The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Congress moves EC over landing of Modi’s copter at Varanasi varsities Says Sonia, Vajpayee were denied such permissions, wants EC to intervene Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 22 After Uttar Pradesh government permitted BJP’s PM nominee Narendra Modi to land his helicopter on the compounds of two Varanasi-based universities, the day he arrives in the city to file his LS nomination papers, the ruling Congress has raised red flags. In a complaint to the Election Commission this evening, Congress strategists are asking a simple question — “If Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee were not allowed to access university campuses in 2001, what is so special about Modi?” Congress leaders have been voicing their concerns over a perceived unstated understanding they feel Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP has arrived at with Modi. “Political match in UP has been fixed between the SP and the BJP,” said a Congress leader referring to how the UP government was found wanting in its handling of Muzaffarnagar riots. It is in line with “fixing” that the Congress is viewing Modi’s “high-on-glamour” arrival planned in Varanasi on April 24. Besides Vadodra in Gujarat, Modi is contesting elections from Varanasi as well. The news is that Modi will arrive in a helicopter which will first land on the premises of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He will then garland the statue of Pt Madan Mohan Malviya (whose family member is a proposer for Modi in Varanasi) at BHU’s main gate. Later the BJP’s PM nominee will board the jet again and alight on the premises of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth from where he will start his road show to the Returning Officer’s office. Congress’ refrain is – both BHU and Kashi Vidyapeeth are government universities which have never been allowed to be put to political use. BHU is a central university and Kashi Vidyapeeth a state university. Speaking to The Tribune, VIkas Singh, general secretary, Students Union at Kashi Vidyapeeth said, “We have submitted a complaint to the UP Chief Electoral Officer also stating that the compounds of these varsities cannot be used politically. It’s a matter of probe as to how the permission was granted to Narendra Modi. The executive councils of both universities have taken a principled stand on not permitting educational institutions to be used for political purposes.” While the Congress has requested EC to prevent Modi from misusing varsity premises, it remains to be seen whether Modi’s copter will be denied landing permission in line with similar denials to Sonia and Vajpayee in the past. For the record — helipads are said to have been constructed in both locations to facilitate the landing of Modi’s copters in Varanasi.
	EC directive on misuse of yoga camps New Delhi, April 22 The Election Commission today asked the district authorities to "strictly" comply with its orders to deny permission to yoga camps if there is possibility that they can be used to campaign for a particular party. The commission's latest directive to District Election Officers came just days after it asked the state Chief Electoral Officers to prevent misuse of camps like yoga shivirs for electioneering. "Today, we have asked the DEOs to strictly comply with our orders of April 18 issued to CEOs. We want the message to reach the district officials from our end also," a senior EC official told PTI. The commission had issued the directives following complaints by political parties that yoga guru Ramdev was using his programmes to campaign for the BJP. The EC had said it had come to its notice that in certain places while permission was sought by organisations to hold apolitical activities such as "yoga camps", the platform was used for political campaigning "in clear violation of the conditions on which the permission was granted." The Commission has cautioned all state Chief Electoral Officers to check the antecedents of the organisers before granting permission to hold such camps or shivirs. — PTI
	10 RS members take oath Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 22 Ten newly elected/reelected members of the House, including Ram Kumar Kashyap of the Indian National Lok Dal from Haryana and Viplove Thakur of the Congress from Himachal Pradesh, took oath in the chamber of Chairman Hamid Ansari today. The other members who took oath were: Madhusudan Mistry, Wansuk Syiem and Mohammed Ali Khan (all Congress), CP Thakur and Lal Singh Vadodia (both BJP), Sanjay Dattatraya Kakade (Independent), Sarojini Hembram and Kalpataru Das (both BJD).
