 |
|
|
6 NBA activists end fast; Patkar continues
Quota will not help, says IIM don
Sharad Yadav is new
JD (U) chief |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cyprus President in Delhi on 5-day visit
Rs 100-cr loss if Salman denied bail
Sadhu Yadav, 8 others chargesheeted
UGC moots uniform calendar for varsities
Foreigners on relay fast for Bhopal gas victims
Sarabjit’s family to meet Kalam today
Files on EC Chawla not missing: Govt
Curfew relaxed in Aligarh areas
PM to chair meet on Naxal strikes
Rlys targets Rs 20,000-cr fund surplus
Processions stoned; curfew in 2 MP cities
Ministry mulls hike in Governors' pay
|
|
6 NBA activists end fast; Patkar continues
New Delhi, April 11 Patkar, however, is continuing with her fast. “With the life of the most ancient valley at stake, I have decided to continue with my fast as a “satyagrah” till the end of the battle,” she said in a hand-written statement. Writer Arundhati Roy, who was present at the roadside protest venue of the NBA at Jantar Mantar, said the reason why the three Union ministers, who had been deputed by the Centre to visit the project site, were keeping quite on the issue was: “because it must be very difficult for them to put on paper what they actually saw there”. Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, Social Welfare Minister Meira Kumar and Minister of State in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan toured Narmada Valley for a spot study of the NBA’s contention last Friday, but have not so far made their findings public. The ministers have, however, submitted their report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “It is clear that rehabiltation is seriously lacking at the project site. If they write what they saw in their report, it will be a contempt of the court,” she told The Tribune. NBA activists said the visit by three Union ministers to the Sardar Sarovar Dam site and their interaction with those displaced by the project had not yielded results till this moment which was why there was a need to intensify the struggle in different and stronger ways. The NBA supporters would organising a “jan sammelan” at Jantar Mantar tomorrow. There would also be a protest march. Prominent civil rights activists, academics, Left and socialist leaders were expected to participate in the stepped-up protest. Patkar would continue her fast along with two of her colleagues, Bhagwati Bhen and Jamsingh Bhai. They were recently joined by two more NBA activists, Ranvir Singh Rathore and Om Prakash Sandhu. The activists, who ended their fast, included four students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. The two others were from Gujarat. Meanwhile, sources in AIIMS said the condition of Medha Patkar was not “so good”. Weakened by 14 days of fasting, she was barely able to whisper while trying to speak. They also reported an abnormal fluctuation in her body salts and blood pressure levels. |
|
Quota will not help, says IIM don
Lucknow, April 11 “We have received no official order from the central government. So I think it would be premature to give a reaction on behalf of my institute,” said Prof Sanjay G. Dhande, Director of IIT, Kanpur. Speaking on the same lines, Prof. Sushil Kumar, in-charge of Corporate Communication and Media Relations at the IIM, Lucknow, the only person authorised to speak on behalf of the institute, said that as the matter pertained to a policy issue he was not the competent authority to respond. In the absence of Director Devi Singh, who is out of the country, no one on the campus was in a position to speak on this issue in his official capacity, he pointed out. However, Prof Debashis Chatterjee from the Human Resource Management Group at IIML was ready to speak his mind. According to him, the central government was doing a disservice to the people it was ostensibly trying to help by pushing in quota in centers of excellence like the IIMs and IITs. Speaking in his personal capacity, Prof Chtterjee, a Fulbright scholar named by Harvard Business School as one of the 15 ‘thought leaders of the world’, said that in a place like the IIM a student, who will come through quota and not through a proper “socialisation”, may buckle under the rigorous standards and cut-throat competition demanded here. “If he or she fails to make the grades it will be a de-motivating factor which will make them more vulnerable and in the ultimate analysis do more harm than good”. Enraged at the “unthinking manner ” in which such important decisions were taken in the country, Prof Chatterjee said that “political reasons” should not be the guiding force for such decisions that have long-term implications. “I would have been most happy to offer my time if the government had asked me or any competent persons to study and present a report on how best existing historical deprivations be dealt with. There should be threadbare discussions in the academic circles — amongst faculty, students and experts — nothing should be imposed on them”. Citing an example, he wondered if anyone could dictate the Indian cricket team to take on members on the basis of a quota or airlines to recruit pilots on the basis of a quota — these are jobs where you have to perform. There is just no leeway. Author of well-known books like ‘Leading Consciously’ and ‘Light the Fire in your Heart’, Prof Chatterjee said that these centers of excellence have been built brick by brick over a span of three or four decades. “Before taking a decision to recruit students on the basis of quotas, there is need for a long drawn process of creating competencies. Imagine sending my toddler to a school that expects skills which he does not posses. Would it achieve anything besides making the child more traumatized?”, he asked. |
