N A T I O N

Raja, Kani, Karuna’s wife put on 2G trial
New Delhi, October 31
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, MP Kanimozhi, DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal and 16 others were today put on trial in a 2G scam related case by a special court which observed that charges of money laundering are prima facie made out against all of them.

Former Telecom Minister A Raja and MP Kanimozhi

Protect homeless people from winter: SC to states
New Delhi, October 31
The Supreme Court today directed the district authorities in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and four other states to “personally ensure” that homeless people were adequately protected from the winter season by providing them night shelters with all facilities.

The SC has told authorities not to be lax in providing facilities to homeless.

India votes against UN draft resolutions on NPT
United Nations, October 31
India has voted against the provisions of draft resolutions that would have required it to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying there is “no question” of it joining the treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.

China to build new rail line near Arunachal
Beijing, October 31
China has approved construction of a new strategically important railway line in Tibet which would come close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh, state media reported today.

Merchant vessel scrapes INS Kora, causing minor damage
New Delhi, October 31
A merchant shipping vessel today hit the Indian Naval warship INS Kora at high seas.

Sahara pays Rs 31 lakh for Tihar’s special facilities
New Delhi, October 31
The Sahara group has paid ~31 lakh to Tihar jail authorities as charges for stay of its chief Subrata Roy in an air-conditioned facility and using services such as phone, internet and video conferencing for 57 days to negotiate sale of his luxury hotels abroad.

BJP to ‘review’ ties with allies
New Delhi, October 31
The dynamics of changing relationship between 25-year-old allies BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is an indication of the things to come in the states like Punjab and Bihar. Sources indicate that the saffron party will “review” all relationships as and when the requirement is there”.

black money
Outgoing CBDT boss is SIT adviser
New Delhi, October 31
Outgoing CBDT chairman KV Chowdary was today appointed by the government as an adviser to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing black money cases.

Submit dist action plan to improve sex ratio in 10 days, Maneka tells officials
Chandigarh, October 31
With nearly 5 lakh female foetuses being aborted every year across the country, the Modi government has selected 100 districts under its flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ Scheme to improve the sex ratio.






Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and Punjab Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani at a function in Chandigarh on Friday. Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Notice to Aamir for promoting homosexuality
Chandigarh, October 31
Accusing actor Aamir Khan’s conduct on his show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ as violation of the Supreme Court order on homosexuality, a city-based advocate has sought a local court’s intervention to declare Khan’s act as the contempt of court.
Aamir Khan

Cong calls BJP petty-minded for ‘forgetting Indira Gandhi’
New Delhi, October 31
The Congress and the BJP were in a war of words today over the latter’s mega commemoration of the 139th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on a day hitherto observed as the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Cong ends ties with JMM
New Delhi, October 31
With the first phase of Assembly polls round the corner, the Congress today ended its 16-month alliance with the JMM in Jharkhand saying it would decide later if support from the short- lived government is to be withdrawn.

Raja, Kani, Karuna’s wife put on 2G trial

New Delhi, October 31
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, MP Kanimozhi, DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal and 16 others were today put on trial in a 2G scam related case by a special court which observed that charges of money laundering are prima facie made out against all of them.

Special CBI Judge OP Saini framed charges under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provision of the Money Laundering Act against 19 accused, including 10 individuals and nine companies, who were chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the case.

“All charges are prima facie made out against each accused for laundering of money of Rs 200 crore from DB Group company to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd,” the judge said.

As soon as the court pronounced its order, the judge asked all the accused that whether they were pleading guilty to the offence or were claiming trial.

To this, all the accused said that they claim trial for the charges framed against them. The ED, in its charge sheet, had alleged that the accused were involved in the Rs 200-crore money transaction which was not “bonafide” and “genuine” and it was a “bribe for grant of telecom licences to DB Group companies” by Raja.

The agency had claimed that the series of transactions relating to transfer of Rs 200 crore from DB group company to DMK-run Kalaignar TV through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd were not “genuine business transaction”.

Besides Raja, Kanimozhi and Dayalu Ammal, the other accused in the case are Shahid Usman Balwa, Vinod Goenka, Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Sharad Kumar, Bollywood producer Karim Morani and P Amirtham.

Countering the allegations, Raja and Kanimozhi had argued that documents filed along with the ED’s complaint nowhere show that they were connected with Rs 200-crore transaction from DB group to Kalaignar TV.

Similarly, other co-accused, including Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, had argued that there were no evidence to connect them with the alleged crime and its proceeds. —PTI

Protect homeless people from winter: SC to states
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, October 31
The Supreme Court today directed the district authorities in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and four other states to “personally ensure” that homeless people were adequately protected from the winter season by providing them night shelters with all facilities.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu passed the order while hearing two PILs on the issue. The Bench cautioned the authorities against being lax in the matter as it would take a serious view of their lapses at the next hearing on November 13.

The Bench asked the collectors and commissioners to personally visit the places where night shelters were being provided to ensure that everything was in order. It asked the seven states to file fresh affidavits, detailing the number of shelters put up in each district and the number of people availing of the facility.

