Jaipur, October 27
The RSS today clarified that it doesn’t intend to intervene in the BJP’s affairs and it is for the party to decide how to overcome its problems.Addressing a press conference here today, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, “Whether the BJP needs surgery, medicine or chemotherapy, it is for the party to diagnose and take corrective measures.

 If they need any organisational help, the RSS is always there to provide it.” He said the RSS neither has any interest in politics nor it intends to be a part of it.

“We, at RSS, work for uniting the society, while today’s political system is such that one needs to see the society in a divided form,” said Bhagwat.

When asked whether the Sangh has any advice for the BJP, especially after its debacle in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, Bhagwat said, “We don’t give advice when it is not sought. They had sought our advice earlier and we did that. They are now making efforts on those lines and you will see its result in the coming days.”

Replying to a query, he said if there were contradictions in the BJP it was for the party to sort them out. “We won’t have any objection to whatever decision they take,” he said.

Bhagwat reiterated his remark that the BJP could even rise from ashes. “The BJP has a huge number of cadres who are concerned about the party which makes it capable to bounce back,”he said.

When asked whether the BJP is in right hands, he said, “At the RSS we are not taught to pass judgments on anybody.” Replying to another query, he said the RSS was not responsible for the sorry state of affairs in the BJP.

On the defiance shown by former CM Vasundhara Raje, he said it was for the BJP and its leadership to find a solution. Regarding the Maharashtra Assembly polls’ result, the RSS chief said, “Every Indian belongs to India. There are various languages and religions which have their own identity. Hindutva for us is considering them as part of one (entity) and we do not believe in things like Marathi pride. In a democratic set up, some parties win while others lose and one should treat it as a verdict.”

Bhagwat pooh-poohed the talk of the RSS and non-RSS camps in the BJP. “We are running the Sangh and we have no factions in it. We see all Hindus and Hindu outfits as one.”

On Sanatan Sansthan’s alleged role in the recent bomb blast in Goa, he said though he didn’t know much about the outfit, these were mere allegations against it. “Till the time the charges are not proved, accusing the Sansthan of indulging in such activities is not fair,” he added. 

New Delhi: The RSS chief ‘s suggestion from Jaipur that the BJP would have to choose its mode of resurrection ruffled several feathers back in the national capital, where party’s top leadership downplayed the urgency of Mohan Bhagwat’s statement, pretending nothing was wrong with the party.

“Who needs surgery? We don’t need one. Who is saying so? We are fine. Our morale is high,” BJP president Rajnath Singh said today, when asked if he subscribed to the view that the party was ailing and needed to be surgically treated. “Who has gone mad to suggest so,” retorted an angry Rajnath, who has been successfully deflecting repetitive demands from certain quarters to step down in favour of new leadership. — TNS.

Lucknow, October 27
Six policemen, accused in a fake encounter case of 1999, today surrendered before a local court in Bhadohi district and were remanded in 14-day judicial custody.Still 15 of the 32 accused policemen are still on the run for killing four persons on October 17, 1999, on the Mirzapur-Bhadohi road.

At that time the police had claimed that one of the four killed was the notorious history sheeter and criminal Dhananjay Singh, who then carried a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. Today Singh is a BSP MP from Jaunpur.

The three others killed in the encounter were said to be members of his gang.

The case had come to light after Singh had turned up four months after the so-called “encounter”.

After public outrage, the then government handed over the matter to the CB-CID. The agency found that the encounter was completely fake as none of the killed youth had any criminal record of any kind.

The CB-CID had held 32 policemen guilty, included the then CO Akhilanand Mishra, and a charge sheet was filed against them in 2007.

Immediately Mishra and his three subordinates had succeeded in getting anticipatory bail from the High Court. One of the accused has since died.

After filing of the charge sheet in the case on May 1, 2007, the court had issued summons to all the 32 accused policemen but they failed to appear before it. While the policemen did not respond, those assigned the duty to arrest them avoided the task

Finally, the court issued non-bailable warrant and ordered to initiate action under Section 82 of the CrPC. To execute this order, notices were forwarded to the principal secretary, home, to ensure their execution.

Chandigarh, October 27
The Indian Journalists’ Association (IJA) has felicitated President Pratibha Patil on becoming India’s first woman head of state and the first Indian President to pay a state visit to the UK in nearly 20 years. At the kind invitation of High Commissioner Nalin Surie, Indian Journalists’ Association Executive Committee presented a memorandum to the President at a reception hosted by the association in her honour. The president graciously accepted the memorandum and expressed her thanks. The President is on a three-day visit to the UK.

The memorandum “warmly” welcomed the President on her visit to Britain. The memorandum appealed to her to ‘‘encourage’’ a better India. It appealed to encourage alleviation of poverty and ensure guarantee of food, shelter and safe drinking water to all.

The memorandum sought world-class infrastructure and services to improve relations with all countries. The IJA took this opportunity to discuss issues related to health, education and various other issues for the betterment of society.

Apart from these, the memorandum also highlighted various concerns like elimination of caste and communal practices, consolidation of ties with overseas Indians and an equitable distribution of economic gains.

The IJA was established in London on May 29, 1947, to promote and safeguard the interests of Indian foreign correspondents in the UK. Over the years, heads of state, heads of government, members of royal families and eminent persons in various walks of life have attended IJA events, which have ranged from media conferences to celebrated annual dinners. 

New Delhi, October 27
The CRPF, which is all set to launch a major offensive against the Naxals across the country, is procuring 1,000 Global Positioning System (GPS) sets to be primarily provided to its combat teams.

