The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No ammo shortage, says Antony
New Delhi, April 10
Defence Minister AK Antony today dismissed reports that the Army had only four days of ammunition as “rumours”, adding that the country was fully prepared and was in a much stronger position than in the past.

AK Antony, Defence Minister

No reporting on troop movement by media: Allahabad HC
Lucknow, April 10
The Allahabad High Court today directed the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that there is no reporting on movement of troops by print or electronic media. The directive came days after a newspaper report on movement of two Army units towards Delhi had created a storm.

Survivors and kin of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy sufferers protest against Dow Chemicals’ sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

Odisha toughens stand on abductors’ new demands
Bhubaneswar, April 10
As the deadline set by two Maoist groups in the twin hostage crises ends today, the Odisha Government seemed to have toughened its stance vis-a-vis their new demands.

2g licence cancellation
Union Cabinet approves Presidential reference
New Delhi, April 10
On a day when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured the Norwegian telecom major Telenor that the government would try to complete the vacated 2G Spectrum auction exercise at the earliest, the Union Cabinet at its special sitting approved the Presidential reference on the Supreme Court cancelling the 2G licences in February. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Concern over kidnapping of temple panel chairman in Pak
Bangalore, April 10
Alleged kidnapping of the chairman of the committee that manages the Hinglaj Mata Temple in Baluchistan province of South West Pakistan has created ripples in Karnataka.

Big B plays down health concerns
Mumbai, April 10
Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan who complained of pain following another surgery earlier this year sought to downplay his problems after a huge media contingent gathered outside his bungalow in suburban Juhu. According to Bachchan, the huge turnout surprised even the security men posted outside his house.

Amitabh Bachchan

Condition of baby Afreen continues to be critical
Bangalore, April 10
The condition of three-month-old baby Afreen, allegedly battered by her father for being born a girl, continues to be critical. The baby is on ventilator and being given life-support medication. It had two convulsions today, a doctor attending on the child said.

Chhattisgarh Mining Scam
Congress guns for CM; BJP terms it ‘honest business’
New Delhi, April 10
Even as the Congress, seeking a CBI probe into the allotment of coal mines to BJP MP Ajay Sancheti by the Chhattisgarh Government, also sought the Governor’s sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Raman Singh, the BJP went on the defensive, disagreeing with the CAG report on the subject.

Azam ends verbal attack against Delhi Imam
Lucknow, April 10
Putting a stop to the verbal attack by Delhi Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari, senior Cabinet minister and the so-called Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party Mohammad Azam Khan declared that he had no intention to weaken the party.

Another land allotment issue haunts Deshmukh
Mumbai, April 10
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is facing further embarrassment after activists here filed a complaint against him and some bureaucrats for handing over a plot of land meant for housing displaced persons to a housing society for judges.

