 |
|
|
SC fines UP govt for violation of
Demolition of Dawood’s malls begins
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
China on mind, India warms up to Bhutan
Nepal Deputy PM holds talks with CPM leaders
India has evidence of Pak role, says Narayanan
Uma questions Advani’s statement
MoD denies theft of hard disks
Blast leaves two dead, four injured in Gaya
|
|
SC fines UP govt for violation of quota policy
New Delhi, July 29 Setting aside the promotion of a Deputy Director of Factories in violation of rules by means of an order issued by Ms Mayawati on May 24, 1997, a Bench of Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar said the policy of affirmative action in respect of reservation must receive the approval of the constitutional courts. For providing benefit to reserved category candidates as a part of affirmative action, the qualification laid down in the Constitution must be held as per laid down provisions of the law, the court said. The promoted officer, whose name was withheld by the court in its judgement, was given preference in promotion by the Chief Minister, after his wife Prem Lata made a representation to her complaining that her husband was being victimised as he belonged to the Scheduled Caste. Mayawati straightaway issued orders to the Principal Secretary, Labour, seeking explanation from him why the said SC category officer was not promoted and even the concurrence of Finance Department was not obtained thereafter, the court in its 37-page judgement recorded. The Chief Ministers’ order was challenged by R.S. Garg, who was a senior officer than Prem Lata’s husband but from the general category, in the Allahabad High Court but his petition was rejected. The Supreme Court did not agree with the findings of the High Court and allowed the appeal of Garg observing that the government “cannot exceed the quota” fixed under the law for reserved category candidates. The UP government had defended the promotion on the ground that despite filling up of SC posts by the promotion of six officers to the rank of Deputy Director in 1997, the posts reserved for ST still remained unfilled and Prem Lata’s husband was promoted against it. “It is not correct to contend that the selection was on merit basis. If the post was not reserved, in no way the respondent (promoted officer) could have been promoted. He might have not come within the purview of zone of consideration,” the court said adding the effect of this illegal action was that Garg got a promotion almost five years after he actually deserved it. “This case points out how illegalities are committed by the state causing deprivation of legitimate rig ht of promotion of more meritorious and senior candidates,” Mr Justice Sinha, writing the judgement for the Bench said. This was not a case where the court should refrain from exercising its discretionary jurisdiction, said the Bench in the verdict pronounced yesterday and made available to media today.
|
|
Demolition of Dawood’s malls begins
Mumbai, July 29 Located opposite the Mumbai police headquarters, the sprawling structure measuring 20,000 sq m was built illegally on the land belonging to the Public Works Department. The
demolition work, which had been stalled several times in the past, began at 8 am with more than 300 police personnel providing security to the demolition crew. The entire Musafirkhana area surrounding the structure had a tight security blanket with the police declaring the place a sensitive area. Mumbai’s Joint Commissioner of Police for Law and Order Arup Patnaik, who was overseeing the demolition, said efforts were being made to maintain communal harmony in the area. Local mohalla committees comprising elders of the community also kept an eye to prevent the situation from flaring up. Several shopkeepers who had rented or purchased shops in the buildings had been evicted last year.
|
|
China on mind, India warms up to Bhutan
New Delhi, July 29 The talks assume significance in view of China’s increasing interest in Bhutan in particular and the region in general. China has earlier this month connected its mainland with Tibet through a Lhasa-Beijing train — a $ four billion engineering marvel which has a huge strategic import for India. China has, of late, been evincing interest to set up direct diplomatic relations with Bhutan — a country which has traditionally not had any diplomatic ties with any other nation other than India. India had yesterday taken a small but significant step in deepening ties with Bhutan when it signed with its north-eastern neighbour three agreements in the areas of hydroelectricity, power and trade. India is looking at using the immense hydel-power potential of Bhutan as New Delhi is actively engaged in building a series of hydel-power dams in Bhutan. India is looking at purchasing more than five thousand MW of hydel power — the cheapest mode of power generation — from Bhutan in the next 10 to 15 years. India is also embarking on a project which is bound to win the hearts of the Bhutanese people — setting up Bhutan’s first railway network. The technical studies for the West Bengal-Bhutan railway network are currently at an advanced stage. Once completed, the project will go a long way in meeting developmental aspirations of a country that measures its wealth in terms of gross national happiness. Moreover, Bhutan is the only neighbouring country which has taken exemplary action in driving anti-India terrorist and insurgent groups out of its territory.
