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Team Anna to frame its Constitution
Kejriwal says will clear dues
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3 Andhra Congress legislators join TRS
Governors’ meet
The democratic process and popular participation need to be further encouraged in the scheduled areas, and the growth of democracy in these areas needs recalibration of the way in which Governors discharge their special responsibilities.
— Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
2g scam
Not in race for PM’s post, says Gadkari
Graft, good governance cannot co-exist: Advani
Bridge collapse: 25 still missing
SC: Courts can convict on testimony of solitary witness
Jantar Mantar
85-yr-old woman gets life term in bride-burning case
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Team Anna to frame its Constitution
Ralegan Siddhi, October 30 The decision was taken at a meeting here chaired by Anna Hazare and attended by prominent team members Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi, a day after the Core Committee meeting in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh decided against disbanding the present team and going for a revamp. Hazare, in a written communication which was read out by Kejriwal at a press conference, said he did not find it right to disband
the committee. "Team Anna is very strong and no one can break it. There were talks about disbanding the Core Committee. I don't think it is right. If we flee the ground due to some allegations, then it will erode the credibility of the movement and it is not good for the movement. Don't bother about allegations. The Core Committee members will unitedly face the challenges and fight back. Our fight will be on till Jan Lokpal Bill is passed. In future, a Constitution will be framed for the movement...After framing the Constitution, the Core Committee will be revamped,"
Hazare said. The Constitution will have provisions on who can be members of the Core Committee and Working Committee of the team and their character. Whoever, Hazare said, engaged in any wrongdoing will be dealt with according to the
Constitution.
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Kejriwal says will clear dues
New Delhi, October 30 "I have decided to pay back the dues. I will take loans from some friends," Kejriwal, who is in Ralegan Siddhi, told PTI. The Income Tax department had set October 27 as a deadline for Kejriwal to pay the dues but he had failed to comply with it, saying he needed more time to consult his friends to take a final decision on the matter. Kejriwal had taken study leave on full pay for two years from November 1, 2000 and rejoined in 2002 after signing a bond that he would return the salary if he resigns or retires or fails to resume duty within three years of his study leave. The Office of the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) had, on August 5, issued a notice to Kejriwal, asking him to pay Rs 9.27 lakh, claiming that he had violated bond clauses under which he went on a study leave for two years. When the Delhi CCIT had written to him in 2007 and 2008 for clearance of his dues, Kejriwal had responded that they may be waived. I-T officials had said that they can initiate property attachment proceedings under service rules and subsequently, initiate criminal case against a person who defaults on dues. Kejriwal and other Hazare team members had attacked the issuance of notice, terming it as an action of the government's "dirty tricks department".
— PTI
Pending payments: He’s not the only one Resignations of four IRS officers, including Magsaysay awardee and Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal, have not been accepted by the government due to pending requisite formalities. Between 2007-11, resignations of 15 IRS (T) officers were accepted which include two officers -- Amita Sharma and Ambika Prasad, who were asked to pay dues of Rs 9.15 lakh and Rs 8.36 lakh respectively, before clearance was granted. The resignations of MS Padma Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal, AK Verma and Ashok Mittal are still "under process" for acceptance pending completion of requisite formalities.
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3 Andhra Congress legislators join TRS
Hyderabad, October 30 The dramatic resignations of J Krishna Rao, a former minister, S Satyanarayana and T Rajaiah reflected a growing frustration among Telangana Congress leaders over delay in the announcement of a decision on the raging statehood demand. Soon after announcing their resignations from the primary membership of the Congress, the three leaders drove to TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s residence and joined the sub-regional party, which has been in the forefront of the Telangana agitation. “In deference to the wishes of the Telangana people, we have resigned from the party. We will actively participate in the statehood movement,” said Krishna Rao, who had quit the Cabinet in May this year. The three MLAs sent their resignation letters to the state Congress chief
B Satyanarayana. There is speculation in political circles that some more legislators and MPs from the region would follow suit to mount pressure on the UPA government to concede the demand for separate state. The Telangana region accounts for 119 seats in the 294-member AP Assembly and 17 MPs out of the total 42 from the state. The Congress has 12 MPs and 50 MLAs from the region. Their main demand is that the Centre should abide by its December 9, 2009 announcement to initiate the process for formation of a separate Telangana state. They want the Centre to table a bill in the coming session of the Parliament for bifurcation of the state. However, the latest indications from Delhi are that the Congress leadership is unwilling to create Telangana state.
