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Efforts to resurrect EC proposal
BJP dares Sonia on women’s Bill
Democracy has failed in India, says Rajni Kothari
Sri
Lankan Foreign Minister meets PM
PM leaves for Afghanistan tomorrow
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BJP charges Finance Minister with nepotism
Cong plenary session at Hyderabad
Rajan, Dawood men clash in jail
Gill files review plea
in Bajaj case
Karisma’s husband urges media to keep restraint
Mamata launches stir against foreign project
Raids on dance bars; 13 women held
Maharashtra to ban plastic bags
Pak boy undergoes successful operation
Left cautions govt on farmers’ plight
Prayers mark Mother Teresa’s birth
anniversary
Korean envoy calls on Hooda
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Efforts to resurrect EC proposal
New Delhi, August 26 The paper prepared by Congress Rajya Sabha MP M.S. Gill in his avatar as the Chief Election Commissioner for the consideration of the recognised political parties has suddenly fired the imagination of the leaders of various political parties, including the BJP, the SP, and the BSP and others. It is being seen as the first step in providing “greater representation” to women rather than reservation in Parliament and state legislatures. After hitting a roadblock on 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also believed to have evinced interest in the long-pending EC proposal. Leaders of various political parties have impressed upon him that the Election Commission’s proposal following a meeting with recognised political parties on April 29, 2000, is a workable proposition that can lead to a tangible step forward in striving for the goal of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. The Election Commission with Dr Gill as the CEC five years back had circulated a paper after intense study of various models, including the Scandinavian one, that greater representation to women in Parliament and state legislatures was possible provided political parties displayed the courage and will to do that. The Election Commission had not proposed any percentage underlining that this would have to be thrashed out by the political parties themselves. The recognised political parties that attended the meeting included the Congress, the BJP, the CPM, the CPI, the BSP and the NCP and had forgotten all about it. Parliamentarians and leaders of various political parties are seeking Dr Gill’s opinion on the paper prepared by the Election Commission as they believe this is achievable as it requires amending the Representation of People Act rather than the Constitution. This will also facilitate doing away with reservation within reservation, which is a bone of contention with certain political parties sharply divided on providing 33 per cent reservation to women. The EC had suggested that instead of following the reservation route with the possibility of further internal reservation within reservation, “it may be desirable to insist on all recognised political parties to give adequate space to women in the political process. This can easily be achieved by a simple legal provision which will require all recognised political parties to fix a specified percentage for women candidates in all assembly and Parliamentary elections”. The EC said, “While the political parties will get the requisite flexibility to choose the constituencies and women candidates that may be most appropriate in their judgement, women political workers will also have to quickly come forward for effective work in the Indian political arena.” The proposal also envisaged that the political parties would so fix a percentage for women candidates that the accepted success rate was enough to ensure a sizeable increase in the presence of women in Parliament and state assemblies. It would be open to the political parties to give as many ticket as they pleased out of the percentage fixed to candidates from less fortunate sections. The EC had also observed that this mechanism of ensuring a minimum percentage of women candidates had worked well in northern European countries. The suggestion had the merit of not requiring Constitutional amendment, eliminating current controversies and going forward with a simple amendment to the RPA. The commission had told the political parties that appropriate action must be taken immediately. After a five-year hiatus leaders of various parties are realising that the EC proposal is workable. |
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BJP dares Sonia on women’s Bill
