Posts Tagged ‘New Delhi’
Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Two people were killed when a mini-truck and an autorickshaw collided here due to fog, police said.
Motilal, 60, and Jaiprakash, 24, died in hospital where they were taken after the collision around Tuesday midnight near Holambi Chowk in Narela area of north Delhi, police said.
They were going in the autorickshaw along with three others, police said.
A case of negligent and rash driving was registered against the mini-truck driver, officer added.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Election Commission Wednesday expressed its “strong disapproval” of Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily’s remarks on raising the cap on LPG cylinder supply ahead of the Gujarat elections and asked him to be “circumspect in future.”
Moily, whom the commission Tuesday asked to explain his remark over LPG cap being increased from six to nine, in his reply to the commission Wednesday accepted that he made the announcement.
The commission said the remarks amount to violation of Model Code of Conduct as the first phase of the Gujarat elections are slated for Thursday. The second round is on Dec 17. Counting in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where polls were held Nov 4, will be on Dec 20.
“..the commission hereby conveys its strong disapproval of your above action and cautions you to be circumspect in future,” the panel said.
In its letter to the minister, secretary Harbans Singh said that though he said that the government is yet to take a decision in the matter, it has emerged that the cap on the supply of the subsidized LPG cylinders is being raised from the present six to nine a family a year.
“The commission is of the considered view that your above mentioned reply amounts to announcement of promise of financial grant by the government, which the Model Code of Conduct prohibits during its operation when the election process is on,” the poll panel said.
The poll panel said that when the Model Code of Conduct becomes effective, ministers and other authorities cannot make any announcement of any financial grants.
It said the announcement is thus “a clear violation both of the letter and spirit of the Model Code of Conduct.”
In his reply to the commission that was submitted Wednesday morning, Moily said there has been widespread demand from all sections of society, particularly women, for raising the cap on supply of domestic LPG cylinders.
In an event Tuesday, Moily told reporters that the LPG cap is “likely to go up definitely from six cylinders to nine cylinders”.
The minister said the decision to raise the cap will be taken by the union cabinet “very shortly”.
The government had, in September, limited the supply of subsidised LPG to six cylinders per household in a year.
Subsidised cooking gas costs Rs.410.50 per 14.2 kg cylinder at present. Additional requirements have to be bought at the market price of Rs.931.
Moily said as the capping decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, it would also decide on raising the cap.
Asked about the time-frame for the decision, he had said: “I think as early as possible.”
The government will have to provide an additional Rs.9,000 crore per annum if the cap is raised.
The petroleum minister had said the government was working on a “certain formula” to neutralise the impact of any additional subsidy burden, and he has had two rounds of discussions with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the issue.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Impatient over the delay in passing a bill that promises reservations for Dalits and tribals in job promotions, the BSP Wednesday stalled both houses of parliament, directly attacking Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Hamid Ansari.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, apparently, tried to hit two birds with one stone by telling Ansari that running the house was his responsibility, and putting pressure on the government by asking her party members not to let the Lok Sabha run.
A day after Ansari suggested scrapping or shifting the question hour as members were regularly disrupting the proceedings, Mayawati stunned the Rajya Sabha by blaming the chairman for non-functioning of the upper house.
“I am not ready to listen to anything…,” Mayawati said, interrupting the question hour.
“…The house does not run after 12. You are the chairman of the house. It is your responsibility that the house is in order,” she said.
Certain comments which launched a direct assault at the chair were however expunged later.
Ansari said he was “upset” by the comments and it would be difficult for him to work in such conditions.
“I am upset, it will be difficult to work in such a situation,” he said told some members, according to an MP present in a meeting soon after the house was adjourned.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and several key leaders were present at the meeting.
According to highly-placed sources, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Ansari after the incident and expressed his concern over the development.
Mayawati, however, defended her remarks and accused the government of not being serious about passing the promotion quota bill.
She said both the government and “BJP and company” had assured that the quota bill would be taken up after the house debated foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
By convention, members do not cast personal aspersions on the chair.
