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Public interest core of journalism, says Tarun
Tejpal
Congress CMs’ conclave next week
RJD, Cong fail to project CM candidate
Cong defends RJD rule in Bihar
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Lalu dolls a rage at Bihar fair
Return of Left to UPA panel depends on Sonia: Karat
Advani for white paper on foreign
funding of political parties
Gujarat may move SC to extend poll date
BCI causes anguish to apex court
Tribal woman raped, two held
Frequency of cyclones rising in Indian Ocean
Refusal to stay with less-earning husband ground for divorce: SC
North East, South can produce enough wheat
Sex abuse: cricket coach convicted
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Public interest core of journalism, says Tarun Tejpal
Lucknow, October 2 Paying tributes to one of the greatest communicators of modern India, a cross section of state’s journalists gathered at the Press Club this morning under the banner of the newly launched Journalist for Democracy to introspect on some crucial questions facing the profession today. Calling an independent, fearless press a cornerstone of democracy, Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal applied Gandhi’s talisman at the heart of the evaluation process, for a good story should be of public interest. Whenever we have to take a decision, we should apply this litmus test. Does the story benefit the proprietor, editor, reporter or does it lend voice to the voiceless people”? Speaking on “Patrakar aur Sarkar”, Tejpal admitted that pressures before a journalist today were manifold and he had no blueprint to offer. He, however, said that keeping the record of the past half decade of Tehelka’s survival in mind, he was very optimist and had great hope from the younger crop of journalists. The other bit of advice that he had for journalists was a constant companionship of a book which will never fail to shed light on “who we are, where do we want to go and what are the tools for reaching there”. The book is the Constitution of India. Giving his paper’s principle, he said he was just not prepared to compromise whether for power, money or friendship. “I tell friends that I am going to write against them and then if they need me, I would be with them in court”. According to Tejpal, communalism, not corruption was the biggest challenge before the nation. “Corruption is a disease which many suffer from. Some more some less. But communalism divides the hearts. I cannot conceive of the nation if communalism has it way”. Introducing the subject, journalist Pankaj Srivastava said keeping the Chief Minister’s recent suggestion to journalists to chose the most corrupt amongst them, it was time for journalists to honestly ponder over the causes of the sharp decline in their prestige. |
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Congress CMs’ conclave next week
New Delhi, October 2 The conclave will open with inaugural address by Congress
President Sonia Gandhi on October 7. While the first day of discussions would be devoted to the implementation of party
manifestos in different states and the law and order situation, the second day would focus on Central legislations, including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Right to Information Act, National Rural Health Mission besides Sarv Siksha Abhiyan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will attend the two-day conference, will address the Chief Ministers on the second day. Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni, who is visiting Chandigarh to review preparations for the conclave, said the issues relating to agriculture would be discussed in the context of problems faced by small farmers and rural indebtness. The discussion on law and order will also touch the threat posed by Naxalism. The discussions on social sector welfare would primarily
focus on health and education. The meeting would be attended by several Cabinet ministers, including Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar. Ms Gandhi has written a letter to the party CMs drawing their attention to the main agenda of the meeting. The CMs conclave at Chandigarh is taking place in the backdrop of the Congress having come to power at the Centre with support of its allies and the party having already implemented some of the suggestions made in the earlier Chief Minister conclaves which were held when the Congress was in Opposition. While the CMs meeting at Guwahati adopted a “resolve,” Ms Soni said there was no such proposal for the Chandigarh meeting. |
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RJD, Cong fail to project CM candidate
Patna, October 2 For the past few days, the Union Railways Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has been evading a direct reply on the chief ministerial candidate from the four party UPA coalition. In sharp contrast to February Assembly poll, the silence on part of Mr Yadav only confirms that he is unsure of a favourable outcome yet. For Mr Yadav, the pre and post February poll bickerings within the RJD have apparently convinced him that even his close followers might no longer accept Rabri Devi as his replacement as has had been the case since 1997. A witty Mr Yadav is thus trying to manage the show in replying to the chief ministerial candidate issue by saying understood hai. But the failure to announce the candidate by the RJD might proved to be a major handicap for Mr Yadav in marketing the UPA alliance as a viable alternative against the NDA. |
