Lucknow, June 2
The BJP begins its national executive proceedings here tomorrow under the cloud of an “ego clash” between the two tallest leaders of the party, the Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, touching the issue of corruption in their own party, a stick the BJP is hitting the Congress with.

Formally, the BJP president Nitin Gadkari tried put a lid on the controversy declaring: “Any debate about the choice of ministers in the Karnataka government at this stage in the media is totally unnecessary."

This was evidently a snub to Sushma who raked up the issue of the four Karnataka ministers, variously referred to in political circles as Reddy brothers or Bellary brothers because of their stranglehold on the iron ore mining in Bellary. They proudly proclaim Sushma as their foster mother and seek her blessings at widely publicised ceremonies every year.

There are serious allegations of corruption against them and it is widely believed in and outside the BJP that they enjoy Sushma’s protection. Sushma recently denied all this and blamed her political rival Jaitley for agreeing to make all three brothers ministers simultaneously.

After a clear admonition from the party president Sushma has retraced his steps saying the issue is closed after the president’s statement. But that is the official position.

Still BJP circles are bewildered why Sushma decided to say this on the eve of the national executive meet and therefore this will be a topic of animated debate in the BJP circles, though a formal discussion in the national executive is ruled out.

Corruption both at the Centre and in UP will be the main subject of discussion in the meet and President Nitin Gadkari is likely to make a major mention of it in his inaugural address tomorrow. But BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi circumvented the issue when asked if the debate would also touch on the rumblings within his party on the goings on in Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh not to mention Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

For all Naqvi’s attempts to avoid the issue, party insiders have been noticing that while the RSS brought in Nitin Gadkari to put the entire Advani brigade in cold storage, Jaitley has managed to gain the confidence of Gadakri and thereby Jaitley’s stock has gone up in the party, causing heartburn to Sushma. It may also have implications for the future because while Sushma considers herself a mass leader by virtue of repeatedly contesting and winning Lok Sabha elections. Through this recently developed camaraderie, Jaitley could emerge as a frontrunner for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014.

There are others in the BJP who praise Jaitley’s accessibility as against Sushma’s loner image but his detractors seem to be pleased with Sushma’s decision to give it back and for once it seems all those unhappy with Jaitley are rallying behind Sushma.

Lucknow: Giving top priority to the forthcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the two-day national executive of the BJP would focus on mis-governance of the Mayawati government. Of the three resolutions to be discussed and passed during the seven sessions of the two-day meet, one would be entirely devoted to the working of the Mayawati government, informed the BJP National vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi here on Thursday. Responding to a question that the BJP had been instrumental in the formation of the three previous Mayawati governments, Naqvi quipped, “We should now be forgiven after undergoing ‘triple talaq’”. Naqvi said that former PM A B Vajpayee, while in office, had advocated the inclusion of the PM office under the proposed Lokpal Act. — Shahira Naim/TNS

Lucknow, June 2
Mounting pressure on the Centre, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today announced a revised land acquisition policy, improving upon the rehabilitation and resettlement (R &R) policy introduced by her nine months ago. Under the new policy which comes into effect from today, the state government has divided land acquisition into three categories: Private developers acquiring land, land acquired for power projects etc under master plans of development authorities or industrial development authorities and, thirdly, for public purpose (highway, canals etc).

In all the three cases, land would be acquired through mutual negotiations and agreement with the land owners. The state government will remain a ‘facilitator’ by merely notifying the land for purpose of delineation.

A major decision under the new policy is giving the farmers the choice of sharing the benefits of development by returning to them 16 per cent of the developed land in place of compensation, which in the case of ancestral property would be an additional 7 per cent (total 23 per cent). Addressing the media after holding discussions with the farmers of the state in a ‘kisan panchayat’, Mayawati claimed the new policy to be the first land acquisition policy framed in consultation with the farmers.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties have dubbed as a "big fraud" the proposed land acquisition policyand saw in it an attempt to misguide farmers. UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said the policy was announced in a huff without any debate, thereby "befooling innocent farmers".

Ahmedabad, June 2
Air Chief Marshal PV Naik today said talks between India and Pakistan over Siachen cannot progress until the “Actual Ground Possession Land” was demarcated.

The chief of Air staff, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, told reporters here that the presence of the Chinese Army in Pak-Occupied-Kashmir was a “natural progression” of ties between China and Pakistan.

When asked about the reason for the failure of talks on Siachen and Sir Creek, Naik said: “The main issue over Siachen is that there is no clear marking of what we call the AGPL (Actual Ground Possession Land). We are at present at an advantageous position, by occupying certain heights where attacking is very difficult.” “If both sides have to vacate this position, that line (AGPL) needs to be marked and, I would say, internationally approved, only then we will feel safe. Because once again getting that position will be very difficult. So until this problem is sorted out, the talks between the two countries will not progress forward,” said Naik. He said talks with Pakistan on Sir Creek had also been inconclusive.

“There is a difference of perceptions on the boundary line. Is it in the centre of Sir Creek or on one side of Sir Creek. Talks will have to carry on...ultimately we have to reach a position,” he said.

On the visibility of Chinese Army in PoK, Naik said, “I think it is a natural progression of the alliance between China and Pakistan. As far as presence of Chinese army is concerned, at present they are in the form of working parties. They are actually building bridges and roads. There are no armed manoeuvres.”

