The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Key Bills listed for next week Ajay Banerjee/TNS New Delhi, August 24 Expecting a breakthrough in the ongoing Parliamentary logjam, the government has listed important legislative business for the next week. This includes key proposed legislations on banking reforms, regulation of higher education, stringent penalties for drunken driving, reforms for managing national highways and a legislation for curbing bribery by foreign individuals. Minutes before the Lok Sabha was adjourned amid sloganeering around noon, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal listed the Bills as part of the proposed legislative business for the next week. No Bill could be taken up this week. Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill 2012 and Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, were listed every day in the Lok Sabha but could not be taken up in view of the ongoing protests by the BJP over Coalgate. As per the list released by Bansal, National Accreditation Regulatory for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010, is scheduled to be taken up. The Bill aims to regulate higher education and bring about uniformity in different regulatory systems across the states. It seeks to make it mandatory for every higher educational institution to be accredited by an independent accreditation agency. Another important Bill to be taken up is Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2012, which has been passed by the Rajya Sabha. This allows stringent penalties for drunken driving by grading according to alcohol levels in the blood and the punishment can go up to a two-year jail term and Rs 5,000 fine or both. The fines will multiply if the same offender violates the rules again.
	Vohra appointed Chancellor of Jammu Central university Tribune News Service Jammu, August 24 President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Governor NN Vohra the first Chancellor of Central University of Jammu for a period of five years. Vohra served as a lecturer in English in Punjab for two years before joining the Indian Administrative Service. During his administrative career (1959-1994), he held various important positions both in the Centre and the states. He served as the Home Secretary, Punjab, after Operation Blue Star in 1984. He also served as Secretary, Defence Production, Defence Secretary and Home Secretary with the Government of India. After his retirement, he was recalled to serve as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Vohra was a visiting fellow at Oxford University, UK (1969-70). He was awarded Doctorate of Laws (Honoris Causa) by Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 2011 for his distinguished public service. Vohra was honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2007. He is the life member of United Service Institute, New Delhi; Institute of Defence Strategies and Analysis, New Delhi; Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi; and honorary life member of International House of Japan, Tokyo. He also has the distinction of being a life trustee of The Tribune Trust, Chandigarh, and the Indian International Centre, New Delhi. Vohra took over as the 12th Governor of Jammu & Kashmir in June 2008.
	Bill for separate status to Sikhism deferred to Sept 7 Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, August 24 Law Minister Salman Khurshid today struck a positive note on the demand to amend Article 25 of the Constitution to recognise Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism as religions independent of Hinduism and said a consensus on the issue was entirely possible. Speaking to The Tribune, Khurshid said the government was posted on the matter and was deliberating upon it. “We will have to see what position the Ministry of Home takes on this issue. We will then work forward on it. Consensus on this matter is entirely possible. We are discussing this subject and it will soon come before the Cabinet,” the Law Minister said on a day when the Lok Sabha had on its agenda a private member’s Bill of Akali Dal MP Rattan Singh Ajnala. He has sought an amendment of Article 25 of the Constitution, which says Hindu institutions of worship and Hindus would be construed to mean Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. Ajnala’s private member’s Bill could not be introduced in the House today as the proceedings were adjourned for the day over the NDA’s demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his alleged role in the coal allocation scam highlighted by CAG. “The Bill will now be taken up on September 7,” Anjala said. Titled ‘The Constitutional Amendment Bill 2012’, it can become a law only after the government adopts it as its own legislation as had happened with the Anand Karaj Amendment Act that Law Minister Salman Khurshid had moved as a Government Bill last year after Cabinet clearance.
	Non-Cong parties to meet on Monday to chalk out strategy Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, August 24 Efforts are on to convene a joint meeting of the non-Congress parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to chalk out a joint Opposition strategy on Parliament functioning in the light of CAG’s report on coal block allocation scam. The BJP-led NDA disrupted both Houses for the third day today, sticking to its demand of the resignation of the PM, who was coal minister at the time of the scam. The NDA constituents are meeting again on Monday morning to formalise their future strategy for the session, which looks set for a washout considering the PM has to leave for Iran on Tuesday. This NDA meeting, however, is likely to get broad based with at least three Left Front parties - the CPI, the RSP and the All India Forward Bloc -- expressing willingness to attend. It is learnt that Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday urged Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to organise a joint meeting of the entire “Opposition”. The two leaders even met to discuss the matter, sources said. “SP chief pointed out that the meeting could be held in the room of the Leader of Opposition. He qualified his statement by saying the office of the Leader of Opposition is the office of the Opposition and not of Sushma Swaraj alone,” sources said. By this evening, however, Mulayam Singh Yadav seemed to have changed his mind about attending the joint meeting. Shailendra Kumar, SP member in Lok Sabha said, “Party MPs are meeting early morning on Monday and will decide this issue then.” The Left Front is also meeting tomorrow (Saturday). The party will take a call on whether to join the Monday meeting along side the BJP-led NDA constituents. “We will know by tomorrow (Saturday),” CPI leader in the Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta said. NDA leaders said they were hoping the SP, the Left parties, the AGP, and the TDP will come for the meeting and decide how to go about the issue after CAG had exposed the PM’s role in coal allocation. They said the AIADMK had offered support to them though the party leaders won’t be able to attend the Monday meeting in view of their conference in Chennai the same day. “All like-minded parties are expected to attend the meeting,” Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral said. He ruled out divisions in the NDA ranks on the matter of PM’s resignation and said, “We are all united in this demand. Parliament is not just a debating forum. It is a supreme forum for accountability of the government.
