NEWS IN BRIEF – JULY 09, 2012
1. Get serious on tackling terror, India tells Pak : New Delhi : External affairs minister SM Krishna met his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in Tokyo on Sunday and urged Islamabad to take measures that would demonstrate seriousness in addressing Indian concerns over terrorism.[HT p1]
2. Kaziranga loses 573 animals to flood, apathy, Many Run Over By
Trucks While Fleeing: Guwahati: It’s a wildlife catastrophe. The flood
3. toll at the Kaziranga national park has risen to 573, with several animals
being run over on NH-37 by speeding trucks in the last one week while
trying to reach elevated ground to escape the Brahmaputra’s swirling
floodwaters. [TOI p1]
4. Time magazine calls PM an ‘underachiever’, Cong fumes : New York :
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been lauded for his pivotal role
in liberalising the Indian economy, has been dubbed as an
“underachiever” by a top US magazine, which says he appears “unwilling
to stick his neck out” on reforms that will put the country back on growth
path.[HT p8]
5. CBI to make arrests in Tatra case soon : New Delhi: The CBI may
soon make some ‘significant arrests’ in connection with the probe into
alleged irregularities in the procurement of Tatra all-terrain trucks to the
Indian Army as the agency has found some ‘crucial evidence’. [TOI p11]
6. CBI likely to quiz eight companies : New Delhi : The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) has prepared a list of eight private companies which
were allocated coal blocks between 2006 and 2009 despite their not
meeting norms and guidelines. “Eight recipients of coal blocks between
2006 and 2009 fall in the suspicious category,” said a CBI source.[HT p9]
7. BJP might support raising FDI in insurance : Yashwant Sinha : New
Delhi : Government, which has of late been talking of pushing reforms,
may get support from BJP on raising the FDI in insurance sector if it
“reaches out” to the Opposition.[Pioneer Daily p4]
8. BJP to support UPA’s people-friendly decisions : Kangra : Stepping
up its attack on the Congress, the Bharatiya Janta Party on Sunday asked
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take critical and bold decisions
keeping in view the national interest.[Pioneer Daily p4]
9. PAC says no to MoD request on compliance : New Delhi : Public
Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by Murli Manohar Joshi, has turned
down Defence Ministry’s request for three months extra time to comply
with the PAC’s various recommendations including allowing CAG to audit
canteen accounts. The PAC has allotted 45 days time to Defence Ministry
to report back to it.[Pioneer Daily p5]
10. Not in race for FM post : Montek : Amritsar : Planning Commission
deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Sunday asserted that he was
not in the race for the post of finance minister. “I am not in the race and
media was at liberty and could write anything, but there was no reality in
reports,” he said.[HT p9]
11. CJI for mediation to solve disputes : New Delhi : Chief Justice of India
S H Kapadia has said mediation is a sounder mechanism to resolve
“complex” commercial disputes involving the pricing of natural resources
like gas and oil as judges may lack the expertise and their decisions could
affect the country’s economy.[IE p4]
12. Raja knocks at HC door with plea to drop charges : New Delhi :
Facing trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, former telecom
minister A Raja has approached the Delhi High Court, seeking quashing of
the charges framed against him by a special CBI court.[IE p4]
13. Former, not ex: How retd babus never retire : New Delhi : It may have
started as a rare measure to utilize the talent or domain expertise of a
veteran bureaucrat after his or her official tenure. But what began as an
exception to the norm seems to have morphed into almost a new cadre —
that of officers as lifetime civil servants.[IE p1]
14. Jaitley slams report of interlocutors on J-K : Chandigarh :Leader of
the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Sunday came down
heavily on the interlocutors for their report on Jammu and Kashmir. He
said by terming the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir as Pakistan-administered-
Kashmir, the report had only “legitimized the claims of Pakistan over
PoK”.[IE p2]
15. Sangma aiming at ‘conscience vote’ : Bhopal : BJP-supported
Presidential candidate P.A. Sangma said he hoped to win on the basis of
a “conscience vote,” which helped V.V. Giri win against Neelam Sanjeeva
Reddy, both Congress-backed candidates, in the 1969 elections.[The
Hindu p11]
16. 4 States may vote in full for Pranab : New Delhi : Of the 28 states, all
