The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Security boost: AP gets third Coast Guard station

New Delhi, June 18
The Indian Coast Guard today opened a new station in Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, the third in the state, to help boost the coastal security apparatus on the country's east coast.

The station was inaugurated by Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju in the presence of Coast Guard Director General Vice-Admiral MP Muralidharan and ICG Commander (East) Inspector General Satya Prakash Sharma.

"The establishment of a station at Krishnapatnam is part of the ongoing efforts by the ICG to strengthen coastal security in the coastal states of the nation," said a defence ministry release here.

In his address during the commissioning ceremony, Raju said the coast of Andhra Pradesh, being cyclone prone, had witnessed a number of incidents in the past resulting in loss of life and property at sea.

The newly-commissioned ICG station at Krishnapatnam would facilitate search and rescue operations towards saving lives. The station will function under the administrative and operational control of ICG Commander (East). — IANS

Andhra judge faces arrest in cash-for-bail
Suresh Dharur/TNS

Hyderabad, June 18
A sense of outrage has gripped the legal fraternity in Andhra Pradesh following the cash-for-bail scam involving a judge of a special CBI court. Additional Special Judge for CBI cases T Pattabhi Rama Rao faces arrest for allegedly accepting bribe to grant bail to Karnataka mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy in an illegal mining case.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has already arrested his son Ravichandra and a close friend TV Chalapathi Rao, a retired district judge, for their role in the scam that has sent shock waves across the state.

The high court had suspended Pattabhi Rama Rao last month after the CBI unearthed what has now come to be known as “Bailgate”. “The tainted judge will be arrested anytime now,” sources said.

The investigating agency alleged the judge had struck a deal with the associates of the mining baron for Rs 10 crore to grant bail to Janardhan Reddy and other accused in the Obulapuram illegal mining scam.

It was alleged that the judge was paid Rs 2.87 crore by Janardhan Reddy’s aides. The CBI sleuths conducted searches and recovered Rs 1.6 crore from five bank lockers belonging to the judge’s son and his close associates.

A history-sheeter from Hyderabad reportedly played the role of a mediator in striking the deal, along with a retired district judge.

The close follower of the mining baron had initially offered the judge a payment of Rs 5 crore for granting bail to four persons, but a deal was finally struck for Rs 10 crore. As per the deal, Janardhan Reddy, his brother-in-law BV Srinivas Reddy, suspended IAS officer Y Srilakshmi and former Director of Mines VD Rajagopal were to be granted bail.

The CBI got suspicious about the judge’s motive when he granted bail to the mining baron on May 11. The investigators kept a close watch on him and tracked his mobile calls. It was found that he was in touch with mediators before and after granting the bail.

Huge money was transferred from Bellary in Karnataka into the accounts of the judge’s son in Hyderabad.

It was at this stage that the CBI approached the then Chief Justice of the high court Madan B Lokur and presented the evidence. Taking a serious note of the case, the high court took the unprecedented action of placing the judge under suspension and ordering a thorough probe by the Legal Department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The ACB later registered cases against seven persons, including two BJP MLAs from Karnataka-Gali Somasekhara Reddy, brother of the jailed mining baron, and Suresh Babu-in the scam.They have been charged under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC for corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

BCCI chief quizzed in Jagan case
Suresh Dharur/TNS

Hyderabad, June 18
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Chairman N Srinivasan, who is also the managing director of India Cements Limited, was today quizzed by CBI sleuths in connection with the disproportionate assets case against the YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The questioning at the CBI’s camp office here, which went on for over six hours, was primarily focused on the “quid pro quo investments” by India Cements in the business ventures floated by Jagan, sources said.

The CBI had issued a notice to Srinivasan early this month asking him to appear before it to explain the charge of investments by India Cements in return for the favours it got from Jagan’s father and former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy.

According to the FIR filed by the CBI, the Chennai-based cement company had invested Rs 135 crore in Bharati Cements and Jagati Publications owned by Jagan in return for the benefits it got from the previous government.

India Cements, which has two production units in Andhra Pradesh, had received favours in the form of enhanced water allocations to enable them to double their production. In return, the company made huge investments in Jagan’s business ventures.

A spokesman of the company, however, asserted that the water allocation to the cement units was as per industrial policy of the state government.

