Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Islamic scholars condemn killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan


Islamic scholars condemn killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan

Mumbai---A group of Islamic scholars today
called upon international bodies like United Nations, Human
Rights Watch and Amnesty International and governments across
the world to devise ways to put an end to killing of Shia
Muslims in Pakistan.
"It is extremely shameful," Islamic scholar Maulana
Sayed Ahmedalo Abidi, Imam-e-Juma Khoja Jama Masjid Dongri and
Principal of Houza Ilmiya Najifi House, told reporters here.
"Shias are being attacked, shot and bombed. This is
extremely serious," he said, urging the Indian government to
take up the issue in international forums.
He also appealed to the government of Pakistan to
ensure that Shias were protected from violence unleashed by
militants.
The Islamic scholars said the Army must be made
directly responsible and accountable for the law and order
situation and safety of all people, including Shias in Quetta
and other parts of Balochistan.
"The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan must look
into the issue," said Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi, General
Secretary All India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board.
Pakistan has been besieged by militant attacks in
recent years, many of them carried out by Pakistani Taliban,
who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the
government.
Radical Sunni militant groups have also increasingly
targeted the country's Shias because they do not view them as
real Muslims, Rizvi said in a statement.
Many of these sectarian attacks have occurred in
southwest Balochistan province, which has the largest
concentration of Shias in Pakistan, he said.
The Islamic scholars also condemned the twin blasts at
Hyderabad recently.

Controversy ahead------India financed problems for Pak in Afghanistan: Chuck Hagel

Controversy ahead------India financed problems for Pak in Afghanistan: Chuck Hagel


In a sharp contrast to US view on India's role in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama's Defence Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has alleged that India has over the years "financed problems" for Pakistan in the war torn country.A video containing these remarks from an unreleased speech of Hagel at Oklahoma's Cameron University in 2011 was uploaded by Washington Free Beacon, sparking a strong reaction from India which said such comments are "contrary to the reality" of its unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghans.= Hagel, during the speech said, "India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border"."And you can carry that into many dimensions, the point being [that] the tense, fragmented relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been there for many, many years," Hagel said.

Reacting to this, the Indian Embassy here said,"Such comments attributed to Senator Hagel, who has been a long-standing friend of India and a prominent votary of close India-US relations are contrary to the reality of India's unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghan people".


Economic Survey to prescribe steps to arrest declining growth

The Economic Survey to be tabled
in Parliament tomorrow is likely to suggest a series of steps
to arrest the declining GDP growth, which is estimated to be
at the decade-low of 5 per cent in the current fiscal.

  Prepared by a team of economists, led by Chief Economic
Advisor Raghuram Rajan, the Survey is likely to make a strong
case for accelerating economic reforms to neutralise domestic
and global factors which have stymied growth.

As the official assessment of the country's economy, the
Survey is customarily tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister
ahead of the General Budget. The document is viewed as being
important because it prescribes steps for the government to
deal with various economic problems, leaving the onus of
taking hard decisions on the government.


The major focus of the Survey this year is likely to be
on pushing economic growth, which has been projected by the
Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) at 5 per cent for this
fiscal, sharply lower than the original estimate of 7.6 per
cent (+/- 0.25 per cent).



RS to discuss chopper deal tomorrow


RS to discuss chopper deal tomorrow

The AgustaWestland chopper deal had its echo in the Rajya Sabha today with BJP demanding a discussion on the issue and government agreeing to have it tomorrow."We are ready for a discussion on the issue tomorrow,"Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said after BJP insisted on an immediate discussion on the issue.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Prakash Javadekar (BJP) said, "The whole nation is being robbed. Everyday we are reading such stories. There are reports that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 400 crore were paid...It's a shame. It is a question of nation's pride."


