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Nuclear Deal
Cong-SP bonhomie likely to extend to UP
Seek confidence vote, Advani asks govt
Kakodkar not to go to Tokyo
Enough of Arjun, says Army
MP disqualified from Rajya Sabha
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One Cong, 2 JD (S) MLAs join BJP
Notice to CBI over Salem’s extradition
IMA chief denied US visa
There are terrorists, terror camps in Pak: Zardari
Negi takes a break from politics, joins govt job
GJM further relaxes indefinite bandh
Curfew relaxed in parts of Indore
Roorkee IIT to digitise central library
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Nuclear Deal
Kolkata, July 5 “Our independent foreign policy will be in peril if we go for defence and military cooperation, strategic and economic partnership and the civil nuclear deal with the US,” Karat said. He said according to calculations by the government “even if we produce 40,000 MW of nuclear energy in the next 15 to 20 years, it will not constitute more than 8 per cent of our power requirement.” On the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, the CPM leader said it would also not fructify “if we go ahead with the nuclear deal with the US”. “At every stage of the negotiation, the US has been dictating to India - You cannot cooperate with Iran,” he said. Earlier, former Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu reportedly advised party general secretary Prakash Karat that they should not “go hasty but should buy some more time” before finally withdrawing their support from the UPA. Basu felt that there was a need to again review the party’s stand on the nuclear deal after the public statement made in favour of the nuclear issue by former President Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam. Kalam had already spoken in favour of the deal, which he said would benefit the country without affecting its national interests. Basu said at this stage, their withdrawal of support would benefit the BJP and the Congress politically. The public image of Mulayum Singh Yadav would also become that of a “saviour”, party sources said. Karat today called on the veteran leader at his Salt Lake residence and apprised him about the Left parties stand on the nuclear deal vis-à-vis withdrawal of support from the UPA government. State Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and party’s state secretary Biman Bose, both Politburo members, were present during the meeting, which lasted about an hour. After the meeting, neither Karat, Buddhadeb nor Biman Bose spoke to mediapersons. However, accordingly to party sources, Basu discouraged the support be withdrawn at this stage, which could give wrong message to the people. But CPI general secretary A. B. Bardhan, who was also in the city today, publicly demanded that the President should now ask the Prime Minister to immediately seek a vote confidence in Parliament. Both Karat and Bardhan today had flown to Kolkata from Delhi to attend the centenary celebration programme of veteran CPI leader Hiren Mukhopadhyaya, who fought till the end to unite the CPI and CPI (M) into a single unit as it existed before their division in 1959. After arriving at the airport, Karat drove straight to the Alimuddin Street party office and held closed door talks with Buddhadeb and Biman Bose before coming to Basu’s official residence at the Salt Lake. Officially it was stated that Karat met Jyoti Basu in order to him about their present stand on the nuclear deal that had been discussed more than once both in the Politburo and the central committee meetings which Basu could not attend due his illness. Karat also apprised Basu about his meeting with the SP leader Mulayum Singh Yadav and his bi-lateral talks with the Prime Minister, external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee and UPA president Sonia Gandhi.
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Cong-SP bonhomie likely to extend to UP
New Delhi, July 5 Congress leaders have privately often spoken in favour of an electoral arrangement with the SP in the recent past, but the party today officially signalled that such an alliance was in the realm of possibility. “It is desirable that the Congress should have an alliance with the SP in Uttar Pradesh. I don’t think the SP’s support to the Congress will be confined to the Indo-US nuclear deal...the overall game plan is to contain the communal forces,” Digivijay Singh, general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, remarked today. Indications are that Congress president Sonia Gandhi will soon set up a “mechanism” to work out the modalities of seat-sharing with the SP this month itself, as the party wants to complete the process of selection of candidates by September-end. Even before any formal discussions got underway, the Congress let it be known that it has claim on at least 30 seats in Uttar Pradesh where the party had won or polled over a lakh votes in the 2004 elections. The Congress is veering around to the view that it should concentrate on its strong seats instead of expending its time and energy on constituencies which are lost to them. There is no official word from the SP camp in this regard, but its party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav is learnt to be credited with the view that an alliance between the two is absolutely imperative to contain the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is threatening to decimate the SP in the electoral battles ahead. According to Yadav’s calculations, the SP, the Congress and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have the potential to emerge as a formidable force in Uttar Pradesh if the three join hands in the next Lok Sabha polls. Although a large number of Congress leaders are of the firm view that the party should concentrate on strengthening the organisation at the grassroots level instead of having alliances as these impede the party’s growth, there is also a realisation that coalitions are inevitable. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the Congress organisation is non-existent despite innumerable attempts to revive it. Congress insiders agree their alliance with the BSP in 1996 had done irreparable damage to the party organisation in Uttar Pradesh, but believe that ground realities and political compulsions are pushing them to warm up to the SP.
