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Mamata leads Oppn charge against Round-2 reforms
Russia rules out mediation on Kashmir issue
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Coalgate: Former CEC, ex-Navy chief move SC
India takes the cue, LS to have a creche
India-B’desh ties hit cough syrup ‘hurdle’
Haryana wants fast-track courts to try rape cases
CCTV captures killers dumping suitcase with woman’s body at railway station
Former UP minister arrested in Rs 400-cr civil works scam
ESSENTIAL DRUGS
Release of Cauvery water
Indian diplomats slipping on English, says ex-envoy
Global tender for 4,000 night vision devices for anti-Naxal op
Gogoi for inclusion of China, B’desh, Bhutan
Sachan’s widow moves court against CBI report
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Mamata leads Oppn charge against Round-2 reforms
New Delhi, October 4 UPA allies — DMK, NCP and national Conference — were not present when these decisions were taken. While the ruling coalition’s earlier proposals to hike diesel prices, cap subsidised LPG cylinders and allow FDI in multi-brand retail were cleared through an executive order, the Cabinet’s decision today to fix foreign investments in the pension sector at 26 per cent and raising it to 49 per cent in the insurance sector will have to be ratified by Parliament. And if the present mood of the Opposition parties is anything to go by, the UPA government will have a tough task on hand in the winter session of Parliament when these Bills are tabled in the two Houses for clearance. The ruling coalition’s former ally Mamata Banerjee is leading the Opposition charge from the front while the Left parties are not too far behind. The BJP was ambivalent on this issue today but it will find it hard to stand by the government in Parliament if all the other non-Congress parties are determined to block these contentious legislations. The government will then have to work hard on its outside supporters — the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party — or else it will find it difficult to muster the numbers in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling combine is in a minority. Keen to dispel the impression that it is in the grip of a policy paralysis, the UPA is determined to continue on the path it has embarked upon. Besides refurbishing its image, the government also hopes to revive the country’s tottering economy by staying the course on its reforms agenda. Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who briefed his Cabinet colleagues on the provisions of the various Bills which were cleared today, said the government had accepted all the recommendations of the Parliamentary standing committee on the Pension Bill. In the case of the insurance Bill, the UPA ignored the suggestion of the parliamentary panel, headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, that had pegged the FDI cap at 26 per cent. The government has raised it to 49 per cent. “We will reach out to all political parties, especially the principal Opposition party, to get the reform Bills passed,” Chidambaram said after the meeting. The BJP today maintained it is not opposed to more FDI in the pension and insurance sectors, adding that the government should introduce certain caveats and conditions to "safeguard the interest of the people". Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar was ambivalent when asked if the BJP would support these measures in Parliament, saying it would first like to see the "fine print". Coming down heavily on the government, the Left parties said they would defeat these Bills in Parliament.
Tough task
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Russia rules out mediation on Kashmir issue
New Delhi, October 4 Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, Lavrov said, “India and Pakistan are capable of settling their differences on their own without any foreign assistance. The two countries have established good traditions and the ongoing contacts between them are a good development.” Moscow’s statement came close on the heels of the verbal clash between India and Pakistan at the UN General Assembly on the Kashmir issue. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had, in his address, termed the Kashmir issue as a symbol of failures of the UN system. Addressing the UN General Assembly a few days later, India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna described Zardari’s statement as ‘unwarranted’, while asserting that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Lavrov’s visit to Pakistan is being seen in diplomatic circles as a compensation for Russian President Vladimir Putin postponing his trip to the country last week. Reports in the Pakistan media have suggested that the country is keen to purchase military hardware from Russia. Meanwhile, diplomatic sources in New Delhi said nothing much should be read into the postponement of the meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation between Defence Minister AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov. The Russian minister was required to be in Moscow for a programme and, therefore, the meeting had to be rescheduled for October 10, they added.
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Coalgate: Former CEC, ex-Navy chief move SC
New Delhi, October 4 The petitioners are former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian, former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, retired Union Secretaries Ramaswamy Iyer and Sushil Tripathi and former Chiefs of Naval Staff RH Tahiliani and L Ramdas, besides the NGO. On a similar petition, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Union Coal Secretary last month asking him as to why the 194 coal blocks allotted during 2004-11 could not be cancelled as, according to the PIL, the allocations were made “in a pick-and-choose manner” causing a “huge loss” to the country. The SC has given eight weeks time for filing the response. The new PIL contends that “the prevailing corruption in the country in high places seriously impairs the right of the people of this country to live in a corruption-free society governed by rule of law. This is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.” It also seeks a directive to the government to recover punitive damages from companies that made false claims or declarations in their applications for allocation of coal blocks and the companies which defaulted on the condition of allotment and their undertakings.
