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SC refers Amarinder’s case to larger Bench
Train to Garhwal Himalayas in pipeline
On anvil, bonus on paddy
Indore Killings |
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Bajrang Dal dares govt
Cemetry vandalised in Tamil Nadu
4 held for murder of priest, woman
Rescue operations in progress to save the two-year-old boy Sonu, who fell into a 150-ft borewell in a village near Agra on Thursday. — PTI
TDP takes pro-Telangana stand, backs Andhra’s division
PM worried by Amar, Cong row
3 held for killing Australian tourist
Telecom proposals now need home ministry nod
Women reservation bill panel gets extension
Maya launches housing project
GoAir plane aborts journey
midway
Thackeray calls for Cong defeat
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SC refers Amarinder’s case to larger Bench
New Delhi, October 9 Precisely for this reason, the Supreme Court has referred the case to a larger three-Judge Bench, comprising Justices B.N. Agarwal, G.S. Singhvi and Aftab Alam which had its first hearing, lasting about two hours, on October 3. The Bench has transferred to itself the expulsion case that was pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and slated the next hearing for December 2, by which time the petitioners and the respondents would have filed their counter-affidavits and rejoinders. Two major aspects that are before the Bench are whether legislative bodies have the powers to expel members for reasons other than breach of privilege and for offences allegedly committed during their previous tenures.The Bench made it clear that these two major points would have to be clarified while disposing of the case. Counsel for the petitioners (Capt Singh and two others) senior advocates T.R. Andhyarjuna, Abhishek Singhvi and P.P. Rao also highlighted these two points. They said the recent expulsion of MPs by Parliament pertained to the members’ involvement in the cash-for-question and MPLADS scams during their current tenure and not earlier. On the other hand, the Amritsar land development scam for which Capt. Singh was expelled from the 13th Vidhan Sabha had happened at the time of the previous House, they argued. In this regard, the Bench wanted to know whether it was possible to expel a legislator for the crime he/she committed before becoming a member of the House. The importance of the case was brought to the fore through the argument that such a development, if left unchallenged, would result in ruling parties in other state assemblies expelling opposition members for political vendetta. Another issue before the apex court is whether legislatures can monitor investigations in criminal cases as it happened in the present case wherein the Assembly had asked the vigilance department of police to submit a report within a specified time. The apex court, in its interim order on October 3, stayed this move, asking the police to submit its report to a court of law. However, the detailed observations of the court on this aspect would come in its final verdict. At one stage, the petitioners even questioned the competence of the Assembly in ordering an investigation against them. However, the court said this should be possible as even the common man had the right to initiate action through public interest litigation (PIL) petitions. The three-Judge Bench is also expected to spell out the broad parameters that would guide elected bodies and the judiciary to function within their respective jurisdictions without stepping into each other's territory.
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Train to Garhwal Himalayas in pipeline
Dehradun, October 9 Sixty per cent of the survey work on the train track from Rishikesh to Karanprayag has been completed. The survey work on another route from Dehradun to Kalsi would also be completed soon. Onkar Singh, divisional railway manager here said the survey work on the Rishikesh-Karanprayag railine was almost complete in 2000. The 126 kms broad guage railway line from Rishikesh, Devprayag, Srinagar and Devprayag was to be built at a cost of Rs 1,372 crore. But the project was shelved. However, Union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has shown interest in the project following his visit to Badrinatah and Kedarnath temples last year. Onkar Singh said that the survey earlier done was being updated. “We will also submit the survey report of 50 kms railway line from Dehradun to Kalsi to the railway board next month,” he said. Singh also said that a survey for Dehradun-Chandigarh railway link was done in 2000. “One survey was done on 153 kms long Dehradun-Poanta Sahib-Dhualakuan route costing Rs 635 crore and the second was via Jagadhari having 217 kms and costing Rs 604 crore. A fresh survey will be coducted now,” he added. The railway line to Garhwal Himalayas would not only be beneficial for the people of the area but would give a tremendous boost to tourism, particularly religious tourism of the state. One of the most revered Hindu religious places - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri - are situated in the Garhwal Himalayas, besides famous Sikh pilgrimage of Hemkund Sahib. More than three million pilgrims visited these places last year. The first railway line survey of the Rishikesh-Karanprayag route was done in 1912 on the initiative of then deputy commissioner of Garhwal J.M. Kelly who was interested in taking the train to Garhwal. Again when Satpal Maharaj become a Union minister of state of railways in 1996, a survey was done. But with the fall of the Union government, the survey work was stopped. |
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On anvil, bonus on paddy
New Delhi, October 9 The quantum of the bonus was discussed at the meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs last night. Sources said demands have been made to raise the bonus to a level so that paddy is procured at the same price as wheat - Rs 1,000 per quintal. The ministry is yet to make formal announcement but sources said the bonus could be between Rs 75-100 per quintal. At present paddy is being procured at Rs 850 per quintal in the mandis across the country. The MSP of paddy and wheat cannot be equated as the country was facing a shortage of wheat. On the other hand, the paddy crop is expected to be a bumper harvest. Last month, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has raised its forecast of 2008 world paddy rice production by more than 1 million ton to 668 million tonnes after improved harvests in India and some other major producers. The 2008 world production is 1.5 per cent higher than a record output of 658 million tonnes in 2007, the FAO had said. Also in case of paddy, the rice production is no more than 66 per cent of the procured paddy, which means a quintal of paddy produces about 66 kg of rice. In case of wheat, about 98 per cent all produce is used. All these things have to be factored in before a bonus is announced. In Punjab alone, 160 lakh tonnes of output was expected that is about 15 lakh tonnes more than the initial expectations. This was due to a good monsoon and use of new seeds this year. The yield was between 28 to 30 quintals per acre. About 24 lakh tonnes have already been procured till now and Punjab has been arguing for an announcement of bonus. The re-think of government to announce a bonus has come about as various expert committees found that the MSP was lower than what was expected. The move is aimed at extending a helping hand to farmers, officials added, while admitting that input costs have risen. The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council had earlier suggested that the MSP be fixed at Rs 900 per quintal. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which recommends the MSP for various crops, had suggested that the government raise the MSP of paddy to Rs 1,000 a quintal for the 2008-09 season.
