New Delhi, April 19
While the nerve centre at Ratnagiri witnessed fresh protests against the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, politics over the proposed 9,600 MW-plant escalated here in the Capital.

The Left demanded immediate halt to the project while the Congress floated a conspiracy theory as the reason behind the violent protests. The BJP came out in support of its Maharashtra ally, Shiv Sena, saying after the Fukushima disaster there was a need for all concerned to revise views and study the whole issue in depth.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, whose U-turn on the Jaitapur project led to angry protests in the district, blamed the Shiv Sena for the trouble in Ratnagiri. Ramesh said he was concerned over violence, particularly the death of a man in the police firing, but there were democratic ways to protest.

He said it was wrong of the Shiv Sena to pin the blame on him. “The Shiv Sena has no leg to stand. Sometimes they make me a khalnayak and sometimes a hero,” he said. “This is the same Shiv Sena that had (as Opposition) said they would throw Enron into the Arabian Sea. Later, they gave them complete clearance.”

Ramesh had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a rethink on the safety of nuclear projects after the nuclear disaster in Japan.

On Friday, however, he ruled out a “re-look” at the Jaitapur project, saying there was no alternative to nuclear energy. His party, the Congress, suggested a conspiracy behind the anti-nuclear plant agitation and cautioned people against “attempts by forces inimical to India’s economic growth”.

Meanwhile, condemning the police firing on protesters, the CPM demanded an immediate halt to the project. “The local people have been voicing their opposition to the location of the plant in their area and have refused to accept the forcible acquisition of their lands,” the CPM Politburo said in a statement here. “There are questions about the reliability and safety of these new reactors (to be installed at Jaitapur),” it said.

Reports suggest that anti-nuclear activists from across the country propose to undertake a road yatra from Tarapur to Jaitapur along coastal Konkan in Maharashtra from April 23.

Mumbai, April 19
Protests against the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district turned violent today after a hospital was attacked and several state transport buses set on fire, according to the police.

Activists of the Shiv Sena, which called for “Ratnagiri bandh” in protest against the killing of a person in police firing yesterday, said they would neither allow the post-mortem examination to be conducted on the body of Tabrez Sejkar, 30, of Sakrinate village nor allow his funeral to take place.

Relatives of the victims, backed by local politicians, said the funeral would not be conducted till Prithviraj Chavan resigned as the Maharashtra’s Chief Minister. Shiv Sena activists attacked the hospital after word went out that a post-mortem examination on the body of Sejkar would be conducted there.

Today’s protests were backed by senior Shiv Sena leaders and a number of MLAs from the Konkan region. Party leaders later demanded that the post-mortem proceedings on Sejkar’s body should be videographed and representatives of the protesters allowed to participate in the proceedings.

The Shiv Sena is also demanding that senior police officer Ajit Pawar who issued orders to open fire on the protesters yesterday be suspended immediately.

Apart from the Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have also extended support to the bandh call. Protesters burnt several buses and blocked the Mumbai-Goa highway, the police said.

Incidents of violence have been reported from across the districts with protesters fighting pitched battles with the police. In a number of places police lathicharged protesters, resulting in injuries to at least 100 persons, the police said.

Meanwhile, Home Minister RR Patil today announced a magisterial inquiry into the police firing. However, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislature Eknath Khadse demanded a judicial probe into the firing.

Patna, April 19
The fate of proposed Central University of Bihar (CUB) hangs in balance following a confrontation between the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister for HRD Kapil Sibal over the location of the university campus. The state government is to provide the land required for setting up the Central university. The Bihar Government wants this new project to be set up in Motihari, the district headquarters of East Champaran from where Mahatma Gandhi had initiated his ‘satyagrah movement’ against the British rulers in 1917. The state government has already earmarked the plots required for setting up the full-fledged university campus.

