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New Delhi, June 8 Axe is likely to fall on three top bureaucrats, Cabinet Secretary Kamal Pande, Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal and Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad as the UPA government is keen to have officers of its choice on key and sensitive posts.
PM assures fairness in Cauvery
dispute
Patel meets PM, Sonia on
airports
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Amarinder to meet PM
Another jawan admits to participating in fake encounter
Rahul Gandhi’s grooming has begun
Unions stall power board
reform
Karnataka portfolio issue settled
Govt move against foreign
newspaper
IAF recovers vital parts of MiG-27
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Three top bureaucrats may face
axe
New Delhi, June 8 The Tribune understands that an exercise for revamp of the bureaucracy in phases is to begin any time, now that the Parliament is set to go into a recess from June 10, though it will be decided only tomorrow whether on June 10 the Parliament session would end or whether it would be called a recess. This decision will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, the first time ever when such a committee has been formed. This committee will take all decisions regarding Parliament. Union Ministers Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr Pranab Mukherji, Mr Ramvilas Paswan, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Mr Prem Kumar, 1968 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, is tipped to be made the new Union Home Secretary. Mr Prem Kumar is currently Chairman of the Food Corporation of India. Mr Rajiv Ratan Shah is among several names said to be under consideration for the post of Cabinet Secretary. The present incumbent, Mr Kamal Pande, is to retire in September this year, but the government is likely to continue with him. Mr Pande’s successor may be appointed OSD in Cabinet Secretariate initially to hasten the exit of Mr Pande, sources said. The Defence Secretary is also to be changed as he is known to be close to former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani. Mr Ajay Prasad had also worked as a close aide of Mr Advani. The Cabinet Committee on Appointments has already been renotified. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to appoint the Cabinet Committee on Security “very soon”. |
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PM assures fairness in Cauvery
dispute
New Delhi, June 8 “It is essential that we reach a suitable settlement acceptable to all. It is necessary that distress is shared equitably so that no specific region suffers excessively,” Dr Manmohan Singh observed. Considering the expectation of a heavier than expected rainfall this year because of the early monsoon, the Prime Minister felt that there might not be a distress situation this year, according to official sources. The delegation from Tamil Nadu, which included Union Ministers, sought Dr Manmohan Singh’s intervention in impressing upon the Karnataka Government to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the interim award of the Cauvery Waters Tribunal. Union Panchayati Raj and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said with the intervention of Dr Manmohan Singh, the functioning of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) would be geared up.
Bangalore, June 8 “There is no communication as of now on water release. However, a communication has been received to the effect that a delegation of Tamil Nadu led by Union Minister T.R. Baalu will visit here to hold talks,” senior minister P.G.R. Sindhia told reporters. Meanwhile, farmers of Mysore and Mandya in the Cauvery basin are gearing up to launch an agitation if the state releases water.
— PTI, UNI
New Delhi, June 8 |
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Patel meets PM, Sonia on
airports
New Delhi, June 8 According to sources in the Civil Aviation Ministry, Mr Patel, who is the representative of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, held meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Ms Sonia Gandhi yesterday after his return to Delhi. The meetings assume importance in the wake of Left parties opposing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the airport modernisation plan. In fact, the recent announcement by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation on capping FDI in airport modernisation at 49 per cent has brought about a situation where the UPA allies have had the first difference of opinion. While the minister is determined to go through with the modernisation plan with foreign technical collaboration, the Left parties are opposed to any foreign investment in airports. The sources say Mr Patel explained the situation to both the Prime Minister and the Congress President. He is also said to have pointed out that the modernisation plan did not entail selling assets, but only leasing them to a consortium or company. The minister is also said to have met Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on the issue. This meeting is also of importance as the prerogative of increasing or reducing the FDI cap in a project lies with his ministry. Besides, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation is said to have by-passed the Industry Minister’s authority while announcing the change in the FDI norms for the modernisation and restructuring plan for the two airports. The sources, however, say that despite the opposition that the minister is facing on the issue, he is in complete control of the situation. As a potentially explosive situation is developing, officials at the ministry clarified that Mr Patel has gone public on the issue only after consulting the Left parties. He has clearance from all allies in the government. The decision to put the 49 per cent FDI cap, which was pruned from 74 per cent, is not likely to be changed. |
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Amarinder to meet PM
New Delhi, June 8 The Chief Minister will meet Dr Manmohan Singh tomorrow morning. The Chief Minister is also scheduled to meet Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj and Water Resources Minister P.R. Dasmunshi tomorrow. The sources said the meetings would be followed up by another meeting on June 11 where all officials concerned would also be present. |
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Another jawan admits to participating
Jodhpur, June 8 “Major Surinder Singh asked the soldiers to construct a bunker wall and myself and Shyam Bahadur Thapa were ordered to show some movement behind this wall for video recording showing them as enemy movement,” Rifleman Yamraj Gurung said. “Later another rifleman Bhuwan Thapa was asked to destroy the bunker wall and I was asked to pose as a dead soldier at the rubble of the wall,” he said. After enacting the fake encounter on August 24, the party again arrived at the same location and the same thing was repeated on September 21, he added. On the completion of the operation on September 21, Major Singh informed the unit that he had been injured, the court was told. The military court is recording evidence as a follow up of the court of inquiry which found Col
