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Vahanvati telling untruth: Raja
50,000 paramilitary men for K'taka poll
Over 71k foreigners overstaying in India
26/11: Pak took care not to bring its role on record
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CBI grills YSR’s aide in Jagan assets case
Prahlad Joshi takes over as Karnataka BJP chief
Pak, Lanka better than India on hunger index
Debate on Lokpal after April 22: Minister MHA relocates some forces from J&K to Naxal areas Jairam Ramesh pillion-rides in
Naxal-hit area Railways to review passenger fares in October UK tourist recounts her Agra horror
Hizb terrorist’s sketch released
Jantar Mantar
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Vahanvati telling untruth: Raja
Raja said the Prime Minister and the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee were kept informed on the licencing policy. In his 17-page note, Raja said he had “exchanged letter” with the Prime Minister on November 2, 2007 on various issues relating to the telecom sector and also had subsequent personal discussions on the subject. “It was agreed in these discussions that the Minister of Communication and IT would have discussions with Pranab Mukherjee, the then External Affairs Minister, since he was heading the Group of Ministers on vacation of spectrum,” he said in his March-13 note to the JPC. He said discussions were held between Mukherjee and him in December, 2007 on subscriber base criteria for allotment of additional spectrum and issues of dual technology and new licences. On the sequence of events in run-up to the allocation done in January 2008, Raja said Vahanvati, the then Solicitor General, was also present in these discussions as same issues were the subject of litigation before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). “It is evident that the letter of December 26, 2007 sent by the Minister of Communication and IT to the PM is nothing but an encapsulation of the note given by the Solicitor General and the subsequent discussions between the SG, External Affairs Minister and Minister of Communication and IT.” Hitting out at Vahanvati for his contention before the JPC that the controversial press release regarding 2G licences was changed at the last minute by him (Raja) in 2008 with a different pen, Raja said the Solicitor General had defended the same press release for two years in different courts without raising any question on its authenticity. He said for the purpose of discussions with Mukherjee, Vahanvati had prepared a note dealing with subscriber base criteria for allotment of additional spectrum, issue of dual technology, manner in which spectrum will be allocated and the issue of new telecom licences. “...Thus government is obliged to scrutinise the pending applications and if the applicants are found eligible, to issue licences on a first-come-first-served basis...” Raja told the JPC quoting Vahanvati’s note. Raja said based on Vahanvati’s note, on December 26, 2007 Mukherjee also prepared his own note and forwarded both documents to the Prime Minister. He said the same day he also sent a letter to the Prime Minister based on the discussions with Mukherjee and Vahanvati. Hitting back at the AG over his deposition before the JPC, Raja said Vahanvati’s claim that he was not involved in any policy decision by the government was not correct as his note to Mukherjee contained the “essence” of the entire policy of the
DoT. — PTI 2G Scam: Ex-minister's contention
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50,000 paramilitary men for K'taka poll
Bangalore, March 24 Karnataka will have single phase polling after a gap of 24 years. The state has 224 assembly constituencies. With adequate strength of security forces being made available, there would not be any difficulty in holding the elections smoothly on a single day, Jha said. Election Commission of India representatives would meet Home Ministry and Railway Ministry officials in Delhi tomorrow to discuss logistics for transporting 50,000 paramilitary personnel to Karnataka for the election, Jha said. There are 4.18 crore voters in the state. These include 2.04 female voters. Jha said 66 per cent of the state’s population was registered as voters for these elections. In Bangalore city, however, only 63 per cent of the people were voters. Efforts were being made to enrol at least 65 per cent of the people in Bangalore city as voters by the time polling for the Assembly elections took place. The male-female ratio of voters in the state at present was 956 females against 1,000 males. Jha said they were striving to replicate the male-female ratio in the overall population of the state (968 females for every 1,000 males) in the voters list also. The CEO said a Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) Campaign would be conducted in the state to exhort people to participate in the elections, particularly in Bangalore where the poll percentage in the 2008 election was low. Jha said the model code of conduct had come into force since last evening and the government would have to put on hold all announcements, new works and schemes.
