NEWS IN BRIEF – APR 05, 2012
1. Singh, Zardari Meet Likely to Take Indo-Pak Talks Further: NEW
DELHI : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s luncheon meeting with
President Asif Ali Zardari here on April 8 is expected to take further the
revived bilateral dialogue, with the entire gamut of issues featuring in their
interaction. [ET p2]
2. No review of 2G licence cancellations, says SC, Will Hear Govt’s Plea
Against Auction Order: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday
rejected pleas of seven telecom companies to reconsider its judgment in
the 2G scam cancelling 122 licences in 22 telecom circles. However, it
agreed to hear in open court the Union government’s plea seeking review
of its direction to auction these annulled licences. [TOI p1]
3. War within: Did Army chief’s rivals spook govt on troop
movements?, Was Routine, No Need To Notify Delhi: New Delhi: A
media report about the movement of two Army units towards Delhi on the
night of January 16-17, triggering fears of a challenge to civilian authority,
set off an avalanche of denials on Wednesday, turning the spotlight on
one of the worst kept secrets in the capital – the bitter factional feud in the
top echelons of the Army. [TOI p1]
4. PIL Against Next Army Chief Now, Alleges Bikram Singh was
involved in a fake encounter in 2001: NEW DELHI : A group of retired
armed forces officials and bureaucrats have challenged the appointment
of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next chief of the Army. Retired Admiral
Laxminarayan Ramdas is the leader of the group, which in a public
interest litigation before the Supreme Court alleged that Bikram Singh,
who heads the Army’s Eastern Command, was not fit to hold the
office.[ET p2]
5. Everyone has an obligation to not lower the dignity of the Army
Chief’s office, says PM :New Delhi :Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
today said everyone must work to ensure the dignity of the office of the
Chief of the Army Staff, in his first comments on the persisting perception
of a tussle between Gen. V K Singh and Defence Minister A K Antony.[IE
p1]
6. Govt trashes coup report, army denies breach of rules : New Delhi :
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and defence minister AK Antony on
Wednesday denied the newspaper report that the movement of army
personnel towards the Capital on the intervening night of January 16 and
17 was a breach of protocol.[HT p1]
7. Govt-Army ties at all-time low : BJP : New Delhi :In a measured
response, the BJP on Wednesday said it was “assured” by clarifications
from the Army and government on The Indian Express report on
unscheduled movement of two Army units in January, but underlined that
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should proactively restore the equilibrium
between the Defence Ministry and the Armed Forces.[HT p3]
8. Cong rubbishes coup report, BJP reassured’ : New Delhi : While the
Congress on Wednesday rubbished a newspaper report about troop
movements towards the capital in January, the Bharatiya Janata Party
said it was “reassured” by statements from the army and government. [HT
p10]
9. After Punjab, rebellion in Rajasthan Cong : Jaipur : A group of 12
Congress legislators from Rajasthan met party general secretary Rahul
Gandhi on Wednesday and complained against the state government. An
MLA claimed Gandhi assured them that he will personally look into the
issue, at the same time chief minister Ashok Gehlot downplayed the
meeting and called it a healthy indicator of democracy.[HT p14]
10. Tatra trucks case : Ravi Rishi denies any illegal deal: The CBI grilling
of Vectra group owner Ravi Rishi’s continued in the agency headquarter
on Wednesday. So far, he has maintained before investigators that there
was nothing illegal in the deal.[HT p14]
11. N-sub puts India in big league, Agni-5 next leap : New Delhi : After
completing the acquisition and induction of the nuclear-powered
submarine INS Chakra from Russia on Wednesday, India will strengthen
its strategic security further by testing the 5,000 kilometer-range Agni-5
missile around April 15.[HT p1]
12. SC upholds nixing of Vilasrao-Ghai land deal: New Delhi: The
Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by Subhash Ghaiowned
Mukta Arts against the Bombay high court’s rasping judgment
