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Sonia launches Gujarat poll campaign
World Women Speakers’ Meet begins |
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Mid-day meals: HRD Ministry wants exemption from LPG cap
From April 1, UP to ban gutkha
India, Pak come together for Gandhi’s birth anniversary at UN
All schools must have toilets in 6 months: SC
Kasab’s lawyers refuse fee; pay it to victims, orders SC
Consensus to have water forum at national level
Kerala opposes tiger tourism curbs
Three Oz institutes shut, 500 Indian students hit
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Sonia launches Gujarat poll campaign
New Delhi, October 3 In her first major outing since the UPA government pressed ahead with its stalled reforms agenda, Sonia Gandhi used her speech at the Rajkot rally to defend these measures, stressing on the benefits of FDI to farmers. Gujarat strongman Narendra Modi had attempted to personalise the campaign by demanding answers to media reports that the Centre had spent Rs 1,880 crore on Sonia Gandhi’s medical treatment abroad. The Congress president did not allow herself to get provoked and left it to her party colleagues to respond to Modi’s allegations. Hitting out at their political opponents for indulging in “negative politics and false propaganda”, she assured farmers that FDI in retail would actually fetch them a better price for their produce. “The Congress believes that progress of the country is possible only when the pace of development in villages is the same as that in the cities. Should the farmers not get the right amount for their produce? This is where FDI will play a crucial role to give farmers the right price for their produces,” she said. “At present farmers are forced to sell their products at cheap prices which are then sold at a higher profit in cities,” she said. Sonia Gandhi chose to start her election campaign from Rajkot in the Saurashtra region although it happens to be the
BJP’s stronghold. The Congress is hoping to benefit from the fact that it is in fact BJP
dissident Keshubhai Patel’s stronghold. The party also wants to exploit the growing
discontentment among farmers here. Defending the Centre’s decision to hike fuel prices, she said tough measures had become necessary because of the increase in the international prices of crude oil. She sought to turn the tables on the BJP, saying Opposition-ruled states had not come forward to provide relief to the common man, while the Congress chief ministers had done their bit in that regard. “In Congress-ruled states, economically weaker sections get three extra subsidised LPG cylinders ….why doesn’t Gujarat follow the example?” she asked. In a conscious effort
to keep the spotlight on the Gujarat administration’s deficiencies, she took on the BJP on the issue of corruption, came down heavily on Modi for not using Central funds while pointing to the farmers’ suicides and the harassment meted out to Dalits in the state. sonia paid for OWN treatment: cic
While Congress president Sonia Gandhi sidestepped questions about the expenditure on her medical treatment abroad, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has said the government did not pay for it. In a May 3 order in reply to an RTI query, Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra said Sonia Gandhi paid for her expenditure and the government did not spend on her treatment.”
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World Women Speakers’ Meet begins
New Delhi, October 3 Only 20 per cent of the current 46,432 MPs in world parliaments are women. This means only one in five of all MPs in the world are women who comprise half of the globe’s population. This gap in political representation exercised the minds of delegates who assembled here today for the seventh Women’s Speakers Conference which the Indian Parliament is hosting with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the umbrella body for world parliaments. The conference, inaugurated today by President Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, is discussing ways to make world parliaments gender-sensitive. The delegates today agreed that access of women to parliament was fundamental to the establishment of gender-sensitive parliaments and a consensus emerged on the use of special quotas to ensure women’s representation in parliaments especially when countries, even democracies, are not fairly including women in politics on their own. India, for instance, has only 11.5 per cent women in the Lower House and 10.6 per cent in the Upper House. With both IPU and UN Women delegates attending the two-day event backing quotas today, the demand is expected to be reflected in the outcome document which the women Speakers will adopt tomorrow ahead of IPU's special session in Quebec on October 23 where a global plan of action for gender-sensitive parliaments will be adopted. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director, UN Women, urged India to pass Women’s Reservation Bill. Speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly Fehmida Mirza is not attending the conference. IPU officers said all 38 women Speakers globally were invited for the India event but only 13 have come.