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Over 71k foreigners overstaying in India
Bangladeshis (24,364) top the table of defaulters, followed by 13,744 Afghanis and 8,037 Pakistanis till December 31, 2011. The figures do not include foreigners, mainly from Bangladesh and Pakistan, who have sneaked into the country illegally. There is no record of the activities of the foreign nationals overstaying in India. The government does not have any plausible explanation as to how more than 71,000 foreigners are overstaying in the country when it is claimed that the deportation of foreigners is a constant process. On November 5, 2012, the government issued directions to the states and UTs, asking them to arrest foreign nationals, overstaying and living illegally in India, under Section 4 of the Passport (entry into India) Act, 1920. Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, says the foreigners overstaying in India can be sentenced to imprisonment up to five years. Section 14A(b) of the Act also provides for action against foreigners entering the country without valid documents, but the government has been wary of taking action against Bangladeshi infiltrators, the RTI activist says.
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26/11: Pak took care not to bring its role on record
As many as 14 terrorists, including death-row convict Yakub Memon, had received training either directly from army personnel of Pakistan or from the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency but Islamabad had taken care that their visits did not go on the immigration records. ISI operatives had received them at the Islamabad airport and taken them out of the airport “without observing any immigration formalities,” the SC said in its verdict while confirming the death sentence of Yakub Memon, brother of absconding mastermind Tiger Memon. Again, no immigration formalities were observed when they left Islamabad for Dubai and all this made it clear that Pakistan had facilitated “green channel entry and exit” to the terrorists involved in the blasts, a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan noted. A careful reading of the convicts’ confessional statements and deposition in the trial court showed that a large number of them and the absconding accused had received training, at various terror camps in Pakistan, in the making of bombs by using RDX and other explosives and handling of sophisticated automatic weapons like AK-56 rifles and hand grenades. The training had been organised and methodically carried out by Dawood Ibrahim, Anees Ibraham and Mohammed Dossa, the SC said. Within hours of the SC verdict, Pakistan denied its role in the Mumbai blasts. Some of the passports seized during the investigations showed that they had two arrival stamps of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but the details of their journey to Pakistan during the intervening period “are not reflected in the passports”. This showed that “Pakistan took precautions not to bring its involvement on record,” the apex court noted. “It is devastating to state that Pakistan being a member of the United Nations, whose primary object is to maintain international peace and security, has infringed the recognised principles under international law which obligate all states to prevent terrorist attacks emanating from their territory and inflicting injuries to other states,” the SC lamented. SC’s observations
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CBI grills YSR’s aide in Jagan assets case
Hyderabad, March 24 KVP, as he is popularly known in the political circles, was an adviser to the YSR government during 2004-2009 and was believed to have played a key role in the policy decisions including land allotments, contracts and granting of licenses. The crux of the CBI case against Jagan, an MP from Kadapa now lodged in Chanchalguda central jail here, is that he was benefited by the largesse when his father was at the helm. It is alleged that several private companies and individuals had received undue favours in terms of land allotments, irrigation contracts and mining licences in return for their huge investments in the companied floated by Jagan. Following summons from the CBI, KVP, a Rajya Sabha member, drove to the state-owned Dilkusha Guest House, where the CBI has set up its office, and deposed before the probe agency. A team of senior CBI officials, led by its Joint Director VV Lakshminarayana, questioned the veteran leader with regard to certain controversial decisions taken by the YSR government. The grilling continued till late in the evening. KVP’s detractors within the ruling Congress and outside have been demanding his arrest, dubbing him as the key figure in a series of corruption scandals that had rocked YSR regime and accusing him of facilitating “quid pro quo” deals to favour Jagan and his business ventures. After the death of YSR in a helicopter crash in September 2009, KVP remained loyal to the Congress while Jagan parted ways and floated his own party. The CBI is expected to file its final charge sheet in the disproportionate assets case by the end of this month. This is the first time that KVP, seen in the political circles as an alter ego of YSR, has been summoned to appear before the probe agency.