However, the concerned authorities in Union HRD Ministry are insisting on setting up the Central University in or around the state capital. As a result the project has been getting delayed. In view of the prolonged delay in finalising the location of this project, Bihar Chief Minister wrote a letter to Sibal saying that the State government was firm on its decision to set up this university at Motihari- ‘the karmbhoomi of Mahatma Gandhi’ else the people of Bihar would wait for a government

at the Centre that has respect for the father of the nation.

Sibal, while sharing the dais with Nitish at the foundation-laying ceremony of IIT-Patna campus at Bihta, (around 30 kms away from here) today advised the Chief Minister to adopt a flexible approach on this issue and provide a suitable plot for the Central university in or around Patna with the plea that Motihari would not be the proper location for this project.

The Central university has been already functioning with a Vice-Chancellor and a few visiting faculty members from a rented house in Patna.

New Delhi, April 19
The CBI and the Madhya Pradesh Government today strongly pleaded in the Supreme Court for restoring the grave charge of culpable homicide that provided for a 10-year jail term against those responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy.

However, the then Union Carbide India Ltd chairman Keshub Mahindra contended that the crime did not get bigger if a large number of people had lost their lives. Arguing before a five-member Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia, Attorney General GE Vahanvati said the apex court had the power even to order a fresh trial in cases such as this which fell under the rarest of the rare category.

Contending that the SC had erred in diluting the charges to negligence, which resulted in the accused getting away with just a two-year jail term, the AG said, “To perpetuate the error is no virtue. To correct it is a compulsion of judicial conscience.”

The trial court had cited several reasons on April 8, 1992, for framing charges under Section 304 (Part II) against the accused, but the SC diluted it to 304(A) which was not justified, he argued on behalf of the CBI.

Additional Solicitor General Vivek Tankha, appearing for MP, said the state government would set up a special court for day-to-day proceedings if a fresh trial was ordered. He contended that the magnitude of the crime would get bigger by the number of people killed or maimed.

Senior Counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Mahindra, said the crime did not get altered by the number of the victims. The magnitude would remain the same irrespective of the fact whether the number of those killed was one or 5,000.

Salve also contended that the High Court should be allowed to decide the issue of charge at the time of considering the appeal against the two-year jail term.

New Delhi, April 19
On a day when a youth in Haryana’s Bhiwani district beat two women to death in full public view, it turns out that Haryana along with Uttar Pradesh is the only state among nine others that were put on notice last year by the Supreme Court in a matter involving frequent honour killings at the behest of khap panchayats.

On June 26 last year, the apex court, while hearing a civil writ petition, issued notices to nine state governments where khap panchayat verdicts in the so-called cases involving family’s honour, were rampant. The states were directed to submit detailed affidavits stating the steps they had taken or planned to take to tame the community panchayats and punish the perpetrators of honour crimes.

While Rajasthan was the first to file its reply on October 18 last, and Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Delhi followed suit, Haryana and UP governments - which together account for the maximum burden of honour crimes in India - continue to sit pretty and remain unresponsive to the issue, exhibiting their blatant prejudice against the girl child, which was recently reflected powerfully in the provisional Census data.

The petition, filed by Shakti Vahini, which works against khap panchayats, had sought directions to the states to prevent the khap panchayats from unleashing terror on couples marrying on will. It is still pending in the Supreme Court.

But even in one full year, Haryana and UP failed to come up with their affidavits. A study earlier commissioned on the issue by the National Commission for Women concluded that in 84 per cent of honour crimes, the girls’ families had been found to be the perpetrators. Haryana, western UP and Punjab led the honour crime graph, according to the said study done last year.

Kolkata, April 19
Veteran Politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP, Brinda Karat at an election meeting in Nadia, about 40 km from here today alleged that Prime minister Mammohan Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee have been following the same policy of patronising big landlords and the capitalists against the interest of the country’s poor people. She asked the people not to be misled by the Congress and TMC’s false propaganda. She claimed only the Left Front government could serve the people’s interest. This had been already proved during the prolonged 34-year rule.

