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Assam stares at a tumultuous 2010
Cash-For-Judge Scam |
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Better flight handling expected this winter
N-deterrence: Top scientists urge govt
to set up probe panel
Change of guard heralds truce between Advani, RSS
The Dalai Lama’s Successor
Rajasthan BJP Chief's Post
Kashmiris take Hong Kong route to China
Now,Stem cell technique to regrow teeth
Defence ministry to follow ISRO model
PC: India-Nepal border issues need sensitive handling
Telangana fallout: Protests paralyse Andhra
Price Rise
80 pc polling in Tamil Nadu bypoll
Manipur govt directs schools
to reopen
Sangliana is minority panel vice-chairperson
Indian coins turned into razors
In Parliament House canteen, delectable dishes don’t act pricey
DU mulls semester system
Telangana Fallout
Babri Demolition
Nine die in Gujarat temple stampede
Mumbaikars set to roll out red carpet for New Year Sharm-el Sheikh Headley did detailed recce of
BARC, Bollywood studios Nikam denies involvement of ex-minister
Maoists kill 2 CPM workers in West Bengal
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Assam stares at a tumultuous 2010
Guwahati, December 20 The Congress-led coalition government led by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi can well expect its most crucial journey that started since 2001, in the New Year given the trouble brewing with several ethnic groups reviving their demand for separate homeland (statehood) on being spurred by the Centre’s Telengana move. These ethnic groups in the state, including Bodos, were more or less scaled down their demand for separate states (homelands) to autonomy sans further division of the state, till the UPA government proposed to carve out Telengana out of the present Andhra Pradesh. Bodo People’s Front (BPF), the coalition partner of the Congress in Assam and a Bodo tribe political party that was formed by leaders and cadres of the now disbanded Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) after signing of the Bodo Peace Accord in 2003, is now set to spearhead a fresh statehood movement in the state without caring to its ally ruling Congress’ opposition to further division of the state. The BPF leader and the chief executive member of the BTC and party colleagues who are ministers in Assam, have openly said there would be no alternative to Bodoland. Fresh statehood agitation may soon plunge the Bodo heartland in Assam to turmoil. Similar situation is arising in the two hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar inhabited by majority Karbi and Dimasa tribes. These two tribes had earlier settled down for autonomy in the form of Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council (KAADC) and N C Hills Autonomous District Council (NCHADC) respectively, but Telengana waves have now rekindled their demand fort statehood. Already life has been affected in the two hill districts because of bandh called by several organisations since December 14 to press for separate states. Other ethnic groups, including Koch-Rajbongshi, Rabha, Tiwa, Mising etc. too are threatening to take agitation path to fulfill their demand for statehood. With the situation getting fluid, militant elements within these communities are getting ready to fish in the troubled water to make the going tough for the Congress government in Assam which is opposed to the idea of any further division of the state. Though most of the top leaders of the banned ULFA are now in custody, Assam is destined to see violence unfolding in the year ahead with the fugitive “commander in chief” of the outfit Paresh Baruah likely to make his presence felt through terror strikes. Same will be the case with the anti-talks faction of the NDFB whose most wanted chairman Ranjan Daimari is still at large. With the banned ULFA showing no sign of giving up its demands for a “sovereign Assam” despite arrest of their top leaders, including its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, the government will be left with no other option but to allow the outfit to drift into oblivion in near future though risk of desperate terror strikes by the outfit will always be there.
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Cash-For-Judge Scam
Chandigarh, December 20 In a communiqué to the CJI, they have urged him to make public the reasons leading to “clean chit” to Justice Nirmal Yadav of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, whose name had surfaced during investigations. They have also sought “full disclosure” of the report by a three-Judge committee, set up by the CJI to look into the scam. The letter has been signed by former Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Kuldip Singh, former Chief Justice of the Delhi HC Justice RN Aggarwal, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice SS Sodhi, and former CJ of the Sikkim High Court Justice MS Gujral. The letter assumes significance as the Central Bureau of Investigation has already filed a report for the cancellation of the FIR. Addressed to the CJI, the letter says: “You are aware that during the last over 15 months much has been appearing in the media regarding the cash-at-judge’s-door scam that has caused a great deal of embarrassment to the reputation and image of the judiciary. A committee was set up by you, comprising Chief Justice HL Gokhale of the Allahabad High Court, Chief Justice K S Radhakrishnan of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court (now Judge of the Supreme Court) and Justice Madan B Lokur of the HC of Delhi, to hold an in-house inquiry into the scam. In August, soon after this scandal came to light, Justice Nirmal Yadav had ceased to hold court. The committee submitted its report on December 6, 2008.” The committee had asserted: “On the basis of material it cannot by any stretch of imagination be said the money was meant for Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. We are satisfied that the amount of Rs 15 lakh was wrongly delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur and that it was actually meant for Justice Nirmal Yadav and not for anybody else. The committee, therefore, has concluded that there is substance in the allegation; and the misconducts disclosed are serious enough for initiation of proceedings for the removal of Justice Nirmal Yadav.” It added: “That Rs 15 lakh sent by Ravinder Singh of Delhi through Sanjeev Bansal amounts to an act unbecoming on the Judge’s part”. After referring to the contents of the report, the letter adds: “In the meanwhile, the CBI had also come into picture - both with regard to the Rs 15-lakh scam and the Solan land deal in which Justice Nirmal Yadav was alleged to be involved. Eventually, the CBI sought your permission to register an FIR in regards to the allegations.” “As reported in the newspapers, the matter was later examined by the then Attorney-General Milan Banerjee, who advised that there was not enough material to proceed further in the matter. The then Law Minister HR Bhardwaj, it is said, had agreed with him.” “Now we have been confronted with the headlines in several newspapers proclaiming clean chit for Justice Yadav in the scam, followed by Justice Yadav’s comments that the panel of five senior Judges of the Supreme Court had found no evidence of her involvement in the scam. We are embarrassed by the general feeling in the judicial fraternity and also in the public that a serious matter like the cash-for-judge scam seems to have been pushed under the carpet.” “With a view to clear any wrong impression created in the minds of the public and also to safeguard the fair name and integrity of the judiciary, public interest makes it obligatory that there should be a full disclosure of the report of the three-Judge committee, the advice rendered by the Attorney-General and the reasons that led the Supreme Court Collegium to pronounce clean chit in the scam.”
