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Sedition charge against cartoonist set to go
HC grants bail to Trivedi
Uneasy calm in Kudankulam, protests spread to Chennai
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SC refuses to frame norms for reporting court proceedings
Modi launches poll campaign, targets Congress
Nashik attack
Rahul Gandhi visits relief camps in violence-hit districts of Assam
Rahul unlikely to campaign in Gujarat
Pumping pecuniary ammo into poll war
LS
BYPOLL
NCERT removes 6 cartoons from political science textbooks
Andhra CM aides to make movie for garnering support
HC quashes shamlat land sale to Subhash Ghai
Centre mulls relocation of AIIMS-like institute in Bengal
Kishanganga hydel project: Arguments over, verdict in six months
Prove charges or apologise: Coal Minister to BJP
EGoM slashes interest rate on crop loans to 7%
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Sedition charge against cartoonist set to go
Mumbai, September 11 Sources said Home Minister RR Patil had advised the Mumbai police to drop sedition charge against
Trivedi. The procedure was likely to be completed later this evening or tomorrow, Home Department sources said. It was not clear if Trivedi would be released from jail immediately. The Legal Department has advised the government to file an application in the court for dropping sedition charge against the cartoonist. Trivedi is in judicial custody till September 24 after he refused to apply for bail in protest against the slapping of sedition charge against him. Trivedi’s arrest on a private complaint has drawn national and international attention and the Central Government has come in for severe criticism. Earlier today, former Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal and other members of the Indian Against Corruption movement met Trivedi at the Arthur Road jail where he is lodged. Threatening to launch a protest outside the jail, Kejriwal said corrupt MPs should be tried for sedition. “(Corrupt) MPs disrespect the national emblem... their official papers have national emblems printed on them...when they commit corruption....they should be booked for sedition,” Kejriwal said.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to cartoonist Aseem Trivedi saying if drawing cartoons was the only allegation against him then his custody was not required. Division Bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Nitin Jamdar directed Trivedi to be released on execution of a personal bail bond of Rs 5,000. The bail order was passed by the Bench on a public interest litigation by city-based lawyer Sanskar Marathe who sought Trivedi’s release contending his arrest was “illegal”. —
PTI
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Uneasy calm in Kudankulam, protests spread to Chennai
Kudankulam (TN), Sept 11 Turning up at nearby Idinthakarai, the venue of the 48-hour fast launched yesterday after the police action on the protesters, Udayakumar said the protest against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant would continue even if he was arrested. Addressing over 1,000 protesters a day after the police opened fire at a group of fishermen in Tuticorin district killing one of them, the Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) convener alleged that the Tamil Nadu Government, backed by the Centre, had let loose repression on protesters. Police said the situation was calm but they were keeping a strict vigil. "Security has been stepped up," they said. The protests also reached Chennai, Coimbatore and Erode where activists of MDMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and some Tamil outifts staged demonstrations condemning the police action before they were arrested. — PTI
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SC refuses to frame norms for reporting court proceedings
Headed by outgoing Chief Justice SH Kapadia, the Bench ruled that the media could, however, be subjected to restrictions while reporting court cases in order to ensure fair trial by striking a balance between free press and administration of justice. “Excessive prejudicial (media) publicity leading to usurpation of functions of the Court not only interferes with administration of justice…it also prejudices or interferes with particular legal proceedings,” the Bench pointed out in a 56-page verdict. The SC and the high courts could therefore pass orders directing the media to refrain from reporting specific court cases “for short durations” on pleas made by the accused or any other aggrieved persons that their fundamental right to fair trial was facing threat from media publicity. The apex court delivered the judgment on a plea by the Sahara Group that its business interest was affected by publication of some documents it had submitted to the market regulator SEBI following a dispute over raising funds from the public. “The media, in several cases in India, is the only representative of the public to bring to the notice of the court issues of public importance including governance deficit, corruption and drawbacks in the system,” the Bench pointed out. The other members of the Bench were Justices DK Jain, SS Nijjar, Ranjana Desai and JS Khehar. “Keeping in mind the important role of the media, courts have evolved several neutralising techniques including postponement orders (relating to publication of court proceedings) subject to the twin test of necessity and proportionality to be to applied in cases where there is real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice or to the fairness of trial,” the Bench noted. Such neutralising device would not be an unreasonable restriction on the media and on the contrary would fall within the
proper Constitutional framework, the apex court explained.
