New Delhi, June 10
The Opposition BJP and also CPM have pushed the Congress party on the back foot on the light sentence awarded to the accused of Bhopal Gas Tragedy 26 years after the massacre of over 20,000 people.

BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar today directly accused the then MP Chief Minister Arjun Singh and Prime Minister of the day Rajiv Gandhi of making good the escape of the Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson.

Recalling how Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi the ‘Merchant of death (Maut ke saudagar)’, Javadekar wondered what would she like to call those who aided Anderson’s escape and provided him a government aircraft to flee Bhopal. He asked the Congress party to apologise to the nation for helping Anderson. He also hinted that Arjun Singh had personally escorted Anderson to Delhi.

The BJP has taken time picking momentum on this. On Monday when the judgment came, party general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad sufficed to say, “In light of the bitter experience..., the government should reconsider the nuclear bill seriously.”

Then yesterday Syed Shahnawaz Husain went a step further and said, 'The government should withdraw the nuclear liability bill. The aim of the bill is to please Americans. The bill is not for the people of India.” He was the first BJP leader to demand withdrawal of nuclear liability bill. So far BJP has only been seeking a revision of the liability legislation in the light of Bhopal.

BJP’s direct charge against Rajiv Gandhi seems to have left the Congress pretty speechless. AICC media in-charge Janardhan Dwivedi described the BJP allegations as absurd and not worth a comment. A day earlier Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan had made some feeble attempts to defend her party. “The Congress is of the firm opinion that the extradition process should be completed and he (Anderson) should be brought back. We hope government will take it to its logical conclusion,” she said, circumventing the main charge of Congress complicity in facilitating Anderson’s escape from India. Reeling under attack from all sides on the dismal Bhopal gas tragedy verdict, Natarajan sought to pass the blame on “successive government's from different parties at the Centre... so everybody should be questioned.”

Meanwhile, the CPM too urged the Government not to 'succumb to US pressures to enact the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill' in the wake of the 'injustice' done in the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict.

Reacting to the tragedy in its party organ, the People’s Democracy, the CPM, too, has linked the proposed bill to Bhopal and asked it to withdrawn forthwith, adding, “Under the bill, the maximum compensation required to be paid by the supplier is a mere Rs 500 crore.”

However, the CPM stopped short of any personal attack on old friend Arjun Singh and even the late Rajiv Gandhi.

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh, whose Madhya Pradesh government's role in facilitating the departure of former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson from Bhopal in December 1984 has come under scanner, said reports appearing in media about this were not correct, according to a senior journalist who met him on Thursday.@@Santosh Bhartiya, Editor of 'Chauthi Duniya' and a former MP who met Singh here, quoted him as saying he was perturbed over reports about his alleged role in facilitating Anderson's exit. He said he would speak on the matter at an appropriate time. — PTI 

Hyderabad, June 10
Andhra Pradesh government would introduce disaster management as part of school curriculum from next academic year to promote awareness amongst the student community about handling disasters.

The subject would be part of social sciences curriculum of Classes VIII to XI in all schools across the state, a Government Order issued by the Chief Secretary SV Prasad said.

The students would be taught about the basic concepts of disaster management, mitigation methods, community contingency plans, earthquakes, floods and drought and the methods of conservation of natural resources.

“There is a need for students to have a better understanding of various disasters, their causes and impact and knowing the mitigation strategies. The course should cover nature and types of disasters, need for their management, challenges and precautions to be taken to mitigate the effects and related aspects of the Disaster Management,” the order said.

AP has the longest coast line while Telangana and Rayalaseema regions of the state are prone to frequent drought due to adverse seasonal conditions.

The topics included in the existing books are insufficient as they do not directly address the issue of disaster management, the officials said. “The course content has been designed with a purpose to sensitise students in all the aspects of disaster management,” the order said.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has introduced disaster management course in engineering. Similar efforts are being made to introduce disaster management in architecture course and urban planning and medical courses. The disaster management has also been made part of the foundation course for All India Services like the IAS, IPS and IFS.

