New Delhi, March 3
Agitated over the action of the Governor in the installation of the JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand, BJP-led NDA MPs today forced the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament for the second day today.

No legislative business could be transacted in the Lok Sabha and the House was adjourned just after half-an-hour into sitting.

As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled in the morning, BJP deputy leader V. K. Malhotra got up saying that “a person who is facing charges of murder has been allowed to form a government in Jharkhand.” It was followed by a sharp exchange of words between the Treasury and Opposition Benches.

The Congress members, particularly Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, MP from Chandigarh, charged the Opposition with disturbing the House as a “pressure tactic.”

Observing that the BJP members were not heeding to his pleas, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the house till 11.30 am.

Within seconds of the House reassembling, Mr Devendra Prasad Yadav, who was in the chair, announced the adjournment of the House for the day as the Opposition continued with its protest.

Chaotic scenes were also witnessed in the Rajya Sabha with the NDA members, including those from the BJP, the JD(U) and the BJD, shouting slogans against the Jharkhand Governor and calling his action as “dictatorial and amounting to murder of democracy.”

Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat expressed anguish over the conduct of the opposition members.

The Upper House witnessed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sitting silently as BJP members Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitley and Shatrughan Sinha continued with their protests.

The Chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm.

As the House reassembled, the BJP members, along with the Samajwadi Party members, were on their feet raising slogans against the Jharkhand Governor.

As the din continued, the Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan adjourned the House for the day.

Meanwhile, Dr Karan Singh (Cong) moved the motion of thanks on President’s Address which was seconded by Mr Vayalar Ravi (Cong).

New Delhi, March 3
Young Congress parliamentarians led by Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi today held a sit-in protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on the Parliament House complex against ‘frequent disruption’ of the proceedings by the Opposition parties.

The repeated adjournments of Parliament proceedings have cost the exchequer Rs 52 crore so far during the past nine months. “I appeal to the senior Opposition leaders to allow the House function smoothly,” Mr Gandhi told newspersons here.

He said the Opposition, instead of stalling the proceedings, should participate in the debates. “The House provides them an opportunity to air their views and bring the problems of the people to the attention of the government. They can also use the opportunity to criticise the government,” he added.

The BJP, however, dismissed his protest as the ‘biggest joke’. “Some Congress MPs under the leadership of Mr Rahul Gandhi staged a demonstration in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. This is the biggest joke,” party spokesman V.K. Malhotra told newspersons here.

“I wonder why so much is made out when Mr Rahul Gandhi visits his constituency. Everyone in the media writes about it as though it is the biggest news. However, when other members visit their constituencies, nothing is mentioned about it,” Mr Malhotra said.

“It is indeed ironical that Mr Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders want a chance to speak. So far they have not spoken even a single word in the House. Why did Mr Rahul Gandhi start with a dharna instead of speaking in the House?” he said.

New Delhi, March 3
Constitution experts have questioned the decision of Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi inviting JMM leader Shibu Soren to form government in the state ignoring the single largest party and pre-poll alliance led by the BJP, saying his action had once again raised a question over the appointment of ‘political governors’. The alliance led by BJP had paraded its MLAs in front of the Governor in the Raj Bhavan.

Senior advocate P.P. Rao said it was not clear what criterion was adopted by Razi to ascertain that the UPA alliance had a majority in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. “But if the Governor has ignored the committed support of five Independent MLAs to the NDA, who were paraded in front of him, he had committed a fraud on the Constitution,” he said.

He also said it was for the first time that the President had summoned a Governor to discuss his decision taken under Article 164, which defined the powers of the Governor to appoint a Chief Minister and his Council of Minister.

Former Lok Sabha Secretary-General Subhash C. Kashyap described the action of Razi as ‘Constitutionally improper’ and against the established convention.

“It is Constitutionally improper. The Governor should have invited the leader of the single largest party or that of the largest pre-poll alliance to form the government,” he said.

The decision had cast a shadow over the ‘institution of Governor’ itself as he was expected to function ‘impartially’ and in a ‘non-partisan’ manner, Mr Kashyap said.

Regarding the action of Goa Governor S.C. Jamir, dismissing the BJP government ‘ignoring’ the report of the Speaker about its ‘winning’ the trust vote, Mr Kashyap said if the Speaker had faulted in its decision, the ultimate test for determining majority of a government would again be by the ‘floor test’.

“The Governor has no power to challenge the Speaker’s action. His action can only be challenged by the House itself,” Mr Kashyap said.

