NEWS IN BRIEF – NOV 10, 2011
1. Guj court gives life term to 31 in post-Godhra riot case, Record For
Most Life Convictions In Single Verdict: Mehsana: A Gujarat court on
Wednesday created history by sending the most people to prison for life in
a single case. The special court adjudicating 2002 riot cases convicted 31
people for the carnage in Sardarpura in north Gujarat and sentenced them
to life imprisonment the same day. Thirty-three people were killed in the
violence for which 42 of the 73 accused were acquitted by judge S C
Srivastava. [TOI p1]
2. Indo-Pak trust growing, says Krishna : Gan (Maldives): India is looking
at an upswing in ties with Islamabad with efforts to deepen economic ties
complementing the focus on terrorism emanating from Pakistan’s territory
with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set to meet his Pakistani
counterpart Yousuf Gilani at this picture-perfect atoll on Thursday. [TOI
p12]
3. JPC asks for CAG’s 2G letter to PM, It Stated That Auditor Had Not
Exceeded Its Mandate: New Delhi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee
(JPC) probing the 2G scam has asked the Comptroller and Auditor
General to submit a copy of the letter CAG Vinod Rai had written to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh rebutting the latter’s assertion that the auditor
transgressed its brief by commenting on policy issues and in holding press
conferences on audit reports. [TOI p12]
4. Extra spectrum held by GSM biggies worth 6264cr: Trai : New Delhi:
The top four GSM operators face a huge hit in terms of payouts for
spectrum beyond the contracted amount of 6.2 MHz, with the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) valuing this spectrum at Rs 6,264.5
crore.[TOI p1]
5. 17 HSBC Geneva a/c Owners Own Up : Mumbai : The Income-Tax
Department in Mumbai has secured at least 17 ‘voluntary disclosures’ out
of 700 Indians having secret accounts with HSBC Bank, Switzerland. The
list of Indians having unreported accounts with the bank was handed over
to India by the French government a few months ago. [ET p1]
6. Land Acquisition Bill Not in This Session, Valuing rural land at four
times market price, giving legislation retrospective effect seen
impractical : NEW DELHI : The government’s bid to fast-track passage of
the land acquisition bill seems to have run into trouble. A significant
section of the standing committee of Parliament does not approve
provisions on valuation and transfer of land. [ET p2]
7. TMC gets a lesson in political economy, PM Warns Bengal MPs Of
Policies That Might Scare Investors Away From State: New Delhi: PM
Manmohan Singh was in his best form when he met the Trinamool
Congress delegation on Monday, brushing aside a comparison with fuel
prices in Pakistan by pointing out that India’s western neighbour spent
negligible amounts on health care and social programmes. [TOI p18]
8. No PC-Raja exchange on share sale : New Delhi : The CBI is set to file
an affidavit in the special court hearing the 2G case that there was no
formal exchange of letters between former finance minister P
Chidambaram and former telecom minister A Raja on sale of shares by
Unitech Wireless and Swan Telecom. The two companies were awarded
pan-India licence to offer cellular services in 2008 for Rs 1,651 crore
each.[IE p2]
9. Naxal fight : PC says high casualities in Orissa, Naveen differs :
Bhubaneswar : Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday
expressed concern over high civilian and police casualties in Maoist areas
of Orissa, only to be contradicted by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who
said casualties have actually declined.[IE p4]
10. BJP targets Sonia: Only talk, no action: New Delhi : Joining the war of
words with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the BJP on Wednesday
charged her with paying mere lip service to fighting corruption and holding
her equally responsible for the “inaction” of the government on the
issue.[IE p5]
11. Sonia hits out at Team Anna : New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi
launched a scathing attack on Team Anna, saying that slamming others
while attaching virtues to corruption of one’s own aides was not the right
way to combat graft. [TOI p19]
12. Sonia signal to Anna: Lok within… why ‘hue and cry’ we will bring
Lokpal : New Delhi : In an apparent attack on Team Anna, Congress
president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said that corruption
cannot be eradicated by mere slogans, and those creating a ‘hue and cry’
should look within.[IE p1]
13. Team Anna opposes Lokayukta bill of Bihar : NEW DELHI: Bihar chief
minister amend the state Lokayukta bill in a bid to give more powers to the
anti-graft watchdog in the state has failed to impress social activist Anna
