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Extension of Farm Loan Waivers
Patil sidesteps law & order issue
Iranian President to visit India
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Karnataka Polls
Rural job scheme: Minister admits to shortcomings
RTI Applicability
Visa norms for travel to be eased, says
Pak official
Jawan kills two colleagues, himself
Spurt in UP suicides
Lalu for 15% export duty on iron ore
Fee Hike: IITs set to follow IIMs
Price Rise
Govt plans 8,000 telecom towers in villages
Pvt telcos form new initiative for rural users
Rift between Nalini, Murugan
Description of Rahul as ‘Yuvraj’ sparks uproar in RS
Kakodkar speaks out against activists
Retd chief secys lobbied to be Governors
SC stays trial of main witness in Katara case
Ambedkar Park
Haj-like subsidy for other pilgrims
Man’s phone can be cut if wife doesn’t pay her bill: SC
Uma again rules out return to BJP
Exit polls may be banned
French national hacked to death
Two missing Indian soldiers in US declared deserters
Efforts on to revive dying river Nila
Mohanlal’s act risky, warn magicians
CAT may go online
Gawli held on extortion charge
Amar Singh’s plot: Mayawati orders probe
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Extension of Farm Loan Waivers
New Delhi, April 21 Replying to a supplementary in the Lok Sabha, Pawar said the government had no plans to waive off loans taken by farmers from moneylenders. “It is not possible to take that responsibility now as some states have not kept records of moneylenders,” he added. The minister said the government was not in a position to take new responsibilities till the present commitments (the Rs 60,000-crore loan waiver in the new Budget) are implemented. He said the government’s priority was to implement the loan waiver among 81 per cent of farmers owning less than two hectares. “Let us first implement the farm loan waiver scheme presented in the Budget and see the results.” Relying on government estimates, Pawar said about 30 million small and marginal farmers and about 10 million others farmers would benefit from the debt waiver scheme. Finance minister P. Chidambaram had announced waiver of Rs 500 billion of loans granted to small and marginal farmers and a settlement scheme of Rs 100 billion for other farmers. In his speech in the Lok Sabha last month, Rahul Gandhi had sought more relief for farmers by way of flexibility in land ceiling and a localised cut off date to enable farmers’ benefit from loan waiver scheme. The Congress MP from Amethi suggested that the loan waiver also benefit farmers having more than two hectares. “Perhaps we could consider making the land ceiling variable based upon
land productivity,” Rahul had said. The Left has been demanding that the government extend the debt waiver scheme for farmers to include loans taken from moneylenders as debt trapped farmers were committing suicide.
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Patil sidesteps law & order issue
New Delhi, April 21 “It is this function and not the maintenance of law and order from which the ministry derives its name. Law and order is exclusively a state subject,” said Patil. “Let there not be a misunderstanding that the Centre alone has the responsibility of maintaining law and order. Under the Constitution, law and order is a state subject, unless the House wants to amend the Constitution,” said the home minister while replying during discussions and voting on the demand of grants for 2008-2009 under the ministry of home affairs. Cornered by the Opposition on the worsening law and order and internal security situation, Patil admitted that law and order was a bigger issue than internal security, with 32,000 murders being reported in a year as against 2,000 casualties in terrorist violence. He was, however, quick to shift the responsibility to states adding that the “Centre in such cases could only act if the states wanted”. The home minister, however, said the problem could not be tackled unless the police forces were expanded, strengthened and modernised. Allaying fears raised by the status report on internal security, which said the challenge centred on terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, Naxal violence and communal riots, Patil said the government would not let fear psychosis prevail and would follow the middle path to deal with terrorism. He added that the states had been told to detect the two crore Bangladeshi infiltrators in India and deport them, “an issue the House was concerned about”. Patil went on to say the government would use force where needed and wisdom where needed to deal with the problem. He added that securing the borders was important though right now only Pakistan and Bangladesh borders were fenced. The Centre has, meanwhile, moved to secure the 7,000 km-long Indian coastline by providing Rs 550 crore to the coastal states to set up coastal police units. On the law and order front, Patil was visibly disturbed over 24 to 28 per cent vacancies in the police department in some states. He said the states had been told to fill posts. Conceding that the police forces were in need of modernisation, Patil clearly said law and order could not be improved unless police forces were modernised to match the growing population and criminals, who are innovating. “In four years, there has been 72 per cent increase in the money spent on policing by the Centre. We will raise 200 to 300 battalions of the BSF, the SSB and the ITBP in the next 7 years,” said the minister, informing the House that Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh had increased budgetary allocation for the police, besides expanding the forces, at centre’s behest. Earlier during the discussions, serious concerns were raised about the problem of terrorism (175 terrorist organisations are active in India) and Naxalism (140 out of 600 districts are affected) in India. Reacting to concerns, the home minister said, “The problem is difficult and complicated but not beyond control.” He said the Centre would over the next five years pump in Rs 75,000 crore in the 10 Naxalite affected states, where another Rs 16,000 crore would be provided to modernise police forces. Earlier the home minister expressed concern over the fact that many states, which had earlier asked for the deployment of CRPF, had not yet returned the forces. The House demanded heavy penalty for these states before it passed the demand of grants under the home affairs ministry, for 2008-2009.