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Prahlad Joshi takes over as Karnataka BJP chief
Joshi will be facing the daunting task of leading the ruling BJP in the May 5 Assembly elections in Karnataka. Besides a barrage of corruption charges, the BJP is also facing the problem of defection. Fourteen MLAs have deserted the party to join hands with former CM and disgruntled BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. In the North Karnataka region, considered a stronghold of the saffron party, Yeddyurappa’s Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) is expected to inflict heavy damage on the BJP. The mining district of Bellary and its neighbourhood, once a bastion of the BJP, have also slipped out of the party’s hand following the exit of Sriramulu from the party and the backing received by Sriramulu from the imprisoned mining baron Janardhana Reddy. Joshi (50) today said the party’s image had been affected due to some blunders in the past five years. He said the party would have to remain united to return to power in Karnataka. A Brahmin, Joshi won the race for the party president’s post in what was perceived as strengthening of the hold over the party by BJP national general secretary HN Ananth Kumar, also a Brahmin. Ananth Kumar fought a bitter battle with Yeddyurappa for supremacy in the party when the latter was in the BJP. “Some blunders committed in the last four or five years have dented the party’s image and hurt the party workers,” said Joshi, who succeeds Deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa as the state BJP President. Eshwarappa resigned from the post earlier this month. Joshi said a section of party workers feel justice had not been done to them just to placate “someone or his autocratic nature”, an apparent dig at former party strongman and Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, and added that it would be undone. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said the main opposition party, the Congress, lacked leadership and challenged it to name who would lead it in the elections. People would also teach a lesson to those who walked out of the BJP for “petty reasons”, he said, in an obvious reference to Yeddyurappa. With Joshi as the state BJP chief, the BJP now has a Brahmin as the party chief, and a Lingayat as Chief Minister. R Ashok, a Vokkaliga is the Deputy Chief Minister, and K Eshwarappa, who comes from the backward Kuruba community, is also a Deputy Chief Minister.
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Pak, Lanka better than India on hunger index
New Delhi, March 24 India’s status on Global Hunger Index for 2013 is far worse than neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal, and its percentage of malnourished children (1.2 million under-five) is twice than that of the sub-Saharan region and just second to Bangladesh (UNICEF 2010-2012). “If India wants to reverse the trend, then it is time for a paradigm shift. There is a need to look at the food security system and ensure empowerment of the smallholder farmers,” said environmentalists and agriculture scientists during a policy dialogue here on Zero Hunger Challenge. They cautioned against promoting monoculture through “nutria-farms” which entails cultivating new crop varieties rich in micro-nutrients (iron-rich bajra, protein-rich maize and zinc-rich wheat) and said it will further add up to mounting ecological and agrarian crisis. Also, it is time to discard the government’s hypothesis that crop-surplus states Punjab and Haryana, termed as the “granaries of India”, are feeding the rest of the country. As pointed out by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s country representative Peter E Kenmore that during the year 2011-2012, when India saw record grain production of 257 million metric tonnes, two-third of the states were found to be self-sufficient while others too showed no dependence on Punjab and Haryana. “Engaging in a double-speak, the government is expanding the phased model of Green Revolution and genetic engineering. It is planning to spread the failed Green Revolution to the Eastern region and to the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh,” argued Navdanya’s Dr Vandana Shiva. Referring to success rate of the community-based sustainable agriculture as practised in Andra Pradesh, director of the National Rural Livelihood Mission Vijay Kumar batted for a security model, one that is owned and managed by the poor themselves.
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Debate on Lokpal after April 22: Minister
New Delhi, March 24 “We are trying to pass the contentious Bill in Parliament. The government has done a lot on Lokpal. The Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha. It went to the Rajya Sabha from there it was sent to a select committee. “The committee gave its recommendation and now I have requested a discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. After April 22, we are ready to discuss it,” Narayanasamy told mediapersons during the National Editors’ Conference here. The budget session will conclude on May 10 after a month-long break from March 22 to April 22. The Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions also said successive governments over the past 30 years had tried to pass the Lokpal which was being wrongly considered as an outcome of agitation led by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and others. “The impression has been created that Anna Hazare and others wanted the Lokpal Bill to be brought. This impression had come into the minds of people maybe through electronic media and print media. “I would like to correct it slightly. This was not the initiative taken by them. In fact, successive governments for the past 30 years have tried this. Several Bills were brought before Parliament but could not be passed because there was no unanimity,” he