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Modi launches poll campaign, targets Congress
Mehsana (Gujarat), Sept 11 Seeking a fourth term in office, the BJP stalwart also slammed the Congress for "attacking the constitutional authorities", accusing it of whipping up an atmosphere of anger against the government auditor CAG like it did against the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum allocation case. Signalling that he would fight the coming poll on the plank of "injustice meted out to Gujarat", Modi struck an aggressive tone to kick start his month-long campaign through the Swami Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra from the holy town of Becharaji in Mehsana. He appealed to the people to work towards "Congress-free Gujarat" on the lines of "gutkha-free Gujarat" to wipe out "cancer". The Assembly elections in the state are due in December this year. "I have faced multiple probes, now let the Prime Minister face a SIT probe on coal blocks allocation. To corner me, they form an SIT whenever they want to," he said. "I appeal to him (Manmohan Singh) and the Congress to come forward and have a competition in facing probes," Modi said, adding, "Let us see who has more prowess in facing such probes." A SIT has been formed by the Supreme Court to investigate the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases. The CBI is also investigating various fake encounter cases in Gujarat. Taking a swipe at the Congress, the Chief Minister alleged that the opposition party was not alone in fighting the Assembly poll, as the CBI was also with them. He alleged that the Congress had a habit of targeting constitutional authorities by creating an atmosphere of anger against the institutions that did not toe its line. — PTI
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Abu Jundal in police custody till Sept 24
Shiv Kumar/TNS
Mumbai, September 11 Ansari was taken to Nashik from Mumbai by the Anti Terror Squad of the Mumbai police for further investigations into the Aurangabad arms haul case, police sources said. He was also part of a botched conspiracy to carry out an attack at the police academy at Nashik. According to the police, Jundal has not yet engaged a lawyer and wanted to consult his parents before doing so. However, they haven't yet turned up in court despite his request being granted.
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Rahul Gandhi visits relief camps in violence-hit districts of Assam
Guwahati,September 11 After his arrival in
Guwahati, the AICC leader boarded a chopper at the Guwahati airport to visit three relief camps in the violence-hit districts of
Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee
(APCC) president Bhubaneswar Kalita accompanied Rahul on the visit. Rahul visited the Gambaridil relief camp of Bodo inmates at Kokrajhar district under the Dotoma police station, Lakhiganj ME Madrasa relief camp at Bilasipara sub-division in Dhubri district and Basugaon Higher Secondary School relief camp in Chirang district. The latter two relief camps house Muslim inmates displaced by the spell of violence. Chief executive member of the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council
(BTC) Hagrama Mohilary and other leaders of the Bodo People’s Front (BPF), which is ruling the
BTC, met Rahul at the Gambaridil relief camp to apprise him of the prevailing situation. The All Bodo Students’ Union
(ABSU) submitted a memorandum to Rahul highlighting its various demands related to the clashes and its fall-out. Earlier, PM Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and former Home Minister P Chidambaram had visited the affected areas and relief camp
inmates. ABSU president Promode Bodo said though normalcy is returning to violence-hit areas, tension and fear is prevailing. He said there should be intensive confidence building measures to defeat the design of the forces out to trigger clashes in the area. Chopper fails to take off Guwahati: Bad weather prevented chopper of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to take off from Kokrajhar in western Assam to the Guwahati airport for his journey back to the capital on Tuesday afternoon. As a result, Rahul had to travel to Guwahati by road, according to Assam Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Bichitra Choudhury
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Rahul unlikely to campaign in Gujarat
New Delhi, September 11 Modi's speech at an election rally at Mehsana today was a clear giveaway that the Gujarat strongman wanted to keep focus on scandals that surfaced during the UPA government as well as the Centre's poor record on the governance front. The Congress, on the other hand, does not want to get distracted by Modi's attempts to divert attention from a debate on local issues and the performance of his government. "The Gujarat election will not centre around Rahul," remarked a senior Congress leader. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari did not give any definite reply when asked if Rahul Gandhi would campaign in Gujarat as he had done in Uttar Pradesh. "Elections is in every state are fought on the basis of local issues and all senior leaders who are given the responsibility to campaign there will do so," he said, adding that Modi is painting an imaginary picture to hide his shortcomings. The Congress strategy is to counter Modi's campaign against the UPA government by highlighting corruption in the state government and to dispel the public perception that the Chief Minister had delivered on the development front. The Congress is also treading carefully on the Gujarat Chief Minister's role in the post-Godhra communal riots as it wants to avoid any issue that can polarise the electorate. The party has not forgotten how Congress president Sonia Gandhi's description of Modi as a "maut ka saudagar" in the last Assembly poll had backfired. Congress leaders have privately admitted that they do not want to make the Gujarat riots an election issue. It is for this reason that the party's reaction to the latest court judgment on the Naroda Patiya case was extremely muted. With Modi today hitting out at the UPA government over the coal blocks controversy, Congress spokesperson kept the focus on the graft allegations made against his government. Tewari recalled that earlier in June, a delegation of Congress MPs had met the Central Vigilance Commissioner and submitted a 750-page document on the 17 scams that cost the Gujarat Government Rs 1.17 lakh crore. "Is this the Gujarat model which Modi is boasting of," Tewari asked.
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Pumping pecuniary ammo into poll war
New Delhi, September 11 “There is nothing wrong in an electoral trust funding a political party, but people should know which company it belongs to. In foreign countries, when a particular company makes any donation to a political party, entries are maintained in the account books of both the donor and the receiver. Here, we hardly know who the trust belongs to and from where the money is coming. The public would like to know whether a particular company received any favours after the political party it donated to came to power,” he says. Are the electoral trusts set up by corporate houses really anonymous? After all these have to be registered with the department concerned along with proper details and address. Giving example of the General Electoral Trust, one of the biggest contributors of both the Congress and the BJP, Chhokar says the trust has its office in the Aditya Birla Centre- also the home to the Aditya Birla Group of companies, but the information is only an assumption that there is a relationship between the two entities. The reason for keeping the relationship under wraps is simple. This helps them avoid tricky situations if the party they made donations to loses in the election, he says. “The number of electoral trusts and donor companies on the list of donors provided by the ADR is nowhere near the actual number of big corporate houses making donations.” At times, an electoral trust is also a façade for a foreign company to pump in offshore funds into India’s political war game. Political parties are not eligible to accept contributions from any foreign source, but companies with foreign links have been making donations to Indian political groups.
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Allahabad HC issues notice to Dimple Yadav, Kannauj DC
Aditi Tandon/TNS
New Delhi, September 11 Taking up the case filed by Prabhat Pandey of Voters Party International, Justice D P Singh of the High Court sent a notice to Dimple Yadav, wife of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and asked her to file a reply. Pandey, who hails from Rahul Gandi’s Lok Sabha segment Amethi, has stated in his petition that though Yadav’s byelection from Kannauj is known to be unopposed, that is not the case. The petitioner has accused the state machinery of aiding Yadav’s election by preventing other prospective candidates, including Pandey, from filing their nominations. Pandey has further alleged that the byelection to Kanauj parliamentary segment was not fair and candidates were kidnapped to restrain them from entering the contest and filing their nomination papers. Pandey has alleged in the petition that he and other leaders of Voters Party International were kidnapped from the District Collector’s office in Kannauj by the goons of Samajwadi Party to pave the way for unopposed victory of Dimple Yadav. Citing these facts, the petitioner has prayed to the court to declare the election of Kannauj null and void and to direct the Election Commission to conduct a re-poll. Earlier on September 11, the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court had nominated the court of Justice D P Singh to examine the maintainability of the said election petition filed by Prabhat Pandey. The case has since been listed several times on August 8, 17 and 27 and came up for hearing only today with the notice being issued to both Dimple Yadav and the Deputy Commissioner of Kannauj. The state government on the other hand is holding an inquiry into the alleged kidnappings after directions from the Chief Secretary. Pandey has been asked by the state to file a statement before the investigating officer SP Kannauj but he had sought police protection before being able to do so. The said petition was filed in the Allahabad HC under Section 81 of the Peoples Representation Act, 1951 in the office of the Registrar.
