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India, China defence talks this month-end
Special status on mind, Nitish calls on Manmohan, PC
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SP creates ruckus over Beni’s barb at Mulayam
Swiss woman to stay in India, assist police in investigation
Ex-DGP who took on Veerappan joins Cong
Ramesh for 20-yr mining freeze in AP tribal areas
Mass leave by junior docs under scanner
Malayalam poetess gets top honour
No defence talks with Lanka, for now
Delhi summons its envoy to Geneva
‘84 riots case: Delhi court adjourns hearing B’desh honour for retired IAS officer
SP leader released after woman drops charges
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India, China defence talks this month-end
New Delhi, March 18 The two sides will aim at cementing the agenda laid down in September last year when Defence Minister AK Antony and his counterpart General Liang Guanglie met in New Delhi, reviving ties and smoothening out some of the rough edges. It was the first visit to India by a Chinese Defence Minister since 2004. Chinese Deputy Chief of General Staff General Qi Jianguo is set to arrive in India. He will hold talks with Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma. This will be the second meeting between the two officials since January. Sources said key points will be: enhanced defence cooperation, military exchanges like joint exercise, maintaining peace alongside the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and discussion on plans to work together in the Asia-Pacific region. The two functionaries had met in Beijing this January for the third India-China Annual Defence Dialogue. During this round of talks, the two countries will be looking to have a formula to expand and enhance bilateral exchanges covering the Army, Navy and the Air Force of either country. The two functionaries will work at laying down the groundwork to boost mutual trust and enhance mutually beneficial practical cooperation. At the last meeting, the two sides agreed to hold a bilateral military exercise in 2013. The dates and the scope of joint exercise are expected to be finalised during this meet. By the principle of reciprocity, the joint exercise is slated to be conducted in China, the last one code named ‘Hand-in-Hand’ having been conducted in Belgaum, Karnataka in December 2008. India and China have already announced that they have reached consensus on a wide range of issues relating to defence and military exchanges and cooperation. Besides joint exercises, the two neighbours, who often compete with each for global resources and a share in the overseas markets, have agreed to strengthen border cooperation between the border troops of the two sides. This is intended to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC. With tension brewing in the South China Sea, Indian Navy Chief Admiral DK Joshi announced that his force was ready to protect Indian interest (in oil exploration) in those areas. Plans are afoot to begin joint maritime search and rescue exercises. Warships of both nations already cooperate on counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. There is a school of thought which says that India and China need to focus on commonalities between the two countries which are more important than the differences they have. Defence Minister AK Antony is slated to visit China in May/June this year, the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister since Pranab Mukherjee’s visit, who went there in June 2006.
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Special status on mind, Nitish calls on Manmohan, PC
New Delhi, March 18 “The Prime Minister promised the Centre would revisit the criteria and it is now up to the Finance Minister to act,” he told mediapersons after meeting the Prime Minister at his Parliament House office here. He said since Bihar was a land-locked state, it needed special concessions as it fulfilled three of the five parameters necessary to get a special category status for a state. “I told the Prime Minister that Bihar is neither hilly nor sparsely populated. It is a landlocked state having one of the highest densities of population. Our people also have the right to development,” the Chief Minister said. He sought to downplay any political connection in view of the next year’s Lok Sabha elections, insisting politics is “development”, reminding of the days when former Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu would harp on the same tune while supporting the BJP-led NDA government. But he admitted that Bihar was eager to get the status soon since Lok Sabha elections were due next year. The talk of how Bihar was being wooed by the Centre came to the fore after Governor Devanand Konwar was shifted recently following disagreement between the state government and Raj Bhawan over appointments in state universities. The move to hold an “adhikar rally” in the National Capital was intended to convey a message to the BJP as also to assert his own role in national politics by declaring that the state would support a party that promised development and financial package. The Congress today said the government will “sympathetically consider” any request for assistance to the state which has seen higher growth than Narendra Modi’s Gujarat. At the same time, the AICC saw no possibility of special status for the state and said that the issue should not be politicised. Party spokesperson Rashid Alvi also reminded Nitish Kumar that the UPA had given to Bihar more than double the allocation during the NDA period when the Bihar Chief Minister himself was a Union Minister for some time.
