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Assembly bypolls in four states
Congress upbeat over waning Modi
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Congress wrests one seat from BJP in MP
SC dismisses PILs against judicial commission Bill
Sheila ‘under pressure’, may quit as Kerala Guv
India-Russia Air Force exercise starts
LoC firing: India, Pak DGMOs to meet today
New Lokpal rules to be notified soon
Saradha scam: CBI arrests firm director
Assam Oppn corners govt over Bodo girl’s killing
PM seeks report on power sector woes
Tenure of bureaucrat named in Chaturvedi row won’t be extended
Mumbai’s BJP MP booked for assaulting cop
Govt calls school secys to discuss toilets, RTE Brig accused of sodomy quits
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Assembly bypolls in four states Out of 10 seats, alliance bags six while BJP gets four, Cong wins Bhagalpur after 23 yrs
In the 2010 Assembly poll, the BJP had won six of the 10 seats which went to polls, while the RJD was victorious on three and JD(U) on one. This time, the BJP won four seats — Narkatiaganj, Hajipur, Banka and Mohania (SC). The RJD was victorious in Rajnagar (SC), Chapra and Mohiuddinagar. The ruling JD(U) won in Jale and Parbatta, while the Congress wrested Bhagalpur from the BJP. The bypolls outcome would not have much impact on the health of Jitan Ram Manjhi’s ministry as it already enjoys support of 145 MLAs in the 243-member House. The result has infused new energy in the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress in the state after they received severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress benefited from the tie-up as its candidate Ajeet Kumar Sharma won from Bhagalpur by 17,229 votes. The BJP had been winning the Bhagalpur seat continuously since 1990. Its leader Ashwani Choubey had vacated this seat after being elected to the LS from Buxar.
Happy over ‘experiment’
With the “secular alliance” successfully halting the BJP’s victory, an elated JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar today expressed satisfaction over the “experiment”.
“The experiment we made through the tie-up has proved successful. People have expressed their mind and mood in favour of it,” Nitish Kumar said. He said the outcome suggested that the tie-up would be broadened to include Left parties to check the BJP's "communal agenda".
Tie-up to continue
Bihar RJD president Ramchandra Purbey communicated Prasad’s reaction over the bypoll results to reporters here as the RJD supremo is undergoing treatment at a Mumbai hospital. “The alliance will continue in the coming Assembly polls,” Purbey said quoting
Prasad.
BJP accepts verdict
Putting up a brave face, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said, “We accept the verdict of the people with humility and know that our performance has not been up to expectation.”
— PTI
Lalu hospitalised with heart trouble
Mumbai: Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was admitted to the Asian Heart Hospital on Monday morning from Patna for treatment of a heart condition. Yadav arrived in Mumbai by air and walked into the hospital disregarding advice to be ferried in a wheelchair. Yadav's associates in Mumbai said the 66-year old leader is suffering from a heart condition and has been advised to undergo a heart valve replacement surgery. At the hospital, Yadav underwent several tests and the reports would be in by Tuesday, sources said.
— TNS
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Congress upbeat over waning Modi magic New Delhi, August 25 Muted in its celebration of the fact that together with the RJD and the JDU, it had managed to restrict the BJP to four seats out of 10 that went to polls in Bihar, the Congress today described the results as "some solace". But party leaders were vocal about the fact that Modi magic was no longer at play with general secretary Shakeel Ahmad saying after the victory, "One thing these results have firmly established is - the Modi magic is gone and the wave is receding. The BJP can no longer hope to win citing the Modi factor as was the case in the Lok Sabha polls." He argued his point saying the 18 segments whose results were declared today were spread across India - north, central and south. But Ahmad was not ecstatic in his response on victory and termed it only as "a bit positive for the Congress" adding that the party would wait and watch for the future trends. Keen on tie-ups A major takeaway for the Congress in these elections, however, is the strength of alliances rather than the go-alone policy. After it wrested six out of 10 seats in an alliance with Lalu and Nitish in Bihar, the Congress is set to strike more tie-ups in Jharkhand where the party is also in talks with the JVM for a tie-up. "We will form alliances where possible," said top leaders even as Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi is said to be a votary of the go-alone policy. But party leaders said this policy was not hard and fast and had been tweaked in Bihar where the Congress would not have allied with Lalu, had it not been for Rahul's consent. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was the one to bring the Congress to power in 2004 by stitching powerful alliances - a practice Rahul Gandhi did not follow in letter and spirit. The party is now learning to work with like-minded people to keep the BJP at bay although it has done well in Karnataka where it went alone. In Karnataka, Congress' high point has been the Bellary Rural seat which it wrested from the BJP. The seat was earlier held by current BJP MP B Sriramulu. In Punjab where the party won the Patiala seat and lost Talwandi Sabo, Shakeel Ahmad, general secretary in charge of Punjab, said, "We lost Talwandi because our own former MLA Jeet Mohinder Sidhu was contesting from the Akali side."
