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Rajnath presents a blend of youth & experience
Party’s top leadership now much younger |
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Region finds representation in new BJP team
Army presses for immediate upgrade of artillery guns
95 acre defence land encroached upon in Karnataka: Army
HC relies on police dog’s evidence, upholds conviction
Govt trains eyes on shale gas
Inter-state auto lifters’ gang busted, 3 held
Animation industry set to get a major boost in Andhra
EC differs with govt on parties’ funding
11,000 tonne seized red sandalwood rotting
Digitisation deadline for over 30 cities ends today
Belgaum army firing range shuts down, practice takes a hit
House panel moots 1-year rural posting for all MBBS grads
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Rajnath presents a blend of youth & experience
New Delhi, March 31 Out of 40 posts of vice-presidents, general secretaries, secretaries, and joint general secretaries, 13 seats (32.5 per cent) went to women. Ironically, Rajnath didn’t appoint any woman among his 10 general secretaries, the most important party position after the central parliamentary board of the BJP. In the previous BJP chief Nitin Gadkari’s team, Vasundhara Raje, the former Rajasthan Chief Minister, was appointed as general secretary and Kiran Maheshwari, a grassroots worker from Rajasthan, replaced Raje later in the slot. Rajnath has moved Maheshwari from the general secretary to vice-presidential list, the latter being a higher position but more ornamental in nature so far as decision making goes. Likewise, Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, continues to be the only woman in the BJP parliamentary board, considering the party practices a strange a policy of 33 per cent women quota in all positions except the parliamentary board, its highest decision-making group where Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has today been inducted. Women office-bearers of the BJP are mainly confined to the list of vice- presidents and secretaries. Out of the 13 vice-presidents in Rajnath Singh’s team, the high-flying women entrants this time are Uma Bharti, the firebrand former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister; Laxmikanta Chawla, the former Punjab Health Minister who is known to detest favour-seekers; and former party secretary, women’s wing president and Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat Smriti Irani whose proximity to Modi has helped her case. Party leader from Assam and Lok Sabha MP Bijoya Chakravarty has been retained as vice-president and Kiran Maheshwari from Rajasthan, a Vasundhara Raje confidante has been promoted as one. Durg Lok Sabha MP Saroj Pande, former secretary, stands promoted as the Mahila Morcha chief. She had defeated Congress stalwart Motilal Vohra’s son in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and was feted by Gadkari alongside Smriti Irani. Rajnath has promoted them both today. Prominent women vice-presidents to be dropped by Rajnath are Najma Heptullah and Hema Malini, who now figure only in the 80-member BJP National Executive. Out of 15 new secretaries, eight are women with Rajnath retaining former Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra, inducting new secretaries in Sudha Yadav, former Gurgaon MP; Sudha Malaiya, wife of Madhya Pradesh minister Jayant Malaiya; Dr Tamilisai, Tamil Nadu vice-president of BJP; and promoting Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. Poonam was earlier in the party’s youth wing. Among the four new party spokespersons, Supreme Court lawyer and TV debate regular Meenakshi Lekhi has managed a slot; so has Rajnath’s political adviser Sudhanshu Trivedi; BJP’s dalit face from UP Vijay Soankar Shastri and Capt Abhimanyu from Haryana.
Youth in front
Among youngsters who have pulled off major promotions is the 33-year-old Varun Gandhi, BJP’s Pilibhit MP promoted from party secretary to general secretary, the youngest-ever in BJP. His acquittal in the hate speech case in UP aided the elevation. Former BJP spokesperson Rajeev Pratap Rudy has also been rewarded with an appointment as general secretary. He replaces Ravi Shankar Prasad (from Bihar) who has been stripped of general secretary and chief spokesperson’s positions to concentrate as Rajya Sabha deputy leader considering the BJP has one person one post policy. A major induction is of former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah, a close Modi aide and accused in the Sohrabuddi Shiekh fake encounter case, as a new general secretary. He recently won MLA elections in Gujarat after getting bail from the apex court and defeated his Congress rival by 63,000 votes. RSS strongman Muralidhar Rao of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch also stands promoted from secretary to general secretary, so does Tapir Gao, former BJP Lok Sabha member from Arunachal. Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur has managed to retain BJP youth wing presidentship, a rare occurrence in the party. He was retained keeping in mind the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Rise & fall
Noticeable exits from the office-bearers list include Navjot Sidhu, former secretary, now only in the national executive and Shanta Kumar who lost his vice-president’s post after Himachal debacle for the BJP. Prominent promotions from the region include former secretary Capt Abhimanyu from Haryana who has been appointed a new BJP spokesperson; Laxmikanta Chawla, former Punjab minister, who told TNS today that she was “surprised” at the news; and Sudha Yadav, former Gurgaon MP who can be a potential threat to the Congress in the seat after party’s Inderjit Rao floated a new outfit.
