The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	BJP to use Lokpal issue as a plank in Assembly elections Faraz Ahmad/TNS New Delhi, January 1 The BJP has decided to fully exploit the fiasco in the Rajya Sabha, which led the UPA government to avoid seeking a vote on the Lokpal Bill on December 29, as an issue in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. While a formal decision on the election campaign and strategy still awaits a discussion in the party core group meet - scheduled for sometime early this year - this is an issue that the party would be most reluctant to let go, conceded a senior leader. The BJP core group decided yesterday to take the issue to the streets and keep it alive. As part of this strategy, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and parliamentary party chairman LK Advani are “to lead a high-level BJP delegation to President Pratibha Patil on January 3 to register its protest against the murder of democracy by the UPA government," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad announced yesterday. Advani too indicated yesterday in his statement the party’s plans to not let go of the issue in the coming days, charging the UPA government with exhibiting arrogance, ineptitude and deceit in equal measure in dealing with the demand for a strong, independent and effective Lokpal. “I, for one, am not in the least bit surprised that year 2011 ended with the UPA government literally fleeing from vote in the Rajya Sabha on its own version of the Lok Sabha Bill. “Never once did an incumbent government invite such ignominy upon itself because of the virtual evaporation of responsibility on the part of the Prime Minister. The fraud on democracy, which the nation witnessed on the night of December 29, was unprecedented,” Advani stated. But Advani’s statement apart, BJP sources recall that they had taken into account that the UPA government was in no position to secure the passage of the Lokpal Bill this winter session and therefore, the BJP had planned its election strategy keeping in mind this contingency. The parallel plans of Anna Hazare and his team members in all three major states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab will only drive the UPA further to the wall, the BJP leader hoped.
	UP polls to be litmus test for young scions Lucknow, January 1 The coming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh would turn out to be a litmus test for many scions of political families, including Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and his cousin BJP's Varun Gandhi. The "yuvrajs" in the fray include son of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ajit Singh's son Jayant Chaudhary. After his party's bitter defeat in the Bihar elections, the UP polls have become a prestige issue for Rahul. Similarly, it is no less than a battle for Mulayam's son Akhilesh to ensure victory of the SP in the elections. In such a situation, there is a strong possibility of high-voltage contest between two young turks. Though the BJP has not opened its card yet, party sources said it would field Varun Gandhi in its poll campaign to attract youth voters. Ajit Singh-led RLD has though forged an alliance with the Congress, Jayant would have the task of improving party's chance in its stronghold western UP. According to ECI records of more than 12 crore electorates in UP, around 25 per cent (more than 4 crore) are young electorates in the age group of 18 to 30 years. "Out of this, around 53 lakh voters, who are 18 years of age, will exercise their franchise for the first time," a senior officer said. The major task before all the political parties would be to tap the youth voters. To ensure a victory for the Congress, which had been out of power for nearly 22 years, Rahul had been making effort since long in the state. — PTI
	Mehbooba did praise Modi: NIC transcript New Delhi, January 1 PDP President Mehbooba Mufti praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his approach to investment proposals, a transcript of her speech made public after some remarks triggered a row showed. Mehbooba, while referring to her interaction with a Muslim businessman who spoke of Modi's quick response to a business proposal, had also said at the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting that such actions were necessary to reach out to minorities who will in turn respond positively. According to the transcript of the deliberations of the meeting released by the Union Home Ministry on its official website, the PDP leader focused on the need for giving more opportunities for minorities, including reservation in government jobs. "I recall once I was in Chennai and I met someone, a Muslim businessman, and he told me that he had gone to see Modi, and he said I was very impressed. I had an appointment with him regarding some business deal and he had got all the officers there, around him. "They did not take even 10 minutes and he got his job done. So, I