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BJP inaction draws flak
Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 9 The National Commission for Minorities (NCM), in its report on Indore killings, has blamed the district and state authorities for lack of preventive action. Of the eight persons killed in violence reported in Pandharinath, Chatripura, Khajrana, seven were Muslims and one a Hindu. “There was systemic failure on the part of crime branch and intelligence bureau, which could not provide vital inputs of the impending trouble. Had the administration been proactive in foreseeing trouble, loss of life and property could have been avoided,” chairperson of NCM Mohd Shafi Qureishi told The Tribune. He questioned the legality of the bandh call, that too on Friday, considering the Supreme Court of India had ruled against bandhs in the wake of protests on Sethu Samundaram issue. The most striking finding of the NCM team that visited Madhya Pradesh following communal tension in Indore pertains to firearms licence holding in the area. Of the 350 licenses issued, 90 per cent were in the name of majority community; 10 per cent in the name of minorities. The NCM, while rapping the district administration for not being conscious of the law and order breakdown, has recommended review of firearm licenses issued to everyone in the area. “Of the seven persons killed, four died in police firing and the rest by shots from private guns. There is no way to ascertain whose firearms were used,” said an NCM member. Qureishi added that there was no evidence of firing by Muslims, even as the BJP a few days ago claimed SIMI’s hand in Indore violence in July. Reacting to the state PWD minister Kailash Vijay Vargiya’s claim that SIMI caused Indore riots, Qureishi said the claim was “misplaced and unfortunate.” Another NCM member questioned the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh which took so long to blame SIMI for the riots. “When we went for an inquiry, no one said this. This is obviously an afterthought,” a commission member said, ridiculing the state’s contention that Dawood, a 22-year-old Muslim, was killed after being attacked by a cow. “That’s rubbish. He was shot in the mouth,” Qureishi said. The NCM will adopt the report on October 15 before submitting it to the Centre. NCM rues lack of consensus
The NCM today said the lack of political consensus on banning the Bajrang Dal was unfortunate. It was surprised that the government should be in need of more evidence after all the killings in Orissa and Karnataka. “The anti-Christian violence in Orissa goes back to December last. This year it crossed all limits. What more evidence is needed to ban organisations that fuel communal tension,” asked an NCM member
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Bajrang Dal dares govt
New Delhi, October
9 The union
cabinet discussed here yesterday the ban with several important
ministers like railway minister Lalu Prasad, steel minister Ram Vilas
Paswan and others pressing for the ban while others like law minister
H.R. Bhardwaj, commerce minister Kamal Nath and home minister Shivraj
Patil sceptical about imposing such a ban. Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal
convenor Prakash Sharma is believed to have said: “We will fight the
ban and will explain the injustice done to us. The elections are coming
soon and it will prove costly to the government.” He denied Bajrang
Dal hand in the attacks on Christians in Orissa and Karnataka and
accused the media of portraying the Bajrang Dal in a negative
light. Sharma, however, confirmed the Bajrang Dal’s role in
“reconversion” of Christians and said, “What is reconversion? We
are making them return to where they were before. This is ghar wapsi (coming
back home) and we are doing it and it is perfectly legal. Sharma denied
dal linkages to the Nanded incident in Maharashtra where state
anti-terrorist squad (ATS) reported that two VHP/ Bajrang Dal men died
making bombs. As for a similar incident in Kanpur he said: “The
persons involved with Kanpur incident were with the Bajrang Dal 10 years
ago.
