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Amar Singh meets Left leaders on phone-tapping issue
IAEA emergency meeting likely
UPA-Left panel to meet today
Central universities for North-East states soon
Rao to get special mention at AICC session
Extreme cold an unusual occurrence, |
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Modi to open Gujarat Uttarayan festival today
Panel for rejecting Reliance from airport revamp race
Gehlot attended House for 6 days in 2 years
Govt to take steps to restore AMU status: Arjun
Sidhu condemns Tiwari govt for evicting farmers
No relief in subsidies to oil, gas companies
Tax companies engaged in agriculture: ICAI
Eid-ul-Zuha celebrated
DMRC chief among world’s top newsmakers
Truckers seek tax exemption
Tributes paid to Shastri
Maneka saves camel’s life
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Amar Singh meets Left leaders on phone-tapping issue
New Delhi, January 11 CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan suggested to Mr Amar Singh that, “you once meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in this connection” and hinted that the Left would extend all possible help in this regard. Mr Bardhan also suggested the need for a CBI probe, although the SP chief and UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, have already expressed lack of faith in the premier investigative agency saying that it would act impartially. He asked the UPA government to bring an amendment to the Telegraph Act in the Budget session of Parliament itself to prevent the occurrence of such incidents in future and to punish the culprits. ''Phone tapping must be stopped. Amar Singh's whole range of conversations with SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, various ladies, Anil Ambani and Amitabh Bachchan have been tapped. Even the CBI has confirmed it,'' Mr Bardhan told mediapersons after Mr Amar Singh called on him and apprised him of all details at Ajoy Bhawan, the CPI headquarters. The SP leader also called on Forward Bloc leader and MP Debvrat Biswas at the latter's office in the Capital. Mr Biswas pointed out that the controversy had once again brought to the fore the viewpoint of the Left parties who had asserted that allowing FDI in the telecom sector was fraught with several dangers, including internal security and the intrusion in the privacy of an individual. The Samajwadi leader had earlier met CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and had also met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu. |
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IAEA emergency meeting likely
New Delhi, January 11 The development has the potential of being the biggest headache for the Manmohan Singh government which can ill afford an anti-Iran vote this time. Diplomatic sources said the Iran situation was fast hurtling towards the UN referral and a vote at the IAEA Board would be a precursor to this referral. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan went on record to say today in Washington that while the Bush administration continued to support peaceful efforts to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, the issue might need to be referred to the United Nations Security Council if Teheran continued to refuse to comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Negotiations and diplomatic efforts made by the EU-3 (France, Germany and UK) at the IAEA have failed to produce a positive result. Teheran has already declared its intentions of resuming nuclear research and development with effect from January 9, ending a two-year suspension and fuelling the American suspicion of Iran trying to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian programme. If an emergency meeting of the 35-member IAEA Board meeting is called for, it will open a Pandora’s Box of diplomatic and political problems for the Government of India. The UPA government will be caught between a rock and a hard place, as a vote for the IAEA resolution calling for referring the matter to the UNSC and eventual sanctions on Iran would alienate Iran and the Muslim world from India. Politically speaking, it casts a shadow on the UPA government survival also as the Left parties have openly warned of “dangerous consequences” if India were to repeat its September 2005 “folly” of voting against Iran. |
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UPA-Left panel to meet today
New Delhi, January 11 While the Communists would be eager to garner some concession for the poor and workers, especially in view of the poll in West Bengal and Kerala, the Congress-led coalition, which has little political stake in the Red bastion, would bargain hard. The four Left parties have finalised the 13-point alternative resource mobilisation measures and would present it to the government for consideration before preparing the Budget for the next fiscal. The government would, however, hope to push through the reform agenda, which has now slowed down. Even the disinvestment of
non-navratnas have not taken place, despite the Communists earlier agreeing to consider the government proposal on a case-to-case basis and then rejecting it altogether. The Cabinet decision to cut the food quota to curtain the subsidy burden of Rs 4,500 crore has not gone down well within the Communists. Although their noises has forced Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to stay the decision, the Left leaders were upset that the government has taken such a major decision without consulting them and wanted the measure to the scrapped. The notification of 8.5 per cent interest rate for 2005-06 for four crore EPF subscribers has rejuvenated the fighting spirits of the Left and they have warned that they would not take it lying down and demanded the government to reconsider the issue. Demanding an increase in the rate of interest on the Special Deposit Scheme
(SDS), it said the scheme was created in the 70s to provide a better rate of interest on PF to workers. “The government has benefitted greatly from the SDS as under the scheme the government has secured over Rs 1 lakh crore from EPF deposits. A marginal increase in the rate of interest on SDS can ensure 9.5 per cent,” it said. The meeting will also discuss the modernisation of the New Delhi and Mumbai airport, where the government and the Left parties have differences in the process itself. |