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Better flight handling expected this winter
New Delhi, December 20 Among all domestic carriers, the entire fleet of Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo are fully compliant with the Category-III Instrument Landing System (ILS), which is deployed when visibility drops to 50 metres due to fog. Every year IGI airport experiences dense fog which at times reduces the visibility to less than 50 metres. Till last year, a large number of flights were either delayed or cancelled due to fog causing inconvenience to air travellers, as only a few airlines had CAT-III trained pilots and planes to operate under poor visibility conditions. But now, Jet Airways has a substantial number of 437 CAT-III pilots. Air India has 294, Kingfisher 277, IndiGo 155, SpiceJet 69, Jetlite, the low-cost arm of Jet Airways has 55 and GoAir has 36 such pilots. Only Alliance Air has no pilot trained to operate with Category III ILS. Of all airlines, Air India has 75, IndiGo 22 and SpiceJet 19 planes and all are CAT-III compliant. Till last year, SpiceJet did not have any CAT-III B complaint aircraft while IndiGo had 19 out of its fleet of 22. Jet Airways has 40 CAT-III compliant aircraft out of a total 66 planes though its low-cost arm Jetlite had just seven CAT-III compliant aircraft out of a fleet of 24.GoAir, which had five planes of that standard in its fleet of eight last year, has also made its rest of the three planes CAT-III compliant. Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher airlines did not get any new planes of that standard. Last year, it had 35 CAT-III compliant aircraft in the fleet of 64, which remains the same even now. There are a total of 1,323 CAT-III trained pilots in the country and there are 206 CAT-III compliant aircraft. Last year, over 200 flights were cancelled and over 1,000 were delayed by several hours due to the heavy fog which began to affect flight operations after second week of December and continued till February this year. — PTI
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N-deterrence: Top scientists urge govt
to set up probe panel
New Delhi, December 20 The 13 signatories, all experts in the field, said it was a “statement by deeply concerned senior scientists regarding our thermonuclear weapon capability and its implications for the nation’s credible minimum deterrence”. The four-page statement has been emailed to editors of leading Indian publications. This comes just a week after former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar had defended the 1998 nuclear tests, saying they were ‘perfect’, and has assured the Army that it should be ‘fully confident’ about the nuclear arsenal at its command. Terming the findings, the failure of the fusion device or the H-bomb in Pokhran 1998, as “extremely serious” for the security of the nation, the scientists said India has pronounced itself as a nuclear weapon power. Along with it is our enunciated doctrine of ‘no first use’ and our ‘unilateral voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing’. All this strikes at the root of our weaponisation capability and compromises our strategy of “credible minimum nuclear deterrence”. The grave situation regarding our thermonuclear (H-bomb) capability “….. demands resolute, speedy and comprehensive corrective action”. Urging the government to take a call on the matter, scientists said the nation should not lose a minute more. Contradicting the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) report, the scientists said the fusion device did not function successfully. The recent revelations by Dr K. Santhanam, who was in charge of all of DRDO’s activities at the Pokhran site, testify to this. Also by all accounts - geological, radiochemical as well as seismic data - it is now quite clear that the fusion device yielded a very low value of explosive power, the scientists have argued. They have recommended an in-depth analysis of our real capabilities in terms of: command and control systems, nuclear weapon delivery systems and the types, character and numbers of nuclear weapons needing to constitute our nuclear arsenal. To address these issues and take well informed decisions, a variety of opinions be taken from scientists, strategic analysts and defence and diplomatic personnel. This should include the technologies needed to be developed, and the minimum time-scale in which this can be achieved. “While secrecy is crucial, an open mind and willingness to learn are equally important,” said the scientists. To take the issue forward, the scientists urged the government to set up a high-level, independent, broad-based panel of experts to define and monitor the implementation, on a continuing basis. The N-weapons are central to national security, they added. Asking the government not to succumb to western pressure to sign the Comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) despite renewed pressure from US President Barrack Obama, the statement said “We strongly urge the present government to remain firm in its opposition to our doing so….”. Also India should continue with its opposition to the highly discriminatory Nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). Even the slightest succumbing would convert our ‘voluntary moratorium’ into an involuntary, permanent, cessation of nuclear weapon testing and so forever deny us our legitimate place in the great powers’ league. The signatories are: P K Iyengar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; A N Prasad, former Director, BARC and a key member of the original weapons grade plutonium extraction technology development dating back to 1960; A Gopalakrishnan, one of the experts who have developed the nuclear powered submarine; CK Mathew, former head, Radio Chemistry Division, BARC; Jaipal Mittal, Raja Ramana Fellow and former Director, Chemistry Group, BARC; AD Damodaran, former Director, special materials plant, nuclear fuel complex,Thiruvananthapuram; S R Valluri, former director-general, national aerospace laboratory; Capt S Prabhala, former CMD Bharat Electronics Ltd; Rear Admiral JJ Baxi, former director, weapons and electronics systems organisation; Brig MR Narayanan former director, Army radio engineering network; and K S Jayaraman, formerly Nuclear Physics Division, BARC.
