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Sibal challenges Modi to debate
Cong rattled by ‘unprecedented support’ for Modi, says BJP
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Modi inducts six Ministers of State in Cabinet
Gujarat CM blames Cong for price rise
SC rejects Asaram’s plea to restrain media
Akhilesh dismisses Rahul’s ISI remark
Cong justifies ASI digging
CBI books JD-U MP over fraudulent LTC claims
Travelling with the vice-president
Mars orbiter cleared for launch
SC allows Sahara chief to go abroad
SC rejects plea against re-hiring of retired babus
Probe ordered into Dutt’s meeting with director in prison
Regional divide evident on AP day celebrations
Muzaffarnagar Mayhem
Govt to fix MSP for forest produce to benefit tribal growers
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Sibal challenges Modi to debate
New Delhi, November 1 Slamming Modi for serving “lies” to the people and preferring rallies over press conferences for the fear of being questioned on half truths, Sibal said: “Why doesn’t he (read Modi) address the press. Because he wants a captive, controlled audience whom he can tell lies and get away.” Sibal was speaking at a press conference he had called today to launch a personal website on which he would regularly post his views on issues confronting the nation. The website has provisions for interaction with visitors and the minister hopes it would give him voice in a virtual world which is being increasingly accessed by the youth. As for Modi bashing, it came along side the official launch of the website. The move was not just part of Congress’ strategy but also part of Sibal’s personal strategy for his Lok Sabha constituency of Chandni Chowk which has predominantly Muslim vote and where Modi bashing pays. That apart, the Law Minister countered Modi on various allegations the Gujarat CM made against the Congress, including the allegation that the Congress has destroyed the country. “A nation’s future depends on policies and not people. Unfortunately an atmosphere has been created in the country where personalities are being discussed more than policies. The Congress has always worked for development and that’s the biggest truth even if that truth has to stand alone today.” Terming Modi a “constant critic”, Sibal said the BJP should permanently be seated in the Opposition so that the country could keep growing. Challenging Modi to a debate (something the BJP rebutted saying their leader Arun jaitley was ready to debate), Sibal said: “Let “nirantar virodhi” come out for an open debate on issues of development.” The Law Minister took swipes at Modi and his Patna rally gaffes including-Alexander reached the Ganges (which he didn’t); Chandragupta Maurya belonged to Gupta dynasty (which he didn’t) and Taxila is in Patna (which is not). God knows what history book he reads and why doesn’t he ever smile, he wondered.
Cong defensive over EC notice to Rahul
“We will reply to the notice through a due process but the fact of the matter is what Rahul Gandhi said was not wrong at all. It was a simple statement of facts. As for the BJP petitioning the EC against our vice president’s comments, they should first discuss the matter within their group because both the RSS and the Shiv Sena have backed Rahul Gandhi’s contentions. Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna has an article supporting Rahul’s views,” said Sanjay Nirupam, Congress MP and AICC secretary.
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Cong rattled by ‘unprecedented support’ for Modi, says BJP
New Delhi, November 1 Responding to Kapil Sibal’s challenge to Modi for a debate, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley charged the “second-rung leaders” of Congress (read Sibal and his colleague Manish Tewari) of “inventing” arguments that were almost “almost trivial”. “The response to all of Modi’s contact programmes and large rallies is unprecedented. The Congress is rattled. It does not know how to deal with the possible outcome of the 2014 elections,” Jaitley said. Jaitley said the “anti-incumbency” factor was bothering the ruling party and it was disturbed that people were drawing parallels between Modi and Rahul Gandhi. “Therefore, the second-rank leaders of the Congress have jumped him to mount a personalised attack on Modi. The kind of adjectives being used and the kind of arguments being invented are almost trivial,” he added. The lead Opposition rued this is taking the seriousness away from the debate. “There is a very interesting debate on in the country and Modi is leading the debate.” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain attacked Rahul Gandhi, alleging each time he makes a speech, it stirs a controversy and Congress leaders have to rush to his defence. “Rahul Gandhi’s speeches have no effect and whenever he opens his mouth, he gets embroiled in a controversy and his party has to clarify... Congress only incurs losses when its Prime Ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi speaks,” Hussain said. The BJP spokesman said the PM and other Congress leaders had declared Rahul as their leader and he should be the one asking for a debate with Modi. “However, while the leader(Rahul) is not ready for a debate, his followers are,” he said, adding that Sibal may be a good lawyer but his arguments about political issues had created controversies. “Sibal had said there was zero loss in the 2G spectrum case,” he said. “Rahul has not spoken at all on rising prices of onions and potatoes. This Diwali is going to be a costly one for us. But the Congress is only trying to divert attention from important issues like price rise, corruption and terrorism,” Hussain said.
