The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Joint exercise still on Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 29 India and China have kept the window of joint military exercises planned for later this year open and are in the process of chalking out details of these exercises. Amidst tension between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in northern Ladakh, a small Indian military delegation led by a Brigadier was in China from April 23 to 26 for a “consultation meeting”. The two sides have decided to conduct a “planning conference” here in July. This conference will study the conduct and scope of the joint exercises planned in October in Chengdu province of China. A small Chinese military delegation will visit New Delhi in July to work out the dates and logistics for the exercise. The exercise in China is on track so far, a source said. Indian and Chinese forces have conducted two joint military exercises in Karnataka (December 2008) and Kunming (China) in 2007. The exercises came to an abrupt halt in 2009 after Beijing refused visa to a serving Indian General on the premise that he was posted in Jammu and Kashmir. The resumption in joint exercises was announced in New Delhi in September last year.
	Chinese incursion: Govt acting cowardly, says Mulayam Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 29 Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today slammed the UPA government for "acting coy" on the issue of Chinese incursions in Ladakh and went on to term it as "cowardly, incompetent and good for nothing". Speaking during Zero Hour, Mulayam said China was India's biggest enemy and had been occupying huge chunks of our land with the government watching silently. Objecting to the forthcoming visit of Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid to China to prepare for the next month's visit of Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang to India, he said India had vowed after the 1962 war not to engage with China until it vacated every inch of the Indian land. "This is the weakest government ever," he said supported by BJD's Bhartruhari Mahtab and TMC's Sudeep Bandopadhyay who wanted the PM to allay concerns of the Lok Sabha on the issue. The SP chief said the Army had assured of removing intruders, but the government was not issuing it the relevant instructions. "The government is acting in a cowardly manner," SP supremo said adding that the threat of war from China and not Pakistan. Khurshid is set to travel to Beijing on May 9 with the SP creating a ruckus in the LS on the matter. SP members raised slogans against the visit as soon as LS assembled at 11 am. The Speaker had to adjourn the House till 12 noon. Later, Mulayam Singh raised the issue of Chinese incursions amid sloganeering by BJP members who were seeking resignations of the PM and the Law Minister on the CBI's affidavit to the court that the Law Minister had sought report on coal block allocations. Mulayam said he had personally raised the issue of Chinese aggression with the PM, but no action was taken. "I went to PM's chamber to talk to him. But no action was taken," he said. The SP's claim is-one lakh sq km of the Indian territory has been occupied by China. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 12 noon, then till 2 pm and finally for the day over BJP protesting on the JPC issue and the CBI's affidavit in coal scam; SP attacking the government on Chinese incursions; and Telangana MPs demanding a separate state.
	Spectrum stand-off: Govt in spot as JPC term nears end KV Prasad/ TNS New Delhi, April 29 Facing a stand-off in Parliament on multiple fronts, including on the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G Spectrum allocation, the Congress-led UPA is in a dilemma as the tenure of the panel is due to end on May 10, the scheduled date of adjournment of the Budget session. With 15 members from the Opposition (around 50 per cent of the JPC strength) demanding removal of Chairman PC Chacko and rejecting the draft report on the issue, the deadlock persists. The government will have to find a way out as the tenure of the panel cannot be allowed to lapse without any conclusion in the form of an acceptable report. Moreover, an extension to the panel at the present juncture can become a contentious issue. Chacko said while he was prepared to take up amendments moved by Opposition members as "dissent notes", the text of the document would not be changed. "I am willing for a detailed discussion on each of the (10) chapters. The text cannot be changed. The Opposition's amendments can be in the form of dissent notes...let the two (draft and the dissent notes) be presented so that Parliament is aware of the two views," Chacko told mediapersons outside Parliament House. He said he met the Speaker to seek clarity if he could call a meeting of the panel. The scheduled meeting on April 25 was put off and Chacko had indicated he would announce the new date for the meeting to be held later this week. However, Opposition members maintain that they cannot attend a meeting chaired by Chacko with one member insisting that they would oppose any extension of time without the change of Chairman. While respective Houses elect members to the JPC, the Chairman is nominated by the Speaker. Sources in the Congress said talks were on to find a way out as the Samajwadi Party has indicated that it will go with the Opposition rather than the government on the issue. Chacko has also expressed willingness to consider amendments to controversial aspects of the draft report that gave a clean chit to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. He said amendments could be considered if Opposition members were able to convince him through discussion about anything wrong in the draft instead of indulging in politics. FINDING A WAY OUT The tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G Spectrum allocation is due to expire on May 10 15 members from the Opposition are demanding removal of JPC Chairman PC Chacko and have rejected the panel report The government will have to find a way out as the tenure of the panel cannot be allowed to lapse without any conclusion in the form of an acceptable report Moreover, an extension to the panel at this juncture can become a contentious issue