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Change of guard heralds truce between Advani, RSS
New Delhi, December 20 A day earlier Advani became chairman of the BJP parliamentary party paving way for Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to be de jure leaders of the party in the two Houses of Parliament. The occasion was marked by much ostentation and celebration. While quitting their respective posts both Advani and outgoing president Rajnath Singh expressed great sense of relief and the same sense of relief was visible among the BJP workers at 11, Ashoka Road, who seemed eager to put behind them the acrimony and bad blood in the BJP which started with the defeat in the general elections leading to leader after leader sniping at each other and the party appearing demoralised and despondent. The BJP would now like to believe that all that was a thing of the past and a new leader, the youngest ever president of the BJP, Nitin Gadkari, at the age of 52, would be able to generate new energy and vitality. Gadkari a direct appointee of the RSS, is young and as Advani stated in his brief speech yesterday, his specialty is infrastructure and highways. Gadkari, as Advani pointed out is known in home state Maharashtra as the Highway Gadkari, the man who built the Mumbai-Pune Highway and who paved concrete roads in hometown Nagpur, starting with one right outside the RSS headquarters. Gadkari himself is proud of his achievements and in his first speech here mentioned how as Maharashtra PWD minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government he managed to build the Mumbai-Pune Highway starting with virtually no money in his kitty and he proudly announced, “Where there is a will there is a way, where there is no will, there are only conferences, discussions and seminars.” In effect the first national president of the BJP from Maharashtra exuded much confidence in his ability to put the BJP house here in Delhi in order. But perhaps it takes much more to run a large national political party than just the ability to procure finances and build roads. As Gadkari admitted yesterday, “I am new here, I have never spent a night in Delhi for last five years.” He also proudly mentioned how he has successfully run several NGOs and is quite adept at running Cooperative sugar mills, power units started with Rajiv Gandhi Rural electrification funds and such other sundry businesses. Apart from factionalism and demoralisation that he has to contend with in the BJP, the one most important issue he has to resolve is the direction in which the party should move. His predecessor Rajnath Singh failed to resolve the pulls from opposite directions by the RSS, which wanted him to return to the original Hindutva agenda, in effect reiteration of Bharat being a Hindu Rashtra on the one hand and Advani and his band wanting to tone down the shrill Hindutva sloganeering to enable the BJP to continue leading the NDA. RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat had only disdain for the sensitivities of BJP allies and Gadkari virtually echoing Bhagwat line pronounced “cultural nationalism” his inspiration and added, “Our politics should be such that it serves the nation and society.” It has to be seen how Gadkari resolves this contentious issue.
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The Dalai Lama’s Successor
Hyderabad, December 20 The startling disclosure was made by none other than her mother Usha Rani in an affidavit to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The latter are contending that Sambhavi was being exploited by vested interests and that her child rights needed to be protected. Sambhavi shot into limelight about five months ago when she claimed that she was a close associate of the Dalai Lama in her previous birth. Usha Rani, who had all along claimed to be Sambhavi’s caretaker, admitted in the affidavit she was her mother. During several public appearances in the last few months under the watchful eyes of her mother, Sambhavi spoke about “imminent Tibet freedom” and made predictions about future. Her mother gathered a small band of followers and spread the word about Sambhavi’s spiritual powers. The girl lives at an ashram at Suryanandi, about 250 km from Hyderabad. Usha Rani had earlier claimed that the girl was born to Telugu-speaking parents settled in Varanasi and that she adopted her and brought here. However, in her affidavit before the Court, she informed that she had married a Yoga teacher Sowmya Chary in Tirupati in 1999 after her first husband had died and given birth to Sambhavi in 2002. The High Court directed the revenue authorities in Nandyal to provide medical treatment to Sambhavi and posted the case pertaining to her child rights to December 22. Skeletons started tumbling out of Usha Rani’s cupboard with the government ordering a probe last month into her antecedents following a direction from the State Human Rights Commission. Earlier, some NGOs and rationalist groups had complained to the Commission about child rights’ violations. The Kurnool district administration started probing the antecedents of Sambhavi and Usha Rani. The Nandyal Revenue Divisional Officer Madhavilatha interrogated Usha Rani, Sowmyachary and Sambhavi separately and submitted a report to the government, concluding that the girl had no spiritual powers.The official also recommended that Sambhavi be admitted to a school. Chubby and vivacious, Acharya Sambhavi comes across as a normal child of her age. What sets her apart is her attire and her sermons on Tibet, freedom and Buddhism. Sporting white robes, Sambhavi spends the day in meditation, lecturing about “Tibet’s freedom.” Along with her mother, she had visited Dharmasala, the temporal abode of Dalai Lama, and met him in March this year. She has been telling the media that Dalai Lama would be visiting Suryanandi on December 21 to lay the foundation stone for a monastery, to be named Buddha Vijaya. However, the Dalai Lama reportedly cancelled his visit to Suryanandi, apparently after coming to know that Sambhavi was a hoax. Child rights activists and progressive organisations have accused Usha Rani of “exploiting” Sambhavi for her own “business interests” by not allowing her to attend school and enjoy childhood. |
