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JD-U rules out Modi campaigning in Bihar
Anomalies in pension of majors removed
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Court martial begins in Sukna scam
Western Command Anniversary
RSS chief sings the ‘temple’ raga
HC admits pleas to defer Babri verdict
Historic Assam gurdwara on rail map
Fairy Queen to charm tourists during CWG
When PC tried his hand at Hindi
Stamp Scam
No going back on Ram Temple: Bhagwat
Munda wins trust vote
10 hurt as teachers’ protest turns violent
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JD-U rules out Modi campaigning in Bihar
New Delhi, September 14 A senior JD-U leader said here today, “Modi will not go to Bihar. A senior leader like Modi would not like to be insulted. Even within the BJP there is a large section opposed to him.” He mentioned how Modi kept away from Bihar in 2005 assembly elections and 2009 General Election, to prevent any misgivings in the minds of the Muslim voters about Nitish Kumar’s alliance with his party. The JD-U assertion comes in the wake of a meeting between JD-U president Sharad Yadav and BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to draw up a plan for joint BJP-JD-U campaign in Bihar. Naqvi said they had decided to address as many as 100 joint rallies during the campaign and added that all his top leaders may be asked address these rallies. But when asked about Modi, he avoided a direct reply saying that finer details have not been decided yet and added that a list of available leaders has not been drawn yet. He also said that the finalisation of campaigners would be held in consultation with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. Hinting that the BJP would not like to take any decision that would annoy the JD-U, Naqvi recalled that their alliance with JD-U was 15 years old and time-tested. But later he seemed to come under pressure from a section of the party and had to retrieve his statement saying that Modi will go to Bihar Today again BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Husain backtracked, “It is for the campaign committee to draw up a list of leaders it proposed to invite for campaigning and they will decide, depending on the demands of the local workers. In effect Shahnawaz refused to commit either way on Modi being sent to Bihar to campaign.
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Anomalies in pension of majors removed
Chandigarh, September 14 With the removal of existing anomalies that had resulted in majors, who retired prior to 2006, getting pension lower than even junior commissioned officers, they would now be paid an additional basic pension of about Rs 5,000 per month, besides consequential benefits. The order affects a substantial number of officers of the three services who had retired in the rank of major prior to 2006. After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC), the pension of majors was fixed at Rs 14,100 per month. This was less than what JCOs, four ranks below their grade, have been getting (Rs 16,145). The anomaly in pension fixation arose because the minimum of the entire pay-band (PB-3) was taken into account while fixing the pension instead of considering the minimum of the pay-band applicable to majors. PB-3 (Rs 15,600-39,100) includes officers of the ranks of lieutenant to major and equivalents in other services. The minimum scale of major post-SPC is Rs 23,810. The petitioners had contended that the existing basic pay, inclusive of grade pay and military service pay, worked out to be Rs 36,410, hence their pension at the stipulated 50 per cent of basic worked out to be Rs 18,205 per month, to which they were entitled. In December, 2004, all majors with 13-year experience and having requisite qualifications were promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel (time scale) and the policy has continued since then. Following the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, all 35 categories of services were merged into four pay bands in which lieutenant colonels were initially placed in pay band-3, but later moved to pay band-4. The pension of lieutenant colonel is fixed at Rs 25,700 whereas that of majors who retired before 2006 is Rs 14,100, creating a huge difference of Rs 11,600, the petitioners claimed. Prior to the Sixth Pay Commission, the difference was just Rs 950. In fact, the Department of Pensions (DoP) had raised the issue of incorrect interpretation of pension fixation rules of pre-2006 majors with the Department of Expenditure (DoE) and that it needed to be corrected. Despite the fact that the ministers of finance as well as personnel were in favour of the correction, the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Finance put a spanner in the work. The case was taken up time and again by the DoP, but was always rejected by the DoE.
