L A T E S T      N E W S

FDI: End to Parliament logjam in sight

NEW DELHI: An end to the logjam in Parliament on FDI in retail on Wednesday appeared in sight with the government giving enough hints that it has no problem over a vote on the issue. In an effort to break the impasse, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath, along with his deputy Rajiv Shukla, held a meeting with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley.

"Presiding officers can take any decision they want in the interest of running Parliament," Nath said after the meeting.

Insisting that numbers were "not a worry" for the government, he said that the MPs are responsible enough to decide (in favour of the issue).

Replying to questions, he dismissed suggestions that the government has wasted four days of the Winter session to decide on the issue as it did not have the numbers.

"From day one I have said we have the numbers," he said to a question that the government was ready for a vote only
after key ally DMK came on board.

Earlier, he also met the Lok Sabha Speaker and last evening the Rajya Sabha Chairperson.

The meeting with the Leaders of the Opposition saw BJP insisting on a discussion under a rule that entails voting alleging that the government had committed gross neglet of Parliament by not adhering to its commitment of consulting all stakeholders before taking a decision on FDI in multi-brand retail.

In such a situation, the only way the sense of the House could be gauged was through voting, Swaraj told reporters after the hour-long meeting.

Her contention was that even if such vote went against, it would not lead to the fall of the government but would only show the view of Parliament on the FDI issue.

"The government will not fall. Only FDI (decision) will have to go. If majority of members are against the decision then the government should abide by it," Swaraj said.

As against this, Nath argued that the all-party meeting held on Monday showed that larger numbers favoured a discussion without voting. The meeting also saw most of the parties wanting Parliament to run and "we want Parliament to run".

Nath said the government "cannot accept (discussion under Rule) 184. We have left it to the presiding officers to decide. Let them take any decision they want in the interest of running the House".

Asked if the government was ready for voting on FDI as the opposition is firm on its stand, Nath said, "We are not averse to it."

To a query whether the government was setting a bad precedent by having a voting on an executive decision, the minister said, "There are many precedents. A House behaving like this was also not there. Rules are very clear. We are not worried. Government is confident of the steps... of our policies."

Besides BJP, the Left parties, BJD, AIADMK, TDP have been demanding that the discussion on FDI should be followed by voting.

While in Lok Sabha, the government appears to be comfortably placed in the numbers game with promise of support from SP and BSP and DMK's open backing. Trinamool Congress with 19 MPs has also been cold towards Opposition demands for a vote on the issue.

In the Lower House, at present the UPA enjoys the support of about 265 MPs in Lok Sabha of 545. With the support of Samajwadi Party (22) and BSP (21), the backing for the ruling coalition goes a little over 300, which is comfortable over the required 273.

However in Rajya Sabha, where the UPA coalition does not have the numbers on its own, it may have problems in case of a vote.

In a House with an effective strength of 244, the UPA and its allies have a strength of about 94 members. There are ten nominated members who may vote with the government. Among the seven Independents, three or four may go with the government.

Still the ruling coalition may have to persuade outside supporters BSP (15) and SP (9) to positively vote with the government to avoid any last-minutes hitches. — PTI

Tendulkar needed more than ever now: Dravid

NEW DELHI: The criticism against Sachin Tendulkar might be mounting rapidly after a string of poor performances but his former India teammate Rahul Dravid feels the senior batsman is needed "more than ever now". 

Tendulkar has been a major disappointment in the ongoing four-Test series against England which is tied at 1-1 after the visitors humiliated the hosts by 10 wickets in the second Test in Mumbai. 

"India need him now more than ever. At 1-1 in a tight series, it's going to be very important for senior players to stand up and who better than Sachin to do that," Dravid said. 

Tendulkar's poor form has put question marks over his place in the side and former players such as Sunil Gavaskar have urged him to discuss his plans with selectors but Dravid feels the 39-year-old is still very much needed by the side. 

"I thought he was a little scratchy and looked a little under-prepared against New Zealand. Here, I know it seems strange to say after he's had three failures, but he's actually looking quite good. 

"He's played a couple of straight drives, he's played a couple of shots that when I was playing with him, you knew he was playing well if he was playing those shots," he said. 

"He'll be disappointed with the shot he played to get out in Ahmedabad on a relatively flatter wicket, and then to see other people score runs," Dravid said. 

"Here, he was a bit unlucky: the first ball that really spun on the first morning was the one that got him. Until then there weren't too many balls spinning. And then he played for the spin in the second innings and the ball straightened on a track on which every ball was spinning," Dravid added. 

Dravid said the crushing defeat in Mumbai could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for India as players would work harder. 

"I think that's a blessing in disguise from India's point of view. They might have to work harder for the wins but it'll also give their batsmen a chance to be able to put up big scores, and to be able to show they are good players of spin," he said. 

Dravid said skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to reconsider his bowling options ahead of the third Test starting December 5 in Kolkata. 

"He's going to have to re-look at his combination, simply because it's going to be difficult to manage three spinners and especially having Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag in the side who can also bowl spin. 

"The combination they had in Ahmedabad was the best one, where they had two seamers and two spinners. Hopefully we'll see a normal Kolkata wicket," he said. 