New Delhi, June 10
The government today announced the minimum support prices (MSP) for kharif crops for the 2010-11 marketing season. While the support price of paddy (common) has been fixed at Rs 1,000 per quintal, its “grade A” variant would fetch Rs 1,030 -- an increase of Rs 50 over the last year’s MSP. And despite soaring prices, the MSPs of pulses have been hiked substantially. The motive behind the move, say agriculture ministry officials, is to encourage farmers to grow pulses, the requirement for which is fulfilled by India through imports.The MSP decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Among the pulses, the maximum increase of Rs 700 a quintal has been given to arhar dal (tur). Its MSP now would be Rs 3,000, up from Rs 2,300 last year. The raise for arhar, as per sources, is Rs 200 more than what the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommended. The new MSP of moong and urad would be Rs 3,170 and Rs 2,900 a quintal, up from Rs 2,760 and Rs 2,520, respectively, last year.

In addition, an incentive at the rate of Rs 5 per kg for tur, urad and moong sold during the harvest and arrival period of two months to procurement agencies will be provided.

Meanwhile, the farmers have expressed discontent at the “meager” hike of Rs 50 for paddy. Terming the hike a “pittance” keeping in mind rising production costs, BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said diesel prices had increased almost two-fold over the past year and there was a looming fear of yet another hike in the prices of petroleum products. Adding to the farmers woes is the fact that DAP prices have increased by Rs 60 and urea by Rs 53 a quintal, said Rajewal. The high labour costs for paddy transplantation was another issue of concern, he pointed out.

“The rice yield per acre is maximum 24 quintal. The MSP hike will not justify the increase in cost of production,” said Rajewal, adding farmers are left with no other option that to protest. In all likelihood, said officials, paddy may attract a bonus later in the season. The MSPs of jowar (hybrid), bajra and maize have been raised by Rs 40 per quintal each and fixed at Rs 880. The new MSP of jowar (maldandi) would be Rs 900 per quintal, a raise of Rs 40 per quintal.

Besides, the new MSPs of ragi, groundnut-in-shell, sunflower seed, niger seed, soyabean (black), soyabean (yellow) and sesamum have been fixed at Rs 965, Rs 2,300, Rs 2,350, Rs 2,450, Rs 1,400, Rs 1,440 and Rs 2,900 a quintal, a raise of Rs 50, Rs 200, Rs 135, Rs 45, Rs 50, Rs 50 and Rs 50, respectively. The MSP of cotton, however, remains unchanged at Rs 2,500 per quintal for staple length (mm) of 24.5-25.5 and micronaire value of 4.3-5.1 and Rs 3,000 per quintal for staple length (mm) of 29.5-30.5 and micronaire value of 3.5-4.3.

Chandigarh, June 10
Bricks are set to become costlier this summer with more than 13,000 brick-kiln owners of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh today deciding to go on indefinite strike from June 15 in protest against what they term as misuse of the bonded labour Act by “mafias” and a ban on mining without environment plan since May 15 this year. The move will also render around 40 lakh brick-kiln workers in the three states jobless.

Bricks, which were selling at around Rs 3,000 per thousand just some time back, are already retailing at Rs 3,500 per thousand. Their price is expected to increase further after June 15. Major infrastructure projects could also be hit.

Brick-kiln owners claim that a mafia that had instigated their labourers against them was blackmailing them. They claim that in many cases complaints are made that they are holding workers as bonded labourers that are then “freed”, resulting in financial losses to them. Brick-kiln owners usually pay four to six months’ advance wages to contractors to hire labourers.

Association Punjab president Kuldeep Singh Makkar said last year only around 1,500 false complaints were filed in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh against brick-kiln owners. He said this happened despite the fact that brick kilns were under constant checks by Labour Commissioner; warrant officers of the high court and local administrators.

Association Haryana president Gulshan Narang also claimed that the notification regarding the ban on mining in Punjab and Haryana also needed to be reviewed. He said only minor minerals were being mined in these two states and that too up to very low depths unlike states that mined heavy minerals.

Meanwhile, the brick-kiln owners also claimed that inadequate coal was being supplied to them. They said Punjab alone needed 12,000 to 15,000 tonne coal every day to meet its industrial requirements. They claimed the government was, however, managing supply of only 5,000 tonnes of coal annually, forcing the brick-kiln industry to rely on indirect agencies, resulting in costlier coal. It has demanded that an agency be formed to allot coal to the industry.

Meanwhile, All-India Brick Kiln Association Kuldep Khanduja said forced mixing of fly ash in bricks in equal proportions was also not working and demanded a notification in this regard be taken back.

New Delhi, June 10
The Bhopal gas tragedy has come to haunt the Congress, which was in power both at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh when the world’s worst industrial disaster took place. The Opposition is gunning for the Congress, but the different views being expressed by its own leaders have added to the party’s woes.

