NEWS IN BRIEF – NOV 7, 2011
1. ‘Pak army has stake in talks with India’, No Backtracking On Giving
India MFN Status, Says Khar: Lahore: The Pakistani army is a
“stakeholder” in the dialogue process with India and fully supports the
initiative to improve bilateral ties, the country’s foreign minister Hina
Rabbani Khar has said while claiming that Islamabad has not backtracked
on the most favoured nation (MFN) issue. [TOI p7]
2. In 1977, MEA saw Zia’s rule ending in months: New Delhi: That India
does not have a strategic culture is a common complaint. To see the most
stunning evidence of utter failure to read what was unfurling in the
neighbourhood, one needn’t look further than the recently declassified files
of the ministry of external affairs. [TOI p1]
3. Ramesh Writes to PM to Resolve Conflict between NREGS &
Minimum Wages: NEW DELHI : The Centre may create a new category
under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for resolving the conflict with the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 in
implementaing wages rates. [ET p3]
4. Joint anti-Naxal ops lose sting, says IB report : NEW DELHI: A year
after the launch of a much-toutA ed joint operation against the Maoists,
intelligence reports paint a grim picture about the state of affairs. It shows
the Red Brigade’s plan to “intensify and consolidate“ its violent movement
by taking newer areas in its stride.[Pioneer Daily p1]
5. In Sonia’s bastion, 99.5% back Anna bill: Lucknow: The Jan Lokpal
Bill drafted by Team Anna has got huge support in Congress president
Sonia Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli. According to
results of the referendum conducted by members of India Against
Corruption (IAC), activists claimed that 99.5% people have voted for
Anna’s bill.[TOI p7]
6. Hearing over, House panel to file Lokpal report in Dec : New Delhi:
The Parliamentary Committee considering the Lokpal Bill has completed
the public hearing and will submit their report in early December, panel
chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Sunday.[Pioneer Daily p4]
7. No justification for petrol price hike : D.Raja : Coimbatore :There was
no justification whatsoever in the recent petrol price hike, D. Raja, national
secretary, Communist Party of India, said at a press conference here on
Sunday.[The Hindu p12]
8. New policy will force operators to pay for spectrum hoarding : New
Delhi : Mired in the controversy over the 2G spectrum allocation in 2008,
the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to ensure
optimum utilisation and maximum revenue generation from this scarce
resource through a policy mechanism.[The Hindu p1]
9. Kejriwal Heckled in Nagpur, Supporters Beat up Protesters : Why are
our phones being tapped… Is Anna Hazare a threat to the nation:
Asks Kejriwal : NAGPUR: Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal was on
Sunday heckled at a meeting and booed by a group of activists who
shouted slogans against him over his alleged RSS links, provoking his
supporters to beat them up. [ET p2]
10. Retd judges to probe charges against Anna aides : NEW DELHI: Hit
by controversies, members of Team Anna want retired judges to probe
various charges levelled against the NGOs run by Kiran Bedi and Arvind
Kejriwal. The task has been assigned o advocate Prashant Bhushan,
nother key member of Anna Hazare panel, who will hold discussions with
several retired judges in this regard.[Pioneer Daily p5]
11. ‘Make Lokpal Bill part of Constitution’, Making Watchdog
Constitutional Authority Will Ensure Its Power Can’t Be Diluted:
Team Anna: New Delhi: Differences between Team Anna and the
government continue to widen with the activists demanding that the entire
Lokpal Bill be included as part of the Constitution. Team Anna made this
demand at the standing committee meeting last week, also renewing
pressure to include three constitutional amendments if the Lokpal was to
be established as a constitutional authority. [TOI p9]
12. Anna Being Made a Scapegoat by Team Members: Digvijaya : NEW
DELHI : “Simpleton” Anna Hazare is being made a scapegoat to fulfill the
political ambitions of some “very smart people” in his own team, senior
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has alleged. [ET p2]
13. Rich oil firms turn the screws on aam aadmi : NEW DELHI: As the
common man deals with another blow to the household budget in the form
of one more hike in petrol prices -the second in less than two months —
politicians continue to bicker and analysts try to come up with a credible
explanation.[HT p1]
14. Pawan differs with Mamata, backs fuel hike : JALGAON: NCP chief
and union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s support for the recent hike
in petrol prices on Sunday must have sounded like music to the UPA
government’s ears.[HT p1]
15. Trinamool MPs to meet PM over petrol hike : Kolkata: Trinamool
Congress MPs have been asked by party chief Mamata Banerjee to be in
