NEWS IN BRIEF – JAN 07, 2012
1. China at it again, denies visa to Arunachal officer, India Pulls Out
Entire 30-Member Delegation: New Delhi: India has put “on hold” the
visit of a 30-strong military delegation to China next week after Beijing
refused to issue a visa to one member, a colonel-rank IAF officer from
Arunachal Pradesh. [TOI p1]
2. Intel: Chinese from Tibet may target Dalai : Mumbai: The Mumbai
police have received intelligence inputs that some terrorists from the
Tibetan region of China may sneak in to India to eliminate the Tibetan
spiritual guru, the Dalai Lama. [TOI p9]
3. Uma joins anti-Kushwaha war cry, Discontent Grows As More BJP
Leaders Criticize Party For Inducting Tainted Neta: New Delhi: BJP’s
Babu Singh Kushwaha headache won’t go away anytime soon. Friday
began with BJP’s firebrand leader Uma Bharati throwing a tantrum over
the controversial BSP man’s induction and while it was later “clarified” that
reports of her threatening to withdraw from campaigning were incorrect,
the Kushwaha pot continues to bubble and boil. [TOI p9]
4. Kushwaha wedge: Will Mayawati forgive or forget BJP after polls? :
LUCKNOW: BJP’s decision to induct Mayawati’s one-time lieutenant Babu
Singh Kushwaha may sound a death knell for its probable post-poll
alliance with the BSP in case of a fractured verdict.[HT p11]
5. Bhushan Evaded . 1.35 cr Stamp Duty : LUCKNOW : In a major
embarrassment for civil society activist, Team Anna member Shanti
Bhushan was found to have evaded stamp duty of . 1.35 crore in the
purchase of a prime property here and slapped with a fine of over . 27 lakh
on the outstanding amount. [ET p3]
6. Cong focus on reserved seats : New Delhi: Congress has turned its
focus on reserved seats to boost its revival efforts in UP, taking a leaf out
of Mayawati’s book whose 2007 surge was powered by all-Scheduled
Caste contests across the state. [TOI p11]
7. Sons & daughters tilt in Cong list : Chandigarh: By the fag end of a
dismal, overcast day, almost every district in Punjab’s three regions,
Malwa, Majha, and Doaba, had erupted. Seething Congressmen, who
were denied tickets, were swearing revenge and sending ultimatums to
the high command. With thousands clamoring for 114 Congress tickets,
those left out in the cold are expected to create trouble for their own party.
[TOI p11]
8. Controversy over Nazrul Islam unnecessary : Biman : Kolkata :
West Bengal Left Front Committee chairman Biman Bose said here on
Friday that the controversy over the State’s proposal to rename a building
after the revolutionary poet Nazrul Islam could have been avoided.[The
Hindu p12]
9. Key U.P. officials biased, EC told : Lucknow : Some heads are likely to
roll before phase 1 of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections following a
fresh demand made by the opposition to the Election Commission for
removal of officials holding key positions in the Mayawati government.[TOI
p12]
10. Kalyan : Financial deal behind Kushwaha entry : Lucknow : Former
chief minister Kalyan Singh, who left BJP to form his own outfit, Friday
said a “financial deal” was behind the entry of former BSP minister Babu
Singh Kushwaha into the saffron outfit.[IE p8]
11. Kushwaha entry not hasty, but move to woo OBCs : BJP : New Delhi
: Asserting that it was “not a hasty step”, the BJP on Friday remained firm
on the decision to induct Babu Singh Kushwaha, the tainted ex-minister of
the BSP, into the party fold, indicating that it was a move aimed at playing
the OBC card in the state.[IE p8]
12. No criminals in Cong candidates list : Sibal : Lucknow : Congress
leaders Kabil Sibal and Sriprakash Jaiswal continued their attack on the
BSP and BJP over corruption terming it as one of the major issues in the
Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.[IE p8]
13. Will decide on alliances after polls, says SP : Moradabad : The SP on
Friday appeared to be keeping its options open on post-poll tie-ups with
parties, including Congress in case of a hung verdict in the UP Assembly
elections.[IE p8]
14. EC purdah on Maya statues : New Delhi : The Election Commission has
decided in principle to have all statues of Mayawati and that of her party
symbol, the elephant, covered ahead of elections in the state. The
announcement could be made on Saturday.[TOI p1]
15. BJP names candidated for Lucknow seats : Lucknow : The Bharatiya
Janata Party on Friday declared the fourth list of candidates for the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly elections next month. The list contains 46 names. The
candidates for Lucknow seats have also been cleared.[The Hindu p5]
16. With Maya Math Under Cloud, UP May Go Hung, Brahmins, who
switched allegiance to BSP in ’07, looking for other options: NEW
DELHI : Riding on its promise of ‘sarva hitaya samaj’ (serving all sections
of society) and getting the state rid of the mafia rule patronised by the
Samajwadi Party, BSP stormed to power in the 2007 assembly polls.[ET
p2]
17. Cong-CPI divide in Manipur widens, to contest separately : Imphal:
Cracks in Manipur’s Congress-CPI coalition have led the parties to decide
not to contest the assembly polls together. Led by CM Okram Ibobi Singh,
the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government has ruled for two straight
terms, but their “ideological differences” seem to have grown. [TOI p11]
18. In poll-bound In Punjab, it’s all in the family : Chandigarh : From State
Congress president Amarinder Singh’s son to the son-in-law of Congress
Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, to relatives of sitting
MPs and former Chief Ministers, the party’s list for elections to the 117-
member Punjab Assembly is sprinkled generously with members of
political families.[The Hindu p1]