mean, people, minorities, Muslims they are looking forward some kind, some kind of step forward, some kind of reaching out, which I think, we are missing. "I mean to say that if all political parties reach out to minorities they will respond positively," the transcript quoted Mehbooba as saying at the NIC meeting held in Delhi in September 2011. The document appeared to counter the denials by Mehbooba who had asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to release the complete transcript of the NIC deliberations. The PDP leader's purported comments at the NIC meeting first came in public domain when BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said even Mehbooba, who had always been opposed to the BJP, had praised Modi at the NIC meeting. Sushma had made the remarks on the concluding day of Modi's 'Sadhbhavna' three-day fast in Ahmedabad in September. Mehbooba hit back and described Sushma's claim as baseless and untrue. "I have never praised Modi nor recommended any businessman to him for favour. It is all rubbish," she had said. — PTI
	India, Pak share lists of N-facilities Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 1 India and Pakistan today exchanged lists of their nuclear installations and facilities under a two-decade-old pact that prohibits attacks on atomic assets of each other.’ Under the terms of the "Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities" that was signed in December 1988, the two countries are required to exchange lists of their nuclear installations and facilities on January 1 every year. This was the 21st consecutive year that the lists of nuclear facilities were exchanged since January 1 1992. The exchange was conducted even during a freeze in bilateral ties after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. The Indian side handed over its list to the Pakistan High Commission official at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and simultaneously Pakistan handed a list of requisite facilities in its country to an Indian High Commission official at Islamabad.
	Hooch claims 17 lives in Andhra Hyderabad, January 1 The New Year began on a tragic note in Andhra Pradesh with 17 persons, including three women, losing their lives due to illicit liquor in two separate incidents since Saturday, officials said. The toll in the hooch tragedy in Krishna district claimed 16 lives since Saturday evening, while one person died in Nalgonda district today. Hours before the dawn of the New Year, tragedy struck at Poratanagar in Krishna district of coastal Andhra. The victims, belonging to three tribal hamlets, consumed country-made liquor on Saturday and were rushed to hospital after they complained of giddiness. Eight persons are still battling for life in hospitals at Mylavaram and Vijayawada. Ten persons died on Saturday night and six since Sunday morning. Tension prevailed at Vijayawada hospital as relatives of the victims staged a protest when Deputy Excise Commissioner Harvinder Singh visited the hospital. They demanded compensation and also stern action against the culprits. Doctors at the hospital said the liquor consumed by the victims was apparently mixed with the poisonous methyl alcohol. Samples of the liquor were sent to Hyderabad for chemical analysis. — IANS
	Fire in multi-storeyed building in Kolkata Subhrangshu Gupta/TNS Kolkata, January 1 Panic gripped Kolkatans on the first day of the year after a fire broke out on the seventh floor of a multi-storied building in the posh Park Street area here, but no one was injured. Amid the New Year celebrations, flames were detected at around noon from the server room of Kotak Mahindra office at the Apeejay House, after which ten fire tenders were pressed into service bringing the blaze under control within a couple of hours, fire brigade officials said. There was no report of any casualty or injury as all offices were closed due to Sunday, they said, adding that the exact cause of fire was yet to be known. Panic struck after some TV channels reported that smokes were billowing from the basement of the building, which also houses a portion of the adjoining Park Hotel. Later, firemen described the reports as incorrect. A spokesperson of the Apeejay Surrendra Group said the fire was noticed by the building's security personnel who switched off electricity and called the fire brigade, which reached within 10 minutes. The building has a full-fledged fire hydrant system which was used by the security staff to handle the blaze and extinguish it quickly, he said. Incidentally, the building is located near the landmark British-era Stephen Court building, which was devastated by a major fire last year that claimed 43 lives. Last month, a deadly blaze had ripped through the AMRI Hospital in the city, claiming 93 lives. (With inputs from PTI)