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Iranian President to visit India
New Delhi, April 21 Though the ministry of external affairs is maintaining a strict silence on the visit saying that “Wait for an official announcement, please”, but the very fact that Ahmadinejad decided to stop for a short visit in New Delhi at the end of his two-days official visit to Sri Lanka is an indication of the importance that the two ancient nations attach to the bilateral ties. The Iranian President is visiting Sri Lanka to inaugurate an Iran-sponsored hydel power project in the island country. During his stay in the capital, Ahmadinejad will hold talks with the Prime Minister and meet President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. While the entire gamut of bilateral relations will be discussed during his official talks with the Prime Minister, $ 2 multi billion energy deals will be dominating the deliberation. These are the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and a three-year-old agreement between New Delhi and Tehran wherein Iran will supply five million tonnes of gas per annum to India for the next 25 years. Both the projects have been in a limbo for years. There has been a logjam on IPI project mainly because of the political reasons as the US has been opposed to it. Beyond the US opposition, there are disagreements on pricing and transit fees on the 2600 km-long pipeline. Another stalled deal with Tehran pertains to the supply of five million tonnes of gas per year for 25 years. The deal, though signed in 2005, is hanging in fire over price disputes. A visit by an Iranian President is taking place after a gap of five years. In 2003, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. The Indo-Iranian relations have slid down ever since India voted against Iran in the IAEA. The latest diplomatic red rag for the Iranians came in January when India conducted its commercial launch on an Israeli spy satellite. But New Delhi is fully conscious of the significance of India’s ties with Iran. It was underlined by national security adviser M.K. Narayanan when he yesterday said Iran was just not a matter of international policy but also a domestic issue as India had the second largest Shia Muslim population in the world. India has a relationship with Iran that goes back several hundred of years. What happens in Iran has a major impact on us”, Narayanan stressed at the IISS-Citi India Global Forum.
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Karnataka Polls
New Delhi, April 21 Although it has been making strenuous efforts to build a third front at the national level, the Samajwadi Party has no objections if its Karnataka leader, former Chief Minister and MP S.Bangarappa goes ahead with a tie-up with the Congress for the upcoming polls.The Samajwadi Party’s position vis-a-vis Karnataka is part to its ongoing efforts to mend fences with the Congress. On the other hand, the Karnataka state unit is exerting pressure on the Congress leadership to move ahead with an alliance with Bangarappa as the former CM has the potential of playing spoilsport in as many as 30 Assembly segments across seven districts like Shimoga, Udipi, North Kannada and Chikmangalur. The two sides have discussed the possibility of an electoral alliance though a final decision is yet to emerge. Prithviraj Chavan, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, is learnt to have met Madhu Bangarappa, SP’s state unit chief’s son, who was in Delhi on Sunday, with regard to an alliance. The Samajwadi Party, it is learnt, has staked claim on 25 seats in the areas where Bangarappa has his stronghold besides wanting to contest all the seats in Shimoga, Bangarappa’s home district. In addition, it also wants a major say in the distribution of tickets in north Kannada. Although the Congress is not keen on conceding more than 10 seats, AICC leaders are still pursuing the possibility of a tie-up they realise that the Congress will be weakened substantially if Bangarappa contests on his own. According to Karnataka Congress leaders, an alliance with the backward classes leader has become imperative as Bangarappa had demonstrated his clout in the last elections when he had tied up with the BJP and helped the saffron outfit win at least 30 Assembly seats by mobilising the Idiga community. “It’s a good thing that Bangarappa is no longer with the BJP...we should take advantage of this and have a tie-up with him this time,” remarked a Karnataka Congress leader. Having suffered a string of Assembly polls last year, Congress leaders admit that the Karnataka election is crucial for them. “Our very survival is at stake,” said an AICC office-bearer, adding a BJP victory will galvanise their cadres and impact the upcoming Assembly elections later this year and the Lok Sabha poll thereafter.
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Gowda’s sons find place in JDS list
Bangalore, April 21 In the list that was announced two days ahead of the April 23 deadline for filing of nominations for the first phase of elections slated for May 10, the JDS has renominated 25 former MLAs of the dissolved Assembly and awarded tickets to the kin of two of its leaders. Party spokesman Y.S.V. Datta denied that the JDS had delayed the list till the Congress and the BJP announced their candidates. While Kumaraswamy will seek re-election in Ramanagar Assembly segment, his elder brother, Revanna will bid for re-election from his home turf Holenarasipur in Hassan district. Controversial minister C.
