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Removal of
Navin Chawla
Final business: Minority status to Jauhar varsity in UP
Rural posting for docs on cards |
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Left flays health policy
Encounter killing:
Army orders probe
Maoists strike again, kill SAP man
No changes in visa norms after Attari blast
Coordination panel for PPCC set up
1 hour enough for Mulayam to pass Bill
1857 Uprising
Six-year-old kidnapped boy killed
23 acquitted in Mumbai serial blasts case
Govt yet to sanction manned space mission
War Room Leak
Govt to create 70 million jobs
HC upholds lottery ban
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No merit in NDA plea, Centre informs SC
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, May 9 “We (government) have taken a view on the representation… there is nothing in it,” Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam told a Bench of Justices Ashok Bhan and Dalveer Bhandari, examining the validity of President’s decision referring the NDA plea to the Cabinet instead of seeking the opinion of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) as mandated by Article 324 of the Constitution. Though the court did not press for looking at the file, Subramaniam claimed that Article 324 “does not contemplate a situation to bypass the Council of Ministers in making a reference to the CEC.” This came from the government counsel in reply to senior advocates Soli Sorabjee and Arun Jaitly, who said that the mandate of Article 324 was clear that in the case of removal of the Election Commissioner, the Cabinet had no role as it was a sole prerogative of the CEC and the President was bound to seek his opinion and none else. “The role of Council of Ministers in the matter is alien as per the constitutional scheme,” Sorabjee and Jaitley said. BJP leaders Jaswant Singh and Chandra Bhushan Singh had filed the petitions challenging Cabinet’s intervention in the matter. But the government counsel submitted that since the President made the appointment of the Election Commissioner with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, the Cabinet, thus had a role in giving aid and advice to the President on his removal also after the CEC’s opinion had been received. The court, however, was not much impressed with the government stand and asked its counsel “if the CEC makes a recommendation for removal of an Election Commissioner, where is the need for the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.” It further asked why the matter was not sent at all to the CEC while the law so provided. “Why do you proceed on the presumption that if it is sent to the CEC he will order the removal? Subramaniam said the reference could have been made to the CEC for seeking his opinion only if there were allegations pertaining to the functioning of Chawla as Election Commissioner or gross misconduct against him while holding the post. All allegations levelled against him were to a period prior to his appointment. The petition of the 205 NDA MPs was more in the nature of challenging the “suitability” of Chawla for the post not against any gross misconduct as Election Commissioner. But Sorabjee and Jaitley said that such interpretation of law by the government was not sustainable. This was fraught with dangerous consequences, as it would give handle to political parties in power to meddle with the affairs of the EC and appoint a person of “political leaning”. Today it might apply to the ruling parties tomorrow those in the opposition might take the same stance, which would not augur well for the success of democracy as EC was the most important arbitrator on holding of the elections, they said. The argument would continue tomorrow.
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Final business: Minority status to Jauhar varsity in UP
Lucknow, May 9 A day after the seven-phase polling to the 15th Vidhan Sabha concluded, the very last session of the 14th Vidhan Sabha met for barely an hour to conduct the final business of granting the minority status to the pet project of parliamentary affairs minister Mohammad Azam Khan’s Mohammad Ali Jauhar University at Rampur. Among other things, today’s amendment would require a near impossible three-fourth majority of both houses to pass any Bill to de-recognise the university for any violation. The House also withdrew the original Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Bill 2004 that Governor T.V. Rajeswar had referred to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on the ground that Khan had decided to be the life-long chancellor of a state university. Reading out the notification for the withdrawal of the previous Bill of 2004 for setting up a state university, Khan said with the passing of the fresh Bill in 2005 to establish a private university the previous Bill automatically become redundant. The ruling party MLAs were the only ones participating in the day’s proceeding as all the main opposition parties - BJP, BSP, Congress and RLD - had boycotted the proceedings as well as the lunch and dinner hosted for the outgoing MLAs by the speaker and deputy speaker, respectively. Leader of the opposition Lalji Tandon declared the session to be unconstitutional. “Our parliamentary committee has decided to boycott it. We do not want to legitimise this session by attending it”. Senior BJP MLA Laxmikant Vajpayee said there was no point in holding a session when fresh elections had already been held. “Passing any Bill or taking any crucial decision is now the prerogative of the new Assembly. The outgoing Assembly has no business to do so”. Meanwhile, a visibly tired Chief Minister thanked all MLAs, even those boycotting the session for cooperating with his government. Patting himself on the back, Yadav described his government as an “adarsh sarkar” (model government) for undertaking welfare schemes like Kanya Vidhya Dhan and unemployment dole without any distinction of class, caste or religion. Later the session was adjourned sine die.