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Rajasthan BJP Chief's Post
Jaipur, December 20 While the ongoing organisational polls have further divided the BJP, return of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia to Jaipur has fuelled the speculations that the upcoming elections for the post of state BJP president may witness a contest. Raje, who had been camping in New Delhi for the last few days, returned to the state capital amid rousing reception from her supporters yesterday. She held hectic parleys with her loyalists through the day, after which her key aide Digambar Singh gave some credence to the rumours by claiming that there could be a contest for the BJP state president’s post. “While they have announced election dates, personal secretary of election officer Phool Chand Bhinda is clueless about the voters’ list,” he said, claiming that there had been no attempt by those at the helm of affairs for facilitating a unanimous election of the state BJP chief. “One faction is silently making preparations for the polls. It has never happened earlier,” he added. According to sources, Digambar’s move to seek voters' list was aimed at trying to zero in on the members who were on their side, though a section of Raje loyalists admitted that fielding a candidate against Chaturvedi was not decided as yet. However, if the Raje camp decides to jump in the poll fray, it will only widen the rift between the RSS-backed BJP faction and the Raje camp. According to sources, the Raje camp is treading cautiously in wake of the change of guard taking place in New Delhi. Raje reportedly shared acrimonious relations with former BJP president Rajnath Singh, who had publicly demanded her resignation from the post of Leader of Opposition. Now, with the change in the Central leadership, Raje loyalists are hoping that she may at least be offered a general secretary’s post if not her position of Leader of Opposition in the state.
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Kashmiris take Hong Kong route to China
New Delhi, December 20 The Chinese embassy here had started issuing visas to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir by not stamping their passports but by granting the visa on separate sheets, which was seen by observers as Chinese attempt to question the state's status as part of India. The government took up the matter with China in October last and made it clear that no one would be allowed to travel on a stapled visa. In a novel way to skirt around the Home Ministry's objection, people, having place of birth mentioned as Kashmir in their passport, started using the Hong Kong or Macau route to enter mainland China. Five cases were noticed by the Immigration authorities where people, born in J&K, had visited Hong Kong and later to mainland China by getting the visa stapled to their travel document, official sources said. The sources said the new trend has been reported to the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Home Ministry has issued an advisory to all airports for making a proper enquiry from all the passengers coming or going to Hong Kong and Macau. Even the airlines have been asked to verify and cross-check the final port of disembarkation. — PTI
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Now,Stem cell technique to regrow teeth
New Delhi, December 20 "We at AIIMS are treating children with infected, immature teeth as a result of traumatic injuries, by using locally available indigenous stem cells," Dr Naseem Shah, Chief of the Centre for Dental Education and Research, AIIMS said. In the new treatment, after the infection in the root canals is controlled, bleeding is induced in the root canal by intentionally puncturing the tissues at the root end and a clot is allowed to be formed in the root canal. The clot provides a scaffold into which various stem cells achieved stimulation at the root end and the adjoining bone. They then multiply and form dentin, bone or cementum, which deposits on the weak root walls as well as causes elongation of the root. In young children, front teeth are most often affected. Loss of front teeth in young children and adolescents affects aesthetics and may cause psychological problems. "Now we are practising this method of treatment routinely for managing immature, non-vital teeth in young children after getting successful results in almost all our treated cases," Dr Shah said. She said, "This is the most cost effective treatment that can be done with stem cells. Here we do not need external expensive scaffold material as in case of treatment of other ailments with stem cells. And the outcome is predictable. There are no side effects too". — PTI
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Defence ministry to follow ISRO model
New Delhi, December 20
In the past, Defence Minister AK Antony has expressed his anguish at the slow pace of development of local equipment and also the strategic shortcoming by depending heavily on imports. Now for strengthening self-reliance in defence preparedness, the ministry will follow an in-depth study of the practices and procedures being followed by ISRO and also the Kelkar Committee report. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence had met Dr Vijay Kelkar, who said the committee that ISRO “embraced” the private sector to meet its high-tech requirements. Separately, the Defence ministry informed the committee that there were two aspects to the issues. One is of developing systems indigenously and the level of indigenisation through the transfer of technology (TOT) route. As regards indigenous research and development, major systems are in place like Prithvi, MBT Arjun and electronic warfare systems for Army and Navy. The ministry said the frontline fighter Sukhoi-30MkI would have 43. 5 per cent local content by this year. This is up from 13 per cent during 2004-05. Similarly, in case of HAWK, the indigenisation percentage will increase from present level of 12 -15 per cent to 45 per cent in the raw material phase of production. In case of T-90 Tank, the indigenisation percentage in the current year is 30 per cent and is likely to go up 70 per cent by 2010-11.
