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SC bars Sahara chief Subrata Roy from leaving country
Cyclone Helen to hit Andhra coast today |
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Japan reaffirms commitment on nuclear deal with India
with general election 2014 only a few months away...
SAD (Delhi) to support Cong
In Kalkaji, SAD candidate faces four-time MLA
Guar magnate can upset Congress, BJP applecart
‘Khooni panja’ remark: EC wants Modi to be careful
Sting op against AAP leaders a conspiracy, says Kejriwal
Vajpayee’s niece may join Cong
Cong indulging in vote bank politics: Modi
Five UP Cong workers hurt in lathicharge
PMO leaked sensitive info, says VK Singh
Lanka must punish rights violators: PC
India, China to sign visa pact
Don’t hanker after Oscars: Manoj Kumar
2-day lit fest in Chandigarh from Nov 23
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SC bars Sahara chief Subrata Roy from leaving country
New Delhi, November 21 A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar passed the order on a contempt petition filed by market regulator
SEBI, contending that the group had failed to return over Rs 24,000 crore collected in 2008-09 from 30 million small investors through Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures
(OFCD). The group had submitted title deeds of some of its properties, claiming that their worth was Rs 20,000. Arguing for Roy, senior counsel Aryaman Sundaram said the value of just one of the properties, a land measuring 614 acres in
Versova, Andheri West, Mumbai, was Rs 19,000 crore. But SEBI’s senior counsel Arvind Datar said the Maharashtra Government had assessed the value of the Andheri land at a mere Rs 118 crore as the property was covered by creeks on three sides and as such was categorised as a green and no-development zone where no constructions would be allowed by the Union Forest and Environment Ministry. The Bench asked SEBI as to whether the group had other properties. Datar gave a list of properties, including those in
Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ambala, that Sahara had bought using the funds raised through the
OFCD. But he was not sure of their market value. On October 28, the Bench had directed Sahara to submit the title deeds within three weeks in lieu of the Rs 20,000 crore it had to return to the investors through
SEBI. It had clarified that Roy would not be allowed to undertake any overseas visit unless this order was complied with. The Bench today said it was not satisfied with the title deeds submitted by Sahara or the contention that these properties were worth Rs 20,000 crore. The case would be taken up again on December 11. Two Sahara group companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd
(SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHIC) — had raised about Rs 24,000 crore from the market through fully convertible debentures. SEBI had declared these issues as illegal and asked the group to return the funds which was subsequently upheld by the SC. The SC, however, had directed the group to return the funds through
SEBI. SEBI claimed that the group had so far given only Rs 5,120 crore despite the fact that the SC deadline ended in the first week of February. This amounted to committing contempt of court, necessitating the market regulator to approach the SC.
Investment scam
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Cyclone Helen to hit Andhra coast today Hyderabad, November 21 Storm surge of up to 1.5 metre high above astronomical tide is expected to inundate low-lying areas of Guntur, Krishna, West and East Godavari districts at the time of landfall, an official bulletin said today. The wind speed would gradually increase up to gale wind speed of 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph at the time of landfall. — PTI
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Japan reaffirms commitment on nuclear deal with India
New Delhi, November 21 Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held talks with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid earlier this week on the margins of the Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM) in Gurgaon at which the two leaders agreed to accelerate negotiations on the agreement. Officials sources said the two ministers agreed it was important to build a consensus among the peoples of both countries and that the two sides should take a “flexible attitude” in the talks. Koichi
Mizushima, Deputy Press Secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, said the Prime Ministers of India and Japan had instructed their officials to amicably address each other’s concerns so that the negotiations could be wrapped up. In May, the two countries had agreed to resume bilateral talks on the nuclear pact, which had been suspended due to the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. Sources said Japan was dealing with the issue of civil nuclear cooperation with India very cautiously since New Delhi was not a signatory to the NPT or the
CTBT. India and Japan have been at odds over the provisions attached to the proposed agreement, including the one that bans the transfer of ‘sensitive technology’ from Japan which could be used to develop atomic weapons. The two sides are also divided over a provision that could give India the ability to reprocess spent nuclear fuel discarded by power plants, which would be built using Japanese machinery and materials, to extract plutonium. The differences have already prolonged the negotiations. Now the two countries are looking at the possibility of concluding the thorny negotiations by the end of the year so that the proposed pact could be ready for signature when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits New Delhi, most likely as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade. Japanese Emperor and Empress are also paying a rare visit to India towards the end of this month. Japanese energy majors are eagerly waiting to do nuclear business with India as they are keen to get a share of its nuclear pie. Also, Japanese companies have stakes in all US and French firms which would be setting up nuclear plants in India. India has already signed nuclear deals with a number of countries, including the US, France, Russia, South Korea and Canada.
