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Farooq in trouble for sexist remarks; tenders apology
Govt gives nod to rules for anti-sexual harassment law
law intern case
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CBI moves SC against Gauhati HC order
Nahid Siddiqui
Telangana: Andhra Cong leaders for joint struggle
chopper scam
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Farooq in trouble for sexist remarks; tenders apology
New Delhi, December 6 The National Conference patron came back later to apologise for the comments saying he had not meant what was deciphered of his comments. The apologies followed a series of reactions from political party leaders and activists, leader of the pack being Abdullah’s son Omar, the Chief Minister of J&K. Earlier in the day, Farooq had, while reacting to the recent cases of powerful men’s alleged sexual misconduct towards women, said, “I'm scared to talk to a woman these days. I don’t even want to keep a female secretary, who knows, I might end up in jail because of a complaint. No, I’m not blaming the girls, I am blaming the society itself.” The comments made outside Parliament triggered a storm with BJP’s Maneka Gandhi slamming Abdullah saying, “He had made a profession of taking everything lightly” and Smriti Irani expressing shock at the statement. Realising the possible consequences of his statement, Abdullah came back to say: “Things have gone haywire and people are scared now. No doubt, we are all against rape and anything which undermines the prestige of a woman. Women should get their respect. That’s why we’re fighting here (Parliament) also that you should get your 33 per cent reservation that is necessary, that bill should go through. If there is something I have said that has gone wrong I’m sorry, I never meant it that way. The question here is that one should be very careful in dealing with such things.”
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Govt gives nod to rules for anti-sexual harassment law
New Delhi, December 6 This provision has been detailed in the Rules for Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act 2013 which the Government approved today to bring to the eight month old law into force. Top sources in the Ministry of Women and Child Development told TNS that the Law Ministry had vetted the Rules and Minister for Women Krishna Tirath had signed them. “Rules will be notified early next week putting the law into force,” a senior official said. The rules explain employers’ responsibilities topmost being the establishment of internal complaints committees in all branches employing 10 or more persons. A workplace means all private, government, trust, NGO, political party offices that are registered. Each workplace must have in place a four -member committee soon as the law comes into force. A senior woman member of the organisation has to head the committee; one of the four members has to be an NGO representative whom the employer has to pay Rs 250 per committee sitting. The rules clarify that all proceedings in the sexual harassment case would be “confidential and exempted from the Right to Information law”. To ensure victim protection, the rules add, “The complaints committees shall ensure that face to face encounter between the complainant and the respondent is avoided, except in the case of conciliation.” Legal representation would not be allowed to either side which must argue their cases themselves. For the first time since the President gave his assent to the law this April, the rules clarify that while the victim can opt for conciliation before complaining to the committee, money exchange cannot be the basis for such settlement. Only a verbal apology or a bond of good conduct can become the basis for settlement. “If a request for conciliation is made the committee will, within a week, convene a meeting with the complainant to ensure she hasn’t sought settlement under coercion or threat. It will then appoint representatives of each party to complete the settlement process within 40 days of the receipt of the victim’s request,” the rules state. The rules further clarify that an employer must ensure all vacancies in the committees are filled within a week. Further, the complaint committees will have the power to pass ex parte orders in case the victim or the harasser absent themselves from three consecutive meetings. “Ex parte decision can be taken after serving a 15 day notice to either side,” rules say.
Key provisions
* Victim can complain within 3 months of the incident; must present in triplicates to the committee - a narrative of the incident, documents, the list of witnesses *
Can't bring victim face to face with harasser * Guilty harasser can be terminated, censured, denied promotions, transferred, lose salary, asked to pay compensation *
Guilty employer can be fined Rs 50,000 and more upon repeated offences; can lose licence *
Employer must draft and disseminate anti sexual harassment policy * Committee will have powers of a civil court, can refuse witnesses if felt irrelevant to case
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law intern case
New Delhi, December 6 “We are yet to receive a response from her,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi District) S B S Tyagi. Earlier, S N Singh, a former Dean of Delhi University Faculty of Law, had lodged a complaint with Delhi Police, seeking the registration of an FIR on the victim’s allegations. In November, the police had sent an email to the victim following S N Singh’s complaint. “But she said that she will be appearing before the SC committee of three judges and so does not want to join a parallel investigation,” said police officers, who didn’t wish to be named. “The victim had given her statement to the SC committee. We don’t know what the victim had said to the committee nor has she come forward to us. We need her statement to corroborate what happened. We are awaiting a response from her. The case can only move forward if we have her statement,” said the officers. Although the SC’s ‘action taken report’ mentions unwelcome sexual behaviour allegedly by Ganguly, the officers said that they cannot register an FIR on merely this information. The woman had alleged that “for my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather”.
