New Delhi, December 10
The BJP today threatened to move a privilege motion against Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal for his decision to appoint a one-man committee under retired Supreme Court judge Shivraj Patil to look into the allegations of corruption and irregularities committed by his predecessors A Raja and even others in the allotment of telephony licenses since 2001.

Reacting to the news Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said “We are seriously examining the possibility of bringing a privilege motion for announcing a probe at a time when Parliament is in session.”

But the motion can only be moved in the Lok Sabha since Sibal is a member of the Lower House, while Jaitley leads the Opposition in the Upper House. And the Lok Sabha Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj appeared a shade less enthusiastic, though she also said, “We are considering it.”

The BJP has not allowed Parliament to hold its proceedings throughout this Winter session. But the BJP leaders felt that in the event the minister found it difficult to announce in the House, he could always inform Speaker Meira Kumar and even lay a copy of the statement in the House.

Earlier in the day, BJP’s veteran leader and PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi described the manner in which Sibal made the announcement as "highly objectionable” and may invite privilege.

"The general practice is not to make any policy announcement outside the House when Parliament is in session," Joshi said.

Sibal had yesterday announced a one-man committee of retired Supreme Court Justice Shivaraj V Patil to probe the alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum since 2001, a period involving the NDA regime.

The Congress later hit back at the BJP for targeting Sibal. Reacting to BJP's threat of moving privilege motion, Congress MP Rajiv Shukla said," there is no breach of privilege. It's a ministerial inquiry. The BJP is scared of the issue coming out.

Balasore (Orissa), December 10
A test-fire of an upgraded Agni-II nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile from Wheeler Island off Orissa coast, failed today with the weapon system deviating from its trajectory immediately after lift-off.

"Experimental launch of Agni-II missile experienced a trajectory deviation immediately after the lift-off resulting in failure of the mission," a DRDO spokesman said in New Delhi. He said, "Detailed analysis is in progress".

The DRDO sources said in Balasore, "The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, launched from a rail mobile launcher from the launch pad-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) around 1000 hours, was not successful".

Scientists and experts were trying to ascertain the cause of the outcome by analysing different aspects, they said, declining to share detailed information. Though ITR officials were tight-lipped about the trial, eye-witnesses said the missile fell into the sea around 30 seconds after it took off in inclement weather marked by intermittent rains and chilly winds.

The indigenously developed upgraded and new variant of Agni series missile was said to be the improved version of the country’s existing Agni-II missile.

India first tested the Agni-II on April 11, 1999, from Wheeler Island, about 100 km from here. After its second flight test on January 17, 2001, the two-stage solid propellant missile was cleared for production. On May 19, 2009, Indian Army conducted user trial of Agni-II. However, it ended in a failure.

In a subsequent trial conducted on the night of November 24, 2009, the missile once again failed. After two successive failures, the flight test by the Indian Army carried out on May 17, 2010, was a success. — PTI

Lucknow, December 10
The Uttar Pradesh Government has given sanction for prosecution of BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi for his alleged hate speech during Lok Sabha elections last year, a senior official said here today. "The state government gave prosecution sanction against BJP MP Varun Gandhi on November 30 on an FIR registered against him at Kotwali Police Station in Pilibhit last year," Secretary (Home) Deepak Kumar told reporters. Kumar said prosecution sanction had been given under various sections of the IPC and People's Representation Act.

Sections of the IPC include 153(A) (promoting enemity between different groups on ground of religion), 295(A) (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) and 505(2) (statement conducing to public mischief), he said.

Kumar said the sanction had been given in the case relating to the speech delivered by Varun on March 7, 2009.

During Lok Sabha poll, Varun, who was contesting from Pilibhit constituency, gave allegedly hate speeches in election rallies at Mohalla Dalchand and Barkhera town on March 7 and 8.

Taking cognisance of the two incidents, the Election Commission had then directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh and the district magistrate to initiate criminal proceedings against Varun. — PTI

New Delhi, December 10
The Kerala government yesterday moved the Supreme Court seeking vacation of the stay on the trial in the alleged palm oil import scam in which Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) PJ Thomas is named as an accused in the charge sheet filed in 2000.

The SC had stayed the trial proceedings on August 3, 2007 on former Chief Minister K Karunakaran’s petition challenging his prosecution along with Thomas and six others. Karunakaran had contended that the CBI could not prosecute him without getting the permission from the competent authority. Thomas was Food Secretary when the oil was imported. FIR in the case was registered in 1991-92.

In the petition, the state government said Karunakaran’s application had not come up for hearing for several months and ever since the stay the CBI court had been adjourning the trial.