New Delhi on Tuesday to meet the Prime Minister, convey the party’s
displeasure in the manner the petrol price hike was done and demand a
rollback.[TOI p11]
16. Advani praises Nitish in Guj, sidesteps Modi : Ahmedabad: Almost
every time L K Advani has shared a platform with Narendra Modi in
Gujarat, he has praised him to the skies, often describing him as a
potential PM. As Advani’s rath yatra entered Gujarat on Sunday, it was
clear the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of BJP was frosty after weeks of strain in his
ties with Modi. [TOI p9]
17. Advani lauds Gujarat people for State’s all-round development :
Surat :Even while praising his “political disciple” and Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi for providing Surajya (good governance), veteran
BJP leader L.K. Advani, for the first time, gave credit to the “people of the
State” for the “all-round development” the State had achieved.[The Hindu
p12]
18. Congress: Why was Advani mum during NDA rule? : New Delhi : The
Congress on Sunday asked BJP leader L.K. Advani why he did nothing on
black money and corruption when the National Democratic Alliance was in
power.[The Hindu p9]
19. Modi, LK seek to show united front : NEW DELHI: After the RSS
cautioned Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to sort out differences with
senior party colleague L.K. Advani, Mr Modi on Sunday personally
received Mr Advani’s Janchetna Yatra when it reached his state. Mr
Advani is also an MP from Gandhinagar.[AA p2]
20. BJP’s anti-Sonia pitch to rise as LK rally nears Delhi : New Delhi : As
Yatra L K Advani moves ’s closer Jan Chetna to the finish line in Delhi with
a final rally here on November 20, the party plans to raise the pitch of its
attack on the UPA regime by targeting Sonia Gandhi. The party’s strategy
is to keep the momentum going as Parliament opens for the winter
session. [TOI p9]
21. BJP U.P. YATRAS Ayodhya sticking point for JD-U : NEW DELHI: It is
not just the seat-sharing formula that the BJP needs to sort out with its
alliance partner JD(U). The saffron party also has to convince the JD(U)
that it did not keep the latter in the dark over the concluding point of the
Janswabhiman yatras, which is Ayodhya.[AA p2]
22. Swiss accounts : Gadkari dares UPA Govt to release names :
Ludhiana : The BJP president, Nitin Gadkari, today attributed the rising
prices of essential items, “massive corruption” and the sad state of the
national economy to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre and
its allies. [The Tribune p5]
23. Forces against permanent jobs for women, Don’t Favour Even Non-
Combat Role For Them: New Delhi: At a time when the United States is
allowing women to serve onboard submarines and countries like Australia
are dismantling all gender barriers to allow female troops to serve on the
frontlines, India remains extremely reluctant to even give them permanent
jobs in the military. [TOI p7]
24. J&K govt mulls move to placate army on AFSPA : JAMMU: To get the
army on its side regarding the revocation of Armed Forces Powers Act
(AFSPA) from some areas of J&K, the state government is willing to give a
written commitment that the law can be re-imposed if need be.[HT p9]
25. Never made false statement: Diggy : New Delhi: Congress leader
Digvijay Singh, who has rankled opponents with his comments, on Sunday
said he finds it difficult to understand why his statements trigger
controversy and claimed that those who had “skeletons in their cupboard”
wanted to send him “to mental asylum for speaking truth”.[AA p2]
26. Shanta faction spells trouble for Himachal BJP : CHANDIGARH: After
intense infighting in Karnataka and Uttarakhand, it is now a hill state
where the BJP seems to be in a self destructive mode. In Himachal
Pradesh, the political temperature has suddenly soared with the formation
of the Himachal Bhrashtachar Mukti Morcha by members of senior BJP
vice-president Shanta Kumar’s faction.[AA p2]
27. Kalam bats for Kudankulam but protesters unimpressed :
Kudankulam: The muchanticipated visit of former president A P J Abdul
Kalam to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project on Sunday failed to
break ice between the government and anti-plant protesters. [TOI p1]
28. In UP, parties set for big-budget electoral battle : NEW DELHI: Uttar
Pradesh is all set to witness “money power” at its worst in the coming
Assembly elections. A guessing game has begun about the “budget” of
main political parties for the electoral battle at a time when the Bahujan
Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and the BJP are
competing with each other in resource mobilisation.[AA p2]
29. Sahai offers `10-crore revamp package for Ayodhya-Faizabad :
LUCKNOW: Union Tourism Minister U Subodh Kant Sahai on Sunday
offered `10 crore assistance for renovation of ghats, temples and dargahs
in the twin-cities of Faizabad and Ayodhya. He said the Central
Government was ready to support tourism in Uttar Pradesh but the State
