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Caste-based quota to continue, says Sonia
Modi slams Third Front leaders, goes soft on Mamata in Kolkata
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Gogoi calls Modi dictator
Lokpal panel jurist: Sushma meets Prez
Binny withdraws support to Kejriwal government
Reply to PIL on foreign funding, HC tells AAP
Probe Ugandans’ sex trade claim: Bharti
Spending Rs 2-4 cr on media no big deal, says Beni Prasad
Maoists’ N-E link worries Gogoi
My buffaloes more famous than Queen Victoria: Azam
corruption cases
nido case Govt okays plan to boost farm services
War memorial stone laying to be grand affair
53 IAS officers shifted in UP
India eyes better ties as German Prez arrives
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shake hands with German President Joachim Gauck before a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Tech glitch: AI Dreamliner diverted to KL
vvip chopper deal
Chinese giant ‘hacks’ BSNL network
India, US to discuss diplomatic immunity
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Caste-based quota to continue, says Sonia
New Delhi, February 5
What Congress president said
She firmly distanced herself from yesterday’s remarks by Congress general secretary (organisation) Janardan Dwivedi who proposed de-linking of caste from reservations and advocated the need of quotas for the poor of all communities, upper castes and minorities. The remarks generated a furore with the caste-based parties SP, the BSP and the JD(U) today demanding a clarification from the government on whether it was considering changes in the current reservation policy of 15 pc for SCs, 7.5 pc for STs and 27 pc for the OBCs. But Sonia set the record straight saying, “The Congress is of the firm opinion that the reservations for SCs, STs and the OBCs must continue. In its 2009 LS election manifesto, the Congress had pledged to carve out a reservation for the economically weaker sections of all communities without prejudice to existing reservations for the SCs, STs and the OBCs. A dialogue on this has already been initiated.” Projecting the Congress as the “champion of reservations”, the Congress chief added that a national dialogue on affirmative action for SCs and STs in private sector has been started. “There should be no doubt or ambiguity on Congress’ stand on reservations for SCs, STs and the OBCs. These were introduced by the Congress, strengthened by the Congress and will continue to be championed by the Congress,” she asserted. |
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Modi slams Third Front leaders, goes soft on Mamata in Kolkata
Kolkata, January 5 Though Modi was severe in his criticism of the Congress, the CPM and other Left parties in his hour-long speech, he did not utter a word against Mamata Banerjee. Rather, he thanked people for electing Banerjee to power by ending the prolonged misrule of the CPM in Bengal. Alleging that the third front leaders were ignoring the real needs of people in the eastern and north-eastern regions, he said he would ensure overall development of the country. Modi requested people to give the BJP an opportunity to serve them better from the Centre. “If you support the BJP, you will get development benefits from me at the Centre and Mamata ji in the state. You can also enjoy a third benefit from President Pranabda, who has been your man,” Modi said. Asking people to elect maximum BJP candidates in the state, he said: “You have brought paribartan (change) in Bengal and now let there be another paribartan at the Centre.” He explained the roadmap of his future development plans and programmes in economic, industrial and social sectors where everybody would enjoy equal benefits. Modi said he would try to build a new India on the development model of Gujarat.
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Gogoi calls Modi dictator
Gogoi said Modi’s “dictatorial attitude” would do democracy and people of Assam no good. “Modi has turned the BJP to a one-man’s show by sidelining leaders such as LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley,” he said. Modi is scheduled to address a rally, as part of his all-India tour, in Guwahati on February 8. The Congress is planning to hold a massive rally for empowerment of youth and women on February 16 to counter Modi’s rally. He said Modi would sometimes go out to placate Muslims, while on other occasions he would do just the opposite to suit his opportunist
political agenda.
