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JPC report leak on 2g
Raja hits back in detailed note to JPC
Six CPM, SFI activists held for assault on Mitra
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Army leads the way in organ transplant Chit fund fraud: Mamata forms SIT, probe panel
Mumbai teen kidnapped, raped over family dispute
Anti-rape law architect
Justice Verma dead Sena questions Modi’s Hindutva credentials
INVESTMENT SCAM
Time to put NCTC in place: Shinde
SC notice on PIL for capping SMS cost
Renewable energy
Quattrocchi stands discharged in Bofors case: Antony
Row over Z security for Mukesh Ambani
Law institute members protest rigging in polls
Minor girl raped
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BJP moves privilege motion against Chacko
Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 22 Notices by Yashwant Sinha in the Lok Sabha and Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Rajya Sabha termed the “unauthorised leakage” of the JPC report a breach of privilege of members and Parliament and demanded action against those responsible for it. Holding Chacko responsible for the leakage, the party wants the Congress leader to explain how the media got hold of the draft report on the evening of April 18 when none of the JPC members had even received their copies. The party will oppose the adoption of the report on April 25. Additionally, the BJP also specified that unless Law Minister Ashwani Kumar clarified his stand in Parliament on the alleged vetting of the CBI report on the coal mines scam, it would continue to raise the issue. Rajya Sabha members also enquired about whereabouts of the Law Minister, who was not present in the House when the issue was being raised. In order to have a meaningful debate, the Law Minister and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must present themselves before the bar of the House, senior BJP leaders said. According to the BJP, reports that the government had vetted the CBI report on the coal mines scam proved interference with the functioning of Constitutional bodies while the fact that Kumar has not denied reports that the meeting took place in his office (where the alleged vetting was done) established his involvement. “The Supreme Court had ordered restraining the CBI from sharing the report with anybody in the government," deputy leader of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said, alleging that despite this the Law Minister vetted and even made changes in the CBI report before it was submitted to the apex court. In the days to come, the two issues -- leakage of the JPC report and alleged vetting of the CBI report -- will power the main Opposition party’s ante against the Congress-led UPA. The BJP is particularly upset over the accusation levelled against former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the JPC report wherein his government has been held responsible for causing a loss of Rs 42,000 crore to the exchequer due to its telecom policy. Party leaders allege that the report had been “unilaterally” prepared by Chacko and others without consulting the BJP members in the panel. BJP members in the JPC were amazed at the accusations levelled against the Vajpayee government in the report because the matter was never discussed in panel meetings, they added.
BJP opposition
* Notices by Yashwant Sinha and Ravi Shankar Prasad termed the ‘unauthorised leak’ of the JPC report on the 2G spectrum allocation issue a breach of privilege of members and Parliament *
Holding JPC chairperson PC Chacko responsible for the leak, the BJP wants him to explain how the media got hold of the draft report on the evening of April 18 when none of the JPC members had even received their copies *
The party will oppose the adoption of the report on April 25
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Raja hits back in detailed note to JPC New Delhi, April 22 Hours after reiterating his allegation that the Prime Minister was aware of all decisions taken in connection with the allocation of 2G spectrum, Raja attacked the JPC for not allowing him to depose before it. “This is not the way the JPC is expected to function,” said Raja. “Even without waiting for my statement, the JPC prepared a draft report and also leaked it to the media,” he alleged. Raja said he was not provided with a copy of the deposition of the Solicitor General of India. In his 112-page defence, Raja has reiterated that the PM and the Finance Minister were aware of the policies that he followed in 2008. In his submission, he also says that in 2009, when the Prime Minister's coalition was re-elected, Singh reinstated him as Telecom Minister. “Surely, if he felt that I had misled him or offended him in any manner, my reappointment would not have happened,” Raja states. Raja says if the committee wants to "draw any conclusions, it is mandatory to record my statement and the statement of the PM". There could be further trouble for the Congress, as the Samajwadi Party, which provides external support to the PM's minority government, has indicated that it will reject JPC Chairman’s report.
