New Delhi, May 5
Adjournments continued in the Rajya Sabha today, also in the morning session, over the alleged fake gunbattles and then over Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar's "fascist" remarks against Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley and senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Although Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar later expressed regret over his remarks against Arun Jaitley, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, but by then the House had to be adjourned till 2 pm. This was the second day his remarks had led to disruptions in the House.

The Rajya Sabha was first adjourned at 11.40 for 20 minutes following noisy protests by the BJP against the alleged fake gunbattles. Then, when the House re-assembled for the Zero Hour, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu wanted Aiyar to apologise for the remarks.

"The chair works according to the rules. The remarks have been deleted," said Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan but this did not satisfy Ahluwalia, who said in a raised voice: "Let the leader of the house come and explain. "The chair can ask a member to withdraw. Remarks can be deleted but the chair can't ask a member to apologise," Khan explained. As Prakash Javadekar and other BJP members advanced towards the speaker's podium, Khan adjourned the house till 2 p.m.

Earlier, BJP member S.S. Ahluwalia wanted leader of the upper house, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to come to the chamber and provide an explanation for Aiyar's remarks. Trouble also arose when Home Minister P. Chidambaram was replying to reports of alleged fake police gunbattles in the national capital and BJP members led by Rajiv Pratap Rudy sought to widen the scope of the question to other parts of the country.

"The question is on Delhi Police. He (Chidambaram) may have all the answers. But this is not the time for this," Chairman Hamid Ansari told the agitating members. "Why are you expanding the scope of the question?" Ansari asked.

"I am not expanding the scope of the question. He is competent enough to give an answer," Ahluwalia retorted as BJP members led by Vinaykumar Rupani and Rudra Narayan Pany advanced towards the speaker's podium. Ahluwalia, however, pushed them back but the BJP members continued to stand at their places, shouting "Jawab de (Give a reply)", prompting a disgusted Ansari to remark: "I'm afraid this is disgraceful behaviour." Failing to restore order, Ansari then adjourned the house till 12 noon.

Later in the day when the house resumed its sitting in the post-lunch session, Aiyar said he regretted to have "inadvertently and without malicious intent" used the words which were subsequently expunged by the chair. "The chair has expunged a few words and expressions I used at the start of my maiden speech on the evening of May 3, 2010. As one who has been selected for the outstanding Parliament Award, 2006, I regret I have inadvertently and without malicious intent used the expunged words/expressions. I bow to the direction of the chair and seek chairman’s permission to resume my speech," Aiyar said.

Deputy Chairman K. Rahman said that Aiyar can resume his speech when the house resumes discussion on the working of the home ministry. 

New Delhi, May 5
Senior sports officials, led by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi, here today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the Sports Ministry’s contentious new regulation, limiting the tenures of the office-bearers of the IOA and the National Sports Federations to 12 years, with a cap of 70 years as the retirement age.

The delegation that called on the PM included IOA secretary-general Randhir Singh, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, Archery Association of India president Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh. The Prime Minister is learnt to have advised the delegation to sort the matter amicably for holding the Commonwealth Games successfully.

Meanwhile, the government has also decided to send a senior official to the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland) to sort out the tenure issue following IOC’s clear warning to the government not to meddle with the autonomy of the National Olympic Committee and the National Sports Federations.

Kalmadi also got the backing of Commonwealth Games Federation’s Coordination Commission chairman Austin Sealy in his fight to thwart the Sports Ministry’s order as he felt that the government move was ill-timed.

“The timing of the Sports Ministry order was unfortunate. We could have done without these distractions,” Sealy told reporters at a media briefing. He said the government could have timed the announcement better without creating such a major controversy, which is now snowballing into an explosive situation.

Kolkata, May 5
A SpiceJet flight with 123 passengers on board had a scare today after two Russian nationals, including a woman in burqa, behaved “suspiciously” and the plane made a priority landing at the Kolkata airport.

The Delhi-Kolkata-Dhaka flight (SG 208) of the low-cost air carrier touched down at the NSC Bose Airport at 11.23 am after being given clearance by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to land ahead of other aircraft over Kolkata airspace, airport sources said. All passengers were safe.

The aircraft was immediately taken to an isolation bay and was surrounded by CISF personnel, the bomb squad, fire brigade and the police in line with an emergency drill, sources said.

SpiceJet CEO Sanjan Aggarwal said the captain of the flight requested for a priority landing after being alerted about a suspicious passenger by the sky marshal on board. The couple bound for Dhaka was reported to be from Chechnya, a Russian province.

The burqa-clad woman Irbanieva Eieonora (42) and her 50-year-old husband Aslan Bekov Arthur were taken to the office of the airport manager where they were questioned.

