Kolkata, July 24
The Bengal CPM has been now sharply divided over the Politburo’s decision of expelling veteran leader Somnath Chatterjee, also the Lok Sabha Speaker, from the party for violating the party directives.

The decision which of the 13 Politburo members, only seven had taken at a meeting in the capital yesterday was communicated to state party secretary Biman Bose at Alimuddin Street the same evening.

Party general secretary Prakash Karat, his wife Brinda, Sitaram Yechuri, M.K. Pandhe, Ramchandra Pillai and a lone CITU leader Md Amin from West Bengal attended the meeting. But both party secretary and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee were absent.

As soon as the Politburo’s decision reached Kolkata, a section in the party workers virtually revolted that such a drastic step had been taken against such a senior leader without giving him any opportunity to explain his stand.

Ailing veteran Jyoti Basu expressed his shock and surprise when the party decision was conveyed to him by his personal aide Jaykrishna Ghose.

Bhattacharjee also did not make any statement. Biman Bose said “Somnath babu certainly had violated the party discipline but he did not know if it was tantamount to any violation as per his Constitutional position in the Speaker’s chair”.

However, Basu’s very trustworthy and closed comrade Subhas Chakraborty, who is also the state transport minister, today came out in the public in expressing his shock and sadness. He said the party would certainly suffer heavy loss in the coming days.

MP Tarin Baran Topdar also criticised the expulsion decision, adding that the party would be gaining in no way by this step.

Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi was unhappy at the disturbing political situation. He conveyed his wishes to Chatterjee on his birthday.

The party’s Bengali daily, Ganshakti, today underplayed Chatterjee’s news of expulsion possibly as a gratitude to him since Chatterjee’s Delhi residence for over a decade was being used as Ganashakti’s Delhi office.

A section in the leadership demanded that an urgent meeting of the state committee be called where the issue be discussed threadbare in the presence of Basu, Bhattacharjee and others.

A senior state committee member expressed his strong resentment and deep anguish that a few “so-called corporate bosses in the party who had not contested any elections, had been now dictating the party and acting as per their sweet wills.”

He questioned Karat’s authority of siding with Mayavati and the BJP for topping the secular UPA government against the decisions adopted in the Party Congress at Coimbatore. Accordingly to him, Karat’s actions were equally tantamount to the violation of the party discipline.

But others felt the Politburo had taken the right decision in expelling Chatterjee from the party arguing that the party rules were equally applicable to all workers. This section of the Karat loyalists, which included Md Selim, Basudev Acharyya, Sujan Chakraborty, criticised that Chatterjee, had violated the party rules and conducts and deserved such disciplinary action.

New Delhi, July 24
A day after he was unceremoniously expelled from the CPM, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee woke up to a courtesy call by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. For Somnath, there is no dearth of support — that’s what Manmohan Singh’s early morning visit to his residence signified.

It further signified the UPA’s thankfulness to the man, who conducted the two-day special Parliament session with “grace and maturity”. Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan later explained the Prime Minister’s visit to Somnath Chatterjee;s residence as a “courtesy call to thank the Speaker for handling the stressful Parliament session maturely.” The meeting lasted ten minutes, ending with indications that the UPA was for the Speaker and his stand.

Also throwing its might behind the Speaker today was Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, another UPA ally. Paswan said the Speaker should not quit. The most powerful statement in support of Somnath Chatterjee, however, came from AICC spokesperson Manish Tiwari, who dubbed the Left’s act of expelling him as “the rage of an impotent”.

The Speaker’s position had not become untenable with his expulsion, Tiwari clarified, citing the provisions under the tenth schedule of the Constitution. Tiwari’s stand, which obviously reflects the Congress and the UPA viewpoint, was that the Speaker should continue in his post as there was no constitutional provision that required him to go.

In fact, the Speaker will go only if he chooses to resign or if he is voted out by the majority of the full strength of the Lok Sabha.

“In any case, once a Speaker is elected, his party affiliations cease to be. There is in-built neutrality in the tenth schedule of the Constitution,” Tiwari said, even as Prakash Karat was defending the Left’s decision to show the door to Somnath Chatterjee. He said in Hyderabad today: “To expel Somnath Chatterjee was the party’s decision. It is unfortunate to take such a disciplinary action, but we had no other option.”