	Ignoring protests, AP says Kovvada N-plant on track Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, January 1 Ignoring the widespread public protests, Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to go ahead with land acquisition for the 6,000 MW nuclear power plant at Kovvada in the north coastal district of Srikakulam. The state government has issued an order to acquire 1000 hectares of land from farmers in the region, including 775.5 hectares for the power plant, being set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and another 125 hectares for an integrated township. The move comes in the backdrop of raging protests over the Kudankulam plant in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The government constituted a eleven-member team and appointed 28 officials on contract for the purpose of land acquisition. The NPCIL will pay for the land and salaries to the acquisition staff while the state-run AP Power Generation Corporation will be the nodal agency to oversee the entire project. The proposed nuclear plant has raised the hackles of local farmers, opposition parties and environmentalists who argue that it would cause pollution and large-scale displacement. “The proposed nuclear reactors at Kovvada are untested and could be unsafe. It is unfortunate that India has embarked on a nuclear adventure by opening the floodgates to foreign reactors, without ensuring that matching arrangements exist for an independent regulatory oversight. The Centre has shown utter disregard to public opinion,” said EAS Sarma, a former Union Energy Secretary and noted environmentalist. Ironically, Kovvada was among the first set of four sites identified by the government last year for setting up nuclear plants as part of the civil nuclear agreement with United States. The ambitious Rs 60,000 crore plant involves construction of six nuclear reactors with the capacity of each unit varying from 1000 MWe to 1250 MWe. Being developed with US technical know-how, the project requires a whopping 9,000 acres of land. The other three sites identified by NPCL for establishing nuclear parks are Pati Sonapur (Orissa), Haripur (West Bengal) and Kutch (Gujarat). Following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, there are growing public fears over the safety of a nuclear plant in the region. However, the Congress government decided to go ahead with the land acquisition process after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assertion that the Centre was firm on Kudankulam and other nuclear projects. The local farmers’ organisations, NGOs, environmentalists and the Opposition parties have been demanding that the project be scrapped. They have been raising the issues of radioactivity, pollution, and the effects on fish and groundwater. More importantly, several farmers are unwilling to part with their lands for the project. “We have made a representation to the Prime Minister in this regard,” Sarma said. Another environmentalist Prof T Sivaji Rao said that studies had revealed that people living within 50 Km radius of the Kota nuclear plant in Rajasthan had been suffering from various diseases. Infant mortality, abortions, blindness and other problems were being reported from the region, he said. “Locating a nuclear plant at Kovvada can be a suicidal move,” he warned. Mired in controversy The proposed 6,000 MW nuclear power plant at Kovvada in the north coastal district of Srikakulam has raised the hackles of local farmers, opposition parties and environmentalists who argue that it would cause pollution and large-scale displacement. The state government has now issued an order to acquire 1000 hectares of land from farmers in the region The government has constituted a eleven-member team and appointed 28 officials on contract for the purpose of land acquisition
	Govt grant likely for Dhubri gurdwara Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, January 1 A historic gurdwara located on the bank of Brahmaputra River in the western Assam town of Dhubri is likely to get financial help from the state tourism department as per the assurance given by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here today. Gogoi said the state government already had a scheme to promote places of religious tourism interests which are more than a century old and the gurdwara at Dhubri can be provided assistance under the scheme. According to the history, Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, came to Assam in 1505 via Dhanpur near Dacca and stayed with Shrimanta Shankardeva, the greatest Vaishnavite reformer of Assam, at the present site of the Dhubri Saheb gurdwara. Guru Tegh Bahadur also spent time at the gurdwara during his visit to this part of the land. Lakhs of people from the Sikh community living in different parts of the country and abroad have visited the gurdwara managed by the Sikh Pratinidhi Board, Eastern Zone. A board official said over 50,000 Sikhs from India and abroad visited the Dhubri Saheb gurdwara on the occasion of martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur last year. The board, however, hardly publicises the annual celebrations of the martyrdom day at the Gertruda.
