New Delhi, September 25
The office of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is covered under the RTI Act and should provide information as per its provisions, the Central Information Commission ruled yesterday.

Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said “The office of Leader of Opposition is a public authority,” as it is created by a notification of the government but reserved his decision whether it is part of the Lok Sabha secretariat or an independent office.

Habibullah was hearing the plea of an RTI applicant Subhash Chandra Agrawal who sought detailed information from L.K. Advani on the letter written by the former Home Minister to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of black money stashed in Swiss banks and the Finance Minister's reply to it.

Initially Advani's office did not reply to his queries but after the complaint notice was sent by CIC, his secretary Deepak Chopra provided the communication. In his reply, Chopra had said the office of the Leader of Opposition was serviced by the Lok Sabha and letter was sent to it for further action. The Lok Sabha secretariat informed him that they did not have jurisdiction over the office.

When the matter reached the CIC, Chopra in a written submission said, “If the commission holds this institution as 'public authority' then the Lok Sabha Secretariat ought to implement the provisions of the Act....” — PTI

New Delhi, Sept 25
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal today said he had no objection to the privatisation of IITs if the institutes could raise their own resources and not seek central funding at all.

“We are with them if they are willing to show us the roadmap to autonomy. They can show us the proposed sources of external funding; achieve their targets in five years and ask for what they want. But as long as we are funding them, we would have to fix pay scales for their faculty,” said the minister, exhibiting no mercy for the IIT teachers protesting poor pay packets.

All for privatisation of technical and management institutes, Sibal cited Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Stanford - all private education institutions, which are among the richest in the world.

“These are all private institutions and the richest in the world. We don’t mind privatising IITs but let them come up with that kind of funding from outside sources,” said he minister, seeking to dent the arguments, which IIT teachers have been extending to demand better salaries.

The issue, Sibal said, was not of autonomy. “The issue is of money. We are already offering the IIT teachers a great deal of money. The 40 per cent cap on promotions in IITs is only reasonable. This cap is just 25 per cent in medical institutes and 10 per cent in UGC institutes. Moreover, whereas the basic salary of an IAS officer, upon induction, is Rs 21000, that of an IIT entrant is Rs 26,000, with the benefit of five increments that depend on performance,” the minister clarified.

He said India, with its $8 trillion economy and one billion people could not be expected to give to IIT professors the salaries being offered to similarly situated faculty in the US. “The day we become a $14 trillion economy like the US, which houses only 280 million people, perhaps we will be in a position to heed to IIT federation’s demands. Not till then,” Sibal said, asking the IITs to earn more money through consultancies and private projects.

New Delhi, September 25
Facing flak over racial attacks on Indian students in Australia, John Brumby, the premier of Australian state of Victoria, today proposed to give separate transportation and safe housing for Indian students.

Union Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, after a meeting with a nine-member delegation led by Brumby, said: “It is a proposal by the Australian government. It will be examined by the India-Australia joint working group.”

Though such separate housing would create a “ghetto feeling” among the Indian students, Ravi said the proposal was not meant just for Indian students alone. The project is for all international students studying in Australia, Ravi said.

Brumby at press conference here admitted that some of the attacks had racial elements. Reiterating that Victoria is a safe place for Indians to live and study in, Brumby said: “Steps would be taken to ensure the safety of the students. We have toughened our laws related to the racial crimes. We will inform the Indian government. We have toughened our laws related to the racial crimes. We will inform the Indian government on the follow-up of the crime investigations by the Australian police.”

“The government of Victoria will not tolerate any crimes against Indian students,” Brumby said.

New Delhi, September 25
Indian journalist and activist Ruchira Gupta has been awarded the Third Annual Clinton Global Citizen Award for her work against human trafficking in four Indian states.

Former president Bill Clinton presented the award to Gupta, president of the organisation Apne Aap Women Worldwide, during the fifth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York on Thursday.

The award recognises remarkable individuals for their leadership in improving the lives of people around the globe. 

New Delhi, September 25
Dynastic politics in India got a further boost with the Congress granting tickets to children of two of its senior party leaders for the October-13 Maharashtra Assembly elections. The names of Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde's son and daughter figured in the third list of Congress candidates, announced by the AICC late last night.

