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UPA-Left coordination panel to meet on June 15
610 cadets pass out from IMA
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Cong state units to protest against Left, NDA govts
Vajpayee to lead protest against fuel price hike
Uma Bharti lashes out at MP Govt
Indo-Pak artistes to perform in valley
Ray of hope for ULFA kids in jail
No mention of beef-eating in NCERT books
Special force to counter Naxalites
2 killed in border crossfire
Tributes paid to Bhai Vir Singh
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UPA-Left coordination panel to meet on June 15
New Delhi, June 10 To be held within days of petrol and diesel price hike and in the background of a steep rise in the prices of essential commodities, the Communists are expected to make noise about ignoring the “aam admi” while chasing the 10 per cent GDP growth target. Mr Debabrata Biswas of the Forward Bloc said it depended upon the attitude of the Congress, leading the UPA, whether there would be conflict or cooperation between the ruling alliance and the Left. The Left parties, which have called for a nationwide demonstration on the fuel-hike issue on June 13, are also expected to meet on that day to finalise a comprehensive note on the performance of the government which has completed two years. The note is being prepared at a time when there are increasing concern in the Left over the “growing US influence” on the Indian foreign policy. CPI Secretary D. Raja has already said the note would be discussed at the next UPA-Left parties coordination meeting. CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat has already given notice of the Left's intentions indicating that it would be more aggressive against deviations from the CMP and would insist on its implementation in letter and spirit. The meet would also discuss the President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam returning the office of profit legislation to Parliament as any delay could result in the disqualification of 10 CPM MPs for holding office of profit. Indications are that the meet would also discuss the reservation quota issue and how to resolve the delicate situation with the Supreme Court questioning the very quantum of reservation. The meet could also discuss the vacancy to be filled up in the Election Commission following the retirement of B.B.Tandon as the Chief Election Commissioner later this month.
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610 cadets pass out from IMA
Dehra Dun, June 10 These included 16 foreign cadets --- 13 from Bhutan and one each from Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Mauritius. Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, who was here to review the passing out parade, said the technological advancement had pervaded the military thought and planning and 'Man behind the machine' played a decisive role in the battle. He stressed that armed forces should keep pace with the change. After reviewing the parade he urged the officers to maintain a high degree of morale and ethical standard and discipline and asked them to learn to harness to their advantage the overwhelming impact of cutting edge defence technologies. ''There is no room for complacency,'' he said. Sword of Honour, the most prestigious award given to the best all round Gentleman Cadet went to Ashish Singh Mehta. He was also conferred with the Gold Medal for standing first in the order of merit. Later, talking to
mediapersons, the Air Chief Marshal said the Air Force was planning to acquire 126 aircraft. However, he did not divulge any details. Meanwhile, he said the Air Force would go for an exchange of 18 worn-out Sukhoi aircraft in the near future. Maintaining that the accident rate of fighter aircraft has gone down, he said there was no problem with MiG-29.
— UNI
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Cong state units to protest against Left, NDA govts New Delhi, June 10 The party leadership had yesterday decided that the Congress-ruled states would be asked to forgo their share of the tax on the increased prices of petrol and diesel which were announced last Monday. Maharashtra was the first to announce a cut in the sales tax on the incremental component. Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Delhi have also agreed to do the same while word is awaited from the remaining Congress governments. This move is expected to bring down the price of petrol by Rs 1 or even more. Worried that the party’s “aam admi” plank had taken a beating following the latest hike in the prices of petrol and diesel, the Congress had joined the Left parties and the BJP in urging the UPA government to go in for a partial rollback. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, however, maintained that an increase had become inevitable in view of soaring international crude oil prices that were bleeding the oil PSUs. In order to strike a balance between the party’s political compulsions and the government’s economic concerns, it was decided that the states be asked to share the Centre’s burden by reducing the local taxes on petroleum products. In the process, the move has turned the tables on the Left parties, which have planned street protests against the hike on June 13. Similarly, it has also put the BJP on the defensive that has resorted to road blocks and demonstrations to demand a rollback. Both the Left and the BJP-ruled governments have rejected the Congress suggestion and are going ahead with their planned agitations. This is the first time in the past two years after the UPA government was formed that the Congress shed its diffidence and instead adopted a more aggressive approach in dealing with the Left parties. The two will now try to sort out their differences at the forthcoming meeting of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee slated for June 15.
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Vajpayee to lead protest against fuel price hike
New Delhi, June 10 The BJP dismissed as a “diversionary tactic” the reduction in sales tax on petrol and diesel by certain Congress-run state governments. Ruling out that state governments where the BJP is at the helm of affairs will follow suit in reducing the sale tax on petrol and diesel, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar charged the Congress with trying to divert attention from the real issue. “The problem is high taxation in the excise form. Giving a break up of the cost structure in case of petrol, it was stated that 49 per cent is the fuel cost, 31 per cent accounted for central taxes and 16 per cent was the average sales tax,” Mr Javadekar stressed. Senior BJP leader V.K. Malhotra said Mr Vajpayee himself would be leading the NDA protest in the Capital on Monday against the hike in fuel prices and court arrest. Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani, BJP chief Rajnath Singh, JD (U) president Sharad Yadav, Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee are expected to take part in the protest.
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Uma Bharti lashes out at MP Govt
New Delhi, June 10 Ms Bharti, who is on a padayatra from Rameshwaram to Kedarnath, criticised the “arbitrary manner” in which the police arrested her close associate and party leader Pritam Singh Lodhi early today. “The police resorted to lathicharge and even opened fire on the people who came on to the streets in protest against the incident, leaving several badly injured. This is inhumane and deplorable”, she said. Blaming Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the incident, Ms Bharti alleged that he was giving instructions to the state police bypassing the hierarchy and “forgetting the dignity of the position he holds”. “Senior BJP leaders like Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr L.K. Advani and Mr Rajnath Singh owe an explanation to the people for giving such a person Madhya Pradesh’s top post.’’