While questions are being raised about the light sentence handed out to the culprits, the Congress is in the dock over the escape of former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson, especially after officials and pilots have publicly declared that they had received instructions from the office of then CM Arjun Singh to fly him out of Bhopal.

It has further been revealed that Arjun Singh’s office issued these instructions following a phone call from New Delhi and that the Centre had acted under the US pressure.

Subsequently, no serious efforts were made to seek Anderson’s extradition although he is a proclaimed offender and the case against him is still open. Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was holding the foreign affairs portfolio when the disaster took place. This has left the Congress squirming as fingers are also being pointed at New Delhi’s role in the escape drama.

Embarrassed Congress sought to play down the ongoing controversy which, it hopes, will die down soon. AICC media department head Janardan Dwivedi said, “The party has always maintained that all questions raised in any such case, especially in an incident of a tragedy of such a magnitude, must be answered properly and responsibility should be fixed. The same norm applies here.” Dwivedi, however, refused to elaborate if the part would formally ask the government or Arjun Singh to respond to the queries thrown up by the latest revelations.

The controversy acquired another dimension today as attention was also focused on the role of Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi for taking up the case of Dow Chemicals, the company that bought Union Carbide, which was held responsible for the gas leak that killed over 15,000 persons.

Former Madhya Pradesh CM and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, who was a minister in the Arjun Singh government in 1984, created a stir today when he told a news channel that he believed that “US pressure” could have influenced the government’s handling of the case. Veteran Congress leader Vasant Sathe, who was Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government, said Arjun Singh could reveal the identity of the person at the Centre who instructed him to arrange Anderson’s getaway and suggested that New Delhi and Bhopal had colluded in the matter.

Knives were clearly out for Arjun Singh as former Congress spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi absolved the Centre and instead to blamed the then MP government for the incident. “The incident took place in Bhopal. The arrest was made by the state government. He was sent to Delhi by a state government plane and from there he went to America.In this, we only see the role of the state government,” he told mediapersons.

Chennai, June 10
An E-grade scientific officer, VV Radhakrishnan (37), who hails from Kerala and works at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam, has been arrested on charges of eve-teasing.

The police had been looking for him following a complaint by his wife Sheeja yesterday. As his two-wheeler was found at an isolated place at Vengampakkam village near Kalpakkam, the police apprehended he was kidnapped.

His posters were pasted at several places requesting people to contact the police at the earliest, if they found any information about him.

However, a police official at Chennai police station remembered the face and contacted higher officials, saying that he had held a similar looking person and lodged him at Puzhal Central prison on charges of eve-teasing. The police went to the prison with Radhakrishnan’s kin, who confirmed the man in prison was Radhakrishnan. Later, it was found Radhakrishnan had given a false name when the Chennai police arrested him.

He had contacted Shah Nawaz, a 29-year-old lady, who was running an organisation that supplies housemaids, cooks and servants for needy. Radhakrishnan, who obtained Shah’s mobile number, initially told her that he needed a servant to look after his house. Later, he told her that he did not need servants and was only interested in getting sexually intimate with her. When Shah refused, he repeatedly threatened her. When Nawaz lodged a complaint at a police station, the police asked her to invite Radhakrishnan at a particular railway station here, if he contacted her again.

Nawaz did accordingly and the police arrested Radhakrishnan. This is the second time Radhakrishnan has gone missing. He had absconded in a similar way November last but returned home after 10 days. The spokesperson at IGCAR said Radhakrishnan was a scientific officer of the engineering services section. 

New Delhi, June 10
Matrimonial laws will finally be amended to let couples end marriages that are beyond repair.Though recommended by both the Supreme Court and some high courts, the inclusion of “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” as a ground for divorce raises questions about the need for safeguards to women, particularly the poor, who -- if faced with a divorce on the stated grounds -- would require enough alimony to provide for themselves and their children.

That’s why the Law Commission in March 2009 had ensured ample protection for women when recommending the amendment to Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and Special Marriage Act, 1954, to include irretrievable differences in a marriage as a ground for divorce. It had said, “The amendment may provide that the court before granting a decree for divorce on the ground that the marriage has irretrievable broken down should also examine whether adequate financial arrangements have been made for the parties and children.”

