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Battle for Muslim votes gets intense in Uttar Pradesh
Naxalites’ meeting disallowed
Chidambaram: Left not a deterrent to reforms process |
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Maharashtra to scrap free power to farmers
Mulayam goes soft on VAT
Sweets ‘may cause’ cancer, says study
Petroleum regulatory board soon
Stir against price hike
Import of Chinese globes banned
Zaheera, brothers served summons
Uttaranchal to modernise Pravasi
Samman for Bobby Jindal likely
Sacking of IAF corporal upheld
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Battle for Muslim votes gets intense in Uttar Pradesh
New Delhi, November 10 The Samajwadi Party, the RLD’s alliance partner, has over the past decade, enjoyed the unstinted support of the Muslims. The Congress, which had once been the natural choice of the minorities but lost out in the race to SP leader Mulayum Singh Yadav, is trying hard to win them back. Mr Ajit Singh is now pitching in, trying to ensure that the battle for this crucial vote bank is not confined to these two parties alone. Mr Ajit Singh made a beginning today when he proposed the constitution of a special commission, on the lines of the NHRC, which would act for the prevention of communal violence. While endorsing the UPA government’s proposal to enact a special law to deal with communal violence, Mr Ajit Singh said these laws normally come into play after the incidents of violence. He made a strong plea for setting up a special commission, which is free of governmental pulls and pressures, which can intervene to prevent communal violence. Mr Ajit Singh, who has consulted a host of Muslim leaders, academics and legal experts, has even prepared a concept paper and a draft bill of a comprehensive law against communal violence. He now proposes to hand over this draft to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leaders of all political parties so as to initiate a nation-wide debate on this issue. Since the UPA government is committed to the enactment of a law against communal violence, Mr Ajit Singh’s move today is essentially meant to ensure that the Congress alone does not take credit for bringing in such a law, as and when it is enacted. Mr Ajit Singh’s compulsion to reach out to the minorities is understandable. There has been a steady erosion in the RLD’s Muslim support base in Western UP.
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Naxalites’ meeting disallowed
Hyderabad, November 10 “In view of the delicate law and order situation in the city, we cannot give permission to the Naxalites to hold their public meeting,” city Police Commissioner R. P. Singh said. This yet-another pointer to the hardened approach of the government has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the proposed second round of talks with the CPI (Maoist) Party. After the historic merger with the Maoist Communist Centre, the Left extremists planned their first public meeting in the city on November 16. The unfavourable decision is the latest in a series of unyielding steps by the administration indicating that the new avatar of the People’s War could not take the government for granted. The Rajasekhara Reddy Government seems to have cooled off to Naxalites after the first round of peace talks, not appearing very keen on the second round. Though the second round of negotiations was to be held this month, the government does not seem to be in a hurry and has not so far come out with the schedule. Meanwhile, even while appearing to resist the Naxalite pressure, the government announced today that one lakh acres of surplus land would be distributed among the landless poor in a single day in January next year. Minister for Revenue D Prasada Rao, however, hastened to add that the move was not spurred by the demand of the Naxalites to give top priority for distribution of surplus land. “This has been an ongoing process. This is our party’s commitment,” he remarked.
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Chidambaram: Left not a deterrent to reforms process New Delhi, November 10 “We can work with the Left and enlarge the consensus of reforms. It is fashionable to blame the Left but what about Right ( parties). It is easy to deal with fixed, known positions. How do I deal with changing, unknown positions”, he said in an apparent reference to the BJP. He said the UPA government would continue to encourage profit-making state-owned companies such as National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) and continue to go global for capital formation to ensure economic gains for the country. He announced that in the future the government role would have to enlarge in order to improve infrastructure facilities, roads, primary health, education and sanitation until these areas became economically accomplished for people to enjoy the gains of economic reforms. Releasing the Book on Economic Freedom of the World Index 2004 and Morality of Markets under the aegis of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and the Centre for Civil Society, Mr Chidamabram said the UPA government was committed to encouraging profit-making PSUs to raise capital from overseas and even explore possibilities for their expansion in overseas. He emphasised the need for registering the income of taxpayers, saying that 98 per cent of the income tax returns were not at all scrutinised so the taxpayers should declare their income and file the same to the department without any fear of harassment.
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Maharashtra to scrap free power to farmers
Mumbai, November 10 NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh think alike that the free power scheme would further bankrupt the state. Mr Pawar fired the first salvo against the project soon after the Congress-NCP victory in the elections when he said the scheme was not sustainable. Officials estimate that free power for farmers would cost the exchequer Rs 1,600 crore every year. Officials of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) in a presentation to Mr Deshmukh yesterday indicated that power shortage in the state would worsen if the scheme was continued. Maharashtra currently faces a power shortfall of 2600 MW during peak hours. The state government’s attempts to bring in further investment to modernise the MSEB too have been stymied by the free power scheme. International funding agencies like the World Bank decided not to fund the board’s Rs 51,000-crore expansion scheme after state politicians refused to carry out reforms in the power sector. As per the World Bank project, the MSEB was to be split into separate companies handling power generation, transmission and distribution. The plan was put in cold storage last year in view of the Assembly elections. Officials feel the move will now gather momentum with the Congress-NCP-led coalition now back in power. The Central Government, too, is nudging the state to scrap the free power scheme. Loans to Maharashtra under various central schemes like the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP), Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) would be stucking if the free power supply scheme continues, say sources. Maharashtra needs central funds desperately since the state is groaning under a debt burden of Rs 1,03,000 crore. The government’s fiscal deficit is Rs 18,460 crore and the revenue deficit is pegged at Rs 8,702 crore.
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Sweets ‘may cause’ cancer, says study
Lucknow, November 10 The Deputy Director, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC), and Head of the Food Toxicology Division, Dr Mukul Das, and his group recently conducted a random sampling of sweets and snacks in Lucknow and its adjoining rural areas and found that the sweets, particularly those coloured in red, green, purple, yellow and orange, contained banned synthetic dyes. Dr Das said the tests showed the presence of azo (nitrogen-based) dyes, including rhodamin (pink in colour), malachite green, orange-2, metanin yellow (commonly sold as ‘gau maar ka rang’) and blue VRS. He said the dyes were not only banned but also had ill effects like growth retardation, indigestion, anaemia, allergy to skin, damage to liver and kidney and in some cases cancer. The usage of dyes increased during the festive season like Divali, Id and Holi as the demand for sweets and readymade snacks was more, he added. “We collected samples of sweets including ‘laddoos’, brightly coloured ‘barfis’, ‘imartis’, sweets being made in shapes of fruits like apple, pear, orange, etc, snacks like ‘sago papad’ and ‘fryums’, ice candies and sugar toys. He said even in roasted chicken, mutton, paneer curries, sheer maal (a delicacy prepared on Id), biryanis and fried rice, a distinct use of metanin yellow and orange-2 was found. Dr Das said in 30 per cent of the samples, the usage of harmful synthetic dyes was found to be more in the rural areas that too in roadside sweet shops rather than big shops. “The reason being that synthetic dyes were more readily available and cheaper than the natural colours as they had varied uses in the leather, textile and furniture industry,” the scientist said. Besides, shopkeepers tried to create new colours to attract the buyers, he added. — UNI
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Mulayam goes soft on VAT
Lucknow, November 10 Till now fully supportive of the traders’ protest against VAT in the state, the Chief Minister yielded some ground by putting the ball into the court of the traders association by declaring that he has no objection to its implementation, provided traders agree. The one-hour meeting held at the Chief Minister’s 5, Kalidas Marg residence, was attended by West Bengal Finance Minister and head of the Central VAT empowered committee Ashim Dasgupta, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and the UP Minister of Finance. Briefing the press after the meeting, Mr Chidambaran, went out of his way to break the ice over the issue. Describing Mulayam as a “personal friend”, he pointed out that in Uttar Pradesh both traders and the ordinary people stood to gain through the implementation of the VAT Bill. Twentysix states were already prepared with the VAT Bill and it would be implemented in the entire country w.e.f. April 1, next year he hoped. According to Mr Chidambaram, there were two aspects of VAT. The first was the technical aspect that would be sorted out soon through interaction with the traders’ body of the state and the Central Government. The second crucial aspect was fully comprehending the nature and structure of fiscal reforms to be brought about through VAT which would work towards the benefit of traders and the people and not otherwise.
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Petroleum regulatory board soon
New Delhi, November 10 A Bill in this regard will be taken up by the Cabinet within next two weeks, before introducing it in the winter session of Parliament for its approval. Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar today approved the amended regulatory Bill, which was not approved by the 13th Parliament as it was dissolved in February. The Bill will taken by the Parliament and after its approval the petroleum and natural gas regulatory board is likely to be set up before the end of the current financial year. The Bill seeks to set up a regulatory board for the downstream and natural gas
sector. However, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas will continue to act as regulator for the upstream sector. The Bill, which was introduced after the dismantling of the administered pricing mechanism
(APM), was referred to the standing committee and after discussions, several amendments were made. But the Bill lapsed because it could not be approved by both Houses of the Parliament. Earlier, addressing a national seminar on corporate social responsibility, Mr Aiyar urged the industry to carry out social activities through the local panchayats, which could be effective instruments. He said there were three million elected representatives in the panchayat, who would take decisions keeping in view the local factors.
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Stir against price hike
New Delhi, November 10 A meeting of the central trade unions, barring the Congress-affiliated INTUC and the pro-RSS Bharat Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), decided to hold demonstrations and rallies in all state capitals and industrial centres.
— UNI |
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Import of Chinese globes banned
New Delhi, November 10 Coming down heavily on the Custom authorities for allowing the import of such globes for marketing in the country, a Bench of Chief Justice B C Patel and Mr Justice Bader Durez Ahmed said it was unfortunate that Custom officials had not taken prompt action in this regard even after the court had issued a specific direction. It also imposed a litigation cost of Rs 10,000 on the government to be paid to the petitioner who had filed a PIL highlighting the issue. The PIL by advocate S.P. Gautam said this was an attempt to undermine India’s prestige. Even after the court had issued an order not to permit the import of the globes with faulty maps, consignments were cleared by the Custom officials at Chennai. |
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Zaheera, brothers served summons
Vadodara, November 10 According to the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) sources here, the summons were served to the trio last night at their undisclosed place of stay in Ahmedabad. Zaheera’s advocate Atul Mistry said his clients had received the summons and would appear before the Mumbai court. The Mumbai court had to issue fresh summons on the eye-witnesses after their counsel claimed that his clients had not received any summons for November 4. The sources said the three witnesses, who had been provided one Police Sub-Inspector and 10 Gujarat state commandos for security, would be escorted to Mumbai on November 16 amid tight police bandobast.
— UNI
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Another Godhra
case
Ahmedabad, November 10 |
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Uttaranchal to modernise revenue police
Dehradun, November 10 The revenue police, maintains law and order in about 60 per cent of the area in the state, said Chief Secretary R.S. Tolia. A post of DG, Revenue Police, had been created and the additional charge for the position would be given to the Revenue Commissioner, said Mr Tolia. The Garhwal and Kumaon Division Commissioners would be allotted additional charge as the DG Revenue Police. The step had been taken to facilitate the revenue police to function systematically. |
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Airports to have
photos of Golden Temple
New Delhi, November 10 In a letter to Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh, Ms Chowdhury said she was looking into the request made by him, urging the Tourism Ministry to put up photographs of the Golden Temple at all international airports The Department of Tourism has displayed photographs of various tourist destinations in the country at the arrival lounge of the Indira
Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. |
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Pravasi
Samman for Bobby Jindal likely New Delhi, November 10 The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is to be held from January 7 to 9 in Mumbai. "We are seriously considering to honour Mr Bobby Jindal for his stupendous achievement. Golfer Vijay Singh is also in the list of probables," Union Minister for Non Resident Affairs Jagdish Tytler told The Tribune today before leaving on a tour of South Africa. "Punjab da Puttar" Bobby Jindal (32), whose parents hail from Malerkotla in Sangrur district, is a Republican who won 78 per cent of the vote. Mr Jindal's election is the first for an Indian American since 1956, when Dalip Singh Saund won a Congress seat from California.
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Sacking of IAF corporal upheld
New Delhi, November 10 A Bench of Mr Justice Y K Sabharwal and Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari while rejecting an appeal of corporal S.P. Baliyan, challenging the high court order which also had held his dismissal as right, said the charges against him were “very serious” and his explanation about the same was vague. There was no “error” in the order of the high court, which had refused to intervene in the findings of the IAF Court of Inquiry against Baliyan, the apex court said.
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Probe ordered into teachers’ recruitment
Bangalore, November 10 Mr Arjun Singh said that teachers, who are “after all government servants,” being recruited in this fashion in many states, mostly in the North, was unheard of before. “Desaffronisation” was an on-going process as there were “many things to be protected,” he told mediapersons. The NDA Government had printed books worth Rs 50 crore. “I don’t know what to do with them, it is a mess. Education lost its equilibrium during that period, with many one-sided things happening,” he said. |
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BJP to meet on Haryana poll
strategy New Delhi, November 10 The meeting will debate threadbare the political situation prevailing there and the strategy to be adopted to ensure good performance by the party in the crucial elections. In Haryana, the BJP has in principle decided to contest the coming poll on its own and not in alliance with Mr Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD. However, party sources said a final decision on the issue would be taken at the November 17 meeting. Mr Chautala has been putting pressure on the BJP to go with the INLD through his “long-time friend” and Chief of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal.
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Centre gets notice on ration cards to Bangladeshis
New Delhi, November 10 Issuing notices to the Centre and the NCT Government, a Bench of Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice Bader Durez Ahmed further asked the government to respond if these documents were being “misused” by
Bangladeshi migrants to obtain passports. If the allegations in this regard were correct then it was a very serious matter, the court said. |
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IA’s fleet acquisition plan clears last hurdle
New Delhi, November 10 “The Public Investment Board (PIB) has approved the proposal,” said Mr Dhirendra Swaroop, expenditure secretary at the finance ministry who chaired the crucial meeting lasting two-and-a-half hours. The plan will now be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), he said. — UNI
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