Hazare’s team.[HT p11]
14. Sonia slams team Anna on graft charges :GAUCHAR: She took no
names but the reference was obvious. Congress president Sonia Gandhi
on Wednesday slammed the BJP and anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare
and his team, saying double standards on corruption were not
acceptable.[HT p1]
15. RSS, Anna go back a long way: Bhagwat: Kolkata: Laying speculation
to rest, RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat said on Wednesday that the saffron
organization and Anna Hazare go back a long way. In fact, Bhagwat
claimed it was RSS that urged Anna to launch the anti-graft stir although it
never took active part in it.[TOI p19]
16. CBI likely to charge Ruias in 2G scam, Attorney-Gen Backs Naming
Them In Fresh Chargesheet: New Delhi: Essar Group’s Ravi Ruia and
Anshuman Ruia are likely to be named in the fresh chargesheet that the
Central Bureau of Investigation is set to file in the 2G spectrum scam
case. [TOI p1]
17. Modi Flaunts Governance in a Bid to Woo Chinese Cos: NEW DELHI :
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday flaunted “political
stability and good governance” to woo Chinese investors. Reports from
Beijing said Modi, who flew into the Chinese capital on Tuesday night in a
33-seat chartered aircraft carrying officials and business executives, told a
gathering that his state represented a “very different economic model” as it
lays premium on futuristic and sustainable growth. [ET p2]
18. CBI Employs Rarely-used IPC Clause Against 3 CWG Scam Coaccused:
NEW DELHI : With the help of a rarely used clause of the
Indian Penal Code inserted in 2005, CBI has filed two fresh chargesheets
in the Commonwealth Games Scam. The two chargesheets, filed under
Section 174a of IPC in the Patiala court of special CBI judge Talwant
Singh on Tuesday, are a spin-off of the first chargesheet filed in the
Commonwealth Games scam in May this year. [ET p2]
19. Jaya sacks 12,000 staff hired by DMK : Chennai : Of all the
Jayalalithaa vs Karunanidhi duels, this is perhaps the longest running. The
Jayalalithaa-led Tamil Nadu government has sacked 12,000 lower level
staff entrusted with monitoring development activities and the rural
employment scheme in the state.[IE p6]
20. Not in running for any party post : BSY : Bangalore : A day after he
was released on bail, former Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa said
Wednesday that he was not trying for any position in the party, even as his
supporters demanded that he should be made the state BJP president..[IE
p6]
21. Lokayukta clean chit to three UP ministers : Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh
Lokayukta N K Mehrotra on Wednesday closed investigation into
complaints against four BSP minister, giving clean chit to three and
forwarding one complaint to Chief Minister Mayawati, saying the matter
does not fall in his jurisdiction.[IE p10]
22. Kanimozhi Bail Plea on Dec 1 : NEW DELHI : Lawmaker Kanimozhi and
four others accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam will spend the rest
of the month in prison after a Delhi court said it will continue to hear their
bail pleas on December 1. [ET p2]
23. Pawar to Ignore Congress in Civic Polls, NCP won’t go out of its way
seeking alliance with Congress for Mumbai, Pune polls: MUMBAI :
Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party will fight the upcoming
Municipal Corporation elections in Mumbai and Pune separately. This will
come as good news to Shiv Sena-BJP which is in the last phase of seatsharing
talks. Municipal elections are scheduled to take place in the first
week of February. [ET p2]
24. Omar for partial AFSPA removal : Jammu: Making a renewed bid, J&K
chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday strongly pitched for removal
of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) “in areas where the
Army has not operated for years”. [TOI p16]
25. Gadkari wants Kalavati to expose’ Cong : NEW DELHI: Will Kalawati
NEW DELHI: Will Kalawati Bhandurkar -the Vidarbha woman who shot to
fame after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made references to her poverty
in Parliament in 2009 -pay a visit to Delhi and talk about her continuing
plight from the BJP’s platform?[HT p9]
26. INS slams Katju’s ‘bias against Fourth Estate’ : New Delhi: Joining the
growing chorus of criticism, the Indian Newspaper Society
27. (INS) has also registered its protest against the derogatory remarks made
by Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Markandey Katju against the
media. [TOI p16]
28. BJP embarks on second phase of yatras in UP : Lucknow : The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched the second phase
of its Janswabhiman Yatra to expose alleged corruption in the Mayawati
government.[AA p2]
