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N-deal: India cautious as worries begin
N-deal not a reality yet, says PM
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Renuka Project gets SC approval
Lalu to rebuild RJD on Left model
BJP to oppose religion quota
I&B Minister jeers
at reel smoking ban
Dalit protest gathers steam
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N-deal: India cautious as worries begin
New Delhi, November 17 The next stage in the road to the Bill becoming an Act of the US government is reconciliation of the bill passed by two chambers of the US Congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate - because the two chambers have passed differently-worded bills on the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation. As per the US procedure, after the two bills are reconciled, the final draft is put before the House and the Senate again for voting and after that the US President puts his signatures on the legislation to make it a law. The reconciliation process, a proverbial camel’s hump, can be a deal breaker if the mandatory clauses in the new bill do not take care of India’s major concerns. At present, both the bills contain several clauses which are a big “no-no” for the Indian strategic establishment. Some of these are listed below: Discriminating
Certain clauses make it clear that India will not be entitled to access all types of sensitive nuclear technology. New Delhi’s viewpoint is that there should not be any nuclear apartheid in any form and whatever is out of bounds for India should be out of bounds for all. Uncertainty
There is nothing in the two bills to suggest that the Indo-US nuclear deal will be a permanent arrangement. On the contrary, the deal can be off for a variety of reasons, including a scenario wherein India explodes another nuclear device. New Delhi’s take is that this kind of uncertainty will deter investors - not a happy situation in a capital-intensive project where billions of dollars would be required for setting up nuclear reactors and plants. Then there are political add-ons like the Iran issue. However, India is not unduly worried about these and would settle to coexist mainly because these are not mandatory clauses. Cautious reaction
The Indian concerns about the reconciliation process were reflected in External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s cautious reaction. “We now expect that the final version of the legislation, which would emerge after the Joint Conference of the House and Senate, should adhere as closely as possible to the understandings incorporated in the July 18, 2005 Indo-US Joint Statement and the March 2006 Separation Plan so that full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the US becomes a reality and contributes to India’s energy security. Congress President Sonia Gandhi also welcomed the passage of the bill and added that India would not go beyond the agreement reached between President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18 last year. While speaking on behalf of the Congress party and the UPA, she said: “Nothing will be accepted which is outside the July 18 agreement… We sincerely hope that both houses (Senate and House of Representatives) will sit down and reconcile.”
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N-deal not a reality yet, says PM
New Delhi, November 17 Noting that certain aspects of the two Bills in respect of the nuclear deal as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate were not identical, Dr Singh said the process of reconciliation would have to "take on board our concerns." Answering questions at the Hindustan Times leadership summit here this evening, the Prime Minister spoke of the assurance given by US President George Bush that the final version of the legislation was in conformity with the agreement of July 18, 2005, and the separation plan of March this year. "I sincerely hope that India's concerns with the structures of the Bills as they stand will be taken into account and that the US will work with us to ensure that the final outcome of the legislation is in line with our mutual commitments as set out in the July 18, 2005, joint statement and the separation plan having the approval of both India and the US," the Prime Minister observed. Earlier, he expressed confidence that India could become a superpower in the knowledge industry. "India might not be a superpower in the traditional sense but it can be a superpower in the world of knowledge." He warned of "extremely adverse" consequences if immediate steps were not taken to arrest the growing urban-rural divide and disparities in the country. Outlining his vision for a new India, the Prime Minister stressed that economic growth could not be an end in itself and that the country could not copy western consumption standards. Dwelling on the theme "India: the next global superpower?", Dr Singh drew attention to the widening of the urban-rural gap and inter-regional disputes. "The income ratio between urban and rural India has risen from 1:2 at the time of independence to 1:4 today." He said if India needed to be counted among the great nations then "we have to ensure we do not miss this new wave of industrialisation."
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Stick to stand, CPM tells govt
New Delhi, November 17 “We had raised nine areas of concerns and the Prime Minister in his address in Parliament had assured that the government will not go beyond the parameters set by the House. The government will have to abide by this assurance. It has no other choice,” party politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters while replying to questions on the passage of the crucial Bill in the US Senate. He said the party was still studying the resolution to ascertain whether any of the concerns had remain unanswered. The 123 Resolution, which would be the final piece, should address all concerns. Earlier, while addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, he said the government has so far not made any tangible proposal for labour reform, so the question of opposing it does not arise. “We have been made a scare-crow,” Mr Yechury, said while protesting the comment from the floor that the Left was derailing all reforms proposed by the government.
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Don’t harp on growth rate: Sonia
New Delhi, November 17 In a strong message, especially aimed at the UPA government, Ms Gandhi expressed her clear disapproval of its undue obsession with faster GDP growth rates and acquiring “superpower” status . Addressing the Hindustan Times leadership summit, she drew attention to the country’s “other realities” and reminded the glittering gathering that despite India’s dazzling economic prosperity, it still remains a country of dehumanising poverty where a decent standard of living continues to elude large sections of society. “The success we record must not lead to false illusions of grandeur. They should not wrap us in a cocoon of self-satisfaction (mayajaal) which cuts us off from the day-to-day lives of the vast majority,” Ms Gandhi warned. In what was being seen as a clear dig at the UPA government, the Congress President said India’s global pre-eminence will not come from faster GDP growth alone but will depend on “how fast we expand productive employment opportunities, achieve universal literacy and improve the quality of health care.” Ms Gandhi, UPA sources said, had voiced her concern in private in recent months over the Centre’s constant talk of “growth rates” and fears that the UPA government was going down the same path as the NDA government whose “India Shining” campaign chose to focus on urban India’s economic performance while glossing over the plight of the weaker and disadvantaged sections. The Congress President, it is learnt, is not opposed to UPA government’s economic policies but is unhappy with the manner in which these are being presented to the people. Having positioned itself as a “pro-poor and pro-farmer” government as opposed to the NDA regime, Ms Gandhi believes that this priority should not be lost sight of.