	PM for law to regulate groundwater extraction Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 10 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for a legislation to regulate extraction of groundwater by competing users and said inadequate pricing of both power and water were leading to the misuse of groundwater in the country. He backed mechanisms where primary stakeholders could be involved in the pricing of water. Inaugurating the India Water Week at Vigyan Bhavan, the PM expressed concern over depleting groundwater table and said, “The present legal situation gives every land holder the right to pump unlimited quantities of water from a bore well on his own ground. There is no regulation of groundwater extraction and no coordination among competing users. Inadequate and sub-optimal pricing of both power and water is promoting the misuse of groundwater.” Stressing on examining seriously the proposal to have a clear legal framework to govern the use of scarce groundwater resources, the PM said India needed to move to a situation where groundwater could be treated as a common property resource. “In the absence of sound legal framework, drinking water systems often lose the contest. The Planning Commission has identified the challenge of managing water resources in a rational and sustainable manner as one of the critical challenges in the Twelfth Five year Plan. We must examine this seriously,” he said also calling for mapping aquifers and promoting participatory management of aquifers to ensure sustainable and equitable use and promoting cropping patterns which are aligned with the groundwater actually available. Referring to the suggestion that a broad overarching national legal framework of general principles on water was necessary to pave the way for essential legislation on water governance in every state, PM Singh said the country needed to reflect on proposals to implement an integrated and coherent water policy. He emphasised water use efficiency. “There is a need to move towards transparent and participatory mechanisms of pricing of water by the primary stakeholders themselves,” Singh said referring to the National Water Mission which sets a target of 20 pc improvement in water use efficiency.
	No ammo shortage, says Antony Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 10 Defence Minister AK Antony today dismissed reports that the Army had only four days of ammunition as “rumours”, adding that the country was fully prepared and was in a much stronger position than in the past. Antony, while replying to queries from reporters after inaugurating the bi-annual IAF Commanders conference here today, said, “These are all rumours. I can assure you that the country is fully prepared. There may always be some shortcomings. That is also in the process of filling up (being met with)… You cannot expect 100 per cent requirements (to be) fulfilled.” Antony was replying to the question as to whether there was only four days of ammunition left with the Army. The same question was yesterday put by Parliamentarians to the Vice Chief of the Indian Army, Lt Gen SK Singh. The General is believed to have talked about the shortage of specific ammunition that is fired to pierce the armour of the enemy tanks and not the entire ammunition. “On the whole, the Indian Armed forces are in a better position to meet any challenges to our integrity,” Antony said in what is seen as a message to MPs who have summoned the three service Chiefs to question them about ‘defence preparedness’. This will be the first-ever meeting of the Chiefs with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. Earlier, while addressing the IAF commanders, Antony assured that the government will provide all assistance for making rapid modernisation plans a reality, but cautioned, “This cannot be accelerated in fits and starts.”
	No reporting on troop movement by media: Allahabad HC Lucknow, April 10 The Allahabad High Court today directed the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that there is no reporting on movement of troops by print or electronic media. The directive came days after a newspaper report on movement of two Army units towards Delhi had created a storm. "Without interfering with the independence of media and keeping in view the fact that the news items relating to movement of troops have already engaged the attention at the highest level in the defence as well as in the government, we direct the Secretaries, Home and Information and Broadcasting, the Government of India and the Principal Secretary (Home) to ensure that there is no reporting/release of any news item by the print as well as electronic media on the matter," the Lucknow Bench of the high court said. On a PIL filed by social activist Nutan Thakur expressing grave concern over the media report on the movement of troops, the Bench of justices Uma Nath Singh and Virendra Kumar Dixit said "the issue of movement of Army troops is not a matter of the kind which should require public discussion at the cost of defence secrecy and the security of the country." Thakur, in her submissions, said such reports, if permitted to continue, may seriously interfere with the handling of security matters by the Army, particularly the movement of troops from the strategic point of view in field as well as peace areas. — PTI
