The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Uma’s remarks against Modi taken out of context: BJP Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 16 BJP vice-president Uma Bharti’s disregard for the popularity of their star campaigner - Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi - has left the party leadership looking for cover. Attempting to gloss over the views expressed by their firebrand leader, whose open views exposed the fault lines within the party over the pan-India acceptability of the Gujarat CM, party spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain explained that Bharti was probably referring to film stars while she countered an argument on the projection of Modi as the PM candidate on grounds of his popularity. “It (her statement) was taken out of context,” he said, switching on to damage-control mode. However, if Bharti’s interviews to a television channel and a news agency are any indication, it is quite clear who the former Madhya Pradesh CM, recently rehabilitated back in the saffron party, was referring to. Categorical in her assertions, Bharti maintained that “crowd pulling alone does not make a leader...a PM candidate. Just like Narendra Modi, if I go to some place, same crowd will come. So you cannot say that if crowds come to him, he is the PM candidate.” “There are several BJP leaders who are big crowd pullers. Modi is one, so is Advani, Sushma Swaraj. I am also a crowd puller,” she was quoted as saying. Bharti’s views are being seen as the first open challenge by a senior leader to the popular belief that Modi’s popularity among the party’s rank and file has made him the most suitable candidate for the top job. On Modi’s projection as the PM, the party’s official stand has been constant - that its Parliamentary Board will take the call at the suitable time. Lately, while there is still talk of this “great demand” among the cadre for the Gujarat CM, senior leaders also admit that the party’s poor performance in Karnataka has put a question mark on his ability to weave the same magic in all parts of the country. Officially, the party says that the Karnataka results do not reflect the mood of the country as regional issues are different from national issues. BJP leaders also term the Congress’ attempt to pull down Modi over the results as “childish” and remind the grand old party of the fate of election campaigns by its own star campaigners (Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi) in states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
	Govt plea against CBI probe in chit-fund scam rejected Subhrangshu Gupta/TNS Kolkata, May 16 The Calcutta High Court today rejected the state government’s plea against a CBI inquiry into the Saradha multi-crore chit fund scam. Instead, the Division Bench told the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the government to furnish its detailed inquiry report by tomorrow. The SEBI, the RBI and the directorate of the Revenue Department were also asked to submit their reports to the Bench by May 23. The court will resume hearing — after its summer holidays — on June 5 when the decision on the CBI inquiry will be finalised. The newly appointed Division Bench comprising Justice Ashim Banerjee and Justice Mrinalkanti Chowdhury today took up the hearing on three different PILs filed on behalf of the depositors, agents and high court advocate Basabi Roychowdhury demanding a CBI probe into the chit fund scandal. Pleading for the government, Ashoke Banerjee submitted a fresh petition stating that the SIT had already made fruitful progress in the inquiry and there was no need for any CBI probe.
	SC puts leash on ‘jugaad’ vehicles R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, May 16 The Supreme Court has directed all states to restrain the use of “jugaad” vehicles unless they are registered, insured and driven by persons with valid driver’s licenses. A Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and FMI Kalifulla passed an order asking the states to comply with a circular issued by the Union Road Transport Ministry on July 26, 2007 classifying the “jugaad” as a vehicle under Section 2(28) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and as such it required a number plate and insurance. The Centre had informed the SC that most states were not enforcing the circular. The apex court was hearing arguments on “jugaad” vehicles after enlarging the scope of a petition for awarding compensation to the driver of such a vehicle who had rammed it into a Rajasthan roadways bus. The Rashtriya Kisan Morcha had pleaded that “jugaad” was nothing but an improved version of a bullock cart and as such should not be subjected to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act or prevented from being used by farmers for carrying out agriculture-related work. A ‘jugaad’ vehicle did not require permit, insurance or a driver’s license for its driver. There was no specification for its body. It did not require any fitness certificate. However, passenger vehicles were subjected to a cap on the number of passengers they could carry. The same was the position for goods carriages as there was a specification for the maximum load it could carry. The “jugaad” was not liable to pay any passenger or road tax like other vehicles, the SC noted. “As the ‘jugaad’ is covered in the definition of the motor vehicle under Section 2(28) of the Act, the statutory authorities cannot escape from their duty to enforce the law and restrain the plying of ‘jugaad’. The statutory authorities must ensure that ‘jugaad’ can be plied only after meeting the requirements of the Act,” the Bench ruled. The court noted that ‘jugaad’ vehicles, assembled using engines from discarded motor cars, had become a menace to public safety as they were causing a large number of accidents.