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Govt committed to weed out corruption: PM
Ashok Tuteja Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 30 Referring to ragging, he said the Governors, as Chancellors of the university system, have a special responsibility to ensure that this menace is rooted out once and for all. “It must be made unambiguously clear to authorities of educational institutions, other enforcement agencies and the student community that there is zero tolerance,” he said. Singh said Left wing extremism continued to pose a major threat to the country’s internal security. Steps that need to be taken to tackle the problem include deployment of additional central forces, raising of specialized forces and training to state police in counter- insurgency. However, the extent of success would depend on co-ordination between the Centre and states and between different states. Speaking about areas under the fifth and sixth schedules, the PM said, “Governors have been given special responsibility for administration of scheduled areas. The democratic process and popular participation need to be further encouraged in the scheduled areas, and the growth of democracy in these areas needs recalibration of the way in which Governors discharge their special responsibilities.” He urged the Governors to take active interest in implementation of development programmes for SCs/STs, Other Backward Classes, religious minorities, women and children. He also suggested that as Chancellors of State Universities, they should take active interest in toning up the quality of administration of higher education in their states. In her concluding remarks at the two-day meet, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil suggested setting up of a committee of Governors to evolve mutually beneficial models for a farmer-industry partnership focusing on rain-fed area farming. “The panel would make suitable recommendations, and would also formulate a concept paper to bring about an evergreen revolution to harness the full potential of the agriculture sector,” she said. Covering other issues, the President said there was a recommendation by Governors for an enabling climate for them to discharge their statutory duties as Chancellors of State Universities, in a more positive and effective manner, and imparting of clarity on the expected interface between Governors and Central Universities in general and as Chief Rectors in particular. As for the issue of governance, the President said she feels it is necessary that people get better governance through the institutions of democracy. An environment that liberates people’s creative energy in building an India of our dreams, as a nation of a billion plus people rising to its peak potential, needs to be created. Governors, who have an all-pervasive moral influence in their states, can play an important role, she emphasised.
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CAG ready to appear before JPC again
New Delhi, October 30 Rai recently wrote to JPC, offering to make himself “available” along with his officials whenever their “assistance” is sought. Rai, along with other officials, had appeared before the JPC on May 30 to brief the panel on the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation. The CAG said his officials had made “earnest effort” to supply the JPC with all the documents and records sought by it on the issue. Meanwhile, Rai and his deputy Rekha Gupta will explain to the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tomorrow how the CAG arrived at the Rs 1.76 lakh crore figure. RP Singh, former Director General of Audit (Post and Telecommunications), was the lead auditor in 2G spectrum allocation and had reportedly disputed the loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. Singh had reportedly said the losses were to the tune of Rs 2,645 crore. Singh, who has since retired, has been separately called as a witness before the PAC tomorrow. In a letter to PAC, Singh has maintained that under RTI, information was sought by an applicant requiring copies of correspondence between him and office of the CAG. “In this context, I am to state that I just complied with the RTI Act... I have not appeared for any interview to media, print or electronic...,” he said. He also forwarded the draft audit report and other related documents to the PAC. The decision to seek explanation from CAG and to call RP Singh as a witness was taken after Congress member Sanjay Nirupam demanded that Singh be called to explain the difference. — PTI
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Not in race for PM’s post, says Gadkari
