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Saying BJP going soft on graft, Yashwant Sinha offers to quit
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Socialist leaders to Anna: Don’t discredit Parliament
Will call PM, PC, Sibal as witnesses: Raja
Govt gets more time to reassess deemed varsities
In Andhra’s rice bowl, farmers on ‘crop holiday’
IAF rescues mountaineers trapped in Ladakh
SC wants govt to do more for rehabilitation of sex workers
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Saying BJP going soft on graft,
New Delhi, August 24 Besides Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Uday Singh, MPs from Patnasaheb and Purnea, respectively, sprung a surprise at the BJP parliamentary party meeting here to discuss the strategy for the ongoing session as also the all-party meeting on the Lokpal issue convened today. Yashwant Sinha said the BJP had been unable to take a strong stand on the Lokpal issue which was necessary to "take the battle forward" against corruption. The former Finance Minister and Hazaribagh MP made the surprise move at the meeting chaired by L K Advani here, which expressed concern over the health of Anna Hazare and made an appeal to the Gandhian to end his fast. Shatrughan Sinha said the BJP, instead of taking a clear cut stand, had been paying "lip service" on the Hazare issue and using the Congress as a punching bag. Senior BJP leader S S Ahluwalia, however, sought to downplay questions about Yashwant's offer to resign saying different voices are heard in such meetings and it is the final resolution that actually matters. The three MPs have voiced their dissent on the BJP stand on various issues from time to time within the party fora. Shatrughan Sinha has also backed senior BJP leader L K Advani's demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, remarks that had not found many takers within the party. Ahluwalia said the parliamentary party meeting resolved for enactment of a "strong and effective" Lokpal Bill and urged Hazare to end his fast. "The BJP is with the movement against corruption by Anna Hazare. The party is concerned with the failing health of Anna Hazare and requests him to end his fast as he has to continue to work for the country even in future," he said. "BJP appeals to Anna to end his fast and he can carry on his agitation after that if he wants to do so. We are with him in this fight," Ahluwalia told reporters after the meeting.
— PTI
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anna
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Mumbai, August 24 According to sources, the Congress-NCP government in the state is planning to come up with an ordinance granting far-reaching powers to the Lokayukta to counter criticism that the watchdog body set up by Maharashtra does not have enough bite as its counterpart in Karnataka. "Anna has been demanding a strong Lokayukta in the state and the Maharashtra government may well strengthen the body before he starts a fresh agitation here," a senior party leader admitted. Supporters of Anna Hazare are already drawing parallels between the Lokayukta in Maharashtra with that of Karnataka whose strictures forced Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa of that state to quit. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who promised to set up a regulator to oversee the functioning of the real estate sector in the state soon after taking office, is pushing for the measure despite opposition from the builders' lobby, say sources. Simultaneously, old political hands in the state, who have come in for attacks from Hazare in the past, are ganging up to discredit the social activist. Two leaders, Narayan Rane and Chhagan Bhujbal, who quit the Shiv Sena to join the Congress and the NCP, respectively, hit out at Hazare this week and urged the Central government not to give in to his demands. "Parliament is supreme and it should not be bypassed," Rane said. "Nothing unconstitutional should be done under public pressure," Bhujbal chorused. Both leaders are facing protests from Anna supporters who have camped outside their houses. They were joined by the Shiv Sena leader Sureshdada Jain who was forced to resign on corruption charges in 2003 after Hazare went on a fast.