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Cong defends RJD rule in Bihar
Patna, October 2 Mr Singh was interacting with the media here yesterday to announce the campaign schedule of the party for the first phase of the four-phased Bihar Assembly election slated for October 18. According to Mr Singh, Lalu Prasad and RJD could never be held responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The AICC observer for Bihar said party president Sonia Gandhi would address at least two joint rallies with Lalu Prasad Yadav in October and November. Mr Singh said: “Soniaaji will visit the state twice to take part in the election campaign. The other partners of UPA coalition in Bihar, like the NCP leader Sharad Pawar and the CPI(M), will also be present at the joint rallies”. The Congress will
officially kick-off its campaign from tomorrow and has asked its district leaders to ensure proper coordination with the RJD. |
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Lalu dolls a rage at Bihar fair
Patna, October 2 Dressed in white kurta and pyajama, with sleeves covering the entire palms and ''Sadhna cut'' (white hair falling on forehead), the 'Lalu doll' has become a star attraction among the people at the fair. A government lawyer said, ''It was a Lalu style attempt to woo voters in view of the coming Assembly elections,'' he remarked. Mr Lalu Prasad admired the
manufacturer's idea saying, ''Khilona ke jariye hum ghar ghar mein pahunch gaiye hain aur desh ka bhavishya, bachhe mere sath khel-kud rahe honge, kuch humko patakta bhi hoga.'' Organisers pleaded ignorance over the display and sale of the 'Lalu dolls' at the fair. Subodh Kumar, an organiser said he was unaware of the sale of the dolls. A local company had made ''Lalu sattu cola'' and Mr Prasad himself was seen on the small screen promoting the sattu but it too did not do good business. At the last Lok Sabha elections a local company had manufactured a small sachet of tobacco with the brand name ''Lalu Khaini''.
— UNI |
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Return of Left to UPA panel depends on Sonia: Karat
Kolkata, October 2 Mr Karat was talking to media persons at the CPM’s Politburo meeting to discuss the second volume of the communist party’s history. Chief Minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Mr Jyoti Basu, Mr Anil Biswas and Mr Biman Bose, were present at the meeting. They also reviewed the country’s present political situation vis-à-vis the UPA government’s performance. The forthcoming elections in Bihar and Bengal also came up for discussion. The Left leadership regretted that the secular forces in Bihar could not get united against the BJP and other communal forces. Mr Karat critcised the Manmohan Singh government for flouting the Common Minimum Programme
(CMP). He alleged that the Prime Minister and his government had been serving the interest of the US against the country’s interests. Mr Basu lashed out at their economic decisions, particularly the disinvestment of BHEL and the airports. He declared that they would henceforth only extend issue-based support to the
UPA. He also asked the Left Front to launch a massive campaign against the Congress in the state’s forthcoming Assembly elections. Mr Karat was aggrieved that the Prime Minister was pursuing policies that were damaging the country’s profit-making public sector companies like BHEL and other
Navratnas. They would oppose tooth and nail the disinvestments of BHEL and the airports, he said. “We have made our conditions clear to both Ms Gandhi and the Prime Minister, and the ball in now in their court,” Mr Karat said. |
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Advani for white paper on foreign
funding of political parties
New Delhi, October 2 Describing the “revelations” in the book “The Mitrokhin Archive II: The KGB and the World” as “the biggest scandal of independent India”, Mr Advani in company of top BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Jaswant Singh, asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to initiate a “public inquiry” into the matter as it would “clear the situation at the very earliest, say in not later than four weeks”. Releasing a copy of the letter by Mr Vajpayee, himself and Mr Jaswant Singh to the Prime Minister, dated September 23, at a press conference here, Mr Advani said “in addition it would be worthy of your (Manmohan Singh’s) consideration to encourage the political parties concerned to also file suits for defamation in appropriate courts of law, should these allegations, be held by them as untrue”. Stating that the Congress party’s role in this matter was “very significant”, Mr Advani said the silence of the Congress and the Left, the two pillars of the present government, was “guilty silence”. In a swift reaction to Mr Advani’s demands, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said “it is a belated reaction from a besieged President of a party struggling to find its relevance and direction”. Mr Sharma said allegations in the Mitrokhin Archive “lacked credibility and can’t be given any credence by any responsible leadership”. CPI National Secretary D Raja described the BJP’s demand as “baseless” and said that Mr Advani “is crestfallen in his organisation and is trying to beat a dead horse which is not going to gain anything”. Flanked at the press conference by Mr Jaswant