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Modi inducts six Ministers of State in Cabinet
Ahmedabad, November 1 Though the expansion is presumed to be to balance his increasing absence in the state affairs to meet his national responsibilities as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, it apparently is to assuage the hurt feelings of the party member of the lok sabha, Vithhal Radariya. Radariya, a former two-time Congress MP from Porbandar, had crossed over to the BJP along with his son Jayesh after the last Assembly elections after the Congress then refused him the post of the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly. The father-son duo had contested the Assembly elections on the Congress ticket and won but both crossed over to the BJP later. It was believed that the Radariyas had joined the BJP on condition that the son would be inducted in the Modi Cabinet and father given a BJP ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. While Vithhal Radariya successfully contested the Porbandar Lok Sabha byelection on a BJP ticket, Modi had so far refused to entertain Jayesh. The senior Radariya made his displeasure clear over the refusal to induct his son in the Cabinet by launching a frontal attack on the Modi government in handling the problems of farmers at a recent rally in Rajkot. Apparently, Modi decided on the expansion at the earliest to accommodate Jayesh to spare his government of further embarrassment of attacks from his own party leaders. Five others inducted in the Cabinet included Vasan Ahir, Jaydrathsinh Parmar, Dillip Thakore, Jaswantsinh Bhabhor and Chhatrasinh Mori, all of them ministers in the Modi Cabinet earlier.
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Gujarat CM blames Cong for price rise
Mumbai, November 1 Addressing a gathering at Pune where he inaugurated a super-speciality wing of a hospital, Modi accused the Congress of making false promises in order to remain in office. “Those who make false promises have no right to stay in power. They had promised to control prices in 100 days - did prices come down? They went up instead,” Modi said. The Gujarat Chief minister went on to say that inflation was under control only during two periods in history - under the Morarji Desai government in which the Jan Sangh was part and the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime. “Whenever there was a Congress or Congress-supported government, the people had to face inflation. Shouldn’t a government in a democracy be answerable to the people?” he said. Insisting that the public mood was for the Congress to be taught a lesson, Modi wondered if the Congress would survive in the future. He accused the Congress of having a one-point agenda - i.e. targeting him (Modi) and thanked the people for his support. “I am standing in front of you today with god’s blessings, the people's wishes and the strength of truth... They wanted the CBI to fix Modi, but now the CBI seems to have failed. And I don't know what they will do next," he said. Modi went on to say that the BJP would come out with a report card every year if it was elected to power.
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SC rejects Asaram’s plea to restrain media
New Delhi, November 1 Arguing for Asaram, senior advocate Vikas Singh contended that two television news channels had gone to the extent of describing his client as Dracula who drank children’s blood and took the help of his wife and daughter to lure girls. A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said such complaints could not be dealt with on a writ petition filed in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was not in a position to prevent policemen or those associated with Asaram from talking to the media, the Bench explained. As the Bench, which included Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi, made it clear that it was dismissing the petition, Vikas Singh pleaded for letting him withdraw it. The Bench allowed the plea. On October 21, the Bench had granted liberty to Asaram to approach the Supreme Court again if he felt a section of the media continued to distort the facts related to the case. After going through the newspaper reports submitted by Asaram, the apex court Bench said today that it did not find anything objectionable which required its intervention. Arrested in August following the allegation, the 72-year-old godman has been kept in a Jodhpur jail.
