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Mamata’s new deal to tone up Railways
Maharashtra Elections
Rajasthan |
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CPM hints at breakup with AIADMK combine
NDA to oppose govt on Jharkhand
Sibal sets stage for ushering in education reforms
Judicial Reforms
It’s now religion versus homosexuality
Tax Burden on State
China’s defence spending of concern to India
Pak-based terrorists continuing attacks in India: Krishna
Neighbouring states
worried over violence in Assam
Gujarat Riots
Mumbai cops in Delhi to quiz Shakeel men
BJP demands Savarkar’s statue in France
Rahman: MJ made uncompromising music
Chand still in ICU
Move to ‘Import’ Cheetah
TDP for campaign against EVMs
Zardari’s Confession
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Mamata’s new deal to tone up Railways
New Delhi, July 9 Ruling out the corporatisation of the railway network, she however, said there was a scope for private sector’s participation in commercial use of railway land for areas like healthcare and education institutions. Replying to a marathon discussion on the Railway Budget here, she favoured 50 per cent quota for locals in induction in Railways through the Railway Recruitment Board and availability of the question paper in regional language. She also promised to review the process of intake in the railways. She also advocated greater utilisation of vacant land of the Railways pointing out that these were either lying idle or being encroached upon. The Railways has almost 300,000 acres of vacant land in its possession. “We cannot sell the land. But what is the problem in commercial utilisation?” she queried and said institutions such as medical and nursing colleges, hospitals and other institutes of higher education. She said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). “We might even look at building IITs in the future,” she said while adding, “Land is our main asset. We can build medical colleges and other institutions on our land. Both railway employees and the general public will benefit from this”. Banerjee announced setting up an expert panel, headed by FICCI secretary-general Amit Mitra, to prepare a business plan for toning up the Railways. It will have representatives of Chambers of Commerce besides Member (Traffic) and Member (Engineering) of the Railway Board. She said monitoring committees, headed by senior officials like members of Railway Board, would also be set up to keep tabs on train punctuality, amenities and cleanliness. The minister said a blue print was being drawn to totally revamp the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp but added there was no need to outsource food and beverage operations offered inside trains and stations. Ruling out the corporatisation of the Railways she said, “I’m always in favour of our employees. I’ll be the last person to do it”. “Tourism can be looked at,” Banerjee said on the issue of allowing outside agencies to supplement the efforts of Indian Railways. “But there is no need to outsource food. We will departmentalise it,” she said. She said two more non-stop ‘Duranto’ (fast) trains - Delhi-Secunderabad and Delhi-Nagpur - would be introduced in addition to 12 such trains already announced. Two of the 14 such trains would start within a month, she said but did not identify them. She also included several more stations in the list of those to be developed as ‘adarsh’ (model) and world class ones, responding to demands by members from all parties, who accused her of only focusing on West Bengal while neglecting rest of the country. Banerjee said the White Paper promised by her would be unveiled as soon as possible. She clarified that the exercise was not to target “any individual” but only to reflect upon the past and present state of affairs of the Railways and chalking out the roadmap for future. Her assertion was of importance as he move had upset her predecessor Lalu Prasad, who while going out of the ministry had claimed that he was leaving the organisation with a Rs. 94,000 crore surplus over five years while was in-charge. Banerjee said her step was nothing unusual as such an exercise was carried out earlier also.