Addressing concerns
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with general election 2014 only a few months away...  BJP has little to show except Chouhan Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service
Bhopal, November 21
The BJP leader admitted that in the present scenario, Shivraj was fighting all 230 seats in the state. “The MP poll is a presidential form of elections,” he told The Tribune. Considering that the BJP campaign is revolving around Chouhan, the Congress too is spending all its energies in targeting the CM and his blitzkrieg on the development of the state in his 10-year tenure. Jyotiraditya Scindia, during his campaign in Sheopur, took a snipe at the government’s flagship programme ‘Atal Jyoti Abhiyaan’ saying that while the poles and wires belonged to the Centre, the advertisement belonged to Chouhan. In Bhopal, Union minister Harish Rawat and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda challenged Chouhan's growth story and pointed discrepancies in the BJP advertisements. Soft-spoken Chouhan is the BJP’s only strategy for these elections. There are charges of corruption against several ministers and people are upset with their missing representatives. Madhya Pradesh is known for a strong RSS presence and deep-rooted BJP cadres. It now seems that the cadre is also unhappy with the way leaders have functioned in the past 10 years. “On party platforms, the cadre has been replaced by moneyed businessmen who arrange air tickets for top leaders and raise funds. The BJP is in fact struggling to counter massive anti-incumbency in the House as well,” a local BJP leader explained. The BJP’s problem was very well highlighted by party president Rajnath Singh a few weeks back when while addressing a public meeting he said, “Don’t punish Shivraj Chouhan even if you are upset with your MLA.” The BJP has tried to strengthen Chouhan by changing as many as 43 sitting MLAs. However, this has raised several problems for the ruling party, giving rise to rebels who are trying to damage the prospects of the nominated candidate. According to Ananth Kumar, the party wanted to change 60 to 70 candidates but that would have changed the equations and added on to the party’s problems. “We had to think about that as well,” he said.
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Code violation complaint against Sirsa
New Delhi, November 21 The complaint submitted to the Chief Election Officer, Delhi, said that during the ‘nagar
kirtan’ taken out by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on November 16, Nihang
Singhs, who participated in the procession, carried bands bearing election symbols and slogans “Äkali Dal nu
jitao” (vote for Akali Dal). Instead of wearing a yellow-coloured ‘siropa’, Manjinder Singh Sirsa bore a robe of his party around his neck that carries the election symbol of the
SAD-BJP alliance. Jasjit said that the Chief Election Officer has accepted the complaint and assured that he would make enquire into it.
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SAD (Delhi) to support Cong
New Delhi, November 21 He said that the Congress government had soft corner for the Sikh
community and worked for its welfare. Sarna said that his demands for the conversion of the death sentence given to Davinderpal Singh Bhullar to life imprisonment, bestowal of Indian citizenship on Afghan Sikhs living in Delhi, the removal of stigma from blacklisted Sikhs living abroad have been accepted. Condemning the BJP, Sarna said that he was dissatisfied with the conduct of the BJP as it had neglected the rights and benefit of the Sikhs — the BJP had never approved the independent identity of the Sikhs and its PM nominee Narendra Modi has filed a case in court to “obliterate” the Sikh farmers from the state. For the elections, the BJP has allotted ticket to only one Sikh candidate, RP Singh from Rajinder Nagar, while the Congress has given ticket to six Sikhs - Parlad Singh Sahni, Chandni Chowk; Arvinder Singh Lovely, Gandhi Nagar; Surinder Singh Bittoo, Timarpur; Arvinder Singh, Deoli; Tarwinder Singh Marwah, Jangpura and HS Balli from Hari
Nagar.
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In Kalkaji, SAD candidate faces four-time MLA
New Delhi, November 21 During the first five days of campaigning, Subhash Chopra has had a number of meetings with Muslims, Jhangis, the Punjabi community and residents of slum clusters. As he is a sitting MLA, he has number of achievements to his credit. On the other hand, Harmit -- being a first timer -- can only makes promises. Shobha Singh, a resident of Govindpuri, said that though there was corruption in the Sheila Dikshit government and inflation, but developmental works in the city have also been undertaken. As he sees a good representative in Subhash Chopra, who has done a lot of work for all sections, Shobha Singh plans to vote for him. In the last election, Subhash Chopra defeated his nearest rival and BJP
candidate Jai Gopal by 13,000 votes. During 15 years of Congress rule in the national capital, he has got five primary schools, community centre for middle and high class and old-age homes constructed. Water connection has been provided to each house. Lost-cost houses are being built for slum residents. About candidates of other political parties, 23-year-old Amit, a resident of Kalkaji, either feels that they are not approachable or only active during polls or are simply unknown entities.
