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New Delhi, June 5 — The Congress hit out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for questioning the relevance of Children’s Day, saying the BJP leader was “full of insecurities”.
At a convention of CMs of BJP-ruled states in Maharasthra, Modi wondered how Children’s Day has helped kids. Singhvi responded: “He should tell the nation how much good he has done to the children of Gujarat, many of who were orphaned in the violence unleashed by his approach.”
Uttan (Maharashtra), June 6 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday skipped the ongoing two-day party convention being held here due to ill health, a party official said.
Advani was scheduled to make a concluding speech Sunday afternoon but his trip was postponed at the last minute, the official told IANS.
In his place, opposition leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj was to make the concluding remarks on the charter of ‘National Convention on Good Governance’.
The convention has been a closed-door affair, conducted in the sylvan surroundings of Uttan, a village on the Arabian Sea coast, around 40 km north of Mumbai.
The morning session Sunday was addressed by senior party leaders M. Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar, among others.
A total 83 delegates were invited for what is billed as the ‘first of its kind convention involving so many state leaders on the vital issue of good governance’.
Besides party president Nitin Gadkari, who was present on the opening Saturday, the convention was attended by five chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. However, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Kumar could not make it as he lost his father a day before the event.
Two deputy chief ministers, including Sushilkumar Modi from Bihar and 73 ministers, besides the party chiefs of eight states also marked their attendance.
This is the first major convention of the BJP being held in Maharashtra after Gadkari, who hails from Nagpur, took over as party chief last year.
Lucknow, May 27 — The Samajwadi Party (SP) sprang a surprise on Wednesday by re-nominating actress-turned politician Jaya Bachchan for next month’s Rajya Sabha elections from UP. The move is likely to further alienate former SP leader Amar Singh, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s one-time close aide. Singh was forced to leave the party, along with actress Jayaprada, in February. The announcement also reflects the changed equations between Singh and the Bach-chan family. Singh used to call himself the younger brother of Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya’s superstar husband. He often stated the Bachchans were like family to him. When Singh left the SP, it was widely speculated Jaya would also go with him. But she remained with the SP, raising eyebrows. Jaya did support her political mentor in the days before he finally left the SP, but distanced herself later. In March, at a rally of Thakurs in New Delhi, Singh criticised her for staying with the party. This widened the rift between him and the Bachchans further.
Masood’s nomination is aimed at placating Muslim voters, who had deserted the SP when Yadav cosied up to his bete noire and former BJP leader Kalyan Singh in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.
Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), May 20 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi on Thursday said only talks can resolve the Maoist issue.
In a seemingly contradicting statement Modi said: “The Maoist issue can be solved through talks. The BJP is forcing the government to take harsh steps on them.”
“It is very sad to see that the youngsters are getting themselves involved in the Maoist group,” he added.
The BJP had on Tuesday demanded that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should bring the debate on Maoists problem to an end by clarifying his stand on the issue.
“Looking at the seriousness of the issue, the time has come when the Prime Minister should bring this debate to an end. He has to now stand up and clarify his stand,” said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
“The stand will have to clarify why the security agencies, the Home Minister, Home Ministry is finding themselves to be weak and crippled against this fight with the Maoists,” he added.
In the latest incident, about 35 people were killed when Maoists blew up a private bus near Dantewada in Chhattisgarh.
The bus was on its way from Dantewada to Sukma. The incident took place near Chingawaram, about nine kilometers from Sukma.
The bus was carrying 20 special police officers (SPO) and over 30 civilians. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 19 (ANI): Home Minister P. Chidambaram has suggested that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should maintain a bipartisan approach to the Maoists issue.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Chidambaram said: “I would appeal to all political parties, especially the BJP to maintain a bipartisan approach to deal with the Naxals.
Chidambaram was reacting to the comments made by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, wherein he is reported to have said that Chidambaram looked like an ”injured martyr” after Maoist rebels blew up a bus full of civilians in Chhattisgarh.
