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Statutory status for law commission soon: Govt
Pak’s fresh warning to India
BSF personnel keeping a vigil on the Indo-Pak border, about 180 km from Bikaner, on Thursday. — Reuters |
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Whether bomb falls in India or Pak, Nasreen would cry
Israelis offer to restore Nariman House
Shimon Rosenberg, grandfather of two-year-old Moshe who lost his parents during the 26/11 terror attacks, at Nariman House in Mumbai on Thursday. — PTI
Orissa observes peaceful Midnight Mass
Subdued X'mas in Mumbai
Fisheries Dept Scam
UP on boil as violence marks SP bandh
The Auraiya police station which was ransacked by the protesters on Thursday. — PTI
Antulay Saga
Cotton procurement policy for Punjab may be relaxed
Daylight Drama
Snail mail catches peddlers’ fancy
Stalin set to assume DMK treasurer charge
HC raps MoD over reply in pension case
Left in a fix
Heftier pay packets for Bihar govt employees
Hyderabad citizens now more secure
BJP: No favouritism in choosing candidates
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Statutory status for law commission soon: Govt
New Delhi, December 25 At present, the commission takes suo motu notice of various issues related to dispensation of justice and makes recommendations for making the judicial system more efficient. But it is for the government to accept or reject the proposals and as a result nearly one-fourth of the commission's reports are yet to be implemented. Recently, the government conveyed to the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice that it had begun the process for giving statutory backing to the commission, apparently to provide more teeth to the body as suggested by the committee. But the 31-member panel of lawmakers is now apparently having second thoughts about the proposed status of the commission, though it is appreciative of the government's move on the lines of the provisions in the United Kingdom and Canada. Asking the government to introduce the proposed Law Commission of India Bill in parliament, the committee in its latest report says "the matters referred to the law panel should be substantive and it should be on the basis of parliament debates and recommendation of standing committees." Basically, the commission should not be a parallel parliament to makes its new proposals that are never acted upon by either the executive or parliament, the committee said. In its latest report (214th), the commission suggested a review of the collegium system for the appointment of judges in high courts and the Supreme Court. But the law minister HR Bhardwaj was quick to virtually reject it, stating that the present arrangement had proved to be efficient and he had apprehensions about the kind of people who would try to get into a new mechanism. As many as 57 out of 214 reports submitted by the commission are awaiting government action. Apparently, this has prompted the lawmakers' panel to comment: "The committee feels that increasing number of reports in archives, made by expending people's tax money is totally unwarranted and uncalled for. Hence departments concerned should also be heard by law commission and report should be on the consensus and compelling necessity to the nation." If the government accepts the standing committee's new proposals, the commission would get statutory status, but would lose the present liberty to take up issues suo motu and would be constrained to come out with its proposals only on matters referred to it by the government on the basis of parliamentary debates and consultations with various ministries.
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Pak’s fresh warning to India
Islamabad, December 25 “India should forget about conducting surgical strikes inside Pakistani territory, otherwise it will have to face serious repercussions,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in Multan as Pakistani media reported the arrest of three alleged Indian spies. Reports said an agent of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Satish Anand Shukla was arrested from Lahore yesterday after a car bomb killed a woman and wounded four others. The security agencies also arrested two more suspected Indian spies with secret maps and cameras from Bahawalpur town in Punjab. However, there was no official confirmation available about the arrests. Qureshi said it would be a mistake on part of India if it carried out any surgical strikes and adding Pakistan would consider any such move as war against it. Pakistani armed forces were put on high alert after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke of options that could be considered in case Pakistan failed to take action against militants. New Delhi blamed the Mumbai terror attacks on militants with links to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), which Islamabad said had been banned years ago and does not exist. However, the Pakistani authorities sealed offices of Jamaat-ud-Da’awa (JD), an off-shoot of the banned LeT, and arrested a number of JD leaders, including their chief Hafiz Saeed and froze their assets in compliance with a resolution of the UN Sanctions Committee on Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Qureshi also dispelled the impression that the US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen had advised Pakistan not to retaliate in case of a strategic strike by India. He said neither Mullen gave such an advice nor would Pakistan accept any such request. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was also categorical in asking New Delhi to refrain from indulging in any misadventure. “God forbid if war is imposed on us, we will retaliate with full force,” Gilani told reporters in Larkana after visiting grave of the former premier Benazir Bhutto in connection with her first death anniversary. He said Pakistani nation and the armed forces were fully capable to defend their country and added: “We do not have aggressive designs against any country, including India, but our quest for peace should not be misunderstood as our weakness.” He said Pakistan would not like its territory to be used to launch acts of terror against any country, be it Afghanistan or India and added Islamabad wants good neighbourly relations with both countries.
