New Delhi, July 31
Bringing the office of Prime Minister under the ambit of Lokpal would "not be advisable", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today.Manmohan Singh, who had earlier stated that he was not against the office of the Prime Minister being brought under the Lokpal's purview, told reporters that the government has taken the decision after "taking all factors into account".

"Well, our government has taken a view taking all factors into account. It would not be advisable to bring the Prime Minister within the purview of the Lokpal, except when he demits office," Singh said on the eve of Parliament's monsoon session. The Lokpal Bill would be introduced in Lok Sabha by August 3.

On Anna Hazare's threat to go on a fast from August 16 to protest a "weak" Lokpal Bill, Singh said the Lokpal Bill's fate will be decided by Parliament. "As you know, we are ready with the Lokpal Bill. The Bill's fate will be decided by Parliament. In a democracy, Parliament is a sovereign body, it should be allowed to function and discharge its duty," he said.

At the July 28 Cabinet meeting which cleared the Lokpal bill, Singh had insisted that his office should be brought within the ambit of the legislation, but the Cabinet decided otherwise. His comments came a day after Pranab Mukherjee said bringing the Prime Minister under the Lokpal would result in "institutionalised permanent instability" at the Centre. — PTI

New Delhi, July 31
Anna Hazare today said he was ready to consider Delhi Police’s suggestion to opt for a site other than Jantar Mantar here for his indefinite fast on Lokpal Bill issue from August 16 if all facilities were provided for people to join his protest.

Hazare’s remarks came as Delhi Police suggested that he look for an alternative site in the city’s outskirts like Burari in North Delhi or Ajmal Khan Park in West Delhi if he wants to go ahead with his protest for more than a day. — PTI

Hyderabad, July 31
Belying the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s optimism, the MPs and MLAs from Telangana region today firmly ruled out withdrawing their resignations till the Centre gave a concrete assurance on carving out a separate Telangana state.

The Telangana leaders’ assertion came within hours of the Prime Minister expressing hope that the UPA government would overcome the difficulty arising out of the resignation of the MPs from the region.

Cutting across party lines, 13 MPs and 101 MLAs from Telangana had quit their posts to mount pressure on the UPA government to concede the demand for a separate state.

The Andhra Pradesh Speaker Nadendla Manohar had rejected all the resignations saying that they were given in an emotionally surcharged atmosphere and hence unacceptable.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is also likely to reject the resignation letters of MPs on similar grounds.

On its part, the Congress has been making efforts to persuade its MPs and legislators to withdraw their resignations in view of the consultation process initiated by the party leadership to find an amicable solution to the Telangana tangle.

However, its efforts have not met with any success so far.

The AICC general secretary in-charge of AP Ghulam Nabi Azad called up senior Telangana MP K Kesava Rao today and reiterated his appeal to take back the resignations. According to Congress sources, Rao made it clear that they would not withdraw their resignations.

Meanwhile, 12 Telangana Ministers also refused to attend to their official duties. They had quit their Assembly seats but have not resigned from the cabinet.

There has been no Cabinet meeting for nearly six weeks now and the work in various departments has come to a standstill as the Ministers concerned are busy participating in the agitation.

The Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy called the Telangana ministers over to his official residence where they met for nearly two hours last night.

However, they categorically told him that would face the public anger in their constituencies if they resumed duties.

New Delhi, July 31
India, which got elected to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member with the highest number of votes in October last year, is all set to assume the monthly presidency of the council on Monday.

It will be after a gap of 19 years that that India will hold the presidency of the UNSC. However, August is traditionally considered a month for vacation at the UN since many diplomats go on leave ahead of the UN General Assembly meet in September.

Indian officials say New Delhi would highlight the issue of peacekeeping during its presidency of the UNSC. Being worried about the situation in Libya, India would also be happy to see the cessation of hostilities in Libya during the month of Ramadan.

According to Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, India proposed to conduct its presidency in a manner which provided a clear message to all that it was country which not only had the credentials but the political maturity to supervise the work of the council and which, in turn, reestablished the message that it had the credentials to be its permanent member.

