Mumbai, November 8
The tussle between Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Samajwadi Party may be the main focus at the first meeting of the 12th Maharashtra assembly on Monday.

While Raj Thackeray has threatened “action”against MLAs who take their oath in any language other than Marathi, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi has stated that he would do so only in Hindi.

Thackeray had warned last week that his 13 MLAs in the new assembly would prove their mettle in the maiden meeting itself. Since then Azmi, a south Mumbai-based businessman, has been provided with police protection. Till late this evening, Azmi has not shown signs of relenting and stuck to his guns.

“Wait and see tomorrow,” Azmi told this reporter. He had earlier threatened to move breach of privilege motions against the MNS legislators if they tried to prevent him from taking the oath in Hindi.

The Samajwadi Party leader who emerged as a major leader of the Muslim community following the large-scale arrests of its members, following the 1993 bomb blasts won both the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar and Bhiwandi East seats he contested. Azmi will now vacate the Bhiwandi East seat.

The first meeting of the house will be under a pro tem speaker followed by the election of the speaker. Ganpatrao Deshmukh is likely to be the pro tem speaker of the assembly. As per the agreement between the Congress and the NCP, the speaker would be from the latter party.

Babasaheb Kupekar who chaired the house in the 11th assembly and Dilip Walse-Patil are in the race for Speaker, according to sources. All the 287 MLAs in the house are expected to be present.

Tawang, November 8
An 'emotional' Dalai Lama today hit out at China for opposing his visit to Arunachal Pradesh and expressed surprise over Chinese claims to Tawang.

The spiritual leader, who arrived here today on a four-day visit to this town, said it was usual for the Chinese to protest wherever he went and his trip here was “non-political”.

Recalling the Sino-India war in 1962, the Dalai Lama said here the People's Liberation Army of China had occupied Tawang and nearly reached Bom di La that year.

“But the then Chinese government declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew (its forces). Now, the Chinese have got different views. This is something which I really don't know,” he said in an apparent reference to Chinese claims over Tawang.

On Chinese opposition to his visit, the 74-year-old Dalai Lama said, “That is quiet usual. Wherever I go they protest. It is totally baseless. The Chinese Communists turn quite sad usually on my every movement. Of course my visit here is non-political.” On his visit here, he said he was getting “emotional” as he had crossed this town in 1959 while fleeing from Tibet.

“I get emotional. When I escaped I had mental stress and anxiety. I had feeling of hopelessness. But the moment I saw (Krishna) Menon and other MEA officials on the border then I had a feeling of reunion,” the Dalai Lama said.

“So, now I am very happy to be here. My main aim of the visit is to promote human values. Just now I returned from Japan where I explained that the ultimate source of happiness of life is within ourselves,” he said. Asked whether he had any message for China, he said, “nothing, no, nothing.” The Dalai Lama said the Tibet Buddhist religion and the culture were passing through a difficult period.

“So for preservation of Tibetan Buddhism and culture in this country and in this area the people have the real responsibility. Many people, particularly young, belonging to the Tibetan refugee community are joining monastery and various Tibetan institutions which is a very hopeful sign,” he said.

The Dalai Lama said, particularly in south India 2,000 such community members had joined 
the institutions and the local people were showing genuine 
interest to study Buddhism and preserve its culture.

On Chinese claims to Arunachal Pradesh, the Dalai Lama said, “You know my views on the issue.” To a question on Tibet issue, the Dalai Lama said China should male clear its Tibetan policy. “Unless they make it clear there is no point in talking to them. Their (Chinese) views on me keeps changing from time to time. Their views are different,” he said. — PTI

Lucknow, November 8
Distancing itself from the fatwa against Muslims singing 'Vande Mataram', a section of the intelligentsia today said there was a need to educate the community about the actual meaning of the lone "objectionable" word 'vande' in order to remove doubts over its rendition. Last week, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind at its annual meet in Deoband opposed singing of the National Song by Muslims.

Vice-president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and eminent scholar Maulana Kalbe Sadiq called for a debate among Hindi litterateurs to define the word 'vande' used in the song which forms the basis on which it has been termed being against their religion.

Sadiq told PTI that he was ready to accept the contention of Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed that the National Song had been approved by Maulana Azad on whose suggestions some words were removed.