New Delhi, July 24
The CPM hurt over its failure in defeating the UPA government in the confidence vote on Tuesday has launched a virulent attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for describing himself a “bonded slave” of the Left during four years that the Left supported his government.

The latest editorial in the CPM mouthpiece “People’s Democracy”, has focused mainly on the bonded slave remark of the Prime Minister and observed, “In his speech, the Prime Minister has accused the Left parties as wanting to treat him as a `bonded slave’. Strange that it took him over four years of being the Prime Minister on the strength of the support of the Left parties to hurl such accusations!”

It reminded the Prime Minister that, “For over four years, the Left parties supported this UPA government on the basis of a common minimum programme. Not to anybody, but to this CMP, the Prime Minister and the UPA government should have been a bonded slave.”

The CPM, which has consistently questioned the Prime Minister’s soft spot for the US, concluded its argument stating, “Since he has chosen to describe himself as a bonded slave, he appears to have chosen his master as well!”

The CPM mouthpiece also saw a conspiratorial collusion between the BJP and the Congress in saving the government in the confidence vote.

It said, “There is another matter to be noted. A large number of BJP and NDA MPs have voted in favour of the government or abstained. As the brazen horse-trading is utterly contemptible, so is the eager display of availability of the BJP/NDA MPs. Or, is there something more than that meets the eye? Given its pro-US imperialist stand, BJP’s opposition to this India-US deal was often seen more as posturing than real opposition. Did the NDA, therefore, turn a blind eye to allow the government to win the vote? And, in the bargain, allow some of its MPs to make money? Over a period of time, these questions will surely be answered.”

New Delhi, July 24
A billboard outside the Congress headquarters said it all.“Desh ki pragati ka adhar, har haal mein ho parmanu karar”, it read-- a clear message that the Congress is all set to make the Indo-US nuclear agreement an election issue in the coming assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

Dropping its earlier defensive stance, the party will now aggressively counter the opposition’s proposed campaign against the nuclear deal and will instead market it as among the UPA government’s major achievements.

The tone for this campaign was set by Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi who made a strong pitch for the deal, both inside and outside Parliament. The UPA government’s trust vote win has further energised the party to hardsell the deal to the masses.

“We will also go to the people to tell them that the nuclear agreement is in national interest,” Congress spokesperson Veerappa Moily said, adding that the Congress has planned a major publicity drive for this purpose.

While the opposition has already dubbed the deal as a sellout to imperialist forces and as a larger gameplan to have a strategic alliance with the USA, the Congress will respond to it by emphasising that the the agreement is all about energy security.

With Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati giving this issue a communal twist by declaring the deal “anti-Muslim”, the Congress will have to work doubly hard to counter this campaign or else it could erode its support base among the minorities.

By going all out to publicise the nuclear agreement, the Congress also hopes to deflect attention from price rise and inflation, a matter of serious concern in the party.

Moily said all party spokespersons, senior leaders and Congress ministers will fan out across the country to explain how the deal will actually benefit them as it will help meet the country’s growing demands for power. A one-day workshop is being organised on August 6 for the state party spokespersons to brief them about the salient features of the deal and their response to the opposition campaign.

This will be followed by a series of zonal workshops for the state and district spokespersons for the same purpose. The first workshop is to be held in Hyderabad on August 16 and the others have been planned at Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chandigarh. The Congress has already brought out pamphlets and other publicity material explaining the nuclear deal to its workers.

While the workshops will focus on the nuclear agreement, the participants will also be briefed about the UPA government’s achievements, especially the flagship programmes, and how best to meet the opposition challenge. Moily said the poll-going states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will run separate and more focussed programmes.

While finance minister P.Chidamabram is all set to roll-out the UPA government’s unfinished economic reforms agenda, the Congress is wary as it could undermine the party’s focus on the “aam admi” programmes and strengthen the opposition’s campaign that the ruling coalition is “anti-poor”.