	Police didn’t stop ’84 rioters at govt’s behest: Sting operation Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 22 A sting operation on former Delhi Police officers carried out by an investigative news portal today claimed that the government had failed to stop the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and showed how senior police officers colluded with the government to teach Sikhs a “lesson”. The riots were triggered following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Officially, the government has admitted to the death of 2,733 persons in the riots. The last Delhi Government led by Arvind Kejriwal had announced the setting up of a special investigation team to probe the riots. In its investigation titled ‘Chapter 84’, Cobrapost claimed to have the confessions of Delhi Police officers. Most of them admitted to their “failure” as a force to take action against the culprits in the sting. What Cobrapost brought out in the form of a video has been part of inquiry commissions, in the past. Cobrapost recorded the conversations of then Kalyanpuri Station House Officer (SHO) Shoorveer Singh Tyagi, Delhi Cantonment SHO Rohtas Singh, Krishna Nagar SHO SN Bhaskar, Srinivaspuri SHO OP Yadav and Mehrauli SHO Jaipal Singh. The news website claimed SC Tandon, the then Delhi Police chief, conveniently parried all questions while Gautam Kaul, then Additional Commissioner of Police, straightaway rejected the idea that he had first-hand knowledge of rioting. The Kapur-Mittal Committee had probed the role of the police in the riots and submitted its report in 1990. It said 72 police officers were identified for their connivance or gross negligence. The panel recommended forthwith dismissal of 30 of the 72 officers. However, not a single police officer was punished. The GT Nanavati Commission report in 2005 had said 587 FIRs were registered. As many as 241 were closed by the police as untraced and were not sent for trial to the court. Till now, only 12 murder cases have resulted in conviction. The commission expressed dissatisfaction over the role of the then Lt Governor PG Gavai and Delhi Police commissioner SC Tandon. On Tandon, it said: “He ought to have taken strict action against the defaulting officers immediately and ought to have given directions to be stricter with the crowds. There was colossal failure of maintenance of law and order and as the head of the police force he has to be held responsible for the failure.” Today, Cobrapost claimed the confessions of these officers revealed that while warnings about simmering anti-Sikh sentiment went unheard by senior officers, only two per cent messages of news of arson and rioting that police control rooms received were recorded. It also claimed that police logbooks were “conveniently” changed to eliminate evidence of inaction by senior officers, while some other officers did not act for fear of punishment being transferred. “The government of the day did not allow the police to act while creating an impression that the force was not performing its duty,” the portal said.
	Stung Cong says SAD, BJP trying to politicise riots Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 22 Ahead of elections to Punjab’s 13 parliamentary constituencies on April 30, a full-fledged political war broke out today between the BJP and the Congress following a TV sting which had Delhi Police officers admitting that political pressure prevented them from acting against anti-Sikh rioters in 1984. While the BJP and its ally the Akali Dal came out all guns blazing against the Congress and said the sting only confirms what has been known for years, the Congress dismissed the revelations as politically motivated. “The sting again shows what we have known for years. Congress leaders killed not just people during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots; they killed humanity itself,” said senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral recalled how President Giani Zail Singh and his father IK Gujral had at that time laboured hard to reach the Home Minister, but no response was forthcoming. “There were instructions from the very top not to act against any rioter,” Gujral said. The Congress, already under attack for its Amritsar candidate Amarinder Singh’s statement (that riot victims did not name Congress leader Jagdish Tytler when he visited Delhi during the carnage), today said the PM and party president Sonia Gandhi had inside and outside Parliament regretted the riots as tragic. The party, however, refused to be cowed down by the sting, describing it as an attempt by the Akali Dal-BJP combine to politicise anti-Sikh riots for political gains. “Politicisation of anti-Sikh riots at election time is an attempt by the Akali Dal-BJP combine to recover lost ground in Punjab. They are staring at imminent defeat and are resorting to gimmicks, including demonstrations from Punjab to Delhi, in order to divert the people’s attention from their misrule in Punjab. But they cannot use these tricks to hide their misgovernance,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. He said the riots had been probed by two inquiry commissions and half a dozen committees and that leaders from the Congress, RSS and even the election agent of former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee were found to be in the dock. “Hundreds of convictions have happened in cases related to these riots. Those accused must be punished as per the provisions of the law, notwithstanding their political affiliation,” he said.
	Black money: SC raps Centre for non-compliance New Delhi, April 22 The Centre today faced the ire of the Supreme Court for failing to implement its three-year-old directions, including setting up of a SIT to probe all cases of black money and disclosing information received from Germany about individuals stashing money in Liechtenstein Bank. “It is totally contempt of our directions,” a Bench headed by Justice HL Dattu said while disapproving the contention of Solicitor General (SG) Mohan Parasaran that all directions in July 4, 2011 judgement were inter-connected and disclosure of names received from Germany was to be done after the investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). "In our view the judgement has to be read disjunctively and not conjectively,” the Bench said. “We have to take the statement of Solicitor General with a pinch of salt," it said and added that "We are not satisfied with the explanation of the SG”. Parasaran had submitted that since investigation was being done by so many authorities, the Centre was to disclose names against whom show-cause notices have been issued after the SIT probe. Disagreeing with him, the Bench said, “This has nothing to do with the SIT. Today we are very clear that you have to give the documents and information received from Germany about the account holders in Liechtenstein Bank. “Secondly, the investigation has to be taken over by the SIT. Thirdly, you have to disclose the names of those against whom show-cause notices have been issued,” the Bench said while referring to its July 4, 2011 directions in which it was stated that the Centre had to "forthwith" comply with its order. - PTI In the dock * Centre failed to set up a SIT to probe all cases of black money and disclose information received from Germany about individuals stashing money in Liechtenstein Bank * A Bench headed by Justice HL Dattu, disapproving the contention of Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, said the Centre's non-compliance with its directions tantamount to contempt.
