L A T E S T      N E W S

SP, JD(U) want Army Chief sacked, BJP says no

NEW DELHI: Opinions were divided on Wednesday on the future of Army Chief V. K. Singh with the SP and the JD (U) saying he should be sacked after his letter to the Prime Minister on shortage of ammunition in the forces came out in open but the BJP saying it did not support the demand.

As the uproar over the letter led to angry scenes in the Rajya Sabha, Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari was the first to demand the sacking of the Army Chief.

"This is a matter of serious indiscipline, the Army Chief should be sacked... if we don't take an action, it can become a bad tradition," said Tiwari.

Echoing him, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav told reporters outside Parliament that "responsibility should be fixed and strict action should be taken. If Gen Singh is responsible, he must be sacked and jailed".

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party took a slightly different view. Asked about the stand taken by ally JD (U), BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said: "We do not share the view."

Leaders from the Left demanded a thorough inquiry and said strict action should be taken. They were joined by the Biju Janta Dal (BJD).

"Examine into the leak, fix responsibility and punish whosoever is responsible," CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said.

V.K. Singh, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has pointed out a shortage of arms and ammunition in the armed forces and questioned if the country is ready for a war.

According to reports, the letter, which was written March 12, states that Army tanks in the country have run out of ammunition. — IANS

Row between Army Chief, govt worsens; uproar in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: The row between the Army Chief and government worsened today with Defence Minister A. K. Antony saying "appropriate action" would be taken for leakage of a letter written by Gen V. K. Singh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amid demands by political parties for his dismissal.

The issue of the contents of the letter appearing in the media rocked the Rajya Sabha with members terming it as "disturbing" and "serious" and demanding that the government should take action against those responsible "whatever position he holds".

Responding to concerns expressed by members, Antony said, "I have made serious note of the observations... After consulting the Prime Minister and colleagues, we will take appropriate action." He confirmed that the Army Chief had written to the Prime Minister on March 12 drawing his "attention to issues related to national defence and security." He said "these issues are under the consideration of the Ministry of Defence. By very nature of these issues, they cannot be a matter of public debate." Earlier, Antony met the Prime Minister over the issue.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma were also present at the meeting.

According to a newspaper report, the Army Chief has contended in the letter that the entire tank fleet is "devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks", the air defence is "97 per cent obsolete" and the infantry is crippled with "deficiencies of crew served weapon" and lacks "night fighting" capabilities.

Gen Singh has also alleged that there is "hollowness" in the procedures and processing time for procurements as well as legal impediments by vendors.

Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley expressed concerns over the leakage of the letter saying matters which are supposed to be confidential are being leaked to the media.

He told the Defence Minister that if these sorts of leakages are permitted, there is no point in saying that you do not want such matters to be part of any acrimonious debate.

Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said the fact that a sensitive issue like a letter containing facts about nation's security and written by Army Chief to the Prime Minister gets leaked, is a matter of "utmost concern" and something that needs to be inquired.

He said those responsible for leakages must be held accountable for such acts no matter what is the position of such officers in defence establishment and civil administration.

Pyari Mohan Mahapatra (BJD) said the government should take immediate action. "There is no scope for inquiry. It can take years. Whatever has to be done, it has to be done in hours not days," he said adding "people who are to be sacked should be sacked" immediately under Article 311 B and C of Constitution.

Maintaining that Indian forces have never indulged in politics, JD-U leader Shivanand Tiwari said it would set a wrong precedent if such things are allowed and the government will have to take some tough steps in this regard.

Earlier, during Question Hour, Tiwari said the Army Chief should be dismissed.

Noting that some of the news reports related to defence preparedness are "extremely disturbing", Jaitley said they raise question marks about the integrity of procurement and preparedness.

Assuring members, Antony said, "The government is committed to do all that is necessary for the security of the nation.

The government will do everything possible to ensure that our defence forces become the best fighting forces in the world."

Expressing gratitude to the members of Opposition, Antony said he was "very, very happy" to hear the observations of the Opposition leaders.

"This is a great tribute to out country. Whatever be our differences, whenever it comes to national security, we are one," he said, assuring the members that the government was continuously taking steps to tighten the loose ends in the procurement process.

Antony said procurements are being undertaken under the integrity pact put in place three years ago, which covers a contract of even Rs 100 crore.

He said if there is any violation, actions like blacklisting and cancellation of contracts are taken.

Antony said the government will not leave any room for anybody to makes compromise over integrity and transparency and will take strong action against whoever is responsible.

"We will protect every inch of our motherland," he said. — PTI

Rajoana case: Punjab bandh today

Chandigarh: Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place as a state-wide bandh has been called on Wednesday by several Sikh organizations in Punjab to protest against a Chandigarh court order that Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's killing, be hanged as scheduled on March 31.

According to reports, nearly 60,000 Punjab police personnel and 15 companies of para-military forces have been deployed to avoid any untoward incident ahead of Rajoana’s execution.

The state government has clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 banning assembly of five or more persons were at various places in view of the bandh.

Besides, the security around the Patiala Central Jail, where Rajoana is lodged, has also been beefed up and additional security check points have been erected to restrict the entry of those going towards the prison side.

Punjab police and paramilitary forces yesterday conducted flag marches across the state apprehending violence if the execution of Rajoana is carried out.

Badal to meet PM, President

Chndigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil later today to seek their intervention in saving Rajoana from the gallows.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron had yesterday said that his government would support the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) sent to President seeking conversion of Rajoana's death sentence to a life term.
The SAD-BJP government and the Congress in the state have demanded grant of clemency to Rajoana.

The Chief Minister insisted that no action should be taken until the High Court passes its final verdict on the case. "My plea to the President is that the case is still on and no action should be taken yet. The law of the land must be upheld. I shall meet President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday," he told reporters.

Norway custody row: Kids to meet uncle

Oslo: Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1), the two kids who were forcibly taken away from their parents - an NRI couple - and put under foster care by Norwegian authorities nearly 13 months ago, are expected to meet their uncle on Wednesday.
It should be noted that the uncle has agreed to take custody of the kids - children of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya living in Norway's Stavanger – who were taken under protective care by Barnevarne (Norwegian Child Welfare Services) last May on the ground that they were not looked after properly by their parents.

The family, and the Indian government, have been trying to bring the kids back to India and Norwegian authorities agreed to return the kids if the custody was given to someone other than the parents.