The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Rail Budget passed amid protests
Aditi Tandon/TNS

New Delhi, March 13
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had a tough time getting his maiden Rail Budget passed in the Lok Sabha today with the BJP-led Opposition walking out in protest and some of his Congress colleagues protesting against non-grant of new trains in their constituencies. Amid protests, the minister defended the 5 per cent fare hike by way of increased service charges and said these charges should be raised further to deter touts.

The announcement of 19 new trains, extension of three and increased frequency of five by Bansal didn't seem enough to placate MPs of the Biju Janata Dal, the Left, the JDU, the Trinamool Congress and the BJP who walked out against the alleged step-motherly treatment to the states they govern.

When Bansal concluded his reply to the 13-hour debate, he and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were taken aback by Congress' Gorakhpur MP Jagdambika Pal's slamming of Rail Minister from the back benches.

"I praised you generously in my Rail Budget speech and you gave my constituency nothing. This can't work in an election year. I am accountable to my people," he said.

Earlier, Sonia was seen firefighting for Bansal as she soothed the frayed nerves of Congress MPs, including PL Punia, SC Commission chief, whose constituency Barabanki got a railway overbridge thanks to UPA chief prodding Bansal into making the announcement. She was seen collecting request slips from other MPs assuring them of help as chaos gripped proceedings minutes before the Rail Budget was passed by a voice vote.

The BJP was riled up over Bansal accommodating SP chief Mulayam Singh and RJD chief Lalu Prasad by giving some projects to their segments, while offering nothing to Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. "You addressed Mulayamji, Laluji and Soniaji, but you have nothing for me, not even old projects," Sushma said leading the BJP walkout. NDA partner Akali Dal stayed back happy as several Punjab stations had entered the list of Adarsh stations.

National Conference MPs SD Shariq and MM Beg were livid that the Jammu-Srinanagr rail link project was ignored while Mulayam's LS segment Mainpuri and SP member Reoti Raman's constituency Allahabad managed to get new projects.

Ignoring accusations that he had honoured only UPA allies, Bansal said, "The UPA is for the development of all states and won't indulge in financial profligacy."

That apart, Bansal made some impressive promises on the service front - he will call a meeting of Railway General Managers during the Parliament recess to discuss cleanliness on trains and train stations; will engage corporate houses to beautify stations and install plaques of those houses that spend over Rs 2 crore; will provide more escalators and improved safety by way of enhanced safety budget from Rs 36, 541 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 41,112 crore now.

Sonia's pet "biotoilet project" also found a mention in Bansal's reply. The minister ruled out retrofitting trains with biotoilets saying each project would cost Rs 45 lakh. He, however, said, "We will have biotoilets in new trains. That would cost one third."

Bansal announces 19 new trains

Delhi-Trivandrum Express (weekly), Hatia-Yesvantpur Express (weekly), Jodhpur-Samdari-Bhildi Passenger (daily), Mumbai-Karaikal Express (weekly) via Chennai, Nagapattnam, Nagpur-Ajmer Express (weekly) via Bhopal, Kota, Nagada, Oklha-Nathdwara Express (weekly) via Dwarka, Tata-Vishakhapatnam Express (weekly), Varanasi-Shaktinagar Link Express (daily), Chhapra-Anandvihar Express (wkly) via Jagdhatri, Sharanpur Bilaspur-Bikram Express (bi-weekly), Raipur-Jammu Tawi (weekly) via Amritsar, Durg-Chhapra Express (weekly) via Ballia, Ernakulam-Kollam MEMU via Kottayam, Tandur-Secunderabad MEMU, Yashwantpur-Secundrabad (tri-weekly)

