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India relieved as Kashmir not on Holbrooke’s agenda
CWC meeting today
Pranab assures Tamil civilians all help
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No date yet for LS polls: EC
SC: Corruption a gigantic problem
Vigilance crackdown on builder brothers
Mangalore Pub Attack
Emigration rules to be amended soon
Centre opposes plea seeking negative voting
PM out of ICU
Kirti Chakra for loco-pilot
CBI arrests another NBCC official
BJP announces 16 LS candidates
Sushma may contest from Bhopal
‘Namaz a form of yoga’
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India relieved as Kashmir not on Holbrooke’s agenda
New Delhi, January 28 Though there was no official reaction to the clarification by State Department spokesperson Robert Wood in Washington, senior officials said the statement had set at rest the speculation that Holbrooke might become pro-active on the Kashmir issue as well. Since the inauguration of Barack Obama as the US President on January 20, New Delhi had been keeping its fingers crossed over the kind of policies that the new administration in Washington would pursue with regard to India. But the beginning seems to be a pleasant pack of surprises for New Delhi. Soon after taking oath, Obama had identified Pakistan and Afghanistan as the central front in the US war against terrorism. Days later, he wrote a very cordial letter, congratulating the people of India on the occasion of the Republic Day and wishing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a quick recovery. Now this clarification about the mandate of Holbrooke was another indication that the Obama administration would like to build a robust relationship with New Delhi and not hurt India by playing up the Kashmir issue unnecessarily. The officials said New Delhi’s sensitivity on the Kashmir issue, which is essentially a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan, had been conveyed in no uncertain manner to the new administration in Washington during its transition period itself. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also fully aware of the fact that even the very mention of the ‘K’ word could seriously affect the new found strategic partnership between India and the US. Crediting former President George W Bush with de-hyphenating Washington’s ties with India and Pakistan, the officials hoped the Obama administration would also pursue the same policy and not look at India through the Pakistani prism.
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CWC meeting today
New Delhi, January 28 Since the next general elections are round the corner, the CWC will take stock of the party’s poll preparedness and discuss the draft of the election manifesto that was finalised last week by a special committee set up under the chairmanship of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The top decision-making body of the Congress is also expected to take a close look at the health of the party organisation in the states and finalise key talking points in the manifesto. The CWC is meeting in the absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is currently recuperating in AIIMS after a bypass surgery. It was the “aam aadmi” mantra which had paid rich dividends for the Congress in the 2004 polls but the party may not use the same slogan again to woo voters. Explained a senior party leader, “We have evolved and grown in the last five years and have fufilled our promises made to the aam admi. We now have to further empower the common man.” Besides highlighting the UPA government’s achievements, the manifesto will also focus on further commitments in case the party is voted back to power. The three main themes are the party’s promise to continue its war on poverty and special attention to the problems of youth and infrastructure development. Party leaders said since more than half the population is below 25 years, it had become imperative to address the needs of the youth both in terms of education and employment. With Sonia Gandhi having declared that the Congress will fight the elections as part of a coalition, a key talking point will be claims of UPA allies like the SP, RJD and NCP for seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. The possibility of an alliance with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in West Bengal may also figure in the discussions. Since UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal send more than 200 members to the Lok Sabha, party sources say it is crucial for the party to evolve a working strategy along with their allies in these states to retain power at the Centre. So far the Congress has not been able to thrash out issues with the Samajwadi Party, which, encouraged by entry of players like Kalyan Singh, is determined to drive a hard bargain for seats.
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Pranab assures Tamil civilians all help
New Delhi, January 28 Talking to reporters on his return from Colombo, he said he had held detailed, useful and productive discussions with Sri Lankan President Mahenda Rajapaksa, covering recent developments in the island nation, India-Lanka relations and regional issues. It is learnt that Mukherjee’s sudden visit to Sri Lanka was prompted by the threat from the DMK that it would be left with no option but to withdraw support to the UPA government at the Centre if it did not intervene to mitigate the sufferings of the Tamil civilians in the island nation, caught up in the war between the security forces and the LTTE. The minister said Rajapaksa had also extended a personal invitation to an all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu, led by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha, to see for itself the situation on the ground and to persuade the LTTE to lay down arms and join the democratic mainstream. Mukherjee said he had conveyed to the Sri Lankan leadership India’s readiness to participate in the reconstruction of northern Sri Lanka so as to overcome the ravages of war and also to lay the economic and political foundations of a strong peace in which all communities feel comfortable. Rajapakasa assured Mukherjee that he proposed to move as quickly as possible towards a devolution package under the 13th amendment of the Sri lankan Constitution which followed the India-Sri Lanka agreement of 1987.