	Maya using Lokayukta to dump ‘clumsy’ ministers? Shahira Naim/TNS Lucknow, January 1 Imagine Mayawati government’s Small Scale and Industries Minister Chandradev Ram Yadav also drawing a salary as the headmaster of a government-aided school in his village in Azamgarh since 2006. What better way to deal with such embarrassment ahead of the Assembly elections than through the good offices of the state Lokayukta. Political analysts in Uttar Pradesh believe that getting rid of ‘rubbish’ through the Lokayukta’s office is yet another masterstroke of Chief Minister Mayawati. She has not only managed to get rid of such elements in her ministry, who did not cover their tracks properly, but in the process has also earned precious brownie points for her government’s determination to fight corruption by not thinking twice before taking action against such persons occupying high office. This exercise is directed towards her image-building process as she does not miss a single public opportunity to cite her dismissal of ministers on the recommendation of the Lokayukta as an example of her government’s resolve to fight corruption. BSP insiders admit on the condition of anonymity that no District Magistrate or any other official would dare to give an adverse report against a minister if it does not get a green signal from the Chief Minister’s office. So getting a notice from the Lokayukta on the basis of the district administration’s report is itself an indication that one has fallen from grace. Here again, some heavyweight ministers have managed to get relief. The complaint against Energy Minister Ramveer Upadhyay had to be dropped on the ground that the matter was pending before the court. Similarly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ramji Verma managed to dodge a Lokayukta enquiry after the complainant mysteriously withdrew his complaint. Other such lucky ministers are Minister of Culture Subash Pandey, Higher Education Minister Rakesh Dhar Tripathi and Minister for Agriculture Laxmi Narain. What has caused quiet a flutter in the corridors of power in the state is the latest target of the Lokayukta. He is Chief Minister Mayawati’s trusted lieutenant and the Muslim face of BSP Naseemuddin Siddiqui. It remains to be seen if he manages to avoid getting caught in the net or that he would be the most high-profile scapegoat in Mayawati’s much publicised fight against corruption. Interestingly, besides making them demit office, the Chief Minister has not bothered to take any action against her erring ministers in any of the civil or criminal charges against them, starting a whisper campaign that some persons are indeed more than equal before the law. Ministers who fell Rajesh Tripathi (Minister of State for Homoeopathy and Religious Endowment): Charged with being the chairman of an NGO Mukti Path Sewa Sansthan in Gorakhpur that encroached on 1.219 hectares belonging to a department of the Central government at Chillupar in Gorakhpur and ran an illegal crematorium collecting money on bodies that came for cremation. Awadhpal Singh (Minister of Animal Husbandry): Grabbing gram samaj land in Etah, misusing office to award construction contracts of veterinary hospitals to his son, cooperative federation (Parag) milk filling contract to his relative, instigating violence against his rivals and getting his name entered in the revenue records on false documents to take illegal possession of gram samaj land. Rangnath Mishra (Minister for Secondary Education): Allegedly accumulated crores of rupees in his and his family’s name through various societies, acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Badshah Singh (Minister for Labour): Encroaching upon government land in his native town Kharela in Mahoba in Bundelkhand. He reportedly grabbed 1.991 hectares of government land for constructing a stadium at a college built in memory of his father, another 0.668 hectares for his private school and a third piece of land where he built a house. Ratan Lal Ahirwar (Minister of State for Ambedkar Gram Vikas): Misuse of local area development fund and encroachment of village land. Allocated funds to a school run by his family-controlled trust which technically was not eligible to receive money from the local area development fund as it did not have the required recognition. Under the lens Daddu Prasad: Minister of Rural Development Ram Achal Rajbhar: Minister of Transport Naseemuddin Siddiqui: Minister holding 15 portfolios including PWD, irrigation, excise, sugar, health and family welfare, animal husbandry, secondary education Abdul Mannan: Minister for Science and Technology Chandradev Ram Yadav: Minister for Small Scale and Industries Jaivir Singh: Minister of State for Irrigation Ayodhya Prasad Pal: Minister of State for Sports
