New Delhi, January 7
The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) today submitted a report, recommending closure of the three mines run by the Reddy brothers, Janardhan and Karunakar who are ministers in Karnataka, for flouting environmental laws and illegally encroaching upon nearby areas.

The ministers are running the mines in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh from where they hail. The high-power committee, in the report handed over to the three-Judge Forest Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia, also held state government officials guilty as the violations could not have taken place without their connivance.

In the 70-page report, the committee said the brothers were transporting part of the minerals extracted from their mines spread over 140 acres, showing these as the extracts from other mines.

Among the other reasons cited by the committee for recommending the mining leases of the brothers were illegal extension of the leases by the authorities, illegal mining beyond the approved area and depth (three times the permissible limit) and illegal constructions within the reserved forest area.

The committee also suggested suspension of all transportation activities from the three mines till formal determination of the inter-state boundary between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The Forest Bench has asked the minister-brothers to give their views on the report within two weeks.

Bangalore, January 7
Reddy brothers, a source close to them told the TNS, were not unduly perturbed by the CEC’s report about illegal mining on the borders of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The report, submitted in the wake of a PIL filed in the Supreme Court by an environmental group Samaj Parivarthan Samudaya headed by S R Hiremath, stated that six mining companies, including Obalapuram Mining Company of Reddy brothers, were mining illegally in forest areas of Andhra Pradesh and recommended cancellation of their licences.

However, the source said the Reddys were emboldened by the fact that the CEC’s handling of a previous case of illegal mining against the Obalapuram Mining Company was strongly criticised by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. One T Ganesh had moved an application to implead CEC in a case related to illegal mining in Supreme Court.

The High Court, in an order in February last year, said the Supreme Court only had issued a notice to CEC. “But CEC, suo moto, without any direction, proceeded with the matter, conducted ex parte proceedings and finally submitted even a report to the Supreme Court”, the HC said.

No copy of the report was given to Reddys and they obtained part of the report from the media.

Kolkata, January 7
At least eight Trinamool Congress workers and supporters, including three women, were killed and 20 injured allegedly by the cadres at Lalgarh in the morning today when the CPM state secretary Biman Bose was calling upon the party’s students wing at a rally in the Esplanade area for fighting against the TMC and the Maoists at Lalghar.

The incident took place today when a procession was being taken out by the TMC and the people’s committee against police atrocities (PCPA) in the Netai village demanding dismantling of the cadres camp and withdrawal of the joint action forces from Lalghar and Jangamahal.

Oddly enough, when the incident occurred the members of the joint action force were nowhere in the vicinity.

The incident alleged happened when the procession was crossing the house of Rathin Dandapath, a local CPM leader. Several rounds of bullets were fired from inside the house which killed three persons, including two women, at the spot, while three others later died on way to the hospitals.

Two more persons later succumbed to injuries. Of the 20 injured persons admitted to Midnapore Sadar hospital and Kharagpur railway hospital, the condition of 15 was stated to be critical.

The railway minister and the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the CPM for stopping the killings, adding that she did not want the chief ministership through bloodshed.

Bhattacharjee did not make any comment. Biman Bose alleged the people killed belonged to the Congress. He held the TMC responsible, while the CPM minister in west Midnapore Sushanto Ghosh alleged the villagers had been killed by the Maoists and not the CPM.

The state home secretary G D Gautama categorically denied that the Maoists were involved in the incident. He said it was a political clash between the CPM and the TMC over the control of the area at Lalgarh. He said the IG of police, eastern range and two other senior police officials had gone to the village with a large contingent of para-military forces for taking necessary steps for restoring peace and normalcy.

The Governor KR Narayanan expressed shock at the incident. He criticised the administration and the police for failing in taking appropriate steps against out-break of such violent incident.

New Delhi, January 7
In the wake of fresh political violence in West Bengal, Home Minister P Chidambaram today dispatched yet another letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asking him to "reschedule all appointments and visit Delhi immediately".

Describing today's violence in Lalgarh as a "grave incident", Chidambaram said he has received information that eight people were killed in the firing and 18 others were injured in it.

"I have written a letter to the chief minister and drawn his attention to this grave incident and requested him to kindly reschedule all (his) appointments and visit Delhi immediately," he told reporters here.

In one of the earlier letters, Chidambaram had invited Bhattacharjee to Delhi for a frank discussion on the extremely sensitive issue of political violence in West Bengal.