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Central universities for North-East states soon
New Delhi, January 11 While Sikkim will have a new central university, the existing state universities in Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh would be converted to central universities. All efforts will be made to introduce Bills regarding these universities in the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament, the minister said while addressing the second meeting of the High Level Group for Education and Women and Child Development in North-Eastern states here. He assured that he would personally take up the matter for the release of funds by the Department of NER with the minister concerned. He exhorted the group members to exercise transparency, economy and efficiency in the utilisation of resources available to them in the education and women and child development
(WCD) sectors. Responding to the concerns of the North-Eastern states, The minister said the development of educational infrastructure in the region was a priority area for his ministry under the national common minimum programme and close attention was being paid to take care of the special needs of these states. Issues concerning the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and technical education which were specific to the North Eastern region would be duly attended in the 11th Five Year Plan, he said, adding that the ministry was already in touch with the Planning Commission in this regard. Education/social welfare ministers of Mizoram,
Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and senior officials of Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura attended the meeting which discussed all sectors of education and WCD in the region. The states asked for the timely release of funds for various projects and demanded the strengthening of primary, secondary, higher and technical education in the region. |
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Rao to get special mention at AICC session New Delhi, January 11 Congress leaders maintained a separate resolution was called for as Rao was a Congress Prime Minister and this is the first session being held after his death. This otherwise routine exercise has acquired an added edge since the plenary is being held in Rao’s home state, Andhra Pradesh, and also because its people have harboured a grudge that the Congress did not honour him sufficiently on his death. The Congress came in for severe criticism when Rao’s body was not kept at the AICC headquarters to enable party workers to pay their last respects to him, the normal drill in case of senior leaders. There was further controversy when Congress president Sonia Gandhi did not attend Rao’s funeral at Hyderabad and the government denied permission to his family to convert his residence at Motilal Nehru Marg into a memorial. Moreover, tempers in Andhra Pradesh ran high when senior party leaders walked off even as the former Prime Minister’s funeral pyre was still burning. However, if Rao had been alive , he would have been respectfully seated on the podium at the AICC plenary given the party norm. Rao was given pride of place at the last AICC plenary session held in Bangalore five years ago. Not just that but Ms Gandhi even devoted an entire para in her presidential speech to Rao’s able leadership when she observed, “The last Congress government led by P.V Narasimha Rao rescued India from its greatest economic and political crisis into which a mere 18 months of non-Congress government had plunged the nation.” When the last plenary was held, the Congress was in the Opposition and so it was necessary to recall how the grand old party was a natural party of governance and how successfully it had led the last government it headed. This time round, the Congress is in power at the Centre and although it is heading a coalition, it will necessarily record the UPA government’s achievements and its newfound skills at coalition management. While the focus will be on the UPA government, the party will not be able to ignore the harsh reality that being in power at the Centre is not helping the Congress to strengthen its organisation in the states. The session is being held in the wake of the party’s dismal performance in Jharkhand and Bihar even as it is gearing up for assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Assam and West
Bengal.
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Extreme cold an unusual occurrence, says official
New Delhi, January 11 As per the Chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr R.K.
Pachauri, the current dip in the temperature and the cold wave that has gripped most of the northern part of the sub-continent is an unusual weather occurrence. Responding to The Tribune’s query on some "freak weather incidents" that the country has been experiencing lately, like floods in Mumbai and the freezing cold in Delhi, he said there was a likelihood of the intensity and frequency of heat waves, floods and droughts increasing over a period of time. "However, variations in the weather take place on the account of natural factors and any single event could not be identified as the direct result of human-induced climate change," he added. After two days of freezing cold in the Capital when the mercury plummeted to a 70-year low of 0.2° C on Sunday, the minimum temperature rose to over 4° C here yesterday, bringing some respite to the people. But while the Met office has assured that the weather would improve in the coming days, predicting the night temperature to rise to around 5-6° C over the next two days, an international weather forecasting agency once again predicted that the chill may not yet be over for people in the Capital, adding that night temperatures would dip further during the next two days. The IMD sees no unusual trend in these weather changes and calls such incidents a normal variation and such extreme events a fallout of certain short-term fluctuations. It attributes the Sunday's 70-year-low temperature to have been a result of a sudden burst of cold air caused by western disturbances and fresh snowfall in several parts of North India, leading to sub-zero temperatures in parts of the region. Dr