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PC: India-Nepal border issues need sensitive handling
New Delhi, December 20 Chidambaram also praised the force for “setting a good precedent by making it compulsory for officers to visit all border outposts and make a certain number of night halts frequently at these places. On the sidelines of the event, the Home Minister defended the move to allow relatives and companions of Union ministers to travel by air with them saying that it will have no financial implications.
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Telangana fallout: Protests paralyse Andhra
Hyderabad, December 20 While normal life remained paralysed in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in the wake of protests against the Centre’s move, the pro-Telangana protagonists, on the other hand, geared up for a counter-offensive. The health condition of the leaders on fast opposing the bifurcation of the state has worsened, as they refused medical treatment. Ruling Congress MP L Rajagopal and MLC YS Vivekananda Reddy continued their fasts in hospitals at Vijayawada and Kadapa, respectively, while TDP MLA Umamaheswar Rao was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit at a Vijayawada hospital following serious complications. Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi joined a padayatra in Vijayawada in support of unified Andhra Pradesh. Three other TDP legislators also are observing fast in hospitals in Anantapur. Doctors, with the help of the police, are forcibly administering saline and fluids to these leaders on the direction of courts. Demanding that the Central government withdraw its December 9 statement initiating the process for formation of Telangana state, several public representatives and students in the two regions continued the indefinite fast. A Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the creation of Telangana, comprising representatives of various parties, called for bandh on December 26 in the two regions. The “bus yatra” of TDP leaders to garner public support for integrated state reached Kurnool district after covering Chittoor, Kadapa and Anantapur districts in Rayalaseema. It will cover all nine districts of coastal Andhra. Meanwhile, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is in the forefront of the statehood movement, has decided to organise a “victory rally” and a public meeting at Warangal on December 24. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose indefinite fast had forced the Centre to concede the statehood demand, will participate in the rally. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the TRS politburo here. As per original plan, Rao was to launch “bus yatra” tomorrow to reach out to people across Telangana region but had to drop the idea on doctors’ advice.
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Price Rise
Guwahati, December 20 The party demands rations cards to every citizens where only 10 per cent people can be bracketed as rich, so that they could procure food items and other essentials at reasonable prices through the public distribution system (PDS). Addressing a rally on spiralling prices and food security here, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said the Left parties would meet in New Delhi on December 24 to chalk out a joint strategy to launch a nationwide agitation against the price rise during the next Budget Session. “The UPA government during the past seven months of its second term in the office has failed to check spiralling prices of food items. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says it is a global trend and we have to wait for some more time for prices to come down. But it is not the proper explanation. Prices are on the downward trend all over the globe because of the recession with exception in India,” Karat said. The CPM leader said food prices were skyrocketing in the country because the government had given license to the MNCs dealing in food items to “loot the country”. “The government must do away with the practice of futures trading in commodities carried out by MNCs which buys food items in advance before those come into the market and then either send it out abroad at their will or sell it in the country at higher prices,” he alleged. The CPM demanded firm steps from the government to strengthen the PDS in the country to reduce the burden of spiraling food prices on the common people. Karat demanded that the present system of targeted approach for granting ration cards to only people living under below poverty line should be done away with and only 20 per cent of the population of the country were eligible to get ration cards under the system leaving out the majority.
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80 pc polling in Tamil Nadu bypoll
Chennai, December 20 Polling in Tiruchendur was 79.17 per cent, while Vandavasi recorded 84.08 per cent. Though charges of bribing the voters with cash, liquor and gifts flew thick and fast, polling was by and large peaceful. Complaints received by the CEO’s office were referred to the district-level government and police officials. Video coverage of poll proceedings, recording of images of voters and online viewing in the central server of the CEO office helped to reduce chances of bogus voting, Gupta said. Two officers in the rank of Inspector General of Police monitored security arrangements. Before the voters were allowed to exercise their franchise, they were photographed and their images were compared to those in the rolls that were electronically available. “Heightened security arrangements would continue till the election process is over. Polling was peaceful with not even a single incident of violence,” Additional DGP (Law and Order) K Radhakrishnan said. The by-polls were necessitated due the death of Vandavasi DMK MLA and resignation of AIADMK Tiruchendur MLA. The counting will be held on December 23. After Lok Sabha polls, this is for the first time arch rivals DMK and the AIADMK are on the battle turf as the latter had earlier boycotted by-polls to five Assembly seats.
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Gorkhaland Issue
Kolkata, December 20 The formula, which was drafted after consulting the Home Minister P. Chidambaram and holding a number of meetings with the union secretary G.K.Pillai, would be presented at the meeting by the chief secretary A.M Chakraborty, according to an official source. Pillai will be present at tomorrow’s meeting which will be attended by a six-member delegation of the GJM headed by Bimal Gurung. According to the fomula, the hill council will be granted larger autonomy and financial powers as per the agreement between the government and the GNLF in August, 1980. A Rs 1000-crore development package to which both the Centre and the state will contribute will also be submitted at the meeting. Both, the Centre and the state, had already rejected the demand for a separate Gorkhaland. Chidambaram had assured Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee that after the experience with the Telengana issue, the Centre was unwilling to consider any demand on the formation of a new state. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee also suggested to Chidambaram that the Centre should now come forward and take greater responsibility for the development of the hill people. They discarded the demand for bifurcating the state by granting a separate Gorkhaland. The GJM, however, is still sticking to the demand for Gorkhaland and if their demand is not met, they will relaunch their mass hunger-strike and agitation immediately. The Save Bengal Committee and several other social welfare organisations decided to launch a massive movement in the hills and plains from tomorrow against the Gorkhaland demand. Yesterday, to facilitate the holding of the tripartite meeting, the GJM had withdrawn the mass agitation launched on December 11. Their ongoing fast-unto-death was also called off for the time being yesterday on the request of Chidambaram.