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Mid-day meals: HRD Ministry wants exemption from LPG cap
Seeking exemption from revised norms under which domestic LPG cylinders beyond six per year would be charged at non-subsidised rates of Rs 977 instead of subsidised rates of Rs 420 per cylinder, the Ministry has said higher rates would double the cooking cost component under the scheme, leaving little funds for nutrition. In a letter to Petroleum Secretary GC Chaturvedi, the HRD Ministry has red-flagged subsidy cuts, saying if the new norms apply, total fuel expenditure on LPG cylinders being used in schools for cooking mid-day meals will rise from Rs 653 crore today to Rs 1,306 crore annually. That would be 11 per cent of the programme’s total budget of Rs 11,937 crore for this year. “Consequently, scarce funds being used for providing nutritious food to children would be diverted towards provision of fuel. The availability of pulses and vegetables would also decline. Children who are already suffering from malnutrition would be further starved of funds earmarked for the much needed nutrition component,” Amarjeet Singh, Additional Secretary, HRD Ministry, said in a letter to Chaturvedi. Asking the Petroleum Ministry to instruct public sector oil-marketing firms to continue supplying LPG cylinders to schools at subsidised rates, HRD Ministry argued, “Meals prepared for children under MDM is not a commercial activity. It seeks to end classroom hunger, particularly of the poor sections.” UPA’s flagship mid-day meal programme is currently covering 10.54 crore children in 12.63 lakh schools and is the largest food programme in the world. It is critical to reduction of malnutrition, which PM Manmohan Singh has described as “national shame”. But the Cabinet’s LPG subsidy cut is threatening the
programme’s objective, considering 40 per cent schools are using LPG cylinders to cook. mid-day meals: lpg cost
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From April 1, UP to ban gutkha
Lucknow, October 3 “Like other states, Uttar Pradesh is imposing a ban on gutkha under the centrally enacted Food Safety and Regulation (Prohibition) Act 2011,” claimed a press statement. “In view of the question of livelihood of lakhs of people engaged in the production and sale of gutkha in the state, CM Akhilesh Yadav has given an extended deadline. It is expected that taking advantage of this time period before the ban comes into effect, the people engaged in the trade would find alternative employment,” said the release. On September 20, 2012, the Allahabad High Court had directed the state government to clamp a ban on gutkha as well as on pan masala within 14 days’ time. The court had further said it would issue another order if the state government failed to do so. The case is coming up for hearing on October 10. The earlier order was given by a division bench comprising Justices Amar Saran and Anurag Kumar on a petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh Dental Association. The court ruled that it becomes incumbent on the state government to protect the health of the public and impose a ban on production as well as sale of articles laced with tobacco. Seeking a ban on such products, petitioner Vishnu Bihari Tiwari had said as they were causing deadly diseases, they deserved to be completely banned. Uttar Pradesh is the 15th state in the country to ban gutkha.
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India, Pak come together for Gandhi’s birth anniversary at UN
New Delhi, October 3 The function, hosted by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri was presided over by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Abdullah Hussain Haroon was among those who shared the dais with the Krishna and Puri. The event was held even as India and Pakistan clashed over Jammu and Kashmir, with a Pakistani delegate challenging Krishna’s statement at the UN that Kashmir was an integral part of India. The acrimony over the Kashmir issue was apparently forgotten at the function to commemorate Gandhi’s birth anniversary with Puri describing his Pakistani counterpart as ‘my very dear friend’. He also recollected that Mahatma Gandhi had visited his Pakistani counterpart’s residence in Karachi in the 1940s ‘even before he (Haroon) was born’ amid a burst of laughter from an impressive gathering which included foreign ministers, permanent representatives of several countries to the UN, and people of Indian origin from all over the world. The Pakistani envoy also delivered an interesting speech in which he recalled how the Mahatma inspired Martin Luther King in the latter’s ‘I have a dream’ speech which provided a strong impetus to the civil rights movement in the US. ‘’Intolerance betrays lack of faith in one cause,” Haroon said, quoting Gandhi’s famous line: “I am prepared to die for a cause but not to kill for it.” Haroon also pointed out how Gandhi ensured that at the time of Partition, Pakistan was promptly given its dues. He also praised the apostle of peace and non-violence for giving the ‘satyagrah’ his own flavour, adding that the Mahatma was a man who even in his death wished to belong to the world community.
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All schools must have toilets in 6 months: SC
New Delhi, October 3 The Bench said all its previous directions pertaining to providing infrastructure should be implemented within the time frame fixed by it. On October 18 last year, the apex court had directed all states and union territories to build toilets, particularly for girls, in all government schools. The court passed the order on a PIL seeking its direction to the Centre and state governments to provide basic facilities of drinking water and toilets in schools. The apex court had earlier stated that it was imperative that all schools provide toilet facilities, as empirical researches indicated that wherever toilet facilities are not provided in schools, parents do not send their children (particularly girls) to schools. The court had also observed that not providing the infrastructure was a violation of the right to free and compulsory education of children guaranteed under Article 21-A of the Constitution. — PTI
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Kasab’s lawyers refuse fee; pay it to victims, orders SC
The amount represents the fee the SC had directed the Maharashtra government to pay to senior counsel Raju Ramachandran and advocate Gaurav Agrawal for arguing the case in the apex court. Supreme Court had appointed Ramachandran as amicus curiae to assist it in the case and argue for Kasab, sentenced to death by the trial court and the Bombay High Court. The SC has also confirmed his conviction and sentence. Declining to accept the fee, both Ramachandran and Agrawal pleaded with a bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and CK Prasad that the amount should go to the SC Legal Services Authority. However, the bench directed the Maharashtra government to distribute it to the victims. The bench appreciated the two advocates for their “high standards of professional ethics”. Ramachandran was to get Rs 11 lakh, while Agrawal was to be paid Rs 3.5 lakh.
