New Delhi, November 13
Describing the UPA government's affidavit in the Supreme Court on the 2G Spectrum allotment as its "abject surrender", the BJP has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately sack Union Telecom Minister and DMK leader A Raja.

Reacting to the development, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar characterised the affidavit as "shameful justification of corruption in 2G Spectrum allotment". Carrying on its campaign against the UPA government, the BJP leader also urged UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to respond to the charges of corruption (against Raja).

Javadekar claimed that more damning revelations have exposed the complicity of the UPA dispensation in the 2G Spectrum scam and the consequent effort to cover it up. He referred to media reports that said the government's law officer had called a meeting of the CBI's investigating officers and Raja's counsel in the presence of the Solicitor-General of India, Gopal Subramaniam. He described this as a clear proof of the cover up of the scam and was tantamount to contempt of Supreme Court. He felt that the law officer would not have organised such a meeting without directive from the top.

The BJP also referred to media reports in which former Telecom Secretary DS Mathur had claimed that 2G Spectrum was allotted without following the principles of equitable distribution and transparent policy. The agenda of Raja was very clear from day one. He wanted to distribute 500 new licenses without bothering either for the availability of the spectrum or the required procedure. Javadekar said that Raja's disregard for putting in place a policy to determine competent applicants also proves that the allotment was a premeditated conspiracy.

Javadekar, however, had a hard time explaining the telecom scam of 1999, which upset the then Communications minister Jagmohan so much that he quit the ministry in disgust, for the failure of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani to stand by him against Pramod Mahajan.

Instead, the BJP spokesman recalled how the NDA government changed the rules of the game in 2003 and suggested that the present day critics should only judge the NDA government's action in 2003 when it made auction compulsory. He said, "The NDA regime in 2003 decided that the spectrum in future will be allotted by auction alone." Offering another justification for 1999 telecom scam, he said, "Resources like spectrum, which have become scarce, could not be sold in 2008 at the price of 2001. The teledensity, which was merely 7% in 2001, is now more than 60%. So the argument of teledensity is also not valid."

New Delhi, November 13
Former CBI Director RK Raghavan, who heads the Supreme Court-appointed anti-ragging committee, has said the menace of ragging, like corruption in public life, “could not be eliminated easily, but could be reduced in intensity”.

Also, Raghavan said the sentence pronounced for the four students of Tanda medical college in Himachal Pradesh for the ragging and death of 19-year-old Aman Kachroo “could have been more than the four-year imprisonment”.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone, he said, “Probably, the Judge could have given a higher sentence. But, it is possible the Judge has given reasons for giving four-year sentence… I am yet to go through the verdict.” Raghavan was quick to explain that the relation between the quantum of punishment and the deterrence factor was very subjective. “It is very difficult to say which is adequate, which is inadequate.”

On being pointed out that sporadic incidents of ragging were still reported from various parts of the country, he said, “We cannot hope to eliminate the menace. It was like corruption in public life. We can only achieve reduction in the number of incidents, the intensity and the form in which it is practised.”

Asked whether he was satisfied with the implementation of the committee’s recommendations for checking ragging at the instance of the apex court, he said wherever he went he could see a “more than marginal difference” and things had generally improved.

Raghavan said there could be a further reduction in ragging if educational institutions at the management level implemented the recommendations strictly and seriously. “Still some people are indifferent.”

On its part, the committee was regularly holding meetings with officials from the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, Medical Council of India and the nursing council to monitor the implementation aspect.

Upon noticing shortcomings, the committee brought these to the notice of the SC and the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry. Generally, such meetings were held once in about three months, but at the time of the beginning of the academic sessions these were more frequent, he added.

New Delhi, November 13
Ahead of climate talks in the Mexican city of Cancun, India said the impending UN summit would be able to yield an agreement on a system for transferring funds and technology to developing nations only if issues regarding intellectual property rights (IPR) were left for discussions for a later stage.

In fact, India feels Cancun may just be the last chance for nations to agree on tricky issues like technology transfers with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh saying that countries must arrive at a harmonious position on the issue of green technology sharing between developed and developing nations.

So far, nations have been divided on the IPR with some seeing it as an essential part of any deal on technology transfer and others terming it a private issue on which the governments should not interfere.

Ramesh advocated a middle path between the extreme positions. “Frankly, we are running out of time. Cancun is the last chance. The credibility of the entire climate change negotiating system is at stake. If you do not get a set of operational and meaningful decisions at Cancun, everybody is going to get sick and tired of us,” he said at the conclusion of a preparatory multinational meetings in Delhi ahead of the Cancun Summit beginning November-end.

Prospects of Cancun ending up like Copenhagen because of near-deadlock among nations on how to share the burden in cutting greenhouse gas emissions seem real. There is a fear that failure of talks at Cancun may lead to the lapse of landmark carbon-cutting agreement signed at Kyoto.

