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winter session of parliament
Renaming of Hyderabad airport rocks Houses
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Govt mulls safety system for women passengers
BJP asks all MPs to hold public meetings in poll-bound Delhi
Select panel on Insurance Act gets extention
coal scam Pacts among members may have to wait Suspense continues over Modi-Sharif meet Dalit MLAs, MPs meet in Chandigarh
UP riots: Panel postpones sitting
Centre set to ban sale of loose cigarettes
Gujarat sets aside compulsory voting Bill
delhi-chennai section
Amit Shah to launch ‘Mission Assam’ in Dec
Amitabh quells rumours on Dilip Kumar’s health
Sena threatens agitation over Jaitapur N-plant
Hackers withdraw Rs
1.13 cr from NRI’s account
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Bill tabled to change CBI Chief’s selection process; Cong walks out
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 25 Introducing the Delhi Special Police Establishment Amendment Bill 2014 in Lok Sabha today, Minister of Personnel Jitendra Kumar said the need to amend the original Act of 1946 arose on account of the unprecedented situation wherein there is no Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. “We have brought the Bill while respecting democratic ideals,” Kumar said intervening during discussions on the bill which was taken up despite Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Congress, the single largest opposition in the House, leading party MPs’ to a walk out. “We don’t favour hasty discussion on this bill,” Kharge said attracting criticism from BJP members who later wondered why the “Congress had lost the ability to appreciate even those moves that benefit it.” The Amendment Bill tweaks the original bill on two main counts. The original mentions the following in the three member selection panel for CBI Chief – the PM, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by the CJI. The amendment bill says the selection panel for CBI Director should have, “The Leader of Opposition recognized as such in the House of the People or where there is no such Leader of Opposition then the Leader of the single largest opposition party in that House.” The new Bill also says a full quorum of three members is not essential to appoint the CBI chief. “No appointment of a Director shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy or absence of a member of the committee,” it mentions. This provision didn’t go down well with many opposition parties though Jitender Kumar later clarified, “This provision does not seek to exclude any member of the selection panel from discussions. It has been added to ensure that in case of absence of a member, we can proceed with the appointment of a CBI chief. The CBI being an important institution can’t be left in suspension and the Director’s appointment can’t be delayed.” The government said the Bill must be urgently passed as tenure of the current CBI chief expires on December 2 and a new appointment needs to be made.
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Renaming of Hyderabad airport rocks Houses
New Delhi, November 25 Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Deputy Leader of Congress in the Upper House Anand Sharma said the decision to rename the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was “unacceptable”. Trooping into the Well, Congress members shouted slogans and waved placards, leading to two adjournments in the pre-lunch session. The Civil Aviation Ministry had last week issued an order naming the domestic terminal at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad after late NT Rama Rao, the founder of Telugu Desam Party. However, the Congress said Rajiv Gandhi’s name should continue in both domestic and international terminals of the airport.