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Rural posting for docs on cards
New Delhi, May 9 He also categorically ruled out the privatisation of the Central Government Health Services (CGHS) scheme saying its 50 lakh beneficiaries could not be left at the mercy of market forces. “The health ministry has firmed up its decision that all MBBS graduates will be posted in rural areas for a year,” Dr Ramadoss said during his one-and-a-half-hour-long reply to a nearly five-hour-long debate in the Rajya Sabha on the functioning of the health and family welfare ministry. Elaborating, the minister said all MBBS graduates would have to be registered with the district medical officers (DMOs), who would assign them postings in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Central Health Centres (CHCs). “All fresh MBBS graduates will be given temporary registration for three months and only after completing their rural posting, they would be allowed to pursue their postgraduate courses,” he said. Further, all existing doctors would be required to re-register themselves after every five years to maintain the quality of medical care, he said. The minister also disclosed that a comprehensive Bill to regulate the functioning of all hospitals, public and private, would be introduced in Parliament next year. This would streamline the procedure for setting up hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres, he said. “India ranks 126th in the world as regards infant mortality as per an UNDP report and this definitely is a matter of serious concern for my ministry,” he said. Expressing concern over the dwindling public spending on health from 1.3 per cent of the GDP in the early 1990s to 0.9 per cent in the latter part of the decade, Dr Ramadoss said the UPA’s common minimum programme had set a target of 2to 3 per cent. “Funds are not a constraint now but much depends on the absorption capacity of the states,” he noted, regretting that the attitude of some of the states had been “far from cooperative”. The minister said as part of the plan, all PHCs, sub-centres and district hospitals would be modernised. Admitting that the existing health insurance scheme had not taken off in a big way, he said a new programme would be launched by the end of this year or early next year to overhaul it. He disagreed with BJP member S.S. Ahluwalia’s contention that 35 per cent of Indian drugs were spurious. “These are press reports aimed at sensationalising the issue.” But admitted that 62 per cent of injections in the country were “unsafe”. — UNI
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Left flays health policy
New Delhi, May 9 Initiating a discussion on the working of the Health Ministry, the CPM leader said that instead of taking measures to regulate the private sector hospitals, more concessions in the form of tax-free zones were being given to them. “How is the government going to tame the private sector, which has now become synonymous with what is euphemistically called over care,” she said. She said visiting a private doctor could mean going through expensive tests. However, Karat said she was not saying that the entire private sector was bad. Expressing concern over “poor” share of public expenditure on health in the GDP, she said while economy was growing, expenditure on health was extremely low. She said public expenditure on health in India was amongst the lowest in the world and was comparable to Sudan and Cambodia. She criticised the government for not monitoring the functioning of those hospitals, which acquired land at concessional rates on the condition that 30 per cent beds would be reserved for the poor. Pointing to the high rate of child and women mortality, Karat said though the government was promoting breast feeding, it had not taken sufficient steps to see that lactating mothers did not suffer from malnutrition. Karat said the health policy should focus on prevention and curative aspects, taking into account requirements of nutritious food and safe drinking water. She called for improving the rural health programmes by building infrastructure. Expressing concern over recent developments concerning AIIMS, she said urged the health minister to give an assurance that the autonomy of the premier health institute would be reserved. S S Ahluwalia (BJP) expressed concern over growth in production of spurious medicines. While complimenting the UPA government for launching various health schemes, particularly in rural areas, Prabha Thakur (Congress) sought strict monitoring of the programmes.
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Encounter killing:
Army orders probe
Guwahati, May 9 The general officer commanding (GOC) of the Dinjan based 2 Mountain Division of the Army, Lt Gen N C Mawra today informed The Tribune The senior Army official stated that there were ‘lapses’ in the incident and promised that exemplary punishment would be meted out to any one found guilty after the probe was over. Thousands of protesters continued to block national highway 37 and 38 at different places in Tinsukia district demanding punishment to Army men involved in ‘fake’ ‘killing of Budheswar Moran who was a watchman in Manipur Tea Estate. He was killed by personnel of the 6 J & K Rifles in early hours of May 6 last and the Army later claimed that he was a member of the banned ULFA. The Army also claimed to have recovered a pistol from his possession. “The Army and police are working together to address the grievances of the commoners,” he added. Meanwhile, Eastern Assam Commissioner, Hemanta Narzary, who has been instructed by the chief minister to conduct an inquiry into the incident, today announced Rs 3 lakh as ex-gratia to the family of slain Budheswar Moran. As part of the inquiry, the commissioner started the process of public hearing at Doom Dooma today. Slain Moran’s widow, Sangita has been fasting since Sunday even as she continued to remain with protesters along with her minor children. Hours after the ‘encounter’ in which Moran was killed by the Army, the ‘commander’ of the banned ULFA’s ‘C Company’ Jiten Dutta had informed media houses that the Moran was not associated with the
outfit.
