New Delhi, March 6
Entrusted with the task of improving the social audit process under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) following reports of malpractices and corruption, the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) has recommended to the states to set up directorates to train auditors from civil society.

The audit watchdog has recommended this as part of the new audit regime that is likely to scrutinise the flow of crores of rupees spent on various schemes under the Act.

“Setting up of directorates to train auditors from civil society is one of the key recommendations made by CAG to the Rural Development Ministry. Its suggestions have been moved to the Law Ministry and are most likely to be accepted,” a Ministry official said.

According to CAG recommendations, a nominee of the government auditor would be present during social audits to be conducted by “gram sabhas” twice a year.

“CAG would also do an annual audit as part of its mandate. Coupled with the rigour of CAG’s accounting, the exercise would also bring in the new concept of social audit into mainstream,” the official explained.

Preparing a fresh audit regime was necessitated after the ministry admitted to lacunae in the auditing process.

CAG is also learnt to have recommended that the states should adopt the social auditing process being followed by Andhra Pradesh, as it has turned out to be highly successful due to its transparency and recovery mechanism.

National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy has welcomed the CAG’s recommendations. Roy said, “Andhra Pradesh established an independent and autonomous body under the name of Society for Social Audit, Accountability and Transparency (SSAAT) which is responsible for facilitating conduct of social audit by the rural poor.”

“Till now, discrepancies/ misappropriations to the tune of Rs 88 crore have been unearthed and more than 4,600 officials come under scrutiny in the state,” Roy said.

“The ministry should not just fund the setting up of a directorate of social audit, but ensure that the directorate is independent and able to carry out its task in the manner that Andhra has done,” she said.

A social audit, as mandated by the Act, is one of the many mechanisms to check corruption under the scheme. However, with the government surreptitiously introducing an amendment to Section 13 of the Act that prevented participation of independent parties, the social audit became an exercise controlled by the implementing agency. — PTI

New Delhi, March 6
Rejecting as inadequate the arrest of a few persons in the 2G Spectrum case, the CPM today sought immediate steps to recover the losses arising from the scam and an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the illegal appointment of PJ Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) which has been set aside by the Supreme Court.

“It is not enough to arrest a few persons. The government should cancel all these licences and auction the spectrum for recovering the losses,” party general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters.

Karat said the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Spectrum scam was not sufficient. “We would like the government to take further action to recover the revenue loss.”

The way the government had handled the scam and the manner in which the CVC was appointed had “raised questions about the role of the Prime Minister and the cover-up that was attempted,” he said.

He also demanded an independent inquiry into the controversial S-band spectrum deal between Antrix and Devas which has since been cancelled. On the CVC issue, Karat said the Prime Minister was directly involved in the selection. “He has yet to explain how the former telecom secretary under A Raja and who had a case pending against him was made the CVC.”

Pointing out that the Supreme Court had indicted the government while quashing the appointment of Thomas, the CPM leader said that besides the charges of financial irregularities in the import of palm oil the former bureaucrat was also under a cloud for alleged cover-up attempts in the wake of the 2G scam.

“The CVC is a constitutional post for which the aspirant should have an unimpeachable character and integrity,” Karat stated.

Mumbai, March 6
Amid demands for a fresh probe into 2006 Malegaon blasts, the CBI has hinted that Mumbai Police's elite Anti-Terror Squad had in its rush to solve the case named two of the accused without realising that one of them was languishing in jail while another was 700 kms away from the town at the time of the explosions.

The ATS charge sheet claims that one of the main accused Mohammed Zahid was present in the powerloom town on September 8, 2006 when the three powerful bombs went off killing over 35 people.

The new team of the CBI, which is trying to open the knots in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case, has, however, got eye-witnesses to testify that Zahid was leading the Friday prayers in a village 700 kms from Malegaon on the day of the explosions.