A three-member Bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia has issued notice to Thomas and the Centre on a PIL challenging the appointment of Thomas as CVC despite his name figuring as an accused in the palm oil and the allegations in the 2G spectrum scam.

Besides Thomas and Karunakaran, the then Chief Secretary, Additional Secretary and Civil Supplies Corporation's Managing Director GG Thomas are also accused in the case.

The case pertains to the import of palm oil from a Singapore firm at prices higher than the international rate. The Karunakaran Cabinet had approved the import of 15,000 tonne of palm oil at $405 per tonne against the market price of $392.25.

As Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, Thomas had issued the government order for the import which caused a loss of Rs 2.32 crore to the state exchequer. 

New Delhi, December 10
Jaikant Sah had just finished dinner at his Ranchi home when around 9.30 pm on August 15 he got the worst news of his life. A man called up to say that Abhishek, Sah’s son, had fallen off the fourth floor of his university’s hostel building and was critical. Before the Sahs could reach Fortis Hospital Noida, where their only son was struggling for life in the ICU, the latter was dead.

“The recorded time of death was 4.40 pm. We reached around 6 pm only to find unusual abrasions on Abhishek’s abdomen and inexplicable injury marks across his body. His college claimed he fell off the terrace. It implied he was mindless; well, he wasn’t,” says a devastated Jaikant Sah, whose son died in an alleged ragging attack on the hostel compound of SRM University, Modinagar, Ghaziabad on the Independence Day this year. Abhiskek had joined college on August 9.

Hours before his death, Abhishek had called up his father to complain of ragging at the hostel. “I told him to report to university authorities. I was wrong to believe the government and authorities would protect him,” adds Sah, who has registered a case of murder and criminal conspiracy against a second year B Tech student at the university, Siddhartha, and others. He alleges these students killed Abhishek before throwing him down. The FIR, registered under the provisions of the Anti-Ragging Act, also mentions the name of Manoj Kumar Pandey, Dean of the University.

It was in fact Siddhartha, who called Jaikant to report the incident on the night of August 15. “He hung up when I asked him what he, being a second-year student, was doing in the hostel meant for freshers,” recalls the father.

This may be the only case involving ragging death to surface since Aman Kachroo died in Tanda Medical College last year, but it’s a shocking pointer of government apathy considering the fact that Abhishek allegedly died despite the HRD Ministry’s anti-ragging call centre being in place. These structures came up under the Supreme Court directions following Aman’s death and were meant to deliver. But they didn’t.

Records of UGC-run anti-ragging helpline accessed by The Tribune reveal the anti-ragging staff acknowledged Abhishek’s distress email 17 hours after he sent it at 9.35 pm on August 13. At helpline@antiragging.net, he wrote: “I am a first year student in SRM University, Modinagar campus, UP. Seniors are ragging us daily. Please save us. They are exceeding their limits. Please control the situation before it goes out of control.”

Shockingly, it was at 2.43 pm on August 14 that the call centre staff responded, forwarding this message to Abhishek (and sent a copy it to University Dean, SSP Ghaziabad and SHO Lodhi Nagar who didn’t even have the jurisdiction of the university): “Your complaint number is UP14810000202. We have forwarded it to the concerned college head and SSP. We will wait for their response for 7 days. If we don’t get one, we will directly forward the complaint to UGC. For any help, feel free to contact our toll-free helpline - 1800-180-55-22.”

Abhishek wrote another email to the call centre on the night of August 14 where he said, “Please take action otherwise it would lead to some other consequence….” And it did. A day later, Abhishek, who had dreamed of getting a doctorate in mechanical engineering, fell off from his hostel terrace and died. On the funeral pyre of his son, who was consigned to flames at the Post Mortem House, Noida on August 16, Jaikant Sah made a promise: “I won’t let his killers rest.”

New Delhi, December 10
The Ministry of Defence is under fire from a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which has “expressed concern” over “wasteful expenditure” and has slammed it for “sidetracking” the issue of having an independent regulator to manage the vast defence lands across the country. “Despite various land scams such as Sukna, Adarsh being reported, the ministry considers the existing framework as adequate for management of defence land,” remarked the 30-member committee.

