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India denies sending more ships to Somali waters
Tribune Special
India can not afford weak govt: Advani |
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Pragya ‘Torture’
Pandey undergoes narco test
Delhi HC stays GCM of Lt Gen
Sahni caught up in corrupt practices
Golden Jubilee Celebrations
J & K Polls
Four Gehlots in fray from Sardarpura
Give protection to RSS also: Cong
Defamation Case
Nab killers of Rishikant: Editors Guild
INS flays attack on newspaper
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India denies sending more ships to Somali waters
New Delhi, November 21 The UN has sent a note to India saying that the Transitional Federation Government (TFG) of Somalia had also requested for help from the UN. India is also speaking to countries in the Indian-ocean rim and building a consensus. Also it has been made clear that no final decision has been taken on the number of additional ships to be deployed, while no new ship has been dispatched. Sources said if India was going to coordinate with the UN then a larger ship would be sent to escort conveys of merchant vessels, which could be from several countries. The INS Tabar, the present ship, is a 3,000 tonne frigate and India is to send a Delhi class 6,900 tonne destroyer. Indian position is clear it will co-ordinate with the UN, said officials. The UN note to India says Indian Navy can enter territorial waters to ‘suppress’ the scourge of piracy as mandated under the international law, a naval official said here on Friday. India had requested the UN to play a greater role in suppressing piracy in the Gulf of Aden in view of the United Nations resolution. The TFG government gave its nod recently, the official added. The official denied reports that the Indian Navy had been given the mandate for the ‘hot pursuit’of pirates in Somali waters as it posed a threat to the vital energy supply route for India. We have been given the mandate to function according to the UN resolutions, which allows us to enter Somali waters to restrain piracy in the region. Calling it a mandate for ‘hot pursuit’ will not be the right interpretation. In the UN Security Council resolution 1816 passed in June 2008, the international body had given permission for co-operating with the Transitional Federation Government (TFG) of Somalia to enter its territorial waters. ‘For a period of six months from the date of this resolution, states cooperating with the TFG in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia may enter the territorial waters of Somalia for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with such action permitted on the high seas with respect to piracy under relevant international law,’ the UNSC resolution 1816 states. Along with India, China has also put up a request for permission to enter Somali waters. However, the request is still pending even as Somali pirates presently hold captive two Chinese ships.
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Tribune Special
New Delhi, November 21 It was only after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the office of the defence minister came to know about the Navy’s act of sinking a pirate-ship, that India saw the opportunity to project its Navy as an international force, well-placed sources confirmed the developments that took place in New Delhi early in the morning of November 19. Naval warship INS Tabar, firing in retaliation, had sunk a pirate boat on the night on November 18 some 250 nautical miles south-west of the coat of Oman. It was only after the PMO sensed that the act of the Navy could project India as a country capable of protecting its maritime interests and commercial sea routes in international waters, that the Navy was asked to “brief” the media on the operational success and what was the incident. For more than 12 hours - between the time the pirate ship was attacked around 6:30 pm on November 18 and till about 8:00 am on November 19 - the Navy top brass was busy fending off questions and queries. Navy had referred the MoD to see the rules of engagement (RoE) for the deployment of the warship in the Gulf of Aden. The RoE had been cleared by the MoD itself a few days ago prior to the shooting down of the pirate vessel. This gave operational freedom to the commander of the warship. It would be a tactical error on part of any Navy to expect the commander to seek the permission of the New Delhi on what action was needed each time he encountered a pirate vessel in high seas, and that too thousands of miles away from home. The decisions had to be taken within spilt seconds and on assessing the damage the pirates could have caused. It was not just the Naval warship that could be escorting merchant vessels enroute to the Suez Canal. A warship was meant to instill fear in the pirates and show its strength. Interestingly, Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had put his foot down when the RoE was being drafted and is understood to have made it clear that operational freedom had to be with the commander, sources said. The MoD had raised almost similar questions when the Navy encountered the first set of pirates on November 11. During that operation the marine commandos of the Navy, using a chopper, had saved two merchant ships from falling prey to pirates.
