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Gujarat Assembly, minus Oppn,
Govt weighs its options over convicted lawmakers ordinance
All states ready to implement food law, says minister |
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7 SIMI men escape from MP jail; one held
Rasheed Masood, Lalu Yadav stand disqualified as MPs, say experts
Eyeing Yadav vote bank, BJP treads cautiously on Lalu
Jaitley writes to PM, says CBI being used to target Modi
Asaram denied bail; prosecution claims he is a paedophile
President to visit Belgium, Turkey
Mathai is new UK envoy
UN panel asks Posco to halt Odisha project
SC notice to VK Singh over age remark
Cops’ transfers: Trouble for Azam Khan
illegal phone exchange
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Gujarat Assembly, minus Oppn, re-adopts tweaked Lokayukta Bill
Ahmedabad, October 1 The Bill was passed by the House during its last budget session but was returned by Governor Kamala Beniwal last month for not being in consonance with the Indian Constitution. The House re-adopted the Bill with two minor changes in the explanatory paragraphs but without incorporating any recommendation of the Raj Bhavan. Legal experts say the Governor now has no option but to forward it to the President of India for consideration. The Bill provides for four Up-Lokayuktas, unlike the existing Act, and raises the level of qualification for appointment as the Lokayukta to a retired or sitting judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of the High Court. A retired high court judge will now qualify only for the post of Up-Lokayukta. The new Bill brings under Lokayukta’s purview the office-bearers of local bodies, including mayors or councillors and panchayat members, besides the Chief Minister, his Council of Ministers, chairman or the vice chairman of a state-owned body, vice chancellor of a university and public servants as defined in Section 21 of Indian Penal Code. The Opposition was suspended from the House for two days yesterday for creating a ruckus over demands for discussing certain problems facing the farmers and other sections of the people due to the recent rain and flooding as well as the issues raised by the suspended IPS officer DG Vanzara in his resignation letter. The Congress later decided to “boycott” the third and concluding day’s session on October 3 in protest against the “undemocratic functioning” of the ruling BJP. Modi, who supported Anna Hazare’s movement for a strong Lokpal at the Centre, in his home state wanted the Lokayukta to function as an extended arm of the state government. Changing all crucial provisions of the Gujarat Lokayukta Bill, 1984, in which the Governor had the authority to appoint a Lokayukta at the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and consented by the Leader of the Opposition, the new Bill entrusts a six-member committee headed by the Chief Minister with the job of finalising the choice of the Lokayukta. Though the Governor remains the appointing authority under the new Bill, the head of the state would be required to act according to the recommendation of the committee in which at least three members, including the Chief Minister, will be from the ruling party besides the Vigilance Commissioner appointed by the Chief Minister. The remaining two members include a High Court judge to be appointed by the Chief Justice and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. State finance minister and Cabinet spokesperson Nitin Patel claimed the Lokayukta Bill was in line with the Central Lokpal Act and the Modi government had adopted the same methodology of appointing the Lokayukta as prevailing at the Centre. the changes made
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Govt weighs its options over convicted lawmakers ordinance
New Delhi, October 1 The September 24 decision of the Cabinet was sent to Rashtrapati Bhawan but President Pranab Mukherjee summoned Union Ministers Kapil Sibal and Sushilkumar Shinde the next day to understand the reasons and urgency for such a measure. It came after the BJP delegation met the President urging him not to give his assent to the ordinance and a day before Rahul went public and dubbed the ordinance a “complete nonsense” which should be “torn and thrown away”. Sources in the government said the note prepared for consideration of the Cabinet contains options, including that it could either await a decision by the President or request him that it be allowed to withdrawn the ordinance. The President is leaving tomorrow afternoon on an official visit to Belgium and Turkey and scheduled to return on October 8. Since Rahul’s outburst, the Congress swiftly altered its stance of supporting the ordinance while Congress members of the Union Cabinet have maintained a studied silence since the collective decision was disagreed to by party leader. The public attack by Rahul Gandhi created confusion within the government and the coalition partners, some of whom have voiced their opinion and are not exactly pleased with the turn of events. The Nationalist Congress Party chief spokesperson DP Tripathi suggested that allies too be consulted through the UPA coordination committee, echoing the demand of another ally, the National Conference. Earlier, Union Minister Praful Patel of the NCP said the public attack of the ordinance was not a happy situation and the issue could have been handled better. The Options
the controversy
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All states ready to implement food law, says minister