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Lokpal panel jurist: Sushma meets Prez
New Delhi, February 5 The BJP had recorded in writing its objection to the appointment of Supreme Court lawyer PP Rao as the member of the Lokpal selection committee. At a meeting on Monday evening, Sushma was outvoted 3:1 on Rao’s name. She described Rao as someone “too much identified with the Congress party”. The PM, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Justice HL Dattu (nominee of Chief Justice P Sathasivam) had voted in Rao’s favour. Sushma had suggested the names of former attorney general K Parasaran, former solicitor general Harish Salve and eminent jurist Fali Nariman for the panel. Under the Lokpal Law passed by Parliament in December, his team will be selected by a panel comprising the PM, Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI or his nominee and a fifth member - a jurist-selected by the four.
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Binny withdraws support to Kejriwal government
New Delhi, February 5
"Today I am writing to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung apprising him of my decision to withdraw support to Kejriwal government. Kejriwal is more dangerous than a corrupt person. He is telling lies and deceiving not only citizens of Delhi, but also people of the entire country," he said. Asked about Binny's decision, AAP made it clear that it will not have any impact on the government or the party. "The government nor the party will be affected by Binny's move," said AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey. Binny said he would support the government in the Assembly in passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill. "If the government brings Anna's (Hazare) Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly for its passage, I will support them," said Binny. On January 26, Binny was expelled from the party for "indiscipline" 10 days after he had called Kejriwal a "dictator" and accused the party of "betraying" the people of Delhi by backtracking on its election promises. The Laxmi Nagar MLA on Sunday had claimed support of at least five legislators and threatened to pull down the government if his demands were not met within 48 hours. He had asked the government to sort out issues related to power and water sector. He demanded that government should give subsidy on 8 per cent increase in power surcharge. The DERC has increased the power surcharge ranging from 6 to 8 per cent this month. — PTI
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Reply to PIL on foreign funding, HC tells AAP
New Delhi, February 5 "Let a copy of this writ petition be supplied to Prashant Bhushan who appeared on behalf of the Aam Aadmi Party. Let a response be filed four days prior to February 28, the next date of hearing," a bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog said. Bhushan, who has also been made a party in the petition besides AAP, accepted the notice and strongly opposed the earlier submissions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that the party and its leaders have not responded to the queries on foreign funding. — PTI
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Probe Ugandans’ sex trade claim: Bharti
New Delhi, February 5 He also alleged that some persons from the Ugandan High Commission and Delhi Police might be involved in this prostitution and drug racket. “According to the Ugandan girls, it seems some persons in the Ugandan High Commission in India and in Uganda are involved in such business. Besides, the girls say Delhi Police are playing an important role in running of such rackets. An independent probe should be ordered,” Bharti said. Bharti said the Ugandan girls met him on Saturday and complained that they were being pushed into sex racket. Earlier, Education Minister Manish Sisodia said the victims’ statement was vindication of their last month’s raid in south Delhi that tried to bust the alleged prostitution and drug racket. “The three women had approached Bharti for protection as they have no faith in Delhi police and Ugandan High Commission. They were pushed into prostitution,” Sisodia said. Bharti had stirred a major controversy last month after he led a midnight raid against African women in a South Delhi locality alleging that they were running a drug and prostitution racket.
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Spending Rs 2-4 cr on media no big deal, says Beni Prasad
Contending that his Steel Ministry had earned Rs 10,000 crore, the minister, facing allegations of giving gifts to journalists, said: “Spending Rs 1 crore on media is not a big deal.” “If you have earned Rs 10,000 crore, what is wrong in spending Rs 2 to 4 crores on media for our publicity. If publicity doesn’t happen, who will know us?” More than 1,000 members of the Steel Consumers' Council besides journalists were given suitcases and mobile each at its meeting in Lucknow on Monday. The beneficiaries included Congress workers from Verma’s home district Barabanki, his constituency Gonda and journalists who had been made members of the council, sources said. “I am a trader, I know how to invest money to get good returns. If I give one paisa, I know how to get back four paise,” he said. — PTI
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Maoists’ N-E link worries Gogoi
Guwahati, February 5 “I have been talking about the growing presence of Maoists in the state for the past five years but the Government of India is taking a serious note of it now,” Gogoi said. He said special development schemes were necessary for under-developed border areas to check the spread of the Maoist threat. He said his government had asked the Centre to declare nine of its districts - Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Cachar and Karimganj - as Maoist-affected so that special development funds were provided by the Centre for these districts. “The Centre recently did not accept our proposal, but we will against submit it before the Centre for review of its decision,” Gogoi said. He said the involvement of Maoists in the firing incident in the Behali forest area inside Assam along the inter-state boundary with Arunachal could not be ruled.
