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Centre to make public Bihar Governor’s reports
Give land details in Faridabad mining areas: SC
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Sonia wants austere AICC plenary session
Be ready for early polls, Vajpayee tells party MPs
BJP tough on Khurana
IAF, DRDO developing ambitious radar technology
Model Bill for elderly soon
Left warns govt against diluting labour laws
Chandumajra meets PM, seeks water projects
IFJ protests against Dheer’s arrest
Keshubhai meets Advani
Remand of Ayodhya attack accused extended
Ayodhya case hearing postponed
BJP flays killing of Assam leader
J.J. Singh is Hon Col of the Brigade of Guards
Punjab criminal held in Jaipur
Parliament adjourned sine die
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Centre to make public Bihar Governor’s reports
New Delhi, August 30 Hearing two applications — first pertaining to issuing a direction to the Union Government to make public the reports of the Governor and the second for making him a party to the ongoing proceedings before the apex court on the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly — a Bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice G.P. Mathur and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan sought clarification from the Centre’s counsel whether his non-performance of the constitutional duty was open to judicial review. On the question of placing on record the Governor’s reports of April 27 and May 21 forming the basis for the dissolution of the Assembly on May 23, the Centre told the court that it would be submitted along with its affidavit on September 2. In view of this, the first application was disposed by the court. With regard to the second application, the court asked Attorney-General Milon Banerjee, appearing in his personal capacity to assist the court and Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the Union Government, as to what was the hitch on part of the Governor not to administer the oath to MLAs after the Election Commission (EC) had notified the constitution of the Assembly on March 4 on completing the election process. As Subramaniam tried to explain that for any action of the Governor only Union Government was answerable as he has complete immunity under Article 361 against judicial review for any of his action in the performance of constitutional duty and more so the Governor remains in the office as long as he enjoys the pleasure of the President on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, the court asked that it was not asking about the performance of his duty but about the non-performance of the constitutional obligation. Elaborating, the Bench said suppose the Governor enjoyed the pleasure of the President and some MLAs approach the court seeking a direction to the Governor for performing his constitutional duty, particularly in this case to administer them the oath, which he had failed to do “can the court say that we cannot do anything. Should we shut our eyes to this?” As the ASG explained that under Article 355 the Constitution, the Centre could issue a direction to the Governor for a specific performance, the court said even if the Governor did not still perform his duty, could not he be put to notice of the court and asked to explain his position? Subramaniam further explained that since no government was in place and there was no possibility of the one being installed due to fractured mandate, President’s rule was imposed on March 7 with the Assembly being kept in suspended animation, and, therefore, it was immaterial whether or not the MLAs were administered the oath. Not convinced with the stand of the Centre, the court asked was not it the constitutional obligation of the Governor to administer the oath of office to the MLAs, which was the first step towards the installation of the new government after election. Former Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee, appearing for four NDA MLAs, who were the main petitioners in the case, said the Governor could not claim complete immunity from being issued a notice and asked to file reply if his action was “mala fide”. He said this had been elaborately discussed in the Bomai case and there are instances of at least two Governors in the past submitting themselves to the jurisdiction of the court in a similar situation. The Attorney-General and the ASG strongly opposed making Bihar Governor as a party to the case. However, there was difference of opinion between them, as the former said the stage had not come for issuing notice to the Governor, as it could be done at a later stage if some substantial material comes to prove that his action was mala fide. The latter said that under Article 361, the Governor had complete immunity from judicial review. The Union Government counsel would continue its argument on this crucial issue tomorrow.
