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Manmohan has devalued PMO, says Advani
‘Bangladeshi infiltration threat to nation’
CJI for federal agency to tackle terror
Passage of N-deal |
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Amar: Ties with Cong under strain
Centre mulls relief for border farmers
Random strike calls hurting cause, Hizb chief tells separatists
Revisiting trails of Partition
At last, calm in Karnataka
Archbishop seeks ban on VHP, Bajranj Dal
Proximity to B’desh makes Assam vulnerable to terror
Saudi detained at airport
HCs cannot shift civil cases outside state: SC
Symposium on needs of retd service personnel
India to buy aircraft for much-delayed Gorshkov
‘Activist’ couple features in Guinness Book
Indian fisherman shot dead by Lankan navy
Passage of N-deal
Indo-Russian defence panel meets today
Lalu, Paswan’s assurance on wage board
Despite polls, MP Lokayukta goes on leave
HC directs CRPF to maintain hierarchy
Hoax calls now a non-bailable offence
At last, Laxmi Panda is a freedom fighter
Army chief denies differences with govt
Discuss FTA with EU in Parliament, CPM asks govt
Report on illegal mining along Aravalli hills sought
‘Sanjivani booti’ found?
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Manmohan has devalued PMO, says Advani
Guwahati, September 28 “I have great respect for Dr Manmohan Singh as an economist and bureaucrat, but it pains me to say that I have never seen such a weak and inefficient PM who readily compromises with corruption. I have never seen such devaluation of the PMO that leaves all decisions to 10 Janpath. Earlier, 7 Race Course was the most important address in the country and it has now shifted to 10 Janpath,” Advani said addressing the party’s sixth ‘Vijay Sankalpa Samaroh’ here today. Branding the UPA government as ‘inefficient’ and ‘corrupt’, Advani said: “This government has betrayed the common man like never before. Steep escalation of prices of essential commodities coupled with terrorism have made life miserable for the common people.” Alleging that farmers’ loan waiver scheme was merely an eyewash, Advani said no country in the world had seen suicide committed by such a large number of farmers for failing to clear debts. “Price escalation, agriculture and terrorism were the biggest failures of the UPA government,” he added. He also alleged that farmers in most parts of the country were yet to receive the benefits of the loan waiver scheme announced by the Union finance minister. The former deputy Prime Minister, however, admitted that his NDA government had also gone wrong with its ‘India Shinning’ poll campaign in 2004 and said: “India will shine only when the benefits percolate to the poorest section.” Advani promised ‘good and clean governance’ by the NDA if voted to power, and claimed that all BJP-ruled states in the country were setting examples of it. He particularly praised the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat. “Though some people have tried their best to portray Narendra Modi as a villain, it is in Gujarat where the per capita income of Muslims is highest in the country,” he said.
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‘Bangladeshi infiltration threat to nation’
BJP president L.K. Advani today said the problem of illegal infiltration from Bangladesh to Assam and other northeastern states was not only a threat to people of the region, but also a grave threat to national security.
Advani, referring to reported involvement of suspected Bangladeshi migrants in yesterday’s blast at Merauli flower market in New Delhi, said: “Illegal migration from Bangladesh also facilitates infiltration by Pakistani ISI agents into the country.” Addressing the party’s sixth ‘Vijay Sankalpa’ rally here this afternoon, Advani said the BJP wanted immediate end to demographic invasion from Bangladesh and deportation of illegal Bangladeshis. “Muslims in Assam should rest assured that their interests won’t be affected by our stand against Bangladeshi infiltrators,” he said. He reiterated the party’s commitment to expedite the process of providing multiple photo-identity cards to all Indian citizens and prepare a National Register of Citizens (NRC), and lambasted the incumbent Congress-led government at the Centre for going slow on the project that had been initiated by the previous NDA government. Ridiculing the propaganda by opposition parties, who call BJP a communal party, Advani said, “The BJP believes that real secularism is a situation where people from all religions could enjoy their religious rights with equal dignity and pride.” He promised to set up a new department to deal with religious pilgrimage in the country if the NDA was voted to power, and said the famous Kamakhya Temple in the city would receive a massive facelift under the religious tourism agenda of the NDA. In a bid to woo voters before the Lok Sabha polls, Advani said: “Northeast may be far away from Delhi, but close to the heart of the BJP.” He called upon the people of Assam to play a big role in the victory of BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in the next general elections in the state. Regarding BJP’s alliance with AGP, Advani said the matter would be decided during a meeting later in the day.
