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Telangana Bill not to be tabled in RS today
President calls for introspection on House chaos |
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Lt Guv seeks Law Ministry’s opinion on Jan Lokpal Bill
LG gives nod to set up SIT to probe ’84 riots
Delhi Govt wants Punjab cadre officer to head SIT
Foreign jets to undergo surprise safety checks
MoD withdraws instructions on cases against ex-servicemen
BJP, NCP spar over Pawar links to NDA
Rahul to address rally in Guwahati
No action against Raj Thackeray yet
New airport terminal to be functional tomorrow
Head injuries killed Taniam: Police
Plea to have 30% green charge on diesel cars
Antony seeks status report on Vikramaditya from Navy Chief
Four held for heroin trafficking
Child labourers rescued from printing unit
Delhi Govt wants police officer Arora to head SIT
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Telangana Bill not to be tabled in RS today
New Delhi, February 10 The government decided to defer the tabling of The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Bill 2013 in the Upper House tomorrow after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath tried testing waters on the issue with the BJP. Sources said he met Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha in the evening but failed to muster the party's BJP's support on the Bill as the Opposition party did not open up its cards and kept the government guessing. Top Rajya Sabha sources, however, told The Tribune that the Bill has not been included in tomorrow's list of business due to some technicalities. Interesingly, top Congress leaders had in the afternoon today clearly indicated that the Bill was coming in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. Even as both the Houses of Parliament were again adjourned for the day, the PM is learnt to have called BJP leaders - LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley for dinner at his residence on February 12 to broker some peace. The PTI reported that the PM had personally called up these top leaders to discuss the current imbroglio in the House over the Telangana Bill. For the government, it is urgent to break the House impasse to try and push six pending anti graft legislations which Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi has been pushing for a while. "More importantly, the discussion in PM's dinner is expected to centre on Telangana. The idea is to seek BJP's support for the Bill," Congress sources said, admitting it would be an uphill task to pass the Bill in Parliament. "We have only three options - either introduce the Bill in Rajya Sabha and leave it at that or use marshals to push the Bill's passage or simply forget about passing the Bill in which case we would be neither here nor there having firmly committed ourselves to the formation of a new state," a senior Congress leader today said. Sources said whenever the Bill is introduced, the government would "try its best to push the Bill" even though they admitted that the BJP has repeatedly opposed use of marshals in the House.
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President calls for introspection on House chaos New Delhi, February 10 Though both Houses saw repeated adjournments over various issues, including Telangana and Tamil fishermen issue, the Elders House witnessed members, named in the Rajya Sabha Bulletin for “disrupting proceedings” and “violation of rules” of the House last week, tearing official documents and throwing their pieces toward the Chair. The 10 MPs named in the bulletin for disrupting the proceedings include YS Chowdary and CM Ramesh (TDP), N Balaganga, A W Rabi Bernard, K R Arjunan, T Rathinavel, R Lakshmanan (AIADMK) and Vasanthi Stanley, AA Jinnah and T M Selvaganapathi (DMK). However, the obvious attempt to deter did not stop the MPs from continuing their vociferous protests, thus setting the mood for the day when the government would eventually introduce the Telangana Bill, most likely on Tuesday. V Maitreyan even tried to reach to the microphones on the table of the Chairman but was stopped by the watch and ward staff. In the Lok Sabha several members, including supporters and opponents of division of Andhra Pradesh to carve out Telangana state, disrupted the proceedings. Akali Dal members demanded that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should reveal the names of those guilty for the 1984 riots and also criticised the alleged help sought from the UK for the Operation Bluestar. Notably, the ugly scenes were witnessed on a day when speaking at a function in the Central Hall the President said: “Parliament functions through debate, dissension and finally decision and not through disruption. In order to strengthen Parliamentary functioning and other democratic institutions, it is important that all stakeholders- Government, political parties, their leaders and Parliamentarians do some introspection and follow sound parliamentary conventions and rules.”
