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Top Indian leaders stay away from Buddhist meet
Maya: BSP for extension of MNREGA’s scope
EC: 53 segments expenditure sensitive in UP
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Kiran Bedi booked for cheating
BJP workers block goods trains in Jharkhand
It’s raining freebies for
labourers in Ludhiana
Kerala steps up pressure
MPs get Rs 50k to go paperless; buy iPads
Assets case: CBI registers FIR against Chandrababu
Arunachal students seek date with Chinese envoy
MCD nod to Hazare’s protest at Ramlila Maidan
India, UAE ink accords
Sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan dead
Six bullet wounds on Kishenji’s body: Autopsy
Supply chain chaos next
hurdle for global retailers DU challenges minority status to four Sikh colleges
Jantar Mantar
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Top Indian leaders stay away from Buddhist meet
New Delhi, November 27 The organisers of the meet had desired that President Pratibha Patil inaugurate the congregation while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could attend it as the guest of honour. However, the South Block shot down the proposal. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who were scheduled to attend the inaugural session, also did not turn up. Sikkim Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh presided over the function and Karan Singh, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), was the guest of honour at the conference. The Dalai Lama will deliver the valedictory address at the conference on November 30. Around 1,000 Buddhist scholars, thinkers and followers from over 30 countries assembled for the conference on the opening day of the meet. A 40-member delegation of Chinese scholars was expected, but with Beijing taking objection to the Dalai Lama's valedictory address, only 7-8 Chinese Buddhist scholars have managed to come. India and China indefinitely postponed the 15th round of boundary talks which were to be held on November 28-29 as it would have coincided with the Buddhist congregation. China wanted the cancellation of the valedictory address by the Dalai Lama but India declined to do anything in the matter, saying it was a religious meet. China’s objection came in for criticism by the followers of the Dalai Lama attending the conference. "It's unfortunate, this attempt to give a political colour to a religious function”," said Tempa Tsering, Dalai Lama's chief representative in Delhi. "This is a purely religious conference. It should not be used by any nation or individual for a political purpose. There is no motivation (for the Dalai Lama) except meeting religious leaders and representatives," he added. In a written message on the opening day, the Dalai Lama lauded the meet for laying out an opportunity for a confluence of Buddhist thoughts and traditions but chose not to make any mention of the diplomatic row.
Proposal shot down The organisers had desired that President Pratibha Patil inaugurate the congregation while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attend it as the guest of honour. However, the South Block had shot down the proposal.
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Maya: BSP for extension of MNREGA’s scope
Lucknow, November 27 Addressing the rally at the Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan marking the launch of her election campaign, Mayawati, in her hour-long address, mainly focused on attacking the Congress and countering allegations by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi during his just concluded five-day mass contact programme across eastern UP. “The Congress is getting nightmares of the BSP elephant trampling upon them,” declared BSP chief Mayawati, clearly referring to Gandhi’s remark of an elephant in Lucknow gobbling up funds meant for Uttar Pradesh. Once again charging Gandhi with indulging in ‘natakbazi’ (theatrics), the BSP supremo said he was holding meetings in UP instead of attending Parliament. The commitment to extend MNREGA to 365 days if the BSP comes to power in Delhi apparently came in response to Gandhi’s charge made during his rallies that Mayawati did not believe MNREGA was useful. “MNREGA is not a Congress programme. It was passed with the consent of all political parties. Even BSP voted for it in the Parliament,” asserted Mayawati, while giving a commitment for its extension when her party comes to power at the Centre. Strongly reacting to Gandhi’s declaration of changing the face of UP if the Congress was elected to power, the CM asked him what the Congress had been doing when it was in power for 40 years in the state. Reassuring Dalit voters of her constant support, the BSP chief said that for the next 10-15 years, only Dalits would become chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh. “Once their financial, educational and social status stabilises, those from backward classes would be given a chance. Only after that would those from upper castes be considered for the post,” maintained Mayawati. Rebutting allegations of her government doing nothing to uplift the poor and those who are backward, as “propaganda of her political rivals”, Mayawati advised her electorate to be on guard against the media’s highlighting of various cases being probed by the CBI. Making a mention of her family members, the BSP chief said her parents and siblings would stay in the party as long as they did not demand tickets to become MP, MLA or to other posts. “The moment they ask for privileges, I will sever all connections with them,” she claimed, adding that her party was against dynastic rule.