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Cemetry vandalised in Tamil Nadu
Villupuram, October 9 The miscreants damaged more than 20 crosses at the St Paul Solomon Cemetry, attached to the St Paul Roman Catholic Church, near a local police station. The incident came to light on Wednesday morning when a Christian family went to the cemetery for offering prayer, the police said. Taking suo motu action, in the absence of a complaint, senior police and civil officials, including the superintendent of police and the revenue divisional officer (RDO), rushed to the spot and conducted an investigation. A dog squad was also pressed into service, but no one was arrested so far, the police added. Attacks on two churches were reported at Erode yesterday. In one such incident around midnight, three persons on a motorcycle threw stones at a church at Perunthalaiyur, on the Kavindapady-Koohalur Road. A glass box encasing the Bible was damaged at the Church of South India in the same area. The police formed special teams for tracking down the culprits. Attacks on churches were also reported from Kanniyakumari district.
— UNI
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4 held for murder of priest, woman
Dehradun, October 9 “All four have confessed to murder and we have recovered Rs 14,000, a mobile phone and jewellery from them”, Dehradun SSP Amit Kumar Sinha told mediapersons. “Accused Francis, who had lived with Priest Atheya alongwith the three of his associates planned the entire loot” the police confirmed. The four came to Preist Atheya Ashram in Sahaspur on September 20 on the pretext that one of them was indisposed. Once gaining entry into the chapel, the four murdered him. They also killed Mercy and fled. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for the police team involved in the operation. DGP,
I.G. Garhwal and the Dehradun SSP have also announced a cash reward of Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively.
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2-year-old falls into borewell
Agra, October 9 Sonu fell into the borewell at around 10 am while playing near his house in Tohra village near Shamsabad town, 26 kilometres from here. Agra SSP Raghubir Lal said the borewell is just one foot in diameter and it is almost impossible for a man to go down into it to bring up the boy, who is also too small to latch to a rope if it is lowered down. Sonu is stuck below at about 60 feet mark. Lal said a parallel well is being dug near the borewell so that the rescue team can get to the boy through a tunnel. He said the boy’s voice also could not be heard now nor was there any movement from him although he was found crying some 90 minutes after he fell into it. Sonu has also not been responding to his mother who was being asked to call him. The SSP said since there was a pond near the site, the level of the water in the borewell might increase. There have been a number of such incidents in recent times. In 2006, a kid named Prince fell into a borewell which was two-and-a-half feet in diameter. He was lucky to be rescued after over two days of efforts, which were telecast live on almost all
television channels. — PTI
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TDP takes pro-Telangana stand, backs Andhra’s division
Hyderabad, October 9 "In deference to the sentiments of the people of the region, the Telugu Desam supports the demand for a separate statehood to Telangana," the party politburo said in its one-page resolution. Announcing the decision at the party headquarters here, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu said Telangana was a "historic necessity" and "our party has taken the right decision in this regard." The TDP, which was founded by late N T Rama Rao in 1982 to safeguard the "Telugu pride" and "self respect," would continue to uphold these ideals and "we shall re-dedicate ourselves to the Telugu people," Naidu said. The TDP's pro-Telangana stand was not taken for any political aims, he asserted, adding that the party had conducted an elaborate exercise for over two-and-a-half years on the "sensitive" issue. "We do not take certain decisions only for political gains. We go by the people's wishes and respect them," Naidu said. The TDP will do whatever required "legally, constitutionally and politically" for the creation of Telangana state, he added. Major Political parties in Andhra Pradesh today welcomed the Telugu Desam Party's latest stand to support the demand for separate Telangana state. "It's a welcome decision, but it should have been taken three years ago," Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Dharmapuri Srinivas said after the TDP announced it was in favour of a separate Telangana state. It was only to secure political gains that the TDP took a pro-Telangana stand now, he added. Srinivas admitted that the TDP's stand would put pressure on the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre to act fast on the separate statehood issue. Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union Minister Vidyasagar Rao, while welcoming the TDP's decision, urged all pro-Telangana parties to exert more pressure on the UPA to table a Bill in the next session of Parliament for the new state. "If the Bill is placed in the ensuing session, Telangana can be formed in 2009," he said. Telangana Rashtra Samiti leaders K T Rama Rao and T Harish Rao too hailed the TDP's stand on Telangana and said it augured good for the region. Senior Congress leader and a Telangana protagonist Palvai Govardhan Reddy said it was high time the UPA took a positive decision on the separate statehood demand without any further delay. On the other hand, State major irrigation minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, while criticising Naidu for the timing of his new stand, said TDP's resolution favouring Telangana state was merely intended to gain political mileage in the next elections.