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Maoists strike again, kill SAP man
Patna, May 9 This was the sixth attack in a row by the Maoists in past 45 days. The left-wing ultras already had killed two RPF personnel on a running train in Jamui and attacked the Riga police station in Sitamari in recent past. DSP (Kosi range) Sahab Akhtar said that over 200 rounds of fire were exchanged between the police and the Naxalites in which the SAP personnel was killed. The Naxalites looted one rifle from the SAP man. Intensive search operation was launched to nab the Maoists after sealing the borders of Khagaria and adjacent Saharsa districts. Meanwhile, Shankar Ram, alias Roshan, a self-styled "area commander" of the outlawed CPI-Maoist who carries a reward of Rs.1 lakh on his head, was arrested at Dhanpurua village in Rohtas district today. Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house in the village and took him into custody. Ram was wanted in connection with several offences, including a landmine blast in which 11 policemen were killed at Dobua More in Rohtas district in 2003. The Bihar government had declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh for him after he was found to be involved in the killing of Inspector, K.N. Sharma, at Nauhatta in 2000 during the RJD regime.
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No changes in visa norms after Attari blast
New Delhi, May 9 External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply said the government had, however, facilitated issuance of visas expeditiously to relatives of the deceased and the injured in the incident. A new bilateral visa agreement has been under discussion with Pakistan since October 2005 to liberalise the existing visa regime, he said. Replying to another question, the minister denied that Indian embassies and High Commissions were not issuing visas and passports to several Indians living abroad for years to allow them to return to India. “Passport facilities are provided to Indian citizens by our missions abroad expeditiously and according to prescribed procedures. Indian nationals living abroad do not require a visa to return to India. Persons of Indian Origin with a foreign nationality are granted visas expeditiously in keeping with relevant norms,” Mukherjee said. Separate lists of persons were maintained, keeping in mind the interest of the country, which persons were to be denied a visa or to be given a passport or a visa with the prior approval of the government, he said.
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Coordination panel for PPCC set up
New Delhi, May 9 Headed by AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, in charge of Punjab, the coordination committee includes PCC president Shamsher Singh Dullo, CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former chief minister Amarinder Singh and the latter’s bete noire, former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar. Union ministers Ambika Soni and Ashwani Kumar, both from Punjab, have also been named on this panel. Others who figure in this list include AICC secretaries Manish Tiwari and Iqbal Singh, former state ministers Darbari Lal and Mohinder Singh Kaypee and state legislator Brahm Mohindra. Announcing the constitution of the committee, an official release put out by the AICC this evening said the panel would “facilitate the functioning of the party in Punjab.” This decision was a tacit admission that the state unit has almost become defunct after the party’s defeat in the recent Assembly polls. It also indicated a loss of confidence in the state unit and hence the need for installing a collective leadership. Not only was Punjab Congress driven by internal squabbles but also the state unit was virtually headless as the present PCC chief Dullo’s resignation had been accepted and he was continuing in office only till the party leadership named his successor. As the AICC dithers over this issue, lobbying for the PCC chief’s post has intensified, leading to further divisions in the party. Ironically, all those who have projected themselves as contenders have been named in the coordination panel. This includes Jagmeet Brar, Manish Tiwari and Brahm Mohindra. Congress insiders maintained that all aspirants are clearly on test as they will have to prove that they have what it takes to resurrect the party in the state. The composition of the panel is also significant for another reason. The inclusion of five Hindus is meant to reach out to this community, which had rejected the Congress in favour of the BJP in the recent Assembly polls.
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1 hour enough for Mulayam to pass Bill
Lucknow, May 9 A day after the seven-phase polling to the 15th Vidhan Sabha concluded, the very last session of the 14th Vidhan Sabha met for barely an hour to conduct the final business of granting the minority status to the pet project of parliamentary affairs minister Mohammad Azam Khan’s Mohammad Ali Jauhar University at Rampur. Among other things, today’s amendment would require a near impossible three-fourth majority of both houses to pass any Bill to de-recognise the university for any violation. The House also withdrew the original Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Bill 2004 that Governor T.V. Rajeswar had referred to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on the ground that Khan had decided to be the life-long chancellor of a state university. Reading out the notification for the withdrawal of the previous Bill of 2004 for setting up a state university, Khan said with the passing of the fresh Bill in 2005 to establish a private university the previous Bill automatically become redundant. The ruling party MLAs were the only ones participating in the day’s proceeding as all the main opposition parties — BJP, BSP, Congress and RLD — had boycotted the proceedings as well as the lunch and dinner hosted for the outgoing MLAs by the speaker and deputy speaker, respectively. Leader of the opposition Lalji Tandon declared the session to be unconstitutional. “Our parliamentary committee has decided to boycott it. We do not want to legitimise this session by attending it”. Senior BJP MLA Laxmikant Vajpayee said there was no point in holding a session when fresh elections had already been held. “Passing any Bill or taking any crucial decision is now the prerogative of the new Assembly. The outgoing Assembly has no business to do so”. Meanwhile, a visibly tired Chief Minister thanked all MLAs, even those boycotting the session for cooperating with his government. Patting himself on the back, Yadav described his government as an “adarsh sarkar” (model government) for undertaking welfare schemes like Kanya Vidhya Dhan and unemployment dole without any distinction of class, caste or religion. Later the session was adjourned sine die.