	Kabul for no-war pact among India, Pakistan, Afghanistan Ashok Tuteja/TNS New Delhi, May 16 Ahead of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to India next week, Afghanistan today proposed that India, Pakistan and Afghanistan evolve a suitable mechanism to address each other’s concerns in the larger interest of peace in the region. The proposed mechanism could also include a tripartite no-war pact among the three nations. “There is a tremendous scope for trilateral cooperation between our three countries. We hope we can enter into a tripartite mechanism in the next two-three years,” Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida M Abdali said at a press conference while giving details about his President’s visit to India from May 20-22. Making it emphatically clear that the relationship between India and Afghanistan should not be looked at from the angle of Pakistan, he urged New Delhi to intensify security and defence cooperation with Kabul. “We would like to get lethal and non-lethal equipment from India for the Afghan forces to defend our nation,” he added. The Afghan envoy said India and Afghanistan should sit together in the coming months to outline the contours of their security and defence cooperation in tangible ways for implementation. “Off site military and law enforcement training assistance is necessary but hardly enough to systematise our security and defence cooperation in ensuring predictability, taking preventive and even pre-emptive action against any perceived offensive threats to the national security interests of Afghanistan and India.” Asked about the Western attempts at reconciliation with the Taliban, Abdali made it clear that the outfit would have to abide by the red lines drawn by the international community, including adhering to the Afghan Constitution and eschewing violence.
	With eye on LS poll, Varun Gandhi woos Sultanpur Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Sultanpur, May 16 Declaring Sultanpur to be his home and assuring the people that their dreams and hardships would now be his, BJP MP Varun Gandhi today attempted to establish an emotional connect with Sultanpur from where he is slated to contest the next Lok Sabha election. Addressing a massive “Swabhiman rally” at the Khurshid Club grounds here, the BJP MP from Pilibhit, however, stopped short of announcing his candidature saying that it was a question for his party’s high command to decide. “You will always be in my heart and you can meet me, talk to me anytime you want,” declared Varun virtually indicating his candidature from Sultanpur which is presently held by Congress MP Sanjay Singh. Leaving no stone unturned to emotionally stir the crowds, Varun spoke of his personal bereavement when he said that last month, he had lost his 20-day-old daughter. “She was my firstborn. While coming here, I had a heavy heart but then I thought that God has taken her away and may not give me children, but the lakhs of children in Sultanpur are like my own and I have to work for their future,” he said amid loud cheering. Lashing out at the year-old Akhilesh Yadav government, Varun said that during this period, there had not been a single new project in Uttar Pradesh that could ensure employment for the youth. While refusing to directly criticise the SP and BSP, Varun Gandhi said that the fact remained that they had failed to fulfil the aspirations of the people. Sharing his dream of seeing the young joining the BJP in thousands, Varun Gandhi said he would work for Sultanpur and hoped that neighbouring districts like Pratapgarh, Jaunpur and Ayodhya would also benefit. Sultanpur district has two parliamentary constituencies - the other is Amethi which is represented by Congress vice-president and cousin Rahul Gandhi.
	UP ex-minister booked for disproportionate assets Tribune News Service Lucknow, May 16 Chandradeo Ram Yadav, Minister of Small Scale Industry in the previous Mayawati regime, was today booked in connection with a disproportionate assets case. State Vigilance Department SP Arvind Sen said that an FIR had been lodged against Yadav at Mubarakpur police station in Azamgarh. The former minister has been charged with amassing assets through illegal means. In December 2011, the state Lokayukta probe had found that Yadav had been drawing the salary of a principal of a government-aided school along with that of a minister since 2007. This fact had emerged during investigation into the disproportionate assets and land-grabbing cases against the minister against whom a number of cases had been registered by the Lokayukta. Prima facie, the Lokayukta had confirmed the charges against the minister and had asked for a vigilance probe. Yadav, along with another BSP minister Rangnath Mishra, is also an accused in the multi-crore rupees LACCFED scam involving government funds meant for the construction of various government buildings during 2010-11.