Chidambaram also spoke about the Central government”s strategy in dealing with the Maoists and termed it as a ”limited mandate” by contending it was the primary responsibility of the State governments to tackle the menace.
“Our mandate is to help the State governments take on the challenge of Naxalites by providing paramilitary forces, intelligence and technical assistance. It”s the State governments which have the primarily responsibility to tackle the menace of Naxalism. It is in that context that I said that our mandate is a limited mandate,” opined Chidambaram.
About 35 people were killed when Maoists blew up a private bus near Dantewada in Chhattisgarh.
The bus was on its way from Dantewada to Sukma. The incident took place near Chingawaram, about nine kilometers from Sukma.
The bus was carrying 20 special police officers (SPO) and over 30 civilians. (ANI)
Gandhinagar, May 10 (ANI): Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Praveen Togadia appeared before a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday for questioning in connection with his role in the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.
Togadia was accompanied by several VHP activists, who shouted ”Jai Shree Ram” slogans and sang bhajans outside the SIT office, till his questioning was completed.
Togadia was earlier asked to appear before the SIT on April 29, but failed to do so.
He was summoned by the SIT after it had questioned Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
On April 28, the Supreme Court gave an additional 15 days to the SIT, to conduct an inquiry against Modi and 62 others in connection with post-Godhra riots, and to submit its final report.
The Supreme Court had given the deadline to complete the inquiry into complaint of Zakia Jaffery in which she alleged that Modi, his cabinet colleagues, some police officials and senior bureaucrats aided and abetted the post-Godhra riots of 2002.
Zakia”s husband and ex-MP Ehsan Jaffrey was among the 69 killed during the 2002 riots in the Gulburg Society.
SIT has already recorded statements of a number of persons named in Zakia”s complaint, which include former Minister of State for Home Gordhan Zadafia, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader I K Jadeja, former BJP MLA from Lunawada Kalu Malivad and sitting MLA from Mehsana Anil Patel, former IPS officer R B Sreekumar, social activist Teesta Setalvad, IG Shivanand Jha, some other senior police officers and political leaders. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 5 (ANI): The tug-of-war between Union Sports Minister M S Gill and Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi over the tenure of sport association heads notwithstanding, the Centre is all set to file an affidavit before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
In the affidavit the Centre will explain its stand on the implementation of a regulation clause.
The clause essentially limits the tenure of sporting bosses to 12 years or a retirement age of 70 years.
At the last hearing, the Delhi High Court had criticised the government for its indecisiveness on the clause.
Earlier Advocate Rahul Mehra had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding more accountability in the functioning of national sports bodies.
The PIL states that National Sports Federations (NSFs) are not run by professionals, but by politicians, and added tat elections to these bodies are flawed.
Mehra tried to draw the attention of the court to the fact that that the IOA enjoys enormous power, which it misused.
Some of those who could be affected by the government”s decision are Kalmadi, who has been at the helm of the IOC for 15 years , exceeding his term by three years.
Digvijay Singh, who has been the Vice President of the IOC for ten years and has two years left can also be affected by the row.
Senior BJP leader V K Malhotra, who has been President of the All India Archery Association for 31 years, exceeding his tenure by 19 years, and Jagdish Tytler, who has exceeded his tenure by two years, are also in the eye of the storm.
Another senior BJP leaderYashwant Sinha has also exceeded his tenure as president of the All India Tennis Association by five years. (ANI)
New Delhi, Apr 29 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said that it is firm on its decision to withdraw support from the Shibu Soren”s Government in Jharkhand after he voted against the cut motion.
The BJP said there is no indication from the party”s Parliamentary Board to reconsider decision on Soren.
Shibu Soren”s son Hemant Soren had on Wednesday expressed his regret to the BJP for his father”s error, asserting that the Chief Minister was ready to resign and urged the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to take a fresh initiative to form a government with a new leader.
Hemant said the state wasn”t ready to face another poll.
“The JMM is ready to make a sacrifice for Guruji”s (Soren”s) mistake,” he said.
