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Change of Guard
Rajasthan identifies land to relocate fuel terminals
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Scribes protest attack on office
Vaiko chargesheeted for pro-LTTE speech
Don’t straitjacket socialism: Left
Prez for global legal framework to tackle terror
Third tiger reserve for Rajasthan
Govt to set standards for probiotics
Duronto is Rly Pavilion’s attraction
Jagan shows he’s a crowd-puller
Chavan does a Raj
A ration card in Bapu’s name
Headley Probe
Rajasthan H1N1 toll 33
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Change of Guard
New Delhi, November 21 BJP is expediting organisational elections which may facilitate Gadkari’s formal appointment. The precondition for a formal appointment of the new president is that the elections to at least half the states should be completed and sources said these elections are being hurried through so that the party can formally announce Gadkari’s name. Having called a truce with the Group of four, variously called D-4, for being Delhi-based, the RSS is now confident that it will face no opposition or hindrance and obstacles in its designs from these four top leaders of the BJP namely Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, M Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar. Having got these leaders on its side the Sangh’s men in the BJP are pretty confident that Leader of Opposition in Parliament L.K. Advani may step down from his office, sooner than later. Meanwhile, another party leader M Venkaiah Naidu has now claimed that he had opted out of the race for the party president, “Since I have already presided over the party at the young age of 52.” Like his other group member Sushma, he too has denied that Gadkari is being forced down their unwilling throat by an insistent RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat. With the Sangh pretending that the choice of the new president is being made by the BJP independently, but simultaneously the imposition of Gadkari having become a fait accomplii, there is a race among BJP leaders to claim credit for promoting and pushing Gadkari’s name. Among those claiming credit is none other than Advani himself. Two days ago Sushma claimed that Advani only suggested Gadkari’s name. Earlier too some members of the Advani camp had been privately claiming that Gadkari had built bridges with Advani family through mediators, in the good books of Advani. But insiders scoffed at these claims, recalling how for over a year now Advani had been backing BJP general secretary and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde, in his fight for supremacy against Gadkari. In April 2008, Munde protested and resigned against the appointment of Madhu Chavan as Mumbai president. He came to Delhi and spoke to the media. The matter was resolved by Rajnath Singh. In the process Gadkari lost ground. Then again thanks to Advani’s patronage as recent as July this year Munde was appointed in charge of Maharashtra assembly elections undermining Gadkari’s authority. In the normal course a person is not given charge of the state he belongs to. Sources said these are signs that most leaders, including Advani who treated gadkari as one more regional second run leader, are now reconciled to Gadkari’s appointment and are busy making peace and sending emissaries to soften him towards them before he actually takes over. In this context the names of two Mumbai BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Pyush Goyal are being frequently mentioned.
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Rajasthan identifies land to relocate fuel terminals
Jaipur, November 21 According to Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) officials, over 200 bighas have been identified in these areas keeping in view the requirements and guidelines to be followed by oil firms. A proposal regarding these sites has also been forwarded to these oil firms. As per initial reports, the oil companies have also shown inclination towards the sites chosen by the JDA, which says the land is non-cultivable and is far from populated areas. Unlike the Sitapura industrial area, the new location has adequate buffer zone as well as ban on construction activities. The state government has also set up a committee to relocate all fuel depots across the state to avoid IOC-like tragedies in future. The decision to move out oil depots and other such hazardous installations from the city limits was taken at a Cabinet meeting convened after the IOC terminal blaze. A massive fire had broken out at the IOC depot on October 29, claiming 12 lives and injuring over 150. The fire caused a loss of Rs 300 crore to the IOC alone while the industrial units at Sitapura also suffered losses to the tune of crores.