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Maharashtra Elections
Mumbai, July 9 The MNS, which contested 12 Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and Nasik, ended up a dud but ensured the UPA’s victory in 11 of them. The dozen Lok Sabha seats account for 72 assembly segments and the MNS led in as many as 20. “Shiv Sena voters who would normally have backed the BJP voted for the MNS candidate,” a senior BJP leader said shortly after the polls. According to BJP leaders bringing the MNS into the BJP-Sena fold would prevent the ‘saffron’ vote from splitting to the benefit of both the Congress party and the NCP. On his part, Raj Thackeray has threatened to contest all the 288 assembly seats, adding to the discomfiture of the ‘saffron’ combine. The BJP’s move to rope in the MNS, however, has not gone well with the Shiv Sena. According to sources, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray is not keen on joining hands with his estranged cousin. Instead the outfit has pitched for allying with the Ramdas Athavale faction of the Republican Party of India. Meanwhile, the observers say the BJP’s internal politics will now be played out by inviting the MNS into the ‘saffron’ camp. The party’s alliance with the Shiv Sena formed over two decades ago was a brainchild of the late Pramod Mahajan and his brother-in-law, Gopinath Munde, who was said have excellent relations with Bal Thackeray. However the BJP’s ‘parent’, the RSS, had reservations about this pact all along. Munde’s rival in the BJP, party president Nitin Gadkari, is among those actively wooing Raj, the sources said. In recent times Raj himself has praised Gadkari while ignoring Munde. On the other hand the Shiv Sena is playing a wait and watch game. None of its leaders appear to be reacting on the BJP’s proposed move to rope in the MNS. However, in private Shiv Sena leaders have admitted the MNS would eat into their votes. After raking up the issue of Marathi regionalism ahead of the LS polls, Raj himself has remained quiet of late. His party has now taken up issues relating to consumers in general while backroom negotiations are on with the
BJP.
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Rajasthan
Jaipur, July 9 The pandemonium began when CPM MLA Pawan Duggal tried to interrupt BJP MLA Narpat Rajvi during the Zero Hour. Speaker Deependra Singh Shekhawat asked him to take his seat but he didn’t heed to his order. Instead Duggal along with his party colleague Amra Ram stormed into the well and staged a protest. The Speaker then summoned the marshals to take the protesting MLAs out of the House. However, his move spurred the BJP MLAs to join the Left legislators’ protest. Deputy Leader of BJP legislature party Ghanshyam Tiwari and other senior BJP leaders like former ministers Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Singh Rathore too rushed to the well even as the protesting MLAs engaged in a minor spat with the marshals. The protesting legislators raised slogans against the state government for maintaining a silence on the power scenario in the state. The Opposition MLAs raised slogans like ‘Taanashahi nahi chalegi’ while the Speaker adjourned the House for half-an-hour. Later, when the House re-assembled, the Speaker asked the Power Minister to brief the Opposition on the power situation prevailing in the state. Power Minister Jitendra Singh told the House that the state is generating 820 lakh units of power while its consumption stands at 1,130 lakh units. He said the state is facing a power deficiency of 132 lakh units even after drawing 200 lakh units of electricity through power exchange. He said the government has introduced scheduled power cuts in all the district and tehsil headquarters from today onwards so as to provide a regular power supply of five to six hours to the state’s farming community. The state has been witnessing violent protests on account of power and potable water shortage over the past few days. A couple of days back, the residents of a Chittorgarh village had attacked a 33-KV power station and thrashed its two employees while another engineer deployed there escaped their wrath by locking himself in a room. Similarly, six persons, including three cops, were injured on the same day when the residents of Jasole town in Barmer clashed with the police over shortage of water.
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CPM hints at breakup with AIADMK combine
Chennai, July 9 Attributing the front’s poor performance to the stand taken by AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa on the Sethusamudram canal project, state CPI-M secretary N Varadarajan said,” While all the parties in the AIADMK alliance are supporting the project the AIADMK, which adopted a contradictory position on the issue, acted arbitrarily and announced it would scrap the project". His statement echoed the views of Union Shipping Minister GK Vasan who earlier had said the southern districts - which would have benefited from the project, had rejected the AIADMK alliance. Referring to the anti-conversion bill introduced by the AIADMK when it was in power, Varadarajan said the state’s minorities did not vote for the ‘third front’ because of their "bitter experiences" in the past. “The AIADMK did not try to allay fears expressed by the minorities, who were afraid of ‘communal politics’, over the name ‘Ram Sethu’ (given to the project)", he said. He said government employees, the middle class as well as industrial workers did not vote for the AIADMK “due to their experiences with the AIADMK government in the past”. He asserted the AIADMK did not organise a coordinated campaign and failed to focus on the ‘third front’ as an alternative to the Congress party and the BJP. Going a step further, the CPI-M leader said the party would openly express its opposition to some of the AIADMK’s stated policies at the opportune moment. Asked whether the AIADMK was the sole factor behind the ‘third front’s’ defeat in Tamil Nadu, he replied: "The AIADMK was one of the reasons for the defeat". To a query if the CPI-M would continue in the AIADMK alliance for the forthcoming byelections to five assembly constituencies, he said the party would decide after the polls were announced.