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Six CPM, SFI activists held for assault on Mitra
New Delhi, April 22
Those arrested were SFI general secretary Ritabrata Bandhopadhyay, Delhi CPM secretary PMS Grewal, Delhi State Committee member Nathu Prasad, Sunand and women activists Asha Sharma and Anju Jha. Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain granted bail to the six on a personal bond of Rs 5,000 each with a surety of like amount after they were produced in court soon after their arrest. They were arrested for offences under Section 353 (assault), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 143 and 149 (relating unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code. “They were arrested after analysing the video footage related to the protest at the Yojana Bhawan on Parliament Street on April 9,” a senior police officer said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Mitra had gone to the office of the Planning Commission to discuss the state’s annual plan when they were mobbed by a group of angry SFI activists protesting the death of one of their colleagues in Kolkata early this month, the police said. The 65-year-old Finance Minister was manhandled while trying to enter the building. He was later put under medical observation at AIIMS. — PTI
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Army leads the way in organ transplant
Chandigarh, April 22 Over 8,000 soldiers and their families have registered with the Armed Forces Organ Retrieval and Transplantation Authority (AORTA) pledging their organs in the event of a brain death since the organisation was set up in 2007. AORTA looks after all activities related to organ donation, harvest, storage, transport and transplantation in the armed forces. Considerable success has been achieved since then with 113 brain death declarations and 37 multiple organ donations at Army Hospital (Research and Referral). The multiple organ donations have facilitated 44 liver, 70 renal and three heart transplants. These numbers are the highest by any single government institute in the country, a statement issued here said. In addition, several people have benefited from eye donation. A patient who is declared brain dead, with irreversible loss of brain functions, can donate more than 34 organs and tissues. The idea of organ donation in India, when compared to many developed countries, is still in its infancy, with the donation rate being just 0.08 per cent per million population. Every year many patients die waiting for an organ. The Research and Referral is the armed forces’ nodal centre for undertaking transplant surgeries. The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra and his wife Anshul Chachra, also pledged their organs this week.
saving lives
* Over 8,000 soldiers and kin have registered with the Armed Forces Organ Retrieval and Transplantation Authority *
The multiple organ donations have facilitated 44 liver, 70 renal and three heart transplants
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Chit fund fraud: Mamata forms SIT, probe panel
Kolkata, April 22 Banerjee told mediapersons after a high-level meeting at the Writers’ Buildings that an SIT under the DGP and a high-level inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act were being instituted to probe the matter. She added that a draft for promulgating an ordinance having more teeth to restrict operations of chit fund companies was being prepared. She said she had requested President Pranab Mukherjee, who inquired about her health yesterday, to see that the Bill passed by the previous Left Front government seeking to restrict chit fund operations was returned to enable the state government to incorporate more stringent provisions to deal with such illegal activities. “If the Bill forwarded by the Left Front government to the Centre in 2009 is returned within 24 hours then our government will immediately promulgate the ordinance to that effect,” she said. Stating that strong laws were needed to curb the illegal activities of chit funds, Banerjee said since their operations were governed by central laws and not by the state government, “the onus lies with the Central Government”. “For quite a few years, some chit funds have been deceiving poor investors promising high returns. This has been continuing since the’80s in this state.” Meanwhile, 13 depositors and agents have filed a joint public interest litigation in the Calcutta High Court against the Saradha group. A separate application was also submitted by some lawyers in the court demanding a CBI probe into alleged misappropriation of depositors’ money. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Kumar Mishra and Jayamallah Bagchi admitted both petitions. The hearing will begin soon after necessary formalities are completed in the next few days. Depositors and agents staged protests in front of the offices of the group across the state demanding a refund. They also sought the arrest of political leaders and officials connected with the group. The proximity of several TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs to the Saradha group of industries has put the government in a spot. Three depositors have so far committed suicide after the company denied them their dues. Many agents have been forced to leave their houses after being threatened by depositors. Activists of the WBPCC and the BJP organised protests demanding the arrest of group chairman Sudipto Sen, TMC minister Madan Mitra, Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh and others allegedly involved in the handling of chit fund on behalf of the TMC. The police has arrested one of the directors of the group and is looking for others close to Sen, who is suspected to have escaped to Bangladesh or Nepal. Most companies under the group have been sealed and assets, including Sen’s three houses at Salt Lake, other properties and bank accounts, seized. An arrest warrant was also issued against Sen, his company’s directors and some other persons connected with the group. (With agency inputs)
Corrective measures * The state government is preparing a draft to promulgate an ordinance with more teeth *
The CM says the onus lies with the Centre as operations of such companies are governed by central laws *
The police has so far arrested a director of the group run by Sudipto Sen, who may have fled to Bangladesh or Nepal
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Mumbai teen kidnapped, raped over family dispute
Mumbai, April 22 She managed to escape on Sunday evening and went to the police. Four persons have been arrested so far. The victim has been sent for a medical examination. According to the police, two women related to the accused persons have also been arrested.
