Patna, July 11
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Anant Kumar over breakfast at Bihar BJP chief Dr CP Thakur’s residence here on Sunday.

Senior leaders of Bihar BJP and Bihar JD(U) chief were also present. The meeting is being considered very significant by both the alliance partners as it is the first meeting between Nitish Kumar and top ranking leaders of BJP after the advertisement controversy during BJP national executive meeting here last month.

The controversial advertisement portraying the picture of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi holding hands with Nitish had evoked strong reaction from the Bihar Chief Minister and his party.

Subsequent developments like cancellation of dinner hosted by Nitish for the BJP leaders and refund of relief money to Gujarat government by him had created further bitterness between the allies, creating doubts about continuance of the coalition government in Bihar and electoral alliance between the two old allies in coming Bihar elections.

But, the breakfast meeting today cleared all doubts over the coalition government and their future electoral alliance. Though Jaitley and Anant Kumar (in charge of party affairs in Bihar) refused to reveal the deliberations during their meeting with Nitish and called it an “informal social meeting”, a senior BJP leader, Sanjay Jha, told mediapersons that the meeting between the two allies was very cordial and it had cleared all kinds of confusion among the rank and file of both the BJP and JD(U).

Jha also said that the alliance between BJP and JD(U) would continue at national level as well as state level.

Later, Jaitley went to Nitish Kumar’s residence before leaving for Delhi. Anant Kumar, who had publicly announced in Gujarat recently about Narendra Modi’s plans to campaign in Bihar during the coming elections, parried all questions pertaining to the Gujarat Chief Minister here today. 

New Delhi, July 11
Even as the government is contemplating bringing in a new law to deal with the spurt in honour killings, reports by human rights organisations show that cold-blooded murders in the name of saving family pride had been prevalent in many parts of the world.

Honour killings have been rampant in orthodox and socially backward groups in many countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, they say.

While statistics are hard to come by due to non-reporting of such crimes, United Nations Population Fund approximates that as many as 5,000 women are murdered in this manner each year around the world. But, this is undoubtedly a low estimate, as reports from many countries are filtered and not brought to public notice.

According to Amnesty International, honour killings are the most widespread in Pakistan. A recent report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) states that 647 women were killed in the name of "honour" in 2009 -- up by 13 per cent from 2008 when 574 such killings were reported.

"An honour killing is carried out because the honour of men in the family is perceived to have been injured," I A Rehman, secretary-general of HRCP, was quoted as saying. "This is basically a consequence of the low status of women in society," Rehman said.

Such crimes are committed for a wide range of "offences" -- marital infidelity, pre-marital sex, flirting, or even failing to serve a meal on time that can be perceived as impugning the family honour. In one such case, a husband murdered his wife based on a dream that she had betrayed him, according to the Amnesty International. In Turkey, a young woman's throat was slit in the town square because a love ballad had been dedicated to her over the radio.

A June 2008 report by Turkey's Human Rights Directorate says that in Istanbul alone, there is one honour killing every week and over 1,000 were killed during the last five years. In the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it is believed that three-four women are killed every month in the name of saving honour.

Similarly, Article 548 of Syria's Penal Code states that if a person catches his wife or sister "committing adultery (called flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sexual acts with another and if he kills or injures one or both of them", he should benefit from a reduced penalty which should not be less than two years in prison. — PTI

An oil price hike provokes public anger, which opposition parties think they can exploit for political gain. They expect votes from the very people they discomfort through a Bharat bandh. Such is the level of irrational thinking in the BJP and the Left that they misinterpret people staying away from trouble during a bandh as an indication of support for their unsettling and regressive activities. Instead of putting across their viewpoint through TV/newspapers and in the legislature where they represent their voters, opposition leaders disrupt proceedings in Parliament and normal life outside.

The BJP and the Left had their political reasons to call a bandh on July 5 over the recent oil price hike. But for ordinary people it is important to understand oil pricing and politics. Here are some basic facts:

(a) India imports 80 per cent of its oil.

(b) In Japan, China, the Philippines, Europe and the US oil prices are not fixed by the government.

(c) Inflation in these countries is 2-3 per cent compared to 10 per cent in India. This belies the commonly held view that an oil price hike leads to price rise.

(d) The Central and state taxes account for 40 per cent of the retail price 
of oil.

(e) While the Centre collects Rs 84,000 crore from the taxes on oil annually, the states get Rs 96,000 crore.