Chennigappa, who was accused of collecting bribes from Bellary mines owner, has managed to get ticket for his son D.C. Gowrishankar from Madhugiri while Vijayalakshmi Bandi Siddegowda’s has secured ticket to her son
A.B. Ramesh Bandisiddegowda from Srirangapatna constituency. Other notables whose re-nomination has been approved by the party parliamentary board include former minister N.Cheluvarayaswamy (Nagamangala), B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan (Chamarajpet), H.K. Kumarswamy (Sakleshpur reserved). Chennigappa is trying for a berth from Doddaballapur as his erstwhile Koratagere constituency in Tumkur district has become a reserved one in the delimitation process. — PTI
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Rural job scheme: Minister admits to shortcomings
New Delhi, April 21 The minister was replying to a debate on the working of the rural development initiated by Brinda Karat of the CPM today. He, however, added that it cannot be said that money was going down the drain despite the shortcomings in implementation of the scheme. There was need to remove corruption, he said while adding that criticism of the scheme by the left parties and the BJP was wrong. Funds are not a constraint, we are more concerned about curbing malpractices across the country, the minister said while adding that states have been slow in some cases. Funds will be provided the finance minister had made a provision of Rs 16,000 crore to cover all districts. He has promised more. Within a few months all payments to beneficiaries will be routed through banks or post offices, this will weed out any mal practice in not giving full wages. Rahul Gandhi’s visit had led to a war of words with the BSP threatening to withdraw support from the UPA at the
Centre. Today the minister admitted that the scheme was being hampered due to lack of awareness. Even government officials do not have complete knowledge about the scheme. Regarding the concerns raised by Brinda Karat, he rubbished her charge that an anti-rural lobby was working. Rolling out figures, the minister said by 2012, all villages of the country would have basic sanitation facilities like clean toilets and drinking water. Our target is to construct one crore toilets every year in order to achieve this target, he said. On opposition’s demand for uniformity of wages paid under national rural employment guarantee Act
(NREGA), Singh said the government would consider the proposal. Singh also informed the House that the government is also coming up with a national rehabilitation settlement policy. The proposal regarding this is currently pending with the parliamentary standing committee and a decision is expected by the next Parliament session, he said. On Karat’s remarks that the number of landless poor had risen from 22 to 32 per cent in recent years, Singh said the Union Budget had kept aside a provision of Rs 1,000 crore under the Indira Aawas Yojana
(IAY) for landless poor. Referring to the findings of the CAG report on rural development, Singh said the ministry had already asked the state governments to look at grassroot level corruption hampering the implementation of the scheme. An inquiry has been ordered in 200 districts. Initiating the debate the CPM had alleged it was following “pressure created by influential lobby” the government increased the timing of working hours under NREGS to nine hours, including the lunch break.
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RTI Applicability
New Delhi, April 21 “I am not questioning the Chief Justice. He is a high constitutional functionary. But since you ask me, I feel we should not keep anything back from people,” he told reporters when asked about the CJI’s views. Chatterjee said in a democracy people occupy the central position and insisted that once such information is denied, then “there is scope for speculation which may affect the credibility of the institution”. Disputing Balakrishnan’s views that Constitutional functionaries are not covered under the RTI, he said, “Everything is under the Constitution or should be under the Constitution. The question is whether people are entitled to know.” “The Constitutional position of people’s right to know has been recognised under the RTI Act,” he said noting that it has been brought for the purpose of enforcement. The refrain of the Speaker, who has been forthright in airing his views on judicial activism, was that “we should not keep anything back from people” as they have the right to know in a democracy. The Speaker said he had allowed giving away of information under the RTI and had even suggested that the proceedings of Parliamentary Standing Committees should be thrown open to the media. Since there has been no consensus on opening up of Standing Committee proceedings to the media and with the MPs having reservations on it, it could not be done, Chatterjee said. “Since you are asking me as a Constitutional functionary, I feel nothing should be held back from the people. Except, of course, when it is something related to security,” the Speaker added. Chatterjee had earlier allowed disclosure of information under the RTI Act regarding the assets and liabilities of MPs, which are furnished to him in a sealed envelope by the lawmakers. — PTI
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Visa norms for travel to be eased, says Pak official
New Delhi, April 21 The new visa policy, under discussion between the two countries, entails easier documentation process and extended validity period for both individual and group visa applicants, Pakistan’s tourism secretary Shahzad Qaiser told PTI here. “Talks are in progress and new easier visa procedure is expected to be finalised within this quarter,” Qaiser said. Observing that time was “appropriate to capitalise on the friendly environment,” he said, “We are trying to promote congenial environment by revising our visa policies.” Underlining that both countries needed to work together to improve the relationship, the Pakistani official said, “such measures should be carried out on the basis of reciprocity.” He said Pakistan has taken the initiative on several aspects and “we want India to reciprocate in a similar manner.” “The relationship would be strong when the two parties would acknowledge and respect the identity of each other,” he said, adding “Seeing the sensitivity of the relationship between the two countries, every step needs to be taken with great care.” Referring to the increase in the frequency of the Delhi-Lahore bus service recently from twice weekly to three times a week, he said it was an important step towards improving people-to-people contact between the two countries. — PTI
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Jawan kills two colleagues, himself
Katra, April 21 The incident took place in the highly sensitive area near the shrine. Constable Devinder Singh killed his colleagues before shooting himself with his rifle. While Inspector Snoob received bullets in his chest, Parveen Kumar was shot in the abdomen. Both succumbed to their injuries later. All of them belonged to the 140 Battalion of the CRPF. There was virtual chaos as devotees assuming it to be a militant attack, ran for safety. More than 10,000 pilgrims were present at the shrine when
the CRPF man resorted to indiscriminate firing. Alok Puri, DIG, Udhampur-Reasi range, told The Tribune that the police was trying to ascertain the cause of the incident. He, however, said a verbal duel between Devinder and Inspector Snoob led to the incident. Sources said Devinder was deployed at LMG Point to keep vigil on the Trikuta hills. Inspector Snoob along with Parveen reached there to inspect the picket. Soon Devinder had a verbal duel with the Inspector, after which he resorted to indiscriminate firing. Senior police and civil officers rushed to the spot. As there was no helipad at the shrine, the injured were taken to Shanji Chaat, from where they were airlifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu. Both succumbed to their injuries at Jammu. Inspector Snoob was a resident of Kerala, constable Parveen Kumar belonged to Madhya Pradesh, while Devinder Singh was a resident of Bihar. Superintendent of police, Katra, said the police had registered a case and started investigations. Deputy chief executive officer of the shrine board, M.K. Dewadi, said “It is a shocking incident. After completion of the inquiry, we will take remedial measures so that such incidents did not occur in future.”