	Minister’s comment on Lokayukta EC gets report, CD of speech Hathras, January 1 A report on the controversial remarks by UP Energy Minister against the state Lokayukta along with a CD of his speech has been sent to state Election Commission by the district administration. “A report was sought from the returning officer after which a CD of the speech given by Energy Minister Ramveer Updhyaya has been send to the Chief Electoral Officer,” District Magistrate Suhas LY told reporters. His remarks drew flak from the Opposition and came under the scanner of the Election Commission. "The District Magistrate has been informed about the incident and he is sending a factual report to the chief electoral office," Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha had said yesterday. “We will have a look at the report and further action will be taken accordingly,” he said. Lucknow: The BJP today alleged that Energy Minister Ramveer Upadhyaya’s attack on Uttar Pradesh's Lokayukta was a pre-planned BSP’s conspiracy. "It is an open allegation of the BJP that it happened as part of a pre-planned conspiracy of the BSP," state party head Surya Pratap Shahi said. Accusing the Chief Minister of shielding tainted ministers, Shahi said it was because of this that Mayawati had remained mum over the issue. "Everyone from the Election Commission to the Lokayukta himself are surprised with the remark. Mayawati should clarify what her intention is,” he said. Upadhyaya was embroiled in a controversy after he launched an attack on Lokayukta Justice NK Mehrotra in an election rally in Hathras district on Friday and even threatened to get him removed. The Samajwadi Party asked the Governor to dismiss Upadhyaya from the Mayawati ministry immediately. "The Uttar Pradesh Governor should immediately dismiss such a minister and save the dignity of the Constitution," party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said. The minister's remark against the Lokayukta showed the government had crossed all limits, he said. The Samajwadi Party also asked the Election Commission to take strict action against Upadhyaya. Meanwhile, SP district president Devendra Agarwal said that he has also prepared a CD of the minister's speech and sent it to state party president Akhilesh Yadav. — PTI What he said Energy Minister Ramveer Upadhyaya had said, “I had been a student of law and I know law very well. I know law more than him. I have good relationship with Lokayukta. Otherwise, I would have moved the Supreme Court and got him relieved.”
	In Andhra, anti-graft ombudsman remains a paper tiger Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, January 1 The institutional mechanism to fight corruption in Andhra Pradesh remains weak and toothless. Though Lokayukta has been in existence in the state since 1983, it has largely remained ineffective because of lack of necessary powers to take the cases to their logical end. Summing up the plight of the anti-graft institution, the Lokayukta Justice S Ananda Reddy says: “We have been seeking several powers on par with our Karnataka counterpart but the goverment has been continuously rejected the proposal to grant such powers.” Unlike the Lokayukta in Karnataka, which has vast powers, the anti-corruption watchdog in AP is a quasi-legal body with very little powers. It is largely left to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), under the administrative control of the Home Department, to investigate the cases of corruption against the public servants. In Karnataka, the ACB is under the control of Lokayukta. So far, Lok Ayukta has been, by and large, limited to handling insignificant cases of little public importance. Its official website does not even contain the updated details of its functioning. As per the 2009 annual report, the Lok Ayukta had received 1,427 complaints during the year, apart from 1,393 complaints that were pending. Of them, 1,088 complaints were disposed. “It is necessary to provide this institution the sufficient powers including the powers under the provisions of Contempt of Courts Act. It is necessary to sanction funds from the consolidated funds of the State to enable this Institution to run independently,” the Lokayukta said. The legal experts called for revision of A P Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta Act of 1983 to entrust the body with more powers and providing it with additional workforce. “In the present form, the Lokayukta cannot even take suo moto notice of any issue unless it is referred to it by a department. What is the point in having such a body that does not have any powers or enough resources to act,” said Prof Madhubushi Sridhar of the Hyderabad-based Nalsar University of Law. He suggested that the state must replicate the Karnataka model that is bestowed with more powers to deal with corruption cases. The experts argue that the Lokayukta Act be amended to grant it the powers to conduct raids, seize documents and to bring more government servants under its purview.