New Delhi, August 26 In a reaction to Mrs Gandhi’s charge against the BJP that it had gone back from its promise of supporting a Bill on the Women Reservation issue, party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj asked the UPA chairperson to stop malicious propaganda against her party. The BJP had been consistent about its stance from the day one when Home Minister Shivraj Patil had held a meeting with the BJP leaders on the issue. Even at the latest meeting, BJP President L. K. Advani had reiterated the party would support the Bill if the government could garner consensus among the other political parties, she said. Mrs Gandhi had either misunderstood the Opposition’s stand due to “wrong reporting” or was deliberately blaming the BJP to hide the government’s inability to reach a consensus even within the Cabinet and the UPA, she said. “When the NDA was in power, the Bill was approved and introduced in Parliament for consideration and passage but was torn by members. However, in the present case, the Bill will be torn at the Cabinet meeting itself,” she said, referring to the strong reservation expressed by the RJD and the SP, the parties supporting the UPA. Even the Left had its objections to it as it was insisting on the original Bill, she added. Mrs Swaraj stressed the BJP did not favour “quota-within-quota” formula because it was “illegal and unconstitutional”. On the other hand the BJP was ready to accept Election Commission’s proposal making it mandatory for the political parties to nominate women candidates to 33 per cent their seats as it was “simple, easily implementable and non-controversial”. She said the government should at least introduce the Bill in the present Parliament session itself since it had been extended by two days. When asked to comment on former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti’s demand for reservation for Dalit and OBC women within the 33 per cent quota, Ms Swaraj said people did have individual opinions in a political system. |
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Democracy has failed in India, says Rajni Kothari
New Delhi, August 26 Emergence of hung Parliament and legislatures over the past decade is a manifestation of people’s disenchantment with the political parties and parliamentary democracy, said noted political scientist and activist Rajni
Kothari, while speaking on the release of his latest book “Rethinking Democracy.” here last night. Participating in a panel discussion organised by Orient
Longman, the publisher of the book, Mr Kothari said: “The impact of globalisation, communalism and the corrupt elite on the democracy has alienated the masses at the grassroots level, forcing them to look for alternatives.” In this book,
Kothari, an upholder of democracy who has written extensively on the role of caste and communalism in Indian democracy, is concerned with the failure of democracy — not just as a political system, but of the democratic idea itself. In his own words, “the democracy has failed in fulfilling the basic task of reaching out to people, especially those residing in the lower reaches of the social order.” Commenting on the book, political psychologist Asish Nandy said, “It is not a book on political science, but a three-fold exercise, a journey and reflection on the politics. It is a testament of faith in the democracy, but points out that the democracy is not only malfunctioning but also questions the present democratic set up as well.” However, he agreed with the observation of Harish Khare, political editor of The Hindu newspaper about the book: “The book does not offer any solution to the political mess created over the years by us,” but added that it indicated how would the future politics likely be. Later talking to The Tribune, Mr Kothari said, “We are seeing a convergence of the communal, fundamentalist majoritarian view and the neo-liberal ideology. The emerging combination of pressures and continuing economic policies initiated since 1991 has led to the considerable growth in inequality and unemployment.” He observed, “the state-sponsored Gujarat riots and consequent marginalisation of the minorities across the country have posed the serious threats to the future of the democracy in India.” Is there any hope? When asked, Mr Kothari said, “Despite my deep faith in the democracy, now I have no hope from the present political parties, political set up, intellectuals and other institutions like trade unions. Even the reservations for the SC/ST and other groups have benefited only a section of the society.” I can see growing popular upsurges among some communities, though at initial stages, as the only hope, he said, adding that “this is still taking place at a micro level and that the situation at the macro level continues to be relatively stagnant. One hopes that as more and more of these efforts succeed, it will make other communities also strive for similar transformation.” At the grassroots level, there are already signs that people cannot be taken for granted by the parties and the ruling
bureaucracy. |
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Sri Lankan
Foreign Minister meets PM
New Delhi, August 26 Mr Bandaranaike briefed the Indian leadership on domestic political developments in his country, especially those following the assassination of his predecessor Laxman Kadirgamar. He also talked about the forthcoming presidential elections in the island nation. This is Mr Bandaranaike’s first visit abroad after taking over as Foreign Minister and the fact that it is a visit to India bears testimony to the importance attached to the relationship by both countries, Foreign Office spokesman said. |
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PM leaves for Afghanistan tomorrow