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Socialist leaders to Anna: Don’t discredit Parliament
New Delhi, August 24 But socialist leaders led by Janata Dal United’s Sharad Yadav had underlined this sense much earlier in the Lok Sabha today as they debated corruption and spoke vociferously of what made the Parliament special and supreme. “The Parliament truly reflects India. This is the only place where a dalit and an OBC can sit proudly. Where else can a Pakauri Lal dream of getting his due? Anyone who messes with the Parliament will regret. There will be chaos in the country; army will have to be called,” Sharad Yadav warned, projecting Pakauri Lal, Samajwadi Party’s member from Robertsganj reserved parliamentary constituency as an example of parliament’s supremacy and inclusiveness. He welcomed Anna’s cause but reminded him, “We won’t tolerate this conspiracy to destroy the credibility of the Parliament and parliamentarians. We are the most accountable class in India. Make laws but remember the only time the corrupt have been punished in this country has been when the Parliament has spoken in one voice. Hum logon ko topi pehnate hai, topi pehente nahi hain,” said the socialist leader, getting back at Anna who had called his supporters to gherao MPs. The NDA convener also rejected the claim that one Lokpal can end corruption. “The day other institutions - like the UPSC and bureaucracy - become as inclusive as the Parliament, corruption will end,” Yadav said, slamming the government for giving the civil society unwarranted leeway by engaging them without taking the Opposition into confidence. JDU’s line was firmly backed by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh, BSP leader Dara Singh Chauhan and RJD’s Lalu Yadav; all dalit leaders backed the OBC and minority representation in the Lokpal. Mulayam Singh went on to say, “Political parties will decide the structure of the Lokpal Bill, not the government, not the civil society.” Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party also made it clear today that there could be no compromising the structure of the Constitution which guaranteed equality. “We are here because of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution. We won’t allow it to be diluted. Under no circumstances will we support changes in the Constitution,” BSP leader in Lok Sabha Dara Singh Chauhan said when MoS Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harish Rawat asked the open House if it was ready to alter the Constitution. Members negated the suggestion even as Anna sought the Lokpal to cover parliamentarians for their conduct both inside and outside the House. The Constitution guarantees them immunity for things said and done inside the Parliament. Interesting also was to see UPA allies like the National Conference question Anna’s aggressive brand of nationalism. NC’s Baramulla member SD Shariq termed as “juvenile” the Gandhian’s insistence that the Jan Lokpal Bill be passed by August 30.
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Will call PM, PC, Sibal as witnesses: Raja
New Delhi, August 24 Appearing on behalf of Raja, senior counsel Sushil Kumar argued before Judge OP Saini that once it is established that the government did not suffer losses in the allocation of 2G Spectrum then the whole conspiracy- theory over which CBI built the case falls flat. “I would get the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh), the then Finance Minister (P.Chidambaram) and the present Telecom Minister (Kapil Sibal) summoned as witnesses before this court to establish that government did not incur any losses. The moment it is established that there was no loss to the state exchequer, the whole case of cheating and conspiracy in the spectrum allocation will go,” said Kumar adding that Raja may get permission under section 311 (power to summon material witness) of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to issue summons to the prime minister, the then finance Minister and the present communications minister as witnesses. Terming the accusation of Raja as “witch hunting”, Kumar contended that even if the loss theory of the CBI is assumed to be correct, then why only two companies, Swan Telecom and Unitech, are before the court and not all the companies he “favoured”. Kumar further stated that the CBI has seized several documents pertaining to Loop Telecom, Spice Communications, Idea Cellular and other firms but has not decided about its future course of action. "The CBI has more than 45,000 documents in their custody which they have not produced before the court till date. Raja would move an application under section 91 of the CrPC for getting certain documents from the CBI," said Kumar stating that Raja was being made to pay a price for annoying some big players in the telecom sector. Referring to the CBI allegation that the DMK-controlled Kalaignar TV took Rs.200 crore as bribe through various firms of Shahid Usman Balwa, an alleged beneficiary of the scam, Kumar asked that if it was true then CBI should explain as to why a minister would take bribe in instalments, through cheques and that too in the form of a loan.