Pachauri, however, says that such extreme events have been increasing the world over. "The World Meteorological Organisation maintains data on extreme events round the world, and these indicate significant increase in such events during the past 10 years," he says. "It needs to be highlighted that global warming and climate change are not likely to result in linear changes, and could result in sharp or abrupt changes in the weather,” he says, adding that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has projected the possibility of changes in the frequency, intensity and location of extreme events in the future, particularly extreme precipitation events. |
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Modi to open Gujarat Uttarayan festival today
Ahmedabad, January 11 Chief Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart the high-profile two-day Gujarat Uttarayan celebrations tomorrow with an international kite festival on the banks of the Sabarmati flowing end to end with water channelised from the Narmada. As many as 62 kite flyers drawn from 22 countries will demonstrate their prowess alongside 83 indigenous experts gathered from various parts of the country. Gujarat will be simultaneously putting up on display an urban regeneration project that will radically alter the face of the city over the next decade. The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project has the potential to become a beacon to many Indian cities and towns, including Delhi, which are grappling with rivers-turned gutters of urban excreta and stuck for ways and means to restore some semblance of dignity to them. Where a defeated Delhi and a battling Benaras are still bogged down, an accomplished Ahmedabad may well show the way. The project as it is planned also showcases the business acumen of the state and its pre-occupation with making money and going on doing it even as it works to give a new face to its cities. Gujarat, which is celebrating 2006 as tourism year with the catch line "where life is a celebration" is using the festival to host a Vishwa Gujarat Parivar Mahotsava on Friday. |
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Panel for rejecting Reliance from airport revamp race
New Delhi, January 11 The committee, which went through the procedure adopted while shortlisting the bidders for the two airports, submitted its report to Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi here yesterday. Official sources said here the final view on the Sreedharan Committee report was expected to be taken by the empowered Group of Ministers
(eGoM) tomorrow. A controversy has surrounded the airport modernisation, especially the Reliance-led bid ,with allegations of the advisers to the government also being close to the group. The Reliance bid was recommended for rejection by the committee after the consortium fell short of qualifying marks after it scored low on management ability and transition plan, the sources said. However, reports suggested that the views of the expert panel were not binding on the eGoM but it had been left with few options after the report. The options included going ahead with the two shortlisted bidders — GMR and
Reliance groups— or enlarge the scope by including two or three more bidders in
the race. In the worst-case scenario, if only one bidder (GMR) remains, the remaining five bidders, including Reliance, would be asked to submit fresh bids within 15 days, the sources said. Apparently ,an alternate plan to this effect is also ready and the process for the second round of bidding, if need be, may be concluded within two months. |
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Gehlot attended House for 6 days in 2 years
Jaipur, January 11 Out of the total duration of 55 days of the four sessions, Mr Gehlot is reported to have attended the House only for six days, whereas the Chief Minister, Ms Vasundhara
Raje, attended as many as 40 meetings despite her busy schedule. This was disclosed by Parliamentary Secretary Bhawani Singh Rajawat here today in retaliation to Mr Gehlot’s allegation that issues of public concern could not be debated because of exceptionally brief sessions of the Assembly. Spelling out the details, Mr Rajawat stated that out of the nine sittings of the first session, Mr Gehlot was present only for a day on January 15, 2004, while in the subsequent sessions lasting for 46 days in all, he was present only for five days. He was conspicuous by his total absence in the fourth session, he added. He hinted that by not participating in the discussions on vital issues like the distribution of the Ravi-Beas waters, crop insurance scheme for farmers and filling of the backlog of vacancies under the reservation quota for the SC and ST sections of society, Mr Gehlot showed utter disrespect to the august body of elected people’s representatives. Mr Rajawat said he was surprised to find that Mr Gehlot did not find time even to join the deliberations on the floor held on July 30, 2004, on the drought-stricken areas of the desert belt, including his own Jodhpur region. |
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Govt to take steps to restore AMU status: Arjun
New Delhi, January 11 The minister in a statement said: “It may be recalled that doubts were created about AMU being a minority institution. The late Indira Gandhi had the issue examined and then in the election manifesto of 1980 parliamentary elections mentioned that all doubts on this account will be removed after the elections. As Prime Minister she got the AMU Act amended with near unanimity in Parliament. This government is committed to the decision she took.” He went on to add: “The Double Bench of the Allahabad High Court has, according to reports, held that the 1981 amendment of the AMU Act is ultra vires and, therefore, AMU ceases to be a minority institution. On receiving a certified copy of the judgement of the high court, we would decide on steps required to find a way to uphold the commitment of Indira Gandhi about AMU being a minority institution.” The high court had on January 5 rejected Centre’s plea for restoring the minority status of AMU and scrapping 50 per cent reservation for Muslim students. Meanwhile, former MP Wasim Ahmad yesterday urged all parties, including the Left, to see the issue of reservation and minority character of the university dispassionately and not to politicise it. |
