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CVC, CBI to devise joint mechanism for 2G probe Priyanka bats for PM, Chidambaram |
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Marginalised Muslims hold the key
Wagah to get integrated check post this month
12 Pakistanis held in Kutch
Culling begins in Odisha, 18,000 birds killed on Day 1
Ritual to ‘ward off evil
spirits’ at NIT sparks row Chandigarh-model rehab plan mooted for Assam crime victims After flunking test, teachers throng coaching centres 9 Bihar babus caught copying in exam Physicians protest against longer MBBS duration
Urdu is second language in West Bengal DRDO develops low-cost hearing device kudankulam N-Plant Falak’s suspected mother traced
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CVC, CBI to devise joint mechanism for 2G probe New Delhi, February 5 According to sources, heads of the two organisations will meet this month to decide on a blueprint for further investigations into the scam. "CVC Pradeep Kumar will be meeting CBI director AP Singh to finalise the further course of action in the investigations," an official in know of the development told IANS. The sources said the CVC would propose to the CBI director to hold regular meetings after every two weeks to monitor the probe. The monitoring follows the Supreme Court asking the CVC to oversee the probe related to the allocation of 2G licence to private telecom companies in 2008. The Supreme Court cancelled these licences after finding their allocation by former communications minister A Raja as "arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest".
— IANS
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Priyanka bats for PM, Chidambaram
Lucknow, February 5 Asked whether the time had come for Rahul Gandhi to take over as Prime Minister, she shot back by saying, “I don’t think that is the focus of his politics. You may think in those terms but he does not. His focus is on ushering in change and development. We have a very good Prime Minister and the question of replacing him does not arise.” Even the Congress spokesperson could not have done better, quipped a wag.
Will a poor result affect Rahul’s reputation? Pat came the reply, “ He is not concerned with his reputation. He is concerned with his work. Only cowards do not lead from the front.” The much more rude question on what she thought of her description by the BSP and the BJP as a “seasonal frog”, elicited an even answer. “They can say that about me but not about my mother or brother. I am not in politics and it is true that these days I do not come so frequently. I did when I was looking after the constituency on behalf of my mother. But both she and Rahul are here regularly, Rahul almost every second day.” In election meetings, her refrain is the same. “For 22 years you have tried other parties but what have you got ? Vote for our candidate this time and Rahul will ensure that the MLA works for you”. When will she join politics? The question, she tells the interlocutor, is being put to her since she was 15 years old. Now that she is 40, her answer remains the same. Referring to the attacks on her by the opposition, she disarms the questioner. “I am not in politics but if they still want to attack me, they can undoubtedly do so...do they want me to enter politics? Ask Rajnath Singh and Uma Bharti...,” she answered playfully. A formidable performance by any reckoning.
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Marginalised Muslims hold the key Lucknow, February 5 The Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh this month is witnessing a renewed assertion of their rights by Pasmanda (marginalised) Muslims. They have been demanding a proportionate share in the distribution of ticket by various parties and for the first time, it would appear, the parties have tried to humour them. While Pasmanda Muslims constitute 85 per cent of the Muslim population in the state, very few of them, negligible in number, have so far been fielded by political parties in elections. While some of the marginalised sections among the Hindus, and tribals, get elected on seats reserved for them, most or nearly all of the Muslim candidates enjoy both money and muscle power. In doctrinal Islam there is no concept of caste system. However, in South Asia, one does find various stratas among Muslims, one of them being Ashrafs and Ajlafs. Ashrafs claim a superior status derived from their foreign ancestry. The non- Ashrafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and are therefore drawn from the indigenous population. They, in turn, are divided into a number of occupational castes. In addition to the Ashraf/Ajlaf divide, there is also the Arzal caste among Muslims, who were regarded as the equivalent of untouchables. The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc. Political parties have taken note of this changing environment within the community and have responded accordingly. Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chadhury said, “This time almost half of the 84 Muslim candidates are from the OBC communities. Candidates are still being changed and readjusted so that this number can go up.” The BSP spokesperson R A Mittal said that they do not recognise the concept of Pasmanda Muslims. “We have given sufficient representation to the Ansar, Mansuri and other biradaries. But we have not counted”. The Congress has given 22 out of 57 seats (39 percent) to the OBCs, claimed spokesperson Dr Hilal Ahmad Naqvi. As the Congress party media department took its time working out numbers it appears that there was no apparent strategy in giving more seats to the marginalised Muslims and their winnability may have been the only factor. “It is difficult to know the caste of the Muslim from his name alone” confessed the spokesperson. The Nitish Kumar model of winning over the marginalised Muslims, who form the bulk of the Muslim population in Bihar too, is certainly playing somewhere in the psyche of the political parties. But not enough to upset the existing applecart of Muslim faces within the parties, who all happen to be from the well-heeled Ashraf class. Founder President of the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, Ali Anwar Ansari, who is also a Janta Dal (U) MP, admits that this time political parties have given better representation to Muslims in general but is still sceptical of the claims regarding high percentage of ticket given to the marginalised in the community. Realisation, says Ansari, is slowly dawning that Muslims are not a homogeneous community. “ Marginalised Muslims are also realising that till now the Ashrafs have had the lion’s share of the offices and positions in the name of minorities and they (the non-Ashrafs) have been treated shabbily like a vote bank.”
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Wagah to get integrated check post this month
The ICP at Attari near Amritsar is the first of the planned 13 ICPs being set up in different states and the only one on the Indo-Pakistan border. There would be seven ICPs along the Indo-Bangladesh border, four along the Indo-Nepal border and one on the Indo-Myanmar border. Each ICP would have modules for border security, customs, immigration, health and other allied facilities. Sources said though the construction work at the Attari ICP is complete, some paraphernalia for surveillance and information management is yet to be installed. A trial run of traffic through the ICP was conduction this week and February 13 is the tentative date for the inauguration. The ICP, being constructed by RITES, was earlier scheduled to be completed by April last year, but there was some delay on account of time taken for arriving at a mutual decision between both sides on the site of a second border gate. Some decisions on the construction of a new road, fencing and realignment of high- tension line and other related issues also got delayed. Set up at a cost of Rs 150 crore over an area of 120 acres, the ICP provides terminal and warehouses as filters where vehicles from across the border will unload and transfer goods and passengers to an Indian vehicle after due checks and processes. According to available information, on an average about 100-150 trucks from either side cross the Indo-Pak border. While Indian trucks have an average cargo carrying capacity of 15 tonnes, the Pakistani trucks ferry in 25 tonnes each. Only a handful of individuals cross over each day except when religious jathas go across or there is some major event like a cricket match. All land traffic, including the Delhi-Lahore bus service, will cross over through the ICP. The existing designated entry and exit points on the international borders are characterised by unplanned growth, leading to chaotic management, delays and traffic jams. Moreover, sovereign functions such as customs, immigration and security is often being undertaken with inadequate infrastructure and several related amenities and services essential to such functions as well as to smooth movement of goods and peole are lacking. The ICPs would have dedicated lanes based upon requirement and sovereign functions would be performed through convenient locations for efficiency and coordination.