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CBI moves SC against Gauhati HC order
New Delhi, December 6 A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam today tagged the CBI’s appeal along with that of the DoPT and sought the response from one Navendra Kumar at whose instance the HC had delivered the verdict. The bench had stayed the HC verdict on November 9, observing that the ruling had created an extraordinary situation. Without taking names, it cited newspaper reports that said that the HC ruling had prompted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and former Union Telecom Minister A Raja to seek stay of the trial launched against them by the CBI in the 1984 riots case and the 2G scam respectively.
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Kathak ambassador from Pak
Amritsar, December 6 “Classical dance is the real heritage of the sub-continent and Kathak is the only dance form recognised in Pakistan. While India has recognised, respected and celebrated its heritage dance forms, Pakistan is still learning to appreciate its cultural identities,” says Siddiqui. An acclaimed dancer whose journey and passion towards Kathak began in the post-Partition Pakistan struggling to find its identity, Nahid trained under the aegis of renowned maestro Maharaj Ghulam Hussain and later Birju Maharaj. “I struggled and suffered a lot to get social acceptance for dance in Pakistan and pursue a passion that was branded wrong and discouraged by state. But I never gave up.” She was banned during the Zia regime, for pursuing Kathak and most of her productive and acclaimed years as a performer were spent abroad. With the past behind her, she is busy correcting the future face of Kathak in Pakistan. Her style brings elements of the Hindu mythology in her dance performances. She believes that anything beautiful belongs to everyone. “Dance has no boundaries and artistes are lucky to be the only channels to remove any barriers in creative exchange. Through teaching dance and educating citizens of my country about the classical forms of dance, I want to penetrate into the education system for the cause of Kathak,” she shares. Siddiqui runs a Kathak school in Lahore and has taken workshops in UK, India and many other countries to propagate the art. “The current generation of Kathak prodigies in Pakistan is still in a learning stage, unlike India where the prodigies and gharanas have achieved a cult status. I am looking forward for more support and collaborations with Indian counterparts to popularise this dance form in my home country,” she says. This is one of the reasons for her to participate at Saanjh. “I feel honoured to be a part of an initiative that brings the art to the purpose of promoting peace. I have known Faizan Peerzada for long and will always have the same verve towards the initiative as I have for my cause.”
In the spotlight
* Pakistani Kathak exponent Nahid Siddiqui learnt the art under the aegis of renowned maestro Maharaj Ghulam Hussain and later Birju Maharaj *
She struggled a lot to get social acceptance for dance which was branded wrong in Pakistan. She was banned during the Zia regime for pursuing Kathak and most of her productive years as a performer were spent abroad. *
Siddiqui runs a Kathak school in Lahore and has taken workshops in UK, India and many other countries to propagate the art
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Andhra Cong leaders join other parties
Hyderabad, December 6 A dozen ministers and nearly 20 MLCs and MLAs met CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy to chalk out the strategy in the wake of the Union Cabinet's approval for the draft AP Reorganisation Bill-2013. Congress leaders, sources said, suggested that a joint struggle be launched with other political parties which are opposing the state's division. The CM concurred and asked senior ministers and leaders to coordinate with other parties, sources said. Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi today asked Sonia Gandhi to see that his resignation, submitted earlier, is accepted. - PTI
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About his father’s comments, tweet-happy Omar said: “I’m sure the attempt wasn’t to trivialise important issue of women’s security so I hope dad apologises for the misplaced attempt at humour.”