While Deshmukh's son Amit Vilasrao Deshmukh will contest from the Latur city constituency, Shinde's daughter Praniti Sushil Kumar Shinde will fight for Solapur city central. Both these constituencies are considered the bastions of the two respective fathers.

In nay case, dynasty is not a dirty word in the poll-bound Maharashtra, where the kin of several leaders, including the son of the president, are in the electoral fray. In fact, it is the love for progeny that seems to unite both the BJP and the Congress in Maharashtra, with several sons and daughters being given tickets in the coming Assembly polls.

However, the ticket that has raised the most eyebrows is the one given to Pesident Pratibha Patil son Rajendra Shekhawat. The other senior Congress leaders’ kin fighting the elections this time include Deputy Speaker Pramod Shende’s son Shekhar from Wardha, party working president Jayant Awale’s son Rajubaba Awale from Hatkanangle, protem speaker Manikrao Gavit’s daughter Nirmala Gavit from Igatpuri and senior leader Naresh Pugalia’s son Rahul from Ballarpur, among others.

Mumbai, September 25
The century old Neral-Matheran railway network, under consideration by UNESCO for a heritage status, is in the centre of controversy with descendants of its founder Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy moving to the Bombay High Court to claim Rs 90 crore royalty from the government.

The network was constructed 102 years ago by the Peerbhoy family with the permission of the British government at a cost of Rs 16 lakh, Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy, descendant of the illustrious family told PTI.

In 1951, the Indian government acquired the network but allegedly did not honour its commitment by compensating the Peerbhoy family with an amount stipulated in an order issued by the erstwhile British government.

Ali Akbar, in a petition, has now demanded royalty to be paid to him and the legal heirs of the Peerbhoy family, which he claims will be more than Rs 90 crore.

The petitioner contended that by virtue of Matheran Tramway order, 1904, issued by the British authorities, the legal rights were vested in the family of Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy.

The 1904 order provided that in case the government wanted to buy the network it would give six months notice to the owner. But, this was not complied with, he submitted.

Clause 44 of this order also provided that the purchase price of the Railways would be 25 times the average revenue earnings of the last three years immediately preceding the date of purchase.

Until this amount is paid, interest of three per cent per annum would be levied. Even this was not complied with, Ali Akbar alleged.

The government, on the other hand, contended that an agreement was entered in by both sides way back in 1951 by way of a sale deed or conveyance, for purchase of the Railways from its owners.

However, the descendants of the Peerbhoy have disputed the agreement, saying the signature of the buyer and the seller does not figure therein. Also the mode of payment was not mentioned.

The petitioner had also challenged the government’s move to start a shuttle service of the mini-train from Aman lodge railway station, the second last station on the Neral-Matheran route to Matheran, saying this could not be done unless compensation was paid to the Peerbhoys.

Matheran is a hill station, near Mumbai, and is famous among the tourists for its “toy train” ride. A UNESCO team is expected to visit the rail network shortly for inspection. — PTI

Mumbai, September 25
Shiv Sena rebel-turned-Congress man Narayan Rane once again showed to his former boss, Bal Thackeray, that even three years after he broke away, he still has a few aces hidden within the fold of his old party.

Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar, who was denied the ticket from Mahim, quit the party and was immediately named as the Congress candidate from the same constituency last evening. The Shiv Sena Bhavan, headquarters of the party, falls within this constituency and taking on the Thackerays in their own backyard is an issue of prestige for Rane.

Just to show his former colleagues that his clout in the area remains unaffected, Rane appeared on the scene with Sarvankar and scores of their supporters as Sarvankar filed his nomination papers.

The Shiv Sena has fielded TV star Aadesh Bandekar from the seat.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has fielded Raj’s close confidant Nitin Sardessai from the constituency.

However, the biggest battle would be between the Shiv Sena and the Congress here. “We will ensure the victory of Sada Sarvankar from here,” Narayan Rane told reporters. 

Bangalore/Washington, September 25
India’s own Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on board the country’s maiden unmanned lunar craft had also detected evidence of water on the moon in a finding confirmed by US space agency NASA which too had an instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I.

The NASA, meanwhile, thanked ISRO for enabling the discovery of water on Moon through Chandrayaan-I. “We want to thank ISRO for making the discovery possible. Moon till now was thought to be a very dry surface with lot of rocks,” NASA director Jim Green told reporters in Washington.

