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Left wants original Women’s
Reservation Bill
Govt meets parties on women’s bill
RS debate on Mumbai leaves
Punjab tops quality of life, work index
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An attempt to “insult Chair”: Speaker
Gujarat BJP chief nips dissent in bud
G4 campaign suffers setback
NCM to assess minority rights in Punjab, Haryana
State of AIDS in Uttar Pradesh — III
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Left wants original Women’s
Reservation Bill
New Delhi, August 5 The government's proposal would be "cumbersome and time consuming. We suggest that the existing Bill should be brought before Parliament in this session and all views ascertained on it," a delegation of party leaders comprising Mr Nilotpal Basu and Mr Basudev Acharia said after meeting Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil. The government is reportedly contemplating bringing in certain changes in the Bill to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from the existing 543 to 725-odd. The CPM leaders said they were in favour of the introduction of the Bill in its original form as presented during the United Front's rule, which called for 33 per cent reservation in the existing LS seats. The Women's Reservation Bill, introduced in Parliament in 1996, has been scuttled time and again due to objections voiced by various political parties, particularly the SP and RJD, which have sought "reservations within reservation". The new Bill which the government is mulling will ease the apprehensions of members of various political parties who are not favourably inclined to the Women's Bill fearing they might be deprived of a chance to contest the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. They also submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a joint memorandum by all four Left parties— CPI, CPM, RSP and Forward Bloc— reiterating their demand for introduction of the Tribals Welfare Bill in this session itself. The Left leaders said they had also impressed upon the ministers to ensure that the Forest Welfare Bill, which was being prepared, should also be introduced in this session of Parliament. Mr Acharia and Mr Basu said "some unseemly controversies" were being created by certain sections by "counterposing" the right to forest land of forest-dwelling scheduled tribes against that of other forest inhabitants, including wildlife. They said the Bill on granting forest-dwelling tribes the right to forest land was drafted by a task force, including experts, people working among tribals and environmentalists. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Left leaders said despite the Supreme Court order, a large number of tribal people, residing in forests, were being evicted from forest land in various states. They also pointed out that the government had committed in the Common Minimum Programme to protect the rights of the tribals residing on forest land. |
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Govt meets parties on women’s bill
New Delhi, August 5 Home Minister Shivraj V Patil held consultations with various parties on the issue and suggested that the increase in the strength of Lok Sabha and Assemblies could be a method by which the decade-long stalemate could be broken. As per the new proposal floated by the Centre, an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha has been suggested from the current 545 seats to 900 seats and total number of Assembly seats across the country from the current 6,000 to 9,000 seats and then provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the enhanced strength. Defence Minister and Leader of the House in Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were also present in the separate discussions held with leaders of the BJP, the CPM and the CPI. The parties were also told that there had been a phenomenal increase in the population resulting in several constituencies becoming unwieldy with voters strength going up to 20 to 25 lakh in some and there was need to resize them. Also there was need to raise the number of seats in accordance with population growth. While these three parties made it clear that they were keen on reservation of seats for women in its present form, BJP leaders told the UPA ministers that their party would support any proposal that had consensus and ensured providing 33 per cent reservation, but would oppose any formula that favoured quota within the quota. The BJP team was led by its President and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani. The CPI team included Gurudas Dasgupta and S. Sudhakar Reddy (both MPs) and D. Raja, National Council Member. The CPI delegation told the ministers that while issues like resizing constituencies and raising the number of constituencies would require defreezing the present bar on raising the strength of the Houses, the party was keen that as of now the one-third reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies should be carried through. “We told them that we would support whatever consensus they would arrive at with other political parties — whether it be 33 per cent reservation or the Election Commission’s suggestion that political parties give 33 per cent tickets to them or increasing the number of seats,” BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj, who was part of the delegation, told mediapersons after the meeting. The BJP leaders, including Mr Advani, urged Mr Patil to bring forward the legislation at the earliest, she said. BJP’s Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha and party general secretary Pramod Mahajan were also part of the delegation. The government’s proposal would be “cumbersome and time consuming. We suggest that the existing Bill should be brought before Parliament in this session and all views ascertained on it”, a delegation of party leaders comprising Nilotpal Basu and Basudev Acharia said after meeting Pranab Mukherjee and Shivraj Patil. |
