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Gujarat goes to polls on Dec 13
and 17, Himachal on Nov 4
NEW DELHI: Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 13 and 17, while elections in Himachal Pradesh will take place on November 4, the Election Commission announced today.
Counting of votes will take place in the two states on December 20, Chief Election Commissioner V. S. Sampath said. The notifications for the two phases of Gujarat elections will be issued on November 17 and 23 and for Himachal on October 10.
"The Model Code of Conduct has come into operation from this very moment (with the announcement of polls). The Election Commission will enforce it strictly and will monitor all activities related to the elections in these states," Sampath said.
According to the poll schedule, the last date for filing nominations in Gujarat is November 24 for the first phase and November 30 for the second phase.
After scrutiny on November 26 and December 1 for the two phases, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is November 28 and December 3, respectively.
In Himachal Pradesh, the filing of nomination will end on October 17 and scrutiny will take place on October 18. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 20.
Sampath said, "The schedule of elections has been prepared keeping in mind the climatic conditions, academic calender like exams, festivals, law and order situation as well as availability of security forces and the time needed for their movement." A total of 44,496 polling stations will be set up in Gujarat for 3.78 crore voters, while 7,252 polling stations will be established in Himachal Pradesh for an electorate of 45.16
lakh.
Gujarat has 182 Assembly constituencies, of which 13 are reserved for SCs and 27 for STs, while there are 68 constituencies in Himachal Pradesh, with 17 reserved for SCs and three for
STs.
The term of Gujarat's present Assembly expires on January 17 and that of Himachal on January 10. — PTI
Govt has not paid for Sonia's treatment: CIC
NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not sought any reimbursement for medical bills from the
government, the Central Information Commission has said.
The case relates to an RTI application filed by one Naveen Kumar of
Moradabad, who sought to know from the Prime Minister's Office, National Advisory Council, Lok Sabha
Secretariat and Ministries of External Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs,
Statistics and Programme Implementation details of the medical expenditure incurred on the treatment of Gandhi.
During the hearing before Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda
Mishra, the ministries held no medical bills were submitted by Gandhi for reimbursement.
"From the submissions made by the respondents, it was quite clear that neither any reimbursement for any such expenditure had been claimed by the individual concerned from these public authorities nor any expenditure made in this regard. In other words, till now, the government has incurred no expenditure in this regard," Mishra had held in his order dated May 3.
He said that in any case the expenditure made by individual on her treatment, in India or abroad, is private information and cannot be subject matter of an RTI application.
The matter assumes importance in the recent war of words between Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress on the expenditure incurred on the treatment of Gandhi.
Addressing a rally at Jesar on Monday, Modi had targeted the Congress president by claiming that Rs
1,880 crore had been spent from the public exchequer for her foreign trips. But later he offered to apologise if what he said was wrong.
The allegations were refuted by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who said the incident "establishes the motive of BJP and Narendra
Modi, their malafide cheap intentions. They want to politicise even an issue like health". — PTI
Sonia won’t respond to Modi charges
RAJKOT: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday refused to react to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on her and the Centre demanding details of expenses on her foreign travels and said she was not bothered about personal attacks on her.
“Whenever we have taken steps in the interest of the nation, there have been all kinds of attacks against us.... Neither have we bothered earlier, nor will we worry about them in future,” she said, launching the party’s poll campaign in Gujarat at a farmers’ convention in
Rajkot.
Launching a scathing attack on the BJP and the Gujarat Chief Minister, Gandhi said there was a “huge difference” between their preaching and practice on the issue of corruption. Alleging that the
BJP-ruled states were “neck-deep” in corruption, she said the party was not ready to act despite evidence and CAG reports against them. “There is a difference between their preaching and practice...They are not ready to act against their states on the issue of corruption even though there is evidence and CAG reports against them,” she said.
Gandhi also lashed out at the BJP for not allowing the passing of the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha and attacked the opposition party for not allowing Parliament to function. She also noted that the Gujarat government had not appointed a Lokpal for the last eight years. “They are not against corruption, they are against us...Those who do not allow Parliament to function talk about being against corruption...Are they against the government or the Constitution and the democracy of the country? I leave it for you to decide as you are sensible to understand this,” she said.
She used the farmers rally to make a strong pitch for FDI in retail, saying the move would help farmers get remunerative prices for their produce by selling it directly in cities. She wondered as to why there was so much hue and cry over allowing FDI in retail when it is not mandatory for all states to implement.
Without directly naming Modi, Gandhi questioned why the people of the country were being misled on the FDI in retail decision.
She also alleged that atrocities on women were being committed in Gujarat and that Dalits seeking their rights were being fired upon. — PTI
ADB lowers India’s growth forecast to
5.6 pc
NEW DELHI: Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday lowered India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal to 5.6 per cent, from 7 per cent projected earlier, citing falling global demand and impact of delayed monsoon on agricultural production.