While Uttar Pradesh went to the extent of saying that the Centre had rolled it out without preparation just for political gains, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar also expressed concerns on logistics-related issues like the cost of transportation, handling and margin of ration shops dealers. Thomas said states were asking the Centre to share the cost of transportation/handling and margin of ration shops dealers. To address their concerns, including framing criteria for identification of beneficiaries and sharing of financial burden among others, a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) would be set up. The government is also considering setting up a committee at the ministerial level to alleviate the concerns of the states. Despite concerns by the states, Thomas maintained that 50 per cent of the states, including those ruled by BJP, were ready to implement the food law by December. “No states have said they will not implement the law,” he said. “50 per cent of states, including BJP-ruled, are ready to implement the food law by end of December,” Thomas said. No reservations: Pawar Denying having any reservations on the Food Security Bill, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said the successful implementation of the world's largest social welfare scheme should be 'enshrined' on strong domestic production and not on imports
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13 men convicted of recruiting Kerala youth for terror camps
Kochi, October 1 The court, however, acquitted five others giving them the benefit of doubt and set them free. They are Mohammed Nainar, Badaruddin, Anaz P K, Sheneej and Abdul Hameed. The quantum of sentence against those found guilty is expected to be pronounced on October 4. There were 24 accused in the case and of them, four — Fayas, Fayis, Abdul Rahim and Yasin — were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir and two others Pakistani nationals Abdul Wali, said to be a LeT commander, and Mohammed Sabir are absconding. The court held that T Abdul Jabbar, the 15th accused, who managed to escape in the encounter, had waged war against India, thus committing offences punishable under Sect 121 IPC read with Section 16 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
— PTI mission kashmir
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7 SIMI men escape from MP jail; one held
Khandwa (MP), October 1 Following the audacious prison break, which could not be thwarted despite an exchange of fire, the Centre has sought an explanation from the Madhya Pradesh Government, which launched a manhunt and apprehended one of the escapees. The seven undertrial prisoners included two who had shot dead three persons in broad daylight a few years back. Additional Director General (Prisons) Muniraju told PTI in Bhopal that the undertrials used bedsheets as ropes to scale the towering wall before escaping on two motorcycles parked in the premises around 3.30 AM. The prisoners, who broke the wall of the bathroom in their escape bid, were challenged by two constables whom they stabbed with knives and snatched their rifles, Khandwa Superintendent of Police Manoj Sharma said. There was an exchange of fire as two jawans of the Cheetah force tried to prevent the escape. However, they too were overpowered. The outlaws grabbed their rifles and wireless sets before fleeing. Injured constables Lokesh Hirve and Suro Tiwari have been hospitalised, Sharma said. The seven SIMI activists have been identified as Amjad, Aslam, Zakir, Mehboob (all from Khandwa), Ejazuddin (of Narsinh Yard, Kareli), Abu Faizal (from Juhu, Andheri in Mumbai) and Aabid Mirza (of Oont Kuwan, Hatampura in Khandwa). Aabid Mirza was, however, apprehended hours later from Sarvodaya Colony here. The Students Islamic Movement of India, banned in 2001, is alleged to have links with home-grown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen and several of its top leaders are in
jail. — PTI
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Rasheed
Masood, Lalu Yadav stand disqualified as MPs, say experts New Delhi, October 1 Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said the law would take its course while party leader Rashid Alvi said though the loss of Masood was a setback, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had showed immense “farsightedness” by rejecting the ordinance that protected convicted lawmakers. Technically, Masood stood disqualified the day the court pronounced him guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This is because the Representation of People’s Act, which prescribes the procedure for disqualification of MPs upon conviction under Section 8 (3), states that under certain laws such as anti-corruption and anti-Sati and anti-dowry laws, the two-year sentencing norm would not apply and conviction alone would suffice for disqualification. Constitutional expert PDT Achary, also a former Lok Sabha secretary-general, said both RJD president Lalu Yadav and Masood stood disqualified from their respective Houses given the fact that the Supreme Court order was in force as law of the land. “Section 8 (3) of the RPA says any person convicted and sentenced for imprisonment of two years or more would automatically stand disqualified from the House. That’s the law and according to it, Rasheed Masood and Lalu Yadav stand disqualified automatically because both face a minimum of two years in jail,” Achary explained. He said the presiding officers of both Houses had no role in the case of disqualification of MPs under the RPA. “They are concerned only on two situations - when an MP is disqualified under the anti-defection law and when he has been absent from proceedings for 60 consecutive days without informing the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha,” he said. Achary clarified that the Election Commission also had a role after the conviction of an MP under Section 8 (3). “The EC has to take further necessary action by notifying the vacancy of a seat under Article 101 of the Constitution and taking steps to fill that vacancy,” he said. The two Can buy time Constitutional expert PDT Achary says Lalu Yadav and Rasheed Masood can buy some time under the law. “Article 103 of the Constitution says if anyone raises any question about the disqualification of an MP under any law made by Parliament, the matter will be decided by the President on EC’s recommendations. If these convicted MPs raise this point, their case would be referred to the President because the Supreme Court has left this area grey,” Achary said.
