The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Interim protection of Zee boss, his son extended New Delhi, December 14 A Delhi court today extended interim protection of Zee News Chairman Subhash Chandra and its Managing Director Punit Goenka till December 20, in case of alleged attempt by channel’s two editors to extort money from Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s company. Additional Sessions Judge Raj Rani Mitra said: “The interim protection for the two (Chandra and his son Goenka) is extended till December 20.” The order means that the duo would not be arrested till December 20. The two had applied for anticipatory bail on December 5. The court had initially granted them interim protection till today. The hearing on the anticipatory bail plea would be held on December 20. The order was passed after lawyers of Chandra and Goenka sought extension of their interim protection. Further arguments would be held tomorrow.— TNS
	FB case: Govt to send advisory to state govts Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 14 Uproar over arrests over posts on social networking sites has prompted the government to send an advisory to states to ensure that the Section 66 A of the Information Technology Act is not misused. Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal today agreed that the provision had been misused in some states and that the Centre would soon issue an advisory to check it. “We will soon be sending advisories to the state government that inspector, or sub-inspector-level officers should not use section 66 A of the IT act without any order from senior-level officers,” the minister told the Rajya Sabha responding to questions on whether the provision was prone to misuse by law enforcement agencies and the steps the government was taking to amend it. Sibal agreed that “there has been misuse (of Section 66 A of IT Act) in some states...It is my personal opinion and also of the Central Government that it (misuse) is not right”. He, however, also added that the misuse was not rampant. Section 66A provides for punishment up to three years for sending via electronic mail messages which are grossly offensive, menacing, insulting, dangerous or causing inconvenience. Recently, two girls in Thane near Mumbai were arrested for a Facebook post questioning virtual shut down in the city following Bal Thackerey’s death. The girls were released later. A few days later a 19-year-old boy was questioned by the police in Palghar of Maharashtra over an alleged Facebook post against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. Sibal said the Centre was also urging state governments to educate the implementing agencies over use of the provisions of the IT Act.
	No political interference in CBI working: Govt Says it’s an independent body working within its domain New Delhi, December 14 The government today rejected former CBI Director US Mishra’s allegation that he faced political pressure while he was investigating the disproportionate assets case against former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati. “As far as the CBI is concerned, it is an independent organisation that has been working within its domain and (there is) no political interference from our government,” Minister of State for PMO V Narayanasamy said. Law Minister Ashwani Kumar also ruled out any pressure on the CBI Director from the government. “There is no such pressure,” he told reporters outside Parliament House. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla alleged Mishra was working as the CBI Director under the NDA rule, so the BJP should respond to his allegations. Shukla also said the former bureaucrat was “unnecessarily creating controversy and it is not good.” “It should be found out that this particular officer was under whose regime. If I remember correctly, he was under the Vajpayee regime. He was the CBI Director. I think the BJP should respond to this allegation,” he said. The BJP, however, reiterated its charges that the CBI was being “misused” by the government and the fresh allegations only buttressed such views. “We have been saying right from day one that the CBI is being misused from time to time to harass political opponents to win over allies, and keep them under control. The CBI has been converted into the Congress Bureau of Investigation,” senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said. “Our views have been further confirmed by the views of the former CBI Director,” he said. Responding to the Congress’ allegation that Mishra was a director during the NDA regime, Naidu said similar views were expressed by another former CBI Director Joginder Singh. Mishra had told a news channel yesterday that “when we investigate cases against prominent political leaders, there are some influences to keep the progress report pending or present in a certain way”. — PTI
	SP walks out over ‘vast’ difference in cane price Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 14 The Samajwadi Party today charged the Centre with recommending lower support price (FRP) for sugarcane and staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha in protest. Party leader Naresh Aggarwal wanted to know from Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar the reason for vast difference between the sugarcane price recommended by the Centre (FRP) and that announced by the Uttar Pradesh Government (SAP). Recently the Uttar Pradesh Government had announced a state advisory price (SAP) in the range of Rs 275-290, much more than the Centre’s Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 170 per quintal. Anwar’s explanation that the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) decides on the price based on inputs from 16 agriculture universities and discussions with state governments failed to satisfy Aggarwal. “States are free to decide on price to be paid