The government was today silent on financial safeguards for women, which would have made the amended law effective. Supreme Court lawyer Kamini Jaiswal admits, “This amendment is incomplete and would not lead into an effective law. It steers clear of maintenance and alimony issues, which are critical. You must view the amendment from the perspective of poor women, who would require ample financial protections in the event of divorces on the grounds allowed by the said amendment.”

Delhi High Court advocate Purnima Sethi says, “The law is pro-working class where incompatibility is now a major issue but the matters of mutual consent and maintenance need to be elaborated.”

The Law Commission had in fact suggested safeguards like welfare of children, protection from hardships through amendments to Sections 21 A, 23 (1)a and insertion of new sections to the Hindu Marriage Act. On the surface, these amendments don’t appear in the Marriage Laws Amendment Bill 2010 cleared by the Cabinet today.

Even on the issue of necessity of “mutual consent”, the Government appears unclear. Information Minister Ambika Soni said, “The Bill would provide safeguards to parties to marriage who file petition for grant of divorce by consent from the harassment in court if any of the party does not come to the court or willfully avoids the court to keep the divorce proceedings inconclusive. It has often been noted that one party never turns up, harassing the other.”

It is not clear if divorce on the new ground can be granted even if only one party presents itself in the court. “The Bill lacks clarity and doesn’t appear strong enough to prevent adulterous spouses from misusing the new amendment. The poor will be at the receiving end,” Meenakshi Negi, an SC lawyer said.

For its part, the Law Commission had argued for the amendment saying, “Divorce by mutual consent in the Hindu Marriage Act requires the consent of both parties. If one doesn’t cooperate, the ground is not available. Irretrievable breakdown of marriage, however, is a ground where the court can examine the evidence and grant divorce if it feels the marriage is irreparable.”

New Delhi, June 10
Grappling with alerts over unattended baggage, airport security at the IGIA once again flew into a tizzy today after receiving a phone call claiming that a bomb had been planted on an IndiGo aircraft, scheduled to fly to Srinagar via Jammu.

Such calls seem to be becoming a routine as just around 20 days back, on May 20 to be precise, the CISF at the Mumbai airport received a call claiming that a bomb had been planted on a Lucknow-bound Kingfisher flight, delaying the flight by over five hours.

Today the call came just when passengers had boarded the flight. The IndiGo call centre received the call saying that the Airbus A-320 had a bomb planted it.

Immediately, passengers were asked to de-board the aircraft and the luggage was taken off. The aircraft was moved to a remote bay and checked by the authorities, and only after a through scrutiny was the flight cleared for takeoff. As part of the “routine drill”, an emergency committee was constituted, which found that the call was a hoax.

However, increasing number of hoax calls at airports and railway station is becoming a cause of worry for the authorities.

Recently, the Railway Police arrested a resident of Uttar Pradesh from Phagwara for allegedly making a hoax call to the police, claiming that the Ludhiana railway station would be blown up.

In October 2009, a 25-year-old software engineer was arrested for allegedly making a hoax call that delayed a Bangalore-bound GoAir flight by three hours, leading to chaos at the IGIA. Senior officials in the Home Ministry and police have warned that callers who make hoax calls to stall flights and trains would be dealt with very strictly.

“When a phone call sent an airport into a tizzy, it is sickening. Emergency drills are launched, the flight is delayed and passengers suffer unnecessary hassle,” they said.

After the Mumbai incident, Home Secretary GK Pillai also expressed his concern over the increase in number of hoax calls. “People should refrain from making hoax calls as it puts the entire state and central machinery out of gear,” he was quoted as saying.

“If caught, the pranksters can be prosecuted under law,” he added.

A senior police official said it was good when the public was alert and called to inform about something suspicious. However, those indulging in prank calls should also be aware about the damage they invite for themselves. As per law, once caught their name remains in the police records. Having a police record might pose difficulty when they apply for police verification or clearance while applying for passports or jobs. However, keeping in mind the current times, the authorities cannot help but take all such calls seriously.

Guwahati, June 10
Now, the Naga rebel group,Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), known as the NSCN-IM, is accused of resorting to forceful conversion of Buddhists to Christians in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

It is a known fact that the NSCN-IM which in truce with the Centre, has a base in Tirap and Changlang district and the area is in the map of the outfit’s proposed ‘Nagalim’ consisting of the Naga inhabited areas of the Northeast.

A tribal body under the name of the Janjati Faith and Culture Protection Forum (JFCPF) has dashed a memorandum to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh seeking protection of the Buddhists of Changlang district against the campaign launched by gun-toting NSCN-IM rebels to convert them to Christians.