Birender Singh, an MP from Haryana, today tabled the report, which reiterated its earlier recommendation to have an “independent regulator” for management of defence lands and suggested “urgent action.” The committee observed that reports of land scams affect the overall image of the armed forces. It rejected the argument of the ministry that adequate provisions were available under the Cantonments Act, 2006, Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1937 and Acquisition, Custody and Relinquishment etc of Military Lands in India Rules, 1944. Notably, some 11,000 acres of defence land in the country has been illegally occupied. The ministry holds 7,000 sq km of land across India. On wasteful expenditure, the committee said it was “perturbed” to note that the ministry was still “examining” a report of the Defence Expenditure Review Committee. The ministry has informed that the task of examination and implementation of the recommendations has now been entrusted to officers of the level of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and Defence Finance. 

New Delhi, December 10
Complimented for forceful environment activism and taking green laws’ violators to task at home, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh came under attack from not just from Opposition but also his traditional fan club of Green NGOs for indicating a radical change in India’s established stand on climate change at Cancun. Not just political opponents, environmentalists and NGOs too went ballistic against him, criticising his stand, even terming it a “sell-out”.

“Either the minister feels he is too clever by half or that the nation is incapable of comprehending his volte face,” senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said.Outraged, Gopal Krishna of Toxics Watch Alliance called it a major shift from India's stated policy on climate change, which could alter its traditional policy irretrievably.

While yesterday he had said “all countries must take on a binding commitment under an appropriate legal form,” today he told reporters that “all I said was that all countries must take binding commitments in appropriate legal form. It does not mean that India is taking on legally binding commitment at this stage; that is our position”.

India’s conventional position has been that those who pollute must pay and remedy the environment. As a responsible country, India can take voluntary cuts but not those on the basis of internationally legally binding emission reduction targets. The country has maintained that while it will make all efforts to cut back on green house gas emissions and even report about this to its own Parliament, these would be voluntary.

India cannot take on emission cuts as this will impact the pace of economic development, is the clear stand.

Incidentally this is not the first time that Ramesh has come in the Opposition’s line of fire for shifting from India’s traditional stand. Opposition is now demanding that the government explain Jairam's statement in Cancun. “Jairam has acted unilaterally, and the government must come clean on this,” Jaitley said. “His `flexibility’ has compromised India’s interest. He has broken alliances which were formed after years of hard work. The Government of India must explain why this `crawl’ is being undertaken in the matter under the garb of flexibility”.

CPM leader Brinda Karat termed position taken by Ramesh as a “sell out...We strongly condemn it and demand that the government should come clean on this issue”. Ravi Agarwal of Toxics Link said the way India’s case is being presented at international forums was self-defeating in nature. CSE Director Sunita Narain said: “India shifted its position to completely let the US off the hook. I am completely appalled at the minister's statement at Cancun”. The US has been putting pressure on India and 
China to take on legally binding cuts.

It has also used this as an excuse not to sign up on legally binding cuts saying that India and China as fast-growing economies were increasing their emissions.

Cancun: Under an all-round attack back home over his dramatic turn on India's stand on emission cuts, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday claimed he was "nuancing" the country's stand against legally-binding cuts as the climate change conference here struggled for a consensus. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries are burning the midnight oil to finalise the outcome of the two-week conference which yesterday saw Ramesh's call to all countries to take binding commitments under appropriate legal form which the Indian opposition parties and the green lobby pilloried as a "sell out" under American pressure. 

Hyderabad, December 10
High drama prevailed in Andhra Pradesh Assembly today as Telangana Rashtra Samithi members stalled proceedings and staged a sit-in even after the House was adjourned to press their demand for withdrawal of all cases against students who had participated in the agitation for a separate Telangana state.

The turmoil in the House turned out to be the first acid test for the new Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who struggled to pacify the opposition members on the opening day of the winter session. Amid uproarious scenes marked by TRS and Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) members frequently storming the podium, the House was adjourned for the day without transacting any business. Earlier, the Deputy Speaker N Manohar, who was in the Chair, adjourned the House thrice in quick succession in a bid to restore order.

However, as the situation showed no improvement, he was forced to adjourn the House for the day. A determined opposition pressed for withdrawal of cases filed against students during the competitive agitations for and against Telangana that had rocked the state recently. The TRS members were more vociferous in their demand and obstructed the proceedings of the House. The Chief Minister assured the members that his government would carefully examine the cases and order withdrawal wherever possible. The Home Minister P Sabitha Reddy would make a statement in the House on Monday, he assured. However, the opposition members were not satisfied with the government’s response.

Raising slogans, TRS and MIM members trooped into well of the house and stalled the proceedings. The opposition Telugu Desam, Praja Rajyam, CPI, CPM and BJP also supported the demand for withdrawal of cases against students in all the regions. The MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi demanded that the cases registered against over 400 Muslim youths during the recent communal unrest and in the aftermath of Mecca Masjid blast three years ago should also be withdrawn. On its part, the government insisted on taking up discussion on farmers’ problems in the wake of the recent floods.

