NEWS IN BRIEF – NOV 8, 2011
1. Didi isolated as DMK backs govt, Karunanidhi Joins NCP, NC Chorus
On Global Rates, Won’t Rock Boat: New Delhi: A day ahead of a
delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs is scheduled to meet PM Manohan
Singh, the government received the backing of ally DMK with party
supremo M Karunanidhi joining NCP leader Sharad Pawar in assuring that
he will not rock the ruling coalition over the unpopular petrol price hike.
[TOI p7]
2. Petrol Price Hike: Mamata Fails to Earn Support of Other UPA Allies,
We will follow the coalition dharma as we have been doing all along:
Karuna : NEW DELHI : Mamata Banerjee’s ‘gunboat politics’ against the
Centre seems to have garnered little support among UPA allies. A day
after NCP chief Sharad Pawar backed the prime minister’s stand on
deregulation of fuel prices, DMK said that it was against precipitating a
crisis for the government at the Centre over petrol price hike.[ET p3]
3. Govt the biggest gainer from petrol price hikes : New Delhi : It’s
cheaper to tank up cars in Washington, New York, Karachi, Dhaka, Beijing
and Colombo, among many other cities, than in Delhi — and for a very
good reason. About 40% of what you pay for petrol goes to the
government as taxes and duties.[HT p1]
4. Mamata’s price for staying in UPA govt: Rs 19,000 crore : New Delhi :
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee seems to have pegged the
political price of not pulling out her party’s ministers from the UPA
government over the petrol price hike. And the price is a Rs 19,000-crore
bailout package from the Centre for debt-ridden West Bengal.[HT p1]
5. Kalam for boosting local economy to allay nuclear fears : Chennai :
Even as a committee constituted by the Centre to address fears about the
safety of the Kudankulam nuclear power project was set to meet an
experts panel of the Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday, the former
President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has recommended a massive Rs. 200-
crore special development plan for villages around the project site.[The
Hindu p1]
6. Call on taking lead roll in Rahul’s court : When will Rahul Gandhi play a
larger role in the Congress party? The answer can come only from Rahul
Gandhi who has so far kept his party guessing.Rahul had turned down a
suggestion to become working president or vice-president of the party a
few months ago. [HT p1]
7. House may be Stalled if Hike Not Withdrawn: BJP : NEW DELHI :
Demanding an immediate roll back of petrol price hike, BJP made a veiled
threat of stalling Parliament during the winter session if government fails to
do so. The main opposition also hit out at the UPA allies, saying they were
“part and parcel” of the hike.[ET p3]
8. Anna to include tribals, minorities in his team : Ralegan Siddhi: With
his team rocked by controversies, Anna Hazare on Monday said he plans
to restructure his core committee to also give representation to religious
minorities, tribals, dalits and youths to strengthen the campaign against
corruption. [TOI p15]
9. Kejriwal apologizes for Nagpur violence : New Delhi: Team Anna
member Arvind Kejriwal on Monday apologized and condemned the
violence at a Nagpur meeting after reports said his supporters had beaten
up protesters. “Those who were protesting against me are also a part of
this movement. They are our friends. If they have any questions or
suggestions or grievances, we will talk to them,’’ he said. “We should not
attack them. I also urge those friends who assaulted the protesters not to
do this in future,” he added. [TOI p15]
10. No Need to Speculate on Lokpal Report: Singhvi : NEW DELHI :
Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Lokpal issue on Monday said it
was futile to speculate on when it would give its report on the Bill as the
winter session has not even started.[ET p3]
11. Anna Overestimating Lokpal Bill’s Powers, Says Digvijaya, Hazare to
overhaul his core committee, to include different sections of society:
NEW DELHI : Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has said social
activist Anna Hazare was ‘overestimating’ the Jan Lokpal Bill and warned
that the law by itself cannot be an elixir to tackle corruption across the
country. [ET p3]
12. Secretariat refuses to say why Speaker overruled Sushma : New
Delhi : The Lok Sabha Secretariat has refused to explain why Speaker
Meira Kumar extended the term of Secretary-General T.K. Vishwanathan,
overruling the objections of Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj.[The
Hindu p5]
13. Cong targets LK for sharing dais with ‘bootlegger’ : New Delhi:
Congress on Monday attacked L K Advani for sharing the dais with an
alleged bootlegger during his nation-wide anticorruption rath yatra, saying
the event had exposed BJP’s double standards on the issue. [TOI p15]
14. Smooth course ahead for Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra : New Delhi : On