— UNI
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Whether bomb falls in India or Pak,
Nasreen Shakeel’s heart is beating fast these days as war rhetoric between India and Pakistan attains feverish pitch. With defence forces of both countries in battle-readiness mood, she is hardly able to sleep. For whether a bomb falls in India or Pakistan, her own blood would be spilt. “My near and dear ones live on both sides of the border,” said
Nasreen. She hails from Larkana village in Pakistan and was married to Shakeel of Jodhpur 18 years ago.
Her three brothers and their families reside across the border. “We were talking regularly over the phone. But these days phone calls are not getting through easily. Any time I read or hear that war is imminent, my heart sinks.” She is not alone living with the dilemma which country's victory they would cheer. There are thousands of persons in the state who share her predicament. According to Hindu Singh Soda, chairman, Pak Visthapit Lok Sangh, over one lakh people had migrated to India post-1971 war. “These persons suffered a lot in Pakistan. But still, they don’t want war for that would mean war against their own brethren,” Hindu Singh said. Nearly 13,000 of these migrants were treated as illegal entrants all these years. They were given Indian citizenship and voting rights only two years ago. "One of the major reasons for high percentage of voting in border districts was that these people, happy to be part of India, casted almost hundred per cent votes," he said. There is a fear of intelligence agencies as well as deportation among many whose case is in the pipeline to get the Indian citizenship. Salim Ali, another Pakistani migrant, refused to talk. "My family’s and mine movements in India and Pakistan would be under watch then," he argued. He recalled how cases of many individuals like him were delayed due to terror attack on Parliament. "It is the common man who suffers the most no matter who is the perpetrator of the crime or victim on either side of the border.”
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Israelis offer to restore Nariman House
Mumbai, December 25 Earlier, this week engineers of the Brihanmumbai municipal corporation conducted a structural survey of the building and concluded that it had not suffered too much damage. Only the compound wall of the building was demolished as it had suffered severe damage during the terror attack. Levi Jurkowicz, who is in charge of the movement in the city, said Chabad-Lubavich wants to restore the building. The activities of the Chabad- Lubavich has now been taken over by a new rabbi, Dov Goldberg, who has come in place of Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg, who along with his wife Rivka, was killed by terrorists. Meanwhile, Israelis in large numbers are congregating in Mumbai to observe Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, at Nariman House. Later, the Israelis and members of Mumbai's Jewish community are scheduled to gather at the Gateway of India for another ceremony. The parents of Rabbi Gabriel and Rivka as well as their orphaned baby, Moshe are also in Mumbai to participate in the ceremony.
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Orissa observes peaceful Midnight Mass
Bhubaneswar, December 25 "Everything has gone right. There was absolutely no problem reported from anywhere in Kandhamal," Special Administrator M.S. Padhi told here, adding that the entire administration was on its toes last night and ensured a peaceful Christmas. Padhi said 30 churches were provided with security cover even as villagers held mass prayers last night in their respective places of worship. "Not a single incident has been reported," he added. Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar region Rahpheal Cheenath told here, "It was a trouble-free midnight mass. All of us offered prayers at churches and other places of worship without any difficulty. The arrangement made by the state government was satisfactory." The Archbishop said that he had received reports from bishops of other dioceses with regard to the holding of peaceful midnight prayers. He, however, maintained that the people of only four to five villages in Kandhamal could not attend the midnight mass due to security reasons. "The people in eight relief camps performed their ritual church practice without any trouble," the Archbishop said.