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Eyeing Yadav vote bank, BJP treads cautiously on Lalu
New Delhi, October 1 “As a friend I feel bad for him (for going to jail in the fodder scam),” Sinha was quoted as saying in Patna. “In this hour of tragedy my good wishes are with him and Rabri bhabhi (Prasad’s wife). He (Prasad) is an old friend that is why I feel bad,” said the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib. Reacting to Sinha’s comments, Shahnawaz said the BJP was not exactly in a celebratory mood on either Lalu Prasad’s or Congress leader Rashid Masood’s verdict. “We welcome the court’s decision and wish they had not indulged in corruption. It is a sad situation and we are definitely not celebrating. “Lalu Prasad is a Lok Sabha MP. It is a court’s decision. We welcome the decision but hope Lalu was not involved in the scam,” Shahnawaz added. While the BJP has hailed the CBI court convicting Lalu Prasad in the multi-crore rupee fodder scam and sending him to jail in the 17-year-old case, the fact is the party does not want to antagonise the substantial Yadav vote bank, almost 20 per cent of the total electorate, by going overboard in criticism. Shahnawaz says his party will neither liaise with “those in power or have been in power”, in other words ruling out both the JD-U and the RJD as partners in Bihar. “In Bihar all parties are tainted,” he says. But the party is sensing big gains in the state that sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha, after the recent turn of events and what may follow in Bihar, especially regarding their former ally-Nitish Kumar. Sources say the party’s strategy over the controversial ordinance to negate the Supreme Court’s verdict on convicted lawmakers was crafted keeping these factors in mind. on Shotgun remark
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Jaitley writes to PM, says CBI
being used to target Modi New Delhi, October 1 In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley elaborated on how the government was misusing investigating agencies such as the CBI, IB and NIA to settle scores with the BJP and Modi, as the Congress had realised it could not fight them politically. "The CBI and the NIA have colluded with the politics of the Congress in all the above referred investigations," the ace lawyer said, demanding that charges of "politicisation and motivated investigation" should all be subjected to a commission of inquiry headed by a sitting of the Supreme Court. "The Congress strategy in the face if its depleting popularity is clear: It cannot fight the BJP and Narendra Modi politically. Defeat stares them in the face. By misuse of investigative agencies they have so far tried various methods of implicating Modi and his former Home Minister Amit Shah," he said. Clearly, the BJP is worried that Shah and Modi's close aides might be "convicted wrongly" and may suffer the fate of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who is now staring at a certain political ignominy due to his conviction in the fodder scam. Some BJP leaders also believe that Congress scion Rahul Gandhi public denouncement of the government's controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers was part of a larger game plan to eventually put Modi and his aides out of political action. In his letter, Jaitley cities prominent examples of misuse of probe agencies by the government, including the three encounter cases of Sohrabuddin, Tulsi Prajapati and Ishrat Jahan.
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Nepalese army chief visits Chandimandir
Chandigarh, October 1 Giving a major fillip to Indo-Nepal friendship and cooperation, General Rana is on a six-day visit to India to witness a combined training exercise -- Surya Kiran -- at Pittoragarh. Surya Kiran is a series of joint Indo-Nepal military exercises, which had initially started at the platoon level and has now been enhanced to battalion level. These exercises are aimed at achieving tactical level understanding and interoperability between troops of both armies. General Rana is a second generation army officer who, after his initial schooling at Lawrence School, Sanawar, graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He has had an illustrious military career, which includes command of Nepal’s oldest infantry battalion, during United Nations Peacekeeping operations in Lebanon. He was Commandant of the Nepalese Military Academy and Director General of Military Operations, till he was appointed as the Chief on September 9, 2012. The chief is accompanied with his wife Rohini Rana, dauther of late Raja Digvijay Pal Singh, and Rani Ananata Kumari of Awagarh. An alumnus of St Mary’s Convent, Nainital, and Sophia College, Ajmer, Rohini has been a freelance journalist, who is currently involved with various social service groups. In the evening, Lt Gen Philip Compose, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, hosted a banquet. Other members of the delegation include Maj Gen Victor JB Rana, Brig Gen Suresh Sharma, Col Prem Dhoj Adhikari and Capt Shikar Bahadur Bhandari.
