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SC rejects PIL against
Robert Vadra
Sahara is liable to return investors’ money, says SC
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PM: NDMA, other agencies were well-prepared to tackle Phailin
BJP complains to EC against Rahul
Prove your claim or take back ISI riot remarks: SP to Rahul
PM to share dias with Modi
Bandh hits normal life in Assam
2G: Karuna’s wife deposes
Kerala Govt mulls Z security for Chandy
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SC rejects PIL against Vadra, developers
New Delhi, October 28 “Why have you targeted only one person? Merely because he is related to a politician, he cannot be called a sinner,” the Bench remarked, pointing out that the PIL talked about licenses relating to 21,663 acres, but gave details of the deals relating to the companies owned by this individual. Sharma contended that former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai had ordered an audit of the licences given to Vadra, but his successor SK Sharma had on June 3, 2013 withdrawn this order at the instance of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s Principal Secretary (town and country planning). He pleaded with the court to quash the CAG’s order withdrawing the audit. The Bench, however, said it was not in a position to grant the relief as the petitioner had not even placed a copy of the order. “We don’t know whether such a letter was issued or not,” the SC said. When the petitioner contended that he was unable to get a copy as the Chief Minister was sitting over it, the Bench advised him to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court and tell the HC “that the CM is sitting over the file instead of his chair.”
No 'cheap' tactics
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"Why have you targeted only one person? Merely because he is related to a politician, he cannot be called a sinner," the Bench told Sharma *
The PIL sought a CBI probe into grant of licences to real estate companies, including that of Robert Vadra, by the Haryana Government during 2005-12
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Sahara is liable to return investors’ money, says SC
New Delhi, October 28 “If they (Sahara) don’t give the depositors’ money, you take their property,” a Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar told SEBI, represented in the court by senior counsel Arvind Datar. Sahara group chief Subrata Roy would not be allowed to leave the country without the court’s permission if the title deeds of the property were not given to SEBI within the deadline, the Bench made it clear. “We can’t trust you any longer. How much of hide-and-seek you will play? You have been driving everybody round the bend for so long,” the Bench told Roy, who was represented by senior counsel Aryaman Sundaram. The Bench passed the order as Datar contended that the group companies had been dodging the investors despite the SC verdicts directing them to return the deposits through SEBI.] The SC order has come on SEBI’s contempt petition against the Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation for non-refund of the deposits. SEBI said it received Rs 5,120 crore from the two companies on December 5, 2012 upon which the SC had directed them to deposit the balance Rs 17,400 crore along with 15 per cent interest in two instalments - Rs 10,000 crore by the first week of January 2013 and the balance in another month. Saharas “have willfully and deliberately failed” to deposit even the first instalment so far, SEBI said in its petition. “Rest assured that we will protect you if you give the money,” the Bench told the group and posted the next hearing for November 20. When SEBI expressed its reservation over the viability of recovering the deposits through the sale of property, the Bench said, “Everything will be done. You are underestimating the Supreme Court.” “Examine the title deeds and find out their worth. You can also examine how safe it is,” the Bench told Datar. Sahara said it would be finished if it had to pay Rs 19,000 crore in cash, nor were the banks willing to sanction loan.
'Hand over title deed of Rs 20k cr assets to SEBI'
* The SC directed the group to hand over within three weeks the original documents of its properties worth Rs 20,000 crore to market regulator SEBI as guarantee against the deposits it had collected from the public in the form of fully convertible debentures *
If they (Sahara) don't give the depositors' money, you take their property, a Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar told SEBI *
Sahara group chief Subrata Roy would not be allowed to leave the country without the court's permission if the title deeds of the property were not given to SEBI within the deadline, the Bench said
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Nitish went soft on terror for gains: BJP
New Delhi, October 28 Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who was also present at the Sunday rally, said intelligence agencies had "specifically warned" the Bihar Government of a possible strike when Modi visited Patna, contradicting the claims of Nitish Kumar that his government had received no warning either from the state or central intelligence agencies. Terming the attitude of the state government "casual and callous", Jaitley said the alert was specific enough to mention that Indian Mujahideen modules could organise strikes during Modi's rally. "Frisking of crowd and regulation of entry points was necessary. The very fact that explosives, detonators and timers had reached the rally venue established that these mandatory checks were not done," he said. "Some states want to be soft on terror for collateral benefits. Had we not instilled confidence in people by dismissing the sounds emanating from blasts as tyre bursts or bursting of crackers, there could have been a stampede, resulting in unimaginably frightening consequences," he added.
