Mumbai, February 4
The Shiv Sena has threatened black flag protest at venues where Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to appear during his Mumbai visit on Friday.

The Sena in its message today, which appeared on blackboards installed in street corners across the city, exhorted party workers to show black flags to Rahul to protest against the ‘disrespect shown by him to the Marathis’.

As per the schedule announced by the Congress, Rahul will be visiting two colleges and interact with students. However, during earlier visits, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family had departed from the planned itinerary and dropped in at the homes of shanty dwellers for a cup of tea.

Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had earlier demanded that Rahul should apologise for his remarks against the party last week or he would not be allowed to step into Mumbai. However, his son Uddhav had indicated that the Congress leader’s visit this week would go on as planned.

The Sena’s threat to hold protests has thrown the administration into a tizzy.

“We will ensure that there is no nuisance during Rahul Gandhi’s visit. No one will touch him for sure,” Chief

Minister Ashok Chavan told reporters this afternoon. Police personnel would be pulled from routine duties as part of the security cordon around Rahul Gandhi, state government sources said.

Apart from meeting with students at the Bhaidas Hall in suburban Vile Parle, Gandhi will interact with residents of the Ramabai Nagar slum in suburb of Ghatkopar as part of an event organised by the Youth Congress.

Washington, February 4
In the eye of a storm over his criticism of exclusion of Pakistani cricketers from a major tournament, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is hoping Shiv Sena ire against him would not be visited on his new film.

New Delhi, February 4
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal today quelled apprehensions of fee hike in the IITs, saying the matter would be discussed only after the Education Finance Corporation is established to look at the system of loan disbursement for students from economically weaker sections.

IIT Kanpur, which was in the IIT Council meeting held in October last, asked to prepare a self-financing plan for the IITs, proposed an eight-fold hike in student fee from Rs 50,000 to Rs 4 lakh annually.

The proposal, which was to be discussed at the brainstorming session which Sibal today had with IIT directors, was not taken up.

In fact, the minister steered clear of the formal agenda for the meeting, not taking any concrete decision on the issue of raising the weightage of school leaving marks for taking IIT-JEE. IIT Madras, which was to work on admission reforms, is yet to come up with a formal proposal on this front.

The faculty shortage issue, however, came up for discussions, with Sibal asking each IIT to work to break into the top 50 of peer ranking by 2020.

The minister asked each IIT to indicate, in four weeks, which area they would want to excel in by 2020. The new IITs will get two months for the exercise. 

New Delhi, February 4
India will soon come out with a climate change assessment report by its own panel —the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA).

An answer to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the INCCA’s regional assessment will be provided to the IPCC as part of input to the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report (AR5). “This is the first time that India will be providing institutional inputs to the IPCC. This has already been communicated to the IPCC chairman. Both these initiatives will help provide robust information at the sub-regional level,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said today.

The first report of the INCCA—an emission inventory of greenhouse gases of anthropogenic origin of India for 2007 -- will be released on May 11 while a comprehensive “four by four assessment” of key sectors — agriculture, health, water and forests — and key geographic hotsposts — northeast, Indian Himalayan region, Western Ghats and coastal areas —will be released in November.

In an obvious dig at the IPCC, Ramesh said the INCCA would follow more “robust methods”. In line of fire for errors in the IPCC fourth assessment report, IPCC chairman RK Pachauri has been maintaining that “the IPCC monitoring systems are robust and solid”.

Ramesh said the IPCC's weakness was that it did not do original research and largely derived assessments from published literature. “The INCCA strength lies in the fact that India’s climate change panel is a consortium of scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), ISRO and MoEF. The consortium will run specific regional models for the Indian subcontinent for the monsoon in order to enable better assessment of impacts and reduction of uncertainties in monsoon projections over the South Asian region.”

The Environment Minister said there was a need to understand the difference between climate science and climate evangelism. “I am all for climate science but making sweeping generalisations in order to make sensational decisions should be avoided. The IPCC should not become climate evangelists but climate scientists,” he said.

Ramesh also has plans to “restore his ministry’s scientific moorings” through a Global Advisory Network Group on Environmental Sciences, a National Environmental Sciences Fellows Programme, an Expert Committee to Enhance the Scientific Capacity of MoEF and an Action Plan to Enhance Forestry Science.

