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Govt sets up panel to structure NCHER
India blames Pak for Afghan violence
No time to ask Raje to resign, says Venkaiah
SC seeks Centre’s views on GM
crop trials
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China yet to respond on visa issue
‘China threat’ lurks on Arunachalis’ mind
BSP slams ‘trial by media’ over SC contempt notice
Politics, a family affair
UNAIDS head on 6-day visit to India
Floods damage over 100 temples in AP
Antony rules out role of Army in fighting Naxals
Low-key campaign helping BJP: Naqvi
Advocates split over Dinakaran holding court
HC refers SC appeal to larger Bench
Farmers protest irregularities in NREGA
Railways to transport relief material free
Andhra DGP transferred
Dolphin hunting Sam Pitroda Adviser to PM 3 Maoists held for beheading cop
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Govt sets up panel to structure NCHER
New Delhi, October 7 Formed to detail the law, announced by the President in her joint address to the Parliament this June, the taskforce would primarily look at the overall role of the Council, its powers, and constitution. Its biggest concern would be “autonomy” and how best to offer it to universities. “There has to be clarity on the role of the Council vis-à-vis the government and its role vis-à-vis the universities. The idea is to give greater autonomy to higher education institutes. So the vital question would be whose power will cease where,” highly-placed sources in the Human Resource Development Ministry today told The Tribune. Another point of engagement for the taskforce, which also has the representation of the Planning Commission, would be the manner in which the powers of existing regulators like UGC and AICTE would be subsumed by the proposed regulator. “We have to take care that the NCHER performs all the roles that the UGC and other existing regulators are performing. We would also have to debate whether the powers with the existing regulators were adequate. Certain regressive controls hitherto vested in the regulators may have to be abandoned in the interest of autonomy in higher education,” said HRD sources. Then there is the question of whether a constitutional amendment bill is required to set up the NCHER, which must have greater powers than the current regulators like UGC if it has to subsume them. HRD Ministry officials today denied objections from the PMO in this regard and said no formal communication on this count had been received from the Prime Minister’s Office. The taskforce on NCHER comprises Prof Goverdhan Mehta, former director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Prof Mrinal Miri, former director, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies; Dr MK Bhan of the Department of Biotechnology; Syeda Hameed and Dr Narendra Jadhav, members, Planning Commission.
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India blames Pak for Afghan violence
New Delhi, October 7 “The international community should put effective pressure on Pakistan to implement its stated commitment to deal with terrorist groups within its territory, including the members of Al-Qaeda, Taliban’s Quetta Shura, Hizb-e-Islami, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other like-minded terrorist groups, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said here. She warned the international community that if no action was taken against these groups, the gains made over the past eight years in Afghanistan would be compromised and it would become difficult to forestall the restoration of status-quo-ante to a situation similar to what prevailed prior to September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the US on an unprecedented scale. Nirupama was delivering the valedictory address at an international seminar on ‘Peace and Stability in Afghanistan: The Way Ahead’, which was attended by leading strategic experts from India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, US and other countries. Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik was among those who attended the valedictory function. In an oblique reference to Pakistan, she also warned about the dangers of striking deals with terrorists. “The world has come to realise, at considerable cost, that terrorism can't be compartmentalised, and any facile attempts to strike Faustian bargains with terrorists often result in such forces turning on the powers that sustained them in the past.” In a well-crafted speech, the top Indian diplomat regretted that a sense of defeatism pervaded certain sections of international opinion. “This needs to be guarded against, because it runs the risk of encouraging insurgent groups, besides weakening the authority of the central government (in Afghanistan) and its institutions,’’ she added. Nirupama said India supported the Afghan government’s determination to integrate those willing to abjure violence and live and work within the parameters of the Afghan Constitution, which provided the framework for a pluralistic and democratic society. This should go hand in hand with the shutting down of support and sanctuaries provided to terrorist groups in Pakistan. “Failure in Afghanistan's stabilisation will entail a heavy cost for both the Afghan people and the world at large,” she warned. Rao said India would resolutely continue its policy of supporting Afghanistan through its multifarious reconstruction activities in that country. “India has already made up its mind -- invest and endure because we believe in the cause of peace, democracy and development in Afghanistan. We know that the friends of Afghanistan will do likewise,” she said.