overreaction by media The lawyer of Asaram (pic) contended that two television news channels had gone to the extent of describing his client as Dracula who drank children’s blood and took the help of his wife and daughter to lure girls
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Akhilesh dismisses Rahul’s ISI remark
Lucknow, November 1 He was speaking to reporters at his 5, Kalidas Marg official residence after inaugurating a bouquet of farmer-centric schemes worth Rs 2,318 crore of the ‘mandi parishad’. Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations made at Hamirpur about the benefit of the Bundelkhand package not reaching the people, he said that during former Chief Minister Mayawati’s time, goats had been distributed under the Bundelkhand package, but upon verification, none could be traced. Reacting to Rahul’s charge that the state government was in no mood to implement the Food Security Bill, Yadav said the state government, under the Act, had time till next July to implement it.
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Cong justifies ASI digging
New Delhi, November 1 The gold rush in Unnao began after a local seer dreamt of tonnes of gold in the spot in question, wrote out his dream to a Congress minister — Charan Das Mahant — who then got the ASI to start digging. The exercise had to be abandoned midway after the ASI, quite embarrassingly, found nothing at the said spot except stones. But the Congress today said the digging was justified in the first place. Sanjay Nirupam, a senior Congress leader and MP, said, “When Mahatma Gandhi decided to go to South Africa, his mother was not happy nor was his village ready. It was only after Gandhiji’s mother consulted a saint on her son’s foreign travel that Gandhiji was finally allowed to go and the rest is history.”
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CBI books JD-U MP over fraudulent LTC claims
New Delhi, November 1 Sahani is a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar. His residential premises in Muzaffarpur and office in Rajya Sabha Secretariat were searched in connection with the case. The case was registered for alleged filing of fraudulent LTC claims using forged air tickets and boarding passes. Sahani was not available for comment even after repeated attempts. Sources said more cases could be registered soon in connection with the LTC scam. The agency has registered a case under Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections of the Indian Penal Code against Sahani, sources added. The CBI spokesperson said, “The CBI has registered an FIR against a Rajya Sabha MP in a case of fraudulent claims on the basis of forged air tickets and boarding passes." The agency has initiated a preliminary enquiry after receiving a reference from Central Vigilance Commission, sources said. The agency found that the alleged irregularity was affected in collusion with travel agents. The sources alleged that lakhs of rupees have been fraudulently drawn from the government through fake LTC claims filed by government officials for getting tickets at concessional rates. The matter came to light after the vigilance department of Air India was alerted about the arrest of a man in March at Kolkata airport with 600 blank boarding passes of the airline in his possession.
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Travelling with the vice-president In London, Vice-President Hamid Ansari had only one assignment: He spoke on ‘Identity and citizenship’ at the Nelson Mandela Lecture Theatre on the invitation of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Established in 1985 to encourage scholarly studies of Islam, it is an independent centre of the University of Oxford. Its board of trustees has scholars and statesmen from all over the world with the Prince of Wales being its patron. The centre contributes to the multi-disciplinary study of Islamic world at Oxford. Lectures had been delivered in the past by Sonia Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, the UN Secretary-General and various heads of state and government. Salman Khurshid as Law Minister spoke on ‘Unity, not uniformity: Politics of modern India’. Chor Bizarre in London Since London is as much known to many Punjabis as Ludhiana, its popular tourist attractions such as Madame Tussauds, London Eye and the Tower of London do not need any description. Despite the slowdown and high prices London remains a shoppers’ delight, offering a world-class experience. Kensington Palace has put up on display the exquisite wardrobes of the Queen, the Princess of Wales, Diana, and Princess Margaret if one wants to know how royal fashion has changed since the 1950s. For the first time in 100 years, the world’s largest cache of Elizabethan and Early Stuart jewellery is being displayed at the Museum of London. The village at Westfield London, the