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Budget session adjourned sine die
K’taka Victory
Kharge, Siddaramaiah in race for K’taka CM post
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Results don’t reflect national mood: BJP Mixed fortune for political families
Ahead of Khurshid’s visit, China puts border row on front burner
Bansal’s nephew owes Rs 28 cr to UT Admn
Bansal’s pvt secy has ‘close’ links with Garg
Chit fund Scam Coalgate: Cong takes cognisance of SC orders; resolution soon
UP CM Akhilesh wants Metro routes extended
Andhra sees fall in number of farmers
M’rashtra opposes Jundal’s plea
Smuggler held with 2.3 kg heroin
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Budget session adjourned sine die
New Delhi, May 8 However, disruptions and acrimonious behaviour, almost an accepted way of conduct in Parliament these days, made way for a few minutes of emotions and tears as the Elders' House bid adieu to its eight retiring members, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who would be back in the House after his tenure ends in mid-June. Other outgoing members fondly recalled their association with the House in emotional farewell speeches with some even urging for peaceful functioning of Parliament. AIADMK's V Maitreyan could be seen wiping off a tear by the time he ended his speech. Expressing concern over frequent disruptions, senior CPI leader D Raja advocated "meaningful functioning of Parliament, whatever be the issue" while DMK's Kanimozhi observed that at least on the day of retirement, members could hear each other. Others who will be retiring include Kumar Deepak Das (AGP) Tiruchi Siva (DMK), BS Gnanadesikan (Congress) and A Elavarasan (AIADMK). With not much work done during the session, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar chose not to make her customary valedictory address but she did make a strict observation about a member who walked out of the House while the National Song was being played. In the Rajya Sabha, a clearly upset Chairman Hamid Ansari expressed strong displeasure over the way Parliament was functioning, or rather not functioning, and asked MPs whether they had assessed "impact" the disruptive behaviour might have had on public opinion. He also wondered whether the "balance" between deliberations, legislations and accountability had been lost due to regular disruptions of the proceedings. With the sudden curtailment of the session, key legislations like the National Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill could not be passed and government may now be forced to explore other options, like the ordinance route, to implement the ambitious programmes ahead of the next General Election. When asked about the fate of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's dream project, the Prime Minister said the UPA was committed to make this law and would consider "all opinions". "The National Food Security Bill is a very important legislation for the government. The UPA is committed to make this law after considering all opinions," he told mediapersons outside the Parliament. Food Minister K V Thomas said he would "look into various angles" before taking a call. "I am neither ruling in or ruling out. I have not thought of that. I have to study all these things. There are so many options," he said. However, there is also an opinion food security cannot be made a legal right through a government or executive notification, which means that the ordinance may not be an option. The only business that was transacted was passage of the Finance Bill, marking the completion of the budgetary exercise, and the Railway Budget without any discussion after walkout by the Opposition. The BJP stood firm saying it would facilitate its passage only if the Congress removed Bansal and Kumar. Though the saffron party took the lead in making life difficult for the government, privately senior leaders admit that they may have gone overboard this time. Sources say the decision to adjourn Parliament was being contemplated for the past two days but the government wanted to end on a high note, which came in the form of the impressive Congress win in Karnataka. In that context, Ansari observation whether "membership of this august body assessed the impact of disruptive behaviour on public opinion" was obviously aimed at the lead Opposition party. "The record of the work done, and not done, is in the public domain and in no need of commentary. The experience of this session, and particularly of second half, should induce cogitation on a number of matters arising out of situations in which the House finds itself in its daily functioning," he said. The RS Chairman also asked whether time had come to bridge the "growing gap" between rules of procedures and the need felt by different sections of the House to voice opinion on matters of concern. His remarks suggesting a need for some changes in procedures are significant given the increasing disruptions in proceedings by members, wanting to raise issues in the way contrary to established norms. Sad state of affairs
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K’taka Victory New Delhi, May 8 The results had given the party enough reason to make two points-“Congress governance was the way forward”, as maintained by the PM and “Modi was no match to Rahul”, as stated by Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka Madhusudan Mistry. The charge against BJP was led by Manmohan Singh who credited Rahul for playing a leading role in the campaign and said the results were an indication of things to come. “It is a clear result against the ideology of the BJP which has been ruling in the state of Karnataka. People know what is what and they will reject the BJP ideology,” he said. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was muted in her response describing the win as a result of joint efforts but her lieutenants went out of the way to run down Modi. Senior party leader Digvijay Singh slammed the Gujarat CM as “liar number one” while Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal termed him as a “big zero instead of a hero”. The party leadership, however, could not answer why electoral losses if any are always thrust on other leaders and poll wins, if any, always credited to Rahul Gandhi. In UP and Bihar, where the Congress lost despite Rahul’s active indulgence, the blame for defeat had rested on others. That apart, the party officially did not name Rahul alone for the win. “We are grateful to the people of Karnataka, party workers and all leaders who canvassed,” said Congress spokesperson Renuka Choudhary, describing the win as a marker for 2014. “The victory shows that Congress governance is the way forward,” she added.
