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Lokpal Fiasco
Kumaraswamy faces Lokayukta probe
Notice to CBI on Behura’s bail plea
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CBI steps up efforts to trace Bhanwari’s body
SC notice to Chhattisgarh on judicial recruitments
PM to open science congress today
Hadoti- a paradise for migratory birds
Gujarat to develop kits to detect fake drugs
Hindi is foreign language for Gujarat farmers: HC
No outside control should be imposed over media: PM
Kerala varsity wanted to hire Einstein as VC
Fund crunch over; CSD car sales to normalise
Govt to study cancer risk from asbestos
Rasheed Masood inducted into CWC
Accused held after 19 years
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Lokpal Fiasco
New Delhi, January 2 Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari accused the BJP of playing "negative politics" and creating an atmosphere of mistrust in the country. "If the BJP had supported the Bill which the Lok Sabha had passed, the sky would not have fallen. If there were some shortcomings, Parliament always has the right to reconsider it," Tewari said. "We hope the kind of negative politics they did in 2011, will not continue in 2012," he said. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad retorted immediately saying, "The Congress has been spreading factually incorrect, false and malicious allegations against the BJP on the failure to pass the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha." Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi had alleged that the BJP was wrongly blaming the government for the fiasco and calling the event a murder of democracy. "Assassins of democracy are blaming the victim. They are the true murderers of democracy," Singhvi said, adding the Congress condemns the "obstructive, dilatory, negative, politically expedient and opportunistic conduct" of the BJP. Prasad, on the other hand, sought a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying, "On December 28, members of the Rajya Sabha got copies of the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha. Why was the debate not started in the Upper House post-lunch the same day? A supplementary agenda on the Whistleblowers Bill was moved at 3 pm but not on the Lokpal Bill," Prasad said. He also dismissed the charge about 187 amendments to the Bill moved by the Opposition saying, "It has the right to do so. If your (government) can handle 76 amendments, why not 187? Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley as well as the TMC had moved their amendments on December 28 itself.....Is it a crime to move amendments? They cannot take away this right. I can move 300 amendments. Each member can move one," Prasad said. The BJP leader maintained that there was perhaps no precedent where a Bill had not been passed as there were too many amendments. "Moreover, most amendments related only to three issues of appointment and removal of Lokpal, autonomy to the CBI and Lokayukta not being formed by a Central law. Parliament knew every detail of the issue. The government is behaving as if the sky would fall due to these amendments," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Anna advised a month’s rest
Pune: The health of Anna Hazare, who has been admitted to a private hospital here after suffering from viral infection, is improving but he will need to remain in hospital for a week and not go on fast for at least one month, doctors attending on him said on Monday.
Suresh Pathare, Hazare's secretary said his condition was "stable" but had been advised complete rest by the doctors. "For another one month he should not fast. If the condition deteriorates then it would be difficult. In five days, we will stop giving antibiotics to him and we expect more improvement after that," a doctor attending on him said. Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said the proposed campaign by Anna Hazare in five poll-bound states entirely depended on his health. "It depends entirely on his health and suggestions by doctors," he told reporters after visiting Hazare. — PTI
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Kumaraswamy faces Lokayukta probe
Bangalore, January 2 Passing orders on the complaint, Lokayukta judge N K Sudhindra Rao directed the Lokayukta SP to probe it under Section 156/3 CrPC (investigation of cognisable case) and submit a report by February 6. Complainant Madhuswamy has alleged that Kumaraswamy denotified 3.8 acres in Thanisandra village, which had been acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for formation of residential sites in Arkavathy Layout. Kumaraswamy’s action in October 2007 was in violation of rules, the complainant had alleged and named former minister C Chennigappa as one of the co-accused seeking action against them under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Kumaraswamy, son of former PM HD Deve Gowda, is the second former Chief Minister in the state after BS Yeddyurappa to face allegations of irregularities in denotifying land acquired by the BDA. In a similar land denotification case, Yeddyurappa had to spend 24 days in jail before being released on bail. Housing Minister V Somanna, Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, ruling BJP MLAs C T Ravi, Nehru Olekar and C Muniraju are also facing charges of land scams. The HC earlier quashed the Lokayukta proceedings launched against him for ordering bulk allotment of land to a private housing cooperative society. —
PTI
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Notice to CBI on Behura’s bail plea
New Delhi, January 2 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singh and SJ Mukhopadhya also provided relief to former Telecom Minister A Raja’s private secretary RK Chandolia by extending the interim order against his re-arrest. The trial court had granted bail to Chandolia on December 1, but the Delhi High Court stayed it. However, the accused had been released on bail by the time the high court stay order was passed. Both Behura and Chandolia were arrested by the CBI along with Raja on February 2 last year. Today, the SC Bench clarified that it did not want to take a decision on Behura’s plea without hearing the CBI. The bail plea has been posted for hearing next month.