Kushinagar, October 30 "All my life I have closely watched some leaders who rose above personal aspirations and dedicated their lives for the cause of the people," the BJP leader said. On the UP Assembly polls next month, he said only winnable candidates and dedicated workers would be given party ticket. No recommendations would be entertained in this regard, he said. "I have all the information regarding Assembly segments and only winnable candidates and dedicated workers will get the ticket," Gadkari said. Dubbing some political parties as "private limited companies", he said the BJP was the only party where a system of working in unison had been evolved. "It’s not the private limited company of Sonia Gandhi or Mayawati where one person gives orders and others follow. "The BJP is a democratic party, a party with a difference and this makes us different from others," Gadkari said. Taking a dig at BSP supremo
Mayawati, he asked the parks and gardens on which Rs 10,000 crore had been spent, were being constructed for whom. "Those who talk about Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar are erecting their own statues and garlanding the same. "Probably Mayawati is confident nobody will install her statue," he said. The BJP president alleged the SP, the BSP and the Congress had looted the state and were misleading the people by indulging in political gimmickry. "I am sure when a no-confidence motion is brought in Parliament, both these parties will support the UPA again," he said. Alleging all the three parties were having a tacit understanding, Gadkari said the BJP would not forge an alliance either with the SP or the
BSP. "We will prefer to sit in the Opposition, but there is no question of any alliance with the SP or the BSP before or after the polls," he said. The BJP president said the situation was conducive for the party and "if we make some extra effort I will not be surprised if we get majority in the state (UP)." He said if voted to power, the party would create jobs, improve law and order and ensure basic facilities to the people. The BJP president urged party workers not to indulge in caste politics, adding "we will give ticket to people of all castes." Gadkari said he understood political compulsions and ground realities but the main reason behind unemployment and poverty in UP was that those who indulged in caste politics did not took the state towards development.
— PTI
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Graft, good governance cannot co-exist: Advani
Bangalore, October 30 The rally aroused interest in view of the corruption cases being faced by the ministers of the BJP government here - three of whom, including former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, are right now lodged in the central prison here. Without naming the former Chief Minister, Advani did give Yeddyurappa a wrap on the knuckle. “Corruption and good governance cannot co-exist,” Advani said and added that this held true for BJP governments also. The BJP patriarch, who was accompanied by his daughter (who was video-graphing her father’s speech), and senior party colleagues Venkaiah Naidu, Anantha Kumar and Ravi Shankar Prasad and Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda and BJP Karnataka chief Eshwarappa and others, said when he had come to Bangalore in April to inaugurate the party’s new office, he had cautioned against corruption by BJP government functionaries. Advani added that the moment Yeddyurappa was indicted in the Lokayukta’s report on illegal mining, the party decided to remove him from the Chief Minister’s post. He said during his brief interaction with the present Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, he got the impression that Gowda was heading the government in the right direction. “The state will do well under his leadership,” Advani said. Interestingly, Yeddyurappa’s was among the four state leaders’ images (state president Eshwarappa, CM Sadanandas Gowda and party general secretary and former union minister Ananth Kumar are the three others) that were displayed prominently on the dais. There was speculation that Home Minister R Ashoka, MLA from a Bangalore constituency, might not attend the rally since there were more than one land scam cases against him. But Ashok was there and sat right in the front row on the dais. The setting could have gotten worse by the heavy shower that swept the venue before Advani’s arrival. At the media enclosure, some journalists hid below tables to avoid getting drenched. Eventually, only Advani and state BJP chief Eshwarappa could address the audience who stayed put and enthusiastically responded to Advani’s speech. Advani devoted much of his speech to allegations of corruption against the UPA government — 2G scam, Commonwealth, cash-for-vote and black money stashed in Switzerland by Indians.
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Bridge collapse: 25 still missing
Itanagar, October 30 Search and rescue operation by personnel from the Arunachal Police, the
ITBP, the CRPF and the Army, which was suspended last night following poor visibility, resumed at dawn, the police said. However, there was no trace of the missing persons, they said. Six persons died and 25 went missing yesterday after the wire rope suspension bridge collapsed when over 100 persons were busy looking for
'tari', an edible insect used to cook a local delicacy, over the structure.