"If the word ‘vande’ stands for respect and showing reverence to the motherland then Muslims have no ground to object to it and it is for the litterateurs and scholars of Sanskrit, Urdu and Hindi to sit down and debate over it so that the misconception can be removed," Sadiq said.

He said if the word stood for "worship", it was unacceptable for Muslims who could not worship anyone except the Almighty.

President of the All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar also questioned the timing of the fatwa which, he claimed, could ignite communal passions.

"It is time that experts of Hindi and Sanskrit determine whether the word in question is 'vande' or 'bande'," Maulana Athar said, adding that perhaps it is the former which means showing respect and it is in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

Chairperson of All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board Shaista Amber said the issue had provided fodder to communal and reactionary forces who were out to use it to bash the community. — PTI

New Delhi, November 8
Back from the US after hard-selling his model of bilateral partnership in higher education sector, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said most of the top US institutions including MIT, Yale, Duke and Boston, were keen to collaborate with India.

With MIT, India would set up a taskforce to take the dialogue forward, Sibal said, admitting that Harvard was non-committal. He added that the nature of collaborations would crystallise after the Foreign Education Providers’ Bill was passed, and that no foreign university coming to India would be allowed to make profits from tuition fee. “They can tap other allied services,” Sibal said, indicating that the bill would be passed by the budget session next year.

But the minister’s claims apart, the visiting Yale President Dr Richard Levin gave no indications today of his eagerness on such a partnership, at least as of now.

Addressing the higher education summit at FICCI, Dr Levin, in fact, told India that building world-class universities was a Herculean task. “It has never been done before in one concerted effort, by one country, and it requires more than money,” he said, speaking on what must inspire such institutions, given India’s proposal to have 14 innovation varsities by 2010. Sibal is seeking foreign collaboration for these institutes.

During his American trip, the minister spoke of the economic model where the west could access India’s human resource by investing in education here rather than hoping to get Indian students to the US for expensive studies.

Back at FICCI, Yale president, however, felt India could increase access to higher education (India wants to take gross enrolment ratio in higher education from 12 per cent now to 30 per cent by 2020) by expanding enrolment at the existing institutions though world class varsities would be good for India’s future development.

“The new world-class universities will only contribute a small fraction to the required increase in enrolments throughout India,” Levin said, contrasting India’s higher education enrolment of 12 per cent with US’ 63 per cent and Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development nations’ 56 per cent.

On world-class universities, Yale head advised India to get its concept in place. “A great university is not built from the bricks and mortar of its campus, but of the scholars and students who inhabit it. It must offer world class facilities in research, education and must build institutional citizenship by helping students understand their social responsibility,” he said.

Asked if Yale was keen to come to India, Lewin did not sound too excited. He had another word of advice for India on the research sector, where he said, “World class research requires substantial resources which must be provided. This is one area where the US has far outstripped the world by allocating public funding for research not by seniority or by political give and take but by meritocracy and peer review alone. India would do well to adopt this model.”

Sibal said Boston and Yale wanted to set up campuses in India, while MIT and others would largely collaborate. He also announced 100 visiting fellowships for Indo-US academics to work at Indian varsities.

Mumbai, November 8
Slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare had been toying with the idea of quitting his high-profile job in the Indian Police Service and joining some multi-national firm to experiment with new ideas, his widow Kavita Karkare has revealed.

"He was planning to quit the police force and join some multinational company as he wanted to experiment with new jobs but his dream remained unfulfilled," Kavita said wistfully, wondering if life would have unfolded any differently for her had Karkare shed his khaki before the 26/11 tragedy.

Almost a year since the terror attacks that killed her husband, Kavita is still to come to grips with her loss.

"It came as a shock. I spent 28 years of my life with him and now suddenly he is gone. One year is not enough to move on with my life," she says.

Kavita, however, feels that the trial of the case should have concluded before the first anniversary of the diabolic event even though she herself does not follow the development as she finds the courtroom drama too depressing.

"It is very painful to be reminded of the attack and of Ajmal Kasab (the lone terrorist captured alive) every now and then. However, it would have been a tribute to all those who lost their lives if Kasab had been punished before the first anniversary of the terror attack," Kavita said.