to farmers,” Anwar added. Aggarwal accused the Centre of not wanting to provide fair price to sugarcane farmers and led a walkout by SP members. According to Anwar, the CACP calculates the cost of production of each crop every year based on actual expense. “The estimates of cost of production generally involve a time lag of two years. The commission projects cost of production by taking into account the subsequent changes in prices of various inputs,” the minister said. For 2012-13, the cost of production for sugarcane has been fixed at Rs 147.96 per quintal, up from Rs 115.26 in the previous year and Rs 100.81 in 2010-11. For 2011-12 sugar season, the FRP was Rs 170 per quintal. The CACP has recommended a FRP of Rs 210 per quintal for sugarcane for the season beginning October 2013. FRP is the minimum price that cane farmers are legally guaranteed. Sugar mills are free to offer any price above this. The FRP is followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. SAP is prevalent in north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
	‘Little movement’ in 26/11 trial in Pak: Khurshid On Board Special Aircraft, December 14 India today said presenting of evidence by Pakistani authorities to a court there was “a little movement as far as the accountability” of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was concerned. It, however, felt it still “may not be the best time” for a prime ministerial visit. Responding to questions on Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s visit to India for talks and New Delhi’s expectations from it, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said India should go with “an open mind and a reasonable determination to push things in a direction we want them to go”. But, he added, there should not be “great expectations” given the “constraints and limitations” in the relationship. “We have seen a little movement as far as the accountability of Mumbai attacks is concerned. We have reports that evidence given in the court is indicative of some transparency and acceptance of what happened,” he said. He said India had urged Pakistan to “fast track” the trial and there was some indication that it might happen. “We have a wish list with them...it is in parallel that we continue to look at advancement of dialogue and confidence-building measures.” His comments came days after Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency presented evidence on Mumbai attacks to a Rawalpindi-based anti-terror court. Photographs of Lashkar-e-Toiba training camps in Sindh and motorboats used by the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai were among the evidence presented to the court conducting the trial of LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other Pakistanis charged with involvement in the 2008 strikes. —PTI
	Bill for separate cadres for Manipur, Tripura cleared Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 14 The Parliament on Friday passed a Bill providing for splitting the existing joint Manipur and Tripura cadre of the All-India Services and for separate cadres for each of the states with the Rajya Sabha approving the legislation. With the passing of the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Amendment Bill, 2011, Tripura and Manipur will now have separate cadres each for IAS, IPS and the Indian Forest Service. The Bill has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha.
	Granite scam Alagiri’s son surrenders Madurai, December 14 After being on the run for four months in an alleged illegal granite quarrying scam, Union Minister MK Alagiri's son Durai Dayanidhi surrendered before a court at nearby Melur today, four days after he was granted anticipatory bail by the high court. Accompanied by a battery of advocates and DMK workers, he paid a personal security of Rs 10,000, while two persons stood as personal surety, at the court of Judicial Magistrate Jaykumar. The court directed him to appear daily from tomorrow until further orders before Keezhavalavur Police station near Melur, which had registerd cases against him under various IPC sections, including 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 447 (criminal trespass) and 420 (cheating), for allegedly quarrying illegally on government land. Dayanidhi and 14 others got bail in the multicrore granite quarrying scam, in which owners of various granite firms, including Olympus Granites in which he is a partner, had been named as accused. The scam came to light when former Madurai Collector U Sagayam held an inquiry and submitted a report to the government, stating that illegal quarrying had cost the exchequer a loss of over Rs 16,000 crore. Cases were registered based on complaints from Village administrative officers (VAOs) of Melur and keezhavalavu stations. — PTI Illegal quarrying Owners of various granite firms, including Olympus Granites in which Durai Dayanidhi is a partner, have been named as accused in the multi-crore granite quarrying scam The scam came to light when former Madurai Collector U Sagayam held an inquiry and submitted a report to the government, stating that illegal quarrying had cost the exchequer a loss of over Rs 16,000 crore
