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China’s ‘no-give’ negotiating stance on border dispute
NSG commandos to be sent to Jehanabad
Minority community voters harassed: Lalu
Contest between Bhumihar leaders
NDA brings Vajpayee for
the final push
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Natwar denies feeling isolated
SC declines to issue order on plea against Bhardwaj
Spyware a threat to IT security
Naidu meets RSS top brass
Miss Universe backs Kushboo
Bring Reliance under ambit of probe: activists
Voting on Iran issue: UPA to hold talks with Left
Ministry for new wage board for newspaper staff
Patil promises action in scribes’ case
Overall situation in J&K not alarming: Centre
Subsidy for drip irrigation hiked
AITUC meet to discuss labour issues
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China’s ‘no-give’ negotiating stance on border dispute
New Delhi, November 16 The Tribune has got a peep into the complicated negotiations between India and China on the border issue which is being reported for the first time in an Indian newspaper. There was little or insignificant progress on the border dispute at the sixth round of Special Representative-level talks between Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo in Beijing (September 26-28), well placed sources said today. The talks marked the beginning of the second phase of negotiations under the mechanism of Special Representatives who are mandated by the two governments to work out an agreed framework for a boundary settlement on the basis of the “Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of India-China Boundary Question”. China’s demand list may be read as follows. The Sikkim issue has not been fully resolved in the strategic sense. The boundary will have to be demarcated. The border trade agreement between Sikkim and Yadong, Tibet has no meaning. China is building a railway line from Lhasa to Yadong in its 11th five-year plan, and they want full trade and transit facility through Kolkata Port. The ultimate aim is to build a trade and transit network through sensitive and strategic areas of India to other South Asian countries to push in cheap Chinese products. The Chinese hard selling of the Free Trade Agreement with India should be seen in this context. Other new issues signalled to India recently include China’s strategic routes through the eastern sector, and western sector route joining Tibet to Xinjiang, which are India’s territory or in India strategic striking distance. A new position about to come up on the issue is that 40 per cent of Tibet’s resources including forests and hydropower are in India’s occupation in the western sector. This is apart from the already started position that the vital Tibet-Xinjiang highway will be vulnerable to India military’s strategic strike if any concession is made there by China. The Sino-Indian border issue has entered the real phase. Two separate compartments, which will complement each other eventually, have become discernible. One is the actual border demarcation. In the Chinese concept, the border length still remain, 2,000 km, while in the Indian concept, it is about 4,000 km. Tawang is repeatedly claimed, as the 6th Dalai Lama was born there. That is just one. Other big issues include security of the Indian Ocean sea-lanes for their energy security — 70 per cent of China’s oil imports traverse the Indian Ocean route. Chinese missiles cover these routes, and its navy will soon be flying its flag permanently in the Indian Ocean. On this issue China will not countenance any Indian resistance. From the greater regional and global perspective, Beijing has put New Delhi’s new active foreign policy under a microscope. How does India’s growing military capabilities supplement its foreign policy objectives and can impact China’s controlling interests in greater Asia. The Indian Navy’s exercises with the US Navy, on the one side, and with Southeast Asian navies in China’s backyard have raised eyebrows in Zhongnanhai. The Chinese official media has also flagged other “big issues” on the border negotiations. It may be pertinent to note in this context an observation in the Communist Party organ, the “People’s Daily”, immediately following the last Special Representative level talks. It said only by enhancing cooperation with China can India actually create an excellent geopolitical environment for its “Go-South” and “Look East” development strategies. The message to India could not have been clearer. It took China 50 years to resolve the boundary issue with Russia and the erstwhile Soviet Union states. With India, the discussions have been on for only 34 years, and China can wait. In the meantime, India will be watched for good behaviour. Unlike India, the mainstream Chinese media is strictly official and one would ignore their message at one’s own peril. The Chinese are equally great communicators with non-statements, silence and omissions, as they are with curt statements. The Chinese are known to float proposals as trial balloons to read the mind of the other side and then remove these from the table as “concepts” and not negotiating offers. The Chinese largesse to India on the border settlement, from Zhou Enlai’s proposal to Deng Xiaopong’s package deal offer of 1988, are some such examples.
