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RS rejects motion on Volcker report
Declare Bihar ‘backward’, Chief Minister asks Centre
Cong to focus on next round of Assembly elections
UPA managers get ready for next round of battle
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Nitish offers apology for minister’s conduct
Multi-pronged approach to tackle Naxalism: Patil
India, Russia to produce multi-purpose aircraft
Delhi police given clean chit
Protest against M.F. Hussain
SC handbook on procedure
Hike in cable TV rates on anvil
CBI probe sought into IOC officer’s murder
Raje apathy annoys Sikhs
Scheme for J&K quake orphans
MPs seek relief for flood-hit
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RS rejects motion on Volcker report
Tribune News Service Replying to a marathon debate on the motion on Volcker findings on alleged pay-offs in Iraqi oil deals, Finance Minister Chidambaram said if the inquiry authority found any violation of law, a FIR would be lodged and every action would be taken against the guilty.
“In the course of investigation, if any individual or entity was found to have violated any law, we are not going to hold back...We will pursue it to the logical end,” he said.
Mr Chidambaram said the government was “not rubbishing” the Volcker report which contained some conclusions but did not have evidence.
Rejecting senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s charge that the investigation was a “whitewash”, Mr Chidambaram said the Justice Pathak inquiry could ask the government to approach appropriate police authorities and seek a letter regotary to the Swiss authorities.
Referring to special envoy Virendra Dayal who had been entrusted with the task of securing documents from the Volcker committee, he said no other country had succeeded in obtaining the papers in such a short time.
Mr Chidambaram said the government was approaching the issue with great caution as the findings in the Volcker report contained unverified
references. Dismissing the Opposition charge that the Justice Pathak committee was not given enough powers, Mr Chidambaram said the government had given all powers to the inquiry panel which were sought by it.
In his intervention before the conclusion of the debate, Mr Jaitley accused the government of not being keen on unearthing the truth and said it was engaged in the “cover up through erroneous procedures”. “You cannot camouflage this cover-up exercise...you cannot grope in the dark. So register FIR and send letters rogatory and not wait for evidence,” he said. Taking potshots at the Left parties, supporting the government from outside, he said they had diluted their stand against corruption to which CPM leaders Nilotpal Basu and Sitaram Yechury strongly objected. Mr Sitaram Yechuri of the CPM said that Indian companies whose names were mentioned separately in the Volcker report should also be investigated. The CPM leader cautioned that the USA should not be allowed to increase its influence using pressure of the Volcker Committee report. |
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Declare Bihar ‘backward’, Chief Minister asks Centre
Patna, November 29 The revelation assumes significance in view of the biggest-ever recent “Jehanabad jailbreak” incident where the Maoists succeeded to free over half of 650 inmates in the jail, including their top leader Ajay
Kanu. The power-point presentation was made before Mr Nitish Kumar, who holds the Home portfolio. Mr Nitish Kumar today appealed to the Centre to declare Bihar as a “backward state” so as to enable it to enjoy all special packages meant for any economically backward region, as well as widen the net of “Gramim Rojgar Yojana” to all 38 districts of the state, now in force in 15 districts only. While
IG(HQ) Kishore Chowdhury gave the presentation on general issues, IG (Operations) R.R. Verma informed the Chief Minister about the preparedness of the police to tackle the Naxalite menace. The
presentation continued for two days, beginning Sunday. If official statistics are to be believed, as disclosed by sources, irrespective of the Chief
Minister's direction to the higher-ups in the police that he wants to see results within a month and his final resolve to establish the rule of law in next three months, he, indeed, seems to have a challenging task ahead. According to official figures, 30 of the 38 districts in the state are extremist-affected with 17 of them in complete grip of Maoists. The
