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ULFA doves slam hardliners for belittling peace talks
Self-defence skills must for women: President
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Anti-graft laws: Govt races against time
Mamata elected TMC national head
Woman cleaned with acid in WB hospital, loses baby
Bhupen Hazarika critical, on dialysis
Four years later, Army strips officer of permanent commission
Karnataka mining case: CBI summons Jagan Mohan Reddy
On UN Human Development Index, India is languishing at 134th position
Jessica's killer Manu moves HC for parole
Bhanwari case
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ULFA doves slam hardliners for belittling peace talks
Guwahati, November 2 Calling Barua a ‘commander from medieval era with outdated outlook’, the ULFA doves dared him to come back to Assam to lead the ‘revolution’ from within. The ULFA doves have reacted to Barua’s statement that termed the on-going peace process a ‘futile exercise’ between some leaders of the ULFA and the Centre. Barua, who is now suspected to be taking shelter somewhere in northern Myanmar, stated that the ULFA leaders like Rajkhowa who were sitting in the comfort of their homes after being released on bail, would not have guts to raise the demand for a ‘sovereign Assam’ during the negotiation with the ‘colonial’ Government of India. The pro-talks faction, in a statement e-mailed to the media, described Barua as a ‘commander of medieval era with outdated notions’. The faction stated that Barua’s concept of ‘sovereign Assam’ was moved far away from today’s ground reality, where different ethnic groups are agitating for statehood to determine their own future. “It is easy to continue revolutions by issuing statements from a safe distance from Assam. People of the state will like to know when Paresh Barua will gather courage to lead the revolution from within his motherland. It is nothing but cowardice on part of Barua to try establishing himself as a revolutionary leader only by issuing such statements and fomenting mindless violence that is not in tune with avowed principles and goals of the ULFA,” the doves said. The pro-talks faction stated that it had come forward for dialogue with the government as the people of state no more wanted violence and conflicts. It said the ULFA constitution advocates peaceful solution to the conflict. "The reality is that various ethnic groups who are agitating to establish their rights, will never support Paresh Barua's armed revolution for restoration of sovereignty of Assam," the pro-talks faction said.
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Self-defence skills must for women: President
Lucknow, November 2 Expressing anguish at the lack of security for women, the President said that authorities must work in tandem with members of the society to create a safe and secure environment for women. She said women were joining the police force in large numbers now which would help build a more stable society. Underlining the role of education in women empowerment, Patil also pointed out the need for a comprehensive change required for gender mainstreaming. “We need a comprehensive and forward-looking outlook to meet the challenges of an evolving society,” she said. She added that education should not be restricted merely to passing examinations, instead it should help a student evolve as a responsible human being. Highlighting the multi-faceted growth of educated women in society, President Patil said that many challenges emanating from social prejudices still need to be overcome. Referring to malpractices like female foeticide, dowry and helpless condition of widows, she said they needed to be handled by the government, society and the people together. “I have come across exemplary acts of courage shown by young girls, coming from underdeveloped areas, rejecting social stigmas like child marriage, dowry and alcoholism,” she said. Patil inaugurated the Isabella Thoburn (IT) College’s quasquicentennial celebrations by unveiling a plaque carrying commemorative details of the institute. A souvenir on history of the college and a book ‘Reflections’ was also released on the occasion. The college holds the distinction of being the first women Christian college in Asia. To take part in celebrations, students from various Christian schools and colleges and alumni from all over the globe were present.
