NEWS IN BRIEF – OCT 20, 2011
1. CAG only doing its job, says FM :
New Delhi: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the comptroller and auditor general had not overstepped its mandate, breaking ranks with his colleagues who have accused the auditor of overreach with regard to its reports on various scams. [TOI p1]
2. ‘PAC to have final word on loss estimates’
New Delhi: Saying the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) was acting within its mandate to bring up alleged “undue benefit” given to Reliance Power Limited by a group of ministers, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, added that the final word would come from the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). [TOI p17]
3. Finance Secretary to appear before JPC on October 31 :
New Delhi : Union Finance Secretary R.S. Gujral will appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the telecom policies from 1998 to 2009 on October 31 to explain why the Ministry did not submit to the committee the March 25 office memorandum sent by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).[The Hindu p12]
4. Don’t Shoot the Messenger, PM Tells Cabinet Colleagues, Manmohan Singh for systemic corrections, ethical governance and sober political discourse :
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday attempted to bring his government’s reflexes in line with the current popular mood by emphasising the need for systemic corrections, ethical governance and a more sober political discourse.[ET p2]
5. Don’t use harsh words : PM to LK :
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while giving clear indications that the government was in sync with the public mood against corruption, sought to play down NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s attack on his government. At the same time, he asked senior BJP leader L.K. Advani not to use “harsh words” in politics.[AA p1]
6. Pawar remarks strain Cong-NCP ties further : New Delhi : Tensions
within the ruling alliance have surfaced with Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar publicly stating that
the UPA leadership had been weakened by the recent string of scams,
because of which the judiciary had become more assertive.[The Tribune
p1]
7. Vijaya Shanthi meets Advani :Pragnapur: TRS MP and Telugu actress
Vijaya Shanthi on Wednesday met veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani here in
her Lok Sabha constituency of Medak, amidst media reports that she
might join the saffron party. Ms Vijay Shanthi, who was in the BJP earlier,
stood beside Mr Advani, who is on his countrywide yatra, as he spoke
from atop his rath. [AA p2]
8. Kiran Lokpal Bedi buys discount air tickets, gets hosts to pay full
fare : New Delhi : Kiran Bedi, one of the most vocal members of Team
Anna, who riled Members of Parliament with her Ramlila ghoonghat act,
may herself have some explaining to do. The issue: the inflated travel
expenses she has been charging NGOs and institutions which invite her
for seminars or meetings.[IE p1]
9. Delhi topples Mumbai as maximum city, Capital’s Urban Sprawl Has
Over 2cr Popn: Delhi/ Mumbai: The urban agglomeration of Delhi has
for the first time overtaken that of Mumbai, a TOI analysis of census data
just released shows. Close to 22 million people now live in Delhi’s
extended urban sprawl, while Mumbai is home to close to 20 million. [TOI
p1]
10. CBI got RTI exemption without wanting it?: New Delhi : At a time
when it’s reeling under allegations of scams and scandals, official
documents show that the government gave the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) more immunity from the Right to Information (RTI) Act
than what the agency had originally sought.[HTs p1]
11. France provides black money info : New Delhi: Finance minister
Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the government had received
information from France about Rs 400 crore unaccounted money in as
many as 69 overseas accounts of Indians and had recovered Rs 30 crore
in taxes from them. [TOI p11]
12. UPA allies feel they are on sinking ship : New Delhi : Seizing upon
Sharad Pawar’s talk of low credibility of the UPA-II, the BJP on
Wednesday said members of the ruling coalition are feeling as if they are
on a sinking ship.[IE p2]
13. Cong plays down Pawar’s UPA remark : New Delhi: NCP chief Sharad
Pawar’s comment that UPA 2’s low credibility had led to the judiciary and
other societal forces asserting themselves sparked a controversy leading
to BJP claiming that regional allies at the Centre had become jittery while
Congress said Pawar’s views were not shared by all. [TOI p18]
14. Assembly resolution not needed : Hyderabad : BJP leader LK Advani,
whose Jan Chetna Yatra passed through parts of Telangana on
Wednesday, said a resolution of the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly
was not required to form the new state.[HT p10]
15. Jharkhand’s Jana Sangh old boys to meet Advani : Ranchi : BJP
veteran LK Advani and old-timers of the Jana Sangh in Jharkhand will
share some nostalgic moments on October 21, when the former will
felicitate them as part of his Jan Chetna Yatra.[Pioneer Daily p4]
16. Now, two biometric I-cards for you :New Delhi : Get ready to have two
photo identity cards based on similar bio-metric details to avail services
from separate Central government agencies.[HT p13]
17. Now, Baalu says govt took wrong turns : New Delhi : A day after NCP
chief Sharad Pawar argued that the string of scandals that have hit the
UPA government have weakened its authority prompting forces like the
judiciary to assert themselves, the DMK — the second largest constituent
of the ruling coalition — on Wednesday said it “partially” agreed with his
observations and asserted that the government had not handled certain
situations “properly”.[IE p2]
18. EC weighs options for polls in 5 states: New Delhi: The Election
Commission is considering various options for holding assembly elections
in five states next year. One of the options is to club the elections in all the
five states though the terms of the assemblies end between March and
June. Of the five states, the EC is thinking of having a five phase election
in Uttar Pradesh and a single phase poll in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur
and Goa. [TOI p19]
19. Poll countdown begins, but Cong not battle-ready : New Delhi : The
Congress may appear to be working hard to revive its fortunes in Uttar
Pradesh after more than two decades but the party is still struggling to
strengthen its organisational base in the state with the crucial assembly
elections a few months away. [HT p13]
20. Anna lauds team’s call to boycott Rahul, Denies His Crusade Has
Taken Political Colour: Pune/New Delhi: Activist Anna Hazare on
Wednesday lauded the decision of a delegation from his village to boycott
Rahul Gandhi after they were denied audience with the Congress leader
in New Delhi on Tuesday. [TOI p11]
21. Anna, Kejriwal autocratic are politicising campaign : Jaipur : A day
after he quit Team Anna, activist Rajendra Singh accused Anna Hazare
and Arvind Kejriwal of autocratic behaviour and expressed unhappiness
over politicisation of the India Against Corruption campaign. [HT p10]
22. Bring Telangana Bill in Next Session, will Support: Advani: NEW
DELHI : BJP leader LK Advani has asked the UPA government to
introduce a bill for formation of Telangana state in the winter session of
Parliament, which his party was willing to support. He alleged that
Telangana had still not been formed because of the “indecisiveness and
paralysis” in the ruling regime at the Centre. [ET p3]
23. Firm action needed to make Telangana a reality : Advani : Hyderabad
: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani said on
Wednesday a separate Telangana State could become a reality by
January 1, 2012 if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress
president Sonia Gandhi took a firm decision and introduced a Bill in the
winter session of Parliament.[The Hindu p1]
24. Train fares may get demand-based: New Delhi: Hinting at revision of
passenger fares in the near future, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi said a
“dynamic pricing policy”, based on demand, was being considered. The
proposal has come as a course correction for the state-run transporter,
reeling under acute financial crisis.[TOI p1]
25. BJP in damage control mode : NEW DELHI : Down playing the
bitterness created in the party by senior leader L.K. Advani’s remarks over
former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s arrest, the Bharatiya
Janata Party on Wednesday sought to give credit to itself for maintaining
“zero tolerance” against corruption. [AA p2]
26. Party did not heed my advice on BSY, says Shanta Kumar : Shimla :
BJP vice-president Shanta Kumar on Wednesday said the party could
have avoided the embarrassment caused by former Karnataka chief
minister B S Yeddyurappa’s arrest had it heeded his advice when he first
raised the issue of corruption in Karnataka.[IE p4]
27. CBI grills two in Bhanwari case : Jaipur : The Central Bureau of
Investigation on Wednesday questioned two persons arrested in Jodhpur
in connection with the disappearance of the missing auxiliary and midwife
nurse, Bhanwari Devi.[The Hindu p5]
28. A Geelani first : ‘Will consider a talks offer : Srinagar : For the first
time in 20 years, Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani is sending
positive vibes about dialogue with New Delhi, saying Hurriyat “is ready to
discuss in the advisory council” any talks offer made by the Centre.[IE p5]
29. Bengal Set to Crack Down on Maoists : KOLKATA : Armed Maoist
squads, which were active in some pockets of West Midnapore district,