   

Monday, February 25, 2013

Pope changes conclave rules, allows earlier start


Pope changes conclave rules, allows earlier start

Pope Benedict XVI has changed the rules of the conclave that will elect his successor, allowing cardinals to move up the start date if all of them arrive in Rome before the usual 15-day transition between pontificates.
Benedict signed a legal document, issued Monday, with some line-by-line changes to the 1996 Vatican law governing the election of a new pope. It is one of his last acts as pope before resigning Thursday.
The date of the conclave's start is important because Holy Week begins March 24, with Easter Sunday March 31. In order to have a new pope in place for the church's most solemn liturgical period, he would need to be installed by Sunday, March 17 a tight timeframe if a conclave were to start March 15

Man spying for ISI caught in Pokhran


Man spying for ISI caught in Pokhran

Barely two days after the conclusion
of the IAF's air exercise 'Iron Fist' in Pokhran, a suspected
spy has been caught giving information of the war games with
an ISI operative in Pakistan.
            Sumer Khan (34), a computer expert, was taken into custody
by army intelligence from his house in Pokhran yesterday and
was being grilled by security agencies, SP Jaisalmer Pankaj
Kumar Chaudhary said today.
            Intelligence sources said that Sumer was sharing
information of the IAF's exercise with his maternal uncle in
Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan for the past few days. His uncle
has been working for Inter-Services Intelligence for the last
few years, they said.
            Sumer is currently unMan spying for ISI caught in Pokhrander the custody of the Joint
Interrogation Cell in Jaipur where the security agencies are
questioning him.
            The sources said he was caught after his calls to Pakistan
were intercepted by the army intelligence and IB.
            They claimed that Sumer had been working for his uncle for
the past two years and had been sharing vital information
related to all the exercises, which have taken place in the
region in the past two years besides the various defence
installations in the region.
            Following interception of his calls to Pakistan, he was
caught from his home in Pokhran yesterday morning.
            A 10th class passout, Sumer is an expert in computers and
would talk to his uncle over phone in code words.
            He would frequently travel to Pakistan and is believed to
have passed on maps and other documents pertaining to defence
structure in the western sector. 

Hits and misses at Oscars

Hits and misses at Oscars

 In one of the most
unpredictable years, the 85th Academy Awards saw some
surprising wins and losses.
Steven Spielberg, who was strongly tipped to win the best
director trophy for his civil-war drama 'Lincoln', lost
the trophy to Ang Lee for his 'Life of Pi', which managed four
wins out of its 11 nods.
'Lincoln' was leading the race with 12 nominations but
bagged only two awards by the end. The film's lead actor
Daniel Day-Lewis won the Best Actor trophy and the other gong
was taken away by the production design team.
Lee's win as the Best Director came as a big surprise as
he beat veterans like Spielberg, Michael Haneke, Benh Zeitlin
and David O Russell.
Russell's 'Silver Linings Playbook' too had a poor run by
managing just one trophy for Lawrence in its eight categories.
Four major contenders - Tom Hooper, Kathryn Bigelow, Ben
Affleck and Quentin Tarantino - were not even nominated for
the best director tag, despite their movies (Les Miserables,
Zero Dark Thirty, Argo and Django Unchained respectively) in
race for Best Film.
The much talked about movie 'Zero Dark Thirty', about the
decade-long US hunt of Osama bin Laden, won only 1 award in
the Sound Editing category that too was shared by Bond film
'Skyfall'.
It is believed that early criticism of its torture scenes
ruined film's chances at the Oscar.
Affleck's 'Argo' won the Best Film. The film became a
front-runner recently supplanting 'Lincoln'. Affleck's best
director snub seems to have helped its chances for the top
prize.
Another miss at the glittery ceremony was Paul Thomas
Anderson's 'The Master', which had 3 nomination but returned
home empty handed.
Director Ben Lewin's 'The Sessions' didn't receive any
award either.
Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' took away two awards in
the Actor in a Supporting Role and Original Screenplay
category.


All eyes on Bansal for tomorrow's Rail Budget


All eyes on Bansal for tomorrow's Rail Budget

  All eyes will be on Railway
Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal tomorrow on whether he yields to
pressure of hiking passenger fares yet again or looks at other
measures to mobilise resources to offset the burden of the
recent diesel price hike.

          Bansal had on January 22 hiked passenger fares across-the-
board after the Railways faced a loss of about Rs 25,000 crore
in the passenger segment.
          Railways had aimed to mop up an additional revenue of Rs
6,600 crore but the fuel hike had wiped out Rs 3,300 crore,
Bansal had said.

