The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	HP CM: Use tech to channelise youth energy Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 23 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today blamed “selfish forces” for fuelling disharmony. He said narrow-minded forces need to be thwarted with an iron hand to ensure peace and unity in the country. Speaking at a meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC) here, he said selfish forces were creating disharmony and conflict by causing fear, suspicion and hatred. “These anti-national forces need to be tackled jointly and earnestly,” the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said. Individuals, specially youth, must rise above self and contribute to nation-building, he said. “We need to come together to thwart narrow-minded forces with an iron hand to create peace and unity in our country”. The CM advocated the use of modern technology to educate and motivate the youth for undertaking constructive activities and wean them away from falling into the hands of communal forces so as to strengthen national unity and integrity.
	Punish guilty of 1984 riots: Punjab Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 23 Punjab today sought punishment for those guilty of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying the greatest confidence-building measure would be to ensure justice in the aftermath of communal violence. Though Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal skipped the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting, he was represented by state Information and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. “Failure to punish those guilty of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in the National Capital and rewarding killers with high offices was not the best way to promote peace, harmony and national integration,” Majithia said. The failure of the system to deliver justice even after 30 years had caused deep resentment and led to a dangerous alienation, he claimed. The NIC, which, by its very definition, was the perfect forum to bring about emotional integration of the people by assuaging their hurt sentiments, must discuss it, he said. In the past two years, hundreds of persons have been killed in communal clashes and thousands injured in almost 20 states, but no incident of communal violence had been recorded in Punjab, he said. Ten days ago, the Punjab Police unearthed a cross-border plot to target prominent Hindu leaders in the state, he said. Quoting from statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), he said Punjab accounted for only 1.33 per cent of the total incidents of crime against women reported in the country. He said 20 fast-track courts had been set up to ensure quick trial in such cases in the state. He also pointed out that Punjab had the highest percentage (32) of scheduled caste population. Seventeen special courts have been set up to hold trials under the SC/ST Act, 1989. Establishment of an SC and weaker section cell in the office of the ADGP (Crime) was another initiative of the state government.
	Hooda demands Rs 500 crore for Haryana Police Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 23 Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today suggested that the Central scheme of “mega city policing” must cover Gurgaon and Faridabad. Both these cities were urban continuation of the National Capital, Hooda argued. He demanded a special composite package of Rs 500 crore for the Haryana Police. This would ensure that the capability and technical competence of the state police in the National Capital Region (NCR) was brought on a par with that of the Delhi Police. Policing in Haryana required the same level of technology, per capita manpower, weaponry, mobility, training etc. as was available to the Delhi Police, he said. Referring to the communal situation in Haryana, Hooda expressed a firm resolve of the state government to meet the challenges of communalism and social divisiveness and to ensure peaceful environment for all. The CM said investigation of all offences related to atrocities on SCs/STs were being conducted by officers of the level of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and chargesheets were being filed in the competent courts of law within prescribed time limits. He expressed his commitment to ensuring complete safety and protection of women.
	Communal polarisation on the rise, says Omar Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, September 23 Warning the 147 member strong National Integration Council of more communal strife and polarisation ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked if he should call the BJP leaders recently wishing to visit riot-struck Kishtwar region of the state “communal tourists”. Omar was speaking at the 16th meeting of the NIC where he took a dig on BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for describing PM and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi’s recent visit to strife torn Muzaffarnagar in Western UP as “secular tourism”. By that logic, Omar asked if he should term as “communal tourism” the failed attempt of BJP leader Arun Jaitley to visit Kishtwar during the second week of August when a wave of communal tension swept the region threatening to engulf Jammu - something the state government prevented successfully. Omar said such kind of language (as used by Naqvi) did not help and leaders should be less hypocritical than they were. The CM, however, took a strong exception to communal strife in J&K and the northeast being dealt with separately in the NIC agenda papers prompting Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to promise rectification of the error the next time around.
