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Shettar stakes claim to form govt
Diluting SC’s 2G verdict will hit trial: Swamy
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PC shocked over ‘distortion’ of his remarks
P Chidambaram
UPA meet on July 14 to choose vice-presidential nominee
Kuldip Nayar travels ‘Beyond the Lines’ to speak up his mind
SM Krishna
Lawyers’ stir hits work at trial courts
Criminal flees from Punjab Police custody
Four held for parking their car on Prez route
The world’s largest solar power project in offing
Kingfisher flights cancelled as pilots’ stir on
Dara Singh taken home, docs say less chance of recovery
Pinki released from jail; alleges atrocities in police custody
Mamata for former Guv of Bengal as Vice-President
NDRF’s help sought as 15 miners feared drowned in Meghalaya
Islamic Summit 2012
Gen Bikram Singh is honorary General of Nepal Army
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Shettar stakes claim to form govt
Bangalore, July 11 Gowda’s supporters tried to stop him from submitting his resignation letter to Governor HR Bhardwaj and even lied down on the road to prevent him from driving towards the Governor’s residence The police had to intervene and clear the way for the one-km drive for Gowda who asked his partymen to stay calm and said he would convey their views to the BJP's national leaders. Gowda had agreed to quit before the BJP chief Nitin Gadkari in Delhi on Saturday but was delaying giving his resignation letter to the Governor and was busy extracting various assurances from the party before demitting office. Soon after Gowda submitted the resignation letter, Shettar drove to the Raj Bhawan along with his mentor BS Yeddyurappa, state BJP chief KS Eshwarappa and party general secretary and Bangalore South Lok Sabha member Ananth Kumar to stake claim to form the new government. A Raj Bhawan release said Bhardwaj had accepted Gowda's resignation and invited Shettar to form the new government. Shettar will be sworn in Thursday. Some other MLAs, too, are expected to be sworn in as ministers along with him. The list of ministers is being readied in consultation with the party’s Central leaders in Delhi. The anti-Yeddyurappa legislators led by Gowda had asked for a full-size ministry to be formed at one go tomorrow. Karnataka can have a 34-member ministry, including the Chief Minister. The anti-Yeddyurappa faction, consisting of 48 out of 121 BJP legislators, also want Gowda to be named state party chief and incumbent Eshwarappa the deputy CM. A major challenge before the BJP is to placate the people of the politically influential Vokkaliga caste who are furious over the dumping of Gowda, a Vokkaliga, and giving the CM’s chair to Shettar, a Lingayat. Shettar, a four-time legislator who represents the Hubli Assembly segment in north Karnataka, is the third Chief Minister in four years of BJP rule in Karnataka. He will have just over nine months in office as Assembly elections are due next May. Gowda is leaving the office without completing a year following revolt engineered by Yeddyurappa who was forced to quit last July over mining bribery charges. Gowda had assumed office in August last year.
Gowda quits
Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday drove to the Raj Bhawan and submitted his resignation letter to Governor HR Bhardwaj Gowda's supporters lied down on the road to prevent him from driving towards the Governor’s residence The police had to intervene and clear the way for Gowda who asked his partymen to stay calm
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Diluting SC’s 2G verdict will hit trial: Swamy
New Delhi, July 11 Arguing before a five-member Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia, Swamy and Bhushan pleaded for returning the Presidential reference without answering it. Through the reference, the government has sought clarifications on the February 2, 2012 verdict in the 2G case, pleading that auction was not feasible in all cases. While cancelling the 122 telecom licences granted in 2008 by Raja at 2001 prices on first-come, first-served basis, a two-member Bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi asked the government to henceforth auction all natural wealth to realise market value and avoid losses to the national exchequer. Swamy said it was wrong on part of the government to have come up with the reference when the trial in the 2G case was on. Further, the government had resorted to the reference after withdrawing its petition seeking a review of the apex court verdict. If the government was really serious about getting a clarification on the verdict, it should do so after the conclusion of the 2G trial, he argued. Pointing out that as many as nine pages of the 11-page Presidential reference talked about the apex court’s 2G verdict, Swamy said the Constitution Bench entertaining the reference would adversely affect the trial. Besides the CJI, the other judges on the Bench are Justices DK Jain, JS Khehar, Dipak Misra and Ranjan Gogoi. Also, the government had put in cold storage a report of its own committee recommending auction of such resources and was now trying to misuse the SC as an outsourcing agency, he said.
