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Restore my honour, Nair writes to Prime Minister
Sonia, Maya campaigns move into top gear
Amarinder heads for UP manifesto release
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4 acquitted in Mumbai teen murder case
Health Scam
AIADMK charges Centre of being unhelpful
MCI clueless about 93 docs convicted for gender tests
Bypassing censor board, filmmaker releases J&K documentary online
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act
Mulayam’s poll promise to rape victims creates uproar
Drunken MP teacher makes schoolgirls dance; suspended Tyeb Mehta painting sells for over
Rs 2 cr
26/11: India to ask US,
Pak to extradite nine accused
14 nations to join India in naval exercise
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Restore my honour, Nair writes to Prime Minister
"I have represented to the Prime Minister and asked him to quash the order as well as conduct an inquiry into the matter," Nair said today, adding the government should restore his honour. "I am not interested in any government favours. What I am interested is restoring the honour of myself and my colleagues," said the ex-chairman of the ISRO. In his letter to the Prime Minister, Nair wanted an inquiry into the government’s move of blacklisting four scientists in connection with the Antrix-Devas deal. The architect of the maiden unmanned Moon mission Chandrayan-I separately said there should be a "proper procedure" in proceeding with all these matters before an official order is issued. On the statement of Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy that the government is ready to hear their views, Nair said: “If it is a real move from the government’s side, it is good.” Nair demanded an apology from those responsible for taking punitive action against the four space scientists. "They owe an apology not to me but to the whole country. Somebody has taken law into their hands and they have to apologise before the country", said Nair when asked if those who issued the order should tender an apology. Nair said the earlier order was issued as per the direction of the government and "competent authority has taken a decision." "Now, if the government is serious about it, it has to direct the so-called competent authority to do the needful (revoke the order)", he said. He also said the government should approach him and the three scientists directly rather than seeking their views through the media, asserting that truth has to be established as it's a question of their honour. "If any time they ask our views, we will give our views,” Nair said. "The first order copy debarring us from government service has not reached us. Now even such a communication, even if it is there, the government should communicate to us directly. Why through media?", he said, adding he has filed a Right to Information application seeking all details. The other three scientists who have been barred from holding any government job were former scientific secretary A Bhaskarnarayana, ISRO's former satellite centre director KN Shankara and former Antrix Corporation executive director KR Sridharamurthi. The scientific community has rallied behind Nair and the three scientists with Prof CNR Rao, head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, saying they had been "thrown out like garbage." “We are citizens of India, residing in India, we have cell (mobile phone) connection and email connection, we have postal address and every thing is there", Nair said. He said, "The truth has to be established. The truth will remain truth always. So, the government should try to collect details from the concerned people and try to establish the truth". Asked if the "reconciliation tone" of the government was because of strong reaction against the order by the scientific community, he said it's quite possible. "This is a question of honour of senior-most scientists of the country and the government has a responsibility to restore their honour", Nair said. To a question, he said he has not undergone "so much mental strain" (following the order) even when he faced failure of first PSLV rocket in 1993. — PTI
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Sonia, Maya campaigns move into top gear
Lucknow, January 30 After finishing a stint of intensive campaigning in Punjab and Uttarakhand, both women have announced their decision to turn their attention to what is electorally supposed to be the most crucial state - UP, from February 1. According to Congress General Secretary and UP in-charge Digvijay Singh, the Congress president would address two public meetings at Deoria and Gonda on February 1. He said she is expected to address at least one major public rally in each of the seven phases. According to the BSP state unit, the party’s national president Mayawati’s engagement would be far more intensive. In the first phase, she would address eight public rallies covering 12 districts. On February 1, she would address two public rallies at Sitapur and Barabanki. On February 2, she would be speaking at Ambedkar Nagar and Faizabad. On February 3, she would address a joint meeting for Bahraich and Shravsti at Bahraich and a joint meeting for Gonda and Balrampur at Balrampur. On the last day of the current phase of campaigning, she would address a joint meeting for Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharth Nagar at Basti and another meeting at Maharjganj. Till now, besides the candidates, the only other star campaigner for the BSP has been national general secretary Satish Mishra. He has been addressing rallies after BSP supremo Mayawati announced the final list of candidates on her birthday on January 15. The Congress officially launched its election campaign with a grand rally in Phulpur on November 14, 2011 which was addressed by the party’s General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. Since then, Rahul alone has addressed around 100 rallies. The next phase of his campaigning begins tomorrow with him addressing meetings at Sitapur, Barabanki and
Faizabad.
