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Reprieve for Buta Singh in verdict?
Slow and steady Nitish wins
DSGMC skips poll schedule
IAF benefit for SSC officers likely
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Ajit Jogi hospitalised
Banks to pay penalty on
unsolicited credit cards
FM accused of misuse of office
Dev Anand, Chiranjeevi kick off film fest today
Workers hold rally against anti-labour policies
PM’s message on gurpurb
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Reprieve for Buta Singh in verdict?
Patna, November 23 The demand is expected to gain momentum after the people, through their decisive mandate, too endorsed the verdict of the Supreme Court that the dissolution of 13th Bihar Assembly, based on the recommendations of Mr Buta Singh, was unconstitutional, unless Mr Nitish Kumar stood by his promise that his actions would never be guided by “political vendetta”. But there seems to be an element of reprieve for Mr Buta Singh in the verdict delivered by the people through the ballot. The basic contention of Mr Buta Singh, beyond the alleged political motives of the UPA guided by Mr Lalu Prasad, in recommending President’s rule in Bihar on May 21 this year was that there was alleged “horse-trading” by the NDA using Independents and turncoats in garnering the magic figure of 123 in the 243-member House after the February poll. Then the NDA had won 92 seats, with JD(U)’s 55 and BJP’s 37. But the extent of the decisive mandate by the people at the just-concluded poll could be assessed from the drastic reduction in the number of winning Independent candidates, and those representing smaller parties, thus virtually making them irrelevant in 14th Bihar Assembly. In the February poll, 17 Independent candidates did not have affiliation to any political party. In the current mandate, the number has been reduced to just 11. Out of the 243 seats, the NDA this time bagged 143 seats, followed by SDF’s 65, LJP-CPI(13),CPI-ML (5),BSP(4) and SP(2), thus leaving little scope for the Independents to play any role in the changed situation, except that of constructive as elected representatives of the people. Interestingly, Bihar had witnessed the highest number of Independents in 1990 when the Congress was waning and then the United Janata Dal under V.P. Singh was emerging as a force to reckon with. Then mystified voters helped 30 Independents to win in 1990. The picture was the reverse in 1995 when Mr Lalu Prasad, for the first and last time in 15 years of RJD rule, had a clear mandate in his favour by winning 165 seats of a total 324 of the then undivided Bihar Assembly. Both in 1990 and 2000, barring the 1995 Assembly poll, Mr Lalu Prasad, either from the United Janata Dal platform or from the RJD, could not cross the single-majority mark. In 1995, the voters, like the current poll, delivered a decisive mandate in favour of Mr Lalu Prasad by reducing the number of Independents to just 12. Again the prevailing uncertainty before the 2000 poll, when on the one hand Mr Lalu Prasad’s decline had started and on the other hand the present Janata Dal(U) had fought the poll as Janata Dal and the Samta Party, had helped 20 Independents to win. The same element of uncertainty facilitated the victory of 17 Independents in the February poll this year, by finally reducing their numbers to just 11, with a decisive mandate for Mr Nitish Kumar. For Mr Buta Singh, with the decreasing number of Independents who virtually have no role to play in terms of alleged political manipulations this time, perhaps can argue that the people endorsed his intention behind the dissolution of the 13th Bihar Assembly, though the way it was being done, allegedly guided by political motive, was obviously snubbed by the Supreme Court. For Mr Buta Singh, while the indictment came from the court, the reprieve was from the people, who, by and large, also did not approve of the alleged politics of “horse-trading” by reducing the number of Independents. |
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Slow and steady Nitish wins
New Delhi, November 23 Electrical engineer-turned politician Nitish Kumar was conscious of the tasks ahead and he was not making tall promises to his electorate that reposed in him tremendous confidence and gave the NDA an absolute and comfortable majority. Born in a Vaid (physician) family in a backward village of Hakikatpur on March 1, 1951, Nitish grew up in the rural countryside and did his schooling in Bakhtiyarpur. He went to Patna for doing a degree in electrical engineering and that is where his interest in politics grew. Charmed by the egalitarian approach and casteist analysis of the doyen of the Indian Socialist movement, Ram Manohar Lohia, Nitish took a plunge into politics by joining the Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha while he was a student in Science College, Patna. Then came the JP-led student movement and the 23-year-old lad from Bakhtiyarpur was part of it. The movement and then the Emergency had baked him fully and he was ready for the electoral politics when the Assembly election came after the Janata Party captured power at the Centre. Defeats in 1977 and 1980 in the Assembly election did not deter him but rather made him more determined. In 1985, Nitish became an MLA by winning from Harnaut. In 1987, he was appointed the President of the Bihar Lok Dal. With the formation of the Janata Dal, Nitish was picked up by former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh as its General Secretary and in the subsequent Lok Sabha election, he was sent to the Lok Sabha from Barh in 1989. Since 1989, he has never seen back as Nitish was elected to 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th,13th and 14th Lok Sabha successively six times. In the V P Singh government, he was made Minister of State for Agriculture where he gained an insight into the process and skills of governance. “Good governance is the key to development”, is his conviction as he admitted during an interview with The Tribune early this month and told that the restoration of popular faith in the law and order enforcing machinery of the state in the first step towards it. Pointing out to 1400 sq km spread region (Tal) near Patna along the river Ganga and scores of other rivers and rivulets from a helicopter, Nitish said that though the area suffers today either from plenty or paucity of water, it can feed the entire state with some planning. |