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Spurt in UP suicides
Lucknow, April 21 With as many as 10 students committing suicides during the past 20 days in the state capital alone, Uttar Pradesh police is considering to ban such Internet sites that provide helpful information to those contemplating suicide. Director General of Police (DGP) Vikram Singh today informed that he had already asked police officials who look after cyber crime to start the process of restricting access to internet sites that encourage suicides. “There should be a blanket-ban on such sites, which are giving details on how suicides could be committed or any other information over the issue,” said the
DGP. Taking the example of Britain the DGP said several Internet sites related to suicides had been banned by the government there after a spurt in the number of suicides. Clearly concerned at this alarming trend UP Police today organised a seminar on ‘Suicides-Reason and Remedy’ at the Yojana Bhawan which was inaugurated by principal secretary Home J.N. Chamber who expressed his sympathies with the parents of the dead students. Suicides after the results of 10th and 12th board and university examinations are now becoming almost pathological. However, this year the suicides have started even before the examinations got over. In one case a student of Class VIII of a leading school committed suicide as he had not prepared well enough. On an average 3,500 suicides are registered in the state every year. Most of the students commit suicides between February and April, as it is the time for preparation of the examinations, claimed the
DGP. According to the DGP the trend can largely be traced to the changing attitude of parents towards their children, end of the joint-family system, depression among the working class community and mental stress on the students.
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Hasten induction of new equipment, Antony tells IAF
New Delhi, April 21 Indian air power capability had dipped down to its lowest level of just 32 fighter squadrons till last month. Two squadrons were added on April 1 taking the number to 34. The country needs 39.5 squadrons and this has been a matter of concern in the IAF. Cut down gestation periods of induction of new equipment, the minister told top Air Force commanders at a four-day bi-annual conference here. The 126 fighters will be one of the biggest open tender worth $10 billion. The bidders may include US aviation majors Lockheed martin and Boeing, European consortium EADS, Russian MiG, French Dassault and Swedish Gripen. Antony told commanders to breakdown perspective plans into short-term and long-term objectives, taking into account the country’s strategic requirements, apparently hinting at cutting down the induction process of new fighters, badly needed by the IAF to bolster its air power. The minister also cautioned that it was imperative that procurement procedures were followed diligently, wanting transparency and integrity of contracts to be uppermost in their minds. The four-day conference is being attended by the top brass of Indian Air Force and is discussing operational challenges before the Air Force. Issues such as maintenance, flight safety, administrative and logistics will be discussed threadbare at the conference. Antony said: “We want to take peace process with Pakistan further, but at the same time we must maintain eternal vigil on all fronts.” Antony said there would be an attempt to have a fusion of potent capabilities in terms of space-based assets, air defence, surveillance, modern aircraft and advanced weapon systems. I am sure that such initiatives will help the IAF to evolve into a dominant aerospace power. We must also conceptualise and build asymmetric capabilities to match superior forces. This would act as a deterrent and help in preserving our integrity and sovereignty. The minister called for transparency in the promotion boards saying they should be transparent and objective. Case of jumping seniority should have sufficient justification, which should be clearly pointed out, he said.