CPI(Maoists) have gained strength after the merger of the PWG and the MCC last year. The South, parts of central and North Bihar now reportedly fall under the map of Maoists, who have links with their comrades in arms in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Nepal. In his
prsentation, Mr R.R. Verma reportedly sought to elaborate the Naxalite problem, its genesis and social impact. Mr Nitish Kumar wanted a further detailed report on how many Maoist squads were operating in the state and how to sanitise the state of the menace. |
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Cong to focus on next round of Assembly elections
New Delhi, November 29 Elections are due in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Pondicherry sometime in March-April next year. To begin with, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is likely to entrust the responsibility of each poll-bound state to one office-bearer in the long-awaited AICC reshuffle, which is expected to be completed before the AICC plenary session next January. While Mr Digvijay Singh is likely to remain in charge of Assam, AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni may be divested of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry as she has enough on her plate. Mr Ahmed Patel, the Congress President’s political secretary, who is in charge of Kerala may hand over the responsibility to somebody else for the same reason. AICC leaders admit that given the prevailing situation today in these states, it is not going to be easy for the Congress. Among the election-going states, the Congress has a substantive base in Assam, Kerala and Pondicherry where it is currently in power. While the opposition is badly divided in Assam, the Congress is faced with strong anti-incumbency and going by the electorate’s mood for a change, the Gogoi Government is faced with an uphill task. The alienation of the minorities while the perennial problem of militant violence has only added to his woes. Although well-placed in Pondicherry, Congress insiders said the worrying fact is that they are pitching for power for the third time which could work against them. The picture is not too rosy for the Congress in Kerala either where it is currently in power but is fast loosing ground to the Left Front. The Congress is fighting a loosing battle in West Bengal where its support base remains confined to the urban areas while the well-entrenched Left Front has complete control in the rural hinterland. |
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UPA managers get ready for next round of battle
New Delhi, November 29 Fortifying
themselves for the next round of battle, UPA managers believe it will be faced with an energised Opposition if the Supreme Court were to deliver its detailed judgement on the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly during this period. Next month’s WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong and a demand for a discussion on the conduct of Governors is also expected to figure on the Opposition’s radar.
UPA managers admitted that temperatures could soar once again in the event of the SC order on Bihar as it will put the Prime Minister in the direct line of Opposition attack. Similarly, a discussion on the role of Governors will prove equally
embarrassing for the UPA Government in view of the recent controversies surrounding the occupants of Raj Bhavans in Bihar, Jharkhand and Goa. The government is, however, hoping the Opposition will take a more charitable view of the matter in the light of its victory in Bihar. Pre-empting any major upheavel on the WTO negotiations both from the Left parties and the BJP’s “swadeshi” lobby, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath is expected to brief Parliament between December 5 and 7 on the government’s stand at the Hong Kong meet. Besides dealing with the Opposition, the UPA government will also have to engage the Left parties on several legislative measures. Marxists have serious reservations on the Factories Amendment Bill, the Small and medium-sized industries Bill, the Pension Regulatory Bill and the Bill on setting up of a Legislative Council in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has already appealed to the Centre for the early passage of AP Legislative Council Bill, which had been listed on the agenda in the last session but was withdrawn following objections from the Left parties. Mr Reddy is keen on this Bill’s passsge as it would help contain all-round dissidence as it will enable him to accommodate a host of rebels in the proposed council.
