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India, Pakistan discuss terror, Jundal on Day 1
War of words over Pranab Mukherjee’s nomination hots up
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Akhilesh’s U-turn: Withdraws car bonanza for MLAs
Divorce case
13 years & nine orders later, UT yet to implement judgment
Bhopal tragedy
‘The water rose to 10 ft, it took away everything’
Rains pound Mumbai, one killed in building collapse
NITs to give 40% weightage to Class XII marks
India eyes deep-sea wealth
Andhra HC rejects
Jagan’s bail plea
Army awaits nod for aviation brigade
Rs 107-cr boost for pulses production
After one year, GTRE gets a new director
Bandh against Assam MLA’s second marriage
AI strike over, but normalcy may still take some weeks
Cartoon row: NCERT to hold more consultations
Anti-Naxal Operation
SC to RBI: Don’t allow foreign law firms
Acclaimed Assamese poet passes away
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India, Pakistan discuss terror, Jundal on Day 1
New Delhi, July 4 At the foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries, Pakistan sought to deflect attention from terror by harping on Jammu and Kashmir, seeking an early settlement of the issue in accordance with the UN resolution taking into consideration the wishes and aspirations of the
Kashmiris. The two sides also discussed cross-border trade and travel-related confidence-building measures (CBMs) besides CBMs in the nuclear field. In order to build an atmosphere of trust and confidence, Pakistan should see to it that anti-India forces were not allowed to operate from its territory, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai is understood to have told his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani right at the start of the talks. The two foreign secretaries launched their two-day parleys at the Hyderabad House this morning under the shadow of Jundal's revelations, linking Pakistani state actors with the carnage. The two diplomats were assisted by their senior officials. The Indian delegation included High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal, Joint Secretary (Pakistan) in the External Affairs Ministry YK Sinha and Joint Secretary (Disarmament) Venkatesh Varma. The Pakistani side included High Commissioner-designate Salman Bashir, Additional Secretary in the Foreign Ministry Munawar Saeed Bhatti and Director General (South Asia) Zehra
Akbari. In a brief statement issued at the end of today's talks, MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the foreign secretaries, along with their respective delegations, had had two full sessions of detailed discussion covering all aspects of the agenda under the items peace and security, including CBMs and J&K. The foreign secretaries have agreed to resume the talks tomorrow with a view to completing all the items scheduled for consideration. The spokesman refused to divulge details of the discussions, but emphasised that the two sides would come out with a joint statement tomorrow. Sources said India did share information about Jundal, like the details of his Pakistani passport and Pakistan's domestic card, but no dossier was handed over to the Pakistani side. The sources explained that a dossier at this stage could hamper the interrogation process. Earlier in the day, Home Minister P Chidambaram made it clear that India would not hand over to Pakistan any dossier
on information obtained from the 26/11 accused.
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War of words over Pranab Mukherjee’s nomination hots up
Refusing to back down, Sangma wrote a letter to the returning officer for the Presidential election VK Agnihotri to demand a copy of his detailed order rejecting his objections to Mukherjee's candidature. Team Sangma is looking at the option of filing an election petition in court on the ground that Mukherjee was holding an office of profit as the chairman of the Kolakta-based Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) when he filed his nomination papers. According to the law, the courts cannot intervene once the election process is underway. However, the election can be challenged in the Supreme Court 30 days after the results have been notified. The BJP has alleged that Mukherjee's resignation letter from the ISI was "fabricated" and that his signatures were forged. Hitting back at the Opposition, Mukherjee and his election agent, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, thrashed the charges made by the Opposition, describing them as "frivolous and scandalous". Mukherjee was quick to counter the charge. "Who had forged my signatures? I myself? I do not know what they have said. Who can forge his own signature? How can somebody lodge a complaint that you forged your own signature?" he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram today. Stating that they are ready with a strategy to counter the allegations being levelled by the Opposition, Bansal said they had responded effectively to each point raised by Sangma's lawyer Satpal Jain at yesterday's deposition before the returning officer. Responding to the allegation that Mukherjee's resignation letter was prepared at the last minute, Bansal said when he told Mukherjee's about the objections raised during the scrutiny, the former minister got up and pulled out his resignation letter dated June 20 from a folder.