Sounding a note caution, Congress spokesperson Veerappa Moily said tht econic reforms which help the economy and the “aam admi” ought to be given priority. “Just because the Left has left us, it does not mean we should go in for unrestricted economic reforms,” he said, adding that the government should introduce reforms which will control inflation and help reach out to the masses.

Moily said the party would advise the government to be cautious on this front, stating,” we should not do anything which will assault the common man or the country.”

New Delhi, July 24
Three opposition parties expelled five more whip-defying MPs today, increasing the number to 17, for cross-voting or abstaining during the trust vote that helped the UPA government survive.

MDMK and JD(U) threw out two MPs each today, while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) late last night expelled Sukhdev Singh Libra from the party for supporting the government.

MDMK leader Vaiko said in a statement in Chennai that L. Ganesan and Gengee N. Ramachandran were expelled from the primary membership of the party for violating the whip.

The two dissident MPs had revolted against the party leadership for aligning with AIADMK in the 2006 assembly polls and functioned independently after they were removed from the party posts. The rebel MPs had also approached the Election Commission to declare their group as the real party. But the EC had recently ruled that the party led by Vaiko was the real MDMK.

In New Delhi, Janata Dal (United) expelled Ram Swarop Prasad, an MP from Nalanda in Bihar, for voting in favour of UPA and P.P. Koya, a member from Lakshadweep, for remaining absent during the crucial floor test. “They had both violated the party whip,” JD (U) said in a statement after a meeting of the party’s office bearers, which was presided over by Sharad Yadav.

SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal said last night in Chandigarh that, “Libra has been expelled from the party for his anti-party activities and defying the party whip by abstaining from the trust vote.”

BJP had expelled eight MPs yesterday while JD (S), Shiv Sena, TDP and BJP had ousted one member each for either abstaining or voting in favour of the government. Samajwadi party is yet to take action against six MPs. — PTI

New Delhi, July 24
The BJP today justified violent attack by its party supporters here earlier yesterday on the house of one of its expelled MPs Chandrabhan Singh from Madhya Pradesh.

Chandrabhan had voted against the party whip for the UPA government confidence motion on Tuesday and was expelled by the BJP yesterday.

Ostensibly upset over his defiance of the party diktat, around 100 activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) raided the house of Chandrabhan in the high security MPs’ enclave North Avenue.

Chandrabhan and his family members were at home when violent BJP protesters smashed windowpanes and damaged furniture in his house. They were saved by the timely arrival of the police, which later arrested 29 persons in this connection.

Chandrabhan later said: “The BJP activists had come prepared to kill me.” He alleged that they were shouting slogans in praise of Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani and party president Rajnath Singh and were acting at their behest.

Later justifying the violence, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “The way these MPs went against the party discipline, there is a general Lokdroh (public rebellion) against them. The people who voted them and the BJP workers who worked for their victory, are naturally angry.”

He said, “My advice to these people is to go to the nearest police station and seek protection there. Better still, they should hide in 7, Race Course Road (Prime Mininster Manmohan Singh’s residence) or 10, Janpath (residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi).”

The BJP spokesman added, however, that “The BJP does not favour such action. But my suggestion to them is not to challenge the people’s will.”

He said it was for the Prime Minister to provide them the necessary protection.

New Delhi, July 24
The Cabinet today gave its approval to a proposal for the introduction of a revamped river conservation strategy under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). It also approved integration modalities with urban development plans of the ministry of urban development and future roles of the MoUD and the MoEF with respect to the revamped strategy under the NRCP.

The implementation of the revamped strategy along with holistic approach and redesigned institutional arrangements are expected to result in greater focus on river conservation efforts. It also envisages accelerating the process of restoration of water quality in rivers, reaping resultant ecological benefits, improvement in health and livelihood of the downstream people of the river.

New Delhi, July 24
The Cabinet today approved a document to ensure mutual cooperation among SAARC countries to deal with criminal matters. The approval for “Brief for Negotiation” to finalise the text of the SAARC convention was given at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, information and broadcasting minister P.R. Dasmunsi told reporters.

“The convention would provide a broad framework for SAARC member states to mutually cooperate and assist in the investigation and prosecution of crime and the tracing, restraint and forfeiture of the proceeds and instruments of crime,” he said.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for authorising the external affairs ministry to negotiate and finalise the text of the convention and for signing it during the SAARC summit in Colombo next month, he said.