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Anti-rape law architect Justice Verma dead Justice Verma was 80 and is survived by his wife and two daughters. Family sources confirmed his untimely demise and said the former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission had taken ill during a personal visit to Mumbai last week, following which he returned to New Delhi and sought admission to the Gurgaon-based Medanta Medicity hospital. He suffered liver failure at the hospital and had bleeding in the stomach which led to multi-organ failure causing the eminent jurist’s sudden death. Justice Verma recently chaired a three-member committee which the government had set up to recommend changes to the existing anti-rape provisions in the Criminal Amendment Law.
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Sena questions Modi’s Hindutva credentials
Mumbai, April 22 Over the past few days, its mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ has been publishing hard-hitting articles criticising the Gujarat Government's decision to demand death penalty for former BJP minister Maya Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and others accused of murder in the 2002 post-Godhra riots. In one of the pieces published over the weekend, Saamna called the prosecution's action "an attack on Hindus by the Hindus". “Hindus have different expectations from Narendra Modi," Saamna said. "Now it has become a crime to be Hindus in India," the piece added. The article comes days after the Shiv Sena leadership demanded that the BJP announce its candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the next General Elections in consultation with NDA allies. Shiv Sena leaders had earlier indicated that the party could graduate to aggressive Hindutva ahead of the next General Elections. Banners with slogans such as 'Garv se Kaho Hum Hindu Hain' were put up after protesters mobilised by a Muslim group went on a rampage at Azad Maidan last year. The Shiv Sena has also taken a strong hard line Hindutva stand following a communal riot at Dhule earlier this year.
The trigger
* Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ has been publishing hard-hitting articles criticising the Gujarat Government's decision to demand death penalty for BJP ex-minister Maya Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and others accused of murder in the 2002 post-Godhra riots *
In one of the pieces published over the weekend, ‘Saamna’ called the prosecution's action "an attack on Hindus by the Hindus" *
The article comes days after the Sena leadership demanded that the BJP announce its candidate for the post of PM in consultation with NDA allies
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SC notice on SEBI plea for arresting Subrata Roy
Tells Sahara boss, 2 directors to surrender passports R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, April 22 A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar also directed them to respond to SEBI’s plea that they should surrender their passports. “We don’t find the inflow of Rs 24,000 crore” in the account books of the two companies-Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHICL) - which had raised the funds in the form of Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCD), senior counsel Arvind Duttar told the Bench. Further, SEBI had attached some immovable properties of the group as directed by the SC in its August 31, 2012, judgment. However, when SEBI asked the group to submit the documents relating to these properties, the group said it had sold these assets to refund part of the investments directly to the investors, instead of through the market regulator as directed by the SC, Duttar said. The Bench questioned senior counsel Aryaman Sundaram, who appeared for the group, as to how the group companies and their directors had approached the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and the Allahabad High Court despite the fact that the SC had delivered its judgment in the investment scam. Sundaram said they were forced to approach SAT as SEBI had attached the personal properties of the directors by going beyond the SC verdict. At this, the Bench said SEBI was at liberty to take any action it felt necessary in addition to enforcing the SC directives. When Sundaram sought to oppose SEBI’s plea for seizing the passports of Roy and other directors, the Bench said “we don’t want SEBI’s application to become infructuous.” SEBI acknowledged that Sahara had given 127 truckloads of documents, mainly the applications of the three core small investors, but said most of these contained incomplete addresses which would not be of any help in returning the investments. At this, the Bench advised SEBI not to “go in search of the investors.” If the investors approached SEBI, it was fine. Otherwise, pass over the funds to the government, it said. When Sahara sought a week’s time to respond to SC’s February 6 notice on SEBI’s contempt petition, the Bench reprimanded the group for taking the court lightly.
