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Direct benefits transfer facing difficulties: PM
MARINES row
SFI leader’s kin meet Guv, seek CBI probe
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Decks cleared for national defence university in Haryana
Notice to Raja Bhaiyya in Kunda DSP murder case
UP fake encounter
Congress compares Modi to ‘Yamraj’
Manmohan on 3rd term: I neither rule it in, nor out
Yoga guru detained in BSP leader’s murder case
11 die in Bihar fire incidents Karnataka poll: Cong releases first list
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Direct benefits transfer facing difficulties: PM
New Delhi, April 5 Pointing to the shortcomings, the Prime Minister said the implementation of the DBT has revealed the unsatisfactory nature of tracking and monitoring systems in various departments. “If we need to ensure that the money we spend delivers outcomes, it is necessary that we have a robust monitoring system in place. That is one of the things that DBT will achieve, in addition to making the process of getting benefits simpler for the beneficiaries and eliminating corruption and wastage”, he added. The PM, however, announced that the DBT on the Aadhar platform will be expanded to 78 more districts covering a total of 120 districts or about one-fifth of the country. Stressing on the need for re-engineering the way government departments handle schemes to meet the DBT requirements, Manmohan added that conceptually the scheme involves a few simple steps — digitising data, enrolment in Aadhaar, opening bank accounts and seeding these accounts. “However, Direct Benefits Transfers require process re-engineering. We need to change the way we transact business, the way we release funds, the way we track funds and the information we have on beneficiaries”, he added. Emphasising the importance of the DBT scheme, the Prime Minister said this is a scheme in which the implementation capacity of the government will be tested. “We cannot afford to fail. We need to show that we can deliver results and benefits”, he added.
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NIA slaps murder charge on marines
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti calls up Khurshid Tribune News Service & PTI
New Delhi, April 5 The meeting comes in the backdrop of NIA registering murder case against the two Italian Marines for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast last year. The charge entails maximum punishment of death penalty. However, Khurshid, in Parliament last month, had ruled out that case will attract death penalty. “...according to well settled Indian jurisprudence, this case would not fall in the category of matters which attract the death penalty, that is to say the rarest of rare cases. Therefore, there need not be any apprehension in this regard,” Khurshid had said while informing Parliament about Italy reversing its initial decision of not sending the marines back. Khurshid provided Mistura an update of the developments since their meeting last month, including the lifting of travel restriction on the Italian envoy by the Supreme Court, official sources said. He also informed the minister of the steps being taken in compliance with the Supreme Court directions at the last hearing and intentions of the government to inform the apex court on April 16 of the efforts made to constitute a Special Court, the sources added. The Home Ministry had handed over the case to National Investigation Agency, which has submitted an FIR before the Special NIA court booking the marines under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 427 (mischief) along with section 34 (common intent) of IPC. The NIA also booked them under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act, 2002.
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SFI leader’s kin meet Guv, seek CBI probe
Kolkata, April 5 The family said they did not expect justice from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “We want a CBI inquiry into Sudipta’s death because only a CBI inquiry can bring out the truth,” SFI leader’s sister Sumita said after meeting the Governor. On if the family would appeal to the Chief Minister, she said: “We don’t expect anything from her.” “We had asked for justice and instead of giving justice she had termed my brother’s death a petty matter. So we have no expectations from her. That is why we came to meet the Governor,” she said. The Governor today disapproved of Mamata’s “pre-emptive remarks” on the cause of Gupta’s death at a stage when an inquiry was on. In reply to a query by mediapersons, he said: “It is quite improper that someone in such a high position should make pre-emptive views that may hamper investigation.” The Governor was visibly surprised at Mamata calling it a “petty matter and simple accidental death” and later declining to institute a judicial or a CBI probe. He hoped the police inquiry into the incident would bring the culprits to book. In a fresh twist to the case, the bus driver who was arrested on charges of rash driving today alleged that he had been implicated in the case. Raja Das, who is now out on bail, was driving the bus carrying the arrested SFI workers from the Esplanade area to Presidency Correctional Jail when Gupta allegedly fell off and died. He said the police had resorted to lathi-charge and was now trying to frame him. Governor displeased at Mamata’s
remarks
Governor MK Narayanan has disapproved Mamata Banerjee’s ‘pre-emptive remarks’ on the cause of Gupta’s death. “It is quite improper that someone in such a high position should make pre-emptive views that may hamper investigation,” he said on
Friday. Being framed: Bus
driver
Raja Das, the driver who ferried the arrested SFI workers when Gupta allegedly fell off the bus and died, has claimed he is being implicated in the case. He said the police had resorted to lathi-charge and was now trying to frame
him.
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Decks cleared for national defence university in Haryana New Delhi, April 5 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone of the university in the last week of May. INDU will be a fully autonomous institution and will be located on over 200 acres of land at Binola near Gurgaon in Haryana. The university will have a mandate to provide knowledge-based higher education for management of defence of the country keeping its participants abreast of emerging security challenges through scholarly research and training. Binola has been chosen owing to its proximity to the national capital and availability of land. It is expected that a large number of international officials, students as well as own security leaders, civilian and defence officials would visit the main campus at Binola for courses and training. The university will be headed by its president, who would be a Lieutenant General rank or equivalent ranks in Navy and IAF officer. The vice-president will be a civilian. As many as 66 per cent of students would be from the armed forces, whereas 33 per cent of students would be drawn from other government agencies, police and civilians. The teaching faculty will comprise both military personnel and civilians in the ratio of 1:1.