	Rape remarks Women groups back Andhra DGP Hyderabad, January 1 A day after he came under attack from some women's organisations for his comments hinting at a link between women's dresses and the increase in number of rape cases, Andhra Pradesh police chief Dinesh Reddy on Saturday received support from some other groups. Representatives of various women's groups called on the Director General of Police and congratulated him for the "courage" shown by him in speaking the truth. They urged him not to take back his remarks. These groups agreed with the DGP that provocative dress of women is one of the main reasons for increasing number of rapes. However, Reddy's remarks evoked strong reactions from some women's groups, who described them as chauvinistic. The groups accused him of indulging in moral policing. Home Minister P Chidambaram also strongly criticised Reddy's remarks, observing that what to wear or not to wear was a matter of individual's choice, and there cannot be any kind of policing and "certainly not by a DGP". Asked for his reaction at a press conference in New Delhi, Chidambaram said: “I strongly disagree with that statement. Everyone is entitled to dress the way he or she pleases as long as he or she has regards to the occasion, the place and the context. Obviously, you don't wear whole lot of clothes to play football or tennis and you don't wear swimwear and go to a cocktail party.” However, the Rashtriya Sevika Samithi leaders hailed Reddy's comments, saying they reflect the views of majority of Indians and urged him not to withdraw these due to criticism from some quarters. "Influenced by the western culture, young girls are wearing skimpy dresses which is leading to an increase in the number of crimes," said Lalita Rani, a leader of the samithi. "Some women feel that they will wear whatever they like and men should close their eyes," she said. While replying to a query at a press conference, the police chief had cited provocative dresses of women as one of the reasons for the increase in number of rapes. Meanwhile, women police officers have also come out strongly in support of their chief. "We are very much pained and deeply hurt at the twisting of the DGP's statement by blowing it out of proportion and context by certain media," a statement by the women officers said. The statement said Reddy is known for championing the cause of women. The DGP, in a statement on Friday evening, said he was hurt as some news channels misinterpreted his comments. "Also some of the prominent ladies, knowing very well what type of person the DGP is, are trying to react out of proportion, thinking the misinterpretation as gospel truth," said the statement, in an obvious reference to some women's groups condemning his remarks. The DGP's office also released a video clip of his comment at the conference earlier in the day. At the conference, he said the dresses which were being worn by women as present-day fashion were provoking men and the police had no control over it. "Otherwise, why in certain schools, you are banning girls from wearing shorts," he asked. He added that it was a free country and people were free to wear what they like. — IANS
	Anna’s supporters pray for his health at Rajghat New Delhi, January 1 As Anna Hazare recuperates in a Pune hospital, his supporters in the capital today held a prayer meeting at Rajghat for his health and vowed to make Jan Lokpal a reality this year. Volunteers and other members of India Against Corruption converged at Rajghat here and prayed for Hazare, who is admitted to a private hospital in Pune after suffering from chest infection. Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal will visit Hazare at the hospital in Pune tomorrow against the backdrop of doctors advising complete rest for Hazare. Hazare was admitted to the hospital last night after he was down with viral infection and is being monitored by a team of doctors. After examining his health, the doctors said they have advised Hazare not to fast at least for the next one month. — PTI
	Gogoi vows to wipe out insurgency Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, January 1 Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said the task of wiping out insurgency from the state was yet to be completed though a majority of insurgent outfits had come forward to hold talks with the government after abjuring the path of violence. “It is a very good sign that many insurgent outfits have come forward for talks after realising that violence will lead them nowhere. At the same time, I appeal to the insurgents who are still holding on to their guns to give up violence and engage themselves in dialogue to find a solution to the problem,” Gogoi said. “Insurgency has to be wiped out to facilitate rapid economic development of the state and we are continuing with our efforts to achieve this goal in the near future. We have to speed up the development process as the people of Assam had given their mandate to us for the third consecutive term on the basis of our achievements on the development front and for restoring peace,” Gogoi said. He said the anti-talks faction of the ULFA and the Maoists elements were trying to re-group and create fresh trouble in the state and there was a need to intensify operations against extortion by militants in the state. Regarding the alarming problem of land grabbing in the burgeoning city of Guwahati, Gogoi today said that there was a collusion among a section of government officials, police officials and land mafias. He said to tackle the problem a tribunal would be set up to fast track the trial of land-grab cases. “It is a very serious problem. Even the land of some of my relatives has been targeted by land grabbers,” he said.