	UP staff target BJP over quota Tribune News Service Lucknow, December 14 State employees opposed to quota in promotions today attacked the BJP state office, demanding the saffron party to clear its stand regarding the Bill, which is likely to be presented in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. BJP spokesperson said the protesters under the banner of Sarvjan Hitay Sanrakshan Samiti (SHSS) wanted the party to make its stand clear on the issue. The issue has vertically split the state government employees, with around 18 lakh employees striking work for the second consecutive day today, protesting the move to bring a Constitutional amendment facilitating quota in promotions. However, another 10 lakh employees under the banner of Arakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (ABSS) supporting the quota in promotions put in four hours of extra work today to express their support for the Bill and offset the losses due to SHSS’s strike. The SHSS-supported state employees decided to go on a flash strike yesterday when the Rajya Sabha took up the Bill. SHSS president Shailendra Dubey said the strike would continue till the Bill tabled by the UPA government in the Rajya Sabha was not withdrawn. He clarified that essential services such as power, health, education and transport had been exempted from the strike. Vertical split The state government employees are vertically split over the quota issue Around 18 lakh employees opposing the Bill strike work for the second consecutive day Over 10 lakh employees supporting the Bill put in four hours of extra work
	Best investigation award for The Tribune staffer Tribune News Service Lucknow, December 14 The fourth edition of the coveted Population First - UN Population Fund awards for gender sensitivity culminated here yesterday with Aditi Tandon, Special Correspondent of The Tribune, bagging the Laadli Media Award 2011-12 (Northern Region) for best investigative reporting in the print media category. The award was presented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav here last evening. Aditi’s entry “Dark Underbelly of the Games” was chosen out of 480 others sent by 440 journalists. The two-part investigation story revealed the sudden surge in child trafficking cases in the Northern Capital Region ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and exposed the inaction of law enforcement agencies in preventing children and women from being used to service the tourism industry flourishing around the Games. The entry is in the race for the National Awards to be announced in February next year. The citation of the award reads, “Dark Underbelly of the Games was written by Aditi Tandon during the Commonwealth Games in Delhi when it was noticed that there was a considerable increase in trafficking of girls especially minors. Talking to stakeholders and from her own field research, Aditi presented the case with facts and figures while at the same time honouring the spirit of juvenile justice law which upholds the dignity of children. In appreciation of her work she is awarded the Laadli Media Award for Best Investigative Story 2011-12”. Aditi is the second time recipient of Laadli, having won the first National Award in 2007-2008, its inaugural year. This year, awards were presented in four languages. Among the feted works are, “The Yin Wounded” by Debarshi Dasgupta of The Outlook who talked of the extremely sensitive issue of female circumcision among the Bohra Muslims; “Bol ke lab azad hain tere” by Bhavna Nayar of the Lok Sabha TV who explored the issues of domestic violence; honour crime series in Haryana by Sukhbir Siwach of the Times of India; the story of a Maharashtra village where nomads used education to challenge alcoholism (in Hindi) by Ashish Tiwari of Amar Ujala and the sale of virgin girls in the Bachada community of Madhya Pradesh by Tehelka’s Priyanka Dubey. “Khabar Leheriya”, a rural weekly paper from Bundelkhand, received special jury award for the fact that it is produced in local dialects Bundeli and Bajjika and published by rural women from their own means to raise issues of gender-based violence.
	Louise Khurshid booked Lucknow, December 14 External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s wife Louise Khurshid has been booked for loot, dacoity and attempted murder on a complaint lodged by an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member in Uttar Pradesh, the police said today. The case has been registered against 10 other Congress workers and supporters. AAP district president Vivek Yadav lodged a police complaint in Mainpuri district. Louise’s car had allegedly tried to run over Yadav and his colleague Sunil Mishra as they waved black flags at the Congress leader, who had gone to Mainpuri town to inaugurate an eye check-up camp on Wednesday. A counter-FIR was filed against Yadav by district Congress president Prakash Pradhan, said Rakesh Singh, public relations officer of the Director General of Police. — IANS
	Central Gujarat may be a game changer Manas Dasgupta Ahmedabad, December 14 A lot is at stake for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the “Hindutva laboratory” of central Gujarat, where the BJP is hoping to make up for the loss it may suffer in the Saurashtra region because of the “Keshubhai Patel” factor. Once a citadel of the Congress, central Gujarat completely changed its character after the 2002 communal riots in the aftermath of the Sabarmati Express coach burning at Godhra, which is the district headquarters of the Panchamahals. The minority massacre that followed singed all districts in the region with Kheda, Anand, the Panchamahals and Ahmedabad city being the worst-affected. The rise of the Hindutva fever then saw the BJP romp home with a massive 49 out of the then 52 seats in the central Gujarat region, though the number declined to 30 in the last elections. The number of seats has gone up to 63 this time after the delimitation of the constituencies. Since 2002, central Gujarat has voted differently in the state Assembly and local elections, by and large supporting the BJP, while in the parliamentary elections, it mostly stayed with the Congress. Two of the three ministers from Gujarat in the present Manmohan Singh Cabinet at the Centre - Dinsha Patel and Bharatsinh Solanki - are from Kheda and Anand districts, respectively. Being one of the most urbanised areas, central Gujarat, barring the tribal belt in the Panchamahals and Dahod districts, the voters have fewer complaints against the Modi administration and if any, are rather