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Asaram denied bail; prosecution claims he is a paedophile
Jodhpur, October 1 Both defence and prosecution had completed their arguments on September 16 and 18, respectively, but defence counsel Ram Jethmalani had sought some more time from the court to produce some material in support of his contentions. "On Tuesday, he produced four affidavits in the court, which were to the effect that first, the victim did not want to live in the gurukul; second, the age certificate of the girl was wrong; third, the girl was mentally unstable and fourth, she was having affair with a boy and was active on Facebook," the prosecution counsel said. The court, however, did not consider these affidavits and said this was not the trial but it was just hearing of a bail plea. Justice Kaur also objected to repeat of the arguments carried out during the previous hearing. Jethmalani made submissions about the girl's character and again raised doubts over the crime scene. His contentions were opposed by the prosecution counsel, Anand Purohit, and investigation officer Chanchal Mishra. While arguing against the bail application, Mishra said Asaram's followers have continuously been creating nuisance everywhere despite his being in jail and things may worsen further if he is out on bail. She also mentioned the case of another girl student of the same gurukul the victim was in, who has been missing since long. "We had inquired about her, but still do not know about her whereabouts," she argued. While rebutting the defence contention that the victim was suffering from mental illness, the counsel for the victim Manish Vyas argued that, on the contrary, "Asaram is a paedophile". Asaram is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail since September 1 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in an ashram here. A Jodhpur court had yesterday extended judicial custody of Asaram and that of his attendant Shiva till October 11 in the case.
— PTI The case file
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In Kolkata, Ramesh says Mamata has a secret deal with BJP
Kolkata, October 1 BJP president Rajnath Singh later denied the minister’s allegations saying the BJP was open to all anti-Congress and like-minded parties and that there was no secret deal with the TMC or any other party. Ramesh was talking to mediapersons at the Calcutta Press Club in the evening. While Mamata remained silent on the allegations, senior TMC leaders Sisir Adhikery and Saugata Ray lashed out the Congress for making false and motivated charges against their party. The Congress had been non-existent in Bengal prompting most Congress men to switch their loyalties to the TMC, said Ray. Ramesh alleged that the TMC government had failed to utilise Central funds worth crores for the development of the state. Instead, the Chief Minister was accusing the Manmohan Singh government of failing to release funds for the state. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said the Lok Sabha elections would be a clear battle between the Congress and the RSS, drawing prompt reaction from BJP president Rajnath Singh who accused the Congress of communalising the elections. “The BJP is singing to the tunes of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat,” Ramesh said.
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Sanjay Dutt gets 14-day parole for treatment
Mumbai, October 1 Dutt had appealed to the Maharashtra government for parole to undergo medical treatment for severe blood clots on his leg caused by excessive smoking. Doctors had advised him to undergo check up at a Mumbai hospital after his condition got aggravated in jail, sources said. State home department sources said the rules allowed furlough for prisoners who behave well in prison. The actor used to do carpentry work in jail and also helped out in the prison kitchen. He was also rehearsing for a play to be performed for prisoners last week though the performance was cancelled due to security reasons. On reaching home, a visibly frail-looking Dutt told reporters that he wanted to spend time with his family. “I respect the law of the land. I respect the honourable courts of India. I am a law abiding citizen and will complete my parole and will report back,” Dutt told reporters. Pleading with folded hands, Dutt asked mediapersons to respect his privacy. “I want to request to the press that I have got some time which I want to spend with my family. I thank the press for its support. Thanks to all my fans and I love my fans,” he said. Dutt’s plea filed in August last was put up before the Pune divisional commissioner who sought a report of the actor’s past conduct from the local police stations. After getting a satisfactory report, he was granted the parole, say officials. Under the law, Dutt’s movements and conduct will be monitored by the local police station. Respite for actor
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President to visit Belgium, Turkey
New Delhi, October 1 After his visit to Belgium, the President will pay a state visit to Turkey from October 5-7 at the invitation of the President of Turkey. Mukherjee will be accompanied by a delegation comprising Union Shipping Minister GK Vasan and five MPs, said PS Raghavan, special secretary for development partnership administration . In Turkey, the President will visit Istanbul, Ankara and Cappadocia. The visit is the third by an Indian President, after the visits by former Presidents Shankar Dayal Sharma and KR Narayanan.