	Odisha toughens stand on abductors’ new demands Bhubaneswar, April 10 As the deadline set by two Maoist groups in the twin hostage crises ends today, the Odisha Government seemed to have toughened its stance vis-a-vis their new demands. The pitch has been queered further by the threat of the state police to boycott anti-Naxal operations if hardcore ultras are freed by the government as per a deal to get released BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka and Italian Paolo Bosusco. Meanwhile, Panda’s wife Subhashree Das, alias Mili Panda, whose release the abductors of Bosusco had demanded and the government also agreed to, was acquitted by a Gunupur fast-track court in a case relating to an encounter between Naxals and security men at Kutinguda forest in Rayagada district. Subhashree was set free soon after being acquitted by the court. Abductors of Hikaka have now demanded immediate release of 30 prisoners, while the captors of Bosusco wanted a clarification on the number and names of rebels to be freed. — PTI
	2g licence cancellation Union Cabinet approves Presidential reference Girja Shankar Kaura/TNS New Delhi, April 10 On a day when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured the Norwegian telecom major Telenor that the government would try to complete the vacated 2G Spectrum auction exercise at the earliest, the Union Cabinet at its special sitting approved the Presidential reference on the Supreme Court cancelling the 2G licences in February. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Presidential reference does not challenge the apex court's ruling, but seeks to clarify the larger issues including scope for interference by courts in policy making by the government. The list of questions prepared by the government will be delivered to a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court where the matter will be debated. Earlier last month, the Union Cabinet chose not take any decision on the issue and decided to call the Solicitor General for hearing his views before taking any decision. The newly drafted and approved Presidential reference has taken inputs from various ministries including the Attorney General and the Law Ministry. This Presidential reference is essentially the third element of the government's strategy as far as the Supreme Court's order is concerned. One review petition has already been filed and is listed to be heard on April 13. Another interlocutory application is also before the Supreme Court. The government is seeking the Presidential reference as it wants clarity on the apex court's February 2 verdict on natural resources in the 2G Spectrum case. The Supreme Court had said natural resources should be auctioned and the reference is to be sought under Article 143 of the Constitution according to which the President can seek clarification from the apex court on its judgments on issues of public interest. The government had on March 2 filed the review petition in the Supreme Court questioning its verdict holding as unconstitutional the policy of first-come-first-served in allocation of 2G Spectrum saying it has entered into the exclusive domain of the executive and beyond the limits of judicial review, which was rejected by a Bench of the apex court. It also rejected the review petition filed by the private telecom companies which have been affected by the judgment. The review petition was rejected by a Bench of Justices GS Singhvi and KS Radhakrishnan. The order said, “We have carefully perused the record of the case and are satisfied that the judgment of which review has been sought does not suffer from any error apparent. In the garb of seeking review, the petitioner wants re-hearing of the case. We do not find any valid ground much less justification to entertain its prayer. In the garb of review, the petitioner cannot seek re-hearing of the matter and re-consideration of the issues decided by the court.”
	Concern over kidnapping of temple panel chairman in Pak Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS Bangalore, April 10 Alleged kidnapping of the chairman of the committee that manages the Hinglaj Mata Temple in Baluchistan province of South West Pakistan has created ripples in Karnataka. “We will write to the Prime Minister to take up the issue of kidnapping of the chairman with his counterpart in Pakistan so that adequate steps are taken to ensure that he is rescued from the clutches of the abductors,” Narayanrao B Tatuskar, president of Akhil Bharatiya Bhavsar Kshatriya Mahasabha (ABBKM), told this correspondent from Hubli in Karnataka. Kokilaben Bhavsar, who met the temple panel chairman Ganga Ram Motiyani when she made a pilgrimage to the shrine last June, expressed concern about his health. “Motiyaniji is quite old. He cannot survive any rough treatment by the abductors,” she said. Motiyani was reportedly kidnapped at Lasbela in Baluchistan on Friday by two men in police uniform.
	Big B plays down health concerns Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, April 10 Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan who complained of pain following another surgery earlier this year sought to downplay his problems after a huge media contingent gathered outside his bungalow in suburban Juhu. According to Bachchan, the huge turnout surprised even the security men posted outside his house. Monday night, Bachchan had complained of excruciating pain. Today, the actor seemed in a better condition going by his attempts to downplay his condition. “Got to be careful of what to write on Twitter and Blog.. screenplay writers abound!!(sic),” Bachchan tweeted. He advised the media contingent to take it easy. “Dearest TV media and vans outside my home, please do not stress and work so hard. It’s nothing, just another visit to my doctor!!” Bachchan tweeted. He reportedly underwent a CT scan at Nanavati hospital.