            The Rail Minister held several round of discussions with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram
and the Planning Commission in connection with the Rail
Budget. He is also understood have discussed the possibility
of fare hike with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
            However, sources said a section of the Congress is not
inclined towards effecting another round of fare hike as
general elections are not far away.
            Bansal is all set to announce a slew of passenger-friendly
measures such as improvement in catering service, maintaining
cleanliness at rail premises, introducing Braille stickers in
coaches for visually-challenged passengers and development of
stations in his maiden Rail Budget.
          While there are possibilities of minor tinkering in
freight rates despite resistance from the industry due to the
slow economy growth, there will be some announcements of
freight schemes to attract more loadings in the next fiscal
2013-14.
          With Bansal heading Rail Bhavan and the key ministry back
with the Congress party after almost one-and-a-half decade,
speculation is rife about announcement of 100 new trains
including AC double deckers, extension and increase of some
popular passenger services.
            Though the Congress is opposing the Trinamool government
in Bengal, MoS Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury might have his
say with likely provisions for new trains including Berhampur-
Sealdah passenger, a direct train for New Jalpaiguri from the
capital and pantry cars for Bengal-bound trains. 

Sunday, February 24, 2013

AgustaWestland deal: CBI gets some documents from Italy


AgustaWestland deal: CBI gets some documents from Italy

Moving forward in its probe into
alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal, the CBI has
procured some documents from Italian authorities in Milan that
may help it investigating whether any Indian had received
bribes to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.

           Highly-placed sources in the probe agency said today
that one of the members of the CBI team who returned this
morning from Milan had got some of the documents from the
Italian prosecutor regarding the controversial Rs 3,600 crore
deal which would be examined in the next couple of days.

The sources said a Preliminary Enquiry(PE) would be
initiated in the next couple of days after examining the
documents received from the Italian authorities. It has been
alleged that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore were
allegedly paid to help secure the deal in favour of the
Anglo-Italian firm.

             While declining to reveal the nature of documents, the
sources said prima-facie it seemed sufficient to initiate a PE
against unknown persons since Italian authorities could share
only these papers at this stage. The authorities have,
however, promised to hand over other documents once their
probe is completed.

             One of the two CBI officers was still in Milan to take
some more documents and would be arriving here tomorrow, the
sources said.


             The CBI team is also pinning its hope on the assurance
made by the Italian government-controlled Finmeccanica group,
parent company of AgustaWestland helicopters, that it would
provide assistance in probing bribery allegations against some
Indian nationals.
             During the meeting, CBI officials had requested the
Italian firm to hand over the report of its internal probe to
them so that it could be examined in India and a proper
investigation could be conducted.
      The CBI team along with officials from Defence and
External Affairs Ministry had also met senior officials of the
Italian judiciary including the judge in the case to request
for assistance in probing the role of Indians in connection
with alleged kickbacks in the deal.
             Some more assistance would be provided after the local
elections in Italy would be over this week, the team was told
besides been conveyed that that the probe in that country was
at a preliminary stage

Saturday, February 23, 2013

NEED TO SUPERIMPOSE “NATIONAL COUNTER TERRORISM CENTRE” (NCTC)



NEED TO SUPERIMPOSE “NATIONAL COUNTER TERRORISM CENTRE” (NCTC)

Lot of controversy has taken place in India regarding the establishment of “National Counter Terrorism Centre” (NCTC) due to protest by some states on the grounds of the violation of federal principles.But after the Hyderabad blasts there shouldn’t be any doubt that it is a necessity.Despite getting alerts from  centre and intelligence,the states hardly have the required infrastructure to prevent the same.NCTC will  play a major role in anaysing the threat ,sharing it and then integrating all instruments of national power to ensure unity of effort.As said by Shinde on the day of Hyderabad blast,the states were alerted regarding the same and many alerts have been issued to states like Maharastra and Bihar.The question is –Shall we wait for the tragedy to happen in many other states before reaching consensus on NCTC---not at all.In the interest of India,it should be imposed on states forcibly ,if they are not willing.Lives of the people and nation is important  rather than the selfish interest of some regional leaders who are giving more preference to their  power structure rather than Indian interests

