The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Team Anna ups the ante against Cong Releases campaign pamphlet for Assembly elections Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 20 Team Anna members today released a campaign pamphlet for the upcoming assembly elections in which they attacked the ruling Congress, accusing it of betraying the country on the Lokpal issue. The move comes despite their earlier claims that they would not campaign against any political party. The four-page pamphlet titled "Your vote can change the history of India: Betrayal by Central Government on the country" also questioned Rahul Gandhi (Congress), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) and Mayawati (BSP) on the Lokpal and land acquisition issues. Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan, however, claimed their campaign was not against or in favour of a party, but it aimed at highlighting "important" issues like corruption, Lokpal and land acquisition. When asked whether the title of the pamphlet itself does not belie their claims of not targeting a party, Kejriwal countered saying, "Hasn't the government cheated on the whole country". Bhushan said they would raise the Lokpal issues and tell people what all parties did to the Bill. The pamphlet has listed "six betrayals" on the issue of Lokpal by the Central Government while another page titled "Congress' strong Lokpal Bill" cites "deficiencies" in the anti-corruption law. Team Anna also sought answers from Rahul on whether the Congress would dare to bring a strong Lokpal Bill on the lines of the Lokayukta Act in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. "Isn't the ruling party misusing the CBI against Mulayam Singh and Mayawati to garner numbers and remain in power? Does he support this?" Team Anna asked. The activists' poser to the BJP was whether it would bring a strong Lokayukta Bill in party-ruled states and whether they would oppose the "weak" Lokpal Bill brought by the Centre. Questions posed to Mulayam Singh and Mayawati centered around why they preferred to walk out of the Lok Sabha at the time of voting on the Bill, thus helping the Congress.
	Cong promises conditional repeal of AFSPA Guwahati, January 20 Even the poll-time ban imposed by a coordination committee of seven militant organisations in Manipur has failed to coerce the ruling Congress to commit to immediate repeal the ‘draconian’ Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, an apple of discord in the bordering state. The Congress poll manifesto on the issue of demand for repeal of the AFSPA has pledged to recommend withdrawal of the Act subject to improvement of law and order situation in the entire state. “Improvement of law and order will continue to be the main priority. AFSPA has already been withdrawn from the seven assembly segments. Further removal of AFSPA from the remaining part of the state will be considered as and when the situation of the law and order improves,” the manifesto said. — TNS
	Army Chief’s Age Row Govt to wait for SC verdict Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 20 Defence Minister AK Antony today made it clear that the government does not want to get entangled in trying to sort out the age row of Army Chief Gen VK Singh and will wait for the Supreme Court verdict. Antony, who has studiously avoided making any public comment on the matter, today broke his silence on what the ministry opined saying: “Now the matter is before the highest court of India. Let us all wait the verdict of the Supreme Court. Please, let us avoid unnecessary controversies. Let us wait for the final verdict of the Supreme Court.” Antony in the past had never answered any questions from reporters on anything related to the controversy. Today he said the Army headquarters and the government took a decision and the decision has been questioned. “Ours is a democracy. There are constitutional forums to question the decision of the government and now it has been questioned”, he said referring to why the government would opt to wait for the court’s decision. The Tribune in its edition dated January 19 had reported how the government has decided to wait for the Supreme Court to decide the matter of settling the age issue and would not pre-empt the courts. Today Antony announced it officially vindicating what was reported earlier in the newspaper. The decision of the government to wait for the court’s decision was forced due to the vexed issue of deciding the date of birth of the Army Chief. Being an unprecedented case, it was no use trying to sort it out of court, said sources and either way it would have resulted in allegations. Antony said “That’s why, in spite of sometimes being misunderstood, I was keeping silent. Because I believe that this is not an issue that can be decided on public platform or on public debate”. He was interacting with reporters on the sidelines of a NCC function, and when asked to reply to a query as to why the government allowed the age row to linger on for over seven months, said, “You know my position, I am always against public controversy on this issue, but, unfortunately, some of you (media) are celebrating this…it is not my fault. This is not an issue for celebration.”
