|
|
|
|
|
Decision on Kanimozhi’s bail plea deferred
HRD panel for more autonomy to IITs
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SC notice to govt on plea against Wage Board
Thackeray cousins spar over control of Bollywood bodies Mayawati to ‘expose Anna’s dual character’
Adarsh files missing from
MoEF office
Stalin declared winner amid high drama
|
|
Decision on Kanimozhi’s bail plea deferred
New Delhi, May 14 Kanimozhi is accused of receiving Rs. 214 crore of “illegal gratification” for Kalaignar TV in which she is a shareholder and chargesheeted by the CBI in the 2G Spectrum allocation scam terming her a co-conspirator with former Telecom Minister A. Raja. “The order is deferred till May 20,” is all that Special CBI Judge OP Saini said in a packed court room attended by Kanimozhi, her husband Arvindan and mother Rajathi Ammal this morning. Talking to mediapersons outside the court, CBI lawyer A.K. Singh said that the only reason which the judge gave for not pronouncing the order was that it was not ready. The court also adjourned its pronouncement of the order till May 20 on the bail plea of Sharad Kumar, MD and CEO of Kalaignar TV. The court had earlier reserved its order on the Kanimozhi’s bail plea on May 7 after hearing the extensive argument advanced in her defence by her lawyer Ram Jethmalani who argued that since Kanimozhi was not involved in the day-to-day functioning of the channel, she cannot be held accountable for merely being a shareholder. The CBI has vehemently opposed her bail application while trying to convince the judge that Kanimozhi was infact the “most active brain behind the Kaliangar TV” and well aware that “Rs 214-cr coming to the channel was exploits of her crime.” According to the CBI, the money trail allegedly moved from Dynamix to Kusegaon and then on to Cineyug, all part of the Dynamix Balwa (DB) Group that promoted Swan Telecom - ending with the Karunanidhi family-run Kalaignar TV. Swan Telecom is owned by Shahid Balwa. The company was allocated 2G Spectrum at a throwaway price causing loss to the exchequer. According to the CBI, a sum of Rs 214 crores paid to Kalaignar TV was part of the bribe that Shahid Balwa owed A.Raja, the then telecom minister for allocating 2G Spectrum to his company.
|
|
HRD panel for more autonomy to IITs
New Delhi, May 14 Currently, the government, through the Ministry of Human Resource Development, foots the non-plan expense of the IITs, providing them most of the funding. To that extent, the autonomy of the institutes gets compromised as they have to look back at the ministry for every little thing. Though the IITs have academic autonomy, they do not yet have the power to appoint their own directors and board of governors or determine their own fee structures and future investment plans. But IIT Bombay chairman Anil Kakodkar-led committee on autonomy (which also has Infosys doyen Mohandas Pai on rolls) seeks to provide some solutions. In its report to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, it recommended on Thursday that the government should stop funding the institutes directly and instead fund students to help them pay the fees. The panel is for two types of government funding to students. While a section of the students from weaker segments can be given fellowships, others can be given loans on soft terms to enable them to foot the fee and repay it later in easy instalments. Sibal has decided to present the report to the IIT Council and has not taken a view on it. In a meeting with him on Thursday evening, Kakodkar explained the rationale behind the new proposals that seek to allow the IITs financial and governance autonomy, while enabling students with means to pay up. The committee’s first report that had recommended a four-fold fee hike from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh annually for IITs had met with resistance with the government asking the members to revisit it. In the modified version, the panel says IITs should be allowed to work out different fee structures depending on their running costs and the government should, instead of funding the institutes, fund the students. “When the government pays for most of the IIT bills, it expects some compliance from them. But if the funding is diverted to students, the IITs can have the freedom to fix financial structures that would allow them to flourish, but will simultaneously have to be competitive to ensure that students come to one IIT and not go to the other. Some IITs may decide to charge Rs 2 lakh annually, some may charge less. Fees could vary depending on costs that will, in turn, depending on the level of the IIT faculty, research standards are infrastructure,” said the ministry a source, adding that fee was not an issue, financial autonomy was.
|
|
SC notice to govt on plea against Wage Board
New Delhi, May 14 A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma sought the government’s response to the pleas of the ABP Pvt Ltd and one of its shareholders that the recommendations “would have serious implications and repercussions” on its fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution. The draft recommendations “are beyond the jurisdiction and beyond the scope of the notification constituting the Wage Board and were based on erroneous assumptions and incorrect premise. As a result, the wage bill of the petitioner would more than double,” affecting its right under the Article, the petition said. Appearing for the petitioners, senior counsel Fali S Nariman said the recommendations were discriminatory as the electronic media had been left out. Also, unlike the previous Wage Board headed by Manisana, the present Board did not circulate the final recommendations to all members of the Board, including the representatives of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for their comments. “Irreparable loss and injury will be caused unless the Central Government is restrained from taking a decision on fixation of wages as prayed,” the petition said. The Bench, however, refused to pass any restraint order at this juncture. Nevertheless, it gave the liberty to the petitioner to approach the summer Vacation Bench on this aspect if there was any urgent need. The petition has also challenged the very constitution of the Wage Board, contending it was ultra vires the Constitution as it violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners jeopardising its capacity to free speech and expression in view of the additional financial burden. The SC has also issued notice to other respondents - the Indian Federation of Working Journalists, the National Union of Journalists, the Indian Journalists Union, the All-India Newspaper Employees Federation, the National Federation of Newspaper Employees and the Press Trust of India. The petition further contended that the so-called independent members were not truly independent. This resulted in apparent bias against newspaper owners and tilted the scales against them. It also pointed out that no other industrial establishment was regulated this way and made to pay wages on the basis of wage board recommendations. This amounted to hostile discrimination.