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NSG commandos to be sent to Jehanabad
New Delhi, November 16 Besides, Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry A.K. Mitra will camp in Patna for a few days beginning tomorrow to supervise and coordinate combing operations in Jehanabad and its adjoining areas. The two NSG squadrons, comprising both Special Rangers Group (SRG) and Special Action Group (SAG) commandos, will reach Patna by tomorrow and will be pressed into service for “special strategic action”. “Our immediate task is to arrest the Naxals, who were behind the Sunday’s attack on the district jail, and those prisoners, who had fled from the jail...The two NSG squadrons will thus come handy for special strategic action,” Mr Mitra stated here this evening. This would be the first time when the elite commandos of the NSG will be deployed for anti-Naxal operations. The Union Home Ministry, which has the administrative control over Bihar as it is under President’s rule, has also directed district officials in the 22 Naxal-affected districts of Bihar to review and strengthen the security of local jails, where several top Naxal leaders are lodged. The Home Ministry, has however, not taken any decision so far to shift top Naxal leaders lodged in various Bihar jails to high-security prisons outside the state. “There are several top Naxal leaders, who are lodged in various jails in Bihar. We have asked the local administration to review and strengthen security of the jails after the attack in the district jail. But there is no thinking so far to shift them to jails outside the state,” Mr Mitra said in reply to a question.
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Minority community voters harassed: Lalu
Patna, November 16 According to official sources, Mr Rao was prompt enough to reach the area to make an on-the-spot inquiry. After the inquiry was over, Mr Rao asked the District Magistrate, Sitamari, to call Mr Lalu Prasad at his residence and spoke to him. But he did not wind up his responsibility to ensure free and fair poll there. Mr Rao then gave the mobile phone to a woman voter from the minority community in the area who spoke to Mr Lalu Prasad
and explained to him that everything was running in the polling booth to her satisfaction. The polling in 15 booths in the naxal-affected areas, however, passed off by and large peacefully. About 46 per cent of a total of 31.74 lakh voters reportedly had cast their votes in 3,415 booths to seal the fate of 119 candidates today. But despite heavy security arrangements, there were reports of denying genuine voters their right to exercise their franchise in some pockets of Motihari, East Champaran and Sitamari areas though they had voters` identity cards. Meanwhile, the Election Commission booked the state BJP president Sushil Modi for violation of code of conduct for attending a “road show” at
Siwan, the constituency dominated by controversial RJD MP Mohammed
Shabuddin, now lodged in the Bhagalpur
jail, yesterday. An FIR has been filed against Mr Modi. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal today urged all naxal-affected states in the country to follow West Bengal model of land reforms implemented by the Left Front government there to isolate the Naxalites from the masses in backward and underdeveloped areas. Addressing the media here today, Mr Jaiswal said even though the Naxalite problem first had erupted in West Bengal in early 70s, it was the successful land reforms by the Left Front government there which now could limit the Naxalite problem in few pockets in some
districts, unlike six other Naxal-affected states where underdevelopment, coupled with the absence of land
reforms, were the root cause behind the naxalite threat.
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Contest between Bhumihar leaders
Mokama, November 16 The battle on November 19 appears to be direct between the JD (U) candidate Anant Singh and LJP’s Lallan Singh. The Secular
Democratic Front has fielded Gurujit Singh on a Congress ticket but from all indications the contest is between the LJP and JD (U) whose Bhumihar candidates are locked in a close fight. The JD (U) contestant is being backed by the party MP Nalni Ranjan, alias Lallan Singh who is close to NDA’s chief ministerial candidate. The LJP candidate is being supported by Balia’s Lok Sabha MP Suraj Bhan Singh who is known for his strong arm tactics and has been a successful Railway contractor during Nitesh Kumar’s stint as a Railway Minister. Though the Election Commission is maintaining a close vigil on the activities and movement of the two ‘Bahubalis’ (strongmen), but both Mr Suraj Bhan Singh and Mr Lallan Singh have been campaigning for weeks. Not only they but also their political bosses — Nitesh Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan — have been to the area many times. In February poll, the JD (U) had won the seat which had lowered the prestige of Paswan who had represented this Assembly constituency before assuming a ministerial berth in the UPA government. Local residents agree that the contest is between the JD (U) and the LJP. “That is why, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad has given this seat to the Congress which has fielded a Punjabi candidate”, grocery owner Tejpal Singh said and added that Mokama has largest number of Bhumihar voters in the state. “We only wish that a government emerges out of these election which takes effective steps to improve industrial environment here and our city again starts attracting investments”, he said lamenting that majority of the industrial units have either closed down or were sick.
