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Office of profit: EC undeterred by ‘external events’
Sonia still holding offices
of profit: SP
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Politicians feel the heat of Nitish’s war against crime
UPA scuttling Iran gas pipeline project : CPM
Doc’s judgement error no deficiency in service, says consumer panel
Media set to grow this year
Ashwani Kumar to lead delegation to US
US Gen’s visit begins tomorrow
Reshammiya song faces superstition barrier
Profit Bill to be taken up in monsoon session
Panel moots fast-track wildlife courts
Declare Gurdaspur food processing zone: Ashwani
System acquiesced in corruption: Rangarajan
Koirala to arrive on June 6
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Office of profit: EC undeterred by ‘external events’
New Delhi, June 2 “Our inquiry into the complaints, which have been referred by the President, continues. The inquiry is in various stages. “There has been no delay in our inquiry except for the period when we were busy with the Assembly polls in five states,” Election Commissioner N.Gopalaswami told The Tribune. He emphasised: “The inquiry is continuing at it own pace. External events did not and would not affect our role.” The strong signals from the EC come within days of the Left parties crying foul over the EC’s approach on the issue. Incidentally, complaints against several Left MPs are pending and the NDA delegation too has held a meeting with the EC seeking a speedy disposal of the petitions. The EC inquiry against Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, and Union Ministers Karan Singh and Meira Kumar is continuing. The EC is inquiring into the complaints against SP leader Amar Singh and Left leaders Mohammad Salim, Janab Hannan Mollah, Lakshman Seth, Amitava Nandi, Sudhanshu Sil, Tarit Baran Topdar, Bansagopal Chowdhury, Sujan Chakraborty and Nilotpal Basu. It said the petitions were also pending against Anuradha Chouudhary, Chanderpal Singh Yadav, T Subba Rami Reddy, Bansagopal Choudhury, Mati Lal Sarkar, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Krishan Murari Moghe and Ram Kripal Yadav. Swadesh Chakraborty, Santosh Gangwar, Bhupendra Singh, Ganesh Singh, Dr Najma Heptulla, Jayaben Thakkar, Kiren Rijiju, Kailash Joshi, Ajit Singh, Narayan Singh Manaklav, Sajjan Kumar, Anuradha Choudhary, N.Jothi, Naveen Jindal, Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, Nivedita Mane and Ajit Kumar Singh were other leaders against whom petitions were pending, it said. The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill 2006 had been passed in the reconvened session of both the Houses of Parliament last month amidst protests from the BJP who alleged that the Bill had been brought about to bail out Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Left leaders. However, Mr Kalam, after seeking the legal opinion, has returned the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration as it did not define the term ‘office of profit’ and the amendments appeared to be an adhoc approach towards the issue. The EC has so far disqualified Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Bachchan from the Rajya Sabha for holding an office of profit. However, it has rejected the complaints against NAC chairperson Sonia Gandhi, industrialist and Member of Rajya Sabha Anil Ambani, and another Member of the Rajya Sabha, Kapila Vatsayan, following their resignation from Parliament. As Mrs Gandhi had already resigned from her Lok Sabha seat, the EC held that the complaint against her “had become infructuous.” The poll panel had held the complaint against BJP Deputy Leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra as non-maintainable, the question of alleged disqualification “being a case of pre-election disqualification”. It ruled that the complaint against BJP leader Balbir Punj was infractious since his term as the Rajya Sabha MP had expired. The EC has rendered its opinion on the petitions filed against Sugrib Singh and Haji Shahid Akhlash. The same have been sent to the President for his consideration.
