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Uproar in RS over MNS attacks
Irate students disrupt rail traffic in Bihar
Chaos rules LS on Day 2
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POTA panel rulings binding on states: SC
MP’s thrashing by cops Khanduri to stay as U’khand CM
Chhatwal cremated
Somnath for enhanced role in Commonwealth
Milk containers seized
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Uproar in RS over MNS attacks
New Delhi, October 21 The matter dominated the proceedings in the House as the members, cutting across party lines, launched a scathing attack on the home ministry for its ‘failure’ to deal with the situation arising from the violence against the railway recruitment board examinees by the MNS workers. However, the Shiv Sena differed with the members belonging to other parties with its member and former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi warning of a bigger movement in the state if the government did not give preference to the locals in railway jobs. He also alleged that recruitments in the Railways were not being done in accordance with the laid down procedures. Some of the members went to the extent of alleging that the home minister also was not prepared to do anything in the matter as he himself belonged to Maharashtra and apprehended the people of the state might not take kindly to any statement made by him on the issue. The members wanted to know if the Centre had sent any communication to the Vilasrao Deshmukh government in the state on tackling the situation in the manner in which it was expected to do so constitutionally. They also demanded that Articles 355 and 356 of the Constitution should be invoked against the state government. Replying to the debate, Patil said the Centre had sent notices to the state government on October 19, 20 and 21to take immediate measures to prevent the breach of the Constitution. The minister said the notices were sent under Article 355 though it was not mentioned in the communications. “I have personally spoken to the Maharashtra Chief Minister and the home minister…Railways minister Lalu Prasad ji has spoken to the Chief Minister. We have expressed anguish and anger over the violence and asked him to ensure that this does not recur,” Patil said. The Constitution permitted any citizen to work anywhere in the country. If some people have a different view on this issue, it would the government’s endeavour to convince them to abide by the Constitution. Even after that, if they don’t fall in line, the law of the land will have to take its course. The state government has informed the Centre that out of the 2,29,000 candidates, who had come for the Railway Recruitment Board examination, none had left without appearing for the test. As many as 1,861 people had been arrested for the violence and 336 cases filed, including 280 substantive ones, and 3,837 people had been taken into preventive detention. Not satisfied with the Patil’s reply, the members belonging to the NDA and the Left parties walked out of the House.
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Irate students disrupt rail traffic in Bihar
Patna, October 21 The news about the death of an examinee from Bihar’s Nalanda district, Pawan Kumar, in the melee at Andheri
(Mumbai) following the attack by MNS workers on the examinees from north India added further fuelled the anger. The protesters not only damaged railway property, but also disrupted rail traffic by blocking tracks. They shouted slogans against Raj
Thackeray. They were equally sore with railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for not paying heed to their demand of changing the examination centre outside Maharashtra. The railway authorities tried to calm them down by informing them that Lalu Prasad Yadav had announced at New Delhi that those who could not appear in the railway recruitment board examination held by the Central and Western Railway in and around Mumbai would be given another chance. The Patna police, the Railway Police and the local administration had a difficult time pacifying the angry students, who were demanding the prosecution of Raj Thackeray on the charge of murder, an apology from the railway minister and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of Pawan. Finally, the irate students were allowed to file an FIR against Raj Thackeray and his “goons” for assaulting them, taking away their cash and valuables and preventing them from appearing in the railway recruitment exam. The FIR was registered by the Railway Police at the Patna junction police station. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh to the family of
Pawan. Pawan, a resident of Bara-Khurd village in Nalanda district, which happens to be the home district of the Chief Minister, had gone to Mumbai to appear in the railway recruitment test for the posts of train guard. His father Jagdish
Prasad, who came to the Patna Airport to receive his deceased son’s coffin, said the Mumbai Police informed him about the death of his son in the Andheri area. The police found a diary in his son’s possession, which had his
(Jagdish’s) contact numbers and address. The Mumbai Police termed Pawan’s death to be accidental, but some people called him up from Mumbai saying his son had died after being hit in the head by the MNS men. A sobbing Jagdish Prasad said he had not only lost his only son but also his only hope for support in old age. They had hoped their son’s support in arranging money for marrying his three sisters. Residents of Jagdish’s village, some of whom had accompanied him to receive the body of his son, said the entire village was mourning and they had decided not to cook food till the cremation. Nalanda MLA Shrawan Kumar was also present at the airport making arrangements for the transportation of the coffin from the airport to his native village.