India and other developing countries do not want the Kyoto treaty to lapse. India, which hosted the meeting of delegates from 35 countries, is clear that reaching an agreement in Cancun to extend the Kyoto Protocol would determine the outcome of future discussions. “The Kyoto Protocol must have a second commitment period,” Ramesh said.

While developing nations want the Kyoto Protocol extended into a second period, countries like the US, which never ratified Kyoto, want a new treaty. Kyoto primarily allows developing nations to take voluntary steps to curb emissions, a position most developing nations want to continue.

Reiterating the importance of a positive result at Cancun, Ramesh said: “Technology and finance are two essential pillars of any international climate change treaty. We want Cancun conference to succeed,” adding that he did not want a “repeat of Copenhagen”.

He said while no country wanted to give up its fundamental position it should be willing to shed “fundamentalist” approach, thereby indicating softening of stand since Copenhagen. “Our stand has always been that India has not caused the problem of global warming. That we were not part of the problem but we should be part of the solution,” he said.

Lucknow, November 13
Bahujan Samaj Party national president Mayawati today expressed displeasure at some of her ministers and party members ignoring her directive of not taking part in the just concluded panchayati raj elections.

Addressing a meeting of party office-bearers here, Mayawati said she was letting the guilty off this time but in future they would not be forgiven.

“BSP is known as a disciplined party. Therefore, all office-bearers and workers should follow the directives given by party leadership at all costs,” she underlined.

Charging the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre with discriminating against the BSP government, Mayawati said it had not even cooperated with her government on the most sensitive Ayodhya issue as it had turned down the state government’s repeated request for adequate forces to maintain law and order.

Guwahati, November 13
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram yesterday instructed the security forces to go all out to apprehend the leaders of the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) who are believed to be behind the killing of 24 innocent civilians, most of them Hindi-speaking, on November 8-9.

Chidambaram, who reviewed the security scenario at a meeting with senior Army, police and paramilitary officials, said the perpetrators of the crime would be handed out exemplary punishment. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was also present at the meeting.

While meeting a BJP delegation, led by local leader Chandrasekhar, later, the Home Minister termed the situation as “grave”, saying some “serious” steps would soon be taken to resolve the problem.

“The Union Home Minister accepted our memorandum on the security scenario in Assam and the rest of the North East and assured some concrete steps,” Chandrasekhar said.

Meanwhile, the BJP demanded the setting up of a separate ‘North East Security Council’ attached to the National Security Council for regular review of security situation in insurgency-hit North-East states.

Also, the BJP accused the incumbent Congress government of “going soft” on the NDFB ultras who had allegedly set up their base in forest areas along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary.

The BJP leader alleged that there was hardly any coordination between the forces in neighbouring North-East states to check inter-state movement of militants.

Chandigarh, November 13
In perhaps a biggest seizure of cash and jewellery during the current fiscal, the Income Tax Department has seized unaccounted valuables worth Rs 8 crore during search operations conducted on the premises of Gurgaon-based Omax Auto Group - supplier of automobile products to leading industries in the region.

The extent of the alleged evasion can be gauged from the fact that the main promoter of the company has yet not come forward for any disclosure and the investigation that began in last week of October still continues.

New Delhi, November 13
India and Bangladesh have resolved to maintain peace and tranquillity along their border amid indications by Dhaka that it was open to the idea of having an extradition treaty with India.

The fourth meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Boundary Working Group (JBWG) concluded in New Delhi last evening with the two sides agreeing to take up a joint survey of the Adverse Possession of Land (APLs) along the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border on a priority basis.

The two countries reaffirmed that peaceful conditions should be maintained in the border regions, officials here said. The JBWG was set up in December 2000 to resolve matters relating to the demarcation of the undemarcated boundary between the two countries and other outstanding issues pertaining to the territories in the APLs, enclaves and also erection of permanent boundary pillars wherever necessary on the demarcated boundary.

India and Bangladesh share a common border of 4,096 km touching five states - West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram - as well as a shared history and socio-cultural heritage.

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka have witnessed ups and downs ever since Bangladesh attained independence in 1971 although Bangladesh remains India’s largest trading partner in the region. Lately, the two countries have seen an unprecedented swing in bilateral ties, thanks to Sheikh Hasina being at the helm of affairs in the neighbouring country.

New Delhi is quite appreciative of the cooperation it has been receiving from the Sheikh Hasina government in tackling the North-East insurgent groups. The authorities in Bangladesh had last year foiled at least one attempt to target the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. In recent months, Dhaka has also handed over some ULFA rebels to the Indian authorities.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, who was in Agartala earlier this week, reassured New Delhi that her country would not allow insurgent groups to use its soil for anti-India activities.

She also stated that Bangladesh would continue to cooperate with India in the fight against terrorism, regardless of whether the two countries have an extradition treaty or not.