New Delhi, October 4
Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta today said the pay commission issues raised by the three armed forces was “not about money” but status and equality.

“The issue here is not about money. It has been overplayed by the media. It is about status and equivalence that existed (before the pay commission), and the command and control relationship (between the armed forces officers and their civilian counterparts),” Mehta, who is also the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, said after the Territorial Army Day parade here.

“How it (status, equality, command and control structure) has been disturbed (by the pay commission report), nobody knows,” he said when asked about the issues raised during the meeting of the services chiefs with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday.

Mukherjee heads a three-member ministerial committee set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the grievances of the Army, Navy and Air Force over “anomalies” in the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC).

“It was a fact-finding mission. We had a long discussion with the minister over the issues,” he said. Meanwhile, welcoming the Cabinet approval to Phase-II of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee report for creation of 1,896 new posts, from Colonels to Lieutenant Generals and their equivalents in the three forces, Mehta said: “We are happy with the implementation. This was an ongoing thing.” — PTI

New Delhi, October 4
Even as Union home minister Shivraj Patil asked Orissa Governor M.C.Bhandare to send a report on whether the state should be placed under President's rule, the Centre is hoping to use the October 13 meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC) to gauge the mood of the house in this regard.

Since the 103-member NIC comprises Union ministers, chief ministers, heads of all commissions, eminent public personalities, mediapersons and representatives from civil society groups, the Centre is hoping that its broad-based and vocal membership will put the BJP-led state governments in the dock for their failure to act against the Bajrang Dal which has admitted to its involvement in the attacks against Christians in Orissa and Karnataka.

Patil spoke to Bhandare today to enquire about the conditions in the state, a day after he had dispatched a sternly worded letter to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asking him to take all possible measures to end the ongoing violence against Christians.

The Centre has sent a number of such advisories to the Orissa government in the past several weeks but finds itself helpless in going beyond issuing stern messages. UPA ministers argue that since law and order is a state subject, the Centre cannot intervene in such instances. It cannot even hand over the investigations of the attacks to the CBI till it gets the consent of the state government.

The ultimate option before the Centre is to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution and impose President’s rule in the state. But the UPA government finds its hands tied as its own allies like the DMK and RJD are principally opposed to imposition of Central rule in states. Besides, the ruling coalition does not have the requisite numbers in the Rajya Sabha to pass such a Bill.

Given these constraints, the Centre plans to use the forthcoming meeting of the NIC to build a larger consensus among political parties, especially the Left parties and the BSP, now in the Opposition camp, on how it should proceed in handling the Orissa government. Like the regional parties, the Communists have always opposed the use of Article 356 in a state but the Centre is depending on their strong commitment to secularism to get their support. On the flip side, however, the BJP has a fiery Hindutva mascot in Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi who is quite capable of turning the tables in favour of the Sangh Parivar.

The Orissa violence also figured in yesterday’s meeting of the Union Cabinet when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grave concern over the continuing attacks which, he said, had tarred India’s image abroad. He said he would convene a special meeting of the Union Cabinet on this matter after several Union ministers including Kapil Sibal, Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Selja and Lalu Prasad Yadav maintained the Centre could not afford to remain a silent spectator to the anti-Christian violence in Orissa.

New Delhi, October 4
Observing that the world had a stake in the success of the civilian government in Islamabad, the United States today said it would encourage cooperation between India and Pakistan to normalise bilateral ties.

“More than anyone else, it is in the interest of the civilian government in Pakistan to fight terrorism,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a joint press conference with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

A good relationship between India and Pakistan would help the two countries understand each other better, she added.

Mukherjee emphasised that the joint anti-terror mechanism between India and Pakistan should be made more effective.

Recalling the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s new President Asif Ali Zardari in New York on the margins of the UN General assembly last month, the Indian minister said New Delhi had been reassured by Islamabad that it would not allow the Pakistani territory to be misused for anti-India activities.

Rice and Mukherjee also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the prospects of cooperation between them in fighting terror in the war-ravaged nation. 

New Delhi, October 4
Observing that Europe was in need of skilled manpower due to its declining population, Asian-origin British MP Keith Vaz today said the new points-based immigration system would provide a fair chance of working and settling in the United Kingdom.

Vaz, who represents British Parliament from Leicester East, said there was a need to make people aware of the new system as there was a view that it had been brought about to restrict the number of people coming into the UK.

“Instead of restricting the number of people, this would in fact increase the immigrant flow besides making people aware of whether they could settle down in the country or not,” he said in an interaction with the media here. The new points-based system was introduced in February this year to rate prospective immigrants based on their skills.