|
|
Thackeray cousins spar over control of Bollywood bodies Mumbai, May 14 While the Bharatiya Chitrapat Sena (BCS) affiliated to the Shiv Sena has been well entrenched in Mumbai for decades, the MNS Cine Workers Association backed by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has been making rapid inroads into Mumbai’s film studios. MNSCWA’s strategy to create trouble at film studios where foreigners are hired as part of crowd scenes has brought it to the limelight with film producers and top artistes rushing to Raj Thackeray and his associates frequently. Two weeks ago, the MNS’ body disrupted shooting of a film, Bbuddhah, being produced by Amitabh Bachchan’s AB Corp on the grounds that foreigners hired as extras did not have work permits. According to police, MNS activists ‘raided’ the premises where a song sequence was being shot and disrupted the shooting. MNS office-bearers insist that they were only checking that the law was being followed. “If the producers have all the papers in order and permission from the authorities, we will not have objection,” says Ameya Khopkar who heads the MNSCWA. He alleged that producers are hiring, too, many foreign tourists who are out to make a quick buck while local junior artistes remain unemployed. Recently MNS activists also demanded identification cards of technicians employed at film studios amidst allegations that the party wanted to keep out people from other states. The action by the MNS has resulted in producers bending backwards to keep Raj Thackeray happy. According to sources, prominent film producers have visited the leader’s residence and extended invitations to him to attend their parties to keep the MNS chief in good humour. Raj Thackeray also kicked off a publicity exercise by getting glamorous personalities to join his union. Recently starlet Rakhi Sawant joined the union along with several others as part of a major membership drive. The MNSCWA now claims a membership of 25,000 people. This hasn’t gone down well with the Shiv Sena which is known for its good relations with the Bollywood fraternity. Party’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray recently organised a shake-up of the BCS in order to make it adopt a more aggressive role. Abhijit Phanse, who now heads the BCS, is demanding that multiplexes in Mumbai screen Marathi films during prime time. Wooing the Marathi manoos, Phanse asked workers affiliated with the BCS not to co-operate with leaders of other unions. Backing the BCS, is a representative body of film producers known as the Western India Film Producers’ Association (WIFPA).
|
|
|
Mayawati to ‘expose Anna’s dual character’ Lucknow, May 14 While welcoming the anti-corruption movement launched in the state by various organisations, the BSP supremo admitted to have been “intrigued” at Hazare’s decision to launch the movement from Uttar Pradesh. Hazare and other anti-corruption activists had addressed a series of public meetings from May 1 to 3 in Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow organised by India Against Corruption and other organisations. Due to his hospitalisation, Hazare could not come personally but addressed the meetings through video conferencing. Drawing Hazare’s attention to the numerous scams unearthed in his home state of Maharashtra as well as the neighbouring Karnataka, Mayawati wondered why Hazare instead took the trouble of launching the campaign from UP.
|
|
|
Adarsh files missing from MoEF office
Mumbai, May 14 "Files which include letters issued by the Environment Ministry to the state government regarding Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, and asking the society to approach the appropriate state government department for clearance, have gone missing," the official said. The matter came to the light when a CBI official visited the MoEF office in Delhi last week, seeking copies of the letters. "The ministry officials said the files are untraceable. We have now asked them to give us a complaint in writing after which further course of action would be decided," the official said. Last year, some files pertaining to the society had gone missing from the Maharashtra Urban Development Department (UDD) and three officials from the UDD were arrested in this connection on May 5. The missing files from MoEF also contain Adarsh Society's proposal, forwarded by the state government to the Union Ministry, seeking CRZ clearance for construction. The ministry had replied stating that since the plot fell in CRZ, permission was required from Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. — PTI
|
|
Stalin declared winner amid high drama
Chennai, May 14 The declaration of the results came after high voltage drama as the AIADMK cadre protested, alleging that one of the EVMs had been changed. Tension prevailed at the cramped counting hall around 5.40 pm, when counting agents of the AIADMK candidate S Duraisamy alleged that one of the EVMs had been changed. The counting process was stopped in the middle and resumed. The counting process itself was not a smooth affair. The AIADMK cadres’ patience ran out. Three EVMs had failed to work and had been put aside with only five EVMs remaining to be counted. The election officials pacified the protesting AIADMK workers and declared Stalin winner. The AIADMK candidate Duraisamy said he would challenge the verdict in court. While M Karunanidhi won from his native town of Tiruvarur by a thumping margin of over 50,000 votes, 19 out of his 25 ministerial colleagues, including veteran leader and party general secretary K Anbazhagan, were defeated. DMK’s powerful regional satraps S Arumugam, KN Nehru, K Ponmudi, KKSSR Ramachandran and MRK Panneerselvam were among the prominent losers.
|
Rajnikanth hospitalised
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
