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Suspended IAS officer gets HC pat
Govt defends move to exempt political parties from RTI |
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ISRO to launch military satellite on August 29
People protest against the creation of Telangana state, in Tirupathi on Friday. — PTI
Cong appoints two IIT alumni as media coordinators
Bill to regulate surrogacy business soon
Gujaratis should quit Mumbai: Cong leader
Zee chief, editors chargesheeted Man robbed of Rs 66 lakh
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Suspended IAS officer gets HC pat
Lucknow, August 2 Hearing a PIL filed by social activist Nutan Thakur challenging the suspension of Nagpal, the Division Bench of Justice Devi Prasad Singh and Ashok Pal Singh have sought reports from both the state and Central governments regarding the case. “We feel that the officer Durga Shakti Nagpal bravely exercised her jurisdiction to seize 24 dumpers and stopped illegal mining in Noida. Fifteen alleged offenders have also been arrested. Special Flying Squads were formed by Durga to check the menace of illegal mining at Noida.” observed the order while asking the state government to file an affidavit within one week clarifying its position “with regard to illegal mining which was stopped by the officer concerned”. The court also wants to know from the state government “whether after her suspension and removal from Noida, further steps have been taken by the authorities posted there to check illegal mining…In case ecological balance is disturbed by illegal mining affecting the course of river, then of course, it is a matter of great concern not only for the government but also for the higher judiciary,” observed the court. The court has also sought information relating to the present case from the Central government. It has directed Assistant Solicitor General of India IH Farooqui to appraise the court regarding “any matter pending with the Government of India” relating to the present case during the next date, that is August 19. Refusing to interfere in the main plea of the PIL to order its revocation of the controversial suspension, the court stated: “However, for courts’ interference in such matters, it shall be necessary that the officer concerned should approach the court to ventilate her grievance.
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Got her shifted in 41
mins, brags SP leader
Lucknow, August 2 A video recording of a public meeting at Qadalpur village where the masjid wall was reportedly demolished was addressed by Bhatti on July 28, a day after the suspension which shows him using derogatory words to describe the woman IAS officer and how he called the SP national president and chief minister at 10.30 am and the suspension order was delivered at 11.11 am at the collector's office. Describing the feat as the "power of democracy", Bhatti said: "I spoke to Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav at 10.30 am and at 11 am the suspension order arrived... She behaved so badly and couldn't stand our muscle power for more than 40 minutes after that. Within 41 minutes, the written orders came from Lucknow and was delivered to the collector and she was also informed of her suspension" a visibly pleased Bhatti tells the small gathering. Bhatti, having interests in mining, is the chairman of the UP Agro Corporation holding cabinet rank in the UP government. Three-time MLA with a criminal background, he has already been declared the Samajwadi Party candidate from Gautam Buddha Nagar Parliament constituency for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. With the appearance of the video, the Opposition has mounted a concerted attack on the SP government for succumbing to the sand mining mafia and misleading the people on the real reasons for Nagpal's suspension. |
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Govt defends move to exempt political parties from RTI New Delhi, August 2 The Cabinet had approved an amendment to the RTI Act yesterday to thwart an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that political parties should come within the ambit of the transparency law. Section 2(h) of the RTI Act was proposed to be amended on the grounds that political parties were not public authorities and, hence, the law did not apply to them. Defending the move, Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal said here, “Political parties are not public authorities. A political party is a voluntary association of persons. People can join or leave a party. We get elected. We are not appointed like officials.” Sibal said political parties were only registered and recognised under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, adding that parties would not be able to function if they were brought under the RTI. “The Information Commissioners have held that we are an authority just because we are substantially funded. This premise, according to all political parties, is flawed... While we respect the Commission, we are also somewhat concerned,” Sibal said. He accepted that there was a need to bring about greater transparency in the functioning of political parties, but insisted that it could not be done through RTI.