have recently moved to Ayodhya hills in Purulia district following combing
operations by joint forces in the forests of Bankashole, Chondri and
Lodhashuli. [ET p3]
30. Thackeray praises Indira, but attacks Rahul : Pune : Shiv Sena
supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, in a front page article published in Party
Mouthpiece Saamna on Wednesday, praised former Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi but dismissed Rahul Gandhi.[IE p4]
31. Bhatt now facing conspiracy charge : Ahmedabad : Two days after the
suspended Gujarat cadre IPS officer, Sanjiv Bhatt, was released on bail,
the police added the charge of “conspiracy” against him and others in the
case arising out of constable K. D. Panth’s complaint on which he was
arrested, in the first place, on September 30.[The Hindu p9]
32. Chouhan faces case by Congman over mining : BHOPAL: Madhya
Pradesh Congress unit media chief Manak Agrawal on Wednesday filed a
criminal case in the court of the first class judicial magistrate here
targeting state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with three
state ministers, few senior officers and others, accusing them of
involvement in illegal mining to the tune of over `1,000 crores in Sehora
tehsil of Jabalpur district.[AA p2]
33. Yeddyurappa Back in Jail from Hospital, Former CM’s bail petition
will be heard in Karnataka High Court today : BANGALORE : After
getting admitted into two hospitals over the last four days, former
Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader, BS Yeddyurappa returned to
central jail in Bangalore on Wednesday. [ET p3]
34. Realty bill to give buyers fair deal : New Delhi : Months after the Noida
Extension fiasco left 6,000 home buyers in the lurch, the government is
ready with a bill to regulate the real estate sector and protect property
buyers from unscrupulous developers. [HT p1]
35. Ambala RDX haul: Sajjan Kumar was the target : New Delhi: Security
at the Karkardooma court complex was strengthened on Wednesday
following intelligence inputs that senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar,
who was to appear in court in connection with the anti-Sikh riots case, was
the target of terrorists. [TOI p4]
36. Congress to start ‘Punjab Bachao Yatra’ from Nov 1 : Chandigarh :
The state Congress today announced to launch the ‘Punjab Bachao Yatra’
from Damdama Sahib on November 1. The yatra will conclude at
Budhladha on December 2. The month-long yatra will cover all the
assembly segments and will witness about 40 rallies during this
period.[The Tribune p5]
37. Court notice to CBI on Kalmadi’s plea : New Delhi : The CBI was on
Wednesday asked by a Delhi court to respond to sacked Commonwealth
Games organising committee chief Suresh Kalmadi’s plea to clarify if the
agency’s probe into games-related contract, in which he has been
arrested, is complete or not.[TOI p5]
38. RLD to join UPA at centre to fight UP poll : New Delhi : Ajit Singh’s
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) is all set to join the UPA at the Centre as a
precursor to an electoral alliance in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. If all
goes well, a formal announcement will be made shortly. A tie-up with the
Congress will help the RLD consolidate the Muslim vote in western UP,
where it enjoys traditional Jat support.[HT p10]
39. High court verdict on Noida land cases tomorrow : Noida : The
Allahabad High Court will, on Friday, give its verdict on the 492 quashacquisition
petitions filed by 40 villages in Noida Extension and other
areas of Greater Noida. The court will also decide the fate of about 80
petitions filed by farmers of about two dozen Noida villages.[HT p4]
40. EC casts Net to lure Gen Y, Cutting Red Tape For Getting ID: New
Delhi: The red tape will no longer hold you from exercising franchise. A
new initiative of the chief electoral officer of Delhi provides for online
registration for voter ID cards. This is expected to cut down on procedural
delays and corruption in public dealing. The scheme was launched on
October 1 and so far, 6,000 applications have been received. [TOI p8]
41. Mangu Singh to be next Metro chief : New Delhi: Delhi Metro’s much
feted 79-year-old chief E Sreedharan is expected to hand over the baton
to in-house choice Mangu Singh, now director of works, when he steps
down in December. [TOI p1]
42. MCD to resume sealing drive after Diwali : New Delhi : Rapped on the
knuckles for not doing enough against illegal construction, the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi’s sealing and demolition squad will be back in full
swing with a list of 40,000 properties after Diwali. Senior MCD officials
said the decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the
Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee on Tuesday.[HT p1]
43. MCD collects Rs 912.54 crore as property tax : New Delhi : The
