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Cancel tax holidays for North Indian states: Jayalalithaa
Jaya urges PM to restore subsidy to Lankan refugees
DMK revives Dravidian demand of autonomy
Rights groups flay Pak at UN session in Geneva
RBI may take action against GTB promoters
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Disrespect to Tricolour: FIR against MP officials
MLA who called Modi “Hitler” drops sword
Army operation against ULFA intensifies
Top Arunachal ultra held
Minority bodies to float new political outfit in Assam
Deve Gowda flays Centre’s economic policies
Gangs attack rights activists in Andhra Pradesh
Over 4 million unemployed in rural India
Report on suicide of farmers submitted
E-mail campaign to save Sarabjit
Professionals’ status case goes to larger Bench
Natwar’s Iran visit to focus on gas pipeline
Scribes meet PM, demand new wage board
Plea to club all Babri cases
Indo-Russia air, land exercises in mid-Oct
‘Jumbo’ guests at wedding
Temporary staffing gains ground
Bhimsen, Ravi Shankar to perform at Taj
Himachal shows the way
Programmes for poor in Rajasthan
Bridge collapses on national highway
No clash with legislature, says Lahoti
Dutch team on trip to Rajasthan
Alleged gangster shot in Mumbai
Bitumen scam: ex-IAS officer held
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Cancel tax holidays for North Indian states: Jayalalithaa
Chennai, August 28 In a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today, she stated that such exemptions and incentives were a complete negation of the substance of the economic reforms which sought to provide a level playing field to the states. Seeking Dr Manmohan Singh’s urgent intervention in the matter, she stated, “We find that certain units from Tamil Nadu are planning to undertake investments in such enclaves. This is clearly a distortion and should be ended.” She said that on the other hand such exemption could be allowed for a short period of three years in areas affected by extreme and unprecedented natural disasters such as tsunami. Drawing the attention of the Prime Minister to her June 6 letter requesting that exemption from Union excise duty be extended to the tsunami-affected districts of the state as in the case of the earthquake-hit Kutch area of Gujarat, she appealed it might be examined urgently and approved. Recalling that the issue of special tax exemptions such as the full exemption from Union excise duty and income tax for investments in certain states such as Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh was discussed at the National Development Council meeting held in New Delhi on June 27-28, she said most Chief Ministers had favoured the scrapping of the exemptions. Ms Jayalalithaa said most Chief Ministers were of the opinion that such exemptions significantly distorted the investment decision of companies and corporate houses, thereby drastically affecting the investment climate in their own states. She recalled,“All Chief Ministers were unanimous that these exemptions should be scrapped forthwith.” Stating that the package made available to Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal included 100 per cent excise duty exemption on the output of new units for a period of 10 years from the date of commercial production besides income tax exemption and capital subsidy, she said no other unit in any other state could compete with this kind of disadvantage. Even though the intention was ostensibly to foster investment flows into industrially backward regions of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh, she said, In reality what is happening is that the new investment flows are going to those regions of these states which are close to New Delhi. She also pointed out that the mid-term appraisal document of the 10th Five Year Plan also acknowledged that the scheme was not calibrated properly and did not take into account the possibility of flight of capital and relocation of units from other states in the country. |
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Jaya urges PM to restore subsidy to Lankan refugees
Chennai, August 28 In a letter to the Prime Minister, she has sought his intervention to restore the subsidy on which the Centre’s annual commitment was merely Rs 7 crore. She wrote: “The sudden withdrawal of subsidy on rice given to refugees, when they are still here, is inexplicable.” Ms Jayalalithaa said the Centre had all along extended a rice subsidy for their sustenance mainly because the sudden influx of refugees had always been considered as an “international issue”. Her letter indicated that the government had withdrawn the subsidy, citing difficult procedures and administrative inconvenience in maintaining it, which she found were lame excuses. She felt that the reasons like administrative inconveniences could not be cited for a change in policy decision and wrote, “The reasons mentioned in the Government of India’s letter do not stand scrutiny. The procedures can always be simplified. This cannot be the reason for a change in policy.” She pointed out that the quantum of subsidy was only Rs 7 crore and the amount to was likely to go down if normalcy returned to Sri Lanka. Ms Jayalalithaa stated, “It is not humane to leave the refugees in the lurch especially when they are waiting to return to their motherland.” There are 108 camps in Tamil Nadu inhabited by 50,674 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. All these refugees had escaped from ethnic strife in Sri Lanka during the war between the LTTE and the island nation between 1983 and 1996. |
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DMK revives Dravidian demand of autonomy
Chennai, August 28 The DMK is a key constituent of the ruling
(UPA) at the Centre. In its two-day conference at Vellore, 150 km from here, it has said in a resolution that India was a country of diverse cultures. “If the unity of the country has to be preserved, the Constitution should be amended providing for state autonomy and wholesome and genuine federalism,” it said. The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre should take immediate steps in this direction, the resolution said. The resolution does not clearly specify if it was demanding the kind of “autonomy” it had demanded in the mid-60s. However, the demand to amend the Constitution is an indication that the party will certainly whip up emotional fury to woo Dravidian electorate before the Assembly poll. Immediately after Independence, the Dravida