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Guar magnate can upset Congress, BJP applecart
Sriganganagar, November 21 Boasting of the richest candidates in the elections, in form of his wife and daughter, whose collective assets are in excess of Rs 2,900 crore — more than the assets of all 400 candidates of the Congress and the BJP put together — the fortunes of the party are being closely monitored. Even while he faces a number of criminal cases, Aggarwal, 55, hopes to make a mark in the elections as he has pumped in hundreds of crores in cultivation of guar and for social work, including giving a bank guarantee of Rs 215 crore to build a medical college and hospital in Sriganganagar. In the last two Assembly elections, he helped the BJP and later, the Congress leaders. But failing to get a ticket from either, he has jumped into the arena by fielding 22 candidates in six districts viz Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Alwar and
Jaipur.
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‘Khooni panja’ remark: EC wants Modi to be careful
New Delhi, November 21 Taking strong note of Modi's remarks, which he claimed were used figuratively and as colloquial metaphors, the Commission said it was not satisfied with his explanation in reply to its notice for Model Code violation. The Commission said references to political adversaries with expressions such as 'khooni panja' and 'zalim haath' (ruthless hand) "cannot but be construed as injurious to the cause of decorous political discourse." "Having regard to the totality of facts and circumstances of the case and submissions and contentions made by you in your reply under reference, the Commission expresses its disapprobation in the matter, and expects that you will stand by your above referred commitment and to be more careful in your public discourse in future," the EC order said. The Congress, which has hand as its symbol, lodged a complaint with the EC over Modi's remarks. The three-page order to Modi said the Commission noted his consciousness of its concern about the language of public discourse in cases of personal attacks on leaders and the need to adhere to stricter standards, but it "does not accept your stand that the same standards cannot be enforced for remarks against political parties". "The Commission considers that while criticising the policies, programmes and past records of political parties also, the expressions and utterances, even when used colloquially, have to be couched in such terms that the same conform to dignity, decorum and public morality," it said. — PTI
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Sting op against AAP leaders a conspiracy, says Kejriwal
New Delhi, November 21 The sting operation, conducted by Media
Sarkar, alleged that several leaders of AAP, who were contacted for their help in recovery of money from individuals and getting land deals done, readily agreed to extend their support in return for donations in cash to
AAP. AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal dismissed the sting operation as a conspiracy against his party, but said it will not compromise on the issue of corruption. "We will not spare anyone if found guilty," he said. — PTI
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Vajpayee’s niece may join Cong
New Delhi, November 21 “I will not sit silently at home and spend the rest of my life in vain just because a party I served for 32 years didn’t recognise my worth. I will take a decision by January 2014,” Shukla told The Tribune in an exclusive interview not ruling out the possibility of joining the Congress or the BSP. Shukla, who has in the past been president of the BJP Mahila Morcha and three-time observer for UP, Odisha and Jharkhand, quit from the primary membership of the party recently citing humiliation at the hands of Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, who is seeking a third term in the just-concluded Assembly polls. She also made it clear that she would die but never return to the BJP. Asked if she would join the Congress and contest Lok Sabha polls from Chhattisgarh, her place of residence, next year, Shukla said, “That decision will happen in the near future. But I can say one thing — I won’t waste the respect earned over three decades of public life. Whom I join will become clear in January 2014.” Disappointed with the changing tides in the BJP, Karuna said, “The golden period of Atal Behari Vajpayee is over. Now Narendra Modi has taken over bringing his peculiar brand of reactionary politics to the party. This politics of blames and counter-blames was unheard of in my uncle’s times. Vajpayeeji never attacked the Gandhis but Modi uses derogatory words like “shehzada” routinely and doesn’t even hesitate to comment on Sonia Gandhi’s illness. That’s stooping too low.” On why she resigned from the BJP on the eve of state polls and not earlier, Karuna said, “I knew for long that CM Raman Singh was working to destroy my political career but on the eve of polls — when he removed me from all major state party positions like core group and election committee — I decided to quit. Had I not, he would have expelled me on some pretext.” Shukla alleged that Raman made her fight the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Korba segment in Chhattisgarh while she had wanted to fight from
Bilaspur.
