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Left wants govt to stick to bidding process norms
Trade unions join Clemenceau battle
Govt to focus on legal fallout of Quattrocchi controversy
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Hearing on Quattrocchi’s bank accounts issue
New Delhi, January 14 With the Quattrocchi’s bank accounts issue becoming murkier after media reports that the British government might defreeze them in view of Indian Government’s recent communication to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Supreme Court today agreed to have an urgent hearing of the matter on Monday.
Kalam mourns deaths of Haj pilgrims
Flex head grilled
Arundhati refuses award
Bharatpur park to get facelift
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Left wants govt to stick to bidding process norms
New Delhi, January 14 With controversy dogging the entire process and major difference of opinion emerging even between the committee headed by DMRC chief R. Sreedharan and the Civil Aviation Ministry, a CPM MP has written to the Prime Minister seeking to maintian the earlier criteria. In the letter CPM Rajya Sabha member Dipankar Mukherjee has said the Ministry of Civil Aviation had, in reply to his letter, stated that the restructuring process was at a “very crucial and stage” and “no relaxation or change in any of the eligibility criteria” was being contemplated. “I am therefore shocked that within a fortnight, the government has changed its stand and the empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) is reportedly trying to pressurise even Sreedharan Committee to re-examine all bids and to tap top three bids for each of the airports with an ostensible aim to dilute the eligibility criteria. “This clearly shows that reason other than urgency of modernisation of airports is dictating the so-called transparent bidding process”, Mr Mukherjee said. Incidentally, reports suggest that there were major differences among the members of the eGOM which went into the recommendations of the Sreedharan committee reports presented two days ago. Apparently one of the ministers was not in favour of the report and wanted that the bids should go on as had been suggested by the financial advisors earlier. However, another minister from the Congress, part of the eGOM, resisted the move and had pointed to the credibility of the government if the recommendations of the financial advisors were accepted. He is said to have even pointed to the political fallouts of such a decision which actually led to the report being referred back to Sreedharan Committee and some clarifications being sought. In his letter Mr Mukherjee referred to “disquieting” media reports especially those appearing in a daily “which appears to be the government spokesman”, on the airport issue about “a directive from you that the current bidding process should not be scrapped at any cost”. “Needless to add, if this is true, all discussions and consultations on the subject in different fora, would appear to be mere eye-wash”, the CPM leader said. Urging the Prime Minister to intervene to ensure that there was no change in the evaluation process “at the last stage for facilitiating privatisation at any cost”, Mr Mukherjee said in view of the urgency, the modernisation work at the two airports be given to the Airports Authority of India which could take the expert advice of the DMRC chief. |
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Trade unions join Clemenceau battle
New Delhi, January 14 In what has now become an issue to save Indian environment and workers from the hazardous asbestos that the ship is carrying, the letter that has been jointly signed by the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) has urged the Prime Minister to intervene personally and ensure that the French decontaminate the ship completely before it reaches India. " We ask you to uphold the human rights of thousands of workers in Alang and the Basel Convention that protects us from becoming a dump yard for hazardous wastes of the First World," the letter stated. Terming it an urgent and a deeply upsetting matter, AITUC Deputy-General Secretary H. Mahadevan told The Tribune that the Clemenceau issue had the support of other trade unions of the country. "We know that the ship-breaking provides employment to thousands of workers in India and allows the recycling of many materials used in the ship's construction, but it is dirt and dangerous business," he said. Despite ship-breaking being considered as one of the heaviest and most hazardous occupations in the world by the International labour Organisation, the workers at Alang are provided with neither the adequate training nor the equipment to work in such a dangerous and toxic environment, the letter also signed by President of CITU M.K. Pandey states. “It is unfortunate that the Indian Government has remained silent,” it says. In a January 9 letter to the Prime Minister, Admiral Ramdass said the Clemenceau should be prevented from entering the Indian waters till it was fully decontaminated. They are very strict with their waters, he said, adding that India needed to take a stand so that its waters and land was treated with the same respect. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday said that the SCMC's report directing the controversial ship not to enter the India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) before it was examined for the environmentally hazardous asbestos content as environmentalist had been alleging, would be taken up for consideration on Monday. |
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Govt to focus on legal fallout of
New Delhi, January 14 The Supreme Court is all set to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) on Monday, which has challenged the government’s move to give a clean chit to Italian businessman Ottavio Quotrocchi, a prime accused in the Bofors kickbacks case. UPA sources said the first task before the government was to present a credible and watertight case in the apex court to avoid any critical comment or order from the judiciary. Any adverse judicial verdict, it is felt, would only strengthen the Opposition campaign against the government in general and its demand for the removal of Union Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj, in particular. As it is, the Law Minister is in the eye of a raging storm after his ministry informed UK’s Crown Prosecution that the Italian businessman’s London bank accounts may be defrozen as there was no evidence to suggest that this money was linked to the Bofors kickbacks. Faced with an energised Opposition attack and a court hearing, the Congress core group, headed by party president Sonia Gandhi, met here late tonight to take stock of the raging controversy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and several senior Cabinet colleagues attended this meeting, which was described as a “routine” affair”. Although senior party leaders maintained that the Quattrocchi affair was not discussed and also denied that the Law Minister had been asked to put in his papers, both party and the government were concerned about this latest twist in the long drawn-out Bofors case. The Congress party, which was quick to distance itself from the Law Minister’s move, is particularly wary given the Italian businessman’s close proximity to party president Sonia Gandhi. The government is worried, as this has once again resurrected the Bofors controversy which has helped galvanise an otherwise inert Opposition, besides placing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under a scanner. Although there was no official word from the PMO, sources said Dr Manmohan Singh was in the dark about this development and that the Prime Minister did meet Mr Bharadwaj yesterday to seek an explanation about this prevailing controversy. The government was also concerned on another front: legal experts consulted by it are learnt to have said that the UPA is on a weak wicket, as there has been no material change in the case since the CBI had sought a freeze on Quattrocchi’s accounts. Maintaining that Mr Bharadwaj had acted on his own accord, Congress insiders attributed this move to his desire to prove his “usefulness” which would enable him to get renominated to the Rajya Sabha as his present term ends later this year.