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India can not afford weak
govt: Advani New Delhi, November 21 Comparing his NDA government’s rule, he said: “In 2004 Indians exuded confidence and hope about the future. India cannot afford a weak government with a failed leadership.” Attacking the UPA government he said: “The UPA is not a coalition but a mere collection of independent fiefdoms of ministers doing whatever they want to further their own personal agendas without any concern for the overall progress of the country and without any fear of the authority of the Prime Minister who has become a passive observer.” He contrasted The UPA government with the NDA rule in which he was the Deputy Prime Minister and said: “The NDA government was cohesive with Prime Minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee as the supreme authority.” He also bemoaned that while the NDA left the economic growth of the country at 8.5 per cent, the UPA government will leave it at mere 6 per cent.
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Pragya ‘Torture’
New Delhi, November 21 Advani told the NSA that he merely wanted the allegations levelled by Pragya Singh Thakur in her affidavit investigated thoroughly. Pragya was arrested last month by Maharashtra ATS in connection with the Malegaon blasts. She had alleged that while interrogating her, the ATS had tortured her mentally and physically. Earlier this week, Advani had reacted strongly and demanded scrapping the ATS and instead instituting a judicial probe into the allegations. Taking note of this, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called him up on phone, explaining the circumstances of her arrest. After the meeting Advani said: “My communication with the Prime Minister was limited to Pragya’s affidavit and that her allegations be inquired into and the Prime Minister said it was already been investigated into.” He also stated: “The NSA met me today and explained to me certain things and I told him that my communication to the Prime Minister was limited to the affidavit and the NSA said they were looking into the matter.” Neither Advani nor any other BJP leader said anything further. But sources indicate that the NSA disclosed to the Leader of Opposition several details of the insidious activities of the members of the Abhinav Bharat, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Shrikant Purohit. There were reports that members of the Abhinav Bharat were also planning murders of RSS leaders. The NSA is reported to have discussed the issue and other such activities of the Malegaon blast accused. Meanwhile, the BJP debunked these reports saying there is a clear contradiction in this. “On one hand they say the RSS was involved in terrorist activities, on the other they say the Sangh was being targeted. The RSS cannot be accused and victim at the same time,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
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Pandey undergoes narco test
Bangalore, November 21 Purohit’s laptop gives no clues
MUMBAI: Investigations into the laptop of arrested Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, key accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case, has shown that the Army officer apparently visited anti-Muslim websites frequently but revealed nothing incriminating.
— PTI
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Delhi HC stays GCM of Lt Gen
New Delhi, November 21 A Bench headed by Justice A.K. Sikri passed the interim order, just hours after the Army had announced the court martial proceedings against Sahni from November 26. “We direct that there shall be no court martial proceedings” till further orders, the court said on a petition filed by Sahni in the wake of summons issued by the General Officer Commanding in Chief. The Bench made it clear that Sahni would not have to report for the General Court Martial (GCM) proceedings at Jalandhar. Sahni is the senior-most Army officer, serving or retired, to have been summoned for disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act. Sahni, who retired in 2006 as the Army’s Director General (Supply and Transport), has been slapped with corruption charges for allegedly procuring poor quality food items in 2004. Under the Army Act, a retired officer could be subjected to court martial proceedings for offences committed during his service within three years of demitting office. The Delhi High Court had earlier rejected his plea against the disciplinary move, prompting the Army to invoke the provisions for court martial proceedings.