The BJP has, however, declined the offer made by Hemant Soren.
Asked whether Hemant”s “offer” would prompt a rethink, senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said: “We can hear out the father and son. We are going to meet the governor tomorrow. But we will also discuss with the party”s state unit and get a sense of what they feel.”
“All this wisdom should have dawned on Hemant Soren before voting,” said a BJP leader.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the BJP Parliamentary Board has met today under the leadership of Lal Krishna Advani and Sushma Swaraj to decide further proceedings.
The BJP leaders in Jharkhand as reported will meet the Governor only after a nod from the Central leadership.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led Government in Jharkhand was reduced to a minority on Wednesday after the BJP withdrew its support, as it was reportedly upset withy Soren for he voted with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government on the cut motion.
After the BJP”s pullout, the ruling coalition has been reduced to 28 from 46 in a House of 81.
Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on December 30, 2009 for the third time.
He had formed the government with a five-party coalition.
Soren had secured the support of 44 MLAs in the 81-member House after the assembly elections in Jharkhand gave a fractured verdict.
The JMM had 18 seats, BJP had 18 seats, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) had two seats, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) had five seats and Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch (JJM) had one seat in the assembly.
The Congress has 18 seats in the assembly. (ANI)
New Delhi, Apr 28 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday withdrew its support for Shibu Soren”s Government in Jharkhand for voting against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)”s cut motion.
The BJP took a final call on ties with Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren”s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) at its Parliamentary Board meeting held here today.
“We are withdrawing support from the government in Jharkhand. Deputy Chief Minister Raghuvar Das would be reaching Ranchi today and handing over the withdrawal letter to the Governor,” said BJP General Secretary Anant Kumar after the Parliamentary Board meeting.
“All BJP ministers would resign with immediate effect,” he added.
The BJP was reportedly upset with Soren for he voted with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government on the cut motion.
Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu had earlier this morning said the party would take a final call on ties with Soren at the meeting.
“How can one ally claim he voted for the UPA by mistake,” said Naidu.
Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on December 30, 2009 for the third time.
He had formed the government with a five-party coalition.
Soren had secured the support of 44 MLAs in the 81-member House after the assembly elections in Jharkhand gave a fractured verdict.
The JMM had 18 seats, BJP had 18 seats, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) had two seats, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) had five seats and Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch (JJM) had one seat in the assembly.
The Congress has 18 seats in the assembly. (ANI)
New Delhi, Apr 26 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on Monday has called for the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the phone-tapping issue.
Speaking in the Parliament today he asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give a detailed explanation on the phone-tapping issue. “We demand a JPC probe into the whole episode…We will be satisfied only if PM gives an explanation,” Advani said.
Advani said phone tapping reminded one of the emergency, as it was very common during the emergency to tap phones.
Earlier on Sunday in his blog, Advani expressed shock over reports in a section of media describing the involvement of government agencies in tapping the phones of senior politicians.
“It is a shocking report describing how the Government of India has been making use of the latest phone tapping technology to prepare records of telephonic conversations of prominent political leaders,” Advani said.
On Saturday, a section of the media reported that government agencies have been tapping the telephones of Bihar Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.
Advani demanded the scrapping of the outdated Telephone Act and to bring a new legislation to protect citizens” privacy.
“What is really required in this context is to set up a Parliamentary Committee on the lines of the Birkett Committee in Britain to examine all aspects of the problem, scrap the outdated Indian Telephone Act of 1885 and replace it by a new legislation which forbids invasion of an ordinary citizen”s privacy,” Advani said.
He said a new law should formally recognise the right of the State to use the latest IT devices of interception to deal only with crime, subversion and espionage.
Advani said the law must provide statutory safeguards, which make it impossible for the Government to abuse its powers against political activists and journalists.
Advani”s blog mentioned many incidents of phone tapping in the past including a press conference of June 25, 1985, on the 10th anniversary of Emergency by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He said Vajpayee had then referred to large-scale phone tapping that was done during the 19 months of Emergency.
