 |
|
|
BJP not to back Left
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Left demands cut in petrol prices
EC decision on J&K polls soon
Cash for Votes
Money-laundering laws to cover casinos, Visa
SC notice to Tamil Nadu
Killings of Tamils
Antenna to track Chandrayaan-1 in place
Three DMK members quit RS
MP fumes as Speaker silent on Assam violence
UP govt in another land row
Big B discharged
Flood-hit Bihar villages may not be allowed to be adopted
3 cops, lawyer held for graft
Two terror suspects held in Karnataka
UK, Australia worried over Orissa, K’taka violence
EC decision on J&K elections soon
|
|
Left moves privilege motion against PM
New Delhi, October 17 The Left will also, on Monday, bring adjournment motions against the UPA government on the issues of anti-minority violence and terrorism, even as it demanded a full-fledged winter session today. On the privilege notices submitted in both the houses, the Left said the PM, by clinching the nuclear deal, had disregarded his word of coming back to the Parliament before operationalising it. Notices have been moved on grounds that in his reply to the confidence motion, the PM had said that his government should be allowed to go to the IAEA and the NSG with the draft, and he would abide by what the parliament says before operationalising the agreement. Ruling out further discussions on the N-deal, Sitaram Yechury, CPM leader in the Rajya Sabha, said: “Despite the majority of the House not wanting it, the deal has been signed between Pranab Mukherjee and Condoleeza Rice. This we see as a serious breach of parliamentary privilege. It is now for the people to judge the deal and its consequences.” The Left is waiting for the ruling of Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman in the matter. Even if accepted in the Lok Sabha, such a notice would be referred to the privileges committee, which can sit over it. CPM parliamentary party leader Basudeb Acharia, however, said the notice needed to be served irrespective of its fate. The Left, meanwhile, sided with the BJP today to protest the manner in which the government is “treating the parliament.” The parliament, said the Left, has been undermined by the government, which has brought down the sittings to a low of 30 days so far this year. “The monsoon session was jettisoned; the winter session is not taking place. Never in India’s parliamentary history has a session been cancelled, not even when there was an Emergency,” said Yechury, warning the government against this “parliamentary jugglery.” Earlier in the day, the government faced heat on the matter of scheduling of the session in the festive season. In the meeting of leaders of parties called by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, the issue was debated, with the CPM maintaining that the government had scheduled the session with a deliberate motive of curtailing it. “We have told the government that the parliament must sit for at least 100 days in a year. They will come back to us on Monday, Surprisingly, parliamentary affairs minister told us that the monsoon session was cancelled because we did not let the PM reply to the confidence motion,” Acharia told The Tribune, while CPM leader Gurudas Dasgupta said the parliament was being made a victim of political exigencies. On the BJP’s demand of rescheduling of the session, the Left said the same could be done provided a full-fledged winter session is held. The issue was discussed at the meeting of political party leaders with the LS Speaker. Major issues that dominated the meeting were terror attacks, internal security, economic crisis and anti-minority violence. The meeting also discussed the privilege notice against the PM, moved by the Left. The Speaker is examining the notice.
|
|
BJP not to back Left
New Delhi, October 17 The four Left parties sent a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee here today seeking to move a privilege motion against the Prime Minister charging him of having repeatedly misled Parliament on the issue and gone back on the commitments made on the floor of the House. Briefing newsmen here today about the floor coordination meeting of the NDA held earlier in the day in the office of Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said, “Yes, I agree that the Prime Minister has not kept his promise made in Parliament. We have stated this repeatedly in both Houses of Parliament. But there is no point in moving a privilege motion. We would rather take this to the people,” said Swaraj. She added, “A privilege notice will go to the Speaker and it is not likely to
be accepted.” Her declaration came as a climb down for the party, which earlier opposed the nuclear deal with great vehemence. In fact, all through when US President Geroge W. Bush signed the deal on October 8 and later external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee in Washington on October 11, the main Opposition party had maintained a mysterious silence. Three days ago the two main BJP leaders, who were all along fielded on this issue, namely Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, held a press conference at the BJP headquarters here. They warned the UPA government of the consequences of the global financial meltdown and also offered a number of suggestions. But they did not utter a word about the nuclear deal. When the Prime Minister was in Washington recently and the US House of Representatives was deliberating on the deal, a senior BJP leader refused to join issue saying, “We don’t want to harp on the same tune every day. We will react only after the final seal of approval has been put.” But after that the leader concerned has been avoiding any questions on the deal. Sources put this moderation in the BJP’s stance to a concern within the party that a good section of the upwardly mobile Indian middle class, and specially the NRIs traditionally considered BJP’s captive vote bank, are pleased with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for further strengthening the strategic partnership with the US. The traditional BJP voter is unhappy with the party line on the issue and there is an apprehension within the party that if they persist in their opposition to the deal, their core constituency could shift loyalty to Manmohan Singh. Evidently, keeping this in mind, the party seems to have distanced itself from any active opposition to the deal and Sushma Swaraj implicitly admitted it.