The GPS has been specifically procured for executing the new action plan of striking at Naxal hideouts, official sources said. The GPS devices will help the personnel to obtain the much-needed navigational help in dense jungles and all such unknown terrains, a CRPF officer said.

The devices would be fed with all the domestic coordinates of the country and would also support world data, he said. The gadget would act as an aid to the existing wireless communications and signals of the force. The CRPF has an independent signals battalion to look after the logistical and communication needs of combat troops.

According to officials, the difficult terrain combined with bad weather in dense jungles hampers the operations. The new hand-held devices would also help patrol parties, which lose their way. A GPS set delivers reliable positioning, navigation and timing services to worldwide users at all times and in all weather conditions. — PTI.

Guwahati, October 27
A Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising Chief Justice J Chalemeswar and Justice Hrishikesh Roy, has admitted a criminal revision petition as regards investigation into the case relating to May 17, 1996, murder of noted journalist Parag Kumar Das.

The court registered the plea on the basis of a letter written to the Chief Justice of the High Court by Dr Debo Prasad Barooah, former Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University. In his letter, Dr Barooah has alleged slackness on part of the CBI in investigating the case.Only July 28 this year, the Kamrup District Sessions Court in the state acquitted the only surviving accused in Parag killing case Mridul Phukon, alias Samar Kakaty, a former ULFA militant, on the ground that the investigating agency CBI failed to present sufficient evidence against him. — TNS

Jaipur, October 27
Elated over the show of strength put up by her supporters and a rousing reception at the airport, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today said she would soon be among the people, listening to their woes and fighting for their cause, thus making it amply clear that she will not be leaving Rajasthan despite her resignation from the post of Leader of Opposition.

Addressing a gathering at her Civil Lines residence, Raje said, “I’ll start my state’s tour from Pushkar by paying obeisance to deities there. After that I will visit the areas where the people are facing problems and will raise voice for them. I promise you that I will always be with you and fight for your cause. I’ll try to rise up to your expectations and will never let you down. Together we will build a new Rajasthan.”

The former CM struck an emotional cord by thanking the people for their support and talking about her family ties with the state.Referring to her resignation, Raje said politics was full of ups and downs but an individual must learn to deal with good and bad times. “One should not be too happy when on rise and not much disappointed in downfall.” 

New Delhi, October 27
In a major policy shift, that will speed up modernisation drive of the armed forces and reduce dependence on costly imports, the Defence Ministry is to allow domestic industry to find their own foreign partners and participate in major defence projects.

This is expected to have a multi-pronged effect on India’s drive to be a first-rate military power with modern equipment. Crucially, it will open the doors for the private enterprises into the defence sector just like it is in countries like the US.

Firstly, this will speed up matters as private entrepreneurs will tie-up on their own with foreign partners. Secondly, in the long run this will reduce the dependence on imports, which is presently 70 per cent of all equipment and is costing the exchequer. Thirdly, it will cut down on lengthy acquisition processes that are riddled by middle-men. Fourthly, it will reduce the dependence of the armed forces on the public sector undertakings and also the DRDO for new technologies and introduce some competition.

These changes will be part of the revised defence procurement policy (DPP) that will be enforced from November 1 and replace the DPP-2008, Union Defence Minister AK Antony, announced at a national seminar on defence acquisition. India aims to acquire new equipment and modernise its forces by 2017.

Antony said the DPP will have a new provision in its procurement procedure, which will allow the ministry to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to Indian industries having the requisite financial and technical capabilities to absorb technology and undertake indigenous manufacture. This will be a new category called the “Buy and Make (Indian)”.

Under the current procedure an RFP is issued only to foreign manufacturers, who are required to transfer technology to Indian Defence Industry.

This does not promote setting up of joint ventures or co-production arrangements in India by big foreign manufacturers. So far the experiment has not worked out, as the foreign manufacturer does not know what is needed by the forces while the Indian partner does not have the knowledge or the skill to produce top-of-the-line weapons, guns, aircrafts or navigational aids.

The vital difference will be that the production and development by Indian industry will be through transfer of technology and not through research and development, said Antony, who has been wishing to be self-reliant in equipment purchase.

Antony said the needs of the services would be shared with capable Indian firms, who in turn would submit a roadmap for development and production of a particular item. “To ensure transparency and enhanced awareness in the Indian industry, the government will prepare a public version of the 15-year-long term acquisition plan of the armed forces,” Antony said.

Hyderabad, October 27
Bowing to political pressure, the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh has kept in abeyance a controversial order exempting the creamy layer among the backward classes from the purview of reservations in jobs.

Several Backward Class organisations, opposition parties and a vociferous section of Congress leaders denounced the government order that sought to fix an annual income of Rs 4 lakh to determine the creamy layer.

The order, issued last week, had triggered political furore with opposition parties and BC organisations threatening to launch agitation against application of creamy layer norm in reservations. This prompted the government to keep the order in cold storage.

“Keeping in view the majority views and concerns, the government has decided to keep the order in abeyance till further orders,” state Minister for Backward Classes Welfare M Mukesh Goud said.

Goud, along with Health Minister D Nagender, held detailed discussions with Chief Minister K Rosaiah and other senior officials over the implications of the order. He had reportedly contended that such a move would anger the BCs.

BRIEFLY

GUWAHATI
Molestation charge against CRPF men : Police had to fire in the air to disperse a mob that attacked a few CRPF personnel inside the New Delhi-Tinsukia Brahmaputra Mail at Fakiragram railway station in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district after a woman passenger accused them of molesting her. One person was injured while six CRPF personnel taken into custody for questioning. — TNS