Karat, accompanied by husband Prakash Karat, party general secretary and Sitram Yechuri Politburo member, arrived in the city today to campaign in favour of the CPM and other Left Front candidates.

Initially, Karat was not to address any election meetings in Bengal since a large section of the CPM workers and the state committee members did not like his decision to support the BJP during the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha and the Left parties decision to withdraw support from UPA 1. Some leaders also criticised Karat for expelling veteran leader Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha speaker.

Karat also was not willing to address any poll meeting in the state and accordingly, the Politburo formally appointed Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Biman Bose as the party’s main campaigners in the elections. However, at the personal request of Bose, Karat came to the city to addressing the election meeting.

Chandigarh, April 19
In a judgement that would benefit hundreds of army personnel deputed to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the Armed Forces Tribunal today restored the counter-insurgency (CI) allowance applicable to military personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the northeast.

While CI allowance was being paid to regular army troops and BRO cadre personnel, it was stopped in 2008 for army personnel on deputation to BRO, thereby placing them at a disadvantage vis-à-vis other personnel. Besides stopping the allowance, the government had also initiated recovery of allowance that was being paid to the deputees since 1994 as part of their emoluments.

Allowing a petition filed by several officers, a Bench comprising Justice N.P. Gupta and Lt Gen H.S. Panag also directed the government to refund the recovered amount with 10 per cent interest.

The allowance was discontinued for all army personnel posted in BRO units on the pretext of an audit objection that BRO units were not performing any operational role and that civilians posted in BRO units were not being paid any such allowance and hence it should not be paid to military personnel also.

The petitioners contended that when posted to BRO, their military allowances were protected under the BRO Regulations and that they faced the same risks as other army officers in the area. They had also pointed out that it was incorrect for the government to discriminate between officers posted to army units vis-à-vis those posted to BRO units when the bullets of terrorists made no such distinction between personnel deployed in trying conditions.

The petitioners had also contended that civilians in BRO were eligible for various schemes and allowances under their own rules.

New Delhi, April 19
Two months after Jhala Nath Khanal became the new Prime Minister of Nepal, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is leaving here for the Himalayan nation tomorrow to inquire about the stalled peace process, the new constitution that has to be promulgated by next month, and the fate of various bilateral agreements.

Reflecting the importance India attaches to the visit, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is accompanying the minister on his three-day visit. The visit comes at a time when anti-India activities of Maoists, an ally of the Khanal government, have been on the rise.

The visit was to take place in soon after Khanal was sworn in. However, it had to be postponed due to the long delay in the formation of the cabinet in Nepal. Even now, despite expanding the cabinet twice, Khanal has not been able to appoint a foreign minister. However, it is understood that a senior minister from the Prime Minister's party would be deputed to hold talks with Krishna.

The disagreement between the coalition partners CPN-Maoists and CPN-UML has caused the delay in the meaningful expansion of the Cabinet and the country appears headed towards a political crisis with uncertainty surrounding the drafting of a new constitution, the deadline for which expires on May 28.

New Delhi is concerned at the peace process coming to a grinding halt five years after the signing of a peace pact between the Maoist guerrillas and the major parties. It would also seek to know if the quarrelling parties can enforce a new constitution within the stipulated time frame.

Mumbai, April 19
A corporate honcho’s son was arrested in a hit-and-run case in which a motorcyclist was seriously injured in south Mumbai, the police said today.

Ankush Shahra (24), son of Dinesh Shahra, managing director of Ruchi Soya, an edible oil major, was arrested after a hot chase by the police after his Porsche car allegedly rammed into a motorcycle at Marine Drive in the wee hours of Sunday, the police said.

Ankush, who was allegedly drunk, tried to escape in his car, but was chased down after a beat constable and some onlookers alerted the local police station, senior inspector of Marine Drive police station ZM Gajrad said. Ankush Shahra was produced before a holiday court the same day and was released on bail while victim Alauddin Imamuddin Haq is admitted to a hospital where doctors attending on him said he was recovering “slowly”. He has suffered injuries on his head and legs. — PTI

New Delhi, April 19
The CD controversy involving former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan and his lawyer son Prashant Bhushan has also helped the warring factions of civil society drown their differences and come together to back the father-son duo.