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Amarinder heads for UP manifesto release
New Delhi, January 30 Inclusion of Amarinder Singh, whom Rahul Gandhi publicly announced as the next Chief Minister if the Congress was elected to power in Punjab, in the list of central leaders that includes Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni and Ghulam Nabi Azad is being perceived as a reiteration of party scion’s “faith” in his state Congress chief. Apart from Digvijaya Singh, Sheila Dixit, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Jairam Ramesh, the Central leadership representatives who will unveil the Congress’ list of promises for UP also includes Sam Pitroda-the IT czar who started the telecom revolution in India and is now emerging as a star campaigner for the party in the state thanks to his OBC status. The Congress which is expected to rain promises for minorities and backward classes in its election manifesto is projecting Pitroda as the face of the OBCs in the state. When asked the reason behind selecting Pitroda, Prime Minister’s Adviser Public Infrastructure, Information and Innovations, first for the release of Rahul Gandhi’s Vision 2020 document and now the election manifesto, all that Congress spokesman Mohan Prakash said was “he (Pitroda) is a sympathiser of the Congress”. The party would release its manifesto at Lucknow and nine other major towns simultaneously “in an effort to reach more people in the country’s most populous state in a diversified manner”, Mohan Prakash said.
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4 acquitted in Mumbai teen murder case
Mumbai, January 30 Sujit Nair, Ayush Bhat, Rajeev Dharaiya and Amit Kausha were acquitted by Judge SA Deshmukh of the Sessions Court after the defence picked a number of holes in the prosecution’s case. A fifth accused in the case was tried by the juvenile court since he was minor at the time of the murder. Acquitting the four, the court said there was no reason to believe that the murder was carried out by the four accused. The body of Adnan was discovered on August 2007 at an isolated place in Navi Mumbai shortly after he went missing from his home in suburban Andheri. The police said Adnan was strangled to death. A Skoda car belonging to his father was discovered at the posh Palm Beach road in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. The youth’s parents subsequently told the police that Adnan had gone to meet his friends at a gaming parlour at a mall in suburban Mumbai. The police said Adnan, a computer gaming fan, had got acquainted with the youths on social networking site Orkut and regularly met them at the gaming station at the mall. The accused zeroed in on Adnan since he came from a wealthy family. After persuading Adnan to take them for a drive, they gave him a spiked drink that rendered the boy unconscious. The next morning, Adnan’s father received a call asking for a ransom of Rs 2 crore. However, the family lodged a complaint with the police. The kidnappers panicked after the news appeared on television. They strangled Adnan and dumped his body at Navi Mumbai. Investigators probing the case zeroed in on the alleged killers after scanning the chat messages between them and Adnan. However, the case fell apart in the court after the main witness produced by the police claimed to have seen Adnan’s body on August 19, 2007, while the police said the body was discovered the following day. Adnan's family is, however, shocked at the verdict.
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Lokayukta for CBI cases against UP’s former minister
Shahira Naim/TNS
Lucknow, January 30 After being expelled from the BSP following the multi-crore rupee NRHM scam expose, Kushwaha had joined the BJP earlier this month. In a letter to Chief Minister Mayawati, the Lokayukta today reportedly asked for an FIR to be filed against Kushwaha. He said that in the four complaints being investigated by his office, Kushwaha had not replied to two charges and the reply to the third complaint was unsigned. “He has not denied any of the charges of corruption against him,” Lokayukta Mehrotra has informed the CM in the letter, while suggesting her to ask Kushwaha to file his reply within a month. The first complaint pertains to illegal mining, wherein he is alleged to have issued mining leases to his own men without the required permission of the Union Environment Ministry. He is also accused of using machines where they are prohibited. According to Justice Mehrotra, the then minister had put in advertisements in unknown newspapers like Agnipath, Karmayug and Radical Times based in Banda and Mahoba. Another complaint against the former minister pending before the Lokayukta is regarding parking of money in five societies and partnership firms based in Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi. One of the partnership firms named Darpan Mercantile is based in Mumbai. Kushwaha and his wife have also been accused of acquiring wealth under different names.