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Blow for BJP as Congress wins two seats in Karnataka
Bangalore, August 25 In a blow to the BJP, Congress’ NY Gopalakrishna defeated BJP candidate Obalesh by 33,104 votes in Bellary, considered to be a BJP bastion. The victory margin of Gopalakrishna in Bellary is identical to what Sreeramulu had secured in 2013. Sreeramulu, who too had broken away from the BJP before the Assembly polls, fought as a representative of the BSR Congress launched by him and had won the elections by 33,294 votes. In the LS polls, Sreeramulu, who successfully fought it as a BJP candidate from Bellary, had a margin of 9,244 votes over his rival. But the table turned against Sreeramulu this time round. The defeat of Obalesh is being seen as a big blow for the BJP MP, considered a close associate of the imprisoned mining baron Janardhana Reddy. The Chikkodi-Sadalga seat was retained by the Congress but its candidate Ganesh Hukkeri’s victory margin came down to 31,820 from 76,586 secured by his father Prakash Hukkeri in the 2013 Assembly polls. Ganesh defeated BJP’s Mahantesh Kavatagimath. The results will give a boost to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who faced flaks after the BJP won 17 of the 28 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. He attributed the victory to the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He said the results showed that the “Modi wave” was a “temporary phenomenon”. Newly elected BJP national vice-president and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s son BY Raghavandra retained the Shikaripura seat vacated by his father who now represents the Shimoga constituency in the Lok Sabha. Raghavendra defeated Congress’ HS Shantaveerappa Gowda it by 6,430 votes. Yeddyurappa said the state Cabinet had taken the bypolls as a challenge. “We had expected a huge margin in Shikaripura. But this time, it was a straight fight. The JD(S) had tied up with the Congress.” After the results, the Congress’ strength has become 122 in the 225-member Karnataka Assembly. The main opposition party BJP’s strength has remained unaltered at 43.
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Congress wrests one seat from BJP in MP
Bhopal, August 25 Sourabh Singh, who joined the Congress recently after quitting the
BSP, won from Bahoriband by a margin of 7,977 votes. The BJP wrested Vijayraghavgarh from the Congress as its candidate Sanjay Pathak won by a convincing margin of 53,397 votes over Congress’ former Mayor Brajendra Mishra Pathak secured 90,084 votes, while Mishra got 36,687. The BJP also retained the Agar seat with its candidate Gopal Parmar defeating Congress’ Rajkumar Gore by 27,102 votes. The by-poll was necessitated in Agar
(Malwa) after sitting BJP MLA Manohar Untwal got elected as an MP from
Dewas. — PTI
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SC dismisses PILs against judicial commission Bill
A Bench headed by Justice AR Dave, however, made it clear that the PIL petitioners, including the SC Advocates-on-Record (AOR) Association, would be free to approach the apex court again after the notification of the two laws. The Bench, which included Justices J Chelameswar and AK Sikri, said it was not entertaining the PILs as these were “premature.” Rohatgi said though the Constitution Amendment Bill on the issue had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, it would have to go through three more stages – ratification by at least half of the state assemblies (15 of 29), Presidential assent and notification – before becoming part of the Constitution. He also assured the Bench that the government would seek Presidential assent to the NJAC Act only after notifying the related Constitution amendment. The AG contended that the SC’s interference at this stage when the state assemblies were yet to consider the amendment would amount to denying them of their constitutional right, besides resulting in chaos. It would also amount to judicial intrusion into the domains of the legislature and the executive. Appearing for the AORs, senior advocate Fali Nariman pleaded that the SC was competent to intervene in Constitutional amendments even before the final notification and the bar on judiciary related only to enactment of ordinary laws by Parliament. He also questioned the competence of the government and Parliament to have the NJAC Bill 2014 passed simultaneously with the Constitution Amendment Bill. The NJAC Bill could have been introduced in Parliament only after the Constitution Amendment Bill was passed and notified, he contended. Rohatgi, however, pleaded that these contentions could not be gone into at this stage when there was no cause of action since nobody’s rights had been affected so far. Nobody knew what the state assemblies or the President would do on the issue, he said. One of the petitioners, advocate ML Sharma, argued that the Constitution did not have Article 124(a), but the amendment had Article 124(a) and as such the amendment was invalid. Advocates R Krishnamurthy and N Rajaraman, joint petitioners, said the government should have taken the view of the Chief Justice of India for introducing the NJAC Bill. The Bill should have contained his view even if the CJI had expressed himself against the move. Under the Constitution, the CJI had a vital role in the appointment of judges, they pleaded.