“The ministry has lost its scientific focus. When this ministry was conceived in the early 1980s, it was conceived as a scientific ministry. We need rigorous science-based policy-making With these initiatives, we aim to ensure that science is brought back into the mainstream of our work and decision-making,” he said.

New Delhi, February 4
The Central Information Commission has pu lled up the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee headed by Paramjit Singh Sarna for its failure to provide information to a Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) leader, who wanted to know how much money the DSGMC had spent on advertisements it had put out in newspapers in favour of the Congress during the Delhi Assembly elections.

Kuldip Singh Bhogal, the SAD leader who had moved the CIC, said in a statement today that the CIC had imposed a penalty of Rs 17,500 on DSGMC’s general manager Ram Singh. “I had submitted 14 questions for answers to the committee and the management did not answer a single one. It said the DSGMC did not come under the RTI Act despite the fact that it’s a democratically-elected religious body and it came into being under an Act of Parliament,” Bhogal told The Tribune.

Bhogal, a member of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandh Sudhar Action Committee, and committee’s secretary S Inder Mohan Singh said in the joint statement that the CIC had asked the DSGMC to provide the information to them by February 15. With this latest fine imposed on it in its order on February 1, the total penalty slapped on the DSGMC for its refusal to answer their 14 questions has added up to Rs 62,500. The CIC has ruled against the DSGMC in all four petitions while it is yet to dispose of 10 other, Bhogal said. — TNS

Chandigarh, February 4
Just about a month after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a closure report in the cash for judge scam, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association members today claimed that confusion has apparently been created in the matter, “which raises suspicion about the role of the CBI, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and the Attorney-General”.

In a “requisition to call general house meeting to discuss the issue”, the members said, “As per the news-reports in various leading newspapers, the material available provides it as a good case, containing sufficient evidence for the prosecution of all the persons involved.

“To inquire into the matter, the Supreme Court also constituted three-judge committee. The committee has submitted its report to the CJI, who issued notice to Justice Nirmal Yadav.” The Bar members added the notice issued to Justice Yadav by the CJI has found place in the January 25 edition of a national magazine. Quoting an interview reportedly given by the CJI to a national daily, the members said he, on other hand asserted: “We did not give any clean chit. It was the former attorney general, who said no case was made out. The CBI did not seek any sanction for prosecution in the case. It closed the case. ”

“It is required that an urgent meeting of the Bar Association may be convened and the matter may be discussed threadbare and future course of action be decided.”

Chandigarh, February 4
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the Union of India to inform the Bench whether the complaint against Haryana’s former Director-General of Police SPS Rathore was forwarded to it and whether there was any procedure in place for dealing with complaints against officers.As a petition filed in public interest by advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal through his human rights organisation came up for hearing this afternoon, the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh also asked Assistant Solicitor-General Anmol Rattan Sidhu to obtain instructions as to what action was taken if the complaint was forwarded.

The Bench also summoned the complaint file. Issuing the directions in an open court, the Bench in fact directed Haryana to produce the file containing “the entire proceedings in respect to complaint alleged to have been made by Madhu Parkash” against Rathore. Madhu Parkash is the mother of Aradhana, the sole witness to the molestation in 1990.

The Bench did not pass any order on Rathore’s plea for forensic examination of Ruchika’s affidavit given after her molestation. Rathore’s wife-cum-counsel Abha Rathore had earlier raised questions on the authenticity of the affidavit and demanded its examination from the Forensic Science Laboratory.

The Bench took on record the carbon copy of the duly signed, but unattested, affidavit before directing it to be “put in a sealed cover”. Directing the supply of its photocopies to Rathore’s counsel, the Bench asserted that rejoinder, if any, could be filed within three weeks.

Speaking for the Bench, the Chief Justice verbally observed that its examination was not required, as they were not going to pass any order against Rathore on its basis.Mudgal said the matter could not be overlooked as it involved a minor, adding that the Bench wanted to know why it took nine years for the first information report to be registered.

Jaipur, February 4
Following a lower court’s directive, the police today registered a case listing criminal charges against former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and 13 other BJP-RSS members in Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Trust land scam amounting to Rs 36 lakh.