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Give land details in Faridabad mining areas: SC
New Delhi, August 30 A Bench of Mr Justice Y K Sabharwal, Mr Justice B N Srikrishna and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar issued the direction to the Haryana Government to specify whether the land over which the mining was going on in the Sirohi area under permit was covered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1894. These Sections provides for the notifying of different categories of land for its preservation, including protection from erosion caused due to various factors. Since the Aravali hill region is considered to be most fragile but very crucial for preserving ecological balance of the region and protection of environment as it acts as a buffer between the desert of Rajasthan and northern plains, such a query by the court assumes significance, as it wanted to know as to what was the nature of the land even in the area where mining was permitted. The poser came from the court after Solicitor-General G E Vahanvati, appearing for Haryana along with its standing counsel Ajay Siwach, contended that no illegal mining was going on in the area and whatever mining activities were going on were legally permitted under the lease agreement with the leasee. Haryana’s counsel said that mining in the Sirohi area had been going on for a long time and it had been explained to the court by the state government in its affidavit of the year 2002. The Haryana Government, in its detailed affidavit submitted recently, had stated that it had enforced complete ban on illegal mining in the region and only licence holders were permitted to carry on the mining activities under strict monitoring of officials from various departments concerned of the state. The state government had explained in detail how the vehicles carrying away the mining material from legal mines were being checked at various points. The issue of illegal mining was brought to the court by environmentalist lawyer M C Mehta for the first time in a public interest litigation in 1985 and the apex court had been monitoring it since then by issuing various directions from time to time. |
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Sonia wants austere AICC plenary session
New Delhi, August 30 Congress President Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have instructed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.R.Rajashekhara Reddy not to serve any non-vegetarian food at the three-day session, which would be attended by over 15,000 party leaders, present, and former chief ministers, MPs, legislators and AICC delegates. The session was likely to be held from October 21-23 at the sprawling complex, especially set up by the Chandrababu Naidu government for the Afro-Asian games. Mrs Gandhi also told the Chief Minister to avoid any ostentatious display at plenary which, she insisted, should be a simple and austere affair. It should be eco-friendly and people-friendly, she told Mr Reddy when he met her this evening along with AICC General Secretaries Ambika Soni and Janardan Dwivedi to discuss the forthcoming session. The Congress President had issued similar instructions for the 2001 plenary session held in Bangalore. Mr Reddy, who is here for tomorrow’s meeting of the National Integration Council, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He reminded the PM of the Rs 25,000 cre package promised to the state for the development of the Telengana region. The Andhra CM was keen that the Centre should makes some announcement either before or at the time of the plenary so that he could silence those demanding a separate
Telengana. As preparations for the plenary got underway, the party also started the exercise of designating leaders for the preparation of the resolutions, which are to be debated and adopted at the meeting, which would ratify Mrs Gandhi’s election as party President. The resolutions would lay down the broad policy framework for the party. Already overburdened with governmental responsibilities, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee might be drafted for key party work. Mr Mukherjee, who already heads 24 GoMs (Group of Ministers) in addition to handling his ministry and parliamentary work, was likely to head the main drafting committee, entrusted with the task of finalising all resolutions. |
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Be ready for early polls, Vajpayee tells party MPs
New Delhi, August 30 “Whenever the UPA government faces instability, they start talking of early polls which further complicates the situation and they stop talking about it. Whether mid-term elections are held or not, we should remain prepared and remain in constant touch with the people”, BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha V K Malhotra quoted Mr Vajpayee as saying. The former Prime Minister was addressing the last Parliamentary party meeting of the Monsoon session here this morning. Expressing happiness over the Opposition’s performance in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, he said they should take the message to the people at large. Addressing the party MPs, Leader of Opposition and BJP President L K Advani termed as “wrong, mischievous and baseless” UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s charge that the Opposition changed its stand on the Women’s Reservation Bill. Mr Advani said Mrs Gandhi was trying to blame the BJP for the UPA’s “failure” to evolve a consensus on the Women’s Reservation Bill with some of its allies even threatening to “physically prevent it”. The Leader of Opposition also expressed satisfaction over the “constructive role” of the Opposition in the Monsoon session and said they were successful in driving home their point. With the proposal to enhance the number of seats appearing to be “impractical”, the party felt that the Election Commission’s suggestion that political parties distribute 33 per cent of tickets to women seemed more practical, Mr Malhotra said. The Parliamentary Party also decided to oppose any attempt on the government’s part to bring the IMDT through backdoor, hike petroleum prices and introduce FDI in retail trade. Maintaining that the Opposition had extended full cooperation to the government in the current session, Mr Malhotra said it helped the government pass seven Bills in one day. Mr Malhotra described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s praise in his concluding remarks at the end of Monsoon session of Parliament for Mrs Gandhi as “the height of sycophancy”. The spokesman said that usually at the end of the session, the Prime Minister speaking on behalf of the Government thanked the members for their cooperation resulting in passing of important government business. But Dr Singh chose to utilise the opportunity to shower praise on Mrs Gandhi. “It was completely out of context”, he said. |
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BJP tough on Khurana
New Delhi, August 30 “I do not think he (Mr Khurana) will be forgiven without an unconditional apology. He has gone too far,’’ the source told UNI after the former Delhi Chief Minister sought more time to respond to the party’s ten-day show-cause notice.
