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BUDGET SESSION STORM BUILDS UP
Mulayam stays calm as SP basks in exit poll glory
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence in Lucknow on Monday, a day before the counting of votes for the UP elections. — PTI
Maya gets nod for Cabinet dissolution
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Army: Retd Lt-Gen planted phone-tapping story
Second Mirage crash in 11 days
4.9 quake in North India; no casualty
India, US military exercises begin in Rajasthan
Schools guilty of corporal punishment to face action
Sonia returns after ‘routine check-up’
Court frames charges against Jaya Jaitley in corruption case
4 Maoists killed in Jharkhand encounter
Students seek AIIMS director’s resignation
IOA accuses govt of double-speak on Dow
Jantar Mantar
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BUDGET SESSION STORM BUILDS UP BJP wants White Paper on black money; Pranab silent at Speaker's meet Aditi Tandon/TNS
New Delhi, March 5 At the leaders' meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to set the agenda for the Budget Session, the BJP-led Opposition was backed by the Trinamool Congress in cornering the government for "attacking the federal structure of the Constitution". The PM also came to attend the post-meet lunch hosted by the Speaker. But with a day to go for election results in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party remained silent on the federalism issue while the BSP wasn't represented at the meeting. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj articulated the sentiment of the Opposition later and said, "The entire Opposition was unanimous in its demand for a debate on the Centre's repeated attacks on the federal structure of the Constitution. We sought a discussion on internal security of the country with reference to the NCTC," Sushma said. The NDA partners, including the JDU and Akali Dal; Left parties, the AIADMK and the TDP supported the demand. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Bansal said the issue of federalism was raised at the meeting. "But there was contradiction with the leaders accusing the Centre of impinging upon their rights on the one hand and on the other asking the same Centre to deal with drinking water scarcity, a state subject. Clarity is required therefore on what the Opposition wants. We are ready to discuss anything in the second leg of the Budget Session," Bansal said. The first leg (lasting 15 working days until March 30) would be dedicated to the President's address and the financial business - Rail Budget on March 14 and General Budget on March 16. "We also have to pass the Appropriation Bill to enable the government to spend from the Consolidated Fund of India till the time the Budget is passed," Bansal said. All parties lamented that the first leg of the Budget Session was too short to take up anything expect the three listed businesses - President's joint address to both Houses and a debate on the address; the General Budget, the Railway Budget and related discussions. Another sticking point would be the debate on black money. The BJP has sought a debate on the issue. "We have asked for a white paper on black money," Sushma said. Sources said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was silent on the issue at the Speaker's meet. The BJP will also move a "calling attention motion" on the issue of the Norwegian Government forcibly keeping in their custody the children of an Indian couple residing in Norway. The BJP will also demand a discussion on the violation of the Model Code of Conduct by cabinet ministers in the just concluded Assembly elections and their defiance of the Election Commission. The Left will corner the West Bengal Government by demanding a debate on the rising crimes against women in the country. "In West Bengal, a woman is being raped every day. This is serious. We have demanded a discussion. We also want to talk about the denial of labour rights to workers, the agrarian crisis, rising unemployment and the Centre's continued assault on rights of the states," Basudeb Acharia, leader of CPM in the Lok Sabha said. The AIADMK's agenda demand includes safety of Tamil fishermen, drinking water scarcity in Tamil Nadu and rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils.
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Mulayam stays calm as SP basks in exit poll glory
Lucknow, March 5 He thanked his party workers for the hard work and dedication. Claiming that the SP has always stood for the cause of common people, he charged the Mayawati government of adopting a dictatorial attitude towards democratic protests. He accused the state government of lodging hundreds of "fake cases" against his party's workers. With none of the exit polls predicting the Congress in a commanding position, its leaders have even started weighing various options in case of an unfavourable post-poll scenario. Leading the pack is Union Minister for Steel Beni Prasad Verma, who, expressing a personal opinion, favoured a tie-up with the BSP. The Congress quickly distanced itself from this view with party spokesperson Rashid Alvi asserting that it was Verma's personal opinion. In an interview to a national channel, UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi virtually conceded that perhaps they were not getting as many seats as expected, but quickly declared that this was a failure of the state unit and not of party general secretary Rahul Gandhi who was "just a campaigner".