Karkare, a 1982 batch IPS officer, was killed in an ambush by the terrorists near Cama Hospital along with IPS office Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. — PTI

New Delhi, November 8
The Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) might have parted ways in their political journey, but the two still have certain things in common.

Together, the former alliance partners accounted for the highest number of the richest and tainted candidates in the fray for the recently held by-elections for 31 assembly and one Lok Sabha constituency in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Even as the battle for political survival was on between the two in the Firozabad LS segment, the Congress beat the SP on one front even before the polling.

Congress candidate Raj Babbar piped SP contestant and its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav to emerge as the richest among the 317 candidates in the arena.

While actor-turned-politician Babbar declared assets worth Rs 11.70 crore, Dimple Yadav finished third with a wealth worth Rs 5.27 crore. The second richest was Rajesh Pandey of the BJP from Padrauna in Uttar Pradesh, whose declared assets stood at Rs 6.77 crore.

The SP topped the list of parties that had fielded the richest and the “most-criminal” candidates, with the Congress following it closely.

An analysis of the affidavits of 161 contestants by Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch revealed that there were 29 candidates with a criminal past.

Among the states, maximum number of candidates with pending criminal cases was from Uttar Pradesh (19 out of 67). Kerala came next with 5 of the 11 candidates in fray having a criminal past.

As far as parties were concerned, the SP led the pack of tainted candidates, comprising 45.45 per cent of the contesting strength. The INC followed with 28 per cent, the BSP with 30 per cent and the BJP with 17.85 per cent.

New Delhi, November 8
Naxalism could not form a base in West Bengal for 30 years since its inception due to the political battle waged by the organised Left, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury has said.

“Please remember that Naxalbari is a village in West Bengal from where this ultra-Left (Naxal) deviation took place. And for 30 years, they could not come back to West Bengal only because of the fight we had put up," he told Karan Thapar on his programme 'Devil's Advocate'.

He charged the Trinamool Congress with bringing them back, saying: "They were imported into West Bengal by our political opponents... in order to be used against us." Yechury said the Trinamool Congress, which was "sitting in the Central government", wanted to fight the Left "using the Maoists and gave them shelter, gave them patronage. They were brought in from across the border (of the state)".

Defending the release of some tribal women in exchange for a police officer who was held captive by the Maoists, he said they were "hapless tribal women and not hardened Maoists".

The senior Marxist leader said the CPM's fight against the ultra-Left dated back to the late 1960s and early 1970s when over a thousand of its cadres were killed.

"We are the ones who have lost the maximum number of people in the fight against the Maoists," he said.

To questions as to why the state government was failing to control the Maoists, Yechury said their activities were primarily concentrated in three districts of West Bengal bordering Jharkhand or Orissa.

Kolkata, November 8
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the drive against Maoists would continue until last member of the outfit was not driven out of the state.

Addressing a public meeting at Debra in West Midnapore today, the Chief Minister said the joint action force at Lalgarh, Jangalmahal and elsewhere in the state had been strengthened following the allotment of additional six companies of the central police force, who would launch a more aggressive operation against the Maoists from tomorrow.

Earlier, talking to mediapersons at Midnapore circuit house after holding a series of meetings with the district officials and party’s local leaders, Bhattacharjee said he was happy with the “successful” operation of the action squads at Lalgarh and Jangalmahal against the Maoists. He acknowledged that the security personnel had done a “commendable” job.

He also expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram for sending additional paramilitary forces for combating the Maoists despite Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee’s demand for withdrawal of action force from the state.

The Chief Minister alleged that the TMC was not only supporting the Maoists, but they had also been “actively participating” in the Maoist movement at places like Lalgarh, Jangalmahal, Singur and Nandigram.

He claimed they had specific information about Mamata Banerjee’s “links” with Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao (Kishenji) and the People’s Committee leader Chhatradhar Mahato, who too is a Maoist and presently is in jail. He declared that “Mahato would not be freed” whatever might be the provocation.

Incidentally, today itself Mahato’s supporters at Lalgarh organised road blockades and staged demonstrations to demand his immediate release. Kishenji also threatened that if Mahato and others were not freed at the earliest, they would organise larger counter-operations, including kidnapping and killings of policemen.