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Sahni caught up in corrupt practices
Chandigarh, November 21 The GOC-in-C, Western Command, issued the GCM’s convening orders on November 19. General Sahni’s writ petition came up for hearing before a division bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice A K Sikri and Justice Manmohan Singh, which granted a stay till January 13. The GCM was scheduled to commence at Jalandhar on November 24. Sources revealed that nine charges had been levelled against the officer pertaining to irregularities in procurements of supplies, misappropriation of funds and other acts of omission and commission during his tenure as Commandant, Army Service Corps Centre, Bangalore, and later as the DGST at AHQ. A court of inquiry (COI) had, in 2006, indicted General Sahni and several other officers, including a major general and two brigadiers, for alleged irregularities in the procurement of dry rations for the Army. In July 2006, the GOC-in-C, Western Command, had ordered disciplinary action against the general and brigadiers, while administrative action was recommended against the major general. The Delhi High Court had, subsequently set aside the COI on grounds that mandatory provisions of law were not complied with during the proceedings. The court also gave liberty to the Army to exercise any other power available to it under the Army Act to proceed against the accused as far as it did not rely upon the proceedings of the aforesaid COI. Procurement of cereals with lower specifications, improperly upgrading stock of dal arhar knowing that it contained harmful elements and failing to withhold payment worth lakhs for a consignment while quality inspection report was still pending were charges pertaining to his tenure as DGST that cropped up during the proceedings. Charges pertaining to his tenure as Commandant included financial misappropriation. In June last year, the Army had also issued orders to attach Brig P.S. Gill and Brig S.K. Handa to 1 Armoured Division, Patiala, for commencement of disciplinary proceedings. The Delhi High Court initially granted a stay on the attachment orders but subsequently ruled that the Army could proceed with the hearing of charge against them. Brigadier Gill thereafter moved the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on further proceedings and the Apex Court issued notices on November 10 to be answerable in 14 days.
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Golden Jubilee Celebrations
Bangalore, November 21 The occasion was the golden jubilee of the aircraft which was phased out from the IAF in 1991. The function, organised by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), came alive with reminisces of the Gnats veterans, who had gathered here for the function from as far Shillong and Malaysia. Among the participants were D. Lazarus and S. Soares, heroes of the Battle of Boyra in the 1971 war. In the Boyra battle, the Indian Gnats shot down three F-86 Sabre Jets belonging to the Pakistanis. A Sabre had six guns and against the Gnat’s two, but yet the Pakistanis lost it. While Lazarus described how the “dog fight” was actually fought, Soares talked about the celebrations and public euphoria that followed the Gnat’s feat against the Sabres in the sky of the East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) village on November 22. The veterans of the IAF’s 22 Squadron, which took part in the operation, are here now for the Golden jubilee function of Gnat. They have decided to assemble here tomorrow to celebrate the 37th anniversary of the battle. Air Marshal Denzil Keelor, a hero of the 1965 war, who was the first IAF pilot to shoot down a Pakistani Sabre, was also present in the function. He narrated how he brought down the Pakistani aircraft on the fateful day.
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J & K Polls
New Delhi, November 21 “It is most unfortunate that Pakistan has commented on an internal matter of India. We strongly object to these remarks,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said. He was reacting to a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson yesterday who said the ongoing polls in Jammu and Kashmir “cannot be construed as an authentic expression of the real aspirations of the Kashmiri people.’’ Prakash said: “It is in Pakistan's own interest to play a responsible role in the region. Comments such as these hardly suggest that it is prepared to do so.” Meanwhile, sources said the statement from Islamabad on the elections in J&K reflected Pakistan’s frustration over the fact that people had voted overwhelmingly in the electoral exercise. Meanwhile, the sources said Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would be on a three-day visit from November 26 during which he was expected to hold talks on bilateral issues with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and external affairs minister
Pranab Mukherjee.
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Four Gehlots in fray from Sardarpura
Sardarpura (Jodhpur), November 21 Topping the list of Gehlots is the former Chief Minister of Rajathan and Congress candidate from the constituency, Ashok Gehlot. He has his namesake, yet another Ashok Gehlot, contesting against him as an independent. While Ashok Gehlot (independent candidate) has been nominated by a BJP worker, the BJP has named Rajendra Gehlot as the party's candidate from the key constituency. Another independent Balveer Singh Gehlot, being supported by the Samajwadi Janata Party, is also trying his luck from the constituency known to be a pocket borough of Ashok Gehlot. Ashok Gehlot had polled 58,509 votes during the assembly elections last time. He had defeated BJP candidate Mahendra Kumar Jhabak by 18,991 votes.
