Mumbai, July 13
In what has worsened the border dispute between the two states, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan today demanded that 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka be conferred Union Territory status till the Supreme Court disposes off the case.

Made in the state legislature, Chavan’s demand drew the support of the opposition Shiv Sena while its ally, the BJP, which is ruling the neighbouring state, squirmed in silence.

“The 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka should be given Union Territory status till the issue is settled in the Supreme Court,” Chavan told the upper house. The inclusion of the villages, spread over Belgaum, Karwar and Nipani districts in Karnataka, has been a major bone of contention between the two states for the past 60 years.

Chavan went on to say that he would make this demand before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he leads an all-party delegation to Delhi tomorrow. The Chief Minister went on to accuse the Karnataka government of treating Marathi-speaking people in these places as second-class citizens.

Accusing the neighbouring state of discriminating against the Marathi-speaking people in these places, Chavan went on to say that the names of the villages were also being changed from Marathi to Kannada. This, he said, was hurting the sentiments of the people and creating a law and order situation there. Chavan went on to attack the BJP members in the state legislature and asked them to intervene with their counterparts in Karnataka to help resolve the matter.

New Delhi, July 13
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna leaves here tomorrow on a peace mission to Islamabad to hold a comprehensive, sustained and serious dialogue with Pakistan on all issue of mutual concern.

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, this morning cleared the agenda for Krishna’s three-day visit to the neighbouring country. It was decided that India would focus on its core concern of terrorism during the talks and find ways to keep the dialogue with Pakistan going by concentrating on humanitarian and trade issues.

Krishna will meet his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmud Qureshi on Thursday for a freewheeling exchange of views on all issues that have bedeviled the ties between the two neighbours.

New Delhi is quite careful in not terming the upcoming talks with Pakistan as the resumption of the composite dialogue that was suspended by India in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

The government has also communicated to Pakistan that it cannot ignore the public opinion in India, which is still not in favour of a full-fledged dialogue with Islamabad since the wounds of the assault on Mumbai are yet to be healed. The first and foremost task for the two countries is to reduce the trust deficit between them and then get down to the task of normalising relations by initiating confidence building measures (CBMs) like promoting people-to-people contacts, exchanging prisoners and opening more trade and transit routes.

This, however, does not in any way dilute New Delhi’s stand on the issue of terrorism against India emanating from the Pakistani soil. India would ask Pakistan to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, which still exists on the other side of the border. New Delhi would also draw Pakistan’s attention towards the anti-India speeches which leaders of some of the ‘jehadi’ groups like Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin, have been making.

The feeling in the South Block is that Pakistan has done nothing tangible so far to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, despite the availability of irrefutable evidence of the involvement of elements in the neighbouring country in the massacre. India would convey to Pakistan in no uncertain manner that it would be extremely difficult to hold any meaningful dialogue with it until Islamabad took credible, effective and transparent action against those behind the Mumbai attacks and unraveled the entire conspiracy.

The foreign ministers’ visit assumes added significance in view of the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir valley. In fact, the Indian establishment feels there is connect between the violence in the valley and the minister’s visit to Pakistan. Those instigating violence in the valley appear to have been encouraged by forces from across the border.

New Delhi, July 13
Gearing itself up to providing food to all and at affordable prices, the government today adopted key resolutions at the conference where food secretaries of all states were present. “Smart card” and other information technology initiatives will be given priority. This will include rapid, but phased, roll out of IT initiative in the public distribution system (PDS).

The meeting resolved to have proper identification of beneficiaries that will be made on revised poverty and population estimates.

States will ensure that the foodgrain quota for a particular month is available with every fair-price shop by end of the previous month. This will be effective from October, 2010. States can finds ways of distribution involving community participation such as bulk distribution of foodgrain to the beneficiaries in the presence of gram sabhas, wherever there is such a demand.

The government is also aiming at having accountability for ensuring that proper quality of foodgrain reached the beneficiaries and that its delivery was timely. Issues of bogus ration cards, exclusion of eligible persons, diversion etc. will be dealt through administrative action ensuring recovery of financial losses and fixing criminal liability for these.

Financial viability of fair-price shops can be enhanced by encouraging sale of non-PDS items, including FMC goods and provision of services such as e-ticketing. One of the resolutions suggested priority through computerisation of the PDS network with smart card-based delivery of foodgrain, issuing ration cards with biometric identification.