	Rains revive, more to come, says IMD Vibha Sharma/TNS New Delhi, August 24 Countrywide rain deficiency is down to 15 per cent, due to vigorous monsoon activity over North-West, particularly in Rajasthan, and Central India this week because of a low pressure area over the north-western Bay of Bengal and its west-northwesterly movement. At present, Punjab and Saurashtra-Kutch are the only two subdivisions in the country that fits the IMD’s “scanty rainfall” category. Punjab has 61 per cent rain shortfall, whereas Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi have 56 per cent rain shortfall. With good rains over the week, deficiency over North-West is down to 20 per cent and the Chandigarh, Haryana and Delhi subdivision has moved out of the “scanty rains” category to a more reasonable “deficient group”. Incidentally, in the beginning of August, the countrywide rainfall deficiency was over 20 per cent. IMD’s latest forecast predicts fairly widespread rainfall over plains in North-West, Central and East India; and west coast and north-eastern states in the coming week, which may narrow down the deficiency margin, particularly in North-West and Punjab. According to IMD officials, the effect of the dreaded El Nino is not quite evident so far. But it may set in as September progresses. As per the end-of-the-week data, North-West and Central India received good rains, but all-India precipitation was still two below the LPA. The most surprising contribution to the recovery came from Rajasthan, particularly the eastern parts. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, central Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Lakshadweep are the areas that have received excess rains this season. Odisha and Vidarbha (almost the centre of farmers’ suicide due to agrarian distress) too received normal rains. With rain revival, the paddy, cane and oilseeds growing areas will get a boost and also help in raising the water levels in major reservoirs across the country. According to the Central Water Commission, water in reservoirs is around 57 per cent of full reservoir level. Of the 36 meteorological subdivisions, rainfall has been excess or normal in 20, deficient in 14 and scanty in two subdivisions -Punjab and Saurashtra-Kutch.
	Twitter softens stance, removes six fake PMO accounts Girja Shankar Kaura/TNS New Delhi, August 24 As the government faced an angry backlash from Twitter users against its decision to block nearly 300 web pages, the microblogging site today softened its stance and conveyed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that it had blocked the six accounts which were complained about. The PMO had said these accounts violate Twitter's policies by impersonating his official account. These accounts do not disclose that they are not real and avoid using words like "fan" or "fake" in their Twitter handles. In a communication to the PMO, Twitter has said it has "removed the reported profiles from circulation due to violation of our Terms of Service regarding impersonation". A statement released by the PMO in response to the Twitter action said, “The Prime Minister's Office had requested Twitter to take appropriate action against six persons impersonating the PMO. When they did not reply for a long time, the Government Cyber Security Cell was requested to initiate action.” “Twitter has now conveyed to us that they have taken the action and removed the reported profiles from circulation,” the PMO said. Twitter told the PMO that it could not take action earlier "because the government entity did not intimate through proper procedure electronically to our system and, hence, the request was not located". The microblogging site said it was "now actively reviewing" the request and would be seeking additional information from the Ministry of Communication and IT "to locate the unlawful content and the specific unlawful tweet". "India is important to us and we would like to have clearer communication in these matters in future," the communication said, adding that Twitter should be put in touch with appropriate departments in this regard. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said, “The solution to this problem should be a permanent one. That will only happen when we talk to all the stakeholders and form such a mechanism under which any objectionable content is removed.” Deora’s Twitter account suspended NEW DELHI: In a strange irony, the Twitter account of none other than Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Milind Deora was suspended by the micro-blogging site. But at the same time a fake account similar to Deora's name remained active. The followers of Deora on Twitter were in for a surprise when they found a search for his name showed "No people results for Milind Deora". — PTI
	Arun Gawli convicted for murder of Sena leader Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, August 24 A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court today found gangster-politician Arun Gawli guilty of murdering Shiv Sena leader Kamlakar Jamsandekar. Eleven others have also been convicted in the same case. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on August 27. While three accused persons were acquitted for lack of evidence, Bala Surve, one of the main accused, died last month. Jamsandekar, a corporator attached to the Shiv Sena, was shot dead at his home in suburban Ghatkopar on March 2008. Gawli was arrested soon after the murder. According to the chargesheet filed in the case, Jamsandekar, who was also in the construction business, was at loggerheads with Surve and another accused Sahebrao Bhintade. The corporator and the accused were also competing to acquire a plot of land at Saki Naka in the suburbs and the duo decided to take the help of Gawli to get rid of the politician, the police said. The chargesheet stated that Surve and Bhintade paid Rs 30 lakh to Gawli to get Jamsandekar killed.