19. Congress ready with 65 names for Uttarakhand polls : Dehradun :
The allocation of 65 out of 70 nominations for the Uttarakhand Assembly
polls by the Congress on Thursday night seems to have given it an edge
over the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which witnessed a near-revolt after
the announcement of 48 nominations on Tuesday.[The Hindu p12]
20. NRHM scam : : CBI arrests 2 orricials : Lucknow: The CBI has
arrested two senior government officials and one trader in connection with
the National Rural Health Mission scam. The two senior bureaucrats, Dr
S.P. Ram and Abhay Kumar Vajpayee, were arrested for irregularities.[AA
p1]
21. Kamladi cities delay in trial, seeks bail in CWG case : New Delhi :
The former commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh
Kalmadi, an accused in a Games-related graft case, on Friday sought bail
from the Delhi High Court on the ground of delay in start of the trial in the
case against him.[The Hindu p12]
22. Confused Team Anna takes note of Kejriwal call : New Delhi : While
there is discomfort within Team Anna core committee over Arvind
Kejriwal’s signed article that appeared on Friday seeking suggestions from
people on the course the movement should take, there is also a realization
on the need for a new direction. By afternoon, said Team Anna, they had
received “500-600” e-mail suggestions on the address posted by
Kejriwal.[The Hindu p12]
23. Lalli term over, search begins for new Prasar Bharati CEO : New
Delhi : After having secured an opinion from the Law Ministry that there
were no legal hurdles, the government has begun the process to select a
new chief executive officer (CEO) for Prasar Bharati to succeed B S Lalli,
the suspended CEO whose five-year term ended last week on December
28.[IE p2]
24. Capital’s crime rate register a 4% jump in 2011 : New Delhi : Incidents
of crime registered an over four percent increase with cases of kidnapping
for ransom, attempted murder and rape recording a sharp rise in the
Capital last year comparison with 2010. The Delhi Police have attributed
the increase to a prompt and fair registration of cases.[The Hindu p3]
25. Cong names 65, BJP remaining 22 : New Delhi : The Congress has
fielded Surendra Singh Negi against Chief Minister B C Khanduri in the
Kotdwar constituency in the Assembly polls in Uttarakhand. The Congress
on Friday named its nominees for 65 of the 70 constituencies, while the
BJP announced its candidates for all the remaining 22 seats.[IE p8]
26. Identity crisis’ triggers exodus from UKD-D : Dehradun : At least 150
members, including the Central Working Committee president, office
bearers and activists of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal-Democratic, have
resigned from membership. Some of them will contest the Assembly
election as Independent candidates.[Pioneer Daily p4]
27. BJP hard line may help, feels Cong : NEW DELHI:The Congress is
confident that its political constituency will consolidate if the Bharatiya
Janata Party ropes in hardliners in the campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections.[AA p2]
28. EC showcauses Ajit Pawar : Mumbai : The State Election Commission
(SEC) on Friday served a show cause notice on deputy Chief Minister Ajit
Pawar for allegedly violating the code of conduct for the forthcoming
municipal corporation and Zila Parishad polls.[Pioneer Daily p6]
29. Cong to target Maya over ‘land’ in UP : New Delhi : Even though
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to make land
acquisition a major poll plank has suffered a setback with the
Parliamentary Standing Committee delaying its report on the Bill, the
Congress is not discouraged.[Pioneer Daily p5]
30. Sena politics to get younger : MUMBAI: The youngest Thackeray,
Aditya, is on a mission to change the image of the Shiv Sena among the
youth. In the process, the Yuva Sena chief might just ruffle a few feathers
as he plans to promote the very cultural activities against which the Shiv
Sena had once taken a tough stand.[AA p1]
31. Delhi Assembly to skip colony scam : New Delhi : For people’s
representatives in the national Capital, the unauthorised colonies land
scam to the tune of thousands of crores and the ever spiralling prices of
essential commodities are not matters serious enough for discussion
during the winter session beginning from January 9. [Pioneer Daily p2]
32. In big reshuffle, Raman transfers 27 IPS officers : RAIPUR: Seen as a
pre-Assembly poll exercise, Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh late
on Thursday night effected a massive reshuffle at the top-level police
administration in the state, transferring as many as 27 IPS and five State
Police Service cadre officers. This was the largest ever reshuffle of toplevel
police officers in one go in the state, which goes to Assembly polls in
2013.[AA p2]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
33. SC clears decks for trial of Talwars in Aarushi murder, ‘Parents Can
Be Named Accused’: New Delhi: What was virtually given up as Delhi’s
most perplexing blind murder case was revived on Friday with the
Supreme Court clearing the decks for the trial of dentist couple Rajesh
and Nupur Talwar for the double murder of their 14-year-old daughter
Aarushi and their man-servant Hemraj. [TOI p1]
EDITORIAL
34. Getting it Right : BARKHA DUTT: If the outcome of political marathons
were determined by the quality of parliamentary interventions, the BJP
would easily sprint across the finish line. Whether it’s Sushma Swaraj -with
her fiery, passionate and powerful oratory or Arun Jaitley -whose cerebral
and intellectually robust arguments strike a high bipartisan note -the party
indisputably packs a punch on the floor of the House. [HT p12]