He candidly admitted in an interview to the UN Radio that he did not think India’s presidency would provide a boost to the process of the Security Council reform and India’s claim for permanent membership. “This has to be done through the General Assembly process,” he said.

India was elected to the Security Council along with Colombia, Germany, Portugal and South Africa to serve the body for a two-year term, which started on January 1 this year. To be elected to the council, candidate countries need a two-third majority of ballots of member states that are present and voting in the 192-member Assembly. The seats are allocated on the basis of geographical groupings.

Four out of the five permanent members of the Security Council - the US, Russia, France and Britain - have endorsed India’s candidature for a permanent seat on the high table while China has promised that it would not come in the way of India, should there be a consensus on giving it a permanent seat as part of the UN reform.

If there is anything that is conspicuous by its absence in the ongoing Telangana debate, it is the voice of the Muslims. Why is the perspective of minorities not finding a political space on an issue that may well decide the future of Andhra Pradesh?

The reasons are not far to see. “Muslims have become some kind of political orphans. None of the political parties gives due representation to Muslims in their organisational set-up. It is because of this gross neglect that they find themselves marginalised in the Telangana debate as well,” said a former journalist and a member of the State Legislative Council Syed Amin Jaffrey.

Sample this: Barring Hyderabad, the state capital where the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is a formidable force, the rest of the Telangana region does not have even a single Muslim legislator. The Telangana region, which accounts for 119 seats in the 294-member Assembly, has seven Muslim MLAs, all of them from the city belonging to the MIM. MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi is the only sole Muslim representative in the Lok Sabha from the region which accounts for 17 seats. Owaisi represents Hyderabad.

Similarly, there is not a single Muslim zila parishad chairman or municipal chairman in the state and there are only a handful of Muslim sarpanches. “The interests of Muslims do not seem to figure in the ongoing political discourse, whether it is in support of separate a Telangana state or the integrated state,” Jaffrey says. As a result, the common Muslim has remained largely indifferent to the going competitive agitations for and against Telangana.

Muslims constitute 12.5 per cent of the Telangana’s 3.5 crore population. In Hyderabad, they account for 42 per cent of the total population of about 50 lakh. The MIM, an ally of the UPA having considerable influence in the old city areas, has been steadfastly supporting the integrated state. Though the Telangana legislators of other parties have been mounting pressure on the Centre to concede to the statehood demand, the MIM MLAs have refused to toe the line.

“We never fought elections on the Telangana issue. The question of our resignations does not arise. Our party’s concern is the development and welfare of the Muslim community,” Owaisi said. In its presentation before the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission, which went into the bifurcation issue, the MIM had made it clear that its first preference was for integrated state. If the division of the state becomes inevitable, then Hyderabad should be part of a larger state comprising Telangana and the Ralaseema regions. It opposed granting Union Territory status to Hyderabad.

Significantly, the Rayalaseema region also has 12.5 per cent Muslim population, while the figure is only 4.5 per cent in case coastal Andhra.

There are fears that in the event of formation of a separate Telangana state, the BJP would grow in strength and try to communalise politics. The saffron party has been a staunch advocate of the separate state cause.

However, there are many who disagree with the perception that the MIM is the sole representative of the Muslim voice. “The common Muslims are now coming forward to support the Telangana cause. They cannot go against the public tide,” argues a senior analyst Mir Ayub Ali Khan.

In fact, Jamat-e-Islami, an influential and cadre-based organisation, has been in the forefront of the Telangana agitation.

“The Telangana movement has an underlying social context. It is a movement by the underprivileged yearning for empowerment, social justice and equality,” says Jamat-e-Islami chief Hamid Mohammad Khan.

The Muslim leadership is clearly divided on the bifurcation issue. The Muslim United Forum (MUF), an amalgamation of about 12 political, religious and social groups, has been strongly advocating the united AP cause.

Fearing sharp communal polarisation in the event of the Telangana region getting statehood, the leaders of the forum said the state should not be divided.