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Anant is back home Noida, November 17 One person has been arrested and a three-wheeler (16-J 9853) impounded. Eight persons are being interrogated in this connection. Mr Naresh Gupta, father of Anant, said he came to know about the kidnapping of his son in Hong Kong on Tuesday. He was on his way back to India from the USA at that time. Mr Gupta, CEO of Adobe, said he had been in close contact with the special task force and the police for the past three days. He said he was impressed with the professional efficiency of the police teams. “A ransom of Rs 60 lakh was demanded from us, but we paid nothing,” he maintained. He continued to receive ransom calls on all three days. Anant’s mother Nidhi Gupta said it was a very difficult and trying time that she had been through. “In the beginning, we were scared of the media and its role, but now we realise it was through the its effort that a pressure was built on the kidnappers and that we received the good wishes of the entire nation in the difficult time,” she said.
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Renuka Project gets SC approval
New Delhi, November 17 The project was conceived by the Himachal Government in 1990 but had been hanging fire for want of permission from the Supreme Court and the committee appointed by it because 49 hectares of the Renuka wildlife sanctuary in Sirmaur will get submerged under the proposed dam. The committee was appointed by the court in 1995 for evaluating the ground situation in each project involving forest land and the prospective damage to environment by any project. The SC gave permission for the execution of the project after perusing a report of the committee. The approval also came after the Himachal Government agreed to provide more land in exchange for the 49 hectares.
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Lalu to rebuild RJD on Left model
Patna, November 17 He may have betrayed his trusted Left ally, the CPM, at the just concluded Bhagalpur Lok Sabha byelection by fielding his own candidate against the CPM’s Subodh Ray, but this did not prevent him from recognising the cadre-based organisational might of the CPM that made it impregnable in West Bengal for the past 29 years. The RJD boss is now reportedly of the view that there is no alternative to cadre-based grassroot organisation. Incidentally, the BJP, which is a party to the present ruling NDA government in Bihar, also boasted of being a cadre-based party by primarily drawing its strength from the RSS. Sources in the RJD said it was a mistake not to follow the cadre-based model that could have helped Mr Lalu Prasad to look beyond the mythical Muslim-Yadav equation. In what appears to be an indirect admission of the mistake committed by him in promoting “family raj” in the party, Mr Lalu Prasad has reportedly assured senior leaders that henceforth only “genuine” party workers will be encouraged. Earlier this week, national spokesman of the RJD Shivanand Tiwary had resigned from the party charging Mr Lalu Prasad with showing “favouritism” towards his relatives. Although Mr Lalu Prasad did not react to the allegation, he has kept his brothers-in-law, Sadhu and Subhash Yadav, away from the meetings he held with senior leaders in the recent past. He has constituted teams to tour remote areas in the state from November 20 to 25.
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BJP to oppose religion quota
New Delhi, November 17 The party, however, maintained that it would support UPA government’s efforts to provide help to the Muslim community if these were not guided by vote-bank politics. “We warn the government against using recommendations of the Sachar committee as a launching pad for introducing the religion-based quota regime,” BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley told mediapersons here when asked about the party’s stand on the report. He said the BJP would come out with a detailed reaction on the committee’s recommendations after reading the full text of the report. “It will not be fair and proper to give a detailed reaction now,” Mr Jaitley said. In its report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the committee said the Muslim community lagged behind other religious groups in most development indicators and its representation was lower in public and private sector jobs. Mr Jaitley alleged that the Congress was responsible for backwardness of the Muslim community.
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I&B Minister jeers
at reel smoking ban
Bangalore, November 17 Newly appointed Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ambarish, who is also a superstar of the Kannada film industry, seemed to echo the views of many, including Shahrukh Khan, when it comes to celluloid smoking after a press conference in the city yesterday. After a chat with mediapersons at the Press Club, the Minister asked photographers present to vacate the room, saying enough pictures had been clicked. The apparent reason for this, the Minister wanted to light up, along with sipping a cup of hot coffee. Talking informally about the ban on smoking by actors in movies, he said he could understand fears that passive smoking was a health hazard. “However, I fail to understand how passive smoking by heroes and villains on the screen reach lakhs of viewers through celluloid”. When asked whether in this world of hero worship, viewers could be influenced by the action of their stars, Ambarish said this could be true.
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Dalit protest gathers steam
Mumbai, November 17 The police said the protest took the shape of a riot with groups of upper caste persons and Dalits clashing in the streets. Six persons have so far been arrested. Meanwhile, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court sent notices to Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil, Police Commissioners of Nagpur and Amravati and the Collector and SP of Bhandara for alleged police brutality on Dalit protesters after the Kherlanji episode.
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