The chairman presides over the question hour while zero hour and subsequent proceedings are generally conducted by the deputy chairman.
A cabinet minister, who did not wish to be named, called Mayawati’s outburst “pressure tactics”.
“She is using pressure tactics by disrupting the Lok Sabha over coal blocks issue so the government pushes the jobs quota bill,” the minister told IANS.
Both the Congress and the BJP, meanwhile, made calculated comments terming Mayawati’s remark on Ansari “unfortunate”.
“It is unfortunate (Mayawati made the remarks)…the chairman made certain observations Tuesday, we should watch our conduct,” Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Renuka Chowdhury told reporters.
BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said: “It is unfortunate. The government is responsible for the situation, it is because of their behaviour they (BSP) are behaving like this.”
The upper house has witnessed repeated disruptions over the past week over the constitution amendment bill on promotion quotas.
While the BSP is pressing the government to pass the quota bill so that Mayawati can showcase it as a victory to her voters in Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state is dead opposed to the legislation to keep its other backward classes vote bank intact.
The Congress is in a bind as both the SP and the BSP helped the United Progressive Alliance win in parliament the crucial vote on allowing 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail last week.
Congress managers have been trying hard to end the logjam over the jobs promotion quota bill but have achieved little success so far.
An all-party meeting called by Ansari failed to find a solution.
Government sources said they were still hopeful of working out a compromise formula but agreed that the SP was proving to be a tough customer.
The Congress tried to hit the middle ground by saying the bill was an emotive issue for both the SP and the BSP but said it was different from FDI in retail.
“It is an emotive issue in a large state like Uttar Pradesh but it is different from the FDI issue,” said Chowdhury.
The Congress also said it could not force its views on any other party (read the SP).
“It is not for us to spell out our stand and force it down on any other party,” she said.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) “Something should be done to reduce…human sufferings,” Pakistani doctor Mohammad Khalil Chisty, a life convict set free by the Supreme Court in a 1992 murder case, Wednesday said seeking help for other convicts like him in both countries.
“In my opinion the justice system in our countries (India and Pakistan) is a lengthy process…something should be done to reduce the time (involved in deciding the cases) and to check the human sufferings,” he said, after the court allowed him to return to his country.
Saying that he was glad that he finally got justice from the Supreme Court, Chisty said: “Khuda ke ghar mein der hai, andher nahin.”
“I am, by training and birth, a Muslim who believes in the supremacy of Allah and Allah will not let me down,” he said.
He wished that the people of India and Pakistan should “live in a friendly manner and minor differences should not make them forget that once they were related to each other”.
Besides going back to Karachi, Chisty is also looking forward to revisiting Ajmer. “Yes I will (come again). Don’t forget it (Ajmer) is my birth place,” said the octogenarian.
Chisty said that all through his five-month stay in Pakistan, allowed during the pendency of his petition before the apex court, he was “haunted by the prospects of the worst”, if things did not go in his favour in the hearing of his appeal against the life sentence given to him for a murder he committed in Rajasthan.
On being told that he had not been acquitted but his conviction and sentence had been modified, Chisty said: “I don’t know what legal terminology is. As an ordinary person, I believe in result and not procedure.”
Saying that he would not have a hitch in coming back to India, Chisty said right now he just wanted to get back to his home in Karachi and spend some time with his family and his grand-children.
On going back to the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty in Ajmer, near which the murder took place, he said: “It is not the place that matters. The place is a piece of land and bricks. I belong to him (saint). He is a mediator between us and the God.”
Chisty praised his wife Mehrunisa who not only shouldered the burden of his family in the last 20 years but also arranged money for his bail.
The man who waged a two-decade legal battle overcame two heart attacks and a hip fracture during the period.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday launched memoirs of former Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati at an event at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The memoirs – titled ‘My Tryst With Justice’ – provide an insight into Justice Bhagwati’s career spread over many years as an advocate, judge and chief justice.
Highlighting and admiring Bhagwati’s achievements, the president said that he “humanised law” and proved how judges can be instrumental in helping the poor and backward.
