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UP needs transformation, says Rahul
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi addresses an election rally at Nizamabad on Monday. — PTI
Choppers sound the poll bugle
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SC notice to Centre on illegal drug trials
Bungling in UN mission supplies
After Twitter, PMO looking at Facebook account
Karnataka Guv rejects govt decision on Lokayukta
Iran sets one-month deadline for OVL to sign contract
London NGO wants Jarawas isolated: Andaman admn
Bhanwari case
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UP needs transformation, says Rahul
Lucknow, February 6 He underlined that he was unconcerned about the number of seats Congress would win in UP. “What I can assure you is that I am not going anywhere till the state gets back on its feet and the farmers, labourers, weavers and the aam admi regained their lost self-esteem and found hope,” he declared. Asserting that he was “100 per cent convinced” about the potential in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the youth, to transform it, Rahul said all that the state required was someone who could hold their hands and tell them that they could do it. He expressed his doubt if SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP’s Mayawati wanted to transform things in the state. Responding to a question whether he was trying to cover up for a likely poor poll performance, Rahul asserted that the Congress’ results would be “solid”. Once again ruling out a post-poll alliance with any political party, he said his alliance was with the people of the state, whose problems he would hear and transmit to the decision makers for policy making. “Politicians are under the false impression that they yield power, they merely transmit the power of the people,” he said and quoted the example of senior BJP leader LK Advani as well as Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati who fail to do this. According to him, they had stopped listening to the people. Elaborating on the manner in which the UPA government’s major programmes were a result of the feedback they had received from the people, he said the Central schemes like MNREGA, right to food, right to education, right to information and waiving of farmers loan were all in response to what people wanted. Sharply criticising Advani and the BJP on their lop-sided stand on corruption, he said that they only talked and did precious little.
Vadra in politics?
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Choppers sound the poll bugle
New Delhi, February 6 The Election Commission had recently directed all political parties in the state to furnish details about use of helicopters, including the number of flights, names of operators and fare, to create a level playing field. While the EC’s well-meaning effort was directed at gauging how much money is spent by the political parties on choppers and subsequently issue instructions on their usage, sources say with the kind of money required to hire an aircraft, only the big parties are able to fly leaders for electioneering. For the high stakes it is playing for, the Congress, it seems, on an average has seven to eight helicopter criss-crossing the state. BJP leaders too have on their beck and call close to six choppers. While the Samajwadi Party has employed the services of two helicopters, one for chief Mulayam Singh and another for son Akhilesh, lesser mortals in the party are generally left at the mercy of roads. Similar is the situation in the BSP which has one chopper completely attached with chief Mayawati and two for others, including senior leaders Satish Mishra and Nassemuddin Siddiqui. Incidentally, a smart way to trick the EC is by undervaluing the fare, sources say, but if the hiring is done directly by the party there is no scope for such manipulations. The hiring of an aircraft is done in two ways. While some are booked directly by a political party, a few may also be hired by its financial supporters. “If the hiring is done by the political party directly, there is generally no scope for any hanky panky since payments are through cheques. But if the deal is between a supporter and a company, certain amount of undervaluing may be done to avoid the EC scrutiny and trick authorities to save on sales tax,” officials say.