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Nitish offers apology for minister’s conduct
Patna, November 29 Mr Narendra Singh, who had joined the JD(U) from the LJP just before the Assembly poll, had a scuffle with Mr Agarwal yesterday when the latter denied entry to the former inside the House to attend the oath-taking ceremony of new MLAs for not carrying a valid document. Mr Singh is not an MLA of the House and did not have any document establishing his identity. |
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Multi-pronged approach to tackle Naxalism: Patil
New Delhi, November 29 “We have been quite successful in controlling terrorism in states like Jammu and Kashmir and in the North-East. As far Naxalism is concerned, we have not achieved similar results,” Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said during Question Hour. Hinting a multi-pronged approach to tackle Naxalism, he said since it was more a socio-economic issue, the state governments had been asked to draw action plans and collaborate with each other. He said the Centre would consider changing the forests land laws as a solution to the Naxal problem. “The matter is under the consideration of the government,” he said. The Centre had given 26,000 men and police officials to states besides providing Rs 3,000 crore for modernising the police, he said adding that there was a need for a concerted approach and a joint action with neighbouring states. Mr Patil said the government was working on political, security and developmental fronts and providing assistance to affected states to enhance their capabilities to deal with the problem. A draft Standard Operating Procedure had been prepared to institutionalise inter-state joint operations against Naxalism, he said adding that the Centre had asked states to ensure more focused, sustained and intensified intelligence-driven operations against Naxalites and their infrastructure. He said there was “a grain of truth” in reports that CPI (Maoist) and terrorists organisation in the country and abroad was joining hands to carry out their activities. Earlier, Prabunath Singh (JD-U) staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha after he was not allowed to ask a supplementary. “I walk out in protest,’’ he said during Question Hour when Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said he could not allow all the supplementaries on the Naxalite question. |
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India, Russia to produce multi-purpose aircraft
New Delhi, November 29 The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries for jointly designing, developing and producing the aircraft was submitted to Russia during the recent visit of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Moscow. It is expected the final draft for the agreement would be ready by the time Dr Manmohan Singh reaches Moscow later this week. Dr Manmohan Singh would visit Moscow for the annual Indo-Russian summit between the Indian Prime Minister and Russian President, during which both sides would also sign an agreement on intellectual property rights in the defence sector. According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials, the joint production of the aircraft would need an investment of around Rs 7000 crore. |
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The French connection Panjim (Goa), November 29 The French films comprise a whole spectrum. If there are highly decorated movies like “Hidden” directed by Michael Haneke, there are also out and out commercial ventures like “Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra”. “Hidden” got Haneke the best director award at Cannes and is as audacious as his earlier offerings. He leaves the audiences transfixed with his ability to evoke the menacing feeling of a society on the edge of an abyss. The feeling of suspence and impending doom pervades every frame of “Hidden”. It opens deceptively with the comfortable but complacent life of a bourgeois European family. However, someone has been videotaping their home from the street outside. The unknown voyeur mails the tapes – accompanied by strange, violent drawings – to Georges, Anne and their son Pierrot. The questions of personal responsibility are deftly linked with justice and racism of France’s past. “The Beat that My Heart Skipped” is remarkable for its music while “Lemming”, the story of a troubled relationship festering between two couples, has had the honour of being the oepnign film of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It has been directed by Dominik Moll. But the film lapped up most has been “La Planista” (The Piano Teacher”) which in 2001 won the best European film and screenplay awards besides getting Isabelle Huppert and Benoit Magimel the Best Actress and Best Actor awards. Writer-director Mochael Haneke received the jury’s Grand Prize. It is an extremely graphic film, but then Isabelle has always explored the outer limits of what can be acceptable to a mature audience. The nudity scenes in it are not meant to titillate but are integral to the storyline. * * * Paying glowing tributes to Ismail Merchant, Shashi Kapoor says he was a genius of his time in the world of cinema. Merchant was a unique person in every aspect who produced 50 good, sensible and logical films in a span of 45 years. Shashi Kapoor admitted candidly that film produtction was not his cup of tear and he found this out after paying a heavy price. The six he produced incurred heavy losses. As an actor also, he was in a dilemma in 1970 whether he should quit films because most of his films were not doing well. It was only because of the advice of his father Prithviraj Kapoor that he persevered. Because of advancing age, he said goodbye to the Hindi cinema in 1992 but continued to work in international films till 1997.