	Gay writing makes a debut at Jaipur literature fest Vandana Shukla/TNS Jaipur, January 20 The seventh Jaipur Literature Festival opened with a note of caution. The controversy that shrouded Salman Rushdie’s attending or not attending the scheduled sessions resulted in a heightened, multi-layered security ‘bandobast’, never seen before at the festival. In a press conference organised after the inaugural session, a note from Rushdie was read out. “For the past several days, I have made no public comment about my proposed trip to the festival at the request of the authorities in Rajasthan, hoping that they would put in place such precautions as might be necessary to allow me to come and address the festival audience in circumstances that were comfortable and safe for all,” it read. Certainly the circumstances were not comfortable, and a lot of noises were heard through the sessions, voicing the same. In the keynote address, delivered by eminent poets Purushottam Agarwal and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, 'the right to express and the right to know' of the Bhakti period were referred to, resounding the contemporary contexts, in which these rights seem to have been throttled. The poets quoted texts from the period, which reflected liberal enquiry of human mind which promoted a culture of multiplicity. Despite these few notes of dissent, the first day presented multiple perspectives of the written word and the challenges it faces. For the first time, the festival presented a session on gay writing, now better known as 'queer writing'. The vociferous Hoshang Merchant and R Raj Rao minced no words in declaring the hypocrisy of the global world which is at its best to create straightjackets of people, when it comes to their sexual preferences. Hoshang, in fact, took a dig at Vikram Seth, for writing as a straight, despite being a gay. If the 'argumentative Indian' occupied a lot of space, recalling the ancient traditions of debate, doubts were raised, if we are argumentative, then, why don’t we stand up to oppose the few voices that are throttling this great Indian tradition. While stars poets like Gulzar and Ashok Chakradhar had the halls burst at the seams, and the audience applauding, there were serious debates on the small voices in literature, that strengthen bigger movements. These are the small magazines and journals that give first time opportunity to unknown talents. It was debated if they will disappear with the advent of web magazines and blogs. Michael Ondaatje, the Booker award winner writer of The English Patient fame, read out excerpts from his new novel ‘The Cat's Table’. He talked about writing novels on war, and on breaking the mould of the American-English narrative of war where the story ends when the hero flies home, after the war is over. His books offer multiple perspectives, they are like a collage, which is how the life is, it is never monochromatic. His much-talked-about novel ‘The English Patient’ introduced an Indian soldier in the World War II. The debate on the Arab Spring invited heated audience participation, and once again veered to the Salman Rushdie controversy. Sir David Hare, the noted playwright who produced the Oscar winning script of 'The Hours', and Indian playwright Girish Karnad debated the political relevance of theatre. Sir David talked about the rich theatre tradition that still survives in England, while most Indians quizzed Karnad on why this tradition has not survived in India. Along with these voices of concern, there were some celebratory voices, especially from some young writers. Sidelights n For the first time, the festival presented a session on gay writing, now better known as 'queer writing.' n Star poets like Gulzar and Ashok Chakradhar captivated the audiences. n Michael Ondaatje, the Booker Award winner writer, talked about writing novels on war and breaking the mould of the American-English narrative of war where the story ends when the hero flies home, after the conflict is over. n Sir David Hare, the noted playwright who also produced Oscar winning script of 'The Hours', and Indian playwright Girish Karnad debated the political relevance of theatre.
	Modi fasts in Godhra Godhra, January 20 Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today took his 'Sadbhavna' mission fast to Godhra, the epicentre of 2002 communal discord in the state, just a month before the 10th anniversary of the Sabarmati train carnage. Incidentally, the turnout of people from minority community at Modi's fast venue at the SRP ground here was low, contrary to the estimation by local BJP leaders. Even before the fast meant to promote peace, harmony and brotherhood could begin, social activist Shabnam Hashmi and five others of NGO Anhad were detained for organising a convention 'In search of Justice'. Also, former BJP leader Nalin Bhatt was detained from his house in Vadodara early this morning, as he had planned to take out a rally in Godhra against Modi. — PTI
	Costa Concordia Sinking This Hyderabadi chef saved hundreds of lives Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, January 20 For Jonathan Paturi, the 22-year-old cook who survived the shipwreck off the Italian coast, life is not just a journey of adventure. Helping the people in distress has always been the motto of his life. No wonders then that this young Hyderabadi played a key role in rescuing several co-passengers of the ill-fated luxury cruise liner “Costa Concordia” when it hit a rock and sunk off the Tuscan coast last weekend. After surviving the ordeal, Paturi, along with six other survivors, arrived here to an emotional welcome from his family and friends. There were scenes of jubilation at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here late last night when the first batch of seven survivors of the shipwreck arrived from Italy. The joy of their dear ones knew no bounds. “When my son called up from Italy and told us that he rescued hundreds of people on the ill-fated ship, our hearts swelled with pride,” Paturi’s father Solomon Raj Paturi said after an emotional reunion with his son. Along with Paturi, his shipmates Ramesh Kumar, Srikanth Yadav, Srinivas Reddy, Ravikumar, Suresh Chari and Shashidharan, all students of the city-based hotel management institute, returned here, five days after the mishap . Two more survivors from the city are expected to arrive here in a couple of days.
