 |
|
|
Foreign varsity Bill tabled in LS
JEE Errors
Murdered scribe’s mother arrested
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Family killed her in cold-blood: Boyfriend
CID to probe K’nataka sex scandal
Montblanc’s assurance on use of Bapu’s name, photo
Ruchika Case
Rs 400 cr collected as TDS from
IPL-III
Maoist kill 4 BMP jawans
Ajmer Blast: Court nod to narco on accused
Fresh probe into Hyderabad mosque blast sought
Oppn stalls LS, RS over Spectrum row Bainsla quits
BJP; plans to intensify quota stir BJP in a fix over support to Soren Mani Shankar’s speech in RS sparks row
|
|
Foreign varsity Bill tabled in LS
New Delhi, May 3 These include the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical and Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill 2010 to penalise educational malpractices like disregard for prospectus promises by institutes and charging of capitation fee; the Educational Tribunals Bill 2010 to establish national and state educational tribunals to adjudicate complaints related to the sector and the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill 2010 to make accreditation for higher educational institutions mandatory through registered accreditation agencies. Currently, less than one-fifth of the colleges and one-third of the universities in India are accredited. DMK-engineered chaos over 2G Spectrum allocation came to Sibal’s advantage as he introduced the Bills, especially the foreign education providers’ Bill which the Opposition had vowed to stall. But today, the sole objection came from CPM’s Basudeb Acharia, who termed the Bill anti-national and commercial. The minister rejected the objection as invalid, saying it was not based on “legislative competence”. Sibal, it is learnt, reached out to leaders of all opposition parties to enable the introduction of the Bill today. “I told the leaders that no special preference would be given to foreign education providers. Moreover, anyone who has an objection can raise it when the Bill goes to the standing committee,” Sibal told TNS. He has clarified that the quota regime would not apply to foreign providers, which would be on a par with “private unaided institutes” in India. The Bill seeks to allow foreign education providers to establish campuses in India and award degrees/diplomas but not without being recognised and notified by the Centre. These providers would have to impart education in conformity with the standards laid down by the Indian statutory authority. They won’t be allowed to plough back profits to the home country and would have to maintain a corpus of Rs 50 crore. The Centre can refuse to notify an institution as foreign education provider if it feels the move is “not in the interest of sovereignty, integrity of India, security of state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency, morality or sensitivity of location of the said institution.” Violation of the Act can lead to withdrawal of recognition. Also, anyone found making false claims of being a foreign education provider would be penalised with not less than Rs 10 lakh, extending up to Rs 50
lakh.
|
|
JEE Errors
New Delhi, May 3 “If the IITs honestly review how their proposed remedies would work, they will know the remedies are useless. The only thing that will ensure justice to lakhs of students who have been disadvantaged due to the JEE errors is a re-conduct of the exam,” said Anand Kumar, founder of Super 30, which is known for handpicking poor students from Bihar and preparing them to
crack the JEE. It was Kumar’s intervention earlier that led to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar writing a letter to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who then ordered the IITs to work on a remedial strategy. But the strategy seems to be cutting little ice with those affected, as Kumar today said he would step up the agitation in the interest of lakhs of students who simply did not attempt the questions in the Hindi version or were misled by the mismatch between the maths and physics section of the paper and by the instructions that followed. “The only option is a re-examination,” Kumar said, adding that he would again meet Nitish to hammer the point. The Hindi version of the JEE had major problems as it showed some questions carrying three marks each instead of eight, making students drop the section as it would anyway fetch low scores. “When a student has not even attempted a question, how will the Joint Admission Board of IITs propose a remedy for him? He is invisible in that sense and all due to the IIT mistakes,” said Kumar.