Meanwhile, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been adjourned till noon over the issue.
”Outlook” magazine in a cover story has reported that government”s intelligence agencies had tapped the phones of the Communist leader, Prakash Karat, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar among others. (ANI)
Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 26 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi, on Friday told a Rae Bareilly court that senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani gave incendiary speeches on December 6, 1992 asserting that the temple would be built at the same place.
Gupta, who was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period, said in the court, “I received Advani from the Faisabad border and he was present at the Ram Katha Kunj along with a host of other BJP leaders.”
“Kalraj Mishra, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Giriraj Kishore, Ashok Singhal and Pramod Mahajan were the other leaders present at the venue,” she added.
“Advani said to his supporters that the temple would be built at the same place,” she claimed.
Encouraged by Advani”s speech, Gupta further said the ”Kar Sevaks” moved towards the area with daggers in their hands, as the Ram Katha Kunj was only 150 meters away from the site.
She also said that senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar provoked the crowd.
Earlier, she arrived in court this morning to record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders.
Gupta was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ”kar seva” at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.
Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight over the demolition of the mosque.
CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.
A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy – Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.
The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code – Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI”s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)
Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 26 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi has arrived at a Rae Bareilly court to record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders.
Gupta was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ”kar seva” at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.
Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight over the demolition of the mosque.
CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.
A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy – Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.
The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code – Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI”s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)
Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 25 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi might record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders in a Rae Bareilly court on Friday.
Gupta was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ”kar seva” at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.
Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight.
CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.
A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy – Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.
The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code – Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI”s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)
New Delhi, Mar 24 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a demonstration outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to protest against increase in prices of essential items and imposition of Value Added Tax on items of daily use.
Carrying placards and an eight-foot-high cut-out of a milk bottle, a large number of activists gathered outside the Chief Minister”s residence and shouted slogans against her.
Addressing the protesters, senior BJP leader Vijay Goel accused the Delhi Government of delaying projects related to the Commonwealth Games and then awarding them to a few favoured contractors through work orders instead of tendering process.
“Common man is being robbed in the name of Commonwealth Games. Sheila Dikshit government has become the government of privileged few. Money is being squandered away in the name of Commonwealth Games. The money is being spent wrongly, there is mismanagement and above all there is rampant corruption. Corruption is to the tune of millions and billions of rupees that must be probed,” Goel said.
The Delhi Government in its annual Budget raised the value added tax to 20 percent from the current 12.5 percent to finance an additional expenditure of rupees 11 billion, mainly to finance the ensuing Commonwealth Games being stage in New Delhi.
The Delhi Government also withdrew the subsidy of rupees 40 on LPG cylinders and levied a five percent VAT on CNG. (ANI)
New Delhi, Mar. 16 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded discussion on the cabinet”s proposal to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in the country.
The BJP has demanded a thorough discussion before its introduction.
“This is not a Bill which can be passed upon introduction. It is a Bill which can change our education system and can modify our education system. Keeping all these things in mind, we will keep a keen watch on the Bill that is put before the Parliament by the cabinet and discuss whether it is to be taken up or not,” said S.S. Ahluwalia, senior BJP leader.
In a move that could reduce the flow of Indian students abroad, the Government on Monday approved a proposal to allow foreign universities to set up campuses.
Road and Transport Minister Kamal Nath told reporters that the long-standing proposal to reform the education sector will now go to Parliament for ratification.
The entry of foreign universities has been opposed by political parties in the past due to lack of affordability by the poor.
But experts have called for a revamp of the Indian education system, which focuses on learning by rote.
Goldman Sachs counts the lack of quality education as one of the 10 factors holding India back from rapid economic growth.
The demand for graduates over the next five years is likely to be 13.8 million, analysts have estimated.
But with only 13.2 million students graduating over the same period, India will face a shortfall of 600,000 graduates. (ANI)
New Delhi, Mar. 15 (ANI): The expected face-off between the UPA Government and the Opposition over the former”s proposed Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill has fizzled out with the UPA saying it will not table the Bill that provides for compensation in case of a nuclear accident for discussion today.
