NEWS IN BRIEF – NOV 14, 2011
1. End policy paralysis: India Inc, Time for 21st C Decision-Making,
Says Mukesh: Mumbai: India Inc on Sunday urged the government to
speed up stalled economic reforms, warning that policy paralysis
threatened to derail the India growth story. Speaking at the opening
session of the annual India Economic Summit of the World Economic
Forum (WEF), Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani called upon
both the central and state governments to “align and move a lot faster”,
remove the mismatch prevailing in their approaches, and speed up the
decision making process. [TOI p1]
2. Thimphu spirit has given way to Addu hope, says Hina Khar :
Islamabad :Sounding upbeat about the positive trajectory on which India-
Pakistan relations are currently traversing, foreign Minister Hina Rabbani
Khar on Sunday said Islamabad was willing to bend backards to improve
relations with its neighbours.[The Hindu p1]
3. Frisky America Apologises to APJ After India’s Threat : NEW DELHI :
After India threatened to take retaliatory action against the US for
subjecting former President APJ Abdul Kalam to frisking at New York’s
JFK Airport, the US has apologised for the incident. [ET p2]
4. PM chose Bhave as Sebi chief on PC’s advice, Overruled Montek
And Rangarajan: New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had
overruled advice from two of his closest aides — Montek Singh Ahluwalia
and C Rangarajan — and opted to go with then finance minister P
Chidambaram’s view while appointing C B Bhave as the chairman of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). [TOI p1]
5. No basis to govt argument on Geneva accounts : New Delhi :
Asserting that there was a strong case for information regarding 700
numbered bank accounts held by Indians in HSBC Bank in Geneva to be
made public, former finance minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said
the UPA government seems to be taking the refuge of bilateral treaty
provisions as its had more to hide than reveal.[IE p6]
6. Congress hopes for relief at Vinod Rai’s questioning today : New
Delhi : The Congress contingent in the Joint Parliamentary Committee
(JPC) currently examing the 2G spectrum allocation case, is hoping that
its sitting on Monday will provide some relief to the ruling United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) which has been facing unrelenting flak on the
corruption front.[The Hindu p13]
7. Keep PM, ministers letters out of RTI law : New Delhi : Letters
exchanged between the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues are
written in confidence based on mutual trust and should not be made public
under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the government’s top law officer
has advised.[HT p1]
8. Opposition Hits Out at PM over Remarks on Kingfisher Bailout : NEW
DELHI : The Opposition on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh for hinting at a package for bailing out crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines.
BJP and CPM said the prime ministerial assertions on the airlines showed
that “unfettered champions of market forces” are now wanting public
money to be used for helping favourites in the corporate world. [ET p3]
9. Keep J&K special, make LoC porous : New Delhi : Recognise the
“dual” and “special” status of Jammu and Kashmir; review all laws
imposed on the state after 1952; work on a new “compact” with the people
of the state; respect the right of Kashmiris to travel freely across both
sides of the Line of Control. These are among the key recommendations
of the report prepared by the three interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir
submitted to the Home Minister last month.[IE p1]
10. China’s red carpet treatment floors Modi : New Delhi : Gujarat chief
minister Narendra Modi carried visiting cards printed in the Chinese
language and in red (communist colour) when he visited China last week
to promote “Brand Gujarat”.[HT p10]
11. Speed up eastern expressway work: Finmin, Objects To Proposal For
Higher Toll, Says Further Delay Will Make Project Unviable: New
Delhi: The finance ministry has asked the highway ministry to expedite
the implementation of the ambitious Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE)
project, which aims at decongesting Delhi roads by constructing an
expressway around the capital.[TOI p10]
12. Gadkari restricts PM nominees race in BJP : New Delhi : BJP
president Nitin Gadkari has done it again. He has played a masterstroke
one more time to ensure that his party’s prime ministerial aspirants should
first pass the litmus test of winning a Lok Sabha seat before offering
themselves for the top position. The move is seen as an attempt to reduce
the claimants for the PM’s chair if and when the BJP/NDA win the next
Parliamentary poll.[HT p11]
13. Jaitley to fight next LS polls :NEW DELHI: After having said that the
BJP’s prime ministerial candidate would be from the Lok Sabha, party
chief Nitin Gadkari appears to be laying the roadmap for all the top
leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun
Jaitley, to contest elections. Mr Gadkari himself intends to contest the Lok
Sabha elections from the Congress bastion Nagpur in Maharashtra.[AA
p2]
14. Protesters show black flag to Advani in Punjab : Chandigarh :
Workers of some fringe Akali and radical groups showed black flags to
senior BJP leader L K Advani when his Jan Chetna Yatra entered Punjab
on sunday. About 100 persons were taken into custody.[The Hindu p13]
15. Issue white paper on black money: Advani :” Ludhiana: Senior leader
of the BJP LK Advani today asked the Congress-led UPA Government to
issue a white paper on black money stashed in foreign banks.[The
Tribune p5]
16. Rajya Sabha MP who left LJP joins Nitish : Patna : The LJP’s Rajya
Sabha MP Sabir Ali, who quit party membership on October 14, joined the
JD(U) in the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here on Sunday.[IE
p4]
17. People with clean image to be inducted in team: Anna : Pune:Anna
Hazare on Sunday announced that his core committee would be
restructured soon to make it all-inclusive and that only new members with
a clean background could be part of the movement. He also said that
attempts by the Union government to weaken the Jan Lokpal bill by
breaking it into various components would be foiled. [TOI p16]
18. Govt wants to split Jan Lokpal with laws : Anna : Pune : Social activist
Anna Hazare on Sunday said the government should not split the jan
lokpal (its essence) in parts by bringing different laws to control corruption.