The centre and the states will join hands for a time-bound action plan for the construction of additional storage capacity, including modern grain silos at selected sites for scientific storage and preservation of foodgrain.

New Delhi, July 13
The Supreme Court today allowed Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to offer reservation in education and jobs beyond the 50 per cent cap, provided they had “quantifiable data” on the BC/OBC population warranting this. The move is expected to have a cascading effect. Ruling parties in other states are likely to hike the percentage of reservation in order to retain the support of their vote banks.

A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia asked the two states to collect data and submit it to their respective Commission for Backward Classes in order to “revisit” the reservation issue.

Tamil Nadu had raised the quota to 68 per cent in 1981 and to 69 per cent in 1990 through legislative changes. Similarly, Karnataka offered 70 per cent reservation. Both were challenged in the Supreme Court through separate petitions. The SC stayed the Karnataka Government’s decision and restricted the quota to 50 per cent, but did not grant a stay in the case of Tamil Nadu, which had brought the quota hike under the 9th Schedule, thereby, insulating it from judicial review.

The latest hurdle is on the ground that only one bidder was remaining in the race and the Ministry of Defence does not allow purchases in case there is only one vendor selling the equipment.

Sources in the Army confirmed today that the scheduled trials of the 155-mm guns had been stopped.

The Army has reportedly informed the Ministry of Defence and asked it to find a way out as the artillery guns are needed immediately.

Sources said in case the ministry saw an exigency, it could opt to buy the guns directly through the foreign military sales route.

BaE-Mahindra and the Singapore technologies-Punj Lloyd were in the race to supply around 1,580 guns. Sources in the Army said one of the conditions was to ensure that the guns could also fire the ammunition produced in India. Singapore technologies wanted some more time to re-calibrate its gun to adapt to the Indian ammunition, sources added. On the other hand, as the BaE guns owed their parentage to Bofors, there was no problem with those guns on that count, they added.

Separately, sources pointed out that the CBI, in a communiqué last week, to the Ministry of Defence, had sought that Singapore Technologies Kinetics and three other foreign firms should be blacklisted. The ministry would go by the CBI advice, sources said. This was another factor behind stalling the trials of the guns, they added.

At the start of June, Defence Ministry sources had indicated that 155-mm gun would be purchased immediately.

Bacheli (Chhattisgarh), July 13
The mines and sprawling complex of India’s single largest iron ore producer and exporter, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), in the Dantewada district here is completely safe. According to the police, the CISF personnel on Monday night challenged a group of suspected Maoists, who were seen near the complex. However, the Naxals fled when they came under fire.

The CISF men opened fire on seeing some unidentified persons at Akash Nagar (the highest point of the mining area located on hills), 40 kms from Dantewada. In 2006, Maoists had carried out a massive attack in the NMDC mining area near Akash Nagar and burnt a conveyor belt and destroyed some trucks.

Meanwhile, some locals while talking to The Tribune said the miscreants had also fired on the CISF party. “We heard an exchange of fire,” a shopkeeper said. No one is stated to be injured in the incident. However, brief firing triggered rumours throughout the day in the Bastar region that Maoists had encircled the entire NMDC complex and were firing at the mining area from three sides. When this correspondent visited the site, he found that the life in the town and the mining area was normal. The NMDC authorities said that their mines were working like any other day.

Dantewada Deputy Inspector General of Police Siva Rama Prasad Kalluri said, “The CISF had fired a few shots only on seeing some unknown persons moving around in the mining area with torches. They escaped when the CISF men fired on them. However, some media reports claimed that the NMDC’s huge mining complex had been encircled by thousands of Maoists and there was heavy exchange of firing going on there. It’s all rubbish.”

He blamed TV channels for creating scare not only in Bastar but also in New Delhi and elsewhere. “Maoists are taking full advantage of the vulnerability of the media,” said the officer.

Meanwhile, the entire Bastar range, especially Dantewada, Bijapur and Narayanpur districts in the south, touching Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra, is on a alert. Maoists violence has increased in the area in the past few weeks.

They are said to be in an aggressive mood since the killing of their top leader Cherkuri Rajkumar alias Azad in Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh on July 2.

They have warned that the July 14 would be the day of their ‘maha bandh.’ The police are seeing it in the context of a high-level meeting in New Delhi on July 14 to review anti-Naxal strategy. The chief ministers and top police officers of all the seven Naxal-hit states will attend this meeting, which will also be addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.