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Modi to address UN Assembly tomorrow
PLA doesn’t differ with Xi, says Chinese envoy
sexual harassment
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CBI books MCI officials for ‘favouring’ college
Cabinet nod to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
M’rashtra polls: Cong releases first list India savours MOM’s success
Sant Rampal fails to appear in high court
Missed call to women will lead to jail in Bihar
Now, Sena, BJP fight over seats for smaller parties
Death toll 68 in Assam, Meghalaya floods
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Modi to address UN Assembly tomorrow
New Delhi, Sep 24 Expecting a "substantive" outcome, India said, “We see Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to New York and Washington as a signal of India's abiding commitment to multilateralism and of a desire to build on a growing convergences in Indo-US ties in the areas where we can work together and in areas where we can do more for each
other." Modi will hold three bilateral meetings with neighbours -Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina. There are no plans to meet Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. The Indian side has also indicated Modi's "dietary preferences" given that the Prime Minister would be observing the nine-day Navratri fast during his trip. Modi will hold talks with over 15 top American corporate honchos, including top executives of
Google, Boeing and General Electric, as India looks to attract more overseas investments. Apart from meeting 11 top corporate honchos over breakfast on September 29, the Prime Minister will have one- on-one meetings with six more business captains same day in New York. The series of engagements - estimated to be over 50 – in a little over 100 hours from the time Air India One touches down at the John F Kennedy international airport in New York on September 26 till the wheels are up at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington on September 30 evening –- are all aimed at achieving Modi's goal of a resurgent India. —
PTI
Agreements with US on cards
* Agreement for India’s participation in a telescope project at Hawaii *
MoU for cooperation in gas hydrates for a period of five years *
Pact on a new programme, Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), in higher education and to support IITs
PM’s Navratri fast not an issue: White House
PM Narendra Modi observing ‘Navratri’ fast during his US visit, the White House said, is unlikely to be an issue as they respectfully accommodate the practices of visitors.
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PLA doesn’t differ with Xi, says Chinese envoy
New Delhi, September 24 The Ambassador added, due to the dispute it was difficult to tell “who crossed the border”. Yechung, who was appointed just two weeks ago, was answering questions after a discussion “Modi-Xi Summit: A new beginning” organised this morning by the India East Asia Foundation (IEAF). “You should not believe in rumours,” Yucheng said when asked if the PLA did not listen to Xi Jinping on withdrawing to end the stand-off at Chumar, South Eastern Ladakh. The matter was discussed in New Delhi on September 18 between Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian Army and the PLA stand facing each other at an altitude of 14,500 feet since September 10 refusing to budge an inch. “The Army is fully under the control of the party. The Army will listen to the President, there is no question over that”, the Ambassador said. Questions had arisen in India and elsewhere as the Chinese Defence Ministry website said Jinping met the top leadership of the PLA on September 22 at Beijing. In a rather strange message that was interpreted for its connotations, the website quoted him as having said: “Headquarters of PLA forces must have absolute loyalty and firm faith in the Communist Party of China, guarantee a smooth chain of command and make sure all decisions from the Central leadership are fully implemented”. Since Jinping is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), it has raised doubts and many in Indian strategic community questioned if the PLA was acting on its own at Chumar or it had ignored the outcome of Modi-Jinping talks. Yechung, spoke in Chinese. His translator told the audience: “The Army is under party to serve and safeguard territorial integrity of the country. Army is for peaceful development. China is always ready to develop friendship with our neighbours we don’t want any conflict, even small one”. On the pending border dispute, a 168 year old legacy, Yechung said “the issues are very complicated. It would be common and reasonable to have some disputes.” Narrating how it was complicated, the Ambassador said: “China has one story (about the border) and India has one of its own and it is very hard to say who crossed the border”. He suggested, “Before final settlement we can maintain peace.” Prof Tan Chung, a scholar on India-China relations, TCA Rangachari, a former Ambassador and Tarun Vijay, Rajya Sabha MP and president of India-China Parliamentary Friendship Group, also assessed the Modi-Jingping meeting and termed it as positive outcome.
China ‘withdraws troops’ from 30-R
* The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has reportedly reduced the number of its troops at 30-R, the first point of the ongoing flare-up *
A senior functionary said it could be a move by the PLA to either rotate its troops or to bluff India into complacency *
However, the stand-off continues at the location and troops are strung across an arch of 2 km.
