NEWS IN BRIEF – MAR 14, 2012
1. 200m Indians have no TV, phone or radio : New Delhi: One-sixth of the country, or 200 million Indians, don’t possess most basic assets like a transistor or television set, phone, vehicle of any kind or a computer. In three states — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and MP— close to a third of the households own none of these assets. [TOI p1]
2. Half of India’s homes have cellphones, but not toilets : New Delhi :
Though half of all Indians do not have a toilet at home, well over half own
a telephone, new census data released on Tuesday show. These and
many other contrasting facts of life have come out in Census 2011. [The
Hindu p1]
3. Troubles mount for Cong, BJP sees chink in armour, NCTC, Calls For
Amendments To Prez Speech Worries Govt: New Delhi: The move by
various parties to seek amendments to the President’s address reflected
the Congress’s ongoing troubles with its increasingly restive allies and
gave an opening to the opposition BJP to fish in troubled waters. [TOI p9]
4. Revolt erupts in U’khand as Rawat denied CM post, 24 Out Of 32
MLAs Boycott Swearing-In: New Delhi: Congress’s sole victory in
Uttarakhand soured on Tuesday with a full-blown revolt threatening the
brand new government of Vijay Bahuguna. Bahuguna’s hasty swearing-in
as chief minister was marred by the absence of 24 party MLAs. Just eight
Congress MLAs attended it. Most of those who stayed away did so in
support of senior leader Harish Rawat’s protest against his candidature
bring overlooked. [TOI p1]
5. Again, Pranab appeals to UPA ally TMC : Don’t give Oppn a handle :
New Delhi : The UPA leadership today asked ally Trinamool Congress to
drop plans to move an amendment to the President’s address, because it
would “destabilise” the government and give the opposition a chance to
rock its boat.[IE p1]
6. Leaderless jihadi’ Wasim wanted to save Afzal Guru, says NIA : New
Delhi : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has described Wasim
Akram Malik, the alleged mastermind of the September 7, 2011 Delhi High
Court bombing, as an “avid Internet user” and believer in “leaderless
jihad”, drawing him in the likeness of former CIA officer Marc Sageman’s
construct of the twenty-first century terrorist.[IE p1]
7. Sibal reaches out to Gadkari : New Delhi : Human Resource
Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal has sought the cooperation of
BJP president Nitin Gadkari to get his stalled legislations passed in
Parliament in the Budget Session. The minister has offered to hold a
dialogue with BJP leaders to “allay their apprehensions and doubt and find
a path for moving forward on the reform agenda”.[IE p6]
8. BJP to target Ansari to get govt’s goat : New Delhi: The BJP plans to
question Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari’s decision to abruptly
adjourn the Upper House on December 27, 2011 on the ground that rules
of business specify that an adjournment due to disorder needs to be timebound.
[TOI p19]
9. SP (22 MPs) backs UPA : NEW DELHI: Giving relief to the beleaguered
Congress-led UPA-2 government, the Samajwadi Party, with 22 MPs in
the Lok Sabha, on Tuesday said it will ensure the Manmohan Singh
government serves its full term.[AA p1]
10. Govt Between Colombo and Chennai, Houses disrupted as DMK,
BJP & Left ask govt to support UNHRC motion: NEW DELHI :
11. Members from Tamil Nadu, including UPA constituent DMK, disrupted
Parliament proceedings on Tuesday, demanding India’s support to the
censure resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights
Council in Geneva. [ET p2]
12. CBI opposes bail for 2G accused Behura, Chandolia : New Delhi: The
CBI on Tuesday filed affidavits in the SC opposing grant of bail to 2G
spectrum scam accused R K Chandolia, former private secretary of key
accused and ex-telecom minister A Raja, and former telecom secretary
Siddhartha Behura on the ground that their alleged crime was much
graver than any penal offence. [TOI p11]
13. Fall in line, Pranab warns TC, DMK : New Delhi : Irked over UPA
alliance partners — Trinamool Congress and DMK — moving
amendments to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil’s Address to the Joint
Session of Parliament, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday
warned them not to press for them as it could destablise the
Government.[Pioneer Daily p1]
14. Mamata refuses to back Cong’s candidate for RS : Kolkata : The
Trinamool Congress will not back a Congress candidate to the Rajya
Sabha from Bengal. This notwithstanding a request made by 10 Janpath
through a ‘special emissary’ Shakeel Ahmed, who last week called on CM
Mamata Banerjee seeking her support for his party.[Pioneer Daily p1]
15. We will counter fiction: Gen Singh, Army Denies Tapping Again,
Says Officers Face Action: New Delhi: Continuing to vehemently deny
allegations of clandestinely tapping phones of senior defence ministry
officials, the Army says strict action is being taken against the serving
officers spreading such ‘fictitious, malicious and preposterous’ stories.