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Manipur govt directs schools
to reopen
Guwahati, December 20 In what sounds like the final call for resumption of classes, the directive asked school authorities not to promote students to the next class till they returned to classes and took the annual examinations. Several appeals made by the government earlier to school authorities, guardians and students had failed to evoke response. Meanwhile, a notification issued by state Additional Secretary (Education) M Harekrishna said, “No school shall give promotion to any student without conducting appropriate examination. Normal schooling should precede the promotional examinations, and inability to resume normal classes shall be viewed seriously by the government warranting further appropriate actions.” A meeting which was presided by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and attended by officials of the Education Department and teachers of private schools in Imphal on Friday, appealed to all school authorities to resume normal classes from December 21 next in the greater interest of students. Although the government had posted police pickets in school campuses in the agitation-hit four valley districts, guardians were not willing to send their wards to school fearing backlash from militants groups suspected to be instigating the agitation. Unidentified miscreants set fire to several schools in the valley districts ever since the state government posted armed policemen on guard in many schools in the state. It may be mentioned that schools in the hill districts were functioning as usual while students remaining absent from classes in valley districts. The boycott has continued since September 9 at the behest of student bodies, All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Manipur Students’ Federation (MSF) and Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA), expressing solidarity with the Apunba Lup - umbrella body of 23 NGOs.
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Sangliana is minority panel vice-chairperson
Bangalore, December 20 Sangliana, former police commissioner of Bangalore and an MP, told the Archbishop to keep him informed about “any kind of direct or indirect threat to the community”. “There are subtle attempts to demonise the community, level false allegations against the Church and cause fear and threat to the community. We wish that these issues are taken up at the commission”, a press release issued here today by Adolf Washington, PRO of the Bangalore Archdiocese, quoted Moras. Karnataka saw a spate of incidents of attacks and ransacking of churches in the state last year. Moras said while churches received no financial support from the state, the government was having the record of revenue paid by churches to it. The Archbishop also referred to a recent meeting of priests and pastors in Chickballapur called by a circle inspector prohibiting them from going carol singing as there were complaints against them. Sangliana said he would make sure that no such order was given by any police personnel in the state. |
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Indian coins turned into razors
Shillong, December 20 Six razor blades can be made from a single Rs five coin. Each blade sells
for Rs two, police sources said. "We are now changing the metallic content of the Rs five coin, so that the new ones will not be lucrative for melting. The new metallic content of the cupronickel coin will reduce its attractiveness for smugglers," he said. The RBI was also coordinating with the police and other authorities to ensure that coin smugglers do not have a free run. Periodic instructions were being been given to the security and intelligence agencies to check the menace, Khan said. Bank officials said the smuggling had also contributed to the shortage of small coins. “We are aware of the problem and the RBI is taking initiatives. We are trying to distribute coins through post offices. We have also told the banks to distribute an adequate number of coins,” Khan said.
— PTI
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In Parliament House canteen, delectable dishes don’t act pricey
Yes it is possible, even if food is getting out of the reach of the poor in the country. Welcome to the Parliament House canteen. A series of catering units run by Indian Railways at Parliament House, including the library and the annexe building, serve food at rates that are a good decade old but are hard to digest for a newcomer. The MPs, who are seen shouting at each other and castigating the government over the rising food prices, definitely relish the cheap canteen food. But, mind you, the facility is not for them only. Parliament staff, low-paid security personnel and accredited journalists too enjoy the delicacies at rates that an ordinary citizen outside cannot even think of. Where does this come from? Remember, behind the cheap commodity there is a subsidy. All this costs the government a huge amount of tax payers' money. The gap between the actual cost and what the MPs, journalists and others have to pay, is bridged with a food budget set aside by Parliament. “Over Rs.5.3 crore has been allocated during the current financial year for the canteens. The Lok Sabha pays some Rs.3.55 crore and the Rajya Sabha shares the amount to over Rs.1.77 crore," said an official. “Not only MPs, we serve food to everybody who is allowed inside Parliament. They also include workers, gardeners and labourers," the official told IANS, defending the low prices. The food prices were last revised in 2004. A 15-member joint parliamentary committee on food management headed by then MP K Yerranaidu of the Telugu Desam Party was constituted in 2005 to consider revision of the rates and the service. “The committee didn't give any report and the rates were not revised," the official said. —
IANS
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DU mulls semester system
New Delhi, December 20 Professor Suman K Verma, OSD examinations, argued in favour of the need for a change in the evaluation system. He said “Change in the examination system is the need of the hour and is required. The annual scheme is very old and has outgrown its relevance. Under the semester system, we will have continuous evaluation which will greatly benefit the students and will make them more serious and accountable”. Professor Verma argued that the undergraduate courses would be broken up into two manageable portions, and there would be continuous assessment throughout the year under the new system. Another Professor maintained, “The semester system is definitely a better system. It leads to a greater accountability from both the students and the teachers, as there is an increased interaction between the two”.
