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Govt to relaunch ‘garibi hatao’ plan
Hectic parleys on to avert Sena-BJP split
Tharoor’s withdrawal failure of UPA: BJP
Centre to discuss OBC quota with states
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Centre to urge SC to modify order on sealing
Heartland of Green Revolution in trouble: Swaminathan
US reduces time for visa appointments
India talks hard on US envoy’s remarks
Four cases of dengue in Bihar
BJP threatens stir if Afzal is pardoned
No leniency for Afzal:
Digvijay
Two more convicted for ’93 blasts
Trial court’s findings on Ramani's
statement ‘incorrect’
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt arrive in Pune
Trains scrape each other
SAD rally in Chandigarh
on Oct 15
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Govt to relaunch ‘garibi hatao’ plan
New Delhi, October 5 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today decided to change “garibi unmolan” ( poverty alleviation) to “garibi hatao.” “Following our commitment under the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP), the government has decided to re-launch the 20-point progarmme in a new format, aiming to eradicate poverty,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters. The programme would come into operation from April 1, 2007, he said, adding that additional funds would be provided in the next budget for the programme, apart from funds provided under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, rural development and other schemes. He said there was a considerable difference between the figures provided by the states regarding the number of families living below the poverty line and estimates of the Centre. But the government might take a decision to review the definition of a BPL family at a later stage, considering the present criteria was based on the calorie intake of a person. As against 119 items, the new programme would have 64 items, including poverty eradication, clean drinking water, food security, housing, health, education and child welfare. The Cabinet also approved the appointment of a chief executive in a higher scale for the National Fisheries Development Board, aiming to bring fishing revolution to generate jobs for 35 lakh people. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave an approval for the release of 50,000 MT of maize at Rs 450 per quintal for distribution among poultry farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and Chhattisgarh. It also approved the six-laning of 6,500 km of national highway comprising 5,700 km of the golden quadrilateral project, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said after the meeting. The government also gave a go-ahead to the revival package for Eastern Coalfields Ltd to enable the company to invest Rs 2,956 crore and waived Rs 519 crore unsecured loans.
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Hectic parleys on to avert Sena-BJP split
Mumbai, October 5 Sources here say BJP president Rajnath Singh and Mr Lal Krishna Advani were in constant touch with Mr Bal Thackeray to prevent the 22-year old alliance from breacking up. A surly Thackeray is believed to have told both leaders that the Shiv Sena rank and file were unhappy at the shabby treatment meted out by Maharashtra BJP chief Nitin Gadkari. “The boat called the Shiv Sena is being sunk by a big rock called Nitin Gadkari,” Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna screamed today. Last night top Sena leaders assembled at the Thackeray residence said the tie-up had been called off. Saamna publisher Sanjay Raut, who attended the meeting with Mr Thackeray along with senior leaders, insisted that the marriage was over. While Mr Gadkari shrugged when asked about the consequences, his rival in the party and former deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde insisted that efforts were on to effect a patch-up. “There are differences, but we definitely will stick together”, a crestfallen Munde had said last night. Both parties had been fighting bitterly over the Chimur Assembly seat in Vidarbha. Vijay Vedtiwar, who held the seat on the Shiv Sena ticket, had crossed over to the Congress to join mentor Narayan Rane. Incidentally, Mr Rane had persuaded the BJP to pass on Chimur to the Sena in order to let Vedtiwar contest. Now the BJP wants the seat back. “The Shiv Sena is no longer the force it was after the departure of Mr Raj Thackeray and Mr Narayan Rane, so they should cede Chimur to the BJP,” Mr Gadkari said today. Senior BJP leaders from Maharashtra like Mr Prakash Javedekar are also toeing the Gadkari line. Only Mr Munde seems to be fighting furiously to save the alliance since the tie-up was forged by the late Pramod Mahajan. Incidentally, Mr Munde himself has confessed in private in the past that both Sena and the BJP need to stand together since they are not strong enough to fight each other and the Congress-NCP allliance. Relations between the parties have been affected ever since the BJP tried to do a one up on the Sena by pitching for the post of the leader of the Opposition. The Sena with 55 MLAs in the state legislature is just one more than the BJP. By ceding the Chimur seat to the BJP the Sena stands to lose if its partner stages an upset against the Congress-NCP coalition. Mr Gadkari’s decision to name the BJP’s candidate for Chimur had sparked off the crisis. Meanwhile, the Election Commission is yet to announce the date for the byelection to Chimur Assembly seat.