In Bangalore, a beaming ISRO Chief G Madhavan Nair said the MIP while descending from Chandrayaan-I to the moon surface about a fortnight after it was launched in October picked up strong signals of water particles. Nair’s remark has triggered speculation whether an Indian space mission was the first to discover water on Moon.

“Our Chandrayaan I has confirmed the presence of water molecules on the moon,” he said. Nair said “while the moon impact probe landed, it took nearly 25 minutes. It took some pictures that indicated these water molecules. Another instrument HYS1 to map minerals also helped NASA'S M3 in finding water.”

Apart from India’s MIP, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) of NASA on board Chandrayaan-I also confirmed the presence of water, he said. The “quantity found is much larger than what was expected which is a real finding”, he added.

ISRO principal scientist JP Goswami said the MIP had picked up strong signals of water particles towards polar region from 70 degree latitude to 80 degree latitudes.

The scientists, he said, significantly had indications of the finding “way back in June” but waited all these days to make it public as they wanted the findings of such a global significance to come out in a scientific journal first. — PTI

Hyderabad, September 25
In his first public speech after the death of his father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, the young MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today refrained from making any political comments but struck an emotional chord with the gathering by invoking the legacy of the charismatic former Chief Minister.

Massive crowds gathered at Nallakaluva near Nallamala forests in Kurnool district to attend the memorial meeting and pay homage to YSR who died in a helicopter crash on September 2.

The meeting served as a clear demonstration of the groundswell of public support for Jagan as a large number of people from across the state poured in and several of them raised slogans in support of installing him as YSR’s political successor.

“I lost my father but found a big family in you. I need your blessings and together we can realise the dreams of YSR,” he said in an emotion-filled voice as the crowds went into raptures.

In a touching speech, Jagan said he would soon visit the families of those who died out of shock or committed suicide in the wake of tragic death of YSR. He vowed to make all-out efforts to fulfill the dreams of his late father and strive to achieve his goals.

“Your boundless love and affection has given me the strength to come to terms with personal tragedy. I see my father in all of you and in your happiness lies my goal,” the 36-year-old MP said.

Chandigarh, September 25
The Punjab Government has set up a Commission of Inquiry to determine if there was any conspiracy behind the emergency landing of helicopter in which SAD President and Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was travelling from Delhi to Jalalabad on August 30. The inquiry will cover the entire gambit of reasons leading to the emergency landing.

The Bell 230 (VT PPR) helicopter had to make an emergency landing in Jalalabad (Ferozepur) after the chopper developed a technical snag, leading to a providential escape for Sukhbir Badal and other occupants. It made an emergency landing in the open fields of Gobind Nagar, around 700 metres short of the BSF helipad, where it was actually supposed to land.

The Commission of inquiry set up by the by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has appointed Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, SR Ladhar, as its inquiry officer with the DIG, CM Security, NS Dhillon, as the officer to assist him.

According to Secretary, Civil Aviation, Viswajeet Khanna: “The scope of the inquiry is to go into all possible aspects to determine the nature of the emergency landing”. Though, no time frame has been fixed, Ladhar has been told to submit the report at the earliest.

Talking about the episode, Sukhbir told The Tribune earlier this month that “the government would get its own inquiry conducted after studying the report of the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) and if something is found amiss, a criminal case would be registered against those responsible for the lapse”.

Earlier, the Punjab intelligence had submitted a report to the DGCA asking it to look into various aspects of the “emergency landing”. The DGCA after interrogating into the matter gave out a report saying that the pilot, Col Vishnu Rawal, had taken his “girl friend” Padma, who was not qualified to fly a VIP helicopter, as his co-pilot. But it ruled out the “conspiracy angle” and blamed the emergency on a technical fault in the helicopter.

As per law, under Section 3 of the Commission of Enquiries Act, 1952, any government can either on its own or through the legislature appoint a Commission of Inquiry for the purpose of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public importance. In this case the Punjab Government is hinting at a possible “conspiracy angle” since Sukhbir Badal is secured by a “Z Plus” security cover.

Ladhar confirmed that he had received the orders and said he had already started work on the inquiry. He would visit the site of the emergency landing over the next few days to record the statements of the witnesses. Though, there is no time frame for the completion of the inquiry, but it will be submitted very soon, he said.