dissatisfied with price rise for which they blame the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. Though it is true for the entire state, the central Gujarat region is giving a visible impression that the flavour of secularism is waning with the advent of the elections and the Hindutva factor of 2002 is again rearing its ugly head mainly because of the Gujarat Parivartan Party floated by former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel. The BJP is in a subtle way raking up the Hindutva factor to ensure that voting is not caste-based, which may benefit the GPP. Raking up Hindutva is the easiest way for the BJP to penetrate back into the tribal belt, which was severely hit by the communal wave a decade ago. “Development” also catches the imagination of the voters in this region more easily than any other parts of Gujarat, with the exception of the industrial belt of Surat, though the Modi administration alone is not to be credited with the progress of the region. Traditionally, central Gujarat is best served by perennial irrigation facilities, the sub-soil water level is comfortable and is a good rain-fed area. Farmers also earn additional income through dairy co-operatives as Anand remains the “milk capital of India”. The central region with 63 Assembly seats, including 21 in the BJP-stronghold of Ahmedabad city and district alone and eight in Vadodara city, besides the urban centres of Anand, Nadiad, Godhra and Broach, perhaps can make or mar Modi’s prospects, both for his third consecutive electoral victory as well as his claim for a bigger role in the national political scenario. Modi is contesting from Maninagar in Ahmedabad, where he is pitted against Congress’ Shweta Bhatt, the wife of rebel IPS cadre police officer Sanjiv Bhatt. The GPP withdrew its candidate in Bhatt’s favour. In the posh Ellisbrige seat in the city, Jagruti Pandya, the widow of slain former minister of state for home Haren Pandya, is contesting on the GPP ticket mainly to drive home her point that her husband’s murder was “politically motivated” and the “main culprit” (read Modi) was left unscathed. Rahul’s third visit today New Delhi: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will campaign again in Gujarat on December 15, party sources said on Friday. This will be his third visit to the state during the ongoing elections. — IANS BJP record in central Gujarat Riding the Hindutva wave in the 2002 poll, the BJP took 49 out of 52 seats The party’s share of seats fell to 30 in the 2007 elections The number of Assembly seats has gone up to 63 after delimitation
	Modi inciting people by raising Sir Creek: Sonia Kalol (Gujarat), Dec 14 Congress president Sonia Gandhi today accused the Gujarat Government of misusing Central funds and harping on false development claims for “fake image building”. Without taking Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s name, Sonia, while addressing an election rally in Kalol town of Gandhinagar district, said: “The UPA government has made huge funds available to them (Gujarat Government) for agriculture development, water harvesting... which is the right of Gujarat also.” “But these funds are misused to trumpet false claims of development and for your fake image building,” she said. She added that the Centre had provided Gujarat with 50 per cent more funds than the BJP-led NDA government. “All these schemes were being used to benefit some special people. The common man is not getting any benefit,” the Congress leader alleged. “The Centre gives 3,128 MW of electricity to Gujarat every year but the state is selling 800 MW to earn profits,” she alleged. On the issue of Sir Creek, she said it was being raised for “political interest” and asserted that her government would not allow anyone to play with the unity of the nation. — PTI
	11 Gujarat cops killed as van falls into well Dahod , December 14 Eleven police personnel, including six women, were today killed when the driver of the van transporting them suffered a heart attack and the vehicle fell into a well near here, officials said. The van ferrying the personnel, members of a police party who were on election duty, fell into a well near Sapoi village in Jhalod taluka of this central Gujarat district, they said. The 15-member team was coming to Dahod from Jhalod after completing their duty at an election rally of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. "The driver of the police van suffered a heart attack, lost control of the steering and the vehicle slipped into a well," the police said. "Six of the 11 police personnel who died in the accident were women. Four cops were rescued. There were a total of 15 people in the vehicle." — PTI
	‘People’s channel’ launched in AP Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, December 14 It is a news channel with a difference! Billed as the first such experiment in the country, a television channel, 10TV, was launched in Andhra Pradesh today with ‘contributions from general public’. Over two lakh people, including a few hundred daily wage earners, bought the shares, with a face value of Rs 10, to make it, what the promoters call, a ‘truly people’s channel’. CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy unveiled the logo of the new channel with a tagline ‘The Fourth Estate with a Sixth Sense’. In a state that is already home to more than 15 regional news channels, most of them either owned by politicians or have strong political leanings, 10TV comes with a unique ownership model. Though the general talk in the media circles is that the new media venture has the backing of the CPM, the promoters have denied it. “Ours is an alternative platform for those looking for serious journalism. We will show the real picture, unmasked,” said channel Chairman K Nageshwar, a journalism professor and an Independent member of the state Legislative Council.