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Time to put NCTC in place: Shinde
New Delhi, April 22 Shinde made a suo moto statement in Lok Sabha about the Bangalore blasts in which he was candid in saying: “We also need to quickly put the NCTC in place. We have now a revised formulation of the NCTC which takes care of the objections of the states.” The NCTC was objected to by the states in May last year. It was originally placed under the Intelligence Bureau and had powers to operate across India and arrest suspects. The states saw this as an affront to their rights of policing under the Constitution. Shinde said there was a need to strengthen the intelligence set up of the states. “We have been advising the states on this, but we have not seen much progress. We are trying to strengthen the humint (human intelligence gathering) component in our intelligence agencies and that will start yielding results.” The minister said he wanted tighter checks on explosives. The MHA took the initiative and has rules to control the sale and supply of ammonium nitrate, a compound used for low intensity blasts. He said the MHA was working with to put an explosives tracking system in place. “But the problems will remain till the district magistrates and superintendents of police do not have the stocks and consumption of the licensed explosive users checked more often and more stringently,’ he added.
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SC notice on PIL for capping SMS cost
New Delhi, April 22 A Bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir also directed the telecom regulator, TRAI, to respond to the PIL filed by the Telecom Watchdog, a registered society, contending that some of the telecom companies had raised the tariff to Rs 1.50 per national SMS. The PIL further pointed out that there was a huge difference in the SMS tariff for various regions which was irrational. “The cost-based tariff for SMS (local and national) cannot be more than one paisa per SMS,” the PIL said. Also, the charges of SMS for the post-paid customers “are very high for no apparent reasons”. The petition has also challenged the telecom operators’ move to levy termination charges of 10 paise per SMS “which is nothing but raising the base tariff arbitrarily in a cartelised manner”. Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan pleaded for directing the government and the TRAI to fix a cost-based tariff as cap for
SMS.
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Energy-guzzling Delhi, Punjab among laggards; Uttarakhand, Himachal lead
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 22
According to an assessment report on Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) titled “Powering Ahead on Renewables: Leaders and Laggards” by Greenpeace India, which ranked performance of states on renewable energy supply, 22 of the 29 states failed to meet their RPO targets, leading to loss of more than 25% electricity that was expected to be generated from renewable energy sources in 2012. “The RPO framework in its present form has failed to deliver its mandate and many powerful states like Delhi have made the mockery of current framework. The Ministry of Power needs to make it mandatory with a provision of penal measures to ensure the implementation of RPO directive,” it says, calling for revision of RPO mechanism based on equity principle. In fact very few states have demonstrated the leadership in implementing the RPO framework and fulfilling their obligation on renewable and north eastern state of Meghalaya and Nagaland, hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are among them. The states have clearly taken the lead in not only meeting their RPO targets but also generating over and above the targets, it says. But disappointingly, heavy energy consumer and resourceful Delhi comes in the category of a straggler in terms of fulfilling its obligation. Despite a good potential for solar, the National Capital fared the worst with not even 1 per cent achievement. Regulators failed to penalise or implement the directives of RPO in Delhi while key states like Maharashtra and Punjab, the biggest energy guzzlers, fell short by about 50 per cent. According to Abhishek Pratap of Greenpeace India, the report is an indictment of the whole policy framework around renewables and the dismissive attitude of the government towards it. “RPO mechanism could have been a tool to bridge the demand-supply gap in the energy sector across the country. But the toothless mechanism combined with unambitious targets has failed to give any impetus to renewables in India. Delhi as the national capital should have been a trend setter. But it has set the trend in the reverse direction,” he says. The report recommends fiscal and policy measures to promote renewable energy projects over conventional electricity.