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My buffaloes more famous than Queen Victoria: Azam
Lucknow, February 5 "You switch on any news channel and you will find me following buffaloes carrying dung over my head...," he added. Khan has been under criticism from media over the massive search operation carried out to recover the seven buffaloes stolen from his farmhouse in Rampur on February 1. Dog squads, crime branch sleuths and police personnel of various police stations had raided slaughter houses and meat shops to collect clues about the stolen bovine. A sub-inspector and two constables were sent to police lines for dereliction of duty following the incident even though the buffaloes were recovered within two days. — PTI
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Top babus need legal cover, Centre tells SC
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, February 5 Arguing before a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice RM Lodha, Additional Solicitor General KV Viswanathan said Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, under which anti-corruption agency CBI was required to take permission from the government for prosecuting such officials, was aimed at facilitating an environment free from extraneous pressure on bureaucrats involved in the decision-making process. At the same time, there were safeguards against denial of sanction for prosecution under Section 6A in deserving cases. If proved to have acted dishonestly in denying sanction, the sanctioning authority could be prosecuted under Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code, the ASG argued. Further, the denial of sanction could be challenged in the respective High Court, he said. Such safeguards had been approved even in Article 30 of the UN Convention against corruption, the government pleaded. Pointing out that corruption had two aspects - causing pecuniary loss to the government through abuse of position and taking bribe - the ASG said abuse of position would come under bribe only if it was proved that the concerned official’s action was dishonest. Citing SC verdicts, he said lodging an FIR against any top government official, even it was baseless, would do incalculable harm not only to him but to the entire department. “Section 6A has been enacted to protect the decision making process of the Executive from undue harassment and exercise of police powers by CBI.” During the day-long hearing, the Bench, however, wanted to know as to why only the top bureaucrats were being protected. “This is class legislation which draws a distinction between two categories of officials in corruption cases.” The other members of the Constitution Bench are Justices AK Patnaik, SJ Mukhopadhaya, Dipak Misra and FMI Kalifulla. The apex court is hearing a batch of PILs filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and others, contending that Section 6A was coming in the way of fighting corruption. The contention The government said providing protection was necessary to enable the bureaucrats to take quick and proper decisions on vital aspects of governance .
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Give autopsy report by tomorrow: HC to police
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, February 5 The Bench returned the status report filed by the police, asking it to file a fresh report. Delhi Police counsel D. Krishnan said the precise cause of the student’s death could be ascertained only after co-relating the postmortem report with other medical details. The HC noted that the police was taking so many days for getting the postmortem report in a fast-tracked case in the national capital, supposed to be equipped with advanced medical technology. “If this was the status in Delhi, it won’t be difficult to imagine the state of affairs in remote areas of the country,” the Bench observed. The Union Home Ministry said it would give details of the steps taken for the safety of students from the North-East in Delhi. The HC has taken suo motu cognizance of the death of Taniam after being thrashed in the Lajpat Nagar market and sought a report from the police on the incident and the security steps taken thereafter.