the occasion of his 85th birthday, BJP veteran LK Advani plans to take a
break from his Jan Chetna Yatra on Tuesday. The yatra is to enter the last
leg of its nationwide campaign against corruption. But the yatra, which
began on a stormy note, has managed to change the party’s inner
dynamics, calming down some divisions that were coming to the fore.[HT
p13]
15. Top Chinese leaders set up 5 meets with Modi : Beijing: The
Communist Party of China is paying close attention to Gujarat CM
Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to meet CPC leaders on five different
occasions during the four days he will spend in the country from
November 9.[TOI p7]
16. Modi denies LK rift, blames it on media :Bharauch: Ruling out
differences between himself and senior party colleague L.K. Advani,
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the media of
playing into the hands of the ruling Congress and sensationalizing
news.[AA p2]
17. Gadkari walks on Modi’s path : NAGPUR: Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi’s developmental politics appears to have gone viral in the
BJP. Party chief Nitin Gadkari in a bid to stake claim on the Congress’
“Garibi Hatao” campaign ahead of crucial Assembly elections in five states
said that his social enterprise backed by his business conglomerate would
change the lives of the people for better in the suicide-prone Vidarbha
region of Maharashtra.[AA p2]
18. Gadkari ruffles OBC feathers in UP BJP : LUCKNOW:BJP president
Nitin Gadkari’s recent statement that four senior leaders would lead the
party’s campaign from the front in Uttar Pradesh has generated a new
controversy in party circles.[AA p2]
19. Jail blackouts BSY-Shobha meet, Cameras Switched Off To Facilitate
VIP Visits At Odd Hours: Bangalore: Several CCTV cameras are on the
blink at Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. Prison sources said there’s a
pattern to it. Every time a visitor, particularly a VIP from the government or
the ruling BJP, arrives to meet its most powerful inmate, former CM B S
Yeddyurappa, the cameras are switched off. [TOI p7]
20. Khanduri leans on Anna ahead of state elections, Hazare To Join
U’Khand Govt Rally: New Delhi: Lokpal campaigner Anna Hazare will
attend a rally in Uttarakhand organized by chief minister B C Khanduri
after the BJPruled state became the first to adopt the Jan Lokpal bill
advocated by the Gandhian and his group. [TOI p1]
21. Eye to CM’s job, Uma plans to contest UP polls : New Delhi : BJP
leader Uma Bharti is reportedly keen on contesting the forthcoming Uttar
Pradesh assembly elections, a move that could strengthen her claim to
the chief ministerial assignment in the event of the party forming the
Government in the State.[Pioneer Daily p5]
22. NAC picks holes in housing scheme : New Delhi : At a time efforts are
on to make India slum-free, Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)-UPA’s flagship
programme to provide home/ property rights to slum dwellers-seems to
have excluded some of the most vulnerable city residents, who are not
living in slums, from benefiting from the scheme. [HT p11]
23. CBI Finds Proof Against NGOs in Health Mission Scam in UP,
Agency seizes inflated bills, records of fake patients in searches
conducted over the weekend : NEW DELHI : CBI carried out searches
at 10 places in and around Lucknow over the weekend as part of its probe
into alleged irregularities in the National Rural Health Mission programme
in Uttar Pradesh. [ET p2]
24. Baba Ramdev to Campaign Against Congress Candidates :
HOSHIARPUR : Yoga guru Ramdev on Monday said he along with his
supporters would campaign against Congress candidates in the upcoming
assembly election in Punjab. [ET p3]
25. Outdated land acquisition Act should go : New Delhi : Observing that
the 1894 Act has become outdated as it does not provide for rehabilitation
of persons displaced from their land, although their livelihood is affected
by compulsory acquisition, a Bench of the Supreme Court has called for
replacement of the law without delay.[The Hindu p1]
26. Now, open bank a/c with other states’ identity proof : New Delhi: The
government has asked banks to accept identity proofs issued in other
states as valid documents for opening no-frills bank accounts, in a move
that will help millions of migrant workers, including domestic helps and
drivers, access banking services. [TOI p1]
27. ‘RBI rule on identity proof not practical’ : New Delhi: While RBI had
relaxed norms to permit banks to open accounts based on self declaration
in the absence of a valid identity proof, in practice few banks were using
the flexibility as they feared penal action from the regulator and
enforcement agencies in case anything went wrong. [TOI p15]
28. All is not well in Himachal BJP : Shimla : Encouraged by recent political
developments in neighbouring Uttarakhand, some disgruntled Bharatiya
Janata Party leaders in Himachal Pradesh patronised by former Chief