said. Narayanasamy said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had constituted a Group of Ministers on anti-corruption measures months before Hazare started his agitation to consider various matters, including legislative and administrative, to tackle corruption and improve transparency in the governance. “The GoM has been discussing it,” he said. On if the proposed anti-corruption Bill will be able to check graft at lower levels, the minister said all categories of employees would come under the jurisdiction of the Central Vigilance Commission, which can recommend action to the Lokpal. “Service delivery is the breeding ground of corruption.... Unless the mindset of people changes, nothing will happen. We are working on the training of officers. Ethics and moral have been a part of their training,” he said. The minister said the government was working on bringing amendments to the Indian Penal Code to check corruption in the private sector. “The Prevention of Corruption Act is being amended to punish the bribe-giver also. Till now only bribe-taker was punished. Now the bribe-giver will come within its ambit,” the minister said. — PTI
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MHA relocates some forces from J&K to Naxal areas New Delhi, March 24 After an attack by Naxals in January this year that left 12 security men dead in Jharkhand, the MHA asked for phased pull out of three battalions from J&K, a senior functionary explained. So far, the Central Armed Police Forces under the MHA have some 65,000 men tasked with anti-Maoist operations. The plan is to add 10,000 more over the next few months. The pull-out of some units from J&K was the first step, said sources. The Central Reserve Police Force has the biggest deployment in anti-Maoist operations. The MHA, in its fight against the lawless Maoists who are refusing unconditional talks, has not only decided to add more helicopters for rescue and insertion of troopers, it has asked the Indian Army to ramp up capacity and now annually train at least 8,000 men in counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations, sources said. So far, some 3200-4000 central-armed troopers are trained annually at the Army’s Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte Mizoram. The Army will double this number by taking in fresh lots at its other training institutions. Meanwhile, to replace the unit which pulled out from J&K, the Army’s 15 corps at Srinagar and 16 corps at Nagrota, have been tasked to train a fresh lot of central armed police troopers for J&K operations. Each of these have a training establishment called the ‘corps battle school’. The MHA needs more men for area domination in areas hit by Maoist violence. Fourteen persons, including 11 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force and one Jharkhand policemen, were killed in the Jharkhand encounter by Naxals in January 2013. Their positions are fortified with routes of supplies and network of informants. The Home Ministry has also planned to upgrade the special forces of the states to fill in critical gaps in functioning of special forces in Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Taking on Maoists
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Jairam Ramesh pillion-rides in Naxal-hit area Bokaro, March 24 “JAP to the tune of Rs 250 crore - 300 crore will soon start in the villages falling under Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts sharing borders with Jhumra forests under the plan,” the Rural Development Minister told reporters here. Riding pillion of a two-wheeler, Ramesh went round the under-developed villages close to the hills. He said road, education and health centres would be taken up under the plan. — PTI
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Railways to review passenger fares in October
While freight rates will go up by about 5.7 per cent from April 1 due to FAC-linked revision in the tariff in the Rail Budget, the applicability of the policy in the passenger segment will be reviewed in October, considering the impact any hard decision may have on the impending General Election. The government had protected the passenger segment from the FAC in April. Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal told the National Editors Conference, “We did not feel it was appropriate (to pass on the increase in fuel bill on account of price hike), considering there was a fare hike in January only. Railways had to absorb Rs 800 crore on this account.” As per the policy, freight and passenger rates have to be reviewed twice a year according to proportionate movement in price of diesel and electricity. Since FAC is dynamic in nature, fares can move either way -- North or South. “If there is a decrease (in fuel prices), we will certainly pass on the benefit to passengers,” Mittal said. Experts, however, are skeptical that the fares will slide downward if the FAC is properly implemented. According to calculations, passenger fares may go up by 2 to 3 per cent in October if FAC gets linked to basic fare in passenger services. Electricity and diesel accounts for a substantial part of the total expenditure of the Railways. With every Re 1 hike, there is an additional burden of Rs 300 crore on railways finances -- a loss the cash-strapped public service transport can ill afford. With an operating ratio as high as 94.7 per cent, the Railways needs some harsh decision to bring the figure down to a reasonable level. The losses in the highly subsidised passenger segment are rising and expected to hit the Rs 25,000 crore-mark this year. The call on the FAC would coincide with the constitution of the much-awaited Rail Tariff Authority. The Authority will suggest the level of tariff for freight and passenger fares from time to time taking into account the input cost and volatile market conditions. Rs Losses set to touch Rs 2,5000 cr