Kazhagam, which became DMK in 1948, had demanded cessation from the Indian Union, but gave it up in the mid–60s and instead demanded “total autonomy” which the Nagas are demanding today. In simpler terms, the party wanted total governance, except for common currency, defence and foreign policy in the hands of the Central Government. In another resolution it demanded that all languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution be declared official languages of the country. This alone could protect the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s assurance that Hindi would not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking people. It also harped on the fact that majority of the people in India did not have Hindi as their mother tongue. In fact, after Hindi was declared the official language in 1965, the region had witnessed violent anti-Hindi protests, particularly in Tamil Nadu, during which all Hindi sign-boards were defaced. The issue still curries favour with the electorate in the state where hardly three per cent of the population understands Hindi. In a state known for anti- Brahminsim and where majority of the electorate are from Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes, the DMK demanded that the reservations according to the Mandal Commission recommendations be extended to the Indian Institute of Technology and other Central Government-run educational institutions. It also wanted separate reservation for minorities since as a block they can sway electoral results in many constituencies. In order to counter Ms Jayalalithaa’s moves on the quota system in colleges offering professional courses, the DMK urged the Centre to bring in a law to protect reservation for
BCs, MBCs and SC/STs in unaided professional colleges. Its resolution said the recent Supreme Court verdict on the issue was a major setback to social justice. Though never known as a friend of the working class, the party also demanded hike in minimum bonus from the present 8.33 per cent to 12 per cent. It also sought the removal of eligibility ceiling for bonus entitlement. The present ceiling of Rs 3,500 was “meaningless in the 21st century wage structure,” said one of its resolutions. |
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Rights groups flay Pak at UN session in Geneva
New Delhi, August 28 Several NGOs and human rights groups, which attended the month-long session, alleged violation of fundamental rights of the people in Gilgit, PoK, and drew attention to plight of Sindhis, Balochis, Ahmediyas, Christians and other minorities in Pakistan. Kashmiri nationalists like Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri and Mumtaz Khan even asked Pakistan to rein in terrorist groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir, according to recorded official presentations available with The Tribune. Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, who spent long spells in PoK jails, criticised Pakistan’s claim of championing the cause of self-determination for the people of Kashmir and talked of “the dismal state of human rights in the whole of Pakistan.” He said such claims would have no meaning as long as ‘Azad Kashmir’ continued to be ruled by hand-picked nominees of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan remain without any constitutional status and their people denied self-rule. He alleged that political activists standing up for the rights of the people were routinely harassed, imprisoned and tortured. Mr Mumtaz Khan of the European Union of Public Relations flayed the jihadi forces for clandestinely working to derail the peace process. He said PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan remained economically and socially backward than other parts of Pakistan and Jammu & Kashmir. Dr Shabir Choudhry, spokesman for the International Kashmir Alliance (IKA), criticised Pakistan for not allowing Kashmiri youth who had gone to PoK for training to return to Jammu & Kashmir where they want to lead a normal life. According to Mr Abbas Butt of the World Peace Council, people of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan were colonised and exploited by the Pakistan authorities. Quoting Pakistani media, Mr Butt said fully-activated training camps had become a cause of major concern as rise in militant activity brought intimidation, coercion and social problems for the ordinary people. Mr Mohammed Zafar Khan, speaking on behalf of the International Institute for Peace, alleged that false cases had been lodged against political workers and youth who raised a voice against Pakistani authorities. “Hundreds of our youth have been forced to leave their homeland and seek asylum in different countries, particularly Europe. Even though they are living in exile, their families and relatives continue to face problems created by intelligence agencies of Pakistan,” Mr Khan added. Mr Mohammed Zia Mustafa, who spoke on behalf of the World Federation of Trade Unions, was of the view that steady erosion of democracy, rule of law and administration of justice in Pakistan, PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan had led to the complete abdication of the state’s basic responsibilities. He referred to an incident of July 15 this year when a young girl, Gulshan, was raped by three soldiers of 644 Mujahid Battalion, but no action was taken by the authorities. Instead, the authorities unleashed a reign of terror on political workers of the PNP who were protesting against police inaction in the case. |
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RBI may take action against GTB promoters