“His contribution and continued efforts to improve justice system in India are remarkable through his judgments. He made justice more accessible for the poor,” said Mukherjee.
Bhagwati’s daughter Pallavi, speaking on behalf of her father, said that his spiritual learnings helped him a lot while passing judgments.
Also present at the event were External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Minister of Law and Justice Ashwani Kumar and Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir.
Bhagwati was appointed the 17th Chief Justice of India July 1985 and held that office till December 1986. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2007.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) A day before the Gujarat assembly poll, Chief Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday stirred a hornet’s nest by writing to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against handint over Sir Creek to Pakistan. In a strong rebuttal, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the claims are “unsubstantiated” “untrue” and “mischievous”.
In his letter, signed as “a concerned citizen”, the Gujarat chief minister said: “I am writing on a serious issue of talks being held on Sir Creek being handed over to Pakistan. Any attempt to hand over Sir Creek to Pakistan would be a strategic blunder considering the history and sensitivity of the region.”
The two-time Gujarat chief minister, said : “I would earnestly request you to stop this dialogue with Pakistan at once and Sir Creek should not be handed over to Pakistan.”
“I am writing to you at this juncture as I was told that a decision is being taken on Sir Creek issue on December 15,” Modi said in the letter.
He asked the prime minister to “stop taking any decision on this issue”.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik is likely to visit India December 14-16 for talks on the demarcation of the Sir Creek, among other issues.
In a strongly worded rebuttal, the PMO said : “The prime minister has received a letter dated 12th December 2012 from Narendra Modi, making unsubstantiated allegations and statements about discussions with Pakistan on the Sir Creek issue.”
“The contents of the letter and the timing of its release to the public, even before it was formally received in this office, raise questions about the motives behind its issue. The writing and release of this baseless letter by the Chief Minister of Gujarat in his ‘personal’ capacity, a day before elections in the state, is mischievous,” it added.
The first phase of the Gujarat elections are slated for Thursday, while the second phase is on Dec 17. Counting is on Dec 20. Modi, a senior BJP leader, who has been the chief minister of the state for two terms, is tipped to return to power once again.
The PMO also said the discussions with Pakistan had been carried out by successive Indian governments since the dialogue process began in 1998 and continued after former prime minister and Bharatitya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore in 1999.
“The allegation in the letter that Sir Creek is about to be given to Pakistan is untrue. Therefore, the other conclusions drawn by Modi from this alleged fact are also not real,” the statement said.
“It also seems that Modi has written his letter without making any efforts to ascertain the facts from the government of India,” it added.
Sir Creek is a 96-km-long disputed area between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which opens up into the Arabian Sea. The Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujrat and Pakistan’s Sindh province.
The marshy waterbody has been under dispute with the two countries and India and Pakistan have been discussing the issue for quite a long time.
In his letter, Modi said Sir Creek has been settled 100 years back between rulers of Kutch and Sindh.
“Even the tribunal verdict in 1968 headed by the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson shows Pakistan getting only 10 per cent of its claim of 9,000 sq kms of this border area,” he said.
“Handing over Sir Creek to Pakistan will totally open up Gujarat border with Pakistan. I was given to understand that recently Pakistan carried out a joint operation of their army, airforce and navy code named Sea-spark-12, almost one month ago very near to Sir Creek,” the chief minister alleged.
“Handing over Sir Creek to Pakistan will give them more control over the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the sea. This will be a permanent threat to fishermen of Saurashtra and Kutch area and also to the vital installations and major industrial installations like refineries and ports,” he said.
“Handing over Sir Creek to Pakistan will endanger our energy security as Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat has vast potential of oil and gas both off shore and onshore,” he said.
“At no point in the entire process has the Gujarat government been consulted. In a similar case of Teesta agreement with Bangladesh, West Bengal Chief Minister was consulted and the agreement was cancelled,” he added.
“After the elections are over in Gujarat, I shall seek your time to discuss this issue with you,” he added.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Wednesday said the claims made by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi that Sir Creek was being “handed over” to Pakistan was “unsubstantiated” and “mischievous” as they came a day before the first phase of theassembly elections in the state.