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Chaos rules LS on Day 2
New Delhi, October 21 While the Left and the MDMK walked out over denial of opportunity to raise anti-Christian violence and suppression of Tamilians in Sri Lanka, respectively, the BSP was agitated over a more personal reason. Led by Brajesh Pathak, party members demanded justice for their chief Mayawati after the Lok Sabha speaker declared closed the matter involving alleged CBI threats to implicate her if her party voted against the government’s confidence motion on July 22. The issue had been raised by Pathak on July 22, but the speaker today ruled it closed, observing, “In view of the averments made by the CBI and the fact that the matter is sub-judice, the matter be treated as closed.” Enraged by the ruling, Pathak cried political conspiracy, demanding that the matter be referred to the Lok Sabha privileges committee - a demand the speaker termed as dangerous, saying it would set a wrong precedent as no discussions were allowed on the ruling of the speaker. In between, the BJP rose to say how its members had faced similar threats. The House had to be adjourned, with even the CPM deputy leader Mohd Salim seconding Pathak’s demand, and in the process frittering away the opportunity CPM parliamentary party leader Basudeb Acharia had been given to raise the matter of the anti-Christian violence in the House. No wonder the speaker was tempted to tell Acharia: “Your own deputy leader is not interested in listening to you.” But that for Salim was no deterrent. He returned to back the BSP when the House met after the second adjournment at 2 pm (it was first adjourned at 11 am after the DMK members created chaos, asking the centre to impress upon Sri Lankan authorities not to kill Tamil civilians in their operations against the LTTE). “Nothing stops me from supporting the rights of members,” Salim reasoned when countered, while the BSP members stormed the well of the House, triggering a ripple effect. Soon, the MDMK, led by C. Krishnan, was on the boil, accusing the BJP and the Congress of raging a political conspiracy to hide their weaknesses. He hit out at the BJP, which chose to join discussions on supplementary demand for grants moved by finance minister P. Chidambaram. “The BJP and the UPA are deflecting nation’s attention from key issues. They want to evade discussion on the anti-Christian violence and atrocities on Tamilians in Sri Lanka, respectively. Of what use is Parliament if we can’t use it to find solutions to these issues?” Krishnan told The Tribune after he had staged a walk out. The MDMK members had full support of the Left, which joined the chorus “shame-shame” targeting the BJP and the UPA for conducting proceedings while matters of grave public interest were on the hold. “Is the House only meant to get money, pass budgets?” Salim questioned. In the well of the House, BSP’s Brajesh Pathak and his colleagues were busy singing another tune. They were shaming the UPA for “murdering democracy.” Today was the second day of disruption in the Lok Sabha; this too in a year when Parliament has sat for the lowest number of days in history - 33 to date.
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POTA panel rulings binding on states: SC
New Delhi, October 21 The judgment by a three-Judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, will provide immediate relief to the POTA accused in Gujarat and other states whose cases were reviewed by such committees and declared as not coming under POTA. In some cases like the Godhra train fire, those charged under POTA are languishing in jail for over six years without even the bail facility. Though the conclusions of the Bench were unanimous, the Judges delivered two verdicts, with CJI writing for himself and for Justice Raveendran, and Justice Bhandari giving his own version. The CJI gave a 42-page verdict, while the other ruling was in 40 pages in the case involving Mahmadhusen Abdulrahim Kalota Shaikh and others versus Union of India and others. Disposing of a bunch of appeals of POTA accused from Gujarat and victims of the Godhra train fire and Akshardham Temple attack, the Judges upheld the Constitutionality of the section 2(3) and (5) of the Repealing Act which dealt with the powers of the POTA Review Committees. The apex court set aside judgments by various high courts, including that of Gujarat and Mumbai that had ruled that such cases would continue to stand, despite the findings of the review committees, until the public prosecutor approached the trial court under Section 321 CrPC. On the plea by victims of terror seeking quashing of the section 2(3) of the POTA Repeal Act, the apex court observed that they were at liberty to challenge the rulings of the review committees in the high court. The Judges made it clear that the powers of the reviews committees envisaged under POTA and the Repeal Act were different. Under the Repeal Act, the rulings of the committees were made binding on the Centre, if the central government, and the state governments set these up, wherever these were set up by the states, and the public prosecutor. “We do not express any opinion on the merits of the cases of the POTA accused or in regard to the opinions expressed by the Review Committee,'' the Bench clarified. Justice Bhandari made it clear that “no provisions of the Constitution are violated by repealing the (POTA) Act by Parliament.” Parliament wanted a mechanism by which it could reverse the state governments’ alleged misuse of POTA in 2002. Subjecting the Central Review Committee's decision to the will of the state government’s public prosecutor “clearly goes against the very objective of POTA (repeal) 2004,” he said.