The other states covered by the order are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi. The apex court has been regularly hearing the PILs since 2003 and reviewing the night shelter arrangements made every year.

India votes against UN draft resolutions on NPT

United Nations, October 31
India has voted against the provisions of draft resolutions that would have required it to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying there is “no question” of it joining the treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.

Concerned about the growing dangers of nuclear and other mass destruction weapons caused by proliferation networks, the First Committee of the 193-member UN General Assembly that deals with disarmament and international security issues approved a draft resolution yesterday urging all member states that had not yet done so to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

Prior to approval of that draft as a whole, votes were polled on provisions, including on operative paragraph, by which the Assembly would call on all those countries that have not joined the NPT to accede to it as non-nuclear weapon states.

The provision was retained by a recorded vote of 164 in favour, with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India and Israel voting against it.

In its explanation of vote, India said it cannot accept the call to accede to NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

“India’s position on the NPT is well-known. There is no question of India joining the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. Nuclear weapons are an integral part of India’s national security and will remain so, pending non-discriminatory and global nuclear disarmament,” it said.

The Committee then took four recorded votes on a resolution “Towards a nuclear weapon-free world: Accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments”. — PTI

Calls for resolute position against terror India has called on the international community to take an "unequivocal and resolute" position against terrorism while striking the right balance between effectively tackling the global menace and observing human rights standards "Terrorism challenges the very principle of freedom from fear and is one of the major threats to the full enjoyment of human rights. Terrorism is an attack on democracy, human dignity, human rights and development," First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN Mayank Joshi said at a UN General Assembly session on 'Promotion and Protection of Human Rights'

China to build new rail line near Arunachal

Beijing, October 31
China has approved construction of a new strategically important railway line in Tibet which would come close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh, state media reported today.

China has approved the feasibility report for the construction of the railway linking Lhasa to Nyingchi in Tibet, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

This high altitude railway will be the second rail link to be built in Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway connecting Xining in neighbouring Qinghai province with Tibet's provincial capital Lhasa which became operational in 2006. — PTI

Merchant vessel scrapes INS Kora, causing minor damage
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31
A merchant shipping vessel today hit the Indian Naval warship INS Kora at high seas.

The incident occurred around 3:30 am when the INS Kora, accompanied by another ship INS Gaj, was on its way from Visakhapatnam on the east coast to Port Blair on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 750 nautical miles away.

The merchant vessel is registered in the Marshall Islands and commanded by a Myanmar national with 23 crew members. It was detained in the Bay of Bengal by Naval ships and allowed to proceed further only after the shipping company, which owns the vessel, promised total support in the probe.

The merchant vessel was on way from Chittagong in Bangladesh to Colombo in Sri Lanka when it scrapped past the INS Kora. The incident occurred 300 nautical miles off Visakhapatnam.

The Navy said the merchant vessel named “Madelieine Rickmers”, a 23,000-tonne ship, scraped INS Kora, a 2,500 tonne guided missile corvette. In other words, the merchant vessel is almost 10 times the size of the Naval warship.

The INS Kora’s captain has reported to the Naval headquarters about minor damages to the ships’ side. There has been no damage to the watertight integrity of the ship or any loss of life.

A Board of Inquiry (BoI) is being constituted to investigate into the circumstances that led to the incident.

Meanwhile, four naval warships INS Mumbai, INS Talwar, INS Teg and INS Deepak have separately reached Port Louis in Mauritius.

The Indian Navy conducts regular joint patrols and surveillance of the coast of Mauritius. India is constructing an Offshore Patrol Vessel for the country and has installed coastal radar surveillance systems.

Sahara pays Rs 31 lakh for Tihar’s special facilities

New Delhi, October 31
The Sahara group has paid ~31 lakh to Tihar jail authorities as charges for stay of its chief Subrata Roy in an air-conditioned facility and using services such as phone, internet and video conferencing for 57 days to negotiate sale of his luxury hotels abroad.

Roy was allowed by the Supreme Court to use the jail’s conference room to negotiate sale of his hotels in order to collect ~10,000 crore for his bail.

“The payment was made by the Sahara group a few days before the withdrawal of special services. An amount of ~31 lakh has been submitted to us that includes the expenses of security, electricity charges, food etc,” a senior jail official told.

Roy, 65, stayed in the special facility for a total period of 57 days with his two directors Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi Shankar Dubey from August 5 to September 30.

In a letter to Tihar, Roy had demanded restoration of the facilities saying almost 80% of the deal was fixed and withdrawal of services may lead to its cancellation. — PTI

BJP to ‘review’ ties with allies
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31
The dynamics of changing relationship between 25-year-old allies BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is an indication of the things to come in the states like Punjab and Bihar. Sources indicate that the saffron party will “review” all relationships as and when the requirement is there”.

Sena chief Udhav Thackaray’s grim demeanor at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said it all about new fundamentals in the decades-old relationship. Eyebrows were also raised at the “response” reserved for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Haryana Chief Minister Mohan Lal Khattar’s swearing-in ceremony. Many termed it cold-shouldering.