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Anti-graft laws: Govt races against time
New Delhi, November 2 With social activist Anna Hazare threatening to undertake another indefinite fast if the Lokpal Bill is not passed in the coming Parliament session and faced with all-round criticism over its poor governance record, there is a sense of urgency in the ruling coalition to speed-up decision-making and come up with a slew of concrete steps to convince people that it is serious about combating corruption. Talking about the Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill, Minister of state for Personnel V.Narayansamy said the proposed legislation seeks to cover all services, making it compulsory for every public authority to designate a grievance redressal officer who has to compulsorily act within 15 days on complaints, failing which an appeal can be filed with a higher authority. The draft Bill, which will be placed on the ministry’s website for people to write in their views, also seeks to impose a penalty for failure to deliver services or redress grievances within a stipulated time frame. This law proposes to set up a mechanism similar to the Right to Information Bill with a provision for a citizen’s charter which is to be defined by the authorities at various levels, including panchayats, municipalities, states and the Centre. Narayansamy said though some states have enacted legislations for delivery of specific services in a time-bound manner, the proposed Bill will cover all services provided by public authorities at every level. Although Team Anna had insisted that the lower-level bureaucracy should be made accountable under the provisions of the Lokpal bill, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said the government felt just one Bill will not address the day-to-day hassles which a common man faces with regard to the delivery of public services and instead opted for a separate law. “Our objective is the same but the path we have chosen is different,” he explained. While the Parliamentary standing committee on law and justice ministry, headed by Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi, is working overtime to finalise the Lokpal bill so that it can be passed in the winter session, the Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill, unveiled today, is part of these basket of anti-graft measures which the UPA government aims to implement in the coming months. Besides these two legislations, the others Bills which are in the pipeline include the Judicial Accountability Bill, the Whistle Blowers Bill and a Bill on Transparency in Public Procurement.
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Mamata elected TMC national head
Banerjee announced the name of PWD and Transport Minister Subrata Bakshi as party candidate for the Lok Sabha bypoll in South Kolkata, from where she had been elected seven times. The bypoll is slated to be held on November 30 but the state government and the TMC have requested the Election Commission to reschedule the poll date to February. After her election, Banerjee reiterated that she would continue to work for the people of the state and asked party workers to work with honesty and sincerity for welfare of the people. Mamata expressed gratitude to the people for their support which had helped them dislodge the corrupt CPI(M) government after 34 years. She hoped that TMC would turn out to be the biggest political party soon in Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal, Mizoram and other north-eastern states.
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Woman cleaned with acid in WB hospital, loses baby
Murshidabad (WB), November 2 "A formal verbal accusation has been made that Sikha Devi was subjected to pre-delivery cleaning by the Lalbagh sub-divisional hospital staff with an acidic solution which caused the death of her baby. A medical board under the hospital superintendent has been set up to probe the matter," said Lalbagh Sub-Divisional Officer Charanjit Ghosh. The verbal complaint
was made by Sikha’s family members. Ghosh, however, claimed no acidic solution was used and the baby probably died as it was underweight and premature. “As per initial reports, no acidic solution was used. The baby was born premature and also underweight. We are looking into the matter,” he said. The incident comes in wake of a series of crib deaths in West Bengal recently. Between October 25 and 28, the BC Roy Children’s Hospital — the only children’s referral hospital in Kolkata — witnessed 16 deaths. The Burdwan Medical College and Hospital had 12 infant deaths during October 27-28. Following the deaths, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — who also holds the health portfolio - had ordered probe and the hospital authorities were absolved of any wrong doing.
— IANS
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Bhupen Hazarika critical, on dialysis
Hazarika's health deteriorated on October 23 after he developed pneumonia. He had to undergo a minor surgery whereby doctors inserted a food pipe in his system. The 86-year-old Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner is undergoing treatment at the hospital since June 29 after he complained of breathlessness. Ever since he has been confined to his hospital bed. Perhaps the only living balladeer in the country, composing his own lyrics and music, Hazarika lent his voice to the film ‘Gandhi To Hitler’ where he sang Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan ‘Vaishnav jan’. Hazarika, who has a genius for weaving a magical tapestry out of traditional Assamese music and lyrics, is regarded as one of the greatest living cultural communicators of South Asia. He has been a poet, journalist, singer, lyricist, musician, filmmaker and writer.