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AIADMK charges Centre of being unhelpful
Chennai, January 30 "The continued attempts by the Union Government to push through legislations encroaching upon state powers and the adoption of a one-size-fits-all approach in designing schemes do not augur well for a healthy Centre-State relationship", Governor K Rosaiah said in his address to the Assembly. Asking the Centre to adopt a flexible approach in formulating and implementing national schemes by fixing only the broad objectives and framework, he said the states should have the freedom of designing the schemes to meet their specific needs. This could be done by dovetailing Central funds with the state's resources providing better synergy and focusing on achieving intended goals, Rosaiah said. In his address, Rosaiah referred to the Mullaperiyar Dam issue on which Tamil Nadu is locked in dispute with Kerala, attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, relief to Thane-hit people and various other schemes being formulated by the Jayalalitha-led government. On the Centre's Food Security Bill, he said the proposed measure needed "drastic modifications, incorporating provisions for providing flexibility to the state governments or for exempting those States which already have a well-functioning system from the application of the Act". "We will voice our opposition to the Food Security Bill in its present form as proposed by the Union Government", he said, adding, Tamil Nadu has the best functioning universal PDS in the country. On the Mullaperiyar Dam row, Rosaiah said, "Unfortunately, being a lower riparian State, Tamil Nadu has often been the victim of false and parochial campaigns launched with short-sighted political interests and the persistent indifference of the Union Government". Tamil Nadu has shown "utmost restraint and ably handled the recent incidents", the Governor said, adding, "the attempts on the part of the Kerala state to whip up mass fear and insecurity through false propaganda have been the primary cause of these (violent) incidents". Appealing to the people of Kerala not to succumb to such "malicious campaigns", Rosaiah categorically stated that Tamil Nadu government would "never compromise on the rights of our State and the livelihood of our farmers and will defend our rights in all appropriate fora and courts of law". Asking the Centre to direct Kerala to abide by the Supreme Court decision, he said the time has come for a rethink on the present institutional framework as several inter-state river water disputes remain unresolved for many years. Tamil Nadu also said the Centre's proposed Dam Safety Bill, 2010 should ensure entrusting the safety of dams to the Dam Safety Cell of the State owning the dam, instead of the state where it is situated. Expressing deep concern about continuing attacks on and harassment of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, he urged the Centre to take up this issue strongly with Colombo. Rosaiah also reiterated Tamil Nadu government's clear resolve to "regain" Kachchatheevu so as to restore the lost rights of its fishermen. — PTI
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MCI clueless about 93 docs convicted for gender tests
New Delhi, January 30 A few days after the Ministry of Health said it had asked the Medical Council of India (MCI) to cancel the licences of 93 doctors convicted by courts for determining the sex of foetuses in violation of the existing law, the MCI has said it was not aware who these medical practitioners were and would collect this data soon. The council, primarily responsible for maintaining and regulating standards of medical education, also maintains a register of certified medical practitioners in the country. Under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation 2002, it is supposed to maintain ethical standards and thereby, also keep tabs on convictions under the PCPNDT Act. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had specifically sought MCI’s active involvement in the cancellation of licences of doctors violating the PCPNDT Act after he reconstituted the Central supervisory board under the law last year following Census revelations on child sex ratio drop from 927 (in 2001) to 914 for every 1,000 boys. But the council, it seems, needs help in gathering data on erring doctors. Last week, the Health Ministry had asked the MCI to cancel licences of 93 doctors convicted for determining foetal sex under the PCPNDT Act. When asked what action they were contemplating, council officials said they did not have the requisite data. “We have made inquiries. We do not have this information. We have asked the officers concerned to write to all stakeholders and state governments and get the data for further action. The issue is extremely crucial,” Dr Purushottam Lal, member, MCI Board of Governors told The Tribune. MCI officials said they would write to the Health Ministry to seek the details of the 93 doctors. Importantly, under the PCPNDT Act, the appropriate authorities (district magistrates) are required to intimate convictions of doctors to state medical councils who then have to send the information to the MCI for action. The MCI Ethics Committee has to ensure that all convicted doctors are punished according to the provisions of the law which prescribe the removal of convicted doctors’ name from the medical register of the MCI for five years upon the first offence and permanent deletion and loss of docs’ licence upon the second offence. In the long history of the law, only 93 convictions have been secured out of the 1,040 court cases that were filed. Out of those convicted, 15 doctors have so far lost their
licences.
