NEWS IN BRIEF – DEC 03, 2011
1. Was Ramanujan essay dropped to help PM avoid yet another
headache?, Singh’s Historian Daughter, Upinder, One Of Its Votaries:
October 9 was a Sunday. An unusual day to call an emergency meeting of
Delhi University’s academic council. The main agenda was fairly routine
stuff: approval of certain courses. However, tucked away as
supplementary agenda was a proposal to do away with A K Ramanujan’s
essay, ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas’ from the history course — a proposal
that was passed, triggering one of the fiercest debates in recent times in
the academic world. [TOI p1]
2. Opposition to FDI will cost India a great opportunity, says Pranab :
NEW DELHI: It’ll be letting a great opportunity slip away if India finally has
to roll back the decision to allow 51% foreign direct investments in multi
brand retail, which would help raise farm incomes and push down prices,
finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said at the Hindustan Times
Leadership Summit here on Friday.[HT p1]
3. “We have our problems and I have to take a stand for public” :
Kolkata : The Trinamool Congress “definitely” does not want the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government “to fall” but it will also not budge
from its stand against the move to allow foreign direct investment in multibrand
retail, party’s chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee said on Friday.[The Hindu p1]
4. FDI row will not eclipse Lokpal bill, says Pranab : NEW DELHI:
Holding out hope that the FDI row will not eclipse the lokpal bill, finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the government will get
important legislations passed in the ongoing winter session.[HT p10]
5. NDA wanted 100% FDI, we went for only 51 % : Salman Khursheed:
The National Democratic Alliance government had proposed 100 per cent
foreign direct investment in the retail sector, and a lot of work has been
done on the issue since the time the BJP-led coalition was in power,
Union Law and Justice Minister Salmaan Khursheed said on Friday.[HT
p10]
6. Anand Sharma telling lies : Shanta Kumar : New Delhi : The Chairman
of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has taken exception
to government’s decision to allow FDI in retail sector when the panel was
seized of the matter. He has also hit out at Commerce Minister Anand
Sharma for making false claims that two BJP-ruled states were in favour
of FDI in retail policy and pointed out that as many 19 States, including
Congress-ruled Rajasthan, had informed the committee that they were
opposed to the policy.[Pioneer Daily p1]
7. Can’t back FDI, but won’t topple govt, says Mamata : Dankuni
(Hooghly)/New Delhi: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on
Friday rebuffed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s appeal to reconsider
her opposition to the Cabinet’s decision to allow FDI in retail, dealing a
lethal blow to the UPA government’s attempts to push the decision past
the opposition’s protests. The Trinamool Congress chief added that she
did not wish the UPA government to fall. [TOI p1]
8. BJP: 19 states oppose FDI : NEW DELHI: Denying the government’s
claim that its ruled states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh had supported
FDI in retail, the main Opposition BJP on Friday claimed 19 states,
including some ruled by the Congress, had opposed the proposal in reply
to a parliamentary committee. The BJP and other Opposition parties have
been demanding rollback of the government decision allowing FDI in
retail.[AA p3]
9. Growth rate pegged at 7.5% for 2011-12: New Delhi : The economy
will grow by 7.5% in 2011-12, sharply lower than the government’s earlier
projection of 9%, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Friday. “Taking
into account (the trend) of the last two quarters, it appears growth would
be over 7.5%,“ he said. [HT p1]
10. Army to seek PM’s support on AFSPA : NEW DELHI: With pressure
mounting on the Centre for a partial removal of the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act (AFSPA) from at least downtown Srinagar, the army brass is
set to approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for support on the
sensitive issue.[HT p1]
11. UPA trapped in its own web over ‘FDI in retail’ : Arun Jaitley : Both
from the viewpoint of economic realities of India and the present political
situation, any political observer will be surprised by the timing of the
decision. The Government’s credibility is at rock bottom. The leadership
has been unable to counter the allegations of both corruption and
economic mismanagement.[Pioneer Daily p1]
12. Badal in damage-control mode, justifies FDI U-turn : CHANDIGARH:
A day after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) made a U-turn, withdrawing
support for FDI in retail, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said
