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Amended Bill on regulating SC puts off hearing in Jaya
case
Ex-police chief Sharma applies for bail Nation can
ill-afford
inter-state barriers: Kalam |
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George’s boycott
continues Traditional support base of Cong eroding India to sign extradition treaty with Kuwait Centre denies having disclosed Dubey’s
identity CBI takes letter, tape into
custody LS Speaker
chides MPs CBI questions
Judev, secy
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Amended Bill on regulating petro sector New Delhi, December 11 The Union Cabinet, at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last night, approved certain amendments in the Bill (originally introduced in Lok Sabha in May, 2002), based on suggestions made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petroleum. The amended Bill will now be placed during the current winter session of Parliament for approval, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters here today. The Bill provides for “a regulatory mechanism that would facilitate uninterrupted and adequate supply of petroleum and petroleum products in all parts of the country, including remote areas, at fair price, and promote competitive markets and access to monopolistic infrastructure in the nature of common carrier on non-discriminatory basis by all entities.” Ms Swaraj said one of the amendments to the Bill was for the enhancement of punishment for violators of government policy to three years. “Persons committing offences under the proposed Bill will be punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to three years or with a fine, which may extend upto Rs 10 lakh or with both.” While the government has accepted a suggestion for extending protection against the encroachment of retail network of the existing state-run entities for at least five years, it has turned down the recommendation of inclusion of connected facilities like storage, marketing and import terminals in the definition of common carrier. The Standing Committee had recommended an amendment in the function of the board to include declaration of storage, hydrant systems at airports, marketing and import terminals as common carrier. In another decision, the government will soon introduce a new Bill to replace the outdated Public Debt Act of 1944 as well as another comprehensive legislation to amend three Acts governing chartered accountants, cost and works accountants and company secretaries. The Public Debt Act will be replaced by a new legislation called the Government Securities Act, 2003, following demands by several states to improve the working of the RBI in this regard. Also, in order to bring uniformity in the functioning of various accountants’ bodies, the government has decided to bring a comprehensive legislation, which will amend Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, Cost and Works Accountant Act, 1959 and Company Secretaries Act, 1980, she added. The amendment to the accountants’ acts incorporates most recommendations made by the Naresh Chandra Committee on corporate audit and governance. Both new bills will be sent to the respective Standing Committees of Parliament. The government will also introduce a Cantonment Act, 2003, in Parliament, envisaging reservation for women in Cantonment Boards and refer it to a Parliamentary Standing Committee. Also, the Citizenship Act will be reintroduced with recommendations on Persons of Indian Origin made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, she said, adding that the amended Indian Council of World Affairs Bill would also be introduced in Parliament. |
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SC puts off hearing in Jaya case New Delhi, December 11 When the application was mentioned for an early date by her counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice G P Mathur asked the registry of the court to submit a report on whether the application was a simple application seeking transfer or a petition seeking review of its November 18 judgement, directing the transfer to a Bangalore special court. The court said in case it was a review petition, counsel could make a mention for an early date of hearing. However, if it was a review petition, the registry would follow the procedure laid down for entertaining review petitions. Allowing a petition by a DMK party functionary, a Bench of Mr Justice Variava and Mr H.K. Sema had transferred on November 18 for trial both cases from the Chennai Special Court to a court of equal jurisdiction in Bangalore in the interest of free and fair trial. Justifying her plea for transferring the two cases to Pondicherry, Ms Jayalalithaa said in her application that it would be “most convenient” due to its nearness to Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister said the trial of the cases in Bangalore would cause serious prejudice to her and the interest of justice, besides putting her personal security in jeopardy on account of the charged atmosphere in that state on the issue of Cauvery waters dispute and the kidnapping of Kannada filmstar Raj Kumar in July, 2000, by forest brigand Veerappan, a Tamilian. —
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Ex-police chief Sharma applies for bail Mumbai, December 11 Special Judge S M Shambole, who is hearing the case, has asked the Special Investigating Team to file a writ regarding Sharma’s bail plea. Sharma was remanded in judicial custody last week by the SIT after his interrogation was completed. While stating that he had not committed any offense, Sharma’s counsel Sudhir Shah submitted that the former police chief was suffering from hypertension, chest pain and other ailments. Earlier Sharma and former Joint Commissioner of Police Sridhar Vagal, who are lodged at the Cantonment Jail in Pune, had asked SIT officials for enhanced security since the jail had a number of prisoners arrested during their time in office. Both former police officers have been provided special cells though they were kept in the same jail as other prisoners. Meanwhile, SIT officers questioned Subash Malhotra, former Maharashtra Director-General of Police, for his role in the Telgi scandal. Malhotra was the DGP of Maharashtra when the scam broke. However, following a number of allegations made by other police officials, Malhotra is now being questioned by SIT officials. |
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Nation can
ill-afford inter-state barriers: Kalam New Delhi, December 11 ‘‘We cannot have inter-state barriers and inter-regional curbs that would snap the thread of unity. Freedom to move, freedom to think and freedom to express are ingrained in the freedom to live, it is also enshrined in our Constitution,’’ Dr Kalam said inaugurating the celebrations to commemorate the 200th session of the Rajya Sabha at the Central Hall of Parliament this evening. Pointing that there was a need for faster economic development in certain states, the President said if committed people had to work selflessly, the country would have to ensure their safety without which their families and brethren would not allow them nor want them to work in an uncertain environment. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called upon the members of the Rajya Sabha to retain the intrinsic character of the House of Elders by maintaining decorum. Observing that gradually a number of younger people were now getting elected to the Upper House and unlike its earlier name ‘the House of Elders’ it was slowly turning much younger. ‘‘This is welcome...but it is also important that members conduct themselves
maturely.. and maintain decorum...’’