|
Sharad Yadav is new
JD (U) chief
Patna, April 11 Mr Yadav, the party’s Central Parliamentary Board Chairman, secured 413 votes against Mr Fernandes’ 25 as 10 votes were declared invalid and 123 registered voters did not exercise their franchise, Subhash Srivastava, the returning officer, announced amidst jubiliation by Mr Yadav’s supporters. Srivastava was appointed returning officer after Fernandes loyalist Aneel Hedge was removed by the National Executive minutes before National Council members began voting to elect a new President. The contest took place after all attempts by senior party leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who backed Mr Yadav, to bring about a rapprochement between the two party stalwarts came a cropper. Though Mr Fernandes, who arrived here from New Delhi this morning, met Mr Nitish Kumar at his official residence for a couple of hours, a compromise could not be reached. Mr Yadav, according to insiders, insisted on holding the election refusing even to meet Mr Fernandes at Mr Nitish Kumar’s residence and left for his hotel minutes before Fernandes arrived for the meeting. He rejected outright an offer mooted by the Fernandes camp to allow the veteran leader to get re-elected as a ‘face-saver’ before resigning a couple of months later on health grounds.
— PTI
|
|
|
Cyprus President in Delhi on 5-day visit
New Delhi, April 11 Mr Papadopoulos was received at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma. The visiting President, who is accompanied by senior ministers and a business delegation, is the fifth President of his country to visit India. All previous Cypriot Presidents have paid State visits to India, while Indian Presidents V.V. Giri and R. Venkataraman have visited Cyprus. Indira Gandhi visited Cyprus in 1983 as Prime Minister. The Cyprus President will have official engagements tomorrow, which include talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the release of a commemorative stamp. Sources said a wide range of international and regional issues, including terrorism, Cyprus problem, democracy, the European Union (EU), UN reforms and Commonwealth co-operation, will be discussed. He is accompanied by his Foreign Minister George Iacovou and will have a business meeting with CII/FICCI/ASSOCHAM. Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will call on him. Tomorrow evening, he is scheduled to have a meeting with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who will host a banquet in his honour. On Wednesday, he will deliver an address at the Indian Council of World Affairs after which he will visit Agra, Mumbai and Bangalore before leaving for home on April 16. In Bangalore, Mr Papadopoulos will visit Infosys headquarters and interact with cyber experts. An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson last night said India hoped that a just and lasting solution would be found to the Cyprus problem in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions and the aspirations of the people of Cyprus. The visit, at the invitation of President Kalam, is considered significant as Cyprus is a member of the EU and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and will, therefore, provide an opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to the two bodies. The spokesperson said India expected President Papadopoulos’s visit to strengthen and intensify bilateral political and economic relations. “India-Cyprus relations have traditionally been excellent and time-tested. Over the years, India and Cyprus have worked effectively together in various international fora,” he said. Bilateral trade between India and Cyprus is far below the potential. In 2004, Indian exports to Cyprus were $ 37.4 million, while Indian imports stood at $ 5.2 million. There are significant possibilities for Indian participation in high-technology areas, including IT, bio-technology, pharmaceutical and R&D projects. Other areas of cooperation include financial services, tourism, construction and fuel-efficient automobiles. |
|
Rs 100-cr loss if Salman denied bail
Mumbai, April 11 A number of big-banner films starring Salman Khan are under various stages of production. The most eagerly awaited of Khan’s films is the Hollywood offering “Marigold”. But much of the work on this film is over, say Bollywood watchers. Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘‘Janneman’’ and ‘‘God Tussi Great Ho’’, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra on which nearly Rs 30 crore have been spent are likely to be the worst hit. “Janneman” was to have been released by Nimbus and was touted as one of the biggest blockbusters of this year. “Instead of sentencing him to five years’ in jail, he could have been fined Rs 1 crore to set up a sanctuary for endangered species,” film distributor Viveck Vaswani said. Vaswani is among the top Bollywood personalities who are hitting the media circuit to gather public support for Khan. Khan’s conviction has hurt his mother Salma hard. Shortly after the judgement was announced yesterday, she suffered a panic attack and had to be hospitalised at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital. Doctors said her condition was stable now. “Salman is paying for his celebrity status,” is all his father script writer Salim Khan had to say. Khan was to fly to the US next week for a series of stage shows in the USA, accompanied by John Abraham, Shahid Kapur, Kareena Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Esha Deol and Mallika Sherawat. The tour was promoted by the Moranis. |
