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India, US, Japan naval exercise from today
Must respect each other’s concerns: Modi told Chinese Prez
Sonia picks regional leaders to corner BJP in Parliament
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Budget visionless: Cong
Efforts on to bring back workers from Iraq: Govt
Political funding: Cong moves SC against HC verdict
India to place special emphasis on neighbourhood: Sushma
MATTERS MILITARY
Haryana yet to get notice under Art 355
Leh airfield unfit for fighter ops
UP riots: Seven cases sent to sessions court
Close shave for Rajdhani as Maoists blow up track
Hate speech: Fresh summons against Owaisi
School chairman held in Bengaluru rape case
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India, US, Japan naval exercise from today
New Delhi, July 23 The move to invite Japan was okayed in December last year, especially after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed keenness to expand ties with India. In 2007 China had protested when Japan and joined the bilateral Navy exercise “Malabar”. The exercise starts on Thursday and ends on July 30. The US will be fielding its nuclear attack submarine, the USS Columbus and the newly made sea-borne aircraft carrier the USS George Washington. Indian Navy will be using three ships — the Stealth frigate INS Shivalik, INS Ranvijay and fleet tanker the INS Shakti. The Japanese will field their warships and also the sea plane the U-2. India has showed interest in buying these planes. The Malabar exercise used to be a bilateral one between India and the US, but China had protested when the war games – then conducted in the Bay of Bengal — were expanded in 2007 to include the Australian, Japanese and Singaporean navies as well. China views multilateral groupings as a mode to “contain’’ it. Beijing is locked in separate boundary disputes with India and Japan. New Delhi has tried to do a tight rope walk between countries like the US and Japan on one side and China on the other. India and China are also of course competing for the same strategic space in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and also energy resources.
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Must respect each other’s concerns: Modi told Chinese Prez
New Delhi, July 23 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, while giving details of last week’s meeting in Brazil, told Parliament today that Modi spoke about the “enormous opportunities” that exist to “work together not only to reinforce each other’s development, but also to contribute to peace, stability and progress in Asia and the world”. Modi “stressed the importance of strengthening mutual trust and confidence, maintaining peace and tranquility on the border and respecting each other’s interests and concerns, including in our shared neighbourhood, for realising the full potential of our relationship,” she said in a suo motu statement made in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. She did not elaborate on the “interests and concerns” in the “shared neighbourhood”, but India has been worried over Chinese efforts to expand its influence to countries like Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Modi underlined to Xi that increased people-to-people contacts between the two ancient civilisations could greatly strengthen the bilateral relationship, Swaraj said while giving details of the first meeting between the two leaders that took place in Fortelaza. Xi “shared our views on creating the right conditions and building a higher degree of engagement and familiarity between the two countries,” Sushma said. — PTI
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Sonia picks regional leaders to corner BJP in Parliament
New Delhi, July 23 The group will take a call on the overall opposition coordination plan in Parliament and on issues to be raised in the Houses to corner the BJP-led government. The 25-member Joint Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Congress, as it is called, will be chaired by Sonia Gandhi and has among members Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former defence minister AK Antony. The group is dominated by regional leaders with Capt Amarinder Singh and Anand Sharma leading the pack as respective deputy leaders of the party in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The panel comprises Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad, leaders of the Congress in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively. Ashwani Kumar, former Law Minister and Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, has returned to the power centre of the party with his inclusion in the coveted panel, which has only 11 members from Rajya Sabha. The Congress has 112 MPs in Parliament — 68 in Rajya Sabha and 44 in Lok Sabha. Among other regional leaders in the group are Rajya Sabha MPs Ambika Soni and Kumari Selja and Lok Sabha MP Deepender Hooda who is in the committee by virtue of his being the party’s whip in the lower House. Other members in the committee from the Rajya Sabha are chief whip Satyavrat Chaturvedi, AK Antony; Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel; former minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla and Pramod Tiwari from UP. Sources said Manmohan Singh was too senior to be named in a panel that has to strategise on day to day affairs. “His role would be of an elderly mentor’s,” a leader said.