A consolidated single tax on oil — goods and services tax (GST) — is being proposed by the Centre but states want petroleum products to be out of its purview.

Officially, the administered price mechanism for petroleum products was dismantled in 2002 by the BJP-led NDA government but price controls resurfaced after some months due to populism. Ask the BJP why it is protesting oil price decontrol now.

The Left-supported United Front government was the first to deregulate petrol and diesel prices as early as 1997 but the government fell before the deregulation process could complete.

The populist leaders in the Congress as well as Opposition-ruled states do not charge adequately for power, roads water and other state services in accordance with the cost incurred. Hence, they depend heavily on the tax on oil, which is easy to collect and there is no evasion.

The Central and state governments should cut taxes on oil and instead go in for green taxes. Make owning, running and parking vehicles pricey. Diesel cars and SUVs should be taxed heavily at the manufacturer's level. Levy a decongestion tax to discourage vehicles from crowded places. Finally, make public transport so convenient, fast and cheap that people reduce the use of personal cars.

Executives of private and public sector oil companies are yet to decide on the modalities of pricing petrol and diesel following decontrol of prices. While the public sector oil marketing companies are going with the government view of reviewing prices every fortnight, private sector oil companies would like prices to move in tandem with global crude prices in real time.

"Worldwide it is common practice for fuel prices to change on a daily basis," an executive of a private oil company told The Tribune. On the other hand, the government is said to be wary about excessive volatility in prices hurting public sentiment. If the decision to fix petrol prices every fortnight is decided, both private and public sector companies will have to decide on a formula to take into account variations in crude prices within a fortnight, say analysts.

On the other hand if it is decided to introduce dynamic pricing, oil companies will have to invest in technology which captures price movement of crude in real time. While the private sector companies and MNCs can easily adopt to this new system, the PSUs will need time to invest in back-end infrastructure, say analysts.

At present, the government revises the prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), furnace oil, industry and marine fuels on a fortnightly basis.

Those supporting real-time pricing of auto-fuels cite the instance of metals like steel, copper and zinc whose prices are linked to the In metals London Metals Exchange (LME). Private and public sector mining companies in India fix prices on the basis of LME prices.

Once either of the two systems are adopted, the pricing of auto fuels will happen automatically without any intervention from the government.

Private oil refining companies like Reliance Industries and Essar Oil are planning aggressive moves to grab market share from public sector oil companies. Both companies which had slowed down their roll out of fuel vending outlets after the government refused to extend subsidies to private operators are planning a high-voltage re-entry into the business.

Reliance Industries had more than 1400 retail outlets selling petrol and diesel before they were closed down in 2008.

According to Reliance it continues to operate 650 retail outlets across the country and plans to reopen the remaining outlets in phases. However the company is waiting for diesel prices to be decontrolled as well before attempting an aggressive ramp up.

Before its operations were shut down, RIL had aggressively acquired retail outlets along the major highways and set up fuel stations.

The other big beneficiary, Essar Oil has already rolled out retail operations across the country. According to the company it has 1341 retail outlets selling both petrol and diesel priced at a slight premium over public sector outlets. The company which claims a two-per cent market share in fuel retail says it would aggressively ramp up operations if diesel prices are also decontrolled by the government.

With the Indian markets shut, these companies were exporting auto-fuels to Western markets for the past several years.

Among multinationals, Shell India is another player with 40 outlets operational nationwide. According to analysts tracking the sector, the private sector players are not expected to venture into urban markets where land is expensive and where the public sector players are well entrenched. They are likely to set up shop along highways where land is available more easily and a host of related services may be sold to travellers.

Analysts also feel that RIL and Essar, which both own refineries capable of processing cheaper crude oil of poorer quality would be able to battle the state-owned companies on pricing. Compared to the older refineries belonging to the state-owned companies, the private players are able to process crude oil at lower cost thus allowing them better margins, say analysts.

New Delhi, July 11
South Block mandarins are maintaining a veil of secrecy over the nature of discussions Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had with Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama during their 90-minute meeting yesterday at Dharamshala, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile.

However, the very fact that the meeting took place within a week of National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon’s visit to China has sparked speculation that the parleys between India’s top diplomat and the Dalai Lama had something to do with the activities of the Tibetan exiles in India.

After the talks, Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary in the Dalai Lama's office, said: "Issues of common interest were discussed at the meeting." He did not elaborate.