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Lt Guv seeks Law Ministry’s opinion on Jan Lokpal Bill
Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung today questioned the procedure being followed to pass the Bill and referred the matter to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice for a final opinion on its constitutional position. Separately, the Delhi unit of the BJP and the Congress joined issue by accusing Kejriwal of creating a constitutional crisis. The Central government, sources say, considers the proposed Bill as ultra vires of the Constitution because the Delhi Assembly needs the consent of the Union Government before tabling any Bill. Kejriwal has contested this. In other states, when the Assembly passes a Bill, it is sent for ratification of the President. In case the President is not satisfied, the matter is sent for ‘presidential reference’ to the constitution bench of the Supreme Court. The Cauvery river water dispute was one such recent reference. Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 is another example. A Delhi BJP delegation submitted a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee and accused the Delhi Government of creating a constitutional crisis by being adamant and trying to bring the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill without the mandatory approval, recommendation and consent of the Union Government. The Delhi Congress, on the other hand, has asserted that it will not back any unconstitutional Bill. Najeeb Jung referred the matter to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice for a final opinion. “The question is the need to follow procedures as mandated under the Constitution. Since the CM had written to the LG indicating the intent to introduce the Bill, the LG had asked the Solicitor General to give opinion on the Constitutional validity,” Jung said in a statement giving details of the response to Arvind Kejriwal’s letter. 'A constitutional crisis'
Centre's stand
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LG gives nod to set up SIT to probe ’84 riots
New Delhi, February 10 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made this statement after meeting the Lieutenant Governor. The Delhi Government last week had recommended to the LG to set up an SIT to probe the anti-Sikh riots within one year. “The Lt Governor has given his nod to it (SIT probe),” said Kejriwal. Delhi PWD Minister Manish Sisodia said besides reopening of FIRs, SIT would also inquire into the allegations of destruction of evidence by police. Under the probe, all those cases which were closed or shown untraced would be re-opened and re-investigated. Even fresh FIRs could be registered. DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said the decision of the AAP government to set up SIT was aimed at wooing the Sikhs ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Delhi Government’s decision to form SIT came against the backdrop of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi admitting recently that some party men were probably involved in the violence. However, the Lieutenant Governor’s nod for setting up SIT was not mentioned in the official press release. A spokesperson of the LG office said no official statement had been issued in this connection. Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjit Singh GK said, “I welcome the gesture of Arvind Kejriwal of setting up a SIT to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. But it is not clear under which agency SIT will be set up and who will monitor it. If the SIT is not monitored by the Supreme Court, it will not be acceptable”, said Manjit Singh. DSGMC hails setting up of panel
I welcome the gesture of Arvind Kejriwal of setting up a SIT to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. But it is not clear under which agency SIT will be set up and who will monitor it. If the SIT is not monitored by the Supreme Court, it will not be
acceptable. Manjit Singh GK, DSGMC president
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Delhi Govt wants Punjab cadre officer to head SIT Chandigarh, February 10 Arora is Chief Director, Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Phoolka, believed to be the brain behind the SIT, said Arora was the right officer for the task. He said only if CM Parkash Singh Badal agreed to spare Arora's services would it be possible for the Delhi Government to appoint him as SIT chief. Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has agree to the Delho Government's proposal to set up the SIT to probe the riots.