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No date yet for LS polls: EC
New Delhi, January 28 The EC clarification came after a PTI report quoted Election Commissioner SY Quraishi as having said that the Lok Sabha elections would be held between April 8 and May 15. The same was flashed by television channels and even used by state-run All India Radio. In several states, rumours had started doing rounds that the moral code of conduct could be imposed soon. Quraishi had reportedly made the remark after delivering a lecture on ‘J and K Elections 2008’ at the India House in London on Tuesday evening. The term of the 14th Lok Sabha expires in May and announcement of the poll schedule is expected soon. Actually the news report had itself gone on to quote Quraishi as having said that the EC has not yet discussed the final dates, but it will be held between April 8 and May 15. Separately, less than two weeks ago, the EC had announced that it would hold a series of reviews and consultations during first week of February. This will include consultations with all recognised national and state parties on various issues connected with General Election.
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SC: Corruption a gigantic problem
New Delhi, January 28 “Day in and day out, the gigantic problem of corruption in the public servants is on the increase. Large-scale corruption retards the nation-building activities and everyone has to suffer on that count,” a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Asok Kumar Ganguly said in their verdict yesterday in the Surain Singh versus State of Punjab case. The Bench quoted further from an earlier verdict that “corruption is corroding like cancerous lymph nodes the vital veins of the body politics, social fabric of efficiency in the public service and demoralising the honest officers.” The efficiency in public service would improve only when the public servant devoted his sincere attention and did his duty diligently, truthfully, honestly and devoted himself assiduously to the performance of the duties of his post, it said. Surain Singh, patwari of Gudher Dhandi circle, had been convicted in May 1996 by the trial court, which was subsequently confirmed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, for accepting a bribe of Rs 300 for entering a mutation on the basis of a sale deed. “Considering the peculiar facts of the case, we are of the view that the custodial sentence of one year, which is minimum prescribed, would meet the ends of justice,” the Bench said.
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Vigilance crackdown on builder brothers
Jaipur, January 28 Ajay Pal owner of Unique builders had almost got a BJP ticket in the recently held Assembly elections. He is also one of the accused in the multi-crore Deendayal Trust land fraud and also alleged to be one of the beneficiaries in other alleged scams. His brother opened Unique dream builders and both worked together. Vigilance sleuths raided their houses and offices and other places. Sunil Kumar state vigilance Director said they found 20 cars, including one costing Rs 65 lakh. “ We have raided 11 places and conducted search survey at 5 other properties belonging to the two brothers. We are verifying the documents so that we can see if the companies had astronomical rise due to special benefits given by the previous government”, he said.
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Mangalore Pub Attack Davanagere/Mangalore, January 28 Muthalik, a former VHP leader, picked up by the police in Belgaun yesterday, was produced before a local court in Davanagere on the basis of a warrant issued against him for allegedly distributing pamphlets that could disturb communal harmony. The judicial magistrate granted him bail. But the Mangalore police quickly took him into their custody. The police has arrested 32 Sena activists in connection with the thrashing of boys and girls in a pub. Muthalik said his group condemned the pub culture and would also protest against those celebrating Valentine's day on February 14. However, Muthalik refused to travel to Mangalore saying he was tired after last night's journey from Belgaum to Davanagere, creating fresh problems. Once a person is handed over to the police of another jurisdiction, the police who had him in custody cannot retain him as per rules. Officials said efforts were on to take Muthalik to Mangalore. — PTI
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Emigration rules to be amended soon
New Delhi, January 28 Official sources said the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry and the Law Ministry were finalising the amendments to be introduced in the rules, which would possibly be notified in the next few days. The proposed changes seek to introduce educational criteria (graduation or two-year diploma) and enhance the financial soundness criteria for the recruitment agents. It was also proposed to dispense with the requirement of affidavits sworn in before the judicial magistrate and also do away with the requirement of police verification. The proposed measures seek to enhance the amounts of bank guarantee, the registration fee and the service charges required from the agents. Emigration rules will be changed to specify the duties of the recruiting agents, and the facilities to be maintained by them. The move is intended to help revamp the recruitment system and better protect the emigrant workers. The government was also working on introducing a rating system for the recruitment agents to enable the market to encourage good practices in the recruitment industry and eliminate the wrongdoers. The rating system would be based on well-defined performance parameters relating to quality of service and statutory compliance. A draft model contract for employment that could be suitably customised through a bilateral process to accommodate country-specific laws had been finalised. It was also proposed to make compulsory attestation of employment contract in respect of all categories of workers. A proposal to introduce self-regulation in the recruitment industry by constituting a national body of recruiting agents on the lines of the institute of chartered accountants and the institute of architects is also being considered.