	Union Budget directionless, anti-poor: BJP Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 13 Rejecting claims of growth in the Union Budget, the BJP today termed it as "aimed at elections" and dependent on crutches of "foreign investment". Initiating a debate in the Lok Sabha on the General Budget, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi advised Finance Minister P Chidambaram not to look to "imitate other civilizations". In his 60-minute discourse, Joshi disagreed with the growth formula suggested by Chidambaram in the Union Budget presented on February 28. "All your schemes announced in the Budget are with eye on elections," Joshi said. He went on to give an acerbic twist to his criticism of the direct cash benefit transfer scheme launched with much fanfare by the UPA. "It is like this. I will give you cash you give votes," he said while reminding that the farm loan waiver was also used as a "political tool" and wherever it was implemented, the Congress gained seats during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. "Your development plan is against the poor," he said. He then went on to warn about the impending financial crisis. "Please correct your fundamentals lest we should reach the levels of 1990-91," he said. Citing Vivekananda he said: "Do not depend on foreign wisdom and foreign money, invoke your own internal prowess." Chiding Chidambaram, who has presented eight Budgets, Joshi said, "This Budget is just balancing the accounts that a chartered accountant (CA) can do. Please rise above the role of a CA." Chidambaram today talked about reduction is fiscal deficit and Joshi countered him saying reduction in fiscal deficit was at the cost of poor as the Budget was reduced midway in the ongoing fiscal ending march 31, 2013. "You are just balancing out (account) books by reducing budgets and patting yourself on the back for reducing fiscal deficit," he said. "What direction have you chosen in the Budget? It is directionless. Will it always be a one-legged race?" he said. Joshi slammed the government for concentrating only on increasing the gross domestic product (GDP) considering it as the sole indicator of development. The government was ignoring other related issues like jobs, health care, education and security for the people, he said. "New thinking is required. Old solutions would not help. The entire system will have to be reframed...You may not get the opportunity to do that. Some person sitting this side may get the chance," he said in obvious hint that he was saying that the BJP would come to power in the next elections. He was also critical of the government for reducing funds for road projects, saying development of infrastructure should not be limited to airports and industries.
	Italian Marines India’s prestige at stake: Salve R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, March 13 Senior advocate Harish Salve, who had convinced the Supreme Court to allow the two accused Italian marines to go to their country to vote in the Parliament election, today said Italy’s refusal to send them back had put at stake the prestige of India and the SC and as such the government would be justified in taking any tough action. “Now it is a question of Indian prestige. The prestige of the Supreme Court and all of us is at stake and I think the government of India will be justified in the toughest steps it takes” to get back the marines and make them face trial for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast on February 15, 2012, Salve said. He said he felt insulted and shocked by Italy’s U-turn. He had already conveyed to the Italian embassy here that he would no longer take up its case in the matter. “It is very disappointing” that the Italian government was now refusing to honour the commitment given to the SC, he said.
	Cops may approach court for getting Vijender’s samples Mohit Khanna/TNS Ludhiana, March 13 The police is reportedly exploring various angles to nail Olympics Bronze medal winner Vijender Singh, who continues to exploit his VIP status and is avoiding giving his hair and blood samples. The Punjab Police is treading cautiously on the issue of questioning the boxer after the Haryana Government mounted pressure and stood in support of Vijender, a serving DSP. DIG MF Farooqui, however, said, "The investigation is heading in the right direction. We have snapped a major chain by arresting Maninder and Anup. Now we are after Jagdish Singh Bhola, who is expected to be apprehended soon. If Vijender did not comply, we would approach the court for obtaining orders to take his hair and blood samples." Sources said the Fatehgarh Sahib police yesterday sent summons to Vijender under Section 160 of the CrPC. The boxer has been called to join the investigation and clarify his relations with drug peddler Anup Singh, besides giving hair and blood samples. Police officials said Vijender couldn't be allowed more time as he was a trained athlete and might be able to washout trace of contraband from his body. The summons had not been reportedly served on the boxer yet and efforts were on to get it revoked. Fellow boxer Ram Singh had told the police that he and Vijender had tried the drug on February 25, taking it to be a food supplement.
	Attempt to bury the hatchet; Sonia meets Hooda, Selja Anita Katyal/TNS New Delhi, March 13 Worried about the escalating tensions between Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his bete noire, Union Social Justice Minister Selja, Congress President Sonia Gandhi called both warring leaders for a special meeting last night to sort out their differences. Although infighting in the Haryana Congress has been simmering for some time, it has taken a turn for the worse in the recent past. While Selja has been complaining that the state government has deliberately not released development funds for her constituency, Haryana MP Rao Inderjit Singh publicly slammed Hooda at a rally recently where he floated a Haryana Insaaf Manch, meant primarily to serve as a platform for party dissidents.Their chief complaint is that all power has been concentrated in one leader and that one region is being showered with all sops whole others are suffering. While this issue has been consistently ignored by the Congress leadership, it could no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the growing dissidence in the Haryana party unit now that the next Lok Sabha elections are only a year away. The Congress is hoping to retain power in the state now that its chief political rival - the Chautalas - are in jail. Realising that the situation was fast slipping out of control, Sonia Gandhi eventually stepped in yesterday to put the Haryana Congress house in order. Both Hooda and Selja are learnt to have gone armed with files and documents to support their arguments. While the Chief Minister reeled out facts and figures to contest the Union Minister's grouse that her constituency was getting step-motherly treatment, Selja countered by pointing out that her district had been allocated the least funds and was invariably last on the list. She also pointed out that Scheduled Castes in the state, the backbone of the party's support base, were being ignored. After hearing out the two leaders, Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have asked her political secretary Ahmed Patel to meet them separately to ensure that they work unitedly in the coming months. The groupism among Haryana leaders also came to the fore when party vice-president Rahul Gandhi met state MPs recently. However, Rahul Gandhi did not take kindly to senior Congress leaders criticising their colleagues publicly, adding that indiscipline would not be tolerated. "I cannot have party leaders speak against their own governments. I can't let the Congress become its own opposition," he had declared at the meeting.