Chidambaram had also said that he would be available in Delhi between January 3 and 7.

However, Bhattacharjee replied that though he was willing to meet the Home Minister and discuss the issue frankly across, he will not be able to go to Delhi during the period mentioned in the letter. — PTI

Guwahati, January 7
The BJP president Nitin Gadkari chaired a close-door meeting with the state level BJP presidents, general secretaries and organisation secretaries from all over the country in a city hotel today to set the tune for the party’s national executive committee meeting that begins here from tomorrow.

Gadkari arrived here this morning and immediately closeted himself with the state level party leaders to discuss party’s ‘internal issues’ pertaining to various state party organisations, especially in respect of poll-bound states.

“Over 800 BJP workers are working round the clock to make preparation to host 350 delegates coming from all over the country to attend the saffron party’s national executive body meeting being held in the North East for the first time keeping in mind the ensuing assembly Assam. The party has accorded top priority to Assam election,” BJP general secretary Vijay Goel said.

He informed that highlighting ‘corruption and financial scandals’ during the Congress-led UPA regime and evolving strategies for the forthcoming Assembly elections in five states - Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala - of the country will be the focus of two-day BJP conclave.

“A unique feature of the conclave will be an exhibition on scams that has taken place during the Congress-led UPA regime so that common people can gauge the magnitude of the corruption that has taken place in the country during the UPA rule,” Goel said.

Top party leaders will address a public rally on conclusion of the national executive body meeting on January 9 afternoon that will mark the launching of poll campaign in Assam. Out of all the five poll-bound states, the BJP expects the best results in Assam and it is reflected in Gadkari’s statement on the eve of the national executive meeting that the BJP would be a key player in formation of a non-Congress government in Assam after 2011 polls.

New Delhi, January 7
Ninth edition of the annual Parvasi Bharatiya Divas, a convention for the NRIs, started today. The IT adviser to the PM, Sam Pitroda, and the Union Telecom Minister, Kapil Sibal, addressed the audience on the growth story of India and the several investment opportunities available here.

The theme of this year’s event is “Engaging the Global Indian” and 1,500 delegates from 51 countries are participating in the three-day convention.

Sam Pitroda, pioneer of the 1980’s telecom revolution, urged the NRIs to look at broadband connections as a viable investment opportunity. Pitroda pointed out that 2,50,000 gram panchayats across the country would be networked through fibre optics.

Pitroda said these innovations would reach to millions of socially backward sections of the society. He said re-engineering processes were needed to create new jobs, new products and new services. Delivering the keynote address, Kapil Sibal, also the minister of Human Resource Development, said India was a land of new opportunities.

He said development goals could be achieved through collaborations.

Addressing the pre-inaugural session, minister Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said the government was set for an increased interaction with the global Indian youth for sustained development in various sectors.

With a special focus on the North-East, the convention will have a special plenary session ‘Investment opportunities in North Eastern Region’ tomorrow. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the convention and President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will deliver the valedictory address on Sunday . She will also confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards at the closing session.

The participating delegates will also have an opportunity to interact with three senior cabinet members Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Roads and Highways Minister Kamal Nath. 

New Delhi, January 7
BJP leaders, who left for Guwahati today for their two-day national executive, will be focusing on UPA corruption and inflation with an eye on other non-NDA parties.

But even as party president Nitin Gadkari assigned senior leader Jaswant Singh the task of probing the possibility of expanding the NDA, there is visible disquiet in the existing allies like the JD-U over what a political observer described “BJP’s lop-sided priorities.”

He was referring to the BJP timing in choosing to stir up the Kashmir issue through their proposed “Rashtriya Ekta Yatra” to Srinagar on January 26 to hoist the national flag which in his perception would unnecessarily provoke a communal polarisation in Jammu and Kashmir, which the non-saffron parties are opposed to.

On the one hand, the BJP virtually abandoned its pet issue for Assam assembly elections and infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims on the eve of state assembly elections to avoid patently communal issues, putting in cold storage the efforts of its secretary Varun Gandhi sent a couple of months ago to raise poll temperature for his party, on the other it has chosen Jaswant Singh, a sober leader with some gravitas, to speak to the non-NDA parties to expand the alliance.

New Delhi, January 7
RSS leader Swami Aseemanand's reported confession of his involvement in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast fuelled a war of words today between the BJP and the Congress which called it "very disturbing" and demanded strict action against the outfit.