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DSGMC skips poll schedule
New Delhi, November 23 However, what is significant and irking Sikh leaders in the Capital is the ease with which he has broken the vow taken before Guru Granth Sahib that he would hold the annual elections on November 24. Irked by the open defiance of the public vow, DSGMC members have demanded the holding of the executive poll at the earliest. In a letter to Sarna, Akali Dal
(Panthak) president Manjit Singh said, “You have not kept your promise you made in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. This shows you intend to cling to power.” Pointing out the increasing corruption in the Sikh institutions and lack of religious activities being undertaken by the DSGMC, Manjit Singh demanded immediate holding of the election. |
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IAF benefit for SSC officers likely
New Delhi, November 23 At present, only women SSC offices are allowed to be pilots in the IAF, and in fact, the SSC for men had been fully stopped for past three years. According to IAF officials, the force is now set to resume not only Short Service Commission for men but also allow officers from SSC to become pilots. This means a graduate who is about 21 years old could join the IAF, become a pilot, obtain the costly commercial pilot’s licence at IAF expense, gain experience and quit after 15 years to join the civil sector. In the existing system, an IAF pilot will have to serve at least 20 years in service and then show compelling reasons to be relieved from service with full benefits. In normal course they have to work till retirement. Only in rare cases the government allow an existing IAF pilot to quit service before completing 20 years, but then the officer doesn’t get full benefits. In September, the government lifted the ban on SSC recruitment of male officers and is now studying the IAF proposal to increase the number of SSC officers from the present 10-15 per cent to 50 per cent of the total officer strength in the long term. An integral part of the proposal to increase the number of SSC officers is to allow male SSC officers to become pilots, say senior IAF officers. The IAF has in recent times been finding a fall in the quality of recruits appearing to become officers. Only about 14 per cent of men who appear to become officers pass the Pilot Aptitude and Battery Test (PABT), which is compulsory for all IAF pilot aspirants. Worse, among women, only one out of 100 pass PABT. The IAF at present has 2983 pilots, a shortfall of about 220 pilots. And many IAF pilots are quitting to join the lucrative civil aviation sector. The proposal to increase the SSC intake would also result in the number of women officers going up in the ranks. Among the women pilots, many of them have in the past left after six years of compulsory service. “It is a heavy loss to the exchequer. When an individual becomes a pilot we incur costs running into crores,” says an officer. But despite such discouragements, the IAF has to resort to the proposed measure to attract more quality youngsters into the ranks. Among other efforts to increase the quality of those appearing to become officers, the IAF is looking at engineers as a good recruitment base. So the IAF has resumed an old scheme under which an engineering student in his pre-final year could give his commitment to joint the IAF, and the IAF in turn would give him a monthly stipend of Rs 8,000 in his last year of study. If he qualifies all mandatory tests and joins the force finally, then the IAF would pay the engineer Rs 96,000 on the day he joins the Air Force Academy. |
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Banks to pay penalty on
unsolicited credit cards
New
Delhi, November 23 The RBI has issued guidelines on credit card operations of banks, which will come into effect immediately, asking them to ensure that there is no delay in despatching bills of credit cards. It has asked the banks and other card issuers to ensure that customer are given at least a fortnight for making payment before the interest rates start getting charged. “In case, an unsolicited card is issued and activated without the consent of the recipient and the latter is billed for the same, the card issuing bank/NBFC shall not only reverse the charges forthwith, but also pay a penalty without demur to the recipient amounting to twice the value of the charges reversed,’’ it said. The RBI said unsolicited loans or other credit facilities should not be offered to customers.“In case, unsolicited credit facility is extended without the consent of the recipient and the latter objects to the same, the credit sanctioning bank/NBFC shall not only withdraw the credit limit but also be liable to pay such penalty as may be considered appropriate,” the RBI said. The guidelines also asked banks or NBFCs to allow a credit card holder to surrender his card on account of any change in credit card charges to his disadvantage. Banks and NBFCs should not levy any charge that was not explicitly indicated to the credit card holder at the time of issue of the card. |
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FM accused of misuse of office