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Akhilesh’s U-turn: Withdraws car bonanza for MLAs
Lucknow, July 4 Addressing the media at his official residence, he said, "The decision about vehicles to MLAs is being rolled back by the government. I am taking back the decision." Appreciating the role of Opposition parties in healthy democracy, he said if a constructive suggestion came from the Opposition, there should be no reason not to accept that. All major Opposition parties had opposed the decision announced by Akhilesh on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha yesterday. The media had also lashed out at the "bankrupt" state government for making this gesture to MLAs, more than 50 per cent of whom were crorepatis. Reacting to Yadav's decision leader of the Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya described it as the result of the young CM's lack of experience. Senior BJP MLA Kalraj Mishra said the state government would have saved itself from such an embarrassment if it had cared to consult the Opposition parties beforehand. Congress MLA Pramod Tiwari welcomed Akhilesh's gesture of withdrawing
the decision.
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Divorce case
Rejecting the ruling of the trial court and the appellate courts that the husband was enjoying such acts by his wife, a Bench comprising Justices Deepak Verma and Dipak Misra said this finding was not based on evidence. “It does not require Solomon’s wisdom to understand the embarrassment and harassment that might have been felt by the husband. The level of disappointment on his part can be well visualized like a moon in a cloudless sky,” the apex court held. However, one of the main grounds on which the SC granted divorce was an advertisement published in a newspaper at the instance of the wife, alleging that her husband had “vices of womanizing, drinking liquor and other bad habits. He is having monthly income of Rs 10 lakh, but due to several vices he is short of fund. Therefore, he has started selling the property.” The SC noted that the husband was from a respectable business family and at the time of publication of the advertisement, the sons of the couple were quite grown up. The “wife did not bother to think what impact it would have on the reputation of the husband and what mental discomfort it would cause.” Further, “such a publication in the newspaper having good circulation can cause trauma, agony and anguish in the mind of any reasonable man. The explanation given by the wife to the effect that she wanted to protect the interests of the children, as we perceive, is absolutely incredible and implausible…,” the Bench held.
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13 years & nine orders later, UT yet to implement judgment
Chandigarh, July 4 The original bidder, Harinder Singh Giani, did not live long enough to see justice come his way. His son, Harpreet Singh Giani, is now pursuing the case. The case history reveals that the UT Administration has chosen to ignore the judgments of the Chandigarh State Consumer Commission, the National Consumer Commission and the Supreme Court, even though nothing less than nine adverse orders have been handed down to it. The Administration and its Estate Officer may now find itself facing proceedings for imprisonment, when the case comes up for hearing on July 6. The Case
When the hammer fell on advocate Harinder Singh Giani’s bid for a 1,000 square yard commercial plot in Sector 40-D in 1994, little did he realise that the Chandigarh Administration was about to beat the peace out of his life; and almost two decades would be spend fighting court cases for the property. The plot was for the construction of a basement and a three-floor showroom. Giani soon realised that the possession of the plot, originally auctioned to him, could not be handed over, as it had “already been auctioned to some other person”. The Administration tried to make up for the gaffe by allotting an alternative plot to him on February 28, 1994. But that was just the beginning. Giani found that the approach road, sewerage connection, and drinking water facilities had not been provided for the alternative plot that he had been allotted. Left with no alternative, Giani family moved the UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission by filing a complaint in 1998. Taking up a bunch of related complaints by Giani and others, the commission on May 28, 1999 ordered the Administration to provide all basic amenities. The commission also directed the UT Chief Engineer or his immediate subordinate to certify that the amenities have been provided and also stated: “The date of such certificate shall be considered to be the date of auction. The amount deposited by the complainant shall earn interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum till (the UT Administration) provided the essential requirements”. The commission also ruled that he was entitled to interest at the rate of 10 per cent per annum on the initial sum of Rs 3, 35,000, from the date of deposit till alternative plot was provided. In case of Administration’s failure to do so, an interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum was to be paid “from the date of institution of the complaint till realisation”. The Battle