— PTI
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PM worried by Amar, Cong row
New Delhi, October 9 Amar Singh met the Prime Minister here yesterday and is believed to have raised with him the recent uncharitable remarks by senior Congress leader Satyavrat
Chaturvedi. Chaturvedi, who till recently was in charge of Uttar Pradesh, had taken umbrage to Singh going to Jamia, demanding a judicial probe into the terrorist encounter and the resignation of home minister Shivraj Patil till the inquiry was completed. The SP leader replied by declaring that he did not respond to small fries and interacted directly with the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. After meeting the Prime Minister, Amar Singh retracted his demand for Patil’s resignation. At the Wednesday meeting with the SP leader, the Prime Minister tried calling up Chaturvedi in his presence. It is not known whether the Prime Minister could speak to his party leader and if at all, what did he tell him. But the constant bickering between Amar Singh and Congress leaders from time to time has the Prime Minister worried. Parliament session is beginning on October 17 and after the Left has withdrawn support, the government is crucially dependent on SP support. Moreover, the party has to finalise its seat sharing arrangement with the SP in Uttar Pradesh and various Congress leaders from UP, particularly those ready to contest elections from UP, are banking heavily on this arrangement which they hope will reap them substantial electoral benefit. In such an environment any souring of relations with the SP could spell serious consequences for the party as well as the government, according to Congress sources.
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3 held for killing Australian tourist
Panaji, October 9 Manak Basak (32), Jagat Pradhan (23) and Jaykrishna Das (25) face murder charges after they were arrested by Calangute police, under Section 302 IPC, for killing 65-year-old John Kelly yesterday. Kelly, who was severely injured during the brawl, died in a hospital while undergoing treatment ten hours after the attack. The incident occurred yesterday at 6.30 am when John had an altercation with the waiters over their “style of serving beer”, police said. “We sent a beat constable to the spot after getting information about the incident at 8 am. By that time, John had already left,” police inspector Tushar Vernekar said. John reportedly went back to his guest house at Candolim, five kms from the spot, from where he was shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital. “He arrived here at 9.30 am. He went to the room and fell on the floor. I called the ambulance to shift him to the hospital,” Jose Philip Vaz, the guest house owner said. The police said John “disappeared” after the brawl. “He was not traceable and we located him only at 1.30 pm when we received a wireless message from the hospital,” Vernekar, who is investigating the case, said. The Australian died at 6 pm while undergoing treatment, police said. Superintendent of police Bosco George said a case of murder has been registered and investigations are on. Notably, safety of foreign tourists in the state came under the scanner in February this year after the alleged rape and murder of British teenager Scarlette Keeling. — PTI
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Telecom proposals now need home ministry nod
New Delhi, October 9 The Foreign Investment Promotion Board under the finance ministry, which looks at overseas investments in companies, has issued a direction to the applicants in the telecom sector in this regard saying, “All proposals in respect to the telecommunication sector are now required to be approved by the ministry of home affairs.” Hence, all investors in the sector will need to furnish information on the directors of the company, including foreign collaborators and investors on their percentage of stake, nationality and passport number among other personal and professional details. A department of telecom official said the decision had been taken keeping in mind the security perspective and the profile of the international investors, be it a foreign telecom company or investors. The other trigger is the usage of telecom network in the blasts in Bangalore, Jaipur, Surat, Ahmedabad and New Delhi.
— PTI
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Women reservation bill panel gets extension
New Delhi, October 9 Till now, the panel headed by Sudarshana Natchiappan of the Congress has been unable to reach any consensus with the UPA allies, the RJD and the Samajwadi Party, on the one hand, and the JD (U) on the other asking for OBC quota within the women’s quota. The panel for its part has said raising the strength of women in Parliament by one-third may be a good solution.
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Maya launches housing project
Lucknow, October 9 The other projects were the Manyawar Sri Kanshiram Shahri Garib Awas Yojana, Kanshiram ji Bahujan Nayak Park and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Medical Institute etc.
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GoAir plane aborts journey
midway
New Delhi, October 9 The GoAir flight took off from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here at around 4 pm but the pilot detected problems in the plane's under carriage and so had to return it to the Delhi airport, airport sources said. The Airbus A-321 plane landed safely at around 5 pm, they added. The pilot apprehended that the aircraft's nose-wheel was not functioning which could have made landing in Mumbai difficult.
— PTI
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Thackeray calls for Cong defeat
Mumbai, October 9 Comparing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Thackeray called the latter a courageous woman who didn't hesitate to send the Army into places of worship to flush out terrorists. “Why can't the government send the Army into mosques to flush out terrorists,” Thackeray asked. Earlier, Thackeray’s son and heir Uddhav made his maiden speech at the Dussehra rally. Hitting out at Congress leaders at the Centre, Uddhav called home minister Shivraj Patil a minister for textiles for his much publicised habit of changing clothes thrice a day.
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Woman delivers child on street 6 kids buried alive Badrinath to close on Nov 17
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