|
|
Left demands cut in petrol prices
New Delhi, October 17 The international oil prices have fallen from $140 per barrel to $67 a barrel, said Sitaram Yechury, CPM politburo member and party leader in the Upper House. “Petrol and diesel prices must be cut to control inflation, which is still rising,” he said, as the Left readies to demand a review of India’s economic policy in the wake of global economic meltdown. It looks determined to corner the government for what it calls an “erroneous approach” to meet the economic crisis. “If India is insulated from the impact of global meltdown, it is because of us,” Yechury said, referring to how the Left prevented the government from allowing foreign banks to have 74 per cent equity in private Indian banks. “We also opposed privatisation of pension funds, and will still do so,” he added. The Left clarified that it would not support Bills for amendments to banking and pension rules. “We will oppose the banking amendment Bill proposal to give of 74 per cent equity to foreign banks in private Indian banks. The insurance Bill provides for increasing the foreign capital inflow limit from 24 to 49 per cent, which also we won’t allow,” Yechury said. The Left will also oppose the pension amendment Bill listed for consideration and passing in Parliament. The Bill provides for parking pension funds in the stock market. The party’s take on government’s indication that it could offer a bailout package to Jet and Kingfisher was: “These airline giants want taxpayers’ money to save their businesses abroad. But we won’t allow that.”
|
|
EC decision on J&K polls soon
New Delhi, October 17 The commission consulted chief secretaries of Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The chief secretaries have expressed a positive stance and things could go in the right direction. The EC had announced the poll schedule for five states on Tuesday, but could not take a decision on J&K as it was divided over holding elections in the state. There were differences of opinion among the three-member commission with two commissioners favouring immediate polls and the CEC having some reservations.
|
|
|
Cash for Votes
New Delhi, October 17 The final decision, however, was deferred in the light of new proposals submitted to the committee by the BJP and SP members on the panel. V.K. Malhotra of the BJP and Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP today gave fresh proposals with regard to the report. These would have to be now accommodated lest there is any last-minute difference in adoption of the final draft. The panel had earlier denied speculation that SP leader Amar Singh and Congress political manager Ahmad Patel had been given a clean chit by the committee. V. Kishore Chandra Deo, panel chief, had decried such speculation as “unfortunate and a figment of people’s imagination.” It is, however, learnt that there was a probability of the panel recommending investigation into the case by some outside agency. The matter, however, would need further discussion before the conclusions are drawn, sources said. “The committee wants time to review all the proposals so that every view is accommodated. Efforts are on to arrive at some meeting ground considering the issue has remained volatile and fluid for long,” sources today told The Tribune. The report will now be taken up for final adoption on October 30. As regards the panel, it comprises V Kishore Chandra S Deo of the Congress as head; V K Malhotra of the BJP, Mohammad Salim of the CPM, Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP, Devendra Yadav of the RJD, Rajesh Verma of the BSP and C Kuppusami of the DMK.
|
|
|
Money-laundering laws to cover casinos, Visa
New Delhi, October 17 Under the proposed changes, all money changers, money-transfer service providers such as Western Union and credit card payment gateways like Visa and MasterCard will now come under the ambit of new anti-money laundering laws. If the amendment is passed by Parliament and comes into effect, businesses like casinos would also come under legal obligation to report their activities in the country. Crucially to combat the menace of terrorism, the Bill introduces new category of offences that have cross-border implications. The draft legislation also empowers the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to search premises immediately after the offence is committed. The investigating agency can attach any property and search a person after completing the probe. It can also enhance the period of provisional attachment of property from 90 days to 150 days. It may be mentioned that the ARC headed by Congress M. Veerappa Moily had suggested changes in various Acts. Separately, a Bill was introduced to ensure transparency and a clear-cut selection process in competitive bidding for coal blocks. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2008, seeking to carry out changes in the original Act of 1957, was moved. The Bill aims at ending discretion of bureaucrats in the allocation of coal blocks.