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Seek confidence vote, Advani asks govt
New Delhi, July 5 “The Left parties will formally withdraw support to the government, may be two days later, but for all practical purposes the Manmohan Singh government has lost its majority in the House … it has lost its moral legitimacy. Whether it has numerical majority can only be proved on the floor of the House,” he said at a press conference here today. Advani said under normal circumstances the Parliament is scheduled to meet in August but in view of the present situation, the two Houses should be convened and Manmohan Singh should seek the vote of confidence. With partying of ways between the UPA and the Left becoming a mere formality, the BJP has already started its preparations for the next Lok Sabha elections in right earnest. The party proposed to complete the process of selecting its candidate for the general elections by August-end. Advani’s comments came a day after the Left parties wrote to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is the convener of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, asking him to state by July 7 if and when the government proposed to go to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the safeguards agreement. The Left has already announced that it would withdraw support to the government the moment it approached the IAEA. The PM is also scheduled to leave on July 7 on a visit to Japan for the G-8 summit on the margins of which he will meet US President George W Bush and discuss the progress on the nuclear deal. Advani said if the ruling coalition failed to seek the confidence vote, his party would demand President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to direct the Prime Minister to do so. Ridiculing the evolving relationship between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), he accused the Congress leadership of indulging in a trade-off with SP to ensure the survival of the government. “Their (UPA regime’s) entire focus has been on survival and for that they are willing to trade-off anything,’’ he added.
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Mumbai, July 5 ''Dr Kakodkar is not needed at the G-8, which is basically a political summit and has nothing specific to do with India's nuclear programme,” highly placed sources said here today. Dr Kakodkar, however, might go abroad later to hold talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to finalise the operationalisation of the nuclear deal soon after the Prime Minister returns from the summit, the sources indicated. — UNI
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New Delhi, July 5 “ The Army will no more place orders for Arjun beyond 124 that were already contracted. That is because the Army is now looking 20 years ahead and wants a futuristic MBT,” Lt-Gen Dalip Bharadwaj,Director-General (Mechanised Infantry), said here today. Though he discounted suggestions that it would mean the end of DRDO’s Arjun project that began in 1972, he did point out that the induction of more Arjun MBTs at this stage would only mean India lagging behind in the technological race in armoured fighting vehicles. “Arjun is a contemporary tank and may be used in the next decade or so, but not for a technologically advanced, next generation warfare some two decades hence,” Bhardwaj said on the sidelines of an interactive session with the defence private industry at CII.After 36 years into its design and development, Arjun had as recently as in December 2007 failed winter trials, as stated in a parliamentary report. It is yet to go through crucial comparative trials with Russian tanks, a mandatory process before induction into the Army. — PTI
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MP disqualified from Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, July 5 The order by Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansari held that Isam Singh had voluntarily relinquished his membership of the BSP by which he was set up as a candidate for election to the Rajya Sabha from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Isam was expelled from the BSP on September 3, 2006, for indulging in anti-party activities following which he formed a new party -- the Bahujan Kranti Party on September 10, 2006, and became its national president and thus voluntarily gave up his position of the BSP, the Rajya Privileges Committee, which was petitioned in the matter, said. BSP chief Mayawati in her comments agreed with the contention of the petitioner and contended that Isam, who had been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh as a candidate of the BSP was expelled for violating the party norms. The committee observed that if a member joins another party either because of his expulsion or otherwise, an inference can be drawn even in the absence of formal resignation that he has voluntarily given up the membership of the party for all intent and purposes. Going by the spirit of the anti-defection law, the committee also feels that this will weaken the political system of our country, thereby making our democratic institutions unstable. — PTI
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One Cong, 2 JD (S) MLAs join BJP Bangalore, July 5 The two JD (S) MLAs — former minister Balachandra Laxman Rao
Jharakhiholi, who represented the Arabhavi constituency, and K. Shivanagouda Naik of Devadurga (ST) segment — and Asnotikar Anand Vasant of the Congress, elected from
Karwar, resigned from the Assembly this evening. The trio, accompanied by health minister B. Sriramulu, called on Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar at his office here and submitted their resignation letters. Shettar told PTI he had accepted the resignation by the three MLAs, as they were submitted in the stipulated format. Minutes after the their resignation, they were taken to the state unit BJP office where its state unit President D.V. Sadananda Gowda welcomed them into the party. “They have joined the BJP keeping in mind the state’s interest. None of them had set any condition”, Gowda told the Press. Jharakhiholi, Naik and Vasant in a chorus defended their decision to resign and join the BJP saying it was to ensure development in their respective constituencies. A source in the BJP said some more MLAs from the opposition ranks were expected to join the party. The BJP has the support of 116 MLAs, including the six independents, in the 224-member Assembly and the joining of legislators of other parties will help the party insulate its maiden government in the south from any political instability. The three MLAs, who joined the BJP, will seek re-election from their respective constituencies in the byelections as and when held, party sources said. Even as the six independents, four from the Congress, one JD-S and its own rebel, declared last week that they would not destablise the government, the BJP seems to be in an extra cautious mood to further consolidate its strength. The BJP, which won 110 seats in the May Assembly elections and fell short of majority by three, managed to rope in the six independents and rewarded five of them with ministerial berths. The defection by the MLAs was condemned by the JD (S), which described it as a “vulgar display of
casteism, prowess of power and money by the BJP”. JD-S spokesman YSV Datta said, “This would certainly boomerang on the BJP one day.” KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge was unavailable for comments as he had already left for New Delhi leading a delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow. In the wake of today’s development, the strength of the Congress has come down from 80 to 79 and that of the
JD(S) to 26 from 28. Sources in the BJP said the three might be inducted into the ministry ahead of the
byelection. There are three vacancies in the Yeddyurappa ministry currently.