	BJP, Congress slug it out over growth figures Vibha Sharma & Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 23 The BJP and Congress today slugged it out over Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s comparison of the country's growth rates during the UPA and NDA regimes, especially his tongue-in-cheek usage of “fake encounter” in his retaliatory statement to BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s yesterday’s observations on the issue. It all started with Chidambaram’s statement to counter Modi’s claim that India grew at 8.4 per cent under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. “Narendra Modi is reported to have said that the growth rate during the period of the Vajpayee government was 8.4 per cent. Nothing can be further from the truth,” the Finance Minister said. “The average for the six-year period was 6 per cent and the average for the last five years was 5.9 per cent. In contrast, the average for UPA-I was 8.4 per cent,” he asserted. “The average growth during NDA rule was 6 per cent and not 8.4 per cent,” Chidambaram said. He added, “I wonder why Narendra Modi should stage a fake encounter with facts. Ultimately, facts will prevail.” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad in turn called Chidambaram’s observations a “fake encounter of facts”. “You are being economical with the truth,” Prasad said while his senior colleague Yashwant Sinha accused Chidambaram of indulging in “terrorism with facts”. “Chidambaram is doing terrorism with facts. He has to answer why the growth rate has reduced. He is only comparing on averages. This is only jugglery of figures,” India’s former Finance Minister said. “During his earlier tenure too, the growth rate reduced. Can Chidambaram explain why the growth rate today is 4.8 per cent?” Sinha asserted. Prasad quoted the Centre’s pre-Budget Economic Survey document to show that a growth rate of 8.8 per cent was achieved during the NDA regime and accused Chidambaram of “hiding in the law of averages to hide their weakness”. The Congress, which decided to counter Modi’s NDA and Gujarat success stories with facts and figures, accused the BJP’s PM candidate of indulging in false propaganda during his televised address to NRI Gujaratis on Sunday. Refuting Modi’s claims of the BJP-led NDA period being the golden era of the Indian economy, the Congress called it the worst period since the turn of the century. Party spokesperson PC Chacko said: “Mixing facts with fiction is the favourite pastime of the BJP. Since their PM candidate is spreading half-truths, the Congress wants to put the record straight. The fact is that the worst period since the turn of the century was the NDA period with the average growth rate of their five years being just 6 per cent and the growth at the turn of the century in 2002-03 being the lowest ever at 4 per cent.” The Congress also flayed Sinha for supporting “falsehoods” propagated by Modi. “The golden era of India’s economy was the UPA period. The average growth rate of UPA-I was 8.4 per cent and of the four years of UPA-II, it is 7.3 per cent. Even in the worst global recession, our growth rates did not fall below 5 per cent,” Chacko said. He also challenged Modi’s claims that the NDA period created the maximum jobs (6 crore) saying, “MNREGA alone generated 12.54 crore jobs in 2012-13.”