— PTI
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Four years later, Army strips officer of permanent commission
Chandigarh, November 2 The move was initiated by the Army on the grounds that on the date of grant of PC to the petitioner, he was not in an acceptable medical category (SHAPE-1). The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal has stayed the conversion after the officer concerned filed a petition challenging the Army’s move. He has contended that the Army’s reason is not only legally but also factually incorrect. The petitioner was commissioned in the Infantry (Punjab Regiment) as an SSC officer on September 9, 2002 and served in field, counter-insurgency and high-altitude areas, including the Siachen glacier. As per policy, he was to be considered for PC in the fifth year of service and it was to be granted with effect from September 2007. His papers were processed for PC in 2007 as per procedure and his medical board was also conducted, confirming he was in medical category SHAPE-1. Towards the end of August 2007, he had a bout of unconsciousness after participating in a cross-country run and was advised to see a medical specialist four days prior to when he became a PC officer. The petitioner was, thereafter, kept under observation. His medical category was downgraded from SHAPE-1 to SHAPE-3 on September 29, 2009. He has contended that the down gradation of his medical category was much after the date of grant of PC. When his IAST application was being considered this year, an objection was raised that since he was referred to hospital four days prior to grant of PC, he was to be treated as downgraded to SHAPE-4 and hence, his PC was not correctly granted. In July, he was issued a letter cancelling his PC granted more than four years ago. Thereafter, he was issued a show-cause notice for demoting him from the rank of substantive major to substantive lieutenant that is two steps down, since he has been stripped off of his status as a PC officer. He has also contended that while processing his hospitalisation records, the Army omitted to peruse relevant Army Orders that stipulate that the medical category can only be brought down after a person is brought before a Classification Medical Board and hence the same cannot be done unilaterally.
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Karnataka mining case: CBI summons Jagan Mohan Reddy
Hyderabad, November 2 Jagan, whose family has alleged business links with the Bellary Brothers, has been asked to appear before investigating authorities at the CBI office here. The Kadapa MP is away to coastal Guntur but his party sources said that he would keep the appointment with the CBI on Friday. The move set off ripples in the political circles with some observers speculating that the young MP could even be arrested. Sources said that the CBI is likely to probe allegations that Janardhan Reddy had made investments into a media group owned by Jagan. It is also alleged that Jagan has stakes in
two companies -- Red Gold and RR Global - that have business links with Janardhan Reddy, currently in jail along with his brother-in-law and OMC managing director BV Srinivas Reddy. This is the first time that Jagan would be questioned by the CBI since the arrest of Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law on
September 5.
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On UN Human Development Index, India is languishing at 134th position
New Delhi, November 2 India’s place remains unchanged because the index includes 18 new countries this time as against just 169 in 2010 when India stood at rank 119. This year, though, India is placed behind all its partners in BRICS where The Russian Federation is the leader at number 66, followed by Brazil at 84; China at 101 and South Africa at 123. Within the South Asian Region, too, India is not in the lead, whereas Iran, at 88th position, fares at the top. Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan are placed below India in HDI rankings and values. On Gender Inequality Index (GII), India is ranked a poor 129th in the world. It is ahead of only Afghanistan in South Asia on an indicator which measures gender parity in education, reproductive health (maternal mortality and adolescent fertility rate), representation of women in national parliaments and participation of women aged above 25 years in the country’s labour force. On the inequality adjusted indices for education and health, India fares poorly in BRICS nations and South Asia’s Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It loses substantial HDI value -28.3 per cent -- when internal inequalities in health, education and income are calculated.
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UP lacks basic amenities: Rahul
Lucknow, November 2 “There is an acute shortage of water and power supply here. The living conditions are pathetic. I don’t know how you people live under such circumstances. I get angry every time I visit UP,” Rahul said. Targeting the BSP government for not implementing the Central government schemes in the state he requested the gathering to vote for his party in the upcoming Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. Gandhi also promised that the UPA government would soon bring in an effective Lokpal Bill.
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Jessica's killer Manu moves HC for parole
The court sought the police response on Sharma's plea for parole, while referring to his previous conduct, and saying that he had been visiting discotheques, violating the parole conditions on an earlier occasion. The Bench, however, issued notice after his counsel argued that according to the guidelines for granting parole, the conduct of only past one year has to be considered. Parole is temporary release of a convict from prison prior to the end of the tenure of his sentence, subject to certain conditions. "Counsel for appellant (Sharma) submits that only conduct of last one year has to be seen for parole as per guidelines. The petitioner's brother is getting married on November 21 and functions start from November 10. Issue notice. Reply within one week," the Bench said. The court, however, posted the matter for next
hearing on November 14 and declined Sharma's plea for an early date saying, "He need not attend all functions.” Sharma's parole had already been rejected by the administrative side of the high court on
October 21. — PTI
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Bhanwari case Jodhpur, November 2 The team has been searching for a particular CD, allegedly showing Rajasthan former minister Mahipal Maderna in a compromising position with Bhawari Devi. However, officials have denied its recovery in yesterday's raid at Sohan Lal Bishnoi's residence at Tilwasani village. — PTI
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