Vaz said he had also taken up the case of South Asian chefs as a majority of top cooks in British Hotels and restaurants were from South Asia. — PTI

New Delhi, October 4
Even as US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrived here ostensibly to sign the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, the four Left parties along with the JD-S and the TDP observed a ‘black day’ throughout the country today.

Thousands of members of these parties together demonstrated in different parts of the country even as their national and state leaders addressed public meetings.

Left leaders described the observance of ‘black day’ as part of their strategy to make the deal the main agenda of their political campaign against the ruling UPA government and more specifically Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

CPI deputy general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy claimed enthusiastic response to their call from Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Patna, Lucknow, Guwahati, Bangalore, Chennai and Madurai.

“We will carry forward our struggle against the nuclear pact both in and outside Parliament,” he said. Here in Delhi, hundreds of agitators gathered at the Mandi House from where they proceeded to Hyderabad house where Rice is putting up.

CPM politbureau Sitaram Yechury, who addressed the protesters, came down heavily on the Prime Minister, saying that he had violated the promises made in Parliament.

CPI national secretary D. Raja reminded, “From day one, the Left have opposed the nuclear pact as it was cost-wise an nonviable economic proposition and unequal treaty. The deal is not to provide India with energy security, but is meant to benefit the multinational companies of the US.”

New Delhi, October 4
The Baba Jassa Singh Festival of Classical Music held annually at Kapurthala has been postponed in view of sympathy for those affected by the recent floods.

Feeling the need to concentrate on alleviation to the flood-hit people by focusing all efforts in this regard, the Kapurthala Heritage Trust has apologised to the enthusiastic and supportive public over all these years for the postponement of the annual festival that was scheduled to be held in October.

Mumbai, October 4
Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said in a statement in the party mouthpiece “Saamna” that he would be addressing the annual Dussehra rally on Thursday. The annual ritual that began with the formation of the party came to a pause last year as indifferent health prevented Thackeray from addressing the rally. Thackeray, 81, however said today

that he was fine enough to speak this time round. There is speculation that Bhujbal may enter the Shiv Sena on Dussehra with the blessings of Thackeray.

For the past year, Thackeray has been away from the public limelight though he did give private audience to a number of prominent people.

The rally will be held at Shivaji Park in Dadar this year and will attract thousands of party activists like in the past years.

This will be the Dussehra rally of Thackeray before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

All eyes will be on this year’s rally following the rapprochement between Thackeray and his one-time confidant-turned foe Chhagan Bhujbal. According to speculation in Shiv Sena circles, Bhujbal may enter the Shiv Sena on Dussehra with the blessings of Thackeray.

However, Bhujbal himself denied that he had broken off with Sharad Pawar, the man who wooed him out of the Shiv Sena in 1991 and with whom he floated the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999. Yesterday, Bhujbal hit the headlines when he withdrew a defamation suit against Bal Thackeray. He was accompanied by Thackeray’s son and political heir Uddhav and both posed for media photographers together.

“I had spoken to Sharad Pawar and got his okay before deciding to withdraw the case against Bal Thackeray,” Bhujbal said today. However, he did not say what transpired at his long lunch meeting with Bal Thackeray on Friday.

Thackeray supports N-deal

In his statement today, Thackeray also backed the Indo-US nuclear deal. Terming the deal as “historic and in national interest”, Thackeray said he did not agree that the UPA government had compromised the country’s sovereignty. “There doesn’t seem to be any truth in those criticising the deal. The Indian government voluntarily decided not to conduct nuclear tests,” Thackeray said. He went onto say that India would be able to trade in nuclear goods following the signing of the deal.

“Due to the NSG waiver, India can procure reactors and nuclear technology to tackle energy shortage,” Thackeray said. He, however, was unsure if the Manmohan Singh government would be able to benefit from the deal during the coming elections. “Voters will decide the fate of Manmohan Singh on the basis of a number of factors,” Thackeray said.

Agartala, October 4
Surrounded by Bangladesh on all sides, Tripura stands vulnerable to being used as a corridor by terrorists from across the border to penetrate into Indian territory.

Police records show that six Bangladeshi nationals with connections with militant outfits and Pakistan’s ISI have been arrested in the state since March.

The number has gone up to nine with the arrest of three more Bangladeshi infiltrators in connection with the recent serial blasts in Agartala.

A suspected HuJI member, Mamun Mian, alias Mafizur Rahman, was arrested from Ramnagar area here on March 27. During investigation it was found he was wanted in connection with a bomb blast case at Shibpur in Kolkata in January.

Mamun Mian had been residing in the state capital in a rented house. He had managed to procure documents like ration cards and was living under the name of Suman Mazumdar.

Shahid Choudhury, a senior member in the Manik Sarkar ministry, had to resign on April 17 over his alleged links with Mamun Mian. The police last month submitted its charge sheet against Mamun Mian, who is in jail now.

