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2G: Raja refuses to examine witnesses
Telangana Tangle
Many Cong leaders planning to quit party
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SC notice to Gujarat on Bhatt’s plea
Maderna’s wife, Congress MLA quizzed by CBI
India-China defence dialogue set to resume
SC seeks full report on foreign civilian prisoners India finally in World Heritage Committee Panna’s pride: A 37-carat diamond
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2G: Raja refuses to examine witnesses
New Delhi, November 11 "Ask the public prosecutor (PP) whether investigation is complete. He knows it all in and out. I cannot understand why you (judge) do not wait for the investigation to be over. Just note my status, I refuse (to cross examine the prosecution witnesses)," senior advocate Sushil Kumar, appearing for Raja, told Special CBI Judge OP Saini. Raja's counsel said the CBI had submitted in the Supreme Court that investigations in relation to Loop Telecom, which was also granted 2G licences, is still on. "Loop Telecom is under examination. The Supreme Court is seized of the matter. These are grounds good enough. You can defer it (trial) simply. Why don’t they (CBI) make a simple statement whether the investigation is complete?" he asked. He, however, clarified that he is not interfering with the trial but would not cross-examine the prosecution witnesses until the probe in the case is complete. "I do not want to interfere with the trial. Let them (CBI) say that investigation in this FIR is complete as per all these 17 accused," he said. The court, however, said this cannot be a ground to consider Raja's plea for not going ahead with the trial. "I may allow your (Raja) application on some other grounds but not on this ground," the special judge said. The court proceeded with the trial and recorded statement of Anand Subramaniam, Vice President of Reliance Capital Ltd. Besides Subramaniam, the recording of statement of Group President of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) AN Sethuraman remained inconclusive and would continue on November 14. As the trial commenced, Raja's counsel moved an application saying cognizance of the chargesheet taken by the court on April 2 was at the "instance of the prosecution who knowingly and dishonestly filed an incomplete charge sheet." Raja termed the cognizance taken by the court and framing of charges against the accused as "bad in law". "On October 22 (when charges were framed), the applicant (Raja) refused to plead as statements of witnesses recorded during investigation by the police have not been supplied to the applicant and the investigation in the case is still continuing," the application said. It said that the date of examination of witnesses has been fixed without complying with the mandate of the proviso of the CrPC and due to this, Raja has "no option" but to defer the cross examination of prosecution witnesses. — PTI
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Telangana Tangle
New Delhi, November 11 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and
SJ Mukhopadhaya also sought a report from the Registrar-General of the AP High Court on the disruption caused to the functioning of the court following a boycott call given by some lawyers’ body on the Telangana issue. The SC, however, rejected a third PIL seeking to restrain the Centre from carving out a Telangana state from AP as the plea was “premature.” All the three PILs had been
filed by advocate PV Krishnaiah who withdrew the third petition as the Bench granted him liberty to approach the judiciary at a later stage. Krishnaiah contended that the state government had paid salaries to its employees despite their 42-day strike in support of the demand for Telangana. The agitation had also resulted in damage to public and private property thereby causing huge losses running into hundreds of crores of rupees. The stir affected coal mining in the state and
the cascading effect brought to a standstill several coal-based power generation plants, resulting in power cuts in several states across the country, the petitioner contended. The Bench has also sought the response of the AP Bar Council and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti to the petitions.