The 25-member committee
* The Joint Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Congress will strategise on political issues in both Houses *
The group will take a call on the overall opposition coordination plan in Parliament *
Sources say former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too senior, will act as an elderly mentor
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Govt trying to humiliate SC collegium: Congress
New Delhi, July 23 “We suspect this has been engineered by the Government to humiliate the Supreme Court collegium. If you look at the entire issue and see the response of Law Minister in the Parliament, it becomes clear that the Government is using this matter to make a case for ending the collegiums system,” said Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed. He also questioned Katju’s accusations in the matter years after the issue had unfolded. “The issue which unfolded in 2005 is being raised today. This time lag itself is mystifying. The Government seems to be creating an atmosphere against the SC Collegium to show that it is partial. This is an insult to the collegiums,” said Ahmed adding that the Congress led Government had initiated the move to set up the Judicial Commission but the way the BJP was going about making a case for it was “unfortunate”.
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Budget visionless: Cong
New Delhi, July 23 Anand Sharma of the Congress alleged that the NDA government is trying to replicate various proposals and plans of UPA government through the budget. He said the inter-linking of rivers was UPA government’s proposal. He said it was dropped as it does not serve the purpose in the back drop of several river water disputes arising between states. He pointed out that allowing 49 per cent FDI in Defence manufacturing sector should be taken up cautiously as there would be an involvement of Private, Public and Foreign players. Sharma attacked the government for failing to acknowledge the contribution of the previous dispensation for inheriting a healthy economy.
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Efforts on to bring back workers from Iraq: Govt
New Delhi, July 23 “The government is working to ensure that every Indian in difficulty is brought back,” he told reporters. The 39 workers, mostly from Punjab, have been in captivity for almost one and a half months now in Mosul, the Iraqi town under the control of the militants. The spokesperson said India had quietly rescued another batch of 58 nurses from the conflict zone in Iraq. They were brought out of the conflict zone “in extremely difficult circumstances” through the land route.
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Political funding: Cong moves SC against HC verdict
New Delhi, July 23 In the appeal, the Congress said it had not concealed or suppressed the contributions received from two companies, Sterlite Industries and Sesa Goa Ltd, and had duly declared them in the returns submitted to the Election Commission as required under the Representation of People Act, 1950. There was also no suspicion that the amount was utilised for unlawful activities. Though the two companies were subsidiaries of UK-based Vedanta PLC, more than 50 per cent of the shares in Vedanta were held by Anil Aggarwal and members of his family and as such any “contribution made by them will not be deemed to be contributions from a foreign source,” the party said. If a company was a foreign company, but its contribution was not from a foreign source then such contributions would not fall within the provisions of the FCRA, it contended. The HC had failed to understand the scope and ambit of the Act, the party pleaded. The HC had given the ruling on March 28, 2014 on a PIL, contending that both the Congress and the BJP had received illegal foreign funds. The HC had asked the government to relook into the issue and re-appraise the receipts of the political parties to identify foreign contributions and take suitable action within six months.
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India to place special emphasis on neighbourhood: Sushma
New Delhi, July 23 India will place special emphasis on its neighbourhood, stretching from West Asia to East Asia, while playing a role to fulfill its international responsibilities to build a peaceful and prosperous world, she told Parliament. She made the statement on insistence by the Opposition Congress that the PM should make a statement on the 6th BRICS Summit attended by him. “There has never been a tradition (of making a statement on the BRICS Summit). We are starting a new tradition today,” she said before making the statement. She also said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to create the "right conditions" to harness the true potential of ties with India after PM Modi emphasised the need for respecting each other's "interests and concerns, including in the shared neighbourhood". She said during his talks with Xi, Modi spoke of the "enormous opportunities" that exist to "work together not only to reinforce each other's development, but also to contribute to peace, stability and progress in the world".