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NDA to oppose govt on Jharkhand
New Delhi, July 9 The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Lok Sabha has decided to take up the Jharkhand Bill for discussion, immediately after the discussions, and reply on the Union Budget would conclude that day, disclosed BJP Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma
Swaraj here today. Simultaneously, she also said the BJP and its partners in the NDA are not going to support the Bill. On the other hand, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and MP from Jamshedpur Arjun Munda has sent notice to Speaker Meira Kumar’s office for a discussion opposing extension of the President’s rule in the state. The Jharkhand Assembly was put under suspended animation in January this year and the President’s Rule imposed then, which the UPA government ratified in its last incarnation. Parliament ratified the President’s rule then. Under the Supreme Court judgement in the Bommai case, ratification of the President’s Rule by Parliament once is obligatory. But this time round, the BJP is pressing for dissolving the Assembly, which is due to end its term only in February next year. Therefore, Arjun Munda is going to move for dissolution of the Assembly and early elections. Only when the House votes against it, it can take up the grants for Jharkhand, Swaraj explained.
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Sibal sets stage for ushering in education reforms
New Delhi, July 9 Sibal was delivering a keynote address at the plenary session of the World Conference on Higher Education at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris yesterday. Admitting the growing requirement of private providers in education, he called upon the UN body to play a key role in helping member states develop national standards of accreditation for different purposes for benchmarking higher education so that private players did not become ‘teaching shops’. The minister justified his stand on allowing private investment in education in India, saying public institutions could keep pace with the rising demand and private sector investments were needed to realise ambitious goals. “The huge gaps in access to higher education between regions and countries need to be narrowed, but this isn’t possible without participation of private investments,” he argued, putting forward three points to justify his position. “Crossborder manufacturing processes and global transactions in the services sector have created a demand for higher education not only of national quality but also one that helps a globalised economy, said Sibal.
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Judicial Reforms
New Delhi, July 9 Stage for discussions on the controversial issue was set during question hour in the House this morning. At the heart of the debate was the government’s commitment to the introduction of the legislation seeking declaration of assets by judges, in the budget session of Parliament. Upon assuming charge as law minister earlier, Veerappa Moily had said the government would finalize an overreaching roadmap for judicial reforms by September 15, and bring legislation in the budget session to see that judges declared their assets. “I am going to introduce a stand-alone legislation on the judiciary. I have sent the file to the law secretary to study the draft and I expect the study to be over in next two days,” Moily had said on June 26 this year. Cornered on the delays in the direction, Moily today said a national consensus was being worked out on the matter and a decision would be taken in two months. Further defending the government, he said a logical conclusion was due and the government would take only a few months and not years to wrap up the matter. “We are in the process of preparing a roadmap for judicial reforms. It has been an agonising and long process because a consensus is necessary to move forward in the direction,” the law minister said. He, however, clarified that the government would not adopt a confrontationist approach with the judiciary on this front. In another significant admission, Moily told the House that the government was not considering reserving positions in the higher judiciary for the persons from weaker sections - SCs, STs and BCs. “There is no such plan either on the higher or lower courts,” he said, rushing to add that social engineering also needed to be kept in mind as it was the people’s right and no charity. The government plans to suggest names of people from weaker sections for further consideration of inclusion in the collegiums to be appointed as judges in the higher judiciary in India. The law minister also reciprocated the urge of the House to ensure transparency in judicial appointments, saying the issue was important and needed to be addressed. “The law commission had earlier rooted for restoration of the primacy of Chief Justice of India and power of the executive to appoint Supreme Court and high courts judges,” Moily said, replying to related queries on the matter.