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Lalu for 15% export duty on iron ore
New Delhi, April 21 “We will recommend to the finance ministry to immediately impose 15 per cent export duty on iron ore as a measure to protect and preserve exports of iron ore for value addition services by domestic industry,” the minister said. Speaking at an interactive session on ‘Public-private partnership in Indian Railways’ organised by Assocham, Lalu said: “Infrastructure is key to any nation’s growth. With 64,000 km network and 11,000 trains, Indian Railways is improving infrastructure and generating employment for many.” For improving the country’s lifeline, the government has initiated the groundwork for the public-private partnership model. However, no basis for selecting the private players has been set up yet, he added. Elaborating on his ministry’s future plans, the railway minister said he would lay down his office with a surplus of about Rs one lakh crore. Railways surplus in FY08 are estimated at Rs 69,000 crore. On the issue of movement of grains through railways, he said it would move grains and other items on priority basis for public distribution system purposes and there would not be any shortages of wagons to transport grains supplies. Expressing concern over the rising water crisis, he said the railways would come forward to integrate various rivers across the country whose waters could be supplied through huge pipeline networks that would be laid on both sides of railway tracks. “The proposal is at the preliminary stage and, if accepted, could be used for supplying drinking water and also for irrigation purposes,” he mentioned. On the dedicated freight corridor project, the minister apprised that various leading financial institutions such as World Bank and IDBI among others have been coming forward to financially support it. “The Government of Japan seems to be reluctant to the eastern corridor project, but we are making our arrangements for technological partnership so that the project is executed,” he said. The minister also announced that in the nearly 7,500 railway stations across the country, the railways would set up Krishi outlets on which the farmers could sell their produce. However, he did not divulge further details. — UNI
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Fee Hike: IITs set to follow IIMs
New Delhi, April 21 The HRD ministry told the Rajya Sabha today that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have proposed to increase their fees on the lines of IIMs. The SCIC has recommended increasing the tuition fees to Rs 50,000 per year for B. Tech and M. Tech courses. The board of governors of six IIMs located at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode had decided to increase the fees of the postgraduate programme (PGP) from the next academic year 2008-2010, citing operational expenses of the programme and the financial impact of sixth pay panel recommendations as main reasons for the hike Based on the recommendations made by the scientific advisory council to the Prime Minister, it has been decided to set up three new IITs, one each in Rajasthan, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh during the XIth Plan. In order to expand facilities for high quality management education in the Northeast, it was decided to establish an IIM at Shillong. After considering requests of state governments and other relevant factors, such as existing regional distribution of central educational institutions in the country, it was decided to locate five more IITs and six more IIMs in the country. The new IITs will be set up in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat while IIMs will be located in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttrakhand and Haryana. The total outlay for setting up of a new IIT, with an intake capacity of 860 students, is expected to be Rs 760 crore. The total outlay for setting up of one IIM, with an intake capacity of 180 students, is expected to be Rs 210.25 crore. The ministry has also been decided that no new IIT and IIM will be established in the state that allreday has one. For IITs, the ministry received requests from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Gujarat, Kerala, Chattisgarh, Tripura and Mizoram. For IIMs, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Goa, Maharshtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Punjab had sent requests.
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Price Rise
New Delhi, April 21 “Everyone can see that the steps taken so far by the government have singularly failed to curb inflationary pressures,” the CPI Central Secretariat said in a statement issued here today. Earlier in the day, CPI(M) leaders said at a press conference that the finance minister should learn a lesson from price rise. The CPI(M) leader in the Lok Sabha, Basudeb Acharia and party chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Rup Chand Pal told mediapersons that they also want other secular democartic parties to put pressure on the government on the price rise issue so that the sufferings of the people are reduced. The CPI simultaneously kept the done-to-death anti-price debate alive by holding a meeting of its Central Secretariat. After a meeting at the CPI central office here till late afternoon, the party Central Secretariat warned the government that it would intensify its anti-price struggle if the price control measures proposed by the Left were not met. Stressing the need for urgent action, the Left has presented a slew of measures, including a ban on futures trading, strict implementation of the Essential Commodities Act, restoration of universal Public Distribution System (PDS) and rollback of the hike in petrol and diesel prices. While referring to commerce minister Kamal Nath’s talk of waiting for the Sen Committee report on futures trade, the CPI has said the interim findings of this committee are ambivalent. Quoting from the interim report that “it could not be concluded emphatically whether futures trading fuelled volatility or price rise in agri commodities,” the CPI has said, “This is neither fish nor flesh.” The party has further clarified that nowhere has the Left suggested that this alone is responsible for the spurt in prices. “But it certainly paves the way for hoarding and contributes to price rise,” the CPI Central Secretariat said in a statement here.
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Govt plans 8,000 telecom towers in villages
New Delhi, April 21 “Nearly Rs 9,900 crore of the USO fund is lying with the Centre. We have plans to install 8,000 towers in rural areas, for which subsidy will be given from this fund,” communication and it minister A. Raja said in Lok Sabha. Admitting that nearly 35 per cent of the geographic area is without mobile telecom services, Raja said all efforts are being made to enhance the tele-density in the rural areas and for this the USO fund has been created to lure the operators to go to these areas. As far as coverage of rural villages is concerned, the minister said out of nearly 5.6 lakh villages, more than 5.4 lakh have been covered through public phones and remaining would be covered soon. Besides installing 8,000 towers in rural areas in the current financial year, the Department of Telecom has also proposed to establish another 11,000 towers in the next fiscal. The role of the USO fund, which was used only to provide fixed telecom services in rural areas, has now been enlarged to include mobile as well as broadband services. The minister said the entry of new telecom players in the mobile services would also lead to greater penetration of services in the rural areas.