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Cong indulging in vote bank politics: Modi
Lucknow, November 21 “Today there is virtually a competition between these parties to perfect the art of vote bank politics, the Congress started it and these smaller parties have added their own dimension to the game,” said Modi while addressing a gathering during the Vijay Shankhnad rally in Agra. Modi said the Congress believed in divide and rule and was responsible for the disintegration and partition of the country. “Even Vande Matram was divided, Kashmir was divided, over water disputes, language differences and similar issues states were allowed to become at odds,” he charged. Terming the Central Government as “paralysed”, Modi alleged that there was a power crisis as around 20,000 MW of installed capacity of power could not be produced as the coal had “got lost”, he said. “After a rap from the Supreme Court, the files got lost. I say this government is lost,” quipped Modi. Alleging that corruption had reached a nadir under the Congress rule, Modi recalled that when an NGO associated with a senior Congress leader and minister was charged with misappropriating Rs 70 lakh meant for the disabled, another Congress minister held the charge to be incorrect on the ground that the amount was merely Rs 70 lakh and not Rs 70 crore! Modi called Agra an international tourist attraction which, however, did not benefit as it had no airport and international tourist arrived in Delhi depriving Agra of its share of profit. “Agra is being deprived while the Central and state governments blame each other for it,” he said.
Riots: 2 BJP MLAs honoured
Two BJP MLAs - Sangeet Singh Som and Suresh Rana -released recently on bail for instigating communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining districts were felicitated by senior BJP leaders. They were removed from the rally venue before Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh arrived.
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Five UP Cong workers hurt in lathicharge
Lucknow, November 21 The police chased some workers even as hundreds of Congressmen sat peacefully on a dharna in the middle of the road in front of the Vidhan Sabha. This first public protest of the Congress after its dismal performance in last year’s Assembly election was to demand the immediate implementation of the Food Security Act in the state. “The Congress workers have come on the streets not to demand anything for themselves but for the right to food of every citizen,” said AICC general secretary and UP in charge Madhusudan Mistry.
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PMO leaked sensitive info, says VK Singh New Delhi, November 21 In his letter, the former chief has talked about leak of sensitive information about the Technical Security Division — a controversial intelligence unit set up by him — and his letter to the Prime Minister about shortage of arms and ammunition in the Army. The former chief has also named a few journalists for leaking sensitive information.
— PTI
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Lanka must punish rights violators: PC
Singapore, November 21 “I think the Sri Lankan Government owes a responsibility and a duty to its own people and the people all over the world to investigate the allegations of human rights violations and punish those who are responsible,” he said while addressing over 1,000 delegates at the 2nd South Asian Diaspora Convention 2013, which opened today. “That’s an aspiration or a desire that recognises no national boundaries. It is a human rights issue,” he said, responding to a delegate's question on why investment should be allowed into Sri Lanka when the minority Tamil community was suffering. Last week, British Prime Minister David Cameron, set an ultimatum till March for Colombo to initiate a proper inquiry. — PTI
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India, China to sign visa pact
New Delhi, November 21 Sources said the two countries were also trying to find a ‘practical’ solution to the problem being faced from time to time by the people of Arunachal Pradesh in getting proper visa to travel to China since Beijing lays claim over a large part of the territory in the Northeastern state. Asked if China had raised any objection to India’s proposal to raise a Mountain Strike Corps to counter Beijing, sources replied in the negative. “It’s our internal matter…why should they (China) have any objection?” Meanwhile, speaking at a seminar, Gautam
Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the External Affairs Ministry, said the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement
(BDCA) pact signed between India and China last month after the recent tensions may not be a "magic wand" to resolve disputes, but it was a signal by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) that it was reaching out to India. He noted that the border pact inked during the Indian PM’s visit to China was an initiative taken by the PLA and it was necessary to reciprocate the gesture. "The BDCA is a signal by the PLA reaching out to India. It was they who thought that the agreement would be good. It was they who negotiated the agreement with us and not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China," said Bambawale, who was leading the negotiations on the Indian side.
