 |
|
|
spiralling prices
Oust Pawar: Maya
Telangana Statehood |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Congress appeals for peace, says no quick-fix for complex problems
No foul play behind YSR’s death: Report
Military Pacts
BARC fire: Sabotage ruled out
Give night shelters to homeless, SC tells Delhi
Memorials symbol of Dalit empowerment: UP tells SC
PM promises measures to control prices
Deemed Varsity Issue
2 failed varsities got Rs 47 cr
Basmati farmers’ loss is traders’ gain
Judges’ spouses entitled to DA on tour
|
|
North may see rise in milk rates: Pawar
Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 20 However, the indication that milk could get costlier in north India due to a shortage in supply forced the Congress to tersely tick off its UPA ally, saying “those who identify the problem must also work towards providing an expeditious solution”. Addressing the national conference of state ministers of animal husbandry and dairy here, the Agriculture Minister said the price of milk would increase in north India on account of a dip in milk production. He said there was a huge shortage of milk in north India and big pressure to increase prices, putting the blame on state governments for not increasing milk production. “There is a gap of 18 lakh tonne between demand and the current milk supply,” Pawar said. “We are facing insufficient availability of milk, especially in northern India. In October, we had taken a decision to raise the price. Today, there is a demand that we should hike the price. Unless there is a decision, I do not know whether the states will be able to procure milk to meet the demand of people at large. This shows how the entire sector is neglected.” Later when asked whether a decision would be taken on raising milk prices, Pawar shot back saying it was not for the Centre to take a decision on this. “It is a state subject. We don’t take decisions here. No state has demanded a hike in milk prices. Some states have said here that three-four months back they had raised the prices, which improved the supply.” However, Pawar’s making yet another statement on the sensitive issue of prices evoked a terse response from the ally Congress. Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said: “Those who identify the problem must also work towards providing an expeditious solution.” Meanwhile, the BJP has stepped up pressure on the Centre over the price rise issue, with a high-profile delegation led by LK Advani and party president Nitin Gadkari meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday. The delegation also included senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and other senior functionaries. Later, Advani said, "Not merely the weaker sections of society, but the entire middle class is affected by inflation, particularly inflation of food items.” Gadkari squarely blamed "wrong economic policies" of the UPA government for the rise in prices. The Prime Minister has called a meeting of Chief Ministers on January 27 to discuss the issue.
|
|
Oust Pawar: Maya
Lucknow, January 20 Speaking to the media today, Mayawati said she had asked the PM to remove Pawar from the post as he continued to make “irresponsible” statements that were detrimental to controlling prices and were actually encouraging hoarders and black marketers. In this context, she referred to Pawar’s statement about a likely shortage of milk in northern India that was liable to increase prices of milk and milk products. According to the CM, such statements gave legitimacy to hoarders and black marketers and was a clue for them to indulge in an uncalled-for increase in prices. Substantiating her point, she said similar statements made by Pawar regarding sugar prices had led to an unprecedented hike in its price. “In the interests of the poor, the Prime Minister should immediately remove Pawar from his post. If he does not do so then it will prove that Pawar’s statements have the backing of the Prime Minister. Such an attitude of the Central government would obviously encourage hoarding and lead to inflation,” she underlined. Mayawati also criticised the decision of the Maharashtra government to regulate licenses for taxi drivers. “This move was against the spirit of the Constitution and my government would firmly oppose it,” she added.
|
|
Another student commits suicide
Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, January 20 Angry students today clashed with police on the Osmania University campus here, the nerve centre of the statehood agitation. The death of 23-year-old K Venugopal Reddy, an MCA student who set himself ablaze in the campus premises, evoked widespread outrage leading to a total shutdown in the region. As normal life remained paralysed across Telangana due to the shutdown, the Osmania University campus virtually turned into a battlefield as agitators fought a pitched battle with the police. The clash broke out after police prevented the students from taking the body of Reddy in a procession to Martyrs Memorial near the state Assembly to pay homage. The police cane-charged the students and used teargas shells to disperse them. Tension prevailed in the campus as angry students pelted stones at policemen and torched two police vehicles. Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy said that 13 policemen and 11 students were injured. The police later took the body of the student to his native village in Nalgonda district for cremation. Another undergraduate student, Suvarna, committed suicide by setting herself ablaze in Mahabubnagar district last night. In their suicide notes, both Venugopal Reddy and Suvarna, a first year BSc student, said they were upset over the delay in formation of Telangana state. The spate of suicides has sent an already volatile region into a tailspin. Pro-Telangana leaders across the political spectrum came under intense pressure to step up the movement for achieving the statehood goal. Expressing solidarity with agitating students, the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising representatives from the ruling Congress, the main opposition TDP, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and BJP held an emergency meeting here and decided to ask all the public representatives of the region to quit their posts. “We need to mount pressure on the Centre to announce a specific time-frame for carving out Telangana state. Till then, the agitation will continue. We are appealing to all elected representatives of the region to resign,” JAC convener Prof M Kodandaram said. Earlier, the JAC had set January 28 as the deadline for the UPA Government to unveil the roadmap for bifurcation of Andhra. However, the string of suicides by students has prompted political parties to raise the pitch. Going by the turn of events, it is apparent that the Telangana movement is slowly slipping out of the hands of mainstream parties. Students of Osmania University are steering the agitation and issuing ultimatum to public representatives of all parties in the region to quit their posts or face wrath of the people. Meanwhile, there was total response to the shutdown across Telangana as shops, business establishments, theatres and educational institutions were closed while buses were off the roads.
