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Prez race: UPA comfortably placed
Pranab says he’s in the dark on nomination issue
Internet revolution bypasses rural India: Govt survey
MOD rapped for failing to service BSF helicopters
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Raje-loyalist MLAs in R’sthan offer to quit
DRDO to tap geothermal energy to power Ladakh
SPG cover sought to protect Mayawati from SP ‘terror’
Assamese dancer to perform at London Olympics inauguration
Sukma Collector Menon was once in ‘police custody’ too
Jantar Mantar
Mumbai optimistic of taming Mithi flood fury
MNS targets foreign banks sacking staff
Hardcore Naxalite arrested in Bihar
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Prez race: UPA comfortably placed
New Delhi, May 6 A couple of months ago, political circles were agog with permutations and combinations on the President's election suggesting a possible ganging up of non-UPA parties to stall a UPA nominee from getting into Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, things appear to have changed suddenly with a surprise statement by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Swaraj, who ruled out a consensus on the Presidential nominee. As things stand today, in an electoral college of around 11 lakh votes, the UPA is almost certain to get the support of over 6.5 lakh votes, which includes those belonging to non-UPA parties like Left, SP, BSP and JD-U going by their public statements in last few days. It remains to be seen whether BJP and its allies or a third front of parties comprising non-UPA and non-NDA outfits will still force a contest in case Congress chooses Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its candidate. Swaraj took political parties, including many in the BJP, by surprise when she rejected the possibility of backing either Mukherjee or Vice President Hamid Ansari for succeeding Pratibha Patil, whose term ends in July. Swaraj reasoned out that the party was planning ahead for the 2014 election and so was not keen on playing ball with Congress. The BJP would not support Mukherjee because he is a Congressman and Ansari because he does not have the stature, she said. This set off a chain of political reaction triggering divisions in the NDA while several other non-UPA parties also shedding their aversion to any Congress nominee. First to express disapproval over Swaraj's remarks was NDA constituent JD-U, which said what she stated was not its views. The disapproval was voiced by JD-U President and NDA convenor Sharad Yadav, who said that the issue had not been discussed in the NDA. His reaction apparently came after Bihar Chief Minister and party leader Nitish Kumar conveyed his disapproval of the BJP leader's statement. — PTI
The story so far
n A couple of months ago, political circles were agog with permutations and combinations on the President's election suggesting a possible ganging up of non-UPA parties to stall a UPA nominee from getting into Rashtrapati Bhavan n
However, things appear to have changed suddenly with a surprise statement by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who ruled out a consensus on the Presidential nominee n
As things stand today, in an electoral college of around 11 lakh votes, the UPA is almost certain to get the support of over 6.5 lakh votes, which includes those belonging to non-UPA parties like the Left, the SP, the BSP and the JD-U going by their public statements in the last few days n
It remains to be seen whether the BJP and its allies or a third front of parties comprising non-UPA and non-NDA outfits will still force a contest in case the Congress chooses Pranab Mukherjee as its candidate
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Pranab says he’s in the dark on nomination issue
Dhaka, May 6 The past week has witnessed intense speculation in India over who would occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan next, with Mukherjee and the current Vice President Hamid Ansari being touted as the main contenders. However, little has been said officially by the ruling UPA over the issue. Mukherjee too has refused to comment anything on the matter. The Finance Minister was posed with the critical question during an interaction with senior editors here. "We are delighted that your name was proposed for Indian Presidency? What's your comment?" asked a senior scribe. Mukherjee laughed at the suggestion, before saying that he himself was "in the dark" on the question. "I am afraid I do not know. In our system of decision making, unless a decision is taken nobody discloses it officially. So, I am in the dark as you are," replied Mukherjee, who is often called the UPA government's 'trouble shooter'. Mukherjee, 76, arrived here last evening on a two-day tour to join the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore. His comments, that gave no indication on what is going on in the back channel deliberations in the Congress and the UPA, came days after he had asked the media not to speculate on the issue. Earlier, while on his way to Manila where he attended the 45th Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors, Mukherjee had dismissed these reports as speculation. "It is speculative. I don't want to comment on it," he had said. — PTI
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Internet revolution bypasses rural India: Govt survey