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UK tourist recounts her Agra horror London, March 24 Jessica Davies, a dental hygienist from Greenwich was speaking of her ordeal for the first time since her return to Britain after she cut short her tour of Asia. "I will go back if I have to in order to give evidence," said Davies, who sustained leg injuries when she jumped out of a second-floor hotel room balcony in Agra last week. But she added that she was "never going to travel alone again". Davies said she wanted to talk about her experience “because the shame of sexual assault makes many people too scared to speak out”. She condemned the behaviour of fellow hotel residents as “disgusting”, as no one came to help her while she had been screaming for help for over an hour. Hotel manager Sachin Chauhan and a guard from Agra Mahal hotel appeared in court last week to face charges of sexual harassment. However, the duo claimed they had knocked on Davies' door for a wake-up call. She denied reports that she had asked for a wake-up call. She had set her phone alarm for 4.30 am as she was to catch a train to Jaipur, she said. Still in her pyjamas, she said, she opened the door to find the hotel manager asking if she wanted to take a shower and offered a massage. "I held my key in the lock and I could feel them turning it from the other side," she said, adding that she used furniture to block the door. "By hook or by crook this person - or persons - were going to get into my room. I'm 100 per cent certain. And there was only one way out, to jump two floors," said Davies, who was half-way through a six-week trip, intending to go on to China. The young woman insisted that she had been "exercising a lot of caution and wearing appropriate clothes" after hearing about some recent cases of attacks on women. — PTI
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Hizb terrorist’s sketch released
The terrorists had planned to avenge Afzal Guru’s hanging, police sources said. The suspect was linked to a fidayeen attack plot that was came to light after the arrest of Shah on March 20 from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Sajeev Kumar, DCP Special Cell, said. The police had recovered arms and ammunition from the guest house following the interrogation of Shah and were trying to nab the person with the help of the sketch, a senior police official said. "We had prepared the sketch on the basis of CCTV footage and the description given by the hotel staff," he said.
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Jantar Mantar
Mulayam's take on anti-rape Bill
The all-party meeting called by the government last week on the anti-rape Bill had its hilarious moments. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav, who had strong reservations about this legislation from the very outset, complained agitatedly that the Bill contained extreme provisions, including a ban on transfer and postings of women. Perplexed members went through the copy of the Bill with a fine toothcomb to find no such reference. Yadav, however, insisted he was right and it was only after 20 minutes of back and forth that the mystery was solved. Yadav was referring to the mention about the transfer of women from one place to another in the clause on trafficking. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj stepped into explain the issue to him but the SP chief continued to look doubtful. He was also unhappy that "looking and staring at a woman" had been made an offence in the Bill. "How will we arrange marriages in the future… .. after all, you have to look at a girl to approve a match," asked an exasperated
Yadav. Rudy’s hasty retreat
Tailpiece
A Congress leader's remark on how India managed to secure the return of the Italian marines: "It's thanks to the diplomatic brilliance of foreign minister Salman Khurshid, charismatic leadership of PM Manmohan Singh and the linguistic skills of Congress President Sonia Gandhi
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Single-party rule unlikely: Mulayam
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New Delhi, March 24
Karnal, March 24
New Delhi, March 24
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New Delhi, March 24
As public anger in his home state boils over on the issue of atrocities on Sri Lankan Tamils, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is treading very carefully these days. When a group of mediapersons recently asked him about reports that he was learning Hindi with an eye on the Prime Minister's post, Chidambaram replied with an emphatic "No." When pressed further on the matter, the Finance Minister remarked tersely that he would start learning Hindi when the journalists attempted to learn Tamil. In fact, for the first time, Chidambaram made it a point to make a statement in Tamil on the Centre's position on the Lankan issue when he addressed a press conference last week after the DMK withdrew support to the ruling coalition. Not just that, he did not shy away from answering patiently in his mother tongue to questions put to him in Tamil, also another first.
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy found himself at the receiving end last week when he had a run-in with a group of morning walkers at the Lodhi Gardens. Some people protested that Rudy's car was parked in the parking lot meant specifically for owner-driven vehicles. There was a bitter argument and, at one stage, Rudy even stated impatiently, "You cannot talk to me like this." But the BJP leader did not bargain for the prevailing anti-politician sentiment among the aam junta. He was promptly upbraided for throwing his weight around while somebody in the group told him tersely: "You should be ashamed of yourself.. you are a lawmaker and you are breaking the law." Realising he did not stand a chance against the angry citizens, Rudy beat a hasty retreat.