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CJI for federal agency to tackle terror
New Delhi, September 28 ''A federal agency will be in a better position to investigate bomb attacks as such incidents are taking place in a number of states. To combat terrorism, an inter-state coordination mechanism is very necessary,” the CJI told reporters after inaugurating the exhibition on Bhagat Singh here yesterday. Police in states were facing problems in ensuring proper coordination among themselves for effective investigation in terror cases and a central mechanism could fill this void, he pointed out. The suggestion for an anti-terror federal agency has been made by several quarters, including the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by M. Veerappa Moily. On demands for a tougher anti-terror law, Chief Justice Balakrishnan said he could understand such views, but sweeping provisions were prone to be misused. It was for the government to weigh the pros and cons and if at all a decision was taken in favour of such a law, sufficient safeguards should be incorporated in it to prevent human rights’ violation, he said. In his interaction with journalists earlier, the CJI said a massive recruitment process was on to fill up as many as 3,200 vacancies in lower courts and 264 in High Courts as part of the efforts for speedy disposal of cases. The vacancies accounted for as much as 20 per cent of the total strength of district judges (16,158), he said. In UP alone, 514 district judges had been selected and appointments would be made soon, while in Tamil Nadu more than 200 such judges had been selected. The situation was more serious in High Courts where 30 per cent of posts of judges was vacant. Of the total strength of 876, the vacancies accounted for 264. However, this was partly due to the fact that the strength of judges had recently been increased in several HCs. The maximum number of vacancies (76) was in Allahabad, he said.
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Passage of N-deal
New Delhi, September 28 Opposition parties, on the other hand, once again expressed their apprehensions with the Left categorically saying that there was nothing to celebrate and that the nuclear deal would only "seal India's surrender" to the US
dictats. Terming the passage of the nuclear deal as a “remarkable feat”, Congress spokesperson M. Veerappa Moily said the country was also "grateful" to US President George Bush. Meanwhile, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said the seal was nothing but India's surrender to the American policies. CPM national secretary D. Raja said all apprehensions expressed by the Left parties had come true, adding that the Prime Minister was desperate to somehow get the deal pass through the US Congress. "The US has been very consistent in keeping its position clear and categorical and the Prime Minister will have to be accountable," he added. Raja said the deal was in favour of the United States and that India would have to face serious consequences. "It is not in the interest of India. This agreement is an effort to bail out the American economy which is in deep financial crisis,” he said, adding that the Left would collectively take a decision about the future course of action on the issue. Forward Bloc secretary D. Deverajan said the Centre would be forced to formulate future foreign policies in congruence with the US. “It is clear that all promises made by the Prime Minister in Parliament stand violated. The deal will benefit only American private monopolistic nuclear companies,” he said. As far as the BJP is concerned, party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad termed the latest clearance as a procedural step by one House of the US Congress before going to the Senate. "Once the final fine print comes, we will make our comment," he said He did say that his party was concerned as to how far there would be a cap on India's strategic autonomy on the right to test. "We are getting very disturbing signals about no binding commitments on assurance of fuel supply," he added. Meanwhile, science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said the party was awaiting the final approval.
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Amar: Ties with Cong under strain
New Delhi, September 28 "As far as our political interests are concerned. We are not happy," party general secretary Amar Singh told a news channel today. “We drew close to the Congress and its national leaders because of convergence of national and political interests.” However, the Samajwadi party leader expressed hope in Gandhi's
leadership. "We still have hope in Sonia Gandhi," he said. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had held impromptu discussions at Lucknow airport yesterday during a chance meeting. The two leaders held discussions for 20 minutes at the VVIP lounge of Chaudhury Charan Singh airport before boarding the same flight for Delhi, sources in the Congress and SP said. Congress and SP, who had bitter relations for four years, came together ahead of the July 22 trust vote in the Lok Sabha. However, the ties strained soon after, particularly after Amar Singh charged the Congress with trying to poach on his party's four MLAs in Madhya Pradesh.