the change was not due to any pressure from coalition partner BJP.[HT
p10]
13. Parliament on 4 day holiday from today : New Delhi : With the logjam
in the current Winter Session continuing, Parliament will be on a four-day
holiday from Saturday. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will now meet on
December 7 as Monday’s sitting has been cancelled and Tuesday is
Mahatma.[AA p3]
14. Govt team to strategise on media matters : NEW DELHI: Using the
occasion of DAVP calendar release for 2012, the government on Friday
presented its public face by lining up members of the newly formed panel
of 11 official spokespersons along with some members of the Group of
Ministers (GoM) on media.[HT p11]
15. Attack on journalists: Katju warns of action, Omar wants code of
conduct : New Delhi : Press Council of India Chairman Justice
Markandey Katju has written to Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah stating that “the paramilitary forces and police in all States/Union
Territories must…be instructed not to commit any violence on media
persons, otherwise they will face criminal proceedings which the Press
Council will launch against them.”[The Hindu p10]
16. Modi, Dhumal Never Favoured FDI in Retail: BJP : NEW DELHI : BJP
has denied commerce minister Anand Sharma’s claim that BJP-ruled
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh had told a parliamentary panel recently
that they wanted foreign direct investment in retail. The party put the onus
for breaking the parliamentary deadlock squarely on the government. [ET
p2]
17. Delhi HC denies relief to Chandolia : New Delhi: In a new twist to the
2G scam, the Delhi high court on Friday stepped in to stay the grant of bail
to R K Chandolia, ex-private secretary of former telecom minister A Raja.
The court said relief to Chandolia is stayed “in case he has not been
released on bail”. [TOI p9]
18. Team Anna will meet on strategy : NEW DELHI: After Anna Hazare
made it clear that he would stage an indefinite fast at Ramlila Maidan from
December 27, Team Anna has begun chalking out strategies and would
hold two-day-long deliberations in the second week of this month.[AA p3]
19. Kanimozhi Out, but Stalin may be Arrested, Chennai Police registers
case as part of crackdown against alleged land-grabbers: CHENNAI :
DMK’s woes have not ended even after party supremo Karunanidhi’s
daughter Kanimozhi secured bail. The Chennai Police on Thursday
registered a case against Karunanidhi’s son, former deputy CM and DMK
deputy general secretary, MK Stalin, as part of its crackdown against
alleged land-grabbers. Stalin may be arrested. [ET p3]
20. Mullaperiyar Row: PM Steps in; TN, Kerala Officials Meet Likely,
Kerala CM Oommen Chandy meets PM, Pawan Kumar Bansal; State
govt identifies 450 families to be evacuated: KOCHI : Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on Friday stepped in to bring the warring states of Tamil
Nadu and Kerala together to defuse the Mullaperiyar dam crisis and their
officials are expected to meet to thrash out a solution. [ET p3]
21. No House Resolution on Telangana: CM: HYDERABAD : Andhra
Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has ruled out a resolution in
the state assembly, seeking creation of Telangana. “The government will
not move any resolution on Telangana,” the chief minister was quoted by
news agencies as telling reporters in an informal chat in Hyderabad after
the House was adjourned for the day with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti
stalling proceedings. [ET p3]
22. BJP wants entire civil staff covered : New Delhi: BJP’s dissent note on
the Lokpal draft bill says that all civil employees should be brought into the
ambit of the proposed ombudsman while demanding that measures like a
citizens’ charter of duties for government departments and real autonomy
for CBI be made part of the law. [TOI p13]
23. Hazare salvo at Rahul for ‘bill dilution’ : Pune: Social activist Anna
Hazare on Friday blamed Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi for
diluting the Lokpal Bill draft, saying he “strongly suspected’’ him of
“interfering” in the legislation process to make it weak.[TOI p13]
24. Chinmayanand denied rape charge : Lucknow : Facing arrest over
complaints of rape, illegal confinement and attempt to murder by a former
disciple, BJP leader and former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand on
Friday denied the charges, claiming that the woman had been trying to get
his help to secure a ticket from Bilsi in Budaun for the coming assembly
polls in UP.[IE p8]
25. SP ticket changes fuel more UP factionalism : LUCKNOW: An intense
game of not-so musical chairs is currently being played within the
Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, causing a dark shadow on the
upcoming Assembly elections. Tickets for the Assembly polls are being