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Scribes protest attack on office
Mumbai, November 21 A delegation of mediapersons, which included top functionaries of the two channels, met Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and lodged their protest over the Sena's attack on the media and freedom of Press. Maharashtra Governor SC Jamir Saturday strongly condemned the attacks on the media houses and on its editor, Nikhil Wagle. In a strongly worded statement, Jamir directed the state government to initiate "exemplary steps to stop such attacks on the media and mediapersons in future." Terming the attacks as shameful and shocking, the governor said this was the third major attack on the Mumbai media in the past 18 moths and such incidents did great harm to the image of the state and its people. "What is alarming is the overt and covert political patronage these incidents of vandalism receive from political parties and individual," the governor noted in an oblique reference to the Shiv Sena owning up and justifying the attacks. "While it is necessary to punish the perpetrators of violence, it is equally imperative to punish those who incite and justify such uncivilised actions. The media also needs to observe due restraint and remain objective while presenting news and opinions," Jamir urged. — IANS
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Vaiko chargesheeted for pro-LTTE speech
Chennai, November 21 The MDMK leader, who appeared before a city court, later told reporters that it was a clear case of political vendetta as he had only warned the Centre that India's integrity would be endangered, if it continued to support the Lankan government, which is massacring Tamils. Vaiko and his party's former presidium chairperson M Kannappan were held on October 23 last under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his speech at a public meeting titled “What is happening in Eelam” (Eelam is homeland of Tamils in SL). The MDMK leaders were remanded to 15 days of judicial custody. However, amid growing protests and resentment against his arrest at a time when emotions were running high on the Lankan issue, Vaiko was released though he refused to seek bail. The police said further imprisonment of the MDMK leader was not necessary, since the investigation was over. He was booked under Section 124(a) of the IPC for making a speech that incites people against Indian Government.
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Don’t straitjacket socialism: Left
New Delhi, November 21 The comrades seem ready to experiment with the way the Marxist ideology must be implemented to pocket maximum political mileage, with senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury today admitting that every country would have to evolve its own political model for socialism. “The US has a presidential form of government; the UK has monarchy; India has a parliamentary democracy. Yet these nations are run by capitalist governments. There can be no universal political model for communism just as there is none for capitalism,” Yechury said, defending China which is often accused of “having abandoned socialism for capitalist interests.” China has simply adapted Marxism to local needs, the CPM leader contended. Interestingly, the CPM again admitted today that it needed to realign itself politically to launch the kind of popular struggles that, they believe, would “eventually overthrow capitalism.” Exuding chronic optimism in the face of recent electoral losses in India, Yechury said those were due to the lack of viability of the projected Third Front. “In India, the way forward for communism is multiparty democracy,” he told The Tribune, dismissing the contention that Left’s political failures were a reflection of their misplaced policies. The CPM leader was also highly critical of the equation of naxals with Maoists in West Bengal. “This is a disgrace to Mao who said let a thousand flowers bloom,” was Yechury’s take. He added that regulatory protectionist regimes were not the only way to run communist governments. The reference could be read in Bengal’s context, where the Left tried liberalisation but ended up antagonising the very masses it claims to represent. While the meeting is still debating the difficult challenges communism faces as a politically viable model in these recessionary times, it is certain to advocate a tax on the capital markets to prevent speculation. The move follows the announcement by Lula in Brazil of 2 per cent transaction tax in capital market. “We will propose a tax to regulate financial institutions,” Yechury said. The Delhi Draft Declaration which the meeting will adopt tomorrow will express solidarity with the cause of Palestinians and Cubans, seek the reining of NATO and its first use of force strategy; and demand “fair” solutions from the Doha round of talks and the climate change conference in Copenhagen. What the comrades are silent on is this - how can they predict the doom of capitalism when most capitalist regimes have survived the recession, though with difficulty.