Zahid was alleged to be involved in the activities of banned SIMI. However, he was not present at the scene of crime, say senior CBI officials who are investigating the case again.

The CBI officials claimed that the then ATS officials simply chose to ignore the eye-witness accounts and attempted to stick to the theory which was apparently framed by some officials who wanted to close the case quickly, the sources said.

Union Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed had also said that there should be a re-investigations into the 2006 Malegoan case and that people, if found innocent, should be released.

These comments came after Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah said that he would be taking up the matter about Malegaon 2006 probe with the government as he had got several representations for the same.

The second loophole in the case was the arrest of Shabbir Masiullah alias Shhabir Batterywala. The ATS had accused that in May 2003, one of the arrested accused Mohammad Ali Shaikh had sent Shabbir Batterywala to Pakistan for training in weapon handling and assembling of bombs laden with RDX.

Ali, along with Junaid and two more persons, had transported 15 kg of RDX to Malegaon, which was stored in Shabbir's godown.

However, it has been found that Shabbir had been in police custody in connection with the July 11, 2006 train blasts and as the initial probe of CBI suggests, he had no role to play in the conspiracy to conduct the blast at Malegaon, the sources said. — PTI

Lucknow, March 6
With Jat agitators, along with family and livestock, squatting on the railway track near Amroha in west Uttar Pradesh, commuters had to face a lot of inconvenience on the busy Delhi-Lucknow route. The traffic was completely disrupted on the rail route.

Coming together under the banner of All-India Jat Arakshan Samiti, protesters had occupied railway tracks near the Kafurpur railway station since last evening. They were demanding OBC quota in Central Government jobs.

Additional Railway Divisional Manager AK Singhal admitted that the traffic was adversely affected on the track. He said while local trains had to be cancelled, over 30 long-distance trains had to be diverted due the demonstrations.

Samiti spokesperson Yashpal Mallik said, “We either want an assurance from the Prime Minister; or a Union minister should come and listen to us. If the government fails to look into our demands we would intensify our agitation.” 

When Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced a new category of “very senior" citizens of 80 years and above in his budget and raised their income tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh, the joke in the Capital was that the move was meant to favour the country’s ageing politicians. But what is not known to all is that Pranabda ‘s budgetary proposal was actually influenced by a plaintive letter he received from a retired teacher in his constituency in West Bengal.

The ageing teacher, who lives alone, complained about the harassment he faces every year in filing his tax returns since he had nobody at home to assist with his paper work. He was usually given the run around by those professing to help him and in the process ended up shelling out huge sums of money for these services. He urged the Finance Minister to “do something” to provide some relief to senior citizens like him who are not sufficiently mobile and have limited resources. Moved by the plight of this old teacher, Pranabda came out with this proposal, which has ended up benefiting a large number of senior citizens like him. 

Fellow politicians, journalists and external affairs ministry officials have never stopped making fun of their former minister Shashi Tharoor’s active use of Twitter which often landed him in trouble. He was nicknamed “Twitter Tharoor” by his detractors who proclaimed loftily that it was only apt that the first-time minister should have lost his job because of a tweet posted by his bête noire Lalit Modi. All those who made fun of Tharoor now have to eat their words as the tribe of Twitter users is increasing by the day. 

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has taken to tweeting and so has the external affairs ministry’s public diplomacy division. It won’t be long before other ministries, departments and officials join the bandwagon as the fad is catching up fast. While a number of younger politicians like Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have been tweeting for some time, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is among the latest to use Twitter. Journalists covering the BJP are honing up their skills on the use of social networking sites as these have become a major source of information. In fact, Sushma even responds to queries on Twitter which probably saves her the bother of answering individual phone calls. Tharoor, of course, must be having the last laugh. 