He said the IAF is capable of dealing with security threats arising out of the recent developments in Pakistan.

He said the entire region seemed to be caught up in a maze of security challenges following the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the subsequent terror attack on Mehran Naval airbase. These incidents were likely to have major implications for India, said Naik.

“Mehran attack is not something that will change our plans. Our plans have already been well-placed since the last five years,” he said, when asked about IAF's preparedness to to deal with similar situations.

“The IAF is emerging as a strategic aerospace force, and is fully capable of facing any challenge that it is posed with. Our preparedness levels are at the desired level to thwart any nefarious designs and threats,” he said.

Naik said the security of IAF air bases was very vital In view of this IAF had embarked on a major modernisation plan, he added. — PTI

New Delhi, June 2
Last year the CBSE found itself in a fix when it wanted to act against a Chandigarh-based convent school for violating affiliation byelaws by expelling its student Ruchika Girhotra years ago. Ruchika, a victim of molestation at the hands of a senior Haryana cop, subsequently committed suicide but her school, which treated her unfairly, could never be punished due to want of adequate powers under the present byelaws.

But if the Centre has its way, such unfair practices and many more by private school managements would soon end. Concerned by the growth of private aided and private unaided schools - they make up one-third of the existing Indian schools - the Ministry of Human Resource Development has now proposed a law to make schools accountable to students and prohibit practices such as seeking donations, overcharging, accepting fee under various heads without issuing receipts, violating admission provisions and not refunding a fixed percentage of fee if the student moves to another institution.

For the first time in India’s history, the proposed law “The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Schools and Intermediate Colleges Bill, 2011” would provide for criminal and civil penalties and liabilities against managements that violate the provisions. Its concept note would be discussed next week at by the Central Advisory Board of Education, the highest policy decision-making body on education in India.

At the heart of the legislation is the unregulated growth of schools in India where 46 per cent of all schools are run by government, while 15 per cent are private aided and 22.81 per cent are private unaided.

New Delhi, June 2
The government has finally set its eyes on extending the children’s right of free and compulsory education up to secondary level instead of elementary level alone, which the Right to Education Act, 2009, currently guarantees.

In a candid admission that eight years of schooling is not enough to prepare a child for the world of work, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has circulated a preliminary note to state governments, seeking their opinion on the move to ensure 10 years of free and compulsory schooling instead of the current eight for children aged 6 to 14 years which the Act mandates.

Arguing for the extension of the law, the Ministry officials say: “Today the demand for secondary education is on increase especially as more and more children complete primary and upper primary schooling and an increasing number seek opportunities to continue formal learning in secondary schools up to Class X. Secondary education builds on the elementary level and prepares a child for work. If we have to reap the benefits of RTE’s Act’s provision of free education up to Class VIII, we must revisit the law to guarantee 10 years of essential schooling. Only if we start thinking now can we offered unhindered education to those we seek to tap with the current RTE Act.”

The thought is in line with the views of most people who were part of the RTE Act drafting process. Vinod Raina, one of the drafting committee members, has always argued for 10 years of schooling and not eight. In fact, the Secondary Education Commission had in 1953 recommended an 11-year pattern for school education.

The Ministry’s preliminary proposal to amend the RTE Act is an extension of the year-old desirability of 10 years of unhindered school education.

New Delhi, June 2
A Delhi court today dismissed pleas for a direction to the CBI to make Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani, Tata group Chief Ratan Tata, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal, as accused in the 2G Spectrum scam.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini also imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 each on Delhi-based scribe M Furquan and Ghaziabad’s scrap dealer Dharmender Pandey for filing complaints in this regard.

“The applications are not only devoid of any substance, but are also contrary to law and deserve to be dismissed with heavy cost as application after application of this nature are being filed by third parties resulting into loss of precious time of the court,” the judge said

“However, I am inclined to take a little lenient view as far as cost is concerned. Accordingly, both applications are dismissed, subject to nominal cost of Rs 10,000 each," the judge said. The court also directed both the complainants to deposit the cost within three days from today, failing which warrants shall be issued against them.

The complainants had earlier told the court that CBI was "deliberately" suppressing the facts against Ambani and "overlooking" the role of Tata and Radia in the scam. — PTI

Dehradun, June 2
Narender Singh Negi, one of the most popular Garhwali folk singers, has again created a stir by his new politically satirical songs. Narender Singh Negi, whose video album “Nauchami Narayan” depicting the goings-on in the Congress regime of the state from 2002 to 2007 was a superhit, has again come with a new album. The new audio Garhwali album “Ab Kathga Khalyuo” (How much you will eat) having eight songs in all has two songs with political satire. Atul Sharma, a famous poet, released the audio album at a function here today.

The theme of one of the songs revolves around rampant corruption at the state as well as the national level. The title song “Commission ki meet-Bhaat” is a satire on the functioning of the top brass of the state government allegedly involved in making money. The song also talks about scandals in the conduct of mahakumbh, allocation of 56 hydro-electric projects and the alleged land deal involving Citurgia. In his second song titled “Machu Pani Paindu”, Negi sang about corruption reaching the lower levels of the governance.

“I have not targeted or identified anyone. It was for the general masses to draw their conclusions,” he said.