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Prez for global legal framework to tackle terror
New Delhi, November 21 “Besieged by the threats of terrorism and the new challenges thrown up by it constantly, it is incumbent on the international community to ensure that there is an effective legal framework for the prevention and elimination of terrorism," she said in her address at the International Conference of Jurists, 2009. Observing that “a terror threat against one, is a threat against all”, the President said global counter-terrorism efforts must “persistently target the entire global network” despite the fact that it would be an arduous and lengthy campaign. The two-day conference has been organised by the International Council of Jurists, All India Bar Association, All India Senior Advocates Association and Indian Council of Jurists. The meet began on a discordant note as Law Minister M Veerappa Moily rejected former minister Ram Jethmalani’s proposal for India pulling out of the Panchsheel Accord and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), besides ending trade and other engagements with Pakistan. The Minister called for harmonising the laws of various countries for speedy delivery of justice in cases involving terrorism. CJI KG Balakrishnan castigated the electronic media for unrestrained coverage of terror attacks. Singapore Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Justice Awn S Al-Khasawneh from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) also addressed the inaugural function of the conference. Haryana CM, Justice Pasayat honoured
President Pratibha Patil honoured Haryana Chief Minister BS Hooda, Justice Arijit Pasayat and some judges from the International Court of Justice and Singapore here on Saturday. Hooda was chosen for the National Law Day Award, 2009, for his contribution towards promotion of fair and effective administration of legal affairs in Haryana. Justice Pasayat was recognised for his lifetime contribution to the cause of justice administration. The others who received the awards were: Solicitor-General of India Gopal Subramanium (jurisprudence), senior advocate KV Viswanathan (civil law), Shardul Shroff (corporate law), Ramesh Gupta (criminal law), Ajit Mishra (young lawyer) and Vijay Goel (commercial law). Those who got the International Jurists Award, 2009, were: Justice Awn S Al-Khasawneh (international law), Judge of the International Court of Justice, Justice Chan Sek Keong (administration of justice), Chief Justice of Singapore, Sir Gavin Lightman (mediation and arbitration), former HC Judge of the UK, Prof C Donald Johnson (legal education), Director, University of Georgia School of Law, Dean Rusk Centre, USA, Fatou Bensouda (criminal law), Head of Prosecution Division, International Criminal Court, and the Society of the Inner Temple, London (bar affairs).
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Third tiger reserve for Rajasthan
Jaipur, November 21 According to sources, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given a nod to the project and the first tiger is likely to be relocated to Darrah by 2011. At present, Darrah National Park is spread over an area of 250 sq km and is separated from Ranthambore by another 250 sq km stretch which houses Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary. The park has three wildlife sanctuaries --- Darrah, Chambal and Jaswant Sagar. The park has another positive side --- a permanent source of water from the Chambal Basin. Wildlife experts feel that the move would help reduce the visitors’ rush at Ranthambore and draw tourists to Kota. The relocation of the big cat to the new tiger reserve, in all likelihood, will take place from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve where the tiger population has gone up in the recent years. Earlier too, when Sariska Tiger Reserve was left with no tigers a couple of big cats were relocated from Ranthambore to the reserve. Meanwhile, with an aim to protect and increase tiger population, the state government has finalised a proposal to form a tiger conservation foundation. The foundation, which will also deal with rehabilitation of the big cats to reserve parks with lesser population, is being set up as per the provisions of the Wildlife Conservation Act. |
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Govt to set standards for probiotics
New Delhi, November 21 Faced with a booming probiotic market fuelled by an increasingly health-conscious society, the government is in the process of formulating guidelines on probiotics. To be issued closer to February next, the guidelines will require probiotic dealers to adhere to norms prescribed by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Biotechnology. The draft guidelines talk about the number of bacteria to be included in any product, their numbers, degrees of colonisation and fingerprinting of bacteria for clinical identification among other specifications. Once ready, the guidelines will be sent to the health ministry and the Drug Controller General of India for adherence by probiotic product dealers. Speaking about the need for guidelines, ICMR former director general Dr NK Ganguly said that whenever a probiotic is fortified in any existing food or administered in some food vehicle, caution is a must on how well-standardised it is. “In such case, the probiotic should behave as closely to a drug as possible because it is claiming certain health benefits that need to be verifiable. This holds good especially when probiotics are administered in diseased conditions where they must then behave like therapeutic agents,” said Ganguly, who is part of the guideline formulation process. The need also stems from the fact that probiotic markets are booming worldwide, with the US seeing 300 product launches in the past year. “These products should indeed be controlled by law, as we are about to do in Canada,” said Prof Gregor Reid, past president of the International Association for Probiotics, who is here for the third symposium on the subject. Reid said many of the probiotics in Indian markets have not undergone tests to prove health claims. Giving diarrhoea a
tough fight
A recent study has shown that probiotics can reduce diarrhoea risk in healthy children by 15 per cent. A sample of 4,000 children was taken in an urban slum in Kolkata, one half were put on probiotic drinks and the other on a normal nutrient drink. “We followed up the results after 12 weeks and found the risk of diarrhoea in children on probiotics to be 15 per cent lesser than in others,” said National Institute of Cholera and Enteritis director Dr GB Nair. Experts say probiotic drinks are better than curd to prevent diarrhoea. The latter has no impact on immune strength unlike the former, which boosts disease resistance levels. In India where 690 children die of diarrhoea every day, probiotics could help immensely. They are also known to help in case of pouchitis and inflammatory bowel disease, with some evidence of their usage in reducing the impacts of colon and bladder cancer.