up in air * The EC had recently directed political parties to furnish details about use of helicopters *
Chopper ride costs between Rs 85,000 and Rs 1 lakh per hour for a single-engine helicopter and over Rs 1.5 lakh per hour for twin-engine helicopter. Thus only big parties can afford them *
The Congress has seven to eight helicopter criss-crossing the state, whereas the BJP, the SP and the BSP have six, two and one choppers, respectively
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SC notice to Centre on illegal drug trials
New Delhi, February 6 The court issued a notice to the Centre as also to the Health Ministry and the Medical Council of India seeking their replies on a public interest litigation alleging that the country is being used for illegal clinical trials by the multinational corporation because laws are not implemented strictly. "India is being used for conducting clinical trials by the multinational corporation owing to the reason that the laws are not implemented strictly, because of legal lacunae and because of poverty and other economic reasons the subjects for these trials are easily available," advocate Sanjay Parekh, appearing for the petitioner, said. The court passed the order on a PIL filed by Indore-based NGO Swasthya Adhikar Manch which sought appointment of an expert committee to regulate the clinical trials done by many multinational pharmaceutical companies. The petitioner-NGO pointed out various cases of illegal drug trials are going on in the country and said such trials must be stopped immediately and requested the apex court's intervention in the matter. The NGO submitted in its petition that the interests of patients are not safeguarded in these trials and their consent is also not taken. "The report clearly points out how independence of the ethical committees is compromised and the interests of patients are not safeguarded. Not only the most essential principle of informed consent is rampantly violated but the conflict of interest is clearly visible in these clinical trials," the petition said. "The doctors often receive benefits from the trial sponsors which sometimes become the main source of their income, creating a glaring conflict of interest. " Doctors conducting trials also receive commissions per patient recruited, creating an incentive to enroll more people in the trials. This leads to a violation of the physician- patient relationship of trust," the petition said. — PTI
PIL in court
* The court passed the order on a PIL filed by Indore-based NGO Swasthya Adhikar Manch, which said illegal drug trials must be stopped immediately *
The NGO submitted in its petition that the interests of patients are not safeguarded in these trials and their consent is also not taken *
The petitioner sought appointment of an expert committee to regulate clinical trials
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Bungling in UN mission supplies Vijay Mohan/TNS
Chandigarh, February 6 The officer, Maj-Gen Anil Sarup, who has by now retired, faces five charges under Section 52 and 63 of the Army Act for intent to defraud and acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline. Chief of Staff, 11 Corps, Maj Gen SK Aggarwal is the GCM’s presiding officer. During pre-trial proceedings, Sarup, an Army Ordnance Corps officer, had contended that he was not guilty of the charges being leveled against him and had claimed that he was being implicated. He had also challenged the proceedings against him in the Delhi High Court and subsequently the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). Earlier, dismissing Maj-Gen’s Sarup’s petition, the AFT ruled that principles of natural justice had been adhered to during the court of inquiry proceedings and that it was apparent that at every stage, the Major-General had resorted to delaying tactics. The AFT had observed that all issues raised by him before the court regarding non-availability of witnesses, inadequate opportunity for cross-examination, non-compliance of statutory provisions and certain documents not being made available to him were adequately redressed and his contentions were not sustainable. A court of inquiry (COI) presided over by Lt-Gen PC Katoch, then Director-General, Information Systems, at Army headquarters, found that prices of items procured for troops when Sarup was serving as Additional Director General Ordnance Services were heavily inflated vis-à-vis general market rates. For example, the price of a generator set was quoted at Rs 14.5 lakh whereas the market rate was Rs 6.5 lakh. Similarly, some cables costing Rs 1,319 and Rs 569 per metre were purchased at Rs 11,000 and Rs 2,950 per metre, respectively. The findings of the COI were forwarded to the GOC-in-C, Western Command, who ordered disciplinary action against the blameworthy officer. He was then attached to Headquarters 9 Corps near Dharamsala for further proceedings.
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After Twitter, PMO looking at Facebook account
New Delhi, February 6 Noting that the Twitter account - @PMOIndia is already followed by 38,500 people in just two weeks, an official source said a small office will soon be set up in the PMO to effectively handle communications through social media. Though it will not fall prey to 'professional hecklers' at the social networking site, the team handling the Twitter page will make it more interactive by answering genuine queries. "We will take up the matter of people in distress on Twitter. The process of social media is very new for us and things will take time," the source said and indicated the PMO could also offer financial help to those in distress through the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. — PTI
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Karnataka Guv rejects govt decision on Lokayukta
Bangalore, February 6 "The Governor of Karnataka, having considered the proposal received from the government, regarding appointment of Justice SR Bannurmath as the Karnataka Lokayukta and having taken into consideration the contents of subsequent correspondence between the Governor and the Chief Minister, has formally rejected the advice tendered by the latter in this regard. The file has been returned to the government," a Raj Bhavan communiqué said. The Lokayukta's office has been headless since Sept 19 after former Supreme Court Judge and Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Shivaraj V Patil quit over a house sites row. Governor Bhardwaj refused to accept the Sadananda Gowda government's recommendation to appoint SR Bannurmath, a former Kerala High Court Chief Justice, as he too is caught in similar row. Bhardwaj said the government was insisting on Bannurmath as it "wants to whitewash the crimes" of some people held guilty by former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde. Bhardwaj, however, took a long time in rejecting the state government proposal.