Want court-monitored probe
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India takes the cue, LS to have a creche
New Delhi, October 4 At the end of the discussions today, all speakers agreed it was not enough to get women to parliaments. “It is equally important to create an enabling environment inside parliaments so that women feel comfortable balancing work and families. “There was agreement that child-care provisions like kindergartens and crèches were important to get women into politics. The draft of the final declaration on gender-sensitive parliaments which we will adopt at our Quebec conference later this month will reflect the need for parliaments to have child-care provisions,” Anders Johnsson, Secretary General of Inter-Parliamentary Union, which hosted the meet with the Indian Parliament, told The Tribune today. Importantly, India took the lead from the message with Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar endorsing its significance and Lok Sabha Secretary General TK Vishwanathan saying that the Lok Sabha would set up a crèche for the children of women MPs and staffers. “We will surely set up a crèche. We will do whatever is good for women,” said the Secretary General. The need to “enhance gender sensitivity in the working environment of parliament” was part of the nine-point Delhi Initiative which Speakers adopted today. As reported by The Tribune yesterday, the assembly backed the use of supportive electoral laws and temporary special measures - quotas for women - to get women into Parliament. Only one in five MPs globally today is a woman. Speaker Meira Kumar said about India, “Women’s Reservation Bill is very much on our agenda. We are not resting. Leaders of parties had urged me to hold a meeting to build consensus on the issue and I did that. We will continue engaging on this issue.” Speakers of Uganda and Tanzania vehemently backed quotas while the Speaker from Austria Barbara Prammer said, “The need for quotas is important because one woman more in the Parliament means one man less.”
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India-B’desh ties hit cough syrup ‘hurdle’
New Delhi, October 4 Smuggling of the cough syrup was one of the issues highlighted at the third Director General-level talks between the NCB and Bangladesh’s Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) here today. The Indian delegation was led by NCB Director General Ajay Chadha and the Bangladesh team was headed by DNC Director General Mohammed Iqbal. “The smugglers wear jackets containing many pockets. In each pocket, they place a 100 ml bottle of the cough syrup. Sometimes, women carry pumpkins that are cut open to fit bottles of phensedyl,” said an NCB official.
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Haryana wants fast-track courts to try rape cases
Chandigarh, October 4 As part of the strategy, which was fine-tuned at a meeting presided over by Chief Secretary PK Chaudhery and attended by senior officers of the Home Department, the CID and the police, the state government today urged the Punjab and Haryana High Court to transfer cases of crime against women to fast-track courts to ensure speedy justice. “The transfer of such cases to fast-track courts would go a long way in speeding up the trial and awarding stringent punishment to the culprit. This would act as a deterrent for anti-social elements,” official sources said. On the basis of inputs received from senior officers, it was also decided to constitute three-member monitoring committees at the district level to investigate, monitor and ensure speedy trial in cases of crime against women. “The committees, comprising the District Magistrate (DM), the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the District Attorney (DA), will monitor such cases fortnightly,” Chaudhery told reporters here today.
Crime against Women
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CCTV captures killers dumping suitcase with woman’s body at railway station
Mumbai, October 4 "After passengers complained of the huge piece of luggage abandoned here, we opened it to find the body of a woman between 25 and 30 years of age,” an official of the Government Railway Police said. The autopsy revealed that the victim was strangled to death around September 25. After failing to find any clues about the victim's identity, the police scanned the footage from the CCTVs installed at the railway station which showed two men getting off the Sinhagad Express arriving from Pune in the wee hours of September 26. After alighting from the train, they looked around for a few minutes before rushing out of the station leaving the luggage behind, the police said. The visuals show a policeman at the station passing them by. Apparently, he noticed nothing unusual. Today, the police released the CCTV footage to the media in order to find out the identity of the two men. Police officials have so far questioned more than 300 persons over the past week to trace the two men. Both men are in their late 20s and part of their profiles are visible on the footage. GRP officials told reporters here that the footage would have been clearer had dust not accumulated on the CCTV cameras.
