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N-debate in RS from today
Panel on N-deal parochial: NDA
Venugopal walks off governing body meeting
Action against prof not linked to survey: Varsity
Hyderabad Blasts
Anti-terror mechanism meeting soon
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Lover sets 11 of family on fire
‘Call’ of duty: Four cops suspended
Mother Teresa remembered
India offers help to ASEAN forum
Submarine version of Brahmos ready
Arms sale: Army orders inquiry
Government to monitor melting glaciers
Abducted boy set free
Father puts kidneys on sale
Man thrown off train: NHRC seeks report
Contract awarded for NH-1
four-laning
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N-debate in RS from today
New Delhi, September 5 As part of this strategy, the much-awaited debate on the 123 agreement will begin in the Rajya Sabha from tomorrow. The Lok Sabha will debate the deal on September 10, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said. However, it is not clear that Parliament will function normally tomorrow, considering the ruckus created by the Opposition today, forcing repeated adjournments. The sudden move to kick off the debate came after a hectic pace of political activities where Mukherjee played a pivotal role. He held a meeting with Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, sparking speculations that Parliament may be adjourned sine die over the deal impasse. The Left parties, however, took a strident stand and maintained that they would not allow cutting short of the Parliament session which is scheduled to end on September 14. The Left and the UPA decided that the BJP should not be allowed to convey an impression to the people that the UPA government is running away from a debate. The idea is that if the BJP-led NDA and other parties disrupt Parliament proceedings tomorrow, the government can take the stand that it is not shying away from a debate. Earlier in the day, both Houses were adjourned repeatedly over the Opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee on the issue. This came a day after the composition of the UPA-Left committee on the deal was revealed. Opposition leaders raised slogans, accusing the government of treating the issue as a family affair. Mukherjee who heads the N-deal committee said there was no time frame for the panel but it had to work expeditiously. In the Lok Sabha, BJP’s deputy leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra, while protesting against the panel on the deal, said: “How can such a panel be announced outside of Parliament. This is an insult to Parliament.” He said he had given a notice for the suspension of question hour to discuss the issue, but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said he would allow the issue to be raised only during zero hour. The Rajya Sabha witnessed similar scenes. As soon as the House asembled for the day and the obituary references for Ashish Sen and Banarsi Das Gupta were made, members from the BJP, AIADMK and TDP stood up and demanded the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee.
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Panel on N-deal parochial: NDA
New Delhi, September 5 Addressing a joint press conference along with NDA leaders, Leader of the Opposition L. K. Advani said that we were consulting other opposition parties as well and the NDA parties would meet tomorrow to chalk out the future course of action. Advani said the 15-member committee was more to save the government than going into the agreement He said external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who met him earlier in the day, had rejected the demand for a JPC, but “we would still like the government to reconsider it”. Advani sidestepped questions whether the NDA would support moves for early sine die adjournment of the current session of Parliament, saying that he could not answer hypothetical questions. However, he maintained appointment of the committee had pre-empted any debate on the issue. Reading out a statement titled “Indo-US Nuclear Agreement hijacked”, which said that setting up of the committee was a deliberate and blatant violation of the Parliament’s rights, prerogatives and privileges, Advani said the setting up of a private committee was a total negation of the opposition’s rights and role in Parliament. BJP demand for JPC
unacceptable: CPM
Condemning the BJP for disrupting the proceedings of Parliament on “filmsy grounds”, the CPM today said the party’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the nuclear deal was unacceptable. CPM leader in Lok Sabha Basudev Acharia said that Parliament had no authority to scrutinise the deal. Panel not bound by Left concerns: Sibal
Union minister and a member of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, Kapil Sibal, has said the panel was “not bound” to accept the concerns of the Left parties, but volunteered a clarification later today that this matter would be determined once the concerns were addressed. He also made it clear that the 123 agreement to operationalise the deal could not be renegotiated. “Taking into account never means you are bound by it,” he said on “India Tonight” (CNN-IBN). The interview was conducted before the constitution of the committee. Later in the evening today, he clarified that “whether anybody is bound or not is a matter that will be determined once the concerns are heard.” “We will talk about them (concerns of Left parties). We will try and deal with those concerns and when we come to a final decision, which we have to, we will take them into account,” he said. Sibal claimed that the Left parties had never said that the government was bound to accept their concerns on the deal.