Strategic observers argue there is more to the meeting than meets the eye. India’s relations with China have witnessed ups and downs in the last two years, beginning with Beijing’s attempt to stonewall a waiver for India by the nuclear suppliers’ group (NSG) in September 2008 to enable it to undertake nuclear commerce.

China has since then taken many actions which have not gone down well here. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made intrusions at many places along the border between the two countries last year. China also blocked a development package at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Arunachal Pradesh, most of which, Beijing claims, belongs to it. It objected to the Dalai Lama’s visit to the north eastern state in November last year too.

But one issue which annoyed even the Indian masses was China’s decision to issue stapled visas on separate sheets to Indian nationals from Jammu and Kashmir, virtually questioning the state’s accession to India.

Disturbing reports in recent days that China will build two nuclear power reactors for Pakistan and also undertake a rail project that will pass through the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK)’s territory which Pakistan has seceded to China have only added to the discomfort in New Delhi.

A Chinese affairs expert at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said Rao’s visit to Dharamshala could be part of the “shadow-boxing” going on between India and China. New Delhi apparently wanted to send a subtle message to Beijing that it could also use the ace up its sleeve in the form of Dalai Lama when required.

India strictly follows a one-China policy and recognises Tibet as part of China. It has also been keeping a close watch on the activities of more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles at some 20 settlements in India, lest they become an irritant in India-China relations. Even the Dalai Lama has been firmly told by the Indian authorities to refrain from undertaking any political activity on the Indian soil.

New Delhi expects China also to keep its sentiments in mind while dealing with Pakistan or other issues involving India. China calls the Dalai Lama a "wolf in monk's clothing" and accuses him of seeking to split the country.

The Buddhist leader has repeatedly said he accepts Beijing's rule and is only seeking "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet. China has in the past accused the Dalai Lama of seeking to stir up tensions between New Delhi and Beijing.

Bangalore, July 11
The 230-tonne 44.4-m-tall four-stage rocket, PSLV-C15, carrying five satellites is slated for lift off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 9.22 am tomorrow.

For ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, the mission, second in his tenure as ISRO chairman, is crucial. The first mission after he took over the reigns of ISRO from G Madhavan Nair had ended in failure as the GSLV rocket powered by an indigenous cryogenic upper stage crashed into the sea barely five minutes after its launch.

PSLV-C15 was originally slated for lift off in May. The launch was postponed as ISRO had found a marginal drop in pressure in the second stage of the vehicle.

The satellites on board the PSLV-C15 are, 694-kg Indian remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2B, which is the main payload, 116-kg ALSAT-2A of Algeria, two nano-satellites from Canada and Switzerland and STUDSAT, a “picosatellite” weighing less than 1 kg built by a consortium of seven engineering colleges in Bangalore and Hyderabad. All five satellites will be launched into a 630-km polar sun synchronous orbit (SSO) by the rocket.

It will be the 17th flight of PSLV and sixth one of what is known as the “core alone” version. In the “core alone” version, the six strap-on motors do not exist. This PSLV version has been chosen for this mission because of the weight of the payloads and the orbits in which these have to be placed. An important modification in PSLV-C15 compared to the previous flights is the use of a dual-launch adopter (DLA) to carry two large satellites. Besides launching 17 Indian satellites, PSLV, described as a workhorse of ISRO, has placed in orbit 22 foreign satellites between 1994 and 2009. The rocket will be launched from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota.

The multiple spot scene imagery of CARTOSAT-2B’s panchromatic camera will be useful for village-level and cadastral-level resource assessment and mapping, detailed urban and infrastructure planning and development, transportation system planning, preparation of large-scale cartographic maps, preparation of micro watershed development plans and monitoring of developmental works at village and cadastral level. 

New Delhi, July 11
The war of words between Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia seems to be intensifying with the latter today taking a potshot at the former.

Even though the two may deny that they have no differences, the simmering tension between them has come to the fore with the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman today saying that the government cannot be run only by those who know how to build roads. Nath had earlier last week charged that the plan panel was an "armchair adviser" oblivious to the ground realities of building roads. "My view is that you cannot run a government only with people who know how to build roads. You have to give them a set of rules..." Ahluwalia told a TV news channel.