|
|
Congress appeals for peace, says no quick-fix for complex problems
New Delhi, January 20 “A process (of arriving at a consensus) is on and all concerns will be looked into,” Singhvi said, adding that the Congress’ appeal was an “all-inclusive and not targeted at any particular segment or a party.“ It (the appeal) is not aimed on segments or parties… It certainly does not translate into a blame game,” he said. On why the Congress was not making efforts to reign-in elements within the party responsible for escalation of unrest in the region, he said Telangana was a local issue and individuals within a party were entitled to an independent view. “But that does not mean that the party has the same point of view,” he said. Meanwhile, party MPs and MLAs from the state are expected to be in the Capital tomorrow. The Congress, fighting a tricky battle on the issue within the party, says its stand on Telangana is clear but the decision will be subject to “the condition of a clear consensus”. “Each party is facing a similar problem, that of a divide on the issue. The fight is regional and individual MPs and MLAs are involved. In each party if two persons are supporting Telangana, the other two are opposing it. The Congress stand is clear, that it supports Telangana, but in current circumstances it is not enforceable. Which is why it is important to let the process of arriving at a consensus complete its course,” a senior party leader said.
|
|
No foul play behind YSR’s death: Report
New Delhi, January 20 Incidentally, the investigating team, which went into the minutest of details leading to the crash of Bell 430 helicopter of the Andhra Pradesh Government, in which the then Chief Minister was killed on September 2, 2009, has not suggested any foul play in the accident. According to the report, the probable cause of the accident was the loss of control “resulting in uncontrolled descent in the terrain at a very high rate of descent due to entry into severe down draught”. The report goes on to add that there were certain contributory factors like the crew flew in instrument flying condition though the flight plan was cleared for visual flight rules (VFR). And also that “the crew noticed a snag and was engrossed for vital six minutes before the impact in searching for the relevant checklist from the flight manual. This distracted their attention from the prevailing poor visibility, thus leading to the loss of situational awareness,” says the report prepared by a four-member committee, headed by Pawan Hans Helicopters MD RK Tyagi. Along with YSR, four others, including pilots Group Captain SK Bhatia and co-pilot MS Reddy, were killed in the crash in Nallamala forests. The other two were: YSR’s principal secretary K Subramanyam, chief security officer ASC Wesley. The investigating team undertook technical analysis at the crash site for crucial evidences and also at Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corporation Limited for reconstruction and tear-down analysis of various helicopter components. Various technical inputs/analysis were coordinated with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Aeronautical Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore, and the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratories (DMRL), Hyderabad. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) provided help in conducting certain analysis at the Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSL), Hyderabad. India Precision Lightning Network, New Delhi, provided technical inputs about the electric charge scenario of the areas around the site on the day of crash. Help of various international agencies like the Transport Safety Board (TSB), Canada, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Bell Helicopters, Goodrich, Rolls Royce of the USA was taken for cockpit voice recorder (CVR) downloads, engine and electronic control unit (ECU) analysis.