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Former UP minister arrested in Rs 400-cr civil works scam
Lucknow, October 4 Badshah Singh was arrested last evening for his alleged involvement in an Rs 400 crore scam in the Labour and Construction Cooperative Federation (LACCFED) which is a designated construction agency entrusted with civil works of different government departments. According to the SIB, there were irregularities of various volumes in schemes of over Rs 400 crore and adequate proof of commissions worth approximately Rs 10 crore having exchanged hands. Investigation has revealed that former LACCFED chairman Sushil Katiyar, who is absconding, PRO Praveen Singh and executive engineer DK Sahu, both of whom have been arrested, were instrumental in working out kickback deals with the ministers in the BSP in exchange for projects. On October 3, the first high-profile arrest was made when Badshah Singh was imprisoned after he reportedly admitted taking a bribe of Rs 5 crore during interrogation by the SIB team. This is the eighth arrest in the scam in LACCFED. The other accused include chief engineer Govind Sharan Srivasatava and executive engineer DK
Sahu.
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Act fast to bring down prices, SC tells Centre
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, October 4 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhyaya noted that in view of the exorbitant cost of treatment, the patients were left with only two options — either die or pay through their nose - sometimes by selling off their precious land or ornaments. The Bench made the remarks after Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sidhartha Luthra said the government would take another three months to notify the newly identified 348 essential drugs. Expressing its displeasure over the delay on the issue, the Bench said while drug manufacturers had been successful so far in preventing any official intervention in the pricing, “the common man does not have access to anyone.” “The government might have the intention to check the prices, but it has not been able to act in that direction. We are not unmindful of this,” the Bench remarked. The SC was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, All-India Drug Action Network, far back in 2003. The Bench also regretted that the SC Registry did not put up the case for hearing for seven years following issue of notice. “How long can people be kept waiting for the prices to come down,” the Bench wanted to know.
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Farmers launch relay fast, Central team arrives in Bangalore
Tribune News Service
Bangalore, October 4 Tomorrow, the team will visit the Cauvery basin district of Mandya, about 80 km from Bangalore, where the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam, from which 9,000 cusecs of water is being released to the neighbouring state, is located. Mandya is the main centre of protests against the release of water. Farmers in the district launched relay hunger strike today after their attempt to lay siege to the KRS dam was foiled by the police yesterday. Demonstrations continued for the fifth day in Mandya and neighbouring Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts. A group of farmers also tried to lay siege to the Raj Bhawan in Bangalore. Road traffic between Bangalore and Mysore was disrupted for several hours for the fifth day today due to the agitation. Effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa were burnt. All political parties in the state, including the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular, are opposing the release of water to Tamil Nadu on the grounds that Karnataka is hit by the worst drought in 40 years and water in the reservoirs in the Cauvery basin is barely adequate to meet the state’s own requirement. President of the Cauvery Hitarakshana Samithi G Madegowda, who is always at the forefront of the Cauvery agitation, ignored appeals from political leaders to give up fast considering his age and ill-health and lashed out at Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar for "betraying" farmers and people. "The Kabini reservoir is empty now. The Chief Minister is inimical to farmers interest by increasing water flow into Tamil Nadu,” Gowda, a former MP said addressing the gathering. Several parts of Mandya district observed an undeclared bandh with students boycotting classes and protesters picketing government offices. The Central team led by Union Water Resources Secretary DV Singh earlier today held discussions in Chennai with Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi and others on issues regarding reservoir levels and status of standing crops dependent on the Cauvery waters. The team will give a report to the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) headed by the Prime Minister to help it decide whether to accept Karnataka’s plea regarding allowing it to stop releasing more water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka has been releasing 9,000 cusecs of water daily since September 29 on the directive of the Supreme Court, which upheld the September 19 CRA order to release water to Tamil Nadu from September 20 to October 15. Tamil Nadu had demanded release of 24,000 cusecs of water but the CRA, after hearing the views of both the states, awarded the release of 9,000 cusecs. Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, farmers and members of parties like the MDMK, the Viduthalai Siruthaigal Ammaippu and the Nam Tamizhar Iyakkam blocked trains at Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Kumbakonam, Nagapattinam and other places. (With PTI inputs)
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Indian diplomats slipping on English, says ex-envoy