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HC extends ‘happy hours’
on Gurgaon-Delhi e-way
Chandigarh, October 3 A division bench also asked the Haryana Police to consider the feasibility of blocking the U-turn leading to Ambience Mall for commuters coming from Jaipur. Only about a week ago, the High Court had ordered re-introduction of the toll fee for private vehicles on the expressway, but with “peak-hours” break. Easing the pressure on the brakes applied on collection of toll tax on September 4, the bench had ordered that toll would not be collected from private vehicles on the expressway from 8.30 am to 10 am and again from 5.30 pm to 7 pm. The orders were to continue being enforced till October 3. During the hearing, the bench had showed little confidence in the decisions and actions taken by the concessionaire, Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Limited (DGSCL). The orders come within weeks of the High Court ordering charging of toll tax from commercial vehicles. The Delhi Municipal Corporation had earlier moved the High Court, seeking directions for imposing toll tax on commercial heavy vehicles. The corporation asserted that commercial vehicles were entering Delhi from Gurgaon side to avoid toll tax. As a result, the rush had increased on the expressway and its effect could be felt right up to Dhaula Kuan in Delhi. It added that a dedicated lane could be earmarked for commercial vehicles for the purpose of collecting the toll tax.
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Consensus to have water forum at national level New Delhi, October 3 Water being a state subject, several states, including Haryana and Kerala, raised objections to the Draft National Water Policy, formulated by the Centre on water-related issues. While Haryana was represented by its senior minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha at the meeting, Punjab was represented by Chief Engineer Canals Amarjit Singh Dullet. Calling for far-reaching reforms in the water sector, Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the Centre had proposed setting up a forum of state water ministers to work out reconciliation. Bansal said there was a broad agreement among states on forming the forum. The mandate might include reforms in the water sector, but bilateral issues would not be discussed at the forum. The Water Resources Minister said the government might amend the interstate water disputes Act to set up a standing tribunal to deal with water-related disputes among states. The tribunal would have benches dealing with more than one dispute. It was time that reforms of far-reaching consequences were brought about in the water sector because "business as usual" was no longer possible, he added. Some states, however, expressed apprehension that the overarching legal framework on water will encroach on their powers. He said Haryana and Kerala were among the states that expressed apprehension that the ministry wanted to make the overarching legal framework binding through enactment of law. "That is not our intention," he added.
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Kerala opposes tiger tourism curbs
New Delhi, October 3 The Kerala government and an association of devotees told the SC that any proposal to restrict people’s movement in the forest areas with tiger population would affect the 40 million pilgrims who visited the ‘Sabarimala’ in the state every year. The shrine, located inside the Periyar tiger reserve, should be exempted from the guidelines, they said. They also opposed the move to levy a “conservation fee” on the visitors to such reserves and sanctuaries. The proposed 10 per cent levy on the incomes of the temples “is highly objectionable” as it was like the ‘jaziya’ (religious tax) imposed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the association said.
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Three Oz institutes shut, 500 Indian students hit Melbourne/New Delhi, October 3 “The decision to reject a training organisation’s registration is not one we take lightly but the interests of students and the integrity of training standards across the VET sector have to be upheld,” said ASQA Chief Commissioner Chris Robinson. “The institutions have the right to have ASQA’s decision reviewed which may delay or change the decision,” he said. Depending on the outcome of any appeals, the decisions take effect from October 30 and apply to all courses offered by The Ashmark Group Pty Ltd and G Plus G Global Trading Pty Ltd. Both colleges have campuses in Melbourne, Victoria. The ASQA also served notice last month on the Ivy Group in NSW. Varghese said in New Delhi that Indian students affected by the foreshadowed closure of three colleges in Australia will be covered by a legislated safety net. “The Australian Government has in place a comprehensive suite of protection mechanisms to safeguard the interests of overseas students under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (the ESOS Act),” he said. — PTI tough times
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New Delhi, October 3
New Delhi, October 3