— PTI
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Centre mulls relief for border farmers
New Delhi, September 28 The policy will not just be Punjab-centric as was the case earlier. It will be for all farmers in J&K, Rajasthan, and Gujarat along the Pakistan border and also for farmers in states that share border with Bangladesh. The ministry of home affairs has drawn up a plan to provide crop compensation on an annual basis and not make farmers wait for clearance, which delayed compensation to such an extent. This was a frequent occurrence when compensation used to be given to farmers in Punjab till 2003. Union minister of state for home V. Radhika Selvi in a letter written on September 17 to BJP MP from Hoshiarpur Avinash Rai Khanna has confirmed the move. Khanna had raised the matter under rule 377
in the Lok Sabha during its last session and Selvi has replied to his queries now. Selvi's letter says that the decision to give compensation to farmers who have lands across the fence involves a major policy decision and the same was being examined in the ministry. Prior to 2003 farmers in Punjab whose fields were beyond the fence were paid Rs 2,500 per annum per acre. Though, sources said, an exact sum is yet to be decided, the policy when cleared will cover all aspects. The compensation is due to the extreme hardships these people face in tilling their lands. Farmers whose lands are beyond the fence cannot grow a crop that is over 2.5 feet tall, besides they can work only from 10 am to 5 pm, and are frisked every time they go to their fields. The BSF has gates that open within these times only. The BSF has thankfully now recruited a women unit that will frisk the women of the villages who need to cross the fence through the gates. The BSF has mooted a proposal to construct 213 km of axial roads and another 390 km of lateral roads in Punjab along the border belt with Pakistan. The MHA is considering this actively as road connectivity in the border belt is very poor and roads have to cleared keeping in mind the strategic needs. Road connectivity in the four districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur is the worst in the state.
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Random strike calls hurting cause, Hizb chief tells separatists
The Pakistan-based Jammu and Kashmir’s terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen’s supreme commander Syed Salahudin has sensed that the entire Kashmir Valley coming to a grinding halt frequently may weaken the separatist movement.
The separatist leaders have given a call for October 6 for “Lal Chowk Chalo” to demand the right to self-determination for “azadi.” The Hurriyat (freedom) leaders’ plan is to convert their “azadi” agitation into a “civil disobedience” movement. Also, as chairman of the United Jehad Council, Salahudin has recognised the danger in regular shutting down of the valley as it has started pinching the common man. The United Jehad Council is an umbrella organisation of more than a dozen Pakistan-based terrorist outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir. Hizbul Mujahideen, founded in 1989, is generally described as the largest and oldest of the Kashmir liberation terror groups, comprising mainly of “local” Kashmiri cadres. Salahuddin reportedly trained with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami training camps in Khost, Afghanistan. Many of Hizbul Mujahideen bases in the Pakistan- occupied Kashmir were destroyed during the 2005 earthquake. Based in Muzzafrabad (PoK), Salahuddin is one of India's most-wanted terrorists. His real name is Mohammad Yusuf Shah. When he picked up a gun in mid-eighties “to fight for azadi,” he came to be known in the underground movement by his code name - Salahuddin. And he continues to be known more by that name than the real one. Salahuddin’s name figures in the list of among 20 terrorists and criminals whom India has asked Pakistan to hand them over. Some time back, he claimed that “no one can hand him over to India.” Salahuddin originally belongs to Soibugh in the Budgam district, near Srinagar. In 1987, he unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election from the Amira Kadal constituency of the Srinagar city as a Muslim United Front candidate. He left his wife and children behind in his native village and has been living mainly in Pakistan for about two decades. He is said to be close to the Srinagar-based separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the hardliner Hurriyat Conference. In a statement from Muzzaffrabad, Salahudin has cautioned the Kashmir Valley’s separatist leaders that the strike call should be given in extreme conditions only. The authorities here see it as an attempt by the Hizbul Mujahideen to win back support among the people as the militant organisation over the years, they claim, has more or less been ‘neutralised’ by the security agencies. However, Salahudin has asked its Hizbul Mujahideen cadres “not to carry out action against security forces in the civilian areas but the same (read attacks) can be carried out in areas where there is no or less movement of people.” Salahudin has communicated to the separatist leaders’ coordination committee that “it must be ensured that there is no hartal and if there is a need for the same then it should be partial which will not burden people with