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The IPL Kochi franchisee row
NCP chief’s ‘double talk’ may hit ties with Cong
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HC booster has Gujjars smiling
Find ways to make litigation affordable, says President
It’s mid-April, and north’s sizzling
Naxals fire at Dantewada probe team
Hi-tech radios for IAF rescue squads
KCR: There’ll be civil war if Telangana isn’t formed
A clarification
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PM to take final call on Tharoor today
Anita Katyal/Our Political Correspondent
New Delhi, April 17 The much-anticipated meeting between the Prime Minister and Tharoor did not materialise tonight and it is expected that this issue will be discussed by the Congress top brass only tomorrow as the party’s main trouble-shooter Pranab Mukherjee is not in New Delhi today. The Congress has distanced itself from Tharoor ever since this controversy surfaced and has studiously maintained that it was for the Prime Minister to take a final call on this matter. The Tharoor episode has disrupted Parliament as an unrelenting Opposition has been demanding that the Minister of State for External Affairs be asked to resign his post. Although the Congress has not said anything officially on the Opposition’s demand, there are many in the party who privately admit that Tharoor’s continuation in the council of ministers has become untenable. Tharoor has been accused of misusing his position in the government to get sweat equity to the tune of Rs 70 crore for his close friend Sunanda Pushkar. “Both Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi have will look into the details of the case and decide if the junior minister is affecting the credibility of the party and the government,” remarked a UPA minister. The PM will be helped in taking a final decision as he will be equipped with the facts pertaining to the ownership and funding of all IPL teams, which are now being probed by the Income Tax department. The junior minister has offered a personal explanation on his involvement in the IPL Kochi franchise in the Lok Sabha but few in the government or the party have come out to back his side of the story. Tharoor’s meeting with the Congress chief two days ago had given the impression that he had got a reprieve, but senior party leaders were quick to clarify that the junior minister had only gone to explain his position. Although Tharoor has few supporters in the Congress, there is a view that the minister should not be eased out immediately as the Opposition would take all credit for it. On the other hand, it is being argued that the details of the Income Tax probe be awaited as its report could even unearth embarrassing details about the involvement of Opposition leaders in the IPL. On the flip side, however, the party’s image could take a serious beating if this controversy is allowed to linger on. The CPM is making this a major issue in Kerala with an eye on the upcoming local body elections. The ruling combine in New Delhi has to worry that this episode is cementing opposition unity at a time when the government needs full cooperation in Parliament for the passage of crucial finance Bills.
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BCCI meets sans Modi
New Delhi: IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s powers are set to be curtailed considerably, as the move to clip his wings gained momentum at an informal BCCI meeting in Dharamshala where the Board’s top brass discussed the Kochi franchise ownership row. After Modi’s public spat with Shashi Tharoor on the matter turned into a political storm and an I-T nightmare for the
IPL, the board officials held an informal conclave in Dharamshala. — PTI Mallya’s daughter quizzed
New Delhi/Mumbai: The I-T department plans to enlarge its current inquiry into the IPL’s financial transactions to cover all franchises amidst allegations of murky deals even as it questioned the ‘mystery’ woman and Vijay Mallya’s daughter who works for IPL commissioner Lalit
Modi. Laila Mahmood, the step daughter of Mallya, who owns the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, was identified as the woman who exited Modi’s office in a plush hotel in Mumbai, minutes before IT officials visited it for probe on Thursday.
— PTI I-T survey at PCA ends
Mohali: I-T officials on Saturday stated that they had completed the survey of the account books of the Indian Premier League
(IPL) being maintained at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) here. Sources said the IT team that had carried out a surprise survey of the IPL accounts yesterday did not take any documents along with them from the
PCA. Sources in the department added that on the face of it nothing seemed amiss from the account books shown by PCA officials.
