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Fertiliser shortage
Petition against Badal dismissed
7 killed in building collapse
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UPCC meeting begins today
Price Rise
‘EC to be ready for LS poll after
Aug’
NDA CMs accuse Centre of bias
Bring justice closer to citizens, CJI urges media
Menon to visit Pak next month
Neera Yadav seeks VRS
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Fertiliser shortage
New Delhi, March 29 He also apprised the PM that the forthcoming paddy crop would suffer if the Centre does not assure adequate supply of fertiliser and Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) to the state. The state was running short despite repeated pleas. Badal sought a smooth and prompt supply for farmers. He told the PM that against the demand of 1.5 lakh metric tonnes (MT) raised by Markfed, the state had received only 10,000 MT. This is despite the fact that Markfed had already released an advance payment for procuring 40,000 MT. This situation could seriously affect paddy production in the ensuing season, said Badal, who was accompanied by his additional principal secretary K.J.S. Cheema. Fertiliser and DAP is provided by the Central government through its fertiliser ministry headed by Ram Vilas Paswan. Badal also expressed his government’s strong opposition to the reported proposal of the Government of India to include the Ravi-Beas link in the list of national projects. River water being a state subject, the Government of India should not force any such project on Punjab. “The river water issue has strong economic, political and emotional implications and the Centre would do well not to proceed with any project that had the potential of starting a fresh controversy,” Badal told the Prime Minister. Harcharan Bains, media adviser to the Chief Minister, said another demand was that the upcoming freight corridor from Sonepur (West Bengal) to Ludhiana be extended to Amritsar in view of the expected boost in international trade activity through the Attari-Wagah border. The Chief Minister also asked the PM to take up the issue of direct, visa-free access to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan with the government in that country. The Chief Minister also demanded that the Centre should take up the sheet-lining of the Sirhind canal and Rajasthan canal in Punjab. The projects would cost Rs 650 crore as per the report submitted by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to the Ministry of Water Resources. This lining will prevent water-logging and water pollution in 332 villages, covering 2 lakh acres of agricultural land in Punjab. The underground water in the affected areas is now at just three feet from the 25-30 feet depth in the 1960s.
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Petition against Badal dismissed
New Delhi, March 29 After a brief argument on the case, a Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice R.V. Raveendran dismissed a PIL on Friday filed by advocate Sat Paul Kagra from Punjab. The court found no merit in Kagra’s PIL filed almost 22 years after the incident had reportedly occurred. Kagra had alleged that Badal ‘tore-up’ the Constitution during the ‘separatist’ movement in mid-80s when a section of Sikhs were agitating on the premise of the Anandpur Sahib resolution passed in 1973. The resolution laid the genesis of the separatist movement in Punjab and the resultant armed-militant activity. The court apparently was not convinced with the petition filed by the lawyer after such a long period had elapsed and also the fact that Badal had already occupied the CM’s post earlier in 1997 for a full-term. Badal was sworn in for the second time in March 2007. Kagra in his petition had raised the issue whether a person who once had questioned the very foundation of the Indian federation and ‘insulted’ the Constitution, could be allowed to swear by the same Constitution to become the Chief Minister of a state. According to the petitioner, had the Chief Minister stood by his present action of swearing by the Constitution, then his action during an agitation in 1986 was a ‘fraud’ and if he justified that action, then his swearing by the Constitution was a “farce”.
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7 killed in building collapse
New Delhi, March 29 According to neighbours, the residential building had a pre-existing basement and two floors but two more floors for commercial purposes had been constructed on it leading to the collapse of entire structure. Local councillor Mehak Singh said, “This was an illegal construction and the building collapsed as it could not bear the weight of additional floors”. Additional DCP (northeast) Rajeev Ranjan confirmed that the on going construction did not have the necessary permit from the authorities. He told that the owner of the building, Deepak Garg was absconding. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has instituted a vigilance inquiry into the incident to be headed by the chief vigilance officer and has suspended the deputy commissioner (MCD) of the Seelampur area. An assistant engineer and a junior engineer for alleged dereliction of duty has also been suspended. Shiela Dixit, Chief Minister of Delhi, has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of any adult killed in collapse, while Rs 50, 000 would be given to the parents of any minor killed. The amount would be enhanced to Rs 2 lakh and Rs 75, 000 in case of below poverty line (BPL) families. The injured will get an assistance of up to Rs 50,000. The Chief Minister accompanied by Arviner Singh, education minister and local MP Sandeep Dixit visited the GTB hospital and enquired about the health of the injured. She instructed the doctors to provide the best possible treatment. Dixit has also asked the concerned deputy commissioner (revenue) to institute an enquiry to look into all the aspects of building collapse. Delhi Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse of the building, while at the same time has appealed to the citizens to refrain from such illegal constructions in the capital.