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ISRO to launch military satellite on August 29
Bangalore, August 2 Understandably, ISRO is tightlipped about GSAT-7, the military satellite. It is, however, learnt that the satellite will primarily cater to the telecommunication requirements of the Indian Navy. The Navy will use GSAT-7 to communicate with its submarines, frigates, destroyers and aircraft from its centres on the shore. It will also have a follow up satellite, GSAT-7A, for the Indian Air Force. The 2550 kg satellite, which has already been shipped to the Arianespace’s spaceport at Kouru in French Guyana, has begun checkout to confirm its readiness with payloads in the UHF, S-band, C-band and Ku-bands. It utilises ISRO’s standard I-2K bus - the same as employed for the INSAT-3D satellite. The Indian satellite has been placed in the lower slot of the payload “stack” of Arianespace’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission. The other passenger of the launcher, EUTELSAT 25B/Es’hail, I, has been placed in the upper slot. This satellite - built by US-based Space Systems/Loral (SSL) - will secure Ku-band continuity for European telecommunications operator Eutelsat and additional Ku-band resources for Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, as well as initiate Ka-band capability to open business opportunities for the two operators. The launch of the GSAT-7 is expected to be preceded by the launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 (1,980 kg). This launch, by the ISRO’s own GSLV-D5 rocket powered by an indigenous cryogenic upper stage, is slated to take place from ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on August 19. From ISRO’s perspective, the August 19 launch is crucial. If ISRO can successfully master the cryogenic technology and put the 1980 kg GSAT-14 in the orbit with its heavy-lift GSLV (geosynchrnous satellite launch vehicle) rocket, it will not have to depend on foreign launchers anymore for lifting heavy satellites. The last two GSLV launches by ISRO, including one with a locally made cryogenic engine, were failures.
Telecommunication needs of Navy
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Army stages flag march in Assam
The police had to open fire to disperse a mob that set on fire a police outpost at Dongkamokam. Four persons, including KSA president L Engleng, were arrested by the police for their alleged involvement in instigating violence. State Parliamentary Secretary (Home) Atuwa Munda said two additional companies of paramilitary forces had been sent to the hill district, while the Centre had promised to send five more companies. Train services in the state were badly affected due to violence in Karbi Anglong hill district. The 12-hour "rail rook" agitation launched by the All-Bodo Students Union (ABSU) aggravated the situation further. A Northeast Frontier Railway spokesman said all long-distance trains, including the Rajdhani Express, had to be regulated because of the "rail rook" agitation while many others had to be cancelled. ABSU president Promod Bodo said Assam would have to be divided as Bodos this time would not rest till a separate state was formed. Life was also hit in Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Baksa and Nalbari districts in Western Assam due to the 36-hour bandh called by the All Koch-Rajbongshi Students Union (KRSU) demanding Kamatapur state.
The demands
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Home guard set afire, GJM
leader killed in Darjeeling
Darjeeling, August 2 The home guard was set on fire at Prakriyathong by 'miscreants' and was
hospitalised, police sources said. Suraj Tamang, a GJM trade union leader was found murdered at
Hebong, about 8 km from here. Police sources today said the body of Tamang had many wounds and he was probably killed last night. The exact cause of death would be ascertained at the postmortem examination, the sources said. The GJM leadership claimed that he was killed by the Trinamool Congress. A forest bungalow at
Takdha, where West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had put up during a visit to Darjeeling on January 9 this year was burnt down last night. A truck and an SUV were torched at
Mongpo, while disused police booths at Ranglirangliyat and Rangamancha were set ablaze last night, sources said.