New Delhi, May 6 "At all-India level, only about 0.4 per cent of rural households had access to Internet at home as compared to about 6 per cent of urban households," said the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report on expenditure in 2009-10. Reflecting the digital divide in India, the study said just 3.5 households per 1,000 families had access to Internet services at home in rural areas in the year. However, in urban areas, Internet connectivity was much better in 2009-10 as 59.5 families out of every 1,000 households had the facility at home. Among the major states, Maharashtra was on top with 104 out of 1,000 families had Internet in cities, followed by Kerala and Himachal Pradesh at 95 each and Haryana at 81.5. The penetration of digital services was highest in rural areas in Goa with 50 out of 1,000 households having Internet connection. Kerala came next with 34 families having such a facility at home. Among hill states, Arunachal had the best reach of Internet service in rural areas with 19 out of 1,000 households have such facility at home, followed by HP at 16. — PTI
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MOD rapped for failing to service BSF helicopters
New Delhi, May 6 The BSF’s Mi-17 IV helicopter fleet not only undertakes sorties to help in anti-Naxal operations, but is also used for transporting paramilitary forces. The panel has also asked the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to plug “operational constraints” which are leading to this problem and ensure a solution so that the BSF is able to operate its fleet in full strength. “The committee is constrained to note that helicopters are not functional due to scarcity of spares. Such a situation should not have been allowed,” the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs noted in its recent report tabled in Parliament. “The committee takes serious view of the fact that despite an MoU having been signed between the MHA and the MoD, the Air Force is not able to extend the required support in terms of pilots, technical manpower, spares backup and repair facilities to the MHA due to its own operational constraints. “When the MoU has been signed, the MoD should honour it without a fail. The MoD should plug these operational constraints,” the panel said when it was briefed that out of the six MI-17 IV BSF military helicopters, two were grounded for want of service. While the BSF flies these helicopter under military registration, it has also contracted Pawan Hans and other helicopter service operators to cater to more than 70 battalions of the Central forces put on anti-Naxal duties and for other logistical sorties. “At present, two Mi-17 IV helicopters, out of a fleet of six with the MHA, are in unservicable condition, due to non-availability of critical components, spares, including aero engines and main rotor blades,” the Home Ministry said in its reply to the House panel. The panel also recommended that the MHA should “impress upon the MoD to supply adequate number of helicopters to it with a guarantee of spares”. — PTI
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Raje-loyalist MLAs in R’sthan offer to quit New Delhi, May 6
However, Balbir Punj tried to underplay the crisis on behalf of the party high command. “You can’t call difference of opinion a rift. In a democratic party, people do have different perceptions. Vasundhara is a very respected and senior leader of the party and there is nothing like a rift,” he said. “The BJP is one and will unitedly face the Congress in Rajasthan. There is no question of Vasundhara quitting,” he added. Vasundhara, it has now become obvious that her camp is still suspicious of the plans of the party leadership. Vasundhara yesterday announced to the media her intention to quit the party if her arch rival and former Home Minister in her government Gulabchand Kataria did not immediately withdraw his plan to set out on a statewide 28-day Lok Jagran Yatra. She told this to the media emerging from a meeting of the state core committee of the BJP in which Kataria announced his plan and the consent he had obtained from Gadkari. Vasundhara threatened to quit if Kataria did not immediately withdraw his proposed yatra. She saw in this an attempt to project Kataria as future chief ministerial candidate. Immediately after Vasundhara’s public announcement, Kataria publicly withdrew his yatra plan. But this does not seem to satisfy the Vasundhara camp, which saw in this a Gadkari design to encourage and promote her rivals. On the other hand party insiders see in Vasundhara’s public spectacle one more attempt to target Gadkari. They see a connection between the recent attacks launched by Yashwant Sinha, Sushma Swaraj, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Even two days ago, Sinha had blamed the BJP leadership (read Gadkari) for party candidate SS Ahluwalia’s defeat at the hands of Congress and JMM candidates in the May 3 Rajya Sabha poll in Jharkhand. A party insider regretted the current infighting in the BJP saying, “People seem to be moving away from the Congress, but we appear determined to thwart all such efforts. Rajasthan is a state where our return to power seemed certain, but this way we are only helping the Congress. If we don’t come to power at the Centre in 2014 either, we will be reduced to a municipal level party, whom no one will take seriously at the national level.”