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Notice to Raja Bhaiyya in Kunda DSP murder case
Lucknow, April 5 Sources in the CBI sources said they had not given a clean chit to anyone on the basis of preliminary reports as reported in the section on the media in the case pertaining to the murders of Balipur village head Nanhe Yadav, his brother Suresh and Deputy Superintendent of Police Zia-ul-Haq. With the noose tightening around the former minister, he met Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today. While details of the meeting were not known it is said that Raja Bhaiyya reportedly shared his predicament with Yadav. Giving a twist to the case, the family of the slain Balipur gram pradhan Nanhe Yadav and his brother Suresh went on an indefinite hunger strike outside their house in Balipur village last evening. The two Yadav brothers were killed on March 2 along with Haq. They are protesting against the CBI team's alleged attempts to force the family to take the blame for Haq’s murder. They are charging the CBI with failure to trace the real killers of the police officer and exerting pressure on the Nanhe Yadav’s son to confess to the murder in order to show results.
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3 cops get death in 31-yr-old case
CBI court awards life term to five for killing 13 persons Tribune News Service
Lucknow, April 5 The CBI court had held the eight guilty on March 29 and fixed April 5 for pronouncement of sentence in the 1982 fake encounter case. Special CBI Judge Rajendra Singh awarded death sentence to then SHO of Madhopur police station RB Saroj, constable Ram Karan and head constable Prem Narain Pandey. Those awarded life sentence are then sub-inspectors Naseem Ahmed, Mangal Singh, Pervez Hussain, Rajendra Prasad Singh and then PAC platoon commander Ramakant Dixit. The conspiracy to bump off the then DSP was hatched by his junior - RB Saroj - who had turned hostile towards Singh as the latter had conducted an inquiry into charges against him. Singh and his team had gone to investigate a case in Madhopur when Saroj and other members of the team killed Singh in cold blood and then slaughtered another 12 villagers passing it off as deaths in crossfire. Slain DSP’s daughter Kinjal Singh, now the District Magistrate of Bahriach, broke down in court when the sentence was announced, bringing a sense of closure to the injustice that the family doggedly fought for over three decades. The timeline
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Congress compares Modi to ‘Yamraj’
New Delhi, April 5 Recalling Modi’s role in the 2002 riots, the Congress stoked a fresh controversy by comparing him to “Yamraj”, known in Hindu mythology as the Lord of Death. The JD-U poked fun at Modi’s statement that after repaying his debt to Gujarat, he now wanted to repay India’s debt, saying it is the duty of every child to is the duty of every child to repay the debt he owes to “Mother India”. Modi’s comparison with “Yamraj” was made at the Congress’s daily press briefing by party spokesperson Rashid Alvi. Asked if Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was referring to Modi in his speech at CII yesterday when he said that people should not expect a knight on a white horse to solve the nation’s problems, Alvi replied he would have said “bull” instead of horse. The allusion to the Lord of Death was evident as Yamraj is generally depicted as seated on a bull. Continuing the scathing tone, Alvi said he shuddered to think if Modi would serve the country in the same fashion that he served Gujarat. “We are really frightened to think if he wants to repay his debt to Mother India as he did in his home state Gujarat,” Alvi said. Speaking in the same vein, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari hoped Modi doesn't want a repeat of 2002 Gujarat riots in the country.
JD-U’s potshot
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Manmohan on 3rd term: I neither rule it in, nor out
New Delhi, April 5 Earlier, last week, 80-year-old Manmohan Singh had said: "We will cross that bridge when we reach there" when he was asked whether he would accept another term in office if offered. During today's brief interaction with mediapersons in the Rashtrapati Bhawan after presentation of Padma Awards, Singh, however, said he would welcome "any day" Rahul Gandhi as the PM. He dismissed as "useless" the debate over two power centres — one the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and another the Prime Minister. "This is the creation of the media. It is a useless debate," he said when asked about the issue of two power centres coming into focus after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh raked it up recently. Digvijaya Singh had said the two power centres had not worked well and should not be repeated. The Congress officially rejected this contention of Digvijaya Singh and said it was an "ideal model" for future also.
— PTI
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Yoga guru detained in BSP leader’s murder case
Indore, April 5 Shastri was taken into custody and interrogated by the Delhi crime branch police team at an undisclosed place, Aerodrome police station incharge Akilesh Dwivedi said. Shastri is said to be a close friend of the spiritual guru and suspected to be in touch with the main accused in the case recently, Dwivedi said, quoting Delhi crime branch team officials.
— PTI
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today acknowledged that the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme has run into difficulties that had not been anticipated. The DBT programme was launched in January. It will now also include three pension schemes of the Ministry of Rural Development. He made these remarks at the National Committee on DBT.
Concerned over NIA slapping murder charge against two Italian marines, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti today called up External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who apprised him of the recent developments in the case.
The call by Monti followed a meeting between Khurshid and Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Staffan de Mistura who asked India to keep his government posted on the developments in the matter.
In a new twist to the raging debate over the country's next Prime Minister, incumbent Manmohan Singh today said he was neither ruling himself in, nor out.
The Prime Minister initially dismissed as "hypothetical" a question as to whether he would accept a third term in office, saying "we are yet to complete this term." Pressed further by reporters on whether he was ruling himself out, Singh remarked cryptically, "I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out." His comments assume significance as there is a clamour in the Congress for projecting 42-year-old Rahul Gandhi as the party's prime ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