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Indians showed exemplary unity
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 9 Eminent historian Prof Irfan Habib, who delivered a lecture on “Perspectives on the 1857 Uprising” in the Parliament building library, stated this. He held the sepoys high in regard for their exemplary conduct during the aggression and thereafter. Habib recalled the prominent role played by princes, talukdars, zamindars, peasants, weavers and others in the 1857 movement. In his introductory remarks, Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the people of India, cutting across the narrow barriers of caste, creed, religion, language and region, rose as one in revolt against the oppressive British rule to make themselves free. In this uprising, they were not driven by any narrow interest, nor was there any conflicting or mutually exclusive objectives, he said. The high point of the First War of Independence was the exemplary unity shown by the people of India. Parliament is organising a function in the Central Hall of Parliament House tomorrow morning to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the First War of Indian Independence. A “Sound and Light” show, depicting the bravery of the freedom fighters of 1857, will be presented at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium tomorrow evening.
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Six-year-old kidnapped boy killed
Patna, May 9 It was revealed today that six-year-old UKG student Ankit, who was abducted on April 12 from outside St Paul’s School in Gaighat locality of Patna, was killed. Even though his body was yet to be recovered, police officials here said Ankit’s abductor Balram Paswan confessed that he killed Ankit on the day of the abduction itself. Balaram was arrested from Siwan. The abductor was said to have buried Ankit’s body on the banks of river Ganges in Chapra. SP, Chapra, Sanjay Singh said, “Balram Paswan, who worked as a domestic servant at Ankit’s house, confessed that he murdered Ankit and buried him on the banks of Ganges in Chapra district.” Police were now combing the area near the riverbanks in Chapra to recover the body. Five more people were arrested in connection with the case.
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23 acquitted in Mumbai serial blasts case
Mumbai, May 9 All accused, barring three, were present in the court. The three who were absent included Hanifa Abdul Razak Memon, mother of Tiger Memon, who is bedridden. Those set free included Suleiman Memon, brother of Tiger Memon, Raheen, sister-in-law of Tiger Memon, Ashfaq Havaldar, Moinuddin Abdul Qadar, Shakeel Shahabuddin Shaikh, Anant Bhoir, Fasal Rehman Abdul Khan and Ismail Patel. Actor Sanjay Dutt was also present in the court. Judge Pramod Kode, who heads the TADA court, said he would begin announcing the quantum of punishment for those guilty in the serial blasts case on May 18. So far 687 witnesses have been examined with evidence running to 23,000 pages. Meanwhile, the Mumbai police said today that efforts to bring 30 accused to book are still on. These include prime accused Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, who are believed to be in Pakistan.
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Govt yet to sanction manned space mission
New Delhi, May 9 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had prepared the proposal for the mission, which is expected to cost Rs 9,500 crore. The minister also clarified that the ISRO project was related to man in the space and not man on the moon. He said ISRO had also planned to launch about a dozen communication satellites in the 11th Plan period in addition to the nine that were already orbiting the space. Presently, there were 199 transponders providing services through communication satellites and 500 more transponders would be added by the end of the 11th Plan, Chavan said. He said the lease of INSAT transponders was expected to bring in about Rs 400 crore in the current fiscal and the figure was estimated to touch Rs 1,000 crore by the end of the 11th Plan.
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War Room Leak
New Delhi, May 9 The move came within days of a British court issuing an arrest warrant against
Shankaran, who has been declared a proclaimed offender by a court here. According to highly placed sources in the CBI, the British home department routed a request to the agency through the external affairs ministry that India should formally seek the extradition of
Shankaran, against whom Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice.
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Govt to create 70 million jobs
New Delhi, May 9 Minister of state for labour and employment Oscar Fernandes informed the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, that the in order to tackle problem of unemployment among both educated and uneducated persons, including youth, the government was attempting employment generation in the normal growth process of the economy as well as through special employment generation programmes. These included Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana, Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana, Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozar Yojana. The government was also implementing National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the identified districts of the country.
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HC upholds lottery ban
Bangalore, May 9 The high court, while upholding the ban imposed by the state government, said this step had been taken to protect the socio-economic interests of its buyers, especially the poor and deprived, whose livelihood was getting affected by the proliferation of lotteries of Karnataka and other states.
— TNS
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