|
Sadhu Yadav, 8 others chargesheeted
Patna, April 11 Vigilance Bureau ADG Neelmani said vigilance officials submitted the chargesheet in the court of special vigilance judge Ramnivas Prasad. The development was a big blow to the already beleaguered RJD leader. His brothers-in-law, including Sadhu Yadav, had risen into prominence during the 15 years of RJD rule in the state. Besides Sadhu Yadav, the others against whom the bureau has filed chargesheets include alleged kingpin of the scam Santosh Jha’s wife Nidhi, his father Bhagwan Lal, former private secretary of MP Prabhakar Singh, former director of Bihar Health Services Durga Prasad Mandal and director of Pashupati Cold Storage Ritesh Agarwal for their complicity in the scam after fresh evidence was found against them. Former Patna DM Gautam Goswami is already lodged in the Beur Jail for his alleged involvement in the scam. On March 9, Justice Chandramauli Kumar of the Patna High Court had allowed Sadhu’s petition for anticipatory bail in the case. Neelmani said the High Court’s bail order would become “null and void” after filing of the chargesheet and the lower court would take a fresh view of the charges on Wednesday. Sadhu Yadav has been charged with having received money from Jha from whose account Rs 6 lakh was transferred to his account with the secretariat branch of the State Bank of India. The bureau reportedly refused to accept the deposition before it during interrogation by Sadhu Yadav that the money was received by him against the sale of his car to Saantosh Jha. |
|
UGC moots uniform calendar for varsities
New Delhi, April 11 The UGC has written to universities across India to submit their views on the proposed uniform academic calendar. The decision comes following the recommendations of a committee that was set up by the Chairman to prepare a feasibility report for establishing a uniform academic calendar at the national level. The recommendations of the committee, which were placed before the commission at its meeting held here recently, have been followed by a draft regulation that has been sent to universities for their feedback. The process of seeking feedback is not limited to universities alone, the draft regulation is also being placed on the UGC website for allowing students, teachers and general public to send in their suggestions as well. A uniform academic calendar is expected to weed out problems that students face while seeking admission to universities in states other than their own. With some universities announcing their results much after admissions in some other state universities are already over, many students are often left in the lurch. It is to counter such situations the universities are being encouraged to stick to a common schedule. The draft regulation prepared by the committee has proposed that universities should ensure that classes for all courses, other than the professional ones in the first year of the course, should commence by not later than the first week |
|
|
Foreigners on relay fast for Bhopal gas victims
New Delhi, April 11 Six persons, including three victims of the gas leak on that bleak night of December, 1984, began an indefinite fast which they resolved “to end it only when the government finally addressed their long-standing charter of demands”. The agitators include Shehazadi Bee, Champa Devi Shukla, Sanjay Verma, Satinath Sarangi, Satish Kumar and Rachna Dhingra, who were part of the team that had walked the 800-km distance from Bhopal to Delhi for 33 days in support of their demands. Apart from Josh Imeson, 20-year-old Sebastian Juarez. They will be part of the strike for the next three days. On April 13, Imeson and Juarez will “hand over the fast to Diana Wilson”, an activist from Texas, who will begin a fast in Austin in the support of Bhopal gas-leak victims. Activist Nityanand Jayaraman said last year Diana Wilson completed 150 days in a Texan jail for hanging a “Justice for Bhopal” banner in 2002 on a tower at a Dow Chemical plant in Seadrift. In the same year, she also went on a 28-day fast along with Bhopal survivors and managed to mobilise more than 1,000 persons to join the strike. “More than 120
person from 10 countries, including China, Switzerland, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Spain and Singapore have signed up via www.bhopal.net to fast in solidarity with us,” says Nityanand. Shehazadi Bee and Champa Devi Shukla are survivors of the tragedy. Sanjay Verma , a member of Bhopal ki Awaz, lost seven family members in the disaster. He was just one-year-old at that time. Some of their demands include setting up of a national commission on Bhopal to oversee medical and social rehabilitation of the victims for the next 30 years, supply of safe drinking water to communities currently drinking poisoned water, speedy prosecution of the accused — Union Carbide Corporation and its former chairman — environmental remediation, a ban on Dow Chemical and its subsidiary Union Carbide's business in India and memorialising the disaster story by including it in school and college curriculum. |