In its 500-page report, Justice Srikrishna Commission noted that Muslims in Hyderabad were not in favour of a separate Telangana state as they would feel more secure in the larger state of united AP. “The residents of Muslims mohallas in old city were found to be the most disengaged from the Telangana issue,” the report said.

However, the report also noted that Muslims in the rest of Telangana supported the statehood cause.

“Muslims in Telangana are looking at higher reservation quotas that are being promised. On the other hand, they worry about communal conflict in a smaller state. The uncertainties over new political configurations have a bearing on the psychology of the Muslims, especially in the context of their safety and security,” observes the Srikrishna report. 

Guwahati, July 31
With a fresh incident of a police constable going missing with service weapons from the Garo Hills area of Meghalaya, the state Home Department has instructed the director-general of police (DGP) to probe into the incident and ascertain reasons and circumstances behind such desertion.

Meghalaya Police constable Hubert S Marak, a PSO engaged with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Omilo K Sangma, went missing about 15 days back with his revolver, carbine and two magazines.

The police suspects that the constable has the ranks of a militant in the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), an outfit floated by a deserter deputy superintendent of police Champion Sangma.

An official source said Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh on Thursday called a meeting of senior police officials to discuss the disturbing trend of policemen deserting to join ranks of militants. He instructed the DGP to study the matter thoroughly to ascertain the causes of desertions and submit a detailed inquiry report.

New Delhi, July 31
After a year of disagreement over their respective areas of power within the proposed overarching higher education regulator bills, the Ministries of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Health have finally reached a meeting point whereby India will see a major shift in the way medical colleges are affiliated to universities.

Listed for introduction in the Parliament’s Monsoon session beginning August 1, the two bills, when passed, would, for the first time, accord power to the universities to refuse affiliation to medical colleges that do not come up to their academic standards.

The reworked bills - the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) Bill piloted by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and the National Council for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) Bill prepared by the Health Ministry are ready for Cabinet approval after which they will be introduced in the Parliament. The drafts seek to ensure autonomy to universities and have the potential to end the era of sub standard medical education in the country.

Finalised after much debate and a recent final meeting between the HRD and Health Ministries which Secretary, Legislative, convened on behalf of the PMO, the agreement reached is - the NCHRH will have the power to approve new medical colleges and lay down basic minimum standards required from them to run courses. This is what the MCI today does. Once the NCHRH comes up, it will subsume the MCI.

The NCHER will, on the other hand, have the power to set standards “higher than minimum standards required from all higher education institutions including medical colleges”. Simply put, this means a university can set higher academic standards and reserve the right to refuse affiliation to any medical (or other) college which it feels doesn’t rise to its academic standards so far as grant of recognition goes.

That’s a major departure from the present practice, where universities are bound to affiliate medical colleges once approved by the MCI. But the new Bills envisage greater quality of higher education and specify that mere approval from the NCHRH to set up a medical school will not automatically earn a college its University affiliation.

“In that sense, it encourages colleges to do better. The idea behind the NCHER is greater university autonomy and academic quality from the affiliate,” HRD Ministry sources said. The NCHER will comprise a Board for Innovation and Research to boost inter-disciplinary research. In the new arrangement, the HRD Ministry has vacated its old position. The original NCHER Draft Bill proposed that all higher education institutions, including medical colleges, should be set up through the accreditation mechanism the HRD Ministry is proposing under the pending National Accreditation and Regulatory Authority (NARA) for Higher Education Institutions Bill 2010 and no medical college should need to seek approval from an external body (read the NCHRH). Health Ministry resisted the move. Now HRD has agreed on NCHRH approving new medical colleges and courses, but it has ensured that the affiliating University which ultimately awards the academic degrees (including in medicine) keeps the right to decide if it wants to affiliate a certain college. Health Ministry has meanwhile agreed that all medical schools, once established, would have to get accredited under the NARA Bill. Another decision to avoid future confusion is -- members of both the overarching regulators would be cross represented on each other’s bodies.