BJP leaders admit that the renewed ante against Badal by his detractor Navjot Sidhu was a “tactical move to counter Akali Dal and an indication of developing political situation in Punjab.”

The SAD’s support to the INLD in Haryana polls had upset many BJP leaders. Tension has been simmering between the two partners since senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s humiliating defeat in the LS polls in Amritsar.

black money
Outgoing CBDT boss is SIT adviser

New Delhi, October 31
Outgoing CBDT chairman KV Chowdary was today appointed by the government as an adviser to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing black money cases.

An expert on tax issues and financial investigations, Chowdary will take charge of the new post from tomorrow on his retirement after serving over three decades in the Income Tax cadre of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

The 1978-batch officer retired today as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The SIT is headed by retired Supreme Court judge MB Shah.— PTI

Submit dist action plan to improve sex ratio in 10 days, Maneka tells officials
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 31
With nearly 5 lakh female foetuses being aborted every year across the country, the Modi government has selected 100 districts under its flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ Scheme to improve the sex ratio.

“The Centre plans to improve the child sex ratio at birth (SRB) by 10 basis points per year,” Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said here today.

Gandhi was here to inaugurate the first regional consultation of deputy commissioners on the district action plan of the scheme. She served a 10-day ultimatum on officials to send the plan to the ministry.

Each district will be given up to Rs 1 crore for the current year under the scheme. The day-long regional consultation was attended by 27 deputy commissioners from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and union territory of Chandigarh.

She stressed a multi-sectoral approach involving Ministries for Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resources Development.

The minister said promoting early registration of pregnancy, institutional deliveries and 100% birth registration were the need of the hour to improve the sex ratio.

Asking the Deputy Commissioners to define the responsibilities of the sarpanches in the implementation of the scheme, she also asked for the strict implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act. “The progress in regard to the measures and success under the scheme will be monitored at the central level so that determined targets are achieved without fail,” she said.

The minister was of the opinion that the success of the scheme depended on changing people’s mind-set and social behaviour. The scheme will soon be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Govt sets eyes on 100 districts The Central Government plans to improve the child sex ratio at birth by 10 basis points per year and has selected 100 districts under its flagship ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ Scheme to improve it Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Friday held the first regional consultation on the district action plan of the scheme with 27 deputy commissioners from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh

Notice to Aamir for promoting homosexuality
Aneesha Sareen
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 31
Accusing actor Aamir Khan’s conduct on his show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ as violation of the Supreme Court order on homosexuality, a city-based advocate has sought a local court’s intervention to declare Khan’s act as the contempt of court.

Admitting a petition by advocate Mandeep Kaur, the Court of Civil Judge Jaswinder Singh has issued a notice to the actor to file a reply by December 19. The petition seeks a decree be passed to declare the actor’s act and conduct against the law. ‘Satyamev Jayate’, which was telecast on October 19 at Star Plus, discussed the lifestyle and rights of eunuchs and gays/lesbians, a matter on which the Supreme Court had already given its judgment.

“The actor has been seen promoting Section 377 of the IPC in favour of rights of homosexuals, which was against the law of the land,” the petition alleged.

Cong calls BJP petty-minded for ‘forgetting Indira Gandhi’
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31
The Congress and the BJP were in a war of words today over the latter’s mega commemoration of the 139th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on a day hitherto observed as the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Terming the BJP’s move “petty” and “disgusting”, the Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma, said the BJP was very “petty-minded and small” to have completely disregarded the supreme sacrifice of Indira Gandhi, who sacrificed her life for the country’s unity.

The two parties also clashed over the ownership of Patel’s legacy hours after PM Narendra Modi today warned against dividing historical legacies left behind by national leaders.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh and Anand Sharma made it a point to recall that Patel was a Congress leader and a front-ranking leader of the national movement. “Sardar Patel was India’s first deputy PM and Home Minister. He was a front-ranking leader of the Congress,” said Sharma.

Cong ends ties with JMM
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31
With the first phase of Assembly polls round the corner, the Congress today ended its 16-month alliance with the JMM in Jharkhand saying it would decide later if support from the short- lived government is to be withdrawn.

The alliance ended after the JMM refused to give 45 seats to the Congress which also wanted its junior partner in the Jharkhand Government to adjust its new allies the RJD and the JDU in the remaining 36 seats.

In the last elections in December 2009, the strike rate of the JMM was much better than that of the Congress which had won 14 out of the 55 seats it had contested. The JMM had fought in 25 segments and won 11. The state Assembly has 81 seats.

Congress general secretary in charge for Jharkhand BK Hariprasad said the Congress-JMM alliance has ended in the state. He said discussions on seat sharing were on to get other secular parties on board for a pre-poll alliance. The Congress is hoping to truck with Lalu Prasad’s RJD and Sharad Yadav’s JDU for the Jharkhand elections where the BJP has decided to go alone.

Uncertainty over alliance formation in the state on the eve of first phase of elections on November 25 is beginning to bother potential candidates who feel the Congress should contest solo in Jharkhand.