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Team Anna turns to BJP as party bats for strong Bill
BJP ‘solidly’ behind Anna: Gadkari
Anna should call off fast: Agnivesh
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My comments on Anna distorted, says Pranab
SC to hear plea on Hazare’s arrest
Mumbai MC poll
Food Department official shot at in Lucknow
Mangalore aircrash
Cash-for-vote scam
DMK ex-minister jailed in land grab case
One in two Indians mulling job change
Nigamanand was poisoned, claims Matra Sadan
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Team Anna turns to BJP as party bats for strong Bill New Delhi, August 25 Hazare's associates Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari for over three hours explaining their version of the Lokpal Bill and gave "clarifications" on aspects over which the Opposition party had "doubts". "We discussed how a solution could be found while preserving the prestige of Parliament and the Constitution," Jaitley told reporters later. He said the civil society representatives agreed that the solution should be in consonance with the Constitution. "The rest depends on whether the government has a positive and constructive approach," he added. If the government approached the issue "sincerely", a solution should not be difficult, the BJP leader said. He said the Hazare team had given clarifications to the BJP leaders on various aspects over which they had "doubts". Regarding questions over whether the Prime Minister should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal, Jaitley said the BJP had clarified its position on July 4 that he should be included. With regard to higher judiciary, he said the BJP favoured a separate commission. The team Hazare said while they were waiting for government's response on its demands, the main Opposition "broadly agreed" with their version of the anti-graft legislation. Prashant Bhushan said he hoped that the resolution to be moved in the Lok Sabha tomorrow would be "clear" enough and would include the three vital issues raised by them so that Hazare could end his fast. On meeting with BJP leaders, Kejriwal said, "It appears, they agreed on almost all aspects of the Jan Lokpal Bill." With regard to higher judiciary, he said the Hazare team had no objection to the bringing of separate Judicial Accountability Bill and setting up the Judicial Accountability Commission. Bhushan said the commission should be independent of the judiciary and the government and have powers to investigate corruption in judiciary which was not provided for in the government's present Bill. The present Bill only dealt with misconduct within the judiciary and was riddled with conflict of interest, he said. BJP president Gadkari said his party was committed to ridding the country of corruption and was in agreement with the Team Anna on several issues. He described the talks with Team Anna as "positive and very good". "We do not want to take political mileage out of the Lokpal issue. A common solution should be found from the reasonable issues being raised by Hazare's team," Gadkari said. — PTI
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BJP ‘solidly’ behind Anna: Gadkari
New Delhi, August 25 In what appeared to be a step forward from its earlier position of supporting some provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill, the BJP said it was “solidly” behind Hazare and even suggested that the legislation should be passed at the earliest without getting entangled in rules and procedures. “My party has been and will continue to be solidly behind your movement against corruption. We have always been and are for a strong
Lokpal. For that to happen, the BJP accepts your draft Jan Lokpal Bill to be the basis for a strong and effective Lokpal to be put in place at the earliest without getting into procedural wrangles,” BJP president Nitin Gadkari said in his letter to
Hazare. The letter was handed over to Hazare at Ramlila Grounds by a BJP delegation led by party general secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda. Gadkari has also expressed shock over the government backing out of its promises made to Team Anna during the August 23 talks. “I fail to understand where the things have gone wrong? Is the government not concerned about your health? Are there any internal
bickerings? If it is so, it is appalling,” he said.
— PTI
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Anna should call off fast: Agnivesh
New Delhi, August 25 Meanwhile, appealing to Anna Hazare to end his fast in view of government's decision to discuss Jan Lokpal in Parliament, former Chief Justice of India JS Verma today said after the move, continuation of the present impasse with the Gandhian's fast may not appear ‘reasonable’. Noting that Hazare's fast has reached a ‘critical stage’, Verma said, "the Prime Minister's statement made in the Lok Sabha today assured discussion of the Jan Lokpal bill prepared by the Team Anna along with all the versions of the Lok Pal bill. This is a very positive development. "In my view, there is no justification, at least now, for the continuance of the fast undertaken by Hazare and I appeal to him to end his fast forthwith in keeping with the national sentiments and concern for his health." Verma had earlier written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to discuss the drafts already prepared by sections of civil society and in the public domain, including those by the Team Anna and the Aruna Roy team as the first step to end the imbroglio. — PTI
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My comments on Anna distorted, says Pranab
New Delhi, August 25 After BJP’s Sushma Swaraj had given a notice for the suspension of Question Hour to demand the government’s explanation on the claims, Mukherjee said, “What appeared is totally distorted. No word was said in the meeting. I didn’t have an idea of this till somebody told me that this distortion was coming. At the the end of the meeting, I came out and told the waiting journalists that we had requested Anna Hazare to end his fast and this nation required a robust Anna in its service.” "When Kiran Bedi asked him what the government's commitment was and what she should tell Anna, Pranab Mukherjee said Anna's fast was his own problem. He said it thrice," Kejriwal said.