Went ahead with Rally despite threat
Cancelling the (Patna) rally would have encouraged terrorists and sent out a wrong message to the people. So, we decided to take a conscious risk of going to the dais and continuing the rally. The rest we left to our luck. — Arun Jaitley, BJP leader
Cong blames modi
Indirectly blaming BJP's PM nominee Narendra Modi for the Patna blasts, the Congress on Monday said his "utterances were vitiating the political atmosphere in the country and allowing disruptive forces to gain strength." "After his nomination, Modi has taken potshots at all political parties and spread hatred and suspicion by his utterances," said PC Chacko, Congress spokesperson.
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PM: NDMA, other agencies were well-prepared to tackle Phailin New Delhi, October 28 Chairing the fifth meeting of the NDMA here, the PM said the flood and rains in Uttarakhand that resulted in large-scale devastation had “tested the efficacy of our disaster response mechanism. There are important lessons to be learnt from the experience gained from the rescue and relief operations that were carried out.
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BJP complains to EC against Rahul
New Delhi, October 27 The memorandum submitted to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath sought withdrawal of recognition given to the Congress, besides demanding action against party's vice-president for violating the code. "It is respectfully prayed that an appropriate action may kindly be taken against the Indian National Congress and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi for violating the model code of conduct and the recognition of Indian National Congress as a national party may kindly be withdrawn immediately," the BJP memorandum said. "We have requested the Election Commission for lodging an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for violating the model code of conduct by giving speeches that incite communal hatred and tension between Hindu-Sikhs and Hindu-Muslims and make an appeal for votes in favour of Congress on communal lines," BJP's legal affairs cell chief Satya Pal Jain said, adding that they had also demanded that the election symbol of the Congress be frozen and the party de-recognised.
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Prove your claim or take back ISI riot remarks: SP to Rahul
Aligarh, October 28 "Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of the RSS. He should either provide evidence for his allegations or immediately withdraw his statement," Azam said at a gathering, which was also addressed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. In a public rally at Indore in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on October, Rahul had said that intelligence agencies in Pakistan were approaching some victims of Muzaffarnagar riots. He had said he was told by an intelligence official that intelligence agencies of Pakistan had established contact with a group of 10-15 Muslim youngsters, who had lost their kin in the riots. The Uttar Pradesh police had said it had no information about the claim but would verify it. Azam also attacked RSS, alleging that the organization was trying to fan hatred against Muslim community by spreading false propaganda. Azam, however, said "people should understand" that fascist forces, which cannot digest existence of a secular government, were behind them. — PTI
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PM to share dias with Modi
Ahmedabad, October 28 His sharing the dias with the Prime Minister was considered to be significant, though on a non-political issue. The Congress sources maintained that it was a mere protocol that Modi had been invited to share the dais with Singh and unless the Gujarat CM was over-enthusiastic and attempt to criticise the centre in his usual style irrespective of the occasion, the event was unlikely to generate any political controversy.
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Bandh hits normal life in Assam
Guwahati, October 28 The bandh called by AGP associates, including the Assam Kishan Parishad, Assam Yuva Parishad, Assam Mohila (Women) Parishad and Assam Shramik (Labourer) Parishad called for the 12-hour statewide bandh protesting the failure of the Congress government to check spiraling prices of essentials and deteriorating law and order situation in Assam where ‘incidents of extortion, abduction and murders’ have become order of the day. There has been rise in incidents of abduction for ransom in Assam with criminals capitalising on the troubled situation. According to official statistics, total 1422 persons were abducted in Assam till April this year while over 21,000 persons were abducted mostly for money during the last seven years.