Singh, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Arun Jaitley, Mr Advani said “specifically (we demand) a white paper on foreign money’s role to pollute Indian politics. Simultaneously, a Supreme Court judge should also investigate the matter.” He said the white paper should incorporate activities of the KGB, US intelligence agency CIA and Pakistan’s ISI. Asserting that charges contained in the book, which were accessible through the internet, should be discussed and not “brushed under the carpet”, Mr Advani said “the allegations are such that virtually all of India gets charged, the name of our country getting sullied in the process”. Mr Advani, who ducked all other questions barring the Mitrokhin papers, asked the Prime Minister to take the issue very seriously and come out on his own with the source of foreign money into India in the past 58 years. “The government should give all information it has on this matter through a white paper on the role of foreign money in Indian politics,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, the ISI’s role in the country has been very significant and there should be a public discussion on that,” the BJP President said. But unfortunately so far, the response of the government has been total silence, while a CPI leader has even called these revelations “spy thriller”, he said, adding that he was releasing the letter as he had failed to receive a reply from the Prime Minister after waiting for a suitable period. The language of the CPM seemed to suggest that it wanted to distance itself from what had been revealed while implying that there could be some truth about the involvement of the CPI, the BJP leader pointed out. He said it had been revealed that the KGB’s impact was felt in the PMO, Defence Ministry and in the Intelligence Bureau. Mr Advani said he had read a former IB official saying that the revelations were not a spy thriller. He said while democracy was India’s biggest strength now, there were reports that during the 1977 elections after the Emergency, the KGB had “funded the elections of 21 non-communist leaders, including four Central ministers”. “If this is true, then it is very worrisome because at around that time Parliament had passed a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act banning politicians and mediapersons taking any money from foreign countries.” Contending that the Mitrokhin papers issue would dominate the
November session of Parliament, he said he was concerned as “the nation’s good name, particularly when it is said that India was the easiest country for KGB operatives to
penetrate, had been “besmirched”. |
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Gujarat may move SC to extend poll date
Gandhinagar, October 2 The election to the urban and rural local self-government bodies in Gujarat, slated to be held in proximity to each other, are taking place almost just past the halfway mark of the term of the country’s most controversial Chief Minister. If the results go against the ruling party, the countdown to Modi’s exit will begin. The state government is keen to appoint administrators on the completion of the term of the bulk of district panchayats in the state which are under Congress rule. It had earlier issued a notification to the effect that 60 village panchayats be upgraded to municipalities and, therefore, it was not possible to hold panchayat elections until May 2006. Acting on a petition moved by the Congress-held Vadodara and Sabarkantha district panchayats and Petlad taluka panchayat seeking proper directions to the state government to hold elections before the expiry of their current term, the Division Bench of Mr Justice M.S. Shah and Mr Justice
D.H. Waghela on September 27 directed the state government to hold the poll before October 28. It also stayed the implementation of the government notification seeking to upgrade the village panchayats to municipalities until the duration of the poll. The state Election Commission, in its submission before the court had pointed out that repeated reminders to the state government to issue the notification for holding the poll had gone unanswered. The state government is exploring the possibility of approaching the Supreme Court in a bid to manage a respite for itself. It is likely to file a special leave petition seeking extension of the October 28 deadline. |
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BCI causes anguish to apex court
New Delhi, October 2 “Senior advocate Krishnamani made a statement on behalf of the BCI that a meeting has been called by the BCI on October 18 in order to consider what is to be done with regard to lawyers’ strike. It is hoped that now at least better sense will prevail and the BCI incorporates the clauses (framed by court) in the its (conduct and disciplinary) rules,” a Bench of Mr Justice S.N. Variava, Mr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan and Mr Justice S.H. Kapadia in its judgement said. The court took exception to the BCI not taking any steps during the past two years in incorporating in its conduct rules the clauses framed by a Constitution Bench in its order in 2003 passed in a case pertaining to the 1999-2000 countrywide strike by advocates. “Unfortunately, even after all these years, the BCI has not deemed it fit to incorporate those direction in its rules,” the Bench observed. The judgement came on a writ petition by a social organisation, the Common Cause, which had highlighted