"Producing a book is one thing and producing a road is another thing," Nath had said at a Planning Commission programme. While Ahluwalia agreed that building roads was certainly different from writing guidelines, he said, "We are not an implementing body. Equally, it does not mean that you (ministries) don't need advise. I mean accountants are not people who build roads but you cannot build roads without having decent accounts." He said that different arms of the government play different roles. Ahluwalia also rebutted Nath's charges that the plan panel was not allowing his Ministry to achieve the 20 km-a-day road-building target.

"I don't think that is at all correct," Ahluwalia said, adding that when targets are set, "you have to relate that target to the funding that is available."

One of the principle roles of the Planning Commission is to scale down the demands of ministries, which are typically 100 per cent more than the money available, he said. On Nath's remarks that the world class terminal at Delhi airport would not have been possible, had the Planning Commission been involved in it, Ahluwalia said the plan panel had a role, but was limited to selection of the operator (GMR Group).

"It was a public-private-partnership and the government's involvement was prior to the selection of the partner. It is absolutely true that once selected we didn't get involved."

However, Ahluwalia tried to clarify that Nath’s recent criticism of the commission was not an “attack” but an example of “creative tensions” in the government.

Agra, July 11
From three metres 25 years ago, the length of the “chadar” offered by the devout at the annual Shah Jahan Urs in the Taj Mahal has increased to 450 metres this time. The number of devotees has risen from mere dozen to nearly 1,00,000 presently.

With thousands freely entering the majestic Taj Mahal for the three-day Urs celebrations that concluded today, questions are being raised over the security of the white marble wonder where thousands come from all over the world.

This year, for the 356th Urs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and tourism circles estimate that a record 100,000 people would have visited the 17th century monument. The Taj contains the graves of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal and putting a “chadar” over these graves is a Sufi way of honouring the departed.

No doubt the ASI has taken adequate measures to ensure the monument was not put to any risk, but the free flow of people into the inner chamber of the real graves with hardly enough room for free movement is a matter of concern, say conservationists.

It is not clear how and when the Shah Jahan Urs started. Earlier it used to be Mumtaz Mahal's Urs, says a Taj Ganj resident. Historians and conservationists feel the marble edifice is being endangered by a surfeit of love and interest showered by its admirers whose number continues to soar sky high. From a few hundred at the time of independence, the daily influx of visitors from all corners has now crossed 12,000. On some days it crosses the 30,000 mark. During the annual Urs it touches 1,00,000. — IANS

New Delhi, July 11
NRIs may finally realise their long-cherished dream of voting in the Lok Sabha elections and play an effective role in deciding who will run the government in their country of origin.

The government proposes to introduce in the coming Monsoon session of Parliament a Bill to grant voting rights to the Indians living abroad.

Official sources said the Bill was currently being drafted by the legislative wing of the Law and Justice Ministry.

The sources said the draft of the Bill to amend the Representation of the People’s Act (RPA) had recently been cleared by a Group of Ministers (GOM), headed by Defence Minister A K Antony.

Earlier, there were differences between the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry, the Law Ministry and the Election Commission over the definition of who is ordinarily a citizen of India. The Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry’s suggestion was that a sub-clause be added to the RPA under which a person holding an Indian passport and living in a certain country for whatever reason shall be deemed to be a citizen of India with the right to vote in the constituency that is mentioned as his or her residential address in the passport.

However, the Election Commission was not in agreement with the proposal. Its contention was that the polling in any constituency could only be conducted on the basis of electoral rolls. But there was no method to include NRIs in the rolls. The Law and Justice Ministry also appeared to share the Election Commission’s view.

However, the issue has been resolved amicably and it will be reflected in the ‘objects and reasons’of the legislation, the sources added.

The Bill, once passed by Parliament, would mark the fulfilment of the promise made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in January this year. The move to allow NRI participation in the democratic process is expected to boost the two-way engagement with the NRIs and help them actively participate in India's growth story.

There are an estimated 25 million Indians living outside the country. A majority of them have been demanding voting rights to have a stake in deciding who runs the country of their origin.

Some countries like the US, the UK, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Canada reportedly facilitate permission to vote through postal ballot. Other nations like Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, France, Russia, Sweden, the Philippines, Japan, Dominican Republic and Spain allow voting for their citizens through embassies and consulates. In France, voting can be done over the Internet.

New Delhi, July 11
Decks were cleared on Friday for full and final implementation of the Prime Minister’s 2007 promise to the nation to set up 6000 model high schools.