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Sonia still holding offices
of profit: SP
Lucknow, June 2 "People have been holding such posts since 1952 and no one ever raised the issue," maintained SP national principal general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav. Dismissing the Congress President's "so called sacrifice" of resigning from several posts, the SP leader claimed that she still held certain posts, which came under office of profit. Talking to mediapersons after film star Jaya Bachchan filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha by-elections, Mr Yadav said his party would support the office of profit Bill if re-introduced in Parliament. Refusing to make much of President APJ Abdul Kalam returning the Bill, and its possible re-introduction in Parliament, Mr Yadav said it was part of the constitutional process. Film actress Jaya Bachchan filed her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha by-poll from Uttar Pradesh as a Samajwadi Party candidate today. Former Samajwadi MP from Muzaffarnagar Amir Alam filed his nomination papers for the second Rajya Sabha seat vacated by the resignation of industrialist Anil Ambani
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Politicians feel the heat of Nitish’s war against crime
Patna, June 2 Some of the recent moves by Chief minister Nitish Kumar clearly indicated that the proverbial long arm of the law was fast catching up with both criminals as well as with those ‘men-in-khadi’ who till the other day had considered themselves above law. Mr Kumar delivered this message loud and clear to JD (U) MP and the party’s parliamentary board leader, Prabhunath Singh, categorically stating to him over dinner at Aney Marg reportedly last week, that he was unable to oblige him by asking the law enforcing authority to play down the criminal case against him. The interaction was just a day before the fast-track court in Bhagalpur on Saturday had framed charges against Prabhunath Singh for allegedly murdering two persons at Patanpur in Sarang district during 1995 Assembly polls in Bihar. Even before other leaders could persuade Mr Kumar to go soft on other politicians, to their utter disbelief, the police raided the house of the JD (U) MLA from Piro, Sunil Pandey, on Monday for his alleged involvement in a murder case. However, Mr Pandey managed to give the police a slip. Such well-timed moves by Mr Kumar, which presumably enhanced his credibility as an unbiased administrator, irrespective of its possible political consequences, indeed has put the Opposition RJD on the backfoot. There was apparent lack of
enthusiasm on the face of Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav when he was talking to the media criticising the law and order situation in Bihar during his stay in Lucknow on Tuesday. Mr Lalu Prasad`s anger was obvious because his powerful brother-in-law, Sadhu Yadav, who flouted law with impunity in 15 years of RJD rule, had to remain an absconder for almost 30 days after the Vigilance Court had issued arrest warrant against him for his involvement in the multi-crore flood relief scam. Sadhu Yadav somehow escaped to go behind the bars after the Patna High Court last week granted him bail only after seizing his
passport. For another favourite of Mr Lalu Prasad, Shahabuddin, it reportedly had made no difference to him even during the previous RJD rule to be either inside or outside the jail based on home away from home idea. While departmental proceedings have already been initiated against the Bhagalpur Jail superintendent for allowing Shahabuddin to travel in the luxury car by violating the norms while getting him shifted to Siwan jail, the RJD MP, too, could feel the heat due to the changed regime in the state. The Chief Minister was reportedly also serious of pursuing 743 criminal cases pending against policemen from lower to higher levels. The figures were submitted to the Patna High court recently the police headquarter only. Decks were also reportedly cleared for the trial of Samajwadi Party state unit president Deonath Yadav for his alleged involvement in a
murder case.
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UPA scuttling Iran gas pipeline project : CPM
New Delhi, June 2 Thee UPA government was “preparing to scuttle the Iran pipeline project….the overall direction of foreign policy and the constant erosion of India’s strategic autonomy will be major issues and will haunt the government in the coming days,” he said in an editorial in the forthcoming issue of the party’s mouthpiece ‘People’s Democracy’. Criticising the Manmohan Singh government for joining the US-sponsored Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project, saying it showed the ‘ew direction of India’s foreign policy as Iran would have been a more secure and long-standing partner for the purpose. Describing the TAP project as uncertain and illusory, party’s Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said if the Iran pipeline was considered ‘insecure’, then the TAP passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan should be doubly so. He said there were serious doubts about the availability of gas in the TAP project as Turkmenistan had signed major contracts with Russia and China and would have no exportable surplus of gas to be supplied to India. “This is common knowledge and officials of the Petroleum and the External Affairs ministries should be aware of this,” he said, adding as against this, Iran had abundant reserves. If the TAP project materialised, “which is highly doubtful, then it will only serve US geo-political interests in the region,” he said. “This also has become clear from the note submitted by the Foreign Secretary to the Petroleum Ministry recommending the TAP project, which shamelessly says ‘It would be in tune with the latest US strategic thinking for the region,” Yechury said. “Their interests would be better served if India continues to depend on the market for purchase of oil rather than address its energy security by firming up pipeline projects. This is because spot purchase of oil facilitates lucrative kickbacks,” Yechury said. “The Bush administration with its close links with the petro-dollar lobby will not countenance the IPI project which it sees as a threat to its energy and geo-political interests. “Yet, the Manmohan Singh government, to maintain pretence, keeps talking about pursuing the IPI project. So does President Musharraf in Pakistan who is under tremendous pressure from the Americans.”