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Tharoor’s withdrawal failure of UPA: BJP
New Delhi, October 5 Mr Tharoor, who had been “blessed” by BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani after he was named India’s candidate, failed because New Delhi did not ensure the support of major powers for its candidate, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar alleged here. “India committed mistakes right from the beginning of the election to the post of the UN’s Secretary-General. As a large and a major country of the continent, India should have done proper homework of networking major powers of the world as no other major and large country was nominating its candidate,” Mr Javadekar said. He alleged that India also did not take the five permanent members of the Security Council into confidence before naming Mr Tharoor as its candidate. “The whole effort has not raised India’s standing in the world comity,” he observed. The BJP leader, whose party opposes the nuclear deal with the United States as a compromise on national interests, however, blamed the UPA for the non-passage in the US Senate of the legislation. “The so-called clout of the UPA with the Bush administration was exposed when the session of the US Senate concluded without ratifying the nuclear treaty,” he said. Mr Javadekar alleged that the last-minute cancellation of Nepal Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitoula’s visit to India to sign a new extradition treaty showed the Maoists’ influence on that country’s foreign affairs and the CPM’s on India’s.
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Centre to discuss OBC quota with states
New Delhi, October 5 The consultation with the states would be chaired by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also part of the Group of Ministers appointed earlier by the Prime Minister to examine the issue of reservation in higher educational institutions. Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will also be part of the meetings that will be scheduled with Chief Ministers of several states having large unaided institutions for three days from October 9, HRD Ministry sources said. It was pointed out that the meetings are being aimed at evolving a political consensus as the HRD Minister himself had said earlier that his ministry would take everyone into confidence on the issue. While there was intense pressure from the powerful OBC lobby to finalise the Bill for unaided institutions before the Parliament session, the promoters of unaided institutions also wield political clout in several states, which required a consensus, the sources said. Unlike last time, when the quota Bill for aided institutions was introduced on the last day of Parliament and referred to a Standing Committee, the ministry plans to hold wide-ranging consultations while preparing the Bill on an OBC quota in unaided institutions. On the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament on August 25, the government tabled the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Bill, 2006, that provides 27 per cent reservation of seats for OBCs, including those belonging to the creamy layer in elite Central and government-aided institutions like the IITs and IIMs. The Bill was referred to a Standing Committee.
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Centre to urge SC to modify order on sealing New Delhi, October 5 The Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, which met here today also favoured relief to 3.5 lakh traders and decided that the Union Urban Development and Law Ministries will coordinate and address the practical difficulties of the trading community. According to sources, the decision on filing a plea for modification of the order was taken after the GoM felt that the government should not be seen as adopting a confrontationist approach on the issue and also it would be appropriate, under the circumstances, that the relief to the trading community was extracted from the apex court itself. “There are practical difficulties involved in providing relief to the traders. The Urban Development Ministry and Law Ministry will work together to find a solution,” Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy told newspersons. The meeting took stock of the fact that around 3.5 lakh shopkeepers would be required to file affidavits in the Supreme Court following its September 29 order in the matter and decided that practical difficulties involved in writing such a huge number of affidavits needed to be addressed, he said. As for the fate of 50,000 traders who had earlier filed affidavits in the court and for whom the deadline for closing their establishments was October 31, Mr Reddy said: “I am sure the traders will approach the court...If they approach us, we will present their plea before the court.”