What followed the order were endless rounds of litigation, and the Chandigarh Administration’s obduracy to avoid payment. On July 17, 2006, the orders were upheld by the National Commission; and Giani filed an execution application before a Civil Judge, as the judgment had not been complied with. But, following an amendment in the Consumer Protection Act, the execution case was sent to the UT State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. In the meantime, the struggle to get the judgment enforced passed down a generation with the death of Harinder Giani in 2007. On May 11, 2009, the commission directed the UT Administration and the Estate Officer to comply with the order in letter and spirit. Not willing to give up, the Administration and the Estate Officer moved the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The revision petition was “dismissed being without any substance” on October 1, 2009, yet the UT Administration failed to comply with the order. The commission on February 25, 2010 again directed the Administration to make the payment by March 25, 2010, “failing which action under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act will be initiated”. The Section makes it clear that non-compliance “shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month, but which may extend to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than Rs 2,000, but which may extend to Rs 10,000, or with both”. The Administration again moved the National Commission only to find its revision petition dismissed at the threshold. The Supreme Court found no merit either. “We find no ground to interfere with the impugned order. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed,” the Apex Court ruled on February 3, 2012. Again, the Giani family found itself before the Chandigarh State Commission praying for execution of the 13-year-old judgment. The commission on May 21 ordered: “The judgment debtors (Administration and Estate Officer) are held liable to pay a sum of Rs 13, 85, 553 in addition to the amount already deposited by them.” The amount, along with Rs 16,47,860 already deposited by the Administration was directed to be released after the expiry of the appeal period. The case will now come up on July 6. The commission has made it clear that proceedings under Section 27 would be initiated if the order is not complied with. Giani remains doubtful whether the UT Administration will comply.
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Bhopal tragedy
The government will pay Rs 25 crore to the German Government’s agency to remove the waste. This, however, is just the beginning of the process to clean up the abandoned factory site. The solid waste has been lying at the defunct pesticide plant where a gas leak in 1984 killed thousands of persons. Activists said that 30,000 tonnes of waste is lying at the abandoned factory site that is still contaminating soil and groundwater and damaging the health of 40,000 persons who live nearby. Comprising mainly pesticides and heavy metals, the waste is stored inside a warehouse at the site. It is not connected with the release of the deadly methyl isocyanate gas that claimed thousands of lives.
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‘The water rose to 10 ft, it took away everything’
Sootea (Assam), July 4 How would I revive my business of 15 years after losing the entire stock worth Rs 7 lakh,” said Kharka, a trader at Bokabil Chapori under the Sootea Revenue Circle in flood-ravaged Sonitpur district in Assam. “We have never seen such a devastating flood that inundated our areas on June 26. The water levels rose to about 10 feet washing away all our belongings and livestock,” said Hasta Chetri, a farmer. “Thousands of villagers have been rendered homeless in Sonitpur district because of the flood. The troops deployed by the Army have evacuated over 8,000 marooned villagers from different areas of the district,” said Major General RN Nair, GOC 21 Division of the Indian Army that is engaged in flood relief and rescue operations in Sonitpur, Baksa, Nalbari and Barpeta districts of Assam. Bokabil and Fateki villages have been devastated by flood waters of the Brahmaputra River after it breached embankments at two places on June 26. Foul smell is emanating from carcass of domestic animals strewn over the place. “The Army has hired a JCB to dig pits to dump carcasses of animals after chemical treatment so that outbreak of diseases could be prevented,” the Army official said. “As the water is now receding, people of the flood-hit area, who have taken shelter in relief camps and embankments, are now facing the threat of water-borne epidemic diseases. Scarcity of drinking water is the major crisis, though sufficient rice, pulses and salt have been distributed among the flood-hit people. The people are suffering from skin diseases, bacillary dysentery, gastroenteritis, flu, indigestion and fungal infection on feet,” said Dr Rupak Kumar Barua, who is heading a medical team treating flood-hit in the area. The physician apprehended outbreak of cholera in the area if people were not properly educated how to prevent it through a health education programme. The Army has come into much help of the administration in flood relief and rescue operations in flood-ravaged Sonitpur district. Over 800 Army personnel and NDRF personnel have been deployed along with 175 motor boats in the district. Flood-hit are lodged in 40 relief camps in the district.