French Consulate keeps mum on immunity issue
Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS

Bangalore, June 18
The Consulate-General of France in Bangalore today said it was extending full cooperation with the police with regard to a minor girl’s sexual abuse case involving her father, a French employee of the Consulate, but did not spell out whether the accused enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

“The statement does not say anything on whether the accused enjoyed diplomatic immunity,” pointed out Nina Nayak, chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

She said the local police had written to the Union Home Ministry on the issue and were waiting for its response before taking any action against accused Pascal Mazurier, deputy head of chancery at the French Consulate here.

French government sources said in Delhi that Indian law will take its course as the accused does not hold a diplomatic passport. A group of social activists today held protests outside the French Consulate demanding the arrest of the accused. Around 30 activists staging the protest were detained by the police.

The allegations in the local TV channels that the consulate was trying to “block” the probe prompted the consulate general to issue the statement.

U’khand warns Centre on closing hydro projects
Aditi Tandon/TNS

New Delhi, June 18
Facing severe power and water crisis, the Uttarakhand government today warned the Centre against closing any more hydroelectric power projects in the state and threatened mass agitations if such an action was repeated in future.

The move came amid information that the Centre, under pressure from the saints leading the Ganga Bachao Andolan, was contemplating closure of the 320 MW Srinagar Hydroelectric Power Project (Pithoragarh) which is 80 per cent complete. With this, the fourth major hydel project in the state would have shut down, the others being state-owned Palamaneri (480 MW) and Baironghati (381 MW) and the Centre-owned Lohari Nagpala (600 MW).

Terming the ongoing Ganga Bachao Andolan as a “conspiracy” in the name of environmental preservation to disable the state’s development, Uttarakhand Water Supplies Minister Mantriprasad Naithani today said the state had set a July 9 ultimatum for the government to ensure that the Srinagar project was commissioned on time by the end of 2013 as planned.

“If the Centre doesn’t act, we will stage an agitation in the capital. Meanwhile, we appeal to the saints to consider the welfare of people who have no water to drink, no power to sustain their livelihoods,” Naithani said on a day when Ganga Bachao Andolan sages held a dharna at Jantar Mantar to save the river’s uninterrupted flow.

The Tribune had reported two days ago how women in remote Uttarkashi villages were using stones to light fires in their homes in the absence of power. The crisis is now threatening normalcy across the state, with people in Chauras and Srinagar (which were to benefit from Srinagar hydel project) out on streets against the alleged closure of the project under “saintly advice”.

“We have nothing against the saints. All we ask is why did they didn’t agitate when lands were being acquired for the projects and feasibility studies were conducted. The Centre had satisfied itself of the project’s viability before starting work. Now, when most are 50 per cent complete, they can’t simply shut these down,” said Naithani, insisting that dams were no threat to Ganga’s flow.

Power deficiency has led to water crisis.

Samajwadi party gets an assertive Gen-Next voice in Dimple Yadav
Shahira Naim/TNS

Lucknow, June 18
From the easygoing life as the daughter of a Colonel to the daughter-in-law of the political Yadav clan from Etawah where women are conspicuous by their absence from the public eye, Dimple Yadav, 35, has come a long way with much grace and unstated aplomb.

Her historic unopposed victory from Kannauj would bring the first woman member from patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav's family into full-time politics - an irony of sorts as his Samajwadi Party is vehemently opposed to increasing women participation by reserving 33 per cent seats for them.

For the Samajwadi Party, this is a paradigm shift and an indication of a generational change within the party, much like the promotion of laptops and tablets to school-leaving students and softening of the anti-English stance.

Despite living under the glare of the media since her star-studded marriage to Akhilesh Yadav in 1999, Dimple has remained her own person, fiercely protective of her private space.

Not at all enamoured by politics, she was, however, fated to fall in love with a man from a political family. Finding her niche in the Yadav clan despite a completely different background and caste was a challenge that Dimple accepted along with a new role for herself as a wife of a parliamentarian. Calling her his lucky mascot, Akhilesh became an MP from Kannauj barely weeks after his marriage.

Dimple's determination to remain low-profile and lead as normal a life as possible is reflected in the fact that despite being the CM's wife, she has made just two public appearances in the last two months and a half.