|
|
SC notice to Tamil Nadu
New Delhi, October 17 Ravichandran has contended in his petition that that he had completed 16 years, against the 14-year period recommended by the National Human Rights Commission for premature release. A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam issued the notice. The convict has also sought quashing of the state government orders rejecting his pleas and of his mother seeking his release at least three times after he had completed 14 years in prison. The state government has mainly cited three reasons for rejecting the pleas. These are: He has been convicted for the serious crime of assassinating a former Prime Minister, his case was investigated by the CBI and not by the state police, and that the ongoing fight between the LTTE and the government forces might “again infuse passion” in him to act against the law. The petitioner has contended that the state government had, from time to time, released hundreds of life convicts just after completion of seven years in some cases and ten years in other instances. The state had no right to discriminate against him just because his case was investigated by the CBI and not by the state police, he argued.
|
|
Killings of Tamils
New Delhi, October 17 Foreign secretary Shiv Shanker Menon told Jayasinghe that India was deeply concerned over the situation arising out the conflict in Sri Lanka and wanted Colombo to address New Delhi’s concerns. “India expressed grave concerns over the ongoing violence in Sri Lanka. The foreign secretary asked Colombo to take concrete steps to stop the military offensive in Sri Lanka,” official sources said. It was also impressed on the Sri Lankan envoy that the rights of civilians must be respected and they should also be protected from attacks. The summoning of the high commissioner came a day after Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa ruled out a ceasefire with the LTTE as demanded by Tamil politicians and vowed to continue the military offensive against the Tigers. New Delhi’s growing impatience with Colombo over the civilian casualties in the military offensive in the island nation was reflected in the statement issued last night by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee. He had asserted that India would take steps to ensure that the harassment and killings of fishermen in the neighbouring areas came to an end immediately. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been constantly monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka, had on Wednesday asked Colombo to deescalate hostilities, while emphasising the need for a political solution to the ethnic crisis, which respects the rights of Tamil and other minorities. All MPs from Tamil Nadu had recently threatened to resign en masse if the Indian government did not come forward to ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
|
|
Antenna to track Chandrayaan-1 in place
Bangalore, October 17 The antenna, installed at Byalalu, will provide telemetry, command and science data reception functions for the coming mission and similar ventures in future. The antenna was designed and commissioned by Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Limited at a cost of over Rs 60 crore. ECIL's chairman and managing director K S Rajasekhara Rao told reporters that the antenna and its support system, weighing 300 tonne, had been set up in record time, using indigenous technical skills. He said the antenna met geographic features and radio frequency requirements. For developing the antenna, the ECIL has worked in close collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) and ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC). The antenna consists of a 32-metre diameter parabolic main reflector. The reflector is illuminated by a series of precision-machined mirrors. Other features of the antenna are five-axis sub-reflector positioner for gravity drop and a state-of-the-art servo control system. The antenna system operates in S and X bands and can be upgraded to Ka band for future missions. The lunar spacecraft was today also mated with the polar rocket for its launching from Sriharikota on Wednesday at 6-20 in the morning. The 52-hour countdown for the launch is slated to commence in the early hours of October 20.
|
|
Three DMK members quit RS
Chennai, October 17 The MPs, Trichy Shiva, Jinnah and Vasanthi Stalin, submitted their resignation letters to party president and Tamil Nadu CM M. Karunanidhi this morning. This followed a resolution adopted at the all-party meeting on October 14 that all MPs from Tamil Nadu would resign if the central government did not prevail upon the Lankan government to declare a ceasefire within two weeks. Kanimozhi, the poetess daughter of Mr Karunanidhi was the first member of Parliament in Tamil Nadu, to submit her papers. The four Rajya Sabha members, who submitted their resignations wanted to drive home the point that the resolution meant not only the Lok Sabha members but also Rajya Sabha members. All letters were addressed to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. Party sources said the DMK leader would take an appropriate decision at the end of the twoweek long deadline.
— UNI
|
|
MP fumes as Speaker silent on Assam violence
New Delhi, October 17 The MP was furious that while the Speaker’s references on the opening day of Parliament included terror attacks in the country, and even natural calamities like floods in Assam and Bihar, they had no place for Assam violence. The Speaker, after making obituary references today, condemned the recent terror attacks in Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Malegaon and Agartala. The independent MP from Assam, who was waiting to hear a condemnation for lives lost in the violence between Bodos and illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam, fumed when he heard none. “This is very unfair and I strongly protest this neglect of Assam violence, the worst form of man-made violence,” he said.