[TOI p13]
16. Maya assets doubled to 112 crore as CM : Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj
Party president Mayawati’s assets doubled during her chief ministership of
Uttar Pradesh, from Rs 52 crore in 2007 to Rs 111.64 crore when she filed
her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday. [TOI
p1]
17. Mamata may not relent on Prez speech : New Delhi: Finance minister
Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday requested UPA partners to withdraw
amendments moved by some of them to the President’s address, saying
the opposition could latch onto them to press for a vote. This could
endanger the government. [TOI p1]
18. If there is a mishap, govt could go, fears Pranab : New Delhi:
Appealing to UP A’s allies to withdraw amendments moved by them to the
President’s address, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said such
amendments were not the norm. He added that a reversal in Lok Sabha
could prove fatal for the government. [TOI p9]
19. Grand swearing-in for Akhilesh Yadav : LUCKNOW: A grand swearingin
ceremony, expected to be attended by over 50,000 people, is being
planned for UP’s youngest chief minister-designate Akhilesh Yadav. The
swearing-in ceremony will be held on the La Martinere School grounds
right in front of the UP chief minister’s official residence. An eight-foot-high
podium is being constructed for the ceremony and the seating
arrangements will be done on a three-tiered basis.[TOI p9]
20. Maya files nomination papers for Rajya Sabha : LUCKNOW: Bahujan
Samaj Party president and outgoing UP chief minister Mayawati on
Tuesday filed her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha giving a clear
indication that she will not move to national politics.[AA p2]
21. Jharkhand Independents hold key to Upper House : Ranchi : Come
spring, Jharkhand will witness migration of mankind — Rajya Sabha
aspirants who wish to negotiate with political parties over ‘transaction’ of
votes in the elections to the Upper House.[Pioneer Daily p6]
22. Congress depends on independents to win in Rajasthan : Jaipur :
The ruling Congress has to depend heavily on the support of
independents to win two Rajya Sabha seats as two of its MLAs — sacked
Minister Mahipal Maderna and Malkhan Singh — would not be able to cast
their votes, being in judicial custody for their alleged involvement in nurse
Bhanwari Devi’s murder.[Pioneer Daily p6]
23. Akalis spruce up oath-taking venue of Badal :CHANDIGARH: As
Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal is about to take the oath as the chief
minister of Punjab for the fifth time on Wednesday, the swearing in
ceremony is gaining a lot of attention for its grandiose.[AA p2]
24. SC takes charge of Kripa probe : New Delhi: The Supreme Court on
Tuesday took charge of the probe into the alleged disproportionate assets
of former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh and his family
members by asking Mumbai Police to file a status report . [TOI p11]
25. CM says he’ll convince BSY to stay united : Bangalore : The decision
of the former Chief Minister and BJP strongman BS Yeddyurappa not to
campaign for the March 18 Udupi-Chikmagalur bypoll to Lok Sabha has
caused a flurry in the Karnataka BJP.[Pioneer Daily p7]
26. CBI officials attacked by Chhattisgarh cops, Agency Moves Apex
Court Seeking Protection: New Delhi: In an incident showing it is not
just the Naxals but the Chhattisgarh government’s answer to them ––the
Special Police Officers––too that add to lawlessness in the state, the CBI
has demanded protection from SPOs for its team sent to the state upon
orders of the Supreme Court.[TOI p11]
27. Kerala bypoll: Fronts struggle : Piravam : How does the resignation of
the Marxist legislator representing Neyyattinkara in southernmost Kerala
affect the people of Piravam Assembly constituency in central
Kerala?[Pioneer Daily p7]
28. Only party can bail out Bahuguna : New Delhi: Since 17 of the 32
Congress MLAs revolted against Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay
Bahuguna right at the time of his swearing-in on Tuesday, there is a
question mark on the stability of the government despite all the safeguards
in the anti-defection. [TOI p13]
29. TMC Refuses to Back Cong RS Nominee : NEW DELHI : The
Trinamool Congress appears determined to push Congress to the margins