Muzaffarnagar, July 31
Contrary to Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi's claims, leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has said that the former Vice Chancellor was removed on the basis of the complete Majlis-e-Shoora probe report.

Vastanvi, who was removed on July 24 for his controversial remarks praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, had termed as "incomplete" the report submitted by the three-member panel and demanded that another committee be set up to look into the issue.

However, current Deoband VC Maulana Abdul Qasim Nomani issued a press note here yesterday denying Vastanvi's allegation and said that the shoora (management body) had taken a decision after considering the completed probe report.

The committee was constituted to look into the comments made by Vastanvi and the allegations levelled against him, he said.

In an interview, Vastanvi had reportedly said that Muslims should forget the communal riots of 2002 and move on and that the community did not face discrimination in Gujarat. The remarks had raised the hackles of the conservatives.

On the report, Vastanvi had said that while detailed description of allegations against him had been mentioned, it was mum on the issue of the uproar by the students after his appointment and the people responsible for that. — PTI

New Delhi, July 31
The second indigenously built stealth warship — INS Satpura — that will be the biggest in the world among its classification of ‘stealth frigates’ will be commissioned next month.It is presently being tested in the waters by the Navy. The Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) is building the warship.Its stealth features will curb enemy radars, sensors and submarines from estimating its true size, which is 6,200 tonnes and 143 m in length.

Tactically, the ship can fire its weapons even before the enemy detects it. The first of the same type of warship, INS Shivalik, was commissioned in April last year. The third one - INS Sahyadari - will follow some months from now.

Ships like these will form the core of the India’s battle fleet in the first half of this century. The process is part of Defence Minister AK Antony’s stress on building our own capacity in defence manufacturing.

The INS Satpura - like the INS Shivalik - will carry on board long-range surface-to-surface Klub missiles, surface-to-air-missiles, the Barak, area defence missile Shtil, anti-submarine torpedoes, 100 mm mounted gun and six-barrelled 30 mm gun.

The Sea King Choppers on board will carry torpedoes to hit submarines which are out of the ship’s range. It will have an array of sensors and an anti-missile defence system for its own protection and also coordinate the firing of onboard weapons.

The Navy is looking to have a data exchange system with the IAF’s airborne early warning system (AWACS). A system is being integrated with the AWACS to provide data that may be out of the range of the ship. This will give it an edge in the firing of weapons.

The combat management system developed by the Bharat Electronic Systems will give the ship’s captain a view of all weapons and data on one screen.

The ship will be powered by a unique combination of gas and diesel engines.

Diesel engines will be in operation during cruising. Gas turbines will take over when the ship needs to run faster - up to 32 knots (59 kmph). The ship can stay out in sea for more than three weeks at a stretch or cover more than 10,800 km (6,000 nautical miles) at a stretch without re-fuelling.

Kolkata, July 31
The new draft Land Acquisition Bill is likely to see some modifications to clarify certain points, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's adviser on land related matters.

Stating that he received a lot of useful suggestions from the adviser, Debabrata Bandopadhyay, the union minister said "There are some points we need to clarify."

Ramesh, who had a two-hour meeting with Bandhopadhyay, said "he has given me a lot of useful suggestions. There are certain issues he has raised."

Though the land under the draft Land Acquisition Bill would not be acquired for private purpose, in certain circumstances the state could acquire it where private enterprises worked for public purpose, Ramesh said.

"The draft bill provides for land acquisition by the state for private parties working for public purpose like railway or port projects," Ramesh said.

Ramesh said that land would, however, "not be acquired for private parties working on private enterprise." The minister said that the draft bill would be published online for getting feedback from the people.

Bandopadhyay, however, remained non-committal on the issue. "Let us see what comes up in the draft Bill." Last night, after a meeting with Ramesh, the chief minister had said that this draft bill was better than the earlier one, but she was yet to go into the details. — PTI

Mani Shankar Aiyar is said to have been pulled up by none other than Ahmed Patel, Congress president's all-powerful political secretary, for unnecessarily referring to him at a book release function last week and describing the crowds at the party office as a circus.