|
|
Nepal Deputy PM holds talks with CPM leaders
New Delhi, July 29 “Dialogue is continuing between Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoists leader Prachanda to take the people’s struggle to its logical conclusion,” Sherchan told reporters after his meeting with CPM leaders. The proposal discussed with the CPM leaders include confining Nepalese army personnel and rebels to barracks and roping in the United Nations to monitor the ground situation while kickstarting the electoral process, sources said. Both sides noted that the peace process was moving in the right direction and the government and rebels should not waste this opportunity to end the long bloody conflict, party sources said. Sherchan said the immediate task before them is to set up a “constituent assembly and finally set up an interim government”. Maoists have extended their ceasefire by another three months to facilitate the ongoing peace talks with the seven-party alliance, but charged the government of trying to turn their backs on the eight-point agreement. The meeting of Nepal government’s pointsman with CPM leaders is significant as the Left party, especially its Polit Buro member Sitaram Yechury, had played significant role in bringing out an agreement between the Maoists and the seven-party alliance, which formed the turning point in the restoration democracy in the mountain kingdom.
|
|
India has evidence of Pak role, says Narayanan
New Delhi, July 29 Mr Narayanan also said Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba had international influence and it was important for the US to understand its “ramification.” “Mr Boucher did not talk to anyone of us. (But) he has made a statement. If he wished to have information, we are willing to talk to whoever is wanting to know the facts,” he said. His remarks, made during an interview with the CNN-IBN, assume significance in the wake of US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher asking for evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai blasts. He said the government had proof of how terrorism was controlled from Pakistan and in this regard mentioned the arrest of two foreign nationals in the aftermath of the blasts. “As and when we are ready with all facts and evidence, we will do it,” he said when asked whether the government would furnish proof about Pakistan linkage to terrorism here.
|
|
Uma questions Advani’s statement
New Delhi, July 29 She said he did address the congregation on the day and she herself was sitting on the dais with him. Taking note of the revelations made by former Faizabad police chief- turned-BJP MP D.B. Rai in his book ‘Ayodhya Ka Sach’, Ms Bharti asserted that Mr Advani did speak at the meeting but would probably not remember the contents. “However, I fail to understand why Mr Advani told the Liberhan Commission that he did not address the meeting on December 6,” she said. Ms Bharti, who was expelled from the BJP and has now formed another party, Bharatiya Jan Shakti, said she had admitted about attending the meeting before the commission.
|
|
MoD denies theft of hard disks
New Delhi, July 29 A press note said there was no data theft as alleged in the report. It, however, said 13 printer ink cartridges worth Rs 17,000 were missing from the storekeeper’s table drawer. “The police station in Chanakyapuri has been informed about the incident and an FIR was lodged on July 25,” it said. This is the second instance of theft in the highly sensitive defence installation in the Capital. The ministry also said the incident was being viewed seriously and a court of inquiry had been ordered. The theft of cartridges comes barely a month after an unprecedented security breach at the National Security Council Secretariat involving suspected cyber-espionage. Leakages of classified documents from the war room of the Naval Directorate last year led to the arrest of several Naval officers and businessmen last month.
|
|
Blast leaves two dead, four injured in Gaya
Patna, July 29 The police said senior officials in Gaya had already rushed to the spot and the probe was on to confirm whether it was a handiwork of the Maoists only. It was also learnt that following the blast, the police stations located in Naxalite-affected districts have already been put on high alert. The intelligence wing of the police mobilised its information sources in remote villages to keep a tab on the ‘Martyrs’celebrations’ being organised by the Maoists. Going by official statistics, 16 out of 38 districts of Bihar are now severely affected by the
Maoists, while their presence was also felt in another 15 districts, including Patna.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