	India, Pak operationalise liberalised visa regime Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 14 In an effort that is expected to increase people-to-people contact and allow easier travel for pilgrims, tourists and business travellers, India and Pakistan today operationalised a new liberalised visa regime, making a departure from the restrictive visa regime under the earlier agreement inked in 1974. The new visa agreement was inked on September 8 at Islamabad during the then External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s visit to Pakistan. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik formally operationalised the new visa regime today. Visas on arrival for senior citizens and children will commence from January 15, 2013, while group tourist visas can be applied from March 15, 2013. Both, Shinde and Malik welcomed the new visa regime. Importantly, for the first time, the two neighbours will allow group tourist visas, opening up access to the rich history divided across the Radcliff line. Designated tour operators will be allowed to ferry groups of no more than 50 persons. This will be a 30-day visa. Educational institutions can also send children on visit to either country. Till now, there was no concept of a business visa. Now businessmen will be covered under two categories. Those with an annual turnover of Pakistani Rs 3 crore ($ 3,00,000 approx) will be allowed one-year multiple entry visas with permission to visit 10 places. They will be exempt from police reporting. The second category is for those with less than Pakistani Rs 30 lakh ($ 30,000 approx) turnover. They will get a one-year visa with permission of four visits to five places. Another major change is for visitors. At present, a visitor visa is issued for three months with the restriction to visit three places. Now two categories have been formed. The first is a six-month visitor visa with permission to visit five cities. The second category has been added that will allow a visitor visa for up to two years with multiple entries. This will be for senior citizens above 65 and children below 12. Confusion over plane clearance New Delhi: Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his entourage arrived after a three-hour delay as the two sides could not coordinate the “last-minute” change in Malik’s mode of travel. He had opted for a Pakistan Air Force C-130-J, which needed IAF’s fresh permission to land at the Palam technical area. Malik landed at 5.20 pm instead of the scheduled 2 pm. It so happened that on Thursday, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was informed that Malik would travel by a PAF plane instead of a civilian plane, which was granted permission to land at Palam. As per protocol, the IAF has to check the number of crew and type of equipment used in case of a military plane. The plane finally landed at T3 after clearance. — TNS Kin to get visa to meet Sarbjit New Delhi: Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik met Daljit Kaur, sister of Sarbjit Singh who is lodged in a Pakistan jail, minutes after ending his delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde here on Friday. Malik told Daljit Kaur, who was accompanied by Sarbjit daughter Swapandeep Kaur, that they would be given visas to meet Sarbjit. — TNS
	Doctor awarded ‘social punishment’ for fraud Saurabh Malik/TNS Chandigarh, December 14 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has awarded “social punishment” for a “fraud” committed by a doctor. It has asked the doctor to “re-compensate” the society he “deceived” by paying Rs 5 lakh for buying medicines for the poor. This is, perhaps, the first time the High Court has prescribed such a stiff dose. The doctor took admission in the medical course under the reserved category even though he didn’t belong to it. The judgment comes at a time when the concept of “social punishment” is catching up in the West as an alternative to criminal proceedings for preventing those in conflict with law from turning into hardened criminals after serving a jail sentence. Though “social punishment” has been ordered in some cases here also, the offences involved are not serious in nature. The first-of-its-kind judgment by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by Dr Jagtar Singh against Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and another respondent against the cancellation of his degree on the grounds of wrongly obtaining admission in MBBS in the Scheduled Caste category in 1984. Belonging to the Magh community, Jagtar Singh got admission in the university after obtaining a certificate to show he belonged to Megh, a caste included in the list of Scheduled Castes. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “No useful purpose would be served now to cancel or withdraw the degree… The cancellation of degree, as ordered, would only lead to waste of money spent to train the petitioner as doctor. Even otherwise the respondents have woken up too late and have raked up the issue after 28 years of the alleged incident of fake admission…. “Social punishment is called for as the petitioner cannot be permitted to walk away with the feeling that his fraudulent act has harmed him in no manner. The petitioner can be saddled with some social punishment and what can be a better way for a doctor to show repentance than do some service towards the ailing and sick lying in the hospital. “Let the petitioner deposit Rs 5 lakh with PGIMS, Rohtak, where he got admission on wrong certificate. It can be used for buying medicines for poor patients. This amount may not be a sufficient solace for poor needy patients, but may serve as reminder to those who choose to violate law.”