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Court martial begins in Sukna scam
Shillong, September 14 Earlier, the court-martial was slated to begin on August 30 but was postponed for two weeks on Rath's request. Rath was indicted along with two other Lt Generals and a Major General by an Army Court of Inquiry for issuing no objection certificates to private realtors for building educational institutions on a 70-acre plot of land adjacent to the Sukna military station in West Bengal. After the Court of Inquiry submitted its report last year, disciplinary action was recommended against Rath and the then Military Secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash and administrative action was initiated against Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali and Maj Gen PK Sen.
— PTI
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Western Command Anniversary
Chandigarh, September 14 Issues relevant to the Western Command and the welfare of troops were among the subjects discussed by the commanders at the conclave. The Western Command, which was raised on September 15, 1947, has had 33 commanders so far. This was followed by a sapling plantation drive under which all former Army commanders planted fox-tail and fish-tail palms on the command headquarters complex. General JJ Singh, Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Gen SF Rodrigues, also former Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator, Lt Gen SK Sinha, former Governor of J&K, Lt Gen H Kaul, Lt Gen PN Hoon, Lt Gen RK Gulati, Lt Gen HB Kala, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, Lt Gen Surjit Singh, Lt Gen SS Mehta, Lt Gen Daljeet Singh and Lt Gen TK Sapru were among the former Western Army Commanders who were present on the occasion along with the present incumbent, Lt Gen SR Ghosh. The retired generals also interacted with jawans during a tea session.
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RSS chief sings the ‘temple’ raga
New Delhi, September 14 RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, however, added that the Sangh’s response would be within the legal and democratic options available and it would appeal to the Supreme Court if the September 24 verdict of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in this case does not turn out to be favourable to the “sentiments of those who want a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site”. “It’s about ideals, not politics,” Bhagwat said in a rare and freewheeling discussion with women journalists at the Indian Women Press Corps in the capital. The Sarsanghchalak firmly refuted the charge that the RSS had made an issue out of nothing where it could have settled for a mosque at the site going by its ideology of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam and integration”. He said there would be no violence from the Sangh’s side. In response to queries on whether the RSS recognised the All-India Babri Action Committee as a representative of the Muslim cause in the matter, he said, “ It’s not for us to decide.” He insisted that the temple issue was not political so far as the Sangh went. “We don’t want votes. We want only the temple,” he said. Bhagwat also fielded several unconventional questions on subjects like women’s absence from Sangh’s organisational structure. He said it worked out better when women ran a parallel organisation rather than an interfering one. On caste census, the RSS chief was positive: “A separate caste enumeration is essential to determine socio-economic status of the backward people.” His most memorable comment, however, was: “The Sangh has no political role.”
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HC admits pleas to defer Babri verdict
Lucknow, September 14 Earlier, the court registry had not been accepted the petitions on the ground that all the three judges of the Division Bench were not present in court. The two other judges — Justices SU Khan and Sudhir Aggarwal — were in Allahabad. Later, senior advocate Prashant Chandra approached Justice Sharma in his chamber and requested him to hear the petitions. The first petitioner feared communal riots after the judgment while the second petition — filed by social workers Sunderlal Jain and Chadhury Umar Qureshi —cited the national situation, including the Kashmir crisis, Naxal problem and Common Wealth Games for deferring the judgment. The petition suggested formation of a committee of eminent Indians to sort out the problem. The third petition has been filed by a group of citizens and has quoted media reports that communal violence was anticipated after the judgment. It said that the Central Government had turned down the Uttar Pradesh Government’s demanded for central forces, saying it could not spare men due to the Common Wealth Games. Hence, the decision should be postponed till after the games. While issuing the order, Justice Sharma attached much significance to a 1994 ruling by a seven-judge Supreme Court bench in the Ismail Farooqui v. UOI (Babri Masjid case) that had favoured amicable settlement of the dispute. It may be recalled here that while reserving the judgment on July 26, the three judges had conferred with counsels of all parties to explore possibilities of an out-of-court settlement. The Division Bench made use of a provision of Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code, which gives courts the authority to arbitrate, mediate or try to bring about a conciliation by formulating terms of settlement and give them to parties for observations. The court could even reformulate terms of a possible settlement and refer the same back to all parties. Under this provision, the judges had individually called lawyers representing the case to their chambers and heard them in confidentiality. They had taken note of their views on the possibility of a settlement and assured to get back to them, if they saw any hope of moving forward.