— PTI
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Subdued X'mas in Mumbai
Mumbai, December 25
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‘Govt shielding tainted ministers’
Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, December 25 The scandal, involving alleged misappropriation of public funds worth over Rs 100 crores, has provided ammunition for the opposition parties to step up their offensive against the Rajasekhar Reddy government for “shielding the guilty.” Launching a joint struggle against “corruption in high places”, the opposition TDP, CPI, CPM and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) today approached Governor ND Tiwari, seeking dismissal of the “tainted ministers” and a judicial probe by sitting High Court judge into the murky affairs. “The Congress government is blatantly encouraging corrupt ministers and officials and undermining the democratic principles. The ministers facing allegations should be removed and a judicial inquiry be ordered to ferret out facts,” a joint memorandum submitted by the opposition parties said, The TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu led the opposition delegation to the Raj Bhavan. Indicating that corruption in high places would be their main campaign agenda in the coming elections, the opposition parties said they would launch a joint struggle to expose the graft cases. They urged the Governor to direct the government to place all relevant files regarding the fisheries scam before all-party leaders for a thorough scrutiny. The scam, which came to light last week with the arrest of executive engineer V Suryanarayana and unearthing of properties worth over Rs 30 crores, has come as a major embarrassment to the government in the run-up to Assembly elections, due in April next year. Though Chief Minister ordered a judicial probe by a retired judge into the issue, the opposition parties found fault with him for giving a clean chit to ministers and officials. The tainted engineer allegedly enjoyed patronage of ministers and the chief secretary Ramakanth Reddy during the last 12 years in bagging lucrative civil contracts from various government departments. Apart from unearthing Rs 30 crore worth properties and gold, the investigators have stumbled upon a deeper scam having ramifications across the state administration. The names of six ministers — Mohammad Ali Shabbir, M Hanumantha Rao, Damodara Raja Narasimha, Mukesh Goud, M Budha Prasad and B Satyanarayana — have figured in the scandal.
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UP on boil as violence marks SP bandh
Lucknow, December 25 The contour of a firming of the alliance between the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) was also visible with the Congress workers joining the Samajwadi activists at various places. The Congress workers even joined hands with the SP to stop trains in Allahabad, Etawah, Mainpuri and Kanpur and blocked highways in several places. Claiming the bandh to be a "total success", Samajwadi Party state chief Shivpal Singh Yadav said they would not rest until action was taken against the Chief Minister. The call had been given by the SP in protest against the lynching of the Aurraiya-based PWD engineer. However, it took a violent turn in Aurraiya district where violence started as soon as the slain engineer’s autopsy report became public, which spoke of Gupta's body having 32 injury marks. In a spontaneous outburst, the mob set the SDM office in Aurraiya on fire and burnt buses belonging to UP roadways. A police official was also beaten up. A huge crowd impulsively poured out on to the streets, which included women and children. The police resorted to firing in the air and even cane-charged to disperse the violent mob raising slogans and pelting stones. According to a senior police officer in Aurraiya, the police force had to use more than a dozen teargas shells and mild force on SP activists to disperse them from near the government hospital, where the body of the engineer had been kept for autopsy. He, however, described the situation as “tense but under control”. Violence was also reported from Mulayam Singh Yadav's home district of Etawah. In Agra also, the police had to use force to disperse the protesters. Meanwhile, SP state president Shivpal Singh Yadav and party MP from Kannauj Akhilesh Singh Yadav were arrested from outside the Governor's House here along with about 200 party workers. They were held for staging a protest against the killing. The party leaders had submitted a memorandum to the Governor demanding action against the Chief Minister for extortion. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has also given a call for the closure of schools, government offices and other departments in Aurraiya on Friday. The state government engineers have also called for a shutdown to protest the killing.