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It’s now religion versus homosexuality
New Delhi, July 9 A day after yogic leader Bapu Ramdev registered his strong opposition to the High Court verdict legalizing same-sex relationships to the extent that they are consensual (he called homosexuality a “treatable disease), representatives of Islam, Christianity and Jainism today came out in the open in protest against the judgment. The religious preachers, led by Acharya Lokesh Muni of the Jain school of thought, went many steps further in running down the judgment as part of a “well-thought-out conspiracy to strike at the root of Indian culture and civilisation, which had stayed intact for centuries.” While the Muslim and Christian theologists termed the practice as contrary to moral and religious codes, the Jains were the most vocal in seeing a “conspiracy” behind the de-criminalization of homosexuality - a law that the British had enacted in the first place. “This is immoral, unethical and unhygienic. It will lead to a complete breakdown of the social codes and systems and pave the way for anarchy. Today these people are seeking legalization of man-man, woman-woman relationships. Tomorrow the subject of desire could be animals, even birds. There is no end to this. We call for restraint in the matter and cautious deliberation,” said Muni, in Delhi today. The leaders also issued a joint statement in the wake of Supreme Court’s notice to the government on a petition challenging the anti-gay ruling of the high court. “We hope the government keeps in mind the moral, cultural and health issues while firming up its stand on this matter. In our opinion, such behaviour is deviant and deprave and must be discouraged at every cost,” they said.
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Tax Burden on State
Chandigarh, July 9 The Bench of Justice MM Kumar and Justice Jaswant Singh gave directions to this effect, while taking up the petition filed by 72-year-old Ludhiana resident Manmohan Singh. The petitioner’s counsel had supplied the list of all the MLAs, but the Bench on the basis of serial order impleaded 50 of them as respondents in representative capacity. It means the Bench on the basis of their replies will form an opinion in the matter. Before parting with the directions, the Bench asked petitioner’s counsel to supply the addresses of the MLAs, so that the notices could be issued to them for August 26. The Bench also took on record the reply filed by the Union of India asserting “the state legislature in all its wisdom has trespassed its jurisdiction, as the levy of income tax is in the exclusive domain of the Central government”. It asserted the “state government has passed a legislation, which directly interferes with the inherent powers of Parliament, which is unconstitutional unless it has been ratified by the Central government, as the levy of tax comes under the purview of the Union government”. The issue was first brought to the fore in these columns on June 20, 2006, through an editorial “Aaj ka MLA wants you to pay his tax”. It seems the issue remained alive in the mind of petitioner Manmohan Singh. The former head traveller ticket examiner in the railway department annexed the editorial with his petition, while asking the high court to quash provision 3-AA of the Punjab Legislative Assembly (Salaries and Allowances of Members) Act, 1942, and Punjab Act number one of 2004. These “relate to exemption from payment of income tax on salaries, allowances and perquisites, payable to the members of the legislative assembly,” he has asserted.