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Mathai is new UK envoy
Before taking over as Foreign Secretary on August 1, 2011, Mathai was India’s Ambassador to France. He has a postgraduate degree in political science from the University of Poona. He had served as Indian Ambassador to Israel from February 1998 to June 2001, Ambassador to Qatar from August 2001 to July 2005 and Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in London from August 2005 to January 2007. He took over as Ambassador to France in January 2007. Earlier, Mathai had served in the Indian embassies in Vienna, Colombo, Washington, Tehran and Brussels. As Joint Secretary (BSM) in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi from January 1995 to February 1998, he headed the division dealing with India’s relations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives.
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UN panel asks Posco to halt Odisha project New Delhi, October 1 "Construction of a mega-steel plant in Odisha in eastern India should be halted immediately....The project reportedly threatens to displace over 22,000 people in the Jagatsinghpur district, and disrupt the livelihoods of many thousands more in the surrounding area," United Nations independent human rights experts have said. Protests against land acquisition for Posco plant, coupled with regulatory hurdles have kept the proposed plant, billed as the largest FDI in India, pending for last about eight years. "Construction of a mega-steel plant in Odisha in Eastern India should be halted immediately," United Nations independent human rights experts said. The construction of a massive steel plant and port in Odisha by Posco must not proceed as planned without ensuring adequate safeguards and guaranteeing that the rights of the thousands of people are respected, the UN panel said. The "urgent call" follows a report by rights group in June which said land acquisitions have threatened to displace 22,000 people and deprive thousands of their existence. "People should not be impoverished in the name of development; their rights must take precedence over potential profits," stressed the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepulveda. Posco in July had pulled out of the $6 billion project in Karnataka amid delays in land acquisition and other hurdles. — PTI
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SC notice to VK Singh over age remark
New Delhi, October 1 The Bench, which had heard General Singh’s petition on the age row, has taken suo motu cognisance of his interview to a news agency (ANI) which was published in a newspaper last week. General Singh had questioned the Supreme Court’s logic behind deciding the juvenility of the accused in rape cases on the basis of their school certificates and not applying the same yardstick in his case. The Bench said his statement amounted to attributing motives to the Judges.
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Cops’ transfers: Trouble for Azam Khan
Lucknow, October 1 A single judge bench of Justice Sudhir Agarwal stayed the transfer of policemen from Muzaffarnagar and wanted to know why they were transferred in such a hurry. It has sought a response from the minister as well as the state government. This was in reaction to a petition filed by policeman Pankaj Kumar and six others who charged that Azam Khan, the so-called Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party, was behind the transfer of police officers of the Jat community after the riots. While staying the transfers, the court has asked the state government for a list of such policemen transferred in Muzaffarnagar since September 7 when riots broke out.
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illegal phone exchange
CBI sources said an FIR was filed following its preliminary inquiry when it found enough material to proceed with a regular case against Maran and BSNL officials, the then CGM K Bramhanathan and MP Veluswami. The agency which had registered the enquiry into allegations in 2011 had wrapped up its probe in July. Maran could not be reached for reaction either over the phone or text messages. The sources said these 323 residential lines were allegedly in the name of BSNL General Manager connecting the Boat House residence of Maran with the office of Sun TV through a dedicated underground cable during his tenure as Telecom Minister. The probe had started in 2011, nearly four years after getting complaints that a 'virtual' telephone exchange was allegedly set-up at the then Telecom Minister's for facilitating data transfer from Sun TV. The agency had recommended action to the then Telecom Secretary in 2007 but the department allegedly did not give its nod in the case, they said. Finally, CBI had filed a preliminary inquiry in the case in 2011, they said. The sources said these lines were not ordinary telephone lines but costly ISDN, capable of carrying huge data thus facilitating faster transmission of TV news and programmes across the globe. — PTI
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Night landing facilities in Bagdogra
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New Delhi, October 1
New Delhi, October
1
New Delhi, October 1