Both were Russian passport holders and their papers were found to be in order, sources said. The confusion arose because of the woman passenger’s manly physique and a language problem, sources said.

There was no hijack threat to the SpiceJet aircraft, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesperson said in New Delhi. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 5
India will upgrade, widen and improve the weight-bearing capacity of three national highways in Jammu and Kashmir, which run close to the boundaries with Pakistan and China.

Crucially the 475-km-long Srinagar-Sonamarg-Drass-Kargil-Leh road, considered to be the lifeline of the Army, will be double-laned. This is the National Highway 1-D and it runs along the ultra-sensitive LoC with Pakistan and it ends up at Leh from where the Line of Actual Control with China lies to the east. China has already build world-class infrastructure on its side and is often discussed in Indian Parliament.

Apart from this, the 274-km-long NH 1-B, running through Doda and Kishtwar, will also be double-laned. The last road on the list is also the smallest in length and it is NH 1-C between Domel and Jammu. At present these roads are single-laned for most part. Under a project handed over to the Border Roads Organisation, these are being widened to take double-lane movement of traffic, said the Director-General of BRO, Lt Gen MC Badhani.

Apert from this, the enhancement of the load-bearing capacity of these roads will be of military importance. The new improvements will make them, as what is classified a “class-70” of road, which means bridges and culverts on the road can take up to 70 tonnes of load. At present the classification is much lower.

Sources said upgraded roads would give the Army the flexibility to move even heavier armoured vehicles along the road. The Army is already buying 22-tonne lightweight tanks. A global request for information has been floated and the Army is looking at some 300 of these to be stationed in the mountainous areas. A small attachment of armoured personnel vehicles, called BMP in Army parlance, is already stationed in the flats of Chushul in northeastern Ladakh. These have been airlifted.

The government has set 2012 as the deadline to finish the project on the three national highways. The double-laning also means faster movement of goods and material during the summer months. The geo-strategic areas of Leh remain cut-off during winter when the only supply lines are the transport planes of the IAF. Separately, the BRO is making some 1388 km of roads in Ladakh.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen MC Badhani today said the construction on the 8.8-km tunnel under the Rohtang Pass is slated to start from July 1. The Rs 1450-crore tunnel will take five years to complete. 

Chandigarh, May 5
On the third consecutive day of the ongoing hearing in the Ruchika molestation case, Abha Rathore, counsel wife of former Director General of Police (Haryana) SPS Rathore, today argued that Ruchika’s friend Aradhana was a planted witness.

“Abha submitted to the court that Aradhana, the prime witness, was planted against Rathore due to rivalry between two lawn tennis associations of Panchkula. Aradhana was not present when the incident allegedly took place and that she never visited the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association (HLTA) office,” Ruchika's family lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj said. “She is trying to mislead the court again,” he added.

“Abha and their other lawyer ND Sharma pleaded before the court that the former DGP was a victim of rivalry between heads of two separate Lawn Tennis Associations - Haryana Lawn Tennis Association (HLTA) and Haryana Tennis Association (HTA) based in Panchkula. At that time, the HLTA was headed by Rathore, an IPS officer, while the HTA was led by an IAS officer J K Duggal,” he added.

“Rathore's counsel also argued that the CBI did not examine the relevant witness Paltoo (ball picker) and the then HLTA manager, Kuldeep Singh,” Bhardwaj mentioned.

Rathore’s counsel also cited some court judgments while reading out the entire evidence in the court. At the adjournment of the day’s in-camera proceedings, Abha and the other counsel also entered into an argument with the prosecution.

Chennai, May 5
A 30-year-old pregnant woman having tested positive for swine flu in the textile city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu has raised fears of re-emergence of the dreaded disease in the state.

The Health Department has issued an alert to all private hospitals, instructing them to screen patients showing symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1), besides starting a sensitisation drive.

Health Secretary VK Subburaj said most swine flu deaths occurred due to late detection of the disease and, therefore, private hospitals had been asked to ensure screening of patients with swine flu symptoms.

The government has instructed deputy health directors to hold meetings with private hospital managements to avoid the spread of the disease and deaths due to late detections.

Last year, swine flu cases were brought to the notice of the government only at the much later stage. Besides, many patients were treated for pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases in the absence of appropriate tests, Subburaj said.

Meanwhile, the affected woman, whose name has not been divulged, is stable and being administered Tamiflu tablets at a private hospital. 

New Delhi, May 5
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Bill also called the Green Bill, envisaging quick and effective disposal of environment related issues, was cleared by Parliament today. Once provisions of the Bill are operationalised, individuals and organisations can hope for fast-track justice and compensation for loss of life and property following environmental accidents.

