NEWS IN BRIEF – NOV 15, 2011
1. Petrol price may be cut 2 on Nov 17, Govt Prods Oil Firms As Global
Rates Soften: New Delhi: State-run fuel retailers are set to reduce the
petrol price by as much as Rs 2 a litre from Thursday following a gentle
prod from the government to pass on the benefit of recent softening in the
fuel’s price in bulk markets and a comparatively lower average rate for
crude through the better part of the fortnight. [TOI p1]
2. Standing panel for 1.7 lakh more babus under Lokpal: New Delhi: A
consensus appears to be emerging on widening the scope of the
proposed Lokpal beyond Group A officers to also cover those belonging to
Group B . Sources familiar with deliberations in the parliamentary standing
committee on law and justice said members felt the anti-graft law’s ambit
should be larger than proposed in the government draft. [TOI p1]
3. Ex-CAG babu reopens 2G revenue loss row : New Delhi: The lead
auditor who investigated the 2G scam turned “hostile” on Monday,
refusing to endorse estimates of loss of revenue — between Rs 57,000
crore and Rs 1.76 lakh crore — in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s
politically damning report and even suggested that he was “ordered” to
sign the report. [TOI p1]
4. Lokpal plan : Judiciary out, both Group A&B staff in : New Delhi : The
parliamentary standing committee examining the Lokpal bill is learnt to
have decided to recommend that the judiciary be kept out of the purview
of the proposed anti-corruption ombudsman.[IE p1]
5. Nobody can work out actual 2G loss, auditor tells JPC : New Delhi :
The lead auditor who disagreed with the CAG on the quantum of loss in
the 2G scam today told the joint parliamentary committee that he was
“ordered” to sign on the controversial report, and that the audit was begun
without any guidelines on how to go about it.[IE p1]
6. Presumptive Loss of 1.76 lakh cr A ‘Mathematical Guess’: Singh, Exauditor
subjected to a grueling session by Yashwant Sinha and
Gurudas : Dasgupta: NEW DELHI : RP Singh, one of the key auditors of
the 2G spectrum report, on Monday told the Joint Parliamentary
Committee (JPC) that the presumptive loss of . 1.76 lakh crore was a
“mathematical guess”. [ET p2]
7. Centre moves SC against Swamy charges : New Delhi: The UPA
government on Monday moved the Supreme Court accusing Janata Party
president Subramanian Swamy of committing gross impropriety by
levelling charges against home minister P Chidambaram even when the
apex court had reserved verdict in the 2G scam case. [TOI p20]
8. We can’t go into safety of all nuclear plants: CJI : New Delhi : The
Supreme Court on Friday indicated that it would not go into the safety
aspects of all nuclear plants in the country and all such concerns could be
addressed to respective High Courts.[The Hindu p15]
9. Pranab holds meeting with Sushma, Jaitley : New Delhi : Leaders of
the opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Sushma Swaraj and Arun
Jaitley, met leader of the house Pranab Mukherjee in Lok Sabha on
Monday, days before the winter session of parliament kick off.[HT p15]
10. More trouble for Advani’s Yatra : Chandigarh : Senior Bharatiya Janata
Party leader L K Advani continued to face protests on the second day of
his Jan Chetna Yatra in Punjab. Activist of the pro-hardline fringe Akali
factions and radical Sikh organisations disrupted his public rally at
Amritsar late on Monday evening by raising pro-Khalistan slogans.[The
Hindu p5]
11. Back from China, Modi resumes ‘Sadbhavana Mission’ : Gandhinagar
: Immediately after returning from his five day visit to China on Sunday,
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday observed a day-long
fast at Patan in north Gujarat under his ‘Sadbhavana Mission’ to spread
communal harmony and peace among all sections of the people.[The
Hindu p8]
12. Probe over, custoday not needed in cash for vote case : Police : New
Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Monday said it would pass orders on
November 16 on the bail applications of six accused persons in the cash
for votes case.[The Hindu p9]
13. Delhi Police won’t oppose Kulkarni bail : New Delhi :Former BJP
ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni along with former MPs Faggan Singh
Kulaste and Mahaveer Singh Bhagora, arrested in the cash for vote scam
are likely to be released on bail on Wednesday.[Pioneer Daily p4]
14. Targeting Cong to make them pass Jan Lokpal : Lucknow : Team
Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the group’s high decibel
campaign against the Congress was deliberate because it was the only
party in a position to ensure a strong Jan Lokpal.[HT p15]
15. Team Anna plans Muslim rally in UP : Lucknow : India Against
Corruption (IAC) will hold a Muslim rally in Lucknow in the first week of
December to counter the propaganda that it is a front for the RSS and
BJP. The decision was taken at a meeting Arvind Kejriwal held with some
Muslim leaders here on Monday.[IE p7]
16. BJP’s anti-Cong ads used govt funds: PIL in HC : Raipur: Political
poetry meant to defend the government has dragged it to the high court. A
PIL filed by a Bilaspur resident has alleged that the BJP government used
public money to take on rival Congress in political advertisements
published last week.[TOI p14]
17. WILL FORCE CENTRE TO TAKE UP BLACK MONEY ISSUE: LK :
Phagwara : Keeping up the attack on the Congress-led UPA government,
BJP leader L.K. Advani on Monday said his party and its allies would
“force“ the Centre during Parliament’s upcoming Winter Session to make
public names of all those who had stashed funds in Swiss bank
accounts.[AA p2]