Border management
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12 Pakistanis held in Kutch
Kutch (Guj), February 5 BSF Crocodile commandos caught the Pakistanis from the district's west coast by following footmarks left by them in the mud, they said. The twelve had arrived in two boats, officials said, adding their trawlers
got stuck in the marshy creek area as the sea water had receded. The Pakistani nationals were handed over to Narayan Sarovar police station, from where they would be taken to the Joint Interrogation Centre in the district headquarters of Bhuj for questioning by various intelligence agencies. Besides fishing equipment, nothing incriminating was found from the seized boats, BSF officials said. The creek, which opens into the Arabian Sea, divides the Kutch region of Gujarat with the Sindh province of Pakistan.— PTI
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Culling begins in Odisha, 18,000 birds killed on Day 1
Bhubaneswar, Feb 5 The culled birds were buried in a huge pit dug for the purpose and elaborate arrangements made for disinfecting the area, a senior official in Fisheries and Animal Resources Development department said. Out of the over 18,000 birds culled on the first day of the operation carried out at the CPDO, about 15,000 were chicks meant for supply to different poultry farms in the state, the official said. Ten rapid response teams have been formed to handle the situation. While five teams have been engaged in the culling operation, the rest were creating awareness among people urging them to cooperate in the process. — PTI
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Ritual to ‘ward off evil
spirits’ at NIT sparks row Hyderabad, February 5 The ritual, “Chandi Yagam”, was performed at the residence of the Director Prof T Srinivas Rao inside NIT campus over the weekend. It raised the hackles of rationalists and a section of students and the staff of the prestigious college who questioned the logic behind organising religious rituals in a scientific institution. The special yagam came against the backdrop of a string of suicides in the campus and some tragic incidents involving students in the recent past. During 2011, two BTech students committed suicide inside the campus while two others died in freak accidents. It is widely believed that the Director had decided to perform the ritual to ward off the evil influences on the institution. However, Prof Rao strongly refuted the perception and asserted that the ritual was his “personal affair” and the institute had nothing to do with it. “My wife offers prayers during the holy month of Karthika. We have performed ‘Satyanarayana vratam’ in our house and this yaga is no different. It is purely our domestic affair,” the Director said. However, some reports suggested that he had sought permission from the NIT Board to conduct the Yagam on behalf of the institute but the request was turned down. Prof Rao maintained that he did not use the institute’s funds for the ritual. According to sources, several faculty members and other staff attended the function held within the campus premises though there was no official circular in this regard. A section of the staff members attributed the recent spate of tragedies to the “faulty Vaastu” of the sprawling campus. A string of tragedies had struck the institute in the recent times. On August 27 last year, first year BTech student M Madhuri, died after falling from the fourth floor of the new hostel building under suspicious circumstances. The girl was from Visakhapatnam. In November, first-year MTech student Ankur Bhardwaj committed suicide by jumping from his ninth floor hostel building. A student of MTech Structural Engineering in the Civil Engineering department, Bhardwaj was a native of Delhi. According to Prof G Radhakrishnamachary, Dean, Student Affairs, Bhardwaj’s diary entries talked about subjects like mystery of death and life after death. On December 8, BTech student Rajsekhar drowned in a lake near Warangal. In the same month, another student, Swapnika Reddy, died in a train accident in
Nellore.
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Chandigarh-model rehab plan mooted for Assam crime victims Guwahati, February 5 Public prosecutor of Assam Ziaul Kamar said a Division Bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice AK Goel and Justice AC Upadhyay made the suggestion to the government of Assam, which is yet to have such rehabilitation schemes for victims of crimes, while hearing a criminal appeal number 25/2010 and 46/2010. The criminal appeal in question was related to murder of five members of a single family at Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur district of Assam in 2006 on suspicion of practicing sorcery. The high court in the judgement stated that according to Section 357-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), every state government in coordination with the Centre shall prepare a scheme providing funds for compensation to victims or his dependants who suffered loss or injury in a crime and required rehabilitation. As per the Chandigarh Administration scheme, minimum and maximum compensation granted for loss of life is Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively, while the same for rape is Rs 2 and Rs 3 lakh. For loss of any limb or part of body resulting in 80 per cent permanent disability, the minimum compensation is Rs 2 lakh and maximum is Rs 3 lakh. For permanent disability above 40 per cent and below 80 per cent, the minimum compensation is Rs 1 lakh and maximum is Rs 1.5 lakh. The compensation for mental agony to women and child victims in cases where there is no physical loss or injury is Rs 50,000. Advocate Kamar said the court cited example of the rehabilitation scheme of the Chandigarh Administration to guide the Assam Government to adopt a similar scheme soon.
