The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Anna camp unhappy over proposed Lokpal Bill
Anna Hazare (R) sits next to his wax statue created by artist Sunil Kandulur after its inauguration at Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar on Sunday. New Delhi, November 21
Expressing unhappiness over the reported exclusion of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), judiciary, Group C and D employees, and the citizen's charter from the proposed Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Monday said this would "reduce the anti-graft ombudsman to an empty tin box with no powers and functions".

Double Take: Anna Hazare (R) sits next to his wax statue created by artist Sunil Kandulur after its inauguration at Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar on Sunday. — PTI

India-B’desh to sign extradition treaty
New Delhi, November 21
With relations improving dramatically between India and Bangladesh, the two nations will soon sign a formal extradition treaty that will pave the way for fugitives like ULFA leader Anup Chetia, to be handed over at the earliest.

Quake jolts North-East
Guwahati, November 21
An earthquake measuring 5.9 in the Richter Scale rocked the entire Northeastern region for a few seconds at around 8.47 am this morning creating panic among the people who are still being haunted by the recent earthquake that devastated Sikkim.

Country’s worst sex ratio in Navi Mumbai: Survey
Mumbai, November 21
Navi Mumbai, the satellite township adjacent to Mumbai, has reported what could be the lowest sex ratio in the country. A survey conducted by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of India (CIDCO) has revealed that the township has 697 girls for 1,000 boys under the age of six. A similar survey conducted in 2005 revealed the ratio to be 745 girls to 1,000 boys in the same age group.

SC okays cess on builders for workers’ welfare
New Delhi, November 21
In a landmark verdict that will benefit about 10 million construction workers across the country, the Supreme Court has upheld a law enacted by Parliament in 1996 for creation of a welfare fund for such workers by levying a cess on builders.

Schoolgirls from South Korea reading the autobiography of Mahatama Gandhi at the Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday. Tribune photo.Mukesh Aggarwal

Abducted Assam train driver freed
Guwahati : A railway engine driver, who was kidnapped by a little-known rebel outfit called United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), Hailakandi, in southern Assam last month, was released by the abductors on Sunday.

Airline Fiasco
Comtel officials booked for fraud
Amritsar, November 21
Richard Slucks and Thomas Keptzky, CEO and Director, respectively, of the Comtel Air, which started a flight connecting Amritsar and Vienna last month, have been booked for fraud as they failed to pay dues of local hotels.

Defence Ministry earns SC wrath for inaction
New Delhi, November 21
The Supreme Court today reprimanded the Defence Ministry for not reviewing the 28 cases relating to alleged lapses in the purchases made for the 1999 Kargil operations jointly with senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appointed as amicus curiae to help the court in the case.

Mahasweta dubs WB Govt fascist
Kolkata, November 21
Writer-activist Mahasweta Devi today called the West Bengal Government as 'fascist' and alleged that it was trying to gag people's voices, a charge dismissed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "unacceptable".

Parliament winter session begins today
NDA to boycott Chidambaram over 2G scam till he quits
l To stall both Houses whenever PC rises to speak l Works out floor coordination with the Left
Faraz Ahmad/TNS

New Delhi, November 21
Escalating confrontation, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and its partners today decided to stall both Houses of Parliament whenever Home Minister P Chidambaram rises to speak during the winter session of Parliament that begins tomorrow.

The NDA has been seeking Chidambaram’s head due to his alleged role in the 2G issue. He was the Finance Minister when the Spectrum scam took place.

The alliance’s focus will be on corruption and black money, BJP deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia said after an hour-long strategy session at BJP stalwart LK Advani’s house today evening.

Acting chairman Advani will kickstart the campaign on Day 1 itself by moving a motion to adjourn Question Hour to take up his demand for disclosing the names of all 700 persons who have stashed away black money in foreign banks.

Simultaneously, the BJP has also worked out floor coordination with the Left. They have come to an understanding that the Left will move the adjournment motion on price rise. “But we have decided that they will support our motion and we will support theirs,” Ahluwalia said.

Ahluwalia said, “In the 2G scam, while many accused are in jail and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made former Telecom Minister A Raja resign, Chidambaram is still out. Till Chidambaram resigns we will boycott him.”

The BJP leader said, “The entire NDA will stall the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament whenever Chidambaram rises to speak.” He clarified that the Left and other Opposition parties were not privy to this decision.

Ahluwalia said that it was the Congress, in fact, that had set the precedent to boycott a particular leader in the George Fernandes case. The then Opposition led by the Congress, the Left and other parties boycotted George Fernandes after he was re-inducted by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee without the conclusion of the judicial probe into payoffs in defence purchases.

The decision to boycott Chidambaram was taken by the BJP parliamentary party executive held this morning.

A decision on the proposed no-black money-undertaking from all 215 NDA MPs will be taken up only in the next parliamentary party meeting, said Ahluwalia.