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Iran sets one-month deadline for OVL to sign contract
New Delhi, Febraury 6 The OVL, the overseas arm of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had in August/September 2010, submitted a revised Master Development Plan (MDP) for bringing to production the Farzad-B gas field it had discovered in Farsi offshore block. But it had not signed the contract because of threat of being sanctioned by the US, which is against any company investing more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector in any 12-month period. "In the past, Iran has threatened to cancel award of Farsi block to the OVL over delays in signing of the Farzad-B gas field development contract. They have again written to the OVL seeking urgent action," a top source privy to the development said. "There is no ultimatum but the language of the letter is certainly much stronger than the past. They want the OVL to sign development contract in a month’s time," he said. While the OVL cannot invest in developing in the gas field because of the US sanctions, it will continue to keep Iran engaged and plans to set a team to Tehran later this month to discuss the issue. — PTI
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London NGO wants Jarawas isolated: Andaman admn
New Delhi, February 6 Deo said the videos were deplorable and the Centre had directed the UT to identify the men in uniform featured therein and award them exemplary punishment. Deo added that the clamour to close down ATR and isolate the tribals completely needed “considered deliberations”. The office of UT Lt Governor in a letter to the Centre has said that Survival International, a London based NGO, has been arguing for complete isolation of Jarawas and was circulating videos and other materials in the past to hammer the point. — TNS
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Bhanwari case Jodhpur, February 6 According to the family members of 80-year-old Amri Devi, mother of absconding Indira Bishnoi (an accused in Bhanwari Devi case), the CBI had called her twice for questioning at the circuit house on January and February 1 after which she was admitted to a hospital. However, the CBI in a press note had claimed that Amri was not called for questioning. Single Bench of justice Govind Mathur issued notices to the CBI Director and the SP, and the state Home Secretary and sought reply on February 10. The summoning of the ailing woman also sparked agitation, as members of the Bishnoi community took out a protest rally. — PTI
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Poll Snippets
The Anna Hazare's India against Corruption (IAC) Peoples' manifesto released in Lucknow urges the voters to set its agenda before the political parties which according to them have been fooling the public till now. Among the many issues they have urged the people to demand from the political parties includes an unemployment allowance ranging between Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per month for the unemployed youth of the state. Now who is fooling whom! Samajwadi party has already guaranteed Rs 1500 per month for the unemployed while the BJP has gone ahead and promised Rs 2000 per month. It seems that being unemployed is soon going to be a lucrative business in the state.
Minister made to look sheepish
Uttar Pradesh's minister for Urban Development Nakul Dubey was in for a shock when he visited Kailash Colony under his Bakshi ka Talab constituency In Lucknow on Sunday. The residents informed him that they have decided to boycott the elections. When the ministers wanted to know the reason for their disinterest, they bluntly told him that he had done nothing for them and they see no reason why they should vote for him or anyone else. When Dubey tried to sweet-talk them into reconsidering their decision, they asked him bluntly to first build the 800 meter road connecting their colony to the main road. Local residents reminded the minister how they repeatedly met him but he did not do anything. A sheepish Dubey assured them that he would get the road made as soon as the election was over.
Tiger keeps administration foxed
(Compiled by Shahira
Naim)
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Lucknow, February 6
Addressing a press conference at Varanasi, Rahul today spoke on a variety of subjects and articulated at length his philosophy of politics and his ‘mission 2012’.
Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra on Monday did not rule out the possibility of contesting elections. "Logon ki iccha hogi to zarur
ladunga," (If the people want, then I would definitely contest) he said. He arrived in
Amethi, along with the couples' two children, to help wife Priyanka, who has been campaigning in the twin constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareili for the last few days. When the mediapersons asked him if Priyanka would play a more active role in politics, he replied,
"Sab apne samay se hoga."
It is no mafia don that is intimidating the residents of Malihabad, the famous mango belt on the outskirts of Lucknow, to come out to exercise their franchise on February 19. Strangely, it is a stray tiger that has trudged down from Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. For almost a month now it has kept the district administration and Forest Department foxed. It was caught on camera in the Rehmankhera forest in the vicinity, which is part of the campus of the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture on January 19. Since then the forest department experts have been camping in the area wanting to tranquilise the animal. It comes and cleverly snaps off the tail of the caged goat leaving the forest department fuming. To flush out the tiger from the forest, the department has sought the services of an elephant from Dudhwa which is considered to be a 'Tiger Rescue specialist'. The Lucknow district administration is pressurising the forest department to speed up its operation. Due to reports of the tiger roaming around in the area, the villagers are keeping themselves behind closed doors and if the tiger is not captured in time they may not venture out to vote on D-day, the administration suspects.