New Delhi, June 5
The two-day CPM Politburo meeting commenced in the Capital today with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in absentia.

Scheduled in the aftermath of civic body poll debacle of the Left Front in the state, the meeting discussed the defeat of the red brigade after a preliminary report on the same was submitted to the members by party secretary Biman Bose. He often fills in for the Chief Minister at the meet. For Buddhadeb, it is now normal to skip Politburo meetings especially if they come after election defeats. So it was last year after the Left faced a crushing blow in Lok Sabha elections at the hands of the Trinamool Congress. So it is this time after the red brigade bit dust in the state’s municipality elections.

The CPM backed Buddhadeb with party general secretary Prakash Karat saying it was important for the Chief Minister to stay in West Bengal to counter “post poll violence”. “I spoke to the Chief Minister. He must stay back look after law and order issues,” Karat said, as another senior politburo member MK Pandhe added that Buddhadeb was also the Home Minister of West Bengal and responsible for maintaining “social order in the state.”

The Politburo discussed reasons behind the Left’s poor performance in the recently concluded civil body elections in the state. This is the third humiliating loss of the party starting from panchayat elections in 2008, Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and municipal body elections now.

The leaders also decided to hold a separate meeting of the West Bengal CPM unit to discuss the civic poll defeat at length. “We will have elaborate discussions and have asked the state unit to prepare a detailed report. What we discussed today was the preliminary report, which indicated that we gained over Lok Sabha polls, but there are issues of disenchantment of the people with the Left as some amount of arrogance has crept in. That needs to be tackled as much as TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s vicious poll campaigns against us in Bengal,” Pandhe said.

The Politburo further debated the agenda for party’s extended Central Committee meeting in August called to formulate CPM’s political strategy in the wake of changing situation in the country. Importantly, the party’s annual Congress is not happening this year, with Pandhe saying: “When the last Congress was held, we were supporting the UPA. Now the situation has completely changed and we need to discuss our political strategy before we call the party Congress next year,” he said.

Chennai, June 5
Drawing a parallel between the Sri Lankan conflict and the Maoist issue, social activist and Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy has alleged that the Indian corporates were behind both the "wars against the local people".

Speaking at a convention on "Operation Green Hunt and Genocidal Attack on Tribals by Indian State" last evening, she said the war in Sri Lanka was not just a war of the island government against the Tamil people and was a corporate war to destroy the local people and exploit their land and natural resources.

"All the large Indian companies are now heading to Sri Lanka to make more money", she said. Coming down heavily on the political parties in Tamil Nadu, she said they were the ones who could have stopped the "genocide of Tamils" in Sri Lanka, but they chose to remain silent, she said.

“A similar thing is happening in Central India where tribals were resisting the takeover of natural resources by corporates. 'Operation Green Hunt' was not a war against Maoists, but a war against people. It follows the Bush doctrine of you are with us, or against us. Anyone who resists this corporate takeover, whether Gandhian, tribal or Maoist, is branded a terrorist," she said.

"The resistance in central India was a fight against injustice and not a rebellion against the state as the government says it is. The government is on the side of the corporates who want to take over the lands, forests, rivers, the traditional homes of the tribals", she charged.

Turning her attention to the environmental impact of development, she said there was no ecological way to mine bauxite. "You can never mine bauxite and then turn it into aluminium without destroying the ecological balance of the mountains. The tribals have lived in harmony with the forests and nature for centuries," she said.

For over five years, some of the poorest, most marginalised people in the country have held off some of the world's largest multi-national corporations, she said, referring to tribals and adivasis across the country. "Every institution in this country has been corrupted but the spirit of our people remains strong," she said.

The people's struggles were not against democracy but the ways in which the mechanisms of democracy function. "You're a Gandhian if you protest on the road, and a Maoist if you resist in the forest. How can someone without food go on a hunger strike? To do Gandhian resistance, you need an audience, and there is no audience in the forest," she said.

Slamming the media for wrongly interpreting her speech, Arundhati said, "I am not here to justify the killings. I am an independent nonaligned writer. I have the right to ask questions by placing myself on the side of the resistance.”