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DMK splurged Rs 5,000 crore on Assembly elections, claims Jaya
Chennai, August 24 "The DMK was heavily dependent on money power rather than muscle power or others. Do you know how much money they pumped in for the elections? Rs 5000 crore," she said in a speech to mark her 100 days in power after inflicting a crushing poll defeat on DMK depriving it of even the main opposition status in the assembly. Recalling the stringent measures taken by the Election Commission to curb money power during the elections, she said Rs 50 crore had been reportedly seized. "I came to know that some DMK men said they were not bothered by it as it was like little water spilling out of a pot full of water," she said. Without directly naming Union Minister M K Alagiri, she said the DMK men had said this money was pumped in by him. She said the voters were not lured by money or other enticements by DMK and had given a mandate to her party and its allies returning over 200 MLAs in the 234-member Assembly. In her first action after assuming office on May 16, Jayalalithaa dumped Karunanidhi's pet project - Rs 1,200 crore new secretariat-assembly complex, which would now be used as a multi-speciality hospital, and scrapped free colour TV distribution scheme, and replaced the health insurance and housing schemes with revamped ones. Implementing poll promises on freebies, Jayalalithaa has introduced the free rice scheme, gold for mangalsutra and initiated the process for distribution of free laptops to plus two students and mixer-cum-grinders, allocating over Rs 8,000 crore in the budget. During her 100-day rule, Jayalalithaa has also launched a crackdown on land grabbings that has seen several DMK district leaders and some former ministers being jailed, prompting the party to dub it as a political vendetta. In her speech today, Jayalalithaa said the previous DMK regime had left the state with a debt burden of over Rs 1 lakh crore while the Centre was not helpful. Elaborating on the fund crunch in the state, she said that she was like the mother of 10 hungry children who had only one 'dosa' to feed them all. "A good mother will share the dosa equally among 10 children though it would not satisfy all. But only that is available. I am in the position of such a mother. We intend to do so much for the people of Tamil Nadu," she said. Referring to the freebies such as rice, goat and milch cows, Jayalalithaa said she wanted the people to reach a stage where they would not require such sops.
— PTI
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CBI can probe Jagan’s wealth: Supreme Court
New Delhi, August 24 A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma rejected Jagan’s petition, challenging the August 10 order for a CBI probe. “We are not inclined to interfere” with the HC order, the Bench said in a brief order passed after hearing arguments for two hours. Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Jagan, contended that the HC had ordered a full-fledged CBI inquiry after perusing the preliminary probe report of the investigation agency. The HC had erred in ordering the inquiry without supplying a copy of the preliminary report to their client and this was against the fundamental principle of natural justice, they argued. Further, the HC could not have acted on a politically motivated complaint by state Handlooms and Textile Minister P Shankar Rao. The judiciary should not allow political battles in courts, they said. Senior counsel AK Ganguly, appearing for the other side, argued that the HC had virtually eliminated the complainant from the case by appointing an amicus curiae and as such it was wrong to contend that the HC had relied on the allegations contained in the complaint. According to the complaint, Jagan’s wealth had gone from Rs 11 lakh in 2004 to Rs 43,000 crore by the time of his father’s death in 2009. Acting on the HC order, the CBI has already raided the business and residential premises of Jagan in Hyderabad, Chennai and other places across the country.
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Govt gets more time to reassess deemed varsities
New Delhi, August 24 A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh to provide copies of the reassessment to all 44 institutions before the next hearing on that date. The case would be heard for the final disposal on November 22. At today’s hearing, the affected universities complained that due to the prevailing uncertainty over their status, students were reluctant to take admissions with them. Further, this was also resulting in an exodus of faculty members, senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan argued. The institutions also took exception to the government once again taking the advice of Prof PN Tandon in the reassessment exercise. The initial move to derecognise the 44 institutions was based on the recommendations of the Tandon committee and as such the government could not go back to him, Dhavan argued. Also, since the court had asked the government to re-evaluate the institutions, this responsibility could not be passed onto the Tandon committee, he contended. The ASG said some of the institutions would be upgraded. The Bench said this would lighten the court’s burden as the upgraded institutions would opt out of litigation.
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In Andhra’s rice bowl, farmers on ‘crop holiday’
Paddy Pangs
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Hundreds of farmers spread over 250 villages in the fertile Konaseema region have decided to keep their fields fallow rather than risk continued losses, attributed to the soaring input costs and non-remunerative price for the produce.