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UPCC meeting begins today
Kanpur, March 29 The GBM has virtually turned the industrial town of Kanpur into a Congress township. Huge hoardings of party president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, decorative gates in party colours along with Congress flags and buntings have dressed up the city. Senior UPCC leaders pin a lot of hope from this meeting to be inaugurated by Rahul Gandhi and to be concluded by an address by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This will be followed up by a public rally to be addressed by her at the historic Phool Bagh Maidan. It is largely believed that she may formally launch the party's election campaign in the state for the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll. UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that she hopes the GBM would rejuvenate the party. "We hope that it provides the delegates a direction in an election year. We would like to share with them the positive impact of the pro-people, pro-farmer general budget is likely to have". Commenting on reports that the GBM would formally demand the naming of Rahul as the next prime ministerial candidate, AICC general secretary and in charge of UP Digvijay Singh said that "every Congressman would like that". Approximately 2,000 delegates are expected to attend the GBM out of which 1,593 are PCC members and 500 are special invitees. Around 1,080 elected PCC members and 112 city and district-level committee presidents will attend the meeting along with 401 nominated PCC members.
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Price Rise
Coimbatore, March 29 Inaugurating the 19th Congress of the CPM, its general secretary Prakash Karat said the UPA government had failed to address the issue of price rise. CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan, who was a guest speaker, said the most serious issue faced by the common man was the soaring prices of all essential commodities that was causing distress to them. “Both our parties are opposed to the neo-liberal policies pursued by the central government, which have sharply aggravated disparities among the people,” he said. Karat said the Left would not allow the US to be made a strategic partner and reminded the government the CPM and the Left had already declared that the nuclear deal could not go forward. The majority in Parliament was against it. Bardhan said, “The whole country knows about our opposition to the Indo-US nuclear agreement, which has prevented it from being operational, as it is not just an innocent attempt to gain access to nuclear energy, but an attempt to cap the strategic partnership with the US.” Regarding the Indo-US military cooperation, Karat said, “The defence framework agreement is part of an overarching alliance. We have to undo the military collaboration agreement and disentangle India from the strategic embrace of the US.”
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‘EC to be ready for LS poll after
Aug’
Tiruchirappalli, March 29 Asked by reporters which are the states that would go to assembly elections along with Lok Sabha polls, he said elections to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Sikkim and Karnataka were held along with the Lok Sabha elections last time. Gopalaswamy said it is “practically impossible” to reconsider the delimitation process as it is over. “It is practically impossible to reconsider the delimitation process. The reorganisation of polling booths as per newly formed constituencies is also going on. Booth wise photo electoral rolls are also prepared”, he said. Gopalaswamy said the logic of having one parliam
entary constituency for each district was actually an illogical suggestion. In Tamil Nadu, there were only 30 districts and so the number of MPS would come down to 30 from the
present 39. Similarly in Uttar Pradesh, there were 120 districts and the number of MPs there would increase. There would be imbalance, he said. He said the EPIC size would be reduced and would be made to the size of a credit card. He ruled out replacing the old EPIC with the new small EPIC cards. Only new voters would get the new card, he said.
— PTI
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NDA CMs accuse Centre of bias
New Delhi, March 29 Briefing mediapersons, BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said that the NDA is going to launch an agitation against the UPA’s failure to arrest the price rise which was hitting the common man hard. Nine NDA Chief Ministers, who attended the conclave, accused the Centre of slashing power and PDS quota to their states.