“The prime minister has received a letter dated 12th December 2012 from Narendra Modi, making unsubstantiated allegations and statements about discussions with Pakistan on the Sir Creek issue,” a PMO statement said.
“The contents of the letter and the timing of its release to the public, even before it was formally received in this office, raise questions about the motives behind its issue. The writing and release of this baseless letter by the Chief Minister of Gujarat in his “personal” capacity, a day before elections in the state, is mischievous,” it added.
The first phase of the Gujarat elections are slated for Thursday, while the second phase is on Dec 17. Counting is on Dec 20. Modi, a senior BJP leader, who has been the chief minister of the state for two terms, is tipped to return to power once again.
The PMO also said that the discussions with Pakistan has been carried out by successive Indian governments since the dialogue process began in 1998 and continued after former prime minister and Bharatitya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore in 1999.
“The allegation in the letter that Sir Creek is about to be given to Pakistan is untrue. Therefore, the other conclusions drawn by Modi from this alleged fact are also not real,” the statement said.
“It also seems that Modi has written his letter without making any efforts to ascertain the facts from the government of India,” it added.
Modi, who signed the letter as a “concerned citizen”, said that the prime minister should stop the dialogue with Pakistan on Sir Creek issue and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.
Sir Creek is a 96-km-long disputed area between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which opens up into the Arabian Sea. The Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujrat and Pakistan’s Sindh province.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday condoled the death of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, calling him a “creative and versatile genius” and “a national treasure”.
Ravi Shankar died at a US hospital Tuesday a few days after a heart valve replacement surgery. He was 92.
“His creative and versatile genius not only left an indelible mark on the world of Indian classical music but also popularised Indian classical music worldwide. Panditji’s passing away has left a void in the field of music which will be difficult to fill,” said Mukherjee.
Manmohan Singh called him a “national treasure”.
“An era has passed away with Pandit Ravi Shankar. The nation joins me to pay tributes to his unsurpassable genius, his art and his humility,” the Prime Minister’s Office posted on Twitter.
In his message, Vice President Hamid Ansari said: “Panditji was an iconic figure who had become a legend of music during his lifetime. His greatness was universally acknowledged.”
Minister of Culture Chandresh Kumari Katoch said: “In the history of Indian music, the mesmerising history-maker will go down as one who preserved India’s music through changing times, and gave it a fresh and new lease of life.”
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to stop the dialogue with Pakistan on Sir Creek and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.
“I am writing on a serious issue of talks being held on Sir Creek being handed over to Pakistan. Any attempt to hand over Sir Creek to Pakistan would be a strategic blunder considering the history and sensitivity of the region,” Modi said in his letter.
In his letter, the two times Gujarat chief minister, said : “I would earnestly request you to stop this dialogue with Pakistan at once and Sir Creek should not be handed over to Pakistan.”
Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is tipped to returnto power in the state for the third time, signed the letter as a “concerned citizen” as the state is going to the polls Thursday. The second phase of the poll is on Dec 17 and the counting is on Dec 20.
“I am writing to you at this juncture as I was told that a decision is being taken on Sir Creek issue on December 15,” Mr Modi said in the letter.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik is likely to visit India on December 14-16.
Sir Creek is a 96-km-long disputed area between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which opens into the Arabian Sea. The Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujrat state in India and the Sindh province of Pakistan.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Wednesday launched a verbal assault on Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, forcing the upper house to later expunge her more harsh remarks.
BSP chief Mayawati’s comments during question hour were expunged at three points, where she had launched a direct attack on the chair.
Other comments on the adjournments of the house were retained.
“I am not ready to listen to anything…” Mayawati had said, interrupting the question hour.
The comment following this was expunged.
“…The house does not run after 12. You are the chairman of the house. It is your responsibility that the house is in order,” she said.
Some comments at two more points were removed from the records.
The chairman appeared upset over the remarks.
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra Wednesday told a Delhi court he was ready to undergo a lie-detector test while two journalists of his channel arrested for an alleged Rs.100-crore extortion bid refused to do so.
