New Delhi, October 24
In a historic judgement on SC and ST reservation with the exclusion of creamy layer, the Supreme Court has laid down a comprehensive mechanism for filling up the backlog of quota vacancies under the provisions of Article 16(4B) of the Constitution. It ruled that a time-cap for filling them up has to be fixed and such posts could not be carried forward for an indefinite period.

While applying the carry forward rule, the Court said two factors — unfilled vacancies and time limit— were now required to be kept in mind by the government without compromising on the 50 per cent ceiling limit of total reservation.

“On one hand of the spectrum, we have unfilled vacancies; on the other hand, we have a time-spread over number of years over which unfilled vacancies are sought to be carried over. These two are alternative factors and, therefore, if the ceiling-limit on the carry-over of unfilled vacancies is removed, the other alternative time-factor comes in and in that event, the time-scale has to be imposed in the interest of efficiency in administration as mandated by Article 335,” a five-judge constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal laid.

The Court said if the time scale was not applied, then the posts would continue to remain vacant for years, which would be detrimental to the administration. So the Union and state governments, as the case may be “will now have to introduce the time-cap depending upon fact and situation.”

The Court pointed out to the service rules, framed by some states, allowing to carry-over the backlog only up to three years.

Once it was held that at each point in the roster it was indicated that a post which was falling vacant has to be filled up by a particular category among the SCs and STs, the candidate from that category has to be appointed against it and any subsequent vacancy has to be filled by that candidate alone. In that case, the question of clubbing of unfilled posts with current vacancies “does not arise”, the Court said.

“In our view, Centre and the state governments have to apply the cadre strength as a unit in the operation of roster in order to ascertain whether a given class is adequately represented in the service,” the Court said.

“The cadre strength as a unit also ensures that the upper ceiling-limit of 50 per cent is not violated. Further, roster has to be post-specific and not vacancy based,” the Court added.

The Court made it clear that when the state failed to identify the excessiveness that resulted in discrimination, it was open for any individual employee to approach the court and their cases would be decided purely on merit under the law.

New Delhi, October 24
Attired in their festive best, Muslims in some parts of the country celebrated Id-ul-Fitr today.

They offered early-morning prayers and partook of feasts and exchanged gifts to end the month-long Ramzan period of fasting and austerity.

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam prayed at Rashtrapati Bhavan mosque and exchanged greetings as lakhs of Muslims gathered at mosques like Jama Masjid and Fetehpuri Masjid here.

People thronged markets, especially decorated for the occasion, and families and friends got together savouring delicacies like “sevaiyan” and “kheer”.

Offices, educational institutions and banks remained closed after the sighting of the moon was announced late last night.

In his greetings, the President said: “May this year’s celebrations strengthen mutual goodwill and inspire us to follow the path of love and compassion.”

Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the spirit of charity associated with Id would help usher in a humane, compassionate society.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it evoked feelings of brotherhood and strengthened pluralistic bonds.

In Uttar Pradesh, Sunnis partook of Id festivities, however Shias decided to celebrate it tomorrow.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Shias are celebrating the festival on two days, as some people confirmed sighting of the moon and the rest, along with the Sunnis, would observe it tomorrow.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi said: “Id comes after a month of fasting, a period of soul elevation in which the essentials of faith are rejuvenated.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was in Etawah, returned to Lucknow this morning and visited the Idgah to greet Muslims.

Around two lakh devotees offered prayers at Meerut Idgah. Similar reports were received from Bareilly, Agra, Kanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Varanasi and other towns of the state.

Muslims in Punjab and Haryana also took part in the festivities, while the Pakistan cricket team, which is in Chandigarh for the ongoing Champions Trophy, visited Sector 20 mosque under tight security and were joined by Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai in offering prayers.

In Gujarat, the State Chand Committee said Id would be celebrated tomorrow as the moon had not been sighted.

The state government in Andhra Pradesh has also announced Id holiday and celebrations to be held tomorrow.

New Delhi, October 24
Cautioning that terrorism may assume the shape of a “mini-war” in the country, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today asked all para-military forces to fight the menace with grit and determination.

“Apprehensions have already been expressed that terrorism can have dangerous manifestations and might convert into a “mini-war. Hence, it is imperative for all police forces, especially central para-military forces, to keep themselves ready to meet any eventualities,” Mr Patil said at the 45th raising day celebrations of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) here.

The Home Minister said the UPA government was committed to weed out terrorism from root.

Mr Patil also took the opportunity to indicate that the ITBP, which is the border guarding force deployed on Indo-China border, could be used for other areas, including countering militancy as well.

Admitting that there was a principle of “one border, one force” rule being followed, he said, “We, however, have to see whether this is not causing any problems for the force.”

He made this statement in reponse to the problems faced by ITBP personnel, who spend much of their service time away in high mountainous posts in the Himalayan region.

Referring to the demand of the ITBP, mentioned in his speech by Director-General V.K. Joshi, of raising the number of batallions, Mr Patil said, “This proposal has been cleared by the ministry and very soon it will be placed before the Cabinet for its approval.”