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DRDO to tap geothermal energy to power Ladakh
Chandigarh, May 6 Geothermal energy is the natural heat of the earth generating from the original formation of the planet and subsequently from radioactive decay of minerals over thousands of years. It is continually regenerated by the decay of radioactive elements that occur in all rocks. “Two valleys in Ladakh have significant geothermal energy reservoirs that can be exploited,” Dr RB Srivastava, Director of DRDO’s Leh-based Defence Institute of High Altitude Research told The Tribune. “There are 36 potential sites in Ladakh that can be tapped and we would soon begin research to assess the power generation potential of these reservoirs,” he added. The DRDO would also be collaborating with other agencies involved with exploring geothermal resources, including the Geological Survey of India (GSI). According to scientists, it makes sense to tap non-conventional resources in that region not only because Jammu and Kashmir is a severely electricity-deficient state but also keeping in view long-term economic and environmental issues. Geothermal power is considered to be sustainable because the heat extraction by generating stations is small compared with the Earth's total assessed heat content. It is also cost effective, reliable, and environmentally friendly. According to available information, the emission intensity of existing geothermal electric plants is about 122 kg of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour of electricity, which is about one-eighth of a conventional coal-fired plant.
Green power n
Geothermal energy is the natural heat of the earth generating from the original formation of the planet and subsequently from radioactive decay of minerals over thousands of years n
Geothermal power is sustainable, cost effective, reliable, and environmentally friendly
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SPG cover sought to protect Mayawati from SP ‘terror’
Lucknow, May 6 Addressing the media here today, Maurya said that it was necessary because of the “prevailing goonda raj” of the Samajwadi Party. When it was pointed out that Mayawati had demanded security cover quoting threats from terrorists, Maurya retorted, “Is the Samajwadi Party less than any terrorist? Hadn’t its leader Mulayam Singh Yadav attacked her in 1995? Is there any special definition for terrorism?” Responding to a question about a sitting BSP MLA and former minister Rajesh Tripathi giving in writing to the state’s Chief Secretary regarding a threat to his life by a sitting BSP MP and son of a notorious don-turned-politician of eastern UP, Maurya said that no such complaint had been received by him. The BSP MLA had only complained regarding threat to his life from some sharpshooter of Ghazipur and not about any party member, asserted Maurya. "He has not given any such thing in writing to the party. If he does, we will surely examine it and acquaint the national president about it. If there is even an iota of evidence, action will be taken. The BSP does not hesitate to take action against its own ministers and party functionaries," Maurya said. Making light of Maurya’s statement regarding the Samajwadi Party being a terrorist organisation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohammad Azam Khan refused to react saying that the statement of Maurya, who is also the state BSP chief, was too absurd to deserve any comment.
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Assamese dancer to perform at London Olympics inauguration
Guwahati, May 6 Manipuri boxer MC Mary Com, a mother of two, is contesting in the next Olympics along with young pugilist from Assam Shiva Thapa and archer Jayanta Talukdar, who hails from Guwahati. Besides these three, accomplished dancer from the region Sonali Acharya too is heading for London Olympics to take part in the gala inauguration ceremony. Sonali, who hails from Hailakandi in South Assam and now settled in Hyderabad, has recently attained recognition by the Guinness Book of World Records after performing continuously for 25 hours at the Rabindra Bharati in Hyderabad on February 1 and 2. She depicted songs composed by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore during the record-making performance. She danced for 25 hours and 25 minutes at a stretch. Assam’s Irrigation Minister Ardhendu Dey, who is a prominent leader of the Bengali speaking community in Assam besides being a veteran Congress leader, said Sonali has been picking accolades all over the globe through her dance performances. She also trains young dancers in her Sonali Academy of Fine Arts in Hyderabad. Sonali, who is now preparing to travel to London to take part in the inauguration ceremony of London Olympics, says she feels extremely happy to be invited to the mega event. Sonali is also preparing a series of dance performances along with 100 other dancers in Hyderabad, Silchar (South Assam) and Guwahati to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Anthem.