New Delhi, August 28 The statutory auditors of GTB were found to have misrepresented the financial statements of the bank by wrong classification of non-performing assets (NPAs) of the bank for 2001-02. Officials said the government had filed a complaint with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) against the statutory auditors. Apart from debarring firms that had audited GTB’s books for 2001-02 and 2002-03 from statutory audit, banks and financial institutions had been advised by the RBI not to take services of the firms for any audit-related work, besides advising CAG for similar action. In view of the large variance in the assessment of the banks’ financial position as reported by the auditors and also assessed by the RBI inspectors, the RBI engaged a chartered accountancy firm to undertake an independent assessment. The report of the firm was in almost in conformity with the assessment done by the RBI inspectors. Moreover, in order to prevent “unscrupulous persons from acquiring control of the banks”, the RBI is currently insisting on “fit-and-proper” criteria for directors. It has also put in place a mechanism by which it ensures that shareholders, whose aggregate holdings are above the specified threshold, meet the fitness and propriety test before getting acknowledgement of transfer of shares, officials said. This follows the observation made by the Standing Committee on Finance which has noted that amalgamating the unhealthy banks with those which are performing well is not a healthy practice as it “encourages unscrupulous entities to score their own vested interests by playing with public money in a reckless and surreptitious manner”. |
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Disrespect to Tricolour: FIR against MP officials
Bhopal, August 28 Several Congress leaders led by Ms Devi reached the police station to lodge the complaint. Bhopal Collector Sanjay Shukla and Superintendent of police Anant Kumar Singh also arrived there and tried to convince them that there could be no case on Ms Devi’s complaint. She then announced that they would continue their dharna at the police station till the FIR was registered. Ms Devi’s application to the police station in-charge says that the July 2005 issue of panchayika had published the Tricolour showing a black stripe instead of green and the saffron stripe was also shown in two colours. Panchayika, a monthly magazine, is published by the Directorate of Panchayats and Social Welfare and printed by Madhyam, a multimedia communications agency of the Madhya Pradesh Government. The application has sought prosecution under the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (as amended in 2003), against seven persons, including the Commissioner of Panchayats and Social Welfare, Chief Secretary and Chief Minister (who is ex-officio chairman of Madhyam). Incidentally, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, as amended, says that whoever “shows disrespect to or brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag....... or any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may be extended to three years, or with fine, or with both.” |
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Modi takes pot shots at dissidents
Botad, August 28 Addressing a rally where he shared the dais with Mr Advani, Mr Modi said “we do not believe in ‘Shakti Pradarshan’ (show of strength) but in `Shakti Darshan’ (showing power/electricity).” Mr Modi was apparently referring to a series of meetings the dissidents, under the leadership of former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, had held recently in Ahmedabad and with the BJP central leadership in Delhi seeking removal of Mr Modi. Mr Advani, for his part, once again praised the developmental work carried out by Mr Modi and said the rural sector in Gujarat would progress under the Chief Minister. “Under Mr Modi’s leadership, Gujarat will be able to achieve rural development in a manner in which it has not been achieved previously in India,” Mr Advani said after inaugurating Mr Modi’s ambitious `Jyotir Gram Yojna’ in Bhavnagar district, where more than 300 villages of three taluka’s would get non-stop electricity for 24 hours. Mr Advani also commended Mr Modi for focussing on the issues of progress instead of concentrating on political matters.
— PTI |
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MLA who called Modi “Hitler” drops sword
Ahmedabad, August 28 However, today he got a sea of supporters of his Koli (fishermen) community at Bhavnagar district at a function where BJP president L.K. Advani and Mr Modi presided. Mr Solanki, who had called the Chief Minister “Hitler,” dropped his sword after being reprimanded by the party and quietly made his way into Modi’s recently-expanded Cabinet. He has completely distanced himself from dissidence activity. Asked about his changed stance, Mr Solanki said, “Over a period of time he had got acquainted with Mr Modi’s manner of working and they had tuned well with each other.” However, dissident leaders who once had Mr Solanki’s support are not ready to openly criticise this change of stance by the Koli community leader. Meanwhile, Mr Advani has sent clear signals to those seeking change of guard in Gujarat that no such thing will happen.
— PTI |
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Army operation against ULFA intensifies
Guwahati, August 28 According to a highly placed source of the Assam Government at Guwahati, the operation was being carried out at East Siang districts, Dibang valley as well as Changlang districts, most of which are dense rain forests where the control of civil administration is next to nothing. Most of these jungles share large open unmanned boundary with Myanmar and according to the source, using that way about 100 trained ULFA guerrillas had entered Arunachal Pradesh and set up preliminary transit camps in search for a secure base from which they would be able to operate in Assam. However, the Army has refused to divulge any information on the operation and only piece of news they released was the killing of Ritu
Bora, a top ULFA commander and then another two last night near Dibang valley, who are yet to be named. Unlike previous operations, which was carried out in mass scale, this operation was being done in an area where civil or urban population had very little presence. Because of which the intensity of the operation was not yet clear. — UNI |
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Top Arunachal ultra held
Guwahati, August 28 The chairmen and members of other two main UG outfits operating in Arunachal Pradesh, namely Gangte Tugung, chairman United Socialist Council of Arunachal and Bamang Bake, chairman, Taniland Democratic Solidarity of Arunachal (TDSA) have already been arrested, it said. The note said with these arrests the police had exposed their entire network and their sinister design on destabilize the state. Recently, the police foiled NLFA’s nefarious designs to disrupt the Independence Day function by causing explosions and arrested five of its members, the note added.
