New Delhi, February 2
Faced with growing voices against commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt Brinjal, a cautious Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the final decision on the issue would be taken next week, even as a clear divide has emerged in the government with Environment and Agriculture ministries taking opposing stances on the contentious issue.

Ramesh said the consultation process was still on and the final decision would be taken sometime around February 10. He also said Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal could not be equated considering that latter was a vegetable and an important part of Indian diet.

As debate rages on benefits and harmful effects of its genetically modified (GM) variant, the last public meeting will be held on February 6 in Bangalore. Last year bio-technology regulator Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) had given its nod for commercial release of Bt Brinjal but after protests from environmental groups and brinjal-growing states, Ramesh decided to hold public hearings in parts where the vegetable is grown.

There is also a clear divide in the government over Bt Brinjal and Ramesh's stance is at variance with the one taken by Minister of State for Agriculture KV Thomas, who has spoken in favour of Bt Brinjal. Thomas is of the view that opposition against Bt Brinjal was merely propoganda of Left Parties and use of the GM vegetable should not be opposed just because it comes from the West.

“These are just propagandas of Left parties. They opposed even computers and mobile phones. The world has become a big market, you should never oppose anything just because it is coming from America or Europe. This is for the people. Our country is also developing lot of products based on genetic engineering, what about those products. We are not in a hurry. Let us discuss all sides. Bt Brinjal is good for the country,” Thomas told a news channel.

While the Agriculture Ministry appear to be in favour of cultivation of Bt Brinjal with both Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and his deputy speaking for it, the Environment Ministry sources say Ramesh is likely to take a cautious stand and support the position taken by environment groups. “He will ensure that the Environment Ministry is not held responsible in any way. The issue will be raised in the next session of Parliament,” they say.

Pawar had recently said the view of the GEAC was final. “If after all precautions they have come to the conclusion that this is beneficiary, we should not oppose it,” Pawar said, adding that the GEAC’s decision would be final and the Centre did not have any say in the issue. However, Ramesh rebutted Pawar, saying “expert panel may well be a statuary body but when critical issues of human safety are involved, the government has every right and in fact, has basic responsibility to take the final decision based on the panel’s suggestions.”

Recently, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan had also supported the GM vegetable, saying that it was “safe for all”.

However, scientists, academics, members of civil society groups and farmers across the country are protesting against Bt Brinjal and have asked the government reverse its decision. Chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa have written to Ramesh, asking for more experiments on Bt Brinjal.

What began as a small issue in India has now grown to a global issue with international scientists lending support to the anti-GM lobby. In a letter to Ramesh, Indian Youth Climate Network said : Studies worldwide have shown limited success of GM food crops, some like the recent study by Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the France-based CRIIGEN pointed out that Bt. Brinjal had not been properly tested from the safety and environmental point of view. 

New Delhi/Lucknow, February 2
Amar Singh might be trying his best to make overtures to the Congress by heaping praises on party president Sonia Gandhi, but clearly the party is not interested in the former Samajwadi Party leader at all.

In fact, the Congress is slightly apprehensive that with the exit of Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party may emerge stronger, making the revival of the Congress in the Hindi heartland more difficult.

“We really have to do some hard thinking with a possible revival of original thinking of the Samajwadi Party,” a senior Congress leader said.

The Congress described the expulsion of Amar Singh from the Samajwadi Party as its “internal matter” and said what the SP did with its MPs was entirely its prerogative.

Amar Singh may have begun his political career with the Congress but political observers say the grand old party is likely to now stay away from him. They say Amar Singh is of no use as he has no assets but brings in a number of liabilities. “ His kind of politics does not suit anyone. In fact, his filmi five-star culture can prove to be a liability. There is not a single reason why the Congress should take him. He has no mass appeal or grass root connections, otherwise he would have fought an election,” they say. Ruling out any possibility of the former SP leader joining the Congress, senior party leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi said, “The Congress is not a waste paper basket.”

Meanwhile, ruling out the possibility of Amar Singh joining the Congress, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said in Lucknow that the expelled Samajwadi Party leader had not even approached the Congress so far.

In the Congress, there was a defined procedure for any present or former MP or MLA to join the party after quitting another one, he said. “He must first apply to the state unit concerned that processes applications. Views of important state leaders are sought and then sent to the AICC that then forwards it to the Congress president who takes the final decision,” said Singh, who is in charge of UP.

New Delhi, February 2
The fight between St John’s School, Chandigarh, and the UT Administration over the latter indicting one of its teachers in an obscenity case transformed into a legal battle today, with the question raised whether the administration had any right whatsoever to interfere in the functioning of a minority educational institution by conducting an inquiry against its staffer.