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Oldest regiment’s youngest battalion takes first step
The Army’s oldest regiment also happens to have the youngest battalion. With new battalions being formed for the upcoming Strike Corps against China, the Punjab Regiment has raised an additional battalion. Designated as 29 Punjab, the unit, with Col HS Guleria as its first Commanding Officer, moved to its first operational deployment somewhere in the western sector earlier this month. On the eve of its departure from the Punjab Regimental Centre at Ramgarh in Jharkhand, where it was raised, Lt Gen BS Sachar, Colonel of the Punjab Regiment, addressed all officers and men of the battalion and exhorted them to uphold regimental traditions and strive for professional excellence. With this, the Punjab Regiment’s strength has gone up to 19 regular battalions in addition to four Rashtriya Rifles and three Territorial Army units. One of the oldest and most highly decorated regiments of the Army, it traces its history to 1761. The Army’s two elite outfits, First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment and the First Battalion of Brigade of The Guards, are erstwhile Punjab Regiment units. C’wealth Games: Army fields women shooter
In the list of 17 persons from the Army who are representing India in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, one name — Seema Tomar — stands out. A non-combatant, she the only woman in the Army’s contingent. She was employed by the Army in 2004 under the sports quota as a part of the Mission Olympics and is working as a clerk. The 32-year-old shooter has trained at the Army Shooting Nore in Mhow and won a string of national and international shooting competitions. The 215-strong Indian contingent has 30 shooters out of which 13 are women. 70th anniversary of the Battle of Imphal
Seventy years ago, the month of July saw the turning point in favour of the allies during the Burma Campaign of the World War-II. It was the Battle of Imphal, which was fought between the British and the Japanese between March and July 1944. The battle took place in the region around Imphal in Manipur. The Japanese army attempted to destroy the allied forces and invade India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses. This was the largest defeat suffered by the Japanese till date. The Battle was largely fought by Indian and Gorkha troops with the 17, 20 and 23 Indian Infantry Divisions, 20 Indian Parachute Brigade and 254 Indian Tank Brigade under IV Corps as part of William Slim’s 14th Army. The allied air forces also played a decisive logistic role, ferrying in troops. “The disaster at Imphal was perhaps the worst of its kind yet chronicled in the annals of war.” Kase Toshikazu, a Japanese Foreign Office functionary later recorded. War-decorated General passes away
Lt Joginder Singh Bakshi, a recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), passed away at New Delhi this week. He was 86. As commander of a mountain brigade in the eastern Theatre during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, he had launched successful attacks and captured a number of well-prepared enemy localities, culminating in the capture of Bogra. His MVC citation states that he had displayed professional competence of a high order and by his daring execution outwitted the opposing forces breaking their resistance and capturing a large number of men and equipment including the commander of 205 Brigade of the Pakistan Army. He later raised and commanded 3 Corps in the north-east and was also Colonel of the Jat Regiment. Veteran sailors’ meet
The Veteran Sailors’ Forum (North Zone) is scheduled to hold its 6th Annual General Body Meeting on July 27 at Varunika in New Delhi. In addition to taking up issues related to ex-servicemen welfare, medicare, pension, interaction with agencies associated with ex-servicemen welfare, the Indian Naval Placement Agency, Indian Naval Benevolent Association, Directorate of Pay and Allowances, and Pension Disbursal Agencies will also take place. Representatives of ECHS are also scheduled to address the veterans to update them on the new facilities. Vijay Mohan
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Haryana yet to get notice under Art 355