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No time to ask Raje to resign, says Venkaiah
New Delhi, October 7 Soon after General Election, the BJP decided to effect a complete overhaul in its Rajasthan leadership in view of serious reverses in the state where the party won only four out of 25 seats in this Lok Sabha, one of which went to Vasundhara’s son Dushyant Singh. As part of the overhaul exercise BJP Rajasthan president Om Mathur promptly put in his papers way back in July. Soon after the party sent subtle messages to the former chief minister to follow suit. But Vasundhara did not budge. Eventually on August 12 the party’s core group formally decided that she has to go and conveyed this to her. Instead of responding to the party directive a defiant Vasundhara sent in a large contingent of 57 MLAs to press for her continuation. These MLAs stormed BJP president Rajnath Singh;’s house and sat on a dharna outside LK Advani’s house. Two days later on August 15, a defiant Vasundhara refused to attend the Independence Day function at the party office and instead went for a separate flag hoisting ceremony at a different venue in Jaipur. Realising the embarrassment she was causing him and the party Rajnath summoned the parliamentary board on August 17, which agreed with him that she should go but asked him not to put a time limit on her. She has since interpreted this as infinite time available to her, complained a section of BJP. The same evening for the first time Rajnath stated publicly that Vasundhara has been asked to go. That was 51 days ago. Since then on August 22 Vasundhara came to meet Rajnath and asked for time till the two-day special session beginning the next day ended. That date also passed on August 25. After that she announced in Jaipur that she would go to meet M Venkiah Naidu on August 31 and hand her resignation letter to him instead of giving it to the BJP president. But on August 31 while she returned to Delhi, she did not go to meet Venkaiah and instead sent her son Dushyant Singh with a long list of preconditions before she obeyed the party directive. Since then she has been avoiding meeting any BJP leaders. Nor is she making any public appearances. Meanwhile, she is refusing to heed to the party directive. Last week though she went to meet Advani giving rise to speculation that she was finally going to put in her papers. But Venkaiah said here today that the party is too preoccupied with the floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana to have any time to think about Vasundhara. Naidu’s statement came in the background of reports that Vasundhara like Venkaiah is a camp follower of Advani and she has been asked to hold back her resignation till the whole leadership issue at the Centre was resolved. She has said once that she alone could not be asked to go when Advani was leader of Opposition in Parliament.
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SC seeks Centre’s views on GM
crop trials
New Delhi, October 7 A Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan asked Additional Solicitor General Hiten Rawal to get the information after two hours of arguments on two PILs on the issue. Arguing for the petitioners, senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, Sanjay Parikh and Prashant Bhushan contended that the existing open field trials posed a danger to bio-safety due to contamination. The restrictions imposed by the apex court earlier, such as holding the trials about 200 metres away from the farmers’ fields, were found to be ineffective as a US court verdict last month had pointed out that even a distance of 4.5 km had proved to be inadequate. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) was not conducting any study on gene and pollen flow due to wind and insects and as such it could not allow open field trial of any crop. Until the government put in place effective mechanisms, including independent labs, to check contamination, field trial of GM crops should be confined to green houses. Gene pollution was worse than nuclear radiation and most of European countries had banned GM crops, the petitioners contended. Even limiting such trials within the compounds of agricultural universities would not serve any purpose as farmers’ fields were just outside such campuses, it was argued. The Bench, which included Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan, accepted the contention that it was not prudent to let the agro companies to conduct the tests themselves. The Bench posted the next hearing for January 19.