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Vietnam seeks India’s help for safety
Ashok Tuteja in Hanoi Vietnam, which is involved in a bitter feud with Beijing over the South China Sea, sought India’s cooperation in ensuring safety, security and freedom of navigation in the disputed sea on Monday. “The development and integration of ASEAN and India lie in the East Sea (the South China Sea) and the Indian Ocean. Territorial disputes must be settled through peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982,” Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said in his keynote address at the third roundtable on ASEAN-India network of think tanks. Inaugurating the meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is on a three-day visit to Hanoi, reassured Vietnam and other ASEAN countries about India’s commitment to strengthen economic and trade links and connectivity with the vibrant region. Earlier, Swaraj and the Vietnamese minister held talks on bilateral issues, in which the South China issue is understood to have figured prominently, apart from defence, economic, education and culture-related matters. More than a dozen Indian Heads of Missions (HoMs) of the countries in the region who are here for a meeting with Swaraj were briefed separately by Vietnamese officials on the latest developments in the China-Vietnam dispute over the South China Sea. Briefing the media, MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddinsaid Swaraj told her Vietnamese counterpart that ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) was looking at the five more blocks offered by Hanoi to India in November last year for oil exploration in the South China Sea in terms of their feasibility. This was in addition to the two oil blocks in which India has been involved for the last four years, ignoring China’s objections. The lease of these two blocks was recently extended by Vietnam for another one year. Swaraj is learnt to have reiterated New Delhi’s stand while India was not a party to the South China dispute, it favoured a peaceful resolution in accordance with international laws. Pending a final settlement, there should be no impediment to freedom of navigation in the sea. Though the MEA spokesperson did not confirm, there were indications that the two countries could sign an agreement on defence cooperation when President Pranab Mukherjee visits Vietnam in mid-September. The accord could entail increasing the slots for Vietnamese defence personnel in Indian defence training institutes. In the economic field, the two countries set an ambitious target of achieving the 15 billion dollar mark in bilateral trade by 2020. In the field of culture, India announced its decision to set up a cultural centre in Hanoi. India to explore 5 oil blocks
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Clegg, Modi discuss energy, infra projects
New Delhi, August 25 The UK’s intent was expressed by its Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg when he met Modi and discussed a wide range of issues, including energy and WTO talks. During the meeting, Clegg conveyed UK’s strong desire to further strengthen and deepen relations with India. “Expressing deep appreciation for the ambitious goal of Indian’s economic and social transformation that the new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi had set, he conveyed the desire of the UK to work together with India in realising this goal,” a PMO statement said. Modi expressed appreciation for British Prime Minister David Cameron’s personal interest and commitment to India-UK relationship. He called for greater collaboration between the two countries in areas of education, skill development, clean energy, infrastructure development and cleaning of rivers. The UK side, which also included UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, conveyed their appreciation for the work done in Gujarat in the area of clean energy and preservation of environment, the statement said. Modi said it is a priority area for his government which plans to develop 500 model towns in India with facilities for solid waste management and waste water treatment. Further, the government wants to develop all Himalayan states as ‘Organic States’ which would also have environmental benefits, the statement said, adding Modi also articulated his vision of creating mass participation in energy efficiency. Modi invited the UK to partner in these efforts. He also asked the international community to take steps to provide clean technology to developing and under-developed countries at affordable prices. — PTI
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Seaplane service takes off in Mumbai
Mumbai, August 25 “We have received tremendous response from the customers. As a matter-of-fact, both the daily flights and weekly flights that we will operate have seen full bookings till September 15,” Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Pvt Ltd (MEHAIR) co-founder and director Siddharth Verma told mediapersons after the launch. He said the company planned to set up a training facility for seaplane pilots to meet the demand. “Right now there are very few pilots to operate a seaplane. We are planning to establish a conversion school (training academy) for pilots, which will train commercial pilot licence (CPL) holders for these type of aircraft,” Verma said. Mehair is already operating seaplanes operations in the Andaman and Nicobar islands since January 2011, Verma said. Tickets for the 25-minute one-way journey between Mumbai and Lonavla has been priced at Rs 2,999 per head. Fares would be revised from mid-September, Verma said. Services would later be expanded to four more destinations. Seaplanes can land on water bodies and this service would open up several new areas in Maharashtra that lack runways, according to the state government. “These services will boost tourism greatly. Seaplanes will turn vacation destinations into weekend destinations. The fatigue involved in reaching these destinations will also come down drastically,” Jagdish Patil, Managing Director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), said.