— PTI
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Seemandhra on boil; protests continue
Hyderabad, August 2 Normal life in the two regions, jointly referred in the media as Seemandhra, remained paralysed as the shutdown continued for the third consecutive day. At some places, the protests turned violent with the agitators setting some vehicles on fire and attacking the public properties. The buses of the state-owned A P State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) remained off the roads while shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained shut. The students, government and private employees, workers, lawyers, as well as political activists irrespective of their affiliations, joined rallies. The protesters laid siege to the houses of several Central and state ministers, MPs and state legislators, demanding their resignations for the cause of united AP. At several places, they targeted the statues of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Two statues of Rajiv Gandhi were vandalised in West Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts. Anantapur town in Rayalaseema region remained tense for the third day in a row. The agitators torched two private buses. The protestors formed human chains, blocked road and rail traffic and burnt effigies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders. The “Samaikyandhra” activists damaged some vehicles at Dharmapuri in Vizianagaram district. Police baton charged the protestors, who went on a rampage. A car was set afire in Tirupati town. Buses going towards Tirumala temple were stopped, causing inconvenience to the pilgrims. In the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, state minister G Srinivasa Rao's house was surrounded by the students and employees who demanded his resignation. At Narsipatnam in the same district, the protestors laid siege to the house of state minister P Balaraju. Some students of Visakhapatnam-based Andhra University in Vishakhapatnam are on a hunger strike for the last four days. At Bapatla in Guntur district, the protestors laid siege to the house of the Union Minister Panabaka Lakshmi, demanding her resignation.
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Cong appoints two IIT alumni as media coordinators
New Delhi, August 2 The consequence of the move-Congress leaders can’t visit channels on their own or speak out of turn and channels can’t invite guests of their choice. Two posts of national media coordinators have been created for the purpose and in the hot seats will be SV Ramani and Deepak Amin, both pass outs from the premiere Indian Institutes of Technology and formerly with the Congress’ think tank -- the Department of Policy Planning and Coordination (DEPPCO). While Ramani rose up the party ranks from NSUI and hails from Madras, Amin comes from Narendra Modi’s Gujarat and dares anyone to prove that the state has developed, literally. Amin, a software engineer, was lead in the team that developed the Internet Explorer software in the 1990s. He graduated in computer science from IIT Bombay, had a software firm and later joined the Congress.
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Bill to regulate surrogacy business soon
New Delhi, August 2
Holding that the Bill is a comprehensive legislation framed after discussions with all stakeholders and which takes care of the interests of the woman and child during surrogacy, the Department of Health Research in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare wants the legislation enacted soon.
Besides framing regulations for surrogacy, the draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill circulated to various ministries seeks to regulate the ART clinics and banks across the country and proposes to set up a national registry for them which will be a central data bank.
The Department has called for early enactment of the Bill saying a lot of time has gone into holding of discussions and seeking of suggestions from various stakeholders.
— PTI
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Gujaratis should quit Mumbai: Cong leader
Mumbai, August 2 "They live and earn their livelihood in this city, but praise Modi and Gujarat's development model. Such people should leave Mumbai and move to Gujarat," Rane said in a message on social networking site Twitter. Rane's latest remarks come in a series of rants against Gujaratis eversince Modi was allegedly credited with rescuing 15,000 Gujaratis stranded in Uttarakhand. In another post Rane bluntly asked Gujaratis to quit Mumbai: "Modi ko bulao aur jaga khaali karo humare Marathis ke liye Mumbai ...." Rane's rant against Gujaratis come amidst allegations that the predominantly vegetarian community from the neighbouring state who are concentrated in different parts of Mumbai do not allow 'outsiders' to buy flats in their buildings. "Veg
skies, Veg hospitals, Veg housing societies.. soon Veg Mumbai! Either Gujjus go back to Gujarat or they turn Mumbai into
Gujarat.. Red alert!," Rane tweeted.
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While taking a serious view of the reportedly illegal mining in Noida, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court today did not interfere in the state government’s order suspending IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal on the ground that the aggrieved officer had not approached them directly.
Hearing a PIL filed by social activist Nutan Thakur challenging the
suspension of Nagpal, the Division Bench of Justice Devi Prasad Singh
and Ashok Pal Singh have sought reports from both the state and Central
governments regarding the case.
Renewed statehood movement by various tribal groups continued to singe Assam even today. Three persons were injured in police firing at Donkamokam in the violence-ravaged Karbi Anglog Hills district even as the Army staged a flag march in the curfew-bound Diphu town. A violent statehood movement has been launched by various Karbi tribe organisations under the aegis of the Karbi Students Association
(KSA).
Guwahati, August 2