Chandigarh, July 23 “There is no question of responding or reacting when we have not heard anything from the Centre,” Haryana Chief Secretary SC Choudhary said today. Punjab has launched a protest with the Centre asking it to intervene in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha legislation — the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act — that provides for a separate body to run and manage gurdwaras in Haryana. So far, the historical gurdwaras in Haryana were managed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee (SGPC) formed under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. Article 356 gives powers to the Central Government to dismiss the state government and Article 352 allows the proclamation of Emergency. Like Article 356 and 352, Article 355 also allows the Union to decide suo motu whether the situation in a state calls for the deployment of Central forces, though “it is desirable to consult the state concerned, whenever feasible, before deploying armed forces, otherwise than at the request of the state”. After the Centre’s letter was mocked by the Haryana Government as being “amusing” the Home Ministry on Tuesday sent a communication to the Hooda government under Article 355 to ensure that the government functions in accordance with the Constitution. In his letter, Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami asked the Haryana Chief Secretary to bring facts to the notice of the Haryana Governor so he withdraws the assent given to the Bill. Goswami’s letter read: “Request the Governor to withdraw the assent given by him to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, 2014…. It has come to the notice of the Central Government that the Legislative Assembly of Haryana has passed the Bill and the Governor has given his assent to it on July 14 without reserving the Bill for consideration and assent of the President of India....The state legislature is therefore denuded of any jurisdiction to pass any Bill in respect of which only Parliament has exclusive powers to enact law. The law is already in place since 1925 and there is no jurisdiction of Haryana state legislature to have passed a law on the same subject matter, taking away the jurisdiction of the board / corporation on basis of 1925 Act...” Article 355 of the Constitution, one of the three important emergency provisions — and a less drastic one — is rarely used by the Centre. It enjoins on “the Union to protect every state against external aggression and internal disturbances and to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”.
Central Govt’s letter to Haryana
"Request the Governor to withdraw the assent given by him to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, 2014…. It has come to the notice of the Central Government that the Legislative Assembly of Haryana has passed the Bill and the Governor has given his assent to it on July 14 without reserving the Bill for consideration and assent of the President of India....The state legislature is therefore denuded of any jurisdiction to pass any Bill in respect of which only Parliament has exclusive powers to enact law."
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Leh airfield unfit for fighter ops
Chandigarh, July 23 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved resurfacing of the runway in March, 2009, at an estimated cost of Rs 29.39 crore. Later, changes in the design were made and a revised sanction for Rs 34.45 crore was obtained in March 2010. The work was completed in October 2011 at a cost of Rs 36.12 crore. After the completion of the work, the Air Force noticed continuous degradation of the runway due to surface wear and tear. After temporary repairs were carried out in 2012, the runway surface was checked after landings by a few aircraft and it was found that the runway had suffered from abrasions to the surface due to trye friction and adjudged unfit for fighter operations. In 2013, an inspection revealed that Rs 3.22 crore would be needed for temporary restoration of the runway and Rs 10.21 crore for permanent measures. The chief engineer claimed that the surface was damaged due to the unconventional method under which salt and chemicals were used to remove snow. The Comptroller and auditor General (CAG), in its latest report, rejected this notion on the grounds that the surface had damaged immediately after resurfacing was done. It also observed that a final decision to go in for temporary repairs or permanent measures was still pending. The CAG also pointed out that a drainage system to prevent flash floods was sanctioned in April 2007 at a cost of Rs 3.27 crore and was to be complete in a year. However, till July 2010, only 43 per cent work was done which too was damaged by a cloud burst that had hit Leh, covering the airfield with mud and debris. The drainage system is still to come up. Further, the CAG observed that the airfield lighting system conceived in 1999 to facilitate nigh flying by transport aircraft is yet to be installed. The Leh airfield is used to sustain forward Army positions in Ladakh. In the absence of a lighting system, solar goose neck flares were being used. The board of officers for the system was initiated in December 1999 and finalised in June 2003, but sanction for work was accorded only in 2008. The work, however, was not released for execution and the Air Headquarters later stated that the project had been closed. The provision of a lighting system at Leh will be included in the phase two of the project for modernisation of airfield infrastructure after the completion of the first phase covering 30 airfields.