	India, China mull more meeting points, hotlines Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 22 Senior military officials of India and China today discussed setting up of more border meeting points between local level Army officials and for having hotlines between the top military leadership of the two countries. Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo, Deputy Chief of General Staff (Operations) of the People Liberation Army of China, and his eight-member delegation was locked in discussions with the Indian side led by Vice Chief of the Indian Army Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag, who was accompanied by Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lt General PR Kumar. The PLA has no such post as DGMO. The Chinese side is on a two-day visit in response to an invitation extended by the Government of India in January this year. An Indian Defence Ministry statement said: “The two sides exchanged views on various issues of mutual interest such as maintenance of peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and enhancing mutual cooperation and understanding between the armies of India and China.” Measures for implementation of existing bilateral agreements were also discussed, it said. The Chinese side has confirmed their participation in the Fourth India-China joint training exercise scheduled to be held in November 2014 in India. Sources said the talks focused on maintaining peace along the largely unmarked 4,057-km as a direct contact between the top military brass will help in keeping either side in check and ensure that there are no repeats of the April 2013 incident when Chinese troops had camped in Northern J&K. This is in line with the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) inked on October 23 last year during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing. The BDCA proposes 'mutual consultations' to facilitate contacts and meetings between relevant organisations. It refers to establishing border personnel meeting sites in all sectors, as well as telephone contacts and telecommunication links at mutually agreed locations along the LAC. It points to setting up a hotline between the military headquarters of the two countries. At present there are three meeting points for Brigadier-level officers to meet at Spanngur Gap in eastern Ladakh, Nathu La in Sikkim and Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh. There is keenness to have two more meeting points - one at Kibithoo in eastern Arunachal and the one in Himachal Pradesh. Year 2014 has been declared as “Year of Friendly Exchanges”. In February, the PLA Delegation led by Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, Deputy Chief of General Staff, had come to India for Annual Defence Dialogue and the Indian Defence Minister had visited China in July 2013. The Chinese side has also confirmed the visit of their Defence Minister General Chang Wanquan to India later this year.
	Foreign Secy to visit Japan Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 22 Within days of her visit to China, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh will travel to Tokyo tomorrow to hold consultations with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki on bilateral, regional and international issues. Apart from meetings in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Secretary will hold discussions with counterparts in the Japanese Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Japan International Cooperation Agency during her two-day visit. "The Foreign Secretary will utilise her visit to discuss implementation of ideas and projects decided at the leadership level, thereby maintaining the momentum of the India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership," the External Affairs Ministry said. She is expected to hold talks on various issues, including the proposed India-Japan civil nuclear deal. India and Japan have strong economic ties and the bilateral trade in 2012-13 reached $18.61 billion.
	SAD seizes opportunity to corner Congress Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 22 The SAD (Badal) has apparently found an opportunity to attack its main rival the Congress after disclosures of some Delhi police officers that the then Congress government had failed to stop the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage. The SAD has declared the "disclosures" would form a part of the evidence to be brought before the Special Fast Track courts to be set up after the NDA "forms the government." Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has said the sting operation had also nailed the "recent lies" of Congress' Amritsar candidate Capt. Amarinder, who had claimed that "one of the main perpetrators" of the riots Jagdish Tytler, "was not involved in the carnage". "The role of the top Congress leadership has been exposed and it is clear now that the senior leadership first prevailed over the police force not to take preventive measures and later encouraged the resultant carnage," said Harsimrat. SAD (Badal) general secretary Harcharan Bains said: “These are very damning pieces of evidence. Although much of this has already been known, the confessions of responsible officers caught on camera become admissible pieces of evidence in court of law." Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the truth about the 1984 genocide was "finally out of the bag" and asked Capt Amarinder Singh to answer whether police officers who had "confessed" that their top brass had colluded with the Congress leadership to "teach a lesson" to the Sikhs were also lying. The Bathinda MP also asked PPP-Congress candidate Manpreet Singh Badal to clarify whether he would talk to the Congress high command and ensure action was taken against all those responsible for butchering Sikhs in 1984. "If Manpreet fails to take a stand, it will again prove that he is an opportunist," she said.
