another son rise in Congress

another son - rise

DIGGY RAJA SON

 IN CONGRESS POLITICS

by delhi correspondent

Jaivardhan Singh, son of Digvijay Singh, the general-secretary of the All India Congress  Committee, is all set to make his debut in the family profession of politics.

Another son rise in Congress, next to Jagan Reddy, SachinPilot

and son of Home Minister....

A product of Doon School, Jaivardhan was recently introduced to the 

faithful in the family pocket borough of Raghogarh, which was formerly 

part of the Gwalior empire.as stated by Telegraph of Kolkata 

The arrival of a promising newcomer in the 

scene always creates quite a stir. Jyotiraditya Scindia, for one, who has 

a stronghold in the neighbouring Guna parliamentary seat, should have 

cause to worry. 

And the competition seems to be mounting, with another 

Scindia scion, Akshay Bhansali, son of Yashodhara Raje Scindia, testing 

the grounds at the picturesque Shivpuri. Meanwhile, Digvijay’s politician

brother, Laxman, too, has quit the Bharatiya Janata Party and is 

knocking on the Congress’s door. It remains to be seen how 

Diggy Raja would strike a balance between his son and brother.

ENDS

SC ON TELANGANA

show details 4:37 PM (4 hours ago)

Supreme Court today declined to interfere in the Telangana controversy and said it is a political decision and court won't intervene at this stage.

SC said, " why should supreme court entertain at this stage. It is a political decision. So far no decision has been taken by the Centre. Why should we preempt?"

SC was hearing two petitions challenging the constitution of Sri Krishna Commission to decide the issue of creation Telangana.

The petitioners told court there are no proper parameters  for creating a separate state and it can't be done as per  demands if politicians and public demands.

Sri Krishna Commission is presently examining the demand for separate telangana

SC said till date no law has been made for a separate Telangana and when such a law is made the court will consider if petition is filed.

LALU PRASAD TAKES OVER AS PM OF THE PEOPLE'S GOVT

20 Aug 2010

LALU TAKES OVER AS PM OF 'PEOPLE'S GOVT'

From Our Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad's dream of becoming one day the Prime Minister of India came true on Friday when he took over as the "elected Prime Minister of People's Government" and put BJP leader Gopinath munde in the Speaker's chair to conduct a mock session of Parliament after Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day due to rumpus over the MPs' salary hike.

After a brief sitting, he announced that members of the "new government" will meet again on Saturday at 10 am to discuss and grant the salary hike to the MPs. "There was no leader of the Opposition nor any Opposition party as ours is a national government, with all participants as members of the treasury benches," Lalu Prasad told reporters.

Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Prasad were in the well with the party MPs in the regular session earlier to plead that they should be heard on the Government insulting the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) by diluting its recommendation to raise the MPs salary to Rs 80,001, one rupee more than the government secretaries.

The BJP members joined them in an impromptu "dharna" (sit-in) in the well after the Deputy Speaker ended the official sitting of the House and it was at this stage that a bright idea struck to Lalu to become the PM and urge Mulayam help "Speaker" Munde conduct the proceedings in which some 70 MPs participated. Among those told by Munde to wind up speech fast for paucity of time included BJP member Maneka Gandhi.

The mike system in the Lok Sabha hall was switched off, but it mattered little as everyone raised voice to participate in a brief debate condemning the "outgoing" UPA government for "undemocratic and unconstitutional" way it got passed two important Bills -- Medical Council Bill and Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill -- without any debate.

Lalu Prasad strongly objecting to a reporter asking about sanctity of the farce, asserting that he was elected "prime minister for today." As for Saturday, he said: "We will see what is to be done tomorrow. I heard the views of the 'House' and the people's government decided to reject outright the bills cleared today," he affirmed.

He said MPs not allowed to be heard except when the UPA government consented had no choice but to form the "people's government" to carry on their agenda and reverse the business conducted by the ousted government.

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LALU PRASAD IS THE NEW PRIME MINISTER

A MOCK PARLIAMENT ENACTED

By Delhi correspondent

The brainwave to take over as the PM came to Lalu Prasad when the MPs on "dharna" in the House well praised him for providing leadership in fight for the salary hike. "OK, I am your leader. I will fulfil all your demands," Lalu declared and treated their clapping as accepting him as the "prime minister."

Immediately after the House was earlier adjourned by the deputy speaker, the opposition leaders rushed to the Speaker's chamber, just behind the podium, to protest but Meira Kumar was not present. They returned to the House and Mulayam and Munde squatted on the floor with the MPs while Lalu stood there, exhorting them to stay put through the day and night.