Chandigarh, June 5
A fresh controversy over anomalies in fixation of pension has arisen, with officers who retired as Majors and equivalent claiming that their pension has not been fixed in accordance with the accepted recommendations of the Six Pay Commission (SPC) recommendations. Consequently, their pension has been fixed at the minimum scales applicable to a Lieutenant, two rungs below, thereby not only lowering their status, but also causing them a loss of several thousand rupees per month.

The matter affects thousands of officers from all three services who retired in this rank before January 2006, the date of implementation of the SPC. Based upon a petition filed by 17 officers, a Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal comprising Justice Ghanshyam Prashad and Lt Gen HS Panag issued notices to the central government for August 2.

The minimum basic pension of a pre-2006 retired Major as on date is Rs 14,100, while that of a Major who retired in 2006 or afterwards is about Rs 22,000. On the other hand post-2006 pension of an honorary Lieutenant is Rs 15, 465 and that of an honorary Captain is Rs 16,145. These are the JCOs who have been granted an honorary rank of an officer in recognition of their services. Moreover, the difference in pension of a Major and that of Captains and Lieutenants has also narrowed down considerably after the SPC.

Whenever pay panel recommendations are implemented, modified parity is granted to employees who retired prior to the date of implementation so all past retirees are granted the benefit of the newly introduced pay scales. They are placed at the bottom of the new pay scales applicable for employees of the same grade who are serving on the date of implementation of the new scales. The SCP had, hence, fairly recommended that the pension of all those officers who retired prior to 2006 would be fixed not less than 50 per cent of the sum of the minimum pay in the pay band and the grade pay corresponding to the pre-revised pay scale from which they had retired.

Instead of continuing with separate scales for different ranks as was being done previously, the SPC initiated a system of pay bands and the earlier 35 different military and civilian scales were merged into four basic pay bands. Lieutenants, Captains and Majors were placed into a single pay band (PB-3) of Rs 15,600-39,100, with grade pay of Rs 5,400, Rs 6,100 and Rs 6,600, respectively. The Special Army Instruction issued for serving military personnel with effect from January 1, 2006, fixed the minimum basic pay for major at Rs 23,808 in addition to grade pay, military service pay making minimum admissible pay Rs 36,408. The minimum basic was Rs 15,600 for Lieutenant and Rs 18,600 and for Captain.

However, the Dept of Pensions, the petitioners contended, interpreted the above stipulation to mean that the pension of all pre-2006 retirees of the rank of Lieutenant, Captain and Major would be calculated by taking into account the minimum of PB-3.

New Delhi, June 5
The Congress today finally announced the candidature of Union commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections, thus putting an end to the prolonged suspense over his renomination.

Sharma was a sitting member of the Upper House from Himachal Pradesh (his term expired on April 2) but he could not get re-elected from his home state as the Congress does not have sufficient strength in the state assembly to ensure his victory.

The Congress was, therefore, looking for an alternate slot to accommodate him so that he could be retained as a minister. According to the Constitution, a minister, who is not a member of Parliament, has to get elected within six months. Initially, the party had considered nominating him either from Maharashtra or Haryana but it eventually decided on Rajasthan where the Congress has the numbers to win three seats. The Congress had to drop former Union Minister Santosh Bagrodia in order to renominate Sharma from Rajasthan.

With Sharma’s candidature, all Union ministers whose Rajya Sabha terms were expiring, have now been nominated. Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has been renominated from Punjab while environment minister Jairam Ramesh has been fielded once again from Andhra Pradesh.

The Congress also nominated former state minister and Youth Congress leader Ask Ali Tak and retiring Rajya Sabha member Narendra Budania for the other two seats in Rajasthan. Budania, a Jat, was elected last year in a bypoll and has again been fielded in a byelection, having been nominated for the seat vacated by BJP leader Jaswant Singh who moved to the Lok Sabha. Tak appears to have found favour with the Congress leadership as the party was looking for a Muslim face.

Former Union minister Suresh Pachouri’s efforts to get a nomination for the lone Madhya Pradesh seat have been thwarted. Instead, the party has named his one-time protege Vijaylakshmi Sadho, a former state minister and a Dalit leader.