changed and re-changed in the Samajwadi with an alarming frequency,
fuelling unrest and factionalism within the party cadres.[AA p2]
26. BJP national general secretaries to meet tomorrow in Nainital :
Haldwani : The national general secretaries of the BJP are going to meet
on December 4 in the lake city Nainital. It is learnt that among other party
matters, issues related to Uttrakhand Assembly elections are also going to
be discussed in the meet.[Pioneer Daily p4]
27. Rahul: Focus on UP graft : NEW DELHI: Ahead of next year’s Assembly
elections in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is
learnt to have taken stock of the poll preparations in the state. Mr Gandhi
reportedly told the party leaders, including the ministers in the UPA
government at the Centre hailing from UP, to focus on local issues such
as corruption and law and order situation in the state.[AA p3]
28. Sign newspaper ads, poll panel tells U.P. candidates : Lucknow :
Advertisements inserted by candidates contesting the forthcoming
Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will have to be signed by them as
well as by two witnesses in order to differentiate these from paid news and
deter the candidates from having their way.[The Hindu p7]
29. Rahul to take another shot at galvanising Congress : Lucknow : With
infighting over the distribution of tickets for next year’s State Assembly
elections overshadowing a substantial part of Rahul Gandhi’s Recent Fiveday
“Jan Sampark Yatra”- from November 22 to 26 in Uttar Pradesh, the
Congress general secretary will spend two days- December 7 and 8 in
Lucknow in what is seen as another shot aimed at galvanising the
party.[The Hindu p5]
30. Rahul cracks whip on laggards in poll-bound UP : New Delhi: Rahul
Gandhi on Friday slammed key lieutenants for shirking hard work in
battleground UP, warning that Congress would be in power in the state but
he would ensure that shirkers were not part of it. [TOI p9]
31. Hooda writes to PM over Jat inclusion in OBCs : Chandigarh :
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has written a letter to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to include Jats into the
Central government’s list of other backward classes.[AA p2]
32. Bishnoi gets notice over poll expenses : Chandigarh : Haryana
election commission had served notices to HJC president Kuldeep Bishnoi
and INLD leader Ajay Sigh Chautala for not showing proper election
expenditure for the recently concluded by elections in the state.[AA p2]
33. Cong alleges lighting scam, MCD to probe : New Delhi : Congress
councillors on Friday alleged that officials of the Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD) misappropriated Rs 40 lakh while making temporary public
lighting arrangements for 11 public events this year.[IE p3]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
34. SC notice to Varun over ‘hate speech’ : New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Friday asked BJP MP Varun Gandhi to respond to a petition
seeking cancellation of his election to Lok Sabha from Pilibhit constituency
in 2009 for an alleged hate speech. [TOI p9]
35. Raj ex-minister finally arrested in Bhanwari case : Jodhpur/New
Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday arrested former
Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna claiming they have “crucial evidence”
against him which show “he was involved in the abduction and
subsequent killing of Bhanwari Devi”.[TOI p8]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
36. India’s trial by ire : Gopal Krishna Gandhi : One whole month,
December, remains for 2011 to play itself out. And something, anything,
could happen in any part of the earth yet to say `This is the tail-end of the
year; tails can sting’. Or, `The year flickers; its last log glows longest and
best.’[HT p14]
37. Dirty Business : Shekhar Gupta : Let’s leave it to the wiser chroniclers
of Indian economic history to argue over where the opening up of FDI in
retail ranks among the more significant reforms implemented in the last
two decades.[IE p14]
BUSINESS NEWS
38. Sensex up 363 pts on CRR cut talk, Posts Biggest Weekly Gain Of
1,150 Pts In 2 Yrs Gold At All-Time High In Delhi: Mumbai: Talks of a
cut in cash reserve ratios (CRR) for banks by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI), a move that could infuse fresh liquidity into the system, boosted
investor sentiment on Dalal Street on Friday and lifted the sensex by 363
points to 16,847.[TOI p23]
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
39. Kayani orders forces to fire back if Nato strikes : ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s powerful Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on Friday
ordered his commanders to fire back if Nato forces violate “ground or air
space” again, suspending the command chain to allow senior officers on
the spot to act swiftly.[AA p1]