New Delhi, August 26 Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, while briefing the media here today, said apart from some of the additional projects, which would be announced during the visit, there would be some additional scholarships which would take the Indian assistance to an even higher level. India’s assistance programme for Afghanistan is one of the largest that New Delhi has in any developing country. Currently the Indian assistance to Afghanistan is pegged at $500 million. This is the first visit at the level of Prime Minister taking place after 29 years. The last visit by Indian Prime Minister was in 1976 when Indira Gandhi travelled to Kabul. |
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BJP charges Finance Minister with nepotism
New Delhi, August 26 BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said if the Finance Minister does not resign on his own then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should sack him from the Council of Ministers. “It is highly objectionable that the wife of a Finance Minister continues to work for a department which directly comes under his jurisdiction,” Mrs Swaraj said. She said the BJP would raise the issue in Parliament and support the AIADMK, which had highlighted the issue. Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) has expressed regret for the embarrassment caused to the Finance Minister in the wake of the board hiring his wife as a special counsel in a legal case. In a clarification, the board said in January 2004 when Mr Chidambaram was not a minister, the Income Tax Department, Chennai, had approached him for taking up a case involving large revenue (clubbed with a batch of cases raising the same issue). But by the time the case was taken up in July 2004, due to the non-availability of Mr
Chidambaram, his wife was hired for the case “as per the prescribed procedure” in view of her long experience and familiarity with the subject. “The proposal for engagement of a counsel are not submitted to the Finance Minister for approval. In this case also the file was not put up before the Finance Minister. Nor was he informed about the matter. In retrospect, not informing the Finance Minister was a lapse on the part of the board,” it added. |
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Cong plenary session at Hyderabad
New Delhi, August 26 This was decided today at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, now converted into a steering committee, which also adopted a resolution congratulating party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for their contribution in ensuring the passage of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill. Briefing the media after the meeting, Mrs Ambika Soni, AICC’s media department chief, said though several Chief Ministers had offered to host the AICC plenary session, the committee today opted for Hyderabad. The dates for the three-day session are yet to be finalised but it is most likely between Dasehra and Divali. Hyderabad will be hosting an AICC plenary session after nearly 35 years. Hyderabad was considered the best choice as the party had won a landslide victory in the elections in Andhra Pradesh last year and the Congress has a strong organisation in the state. Hyderabad was also preferred as several neighbouring states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry are headed for assembly polls early next year. The last plenary session was held in
Bangalore in 2001 when the Congress had coined the slogan, “Nai
Shatabadi, Naya Smarpan”. The plenary session is held every three years to ratify the party president’s election and lay down the policy direction to the cadres for the next term. The elections to the party’s highest decision-making body — the Congress Working Committee (CWC) are also conducted during the plenary, unless the party authorises Mrs Gandhi to nominate the members. This session is also significant as the party’s heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi will be attending it as an AICC delegate and it could well be a precusor to his appointment as an AICC office-bearer. The conclave of Congress Chief Ministers, which may be held in Dehra Dun or Chandigarh sometime in the third week of September, has been long overdue as it has not been called for nearly three years. These meetings were held regularly when the Congress was in the opposition and were essentially meant to get an update on the implementation of the party’s election manifestos in the state. It also became an occasion for the Congress to showcase its large band of chief ministers. The upcoming plenary session and the Chief Minister’s conclave will also take up the implementation of the new job guarantee Bill and how best to ensure that the Congress can draw political mileage from this programme. This has become all the more important as the programme is being launched primarily in opposition-ruled states. The two meetings are likely to chalk out a plan of action for involving party cadres in pubilicising and monitoring the implementation of the programme. The Congress leadership is hoping that the new Act will enthuse the otherwise comatose party workers in the opposition-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. |
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Rajan, Dawood men clash in jail
Mumbai, August 26 As members of the two gangs hurled bricks, stones and pipes at each other, a senior police officer, caught in the crossfire, sustained severe injuries.
Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil, in charge of the state Home Ministry, has ordered a probe into the incident. According to reports from the jail, ASI Shahabuddin
Mulani, who was accompanying a gangster to the jail hospital, was caught in the battle and received injuries on his head. The police said Mulani was escorting Sajid, a gangster from the Chhota Rajan gang, to the hospital along with another prisoner gangster Vicky Malhotra when they were attacked by Ibrahim’s men. According to reports, Sajid was bitten by a snake in the high security jail. The police, however, refused to confirm the snake-bite incident. The police has charged Ibrahim gangsters Salim
Kutta, Dawood’s brother Iqbal and several others with rioting. Sources said some of them were subsequently thrashed by jail officials till the early hours of today in retaliation for the attack on the policeman. |
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Rly tickets through SMS
New Delhi, August 26 The new service introduced by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) comes into effect from today. IRCTC Managing Director M.N. Chopra told TNS here that the countrywide facility was being offered to customers in addition to the existing bouquet of services. A passenger can avail of the service by registering with the IRCTC on the website www.irctc.co.in. This will enable him get a user ID. To begin with, the IRCTC has tied up with ICICI bank for payment of the ticket money and service charges that include processing fee and home delivery of the tickets. Anybody wishing to use this facility has to register with the mobile banking service of ICICI. Companies that have joined the IRCTC in launching the service are Idea Cellular, MTNL Delhi and Reliance Infocomm. Other operators such as BSNL, MTNL, Tata Indicom are also expected to join the IRCTC in this initiative. In order to reserve a ticket, the passenger is required to send details such as user ID, names of passengers, the train name and number and class of travel to 7245, a toll free number. Depending on the number of messages it receives, the IRCTC will send back to the prospective passenger within 90 seconds to three minutes information on ticket availability. This would give the passenger the option of refusing or accepting a wait-listed ticket. The passenger has to confirm the acceptance of the ticket. The passenger will have to pay Rs 40 only for ordinary sleeper class as service charges even if six passengers are travelling on a single ticket. In case of travel by an airconditioned coach (AC three, two or one), a registered passenger has to pay service charges of Rs 60. |
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Gill files review plea
in Bajaj case
New Delhi, August 26 His three months imprisonment, however, had been converted into probation by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1998 with certain stringent conditions which he had followed and when the apex court pronounced its judgement on his appeal on July 27, the sentence was considered to have been undergone by him for his abiding by the court directive. Mr Gill filed a review petition in the Supreme Court through his counsel, contending that there had been “certain errors” of the fact and law, wrongly applied by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which, according to him, were also “overlooked inadvertently” by the apex court, leading to “miscarriage” of justice and adverse ruling on his appeal. A Bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice B.N. Srikrishna had upheld Mr Gill’s conviction for outraging the modesty of Rupan Deol Bajaj a dinner party at in Chandigarh on July 18, 1988 when he was the DGP Punjab. As per the apex court rules, a review petition is placed before the same Bench which has passed the judgement in a case. While considering the review petition, the court mainly looks into the question whether any fact had been concealed from the court or not explained properly to it or any law had been wrongly applied. Mr Gill, according to his lawyer, had contended that certain proposition of law as defined under Sections 354 and 509 of the IPC had been wrongly applied by the courts below and evidence of several witnesses present in the party had not been recorded. The courts below, including the high court, had wrongly applied the law pertaining to sexual harassment defined under Section 375 of the IPC as if it was also applicable to Sections 354 and 509 in the same manner, the petition said. The victim as defined under Section 354 could not be placed on the same pedestal as that under Section 375, the former DGP contended. At least 15 persons were present in the party mostly senior bureaucrats and top journalists of Chandigarh, but they were not examined even though they had expressed willingness to depose, his petition added. |
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Karisma’s husband urges media to keep restraint
New Delhi, August 26 Karisma's husband Sanjay Kapur in a statement sent to the offices of all news organisations in the
Capital through his lawyer Manali Singhal said, “We are shocked at media reports on the subject of our reply to the court. At no point did we make our responses to the court public.” “Our prime concern is the welfare of the child and we strongly feel that the issues pertaining to a minor should not be made into subjects of public discussion,” the statement said. Taking exception to both electronic and print media extensively quoting from his affidavit after it was filed in the Delhi High Court recently in reply to Karisma’s charges of her “desertion” by Sanjay, it said since the matter was “subjudice” media should refrain from publicising the issue. |
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Mamata launches stir against foreign project