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Govt okays plan to boost farm services
New Delhi, February 5 Aiming to restructure and strengthen the agricultural extension to enable the delivery of appropriate technology and improved agronomic practices to farmers, the NMAET will have an outlay of Rs13,073.08 crore during the 12th Plan Period. The Centre’s share in the NMAET will be Rs 11,390.68 crore while states are expected to pitch in Rs 1,682.40 crore. The NMAET would consist of four separate sub-missions - one each on agriculture extension, seed and planting material, agricultural mechanisation, plant protection and plant quarantine. While the common thread that runs across all four sub-missions were agriculture extension and technology, the four sub-missions are proposed for administrative convenience. It proposes to strength the agricultural extension through the use of judicious mix of extensive physical outreach and interactive methods of information dissemination and information and communication technology.
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War memorial stone laying to be grand affair
The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum at Amritsar is expected to be a grand affair. Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh and at least five former services chiefs are scheduled to attend it. The stone will be laid by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on February 12. Gen Shankar Roy Chowdhury, Gen JJ Singh, Gen Deepak Kapoor, Adm Madhvendra Singh and Adm VS Sekhawat are among the ex-chiefs who have agreed to attend the event. About 25,000 ex-servicemen of all ranks from across the state, besides a large number of civilians, are also expected to converge on the venue, for which special transport arrangements are being made. Students of Sainik School, Kapurthala, Punjab Public School, Nabha, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Institute, Mohali and NCC cadets from Amritsar would also participate in the function. Gallantry awardees would also be honoured on the occasion.
With a 45m stainless steel sword, signifying strength and courage, being the memorial's central point, the complex will include six state-of-the-art galleries that would showcase the martial heritage and history of Punjab from the times of Guru Hargobind Singh till the present day through images, paintings, artifacts, weapons and informative panels, 5-D auditorium, laser shows and restaurants. Spread over 7 acres with landscaped gardens that would reflect three different war zones-pre-British era, British era and post-British era-the project is estimated to cost about Rs 100 crore and will take two years to complete. 33 senior officers apply for PESCO chief's post Thirty-three senior retired defence officers have applied for the lone post of Chairman, Punjab Ex-servicemen Corporation (PESCO), which has been lying vacant for the past few months. The aspirants for the post include five officers of the rank of Lieutenant General and 10 officers of the rank of Major General. The post has traditionally been held by a retired Major General, barring a couple of instances. The selection committee is headed by the Chief Secretary, Punjab, and the appointment is expected to be finalised this month. To be eligible, the aspirant should have held the rank of Brigadier or equivalent in the services, belong to the state of Punjab and be below 65 years of age. Set up by the state government, PESCO is involved in the welfare of ex-servicemen, their widows and dependents. It provides them post-retirement employment, financial assistance and undertakes other welfare schemes. Agusta controversy continues to simmer The AgustaWestland helicopter deal continues to simmer, now at the political level. The Ministry of Defence has cancelled the Rs 3,600-crore deal for purchasing 12 copters for VVIP use and the company has been barred from participating in the Defence Expo, starting February 6 in the Capital. The BJP is demanding that the names of all those named in the Italian court of law hearing the case be made public. The Issue was raised in Parliament on February 5 and BJP MPs raised slogans from the Opposition stands. The matter now looks headed to become a poll issue. (Vijay Mohan and Ajay Banerjee)
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53 IAS officers shifted in UP
Lucknow, February 5 More transfers are expected in the coming days. The two divisional commissioners transferred are of Faizabad and Mirzapur. The district magistrates of 28 districts, including Saharanpur, Firozabad, Faizabad, Sant Kabirnagar, Kanpur, Baghpat, Bijnore, Banda, Mahrajganj, Aligarh, Mau, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Bhadohi, Deoria, Kaushambi, Hapur, Hathras, Shamli, Balrampur, Ambedkarnagar, Mahoba, Bahraich, Agra, Sitapur, Pratapgarh, Kushinagar and Chitrakoot, have also been transferred.
