The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Modi tears into PM’s speech Manas Dasgupta Ahmedabad, August 16 Projecting himself as the “future” Prime Minister, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi lambasted the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for India’s “very weak and feeble” response to the provocations by its neighbours Pakistan and China. Modi went beyond the realm of a state chief minister in his hour-long Independence Day address on the Lalan College campus in Bhuj yesterday by targeting the Manmohan Singh government’s policy on foreign affairs, economics and internal security. But he repeatedly praised President Pranab Mukherjee for voicing concern over the present state of affairs in the country.
	Congress hits back Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 16 A day after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi challenged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to a debate on development, Congress leaders today queued up to take on the BJP poster boy saying he was “fumbling for his place in the big, wide world”. While External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, in Dehradun today to review relief and rehabilitation progress post-Uttrakhand floods, compared Modi to a proverbial frog which is just out of the well and is looking for his space in the world, Congress general secretaries back in Delhi Digvijay Singh and Shakeel Ahmad took on Modi for undermining the significance of Independence Day by launching a personal attack on the PM.
	SC rejects PIL seeking Durga’s reinstatement New Delhi, August 16 The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a PIL seeking reinstatement of suspended IAS officer Durga Sakhti Nagpal, who had cracked down on illegal sand mining in Uttar Pradesh. Questioning the locus standi of a lawyer who filed the PIL, a Bench headed by Justice HL Dattu dismissed the plea and said it might entertain it if Nagpal approached the court. The Bench further said the officer could take care of herself and approach the other authorities, including a court, against her suspension order. “The moment she approaches the court, we will hear her plea and we may pass an interim order,” it said. The court dismissed the petition filed by lawyer ML Sharma, who had sought quashing of all proceedings against Nagpal for allegedly demolishing the wall of a mosque. The PIL had said the suspension was "unconstitutional, arbitrary and lowered the constitutional system". — PTI
	SC to hear review plea on barring lawmakers New Delhi, August 16 The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea filed by the Centre and other political parties seeking a review of its two landmark judgments disqualifying MPs and MLAs on being convicted and debarring arrested persons from contesting elections. A Bench decided to hear the review plea, which is normally decided by judges in chamber, in open court and posted the matter for hearing on September 4. “The language of order XL rule 3 of part VIII of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966 makes it clear that an application for review shall be disposed of by circulation without any oral arguments ‘unless otherwise ordered by the court’. The court is of the opinion that it should hear the oral arguments before passing any order on the applications for review," it said. — PTI
	Centre to explore feasibility of legislation to curb Ponzi schemes Saurabh Malik/TNS Chandigarh, August 16 Almost a century after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi came out with a fraudulent investment scheme in the US, the Centre has assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the feasibility of enacting a legislation to curtail the operation of Ponzi schemes in the country would be explored. For the purpose, the Centre has sought three months. The Enforcement Directorate has undertaken that there would be no laxity in taking the investigation to its logical end. It has sought six months to conclude the probe. A “con artist” in the US and Canada, Ponzi would promise clients 50 per cent profit within 45 days, or 100 per cent profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the United States as a form of arbitrage. A Ponzi scheme pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organisation running the operation. The fraudulent investment operation usually entices new investors by offering higher returns than other investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. Perpetuation of the high returns requires an ever-increasing flow of money from new investors to keep the scheme going. In this part of the region, one of three FIRs initially lodged in Haryana has been compromised. In Punjab also, FIRs have been registered. In Chandigarh, investigation is in progress in the sole FIR. Most people connected with the scheme “seem to have vanished and left the country as the schemes appear to have been formulated and implemented in Malaysia”. Interpol is tracking them down. Referring to a status-report by the Enforcement Directorate, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih observed 140 investors claimed investments of approximately Rs 2,07,14,750. The Bench added: “Greed and lure to make quick money disproportionate to any known business system made people invest in Ponzi schemes. This petition is filed by such investors who now fear that all their money is lost and the money laundered away”. Disposing of the petition by Sanjeev Sharma and others, the Bench observed: “Counsel for the Union of India states that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been issuing advisories…, but possibly the greed of people gets the better of them.”
	Khurshid rules out talk with Pakistan Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 16 Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today ruled out any diplomatic talks with Pakistan until the situation between the two countries normalises. "The time is not right for talks. Let us solve the problem first. Our jawans were attacked on the border and five of them were martyred. There is no point in talking. There are certain ground rules for dialogue. If the rules break, the dialogue becomes difficult. When we resume the talks, the decision would be taken in the interest of the country," said Salman Khurshid while responding to a question on the offer made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for talks. On the issue of repeated violations by Pakistani and Chinese troops, Khurshid said there was no need to overly get concerned with the activities on the border. "We have faith in our armed forces, they take operational decisions while the government takes policy decisions. Besides, there is an institutionalised system of taking up the issue at the level of the Director General Military Operations (DGMOS) of the neighbouring countries. If the Army receives any reports of troop movement and the LOC violation, we lodge our protest and have ensured the matter ends in the interest of the country," he said. Khurshid, who was in Dehradun to hold discussions on the rebuilding and rehabilitation exercise underway in the state, took a dig at Gujarat Chief Minister Narinder Modi and likened him to a frog that had just jumped out of a well and had paused to look here and there.