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Doc’s judgement error no deficiency in service, says consumer panel
New Delhi, June 2 A Bench comprising NCDRC President Justice M B Shah and members Justice K S Gupta and Mrs Rajyalakshmi Rao, disposing of a complaint by US-based doctor Kunal Saha here yesterday said, “We reiterate that doctors or surgeons do not undertake that they will positively cure a patient. There may be occasions beyond the control of the medical practitioner to cure the patients”. Dr Saha had claimed Rs 77,76,73,500 with interest as damages for the deficiency in the service rendered by the doctors in treating his wife Anuradha Saha who was suffering from toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), a disease which affects only 1 or 1.3 persons out of every 10 lakh. Mrs Saha died at the Breach Candy hospital, Mumbai, on May 28, 1998. In his complaint, Dr Saha alleged his wife died because of negligence and an overdose of steroids administered at the Advanced Medicare Research Institute Ltd, Kolkata, by the doctors Sukumar Mukherjee, Baidyanth Halder, Abani Roy Chowdhury, Balram Prasad and Kaushik Nandy. While backing the “clinical assessment” of the doctor who prescribed medicines to Mrs Saha, the Bench said that an examination of the record showed that it was “difficult” to arrive at the conclusion that the patient was given an excessive dose of medicine. The Bench also ruled as “without substance” the complaints against the other doctors named in the complaint and the hospital. Further, the expert body of doctors, the West Bengal Medical Council, had also arrived at the conclusion that there was no negligence/deficiency in service on the part of the doctors or the hospital. While judging deficiency in medical negligence it ought to be noted that a doctor or a surgeon “does not undertake that he will positively cure a patient nor does he undertake to use the highest possible degree of skill, as there may be persons more learned and skilled than himself, but he definitely undertakes to use a fair, reasonable and competent degree of skill,” the commission said. It further said, “negligence” can be attributed when a doctor/surgeon fails to use due skill in diagnosing with the result that wrong treatment is given.
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Media set to grow this year
New Delhi, June 2 According to a report released by FICCI, “growth in advertising, being linked to the GDP growth of the economy, is projected to grow by 12-14 per cent in the next five years.” It would encourage media barons to launch new editions of newspapers and TV channels besides entry of foreign players in the domestic market. “Last year press grew faster than television, a rare feet. Good strong economy, micro editions, falling entry cost outlays on print, movement of SMEs from classifieds into display, edition cost bundling are just some of the reasons that propelled the print growth rates….”, according to Atul Phadnis, Chief Evangelist, Media e2e, a product placement valuation company. The performance of media stocks in the market, new IPOs and expansion plans of different newspapers indicate, say experts, that media, including TV channels, FM radios and newspapers, has huge potential, especially in the fast-growing states with high literacy rates. According to industry estimates, the advertising, after posting a growth of 15 per cent in 2004-05, has grown by around 14 per cent in 2005-06 making the total industry revenue at Rs 13,200 crore as against Rs 11600 crore in the previous year. The boom in electronic and print media is driven by a new generation of young consumers whose spending has driven advertising revenue growth of 12 per cent to 14 per cent annually for print media and cable TV. In another report, the consultant predicted that print revenue is expected to jump to Rs 195 billion from Rs 109 billion.