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Maya gets nod for Cabinet dissolution
Lucknow, March 5 While officially the move could not be confirmed, a senior Cabinet minister on condition of anonymity confirmed that earlier the CM had convened a Cabinet meeting but then the decision was taken ‘by circulation”. Incidentally, this was a normal practice during her tenure even when ministers were present in town. In case of her party not getting a clear majority, Mayawati may forward the letter recommending the dissolution of the
Vidhan Sabha to the Raj Bhawan. Legally, the 15th Vidhan Sabha would be defunct as soon as the results of the 16th Vidhan Sabha are announced tomorrow. As the 15th Vidhan Sabha had first met on May 21 2007, its life was technically till May 21, 2012. However, the Governor can dissolve the Vidhan Sabha anytime after the announcement of the poll results. In case, there is a hung Assembly, the Governor may ask the present incumbent to continue till alternative arrangements are made, said experts.
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Army: Retd Lt-Gen planted phone-tapping story New Delhi, March 5 Army sources took the unusual step of telling the media that Lt-Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, who was former chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency, along with “some disgruntled serving officers of the Military Intelligence, against whom disciplinary and administrative actions are in the pipeline, has worked out this fictitious story”. Tejinder Singh refuted the charge and said he would take action against the people accusing him of any wrongdoing. — PTI
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Second Mirage crash in 11 days
New Delhi, March 5 The Mirage fleet, based in Gwalior, would undergo a thorough test before being put to flying again, sources said. The crash was being viewed seriously as these aircraft started getting inducted into the IAF in the mid-80s and had had a very good flight safety record, the officials said. It played a major role in air-ground attacks during the Kargil conflict in May-July 1999. Today's crash occurred soon after taking off from Gwalior. The pilot managed to eject safely, IAF officials said. Today's crash site is around 100 km south-west of Jaipur, near Baman Baas village. The plane crashed around 12.45 pm, officials said. A court of inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to ascertain the reason for the crash. The IAF has also recently signed two deals worth over $3.2 billion for upgrading the capabilities of the Mirage 2000 with Dassault, Thales and MBDA. The first two planes are already in France while the remaining will be upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
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4.9 quake in North India; no casualty
New Delhi, March 5 Strong tremors that lasted almost 10 seconds at 1.11 pm today sparked panic among the denizens in Delhi and other parts of north India. No casualties have been reported from the region. A senior official of the Meteorological Department said, “It was a quake of 4.9 intensity on the Richter scale. The epicentre was at Bahadurgarh that lies on the Delhi-Haryana border, 35 km from Delhi. It took place 9 km below the surface.” The tremors were also felt in satellite cities like Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad that made the people rush out from their apartments and offices. Shaking was also felt in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Hisar and Bhiwani in Haryana and Agra in Uttar Pradesh. Even while the Delhi Police and fire brigade did not receive any calls reporting any casualties, small cracks were reported in some old buildings in Haryana that included the outer wall of a school building in Rohtak. However district authorities claimed that the reports of any major damage due to the quake were false. Police officials from Jhajjar, the district in which Bahadurgarh falls, also maintained that no major damage has been reported from the region. The previous two tremors in September 2011 had rocked the city within a gap of 10 days. When the earth shook *
Today's quake 19th in India this year and 3rd in 5 days * In January, there were 10 tremors. Six in Feb *
Last year, there were 80 quakes in India. A majority occurred in J&K, Haryana and Punjab *
Delhi among 30 Indian cities falling in a zone defined as a severe intensity seismic zone
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India, US military exercises begin in Rajasthan
New Delhi, March 5 "The US Army is being represented by troops from 25 Infantry Division while the Indian side has pitched in troops from Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and Mechanised Infantry," an official said. The 170-strong member US team is being led by Colonel Thomas J Roth, Commander of 2nd Engineer Brigade and the Indian side is being commanded by Brigadier B S Dhanoa. Both sides will jointly plan and execute a series of well developed tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peace operations, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said. The war games which will be conducted over the next two weeks will see troops from both the sides hone their tactical and technical skills. — PTI
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Schools guilty of corporal punishment to face action