|
|
Murdered scribe’s mother arrested
Koderma (Jharkhand), May 3 Pathak's mother, Subha, was arrested on murder charges. Earlier, Subha and her husband Dharmesh were detained for questioning after the postmortem report indicated that Nirupama's death was caused by asphyxia as a result of smothering, SP Kranti Kumar said. “We have arrested her under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 120 b (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC based on circumstantial evidence,” Kumar said. Asked whether it was a case of honour killing, the SP said, “The matter is under investigation.” According to the postmortem report, there was a ligature mark around her neck pointing to strangulation with a rope. He said the police was misled by the family, which had said Nirupama had died of electrocution on April 29. The police was also investigating whether her father, who was a bank employee in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, was at home at the time of the incident. The National Commission for Women (NCW) today asked for a report from the Jharkhand police in the case. — PTI
|
|
CID to probe K’nataka sex scandal
Bangalore, May 3 “I have decided to order a CID inquiry. Let the truth come out. Whoever is guilty, should be punished,” the CM told reporters here today. Earlier, the victim and her husband met DGP Ajay Kumar Singh and submitted a complaint. According to it, the incident took place in November last year when Halappa had come down to their place to have dinner. He stayed back and in the dead of night woke up his friend, one Venkatesh Murthy, and sent him out for some medicines saying he was ill. After Murthy left, Halappa entered the couple’s bedroom and forced himself upon the victim. On his return Murthy caught Halappa in the act. He thrashed the minister and when Halappa was about to leave the room, the victim’s husband recorded the scene on his mobile camera. The video footage shows the victim, in her sleeping cloths, crying and a man, purported to be Halappa, sitting on the ground and apparently trying to defend himself from blows. The victim has also preserved the clothes that may have DNA samples of the minister. Threat calls allegedly made by the minister and his henchmen to the children of the couple prompted them to file a police complain five months after the incident.
|
|
Montblanc’s assurance on use of Bapu’s name, photo
New Delhi, May 3 “We will not permit the use of the name or picture of Mahatma Gandhi for commercial purpose as it is a national emblem,” Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium assured the court during the hearing of a PIL which had opposed the reported misuse by Montblanc Boutique and Montblanc International GMBH. The MNC informed the apex court that it had already given an undertaking to the Kerala High Court in February this year and was giving a similar assurance to the SC as well. The court recorded the undertaking and clarified that it would also be binding on the distributors. According to the PIL petitioners, two lawyers, the company had already sold the limited edition pens ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 12 lakh each. The petition had contended that under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, no person could use for the purpose of any trade, business or profession any name or emblem specified in the Schedule or any colourable imitation without permission from the Centre.
|
|
Ruchika Case
Chandigarh, May 3 “The counsel for Rathore will be putting up their evidence for the next two days. After that we will be presenting our facts,” Pankaj Bhardwaj, counsel for complainant Anand Parkash, said. Additional district and sessions judge Gurbir Singh heard the arguments for over four hours and then adjourned the case till tomorrow. The decision is expected to come on May 8. Rathore, accompanied by his counsel wife Abha Rathore, reached the court amidst tight security at 10.15 a.m. The media was not allowed to sit inside the courtroom during the hearing. Though no signboard was put up outside the courtroom mentioning in-camera proceedings, still the judge refused entry to the mediapersons. “Abha and her partner counsel presented their evidence today and there was no cross arguments. Now the court will continuously hear the arguments till the completion,” CS Sharma, CBI lawyer, told the reporters. A CBI plea for enhancement of Rathore’s sentence is also pending before the same court. The CBI special court had held Rathore guilty in December last year of molesting 15-year-old Ruchika in Panchkula in August 1990. She committed suicide three years later. He was sentenced to six months’ rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 1000. However, he was granted bail immediately. Complainant Anand Parkash and his lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj were also present inside the courtroom. The court had earlier heard the arguments of Abha on April 15 and 16 before adjourning it to May 3. At that time also the media was not allowed to sit inside the courtroom. Earlier, the case had come for hearing on February 8 but was postponed by the court following a knife attack on Rathore and his lawyer by a student Utsav Sharma. |
|
Rs 400 cr collected as TDS from
IPL-III
