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SC orders status quo on Muslim students’ admission
Natwar left out of Cong panels
PM moots financing window for
Bharat Nirman
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Panel to study probe report on IIAS functioning
Anti-WTO panels give memorandum
Discretion begins at home
Naidu’s Heritage Foods in dock
Restore EPF rate, says CPM
Nitish revokes suspension of Jehanabad SP
Don’s wife on fast in police custody
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SC orders status quo on Muslim students’ admission
New Delhi, December 16 A Bench of Ms Justice Ruma Pal and Mr Justice A R Lakshmanan, while fixing January 4 for further hearing of the AP Government appeal challenging the High Court’s November 7 order, said status quo in this regard as ordered by the High Court itself would continue till next date of hearing. The court indicated that any further direction would be passed by it on January 4 when the matter would be taken up for detailed hearing. While striking down the reservation, the High Court had ordered maintaining status quo in respect of the admission of Muslim students in various educational institutions against the 5 per cent quota till December 27 allowing the plea of the state government, which had sought time to file appeal in the apex court. The direction came when the AP Government counsel made a special mention of its special leave petition (SLP) against the High Court’s full Bench order, which by a three to two majority had struck the state government ordinance on reservation to Muslims. The High Court had said that the reservation based on religion was against the provision of Article 15 of the Constitution, as it did not allow any reservation on religious ground to any community. It had further said that the AP Backward Class Commission’s recommendation taking Muslim community as backward class as a whole was “irrelevant” as the panel had failed to publish the criteria adopted by it to identify backwards among the Muslims on the basis of a data, collected by it prior to its report. It had in fact “vitiated” the report of the commission, the High Court had said. The AP Government challenged the order on the ground that as per the apex court judgement in Indra Sawhney’s case there was no set up and recognised method to identify social and educational backwardness of any class of people in the country. “The present appeal involved a serious question of law whether the Muslim community in the state can be declared socially and educationally backward for the purpose of Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution,” the government in its SLP said. It also stated that when reservation could be provided to a caste, which in itself was a class of citizens as a whole, the Muslims as a group were “entitled to affirmative” action provided they were identified as socially and educationally backward class. |
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Natwar left out of Cong panels
New Delhi, December 16 Mr Natwar Singh, who resigned from the Union Cabinet after he was dropped from the party’s apex decision-making body, does not figure either in the organising committee or the panels set up to draft the resolutions which are to be adopted at next month’s session. As a senior member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and chairman of the party’s foreign affairs cell, Mr Natwar Singh was always included in the drafting committee in the past and headed the sub-committee in charge of drafting the resolution on international affairs. In fact, the former External Affairs Minister was entrusted with these responsibilities when the session was originally scheduled for October. The session had to be postponed because of the Bihar Assembly poll and during that period, Mr Natwar Singh got embroiled in the Iraq oil payoff scam which eventually forced him to step down from the Union Cabinet. Senior Congress leader and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is heading the 16-member drafting committee, was today named convener of the six-member sub-committee which is to draft the resolution on international affairs. This is being interpreted in Congress circles as a signal that Mr Mukherjee may be the next External Affairs Minister though senior party leaders brushed aside this speculation. Senior leader and Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has once again been named convener of the sub-committee for drafting the resolution on political affairs while former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily is heading the panel tasked with drawing up the resolution on economic affairs. In view of the priority being accorded by the Congress-led UPA government to the poor, weaker sections and farmers, the party has decided to adopt a fourth resolution on agriculture employment and poverty alleviation at the plenary. The sub-committee given this charge is being headed by former minister Balasahib Vikhe Patil. Coming soon after the Bihar poll and faced with another five Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala, the plenary will provide an opportunity to analyse the reasons for its dismal performance in Bihar and also to gear up for the coming polls. Since it is the party’s first plenary after the Congress came to power at the Centre, the political resolution will spell out its experience in managing a coalition government while the resolution on economic affairs will detail the party’s position on
economic reforms, disinvestment and FDI and how it will balance this with its promise
that the benefits of reforms also extend to the poor and weaker sections. This will be important as the UPA is critically dependent on the support of the Left parties, whose views on economic policies have often
been at variance with that of the government. |
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PM moots financing window for
Bharat Nirman
New Delhi, December 16 “We are proposing a specific financing window for Bharat Nirman through Nabard for funding selected components” even as most of the resources would come from the government’s development outlays, Dr Singh told the CII conference on Bharat Nirman here. The programme has six components comprising irrigation, water supply, housing, all weather roads, electrification and telephony. The Prime Minister believed that efforts like e-chaupal along with infrastructure development with self-help groups and the corporate world could fan the growth potential of rural India. He also wanted to involve the panchayats in this task. He said the Planning Commission was working on ways to enhance the management of rural infrastructure programmes by panchayats and stressed that the state governments and local bodies were critical for effective programme delivery. State governments were the key implementing agencies and panchayats needed to activate the demand side without which service delivery would not be effective. About the vast rural potential, Dr Singh said global management gurus had talked of the wealth of opportunity at the “bottom of the pyramid.” “Instead of restricting yourself to competing in existing markets at the top of the pyramid of our society, attention is being drawn to the possibilities of creating new markets at the bottom,” he observed. |
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Panel to study probe report on IIAS functioning
New Delhi, December 16 Speaking to The Tribune here, the Chairperson of the governing body, Prof Bhalchandra Mungekar said the decision to set up a three-member committee was taken at the Governing Body meeting held in the Capital on the 14th of this month. The committee includes, Dr Mushirul Hassan, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof K.P. Singh, former Member, University Grants Commission, and Prof S.K. Ray, Financial Adviser. Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. “The committee will submit its report by the end of January,” Prof Mugekar said. Accusations of financial and academic irregularities were reported from the prestigious institute during the NDA government’s rule. Aspersions were cast on the award of fellowships, besides allegations of saffronisation. After taking over the UPA government instituted an inquiry into the allegations of saffronisation and sacked the governing body headed by Dr G.C. Pande. The report of the inquiry committee headed by Dr D. Bandopadhyay will now be studied further by the three-member committee. The inquiry committee, it was reported had found irregularities in the award of fellowships, besides administrative and financial irregularities. |
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Anti-WTO panels give memorandum
New Delhi, December 16 In Hong Kong, outside the convention centre, various Indian farmer unions led by Yudhvir Singh representing the Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements, submitted a letter to the Indian Consulate General for Mr. Kamal Nath, said a statement issued here today. Meanwhile, the G90 has finalised at the expert level, an alternative text to Annex C in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Philippines, Indonesia and Venezuela, Kenya and Cuba have submitted a letter to the Chair stating that they reject Annex C. Several other G90 countries have joined them. The memorandum said, “The negotiations on agreement on agriculture (AoA) have narrowed down to the demand for a elimination date for the export subsidies. Our minister is also quite supportive of the Brazil position which has stalled the negotiations on the issue of market access, since Brazil wants market for its agribusiness industries.” “A large number of developing countries have come out in opposition to the Annex C of the Draft Ministerial Text, which deal with the negotiations on services. Countries like Philippines, Indonesia, Venezuela, Kenya and Cuba have also submitted a letter to the Chair stating that they reject Annex C, which seeks to subvert the basic structure of the GATS.” The organisations demanded that the Indian Commerce Minister should extend full support to this alternate draft prepared by the G 90, submitted by G 20.
