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Gehlot accuses Centre of bias

MUMBAI, Oct 26: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today accused the Centre of not being serious about tackling the severe drought which has ravaged his State for the fifth consecutive year.

Talking to UNI, Mr Gehlot who is on a two-day visit to the city, said that due to the failure of monsoon over the last five years, the five crore population and 5.5 crore cattle were facing hardships. "I had written to the Centre about this grim situation urging for financial aid to help deal with the situation, but it seems the centre is not serious about it," he said.

Mr Gehlot admitted that Rajasthan was facing shortage of water, electricity and fodder and said that if corrective measures were not taken immediately, the situation could aggravate. "One state alone cannot complete the gigantic task of relief on this massive scale and the centre should help out on humanitarian grounds and provide the access to foodgrains stored in godowns across the country," he said.

He said Rajasthan had demanded financial aid of Rs 7000 crore and 56 lakh metric tonnes wheat from the centre. "The money has still not come and only two lakh metric tonnes of wheat was received", the Chief Minister said.

In contrast, he pointed out that Andhra Pradesh ruled by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a coalition partner of the NDA, has received 15 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains so far. Mr Gehlot said he did not want a conflict with the Centre, "but it too should not discriminate between states in this manner". Mr Gehlot accused the BJP of politicising the drought issue in Rajasthan with an eye on next year’s Assembly elections.

Denying that there were starvation deaths in any part of the northern State, he noted that the area of Kishanganj Sabad, where Adivasis have allegedly died due to starvation, is in the parliamentary constituency of BJP State unit president Vasundhara Raje. "If the reports were true, the party should have immediately informed the State Government and she should have been the first to visit the place to provide relief to the victims."

While admitting that starvation may exist in some parts due to the constant drought for five years, he, however, said there is no such situation that people have died due to it.

Mr Gehlot said the reports of child deaths due to starvation were "politically motivated". "Why are the State BJP leaders not pressuring the Centre for more funds for the State to tackle the severe drought, instead of making it a political issue", he asked.

Mr Gehlot said his Government was doing its best to provide relief to the drought-affected people. The relief operations were started from August 16 itself, he informed. So far, eight lakh people had been given employment under the drought relief schemes.

He informed that even minimum power charges for agricultural farmers have been waived and they would have to pay only the actual charges on electricity used.

To enable assured six-hour electricity supply for rabi crop farmers, the Rajasthan State Electricity Board has resorted to loadshedding in urban areas, he said. In the urban areas, after Diwali, the State Government has banned decoration lights and appealed to the people to ensure minimum use of electricity during festivals and marriages.

Mr Gehlot along with his ministers have decided to deposit a month’s salary towards the State drought relief fund. MLAs and MPs have also been urged to follow suit, he added. (UNI)

Opposition parties gaining political mileage out of Dulina killings

FATEHABAD, Oct 26: Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today said the opposition parties were trying to gain political mileage out of the unfortunate incident of dalit killings which occurred at Dulina village in Jhajjar district on October 15.

The Chief Minister was addressing a public meeting during the third phase of ‘sarkar aapke dwar’ programme here.

Mr Chautala took a strong view of the way the opposition parties, especially the Congress, were misleading the people and trying to divide them in the name of religion, communalism and caste and creed.

He appealed to the people of the state to maintain amity and not to be misguided by vested interests whose only aim was to fulfil their political ends by hampering the speedy development taking place in the state under the ‘sarkar aapke dwar’ programme.

He criticised the leaders of opposition party for approaching the Governor on paddy procurement issue, saying only the present Government could safeguard the interests of the farmers and added that the paddy procurement procedure was going on in a smooth and systematised manner in all the state mandis.

He also lambasted the Congress party for adopting double standards on the issue of corruption as on the one hand, they appreciated the steps taken by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for curbing this menace and on the other hand accused him of being vindictive when his Government initiated the same measures.

He reminded people that opposition parties had earlier tried to give political colour to the incidents at Loharu and Kaithal by instigating one community against the other.

Mr Chautala stressed that the present Government would undertake the repair works of all the chaupals and phirnis in the state and would also bear the expenses. He said during the tenure of the previous regimes the villagers themselves had to bear the cost of repairs of all these developmental activities. He further said a veterinary hospital would be set up within a limit of every five km in the state.

Acceding to the demands of the Fatehabad city, the Chief Minister accepted the demand for the construction of old age homes in the villages of Dhani Sadhwali, Azad Nagar, Bhodia Khera and Bhima Basti. He also sanctioned additional rooms for schools in the villages of Ayalki, Bhodia Khera and Bisla. Besides this, he also ordered a HVPN authorities to provide tubewell connections to the village panchayat Ayalki before Diwali.