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Kharge, Siddaramaiah in race for K’taka CM post
Bangalore, May 8 Third contender and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara defeat in Koratagere considerably weakened his claim for the top post, party sources said. While others have also thrown their hat in the ring, Kharge, the Union Labour and Employment Minister, and Siddaramaiah are seen as front-runners. "I don't want the post because of my caste (Dalit). I am not interested because of long-standing service to the party. If they think that I am fit for the post, then it is up to them to take a decision. I will abide by any decision the high command takes," Kharge said. He was answering questions on whether he is in the race for the Chief Minister's post. Siddaramaiah was more forthright. "I am one of the strong contenders," he told reporters here. A backward class leader who joined the Congress six years ago, Siddaramaiah said the decision on chief ministership was, however, left to the Congress high command and the legislature party. On the electoral outcome, he said the people had given mandate to the Congress as they wanted a "stable and clean" government and were not in favour of a coalition. — PTI
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Results don’t reflect national mood: BJP New Delhi, May 8 According to BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu, Karnataka results do not reflect the mood of the country as regional issues are different from national ones. Officially, the party also defended its decision on distancing itself from BS Yeddyurappa saying that “certain issues are non-negotiable and corruption is one such issue”.
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Mixed fortune for political families Bangalore, May 8 Anita’s husband HD Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (Secular) Karnataka unit president and former CM, and her brother-in-law HD Revanna have both won in the elections. Two sons of former CM late S Bangarappa, Madhu and Kumar, fought against each other for the third time from Sorab constituency on the JD(S) and Congress ticket, respectively. Madhu has won the contest this time. Two Congress candidates with family connections, meanwhile, have won in the present elections while two others have lost. Ajay Singh, son of former CM Dharam Singh and Priyank Kharge, son of union minister Mallikarjun Kharge, have won in the elections while Rahaman Sherief, grandson of former Railway Minister CK Jaffer Sherief, and BK Shivaram, brother of Congress leader BK Hariprasad have lost.
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Ahead of Khurshid’s visit, China puts border row on front burner
New Delhi, May 8 “Proper and timely settlement of border issues serves the common interests of both the countries and is also their common aspiration,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as saying while giving brief details about Khurshid’s engagement in Beijing during his two-day visit beginning tomorrow. Khurshid will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and also call on Premier Li Keqiang, who is scheduled to visit India later this month on his maiden official overseas tour after assuming office in March. The border issue is expected to figure prominently during Khurshid’s talks with his Chinese interlocutors in view of the recent border stand-off between the two countries following Chinese incursion in Ladakh. A joint statement is also expected to be issued by the two sides at the end of Khurshid’s visit. On his part, the Indian minister said he was very ‘comfortable’ with the manner in which India and China handled the recent stand-off, showing ‘tremendous maturity’ in dealing with the issue. “The incident was handled at proportional, limited and localised level. This fundamental understanding was developed over the past several years,” he told Chinese journalists at an interaction in New Delhi. Emphasising that good relations between India and China were not only important for Asia but the whole world, Khurshid said, “as our Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) says the world is large enough for India and China to work and develop together comfortably.” He also expressed the hope that India and China could enhance economic and trade relations by making investment in each other’s economy and removing trade imbalance.
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Bansal’s nephew owes Rs 28 cr to UT Admn
Singla, who is now in CBI custody, failed to pay the amount to the administration for converting an industrial plot to a commercial plot under UT’s conversion policy. According to UT officials, Singla had paid first instalment of Rs 7 crore but thereafter, he failed to pay other instalments. Representatives of Mirage Infra were seeking time from the UT Estate Office to make payments but as they were not depositing amount for the past four years, UT officials recently resumed the plot. Acropolis is promoted by Mirage Infra Limited, a sister concern of JTL Infra Limited (formerly Jagan Tubes Limited). In 2007, Singla had purchased an industrial plot from Modern Bread in the Industrial Area and applied for the conversion of plot for the Acropolis project under UT’s conversion policy. While raising Acropolis, the violations committed by Singla were allegedly ignored by the officials of the UT Administration. The officials allowed Singla to raise the structure without even obtaining environment clearance. Recently, the Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (EIAA) of Chandigarh wrote to the UT Administration to take legal action against Mirage Infra Limited for violating the Environment Protection Act at the Acropolis project. Water bill defaulter The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has also disconnected the water connection of the Acropolis site due to non-payment of water bill amounting to Rs 83 lakh. The MC has now written to the UT Estate office not to give clearance to the project without paying MC's water bill.