cancelling the Vilasrao Deshmukh government’s allotment of 20 acres to
the filmmaker’s company at throwaway prices for a film institute. [TOI p1]
13. Karat to continue as CPM general secretary: Kozhikode: CPM general
secretary Prakash Karat will continue in his post for one more term. The
20th CPM party congress will re-elect the central committee led by him on
April 9, sources said. [TOI p12]
14. We Alone Can Fight Graft, Says Karat: KOZHIKODE : CPM general
secretary Prakash Karat has said corruption was an offshoot of the
economic policies followed by ‘neo-liberal’ regimes and only a Leftdemocratic
alternative could fight the nexus of big business, ruling
politicians and bureaucrats ‘looting’ public funds and scarce resources in
the country. [ET p3]
15. Cash for buying land : Agarwal’s kin : Ranchi : The son-in-law of
Independent Rajya Sabha candidate from Jharkhand Raj Kumar Agarwal
has told the Income Tax department that the Rs 2.15 crore seized from a
vehicle just hours before the voting on March 30 was his and that the cash
was meant for purchase of a plot of land.[IE p8]
16. NRHM scam : CBI files second chargesheet : New Delhi : The CBI on
Wednesday filed the second chargesheet in the NRHM scam against
former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Family Welfare S P Ram and
three others for flouting tender rules in supply of medical kits.[IE p8]
17. PM, Antony must clear the air : Opp : New Delhi : The BJP on
Wednesday cautiously reacted to a news report about the “unusual
movement” of Army troops and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
“restore equilibrium” between the Defence Ministry and Army. It also
asserted there should be no room for any “sponsored story” after the
rebuttal from the Government and Army.[Pioneer Daily p1]
18. Himachal tables Lokayukta Bill ; Kejriwal slammed : Shimla :After
facing criticism from Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on the Himachal
Pradesh Lokayukta Bill and the Opposition demanding statements from
the Government, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal tabled the Bill in the
Assembly and lashed out at the social activist saying his statements are
not sacrosanct.[Pioneer Daily p4]
19. Political Parties Keep a Private Eye, Private intelligence agencies are
advising political parties on ticket seekers and rivals: NEW DELHI :
As political parties learn to set up central war-rooms in their headquarters
during elections to civic bodies, state assemblies or the Lok Sabha, they
are increasingly depending on private detective agencies to collect and
collate data in order to gauge people’s mood, select prospective
candidates and know rival strategies. [ET p3]
20. Digvijaya, Khurshid & Co may face fire for UP debacle, Rahul Set To
Meet State Leaders For Defeat Postmortem: New Delhi: Did you get
the support of Youth Congress? Did you get the support of NSUI? Of Seva
Dal? Of AICC and PCC delegates? Of district Congress committee and
city Congress committee? Of Mahila Congress? Reasons for defeat,
names of party workers who did good work, suggestions for future.[TOI
p13]
21. Gaffe-stung Cong praises wily Modi with caution, Rural Min’s Letter
Lauding Guj Also Praises Other States: New Delhi: Narendra Modi’s
penchant for turning any praise from the Centre into a political weapon
against the Congress has the government treading with care. [TOI p15]
22. Paswan rules out third front : New Delhi : The Lok Janshakti Party
(LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan has ruled out the possibility of formation of
‘third front. He stated that a non-Congress and non-BJP grouping at the
national level is least likely to take place.[AA p2]
23. Gadkari : BJP a party of the ‘disheartened’ : New Delhi : BJP is a
party with a difference and also of the disheartened, according to the BJP
president, Mr Nitin Gadkari. At a meeting with party candidates and officebearers
in connection with the upcoming civic polls in Delhi, Mr Gadkari
reportedly said BJP is a party of ‘disheartened lot as the aspirations of the
people are sky high and almost impossible to fulfil.[The Statesman p4]
24. BJP to take call on second term for Gadkari next month : New Delhi :
The BJP is likely to hold its once-a-year national council meeting in Shimla
next month. While BJP general secretaries met at the residence of