Thus began the mock session. Lalu wanted it to go on but Mulayam chose to adjourn the House until 10 am on Saturday after a brief discussion, telling the presiding Munde why the MPs should stay for long hours until they get better salary. Munde agreed to allow discussion on the subject first when the House reassembles on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal blasted Lalu, Mulayam and Munde for enacting a "theatre of the absurd" in the highest temple of democracy, making excuse of the Bills passed in din without debate.

He said there have been many occasions when the Bills are passed without debate due to pandemonium and urgency of passing the Medical Council Bill was necessary as the Ordinance promulgated earlier would have otherwise lapsed.

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BJP DOES WELL IN RAJASTHAN CIVIC POLLS

BJP races past ruling Cong in Rajasthan civic body polls

     Jaipur, Aug 20 (PTI) The BJP today raced past the

Congress in Rajasthan civic body polls capturing power in 57

of the 126 municipal bodies and relegating the ruling party to

the second position with a tally of 49.

     The BJP won 57 posts of chairpersons, Congress 49, BSP

two, NCP one and Independents 17, state Election Commissioner

A K Pandey said.

     The party maintained its winning run in the election to

the posts of ward councillors as well emerging victorious in

1071 out of 2707 wards whose results have been declared so

far, said the official.

     Congress has won in 1025 wards, Independents 574, NCP-21,

BSP-14, and CPI-M 2, he said.

     In the last civic body polls held in the state in 2005

with Vasundhara Raje at the helm, the BJP had formed 81

municipal boards, the Congress 33, and Independents-17.

     Reacting to her party's impressive show in a jubiliant

mood, BJP General Secretary and former chief minister

Vasundhara Raje congratulated party workers saying that the

results were an indication that the reverse countdown for the

Gehlot government had begun.

     "The electorate have rejected the Gehlot government's

misrule of the last 20 months", Raje commented in a statement

here.

     "Janta Gehlot raj ke kushashan se tang aachuki hai"

(People are tired of Gehlot's misrule)", she alleged.

     Despite misusing official machinery the Congress

candidates could not win as the party and the government both

lost public mandate, she said.

     At a press conference the BJP state president Arun

Chaturvedi said it was the worst defeat of the ruling Congress

party as its four union ministers Mahadev Singh Khadela in

Sikar, Namonarayan Meena in Tonk, C P Joshi in Bhilwara, and

Sachin Pilot in Ajmer could not enable their candidates to win

chairpersons' posts.

     Similary about 15 ministers of the Gehlot government

tried their best to boost the morale of Congress candidates

but failed miserably, Chaturvedi said.

     When contacted a PCC Spokesman said as compared to the

previous civic election in 2005, the Congress gained 33 to 49,

while BJP lost 27 chairpersons' posts. PTI

pawar no to give foodgrains free

19 Aug 2010

PAWAR'S 'NO' TO GIVE FOODGRAINS FREE

From Our Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI: Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday ruled out distribution of foodgrains free to the poorest as suggested by the Supreme Court to prevent stocks in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) rot for want of enough godowns. 

Talking to reporters here, he said this did not mean any defiance of the Supreme Court as the government is already selling foodgrains at very cheap rates to the poorest families as advised by i as an alternative to free distribution. The government is already providing wheat and rice at cheaper rates to the poor, he pointed out.

“We cannot distribute freely. Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) is applicable to the poorest of poor. We are buying wheat at Rs. 16 a kg and distributing at Rs. 2 a kg. What (the) Supreme Court is telling, we are already doing it,” he noted. 

However, it is not possible to implement the Supreme Court's order to give way grains free if they cannot be properly stored and spoil in the rains, he said, pointing out that the government was already giving a push to increase the storage capacity in a big way by building godowns in government as well as private sector.

BJP RESENTS: The main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party reacted sharply to Pawar's remarks, pointing out that the government will allow foodgrains to rot but not distribute them to poor. If Pawar has problem in free distriution, he can increase the PDS allocation from 15 kg per month to 35 kg per month and shift surplus foodgrains rotting in open to other states where they can be properly stored, BJP deputy leader Gopinath Munde in Lok Sabha told a press conference here.

He said it is the government's responsibility to ensure that whatever foodgrains are procured do not go waste and should be disposed off at the earliest as godowns cannot be built overnight to store them properly. He also wondered why the government was dragging feet in its poll promise of giving 35 kg of foodgrains every month to the BPL (below poverty line) families.