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Telangana Fallout
Hyderabad, December 20 First, it was the Telangana region, comprising nine districts and state capital, which was rocked by violent protests, rallies and shutdowns in support of statehood cause and then followed unrest in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions over the Centre’s move to carve out separate Telangana state. As a result of continuous disruptions since the beginning of this month, the trade and the industry in the state has been suffering huge losses. The industry sources estimate the daily losses to be around Rs 150 crore due to disruptions in transportation of goods and forcible shutdowns. The industry-friendly image of AP, cultivated over decades, has suffered a dent. The Chief Minister K Rosaiah himself admitted that development activities had slackened and the morale of the administration was affected due to the present turmoil. “We are definitely facing the heat and are unable to implement flagship schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme,” he said. The government staff finds itself vertically divided on regional lines, affecting their efficiency levels at the workplaces. The State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has been bearing the brunt of agitators on both sides of the divide with several buses being burnt every day, causing an estimated loss of Rs 50 crore. “There have been isolated incidents of IT companies being targeted in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. Such incidents dent the confidence of our employees, customers and investors and have the potential to severely impact the brand of AP as a favoured IT destination,” President of Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA) Narasimha Rao said. There are growing worries over the impact of Telangana row on the future of several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) coming up on the outskirts of Hyderabad involving huge investments. The present political uncertainty has also hit potential projects in the industry department. The officials admit that the investors were backing out on commitments due to hostile atmosphere. The uncertainty over Hyderabad’s future, in the event of formation of Telangana state, has sent jitters among the industry, particularly the Information Technology, real estate, infrastructure and pharmaceutical sectors, which have grown phenomenally over the years. There is an overwhelming feeling that the brand image of Hyderabad will suffer a dent and investments would cease if the state is bifurcated. The cosmopolitan city of 70 lakh population has become a major bone of contention between supporters and opponents of Telangana statehood. Though the city is part of Telangana region, there have been demands that it should be made a joint capital, on the lines of Chandigarh, in the event of the division of Andhra Pradesh. With over 2.50 lakh employees, Hyderabad is now one of the top five IT hubs in the country and is home to over 1,000 IT firms. “We could lose the advantage of being a favoured destination. The uncertainty could impact the expansion or new investments,” said an IT professional. “There is apprehension of violence affecting business and industry,” chairman of the Confederation of Industry (CII), Andhra Pradesh, Harishchandra Prasad, said.
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Babri Demolition
Lucknow, December 20 Talking to the media after the AIMPLB annual meeting, spokesperson AR Qureshi pointed out that of the 68 persons found responsible for the Babri demolition by the commission, only 49 are currently being tried by the special CBI courts. He demanded immediate filing of FIRs against the rest. Demanding speedy disposal of the Babri demolition cases pending in the special courts, he asked for day-to-day trial at the Raebareli court. Largely satisfied with the long awaited report, Qureshi did not believe it to be politically motivated. However, as far as the report’s clean chit to then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was concerned, Qureshi said that Rao couldn’t be pardoned. “Though his role was marginal, yet he could have acted decisively before the demolition”. However, he completely agreed with former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s indictment by the report. “Being the leader of the party that led the demolition, how can be absolved of the blame?” he questioned. Commenting on the promised legislation on the prevention of communal violence promised by the Central government in its ATR, the board spokesman said the board felt that the bill would not fulfill any useful purpose. “On the contrary, it might provide wider opportunity to the executive and police to commit atrocities on Muslims and other weaker sections,” he said. Regarding the recent verdict by the Supreme Court in the Shabana Bano case, which provided for maintenance to the divorced woman beyond the 3-month iddat period, he said the board was not only opposed to the verdict but will also go for a legal review. The board has also opposed the formation of the central madarssa board as proposed by the Central government, as it wants the government to let the Muslim community run and manage its own institutions.
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Nine die in Gujarat temple stampede
Gandhinagar, December 20 The condition of two of the injured, admitted to the nearby Junagadh Government Hospital, has been described by doctors as serious. According to the police, the accident took place at the Gopaldasji Haveli, the Vaishnav sect temple in Dhoraji. With more than expected number of people turning up for the religious congregation called “chhappan bhog”, there was a stampede in the queue for women after two of them squabbled and came to blows. The police are trying to identify the killed women. Chief Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences and ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident. Porbandar MP Vithal Radadia, who hails from Dhoraji, has rushed to the spot. — IANS
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Mumbaikars set to roll out red carpet for New Year Mumbai, December 20 Even Mumbai's traditional hotspots like Gateway of India and the Radio Club in Colaba, which were shut in the wake of terror attacks, would open to the public. "People can celebrate Christmas and New Year without fear as the police are in full control of the situation,” Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan told reporters over the weekend. He added that the police force would be out in full strength even as the new anti-terror squad set up by the department takes up position across the city. So this year, the authorities are determined to open up the road in front of Gateway of India to revellers. The entire monument would be lit up and people will gather there to usher in the New Year. As is common practice, ships out of sea would sound their sirens just as the clock strikes midnight. Unlike last year, revellers would also be able to hire boats from the wharf near the Gateway of India and party in the sea all night without fear of noise restrictions. The police have installed security cameras at public places to record the proceedings. Revellers hiring the boats would also be subjected to security checks, police said. The Taj Mahal and the Trident Hotels, which were targeted by terrorists, are also gearing up for celebrations. Detailed programmes would be announced over the next few days, representatives of the hotels said. Even Bollywood personalities who went underground last year, are determined to cash in on New Year celebrations this year. Actress Bipasha Basu was the first to announce that she would participate at the New Year celebrations organised by the Sahara Star hotel near the Mumbai airport. The hotel has informed that tickets, including food and beverages, would cost Rs 11,500 per head. Amusement park, Esselworld, located in the outskirts of the city has announced an entry package of Rs 700 per head. The all-night parties include DJs playing, fireworks and live television coverage. Informally, the police say they may look the other way if people choose to party atop the terraces of their own buildings.
