New Delhi, November 5
In a veiled reference to the Left parties pressure on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said narrow political considerations could distort the national vision and sense of collective purpose.

“Sometimes the resolution of problems acquires an excessively political hue, and narrow political considerations, based on regional or sectional loyalties and ideologies, can distort the national vision and sense of collective purpose,” the Prime Minister told delegates at the fourth International Conference on Federalism at Vigyan Bhavan here.

Outlining unique problems faced by coalitions at the centre that comprise regional parties, he said: “This political dimension of the centre-state relations is yet another challenge facing a federal polity like ours. We may have a lot to learn from the experience of other countries in this regard.”

The Prime Minister urged the three-day conference to reflect on whether the single party state have advantages in managing the centre-state relations better as opposed to a multi-party system.

Pointing that the Indian experience of multi-party model with national parties dominating the political scene in managing the centre-state relations also gives rise to serious tensions, he cited the example of river water disputes involving various states.

“It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that we have found it easier to manage bilateral agreements with neighbours on river water sharing than domestic disputes between states…Similar issues arise in the management of our mineral and hydrocarbon resources,” the Prime Minister said.

Strongly pitching for reducing inter-regional disparities and for promoting unity in diversity in a federal polity, Dr Singh said: “Reducing such disparities is essential for the success of a federation. This has been an important challenge in India.”

“Both the Planning Commission and the Finance Commission, through a system of transfer of resources from the centre to the states, have played a constructive role in reducing inter-regional disparities and promoting balanced, social and economic development across the country,” he said.

“Even then, inter-regional disparities in the level of development persist and constitute a major challenge for our federal polity,” the Prime Minister said.

Asserting that federalism as a concept cannot be static and that there is no unique solution to the problem of striking a balance between national and sub-national needs, he said the forces driving economic unification have driven unification on other plans as well.

“I wonder whether the day is not far away when the concept absolute sovereignty may itself come into question. As rule based international regimes permeate various forms of human endeavour, we may see states giving up sovereign rights for the larger benefit of mankind,” the Prime Minister said. Technological developments too have their bearing on the evolution of federalism, he added.

Around 1,000 persons from around the world, including heads of states, experts and activists, are participating in the three-day conference.

The conference, organised by the Canada-based Forum of Federations and the Inter-State Council Secretariat of the Indian home ministry, aims at promoting an exchange of ideas of federalism that can help countries wracked by ethnic violence.

Besides, Manmohan Singh, the Indian delegation includes Congress president Sonia Gandhi, opposition leader L.K. Advani and home minister Shivraj Patil. Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey and Ahmed Abdallah M Sambi, President of Comoros, Nigerian Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi are also participating in the conference.

New Delhi, November 5
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today warned that concentration of authority and power only in the hands of the federal unit would be anathema to the whole system.

Chatterjee argued that the distribution of powers between the Centre and the states should not be preponderantly in favour of the Centre, while the states are starved of minimal financial resources and adequate constitutional authority. Such a situation will result in an uneven development of the country and will give rise to feelings of alienation from the mainstream. “There should not be a feeling of discriminatory treatment between the federating units, which will only help in fomenting regionalism and may ultimately give rise to militancy and terrorism,” he cautioned.

He emphasised on the need for decentralisation and pointed out that the Indian Constitution provided for sharing of power between the Union and the States and also within the States, through district and other local self- governing bodies.

Chatterjee, while delivering the presidential address at a discussion session the fourth International Conference on Federalism in New Delhi today, said: “Through landmark constitutional amendments, our Parliament has provided for grass-root institutions of governance, namely the panchayats and the nagar palikas as important units of self governance. The emergence of such bodies has substantially helped in the decentralisation of power, which on its turn has helped in strengthening grassroots democracy and local participatory governance. In fact, the success of the Panchayti Raj Institutions in India is a testimony to the success of the near-federal structure of India’s highly pluralistic and diverse democratic polity”.

Patna, November 5
The Railways seemingly continues to thrive on "Lalunomics", as it is the LJP now, on the pattern of the RJD, that is targeting this biggest public sector unit(PSU) to ferry its supporters from Bihar and Jharkhand during its proposed rally in Patna on November 28.