The Opposition will raise the issue of suicides by cotton farmers of Andhra and Maharashtra, blackmarketing of fertilizers, non-procurement of rice by the Food Corporation of India, denial of special economic packages to non-Congress states and the government decision to change rules regarding purchase of nuclear fissile material for civil nuclear plants.

Win-win for NDA
Curiously, the BJP/NDA has listed the law and order situation in Delhi, particularly widespread harassment and criminal assault on women, a subject only the Home Minister is competent to reply to!

	India lodges protest with US over map Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 21 India today objected to "gross inaccuracies" in its map on the US State Department website showing PoK as part of Pakistan following which it was taken off the portal. "The government is aware of the gross inaccuracies, in the map of India, on the US State Department website. The government has consistently rejected incorrect depiction of India's borders on maps used by the US government," the Ministry of External Affairs said here. "It has used every opportunity to convey to the US side its concern in this regard, and has asked that these maps be corrected. This position was reiterated by a senior MEA official to the US Deputy Chief of Mission today. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai made it abundantly clear that "as far as the PoK issue is concerned, the maps will have to be corrected… This is an issue we have to continue to give important attention to". In a damage-control exercise, the US Embassy spokesperson said, "The map of India that was used on the State Department (website) had inaccuracies but was not meant to represent the same precision and intricacies of professional or scientific map." "Any inaccuracies associated with boundaries of either physical or geopolitical features were unintentional and we have removed this inaccurate map once it was brought to our attention," the spokesperson said.
	2 ULFA men killed by their own bomb Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, November 21 Two militants belonging to the anti-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) were killed in an explosion that occurred on the Railway track near Charangaram railway station of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in Sivasagar district of Assam in the wee hours today. Sources in the Assam police said the two ULFA ultras were trying to plant an explosive device on the track when the bomb went off killing them on the spot. The police said the militants were trying to target the UP-Brahmaputra Mail running between New-Delhi and Dibrugarh (upper Assam). However, in an e-mail sent to the media here, the ULFA hardliner faction claimed that two of its members had been tied to railway tracks with a bomb by security forces which triggered the blast.
	Anna camp unhappy over proposed Lokpal Bill New Delhi, November 21 Expressing unhappiness over the reported exclusion of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), judiciary, Group C and D employees, and the citizen's charter from the proposed Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Monday said this would "reduce the anti-graft ombudsman to an empty tin box with no powers and functions". "Media reports suggesting the government proposes to remove the CBI, the judiciary, citizen's charter, whistleblower protection and Group C and Group D employees from Lokpal jurisdiction would reduce the Lokpal to an empty tin box with no powers and functions," said a statement from Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption. "The reports filtering out of standing committee discussions on the issue are a cause of concern," said the statement. The Lokpal Bill is before the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice and Team Anna has already made its submissions before the panel. The statement said that Anna suspended his fast August this year after a resolution passed by parliament that three issues, namely Lokayuktas in states, lower bureaucracy under the Lokpal and a citizen’s charter, would be included in the proposed Lokpal Bill. Citing media reports that the Lokpal/Lokayukta would not have jurisdiction to investigate allegations of corruption against Group C and D employees, IAC statement, “We strongly oppose this proposal." — IANS
	India-B’desh to sign extradition treaty Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 21 With relations improving dramatically between India and Bangladesh, the two nations will soon sign a formal extradition treaty that will pave the way for fugitives like ULFA leader Anup Chetia, to be handed over at the earliest. In return, India is expected to hunt down the killers of former President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman, who are believed to be hiding in India. The Eastern neighbour also assured New Delhi that it will not tolerate anti-India activities on its soil. Home Secretary of Bangladesh Monzur Hossain made it clear that “anti-India forces are not active in Bangladesh. The assurance comes after India, during the 12th meeting of the home secretaries of the two countries, raised concerns over the terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) trying to regroup in Bangladesh. The outfit is suspected to be involved in recent attacks in India, including the September bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court. Addressing a joint press conference at the end of the Home Secretary-level talks, Monzur Hossain said Dhaka was keen to further improve the security cooperation with New Delhi.
	Quake jolts North-East Tribune News Service Guwahati, November 21 An earthquake measuring 5.9 in the Richter Scale rocked the entire Northeastern region for a few seconds at around 8.47 am this morning creating panic among the people who are still being haunted by the recent earthquake that devastated Sikkim. However, there were no reports of any major damage due to the earthquake which was felt across the region, including the bordering states of Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal. The epicentre of the quake was located 95 km below the earth’s surface at the India-Myanmar border to the east of Ukhrul district in Manipur, about 322 km away from Guwahati.