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India, China for hotline between armies
New Delhi, February 10 The two countries simultaneously held the 17th round of talks between their Special Representatives (SRs) and the 5th meeting of the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs here. National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi led their respective delegations at the SR level talks which would conclude tomorrow. The Indian side was led by Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) and consisted of officials from the ministries of External Affairs, Defence and Home as well as the army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at the meeting of the working mechanism on border affairs. The Chinese side at this meeting was headed by Ouyang Yujing, Director General of the Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs in the Foreign Affairs Ministry and comprised representatives of various departments. The two sides are understood to have discussed implementation of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) which was signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Beijing in October last year. The Indian side drew China’s attention towards continuing incursions even after the signing of the BDCA. However, it was also noted that the BDCA has certainly brought down the incidents of incursions, much to New Delhi’s satisfaction. The two sides also discussed the possibility of conducting joint exercises between their forces. Joint drills
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Foreign jets to undergo surprise safety checks
New Delhi, February 10 Official sources said today the airlines concerned will be penalised if discrepancies are found during the extensive safety checks of the foreign aircraft flying to India when they land here. In case of major lapses, the aircraft could even be grounded and its owners penalised, sources said. The decision to set up the two teams in Delhi and Mumbai came against the backdrop of downgrade of Indian aviation safety mechanism by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Sources said though safety checks were being carried out on foreign aircraft by DGCA personnel, it was decided to intenisfy the inspections by setting up two exclusive teams. Over the past few months, six airlines, including Japan's All Nippon Airways, Sri Lankan Airways and Afghanistan's Ariana, have been penalised, sources said. The surprise safety checks are being carried out on the basis of Safety Oversight of Foreign Airlines (SOFA) programme and a checklist based on the recommendations of the UN agency International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The checklist includes not only safety aspects on the flight deck, but also on the equipments fitted or not fitted in the planes like Airborne Collision Avoidance System. The status of documents like the air operating certificate (AOC) or licenses of the cockpit or the cabin crew would also be under check, they said. The deficiencies could be categorised into minor or major and the penalty could range from a mere warning to rectify the faults within a specific time-frame to the grounding of an aircraft or, in extreme cases, denying the airline the right to fly into India. Once a deficiency is found in an aircraft, the concerned airline is informed of it, along with the action that was being contemplated or taken, the sources said.
— PTI Downgrade effect
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MoD withdraws instructions on cases against ex-servicemen
New Delhi, February 10 It had specified six categories, all relating to pensions and claims, that should result in immediate appeal in courts. The instructions were issued on January 2 this year and had led to a furore. The Tribune had first reported about this in its edition dated January 15. Defence Minister AK Antony has intervened and asked the Department of Ex-servicemen under the MoD, to maintain status quo ante, meaning restore the position as it existed before the January 2 instructions. In its instructions on January 2, the MoD had asked the legal wings of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy to automatically appeal against the verdicts won by soldiers in court or the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). There was no need to seek even sanction when appealing against verdicts, go ahead and contest the case right up to the Supreme Court, imply the instructions. This had meant that in case a retired soldier wins a case of increase in disability pension in a lower court or the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), the Judge Adjutant General (JAG) in the services has been told to file an appeal. The orders of the MoD listed six categories of cases and each category has been backed by an example of an important pending case and the advice of the Attorney General’s office in that particular case. Six categories of cases were identified in the instructions that would entail automatic appeal even if the retired soldier or his widow won the case. This would have meant the soldiers seeking small additional pension benefits will have to contest the case right up to the Supreme Court, resulting in an expense of lakhs of rupees in legal fees which the retired soldier or his widow may not be able to afford.
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BJP, NCP spar over Pawar links to NDA
Addressing an event in Beed district on Sunday, Munde alleged that Pawar had tried to join
the NDA in 1999, but he had scuttled it. Reacting sharply, the NCP insisted that it was Pawar who had rebuffed the BJP. "It was the BJP which wanted us to join the NDA, but Pawarsaab refused because he wanted the NCP to be part of a secular alliance,"
NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said. After reports emerged that Pawar had a meeting with Modi in January this year, Munde was the first to oppose it saying there was no room for the regional party in the alliance which already had the Shiv Sena, the Republican Party
of India (Athavale) and the Shetkari Swabhimani Paksha. The Shiv Sena also sent an emissary to meet Central BJP leaders to thwart any possible attempt to bring Pawar into the alliance. Later, Pawar told reporters that he had only met with Modi in
his capacity as Agriculture Minister. Poll games
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Rahul to address rally in Guwahati
Guwahati, February 10 Assam Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi said Rahul Gandhi would address a public ally in Guwahati after February 20. The rally will provide the ruling Congress an opportunity to show off its strength after the heavy turnout in the rally of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate
Modi. Gogoi today termed Modi ‘irresponsible’ in presenting false facts about development process in Assam and in accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of not doing anything for the region despite representing Assam for 23 years in Rajya
Sabha. Gogoi claimed that the Prime Minister and the Congress-led UPA government had been very generous towards facilitating rapid development in Assam by providing adequate financial support. He said the PM was instrumental in sanctioning construction of four more bridges on the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam, construction of over Rs 5,400 crore gas cracker project, construction of hundreds of kilometers of roads during the last ten years, sanctioning upgradation of national highway 175 (old NH 37) from Nagaon to Dibrugarh to a four-lane one.