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RS debate on Mumbai leaves Thackeray fuming
Mumbai, August 5 Shiv Sena Supremo Bal Thackeray is raking up the party's old regionalistic issues after members of the Upper House like Fali Nariman and Jaya Bachchan demanded that Mumbai be accorded the Union Territory status similar to New Delhi. In a hard-hitting editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamna', Mr Thackeray reminded the party cadres that the 105 martyrs who lost their lives in the 'Samyukta Maharashtra' movement did not die in vain. The riots following the proposal to make Mumbai a part of Gujarat during the linguistic reorganisation of the states continues to be an emotive issue in the state. "You have been living in Maharashtra for several years and now you are saying this. We will not tolerate anyone speaking of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra," Mr Thackeray said. The Shiv Sena supremo asked his party cadres to be vigilant against vested interests using the recent monsoon deluge in Mumbai as an excuse to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra. "I wonder if there is a
conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra," Mr Thackeray said. The Shiv Sena chief noted that the proposal came much earlier when Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram came with a similar proposal during the Budget. Then, Raj Thackeray had challenged Chidambaram to separate Chennai from Tamil Nadu before pointing fingers at Mumbai. Other parties in the state have also decided to second Mr Thackeray. However, cutting across political lines, parties are in favour of a single co-ordinating agency to monitor Mumbai's functioning. |
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Punjab tops quality of life, work index New Delhi, August 5 Punjab scored the highest points in four categories, including infrastructure consumer market, agriculture and budget and prosperity. Himachal Pradesh, which was adjudged third in overall performance, came second in categories of infrastructure development, consumer market and budget and prosperity. Bihar was at the bottom of the rankings of 20 big states. Kerala ranked second in the overall performance chart but was adjudged first in primary health and law and order. Gujarat was adjudged the most investor-friendly state followed by Chhattisgarh. Goa was at the top in the rankings of 10 small states. Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who gave away the awards to the Chief Ministers and their representatives at a function here today, said that such conclaves provided a platform to objectively measure the socio-economic performance of the Indian states and enable them to overcome shortcomings. Taking part in the panel discussion, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said 80 per cent farmers in the state had an average land holding of less than four acres. He said the move to give free power to a section of farmers was a step to provide them relief in the face of growing cost of agriculture inputs and diminishing returns. He expressed satisfaction over the implementation of VAT in the state. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh suggested that all states should be given equal seats in the Rajya Sabha to strengthen the federal structure of the country. Favouring the creation of small states, Mr Virbhadra Singh said people in smaller states had a better access to the government while bigger states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had the problem of acute regional disparities.
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An attempt to “insult Chair”: Speaker
New Delhi, August 5 “I wish to repudiate categorically and with all the authority of the Chair and with all sincerity the reprehensible insinuation that my decision was promoted by political considerations”, Mr Chatterjee as soon as the House assembled today. “I shall be failing in my duty if I do not record my total rejection of the grossly defamatory insinuation made against me about taking decisions on political grounds”, the Speaker said.He said that making such allegations was a deliberate attempt to “insult the Chair and thereby insult the House as a whole”. He termed as “somewhat one-sided” reports appearing in some sections of the media and pointed out that an adjournment motion was admitted on the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh and there was a full and comprehensive discussion on July 26. Without naming Ms Banerjee, the Speaker said that the concerned member did not choose to take part in the debate nor, “so far as I have been informed, was even present in the House”. “Just because one honourable member was not present during the discussion in the House does not justify trying to raise the similar issue within a week or at all during the Session. Rules will have to prevail at all times and for all”, he said. He regretted that nobody met him or tried to know the reasons of refusal to admit the motion. He urged all members to see that the “prestige and dignity of the House is maintained and enhanced, which can only be done by conducting the proceedings in a manner which justifies the responsibility imposed by the people of this great country”. Meanwhile, members of the CPM and CPI have given notice of privilege motions in the Lok Sabha seeking unqualified apology from Ms Banerjee for her conduct. Raising the issue shortly after the Question Hour, CPI Leader Gurudas Dasgupta wanted to know the fate of his motion. The Speaker said that all privilege motions were under his consideration. |
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Trinamool MLAs stage walkout
Kolkata, August 5 |
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Gujarat BJP chief nips dissent in bud