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EC: 53 segments expenditure sensitive in UP
New Delhi, November 27 A high-level team of the panel has also begun a tour of the state starting today to chalk out preparations in this regard with the Income Tax Department and other enforcement authorities for curbing use of illegal funds during polls. The EC team is expected to meet the Director General of Investigations (Income Tax) and his team in Lucknow to review the deployment of I-T officials in these money 'sensitive' constituencies. "The EC team is arriving in the state for analysing poll preparedness and checking measures put in place to curb use of money power during elections in the state," a top I-T official said. —
PTI
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Kiran Bedi booked for cheating
New Delhi, November 27 In its order delivered yesterday after hearing a case filed against Kiran Bedi, the court directed the police to lodge an FIR within 24 hours on a complaint filed by petitioner Devinder Chauhan. The FIR was lodged against Bedi on charges of forgery, cheating and conspiracy.
The applicant had filed a petition against alleged financial irregularities in Kiran Bedi’s NGO. Soon after the court order, Kiran Bedi tweeted that this had not come “as a surprise” to her and that it only “strengthened her resolve to do more”. Bedi reacted by saying that she had the “evidence” and “endurance” to deal with the situation. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ashok Chand said, “We have registered a case against her (Kiran Bedi) under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120-(B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).” The petitioner alleged that Bedi cheated paramilitary forces and state police organisations on the pretext of providing free computer training to troopers’ families under the banner of her NGO, India Vision Foundation. Posting her reaction on micro-blogging site Twitter, Bedi wrote, “Having been a cop, I have sound evidence and endurance to deal with the FIR (first information report). Time will tell.” Bedi was caught in a controversy last month when it was revealed that she allegedly presented inflated travel bills to various social organisations and educational institutions that invited her for lectures. Later, she admitted that she charged various NGOs business class airfare while buying the lower class airline tickets, but said the excess money went to her NGO.
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BJP workers block goods trains in Jharkhand
Jamshedpur, November 27 Led by BJP state unit president Dineshanand Goswami and East Singhbhum district committee president Raj Kumar Srivastav, hundreds of BJP activists gathered at Tatanagar station and squatted on rail tracks to block movement of goods trains in support of their demand. —
PTI
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It’s raining freebies for
labourers in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, November 27 As the industrial units are heavily dependent on these skilled workers, who are mostly from Bihar and UP, their owners are not Talking to The Tribune, president of Fasteners' Manufacturers Association Narinder Bhamra says it is impossible to do without these workers. “They are poor migrants who come all the way from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to work for us. The entire industrial hub here depends on them as we rarely get local skilled labourers. So we have to retain them in every possible manner”, said Bhamra, adding that apart from providing free accommodation to his workers he has also given them conveyance facility. “We have constructed quarters for them. They also don’t have to pay their electricity and water bills,” he adds. Some of the employers are also giving labourers mobile recharge coupons valued at between Rs 50 and Rs 200 to talk to their families. Chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) SC Ralhan says it is important to keep the workforce happy. “Had we not given them these facilities, these workers would have not stayed back,” he asserts. “Back home, their (labourers) governments are providing them all the benefits. We have to do something extra if we want to retain them,” he said. Industrialists say they are grappling with 25 per cent labour shortage. “This happens every year as these workers go to their native places to celebrate festivals with their families. They will definitely be coming back. After all, we are giving them so much incentive,” opines
Ralhan.