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NDA brings Vajpayee for
the final push
Patna, November 16 Addressing the last big rally before the polling of the last phase on November 19, Mr Vajpayee said the RJD was responsible for the state of affairs in Bihar and contradicted UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s allegation that the NDA government had discriminated against Bihar. “Bihar was given projects and financial aid for various developmental programmes but the RJD government in Patna sent back that money for not being able to implement the projects”, the former Prime Minister said. Mr Vajpayee, knowing that the BJP had 8 MLAs in February from this area and now it had stake in 16 seats, reminded the gathering that the time to cleanse was now and they should make a point to vote for the NDA candidates. Praising the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar who was an effective colleague in his Cabinet, the former Prime Minister’s words evoked response among the crowd which raised slogans of ending “Lalu raj”.
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Natwar denies feeling isolated
New Delhi, November 16 “I don’t feel isolated at all... I fully agree with what Mrs Gandhi said yesterday. In fact, I suggested a probe to get to the bottom of it,” Mr Natwar
Singh said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here. In response to questions from the audience, Mr Natwar Singh said: “I am a very gutsy person. If I had done something, I would not have been here... When I look into the mirror, I do not feel ashamed. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I say this with all humility.” The Minister without portfolio today again denied allegations made against him by the Volcker Committee with regard to Iraq’s Oil-for-Food programme. He said Mr Volcker did not even know his name and pointed out that Mr Volcker had himself admitted changing the language in some portions of the report at the instance of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan which raised questions about its findings. Earlier, in his address, Mr Natwar Singh denied that he had changed his mind on India’s stand in the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear programme. He said with its vote, India had been able to get Iran a two-month respite so that the matter was not referred to the UN Security Council. He added that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was
trying to evolve a consensus in the matter with other countries. “My views may change but the fundamental basic nature and character does not change... It will be a great tragedy if the matter is taken to the
UNSC. I hope we are able persuade on this issue,” he said. He asserted that he had no double standards on the subject when he recently went on record saying that he, as the External Affairs Minister, would advise the government not to vote against Iran. Mr Natwar Singh said he was a complete votary of India having the “closest of relations” with the US.
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SC declines to issue order on plea against Bhardwaj
New Delhi, November 16 When advocate Ajay Agrawal, who filed the petition, made a mention before a Bench of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Mr Justice C.K. Thakker and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan for early hearing of the matter, it declined to issue any order. Agrawal had filed the petition last week in the apex court Registry, seeking notice to Bhardwaj as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. The petitioner, quoting media reports on alleged statement of Bhardwaj in his speech at a seminar on “Social responsibility of legal fraternity”, had alleged that he “ex-facie” had committed contempt of the Supreme Court and would affect its dignity in the minds of the public. Though in any contempt petition a prior permission of the Attorney-General of India or the Advocate-General of a state was compulsory, Agrawal, who has not sought their clearance, submitted it was filed with a plea that the apex court should take “suo motu” notice of the matter. Quoting the media reports, he alleged that the Law Minister had said “the very Supreme Court has destroyed” the jurisprudence while earlier judges of the apex court — Justice Krishna Iyer and Justice P.N. Bhagwati — were the champions of the civil liberties. However, Bhardwaj had latter said that he was quoted by the media “out of context”. When his comments were sought on filing of the petition today at a function of the Press Council of India on National Press Day, he declined to comment.
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Spyware a threat to IT security
Bangalore, November 16 According to a study conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance in the country, as many as 53 per cent of respondents admitted that they had spyware on their computers. But when checked computers of 80 per cent of the respondents were infected with spyware. A separate research by Ponemon Institution globally has revealed that 42 per cent of computer users infected with spyware did not have any idea how it landed on their computer. With the growing reach of the Internet, Spyware and PUPs detection is also likely to emerge as a big market. Mc Afee, a leader in intrusion prevention and security risk management, is now targeting the ordinary consumer as well as small business users. Mr Steve Crutchfield, Director of Product Marketing of Mc Afee during an interaction said in most cases, PUPs were downloaded to a computer without the users knowledge and usually as a result of visiting a web site or installing free software. He disclosed that while dangers of viruses, trojans and spam were known, spyware remained a confusing concept for many computer users. Mr Crutchfield said spyware was designed to monitor computer usage and the browsing habits of a user. This he said included monitoring of key strokes, tracking Internet history and uploading confidential information. Mr Owen Roberts, head of Identity Protection Plan at the CPP group, told TNS that spyware was also a contributor to the growing identity threat. He said by tracking people’s movements online and monitoring key strokes it was possible to steal passwords for online banking services. Anyone unsure whether they computer is infected with PUPs should visit
www.mcafee.com/stop spyware to download a free trial to one of Mc Afee’s
anti-spyware programmes. The company is also offering consumers an opportunity to download a copy of Mc Afee anti spyware 2006 at http:// download.