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Sheila ‘under pressure’, may quit as Kerala Guv
Dikshit’s meetings came a day after her Maharashtra counterpart K Sankaranarayanan quit, protesting his transfer to Mizoram. Five UPA-appointed Governors have already resigned after being nudged by the NDA government. Sources close to 76-year-old Dikshit, who took charge of Kerala Raj Bhawan only five months back, indicated that the former Delhi Chief Minister may put in her papers as she was under pressure to do so. However, when asked whether she will resign, Dikshit refused to give a direct answer. “You will know, when I take any such decision,” she told PTI. Dikshit, who served as Delhi Chief Minister from 1998 to 2013, was appointed Kerala governor in March just before the model code of conduct came into force for the Lok Sabha polls. During her 15-minute meeting with the Home Minister, Dikshit is understood to have discussed about her continuation in Thiruvananthapuram Raj Bhavan, sources said. She is said to have refused to quit after the NDA government had allegedly nudged her to resign.
— PTI
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India-Russia Air Force exercise starts
New Delhi, August 25 “Avia Indra-2014” is the first exercise of its kind between the two Air Forces and is seen as a major milestone in military relations, IAF spokesperson Group Captain Gerard Galway said. This involves participation of fighter pilots, helicopter pilots, missile combat crew and engineers from the Indian Air Force along with their counterparts from
Russia. — TNS
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LoC firing: India, Pak DGMOs to meet today
New Delhi, August 25 Indian DGMO is expected to take up the issue of ‘unprovoked’ firing by Pakistan from across the 749-km Line of Control (LoC) and the 198-long international boundary (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan had, on August 23, asked India to convene a formal meeting of the DGMOs to sort out the recent spurt in firings for which it blames India. The last time the DGMOs met was at the Attari-Wagah land crossing on December 24 last year when Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia (since retired) had met his counterpart Maj General Amir Riaz for a three-hour meeting. Pakistan’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, has said the DGMOs of both countries should meet immediately and discuss ways to stop the current spate in firing. The conversation tomorrow is scheduled to take place over the hotline installed between the Indian Army headquarters at South Block here and the Pakistan Army HQ at Rawalpindi. Lt Gen PR Kumar is the Indian DGMO while Maj Gen Amir Riaz is the Pakistan DGMO. The Additional DGMOs on either side are expected to talk to each other on behalf of their respective bosses and convey their opinions. Sources said there was spurt in firing targeting Indian civilians, especially along the IB section, guarded by the BSF. The BSF commanders at the local level had sought a flag meeting with his Pakistani counterpart but the Pakistan side has not accepted the proposal.
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New Lokpal rules to be notified soon
New Delhi, August 25 The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is finalising the new rules in consultation with the Law Ministry, official sources said. The search committee is likely to get power to recommend people for chairperson and members of Lokpal from outside the list, to be provided by the DoPT, for consideration of Prime Minister-led selection committee, they said. Under the existing rules, an eight-member search panel is tasked to draw up a panel of persons for consideration by the selection committee. The search panel has to choose these persons from among the panel provided by the DoPT.
— PTI
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10 killed in MP temple stampede
The exact number of those injured was yet to be ascertained, a senior official said. Earlier, it was reported that over 60 people were injured in the mishap. Many pilgrims thronged the temple as it was the auspicious “Somvati Amavasya”. “Ten persons were killed in the stampede,” District Collector ML Meena said. Devotees, mostly women, encircle the mountain by lying and rolling on the path for worship. The presence of a large crowd resulted in the stampede in the area leaving 10 people dead, he said. MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe into the accident. He has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of those killed in the stampede; Rs 50,000 to the seriously injured and Rs 10,000 to those who suffered minor injuries. The exact number of people injured in the stampede will be known later, as the Collector and other senior officials have rushed to the spot from Satna to review the situation, a state government official said. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the loss of lives in the stampede. “Deeply saddened to know about 10 pilgrim deaths in a stampede at a temple in the Chitrakoot area of Madhya Pradesh,” he tweeted.