— PTI
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Pvt telcos form new initiative for rural users
New Delhi, April 21 The move is aimed at achieving the government’s objective to take the benefits of mobile telephony to rural India, a release issued by Cellular Operators’ Association of India said. In phase I, the programme is expected to cover 50 millions new rural subscribers. Effective from May 1, the mobile service providers would give each new rural subscriber an up-front discount of Rs 50 on the tariff package and further an amount of Rs 75 would be passed on as free talk-time in two or three installments spread over 6-9 months, it said. The programme has been developed under the aegis of GSM and CDMA associations COAI and AUSPI - and all the member operators of these associations would be participating in it.
— PTI
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Rift between Nalini, Murugan
Vellore, April 21 Prison officials said differences between the two, led to cancellation of their meeting scheduled to have taken place on April 19. The two were allowed to meet every fortnight but the last meeting was cancelled at the instance of Nalini herself. Nalini was not keen on meeting Murugan, they said. During the meeting the two had heated arguments. As the time was over, Murugan had left saying he would discuss about it in the next meeting on April 5. However, Murugan avoided meeting her as he was reportedly angry with her over her meeting with Priyanka. Nalini, on her part, declined to meet Murugan’s mother and brothers on April 15, when they came from London to visit them. They met Murugan and left. Murugan’s reported differences with Nalini over her meeting with Priyanka were contrary to what has been said by Arputham Kuildasan, mother of Perarivalan, another convict sentenced to death in the same case. “My son and Murugan were taken aback when they read newspaper reports about the meeting”, she told the media after meeting them a few days ago. Murugan had praised Priyanka saying that her initiative to meet Nalini spoke volumes about her nature.
— PTI
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Description of Rahul as ‘Yuvraj’ sparks uproar in RS
New Delhi, April 21 Congress MP E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan said: “By marching to the divisional commissioner’s office in Jhansi to know why people are being deprived of their right to employment under the NREGS, Rahul has proved himself to be “Yuvraj” of people and the “Yuvraj” of my party.” Journalist-turned-MP Balbir Punj asked if there is a Yuvraj, there has to be “Rajmata” and a “Maharaja”, saying the word “Yuvraj” was unacceptable in a democracy. He chided the Congress to have narrated to event in the House as if it was some historic occurrence. Punj went on to ask if rural poverty is removed by marching to divisional commissioner’s office? The sharp interlude took place as the House was discussing the functioning of the rural development ministry. Amidst the uproar, Amar Singh of the Samajwadi party said the discussion was on rural development and members should stick to the subject while criticising the use of the word “Yuvraj” . The Left parties joined when Brinda Karat of the CPM said there was nothing to use this term. The episode finally died down when former minister Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal (U) also referred to the incident, saying politics had been reduced to hypocrisy.
— TNS
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Kakodkar speaks out against activists
Agartala, April 21 “There is a lot of activism about the harmful effects of atomic research but we should listen to what experts say and not the activists,” he told the inaugural function of an awareness programme on the prevention of cancer here. Speaking at the programme, the head of public awareness division, Department of Atomic Energy, S.K. Malhotra, said uranium is an important component for atomic research and is available in Meghalaya. But it cannot be extracted due to the activism by some groups that it has harmful effects. “Lack of proper knowledge could be very dangerous for society,” he said. Later answering a question, Malhotra said following a plethora of complaints to the union ministry of environment and forests on the extraction of uranium from Meghalaya, a hearing was conducted by the ministry, which concluded that the extraction of the heavy metal could start only after it sends its approval to the state state government. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar who inaugurated the awareness programme, stressed the need for awareness campaign for preventing cancer.
— PTI
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Retd chief secys lobbied to be Governors
New Delhi, April 21 "I note this with shame that even some retired chief secretaries belonging to the illustrious service, IAS, to which I belonged had also sent their resumes eulogising themselves and explaining why they were fit to be appointed as the governors," reveals Nair in his book, The Kalam Effect: My years with the President. Rashtrapati Bhavan also received hundreds of letters from people recommending others and even themselves for the National awards ranging from the Padma Shri to the Bharat Ratna, Nair said in his book, excerpts of which were made available to PTI. The book, which will hit the stands on Tuesday, throws light on Kalam as a person, his sensitivity, his unflagging energy, his positive attitude and a man who firmly stood by his principles. During his Presidency, Kalam had a rare visit from his relations-52 of them. During their eight-day stay, Nair avers, not once was an official vehicle used. Kalam paid the entire bill for their stay, down to the last cup of tea, from his pocket. He paid Rs.3.52 lakh. Nothing was unimportant to Kalam, recounts Nair saying that the President personally went through hundreds of letters and e-mails sent to him. In the first few weeks after he became President, an e-mail came from a young girl in Agra. It said, "Uncle, in our area, there is only one park and in that park, there is only one see-saw. And that has been out of order for the last 10 days. Nobody bothers". Not one to be dismissive of such requests, he asked Nair, "So, what do we do ? Nair said he will speak to the collector and the job was done. The girl sent another e-mail thanking Kalam. "The see-saw is working now", she wrote.