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Rains pound Mumbai, one killed in building collapse
Mumbai, July 4 The police said Chandrakant Singhvi died after a building in the suburban Malad came down following heavy rains. According to the fire brigade, the building Gopal Bhavan was declared dilapidated and most of the residents had moved out last summer. It is not clear how the victim was living on the premises. Services in the suburban sections of the Western and Central Railways were affected in the morning and several trains were cancelled. Commuters on their way to work were stranded for nearly two hours as trains ran slow. Services were, however, restored later in the day, according to the spokespersons of the two Railways. According to the Mumbai civic body, no major water-logging was reported from the city, though there were many traffic snarls as pot-holed roads prevented vehicles from moving at normal speed, officials said.
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NITs to give 40% weightage to Class XII marks
New Delhi, July 4 At the fourth meeting of the NIT Council chaired by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, the 20 NITs today decided to select students based on their combined scores in the proportion of 40 per cent Class XII exam marks and 60 per cent AIEEE points. They resolved against joining the Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE) Advanced Test which IITs will conduct for exclusive admission to their system. With this resolution, the Government’s ‘one nation one test’ proposal stands diluted as aspirants will still have to take two tests from 2013. Today they take three tests -- IIT-JEE (Paper 1 and Paper 2 on the same day) for entry to 15 IITs and AIEEE for colleges like NITs. From 2013, NITs, Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and the National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, Jharkhand, will admit students based on the scores of CBSE-conducted AIEEE and XII boards. The NITs junked the old admission criteria finalised when one nation one test theory was being debated. That formula was to give 40 per cent weightage to school marks, 30 per cent each for the JEE Main and the JEE Advanced. But now, there will only be one AIEEE (nomenclature not to be changed to JEE) whose 60 per cent weight will be combined with 40 per cent school exam scores to induct students. “This exam will be identical to the AIEEE and will have multiple choice questions,” said Prof Sameer Das, Director, NIT, Jalandhar. The new process will admit students to 15,000 seats in NITs and 3,000 in other institutes. Prof Sunil Sarangi, Director, NIT, Rourkela, said, “The respective board marks will be normalised and each student will be ranked within the board so that his marks become irrelevant. Ranks will be converted into percentiles through a formula and each percentile will be converted into student points so that the topper always gets 40 points. Each board will contribute 40 highest scoring students whose all-India merit would be calculated with AIEEE scores.” The NIT Council authorised Sibal to constitute a new committee to evolve a board marks normalisation formula after the one suggested by Kolkata's Indian Statistical Institute was questioned. Importantly, the NITs have resolved to retain the nomenclature of NIT entrance test as AIEEE and not JEE Main. “IITs can use the term JEE which they still use,” Sarangi said. The IIT Council had earlier decided to screen 1.5 lakh students from the AIEEE like JEE Main and have them take JEE Advanced for final selections. They would use school marks only for student eligibility to enter IITs. The SELECTION Criteria
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India eyes deep-sea wealth
After losing out to China in exploiting the “first mover” advantage in the Indian Ocean last year, India is now acquiring new ships and better technology to access rare materials like titanium, platinum, manganese, copper, cobalt and nickel, drugs and food on ocean beds. By giving further impetus to deep sea mining, India will be able to
mark its presence both in near (read China) and extended neighbourhood, maintains Minister of State for Planning and Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar. A high-level meeting chaired by the minister today discussed the future road map on key initiatives to bridge the scientific and technological gaps in sectors, including deep sea mining and super computing. Kumar said the meeting was significant because the government had decided to put science and technology at core while implementing the 12th plan. “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured that whatever resources are required will be made available,” he said. Therefore, besides enhancing human resources and skills in deep-sea mining, the government will acquire new vessels. These include a Rs 550-crore vessel from a Korean shipyard that would be inducted in operations by September 2013 and an indigenous Rs 200-crore vessel manufactured at Surat. For assisting exploration, a new vessel will be handed over to Goa-based NIOT as early as July 31, 2012. Vessel Sagar Nidhi has the capability to explore minerals at a depth of 600 m. Sources, however, say the existing facilities may be good, but their abilities are limited. The government is likely to allocate Rs 1 lakh crore-plus in the 12th Plan period for the enhancement of technological capabilities in science and technology. The past decade has seen the start of a new phase in seabed mining across the world, but it is still at a nascent stage in India. It was only after the acceptance of China’s application to carry out deep-sea mining and exploration activities in South-West Indian Ocean Ridge by the International Seabed Authority that the government woke up to the need for a policy on deep-sea mining for minerals in south and central Indian Ocean. Given the circumstances, India should have a more proactive policy on mining in oceans, but the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the nodal ministry for such strategic investments, has so far largely remained under-funded and starved of attention. the trigger
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Andhra HC rejects
Jagan’s bail plea
Hyderabad, July 4 While rejecting the bail petition filed by Jagan, Justice Samudrala Govindarajulu observed that the bail could not be granted now as the CBI investigation into the disproportionate assets case had reached a critical stage. The court, however, said the CBI had failed to provide any proof to show that Jagan had tampered with the evidence. The 39-year-old MP, whose fledgling party swept the recent byelections in the state, was arrested on May 27 and has been lodged in the Chanchalguda central prison since then. Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani had argued on behalf of Jagan, while senior counsel Ashok Bhan represented the CBI. The CBI counsel had argued that the case involved financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 43,000 crore.
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Army awaits nod for aviation brigade
New Delhi, July 4 The capability to carry out heavy airlift operations and conduct flights in attack formations are handled by the IAF. The Army’s demand was brought up at a high-level review meeting convened by Defence Minister AK Antony on July 2. “It was discussed, but no decision has been taken - at the moment - to allocate combat helicopters to the Army,” a source said. Sources said the Army had made out a strong case citing the example of neighbouring China. “The Army has once again pressed for it. Now, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has to take a call. “Such matters need a political call as the IAF would naturally not want to relinquish its role in attack copters,” source said. The Army believes that the way to counter China’s deployment of tanks in the flat Tibetan plateau is by deploying attack helicopters flown by its pilots. The mountainous and rugged terrain on India’s northern and western borders allows no space for operations of mechanised forces. On the Chinese side, the plateau is flat and open making it fit for such movement. To counter China, India needs air-transported operations and the ideal equipment to do it are helicopters — capable of lift and assault roles. China formed its Army Aviation brigade in April 1988 - some five months after India - by transferring all helicopters from its air force. The move was in consonance with all major modern armies in the world. The Indian Army, in its argument to the MoD, has stated that Army pilots have better comprehension of ground operations and they work within the operational philosophy of the ground forces. why the NEED
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Rs 107-cr boost for pulses production
New Delhi, July 4 This kharif season, an additional boost of Rs 107.3 crore under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) has been decided for states, including Punjab and Haryana, to aid measures to push the production up to an optimum level of 19 million tonne from the present 18 metric tonne levels. The focus of the programme will be on inter-cropping pulses with other grain, increasing cropping area and accelerating productivity through innovative technologies relating to nutrition and water use. Three varieties - pigeon pea (arhar), green gram (moong) and black gram (urad) - have been selected for the programme, which will promote planting of pigeon pea with groundnut, soyabean or cotton and inter-cropping moong and urad with maize, jowar or bajra. Apart from dry land agriculture techniques like in situ moisture conservation, technologies like drip system in pigeon pea, which has shown promising results, will be promoted. The use of sprinklers, found to very efficient for urad and moong, will also be encouraged. Innovations also include a productivity booster spray developed by Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and a ridge plantation technique developed at Bidar (Karnataka). Termed “pulse wonder”, the foliar spray helps decrease flower shedding and increase drought tolerance. Sprayed during flowering, the booster contains nutrients and growth regulating substances that enhance yield by 20%. While pulses’ production in the past two years has been quite stable, hovering around 18 metric tonne, to meet the growing demand, the country needs stabilised and increased production, especially in rain-fed areas with little irrigation. Despite high hopes during 2011-12, production was lower as compared to 2010-11, forcing the country to import the essential food item. Although India is the largest pulses producer, it does have to depend on imports to meet its annual demand of around 19 metric tonne. Apart from decreasing the country’s dependence on imports, the effort will help achieve another goal - to wean farmers out of the vicious wheat-rice cycle and give the much-required breather to parched lands where water tables are declining by the day. Thrust Areas