difficulties and they carry on with their routine work.” The Kashmir Valley shuts down quite frequently in response to bandh calls given by the Jammu and Kashmir coordination committee, an alliance of separatist groups, traders, businessmen, lawyers and fruit growers. This has started affecting the life of the common man. The worst sufferers are the daily earners, like Dal Lake shikarawallas. Salahudin has asked the separatist parties’ coordination committee not to give random strike calls as it brings numerous hardships to people. He has advised the “pro-freedom” leaders that it is necessary to chalk out such a strategy which would ensure that the “azadi movement is carried forward and at the same time no harm is caused to the people’s interests.” The United Jehad Council chairman is of the opinion that the strike call must be given in extreme conditions. “It must be ensured that there is no hartal and if there is a need for the same then it should be partial which will not burden people with difficulties and they carry on with their routine work.” In Kashmir, 85 per cent of people are daily wagers and they cannot afford to lose per day earnings, which tell upon their sustenance, he points out. The coordination committee, according to him, should play its part in unifying the separatist leadership and it should not wind up its operations. Any differences among the separatist leaders would work in the interest of the government of India. The unification among separatist leaders would defeat the designs of the people who want to bifurcate or trifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Advising the separatist leadership, the Hizbul Mujahideen’s supreme commander says that both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference - one led by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the other by moderate Mirwaiz Umar Farooq - should be given due representation in the coordination committee and the membership issue should be resolved by means of reconciliation “and the interests of people should guide the separatist leaders.”
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Revisiting trails of Partition
New Delhi, September 28 The book vividly describes the soul and spirit of Delhi and Karachi in a heart-rending manner. It is about the trauma that transformed the subcontinent into a new metamorphosed place and narration of intensely original tales of devastating losses and mass tribulation. Noorani, a prolific writer, book reviewer and humourist, said the present generation of the two countries had a totally different attitude towards each other, as they did not carry the baggage of the Partition and expressed the hope that this would go a long way in bringing peace to the region. Releasing the book, deputy high-commissioner of Pakistan Afrasaib Khattak said, “Both Pakistan and India are important countries and their diplomats are doing their bit on the front of strengthening bilateral ties, but cultural ties are more important because they offer a faster route to harmony.’’ To a question on the Kashmir problem, the Pakistani envoy said, “There is an element of distrust which still permeates in the minds of people of both sides.’’ Kuldip Nayar, a known journalist who migrated from Karachi to Delhi, said this book would remind all of us that roots were very important in everyone’s life. He said he regularly visited Pakistan because of the bonding between the people of both sides. The book, the fourth by the Roly Books under its Cross-Border Talks series, brilliantly chronicles not only just the lives of two individuals but successfully gives a whole new dimension to the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan.
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At last, calm in Karnataka
Bangalore, September 28 AM Prasad, IGP (Western Range), under whose jurisdiction affected areas such as Mangalore and Udupi fall, told TNS on the phone from Mangalore, “everything was peaceful today. We did not receive any report of an attack on a religious place”. AR Infant, ADGP (law and order), when contacted, said there was no report about any attack on a church. Recent past saw Sunday congregations of Christians being targeted by Hindu fanatics for creating disturbances. On Friday night a Christian prayer hall in Bangalore and a church in Bantwal were desecrated by miscreants. The prayer hall near a police station at Yelahanka here was vandalised and the Bible burnt. Another church was attacked at Shamboor village in Dakshina Kannada district. Christian organisations here are demanding the transfer of some police officials, including the Bangalore city police commissioner, for failing to provide adequate security to minorities. The city police commissioner’s version on the ransacking of a church in Marianpalya area of Bangalore in the intervening night of September 20 and 21 has been questioned by church the priest. The police commissioner had said that two gold crowns and Rs 1,000 in cash had been stolen from the church anhd that the church could have been broken into by burglars rather than Hindu bigots. Priest Joseph Menzes said there was no question of crowns going missing from the church since none was ever kept there. On the alleged theft of Rs 1,000, he said money in the wooden contribution box, which was broken by the miscreants, was yet to be counted.