— PTI
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Venugopal walks off governing body meeting
New Delhi, September 5 The meeting began amidst high drama as Venugopal arrived along with 15 faculty members and personal staff, insisting that they should also be allowed to attend the meeting. However, security personnel said only those people whose names were present on a list of participants provided to them would be allowed to enter the meeting chaired by Ramadoss, who is also the AIIMS president. Venugopal was, however, adamant that the people accompanying him should be allowed into the meeting as they headed various committees at AIIMS and would respond to the various queries of the governing body. After waiting for around 20 minutes, Venugopal went back. The meeting, which proceeded in the absence of Venugopal, condemned him for “insubordination, indiscipline and disobedience”. The 11-member governing body was of the opinion that the violation of its decisions was highly irregular, amounting to insubordination, indiscipline and disobedience and not expected of a public servant, particularly of a person holding such a high office, said Congress MP R.K. Dhawan, who is one of the members. — PTI
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Action against prof not linked to survey: Varsity
Chandigarh, September 5 A committee inquiring into the issue was yet to submit its report. The communiqué, signed by the Registrar and the Dean, Academic Affairs, was in response to the Tribune report headlined “Jammu varsity Prof loses headship over survey” (Sept 4). It reiterated that the university had an absolute commitment to academic freedom and research. However, it also had a commitment to ensure that norms and codes of conduct were adhered to by all its members. Following is the text of the communiqué: “As is widely recognised, the University of Jammu has today emerged as a true centre of academic and extra-curricular excellence. The university has also transformed into an institution, which encourages free expression and debate, even on the most sensitive of issues, including those related to Jammu and
Kashmir. Given this radical transformation, it is almost inevitable that there are small pockets of disgruntlement, inside and outside the university, who will attempt to defame the institution. “The latest attempt is the so-called “open letter” written on August 30, 2007, by the Head of the Department of Political Science which was circulated widely amongst the teachers, and sent to the Chief Minister, the Governor, and the HRD Minister and which made wild and groundless allegations against the whole university system. “In an immediate reaction, on August 30, 2007, the duly elected body of university teachers, the JUTA (Jammu University Teachers Association), condemned the letter and described the charges as unfounded and baseless. “The administration, in a spirit of democratic governance and complete transparency, placed the letter in a meeting of the Campus Deans and all the Head of the Departments on August 31, 2007, who unanimously and categorically took note of the breach of the code of conduct and professional ethics by Prof Rekha Choudhary, Head Department of Political Science and resolved that strict action under rules be taken against her. “While university rules provide for suspension in cases of misconduct, no such action was taken against the HOD. Instead, the Vice-Chancellor, acting on the recommendations of the Dean Academic Affairs (The senior-most professor of the university), on September 3, 2007, appointed Prof Kulwant Kour as the Head of the Department of Political Science - in the interest of the administration of the university. The Head of the Department is the Vice-Chancellor’s nominee in the department, and clearly Professor Rekha Choudhary’s continuation in the position was untenable. “Quite separately, Prof Rekha Chowdhary, in her capacity as Coordinator of the UGC-funded Special Assistance Programme, was involved in a controversy over a survey conducted on Jammu and Kashmir and over alleged acts of plagiarism (a serious academic crime) in writings that emerged from the SAP programme. Her removal as HOD, however, has no links with the SAP programme or the survey. A committee that is inquiring into the issue has yet to submit its report. “It is important, however, to reiterate that the University of Jammu has an absolute commitment to academic freedom and research. The university, however, has also a commitment to ensure that norms and codes of conduct are adhered to by all its members”.