Mumbai/New Delhi, May 3 The department has accrued the amount as Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from the remuneration paid to players, umpires, coaches, commentators and from payment of overseas publicity rights. I-T authorities are putting together the "final figures" of TDS collections as they are collecting information from various of their offices across the country where the IPL franchises are registered. "The TDS collections from the third edition of the IPL are cruising towards Rs 400 crore-mark. The department is finalising the collections from across the country," a top I-T officer said. The I-T department is currently not only probing the source of money into the tournament but is also investigating the "taxation aspects of transactions relating to the Indian Premier League", including the flow of money from offshore destinations into the tournament. After the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were crowned winners of the IPL in Mumbai on April 25, the department started collating and collecting the taxes under the TDS category paid by the various franchises to "professionals and professional services". The department had collected documents related to bidding, payment of taxes and various other financial details during its countrywide survey operations on various IPL franchises with the first such operation being conducted at the BCCI and IPL premises, including at the office of former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on April 15. The I-T department in Mumbai has created a special cell of officers to monitor the IPL as the metropolis hosts the IPL marketing and advertising offices. Almost eight investigation wings of the department in various cities are also probing the IPL transactions. A Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notification in 2008 had expanded the scope of 'professionals' under the Income Tax Act, 1961 which included sportspersons, umpires, referees, coaches, trainers, team physicians and physiotherapists, event managers, commentators, anchors, and sports columnists. —
PTI
|
|
Maoist kill 4 BMP jawans
Aurangabad, May 3 The incident happened at the Tandawa Bazaar area in the district when the BMP personnel along with the District Armed Police Force were patrolling the area. Six Maoists indiscriminately fired at them, SP Sanjay Kumar Singh said. Four BMP jawans were killed on the spot, while another was seriously injured, he said. The ultras also looted five rifles and several rounds of ammunition from them before escaping, the SP added. The entry and exit points of the district were sealed and a combing operation launched, he said. —
PTI
|
|
Ajmer Blast: Court nod to narco on accused
Jaipur/Ajmer, May 3 Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-I, Ajmer, Khagendra Sharma granted permission to the ATS, which had moved the court on Saturday, seeking permission to carry out the test. Now, the ATS will take Gupta to Hyderabad to get the tests conducted. Gupta, who allegedly has links with Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat Sangathan, was arrested from Ajmer last week when he had come to meet his ailing mother. In a related development, the ATS has detained one more person from Madhya Pradesh in connection with the case. Sanjay Gupta, a small-scale industrialist based in Mhow, 25 km from Indore, was picked up for questioning by the ATS on Sunday. Though the ATS authorities are tightlipped about the matter, sources said Sanjay was being questioned on basis of the clues given by Devendra and Chandrashekhar. Earlier, the ATS had arrested Chandrashekhar and Vishnu Prasad from Shahajahanpur in MP. All four are suspected to have links with Abhinav Bharat Sangathan that had hit the headlines during the Malegaon blast arrests of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col SP Purohit. Devendra and Chandrashekar are in police remand and are being interrogated by the ATS. Sources said a CBI team had also interrogated the duo. “Both were involved in purchasing of SIM cards and timer devices that were used to trigger the blast in Ajmer on October 11, 2007,” an ATS official said. The ATS from Hyderabad has also arrived in Jaipur to investigate those arrested in connection with Ajmer Dargah blast. Rajasthan ATS chief Kapil Garg said: “State and Central investigative agencies will interrogate these men for their possible links with the bomb blasts across the country.” Meanwhile, the Rajasthan ATS has reached Dang district in Gujarat and is looking out for Swami Aseemanand, who is at large since his name came up in the list of suspects. The sources added that Aseemanand saved the mobile number of Sushil Joshi - the alleged mastermind of Ajmer Dargah blast - in his handset with name “Vande Mataram”. He was in constant touch with Joshi until he was killed. Interestingly, Sadhvi Pragya, too, saved Joshi’s number by the same name “Vande
Mataram”.
|
|
Fresh probe into Hyderabad mosque blast sought
Hyderabad, May 3 Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a political party having considerable influence in the city, has sought a “thorough probe” in view of the CBI’s revelation that the blasts at Mecca Masjid and Ajmer shrine were linked. The MIM has also alleged that the police were going soft on the real culprits in the Masjid blast case and the investigation had not made any headway for the last three years. The CBI and Rajasthan's ATS had revealed recently that blasts at the Hyderabad mosque and Ajmer shrine could be the handiwork of one group. The investigators were working on some leads after the Rajasthan ATS arrested Devender Gupta and Chandrasekhar Patidar of a Hindu group - Abhinav Bharat - in connection with the blast at the Ajmer shrine that killed three persons and injured 30. In view of the fresh revelations, the Muslim groups are now demanding that the CBI reopen the mosque blast case and probe the involvement of Hindu activists, including Col PS Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur accused in Malegaon bombing that had claimed six lives. They are also the members of Abhinav Bharat. Meanwhile, a Muslim socio-religious organisation - Tameer-e-Millat - has appealed to the government to reopen the case, saying it was strange that the police had blamed the Harkat-ul Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI) for the Masjid blast without a preliminary inquiry. “Some police officials did not want any probe into the possible involvement of Hindu right-wing outfits,” the group said in a statement here.