—UNI |
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Minority bodies to float new political outfit in Assam
Guwahati, August 28 The decision comes in the wake of the Supreme
Court's recent decision to scarp the Illegal Migrants Determination Tribual
(IMDT) Act of 1983 meant for detection and deportation of illegal migrants from Assam. The new twist in Assam politics is indeed going to offer sleepless nights to the Congress in particular which enjoyed the support of the minority Muslims in 2001 Assembly elections with the promise to retain the Act. State
Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind president Badruddin Azmal said the move of the minority organisations could set a new trend of politics in the country where such organisations in other parts could also contemplate to form a political outfit to defend their rights. The trouble began six months back when the national president of the party Maulana Asad Madani threatened to overthrow the state government for failing to fulfil its promises of the socio-economic development of the minorities. Congress MP Golam Osmani also echoed the views expressed by Mr Madani and even recommended the removal of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to the party President Sonia Gandhi. But the situation took a turn for the worse after the court scrapped the Act calling it “unconstitutional”. The IMDT during the past 22 years could detect and deport only a little over 2,000 Bangladeshis from Assam and over 3.5 lakh cases were pending with its tribunals till it was scrapped. The state Congress chief, Mr Bhubaneswar
Kalita, however, hoped that the Muslims in the state would again vote for his party in the next Assembly elections. |
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Deve Gowda flays Centre’s economic policies
Tumkur, Karnataka, August 28 Speaking at a moderately attended party convention of the weaker section of society, including Dalits, minorities and backward class community, he said the new economic policies had failed to yield the desired results. Eversince their implementation, the gap between the haves and have-nots had increased and the worst-hit was the farming community, he charged. Mr Gowda said the convention was organised neither to counter the AHINDA convention attended by senior party leader Mr
Siddaramaiah, ousted from the post of Deputy Chief Minister recently, nor to glorify any leader in the party. Reiterating that there was no threat from his side to the stability of the
JD(S)-Congress government, Mr Gowda alleged that some disgruntled elements in the party, along with certain Congress members, were making sustained attempts to destabilise the government. “The stability of the government depends on Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and him,” he said. Stating that some people with vested interests were carrying out false propaganda that he was anti-Dalit, minorities and backward classes, Mr Gowda said nothing could deter him from working for the uplift of the weaker sections. “I will go to every taluk and district and uncover the ill-designs of those who are bent on aligning my name.”
— UNI |
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Gangs attack rights activists in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad, August 28 The brutal killing of a rights activist Kanakachari in Mahbubnagar district on Wednesday by self-styled “Narsa Cobras” is the latest in a series of revenge killings, allegedly with tacit support from the police.
Kanakachari, a teacher at a local school, was axed to death after being kidnapped by unidentified persons. “These outfits are the creation of the police. Why is the government silent on the role of the police in this brutal murder,” Human Rights Forum convener K. Balagopal questioned. The slaughter was in response to the killing of Congress MLA Narsa Reddy by the Maoists recently. “The objective of Narsa Cobras is to exterminate the Maoists, who are anti-social and anti-national,” a letter purportedly written by the fringe outfit said. The
anti-Naxalite band, many believe to be sponsored by the police, has named many prominent civil rights activists and Marxist intellectuals as its targets. “Narsa Cobras” is suspected to be another extension to the infamous Nayeem gang, which has been killing Maoists and their sympathisers for some time now. Headed by
Nayeem, a former Naxalite, the gang was recently in the news when it sought to coerce a former Naxalite couple to kill Marxist ideologues Varavara Rao and Kalyana Rao. Civil liberties organisations in the state have been alleging that the police is taking help of Naxalite renegades such as Nayeem to silence the voice of protesters against the state brutality. In the past one-decade, several gangs which called themselves Green Tigers, Tirumala Tigers, Nalla Dandu and Fear Vikas, have been issuing death threats to supporters of Naxalite movement. In 1997, balladeer Gadar escaped narrowly when he was shot from close range by Green Tigers. Rights activist Balagopal was kidnapped while he was traveling in a bus and later released. Civil liberties activists Lalitha and Purushottam were brutally axed to death by the Nayeem gang in 1998 and 2000 respectively. What is significant is that the police, which went overdrive in arresting Varavara Rao and Kalyana Rao, former Naxalite emissaries and revolutionary writers, and foisting more cases than they could count, have not shown any semblance of interest in capturing
Nayeem, who is running a mafia gang and extortion racket in Hyderabad and neighbouring Nalgonda district. Early this month, TV cameras captured on film the drama of a Nayeem associate forcing a surrendered Naxalite couple to kill Varavara Rao or at least claim responsibility for the murder when it would be carried out by the mafia itself. Local media reports say that it was with the help of police that former Naxalite J.
