New Delhi, October 16
Right to Education is all set to become a reality in the election year. After months of bickering between the law ministry and the human resource development (HRD) ministry over the quantum of financial burden to be shared between the Centre and states, the Bill has finally been cleared by the group of ministers constituted to look into the differences and reconcile them.

Sources in the HRD ministry today told The Tribune that the matter would come up before the Cabinet any time now. A Cabinet note, it is learnt, has been circulated. “The differences have been discussed and solutions arrived at. The matter will now be placed before the Cabinet,” sources in the ministry today said.

The government is determined to clear all hurdles in the way of the Bill is evident from the fact that the HRD ministry has moved well in time to secure a no objection in the matter from the Election Commission of India.

A clearance from the EC was taken in the wake of elections being announced in five major states, including Delhi, and code of conduct being imposed. The EC requires ministries to apprise it of all matters pertaining to public policy when the elections have been announced. Only after an NOC has been granted by the EC can such matter be taken to the Cabinet.

The HRD ministry is now on track, with the Bill poised for Cabinet approval and subsequent tabling in the Parliament session beginning tomorrow. It is being called The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, and is listed in A category (most important) Bills to be introduced in the 14th session of Parliament.

The Bill secures the Right to Education for children aged 6 to 14 years, and seeks to prevent child labour. It was mooted two years ago and guarantees children's Right to Education in a neighbourhood school, besides defining the responsibility of stakeholders like the state, teachers and parents in the process of educating the child.

The importance of the legislation is evident from the fact that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held a national-level consultation on the issue, and forwarded draft recommendations to the HRD ministry. The NHRC while telling states to go ahead with the law instead of waiting for the Central legislation asked the government to increase the age ambit of children to be covered under the law. It said the target age group should be 0 to 18 and not 6 to 14 years as it is now.

The commission is also against the Bill's provision of penalising parents for not sending children to school.

New Delhi, October 16
India and the USA for the first time today agreed to work together to formulate a doctrine and raise the level of participation in joint military exercises.

The Chief of US Army General George William Casey met his Indian counterpart General Deepak Kapoor. They reportedly discussed security related developments in southeast Asia, especially in Pakistan, Nepal and China.

The two Chiefs also agreed to cooperate in exchange of military and related technologies for the development of enhanced capabilities for the future combat soldier (a programme of the Indian Army referred to as FINSAS - Future Infantry Soldier as a System). This is a long term project and Indian side asked the US for cooperation in this. The US army will be developing its own warfare models based on Indian experiences in counter insurgency and low intensity conflict.

The two Chiefs re-affirmed the need to enhance mutual military-to-military cooperation, especially in the fields of exchange of military personnel for attending additional professional courses.

General Casey will be addressing a gathering at the National Defence College (NDC) and will also be visiting Leh and Agra.

The US army chief paid homage at the Amar Jawan Jyoti after the traditional guard of honour at the South Block lawns.

New Delhi, October 16
In a strategic move, the Government of India today deployed a naval warship that will escort the Indian commercial ships while crossing the piracy-ridden Red sea area that falls on the route to the entry into the Suez Canal.

India today became the fourth navy after the US, Russia and France to deploy its warships on the world’s busiest sea trading route. The patrolling is commencing immediately as defence minister A.K. Antony cleared the proposal this evening.

Defence ministry officials said this had nothing to do with the ongoing crisis in which a ship MV Stolt Valor had been taken by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Meanwhile, sources said separate talks and negotiations were on for the release of 18 Indian sailors on board that liner. It is a Japanese-owned ship that is registered in Hong Kong. The talks are on with the transitional federal government in Somalia.

The Indian warship will have helicopters and marine commandos. It will patrol and escort Indian flagships through the Gulf of Aden. At present, only one warship is being deployed and the number can be increased anytime. The ship will patrol the normal route followed by the Indian Flagships during passage between Salalah in Oman and Aden in Yemen.

This anti-piracy patrol will be carried out in coordination with the director-general of shipping, who will keep the Indian Flagship vessels informed in case they want to travel in the Indian Ocean along with Indian Navy ships.