Regent Street and the Bond Street are shoppers’ popular destinations. The Independent has judged Indian restaurant Chor Bizarre as ‘one of the 50 most romantic places in the world and amongst the top 10 restaurants in London’. Chor Bizzare or Thieves Market, which is celebrating its 15th year in London, offers authentic Indian cuisine in a unique atmosphere. Ice-cream for all On way to London, India’s Ambassador to Cuba C. Rajasekhar shared some interesting information with journalists. The chief highlight of the Vice-President’s visit was his meeting with Fidel Castro, facilitated by Rajasekhar. According to him, India can learn a lot from Cuba in affordable healthcare, disaster management and biotechnology. Cuba excels in particular in two fields: education and healthcare. Its literacy rate is 99 per cent, unemployment 2.5 per cent and infant mortality low at 4.76 per 1,000 compared to India’s 45 or so. How ice-cream came to Cuba is interesting. Once, Fidel Castro was offered ice-cream in Moscow. He liked it so much that he immediately asked the hosts for its recipe and ordered the chefs back home to improve on it. Now, the Cuban ice-cream is very popular and cheap. From food for all, Castro moved to ice-cream for all. Spying: Back to typewriters London is without a regular High Commissioner from India. The acting High Commissioner, Dr Virander Paul, organised a reception in honour of Vice-President Hamdi Ansari. Since journalists were disappointed with snacks at a similar function in Lima and had to go without food at the Ambassador’s reception in Havana, most were wary of going to the reception in London’s Bentley Hotel. Security restrictions were tight: No cameras, cell phones or any recording equipment. A media report pointed out that so suspicious are the High Commission staff of spying after the US revelations that they have returned to typewriters for sending important messages. Since not sure whether the embassy is bugged, staff members come out in the open for important conversation. Summing up After the visit to Frankfurt, Lima, Havana and London, the most romantic memories one carries back home are of cycling along the Main river in Frankfurt and the visit to Pachacamac archaeological sites, where in 200-400 AD women were intoxicated and sacrificed to please the Sun god. Havana’s vintage cars, sea beaches and laid-back people remind one of the old world charms. While London is known for its rule-based life, even in Havana traffic is disciplined. In the middle of night when roads are empty, drivers follow the traffic rules and stop at the red light, an unusual sight for the Indian visitors. — Nirmal Sandhu
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Mars orbiter cleared for launch
Bangalore, November 1 Directors of various ISRO centres involved in the prestigious mission as well as the two project directors of the mission (one incharge of the launcher and the other handling the satellite) participated in the meeting of the LAB which was presided over M Y S Prasad, director of the Sriharikota-based Satish Dhawan Space Centre. “The readiness of the mission was thoroughly reviewed in the meeting and the launch was given the go ahead,” Dr Prasad told the Tribune from Sriharikota over phone. With this the final seal of approval has been granted to the planned launch of the 1350 kg MOM aboard the PSLV-C25 launcher at 14-38 hours on November 5. While ISRO had the luxury of having a launch window lasting for 18 to 20 minutes for most of its previous missions, the launch window this time is five minutes only. Sudden arrival of floating space debris in the planned trajectory of the launcher had delayed launches by ISRO in the past. However, on those occasions delay in the lift off by about two minutes or so did not make any difference. But, given the very short launch window this time, possibility of arrival of unwarranted space objects in the path of the launcher could even lead to postponement of the launch to another day. American space agency NASA gives alerts to others about the arrival of space debris which are usually leftovers of various space missions sent from earth. The Indian spacecraft will carry five payloads to study the atmosphere, mineralogy and other aspects of Mars. The mission is also a technology demonstrator. Reaching the orbit of Mars and maneuvering of the spacecraft in deep space by the ground control will be itself a big achievement. According to ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan, “the mission is 85 per cent a technology demonstrator”. The state-run Doordarshan will telecast the launch live from 2 pm onwards on November 5. Interestingly, while the spacecraft is headed for Mars “known as the “Mangal graham” among Indians”, the day chosen for the launch is also known as “Mangal” in the Hindu calendar (a day dedicated to the planet Mars or
Mangal).