Seniors adjusted
While youngsters have been given a fair chance in the new team, experienced hands have also been accommodated, especially those who received rough deals in the past. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Sadanand Gowda has been included as party vice-president as promised after BS Yedyurappa forced him to quit, so has SS Ahluwalia, former deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha who was denied the seat from Jharkhand. Former Bihar BJP chief CP Thakur is another new vice-president, so is Balbir Punj. Former MP BJP president Prabhat Jha, considered close to RSS leader Suresh Soni, has become vice- president, so has Jual Orao, former Orissa BJP chief. Among general secretaries Ananth Kumar, an LK Advani loyalist, continues, so does Thawarchand Gehlot from MP, JP Nadda from Himachal and Dharmandra Pradhan, who failed to defuse the Karnataka crisis as general secretary in charge of the state.
Young brigade
Smriti Irani (vice-president), Varun Gandhi (general secretary), Poonam Mahajan (secretary), Meenakshi Lekhi (spokesperson)
PARLIAMENTARY BOARD Narendra Modi (new) VICE-PRESIDENTS Smriti Irani (new) GENERAL SECRETARIES Amit Shah (new) Secretaries Shyam Jaju MAHILA MORCHA CHIEF Saroj Pandey Spokespersons Shahnawaz Hussain CENTRAL
DISCIPLINARY PANEL Radha Mohan Singh (President) CENTRAL ELECTION COMMITTEE Rajnath Singh (President)
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Party’s top leadership now much younger New Delhi, March 31 Likewise, in the previous team announced by Gadkari, six out of 10 general secretaries (a more powerful position than VPs) were 55 years of age or above (Vijay Goel, Ravishankar Prasad, NS Tomar, Kiran Maheshwari and Thawarchand Gehlot and Ram Lal) as against only two in Rajnath Singh's team (Thawarchand Gehlot and Ram Lal). The average age of secretaries is around 60 years this time, the youngest being Poonam Mahajan (33 years).
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Region finds representation in new BJP team
New Delhi, March 31 While Himachal Pradesh leader JP Nadda continues as the party general secretary, former Punjab Health Minister Lakshmi Kanta Chawla is the new vice-president in the list of National Office-Bearers 2013 announced today. For Chawla, it was an honour that came most unexpectedly. “I was not expecting to be made the vice-president. I am honoured and will try my best to fulfil the important responsibility given to me by my party,” she said. Incidentally, even though new BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy is technically from Chhapra in Bihar but he also has a strong Chandigarh connection. The A320 pilot was the president of the Government College for Boys (as it was known in those days) in 1982-83. After he joined the Law Department in Panjab University, he was the general secretary of the university students union. Even though former journalist and columnist Balbir Punj represents Odisha in the Rajya Sabha, the new BJP vice-president originally belongs to Gurdaspur. However, three former chief ministers Shanta Kumar (Himachal Pradesh) and Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (both Uttarakhand) find themselves sitting out of the BJP team for the next general elections, a repercussion perhaps of the party’s performance in the assembly elections in the two states. The three former chief ministers were vice-presidents in the outgoing team. Haryana’s Om Prakash Dhankar continues as the Kisan Morcha president and so does Anurag Thakur as the Yuva Morcha chief. The most significant elimination from Punjab is that of Navjot Sidhu, who has been dropped as the party secretary but retained in the national executive committee announced later in the day. From Chandigarh, former MP Satpal Jain continues as member of the BJP National Executive Committee 2013 but former Punjab minister Balramji Dass Tandon seems to have been eased out. Meanwhile, from Haryana, former Mahendragarh MP Sudha Yadav has been included in the national office-bearers as a secretary while Captain Abhimanyu, formerly a secretary, is now the national spokesperson.