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Antulay Saga
New Delhi, December 25 Simultaneously, JD (U) MP Ejaz Ali, who had supported Antulay’s demand in Parliament for a probe into the killing of former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and opposed the BJP’s demand for Antulay’s sack, reiterated his demand that the JD (U) should severe ties with the BJP. Ali’s demands and deliberate silence of the JD (U) leaders came up at the BJP office-bearers’ meeting held here yesterday and some BJP leaders took serious exception to the JD(U) MP’s diatribes. According to sources in the BJP, these leaders suggested that the JD (U) be asked to make up its mind whether it wanted to continue as an ally of the BJP in the NDA or not. A BJP leader confirmed this saying, “We have asked the JD (U) to decide once for all whether they want to continue with the NDA or not.” According to him, the BJP considered Ejaz Ali’s support of Antulay and demand for a probe into Karkare’s death ‘outlandish and unacceptable.’ “There should be no uproar on Antulay’s remarks. Rather all parties should support the demand. Proper probe should be made. It needs to be cleared whether Karkare fell to terrorism or some other conspiracy,” Ali had said asking his party to snap ties with the BJP. Today he reiterated his demand. He said, “They themselves don’t want us with them. So I have asked my leaders to snap ties with the BJP. Now it is proven that the Sangh parivar is a terror parivar. Won’t this affect the electoral prospects of the JD(U)?” Ali said, “I am merely telling Nitish and Sharad that if you want Muslim vote in the LS elections then you will have to break ties with the BJP because the Muslims are not going to vote for LK Advani as Prime Minister. Moreover, the BJP is also vehemently opposed to reservations for the Dalit Muslims. They tried their best to undo reservation for OBCs and Dalits. So I am asking all other parties in the NDA also to dissociate with the BJP.”
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Cotton procurement policy for Punjab may be relaxed
New Delhi, December 25 The growers have been protesting non-procurement of their produce by the Cotton Corporation of India, which has a policy of asking for land ownership records before lifting the produce. In Punjab, however, most growers have no ownership of land as they are contract farmers. Naresh Gujral today told The Tribune, “The ministers were convinced of the problem and assured to lift cotton produce without asking the growers for land records.” The assurance, however, came with a rider that the Punjab government should ensure that no outside traders land in the state to take undue advantage of the higher cotton procurement price in the state. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is said to have assured the agriculture and textile ministers that Punjab would adequately seal its borders with Rajasthan and Haryana to see that traders do not enter the state to sell cotton produce at higher prices. It is further learnt that the centre has asked Punjab government to waive off 2 per cent cess on export of cotton from the state. Currently, the Cotton Corporation of India finds Punjab’s cotton too expensive to be sold at locations outside the state. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will talk to the Punjab CM about the waive off.
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Daylight Drama
Patna, December 25 They snatched four service rifles from the cops and escaped from the scene firing a few shots in the air. Two other policemen constituting the escort party sustained injuries in the incident. The incident took place in full view of hundreds of passengers travelling by this train on Thursday after noon. According to reports reaching the state police headquarters here, the Maoists carrying firearms and sharp weapons had boarded the train posing as local villagers, who often travel by this train in between Bhagalpur and Kiul. They had wrapped themselves well with shawl and blankets and had boarded a compartment quite close to the engine. As the train stopped at Bariarpur railway station and the police escort party came to that particular compartment, they attacked them with sharp weapons and took away their weapons. On getting the information, senior police officers rushed to the spot with reinforcements. IG (operations) SK Bharadwaj said the police teams had surrounded the area where the Naxals were suspected to have taken shelter and a combing operation was on to flush them out. More reinforcements were being rushed to the area and SPs concerned had been directed to seal the exit routes, he said. As per the statistics given by the DGP yesterday, altogether 75 incidents of Naxal violence had been reported this year in which 20 policemen had lost their lives and 14 Naxals had also been killed in encounters with the police. The police had recovered 132 firearms from the Maoists, which included 18 weapons looted from the cops.