The BJP trained its guns on the Congress-led UPA government accusing it of abusing the CBI to falsely implicate some leaders of RSS in terror attacks. The RSS, on its part, alleged that jailed 59-year-old Aseemanand's confession before a Metropolitan Magistrate here was given under "duress" and accused the probe agency of deliberately leaking it to the media with an intention to malign individuals and organisations. The Congress stepped up its attack against RSS in the wake of the confession but stopped short of seeking a ban. As many as 68 persons were killed in the blast in the Pakistan-bound train in Haryana on February 19, 2007. "Reports about the confessions of Aseemanand which have appeared in media have brought out the new terror face of RSS. This is Sanghi terrorism which poses a big threat to the country," Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.

To a question whether Congress would seek a ban on RSS, he said, "Ban it or disband it but take firm action. New facts have come to light and government should definitely take action after examining all facts." Aseemanand worked for Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in Dangs in Gujarat.

Another Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said the confession was "very disturbing" and it showed there were some elements in the Sangh Parivar who have indulged in alleged acts of terror which needs a "minute probe" to know whether the trail ended with Aseemanand.

In Guwahati, BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said the "selective leaks" by the CBI and other investigating agencies that are seeking to implicate certain leaders of the RSS are "highly condemnable." He sought to project Swami Aseemanand's reported confession of his involvement in Samjhauta blast as a diversionary tactic by Congress in the wake of latest revelations in the Bofors case, accusing the ruling party of giving leverage to Pakistani terrorists by throwing the blame on Hindu radicals for their acts. "There is a clear pattern behind this. Day before yesterday, media widely covered the statement of former driver of Ottavio Quattrocchi and the security officer of the Gandhi family to demonstrate the very intimate relationship between Quattrocchi and late Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi," Prasad said. Claiming that there was no denial from the Congress on the allegations, he said, "Suddenly we find selective leaks by the investigating agency seeking to link Aseemanand with some leaders of RSS. This is condemnable and a design to divert attention."

The BJP leader maintained that this would weaken the fight against terror. "When you use and abuse CBI and other investigative agencies for the personal agenda of Congress, more particularly to divert attention from scams after scams against the Congress, then you are compromising the fight against terror," Prasad said. — PTI

New Delhi, January 7
The Chattisgarh Government today admitted in the Supreme Court that the state police was unable to carry out investigations in several cases of large-scale violence in Dantewada and other Naxal-infested districts. As many as 76 CRPF jawans were killed in an ambush in Dantewada on May 17, 2010

“People are not willing to come forward because there is a sense of fear as the atmosphere is vitiated. It is difficult even for the state police to go out and investigate. This is the ground reality,” senior counsel Harish Salve told a Bench comprising Justices Sudershan Reddy and SS Nijjar. Salve, appearing for the state government, was responding to a question by the Bench as to why the state police was closing even cases involving serious crimes of arson and mass killings without pursuing them in courts.

“We have a serious problem. The state must take responsibility for what is going on,” Salve said in exasperation while responding to further queries from the Bench. Appearing for the PIL petitioner who has sought dismantling of the armed people’s movement, Salwa Judum, launched allegedly at the instance of the state government to take on the Naxalites, senior counsel Ashok Desai said Salve’s remarks amounted to acknowledging the “complete breakdown of the administration.” It was the people who were at the receiving end of the ongoing violence, both by the Naxalites and the Salwa Judum, besides the excesses of the security forces of the state and the Centre, Desai said.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told the Bench that the Union Cabinet had approved a couple of days ago a Rs 55 crore Integrated Action Plan for the economic development of Dantewada and other districts hit by Naxal violence. Of this, Rs 25 crore would be immediately handed over to the state administration for utilisation within three months while Rs 30 crore would be disbursed in financial year 2011-12.

During the hour-long hearing, the SC threatened to launch contempt proceedings against Chattisgarh for vacating only six of the 31 school buildings occupied by security forces despite an assurance to the court that all of them would be returned to the school administration immediately. If the security forces had to be housed in schools and hospitals, then “take over the court buildings also”, Justice Reddy remarked sarcastically while reprimanding the state.

The Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur on Friday admitted an appeal filed by rights activist Binayak Sen, challenging the life sentence given to him by a local court after being convicted for sedition and links with Maoists, and posted the matter for hearing on January 24.

After preliminary hearing, division bench of Justices TP Sharma and Justice RL Jhanwar asked the trial court to submit the case diary and deferred the hearing. — PTI