|
|
Oppn stalls LS, RS over Spectrum row New Delhi, May 3 The Lok Sabha was finally adjourned for the day at 2 pm. However, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal managed to introduce the Education Reforms Bill before that. The House also cleared three Bills, the Employees State Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2009, the Payment of Gratuty Bill, 2010 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2010. In the Rajya Sabha, post-lunch proceeding went on as per schedule, but in the morning session, the House faced four adjournments with Opposition members disrupting proceedings over Raja and another Union minister alleged to be having links with a Bangladeshi arms dealer. Although the name of the minister was not mentioned by the Opposition in the House, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Sudip Bandyopadhyay was later quoted as saying that Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Trinamool leader Sisir Adhikari was being targetted. Question Hour was suspended twice amid demand by Opposition members that Raja be dismissed over the alleged irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation. When the House reassembled for Zero Hour, parties led by the CPM alleged that another Union minister was involved in arms deals. Quoting a news report, Moinul Hassan of the CPM said the Central minister reportedly gave Rs 1.2 lakh to the arms dealer from Bangladesh through his party men. “This way, the minister and his colleagues are trying to destabilise the law and order situation in West Bengal,” he alleged, saying that the arms procured through Bangladesh route were used by the Maoists and also in a robbery in Howrah. Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley stepped in, urging the government to disclose the name of the minister. He contended that otherwise the needle of suspicion would point toward the entire council of ministers.
|
||
|
Bainsla quits
BJP; plans to intensify quota stir Jaipur/Bharatpur, May 3 A section of the Congress leaders had earlier alleged that the Gujjar stir was being "remote controlled" by the BJP top brass in the state. Bainsla, who vowed never to join the politics, had joined the BJP on insistence of former CM Vasundhara Raje and had also unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Sawai Madhopur seat last year. Even, otherwise, Bainsla was seen close to Raje in the political circles. Bainsla was also a special invitee to national executive of the BJP. On the issue of Gujjar quota, Bainsla served a fresh ultimatum to the government to sort out the reservation issue. “We will wait till Wednesday noon for the government to act on the matter, after which we will intensify our ongoing agitation,” he averred.
|
||
|
BJP in a fix over support to Soren New Delhi, May 3 The party held two rounds of sittings today, indicating its anxiety over the continuing uncertainty about Jharkhand and party gave enough indications that it was keen to end this uncertainty but seemed to be clueless on how to do it. LK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi attended the first meeting held in the Parliament room of Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. The second meeting was held suddenly when Gadkari returned to Delhi unannounced and went to Advani’s house, where the dramatis persona remained more or less the same and the senior BJP leaders later said they had not yet arrived at any decision. Piqued with Shibu Soren for voting with the UPA during cut motions in Lok Sabha on April 27, the BJP announced withdrawal of support to the 4-month-old Shibu Soren ministry on April 28. But privately, a BJP leader agreed that it was not easy for the party to withdraw support now. “We lost credibility, by first making Shibu Soren the CM. If we had any chance of retrieving our image we lost it on April 28, when we went back on our decision to withdraw support,” he said. Another leader indicted that the BJP was merely delaying announcing the decision, whereas it had already agreed to allow Soren to continue in office till June 30.
|
||
|
Mani Shankar’s speech in RS sparks row New Delhi, May 3 Aiyar chided Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and said “The Leader of the Opposition chose to say I am a half Maoist.” But being half Maoist was better than a “full fascist”. Aiyar spoke during a discussion on the working of the Home Ministry this evening. Aiyar had recently supported Congress leader Digvijay Singh's stand on Naxalism, leading to Jaitley terming them as “half Maoists”. He clarified his position on Naxalism saying it was similar to that of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and late Rajiv Gandhi. He went on to quote how the 73rd amendment to the Constitution that resulted in devolution of powers to the panchyats had helped in growth. Aiyer raised hackles of the BJP by targeting Jaitley, while demanding ‘criminal proceedings’ in the Gujarat riots and the Babri Masjid cases. The BJP alleged that Aiyer had said Jaitley covered up a criminal act in the Gujarat riots. Aiyer, however, maintained that the Chair could go through the proceedings. “I demand every single word be examined. I will accept whatever direction is given by the Chair,” and then refused to apologise. PJ Kurien, who was in the Chair, said he would go through records and expunge any objectionable remarks, at the same time, he maintained that if any member made any personal remarks, it was "unbecoming" of him.
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
New Delhi, May 3
New Delhi, May 3
No special preference to foreign education providers