|
|
UP govt in another land row
Lucknow, October 17 This time, the land in debate is in Maharajganj district, where the land of the farmers is being acquired for a Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) check post. According to sources, the acquisition drive at Jugauli, Sukrouli and Kevatlia villages in the Laxmipur constituency area here has evoked huge resentment among the farmers. As many as 88 families of the farmers have also forwarded an application to the Maharajganj district magistrate to bring the matter into his urgent attention. Samajwadi Party (SP) state unit working president Shivpal Singh Yadav has, meanwhile, castigated the ruling BSP government and termed the step a ‘clear-cut injustice’ with the farmers, who might be faced with livelihood problem. The Mayawati government should immediately revert its decision and stop doing more wrong to
the farmers, Yadav demanded. — UNI
|
|
Mumbai, October 17 Doctors at Lilavati Hospital, where Bachchan was admitted, had diagnosed him with "intestinal obstruction". He was subsequently put on a liquid diet. Bachchan left the hospital this morning accompanied by son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and several policemen.
|
|
Flood-hit Bihar villages may not be allowed to be adopted
Patna, October 17 The latest suggestion has come from the experts of Gujarat based ‘the Kachh Nav Nirman Samiti’. The samiti members led by Sushma Ayengar and Sandeep Virmani are here after undertaking a week-long tour of the flood affected area in five districts of Bihar. According to Ayengar allowing adoption of some particular villages by Film stars or industrial houses or NGOs is bound to create disparity amongst the victims residing in other villages.
|
|
3 cops, lawyer held for graft
New Delhi, October 17 The ACB had conducted a sting operation to collect evidence against the advocate and the three policemen after receiving a complaint from Abhinav Aggarwal, a Chandni Chowk-based businessman. In his complaint, Abhinav had alleged that the three policemen were demanding Rs 25 lakh from him. They had threatened that they would implicate his father Gopal Krishan Aggarwal in a false murder case. The family had earlier paid Rs 27 lakh to them. But when they further demanded Rs 25 lakh, Abhinav approached the ACB. According to sources, inspector Tyagi had arrested Gopal Krishan Aggarwal in December 2007 for the murder of Vijay Yadav who had suffered a bullet injury and was found dead near his printing press. Finding the body near his printing press, Gopal had called up the police. Reportedly, Vijay also owed some lakhs of rupees to Gopal. After the preliminary investigation, Tyagi threatened to arrest Gopal if he did not pay him Rs 10 lakh. Gopal had then paid Rs 7 lakh to Tyagi but was later arrested. After a few days, lawyer Ravinder Chadda met Abhinav and demanded Rs 20 lakh on Tyagi’s behalf to settle the matter. Abhinav paid the amount but his father was still not released. In April 2008, Gopal managed to get bail from the high court. This angered
Tyagi. He threatened the Aggarwals to pay Rs 25 lakh immediately or he would implicate Gopal in another false case. The continuous harassment forced Abhinav to seek help from the
ACB. He had also recorded his conversation with the police officials demanding money from him on a camera. Abhinav alleged that the police and the political opponents of his father, who were planning to contest the election on the Congress ticket, had tarnished his father’s image.
|
|
|
Two terror suspects held in Karnataka
Mangalore, October 17 While Rafique was picked up in Boalnthooru in Bantwal, Bawa was held in Mallur in Udupi district last night. The arrest comes in the wake of four suspected terrorists being arrested here in a joint operation by Mumbai and Karnataka police on October three. The police raided two houses in Chikmagalur district and seized explosive materials, weapons, engineering, electrical kits, besides tents, western range IGP A.M. Prasad told reporters. The District Investigative Crime Bureau of Dakshina Kannada district, which succeeded in nabbing the terror suspects, has launched a hunt for six others who are at large, Prasad added. — PTI
|
|
UK, Australia worried over Orissa, K’taka violence
New Delhi, October 17 NCM chairman Mohammad Shafi Qureshi said UK minister of state for foreign affairs Lord Malloch Brown and acting high commissioner of Australia in India David Holly called on him during the day. “'They wanted to know as to why Christians and their places of worship were being targeted when, as per the government records, no forcible conversion were taking place,” Qureshi said. The NCM chairman told them that the commission had sent its teams to both states and submitted its reports to the centre. — UNI
|
||||||
|
EC decision on J&K elections soon
New Delhi, October 17 The commission consulted chief secretaries of Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The chief secretaries have expressed a positive stance and things could go in the right direction. The EC had announced the poll schedule for five states on Tuesday, but could not take a decision on J&K.
|
||||||
Nagaland CM urges PM to protect Christians RSS activist hacked
to death RS member Isam Singh
disqualified 2 labourers trapped
in 270-ft pit One held for damaging idol of Mary
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