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Govt mulls safety system for women passengers
New Delhi, November 25 He said the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways regarding “Security for Women in public road transport in the country” in 32 cities of the country with a population of 1 million or more. The proposed scheme under the “Nirbhaya Fund” envisages setting up of a unified system at the National Level (National Vehicle Security and Tracking System) and State level (City Command and Control Centre) for GPS tracking of the location of public transport vehicles besides providing emergency buttons for video recording of incidents these vehicles. The aim is to ensure safety of women and girl child in public transport by monitoring location of public transport vehicles to provide immediate assistance in minimum response time to the victims in distress. The government, he said, was also committed to bring down road accidents in the country and to give a boost to emergency care of the road accident victims, the ministry has launched pilot projects on Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH 8; Ahmedabad-Mumbai stretch of NH 8 and Ranchi-Rargaon-Mahulia stretch of NH-33 for providing cashless treatment to road accident victims for 48 hours or up to Rs. 30,000. The ministry has drafted Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014 covering the entire gamut of issues related to motor vehicles and road safety. There is a provision in the Bill for constitution of Highway Traffic Regulation and Protection Force also. The government has formulated a National Road Safety Policy. This policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure, including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws, etc. The government has also constituted National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety. The ministry has requested all states and UTs for setting up of State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees. It has also adopted a strategy to address the issue of road safety based on four “Es” — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency care. The proposal
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BJP asks all MPs to hold public meetings in poll-bound Delhi
New Delhi, November 25 Sources said the message was conveyed to the MPs at the Parliamentary Party meeting held today. The 325 saffron MPs — around 280 in the Lok Sabha and 43 in the Rajya Sabha — were asked to devote at least seven days to campaigning and holding public meetings in Delhi while they were here for the Winter Session, they said. Apparently, each of the sitting MPs—barring star campaigners such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, or those manning the important Raisina Hill ministries Home, Defence, External Affairs and Finance — will be expected to hold at least public meetings during the evening hours between 6 pm and 10 pm. The party’s top leadership — party president Amit Shah and Modi — wants all MPs to organise 2,000 meetings in Delhi till Parliament session ends on December 23. Though BJP leaders are claiming a clear win in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, preliminary reports are suggesting otherwise. Meanwhile, at the meeting senior minister Venkaiah Naidu told MPs to make the session fruitful, while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government was trying to introduce the GST Bill in this session and get it passed by the next. After the meeting Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the BJP sincere in bringing back black money.
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Select panel on Insurance Act gets extention
New Delhi, November 25 The panel headed by BJP’s Chandan Mitra was to submit the report by November 28. But when Mitra moved a resolution seeking deadline extension, CPM’s P Rajeev said committee members were not aware of the move. He said the Chairman could seek more time only after discussing it in the committee.
— TNS
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Wasn’t allowed to quiz Singh, CBI tells court
New Delhi, November 25 The investigating officer (IO) told the court that officials of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) were examined during the probe in the coal blocks scam case involving top industrialist KM Birla, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh and it was found that statement of the then Coal Minister was not necessary. He, however, clarified that the then Coal Minister was not permitted to be examined. Singh was holding the portfolio of coal ministry when Birla’s firm Hindalco was allocated coal blocks in Orissa’s Talabira II & III in 2005. “PMO officials were examined. The then minister of coal was not examined in light of the statement of PMO officials,” the IO said, adding “the then Coal Minister was not permitted to be examined. It was found that his statement was not necessary”. The court directed CBI to file the case diary before it after which Senior Public Prosecutor VK Sharma said the agency be allowed to file these documents in a sealed cover. “...I deem it appropriate that let the case diary files and crime files of the present case be summoned and as per the request of Senior PP,” the judge said and posted the matter for November 27. The FIR against Birla, Parakh and others was registered in October last year by CBI which had alleged that Parakh had reversed his decision to reject coal block allocation to Hindalco within months “without any valid basis or change in circumstances” and shown “undue favours”. — PTI Ex-PM held additional charge of coal ministry
Court talks tough "Don’t you think examination of the then Coal Minister was necessary in the matter? Don’t you feel the need to examine him? Don’t you think his statement was necessary to present a clear picture?" Bharat Parashar, Special CBI Judge
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Pacts among members may have to wait Pakistan, which gave indications of a possible positive outcome on SAARC pacts on energy, transport and rail linkages on the hold, stated it was not yet done with internal processes. The issue of giving greater role to China, currently an observer, was also put on the table at the Council of Ministers meeting but officials did not identify the member-state behind it. However, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said there was no discussion on the subject and India held the view that SAARC should deepen cooperation among its members first before moving horizontally. "The 18th SAARC Summit will focus on the theme of "Deeper Regional Integration for Peace and Prosperity". India has always emphasised the importance of greater regional integration at all levels for the socio-economic development of the South Asian region. We have undertaken several initiatives in this regard on bilateral, sub-regional and regional basis, and will continue to do more. We hope that the summit will lead to concrete outcomes, particularly in regard to various initiatives on enhancing connectivity that have been under discussion for a long time'', Prime Minister Modi said ahead of his arrival here. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underscored the importance Modi attached to SAARC by inviting its leaders for the swearing-in of his government and the vision translated by her by travelling to five of the eight SAARC member countries in the last six months. Stressing the need to take SAARC forward, she said during the last 29 years architecture for institutions, systems, processes and mechanism had been built and it was time to energise and provide momentum to grouping that turns 30 next year.