the issue of frequent uncalled for strikes by lawyers on slightest provocation and then forcibly preventing those advocates from appearing in the court, who did not wish to participate in their stir. The Common Cause has also sought initiation of contempt action against some lawyers’ leaders for allegedly preventing senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, his son Prashant Bhushan and some others lawyers from attending courts during the 1999-2000 strike on the ground that it amounted to interfering with the judicial process. The Bench said since detailed guidelines were laid down by the Constitution Bench for the BCI to follow and discipline the errant lawyers after the 1999-2000 strike, there was no need to issue fresh directions. Apart from reiterating the law laid down by the court earlier, “we do not propose to take any further action,” the Bench said, adding the contempt notices issued by the courts against lawyers’ leaders stood discharged. As per the four-point guidelines laid down by the court, the BCI was asked to make it clear that when it considered it imperative to advice members of legal profession to abstain from appearing in courts due to some real reasons, no one should be allowed to do it forcibly. It would purely be choice of individual in such circumstances to attend the court or abstain from work. |
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Tribal woman raped, two held
Jaipur, October 2 The woman, a resident of Basni near Jodhpur, lodged a complaint with the police today that she was raped by four men near the Ranchordas temple yesterday afternoon, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajendra Singh Sisodia said. The woman was living alone for the past two years as she was separated from her husband. Two of the four persons named by the victim in the FIR were arrested and are being questioned, he said, adding the woman has been sent for medical examination. However, temple priest Hari Lal said the incident did not occur inside the temple premises as the shrine was closed in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said the tribal woman had relations with another man and she had come to the area looking for him when she was abused by the accused. He said the victim was married in her childhood and her husband had left her two years ago.
— PTI |
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Frequency of cyclones rising in Indian Ocean
New Delhi, October 2 A simulation experiment conducted recently by the IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, by introducing different factors on the climate model also revealed that global warming was having a rather selective impact on different categories of cyclones during different parts of the year. By introducing the green house effect on the model by one per cent annually, two interesting facts emerged. That while monsoon disturbances were decreasing, perhaps due to a weakening effect of the green house phenomenon on cyclones developed during that period, cyclones developed during November and May were increasing in number and intensity. Similar have been results of some exhaustive studies conducted by Dr O.P. Singh, Director, IMD, on various aspects of tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean in the past four years. Papers published by Dr O.P. Singh have shown that in recent decades the frequency of intense tropical cyclones have increased and the frequency of monsoon disturbances decreased substantially. One of his studies says if a cyclone develops in the post-monsoon November, it now has a higher probability of reaching high intensity level. Another of his study reveals that while the average number of tropical cyclones in a particular year has decreased, their number and intensity have increased during November and May. A recent study by US scientists has also corroborated the findings of the IMD and shown a tremendous increase in the number of severe cyclones during the past 15 years. While situation in the Indian Ocean basin, which is smaller in size as compared to Atlantic or Pacific oceans, is not so alarming at present, cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal account for 80 per cent of the tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean and have the maximum probability of affecting the Indian coastline. The rest 20 per cent cyclones are a result of disturbances in the Arabian Sea. National Centre for Medium Range Forecast spokesperson Akhilesh Gupta says a recently published study by Prof W.J. Webster in “Nature” has shown that in the past 15 years, the number of tropical cyclones, falling in the Category 4 and 5 of the kind hurricanes Rita and Katerina have been, are increasing in the Indian ocean region. “As per a part of the study, which was based on Indian data between 1989 and 2004, the Indian Ocean experienced seven cyclones, six of category 4 and one of category 5. In direct comparison, between 1976 and 1989, only one cyclone of category 4 and 5 was observed,” he says. Incidentally, in India cyclones are categorised as cyclone, severe cyclone, very severe cyclone and super cyclone depending upon their intensity, while in the USA they are segregated in categories 1 to 5, with category 1 being the mildest. “Pyarr”, the cyclone that recently ravaged Andhra Pradesh, was a category 1 cyclone. The last super cyclone to hit India was the Orissa cyclone in October 1999. Of course, then cyclones in the Indian Ocean were not being christened. |