— TNS
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Advani demands probe
Advani, at a function organised by the Lala Diwan Chand Trust to honour the services rendered by Nanaji Deshmukh and Sunderlal
Bahuguna, launched a diatribe against the IPL. He said, “Friends, I am constrained to mention today the IPL scandal that is making the headlines these days.” Taking a general swipe at the IPL franchisee holders, he said, “The weaknesses in our current economic system have made it possible for dishonest and unscrupulous people to amass huge wealth by bending the laws of the land. They are using even a popular sport like cricket for scandalous self-gratification.” He went on to demand a thorough probe into all aspects of the IPL bidding, and ensure all transactions in this tournament remain above board: “No wrong-doer must be spared and tax haven accounts of bidders and others associated with the IPL be probed.”
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NCP chief’s ‘double talk’ may hit ties with Cong
New Delhi, April 17 The attempt by NCP chief and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar to bat simultaneously for Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has also not gone down too well with the grand old party. The Congress, therefore, is left with no other option than to grin and bear the situation, especially in current circumstances that have the potential to land many in trouble. But taking hues of a proxy Congress-NCP war, the “double talk” by the senior Cabinet Minister has once again exposed chinks in Congress-NCP relations, which plummeted to a new low recently when their workers clashed over alleged fake voting in Navi Mumbai’s civic elections. Apparently keeping in mind the coalition ‘dharma’, Pawar came out in support of Tharoor, saying the minister should not quit. He even sermonised the Opposition on how valuable time of Parliament was, which should not be wasted in trivialities. On the other hand, loyalty to the cricketing community has also ensured active support to the IPL commissioner, with Pawar going to great lengths to explain how there was nothing wrong in making public names of Kochi franchisee stakeholders. Supporting Tharoor -- the “mentor” to the Kochi franchise -- Pawar said the minister’s “basic interest” was to put cricket in the limelight in Kerala and provide opportunities to players from the state. And on Modi’s tweeted revelations that opened a can of worms, landing Tharoor, his “friend” Sunanda Pushkar and others in the T20 league in a mess that is showing no signs of clearing up, Pawar said: “There is nothing wrong in disclosing the names of the stakeholders.” Some Congress leaders say his vested interests in cricket are forcing the seasoned Maratha strongman to bat for the cricket community. The fact is the IPL row has blurred political lines. So even though Lalit Modi is linked to Opposition BJP, there are people in the Congress who speak in favour of Modi. There are also speculations on how MPs, MLAs or their close associates from ruling as well as Opposition parties could be linked to IPL teams in a clandestine manner. “With every passing day, more confusion is getting added to the already confounded situation. God only knows which all names will pop up if this continues for a few more days,” a Congress leader remarked.
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IIT-JEE 2010 errors: Nitish raises matter with Sibal, wants re-exam
New Delhi, April 17 The Bihar CM, in a letter to Sibal, highlighted the errors and sought a re-examination as futures of five lakh students were at stake due to “faults in the paper.” The CM added that denials of errors emanating from IIT Madras, which conducted this year’s JEE, were insufficient and the matter called for a high-level probe and rectification. Sibal has assured action in the case. The Tribune had earlier reported how wrong instructions in Hindi JEE question bank cost each aspirant 48 marks in Paper II. In English version of the paper, Section IV of Paper II had two questions each with four parts of two marks each, taking the cumulative score to 48. Instructions in English version of the paper said, “For each question in Section IV, you will be awarded two marks for each row in which you have darkened the bubble (s) corresponding to the correct answer. Thus, each question in this section carries a maximum of eight marks. There is no negative marking for incorrect answer(s).” Corresponding instructions in the Hindi paper were shockingly different and said for each question in Section IV, a student would be awarded three marks if the bubble corresponding to the correct answer is darkened and zero marks if no bubble is darkened. While English paper said each question in the said section carried eight marks, Hindi paper said it carried three marks. In all, Hindi paper put the worth of six questions in the section at 18 marks whereas their real worth was 48 marks,” Nitish Kumar wrote to Sibal, after telephoning him to discuss the issue. Sibal said Nitish spoke to me about this matter and I asked him to send me the details of the stated errors. We will certainly get the matter investigated. Why won’t we? Meanwhile, Anand Kumar of Super 30 (who trains poor students for IITs) told TNS today that he had petitioned the Bihar CM on the matter. It was on Anand’s petition that Nitish intervened and sought the concerns be addressed. Anand said errors had crushed the IIT dreams of lakhs and eroded the credibility of
IITs.