Dasmunsi said under the proposed convention, the member states shall grant to each other “the widest possible measure” of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. Approval was also given for signing an agreement for setting up the South Asia Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO) during the two-day 15th summit beginning August 2. — PTI

New Delhi, July 24
Away from state politics, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and present incumbent Parkash Singh Badal are involved in a politico-legal battle.

Three days ago, Amarinder Singh submitted a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of the trial in corruption cases against Badal and his family members outside Punjab.

The matter came up for hearing today and the counsels for Badal and his family sought one-week time to file a counter affidavit.

Amarinder Singh in his new affidavit has said “he is filing an additional affidavit to bring before this court new material.” The case was last heard on May 14 when the Supreme Court restrained the special court at Ropar from hearing the assets disproportionate to income case against Badal and others and from proceeding further with the trial.

The new affidavit comes after the intervention of the Supreme Court that allowed copies of the orders passed by the trial court at Ropar and the recorded depositions to be made available to Amarinder Singh.

Amarinder Singh has now claimed that it can be conclusively substantiated and proved that his apprehensions that the trial has been sabotaged are correct and well placed. Amarinder goes on to allege that after Badal assumed power as Chief Minister of the state all senior counsels and special public prosecutors have been withdrawn from the case by notifications issued by the state in “public interest”.

Almost all witnesses have resiled and turned hostile either out of fear of the accused or as and by way of active support and cooperation to them, says the affidavit.

The public prosecutor, Pardeep Mehta, has consciously given up crucial witnesses. The investigating officer, Surinder Pal Singh, has turned hostile, in effect claiming that he never recorded any evidence or statements of witness and that he did not even prepare the challan. He has blamed his superior officer B.K. Uppal, DIG, who in turn states that he has nothing to do with the investigation. Pardeep Mehta has done nothing to confront the investigating officer or object to such an evidence.

The complainant in the matter has turned hostile and stated that the papers bearing his signature, which make up the complaint, were papers signed for the purchase of a car. The petitioner has in this additional affidavit said he analysed the record released from the trial court and all his submissions could now be substantiated from the record made available.

The affidavit says the accused have ensured that the trial is now reduced to a farce. It goes on to question as to how Surinder Pal Singh went to the extent of filing an application before the trial court that a crucial piece of evidence of the prosecution be ignored while framing charges.

Dehra Dun, July 24
The population of vultures in Uttarakhand has shown a slight decrease from 5,066 as registered in 2007 to 4,720 in July, 2008, according to the recent bird census conducted by the state wildlife office. The census has also revealed the presence of the state bird Monal.

The survey was carried out in 31 forest divisions and other wildlife protected areas. The maximum number of Monal birds were recorded in the Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary. The total population of Monal bird was found to be 919

out of which 317 were found in the Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary followed by 179 in Govind Pashu Vihar and 107 in the Uttarkashi Forest Division.

The results of the survey on the population of vultures done by British scientists during 1990-2000 had revealed that the population of White Band vultures had decreased by 96 per cent and that of Long Build Vultures by 92 per cent in India.

Another survey was conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for the government of India in 2007 which recorded 5,066 vultures in Uttarakhand.

Pithoragarh, with 573 vultures, had the largest number of scavenging birds followed by Uttarkashi (473), Garhwal (365), Tehri (330), and Rajaji National Park (282).

The population of Avian Scavenger Kite was 2,836 in the state. Total population of peacock recorded was 6,085 (3,078 in the Rajaji national park and 2,727 in the Corbett Tiger Reserve).

New Delhi, July 24
The Union government has formulated guidelines for implementing a central scheme for assistance to victims of terrorist and communal violence. The Cabinet had approved the scheme in March this year. However, the guidelines are now being circulated to the states.