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Snail mail catches peddlers’ fancy
New Delhi, December 25 Responding to a query by Hemlal Murmu of JMM in the Lok Sabha recently, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Jyotiraditya Scindia admitted that “some cases” of smuggling of drugs and psychotropic substances through post offices have come to light. As many as 180 cases have been reported from the Delhi postal circle alone in the last two years. “Drugs and psychotropic substances worth Rs 464.1 lakh were seized by the customs authorities at foreign post office, New Delhi, from the articles being sent through post,” Scindhia informed the house in a written reply. A case has also been reported from the north east postal circle. Following a raid on the postal cargo plane at Agartala Airport, 39.54 kg ganja was seized. Besides, five cases have also come to light in the Tamil Nadu postal circle where postal articles were seized for investigation. It is not as if there are not enough stringent laws and safeguards by the authorities concerned to keep a check on smuggling and this type of illegal business. Provisions are there in the Indian Post Office Rules, 1933, that prohibit the transmission of such contrabands and narcotics through post offices. “Instructions have been issued to field units to ensure that all articles booked over the counter bear complete address of the sender and in case of foreign national have details of passport number,” the minister says. The post offices have also been instructed to ensure that no article containing any prohibited content under the Indian Post Office Rues, 1933, is booked. Further, officials of directorate of revenue intelligence and narcotics control bureau also visit foreign post offices to check the postal articles. Bags for foreign countries are also scanned by the security arrangements at international airports.
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Stalin set to assume DMK treasurer charge
Chennai, December 25 Senior DMK leaders yesterday filed nomination papers for Stalin, the Local Administration Minister in the cabinet headed by his father, to contest for the post of the treasurer, a post held earlier among others by Karunanidhi. N Veerasamy, who had been holding the post for about 20 years now, was one among those who filed nomination papers for Stalin, making it clear that there would be no contest against the Chief Minister's son. Nominations were also filed in the names of Karunanidhi and K Anbazhagan for the posts of president and general secretary, respectively. Karunanidhi, who took over the party reins in 1969 after the death of DMK founder Anna, would become the party president for the tenth successive time. The names of Karunanidhi, Anbazhagan and Stalin for the top party posts, along with the list of party's district secretaries, would be announced on December 27. Reports of Stalin's elevation had been doing the rounds since the party's youth wing conference at Tirunelveli in December last year. Whether Karunanidhi's elder son Azhagiri would be offered a party post or not would only get clear within a few days. Notably, Stalin gained fame as a leader when he was imprisoned during the emergency period. He became the leader of DMK's youth wing in 1983 when the DMK was in opposition. He contested for the Thousand Lights assembly seat in 1984 and lost to K Krishnasamy, who was a minister in MGR's cabinet. Known for his organisational skills and field work, Stalin was elected to the assembly in 1989 from the same constituency when DMK came back to power. However, he lost in the 1991 polls held after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. When the DMK returned to power in 1996, he entered the assembly from the same seat but later went on to head the Chennai Municipal Corporation as its mayor. Unlike Azhagiri, Stalin, in politics for 25 years now, is a non-controversial leader who prefers to stay cool and calm even at tense situations.