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UP riots: Seven cases sent to sessions court
Muzaffarnagar, July 23 CJM Narender Kumar yesterday sent the seven cases, including that of gangrape against riot accused
Roki, to the Sessions court. The Sessions Court has fixed August 20 for framing of charges against the accused in seven cases here. The prosecution claimed a riot victim was gangraped by six persons, including
Roki, who was later arrested. The police had arrested Roki on March 25 in connection with six riot cases, including
gangrape, during the riots. The police had registered seven riot cases, including
gangrape, loot, burning, rioting and murder, against Roki. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Muzaffarnagar riots has filed a charge-sheet against the arrested accused Roki separately in court. The seven cases would be heard against Roki separately in court. — PTI
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Close shave for Rajdhani as Maoists blow up track
Aurangabad (Bihar), July 23 No casualty was reported in the blast that took place late last night, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Magadh range, PK Shrivastava told PTI. In Patna, Chief Public Relations Officer, East Central Railway, Arvind Kumar Rajak said the advance pilot engine running ahead of Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express jumped off the track. Nearly one dozen mail and Express trains, including three Rajdhani Express, have been stranded at various places between Gaya and Mughalsarai due to the incident, Rajak said. The blast was triggered during a day-long bandh call given by Maoists against police firing in Aurangabad and Rohtas.
Top Maoist killed
A top Naxal commander and aide of dreaded Maoist leader Kundan Pahan was on Wednesday killed by security forces in a pre-dawn encounter in the forests of Khunti district of Jharkhand. — PTI
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Hate speech: Fresh summons against Owaisi
Mumbai, July 23 The metropolitan magistrate court has asked the MIM leader to be present before it next month. “Earlier summons were issued against him (Owaisi) in May. However, since there was no report from the Hyderabad police confirming service of the summons, fresh summons have been issued,” said lawyer Gulam Hussain Khan who had filed the complaint in person last year. Khan had told the court that Owaisi delivered the hate speech in Andhra Pradesh in 2012, with an intention to harm the harmony between Hindus and Muslims. Khan said Owaisi’s speech had hurt his religious sentiments and it was against the teachings of Islam. Owaisi represents Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad. — PTI
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School chairman held in Bengaluru rape case
Bangalore, July 23 “We have booked the school chairman for destruction of evidence, denial of information to the police and a criminal act on a minor under his custody,” said MN Reddi, city Police Commissioner. This is the second arrest after that of Mustafa, a skating instructor, as the main accused on Sunday. Meanwhile, many parents asked the newly appointed Bangalore city Police Commissioner MN Reddi to re-open the school when he visited the school yesterday. At a meeting with Karnataka Education Minister K Ratnakar, parents urged the minister to put on hold the state government’s missive to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations for de-recognising the school.
3-yr-old beaten up by tutor
Kolkata:
The torture of a three-year-old-child by his private tutor, which was captured in the house's CCTV, triggered public outcry today after television channels showed her beating up the child, kicking and throwing him on the floor. The incident occurred at the child's house in the Dankhindari area, under the Bidhannagar police station, this morning when the family was away for shopping. The teacher, Puja Singh, and her husband Rohit Singh of the area were at large.
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The Army’s oldest regiment also happens to have the youngest battalion. With new battalions being formed for the upcoming Strike Corps against China, the Punjab Regiment has raised an additional battalion. Designated as 29 Punjab, the unit, with Col HS Guleria as its first Commanding Officer, moved to its first operational deployment somewhere in the western sector earlier this month.
Chandigarh, July 23
Maoists blew up a portion of railway track on the Ismailpur-Rafiganj section in Bihar, leading to derailment of a pilot engine running ahead of the
Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express.
The police arrested Rustom
Kerawalla, the chairman of Vibgyor High International School, in connection with the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl on the school premises.
“We have booked the school chairman for destruction of evidence, denial of information to the police and a criminal act on a minor under his custody,” said MN
Reddi, city Police Commissioner.
As Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal protested against the Haryana Government’s action of forming a separate body for gurdwaras in Haryana, the Union Government wrote to Haryana with the opinion of the Attorney General of India who said: “The Haryana legislature is denuded of any jurisdiction to pass any bill in respect of which only Parliament has exclusive powers to enact a law.”