While 3500 of these were to be set up by the Government in each educationally backward block, the rest - 2500 - were to come up in public-private partnership mode, the formula for which was finalized on Friday after months of debate on how to roll the PPP factor. The Planning Commission had presented own formula while the HRD Ministry proposed its own.

On Friday, at a roundtable of experts constituted to work out the model, a consensus emerged, with the decision that 2500 schools should be set up in three years in non­ (or less) educationally backward blocks, beginning 2011-2012. In the first two years including 2011, 500 schools each will come up; the rest 1000 will come up in the two years thereafter.

The Government agreed to sponsor 40 to 50 per cent of the students admitted to these schools and bear the recurring cost for them The schools would have classes from VI to XII. The rest of the students would be admitted directly by the management.

A decision was taken that a concession agreement be arrived at between the government and the private partner regarding achieving a number of performance parameters subject to which payments would be made. The private management will run the school autonomously subject to satisfaction of the performance parameters while financial support from the government will be for an initial period of 10 years, renewable in blocks of five years.

As for the schools, they would be required to meet educational standards of Kendriya Vidyalayas as minimum standards and have modern teaching tools including ICT and labs. The curriculum would have to be innovative though the school board is likely to be the CBSE.

One private player would be allowed to run a maximum of 20 schools in a state and 50 across the country. In the 11th Five year Plan, this scheme would cost the government Rs 500 crore. No capital cost would be borne by the government. In lieu of this, the government will provide 25 per cent of the recurring cost towards infrastructure support for sponsored students. Outgo from the government will be similar to that in Kendriya Vidyalaya without the necessity of capital support from the government.

Also, there will be graduated support by the government based on location. In the northeast, tribal areas and J&K there will be 25 per cent additional support whereas the Planning Commission had sought 40 per cent support. Each school would have to meet the 3 acre land requirement norm.

The roundtable that took the decision on Friday comprised Anita Rampal, Krishan Kumar, Harpal Singh, Shyama Chauna, Manju Bharatram, Gajendra Haldia, Vineet Joshi. It was chaired by HRD minister Kapil Sibal. The scheme will now be sent to the Planning Commission for final approval before it is brought to the cabinet.

Guwahati, July 11
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), an NGO working for farmers in Assam, has seized missing original documents, including case diaries related to two TADA cases involving Assam Health Minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sharma, and announced that it would move the Supreme Court to reopen the cases against Sharma.

KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi who won the Manjunath Sanmugam Integrity Award in 2007 and the Best RTI Activist Award winner in 2009, said the case diaries and related documents of the two TADA cases against Sharma who was a students’ leader at the time of filing of those cases in 1991, went missing under mysterious circumstances.

An unfazed Sharma termed the KMSS move ‘irrelevant’ as he had no fear about those cases as the court had ‘cleared’ him of all charges in 2005 after two-year trial. “My confessional statement, which was produced by KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi had been recorded under Section 161 CrPC, was fabricated and taken under duress. It is not admissible in a court of law,” Sharma said, accusing Gogoi of becoming pawn at the hands of one of his political rival. The minister vowed to expose all involved in the conspiracy against him with documentary evidence. He said he would demand a CBI inquiry as to how the case diaries had gone missing.

KMSS leader Gogoi said: “Since we have found all relevant documents, including the case diaries, confessional statements of the accused, seizure lists, extortion notices served by the accused in the name of ULFA and so on, we will submit the documents to the Supreme Court, seeking reopening of the cases.” He, however, refused to divulge the source from where he collected these missing documents.

This could well have been a scene from a Peter Sellers movie but apparently it is for real. BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who was holidaying in London recently, spotted the Big B and his entourage as he happened to be staying in the same hotel. Since it was his daughter’s birthday, Jaitley invited Bachchan senior to have a slice of cake.

The film star, however, excused himself, saying he could not stop as he was on his way to the airport and then went on to add that he was also trying to avoid somebody. Shortly afterwards, Jaitley encountered the portly former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, huffing and puffing and obviously in a rush. The BJP leader extended the same invitation to Singh but was told that he was hurrying to meet Amitabh Bachchan. Needless to say, Amar Singh was crestfallen when he was informed that Bachchan had already left.

Writing in his blog the next day, Amar Singh lamented how Bachchan had been cold-shouldering him, refusing to meet him even after Singh sent him a note telling him that he was staying a short distance away from him in London. Amar Singh has reason to feel disappointed.