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Many Cong leaders planning to quit party
Hyderabad, November 11 There is speculation in political circles that an influential group of Telangana Congress leaders, including some MPs and MLAs, are planning to quit the party and float a new political outfit to carry forward their fight for separate state. “If the Centre fails to keep up its promise and announce formation of Telangana state, then it will become impossible for us to continue in the party,” a senior Congress leader from Telangana region said. The elected representatives from the volatile region are under increasing pressure from their constituencies to demonstrate their commitment to the statehood cause by joining the movement. The Centre is likely to announce its decision on the raging Telangana issue next week. Given the bitter regional divide in Andhra Pradesh, it is believed to be in favour of a “middle path” that could satisfy the aspirations of all the three regions-Telangana, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra. According to official sources, the Congress leadership is not willing for bifurcation. Instead, an autonomous and statutorily empowered Telangana Regional Council and an attractive financial package may be announced to ensure rapid development of the backward region. The proposed council, with a separate budgetary allocation, will be headed by a chairman who will have the status of a deputy chief minister. The UPA leadership is also said to be in favour of constituting a States’ Re-organisation Commission (SRC) to examine the demands for smaller states, including Telangana, a move that is widely seen as a dilatory tactic. However, the Telangana protagonists within the Congress are a disappointed lot. Nothing short of a separate Telangana state, with Hyderabad as its capital, will satisfy them. Against this backdrop, several senior leaders are said to be planning to quit the party and launch their own outfit “Telangana Congress Party”. At least eight MPs, six ministers and 20 MLAs are said to be ready to take the plunge. There is speculation in Congress circles that Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy, MPs K Keshava Rao, G Sukhender Reddy, K Rajagopal Reddy, S Rajaiah, Balaram Naik and P Prabhakar are believed to be in favour of floating a new party. The idea behind such a move is to prevent the exodus to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is in the forefront of the statehood agitation. If and when that happens, the Congress government will surely plunge into a fresh crisis.
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RTE drive: Maya replaces PM’s message with her own
Lucknow, November 11 To mark the launch of “Shiksha ka Haq Abhiyan”, the Union HRD Ministry had dispatched a message by PM Manmohan Singh to be read out by the headmasters of all primary schools in the country. However, UP Chief Minister Mayawati decided to replace the PM’s message, to be read out in around 3 lakh primary schools in the state, with her own. In her message, she cited the example of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, who, she said, gave every Indian child up to 14 years of age the right to free and compulsory education. Giving her own example, she explained how her grandfather Mangal Sen had progressive thoughts and resolved to educate his grandsons and granddaughters alike. “Due to my nature to work hard, I continued to progress and performed better than my brothers”. She speaks of obtaining a bachelor’s degree and a degree in law and then becoming a teacher in a government school. She then mentioned her rise to become the CM of the most populous state of the country for four times. The CM in her message underlines the contribution of education in making her what she is and underlines how her government has ensured free education, books, midday meals and uniforms irrespective of caste and class. She also urges the school children to be regular in attending school and fearless in asking questions to settle all their confusions. However, a UPCC press release described the decision of the CM Mayawati to have her message read out in the schools as an opportunity to score political mileage. Chief spokesperson Subodh Srivastava described the move as “condemnable and not to be tolerated”.
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SC notice to Gujarat on Bhatt’s plea
New Delhi, November 11 In his petition, Bhatt has made an alternative plea for a CBI probe, contending that the charge was meant only to harass him. The Gujarat police filed an FIR against Bhatt on August 5 on a complaint by Mehta. The e-mail contained his personal, official and legal correspondence and Bhatt not only illegally accessed his account but also shared it with others, Mehta said. A Bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai has asked the state government to file its response by the next date of hearing.
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Maderna’s wife, Congress MLA quizzed by CBI
Jodhpur, November 11 Lila Maderna was called for questioning at circuit house here, agency officials said. The CBI also grilled ruling party MLA Malkhan Singh Bishnoi at its local office. Sources said it was believed that Bhanwari Devi was introduced to Maderna some years ago by Malkhan, who represents Luni constituency in the Rajasthan Assembly. The agency has quizzed several persons in connection with a CD allegedly showing Maderna and Malkhan in compromising position with the 36-year-old auxiliary nurse, who went missing from Jodhpur’s Bilara area on September 1. Malkhan’s sister Indira Bishnoi was questioned twice by the agency. Indira had later told the media that Bhanwari wanted a “settlement of the deal” with former Water Resources Minister Maderna and she had approached even the Pali MP Badri Ram Jakhar. Maderna, who was sacked from the Cabinet by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on October 16 after his name cropped up in the case, was quizzed for the first time by the CBI yesterday. — PTI
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India-China defence dialogue set to resume
New Delhi, November 11 A Chinese army delegation concluded its seven-day visit to India on Tuesday laying the groundwork for the forthcoming dialogue. This visit comes in the backdrop of the forthcoming 15th round of boundary talks between special representatives appointed by New Delhi and Beijing. This was the second exchange at the level of the two militaries since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in April on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. The visit of the Chinese army delegation comes after India sent its military team led by a Major General in June. New Delhi had suspended military exchanges with China in August 2010 after it refused to grant permission to a senior Indian Army Commander to proceed on an official trip to Beijing. When the two military delegations meet for the annual defence dialogue in January, several key issues, including resumption of hand-in-hand bilateral army exercise between the two nations, will come up. The Indian Army’s calendar for exercises with foreign armies during 2012, so far, does not include China.