Taking up the case (where the UT inquiry held art teacher Michael Angelo Francis guilty of promoting obscenity and asked the school to take action against him), the chairperson of the National Commission for Minority Education Institutions (NCMEI), Justice MSA Siddiqui, today directed school principal Kavita Das to be present in person on April 15 and represent her case. Das had in November last moved the commission against the Administration’s inquiry into the complaint against Francis by parents of two Class VII students of the school. She claimed immunity for the school under NCMEI Act, 2004, and Article 30 of the Constitution which allow minority educational institutions the right to self-administer.

“Stop the Administration from violating our right to establish and administer the institution; stop the deliberate attempt by Home-cum-Education Secretary… to take over the administration of the school, a minority institution; permit the school to administer its staff in a manner it deems fit and not interfere by taking disciplinary action against school staff,” Das’s petition states.

Simply put, the school challenges UT’s right to hold an inquiry against its teacher when an internal inquiry was underway and was in UT’s knowledge.

But the Administration and parent-complainants in the case T.K. Goyal and Meera Goyal vehemently contested the school’s plea in their replies to the Commission today; they sought action against the “erring teacher and the principal”, found guilty of abetting cyber crime by organising a server hacking contest at school.

The Goyals’ reply discusses the gravity of allegations against Francis, found guilty of teaching vulgar stuff and encouraging students to join adult websites. “I told the school why I did not want to share with it the evidence I had against Francis. The school had in the past ignored complaints against him and I could not trust its intentions. I chose, in students’ interest, to cooperate with the UT Administration, which found the teacher guilty on the counts I mentioned,” TK Goyal today told The Tribune.

He cited, in his reply, several Supreme Court judgments that say the right of minority institutions to self-administer does not include the right to mal-administer. “Minority institutions can’t claim immunity against general laws applicable to all communities,” SC held in 1992; in the 2002 TMA Pai versus State of Karnataka case, it again said: “The right to administer is not absolute and must be subject to reasonable regulations for the benefit of institutions as vehicles of education consistent with national interest. We find it difficult to accept that in the establishment and administration of institutions by minorities, no law of the land is to apply …”

The UT Administration stated before the Commission today that it had not taken away St John’s right to self-administer and had simply asked it to act against a teacher found guilty of reprehensible acts. “Such acts fall within the domain of law enforcers and are criminal offences. Instead of initiating action against the principal and teacher, we forwarded our findings to the school management, asking them to act,” said the Administration, also citing its recent inquiry against the Sacred Heart School found guilty of expelling Ruchika Girhotra, a victim of molestation.

The Commission, while giving the school’s counsel time to file a replication, adjourned the case to April 15. The issue came to light on November 3 last, when the Goyals complained to the school and the UT Administration against Francis. The UT’s inquiry report dated November 17 held the teacher guilty of polluting impressionable minds.

New Delhi, February 2
The Indian Air Force will conduct one of the biggest firepower displays in the deserts of Rajasthan at the end of this month. It will not be a “routine” exercise, sources said, while adding it was aimed at showcasing the attack power of the IAF in hitting specified targets on the ground during night time.

To have a global impact of India’s prowess, the Ministry of Defence is arranging to provide for a feed for a TV audience. Using high-end cameras that can capture elements in the dead of the night, the visual feed will be made available to TV Channels. The exercise “Vayu Shakti” will be conducted in the night for the first time.

More than 90 aircraft will participate, including all variants of fighters in the IAF and the armed choppers. The latest arsenal that fighters carry in their under belly will be used in the exercise that is being conducted after six years. President Pratibha Patil will be one of those who will witness the display. Defence minister AK Antony, a few diplomats of countries, among other invitees will form audience.

The fighters will include the Sukhoi-30, the MiG 29, the Mirage and the Jaguar. These will fly in from their home bases across the country. The Mi 35 choppers will be used for strafing a target. Since the pilots will have no visibility, the use of onboard computers on the fighters will come in play. The bombs and arsenal will hit the target as they would be guided by computer -fed coordinates of the location, explained an official.

New Delhi, February 2
The government is in touch with the British High Commission on its decision to stop accepting applications at visa centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was trying to better understand the reasons behind the decision and also to ensure that bonafide Indian students planning to go to the UK for studies were not adversely impacted, MEA spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in response to a question.

He said the ministry had taken note of the fact that along with the decision taken to temporarily suspend accepting student visa applications under Tier 4 of the Point Based System at visa centres, the UK Border Agency was also investigating a number of UK education providers and has, in the last week, suspended about 60 from the education sponsor register.