|
|
New Delhi doesn’t fall for Gates’ hard selling
Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 20 India has already has such an arrangement with Russia and is looking to have it with the US, Indian officials said later in the evening. The visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates tried to hard sell the two military pacts that aim at providing logistics support and enable the exchange of sensitive communication equipment technologies. At a press conference here, Gates said:“India will immensely benefit from high-end equipment for its armed forces”. However, the Defence Ministry issued a statement this evening saying that the proposed agreements would need to be assessed from India’s point of view. “The US government had a proposal to conclude certain umbrella agreements like the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) and the Communications, Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA),” the ministry said. Gates accepted that the US has not been able to spell out the benefits to India. On the LSA, he said “…. I promised the PM of putting on paper the concrete examples of benefits to India.”. Insiders reveal that India is avoiding the LSA as it would give the US military aircraft refuelling and servicing facility in India. With US engaged in conflict with Iraq and other non-inimical countries, India does not to be seen as “helping” it. Meanwhile, Defence Minister AK Antony, at his meeting with Gates, said the bilateral defence trade relations between India and the US should move beyond the “buyer-seller relationship” to a more comprehensive relationship covering transfer of technology and co-production. He also asked Gates to get removed the restrictions on export licenses (for US companies) for various defence- related requirement.
|
|
BARC fire: Sabotage ruled out
Mumbai, January 20
Two researchers, Umang Singh (24) and Partha Bagh (25) lost their lives in the incident. The probe has ruled out the possibilities of foul play including use of explosives behind the fire, sources said. Investigators are still looking at the likelihood of a short-circuit igniting chemicals in the laboratory which had undergone refurbishment shortly before the incident. Another angle is the possibility of negligence by the two researchers who were alone inside the laboratory. BARC officials are still probing the incident. Shortly after the fire, Srikumar Banerjee, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, clarified that the fire was confined to a single laboratory in a complex more than one kilometre away from the nuclear reactor. BARC has clarified that there was no radiation leak. |
||
|
Give night shelters to homeless, SC tells Delhi
New Delhi, January 20 A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and KS Radhakrishnan asked the city government to activate all such shelters on an emergency basis and publicise their locations through the electronic and print media in order to ensure that homeless people make use of these facilities and get respite from the biting cold prevailing in Delhi. The court’s intervention comes in the wake of a report submitted by its commissioners NC Saxena and Harsh Mander, holding the Delhi government responsible for the negligence in providing shelters to homeless people. It had appointed the commissioners following a PIL filed in 2001 seeking relief for such destitutes, particularly in the winter months. Earlier in the day, the Bench had asked Food Secretary Jayashree Raghuraman to appear before the court. Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, who appeared for the city government, informed the Bench that the official was unable to be present, but she had assured him that an emergency meeting was being held to deal with the situation. One of the proposals was to activate the night shelters. The apex court’s directive comes a day after the Delhi High Court had questioned the government on spending huge money for beautification of the city for the October Commonwealth Games. Though the Master Plan 2021 had provision for 150 permanent night shelters, it seemed the government was focusing only on beautification, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah had remarked.
|
||
|
Memorials symbol of Dalit empowerment: UP tells SC
New Delhi, January 20 Arguing before a Bench comprising Justices HS Bedi and AK Patnaik, senior counsel Harish Salve said an international magazine had placed Chief Minister Mayawati among the top 20 most powerful women of the world mainly because of her position among the Dalits. Apparently responding to a remark made by the court earlier that the state with a GDP growth of less than 2 per cent had no right to spend huge funds on such memorials, Salve said the Constitution had left no role for the judiciary on issues approved by the legislature after informed deliberations. Citing rulings by British courts, Salve said unreasonableness of any decision including budget allocations was subjective and the courts had no jurisdiction over such matters. The Bench, however, pointed out that the Constitution had a different framework with specific socio-economic goals. The court made it clear that if the issue had been restricted to violation of the provisions of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, and of the Lucknow master plan, it would have issued directions to the Allahabad High Court, which was dealing with PILs, to decide the cases on these bases. However, since the question of excessive expenditure had been raised, it would go into budget allocations for such memorials in Lucknow. The court indicated that it would issue guidelines on the role of judiciary in such matters.