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Refusal to stay with less-earning husband ground for divorce: SC
New Delhi, October 1 A bench of judges Arun Kumar and A.K. Mathur gave this ruling on Tuesday while upholding a Gujarat High Court order confirming a decree for divorce. The bench said that total abandonment of marriage could not be justified on grounds of monetary consideration alone. In this case, at the time of marriage in November 1992, one Geeta Jagdish Mangtani was employed as a teacher in Bhuj in Gujarat earning Rs.7,000 a month while her husband was working in Mumbai on a salary of Rs.1,400. In June 1993, she refused to leave her job to join her husband at Mumbai. She put a condition that unless he earned at least Rs 5,000 per month, she would not join him, as his present income would not be sufficient. A son was born to the couple in November 1993 after she had left her matrimonial home. Her husband sought divorce on the ground of desertion and the trial court granted the divorce. On appeal, the high court confirmed this order after its efforts for a patch up failed as she insisted that her husband should earn more. The court said that it was satisfied that both the husband and wife had no intention to live together and had decided to break off. The present special leave petition by the wife is directed against this order. She contended that since 'no fault divorce' was not recognised under the Hindu Marriage Act, the high court had erred in granting divorce on the ground that the marriage had broken down. The apex court bench did not accept Geeta's argument that she had a reasonable cause for not joining her husband. The judges pointed out that the parties knew prior to their marriage what they were earning. However, there had been no attempt by the wife to stay with her husband. "In the facts and circumstances of the case, it cannot be said that this desertion on the part of the wife was with a reasonable cause. It amounted to wilful neglect of the husband by the wife as monetary consideration alone could not be considered as a reasonable cause to desert," the bench said and dismissed her appeal. — IANS |
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North East, South can produce enough wheat
New Delhi, October 2 Incidentally, the new wheat variety for southern India, which has been developed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has excellent chapatti quality and very good bread and biscuit quality. “If the northeastern states successfully undertake wheat production, it could supply the grain to the nearby states instead of bringing them from far away states like Punjab and Haryana,” said Director of the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research S. Nagarajan. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an IARI award giving ceremony, he said the wheat sowing in the region would start from October 15. After its rice harvest in the coming weeks, Assam should immediately undertake wheat sowing. An eminent wheat expert, Mr Nagarajan, said the country could save crores of rupees if states like Assam could take wheat cultivation in a big way. The ICAR recently released a new HD 2888 wheat variety, tolerant to drought/moisture stress as it had yielded highest over all checks and qualifying varieties under rainfed conditions for the North-Eastern Plain Zone. The variety carries a high degree of resistance to stem rust and moderate degree of resistance to leaf blight, which occurs in this region. The average yield is 23 quintals per
hectare and has high extraction rate (flour recovery) without disturbing the quality of wheat and micronutrient content. Further, it also released NIAW 917 and PBW 533 wheat varieties for Peninsular Zone- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and plains of Tamil Nadu. While NAIW 917 is superior in yield (average yield 43 quintals per hectre), disease resistance and quality, PBW 533 is resistant to both stem and leaf rust with average yield of 37 quintals per hectre. PBW 533, developed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has excellent chapatti quality and very good bread and biscuit quality. Meanwhile, Mr Nagarajan said the country was heading for a bumber wheat production following the bounty late kharif rains this month but agricultural scientists had cautioned states to take adequate measures to avail the opportunity. Earlier, the IARI conferred the Rao Bahadur B. Viswanath Award (the first director of IARI) on senior agricultural scientist C.D. Mayee for his work in the area of groundnut and sunflower seeds. The award presented by ICAR Director-General Mangala Rai contains a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a gold medal and a citation. |
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Sex abuse: cricket coach convicted
Jabalpur, October 2 According to prosecution, Amit Vishwakarma used to lure children to his home in the name of imparting supernatural powers to play cricket and sexually abused them. He continued to indulge in the act from 1994 to 2003. The District Public Prosecutor described the crime as extremely cruel and demanded severe punishment from the court. |
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5 lynched in North 24 Pargana
Barasat (WB), October 2 |
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Six killed
Bangalore, October 2 |
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