NEWS IN BRIEF – JULY 17, 2012
1. Saviour or ‘poodle’, asks UK paper about Manmohan : New Delhi: Hailed abroad not too long ago as a statesman and economic guru, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is at the receiving end of increasingly harsh comment with British daily, The Independent, critiquing his tenure under a disparaging headline — “Manmohan Singh: India’s saviour or Sonia’s poodle?” [TOI p1]
2. Monsoon worry mounts, food prices rise sharply : New Delhi :
Despite a pickup in rainfall last week, the southwest monsoon remains in
deficit by a significant 22%, almost certainly lowering annual production of
grains, pulses and oilseeds, the three crops where sowing has been worst
hit.[HT p1]
3. China puts Indian oil block up for auction : New Delhi : Drawing India
into the South China Sea muddle, China has put up a Vietnamese
petroleum block under exploration by an Indian oil firm for global
bidding.[IE p1]
4. NDA names Jaswant for VP polls: New Delhi: The NDA on Monday
decided to field Jaswant Singh for the “token contest” for Vice-President
after Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav
refused take the field heavily tilted for UPA’s Hamid Ansari. [TOI p9]
5. Mamata may go with UPA on Ansari; decision today : New Delhi :
Notwithstanding her past reservations for Hamid Ansari, Trinamool
Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is said to be warming up to the idea
of supporting his candidature for a second term as the Vice-President,
although she is yet to take a final call.[IE p5]
6. Sangma confident of Mamata support : Dehradun : The NDA
presidential candidate PA Sangma has expressed confidence about
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee extending support to his
candidature by Tuesday. Sangma said this while talking to media persons
after his arrival in Dehradun on Monday.[Pioneer Daily p4]
7. Rahul-for-PM chorus betrays unease in Cong : New Delhi: The
indication that Rahul Gandhi will step out of his limited role in the AICC to
assume bigger responsibility triggered speculation about what his new
designation might be, with party sources not ruling out his projection as
the prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 general elections. [TOI p14]
8. No differences with BJP over Vice-presidential candidate : Nitish :
Patna : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday the JD(U) had
“no differences” with its alliance partner BJP, and that senior BJP leader
Jaswant Singh was “NDA’s Vice-Presidential candidates and the JD(U)
was very much party of the NDA”.[IE p5]
9. No problems with Ansari’s candidature : Team Anna : New Delhi :
Twelve days ahead of Team Anna’s indefinite fast demanding SIT inquiry
against 15 ministers, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal courted controversy yet
again by describing Parliament as “saudon ka adda (a place where deals
are struck)”. His colleague from Team Anna Prashant Bhushan said that
they had no problems with the candidature of Vice-President Hamid
Ansari.[IE p5]
10. Sushma: interlocutors report anti-constitutional : New Delhi : Terming
the contents of the Jammu and Kashmir interlocutors’ report as “anticonstitutional”
and “singing to the tune of the separatists”, Leader of
Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj on Monday rejected it
saying that it was against Parliament’s resolution that declared even the
Pak-occupied Kashmir as an integral part of India.[IE p6]
11. Sonia to remain Chief but Rahul to Handle Party, Generation Next
Gandhi to graduate from dealing with youth Congress matters: NEW
DELHI : Sonia Gandhi will lead Congress in the 2014 general election,
even as her son and Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, takes on
a larger role in mainstream of the party from September. [ET p2]
12. TMC to Abstain But Stay in UPA, Mamata Banerjee keen to avoid
adversarial relationship with central government: NEW DELHI : UPA
presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee’s written appeal to Trinamool
chief Mamata Banerjee to support his candidature has not softened her
stance and the ally appears set to abstain from voting in both the
presidential and vice-presidential poll. However, Trinamool sources on
Monday ruled out an imminent walkout from UPA. [ET p2]
13. CPM and FB to Support Ansari; RSP to Abstain: NEW DELHI : CPM
and the All India Forward Bloc have declared their support for incumbent
Hamid Ansari in the vice-presidential election. However, RSP has decided
to abstain. [ET p2]
14. BJP, CPM Criticise Obama’s Remark on Retail FDI, UPA government
should not succumb to US pressure, says Opposition :NEW DELHI :
Opposition parties have slammed US president Barack Obama for his