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CBI steps up efforts to trace Bhanwari’s body
Jodhpur, January 2 According to the sources, Bishna Ram belongs to Jaloda village and after taking possession of Bhanwari's body near Nevra Road, he had headed back in the direction of Phalodi. It is now believed that he disposed of her body somewhere in his village. The CBI has arrived at a conclusion that she might have been buried somewhere in the operation area of Bishna Ram. Bhanwari Devi had gone missing from Jodhpur's Bilara area on September 1. The agency had yesterday interrogated sacked Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna's wife Leela Maderna and Congress legislator Malkhan Bishnoi's son in connection with the disappearance of the nurse. The probe agency had questioned Maderna's wife for about two hours and interrogated Malkhan's son Mahendra Bishnoi. Leela and Malkhan's three sons were last questioned by the CBI on December 19. While Maderna was arrested on December 3, Congress MLA Malkhan was arrested on December 19 for their alleged involvement in the case.
— PTI
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SC notice to Chhattisgarh on judicial recruitments
New Delhi, January 2 A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale also sought the response of the Registrar General of the high court on the PIL filed by the Centre for PIL (CPIL). The PIL alleged that a number of relatives and acquaintances of sitting judges, bureaucrats and politicians were selected through fraudulent means including manipulation of marksheets. The marks to the candidates were awarded in numericals, which was against the high court directions to the evaluators. Further, the marks were changed through over-writing, the PIL said. “The integrity and impartiality of the Honourable High Court of Chhattisgarh and of the entire judiciary is at stake as serious allegations in the selection of judges tend to shake people’s faith in the judiciary,” the petition contended.
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PM to open science congress today
Bhubaneswar, January 2 To be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the 99th Indian Science Congress (ISC) will see participation of nearly 15,000 delegates from across the globe, including 20 Nobel Laureates. The central theme of the five-day scientific extravaganza is “Science and technology for inclusive innovation - Role of women”. In tune with the theme, the Congress will be headed by Geetha Bali, Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka State Women’s University and she will be the fourth woman in the history to head it. The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) are jointly hosting the event where the scientists will discuss topics like prevention of maternal and child mortality, technology for the disabled, science and education in rural areas, women in science, water scarcity and security. As part of the mega event, a Children’s Science Congress will be inaugurated by former President APJ Abdul Kalam on January 4 and India’s Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao will open the Women’s Science Congress on January 5.
