Chennai, February 7
Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy today sought the Tamil Nadu Governor's sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for allegedly allotting land to a "favoured few" under the discretionary quota in "violation" of rules.

“He (Karunanidhi) has violated every rule and allotted to a favoured few,” Swamy told reporters after submitting his petition to the office of Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, a day after the DMK chief issued him a legal notice for linking his name to the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Swamy claimed he had enough evidence on the issue. “I will never say anything without proof. I have done it always and have won my cases,” he said.

He alleged that the Tamil Nadu Housing Board had earmarked 15 per cent of the land to the Chief Minister for discretionary allotment. The allotment by Karunanidhi was in violation of Section 11 and 13 of the Prevention and Corruption Act. “Hence Karunanidhi must resign and be prosecuted,” Swamy said.

Swamy said he had mentioned the names of those who benefited, but refused to disclose them.

“I have given names of people who don't deserve to get it. It includes civil servants, judges, police officials and a variety of people,” he said. Asked about Karunanidhi's legal notice issued to him, he said he had not received it as yet.

“No, I have not received any legal notice. If it comes, I will put it only in the wastepaper basket. What is there for notice. He has no guts. Let him go to court. He is sending legal notices only to terrorise the media,” he said.

Karunanidhi had yesterday issued a legal notice to Swamy, demanding retraction of his ‘statement’ linking him to the 2G spectrum allocation scam within 24 hours.

Appreciating Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj for sanctioning prosecution of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Swamy said, “He did not hesitate and did it overnight. I do not know whether Barnala will do it. But the final matter is I expect him (Barnala) to give sanction.” — PTI

New Delhi, February 7
Central Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas today argued in the Supreme Court that the chargesheet filed against him for alleged corruption in the 1991-92 import of palm oil had automatically become null and void upon his promotion to the post of Kerala Chief Secretary on September 18, 2007 as both decisions had been taken by Left Democratic Front (LDF) governments.

Both the sanction given by an earlier LDF government on November 30, 1999 to prosecute him and the chargesheet filed against him “lost currency” the moment the present LDF Government chose him for the post of the Chief Secretary, senior counsel KK Venugopal told a Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia while arguing for Thomas.

Endorsing this logic, the CVC had given clearance for his subsequent promotions, which enabled his appointment as Parliamentary Affairs Secretary and then as Telecom Secretary before being made CVC, Venugopal contended.

However, the Bench, which included Justices KSP Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, clarified that the court wanted to know whether all relevant details were placed before the CVC while seeking clearance for his appointments and then before the three-member CVC selection panel of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.

At this, Venugopal said Chidambaram and Sushma had made it clear that the panel discussed all relevant factors. The Bench rejected this contention, as it did not want to go by media reports. Attorney General GE Vahanvati said he was not privy to the discussions at the panel. During two hours of arguments, Venugopal said that under normal procedure, the entire service file of an officer is kept ready when the selection panel discusses his candidature for the post of CVC.

New Delhi, February 7
The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea for making three wings of the defence forces parties to the petition challenging the Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising homosexual acts among consenting adults.

“It is not necessary,” a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly remarked while rejecting the plea by the petitioner, Suresh Kumar Koushal, for involving the armed forces, which had a combined strength of 20 lakh personnel, in the light of the stand taken by several top officers “contrary” to the HC findings.

Koushal pointed out that the HC had struck down a part of Section 377 of the IPC under which same-sex relations were a crime, ruling that the provision violated people’s fundamental right to personal liberty and privacy guaranteed under the Constitution.

However, under the Army Act, 1950, the Air Force Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957, homosexual acts are still illegal. The Armed Forces Act does not mention homosexuality.

Nevertheless, it is illegal under Sections 45 and 46(a) of the Army Act and the Air Force Act, which deal with “unbecoming conduct” and “any disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind”. Offenders are liable to face court martial and can be cashiered or handed out other punishment.

The Navy Act has made homosexual acts illegal, describing them as “indecent and unbecoming”.

The petitioner also quoted various media interviews according to which top defence personnel were against allowing such behaviour in the armed forces, which employed mostly men who were forced to stay away from their families for nearly 10 months every year.

Ludhiana, February 7
If Indian and Pakistani scientists are given a chance to work in collaboration, they will definitely find an answer to the repeated “onion and tomato” price escalation in the two countries, said Dr Hafiz Abdul Qayyum from the University of Agriculture, Faislabad (Pakistan).

The scientist was in the city to attend the International Conference On Preparing Agriculture for Climate Change, at PAU.

“Recently, in India, the prices of onions had gone up to Rs 80 per kg, while tomatoes also touched an all-time high. This was due to import/export restrictions and scarce production vis-a-vis population,” observed Qayyum.

Referring to the PAU, Ludhiana, as a daughter of the University of Agriculture, Faislabad, he said the scientists of both universities should give a representation to their respective ministries for external affairs to give a go-ahead for the signing of MoU.

Owing to climatic changes, the cropping pattern in India as well as Pakistan had drastically changed over the years, but what was more alarming was the anticipated changes which would lead to complete reversal in the next 20 years, he added.

The produce of cotton, rice, wheat and sugarcane in Punjab, both in Pakistan and India, would suffer if appropriate measures were not taken. “It pains to see the plight of farmers, who, despite having worked hard to sustain and enhance their produce, have failed to get desired profit margins,” he said.

Mumbai, February 7
If the proposal to stitch together an alliance between the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in Maharashtra works out, it could throw the political equations in the state out of gear, according to observers in the state.

The move which was first mooted by second-rung leaders of the Shiv Sena and the MNS a few months ago has suddenly come centrestage after senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde gave his stamp of approval last weekend.

Addressing a gathering in Aurangabad district, Munde said an alliance between the Sena, MNS and the BJP could bring down the Congress-NCP coalition in Maharashtra. “Such a grand alliance is necessary because the Congress-NCP government at the state and the Centre have become embroiled in scams and do not serve the common people,” Munde said. Munde went on to say that such an alliance would result in a realignment of political forces that would isolate the Congress-NCP coalition in the state.

New Delhi, February 7
The government today warned consumers against the use of drug products being marketed under the brand name of “AZ” and directed drugs controllers across the states to withdraw permission to market any medicine under the said name.

The decision was taken in view of the fact that medicines for different cures were being sold under a single brand, creating confusion in the minds of the buyers. The move can lead to serious medical problems because the drug a consumer buys for one ailment might not actually contain the ingredient to cure that ailment.

AZ brand, for example, is being marketed with different ingredients meant for different medical complications. So you have the AZ brand name for all following three products being sold in the markets - Cetrizine (for allergy treatment) manufactured by Sienna Formulations, Vadodra; Albendazole (for worm infections), manufactured by Cure Quick Pharma, Karnal; and Azithromycin (antibiotic), manufactured by Eugenics, Lucknow.

When a buyer suffering from allergy picks up an AZ drug, its actual ingredient may be meant to cure worm infections.

Drugs Controller General of India Surinder Singh said the matter could create confusion at the consumers’ end. “All drug controllers concerned are requested to withdraw the permission of AZ brand on top priority and permission may be granted under any other suitable brand name. If there are similar cases of same brand names for different drugs, those must also be withdrawn from the markets in public interest to avoid confusion at the end of buyers,” the DCGI order said. 

BRIEFLY

Kasab verdict on Feb 21
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has fixed February 21 as the date when it will begin delivering the final verdict on the death penalty awarded to Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist taken alive during the 26/11 terror attacks. — TNS

Immolation bid
Lucknow: A man, who was apparently depressed over grabbing of his land tried to immolate himself along with his four children in front of the Assembly building here, while the session was on. — TNS