	Sindhurakshak sinking Bodies of five sailors found Shiv Kumar/Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service Mumbai/New Delhi, August 16 The bodies of the 18 sailors, including three officers, trapped inside INS Sindhurakshak, the submarine which sank at Mumbai's naval dockyard following multiple explosions on Wednesday, have been burnt beyond recognition. In a statement released this afternoon, the Indian Navy said that three bodies were pulled out from the second compartment of the submarine which naval divers reached after 60 hours of effort. "The bodies are severely disfigured and not identifiable due to severe burns. The bodies have been sent to INHS Asvini, the naval hospital, for possible DNA identification. This is likely to take some more time," the Indian Navy said. Later in the afternoon, officials said the remains of two more sailors have been recovered from the sunken submarine. According to the Navy, divers have been working in difficult conditions to enter INS Sindhurakshak. "The boiling waters inside the submarine prevented any entry till noon of August 14. Access to the inner compartments of the submarine was made almost impossible due to jammed doors and hatches, distorted ladders, oily and muddy waters inside the submerged submarine. These resulted in total darkness and nil visibility within the submarine even with high power underwater lamps," the naval statement said. Adding to the divers' misery were twisted metal and material dislodged inside the submarine following the blast. A naval spokesman added that the possibility of torpedoes and missiles going off during the search operations also posed a danger to the divers. The Indian Navy went on to say that chances of finding survivors were remote as the extreme heat caused by the explosions that melted steel would have incinerated the crew inside as well. The intensity of the explosions on the submarine was such that the Navy has lost hope of finding all the bodies. The worst-hit part is totally inaccessible. The extensive damage around the control room area makes the chances of locating bodies in the forward part of the submarine very remote, said the Navy spokesperson. Naval officials said the search inside the submarine would continue till all its four compartments were searched. Rescue op Bodies have been burnt beyond recognition DNA test to determine identity of sailors Chances of finding survivors remote: Navy Search to continue till all four compartments are looked into
	Amritsar navy man’s family in shock Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 16 Today is the birthday of Atul Sharma, an Indian Navy sailor who was on board INS Sindhurakshak on the ill-fated morning of August 14. But shock has wiped away all signs of celebration. At Atul’s Batala Road residence here, family members —hoping for some good news — have been glued to the television ever since the news of the explosions on the submarine came in. Atul’s cousin Sandeep Kumar said the sailor’s younger brother has already rushed to Mumbai. The family hails from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. It was based in Amritsar as Atul’s father Hemraj Sharma was a teacher in Hindu Sabha School here. Sushma Sharma, Atul’s mother, said he always wanted to join the Navy and he was elated when he joined it in 2010.
	No going back on Telangana: UPA Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, August 16 In the midst of continued turmoil in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh, the UPA leadership has made it clear that there will be no going back on its decision to carve out separate Telangana state. The position was clarified by the four-member high-powered Congress committee, headed by the Defence Minister AK Antony, during its meeting with a delegation of union ministers and MPs from Seemandhra. The committee, constituted to address the concerns of the people of Seemandhra, told the delegation the process of bifurcation was now irreversible and advised them to accept the reality. The Seemandhra leaders were, however, free to raise the specific issues confronting the people of their region but should not oppose the state’s division per se or seek suspension of the process. A delegation of nine Union Ministers and a couple of MPs from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions placed their views before the Antony committee and sought justice for the people of the two regions following the decision on formation of Telangana state. The delegation, led by Union Tourism Minister and actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, reportedly informed the committee about the various issues that would crop up post-division of the state, including river water and power sharing disputes and the future of Hyderabad. The delegation also impressed upon the committee the damage being caused to the party’s image in Seemandhra, as the two regions are jointly referred, following bifurcation of AP. Other Union Ministers in the delegation included MM Pallam Raju, D Purandeswari, K Sambasiva Rao, JD Seelam, K Suryaprakash Reddy, K Krupa Rani and V Kishore Chandra Deo. “The committee has taken note of their concerns. The others who could not meet the committee now can air their opinions during its next meeting on August 19 and 20,” the Congress General Secretary in-charge of AP Digvijay Singh said. He, however, firmly ruled out any rethink on the decision of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to grant statehood for Telangana region, comprising 10 out of the total 23 districts, with Hyderabad as the common capital for a period of 10 years after which it would be the permanent capital of Telangana state. Chiranjeevi, who has been strongly advocating for Union Territory status to Hyderabad, said: “We have informed the committee about the seriousness of the agitation rocking Seemandhra and requested for equal justice to people on both sides of the divide.” Pallam Raju said that they had brought to the committee’s notice the desire of the people of Seemandhra to keep the state united. “We informed the committee that practical problems like government employees displacement and students’ issues will crop up if the state is divided,” he said. ‘Accept reality’ The position was clarified by a Congress panel during its meeting with a delegation of Union ministers and MPs from Seemandhra The committee told the delegation that the process of bifurcation was now irreversible and advised them to accept the reality The Seemandhra leaders were, however, free to raise the specific issues confronting the people of their region But they should not oppose the state’s division per se or seek suspension of the process