After launching a virtual diatribe against the Nehru-Gandhi family during the last elections, senior BIP leader L.K.Advani appears to be in a mood to make amends. He was quick to write an apology letter to arch political rival Congress president Sonia Gandhi when she took umbrage to the reference to her and her late husband Rajiv Gandhi in the report of the BJP-appointed task force on persons who have stashed away black money in tax havens abroad. Last week, the BJP patriarch made several attempts to speak to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi after he learnt that he was laid up with a fractured leg. When he finally got through, Advani is learnt to have wished the young Gandhi well and a speedy recovery.

The prolonged cold war between the two actually ended last year when Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul shared a cup of tea with Advani in his Parliament House office. When Rahul learnt that it was Advani’s birthday, he promptly sent a bouquet of flowers to the senior BJP leader the next day. Needless to say, Advani’s colleagues in the BJP are most unhappy and embarrassed at this turn of events. 

New Delhi, March 6 
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has clarified that the Constitutional restriction on Parliament to enact laws on external factors would not apply to “extra-territorial aspects” that affect the interests of India or Indians. 

“Is Parliament constitutionally restricted from enacting law with respect to extra-territorial aspects?” the Bench framed this question and replied “yes”. The SC passed the verdict while disposing a petition filed by a company challenging the legislative competence of the government.

Chennai, March 6
Pro-LTTE allies of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu are jubilant over the party's decision to withdraw its ministers from the Union government while pro-Tiger parties critical of it (the DMK) asserted that the party could not escape the anger of Tamil people who were furious with it for allegedly assisting the Congress leadership in the “genocidal war against Sri Lankan Tamils”.

GK Mani, leader of PMK, one of the pro-LTTE allies, said the DMK alliance would win the election without the Congress’ support. Mani, who met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi today, said the snapping of ties with the Congress would “not affect” the prospects of the DMK front.

VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, who is known for his pro-LTTE rhetoric and animosity towards the Congress, offered a shawl and congratulated Karunanidhi for his "courageous decision". He also asserted that the winning prospects of the DMK front would not be affected even if the Congress found a place in the Opposition front.

The president of Dravidar Kazhagam, Veeramani, who appealed to the DMK leadership to break ties with the Congress, also rushed to meet Karunanidhi with a shawl and hailed his decision. Referring to the reaction of Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, he said Tamil people all over the world were welcoming the bold decision. He said since Tamil nationalists were happy with the DMK's decision, Karunanidhi should not reverse it on any account.

However, prominent pro-Tiger leader P Nedumaran opined that the DMK's decision to sever its alliance with the Congress was not based on any policy and it was only political fallout of the CBI investigation into the 2G Spectrum scam. Karunanidhi could not escape from the fury of Tamil people who were angry with him for allegedly assisting the genocidal war against the island Tamils, he added.

DMK workers throughout the state celebrated their leader's decision by bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Party cadres who gathered at the headquarters today raised slogans against the Congress leadership and felt that it could have been better if this decision had been taken during the Lankan government's military offensive against the LTTE.

The enthusiasm of party functionaries knew no bounds as they felt that their party could contest more number of seats, which would enable them to get a majority of seats in the April 13 polls. This was reflected in the number of ticket seekers to contest the elections. 

For incumbency
nA string of populist measures implemented successfully
nDMK party organisation looks better organised
nSustained industrialisation
nFragmented opposition

Against incumbency
nTamil groups whipping up sentiment
nDMK blamed for failure to control price-rise
nPower shortage generating discontent
nSpectrum scam has made a dent

The first election in TN after the LTTE was vanquished, rising prices and the 2G scam have put the DMK on the back foot. The state government's populist measures will see them through, it hopes. But can the DMK buck the trend of voting out incumbent governments, wonders NELSON RAVIKUMAR

Although political issues like the continuing plight of Sri Lankan Tamils, the 2G Spectrum scam and nepotism will have an impact on the minds of Tamil Nadu voters, economic issues like spiralling prices, spate of populist schemes and power shortage are likely to be the decisive factors for the outcome of the April 13 Assembly elections.