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Suspense continues over Modi-Sharif meet Kathmandu, November 25 While Prime Minister Sharif was quoted having told domestic television channel that since India had called off the talks the process must be restarted by New Delhi, the latter responding saying Islamabad understands well what is meant by “meaningful dialogue”. There was some excitement after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj crossed path with Pakistan PM Foreign Adviser Sartaj Aziz, which she described as nothing more than exchange of pleasantries. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Modi has five bilateral engagements with Heads of Government of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Maldives and Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Bhutan. The structured dialogue is with delegation and there is none fixed with Pakistan. But with both Prime Ministers spending time in SAARC over the next two days, the speculation of a pull-aside cannot be discounted.
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Dalit MLAs, MPs meet in Chandigarh Chandigarh, November 25 Punjab Assembly Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, in whose house the meeting was held, said the Dalit leaders from the Akali Dal, BJP, Congress, BSP and other parties would stage a march in New Delhi on the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar on December 6 Atwal said the Union Government has assured them that a memorial would be constructed. He said during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, it was proposed that a house near the Delhi Assembly where Dr Ambedkar last lived was idle for the memorial. He said a massive march would be staged by Dalit leaders on that day in Delhi.
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UP riots: Panel postpones sitting
Muzaffarnagar, November 25 “The commission has postponed its sitting for recording statements of some officials in connection with the riots who were summoned to appear before the panel on November 26,” Additional District Magistrate Inder Mani Tripathi said here today. With its tenure ending on November 9, the one-man inquiry commission appointed by Uttar Pradesh government had sought an extension. No notification from the government has been received yet regarding the extension of tenure, Tripathi added. The commission of retired judge of Allahabad High Court Vishnu Sahai, constituted on September 9 last year, had twice been given extension for six months each. The state government had asked the commission to probe the violence starting from Kawal incident on August 27, 2013 and submit its reports in two months but later the deadline was extended.
— PTI No word on tenure extension
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Centre set to ban sale of loose cigarettes
New Delhi, November 25 Among the recommendations that will deal a blow to tobacco lobby are — ban on sale of single cigarette (loose) sticks; raising the legal age for cigarette purchase from 18 to 25 years; enhancing penalty for smoking in public places and imposing a blanket ban on advertisement of tobacco products on the points of sale such as kiosks, etc. “The expert panel constituted by the Ministry of Health has recommended prohibition on sale of loose or single stick of cigarette, increasing the minimum legal age for sale of tobacco products, increasing the fine or penalty amounts for violation of certain provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA) and making such offences cognizable. The ministry has accepted these recommendations and a draft note for Cabinet has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations,” Nadda told Parliament today. The move will especially help policy planners deter cigarette use among the younger populations. In the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted by the ministry recently, 14.1 pc youth interviewed said they currently used some form of tobacco products; 51.7 pc said they purchased cigarettes from stores and kiosks and 72.5 per cent said when they bought cigarettes from a store they were not refused purchase because of their age. The ministry’s data says nearly 37 per cent children in India initiate into smoking before 10 years and each day, 5,500 children begin tobacco use and most of these have easy access to cheap, single sticks in stores. Dr GK Rath, a leading oncologist, who headed the government committee on review of tobacco laws, says the ban on sale of loose cigarettes would prove decisive in deterring users who would not like to shift to costlier pack versions. A pack of 20 cigarettes costs somewhere around Rs 220 – up from Rs 180 which was the price before tobacco taxes were steeply raised in the last Budget. Soon as the government declared its intentions to ban loose cigarettes today, stocks of many tobacco majors fell. Experts, however, called for scientific studies to establish a link between tobacco use and the nature of packs in which it is available. “It remains to be seen if the ban on loose cigarettes will actually deter users. What if it simply leads to shift in their purchase pattern? A study of behaviour would be in order,” says a tobacco user. Expert panel recommendations
