NEWS IN BRIEF – OCT 31, 2011
1. 2G-stung Niira Radia exits corporate PR biz : Mumbai: Corporate lobbyist Niira Radia has decided to exit the communications consultancy business a year after her name surfaced in the 2G spectrum controversy, even as Ratan Tata lauded her “ethical and satisfactory” work in augmenting the $72-billion Tata Group’s brand value. [TOI p1]
2. Right Time to Move Decisively Against Corruption: PM :
NEW DELHI : Pledging to take steps to curb corruption in public life and deliver “good” governance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said this is the “right time” to move decisively. With the image of his government being dented by scams and governance issues, Singh said it will do its utmost to “improve” transparency and accountability“in the work of public authorities. [TOI p3]
3. ‘Appoint lokayuktas for transparency’, PM Committed To Lokpal Bill, Prods States To Enact Similar Legislation:
New Delhi: Asserting once again that the UPA was committed to fighting corruption in public life, PM Manmohan Singh on Sunday reiterated the government’s intent to implement Lokpal bill while nudging states to come up with similar legislations and appoint Lokayuktas to improve transparency and accountability in public procurement and administration. [TOI p11]
4. Jayanthi briefs PM before BASIC meet today :
New Delhi: Ahead of the crucial BASIC countries’ meeting, environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the upcoming UN climate talks and the emerging negotiations scenario. [TOI p15]
5. ‘China can do a Kargil on India’ :
New Delhi: China could do a Kargil on India “to teach India a lesson”, warned strategic affairs think-tank IDSA, adding it could be a “limited war”. The limited hostilities could be confined to a specific section of the border, limited in duration and amenable to a negotiated termination, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses(IDSA) said in its report. [TOI p19]
6. Pro-Kashmiri outfit hacks West Bengal CID website : Kolkata : The
website of the West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department has been
hacked by the “Muslim Liberation Army,” which is supporting the cause of
freedom of Kashmir.[The Hindu p1]
7. Core Panel to be Revamped: Anna, Constitution to be framed, which
will have provisions on who can be members: NEW DELHI : A day
after Team Anna decided against dismantling its core committee, it has
said a constitution will be framed for the movement, after which the core
committee will be revamped. [ET p2]
8. Anna & Co to draft ethics charter first, After Organization’s
Constitution Is Ready, Revamp Will Follow: Team: Ralegan Siddhi:
Team Anna will soon prepare a charter listing rules, guidelines and ethics
for its members and revamp the core team once the organization’s
constitution is ready. This announcement was made on Sunday in the
backdrop of allegations against Team Anna members of “financial
misconduct” and “desertion” by some of them from the movement. [TOI
p10]
9. Team Anna is very strong and no one can break it, says Hazare :
Ralegan Siddhi : Mr Anna Hazare’s statement here on Sunday said he
did not ‘find it right’ that some people were talking about disbanding the
core committee. Member Kumar Vishwas had written to him demanding
that it be terminated. Another member Medha Patkar has called for an
overhaul.[The Hindu p14]
10. Anna Ungrateful to RSS: Digvijaya : NEW DELHI : Congress general
secretary Digvijaya Singh kept up his attack on Anna Hazare for
‘concealing’ RSS’ backing for his anti-graft agitation. Singh, who seized
upon Baba Ramdev’s assertion that Hazare should have admitted to
support of RSS for his movement, said he did not understand why he was
denying links with the Sangh.[ET p2]
11. Now, Bedi says will return money to those who demand it : Ralegan
Siddhi : Team Anna member Kiran Bedi, who is under fire for encashing
inflated bills, on Sunday said she would return the excess air travel
expenses charged by her to only ‘those NGOs who would demand the repayment.[
IE p4]
12. Call it Media Council, Bring TV Under it: Katju, TV debates frivolous,
no discipline among panelists, says Press Council’s new chief: NEW
DELHI : The new chairman of the Press Council of India, justice
Markandey Katju, has sought a larger mandate for the organisation and
suggested bringing the electronic media under its purview. “I have written
to the PM that the electronic media should be brought under Press
Council and it should be called Media Council and we should be given