	Orbit, PRTC reach compromise Nikhil Bhardwaj & Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 22 A day after an FIR was lodged against the Orbit Bus Service following a complaint by Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) bus staff over hijacking their passengers near PAP Chowk in Jalandhar, the two parties reached a compromise today. The erring conductor of the Orbit bus apologised in the presence of the police and PRTC leaders. PRTC Union, Kapurthala, president Balvir Singh Boparai said Orbit bus staff have realised their mistake and assured them that they would not attempt to hijack the passengers of any PRTC bus in future, denying that there was any pressure to reach the compromise. Meanwhile, inquiry officer ASI Charanjit Singh of Rama Mandi police station said the FIR had not been cancelled and it stood in their record. "We are not aware of any compromise as no such representation has come to us yet".
	Fearing political backlash, cops fail to rein in killer buses Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, April 22 Two persons on a motorcycle lost their life when a bus of Orbit Aviation Pvt Ltd hit them near Harigarh village on Bathinda-Sangrur road on February 13, 2013. Balwinder Singh, one of the deceased left behind, three children, all below four years of age. On February 16, this year, another Orbit bus hit a motorcycle near Harigarh village on Sriganganagar-Patiala road, mowing down two. The police reached the spot but allegedly took no action. The accused driver, conductor fled the spot. Angry, area residents set the bus on fire… These are some of the road accidents wherein the buses of private transport company owned by senior political leaders in Punjab have been found on the wrong side of the law. A fact-finding report of the Association for Democratic Rights (AFDR), Punjab, has found that there are buses of five private transport companies' which have been allegedly found paying scant regard to traffic rules. The AFDR started the inquiry after an increase in the accidents involving private buses in the recent past. After visiting victims' families in Faridkot, Bathinda, Muktsar, Sangrur and Barnala, the AFDR found that operators of private buses were most of the times discourteous and misbehaved with passengers. The report further revealed that the traveling in private buses has not only become uncomfortable but risky too in the last four years. There was no check on 'mighty' bus operators as the owners of private transport companies are senior political leaders. The law enforcement agencies have become mute spectators to the rampant violations by private bus operators, alleged the AFDR report, as a result angry people many times took the law into their own hand. In one of such incident, the driver of an Orbit Aviation Pvt Ltd bus, owned by Sukhbir Singh Badal, mowed down a scooter rider in Barnala. As the police were reluctant in taking action, people vent their ire on the bus by damaging it, said the report. Punjab police record revealed that in first seven months of 2013, there were 1,876 deaths in 3,027 road accidents in Punjab and 2,461 other were seriously injured in these accidents. In many accidents, buses of transport companies owned by political leaders were involved, alleged the AFDR report. As these bus operators are not the regular employees of these transport companies and there names do not find mention on any record, so the police prefer not to nominate them in the FIR as an accused and it is a prolonged legal battle for the victim family to get justice, the report added.
	A first: HP to launch stroke network map Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Hamirpur, April 22 Himachal Pradesh will be the first state to prepare a “stroke network map” to tackle the impending stroke epidemic in the country. It will also launch a pilot project to generate awareness and have better management modules. Brain stroke is the second most common cause of death after cancer. Dr MV Padma, a neurologist at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), today held consultations with the core group of medical professionals and administrators entrusted with the responsibility of implementing this project. The two medical colleges at Shimla and Dharamsala will be the focal centres and will cover six districts each for training healthcare professionals in the treatment protocol to be implemented through telemedicine facility. Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) figures suggest out of 5.7 million cases of stroke worldwide every year, 1.65 million cases are in India. “The worrisome factor is the shift of stroke towards the younger lot (around 40 years), who constitute 30 per cent of the total,” said Dr Padma. Every 40 seconds, a person suffers a stroke and every four minutes, there is a death due to stroke. “The project will benefit Himachal where geographical constraints and harsh terrain are a major impediment. Telemedicine will be its major component,” she elaborates. The brain stroke network map will be ready in the next three months. The basic idea is to make the treatment module feasible, accessible and available to every patient irrespective of his economic status since time is a key factor. “Dr Padma and her team at AIIMS had prepared this module to tackle brain stroke and we offered to implement it in our state,” said Vineet Chawdhry, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Horticulture. To be ready in 3 months * The stroke network map will be ready in the next three months; the idea is to make the treatment module feasible, accessible and available to every patient irrespective of his economic status * Two medical colleges at Shimla and Dharamsala will be the focal centres and will cover six districts each for training healthcare professionals in the treatment protocol to be implemented through telemedicine facility.