regional power
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Sanjay’s mercy plea sent to home dept
Mumbai, March 31 Raj Bhavan officials formally confirmed to the media today that the letter from Amar Singh was the first such plea received by the Governor and as per protocol it has been forwarded to the state Home Ministry for appropriate action. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court sentenced the actor to five years' imprisonment for keeping banned weapons at his house during the 1992-93 Mumbai riots. Since Dutt has already served 18 months of his sentence, he will be sent to jail for another three-and-a-half years. A number of prominent citizens, including the Press Council chairman Justice Markandey Katju, have pleaded for Dutt to be pardoned. Amar Singh and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada have made a plea for pardon before the Maharashtra Governor, according to information available from Raj
Bhavan.
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Army presses for immediate upgrade of artillery guns
New Delhi, March 31 The Army headquarters has okayed a proposal for Rs 1,000 crore to upgrade some 300 pieces of the 130 mm artillery guns. The MoD headed by Defence Minister AK Antony is expected to take a final call on the matter in the coming weeks. The upgrade - termed as ‘up-gunning’ in military parlance - will mean that the 130 mm will be refurbished with new firing technology, a new barrel and a new set of ammunition to become a 155 mm gun - the type that is being preferred globally. A couple of years ago, some 200 pieces of 130 mm/39 calibre M46 Russian guns had been successfully upgraded to 155mm/45 calibre with the ordnance and kits supplied by Soltam of Israel. Spurred on by this success, the Army wants that the 130 mm guns that can hit targets 26 km away be upgraded and enabled to fire at targets 39 km away. The carriage of the 130 mm artillery guns on trucks or rails and persons required to man it are the same as a 155 mm gun. Hence, it makes sense to have a gun with longer firing range in the arsenal, explained a source. The MoD is likely to allow the upgrade under the “make Indian, buy Indian” category of the defence procurement procedure. This will open up the field for private Indian companies which have tie-ups with well-known foreign vendors. The MoD-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) could also be in the race. The entire upgrade is to be completed within three years. Once done, it will mean that a good chunk of the 130 mm guns would have been upgraded. The upgrade will call for a change in the barrel of the gun that is a critical piece of metallurgy. The OFB has the technology but will have to show spare capacity in terms of manpower and assembly lines to produce results. Upgrading the gun has been necessitated due to assessment of the future battlefield environment where guns with 40-50 km range could be the norm. Technologically, in the past two decades, artillery guns have stabilised at 155 mm. The gun producers believe this to be the maximum barrel bore to achieve a mix of range, lethality and mobility of the gun. The calibre now preferred are 45 or 52. The original Bofors is a 155 mm/39 calibre gun.
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95 acre defence land encroached upon in Karnataka: Army
Bangalore, March 31 Addressing a press conference after handing over charge to his successor
Maj-Gen AK Singh, Maj-Gen Venu Gopal said that the Army should have had 8,772 acres in the state in view of the number of Army establishments here. However, the Army has only 4,435 acres out of which 95 acres had been encroached upon, he
said. Maj-Gen Venu Gopal said the encroachments dated back to 1979-80 and added that they had succeeded in reclaiming seven acres from the encroachers. He said that in a place like Bangalore where land is a very highly priced, “vested interest” played a role in land
encroachment. Maj-Gen Venu Gopal said while the encroachments had been challenged in court by the Ministry of
Defence, the state government had also offered the Army alternative lands on the outskirts of Bangalore city. A joint survey by the military and civil authorities was also being carried out to determine the exact extent of land being held by the Army in Bangalore and elsewhere in Karnataka,
Maj-Gen Venu Gopal said. “The lands were acquired by the Army at a time when human habitation was less. The scenario has changed now. Also, it is very expensive to erect walls around all the land that the Army possesses here. We are doing it in stages,”
Maj-Gen Venu Gopal said. Recently, there was a violent clash in Bangalore between Army personnel and the local ward commissioner and her supporters over the construction of a service road over a piece of land allegedly belonging to the Army.