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Gujarat sets aside compulsory voting Bill
Ahmedabad, November 25 The issue on which the previous Narendra Modi government in the state was at loggerheads with the then Governor, Kamala Beniwal, is learnt to have not found approval from legal and political experts forcing the Anandiben Patel ministry to put the matter in the cold storage, at least for the time being. Making it a prestige issue against the UPA government at the Centre, the Modi government since 2009 had forced the passage of the "Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill" twice in the state Assembly making voting in the local self government bodies compulsory and increasing the reservation quota for women to 50 per cent. The Bill, however, was held back by the then Governor on the ground that compulsory voting was against the spirit of freedom enshrined in the constitution for the citizens. The Raj Bhavan and the state Congress had made it clear that there was no objection to hike the women's quota and had repeatedly asked the government to separate the two issues but was turned down by Modi to raise an accusing finger against the Congress government-appointed Governor. The new Governor, OP Kohli, appointed by the Modi government at the Centre, however, promptly gave his assent to the measure enabling the Patel government to make both compulsory voting and hike in women's quota law by issuing necessary notification. But the government has developed cold feet on the issue fearing reprisals from the people and striking down by the courts if challenged. The state government has issued the necessary notification hiking the women's quota, but remained silent on the provision of compulsory voting.
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Sindhuratna fire: 7 Navy officers guilty
New Delhi, November 25 Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told Parliament in his written reply in the Rajya Sabha: “The investigation reports related to the accidents have been submitted to Naval Headquarters. The Board of Inquiry (BOI) report in case of INS Sindhuratna has found seven officers culpable of various acts of omissions and commissions.” Disciplinary action against these officers has been initiated at the Western Naval Command headquarters, the Defence Minister said. Sources said Commodore-rank — equal to Brigadier of the Indian Army — is among those seven facing action. All of these officers need not be posted on the vessel but were in one way or the other involved in its re-fit and maintenance. The accident had occurred mid-sea off Mumbai coast. On the other submarine accident, the INS Sindhurakshak, which exploded at the Mumbai navy docks on August 14, 2013, the Defence Minister said the BOI has been completed. Eighteen crewmen on board had died in the accident. Parrikar said a Board of Inquiry report into that tragedy has also been submitted, but its examination was yet to be completed. Sources said the cause of the accident was still being ascertained since it took almost 10 months to salvage the sunken vessel. Action initiated
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delhi-chennai section New Delhi, November 25 As a five-member team led by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) chief Satish Agnihotri reached China today on a five-day tour to assess the possibility of a Delhi-Chennai bullet train link, officials said the cost of the study would be borne by the China Railway Corporation, which is the government operator of railways there. China has been aggressively campaigning to export its high-speed rail technology to India besides other countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. It has built the world's longest domestic network in less than a decade and has won contracts to build rail lines in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The interim report on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor was submitted by experts from the Japan Industrial Cooperation Agency to the infrastructure directorate of the railway board earlier last week and the final report is expected by May next year. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is expected to cost Rs 60,000 crore and, by the same standards of cost estimation, the Delhi-Chennai corridor will be Rs 2 lakh crore. Officials said the Indian team in China would sign an agreement with Chinese officials this week on the feasibility study. This will be the first rail agreement between the two countries since Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a state visit to India in September, signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in railway development. The proposed corridor could be the second largest in the world after China's 2,298-km Beijing-Guangzhou line which was launched last year. Running at a speed of 300 km per hour, it covers the distance in about eight hours.