	3 teachers suspended for sexual abuse Jaipur, April 22 A headmaster and two teachers, accused of sexually abusing four minor girls of a government school, were today suspended by the district authorities. Headmaster of Government Middle School at Bagri Jagdish Prasad, sanskrit teacher Sanjay Kumar and general subject teacher Narendra Garg were suspended after an FIR was filed by the victims' parents on Sunday, District Education Officer Nutan Bala told PTI over telephone. The suspended faculty members would be reporting daily to the DEO, she said. — PTI
	Modi lowered standard of political discourse: Chavan Mumbai, April 22 Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today accused BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi of "lowering" the standard of political discourse in the country like never before by resorting to unprecedented "vicious personal criticism". The kind of "negative and abusive" language used by Modi throughout his campaign is unprecedented as no national leader in the country's electoral politics used such language, addressing a press conference, Chavan said. "Earlier, national leaders countering the Congress governments at the Centre debated on policies and issues even though there was the room for personal criticism. However, Modi's entire speech throughout his campaign has been that of vicious personal criticism without talking about his vision for the country," Chavan said. "We expected him (Modi) to discuss where UPA fell short, what policies he would stop if voted to power and which policies he felt were good and would improve or strengthen, if he assumed the top job. There was no debate on policies," he said. — PTI
	Re-poll in 9 Odisha booths on April 25 Bhubaneswar, Apr 22 The Election Commission of India (ECI) today ordered re-polling in Odisha's nine booths on April 25, official sources said. Earlier Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mona Sharma had recommended fresh polling in nine booths where polling was done on April 17. The fresh polling will be conducted between 7am and 5pm on April 25, they said. The fresh polling will be held at two booths under Keonjhar Parliamentary Constituency, one booth under Kendrapara PC and six booths under Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha segment, they added. — PTI
	Campaigning for last phase in Assam ends Bijay Sankar Bora Tribune News Service Guwahati, April 22 The main political parties in the fray, the Congress and the BJP, will find it tough to retain their respective Lok Sabha seats in the third and last phase of polling in Assam to be held on April 24 in six constituencies -- Gauhati, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Mangaldoi and Nowgong. Electioneering for the third phase ended today with the election department here expecting a high turnout on the basis of the overwhelming response of voters in the first two phases -- on April 7 and April 12. A total of 74 candidates are in the fray in all the six constituencies while 94,21,977 voters are expected to exercise their franchise at 11,994 polling stations in this phase. Out of these six constituencies, three -- Gauhati, Mangaldoi and Nowgong -- were won by the BJP in the last election in 2009 while the Congress won Barpeta. The All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) won Dhubri while the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) won Kokrajhar. In Gauhati constituency that has over 19 lakh voters, sitting BJP MP Bijoya Chakraborty is facing a tough challenge from Congress candidate Manash Borah and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Birendra Prasad Baishya. In Mangaldoi, sitting BJP MP Ramen Deka is finding the going tough because Congress candidate Kirip Chaliha has the support of Bodo groups. So, the Bodo tribe votes in the constituency may go in the Congress’ favour. The AIUDF has fielded a not-so-strong candidate, Paresh Baishya. He is hardly expected to corner many votes of the large number of Muslims in the constituency. But the Congress too faces a nagging problem in rebel candidate Madhab Rajbongshi who is contesting as an AGP candidate this time. The constituency has over 15 lakh voters. In Nowgong constituency, the BJP’s three-time sitting MP Rajen Gohain is enjoying an advantage because of the absence of formidable opponents from other political parties. He is being challenged there by Congress candidate Jonjonali Baruah, a sitting MLA. Nowgong constituency has over 15 lakh voters. In Dhubri, where the Muslim majority will decide the fate of candidates, the fight is mainly between sitting AIUDF MP Badruddin Ajmal and Congress candidate Wazed Ali Choudhury. The constituency, having over 15 lakh voters, is a bastion of both the AIUDF and Congress. The Modi wave is unlikely to help BJP candidate Dr Debamoy Sanyal there. In Barpeta constituency having over 14 lakh voters, the sitting Congress MP, Ismail Hussain, is up against AIUDF candidate Sirajuddin Ajmal. The constituency has Muslims, including immigrant Muslims, as the largest single block of voters who can decide the fate of candidates. Result of 2009 polls Out of these six constituencies, three — Gauhati, Mangaldoi and Nowgong — were won by the BJP in the 2009 election while the Congress won Barpeta. The All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) won Dhubri while the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) won Kokrajhar.