Space crunch
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HC relies on police dog’s evidence, upholds conviction
Mumbai, March 31 Another person was held guilty on the basis of witness identification parade, while three others were acquitted. Division bench of Justices PD Kode and VK Tahilramani last week upheld the conviction of Ejabool Jan Mohammed Shaikh and Kathalya alias Ramesh Raja Chavan on the basis of identification parade and 'dog tracking evidence', respectively, and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Upholding his conviction, the High Court said, "It is scientifically accepted that dogs are rated as extremely intelligent animals and that some of their sensibilities are very highly developed and are extremely reliable." Manojkumar Gupta, Ashok Chavan and Chandya Pawar were acquitted. All the accused had been convicted by Sewri Sessions Court here in 2007, and were given life imprisonment. The prosecution's case was that in the early hours of January 19, 2003 the accused entered the ground-floor house of Vishal Mehta at Mamta Cooperative Housing Society in suburban Ghatkopar. They killed Vishal's father Nautam, mother Hansaben and brother Jay in sleep by hitting them with an iron rod. Before entering the house, they had also murdered the watchman in the building compound. Some residents who lived upstairs saw a group of men standing in the compound. When they raised alarm, the men ran away and police were informed. The police recovered a pair of footwear (chappals) from the compound. When some suspects were arrested, a sniffer dog was summoned, who was taken to eight persons standing in a row after sniffing at the footwear. The dog barked at Kathalya alias Ramesh Raja Chavan. According to the police, the process was carried out thrice, and every time the dog picked out Ramesh. In the present case, not once but three times the dog led to Ramesh Chavan and no other person, the HC noted. The bench also relied upon the evidence of a shop-owner from whom Chavan had bought the iron rod. The court held Ejabool Jan Mohammed Shaikh guilty as Shashikumar, a resident of the building who lived upstairs, recognised him as one of the accused during the identification parade. However, the other three were acquitted as High Court felt there was no reliable evidence against them. — PTI
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Govt trains eyes on shale gas
New Delhi, March 31 “A draft shale oil/gas policy was placed in public domain. Comments have been received from various stakeholders and agencies, the policy will be announced shortly,” he said at the National Editors Conference, here. The first auction of shale gas block is possible by 2013-end and blocks are likely to be offered on terms different from oil and gas blocks. Currently, there is no commercial exploitation of shale gas in the country. Shale gas holds huge prospects and is expected to emerge as an important new source as huge reserves have been discovered in India in some initial assessments. The Director General of Hydrocarbons has taken steps to identify prospective areas of shale gas exploration and a multi-organisational team (MOT) formed to analyse the existing data and suggest methodology for its development in the country. As per the available data, the formations are spread over Cambay, Gondwana, Krishna-Godavari and Cauvery basin. Experts say the best thing about the hydrocarbon is that its location and costs involved to get it out of the ground are known in advance. With demand for energy and more so hydrocarbons increasing steadily, already the shale gas exploration and production in the US has tremendously impacted global availability of energy sources. According to reports, analysts expect that shale gas to greatly expand worldwide energy supply. In 2000, shale gas provided only 1% of US natural gas production but by 2010 it was over 20% and the US government's predicts that by 2035 46 per cent of its natural gas would come from shale gas. "In US, the advent of shale gas has transformed the energy landscape over the past six years. It has made US a gas-surplus nation from a gas importing country," Moily said. China, incidentally, is estimated to have the world's largest shale gas reserves. The government is working on a new policy for exploiting gas lying below coal seams termed as Coal Bed Methane. There are significant prospects of CBM as India has the fourth largest proven coal reserves in the world. “A revised CBM policy is under active consideration of the government to enable expeditious commencement of production in case of captive blocks,” Moily said. India is the fourth largest energy consumer in the world after the US, China and Russia. Given its domestic availability of oil and gas, the country at present is compelled to import over 75 per cent of its domestic requirements and subject itself to the vagaries of a volatile international scenario. The aim is to cut it to 50 per cent by 2020 through intensive exploration and exploitation of untapped reserves. "I see import dependence coming down by 50 per cent by 2020 and by 75 per cent in 2025. By 2030, we should be self- reliant," he said. Moily said the idea is to create an investor-friendly environment that will encourage companies to take exploration risk to raise production. The government is also working on a putting in place a dedicated energy infrastructure agency and a national data depository for evolving effective policy measures to provide energy security to the country, he said.