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China’s defence spending of concern to India
New Delhi, July 9 “… It will have an effect on the overall military environment in the neighbourhood of India”, said the annual report of the ministry tabled in Parliament yesterday. In a way the report focuses more on China than on Pakistan. In security circles, China is seen as a bigger threat to India’s growth than Pakistan. Consequently, China’s defence modernisation needs to be monitored carefully in the foreseeable future for the implications that it can have on the security and defence of India, said the report that is open comment on the Indo-China ties. The two nations have been locked in a bitter and long -standing boundary dispute. Commenting on the ties between China and Pakistan the ministry has pointed out that the Chinese military assistance and cooperation with Pakistan and other countries in the neighbourhood was growing. The reference to other countries is Nepal and Burma where China is quickly establishing a foothold. The ministry feels that there is a possibility of China enhancing connectivity with Pakistan through the illegally occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. “This will have direct military implications for India”. The report goes to says India has taken note of China’s statement in its “White paper on National Defence in 2008”. In this China states “it will never seek hegemony or engage in military expansion now or in the future, no matter how developed it becomes”. The Indian Ministry of Defence says it has taken note of the double digit growth in Chinese defence expenditures over the previous 20 years, which has led to significant modernisation of its defence forces, both in terms of quality and quantity. China’s stated objectives in its “white paper” are clear that it aims at developing strategic missile and space-based assets and of rapidly enhancing its blue-water navy to conduct operations in distant waters, and the systematic upgrading of infrastructure, reconnaissance and surveillance, quick response and operational capabilities in the border areas. India will engage China to seek greater transparency and openness in its defence policy and posture, while taking all necessary measures to protect the national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of India, the ministry has assured Parliament. The armed forces of the two countries are engaged in building greater understanding through joint military exercises, through a regular defence dialogue since 2007 and through exchanges of military delegations. On Pakistan, the report says that the militants operating from its soil have contributed to the deterioration of India’s external security environment.
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Pak-based terrorists continuing attacks in India: Krishna
New Delhi, July 9 In a suo motu statement in Parliament on the developments in India’s neighbourhood, Krishna also accused Pakistan of reneging on its commitment not to allow the misuse of territories under its control to be used for terrorist activities against India. “It s the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to take all such steps as are necessary to address this issue (terrorism emanating from Pakistan) and expose and take action against the conspiracies and conspirators responsible for such attacks. Unfortunately, terrorists in Pakistan continue to carry out attacks on India,’’ he said. The foreign minister’s statement is clearly aimed at upping the ante against Pakistan ahead of a crucial meeting next week between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Premier Yousaf Reza Gilani. Recent reports have suggested that the two countries could resume the stalled dialogue after the meeting between the two Prime Ministers. Pakistan has been seeking the resumption of the dialogue process for quite some time while India insists that Islamabad must bring to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to show its sincerity in dealing with India’s concerns on terrorism. In his statement, Krishna also emphasised the importance of a continued dialogue with Pakistan. However, the dialogue to address mutual concerns was premised in an atmosphere free of threat of violence. Krishna said the foreign secretaries of the two countries would also meet in Egypt before the meeting between their two principals to take stock of what Pakistan had been doing to prevent terrorism from its soil. On the situation in Sri Lanka after the conclusion of the military conflict against the LTTE, Krishna reiterated India’s interest in ensuring a lasting political settlement in the island nation, which must address the legitimate aspirations of the minorities, including the Tamil community, within the democratic framework of a united Sri Lanka. On Nepal, he said India was concerned at the lack of progress on the peace process and fraying of the political consensus that was critical to it.
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Neighbouring states
worried over violence in Assam
Guwahati, July 9 The Naga Hoho, the apex body of peoples’ organisations in Nagaland, has dashed a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to immediately intervene and demonstrate wisdom to restore peace in the hill district of Assam. The apex body asserted the violence in the hill district was orchestrated by perpetrators who want to drive a wedge and severe the rich traditional relationship between the Dimasas and Nagas living in the area. Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has requested Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to provide adequate security to the minority Zeme Naga tribe living in North Cachar Hill district. The Manipur government has already sanctioned over Rs 3.6 lakh to provide relief to 800 odd violence-displaced Zeme Naga tribes from Assam hills taking refuge at different parts of Tamenglong district in Manipur.
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Gujarat Riots
New Delhi, July 9 The petitioners had also sought that the victims' remains should be handed over to their relatives as their identities had been established following tests at the Centre for DNA fingerprinting & Diagnostics,
Hyderabad. The bench advised the petitioners to avail of the remedial measures available within Gujarat, including approaching the trial court, for the purpose. Family members of the victims had dug up the skeletons on December 27, 2005.