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Heartland of Green Revolution in trouble: Swaminathan
New Delhi, October 5 Talking to The Tribune, the noted agricultural scientist said, “The government should come out with an initial allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for this region for restructuring the farming system based on the principles of ecology and economics.” Farmers in Punjab should shift gear to conservation farming with emphasis on knowledge input rather than intensive chemical usage, he said. Earlier, he released the final report of the National Commission on Farmers which was presented to the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday. Swaminathan said 26 lakh hectares of land in Punjab was under rice cultivation, which had resulted in the ground water level going down by 2.5 feet each year and it was depleting fast with the use of submersible water pumps. “This problem could be overcome by encouraging at least 6 lakh farmers in the state to shift to maize, pulses and oilseeds. Even after this, Punjab can produce 10 million tonnes of rice,” he said. Swaminathan suggested that the state government should set up a committee for formulating policies for farmers. Asking the government to make farming a viable option, otherwise, he warned that “there will be no second green revolution.” Of the 89.35 million farm households, 43.42 million were in debt with Andhra Pradesh farmers topping the indebtedness percentage at 82 per cent to be followed by Tamil Nadu at 74.5 per cent and Punjab at 65.4 per cent. He said the second green revolution belongs to drylands. Pulses and oilseeds are the predominant crops of the rainfed and dry farming areas. Stating that food import could be a policy to develop food security, he said the government should harness the vast untapped production reservoir available in Bihar and eastern India including Assam and West Bengal, even with technology on the shelf. On the minimum support price (MSP), he said even though 25 commodities under it, only in rice and wheat that the government seriously implemented it. Pitching in for a relook at the way MSP was determined, the hue and cry made by the farmers especially in Punjab and Haryana as it does not result in increase in real term, Swaminathan said “The grains must be procured, not at minimum support price but at market price.” This requires a grain purchase policy, which takes into account the changes in the cost of production like rising prices of diesel, after the announcement of an MSP. “The MSP should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production,” he said. Swaminathan said the MSP like the “minimum wage” for labour, should be indicative of the bottomline for the government. The MSP and procurement were the two separate initiatives and should be operated as such. “The government needs to ensure that both farmers (who also constitute the majority of farmers) and the urban consumers get a fair deal,” he said. The procurement price could be higher than the MSP and would reflect the market conditions. The MSP should be protected in all regions across the country. The Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices should be made into an autonomous institution with the primary mandate being the recommendation of remunerative prices for farmers, he said.
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US reduces time for visa appointments
New Delhi, October 5 "We have...made a mission-wide commitment to reduce the waiting time for a visa appointment, with the goal of eliminating the waiting period altogether, except of course, where it is an individual's preference to make an appointment for some future date to fit their own plans," Mr Mulford said. Visa applicants will be able to avail the new appointments schedule from the Embassy as well as the US consulates in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The US Embassy is mobilising additional resources to eliminate by the year-end the waiting period for visa interviews which at present goes up to six months. The US Mission is also working to expand its business executive programme under which visas of company employees are processed on a priority basis. This will involve expansion of the list of companies entitled for the facility. "We are sensitive to the inconvenience and long waits for appointments which have characterised our visa processing system in recent months," Mr Mulford said. A similar system, under which the applicants waitlisted for the visa appointments can advance their appointments, has been initiated in American Consulates General in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The Ambassador acknowledged that the prolonged waiting period was giving a "bad name" to the US. He said all those applicants, who had already got an appointment, should visit the Embassy's appointment website to advance their schedule. Additional manpower has been put at the Embassy and Consulates to clear the backlog and at least 12 officers are being sent from Washington for the purpose.
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India talks hard on US envoy’s remarks
New Delhi, October 5 In response to a question regarding remarks reportedly made by US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said: “We have seen the remarks attributed to Ambassador Crocker. Coming from a democracy like USA, one would have expected Ambassador Crocker to understand that democratic governments have a primary responsibility to keep their own people fully informed.” Mr Crocker had addressed a news conference in Islamabad on October 3 and made several remarks which hit New Delhi below the belt. “India should communicate with Pakistan by having direct contact instead of talking about the Mumbai train blasts in the public,” Pakistani daily The Dawn quoted Mr Crocker as saying.
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Four cases of dengue in Bihar
Patna, October 5 Suspected dengue cases were also detected in Darbhanga and Chapra. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chaired a high-level meeting of the state health and urban development officials to instruct them to coordinate measures ranging from the formation of medical expert team to fogging. State Health Minister Chandramohan Rai has already asked the district hospitals to follow the treatment to treat dengue patients, as worked out by a team of medical experts. The State Urban Development Minister, Mr Ashwini Chaube, is monitoring the cleanliness-cum-disinfection drive. Mr Rai said all hospitals in the state, including Patna Medical College and Hospital, had procured enough medicines to treat dengue patients. “A special ward has also been created to treat the patients”, he added.