|
||
|
PM promises measures to control prices
New Delhi, January 20 The delegation led by BJP parliamentary party chairman LK Advani comprised party president Nitin Gadkari, former presidents Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Murli Manohar Joshi, the leaders of Opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitely and the deputy leaders Gopinath Munde and SS Ahluwalia and general secretary Ananth Kumar. Advani later said, “The Prime Minister assured us of all possible measures to control prices and also to examine the suggestions given by us.” The BJP had announced a nationwide programme to hold agitation against rising prices and plans to culminate this in a rally in Delhi on March 10, during the Budget session of Parliament. The BJP president said it was not correct on the part of the Centre to accuse state governments for rising prices. It was the result of lopsided policies of the Centre. These policies were helping traders and corporate giants, he said. The BJP suggested that the government should have a comprehensive food pricing and management policy based on a “food price index”. |
||
|
Deemed Varsity Issue
New Delhi, January 20 The visit lasted briefly and fuelled speculation about its motive, more so in the wake of the fact that a Governor, a constitutional authority, is much senior to a minister, under protocol. Even in the Indian order of precedence, the protocol list at which Indian government officials are seated according to their rank, governors of states come at the fourth position after the President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister. Cabinet ministers come at the seventh spot. That apart, sources close to Patil denied any connection of the visit with the revocation of deemed status to DY Patil Medical College, Kolhapur. The Kolhapur campus of DY Patil group runs 16 different institutions in the name of the Congress stalwart. “Mr Patil met the minister to discuss certain problems of the state,” sources close to the Governor said. They added that the meeting was routine and was sought on January 15, before the report of the task force on deemed universities became public. Back in Mumbai, Vijay Patil, the Tripura Governor’s son, who manages 14 institutions running in Navi Mumbai campus in the latter’s name, told The Tribune, “My father resigned from all positions in the group after he took charge as the Governor of Tripura. He now has nothing to do with these institutions.” Vijay, also head of the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai, is better known for his construction of the world-class DY Patil Cricket Stadium in Navi Mumbai, which even hosted an IPL match last season. He today said his family was surprised at the inclusion of the Kolhapur medical college in the list of deficient deemed universities, which the government submitted to the Supreme Court two
days ago. “This very institution was recently inspected by the UGC and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an autonomous body. We don’t understand our bracketing with deficient institutions. Our institutions are of proven track record and we have produced stars of the order of Shankar Mahadevan and Abey Kuruvilla,” said Vijay, adding that they were exploring legal options but would wait for the MHRD to make the first move.
|
||
|
2 failed varsities got Rs 47 cr
New Delhi, January 20 While Kangri Viswavidyalaya got Rs 43.72 crore, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth got Rs 3.02 crore in 2006-07, 07-08, 08-09 and 09-10 financial years. —
PTI
|
||
|
Basmati farmers’ loss is traders’ gain Chandigarh, January 20 The rising prices of basmati in the international market have now ensured that the traders and exporters get around Rs 5,200 to 6,000 per quintal. A bumper harvest of basmati varieties in the two states during the last kharif marketing season (KMS) led to a sharp crash in the price got by the farmers. While farmers had got high returns (up to Rs 3,500 per quintal) from growing basmati, especially PUSA 1121 variety, in the 2008-09 KMS, they were in for a rude shock last year as the prices crashed and they got only around Rs 1,800 per quintal. With high productivity and more area under basmati cultivation (up by 20 per cent in the two states), a bumper crop was witnessed. This meant when the produce reached mandis, there were not many takers for it. At that time, an anti-India basmati campaign was on in Iran, which led to a crash in the prices of Indian basmati. The farmers were forced to sell their produce at prices pre-determined by millers and rice exporters. As a result, they suffered losses. While the low prices received by farmers are being attributed to a bumper crop, the exporters are now running to the bank as their profit margins have gone up substantially. Having bought basmati varieties at all-time low prices, they are now making huge profits by selling these at high prices (around $1,150 per tonne or Rs 5,200 per quintal). Sources said the profit margins were up by almost 15 per cent this year. Vijay Setia, a leading rice exporter of Karnal, said the main reason for the farmers suffering losses was that their produce was not directly linked to the export price. “Any basmati paddy selling above a certain price must be exempted from levy control for exports,” he said.
|
||
|
Judges’ spouses entitled to DA on tour
New Delhi, January 20 The clarification comes in the light of reports quoting the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Department saying that spouses of the Chief Justice of India and other apex court judges were entitled only to air tickets and not to DA for undertaking overseas visits along with the judges. The CPIO had given the information in reply to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Department of Justice said it was issuing the clarification after verifying the issue with the Finance Ministry. “Therefore, the erroneous impression created by the above incomplete reply of the CPIO is highly regretted.”
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
New Delhi, January 20
Lucknow, January 20
On the day of fresh incidents of violence over Telangana in Andhra Pradesh, the Congress appealed for calm and normalcy. The party, however, refused to comment on whether any mechanism for creation of Telangana could be announced by January 28, the deadline set by those agitating for the separate state, saying that there were no “quick fix” solutions to complex problems.
“Please don’t try to encapsulate as important and as intricate a problem like Telangana in a time-frame... in a straightjacket of deadlines,” party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi
said.