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India eyes better ties as German Prez arrives
New Delhi, February 5 Gauck, who arrived here last night on a five-day visit to India, was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Relations between India and Germany have traditionally been cordial and close. The two countries are strategic partners since 2000. With the commencement of Inter-Governmental Consultations in 2011, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation through regular high-level exchanges at the Head of Government level, cooperation in strategic areas, growing economic and commercial ties and increased interaction in the fields of education, science and technology, culture and people-to-people relations. Germany continues to be India's largest trading partner in Europe. India and Germany also work closely in the international arena.
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Tech glitch: AI Dreamliner diverted to KL
New Delhi, February 5 Pilots of the Boeing 787 who spotted the glitch on their panel while the aircraft was overflying Malaysia, informed the Kuala Lumpur air traffic control and sought permission to land, sources said. The aircraft landed under emergency conditions at the airport, they said, adding it was a "normal" landing. The plane, operating flight AI-301, was coming to Delhi from Sydney via Melbourne. An Air India spokesperson said all passengers had been given hotel accommodation. As no Dreamliner engineers were available in the Malaysian capital, they were being flown in from Hong Kong. — PTI
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BJP allegations against Cong first family untrue: Antony Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 5 In a suo motu statement in the Rajya Sabha, Antony said during a hearing in an Italian court, an unsigned handwritten paper was produced. It had headings “AF, BUR, POL (under which AP is recorded), FAM etc”, he said. Guido Haschke, from whom that document was recovered, had been cross-examined, Antony said. Transcript of the hearing had been received by the ministry through the Consul General of India, Milan. “During the course of cross-examination, in response to a specific question by the Italian public prosecutor as to the meaning of ‘FAM’, Haschke replied that ‘FAM’ is family. In reply to another question, he stated ‘…. due to the family, that is to the Tyagi brothers’. In response to ‘AP’, Haschke stated ‘I don’t know what it means’.” The BJP had alleged that “AP” was Ahmed Patel, the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi while the words “FAM” indicated the first family of the Congress. Antony said there was another unsigned document purported to be written by Christian to the attention of one Peter Hulet for High Commissioner to target certain Indian leaders. “The authenticity of these documents is not proved. The case is presently in progress in the Italian Court,” Antony said.
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Chinese giant ‘hacks’ BSNL network
New Delhi, February 5 "An incident about alleged hacking of BSNL network by Huawei has come to notice. The government has constituted an interministerial team to investigate the matter," Minister of State for Communications and IT Killi Kruparani said. There were reports of Huawei hackers targetting a mobile tower in Andhra Pradesh. — PTI
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India, US to discuss diplomatic immunity
New Delhi, February 5 This comes in the wake of the controversy over the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York on December 12 in an alleged visa fraud case. In a reply in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said the two countries had agreed to continue to implement other programmes of bilateral cooperation. He said there was no proposal by the ministry for higher foreign allowance for India-based officials in Indian missions and posts abroad.— TNS
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Hours after the Congress was cornered in the Rajya Sabha over its stand on the reservation issue today, party president Sonia Gandhi in a rare intervention said quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs were an “article of faith” for the party and must continue irrespective of the necessity to debate reservations for the poor of all communities.
The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum at Amritsar is expected to be a grand affair. Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh and at least five former services chiefs are scheduled to attend it. The stone will be laid by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on February 12. Gen Shankar Roy
Chowdhury, Gen JJ Singh, Gen Deepak Kapoor, Adm Madhvendra Singh and Adm VS Sekhawat are among the ex-chiefs who have agreed to attend the event.
India and Germany today discussed ways to further enhance bilateral ties. Visiting German President Joachim Gauck held talks with President Pranab
Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a range of issues.
Gauck, who arrived here last night on a five-day visit to India, was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati
Bhavan.
Guwahati, February 5
With withdrawal of support by Binny, the support for AAP has shrunk to 37, one more than the required majority of 36 in the 70-member House. Besides eight Congress MLAs, the government has been given outside support by a Janata Dal (United) MLA and an Independent.
Faizabad (UP), February 5