The venue of the LJP’s "Bihar Sankalp rally" is also the same Gandhi Maidan where the RJD had brought its supporters from far-flung districts of the state and adjacent Jharkhand by hiring a record number of 35 special trains against fair price from the Railways for its Chetawani (warning) rally on October 28 to kickstart the campaign for the ouster of the Nitish government. The Railways was reported to have earned about Rs 1.65 crore by exclusively ferrying RJD supporters as its passangers, which was its first-ever such mega exercice for a political rally in memorable past.

LJP state general secretary Dinanth Kranti told media here that as advised by the party supremo Ramvilas Paswan, he had urged the Railways to consider running special trains to ferry LJP suporters and workers too for the proposed "Bihar sankalp rally" from different parts of the state and Jharkhand as it did for the RJD’s Chetawani rally.

Patna, November 5
Defending his government’s recent decision to withdraw additional security to railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today charged him with violating security norms.

“The state government has viewed seriously the violation of security norms by the railway minister and would write to the union home ministry soon. He (Lalu) never cares to inform the administration about his movement and itinerary in advance so that proper security cover can be provided to him,” Nitish told reporters on the sidelines of his ‘Janata Durbar.’

Nitish said he had been informed that Lalu Prasad, who enjoyed Z plus security cover provided by the centre, never allowed elite National Security Guard (NSG) personnel to sit in his vehicle in violation of security guidelines and the state government would inform the home ministry about it.

Trying to put at rest the controversy over withdrawal of security cover provided by the state government to Lalu Prasad, Nitish said the Bihar Special Security Group Act, passed during RJD rule in 2000, provided security by the state government to former chief ministers for at least five years from the day they demitted office.

In the case of Lalu, this was extended by the previous government for five years in 2002 and the period ended on September 25 and hence the security cover provided to him by the state was withdrawn, the Chief Minister said.

“How much security does he (Lalu) want? He has been provided with Z plus security, NSG guards, one company of CRPF besides he has access to Railway Protection Force. I fail to understand why he is so security conscious ... I personally feel that people leading public life should not be security conscious,” Nitish said.

Lalu said he had no complaint over withdrawal of security to him and the administration could even withdraw the security cover to Rabri Devi.

“The state government has provided a rickety bullet proof car to Rabri Devi and it will be better if the government takes it back”, Lalu said. — PTI

New Delhi, November 5
The CBI today filed charges against businessman Ashok Malhotra, six Delhi Development Authority (DDA) officials, and a government official for their alleged involvement in a multi-million-rupee land scam in the Capital.

“We have filed a charge-sheet in a special CBI court in Tis Hazari against the DAA officials for criminal prosecution, cheating, forgery and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act for fraudulently allotting land meant for rehabilitation of slum dwellers at Dheerpur Phase-I to Malhotra,” a CBI official said.

An official of the Delhi Secretariat was also charged.

“Malhotra, kingpin of the land scam, was also charged for the same offences,” the official added.

Malhotra, known for his proximity to some key Delhi politicians, had allegedly siphoned off millions of rupees in association with five DDA officials and a private contractor by selling at exorbitant prices plots meant to be given to displaced slum-dwellers in northwest Delhi’s Dheerpur area.

The CBI probe began after he figured along with the five DDA officials in illegal allotment of the plots using fictitious names.

According to CBI sources, Malhotra was also involved in selling plots under other resettlement schemes of the DDA to people with fake identities.

The scam reportedly took place between 2000 and 2002.

The CBI had last month registered a case against the five DDA officers - deputy directors K.S. Verma and A.K. Mishra, assistant director J.R. Gaur and assistant engineers Shyam Babu and S.K. Sharma - for their alleged role in the scam.

During raids on his home in Mukherjee Nagar in August, the CBI claimed to have found several incriminating documents related to the land scam, Rs 1.7 million in cash, seven kg of gold and at least 50 luxury cars and 10 motor cycles - all bearing VIP number plates. — IANS

Lucknow, October 5
Virtually stealing the thunder from BJP’s virulent attack on Periyar’s “Sachchi Ramayana”, both Samajwadi Party and Congress sought a ban on the sale of the book, in the Vidhan Sabha today.

