Kolkata, Apr 25: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assissination.

"The LTTE is banned. It is a terrorist organisation personally responsible for killing my father," Rahul said during a `Meet the Press' programme here.

When asked about the Sri Lankan crisis, Rahul Gandhi said India is concerned about the plight of Tamil civilians.

Shantha Biotechnics, a pioneer in the biotechnology field, has made announcement about the launching of its bivalent oral cholera vaccine, 'Shanchol'.

Shanchol, which is believed to the first of its kind in the world, will be launched on Sunday during a two-day seminar on Continuous Medical Education (CME) of National Infectious Diseases organized by Indian Academy of Pediatrics at Kolkata.

A successful liver transplant operation has been carried out on Roushan, a seven-month-old baby girl, at the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata, on Friday.

According to reports, this was the first time that a transplant operation was performed in the eastern part of the country.

The infant's father Rajab Ali, a mason from Burdwan district, donated a portion of his liver to save the baby.

The hospital functionaries said that the baby was suffering a serious liver problem from the very first day of her life.

Liver transplantation was the only way through her life could be saved.

Kolkata, Apr 25 : Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that if asked, he would refuse to take up the Prime Ministership as he does not have adequate "experience" to hold the post right now.

Addressing a press conference here along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the 39-year-old leader said, "Now ... I would refuse. I do not think I have the experience to be the Prime Minister of the country right now."

Kolkata, Apr 24 : Congress leader and Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma on Friday said that India wanted protection and safe passage only for civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka and not the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sharma further said that while it was imperative that the Sri Lankan government paid heed to India's request regarding the safety of civilians, it was also important for the LTTE to allow safe passage to civilians.

Kolkata, Apr 24 : Suspected Maoists have shot dead two local CPI (M) leaders at Supurdih village in Balarampur area, about 40 from Purulia in West Bengal, on Thursday night.

Both identified as Bibhuti Singh Sardar and Baikuntha Mahato. The incident took place when both were retuning from fair and some motorcycle-borne persons shot at them.

According to the police, both died on the spot.

A 12-hour shutdown has been called by the CPI (M) in protest against the incident in Balarampur on Friday.