The SC Verdict
The apex court asked the government to auction all natural wealth to realise market value and avoid losses to the national exchequer while cancelling 122 telecom licences granted in 2008 by Raja at 2001 prices
Govt's move
The government had moved a Presidential reference seeking clarifications on the verdict in the 2G case, pleading that auction was not feasible in all cases
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PC shocked over ‘distortion’ of his remarks
New Delhi, July 11 "He (Chidambaram) is shocked and disgusted by the deliberate distortion of the relevant question and answer at the media briefing in Bangalore on 10.7.2012," a Home Ministry statement said here. "The Home Minister made a matter-of-fact statement and he did not mock or chide anyone. If the interview is viewed, it will be seen that he spoke in a matter-of-fact manner," it said. The statement referred to newspaper reports on his press conference yesterday in which he was quoted as saying that people were prepared to pay Rs 20 for a cone ice cream but protest against a rupee hike in wheat and rice prices. The statement said Chidambaram used the word "we". He did not use the words "why do they make so much noise about price rise". "We are prepared to pay Rs 20 for an ice cream cone but won't pay one rupee more for a kilo of wheat or rice," he was quoted as saying in today's statement. He did not say, "There needn't be any complaint for price rise when things are on the side of poor farmers. The report is, therefore, a complete distortion of his statements," it said. The Home Minister answered a question on the burden on the common man and referred to the different segments of the population and the schemes that benefit the different segments, it said. He referred to higher minimum support price (as benefiting the farmers); MGNREGA (as benefiting the rural poor); mid-day meal scheme (as benefiting millions of children); and he referred to PMGSY (as benefiting thousands of villages). The Home Minister referred to the price of crude oil and how the government was constrained to first raise petrol prices and then how it was reduced twice to benefit the middle class. Quoting exact text of the answer, the statement said Chidambaram then said, "You mentioned high food prices. Yes, food inflation is high. But higher procurement prices will reflect in slightly higher food prices. But higher procurement prices benefits millions of farmers. "If you increase the price of sugarcane, sugar cannot be cheaper than before. If you increase the price of procured wheat or procured paddy, rice and wheat for the consumer cannot be less. Sometimes, and I have written about this once, we are prepared to pay fifteen rupees for a bottle of water but we will not bear one rupee increase in the price of a kilo of wheat or a kilo of rice." — PTI
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UPA meet on July 14 to choose vice-presidential nominee
New Delhi, July 11 Sources in the top echelons of the ruling coalition told The Tribune, that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has called the meeting to endorse the candidature of the incumbent Ansari. The meeting comes on the eve of its presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee rounding off his election campaign. The election to the office of the Vice-President is scheduled for August 7. The last day for the filing of nomination is July 20. It is not yet clear whether the Trinamool Congress, which disfavours Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature as the President, would be present at the meeting. The TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not yet revealed the party preference for the Vice-President elections although reports in a section of media said she favoured former West Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi for the post. Ansari, a career diplomat, was sponsored by the Left parties for the vice president’s post in 2007.
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Kuldip Nayar travels ‘Beyond the Lines’ to speak up his mind
New Delhi, July 11 The occasion was the release of the autobiographical account "Beyond the Lines" by octogenarian journalist Kuldip Nayar who has watched and reported politics unravel from close quarters over decades while maintaining the distance so as not to blur the lines. His regret that the book does not carry some personal anecdotes for the fear that these could be "misinterpreted" and a deletion of a some pages on the advice of his wife. That people from various walks of joined the event was an eloquent testimony to Nayar's standing and appeal. On his part, the seasoned journalist strongly underlined the need for media to "self-regulate". He appealed to media organisations to appoint an "ombudsman" and suggested the government to appoint a Press Commission to look at the altering media landscape in India. BJP leader and former Union Minister Arun Jaitley was of the view that while the existing bandwidth would not allow repeat of an Emergency-like situation, his concern was the rot in the judiciary. Sharing Nayar's pan-subcontinent appeal was Mahfuz Anam, Editor and Publisher of Daily Star of Bangaldesh while Pakistan Senator Aitzaz Ahsan sent his message after being unable to grace the occasion owing to pressing domestic engagements. Editorial Chairman of Outlook India Vinod Mehta said moderation bridged the generation divide. He complimenting the author for his innocence and charm.