	Intellectual poverty hinders development: Modi Manas Dasgupta Ahmedabad, May 16 Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said “intellectual poverty” was the biggest obstacle to the development of society and the country. Modi said education was pivotal for the growth and development of the country. He was laying the foundation stone of a modern educational complex to be set up on a 4,945 sq m by the Modh Vanik Modi Samaj Trust at Charodi near here. Enumerating the steps his government had taken for the development of education in the state, the Chief Minister said only if the country could set its goal very high for the development in the 21st century, India could emerge as a very strong nation. He said ever since the state government paid attention to qualitative improvement in education, the facilities had increased from primary to higher level and the number of educational institutions had increased manifold. He pointed out that the number of universities had gone up from 11 to 47 in the past 10 years, including some specialised institutions like the petroleum university and the Raksha Shakti (Defence Preparedness) university. Stressing the need for steps to overcome past 50 years of neglect in the field of education, Modi said the government was developing facilities for constructing modern hostel facilities in Ahmedabad for accommodating over 30,000 outstation students to attract them to come to Gujarat for higher studies, particularly in specialised fields.
	Vacancies for NCC C-Certificate holders under-subscribed in services Vijay Mohan/TNS Chandigarh, May 16 Even as the shortage of officers in the defence services continues to remain a serious issue, the vacancies reserved for NCC C-Certificate holders in officer training institutions of the armed forces remain under-subscribed. Out of a total of 1,617 seats available in various military training academies, around 180 vacancies per year are reserved for NCC C-Certificate holders. Out of this, about 125-140 C-Certificate holders are joining various academies for training to become officers, a recent report by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence has revealed. About 80,000-85,000 cadets obtain the C-Certificate each year. In addition to the reserved vacancies, NCC cadets also join the services through the open category. The report says that about 175 cadets join the armed forces in the open category, making the total number of NCC cadets, including C-Certificate holders, joining the services to be about 300 per year. According to available information, the number of C-Certificate holders joining the armed forces in 2009, 2010 and 2011 was 116, 159 and 126, respectively. Most of the entrants were for the Officers Training Academy for short service commission in the Army. The NCC has an authorised strength of 13.4 lakh cadets, making the number of cadets joining the services each year a miniscule percentage of its cadre. One of the reasons cited for the vacancies remaining undersubscribed is that most NCC cadets being from Arts stream, are not eligible to join the Navy and the IAF where a science background is required. Out of the sanctioned NCC cadet strength of 13.4 lakh, almost 60 per cent or about 8.4 lakh cadets are from the Junior Division/Wing and cannot appear for the C-Certificate.
	Tourist trouble at Maharashtra tiger reserve Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, May 16 Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), a successful model for tiger conservation, is facing a new problem in the shape of tourists. Camera-toting holidaymakers are shelling out big bucks to local tourist guides to go deep into the core area of the national park for “exclusive” pictures of the big cat. Wildlife officials posted at the resort say guides ferry tourists in Gypsies deep into the reserve in order to spot a tiger. Once the animal is sighted, these shutter-happy tourists surround it to get close-up shots. Wildlife enthusiasts are horrified at the influx of tourists into the TATR. Recently, state Rural Development Minister Jayant Patil warned that the sanctuary was turning into a circus for tourists. In his Facebook post, Patil wrote about how tourist guides were running amok inside the reserve. Quoting media reports, Patil said laws pertaining to wildlife reserves were not being followed and guides were ferrying tourists deep into the core area otherwise out of bounds for people. After Patil’s outburst, forest officials have started restricting the entry of tourist vehicles inside the sanctuary. Apart from imposing speed limits, penalties are being imposed on guides who take tourists too close to the endangered animals. “This week alone, we banned two drivers and guides for five days for going too close to a tiger,” field director Virendra Tiwari said. He added that 22 cases of violation had been reported in the past few days and several guides and drivers had been fined. A tiger census at the TATR earlier this year indicated that there were 43 adult tigers in the core area and another 22 in the buffer zones of the reserve. Officials estimated that around six big cats lived in the tourist zone of the reserve. Twenty per cent of the 624.5-sq km reserve has been earmarked as tourist zone, say officials. The increasing number of tourists has seen the entry fee go up substantially in the past year. State government figures suggest tourist revenue has risen from Rs 48 lakh to Rs 3 crore in just one year. Too close for comfort * Wildlife officials at Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve say guides ferry tourists in Gypsies deep into the reserve in order to spot the big cat * Once the animal is sighted, tourists surround it to get close-up shots * There are 43 adult tigers in the core area, 22 in the buffer zones and six in the tourist zone of the reserve * Entry of tourists is restricted in the core area of the reserve
	Facebook postings Senior cops’ permission must for arrests, says SC Legal Correspondent New Delhi, May 16 The Supreme Court today said no one should be arrested for posting objectionable comments on social networking sites without the consent of senior police officials. A Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra passed an order while hearing a plea for a blanket ban on the arrest of any one for making any comments on such sites. The SC said the state governments should comply with the Centre’s January 9 advisory on the need for taking permission from senior police officials, not below the rank of Inspector General of Police in cities and not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police or Superintendent of Police at the district level, before arresting any one for violating Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. The Centre had issued the advisory following a public furore on the issue. The apex court, however, refused to clamp a blanket ban on such arrests, pointing out that it was already going into the constitutional validity of Section 66A and no stay had been granted in the case. Under the section, any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or communication device, any information that is grossly offensive or has a menacing character can be punished with imprisonment for a maximum period of three years, besides being slapped with a fine. The Bench was considering a plea relating to Jaya Vidhayal, general secretary (Andhra Pradesh) of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), who was arrested on May 12 under the IT Act for posting on the Facebook objectionable comments against Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah and Congress MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan. She has since been released. The apex court is also hearing a PIL filed by a law student Shreya Singhal following the arrest of two girls in Thane district of Maharashtra for making comments over the death of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray.
