|
|
|
|
|
PM says reforms irreversible, denies US behind measures
Justice Kabir sworn in as 39th CJI
GSAT-10 launched successfully
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2 ex-ministers, IAS officer acquitted in J&K sex scandal
Rebel threat looms as HP BJP finalises 45 names
Floods, landslides kill 28 in Arunachal this year
Custodial death: 3 policemen suspended
|
|
PM says reforms irreversible, denies US behind measures
New Delhi, September 29 “What has the US got to do with this? We are not a country to be dictated by others,’’ he shot back when his attention was drawn to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s statement yesterday that the decision to allow FDI in multi brand retail was taken to please the US. Talking to reporters at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir, the PM made it clear that his government would do what was good for the people and the country. “Reforms are not a one-off process,” he added. Manmohan Singh also expressed his government’s willingness to sit with UPA allies and explain to them the rationale behind the decisions like allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, hiking diesel price and rationing LPG cylinders. Asked about the attacks on him by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee after her party walked out of the UPA, the PM said he was not bitter about anything. The PM’s new found confidence stems from the fact that he received a strong backing for the reformist measures of the government from the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. However, key UPA allies like the DMK and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had expressed apprehension at the UPA coordination committee meeting that the steps like a cap on LPG cylinders might not go down well with their supporters. When asked to respond to the concerns of the UPA allies that the reforms could affect their electoral prospects, the PM said: “We are far away from elections.’’ The BJP reacted sharply to the PM’s statement, saying he had acted under foreign pressure while permitting FDI in retail and was now making a ‘pathetic attempt’ to deny it. BJP leader Balbir Punj said: “It is a sad day for the country that the Prime Minister of India has to deny that he is not working under foreign pressure and he does not sound convincing.” He said Singh had gone back on his government’s commitment that no decision on FDI in multi-brand retail would be taken without having all stake-holders on board.
Not a one-off process
|
|
Justice Kabir sworn in as 39th CJI
New Delhi, September 29 Justice Kabir, who will have a tenure of nine months till July 18, 2013, succeeds CJI SH Kapadia who held the office for about two-and-a-half years. Known for his humility and politeness, the soft-spoken Justice Kabir took the oath in the name of God. Among those who attended the function at Ashoka Hall were Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari, UPA Chairman Sonia Gandhi and several Union Ministers. Former CJIs VN Khare and AH Ahmadi, Attorney General GE Vahanvati, former AG Soli Sorabjee and several retired Supreme Court judges were also present. CJI Kabir, who has penchant for details, has delivered several landmark judgments, covering Constitutional and electoral laws and human rights. At times, he holds the court proceedings much beyond the scheduled rising time of 4 pm. Talking to reporters after the function, the Prime Minister said the government would honour the opinion of the five-Judge Constitution Bench of the SC on the allocation of natural resources. Born on July 19, 1948 at Kolkata, Justice Kabir did his LLB and MA from Calcutta University. He was enrolled at the bar on August 1, 1973 and was made a permanent judge of the Calcutta High Court on August 6, 1990. Justice Kabir became acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC on January 11, 2005 and was elevated as Chief Justice of Jharkhand HC on March 1, 2005.
|
|||||
|
GSAT-10 launched successfully
Bangalore, September 29 GSAT-10 is the heaviest Indian satellite that the ISRO has ever built Built at a cost of Rs 735 crore with a foreign exchange component of Rs 634 crore, the satellite will augment the capacity of the INSAT system. After a countdown lasting 11 hours and 30 minutes, the Ariane-5 launch vehicle lifted-off right on schedule at the opening of the launch window at 0248 hrs IST today. After a flight of 30 minutes and 45 seconds, GSAT-10 was injected into an elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) with a perigee of 250.92 km and apogee of 35,853 km. Till the launch of GSAT-10, the INSAT consisted of eight satellites providing 168 transponders. As many as 30 transponders have been added to the capacity with the launch of GSAT-10 today.