— PTI
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Notice to CBI over Salem’s extradition
New Delhi, July 5 "Issue notice to the CBI director for August 5 for apprising the court about extradition of Abu Salem," Additional Session Judge Ravinder Kaur said. The order came after Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) Vikas Singh submitted "actually it was a case of deportation as the accused was caught in Portugal for using forged travel documents." The ASG, who on behalf of the Delhi police had sought dropping of MCOCA charges against Salem, had responded to a court query as to why the Centre instead of deportation went for his extradition, putting restrictions on the number of cases on which he could be tried and the quantum of sentence. The extradition of the don was conditional and came with restrictions on the number of cases on which he could be tried and the quantum of sentence. These limitations would not have been there in case of deportation. The NDA government had given an executive assurance that after Salem's extradition he would not be tried for offences which may invite imprisonment exceeding 25 years. — PTI
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IMA chief denied US visa
New Delhi, July 5 The IMA has written to the Prime Minister, the Health Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs in this regard. Abbas was denied a visa to travel to Chicago for the National Conference of the American Medical Association scheduled at Hyatt Regency between June 14 and 18. The denial came from the American consulate in Kolkata, to which Abbas applied, being a resident of Cuttack, where he has a nursing home of 34 years standing. Abbas is a general medical practitioner and an orthopaedician. “The US Embassy said my name was linked to Washington and my papers would have to be sent to the US for clearance. They said it could take some days to some months. I requested them for a time-bound visa, as I had to attend the conference. It did not help. For the first time in Independent India, I felt I was a Muslim,” Abbas today told The Tribune, alleging denial of visa because he was a Muslim. In defence of his argument, he also cited the case of a Muslim television journalist, denied a visa to travel to Canada to cover the Jagannath Yatra. Importantly, the US Embassy in Kolkata, while processing Abbas’s papers, told him that the visa he would get upon clearance from the US would be a 10-year multiple-entry visa. Abbas was, however, interested in the conference for which he had an invite. Eventually, he even got president of the host American Medical Association Dr Ronald Davis to write to the American consulate in Kolkata on June 6, a day after he was denied visa. “Even that insistence did not help,” Abbas said today, as he landed in the capital for some official work. Meanwhile, IMA general secretary Dr S.N. Mishra the other invitee to the American conference, said he had given a letter of protest to the American host, saying denial of visa to Abbas was a case of discrimination and should be resolved at the highest level. Mishra, who returned from the Chicago conference on June 28, today told The Tribune, “The visa should not have been denied as Abbas had the required invitations. He himself heads the IMA, which has repute and has 1,650 branches across India. He should not have been treated like this. As decided by the IMA, Mishra has written letters to the Prime Minister, Health Ministry and the MEA. As for Abbas, he last travelled to the US in 1987 and said he did not want to pursue the case on a personal level.