Gandhinagar, August 5 “I have received his reply to the show-cause notice and am satisfied with it,” he said implying that the issue stood closed. The show of strength by 18 legislators of the dissident group, which demanded the withdrawal of the show-cause notice issued to Jhadapia over his declining a Cabinet berth in the Narendra Modi government, had triggered speculation of an offensive against the Chief Minister. The group received another shot in the arm today when 12 more BJP legislators appended their signatures to the memorandum taking the total strength of dissenting legislators who had come out into the open to 30. Prominent among the legislators who affixed their signatures were Bhavin Sheth, Pradeep Jadeja, Pravin Makadia, Jitu Vaghela and Mansukh Madavia. Sheth is the legislator who replaced Haren Pandya, a known detractor of Modi who was later gunned down. Sheth is a known detractor of the Chief Minister. With Shankersingh Vaghela’s rebellion in 1995 that ultimately led to the fall of the Keshubhai Patel government lingering in the background as a painful memory, the BJP state party chief, who was quick to issue the notice, backtracked today in a bid to avert a nasty confrontation between rival factions in the party. “I have received his reply and am satisfied with it. I also personally believe that not joining the Cabinet does not constitute an act of discipline,” Vajubhai Vala said. The Modi camp, initially baying for Jhadapia’s head, also seems to have realised the incendiary potential of the dissident drama, which was not an isolated show of bravado but a many-act play unfolding like onion peals. It also chose to play down the entire affair as party MPs made common cause with the legislators on the issue. Twelve of the 14 Lok Sabha MPs of the party from Gujarat have made no secret of the fact that their sympathies lay with the dissident group opposed to Modi. A VHP leader considered very close to Dr Pravin Togadia, Jhadapia is reported to have the backing of both the Parishad and important leaders of the Sangh in his confrontation with Modi. |
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G4 campaign suffers setback
New Delhi, August 5 The Ministry of External Affairs sees the development as a huge setback, though there is no word yet on the crucial question: Will G4 still go ahead with its resolution and put it to vote? A four-member MEA team, led by Secretary (West) Shashi Tripathi, is already camping at Addis Ababa where the AU Summit took place yesterday on the UNSC issue. For the record, MEA spokesman Navtej Sarna issued the following two-paragraph statement in reaction to the AU decision: “It is a matter of regret that the Extraordinary African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa on August 4, 2005, was unable to endorse an AU/G4 draft Framework Resolution, based on the understanding arrived at between the G-4 Foreign Ministers and the representatives of the AU, in London on July 25, 2005. India has noted the decision of the AU Summit and will, in close consultation with G-4 members, continue to engage African countries with a view to promoting a common understanding. “External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh has already spoken to the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Germany and Japan. The Ministers agreed to remain in touch to review the situation arising out of the decision taken at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa. The G-4 countries reaffirmed their solidarity and will continue to act in unity to promote the cause of UN reform, including UNSC reform.” Top officials involved in G4-AU negotiations told The Tribune this evening that New Delhi will decide its future course of action only after getting a feedback from Ms Tripathi. Her job has been made all the more difficult by the fact that G4
countries were not allowed even observer status at the closed-door AU summit. The Addis Ababa summit witnessed a blame game by the members and Nigeria, which chairs the grouping, was singled out for attack. Eighteen countries spoke during the deliberations and almost everyone put the blame on Nigeria. Almost every speaker asked Nigeria how it could seal the deal with G4. It was a reference to a recent AU decision wherein the grouping agreed to drop its demand for veto power, a decision akin to G4’s. To make sure that the AU decision is implemented in letter and spirit by the member states, a 10-member AU delegation has been asked to travel to all parts of Africa to “educate” the governments about the circumstances in which the AU decision was finally taken yesterday, reversing the earlier London
decision. A point to be noted here is that the 10-member AU team has been specifically told that it has no mandate to negotiate with the African governments and their job is only to say what they have been briefed about. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also the Chairman of the African Union, left no stone unturned in persuading AU to align with G4. He said in his speech: “It is obvious that Africa with its 53 members in the UN is a sizeable group, but so is Asia with its 54 members. We Africans in isolation cannot impose our wish on the 191 members of the UNGA. We need to negotiate with other groups, unless our objective is to prevent any decision. If that happens, let us be under no illusion, Africa stands to lose more than any other region. Our objective today, therefore, is to confirm the understanding reached between the AU Follow-up Mechanism on the one hand, and the G-4 acting on behalf of the co-sponsors of the other draft resolution initiated by them so that both sides can jointly submit a common resolution to the General Assembly.” |
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NCM to assess minority rights in Punjab, Haryana