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SC to hear plea on Hazare’s arrest
New Delhi, August 25 The petition will be taken up for hearing by a Bench of Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan as item No 5 in which Bhim Singh has sought notices to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal besides the Union Home Secretary and the Delhi Police Commissioner. In his petition, Bhim Singh alleged the Centre and the Delhi police had “acted in a malafide manner” to arrest and detain Anna Hazare and thus stifling his fundamental right to free speech and liberty guaranteed under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. He has accused the police of invoking CrPC provisions of Sections 107 and 151 to detain Hazare for merely espousing the cause of a strong Jan Lokpal Bill and weeding out corruption from the country. He urged the court to declare Hazare’s detention as “unconstitutional” and “violative of his fundamental rights” guaranteed under the relevant provisions of the Constitution.
— PTI
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Mumbai MC poll
Mumbai, August 25 "Political equations will change in a big way if Anna's supporters come out to vote in large numbers," says Niyaz Wanu, a corporator in the BMC from the NCP. The NCP and the Congress are looking to topple the Shiv Sena and the BJP which have controlled the cash-rich Mumbai's civic body for more than two decades. Despite the role it plays in the lives of citizens, voter turnout at civic elections is abysmal. Anna Hazare's supporters think they can make a big difference if they could get the apathetic middle class to come out and vote. "There will be large number of first-time voters in the forthcoming elections," says Independent corporator in the BMC Adolf D'Souza who has extended support to Anna Hazare's movement against corruption. In the last elections, D'Souza won on an anti-corruption platform with support from local residents in suburban Bandra. D'Souza has since then undertaken a number of public works projects at far lower costs than estimated thereby adding to the credibility of candidates chosen by citizens' groups. The experiment is set to be replicated across Mumbai with a number of residents’ groups looking to emulate their counterparts in Bandra. "We have received a number of requests and we have held meetings with residents’ groups across Mumbai," said Shirley Singh of the Juhu Advanced Locality Management, a residents’ group which backed D'Souza in the last elections. This has even the Shiv Sena and the BJP worried. "We have to change our focus for the civic body elections and look at the problems faced by the youth," Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray said earlier this week. The NCP made vocal its opposition to the arrest of Anna Hazare last week. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar hit out at the central government for arresting Hazare during a meeting with the Congress in the state to examine the fallout of Hazare's agitation.
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Food Department official shot at in Lucknow
Lucknow, August 25 He was rushed to the district hospital with injuries on his chest and abdomen from where he was immediately rushed to the Trauma Centre of Chhattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University in
Lucknow.
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Mangalore aircrash
Kochi, August 25 A division bench of justices C N Ramachandran Nair and P S Gopinathan held that the AI was liable to pay only actual damages proved by the claimants in case of death and victims in case of injury. The liability can be determined through negotiated settlement or by civil court of competitive jurisdiction, the bench held, allowing an appeal filed by the AI. The national carrier as a matter of goodwill should offer a "reasonable minimum", even if the actual damages payable in law are low, so that unnecessary litigation can be avoided, the bench observed. If no settlement is possible, the civil court can determine actual damages. The bench directed the AI to pay compensation reasonably estimated by the attorneys irrespective of whether there were settlement or not. The court also dismissed an appeal by Abdul Salam and Ramla, parents of victim B M Mohammed Rafi, seeking higher compensation. Salam, a fisherman from Kasaragod district, refused to comment on the judgement. His 24-year-old son Rafi, working in Dubai, was coming home a month after his sister's wedding when the mishap occurred. Meanwhile, their counsel Kodoth Sreedharan said they would move to the Supreme Court. The provisions in statute ignore the principle of no fault liability incorporated in the modern statutes and goes beyond fundamental principles of interpretation of statute, he said. The passengers and crew on board the AI aircraft from Dubai were killed when it caught fire in May 2010. — PTI
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Cash-for-vote scam
New Delhi, August 25 “All four accused, including former MPs of the BJP - Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora, along with Sudheendra Kulkarni, a close confidant of BJP leader LK Advani - have been asked to appear in the court on September 6 at 10 am,” said Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal while accepting the Delhi Police’s plea. The judge also issued production warrant against Amar Singh's former aide Sanjeev Saxena and alleged BJP activist Suhail Hindustani, who are at present in judicial custody in connection with this case. The case relates to July 22, 2008, when three BJP MPs waved wads of currency notes in the Lok Sabha, alleging they were given the money to abstain from voting during the no-confidence motion against the UPA- 1 government. Slammed by the Supreme Court for a shoddy probe into the scandal, Delhi police had arrested Saxena and Hindustani last month and filed the chargesheet in the case yesterday only. “We have arrested Saxena and Hindustani as we had direct evidence of their involvement in the case,” said Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan when court enquired as to why only two persons have been arrested and not the other four mentioned in the chargesheet. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has sent a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar seeking permission to charge BJP MP Ashok Argal, who along with Kulsete and Bhogora had claimed being paid the money to abstain from voting.