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India-ASEAN partnership vital for Asia: Krishna
New Delhi, July 11 "We believe that the early conclusion of the ASEAN-India Services and Investment Agreements would give a strong fillip to our economic engagement. We welcome the regional comprehensive economic partnership initiative to accelerate regional economic integration," said Krishna at the 10th ASEAN-India ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh. "We are awaiting the recommendations of the ASEAN-India Eminent Persons Group, which would be a valuable input for drafting the vision statement of the special ASEAN-India commemorative summit. The ASEAN-India SOM meeting in May this year in Phnom Penh started discussions on the elevation of the ASEAN-India partnership to a strategic level. I take back your views on ways to elevate the partnership," he added. Underlining that India was committed to its partnership with ASEAN, the minister said, “We stand convinced of this partnership’s unique utility to the goal of the ASEAN community by 2015, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), the Master Plan on ASEAN Plus Connectivity (MPAC), the Declaration for a Drug-Free ASEAN by 2015 and to the collective capacity building in our region." Krishna also called for developing the historical linkages between India and ASEAN countries. "The civilisational strengths and historical linkages between India and ASEAN countries need to be extended further to improve road, sea, rail, digital and people-to-people connectivity in present times," he said.
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Lawyers’ stir hits work at trial courts
New Delhi, July 11 The Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, however, functioned normally. The Delhi HC Bar Association has decided to observe a one-day strike tomorrow. SC Bar Association president Pravin H Parekh said SCBA has expressed solidarity with the BCI on the issue but was not joining the strike. According to BCI chairman Ashok Parija, the BCI has been given the responsibility of supervising legal education in the country under the Advocates Act, 1961, as the legal profession and education could not remain separated. For protecting the independence of the judiciary, which was the vital component of democracy, it was necessary to ensure the independence of the bar guaranteed under the 1961 Act. But this was now being tried to be taken away by the government in the garb of the Higher Education and Research Bill, he said. The government planned to set up a super regulator under the proposed law, bringing under its ambit all forms of higher education, be it law, engineering or medicine. The regulator would consist of a Chairman and just three full time members, besides three part time members despite the fact it would have to deal with a plethora disciplines and thousands of colleges. On the other hand, the BCI’s legal education committee comprised judges from the Supreme Court, high courts, elected members of the BCI, academics and eminent lawyers, Parija argued.
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Criminal flees from Punjab Police custody
New Delhi, July 11 Vikram is allegedly involved in cases such as kidnapping, murder and car-jacking in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. A four-member team of the Punjab Police, consisting of an ASI and three head constables, brought him to Delhi for a hearing of a case on Monday. Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) Taj Hassan said: “After the hearing, the police team with Vikram was going to the New Delhi Railway Station to board a train for their return journey to Punjab. On the way, they stopped at an apparels store at Shastri Nagar in North Delhi. While the policemen were shopping, Vikram asked them to open his hand-cuffs so that he could go and drink water. They agreed and he went outside and escaped in an SX4 car,” said
Hassan.