FCI, which is the nodal government agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, is having stocks much above its capacity to store. As per government records, it had stocks of 57.8 million tonnes on August 1 against the buffer norms of 31.9 million tonnes.

On Monday, a Bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma gave direction to the Centre that "give it to the hungry poor instead grains going down the drain." The direction came on a PIL (public interest litigation) filed by civil rights group PUCL on foodgrains rotting in FCI facilities as they were stored in open and poor starving because of rampant corruption in the public distribution system (PDS).

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GOVT TAKES CONTROL OF COMMONWEALTH GAMES

19 Aug 2010

GOVT TAKES CONTROL OF COMMONWEALTH GAMES

R Rajagopalan/Jal Khambata
NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth Games control finally came in the government's hands on Thursday, with ten senior bureaucrats of joint secretary rank moving in to take charge of the scams-hit Organising Committee headed by Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi to ensure hiccups in the mega internatonal event do not smudge India's reputation.

Though all Organising Committee officials have been told that they will be answerable to these bureaucrats henceforth, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) sources claimed the new arrangement does not amount to the takeover of the committee registered in 2005 as an autonomous body. The bureaucrats have been deputed to assist the committee, they affirmed. Kalmadi and company, however, will be there now only for namesake as decorative figures with no powers to take decisions.

Orders to the bureaucrats, who will be functioning from the organising committee headquarters in the NDMC building on the Parliament Street, are quite clear. They have to take charge of different Games venue and will be responsible if anything goes wrong at the venues under their command.

LINE-UP: A senior secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat has been also posted with the organising committee, with overriding powers over Kalmadi and other top executives. The bureaucrats posted at the Games venues will be reporting to him for any urgent government actions necessary, the PMO sources said.

They said posting of the bureaucrats completes the new arrangement ordered by the Prime Minister last Saturday after holding a meeting with all stakeholders involved in making arrangements for the Games, expressing his concern over irregularities and delays that necessiated the government's intervention.

SONIA'S STRESS: The new arrangement in place with just 45 days to go for the Games comes on a day when Congress President Sonia Gandhi described the event as a "matter of national pride" and called for all efforts to make it a success. 

She made it clear at a meeting of the Congress MPs that she would see to it that nobody involved in corruption in making arrangements for the Games will be spared. She also congratulated the Prime Minister for taking the arrangements in his hand by appointing a Group of Ministers (GoMs) to handle the remaining preparations and make the Games successful.

NO COST OVERRUNS!: Meanwhile, the government claimed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that various agencies engaged in the Commonwealth Games projects, including upgradation and augmentation of Delhi city's infrastructure, have not overshot expenditure as against the estimated or approved amounts and in fact the expenditure incurred so far is much less in many cases despite the cost overruns because of change of scope of work, additions to make venues meet various standards, adoption of richer specifications and revisions in detailed designs.

"Agencies responsible for implementation of the Games-related projects have informed that many projects have been completed and some projects are at advanced stage of completion," Saugata Roy, a junionr minister to Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy, said in a written reply to Bharatkumar Raut. In reply to another question by BJP's Maya Singh, he also put on record the irregularities pinpointed by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on the basis of intensive examination of 16 works by its technical unit.

If the minister's reply is to be believed, far more amounts were sanctioned for various projects than the actual need. Here are details of funds sanctioned and expenditure incurred as given by the minister:

-- Sports Authority of India and CPWD responsible for stadia and streetscaping around Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, venue for opening and closing ceremonies and some sports events, were sanctioned Rs 2477.46 crores while the expenditure incurred so far is Rs 1927.05 crores.

-- Delhi Government: Sanctioned Rs 5336.49 crores for stadium, flyovers, road improvement, streetscaping, street lighting, road signages and development of park. Expenditure made Rs 3898.83 crores.

-- Delhi Development Authority (DDA): Sanctioned Rs 1405 crores for Games village, competition and training venues, beautification and construction of flyovers and renovation of foothpaths. Expenditure incurred Rs 960 crores.

-- Municipal Corporation of Delhi : Sanctioned Rs 751.85 crores for beautification and construction of flyovers and renovation of footpaths. Expenditure made Rs 513 crores.

-- New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC): Sanctioned Rs 385.52 crores for Talkatora Stadium and for beautification of NDMC area, construction of footover bridges, streetscaping, etc. Expenditure made Rs 196.26 crores. 