New Delhi, August 5 During its stay in Chandigarh, the full seven-member commission will have meetings with the minority community representatives of Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The commission will also have discussions with the Chief Secretaries, the Directors General of Police and other senior officers. Taking note of the concern expressed by the non-governmental Punjab Rights Forum (PRF), NCM Chairman Tarlochan Singh wrote a letter to VHP working president Ashok Singhal on August 3 impressing upon him that they should not have any reservation in treating the Sikhs as a “separate religious community.” Mr Tarlochan Singh drew Mr Singhal’s attention to a meeting of the NCM on January 16, 2001, with the representatives of the RSS where they were “unanimous in asserting that they recognised the Sikhism as a separate religion with a distinct identity.” The NCM Chairperson recalled that on October 29, 1993, the Union Government had issued a gazette notification declaring the Sikh community as one of the five religious communities in the country. In this context, he maintained that as a statutory body the NCM had remained steadfast in protecting the constitutional rights and safeguarding the religious interests of the five notified communities, including the Sikhs. Mr Tarlochan Singh said when the PRF met the NCM earlier this week it had specifically drawn the commission’s attention to certain public pronouncements of the VHP at its conclave in Amritsar recently having the portends of disturbing peace and amity. The NCM was informed that the VHP had reportedly alluded to the Sikhs being part of the Hindus and that the organisation desired installing Guru Granth Sahib in Hindu temples. Further, the VHP was also believed to have announced that they would be happy to place the photo of Guru Gobind Singh in the temples. While affirming that the “traditional friendship and bond of brotherhood between the Hindus and the Sikhs are always intact,” Mr Tarlochan Singh urged Mr Singhal that the commission “would like a definitive statement from you so that nobody is allowed to exploit the situation.” In a memorandum to the NCM, the PRF expressed its anguish at what it described as the deteriorating minority rights situation in Punjab with pointed reference to the Punjab Police allegedly picking up an innocent woman, Manjot Kaur, and later showing her arrest from a bus stop in Bassi Pathana with explosives. |
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State of AIDS in Uttar Pradesh — III Not a penny spent out of Rs 1.75 cr earmarked Shahira Naim Tribune News Service
Lucknow, August 5 The declaration to the effect was made by Minister of State for Health and Medical Services Jaiveer Singh. Given the declaration, by this year, the state should be putting double its energies in promoting use of condoms. However, an examination of intervention targeted at high-risk groups under the state's AIDS control programme alone proves that the declaration was more a statement of intent than action. A specific target had been fixed for condom promotion. By the end of the programme in 2004, condoms were supposed to be made accessible, within 30 minutes, to at least 90 per cent of the population. A sum of Rs 1.75 crore was set aside for this activity during 2002-04. The areas to be prioritised were red light zones and truckers' shelters through existing outlets and new ones. According to the latest CAG report, the UP State AIDS Control Society (UPSACS) did not spend a single paisa on this activity. As such it could neither furnish any information about the availability of condoms in targeted areas nor did it have any idea if there had been an increase in its availability. As NACO had supplied condoms free of cost, the UPSACS did not even bother to monitor its distribution. The mid-term review by the World Bank in July 2003 had observed "condom promotion activities in UP were inadequate and required immediate attention". Similarly, UPSACS had envisaged setting up 70 sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics under the programme — one for each district. However, only 32 new clinics were "technically" set up. As the Rs 24 lakh provided for equipment were not utilised even these 32 STD clinics never became fully functional. Another major intervention to address the growing menace of AIDS is to ensure supply of safe, uninfected and high-quality blood to the needy by upgradation and strengthening of the testing and storage capacities. The record of the Health Directorate, however, reveals that under the UPSACS blood banks were established only in 50 of the 70 districts. Twenty districts still do not have access to safe blood. Out of the 68 government blood banks, including eight medical colleges, eight military hospitals, the SGPGI, state blood banks and the King George Medical University, 67 were not holding valid license. In eight of the district hospitals, basic equipment like generator, autoclave, spectrum cell counter cryofuge, refrigerators, ELISA Reader — the primary equipment for detecting presence of HIV virus, were either not available or not functional. The district hospitals of Badyun, Bahraich, Jaunpur and Lakhimpur Khiri were not equipped to test blood for HIV infection. Still samples of blood were being collected during 2002-2003. UPSAC was required to mobilise voluntary blood donation. The CAG report notes that initially in 1999 voluntary donations increased from 22 to 35 per cent of the total collection. But by the year 2003, it had once again dropped to 26 per cent pointing at, as the report observes, the UPSAC's "failure to sustain the motivation level of voluntary blood donors". Of the Rs 2.09 crore allocated for this work, only Rs 0.59 lakh (28 per cent) were spent. Neither the four proposed drop-in centres promised by the government were set up nor a network of persons living with AIDS was established till January 2005.
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