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Indo-Pak artistes to perform in valley
New Delhi, June 10 The five-day Sufi festival begins from tomorrow. It is a joint attempt by the Delhi-based Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the Amarnathji Shrine Board to "build cultural bridges" between the two neighbouring countries and promote peace and harmony in the valley. The state-sponsored Sufi festival, spread over three locations —Srinagar, Pahalgam and Baramullah— will feature top artistes from India and Pakistan, including the well-known Sufi singer Zila Khan, daughter of musical maestro Vilayat Khan. One of the greatest exponents of Sufi Kathak, Manjari Chaturvedi, famous Santoor exponent Shiv Kumar Sharma and qawwali maestros Ghulam Sabir and Ghulam Waris , more popularly known as Nizami brothers, will share the stage with famous Pakistani Sufiana singers Naeem Abbas, Farhana Aijaz and Umrao Mazar. Manjari Chaturvedi has created her own interpretations of Kathak so as to highlight the Sufiana philosophy. ICCR officials said it was not an easy task to convince artistes from both countries to perform together in the strife-torn state. The ICCR Director-General, Mr Pawan K. Verma, said the holding of the festival was a part of the endeavour to build bridges between India and the World through a range of activities to promote cultural exchange between nations. And for the people of India and Pakistan, and Kashmir in particular, what better way than Sufism, which talks of universal brotherhood, harmony of religions, peace and love, to help achieve the goal. " It will be a truly historical moment," Mr Verma told mediapersons in the Capital yesterday, before leaving for the Valley with his team.
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Ray of hope for ULFA kids in jail
Guwahati, June 10 Six-year-old Abhinav and the equally young Bandana are among More than 20 children aged between four and 12 lodged in different jails in the northeastern state. Most of the children don't understand why they are behind the bars ----- their only crime is that they happened to be sons and daughters of separatists of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). "Have these little children committed any crime? It is horrifying indeed to find so many young boys and girls in jail alongside hardened criminals," noted Assamese writer Indira Goswami told IANS. The children have grown up behind iron bars. In December 2003 Bhutan launched a massive military crackdown to evict Indian separatists from the Himalayan kingdom, ULFA being the major rebel group taking shelter in that country. In a fortnight-long operation, Bhutanese soldiers destroyed about 30 militant camps, shot dead several rebels and captured many more, including wives and children of ULFA fighters. Some of the unarmed women and children surrendered to advancing Bhutanese soldiers. They all were handed over to Indian authorities in Assam. "We can release the children from jail but then their mothers who are facing charges do not want their kids to be separated from them," a senior Assam police official said. Now there is a ray of hope, with Goswami leading a spirited campaign to get the children and their mothers released from jail. "I have taken up the matter with National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and he was very positive in his attitude. He said he would do whatever is possible to get them freed although no specific timeframe was given," said Goswami, who has been sought by the ULFA to mediate for peace talks with New Delhi. The children are deprived of the basic right to education, with the facilities inside the jail being far from satisfactory. "In some jails you have hardened criminals imparting lessons to the children," alleged A. Sharma, a women rights activist. The ULFA, which has been fighting for an independent Assamese homeland since 1979, had in October last year nominated an 11-member team of civil society leaders led by Goswami to begin preliminary talks with New Delhi. The ULFA-designated People's Consultative Group (PCG) held two rounds of talks with government negotiators. The next round is scheduled for June 22 in New Delhi to prepare the ground for a bilateral ceasefire and then direct talks between rebel leaders and government negotiators at a later
stage. — IANS
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No mention of beef-eating in NCERT books
New Delhi, June 10 The NCERT changed the syllabi of classes-I, III, VI, IX and XI from this year in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, to prescribe broad guidelines in a bid to prepare an ideal course curriculum. The references to beef-eating habits were there in the textbooks of class-VI and XI till last year. “These references were there in ancient Indian history in classes-VI and IX till last year. Those textbooks have been replaced by new ones which have no mention about beef-eating,” NCERT spokesman Ashish Bahad told PTI. The reference had raised objection from several quarters last year and a PIL was filed in this regard in the Supreme Court. The Shiksha Bachao Andolan SBA had alleged that the NCERT textbooks had described Lord Rama and Lord Krishna as fictitious characters and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharat as myths.
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Special force to counter Naxalites
Mumbai, June 10 The proposal, which was mooted by the state government more than a year ago, has finally received clearance from the Central Government, according to Home Department sources. Confirming the development, Maharashtra's Director-General of Police P.S. Pasricha said the commando force known as Special Action Group would be trained to respond quickly to Naxalite activities. Apart from being trained in taking on the naxalites in difficult terrain, the members of the special team would be trained in gathering intelligence. The government is already sharing expertise with the Government of Andhra Pradesh in setting up the special anti-naxal team.
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Barrackpore, June 10 The BSF fired at a gang of cattle smugglers when the latter were crossing the border, ignoring the BSF warning. The body of an alleged smuggler, believed to be a Bangladeshi national, had been sent for a post-mortem. On the other hand the BSF was involved in an exchange of fire with the BDR till late last night, leaving a Bangladeshi smuggler dead near Gede border in Nadia district. A Deputy Inspector-General of the BSF alleged that the BDR opened fire across the border when BSF personnel chased a gang of cattle smugglers. — UNI
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Tributes paid to Bhai Vir Singh
New Delhi, June 10 Dr I.N. Choudhuri, Director, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, described the saint poet as the “harbinger of modernity in Punjabi literature”.
— TNS
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