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No action against Raj Thackeray yet
So far the government has only beefed up security at toll booths after Thackeray's threat. "We have asked the police to be on high alert. Security has been tightened at toll nakas," Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal told reporters here today. For the past several weeks, the MNS has been carrying out a violent campaign against toll collection in different parts of Maharashtra. Except for the arrest of several party workers, the state government has not taken action against the MNS. Observers say, the Congress leadership has been asked to go soft on Thackeray even as the Nationalist Congress Party headed by Ajit Pawar is keen on cracking down him. On his part, the MNS chief has been targeting the NCP leadership leaving the Congress large alone. At his party convention in Pune over the weekend, Thackeray accused the NCP of using private road building companies for raising funds ahead of the forthcoming elections. "Maharashtra collects three times more funds than what is required to build roads and bridges from road tax, petrol cess and other levies," Thackeray said. He alleged that Maharashtra was collecting more than Rs 22,000 crore from road users every year. The MNS chief who made a representation to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the latter was helpless in the matter. Thackeray said Chavan confessed that he could do little to curb excess toll collection because of the compulsion of running a coalition government. "My meeting with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan did not yield any results. Now I have no choice but to continue this agitation," Thackeray said at a rally in Pune on Sunday evening. Road stir threat
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New airport terminal to be functional tomorrow
Mumbai, February 10 International operations from the existing terminal will seamless be shifted to the new T2, officials said. Officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) inspected the new terminal facilities on Friday and gave the all-clear to begin operations. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will inaugurate the Sahar elevated road, which connects the new terminal to the suburb of Andheri. The T2 terminal was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month. Spread over four lakh sq metres, the new terminal cost Rs 9,800 cr to build. Work on the project began in 2008 and was due to be completed in 2010. But delays in obtaining several clearances and shifting existing structures within the airport premises caused major delays. Spread vertically over four storeys, the building is designed to look like a dancing peacock. The highlight of the terminal is the 3 km-long art wall which showcases several works of art procured from across the country. The GVK Group, which is managing the airport, said more than 7,000 artefacts had been put on display at the art wall. The new terminal will be able to handle 40 million passengers every year. The international section of the new terminal building will have 142 immigration counters.
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Head injuries killed Taniam: Police
The police informed the Delhi High Court about the post-mortem report this afternoon. “The post-mortem report says there were nine external injuries on the body of the deceased and he died due to severe head and lung injuries,” a counsel for the Delhi Police told a Bench comprising Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw. Taniam’s father Nido Pavitra said the post-mortem report of his son had brought out the truth. “The Delhi Police had falsely said that he had died due to drug overdose. Now the truth has come out. The Delhi Police had done nothing (in the case). The second mistake was of the culprits,” said Pavitra. Pavitra plans to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress president Sonia Gandhi tomorrow to take up his son’s case with them. “We will ask for an anti-racism law,” he said. Sources claimed Taniam had suffered injuries when he was assaulted by some shopkeepers on January 29. The post-mortem report also contained the toxicology report of the CBI’s Central Forensic Science Laboratory. Sources said the toxicology report ruled out poisoning or drug overdose as the cause of Taniam’s death. The Delhi High Court, on February 5 and February 7, had criticised the Delhi Police for not submitting Taniam’s post-mortem report. The police had told the court that they were awaiting the viscera and toxicology reports. The Bench asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to submit guidelines for the safety of north-easterners staying in Delhi by tomorrow. “We cannot close our eyes and say everything is fine. Mr Mehra (Rajeev Mehra, Additional Solicitor General who represented the MHA), prepare draft guidelines and give those to us tomorrow. Some fear must be there. Please ask the police to do something,” said the Bench. The High Court Bench also said the MHA should consider appointing people from the North-East in the Delhi Police. “Once you appoint them in the Delhi Police.