— Agencies Rs 2 lakh for kin of deceased Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav announced Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of those killed in the stampede. "The CM has announced Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of those killed, while Rs 50,000 each for those who were injured in the incident," an official release said here. — Agencies
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Saradha scam: CBI arrests firm director
New Delhi, August 25 The suspect, Joytiprakash Joyprakash, founder director of the group, was arrested yesterday by the agency from Bhubneswar. It is alleged that the company had cheated investors worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Last week, the CBI had arrested another director of the company Sambit Khuntia, who had evaded arrest for nearly a month. The CBI had also conducted raids on 56 locations against Artha Tatwa Group. The raids were conducted in Mumbai, Berhampur, Baleshwar, Bhadrak and in Bhubneswar. Those whose premises were searched included Pravat Tripathi, BJD MLA from Banki; Ashirbad Behera, secretary, Orissa Cricket Association; Bikash Swain, proprietor, Suryaprabha newspaper, Pradip Shetty, CMD and other directors. CBI sources said Joyprakash was appointed as branch head in Kolkata, along with chairman and managing director of the company Pradip Sethy who is presently in judicial custody, to expand business in West Bengal. The CBI has registered 44 FIRs in Odisha against as many chit fund companies. These are all off-shoot of the Saradha scam. The Supreme Court had handed over the Saradha chit fund scam to the CBI and asked the state governments to provide all logistical help to the agency’s team probing the matter. ED grills TMC MP
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SC notice to Punjab, Haryana on SGPC plea
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, August 25 A Bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha also granted further time to the Centre to file its reply to the PIL filed by Harbhajan Singh, SGPC member from Kurukshetra, challenging the HSGM Act 2014. Both PIL and SGPC plea would be taken up for next hearing on October 17. The PIL has named SGPC as respondent number three, while Haryana and the Centre are the first two respondents. The SGPC’s plea is viewed as a move to guard against abrupt withdrawal of the PIL by Singh which would go to the advantage of Haryana. Appearing for Haryana, senior counsel Abhishekh Singh sought a directive to the SGPC to prevent its office-bearers of gurdwaras in Haryana from carrying weapons inside the respective shrines in order to facilitate maintenance of law and order. The Bench, however, said it had already passed an order on August 7, directing the state police to prevent violence over the issue. In its application seeking to become a petitioner, the SGPC said since the HSGM Act had a direct bearing on the committee its prayer should be allowed. The Haryana law had sought to divest SGPC of its control over the notified Gurdwaras within the state, it noted. The SGPC also contended that it had been recognised as an inter-state entity under the Inter-State Corporations Act 1957 and the State Re-Organisation Act 1956 and as such only Parliament had the power to amend laws relating to notified gurdwaras. In its affidavit, Haryana defended its new law and questioned the PIL petitioner’s contention that the state did not have the power to enact the gurdwaras’ management Act. Under the Punjab Re-organisation Act, the central gurdwaras Act was valid only until Haryana enacted its own law. HSGMC has also made similar contentions in its affidavit. On August 7, the SC has ordered status quo over the control of gurdwaras in Haryana. Of the 52 notified gurdwaras in Haryana, eight are categorised as historic shrines and placed in the first schedule, while 17 having incomes above Rs 20 lakh a year are on second list and the remaining 27 on the third list.
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Assam Oppn corners govt over Bodo girl’s killing
Guwahati, August 25 Led by Bodoland People’s Front MLA Promila Rani Brahma, Opposition MLAs demanded a discussion on the floor of the House and a statement from the government about the murder of the young girl. Brahma, a prominent women leader from the Bodo community, asked whether the security forces were using her as an informer and if so, why did the forces fail to provide security to her. She criticised the government for failing in providing security to people in Bodoland areas against the marauding National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbijit) (NDFB-S) insurgents. The Bodo leader said the government was yet to provide adequate security to the family of Priya who was killed in broad daylight by militants, making a mockery of the “so-called counter-insurgency (CI) operations” in the state. However, the Treasury Bench insisted on making a statement over the incident first and discussion later, much to the chagrin of the Opposition MLAs. The Speaker then assured the House to facilitate a discussion over the issue on a later date. Opposition MLAs flayed the government for taking no action against local policemen who had failed to retrieve the body of the girl for two days after her killing and allowed it to lie unattended on a field. Congress’ rebel MLA Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma demanded the dismissal of the officer in charge of the local police station for failing to recover the girl’s body for two days. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi later told the media outside the House that Priya was not being used as an informer by security forces and she was an an innocent girl.