|
|||||
|
2 ex-ministers, IAS officer acquitted in J&K sex scandal
Chandigarh, September 29 After a six-year trial, the court acquitted Mohd Iqbal Khandey, a 1978 batch officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre and Principal Secretary in the Jammu and Kashmir Government; Ghulam Ahmed Mir, former minister and present Congress MLA from South Kashmir constituency Dooru; and former minister Raman Mattoo. The court also acquitted alleged kingpin Sabina and her husband Abdul Hamid Bulla in the three chargesheets. But Sabina and Abdul continue to stand accused in the remaining six chargesheets in this case. A total of nine chargesheets were filed by the CBI in the scandal. Defence counsel Rabindra Pandit said that the court of special CBI Judge Vimal Kumar pronounced separate orders in these three cases. Giving the benefit of doubt to all the accused in these cases, the court acquitted them, he added. Till now, five victims had turned hostile, he said. Ghulam Ahmed Mir said that he was happy that after six years, the court had acquitted him. Raman Mattoo said that the court orders prove that they were all innocent. Iqbal Khandey and Sabina did not talk to the media. The scandal had surfaced in Jammu and Kashmir in 2006 in which nine cases for various offences under Section 376 (rape) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act were registered. Sabina, who had allegedly introduced the ‘victims’ to the other accused, had been named in all the cases. The sex scandal
The sex scandal was busted in 2006 after the J&K Police found two sleazy CDs involving a 15-year-old girl and the accused. During the investigations, it was found that Sabeena, the alleged kingpin, was engaged in supplying around 43 girls to various officials in the state.
|
|||||
|
Rebel threat looms as HP BJP finalises 45 names
Shimla, September 29 With a decision on the remaining 23 seats yet to be taken, the core group held a meeting at the residence of party chief Nitin Gadkari in Delhi today. Those who attended the meeting included Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar, Kalraj Mishra, JP Nadda, Shyam Jaju and Satpal Satti. The State Election Committee will once again meet on October 1 at Chandigarh to finalise the remaining 23 names. Sources said the party had adopted a very cautious approach and delayed the finalisation of names as the possibility of rebels jumping into the fray was very high. Some constituencies where the ticket had been decided could also see rebels queering the pitch for the party’s official candidates. The party may have to face the problems of rebels and undercutting at Bharmour, Dehra, Jwalamukhi, Nurpur, Sujanpur, Kinnaur, Kangra, Pragpur, Bhattiyat, Gagret, Haroli and Chopal. The core group today again requested Shanta to persuade his die-hard loyalist — Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhwala — to shift from his home turf of Dehra to Jwalamukhi to make way for Irrigation Minister Ravinder Singh Ravi. Ravi’s own Assembly segment of Thural in Kangra lost its entity as panchayats falling under it were merged into adjoining constituencies. Dhwala, who had been camping in Delhi, reportedly left for Jwalamukhi in the wee hours today without talking to any senior leader. He is likely to consult his supporters to decide on the possibility of contesting as an Independent in case he is asked to shift from Dehra. He has, in the past too, clarified that it was too late for him to shift to Jwalamukhi at the last minute. Rakesh Pathania, who was seeking a party ticket from Nurpur, has decided to once again contest as an Independent candidate.
|
|||||
|
Floods, landslides kill 28 in Arunachal this year
Itanagar, September 29 Water Resources Development Minister Newlai Tingkhatra told the Assembly today that 16 persons have died in two consecutive floods that hit the state since June this year, while seven landslide-related death cases have been reported in the state during the year. Three persons died due to lightning, while two died in fire accident, the minister informed while participating in a short-duration discussion on flood situation in the state and extent of damages caused raised in the House by Trinamool Congress member Laeta Umbrey. In all, 11 persons died in Lower Subansiri district followed by Lohit and Anjaw with five each flood-related deaths, Upper Subansiri recorded three deaths, Kurung Kumey two, and East Kameng and Papum Pare recorded one death each in the year, Tingkhatra said. “Over 9 lakh people from 2,588 villages in 17 districts were hit by the floods and landslides during the year,” the minister said.
—PTI
|
|||||
|
Custodial death: 3 policemen suspended
Lucknow, September 29 SHO Virendra Singh Yadav and constables Mukesh Giri and R Singh figure among the accused. Following protests by relatives of deceased Deepak Yadav, the administration has ordered a probe.
—TNS
|
|||||
Hyderabad Jorhat (Assam) Imphal Kolkata
new delhi kaziranga Panaji Visakhapatnam
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, September 29