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Discretion begins at home
Bangalore, December 16 The last category - public sphere has been used to fit in almost anyone. Be it members of the Chief Minister’s household staff, politicians, both from the ruling and the Opposition, government servants, relatives and even journalists. Mr Dharam Singh has doled out 340 residential sites from his discretionary quota of ten per cent of the total allotments made by the BDA, in just eighteen months of rule. This is more than the allotments made under the discretionary quota by his predecessor S.M. Krishna during his entire tenure. Most of the sites which have been allotted are in the city’s HSR layout which is close to the IT hub of the city where land prices have seen an upward spiral in recent years. The All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD), which has distributed BDA documents in this regard, has claimed that the Chief Minister has allotted residential sites to his daughter Priyadarshini, his elder brother Indra Singh’s daughter Padmabai, wives of his personal assistants Taradevi and Shailashree and even his personal astrologer in Gulburga - Pandit Eakanath Dhurve. AIPJD’s Kedarlingayya Hiremath has claimed that the other beneficiaries include Leader of Opposition B.S. Yediurappa besides members from both the ruling and Opposition Parties. As many as 125 current and 42 former legislators, five Members of Parliament and four former MPs, four ministers and 16 former ministers from the Congress, BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) parties have been allotted residential sites. Five journalists have also been awarded residential sites. It has alleged that two of them had also been allotted sites during the tenure of former Chief Minister S. M. Krishna.
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Naidu’s Heritage Foods in dock
Hyderabad, December 16 Congress members alleged that three persons had died and several others fallen ill at Kasipentla in Chandragiri mandal of Chittoor district, reportedly due to contamination in drinking water wells of the village caused by Heritage effluents. Mrs Naidu dubbed the allegations politically motivated and dared the government to take action against the unit. Amid uproarious scenes, charges and counter-charges the Minister for Forests, Environment, Science and Technology, Mr Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju, said a committee was constituted with environment experts to look into the issue. The House witnessed acrimonious scenes as TDP members and others argued that the Leader of the Opposition should be given adequate time to answer the allegations. The Congress members who moved the motion charged the firm with releasing effluents over the past eight years. Mr Naidu countered that the government was trying to tarnish his political image by raking up non-issues. |
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Restore EPF rate, says CPM
New Delhi, December 16 Briefing the media at the conclusion of its three-day Central Committee meeting, CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat declared that the Left would not support the pension Bill in its current form and asked the government to “rework” the legislation. “The Bill in its present form is not acceptable. We have told the government not to privatise the pension fund and not to abandon its responsibilities towards the working class and the common people. The Bill also does not assure any minimum return,” he said, adding that the government should rework the legislation to address these issues. On the EPF issue, Karat said while the trade unions had called a protest day on December 21, party leaders would take up the demand for restoration of the 9.5 per cent interest rate on EPF.
— PTI |
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Nitish revokes suspension of Jehanabad SP
Patna, December 16 The suspension had evoked sharp reaction in the police rank and file that gheraoed the DGP and the Home Secretary, demanding withdrawal of the suspension. Meanwhile, the rising crime graph in the state in the past three weeks, including more than eight abduction cases, has prompted the Chief Minister to go in for a major reshuffle of the administrative machinery yesterday. In the biggest-ever reshuffling of the top brass of the police and the civil administration ever since the NDA assumed charge, the government transferred 37 IPS and 19 IAS officers. |
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Don’s wife on fast in police custody
Mumbai, December 16 Public prosecutor Rohini Salian today moved an application before MCOCA Judge Ashok Bhangale informing him that Sujata had stopped taking any food and was not cooperating with the officials. She also informed that Sujata was shifted from police custody to Rajawadi Hospital for medical opinion. However, Sujata’s counsel Aabad Panda told reporters that she had stopped taking food from last night to lodge her protest in a civilised way for her illegal detention.
— PTI |
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Amritsar-Lahore bus service cleared
New Delhi, December 16 As per the agreement, the designated operators for the bus service would be Punjab Roadways from the Indian side and Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation from the Pakistan side. Both Indian and Pakistani buses would carry up to a maximum of 46 passengers, including crew members. |
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