"India have a great record in Kolkata, we've had a lot of success in Kolkata, because it is a typical sub-continental wicket. As it starts off, you can play your shots, there is something in it for the fast bowlers but it does spin." — PTI

Zee says its executives’ arrest 'illegal'

NEW DELHI: Zee News on Wednesday demanded the immediate release of its two senior editors arrested in an extortion case filed by Congress MP Naveen Jindal, alleging that the police action was "illegal" and "designed for something else".

Denying allegations of attempt to extort Rs 100 crore from Jindal Power and Steel Ltd for not airing news reports linking the company to the coal block allocation scam, Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal accused the UPA-II of "intimidating" the media because of its "mistakes".

Sudhir Chaudhary, the head of Zee News, and Samir Ahluwalia, head of Zee Business, were arrested Tuesday night on the complaint by Jindal's company filed in October.

Questioning the arrests and its timing, Agrawal and Zee lawyer RK Handoo said the detentions were deliberately made before a holiday so that regular bail could be denied. Handoo said that the arrest has been made under a section which speaks of a non-bailable offence and not a bailable offence.

"What was the need for the arrest. It was designed for something else. It is a nefarious gameplan," Handoo said.

Agrawal claimed that it was the Congress MP who offered money as bribe to Zee editors first and then to the company.

Jindal also tried to influence several senior Zee functionaries not only directly but also through various people, including his brother Prithvi Jindal, uncle Sitaram Jindal and political leaders like Digivjaya Singh, Raman Singh and Arjun Munda, Agrawal alleged claiming they also requested them not to air stories against Jindal.

Agrawal said Jindal and Zee officials had a total conversation of six hours over half a dozen meetings and if any one was to take out only five per cent of these conversations "it can be distorted in any manner".

On his part, Jindal on Wednesday refused to comment on the developments saying, "the matter is subjudice. Delhi Police is investigating the matter. I am not commenting on this."

However, when asked about the release of 14 minutes of conversation between him, his officials and Zee functionaries, Jindal said the tapes were examined by the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory and everything would be in public domain.

Queried whether the sting operation by his company was intended to divert attention from his company's alleged involvement in coal block allocation scam, he shot back, "okay, you don't divert your attention."

On the timing of the arrest, Handoo said while the FIR was filed on October two, the arrests were made yesterday at a time when the two editors were at the "beck and call" of police and cooperating in investigations.

"Police say they have the forensic report. Then why don't they file chargesheet directly. What is the need for arrest? In normal case, they would not have been arrested," he claimed.

Agrawal said, "we have never denied a conversation. Therefore a CFSL forensic report confirming the CD's veracity was a foregone conclusion. So why the arrest when both of them were fully cooperating with the investigations from the beginning." — PTI

Pak test-fires nuke-capable ballistic missile

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday tested the Hatf-V nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a range of 1,300 km, with the military saying that the launch was aimed at strengthening the country’s deterrence capability.

A statement from the military described the test as a “training launch” conducted by a strategic missile group of the Army Strategic Force Command.

The test of the medium range ballistic missile, also known as the Ghauri, marked the culmination of a field training exercise aimed at testing the operational readiness of the Army Strategic Force Command.

The Ghauri is a “liquid fuel missile which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads over a distance of 1,300 km,” the statement said.

“The test consolidates and strengthens Pakistan’s deterrence capability and national security,” it said.

The statement did not say where the test was carried out.

“The launch was monitored by the ‘National Command Centre through the medium of the National Command Authority’s fully automated strategic command and control support system”, the statement said.

The National Command Authority controls the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The military said the strategic command and control support system enables “robust command and control capability of all strategic assets with round the clock situational awareness in a digitised network centric environment” for decision makers at the National Command Centre.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf congratulated the Army Strategic Force Command on their training, which was “reflected in the proficient handling of the weapon system in the field and the accuracy of the training launch”.

Pakistan has tested a wide range of nuclear-capable missiles, ranging from the Hatf-IX tactical missile with a range of 60 km to the Hatf-IV, this year as part of efforts to strengthen its nuclear arsenal to counter India’s conventional superiority. — PTI

Woman IAF officer commits suicide

Jodhpur: A woman officer in the Indian Air Force allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her official quarters in Jodhpur on Wednesday morning. 29-year-old squadron leader Anandita Das, hailing from Kolkata, was posted at the Jodhpur Air Force Station and living in the officers' quarters with her husband, who is also an IAF officer.

"She was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the wee hours today. The body has been shifted to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital for postmortem," police said. She was a ground duty officer.

Defence spokesperson SD Goswami said that a court of inquiry has been ordered in the case.

"Police investigation is on and we will extend full cooperation to the police investigation," he added.

Taliban claim to have attacked Pak scribe

Peshawar: The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on senior a senior Geo TV journalist and anchor Hamid Mir a day earlier and has warned of more attacks on anyone pursuing the secular agenda.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said that Mir was following a secular agenda and was helping those who were working against the principles of Islam adding that their organisation would continue to target all those who were becoming party to propagation against ''jihad'', reports The Dawn.

Ehsan further said that those targeting the Taliban would be targeted with explosives. A bomb was apparently planted under Mir's car while he stopped at a market for a few minutes before returning to his house in Islamabad on Monday. The explosive device in a metal box was found stuck under the front passenger seat of Mir's car, according to city police chief Bani Amin. The bomb disposal squad was immediately called, who successfully defused the bomb containing half a kilogram of explosive material, he added.