New Delhi, March 5 Prepared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the National Guidelines for Prevention of Corporal Punishment in Schools were released today in the Capital by Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath. The guidelines have been forwarded to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which will now notify them under the Right to Education Act which bars corporal punishment explicitly. Once notified by the Centre, states would be required to adopt the guidelines and follow them. As first reported by The Tribune, the guidelines recommend de-recognition of schools which repeatedly tolerate corporal punishment. “Repeated offence would have to be penalised. School boards that grant recognition to schools and affiliate them for the purpose of exams can de-affiliate a school that is found at fault. Harassment of children cannot be tolerated,” the guidelines say. They call for a shift in teacher’s attitude from an instructor to a facilitator and call upon them to communicate with children in a motivating, non-aggressive manner. The Section 12 of the RTE Act, which became effective on April 1, 2010, bars corporal punishment. To give effect to this provision, the NCPCR, which monitors the Act, framed the guidelines for the HRD Ministry to notify. The guidelines define corporal punishment under three heads - physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination of any kind on the basis of a child’s caste, religion, gender, ability etc. “The definition has been given for the sake of clarity,” said Shanta Sinha, chairperson, NCPCR said. She backed penal action against schools where children are punished. The guidelines were released today on the occasion of the fifth Foundation Day of NCPCR. Minister Krishna Tirath expressed concern that only 13 states had so far constituted State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights. Under the RTE Act, child rights commissions are responsible for monitoring the progress. “We have asked the states to expedite the setting up of commissions,” Tirath said.
Guidelines Out * Prepared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the National Guidelines for Prevention of Corporal Punishment in Schools were released on Monday in the Capital by Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath *
The guidelines define corporal punishment under three heads - physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination of any kind on the basis of a child's caste, religion, gender or ability. *
The rules recommend de-recognition of schools which repeatedly tolerate corporal punishment
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Sonia returns after ‘routine check-up’
New Delhi, March 5 "Congress president Sonia Gandhi has come back after her routine check-up and is absolutely fine," party general secretary and media department chief Janardan Dwivedi said. Nearly six months after her treatment abroad, Gandhi had travelled out of the country on the night of February 27 for the check-up. A day after she left, Dwivedi had said the Congress president had gone abroad for check-up and would return in four to five days. Gandhi, 65, had gone out of the country for treatment of an undisclosed ailment in August last year. During her over month-long stay, she had undergone surgery, the nature of which was not disclosed with the party maintaining that a citizen's right to privacy should be respected. — PTI
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Court frames charges against Jaya Jaitley in corruption case
New Delhi, March 5 Special CBI Judge Kawal Jeet Arora put the three on trial after they pleaded “not guilty” to the charges framed by it for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to influence Defence Ministry officials to award a contract to a fictitious company, Westend International, for a consideration of Rs 4 lakh as bribe. While Jaitley reportedly took Rs 2 lakh on December 28, 2000, Murgai accepted Rs 1.2 lakh in two instalments as part of a Rs 2 lakh bribe from the news portal’s reporter, Mathew Samuel, who had posed as the company’s representative. The court framed the charges under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC read with Section 9 (taking bribe to influence public servants) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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4 Maoists killed in Jharkhand encounter
Chatra (Jharkhand), March 5 The rebels often take away their dead or injured cadres during retreat, he said, adding that the situation was now under control. About 50 Maoist cadres attacked the Central Coal Field project site and shot a CISF personnel on duty and set fire to three dumpers and a pay loader belonging to a construction company, he said. But they fled the spot around 3 am after the strong retaliatory firing by the CISF. — PTI
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Students seek AIIMS director’s resignation
New Delhi, March 5 Irked over the alleged comments made by AIIMS last night regarding the deceased's mental status, now they do not want to settle for anything less than a public apology from the institute's director owing up the responsibility for the incident. Disturbed over his academic performance, Anil Meena (22) from Baran district in Rajasthan, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room. According to the students, the tragedy could have been averted if the case was handled seriously by the director. The students boycotted classes today. They said the director was anti-students. "He has never cooperated with the students for anything, they alleged.