The memorandum states that Lingam Hakum Naga, alias Lamba Chool Wala, who claims himself as the NSCN-IM area commander and moves freely with weapons along with 24 armed cadres at villages of the Buddhist Tikhak community in Changlang district, has been coercing Buddhists to get converted to Christians.

On May 13, Wala (the NSCN-IM area commander) called a meeting of villagers, including Gaon Burahs (village headmen), and Jila Parishad members from Putuk I, II, III, IV, Wangnong, Motongsa, Longchang, Wintong, Rima, Machum and nearby villages.

He displayed AK-47 assault rifles and condemned Buddha Dharma. He said the followers of Buddha Dharma would never get salvation and would burn into eternal hell fire. The NSCN-IM leader also threatened them of facing dire consequences if anybody was found opposing conversion to Christianity. The tribal body said the Buddhists panicked finding themselves under the threat of the NSCN-IM gun and urged the Prime Minister to intervene into the matter.

Chennai, June 10
An E-grade scientific officer, VV Radhakrishnan (37), who hails from Kerala and works at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam, has been arrested on charges of eve-teasing.

The police had been looking for him following a complaint by his wife Sheeja yesterday. As his two-wheeler was found at an isolated place at Vengampakkam village near Kalpakkam, the police apprehended he was kidnapped.

His posters were pasted at several places requesting people to contact the police at the earliest, if they found any information about him.

However, a police official at Chennai police station remembered the face and contacted higher officials, saying that he had held a similar looking person and lodged him at Puzhal Central prison on charges of eve-teasing. The police went to the prison with Radhakrishnan’s kin, who confirmed the man in prison was Radhakrishnan. Later, it was found Radhakrishnan had given a false name when the Chennai police arrested him.

He had contacted Shah Nawaz, a 29-year-old lady, who was running an organisation that supplies housemaids, cooks and servants for needy. Radhakrishnan, who obtained Shah’s mobile number, initially told her that he needed a servant to look after his house. Later, he told her that he did not need servants and was only interested in getting sexually intimate with her. When Shah refused, he repeatedly threatened her. When Nawaz lodged a complaint at a police station, the police asked her to invite Radhakrishnan at a particular railway station here, if he contacted her again.

Nawaz did accordingly and the police arrested Radhakrishnan. This is the second time Radhakrishnan has gone missing. He had absconded in a similar way November last but returned home after 10 days. The spokesperson at IGCAR said Radhakrishnan was a scientific officer of the engineering services section. 

Jaipur, June 10
The Congress received a major boost ahead of Rajya Sabha polls on June 17 with its candidate Narendra Budhaniya getting elected unopposed to the Upper House in a bypoll from Rajasthan.

Budhaniya was declared elected at the end of the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers at 3 pm, an Assembly spokesman said. The Opposition BJP did not field any candidate for the seat. The bypoll was necessitated following death of sitting BJP member Krishna Lal Valmiki early this year. Budhaniya’s tenure in the Rajya Sabha will last till April 2012.

Meanwhile, for the biennial election to four Rajya Sabha seats in the state five candidates are left in the fray. Assembly Secretary and Electoral Officer HR Kudi said none of the candidates withdrew his name for the Rajya Sabha poll the voting for which will now take place on June 17.

The Congress has fielded Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and senior leader Ashq Ali Tak, while the BJP has fielded noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani and former MP VP Singh. However, former Union Minister Santosh Bagrodia, who jumped in the fray as an Independent after the Congress did not re-nominate him to accommodate Sharma, has upset the political equation of the BJP which is now finding it difficult to get its both nominees elected to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP is yet to reach a decision as to whom it will make its first choice candidate. While the local MLAs are in favour of VP Singh, Jethmalani is the party high command’s choice. The BJP with 79 MLAs and support of one JD-U MLA is falling short of two votes to ensure victory for both party candidates.

However, the state BJP leadership is presently facing a tough protest from within the party, with several members objecting to Jethmalani’s candidature from the state. According to sources, the senior leaders are yet pondering over who should be made the first priority candidate. Right now, VP Singh is the first priority candidate for the party but with Jethmalani has already demanded that he should be the party’s first candidate.

In the 200-member Assembly, ruling Congress has 102 MLAs, BJP 79, CPM 3, JD-U 1, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party 1 and SP 1. There are 13 Independents of whom 10 support Congress. The CPM has not yet divulged whom it will back.