In a case of one-upmanship as soon as the house reassembled on Monday morning, Leader of the Opposition former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav took the lead in demanding a ban on the book, terming it a blot on the cultural heritage of the country.

Within seconds, the entire Opposition was on its feet and the SP and BJP quickly occupied the well, forcing speaker Sukhdev Rajbhar to repeatedly adjourn the house.

Finally, all opposition parties moved an adjournment motion on the issue. The BJP had first raised the matter more than a fortnight ago. It had also announced to take it up inside the house and on the streets today. As a matter of fact, the BJP had even issued a whip for today’s session to ensure the presence of all its legislators.

What, therefore, came as a surprise was the main opposition party, Samajwadi Party, which had so far abstained from commenting on the issue, taking it up so vociferously.

The entire opposition, in one voice, criticised the Mayawati government for the reported promotion of the Periyar book.

”Sachchi Ramayana”, written by social reformer and Dalit icon E.V.Ramaswamy Naickar Periyar, contains remarks about Ram that are now being found derogatory by the entire opposition in the state. Periyar, incidentally, describes Ram as a mythical character.

Converting the issue into a national one by attempting to take the wind out of BJP’s sails, SP national president Yadav said the Periyar controversy had the potential to rock the nation and was not the concern of the BJP alone.

“The Constitution makes it amply clear that all religions must be respected by the citizens of this country. It is downright shameful that such published matter should be allowed to be sold in the state,” declared Yadav.

Demanding an apology from the BSP, Yadav urged the Brahmin face of the party, Satish Chandra Misra, to explain what he thinks of Sita’s character as depicted in Periyar’s book.

He warned that the availability of such literature would have serious consequences. “After showing disrespect to Mahatma Gandhi, the BSP is now bent upon demolishing the sacredness of gods and goddesses,” alleged Yadav.

Not sparing the Congress either, the former Chief Minister said that the party had helped in the formation of the first BSP government in 1995. “It is the same BSP which is now responsible for all this,” he pointed out.

Having to content himself by playing second fiddle to the SP, BJP leader in the house, Om Prakash Singh, who had recently claimed to have discovered Periyar’s book, described its contents.

“In the 70-page book, 68 pages have been used to denounce Ram and the remaining two pages have been used to glorify Ravana. This is not a political issue, but one that concerns the unity and integrity of the country,” claimed Singh, adding that Ram was revered by a majority of the country, but the book had termed him as a “fraud, drunkard, impotent and cunning”.

Demanding a ban on the book, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari reminded the house that as the BJP had supported the same Mayawati during her previous three terms, it had lost the right to oppose it now.

However, joining issue on the book, Tiwari said that if it was continued to be sold, it could incite violence, for which the present Mayawati government would be solely responsible.

Defending the state government, parliamentary affairs minister Lalji Varma said the entire opposition had joined hands in frustration over the reverses suffered during the recent Vidhan Sabha elections.

In the absence of any real issue, they were desperately trying to rake up old issues, he charged. Since the first publication of the book, all these parties have been in and out of power in the state and the Centre, but had not bothered to ban the book, he revealed. 

Chennai, November 5
All 97 Indian fishermen, who were allegedly taken into custody by the Sri Lankan Navy, returned to their villages in Nagpattinam district of Tamil Nadu this morning.

The fishermen from Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam villages in the district were nabbed by the Sri Lankan Navy on October 31 after their 17 boats had strayed into Sri Lankan waters while they were fishing.

Narrating their experience, one of the released fishermen, Selvaraj, said they were fishing in the deep-sea when Sri Lankan naval boats surrounded them and they were asked to surrender at gunpoint. They were then taken to an army camp on the island-nation and handed over to the police.

However, official sources said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister after learning of the arrests, immediately intervened and subsequently Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse ordered their release.

The Sri Lankan Navy then brought them to the International Maritime Boundary Line and handed them over to the Indian Navy yesterday night and they reached their homes this morning.

New Delhi, November 5
The Delhi High Court today granted bail to former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Akhand Pratap Singh in a disproportionate assets case.

Justice V B Gupta said,” nothing is on record to show that he tried to tamper with evidence after the lower court’s order.” The court rejected CBI’s opposition to the bail petition.