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Hadoti- a paradise for migratory birds
Kota (Rajasthan), January 2 With their wetlands, thick forests and water bodies, the four districts of Hadoti -- Kota, Bundi, Baran and Jhalawar -- have now come to be recognised as a paradise for migratory birds among foreign as well as domestic tourists. "Hadoti is the second home for the migratory birds from China, Ladakh and European countries. The arrival of these birds is a bit late this year, but now with the dip in temperatures, the number of arriving birds is increasing," says District Forest Officer, Bundi, Rajendra Singh Nathawat. Every winter, hundreds of migratory birds throng to the spontaneous water bodies of the Hadoti region and stay here from October to late March. It is also the season for tourist industry in the region where thousands of foreign and domestic tourists rush during winter. According to the bird-watching experts, there are mainly two seasons for the activities of migratory birds in the region -- the monsoon season and the winter season from October to March end when they return to their native destinations. Prominent wildlife activist and birdwatcher from Kota RS Tomer points out that bird species like the Bar Headed Goose and the Ruddy Shelduck Gray Lag Goose have arrived here from Europe and Central Asia. "I have myself recently seen colonies of these migratory birds at the Udaipuriya and Ummedgang water bodies of Kota district," he says. The state government has sanctioned over Rs 7 lakh for maintenance and safety of these two places, adds Tomer. The spontaneous agitation of the migratory birds reaches to its climax in December-January and throughout the season, these birds make their presence felt with the melodious singing and chirping over the placid water bodies. Wildlife lover Prathivi Singh Rajawat says demoille cranes, from China and Mongolia have begun visiting the region in large numbers since the last two years. "Pelicans, particularly Gray Pelicans that live up to eating fish as heavy as to one and a half kilogram, start reaching here in the first week of January," he says. Dams, reservoirs, tanks and land rivers of Hadoti offer excellent bird watching opportunities. The reservoir of Kota barrage, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam are huge wetlands and support a healthy population of resident and migratory birds. Sightings of over 110 species of water birds have been reported from the dams of Bardha, Alniya, Sawan Bhado and Abheda, Ranpur, Hindoli, Girdharpura, Sorsan and Kanaksagar tanks. Also, Darrah, Ramgarh, Vishdhari and Shergarh sanctuaries are known to have rich avian diversity of forest loving birds. —
PTI
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Gujarat to develop kits to detect fake drugs
Ahmedabad, January 2 The project, taken up in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, the apex health body of the United States, is a first of its kind in India. "A three-member delegation from the Department of Health and Human Services, USFDA, is visiting our laboratory in February, when we would discuss techniques used for quick analysis of pharmaceutical products," GFDCA Commissioner HG Koshia said. "The idea is to develop a quick detection kit for screening of pharmaceutical products, with the help of hi-tech gizmos based on infra-red spectroscopy principles," he said. Three types of very sophisticated portable instruments for on-the-spot drug testing are available with the US Department of Health and Human Services. "Testing a drug is a tedious and cumbersome process. It usually takes anything between 36 to 72 hours," Koshia said. An official estimate puts prevalence of spurious drugs up to 30 per cent in the over Rs 34,000-crore drugs market in the country. A task force on tracking of spurious medicines has been set up by the Centre, with representatives of Health, Commerce, Law and Consumer Affairs Ministries. According to the Indian Drugs Manufacturers Association, the Centre has already mandated bar-coding of all drugs meant for exports from October 1 last year. The GFDCA already has an on-the-spot food product detection kit, which can detect 21 types of adulteration, such as urea in milk, traces of metals in food and aluminium in place of silver foils. It recently launched a toll free number 1800 233 5500 for registering complaints. —
PTI
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Hindi is foreign language for Gujarat farmers: HC
Ahmedabad, January 2 The observation was made last week by Justice VM Sahai, who was hearing petition filed by a group of residents of Saraghvada village of Junagadh district. The court had concluded that by not publishing the notification in Gujarati, the NHAI had committed an error, and quashed its notification issued last year in Hindi language and declared the process as null and void. However, it refused to cancel the entire project. "If we go through the meaning of the word 'vernacular', it is clear that the meaning of the word as per the dictionary is 'the language or dialect spoken by ordinary people of the country or region," the court said in the order. "This is an admitted position that the language of the region where the petitioners are residing, the language used by them is Gujarati and Hindi language used in the notification is a foreign language for them," it observed. "The normal spoken language in the said region is Gujarati and not Hindi. Similarly, the government imparts education at primary school level in Gujarati in the entire state of Gujarat, including the region where the petitioners are residing," it added. The court also held that the NHAI authorities have failed to undertake the procedure prescribed for public meeting as per the notification issued by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India. According to the case details, in 2006 the NHAI had planned the widening of the existing two-lane national highway 8D to four lanes. However, it changed the alignment of the bypass last year on various grounds. This change in plan affected farmers in Junagadh and Rajkot. As per Section 3(A)3 of the National Highways Act, the notification regarding a change in plan should have been published in Gujarati, but the NHAI published it only in Hindi and English. The notification was published in a leading Gujarati daily as well, but in Hindi. Farmers from Saraghvada village of Junagadh moved the high court as their lands were to be acquired. The villagers objected to the plan on technical grounds and also alleged that the plan was changed to benefit influential people.