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Ashwani Kumar to lead delegation to US
New Delhi, June 2 A meeting is being held on June 7, with senior management industry majors at Greenbrier (USA). The minister will be accompanied by Ms Satwant Reddy, Secretary, Chemicals &
Petro-Chemicals, Mr Ajay Dua, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Mr Javed
Usmani, Joint Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office and Mr K.C. Misra, Joint Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. Talking to the reporters here today, Dr Ashwani Kumar said, “A task force on petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment regions
(PCPIRS) had been constituted in the Prime Minister’s Office to enable coordinated initiatives at the Central and State Government level for the development of requisite infrastructure.” The
petro, chemicals & petrochemicals industry in India has recorded a steady growth over the years with India seeking to achieve annual economic growth of 9 per cent and above and the shift of manufacturing base from North America and Europe to Asia, the potential of the petrochemicals industry in India has increased enormously. India plans to attract foreign investment in petrochemical sector by developing special zones in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka of spread over 250 square km each to set up large scale industrial centres there, he said. With a view to optimising the gains of competitive advantages that India has to offer in this sector, it is proposed to establish PCPIRS at various locations. These regions are envisaged as growth engines that will boost manufacturing, augment exports and generate large-scale direct and indirect employment. The PCPIRS operational regime envisages a state-of-the -art infrastructure that would provide conducive and competitive environment for setting up businesses. These regions may be developed in active association with the private sector and would welcome foreign direct investments and expertise. In pursuance of the aforesaid objectives, that the meeting with the senior management of global petrochemicals and chemicals industry is being organized at Greenbrier (USA). The delegation will engage with corporate leaders to clarify and explain the thinking of the government to them. Necessary presentations will be made at this meeting, he added.
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US Gen’s visit begins tomorrow
New Delhi, June 2 During his stay, General Pace, who is the highest-ranking American military officer, will call on Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and hold parleys with the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, and Navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash, Army chief Gen J.J. Singh and Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi. According to a Navy spokesman, there is no set agenda for the talks, but issues of mutual interest and cooperation will be the focus of Gen Pace’s visit.
He will also be holding parleys with National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan. The top US officer will be visiting Agra, a major Air Force transport base, headquarters of Army’s Northern Command in Chandimandir, near Chandigarh, and its Training Command at Shimla.
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Reshammiya song faces superstition barrier
Ahmedabad, June 2 Residents of Bhalej, about 80 km from here in Anand district, have banned the song saying those who listen to it or sing it get possessed. The villagers cite several cases to substantiate their claim. One instance is of Firoz Thakor, 25, was allegedly caught under evil influence some 10 days ago while singing the song in the evening. “He ate too much that day and started behaving strangely. He wasn’t talking to anybody but himself and refused to budge from the place where he was sitting. He only became normal when we consulted the Maulana (priest),” said Aarif, Firoz’s elder brother who runs a roller-shutter shop in the village. The family members, however, didn’t allow Firoz to talk to the media because they feared it would bring a bad name to the family. Isamiya Master, a retired schoolteacher in Thakor Mohalla, where several people have reportedly been possessed because of the song, recounted five other cases. “Getting possessed by evil power is not a new phenomenon. But of late the trend has increased. The evil follows you because the lyrics of the song have the words ‘Aaja aaja’ that invite the ghost,” said the aged Master. “Since the evil has ‘infected’ five to six persons, we have decided that nobody here will play the song.” Rafiq Hussain, a shop owner in Thakor Mohalla, is aware of the superstition regarding the song.