	New Bill to deal with chit funds kicks up row in WB Kolkata, April 29 The new Bill to be moved by the Mamata Banerjee government tomorrow following the chit fund scam by the Saradha Group has kicked off a row with the Opposition claiming that it is similar to the one passed during the previous Left Front regime. "There is 90 per cent similarity between the two Bills. Then what is the need for this new Bill needs to clarified. Why is the old bill being called back?" asked senior CPM leader Surya Kanta Mishra, who is also the Leader of the Opposition. "Under which clause of the Constitution have they called back the Bill needs to be answered. They can't just bulldoze the demand of the Opposition," he said. Congress leader Manas Bhuinya claimed that 98 per cent of the contents of the new Bill are similar to the provisions of the previous Bill. If implemented, the Bill would have no power to punish offenders, he claimed. The ruling Trinamool Congress countered that the Left Front too did not bother to call back a 2003 Bill on curbing chit funds when a new Bill was introduced in 2009. Industries minister and deputy leader of the House Partha Chatterjee said the Left Front also did not bother to get presidential assent after the Bill was passed in the Assembly in 2009. "What were they doing all these years? Why didn't they get presidential assent when the Bill was passed in 2009? Did they call back the previous Bill of 2003 before passing a new Bill in 2009?" asked Chatterjee. "They will get all the answers tomorrow," he said. The West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill, 2013 will be introduced tomorrow. It will replace the earlier West Bengal Protection of Depositors Interest Bill 2009 introduced by the previous Left Front government on December 22, 2009. Copies of the Bill were circulated among the members on the first day of the 2-day special session of the Assembly today. Government chief whip Sobhandev Chattopadhyay told reporters that there would be a three-hour discussion on the Bill. The Industry minister said a whip has been issued to all TMC members to be present in the Assembly from 10.00 am. — PTI Saradha Group is not a Chit Fund firm: CFAI New Delhi: Objecting to the use of the word 'Chit Fund' in multi-crore Saradha Group financial fraud, the industry body CFAI on Monday said none of the entities of the Kolkata-based group was operating as a registered chit fund. "The failure of some multi-level marketing or a ponzi scheme is explained as failure of a Chit Fund company. This is totally unfair," All India Association of Chit Funds general secretary TS Sivaramakrishnan said.
	TMC MP Kunal Ghosh summoned for interrogation Kolkata, April 29 Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh, against whom Saradha Group CMD Sudipta Sen has levelled allegations in a letter to the CBI, was today summoned by the police for questioning. Ghosh, who was summoned by the Bidhannagar city police investigating the case, told reporters that Deputy Commissioner (Detective Department) Arnab Ghosh rang him up and wanted to talk to him. "He wanted to talk to me and I have come," the TMC MP said. Earlier in the day, Ghosh said he was ready to face any inquiry and requested the police to give him a hearing. "I have requested the police to talk to me and give me a hearing. I am ready to cooperate and face any inquiry," Ghosh said. Ghosh said false propaganda has been launched against him over the issue. In his letter to the CBI, Sen had accused Ghosh of forcing him to sign some documents and letters for sale of a news TV channel to him, an allegation denied by the TMC MP. An FIR had been filed against Ghosh by employees of closed Bengali daily 'Sakalbela' for non-payment of salaries and another by employees of Channel 10, a television channel, for a similar reason. — PTI
	Govt: Coal imports to continue till 2017 Girja Shankar Kaura/TNS New Delhi, April 29 Even as the government today said that effort were underway to improve the domestic coal production, the country would have to bank on imports even till 2017 to meet shortages in the wake of lower in-house mining. Already facing heat on the coal mines allocation and the loss to the exchequer as a result of delay in developing these coal blocks around the country, the government today said, “It is estimated that there will remain a gap between demand and domestic production even by the terminal year of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) which will need to be met through imports”. India has already imported 110.42 million tonnes of coal during April-January 2013. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Coal Pratik Prakashbabu Patil said the country imported 110.42 MT of coal, mainly from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and US, between April 2012 and January 2013 period. The government is facing major heat from both the opposition parties as well as the Supreme Court over the coal block allocation scam report with the CBI filing an affidavit with the apex court, in which agency's director Ranjit Sinha had said that the draft report was shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, a charge the Congress has been rejecting. The director has also said the draft of the report was even shared with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Coal Ministry officials. “I submit that the draft of the same was shared with the Law Minister as desired by him prior to its submission before the Supreme Court. It was also shared with one joint secretary level officer each of Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Coal as desired by them,” the affidavit said. In March, the probe agency had said in its status report that many companies were given coal blocks through false representations and that there was no rationale for allocation of the blocks. The Supreme Court had ordered the CBI not to share the report with the government. It has also asked the Centre to explain why a small group of companies were favoured. In his reply, the minister said the total production of coal in the country during the last fiscal was 557.5 MT, adding that coal which is under open general licence can be imported at prevailing international prices by anyone through paying the applicable import duty.