The BJP and the Left have already indicated opposition to the Bill that is key to operationalise the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani said the Government must give reasons for not tabling the Bill for a discussion, when it already figures in the day”s listed business.
The Bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.
However, the draft bill also has provisions that would enable the government to either increase or decrease the amount of liability of any operator.
“At the introduction itself we will oppose unless the government assures us that it would be sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee,” a private television channel quoted CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury, as saying.
The BJP is also understood to have expressed concern over the Rs 300 crore limits in the liability of the nuclear power plant operator.
“All these issues are there and we will discuss all that in the standing committee,” said Yechury when asked about the Rs 300 crore limits.
Reports had it that the government was keen on getting the Bill passed in the ongoing budget session itself.
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon had met BJP leader Arun Jaitley to brief him about the Bill, but the main opposition is yet to have all its concerns addressed.
Jaitley is understood to have given a list of queries regarding the Bill to Menon but was yet to get any reply.
The Bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on November 20 last year.
According to the provisions in the draft legislation, the operator would not be liable for any nuclear damage if the incident was caused by “grave national disaster of exceptional character”, armed conflict or act of terrorism and suffered by person on account of his own negligence.
Former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and key architect of the Indo-US nuclear deal Anil Kakodkar feels that the liability limit is optimum.
The Bill also provides for establishment of Nuclear Damage Claims Commission which will have one or more claims commissioners for a specified area.
The claims commissioner shall have all powers of a civil court for the purpose of taking evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents and other material objects.
Environment activists have described as a violation of fundamental rights the proposed attempt to cap the level of compensation to victims of a nuclear accident. “Under Article 21 of the Constitution, there is no warrant or justification for capping nuclear liability,” noted jurist Soli Sorabjee said in his opinion to Greenpeace.
Issues relating to the remaining steps of the nuclear deal — reprocessing pact and civil liability legislation — are expected to be key points in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh”s agenda when he meets US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit next month.
After award of compensation, the operator has the right to appeal in three cases, one of which is when he argues that the incident resulted from “willful act or gross negligence” of a supplier of material, equipment or services.
The right to claim compensation has a limit of 10 years from the date of incident. The exception is of stolen, lost, jettisoned or abandoned nuclear material, where the period is increased to 20 years.
The government is expected to argue that the legislation is necessary as the Atomic Energy Act that governs the nuclear power sector is silent on compensation.
Several insurance companies also do not cover injuries caused due to radiation.
The state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India that operates all atomic power plants in the country has set aside Rs 500 crore to meet compensation requirements in case of a nuclear incident. (ANI)
New Delhi, Mar 10 (ANI): To reduce the gap between past and current ex-servicemen pensioners, the Central Government has accepted all the recommendations of the committee under the Cabinet Secretary to look into the issue of disparity in pensions and other related matters.
The Government had already accepted five of the seven recommendations that the committee made, and now the remaining two have also been implemented after the Finance Ministry”s go ahead.
Defence Ministry sources said the Government has already issued notification for the implementation of all seven recommendations made by the committee.
“The effort of the Government has always been to improve the pension of ex-servicemen, who had been demanding grant of OROP. The recommendations made by the committee has been accepted by the government,” the source said.
“Implementation of these orders will not only significantly reduce the gap between the past and the current pensioners, but will also considerably improve the pension of ex-servicemen. It will benefit 12 lakh ex-soldiers at a cost of Rs.2200 crore approximately per annum,” the source added.
The ex-servicemen association said the Committee had only recommended the dividing line between the pre-1997 and post 1997 pensioners to be removed. They equated the pre-1997 pensioners with post-1997 and pre-2006 pensioners, thus removing a 12 years old anomaly. But the difference between the pre and post 1.1.2006 pensioners stays untouched. It did not even touch OROP.
There was a spat between senior BJP leader LK Advani and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh over the issue when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had specifically said he had accepted Rs 2,100-crore increase in expenditure per year for the purpose of one-rank-one-pension (OROP).