Hyderabad, August 24 The picturesque delta region, which accounts for a lion’s share of paddy production in the state, presents a picture of paradox now with the farmers in the large swathes of east and west Godavari districts declaring a “crop holiday”. Hundreds of farmers spread over 250 villages in the fertile region have decided to keep their fields fallow rather than risk continued losses, attributed to the soaring input costs and non-remunerative price for the produce. This means that there will be no paddy cultivation in over 1.70 lakh acres in the region that accounts for 60 per cent of the state’s food production. The crop boycott came as a major embarrassment to the Congress government which is already grappling with the high food inflation. While it costs around Rs 28,500 to cultivate paddy on one acre, the yields fetch only Rs 21,000, a farmer G Subba Rao said. “Crop holiday is a painful decision for all of us because in a normal situation we raise three crops a year. But, we were forced to take this decision because our repeated pleas to the government for justice went unheard,” he said. The government has fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) at Rs 1,110 per quintal. But, the farmers argue that it is not enough to cover their ever-increasing costs and have demanded at least Rs 1,600 per quintal. A majority of the farmers could not sell their produce last season due to lack of minimum support price from the millers. As a result, they could not repay the bank loans taken last year and the banks refused to give fresh crop loans and input subsidy this year. The farmers hit the streets at the beginning of the season recently and the agitation soon acquired political overtones with the opposition Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress Party joining the protests and expressing solidarity with the farming community. Despite a bumper crop in the last agricultural season, the farmers could not sell their entire produce because the rice millers had offered them a meager rate of Rs 700 to Rs 750 per quintal as against the MSP of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,030 per quintal depending on the quality of paddy. The small and marginal farmers had to resort to distress selling. "We tried to bring pressure on the government to make the millers buy at the MSP, but the officials succumbed to the millers' lobby and denied us the rate," another farmer from Amalapuram N Satyanarayana said. As a result, huge stocks of paddy cultivated in the last season had not been lifted by millers and they got piled up in the private godowns and that of civil supplies department. While the crop holiday hit the paddy production very hard this season, the biggest sufferers are agricultural labourers and daily wage workers. In a belated action, the government announced a special package for migrating agriculture labourers by launching works under NREGA at a cost of Rs 50 crore in 13 blocks, but that hardly was of any help. The Konaseema agitation is now gradually spreading to other parts of the state. Already, farmers in parts of West Godavari, Prakasam, Khammam and Kadapa districts have announced that they would also go in for "crop holiday" this season unless the government announces remunerative price for their produce. "If the government does not take corrective measures, it would snowball into a major movement in the state agriculture sector," warned P Chengal Reddy, chairman of Confederation of Indian Farmers' Associations.
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ITBP to boost its women power
Chandigarh, August 24 At present, the ITBP has four companies of women constables. “We plan to raise the strength of women personnel so that they form at least five per cent of the force’s total strength,” ITBP Director General RK Bhatia said. The force has 49 battalions and 13 others are being raised as part of its restructuring and expansion. A battalion has about 900 personnel. Bhatia added that no separate vaccancies or cadre has been sanctioned for women constables and they are being recruited within the force’s overall sanctioned strength. The ITBP inducted the first batch of women constables in January 2010. Since then, they have primarily been deployed on “soft” assignments like guard duties at static establishments, office duties at headquarters or looking after women pilgrims during the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Security of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, select VVIPs and several Indian embassies overseas is also being handled by the ITBP, where women constables are deputed. The ITBP chief said that the forces is also considering expanding the scope of their duties and they could also be deployed in high altitude areas and on border guarding duties where the presence of women constabulary is warranted. ITBP officers said that the increased intake of women has been necessitated due to an expansion of the forces as well as its operational commitments, including disaster management and anti-Naxal operations, which requires a close interaction with female populace and children.