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Historic Assam gurdwara on rail map
Guwahati, September 14 The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has put the historic shrine on the railway map by setting up a link between Fakiragram and Dhubri towns separated by a distance of 66 km. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the Dhubri-Kamakhya fast passenger on Monday. The daily train service will now run between Dhubri and Kamakahya in Guwahati via Fakiragram in western Assam and will facilitate Sikh pilgrims coming to visit the gurdwara from outside the state. President of Sikh Pratinidhi Board, eastern zone, Tahal Singh, said: The new railway line connecting Fakiragram to Dhubri railway station will be a boon for pilgrims visiting gurdwara in Dhubri. Earlier, pilgrims had to get down at New Cooch Behar Railway station in West Bengal and then take a long and tiresome bus ride from Cooch Behar to Dhubri. Now, they can alight at Fakiragram and travel the rest of the distance (66 km) to Dhubri by a connecting train. An gurdwara official Joginder Singh said: “We usually receive around 200 visitors daily. The rush of pilgrims is much more during the Martyrdom Ceremony of Guru Tegh Bahadur in November-December.Now, with the railway link, there will be definite increase in the flow of pilgrims.” |
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Fairy Queen to charm tourists during CWG
New Delhi, September 14 “We are planning special trips of Fairy Queen on October 9 and 10,” a senior Northern Railway official said today. Besides Fairy Queen, the Railways also plans to run special chartered trains to Agra and Jaipur for tourists during the Games. It is estimated that a good number of tourists, including foreigners, will come here during the October 3-14 mega sporting event. The Fairy Queen, prestigious tourist train hauled by 150-year-old steam engine, meanwhile, is scheduled to recommence its journey from October 23. In order to facilitate foreign tourists, the International Tourist Bureau, located at the New Delhi railway station, is being renovated to give it a new look and provide better aesthetics and facilities for tourists. The foreign tourist quota has been increased and will be available in all classes and in some of the important trains during the Games period.
— PTI
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When PC tried his hand at Hindi
New Delhi, September 14 Amid a thunderous applause, Chidambaram tried to speak two-three lines of his inaugural address in broken Hindi as he encouraged the gathering at the fully-packed hall to promote the National Language, particularly in government offices as a way of correspondence. The 65-year-old minister, who is not used to speaking in Hindi, switched over to English in between his three-minute speech. However, the former finance minister preferred to wrap up his address in Hindi by congratulating the winners of the Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Awards at the function organised by his Ministry. — PTI
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Stamp Scam Bangalore, September 14 Telgi was charged with printing fake stamp papers and circulating them by forging documents with an intention to commit fraud by criminally conspiring with other accused. Special court judge Chandrashekhar Patil convicted 17 out of the 36 accused in the case and acquitted others, including former Superintendent of Central Prison Jaisimha (now working in the Mysore Central Prison after securing bail). The quantum of punishment would be pronounced tomorrow. Telgi’s counsel in the case Shankarappa said they would soon file an appeal in the high court. On February 17, a special court had sentenced Telgi to 10-year imprisonment and 21 of his associates to seven-year jail in one of the cases filed by the Upparpet police in 2003.