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HC booster has Gujjars smiling
Jaipur/Dausa, April 17 Following the HC order, which directed the state government to form a high-power committee under a retired judge to look into the quota demand, Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla announced that the protesters will camp at Sikandara in Dausa district till the state government does not agree to give 5 per cent quota to the community in government jobs. “We welcome the court decision and hope the government will make sincere efforts to meet our quota demand,” he said, adding that their mass siege at Sikandara will be decisive. He, however, renewed his demand for freezing all government recruitments until courts resolve the reservation issue. “The state government should either grant us reservation in jobs in accordance with the Reservation Act of 2009 or cease all recruitments till the matter is settled by the courts,” he averred. Meanwhile, Karauli Collector Neeraj K Pawan today extended a fresh invitation for talks to the Gujjar leaders camping at Sikandara, third in as many days, which was finally accepted by them. “We’re ready to find a solution to the problem through talks. We will hold a dialogue with the government with an open mind,” said Bainsla, while talking to the media at Sikandara. Later, he along with an 11-member delegation of the community reached the state capital in the afternoon and held a marathon meeting with Energy Minister and government’s key intermediary Jitendra Singh at his residence. Though Bainsla didn’t reveal much about the meeting to the eagerly awaiting mediapersons, a smile on his face said it all. There are indications that the Gujjar leaders are satisfied with the first round of talks. The state government has also set the ball rolling for constituting a high-power committee as directed by the High Court. Sources said the panel will be formed within a day or so. There are also reports that the Gujjar community will also have their representatives in the committee.
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Find ways to make litigation affordable, says President
Guwahati, April 17 Launching ‘Access to justice and socio-economic development of North-Eastern States’ programme here, Patil said: “Litigation is an expensive option. For the poor and disadvantaged sections approaching courts without legal aid is not possible. We must find ways to make justice more affordable in terms of court fee or lawyer’s fee. At the same time, we need to make our legal aid system robust, effective and
competent.” Saying that rule of law is the foundation of justice, she commented that lack of opportunities for equitable access to justice can create a division in society of those who “have” and those who “do-not-have” access to justice. Raising concern over arrears in courts, Patil said justice delayed was amounted to justice denied. “The large number of cases pending at various levels of our judiciary is an issue of concern. This has a cascading effect on people’s expectations and impacts on their perception of the judiciary. A case not decided on time results in a situation of being “in limbo” for years together for litigants,” she said. She lauded efforts of many high courts to notify their cause lists and case status on their websites to make functioning of the court more transparent and said the same initiatives should percolate down to all subordinate courts as such steps would make judicial process more transparent and predictable for people. Patil lauded the apex court for constituting North Eastern Regional Committee with Dr Justice Mukundakam Sharma as its president to take care of ‘Access to Justice and Socio-Economic Development of N-E States’ programme. “The contribution of the N- E States to country’s development has been tremendous. The development of the North East region is also amongst the foremost priorities of the nation. The N-E Vision 2020 is a document that reflects the collective desire of N-E people for development,” Patil said.
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It’s mid-April, and north’s sizzling
New Delhi, April 17 According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there is likely to be no respite from the heat wave over the weekend as no significant change is expected in maximum temperatures over plains of the northwest and the adjoining central India for the next 48 hours. However, situation is expected to improve with the likelihood of a western disturbance that can lower the temperature by two to three degrees from Monday. The Met office says scattered to fairly widespread rain and thundershowers are likely over the western Himalayan region due to which a fall in maximum temperatures over the northwest, central and east India is expected over the next five days. Today, the country continued to reel under the heat wave. Temperatures soared in Madhya Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh, Saurashtra, Kutch, Marathwada, Vidarbha, Madhya Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. Day temperatures were also above normal in Assam, north Orissa, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Konkan, Goa, Telangana, Rayalseema, Tamil Nadu, some parts of Bihar and north interior Karnataka.
