New Delhi, September 6
The NDA, after stalling parliament on its demand for a joint parliamentary committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal for the past two days, today decided to press for a debate on the issue in the two houses under voting provisions.

While the NDA and the BJP insisted on a debate under voting provisions, the government and the Left rejected the demand for a JPC on the issue and a debate under rule 184 in the Lok Sabha and under 168 in the Rajya Sabha. In the backdrop of repeated adjournments in the two houses, parliament is likely to be adjourned sine die on Monday, a senior Minister said.

The government today hit back at the BJP and other parties demanding a JPC into the deal, telling them bluntly that the UPA was in power not because of their support but because of the Left backing.

“Government’s continuance is dependent on their (Left) support and not on the support of NDA. My job is to carry conviction with my supporters and not opponents,” external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters, dismissing opposition demands for a JPC.

A day after BJP leader L.K. Advani alleged that the arrangement of the UPA-Left committee was aimed at saving the government, Mukherjee said: “Of course. It is my job to save the government. It is my additional responsibility to carry my supporters so that the government continues.” “We have entered into a coalition. Till the last moment, I shall try to see that the government survives,” he said, adding that whatever has to be told to the opposition on the issue the government would do so in parliament.

Earlier, in separate briefings after the meetings of the BJP and the NDA, their spokespersons V.K. Malhotra and Sushma Swaraj said the NDA regretted the government’s stand of avoiding a structured debate in parliament on the issue.

The government wanted the opposition to engage in talks on a matter that concerned national interest and security, they pointed out and added “if there is no discussion under rule 184 in the Lok Sabha and under 168 in the Rajya Sabha, there will be no proceedings in the houses”.

On the other hand, Swaraj expressed hope that the NDA would force the government to constitute a JPC.

“We will get it done,” she said recalling that JPCs were finally set up on the Bofors deal and the security scam after initial refusal by the then governments.

The NDA leaders would meet tomorrow again to chalk out their strategy, she said.

Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani met NDA MPs earlier in the day after the BJP had decided to press for demands for a JPC and voting in parliament on the nuclear deal.

“Nothing is categorical in parliament. It’s a war of nerves,” Swaraj remarked when asked about the government’s rejection of the NDA’s call. “We do not consider (the government’s response) to be categorical.”

“What they have set up is a family welfare committee while we want a national welfare committee on the deal,” Swaraj said, referring to the constitution of a UPA-Left panel to examine the Communists’ objections to the 123 Agreement.

Accusing the government of insulting the opposition by creating a panel involving the Congress and its Left supporters alone, Swaraj said it was a contempt of parliament and insult to the opposition.

She insisted that the NDA had been neglected altogether in the move to constitute the panel over the objections of the Left supporters of the government.

New Delhi, September 6
Taking strong exception to the reported statement of science and technology minister Kapil Sibal, the CPI today contended that the findings of the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal are binding on the government.

“If it (the UPA-Left committee) is not binding then what is the meeting for. To have a cup of tea?” CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said when asked about Sibal’s comments in an interview yesterday that the committee will take into account the concerns of the Left parties but is not bound to accept the same.

Even as Sibal, who is also a member of the joint committee, sought to clarify that the matter would be determined once the Left concerns are addressed, the CPI leader said: “It is an over smart statement from a first-time parliamentarian (read Sibal) does not know the chemistry of coalition politics.”

“The findings will definitely have a binding on the UPA, because it is a committee of the UPA-Left. How the UPA is going to respond, we don’t know,” senior CPI leader D. Raja, who was also present at the press conference, said.

Meanwhile, there are indications that the first meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal is likely to take place before September 14 when top atomic scientist Anil Kakodkar travels to Vienna to attend an IAEA meet.

Sources said the Left-UPA leaders are keen on holding two meetings before Kakodkar, chairman, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), goes to Vienna. The Left and UPA leaders are thus trying to schedule the meeting between September 10 and September 14. 

Chennai, September 6
The police raided the house of a Bangladeshi woman, arrested in connection with the twin blasts in Hyderabad, at Vellore, 120 kms from here, and interrogated students of a college where she was studying.

Shahi Rafsanjani, the Bangaldeshi woman was a student of Auxillium College at Katpadi, on the outskirts of Vellore. She was staying at a rented house near Gandhi Road mosque in Vellore with some of her relatives.

Her brother Rizwan Gazhi was first arrested in Bangalore in connection with the explosions in Hyderabad. Gazhi is said to be the man who allegedly planted the bombs at Lumbini Park and Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad.

Nine people were killed in the May 18 blasts in Mecca Masjid and 44 in the August 25 blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat in Hyderabad.

Gazhi had rented a house in Kishan Bagh area in the old city of Hyderabad. His sister Shahi, reached Hyderabad the day after the blast and during a raid, was taken into custody for illegally staying in violation of the Foreigners and Passport Acts.