— UNI
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IAF, DRDO developing ambitious radar technology
New Delhi, August 30 Reports suggested that the programme for design and development of indigenous AEW&C System is going on with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The preliminary designs of various sub-systems of the AEW&C have been completed and although the initial time-frame for the completion of development activities and commencement of user trials is 78 months, it could get a bit delayed. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had given its clearance for the indigenous AEW&C in September last year with the work on it commencing in October 2004. The government was hopeful that the DRDO would be able to keep the time schedule for the project, which has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore. The DRDO and the IAF will jointly cooperate in the development of the system which would mean a big step ahead for India in developing its own radar technology. The revival of the AWACS project was announced five years after the DRDO’s HS-748 technology demonstrator aircraft crashed, killing some DRDO scientists and technicians in Tamil Nadu in 1999. Last week Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed the Rajya Sabha that all preliminary designs of various sub-systems of the AEW&C had been completed, which reflected that the DRDO had started work on the project which would put India among the handful of nations developing its own radar technology. Incidentally, the announcement for the development of indigenous AEW&C from the government came in the wake of the DRDO claiming that India had developed expertise to produce an indigenous AWACS. Although the government did not spell out future plans for mounting this indigenous radar system since India has recently signed an agreement with Brazil for the supply of Embraer aircraft for the VIP squadron, there has been speculation that it could be mounted on one of these aircraft when it eventually comes to India. Incidentally, India is set to receive first of its three Israel-made Phalcon ‘aireye’ (AWACS) radars on Russian IL-76 transport aircraft with Indian avionics by early 2007. The multi-million dollar trilateral deal for the supply of Phalcon was signed in March 2004. As part of the training for the Phalcons which will give India a wider reach in the skies, the IAF personnel who participated in the Garuda-II aerial exercise in France recently gained valuable experience in AWACS operations. Others would be sent abroad soon to be trained in controlling the aircraft popularly known as “eyes in the sky”. Once Phalcon AWACS becomes part of India’s air combat, it would greatly enhance the surveillance capability of the IAF against incoming surface-to-surface missiles as well as a means to strike deep into enemy territory. During the fortnight-long Garuda-II exercise conducted from June 15 in France, several IAF officers flew as observers in the French Air Force’s AWACS and worked closely with their French counterparts in guiding missions from the aerial platforms that carry a mix of sophisticated sensors and radars. The IAF is also looking forward to the US Air Force bringing in its AWACS for an exercise to be held in India in November. |
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Model Bill for elderly soon
New Delhi, August 30 To be enacted on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh Parents Maintenance Legislation, the Bill aimed at converting moral duty into legal duty by having concrete provisions for the maintenance of old people. The Bill intends setting up of tribunals at sub-divisional level for getting maintenance for aged parents from their children and also the old age pension. The other features include setting up of at least one old age home in each district and specific health provisions for the elderly. Ms Meira Kumar said the National Policy for Persons with Disability was also under deliberation. Appreciating the inputs from some states in this regard, she said the education of children with disability was the primary concern of the government. She also called for skill development programmes for disabled persons in productive age groups to facilitate their employment opportunities and urged state governments to ensure that all public buildings, roads and transport were made disabled friendly. She said the ministry was in the process of getting the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, amended to make rehabilitation mechanisms child friendly. |
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Left warns govt against diluting labour laws
New Delhi, August 30 Issuing a veiled threat, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said the Manmohan Singh government’s stability depends on the outside support being extended by the Left parties and we will not allow the government to take any anti-worker decision. “We are advising the government and suggesting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to introduce the Bill which is yet to be approved by the Cabinet,” he said, adding that the Left and other like-minded parties would put up a joint fight against the “draconian Bill.” He released an 11-page draft Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill, characterised as “secret” which contains the details of the Cabinet meeting held on August 11, and circulated to the Prime Minister, Ministries concerned, the Planning Commission and other relevant departments. Reading out extensively from the draft Bill, the CPI leader said the government could not be allowed to make the workers a casualty in the name of promoting competition and economic development. The Bill, he said, envisaged that the monitoring and inspection of violation of labour laws will be done in an “arbitrary” manner for “a small enterprise, where the investment in equipment is more than Rs 2 crore” and “a medium enterprise, where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs 5 crore.” |