18. Ignoring risks, Rahul jumps into UP battle, Pits Himself Against
Maya, Mulayam: Jhoosi (Phulpur): Rahul Gandhi on Monday took full
ownership of the Congress campaign for the 2012 elections in politically
crucial Uttar Pradesh. There are times when I feel why not go to Lucknow
and fight your battle,” Rahul said while kicking off the Congress campaign
for the state polls. [TOI p1]
19. As polls near, a big test for Rahul factor : Jhunsi (Allahabad):Almost
50 years after he passed away, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru was ‘resurrected’ by the Congress in Phulpur, the constituency he
represented in the Lok Sabha, with party general secretary Rahul Gandhi
invoking the legacy of his great-grandfather and exhorting youth to work
for development and progress.[The Hindu p14]
20. Phulpur Sees Angry Young Man, How long will people go to Mumbai
to beg, when will you wake up, asks Rahul: LUCKNOW : Once, BSP’s
Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav fought for
upliftment of the people and felt angry with the system, but now it was his
turn to feel angry, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has said. [ET
p3]
21. BSP, BJP Slam Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Beg’ Remark, Rally marred by CLP
leader, Jitin Prasada beating up SP supporters who waved black
flags: NEW DELHI : The fanfare at Rahul Gandhi’s Phulpur rally was
interspersed with some embarrassing moments. The Congress scion, in a
bid to underline the joblessness in UP, asked the audience how long they
would “beg” in Maharashtra, sparking an outrage among rival parties who
accused him of “insulting” the people of UP.[ET p3]
22. BJP’s No-Trust to Counter Maya’s Divide UP Resolution, Bulk of BSP
MLAs denied tickets could prove crucial: NEW DELHI : BJP has
begun efforts to thwart Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s attempts
to have the assembly pass a resolution for dividing the state into four parts
passed in the coming assembly session. The assembly session is
scheduled to begin on November 21. [ET p3]
23. Maya’s Brahmin outreach not new : New Delhi: As political cards
come, Mayawati’s Brahmin ace is the most original and potent. Except it is
being put to the test again, without the novelty value of 2007 and with five
years of the community’s experience with BSP on evidence. [TOI p21]
24. All parties chase Brahmin vote : Lucknow : Three main parties of UP –
the BSP, Congress and BJP – are jostling with each other for the 5%
Brahmin vote in the state. It is because the community has played a
strong role in opinion making. Chief minister Mayawati’s mentor, the late
Kanshi Ram, had described Uttar Pradesh as the laboratory of the
Bahujan Samaj Party. And in 2007, the lab had churned out a caste
formula that had given her an absolute majority.[HT p13]
25. Raul picks Nehru’s seat for poll kick-off : Lucknow :It is no
coincidence that the Congress chose Phulpur and November 14 as the
place and the date for starting its poll campaign for UP assembly elections
in 2012. [HT p13]
26. Shashank as secy illogical, UPA tells SC : New Delhi: As Rahul
Gandhi kickstarted Congress’s poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh on Monday
by targeting “poor governance” under the Mayawati regime, the UPA
government attempted to hit the chief minister where it hurts by telling the
Supreme Court that her choice of Shashank Shekhar, a non-bureaucrat,
as cabinet secretary was illegal, illogical and unconstitutional. [TOI p21]
27. BSP MINISTER’S BROTHER JOINS SP : Lucknow : In what could be a
major embarrassment to the Mayawati government, Hasinuddin Siddiqui,
younger brother of senior BSP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui, has joined
the Samajwadi Party. [AA p2]
28. Muslims safer in India than in Pakistan:Katju : New Delhi : Can any of
you tell me what is India? asked Press Council of India chairman Justice
Markandey Katju addressing a packed audience at Jawaharlala Nehru
University here on Monday.[The Hindu p3]
29. India in great distress… intellecutal level of majority very low : Katju :
New Delhi : India is going through a period of extreme turmoil, something
similar to what Europe went through in the 16th and 17th centuries, and
only after passing through this painful experience will it usher into a
modern age.[The Hindu p4]
30. Governor, CM spar over Karnataka Lokayukta choice : Bangalore :
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and the state government are holding
their positions over the appointment of a new judge as the Karnataka
Lokayukta, leading to a fresh confrontation between the two.[IE p9]
31. Shiv Sena, BJP tie up with RPI(A) for local body polls : Mumbai :
Twenty two years after they forged an electoral alliance for the first time,
the Shiv Sena and BJP on Monday added a third constituent — RPI(A) —
to their fold and formally announced the formation of a grand alliance for
the forthcoming local body polls in Maharashtra.[Pioneer Daily p6]
32. CIC seeks info on allotment status of Meira’s house : New Delhi : In a
bid to unravel the mystery of the “missing file” and the unwillingness of
Union Urban Development Ministry to provide details of rent received
against the controversial bungalow held by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira
Kumar, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on Monday directed the
Ministry to disclose the complete information about the allotment status of
the bungalow.[Pioneer Daily p5]
33. Hegde was part of conspiracy, says BSY : SHIKARIPUR: The knives
are clearly out for former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde.