|
Sarabjit’s family to meet Kalam today
New Delhi, April 11 Dalbir Kaur and her 16-year-old niece, Poonam, will meet the President. Poonam’s mother Sukhpreet Kaur will also accompany them. During his visit to Punjab last month to flag off the inaugural Amritsar-Nankana Saheb bus service on March 24, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured Sarabjit’s family that he would again take up the issue with Islamabad. Family members, however, feel that India should send a formal letter to the Pakistan Government, seeking clemency for Sarabjit, convicted also for carrying out serial blasts in Karachi in 1990. Claiming that Sarabjit was innocent and a victim of mistaken identity, they say that he had accidentally strayed into the Pakistani territory from their border village. In August last year, Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Shiv Shanker Menon had discussed the issue with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan. Sarabjit has also filed a mercy petition with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Legal experts in Pakistan say that General Musharraf can grant pardon only with consent of victims of the blast. |
|
Files on EC Chawla not missing: Govt
New Delhi, April 11 The government denied media reports that the files were missing. President A P J Abdul Kalam has referred the NDA petition demanding the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In the memorandum, they demanded his removal from the EC for his alleged links with the Congress and the role he played during Emergency. The NDA has also sent a copy of their memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner. Mr Chawla, who was appointed as Election Commissioner last year, is accused of having received over Rs 85 lakh for his family trusts from many Congress politicians. The memorandum cited Shah Commission’s report to drive home NDA’s contention that Chawla was “unfit” to hold any public office. In the 12-page petition, signed by 205 MPs, including BJP President Rajnath Singh and his predecessor L K Advani, NDA Convener George Farnandes, the Opposition said, “The Election Commission must be absolutely impartial. It must also appear to be impartial.” Chawla was accused of misusing Congress MPLAD scheme for the Lepra India Trust run by his wife. Among the Congress MPs who allegedly provided funds from the MPLAD scheme are Mr A A Khan, Mr R P Goenka, Ms Ambika Soni, Dr Karan Singh and Mr A R Kidwai. The trust was allotted six acres of land by the Rajasthan Government when Mr Ashok Gehlot (Cong) was the Chief Minister. |
|
Curfew relaxed in Aligarh areas
Lucknow, April 11 The death toll in the Aligarh riots was five with more than 16 persons injured in police firing and group clashes. Meanwhile, the two-member high-level committee comprising Principal Secretary (agriculture) Arun Kumar Mishra and DG Police, Headquarters, S K
Rizvi, to probe the outbreak of communal violence has started its work. It has been asked to submit report by Saturday. |
|
|
PM to chair meet on Naxal strikes
New Delhi, April 11 Ministry, will be attended among others by union ministers of Home, Defence, Forests and Environment, RuralDevelopment and Panchayati Raj.Besides fine tuning its strategy,the meeting would focus on the socio-economic roots of the ultra Left revolt . The April 13 meeting is expected to take stock of the implementation by the states of various socio-economic development programmes of the Centre at the grassroot level. |
|
|
Rlys targets Rs 20,000-cr fund surplus
New Delhi, April 10 He dismissed reports about privatisation of the Kapurthala Coach Factory and said no such step would be taken without taking the concerned men into confidence. Awards were given to about 300 railway personnel for their outstanding services to the organisation as also to sportspersons from the organisation who won medals in the Commonwealth Games. |
|
Processions stoned; curfew in 2 MP cities
Khandwa, April 11 Curfew was clamped as a precautionary measure apprehending further violence. Meanwhile, indefinite curfew was today imposed after a clash between people of two communities over the Mahavir Jayanti procession being taken out in the walled city of Pali in Rajasthan, a senior police official said. Tension erupted as some people belonging to the minority community objected to processionists passing through “Rooi-wallon-ka-pinjara mohalla”, Additional Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar told PTI over telephone. There was no report of any casualty so far, he said.
— UNI, PTI |
|
Ministry mulls hike in Governors' pay
New Delhi, April 11 The proposal was based on the demands made by Governors in a conference held in June last year, official sources said. The other demands included that Governors be allowed to take companions other than their spouses on official visits, they said. At present, each Governor gets Rs 36,000 per month as salary and is allowed to take only their spouses on official visits. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