Nagaraju, who had turned covert and killed his own squad members, joined hands with Nayeem and eliminated
Kanakachari. It is feared that the attacks on rights activists will increase in the days to come with the police looking the other way. |
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Over 4 million unemployed in rural India
New Delhi, August 28 As per the latest National Sample Survey Organisation figures, there were around 4.4 million unemployed persons in the rural countryside. The latest figures are for the period 1999-2000, almost five-year-old data. “Unemployment rate on “usual status” basis among the educated persons in the age group of 15 years and above in rural areas during 1999-2000 was 6.7 per cent at the all-India level. Skill-wise details are not available,” Union Minister for Labour and Employment Chandrasekhar Rao informed the Rajya Sabha this week. In another written reply, the minister said as per the information available from 1991 and 2001 census, number of persons seeking/available for work (among the non-workers) in the country, excluding Jammu and Kashmir, has gone up from 13.8 million in 1991 to 44.5 million in 2001. “However, the census does not have a precise definition of unemployment. Non-workers as a category may not necessarily correspond to the definition of unemployment,” the minister said. Critiques of the employment Bill said the aim of providing jobs would be defeated as it restricted to only household and did not extend to individuals, who registered themselves for work. The Bill guaranteed 100 days of employment to every household, and not every individual, making the scheme targeted and not universal, they said. Ensuring livelihood would become impossible with such a broad definition of household. Receiving Rs 500 for all members per month, they said, would not produce the desired results. According to them, the power of panchayats is not clearly defined. While 50 per cent of the works are to be “implemented through gram panchayats” (Clause 16(5)), the amended Bill does not say that 50 per cent of the funds will be allocated to these. “The Bill gives the Central Government sweeping powers as it can stop release of funds even without adequate evidence of corruption. It is silent on sequence of events leading from fund allocation to implementation of the scheme,” they said. “Unemployment allowance will be one-fourth of Rs 60 ( i.e. Rs 15) for 30 days and one-half ( i.e. Rs 30) for the rest of the year until the 100 days target is met. Livelihood security cannot be met with such a low compensation,” they added. The scheme, which entails an estimated outgo of Rs 20,000-25,000 crore a year, will be financed 90 per cent by the Centre. The state governments will contribute only 10 per cent for paying the wages to rural households. The Left parties were categorical that the implementation of the Bill should not be linked to the economic growth as hinted by the Prime Minister during his intervention in the Rajya Sabha. He had said if the economy continued to grow at the rate of 8 per cent per annum, the employment guarantee programme as well as other programmes could be financed without any problem. “This is a dangerous caveat. If for some reason growth fails to reach the target, the scheme could well be in jeopardy. This cannot be allowed,” the CPM said. “We are being led to believe that the successful implementation of the Act is conditional on the implementation of neo-liberal reforms. If this be the case, the people must brace themselves to face a further onslaught on their livelihood which is likely to come through cuts in subsidies and hikes in prices,” the CPM said. “If this is to be accompanied by further attacks on their livelihood through the measures suggested by the Prime Minister, then clearly the government is giving from the left hand and taking from the right. This is simply not acceptable.” |
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Report on suicide of farmers submitted
Mumbai, August 28 However, not all farmers facing these conditions commit suicide, it is only those who seem to have felt that they have exhausted all avenues of securing support have taken the extreme step, the report said. The report was recently submitted to the Mumbai High Court which made TISS a consultant in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the court on the issue. Altogether 644 cases of farmers’ suicides were reported in Maharashtra till December 2004, with most of the deaths occurring in the
Vidharbha, Marathwada and Khandesh regions of the state, the report said. “Many landless families managed to acquire money through migration to cities and purchased lands in the late 80s and early nineties. Several such families were caught up in cycles of debt and destitution, which ultimately led to the suicide of the head of the family. Thus, the survivors were reduced to landlessness due to debt. Among those committed suicide included medium and large land owners who were also affected by a high level of un-payable debt,” the report pointed out. In the cotton belt, the crop have failed more than once in the last four years. This crop failure has always not been associated with natural calamities, such as failure of un-seasonal rains leading to destruction of crops, it said. “The causes are an increase in pest attacks in the last few years, especially from 1995 onwards. This meant that the farmers needed more money to pay for pesticides, though, in the end, a high level of pesticide use did not prevent crop failure,” the TISS found out. The TISS team, which visited the 12 districts where most of the suicides took place, said “data available with government sources indicates declining productivity of land.” This meant increased use of fertilisers to enhance productivity of land. “Most farmers’ families indicated that they did not have access to extension machinery of the government in giving sound information on how to deal with pests and declining productivity of land. The farmers are dependent on agents of fertiliser and pesticide companies for advice on seeds and crop care. The information base of the farmers is, thus, limited to the data provided by the agents and their products,” TISS said. The report said a “false perception of prosperity is being created in the minds of the cultivators that prompts them to take serious risks in terms of fertiliser-based cropping pattern.” Declining opportunities in non-farm employment has further aggravated the crisis, the report said adding, in areas where suicides have occurred, non-farm options are getting limited.