	Apex court tells govt: Don’t insist on Aadhaar for any service, subsidy R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 23 The Supreme Court today put on hold the government’s massive scheme linking the 12-digit unique identification number (UID) being issued to the 1.2 billion population under the Aadhaar card project to all services and subsidies. A Bench comprising Justices HL Dattu and SA Bobde passed an interim order directing the Centre and the state governments not to insist on the card for anything, be it for the newly-enacted Food Security Act, payment of salaries or subsidies, issue of driving licenses or marriage certificates, providing gas connections or scholarships, opening bank accounts or getting vehicles registered. The SC also asked authorities not to issue Aadhaar cards to illegal immigrants from other countries, including those from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and let them enjoy various financial benefits at the cost of the taxpayers’ money, besides posing a threat to national security. The apex court passed the order while hearing a PIL filed by Justice KS Puttaswamy, a retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, questioning the legality of the scheme in the absence of any statutory backing. The petitioner also contended that the scheme violated the people’s fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution as the applicants for the card had to part with their biometric details of fingerprints and iris. Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Anil Divan, assisted by advocate Ankit Goel, contended that the government was implementing the scheme despite the fact that a Parliamentary Standing Committee had rejected in 2011 the UID Authority of India Bill, introduced in the House by the Prime Minister. The government was still going ahead with the scheme under an executive order issued in January 2009, clarifying that it was purely voluntary but was actually making Aadhaar compulsory for everything. This was not done. Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran and Additional SG L Nageswara Rao pleaded with the Bench not to pass the interim order as the scheme was only optional, but to no avail. The SC has already issued notice to the government on the PIL seeking its response. The PIL petitioner contended that a host of services and benefits to which people were legally entitled could not be denied to them for want of UID or Aadhaar. The Bench admitted the petition for final hearing when it would go in all the aspects in detail. The court order * The Centre and state governments not to insist on the card for anything, be it for the newly-enacted Food Security Act, payment of salaries or subsidies, issue of driving licenses, marriage certificates or providing gas connections or scholarships * A retired judge of the Karnataka High Court has filed a PIL questioning the legality of the scheme in the absence of any statutory backing. * The petitioner contended that the scheme violated the people's fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution as the applicants for the card had to part with their biometric details of fingerprints and iris
	Delhi’s shame Produce the death-row convicts in court: HC Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 23 The Delhi High Court today directed the Tihar Jail authorities to produce in the court tomorrow the four death-row convicts in the case relating to the gruesome gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in a moving bus in December 2012. A Bench comprising Justices Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani said it wanted to ascertain from the convicts — Mukesh (26), Akshay Thakur (28), Pawan Gupta (19) and Vinay Sharma (20) — whether they would challenge the September 13 trial court verdict. After giving one month to the convicts for challenging its verdict, the special court has forwarded the matter to the HC for confirmation of the capital punishment. Prime accused Ram Singh (34) was found dead in Tihar Jail in March, while the sixth convict, a juvenile at the time of the crime, has been sentenced to the maximum permissible three years to be spent in a reformation home. The crime had stirred a nation-wide movement forcing the government to provide for speedy trial and deterrent punishment in rape cases.
	Judiciary has inadequate representation from OBC, women, SC/ST: Apex court R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 23 The Supreme Court today acknowledged that the judiciary has inadequate representation from women, Scheduled Castes or tribes, and other backward classes (OBCs) but made it clear that the problem could not be addressed through public interest litigation (PIL). A Bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and Vikramajit Sen made the remarks while rejecting a PIL plea for ensuring adequate selection of OBC lawyers in Andhra Pradesh for appointment as judges of that high court. The Bench, however, gave liberty to the petitioner, advocate Jella Lingaiah, to approach an appropriate forum seeking relief on the issue. The SC passed the order as the petitioner sought to withdraw the PIL and take up the plea with the state government and the Governor. In his petition, he had contended that 13 of the 14 advocates considered for appointment as Andhra HC judges during a particular period last year were from the forward classes. The SC Bench said only if the HC collegium comprising the Chief Justice and two senior most judges found suitable persons from among the SC/ST, OBC or women advocates would it recommend their appointment as judges. It pointed out that the trend was not restricted to Andhra Pradesh. Such classes had always "very less" representation in the HCs of Delhi and Punjab and Haryana for several decades now. The Bench also reasoned that offering quota to OBC advocates would result in similar demands from the minority and other communities.
