NEWS IN BRIEF – DEC 24, 2011
1. Why pressure MPs at work, HC asks Anna, ‘Your Stir May Be
Nuisance For Others’: Mumbai: The Bombay high court has rejected
Team Anna’s plea to direct the Maharashtra government to allot
MMRDA’s Bandra-Kurla Complex ground for free for Hazare’s three-day
fast beginning December 27 observing that what may be a “satyagraha”
for the group could be a “nuisance” for others. [TOI p1]
2. If Bill is in Parliament, why protest outside: Court to Team Anna :
Mumbai : Questioning the methods and the ethics of Anna Hazare’s
proposed fast in Mumbai next week to press for a strong Lokpal bill, the
Bombay High Court today refused to intervene in the petition by his
supporters seeking concessions in charges for using a government
ground as the venue for its campaign.[IE p1]
3. Govt confident allies will back it on Lokpal, Ready For Give & Take,
Won’t Budge On CBI: New Delhi: Confident of the backing of its allies,
the Manmohan Singh government is prepared for some give and take on
the Lokayukta provision in the Lokpal Bill but is not in a mood to yield on
relinquishing administrative control over the CBI or reviewing the minority
quota in the nine-member anti-graft body. [TOI p14]
4. I have faith in Parliament, but pressure is necessary : Anna : Pune :
Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare on Friday reiterated that he had
faith in Parliament, but said pressure must be mounted on it to pass a
strong Lokpal Bill.[The Hindu p1]
5. Thousands make beeline to join Anna’s Jail Bharo : New Delhi : Anticorruption
crusader Anna Hazare’s movement picked up momentum on
Friday with thousands registering themselves online for the three-day ‘Jail
Bharo Andolan’ from December 30. Earlier, the Bombay High Court
rejected the Team Anna’s plea seeking concession in hiring fee of Stateowned
MMRDA Ground for Anna’s three-day protest from December
27.[Pioneer Daily p1]
6. BJP, Left Differ on Minority Reservation…, BJP calls it dangerous,
Left finds inadequate: NEW DELHI : The Opposition on Friday hit out at
the minority quota decision of the Centre, but for diametrically opposite
reasons. While BJP opposed the move dubbing it as yet another instance
of vote bank politics, the Left said the 4.5% reservation for minorities was
inadequate. [ET p3]
7. ‘CBI’s autonomy seriously compromised’ : New Delhi : A day after the
introduction of the anti-graft Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011, in the Lok
Sabha, sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday felt that
the agency’s autonomy of investigation had been “seriously
compromised”.[The Hindu p12]
8. Prashant Bhushan cleared the idea to move HC : Mumbai IAC :
Mumbai : The decision to approach the Bombay High Court to seek
concessions in MMRDA’s charges for the venue of Anna Hazare’s
proposed fast next week was apparently taken by the Mumbai unit of India
Against Corruption on the advice of Team Anna core committee member
Prashant Bhushan.[IE p6]
9. Govt may have to Warm up to NDA to Wriggle out of Lokjam : NEW
DELHI : A day after the Lokpal bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, the
government seems to be caught in a strange situation that leaves it with a
sole option for steering clear of the crisis: speak to the NDA. [ET p2]
10. Disruptive Oppn, critical Mamata stall crucial bills : NEW DELHI: A
powerful ally with veritable veto powers and a combative opposition
derailed the UPA government’s legislative agenda for the winter session of
Parliament.[HT p1]
11. Ahead of debate, Cong, BJP issue whip to MPs: New Delhi: Congress
is expected to issue a whip to its MPs to be present during the Lokpal
debate next week, signalling that all-round hostility to the proposed antigraft
ombudsman witnessed in Parliament on Thursday has not affected
its decision to enact the bill. [TOI p14]
12. Efforts on for retail FDI consensus, says Pranab : NEW DELHI:
Reiterating commitment to push forward economic reforms, finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the Centre is making efforts to
build a consensus on important economic legislations, including the
pension bill and FDI in multi-brand retail.[HT p1]
13. Foreign handlers possibly helping Anna: Cong MP : New Delhi:
Bareilly MP Pravin Aron accused Gandhian Anna Hazare of conspiring
against Congress with a possible foreign hand, questioning his insistence
on Jan Lokpal Bill when the Centre had brought a strong legislation to
combat corruption.[TOI p15]
14. Stage set for UP, other assembly polls in Feb: New Delhi: The Centre
on Friday agreed to provide adequate central security forces to help the
Election Commission (EC) in its plan to complete elections in Uttar
Pradesh in February, boosting the prospect of an early announcement of
dates — which could come on Saturday itself — for the politically crucial
contest. [TOI p1]
15. EC may go for multi-phase polls in UP, single in others : New Delhi:
With the Centre agreeing on Friday to provide forces for all assembly polls
in February, the EC is expected to announce the timetable anytime now.