While the State government has heavily subsidised the price of rice and selling it at Rs 1 per kg through PDS outlets, the middle class voters who continue to buy rice in the open market are paying about Rs 40 per kg, which is nearly double of what it was in 2006, when the DMK came to power.

The prices of pulses, oil, grocery items have almost doubled or tripled, while the vegetable prices keep on fluctuating, reaching unaffordable heights several times in a year.

The ruling DMK is planning to focus on the spate of populist schemes introduced by its government. The party is hopeful that the medical insurance scheme for the poor, providing rice at Rs one per kilo and the free colour TV scheme have created a new vote bank for them, especially in rural areas, where the DMK was considered to be weaker than the AIADMK.

Lakhs of rural poor who cannot afford to get quality medical treatment in private hospitals have benefited through the free medical insurance scheme. The free colour TV scheme has been implemented effectively, without attracting charges of corruption or party bias.

Although several mega companies have come up during the DMK regime, the situation on the power front is worrying, The continuing power shortage is affecting textile industries in western Tamil Nadu and the frequent power cuts for households, especially during this summer, is expected to have a direct bearing on the poll outcome.

This is the first election in Tamil Nadu, after the war in Sri Lanka, since the Lok Sabha elections were held a few days before the final offensive. Pro-tiger outfits and Tamil nationalist groups are gearing up to label Congress as an "anti-Tamil party" by raising charges of "providing financial, logistical and moral support to the genocidal war against Lankan Tamils". They are likely to highlight the allegations of war crimes, the continuing plight of displaced people and no sign of a political solution, nearly two years after the end of the bloody conflict.

The island Tamil issue may take the front seat in constituencies contested by Congress candidates, since the opposition AIADMK, with the support of pro-Tiger leader Vaiko, will be keen to reap electoral benefits by playing on the sentiments of Tamil people, who are known to be sensitive to such issues.

The 2G Spectrum scam, which has hit the headlines, on the eve of Assembly polls, is likely to sway the urban middle class voters, but the DMK has chances of neutralising its effect recalling the charges of corruption against AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa. However, the DMK will be forced to be on the defensive, if the AIADMK allies, like leaders of Left parties and MDMK leader Vaiko, who have a clean image, devote more time on Spectrum scam. Besides, the spectrum fall out is certain to affect the co-ordination between the DMK and Congress workers at the ground level, hitting the prospects of the ruling alliance. Charges of nepotism against the DMK leader will reach higher decibels during this election, since the Chief Minister's family members are holding key posts in State and Central governments, while the involvement of his family in the spectrum deal is alleged.

nAssembly strength : 140
nPosition in the present Assembly : Left Democratic Front ( 99), United Democratic Front ( 41)

or incumbency
nImmense popularity of the Chief Minister
nReasonable record of governance
nCommitted voters
nPatch up between V.S. Achutanandan & Piniyari Vijayan

Against incumbency
nHistorically voters have alternated between UDF and LDF
nPeople voted against the LDF in panchayat polls and in the general election

Election results have been generally predictable in God's own country with people plumbing for the Congress-led UDF in one election and the CPM-led LDF in the next. By that logic, it should be the turn of the UDF to form the government.

But the UDF is embarrassed by the scams and scandals swirling around the UPA government at the Centre. Even in the state it has had to face unexpected developments. A leader of the Muslim League, a UDF partner, has been named in a sex scandal involving a minor girl. A former Congress minister, R. Balakrishna Pillai's conviction in a graft case has further dented its record.

The LDF on the other hand claims it has succeeded in communicating its development record to the people. After all, Kerala has the highest literacy rate in the country ( 90%), the highest life expectancy ( 70 for men and 75 for women) and the lowest drop-out rate with 98 per cent of the eligible boys and girls in class X.

With the Chief Minister patching up with his vocal critic, Piniyari Vijayan, the LDF is putting up a united face. At the moment, it looks like a tie. It can swing either way.