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Mumbai cops in Delhi to quiz Shakeel men
Mumbai, July 9 "A crime branch team has gone to interrogate Shakeel's gang members arrested by Delhi police. We are regularly in touch with our counterparts," Additional Police Commissioner (Crime) Deven Bharti told PTI. On June 4, Delhi police arrested six alleged sharp shooters of Shakeel gang and claimed they were planning to eliminate the lawyer of BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who has been accused of making hatred speeches. Shakeel is a lieutenant of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The arrest of seven members in Mumbai and six shooters in Delhi has caused a major blow to Shakeel and his activities, an official said. "Their (shooters held in Delhi) interrogation will enable us to know the network of the gang across the country and activities in the major cities," the official said adding that "we are also sharing the details we have with Delhi police." Mumbai police had arrested seven alleged members of the gang, including two sharp shooters, Gurpreet Singh and Rashid Malbari, of the gang in May. While Bhullar was extradited from Bangkok on May 14, Rashid was brought from Karnataka on a transit remand on May 18.
— PTI
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Actor Mohan Lal joins TA
New Delhi, July 9 Just last year, cricketer Kapil Dev had also joined the TA. He has since then been taking active part in the activities, including undergoing weapon training. Mohan Lal, a versatile actor clearly looked nervous and overawed by the event as he marched up in uniform to be piped. He will be affiliated with the Kerala-based 122 Inf Bn (TA) MADRAS called the “Kannur terriers”. He has won several accolades to his credits, including four national awards, and is a Padmashree awardee. His portrayals of an army officer in movies like Kirti Chakra and Kurukshetra are seen as outstanding and realistic. As part of his preparation to depict the role, he shared the realities of army personnel in actual conflict zone near Drass on the line of control. Lal, who was accompanied by his wife, said: “It is truly a proud moment for me to have been granted an honorary rank”. He promised to come for the Prime Minister’s Territorial Army Day parade scheduled in October.
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BJP demands Savarkar’s statue in France
New Delhi, July 9 The occasion saw Leader of the Opposition LK Advani asking the government to come clean on whether it was opposing the proposal of the French government to provide a Savarkar memorial along the route to the Marseilles port. “We would like to know if it is correct that the government is opposing the memorial of Savarkar in France, whereas the French are keen on the same. Savarkar was a great freedom fighter and the House should know what the government’s position on the matter is,” Advani said. The BJP is said to be in possession of a letter from the Marseilles Mayor, who is desirous of setting up a Savarkar memorial in the port city as a mark of tribute to his memory. The proposal is reportedly awaiting India's clearance. In his demand, all BJP members, including Sushma Swaraj, Anath Kumar and Gopinath Munde, supported Advani, who first raised the issue in the zero hour. Sushma, for her part, said the memorial was only befitting in this year, which marks the beginning of the centenary celebrations of the nationalist’s swim to freedom way back on July 8, 1910. “Next July 8 will mark the completion of 100 years of that historical event when Savarkar jumped off the British ship and swam to the Marseilles port. This led to the resignation of the French ruler, whom the British accused of shielding Savarkar. The government must work towards his memorial,” she said. “We need a direct reply from the External Affairs Minister,” urged the BJP, which plans several functions this year to salute the sacrifice of Savarkar.