29. BJP UP campaign sans ‘ star parivar’ : New Delhi : BJP’s campaign for
the forth coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be without the ‘star
parivar’. Taking a break from the usual star-studded campaigns, the BJP
this time would fall back on the traditional ways of campaigning involving
political leaders.[Pioneer Daily p5]
30. Centre, UP Govt busy playing politics : Kalraj : Lucknow : The BJP
began the second leg of its Jan Swabhiman Yatra with a clarion call to
uproot the ‘corrupt and inefficient’ Mayawati Government and promising to
send corrupt Ministers and legislators to jail if the party returned to
power..[Pioneer Daily p7]
31. Shahnawaz also backs Advani as PM nominee : New Delhi : BJP
leader L K Advani Wednesday found more support for becoming the
party’s prime ministerial candidate with another MP endorsing Mr Rajnath
Singh’s views and stating he was ‘universally acceptable’ for the post.[AA
p2]
32. Keeping the itinerary under wraps, Nitish begins his ‘Sewa Yatra’ :
Patna : A month after he helped flag off Bharatiya Janata Party leader
L.K. Advani’s anti-corruption yatra from Sitab Diara, Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar kick-started his own “Sewa Yatra” on Wednesday amid
much bowing and scraping among his Janata Dal (United) rank and file.[IE
p9]
33. Whistleblower points to mining scandal in Madhya Pradesh :
BHOPAL:A mining and forest scam could be brewing in Madhya Pradesh.
A forest officer went undercover scouring the mineral-rich forests of Satna
district, and has now filed a damning report.[HT p11]
34. Jairam, Joshi tussle over diesel cess fund : NEW DELHI: Two
Congress ministers are now headed for a tug of-war over the share of
road cess from premium diesel, soon after the party’s recent tussle with an
ally over hike in petrol price.[HT p8]
35. Former BJP Minister quits, to contest poll as Independent:
BANGALORE: Former BJP minister B Sriramulu, who had been dropped
from the cabinet after BS Yeddyurappa resigned as Karnataka chief
minister, has quit the party. On Wednesday he submitted his nomination
for byelection in Bellary (Rural) as an independent candidate.[HT p8]
36. Advani ‘biggest’ BJP leader after Vajpayee, says Vasundhara : Jaipur
: Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday
termed Lal Krishna Advani as the ‘biggest leader’ of the Bharatiya Janata
Party after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Advaniji is
respected all over the country and even abroad.[The Hindu p7]
37. Maya sees politics in PM’s letter : NEW DELHI: BJP governments in
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have no problem with Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh’s message being read out to school students in
their states on Friday, three days before Children’s Day on November
14.[HT p1]
38. Gehlot targets Advani’s yatra : Jaipur : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot on Wednesday questioned the legitimacy of Bharatiya Janata Party
leader L K Advani leading a ‘yatra’ against corruption even as the journey
entered the State’s Jodhpur division in the evening.[HT p7]
39. Khanduri doles out a slew of sops : Dehradun : Uttarakhand Chief
Minister B C Khanduri on Wednesday called upon the people to
rededicate themselves to the task of building a vibrant State.[The Hindu
p7]
40. Haryana leader joins Congress : Chandigarh : The Indian Bahujan
Sandesh Party (Kanshi Ram) got a setback on Wednesday when its
Haryana unit president Karnail Singh Odhan joined the Congress along
with several office-bearers.[The Hindu p7]
41. MCD councillors withhold cheques to coax pensioners join Advani
rally : NEW DELHI: Senior citizens, widows, divorcees, disabled
individuals and others dependent on the state for welfare pensions will
have to wait a little longer for their cheques.[HT p3]
42. Notice to Delhi Police in cash for vote case : New Delhi : The Delhi
High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a bail
application by Sanjeev Saxena, former aide of Rajya Sabha MP Amar
Singh, and one of the accused in the cash for vote case.[The Hindu p5]
43. No riders for MCD split : MHA : New Delhi : The Union home ministry
has paved the way for the trifurcation off the municipal corporation of Delhi
(MCD) and has sent the proposal to the law ministry for vetting after which
it would be sent back to the Delhi government for seeking approval of the
Assembly.[AA p2]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
44. The Rahul Factor, He should step up to the plate, including as PM
candidate for 2014: Congress politics has always revolved around the
Nehru-Gandhis. Even if the party were to adopt genuine internal
democracy, there’s little doubt that Sonia Gandhi would win in an internal
poll – or Rahul, if she were to step aside. [TOI p22]