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Sukma Collector Menon was once in ‘police custody’ too
Raipur, May 6 Menon, a 2006 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer, was abducted on April 21 and released on Thursday evening in dense green Tadmelta forest in South Bastar. The Chhattisgarh CM Dr Raman Singh has accepted Menon's wish to let him continue to serve in Sukma, south Bastar, which is the heart of Naxalites' core group. Official sources denied the claim of a Delhi University woman professor that Menon had remained in the Maoists' custody for eight hours earlier too when he was posted in Sukma as a sub-divisional magistrate. In the eyes of the Chhattisgarh government, she is a Maoist sympathiser. The Maoists' side negotiator, BD Sharma, a former IAS officer, claimed Menon was not produced in a 'Jan Adalat' (people's court) by the Naxalites before his release. On the evening of April 30, hours before an agreement was reached between the state administration and the Maoists' representatives, the red rebels had threatened to produce him before a 'Jan Adalat' to hear the tribals' tale of alleged police atrocities. Meanwhile, highly placed sources told The Tribune that long back, Menon had experienced the trauma of remaining in 'police custody'. He had remained in the police station in the state capital when he was a probationary officer. Top reliable sources told this correspondent that Menon and some other central service probationers had gone to watch a late night film show. When the group of young trainees came out of the cinema house, they were talking loud. Menon was wearing a tee-shirt and long shorts. The other young officers were also casually dressed. For several years, the police in the state capital has been keeping a close watch on strangers because of the serious Naxalite problem amid reports of the red rebels developing urban cells in this city and adjoining towns like Bhilai, Durg, Rajnandgaon and Dhamtari. The group of 'strangers' comprising Menon and other probationary officers had attracted the attention of a beat constable outside the cinema house. When he confronted them, one of them reportedly rudely told him who they were, a top Chhattisgarh police officer disclosed. According to him, the beat constable was not impressed by their explanation and his suspicion grew. "Anyone in this city, especially outsiders, wearing bermudas and tee-shirts, would make him a suspect in the eyes of the police, more so if it is late at night," he said. The constable had forced the whole group of young IAS probationers to accompany him to the nearby police station. As it was already past midnight, no senior officer was present. After several hours, Menon and his group was 'released' after the police was satisfied about their identity. Recalling this incident, a top police officer commented, "Such things keep on happening in various cities as young probationers visit cinema houses, restaurants and bars late at night, although they are advised to be careful about their behaviour in a public place." Meanwhile, CM Dr Raman Singh has decided to let Menon continue in Sukma from where he was kidnapped on April 21. There were speculations that Menon would be relocated somewhere else in Chhattisgarh or sent on deputation at the Centre. Sources said when the CM asked Menon whether he would like to be transferred or continue to serve in Sukma, he replied that he would prefer to stay on his current posting. "The state administration too, after a lot of brainstorming, decided to go with Menon's wish as his transfer elsewhere would send a wrong signal to the Naxalites," a senior official in the CM Secretariat said. Menon was abducted by a large group of armed Maoists when he had gone to Majhipada village to interact with the tribals to know their grievances under the 'Gram Swaraj Yojna.' Menon's two gunmen were shot dead when they had tried to prevent the district collector's kidnapping.
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Jantar Mantar
People’s power
When eight Congress MPs from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh were suspended from the Lok Sabha for four days for disrupting proceedings to press their demand for a separate state, the Congress leadership had hoped the strong action would serve two purposes. One, it would send out a firm message to other MPs that indiscipline in the House will not be tolerated. Two, it would help the Congress MPs demonstrate to their electorate that they are as passionately committed to the Telangana cause as other political parties like the TRS and that they were even willing to incur the wrath of their leadership for them. However, the script went awry. The suspended MPs, who believed they would be given red carpet treatment in their respective constituencies for taking on their party high command, were in for a big disappointment. Not only was there no such welcome but also there was virtually no appreciation for their heroics. Since their suspension order coincided with the announcement of byelections in Andhra Pradesh, the entire episode was dismissed as “mere drama”. The disappointed MPs have now been forced to think of a fresh strategy to win over the people of Telangana.
The ‘Bong’ factor
It is sheer coincidence that the two men who have emerged as the frontrunners in the forthcoming Presidential election have a Bangladesh connection. Vice-President Hamid Ansari had led an Indian delegation to Dhaka last year to participate in the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the other contender in the Presidential race, was in the Bangladesh capital on Sunday to represent India at the concluding programme of Tagore’s anniversary celebrations. It is now to be seen if Tagore proves lucky for Mukherjee or Ansari as the race for the Rashtrapati Bhavan hots up.