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Delhi police given clean chit
New Delhi, November 29 “As far as this incident (serial blasts) is concerned, we had no (prior) information, “Patil said. The serial blast left 66 dead and over 220 injured. Ten persons are missing. Giving a clean chit to the Delhi police, he said “There was no negligence (on part of DP) but there is need to do more and even better.” He said the government had decided “to strengthen and modernise the police by providing more personnel and better equipment.” He said the Delhi Police had been asked to raise more battalions. |
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Protest against M.F. Hussain
New Delhi, November 29 But once you begin to flip the pages, there are pictures by renowned artist M. F. Hussain that have evoked not just criticism, but outrage across the world. Hindu Gods and Goddess have been allegedly shown in “blasphemous” postures by Hussain in the book released way back in 1989. The artist, who has earlier courted controversy and condemnation for painting Goddess Saraswati unclothed, in this book, has depicted, deities, including Hanuman and Ganesha in various deviant sexual positions. Angry and acerbic in their comment, members of the Hindu community abroad have begun signature campaigns to register their protest and also to seek action against Hussain. Irate people have also proposed taking Hussain to court for what they allege is “willful desecration of religion”. United States-based Anil Wali, who is part of one such protest campaign says: “When I see lascivious denigration of my faith and belief.... I am at a loss for words”. Urging the community to prevent the circulation of such “blasphemous visuals” he says: “We have truly hit the bottom if this book is allowed to circulate in libraries all over the world...God help them...if my impressionable daughter ever gets her hand on this book.” The Sanatan Sanstha, an organisation referred as Sanatan Society for Scientific Spirituality, which has centres across the world too has initiated a protest against this limited edition book, which is meant for private circulation. A member of the organisation, Ms Bhavna Shinde, told The Tribune that “over the last few weeks they have been inundated with e-mails expressing support for the campaign to protest against M.F. Hussain’s abuse of Hindu deities”. Ms Shinde said the society was contemplating legal recourse. “We are investigating legal action against M F Hussain and are in the process of taking up the issue with the Maharashtra Government and later with the Central Government”. Putting forth that Hussian’s drawings are a “deliberate attempt at insulting the religion”, a letter sent out by the society reads: “In his paintings, Hussain has drawn his own mother, daughter, the Prophet’s daughter, a Muslim woman and even Muslim poets for that matter with clothes.Why does he not extend the same courtesy to Hindu deities? Incidentally, many of those who have joined the protest are unhappy that the matter has “been brushed under the carpet for far too long”. But Praful Goradia, a former editor of “Organiser” contends that the reason for the delay in protest was because this book was meant for the friends of Mody and Hussain, since nobody who could have objected to it found out about it, no voice was raised”. |
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SC handbook on procedure
New Delhi, November 29 The handbook of information about the practice and procedure brought out at the initiative of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal “will enable a layman to know in which case appeals can be filed as a matter of right, where he has to seek leave of the court and in which case he can file a writ petition,” Registrar Judicial, V.K. Jain told mediapersons. The handbook has been priced at Rs 20 and its contents would also be put on the Supreme Court website for the benefit of common man, he said. The information given in it dealt with the compilation of subjects and practice being followed by the registry in listing the cases before different Benches and ensure that litigants could get confirmation whether listing had been done correctly as per the cases categorised under ruels. As per the rules the cases of accused in custody, senior citizens, a person sacked from service, corruption, matrimonial, group matters, those required to be heard by a three-judge Bench and old matters were accorded priority in listing in that order. When categorised on the basis of fresh cases and regular matters to be heard after the admission of appeals, death sentence cases would get the first priority, followed by habeas corpus petitions, imminent demolition of property, eviction, violation of human rights, public interest matters and anticipatory bails. Among regular matters, part-heard cases would be listed first followed by group matters, cases to be heard by three judges’ Bench, capital punishment cases, jail matters, election cases, specially directed adjournment cases, prevention of corruption matters, labour disputes, cases of senior citizen, matrimonial disputes, old cases, short matters, expedited cases and ordinary matters, the book said. The book also provided information about the mode of paying court fee at the time of filing of the petition, e-filing of petitions, interactive voice response system by way of which a litigant could know the position of his case on telephone without using the internet. “This facility is of immense use to those who do not own a computer or do not have internet facility. The information could be obtained on telephone number 24357276, the book said. |