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Archbishop seeks ban on VHP, Bajranj Dal
New Delhi, September 28 “I do feel that she is concerned, but that’s another accusation that the Hindutvavadis have been leveling against her because she is a Christian,” Concesso said in a interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN programme Devil’s Advocate. Thapar had asked the archbishop whether he believed that Sonia was willing to use her position and influence to protect and help Indian Christians. The archbishop accepted that he felt disappointed when his letter to Sonia Gandhi in January 2007 regarding the anti-conversion bill of the then Congress-led Himachal government did not get any response. When specifically asked whether that had disappointed him, he said, “Well, I could say so.” When questioned about the response from the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi to the current situation, he said he believed that they were sympathetic but were bound by limitations of coalition and centre-state relations. “They were very sympathetic and felt it is a shame that these things are happening in the states. Then they also pointed out their limitations because the question of state-centre relationship comes and also they are dependent on other parties working in alliance with them,” Concesso said. Demanding a ban on VHP and Bajrang Dal, the Archibishop said: “Because of what they have done in the last few weeks, we want a ban on Bajrang Dal. And even VHP, which is very closely related to Bajrang Dal.” Concessao, president of National United Christian Forum, also said Christians in the country were feeling “insecure and scared” because the government “has not been able to protect them from atrocities.” He alleged that the Naveen Patnaik government was “not even doing the minimum” to protect the community. When Thapar pointed out that Patnaik said he had done everything to protect the community, the Archbishop said, “Not at all. Not everything. He has not even done the minimum that was required to protect the citizens.” Concessao also said those targeting churches were not representatives of the vast majority of Hindus, adding that he had a “very clear” feeling that these fringe groups attacking Christians were not Hindus. About the conversion and the right to convert, the Archbishop said limiting the freedom to choose one’s religion was equal to denying a person his or her fundamental rights. “If you are limiting the freedom of people to choose a religion that they want, you are denying them their freedom,” he said. Meanwhile, the Congress, while reacting to Concessao statement, said it understood the archbishop’s “anguish” but disagreed with him that Sonia has not criticised the attacks strongly. “I can understand the anguish of the archbishop, but we are clear, from the Congress president downwards to the last worker, that if any person is attacked in the name of faith, the party will be in the forefront of defending them,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi also said Orissa and Karnataka governments were forced to act because of the Central government’s warning. There have been strong advisories to the state governments and those who were colluding with perpetrators now act cautiously because of the Congress government’s stern warnings, he added.
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Proximity to B’desh makes Assam vulnerable to terror
Guwahati, September 28 “Our state is more vulnerable. Being nearer to Bangladesh, the threat perception (from HuJI elements) is much higher in Assam,” Gogoi told the media here yesterday. He also pointed at the porous Indo-Bangladesh border and said being surrounded by other countries on all sides made Assam and the Northeast more vulnerable. “Our borders are porous. There are rivers along the (Indo-Bangladesh) border. There are so many problems. We have to be more careful,” he said. Gogoi, who said he had instructed the police to provide “maximum” security cover to L.K. Advani who is arriving here on a two-day visit to the Northeast, also pointed out that Assam had more insurgent groups in comparison to all other states of the country. Gogoi ruled out any possibility of disbanding the three-tier Unified Command (UC) structure of the Army that is assisted by the Assam Police and paramilitary forces. He said the state government was not heeding to the recommendation of the Justice K.N. Saikia Commission, which inquired into certain cases of secret (extra judicial) killings of kin of ULFA members in the state during 1998-2001, to disband the Unified Command. Gogoi said: “The Unified Command structure will continue till it remains a necessity for the state to fight insurgency. There is no question of dismantling it till the law and order situation improves to satisfactory levels.
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Saudi detained at airport
New Delhi, September 28 He was taken into custody by sleuths of the Delhi police and Intelligence Bureau at around 8.30 am as soon as he reached here from Jeddah, sources said. The suspect is being questioned at an undisclosed location and investigators are trying to ascertain if he has any role in the funding of the terror outfit. The IB is trying to ascertain the funding channel of the Indian Mujahideen. The outfit's alleged chief Atif Amin and another member Mohammad Sajid were killed in an encounter with the police while five others were arrested for their role in the serial blasts. Meanwhile, a report from Bangalore said a final-year architect student from Bijapur had been arrested in connection with the serial blasts in Bangalore three months ago. Mohemmed Sami, during interrogation, gave vital information about the blasts. He had links with several top SIMI leaders, the police said adding that CDs on Jehadi movement and literature were seized from his house in Bijapur. Sami was remanded to judicial custody.
