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Arms’ sale: 3 Maj-Gens,
6 Brigadiers on the mat
Land Acquisition Bill priority for Ramesh
Legal reforms to be taken to logical end: Khursheed
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Hansi-Butana row
Left parties join Sena against Jaitapur nuke power project
President, Sonia, Speaker flay blasts in Mumbai
President Patil accepts Kamat’s resignation Afghanistan seeks India’s cooperation in peace process
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Arms’ sale: 3 Maj-Gens,
6 Brigadiers on the mat
Chandigarh, July 13 The list has been complied by the Intelligence Branch at Headquarters, South-Western Command. The weapons include “non-service pattern (NSP)” pistols, revolvers, shotguns and rifles of different calibres. NSP weapon are those that are obsolete and no longer in military service. However, some NSP weapons are kept in ordnance depots. These can be sold to entitled persons as specified in the Arms Act after approval from a committee. A number of serving and retired Army personnel who sold their NSP weapons apparently did not take prior permission from the authorities concerned as was required. The Army has now initiated trial by court martial of close to 30 officers, of the rank of colonel and below, that were held blameworthy during investigations into the matter. The first of such trials began at Bikaner on Monday. Sources said that the court martial of more officers could follow as recording of summary of evidence in some cases is still underway. Many officers have already moved the Armed Forces Tribunal, challenging the proceedings against them on grounds of non-compliance of mandatory procedures and the cases becoming time-barred. The Army had initiated investigations into the matter in 2007 following a PIL in the Rajasthan High Court alleging that NSP weapons were being sold to “dubious persons” in the region. A court of inquiry (COI), presided by Maj Gen BS Daulta, then General Officer Commanding 16 Infantry Division, had carried out investigations. Investigations were also conducted by the Military Intelligence and it had forwarded a 339-page report in four volumes to the presiding officer of the CoI. While the MI had complied a list containing 113 entries of weapons and their allottees, the Director General Ordnance Services at Army Headquarters, could identify only 35 names of the allottees and 44 registration numbers of weapons. According to the MI list, some names are repeated several times, though with different weapons listed against them. In their petition before the tribunal, some of the officers held blameworthy have claimed that the said weapons were sold on cash payments by the ordnance depot on the basis of allotment made by DGOS. They have alleged that the particulars of all the officers and weapons are available with them, yet, on the pretext of non-identification, some officers have been left untouched which appeared a deliberate attempt to hide their identity. Also, no action has apparently been initiated to identify them even after lapse of three years.
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Land Acquisition Bill priority for Ramesh
New Delhi, July 13 He also said some recommendations of Congress president Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), like the consolidated Bill for acquisition and rehabilitation had been accepted. However issues regarding the modalities of the acquisition and compensation were being worked out. A review of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and completion of the census of families living below poverty line (BPL) are among his other priorities.
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Legal reforms to be taken to logical end: Khursheed
New Delhi, July 13 Talking to reporters after assuming office, Khursheed said the reforms were aimed at providing “quick, effective and affordable” justice by improving the delivery system by filling the vacancies of judges, improving the infrastructure facilities and using modern technology. He said he had already held a meeting with top officials of his ministry and had a “broad overview” of the steps initiated by his predecessor M Veerappa Moily, who was shifted to Corporate Affairs in yesterday’s reshuffle. In the next few days, he would have department-wise meetings with the legislative, justice and legal wings of his ministry. Khursheed said he would then start dealing with various aspects of reforms “one by one”.
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Hansi-Butana row
New Delhi, July 13 Re-assuming the charge of the ministry after a gap of nearly six months, the Chandigarh MP told The Tribune that all states should settle their water disputes peacefully among themselves. “Now that the Hansi-Butana matter is in the court, the latter’s decision should be accepted in the right spirit by all concerned,” he added. Criticising the Centre for “keeping quiet” and allowing the dispute to “become a major one”, the Supreme Court had recently suggested that the water conflict between Punjab and Haryana should be referred to a tribunal. Punjab wants Haryana to immediately stop construction of a concrete wall along the Hansi-Butana canal while Haryana maintains that no such construction has been undertaken and only the bundh in the canal was being repaired. The matter has escalated into a major war of words between the two neighbours with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleging that since Assembly elections were approaching, the Punjab Government was politicising the issue. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has, in turn, sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in the matter.