The strategic importance is such that the presence of the Indian navy warship in this area will be significant as the Gulf of Aden is a major strategic choke point in the Indian Ocean region and provides access to the Suez Canal through which the sizeable portion of India’s trade flows.

The presence of the Indian Navy in the area will help to protect our sea borne trade and instil confidence in our sea faring community, as well as function as a deterrent for pirates.

New Delhi, October 16
The ongoing military action in Sri Lanka, a cause of deep concern for political parties in Tamil Nadu, is turning into a row between India and the island nation with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee today asserting that the government would take steps to ensure that the harassment and killings of Indian fishermen in neighbouring areas is stopped forthwith.

In a statement here, Mukherjee said the situation in Sri Lanka remained a matter of grave concern to the people of India, who were particularly worried about the effect of the continuing conflict on civilians, caught in circumstances not of their making.

“It is essential that their rights be respected, that they be immune from attacks and that food and other essential supplies be allowed to reach them. We have consistently made it clear that a return to
normalcy cannot be brought about by military means or battlefield victories. What is required in Sri Lanka is a peacefully negotiated political settlement that allows each community to realise its own potential within the framework of a united Sri Lanka,” he said.

Mukherjee made it clear that India would do all in its power to achieve this goal of ameliorating the humanitarian conditions in Sri Lanka, and has been making representations to the government in the island nation at several levels.

The statement came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Colombo to deescalate hostilities, while emphasising the need for a political solution to the ethnic crisis in the island nation, which respects the rights of Tamil and other minorities.

MPs belonging to different parties in Tamil Nadu have threatened to resign en masse if the government did not come forward to ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Earlier today, Sri Lanka high commissioner to India C.R. Jayasinghe said the Indian PM’s statement would be regarded as most important. “It will be presumptuous for me to comment on the Prime Minister’s statement. I have read about it in the media,” he said on the margins of a function.

New Delhi, October 16
Dismissing apprehensions that India-Sri Lanka ties have come under strain due to the ongoing military operations in that country, Colombo today reassured New Delhi that its concerns would be kept in mind while dealing with the situation in the island nation.

As the UPA government grappled with the threat from Tamil Nadu MPs to resign if the ceasefire did not happen in the island nation within two weeks, Sri Lankan High Commissioner C.R. Jayasinghe said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement yesterday would be regarded as the most important one by his country. Manmohan Singh had yesterday expressed serious concern over the harassment and killings of Indian fishermen in Sri Lanka.

“It will be presumptuous for me to comment on the Prime Minister’s statement. I have read about the statement in the media,” Jayasinghe said on the margins of a function here even as Indian officials were hopeful that Colombo would keep in mind the Indian sentiments while tackling the situation.

Seeking to cool the tempers in Tamil Nadu, he stressed India was “very dear” to the people of Sri

Lanka, adding it was the intention of his government to address various issues keeping in mind the best interests of bilateral relationship.

The Sri Lankan envoy’s statement came in the midst of reports from Colombo that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ruled out a ceasefire with the LTTE as demanded by Tamil Nadu politicians and vowed to continue the military offensive. Rajapaksa is also understood to have informed the Indian government that Colombo was not ready to stop the offensive at this stage.

Meanwhile, Indian officials said Sri Lanka was fully aware that any further deterioration in the situation could lead to an exodus of the civilian population from the island nation that would only add to the woes of New Delhi.

New Delhi, October 16
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the proposal to restrict the telecast of exit polls till the last polling in an election is over and also amend the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 in this regard.

The decision came at the meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The government said the restriction on the telecast of exit polls would enable the voters to exercise their right to vote without being influenced by the projection of the exit polls after the one phase of voting was over and the other phases of voting were yet to be completed.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved a proposal to withdraw the Bill of 2004 and introduce in its place thereof another Bill regarding reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The decision was taken after considering the recommendations of the Standing Committee and the Group of Ministers.