The Chief Minister arrived in Midnapore yesterday amid tight security. He held meetings with the DMs and SPs in the presence of thana and block development officials of the three Maoist-dominated districts -- Purulia, Bankuri and West Midnapore.

During the meeting, a group of women from the TMC staged a demonstration in front of the circuit house demanding immediate withdrawal of the security forces from schools and other educational institutions they had been occupying since the operation at Lalgarh and Jangalmahal was launched some five months ago, which they alleged had been affecting the education of local children.

Bhattacharjee said all educational institutions would be vacated by paramilitary forces by November 15 and handed over to the authorities so that classes could be started soon.

Nandigram (WB), November 8
Eleven years after she got married, Sushma Maity of Southkhali Jalpai village in Nandigram is today neither a wife nor a widow.

Her husband, Bhagirath Maity, went missing on November 10 two years ago when goons attacked a rally brought out in protest against farmland acquisition for Special Economic Zone at Gokulnagar in Nandigram.

Bhagirath is one of the twelve persons officially reported missing since trouble began in Nandigram two years ago.

“I wear vermilion on the parting of hair and conch bangles on my wrists in the hope that my husband is alive,” says Sushma who has been living in a dilapidated mud house since her husband’s disappearance nearly two years ago.

Vermilion and conch bangles are marks of a married Bengali Hindu woman who stop sporting them after her husband’s death.

On the day when Bhagirath went missing, armed goons charged on a rally of more than a thousand men and women and took them hostage in the stronghold of Khejuri on the other side of Talpati canal, police sources say.

“I have been waiting since then. On November 11, when nearly 500 people taken hostage returned home with bowed heads, I looked for my husband. The procession went on, but he did not turn up,” she says clutching her minor daughter close to her.

Sushma recalls, “He told me to cook rice in the morning for lunch before going to the rally. I was late. He told me that he would return at noontime and eat. But he did not come.” These incidents have turned upside down the world of other women women like Sushma.

Sushma, aged 28, fends for herself, a minor son and a minor daughter by cooking in an ICDS centre, a job given to her by the gram panchayat.

“But, how long can we help them? These families of landless agricultural labourers or wage earners are living in dire poverty. The women know only how to cook. The men used to do odd jobs to feed the families,” Ratan Dolui, elected representative of the village in Sonachura Gram Panchayat said.

The panchayat is trying to provide them concrete shelters under Indira Awas Yojana and jobs like cooking in ICDS centre or schools, he added.

Choten Dhendup Lama, District Magistrate of East Midnapore where Nandigram is located, said, “More than Rs 1 crore from Chief Minister’s relief fund has been doled out for the affected people. Houses were reconstructed, women were given kitchen items and utensils and other essentials. More than 99 per cent of the money has been spent to bring these people back to normal life.” One thing which is common in the lives of all these women is poverty. The signs of poverty and absence of a male member is evident in all their houses. Sushma’s house has collapsed, allowing sun to throw rays on the floor of the mud house.

“If there was a male member around the house it would never have been in such a dilapidated condition,” says Sushma, as her daughter who was four-month-old at the time of her father’s disappearance looks on.

For other women, it amounts to missing a good companion who would stand by the side during good and bad times.

“My rickshawpuller husband, Satyen Gole haunts me all the time. I’ve been popping sleeping pills for the past two years to normal my life,” says Durga Rani Gole, whose husband also went missing in the same incident.

Durga Rani’s elder son too was taken hostage with her husband when a bullet hit his leg.

“I could have lived with the lame husband. It could have been bearable if he had died of some disease,” she sobbed. These women have decided to continue wearing vermilion on their heads and wearing conch bangles for another ten years more.

“If the missing men fail to turn up within this time, we would break bangles, stop wearing the vermilion and take up widow's dress - burying all hopes of our husbands return,” says Durga Rani.— PTI

Jaipur, November 8
For all those advocating reservation for women in politics a sight of political parties’ offices in Jaipur will be heartening to say the least. Women have literally outnumbered men in the quest for tickets for the forthcoming civic polls in the Pink City.

Be it the Congress office or that of the BJP, women are making a beeline for tickets after the state government reserved 50 per cent of the municipal body’s seats for them. What is being seen as a good sign is the fact that these women are neither wives nor sisters of the current lot of politicians.