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HC raps MoD over reply in pension case
Chandigarh, December 25 Though the High Court discharged the defence secretary from contempt proceedings in the case pertaining to release of pension of an ex-serviceman, it directed him to be careful in the future while filing such replies. Harjinder Singh, residing at an old age home here, was discharged in 1967 after the completion of pensionable service in the army. However, the CDA authorities denied him reservist pension on the ground that he was discharged from service at own request. The army made several requests, one even through a special requisition by the then vice chief of the army staff, but to no avail. When approached, the High Court allowed Harjinder Singh’s petition and even ordered the release of his pension, terming the action on the part of the authorities concerned as “inexcusable”. Later, Harjinder Singh filed a contempt petition when his pension was not released despite directions from the HC. A reply to this thereafter, submitted on behalf of the defence secretary, invited the ire of the court when it was submitted by the Ministry that the petitioner was not eligible for pension but the HC in its judgement “had allowed the petition and the respondents had, therefore, obeyed the court orders in a positive manner”. In response to the factual statement of the petitioner that his petition had been allowed, the Ministry’s reply had called the petitioner’s averments as “vexatious, fictitious, calumnious and denied”. Further, the reply went on to state that the court “had only given two months for implementation of its orders”.
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Left in a fix
New Delhi, December 25 The Left parties, the CPM and the CPI in particular, had enthusiastically backed Mayawati after they broke relations with the UPA in July. Sections within the Left had even supported her candidature for the next Prime Ministership. In fact, on July 20 and July 23, the Left had held joint press conferences with Mayawati projecting her as the leader of the third front. But that alliance floundered soon thereafter when Mayawati jettisoned RLD chief Ajit Singh. Yet CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has been frequently going to Lucknow to interact with the BSP supremo, giving the impression of an unstated understanding between the BSP and the Left. However, this latest incident has clearly embarrassed them. While the CPI leaders remained incommunicado, most of the CPM leaders also avoided any comment on the issue.
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Heftier pay packets for Bihar govt employees
Patna, December 25 Around 4.5 lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners would get a heftier pay packet from January 1, 2009. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had given a hint earlier about 'New Year gift' to the state employees but the gift has come even earlier on the eve of Christmas. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi who also holds the Finance portfolio said that the new pay scales would be implemented with retrospective effect from April 1, 2007. The state government will have to bear an additional burden of Rs 1,500 crore during the ongoing financial year ( 2008-09) on this account and it would go up to Rs 4,000 crore per annum from the next financial year (2009-10), Modi informed. According to him, Bihar is one among the few states to have implemented the recommendations of the sixth pay panel for its employees.
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Hyderabad citizens now more secure
Hyderabad, December 25 In a first-of-its-kind security system project in the country, the city police has introduced ‘Omnipolis’, a state-of-the-art security equipment which can be installed in residential complexes and commercial establishments. The equipment costs Rs 4,000 and the
subscribers will have to pay Rs 400 per month towards user charges. Developed by city-based Dee Cee Security Systems, the emergency response communication system alerts the police control room, which in turn will inform the nearest police patrol vehicle about the emergency. The control room will also transmit the location map of the victim. The users need to press a button in case of burglary, intrusion, fire or any medical emergency.
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BJP: No favouritism in choosing candidates
New Delhi, December 25 The central election committee of the party will meet on January 8 to finalise seats for the parliamentary polls. The issue of selection of candidates came up in a big way here yesterday in the first office-bearers’ meeting of the BJP since the Assembly elections. The Leader of Opposition LK Advani admitted there that the wrong choice of candidates was a major cause for losing in Delhi and Rajasthan. Already some important party leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu have opted out of the contest and instead are concentrating on the campaign.
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leaders today asked India to refrain from indulging in a
war or carrying out surgical strikes, saying it would trigger a “swift and matching” response.
Mumbai, December 25
The brutal killing of a PWD engineer allegedly by a ruling party MLA threatens to snowball into a major crisis for the BSP with the Samajwadi Party’s statewide bandh call receiving wide response throughout the state.
The contour of a firming of the alliance between the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) was also visible with the Congress workers joining the Samajwadi activists at various places. The Congress workers even joined hands with the SP to stop trains in Allahabad,
Etawah, Mainpuri and Kanpur and blocked highways in several places.
