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BJP Goa conclave begins today
UP minister, 3 MLAs in dock for allotting work to defunct NGO
Waiver augurs well for Indo-US ties: Officials Anti-terror body back in deep freeze
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Prof Xaxa replaces Aruna Roy in NAC
TCA Raghavan is new Indian envoy to Pak
Delayed pension, gratuity : NHRC seeks explanation from postal dept
CWG Scam
Shinde charge baseless: Pak
Prof Xaxa replaces Aruna Roy in National Advisory Council CBI seeks nod for lie detector test
on Raja Bhaiyya
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After byelection boost, BJP does plain speak with JD-U
We both need Modi, party tells Nitish as he downplays defeat Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 6 Beginning tomorrow, for the next three days, the seaside sojourn will become the hub of saffron political activity and the cynosure of not just the UPA camp led by the Congress, but also NDA allies such as the JD-U, with whom BJP ties seem to have hit rock bottom of late. Even though a much-subdued Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar downplayed JD-U’s defeat in the Maharajganj Lok Sabha bypoll and ruled out any impact on JD-U-BJP ties, but the margin of defeat is telling. RJD candidate Prabhunath Singh trounced PK Shahi of the JD-U by 1.37 lakh votes. The win is being seen by the BJP as the people’s rejection of Nitish’s anti-Narendra Modi stance. BJP leaders say Maharajganj was supposed to be a neck-and-neck fight, but the result clearly show that the electorate is miffed with Nitish, a fact that will play on their minds while deciding on future of ties with the JD-U in the state that sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Sources said the BJP is already preparing to go solo on all seats in the Hindi heartland, which includes Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and Modi will be touring extensively in the two states to build on his OBC credentials. In a hint perhaps to Nitish, the BJP has already specified that the Gujarat CM was required by his party and ally JD-U to improve prospects in the General Election. “Modi is required by the JD-U as much as the BJP, if the NDA seeks to improve prospects in the General Election,” party general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy was quoted as saying. On whether Modi would be invited to campaign for NDA candidates in Bihar, he said Modi and any other NDA leader should campaign in any state if they can tilt the scale in favour of their candidates. Meanwhile, amid news trickling in that some senior party leaders such as firebrand leader and vice-president Uma Bharti may give the Goa meet a skip, the meeting will see discussions on issues ranging from the Maoist attack in Chattisgarh, worrisome economy, price rise and inflation to corruption and all that it takes for the party to win the next Lok Sabha elections. The national office-bearers' meeting, scheduled a day earlier on June 7, will set the agenda for the two-day National Executive meet to discuss the economic and political situation in the country and issues of foreign policy. While the clamour for declaring Modi as the party’s campaign committee head may succeed, but as said by senior leaders many times, the prime minister candidate will only be decided by the Parliamentary Board, the BJP's top decision making body.
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UP minister, 3 MLAs in dock for allotting work to defunct NGO
Lucknow, June 6 Lokayukta Mehrotra has asked Minister of State for Agriculture Manoj Kumar Pandey to explain why work was sanctioned to an NGO from his legislator’s fund when the NGO had ceased to exist in 2011. Notices have also been issued to SP legislators Ram Lal Akela, Devendra Pratap Singh and Surendra Vikram Singh. This is the first time that ruling party MLAs have been summoned by the Lokayukta. While Pandey and Akela have been asked to present themselves before the Lokayukta on June 10, Surendra Vikram Singh and Devendra Pratap Singh have been sent summons for June 11.
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Waiver augurs well for Indo-US ties: Officials
New Delhi, June 6 Along with India, China, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and
Taiwan have also qualified for the exemption from sanctions. India has reduced its
oil purchases from Iran considerably in the past few years, cutting imports by nearly a fifth. China’s reductions have, however, been more modest. An indication about India getting a fresh waiver from sanctions was recently given by US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman when she visited New Delhi. “They (India) have stood side-by-side with all of us in the international community to say that Iran should not acquire a nuclear weapon. We greatly appreciate all of the leadership that India has provided, including their enforcement of sanctions,’’ she said. Officials here candidly acknowledge that the Indian economy, already going through a rough period, would have suffered greater had India attracted the Iran-related sanctions. The waiver to India is being viewed here as a move that sets a perfect stage for the fourth India-US strategic dialogue to be held here on June 24. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and US Secretary of State John Kerry will lead their respective delegations at the dialogue, which will cover the entire range of relationship between the two countries. The US has been nudging India to reduce its engagement with Iran in view of its controversial nuclear programme. New Delhi has, however, made it clear Washington that it could not be pressed beyond a limit on the issue of Iran, keeping in view its historical ties with the Islamic country. It has also been forthright in stating that it would only abide by UN sanctions against Iran and not those slapped by individual countries, like the US.