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IOA accuses govt of double-speak on Dow
New Delhi, March 5 “The Government’s double speak has created more problems and weakened our case further. While it wants that organisers should drop Dow chemicals as sponsors of the Games, Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), which is under the Agriculture Ministry, held a seminar last month which was sponsored by Dow.” IOA Acting President Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra said here today. He said the IOA has received several queries from abroad on this issue, wanting to know “what action the Indian Government has taken against Dow Chemicals, which has a large-scale operation in India”. "This is a very sensitive issue and the Government has to take a call on it", Malhotra said, adding: “We have written four letters to the Sports Ministry on this issue but have not yet received any reply from them”. “While there are selective leaks from the government sources in the media that Sports Ministry is planning boycotting the opening and closing ceremonies or it may not send its official delegations to the Games as a protest, the IOA has not been told anything in writing”. “With only five months left for the Games, this suspense is not good because it is affecting the preparations of the contingent for the Games”, Malhotra said. He said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had written a letter to the IOA, giving its point of view on this issue. The letter was forwarded to the Sports Ministry. “We have come to know through the media that the Sports Ministry has written to the IOC in reply to that letter”. Malhotra said it was ironical that on such an important national issue, rather than putting up a united stand, the Government is playing politics, which is not going to serve any purpose. "Rather it will damage our cause and stand.I am surprised at Sports Ministry’s attitude. While the IOA wants to cooperate with it on this issue they are playing politics. Why have they not replied to our letters is also open to interpretation”, Malhotra added.. He said the selective leaks in the media by the Sports Ministry are creating more problems. "The IOC Charter is very clear and strict on such issues. The talk of selective boycott will have very serious repercussions and will ultimately boomerang”.
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Jantar Mantar
Shehla Masood's friends
With fresh facts emerging in the sensational murder case of RTI activist Shehla Masood in Bhopal, there is one person who has reason to feel relieved over the trajectory of the investigations. It's none other than BJP MP Tarun Vijay whose name had surfaced in the initial stages because of his friendship with Shehla Masood. Vijay, who is also the party spokesperson, had even put out a formal statement acknowledging that he was a "very good friend" of Masood and that he would cooperate with the probe agency in its investigations. It's a different story today as Vijay has been pushed into the background while his party colleague Dhruv Narayan, an MLA in Madhya Pradesh, is set to be questioned in connection with Masood's murder following reports of their friendship.
Trade with Pak
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Centre yet to give consent for AMU study centre
Maharashtra to set up 12 mega blood banks
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With the Samajwadi Party (SP) emerging as the front runner in the exit polls for Uttar Pradesh, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today refused to comment on the outcome of surveys.
New Delhi, March 5
New Delhi, March 5
Former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh is proving to be a real embarrassment for the already beleaguered Congress. Not only did the party fare poorly in the recently concluded local elections in Maharashtra but shortly after, Kripashankar Singh had to resign after a case was filed against him for amassing illegal wealth. His properties were attached by the economics offences wing of the Mumbai police while his rags-to-riches story hit the headlines. While the Congress was hard put to explain how its Mumbai chief was in possession of assets disproportionate to his income, it had no answers when quizzed about his proximity to President Pratibha Patil and her family. Kripashankar Singh was a key member of her election team and is also known to have had easy access to the Rashtrapati Bhavan over the past five years. In fact, the party grapevine is abuzz about the friendly ties between the disgraced leader and the President's son and Congress MLA Raosaheb Shekhawat who was issued a notice by the Amravati District Collector in connection with the seizure of Rs 1 crore unaccounted cash during the recent civic poll. Ironically, an FIR has been lodged against Kripashankar Singh at the Nirmal Nagar Khar police station in Mumbai which was inaugurated by him as junior Home Minister.
After his failure to get a go-ahead for the controversial policy allowing foreign investments in retail trade, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is a happy man today after he succeeded in normalising bilateral economic relations between India and Pakistan. Islamabad's recent decision to switch over to a "negative list" regime for trade with India is expected to pave the way for a formal announcement according the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to this country by the year-end. This breakthrough follows Sharma's successful visit to Pakistan last month where he struck up a warm friendship with his counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim. The two ministers had a brief chat to congratulate each other last week after the Pakistan Cabinet decided to phase out the negative list by December. Having enjoyed his hospitality in Pakistan, Sharma is now all set to roll out the red carpet for Fahim who will be visiting India along with a high-powered business delegation in April for a special Pakistan Expo where Islamabad will make a strong pitch for stepping up business ties between the two
neighbours.