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2G: Karuna’s wife deposes
Chennai, October 28 Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, MP, Managing Director of Kalaignar TV Sharad Kumar and Director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa, who are among the accused, appeared before CMM M Gopalan at the time of recording of Dayalu Ammal's statement. The CMM, who has been appointed as Commissioner by the Special Court, recorded the statements of the 85-year-old Dayalu Ammal at her Gopalapuram residence in a process that lasted about five hours. — PTI
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Kerala Govt mulls Z security for Chandy
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 28 It was proposed to provide 'Z' category security to Chandy, but a final decision in this regard would be taken only after consultation with the Chief Minister, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan told reporters here. "What happened during the CPI-led LDF Opposition protest was pre-planned as LDF volunteers were blocking Chandy's official engagements across the state for the past five months", he said. On the condition of Chandy, who was admitted to Medical College Hospital here, he said Chandy has a swelling in chest and he has to undergo a CT scan to find out whether any glass particles had pierced his forehead. — PTI
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Mining: Transparency in Peru
The word mining has acquired such connotations of coal and corruption in India that an Indian may be forgiven to ask: How do they do it in Peru where mining is the biggest economic activity followed by tourism? During an interaction with a select group of visiting journalists on Sunday night, Indian Ambassador Manpreet Vohra provided details of scam-free allocations of natural resources in Peru. Since Peru has rich reserves of silver, gold, copper and zinc, projects for mining are allocated (as was once done in India) and not auctioned. Information about greenfield mining projects is put on the official website with details of rates, location and minerals expected. Interested companies are offered the projects on the first-come, first-served basis. The process is transparent, though some day someone may draw some lessons from A Raja on how to alert the favourites in advance and do it from back date, if need be.
Income disparities
Though Peru is growing fast due to large foreign investments from the US, the European Union and China, a large section of people (27.8%) has got left behind. Income disparities are stark. On the one hand are large concrete towers indicating growth, on the other are ordinary people struggling for survival. Some 7.7% of the country's 29.7 million people are jobless. Working women wear jeans and tops like those in India and many look like Indian women, but English is their major handicap. There is no English newspaper available here and TV channels, barring BBC, CNN and Bloomberg, are in Latin American languages. Unlike Indians, local girls or boys find it tough to converse in English and visitors need translators to buy things or ask about life around. Since Peru had remained under Spanish rule for some 400 years, the Spanish as well as Western imprint on local culture is discernible.
It's coffee time
Latin America is the land of coffee, though some still fail to give up the habit for tea. In Peru, three kinds of coffee are made available in upmarket hotels. One, there is a decaffeinated variety, produced by using a European water-based process which, it is claimed, maintains the original aroma and flavour. Then there is the Incas coffee from a "sacred valley", which has passed from generation to generation and is cultivated in the traditional way, sun dried and milled. The third variety is organically cultivated to ensure biodiversity and in harmony with nature. It is grown beneath the soft shade of native species of trees.
Star attractions: Indian bikes, films
Indian motorcycles and three-wheelers are becoming popular in Peru. According to Ambassador Vohra, Bajaj Auto's bikes, particularly Pulsar, are very popular, though lately TVS Motors has also entered the market. Bollywood films are also becoming popular. A businessman from India enthusiastically narrated how a local taxi driver surprised him by asking, "Why did Nargis marry Sunil Dutt and not Raj Kapoor?" — Nirmal Sandhu
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that it could no way “escape” from the liability of returning the investors’ money and directed the group to hand over within three weeks the original documents of its properties worth Rs 20,000 crore to market regulator SEBI as guarantee against the deposits it had collected from the public in the form of fully convertible debentures.