Sudhir Chaudhary, head of Zee News, and Samir Ahluwalia, head of Zee Business, both in judicial custody, were accused of demanding Rs.100 crore from the Jindal Group in the form of advertisements to the channel.
The journalists told Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Rao that they were opposed to the lie-detector test but open to giving samples for voice tests.
Chandra agreed to undergo the lie detector test subject to the procedure and techniques used by the investigating agency.
He said he was undergoing some treatment and before taking the lie detector test, he would need to consult his doctors abroad.
The court issued a warrant for the presence of the two accused journalists before it Thursday and also asked advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Chandra, to ensure his client attended the proceedings the same day.
“To secure presence of the accused persons before the disposal of their applications under consideration. Accordingly, issue production warrant for both accused (Sudhir and Samir) on Dec 13,” the court said.
“As far as Chandra is concerned, his counsel Vijay Aggarwal has informed this court that he is ready to undergo lie detector test subject to the techniques used by the investigative agency for the test. Nonetheless, I deem it fit to secure his (Chandra) presence on Dec 13,” the metropolitan magistrate said.
The journalists were arrested here Nov 27 on charges of attempting to extort Rs.100 crore from Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s company Jindal Power and Steel Ltd. (JPSL) in exchange for not filing news reports linking the firm to the irregular coal blocks allocation.
Police booked both the journalists under Sections 384 (extortion), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Before arresting Chaudhary and Ahluwalia, police also charged them under Section 420 (cheating).
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Mohinder Amarnath, who called the selectors a “bunch of jokers” when he was dropped from the India team, Wednesday alleged that cricket board chief N. Srinivasan prevented the five wise men from sacking skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the disastrous Test series in Australia.
Amarnath’s comments come at a time when India are struggling to save the home Test series against England and have lost 10 of their last 13 matches.
The 62-year-old said the selection committee, including himself, took a unanimous decision to sack Dhoni post the 0-4 loss in Test series Down Under and field a new captain for the following one-day series. But BCCI chief Srinivasan overruled it.
“It was a unanimous decision of all five selectors. The board president did not approve the decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Amarnath told CNN-IBN.
“When you respect a person, you don’t ask questions…but my question here is: you have a selection committee which thinks what is best for Indian cricket, then why it is not given a free hand?”
“We were trying to look ahead, we wanted a young captain to come in, specially in triangular one-day series so that we can go ahead and do something better in near future…If we don’t look ahead, we won’t have a good team in the future.”
“We selected 17 players for the triangular series but we did not select the captain. The captain was selected by somebody else,” said the former India cricketer.
Asked why the panel did not go against the board at that time, Amarnath said: “Yes, we did think about that, but the decision was not to resign at that time. We did not want to create a big stir there as the team was playing abroad and the series was going on.”
The former India all-rounder’s revelation did not go down well with the board while his contemporary Sunil Gavaskar called the move “incredibly courageous”.
“I will not go into what he (Amarnath) has said. I don’t think this has ever happened. I don’t think it is appropriate to give statements like this,” BCCI senior official Rajeev Shukla told reporters here.
“Whatever one has to say, one can say while participating in the selection meeting. Making comments about selection issues is not appropriate as it creates some kind of perception in the minds of players and fans.”
“Selectors are independent. They are not under any pressure,” Shukla added.
Gavaskar, on the other hand, told NDTV that if someone has the courage of conviction, he has to be admired.
“He (Amarnath) is prepared to face the consequences. It is a testimony of his self-belief. It needs to be admired. What Jimmy has spoken is incredibly courageous and, maybe, lessons need to be learnt from that,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar said getting the team’s approval from the BCCI president was an age-old protocol.
“It’s a protocol, actually. Any team selected does go to the board for approval, not just the captain, even the 14 or 16 selected for a Test or for an overseas tour. That’s the protocol not just in India, but I understand that is the protocol even in Australia and England. The final approval is up to the board, so I don’t think it is out of the ordinary,” he summed up.
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