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Rahman: MJ made uncompromising music
Chennai, July 9 Starting his career in the film “Roja”, Rahman has come a long way. He is one of the few Tamil music directors who had established himself in Bollywood with ease. He brought laurels to the country after his “Jai Ho” appealed to international audience and brought the country an Oscar. A humble and soft-spoken person, Rahman spoke about his pet project, KM music conservatory, and an icon he loved,Micheal Jackson. Q: You are a busy musician with international commitments and still you find time for a music conservatory in Chennai. What is very special about it? Rahman: This is India’s first music conservatory to specialise in both western, Indian music and music technology. The school hopes to train Indian students in western music performance, composition and music technology at an internationally competitive level as well as provide India with its own symphony orchestra comprising its own musicians. Q: When did you start this conservatory? It is said that you are taking steps to obtain international recognition for the courses provided here? Rahman: I started the conservatory with audio-media education in July, 2008. It has initiated a dialogue with the Regional Director, South Asia, of Middlesex University, London, to explore the possibility of developing an academic articulation for BA (Hons) programmed for music composition and music performance. Q: What is the duration of the degree? When it will be commenced? Will students have to go to London every year? Rahman: The degree from Middlesex University is of three-year duration. The aim of the KMC will be to explore the possibility of offering the first two years of the Middlesex programme at the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai while the final year will take place at Middlesex University in London. These courses are planned to start from January, 2010. Q: Can you explain about Middlesex University? Rahman: Middlesex University is a prestigious institution in London and has received the highest possible ratings, across all of its programs, from the UK quality assurance agency. The university prides itself in its aim to produce students who make economic, cultural and social contributions in a growing global community and has affiliated itself to partner institutions across the globe. Q: You are a great admirer of legendary pop star Micheal Jackson. What is your opinion of him? Rahman: MJ was an icon, who made uncompromising music. I am yet to find an artist with that energy, perfection and vision. Q: Can you recall your meeting with MJ at Los Angeles, when you were in the US to receive
the Oscar? Rahman:I met him after the Oscars in Los Angeles. He said he loved India and Indian people. He said he heard good things about me and was praising the chord progression of Jai Ho’s chorus. He was bursting with energy and told me that every dance move he did came from his soul and did a five-second stunning example. It was like a lightning strike. He asked me to compose a unity anthem on the likes of “We are the world” for him. He introduced me to his three kids. Q: What was your reaction when you heard about MJ’s death? Rahman: After hearing the shocking news, it was impossible for me to believe that he was no more. I remember my late sound engineer Sridhar had brought me a video of the premiere of “Remember the time” when I was recording “Kadal Rojave” for my first movie “Roja”. It inspired all of us that afternoon. Now, there is no Sridhar and no Jackson anymore.
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Chand still in ICU
New Delhi, July 9 Sources say that he is still in the surgical ICU of the hospital, where he was admitted after his surgery yesterday, and is being treated by senior consultant orthopaedic Harendra
Tandon. His kin have requested the hospital authorities to refrain from divulging anything to the media. Chander has been entangled in a series of controversies that includes his marriage to Anuradha Bali, alias Fiza. The woman is a former additional advocate general,
Haryana. His family has said injuries were the result of a fall he had sustained. Meanwhile, having sustained serious injuries, Chander Mohan is expected to stay in the hospital for at least a month, which would be followed by regular physiotherapy sessions to bring the movement of his limb to normalcy.
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Move to ‘Import’ Cheetah New Delhi, July 9 Talking to The Tribune, animal experts Valmik Thapar and PK Sen said the proposal was not something they would personally like to support. They felt a better idea would be to instead concentrate on conserving the wildlife assets India has today. “It’s a very difficult task and not something I would like to propagate. My suggestion would be to look after animals as they are today and make sure they are kept safe. Once they have achieved that they can pursue other objectives,” said Thapar. Former Project Tiger director and Ranthambore Foundation executive director PK Sen also supports this point of view, saying it would be better if India concentrated on saving the fast dwindling numbers of tigers, lions and leopards in its jungles. “Every year we lose hundreds of leopards to poaching. The probability (of bringing back the cheetah) is very low - I feel it’s a waste of effort. If they think there is a probability of accomplishing this, let them prove it first. I think it's just another impractical idea floated by some high-level conservationists,” he added. Sources said the environment & forests ministry plans to hold a review meeting on the issue at Gajner in Bikaner district where plenty of prey for cheetahs is available. “The possibility (of reintroducing the cheetah) will be studied on the spot there,” they added. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday the government was looking into the possibility of bringing the extinct animal to India. “The cheetah is the only animal that has been declared extinct in India in the last 1,000 years. We have to get them from abroad to repopulate the species,” he said, responding to a calling attention notice from the BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy. He then added: “We hope to do so soon.” The notice followed a debate in the House with Ramesh admitting the situation in 16 of the 37 tiger reserves in the country was “truly alarming”. Which is why the big question - is India, where the number of tigers is steadily decreasing every year, ready to receive the extinct big cat? Terming the ‘reintroduction’ of the cheetah a “highly complicated task, primarily due to lack of a suitable habitat” in the country, Thapar explained this atypical member of the cat family is a very fragile animal that requires lot of care. “It needs large stretches of grasslands, which the country doesn’t have anymore as most of them have been converted to fields for farming. So where will the cheetah live?” he questioned.