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Pro-Telangana Cong leaders go on fast
Hyderabad, July 13 The Telangana leaders, including three ministers, seven MPs and 15 MLAs, sat on the fast at the Indira Park here, causing embarrassment to the party. Describing the fast as a “Gandhian form of protest” to mount pressure on the Centre to accept their demand for a separate Telangana state, state ministers K Jana Reddy, P Lakshmaiah and B Saraiah and MPs K Keshava Rao, G Vivek, G Sukhender Reddy and P Prabhakar said their agitation was only to press for the implementation of the December 9, 2009, assurance given by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
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Left parties join Sena against Jaitapur nuke power project
Mumbai, July 13 The Left parties on Wednesday demanded immediate suspension of work at the proposed 9900 mw Jaitapur nuclear power project and said it favoured an independent review of existing nuclear installations in the country. “We cannot take risks (after Fukushima). Suspend all nuclear reactor purchases," CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat said. He demanded that the government cease negotiations for reactors with foreign suppliers. "The government is importing nuclear power plants built using the EPR (European Pressurised Reactor) technology which has not been tested anywhere in the world," Karat said. He further added that the Government conduct a review of all nuclear facilities in a transparent manner with experts from outside the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). CPI General Secretary D Raja demanded that the Indian government hold the suppliers of nuclear plants guilty under the liability law in case of a design defect. The Left parties also insisted that power generated from the Jaitapur project would be much more expensive than that from Indian reactors. “According to nuclear experts, each reactor in Jaitapur will cost not less than Rs 30,000 crore and the cost will be Rs 2 lakh crore for six reactors. This means Rs 20 crore will be spent to generate one MW of nuclear energy, while indigenously produced electricity would cost around Rs 8-9 crore,” Karat said.
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Prashant Bhushan gets chance
to wriggle out of contempt case
New Delhi, July 13 A three-member Bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir gave nearly two months’ time to Bhushan to sit with amicus curiae Harish Salve, who filed the contempt petition, to thrash out a solution acceptable to both sides. Arguing for Bhushan, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani pleaded for dropping the contempt case as it was not in the interest of either the judiciary or his client. At this, Justice Kabir said the Bench, which included Justices Cyriac Joseph and HL Dattu, had already expressed the same view. However, the court would let off Bhushan only if he said “sorry” for making the allegations. Jethmalani said his client had his own compulsions as he had made the remarks only with the good intention of ensuring that the judiciary was looked upon by the people as an institution of impeccable integrity. Bhushan was ready to “regret ten times,” but had problems in saying “sorry” as his views could not be termed as totally unjustified. As the proceedings were stuck on this point, Jethmalani said he and Salve would sit together and find a via media. The Bench and Salve readily accepted the suggestion and the case was posted for next hearing on September 6. Former Law Minister and senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, father of Prashant, has also reiterated the corruption allegations, seeking to be arrayed in the case. Both the Bhushans were members of the Lok Pal Bill drafting committee. The Lok Pal is aimed at effectively dealing with corruption at high places, including the judiciary.
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President, Sonia, Speaker flay blasts in Mumbai
New Delhi, July 13 The President has condoled the loss of lives in these blasts, a Rashtrapati Bhawan statement said. "The President wishes speedy recovery to those injured in the incident in Mumbai," it added. Ansari expressed deep shock at the scale of the attacks targeted against innocent people causing numerous fatalities and casualties, a statement from the Vice President's Secretariat said. Such acts are aimed at destabilising the nation, he said and urged all citizens to unite in this critical hour. BJP veteran L K Advani also spoke with Chidambaram to seek an update on the developments. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also condemned the dastardly act of terror in Mumbai which left several people dead and many injured. Sonia Gandhi expressed sympathy to affected families and appealed all to remain vigilant and united against these elements, an AICC statement said The BJP strongly condemned the attack in Mumbai and asked the government to take a determined stand to deal with the menace. Three serial blasts rocked crowded areas of Mumbai this evening killing at least 13 people and injuring about a hundred. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar condemned the dastardly act. "I am deeply pained to learn about the loss of many lives during serial blasts in Mumbai. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved members of the families of those who have lost their lives," she said. — PTI
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President Patil accepts Kamat’s resignation New Delhi, July 13 A Rashtrapati Bhawan press statement said Kamat’s resignation had been accepted by the President on the recommendation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “The President, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Kamat from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect and directed that Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development, shall be assigned the additional charge of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation,” the statement said. Apparently peeved at not having been given a key portfolio, Kamat did not attend the swearing in for new ministers yesterday and resigned after the ceremony. Kamat denied that he was applying “pressure tactics” or seeking positions by choosing to quit as a minister at the Centre and said he was quitting active politics. “It is a decision I have taken to voluntarily withdraw from active politics and will not want to be in any position either in the government or in the party, and will want to remain just an active Congress worker,” Kamat said. He said he was not engaged in “any backroom talks” with any of the top party leaders. “None of this is true. Neither have I been sacked nor threatened. It is my own personal request to be relieved which the Prime Minister has done now,” Kamat said.
— IANS
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Afghanistan seeks India’s cooperation in peace process New Delhi, July 13 “India is an important country in the region and we want its full cooperation in the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” he said on his arrival here at the head of a 16-member delegation to discuss the contours of the process in the wake of the US announcement for a phased withdrawal of coalition forces from the war-ravaged nation. The delegation includes minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, chief executive of the peace council.
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Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who drove to his new assignment immediately after the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday, today said the draft of the new Land Acquisition Bill would be available online next week.