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After flunking test, teachers throng coaching centres
In less than a year of the HRD Ministry making it mandatory for wannabe primary and elementary school teachers to clear the new Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) under the Right to Education Act, coaching options have sprung up for anxious aspirants who feel the test is too tough and the time given to crack it too little. In the first Central TET, organised by CBSE last year, and state TETs, the results were very poor. Only 14 per cent candidates could crack the Central TET and a mere 1 per cent passed in Punjab. But this year, aspirants are not alone in their struggle to pass the test. They have assurances of success from the first-of-its-kind online TET coaching facility - TET Guru - that is offering mock tests to train aspiring teachers. TET Guru, the online learning platform, surfaced in September last and already has 2,500 registered users preparing for TETs to be held this year. It offers candidates training in speed, accuracy and knowledge that they need to crack a competitive exam like TET. For CBSE TET, conducted on January 29 this year, the platform even offered discount packages comprising 30 mock tests for Rs 264! It has links to central/state TET syllabi and state TET timetables for 2012. Neetu Rana, an ETE student at Jamia Millia Islamia who took Central TET this year, said, “This year’s test was tougher that the last year’s. We got 36 seconds per question and questions were too long. It was impossible to finish the test. Speed is a huge issue. That’s why many of us are seeking coaching.” To succeed in TET, 150 multiple-choice questions must be answered in 90 minutes with 60 per cent pass percentage. “After the Central and state TETs last year, we got experts to analyse question banks and develop models to help new aspirants. TET question papers are tough considering there is little time to answer. We have 2,500 users now,” Kolkata-based Souvik Majumdar of TET Guru said. Mohd Zaibar, another Delhi-based student preparing for TET, admitted to coaching options mushrooming across the capital. “Institutes are offering TET coaching in Durgapuri, Okhla and Mukherjee Nagar. Many are operating clandestinely,” he said. The online coaching platform has users from across India. “The most advanced tests on the platform cost Rs 4 per test. The package of 250 tests is priced Rs 1,000,” Neetu Rana said. The platform gets 500 hits daily. Ironically, TET coaching is spawning at a time when the HRD Ministry is working to end the high-difficulty Joint Entrance Exam (JET) for IITs and replace all tests with one central-level entrance for all technical institutes. With TET, it has opened another route for coaching to flourish. Hriday Nath of Vidya Bhavan Society, Udaipur, a pioneer in teacher education, said, "TET may not be the best way to assess teachers. It is one way." The Ministry said TET would standardise the quality of teachers across India. Test facts
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9 Bihar babus caught copying in exam Patna, February 5 Those caught cheating by invigilators on Thursday included two doctors from the Bihar State Health Service, two Deputy Collectors from Bihar Administrative Service and one officer each from the Bihar Education Service, Bihar Finance Service, Bihar Agriculture Service, Bihar State Cooperative Service and Bihar Industries Service. The parent departments of these officers would soon initiate departmental proceedings against them. Officers are required to clear the departmental examination for promotion. The exam is conducted by the Central Examination Committee of the Bihar State Revenue Board twice a year. Candidates can take the exam at their convenience. As many as 750 officers from different services had appeared in the exam this time.
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Physicians protest against longer MBBS duration New Delhi, February 5 The proposal exposes the bankruptcy of thought of policy makers who have failed to analyse the reasons as to why medical graduates shy away from rural postings, the association said in a statement. “Why make one-year rural service part of the MBBS? Why shouldn’t we encourage fresh medical graduates to join the rural service by paying them what they deserve and providing basic amenities in villages?” the association said. Vitull K Gupta, president, Association of Physicians of India, Malwa Branch, said rural service should be made compulsory after
ensuring facilities. —TNS
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Urdu is second language
in West Bengal Kolkata, February 5 The decision is seemingly taken by the Trinamool Congress for wooing the Muslims and other Urdu-speaking minorities. Other decisions taken by the Cabinet include acquiring of 70 acres in the Sunderbans for building new embankments, formulating other anti-erosions projects for protecting the island and the creation of the State Highway Development Corporation for speeding up the road development works in the state.