“Why is government bringing separate laws when the jan lokpal is in
progress?”_ he said after a meeting of the core committee of his team
(dubbed Team Anna) at Ralegan Siddhi, 85 km from Pune. “The
government wants to split the jan lokpal in parts, which is not right.”[HT
p11]
19. Lokpal panel report likely early Dec. : Chandigarh:The parliamentary
panel scrutinising the Lokpal Bill is likely to submit its report early next
month and the redrafted legislation will be “far superior” to anything that
has been proposed so far, Union law minister Salman Khurshid said on
Sunday.[AA p5]
20. Bill must include all government officials: Bedi : Mumbai : Stating
that there was ‘a huge’ trust deficit’ Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on
Sunday said agitations would be resumed if the ruling congress party did
not introduce a Bill to create an ombudsman that took into account all of
their concerns.[The Hindu p5]
21. PM refuses to see reality, is in state of denial : TRS : Hyderabad : The
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Sunday slammed and condemned
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks favouring an all-party
consensus on Telangana.[IE p7]
22. Karan joins ‘bigger role for Rahul’ chorus : New Delhi/Neemrana:
Senior Congress leader Karan Singh on Sunday said there was “no
probable reason” why Rahul Gandhi should stay away from bigger
responsibilities, adding to the clamour for the Gandhi scion to take up a
bigger role in the party as working president. [TOI p19]
23. In UP battle, Rahul Gandhi’s office wields RTI : Lucknow : In an
attempt to target the Mayawati government over corruption in the National
Rural Health Mission at the grassroots level, the Congress has been
verifying the lists of beneficiaries of the Janani Suraksha Yojna it had
obtained by filing RTI applications earlier this year.[IE p8]
24. CPM moots term limit for party bosses : New Delhi: In a decision that
could herald generational change in its leadership and rejuvenate the
organization, CPM central committee has endorsed general secretary
Prakash Karat’s proposal of limiting the tenure of secretaries of all party
committees to three terms. [TOI p19]
25. Pak will send terrorists into valley if AFSPA lifed : RSS : Rajgarh :
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said Pakistan would start sending
terrorists into the Valley if the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)
was withdrawn from parts of Kashmir.[IE p4]
26. Separatists Complicate Afspa Issue for Abdullah, Response of
hardliners could vindicate Army’s stand against lifting Afspa in
certain areas : SRINAGAR : Separatists have queered the pitch for
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, saying the state would
witness turmoil if the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa) is lifted
from certain areas, as proposed by the CM. [ET p2]
27. Andhra illegal mining : CBI arrests ex-bureaucrat : Hyderabad : A
retired Andhra Pradesh bureaucrat was today arrested by the CBI in
connection with the illegal mining case involving former Karnataka minister
G Janardhana Reddy.[The Tribune p2]
28. Jat Migraine Troubles Ashok Gehlot Again, Two ‘scandals’ involving
Jat ministers jeopardise Gehlot’s CM stint: JAIPUR : Jats have a
history of troubling Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in his political
career. The recent episodes involving removal of Jat ministers Mahipal
Maderna and Ram Lal Jat following their alleged ‘immoral conduct’ seems
to be the latest. [ET p2]
29. Firing, Bhanwari cases put Gehlot in a spot, Unhappy Cong Brass
Mulls CM Replacement: Jaipur: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot may have
Anna Hazare to thank for his survival in office. Top Congress leaders
agree the high command was exploring the possibility of replacing Gehlot
after two bad slips: one, the Gopalgarh police firing in which 10 Muslims
were killed and, two, the resignation of two of his tainted ministers. [TOI
p16]
30. BJP blames lokayukta official’s transfer on Deve Gowda : Bangalore
: Karnataka’s BJP government has said the transfer of a top lokayukta
official who was probing corruption charges against party leaders and their
kin was not politically motivated.[HT p10]
31. No tie-up with BSP, SP in UP, says Swaraj : Hardoi : Doubting that the
Congress-led UPA Government would complete its tenure, the BJP
apprehended that the country was heading for a mid-term poll. It also
reiterated that come what may, the BJP would not form a coalition
Government with either the BSP or SP in Uttar Pradesh.[Pioneer Daily
p6]
32. Rahul to kick off Congress UP polls today : Phulpur : Congress
general secretary Rahul Gandhi is invoking a historical connect for the
party’s formal launch of an aggressive campaign to regain lost glory in
Uttar Pradesh in the 2012 assembly polls.[HT p10]
33. Cong, BJP for Thakur CM: Maya to Brahmins : Lucknow: Trying to
capitalize on the age-old rivalry between Brahmins and Thakurs, Uttar
Pradesh chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday raised the
bogey of a Thakur CM if the Congress or BJP were voted to power in
2012 UP elections. [TOI p19]
34. Many ministers face `test’ in UP : NEW DELHI: The political
performance of up to a dozen Union ministers from the Congress Party
will face a crucial test in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