The court had earlier stayed the bail granted to the former bureaucrat on October 22 when he was to be released. Singh was arrested on September 25. He has allegedly acquired as many as 92 immovable properties in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand which were worth over Rs 5 crore. — UNI

New Delhi, November 5
Throwing waste at someone's place is a "grave and sudden provocation", and a person who kills cannot be convicted of murder, the Supreme Court said.

In such a case of killing, the accused can be convicted only for the offence of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder," the apex court said, while reducing the life sentence of an accused charged with killing a person over the dispute.

"In our opinion, throwing waste and rubbish inside the house or shop of somebody is certainly a grave and sudden provocation. Everyone wishes to keep his premises neat and clean, and is likely to lose his self-control in such a situation," a Bench of Justices A K Mathur and Markandeya Katju observed.

The Bench made the observation, while reducing to five year of rigorous imprisonment, the life sentence of Mithu, an employee of a paper merchant in Tamil Nadu, who stabbed to death a rag picker Siva on April 9, 1998, after the latter allegedly threw rubbish into the shop.

According to the prosecution, after Siva threw the rubbish, an altercation ensued between the two during which Muthu picked up a knife lying in the shop and stabbed the former resulting in his death. — PTI

New Delhi, November 5
Embarrased over Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s remarks over slain LTTE leader S.P. Thamilchelvan, the Congress today sought to downplay the issue, saying that his views were personal and the party did not subscribe to them.

Though the party did not outrightly condemn Karunanidhi’s remarks, it did convey its disapproval. The Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said the party disapproves Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s mourning the death of the LTTE leader Thamilchelvan. She said LTTE was an organisation banned in the country.

“We cannot forget the action perpetrated by the LTTE that killed our great leader (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi,” Natarajan said. She said the party will not forget the actions of LTTE and not support eulogising terrorism in any form. The party, she said, contines to call for punishment for the those who assasinated Rajiv Gandhi.

LTTE militants assassinated Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Natarajan was also present in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991, when Gandhi was killed during an election campaign.

The Congress had withdrawn support to the United Front government over the Jain Commission report which reportedly had certain references to the DMK’s tacit support to the LTTE. The DMK is a constituent of the ruling UPA.

Chennai, November 5
MDMK chief Vaiko today asked whether the DMK would quit the Congress-led UPA government in view of the Congress’s opposition to the LTTE.

In a statement, Vaiko said the Congress withdrew support from the United Front government in 1997 on the plea that the DMK continued in the government despite indictment of some DMK

men by the Jain Commission, which probed the conspiracy angle of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.

But the same Congress and the DMK struck an alliance in 2004, Vaiko said and asked what was the basis for it.

Vaiko’s comments came in the wake of Dravidar Kazhagam leader K. Veeramani’s remark that the MDMK should break its alliance with the AIADMK as the latter opposed the LTTE.

He wanted to know whether Veeramani was prepared to advise the DMK to break its alliance with the Congress, whose leader G. K. Vasan had said his party would never forgive the LTTE.

“Does Veeramani has the guts to ask the DMK to leave the UPA,” he asked.

Accusing the Manmohan Singh government of supplying arms to the Sri Lankan government, which were being used against Tamils in the Island Republic, he said the UPA government was committing a “great betrayal of Sri Lankan Tamils.”

“It was Veeramani, who knew well about the AIADMK’s stand on the LTTE, who had prevailed upon him to side with the AIADMK and even offered to mediate between the parties personally,” he said. But all of a sudden, Veeramani made a U-turn to support the DMK,” Vaiko alleged. — PTI

New Delhi, November 5
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has sent instructions to states regarding how they should celebrate Children’s Day this year.

The commission has directed all district magistrates to ensure that children are made aware of their rights, including right to food, quality education, clothing, play as well as rest on that day.

“The NCPCR has asked DMs to launch a campaign and interact directly with children. Awareness should be disseminated in schools, hostels, orphanages, juvenile observation homes, children’s homes and shelter homes besides all other public institutions meant for children on the occasion of Bal Divas to inform them what their rights are,” NCPCR chairperson Shanta Sinha said.

Sinha said in order to make this year’s Children’s Day celebrations more meaningful, arrangements should be made to read out articles from the UN Convention on the Child Rights in every class and discuss them with the children.