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China yet to respond on visa issue
New Delhi, October 7 Beijing has so far not reverted to India in the matter, official sources said. The sources pointed out that China had been issuing visas to those hailing from Arunachal Pradesh on separate sheets for quite some time but started this practice in the case of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir only last year. “We had taken up the issue with China last year as well and our immigration authorities were also directed not to allow anyone to travel on the basis of visas on separate sheet of paper,” they said. The issue had been taken up at a very high level and New Delhi was hopeful Beijing would take note of India’s sensitivity in the matter. The issue came to light recently when some students from Jammu and Kashmir were not allowed to proceed to China as they had been issued stapled visas on separate sheets. New Delhi refused permission to these students to travel even after the Chinese Embassy said the visas on separate sheets were valid. The External Affairs Ministry had reacted sharply to the Chinese move, saying it was India’s considered view and position that there should be no discrimination against visa applicants of Indian nationality on grounds of domicile or ethnicity. India has conveyed its well-justified concern to the Chinese government in this regard, New Delhi said last week. The latest attempt by China to needle New Delhi is being viewed here as a well-thought-out strategy to question the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
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‘China threat’ lurks on Arunachalis’ mind
Guwahati, October 7 While the BJP has demanded the UPA government to clarify what was actually happening regarding reported ‘Chinese threat’, making it an election issue in the hill state, the ruling Congress is apparently not interested in getting drawn to it though senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee did, during his recent visit to Itanagar to release the party’s poll manifesto, say the UPA government was committed to protect the territorial integrity. “Political leaders of all hues are hardly raising the issue during the run up to the election for reasons best known to them, but people of the state, especially the enlightened section, are very much worried about the persistent Chinese claim over our state. They want an assurance from the government about the security. People have even stopped investing in immovable property. Some people have stopped construction of their houses midway because of the prevailing uncertainty,” said Wange
Tsering, a leader of Bomdila Town Committee and owner of Himalayan Holidays in the hill state. He claimed inboxes of many tour operators in Arunachal Pradesh were fed with China-origin e-mails that reiterated China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh and the state government had been informed about it. The tour operator opined that more and more VVIPs should visit Arunachal Pradesh to keep it in the news so as to make China’s claim over the state flimsy before the rest of the world. Moreover, some mountain peaks located along Arunachal Pradesh frontier should be opened up for mountaineers from all over the world so that our areas become popular as an integral part of India throughout the globe. The tour operators and Arunachal Mountaineering and Adventure Sports Association have requested the government to open up Mount Kangto (7,090
mt), Nyigi Kangsang (7,050 mt), Gorichen (6,488 mt) and Chomo (6,000 mt) in the frontier areas for expedition.
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BSP slams ‘trial by media’ over SC contempt notice
Lucknow, October 7 Addressing a press conference Mishra said: “We didn’t speak a single word on the matter yesterday as the matter is under the active consideration of the apex court. However, I had to appear before the media today to clarify the court’s order, which has been misinterpreted by the media, as well as the one-sided political reactions in the media”. According to Mishra the Uttar Pradesh government had not violated any Supreme Court order as construction was going on “only on properties that were not the matter of any writ petition”. He said the apex court had decided to “go to the heart of the matter” and has ordered fresh proceedings under which the chief secretary has been sent a notice. “Our government has been given another opportunity to present the facts of the matter before the court, which will then agree with the state government’s stand”, he said. “Till then the interim orders of September 11 will prevail.” Coming down heavily against all opposition parties, especially the Congress, Mishra threatened to proceed with defamation proceedings against political leaders who were “using the media to air their opinions with the view to prejudice the court”. “Before suggesting to invoke article 356 of the Constitution these leaders should have learnt the ABCD of law. The opposition shouldn’t indulge in a concerted campaign to tarnish her image by using the media”, he warned.
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Politics, a family affair
Belapur (Navi Mumbai), October 7 For decades the family controlled villages around the land acquired by City Industrial & Development Corp (CIDCO), which later went on to become Navi Mumbai. And after the township underwent a revival this decade following an entire decade of hibernation, the Naiks’ star began to rise. Earlier known as the Shiv Sena’s strongman, Naik effortlessly switched to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that got him prized ministerial portfolios. Through his proxies including son Sandeep he also effectively controls Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Thanks to his clout Naik arm-twisted both the Congress party and NCP into backing elder son Sanjeev’s candidature in the Lok Sabha polls. Sanjeev won by a margin of 40,000 votes. Now Naik wants to push younger son Sandeep into the Maharashtra assembly from Airoli even as he himself holds fort in Belapur, the second of two seats from this township. The Naik family’s stranglehold on the township has not gone down well with even the NCP, let alone the Congress. The Congress party in Navi Mumbai broke away entirely and a new outfit called the Congress Vikas Aghadi has been formed to take on the Naiks. The rebels are receiving the support of disgruntled elements in the NCP as well. “We are basically fighting to preserve the Congress party in Navi Mumbai,” says Namdev Bhagat who is contesting as an independent from Belapur. According to him, the Naiks had promised to give one of the two seats to the Congress for the assembly polls in exchange for the Congress party’s support in the Lok Sabha elections.