	SC seeks CBI's reply on Jagan’s bail plea New Delhi, April 29 The Supreme Court today issued notice to the CBI seeking its response on the bail plea of YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy in a disproportionate assets case. A bench headed by Justice P Sathasivam asked the agency to file its response and posted the case for hearing on May 6. Jaganmohan has moved the apex court challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court's January 24 order refusing to grant him bail in the case. Jaganmohan, who was arrested on May 27, last year by CBI on corruption charges, is presently under judicial custody and is lodged at the Chanchalguda Central Prison in Hyderabad. In October last year, the apex court had dismissed Reddy's bail plea in the case. While dismissing the bail application, the apex court had said that the petitioner was open to renew his bail before the trial court "on completion of the investigation by CBI" on certain aspects. The CBI has filed several charge sheets against Jaganmohan, an MP from Kadapa, and others. It has accused him and his late father of hatching a conspiracy to defraud the government. — PTI
	‘Net’ love may cost three Navy officers their job Discussed defence-related issues on social media Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 29 A love for posting their latest pictures and discussing sensitive defence-related issues on social networking sites has landed three Navy officers in the soup. The Navy Board of Inquiry (BoI) has recommended termination of their services. Another officer accused of similar acts is being censured by the Navy Chief. They will lose their jobs once the Ministry of Defence okays the board findings. All four were found blameworthy of posting secret information on social networking sites in September 2011. The MoD has informed the parliamentary standing committee about the action on these four officers, which in turn, released its report today. The three officers to be terminated occupy important posts at sensitive locations. Two of them are Commander-level (equal to Lt Colonel of the Army) and one is a Lt Commander. As each one of them has put in nine to 14 years of service, all of them are well aware of the ban on posting comments and their own pictures that revealed locations, on networking sites. One of them is posted on sea-borne aircraft carrier INS Viraat, while the other two are posted in the Western Naval Command. The carrier is at present undergoing a re-fit at Kochi. A BoI proceedings were conducted at the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command (WNC). Before ordering an inquiry, the four officers were tracked on social networking sites and allegedly found to be posting confidential information, including location of warships, armaments being carried by them and their patrolling patterns. Over the past few years, the armed forces have been issuing regular circulars, asking officers not to post service-related matters on social networking websites like Facebook and Orkut. The officers cannot even reveal their ranks or the city where they work while posting pictures of weaponry, missiles, aircraft, warships and submarines. Posting information about patrolling duties is a strict no-no. The MoD also informed the committee that an officer of the rank of commodore was found in a compromising position with a Russian woman and after being found culpable by a one-man inquiry, his services were terminated in April 2011. The ministry said “moral turpitude and temptation to misappropriate public funds for personal gains” were the primary reasons behind cases of indiscipline in the Navy. FINDING A WAY OUT The tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G Spectrum allocation is due to expire on May 10 15 members from the Opposition are demanding removal of JPC Chairman PC Chacko and have rejected the panel report The government will have to find a way out as the tenure of the panel cannot be allowed to lapse without any conclusion in the form of an acceptable report Moreover, an extension to the panel at this juncture can become a contentious issue