New Delhi, February 2
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against the police officials of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Rajasthan Special Task Force (STF) involved in the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, claimed to be a gangster, his wife Kausarbi and Tulsi Ram Prajapati in 2005.

The CBI took up the case on directions of the Supreme Court, which came down heavily on the Gujarat government for failing to conduct impartial investigations and attempting to “mislead” the apex court by filing conflicting action taken reports (ATRs).

According to a CBI official, the agency registered a case yesterday under various sections of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy, murder and kidnapping. As per information, a CBI team from the capital arrived in Ahmedabad today to takeover the case property from the Gujarat CID Department that had filed a charge sheet against the 14 police officials, including DIG DG Vanzara and IPS officers Rajkumar Pandyan and Dinesh Kumar.

New Delhi, February 2
With Home Minister P Chidambaram’s visit to Islamabad for the SAARC Home Ministers’ meeting almost certain, there is a strong possibility of the revival of the Indo-Pak dialogue, stalled since November-2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Speaking to reporters on the margins of a function here this evening, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna was quite guarded while replying to queries on Pakistan. Asked if Chidambaram’s visit to Islamabad in the third week of February could lead to the resumption of the dialogue, Krishna said, “The doors were never shut. But in our previous dialogue, the focus has always been on terror and terror instrumentalities.”

Reminding Pakistan of its commitment to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, the minister said, “Dismantling of the terror infrastructure remains the focal point and it will continue to be.” Asked if Pakistan had done enough to deal with India’s concerns on terrorism, he said, “We expect, based on dossiers provided by India, that they will investigate further and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

This is perhaps the first time in recent months that New Delhi has indicated in as many words that it was prepared to resume dialogue, provided Islamabad acted sincerely on New Delhi’s terrorism-related concerns.

Hyderabad, February 2
In a double tragedy that has sent shock waves across Andhra Pradesh, a businessman in the coastal city of Vijayawada died of cardiac arrest today after hearing the news of brutal killing of his 10-year-old daughter by her kidnappers.

Palagani Prabhakara Rao, a prominent backward class leader engaged in real estate and liquor business, suffered a shock and slipped into coma after learning about the murder of his daughter, Naga Vaishnavi, by abductors who turned out to be his relatives.

Rao, who had made desperate appeals to the kidnappers to release her daughter unharmed, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital. The charred remains of his daughter, who was abducted on Saturday while on her way to school, were found in a furnace of a foundry on the outskirts of Guntur, about 50 kms from Vijayawada.

The kidnappers throttled the girl in the vehicle within 15 minutes of abduction and dumped the body in the furnace, the Vijayawada Police Commissioner KV Rajendranath said. The forensic experts collected the skeletal remains of the girl and confirmed the identity.

Family feud and dispute over property were believed to be the reasons behind the kidnap and murder. The police said it was the handiwork of Venkat Rao Goud, brother of Rao’s first wife, and Goud’s relative Srinivasa Rao. They hired a professional killer to execute the macabre task.

The gruesome murder of the girl and the death of her father out of shock evoked a wide sense of outrage and anguish across the state, with several demanding death sentence to the culprits.

“Every household in the state has been deeply saddened by the gruesome murder of the little girl. It is a heinous crime. The public outrage is so intense that many people demand capital punishment for the killers,” Chief Minister K Rosaiah told reporters. Asserting that the culprits would not be spared, he said a fast-track court would be set up to expedite the trial and ensure stringent punishment to the culprits.

BRIEFLY

New Delhi
IM ultra to be booked in Batla case:A suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist, arrested in Azamgarh in connection with the 2008 serial blasts here, will be charged with the murder of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma during the Batla House encounter, sources said today. Shahzad, alias Pappu, an accused in the blasts in Delhi, was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the UP police from Azamgarh last evening. — PTI

Los Angeles
AR Rahman out of Oscar race: Master musician AR Rahman's chance to win back-to-back Oscars ended on Tuesday as he failed to win a nomination in the 'Best Original Song' category, dashing India's only hope at the Academy's this year. The 44-year-old singer-composer was long-listed in the category for his score 'Na na' in his Hollywood debut venture "Couple's Retreat". 'Na na' lost the race to 'Almost there' ("The Princess and the Frog" by Randy Newman); 'Down in New Orleans' ("The Princess and the Frog" by Newman); 'Loin de Paname' ("Paris 36" by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas); 'Take it all' ("Nine" by Maury Yeston) and 'The weary kind' ("Crazy Heart" by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett). — PTI