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Bansal’s pvt secy has ‘close’ links with Garg Chandigarh, May 8 Bhandari had purchased a 9 kanal 4 marla agricultural plot from Garg, who surrendered in the Delhi CBI court yesterday in connection with railgate. Property details submitted by Bhandari with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for 2012 revealed that he had paid Rs 9.97 lakh to Garg and purchased the agricultural plot at Bhokhra village in Bathinda district in 2011. The land is now in the name of Bhandari and present market value of the land is Rs 30 lakh, revealed the documents. In the column of property details of Bhandari - How Property Acquired - mentioned the name of Ajay Garg s/o Harphool Singh, a resident of Panchkula, Haryana. Bhandari, in his property details, has also mentioned that due permission was taken from the Government of India for the property deal. Bhandari is considered to be a close confidant of Bansal. CBI officials said Singla’s mobile records had revealed that he and Bhandari were in constant touch even a day before his arrest on May 3. Since 2010, Bhandari and his wife Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, also a Punjab cadre IAS officer, have purchased four properties in Bathinda, Mohali, Noida and Ludhiana, as per the property details submitted by the couple. Former city MP and All India in charge of the Legal and Legislative Cell of the BJP Satya Pal Jain said, “Along with Bansal, the CBI should also interrogate Bhandari. The CBI should also check how Bhandari bought properties in the past 3-4 years. There are links between Bansal and Singla; and Garg and Bhandari.”
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Chit fund Scam
Kolkata, May 8 During the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a CBI probe into the Saradha Group chit fund scam, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mishra and Justice JM Bagchi strongly condemned the behaviour of the respective counsels after they exchanged heated words. When the case came up for hearing, state government's counsel Asoke Kumar Gangopadhyya suggested that several similar petitions should also be clubbed with the already existing petitions in the case, which advocate Subrata Mukherjee, appearing on the behalf of the petitioner Basabi Roy Chowhdury, objected. Mukherjee alleged it was an attempt to deliberately delay the hearing on the vital issue, involving the fate of thousands of poor depositors cheated and defrauded by the Sarada group which had the support and patronage of the ruling Trinamool. The court adjourned the matter till Tuesday when the case would be heard again. Meanwhile, during the joint interrogation of Sudipta Sen and Debjani Mukherjee at the Salt Lake police commissioner’s office today, it was revealed that Rs 2,100 crore had been collected from the depositors in the past one year. According to the statement made by Sen and Mukjherjee, of this massive amount Rs 400 crore had been spent on meeting demands of the political parties, ministers, MPs, MLAs, bureaucrats and police personnel.
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Coalgate: Cong takes cognisance of SC orders; resolution soon New Delhi, May 8 Party spokesperson Renuka Choudhary put up a brave face following the Supreme Court’s scathing criticism of the way top government functionaries including Joint Secretaries in the PMO and Coal Ministry went to the CBI office to discuss the status report. Urged repeatedly on what the party would do about Kumar and Railway Minister Pawan Bansal whose nephew had been arrested by the CBI for accepting bribe in exchange for a top railway job promise, Choudhary said, “The government will react to the SC orders in context of what has been said. The CBI-government interface on the issue is not new and has been going on for some months now. “It is also necessary to ensure procurement of papers and records. But we are sensitive to what the court has said and will take note of the suggestions.” Top party sources, meanwhile, worked overtime today to insulate UPA chief Sonia Gandhi from the entire matter. There were indications that Sonia had communicated to the government that zero tolerance to corruption needed to be exhibited especially when the Congress had campaigned and won in Karnataka on the issue of corruption allegations against BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. Senior leaders said the issue would be “resolved collectively by the government and the party although the PM would have to take the final call as the matter involves the future of two Cabinet ministers.” All day today, there were hectic meetings between top government ministers. The PMO kept a tab of the Supreme Court orders. Sources said the orders were being studied and the issue would be resolved soon. The Tribune had yesterday reported that there was a disconnect between the PM-led government and the Congress party on the issue of continuing with Bansal and Kumar at the cost of party’s image. So far, the Congress had been saying it was waiting for the Supreme Court orders on Kumar. Now with the apex court mentioning in its orders that the CBI should not share its reports in future with the Law Minister, his continuation is being seen to have become untenable though the ball is in the PM’s court. As reported earlier, a minor Cabinet reshuffle may be done to address the issue soon.