	Azam blames Consulate officials, Khurshid for humiliation in US Shahira Naim/TNS Lucknow, April 29 Suspecting that a bewildered US government was attempting to make somebody pay for the Boston terrorist attack by detaining him at the Boston airport for 45 minutes, senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan did not even spare Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, charging him of being a part of the larger conspiracy. Returning from what he described as a “humiliating US trip”, Khan shared his anguish with mediapersons. "When I was in detention inside the airport, the Consulate General of India's protocol officials, who had come to receive me, behaved like complete strangers doing precious little to intervene,” he rued. According to the minister, during his 45-minute detention at the airport, the protocol officials failed to contact the New York Consul General. “I had to fend for myself as nobody spoke a single word to get me out of trouble,” alleged Khan. Describing India’s lodging of protest with the US as nothing more than a routine matter-of-fact statement by an external affairs official, Khan said no responsible person in the Congress-led US government cared to condemn the incident. Sharing his predicament in detail, he said after checking out from one of the immigration counters, the officer attending to visitors took his diplomatic passport and ushered him into an ante room where he was made to sit alone for a good 45 minutes. He was given no reply when he asked the reason for his detention. "I asked them ‘Are you suspecting me because of my being a Muslim’. I was singled out and made to sit while all others were cleared. I felt ashamed and humiliated. Barely 24 hours before leaving for the US, its Consulate had issued me a multiple-entry visa for 10 years. My question is did they do so without checking my background? They also gave a 10-year multiple-entry visa to my wife and children." "When after 45 minutes, the officers returned my passport and allowed me to leave, I was adamant to know why I had been detained in the first place. They then maltreated and insulted me,” alleged Khan.
	List efforts made to trace 5-year-old gang-rape victim: SC to Delhi Police Legal Correspondent New Delhi, April 29 The Supreme Court today directed the Delhi Police to file an affidavit on the efforts it had made to trace a five-year-old girl who was subsequently found gang raped by two men. A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir refused to accept a chart given by Additional Solicitor General Sidharth Luthra showing the action taken by the police on the complaint lodged by the child’s parents on April 15. The ASG said the parents had found the girl missing at 6 pm on April 15 and approached the police at 8.30 pm, following which a first information report (FIR) was registered at 10 pm and a message was posted on the Delhi Police website before launching the search operation. Unconvinced, the Bench asked the police to provide the details on an affidavit. The Bench was hearing a petition by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, seeking action against the police for committing contempt of court. The Supreme Court had in a judgment directed the police across the country to immediately register FIRs on complaints about missing children, but the Delhi Police had initially refused to register an FIR in this case, the petition said. Even after registering the FIR, the police did not make any effort to trace the child which was subsequently traced by her parents on April 17 and taken to hospital for treatment, senior counsel HS Phoolka told the court. Doctors had to operate her for taking out the candles and a bottle inserted into her.
	Special focus on immunisation in high-risk areas Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 29 To create awareness on the urgency to vaccinate every eligible child and intensify efforts to improve routine immunisation coverage, the government today launched special immunisation weeks. Four weeks, with one week each in the months of May, June, July and August, will be used to hold special immunisation sessions in the high-risk areas across the country. Each year, full immunisation prevents approximately 4 lakh under-five deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases in India. But close to 75 lakh children every year miss the benefits of childhood vaccinations. A majority of those missing the opportunity are from marginalised populations. Being unvaccinated keeps them at highest risk of catching life-threatening childhood diseases. Globally, every fifth child is unimmunised. “The special immunisation week is an opportunity to reinforce India’s call to action for child survival and development,” Anuradha Gupta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health said while launching a new communication campaign today.