New Delhi, March 3
The government will introduce a five-yearly revalidation and "re-registration" programme for doctors working in government institutions in the country.

Besides this, all hospitals, in the government and the private sector, will be "re-registered" and accredited according to facilities they provide.

In addition, the Centre is also planning to prepare a list of "good" hospitals to promote health tourism and ensure that foreigners coming to India to avail health facilities here do not get cheated in the bargain.

Talking exclusively to The Tribune, Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramdoss said the five-yearly "re-registration" of doctors working in government institutions, following a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme, will be based somewhat on the lines of a similar procedure in the USA. The doctors in the USA are "re-registered" after every five years after a re-orientation programme.

“In the USA, senior doctors also have to go through the "re-registration" procedure after every five years. We plan to introduce a similar system, initially making it compulsory for those with government institutions to undergo a “re-registration” process after every five years. The doctors will be first updated through a CME that will ensure that they are aware of the latest in the field. After this if they do not get through the examination, their registration will not be renewed. Later, the programme will be made compulsory for all doctors in the country," he said.

As per the Indian Medical Register (IMR), maintained by the Medical Council of India(MCI), there are more than six-and-a-half lakh doctors practicing in India. However, in the absence of either a revalidation or a "re-registration" programme, the doctors in India continue to practice with no means to check, verify or test their skills, knowledge and claim to practice medicine.

However, the number of doctors working in government institutions in the country is less than 10 per cent of the total medicos in India with a large number being in private practice or employed with private institutions.

Meanwhile, Dr Ramdoss said the "re-registration" of all hospitals in the government and the private sector as per their facilities and infrastructure will make their functioning more accountable.

He said the accreditation list for health tourism, made in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Tourism Ministry, will include 50 hospitals offering modern system of medicine and 25 institutions offering Indian traditional systems of medicine.

“Health tourism is a major potential area and India is emerging as a favourite destination due to good facilities offered by some of the world's best hospitals and their low costs. Stringent accreditation process will regulate official information on the rates for different surgeries and procedures and ensure that people coming to India do not get cheated in the process,” he said.

The procedure would make the process simple, he added.

New Delhi, March 3
Describing the disappearance of tigers from Sariska in Rajasthan as the biggest crisis in the wildlife management since “Project Tiger” was launched, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the Rajasthan Government to institute a high-level independent inquiry by outside experts and fix responsibility.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a letter to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, called for a system of post-mortem examination and inquiry into the death of every tiger in a national park or reserve and an annual independent audit by a group of outside experts.

The remedial action was needed to protect the tiger and its habitat and prevent further deterioration in the situation at Sarsika, the letter, which was made available to media, said.

Forest officials had reported 15 tigers in Sariska at the last wildlife count conducted in June 2004 and that figure was already down from the average of 25 tigers as ascertained during previous annual counts.

Incidentally, the park was a part of the nationwide “Project Tiger”— a much-lauded conservation initiative.

The Prime Minister said, “perhaps, since the launching of the Project Tiger the current situation presented the biggest crisis in the management of Indian wild life.”

While the matter was being taken up with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the state government should take some immediate steps, including stoppage of plying of diesel vehicles within the parks in Rajasthan, he said.

According to the Tiger Watch, an NGO, at Ranthambore National Park — also covered by Project Tiger— at least 18 tigers out of the known population of 47 were now reportedly missing.

New Delhi, March 3
A national association of private professional colleges today made a plea before the Supreme Court to implement separate All-India Common Entrance Test (AICET) for management quota seats in medical and engineering colleges across the country, as had been directed by the apex court in its verdict in the Islamic Academy case.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for the All-India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association (AIMECA) before a seven-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, contended that as per its ruling in the Islamic Academy judgment, the apex court had given liberty to the private colleges to have separate AICET for management quota seats, but the same had not been implemented by the state governments.

The AIMECA, with 1,560 private institutions under its control all over the country, in its petition has said that in the absence of a common entrance test for management quota seats, over 3 lakh seats in private colleges across the country in medical, dental, engineering and pharmaceutical courses had remained unfilled last year, while thousands of students were deprived of admissions.

New Delhi, March 3
Crucial discussions on the expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are slated to begin later this month in New York after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan submits his report on the issue.

The idea of expanding the UNSC will gather full steam after Mr Annan’s report and the subsequent discussions will have an important bearing on India as New Delhi has been lobbying hard for its representation on the expanded UNSC with veto powers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already gone on record saying in Parliament that India will not accept a permanent seat in the expanded UNSC without veto powers.