	US backs civilian govt in Pakistan Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 20 Amid the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan, the US today extended its full support to the civilian government and democracy in the country. The relationship with Islamabad was very important for the US and it carefully followed issues of Pakistan, US envoy for Af-Pak region Marc Grossman said. “This is a question for the Pakistanis, this is an internal question for them. They have their own ways of going forward and, so I wouldn’t comment any further on their internal developments,” he said on the tension between the civilian government and the Pakistan Army. Grossman was talking to reporters after talks with Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai to review the situation in Afghanistan. Later, he also met National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon and India’s special envoy on Afghanistan SK Lambah.
	Pune youths post shocking train stunt video online Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, January 20 Officials from the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Pune police are on the lookout for two youths who posted videos of one of them performing dangerous stunts near the Khadki railway station in Pune. In the one-minute video posted on the Internet, a youth standing on the rail tracks suddenly lies down flat between the tracks and lets a train pass over him. Moments after the train has passed over him, the youth jumps up to the cheers of a friend who appears to be recording the scene. Both then pose for the camera. “We will charge them with trespass and endangering railway property among other things,” says Inspector Vishwas Ghadge of the Khadki railway police station. The GRP has also sought help of the Pune police to track the two boys. “We will surely arrest them if we catch them,” says Ghadge. According to the officer, train passengers have provided some vital information about the youths. Meanwhile, security has been tightened near railway tracks to ensure that others do not attempt to copy the two youths. The video which was uploaded on the Internet earlier this month has become a rage with the clip being forwarded on social networking sites.
	Central team challenges Hinduja claims on drug-resistant TB Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, January 20 The team of experts deputed by the government to test claims of emergence of Totally Drug Resistant (TDR) TB cases in Mumbai today rubbished such claims and said the cases reported by PD Hinduja Hospital fell in the category of Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XDR TB) based on the standard WHO definitions. “These cases did not at all fall in the category of Totally Drug Resistant TB, which is a non-standard term, not endorsed by the WHO,” the team said in its final report submitted to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today. The team said there should be no isolation of the remaining resistant patients under treatment as the condition they were suffering was a chronic disease and its transmissibility was reduced drastically by treatment. The government has decided to give free treatment to the patients who reported Extensive Drug Resistance and they will now be covered under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), Maharashtra. The team rubbished the recent claims of some experts of Hinduja Hospital in the Clinical Infectious Disease Journal in December 2011 that four patients from Mumbai had TDR TB. “These patients had extensively drug resistant TB, erroneously labelled as TDR-TB by the authors,” said the report of experts. A careful audit of the prescriptions of resistant patients who later died revealed three of them had received erratic, unsupervised second-line drugs, added individually and often in incorrect doses, from multiple private practitioners (on an average from four physicians during an 18-month period) in an attempt to cure their multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis. “The author urged that patients with MDR tuberculosis only be treated within the confines of government sanctioned MDR TB treatment programmes to prevent the emergence and spread of further drug resistance. Subsequently, eight more cases have been reported by Hinduja Hospital, subsequent to the publication in the journal, the team today reported after holding extensive consultations at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, with eminent experts on the subject from medical colleges in Mumbai, some premium private hospitals, civil society representatives and professional associations. After the consultations, the central team concurred on three major points - there was no TDR TB and what was seen by Hinduja doctors was only Extensive Drug Resistant TB; patients still reporting resistance will be treated free of cost and will not be kept in isolation. The team also said the experts agreed that RNTCP guidelines for quality diagnosis and management of XDR TB should be applied in all such cases of extensive resistance and diagnosis of XDR TB be based on microbiological confirmation from the accredited national reference laboratories, namely the National Institute of Research in TB, Chennai, the National TB Institute, Bangalore, and the LRS Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi. Hinduja Hospital had reported TDR cases even though their lab is not accredited to test such cases. Meanwhile, out of the reported 12 patients who exhibited high resistance, nine have been traced and found to be stable on current treatment while three have since died. Seven of these nine patients are residents of Mumbai and one each hails from Meera-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
	Mysore firm works overtime to make voters’ ink Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS Bangalore, January 20 With elections in five states round the corner, workers in the public sector firm Mysore Paints and Varnishes Ltd (MPVL) are working overtime to manufacture indelible ink that will be used to mark voters’ fingers to prevent any of them from casting their vote a second time. After there were widespread allegations that many people had cast votes several times in the 1951 and 1957 elections, the Election Commission had first introduced the system of marking the fingers of voters with indelible ink during the 1962 general elections. The MPVL was chosen for supply of the ink. According to C Harakumar, general manager with the MPVL, the first consignment of ink for the coming elections in Punjab, Uttaranchal, Manipur and Goa was sent on January 5. For Uttar Pradesh, one lakh vials of indelible ink are initially being supplied. UP will require a total of 3.8 lakh vials, followed by 48,000 vials required by Punjab, 25,000 vials by Uttaranchal, 6,500 vials by Manipur and 5,000 by Goa. Harakumar said a 10-ml vial costs Rs 65.50 and is enough for marking fingers of 750 persons. MPVL supplies ink for elections against the orders placed by the Election Commission. Additional consignments are sent as and when the need arises. The MPVL has also been supplying the ink abroad for use during elections. South Africa, Nepal, Turkey and Bhutan are among some 25 countries which have been importing the indelible ink manufactured by the Mysore factory. MPVL is supposed to be accepting orders from foreign clients only after domestic demands are thoroughly fulfilled. MPVL was established by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1937 and was brought under the state government control after India became independent.