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Chandumajra meets PM, seeks water projects
New Delhi, August 30 In a memorandum, submitted to Dr Manmohan Singh, the Akali leader said the state had contributed about 60 per cent foodgrains to the Central kitty, helping the country to come out of the ‘ship to mouth’ syndrome, thereby putting an end to the foodgrain imports. In the process of making the country self-sufficient, Punjab lost its natural resources like water and fertile soil, the memorandum said adding that the Centre should compensate the state by helping in implementing a water replenishment programme there. As Punjab has limited river water resources, the Centre should assist the State with technological and financial help to take up water harvesting and sagacious use of water for crop irrigation that consumes 90 per cent of available resources, the memorandum said. In a separate memorandum to Mr Dasmunshi, the Akali leader demanded subsidy and technical knowhow to revive village ponds, lakes and dried up water reserves in the state. |
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IFJ protests against Dheer’s arrest
New Delhi, August 30 The “arbitrary and illegal arrest of Gautam Dheer is a chilling reminder that the “Using trumped-up charges against journalists to protect a high-ranking police officer from public embarrassment or exposure cannot be condoned by the police force or the government,” the IFJ president said. “It is reassuring that the Punjab Government has ordered an inquiry into the incident and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has made a commitment to take action against police officials concerned if they are found guilty,” the IFJ said. “However, the fact that such an appalling abuse of police power can be allowed in the first place is extremely concerning. It is a sad state of affairs that journalists need to be vigilant and speak out to protect against police taking the law into their own hands,” said Warren. Mr Dheer had filed a story in the August 28 edition of his paper about the special investigation team (SIT), headed by Punjab Police IG Sumedh Singh Saini, which was probing the case of the alleged rape of a minor girl in 2003 in Nayagaon in Ropar district. |
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Keshubhai meets Advani
New Delhi, August 30 Mr Patel was
closeted with Mr Advani at the latter’s residence for over an hour and the two are believed to have discussed the issue of grievances that several BJP MLAs have against Mr Modi. The former Gujarat Chief Minister, along with several dissident MLAs, had earlier come to Delhi more than a week ago to air their grievances and demand Mr Modi’s ouster. They had met former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi and some other leaders, but returned to Gujarat without meeting Mr Advani. |
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Remand of Ayodhya attack accused extended
Ayodhya, August 30 While Iqbal,
Naseem, Shakeel and Aziz, all militants, had been arrested from Jammu and Kashmir on July 14 and 27, Dr
Irfan, a Unani doctor was arrested from Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on July 22. The four militants had allegedly provided SIM card and weapons to the five terrorists who made an abortive bid on the complex. Dr Irfan was, however, arrested for having knowledge of the plans of the five terrorists killed by the security personnel at the complex.
—UNI |
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Ayodhya case hearing postponed
Rae Bareli, August 30 A group of slogan-shouting lawyers barged into the court of the Special Judicial Magistrate V K Singh and asked the counsels for the eight accused in the case to leave since the Bar members were on an indefinite strike. The lawyers are demanding a chamber in the civil court in place of the collectorate. However, as both parties declined, the court deferred the date for hearing evidence in the case to September 30.
— UNI |
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BJP flays killing of Assam leader
New Delhi, August 30 Earlier, BJP President L. K. Advani and Mr Mahajan talked to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil about the killing of the RSS leader. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh spoke to Assam Governor Ajai Singh to express their strong feelings on the issue. |
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J.J. Singh is Hon Col of the Brigade of Guards
New Delhi, August 30 The regiment has a distinguished record of battle honours, theatre honours, unit citations and several gallantry awards, including a Param Vir Chakra and an Ashok Chakra. The Colonel of the regiment, Lieut-Gen
R.B. Singh, conferred the title on Gen J.J. Singh. |
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Punjab criminal held in Jaipur
Jaipur, August 30 A number of cases on charges of murder, loot and theft were registered against Srangar Singh in his home state, sources said. |
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Parliament adjourned sine die
New Delhi, August 30 However, the much-publicised Women’s Reservation Bill was not introduced in this session of Parliament despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holding meetings with different political parties to evolve a consensus on the issue. |
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Natwar to leave for Iran on Sept 2
New Delhi, August 30 |
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Dehra Dun, August 30 |
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