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Duronto is Rly Pavilion’s attraction
New Delhi, November 21 At the Railways Pavilion, modernisation and technical upgradation in rail services are the central theme this time. Duronto, introduced this year, has generated a lot of interest and as such is being showcased. Mamata Banerjee has announced the launching of 12 non-stop superfast Duronto Expresses in the Railway Budget. Since then, four Durontos have been launched from Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Pune and rest are to be flagged off in the current fiscal. A makeshift tunnel has been created for visitors to experience the feeling of going through a tunnel along a track in the pavilion. A reservation counter opened at the pavilion is also doing brisk business. The Railways has been participating in the India International Trade Fair annually for the past several years.
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Jagan shows he’s a crowd-puller
Hyderabad, November 21 Jagan’s road show in the city, the first poll campaign after his father’s death in September, turned out to be an instant hit, drawing huge crowds all along the route. The 37-year-old first-time MP, whose chief ministerial ambition was snubbed by the party high command, had a point to prove. His day-long election rallies have been, by far, the most successful, both in terms of the size of the gatherings and the spontaneity of the response from the crowd. An otherwise dull campaign by the ruling party appears to have received a boost with Jagan’s entry. Addressing a series of rallies, he struck an emotional chord with the people by invoking YSR’s legacy and vowed to carry forward his father’s welfare agenda. “With your blessings, love and affection, I will surely become the CM some day,” Jagan said amid rapturous applause from the gatherings. He appealed to the city voters to pay a “fitting tribute to YSR” by electing the Congress candidates with thumping majority. The elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are slated for November 23 and the campaigning ends tomorrow. Interestingly, the Congress leadership chose not to formally invite Jagan for campaigning, despite the demand for roping him for canvassing. Following his father’s sentiments, Jagan launched the campaign from Maheswaram, the Assembly constituency of Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy, whom YSR used to refer as “younger sister”. YSR used to launch poll campaigns and all government schemes from this constituency. Recalling the pro-poor schemes initiated by his father, Jagan launched a scathing attack on the opposition TDP president and former CM N Chandrababu Naidu for his pro-rich policies during the TDP regime.
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Chavan does a Raj
Mumbai, November 21 At a function here to mark the introduction of the 15-car 'local' trains on the Mumbai suburban network, Chavan said the railways should respect the sentiments of the local people in Mumbai and Maharashtra and recruit more people from the state. Chavan's remarks came shortly after Maharashtra's IT Minister Gurudas Kamat raised the same demand. Kamat is from Mumbai and used to head the Congress party in the city. The CM demanded that railways conduct their recruitment examinations in Marathi so that youth from the state could find jobs. Complaining that Mumbai and Maharashtra always got a stepmotherly treatment from the railways Chavan demanded a course correction. "For many years railway budgets have ignored Mumbai," Chavan said. At the same function, Deputy CM and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chaggan Bhujbal also did his bit by demanding that the Mumbai-Nagpur Duronto train be named after Sachin Tendulkar. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) trained its guns on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Raj Thackeray's outfit is demanding that SEBI provide all information in Marathi on its website. In a statement here, MNS leader Arvind Gawde said he submitted a memorandum to SEBI officials demanding that information on its website be provided in Marathi as well. SEBI is providing information in English, Hindi and Gujarati. "Despite being headquartered in Mumbai, SEBI has overlooked Marathi in its website," Gawde said.