more teeth.[ET p2]
13. Gadkari hints at no-trust motion against UPA: Lucknow: BJP
president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday hinted at the possibility of a noconfidence
motion against the UPA government in the winter session of
Parliament. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow after attending UP BJP’s
twoday executive meet in Kushinagar, Gadkari also ruled himself out of
the PM race. “….Not at all… all my life I have closely watched some
leaders, who rose above personal aspirations and dedicated their lives for
the cause of the people.” [TOI p17]
14. BJP will win 125-135 seats in UP, says Gadkari : Kushinagar :BJP
chief Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday as things stood now his party was
“comfortably winning 125-135 seats” in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly
elections are to be held by May next year. The UP assembly has 403
seats, of which the BJP won 51 in 2007.[TOI p14]
15. Gadkari plays safe on naming CM candidate for U.P. elections :
Lucknow : Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday
played it safe and refrained from naming the party’s Chief Ministerial
candidate for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, saying the BJP would
contest the elections under the leadership of Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra,
Uma Bharti and Surya Pratap Shahi..[The Hindu p7]
16. BJP will try to enact law for Ram temple:Kushinagar : BJP leader
Kalraj Mishra on Sunday said his party will try to evolve a consensus on
the Ram temple issue and if it gets adequate strength, it will try and enact
a law for a grand temple at Ayodhya.[IE p6]
17. Don’t vote on basis of religion : Lucknow : In a joint appeal on
Sunday, former RSS chief K C Sudarshan and Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe
Sadiq asked people not to vote by religion but elect people who are
honest and have a good character.[IE p6]
18. Peace Party splits rebels from outfit : Lucknow : Accusing the Peace
Party of playing in the hands of communal forces, some of its members
Sunday broke away from the outfit, which had grabbed a sizable chunk of
Muslim votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, and formed Rashtriya Peace
Party (RPP).[IE p6]
19. Modi to visit China to hardsell Guj : New Delhi: Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi may not be welcome in the US, but China is ready to roll
out the red carpet for him as he gears up to visit the world’s fastest
growing economy next month.[TOI p20]
20. Good governance cannot co-exist with corruption, says Advani :
Bangalore : “Good governance cannot co-exist with corruption. If we want
to fight against corruption outside, we cannot compromise with it amongst
ourselves…” This was Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L.K. Advani’s
message to the Karnataka unit whose prominent leaders, including
Ministers, are in jail following allegations of corruption at a time when he
has launched a nationwide campaign against graft.[The Hindu p11]
21. Cong stages protests as Advani arrives in Banglore : Bangalore :
More than 500 Congress activists were detained after they held protests in
Bangalore and parts of Karnataka against the anti-corruption yatra of BJP
leader LK Advani.[HT p10]
22. Mamata Tries Track-II Talks with Maoists, Roy to hold talks with wife
of arrested PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato: KOLKATA :
23. After Maoists rejected her talks offer, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee has opened another channel to convince them to come to the
negotiation table to settle the Jangalmahal issue amicably. [ET p3]
24. Rift in Cong, minister says consulted by CM : Srinagar : Days after
the Congress questioned Omar Abdullah’s unilateral announcement that
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) would be revoked from
certain areas of the state, senior Congress minister Taj Mohidin has said
he was consulted by the Chief Minister on the issue.[IE p4]
25. Make Audit & Vigilance Bodies Multi-Member: Shunglu Panel,
Proposal part of govt’s attempts to run down CAG & CVC: BJP: NEW
DELHI : The Shunglu Panel, which examined irregularities in
Commonwealth Games related projects, has kicked off a debate on
restructuring the brass of audit and vigilance bodies like CAG and CVC. It
has suggested that these organisations be headed by three members. [ET
p3]
26. Jairam’s NREGA view rattles Maha Congress : New Delhi : The