Greenpeace Report
* The report highlights the inconsistency between national renewable energy targets set by the National Action Plan on Climate Change and the renewable purchase obligation targets fixed by state power regulators *
The overall cumulative targets set by various state regulators is 5.44%, whereas the national target is set at 7% resulting in a deficit of 1.56%, which translates into nearly 14,268 million units of electricity from renewable energy projects
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Quattrocchi stands discharged in Bofors case: Antony
New Delhi, April 22 In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, he said, "An application for withdrawal of the court case against Ottavio Quattrocchi was filed by public prosecutor on October 3, 2009 in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who passed an order allowing withdrawal of the prosecution case against Quattrocchi." Quattrocchi had left India on July 29-30, 1993, before the CBI had any material evidence warranting his arrest, he said. "Consequently, he (Quattrocchi) stands discharged from the case," Antony said. He said the measures to get Quattrocchi extradited from Malaysia and Argentina could not succeed. "As per the information provided by the CBI, the measures taken for extradition of accused Quattrochhi from Malaysia and Argentina could not succeed even 20 years after the registration of the case," he said. — PTI
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Row over Z security for Mukesh Ambani
New Delhi/Mumbai, Apr 22 The Maharashtra Government justified the Centre's decision with a reasoning it was necessary to create conducive atmosphere for attracting investments in the state. Demanding that the government rescind its decision to provide state security to the RIL chairman, the Left parties said the common people have been left in the lurch as gruesome incidents of rape keep happening. "It is unprecedented that at a time when such ghastly and gruesome incidents of rape are taking place and people are demanding more security, Z category of security is given to a top corporate leader like Ambani and the commoners left in the lurch," senior CPM leader Basudeb Acharia told reporters in Delhi. Veteran CPI leader AB Bardhan regretted that the decision came at a time when the police is unable to provide security to its citizens, ensure safety for women, and even 4 or 5-year-old girl children are raped under its very nose. "Our party demands that the government order be rescinded and the CRPF be sent back for their primary task," Bardhan said. — PTI
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Law institute members protest rigging in polls New Delhi, April 22
The proposer – Dr BK Sharma, retired Additional Secretary to the Government of India – was shocked to find his name missing from the voters’ list for the Governing Council elections held on April 1. On December 4, 2012, this newspaper carried an exclusive report, after talking to Jai, ILI Registrar Dalip Kumar and a senior official of the Union Law and Justice Ministry, about how the ILI Deemed University had been operating from just eight rooms, making it India’s smallest “teaching joint”. In the ILI Governing Council elections, many Judges, senior advocates and former bureaucrats found their names ‘missing’ from the voters’ list. To mark their protest against the alleged ‘large-scale rigging’ in the elections, Jai and another senior member and former ILI Registrar Dr KS Bhati today began their 48-hour hunger strike outside the ILI building, opposite the Supreme Court. Jai and Bhati are demanding the appointment of a committee to probe the “shameful matter of rigging,” set aside the elections, hold fresh elections, and punish those who are found guilty of adopting corrupt practices during the elections.
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Minor girl raped
Akola, April 22 The incident occurred on Saturday night when the accused S K Saddam entered the victim's house when she was alone and sexually assaulted her at knife point, the police said. — PTI
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Spelling more trouble for the ruling dispensation, the BJP today gave notice for moving a breach of privilege motion in both Houses against
Joint Parliamentary Committee Chairperson PC Chacko for the leakage of the panel’s report on the 2G spectrum allocation issue.
The Supreme Court today sought the response of Sahara group promoter Subrata Roy and two of its directors, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar
Dubey, within a week on stock market regulator SEBI’s plea to arrest them for their failure to implement the court’s directives for refunding Rs 24,029 crore it had collected in 2008-09 from the public violating investor protection norms.
New Delhi, April 22