They are common women from different backgrounds who want to make the most of this opportunity. For instance, Namita Sharma, who has penned a number of plays, has sought a ticket from the Congress. “I always aspired to be in politics, but could not do it for one reason or the other. Now that the government has opened a window of opportunity I’ve decided to grab it with both hands,” she averred.

Standing outside the BJP office, Radha Shukla, another aspirant, said, “I’m inclined towards social service and have worked with a few NGOs in the past. I think it is the best opportunity for women like us to enter into political arena.” “Till now women in politics are largely seen as rubber stamps of their husbands. But, I feel this is a golden chance to prove this notion wrong and show it to the world that women too can do well in politics on their own,” said Shraddha Shekhawat who too submitted her resume at the BJP office.

The Congress has received over 800 biodatas from women for 77 wards of the city. For the wards reserved for women, the ruling party has received round about 20 biodatas for each ward. The scenario is no different at the BJP office.

Though overwhelmed by the response from women, both the political parties are now facing the problem of plenty. Already it is a tough task to shortlist candidates for each ward, and on top of it influential aspirants too are making all-out efforts to get ticket for the councillors’ elections.

As usual, wives of existing politicians too are also putting forth their claims for the party ticket and this holds true more for the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Congress has another section of people queuing outside its state headquarters ahead of the civic polls - youth. While many term the trend as “Rahul effect”, the youth’s interest in seeking the Congress ticket is also being attributed to the party’s effort to get reservation for them in the local body elections. The ban on student union elections since 2004-05 has also spurred NSUI members to apply for the party ticket.

New Delhi, November 8
David Coleman Headley, arrested by the FBI for conspiring to carry out terror attacks, had visited India, including Mumbai, several times, Home Secretary GK Pillai said today.

“We do know that Headley had visited India a number of times. That is being investigated,” he told reporters here when asked about media reports which said the US citizen had visited the country. "He has been to Mumbai and some other places," the Home Secretary said to a question about the places Headley had visited in India.

Notably, 49-year-old Headley was arrested last month at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Philadelphia, intending to travel to Pakistan. The FBI also arrested Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, for alleged involvement in terror activities.

While Pillai did not give any further details, sources in the investigating agencies said they were probing Headley's involvement in setting up of an office in Mumbai, which used to provide visa and travel facilities to youths.

The Mumbai police has been asked to prepare a list of people using the services of Headley's company to travel abroad. Some people with whom Headley had got in touch upon his arrival in the country were also being questioned.

Sources, however, said so far no arrest or detention had been made. The duo was arrested for planning to carry out terrorist activities in and outside the US with the help of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. During interrogation, they told FBI that they were planning to carry out terror attacks in India, which included hitting vital installations like National Defence College and five star hotels.

This information was shared by FBI with Indian government following which a team was sent to the US immediately. The team was studying the case but had not got any access to the two accused. — PTI

Bangalore, November 8
Self-sufficiency in defence production is a must, but at the same time one should not forget the realities of life. This was the message that came from Vice-Chief of the Air Staff P K Barbora on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Bangalore-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), an outfit that works under the aegis of the DRDO.

The GTRE was given the responsibility of developing a jet engine (Kaveri) to power the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA), Tejas. After two decades and an estimated expenditure of Rs 2000 crore, the GTRE is still struggling to complete the project.

GTRE director T M Mohan on Thursday said they would soon be heading for Russia with the engine for altitude tests and flying trials. While the GTRE has been facing a lot of flak over its inability to successfully develop the Kaveri engine, Air Marshal Barbora’s words came as music to the ears of all present at the function. The Vice-Chief, who was the chief guest at the function, said India was 
caught in a situation wherein it was being forced to jump straight to the space age from a technologically primitive era.

“We have missed out on the mid-level technologies that came about in the fifties,” the Air Marshal said. “Forget about the jet engine, we have not been able to develop a proper automobile engine as yet.” He said rather than being a failure, the Kaveri engine was a success story. “Very soon we shall see IAF pilots flying jets powered by the engine,” the Air Marshal said, attracting a huge applause from the audience.

The Kaveri programme has attracted much criticism due to its ambitious objective, protracted development time, and the DRDO’s lack of clarity and openness in acknowledging problems.