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TDP for campaign against EVMs Hyderabad, July 8 Convinced that the imperfections in EVMs were one of the reasons for the party’s debacle in the recent elections, the TDP is keen to take up the issue at national level and bring together all the like-minded parties on a common platform to campaign against the EVMs. “We have proved that EVMs can be tampered with and manipulated to suit certain parties and individuals. It is better for the country to revert to the old ballot box system”, Naidu said. Ironically, Naidu had earned the sobriquet ‘hi-tech Chief Minister’ while in power for his penchant for new technologies. However, after losing the elections, he has raised doubts over the credibility and efficacy of the EVMs and called for a national debate on the desirability of their use. Pointing out that many developed countries, including United States had stopped using EVMs following large-scale complaints of manipulation, he strongly advocated reverting to the old system of using ballot papers. In its campaign against EVMs, the TDP has already found support from various parties, including the BJP, AIADMK, RJD, Samajwadi Party and Praja Rajyam Party headed by actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi. The TDP supremo and his team have prepared a software which, if deployed in EVMs, can be used to tamper with the ballots. This was done to prove that elections could be rigged by manipulating EVMs. The TDP has claimed that its call centre had received feedback from voters who said their votes had “landed elsewhere”. Naidu’s campaign against EVMs gathered momentum after former Delhi chief secretary O Saigal last week gave a presentation to Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla that a certain code ensures that every fifth vote cast is registered against a pre-determined contestant.
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Zardari’s Confession New Delhi, July 9 Making statements in both Houses of Parliament, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said Pakistan must “expose” and “take action” against “conspiracies and conspirators” for terror attacks launched in India from across the border, as future of dialogue is premised on an atmosphere free of the threat of violence. “As regards Pakistan, we have got some kind of confession from the highest authority of Pakistan. To that extent, India's stand has been vindicated in the eyes of the world,” Krishna said in the Rajya Sabha. He was responding to a clarification sought by Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley, as to what was India's assessment about Pakistan’s leadership in the wake of Zardari's candid statement yesterday that terrorists were nurtured and used as part of state policy before September 11, 2001. Krishna said India has been maintaining that the Pakistan soil is being used to attack India repeatedly and asking Islamabad not to allow its territory to be used by terrorist and other forces to attack India. “Today, the president of Pakistan has spoken about it. I hope, hereafter, Pakistan will make a determined bid to curb terrorism,” he said. “It’s the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to take all such steps as are necessary to address this issue (terrorism emanating from Pakistan) and expose and take action against the conspiracies and conspirators responsible for such attacks. Unfortunately, terrorists in Pakistan continue to carry out attacks on India,’’ he said. Recent reports have suggested that the two countries could resume the stalled dialogue after the meeting between the two Prime Ministers. Pakistan has been seeking the resumption of the dialogue process for quite some time while India insists that Islamabad must bring to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to show its sincerity in dealing with India’s concerns on terrorism. In his statement, Krishna also emphasised the importance of a continued dialogue with Pakistan. However, the dialogue to address mutual concerns was premised in an atmosphere free of threat of violence. Krishna said the foreign secretaries of the two countries would also meet in Egypt before the meeting between their two principals to take stock of what Pakistan had been doing to prevent terrorism from its soil. On the situation in Sri Lanka after the conclusion of the military conflict against the LTTE, Krishna reiterated India’s interest in ensuring a lasting political settlement in the island nation, which must address the legitimate aspirations of the minorities, including the Tamil community, within the democratic framework of a united Sri Lanka. On Nepal, he said India was concerned at the lack of progress on the peace process and fraying of the political consensus that was critical to it.
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