise Konkan off Chennai from April 17 to 19.
Indian Navy ships, submarines and aircraft of the eastern naval command would join in the most significant Indo-UK naval exercise for over 20 years, according to a release here.
Commodore Thayi Hari, the naval officer in charge (Tamil Nadu), said 'our two Navies have a lot in common with regard to Naval traditions, administrative philosophy and operational procedures.
I am certain that the two Navies, both very capable and technologically advanced, would exercise efficiently to concretise procedures for future joint operations'.
The joint exercise was intended to expand the growing interaction between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy, as well as renew historical and goodwill ties.
Apart from meeting professionally at sea, the two Navies would discuss areas of mutual interest, engage in friendly cricket and football matches, and meet socially.
Congress demands dismisssal of Modi NEW DELHI, Apr 12 (UNI) Describing the Supreme Court verdict on the Best Bakery case as an indictment of the ideology behind the massacre that rocked Gujarat, the Congress today demanded the dismissal of chief minster Narendra Modi if he did not quit voluntarily.
"If Mr Modi does not resign despite the Supreme Court verdict then it would mean that they want to spread and push forward this ideology all over the country," party spokesman Kapil Sibal told reporters here.
He recalled that prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had during his visit to Gujarat in the wake of the Godhra massacre advised Modi to follow 'rajdharma'.
Accordingly, Modi should either follow the 'rajdharma' or else resign so that the people affected by the violence got justice, Sibal said.
The situation in Gujarat was not such as to allow justice to be meted out to the victims of the violence and that was why the apex court had ordered the case to be transferred to Maharashtra, Sibal said.
He pointed out that the DGP, Maharashtra, had been empowered to conduct further investigation into the case if he felt that investigation so far had not been conducted properly.
Describing the Supreme Court judgement as a landmark one, the Congress spokesman said it were the judgements like the one delivered today that had led to the people reposing complete faith in the judicial system of the country.
The Supreme Court today ordered reinvestigation and retrial in the case to be held in Maharashtra and removed the public prosecutor from the case.