Hyderabad, November 8
The coastal Andhra city of Visakhapatnam has become the first municipal corporation in the country to launch a group health insurance scheme for HIV positive persons.

The scheme, formulated in partnership with Population Service International (PSI), was introduced on a pilot basis, initially covering 200 persons.

The Chennai-based Star Health and Allied Insurance Company is offering the policy. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) contributed 50 per cent of the premium to the health insurance scheme involving a combination of financial assistance for treatment and lump sum payment in the event of death due to AIDS. The PSI will contribute 40 per cent of the premium while the beneficiary’s share will be 10 per cent.

The project is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Project Connect, aimed at public-private partnership to arrest the growth of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in the country. The insurance cover entails the beneficiary Rs 15,000 assistance for hospitalisation and an equal amount for his or her family in the event of death.

Speaking after formally launching the scheme, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari said rapid urbanisation with growing migrant population was creating high-risk groups.

There was a need to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS were not discriminate against by the society, she said. “The most important step is to see that HIV does not become full-blown AIDS,” the Minister said.

The state government would negotiate with Star Health and Allied Insurance Company for a better package for implementing it in the other districts, AP State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) Project Director RV Chandravadan said. There are an estimated 5.25 lakh HIV/AIDS-infected persons in AP out of 25 lakh persons in the country.

AP is also the first state to pay pension to HIV positive/AIDS patients. A monthly pension of Rs 200 is being paid to over 40,000 people suffering from HIV/AIDS and undergoing treatment at anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres.

Patients receiving ATR medicines are also be provided with “Sahara” identity cards, which help them access various benefits like concessions for travel and priority in housing schemes.

Patna, November 8
The Bihar police has launched a massive public awareness campaign through audio-visual method against fake currency notes being circulated across the state.

The crime branch has organised a regular film show in the ongoing Sonepur Fair (25 km away from the state capital), which is considered to be Asia’s biggest cattle fair.

A large number of people, specially the rural crowd, flock to this annual fair and the crime branch has been organising an exhibition there for last several years to encourage the police-public interaction.

The DGP inaugurates this exhibition, which concludes after a fortnight after the Chief Minister distributes bravery medals to the cops and also the common men for helping the police catch a criminal or detect a case.

ADG (crime branch) Rajyabardhan Sharma found the fair to be an ideal opportunity to educate the rural folks about the counterfeit currency notes. According to him, the gang involved in this racket has been duping the innocent villagers specially when they go to exchange their cattle in the fair.

Sharma feels that audio-visual means of the education is much more effective than displaying posters and circulating handbills among the people. It is for the first time the Bihar police had got such films made through the films division in Hindi to educate the people not only about fake currency notes but also against human trafficking of minor children and women from the villages on Indo-Nepal border.

The films have been attracting quite a crowd in the Fair since Friday, when they were screened for the first time for the top police officers, Sharma said. After the conclusion of the fair the crime branch plans to get these films screened in all the cattle fairs organised in villages bordering Nepal to educate more and more people, Sharma informed.

The Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a paramilitary outfit deployed on Indo-Nepal border, had detected a large number of counterfeit notes from the bordering villages during the last few months. The SSB has also made provisions to install its fake note detecting machine in such cattle fair to help the villagers ascertain authenticity of the notes they receive on sale of their cattle head.

Lucknow, November 8
In a pioneering step that would introduce greater transparency and accountability in the administration, four civil servants of the UP cadre —three IAS and one IPS — have not only declared their assets but posted it on a website www.declareyourassets.blogspot.com for all to see and scrutinise.

In identical letters written to Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar, the officers have referred to the recent public debate relating to issues of probity, transparency and accountability of public servants, including the voluntary placement of assets of the Supreme Court and High Court judges in the public domain.

“The details of assets possessed by all candidates contesting elections to the Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies are being placed in the public domain by the Election Commission of India. Public demand for placement of such details of bureaucrats, Judges of High Courts, District Courts and subordinate judiciary are also being made,” notes the letter.

They have pointed out that they feel that the existing format for declaration of property returns (which pertains only to immovable property) is inadequate to ensure full transparency and accountability of bureaucrats. Therefore, they have voluntarily declared their assets and hope that other civil servants would follow suit.