mcafee.com/us/eval/evaluate2.asp which offers a 30-day free trial. The programme is designed to remove unwanted
PUPs, such as spyware, trojans, dialers and other programmes which jeopardise privacy, identity and reduce computer
performance. The company is also offering the facility to small business users as a test case, free of cost for 30 days to widen its network in the country.
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Naidu meets RSS top brass
New Delhi, November 16 Mr Naidu, who is considered to be among the major contenders for the top post, met RSS General Secretary Mohan Bhagwat and its Joint General Secretary, in charge of the BJP affairs, Mr Suresh Soni, at Sangh headquarters at Jhandewalan here. He, however, did not meet RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan, who was also present at the headquarters. However, emerging from the meeting, Mr Naidu claimed that the issue of leadership did not figure at his meeting with the Sangh leaders. “The Sangh has no system of interfering in the election of BJP President. The RSS does not fix the calendar for the BJP election,” he said. Mr Naidu, who was the BJP chief prior to Mr Advani, said that since he had to attend a marriage in Visakhapatnam, he could not attend a scheduled RSS-BJP meeting later in the day to discuss the Kashmir issue.
— PTI
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Miss Universe backs Kushboo
New Delhi, November 16 Glebanova, as also Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan and tennis sensation Sania Mirza, found there was much ado about nothing in the whole episode. The trio were in city to speak at the ‘Hindustan Times Leadership Summit’. While the Russian beauty queen was puzzled by an alien cultural issue, Karthikeyan was more forthright. “South India is a closed society. There was nothing wrong in what she
(Kushboo) said. It has spiralled into a big issue unfortunately, it is more of a media thing,” the first Indian to race in Formula One said. Sania, the first Indian to win a WTA Tour title, was quick to grasp the sensitivity of the issue. “So there are two issues here — safe sex and sex before marriage,” the 19-year old said. “You don’t want me to tell you that you have to have safe sex, whether it is before or after marriage. Everyone must know what he or she is doing.”
— PTI
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Bring Reliance under ambit of probe: activists
New Delhi, November 16 Activist Anil Kumar Agarwal, in a complaint filed with the Enforcement Directorate, had accused Reliance Petroleum of paying illegal surcharges and trading in oil allotted under Iraq’s oil-for-food programme through a third party registered in Liechtenstein. He also alleged that a major political beneficiary was involved at whose behest the allocations had been made by Iraq to Reliance. However, the Reliance Industries today categorically denied having paid or committed to pay surcharge to anyone under the programme, saying it had not traded any quantities of Iraqi crude in the international market. Reacting to a complaint filed by Mr Agarwal with the ED, the RIL said several facts stated in the complaint were distorted and several other completely false. “The complaint based on conjectures and surmises appears to be an attempt to drag RIL’s name into controversies with which it is not concerned in any way and with an intention to falsely malign the company for reasons best known to the complainant,” it said. Stating that the complaint had been filed after a close analysis of the Volcker Committee report, he said: “Annexures and tables in the report show that millions of dollars worth of illicit surcharge payments on the oil sold by Reliance through a company called
Alcon, which involved payment of surcharges and kickbacks.” He alleged that the amount involved was at least six times more in the case of Reliance and demanded that the Reliance case be treated on par with the Congress/Natwar Singh case and a thorough investigation ordered. The RIL, on its part, clarified that between April 2000 and May 2002, it bought 30.6 million barrels of Basrah light crude from various trading companies on a negotiated, market competitive price based on declared official selling prices approved by the UN. In 2002, it said that it got direct allocation from the State Oil Market Organisation
(SOMO) of the Government of Iraq and bought 2.8 million barrels of Basrah light crude oil directly from
SOMO. “All payments were made to a designated UN Escrow account through letters of credit and no
surcharges were paid, a fact clearly reflected in Volcker Committee report itself,” it said.