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NCERT removes 6 cartoons from political science textbooks
New Delhi, September 11 Replying to each of those queries which MPs raised, the NCERT said it was yet to take a decision on the recommendations of an expert committee that had wanted 21 politically sensitive cartoons removed from the books and 17 other modifications made in the captions. Four days since the conclusion of the monsoon session, new NCERT textbooks, out on shelves, reveal that six cartoons have been removed. These include a cartoon supposedly showing Dr BR Ambedkar in poor light. Another cartoon mocking the anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu has also gone. These two cartoons had created a furore in the Parliament on May 11, following which Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee had promised suitable action, prompting HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to reiterate the assurance. The NCERT had, the very next day, set up a committee headed by SK Thorat, chairman, Indian Council for Social Science Research, to review the controversial books and recommend action. Four months later, while the NCERT is yet to officially declare its decision on those recommendations, six cartoons stand deleted from textbooks prescribed for Classes IX to XII. These are - Shankar’s Ambedkar cartoon which has been replaced with a photograph of India’s first President Rajendra Prasad greeting Ambedkar, RK Laxman’s anti-Hindi agitation cartoon which had Dravidian parties, the DMK and AIADMK on their feet, Irfan Khan’s cartoon from Class IX book “Democratic Politics” which compares a politician with a goon in a frame, Manjul’s Class X cartoon which depicts the practice of defection, another cartoon which shows Nehru crowing Sheikh Abdullah, the political stalwart from J&K and the father of National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah.
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Andhra CM aides to make movie for garnering support
Hyderabad, September 11 The beleaguered Chief Minister, facing internal rebellion and a poor public approval rating, is set to be portrayed as “Mr Clean” and a corruption-buster in the movie, tentatively titled “Operation Duryodhan-2”. The film appears to be similar to a hit Telugu film with the same title which dealt with political corruption. Sources in the Telugu film industry Tollywood say Kiran's supporters within the ruling Congress have pooled in resources to fund the movie project. The move comes at a time when 53-year-old Kiran, a cricketer-turned-politician, is facing a tough political challenge in the wake of efforts by his detractors to unseat him. There has been a growing demand from a section of state Congress leaders for a change of guard. The party's drubbing in the recent byelection and the growing dissidence have added to his woes. The movie narrates how the Chief Minister single-handedly takes on the
corrupt elements within the government, ensures that the corrupt are sent to jail and saves the state exchequer from plunder. The film's sub-text also deals with the ongoing CBI investigation into the illegal assets case against YSR Congress
party president and Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has emerged as a major challenger to the ruling Congress. Sources say popular actor Jagapati Babu will play the role of CBI Joint Director VV Laxminarayana, who is heading the probe into Jagan's assets. Veteran actor Kota Srinivasa Rao, known for essaying negative roles, will appear in the movie as the state Congress president.
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HC quashes shamlat land sale to Subhash Ghai
Chandigarh, September 11 Issuing the directions, the high court also directed Ghai to hand over possession of the land to the village panchayat. In turn, the panchayat was also asked to return the money to Ghai along with interest. The state government had allowed the panchayat to sell the land for Rs 8.02 crore, including the land price and annuity. The directions came on a petition filed by Nafe Singh of Badsa village in Bahadurgarh. Nafe Singh has sought direction to the state of Haryana and other respondents to ‘stop forthwith of construction activities’ undertaken by Mukta Arts and Whistling Woods International, whose chairman is Subhash Ghai. Directions have also been sought for ordering high-level inquiry into the ‘entire transaction’ and conclude the same within three months. The petitioner contended that the government decision to grant permission to the panchayat to sell the shamlat land to a private institute was in violation of the relevant rules; and thus ‘liable to be treated as arbitrary, discriminatory and an act of favoritism’. Going into the background of the controversy, he said on January 6, 2010, the then sarpanch of the village passed a resolution for entering into an agreement to sell panchayat shamlat deh land measuring 20 acres to the companies. He said the companies were allotted land in two other states, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, ‘in a similar fashion’. But the Bombay High Court in a petition filed in the public interest quashed the allotment vide its order dated February 9. Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh High Court also quashed the allotment in favour of the respondents.