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George’s boycott
continues New Delhi, December 11 The written question that Mr Fernandes was to reply pertained to inputs available with the government that Pakistani and Chinese navies were likely to hold joint maritime exercises in the Arabian sea. Mr Fernandes said in his reply that though the Pakistani and Chinese navies were likely to hold joint exercises, Indian security experts did not view these as any potential threat to the country’s area of interest. Mr Fernandes’ boycott prompted members from the treasury benches to request Speaker Manohar Joshi to settle the issue once and for all. As the Opposition members started trooping out of the House, the ruling party members objected and demanded to know from the Speaker when this “drama” would come to an end. Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra said it was a shameful conduct on the part of the Opposition to stage a walkout when important issues like national security were being discussed. Meanwhile, the BJP condemned the continued boycott of Defence Minister George Fernandes in the Lok Sabha by the Congress and some other Opposition parties and said it was “undemocratic and unbecoming”. “A person becomes Prime Minister on the basis of people’s mandate. The Cabinet berth and portfolio allocation was Prime Minister’s prerogative...It was not for the Opposition to decide who should shoulder the responsibility,” BJP spokesperson V.K. Malhotra told newspersons here. Asserting that the Opposition could not boycott the minister for the entire term and such boycotts were unprecedented in any democratic society, Mr Malhotra said the boycott also undermined the national security. |
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Traditional support base of Cong eroding New Delhi, December 11 This will be among the factors to be scrutinised by a four-member panel set up by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to go into the reasons for the party's rout in these elections. The committee is headed by senior leader Pranab Mukherjee and includes Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Mr Prithviraj Chavan and Mr Bijoy Handik. The committee is slated to hold its first meeting next Monday, Mr Mukherjee said, adding that he had called for all the relevant documents, including the reports submitted by the election observers. The committee, which is to submit its report within ten days, will also be talking to state leaders. Mr Mukherjee admitted the party's stunning defeat in the tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan was a matter of great concern, particularly since the Scheduled Tribes (ST) like the Scheduled Castes (SC) have been traditional Congress supporters. The loss of the tribal vote follows the erosion of its support base among the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, which had been usurped by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). According to Mr Mukherjee, times had changed, a new generation had come up and the Congress party's traditional support base had lost relevance. He said there was a time when tribals could not even think of voting for anybody except the Congress. While the BJP has made inroads in the tribal areas, this election in Madhya Pradesh has thrown up another serious player — the Gondwana People's Party (GPP). Although it won only two seats, it polled more than 5,000 votes in 30 constituencies, upsetting all old equations. |
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India to sign extradition treaty with Kuwait New Delhi, December 11 The Union Cabinet, which met last night under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, approved the signing of the treaty and also authorised its ratification. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told mediapersons today that under the treaty, any person accused or convicted of an extraditable offence, shall be extradited. It stipulated that an offence punishable under the law of the contracting States with imprisonment for a period of not less than a year would be an extraditable offence. Extradition of own nationals was not permissible under the treaty. The treaty makes it clear that extradition shall be refused if the requested State is satisfied that the offence involved is of a political character. It clarifies that certain offences will not be treated as of political character. These include assault against the President, Vice-President or Prime Minister of either country and offences relating to terrorism, murder, culpable homicide, robbery, firearms and explosives. |
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Centre denies having disclosed Dubey’s identity New Delhi, December 11 Dubey’s communication to Prime Minister was unsigned and undated and the Prime Minister’s Office, which receives between 400-500 letters everyday, forwarded it to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (North) for appropriate action, a five-page press statement issued by the ministry said. “...Dubey sent several communications to local officers of the NHAI and consultants. While his letter to the Prime Minister had raised mainly general issues about perceived procedural shortcomings in the implementation of the NHDP, his local communications were very specific. These communications were not marked secret,” the statement said. —
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CBI takes letter, tape into custody Raipur, December 11 The CBI formally took over from the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) the case against Mr Jogi, his son Amit and defected MP P.R. Khunte, for allegedly bribing BJP leaders to defect and form a breakaway group, ACB sources said. After registering a corruption case against Mr Jogi, the CBI team, which arrived from Delhi yesterday, took over the case details from the ACB and scrutinised the audio tape containing purported conversation between Mr Jogi and Mr Khunte with BJP state secretary Virendra Pandey and Bastar party MP Baliram Kashyap. —
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BJP denies tacit understanding with SP New Delhi, December 11 In an informal chat with reporters, Mr Misra, in charge of Uttar Pradesh, said there was no question of any understanding with the SP and that BJP workers had already started hitting the streets to protest against the poor law and order situation in the state. “We understand our responsibility as an opposition party,” he said. |
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LS Speaker chides MPs New Delhi, December 11 The Speaker rejected notices for adjournment of question hour, including one demanding that the government immediately fix the minimum support price of sugarcane. Soon after the House assembled, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Singh and others rushed to the well of the House, raising the MSP issue. This forced the Speaker to make a hard-hitting observation. |
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CBI questions Judev, secy
New Delhi, December 11 Sources said the two were summoned to the agency headquarters and questioned by the anti-corruption branch on various aspects of the case, including the purpose for which the money was given to them. Mr Judev was charged with accepting the money from a person claiming to be a representative of an Australian firm seeking mining rights in Chhattisgarh and Orissa. —
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Mumbai, December 11 |
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