— PTI
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No outside control should be imposed over media: PM
New Delhi, January 2 "In my opinion, there is a general consensus in our country that no outside control should be imposed over the media. But I am also of the view that the representatives of media should among themselves find a way by which objectivity and impartiality gets encouragement and sensationalism is reduced," the Prime Minister said. He was speaking at a function here in which he released a book and a postage stamp issued in the memory of late Puran Chandra Gupta, the founder of a Hindi daily. Gupta had also served as chairman of the Press Trust of India for two years. Noting that it is good for the country's democracy that the reach of both electronic and print media has increased substantially due to new technology, Singh hoped Indian media will be successful in checking ills like paid news. "I am confident that Indian media will itself take steps to wipe out the ills like paid news and will also be successful in it. You should also pay attention on how to increase the coverage of those issues, which are really important for our country," the Prime Minister said. Lauding Gupta for encouraging independent and fearless reporting throughout his life, Singh said such journalism is quite necessary for any democracy. — PTI
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Kerala varsity wanted to hire Einstein as VC
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 2 The university, set up in 1937 as Travancore University, was renamed as University of Kerala later, and is planning year-long celebrations to mark its Platinum Jubilee this year. According to late historian Prof A Sreedhara Menon, who authored a comprehensive history of the university, seeking Einstein’s service for the state was the idea of the then Diwan (Prime Minister) of Travancore Sir C P Ramaswamy Aiyar. Aiyar was a shrewd administrator and multi-faceted scholar who kept abreast of contemporary developments, including those concerning the modern science. Citing records of local people’s council, Menon says Aiyar advised the reigning prince Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the last Maharaja of Travancore, to invite Einstein to decorate the prestigious academic post. Aiyar thought that the prestige and status of the university would get elevated if a great scientist like Einstein agreed to head it. According to writer and historian M G Sashibhushan CP, as Aiyar was popularly known, had tried to bring not only Einstein but many famous personalities from various academic disciplines as faculty of the university. "I have heard people talking of CP’s public announcement about the proposal first at the Sree Chitra State Council. But as far as I know, unfortunately, the copy of the letter sent to Einstein is yet to be traced," said Sashibhushan. — PTI
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Fund crunch over; CSD car sales to normalise
Chandigarh, January 2 At present, only a very limited number of cars are being released through the CSD, depending upon the criticality of the requirement on the buyers’ part. A special committee for the purpose was set up at the Army headquarters to scrutinise applications from personnel wanting to buy cars. Before the fund crisis, about 3,000 cars were being bought through the CSD across the country each month. At present, this has been reduced to about a 100. Informed sources said that the committee was receiving about 200 applications each month and sale was being sanctioned on the basis of certain parameters like disability, medical grounds etc. A letter from the Quartermaster General’s Branch at Army headquarters had earlier stated that due to inadequate budget for financial year 2010-11, a large amount of payment was outstanding and unless sufficient funds were made available early by the government in 2011-12, payments would be further held up. The letter added that due to delayed or pending payments, dealers in turn refuse or delay delivery of consignments. According to the existing terms of trade, dealers are to be paid within seven days of the delivery of goods. Payments received in advance from customers for purchase of cars and hi-end goods, referred to as AFD-1 items, have to be deposited with the Consolidated Fund of India. For its expenses and for making payments to dealers, separate funds are received by the CSD from the government under the head “supplies and material (S&M) budget allocation”. The amount received by CSD as advance cannot be utilised for making payments to dealers. Payments towards AFD-1 items like cars, two-wheelers, air conditioners, electronic items, washing machines and refrigerators now account for over 20 per cent of the S&M budget. The problem with funds, according to sources, arose due to factors like inflation, price rise and increasing demand not being factored carefully while making budgetary allocations. The CSD has an inventory of about 3,000 items ranging from groceries and items of daily use to consumer goods, liquor and edibles. With outlets established down to the unit level across the country, it has an annual turnover of over Rs 7,000
crore.