New Delhi, September 6
The government has decided to set up an energy security division in the ministry of external affairs.

India is also exploring opportunities for cooperation with other countries in new areas of energy such as the international thermonuclear experimental reactor project, FutureGen Clean Coal Initiative and Integrated Ocean Development Programme for gas hydrates, minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

The main objectives of the division are: to serve as a nodal point in the MEA for energy security. The unit would sensitise and assist Indian missions abroad in identifying possible opportunities for Indian companies; maintain coordination with the ministries concerned and support their international engagement through appropriate diplomatic interventions; support efforts of Indian corporate entities in acquiring energy assets overseas; promote the transfer of emerging energy technologies to India; and to interface with leading energy security think tanks and experts in India and abroad on energy-related issues.

The issue of energy cooperation has been taken up with countries like China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Central Asian countries, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and Mauritius.

The MEA has facilitated the entry of Indian energy companies in the markets of Latin America for acquisition of oil fields and sourcing of crude oil from Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador. An agreement has been signed with Brazil for cooperation in fuel ethanol and bio-fuel and with Thailand for cooperation in the field of renewable energy.

New Delhi, September 6
Even as groups and political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have differences over issues of autonomy and Article 370, there is consensus among them on the need for measures to boost regional development.

Several suggestions have been made to the working group on Centre-state relations on the ways to boost development, including formation of regional councils and hill councils and giving statutory status to the district development boards. The working group, which is among the five such groups appointed by the Prime Minister, held its fourth meeting in the capital earlier this week.

Sources said that the argument being given in favour of regional councils was that it would help end complaints of discrimination and enable elected representatives to have greater say in development programmes at the local level. While there is some commonality among the political parties on the concept of regional councils, there are differences on the definition of the regions with a few leaders preferring the state to have six regional councils instead of one each for Jammu and Kashmir.

No details have yet been formulated about the powers of such councils and its relationship with the legislature. Demand for forming hill development councils has also been raised.

The National Conference is in favour of giving statutory recognition to the district development boards. The party says that the main issue is imbalance within the regions. With the number of districts in the state having gone up, the NC says that empowering district development boards would be a sure step towards greater devolution of power. It says giving statutory recognition to the development boards would make it difficult to overrule their decisions.

Though the political parties spoke about the need of strengthening democracy, panchayati raj institutions and communal harmony, sources said it would be difficult to have a complete consensus in the final report due to differing position on issues such as Article 370 and state autonomy. They said that the group is likely to discuss a draft report before the final recommendations were made.

The group, headed by Justice (retd) Sagheer Ahmed, is looking at some widely-debated constitutional issues related to the state. Sources said apart from getting views of political parties and leaders representing various ethnic groups in Jammu and Kashmir, the chairman has also consulted some eminent jurists.

Dehra Dun, September 6
Landslides caused by cloudburst claimed 15 lives in Pithoragarh district as heavy rains lashed higher reaches of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand.

According to officials of the Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre of the state, heavy flow of rainwater following cloudburst in early hours today took in its spate Baram, Maitli and Syaldhar villages in Dharchula tehsil of the district.

Three houses were washed away by the gushing water, which killed 15 persons and injured five others. The injured were rescued from under the debris. It is feared that death toll may increase. Beside loss of life, more than 30 cattle heads have also perished.

Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri directed the district officials to supervise rescue operations.

Lucknow, September 6
It may soon be a possibility to drive down to Delhi, attend a meeting and be back in the state capital by evening.

Chief Minister Mayawati yesterday announced the plan for the construction of a 8-lane 1000 km-long ultra modern expressway from Ballia in eastern UP to Noida costing approximately Rs 40,000 crore. It would reduce travel time between Lucknow and Delhi to just four hours.

Having the potential of wiping out regional imbalances and promoting rapid development of the most neglected regions of Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, the expressway is basically an irrigation project and would be built by reinforcing and widening the existing eastern embankment of the Ganga to about a 100 metres.

Spelling out the benefits of the project, Mayawati said this multi-purpose and ambitious project is aimed to benefit the hinterland entrepreneurs, traders, farmers, students and even common citizens of the rural areas who till now have been deprived of the fruits of development available in bigger cities.

The expressway would originate from Ballia and pass through Varanasi, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Bulandshahr and link Noida. It will join the eastern region of the state with the western parts.

Kolkata, September 6
Trinamool supremo, Mamata Banerjee today said that she was no longer with the NDA and the TMC was not a partner of the NDA anymore.

She said the TMC was now an independent organisation and it would prefer to go it alone.

Mamata was addressing a gathering organised by various Muslim organisations and the Madrassa Association.

She asked all Muslim organisations to fight against the CPI(M), the BJP and the Congress since these were against the interests of the minorities.