-- Delhi University, Jamia Millia and Delhi Public School, RKM: Sanctioned Rs 350.71 crores for competition and training venues. Expenditure made Rs 278.73 crores.

-- All India Tennis Association: Rs 65.65 crores for renovating R K Khanna Tennis Stadium. Expenditure incurred Rs 60.15 crores.

-- CRPF: Rs 28.50 crores for Kadarpur Shooting Range, Gurgaon. Expenditure made Rs 25.31 crores.

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union ministers kept away from nuke liability bill

18 Aug 2010

NOT ONLY OPPOSITION, EVEN MINISTRIES
KEPT IN DARK ON NUKE BILL

From Our Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI: With the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science clearing the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill with certain changes in its report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, decks were clear for its passage next week to show-case for start of nuclear busienss with United States and other nuclear nations during US President Obama's Delhi visit in November.

Though the committee has incorporated amendments necessary to take the BJP on board for getting the Bill passed without any hurdle, it has given a stinking note on how the government did not bother to take into confidence even its own ministries on the draft bill tabled in the Lok Sabha last May 7.

"Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, Labour and Employment, Food and Public Distribution, etc. replied in the negative" when asked if their views were obtained by the government before bringing the bill before Parliament, says the standing committee report tabled in both the Houses amid cries of "BJP-Government trade-off."

In its recommendation, the committee headed by Congress MP Subbarami Reddy says: "...in future government should consult all such ministries / departments which are even remotely concerned with the provisions of a proposed legislation." The committee, in fact, chose to take opinion of not only experts but also several ministries, including home, water resources, environment, power, and law and justice.

Instead of limiting the nuclear supplier's liability to "wilful act or gross negligence," the committee expanded conditions for his responsibility and suggested that the nuclear plant operator should provide for damages in the contract entered by the nuclear plant operator with the supplier for recovery after compensating the victims in case of any nuclear accident. 

Though the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 prohibits private nuclear power plants, the committee has recommended, as an abandoned precaution, to insert a clause that the bill to be passed applies "only to nuclear installations owned and controlled by the Central Government either by itself or through any authority or corporation established by it or a government company."

"This will make the position clear that there will be no private operator of nuclear  installation," the report said. After tabling the report, Reddy told a Press conference that this clarity was felt necessary as otherwise the government will be bound by the bill to pay liabilities of any private nuclear power plant allowed in future.

Dr Barun Mukherji of Forward Block, who filed a dissent note, was not satisfied even with this clarity as he says the Atomic Energy Act permits private participation in nuclear power generation up to 50 per cent and hence better should be to exclude "joint ventures between private and government companies."

Conceding the BJP's viewpoint, the committee also tweaked the maximum amount of liability in each nuclear incident beyond the Rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights to allow "higher amount as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time." It also raised the operator's liability from Rs 500 crores to Rs 1500 crores as it felt otherwise the low amount will result in the operator "marginalising the issue of safety and security of the nuclear power plant."

The committee also disfavoured powers to the government to increase or decrease the operator's liability through notification, saying the government may increase the amount but in no case it should be allowed to decrease it. 

Responding to the department pleading for powers to reduce the amount of liability in case of many small research reactors, fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants, the committee said the government can create a separate category for such facilities based on the extent of risk involved.

The committee also agreed with experts' suggestion to charge a nominal levy on per unit energy cost from the consumers to create a nuclear liability fund to reduce the government's liability in course of time.

The committee also agreed with the suggestion that the time limit of ten years for making claims from the date of incident is too short for effects like radiation from a nuclear accident and that the right to claim compensation of any nuclear damage for personal injury should be 20 years.

It also faulted two different legal remedies suggested for the victims in the draft bill and recommended that "all the legal remedies available to the victims should be dealt together."  Though a clause in the draft bill has welcome prompt remedy without protracted litigation, the committee said the victims should have right to appeal to the High Court or the Supreme Court if not satisfied with the award given by the claim commissioner or nuclear damage claims commission.

While the original bill makes the supplier liable for damages only in case of "wilful act or gross negligence," the committee felt it would be difficult to prove such an act and hence better would be to slap a clear-cut liability on the supplier of nuclear equipments/ material in case they are found to be defective. Moreover, the doctrine may be okay for criminal and taxation cases but not in working out the compensation.

Accordingly, the committee has recommended that the nuclear incident for which the supplier is to be liable to pay should cover "as a consequence of latent or patent defect, supply of sub-standard material, defective equipment or services or from the gross negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services."

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