remarks on ‘deteriorating’ foreign investment climate in India. They said
the Centre should not be pressured into opening the retail sector after his
statements. [ET p2]
15. Keshubhai willing to contest 2012 election : Ahmedabad : Taking
further his political battle against Chief Minister Narendra Modi, dissident
BJP leader Keshubhai Patel has expressed his willingness to contest
upcoming Assembly elections in the State.[Pioneer Daily p6]
16. Raj calls on Uddhav in hospital, drives him home : Mumbai : Shiv
Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, 51, underwent an
angiography at a suburban Mumbai hospital on Monday after complaining
of severe chest pain.While he will require further medical attention in the
coming weeks following the discovery of three blockages, including two
major ones, warring cousin Raj not only cancelled a scheduled visit to
Alibaug to visit him in hospital but also drove Uddhav home in the
evening.[IE p6]
17. Lokpal : Anna questions relevance of RS panel : Ahead of their team’s
indefinite fast beginning next week, social activist Anna Hazare and his
close associates on Monday questioned the need for referring the lokpal
bill to a Rajya Sabha panel even as the government said differences
among the political class on the bill were narrowing.[HT p15]
18. New construction in Gurgaon put on hold to tackle water problem,
Nod Only For Builders Who Agree Not To Use Groundwater:
Chandigarh/Gurgaon: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday
restrained the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) from
issuing new licences to developers in Gurgaon unless they give an
undertaking that groundwater would not be consumed for construction
work. [TOI p1]
19. After 5 yrs, India to play cricket series with Pak, BCCI To Host 3
ODIs, 2 T20s In Dec-Jan: New Delhi: The wait is over. The Indian cricket
team will play a limited-overs home series against Pakistan, five years
after the two rivals last met in a bilateral encounter. The Indian board
(BCCI) on Monday agreed to host the series — three ODIs and two T20
matches — beginning in December-end this year. [TOI p1]
20. CBI closes 2G probe against Arun Shourie : New Delhi: One and a
half year after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a
Preliminary Enquiry (PE) to probe the 2G spectrum allocation during the
tenure of former telecom ministers in both NDA and UPA-I regimes, the
agency has closed the investigations against senior BJP leader Arun
Shourie, who had held the telecom portfolio from 2001 to 2003. [TOI p9]
21. CBI will not file any new case in spectrum scam : NEW DELHI: The
CBI will not register any fresh case in the highly-publicised 2G spectrum
scam. The agency has closed its larger preliminary enquiry (PE) into the
irregularities in implementation of the telecom policy between 2001 and
2007.[HT p15]
22. Akalis ask PM to remove Tytler, Gill from Olympic team : New Delhi :
A delegation of Delhi State Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) submitted a
memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday demanding
that former Congress Member of Parliament Jagdish Tytler and former
Director-General of Punjab Police K.P.S. Gill should not be part of the
country’s official delegation for the Olympics in London because of their
alleged anti-Sikh deeds.[The Hindu p6]
23. ED files money laundering case against arms dealer: New Delhi : In
fresh trouble for jailed arms dealer Abhishek Verma, the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) has registered a fresh money laundering case against
him while probing another case in which he allegedly received money from
a Swiss defence firm to keep it off the government’s blacklist. Arrested by
the CBI last month, Verma and his wife Ancia Maria Neascu, a Romanian,
are currently in judicial custody.[IE p2]
24. Diggy : Ready to fight LS polls from MP : New Delhi : Congress
general secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday expressed readiness to
contest the next Lok Sabha elections from his home state Madhya
Pradesh saying his vow to stay away from electoral politics for 10 years
comes to an end in November next year.[AA p2]
25. IB, R&AW brass almost got the sack after 26/11 attacks : The
government came close to sacking top intelligence officials soon after
26/11 because of serious lapses that led to the 2008 Mumbai attacks,
senior officials have told HT. Disclosures made by 26/11 handler
Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, have only confirmed the assessment
that IB and R&AW both failed in analysing, disseminating and acting upon
intelligence that was fairly specific.[HT p1]
26. BSY faces challenge, MPs gather around Karunakara : BANGALORE:
Master of pressure tactics BS Yeddyurappa may now be beaten at his
own game. His challenger is none other than G Karunakara Reddy,
brother of mining baron Janardhana Reddy, the beginner of “resort
politics”.[HT p15]
27. 400 crore more for Uttarakhand Plan : New Delhi :The Planning
Commission on Monday approved a Rs.8,200-crore Annual Plan for
Uttarakhand for 2012-13 which is Rs.400 crore more than last year.[The
Hindu p5]
28. Defamation Case : Army vice-chief, two others to appear in court :
NEW DELHI: Vice-chief of Army Staff SK Singh and two senior officers
will have to appear before a Delhi court in a defamation case filed by Lt
Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh. The Delhi High Court on Monday turned down
their plea for stay on summonses issued to them. They will have to appear
before the trial court on Friday.[HT p12]
29. Centre sets up panel to fix blame for Airport Metro Express mess :
New Delhi : Having established the presence of serious faults along the
Delhi Airport Metro Express high-speed line that have led to suspension of
the service, the Union Urban Development Ministry is now going to
ascertain who is culpable for the shortcomings.[The Hindu p1]
30. Airport Metro: CM says safety should be top priority : New Delhi:
Upset over the blame game by DMRC and Reliance Infrastructure on the
suspension of Airport Metro Express line, chief minister Sheila Dikshit on
Monday said safety parameters should be the top priority in operating
trains on the 23-km high-speed corridor. [TOI p5]
31. Ramadoss faces 2nd CBI chargesheet in 2 months : New Delhi: The
CBI will soon chargesheet ex-health minister Anbumani Ramadoss for
showing favours to a private medical college — Rohilkhand Medical
College and Hospital in Bareilly, UP — despite the Medical Council of
India (MCI) denying permission to the college to run an MBBS course.
[TOI p7]
32. East Delhi Mayor calls councillor “mad” : New Delhi:Since the
trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the East Corporation has
seen many lighter moments with the latest being a faux pas by its
Mayor.[The Hindu p3]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
33. 1996 Bihar massacre: SC notice to accused: New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday issued notices to 23 accused seeking their response to
a Bihar government’s petition challenging a Patna high court’s judgment
acquitting them in the 1996 Bathani Tola massacre of dalits by members
of upper caste landlord militia, Ranbir Sena. [TOI p9]
34. Rein in khaps, prevent honour killings: SC panel : New Delhi : Local
police and district administration should initiate preventive steps to ensure
khap panchayats are not held in villages to issue diktats curbing individual
freedom, recommends a report submitted to the Supreme Court on
Monday. [HT p11]
35. Uttarakhand HC upholds life in jail to Amarmani, wife : Dehradun
:The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday upheld the life term awarded by
a CBI court to former SP MLA Amarmani Tripathi, his wife Madhumani,
nephew Rohit Chaturvedi and associate Santosh Rai in the Madhumita
Shukla murder case.[IE p6]
EDITORIAL / OPINION
36. On Your Marks, The BJP would have done better to pitch its own
horse for the presidential race: By finally deciding to field veteran leader
and parliamentarian Jaswant Singh as the NDA’s vice-presidential
nominee, the BJP has been slow off the mark. Singh will now contest
against Hamid Ansari, nominated by the UPA for a second term in office.
Currently a Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal’s Darjeeling constituency,
the senior BJP leader has held charge of six ministries including the highprofile
defence, finance and external affairs during the NDA regime. [TOI
p16]
37. Dribble That Reforms Ball, Manmohan Singh’s refusal to engage with
coalition politics is to blame for economic woes: Arati R Jerath :
Recent commentary on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ability to revive
the India story has swung between great expectations now that he has
taken charge of the finance ministry and a caustic appraisal of the man as
an ‘‘underachiever’’.[TOI p16]
38. The journey of a First Information Report : N.K. SINGH: The Supreme
Court order quashing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s FIR in the
assets case against former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Mayawati, has
come as a jolt. Yes, the Supreme Court’s order is binding and must be
respected but, equally, it is important to record honest opinions on such an
important matter that affects the fight against corruption in high places.
The order was based on technical grounds which, in the view of many, are
untenable.[The Hindu p8]