Right timing
* Officials in New Delhi candidly acknowledge that the Indian economy, already going through a rough period, would have suffered greater had India attracted the Iran-related sanctions *
The waiver to India is being viewed as a move that sets a perfect stage for the fourth India-US strategic dialogue to be held here on June 24 *
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and US Secretary of State John Kerry will lead their respective delegations at the dialogue
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Anti-terror body back in deep freeze
New Delhi, June 6 The move comes after the NCTC faced stiff opposition at yesterday’s Chief Ministers’ Conference on Internal Security. It is the second time that the pan-India NCTC, an anti-terror organisation, has been put on hold. Last time, an office order issued on February 3, 2012 had been held in abeyance. On April 17, Shinde had said in the Lok Sabha that it was time to “quickly put the NCTC in place” while adding that the focus of the ministry was on human intelligence gathering. Sources said the government today decided not to go ahead with the proposed NCTC after facing strong opposition from non-Congress Chief Ministers. In his concluding remarks at yesterday's Chief Ministers’ conference, Shinde assured the states that a decision on setting up the NCTC would be taken only after full consensus among states and all stakeholders. The opposition to the anti-terror body has now become a political issue. Hence, any consensus is unlikely any time soon. Even while the states are ill-equipped to fight terrorists on their own, their opposition is based on federal principles enshrined in the Constitution. At the political level, even the Centre will not like to confront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on this issue ahead of the general election in April 2014. Apart from these two, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab opposed the NCTC. Even Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Assam have expressed concern at the proposal. Last year, states had two key objections: First, the NCTC should not be under the Intelligence Bureau and second, the NCTC should not conduct operations on its own in any state. The MHA modified this saying that the NCTC would be headed by a Director General-rank officer who will report to the Union Home Ministry. Secondly, operations would be carried out either through the state police or in conjunction with the state police. Despite these changes, the proposal was objected to.
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Prof Xaxa replaces Aruna Roy in NAC
New Delhi, June 6 The government also extended the tenure of the remaining 10 members: Narendra Jadhav, Pramod Tandon, NC Saxena, AK Shiv Kumar, Deep Joshi, Anu Aga, Farah Naqvi, Mirai Chatterjee, Mihir Shah and Ashis Mondal. — TNS
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TCA Raghavan is new Indian envoy to Pak
New Delhi, June 6 An IFS officer of the 1982 batch, Raghavan is currently the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore. Raghavan, who earlier served as Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan from 2003-2007, is said to have a good equation with a broad spectrum of the Pakistani leadership. He was also the Joint Secretary in-charge of Pakistan in the External Affairs Ministry prior his posting to Singapore. Raghavan replaces Sharat Sabharwal, who has spent more than four years in Islamabad. Following his superannuation in October last year, Sabharwal was given an extension to maintain ‘continuity’ in the relationship in view of the elections in Pakistan. The appointment of Raghavan comes amid firm indications by Sharif that he desired to normalise Pakistan’s relations with India and peacefully resolve all outstanding issues. Meanwhile, there are indications that Pakistan High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir will continue in his post despite the change of regime in Islamabad.
On familiar ground
*
He is said to have a good equation with a broad spectrum of the Pakistani leadership *
He was also the Joint Secretary in-charge of Pakistan in the External Affairs Ministry prior his posting to Singapore
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Delayed pension, gratuity : NHRC seeks explanation from postal dept
New Delhi, June 6 Directing the department to clear all payments of arrears of pension and dues of the employee with interest within four weeks, the apex human rights body observed that there has been inordinate delay on the part of the Department of Post in finalising the pension of the complainant who moved his petition on August 25, 2012, even as there appeared to be no justification in not doing so. Failing in which, the NHRC would be compelled to issue conditional summons to the concerned officers involved in the matter, including the Director, Postal Accounts and Finance, Delhi, and Assistant Director (PC), Office of the Chief Post Master General, Delhi, under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, noted an NHRC official.
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CBI grills Kalmadi over Rs 70-cr contract
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 6 Kalmadi, an MP from Pune, was questioned for about three hours during which he was asked various details related to the controversial contracts. He entered the CBI headquarters before 12 noon and left it at 3 pm, sources said. The CBI had registered a case against Kalmadi and other senior officials of the Games Organising Committee last year and was questioned today. He can be questioned further also, sources said. The EKS was given contract for giving consultancy on issues like venue development, games workforce planning and project management services. Kalmadi also asked about the reasons for selecting the EKS for executing contracts for the mega sporting event held from October 3-14, 2010. When alleged irregularities issue was raised by the opposition parties, the contracts had come under the scanner of a committee headed by former CAG VK Shunglu for alleged wrongdoings. Kalmadi is also facing other alleged corruption cases in the conduct of Commonwealth Games being investigated by the CBI.
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Shinde charge baseless: Pak
New Delhi, June 6 “Pakistan has consistently endeavoured to improve relations with India. This has been articulated emphatically by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” Manzoor Ali Memon, Press Attache at the Pakistan High Commission, said in a statement. He said it was extremely important that everything be done to build an atmosphere of trust and confidence between the two countries.
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Prof Xaxa replaces Aruna Roy in National Advisory Council New Delhi, June 6 The renowned sociologist’s areas of interest include tribal studies, development studies in agrarian social structures and labour studies. He will be part of the 12-member panel whose term co-terminates with the present UPA government, an official notification said. A post-graduate in sociology from Pune University and PhD from IIT Kanpur, Xaxa has held a post-doctoral fellowship under the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme at Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris (1982), Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellow at SOAS, University of London (1988) and Fulbright Fellow at University of California Santa Cruz, USA (1998). Last week, Aruna Roy made a decision to distance herself from the panel and criticised the UPA government over differences on the non-implementation of the minimum wages for those working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The NAC provides policy and legislative inputs to the government on social welfare measures including the food security Bill that is pending in Parliament.
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CBI seeks nod for lie detector test on Raja Bhaiyya Lucknow, June 6 The application moved by the Central agency in the special court seeks Raja Bhaiyya’s consent for the test. The matter is scheduled to be taken up on June 11.
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3 poachers fined
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* TCA Raghavan (pic), currently the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, served as Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan from 2003-2007 