The same applies to their three children - Aditi and the twins Arjun and Tina. They may not be gracing public functions, but if one is lucky enough one may spot her along with her children enjoying a movie at some city multiplex.

Not a page-3 types, Dimple is virtually invisible in the media. The first time she appeared in public was when she contested for the Firozabad bypoll in November 2009.

Since then, the party has been quietly reinventing itself on all fronts. This culminated in the party's landslide victory in the Assembly elections and now the unprecedented unopposed victory of Dimple Yadav.

A shy, reserved type not many can claim to know the real Dimple. She appears in public in exquisite handloom saris with her head coyly covered and a suggestion of sindoor and bindi adding to her charming Indian persona.

However, of the little that is known about her is the fact that she shares her husband's love for Metallica, enjoys painting and horse riding. To avoid the public glare, she prefers holidaying abroad.

Her sudden appearance in the media after her victory is being discussed on social network sites not only for its uniqueness of being elected unopposed, but also because it promises to raise the glamour quotient in the Lok Sabha.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor has tweeted, "Dimple Yadav will add huge touch of glamour to the Lok Sabha, n hope she will debate as well as she looks."

Many compared her to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who has been highly praised by the media for her distinct style sense.

Designer Ritu Kumar said, "She dresses with an identity. She comes from a part of the country where saris are worn and she wears beautiful saris teaming them with pretty blouses. She follows her own style and looks good."

What many may not be counting upon is Dimple Yadav emerging as the assertive new voice from generation next in support of women's rights. President of the Samajwadi Party women wing Leelavati Kushwaha is hopeful of Dimple Yadav lending her support to women's issues, especially female foeticide.

"I have interacted with her and can say that she feels strongly about such issues. We expect her to take up these issues in support of women empowerment," she said.

After accepting her victory certificate in Kannauj on June 12, Dimple promised to fight for women's rights in Parliament. In the coming days, her saris and style statement are surely not going to be the only thing people would notice about her inside the Lok Sabha.

Cong ticks off Digvijay over Mamata comments
Anita Katyal/TNS

New Delhi, June 18
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, who has acquired the reputation of speaking out of turn, was ticked off by the Congress over the remarks he made about key ally Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

A terse press release issued by the AICC media department today said Digvijay Singh is not authorised to speak on behalf of the party. “Digvijay Singh is not officially authorised to speak on behalf of the party,” the release said. Although the senior Congress leader has been upbraided several times in the past for exceeding his brief in his public pronouncements, this is the first time that the Congress has issued a written statement pulling him up. Party sources said the release was issued after “due authorisation”, indicating that it had party president Sonia Gandhi’s sanction. The party president had once sought a personal explanation from Digvijay Singh when he had criticised Home Minister P Chidambaram’s approach in tackling Naxalism in an article and had even accused him of “intellectual arrogance”.

Party insiders said the latest snub to Digvijay Singh was triggered by his recent remarks in a series of television interviews in which he described Mamata Banerjee as “erratic and immature” and that there was a limit to the party’s patience in dealing with her.

“All efforts have been made to console her, accept her views, accept her tantrums. Beyond a certain limit, the decision is hers. There is a limit to which you can bend to...There are certain eventualities, which if it cannot be avoided have to be faced,” Digvijay Singh said about the Trinamool chief, indicating that her departure from the UPA was imminent.

1994 Yamuna Water Accord reduced Haryana’s share
Ajay Banerjee/TNS

New Delhi, June 18
Haryana today finds itself in unique situation. Its neighbour Delhi accuses it of wrongdoing while possibly forgetting the past that it was Haryana’s loss which led to Delhi’s gain. The Yamuna Water Accord of 1994 reduced Haryana’s share of water, while it added Delhi as one of the beneficiaries of the water and allocated it 6 per cent share.

The present ruling dispensation in Haryana is not happy with the accord and even conducted an in-house review of the accord, which was signed by late Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. Haryana has always felt the accord dealt a blow to
its interests.

Today, state Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda did not show his anger but he is clearly not happy at the manner in which Delhi chooses to apportion blame on the state for all water woes of the Capital.

Ironically, the 1994 Yamuna Water Accord reduced Haryana's share in the Yamuna waters by about 20 per cent, from 66.66 per cent to 47.8 per cent.