New Delhi, October 4 Both the written test and the subsequent interview or personality test should be conducted in English alone for those desiring a spot in the foreign service, Budhwar says in his new 174-page book. This, he says, is necessary to check the slipping standards of English in the service. While many countries were putting special emphasis on knowing English well and fast, "here in India, we are gradually eroding this inherited advantage in the name of promoting the national language," Budhwar says in "Making of a Diplomat" (Konark). "If Indian diplomats expect to continue to play an active role on the world scene, then it will be professionally and even socially almost suicidal to forgo proficiency in the English language. "In a disturbing recent trend, the FSTI (Foreign Service Training Institute) in Delhi has had to organise special coaching in English for some of the young entrants into the IFS," he said. "This is not only a far cry from the earlier days but reflective of a myopic approach to building up a truly fine and efficient Foreign Service cadre. "This must be arrested before it is too late, and one way of doing so again would be a separate entrance examination for the IFS with English as the medium, both for the written test as well as subsequent interview or personality test. "As with the earlier generations of Indian diplomats, there need to be no clash between proficiency in English alongside a good working knowledge of Hindi even if it is not your mother tongue," he said. Budhwar, who joined the foreign service in 1962, ended his three and a half decades of diplomatic career as India's High Commissioner in Canada. He has served in important positions both at home and abroad. Budhwar went on: "Proficiency in English has become almost a must for a diplomat. Those without this asset most certainly will and do feel handicapped while operating internationally... "Let us not play games with this crucial aspect merely in the name of narrow-minded nationalism or a misplaced sense of patriotism. "This is just one example to bring out the legitimate concerns expressed, from time to time, over the evolving quality of the Indian Foreign Service and its future," he said. Budhwar's book is like a guide for serving and aspiring diplomats. It deals with different aspects of diplomacy, protocol, hospitality, selection of diplomatic envoy, diplomatic immunities and privileges, role of wife of a foreign service officer, diplomatic contacts, gift culture, preparing for important visits and delegations, domestic help, as well as changing profile of the Indian Foreign Service. — IANS
Queen’s Language
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Global tender for 4,000 night vision devices for anti-Naxal op
New Delhi, October 4 The paramilitary force, through a multi-country tender, wants to procure a total of 3,804 passive night devices (monocular) besides 3,241 binocular devices, which will be given to the troops conducting anti-Naxal operations during night as part of the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) implemented by the CRPF recently. There have been rare instances when paramilitary forces go for global tenders to procure a gadget. The mandatory requirement of these night-vision gadgets, according to the tender, is to "detect and recognise human beings within 125-200 metres in star-lit conditions without moonlight". Sources said a multi-expert team from various central security agencies, including the elite commando force NSG, drew up the tender requirements that are aimed to give the troops the "best eye in the dark". "The aim to get such a device is to see clear and identify as much as possible about a human gathering which could have been used by Naxalites as their shield at dark," a senior security official said. Formations undertaking anti-Naxal operations in various states have many times reported that armed Maoist cadres, when trapped by security forces, hide behind local villagers or their hutments and plan either an escape or resort to counter-fire to avoid casualties on their side. The qualitative requirements of the global tender also specify usage of infra red lasers in these devices which can be used to detect humans "in totally dark environment" as experienced in jungles and villages in
Naxal-affected states. The tenders are scheduled to complete bidding by year-end. The CRPF, with about 80,000 troops deployed for anti-Maoist operations, drew flak after the encounter in Basuguda in Chhattisgarh where 19 persons were killed and six troopers were injured. The state police and the CRPF till now claim to have found that out of the dead, nine had police records to show that they were Naxal cadres. An inquiry is still on. — PTI
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Gogoi for inclusion of China, B’desh, Bhutan
Guwahati, October 4 Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said erosion, not the annual flood, is the major threat to Assam and its people. The state government had already tried to sensitise the Centre about it. He said since the problem of erosion had not been taken into consideration by the Central government, no assistance was forthcoming from the Centre for providing compensation/rehabilitation to erosion-affected people of the state. Gogoi said there was a need to form a Brahmaputra River Valley Authority to manage the vast water resources of the Brahmaputra river system and control the menace of flood and erosion. He said t such a body was required in view of the failure of the existing Brahmaputra Board to accomplish the purpose of controlling the flood and erosion menace.
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Sachan’s widow moves court against CBI report
Lucknow, October 4 Filing the application in the court of Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI) Neelkant Mani Tripathi, Malti Sachan questioned the conclusions drawn by the CBI report in its closure report into the mysterious death of Sachan inside the Lucknow jail hospital in June 2011. The court has fixed October 16 as the next date of hearing. The CBI closure report had claimed of being in possession of conclusive evidence pointing to suicide.
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New Delhi, October 4
