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]

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