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Naxals fire at Dantewada probe team
Raipur, April 17 Official sources said the Naxals fired a few random shots at the securitymen, comprising CRPF and local police personnel guarding Rammohan at Chintalnar in Dantewada district. No one was injured in the firing.
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Going On Air Vijay Mohan/TNS
Chandigarh, April 17 According to IAF sources, about 1,500 such radio sets are being procured and these would be deployed at 65 stations across the country. These would also be used by teams on search and rescue operations in case of an air crash. Besides its own airbases, the IAF is also responsible for emergency services in stations where civilian enclaves are co-located with Air Force stations and IAF air traffic control facilities are used for operations by civilian operators. Light in weight, water resistant and ruggedised with a range of at least 15 km, these sets would provide secure and encrypted digital as well as analog voice and data communication facility across the VHF low-band, VHF high-band, and UHF public safety bands on a single portable radio. While the new radios are expected to be procured shortly, the IAF has also drawn up long-term prospective plans to procure amphibious aircraft for what is being stated as search and rescue missions, inter-island communication and rapid response duties and reconnaissance of island territories. The IAF had issued a request for information on March 10 for procurement of six turbo-prop amphibious aircraft. Requirements spelt out for these aircraft include a range of at least 800 nautical miles, cruise speed of 200 knots and a service ceiling of 15,000 feet or above along with an electronic warfare suite and state of the art avionics and navigation system. Apart from the Navy, which has a component of combat and surveillance aircraft and helicopters, the IAF has a squadron of Jaguar aircraft configured for maritime operations.
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KCR: There’ll be civil war if Telangana isn’t formed
Hyderabad, April 17 “There will be a civil war if Telangana state is not formed,” thundered K Chandrasekhar Rao, chief of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) which has been in the forefront of the statehood agitation. The people of the backward region will not accept anything less than a separate state to end decades of exploitation, neglect and discrimination, he said after submitting his party’s views to the Justice Srikrishna Committee set up by the Centre to go into the issue. Holding out a warning, Rao, whose indefinite fast in November last year prompted a series of flip-flops by the UPA government on the Telangana issue, said that Centre would be solely responsible for violent consequences if the five-member expert panel failed to recommend bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. “The people of Telangana are not in a position to tolerate any further delay in achieving the statehood goal,” the TRS founder-president said.
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A clarification
With reference to the April 13 article titled, “Government claim on maternal deaths deflated”, it is clarified that the stated range of 325-350 maternal deaths per one lakh live births was quoted in the article on the basis of MMR estimates projected by several experts and demographers, who are studying the current maternal health indicators. Dr F. Ram, Director, Indian Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai, did not author the said range, as was inadvertently stated. The error is regretted. |
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New Delhi, April 17
The Shashi Tharoor-Lalit Modi spat seems to have brought the blow-hot-blow-cold relationship between the UPA alliance partners Congress and NCP under strain once again.
The attempt by NCP chief and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar to bat simultaneously for Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has also not gone down too well with the grand old party.
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today underlined the urgent need to find ways to make the litigation system in the country affordable for the poor and disadvantaged in society.
Launching ‘Access to justice and socio-economic development of North-Eastern States’ programme here, Patil said: “Litigation is an expensive option. For the poor and disadvantaged sections approaching courts without legal aid is not possible. We must find ways to make justice more affordable in terms of court fee or lawyer’s fee. At the same time, we need to make our legal aid system robust, effective and
competent.”
New Delhi, April
17
Sources said the Naxals opened fire as they wanted to make their presence felt. Rammohan is in the district to establish the circumstances preceding and the sequence of events leading to the attack in which 75 CRPF and local police head constable were killed brutally by Naxals. Rammohan will examine the response of the state police and the CRPF both during the ambush and the post-ambush relief and rescue operations, besides suggesting measures to mitigate the lapses, if any, so that such incidents do not recur.
— PTI