	Telangana stir: 5 Cong MPs on 48-hour sit-in at Parliament gate New Delhi, April 29 In an embarrassment to the Congress, five party MPs from Telangana today launched a 48-hour sit-in at the main gate of Parliament against non-fulfilment of the promise by the UPA government to create a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh. The MPs, clad in white kurta-pyjamas, carried placards which read -- "48 hours diksha for achieving Telangana" and "Give Telangana and Save Democracy". The five MPs are Gutha Sukhender Reddy, Manda Jagannatham, Ponnam Prabhakar, G Vivekananda and Siricilla Rajaiah. — PTI
	Restaurant stir: Mumbaiites forced to eat street food Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, April 29 Lakhs of Mumbaiites who patronise restaurants for their daily meals have been forced to depend on street food after eating houses across the city went on a day's strike today to protest higher service tax on air-conditioned establishments. “Restaurants, bars, small joints which sell lassi and snacks have all joined the day-long strike,” Arvind Shetty, president, Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) said late afternoon. According to the organisation, nearly 20,000 joints across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai downed their shutters today. Across business centres in Mumbai like Churchgate, Nariman Point, Worli, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Malad and other places office-goers thronged street food sellers dishing out inexpensive food. A few stalls licensed by the government to sell low-priced food to working class people saw huge crowds of white-collared people during lunch time. Though the AHAR had announced the day-long strike several days ago, many people were still unaware and showed up at their favourite eateries only to be turned away. Restaurant-owners in Mumbai said the tax on air-conditioned eating joints will be applicable even to customers who eat at the non air-conditioned area as well. “We are already paying 12.5 per cent Value Added Tax. In addition we have to levy an additional 12.63 per cent on 40 per cent of the total bill as service tax from April 1 this year,” Shetty said. Representations to the authorities have gone unheeded, according to the AHAR. Most of the restaurants in Mumbai are small establishments, a portion of which is air-conditioned, the association said. According to Shetty, many restaurants are dismantling the ACs since the section was needed only for a few hours every day. “As it is apart from higher taxes our expenses on raw materials and labour have increased forcing us to raise prices. Many customers are forced to eat unhygienic food from roadside vendors because of this,” Shetty said. Rising costs have forced several established restaurants in Mumbai to close down in the past few years. In the last two years alone more than 125 restaurants have shut down with their owners preferring to rent out their premises to banks and other businesses.
	Forensic labs to be upgraded; new units to come up at regional levels Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 29 To strengthen the forensic examination capability in the country to meet the demands of the criminal justice system, the existing central forensic science laboratories (CFSL) are being upgraded, while new forensic units are being set up at regional levels. The Directorate of Forensic Science and Services (DFSS) in the Ministry of Home Affairs has drawn up a proposal to network forensic laboratories in the country and create a DNA database. A Forensic Science Development Regulatory Authority for regulation, standardisation and accreditation of forensic science services, and certification of forensic science practitioners, is on the cards. At present, the CFSL at New Delhi, which is a part of the Central Bureau of Investigation, houses the only DNA repository in south and south-east Asia. The CFSL- Chandigarh specialises in physical sciences, while Kolkata and Hyderabad labs specialise in biological sciences and chemical sciences, respectively. Three new CFSLs have come up in Pune, Bhopal and Guwahati, but they are yet to get their own premises and are functioning from rented accommodation. There has apparently been some delay in the acquisition of land from state governments due to the procedures involved. The DFSS is also working towards establishing regional forensic science laboratories (RFSL) and district mobile forensic units (DMFU). In the 11th Five-Year Plan, a provision of Rs 100 crore was made to set up six RFSLs and 52 DMFUs, but due to paucity of funds the scheme was left in the doldrums. These labs and units would be in addition to the 29 state forensic science laboratories and 144 district forensic science laboratories functioning under the state and local authorities.
	Mumbai engineer goes missing in Afghanistan Shiv Kumar/ TNS Mumbai, April 29 Hamid Ansari, a 27-year old engineer from Mumbai who went for a job interview in Afghanistan in November last, has since been missing. With no news from him, Ansari's distraught family has sought help from his friends on Facebook and non-government organisations in Pakistan where he is believed to have last seen. According to local MP Gurudas Kamat, Ansari hails from a well-to-do family. His father is a banker while his mother teaches in a college. Kamat has sought the help of Union Minister Salman Kurshid to trace Ansari. After Hamid's disappearance, his family attempted to get in touch with his friends on Facebook. “We were told that some of his friends from the Rotary Club helped Hamid enter Pakistan via Jalalabad,” his father Nihal told reporters here. Apparently, Hamid had met a girl from Pakistan on Facebook who was being forcibly married off by her relatives and needed help to escape, his father said. The family reached a dead-end afterwards and attempts to trace him via the Rotary Club have since failed.