New Delhi, November 23 In a memorandum submitted to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a delegation of AIADMK MPs, led by P.G. Narayanan, alleged that Mr Chidambaram managed to get the loan from the Netherlands-based RABO bank for Halidon Marketing Services Private Ltd, said to be owned by his son Karthi and nephew Palaniappan, without any security in violation of banking norms. It also alleged that the Rs 6-crore loan was given by the bank whose application for permission to start full-fledged banking services in India was pending before the minister. The memorandum also made various allegations about the sale of shares by Karpagambal Mills, in which Mr Chidambaram and his brother Lakshmanan Chettiar held shares, to Halidon in violation of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) rules as well. |
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Dev Anand, Chiranjeevi kick off film fest today
Panjim (Goa), November 23 And yet, the spirit of bonhomie is just not there. One reason could be that the hands-on style of previous Chief Minister Manohar Parriker is not being followed by current incumbent Pratapsingh Rane. That means that the administration is also taking it easy. The field is open for the Directorate of Film Festivals. That, however, can be a boon as well as a problem. The state government would have wanted Amitabh Bachchan to be the chief guest on the opening day. He was even said to be available. But because of his close ties with the Samajwadi Party, he is not in favour with the Centre. So, the honour has been passed on to evergreen hero Dev Anand and southern superstar Chiranjeevi, who will be the guest of honour. The former flew in today, but the mad rush of fans was not there either at the airport or in the city. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priyaranjan Das Munshi will be lighting the ceremonial lamp along with these celebrities. Last year, many VIPs had to struggle to find a seat in the Kala Academy auditorium during the inauguration ceremony. So, this time the inauguration is being held in the open on the courtyard outside the Inox multiplex. The weatherman is suspecting rain and if that prediction comes true, well, it may be quite a washout. Bipasha Basu and Kannada actress Tara will be the “thali” girls. The honour of being the opening film has been given to “Olga”, which was Brazil’s first official entry for the best foreign film Oscar this year. Terrorism cloud also looms large over the festival this time. There is no specific threat as such but since it is such, a high-profile event, the police is not taking any chances. More than 1,500 policemen have been deputed for the opening day. The public has been warned that everyone should be ready for thorough frisking. The Asian-African-Latin American competition section will have 14 films from 13 countries. The Indian films in the competition are Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Iqbal” and Malayalam film “Perumazhakkalam” directed by Kamal. The jury comprises Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin (chairman), French director Alain Corneau, Saeed Mirza from India, Iranian actor Faramarz Gharibian (who won the special jury award in IFFI here last year) and Austrian director Sabine Derflkinger. There will be a Hrishikesh Mukherjee retrospective comprising seven films, which will be inaugurated by Rajesh Khanna. A tribute will be paid to Ismail Merchant through the screening of his six films. Tributes will also be paid to Sunil Dutt and Gemini Ganesan, President’s Gold Medal award winners from the past. The non-competitive “cinema of the world” section has 64-odd films. IFFI will mark the global premier of Prakash Jha’s “Apaharan”, besides the premier of “Blue Umbrella” (Vishal Bhardwaj), “Deewane Huye Pagal” (Vikram Bhatt), “Dubai Return” (Aditya Bhattacharya) and “Parzania” (Rahul Dholakia). There will also be retrospectives of films of Isabelle Huppert and Lina Wertmuller. To decongest Panjim during the festival, the beach screening has been shifted from Miramar to Caranzalem. Goan folk dances and music will of course be there but not on the river front. It has been shifted to Fountainhas, a Latin quarter of Panjim. Sculptures, paintings, photos and performing arts will be available galore in the narrow lanes and houses of this locality. That may keep the main venues clutter-free but the fun and frolic atmosphere has also taken a beating. |
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Workers hold rally against anti-labour policies
New Delhi, November 23 Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh rallied in support of the workers, who are also agitated with the opening up of the agricultural sector and WTO clauses, which adversely affect the Indian farmers. They demanded withdrawal of the amendments in the Patent Act and the Seed Bill. The rallyist were protesting against raising prices of essential commodities; privatisation of PSUs; free flow of FDI; proposals to bring anti worker changes in labour laws; delay in constituting the Sixth Central Pay Commission and demanding improvement in employment schemes. The joint morcha gave a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding that the government must take both Houses of Parliament in confidence on its stand to be taken at the WTO Hongkong Ministerial meeting. |
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PM’s message on gurpurb
New Delhi, November 23 Dr Manmohan Singh said Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom day is a solemn occasion to remember the teachings and sacrifices of Guru Teg Bahadur. It is a day to rededicate ourselves to the ideals of equality, brotherhood and compassion as epitomised by Guru Teg Bahadur. |
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