	Condition of baby Afreen continues to be critical Bangalore, April 10 The condition of three-month-old baby Afreen, allegedly battered by her father for being born a girl, continues to be critical. The baby is on ventilator and being given life-support medication. It had two convulsions today, a doctor attending on the child said. Hospital sources said, “We are monitoring her condition round the clock to ensure that convulsions do not recur.” It was difficult to give a clear picture of the baby’s condition till she was on ventilator, they added. — PTI
	Chhattisgarh Mining Scam Congress guns for CM; BJP terms it ‘honest business’ Faraz Ahmad/TNS New Delhi, April 10 Even as the Congress, seeking a CBI probe into the allotment of coal mines to BJP MP Ajay Sancheti by the Chhattisgarh Government, also sought the Governor’s sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Raman Singh, the BJP went on the defensive, disagreeing with the CAG report on the subject. The CAG has alleged a big scam in the allotment of coal blocks Bhadgaon 2 and Bhadgaon 2 extension. It claimed that by allotting the mines in 2007 to SMS Infrastructures, a company owned by Ajay Sancheti, a member of the BJP national executive who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha on the BJP ticket, the state incurred a loss of Rs 1,052 crore. AICC general secretary BK Hari Prasad said Sancheti was a close associate of BJP president Nitin Gadkari. Stating that the BJP had begun demanding a JPC on the CAG report on 2G distribution even before it was tabled, the Congress leader charged the BJP with double standards. Prasad charged the BJP with trying to block a discussion on the issue in the Chhattisgarh Assembly and said it was avoiding placing the report in the House to prevent the Public Undertakings Committee from examining it. “In this situation, we are left with no option but to demand a CBI probe into the entire scam,” said BK Hari Prasad. Congress leaders also alleged similar scams in awarding contract to private parties in the power sector. Chief Minister Raman Singh holds both the Power and Mines portfolio. “We have petitioned the Governor to permit us to prosecute the Chief Minister and the then Chief Secretary,” Prasad said. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said the party differed with the CAG conclusion. “When these mines were allotted in 2008, Ajay Sancheti was neither a BJP MP nor Gadkari the BJP president. Therefore, it would be wrong to impute motives. The entire process of awarding the contract was transparent,” he said. When pointed out that Sancheti was also a business partner of Gadkari in some projects, Prasad added, “Doing honest business is no crime.” Incidentally, BJP chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Ramesh Bias had protested about awarding of the contract to Sancheti, who is not a resident of Chhattisgarh. Being domiciled in Chhattisgarh was part of the terms and conditions for awarding the contract. Prasad did not comment on Bias’ comments.
	Azam ends verbal attack against Delhi Imam Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Lucknow, April 10 Putting a stop to the verbal attack by Delhi Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari, senior Cabinet minister and the so-called Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party Mohammad Azam Khan declared that he had no intention to weaken the party. For the past few days, these two leaders had been indulging in a very public personal attack at each other embarrassing Samajwadi Party leaders. Describing it as a “family matter”, another senior Cabinet minister and brother of national party president Shivpal Singh Yadav had tried to make light of the matter. The genesis of the matter lies in a letter written by the Delhi Shahi Imam to Mulayam Singh Yadav turning down his offer of an MLC seat for his son-in-law Umer Ali Khan on the ground that the party had not given adequate representation to the Muslims of the state in the Rajya Sabha election. Despite a virtual Samajwadi Party wave, Bukhari’s son-in-law had lost from the Behat seat in Saharanpur during the recent Vidhan Sabha election. However, Bukhari was clearly upset with the party nominating a Madhya Pradesh Samajwadi Party leader Munnawar Salim for a Rajya Sabha seat instead of Bukhari’s brother Yahya Bukhari. Salim is reportedly close to Mohammad Azam Khan.
	Another land allotment issue haunts Deshmukh Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, April 10 Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is facing further embarrassment after activists here filed a complaint against him and some bureaucrats for handing over a plot of land meant for housing displaced persons to a housing society for judges. The complainant, Mumbai-based activist Simpreet Singh who blew the lid on the Adarsh Housing Scam, told reporters that he has named bureaucrats like CS Sangeetrao, SS Zende, RC Joshi and Ramanand Tiwari in addition to Deshmukh in his complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Maharashtra police. "We have demanded that a First Information Report be filed against Deshmukh, the bureaucrats and judges involved," Singh has been quoted as saying. Several senior judges of the Bombay High Court have been named in the complaint. According to Singh, judges of the Bombay High Court in 2001 formed the Nyaysagar Co-Operative Housing Society and approached Deshmukh for allotment of land. The plot of land identified by the society in Bandra East was reserved for housing displaced people and could not be allotted to the judges' society," Singh said. The complainant said Deshmukh as Chief Minister got the bureaucracy to overlook the provisions under which the plot was reserved and thus got the land allotted to the society.