	Hit-and-run case: Pereira sent to jail Mumbai, January 20 City-based businessman Alistair Pereira, sentenced to three years in jail for mowing down seven persons in 2006, was today sent to prison after he surrendered before the police, over a week after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction and cancelled his bail. "Pereira surrendered before us this morning. The Sewri Court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him last evening," said Mangesh Pote, Senior Inspector at Khar Police Station. The police then took Pereira to the Sewri Sessions Court, which had tried him. After being presented before the Judge and completion of formalities at around 2.30 pm, the 27- year-old was sent to Arthur Road Jail in Central Mumbai. — PTI
	Ex-servicemen question legality of fresh pension regulations Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 20 Raising objections over the content and the manner of issue of the fresh version of the Pension Regulations for the Army, issued by the Department of Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare (DESW) earlier this month, veterans have raised questions about the legality of such a document. Claiming that the new regulations have been issued “unilaterally” by the DESW and in violation of the laid down procedures without consulting the stakeholders, veterans have pointed out that the regulations, approved by the Defence Minister, apply only to those who retired after 2008, but these do not incorporate important pensionary changes brought about by the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC). In a representation to Defence Minister AK Antony, the Indian Ex-servicemen’s Movement has sought cancellation of the freshly issued pension regulations and a review of the Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961, which the new regulations supposedly supersede, as per laid down procedure and in consultation with the stakeholders that include the relevant central government ministries and departments, banks and treasuries as well as the pensioners. The DESW has maintained that the post-SPC changes would be included in the form of insertions after these are finalised by the office of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions). Terming the new norms to be the work of departmental accountants rather than policy makers and experts, the representation contends that these new regulations of 2008 were drafted jointly by the office of the Controller General of Defence Accounts and the PCDA(P). It, therefore, seemed illogical that these regulations of 2008 have been issued in 2012 and that too without incorporating changes introduced by the SPC with effect from January 1, 2006. “The Constitutional mandate for dealing with general pensionary guidelines of civilian and defence pensioners is of the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DPPW) and not of the DESW,” Maj Navdeep Singh, a service lawyer said. “Hence to issue such ‘regulations’ without the sanction of DPPW prima-facie appears to be without lawful authority. DPPW guidelines stipulate that pensionary rules can only be changed through a democratic consultative process involving other stakeholders,” he added. Regulations have been issued earlier after acceptance of pay commission recommendations by the Cabinet through presidential sanctions. Veterans pointed out that many provisions mentioned in the new regulations have been totally done away with or abrogated by the Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions. Also, recent judicial rulings have led to many provisions being quashed, read-down, struck-down or differently interpreted.
	Bihar to chase criminals beyond prison Sanjay Singh/TNS Patna, January 20 Bihar has claimed to have become the first state in the country to introduce the concept of “Civil Consequences of Crime” by posting detailed information about all criminals whose appeals against conviction had been rejected by the competent courts on a website prepared by the state Home Department. Launching the website, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it was another step towards curbing criminal activities and establishing the rule of law in the state. Soon after assuming the office, the government of Nitish Kumar had initiated the concept of “speedy trial” against lawbreakers by ensuring faster trials in special courts constituted for the purpose. Then the government came out with the theory of “speedy appeal” against all criminals who had been enlarged on bail and their appeals against conviction were pending with different courts. Now it has decided to put on public domain all particulars about such convicts so that they are deprived of the benefits enjoyed by the common people. As per the prevailing law of the land, a convict can neither get an arms licence, nor a passport. The convicts are also debarred from many other facilities like a bank loan, government job or contract. They can neither be issued a licence for opening a PDS shop nor given petrol pump or LPG agencies. The convicts, all this while, could hide the information about their conviction while seeking above-mentioned facilities. But with the state government now putting all their personal particulars on a website, it would become very difficult for them to conceal their identity. Anybody can check and verify about their criminal antecedents. Director-General of Police Abhayanand, who is credited to have conceptualised the idea to make public the civil consequences of crime, said.