Congress in Maharashtra seems to have been put to unease by Rural
Development Minister Jairam Ramesh’s suggestion to shift
implementation of NREGS from the EGS department to Rural
Development department.[IE p3]
27. 3 MLAs Quit to Pressure Congress on Telangana, Two Congress
MLAs, One Independent may join Telangana Rashtra Samiti: NEW
DELHI : The crisis facing the Andhra Pradesh unit of Congress over the
agitation for Telangana statehood seems to have worsened after three
MLAs resigned. They belong to the Telangana region and are likely to join
the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. [ET p3]
28. 3 more BJP states going Jan Lokpal way : New Delhi : With
Uttarakhand set to become the first state to implement social activist Anna
Hazare’s version of the anti-graft watchdog, three other non-Congress
ruled states — Bihar, Orissa and Punjab — are in touch with Team Anna
for overhauling their Lokayukta institutions.[ET p3]
29. With Nitish yatra, more schemes for minorities :Patna : The Bihar
government plans to showcase all its flagship welfare schemes proposed
or underway, during chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s upcoming yatra. And key
among them will be 10 new schemes being undertaken for minorities.[IE
p10]
30. Jolt to RJD, LJP as leaders join JD-U : Patna : The beginning of Bihar’s
four-day religious festival of Chhath brought bad news for the state’s
Opposition parties RJD and LJP on Sunday as two of their leaders
decided to join the ruling JD(U) in the latest episode of an ongoing political
migration process.[AA p2]
31. Congress, INLD brace for battle of the ballot : Chandigarh : The
Congress and the INLD have started preparing to face the Adampur and
Ratia Assembly byelections which are likely to be held in February next
year.[The Tribune p7]
32. 100-plus vehicles, 26 governors: Delhi weekend road show : New
Delhi : It was good old sarkaari grandeur at its elaborate best when
governors and lieutenant governors descended on the Capital for a twoday
conference over the weekend.[IE p1]
33. Unauthorised Occupiers Owe CPWD . 63 Lakh, Defaulters include
Jagdish Tytler, G Venkataswamy and Jagan Mohan Reddy: NEW
DELHI : Seven senior politicians, who unauthorisedly occupy government
accommodation, owe over . 63 lakh as rental dues to the government.
These political leaders include Jagdish Tytler, G Venkataswamy and
Jagan Mohan Reddy. According to an RTI reply provided by CPWD, dues
of former Congress MP G Venkatswamy is .[ET p3]
34. Maya, Jaypee show Delhi, Gurgaon how to get it right : Greater
Noida: Finally, an international event flawlessly executed and delivered by
India. After failing to successfully organize even a concert last week and
the stuttering buildup and rather embarrassing wind-down of the
Commonwealth Games last year, the stunning success of India’s first F1
race brought out not just wide smiles on Sunday but an unmistakable
sense of pride in the 95,000-strong crowd. It was also a shining moment
for the country’s private sector, showcasing what it is capable of
achieving. [TOI p1]
35. CWG contracts given through nomination : New Delhi : A probe by the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is looking into alleged
irregularities in the conduct of the Commonwealth Games by its
Organising Committee (OC), has found that 107 contracts worth Rs 310
crore were awarded on the basis of nomination against norms.[HT p8]
36. Chhath: MCD cleans up ghats on a war footing : New Delhi: Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has begun cleaning the banks of the Yamuna
ahead of Chhath to make it more accessible to the devotees. The festival,
which will be observed along the banks of the river on Tuesday and
Wednesday, is expected to leave a lot of waste there as well as near
water bodies in parks. [TOI p1]
EDITORIAL/OPINION
37. Democracy Without Dissent? : SANTOSH DESAI : If the RSS supports
vegetarianism, will all vegetables become communal? Absurd as that
might sound, it is pretty much the argument some critics of the Anna
Hazare-led movement are making when they seek to tar it with the RSS
brush. [TOI p7]
SPORT NEWS
38. Vettel is the Champ, India the winner: Greater Noida : They came
expecting the worst. They left dazzled. Not only did India offer Formula
One a racing circuit rivalling the best in the world, it did so with typical
Indian warmth. Good tracks these F1 fellows are used to but friendly, open
people proved to be India’s greatest ambassadors.[HT p1]