34. Training his guns on the man whose allegations of corruption against him
cost him his seat, former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa
claimed on Monday that he was part of a conspiracy to engineer his
downfall by the Congress and the JD(S), who could not bear to see how
much the state was progressing under his government.[AA p2]
35. Punjab’ s 85% farmers caught in debt trap : CHANDIGARH: The
harbinger of green revolution, the enterprising and hardworking farmer of
Punjab is in trouble. Around 85 per cent farmers in Punjab are under debt,
and 17 per cent of the total farmers are in debt trap.[AA p4]
36. Bardhan: No quick party merger : New Delhi :Bardhan has not ruled
out the possibility of a merger of his party with the CPI(M) but gave ample
indication it would not happen in the near future because parties develop a
“vested interest” in remaining separate.[AA p5]
37. Omar told not to push for AFSPA withdrawal : New Delhi: The Centre
on Monday asked J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah to wait for a few more
months before he goes in for the proposed “partial’’ withdrawal of the
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), holding that “more
consultations’’ were needed to bring the defence ministry as well as Army
on board. [TOI p13]
38. Omar seeks PM’s support on AFSPA : New Delhi : Jammu and
Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday knocked on the doors of
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior central ministers to explain
why the army’s arguments against partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces
Special Powers Act (AFSPA) did not hold water.[HT p1]
39. Army trying to kill me, Geelani says in police complaint : Srinagar :
Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday
filed a police complaint against the presence of an armed military
intelligence official at his rally in Sopore on Friday. Geelani has alleged it
was an attempt by the army to assassinate him.[HT p11]
40. Sheila orders probe into land scam : New Delhi : Even as Chief
Minister Sheila Dikshit has ordered an inquiry by the Divisional
Commissioner (Revenue) into a major land scam in which government
land is sought to be usurped in the name of regularisation of unauthorised
colonies, the opposition BJP has demanded a probe by the central Bureau
of Investigation into the matter alleging that the Revenue Department has
itself been accused of complicity in the scam.[The Hindu p4]
41. MCD plans to knock on doors of House Tax defaulters : New Delhi : If
you haven’t been paying your house tax on time, expect a Municipal
Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) tax inspector at your doorstep soon. The
only way out for the civic agency, which wants to step up tax collection – it
has managed to earn Rs 1002 crore this year – is to go after tax
defaulters.[HT p1]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
42. CPM Sit-In to Protest Kerala HC’s Contempt Verdict: KOCHI : An eight
hour sit-in near the Kerala High Court by CPM activists on Monday, to
protest against the contempt of court verdict against MV Jayarajan, is the
latest in a series of incidents where court orders seem to have provoked
politicians and political parties. [ET p2]
43. Nirmal Yadav’s plea dismissed by high court : Chandigarh : The
Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday dismissed a petition of its
former Judge Nirmal Yadav challenging grant of sanction for her
prosecution in the 2008 cash at judge’s door case.[HT p10]
44. HC Orders CBI Probe into TDP Chief’s Assets : NEW DELHI : The
Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed CBI, Enforcement Directorate
and Sebi to conduct investigations into assets of TDP chief and former
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.[ET p2]
45. ’84 victims want same-judge trial : New Delhi: Fearing that the case
might get delayed indefinitely, the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot have
approached a court seeking that the trial of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar
be conducted before the same judge who had been hearing the case and
was transferred to another court after being elevated. [TOI p6]
46. PILs can’t be based only on RTI info: SC, ‘Seek Justice From Govt
Before Moving Court’: New Delhi: Information obtained under Right To
Information Act is increasingly becoming the basis of public interest
petitions seeking judicial redress of grievances. The Supreme Court on
Monday disapproved of this modus operandi and said from now, it would
not entertain PILs solely based on RTI information. [TOI p13]
47. No SC relief for Times Now in Libel Case : New Delhi : The Supreme
Court (SC) on Monday refused to interfere with a Bombay High Court
order asking Times Now news channel to deposit Rs 20 crore cash and
give a bank guarantee of Rs 80 crore in connection with a defamation suit
filed by former SC judge PB Sawant. [HT p10]
BUSINESS NEWS
48. kingfisher looks for way out, banks lay down terms : New Delhi : The
Kingfisher Airlines board meeting on Monday ended inconclusively though
it discussed a slew of options to mop up Rs 1,000 crore for the carrier
reeling under a severe cash crunch and a Rs 7,057.8-crore debt.[HT p1]