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SP creates ruckus over Beni’s barb at Mulayam
Terrorism has no religion, no colour. The demolition of Babri Masjid was a terrorist act... He joined hands with those who demolished
New Delhi, March 18 The Samajwadi Party with 22 MPs in Lok Sabha supports the UPA from outside but is not part of the ruling Congress-led UPA coalition. The Verma-Yadav clash paralysed both Houses and forced the government to express regret and condemn the utterances while chastising the Cabinet Minister. The SP did not accept the regret, forcing the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to be adjourned for the day. Verma, Minister for Steel in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, stirred the hornet’s nest during zero hour in Lok Sabha when SP members stormed the well and demanded an apology from Verma for his statements at a rally in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, where he alleged that the SP chief had links with terrorists. “He is a goon and a robber. How will he protect his state? He has links with terrorists,” Verma was reported to have said. Amid the din, Verma got up to clarify that he had not made any such statement and so there was no question of an apology. “Where is the proof that I have said such a thing? I did not link terrorism to any religion.” From here on Verma widened the scope of his subject saying: “For me, terrorism has no religion, no colour. The demolition of Babri Masjid was a terrorist act and the Godhra riots are also terrorist incidents. But he (Mulayam) joined hands with those who demolished Babri Masjid, like Kalyan Singh. His party also helped the BJP to win in Gujarat. ‘Yeh attankwadio ke sanghrakshak hain (he is protector of terrorists).” Both LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj who were present in the House did not respond to Verma’s allegations. The BJP had lodged a protest when Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik during his visit to India in December equated the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid with global terror. In the House, the SP members demanded Verma’s ouster from the Cabinet. An angry Mulayam Singh Yadav demanded that Verma be sacked. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath sought to cool down tempers saying: “The observation that has been made, I regret.... It is not the question of whether you belong to ruling party or opposition... we condemn this... all of us condemn this.” In the Rajya Sabha, the issue was raised when it met after the lunch break. The Upper House was scheduled to take up a debate on the General Budget. However, members from the SP demanded a clarification from the Congress on Verma’s statement.
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Swiss woman to stay in India, assist police in investigation
Datia (MP), March 18 The Swiss national along with her husband has expressed her desire to stay in the country for the time being and cooperate in the ongoing investigation and identification process. A Swiss embassy press release said: “The victims reached New Delhi in the early hours of March 17. They were provided medical assistance on their arrival and are currently recovering. While speaking to Ambassador Linus von Castelmur, the couple expressed their readiness to cooperate in the ongoing investigation and identification process. They will continue to stay in India for the moment.” Meanwhile, Datia Chief Judicial Magistrate RP Yadav today remanded all six accused — Baba, Bhutha, Rampro, Gaza alias Brajesh, Vishnu Kanjar and Nitin Kanjar — in one-day police remand, said Deputy Inspector General of Police DK Arya. — PTI British advisory for women tourists
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Ex-DGP who took on Veerappan joins Cong
Bangalore, March 18 With the Assembly elections in Karnataka due in May, the Congress is on the lookout for a leader belonging to the Lingayat caste. Lingayats are numerically a strong community in Karnataka and had rallied behind the BJP in the last Assembly elections. The saffron party was then led by Yeddyurappa. Bidari, a Lingayat, is expected to be fielded by the Congress in the coming elections and will be portrayed by the party as one of its important Lingayat faces. Yeddyurappa had launched the KJP after breaking away from the BJP. Following Yeddyurappa’s exit from the BJP, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has emerged as the party’s most important Lingayat leader. After joining the Congress, Bidari -- who had led forces against the Veerappan gang on the Karnataka side of the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border -- said he had always been an admirer of the Congress and decided to join it to serve the party. The former DGP, who started his career as a clerk in the P&T Department, had shown an uncanny knack for being at the right place at the right time. For instance, when two LTTE activists involved in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi were located in Bangalore, Bidari was DCP (Headquarters), Bangalore City. Though the investigation was handled by a special investigation team, some of its success rubbed on to Bidari after the two fugitives were tracked down to Bangalore. While Bidari chose the Congress platform to launch himself in politics, he got the coveted appointments of Bangalore City police commissioner and subsequently Karnataka DGP during the current BJP regime in the state. His stint as the Karnataka chief of the Special Task Force (STF) is also eventful. Though Bidari failed to nab Veerappan, the STF under him inflicted substantial damage on Veerappan’s gang.