The cut-off date for implementing the scheme is April 1, 2008, onward, hence it will leave out thousands of victims from Hindu families, who lost their sole breadwinners during militancy in areas like Punjab or Jammu and Kashmir or people of all communities who lost their near and dear ones in riots and blasts in Bombay in 1993 or Gujarat riots a few years ago. It may be mentioned here that a special scheme is already operating for the victims for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the ministry of home affairs said the broad aim of the scheme was to assist victims of terrorist violence and communal violence. Under the scheme, financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh is admissible to the family members in the event of death or permanent incapacitation of the victim, who was the breadwinner of the family.

The principal amount will be put in the name of the family member in a fixed deposit account in a nationalised bank. (If there is no nationalised bank within the vicinity of the residence of the beneficiary, account may be opened in any scheduled commercial bank). It will have a minimum lock-in period of three years or if there are only minor children in the family, till the eldest child attains the age of majority, whichever is later. The interest on the sum will be credited directly by the bank to the beneficiary’s saving account on a quarterly basis.

Families of the victims will be eligible to get assistance under the scheme even if they have received other assistance, by way of ex gratia or other type of relief from the state government or any other source.

In addition, those permanently incapacitated, and the members of the family of the victims killed or permanently incapacitated in terrorist or communal violence will also be given a health card by the district health society functioning under the National Rural Health Mission. This card will entitle them to free medical treatment in respect of injuries due to violence and all other major illnesses.

Medical care will also be provided to the beneficiaries of the scheme as a special case under the on-going schemes of the ministry of health and family welfare like the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi and the National Trauma Care Project.

A district level committee will be set up under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner. Among the members will be the district superintendent of police, district medical officer, district social welfare officer, district child and women development officer and an officer, who may be nominated by the state government, will identify beneficiaries and verify their eligibility for assistance under the scheme.

The district committee will, so far as possible, make its recommendation within one month of the receipt of claim for assistance to victims and families of terrorist or communal violence. The MHA will examine the case in terms of fulfilment of conditions for the grant of assistance under the scheme.

BRIEFLY

CPM worker stabbed to death
KANNUR: A CPM worker was stabbed to death by suspected activists of the National Development Front, a Kerala-based Muslim outfit, at Husan Motta near the New Mahe area close to Thalassery on Wednesday night, the police said. Saleem (32), who suffered serious stab wounds in his stomach, was first rushed to the Mahe government hospital and later shifted to the Cooperative hospital in the town where he succumbed, it said. Another CPM worker, Nafas (20), who sustained serious stab wounds, was being treated in the hospital. — PTI

'Psycho' killer scare
CHENNAI: Fears of a serial "psychopath" killer stalking the busy Vadapalani and Ashok Nagar areas following mysterious deaths in the recent weeks, were heightened on Thursday after yet another death was reported from a nearby colony. The police said the body of an unidentified youth found at Ayyappa Nagar in the Koyambedu area, sparked off fresh fears that he might have been killed by the 'psychopath', who was blamed for seven mysterious deaths that took place here during the past few weeks. The police, however, said the youth died due to a road accident. — PTI

Centre to supply power to TN
CHENNAI: The Centre will provide 100 mw of power daily to Tamil Nadu, which was facing a power crisis and had declared a staggered power holiday for industries and power cuts in the state. After Chief Minister M Karunanidhi told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the power crisis being faced by the state, during his meeting on Wednesday, union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde called on Karunanidhi at the Tamil Nadu House in Delhi on Wednesday evening and held discussions, an official release here said. — UNI

IIT to launch micro satellite
BANGALORE: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, proposes to launch a micro satellite to mark its golden jubilee in 2010, institute director SG Dhande said on Thursday. Talking to mediapersons, he said the institute had prepared the design for a micro satellite with 7 kg load and sent the proposal to the ISRO, seeking licence for design, build and launch."We want to launch the micro satellite to mark the golden jubilee of the institute due in another 18 months,"he said. He added that the satellite would be mainly used for disaster management. — UNI

Life term for abetting sati
CHATTARPUR: A local court has awarded life imprisonment to four brothers for forcing their mother to commit "sati" on the pyre of her husband here two years ago. Sessions Judge NK Porwal, who delivered the judgement on Wednesday, also imposed a fine of Rs 6,500 each on the convicts, whose mother Karoi Bai committed sati at Baniyani village under the Jujharnagar police station area in Laundi tehsil on September 20, 2006. — UNI