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DRDO develops low-cost hearing device New Delhi, February 5 The cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. In India, there are nearly one million people who need cochlear implants. Every year 9-10 thousand deaf children are born."The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), DRDO, has developed an affordable Cochlear Implant," the Defence Ministry said in release yesterday. The imported cochlear implant is very expensive, priced at Rs 7–10 lakh. The indigenously developed cochlear implant will cost a just around Rs One Lakh, it said. — PTI
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kudankulam N-Plant Tirunelveli (TN), February 5 "Investigation is going on to know how the protesters are getting funds. If there is anything wrong, if the money came in a wrong way, if it was used for wrong purpose and if the accounts were not properly maintained, certainly action will be taken," he told a well-attended public meeting to drum up support for the project. Chidambaram made no reference to the Delhi court verdict giving a clean chit to him on the 2G Spectrum issue. Pointing out that the Indo-Russian atomic power project was started in 1988 and suddenly some people protested against the project, Chidambaram said, "Who is this SP Udhayakumar? (convener of the People's Movement against Nuclear Energy spearheading the stir against the project)"? He said Rs 13,000 crore has been invested in the project and it was people's money. After completion of more than 95 per cent of the project work, some people are protesting against the project after 22 years, he said. Referring to CM Jayalalithaa's announcement about constituting an expert panel to look into "fears and concerns" of the locals, Chidambaram "welcomed" it and hoped the panel would submit its report fast to enable speedy commissioning of the project. — PTI Will sue Mos in PMO: protesters Chennai: SP Udhayakumar, convener of the People's Movement against Nuclear Energy, on Sunday threatened to file a criminal defamation case against MoS in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy for allegedly charging him with receiving money from foreign sources. — PTI
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Falak’s suspected mother traced New Delhi, February 5 Several police teams have been looking for a woman, Munni, who is suspected to be Falak’s biological mother, for the past two weeks. While sources in the Police Department said Munni was traced to Baran in Rajasthan and brought to Delhi this morning, senior police officials maintained “there is no such development”. Sources said Munni, who is also from Bihar, could also be a victim of human trafficking. “She revealed that a woman from Haryana had sold her off to a man in Rajasthan for Rs 2.7 lakh. The man later married her.” Investigating teams reached Munni’s residence today and she was shown Falak’s pictures after which she agreed that she was her mother. Munni also said that she had a son who was sold off. — TNS
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Beware of ‘ Mamu’ The former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh is barnstorming Uttar Pradesh but not so much seeking votes for his own outfit. He seems more keen to ensure that voters maintain their distance from ‘Mamu’. Now ‘Mamu’ of course stands for maternal uncle in several Indian languages, including Hindi, but Amar Singh provides a more tongue-in-cheek, a more nuanced, definition. ‘Mamu’, he says, stands for Mayawati (Ma) and Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mu). In some parts of the country, ‘Mamu’ is also slang for the police, specially in the underworld. But Amar Singh’s tirade against ‘Mamu’ appears designed to help the Congress in the election. Spectre of violence The Election Commission, it seems, will have a tough time in maintaining peace in Uttar Pradesh during polling. The ugly clash in Gorakhpur on Saturday between Congress and BSP supporters is a pointer. Congress supporters alleged that BSP workers, led and instigated by the BSP candidate Ram Bhuval Nishad, attacked the car in which the Congress candidate and TV actor, Kajal Nishad, was moving. They broke the window and splinters injured the Congress candidate. A free-for-all followed. The bleeding Congress candidate sat on a ‘dharna’ demanding the arrest of the BSP rival and suspension of the local police officer. With the first phase of polling on Wednesday, EC will have to work overtime to ensure peaceful polling, it would seem. EC rejects quota ad The Election Commission on Sunday confirmed that it had refused to approve an advertisement on the sub-quota for minorities. Officials said that the Congress had submitted two audio-visual advertisements dealing with the sub-quota and the MNREGA ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). The Media Certification and Monitoring Committee ( MCMC), however, cleared the ad on MNREGA but rejected the one on the sub-quota. The sub-quota had earlier drawn the EC’s ire and the Congress had been asked to put it on hold till elections in UP get over. Slipper thrown at Mulayam
Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday joined the expanding club of leaders who find themselves at the receiving end of slippers thrown at them. A slipper had been thrown at Rahul Gandhi too and the man was then thrashed by Congress supporters, though Rahul kept asking them them to let him off. On Saturday, it was a woman at Banda, who threw her slipper at the Samajwadi Party leader, who was leaving after addressing an election rally. The woman, detained by the police, claimed she was a rape victim and was frustrated because Mulayam Singh had not honoured his promise in 2009 of paying her Rupees two lakh. The slipper of course fell far short of the leader. (Compiled from Agencies by Shahira Naim)
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Song from ‘Bodyguard’ has Gadkari spellbound When Aiyar didn’t have the last word Rajya Sabha MP Mani Shankar Aiyar was at his acerbic best when he released senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai's Tamil version of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's biography last week. Unable to hold himself back, Aiyar dwelt at length on how he concentrates on nursing his constituency during his trips to Tamil Nadu instead of getting involved in the state Congress unit's never-ending internal squabbles. Aiyar then went on to say that he was so focused on his constituency that he does not even know his way to the Sathyamurthy Bhawan, the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee - with a visibly unhappy Tamil Nadu Congress president BS Gnanadesikan listening to him in silence. However, the state chief got a chance to hit back when Aiyar later sought him out and asked to be nominated on a state party panel. "But I thought you don't know your way to Sathyamurthy Bhawan," Gnanadesikan turned around and told him. Aiyar, who normally has the last word on every occasion, was left speechless for a change. Zero attendance at Sharad Yadav rally
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While Priyanka Gandhi claims she is not in politics, she is by far the most articulate and far more accessible than either her mother or brother. She is also far more at ease while speaking in Hindi and fields questions with a panache that is rare.
Asked for her comment on the allegations against the Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, her reply was equally prompt and frank, “I feel sad when he has to waste his time responding to the rants of people who are not concerned about the kind of issues he has to deal with.” She was surprised at how much time and effort “are wasted on not allowing the government to function”.
Chandigarh, February 5
New Delhi, February 5
Guess which is BJP president Nitin Gadkari's favourite song these days? It is none other than the chart buster Teri Meri Prem Kahani Hai Mushkil rendered by Shreya Ghoshal and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in the Salman Khan-starrer Bodyguard. Not only can Gadkari be heard singing this song, but it is also his caller tune on his mobile phone. In fact, he is so obsessed with it that he dials his number from his second mobile phone only to listen to the song over and over again! The BJP president recently confessed that Salman Khan and his writer-father Salim Khan had got in touch with him when they learnt how much he liked this song. They were also surprised that Gadkari had not watched Bodyguard and have promised to organise a special screening for him once he winds up his hectic election campaign in Uttar Pradesh.
Among the various reports which are trickling in about the massive rallies being addressed by leaders of political parties in the ongoing campaign for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll, here is an interesting story which has failed to find a mention anywhere. Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav, who had flown to eastern UP last week to address an election rally, was forced to beat a hasty retreat when he found that there was no audience at the venue. A few villagers, who flocked to the grounds, had gathered there only to take a look at Yadav's helicopter. Worse, even the candidate, for whom Yadav had made the special trip, was also not in sight. A humiliated Yadav quickly retraced his steps. However, poll watchers in UP are not really surprised since JD(U) is a fringe player in Uttar Pradesh though its leaders, riding high on the popularity of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, like to believe that the "Nitish magic" would also work in the neighbouring state.