What is shale gas?
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Inter-state auto lifters’ gang busted, 3 held
New Delhi, March 31 Acting on a tip-off, the Crime Branch police arrested Mohd Illyas
from East Delhi area. While two other gang members Rajbeer Singh and Nadeem were
arrested from two different locations. Eleven luxury cars were recovered from their possession and eight FIRs pertaining to car stealing have been solved. According to Additional Commissioner Ravindra Yadav, "on interrogating the trio it was revealed that Illyas along with Bittoo and Ajay stole vehicles of the same make, model and colour of which they have original documents ...which were supplied to them by Nadeem." While Rajbeer Singh,
a junk dealer dismantled the (Total Loss) vehicles in his shop at Maya Puri and kept the Registration papers instead of depositing them to Transport Authority, which
is mandatory. "Imran tampered the engine and chassis number of stolen vehicles in Gurgaon to that of
Total Loss vehicles and thereafter disposed them off as genuine vehicles," they said.
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Animation industry set to get a major boost in Andhra
Hyderabad, March 31 After taking the feedback from all the stakeholders, the GAME (Gaming, Animation, Media and Entertainment) policy 2013-2018 will be implemented to tap the huge potential that the sector offers, Information Technology Minister P Lakshmaiah said. One of the highlights of the new policy is the establishment of a venture capital funding mechanism, in association with the stakeholders, to offer seed capital assistance to the first-generation entrepreneurs, start-ups and small and medium enterprises in this niche segment. Besides, the animation and gaming companies will be entitled for several fiscal incentives like 25 per cent subsidy on lease rentals, partial reimbursement of production cost, 25 per cent subsidy on power bills for three years and incentives for employing minimum 100 employees within one year of operations. The reimbursement of bandwidth charges up to Rs 10 lakh in a span of three years too will be provided. For mega projects, special and negotiable package of incentives will be worked out. State government’s dream of establishing an exclusive facility for gaming and animation in Hyderabad would become a reality soon, the minister said. “We plan to create GAME city, an eight-lakh sq ft facility at Rayadurgam on the city outskirts at a cost of Rs 230 crore. It will provide space even for one-two seater firms at a very affordable price. We will create common facilities to let the small companies carry out their projects,” Lakshmaiah said. In the first phase, the government would spend Rs 180 crore. “We will start the work on the project in a couple of weeks,” he said. The GAME city, along with an incubation centre, is said to be the first such project in the country. As part of the long term plans to create a proper eco-system for promoting the emerging sector, the Government was also planning to introduce electives in animation and gaming as part of the curriculum in the engineering college courses to create a pool of skilled manpower. The exports from animation and gaming sector from India are about $1 billion and $500 million, respectively.