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Sharm-el Sheikh New Delhi, Decemer 20 Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik said the "diplomatic vacuum" would not help the cause of peace and by not talking to each other, "we are strengthening the forces which don't want the two countries to make any progress". He insisted that Pakistan was not slow in taking action against those behind the Mumbai attacks and contended that his country was "looking for credible actionable evidence" to ensure that the case is "fool-proof". Referring to the "agreement" between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh, Malik said, "something that we agreed on, has not been acted upon". He noted that there has been no dialogue since then which "obviously shows that the agreement that we made in Sharm-el-Sheikh is yet to be implemented". A joint statement issued after talks between Singh and Gilani in the Egyptian capital in July had delinked dialogue from Pakistan's action against terrorism. Asked if India had gone back on its commitment, Malik said on Karan Thapar's Devil's Advocate programme, "They are too strong words and I would not like to use it." On whether India was trying to relink the dialogue process and Pakistan's action against terrorism, Malik said, "You can put it that way." Drawing attention to the July 16 joint statement, Malik said it mentioned that "the efforts that we are continuing to do in the context of terrorism and the dialogue process, they have to be delinked and they are not to be bracketed". He said he was "referring to the commitment, the agreement the two prime ministers made in Sharm-el-Sheikh on July 16 and if you look at the joint statement, it is very clear that dialogue is the only way forward". Pakistan, the envoy said, was looking for "a result-oriented focused dialogue" between the two countries. — PTI New Delhi, December 20 Malik, in an interview with Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate programme on news channel CNN-IBN, said Pakistan has been asking India to initiate a dialogue process but there has been no response. The “diplomatic vacuum” would not help the cause of peace and by not talking to each other, “we are strengthening the forces which don't want the two countries to make any progress”. Asked if the two countries were not communicating with each other, Malik said the foreign offices of the two countries were in constant touch over a variety of issues but no structured composite dialogue, was taking place. — TNS
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Headley did detailed recce of BARC, Bollywood studios Mumbai, December 20 The 49-year-old Headley, who has been under arrest in the US since October 3, had travelled to Chembur and Trombay many a times and filmed the exits and entries of the BARC besides the entry of employees, official sources said here today. The terror suspect, who has been charged by the FBI with being part of the conspiracy in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, had also taken video shots of the nuclear installation by hiring a boat from Gateway of India. The rear side of the BARC, located on a hill top, can be seen from the Arabian Sea. The investigators also comprising officials of the National Investigation Agency suspect that Headley, during his boat ride, might have surveyed the mangroves located near the coastline. Security of NTPC’s cold storage plant in the area was also being reviewed as the security agencies were apprehensive that while filming BARC, Headley may have conducted recce of it as well. The suspect, who was allegedly close to top brass of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Hafeez Saeed, is also alleged to have carried of surveillance of some Bollywood studios. The investigators are also trying to ascertain whether he had met any other Bollywood actor other than Rahul Bhat, son of noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhat. —
PTI
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Nikam denies involvement of ex-minister Mumbai, December 20 “This is utter nonsense. I don’t know from where they got this, I have never said anything like this,” Nikam said. According to a section of regional television channels, Nikam reportedly said in Latur yesterday that “a former Central cabinet minister” had built up pressure on him and the police in the 26/11 trial so as to exploit the issue to the party’s advantage in the last Lok Sabha elections, held in April-May this year. Nikam was also credited with saying that the unidentified former Central minister even advised the police and the SPP to file a dozen independent chargesheets in the cases against the lone Pakistani terror accused, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab. “I shall speak with the concerned television channels. This is absolute nonsense,” fumed Nikam. Later, his denial was telecast. He even claimed that his comments in a speech were telecast in a “pick and choose” manner. While Nikam denied the statements attributed to him, state Leader of Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s Eknath Khadse and Hussain Dalwai of the Congress demanded that he should reveal the name of the minister. —
IANS
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Happenings that took place towards this fag end of the current year have set the stage for Assam to have a tumultuous year ahead that may disrupt the hitherto easy run of the Congress government that came to power in the state 2001.
Gorkhaland Issue
This aims at a long-term approach and “hand holding” of the private industry during development phase and competitive environment later. The government has accepted the recommendations of the Vijay Kelkar Committee made in this regard. The Ministry of Defence tabled a report in Parliament this week on the action it is taking to encourage long-term indigenous production.
New Delhi, December 20