— PTI |
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E-mail campaign to save Sarabjit
Bhopal, August 28 Students, youngsters as well as middle-aged men queued up at a makeshift ‘pandal’ — where a number of computer terminals had been put up — at the New Market here to send e-mails to General Musharraf. The campaign is organised by Vishwas Cultural and Sports Society (VCSC). Hafeez Mohammed Siddiqui appealed, who had come to send e-mail, said Sarabjit’s relatives and Indians were pained by Pakistani Court’s order. He appealed to the Pakistani President to free Sarabjit. VCSC secretary Vishwas Narang said here he hoped that Pakistan would grant Sarabjit clemency considering the sentiment of Indians. Mr Sarang said a large number of people had come to send e-mails without much publicity. Until now, letters had been sent to President Musharraf appealing for Sarabjit’s release but whether the President received them was not clear. So, e-mails were being sent to Pakistan President’s official website, www.presidentofpakistan.pk. Mr Sarang appealed to President Musharraf to save Sarabjit’s life.
— UNI |
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Professionals’ status case goes to larger Bench
New Delhi, August 28 The issue had cropped up from an appeal of the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPSEB) against the state high court's order, holding that the legal profession did not involve a commercial activity. Apex court's Division Bench comprising Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice H.K. Sema referred the matter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) R.C. Lahoti, for placing it before a larger Bench because the two earlier verdicts of the apex court by smaller benches on the status of professionals had not clearly defined the issue. The MPSEB had charged an advocate for electricity bill on commercial rate for his office established in a rented accommodation, where he was residing earlier. As long as he was living in the premises, the board had been charging him with domestic rates but after his shifting to new house and retaining the premises as his office, it started charging him as per the commercial rates. The advocate had challenged the board's action in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, contending that he was living in the house till 1981 and the MPSEB started charging him for commercial rates three years later in 1984, which it could not do because his profession was not covered under the definition of a commercial venture. Allowing his petition, the high court held that "office of a lawyer or a firm of lawyers is not a commercial establishment and, therefore, rates applicable to commercial consumers cannot be charged from him." Challenging the high court's findings, the MPSEB in its appeal contended that as long as the advocate was residing in the premises, he was liable to pay as per the domestic rates but once he had converted it into an office, he was liable to pay as per the commercial rates. The board said it had clearly specified the categories of domestic and commercial consumers in its twin notifications of 1971 and 1975, including doctors, lawyers, authors, writers, artists and poet. The apex court said as per Stroud's Judicial Dictionary, the term "commerce" is defined as traffic, trade or merchandise in buying and selling of goods, which could not apply to a professional activity, which "must be an activity carried on by an individual by his personal skill and intelligence, but "there is a fundamental distinction between a professional activity and an activity of a commercial character, Mr Justice Pasayat, writing the judgement for the Bench said adding that the petition of the MPSEB in the light of this could have been dismissed but, the court had held in a New Delhi Municipal Council case of 2000 that "domestic" and "commercial" terms had not been defined in the law and the expression are to be given the common parlance meaning and must be understood in their natural, ordinary and popular senses. |
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Natwar’s Iran visit to focus on gas pipeline
New Delhi, August 28 During the visit, aimed at strengthening strategic and trade relations between the two countries, Mr Singh is expected to hold wide-ranging talks with the new leadership in Iran. Among the leaders, Mr Singh would be meeting are President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Larijani, who is also Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. This would the first high-level discussion between the two countries after the recent change of government in Teheran. The visit assumes significance in the light of opposition from the United States to the pipeline project and international pressure on India to denounce the reported nuclear ambitions of Iran. In June this year, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had visited Iran when a special joint working group (JWG) was set up to pursue the 2,760-km gas pipeline, which may eventually be extended till China. — UNI |
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Scribes meet PM, demand new wage board
New Delhi, August 28 “Despite statutory responsibility under the Working Journalsits Act to constitute wage boards periodically, the governments of the day irrespective of party composition have been shying away from it”, the memorandum said. They said the formation of the media commission was of “paramount importance” as the media scene had undergone considerable changes since the last Press Commission gave its report over two decades ago and a fresh look was needed. Seeking comprehensive review of the
WJA, they said it should bring in its purview all newspersons whether in print or eletronic media as at present it covers only the print media. The Prime Minister gave a patient hearing and promised to consider the demands, DUJ president S.K. Pande said in a press note today.