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SC allows Sahara chief to go abroad
A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri allowed Roy’s plea to travel overseas after considering his review petition. However, after November 18, when the three-week deadline set by the SC would end, his travel status would depend on his group submitting the title deeds of properties. The SC slapped the travel ban after hearing contempt petitions filed by SEBI against Roy and two of his companies-Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHIC) — for their failure to return the funds raised from small investors in the form of fully convertible debentures. The SC had directed Sahara to return the funds through SEBI. According to SEBI, the group has so far given only Rs 5,120 crore though the timeline ended in the first week of February. The market regulator had approached the SC, contending that this amounted to committing contempt of court.
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SC rejects plea against re-hiring of retired babus
New Delhi, November 1 “It is for the government to take a decision on such issues. How can we issue a directive,” a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam remarked while rejecting the PIL filed by Prakash Singh, retired police chief of Uttar Pradesh. The petition had pleaded for restoration of the earlier guidelines that had stipulated a two-year cooling off period for retired government servants before their services were availed of by the government again. The government was in a better position to assess how to make use of the services of retired officials who had expertise in various fields, the Bench said. Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi were the other members of the Bench. The rejection of the plea comes just a day after another Bench directed the government to provide a minimum fixed tenure to IAS officers in each posting and set up Civil Service Boards to decide on promotions, transfers and disciplinary proceedings. The court has also asked the political executive to give all its directives to the civil servants in writing and stay away from oral instructions in order to place responsibility for each of their actions.
The contention
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Probe ordered into Dutt’s meeting with director in prison
Mumbai, November 1 Hirani met with Dutt on September 24 in connection with a show that was planned by jail inmates Reports from Pune said Hirani met with the actor ostensibly to provide some inputs for the show which was subsequently cancelled on the orders of senior jail officials, sources said. The inquiry was ordered after photographs of Hirani and Dutt posing with senior jail officials were published in the media. Jail manual rules specify that only the immediate relatives can be allowed to meet a convicted inmate in prison. Additional Director General (Prisons) Meeran Borwankar told mediapersons here a vigilance probe has been ordered into the matter. The actor had reportedly sought Hirani’s advice to improve the team's performance.
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Regional divide evident on AP day celebrations
Hyderabad, November 1 If everything goes according to the plan, the new state will come into existence early next year. The bitter regional divide was on display as the elected representatives from the Telangana region, including Ministers, boycotted the formation day celebrations, observing it as “Black Day”. On the other hand, the people in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions, jointly referred to Seemandhra, held demonstrations and rallies protesting against the UPA’s decision to split the state. It was on this day in 1956 that the Telugu-speaking Telangana region of the erstwhile Hyderabad state was merged with the Andhra state to form Andhra Pradesh, the country’s first linguistic state. The political fallout of the bifurcation decision cast a shadow over the formation day celebrations. The Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is strongly opposed to the division, used the occasion to reiterate his stand that all round development was possible only if the state remained united. Participating in the official function at NTR Stadium here, the Chief Minister voiced concern over a sense of uncertainty gripping the state and said that the people were in a state of “confusion”. Continuing his defiance against the Congress leadership over the issue of bifurcation, Kiran said, “I am praying Telugu Talli (Mother) to see that my state remains united and the formation day celebrations are held every year.” Significantly, he invoked former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi to drive home his argument in favour of integrated state. The former Prime Minister had declared in Parliament, on December 21, 1972, that she was a firm integrationist and gave a commitment to keep AP united. “Indira Gandhi said that the slogan of 'Visalandhra' (united Andhra) still resonates in my ears and I am a strong integrationist'," Kiran recalled. India's first Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation for unifying Telugu-speaking people on this day in 1956 and leaders from AP like PV Narasimha Rao and Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy steered the country, the Chief Minister pointed out. “AP is strong economically and politically only because the state is united. All Telugu people feel a sense of bonding and unity. If divided, we will become weak and lose the bargaining power. We could build massive irrigation projects like Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam because we are a united state,” the Chief Minister said. The formation day event was marred by black flag demonstrations in several places of Telangana region and demonstrations by the cadre of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The national tricolour was hoisted by District Collectors at the official events which were boycotted by the elected representatives in Telangana. Observing the “betrayal day”, the TRS supporters hoisted black flags in Hyderabad, Warangal and other places in the region. They also took out protest rallies.