Indications are that while EC will go for five- to seven-phase polls in UP, it
may decide on a single-phase exercise in Punjab, Goa, Manipur and
Uttarakhand. [TOI p22]
16. Natarajan Slams Maya Govt for Apathy Towards Rivers : NEW DELHI
: The Congress’ strategy of “encircling” the Mayawati government saw
Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan charging the Uttar
Pradesh government with being “lackadaisical and indifferent” on the
implementation of river conservation projects, particularly those related to
the Ganga and its tributaries. [ET p3]
17. Ajit, Digvijay meet PC, seek inclusion of Jats in OBC list : New Delhi:
In a politically significant move that may have its bearing on poll-bound
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, the newly appointed civil aviation
minister and RLD chief Ajit Singh and Congress leader Digvijay Singh on
Friday met home minister P Chidambaram seeking inclusion of Jats in the
Central list of backward classes. [TOI p19]
18. Key meeting today, early polls in UP is straw in EC wind : New Delhi :
Gearing up to announce the schedule for Assembly elections to five pollbound
states of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh,
the Election Commission today held discussions with Union Home
Secretary R K Singh regarding the availability of paramilitary forces.[IE
p1]
19. BJP calls quota for Muslims a poll stunt : New Delhi: The
government’s proposal to carve out a sub-quota for minorities within the
27% reservation for OBCs drew sharp reactions from the opposition with
the BJP rejecting it outright and the CPM demanding that the quantum be
10% and not 4.5% as suggested by the government. [TOI p19]
20. Muslims unexcited, Christians say no gains : NEW DELHI: A day after
the government signed off on a major political demand of Muslims by
earmarking a 4.5% sub-quota in jobs and university seats, prominent
community organisations said: a welcome move, but hardly enough.[HT
p8]
21. Raise OBC quota to 52%, says Sharad : New Delhi:Key NDA ally JD(U)
on Friday demanded that reservation for OBCs in educational institutions
and government jobs be increased from the current 27% to 52%. The
party’s national president Sharad Yadav also urged scrapping of the
creamy layer provision in OBC reservation, calling it redundant as all
reserved seats were not being filled by OBC candidates in any case. [TOI
p19]
22. Rahul slams Uttarakhand govt for diverting funds : DEHRADUN:
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the ruling
BJP in Uttarakhand of corruption, kicking off his party’s campaign in the
hill state which goes to polls early next year.[HT p8]
23. BJP sees hope in OBC backlash : NEW DELHI: The Centre’s decision
of carving a 4.5% sub-quota for minorities within the 27% reservation for
Other Backward Classes (OBC) is making ripples already.[HT p8]
24. ‘Achary claim of threat in court just a drama’, Intended To Influence
Chandolia’s Bail Plea: Raja: New Delhi: Former telecom minister A Raja
on Friday said CBI’s key witness Aseervatham Achary’s statement on
Thursday of being threatened by a person sitting in the courtroom was
“drama” intended to influence the pending bail petition of Raja’s former
private secretary and co-accused R K Chandolia which will be heard by
the Supreme Court on January 2. [TOI p17]
25. I-T searches unearthed 18,700 cr in last 2 years : New Delhi: More
than Rs 18,700 crore of unaccounted wealth has been unearthed across
the country after searches were conducted by the income tax officials in
the last two years, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said on Friday. [TOI
p21]
26. Maha govt aided Adarsh scam: CAG : Nagpur: The state government
has been blamed for actively aiding and abetting the Adarsh housing
society scam, in a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of
India, which was tabled in the legislative assembly on Friday. [TOI p11]
27. Akali Dal announces 48 names for Punjab polls : Chandigarh : The
ruling Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday announced the names of 48
candidates, including Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, for the
upcoming Punjab Assembly polls.[The Hindu p7]
28. ‘Kalmadi flouted rules during Youth CWG’, Report Tabled In
Assembly Says 1,190cr Spent Was Several Times Higher Than
Budget: Nagpur: There’s more dirt on Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi who
is cooling his heels in Tihar jail after a scam was unearthed in the 2010
New Delhi Commonwealth Games. The Comptroller and Auditor General
of India has said that rules and regulations were blatantly flouted even
during the Commonwealth Youth Games held in Pune in 2008. [TOI p11]
29. Hurriyat Faces Pressure from Within to Restructure : SRINAGAR :