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Bypassing censor board, filmmaker releases J&K documentary online
Mumbai, January 30 According to Kumar, the documentary has been put together with footage shot for his earlier work, ‘Inshallah Football’, which was first banned by the Central Board of Film Certification. The documentary was later allowed to be released with an ‘A’ certificate following a public outcry. "I have released the movie on the Internet so that all Indians can watch the film free of cost," Kumar said in a statement. ‘Inshallah Kashmir: Living Terror’ is a compilation of live interviews. “The statements of the interviewees are completely their own. The explicit nature of the content may affect the viewer’s sensibility and therefore viewer discretion is advised,” Kumar says in a warning note posted on the film’s page hosted on YouTube. Explaining the rationale behind making the documentary, Kumar says he aims to unveil the “enormity of the situation in Kashmir, which has been kept hidden”.
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Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act
New Delhi, January 30 Protection Officers (POs), pictured as individuals who would guide women to seek remedy and write Domestic Incident Reports for them, continue to believe domestic violence is a woman's family affair; that most cases of domestic violence can best be solved through counselling and that women beaten up by husbands because they committed adultery should not be helped under the law. While these trends are pan-Indian, the analysis of the law's working in Delhi, the capital where it has done better than anywhere else, shows that a fair number of Protection Officers partially agreed when asked to react to the statement - "There are times when women deserve to be beaten." Fifty per cent said a woman who faces domestic violence because of adultery should not be protected under the Act. The survey findings form part of the 5th Monitoring Report of the PWDVA brought out by the Lawyers' Collective and International Centre for Research on Women. The findings include the fact that police officers are discouraging women from seeking justice and are pushing them into "settlement". "In most states, annual reports successfully flaunt settled cases. These are the cases where a woman was asked to patch up and go home. I reject this practice as it subverts the very purpose of the law," Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh, who is also Executive Director of Lawyers' Collective Women's Rights Initiative, said after the report was released. The most disturbing aspects of the survey relate to the attitudes of POs towards what they perceive to be domestic violence. Between 2009 and 2011, two surveys were done to examine shifts in attitudes of people whose role determines the law's success. The survey took their comments on some statements. On the statement "Domestic Violence is a family affair", 57.1 per cent of Delhi's protection officers said yes, indicating they still don't see it as a social problem or anyone else's affair. The survey reported an increase from 7 to 21 per cent in the number of protection officers who partially agreed to the statement - "There are times when a woman deserves to be beaten". There was a jump — from 26.7 per cent to 35. 7 per cent — in the proportion of POs who partially agreed with the statement "Women, before filing a case under the law, should consider how that would affect their children." About 14 of Delhi's POs said they partially agreed to the statement — "It is predominantly poor men who beat up their wives". In 2009, the survey found 60 per cent protection officers agreeing to granting relief under the law to women who face violence due to adultery. In 2011, this percentage had dropped only marginally to 50 per cent. A lesser number of protection officers now feel that men should be covered by the law. Against 40 per cent who wanted it that way in 2009, only 21.4 per cent wanted it so in 2011.
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Mulayam’s poll promise to rape victims creates uproar
New Delhi, January 30 Slamming the statement as anti-women and one that will give a spurt to crimes against women in UP, Tirath said the statement was made with a political motive and was highly offensive. Mamta Sharma urged the Election Commission to take cognizance of the statement saying it was meant as an allurement for people to vote in his favour. “This statement is highly alluring, is an insult to women and is a violation of the model code of conduct. The EC should take note of it,” she said. — TNS
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Drunken MP teacher makes schoolgirls dance; suspended
Betul (MP), January 30 The incident came to light on January 23 when the girls complained to Betul Collector Chandra Shekhar Borkar that the drunken teacher not only forced them to dance but also caned them when they were unable to perform properly in a closed room. The Collector, after conducting a probe, suspended the teacher the next day for indulging in the indecent act, official sources said today. The parents of one of the schoolboys (aged around 10) also alleged that the teacher asked him to buy a liquor bottle from a nearby shop after handing over Rs 30 to him. Earlier also, allegations of misbehaviour with girl students and committing irregularities in the mid-day meal scheme were levelled against Malviya. Malviya, however, refuted the charge, claiming that he was the victim of a conspiracy hatched by a woman teacher who wanted him out of the school. He said, “I have never touched any child. I am only supervising the cultural activities. I did not bring any alcohol to school neither did I ask any boy to get it. My vehicle didn’t have petrol, so I asked a middle school student to bring that for me. A madam has made all this against me to defame me.” Taking the issue seriously, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president Kantilal Bhuria had sent a committee headed by State Congress general secretary Shashi Rajput which after a probe also substantiated the charges levelled by schoolgirls against the teacher. The committee also demanded suspension of the District Education Officer (DEO) for reinstating Malviya who was earlier also suspended following allegations of rape and misbehaviour. He was re-posted at the same school by the DEO. —