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DMK ex-minister jailed in land grab case
Chennai, August 25 Nehru, taken into custody from Tiruchirapalli, 320 km from here, was moved to Cuddalore prison, a police official told IANS. Nehru's arrest came after the arrest of two former DMK ministers - Veerapandi Arumugam and N.K.K.P. Raja. Arumugam was arrested July 30 while Raja, who is now out on bail, was arrested August 4. Nehru, a former transport minister, was arrested on a complaint by K. Srinivasan, a doctor, for forcibly acquiring his land of around 13,000 sq ft on which the DMK district office was then built. Nehru refuted the allegations and said he would fight it out in court. Three more persons, including former DMK legislator Anbil Periasamy, who were arrested Thursday morning in connection with the same case, were also remanded to judicial custody. Reacting to the arrest, DMK president and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi told reporters that an "Emergency like situation" existed in the state. Karunanidhi said the party would boycott the House sessions as the seating arrangements for the DMK legislators were not proper. Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had said in the Assembly yesterday that the government had restored land valued at over Rs.415 crore to their owners. Out of 8,947 complaints of land grab, she said, chargesheets were filed in three cases while 462 cases were booked. At least 419 people were arrested. The government has set up 25 special courts and fast track courts to hear the land grab cases, she added.
—IANS
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One in two Indians mulling job change
New Delhi, August 25 The survey, which was conducted among more than 2,000 workers in India, found that 54 per cent are seriously considering leaving their organisation at the present time, a substantial 28 per cent jump from 26 per cent in 2004. Women are leading the exodus game as 58 per cent are considering leaving their job, compared to 53 per cent of men. Around 66 per cent of workers of age 24 and below are seriously considering leaving current job, the survey said. “As the economy improves further and new job opportunities emerge, employers risk losing valued talent and also face productivity and morale issues among workers who continue to be with the organisation,” Mercer Consulting India Managing Director Nishchae Suri said. “The business consequences of this erosion in employee sentiment are significant, and clearly the issue goes far beyond retention,” Suri added. Adding to the complexity is emerging generational tension as Millennials — younger workforce — enter the workforce in growing numbers, bringing with them wholly different expectations regarding work, the report said. As per the survey, the most important reward factor for workers in India is career advancement, followed by base pay. Training opportunities followed by type of work were rated third and fourth, respectively. While, working for a respectable organisation and incentives are fifth and sixth. “A clear understanding of ‘what’s inside employees’ minds’ represents an important step in developing a blueprint that skillfully combines existing approaches with innovative ideas to improve engagement, performance and productivity,” Suri said. Mercer’s ‘What's Working’ survey, which examines employee views on work included more than 100 questions on a range of work-related topics and represents the overall demographics of the Indian workforce in terms of age, gender and job level.
— PTI
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Inquiry officer misled Lokayukta: Yeddyurappa
Bangalore, August 25 "Where does corruption come in the donations; Rs 10 crore given to an educational trust and Rs 20 crore for building an auditorium?" senior Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Yeddyurappa said. Observing that there was "no mention
of Yeddyurappa's name in the entire document", Jethmalani, also a BJP MP, said the then Lokayukta Santosh Hegde had been
"misled" by the enquiry officer. Terming the indictment as the "most irresponsible action," he contended that the former Chief Minister "deserved to be protected and heard." The allegations
were "without any credible evidence and perverse" without calling for any explanation,
he submitted. In his petition, Yeddyurappa, who was forced to quit in the wake of his indictment, has sought quashing of Chapter 22 of the report, which refers to certain financial transactions between South West Mining Company and Prerana Education Society, in which his two sons are trustees. Yeddyurappa's sons should have been given an opportunity to explain, instead of (the Lokayukta) just going by the report filed by inquiry officer UV Singh, Jethmalani told the bench comprising Justices KL Manjunath and HS Kempanna. He said the lease granted to the mining company was in 2007 "when Yeddyurappa was not the CM. It was somebody else who was the CM at that time". No favouritism was shown to the mining firm, he submitted. After hearing Jethmalani's submissions, the Court posted the petition to August 29 for orders.— PTI
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Nigamanand was poisoned, claims Matra Sadan
Haridwar, August 25 As per report received from the Lal Pathology lab in New Delhi, evidences of organophosphate compound poisoning has been confirmed, apart from several other indications that such substances were inducted in his body during the course of force feeding initially at the Haridwar district hospital and later at Jolly Grant hospital. The postmortem and visceral report analysis has found serum cholinesterase enzyme level in his body, which as per Dr Vijay Verma, a physician involved with the Matra Sadan movement, is the most conclusive and vital evidence of organophosphate poisoning. Swami Dayanand of the sadan informed that the medical lab report as well as other related medical documents had been forwarded to the officers of the CBI probing into the case, which in itself proved that a conspiracy was hatched to murder Nigamanand so that the vested interests of those involved in illegal quarrying could be taken care of.
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Extending its full support to Anna Hazare and his cause, the BJP today deplored the “changing stance” of the government on the Lokpal issue and emphasised that the Jan Lokpal Bill should form the basis for a strong and effective anti-corruption ombudsman.
New Delhi, August 25
One in two Indian employees is considering changing his present job with young workers most likely to quit, as robust economic growth of the country promises more job opportunities, a survey by human resource consulting firm Mercer has found.
The survey, which was conducted among more than 2,000 workers in India, found that 54 per cent are seriously considering leaving their organisation at the present time, a substantial 28 per cent jump from 26 per cent in 2004.
Haridwar, August 25