— PTI |
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Plea to club all Babri cases
New Delhi, August 28 “We have passed a resolution and decided to request UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to issue a notification so that all Babri demolition cases could be taken to the CBI court in Lucknow and that the cases be tried there accordingly,” AIMPLB assistant general secretary Abdul Rehman Qureshi told reporters here. “Following the Allahabad High Court’s order setting aside the lower court order to discharge Mr Advani, the state government should club all the cases,” he said. Mr Qureshi also said that they were framing a reply to submit before the court where another case regarding the disputed structure in Ayodhya was on. “We have challeged the Archaeological Survey of India’s report on the Babri Masjid. An expert committee is working on it and would submit our reply to the court soon,” he said.
— PTI |
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Indo-Russia air, land exercises in mid-Oct
New Delhi, August 28 A battalion level of forces from both countries would be involved in the exercises. After holding anti-terrorist war games with Indian forces, Russia proposes to hold similar war games with the Uzbekistan army, sources said. India would also see observers from China visiting the exercises. Reports here suggested that the Russian para-troopers would be deploying specialised anti-terror infantry weapons like sniper guns, rapid firing machine guns, anti-material rifles as well as long distance specialised rockets during the exercises. Indian and Russian forces would have the advantage of commonality of weapons during the exercises as Indian army’s frontline equipment is still of Russian make. This will be the second time in three years that the two countries would be holding joint military exercises. Intermingled with the joint exercises, the Russian military top brass, including Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and his deputy, plus a large delegation from the army, navy and air force will be in India. |
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‘Jumbo’ guests at wedding
Thrissur, August 28 The 12 elephants, from in and around Thrissur, witnessed the nuptials at the ‘Thirumbady Kshetram’ here this morning before ambling to the Thekkinkadu Maidan to partake a delicious wedding ‘sadya’ consisting of palmyra leaves, copra, sugarcane, bananas, jaggery, dates and other delicacies to tickle the pachydermian palate. Not forgetting his other animal friends, Dr Giridas also gave money to the Thrissur Zoo authorities to provide three meals to all the inhabitants of the zoo. Bride Darsana, from nearby Kecherry, happily posed with her husband’s special guests who made the wedding function unique. Dr Giridas, who, contrary to custom, footed the bill for the wedding ‘sadya’ instead of letting the bride’s family host the feast, also presented ‘onakodi’ (clothes for Onam) to the ‘mahouts.’ “I have treated many elephants during the past several years and I have felt close to many of them. My career and my life are entwined with these animals. So, how could I keep them away from such an important occasion in my life,’’ Dr Giridas reasoned. — UNI |
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Temporary staffing gains ground
New Delhi, August 28 Temporary staff, also known as “contingent labour and contingent workforce”, are those job seekers who work for companies for a limited period of time (mostly between three and nine months), but receive their salaries and perquisites from a staffing solutions company which park them with their clients. These people usually are “labour market outsiders” possessing no major specialised skill set but willing work on a temporary basis to become employable at a later date in a skill domain ranging from sales, administration, accounting and others. Mr Manish Sabharwal, Chairman of
TeamLease, a Bangalore-based staffing solutions company, said the concept was more important in a country like India, where a “vocal minority” in a few big cities were primarily controlling 93 per cent of the labour force in the organised sector. “Temporary staffing helps overcome this problem as an unemployed graduate of small town can now be hired and placed in a big company of a big city. An unemployed graduate from a small town would be more than willing to do a sales job for a big company, even though on a temporary basis, than a graduate from a bigger city”, he explained. In 45 per cent of the cases, these temporary staff — of different age groups — go on to become permanent employees, mostly in the places they are temporarily parked in by the staffing company. Mr Sabharwal said temporary staffing was “a bridge to full employment” and helps in “reducing
unemployability” in the unorganised sector. Studies show that in more labour markets in developed countries, temporary staffing constitutes almost 10 per cent of the labour force. A study by Lawrence Katz of Harvard University and Alan Krueger at Princeton University found that temporary staffing was responsible for 50 per cent of the reduction in unemployment in the US in the nineties. For the employers also temporary staffing helps bridge the demand-supply mismatch in the labour market and usually constitutes about 2 or 3 per cent of the core manpower. Globally, temporary staffing solutions company have more than $ 200 billion in revenues and employ close to half a million corporate staff. On an average, these staffing companies create one permanent corporate staff position for every 50 workers placed on assignment. |
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Bhimsen, Ravi Shankar to perform at Taj