The flock that makes up the moderate Hurriyat of peacenik Mirwaiz Umer
Farooq is restive, with a strong demand gaining ground for reorganising
the alliance and reviving its mass-contact programme. [ET p3]
30. Pravin Mahajan death : SHRC orders relief : Mumbai : Holding medical
officers in jail responsible for Pravin Mahajan’s death, the Maharashtra
State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the state to probe
them. It has also asked the state to take action against the officers for
allegedly showing negligence and casual approach towards a diabetic
Mahajan, which allegedly later caused his death.[IE p9]
31. Cong fourth list in UP has 16 Muslims, six women : New Delhi : That
the Congress is trying hard to play the minority card in the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly polls is evident not only from the announcement of a sub-quota
within the OBC reservation for them but also in the list of its 58 candidates
for the Assembly polls. For, as many as 16 Muslims figure in the list
released by the party on Friday.[Pioneer Daily p5]
32. Malegaon accused U.P. poll candidate : New Delhi : All India Hindu
Mahasabha is fielding Malegaon bomb blast case accused major Ramesh
Upadhyay as its candidate from two seats in the upcoming Assembly
election in Uttar Pradesh.[AA p2]
33. Congress may dent BSP, SP votebank : New Delhi : The Congress
could make a dent in the Mulayam – Mayawati support base among
Muslims following the Centre’s decision to fix a 4.5 per cent share for
minorities within the existing 27 percent Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
reservation in jobs.[AA p2]
34. Gowda meets BJP top brass : New Delhi : Karnataka Chief Minister D
V Sadananda gowda on Friday met BJP top brass, including party chief
Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi, a day after he got elected to the Upper House
of the State.[AA p2]
35. Atal’s birthday to be celebrated as Good Governance Day : New Delhi
: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday will be celebrated
as Good Governance Day by Lok Abhiyan at Siri Sort Auditorium here this
Sunday.[The Hindu p4]
36. Govt. mulling action in fraud illegal colonies case : New Delhi :
Having revoked the provisional regularisation certificates colonies after
they did not reply to notices sent by the Delhi Government and were found
to be ineligible for regularisation since they existed only on paper, Delhi
Urban Development A K Walia said on Friday that he would be discussing
the issue of panel action against the applicants and the architects who had
applied for regularisation claiming that they fulfilled the criteria laid out for
it.[The Hindu p4]
37. Delhi set to go higher, taller : NEW DELHI: After mid-rise structures with
12-15 floors that came up in east and west Delhi in the early 90s, the city
is now set to get skyscrapers a la Mumbai. Several developers are
constructing high-end residential towers of more than 15 floors. The tallest
project by Raheja Developers called Raheja Phoenix will have a 51-storey
tower.[HT p7]
38. MCD tips for master plan revamp : New Delhi: MCD has been asked to
give suggestions for revision of the Delhi Master Plan 2021. It will send a
list of suggestions to lieutenant governor, Tejendra Khanna, within a week
after discussing the issue with traders, RWAs and councillors. [TOI p6]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
39. Bhanwari case: Key suspect surrenders: Jodhpur: A key suspect in
the case of missing nurse Bhanwari Devi surrendered before a Jodhpur
court on Friday. Sahiram Bishnoi, who carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh,
had been on the run since October. [TOI p11]
EDITORIAL
40. The caste of corruption : Shekhar Gupta : Is there a caste or communal
link to corruption and crime? Or, are your chances of being involved (and
getting caught) in corruption cases higher as you go down the caste
ladder? Nobody in his right mind would say yes to either of these. But let’s
examine some facts.[IE p14]
SPORTS NEWS
41. India’s ‘golden girls’ get 1-yr ban, May Appeal, But Olympic Medal
Hope Recedes: New Delhi: The high-profile doping scandal that hit
Indian athletics earlier this year, took a decisive turn on Friday when six
track and field stars were handed one-year bans by a disciplinary panel of
the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). [TOI p1]
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
42. Kayani denies coup plan, Dismisses PM’s Fears As ‘Speculation’:
Islamabad: Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani on Friday
rubbished speculation about a possible military takeover, saying that “he
has and will continue to support the democratic process in the country’’.
[TOI p26]