New Delhi, October 16
The second part of the 14th session of the fourteenth Lok Sabha and 214th session of Rajya Sabha will commence tomorrow and conclude on November 21. The session is slated to be stormy.

Spread over 36 days, it will mainly be devoted to essential government business, including financial business relating to supplementary demands for grants for the year 2008-2009 in respect of railways and general budgets.

A total of 74 items will be taken up during the upcoming session of Parliament, with 39 items being new bills, and the rest being the pending bills in both the houses of Parliament. The parliamentary affairs minister Vyalar Ravi said 71 legislative, two financial and one non-legislative item has been identified for being taken up during the ensuing session. The government business was decided in a meeting that Ravi held with the secretaries of various ministries and departments

Among important bills to come up for consideration and passing are the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2005 and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill 2005, and the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005.

New Delhi, October 16
The BJP is all set to raise the Telangana issue in the coming session of Parliament in the hope of reaping political mileage from it in the next general elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu said here today, “Now that there is virtually no opposition to the creation of Telangana from any major political party, I would urge the Government to bring in the Telangana Bill on the coming session of Parliament.”

He pointed out, “The TDP which was opposed to it has now agreed to support Telangana. The CPM says we do not support it but we will not oppose it. There is only confusion in the Congress. Whereas, the Telagana Congressmen proudly declare their support for Telangana, at the Centre, the Congress feigns ignorance about the issue.”

He said, “I assure the Congress that if they bring the Telangana Bill, we will readily support them.”

The BJP, which had originally supported Telangana issue in 1998 and later abandoned it, is now hoping that the Congress refusal to introduce the Bill could provide the party the much needed issue for the campaign in the next general elections, Naidu indicated.

The Telangana issue has assumed greater importance for the BJP because it has a very negligible presence in Andhra Pradesh, largely limited to the Telangana region. The BJP entered the 1998 general elections on the slogan of “one vote for two states,” publicly promising the creation of Telangana in the event of coming to power. Then its vote went up for the first time to 6 per cent.

In 1999 general elections it abandoned the Telangana issue but contested elections in alliance with the TDP and its vote share went up further to 9 per cent.

But it entered the 2004 general elections without an alliance partner and without an issue and the net result was a drastic fall in its voting percentage, Naidu conceded, though he wouldn’t say what was the final percentage.

This time too, the BJP is unlikely to secure any alliance partner in Andhra Pradesh.

Post 2004 elections, when Naidu had abandoned the BJP it returned yet again to the Telangana issue and started courting TRS chief K. Chandasekhar Rao, who left the UPA Government for its refusal to grant Telangana, a separate statehood, right away.

Its parliamentary party deputy leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra personally reassured the TRS of the BJP support. But for some inexplicable reason the move did not make much headway. TRS sources explained that the party decided against aligning with the BJP because “They have no presence outside Hyderabad.”

As of today, it is friendless in Andhra and has no hopes of striking any new alliances for the 2009 elections. While the TDP and the TRS have already gone with the Left parties, Venkaiah Naidu was evasive about the possibility of courting the newly created Praja Rajyam of Telugu filmstar Chiranjeevi. He said, “He has not spelt out anything so far.”

That is why the BJP desperately needs an issue in Andhra Pradesh.

New Delhi, October 16
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today approached the Supreme Court objecting to the government’s claims that the Ram Setu was not integral to Hindu religion and Lord Ram himself had broken it, and questioning its “locus standi to pontificate on what is at the core of Hindu religion.”

Dr Swamy, petitioner in the case, appeared before the Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and raised doubts over the validity of the government filing consolidated written submissions, allegedly incorporating new material that were not raised orally.

Upon this, the Bench said he could also make such submissions. Later, Dr Swamy told mediapersons that he would file another set of documents within a week.

In his written submissions filed today, he said the government’s latest claims ran contrary to its own averment in the Madras High Court, stating that a viewing gallery along the Sethusamudram shipping channel project was being planned to help Hindu “pilgrims” to visit the Ram Setu.