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Deadline can’t be set for women to file cases: SC
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, September 24 “At times, kids are abused by family members and in such cases the victims will have to grow up before filing complaints,” a Bench comprising Justices JS Khehar and Arun Mishra explained. The advocate-petitioner, JP Dhanda, pleaded that he wanted the deadline and guidelines mandating a preliminary inquiry to ascertain the veracity of complaints being made by women, not kids, 2-20 years after the alleged harassment. Citing the examples of two former SC judges, some ex-ministers and other eminent personalities, he said a number of women filed such complaints to settle scores and sometimes in the event of their relationship going sour. The media lapped up such complaints and gave them wide publicity, permanently damaging the hard-earned reputation of the men concerned. Even close family members and friends viewed such men with suspicion for life even after such complaints had turned out to be false, Dhanda pleaded. He also pointed out that the apex court had recently issued guidelines for the arrest of persons facing anti-dowry complaints, making a preliminary inquiry mandatory before the detention in view of the widespread misuse of the legal provision under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Unconvinced, the Bench said every sexual harassment complaint was different and it was not possible to issue guidelines for all such cases. “You can’t understand how weak women are in society. They have no support at all,” the Bench told the petitioner.
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CBI books MCI officials for ‘favouring’ college
New Delhi, September 24 The CBI also conducted searches on official and residential premises of MCI Additional Secretary Prasanna Raj, Deputy Secretary Anshu Sethi Bajaj, ex-consultant Madhu Handa and Somervell Medical College Principal Samson Nessaih at Thiruvanthapuram for documents to support the case, sources said. The medical college was given permission for additional seats for PG courses after the last date was over. The sources said the deficiencies pointed out by the assessors in their inspection report in 2011 still prevailed in the medical college. The machines which were to be installed before sending the compliance to MCI were actually installed after that date. The bank guarantee which was mentioned to have been submitted by the college to MCI along with the compliance letter was not submitted on time. — TNS
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Cabinet nod to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
New Delhi, September 24 The Cabinet, chaired by Modi, decided to restructure Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) into Swachh Bharat Mission at a cost of over Rs 1 lakh crore. The Swachh Bharat Mission will have two sub-missions - Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). Budgetary provisions for two sub-missions will be provided separately in the demand for grant of the Ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation (for Gramin) and Ministry of Urban Development (for Urban). The Mission will be kick-started on (Gandhi
Jayanti), October 2. If necessary, funds will be provided by re-appropriation or from the Contingency Fund.
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Missed call to women will lead to jail in Bihar
Patna, September 24 “Giving repeated missed calls to women is a serious issue. It makes them feel insecure and robs them of peace of mind. We have decided to count it as a crime of stalking under Section 354D (i) and (ii) of the IPC,” Pandey said. Pandey, however, said that police officials have been told to ignore the matter if missed calls are given once or twice, but crack the whip if they are repeated and with an intention to harass women. The idea of taking action against ‘missed call menace’ emerged during a two-day training programme for Station House Officers of women police stations in the state as well awareness camps on crime against women that were conducted by CID at girls schools and colleges. — PTI
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Now, Sena, BJP fight over seats for smaller parties
Mumbai, September 24 This time the struggle is over accommodating the four smaller parties in the alliance. "The Shiv Sena has already compromised 18 seats and now it is up to the BJP to give up five seats to the smaller parties," Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said. BJP sources said they were hopeful of a solution on accommodating the smaller parties before Saturday, the last date for filing of nominations. As per a compromise formula worked out on Tuesday night, the Shiv Sena and the BJP decided to stick to their original decision of contesting 151 and 130 seats, respectively. However, instead of squabbling with each other over the number of seats, the two big parties opted to reduce the number of seats for the smaller parties from 18 to just seven. A meeting of all six parties on Tuesday night to convince the smaller parties did not yield any results. Among the solutions suggested included seats in the state's upper house for some smaller parties, besides chairmanships of state-owned corporations, in case the saffron combine was elected to power. However, alleging they have been betrayed by the Shiv Sena and the BJP, the smaller parties this morning announced to walk out of the alliance and contest the elections jointly. One of the smaller parties, Swatbhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, enjoys tremendous clout among landless farmers and peasants with small holdings in Western Maharashtra. Another party RSP has a strong following among the cattle herders' community and had given a tough fight to Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha polls. Uddhav Thackeray met representatives of the smaller parties and assured them of a fair number of seats.