In April, three more Bangladeshi nationals, Sirajul Islam, Sayed Hussain and Mohammed Kabir , were arrested from Pratapgarh under the West Agartala police station. Sirajul Islam hails from Dhaka, Hussain is from Tangail and Kabir from Jessore in Bangladesh. They had no documents to enter India.

Another arrested Bangladeshi national, Syed Ali, alias Sagam Ali, had confessed that he had been to Pakistan on several occasions and met one Osman Khan, believed to be a known ISI operative in Karachi. The police says Syed Ali hails from Bongaigaon district in Lower Assam.

In July, the Tripura police arrested Raghab Mian, a Bangladeshi national, who had sneaked in through the porous border to meet arrested Mamun Mian. He was found to be in possession of an identity card issued by the Harkat-ul-Jehadi-e-Islami (HuJI) .

In July 2006, the police detained 11 youths from Maharashtra from a mosque in Dhalai district in Tripura, who, the police said, confessed to having links with the SIMI. They were later released and sent out of the state. 

Bhopal, October 4
The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh is out to turn the merciless thrashing of its Lok Sabha member Virendra Kumar by RPF personnel into a state versus centre issue. “We are shocked by the brutality of the RPF personnel. We will register a strong protest with the central government and the Railway ministry,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan told newsmen at Damoh today.

He announced that an IGP-level officer would probe the state government affair. A case of attempt to murder has already been registered against the Commandant of the RPF and other personnel, including the RPF station in charge.

Virendra Kumar was seriously injured when RPF personnel rained lathi blows on him at Bina in the state yesterday. He was protesting against the demolition of unauthorised shops built on railway land. The Railway authorities were demolishing the shops. Virendra Kumar, who represents Sagar constituency in the Lok Sabha, had sustained serious head injuries and is in the ICU of government medical college hospital here. “Lathis are aimed below the waist level, not at the head,” the chief minister said

Dehra Dun, October 4
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj-Gen B.C.Khanduri (retd) said it would be a matter of extreme pleasure if the Tata Motors manufacture Nano from Pantnagar.

Khanduri further said though their government had not received any proposal from the Tatas to roll out Nano from the state, immediate action would be taken and necessary facilities would be provided as and when any formal proposal is received.

"If the Tatas are interested in coming to Uttarakhand to avail the industrial package, they are welcome,” he asserted.

"Besides better rail, air, road and tele-connectivity, the special industrial package and uninterrupted power supply further gives an edge to the state. All this clearly implies that Uttarakhand is ideal destination for making Nano here,” he opined.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Tatas already has the company's plant, manufacturing ACE trucks at Pantnagar in Udham Singh Nagar district.

Jaipur, October 4
With an eye on the ensuing Assembly session and to check the growing Congress propaganda against the government over “dissatisfactory” compensation paid to Chamunda Devi temple stampede victims, the state Cabinet today announced several compensation measures to the tune of Rs 20 crore per annum for the aggrieved families.

Now each family would be paid Rs 7.40 lakh apart from special compensation and funds for education of orphans, widows, care of parents, vocational education and also for starting own business.

Early today, the government shifted Jodhpur collector and the SP even as anger was growing against the government for action against them as well as the royal family of Maharaja Garh Singh, which runs the temple management. With no case registered so far against the September 30 incident, Mohd Iqbal of Jodhpur moved an Istgasa in a court against Maharaja Garh holding him responsible for the incident.

Parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore said the compensation amount had been increased to Rs 5 lakh.

Special secretary, Home Affairs, S.M. Thanvi announced that the final number of victims was 215. Of those 187 belonged to Jodhpur while five were from other states.Two of those were from Maharashtra and one each from West Bengal, Gujarat and Haryana.

Rathore said the government had increased the compensation purely on sympathy for the families and there were no political motive behind it.

Interestingly, ex-Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been demanding Rs 5 lakh compensation for the families. He had criticised the government for paying Rs 2 lakh.

Rathore said the government would pay Rs 1,500 per month to widows and another Rs 1,500 per month till the age of 18 to the children who lost their father or mother in the incident. To those who lost both, Rs 4,000 per month would be paid.

A fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakh would be made for the girl child and Rs 1 lakh would be given at the time of their marriage. Apart from this, the government would provide them money for taking special coaching, vocation courses, and opening self-sufficient business.

BRIEFLY

NEW DELHI
Mild tremors in Andaman: A moderate quake, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, rocked the Andaman Islands on Saturday. According to the Meteorological department here the temblor occurred at 0250 hrs and the epicentre of the quake was 10.8 degree North latitude and 91.7 degree East longitude. No loss of life or injuries was reported, it added. — UNI