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Police team attacked during raid to arrest suspects
Shahira Naim/TNS
Lucknow, November 1 Confirming the Kutba incident, IG Crime Ashish Gupta told mediapersons that a four-member police team, including a sub-inspector and constables, had conducted a raid late last night to arrest some suspects. They had to face heavy stone pelting and escaped with minor injuries. “Now, the strategy will be changed before further action is taken in the matter,” he said. No action has been taken against the six named persons in the case of violence on Wednesday that was registered in Phugana police station in which a woman riding pillion with her husband Rajendra Kashyap was attacked and lynched. Meanwhile, there are reports of several panchayats being held in Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Shamli to protest against the so-called partisan action of the police in these twin cases. Several khap leaders were reportedly present in the panchayat being held in Mohammadpur Rai Singh village in Muzaffarnagar despite Section 144 being in force. Eight Jats from this village have been arrested for killing three persons from neighbouring Hussainpur on Wednesday. An FIR has been registered at Bhaurakalan police station against 15 named and 10 more unknown persons in this case. Earlier in the day, when reporters drew the attention of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to the dissimilar police responses in the two cases, he said that the police had collected the facts and action would be taken in both the incidents. Assuring of strict action against the guilty in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar and adjoining districts, CM Yadav reiterated, “We will ensure that injustice is not meted out to innocents." Underlining his government’s preparedness to meet the challenge, Yadav pointed out that state DGP Deo Raj Nagar was personally camping in Muzaffarnagar and keeping an eye on the situation. Responding to the local BJP leaders’ charge of the fresh violence occurring even though several policemen, including the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), having patrolled these parts for weeks, the DGP in Muzaffarnagar described the development as “unfortunate”. “It was unfortunate that despite the steps that the police was taking to rebuild communal harmony in Muzaffarnagar, fresh violence has interrupted the process,” he said.
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Govt to fix MSP for forest produce to benefit tribal growers
New Delhi, November 1 “Our idea is to break the monopolies of state level procurement agencies which often give much lower prices to forest dwellers for their produce than what the produce is worth. For instance a kg of tamarind fetches growers only Rs 8 whereas the same of sold for Rs 100 in the Delhi markets,” Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo said today. To fix the MSP, a pricing cell has been set up in TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India), a cooperative under the Ministry. Comprising chairman of TRIFED and representatives of the Planning Commission and other related government agencies, the cell will fix the MSP of the following 12 major selling forest produces - Tendu leaves (used in bidi making), bamboo, Mahua seed, Sal leaf, Sal seed, Lac, Chironjee, Wild honey, Myrobalan, Tamarind, Gum and Karanj Seed. The move would for the first time allow forest dwellers growing forest produce to claim fair and remunerative prices for the products they own. Instead of the old system of selling the produce to state level procurement agencies, growers would henceforth be free to sell the same to any private buyer who pays them better. “State procurement agencies can still buy the produce but will now have to pay the minimum support price fixed by TRIFED. Any losses they incur will be compensated for by the Government,” Deo said. The move follows the Congress-led UPA government’s earlier efforts to give ownership of land to tribals who dwell in the given forest land. This ownership to tribals flows from the Forest Rights Act whose rules were framed recently to have state governments give “pattas” of land to traditional forest dwellers. These dwellers were earlier on the mercy of the forest department for everything. “Now that the tribals have ownership of land we need to move s step forward and ensure that they also have complete control over the forest produce they grow and get best prices for the same,” said
Deo.
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New Delhi, November 1
Although the Congress did not officially comment through any spokesperson today on the Election Commission’s notice to party vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his alleged hate speeches in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, some senior leaders came out in Rahul’s defence saying he did not say anything wrong.
New Delhi, November 1