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Death toll 68 in Assam, Meghalaya floods
Guwahati/Shillong, Sept 24 Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today called up Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and assured all possible assistance. He said the Central Government was monitoring the situation in the northeastern states and was ready to help all flood-affected states. Gogoi apprised Rajnath of the steps being taken to rescue the marooned people with the help of the National and State Disaster Relief Forces, Army and paramilitary forces. He also asked the Home Minister to raise the sum of ex gratia for those affected. The state government announced that the state government would provide ex gratia of Rs 3.5 lakh to the next of kin of each of those killed in the floods. A population of about four lakh has been hit in 12 districts by the current floods, which have so far inundated 415 villages and 9,000 hectares of crop area. In Maghalaya, 38 deaths have been reported while at least nine persons still remained untraced, Inspector General of Police GHP Raju said. Incessant rains have triggered flash floods in the Garo Hills region and severe landslide in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region for the past three days. Twenty-six persons have died and nine are missing in the three Garo Hills districts, while 12 died in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region, the IGP said. (With PTI inputs)
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Sant Rampal fails to appear in high court Chandigarh, September 24 Thousands of Sant Rampal’s supporters had arrived in the city ahead of Rampal's scheduled court appearance. Apprehending law and order trouble, police beefed up security in the city and nearly 2,600 police personnel were deployed in and around the court premises. As the case came up for hearing, Sant Rampal’s counsel placed before the court a medical certificate stating he was suffering from fever and diarrhoea. — TNS
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M’rashtra polls: Cong releases first list New Delhi, September 24 The first list includes names of Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, who will contest from Karad South and chairman of the Congress campaign committee for Maharashtra, Narayanrao Rane. The Congress is yet to announce candidates for 114 seats. On alliance front, a senior Congress leader said: “The alliance is on track. A secular progressive alliance in Maharashtra is critical to take on the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.” The NCP is seeking 144 seats from the Congress which is unwilling to concede more than 130. In 2009, the NCP had contested 114 seats. It is seeking more seats this time citing poor performance of the Congress in the recent Lok Sabha polls. The alliance announcement, it is learnt, could be made tomorrow.
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New Delhi, September 24 "History has been created today. We have dared to reach out into the unknown. And have achieved the near impossible," said Modi, as India became the first country to succeed in the mission to Mars in its maiden attempt. President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari said the breakthrough would inspire the country's scientists to make even greater strides. Congratulations poured in for the scientists from politicians, Bollywood celebrities and common people with many sitting in front of television early this morning to witness the historic moment. "It is a very proud day for all Indians. Our scientists at ISRO have shown a miracle," said melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, summing up the feelings of all countrymen. In her message, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the achievement would be a source for inspiration "for generations to come" and commended the "courage, passion and imagination" of the team of space scientists and researchers led by ISRO chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan. The US, China and Australia were among the countries which congratulated India after Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft slipped into a smooth orbit around the Red Planet after almost an year-long voyage. China said it was not only a proud achievement for the country and Asia but also a "landmark progress" in mankind's exploration of outer space. "This is pride of India and Pride of Asia and also is a landmark progress in humankind's exploration of outer space. So we congratulate India on that," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing. US space agency NASA, which has just launched its own MAVEN mission to the Red Planet, also congratulated ISRO. "The US Embassy congratulates India and the Indian Space Research Organisation on its Mars Orbiter Mission. India is in an elite group of space-faring nations by achieving insertion into Mars orbit," a statement from the US embassy here said. People took to social networking media to express their joy and pride at the achievement. "Mangalyaan... Bharat Mata ki Jai! Historic! Only country to have succeeded in first attempt, on budget less than Hollywood film... Our scientists have achieved what others could not... Badhai, Pyaar, Sneh, Abhinandan, aur Jai jai kaar! MOM," Amitabh Bachchan, 71, posted on Twitter. — PTI Accolades pour in on social media * Facebook said the top post on both the ISRO and Mars Orbiter Mission Page reached over 1 million in the first two hours and received over 1,47,000 likes, comments and shares * On Twitter, ISRO’s Mars Orbiter twitter handle (@MarsOrbiter) gained more than 55,000 followers within hours.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five-day visit from tomorrow to the US during which he will have a power-packed schedule of meetings - official, business and public - apart from addressing the UN General Assembly on September 26 and bilateral talks with President Barack
Obama.
Incessant floods and landslides in Assam and Mehgalaya have claimed 68 lives so far. The death toll in Assam rose to 30 today with recovery of more bodies from worst-affected Goalpara and and Kamrup districts. The toll is likely to go up as rescue teams are yet to reach many marooned areas. Fourteen bodies were found in Goalpara district, while 10 people died in floods in Kamrup district. Five people perished in Guwahati city, while a child was killed in Dhubri district.