	In UP, Rs 20,000 fine for leaving streetlights on at daytime Shahira Naim/TNS Lucknow, August 24 If street lights are found glowing during the daytime anywhere in Uttar Pradesh, the officials responsible for the same will have to pay a penalty between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000 depending on the category of the city. In a desperate bid to conserve power after failing to increase production, Uttar Pradesh minister of Urban Development Mohammad Azam Khan has announced a first of its kind policy to check wastage. In order to make the officials more accountable, the minister has announced that municipal commissioners of 13 A-grade cities would have to shell out Rs 20,000 per streetlight that is found switched on during the daytime. For a similar violation in the smaller towns under nagar parishads and nagar panchayats, the executive officers would be made to pay Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000, respectively. The harsh measure comes in the wake of severe power crisis in the state. To meet the power requirement in the state, the government is looking at various measures, the latest set of penalties being a step to check unbridled wastage. Khan said, “Though Uttar Pradesh is an electricity-strapped state, yet misuse of power is rampant everywhere. The situation is not acceptable. If the street lights are found glowing during the day, the officials concerned will be penalised.”
	Bodo front terms MLA arrest baseless Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, August 24 A day after the police arrested Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) MLA Pradeep Brahma representing the Kokrajhar West constituency for his alleged involvement in the recent Bodo-Muslim clashes in the western Assam areas, the BPF said today its legislator had been arrested on baseless charges. The Bodo tribe political party reiterated that Brahma must be released immediately. Brahma was sent to seven-day judicial custody by a court in Kokrajhar district yesterday. Hagrama Mohilary, president of the BPF which rules in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) and the only ally of the ruling Congress in Assam, stated that the police and the administration had been not fair in arresting Brahma. “There have been similar allegations against other persons like All-India United Democratic Front leader Badaruddin Ajmal, but no one has been arrested except Brahma,” Mohilary said. Mohilary, who is also the chief executive member of the BTC, said there was no need to impose indefinite curfew in the entire Kokrajhar district in the wake of Brahma’s arrest as there was no incident of violence and the protest demonstration by BPF supporters on the railway track was a peaceful one. “The curfew has caused inconvenience to the people. If the administration lifts the curfew, the BPF will withdraw the indefinite Kokrajhar district bandh called since yesterday in protest against the arrest of MLA Brahma,” Mohilary said. The BPF leader, however, said the party’s alliance with the Congress in Assam would continue. He informed that a delegation of the BPF would go to New Delhi on August 26 to meet the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and other leaders to discuss the issues related to the recent violence in the BTC area. In the wake of Brahma’s arrest, a section of the BPF speculated that the party might snap its ties with the Congress. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said, “It is up to the BPF whether it would continue to remain an ally of Congress or not.” Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) LR Bishnoi said, “MLA Pradeep Brahma has been arrested on the basis of seven FIRs lodged against him in the Dotoma and Fakiragram police stations in Kokrajhar district. The main charge levelled against him is of inciting a mob to burn houses during the riots. We have also recorded statements made by the violence-hit against him.” The BPF, which has 11 MLAs in the Assam Assembly, was awarded with two ministerial berths by Gogoi, though the Congress hardly needed support of the BPF to form the government.
	Verma case: CBI told to probe secrets Act violation Syed Ali Ahmed/TNS New Delhi, August 24 The Defence Ministry today asked the CBI to probe the “leak of secret documents” provided by arms dealer Abhishek Verma’s estranged business associate in the US. The ministry has already provided the agency with a list of seven documents that came under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). The documents pertain to acquisition plans for the Indian Air Force for next five years. The CBI has not registered any case on the complaint of the Defence Ministry so far as the complaint by the Defence Ministry does not mention Verma’s name. The issue will be discussed at the senior level and a case may be registered after getting legal opinion. Moreover, the documents were not recovered from Verma’s possession. Some retired Defence Ministry officials may be questioned if the probe moves forward. The estranged US-based business associates of Verma had reportedly provided some documents relating to acquisition and future plans of the defence forces to the investigating agencies. They had alleged that these documents were provided to them by Verma to prove his influence in defence circles. Verma and his business associate have been engaged in litigations after their business ties turned sour.