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Govt to study cancer risk from asbestos
New Delhi, January 2 In 2006, the WHO had called for preventing the rise of asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) and estimated that globally, over 107,000 deaths annually are caused by these diseases, including asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis (acute respiratory disease).
Despite epidemiological and clinical studies showing that asbestos is capable of causing lung cancer, India continues to allow its use and is its largest importer even though 50 countries, including the European Union, Australia, Japan and New Zealand, have banned it. Currently, 125 million people globally are estimated to be exposed to the mineral at workplace and one lakh are estimated to die annually of lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. In India, no long-term study has ever been done to determine the impact of asbestos used mainly in roof tiles, cement pipes, brakes, clutches, vinyl floor tiles, gaskets and heat insulating materials. The Centre has now asked the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) in Hyderabad to assess the environmental and health impact of asbestos in industries which use it. “We have estimated the impact of asbestos in formal industries identified by the government. We have now been asked to repeat the study in the informal units. There’s a lot of international literature on asbestos hazards, but in India, long-term follow up studies have not been done. It takes 30 years in a population to determine the carcinogenic effect of asbestos,” Dr PK Nag, Director, NIOH, today told the TNS. He said countries which have banned the mineral have banned all its six varieties, though India allows the use of chrysotile asbestos, a lesser toxic variety of asbestos. Shockingly, the consumption of chrysotile asbestos in India has been rising despite evidence of asbestos hazards. In 2008, India consumed 3 lakh tonnes of chrysotile asbestos; the use increased to 3.60 lakh tonnes in 2009; 4 lakh tonnes in 2010; and 4.15 lakh tonnes in 2011.
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Rasheed Masood inducted into CWC
New Delhi, January 2 A statement by party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said Masood had been nominated as special invitee to the CWC with immediate effect. The decision comes on the heels of Masood making a good show of his strength at a rally recently addressed by Congress scion Rahul Gandhi in his area of dominance - Saharanpur. Masood, who hails from the district, managed to pull good crowds for the meeting. Sources said a place for Masood in the CWC was a part of the larger package, which may also include status of Cabinet minister or head of a government organisation at the Centre and Lok Sabha nomination for close relatives in 2014 in area of dominance. Muslims constitute a sizable 18.5 per cent of the state’s population and in 70 of the 403 constituencies, their percentage is around 20. In around 20 constituencies in western UP, 10 in eastern UP, five in central UP and one in Bundelkhand, Muslims constitute around 35 to 40 per cent of the population. Incidentally, Masood has also been with Ajit Singh’s RLD, with which Congress has now entered into a pre-poll alliance to increase its influence in western UP. Party observers believe Masood and Singh will make for a good combination that may swing a sizable number of Jat and Muslim votes in favour of the alliance.
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Accused held after 19 years
Hyderabad, January 2 Najeeb was allegedly involved in the gruesome killing of G Krishna Prasad, Additional Superintendent of Police (Intelligence), here on November 11, 1992, a senior police officer said. After the incident, he was absconding and evading arrest by changing his residence and stayed even in West Bengal for a year, J Satyanarayana, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detective Department) said. —
PTI
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The Congress and the BJP opened their political account in the New Year today trading old charges of sabotaging and subverting the Lokpal Bill and holding each other responsible for the non-passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha on December 29.
Jodhpur, January 2
Migratory birds from neighbouring China as well as Europe have begun flocking to ecologically rich districts in Rajasthan this year, although a little later than usual.
New Delhi, January 2
The Nobel prize winning scientist, considered as the founder of modern physics and one who developed the theory of general relativity, politely declined the invitation saying he wanted to join Princeton University in America.
Sources said that additional funds have been made available by the Central government and the situation was likely to ease, following which the sale of cars through the CSD was expected to resume.