He also donated Rs 2 crore towards the welfare of the personnel of the force.

Earlier in his welcome address, ITBP Director-General said while his force guarded the borders with Tibet the weather conditions were hostile and there was very little scope of rotating the personnel due to shortage of force.

Mr Joshi highlighted the need for a separate helicopter wing aimed at meeting demands in tiring weather and emergency conditions as most of its forward posts in Ladakh, Kumaon and the eastern sector remain cut off during winter months and the ITBP was dependent on the Air Force for evacuation and other emergencies.

The Rs 300 crore proposal envisages the acquisition of seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to enable the border force to airdrop personnel and emergency supplies to its posts in the upper reaches of the Himalayas.

Mr Joshi also highlighted the need for having motorable roads to its border out posts.

Patna, October 24
After the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who had apprised the students of the IIM, Ahmedabad, with his “rustic” management skills that lead to the turnaround of the Indian Railways under his stewardship, it is the turn of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to present a lecture.

The institute has officially invited Mr Kumar to deliver a lecture and officials of the state government are now busy finalising the date of the programme.

If Mr Kumar was to be believed, he was eager to explore this opportunity to showcase Bihar through his address on “challenges and opportunities” based on a strong power point presentation.

Mr Kumar observed that since both outsiders and foreigners were expected to be present at the programme, it was a great opportunity to present the possibilities of “new” Bihar before the faculty and the students there.

It was learnt that officials in the Chief Minister’s secretariat were now busy to edit various presentations already shown to impress captains of the Indian industry like Ratan Tata, Anand mahindra and few others, who publicly had acknowledged the commitment of the ruling NDA to lead the state towards progress. 

New Delhi, October 24
Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon will embark on a three-day official visit to Bhutan from October 26, about a month before Chinese President Hu Jintao visits India.

The Ministry of External Affairs today tersely announced Mr Menon’s Bhutan visit in a single paragraph. However, this correspondent understands that China-specific and strategic issues are on top of the Foreign Secretary’s agenda during his maiden visit to Bhutan.

Bhutan has traditionally been India’s closest ally in South Asia and has toed Indian line at the United Nations and other regional and international forums. But in the past few years, the Indo-Bhutanese partnership has acquired a strategic tone, largely for two reasons: the China factor and Thimpu’s unprecedented “Operation All Clear” of December 2003 wherein Bhutanese troops flushed out Indian insurgents from Bhutanese territory.

Less than a year later, the Bhutanese King paid an unscheduled visit to India from November 24 to 29, 2004. It was a rather puzzling move as the King had to visit New Delhi anyway as the Chief Guest at Indian Republic Day parade. Bilateral security topped the bilateral agenda.

The growing Chinese influence and presence in the region is a cause for concern for both New Delhi and Thimpu as India is the de facto military protector of Bhutan and the sole supplier of armaments to the kingdom.

Bhutan has become concerned of China’s road building ventures on its immediate northern borders in the recent times. In November 2004 Thimpu lodged a formal protest to Beijing stating that some of China’s road programme violated the Bhutan-China Agreement on Peace and Tranquillity on Borders, 1998.

The agreement stipulates that China and Bhutan will maintain peace and tranquillity on the borders, uphold the status quo of the boundary prior to March 1959 and not resort to unilateral action to alter the status quo of the border. China purportedly agreed to suspend the construction work till next border talks in 2005, but jumped the gun.

Mr Menon’s upcoming visit to Bhutan should be seen against the backdrop of the Chinese President’s visit to India and Pakistan about a month later.

For the record sake, the MEA said Mr Menon was expected to receive an audience with Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk and Crown Prince Trongsa Penlop Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk. “Foreign Secretary’s visit to Bhutan is in keeping with the tradition of regular exchanges of visits between the two countries and will contribute to the further strengthening of the close and friendly ties between India and Bhutan,” the MEA statement said.

New Delhi, October 24
Heeding to the demand of corporate sector and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the government today announced to extend the date of filing returns of income tax and fringe benefits for the corporate sector by a month to 
November 30.

“The due date for obtaining the tax audit report and furnishing the return of income and fringe benefits in the case of corporate taxpayers (other than those assessed in Gujarat) has been extended to November 30, 2006 from October 31, 2006,” stated a Finance Ministry statement.

The statement, however, made it clear that no further extension would be granted. It is now mandatory 
for the corporate sector to file IT and FBT returns electronically.

Recently, launching the e-filing of IT returns for corporate tax-payers, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had indicated that if required the date for filing returns would be extended.

The move also follows representations from some sections of taxpayers and professionals that they may not be able to complete their work by October 31.

This is primarily because there were many holidays in October as a result of which some of them faced difficulties in adapting to the new format and the new procedure for filing e-returns. The due date for tax audit report and furnishing returns of income and fringe benefits in respect of taxpayers in Gujarat has already been extended from October 31 to December 31.

The ministry also said the department was making efforts to streamline the process, besides speeding up clearance of refunds.