of West Bengal’s politics. On Tuesday Mamata Banerjee refused to back
her ally’s nominee for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. [ET p2]
30. After Didi, Nitish, too, skips Badal’s swearing-in, Jaya To Send An
Emissary For Ceremony: Chandigarh: The swearing in ceremony of
Parkash Singh Badal as chief minister of Punjab may see a galaxy of
political stars descend on the historic battlefield of Chhapar Chiri near
here on Wednesday, but the prospect of the birth of another political battle
in the shape of a third front, has fizzled out with most of the ‘likely warriors’
and those calling for snap polls staying away. [TOI p15]
31. Peeved Rawat writes to Sonia : New Delhi: Vijay Bahuguna’s choice as
Uttarakhand CM is seen as a complete surprise and Harish Rawat, an
ultra party loyalist, was taken a back by it. Rawat stayed put in Delhi and
his flock’s revolt has raised serious questions about the viability of the
Bahuguna government. Even if the leadership succeeds in hammering out
a compromise by offering Rawat’s men plum ministries, it is likely to be a
wobbly arrangement. [TOI p13]
32. HJC merger kept us out of power : INLD to SC : New Delhi : The INLD
today contended in the Supreme Court that the Haryana Assembly
Speaker’s decision to allow the merger of the HJC with the Congress in
2009 had denied the INLD a chance to come back to power. [The Tribune
p7]
33. Maya’s Delhi bungalow valued at 54.80 crore : Lucknow: Bahujan
Samaj Party president Mayawati in her nomination papers for the Rajya
Sabha elections has shown two residential buildings, one each in Delhi
and Lucknow. The market value of the two assets is Rs 77.54 crore. While
the commercial buildings were purchased in 2004 and 2005, the
residential [TOI p14]
34. Post-UP fiasco, BJP thirsts for young blood : NEW DELHI: The dismal
performance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veterans in Uttar Pradesh,
many of them from the days of the Ram temple movement, has left the
party with little choice. BJP leaders say they will now have to rebuild the
party from scratch, filling its ranks -from “top to bottom“ -with fresh
faces.[HT p11]
35. Election panel chief to supervise draw for symbols : New Delhi:With
political parties coming forward to seek the same symbol, the state
election commission has decided to amend its symbol order. Earlier, the
returning officer of a constituency could hold a draw of lots in case of more
than one contender. [TOI p7]
36. Masood murder: BJP MLA resigns from party post : BHOPAL :In the
eye of storm over his alleged relations with the main accused in the
Shehla Masood murder case-Zahida Parvez-Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA
Dhruv Narayan Singh resigned as the state BJP vice-president.[HT p10]
37. Funds misuse remark: Gupta hits back at CM, Says She Is Muzzling
Protests Against Her Govt: New Delhi: A day after CM Sheila Dikshit
accused Vijender Gupta of fund misuse, the BJP state president hit back
by calling Dikshit a “dictator”. He said she was acting in a high-handed
way by making false allegations against him and his wife’s NGO
Sampurna.Gupta also said he will file defamation case against Dikshit.
[TOI p7]
38. BJP on an overdrive to win Poorvanchali votes: NEW DELHI: In an
effort to appease Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may give as
many as 40 to 50 election tickets to candidates belonging to the
community.[HT p4]
39. Small parties come together to contest polls : NEW DELHI: A group of
small parties led by the Indian Justice Party on Tuesday formed a front to
contest the upcoming municipal polls in Delhi alleging that Congress and
BJP were giving tickets to “selfish“ people who do not work for the welfare
of the common man.[HT p4]
LEGAL/CRIME NEWS
40. NHRM Case : Kushwaha in judicial custody : GHAZIABAD: A special
CBI court on Tuesday remanded former UP minister Babu Singh
Kushwaha and former BSP MLA Ram Prata Jaiswal in judicial custody for
14 days in connection with the multi crore rupee NHRM scam.[HT p10]
41. MP Govt ready for CBI probe in Kumar killing : Bhopal : The Madhya
Pradesh Government has decided to recommend a CBI investigation in
the killing of IPS officer Narendra Kumar. Speaking to media-persons in
the State Assembly premises, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on
Tuesday said his Government was ready for the CBI probe. [Pioneer
Daily p4]