	Norms not followed, Vijender’s samples unacceptable, says Punjab Police Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS Fatehgarh Sahib, March 13 The Fatehgarh Sahib police has refused to accept international boxer Vijender Singh’s blood and hair samples, which he has reportedly given to the Haryana Police, as the set procedure hasn’t been properly followed. The Senior Superintendent of Police said that according to the law, only the investigation officer or the Deputy Superintendent of Police could take samples in the presence of two private witnesses of the accused. He said that the authorities would be moving court soon to get Vijender’s samples. Vijender refused to undergo tests when the district police asked for samples at the Panchkula-based office of Hardeep Singh Doon, SSP Crime and Telecommunication, Haryana, on March 11. The police had claimed to have enough evidence to show that Vijender had taken drugs for personal consumption several times from drug trafficker Anup Singh Kahlon.
	Gadkari-Raj meet sparks talk of Sena-MNS-BJP tie-up Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, March 13 Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who has been actively pitching for a reconciliation between Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin Raj who broke away to form his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, made a late-night visit to the residence of the MNS leader sparking off talks of a fresh realignment of forces in the state. According to MNS sources, Gadkari called on the residence of Thackeray at Dadar in suburban Mumbai ostensibly for dinner and stayed till well past midnight. The Thackeray household has termed it a courtesy call and officially the MNS has clarified that no politics were discussed. However, the meeting has led to jubilation among the workers of both the Shiv Sena and the MNS, who want some kind of an alliance if not an outright merger between the two Senas. “Uddhav Thackeray extended his hand in friendship to Raj in public and may be they will now come together,” a Shiv Sena leader in suburban Mumbai said. At the party offices in the city workers were seen actively seeking information of a possible meeting between the two cousins brokered by Gadkari. The past few weeks have seen both the Thackeray cousins attract huge crowds across drought-hit Maharashtra. Both Uddhav and Raj have accused the ruling Nationalist Congress Party and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of perpetuating a scam in the state irrigation department because of which few projects were properly implemented in the state. Gadkari has been a major votary of the two cousins coming together after results in the last Assembly and Lok Sabha elections showed that the MNS had cut into the vote share of the Sena-BJP alliance. Till Gadkari showed up at Thackeray's house last evening, there were signs that relations between the MNS and the BJP too would take a hit. In his speeches, Raj Thackeray had also hit out at senior BJP's Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Eknath Khadse of not doing enough to expose the scams allegedly indulged in by the ruling coalition. Thackeray accused Khadse of ‘shooting and scooting’ instead of taking investigations to a logical conclusion.
	The inimitable art and life of Ganesh Pyne Vandana Shukla/TNS Chandigarh, March 13 In the death of Ganesh Pyne, not only an artist who gave contemporary Indian art a distinct style is lost, his style was so uniquely personal that no one else could imitate it. Thus, the loss is two-fold, says the country’s artist community mourning his death. Pyne died of a cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning at a Kolkata nursing home. The hardships of his journey shaped his artistic oeuvre. No wonder his art dealt with death, depression, fantasy, dream, myths and Kolkata, the city he loved and never left. Born in 1937 in the 300-year-old township of old Kolkata with its narrow lanes, dark, damp, dingy and crumbling buildings and its conservative people, Pyne imbibed the style that would shape his art from his surroundings long before he became an artist. Then, in 1946 he had his first brush with mortality and the innate brutality of human beings during the communal riots of 1946. These experiences resounded throughout his artistic journey. In 1955, Pyne graduated from Kolkata’s Government College of Art, which, like the rest of the country’s pre-Independence art colleges, were established by the British and focused on the British style of painting. Pyne felt drawn to the Bengal school of art of Rabindranath Tagore and Nandlal Bose. He did not copy either of the two schools, but evolved a style of his own by imbibing influences from both. “The old Kolkata houses offered only diffused, filtered light. He took the yellow light from Rembrandt, which reflected his experience, and used the Indian medium of tempera from Ajanta and Ellora cave paintings,” says renowned photographer Asit Poddar. Pyne created his own tempera by mixing vegetable colours and other materials. He never took to the medium of oil the way the rest of his contemporaries did. He used tempera on canvas and came to be identified with this medium. “His imagination was strong, though he was influenced by Rembrandt and his figures of death and depression showed influence of Paul Klee, he created a distinctly Indian style and came to be known among one of the most important artists of our times,“ says Jogen Chowdhury, his contemporary. Pyne’s paintings documented the depression, frustration and depravity of Kolkata and its people like no one else could. He is also the only artist in the contemporary art scenario to have worked extensively on the characters of Mahabharata. However, recognition came rather late in his life. Yehudi Menuhin, renowned music composer, bought one of his works for his personal collection in 1969, followed by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, who bought his works for her home. “In 1985, Sotheby’s auctioned one of his works and then he never looked back,” says Poddar. Pyne was an incorrigible introvert. What makes his work inimitable is the subjects he painted that came from his deeply felt experiences of poverty and melancholy. “His works have an autobiographical element,” says Chowdhury. May it be the satirical portraiture of himself as a monkey or the dark sorrow and melancholy that remained so pronounced in his works that his college principal remarked: “Pyne is colour blind.” Perhaps what he meant was Pyne never used raw brush in red, green or yellow. His colours are mild and diffused, like light is in his works. He created a school of his own and it died with him, for the difficulty of living a life like Pyne and using it as a source for creating art. art fact Pyne created his own tempera by mixing vegetable colours and other materials. He never took to the medium of oil the way the rest of his contemporaries did. He used tempera on canvas and came to be identified with this medium