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MP’s thrashing by cops
New Delhi, October 21 Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Ejaz Ali narrated how he was beaten up by the police in the Capital while leading an agitation in support of reservation for Dalit Muslims. The member alleged that he was dragged, beaten up and kept inside the lock-up along with others though he told the police that he was an MP. Amid shouts of “shame shame”, members from various parties demanded immediate action against erring policemen. Deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan said the privilege notice given by the member had already been admitted and referred to the privileges committee. This, however, did not pacify the agitated members, who demanded that home minister Shivraj Patil should respond. Patil said he too was pained to learn about the incident and assured the House that he would get the matter looked into and also take action on the basis of the recommendations of the privileges committee. He said if anyone was found guilty, action would be taken.
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Khanduri
to stay as U’khand CM New Delhi, October 21 BJP senior leader Sushma Swaraj when asked specifically about the dissidents’ demand to replace Khanduri said, “No question, not at all” Swaraj, however, toed the party line insisting that no resignation letters had been handed over to party president Rajnath Singh here yesterday. She evaded a direct reply whether the leader of the dissidents’ group, a minister in Khanduri’s council of ministers Trivendra Singh Rawat had met the central leaders saying, “They (Uttarakhand leaders) are in constant touch with the central leadership of the party.” A group of dissidents led by Rawat had claimed yesterday that they had submitted the resignation letters of 17 party MLAs, including him and two other ministers, to the party president to serve an ultimatum to replace Khanduri. They had also claimed that they had the support of another 11 MLAs and if the party failed to heed to their demand, these resignation letters could then be handed over to the state Assembly speaker in Dehradun. The BJP has 36 MLAs in a House of 70 and another former CM Bhagat Singh Koshiyari leads the dissidents. Party dissidents from Uttarakhand had come here on August 11 and demanded a change of leadership. They had met several senior leaders, including Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma and M. Venkaiah Naidu and most of all L.K. Advani. But Advani had asked them to allow the party high command time till the conclusion of the state panchayat elections. The fresh move coincides with the conclusion of the panchayat polls in the state, which the BJP has recently swept.
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Chhatwal cremated
Chandigarh, October 21 Wreaths were laid on behalf of Punjab Governor-General S.F. Rodrigues (retd.) and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, public relations minister Bikram Singh Majithia, chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh, president of Punjab state IAS officers association Tejinder Kaur, principal secretary to CM D.S. Guru and advisor to CM D.S. Cheema were among those present during the cremation. Earlier in the day, the Chief minister visited Chhatwal’s family at their residence in Sector 39 here. Badal expressed deep shock at the unfortunate death of Chhatwal. Describing him as “an honest, bright and effective officer”, he stated that Punjab had lost one of its best civil servants. Majithia remembered Chhatwal as “an outstanding and honest officer, whom I had specially chosen to head the Science and Technology Department”. MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa expressed deep sorrow at Chhatwal’s death and described it as a “personal loss”. Ramesh Inder Singh said Chhatwal was an amiable person and an outstanding officer. “His tragic demise is a loss to the entire Punjab government as well as the fraternity of civil service,” he added. Members of the Punjab state IAS officers association held a condolence meeting this afternoon. Expressing “profound sorrow and shock” in a resolution passed at the meeting, Association president Tejinder Kaur described Chhatwal as “an outstanding officer, warm and spirited person and, above all, a dear friend to all.” The Punjab cabinet that met in the evening observed a two-minute silence in Chhatwal’s memory and adopted a unanimous condolence resolution to express heart-felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family.
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Somnath for enhanced role in Commonwealth
New Delhi, October 21 Chatterjee said the Anglo-Saxon tradition and English Common Law are the bedrocks of Commonwealth fraternity and that the Commonwealth should address the needs of its member countries, particularly small countries. Responding to the suggestion of Kamlesh Sharma that there could be a structured programme for the Commonwealth by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST) in the context of the 60th year of the modern Commonwealth next year, Chatterjee said the BPST of the Lok Sabha Secretariat could play an important role in capacity building among stakeholders in the success of democracy in the Commonwealth.
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Milk containers seized Rohtak, October 21 The health authorities have taken three samples from the milk containers and sent these for analysis at a laboratory in Chandigarh. The two containers had arrived from the Narnaul milk-chilling plant last night. Some unidentified person called up the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the milk plant officials to inform that the tankers were containing spurious and adulterated milk. Deputy commissioner R.S. Doon said on getting the information, he immediately sent a team of the health department and food and civil supplies department led by the DHO, Dr Jitender Kadian. The team took samples of the milk from both tankers and sent these for examination. The tankers have been impounded and would not be unloaded till the results of the test are known. The milk plant quality control department had reportedly rejected the milk, which indicated that the milk was adulterated. The local milk plant also manufactures edible products in the brand name of Vita.
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ABVP leader shot dead Bank to pay for forged cheque Bread day celebrated
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