— PTI
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SC stays trial of main witness in Katara case
New Delhi, April 21 Katara, the main witness in the sensational murder of Nitish Katara is facing trial in a Ghaziabad court on a complaint filed under Section 498A of the IPC by his estranged wife alleging that he had subjected her to constant harassment. In a petition filed before the apex court, Katara said that he apprehended threat to his life from the family of Vikas Yadav, who allegedly carried out the murder of Nitish Katara. He submitted that D.P. Yadav, father of Vikas Yadav, was out to eliminate him since he dared to depose against the accused in Nitish Katara murder. He sought to infer that the harassment case was being used against him by the accused for settling scores against him. Katara claimed to have seen Vikas and his cousin Vishal taking away Nitish in a car from a marriage party in Ghaziabad on February 16-17, 2002. Nitish, a business executive and son of an IAS officer, was allegedly killed by them as they did not approve their sister Bharti’s friendship with the victim. The body of Nitish was later recovered from Khurja in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh.
— PTI
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Ambedkar Park
New Delhi, April 21 The apex court observed that “the orders passed by the judiciary on the subject falling under the domain of legislature and executive should be ignored and should be treated in nullity” and courts should not exceed their “limits”. "How can the high court pass interim order on the issue related to the master plan which is not in the domain of judiciary," a Bench comprising Justices H.K. Sema and Markandey Katju said while staying the April 4 interim order of the high court. The Mayawati government had triggered a controversy by changing the land use of 35-acre area of Bhim Rao Ambedkar park. A group of residents moved the high court had directed the state government to maintain status quo on construction activities. The apex court refused to pass any order for contempt action against the state government for allegedly installing permanent structure in the park to organise the birth centenary celebrations of Bhim Rao Ambedkar on April 14. “Parliament and legislature has power to amend law. How can a court say don’t make a law. Judiciary should work within its limits,” Justice Katju said. The Bench issued a notice to Gomati Nagar Jan Kalyan Maha Samiti and other petitioners on the plea of the state government seeking transfer of all cases related to Ambedkar Park to the apex court and stayed all proceedings in the high court.
— PTI
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Haj-like subsidy for other pilgrims
New Delhi, April 21 The petitioner had sought subsidy for Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist pilgrims for visiting religious places in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and China. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said it could not pass any direction for providing subsidy on the lines of the Haj pilgrimage and those who wanted such relief could approach the government. “We straight away cannot pass any order. You (petitioner) can go to the government and make a representation about the places where you want to go,” said the Bench, also comprising Justice R.V. Raveendran. Following the remarks of the Bench, advocate Ashok Kumar Pandey, who had filed the PIL, preferred to withdraw the petition. Pandey had challenged the Allahabad High Court order dismissing the PIL seeking subsidy for people of other religious faith as granted by the government to Muslims for the Haj pilgrimage. He had alleged that the actions and activities of the government was discriminatory as far as the grant of subsidies to the Hindus, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, were concerned for their yatras to religious places in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and China. He submitted that while the government was providing subsidy of Rs 400 crore for the Haj pilgrimage, no such grant was there for others. He had sought subsidising travel of Hindus for visiting Ashok Vatika and other places situated in Sri Lanka and other religious places in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.
— PTI
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Man’s phone can be cut if wife doesn’t pay her bill: SC New Delhi, April 21 Such disconnection is required to prevent the telephone department from becoming bankrupt and also enable it to carry out its future expansion plans, a Bench of Justices H.K. Sema and Markandeya Katju said, while dismissing an appeal filed against the public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). The Bench rejected the plea of the petitioner Surjit Singh, a resident of Rajouri Garden in the Capital, that the department’s action was illegal as he could not be penalised for a default on the part of his wife. The court took the view that since the wife was dependent on him, it was obvious that Singh was paying the bill for the telephone registered in her name and was hence accountable for non-payment of dues. Singh had two telephone connections at his residence. Telephone No 5121187 was in his name and another phone number 5416493 was in the name of his wife. He had a third telephone (3265301) in his name which was installed at his business premises in the Jama Masjid area. According to the petitioner, the telephone department disconnected the two telephones which were in his name on the ground that his wife owed dues on the telephone registered in her name. — PTI
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Uma again rules out return to BJP
Lucknow, April 21 “Neither there is any invitation for me to join the BJP, nor do I have any plans to do so in future,” she said. Criticising the BJP, she said the party was always confused, as it fought for Hindutava in UP and Gujarat, but in other states it did not rake up the issue at all. “There is also a difference of opinion with the BJP on the Tibet and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) issue,” she added. Addressing a press conference here on her way to Varanasi, where her party is holding the state executive meeting tomorrow, Bharati said there was report of weavers committing suicides in eastern parts of UP. “I will examine the report and if it is correct then I will send a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with demand of financial package for the ailing weaver community,” Bharti said.