— PTI
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No going back on Ram Temple: Bhagwat New Delhi, September 14 RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, however, added that the Sangh’s response would be within the legal and democratic options available and it would appeal to the Supreme Court if the September 24 verdict of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in this case does not turn out to be favourable to the “sentiments of those who want a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site”. “It’s about ideals, not politics,” Bhagwat said in a rare and freewheeling discussion with women journalists at the Indian Women Press Corps in the capital. The Sarsanghchalak firmly refuted the charge that the RSS had made an issue out of nothing where it could have settled for a mosque at the site going by its ideology of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam and integration”. He said there would be no violence from the Sangh’s side. In response to queries on whether the RSS recognised the All-India Babri Action Committee as a representative of the Muslim cause in the matter, he said, “ It’s not for us to decide.” He insisted that the temple issue was not political so far as the Sangh went. “We don’t want votes. We want only the temple,” he said. Bhagwat also fielded several unconventional questions on subjects like women’s absence from Sangh’s organisational structure. He said it worked out better when women ran a parallel organisation rather than an interfering one. On caste census, the RSS chief was positive: “A separate caste enumeration is essential to determine socio-economic status of the backward people.” His most memorable comment, however, was: “The Sangh has no political role.”
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Ranchi, September 14 Jharkhand assembly Speaker C.P. Singh announced after division of votes that the house reposed trust in the Munda government. “A total of 45 votes were in favour of the trust vote and 30 against it.” Five legislators were absent during vote. The five legislators who were absent included three jailed former ministers and independent legislators - Enos Ekka, Harinarayan Rai, Kamlesh Singh. The two other legislators who were not present were one of the Congress and the other of the Marxist Coordination Committee. Earlier, the trust vote was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which is an alliance partner of the BJP. The opposition members alleged that the government was formed at the behest of some Nagpur-based businessmen who had interests in mining. “The Munda government has been formed at the initiative of three Nagpur-based businessmen. The government has been formed to take minerals outside of the state,” charged Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantantrik legislator Pradeep Yadav. The opposition also demanded that the state be declared a famine-hit state. The opposition termed the ruling alliance of the BJP, JMM, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) as “unholy” and said it would fall soon. Replying to the trust vote, Munda appealed to the opposition parties to play the role of a constructive opposition and assured them he would work for the development of the state. Munda staked claim to form the government Sep 7 with the support of 18 JMM, five of AJSU, two of JD-U and two independent legislators. The BJP has 18 legislators. Munda was invited to form government Sep 10 after President’s Rule was revoked in the state. He took oath as the eighth chief minister of Jharkhand Sep 11, along with Sudesh Mahto of AJSU and Hemant Soren, son of JMM chief and former chief minister Shibu Soren. Munda is expected to expand his cabinet soon. Under the constitutional provisions, he can have a maximum of 12 ministers, including himself, in the cabinet.
— IANS
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10 hurt as teachers’ protest turns violent Lucknow, September 14 The police and the teachers clashed in front of Shaheed Samark on Mahatma Gandhi Road. The huge numbers of Shiksha Mitras resorted to heavy brick-batting injuring several policemen including DIG Rajiv Krishna. In retaliation the police also lathi-charged, used water canon and even firing in the air to disperse the unruly protesters in which around 10 of them were injured. The protesters indulged in arson setting vehicles on fire, torching of carts and even damaging road dividers and fencing. According to Lucknow District Magistrate Anil Kumar Sagar some unlawful elements had joined the ranks of the protesters and started throwing stones even as negotiations were going on with them this morning. The protesters demanded, among other things, regularization of their services and being treated at par with trained B.Ed teachers.
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New Delhi, September 14
Chandigarh, September 14
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram won the hearts of the audience here when he attempted to speak in the National Language at a function organised to mark Hindi Day today.
Amid a thunderous applause, Chidambaram tried to speak two-three lines of his inaugural address in broken Hindi as he encouraged the gathering at the fully-packed hall to promote the National Language, particularly in government offices as a way of correspondence.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, heading a Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government, today won a trust vote in the assembly four days after he was sworn in. He secured 45 votes in favour in the 81-member state legislature.
Jharkhand assembly Speaker C.P. Singh announced after division of votes that the house reposed trust in the Munda government. “A total of 45 votes were in favour of the trust vote and 30 against it.” Five legislators were absent during vote.
In an unexpected move, Justice Dharamveer Sharma of the Lucknow Bench, who is due to retire later this month, admitted the three separate applications. The lone judge has fixed September 16 for the full bench to hear the applications. 