Guwahati, September 6
The MiG 21 aircraft will no longer tear through the skies of North Assam as the IAF base at Tezpur today bade adieu to the fleet of the fighter aircraft in a warm ceremony attended by the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Air Command, Air Marshall P.K. Borbora, besides other senior officials.

Tezpur is the last of the IAF bases in the country to phase out the MiG 21 sky warriors, an aircraft whose utility has come under cloud. Defence spokesman, Lt Col Narendra Singh, informed The Tribune that inclement weather, however, took the sheen off the proposed colourful send-off for the fleet as the IAF had to cancel the last ceremonial sortie of the aircraft from Tezpur to the Chabua IAF base in Dibrugarh in eastern Assam.

The spokesman said the fleet would be relocated to the Chabua IAF base for the time being for strategic reasons until a different generation of fighter aircraft was not stationed at Tezpur.

New Delhi, September 6
Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav today threatened to burn imported wheat on arrival at the Mundra port located in Kutch, Gujarat, to prevent its entry into the Indian market.

Addressing mediapersons here today, the Rajya Sabha MP who has been minister for food and public distribution questioned the government's rationale in importing wheat from the international market at Rs 16 per kg when wheat was available in the domestic market at Rs 11 to Rs 12 per kg.

He alleged that the government was “anti-farmer and anti- people” and was working against national interest by endangering food security.

He said the government's decision to buy wheat may push up the wheat price in the domestic market. “By importing the wheat, the government will be paying foreign farmers higher prices. The farm subsidies will be up and these will not go to Indian farmers but to foreign farmers and traders. The irony is that foreign MNCs which have procured Indian wheat at Rs 8.50 per kg, will supply us wheat at Rs 16 per kg,” he said.

Patna, September 6
The propagators of "good governance" in Bihar have a unique solution to the menace of eve-teasing.

In a move that may draw the ire of women,the district administration of Dhanbad has directed girls not to leave the campus during college hours to avoid eve-teasing.

Sources said the administration issued this unprecedented directive to two leading women colleges in Dhanbad.

The college authorities were advised to prevent students from venturing out of the campus before 4 pm, the closing time for regular classes.

The principals of SSNT Girls' College and BSS Mahila College have been asked to abide by the order.

The directive was issued by the administration with the hope that such a step would prevent problems related to law and order.

The circular issued by the additional district magistrate (law and order),Rajmohan Tewari, can be viewed as an "indirect admission" by the administration of its failure to prevent eve-teasing.

The students view the move as a direct attack on their right to freedom. They had reportedly complained to the police about eve-teasing but the police did not do much. Instead of tackling the menace,the administration issued the directive to play safe.

According to sources, the college administration argues that its authority to deal with the students' problems is limited to the campus and it is up to the administration to take care of the security of the girls outside the college. The college authorities, however, are in favour of posting a few constables outside the college, instead of "detaining" the girls.

Rajmohan Tewari told the media that the girl students were the "cause of traffic jam" and "drew mischief-makers".

"Girls come out from the college in large numbers creating traffic bottlenecks. They form groups and gossip on the roadside. Besides, their presence means boys teasing them. If girls will be in the college campus,there will be no problem," he said.

He, however, claimed that his directive was neither an injunction nor any notice under but an advice.

Hyderabad, September 6
In a bid to check vehicular pollution and traffic congestion, the Andhra Pradesh government is mulling over imposition of additional tax for those who own more than one personal car.

The car-owners wanting to add more vehicles to their fleet will now have to pay 33 per cent more life tax for every new vehicle they purchase.

“Unless we impose additional tax, we cannot tackle the growing twin problems of traffic and pollution,” Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy said.

At present, there is nine per cent life tax on vehicles. The Chief Minister has approved the proposal for disincentives and indicated that the government was compelled to levy the extra tax on families owning more than one car.

However, the tax rate remains unchanged for the first vehicle.

“The number of persons owing more than one vehicle is increasing in Hyderabad and other towns in the state.

This is becoming a menace in terms of traffic control,” joint transport commissioner C.L.N. Gandhi said.

Andhra Pradesh, which has emerged as one of the fastest growing states in the country, now has 68 lakh registered vehicles, of which only 12 lakh are transport vehicles and the rest are personal.

Of the 56 lakh personal vehicles, there are six lakh cars and 43 lakh two-wheelers while the rest are auto-rikshaws and non-gear vehicles.

“A sizeable number of middle-class families own both a bike and a car. Among the upper middle-class and rich sections, owning more than two cars is very common,” an official said.

With the rising income levels, the population of motor vehicles is bound to increase exponentially putting great pressure on public space, environment, oil import bills and safety.

The traffic congestion is particularly acute in the state capital.

The city has only 6 per cent space for roads, which is among the least in the country, while the vehicle density was the highest at 2,337 vehicles per km of road length, additional director, traffic and transportation, municipal corporation of Hyderabad, V.S. Reddy said.