Covering up cracks
Last week’s meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Coordination Committee at Parwanoo was convened to bring about a semblance of unity in the faction-ridden state unit with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections. However, all plans to present a united picture came to a swift nought as the rivalry between Union Ministers Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma surfaced during the deliberations. Virbhadra Singh apparently was not happy when it was suggested that Anand Sharma speak to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni in connection with a publicity campaign in the state to highlight the UPA government’s flagship programmes. As a veteran party leader and a former CM, Virbhadra Singh, felt he should be entrusted this task. Anand Sharma, on the other hand, appeared distracted throughout the meeting as he was constantly on the phone with the PMO and his Cabinet colleagues. The busy minister, who took a ride in Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s plane, arrived late and left soon after the meeting.
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Mumbai optimistic of taming Mithi flood fury
Mumbai, May 6 The reason for this optimism, though cautious, is because of several measures undertaken to deepen the riverbed and creation of channels below the runway of the Mumbai airport to allow faster dispersal of floodwater. Much of the Mumbai’s airport runway stands on what was once the path of the Mithi. “We are sure the deluge of 2005 will not be repeated because we have deepened Mithi’s riverbed,” says PG Godbole who heads the Project Mithi. Over the past few months, controlled explosions have been set off between the rocks on the bed of the river so that the point where the river meets the Arabian Sea gets deepened. “Mithi’s water discharge capacity will go up three times once the river bed is deepened,” Godbole said when the work began in March last. With Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan taking personal interest in the project, Mumbai’s civic body deployed an imported “robotic excavator” last month to de-silt the river. “It is a very difficult job as there exist slums on the river banks,” says a civic official. Most of the 500 or so persons who died in the floods of 2005 were living in slums along the Mithi. Despite several promises to rehabilitate slum-dwellers at other places, there is hardly any improvement in the situation. According to some estimates, the number of people living in these slums has gone up over the past few years. The Mumbai airport authorities say they will complete construction of the underground channels beneath the runway by the end of this month which would enable faster evacuation of rainwater. Rainfall of 944 mm in 24 hours on July 26, 2005, was a record. Till that record is broken, no one will know how efficacious these measures will be in case of another deluge.
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MNS targets foreign banks sacking staff
Mumbai, May 6 The party recently said it has taken up the cause of employees of the HSBC Bank in Maharashtra who have been retrenched as part of a global restructuring exercise. The
weekend saw the party mobilise a few protesters to gather outside the offices of the bank in the city demanding a fair deal for those who were asked to leave the organisation without notice. "The HSBC has sacked nearly 300 employees in India who were simply thrown out by the bank's security guards," MNS leader Shirish Parkar said. According to Parkar, the sacked employees of the bank approached the MNS for compensation. "We want the bank management to compensate the employees for their remaining years in service," Parkar said. The MNS leader said the party wants to hold talks with the bank's management. "They have refused to meet us and called the police. But we refused to budge," he said. The party said it was working to mobilise employees of foreign firms with branches in Mumbai who face job uncertainties. Meanwhile, private banks in the country, which are expanding operations aggressively, say they have hired several employees sacked by the foreign bank.
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Hardcore Naxalite arrested in Bihar
Motihari (Bihar), May 6 Sah was wanted in connection with 11 cases of bank loot, murder, dacoity and Naxal-related violence in East Champaran and neighbouring Sitamarhi districts, Kumar said. — PTI
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Dhaka, May 6
Raipur, May 6
While
the sulking Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly tried to
avoid public reaction saying in Jaipur that “it is an internal matter
of the party”, it was evident that her camp continues to nurse a
grievance against the BJP, following her announcement to the media
yesterday that she would quit the party.
AFTER BLOCKING his Bills in the Rajya Sabha for the past two sessions, the BJP-led Opposition parties have finally relented and are now extending all cooperation to Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in the passage of the pending legislations. This change of heart has come only after some hard work by the minister, who was just not able to figure out the reasons for the reasons for the opposition to the HRD Bills which are fairly non-controversial. Unleashing a charm offensive, Sibal personally called on Opposition leaders, including BSP’s Mayawati, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, to explain the urgency of passing these Bills as they have a direct bearing on the future of the country’s children. It’s only after this hard work that the Opposition came round. However, there are others who put down this turn of events to the absence of BJP’s outgoing deputy leader in Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia as he was perceived to be the chief stumbling block in the smooth passage of Sibal’s Bills. Well, if there is any truth in the contention, the HRD Minister must be secretly celebrating Ahluwalia’s defeat in the last week’s Jharkhand Rajya Sabha elections.