The Congress, however, failed to secure a renomination for AICC general secretary B.K.Hariprasad whose term is coming to an end this month. The party has the numbers to get only one candidate re-elected. Since it has surplus votes, it was in talks with Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (S) which also has extra votes. However, the talks appear to have broken down. Consequently, the only Congress candidate who is assured of a victory from Karnataka is former Union minister Oscar Fernandes. Although Hariprasad was offered a renomination from another state, he declined as he feels it would alienate him from his home state.

New Delhi, June 5
BCCI president Shashank Manohar today launched a scathing attack on Lalit Modi, accusing him of “tarnishing” the image of the board and making misleading allegations that interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin was part of a failed bid for the Pune franchise.

Blasting Modi, Manohar said it was in fact the suspended IPL commissioner who had advised a Pune consortium to rope in Amin as an investor and the interim IPL chief agreed to invest only after the bid succeeded and he had sought the Board's permission.Manohar also claimed that contrary to Modi's assertions, the IPL governing council did not know that city corporation's managing director Aniruddha Deshpande bid for the Pune team in his “individual capacity”.

“The truth is that it was Modi himself who sent a message to the Pune Franchisees through Ajay Shirke, president, MCA (Maharshtra Cricket Association), asking them to contact Amin and ask him to be a part of the consortium,” he revealed.“Mr had given me a letter with a copy to BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, informing that he has been approached by the franchisee. In his letter he clearly states that should City Corporation Ltd win the bid, he would then formally approach the Board for a sanction to invest in the consortium. The letter itself makes it very clear that it was a proposal with a pre-condition attached that Amin would seek a formal sanction only in case the bid succeeds,” Manohar said.

“Modi, since yesterday is trying to malign the image of the board and Amin by making statements which are far from the truth,” Manohar said.

The Pune bid, which was ultimately won by the Sahara group, has snowballed into a major controversy involving former BCCI chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and his Parliamentarian daughter Supriya Sule.

The Pawar family has 16 per cent equity in City Corporation but they claim that Deshpande bid for the Pune team on his own and the company's Board was against the move even though it allowed him to use the company's name on bid documents.But Manohar said had the IPL governing council known that Deshpande was bidding in his individual capacity, the bid would have been outrightly rejected. — PTI

Hyderabad, June 5
The authorities at Tirumala, the country’s richest temple, are planning to introduce dress code for pilgrims visiting the hill shrine.The idea is to maintain spiritual ambience in the temple premises and discourage devotees from wearing indecent and vulgar dresses,” said IYR Krishna Rao, the Executive Officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), an autonomous board managing the affairs of the popular shrine.

The dress code for women will be sari or churidars and for men it is dhoti, lungi or simple trousers and shirts. The pilgrims wearing mini-skirts, bermudas, shorts, low-waist jeans, sleeveless tops and other western outfits will not be allowed inside the temple.

The restrictions will come into force after a three month-long sensitisation programme during which the devotees will be counselled about the need for appropriate dressing, the officials said.“We will educate the pilgrims on Indianness, culture and the need to protect the sanctity of the temple,” Rao said adding that the decision to impose curbs on “vulgar dresses” was taken following complaints from pilgrims.

At present, a dress code is in force for pilgrims taking part in special rituals like Suprabhatam, Thomala, Archana and Kalyanotsavam. The dress code will now be extended to general devotees seeking the darshan of Lord Venkateswara.

Nestled among a string of seven hills, the Tirumala temple attracts, on an average, over 50,000 pilgrims a day and the number crosses one lakh on special occasions.

Aligarh, June 5
A woman has charged six persons, including district BSP president, of assaulting and later parading her naked in a market, following which a case has been registered against them by the police.

A case of assault against six persons, including the BSP leader Moolchand Bhagel, has been filed, Superintendent of Police Maan Singh Chouhan said. He, however, said the woman was not paraded naked.

The incident took place on June 2, when 45-year-old Brima Devi had a minor tiff with some persons while she was on her way back from a temple. She was then beaten up. She alleged in her complaint to the police that she was also paraded naked through the village Chandaukha, 20 km from here.