president Nitin Gadkari last night and held discussions on the venue and
rough dates for the meeting, the final decision is likely to be taken only
after wider consultations.[The Tribune p2]
25. Govt may cut excise on petrol to avert price hike: New Delhi: The
finance ministry has indicated to oil companies that it may reduce the
excise duty on petrol to lower their under-recovery burden, a move that is
expected to help consumers do without an additional burden. [TOI p20]
26. Hafiz Saeed’s brother-in-law is LeT-Taliban conduit: New Delhi: While
Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has become the most visible
symbol in India of terror emanating from Pakistan, his brother-in-law Abdul
Rehman Makki, is seen as an equally dangerous and rabid anti-India face
of terror by Indian agencies. [TOI p1]
27. UP relief for Muslims in terror cases: Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh
government will bring in a legislation to revoke false terror cases lodged
against innocent Muslim youth in the state and provide them with suitable
compensation. [TOI p15]
28. 2G: SC starts hearing in PC case, CBI Terms Material Against Min
Old, Says No Merit In Plea: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on
Wednesday began hearing on petitions seeking investigations into the
alleged role of P Chidambaram as the finance minister to overrule finance
ministry officials’ objection on sale of spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices, but
the CBI said there was no merit in the plea.[TOI p16]
29. Odisha govt offers to swap 27 for MLA, Italian: Bhubaneswar: A day
before the April 5 deadline set by the Maoists for fulfillment of their
demands in exchange for the release of Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina
Hikaka, the Naveen Patnaik government blinked on Wednesday and
agreed to release 27 people in various Odisha jails in exchange for Hikaka
as well as Italian Bosusco Paolo. The Maoists are yet to respond. [TOI p1]
30. Illegal colony file goes missing, Lokayukta asks for filing of FIR: New
Delhi: The issue of bogus unauthorized colonies that were ineligible for
regularization being issued provisional regularization certificates has put
former urban development minister, who is now in charge of PWD, Raj
Kumar Chauhan, in a spot. [TOI p2]
31. EC notice to DPCC chief for appeal to Muslims on vote split: New
Delhi: The election commission on Wednesday issued a show-cause
notice to Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Jai
Prakash Aggarwal, seeking a reply on BJP’s allegation that his appeal
made to Muslims to not split their vote is inappropriate. EC has given
Aggarwal 24 hours to reply.[TOI p7]
32. Mukhi’s son-in-law joins Cong: New Delhi: The defection of senior BJP
leader and MLA from Janakpuri Jagdish Mukhi’s son-in-law, Suresh
Kumar, to the Congress camp has come as a big blow for BJP, which is
already contending with rebels in many wards.[TOI p7]
33. Matiala strongman eyes an assembly seat: New Delhi: Two-term
deputy mayor and BJP heavyweight from Matiala ward in west Delhi,
Rajesh Gehlot, says he will be voted back to power for the development
work carried out by him in the area – construction of new community halls,
relaying of roads, development of parks and success in getting approval
for construction of a football stadium in the ward from Delhi Development
Authority (DDA), of which he is a member. [TOI p7]
34. Cong banks on Sheila magic to trounce BJP, asks her to finalise
party manifestoes : New Delhi:In 2008, she made a record of sorts by
winning the assembly elections for the third time in succession. In 2009,
the Congress swept the parliamentary elections 7-0 in the city and the
credit once again was given to her.[HT p4]
35. As usual, BJP to line up actor brigade : New Delhi : In a bid to pull
crowds in its public meetings ahead of the municipal elections, the
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to line up its star campaigners.
The list includes Bollywood actors, national leaders; chief ministers of
NDA-ruled states and cricketers.[HT p5]
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
36. After 3 wins, Romney eyes Obama: Milwaukee: Mitt Romney made a
big leap toward winning the Republican US presidential nomination with a
clean sweep of three primaries on Tuesday that handed a stinging defeat
to chief rival Rick Santorum. [TOI p19]