Kolkata, August 26 Despite the inclement weather and the continuous rain, a large number of Trinamool Congress workers and supporters attended a rally in the Dharmatala area. It was addressed by Ms Banerjee and several other party leaders. |
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Raids on dance bars; 13 women held
Mumbai, August 26 The police said 13 women were arrested for dancing before customers at a bar in the suburb of
Ghatkopar. The manager of the bar, waiters and customers have also been taken into custody. Thursday’s arrests follow similar raids the day before when more than 200 persons were arrested from different parts of Mumbai. While the police say the bars were holding dance performances illegally, bar owners say they had merely employed the women as waitresses. They further alleged that policemen were conducting the raids to extort bribes from them. |
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Maharashtra to ban plastic bags
Mumbai, August 26 The decision was taken by the state Cabinet and objections have been invited from the public over the next 30 days. “Mumbai alone suffered losses of around Rs 4,000 crore after drains were choked by plastic bags,” Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. As per the proposed legislation, manufacturers found using plastic bags will be fined Rs 5,000 and arrested after two violations. It is also proposed to fine Rs 1,000 to the users of plastic bags. The state government also proposed to inflict stiffer penalties on government employees using plastic bags. They are likely to face an inquiry and will also face a freeze in their increments. The proposal has already been opposed by the manufacturers. The All-India Plastic Manufacturers’ Association said it would challenge the decision in the court. Earlier attempts to ban the bags thinner than 20 microns in the state have come to nought. A ban introduced in 1999 gradually faded away and Mumbai continues to be awash in plastic. |
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Pak boy undergoes successful operation
Pune, August 26 Rajesh, who was accompanied by his parents, told reporters that earlier he longed to play like other normal children and spent hours watching them run around. His injury in the left ankle joint had slowed the growth of his foot. The foot over the years had gone crooked in the incident and he was unable to stand straight again. Dr Anant Bagul from the Chaitanya Hospital said he performed a ‘routine’ operation with the internationally-famous Russian technique, the Elizarov Technique, through which broken bones can be joined accurately, gaps between the bones
reduced and the crooked bones straightened. It is also possible to relax the joints by this method. Dr Bagul treated Rajesh’s ankle to straighten it and restore the length of his left foot by two inches. The very next day of the surgery, Rajesh could walk on his feet. The surgery was subsidised for Rajesh and the total cost of the operation was Rs 20,000 only. Many patients have been inquiring from Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries, Dr Bagul said, adding that he had been treating Pakistani patients for several years. As there are problems of visas, the challenge was to ensure that the whole process of surgery and post operative care was accomplished within two months, Dr Bagul informed.
— UNI |
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Left cautions govt on farmers’ plight
New Delhi, August 26 “Instead of providing water to the farmers in these affected border areas for irrigation, the government is draining out the excess water to Pakistan to prevent damage to the dams and bunds in the state,” party leaders Sitaram Yechury and Hannan Mollah told reporters here. Farmers’ agitation in Sri Ganganagar in the recent past had resulted in violent clashes with the police resulting in firing and death of peasants. Mr Mollah said the people, agitating under the banner of “Kisan, Mazdoor, Vyapari Sangharsh Samiti” for the past several weeks, were demanding implementation of the government’s water-sharing formula in the state. “This formula was worked out in December last year after talks the state government had with the farmers and people of the affected region,” he said, adding that a massive rally would be held in Jaipur on September 1. Mr Mollah said with the water available now, a bumper crop could be expected. “But due to lack of water supply, only 30 per cent of the crop could be sowed and now even that was not being reaped due to water shortage.” Mr Yechury said the Chief Minister had sent two of her ministers as emissaries to meet the CPM leaders in Delhi some days ago. “We told them that they should start talks with the agitators and release all those arrested. But nothing has happened so far.” |
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Prayers mark Mother Teresa’s birth
anniversary
Kolkata, August 26 A spokesperson for the Missionaries of Charity said the day began with a special mass with the nuns, led by Superior General Sister Nirmala, gathering around the Mother’s tomb in the morning. The flower-decked tomb was lit up with candles and the gate of the Missionaries of Charity was thrown open for the day to the visitors. “People are coming in groups and individuals to pay their tributes to the Mother,” the spokesperson said. On this occasion, an all faith prayer and a discussion on terrorism and world peace were also held by All-India Minority Forum in the premises of the Missionaries of Charity. Sister Nirmala inaugurated the programme in which city Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Bishop of Kolkata Reverend PSP Raju were among those who participated.
— UNI |
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Korean envoy calls on Hooda
New Delhi, August 26 The delegation has shown keen interest in the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) being developed by Haryana State Industrial Corporation (HSIDC) in Gurgaon, a press note said. |
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