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Four held for parking their car on Prez route
New Delhi, July 11 According to the police, the arrested individuals are Manoj Gupta, Ankit Rana, Anuj Gupta and Manish Gupta. The first three persons are residents of Gautam Nagar and Manish stays at Jawahar Nagar. They were arrested after the incident occurred at Krishna Menon Marg at 11 pm on Monday. A one-and-a-half-year-old girl who was travelling with them was later handed over to her family. They are charged with obstructing public servants, assault with criminal force and causing hurt under Sections 186, 353 and 332 of the Indian Penal Code. Umesh later received medical treatment for minor injuries at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
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Sangma calls for conscience vote
Shahira Naim/TNS
Lucknow, July 11 “This election is above political parties. It is not fought on electoral symbols. Both Pranab Mukherjee and I are independent candidates. There is no party whip. Even if there is one, it means nothing. Everybody is allowed to vote as per his or her conscience. It was done in 1969 when VV Giri won and it would be repeated again this time,” said Sangma. In a brief three-hour stopover in Lucknow, Sangma met mediapersons where he disclosed that a meeting has been scheduled at the residence of lawyer Ram Jethmalani in New Delhi this evening to be attended by Subramanian Swamy where the EC’s rejection of his petition would be reviewed and future course of action decided. Sangma had challenged Mukherjee’s nomination on the ground that he occupied an office of profit at the time of filing his papers for the contest. Sangma also objected to the issuing of a financial package and the alleged misuse of central investigating agencies by the UPA government to win over political parties in Uttar Pradesh. “The sanction of financial package to the Samajwadi Party government and the misuse of the CBI in corruption cases is enough evidence to prove that the UPA is using unfair means to gain advantage in the presidential poll in favour of Pranab Mukherjee,” Sangma said. Criticising former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the economic crisis being faced by the nation, including price rise, all-time low rupee and poor FDI ratings, the former Lok Sabha Speaker charged Mukherjee of declining a national debate on such grave issues of national concern.
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The world’s largest solar power project in offing
Mumbai, July 10 Touted as the world’s biggest solar power project, the facility at Sakhri in the district got stuck in red tape last year after the state Environment Ministry pointed out that part of the land earmarked for it was classified as forest land. “However, the land was almost entirely barren and no cultivation was possible on it,” an official of
MahaGenCo, the state government-owned power generation utility, said. The location was chosen in 2010 because of the year-round sunshine received by it apart from the fact that little cultivation was done here, according to
MahaGenCo. The Rs 2000 crore project is being funded by the KFW German Development Bank. Sources say the Maharashtra government has had to negotiate with the lending agency as the project was to be completed on March this year. “However, with all clearances in place, we hope to complete the project by November this year,” the MahaGenCo official said. The solar power project drew tremendous support from the local population and industrialists. The site is close to the
Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and the state government is developing Dhule as a major industrial hub. The solar power project was seen as a major facilitator since the district is power-deficient. According to estimates prepared by
MahaGenCo, power from the plant is expected to be priced at around Rs 12 per kilowatt hour.
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Kingfisher flights cancelled as pilots’ stir on
Mumbai, July 11 According to information available from the airport here, nine of the airline's flights originating from Bangalore and three from New Delhi were cancelled today. Today flights to a number of cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, Mangalore and Chandigarh were affected. The airline's pilots are demanding that they be paid their arrears in salaries and allowances before they return to work. Kingfisher Airlines however said it was operating its A320 aircraft and flights on some sectors were unaffected.
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Pinki released from jail; alleges atrocities in police custody
Kolkata, July 11 The retired middle-distance runner, who was released from the Dum Dum Central Jail after a Barasat court granted her bail yesterday, said she kept on crying and resisted the gender test, but nobody listened to her. "They tied my hands and legs and took me to a private nursing home for tests. I kept on crying and resisted, but nobody listened to me," Pinki alleged. Pinki was arrested on June 14 after she was accused of being a male by her live-in partner, a 30-year-old estranged woman who also alleged that she was raped by Pinki. Maintaining that she was being framed in the rape case, the 4x400m relay gold medallist in Doha Asiad claimed, "She (the complainant) used to do my chores. She had demanded money from me long back, but I did not give her money for which she took this path." Pinki, who broke down while speaking to reporters, said she would consult her lawyers on steps needed to be taken to get justice. A PIL was moved in the Calcutta High Court on July 6 alleging inhuman torture on the athlete. The court has directed the West Bengal Government to file an affidavit within two weeks on the progress of the investigation. The West Bengal Human Rights Commission has also stepped in and directed the Home, Health and Police departments to inquire into the allegations of "torture" on the athlete in custody. Pinki thanked sports persons who held protests to highlight the treatment meted out to her by the authorities. — PTI
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Mamata for former Guv of Bengal as Vice-President
Kolkata, July 11 Ansari has been chosen as UPA candidate for the vice-presidential post without consulting its second largest ally Trinamool Congress which annoyed Mamata. The polling for the post will be held on August 9. Mamata preferred Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi for the post. Her second choice was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s daughter-in-law Prof Krishna Bose, a former TMC MP. So far, Mamata has not officially declared any preference for the post of the Vice-President although she discussed the matter with her party colleagues.
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NDRF’s help sought as 15 miners feared drowned in Meghalaya
Guwahati, July 11 The miners have remained trapped since Friday afternoon in the mine at Rongsa Awe village while rescue personnel have been pumping out water from the mine in vain. Incessant rainfall has added to the crisis. Deputy Commissioner RP Marak said a magisterial probe has been ordered into the mishap while the NDRF had been asked for help. A senior police officer said there were 30 miners inside the rat-hole mine and half of them managed to come out when water started gushing into it probably through a punctured wall from an abandoned mine alongside. “Rat-holes are unscientific mines with very little manoeuvring space, and miners often cut through in different directions. The ones who got trapped could be deeper down. We could have helped rescue them had the mine owners informed us immediately,” said the officer. Rat-hole mines in coal belts of Meghalaya are a bane and the government supposedly has little control over operations as those coal mines are privately owned. Miners are made to use primitive tools to burrow in and extract coal manually in an indiscriminate and unscientific manner. The ill-fated mine in question is owned by the tribal chieftain of the remote village. Meanwhile, police has arrested mine operator Gurdeep Singh under Section 304(a) of IPC for criminal negligence leading to the tragedy. Hunt is on for his foremen who have fled the area. All of them will be charged with culpable homicide if the trapped miners are rescued dead.
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Quota a must, Muslim scholars
Suresh Dharur/TNS
Hyderabad, July 11 The conference, organised by Markazi Majlis-e- Quadria (MQM) to focus attention on issues concerning the welfare of Muslims in the country, discussed various issues ranging from the impact of communal clashes on Muslims, reservation in education and employment, the growing dowry menace among Muslims, political empowerment, enhancing educational standards and protection of Waqf properties. Several Muslim scholars and leaders, including National Woman’s Commission member Shamina Shafeeq, former MP G I Sanadhi, Prof Aktar-ul-Wasey, Prof Ghulam Yahya Anjum, retired IAS officer Khaja Shahed Mohammed, journalist-writer Sadiya Dehlwi, Moulana Md Ateef Quadir Badayuni and Mohammad Hafeez-ur-Rahaman participated in the deliberations. The Hyderabad MP and Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi summed up the three-hour long deliberations, saying that quota for Muslims in education and jobs was now a necessity.
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Gen Bikram Singh is honorary General of Nepal Army
Kathmandu, July 11 Singh was also presented with a sword, a certificate and the insignia of the Nepal Army during a function at Rastrapati Bhawan in the capital. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattrai and Chief of Army Staff of Nepal Army Chhatra Man Singh Gurung were present on the occasion. Nepali and Indian armies have a tradition of conferring the rank of honorary general to each other’s chiefs. — PTI
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moments Sadananda Gowda today finally quit as Karnataka Chief Minister and Jagadish Sehttar staked claim to form the new government.
New Delhi, July 11
It was vintage stuff from a seasoned journalist who travelled down memory lane in company of young and not so young colleagues and acquaintances with a tinge of regret. The tribe in current times does not exhibit either courage or conviction to stand up for what the profession should be known for.
Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh was today conferred with the Honorary General of the Nepali Army by President Ram Baran
Yadav. Singh was also presented with a sword, a certificate and the insignia of the Nepal Army during a function at Rastrapati Bhawan in the capital.