As in recent radiation scare, victims of such incidents can get compensation for loss of life and property due to environmental hazards. The National Green Tribunal will be headquartered at Bhopal - site of one of the worst industrial mishaps - where victims and their families continue to be engaged in legal battles even 25 years after death was unleashed by a faulty valve at the Union Carbide plant.

The Green Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on May 2 after Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh accepted some amendments key to the proposed legislation. An amendment was introduced to alter the criteria for who can file a case before the tribunal. Now any person aggrieved, including any representative body organisation, will be allowed to file an application for compensation and settlement of disputes. As per Ramesh, anyone can approach the NGT. “It can be any individual, media organisation or NGO. We are not choking the access,” he said.

The NGT will be headed by a sitting or retired Supreme Court Judge or the Chief Justice of a high court. A key part of the Bill is creation of Benches on a circuit basis. The mobile green benches will hear cases at places beyond their original location but within jurisdiction.

The tribunal will have five benches. However some members, including Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP, felt that five benches would be inadequate for a country with population of more than 100 crore. Incidentally, earlier attempts to set up similar tribunals had remained non-starters Some members asked for more powers for the proposed body and that the Wildlife Protection Act be brought under its ambit. There were also fears that tribunal could become a tool in the hands of corporate houses.

Meanwhile, as interpreted by some members that maximum compensation under the Bill would be Rs 25 crore, Ramesh said no limit had been fixed for the compensation. It is for non-compliance of the order of the tribunal that the Bill provides for imprisonment up to three years and fine that may extend to Rs 25 crore in case of companies and Rs 10 crore for individuals.

New Delhi, May 5
The lightning speed with which the Upper House cleared a Bill for the revival of the Legislative Council in Tamil Nadu can perhaps go down as record of sorts. Barely 24 hours after the Cabinet’s approval and 48 hours after the DMK patriarch and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi met Congress President Sonia Gandhi, apparently to canvass for introduction of the measure in Parliament, the Rajya Sabha today passed the Bill for setting up the Legislative Council in the state.

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Bill, providing for an Upper House in the state, was, however, passed amid strong protests by DMK’s arch rival the AIADMK. J Jayalalitha’s party, which voted against the measure, alleged that the UPA government had “succumbed to the blackmailing” tactics of DMK — a key UPA ally.

Though the main Opposition BJP supported the Bill, party’s senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu attacked the Congress for “rushing” through the legislation. Demanding an all-party meeting, he wanted to know the urgency behind introducing the Bill at the fag end of the session.

Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, however, justified the quick passage of the measure saying that the proposal to create a Legislative Council was in the DMK election manifesto. Hence, the DMK-ruled state government had also passed a resolution. The Law Minister also quoted B R Ambedkar saying that another chamber besides the Legislative Assembly was needed in states and that the Sarkaria Commission had also recommended the same.

The Legislative Council was abolished by the AIADMK regime in 1986. The state Assembly had recently voted in favour of the resolution moved by Karunanidhi, a member of the last Council when it was abolished by his bete noire M G Ramachandran. On Monday, Karunanidhi met the Congress President and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he needed to get the proposal cleared by both Houses of the Parliament before he can implement the DMK’s poll promise of reviving the Upper House in the state.

Even though Tamil Nadu elections are due in May 2011, Karunanidhi wants to advance them to October and November, perhaps to sort out issues between his two sons - Chemical and Fertlisers Minister MK Alagiri and Tamil Nadu Deputy CM M K Stalin - for good. The nod by Rajya Sabha comes amid reports Karunanidhi is toying with an idea of advancing Assembly elections.

Ranchi, May 5
Three doctors, who conducted the postmortem examination of Delhi-based journalist Nirupama Pathak found dead at her Jharkhand home on April 29, have been issued show-cause notices for not preserving the viscera and foetus of the scribe.

“Three doctors who conducted autopsy of Nirupama have been issued show-cause (notice) and explanation has been sought from them for not preserving the viscera and foetus,” Koderma Sadar Hospital civil surgeon B Mohan said today.

According to officials, the doctors’ team also did not mention the time of her death.

The viscera and foetus were important for the investigation. “The foetus could have disclosed who the father was. The doctors were issued show-cause (notice) after a forensic team visited Nirupama's home today and sought the viscera and foetus of the scribe,” a police official said.

According to sources, the team collected samples from the room where Nirupama died under mysterious circumstances. It also noted the details of calls made after her death.

Nirupama’s mother Sudha Devi has been arrested and the police is questioning her father and brothers about what some believe to be a case of “honour killing”.

The police says the mother is not revealing much.

The family insists that Nirupama committed suicide. But the postmortem examination said she was murdered by smothering and that she was 10-12 weeks pregnant.

The family has admitted that they were opposed to Nirupama's planned marriage with Priyabanshu, her former batchmate at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi.