— PTI
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SC: Courts can convict on testimony of solitary witness
New Delhi, October 30 “As a general rule, the court can and may act on the testimony of a single witness provided he is wholly reliable. There is no legal impediment in convicting a person on the sole testimony of a single witness,” the apex court said while upholding the life sentence of two persons in a murder case. “That is the logic of Section 134 of the Evidence Act, 1872. But if there are doubts about the testimony, the court will insist on corroboration... The time honoured principle is that evidence has to be weighed and not counted,” a division bench of judges BS Chauhan and AK Patnaik said while dismissing the appeals of Takdir Samsuddin Sheikh and another man for the murder of Moiyuddin Shaikh on September 21, 2000 at Vadodara over some financial dispute. The apex court rejected the argument of the convict that their conviction was unsustainable as the prosecution claimed to have nabbed and seized blood-stained materials 13 days after the murder and the testimony of Bharat Rajendra Prasad Trivedi could not be relied upon as he was a friend of the deceased. “Minor contradictions, inconsistencies, omissions or improvements on trivial matters without affecting the case of the prosecution should not make the court reject the evidence in its entirety,” Justice Chauhan, writing the judgment, said. According to the postmortem report, the deceased was inflicted 33 injuries with swords and knives and the prosecution relied mostly on the testimony of the sole eyewitness Trivedi who was accompanying the deceased in a car when they were waylaid.
— PTI
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Amar discharged from AIIMS
New Delhi, October 30 Accompanied by his aide and Rampur MP Jayaprada, a bearded Singh was taken in an ambulance to his Lodhi Estate home, where he was welcomed by his children amid slogans from supporters belonging to his outfit Lok Manch. The Rajya Sabha MP, who was arrested on September 6 in connection with his alleged role in 2008 cash-for-vote scam, was given bail on humanitarian ground on October 24. Fiftyfive-year-old Singh was admitted to the hospital following a rise in creatinine (marker of kidney function) level in his body. Singh was brought to AIIMS from Tihar Jail on the night of September 12 following complications related to post-renal transplant, diarrhoea, urinary tract infection, diabetes, dehydration and hypothyroid hypertension. Amar Singh later said he may have to go back to AIIMS for a check-up on November 3.
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The numbers game
Anita Katyal
There is endless speculation in Delhi's corridors of power over a recent circular issued by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's behest, stating that either Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee or Home Minister P Chidambaram should remain in Delhi and coordinate with each other in the running of the government during the PM's absence. Since this is the first time that the PM has named two ministers to be in charge while he is out of the country, much significance is being attached to the circular. It is usually Pranab Mukherjee who stand in for the PM when he is away, except on the rare occasion last month when both the PM and the Finance Minister were out of the country at the same time. While some state the circular implies that Chidambaram has been moved up the pecking order and now occupies the number three slot in the UPA government, there are others who insist the real message is that both ministers share the number two slot. While this debate rages on, senior UPA ministers are quick to rubbish the speculation, saying Mukherjee is the unquestionable number two and the latest circular is essentially a gesture by the PM to Chidambaram in view of the recent 2G controversy. Bonanza likely for Hardeep Puri
India's admission into the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member could well prove to be a bonanza for Hardeep Puri, Permanent Representative of India (PMI) to the UN, who is to retire early next year. There is talk in the External Affairs Ministry that Puri, who handled India's entry into the Security Council, could be given an extension till the end of the next year when India completes its term in the top UN body. While continuity is a factor working in Puri's favour, Pakistan's recent admission to the Security Council has added another dimension to the issue. India needs to have its skilled diplomats on board to deal with any uncomfortable issues that Pakistan may raise during the Security Council deliberations. But, more importantly, an extension for Puri is also being seen as compensation for having lost out in the race for the Foreign Secretary's post.
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85-yr-old woman gets life term in bride-burning case
New Delhi, October 30 Additional Sessions Judge PK Jain held Turkman Gate resident Husan Bano and her son Nasim guilty of harassing her younger son Nasiruddin's wife Gulnaz for dowry and burning her alive on the basis of her dying declaration. “The dying declaration was made by deceased Gulnaz voluntarily narrating the true facts,” the court stated.
— PTI
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Addressing the 43rd conference of Governors, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed his government’s firm resolve to take all possible measures to curb corruption in the administration and deliver good governance to citizens.
Kushinagar, October 30
There is endless speculation in Delhi's corridors of power over a recent circular issued by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's behest, stating that either Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee or Home Minister P Chidambaram should remain in Delhi and coordinate with each other in the running of the government during the PM's absence. Since this is the first time that the PM has named two ministers to be in charge while he is out of the country, much significance is being attached to the circular.
P Chidambaram
Pranab Mukherjee