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Ramesh for 20-yr mining freeze in AP tribal areas
Hyderabad, March 18 “Nowhere in the country has mining benefited the tribals. Only a few outsiders became rich while the locals remained poor,” Ramesh said while addressing a public meeting at GK Veedhi, a remote tribal hamlet in the coastal Andhra district of Visakhapatnam. He urged state Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was also present on the occasion, to impose ban on the mining in the region as it might prove counter-productive. “Wherever we have mining, we have Maoists. We need a different approach to the issue of mining,” he said at the meeting which was attended by Union Tribal Welfare Minister V Kishore Chnadra Deo, a local leader, who is also opposed to the proposed bauxite mining in the region. The public meeting was organised to launch ‘Rajiv Bala Sanjeevani’, a scheme to provide medical care to the tribal children. Interestingly, the official function was organised in the area which has been witnessing public resistance to the mining project. The environmental activism of Jairam Ramesh in opposing the prestigious bauxite mining project has been a cause of worry for the Congress government in the state for some time now. Though the government is keen on going ahead with mining the bauxite reserves, the Union Minister had made it clear that he would continue to oppose it in the interests of safeguarding the rights of local tribals. The bauxite mining is a major issue in the region with local tribals, civil rights activists, environmental groups and the opposition parties opposing the project. The state-owned A P Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) had signed agreements in 2007 to allot bauxite mining leases to Jindal South West Limited, which is part of OP Jindal Group, and ANRAK, a state-owned company of United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts. Those opposing the mining project argue that it would not only lead to environmental degradation but also displace thousands of tribal families. Stating that it was imperative to protect the interests of those living in scheduled areas, Ramesh noted that Maoists had a strong presence in areas where the tribals felt unhappy and were not content. Speaking on the occasion, Kishore Chandra Deo called for cancellation of the MoU that the state government had signed with private mining companies.
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Mass leave by junior docs under scanner
Kolkata, March 18 Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Health Minister, expressed surprise over the sanctioning of mass casual leave to all junior doctors at the hospital and sought an explanation from the hospital superintendant. The superintendant pleaded that since the erring doctors were not registered with the Indian Medical Council, he was not authorised to refuse them leave. He also claimed that the emergency work in the hospital did not suffer on account of their absence. The Director, Health Services, today asked the superintendant to explain why strong disciplinary action should not be taken against the erring junior doctors. — TNS
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Malayalam poetess gets top honour
The award, constituted by the KK Birla Foundation, carries a cash award of Rs 10 lakh, a citation and a plaque. The 79-year-old writer was selected for the honour by a 13-member jury headed by former CJI RC Lahoti. — PTI
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No defence talks with Lanka, for now
New Delhi, March 18 Sri Lanka, in its diplomatic conversation with India, had proposed a start date for the talks on either March 23 or March 25 to which India has not agreed. New Delhi gave no official reason for holding back the defence secretary-level talks that were to carry on for three days. Sources in the government said the date was tentative and nothing had been finalised. So it cannot be termed as a "cancellation". However, they confirmed that "the annual defence dialogue with Sri Lanka will not be conducted on the dates proposed by Sri Lanka". The last meeting between the two defence secretaries was conducted in January last year in New Delhi. "No dates had been finalised due to scheduling issues on the Indian side; we are looking at other dates," an Indian source said. No new dates have been decided yet. During the talks, the two sides were to discuss ways to strengthen defence ties and finalise future military exercises. The decision comes at a time when Tamil Nadu-based parties are up in arms over India's engagement with Sri Lanka. More so, after media reports surfaced how 12-year-old Balachandran, son of slain LTTE leader Prabhakaran, was shot dead in cold blood by Sri Lankans. Tamil parties, including the key UPA ally DMK, have been criticising the government for holding training for Sri Lankan forces, which was subsequently shifted from South to North India. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking that Sri Lankan officers undergoing a course at Wellington in her state be moved out and the UPA had complied with her request. Strategically, India can ill-afford to snap military ties with Sri Lanka, lest China uses the schism in India-Lanka ties to lands itself virtually at India's doorstep. Sri Lanka sits astride the passage from the west coast of India to its east coast, or vice-versa. A Chinese presence would be "most undesirable".