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Don’t hanker after Oscars: Manoj Kumar
Panjim, November 21 While dubbing film festivals such as the IFFI a mini universe, calling regional films original films, he talked of the role of films in national integration. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari agreed with the veteran actor’s suggestion but added that such an award should be instituted by the film industry itself. Tewari hailed the achievements of Indian cinema and remarked that the long journey of Indian cinema had been possible despite and not because of successive governments in these decades. He also felt that a section on political cinema should be part of the festival from next year. The morning session that began with the screening of Rangbhoomi made by Films Division of India also saw the release of book “Bhartiya Cinema Ka Safarnaama” published by Directorate of publications Division. The book that contains nine interviews and 22 articles has articles by Mahesh Bhatt and Gulzar, among others. If the inauguration ceremony of Indian Panorama had a fair sprinkling of stars such as Manoj Bajpai among others, at the book release function actors Divya Dutta, Pawan Malhotra and filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra were present. International celebrities such as Hollywood actor Susan Sarandon and Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel during their interface with the press made many interesting observations. Sarandon was at her candid best and parried a volley of questions with élan and consummate ease and showed her twin facets of actor and activist. Menzel who has been given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the IFFI proved that it’s not just his films that are pregnant with a sense of humour.
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2-day lit fest in Chandigarh from Nov 23
Chandigarh, November 21 “It is going to offer a platform for talented regional writers and thinkers, and an exposure of world class authors to an extremely intelligent audience,” says Sumita Misra, chairperson of the society. The festival will begin with the keynote address “In Search of the Authentic” by Bhaskar Ghose at Sukhna lake, the much-loved landmark of the city. Two consecutive sessions through the day will host a number of reading sessions by authors - upcoming and established - book launches, poetry reading in Hindi and Punjabi and sessions on a wide range of issues and themes. Religion and politics, exotica as the new erotica, contexts and contours of writing, dissent, discourse and diaspora, writing of another kind and the four letter word between love and hate are some of the sessions that will keep over a dozen authors engaged in discussions and deliberations and interaction with the book-loving audience. The evening will conclude with a concert by Hari and Sukhmani at Tagore theatre. Sunday will keep the audience and the authors engaged in sessions addressing the challenges of humour, women and the paradox of modernity, narrative, mind and memory and reading between the lines. The issue of Kashmiri Pundits and their exodus from the valley will be discussed by Rahul Pandita, author of "Our Moon Has Blood Clots", the book that challenges the popular perspective on the issue. A book written by one of the scholars of IIAS, Shimla, on the Kashmir issue by Manisha Gangahar will be released. Madhav Kaushik will host a couple of engaging sessions on the contemporary trends in Hindi literature “samkaleen sahitya ki chunautiyan” and “nai awazein.” Ashwin Sanghi, author of “Chanakya's Chant,” a political thriller with roots in ancient Mauryan history, a bestseller that won Crossword-Vodafone Popular Choice Award 2010, will address two sessions. Manju Kapur, author of four novels, winner of Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her first novel “Difficult Daughters” in 1999 will explore the role of memory in her narrative in the session titled narrative mind and memory on Sunday. One of the youngest writers, Tishaa Khosla is already among the bestsellers with her books “Pink or Black” and “Pink or Black2”, and Jaideep Bhoosreddy, who wrote "Dead Underground" a spy fiction thriller, among one of the youngest novelists in the country, will represent the changing trends in literature.
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Don’t trust pre-poll surveys: Gehlot Manmohan in Jaipur
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New Delhi, November 21
Andhra Pradesh is bracing for severe cyclonic storm "Helen" with wind speed of up to 110km per hour. The cyclonic storm, located over west-central Bay of Bengal, is expected to cross Andhra Pradesh coast near Machilipatnam in Krishna district by evening tomorrow and affect three other districts — Guntur, West and East Godavari.
New Delhi, November 21
BJP general secretary and in charge of Madhya Pradesh affairs Ananth Kumar agreed that the overriding factor in the state elections is Shivraj Chouhan and his ‘susashan’ (good governance) in the past 10 years. “So, we feel we are going to win,” he said. 
Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi-UK) president Jasjit Singh has submitted a complaint of the violation of election code of conduct against Manjinder Singh
Sirsa, SAD candidate from Rajouri Garden.
The National Unionist Party (NUP) of multi-millionaire and guar magnate BD Aggarwal may upset the applecart of the Congress and the BJP in the elections in Rajasthan.
Chandigarhians often complain of living in a city that lacks a “soul”. Now they have more than enough of it. After Chandigarh Literature Festival and Chandigarh Book Fair held this month, comes Literati-2013, the two-day lit fest beginning November 23. Organised by the Chandigarh Literary Society, which organised book launches and meet-the-author events through the year, as a prelude to Literati-2013, says it is going to be an annual feature.