Under the original agreement of 1954, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were getting Yamuna water in the ratio of two-thirds and one-third, respectively. Though the agreement was signed between the then state of undivided Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in 1954, after the formation of Haryana, it became applicable to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The 1994 agreement replaced the 1954 agreement. It was signed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Whatever was given to Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan went out of the share of Haryana by reducing it. Delhi has 6 per cent share, whereas UP’s share of remained intact.

Sports Ministry questions pairing of Paes, Bopanna
MS Unnikrishnan
Tribune News Service

Paes & Bopanna: Will the tough get going?

New Delhi, June 18
The tennis selection controversy took a new twist today when the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports asked the All India Tennis Federation (AITA) to explain the present stand-off between the tennis federation and the player-duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna. The Ministry’s fiat to the AITA follows a joint letter written by Bhupathi and Bopanna to Sports Minister Ajay Maken, protesting against the AITA selection committee’s decision to pick just one doubles team, consisting of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi for the London Olympics.

“This decision to nominate only one team to the London Games, when two (teams) have qualified and, in the bargain, to ignore our successful men’s doubles pairing, has surprised and disappointed us. At a time when our country is doing its best to improve its Olympic record, the stance taken by the AITA of refusing to nominate a team that has legitimately qualified on its own record - instead of nominating two players who have failed in four previous Olympic events and who have not played together this year — is bemusing and difficult for us to understand”, the letter said.

They argued that the AITA decision had clearly “ignored and overlooked” the standing of World No 12 Rohan Bopanna and, his pairing with World No 7 Bhupathi.

They said according to the qualification criteria laid down by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), they will get direct acceptance (among the 24 top teams) to the men’s doubles event, and they had repeatedly written to the AITA that they should be considered for Olympic selection as a doubles team.

“The justification of denying two players who have qualified as a team on merit by sending just one Indian team, when India can send two teams, may be explained”, the Ministry’s letter to the AITA has said.

The letter by the doubles duo also pointed out that “at no time did the AITA suggest that we would be considered as anything but a team; in fact their correspondence of March 2012 proactively states that we have a great possibility of having two doubles team in the Olympic main draw”.

“The manner in which this has been communicated (to us) and handled by the AITA defies logic. We fail to understand how, without notice, putting together a combination of two players, who haven’t played together in months (Paes and Bhupathi last played together seven months ago; Paes and Bopanna have played alongside each other only twice in their careers) serves the interest of the country”, the letter noted.

Where it started
The genesis of the controversy could be traced to Leander’s initial plan to pair up with Bopanna as preparation for the Olympics. Bopanna split with his regular partner Aisam-ul-Haq-Qureshi in the hope of partnering Leander. But Leander opted for Radek Stepanik, and they won the Australian Open, and Leander has been pairing with him ever since. This forced Bopanna to team up with Bhupathi, and they achieved some success in the international circuit, leading to their qualification for the Olympics

Bollywood campaigns to ban Mumbai horse-drawn carriages
Shiv Kumar/TNS

Mumbai, June 18
A campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai backed by animal rights groups like People for Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) and Maneka Gandhi's People For Animals has drawn the support of movie stars and celebrities.

According to the activists, they have received support from celebrities like actors Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut, and singer Anushka Manchanda. Under the banner of Mumbai for Horses, the activists say they plan to protest outside the offices of the Chief Minister, the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner and the Police Commissioner to highlight plight of the horses.

The Animals and Birds Charitable Trust (ABCT) has filed a public interest litigation petition before the Bombay High Court seeking a ban on horse-drawn carriages or Victorias on the grounds that their owners exploit the horses. In its petition, the ABCT contended that the owners of Victorias violate laws governing maintenance and upkeep of animals.The organisation alleged that the horses are poorly fed and often did not get adequate medical care.

According to data available from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, there are 107 licensed Victorias down from more than 800 in 1973. The number of Victorias on the streets is fewer as many of the owners prefer to lend the animals for weddings and processions, though they get the the carriage licences renewed. Most of the Victorias operate on Mumbai's Marine Drive and Colaba in South Mumbai catering to tourists.

From the Horse’s Mouth

A PIL petition seeks a ban on horse-drawn carriages or Victorias on the grounds that their owners exploit the horses

The petition contends that the owners of Victorias violate laws governing maintenance and upkeep of animals

It says that the horses are poorly fed and do not get adequate medical care