the votes in four states are set to go in favour of UPA presidential
candidate Pranab Mukherjee, which will leave the Opposition nominee P A
Sangma to draw a blank.[AA p2]
17. LeT hand in massacre of J&K Sikhs in 2000: Jundal : New Delhi: For
years, the Army was blamed for the Chhattisinghpora massacre. But it
now seems that the bloodbath was orchestrated by Lashkar’s operational
head, Muzammil Butt. [TOI p1]
18. Special Force Needed to Deal With Maoists: Deo:NEW DELHI : In the
aftermath of the Bijapur CRPF encounter, tribal affairs minister V Kishore
Chandra Deo has suggested the need to set up a special dedicated force,
on the lines of Andhra Pradesh’s elite Greyhound forces, in each Naxal
affected state to deal with the situation. [ET p2]
19. Caste a reality in Karnataka, BJP made right move : JD-U : New Delhi
: The BJP had to “sacrifice” Sadananda Gowda as Karnataka Chief
Minister to keep its flock together, key NDA ally JD-U said on Sunday,
linking his exit with the upcoming Presidential election.[IE p2]
20. Rao aides dismiss criticism on Babri mosque demolition : Hyderabad
: Two officials, who worked closely with former prime minister P V
Narasimha Rao, on Sunday dismissed charges that he remained
incommunicado and did not take any action to prevent Babri mosque
demolition. The then media advisor to Rao, P V R K Prasad, and the then
law secretary, P C Rao, were speaking at a ‘Meet the Press’ organised
here.[IE p2]
21. Ansari is UPA’s choice for Vice-President : New Delhi : The incumbent
Vice-President, Mohammed Hamid Ansari, is likely to get a second term
as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has decided to field him in the
vice-presidential poll.[The Hindu p1]
22. Kalam praised Modi in his book: Advani : New Delhi : BJP patriarch
LK Advani has found in former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s memoir a
vindication of Narendra Modi’s work as CM of Gujarat during the riots.[HT
p12]
23. FDI-Hungry Govt Set to Ease Single-Brand Policy, Local sourcing &
brand ownership norms may be relaxed, but IKEA-specific package
unlikely: NEW DELHI : The government is likely to relax local sourcing
and brand ownership norms as part of a comprehensive review of the FDI
policy for single-brand retail to address concerns of foreign companies,
even as a senior government official ruled out the possibility of an IKEAspecific
package. [ET p1]
24. Modi vilified like no other, says LK: New Delhi: Accusing the media of
a conscious effort at vilification of Narendra Modi, senior BJP leader L K
Advani on Sunday said that no political leader in India’s history has been
as “systematically and viciously maligned” as the Gujarat chief minister.
[TOI p9]
25. Modi Viciously Maligned by Media: Advani : NEW DELHI : BJP veteran
LK Advani has defended Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, saying no
political leader has been as “systematically and viciously maligned” as
him. [ET p2]
26. Modi Holds Monopoly Over Lying: Keshubhai Patel : AHMEDABAD :
Continuing his campaign against the Gujarat chief minister, disgruntled
BJP leader Keshubhai Patel on Sunday alleged that Narendra Modi holds
“monopoly over lying” and questioned his motive behind the Sadbhavna
Mission.[ET p2]
27. Gadkari calls for unity in party : Shimla : Bharatiya Janata Party
president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday appealed to all the factions of his party
to unite under one umbrella and give a befitting reply to the corrupt and
anti-people policies of Congress for bringing back the party into power in
the hill State.[The Hindu p5]
28. Mayawati case verdict sends wrong signal, says Prashant Bhushan :
Kochi : The Supreme Court verdict in the disproportionate assets case
against the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, has sent a
“wrong signal” to the people, Supreme Court lawyer and India Against
Corruption core committee member Prashant Bhushan, said on
Sunday.[The Hindu p10]
29. Politics comes full circle for Vajpayee of Hubli : Banglore : After his
mentor BS Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shivappa Shettar, is probably the most
prominent leader of the Karnataka’s dominant Lingayat community. But
his shot at the state’s top job comes later than expected. As a Lingayat
leader, he was a competitor for Yedyurappa, who did his best to put
brakes on Shettar’s career.[HT p8]
30. Cabinet may decide to hit back at EU carbon tax: New Delhi: The
trade battle with the European Union over the latter’s unilateral decision to
impose carbon tax on Indian airlines flying into or via the EU could turn
into a full scale war with the Cabinet planning to consider a proposal for