K.D. Singh and Maj R Lamba responsible for administrative lapses and recommended disciplinary action against Major Singh for making exaggerated claims. —
PTI |
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Rahul Gandhi’s grooming has begun New Delhi, June 8 The newly-elected party MPs and state leaders have been calling on Rahul Gandhi regularly. In turn, the debutant MP from Amethi has been holding extensive meetings with party functionaries. Many party workers who are unable to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi are apparently quite happy if they are granted an audience with the young Gandhi instead. Similarly, there is a flood of requests from state party units that Rahul Gandhi visit their areas if Mrs Gandhi is too preoccupied, it is learnt. Clearly, Rahul Gandhi’s grooming has begun in dead earnest. “Rahul Gandhi has had a huge impact in the party. There is a glamour about him and the organisation should cash in on this,” said a UP Congress leader. Congress sources said Rahul Gandhi was involved in party affairs even before his formal launch in politics. It was stated that he had been studying constituency profiles and evincing an interest in election analysis. He was kept abreast of campaign strategies while those who called on Mrs Gandhi were casually asked to have a word with Rahul and Priyanka. The frequency of these interactions has increased after his election. That Rahul Gandhi was going to be an important power centre in the Congress was evident at the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) where Mrs Gandhi was elected leader. Virtually all MPs walked up to greet him while many presented him with flowers, angavastrams and shawls. Similar scenes have been witnessed in the Lok Sabha as newly-elected MPs make that extra effort to register their presence with him. Congress insiders explained that Rahul Gandhi’s regular meetings with functionaries are essentially meant to acquaint him with the party’s functioning and the key players in the states. “The whole idea is that he learn the ropes and give him the necessary exposure,” remarked a senior Congress leader while recalling that Rajiv Gandhi had spent six months meeting party functionaries before he was designated AICC General Secretary. While Rahul Gandhi’s informal initiation has got under way, speculation is rife that he may be appointed party General Secretary when the long overdue AICC organisation is revamped in the coming days. Rahul Gandhi has gone on record to say that he will be focusing on UP as the state unit needs strengthening. There are, however, differing views in the party on Rahul Gandhi’s immediate role. One suggestion is that like his father, he should not accept a party position now but should first be involved with the party’s policy making processes. Another view is that he should take charge of frontal organisations in order to rejuvenate them besides focusing on Uttar Pradesh. |
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Unions stall power board
reform
Mumbai, June 8 Under the Electricity Act, 2003, the Maharashtra Government was supposed to split the MSEB into separate companies handling power generation, transmission and distribution by June 10. Opposition to the move was led by the MSEB Employees Union led by CPI leader A.B. Bardhan. The Sushil Kumar Shinde government formally requested the Central Government for exemption from the requirements of the electricity Act after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sworn in last month. The Centre has already granted similar exemptions to other states like West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya. Earlier the National Democratic Alliance government had decided not to allow the six-month extension. The MSEB, which is groaning under the weight of uncollected bills amounting to more than Rs 8000 crore, was to have been split into separate distribution companies handling power in the various parts of the state. Even international funding agencies like the World Bank had made it mandatory for the restructuring of the MSEB a precondition for financial assistance to Maharashtra. The state government has been desperately trying to obtain funds from the World Bank to upgrade the MSEB’s power network. Long neglect has made it necessary for large-scale cash infusion, |
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Karnataka portfolio issue settled
Bangalore, June 8 After days of uncertainty and bargaining, there were few surprises in the allocation of portfolios today with senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, a strong candidate for Home, getting Water Resources and Transport. Mr Dharam Singh was expected to retain Home if the Congress managed to ward off the demand of the junior partner, Janata Dal (S), which wanted allocations as per the Maharashtra model. Other major portfolios, however, have indeed gone to the JD (S) with Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramiah getting Finance as expected along with Planning. Senior JD (S) leaders P.G.R. Scindia and M.P. Prakash picked up the plum portfolios of Industry and Revenue, respectively. Many senior Congress leaders have, in fact, been short-shifted, a bargaining success for the JD (S), which wanted several ministers of the erstwhile S.M. Krishna Cabinet out. These include former Industry Minister R.V. Deshpande, who has been made Pro-tem Speaker, former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna himself, and H.K. Patil. The other allocations are D. Manjunath, Higher Education; H.D. Revanna, Public Works and Power; Sreenivas Gowda, Agriculture; Mirajuddin Patel, Animal Husbandry and Wakf; Prakash Hukkeri, Agricultural Marketing; and Minister of State Tanveer Sait, Labour and Haj. |
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Govt move against foreign
newspaper
New Delhi, June 8 Sources in the ministry told TNS that the caveats were being filed to ensure the government’s viewpoint was considered before the pronouncement of any verdict. Senior officers of the ministry expressed shock when they read reports that the international daily was being published in Kondapur, near Hyderabad. |
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IAF recovers vital parts of MiG-27
New Delhi, June 8 The team recovered the flight data recorder (FDR) and other important parts of the plane. The MiG-27 had gone missing on May 19, apparently due to inclement weather. Its wreckage was located on June 4. The pilot, Flying Officer Ajit Sinha, was killed in the
accident. The plane was on a routine sortie from the Hashimara air base to
Bagdogra. The plane had gone off the radar screen minutes before it was due to land at Bagdogra. |
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Amethi, June 8
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