According to diplomatic sources here, Mr Annan’s report will take cognisance of the expert panel’s report which last year in its report suggested two options for expanding the UNSC, both without veto powers. The UN Secretary General will come out with his own report later this month and shortly afterwards the discussions will follow in right earnest.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh also made a pointed reference to the discussions slated to begin in New York on this issue later this month. The minister, while inaugurating the first conclave of India-Africa Project Partnership here, said he hoped that the discussions beginning later this month in New York would address the long-standing anamoly. “A seat for India on the Security Council will also be an additional voice for Africa to articulate its concerns on the inequities of the international order,” he commented.

The EAM also pointed out that it was essential for Africa to be suitably represented on an expanded Security Council with permanent seats. He acknowledged Africa’s commitment and support to India’s candidature and remarked: “A few have even told me that a reformed Security Council without India will be unthinkable.”

Mr Natwar Singh said India was committed to its support to Africa for its growth and development and also welcomed that many African leaders had pledged their support for India in the United Nations Security Council.

The minister said India was a “legitimate candidate” for a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. He said India would have been able to do much more if it had a formal voice and a role in the UNSC that was commensurate with the positive contribution New Delhi was making to the international community.

New Delhi, March 3
Even as the government is readying itself to introduce a legislation on disaster management in Parliament, the Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is toying with the idea of liberalising the rules and regulations governing amateur radio and streamlining the process of issuing licences to HAM operators in recognition of their pioneering work in emergency communication in general and disaster management in particular.

On the occasion of felicitating amateur radio operators for their contribution in the rescue and relief work in the aftermath of the December 26, 2004, earthquake-triggered tsunami, Union Communication and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran said today that his ministry appreciated the need for augmenting amateur radio infrastructure in the country and encouraging the youth to become licensed HAM operators.

“In view of their work in the wake of the cyclone that hit the Orissa coast in 1999 and the earthquake that rocked Gujarat in 2001 and, now, tsunami, it has been decided that 10 new centres be set up in the country to encourage amateur radio,” Mr Maran said.

Incidentally, Mr Dayanidhi Maran (call sign VU2DMK) and Congress president Sonia Gandhi (call sign VU2SON) are the only two persons in the United Progressive Alliance with such a licence.

Besides honouring 15 HAMs who assisted the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration in the rescue and relief work, the ministry is dispatching cards to 36,000 HAMs across the world who established contact with the five-member team of HAMs from the National Institute of Amateur Radio that was in Port Blair on an expedition when the tsunami struck the coast.

The first such card was dispatched to Mr Fernando M. Fernandes in Spain, who is a member of the European Parliament.

The senior-most active HAM in the country today, Mr B.M. Tanna (90) of Mumbai was among the awardees who received letters of appreciation from the minister.

Master Varun D. Sastry, who was in Port Blair on an expedition with his mother Bharathi and father D.N. Prasad besides Mr S. Ram Mohan and Mr R. Sarat Babu, was the youngest to get award.

According to the head of the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio, Mr S. Suri, there are 16,000 licensed HAMs in the country today.

Bhopal, March 3
The police on Tuesday claimed to have recovered the body of dacoit Hazrat Ravat who it said was injured in an encounter on Sunday.

Leader of his own gang, Hazrat Ravat carried an award of Rs 50,000 on his head. His gang comprised six members, according to the information recently given by the government in the Assembly.

The total number of cases registered against Hazrat Ravat was said to be 37, including five cases of murder, 13 cases of attempt to murder and nine cases of kidnapping and dacoity.

The Sunday encounter, according to the police, had taken place in the forests under the Karera police station in Shivpuri district. Three of his colleagues identified as Sambhar Singh Jatav, Ramesh Luhar and Chhatrapal Ravat were killed in the encounter.

Hazrat Ravat, who was seriously injured, was whisked by his other colleagues to his in-law’s house under the Bhitargaon police station where he reportedly succumbed to the injuries, according to the early reports received here.

The Director-General of Police, Mr S.K.Das, and the Principal Secretary, Home, Mr Bhagirath Prasad, rushed to Gwalior on hearing of Ravat’s elimination.

Bangalore, March 3
The Karnataka Cabinet today gave a nod to the Rs 6027-crore metro rail project, which would give the infrastructure-starved city an elevated mass transit rail system running for a total length of 33 km.

Financing modalities, bureaucratic hiccups and contentious land acquisition issues have cast their shadow on the project. Information Minister B. Shivaram said today that the state would fund the project to the tune of Rs 1807 crore while the Centre would contribute Rs 1147 crore. The rest of the money would come from financial institutions.