— PTI/UNI
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HCs cannot shift civil cases outside state: SC
New Delhi, September 28 In other words, if in a matrimonial dispute the husband is residing in Madhya Pradesh and the wife in Maharashtra, then neither the HC of Madhya Pradesh nor the Bombay HC have the power to transfer the case of the couple from one state to another. The power to transfer civil proceedings from one state to another is vested only in the Supreme Court and the HCs have no such power, a two-judge Bench of Justices C.K Thakker and D.K Jain has ruled. The Bench said that by this decision it was overruling all previous decisions of various HCs in the country wherein the respective HCs had assumed the power to transfer civil proceedings to other states. The apex court passed the ruling while upholding the appeal of Durgesh, a resident of Ujjain, challenging the Madhya Pradesh HC’s order to transfer his matrimonial dispute case to a court in Nasik in Maharashtra on the plea of his wife, Jayashree. The wife had pleaded transfer of the case to Nasik in Madhya Pradesh on the ground that as a single woman she could not travel 400 km to Ujjain to fight the case filed by her.
— PTI
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Symposium on needs of retd service personnel
New Delhi, September 28 “The bravehearts who are always ready to lay their lives for their nation are forced into a premature feeling of old age when they still have much to give. The social transformation that follows becomes very traumatic if there is no planning beforehand,” said General Sandhu. “Thus, these men in uniform seek better compensation for their services and retired personnel need far greater compassionate approach to their needs than anybody else,” said retired Wing Commander Praful Bakshi, who also spoke on the occasion. Bakshi urged that the government and the corporate houses should devise ways for gainful employment of the retired personnel in PSUs and MNCs, which can be done by firmer political will and planning. While comparing the Army personnel and the civil servants, he said, “A civil servant has a total stability of his/ her tenure whereas the armed forces personnel doesn’t enjoy that privilege and also has to lose touch with his/her roots.” “A collective study and honest thought by a suitable planning body and gatherings like this can address the issue, thereby helping the cause of safeguarding the rights of elders,” he added. Referring to the latest pay hike of the Defence forces as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, Sandhu said, “We have lost our place and our officers of yesteryears are responsible for putting their foot down before the bureaucracy. The ECHS doesn’t seem to reach to retired personnel in far-flung areas. Now the government and the Sixth Pay Commission have to address and rectify the anomalies in the armed forces pay packages.”
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India to buy aircraft for much-delayed Gorshkov
Mumbai, September 28 The two governments have decided to sign a deal to buy 30 more of these aircraft even though there is no clarity as to when the aircraft carrier would be delivered. India is banking on the changing geo-political scenario between Russia and America to help quicken work on Admiral Gorshkov. India is likely to pay a higher price to the Russians for the upgradation work currently undergone by the aircraft carrier. India expects the ship to be received by 2012 though reports from Russia say delivery may be delayed further. The Russians are said to be demanding a price escalation of $2 billion, nearly double the original cost of $2.5 billion. Under the 2004 contract for the acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, India is to receive 12 single-seater MiG-29K and four two-seater MiG-29KUB by next year. The contract had an option of ordering additional 30 fighters by 2015 and the Russians are said to be pressuring India into ordering the additional aircraft. According to sources, the Indian Navy may be forced to utilise the aircraft for the purpose of training crew. The Russians have also pitched the idea of the aircraft being deployed aboard the indigenous aircraft carrier being developed by India. As of now, the MiG 29K aircraft are as good as useless if, for any reason, India decides not to take delivery of Gorshkov. Sources say, training facilities for the MiG 29 aircraft are being built at the Vasco da Gama naval base in Goa. The MiG-29K and the MiG-29KUB, to be delivered to India, are made by the MiG Corporation at its Lukhovitsky plant, near Moscow. Naval crews, who would operate the aircraft, are also being trained in Russia.
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‘Activist’ couple features in Guinness Book
New Delhi, September 28 Subhash Chandra Agrawal features in the Guinness Book of World Records for most letters to editors - 3,699 till January 31, 2006- published in newspapers in a lifetime. Interestingly, his wife, Madhu, also shares a space in the book for the maximum number of letters published in newspapers in a year -- 447 in 2004. She was also adjudged world record holder by the Limca Book of Records for maximum published letters by a woman. The couple takes up causes of national and public interest by writing to newspapers and authorities concerned on subjects ranging from the Constitution to finance, banking to communication and transport to television. Agrawal is a prominent Right to Information (RTI) activist, who regularly takes up issues of national interest through his numerous petitions filed under the RTI Act. The Central Information Commission lists his public interest petitions for priority hearing, constituting an unusual full Bench for hearing his petition, concerning the Chief Justice of India in one instance. His petitions are keenly observed in judicial and bureaucratic circles. Agrawal wrote his first letter to the Dainik Hindustan editor in 1967 over an unpleasant experience with a bus conductor, who refused to give him a proper ticket.