	Bank manager held for taking bribe Nagpur, May 16 A bank manager was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a customer, the CBI said here today. The Anti-Corruption branch (ACB) of CBI trapped one Uday Sawant, Branch Manager, UCO Bank, Akola, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a customer yesterday. He has been booked under relevant section of Prevention of Corruption Act for demanding the bribe from one Surekha Dofe for handing over a cheque of Rs 1.05 lakh to him which was part of the total loan amount of Rs 3 lakh sanctioned to her, the release said. — PTI
	N-E on alert as cyclone Mahasen approaches Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, May 16 The authorities have sounded a high alert in the North-East even as cyclone Mahasen entered neighbouring Bangladesh and partially swept across the Barak valley in South Assam this afternoon. In Assam, movement of all types of boats, ferries and vessels on the Brahmaputra, the Barak and other rivers has been suspended, while schools have been shut for two days in Mizoram. An official in the State Disaster Management Authority in Guwahati, SC Das, said Mizoram, Tripura and southern Assam were expected to bear the maximum impact of the cyclone though its velocity was likely to reduce considerably as it entered the North-East. “Scientists at the North-Eastern Space Application Centre in Shillong have told us that the velocity of the cyclone is likely to reduce considerably in comparison to what was forecast earlier. It is likely to be below 80 km per hour, but even then we have issued a general alert to all three districts in the Barak valley in southern Assam,” Das said. The Brahmaputra valley in Assam is going to receive moderate rainfall during the next 36 hours. The disaster management authority in Assam has directed the suspension of ferry operations on the Brahmaputra and other rivers and asked fishermen to keep away from the rivers across the state. Kamrup district authorities in Assam have suspended the plying of boats and ferries on the Brahmaputra for three days beginning today. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been put on standby to deal with any exigency. The meteorological centre in Guwahati has forecast squally winds ranging from 55 to 75 kmph over southern Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, with heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunder showers over the area in the next 36 hours.
	Army aviation operating at just 66% of sanctioned strength Vijay Mohan/TNS Chandigarh, May 16 As plans to expand the Army Aviation Corps (ACC) and procure new generation utility helicopters for it face stiff headwinds, the Army’s youngest combat support arm continues to face serious deficiencies in its helicopter fleet. Obsolescence of its flying machines apart, the corps is operating at just 66 per cent of its sanctioned strength. The AAC has a sanctioned strength of 358 helicopters, but is, according to latest figures available, holding 237 helicopters, resulting in a shortage of 112 helicopters. There is also some deficiency in the AAC’s manpower. Against an authorised strength of 9,324 officers, junior commissioned officers and other ranks, the corps’ is having a posted strength of 8,899 personnel. The ACC is primarily engaged in recce and surveillance, communication and tactical airlift with a limited albeit growing strike capability in an offensive environment. The Army had been engaged in a turf battle for long with the air force over the ownership of the Mi-25/35 attack helicopter gunships operated by the IAF in support of the Army. Recently, the Union Government decided that the Army would own and operate attack helicopters. The ambitious plan to procure 197 light utility helicopters for the ACC to replace the aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters remains grounded with the tendering process having been cancelled several times over various allegations. The utility helicopters would be used for high altitude logistics support. The ACC also has long-term plans to acquire dedicated attack helicopters, tactical battlefield support helicopters and medium lift helicopters. The Army is also reported to have concluded commercial negotiations for procurement of 20 Cheetal helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautic Limited and the proposal is awaiting financial approval.