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Hyderabad, November 21 Chittoor district collector V Seshadari has ordered a probe after the ration card, carrying a fictitious address, was detected during a verification drive in the district to wee out bogus cards. The card was issued in Chuttagunta village of Ramachandrapuram mandal in Chittoor district. It carried the picture of Gandhi with the name of MK Gandhi Thatha (Thatha in Telugu means grandfather), age 65, father's name Godsay, address 15-46541, Gandhi Street, Gandhi Road. The address was that of a fair price shop owner. Seshadari has constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter and take action against the officers responsible. Action is likely to be taken against those who were entrusted with the task of taking photographs of the person on whose name the card is issued and affix it on the card. The revenue officials also failed to check the name and address. This is not the first incident of its kind. In the past, bogus cards in the name of politicians, film stars, sportspersons and even Hindu Gods were detected. However, this time the officials have taken a serious note of the incident as it involved the name and picture of the father of nation. In June, a ration card issued to one Laxmi of Vizianagaram district with a photograph of tennis star Sania Mirza was detected. The latest incident once again exposed the collusion between the officials and fair price shop dealers. The authorities have intensified verification as several dealers have managed to get dozens of ration cards in fictitious names. The white ration card issued to below poverty line families make them eligible to get rice at Rs 2 per kg and social security benefits like health insurance and housing. The authorities had launched door-to-door verification campaign early this year when it was found that the number of ration cards issued in some districts exceeded the population. The number of bogus cards in the state is estimated to be 3.5 million. — PTI |
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Headley Probe
New Delhi, November 21 The CIA boss and the National Security Adviser MK Narayanan had a 30-minute meeting here today before the latter went away to US accompanying the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Meanwhile in Italy, acting on a tip-off by Indian and US agencies, the police have arrested a father-son duo for financing the expenses of international calls made by the Mumbai attackers in November last year. Panetta’s visit is seen as crucial for Indian investigative agencies looking into Mumbai attacks last years. Under the new framework of the India-US relationship spelt out by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip to India early this year, cooperation in combating terrorism is one of the key pillars of the relations between the two countries. Panetta is scheduled to call on the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram besides senior officials. The discussion is expected to revolve around the duo of Headley-Rana but the Indian side is looking at what leads the US can provide on the depth of planning. Also, whether they had laid out the groundwork for another major strike across several cities. The two had been arrested by FBI for suspected links with the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) and plotting terror attacks in India. The FBI is slated to present a chargesheet against the two in US court in January. Already call records of Headley and Rana have established that they were in touch with the same Pakistan-based handlers who gave directions to the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai. Sleuths are now examining how the duo had corresponded with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) masterminds Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, who are currently in Pakistani custody, and also probing if there was another module at all involved in the Mumbai attacks.
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Rajasthan H1N1 toll 33
Jaipur, November 21 While two young women -- Santosh and Shanaz Bano -- died in Jodhpur yesterday, the death of a 10-year-old girl, Divya, was reported from Udaipur. Jaipur has been the worst hit with the number of H1N1 positive schoolchildren alone rising to 390. Almost all the city’s schools are shut for the last couple of weeks. The death toll has been the highest in Jodhpur with 13 of the 114 tested positive succumbing to the virus. The health authorities in Jodhpur claimed that all these cases came to them in a critical condition and, therefore, they could not save them.
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Taking an indirect dig at Pakistan for providing “sanctuary, support and finances” to terrorists, President Pratibha Patil today called for a global legal framework for effectively dealing with the “sponsors, abettors and perpetrators” of such acts.