New Delhi, August 28 To accommodate more people for the function, the concluding events from September 25 to 27 will be held on the Madhavgarh lawn, which also provides a scintillating backdrop of the Agra Fort and the Taj. Well-known sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik will pay his tribute to the monument of love by erecting its replica in sand during the three-day events. Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Kawkab Hameed said besides vocalist Bhimsen Joshi and sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, the other artistes who would perform during the events included film director Muzaffar Ali and ghazal singer Abida Parveen. Lok Sabha MP Jayaprada will regale the audience by performing the “Aamrapali” dance-drama and on September 27- the World Tourism Day-singer Adnan Sami will perform. The UP Government is also approaching the Supreme Court and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), seeking their permission to allow soft-lighting and core lighting for the event near Mehtab Bagh, which has a capacity to accommodate 5,000-7,000 persons, the tourism minister said. This was being done after the Roorkee-based National Environment and Engineering Research Institute
(NEERI) gave the state government the go-ahead on the environmental aspects of the lighting system. The minister said the Central Government had sanctioned Rs 25 crore as initial amount for the beautification of Agra, including improvement of road infrastructure for Fatehpur
Sikri. Meetings have already been held between Tourism Department officials of the Central and state governments in this context. |
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Himachal shows the way
Jaipur, August 28 A senior official of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) told The Tribune here yesterday that it was being contemplated to develop some selected villages in the proximity of the state capital on the pattern of Pragpur village of Himachal Pradesh. In a significant measure, the RTDC has decided to organise training programmes for taxi drivers, coolies and curio-dealers to impart them the lessons of courtesy, decency and honest conduct while dealing with the tourists in their respective spheres. The proposed programmes would begin in October this year. Along with the rural tourism, religious tourism would also receive a big boost following implementation of a number of ambitious promotional programmes. Having already identified about 20 sacred shrines for developing necessary facilities for the tourists, Chief Minister Ms Raje announced yesterday that the celebrated temple of Khole Ke Hanumanji situated at a hilltop on the outskirts of the Pink City, would be developed on the design of Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore. |
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Programmes for poor in Rajasthan
Jaipur, August 28 The Rajasthan Housing Board has been asked to implement the programme. Besides, training centres for self -employment will be opened in as many as 10 districts of the state. The programme, which aims at providing skills to the youth in jobs like repair of electronic goods, tailoring,
plumbering, running beauty parlours etc will be funded by the banks of the respective areas. |
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Bridge collapses on national highway
Imphal, August 28 The traffic on the highway has also been affected due to landslides in some areas. Union Home Secretary Duggal who visited Manipur had promised to make the highway roadworthy and to sanction money required to repair it. NH 53 is a one-lane highway with large number of bridges constructed during the British period.
— UNI |
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No clash with legislature, says Lahoti
Bangalore, August 28 Speaking to mediapersons on the reported move of the Union government to bring in new legislation for providing reservation for admissions into unaided private management professional educational institutions, Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti said: ‘’There prevails cordial relationship with the legislature, one of the constitutional wings.’’ He was here to participate in the 13th annual convocation of the National Law School of India University.
— UNI |
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Dutch team on trip to Rajasthan
Jaipur, August 28 The Dutch politicians, who are on a 10-day exposure trip to India, first visited Hyderabad and then to New Delhi and rounded off their trip with visit to Niwai, Chaksu and rural areas of the pink city of Rajasthan. During their three-day tour of Rajasthan, the delegation interacted with farmers, rural womenfolk, leaders of political parties and community organisations focussed on social and economic aspects. The Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society had arranged an orientation programme for the Dutch delegation. It’s secretary Sharad Joshi said the main objective of the trip of the delegation was to strengthen the lobby towards the WTO and to raise increased attention to issues which included human rights, fair trade relating to food and nutrition and security. The Dutch team tried to understand the ground realities of farmers and workers in India.
— PTI |
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Alleged gangster shot in Mumbai
Mumbai, August 28
Padte is alleged to have opened fire at the police when asked to surrender. The police party is said to have shot back at Padte killing him on the spot. Police said the encounter lasted half an hour. Parte was wanted in 20 cases, including four murders, police said. According to reports, Padte was an informer to several senior police officers about the Rajan gang. |
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Bitumen scam: ex-IAS officer held
Patna, August 28
Acting on a tip off, the CBI conducted a raid in New Delhi and arrested Mr Saha yesterday. The bureau had also conducted raids in Mr Saha’s residence in Kolkata. Earlier, the CBI had made Mr Saha accused along with the former Bihar Road Construction Minister Md Illiyas Hussain in the regular case.
— UNI |
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