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After one year, GTRE gets a new director
The GTRE did not have a full-fledged director for over a year. Its last director Mohan Rao was transferred after his arrest by the Bangalore Police last May from a spa-cum-massage parlour that ran a prostitution racket. Rao claimed he went to the parlour to explore treatment possibilities for his wife suffering from spondylitis. Ramanarayanan had been the technology director for thermal torpedo at National Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam. He was project director for thermal propulsion development for heavy and light weight torpedoes. He was also instrumental in starting work indigenously for development of thermal propulsion system for torpedoes at NSTL. The new GTRE director’s main challenge will be to give shape to the GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri, an afterburning turbofan aero engine that was originally intended to power production models of the HAL Tejas fighter, also known as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being built by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency. The Kaveri programme, initiated more than 25 years ago, failed to satisfy the necessary technical requirements or keep up with its envisaged timelines and the flight tests of Tejas are now being with the American GE engine.
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Bandh against Assam MLA’s second marriage
Guwahati, July 4 Communal tension was palpable in certain parts of the valley. Curfew had to be imposed in the Kalain area of Cachar district after an unruly mob opposed to the bandh tried to get shops and business establishments opened forcefully. There were also reports of violence from some other parts of the valley. The state BJP is rushing its two general secretaries to the Barak Valley to take stock of the situation, as there is a possibility of a communal flare-up in the area.
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AI strike over, but normalcy may still take some weeks New Delhi, July 4 For one, the 101 pilots whose services had been terminated have to be reinstated. Two, flying licences of some of the pilots may require to be revalidated. Three, they would have undergo medical tests and re-training programmes before they start flying again. All this may take up to a month or more. IPG spokesman Tauseef Mukadam was quoted as saying, “What happened was unfortunate, but let us move on...in a fresh direction.” However, he also said that both parties still had to resolve their differences. The problem is that even though the Air India management has assured the court that it would sympathetically “consider” pilots’ grievances, including reinstatement of sacked personnel, there are no written assurances that all agitating pilots, including the sacked office-bearers of the IPG, would be taken back. Obviously, the pilots are not very happy because the court has not given any direction about the sacked office-bearers. This is likely to become a sticky issue. There are also no directions that pilots have to be reinstated at the seniority held prior to the strike. “All that the court has asked is for all parties, including terminated pilots, to appear before conciliation officer Chief Labour Commissioner NK Prasad on July 6 so that a report can be submitted to the court for the case listed on July 9,” Civil Aviation Ministry officials said.
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Cartoon row: NCERT to hold more consultations New Delhi, July 4 The final decision on deletions would rest with the National Monitoring Committee of the Council which had approved the textbooks in question in 2006. The committee is headed by noted academic Mrinal Miri who approved the books earlier. In the first leg of the consultations today, the Council called the people who were involved in the production of these books and approval of their content in the first place. Among them was Hari Vasudevan who chaired the Textbook Development Committee for Political Science in the wake of the new National Curriculum Framework 2005, which stressed the adoption of new tools like visuals and cartoons in textbooks. Also present today was Yogendra Yadav, one of the two Chief Advisers for these books in 2006 along with professor of political science in Pune Suhas Pulshikar. Pulshikar’s office was earlier ransacked by Dalit activists who objected to anti-Dalit material in the books, including a cartoon of Dr BR Ambedkar which has been ordered to be deleted. Top sources said the textbook advisers gave a point by point clarification to the recommendations of the NCERT textbook panel headed by former UGC chairman SK Thorat. The panel has recommended 38 changes - among them the removal of 21 cartoons mostly showing politicians and bureaucrats in bad light and removal of 17 community- specific captions from visuals. “We have clarified the objections. It is for the people to judge the books,” sources said. Already, Prof MSS Pandian, one of the six members on the panel, has submitted a dissent note saying he finds nothing wrong with the books. NCERT Director Parveen Sinclair is taking her time before deciding if all cartoons need to be removed, as suggested by the Thorat panel although they constitute 12 per cent of the 173 cartoons reviewed.