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SC seeks full report on foreign civilian prisoners New Delhi, November 11 A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale made it clear that the SC was there to protect the personal liberty of every person in this country - be it an Indian or a foreign national - as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. “Personal liberty is the most precious right given by the Constitution. You don’t worry. We are more concerned than you. We are here to uphold the rights of the people,” the Bench assured senior counsel Bhim Singh who has filed several PILs seeking the release and repatriation of such persons. “It is shocking if it is true,” the Bench observed when Bhim Singh said three foreign nationals were languishing in a Jammu jail for more than 45 years (since 1965) and sought direction for the government to produce them in court. Advising the government to take the issue seriously and desist from providing “piecemeal information” to the court, the Bench sought a “full disclosure” in the form of a “comprehensive reply.” Unfortunately, complete information was not forthcoming from the government, it lamented. According to an estimate, 200 foreign nationals are detained in various jails in the country despite the release of hundreds of such civilian prisoners who had strayed into India by accidentally crossing the border. Bhim Singh also mentioned four Pakistani women - Baby Hina, Fatima Siddique, Kajra Mohammed and Hazira - languishing in Indian jails for more than 10 years without being subjected to any trial. In the order, the Bench asked the government to give the details relating to them as well. The SC also asked the government to disclose the “revised protocol” for the release and repatriation of such prisoners.
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India finally in World Heritage Committee New Delhi, November 11 Culture Minister Kumari Selja today said that India received 111 votes, the second highest after Japan, at a closely-contested election of the General Assembly. Apart from India, other new members on the committee are Algeria, Colombia, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Senegal and Serbia. Each country will serve a mandate of four years. Being part of the WHC will enable India to participate actively in matters related to world heritage convention, which includes scrutiny of dossiers for inscription on the world heritage list. The 21-member committee meets once a year to discuss the state of conservation of sites inscribed on the list and to add new sites. According to the world heritage convention, a committee member's term of office is for six years, but most states parties choose voluntarily to be members for only four years in order to give others an opportunity to be on the committee.
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Panna’s pride: A 37-carat diamond Bhopal, November 11 Experts have valued the gem recovered somewhere between Rs 2.5 and Rs 5 crore. "So far this 37.68 carat is the biggest ever diamond we have recovered from Panna's Majjhgavan mines," National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Assistant General Manager Rajeev Wadhwa said here today. NMDC officials said the white rough diamond of octahedron shape is of "good quality". The mining major's Mumbai-based valuers will arrive in Panna sometime next month to assess the commercial value of the precious gem, Wadhwa said. The gem is expected to be auctioned later. The previous big haul from Panna mines was in June 2010 when a 34.37-carat diamond was recovered. Earlier, the mines, about 500 km from here, had produced a 32 carat diamond in 2005 and a 30.30 carat diamond in 2003, which were sold for about Rs 1 crore each. The Panna mines at Majjhgavan are Asia's biggest mechanised diamond mines and its diamonds are rated next only to those produced from South African mines. NMDC, the only organised producer of diamonds in the country, began mining operations in Panna diamond mines in 1968 and since then it has unearthed a large number of diamonds.
— PTI
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The 2G Spectrum scam case today entered a crucial stage with a Delhi court commencing the trial amidst protest by former Telecom Minister and prime accused A Raja refusing to cross-examine witnesses, saying trial cannot start when the probe is still underway.
The Supreme Court today issued a notice to
the Andhra Pradesh government seeking its response to two PILs against the Telangana stir that has disrupted the state administration and caused problems for the people for over a year.