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UP CM Akhilesh wants Metro routes extended
Lucknow, May 8 Akhilesh has asked the minister to sanction extension of the Metro services from Delhi’s Dilshad Garden to new bus stand in Ghaziabad and from Kalindi Kunj to Botanical Garden in Noida and beyond in Greater Noida. Underlining the need to extend these services in the NCR, Akhilesh has pointed out the importance of these routes for the development of the region.
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Andhra sees fall in number of farmers
Hyderabad, May 8 The percentage of cultivators has declined from 22.52 per cent in 2001 to 16.47 per cent in 2011. The total population of the state is 8.45 crore as per the latest census. The backward Adilabad district in the Telangana region accounts for the highest number of farmers at 27.48 per cent of the district population. A disturbing dimension to this trend has been the increase in the number of agricultural labourers in the state. Director of Census Operations, AP, YV Anuradha said the number of agricultural labourers had increased to 43 per cent in 2011 as against 39.63 per cent in 2001. Their number is highest in Kondur of Krishna district while Nampally Mandal in the state capital has the lowest. The number of main workers (who worked for six months or more during the reference year) was over 3.30 crore and about 2.41 crore of them were in the rural areas. At district level, the percentage of agricultural labourers to the total population was found to be highest in West Godavari (59.88) and lowest in Hyderabad (1.62 percent) while at the Mandal level, their number was highest in Kondur (79.88 per cent) of Krishna district and Nampally mandal (1.03) in the state capital has the lowest, a report of the Primary Census Abstract (PCA) said. The female work participation rate among the main workers in the state was 35.04 per cent as against 33.01 in 2001 census. The marginal workers (who worked for less than six months) have been divided into two categories for the first time in census 2011 --- those who worked for less than three months and those who worked for a period between three and six months. The marginal workers in AP were recorded at over 63.85 lakh with an increase of about 5.32 lakh over the 2001 figures, the report added. Though AP has shown a good overall improvement in the sex ratio with 993 women per 1000 men in the 2011 census as against 978 women in 2001, the child sex ratio has come down to 939 from 961 a decade ago, indicating the continuing preference for boys in the society. Despite the decline, the child sex ratio in the state is still better than the national average of 919. In rural areas, it is 941 against the national average of 923, and in urban areas it is 935 against national ratio of 905. Census 2011
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M’rashtra opposes Jundal’s plea
Mumbai, May 8 Jundal, facing charges in 26/11 terror case, is currently lodged in a special cell where Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who was sent to the gallows, was earlier lodged. According to prosecution, Jundal had taught Hindi to Kasab and other terrorists and was handling them from the control room in Pakistan on November 26, 2008. — PTI
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Smuggler held with 2.3 kg heroin
Kishanganj (Bihar), May 8 The person was travelling in a bus near Nundhara chowk on Indo-Nepal border at the time, SSB DIG AK Malik said. — PTI
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Gir to get second lion zone
Ahmedabad, May 8 A forest department official said the second “interpretation zone”, a fenced area within the sanctuary, was being developed near Ambardi village in Amreli district on the way to the tourist destination of Diu. Covering an area of over 400 hectares, the fenced area will enable the tourists to easily locate Asiatic Lions during day time and will reduce the tourist pressure on the Devaliya interpretation zone near Junagadh. The official said the fencing work was almost complete and the dens for the animals were under construction, while facilities for the tourists were also being created in the area. The Ambardi zone is expected to be thrown open for the tourists in November. Six lions, including four females, have also been identified to be kept in the Ambardi zone for the benefit of the tourists. The Devaliya interpretation zone, covering about 9 sq km area, was developed several decades ago following strong criticism from the animal lovers and others against the practice of keeping “baits” to attract Asiatic Lions for the benefit of the tourists to see the ‘king of the jungle’ in the wild. Under the existing system, the forest guards locate the a few lions every morning within the interpretation zone and inform the tourist centre about their locations and tourists were taken to the spot in covered department vehicles to see the animals in the forest. The need for developing a second interpretation zone for Asiatic Lions was being felt for some time following the rapid increase in the flow of tourists, particularly after Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan-anchored “Khushboo Gujarat Ki” advertisements that has made Gujarat one of the favoured tourist destinations and Asiatic Lions one of its star attractions. According to an official estimate, about 150 mini buses loaded with tourists move into the Devaliya zone every day during the peak tourist season as against about 80 to 90 vehicles a day during the “non-tourist” seasons. This besides creating tremendous pressure on the tourist facilities available in the area, particularly hotels and guest houses, too many visitors also disrupt the tranquillity of the sanctuary and disturb wild animals, the forest department officials maintain.
In the wild
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New Delhi, May 8
Bangalore, May 8
The record of the work done, and not done, is in the public domain and in no need of commentary...The experience of this session, and particularly of the second half, should induce cogitation on a number of matters arising out of situations in which the House finds itself in its daily functioning.
Chandigarh, May 8