On A platter
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Snazzy mobile phones, recharge coupons, stylish bicycles, hygienic accommodations and "employee-friendly" working conditions l The industrial houses are reeling under acute labour crunch and are doing everything possible to retain the workforce, which mainly comes from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh |
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Kerala steps up pressure
Idukki, November 27 As increased inflow and recurrence of tremors heightened fears about the safety of the 116-year-old dam, the entire political spectrum and local resistance groups protested by blocking roads and called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Idukkki district tomorrow. They wanted Tamil Nadu to accept the proposal to build a new dam and the Centre to mediate for the resolution of the prolonged tiff. The district administration said there was no room for panic but opened three control rooms to monitor the situation and alerted the people living near the dam. —
PTI
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MPs get Rs 50k to go paperless; buy iPads
New Delhi, November 27 A special financial assistance of Rs 50,000 each has been earmarked for MPs of the Lower House to buy iOS-based Apple iPads or Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab (eReaders). Also on the anvil is wi-fi connectivity for select parts of the Parliament to enable MPs to access reports and even proceedings of the House live. The decision to provide money to the MPs to buy electronic devices and help reduce their dependence on printed papers was taken by the Lok Sabha Committee on Paperless Office recently. The committee headed by Deputy Speaker Karia Munda has also directed the LS secretariat to stop printing papers for journalists covering Parliament though the service has been restored temporarily in the absence of alternative arrangements for scribes who need documents for accurate reporting. But MPs are being expected to use iPads and eReaders to get going with the new regime. “MPs are entitled to Rs 50,000 to buy iOS-based Apple iPads or Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab (eReaders) for reduced dependence on copies of parliamentary papers. An arrangement has been made by the House secretariat to hold familiarisation programmes for MPs to help them use gadgets,” a Lok Sabha document in possession of The Tribune reads. Secretary General of the Lower House TK Vishwanathan maintained going paperless was the way for the future. Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, he said wi-fi connectivity was also being proposed for the Lok Sabha on the lines of other parliaments in the world. “Ultimately we have to go paperless. We have offered electronic devices to MPs though the response is not too good at the moment. We are also proposing wi-fi connectivity for Lok Sabha, except the House chamber. The Intelligence Bureau has cited security concerns but we believe a way out can be found. We will take the proposal to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security,” Vishwanathan said. The RS is already wi-fi enabled in parts. Asked how mediapersons would be expected to cope with the pressure of job without MP-like access to electronic devices inside the LS media gallery, the Secretary General said, “We could find a way to lend electronic devices to mediapersons for use while they are around. But any such proposal could take long to materialise as it has financial implications. But we can consider it.” Other top LS sources said there was acute space shortage in the Parliament complex and storage of printed documents was becoming a challenge.
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Assets case: CBI registers FIR against Chandrababu
Hyderabad, November 27 The FIR, registered on the direction of the high court, came at a time when Naidu was preparing to file a review petition in the court on Monday seeking to quash the CBI probe against him. The development followed the high court’s direction to the CBI on November 14 to take up a preliminary probe into the charges levelled against Naidu, his family members and others by the YSR Congress Party honorary president YS Vijayamma in her public interest litigation (PIL). The petitioner, who is the widow of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, alleged that Naidu had amassed huge wealth by misusing power during his tenure as the Chief Minister between 1995 and 2004 and sought action against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, FEMA and the Representation of the People Act. “We have just registered the case. Notices will be sent to Naidu and others soon, seeking clarification on various allegations levelled by the petitioner,” CBI Joint Director VV Lakshminarayana said. Along with Naidu, his wife N Bhuvaneshwari, son N Lokesh, Rajya Sabha MP YS Chowdary, media baron and chairman of “Eenadu” Group of publications Ch Ramoji Rao have been named as the accused in the case. After examining the 2,000-page petition, the CBI officials decided to register a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) case and would soon serve notices on all respondents, seeking information about their financial transactions during 1995-2004 while Naidu was the Chief Minister.
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Arunachal students seek date with Chinese envoy
Guwahati, November 27 The AAPSU president Takam Tatung informed that, “The people of Arunachal Pradesh have been facing lots of hardship because of the vexed boundary dispute between India and China. None of our people can visit China as we are provided with stapled visa by Chinese Embassy. We want to know from Chinese Ambassador the reasons behind it.” The AAPSU leader who dashed a memorandum to Chinese Embassy requesting an appointment with the Ambassador, further said the people of Arunachal Pradesh were aggrieved at the silence maintained by Government of India over the long-standing border dispute with China. “The politicians of India discuss everything even the process of onion and potato in the Parliament, but hardly care to discuss the issues related to border dispute with China in Arunachal Pradesh. It is matter of country’s security and we made to live under constant fear of aggression from across the border,” Tatung said. He also said the people of Arunachal Pradesh had become more apprehensive about their fate at this juncture of time given that the ‘Sino-Indian Treaty’ that was signed after 1962 Chinese aggression would expire next year on completion of 50 years. “The people of Arunachal Pradesh are not aware of the content of the Treaty and, hence, not sure about their future. We have the right to know about the details of the agreement that directly affect our life,” the students’ leader said while claiming to have aired the view of common people in the frontier hill state. The AAPSU has sent copies of its letter addressed to the Chinese Embassy to the Prime Minister of India, and the Union Home Minister.