India, however, can reverse the trend of falling growth by promoting economic reforms and taking steps to improve investment climate, said the ADB’s Asian Development Outlook 2012 Update.
For the Asian region as a whole, the ADB Update expects the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate to drop to 6.1 per cent in 2012 from 7.2 per cent in 2011. The growth rate for the region has been projected at 6.7 per cent in 2013.
“The deceleration of the region’s two giants — the People’s Republic of China and India — in tandem with the global slowdown, is tempering earlier optimism,” ADB said.
As for India, it said that growth rate will decelerate to from 6.5 per cent in 2011-12 to 5.6 per cent in the current fiscal. ADB had earlier projected the country’s growth rate at 7 per cent for 2012-13.
The growth rate for 2013-14, according to the ADB update, has now been estimated at 6.7 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent projected earlier.
Falling global demand and a delayed monsoon curtailing agricultural growth have exacerbated India’s recent economic slowdown, and have led to reduced growth forecasts by the ADB for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, ADB said.
“India can start reversing this trend by improving its investment climate and expediting reforms,” ADB Chief Economist Changyong Rhee said.
The delayed monsoon and weaknesses in the agricultural supply chains, coupled with rising costs of fertilisers and irrigation, are likely to result in subdued farm growth and sustain pressure on food prices.
Moreover, industrial output is expected to remain subdued in 2012-13, while weak demand from industrialised countries continues to take its toll on exports, ADB said.
Rhee further noted: “Tight monetary policy to counter persistently high inflation and a high deficit leave little room for policy to stimulate growth. However, restoring investor confidence can help jump start critical infrastructure projects that could get the economy moving.”
In its mid-quarter monetary policy review last month, RBI had kept the lending rate
(repo rate) unchanged in view of high inflation but reduced the cash reserve ratio — the portion of deposits that banks keep with the RBI.
“The government has made some headway in addressing these challenges recently,” ADB said, adding, “these steps have boosted business sentiment and raised hopes for further policy actions.”
The government has recently taken a number of reform initiatives like opening the multi-brand retail sector to
FDI, hiking diesel prices by over Rs 5 a litre, capping the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per family a year, allowing foreign carriers to pick up stake in domestic airlines and liberalising FDI rules for broadcasting sector.
“FDI in retail will result in substantial investment in a modern agricultural supply chain that will reduce huge food losses from farm to market, helping farmers and consumers,” ADB said.
As regards to developing Asia, ADB has significantly scaled back 2012 and 2013 growth forecasts saying that “after years of rapid growth, the region must brace for a prolonged period of moderate expansion amidst an ongoing slump in global demand”. — PTI
All schools must have toilets within 6 months: SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the centre and state governments to provide basic infrastructure, including drinking water and toilets, in all schools within six months.
A bench headed by Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan fixed the time limit and asked the governments to take steps to provide the basic facilities in schools across the country. The bench said that all its previous directions pertaining to providing infrastructure should be implemented within the time frame fixed by it.
On October 18 last year, the Supreme Court had directed all states and union territories to build toilets, particularly for girls, in all government schools.
The court passed the order on a PIL seeking its direction to Centre and state governments to provide basic facilities of drinking water and toilets in schools.
The Supreme Court had earlier stated that it was imperative that all schools provide toilet facilities, as empirical researches indicated that wherever toilet facilities are not provided in schools, parents do not send their children (particularly girls) to schools.
The court had also observed that not providing the infrastructure was a violation of the right to free and compulsory education of children guaranteed under Article 21-A of the Constitution. — PTI
Australia match impacted our chances badly: Dhoni
COLOMBO: Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said that the heavy defeat against Australia in their first Super Eights game had a telling impact in his team's ouster from the ICC World T20 even though he termed the side's performance as "satisfactory".
"It was a satisfactory performance. If we talk about the tournament, the match that we lost (versus Australia) impacted us badly. The margin of defeat was a big one. Today after the first match, the equation was such that we wanted to field first and then chase down whatever target within 15-16 overs," Dhoni told the reporters at the post-match media conference.
"It becomes very difficult to make a strategy when you bat first. In any case defending 120 was a tough ask," he said after India defeated South Africa by one-run in their last Super Eights game last night but still failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
Dhoni was curt in his reply when asked whether too many changes in the batting order had an effect on the team's performance.
"No, I don't think so," he replied.
The skipper admitted that on flat tracks, his bowlers have found it difficult to deliver and that's been the reason for the team's repeated poor show in the last three editions of World T20.
"If one looks at the 2007 edition, we were playing in Durban which helped our seamers. Whatever total we put on, they were able to defend that. But when there is nothing in the wicket, they find it very difficult. That is the reason why I prefer a turning track or seaming track rather than flat tracks," Dhoni said.
When the inevitable question of overhaul in the team and dropping a few seniors -- Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag --was raised, Dhoni said: "This question is always asked when we don't do well. When we lost in Australia and England, the similar question was asked. Let's get real. — PTI
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