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UNAIDS head on 6-day visit to India
New Delhi, October 7 Notably, the existing legislations on narcotics control and the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act make difficult initiation of prevention efforts for the welfare of sex workers and injecting drug users, who face stigma and fear of punishment on account of the laws. The UNAIDS chief, who met Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi and National AIDS Control Organisation chief Sujatha Rao today, discussed the concerns of core groups, who need to be protected for HIV control to become universal. During his six-day visit here, Sidibe would also visit Bangalore and Mumbai. Also expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sidibe would talk about the need for mechanisms of behavioural surveillance for tracking HIV prevalence in the uniformed services. The idea is to make HIV protection more efficient among the police and paramilitary forces under the Home ministry. Many paramilitary personnel have been found to be at risk. Meanwhile, the role of public security in national response to HIV -- like instructions from the health ministry to state police forces for better coordination with the civil society in battling HIV/AIDS, came up during the discussions that the top UNAIDS functionary had with government officials today. That apart, the UN body is very reassured with India for having taken a positive stand on de-criminalising homosexuality. Sidibe today congratulated the government on this count, besides lauding its commitment in preventing HIV among the police and paramilitary forces and for their support to UNAIDS in engaging with the Central Police Forces and through the Home Ministry, with state police forces.
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Floods damage over 100 temples in AP
Hyderabad, October 7 Over 100 temples, located close to the banks of Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, were damaged as the state was hit by the worst floods in 100 years of recorded history. The worst-affected was Raghavendra Swamy temple at Mantralayam in Kurnool district. Located on the banks of Tungabhadra river, bordering Karnataka, the popular shrine was submerged in the swirling waters and has suffered colossal damage. The chief priest of the temple, Sri Sushmeendra
Swamiji, and Mantralayam MLA Y Bala Nagi Reddy and his family members, who had taken shelter on the first floor of the temple building, were rescued by helicopters. Thousands of pilgrims from AP and Karnataka visit Mantralayam temple regularly. Similarly, Jogalamba temple at Alampur in Kurnool district and Lord Hanuman temple at Beechupalli in Mahaboobnagar district, located on the banks of Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers, respectively, have suffered extensive damage due to floods and heavy rains. The endowments department is in the process of assessing the extent of damage caused to the temples in flood-ravaged areas. “We are conducting a survey to assess the extent of damage in all the temples. Many are affected in
Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar, Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda districts,” Endowments Commissioner P Sundara Kumar said. Scores of smaller temples on the banks of the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers have either been washed away or severely damaged. The famous Alampur Jogulamba shrine is one of the 18 Shakti peethas and located about 12 km from Kurnool town. The seventh-century Shiva temple and Nava Brahma temples in
Alampur, believed to be built by the Badami Chalukyas, too, were submerged. The flood waters entered Narasimha temple at Vedadri near Jaggayyapet in Krishna district. Mattapalli Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Nalgonda district was also flooded. Another famous Shiva temple near Nagarjuna Sagar was fully inundated while the temple town of Amaravathi in Guntur district, a historic Buddhist site, was cut off from the rest of the state. The Krishna waters also entered Dattatreya temple in Kurgadda near Maktal in Mahabubnagar district. Several other places of worship, including dargahs and mosques, were also hit by floods.
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Antony rules out role of Army in fighting Naxals
New Delhi, October 7 “We don’t support offensive actions by armed forces against Naxalites,” said the Defence Minister while speaking on the sidelines of function to open a new office of the Defence Accounts Department. Antony, by virtue of being the defence minister, is a part of the Cabinet Committee on Security where the matter to allow the IAF to fire in self-defence is expected to be discussed. Permission to fire in self-defence to protect the choppers - each costing a few crores - is being debated in the Indian establishment. The two issues are delinked, said sources while explaining that firing in self-defence by the IAF using hand-held weapons and the second one of allowing the armed forces to counter Maoists, were totally different issues. Antony also said the Pakistan Army and the government was trying to push the maximum number of terrorists or insurgents across the border in a bid to maintain instability in the region. “Even after 26/11 terror attacks, Pakistan is not taking strong actions against terror camps in their soil. The Pakistan army is not controlling this”, he said. Notably the new office of the DAD is a three-storeyed building which has come up on a 24, 280 sq m plot, close to the Delhi airport. It has a built up area of 11,730 sq m. Keeping in view the concerns over depleting ground water level in northern India, the building features provision for rainwater harvesting and reuse of water through sewage treatment plant for water conservation.