While six of these ministers represent UP in Parliament, there are several
others, including senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sushilkumar
Shinde, who have long years of experience in handing the affairs of the
state for the AICC.[AA p1]
35. Naqvi : Cong, BSP trying to mislead people : New Delhi : Dismissing
the war of words between the Congress and UP CM Mayawati as “Noora
Kushti” (fake battle), the BJP said the two are acting and performing to the
galleries on a pre-written script to mislead the people from the main issue
of “rampant crime and corruption” and “inflation”.[AA p2]
36. Mayawati describes Brahmins as ‘exploited lot’ : Lucknow : Making a
determined bid to play upon the age-old Brahmin-Thakur rivalry for gaining
political mileage, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday said
either Digvijay Singh or Rajnath Singh could be come the chief minister if
the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party were to come to power in
2012.[The Hindu p1]
37. With Polls Nearing, Mayawati Back to Brahmin Wooing : LUCKNOW :
With state assembly elections a few months away, Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Mayawati has begun wooing Brahmins. Inaugurating a Brahmin
Bhaichara Sammelan on Sunday, she supported reservation for the poor
and unemployed upper castes.[ET p3]
38. HJC deserters returning to the party-fold : Chandigarh : Leaders who
had made an ‘exodus’ from ther Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), floated
by late Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi after the
2009 Assembly polls, have started returning to the party after its recent
victory in Hisar Lok Sabha by-poll and tie-up with the BJP.[The Hindu p7]
39. J’khand BJP in coalition dilemma : PATNA:The trust deficit between
Jharkhand’s ruling allies and traditional rivals BJP and JMM became
evident on Sunday as the two parties fumbled for a politically appropriate
and less damaging way to deal with the upcoming bypoll for the Mandu
Assembly seat.[AA p2]
40. Nitish Kumar takes a dig at Lalu : Patna : Accusing Rashtriya Janata
Dal Chief Lalu Prasad of staying away from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar on Sunday said opposition leaders should concentrate on the
State.[The Hindu p9]
41. Sheila Dikshit getting away due to weak Opp : RSS : New Delhi : In a
serious reflection on the state of affairs in Delhi BJP, an RSS organ has
blamed the “absence of a strong political opposition” for the emboldening
of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit whose Government intends to privatise
water supply in the national capital.[Pioneer Daily p5]
42. Govt delaying road work: Councillors : New Delhi: The Municipal
Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) plan to repair 116 ready-mix concrete (RMC)
roads is yet to take off due to delay in funds being sanctioned for the
project. With municipal elections round the corner, MCD is in a hurry to
complete development work in the national capital. BJP councillors have,
however, blamed the Delhi government for the delay.[TOI p11]
43. RSS TARGETS BJP FOR NOT OPPOSING GOVT WATER PLAN :
NEW DELHI: In a veiled attack, the RSS rapped the city unit of the BJP
for not having put up enough opposition to the Sheila Dikshit-led city
government’s plan for privatisation of water distribution in the capital.[AA
p11]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
44. Judicial Bill : Govt plans restraining judges from airing views during
trial : New Delhi : If the Department of Justice (DoJ) has its way, the
soon-to-be redrafted Judicial (Standards and Accountability) Bill, 2010
would make it mandatory for sitting judges of the Supreme Court and high
courts not to “enter into public debate or express his views in public on
political matters or on matters which are pending or are likely to arise for
judicial determination by him, including comments against other
constitutional authorities, statutory bodies and persons in open court in the
course of proceedings”.[IE p7]
45. Panel, govt against rash comments by judges : New Delhi : The
government appears inclined to accept a controversial recommendation
by a parliamentary panel that judges should refrain from making
“unwarranted comments” in open court against other constitutional
authorities.[HT p10]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
46. Is Pakistan really serious on peace?: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
has his sums right. Another major strike against India by Pakistani
terrorists will be a “set back“ to the dynamics of ties between the two
countries. But the Prime Minister still obviously nurses the hope that even
baby steps towards augmenting trade and economic relations might help
stabilize the situation.[AA p6]
47. Quiet flows reform in Uttarakhand : Nirmala Sitharaman : In today’s
environment where citizens justifiably demand a transparent and
accountable government, state administrations are on their toes to meet
people’s expectations.[AA p6]
BUSINESS NEWS
48. Government slowdown worries Mukesh : Mumbai : India is the world’s
second fastest growing economy, and the hottest market after the rise of
China, but top industrialists said the promise that it spurred among
investors and entrepreneurs is now choked.[HT p1]