Minister Shanta Kumar are also planning a defection in the name of
forging an anti-graft front.[The Hindu p5]
29. Cong releases candidates list, woos minorities : New Delhi: Jarnail
Singh and Kulbir Beniwal have been nominated by the Congress on
Monday to contest the Ratia (SC) and Adampur assembly by-elections in
Haryana.[Pioneer Daily p5]
30. INLD announces candidates for Assembly by-polls : Chandigarh :
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Monday announced that sarfi Bai
and Ram Singh Baswana would contest the upcoming Haryana Assembly
by elections from Ratia and Mandi Adampur respectively. polling for both
seats is scheduled for November 30.[The Hindu p5]
31. Gehlot meets Sonia, reshuffle likely : JAIPUR: It could be probable
Cabinet reshuffle or finalisation of the names for political appointments in
various government bodies in Rajasthan behind Rajasthan chief minister
Ashok Gehlot and Congress president Sonia Gandhi meeting in New Delhi
on Monday. He made a visit to 10 Janpath along with party in-charge for
Rajasthan, Mr Mukul Wasnik, and discussed various issues.[AA p3]
32. ‘Bhanwari met Gehlot over CD row’ : Jodhpur: Missing nurse Bhanwari
Devi had met Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot about a year-and-a-half back in
Jaipur and apprised him about the CD in which she has featured with
Mahipal Maderna, the sacked water resources minister, said Indra
Bishnoi, sister of Congress MLA Malkhan Singh Bishnoi, at the Circuit
House in Jodhpur on Monday. [TOI p14]
33. CWG construction added to pollution : New Delhi : Frenzied
construction activities carried out for the Commonwealth Games last year,
and increasing number of vehicles being added to the city roads every
year are some of the factors responsible for polluting Delhi’s air.[HT p2]
34. MCD councillor, brother beaten up in Vikaspuri : New Delhi : In yet
another case of road rage, a councillor of the Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD) and his brother were allegedly beaten up by four persons in
west Delhi’s Vikaspuri on Monday morning. [HT p3]
35. BJP leaders divided over MCD trifurcation : New Delhi : With Delhi
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit stating that the nod from the Union Ministry of
Home Affairs for trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi could
come as soon as this Tuesday, the Delhi BJP appears to be divided on
how it would affect the governance of the Corporation headed by it at
present.[The Hindu p4]
36. MCD polls : Crowd pullers to get BJP tickets : New Delhi : Organising
crowd support for the rally to be held here on 20 November at the
conclusion of the Jan Chetna Yata of BJP stalward, Mr L K Advani could
turn out to be a major criterion to secure a party ticket for the upcoming
civic polls.[The Statesman p1]
37. Delhi govt in hurry, date for special session may be announced
today : New Delhi: Delhi government is gearing up to put its plan for
dividing MCD into three with 50% reservation for women across the 272
municipal wards in the fast lane. [TOI p6]
38. 100 days of blockade in Manipur : Guwahati/ Imphal: The economic
blockade of Manipur reached 100 days on Monday, with no sign of respite
for its long suffering people. While the Kuki tribals withdrew their agitation
from November 1, the Nagas refused to relent and continue to block the
state’s lifelines, the Imphal-Dimapur and Imphal-Silchar highways. [TOI
p1]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
39. Babri case : CBI to make ex-UP officials witnesses : New Delhi : The
CBI, which investigated the demolition of Ayodhya’s Babri mosquo in
December 1992, is likely to get two former Uttar Pradesh state officials
soon record their witness statements before a designated Rae bareli court
that is hearing the case.[HT p10]
40. No word yet from CJI on judge’s charge of caste bias : New Delhi :
National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman P.L. Punia
said on Tuesday that he had not received any communication from Chief
Justice of India S.H. Kapadia on the action taken on a complaint of Justice
C.S. Karnan of the Madras High Court Judge, which was forwarded by the
Commission to the CJI.[The Hindu p5]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
41. BJP stuck with Advani’s tour bill : Ashok Malik: L.K. Advani’s anti
corruption yatra enters its final leg, the murmurings in the BJP are growing
louder and louder. Put mildly, the yatra has been less than successful.
Other than in states where the state government or the chief minister — in
case he belonged to the BJP, or, as in Bihar, to an allied party —
mobilised crowds, the response has been tepid.[AA p6]
SPORT NEWS
42. Stands vacant, Kotla tickets in black, No Counters At Stadium, Touts
Make A Killing: New Delhi: Many stands were empty at the Ferozeshah
Kotla stadium on Monday. Yet, tickets were being sold in the black market
for up to three times their official price barely half a kilometre from the
venue. [TOI p1]