NCTC will really be effective. NCTC will set up small offices across the state to gather the real-time information. It will be headed by an Intelligence bureau official and report to Home Ministry. NCTC officers can carry out raids without a prior permission of respective states. And the officers can arrest anyone over terrorism related cases. The state's other government authorities are bound to share details to the NCTC if required, no matter how confidential it is. Thus the anti-terror body will gather all real-time intelligence, exactly what IB is now lacking, and distribute information to other agencies, in order to have an effective system in place to tackle terrorism. Meanwhile, it has the right to take assistance of any special force in the country including National Security Guard (NSG)

As far as centre is concerned,it  is already placed in a dominant position with a ‘unitary spirit.’ Though the Constitution is supreme, Parliament has been empowered to pass ‘valid and just law’ on the State subjects (State List) under Articles 3 and 245 to 254. Thus, the objections of some States to the establishment of the NCTC do not hold water on the ground of ‘federalism’ and the Centre must overrule states as far as objections to NCTC is concerned as national interest is supreme.In promoting national interst we will be achieving International interests as terrorism is a global menace.


Bishwajeet,Aaajtak

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Interpol urges arrest of Singapore 'match-fixer'


Interpol urges arrest of Singapore 'match-fixer'


 The head of Interpol today
urged Singapore to move against one of its citizens considered
a key suspect in global football match-rigging, saying its
failure to do so "distresses the world".

     Secretary-General Ronald Noble made the comment as
Interpol and world football officials wrapped up a two-day
meeting in Kuala Lumpur with a pledge to work more closely in
combatting the growing scourge of match-fixing.

          In a press conference closing the gathering, Noble took
aim at Tan Seet Eng, also known as Dan Tan, who has emerged as
a central figure in the suspected rigging of nearly 700 games
worldwide.


            Tan's name has cropped up in multiple match-rigging
investigations but remains at large in Singapore, where police
have said they need hard evidence before arresting anyone. Tan
has denied wrongdoing.
            "The fact that there can be an alleged organised crime
head operating in a country known to be safe, secure like
Singapore, distresses Singaporeans and distresses the world,"
said Noble.
            However, he praised the city-state for tipping off
Interpol and Italian authorities on the arrival in Milan on
Thursday of an alleged associate of Tan's who is wanted in
Italy over match-fixing charges.
            Noble did not name the man, who flew to Milan from
Singapore, or provide his nationality. Singaporean police
denied comment.
            "I want to compliment the Singapore police not just for
their activity yesterday but their activity constantly in
fighting international crime, including matchfixing," he said
in a closing speech. 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Details of the Budget Session, 2013 of Parliament (13th Session of the Fifteenth Lok Sabha and the 228th Session of the Rajya Sabha) will commence on Thursday, the 21st of February, 2013


 Kamal Nath addresses Press Conference on Budget Session of Parliament Commencing on 21st February 2013