The petitioner said Swami Dayanand Sarasvati, a scholar on Hinduism, had “denied that there is any passage in any Hindu religious texts that states Sri Ram demolished the Ram Setu. Even stanza 30 of the cited Padma Purana contradicts this averment of the learned (government) counsel.”

Bangalore, October 16
The attack on the Adoration Monastery at Milagres in Mangalore on September 14, with lethal weapons was a premeditated, deliberate and carefully planned assault. The entire operation was monitored and supervised. It was not an accident as claimed by the Karnataka Bajrang Dal chief, but was an integral part of the master plan to attack the Christian religious centres. The underlying objective of the assault was to spread terror.

These were the findings of retired justice M.F. Saldanha who conducted a probe into the incident on behalf of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (South Kanara), the Catholic Association of South Kanara and Transparency International, Karnataka Chapter. Saldanha himself is president and chairman, respectively, of the last two organisations.

According to Saldanha’s report, which was made available to The Tribune two days before its formal release, any novice could have tracked down the assailants and those who were monitoring them. “The fact that this has not happened conclusively establishes political patronage to the crimes. It is not merely a case of police inaction/collusion. It is much deeper than that,” says the report.

Saldanha said the case in question was an instance of “hate crime” directed against the sacred symbols of Christianity. The chief minister and the home minister rushed to Mangalore and promised stringent action. “Nothing has happened,” the report said. “What about the constitutional guarantees and the duties of the state to the minorities,” Saldanha asked.

The retired justice took three weeks’ time for his investigation in the course of which he interviewed a large number of people. Saldanha and his team are also looking into the remaining cases of violence against the Christians in Karnataka and the findings will be presented under individual heads.

New Delhi, October 16
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today denied reports published in a section of media that it had received a report from the Delhi police commissioner on the Batla House encounter in Jamia Nagar in New Delhi. The commission will take a view on the issue only after a report on encounter is received by the Delhi police.

The commission had issued a notice to the Delhi police commissioner on September 24 on the complaint of an NGO, Real Cause. The complainant had submitted that a team of special cell of the Delhi Police brought two bodies after an hour-long alleged encounter at L-18, Batla House on September 19.

New Delhi, October 16
The minority leaders in the Congress have for the first time asserted their presence and pressed for a proper probe (read judicial) into the Batla House encounter.

These leaders will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here tomorrow to press for their demand for a judicial probe.

The Batla House encounter on September 19, which resulted in the death of two alleged terrorists and one police officer, has become a bone of contention. The Muslim community in the Jamia Nagar area has rejected the police version.

In addition, there is also a general feeling of persecution that the Muslims are being targeted in the name of terrorism. Along with that came the heightened activities of the BJP affiliates Bajrang Dal and VHP, targeting Muslims and Christians and going about it mostly unchallenged by the state machinery. This has made the minority, especially Muslim leaders in the Congress, sit up and take note of the party’s eroding support base among the minorities and the Muslim community in particular so close to the elections.

On the other hand, national security adviser M.K. Narayanan and home minister Shivraj Patil have ruled out any transparent probe into it pleading that it will bring down the morale of the police force.

Caught in this situation, the minority leaders have been holding discussions and taking up this issue within the party in the past few days.

A group of them led by minorities department chairman Imranur Rehman Kidwai met at the residence of Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmad last evening. This group included former UPCC president Salman Khursheed, Mohsina Kidwai, Jaffer Sharief and Oscar Fernandes. They decided to take up the issue first with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

This morning, a group of these leaders, led by Imran Kidwai, met Sonia Gandhi and raised the issue with her. Ahmed Patel also joined this group at Gandhi’s residence.

Then this evening, Imran Kidwai called a larger meeting of the Muslim leaders at the AICC office.

New Delhi, October 16
The tug-of-war between home minister Shivraj Patil and health minister A Ramadoss over legalising homosexuality on Thursday reached the Union Cabinet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking them to sit together and sort out the issue.

“The Prime Minister has directed the two ministers to sit together and discuss the matter and sort out differences,” science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said after the Cabinet meeting.

He said the Cabinet deferred a decision on the issue which was being argued before the court.