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today said that it collected over Rs
912.54 from around 8,15,115 property owners in the city during the last six
months.[The Tribune p3]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
44. States must shed mindset to control judiciary: SC : New Delhi:
Monitoring filling up of vacant judicial officers’ posts in various states
having over 2 crore pending cases, the Supreme Court on Wednesday felt
that there was a tendency among governments to control the exercise just
because they fund judiciary. [TOI p12]
45. Go to Karnataka for Trial, SC Tells Jaya : NEW DELHI : The Supreme
Court has asked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to appear
before the trial court in Bangalore on Thursday in connection with the
disproportionate assests case against her. A bench comprising Justice
Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Dipak Misra turned down her plea for
deferment of the hearing in the DA case on security reasons.[ET p3]
46. 19 Maharashtra judges compulsorily retired by HC : Mumbai: The
Bombay high court has in the past year recommended the compulsory
retirement of 19 judges of lower courts across the state in a bid to
“cleanse the system of nonperforming judges”. [TOI p18]
47. Judge trying Sajjan Kumar in 1984 anti- Sikh riot case promoted :
New Delhi : The trial of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and others for their
alleged roles in a 1984 anti-sikh riot case was deferred on Wednesday to
next month as the judge conducting the trial has been elevated as District
Judge.[The Hindu p3]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
48. Charting A Different Course, India is the world’s largest democracy,
now make it the deepest one: Arun Maira : Whither India? Cracks are
appearing in our growth story. Everyday a new scandal, with faith in
institutions of government and capitalism running low. We are arguing, not
agreeing. The questions on the minds of all Indians are: How will we get
going again? And towards what vision? [TOI p22]
49. The Mirror Crack’d, Team Anna needs to project a cohesive face and
focus on the Lokpal Bill : Sustaining a cohesive popular movement is
often more challenging than launching one. True, Anna Hazare and his
team have initiated a buoyant anti-graft movement, placing a strong
Lokpal Bill at the centre stage of policymaking. But now dissensions within
the Anna camp are threatening to throw the campaign into disarray. [TOI
p22]
50. A vision for Nepal-India relations : Baburam Bhattarai : My visit to
India, which begins today, has great historical significance. Nepal is
passing through a major political transition. We fought against feudal
autocracy and monarchy, and for overall socio-economic transformation,
for almost 60 years. [The Hindu p10]
51. Poll reforms can’t be delayed further : Electoral reforms have become
a part of the public discussion in the course of the Anna Hazare campaign
for a Lokpal aimed at curbing corruption. Some may question the need for
the institution of the proposed Lokpal, but few are likely to question reform
in our election processes.[AA p6]
BUSINESS NEWS
52. FM seeks support to boost reforms, Rules Out Policy Paralysis,
Wants Passage Of Key Bills Like Insurance FDI: New Delhi: Finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday reached out to the Opposition,
seeking cooperation to carry forward the reforms process and help usher
in faster growth against the backdrop of a gloomy global economic
outlook. [TOI p25]
53. Sensex rises 337 points on good results : Mumbai: Boosted by strong
results in the financial services segment and short covering by
speculators, the sensex on Wednesday gained 337 points to close at
17,085. Although institutional business on the bourses were muted during
the day, speculators, ahead of the expiry of current month’s derivatives
contracts on Tuesday, kept the prices at higher levels, dealers said. [TOI
p25]
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
54. Don’t mess with N-power Pak, Gen Kayani warns US, ‘Think 10 Times
Before Any Op In North Waziristan’: Islamabad/Washington:
Pakistan’s powerful army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has warned
Washington to “think 10 times” before launching any unilateral offensive in
the North Waziristan tribal region even as an angry US is lining up its
artillery on the Afghan border facing Pakistan. Kayani cautioned
Washington against treating the nuclear-armed country lightly. [TOI p1]
55. China backs Pakistan for non-permanent UNSC seat : Beijing: Beijing
on Wednesday supported Pakistan’s bid for nonpermanent United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) membership. “China attaches great importance
to Pakistan’s request for a seat on the UN Security Council,” Chinese
foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. [TOI p12]