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Low-key campaign helping BJP: Naqvi
New Delhi, October 7 The BJP vice-president dismissed suggestions that his party is failing to make any impact among the people. On the contrary it is going down very well, he said. “You don’t hear much of the BJP because unlike the Congress there is no rebellion and no disaffection in the party due to ticket distribution. The Congress is in the news because there is so much dissidence and dissension within the party over ticket distribution and wrong choice of candidates, “ he said. “In our party everything has gone about very smoothly we are facing no rebellion anywhere, our election campaign is well coordinated and well organised. Our leaders’ rallies are getting good response from the people,” Naqvi said. BJP stands a very good chance in Maharashtra, according to the party’s internal assessment because the MNS factor which could possibly damage BJP-Shiv Sena alliance to some extent is largely restricted to 60-70 seats around Mumbai-Thane. This in turn will be neutralised by the third front factor, which will damage the Congress-NCP alliance in equal measure. Meanwhile, in his appeal Vajpayee has stated: “Unfortunately, in the last 10 years, life is unsafe in Maharashtra. Law and order is in disarray. There is all-round corruption. Farmers are committing suicide. ”
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Advocates split over Dinakaran holding court
Bangalore, October 7 Nevertheless Dinakaran, in defiance of the lawyers’ demand, turned up at the court and conducted the proceedings when it resumed work on October 5 after the Dussehra holidays. However, at a special general body meeting held at the high court premises today, the AAB decided to drop the boycott path and restricted its demand to urging the Supreme Court to expedite the probe against the Karnataka chief justice. “We’ve decided against boycotting him (Dinakaran). Only 20 among the 89 people who addressed the AAB meeting favoured a boycott of the chief justice”, association general secretary R Rajanna told The Tribune. In another resolution, the AAB condemned the Karnataka Judicial Officers Association for criticising the AAB for taking cudgels against the chief justice.
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HC refers SC appeal to larger Bench
New Delhi, October 7 A Bench comprising Chief Justice AP Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said a larger Bench, possibly of three Judges, would hear the appeal on November 12 and 13. Attorney-General GE Vahanvati, appearing for the SC, said the September 2 verdict by Justice Ravindra Bhat had far reaching consequences and would be misused by unscrupulous elements. The Bench wanted to know why no stay was being sought, to which the AG, assisted by counsel Atul Nanda, said the SC had already provided the details sought by the RTI applicant on the declaration of assets by apex court judges. The AG said the HC judgment was bad in law and based on an analysis of the judge, not on Constitutional provisions. Justice Bhat had held that the CJI was a public authority and subject to queries under the RTI.
— TNS
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Farmers protest irregularities in NREGA
Guwahati, October 7 The rally organised by an NGO, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), demanded a check on the gross irregularities in the implementation of the scheme as it alleged that none of the families in the state could get the promised 100-day employment in a year while lakhs were still awaiting their job cards even though the government claimed to have issued 33 lakh job cards. The protestors alleged rampant corruption in the implementation of rural development schemes through the DRDA. In view of escalating man-elephant conflict in the state, which often leads to the pachyderms straying into the standing crop fields, farmers demanded that wild elephant tackling should be funded under NREGA scheme so that job avenues could be created.
— TNS
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Railways to transport relief material free
New Delhi, October 7 “Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken this major humanitarian gesture as a special case with a view to facilitate movement of relief material to flood-affected areas for the benefit of millions of people marooned by the recent floods in these two states” a Railways communiqué said here today. The minister had also asked senior officials of the department in these states to extend all help to the governments and ensure that relief material reached the distressed people in time.
— TNS
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Andhra DGP transferred
Hyderabad, October 7 Director-General of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) RR Girish Kumar will be the state’s new police chief. The government issued orders transferring Yadav to the state road transport corporation as its managing director. The move came in the backdrop of widespread criticism of Yadav for his controversial remarks following the death of YSR. He had said the police was not responsible for the security of Chief Minister once he was air-borne. He had also drawn flak for the police failure to track the missing chopper for around 24 hours. Several ministers had demanded action against the DGP for his failure to make proper security arrangements for the late Chief Minister.
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