The Prime Minister had informed the House that whatever the Finance Minister had stated in his Budget speech had been implemented. Advani then expressed satisfaction saying, “Well, if it has been implemented, I am very happy. But I can tell you that this is not the feeling that I got from the ex-servicemen.”
“Advani informed BJP MPs about PM”s claim in Lok Sabha that the government had implemented its decision on enhancement of pension to JCOs (junior commissioned officers) and jawans (soldiers). No JCO or jawan has received any such order. This is a very serious matter of parliamentary impropriety,” BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday quoting Advani. (ANI)
New Delhi, March 5 (ANI): Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Friday described the ”paid news” as a serious matter and, said right of the public to receive correct and balanced information needs to be ensured.
In response to a ”Calling Attention Notice” on the issue, Soni said in the Rajya Sabha today, ” There exists strong circumstantial evidence of the malpractices,” and added that the phenomenon of ”paid news” is a serious matter as it influences functioning of a free press.
“When paid information is presented as news content, it could mislead the public and thereby hamper their judgement to form a correct opinion. Thus, there is no denying the fact that there is an urgent need to protect public”s right to correct and unbiased information,” she added.
Soni claimed the issue has wide ranging implications on the democratic structure and, it was important for all sections of society to look into the matter seriously.
The Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) has named six newspapers carrying numerous ”paid news” stories, she said in response to the notice given by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury.
Concerned over the issue, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said there should be a check on these malpractices and a regulator should be employed in the field to impose ”deterrent” penalties.
Jaitley sought to know from the Central Government whether they would take appropriate steps to root out the problem. (ANI)
Mumbai, Sep 19(ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena on Saturday expressed confidence about emerging victorious in the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
“It is 45 years since Shiv Sena came into being. And this first day of Navaratri happens to be a red-letter day in the history of Shiv Sena that has crusaded for the cause of Samyukta (unified) Maharashtra. Considering all these aspects, I feel it is an auspicious timing (of) declaring the seat arrangement and we are confident of our combine emerging victorious,” said Uddhav Thackeray, Executive President of Shiv Sena party.
Leaders of both the parties confirmed that there was no bargaining for seats between the two allies.
“Today, is the first day of Dussera and we have arrived at the figures of seat sharing. Yes, it is 169 and 119. The 169 in favour of Shiv Sena and 119 for BJP and it will be interesting to note that both the figures end in 9, a lucky number; 169 and 119. And now onwards we will work on joint strategy. There is no clash of interests and now onwards we will devote to the selection of suitable candidates,” said Gopinath Munde, senior BJP leader.
In the 2004 elections, Shiv Sena had contested for 171 seats while BJP had contested for 117 and jointly they had bagged 119 seats in the legislative house of 289 members.
The alliance of Congress and regional National Congress Party (NCP) had emerged victorious in the 2004 polls. (ANI)
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Congress ticks off Jairam Ramesh for comments on Home Ministry
New Delhi, May 10 (ANI): Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Monday criticized Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh for his alleged comments in China on the Home Ministry.
“It was not proper for Jairam Ramesh to comment on another ministry. He should have not made those comments,” said Singhvi.
“Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has made his displeasure clear to the Union Minister,” he added.
Further lashing out at Ramesh”s comments, Singhvi said: “We don”t approve of the comments made by Jairam Ramesh. Yes, as a party, we disapprove his comments.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought an explanation from the Prime Minister on the whole issue.
“Lobbyists have entered the Union Cabinet. Prime Minister must reign in his ministers and give an explanation on the whole issue,” said a BJP leader.
Dr Singh reportedly spoke to Ramesh over his critical comments.
PMO sources said Dr Singh asked Ramesh not to comment on the functioning of other ministries.
On a visit to China this weekend at an international conference on climate change, Ramesh embarrassed his own government by using words like ”alarmist” and ”paranoid” for the Home Ministry”s policies on the entry of Chinese companies in India. (ANI)