PTI
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Tyeb Mehta painting sells for over
Rs 2 cr
New Delhi, January 30 In the Osian's Connoisseurs of Art auction that concluded on January 27, out of the 123 lots put up for auction 82 (65.6 per cent) were sold with net sales of Rs 14,14,02,200 and an average lot price of Rs 17,24,415, according to information released by the auction house today. The highest bid of Two rare miniatures — Folio leaf from a Harivamsha Khil Series (Kangra School) and Folio leaf from a Mahabharata Series (Kangra or Guler School) fetched Rs 52,80,000 each. The auction, second in the series of four auctions in the Creative India Series by the auction house manifested an improvement in terms of revenue on the "Bengal" auction held in December 2011 that had realised Rs 7.95 crores in sales. There was a gap of about eighteen months between the auction in 2009 and the first auction in Creative India Series in December 2011. — PTI
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26/11: India to ask US,
Pak to extradite nine accused
New Delhi, January 30 Government sources said the extradition requests to the US and Pakistan will be sent "very soon" as all the nine persons were directly involved in the conspiracy as well as executing the India's worst terror strike. The move comes a month after the National Investigation Agency chargesheeted LeT operative Headley, Hafiz Saeed, Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Headley's accomplice and Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana and Al-Qaida operative Illyas Kashmiri for plotting terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 strikes. Sajid Malik, handler of Headley, and Abdul Rehman Hashmi, former Pakistani Army officer, were also named in the chargesheet besides two officers Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali who believed to be working for Pakistan's spy agency. The extradition requests will be sent to the US despite the fact that Headley had entered into a plea bargain with American authorities to escape harsh sentence. Both Headley and Rana are at present in custody of US authorities and NIA has only got a limited access to Headley. The seven others are believed to be in Pakistan and New Delhi does not have any extradition pact with Islamabad. "We hope that American and Pakistani courts will take cognizance of our requests and give judgments in favour of their extradition as all the nine were involved in one of the gravest crime in the world in recent time," a source said. The
NIA had registered a case against 50-year-old Headley and Rana on
November 12, 2009, and later on added other names after investigation by
central security agencies showed a large number of people involved in
terror activities against the country. Rana, 50, was found guilty by the
US court of terror activities in Denmark but absolved of his role in the
26/11 strikes in Mumbai. — PTI
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When Didi used a saucepan
to bathe
Kolkata, January 30
I had left a saucepan in the bathroom because in American hotels, it is
difficult to get buckets or mugs. When I entered my room, I bumped into
the cleaning lady and she was quite bewildered about the saucepan in the
bathroom,” Banerjee writes in her just-published memoirs “My
Unforgettable Memories”.
“I tried to explain to her that I use it to take my bath but
she just could not understand,” she says, recalling the funny
incident. Call her unsmart or whatever, the CM once rode pillion on a
motorbike in rural Bengal and even now wears ‘hawai chappals’
(rubber slippers) to office.
She was candid enough to say in her book, “When it comes to things
like this (shopping), I am not very smart; in fact, kids today are far
smarter than me.” She said she had never been fond of dressing up and
wearing make-up.
While returning from the same trip, where she had gone as part of a UN
delegation, she wrongly bought lip balms in place of lipsticks while
shopping for gifts for friends and family with her $100 savings.
“For the girls in my family I bought chapsticks (a brand of lip balm)
believing they were lipsticks. When I gave it to them, I said, “See
aren’t the colours pretty”. They said, “Sure, but they are all the
same colour... these are chapsticks.” When all the girls, including
her niece, started laughing at her, she gave them a curt reply, “Next
time, one of you should come along to make sure that I am buying the
right stuff.” But the girls said they were happy that ‘Didi’
bought something for them.
“At home, I sometimes amuse myself styling or cutting hair and my
victims are the ladies of our household. But otherwise, it is my family
that takes care of my needs — everything from toothpaste, to saris,
and bedsheets. I do not keep track of all this and my mother and I
pretty much live like guests in our own house,” she writes in the
book published by Roli Books. — PTI
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14 nations to join India in naval exercise
New Delhi, January 30
The five-day exercise will see participation of Seychelles and Mauritius for the first time in the event where nine countries including India will field warships. —
PTI
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Two women presidents of national parties - Sonia Gandhi of the Congress and Mayawati of the BSP - till now passive observers of UP’s election campaign, will jump into the arena on February 1, taking the battle to recapture UP into top gear.
Bangalore, January 30