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There are terrorists, terror camps in Pak: Zardari
New Delhi, July 5 “Yes, there are terrorists and terrorist camps in Pakistan. We are fighting a battle against them in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP),” Zardari said in an interview with a television channel. Asserting that the relations should not be held hostage to the Kashmir problem, he said the issue was, no doubt, important for both countries, but work on other fronts could go a long way in strengthening bilateral ties. “Kashmir is important not only for Pakistan, but also for India. But I do feel that the Indo-Pak relations can be strengthened on other fronts and they should not be held hostage to the Kashmir issues,” he added. Describing UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi as a “great leader of India,” Zardari said he was learning from Gandhi as to how one should run a coalition government. Holding President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chief Nawaz Sharif responsible for the Kargil conflict, Zardari said President Musharraf should be given a graceful exit. He, however, refused to give any deadline. ”I am not soft on Musharraf. My way of dealing with him is different. He will go. I can’t tell the time but we want a graceful exit for him. Yes, he will go but there is no deadline,” the PPP leader said. He advocated a visa-free regime for Indian citizens travelling to Pakistan and said he would be the first to back the proposal. Yes, I am in favour of that (visa-free regime). If he (Nawaz Sharif) brings such a proposal in Parliament as a Bill, I will be the first one to second it,” Zardari added. — UNI
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Negi takes a break from politics, joins govt job
Dehra Dun, July 5 Negi, former vice-president of the Uttarakhand Industrial Training Institutes Advisory Board, enjoying the rank of a minister of state of the Uttarakhand government, has joined as a clerk. He joined the commercial tax department last month. "I decided to join the government job after much deliberations as it was required considering my personal problems at home," he told The Tribune. Negi was one of the 300 Congress leaders enjoying the ranks of ministers of state who were appointed to various boards, corporations and committees by former Congress Chief Minister . With the change of regime, following the defeat of the Congress in February 2007 elections, all these persons holding such posts had to go. He could enjoy his office and official car only for five months as his party was defeated. Even getting a government job was not easy. Negi got the job on the basis of his being a prominent statehood agitator. He had been to jail several times during the statehood agitation for a separate hill state in the nineties and spent 89 days in prison. The Uttarakhand government, in a bid to honour all those statehood agitators who spent considerable time in jails, offered them the government jobs. During the previous Congress regime, Negi declined the offer but after he lost his position as a minister of state last year, he decided to join the government job. "After rejecting the job offer for four years, I decided to join now," he said. Negi has joined the commercial tax department at Mussoorie. He has to daily commute between his home here in Dehra Dun to Mussoorie. " I am married and have an infant daughter. I wanted a more settled life," he commented. He said that he was enjoying his work as a clerk.
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GJM further relaxes indefinite bandh
Kolkata, July 5 “The relaxation is to pave the way for tripartite talks for a separate Gorkhaland state,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI. During the relaxation period, people in the hills would hold prayer meetings in support of Gorkhaland, he said. From tomorrow, however, the GJM would enforce closure of all central and West Bengal government offices, hill council offices and hydel projects in the hills, but banks, post offices and FCI offices would be allowed to function on Mondays and Fridays, Giri said. This was decided at the party’s central committee meeting presided over by GJM chief Bimal Gurung. Reiterating its demand for a tripartite meeting in Delhi, Giri said Bimal Gurung had written yesterday to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his reply was awaited. On enforcing ‘Gorkhaland’(GL) numberplate on vehicles from July 7, he said those of GJM central committee members would first adopt it, which would be followed by those of government and private vehicles and taxis. — PTI
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Curfew relaxed in parts of Indore
Indore, July 5 The situation in the city, where curfew was imposed following incidents of violence that led to the death of seven persons, is under control and no fresh incidents of violence was reported from anywhere, official sources said. The district administration extended the relaxation period in curfew in the 11 police station areas till 7 pm, they said. The police has arrested over 100 persons so far in connection with violence in the city during the `bandh’ called by the VHP-BJP on July 3 over the Amaranth land row in Jammu and Kashmir. Following complaints against three policemen that they shot dead two persons identified as Rizwan and Zeeshan during the violence, the police had registered a case of murder against the trio and the matter was being probed, the sources said.
— PTI
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Roorkee IIT to digitise central library
Roorkee, July 5 The library is currently in the process of digitising its archival collection and dissertation for which an imaging centre has been established with the latest equipment. The library archives contain over 12,000 rare and out of print documents published during 18th, 19th and early 20th century. The archival collection has been categorised into three sections - Thomason College publications, the Ganges Canal collection and Proby T. Cautley collection - which would be classified into fiction and non- fiction groups. “While Thomason College publications section includes all books published by the college between the years 1847 and 1947 and the copiously produced college calendars, Roorkee treaties, Roorkee manuals includes collection of all works concerning the design and construction of the Ganges Canal,” says librarian, Yogender Singh. “The archival collection of the library has attracted special attention as most of the part belongs to late 18th and 19th century. It has been a challenge to digitise this collection as it greatly varies in forms and size. Special care has been taken while digitising this material as most of the collection has become fragile,” he asserts. The central library of the institute was established as college library in 1848, with a few hundred books, which now has a collection of over 3,20,000 documents to its recognition. The library has access to more than 8,000 electronic journals, which is available through the campus wide fibre-optic network to all computers in
the institute.
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