Government should first come up with proposals.[Pioneer Daily p7]
30. Reddy to decide on Sreeramulu Bellary Ticket : BELLARY: Jailed
former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy will have the final say in
determining if former health minister B. Sreeeramulu should accept the
Bharatiya Janata Party ticket offered to him for the Bellary ST seat bypoll
or make the plunge as an Independent.[AA p2]
31. When a road roller-tractor crash almost cost Bishnoi win in Hisar :
CHANDIGARH: It was never meant to be a road accident but the
political collision of a tractor with a road roller nearly cost the winning
candidate in the Hisar Lok Sabha by-election, Kuldeep Bishnoi, his seat
last month.[AA p2]
32. Property Lists of Odisha Ministers Questioned : BHUBANESWAR :
Transparency International India has questioned Naveen Patnaik
government’s claims of total transparency in the administration by making
public the properties of its ministers, including the chief minister.[ET p3]
33. Punjab Cong president sends notice to party leaders : JALANDHAR:
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Captain Amarinder Singh
has served notices on at least 15 Jalandhar district party leaders,
including former ministers, for their “failure“ to ensure a good turnout at the
party’s rally in the city on November 3.[The Hindu p12]
34. BJP, JD(U) firm up alliance in UP : New Delhi : NDA partners BJP and
JD-U appear to have sorted out their differences over continuing their
alliance in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, but details
of seat-sharing will be finalised only after Mr L K Advani’s anti-corruption
yatra gets over.[The Statesman p4]
35. Scams during UPA rule have brought shame to nation : Vapi :
Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Mrs
Sonia Gandhi, BJP leader Mr L K Advani today said scams during the
UPA regime have brought ‘shame’ to the entire nation.[The Statesman
p5]
36. Will take a relook at hydro projects: New Arunachal CM: NEW DELHI:
Controversial hydroelectric projects in Arunachal Pradesh will be
examined on a case-to-case basis, newly appointed CM of Arunachal
Pradesh Nabam Tuki told HT in an exclusive chat.[HT p13]
37. Cong, JVM part ways at hustings in Mandu : RANCHI: The JVM on
Sunday announced Deputy Mayor of Hazaribag Municipal Corporation,
Manish Jaiswal, as its candidate for the Mandu Assembly bypoll. The fourman
committee of the Congress has, meanwhile, zeroed in on some
names like Kumar Mahesh Singh, Ravindra Kumar Sao and Narendra
Kumar. [Pioneer Daily p3]
38. Alternate wards will go to women after trifurcation : NEW DELHI: The
Delhi Government, after the nod from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),
is giving final touches to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill
2011 to be brought before the Vidhan Sabha for dividing the civic body
into three entities.[Pioneer Daily p1]
39. CWG graft shadow looms large on Delhi Govt projects : New Delhi :
The shadow of large-scale corruption in the run-up to 2010
Commonwealth Games projects looms large over Delhi Government
projects. The city Government was so pre-occupied while preparing
replies to VK Shunglu Committee and CAG reports for the past one year
after the successful execution of CWG that it has no time to consider
pending projects despite having surplus funds in its kitty.[Pioneer Daily
p3]
40. Vijay Goel protests hike in power bills : NEW DELHI: Former union
minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Goel, who has started an agitation
against the recent power tariff hike, performed a havan at Rajghat on
Sunday as a mark of protest.[HT p6]
41. Don’t bow to Sheila’s pressure tactics : Mayor : New Delhi : Delhi
Mayor Rajni Abbi has urged the Union Home Ministry to proceed with
caution and not ‘bow to the pressure tactics” of Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit on the issue of trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi “as
the issue dealt with the provision of civic services to 1.67 crore
citizens.[The Hindu p3]
42. 2nd marriage no ground to deny child’s custody: Court : New Delhi:
A man’s second marriage cannot be a ground for denying him custody of
his child, a Delhi court has said while granting guardianship of a 10-yearold
boy to his father who remarried after his wife’s death. [TOI p1]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
43. Same story all over again : BALBIR PUNJ: Besides having launched
official investigations and levelled all sorts of accusations at the entire
group of eminent public figures who have joined the anticorruption
movement, the Congress-led UPA regime has also charged them with
playing out the so called `RSS-BJP plan’.[TOI p8]
BUSINESS NEWS
44. Hindujas set to move into luxury home : London : The fabulously
wealthy Hinduja brothers are poised to return to the bosom of respectable
British society following the completion of work on their £100 million new
home in the heart of London.[The Tribune p1]