Bir Singh, husband of Brima Devi, alleged that the police was trying to dilute the charges against the BSP leader because of political pressure.

The woman was detained by the police for a few hours in connection with some case. She was, however, let off later.

“Instead of arresting the persons named in the report, the police has arrested Devi on a case filed against her by a group ten days back,” Singh alleged. — PTI

New Delhi, June 5
The inclusion of Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray to the recently reconstituted National Integration Council (NIC) has sparked off a row with a member even resigning from the body.

Shabnam Hashmi, who represents NGO Anhad that promotes communal harmony, sent her resignation to Home Minister P Chidmabaram today to protest Thackeray’s nomination to the NIC.

Expressing shock over this decision, Hashmi pointed out that Thackeray’s whole political life is based on divisive and hate politics. “His entry into the NIC is a cruel oxymoron,” she said. Thackeray’s brand of communal politics, according to her, is against the secular and plural value system that the Council upholds.

“It was bad enough to have highly communal people on the NIC by virtue of being Chief Minister. Uddhav Thackeray’s entry into the Council will further derogate the high credentials and stature of the body forever,” she added.

“How can anybody talk about national integration with people like Thackeray...enough is enough,” maintained Shabnam Hashmi, when contacted about her resignation.

Uddhav Thackeray’s nomination to the NIC was announced yesterday in an official press release that said he was included in the category of “Leaders of Regional Political Parties”.

The Centre had reconstituted the NIC on April 5 but this list did not include Uddhav Thackeray’s name. Thie Centre had then named 147 members that include all Union Cabinet ministers, leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, all Chief Ministers and presidents of all national and regional political parties.

Uddhav Thackeray, who is locked in a bitter battle with his estranged cousin MNS chief Raj Thackeray for the Shiv Sena’s political legacy, is best remembered for the violent campaign his cadres mounted against the screening of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “My Name is Khan” after the film star regretted the exclusion of Pakistani cricket players in the IPL teams.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, whose role in the 2002 communal riots has made him persona non grata with civil society groups, is also a member of the NIC.

In addition, the Council includes leaders of national and regional political parties, heads of National Commissions, mediapersons, public figures, business leaders and representatives of women’s organisations.

The Council, which was set up to review issues concerning national integration and communal harmony, is chaired by the Prime Minister.

Pali (Rajasthan), June 5
Inspired by the green cover in the desert area of Israel, a man here is determined to transform the Thar desert by undertaking massive plantation on his own.

Kishore Khimawat, a diamond merchant by profession, has so far planted over 1.75 lakh Neem plants in the district.

The green cover along many roads in the region reflects the dedication and hard work behind the plantation work done by him.

Not only road sides, but hospitals, schools and institute premises also have green cover due to the efforts of Khimawat, who hails from Khimel village, about 60 kms from here, and is now settled in Mumbai.

"Over 1.75 lakh saplings on several road sides, in a total area of 290 kms, have been planted in the district so far with cent per cent survival rate," Khimawat told PTI.

The 58-year-old diamond businessman has been inspired by mass plantations in the desert of Israel.

"I have observed the success of mass-plantation in the desert of Israel and want to replicate the same plan over here. In Israel, large plantations caused heavy rainfall in desert areas.

"The objective of the plantation is to build an environment-friendly and healthy Rajasthan by raising oxygen levels and maintaining the eco-balance. This will go hand in hand with development," he said.

Khimawat has his own complete set up for plantation and maintenance works.

He has a staff of 40 members, one JCB machine, a few water tankers, tractor trollies and tubewells for watering the plants, a nursery to prepare samplings and a factory to manufacture tree guards.

"We first prepare neem saplings in our nursery and then plant them after three years in pits dug three months in advance. My staff members take care of all the plants from time to time to ensure their survival and proper growth," he said.

He started the initiative in 2003 and set up his own nursery to prepare Neem saplings for the massive plantation in 2005.

"Experts suggested that I plant Neem which grows even in adverse conditions, offering maximum greenery which in turn attracts rainfall and keeps the environment healthy," he said, adding, that he comes to Pali every month to monitor work on regular basis.