The suggested plan of action includes holding essay writing, elocution and drawing competitions on children’s perspectives on child rights. All schools and related institutions should be encouraged to forward prize winning essays, drawings, poems and other material to the NCPCR chairperson. “This material will be compiled for larger circulation so that a wide audience can share expressions of these children’s thoughts and ideas,” she said. She has also suggested the involvement of local public, NGOs and friends of children in celebrations.

Important sections of the UN Convention on Child Rights

• Article 2: All children have rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what their parents do, what language they speak, what their religion is, whether they are a boy or girl, what their culture is, whether they have a disability, whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis
• Article 12: Right to give your opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously
• Article 19: Right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated in body or mind
• Article 23: Right to special education and care if you have a disability, as well as all rights in this convention so that you can live a full life
• Article 24: Right to the best health care possible safe water to drink, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help you stay well
• Article 26: Right to help from the government if you are poor or in need
• Article 27: Right to food, clothing, a safe place to live and to have your basic needs met. You should not be disadvantaged so that you can’t do many of the things other kids can do
• Article 28: Right to a good quality education. You should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level you can
• Article 31: Right to play and rest
• Article 32: Right to protection from work that harms you, and is bad for your health and education
• Article 36: Right to protection from any kind of exploitation
• Article 42: Right to know about your rights. Adults should know these rights and help you learn about them, too

New Delhi, November 5
The Left parties today made a strong case for conferring more rights and financial resources on the states and contested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's perception on the coalition governments hindering the ''collective purpose'' of the states.

The top leaders of the CPM and the CPI stressed that India can remain united only in a federal structure, while impressing on Dr Singh that the days of a single-party rule were over and the coalition government had become the order of the day in the country.

Their reaction to Dr Singh's observations on federalism came after he wondered whether a multi-party coalition government like the one he is heading was capable of providing the unity of purpose required to be demonstrated by the states.

CPI leaders A.B.Bardhan and Shamim Faizi maintained that it seemed that the Prime Minister had missed the basic parameteres of federal polity.

''India can remain united in a federal structure only. It has to provide representation to various ethinic, linguistic, religions and regional aspirations,'' the leaders noted.

CPM veteran leader and Politburo member M.K.Pandhe reminded Dr Singh that the ground politcal realities should leave no one in doubt that no single party, including the Congress, could come to power at the Centre on its own and that the strict implementation of the CMP was the only guarantee for smooth running of the government.

On Dr Singh's comment that ''regional, sectional loyalities and ideologies'' was coming in the way of national vision and collective purpose, the CPI leaders said ''it was the reason that fathers of the Constitution opted for a federal Constitution as a unitary system could not reflect the diversity that India has''. As far as the nuclear deal is concerned, the Prime Minister has mistaken the Left's approach as an ''ideological'' issue, the Left leaders said, adding that ''our opposition to the strategic partnership with the US is based on the national interest''.

Faizi said Singh should understand that those who fought for the country's indepedence from the British colonial rule had visualised a sovereign nation. ''India's becoming US junior partner will not only affect our national independence, foreign policy but also have serious consequences on our economic independence and political sovereignty.'' — UNI

Patna, November 5
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, Tej Pratap, today got the taste of what it is like to be on the other side of a VIP security barricade.

A student of class XII at the Central School of Patna, Tej Pratap had to alight from his car and walk a few hundred metres to reach his residence on 10, Circular Road.

This happened at a barricade put in place to stop people from entering Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence on Anney Marg from the back gate.

The policemen at the barricade did not allow Tej Pratap’s car to go through.

The barricade is put up every Monday near the back gate of the CM’s residence to stop people from using that entrance to meet him for his weekly Janata Darbar.

After he was stopped, Tej Pratap tried to tell them that he was the son of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, both former CMs, and was entitled to VIP status himself.

But after failing to convince the police he was forced to walk to his residence.

Later, Rabri came out in protest and forced the shifting of the said barricade that was causing “obstruction” between Anney Marg and Circular Road.

Lalu too reportedly called up Patna SSP Kundan Krishnan, who expressed regret over the mistake by the police.

Unconfirmed reports said there was a minor scuffle between Rabri’s official bodyguards and the police on duty near the Anney Marg barricade.