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Voting on Iran issue: UPA to hold talks with Left
New Delhi, November 16 In case, these efforts fail and the matter is put to vote, the UPA government may have little choice but to abstain, it is learnt. All this feverish activity comes in the backdrop of the ultimatum issued by the Marxists who have teamed with the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal (S) to confront the government on this issue in the coming Parliament session. These dissenting parties have held two public rallies in the past few days to protest against the government’s stance on Iran which, they charge, was taken under American pressure. They have asked the government to rectify their mistake or else it will have to face the wrath of 100 MPs. While more such public meetings have been planned in the coming days, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury called on UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi today ostensibly to discuss floor coordination between the UPA and the Left parties in the coming Parliament session. However, the real purpose of this meeting was to convey the growing concern of the Left parties on the Iran issue and the need for immediate rectification. Mr Yechury, it is learnt, told Ms Gandhi that the government must discuss this matter with the Left parties before India firms up its position for IAEA’s November 24 meeting. It was also pointed out that the Left parties were kept out of the loop when the issue was put to vote in September.
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Ministry for new wage board for newspaper staff
New Delhi, November 16 “We have recommended setting up of a new wage board to the Labour Ministry,” Mr Reddy said, speaking at the Economic Editors Conference here. The minister said he was “positive” that the Labour Ministry “will take a favourable view of this”. The last wage revision for journalists was done as per the R.K. Manisana Singh Wage board in April 1998. The minister said he was ready to redress the grievances of journalists, who were not being paid as per the Manisana Wageboard recommendations.
— PTI
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Patil promises action in scribes’ case
New Delhi, November 16 “Appropriate action in the matter will definitely be taken after examining the facts,” Mr Patil said at a function to mark the National Press Day here. The Press Council of India (PCI) said it would summon a full-member meeting to discuss the incident in which several mediapersons were injured.
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Despite stigma, he keeps his chin high
Salcete (Goa), November 16 Diagnosed with HIV in 1993, K.K. Abraham was discharged from the Army Education Corps the following year. Abraham, 42, wishes that the Army had looked at his HIV status from the point of view that it is “a manageable disease”. In an interaction with journalists at a two-day HIV/AIDS workshop organised by the Thomson Foundation in
Salcete, South Goa, Abraham said: “I’m still healthy and can do what normal individuals can do.” Carrying on his life with exemplary resilience, dignity and a never-say-die attitude, Chennai-based former Army instructor wishes the Army had afforded him an opportunity to finish his 20-year-old assignment that would have ended in 2007. Looking back, he says distress and trauma delayed his counselling and in the process he got tuberculosis, an opportunistic infection that could have been avoided. He wants others to learn from his experience and go for timely counselling. With a sense of regret, he says: “If you look at my story, you will find that it had much to do with lack of proper counselling. People continue to be confused about HIV/AIDS. It cannot be treated like any other disease. It needs special attention.” Abraham learnt about his HIV status during a routine investigation but held his chin high despite stigma and discrimination. He is in favour of empathy and integration instead of sympathy and exclusion. His family accepted his status gradually after initial disbelief. He loves alone in Chennai but visits his family in Kerala every three months and they also visit him occasionally. Abraham’s eight years old support group wants the government to set up dedicated fast track courts to protect the workplace rights of other people living with HIV/AIDS. The group began with a membership of 12 persons in 1997. Today it has 20,000 members in 18 states.
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Overall situation in J&K not alarming: Centre
New Delhi, November 16 “There has been decrease in overall terrorist violence this year as compared to last year and the killings of civilians has dropped by about 24 per cent,” Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs A K Mitra told newspersons here.
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Subsidy for drip irrigation hiked
New Delhi, November 16 At present, the subsidy on plastic used in drip irrigation apparatus and green houses is 25 per cent, which would be raised to 50 per cent, the Union Agriculture Secretary, Ms Radha Singh, told reporters here. She said the subsidy proposal would be put before the Cabinet for its consideration early next month. The proposal also favours 40 per cent central share along with 10 per cent matching share from state governments for the micro-irrigation subsidy scheme.
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AITUC meet to discuss labour issues
New Delhi, November 16 The AITUC secretary
D.L. Sachdev in a statement said the 38th conference of the workers’ body beginning on November 26 would deliberate on various issues including the new contributory pension scheme, lower rate of interest for EPF and investment friendly labour law. The delegates would also discuss the UPA government’s failure to bring in pro-worker legislation, despite the Left parties extending outside support, both for organised and unorganised sector.
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