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Give protection to RSS also: Cong
New Delhi, November 21 Making a suo motu observation following a report that members of Abhinav Bharat had plotted to kill senior RSS leaders, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said the RSS should be given protection, adding: “After all, they (RSS leaders) are also allah ke bande (god’s creation)…They also need to be protected. Our demand from the government is that those whose lives are in danger should be given protection.” The investigation report is stated to have been shared by the Maharashtra home department with the Union home ministry and central intelligence agencies. Ahmed said the “plot” smacked of a deeper conspiracy. “It is possible that after killing the leaders, they would have tried to trigger-off communal riots by implicating some other organisation in the crime,” he added. Political observers say the Congress, by making a suo-moto statement on the reported investigation report, want to show that the party was liberal and sympathetic enough to seek protection for a hard-liner Hindutva organisation. The Congress spokesperson also expressed surprise that the BJP, “who earlier was the strongest advocate of POTA was worried about Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the Malegaon blast accused.” The BJP today said the MCOCA was being deliberately slapped so that the blast accused could be interrogated for six months. “Interestingly, they (the BJP) have stopped saying anything now on POTA ever since members of their own family are now involved in terror activities. Maybe their views on POTA and MCOCA have now changed,” Ahmed said.
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Defamation Case
New Delhi, November 21 A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and P. Sathasivam granted the stay on a petition by Tytler, expressing the fear that his security would be seriously jeopardised if he was forced to appear before the
trial court. To substantiate his apprehension, the former union minister had submitted copies of the September 12 edition of The Tribune and two other newspapers, which had reported the presence of a crowd outside the Ludhiana court the previous day when he was supposed to appear before it. The crowd had reportedly shouted slogans against him. Tytler, however, did not turn up there that day as he was abroad. Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Harish Salve said the trial court had issued a bailable warrant against his client despite the fact that he had sought exemption from personal appearance. The court has already issued notice on September 8 on a plea by Tytler, seeking transfer of the defamation case to Haryana. According to Tytler, Phoolka has deliberately filed the case against him in Punjab, knowing that he
was facing threat to his life in that state and as such would not be able to visit there. The Bench fixed the next hearing for November 27 and the trial proceedings would remain stayed at least till then. Phoolka was counsel for several victims in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases in which Tytler was accused.
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A tribute to nature and divinity
New Delhi, November 21 In her latest work, renowned artist Kajal Nalwa pays tribute to nature and divinity by reasserting the need for a harmonious relationship between human beings and his surroundings. ‘A Journey’, an exhibition of her works, opened in the Capital today. Using the medium of oil on canvas solely with palette knife, Nalwa beautifully reflects the various shades of nature keeping the human existence
in the backdrop. “I deeply love nature and women have always been the provider of life. In these paintings I have tried to depict a relationship between the two that seems to be inter-dependent,” said Nalwa. While the idea behind the paintings is most important, Nalwa has done everything from minute detailing to using beautiful colours to make the paintings look appealing as well. “I love painting flowers and leaves. The leaves drawn on the bodies of women have been kept green and lively,” she said. Talking about her inspiration, Nalwa said: “Whenever I am on the move I look out of the window. Some of the paintings are of the fields that I passed through on my way to Chandigarh.” The paintings drawn over a period of one year reflect that iconographic interpretation of the divine force inspired the artist. “Ganesha symbolises the divine force that surrounds the human form. In the paintings the elephant God emerges out of sublime horizons,” she said. Abstraction in form and textural backgrounds add a mystical element to her works. The women in semi-abstract forms, somehow merging with her natural surrounding, brings in the element of an undercurrent that relates divinity to nature.
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Nab killers of Rishikant: Editors Guild
Chandigarh, November 21 The Guild is shocked by the killing of a young journalist Konsam Rishikant Singh, a junior sub-editor with the Imphal Free Press. The Guild’s letter to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, seeking protection for journalists and an impartial investigation, stated: “The Guild extends its support to the struggle of the Manipur editors and journalists and demands immediate action by both the Central and state governments to protect the media in Manipur.”
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INS flays attack on newspaper
Chandigarh, November 21 The society has noted that from the material on record, it was evident that the newspaper apprehended a threat and had informed the government of Karnataka a month ago. The failure of the government to provide adequate security and the resultant damages suffered by the publication on the night of November 17, constitute a shameful assault on freedom, the society pointed. Hormusji N. Cama, president, INS, said, “We are told by the publication that the attack was a direct consequence of editorial positions it had taken on several issues. In a pluralistic society where freedom of the Press is guaranteed by the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that there are no impediments to the functioning of mass media.”
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