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Hearing on Quattrocchi’s bank accounts issue
New Delhi, January 14 A special mention was made by advocate Ajay Agrawal before the Chief Justice of India, Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, at his residence as the court was closed due to holiday, through the Registry by filing a fresh affidavit, which said the matter required urgent hearing in the wake of new developments. Allowing his plea, Mr Justice Sabharwal, according to Mr Agrawal, had ordered listing of the matter for urgent hearing on January 16. Mr Agrawal’s petition along with another public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bofors case, following the CBI’s failure to file appeal against the Delhi High Court’s order discharging Hinduja brothers, had been admitted by the apex court earlier. The CBI said today that it would continue to investigate the source of nearly Rs 26 crore deposited in Quattrocchi’s two bank accounts in London, at present stood frozen. Mr Agrawal in his fresh affidavit cited media reports said the British authorities might defreeze the accounts regarding which Additional Solicitor General B. Dutta had communicated to the Crown Prosecution Service recently after the Department of Personnel and Training, functioning directly under the Prime Minister, had purportedly approved his London visit plan. |
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Kalam mourns deaths of Haj pilgrims New Delhi, January 14 We appreciate the timely and effective measures taken by the Government of Saudi Arabia to bring the situation under control immediately and provide relief to the affected pilgrims. We also deeply appreciate and value the care and affection paid by the Government of Saudi Arabia for the safety and welfare of Haj pilgrims, including those from India,” the President said.
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Flex head grilled
New Delhi, January 14 The Delhi Police Commissioner, Dr K.K. Paul, said Chaturvedi, who had been summoned by the special cell, reached its Lodhi Road office at around 12 noon. He was there for nearly two-and-a-half hours. The Flex Industries head was said to have been questioned on his reported involvement in the entire episode leading Amar Singh to slam charges of phone tapping on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, said Mr Paul. Sources said he was mainly grilled on “his sources” who gave him the tip on the alleged tapping of phones of Amar Singh. Meanwhile, sensing “trouble” and impending call from the police, Chaturvedi had got himself admitted to a hospital in Noida a couple of days back. Chaturvedi, who had earlier been involved in a case of bribing a senior Excise official, is also mired in a controversy with Anurag, one of the arrested accused in phone tapping, in a case of disproportionate assets. Meanwhile, the Union Home Secretary, Mr V.K. Duggal, said today that the phone tapping case was a sting operation carried out by some private party at their individual level. No government organisation or political party was involved in the phone tapping case, he added. |
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Arundhati refuses award
New Delhi, January 14 Last week, the jury of Sahitya Akademi had chosen her book, “The Algebra of Infinite Justice,” which is a collection of political essays, for the 2005 literary award. In a statement issued here, Arundhati said, “‘I have a great deal of respect for the Sahitya Akademi, for the members of this year’s Jury and for many of the writers who have received these awards in the past. But to register my protest and reaffirm my disagreement -indeed my absolute disgust -with these policies of the Indian Government, I must refuse to accept the 2005 Sahtiya Akademi Award”. “These essays written between 1998 and 2001 are deeply critical of some of the major policies of the Indian State,” she said, adding that the main area of her disagreement included the government’s policies of constructing big dams, pursuing nuclear weapons, increasing militarisation and economic liberalisation. Even today this government “shows a continuing commitment to these polices and is clearly prepared to implement them ruthlessly and violently, whatever the cost,” she said. |
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Bharatpur park to get facelift
New Delhi, January 14 The centre will be inaugurated by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia on Tuesday next. It would provide tourists and visitors illustrated notes on the bio-diversity value of the park that has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is the only wintering ground in India for the highly endangered Siberian Crane known as the ‘lily of birds’. The Salim Ali Visitor Interpretation Programme has been initiated by the Rajasthan State Forest Department, D. Swarovski & Co. based in Austria and the World Wide Fund for Nature-India. Swaroski & Co. will bear the total project cost exceeding Rs 1.5 crore. The project has three components- the interpretation centre, the education and outreach programme and capacity building for training rickshaw pullers who work as guides.
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