new policy in offing
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EC differs with govt on parties’ funding
New Delhi, March 31 The EC does not agree with the Law Ministry that modifications proposed by it in 'Form 24A', used by political parties for mandatory declaration of donations received by them, requires amendment in the electoral law. It feels it can be done through amendment of rules. The Law Ministry had recently replied to the EC that its demand regarding removing the limit of Rs 20,000 and making it mandatory for parties to show on record all voluntary donations, irrespective of the sum, has been referred to the Law Commission as it will require an amendment in the Representation of the People Act, 1951. — PTI
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11,000 tonne seized red sandalwood rotting
New Delhi, March 31 India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has recently requested the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for permission to export the seized red sandalwood. “The MoEF is deciding the modalities on how it should be exported through a legal route so that it does not get smuggled out of the country. There is a possibility that Naxals may be exporting it for funding their activities, but this has not been confirmed as yet,” said sources in the government. In 2012, CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) had given a one-time permission to India for export of 11,806 metric tonne seized red sandalwood in any form. The DGFT thereafter referred the matter to the MoEF. The CITES is an international agreement between governments. It aims
at ensuring that international trade in animals and plants is not detrimental to their survival. Red sandalwood, also known as red sanders, is a tree species found mainly in Kadapa and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The CITES has not listed the species as endangered, but it could be endangered if trade in them is not controlled. From India, it is illegally exported to China, where it is made into furniture, besides being valued there for its medicinal properties. Red sanders is also an important product in Japan, where it is used to make musical instruments. India’s foreign trade policy bans the export of red sanders in log form. But it allows the export of red sanders in value-added form, such as furniture and dyes. The total quantity of seized red sanders in India is close to 13,000 metric tonne, which is mainly in log form. About 11,000 metric tonne is in custody of the Andhra Pradesh government and the rest is with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs. Earlier, CITES had recommended to its member countries not to take export permits for red sanders from India, as it had not conducted a scientific study of the species. The scientific study is conducted to determine if trade in the species will be harmful for its survival. Export of red sanders was banned on March 1, 2010. After India conducted the required scientific study, the ban was lifted on July 19 last year. As the trade with India was banned, a huge stock of red sanders was created. There is hardly any demand for the species in India.
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Digitisation deadline for over 30 cities ends today
New Delhi, March 31 Officials in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said digitisation would be implemented in these cities barring Bangalore and four towns in Gujarat where the deadline was being extended following court orders. The UP government had yesterday written to the ministry seeking extension of digitisation deadline. — PTI
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Belgaum army firing range shuts down, practice takes a hit
Bangalore, March 31 For five months now, the firing range at the Belgaum cantonment has been shut down. This is because the BJP government in Karnataka has denotified a portion of the land that was given to the Army for use as artillery and field firing range. “Our firing practice has been affected by the state government decision,” Major General Venu Gopal, the outgoing GoC of the Karnataka and Kerala sub-area of the Army, said here today. He said besides being a serious blow to the training of the domestic troops, the firing range issue would be a big embarrassment in front of foreign teams coming to Belgaum all the time. An Army team from the UK would be arriving in Belgaum soon, Venu Gopal added. He said shooting practice had been stopped completely. “It is not safe anymore,” he said. The Army traditionally has a strong presence in Belgaum, with the headquarters of the Maratha Light Infantry located there. A commando training establishment and an eminent military school are also located there. The Revenue Department of Karnataka had, in 1970, specified 10,639 acres at Belgaum for the Army for using as artillery and field firing range. While the allotment was initially done for 10 years, it was extended by 20 years in 1981. In 2000, the arrangement was extended by another 20 years. In an order dated November 23, Karnataka government withdrew the order issued on May 24, 2000, saying that “the order was issued without following the mandatory provisions of law”. Incidentally, BJP Lok Sabha member from Belgaum Suresh Angadi is having a running feud with the Army over land. Angadi has allegedly set up a management institute on land belonging to the Army. Venu Gopal said they had a meeting with the Home Secretary of Karnataka in December when assurance was given to them that the state government would “renotify” the land for firing practice by the Army. “However, such a decision will have to be approved by the state Cabinet,” said Venu Gopal. He said they were waiting for the customary meeting presided over by the Chief Minister that was held periodically for resolving pending issues between the Army authorities and the civilian government. But no such meeting has taken place since November, said Venu Gopal. The Army is struggling to find space so that its troops can practice firing. Its firing ranges have come down from 104 to 66. A parliamentary panel had expressed concern over the shortage of firing ranges for the Army. The issue figured prominently during the commanders’ conference held in Delhi some time back.