	Certain J-K ministers paid by Army: Ex-chief VK Singh New Delhi, September 23 Under attack over reports that attempts were made to topple the Jammu and Kashmir Government during his tenure as Army Chief, retired Gen VK Singh tonight claimed that “certain ministers” in the state are given money by the army for "stability" and that this has been going on since Independence. Singh, who is in the eye of the storm over the charges, told TV channels that the accusations against him were false and motivated. “Army transfers money to all the ministers in J&K because there are various things to be done and ministers have to do so many things as part of the stabilising factor in the state and for organising various activities,” he said. Questioned whether all ministers are paid, he amended his statement, saying, “May be not all the ministers but certain ministers and people who are given a certain sum to get a particular thing done. That job involves bringing stability to a particular area.” — PTI
	Muzaffarnagar Mayhem UP CM’s uncle Shivpal booed at relief camps Tribune News Service Lucknow, September 23 The seething anger of the Muzaffarnagar riot victims against and the inaction of the ruling Samajwadi Party in relief and rehabilitation work was visible when they hooted a delegation of ministers led by PWD minister and Chief Minister’s uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav who today visited various relief camps in Muzaffanagar today. Landing at the helipad of Chandan Lal National Inter College, Yadav with five ministers in toe first visited the Eidgah camp where the delegation was greeted with angry anti-government slogans. A similar reception awaited the team at the Jogiakheda relief camp. The ministers’ team, however, assured the victims that the state government would not spare the guilty. The team included besides Yadav Labour minister Shahid Manzoor, minister of state for urban development Chittranjan Swaroop, minister of state for panchayati raj Kamal Akhtar, minister of state for programme implementation Ram Sakar Gujjar and Jat leader Chadhury Saheb Singh. The Bijnore police today arrested former Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA and minister in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s 2003 coalition government Swami Omvesh for delivering provocative speeches at the September 7 mahapanchayat. The Muzaffarnagar CJM court, meanwhile, rejected the bail application of Sardhana BJP MLA Sangeet Singh Som presently lodged in Urai jail. He was sent to judicial remand on September 21. In a related development, the state government today assured of taking action against the jail staff of Urai who reportedly welcomed the BJP MLA when he arrived there yesterday. State minister for prisons Rajendra Chowdhury today said there was no provision of saluting MLAs inside the jail. He said that there was no such protocol for MLAs inside the jail and the government would take this up. IG (Prison) RP Singh admitted that the matter had come to his notice and is being looked into. While BJP MLAs continued their agitation at district headquarters today against the arrest of their MLAs, the Peace Party staged a dharna outside the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow to lodge their protest at the state government’s handling of the riot. Meanwhile, BJP MP from Aonla, Maneka Gandhi, today launched a vitriolic attack on parliamentary affairs minister Mohammad Azam Khan holding him responsible for the Muzaffarnagar riots.
	VHP leader prevented from undertaking kosi yatra Tribune News Service Lucknow, September 23 VHP leader Ramvilas Vedanti was today prevented from undertaking the 5 kosi parikrama in Ayodhya which has prohibited by the Faizabad district administration fearing breach of peace. Protesting against the restriction, Vedanti today claimed that he would soon undertake the parikrama despite administration’s attempt to prevent him. The district administration has restrained the VHP’s recently announced 5-kosi parikrama beginning today and continuing till October 13 on grounds that it may vitiate peace and violate the SC stay order on Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case. However, the restriction is only for VHP and political mobilisations in the name of the parikrama. Individuals and common devotees carrying out rituals or the parikrama are free to do so.
	Jagan gets bail after 16 months Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, September 23 After spending nearly 16 months in jail in the alleged disproportionate assets case, YSR Congress president and MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was today granted conditional bail by the special CBI court here. The order came after the CBI, which probed the case, informed the court that it had completed the investigation according to the direction of the high court. The investigating agency told the court that it found no evidence for the quid pro quo charges with respect to eight private companies which were alleged to have made investments in Jagan's business ventures. The judge of the special court, Durga Prasada Rao, granted bail on the condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs 2 lakh each and asked the Kadapa MP not to leave the city without the court’s permission. He will be released from Chanchalguda central jail here tomorrow after submission of the sureties and completion of other formalities. Jagan was sent to jail on May 28 last year following his arrest by the CBI. The probe agency has filed 10 charge sheets in the high-profile case, naming over 70 persons as the accused, including four Congress ministers and several senior officials. The crux of the charges against Jagan is that he had misused the official position of his father and former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy during 2004-09 to attract investments into his business ventures in return for doling out favours such as land allotments, irrigation contracts and mining leases.