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Centre opposes plea seeking negative voting
New Delhi, January 28 Making his submissions before a Bench of Justices BN Agarwal and GS Singhvi, Additional Solicitor General Amarinder Saran said the plea for including one more choice, none of the above candidates, on the ballot and the voting machine could not flow from the law aimed at getting a positive mandate. The court was hearing a petition by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) which has sought a directive to the Election Commission for including in the electronic voting machine (EVM) one more key: none of the above (NOTA). Saran rejected the contention that not providing the NOTA option amounted to denial of any fundamental right. Earlier, PUCL’s counsel Rajinder Sachar several states in the US had provided the NOTA option to the voters. The voter had a right to reject all candidates if he found none of them was suitable to represent his constituency, he said.
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PM out of ICU
New Delhi, January 28 “He may be out of the hospital in a day or two as his recovery is faster than expected,” a doctor said. The decision to shift him out of the ICU was taken by a team of doctors which included his personal physician Dr KS Reddy and repeat by-pass surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda from Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute. The Prime Minister has been moved to a room adjacent to the ICU but only his family is allowed to meet him.
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Nation bids tearful adieu to ex-President Venkataraman
New Delhi, January 28 Amid chanting of prayers of all religions and a 21-gunsalute, the mortal remains of Venkataraman were consigned to flames before a host of dignitaries, including Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Defence Minister AK Antony, Home Minister P Chidambaram, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Sekhawat, former Prime Minister IK Gujral, Leader of the Opposition LK Advani and former Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Venkataraman died here yesterday at the age of 98 after a long spell of illness.
— UNI
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Kirti Chakra for loco-pilot
Guwahati, January 28 Despite being hit by bullets, loco pilot Nitya Nanda Bora held on to his nerves and showed tremendous courage and presence of mind to reverse the engine to take the train back inside the tunnel thereby saving several other lives. He was later shot at by extremists from point-blank range. Bora, the loco pilot in-charge of the pilot special train that was ambushed near Mupa station on Lumding-Badarpur section, was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second most important gallantry award, during this year’s Republic Day parade. The award, consisting of a medallion, a citation and a monthly stipend, was conferred on Bora for his courageous action and self-sacrifice while on duty, informed the Chief Public Relations Officer of the NFR, S Hajong.
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CBI arrests another NBCC official
Guwahati, January 28 A senior official of the CBI said the NBCC additional general manager
(AGM) PK Mittal was arrested from Shillong today on the basis of interrogation of BC
Dhiman, deputy general manager of the NBCC, who was arrested earlier in Guwahati for trying to bribe a CBI investigating officer involved in the investigation into the case with Rs 5
lakh. The CBI source said it was the AGM Mittal who provided the bribe money to DGM
Dhiman. Mittal was the DGM of the NBCC in Guwahati when the roads construction project was on while Dhiman was the project manger at that
time. Mittal was produced before the special court in Shillong which granted transit permission to the investigating agency to bring him to Guwahati for interrogation.
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BJP announces 16 LS candidates New Delhi, January 28 The list contains three candidates from Kerala and 12 from UP. The 16th BJP candidate is going to contest from Daman and Diu. The party, which has never opened an account in the Kerala Assembly or municipalities, announced six candidates from Kerala in the last list issued on January 19. With three more, the BJP is set to contest nine seats from Kerala, which is almost half of the total 20 seats in the state.
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Sushma may contest from Bhopal
Bhopal, January 28
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‘Namaz a form of yoga’
Deoband, January 28 “Why faith in yoga is being given the connotation of religion. The broad purpose of yoga is to make health. Islam has emphasised a lot on being healthy. Islam is a scientific religion. Be it Muslim prayers
(Namaz) or fasting (Roza) all involve exercises. Islam has always given priority to these exercises,” said
Siddiqui.
— ANI
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