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IAF rescues mountaineers trapped in Ladakh
New Delhi, August 24 Notably the Chetaah/Chetak variant of the chopper has almost no night flying capability and the place where the two were saved does not even have radio contact or accurate ground coordinates. The two, foreigners Kristina Chnapekova from Slovakia and Valasske Mezrici from Czech republic, were suffering from high-altitude sickness and were rescued after the IAF’s 114 helicopter unit named “Siachen Pioneers” was tasked for the mission in the evening on Monday. The SOS to the IAF that a nine-member trekking expedition comprising Czech and Slovakian nationals was near the Shinkun-La pass, around 60 km south-east of “Padam” in Ladakh. Some members of the expedition developed high-altitude sickness. One member of the team had succumbed to sickness and two others were in critical condition when the team requested for air rescue by making a call (probably using a satellite phone) to the embassy of their country in New Delhi. The New Delhi-based Western Air Command tasked the Leh-based 114 HU with the rescue mission and asked Commanding Officer
of the Leh Air Force Station, Air Commodore SP Wagle to supervise and coordinate the mission. With almost negligible details, planning was done from the mission. A helicopter rescue team led by Wing Cdr AS Rajput planned the rescue mission, including route, fuel planning, power calculations and flight safety aspects, all had to be managed in the limited available daylight time. The next task of the pilots was to make an accurate assessment of the location as any error would have stalled the mission for the day as darkness would have engulfed the area. Squadron Ldr S Agrawal, Flt Lieut A Bharmoria and Flt Lieut Dipin Chakravorty’s flew off from Leh. The next challenge was to spot the mountaineers. Once that was done, the next critical step was to land in very limited space on a mountain side. However, the team was able to successfully airlift and take the duo to Leh for treatment. A spokesperson of the IAF said, “The Siachen Pioneers crew displayed highest level of professionalism, planning and courage without fearing for their own safety.”
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Bihar plans to go paperless by 2016
Patna, August 24 The Bihar Communication Technology Policy 2011 - which sets 2016 as the deadline for all government offices to go paperless - addresses the larger objective of developing information technology (IT) in the state to attract investment and promote IT-related subjects in education and governance. Ravikant, principal secretary, cabinet coordination department, said that the policy incorporated the best practices prevailing in other states, including incentives, subsidies and action plan. To make all government departments go paperless by 2016, the policy mandates the earmarking three per cent of the total planned expenditure for IT. All ordinances, schemes, forms and tenders will be available on government portals and people will be allowed to submit documents electronically from a government IT centre, he said. The IT policy promises to provide a roadmap for growth in the electronic hardware manufacturing sector, with emphasis on embedded technology, and also promote IT-enabled services. Ravikant said those setting up electronic hardware manufacturing units would be entitled to a capital subsidy of 20 per cent, up to a maximum of Rs.3 crore. All IT and IT-enabled services will get relaxation from labour law provisions and will be allowed to operate in three shifts for working round-the-clock each day. They will also be beyond the purview of pollution control laws. Five IT training centres will be set up under the Bihar Knowledge Society in every district in the public-private partnership mode for short certificate courses. The state government has decided to introduce soft skills like communication and personal development in educational curricula. Last year, the government had put out its draft IT policy on its official website for suggestions and comments. Suggestions of many persons have been incorportated, said IT department officials.
— IANS
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SC wants govt to do more for rehabilitation of sex workers
New Delhi, August 24 A Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra passed an order, pointing out that the Centre’s UJWALA Scheme was meant only for rescued trafficked women and not for those sex workers who voluntarily wanted to leave the sex trade. “In our opinion, a proper effective scheme should be prepared for such women also,” the Bench said. The court also noted that the government had placed a condition that the rescued sex workers must stay in corrective homes in order to get technical training. No such condition should be imposed as many sex workers were reluctant to stay in these homes contending that these were nothing but a virtual prison, the Bench said. The court also asked the panel appointed by it to “investigate” as to whether UJWALA and STEP schemes of the Centre “exist largely on paper only, or whether they have been actually implemented”. From a perusal of the panel’s report submitted yesterday, “we are not satisfied that the Central government and state governments are effectively carrying out the spirit of our orders” for the rehabilitation of sex workers by imparting them some technical skills and providing facilities for marketing their products, the Bench said. Fixing the next hearing for September 15, the apex court directed the Central and state governments to submit additional reports stating “in greater detail how they are complying with our orders”.
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New Delhi, August 24
New Delhi, August 24