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Delhi summons its envoy to Geneva
New Delhi, March 18 “The Foreign Secretary has asked Dilip Sinha to come to Delhi tomorrow for consultations. He will brief senior officials on the ground realities. Subsequently, we will take a call on the issue,” MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters here. The spokesman noted that the final text of the proposed resolution to be introduced at the UNHRC by the US would only be available later this evening. Asked if New Delhi favoured the word “genocide” in the text, he said, ‘’we will cross the bridge when we come to it”. The Lankan issue has once again become a big headache for the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government with one of its key constituents, the DMK, threatening to pull out of the coalition if it did not back the resolution at the UNHRC. All political formations and activists in Tamil Nadu have demanded that India back the resolution as it did last year and even seek an amendment to denounce Colombo for the “genocide” of Tamils. The resolution is expected to come up for voting at the UNHRC session in Geneva March 21. Sentiments are running high against Sri Lanka in Tamil Nadu, where large numbers of students have taken to the streets denouncing the death of Tamil civilians in the war against the Tamil Tigers. DMK chief M Karunanidhi wrote to the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday, saying Colombo should be specifically blamed for the “genocide” of Tamils during the war against the Tamil Tigers. He also called for an international probe into allegations of war crimes against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today demanded that India take a “strong stand” against Sri Lanka at Geneva. She said India should move an independent resolution to strengthen the earlier US resolution.
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We are bound by court
order, India tells Italy
New Delhi, March 18 Talking to reporters here today, MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin confirmed that a ‘note verbale’ was handed over by Italy to the Indian mission in Rome on Friday, drawing attention to the provisions of the Vienna Convention. In response, New Delhi informed Italy that it was fully conscious of its obligations under the Vienna Convention but at the same time was bound by the order of the Supreme Court, which has restrained the Italian envoy from moving out of the country. According to sources, Italy has mentioned two specific provisions dealing with the diplomatic immunity under Vienna Convention ---Article 29 that states that "the person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving State shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity". The other, Article 31, says, "a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction except in some cases.” Asked if the two countries were also considering an out-of-court settlement of the marines’ issue, Akbaruddin said the government has to abide by the apex court ruling. The next hearing in the case would be held on April two, he noted. On whether India was initiating any diplomatic step against Italy, he said a study was under way in the ministry on the entire expanse of India’s relationship with Rome. The study would provide various suggestions which would then be considered by the government.
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‘84 riots case: Delhi court adjourns hearing New Delhi, March 18 According to HS Phoolka, counsel of the riot victims, ACP of area submitted a report to the court that there is a security threat following which the court adjourned the hearing for the next date. The arguments by CBI counsel began at 12.30 pm and continued for about an hour. Cheema argued on the basis of statement of eye witness Jagsher Singh and two other witnesses Balwinder Singh and Ram Avtar. Jagsher Singh had stated in his evidence that Sajjan Kumar came to his area on November 1, 1984, at night and instructed his followers to kill Sikhs. Jagsher Singh had taken shelter at the house of Ram Avtar. Cheema argued that police arrested Ram Avtar on November 4, 1984 under section 107 and 151 of the IPC. According to police records, till November 3, 1984, more than 30 killings had taken place in this area. The only person arrested by the police was Ram Avtar, who had actually given shelter to Sikh. Cheema argued that Jagsher’s statement was reliable and the presence of Jagsher Singh at the place of occurrence was corroborated by Ram Avtar. The other witness Balwinder Singh was an Air Force Officer posted at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. On hearing about the death of his three brothers, he came to Delhi. He found his house burnt. Cheema argued that this witness was not cross examined by defence lawyers. As such evidence of Balwinder about the prevailing situation and the extent of damage stands proved. z She settled in Amritsar after her husband, Kehar Singh, who was a gun fitter in EME (a section in Army) was killed during the riots
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B’desh honour for retired IAS officer New Delhi, March 18 The National Committee to Honour Foreign Friends of Bangladesh Liberation War invited former Sub Divisional Officer at Sonamura, who took care of refugees by providing them with food and shelter, to receive the honour on March 24 in Bangladesh.
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SP leader released after woman drops charges
Lucknow, March 18 Strangely, later in the day, the woman dropped the charges against the politician from Pratapgarh and no formal case was registered. The former MP from Machlishahr was released, informed GRP sources.
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A day after seeking a special category status for Bihar, state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidmabaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to press for his demand.
New Delhi, March 18
A Delhi court today adjourned the hearing in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case after area Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Delhi Police, met the District Judge J R Aryan in his chamber and apprised him of intelligence information on “security threat” to the court premises. CBI prosecutor RS Cheema had to conclude his argument today. Now the case in which Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was one of the accused has been listed for March 23.
On the agenda
Babri
Masjid.... Yeh attankwadio ke sanghrakshak hain
are terrorists? He should
apologise
New Delhi, March 18