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Hyderabad Blasts
New Delhi, September 5 Amzad, 24, is allegedly involved in recruiting youths from Hyderabad while they were on work permit in Saudi Arabia. The information about Amzad’s involvement first surfaced during the interrogation of an Aurangabad-based engineer Niaz Nayeem who claimed he had been recruited by Amzad in a Gulf country. Amzad’s role in the August 25 twin blasts in Hyderabad, which killed 43 persons, could not be ruled out, sources said. B’deshi suspected
HYDERABAD: As the probe into Hyderabad blasts continues, the police suspects an absconding Bangladeshi national to be behind the crime that claimed 43 lives. “Although nothing can be said conclusively it is believed that Rizwan Ghazi may be involved in the blasts that occurred on August 25,” the police said on Wednesday. Rizwan has gone missing since the special investigative team raided his residence in the Kishanbagh locality in old city on September 1, while his sister was arrested for travelling without valid documents, they said.
— PTI Narco test
Bangalore: Narco-analysis of the two Hyderabad blast suspects was carried out today. The suspects revealed that the three persons responsible for the twin blasts in Hyderabad were still in that city. Today it was Rafi, alias Kaleem’s, chance to go in for the narco tests. His statements during the test were in conformity with those given by Imran who had undergone the test yesterday. Sources said Imran had confessed to having stored RDX in his house. Imran is also said to have revealed that HUJI South India commander Shahid Bilal was the main man behind the Hyderabad blasts. He is said to have claimed that Bilal had planned the Hyderabad blasts and given the name of a few militants involved in the blasts.
— TNS
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Anti-terror mechanism meeting soon
New Delhi, September 5 The maiden meeting of this mechanism was held in Islamabad on March 7 this year. As agreed by both parties, the next meeting should have taken place by the first week of June because the two sides have agreed to hold such meetings once in three months. Pakistan has conveyed to India that its new additional secretary-level senior officer, who heads the group from the Pakistani side, is going to be appointed soon as the previous incumbent Tariq Osman Haider is no longer in the saddle. It is expected that as soon as this appointment is announced, a meeting of the mechanism can be scheduled. The mechanism, also viewed as a formal intelligence summit between the two nations, is yet to pick up steam. Earlier, Islamabad did not show much enthusiasm. But the post-Lal Masjid developments are expected to bring about a change in Islamabad’s strategy. Future meetings of the mechanism will confirm or deny this. The first meeting of the mechanism was exploratory in nature. The two sides discussed the parameters of the anti-terrorism mechanism and agreed that specific information will be exchanged for helping investigations on either sides related to terrorist acts and prevention of violence and terror acts in the two countries. India is understood to have proposed a similar joint anti-terror mechanism to Bangladesh. Dhaka’s response is still awaited.
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Lover sets 11 of family on fire
Bhopal, September 5 The other 10 as well as culprit Kanchhedilal are battling for lives after the Monday midnight incident in Maheshwar village in Raisen district. The sister-in-law - who the attacker wanted to live with - died shortly after the attack. The police said the injured had suffered burns ranging from 20 to 60 per cent. Kanchhedilal was allegedly in love with Sumitra Bai, wife of his younger brother Munnalal. Since Munnalal suffered from mental illness, Sumitra left him and began living with Dhaniram, the youngest among the four brothers. This enraged Kanchhedilal who wanted her to live with him. The police said Kanchhedilal went to Dhaniram's house around midnight with a can of kerosene. When his brother opened the door, he barged in and threw the liquid on the sleeping women and children. Before anyone could react, he lit a matchstick and threw it on the unsuspecting family members. Soon the hutment was on fire. While the villagers tried to douse the flames, Kanchhedilal could not escape the raging fire. He is also in hospital with more than 60 per cent burns.
— IANS
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‘Call’ of duty: Four cops suspended
Patna, September 5 The enactment of "reel life" in real life, however, proved to be costly for the four cops. After the surprise raid on Monday night in which the call girl was recovered from the prisoner’s ward of a government hospital at Hajipur, the enraged state government immediately suspended the four constables who were on duty in the ward. State home secretary Afzal Amanullah told mediapersons here that the four policemen, the girl and the prisoner were now undergoing medical tests.
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India offers help to ASEAN forum
New Delhi, September 5 The offer had been made at a meeting of the forum in Manila on August 2. India would design and conduct a training module on maritime security specifically for the member states.