The Delhi High Court is hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the legality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which bans sexual relations among the people of the same gender.

“Whatever the court decides, we will agree,” Sibal said.

The court had on Wednesday pulled up the Centre for relying on religious texts to justify the prohibition on gay sex in the country and asked it to come up with scientific reports to justify it.

The issue has become controversial with Ramadoss saying that he would take up the matter with the Prime Minister after his ministry was ticked off by the home ministry before the court.

The home ministry is opposing the health ministry’s suggestion for legalising homosexuality.

The home ministry has suggested not to decriminalise gay sex on moral grounds while the Health Ministry has proposed to abolish the penal provision which carries a punishment of upto life imprisonment for such acts. — PTI

New Delhi, October 16
The Uttar Pradesh police has told the Supreme Court that it was “prima facie satisfied” about alleged involvement of Dr Rajesh Talwar in the sensational double murder of his daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj before arresting him.

In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the UP police submitted that it had conducted a fair investigation and observed all necessary rules under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before arresting Dr Talwar.

“After having been prima facie satisfied with the involvement of Dr Talwar in the instant crime, he was arrested by the investigating officer,” the affidavit stated.

Aarushi and Hemraj were found murdered at Talwars’ Jal Vayu Vihar resident in Noida district on May 16. The affidavit has been filed in response to a PIL filed by Surat Singh, an advocate who mainly sought a restraint on the media from “pre-judging” the issue and the police from tarnishing the image of Talwars.

According to the UP police, the investigations were fair and conducted under the direct supervision of the Meerut range inspector general of police. Following his May 23 arrest on charges of murdering Aarushi and Hemraj due to their alleged illicit affair, Talwar was remanded to judicial custody by the chief judicial magistrate. Later, the investigation was entrusted to the CBI on May 31. — PTI

New Delhi, October 16
Television producer Soumya Vishwanathan’s killing in the wee hours while returning home from office has prompted a petitioner to approach the Delhi High Court seeking better security for people working late into night in the Capital and adjoining areas.

Filing a PIL, advocate Sanjiv Kumar Singh said the number of murder cases have gone up in the city due to failure on part of the Delhi Police and sought a direction to the Centre and the Delhi government to ensure safety of those who work in night-shifts.

“In case security is not tightened, especially for those who attend night duties in call centres, BPOs, multinational companies and TV channels, the death toll of innocent persons will increase...,” he said in his petition likely to be listed for hearing next week.

Citing various murder cases, including that of Vishwanathan, the lawyer said: “The number of crimes, including brutal murders and bomb blasts, is increasing by the day and our police department has not been able to control the situation.”

The petitioner also sought a CBI inquiry into Soumya Vishwanathan's murder and sought a direction to the government to compensate the family.

Pointing to the recent bomb blasts in the city, Singh said: “The police department may be directed to take adequate steps to ensure security for the people.” — PTI

New Delhi, October 16
The Supreme Court today empowered a committee to sell defunct company Golden Forest’s properties and repay the aggrieved investors.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan directed the court-constituted three-member committee, headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge R.N. Agarwal, to sell off the properties of the defunct investment company and settle the claims of the investors. However, it said the sale would be subject to confirmation by the court.

It also directed the company to give an updated list of its properties and liabilities, so that proper valuation could be done and the committee could proceed in the best interests of the affected parties. Earlier, the court had asked the panel to evaluate and auction the properties acquired by Golden Forest.

Counsel for the committee Suruchi Agarwal said a number of parties were opposed to such settlements as “their only aim and motive appears to stall and thwart proceedings for confirmation of properties and delay the auction process”.

Meanwhile, the apex court refused to consider applications from two companies to buy out the assets of Golden Forests (India) Ltd, so as to mitigate the problems of around 1.7 million investors, to whom the company owed around Rs 2,200 crore.

Two Delhi-based companies - Vavasi Telegence Pvt Ltd and the Chadha Group - had independently submitted applications before the apex court to buy out assets and liabilities of GFIL. — PTI