The new forms were designed to make them amenable to electronic filing, the statement said, adding that these forms were not to be accompanied by any attachment or annexure.

New Delhi, October 24
As a part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Indian Air Force, a powered hang glider (PHG) expedition was flagged off from the Air Force Station Hindon today by Air Marshal J. N. Burma, Air Officer-in-charge Administration.

The crew is to fly a distance of more than 3,500 km, setting up a new national record on the PHG aircraft, referred to as a flex wing microlight sometimes.

Crew members of this mission Wg Cdr Ramakant and Sgt S.K. Yadav will route from Delhi to Dibrugarh (Assam) via Jammu. The expedition will terminate at the Air Force Station Chabua (Dibrugarh) on November 17.

The PHG- polaris skin weighing 400 kg, has a endurance of 3 hours 45 minutes and a cruising speed of 80 kmph with a maximum fuel capacity of 55 litres. Enroute, the flight would land at several towns, cities and 21 IAF stations.

The stations are organising competitions on the theme of IAF’s platinum jubilee celebrations. The crew would also give joyrides to civilians and children and winners of the competition.

New Delhi, October 24
The affluent are getting attracted to the CPM and its membership has grown by about 9 per cent since it started exerting its influence on the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

The party membership went up from 867,763 in 2004, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took power, to 945,486 this year, an increase of nearly 9 per cent. The CPM recorded a massive growth in Andhra Pradesh, a long-standing stronghold, and stagnating in Bihar, one of poorest states in the country.

The report on the Implementation of the Party’s Organisational Tasks discusses the successes and failures of the CPM.

In an observation about Tripura, one of the three states the CPM governs but which party sources said might be true for some other states as well, the document said, “People belonging to affluent sections are getting into the party in more numbers”.

It also said the number of less earning party members had decreased and impoverished sections of the people were not being drawn or were getting drawn marginally to the CPM.

Identifying the reason for the growing disenchantment towards the party amongst the poor, the document said, “It is mainly through struggles on the basis of issues of the common people that the classes and sections of the people, who are to be rallied in the people’s democratic front, are mobilised and the enemies are separated or isolated.

This consciousness is lacking in the case of some committees while planning agitations and struggles”.

Among the ‘priority states’, Maharashtra saw good results while Assam showed some growth. Party membership rose in Jharkhand but youth and student bodies suffered. ‘Some growth’ was seen in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, where party membership remained stagnant, many dropped out of agricultural, youth and student organisations.

Drop in the number of party members and candidate members was very high in Kerala. In 2006, 10.19 per cent of party members and 23.19 per cent of candidate members did not renew, it said.

The document also records poor growths at various levels in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Gujarat (where students’ and farmers’ membership fell), Delhi (women members decreased) and Himachal Pradesh, which saw ‘slow growth’ in all mass organisations. Uttaranchal also came on the poor performance list.

On the fund collection, the self-critical document said, “If the party (state) committees are inactive and fail to take up the issues of the common people and win their confidence, it is difficult to collect fund from them”.

“Collecting funds from the common people and spending it for the activities of the party establishes a strong relation between the common people and the party. In some places, individual leaders collect funds and spend for programmes and work. In some places, no proper account is kept. All these wrong practices should be remedied and fund should be collected regularly from the common people,” it added.

New Delhi, October 24
Notwithstanding reports about the increasing activities of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today fiercely defended his decision to set up a joint mechanism with Islamabad to fight terrorism.

Describing it as a “trial and experiment”, Dr. Singh said the two countries had to talk and explore all possible means of finding a peaceful solution to their mutual problems.

“Since we are not at war with Pakistan we have to talk and explore all peaceful possibilities.” Dr. Singh told reporters after the swearing in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The decision to set up an Indo-Pak joint mechanism to fight terrorism has come in for sharp criticism both from the opposition and the security establishment who believe this would prove to be a non-starter given Islamabad’s role in encouraging cross-border terrorism.

The Prime Minister was also on the backfoot regarding the controversy fuelled by national security adviser M.K.Narayanan’ s recent remark that India did not have “clinching evidence” about Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai train blasts. Dr. Singh said there was “credible evidence” of Islamabad’s hand in the 7/11 attack case.

“All I can say is that there is credible evidence”, Dr. Singh said while refusing to comment on the contradictory statements emanating from the government on this issue.

After the nationals security advisor’s embarrassing comment, the Home Ministry let it be known that it has not merely clinching but “solid evidence” to nail Pakistan’s ISI in the Mumbai blasts.

Backing the move to set up a Indo-Pak joint mechanism, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said its success would depend on the information they get from Islamabad. He said India will share information with Pakistan about the Mumbai blasts and await its response.

“It’s too early to give details but the success of the joint mechanism will depend on the information we get,” he said.

On the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement, Mr. Mukherjee said the US government has given an assurance that “it will try its level best to see the deal through.” There is uncertainty about the agreement as the Bill on this issue has not been voted on in the US senate whose tenure expired this month.