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House panel moots 1-year rural posting for all MBBS grads
New Delhi, March 31 By a majority view, the committee said the proposal was not fair as it would create a wedge between the quality of service for rural and urban India. The committee has in fact gone ahead to ask the government not to pursue the course at all and instead contemplate a mandatory one-year rural posting
for all Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) graduates after internship. The government had two years ago proposed a three-and-a-half-year Bachelor of Rural Health Care Course to create a cadre of public health specialists for rural India. The course met with stiff resistance from the Indian Medical Association that said the government would create half doctors by way of the new scheme and it was not
in the interest of health care delivery. Following opposition to the proposal, Azad had set up a committee of experts to determine the feasibility of the project and the committee headed by Dr KK Paull, HoD Paediatrics at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), had clearly said that the term “Dr” should not be allowed to be prefixed with the proposed rural health care cadre. The committee had also changed the name of the course to call in a 3.5-year BSc (Community Health) Course to create a cadre of community health officers in India. The opposition to the course means a roadblock for the government plan to roll it out from this academic session, as stated by Azad in Parliament. The Health Minister has repeatedly backed the course saying the dearth of doctors in rural India needs to be met on a war footing. In India, the patient doctor ratio is 2,000:1 as against the needed 1,000:1. With vacancies in primary health centres in mind, the parliamentary panel has said the government must continue with its existing policy of increasing the intake into the medical profession by adding to the capacity in terms of colleges and also Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery seats. The panel has further advocated the need to set up more colleges in rural India to remove the existing imbalance in health care infrastructure.
the course
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Anger against Beni
There is simmering anger in the Uttar Pradesh Congress over the party’s indulgence towards Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma who is showing no signs of ending his diatribe against the Samajwadi Party even though the UPA government’s longevity depends on its outside support. Bitter UP leaders maintain that Verma’s indiscretions are being overlooked because of his proximity to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. The buzz in party circles is that
Verma, a Kurmi leader who was with the SP till a few years ago, has convinced the Nehru-Gandhi scion that he can mediate between the Congress and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since he also belongs to the same caste. The Congress is keen on weaning away Nitish Kumar from the NDA fold as it looks to shore up its numbers ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But Congress insiders are quick to point out that Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that Verma failed misrerably in garnering the support of Kurmis in the last UP assembly polls, the chief reason for his induction into the party.
Delhi Congress on its toes
As the year-end Assembly elections in Delhi draw closer, tension levels in the Congress are mounting. Having had three terms in office, the Sheila Dikshit government is obviously facing massive anti-incumbency while Arvind Kejriwal’s Aaam Admi Party has further muddied the waters with its incessant campaign against the Congress. However, the Delhi Congress has been drawing solace from the fact that its principal political rival, the
BJP, has not gained significant ground. Also, Vijay Goel’s projection as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate has not exactly set the Yamuna on fire. But Delhi Congress leaders believe they will be in serious trouble if current speculation about senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj being given charge of Delhi affairs is proved correct. They believe this will be a masterstroke by the BJP as Sushma is a
well-recognised figure and a fiery orator. Little wonder that the Congress is following the proposed changes in the BJP team very carefully.
Pawar play goes on
NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has acquired the reputation not carrying his battles to a logical conclusion. He did precisely that last week when he first agreed to share a platform with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayum Singh Yadav at a public rally in Maharashtra and then backtracked at the last minute on grounds of ill-health. This meeting had created ripples in political circles in the backdrop of the brewing tension between the Congress and the SP and the latter’s talk about a third front forming the next government in Delhi. Pawar was clearly fishing in troubled waters as he has his own scores to settle with the Congress despite their alliance in Delhi and Maharashtra. But this is not the first time that the NCP leader has pulled back after stepping ahead for a political joust. The last time he did so was in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when he decided against addressing a joint rally with BJD chief Naveen Patnaik after agreeing to it. The Congress was consequently saved the embarrassment of defending its ally’s dalliance with its chief opponent in
Odisha.
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New Delhi, March 31
In the new team of BJP office-bearers announced today, party President Rajnath Singh struck a fine balance between experienced and youthful candidates besides keeping the promise of 33 per cent reservation for women.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s prescription of meeting the shortage of rural health care professionals in India by introducing a three-year rural health care course has been shot down by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health that examined the issue in detail.