"Now I intend to extend the programme to other areas in the coming days which would include Jodhpur, Nagaur and surrounding places," he said.

Khimawat has also worked for water conservation in the region since 2001.

He has got several awards for plantation, including one from the state government. — PTI

Jaipur, June 5
Even as the World Environment Day is celebrated across the country today, a close look at flora and fauna of the desert state presents a gloomy picture.

What to talk of other plants and animals, state bird of Rajasthan Godawan (Great Indian Bustard), state animal Chinkara, state flower Rohira and state tree Khejri are not safe in the desert state and their number is on a decline.

The number of Great Indian Bustard has dipped from 131 in 2001 to a meagre 85. Their number has dropped by 50 per cent in the Thar region over the last three years. Similarly, birds like Tawny-bellied Babbler and Red Whiskered Bulbul that were once a common sight in the forests of Southern Rajasthan are now a rare sight.

The number of Chinkaras may have been around 38,000, but the government is doing little for their conservation. Experts say the ecosystem of the state is changing at a rapid pace, as a result of which the vegetation that constitutes diet of the Great Indian Bustard and Chinkaras is on the decline, thus taking a toll on their number. While the government is spending crores of rupees on tiger conservation, it has turned a blind eye towards the declining numbers of several birds and animals in the state.

The wildlife experts here opine that community participation is a must to sensitise people over the issue. For instance, they point out that the active role of the Bishnoi community has helped put a curb on killing of the chinkaras in the state. Similarly, the Meena community has played a crucial role in protecting black bucks in the Tonk area, where their number has shown an impressive rise.

The scenario is no different when it comes to flora of the state. The green cover has reduced drastically, particularly in Southern Rajasthan, and many plants that were once commonly found in the state now feature in the list of the endangered species.

Experts attribute this trend to illegal mining in the Aravalli range and hills that have caused massive destruction of the forests. Similarly, a large number of sandalwood trees in the Udaipur region have been chopped off by those involved in its smuggling.

As per the official records, the state has a 9 per cent forest cover, though sources say it has been reduced by about 2 per cent over the last three decades.

Guwahati, June 5
Who will make the first step in the form of a formal letter to set the ball rolling for the peace process with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA)? This big question has clouded the peace overtures as announced by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi before the media here on May 26 last.

While announcing his government’s decision to hold talks with the ULFA leadership, Gogoi had said: “This is a message from the government to the ULFA leadership conveyed through the media. I hope the ULFA leaders will respond to it.”

After a few days, Gogoi went on record saying that if the ULFA leadership wanted to hold dialogue with the government they would have to give (the government) a formal letter expressing their interest to hold talks. And that was enough to complicate the matter.

ULFA vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi, who is out on bail, said: “If the government has decided to hold talks with the ULFA, it has to convey it to us formally.

“We got to know about it only through media reports, but we need to know about it straight from the government. Only then the ULFA leaders can take a collective decision.”

On the other hand, ULFA’s central publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary, who was recently released on bail, also issued a statement seeking a government decision on holding talks with top ULFA leaders, including outfit chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa who, he demanded, should be released from jail.

A noted litterateur and intellectual of the state, Dr Hiren Gohain, who is spearheading a civil society movement to mount pressure on the ULFA and government to hold dialogue, said as on date the ULFA leaders in jail couldn’t give a letter to the government expressing their willingness to hold talks as they have to decide it in the general council of the outfit.

Gohain also said that Gogoi, during a discussion with the civil society leaders on May 27, never talked about any formal letter from the ULFA and instead he pledged to send government representatives to the jail to know the opinion of jailed ULFA leaders.

As the debate over a ‘former letter’ from is gradually eclipsing the peace initiative, Dr Nani Gopal Mahanta, who is an expert in conflict studies from Gauhati University, said: “There should not be too much formality to start a peace process with the ULFA. The government shouldn’t waste a golden opportunity this time.”

Dr Mahanta even suspected that a section bureaucrats and politicians were allegedly out to derail the peace initiative by whipping up the issue of a ‘formal letter’ from the ULFA leaders as they didn’t want to part with security cover they are provided because of the prevailing insurgency.