The Budget Session, 2013 of Parliament (13th Session of the Fifteenth Lok Sabha and the 228th Session of the Rajya Sabha) will commence on Thursday, the 21st of February, 2013 and subject to exigencies of Government Business, the Session will conclude on Friday, the 10thof May, 2013. During this period, the two Houses will adjourn for recess on Friday, the 22nd of March 2013, to reassemble on Monday, the 22ndof April, 2013 to enable the Department–related Parliamentary Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants relating to various Ministries/Departments and make their reports to the Houses. The Session will provide 34 sittings – 21 sittings during first part of the Session before recess and 13 sittings during second part of the Session.
The Session will mainly be devoted to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, Financial Business relating to Railway and General Budgets for 2013-14 and State Budget in respect of Jharkhand. However, sufficient time will also be provided for the transaction of essential Legislative and Non-Legislative business during the Session.
The President will address both Houses of Parliament assembled together at 11.00 a.m. on 21st of February, 2013. The Budget (Railways) for 2013-2014 will be presented to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the 26thof February, 2013 immediately after Question Hour. The Economic Survey of India will be laid in the Parliament on Wednesday, the 27th of February, 2013. The Budget (General) for 2013 – 2014 will be presented at 11.00 a.m. on Thursday, the 28th of February, 2013.
To finalise the Government Business for the Budget Session, 2013, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development
Shri Kamal Nath took a meeting with Secretaries/senior officers of various Ministries/Departments on 15thof February, 2013. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs co-chaired the meeting. During the meeting, 71 items [55 Bills, 13 Financial items and 03 Non-legislative items] were identified for Budget Session, 2013. The Bills identified for the Session includes three Ordinances, namely: -
(i) The Securities and Exchange of Board of India (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (No. 1 of 2013);
(ii) The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Ordinance, 2013 (No. 2 of 2013); and
(iii) The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (No. 3 of 2013)
The list of Government Business identified for being taken up in the Budget Session, 2013 is as follows:
I – Bills for Introduction
Sl.No.
Title of Bill
1
The Agricultural Bio-Security Bill, 2013
2
The Bio Technology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2013
3
The National Institute of Design Bill, 2013
4
The North Eastern Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013
5
The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013
6
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2013 – India-Bangladesh Land Boundary
7
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2013
8
The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2013
9
The Central Reserve Police Force Bill, 2013
10
The Indian Institute of Information Technology Bill, 2013
11
The National Institute of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2013 – up gradation of BESU to the IIEST
12
The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2013
13
The Building and Construction Workers Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013
14
The National Waterway (Lakhipur Bhanga Stretch of River Barak) Bill, 2013
15
The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2013
16
The Piracy Bill, 2013
II – Bills for Introduction, Consideration and Passing
1. The Finance Bill, 2013.
2. The Securities and Exchange of Board of India (Amendment) Bill, 2013
3. The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Bill, 2013
4. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013
III – Bills for Consideration and Passing
1.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 2012 – Reservation in services to SCs/STs, as passed by Rajya Sabha
2.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2012 as passed by Rajya Sabha
3.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 as passed by Rajya Sabha
4.
The Companies Bill, 2012 as passed by Lok Sabha
5.
The Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010 as passed by Lok Sabha
6.
The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011 as passed by Lok Sabha
7.
The National Highway Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2012 as passed by Lok Sabha
8.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)
Bill, 2012.as passed by Lok Sabha
9.
The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2012 as passed by Lok Sabha
10.
The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010
11.
The Warehousing Corporation Amendment Bill, 2011
12.
The Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority Bill, 2011
13.
The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010
14.
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011
15.
The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010.
16.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2012
17.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Tenth Amendment) Bill, 2009 - reservation of women in Panchayats
18.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 – increase of retirement age of Judges
19.
The National Food Security Bill, 2011
20.
The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011.
21.
The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organizations Bill, 2011
22.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011
23.
The Pesticide Management Bill, 2008
24.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, as passed by Lok Sabha and as reported by Select Committee.
25.
The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008
26.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2011
27.
The Border Security Force (Amendment) Bill, 2011
28.
The Architects (Amendment) Bill, 2010.
29.
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012.
30.
The Communal Violence (Amendment, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005
31.
The Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 as passed by Lok Sabha and as reported by Select
Committee
32.
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010
33.
The Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2010 as passed by Lok Sabha and as reported by Select
Committee.
34.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012
35.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012
IV– Financial Business
1.
General Discussion on Budget (General) for the year 2013-14.
2.
Discussion and Voting on Demands for Grants on Account (General) for the year 2013-14.
3.
Discussion and Voting on third Supplementary Demands for Grants (General) for the year 2012-2013.
4.
Discussion and Voting on Demands for Excess Grants (General) for the year 2010-2011.
5.
Discussion and Voting on Demands for Grants (General) for the year 2013-14.
6.
General discussion on the Budget (Railways) for 2013-2014.
7.
Discussion and Voting on Demands for Grants on Account (Railways) for 2013-2014.
8.
Discussion and Voting on Supplementary Demands for Grants (Railways) for 2012-2013.
9.
Discussion and Voting on Excess Grants (Railways) for 2010-11.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Discussion and Voting on Demands for Grants (Railways) for 2013-14.
General Discussion on Budget (Jharkhand), 2013-14
Discussion and Voting on Demands for Grants (Jharkhand) for 2013-14.
Discussion and Voting on Supplementary Demands for Grants (Jharkhand) for 2012-13.
V- Non - Legislative Business
1. Discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address
2. Discussion on the Statutory Resolution seeking approval of the proclamation issued by the President on 18.1.2013 in respect of the State of Jharkhand.
3. Consideration of Resolution seeking approval of the recommendation contained in the Third Report of the Railway Convention Committee (2009) on “Rate of dividend for 2012-13 and other ancillary matters”.