Nirupama's brother Samarendra says his family is innocent and that it is Priyabanshu Ranjan who should be arrested “for the death of Nirupama”. — IANS

Koderma (Jharkhand): The police will soon question Priyabhanshu Ranjan, the fiance of Delhi-based journalist Nirupama Pathak.“We have sent three teams to Mumbai, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to interrogate Pathak's friends, including Ranjan,” Koderma SP G Kranthi Kumar said.The police will also search her room in Delhi and interrogate her roommate, Kumar said. They were also collecting evidence before questioning other family members of Pathak, he said.A report of the Forensic Department was also awaited, which had collected some documents, including a “suicide note” from her house in Tilaya yesterday. — PTI

New Delhi, May 5
Observing that failure to prevent the death of homeless people is the greatest human rights violation, the Supreme Court today pulled up the Bihar government for expressing its inability to set up night shelters for the poorest of the poor and praised Punjab and Andhra Pradesh on the issue.

“What can be a greater violation of human rights,” a Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Gyan Sudha Misra asked the counsel for Bihar directing the state to file another document detailing the steps it would take for providing shelter to homeless people.

Taking a serious note of Bihar’s response to a PIL seeking night shelters for the poor across the country, the Bench said it was unfortunate that while all the states had conveyed their readiness to take necessary steps Bihar had struck a discordant note.

In the affidavit, the state’s Chief Secretary suggested that the Centre should be asked to formulate a scheme for Bihar and provide 100% funding for implementing it. “We understand the problem of finance, but how can you file such an affidavit,” the court asked. When the counsel said he was not even in a position to withdraw the affidavit without taking instructions from the state, the Bench retorted: “We know how to deal with the affidavit. What will be its consequences, please understand that.”The Bench agreed with Peoples Union for Civil Liberties counsel Colin Gonsalves that Andhra Pradesh and Punjab were model states in the matter of ameliorating poverty.

Mumbai, May 5
Students across Maharashtra who flunked their school examinations in the last academic year are likely to get relief if the state government has its way. Provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which was to come into effect in the academic year 2010-11, will be extended with retrospective effect from last year to benefit “weak” students, according to the state government.

In other words, students of classes I-VII, who stand to repeat a class, may be promoted to the next class, according to the state Education Department.

The government has sought clarity from the Centre in the matter since the RTE comes into effect from April 1 this year. Final examinations in most of the schools in the state were completed in the third week of March or first week of April with results still in the process of being declared.

State Education Minister Balasaheb Thorat said today that the government was mulling a resolution covering the no-fail policy under the RTE with retrospective effect from last year. The state government took this decision after two Class VII students from Mumbai committed suicide last week after being failing in school examinations.

Guwahati, May 5
Forty-five year-old Khiroda Kalita’s life took a tragic turn when she lost her 22-year-old son Moni Barman, sole bread earner of a family of four, in the blast at Ganeshguri in the city on October 30, 2008 - the day serial blasts rocked Assam.

More than 90 persons were killed and about 400 injured in the serial terror that was masterminded by Ranjan Daimary, leader of the banned Bodo militant group the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), who was arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to the Assam police on May 1.

The families who had been hit by the serial blasts want death penalty for Ranjan Daimary.

“Hang him or hand him over to us. There is no question of showing any mercy to Daimary, who had masterminded the serial blasts that killed my son,” said Khiroda Kalita in a choked voice.

Khiroda used to run a tea stall. Once Moni started plying an autorickshaw, he had asked his mother to close her shop. The family was just trying to wriggle out of abject poverty when the blast snatched Moni from the family. “Daimary must be punished in such a way that no one ever dare to become another Ranjan Daimary,” She said.

Rupa Kalita, who lost her husband, in the blast, said: “Ranjan Daimary should be tormented to death. His near and dear ones should also feel the agony of losing a husband or a son.” 

New Delhi, May 5
The Supreme Court has issued guidelines for encouraging quick settlement of cheque-bounce cases, stipulating graded penalty ranging from 0-20 per cent of the cheque amount, depending on the delay.

If the accused made an application for compounding the offences at the first or the second hearing of the case, the trial court would allow it without imposing any costs, a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan ruled.

The magistrate concerned would impose a penalty of 10 per cent on any request made after the second hearing. Similarly, if the application for compounding is made before a sessions court or a High Court in revision or appeal, the accused would have to pay 15 per cent of the cheque amount by way of costs.

At the Supreme Court level, the penalty would be 20 per cent, the Bench, which included Justices P Sathasivam and JM Panchal, said. The guidelines issued in view of a legal vacuum on the subject were also aimed at facilitating quick disposal of 30 lakh cheque-dishonour cases pending in various courts.