The National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), led by National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy, today issued a strong statement supporting the Bhushans.

The NCPRI condemned “the systematic attempts to malign the reputation of Shanti Bhushan, a tireless defender of civil liberties and the rule of law, and Prashant Bhushan, one of the most courageous and effective anti-corruption crusaders in the country”.

The outfit described it as “particularly disgraceful that they are being pilloried and attacked without being given an opportunity to properly defend themselves and without the so-called evidence against them being subjected to even the most basic scrutiny”.

The statement signed by Anjali Bharadwaj, Aruna Roy, Harsh Mander, Jagdeep Chokker, Maja Daruwala, Nikhil Dey, Shekhar Singh, Venkatesh Nayak, Vinay Mahajan, V Suresh and D Nagasaila for NCPRI and Shailesh Gandhi said, “We stand with them in their battle for cleaner and more accountable governance and for the strengthening of democratic institutions. We will oppose all efforts that seek to sideline the central issue, of establishing strong and effective mechanisms to tackle endemic corruption in the country.”

It is significant because a day after Anna Hazare, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Santosh Hegde held a meeting with government representatives, Roy and her associates from the NAC, including former Chief Justice of India JS Verma, had criticised these activists.

The group held a discussion on the issue inviting legal luminaries like Justice JS Verma and former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court AP Shah even questioned the need for a fresh law to curb corruption.

They circulated a paper drilling holes in the thesis of the Anna Hazare group. They questioned the handing over of powers of investigations and prosecution to the Lokpal; the process of appointing Lokpal; the wisdom of videography of the selection process and possible encroachment on judicial powers.

But the CD that sought to malign the Bhushans, who seem to enjoy certain credibility in secular circles, has not gone down well with activists and that, according to sources, is why these groups have now rallied round behind the Bhushans.

New Delhi, April 19
Rohtak boy Captain Deepak Sharma’s mother Indu Sharma received the ‘Kirti Chakra’, the second highest peacetime gallantry award of the country, from President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil here yesterday.

The award has been awarded posthumously to the dead captain. Captain Sharma had laid down his life while killing three Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants in J&K in March last year. Born on July 3, 1983, in Rohtak, Captain Deepak Sharma was an engineer.

The President also conferred Shaurya Chakras on two other officers who laid down their lives during the attack on Indian officials at Kabul. The awards were for Major Deepak Yadav and Major Nitesh Roy. Besides, the President conferred two other Kirti Chakras and 16 Shaurya Chakras on the Armed forces personnel at a solemn ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Major Rahul Gurung and Captain Vikrant Ajit Deshmukh were the two others to be awarded Kirti Chakra. The President also conferred 13 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, two Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 27 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals on other officers.

BRIEFLY

CRPF jawan dies in gunbattle
NAGPUR: A CRPF jawan was killed and five other personnel were injured in a gunbattle with the Naxals in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Tuesday, the police said. The encounter took place in the afternoon near Khobramendha jungles in Kurkheda area. The deceased jawan was identified as Mahendra Singh. — PTI

Slum-dwellers protest in Mumbai
Mumbai: Around 3,000 people today staged a protest here asking the state and central governments to rehabilitate over four lakh slum dwellers from airport land at the earliest. The protesters, who gathered at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, said the proposed expansion of the Mumbai international airport is likely to displace over 80,000 families living in adjoining slums and they must be rehabilitated. — PTI

Women shuttlers’ dress code
New Delhi: Indian women shuttlers on Tuesday expressed reservations on the the Badminton World Federation (BWF) initiative to glamorise the sport by making it compulsory to wear skirts on the court. The new dress code comes into effect from May 1 and it requires the players to wear skirts or dresses in Grand Prix events and above. — PTI