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Submarine version of Brahmos ready
New Delhi, September 5 Defence minister A. K. Antony told the Lok Sabha today that the new version of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile that could be launched from a submarine was ready. MUMBAI: The new version of the Brahmos supersonic missile, may finally be fitted on an Amur-class submarine, to be procured from Russia, according to sources here. India is said to be in talks with Russia for lending some Amur-class submarines.
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Arms sale: Army orders inquiry
New Delhi, September 5 An inquiry has been ordered by the Jaipur-based South-Western Army Command, the statement said. The weapons that have become obsolescent and have already been phased out of the Army are classified as NSP weapons. A section of the media had on Wednesday filed a report quoting the collector of Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district as saying that Army officers had been selling their weapons illegally with the help of a cartel of ammunition dealers. The report said that a probe conducted by state government officials and the police found that at least 48 Army weapons, including foreign-made pistols, carbines and semi-automatic rifles, were sold through dealers in Bikaner and Sriganganagar districts adjoining the Pakistan border over the past four years. A four-member committee of the district administration had identified 30 Army officers, including two Major Generals and a Brigadier, allegedly connected with the trade.The names of the officers had been sent to the Defence Ministry and the Army high command, Sriganganagar collector Bhawani Singh Detha was quoted as saying.
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Government to monitor melting glaciers
New Delhi, September 5 The national-level institute under the department of science and technology will initiate holistic studies on Himalayan glaciology in particular, including effective monitoring of all important glaciers to work out options to effectively deal with emerging situation with increased snow melts in the future. Glaciers, including the Himalayan glaciers, are receding. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change confirms that as developing countries like India grow, these emissions are bound to increase. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been conducting studies on the recession of the Gangotri glacier since 1935. In the eastern Himalayas, where the Ganga basin is located, glacier melts have been reported. However, while it’s a fact that Himalayan glaciers are receding, scientists add that it has not been established conclusively that recession is only due to global warming. It may be a cyclic phase of recession witnessed in the history of evolution of the earth, they add. Regarding the source of India’s holy river Ganga, Gangotri, in particular, the rate of shrinking of 30.2km-long Gangotri glacier in the past three decades has been found to be more than the rate during the earlier decades. Average recession for this period has been about 25 metre per year or 83 feet per year. The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology is studying the melting of Himalayan glaciers in the Garhwal Himalayan region, the Dokriani and Chorabari glaciers. These glaciers had been receding at an average rate of 17.5 metre per year between 1991 and 2005, and 10 m per year between 2003 and 2006,
respectively.
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Hyderabad, September 5 Rohit, who was abducted last evening while playing near his house, was released at a roadside at Tekulapalli village. The villagers took the boy to the police who informed the family in Hyderabad about the release. “We spoke to him over phone. He is in the safe custody of the police. We are very happy,” Rohit’s visibly relieved father Ravinder Reddy, a senior executive in Cognizant Technologies, told reporters. The release came hours after Rohit’s mother Lalasa, working with IT giant Satyam Computers, made an emotional appeal for his release on humanitarian grounds as the boy suffered from fever and convulsions. Rohit was abducted while playing with his elder brother and friends near Sanskruti Vidyalam School near their housing apartment complex yesterday. — PTI
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Father puts kidneys on sale
Patna, September 5 It is the sad story of a father from Darbhanga in Bihar who has put his kidney on sale to save his son’s life. Poor Yogendra Paswan is now looking for buyers for his kidney so that he can get his son treated with the money. Both kidneys of his younger son Ram Sagar (18) have failed. Doctors at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) had recommended kidney transplant for Ram Sagar at the earliest but the poor family cannot afford the treatment.
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Man thrown off train: NHRC seeks report
New Delhi, September 5 Taking cognisance of a news report in a Hindi daily, which said that a physically challenged person died after being thrown out of a moving train by the ticket examiner, the commission has asked the respondents to send a factual report within a month. The man, Imtiaz, was pushed off the moving train after he was found travelling in the sleeper class compartment of the Sealdah Express while only having a ticket for the general coach.
— TNS
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Contract awarded for NH-1
four-laning
New Delhi, September 5 The project, to be executed on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis under Phase III of the National Highways Development Project.
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