According to Banipark SHO AK Choudhary, Raje and 13 others have been booked under Sections 420 (cheating), 467-468 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document, 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 117 (abetting commission of offence) and Section 118 (concealing design to commit an offence) for allegedly perpetrating a fraud in procuring JDA land measuring over 7,000 square metre at a price of Rs 36 lakh in Civil Lines area of the city. The case has been referred to the state CID-Crime 
Branch as it involves elected MLAs and the former chief minister, he added.

The court had last month ordered registration of the FIR on a petition which accused the previous Raje-led BJP regime of allotting the land to Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Trust, of which she was chairperson, in violation of rules in July 2006.The land scam came to light in 2006 during Raje’s regime when around 7,693 sq mt land was allotted to the Trust at a concessional 5 per cent rate of the then prevailing market price in the Civil Lines area.

It is alleged that the land was sought on behalf of the trust in March 2006 and the trust came into existence a month later, on April 14, 2006. In wake of the controversy, the trust had decided to return the land to the government. Later a PIL was filed in the high court by Congress leader Sushil Sharma in this regard.

Lucknow, February 4
Amid protests and walkout by the opposition parties, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly today passed a Bill allowing the Mayawati government to set up a separate police force to guard statues of Dalit icons.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma tabled the State Special Zone Security Force Bill last week that was passed by voice vote today.

When their plea to refer the Bill to a select committee of the House was turned down, opposition parties staged a walkout describing it as a “black bill” indicative of the autocracy of the majority.

Opening the discussion, Varma said the state police and the PAC were not adequately equipped to ensure the security of parks and monuments dedicated to Dalit icons. In a similar fashion, the security of communally sensitive shrines in Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura had been entrusted to the CISF, he added.

Arguing for raising the special force, the minister said there was already a shortage of police personnel in the state and security personnel could not be spared for the security of monuments.

Guwahati, February 4
The differences of opinion between a section of senior ULFA leaders, now in jail, and fugitive commander-in-chief of the outfit Paresh Barua over the issue of holding talks with the Centre have come to surface.

A day after ULFA commander-in-chief issued a statement in a section of the media warning “a section of so-called intellectuals and agents of the Indian state” against putting pressure on jailed senior ULFA leaders for holding dialogue with the Centre, a senior ULFA leader in judicial custody has stated before the media that they are not under pressure from anybody for holding peace talks. He said jailed ULFA leaders believed that Paresh Barua’s public statement on the issue was not based on facts, but on some wrong information fed by vested interests.

Central publicity secretary of ULFA Mithinga Daimary, who distributed a written statement to mediapersons while he was brought to hospital from the jail for medical check-up, said, “There may be differences of opinion over any issue among intellectuals, thinkers in a democratic society. Paresh Barua could have avoided giving such public statement at this crucial juncture on the basis of wrong and biased information provided by some vested interest.”

He further stated, “ULFA itself has been advocating for meaningful dialogue to find a political solution to decades old ‘India-Assam’ conflict and that is why ULFA had nominated the People’s Consultative Group (PCG) a few years ago. Hence, the question of some intellectuals putting jailed ULFA leaders under pressure to hold dialogue doesn’t arise.”

Hyderabad, February 4
In the midst of unrest over Telangana statehood issue, a seven-year-old article by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, advocating smaller states, has now raised the hackles of political leaders opposed to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The opponents of Telangana cause have unearthed an article written by Chidambaram in May 2003, strongly favouring creation of Telangana state, and targeted him for trying to divide the state. In his column, published in Indian Express on May 18, 2003, Chidambaram had said, “In my view, there is a strong case for the creation of Vidarbha out of Maharashtra and Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should also be further divided.”

Citing the progress made by two smaller states, Haryana and Goa, he said, “There was less instability in Haryana in the 1990s than in the 1970s and 1980s. Goa had 11 chief ministers during the check period of 10 years, but that does not seem to have affected development. It is also likely that the people depend less on the government in the smaller states.”

Though small states have certain inherent disadvantages like political instability and a high proportion of administrative expenditure to total expenditure, they can tide over such problems once they are pushed into a competition mode, Chidambaram contended.

He further pointed out that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa together accounted for 45 per cent of Indians living below poverty line and have the lowest growth rates, lowest per capita incomes and among the poorest human development indices.

Chidambaram’s views on smaller states have provided ammunition for the integrationists to attack him. In a memorandum to PM Manmohan Singh, the Telugu Desam Party leaders from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions demanded that Chidambaram be shifted from home portfolio if the consultation process has to be unbiased.