— IANS
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Profit Bill to be taken up in monsoon session
New Delhi, June 2 The Centre will take up the amended Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, which was returned to Parliament for reconsideration by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, only in the forthcoming session which is slated to commence around the third week of July. There is no proposal to call an emergency session of Parliament to discuss the Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said here today. After the President refused to give assent to the Bill, the government had toyed with the idea of calling a special session to get the Bill passed. It has since revised its opinion on the matter and decided that the government should not say or do anything which will give the impression that it is panicking. The idea of advancing the monsoon session or calling a special session had come up when the Opposition went into attack mode and urged the Election Commission to process the petitions pending against 40 MPs whose disqualification has been sought on the ground that they are holding an office of profit. These petitions would have been rendered infructous if the amended Bill had come into effect. Since this is not the case, the Opposition has upped the ante and demanded that the EC fast-track its proceedings. The government is still debating whether the Bill should be amended in the light of the President's observations or to pass the Bill in its present form. It appears the ruling combine is unlikely to make any changes though it does not want to be seen to be on a collision course with Rashtrapati Bhavan. Congress party's legal experts maintain that the Bill is constitutionally valid and that Parliament has the right to enact such a legislation, besides there being a precedent when such a law has been applied with retrospective effect. All aspects of this case were discussed at length by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Ministers H.R. Bharadwaj, Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and P. Chidambaram. The UPA and the Congress also suspect that the BJP is sharpening its attack on this issue because it is smarting at having lost 10 of its MPs who were expelled after they were caught in the “money-for-question” sting operation.
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Panel moots fast-track wildlife courts
New Delhi, June 2 The panel felt that these courts would serve as an effective step towards conservation of endangered species. The panel noted that crimes related to wildlife often took long to be punished, thus encouraging potential perpetrators. To avoid this situation, it recommended that fast-track courts should be set up which would go a long way in conservation of endangered species like tigers, elephants and rhinos. The panel was also of the opinion that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had not done enough to persuade the international community to adopt stringent measures and provide effective cooperation in curbing the illegal trade in animal parts . Quoting from the Tiger Task Force report, the panel noted with concern that 18.2 per cent of posts for field staff like forest guards, foresters and rangers across the 28 tiger reserves were vacant. This understaffing, the panel said, had been cited as one of the main reasons for depletion of tigers in reserves. It recommended greater incentives and amenities, including hard area allowance and free rationing, for forest guards and also sought basic equipment like wireless sets, cell phones and vehicles for them. The committee’s remarks came while considering the demand for allocation of Rs 142.98 crore for 2006-2007 by the MoEF for its wildlife-preservation programmes.
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Declare Gurdaspur food processing zone: Ashwani
New Delhi, June 2 In a letter to Minister for Food Processing Subodh Kant Sahai, Mr Kumar urged him to depute a team of experts to survey the area so that a meaningful initiative could be taken. He said Pathankot was a gateway to Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir and was well connected by road and rail. He said a civilian airport at the place was expected to be made operational soon. “The area has an abundant produce of litchi, mango and kinnow. These fruits can be processed if the necessary industrial infrastructure is created and will boost employment in areas like Dhar Sujanpur and Narot Jaimal Singh also,” he said. He has also written to Punjab Chief Minister on closing an abattoir in Sujanpur and running of an old age home and medical vans. He also urged the Chief Minister to place appropriate funds at the disposal of the Gurdaspur DC for food and medicines of inmates and day-to-day maintenance of the old age home.
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System acquiesced in corruption: Rangarajan
New Delhi, June 2 “While we denounce corruption in principle, we do not attach any social stigma or enforce any social sanctions against people perceived to be corrupt,” Dr Rangarajan said delivering the seventh D P Kohli Memorial Lecture, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation. “We no longer blow the whistle against corruption because we are not confident that the corrupt will be booked and punished. We no longer get agitated against bribes we have to pay because we have already provided for them in our calculations. We are no longer surprised at the high cost of public works or the poor quality of public services because we have internalised corruption in
our collective psyche,” he said delivering the lecture on “Economic Growth and Issues
of Governance”.
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Koirala to arrive on June 6
New Delhi, June 2 Mr Koirala will be accompanied by a delegation comprising ministers of the new government and business representatives. Mr Koirala was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Nepal on April 30, 2006, following the restoration of democracy in Nepal. The visit will provide the opportunity for discussing the entire gamut of issues between the two countries, the MEA said.
— TNS
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