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Sidhu condemns Tiwari govt for evicting farmers
Kashipur (Uttaranchal), January 11 “In the name of carrying out the orders of the apex court, the state government bulldozed the farmers’ houses and destroyed their entire crop in the tehsil, leaving them to sleep on the streets in this harsh cold,” Mr Sidhu told mediapersons at the residence of a party MLA here. Claiming that the ND Tiwari government had shown its “true face” by its anti-farmer and anti-poor policies in the past three years, he said if the state government had told the court that it had provided these facilities, the court would have never passed such orders. “It is important to think about the rehabilitation of the farmers as carrying out the orders of the court,” he said, charging the state government with taking ‘’advantage’’ of the apex court’s directives. “It will have to face serious consequences,” he said, adding that if justice was not done to the affected farmers, then he and his party would raise the matter in Parliament. The seven-member BJP delegation from Punjab, led by Mr Sidhu, also met the farmers and addressed them. The other members of the committee included Punjab BJP unit’s vice-president Bibi Gursharan Kaur and general secretaries Harjeet Singh Grewal, Vijay
Sapla, Rajinder Singh Bhandari and Om Prakash. — UNI |
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No relief in subsidies to oil, gas companies
New Delhi, January 11 Claiming that the oil revenue would remain a significant part of the government revenue, he said: “Oil companies are largely state-owned...I don’t think it makes much of a difference if the subsidy is moved from the balance sheet of the oil companies to the Budget.” “Shifting it may make the oil companies balance sheet look good but make the Budget look bad,” the minister stated at an interaction organised by the Forum of Financial Writers. Currently, the government Budget provides only a fixed allocation for subsidy on cooking gas and kerosene for household consumption as well as petrol and diesel to cushion customers from global crude price volatility. The larger share is borne by the state-owned oil companies, some of which like IBP Ltd are not expected to make any profit this year. On the state-control for pricing of petroleum products like petrol and diesel, Mr Chidambaram said in principle the administrative price mechanism had been removed, but it continued in practice to protect consumer interest, particularly with global crude oil prices scaling over $64 per barrel last year. |
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Tax companies engaged in agriculture: ICAI
New Delhi, January 11 “A large number of corporates are carrying on agricultural and business activities in a composite manner. There is a need to tax the income from agricultural activities carried on by such corporates,” said ICAI president Kamlesh S.Vikamsey while prescribing major reforms and ways of widening tax base. He said: “We are for the FBT but the rate of tax of 30 per cent may not be justified, as income of all employees may not fall in the tax bracket of 30 per cent. We, therefore, suggest that the FBT should be levied at not 10 per cent or 30 per cent but at an average rate of 20 per cent.” He said employers should have the option to compute actual amount of fringe benefits provided to the employees than what is computed under the deeming provisions by maintaining records and books of accounts and getting the same audited. |
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New Delhi, January 11 Special prayers were held at Jama Masjid, Fatepuri Masjid and Idgah Masjid in the Capital this morning. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam offered “namaz” at Rashtrapati Bhavan mosque and exchanged greetings with “namazis” on the occasion. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a large number of people greeted the President on the occasion. Delhi Lt Gov B.L. Joshi and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit conveyed their greetings and good wishes to the citizens on the occasion. — UNI
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DMRC chief among world’s top newsmakers
New Delhi, January 11 The magazine has chosen to put Mr Sreedharan on the list for the successful completion of the Delhi Metro’s 66-km Phase-I rail project as per the schedule. |
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Truckers seek tax exemption
New Delhi, January 11 “The road transport work force is most vulnerable section of society afflicted with AIDS virus, hence any expenditure for AIDS prevention and treatment incurred by the transport companies should be allowed as 100 per cent deduction,” said Mr R.D. Bansal, president of the association. |
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Tributes paid to Shastri
New Delhi, January 11 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was among the first visitors to pay tributes at Vijay Ghat, the samadhi of the late leader. Several other leaders, including Delhi Lt Governor B L Joshi and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Lal Bahadur Shastri’s sons, Mr Sunil Shastri and Mr Anil Shastri, offered flowers at the
samadhi. A prayer meeting with bhajans and kirtans was held in memory of the country’s second Prime Minister. Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away in Tashkent on January 11, 1966 after signing the famous Tashkent Declaration. |
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Maneka saves camel’s life
Indore, January 11 After an
eveninger published news about preparations to sacrifice the creature, PFA local
representative Sudhir Khetawat contacted Ms Gandhi. “She urged the district administration to halt the ritual,” said Mr
Khetawat. Additional Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Chaudhry said, “Kaleem Bhai, who purchased the animal, was persuaded not to kill it.”
— UNI |
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