	Country’s worst sex ratio in Navi Mumbai: Survey Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, November 21 Navi Mumbai, the satellite township adjacent to Mumbai, has reported what could be the lowest sex ratio in the country. A survey conducted by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of India (CIDCO) has revealed that the township has 697 girls for 1,000 boys under the age of six. A similar survey conducted in 2005 revealed the ratio to be 745 girls to 1,000 boys in the same age group. The CIDCO's figures are far lower than the provisional census figures of 901 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of six. According to CIDCO officials, the survey is conducted every five years using a scientifically selected sample. Following the findings of the survey, the Maharashtra Government has asked the body to provide details for further scrutiny. The survey was conducted in the urban areas of Navi Mumbai comprising 12 nodes Airoli, Ghansoli, Koparkhairane, Vashi, Sanpada, Nerul, CBD Belapur, Kharghar, Kalamboli, Jui Kamothe, New Panvel and Dronagiri. All these areas are fast urbanising zones with a number of IT companies and industrial houses setting up base over the past decade. The township has seen a proliferation of nursing homes and sonography machines being installed here, according to information put out by the CIDCO. Health officials feel that the sharp fall in the population of girl children is due to the proliferation of sonography machines. “The Mumbai circle comprising Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane and Vasai-Virar among other areas, have 1,618 portable sonography machines,” says Suresh Gupta, Additional Director of the state health services. Doctors, who conduct illegal sex determination tests, are known to visit the patients at their homes to conduct tests and reveal the gender of the unborn child to the parents.
	SC okays cess on builders for workers’ welfare Legal Correspondent New Delhi, November 21 In a landmark verdict that will benefit about 10 million construction workers across the country, the Supreme Court has upheld a law enacted by Parliament in 1996 for creation of a welfare fund for such workers by levying a cess on builders. A Bench comprising Justices DK Jain and AK Ganguly rejected the technical contention of a Delhi-based builder that the cess was nothing but a tax. As a corollary, the builder had questioned the legislative competence of Parliament in the matter. The Centre had enforced the law - The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 - in 1998 by notifying the rules. The Delhi Government notified the rules in 2002. “There is no doubt in our mind” that the cess was for ensuring sufficient funds for the welfare boards to undertake social security schemes and welfare measures for such workers, the Bench said. Applying the principle laid down in earlier SC cases, “it is clear that the said levy is a fee and not tax. The said fund is set apart and appropriated specifically for the performance of specified purpose,” the Bench said. Unlike the tax collection, the cess was not merged in the public revenues for the benefit of general public, the Bench said in the verdict delivered on November 18.
	Abducted Assam train driver freed Guwahati: A railway engine driver, who was kidnapped by a little-known rebel outfit called United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), Hailakandi, in southern Assam last month, was released by the abductors on Sunday. SP Hemanta Kumar Bhattacharyya said Tarun Kumar Bhattacharjee was rescued from a forest on the Assam-Mizoram border around 5 am on Sunday. — TNS
	Airline Fiasco Comtel officials booked for fraud PK Jaiswar/TNS Amritsar, November 21 Richard Slucks and Thomas Keptzky, CEO and Director, respectively, of the Comtel Air, which started a flight connecting Amritsar and Vienna last month, have been booked for fraud as they failed to pay dues of local hotels. The airport police has booked 11 officials of airlines along with officials of Indo-Thai Airport Management Services (ITAMS) Pvt Ltd. They have been slapped fraud charges by a local hotel owner, Vikas Handa, for non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 41 lakh. Amongst others who have been booked include England-based Bhupinder Kandra, Harry Sidhu (both directors), Jasbir Maan (director), Rajwant Singh (station manager), Nitin Ghai (Comtel Air), Rakesh Jain, president, Shawinder Singh, manager, PC Sinha, COO, and Anil Mittal, GM of ITAMS. Vikas Handa, owner of Sanjog Palace located at Court Road here, said the ITAMS, a private ground services provider company, instructed him to make arrangements for the accommodation of about 370 passengers as their scheduled flights were cancelled owing to certain reasons on November 12 and 13. “I arranged for their accommodation, but they never made the payment for it, said Handa.
	Defence Ministry earns SC wrath for inaction R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, November 21 The Supreme Court today reprimanded the Defence Ministry for not reviewing the 28 cases relating to alleged lapses in the purchases made for the 1999 Kargil operations jointly with senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appointed as amicus curiae to help the court in the case. “We are not happy at all. You say something to the court but you are not doing it. Why didn’t you do the review the cases with the amicus,” a Bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai asked Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran. Dwivedi contended that the government had specifically asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to have a look at the defence procurements during the 1999 action, known as Operation Vijay. In its December 2001 report, the CAG indicted several Defence officials, but the government had not initiated any action. Not even the annual increment had been stopped for any official, he said. The ASG, however, said the departmental inquiries conducted on the basis of the CAG report did not find any lapses that called for action. The Bench was hearing two PILs on the alleged scam. The CAG had noted that nearly 75 per cent of the Rs 2,163 crore worth of supplies were received well after the cessation of hostilities and therefore no way supported the operations. The departments concerned had refused to accord sanction to prosecute officials holding that preliminary inquiries had shown that there was no substance in 28 of the 35 cases mentioned in the CAG report. The case would be taken up again on November 28.