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Plea to have 30% green charge on diesel cars
New Delhi, February 10 The authority has pleaded with the Supreme Court also to direct Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to augment public transport services, remove entry taxes on such vehicles on a reciprocal basis, impose higher taxes on cars and drastically reduce taxes on buses and other public transport vehicles. The SC’s Green Bench, headed by Justice AK Patnaik, today put the four states on notice seeking their response to the proposals. Justices SS Nijjar and FMI Kalifulla are the other members of the Bench. The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the National Capital Region (NCR), which went into the issue of rising levels of air pollution, has also suggested that Delhi, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan be directed to harmonise vehicle related taxes.
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Antony seeks status report on Vikramaditya from Navy Chief New Delhi, February 10 Admiral Joshi met Antony in his office and is learnt to have clarified on the issue and given details of the 15,000-mile voyage from Russia to Karwar, south of Goa. The Navy Chief, it is learnt, told the minister that no major glitches were faced by the over $2.35-billion warship during its journey to India. According to reports, the aircraft carrier faced some problem in cutting through choppy waters at a top speed of around 56 kmph. Sources in the Ministry of Defence said there was no written report from the Navy on the incident so far. The vessel delivery to India was delayed by more than a year after problems occurred in its boilers during sea trials in Russia in September 2012. The warship was handed over in November 2013 and it then set sail for India. It sailed non-stop and was refuelled mid-sea.
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Four held for heroin trafficking New Delhi, February 10 The police said PoK-based suspected terrorist Iqbal had procured the heroin from Afghanistan. A Kuwait-based man, Saleem, was allegedly managing the transportation of the drug. The police are sharing details of interrogation of the arrested men with intelligence agencies and the Narcotics Control Bureau to probe the aspect of narco-terrorism. The first arrest in the case was made by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on December 13 last year. They had arrested Mohammed Dharick of Tamil Nadu and seized 10 kgs of high quality heroin from him. The Crime Branch arrested Sajjat (40) and Shafaat Hussain Shah (45), who belong to Baramullah in Jammu and Kashmir and Mohammed Abdullah (23) of Tamil Nadu. They were caught near the main gate of the Tis Hazari Court on February 8, with 11 kgs of heroin. The value of the 21 kg of the seized heroin is worth Rs 75 crores. "Sajjat told us that he has a border pass that he used to enter PoK. He met Iqbal at Chakothi in Muzaffarabad. Iqbal gave a consignment of heroin to Sajjat, who brought it to Uri. Iqbal had procured the heroin from Afghanistan," said ACP (Crime), Ravindra Yadav.
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Child labourers rescued from printing unit
Indore, February 10 Instead of reading these school books, the children were unfortunately engaged in printing them at a mere Rs 7 per hour, Childline's local coordinator Manisha Nayak told reporters here today. A case has been registered by the labour department under the Child Labour Act.
— PTI
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Delhi Govt wants police officer Arora to head SIT Chandigarh, February 10 HS Phoolka, AAP leader and eminent Supreme Court lawyer, today said he had recommended the officer's name to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Arora is Chief Director, Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Phoolka, believed to be the brain behind the SIT, said Arora was the right officer for the task. He said only if Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal agreed to spare Arora's services would it be possible for the Delhi Government to appoint him as SIT chief. Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has agree to the Delho Government's proposal to set up the SIT to probe the riots.
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