HC directives
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Centre mulls relocation of AIIMS-like institute in Bengal
New Delhi, September 11 Under constant pressure from its ally Trinamool Congress which Mamata heads, the Centre has decided to hold a meeting shortly to discuss the demand of When AIIMS-like institutes were announced under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana in 2009, the decision was taken to set up one in Raigunj district of West Bengal where the ailing Congress stalwart Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi holds sway. His wife Deepa Dasmunshi represents the area in the Lok Sabha and has been keen that AIIMS be set up there. But for three years since the announcement, the proposal has not come through due to severe opposition mounted by Mamata Banerjee, whose confidante Sudip Bandopadhyay is Minister of State for Health. Bandopadhyay has written to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to give due weightage to the state’s demand in the location of AIIMS. He has argued that the Centre should accommodate state’s views because health is a state subject. Bandopadhyay is confident that the Centre will accommodate the view of the state. While Raigunj is located far away from the state capital Kolkata, Nadia district is located within the 50-km range. The West Bengal government has asked for the health institute to be set up In UP, the former Mayawati government was against setting up the UP AIIMS-like institute in Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli. But the incumbent SP government has approved the plan.
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Kishanganga hydel project: Arguments over, verdict in six months
New Delhi, September 11 “The court shall endeavour to render its award within six months of the close of the hearings,” a statement issued by the international court said after the two nations completed the final arguments to strengthen their respective positions. However, till the award is pronounced, last year’s stay order holds. It prevents India from undertaking permanent works above the riverbed level at the Gurez site of the hydropower project. While the Indian side is confident of the case being settled in its favour, some experts have termed continuation of the stay “significant”. “Continuation of the stay on construction of Kishanganga project is significant. It means that there is a possibility that India’s claims may be rejected. Definitely, a stay means that arbitrators need time to study the issue in detail before giving the final verdict. It also means they have a notion that some problem exists. If the court decides that India cannot go ahead with the project in the present form, it may have to be modified or even scrapped,” said Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. Water Resources Ministry officials are, however, confident that the final award will be in India’s favour. Planned diversion of the waters for the Kishanganga project is in compliance with the Indus Waters Treaty, they say. Represented by Secretary Dhruv Vijay Singh, the Indian side said both the design and planned mode of operation were in full conformity with the treaty. India also urged the court to follow the decision of the neutral expert in the Baglihar case, which found the drawdown flushing of sediments collected in the reservoir permissible under the treaty. When the stay was pronounced last year, Water Resources Minister Pawan Bansal had called it an interim legal position and in no way a “loss of position” for India, as was being projected by Pakistan. Project file
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Prove charges or apologise: Coal Minister to BJP
Lucknow, September 11 Addressing the media here today, Jaiswal said, “I will be in my office tomorrow. Any leader or his representative is welcome to visit me with any documents. If their allegations are false, they should apologise. Else, I will apologise.” He asked his detractors to stop levelling frivolous and baseless charges against him. Jaiswal said not a single coal block was allocated during his tenure.
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The Maharashtra Government is all set to drop sedition charge against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi who has chosen to stay in jail instead of applying for bail.
Mehsana (Gujarat), Sept 11
Over one and a half month after the riots broke out in Kokrajhar and adjoining districts in western Assam, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi today visited three relief camps of the violence-displaced persons to take stock of the condition of inmates and rehabilitation measures undertaken by the administration.
New Delhi, September 11
New Delhi, September 11
Jagdeep Chhokar, former IIM-Ahmedabad professor and founder member of the ADR, says the problem with such electoral trusts is that not enough is known about them to establish the basis on which these make donations to political parties.