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Anti-Naxal Operation New Delhi, July 4 Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Cabinet briefing, Chidambaram answered queries on the June 27 encounter saying, “If any innocent person has been killed. I am deeply sorry...if any girl or boy or man or woman not involved with the Maoists at all has been killed, I can only be deeply sorry.” As many as 19 Maoists were killed while six CRPF jawans were injured. The minister said he shared the concern of his Cabinet colleague Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo at the loss of lives but termed Deo’s offensive as “completely unacceptable”. The incident has led to an uproar and raised questions over the genuineness of the encounter. Chidambaram defended the CRPF saying, “DG (Vijay Kumar - the man who headed the operations against forest brigand Veerappan) has said he has nothing to hide, nothing to fear. I do not think any Central force has been so transparent. I am not going into political controversies. I am the Home Minister and the CRPF is under me. We have been absolutely candid, frank and upfront.” He quoted the CRPF DG as saying that if in the dark of the jungle, the CRPF has a casualty, the Standard Operating Procedure requires it to open fire. Chidambaram said that most of the persons killed in the encounter were adults with the youngest being a 15-year-old. "At least three of them have been identified as having a criminal record.” He also pointed out that six jawans were also injured in the firing. Later, the Home Minister said that dots concerning the 26/11 Mumbai attacks were increasingly getting connected following the interrogation of Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal. The government, he said, would take all possible steps to bring back Fasih Mohammed, an accused in the Bangalore and Delhi blasts and currently detained in Saudi Arabia, to India. “He is in Saudi Arabia. He was detained there. Steps will be taken to extradite him to India,” the Home Minister said.
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SC to RBI: Don’t allow foreign law firms New Delhi, July 4 A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and Anil Dave also issued notice to a number of law firms on a petition filed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) challenging a Madras High Court judgment delivered on February 21, 2012. The Madras High Court had ruled that “foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practice the profession of law in India either on the litigation or non-litigation side unless they fulfils the requirement of the Advocates Act, 1961 and the BCI Rules.” Appearing for the BCI, senior counsel MN Krishnamani said the high court verdict was being misinterpreted to mean that overseas legal firms could set up shop in India under certain conditions. The Supreme Court Bench also clarified that the Advocates Act would cover persons practicing in both litigious and non-litigious matters. Krishnamani contended that the Madras High Court had ignored the fact that the Bombay High Court had already dealt with the issues and delivered a verdict on December 16, 2009, which had attained finality as it was never challenged in the Supreme Court. The Bombay High Court had ruled that the RBI was not justified in granting permission to foreign law firms to open liaison offices in India, holding that the activities carried on by such firms at their head offices, branch offices and liaison offices in India were “inextricably linked to the practice in non-litigious matters”. There was need for Supreme Court clarification in the light of the two high court verdicts being at variance, the BCI argued, seeking a stay on the Madras High Court judgment. Rejecting the plea for a stay at this stage, the apex court asked the respondents to file their replies within 10 weeks.
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Acclaimed Assamese poet passes away
Doctors attending on the poet said water had accumulated in his lungs, due to which, he had difficulty in breathing. Bhattacharyya breathed his last at 11.25 am today. Besides the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award, Hiren Bhattacharyya has won numerous other awards including the Bishnu Rabha Award (1985), Soviet Desh Nehru Award (1987) and Assam Valley Literary Award for the year 2000. A pall of gloom descended all over Assam today as the news of his death spread like wildfire. “It is a great loss for Assam,” Assam CM Tarun Gogoi said.
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New Delhi, July 4
New Delhi, July 4
New Delhi, July 4
New Delhi, July 4
This kharif season, an additional Rs 107.3 crore has been decided for states, including Punjab and Haryana, under the National Food Security Mission
(NFSM)
Bangalore, July 4
Guwahati, July 4