— UNI
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Indian fisherman shot dead by Lankan navy
Rameswaram, September 28 According to official sources here, the deceased was identified as S. Murugan (32), hailing from Thathaneri in Madurai district. Murugan along with four other fishermen ventured into the sea for fishing in a mechanised boat from Rameswaram yesterday. While they were fishing near Katchatheevu Island in early today, a Sri Lankan naval vessel opened unprovoked firing on the fishing trawler. Murugan, who was hit by a bullet on his chest, died on the spot. The remaining crew managed to escape unhurt. His body was brought to the shore and sent to the government hospital, where the doctors conducted a post-mortem. Later, his body was brought to Thathaneri for cremation. A pall of gloom descended on the Island town of Rameswaram and Thathaneri following the incident. A large number of policemen were deployed in the fishing hamlets to prevent any untoward incidents in view of the tense situation.
— UNI
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AWACS Delay
New Delhi, September 28 The Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) will arrive only in February next year, about 15 months behind its original schedule of November 2007. Consequently, the IAF’s efforts to establish advanced Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS) through the Air Force Net (AF Net) communication network would be hit. “AF Net may be delayed by a month or two. We were expecting it around December. Now it is coming around February,” IAF chief Fali Homi Major said today. “Two months is no delay as far as we are concerned,” Major added, suggesting that the IAF would strive to offset the delay from their side. Meanwhile, IAF vice-chief Air Marshal P.V. Naik, referring to the delay in delivery schedule of AWACS till February 2009, said some technical glitches were the reasons behind it. AWACS, a major force multiplier for the IAF, is a vital link in the AF Net, a communication network that is the key to IAF’s dreams of emerging as a network-centric force. The $1.1 billion deal was signed by India in March 2004 for three AWACS from Israeli Aerospace Industries for mounting the systems on three Russian-made IL-76 heavy-lift transport aircraft. IAF’s Agra air base is preparing itself to receive the AWACS by improving its infrastructure, including extending the runway, establishing an avionics lab and integrating ground systems for future operations of the radar-mounted IL-76s aircraft.
— PTI
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Indo-Russian defence panel meets today
New Delhi, September 28 The meeting will also discuss licensed and joint production, joint development and production of systems and platforms, interaction between the two armed forces and military technical cooperation. Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov is leading a high-powered military delegation to take part in the meeting. Serdyukov will co-chair the commission meeting with defence minister A.K. Antony. Serdyukov is visiting India for the first time as the Russian defence minister. During his three-day stay in India, he would be visiting the BrahMos Aerospace Complex in the capital besides the Para Brigade of the Army in Agra. IRIGC-MTC was established in 2000 with a view to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation. India and Russia share long standing friendly relations. Since the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries in 2000, the two governments have steadily developed and strengthened bilateral cooperation covering a range of areas of which defence forms a significant component.
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Lalu, Paswan’s assurance on wage board
Gaya, September 28 Addressing a two-day national level seminar of the journalists here, Lalu said he would try his best toward implementing the recommendations of the wage boards. He also appealed to the journalists to launch a movement unitedly for their cause. The minister underscored the relevance of the print media in the present scenario, stating that the entire sphere of news would be incomplete without newsprints and newspapers. He also urged the electronic media to concentrate and give priority to positive news. Speaking on the occasion, Union steel and fertiliser minister Ramvilas Paswan said media was essential to strengthen democracy. He added media freedom was unfortunately under pressure from media house owners. He also gave assurance for the implementation of the wage board recommendations.
— UNI
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Despite polls, MP Lokayukta goes on leave
Bhopal, September 28 But what makes this rather longish vacation of the highest anti-corruption authority of the state significant is the fact that by the time the two Justices are back on their jobs, the process of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh would have gone underway. And this means a big relief for at least half-a-dozen ministers, including the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The Lokayukta is presently enquiring into graft cases against at least six ministers. More importantly, the probe into, what has come to be known as the “Dumper scam”, involving the wife of the CM, is in its last stage. Now, there is no hope that the Lokayukta will come out with its findings on the cases against the CM and his colleagues before the assembly elections - something that could have given the opposition a convenient handle to the beat the ruling party with. That possibility having receded, the ruling BJP has heaved a sigh of relief.