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BJP threatens stir if Afzal is pardoned
Hyderabad, October 5 Addressing a press conference here today, party senior leader and former president M. Venkaiah Naidu took strong objection to ‘some pseudo-secularists and Left-backed groups’ pleading for commutation of his death sentence. These people were nowhere when there were attacks on Ayodhya, Varanasi and Akshardham, but are trying to save the life of a convict who is a hardcore terrorist, he protested. The laws are framed to protect citizens from victimisation but not to protect the perpetrators of terrorist acts. “Any body speaking in favour of Afzal is doing a disservice to the nation,” Mr Naidu said. |
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No leniency for Afzal:
Digvijay New Delhi, October 5 Answering queries from mediapersons, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh opposed pardon for the militant. He said Afzal had been found guilty by the court in the Parliament attack case which was a serious matter. “There is no room for leniency in such cases,” he said.
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Two more convicted for ’93 blasts
Mumbai, October 5 Nasir Abdul Kadar Keval, alias Nasir Dhakla, and Mohammed Rafiq Usman Shaikh were found guilty of being part of the blasts conspiracy and undergoing arms training in Pakistan. Nasir was also found guilty of being part of the group of conspirators who helped supply weapons and explosives at Raigad district to carry out the blasts. The court however acquitted him of the charge of filling RDX in vehicles which were used to carry out the explosions. Apart from their confessions, the court relied on evidence of one eyewitness to convict Nasir.
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Trial court’s findings on Ramani's
statement ‘incorrect’
New Delhi, October 5 Appearing for the Delhi Police, counsel Mukta Gupta told the Bench comprising Justice R.S. Sodhi and Justice P.K.Bhasin that Ramani's statement clearly established the presence of prime accused Manu Sharma in the Tamarind Court in the night of April 29, 1999, when the incident took place. Gupta told the court that during the trial, Ramani, in her testimony, had said she had seen Jessica falling on the ground after being shot at. She had also chased Manu up to the main gate of Qutub Colonade soon after the incident and told her husband George Mailhot, who was standing near the main gate, about Manu for allegedly killing Jessica, the cousel argued. Gupta also said the trial judge had failed to appreciate her statement in the case and said, "The findings of the judge on her testimony is completely incorrect and perverse." At this point, the Bench wanted to know from Gupta whether Ramani was the star witness and if the whole case of the prosecution was based on her statement and said "is she your best bet and are you building the case around her statements?"
— PTI
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Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt arrive in Pune
Pune, October 5 Jolie, Pitt and a few members of their families arrived at Pune International Airport at about 3pm by a chartered plane belonging to Raymonds company, airport sources said. They then drove in two cars to Le Meridien
Hotel, the sources said. There was not much security for them whose visit had generated a lot of interest in the media. The production unit, besides booking two posh hotels for the Hollywood stars, their family and crew members, have also taken a couple of private bungalows on rent for the shooting of the film. One of the bungalows on Baner Road in the outskirts of the city also has a helipad. The film “A Mighty Heart”, scripted by the slain journalist’s wife Marianne, was being co-produced by Pitt’s production company and Angelina is featuring as Pearl’s spouse. Pune, chosen as part of its landscape, has similarity with Karachi where Marianne spent one month from the day she learnt about Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping till when the latter was beheaded by his abductors in Afghanistan.
— PTI
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Trains scrape each other
Allahabad, October 5 No injury or major damage was reported since both trains were moving at very low speeds. The driver of Chauri-Chaura Express, which brushed past
Bareilly-Mughalsarai passenger train, was suspended on charge of negligence since he overlooked a red signal given to him on account of narrow gap between the two tracks at the Allahabad junction, Chief PRO
of North Central Railway, Bagish Pandey, said. While Chauri-Chaura Express was coming from Gorakhpur, the other train was coming from
Mughalsarai. Both trains resumed their onward journey after railway authorities ruled out any substantial damage to coaches and engines.
— PTI
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SAD rally in Chandigarh
on Oct 15
New Delhi, October 5 Party sources said senior leaders of SAD would be meeting in Chandigarh next week to chalk out the mass mobilisation programme and the strategy to build the momentum in their campaign lest it looses steam before the elections.
— TNS |
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