The four officers include Additional Cabinet Secretary in the Mayawati government VS Pandey. A 1979 batch IAS officer, he had spearheaded a campaign among the IAS officers of the state for taking action against the three most corrupt civil servants identified by their peer group, the UP IAS Association in the early 90s.

When no action was taken, he had started the IAS Action Group that had continuously built pressure for a more transparent bureaucracy.

It is a different matter that two of those three most corrupt IAS officers managed to become Chief Secretaries of the state under Mulayam Singh Yadav. One of them, Neera Yadav had the dubious distinction of being the only Chief Secretary to be removed by the Supreme Court pending enquiry into her corruption cases.

Pandey has declared no immovable property. He has no cash (spouse does have Rs 4,000 in cash), bank deposits of Rs 1,17,00, postal savings of Rs 2.5 lakh, a 1990 model Fiat car and his GPF and PPF funds.

Similarly, Sunil Kumar and Renuka Kumar - a couple belonging to the 1987 batch - are currently posted in New Delhi, Sunil is Vice- Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India and Renuka is the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Renuka has bought a flat in Greater Noida worth Rs 82.20 lakh for which she had taken a house loan worth Rs 22.50 lakh from the State Bank of India. She has also declared marriage jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh. They possess no vehicle shares or bonds and only have funds of their GPF and PPF.

The only IPS officer to join in this initiative is Jasvir Singh, a 1992 batch officer presently DIG (Training) posted in Lucknow. He has declared Rs 14,547.32 in cash and nothing in his bank.

He has an insurance policy worth Rs 1 lakh. He does possess immovable property inherited in Punjab. It includes jointly held ancestral agricultural land of approximately 18 acre and a house at Salimpur in Hoshiarpur district. Speaking to The Tribune, Jasvir Singh said all the four officers had been actively involved in the IAS Action Group and later he and Pandey were founding members of another national level initiative of civil servants called India Rejuvenating Initiative.

“Around a fortnight ago we had discussed the matter and had decided to make a modest beginning by placing our own assets in the public domain. We hope that unlike the political leaders our assets would be scrutinised,” said Singh.

According to him, it was strange that no agency probed how politicians managed to multiply their assets within a couple of years.

Singh confesses that till now the response from his colleagues has not been encouraging.

“We have done our bit. We want a mechanism to be put in place that can scrutinise declared assets. Only then would the exercise serve any purpose,” he said.

Jaipur, November 8
With no let-up in rising number of swine flu cases in the Pink City, the district administration has directed 10 schools to remain closed for seven days, starting Monday.

The city has reported 32 fresh cases of swine flu, of which 29 are schoolchildren.

Following a late night meeting between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Jaipur Collector Kuldeep Ranka, 10 city schools have been directed to remain closed for a week.

Ranka said these schools had confirmed cases of swine flu. These included SMS School (Tonk road), Maharani Gayatri Devi School, Rukhmani Devi Birla School, Turtle (Mansarovar), Parasrampuria School, St Xavier’s School, Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, SDI, Mansarovar, Step by Step and Vidhyashram.

He said the administration had formed five medical teams that would go door-to-door to treat the affected students. Concerned over a fresh wave of swine flu cases, many schools in the city voluntarily decided to remain shut for a few days as a precautionary measure. SMS School, which was the first to shut down, has now closed down indefinitely after more of its students were found H1N1 positive.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to swine flu has touched 15 in the state with 22-year-old Monica from Jaipur and Gauri Shankar from Jodhpur succumbing to the virus in the last 24 hours. The total number of H1N1 positive cases in the state has shot up to 140 now.

A German student, who is a part of a 21-member group on a cultural exchange programme to Maharani Gayatri Devi School, has also tested positive for H1N1. She has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

The state government has, meanwhile, switched over to emergency mode. Health Minister AA Khan has ordered that students affected with the deadly virus should be immediately segregated and their “contact history” traced. “We will also establish a “swine flu zone” in the SMS Hospital so as to make it a one-stop treatment centre for patients suspected of H1N1 infection,” the minister said.

Education Minister Bhanwarlal Meghwal has directed all schools in the state not to hold any function and morning assemblies in view of increase in number of swine flu cases.