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Bring justice closer to citizens, CJI urges media New Delhi, March 29 “I would like to utilise this occasion to once again restate the judiciary’s commitment to bringing all aspects of administration of justice closer to every citizen. Such a task cannot be accomplished without cooperation and synergy with the media,” the CJI said. The editor-in-chief of The Tribune,
H.K. Dua, strongly defended the media’s role as a watchdog and held a mirror to much talked about corruption in lower judiciary. In his attack on the judiciary, Dua pointed to lack of transparency in appointment of judges and influence by governments of all political dispensations to have their favourites on the Bench. He wondered why the appointment procedure and selection criterion of Supreme Court judges was veiled in secrecy when even the procedures for simple school and college admissions were transparent. Reacting forcefully to daylong media bashing by sitting judges of the Supreme Court and eminent orators at the workshop, Dua asserted that the job of the media is to find faults. Referring to Justice
S.H. Kapadia’s observation that journalists should be seekers of truth rather than finders of fault, Dua said, “I would like to be advised by the judges, when fault is the truth, what do we do?” The editor’s thought provoking query earned him loud applause and felicitations later from a large number of
mediapersons, in the distinguished gathering, for speaking up for the media boldly. Relying on the former Chief Justice of India, Justice Barucha’s observation that 20 per cent of the judiciary is corrupt, Dua reminded the latter to pay attention to more pressing issue of addressing corruption in lower judiciary. Justice Balakrishnan said although the media has been “very efficient, factual and yet searching in portraying the role of the judiciary and the status of administration of justice, there have been some inadvertent errors that seem to seep in periodically, perhaps due to systemic difficulties. Such errors inadvertently impede the functioning of the judiciary as they often tend to lead to unnecessary confusion among the public.” Press Council of India chairman Justice
G.N. Ray said there had been enormous protest against a trial by media of public personalities. The PCI chairman said a fair trial had precedence over freedom of speech. He said the judges should use the power to punish anybody for contempt, with utmost restraint. Prominent among others who spoke were Justice Arijit Pasayat, information and broadcasting secretary Asha Swarup, consultant editor of The Pioneer Hiranmay Karlekar and director-news of Aajtak Qamar Wahid Naqvi.
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Menon to visit Pak next month
New Delhi, March 29 While Menon will be reviewing the fourth round of the Indo-Pak Composite Dialogue process, Mukherjee will be discussing with his Pakistani counterpart the roadmap for the fifth and identify its broad contours. However, New Delhi has reasons to be perturbed over the latest vibes emanating from Pakistan, particularly because these are indicative of a hard line Pakistani position on the issue India is most sensitive about: Pakistan’s support to terrorism in India. Even as Yousaf Raza Gilani was taking the oath as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Army chief, Gen Ashfaq
Kayani, went to address JCOs and NCOs at forward locations on the Line of Control (LOC), and re-affirmed renewed army support to the Kashmir cause. Political support to the Kashmir cause is understandable, but what does “ military support” mean? This is the question being asked by Pakistan observers here.
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Neera Yadav seeks VRS
Lucknow, March 29 About two years ago, Yadav rewrote a dubious chapter in the annals of the country’s history by being the first chief secretary in India to be removed from office by a specific order of the Supreme Court. The decision comes a day after former chief secretary, and another one of the three most corrupt IAS officers, A.P. Singh, was formally chargesheeted by the CBI for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. While Yadav had reportedly assigned no official reason to seek voluntary premature retirement, it is believed that the decision was prompted by her apprehension that major trouble laid ahead. Some of her colleagues in the elite service suspect that she chose to quit simply to pre-empt her criminal trial pending before a special CBI court in Ghaziabad. An officer of the 1973 batch of IAS, Yadav was due to superannuate in June 2008. She was currently holding the office of chairperson of State Bureau of Public Enterprises. Voted by the UP IAS Association as among the “three most corrupt IAS officers”, Yadav was chargesheeted by the CBI in a
multi-crore land scam during her stint as chairperson of NOIDA. She was also charged of amassing wealth far disproportionate to her legitimate sources of income. Already she had drawn much flak over the machinations through which she allegedly managed a clean-chit in the departmental inquiry that was running parallel to the CBI probe. Two days ago she had been ousted by her own colleagues from the coveted office of the president of the UP IAS Association - a position she had acquired a few weeks back reportedly by manipulative means. A senior IAS officer, who, a decade ago, had spearheaded the IAS Association’s campaign to carry out a secret ballot vote to identify the three most corrupt IAS officers in the state, felt, “Yadav’s decision would serve as an example to other tainted officers who were responsible for tarnishing the image of the prestigious service.”
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4 MNS activists held for smashing cabs Maneka Gandhi accused of stealing buffaloes IIM-A fees raised Polio case detected Plan to target higher education German family visits
foster-child Culling in West Bengal
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