Hyderabad, December10
A sense of déjà vu marks political developments in Andhra Pradesh Congress. Three decades ago, the term “high command” was so frequently flaunted by Congress leaders that it began to evoke derisive response from public and became a favourite expression for script writers to lampoon politicians.

The defining image of those times was the frequent trips by Congressmen to New Delhi to influence the high command on matters ranging from change of chief minister to deciding portfolios. It was this “mortgaging of self-respect of Telugus before Delhi rulers” that provided ammunition to matinee idol NT Rama Rao who plunged into politics and ended the Congress’ monopoly within nine months of floating a party.

Nearly three decades later, as Congress high command begins to remote control its Andhra unit, rebel leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy hopes to repeat NTR’s magic and take over the reins of the state as the sole inheritor of his father and former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s political legacy.

Like NTR, he is harping on “self-respect” plank to drive home his political point, apart from an emotional campaign to claim YSR’s legacy. Despite being a political greenhorn, Jagan, 38, has already emerged as a key player in the unfolding political drama.

After quitting his Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and the party last week, this industrialist-turned-politician is all set to float his political outfit in a few weeks, a development that has clearly unnerved the Congress leadership.

Jagan’s supporters claim that he alone was capable of carrying forward the ideals and welfare programmes of YSR and that people viewed him as a natural successor. “The kind of public support he received during his “Odarpu Yatra” is unprecedented in the state’s history. Irked over this, the Congress leadership tried to create hurdles for the yatra, suspended his followers, maligned his image and create a wedge in his family,” Jagan’s close aide A Rambabu said.

While state Congress president D Srinivas maintained that Jagan’s exit and his proposed party would not affect the prospects of Congress in the 2014 elections, the opposition parties do not share his optimism.

“It does not take a great political analyst to say that Jagan’s party will deliver a big blow to Congress. Its stocks are already falling,” senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said. State CPI secretary A Narayana also echoed similar views.

“Unlike Chiranjeevi (actor-turned-politician who had failed to convert public goodwill into votes), Jagan has a clear political agenda and deep pockets to sustain it,” Narayana said.

The Congress leadership is worried that internal rumblings over the allocation of portfolios could weaken the party and trigger exodus to Jagan’s proposed party.

The absence of a charismatic Congress leader, in the mould of YSR, lack of coordination among various groups within Congress and the growing internal squabbles will help Jagan consolidate his position.

Sources in his camp say that the new party would come up with appropriate policies and programmes to attract the youth and weaker sections. The battle has now begun for claiming political legacy of YSR, a charismatic leader who single-handedly steered Congress to power for two successive terms. In fact, with 33 Congress MPs, AP accounts for highest contribution to the UPA kitty.

A chip of its own block is now threatening to shake the foundation of this citadel.

New Delhi, December 10
The expert panel set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has discussed the recommendations of Congress president Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) on the ambitious National Food Security Bill and decided to submit its views on the proposed legislation by the end of the month.

Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan said the expert committee would evaluate implications of the Bill, including quantum of foodgrains required, need for stepping up production and financial implications, including subsidy burden. “After studying these aspects, we will submit our report by this month-end,” he said here recently. Rangarajan heads the expert committee set up to examine feasibility of NAC’s recommendations.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who was among those who attended the meeting, later said that the country would have to step up production to meet foodgrain requirement under the proposed law. Pawar has made it amply clear that around 65 million tonne foodgrain would be required to implement NAC’s proposal and India may not be able to procure enough foodgrain to sell at subsidised rates to 75 per cent of the population. Sources said the Agriculture Minister is more concerned about the availability of foodgrain than its subsidy quotient.

Pawar has already advocated introduction of genetically modified (GM) food crops to meet requirement. “Ultimate solution to produce more (to achieve food security) will require a lot of quality seeds, whether it is hybrid or even GM food,” he recently said.

Sources said Pawar, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Kaushik Basu, who are also part of the group, made it clear that financial implications of the Bill were tremendous.

The committee will now go through the NAC draft minutely and measure additional subsidy impact and recommend changes to keep the food bill. Though they will be within desired limits, more changes are not something that NAC, which has already retreated quite a distance from its original plans, will like.

Economists in the panel have pointed out flaws in the proposal: one, it is not affordable and two, it is near impossible to procure and store the required foodgrain. Another contention is that without revamping the PDS, there is no way to ensure that food subsidy will actually reach the poor. It is open knowledge that half the grain meant for below poverty line families leaks into the open market from the Public Distribution System.