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Hike in cable TV rates on anvil
New Delhi, November 29 “As almost a year has passed, another review has become due for the period beginning from January 1, 2006. An exercise was undertaken to determine the inflation adjustment rate...On the basis of analysis done by the authority, the inflation adjustment works out to 4 per cent,” TRAI said in its order. The Cable TV charges had last moved up by 7 per cent from January 1 this year when the regulator had allowed the increase, again in view of inflation. TRAI said for the purpose of calculation, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) had been used. “An amendment order has been issued to give effect to the inflation adjustment and will come into effect from January 1, 2006. The new rates will be applicable for the payments to be made by consumers, cable TV operators, MSOs for the month of January, 2006,” the broadcast regulator said. The total percentage increase on account of inflation (taking into account both the 7 per cent increase permitted from January 1, 2005, and the proposed increase of 4 per cent) would work out to 11.28 per cent when calculated with reference to ceiling cable charges (exclusive of taxes) prevailing on December 26, 2003. As per a tariff order issued on October 1, 2004, TRAI had frozen cable charges (excluding taxes) at the level prevailing as on December 26, 2003, in respect of both free to air and pay channels. The broadcast regulator had stated that the price regulation was intended to be temporary till such time as there was no effective competition and that the price regulation would be withdrawn as soon as there was evidence of competition. TRAI was of the view that over the next six to nine months it was expected that there would be more DTH players in the market providing effective competition in the cable TV industry. |
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CBI probe sought into IOC officer’s murder
New Delhi, November 29 Speaking on the issue during Zero Hour, BJP member from Karnataka Ananth Kumar urged the government to institute a CBI probe to unravel the “adulteration mafia.” He said studies showed that 30 to 40 per cent of the PDS kerosene was being diverted for adulteration. Mr Kumar wanted the education loan taken by Manjunath to be waived by the Government. Raising the issue, Mr Hannan Mollah, CPM, said corruption had to be dealt with a heavy hand. He said the young officer wanted to check adulteration and had decided to close the depot in Lakhimpur Kheri in UP but was shot dead. “His greatness lay in the fact that he did not become corrupt though he had to repay a loan of Rs 3.50 lakh he had taken to pursue higher studies,” Mr Mollah said. |
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Raje apathy annoys Sikhs
Jaipur, November 29 A social activist of the Sikh Samaj told The Tribune that the entire community was shocked at the insensitive attitude of the Chief Minister, who despite her presence in a near by town Titarpur on the same day to address a public meeting as a part of her mass-contact campaign, did not care to visit the village where armed culprits of some community murdered three brothers of a Sikh family. To register their protest, the Sikh sangat organised a peaceful bandh in Alwar yesterday. Earlier, they also apprised authorities of the Golden Temple and the Delhi Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee of the details of the incident. According to the Chairman of the Gurmat Committee of Alwar, Sarder Harjit Singh, it was a calculated cold-blooded crime to kill Sardar Birju Singh and his two brothers, who were virtually crusading to root out anti-social elements from the village. Despite the situation in the area remaining tense even after four days of the incident, neither the Chief Minister nor the Home Minister of State visited the village. The top leaders of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee as well as Akali leader and former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal are likely to visit the village on December 6, when the ‘antim ardas’ would be offered for the departed souls, said sources. |
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Scheme for J&K quake orphans
New Delhi, November 29 Under the scheme, Rs 5 lakh will be placed in a fixed deposit in the name of the orphaned child and the interest accrued on this amount will be utilised for supporting the child until he or she reaches the age of 18 years, an official release said today. The entire amount of assistance required to implement the scheme will be made available from the PM’s National Relief Fund. The scheme would ensure survival, protection and development of the children by extending care, food and nutrition, health services, shelter, education and rehabilitation, it said. |
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MPs seek relief for flood-hit
New Delhi, November 29 Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Mr P G Narayanan (AIADMK) sought a package of Rs 3,000 crore for carrying out immediate relief in Tamil Nadu, where 15 districts have been badly hit.
— TNS |
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