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Kathak queen Sitara Devi passes away
Mumbai, November 25 “PM has condoled the passing away of noted Kathak dancer Sitara Devi. PM also recalled her rich contribution to Kathak,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet. The characters around the Kathak queen came alive in her dance. “By training, I am just a ‘kathakar’ of Krishna-leela (tales of Krishna),” the danseuse used to say. She was born Dhannolakshmi to a family of Brahmin ‘kathakar’ Sukhdev Maharaj and chose school and dance over an early wedding, as was the norm of the 1920s. Her father, a Vaishnavite Brahmin scholar and Kathak exponent, sent her to a local school where she impressed her teachers and the local media with her performance in a dance drama, “Savitri Satyavan”. When her father learnt of it, he re-christened her as Sitara or the star and placed her under the care of her older sister for kathak training. By the time Sitara turned 11, the family moved to Mumbai, where she impressed Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with a three-hour solo recital. Tagore offered her a shawl and Rs 50 which Sitara refused and sought his blessings instead to become a great dancer. Tagore described her as ‘Nritya Samragini’, meaning the empress of dance, after watching the performance. The epithet continues, and she is still described as the Kathak queen. Over the next six decades, she became a Kathak legend and was a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood.
— PTI
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Amit Shah to launch ‘Mission Assam’ in Dec
Guwahati, November 25 BJP sources said party president Amit Shah along with his team of strategist was expected to visit Assam towards the end of next month to test the water in the state where Assembly elections are due in April-May 2016. The BJP, which won seven out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, expects to win power in the state by defeating the ruling Congress that is struggling with internal squabbles and fighting strong anti-incumbency working against it after remaining in power in the state since 2001 without a break. After the results were declared in the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had announced its ‘Mission 84’ (to win 84 of the total 126 Assembly seats) under the leadership of then party state president Sarbananda Sonowal (now a Union Minister) and the party’s then in-charge of Assam affairs Sudhangshu Mittal. The BJP is continuing with its massive membership drive in the state with an aim to enroll 25 lakh new members by March 2015.
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Amitabh quells rumours on Dilip Kumar’s health
Mumbai, November 25 “Some baseless rumours being spread about Yusuf Saheb - Dilip Kumar, being ill .. Saira ji just informed me he is perfectly fine !,” Bachchan posted on Twitter early this morning. Following Bachchan’s message all condolence messages directed to various associates of Dilip Kumar stopped immediately. Dilip Kumar (95) appeared in public only a few days ago at a wedding party of actor Salman Khan’s sister Arpita.
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Sena threatens agitation over Jaitapur N-plant
Mumbai, November 25 Party MP Vinayak Raut who won the Lok Sabha elections from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg has been telling the local people that the Sena would not allow the nuclear plant to come up under any circumstances. The 9,900 MW nuclear power plant to be constructed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Areva of France continues to remain stuck because of opposition by local people.
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Su-30MKI gets flying again during Indo-Russian exercise
Halwara, November 25 During the exercise, Su-30MKI, the fighter aircraft, was flown for the first time after being grounded following its crash in October. The operations of the aircraft had been suspended since October because of crashes due to technical snag of sudden activation of seat ejection. Air Commodore PK Vohra said “Su-30MKIs have been flying for the past one week and are part of the operations here”. An 18-member Russian team has been participating in the bilateral exercise at the Halwara Air Force Station since November 17. The Russian delegation, headed by Major General Lyapkin Alexander N, consists of fighter and helicopter aircrew among other members. The Russian crew has flown IAF Su-30MKI, Mi-35 and Mi-17 along with their Indian counterpart. Earlier, members of the Russian delegation visited Bengaluru, where they were exposed to indigenous projects such as Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), Light Combat Helicopter and Advance Light Helicopter (Dhruv). The joint exercise will further strengthen the relations between the two Air Forces taking forward the Indo-Russian strategic partnership. The Russian team will be in India till November 28.
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Hackers withdraw Rs 1.13 cr from NRI’s account Mangaluru, November 25 The fraud was committed after hackers made their way into the NRI's personal e-mail ID and sent mails to the Manipal Branch of Syndicate Bank asking for transfer of the money from his Foreign Currency Non Resident Account (FCNR), police said. As per the complaint, the amount in his account with the Manipal bank was found to have been transferred to two accounts in Dubai National Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank on January 15 and October 27 this year. Both transfers were executed purportedly based on two e-mail requests from the NRI, hailing from nearby Udupi and residing in Canada. — PTI
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Former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh was holding the portfolio of coal ministry during the scam and was not permitted to be examined
Kathmandu, November 25