	Assam CM promises NASA trip to Class X toppers Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, January 1 From this year onward, the top three rank holders in the High School Leaving Certification Examination (Xth standard) in Assam will be taken on a study tour to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US as per a special scheme announced by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on the New Year’s Day. Gogoi said it was aimed at triggering healthy competition among students as well as to reward the most successful ones with an exposure trip to the NASA. The government will also provide a desk-top computer to all the students securing 50-59.9 per cent marks in the HSLC examination, while the ongoing scheme to provide laptop computers to all the students securing 60 per cent and above in the HSLC examination will be continued. He said bicycles would be provided to students from all the BPL families in the state, while one lakh meritorious students from primary level would be provided with scholarship worth Rs 5,000 each in the form of fixed deposits. Gogoi said Rs 50 crore will be spent over the next five years to provide medical support to children below 14 years of age. He announced Rs 5,000 crore special fund to implement number of social welfare schemes in addition to the ongoing government schemes. He said these schemes will be implemented over the next five years by spending Rs 1,000 crore per year and pledged to mount pressure on the Central government to help the state set up special mechanism to check alarming erosion of the river banks areas. He added that each of the erosion-hit families in the state will be provided with Rs 5,000 and two bundles of CGI sheets. The state will have a computerised archive of films and photographs to be named after late musician and singer Bhupen Hazarika, while a chair will be set up in Gauhati University on Ramayani studies after the name of writer Indira (Mamoni) Raisom Goswami who died recently.
	Badals’ gift to Congmen: Bagful of juicy kinnows Anita Katyal With Punjab Assembly elections round the corner, the state’s first family, the Badals, appear to be on a PR drive. They have been distributing packets of kinnows to their friends and political opponents, including a number of Congress ministers in Delhi. The fruit baskets come with a card, signed by Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal and his wife, Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur, stating that the kinnows are from their own orchards. Surprised at receiving the present, a Congress minister jokingly told Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur that she had never distributed kinnows considering she also comes from Punjab. Laughing off the good-natured jibe, Preneet Kaur reluctantly admitted to the fact that the kinnows from the Badal orchards are indeed among the best. When Jaitley and Sushma eclipsed Gadkari BJP leaders lost no time in mounting a scathing attack against the UPA government after last week’s Lokpal Bill fiasco in the Rajya Sabha. The party’s Parliamentary leaders - Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley - were naturally at the forefront of this charge while all its spokespersons were kept busy by news channels. BJP president Nitin Gadkari, however, was nowhere on the scene. In a clear attempt to grab a slice of the publicity cake, Gadkari wanted to speak to the media the day after the midnight drama. Since he was scheduled to take an early morning flight, Gadkari’s aides sent out desperate text messages to mediapersons informing them that the BJP president would address a prèss conference at the domestic airport at 9.30 am. Needless to say, not many presspersons landed up at that early hour, while Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj grabbed the headlines once again with their afternoon briefing. Wooing Birendra, the Anand Sharma way Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, who is currently heading the Congress party’s committee screening candidates for the coming Uttarakhand elections, has apparently been extremely benign during the discussions. Party insiders maintain that Sharma has not raised too many difficult queries and had tended to go along with the names proposed by Birendra Singh, AICC general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand. This is apparently a tactical move by Sharma since Birendra Singh is also in charge of the minister’s home state Himachal Pradesh, which is set to go to polls later in 2012. Sharma obviously wants to keep Birendra Singh in good humour as he will need the latter’s help when it comes to ticket distribution in Himachal Pradesh.