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MCD nod to Hazare’s protest at Ramlila Maidan
New Delhi, November 27 The activist had applied to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) two days ago for allocation of the sprawling ground with a capacity of 30,000. Sources said permission had been sought to hold the protest from December 27 to January 5. "We will hold the protest and it will be led by Hazare," a senior Team Anna member said. However, they are yet to get a no-objection certificate from Delhi Police, without which, they will not be able to hold the protest, he said, adding
it had not yet been decided whether Hazare will go on a fast. "The mode of protest will be finalised later," he said. If the proposed protest takes place, it will be the third major stir in the national capital this year. The first one was at Jantar Mantar in April when Team Anna forced the government to set up a joint committee for drafting
the Bill. Hazare himself had earlier announced he would relaunch the agitation on December 22 at the end of the Parliament’s winter session if a strong Lokpal Bill was not passed. Team Anna has been insisting that the lower bureaucracy, higher judiciary, provisions for Citizen Charter and setting up of Lokayuktas at state-level be included in the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. During the monsoon session, Hazare sat on a fast-unto-death at Ramlila Maidan in August for 13 days after a high-voltage ‘who will blink first?’ drama. — PTI
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India, UAE ink accords
New Delhi, November 27 The accords were signed by Home Minister P Chidambaram and visiting UAE Deputy Prime Minister and minister of interior Lt Gen Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan after talks between them on issues pertaining to bilateral security cooperation. The agreement seeks to strengthen and develop the existing bilateral framework to enhance security cooperation in areas such as combating terrorism, addressing activities of organised criminal groups, drug trafficking, illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives and initiatives on training of personnel. The agreement on transfer of sentenced persons provides framework to facilitate their social rehabilitation by giving them the opportunity to serve the sentence in their respective countries. Issues relating to drug trafficking, security and capacity building so as to enhance cooperation to combat organised crimes and international terrorism were discussed at length during the meeting between the ministers. —
TNS
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Sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan dead
Mumbai, November 27 The Padma Bhushan awardee, 71, who hailed from a family of sarangi players in Jodhpur, was on dialysis for the past three months and died on his way to hospital, family sources said. —
PTI
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Six bullet wounds on Kishenji’s body: Autopsy
Kolkata, November 27 Rebel leader Kishenji alias M Koteshwar Rao, gunned down in the Burishol jungle of West Midnapore district on Thursday, had four injuries which could have led to his death. Three of them were bullet wounds — around the cheek and jaw; in the left armpit injuring his lungs; on the right chest — as also a splinter injury in the rear part of the head.
Rebel cremated
Karimnagar (AP): Kishenji was today cremated at his native village, as the CPI (Maoist) gave a two-day Bharat Bandh call from December 4. —
Agencies
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Supply chain chaos next hurdle for global retailers “You sent the goods, and until you received them, you just prayed,” said Anshuman Singh, managing director and chief executive officer of Future Supply Chains. “There was just a black hole until they finally reached the destination.” Since then, he has wrestled with shoddy roads, minimal cold storage capacity and a myriad of state regulations and taxes to cut the journey to 72 hours. That challenge is all to come for foreign retailers eyeing a slice of India’s $450 billion market. Major cities in Asia’s third-largest economy are thousands of miles apart, connected by pot-holed and clogged roads or creaking railways where wagons are in short supply. Global giants such as Wal-Mart may be eager to start selling their wares to 1.2 billion people, but a need to first tackle India’s logistical headaches will likely mean they will be heavily dependent on local expertise. The government last week approved 51 per cent foreign direct investment in supermarkets, ending years of legislative hand-wringing over a policy seen modernising the industry. To appease those who say it will destroy local shopkeepers, rules mean foreign retailers must source almost a third of their produce from small industries, invest a minimum of $100 million and spend half of that on “back end” supply infrastructure. “Global retailers have expertise from around the world, but in India they will have to develop it,” said Singh, who ships 2 million items a day, including 95 per cent of the goods sold by Future Group’s retail arm, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. “They will all have to go through the learning curve on their own.” Today, GPS tracking means each of his firm’s onsignments are monitored every metre, from a vast warehouse outside Mumbai to the bright aisles of an air-conditioned Kolkata supermarket. But there are other problems too. Around 30 per cent of India’s vast fruit and vegetable production goes to waste due to a traditional supply network that uses hand-pulled wooden carts more than refrigerated freight wagons and keeps fresh produce highly regionalised. “India cannot be seen as easy,” Viney Singh, managing director of Max Hypermarkets, a six-year old local supermarket chain with a licence from European retailer Spar told Reuters. “Retail is all about filling the shelves, on time, every time,” said Future Supply Chain’s Anshuman Singh. “In India, the technical know-how, expertise... requires a lot of learning, it is not common knowledge here.” Some global players with sourcing operations in India, such as London-listed Tesco Plc, have first-hand experience of the country’s poor warehouse space, unreliable transport links and chronic lack of cold-chain storage. Without local expertise or a huge amount of investment, domestic retail executives say overseas players could struggle to stack the shelves. “It certainly will not be easy for players coming in,” said Max Hypermarket's Viney Singh, whose chain has nine stores in India and plans for five more before March 2012. — Reuters
Incredible India! l
Major cities in Asia’s third-largest economy are thousands of miles apart, connected by pot-holed and clogged roads or creaking railways where wagons are in short supply. l Around 30 per cent of India’s vast fruit and vegetable production goes to waste due to a traditional supply network that uses hand-pulled wooden carts more than refrigerated freight wagons and keeps fresh produce highly regionalised. l Without local expertise or a huge amount of investment, domestic retail executives say overseas players could struggle to stack the shelves. |
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DU challenges minority status to four Sikh colleges New Delhi, November 27 Admitting the challenging petitions, Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices for December 13 to the DSGMC, which administers the four colleges in question - the 60-year-old Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur (SGTB) Khalsa College; Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College, Devnagar; Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Pitampura and Mata Sundri College for Women. All these four are the constituent colleges of DU, which opposed the orders of the NCMEI on the grounds that these institutes were not being run for the welfare of minorities and were, therefore, not eligible for protection under Article 30 of the Constitution which allows minorities to set up, manage and administer institutions of their choice without having to implement the government’s policy of reserving 27 pc seats for OBCs; 15 pc for SCs and 7.5 pc for STs. Minority institutes are free to appoint faculty of their choice without having to adhere to quota norms which all central educational institutes, including DU, follow. These four institutes were granted minority status on July 20 this year following the orders of the full bench of the NCMEI headed by Justice MSA Siddiqui, who said they satisfied all three prerequisites of the NCMEI Act for grant of minority status. Ruling on the DSGMC’s 2008 petition seeking such a status for its colleges, the NCMEI had said, “There is sufficient evidence to prove that the three grounds needed for the grant of minority status - the institution should have been established by the minority; should be administered by the minority and should be working for the welfare of minorities.” The DU counsel, however, challenged the NCMEI orders in HC saying the four colleges were not practising any reservations for minorities and did not, therefore, satisfy the third mandatory condition under the law. |
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Jantar Mantar
Political equations
As the next year’s crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections draw closer, equations between the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are undergoing a change. The situation has not been helped by the UPA government’s decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail as the two regional parties have joined hands with other Opposition parties to take the ruling coalition to task on the issue. This is a far cry from the understanding that the Congress has, so far, shared with the BSP and the SP. The two parties extend outside support to the ruling coalition. In fact, BSP MPs privately bemoan that the Congress tends to take its support for granted in Parliament. In fact, one MP jokingly remarks that the SP and the BSP parliamentarians are like UP’s Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) which is maintained as a reserve force, to be deployed in case the Congress runs into problems with moody allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK. It is now to be seen how far the two parties will go in cornering the UPA government.
Detractors’ choice
BJP general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan is much in demand by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan’s detractors these days. They are apparently impressed with Pradhan’s track record since chief ministers of all the states he has handled in the recent past have been replaced for one reason or the other. It started with Jharkhand and was followed with Uttarakhand and Karnataka. Having failed in their efforts to oust Chouhan, gloomy BJP rebels in Madhya Pradesh are now hoping that Pradhan will be given charge of their state as it could help them accomplish their long-pending mission. On the flip side, BJP chief ministers are wary of Pradhan being asked to handle their state affairs.
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If the BSP was voted to power at the Centre, it would increase the number of “assured-employment” days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
Mumbai, November 27
Moved by the death of 18 eunuchs in a recent fire in Delhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to take some concrete measures to rehabilitate members of the transgender community in her state. Referring to the Delhi incident during a dinner hosted by Trinamool Congress minister Sudeep Bandhopadhya in her honour last week, Mamata repeatedly expressed concern over the marginalisation of transgenders and regretted that nobody, including political parties, had done enough to bring them into the mainstream. Why can’t they be accommodated in government jobs, she wondered, and immediately sought details about the eunuch population in West Bengal from minister Saugata Roy. When Roy ventured to guess that their number could be around 2,000, Mamata snapped back, “Don’t guess, give me the exact figures,” and also asked him to draw up a list of jobs they could be offered. Sometimes, she remarked, one needs to set an example instead of following the well-trodden path.