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HC directs CRPF to maintain hierarchy
New Delhi, September 28 Directing the director-general of the CRPF, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M C Garg, said, “Under no circumstances, a person wearing a higher rank can report to a person of lesser rank or to the one who has picked up the rank after him.” The hierarchy in service was necessary to maintain and for all practical purposes, a person who holds a rank cannot be asked to report to his junior. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by a doctor in the CRPF, Dr N C Saha, challenging two official letters of the CRPF director -general dated September 22, 1999 and October 18, 2001.
— UNI
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Hoax calls now a non-bailable offence
New Delhi, September 28 The city police has started charging such troublemakers for creating fear among public under Section 505-B of the
IPC, which is a non-bailable offence. “We hope this will act as a warning and deterrent. A hoax call means a lot of pressure on us. Any call to the PCR cannot be ignored like that and someone has to rush to the spot. Some did it for fun, others to create trouble,” a senior police official said. For the first time, the Delhi police invoked Section 505-B last month against a
Noida-based teacher, Rose Dehb, who allegedly sent SMSes to a lawyer on August 2 that bomb blasts would take place in Patiala House and the Supreme
Court. Dehb allegedly wanted to implicate two lawyers, Atif Hussain and Akhlaq Hussain because of personal enmity and sent several SMSes threatening to blow up the historic India Gate and courts in the city. Of late, there has been an increase in the number of bomb hoax calls after the serial blasts in the capital, which kept cops on their toes. Soon after the blasts, there were bomb scares at Barakhamba Road, Rajiv Chowk Metro station and other places in the capital.
— PTI
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At last, Laxmi Panda is a freedom fighter
Cuttack, September 28 Battling with her life for the past 15 days at the SCB Medical College Hospital here, Laxmi received, without much elation, the news that President Pratibha Patil has recognised her as a freedom fighter and also sanctioned her a grant of pension under the Swatantra Sainik Samman Pension (SSSP) Scheme. Named as Indira by none other than INA founder Subash Chandra Bose, Laxmi had been struggling for the six decades to get this honour of being called a freedom fighter but it was eluding her for the reason that she was not jailed at any point of time during the freedom struggle.
— PTI
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Army chief denies differences with govt
New Delhi, September 28 He expressed hope that the three-member committee headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee would look into all-genuine and bonafide requests of the armed forces. The committee, which also has defence minister A.K. Antony and finance minister P Chidambaram, was constituted yesterday to go into the objections raised by the armed forces over the pay panel recommendations. The committee is expected to give interim relief within a week.
— PTI
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Discuss FTA with EU in Parliament, CPM asks govt
New Delhi, September 28 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is flying from New York to Marseilles on September 29, leading the Indian delegation to the ninth India-EU summit. An India-EU FTA is high on the agenda of the summit. The CPM Politburo has demanded that “the draft proposals, existing negotiating positions and studies conducted by the Indian government on the India-EU FTA should be debated in Parliament.”
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Report on illegal mining along Aravalli hills sought
New Delhi, September 28 A Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan asked the ministry's regional office at Lucknow to verify the contention of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), set up by the court to look into the environmental aspects of all projects in the forest areas, that the licenses of 157 mines in the Aravalli hills had been renewed in violation of a December 2002 Supreme Court order. The court was hearing on Friday a petition of the Bandhua Mukhti Morcha.
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‘Sanjivani booti’ found?
Dehra Dun, September 28 Describing it as a big achievement, Baba Ramdev thanked the team members led by Acharya Balkrishan, who found the herb following a trek to the hill. Acharya Balkrishan said sanjivani booti has properties of four different herbs like mrita sanjivani, vishalaya karni, sawarn karni and sandhani. Prof Hariram Pandey, an ayurveda expert, and Kaushal Kumar had accompanied the team, which trekked to Dronagiri early this month. The team returned to Hardwar yesterday.
— PTI
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India to help Egypt conserve key tourist spot 4 saved from flood fury Yoga for paramilitary jawans 3 debt-ridden weavers end life
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