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PM seeks report on power sector woes
New Delhi, August 25 Reports said the Prime Minister not only discussed the fallout of the apex court’s verdict but also wanted to know about the bottlenecks that were affecting the power sector. Infrastructure development has been one the main priorities of the Prime Minister and as such he tries to keep himself abreast of the developments, an official said. The Supreme Court has earlier in the day held that all coal block allocations made since 1993 till 2010 before pre-auction era during previous NDA and UPA regimes have been done in an illegal manner by an ad-hoc and casual approach without application of mind. Reacting to the court’s verdict, Goyal said, “We respect the Supreme Court’s order. This has brought a finality and closure to a dispute that has been there for many years. The economy can now move forward rather than being in shadow of uncertainty”. On Congress’ allegations, Goyal said, “Please read this judgment in detail. After that, if you think any question arises, I will answer them. The government is prepared to act swiftly once final decision is pronounced in the court.” He added, “The Prime Minister desires that all issues which are urgent and need to be prioritised should be quickly resolved”. He met the Prime Minister along with Jaitley. “As the PM has said in the past that this government works as an organic entity, it interacts with various ministries to learn and understand the priority issues and ways to resolve them on a real time basis,” he added. Goyal is also believed to have provided an account of his work in the past three months to the Prime Minister. These issues range from resolving the conflicts between power sector borrowers and banks. The bankers have time and again raised the issue of delayed regulatory clearances, with the government, which led to banks and other financial institutions shying away from investing in the sector.
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Tenure of bureaucrat named in Chaturvedi row won’t be extended New Delhi, August 25 The decision of the ACC coincides with the controversy around Chaturvedi who was recently removed as Chief Vigilance Officer of
AIIMS, a central institution. Vishwas Mehta is the same bureaucrat who had last year written a favourable note for Chaturvedi in response to BJP MP JP Nadda’s letter to the government questioning the appointment of Chaturvedi as CVO against the rules prescribed by the Chief Vigilance Commission.
Mehta today confirmed to The Tribune that he would not get an extension of tenure beyond October when his five-year term in the Ministry comes to an end. He, however, said the move had nothing to do with the Chaturvedi row.
“There is no link between the ACC decision to not extend my tenure and Chaturvedi’s case. I complete my five-year tenure in the Health Ministry in October. Then I go back to my cadre
Kerala,” said Mehta whose internal note in Chaturvedi’s case has come under scrutiny.
Mehta, however, said he had backed Chaturvedi's continuation solely on the basis of the officer’s honesty. Chaturvedi was recently removed as the AIIMS CVO but continues to hold the post of Deputy Secretary in the
AIIMS, which is his original post, the CVO's charge being additional.
It is learnt that both former Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and incumbent Harsh Vardhan wanted Mehta to continue for a year after his tenure in the Ministry ended in July this year. Mehta has a role in medical education reforms as in charge of medical education and MCI in the ministry.
Earlier in July his term was extended by three years by the Cabinet secretary. The Ministry is learnt to have recommended further extension of his tenure up to July next but the ACC declined it.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Government has refused to give NOC for Mehta’s continuation in the Ministry citing shortage of officers.
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Mumbai’s BJP MP booked for assaulting cop
Mumbai, August 25 Somaiya, who was elected from Mumbai-North East constituency, got into an argument with police officials at the Navghar police station on August 21 over complaints filed against some BJP workers. Somaiya and some of his associates had been summoned in connection with a clash between workers of the BJP and the NCP earlier this year. The MP got into an argument after the police took his
associate Parikshit Dhume into custody and refused to let him go. — TNS
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Govt calls school secys to discuss toilets, RTE
New Delhi, August 25 On the discussion table will be the status of sanitation coverage in over 13 lakh schools in the country, progress on the targets under the Right to Education Act, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. Sources said the RTE Act, SSA and the RMSA schemes would be reviewed after assessing gaps in the implementation of targets.
— TNS
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Patna, August 25
New Delhi, August 25
Satna/Bhopal, August 25
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned TMC Rajya
Sabha MP Ahmed Hasan Imran in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam