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NHRC declines to expand probe on ‘police killings’
Pained but not defeated, says Teesta
Himalyan component to be kept aside
Congress in a dilemma over seer’s arrest
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Kalam should intervene: Singhal
New Delhi, November 13 In a stern warning to the UPA government for “insulting the Hindu Samaj” by “sanctioning” the arrest of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, the VHP urged President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to intervene in the matter. VHP activists hold a demonstration against the arrest of Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Rajeev Tyagi
Gudia gives birth to a boy
Decline in agriculture spending
MSP for cane inadequate: Kisan Sabha
Kalam to inaugurate trade fair
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NHRC declines to expand probe on ‘police killings’
New Delhi, November 13 A three-member Bench of the commission, comprising its Chairman, Justice A.S. Anand, Mr Justice Y. Bhaskar Rao and Mr Justice R.S. Kalha, while quoting from the proceedings of its various sittings, rejected the plea for expanding the NHRC inquiry to include all alleged “police killings” during over a decade-long terrorism. The commission also rejected the plea of the counsel for the kin of the victims and the Punjab police for making the CBI probe reports public and supply them copies of the same, stating that it might hamper further investigation by the agency under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) as in most of the cases it was not yet over. “Status reports at present indicate the progress of investigation conducted by the CBI. In view of the legal position and the circumstances that in many cases investigation is yet to be completed, the commission is of the view that it should decline to throw open the status reports for inspection by the petitioners,” the NHRC Bench ruled. The commission said the scope of the probe before it related to 2,097 “cremations” done by the Punjab police of the alleged terrorists who were in their “custody” and as per the CBI reports, 585 of them had been identified, 274 were partially identified while the remaining 1,238 had not been identified. “It is the duty of the commission to balance the competing interests of the public service and the access to the information, by assessing the efforts of disclosure whether it would advance the cause of justice or impede the progress of investigation,” the NHRC said. Clarifying that the CBI counsel though had not objected to the NHRC looking into the status reports, the same had been kept in the “sealed cover” pending inquiry. As per the CBI reports regarding 585 cases in which the victims cremated by the police had been identified, the particulars collected by the agency “should furnish the basis for proceeding with the investigation irrespective of the question whether any claim (for compensation) has been filed or not,” the commission said. So far as the 274 partially unidentified deaths are concerned, the available particulars have to be utilised for making full identification of the victims and obtaining the other particulars to enable the inquiry to proceed and in respect of the 1,238 unidentified cremations, efforts should be made to obtain the necessary particulars in every possible manner so that investigation in these cases could also be held to try to establish their identity, it said. “It has been stated before us that there are a number of cases in which the state itself had admitted that the deceased persons had been taken into custody. It would be helpful to have a list of such cases,” the NHRC Bench observed.
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Pained but not defeated, says Teesta
New Delhi, November 13 Teesta, who was in the Capital today, refused to comment on the case or whether she had an inkling about Zahira’s retractment of statement in advance. Zahira, the main complainant in the case, did a stunning U-turn on November 3 when she told mediapersons that she had been threatened into making statements before the court by human rights activists like Teesta. She had alleged that Teesta had beaten and threatened her in this regard. Meanwhile, Teesta urged political and social activists, who had gathered to express solidarity with her, to “reaffirm their support to other eyewitnesses. The state uses mighty techniques and not just might. There are ways to build pressure. I fear for the lives and security of other witnesses,” she said, demanding a high-level CBI probe into the incident. The trial, she said, had shaken up the state government. “The noose was getting tighter around somebody’s neck and I do not really have to name the person. It was a make or break situation for the Modi government. Fortunately, there are other eye witnesses who do not have any stakes involved,” she added. Expressing solidarity with Teesta and shock over the Zaheera turnaround, political and social activists demanded the immediate removal of the Modi government. The incident, said CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechuri, exposed limitations of the country’s judiciary. “It has been a complete subversion in the area of delivery of justice by a modern Indian state. “A state government can sponsor a genocide and actually get away with it,” he said. Others, including senior Supreme Court lawyer Shanti Bhushan and general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Sehba Farooqui, demanded an investigation of motives and agents behind the key witness’s volte-face.
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Himalyan component to be kept aside
New Delhi, November 13 “The National Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government will make a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of linking rivers of the country, starting with southern rivers. This assessment will be done in a consultative manner. It will also explore the feasibility of linking sub-basins of rivers in states like Bihar,” Centre in its affidavit has said. The task force under former Power Minister Suresh Prabhu, set up by the NDA government, had identified 31 links for preparing feasibility reports, of which 14 relates to the Himalyan component and the remaining 16 to peninsular rivers. Political observers feel the controversial nature of the Himalayan component could be the main reason for not touching it at the moment. The affidavit said the Ministry of Water Resources, in a presentation made in a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and attended by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and officials concerned on October 11, had emphasised that “the interlinking programme may be continued to be pursued with a focus on peninsular components in a fully consultative manner.” The affidavit, filed by Solicitor-General G.E. Vahanvati said the National Water Development Agency would continue with the preparation of the feasibility reports of the proposed projects and adhere to the stipulated time schedule, fixed by the court. The high-level meeting has asked the Water Resources Ministry to start investigations for identifying other priority links in the peninsular component in southern India and initiate action thereafter for building consensus. The court had directed the government to expedite the preparation of feasibility report of each project by giving the Centre a deadline of December, 2004, even as the government wanted to extend it up to 2006. Prominent among the penisular and southern links are Ken-Betwa (MP-UP), Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (MP-Rajasthan), Par-Tapti-Narmada and Damanganta-Pinjal (Maharashtra-Gujarat), Godavari-Krishna, two links of Krishna-Pennar at Vijaywada and Somasila involving the states of AP, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. So far agreements between the states concerned have been finalised only on the Ken-Betwa and the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal projects for the preparation of detailed project reports, the court was informed.
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Congress in a dilemma over seer’s arrest
New Delhi, November 13 Senior Congress leaders, including, Mr Janardan
Dwivedi, Mr Satyavarat Chaturvedi, and Mr Salman Khursheed, have gone on record to point out that law and order is a state subject and it is the Tamil Nadu Government which had ordered the arrest. The
Centre, they point out, is not in the picture. The party is taking refuge in the oft-repeated argument that the matter is now in the court and the law should take its course. The Congress is faced with a dilemma on this emotive issue. Although its ally, the DMK, had demanded action in this case and had threatened to launch an agitation to press its demand. The Congress cannot openly support Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s move. It will not only invite the wrath of the upper castes, but Congress President Sonia Gandhi personally will be under attack and be labelled “anti-Hindu”. The VHP has already gone public with this charge. On the other hand, the Congress cannot condemn the action for fear of upsetting the DMK. Although nothing is being said officially, Congress sources maintain the Shankaracharya’s arrest is inextricably linked to, Ms
Jayalalithaa’s, political fortunes and the ongoing churning in the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Political observers do not rule out the
possibility of the Shankaracharya’s eventual release but point out that, by then, Ms Jayalalithaa would have made a political point. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, it is said, hopes to consolidate the AIADMK’s traditional support base among the OBCs and Scheduled Castes by this move. Since the upper castes are not AIADMK supporters, Ms Jayalalithaa, can afford to take such an extreme step. In the process, she has pre-empted her political rivals, DMK’s M.
Karunanidhi, whose proposed agitation has now been rendered ineffective. The fact that the Brahmins in Tamil Nadu were disillusioned with the Shankaracharya for dabbling in politics when he mediated on the Ayodhya temple issue also appears to have emboldened the AIADMK leader. In the process, Ms Jayalalithaa, has provided the Sangh Parivar, her ally in New Delhi, an issue to divert attention from internal wranglings and revert to its Hindutva plank. The VHP has been quick to respond and has already announced plans of a nation-wide agitation to protest against the Shankaracharya’s arrest in an effort to whip
up passions on the issue. Instead of targeting the Jayalalithaa government for this decision, the VHP has trained its guns at
the Centre for giving its consent to this move. The Congress President’s “Christian faith”
has come in for special mention in this context.
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Kalam should intervene: Singhal
New Delhi, November 13 Top VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, leading a demonstration of the parishad, the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal here, also called for a legislation prohibiting arrest of religious leaders of high stature. “This government is run by the Left which does not believe in any religion or God. So it cannot understand the religious sentiments of the Hindus,” they said. The Shiv Sena called the arrest and detention of the seer a “conspiracy’’. |
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Gudia gives birth to a boy
Mundali (Meerut),
November 13 The boy was born yesterday at Gudia’s father’s residence in Kalaunda village of Ghaziabad, so was a new controversy as to who belongs the baby. As Arif, Gudia’s first husband, who has yet not visited his wife’s place after the birth of the child, refused to meet the media, the mother of the two-day old said she did not want to create a fuss over his son’s future by speaking to mediapersons. However, Imamuddin, father of Gudia, said if Arif or Taufiq (Gudia’s second husband, whose child was born yesterday) did not take the responsibility, he would nurse the child and raise him. But the villagers opined that the child should go to Toufiq since he has fathered him. Taufiq was not available for comment but his father said it would have been a pleasure for him if the child was born at his place. The village pradhan of Mundali, when contacted, said that Arif had yet not visited his wife after the birth of the child. Arif’s silence and the attitude of his family may create another controversy and give rise to yet another round of discussion as to whom does the child belong.
— PTI |
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Decline in agriculture spending
New Delhi, November 13 Besides, the share of investment in agriculture as a percentage of the GDP has declined from 1.6 per cent in 1993-94 to 1.3 per cent in 2001-02. According to a PHDCCI analysis, it has been found out that the secular neglect of agriculture sector is happening in the states in which an overwhelming majority of the workforce depends on agriculture for their livelihood. As high as 71.6 per cent of total workforce in Madhya Pradesh is employed in agriculture. Similarly, the share of Rajasthan and UP is (66 per cent each), Andhra Pradesh (62 per cent), Bihar (77 per cent), Orissa (65 per cent). However, Punjab has only 39 per cent of its population depending on agriculture. South India has been the hardest hit and has witnessed a maximum deceleration. |
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MSP for cane inadequate: Kisan Sabha
New Delhi, November 13 “The action of the Central Government is against the interest of farmers as the cost of production of sugarcane has not been taken into account while fixing the minimum price,” the farmers’ organisation said in a
statement here. The decision of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to raise the base recovery rate from 8.5 to 9 per cent for 2005-2006 is also not proper, as for the past three decades, 8.5 has been the standard in deciding the statutory minimum price and it was based on the highest recovery in the peak period in the previous season”, it said. The Kisan Sabha also criticised the government decision to import raw sugar without duty. “The cumulative effect of all these decisions is disastrous to the interest of sugarcane growers”, it said. The UPA government is no different from the NDA
government as far as the interest of farmers is concerned”, the Sabha said and urged the Centre to reverse its “anti-farmer” policy.
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Kalam to inaugurate trade fair
New Delhi, November 13 The 14-day event will have the twin themes of “Agriculture and Information Technology” in this year’s edition. China, from which 85 companies will be participating, is the partner country of the fair, and Brazil is the ‘focus country”. Companies and representatives from about 28 countries, including Vietnam, Pakistan, Myanmar, Syria, Uganda, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand among others, will be participating in the fair. |
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18 hurt in Imphal blast
Imphal, November 13
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Nehru Fellowship
New Delhi, November 13 While Ms Sharma, a professor at Banasthali Vidyapith in Rajasthan, will be working on “Contribution of Women Journalists in the Freedom Struggle”, Prof Pental will work on “An assessment of the possible impact of the science of genomics.”
— TNS |
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