counter-measures against EU, including reducing flights and breaking
existing bilateral agreements.[TOI p1]
31. BJP’s Vokkaliga Votebank Gets A Jolt With Sadananda’s Exit :
Bangalore: The BJP on Sunday asked D V Sadananda Gowda to quit as
Karnataka CM after his uneventful, but corruption-free administration of
just over 11 months. Newly emerged Lingayat strongman Jagadish
Shettar, backed by renegade B S Yeddyurappa, will take over as the new
CM early this week.[TOI p11]
32. BJP changes K’taka CM like clothes: Cong : New Delhi: The Congress
slammed the BJP for changing the chief minister of Karnataka, saying
governance had fallen victim of its in-house wrangling for power in the
state. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said, “The BJP changes CMs
in Karnataka faster then people change their clothes. [TOI p11]
33. Gowda rejects RS offer, eyes state unit chief post : Bangalore: What
next for D V Sadananda Gowda seems to be the most important question
in the Karnataka BJP. Though Gowda hasn’t thrown tantrums during the
political turmoil, it seems he is now talking tough.[TOI p11]
34. Fear of Maoist uproots MLA Hikaka from home : New Delhi : Abducted
by Maoists and released after 33 days, Odisha MLA Jhina Hikaka is now a
prisoner of circumstances. The fear of reprisal from Maoists for not
resigning after giving his “word” — at a kangaroo court during captivity —
has forced the tribal MLA to relocate from Koraput district in southern
Odisha to a fortified house more than 600 km away in capital
Bhubaneswar.[HT p8]
35. Independents steal the thunder of BJP’s UP win : Lucknow: Did the
BJP really sweep the urban polls in UP? The victory in mayoral election
doesn’t present a picture of its dominance — or lack of it. Though the
party has 10 out of 12 mayors across the state, its position in corporations
is a far cry from the sweep. The BJP has failed to get a majority even in a
single of them. More than two thirds of corporation seats went to
Independents. [TOI p10]
36. Muslim vote stays away, Cong lines up excuses for a blank :
Lucknow : From the after-effect of Assembly elections to the hike in petrol
prices, from back-stabbing to Hindu polarisation — these were the
excuses Congressmen were offering on Sunday as the party failed to win
a single mayor seat in the urban local body elections in Uttar Pradesh,
their second poll debacle in the state in three months. The Congress had
three sitting mayors and neither the Samajwadi Party nor the BSP had
fielded candidates.[IE p6]
37. BJP Terms Sweep in UP Civic Polls as Verdict Against Centre:NEW
DELHI : After its sweep in Delhi’s municipal election, BJP maintained its
dominance in the urban local bodies by cornering nine out of 12 mayoral
posts in UP. BJP swept UP municipal corporation elections and even
improved its tally over 2007 by one seat.[ET p2]
38. Congress: From three seats in 2007 to a duck: Lucknow: Close on the
heels of its drubbing in the state assembly election, Congress has once
again failed to strike a cord with the masses in Uttar Pradesh. With its tally
of mayoral candidates dipping from three in 2007 to a duck in 2012 and
loss of seats in traditional strongholds like Bareilly, the party is fast
slipping into deep freeze mode. For the state leadership, change and
consolidation appear to be the buzzwords. But with the party that has
faced its worst routing twice in three months, morale in the Congress
camp is at an all-time low. [TOI p10]
39. Over 75 per cent polling for Sitarganj by-election : Dehradun :The fate
of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna of the Congress and
former Speaker Prakash Pant fielded by the Opposition Bharatiya Janata
Party seemed to have been sealed in EVMs as over 75 per cent of the
electorate cast their vote for the Sitarganj Assembly by-poll on Sunday.
[The Hindu p5]
40. SGPC opposes tytler inclusion in olympic trip : New Delhi : The
SGPC on Sunday oposed any move to send Jagdish Tytler to London
Olympics as part of the official Indian delegation but the Congress MP
said he has no such plans as he is busy with party work.[AA p3]
41. BJP wins Gzb mayor’s seat : Ghaziabad : The Bharatiya Janata Party
again has retained the Ghaziabad Mayor’s seat. The party’s candidate
and veteran journalist Teluram Kamboj won the seat by 9,583 votes by
defeating his nearest rival Sudhan Rawat of Samajwadi Party. The party
retained the seat for a record fourth time.[Pioneer Daily p2]
42. BJP rebel mamgain set to launch party : New Delhi : A BJP rebel, who
was denied ticket in the April municipal polls, is launching a “Delhi based
regional party” roping in disgruntled former councillors and leaders,
claiming that national parties have failed to address problems of the
city.[AA p13]