— UNI
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Exit polls may be banned
New Delhi, April 21 The Election Commission has recommended to make a specific provision in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 prohibiting the publishing and disseminating of results of any opinion poll starting from the date of notification of election and till the completion of poll in the last phase of election. The proposal is under consideration of the government, minister of law and justice, H.R. Bhardwaj said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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French national hacked to death
Puducherry, April 21 The sources said 50-year-old Rajaraman was working in France and had come to Puducherry a few days ago. He was on his way home in an auto when a gang of five unidentified persons in a car allegedly intercepted it and forced him out of the vehicle. The auto driver drove away from the spot in fear, the police said. The gang then allegedly snatched away a suitcase Rajaraman was holding and attacked him with lethal weapons leading to his death, the police said. Although the motive for murder could not be ascertained immediately, it was suspected that it could have been a property related crime. The culprits fled in their car.
— PTI
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Two missing Indian soldiers in US declared deserters
New Delhi, April 21 The two soldiers — Sanjay Mahato and Santosh Thapa — went missing on March 20, the last day of the 10-day joint exercise with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the US Army at Camp Pendleton in California. The two soldiers, from 1/1 Gorkha Rifles, were part of a 120-man detachment that participated in the exercise, codenamed Shatrujeet 2008, a two-week joint operation to “share knowledge and build interoperability for possible future operations.’’ The Army had earlier declared the soldiers AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). “After the expiry of the 30-day AWOL period, we have declared them as deserters as per the legal procedure followed by the Indian Army,’’ officiating Army spokesman Lt Col A K Mathur said. The Army had also ordered a court of inquiry into their disappearance. — UNI
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Efforts on to revive dying river Nila
Kochi, April 21 The river Nila that has sustained a very unique civilisation is now a dying river. Along with it, the folk expressions, the culture and the lifestyle also changed, he told PTI. “The Blue Yonder's initiative is to bring in attention of the world to the status of the river”, Parayil said. By bringing in the visitors to the area, the project not only brings in the socio cultural benefits, it provides the alternative and the supplementary sources of income for the local communities and a sense of pride, he said. The Nila foundation was set up four years ago to revive and regenerate the dying river. Parayil said in an effort to revive the river, a group of committed youngsters started by documenting the degradation of the river. "We thought it is our responsbility to intervene and we wanted the world to know about such a unique river civilisation which we might loose", he says. A travel company the Blue Yonder was set up in 2004. "We started looking at a very unique way for showcasing art forms of various local communites, including the Pulluvars and the Mannan", he said.
— PTI
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Mohanlal’s act risky, warn magicians
Kochi, April 21 The group, claiming to have the support of at least 300 magicians, said the magicians are able to perform the feat only after several years of training and dedication to magic. But through “small tricks, if the feat is performed, it will be a “mockery of our hard work and dedication,” well-known magician Samraj and general secretary of the Kerala Brotherhood of Magicians O M S Azeez, told reporters here. Mohanlal’s claim that the actor had studied magic for the past two years under Gopinath Muthukkad, a well-known magician, was difficult to accept, Samraj said. Magic requires continuous and hard practice for several years. Though Mohanlal was his favourite actor for whom he had great respect, this trick was too ‘dangerous’ for the actor, he said. Magician Gopinath Muthukkad, in whose academy Mohanlal had reportedly practised the trick, had been badly burnt while doing the trick six years ago in Bahrain, Samraj claimed. Muthukkad wants to get “cheap publicity” for himself and his organisation through Mohanlal, he said. Another magician, Pradeep Menon said there have been several instances when those performing difficult magic tricks had to sacrifice their life. The special item will have Mohanlal handcuffed and wrapped in chains with the keys in the hands of dignitaries watching the show. The actor will then be put inside a box which will be thrown into a ball of fire from where he has to escape.
— PTI
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CAT may go online
New Delhi, April 21 In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for human resource development D. Purandeswari said the committee of chairpersons of the Admissions Committees of the IIMs-CAT group had recommended to institutes to explore the possibility of conducting CAT online as was being done in the case of GMAT and GRE. The government did not propose to extend such a scheme to various examinations conducted on an All-India basis. She said the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) had no scheme for conducting online tests. However, the Railway Recruitment Board had already introduced online examinations where the candidates were small/limited.
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Gawli held on extortion charge
Joint commissioner of police Rakesh Maria told reporters that Gawli was arrested after investigations indicated that extortion bids were made on behalf of Gawli. Gawli is an MLA of his own Akhil Bharatiya Sena party.
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Amar Singh’s plot: Mayawati orders probe
Lucknow, April 21 Taking suo moto notice of a newspaper report that appeared on April 6, the Mayawati government today assigned principal secretary urban development S.R Lakha to investigate the facts and submit his report within 15 days.
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Three sunstroke deaths in Orissa Man gives 'talaq' to jailed wife Ransom sought for boy Factory mishaps decline Autorickshaws’ strike
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Mumbai, April 21