Mr Chautala also sanctioned a district library for Fatehabad and announced the provision of all basic amenities in the approved colonies.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the newly constructed Manohar Memorial Institute of Management and Technology, which had been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. The institute would consist of all modern facilities, including a computer lab and a library, and would provide training to 60 students in the course of master of computer applications.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister personally visited anaj mandi, Fatehebad, to check the on-going procurement of paddy. He was accompanied by Finance Minister Samapat Singh, member of Parliament Dr Sushil Indora, local MLA Ch Lila Krishan and others senior officers of the district administration.(UNI)

President’s advise to students

SHILLONG, Oct 26: President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam has stressed the need for economic prosperity as the sole remedy for poverty and militancy in the North East and the eradication of all "negative tendencies."

Interacting with a group of 220 students from various schools of the city at Rajbhavan yesterday, Dr Kalam said the North Eastern region was tremendously rich in natural resources, particularly water resources.

50,000 mw of power could be produced in the North-East by tapping water resources to boost the economy, he said.

When the students sought from him a solution to the militancy and poverty in the region, Dr Kalam said economic prosperity was the only way to eradicate all negative tendencies and advised them to plan ahead for their future to make the country a developed and peaceful nation.

The President also interacted with students at Pdengshkap village after laying the foundation stone of the 84 mw Myntdu Leshka hydel power project in Jayantia hills district.

Dr Kalam held a meeting with six NGOs including the Federation of Riwar Mihngi Local Dorbars (FRMLD) at Rajbhavan.

In a memorandum the FRMLD president requested Dr Kalam to stop the ongoing construction of fencing along the Indo Bangladesh border with Meghalaya till the long pending border dispute with that country is solved.

The memorandum also requested the President to reopen the border ‘hats’ with bangladesh for the economic benefit of the people living in the border.

Earlier, Dr Kalam held a meeting with Chief Minister Dr F Khonglam and his cabinet collegues. (PTI)

Cong adopting "double standards" on conversion issue: Naidu

CHENNAI, Oct 26: BJP president Venkaiah Naidu today charged Congress with adopting "double standards" on the Tamil Nadu anti-conversion ordinance and suggested a "national debate" on the matter and a legislation on similar lines by other States in the country.

"Why are the opposition parties and minorities in Tamil Nadu raising a `hue and cry’ over the ordinance," he asked and wanted to know if Congress was ready to "withdraw" a similar law enacted by it in states like Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Orissa.

Naidu, who was addressing a press conference here, alleged that the Congress in Tamil Nadu was opposing the ordinance just because its political opponent, AIADMK, had taken the initiative to ban conversion.

Describing the agitation on the issue by the minority organisations as "totally uncalled for and vitiating the atmosphere," he said what was more objectionable was that certain missionaries had decided to close down schools. "Education is a service and they have rigged it with conversion," he said.

Naidu said that there is no scope for its misuse. Similar laws existed even in Islamic countries, he said.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi as having said.. "If I had the power to legislate, I would certainly stop all proselytizing," Naidu said "my appeal to the minorities will be not to mix education with religion."

Stating that a "lot of money" was coming into India from abroad to aid conversion activities in the country, Naidu regretted that the conversion issue was now acquiring needless "political dimensions." Forceful conversions often led to social disharmony and tensions, he said.

"There should be a national debate on this issue and we have to come to a consensus that every State in the country should have such a legislation," he said.

About the apprehensions of its misuse, Naidu said the Tamil Nadu Government would be open to suggestions when the bill, to replace the ordinance, was passed in the State Assembly.

On RSS criticising the Prime Minister and BJP holding talks with RSS, Naidu said talking to the RSS did not mean following their agenda.

"RSS is a nationalist organisation and we are not apologetic about our connections with the RSS," he said, adding the BJP held talks with the RSS recently on various "national issues and other issues of mutual interest."

"BJP would like to have cordial relations with all nationalist organisations including RSS and VHP. One statement here and there by RSS should not affect our relationship," he said and criticised Congress for demanding a ban on the RSS.

"They (Congress) do not want a ban on SIMI and ISI but on the RSS, which is doing a selfless service," Naidu added. (PTI)

NCP promises to pull NE out of ‘morass’

GUWAHATI, Oct 26: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has committed itself to a strategic response to pull the North East out of the present "morass".

In its ‘Vision 2020’ for the North East, the party said the region, as the natural gateway for India’s integration with the association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a special region specific export-import policy needs to be established.

Under this policy, export production and export-import business should be encouraged it added.

Releasing the ‘vision’ at a press conference here, former Lok Sabha Speaker and NCP general secretary P A Sangma said traditionally informal trade flows have been taking place through more than a score of border points between the North-Eastern States and the bordering countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mayanmar and China.

Efforts had already been made to recognise these trade flows. A border trade agreement has been entered with Myanamr in 1994. There was also an Indo-China Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard.

In the overall perspective of India’s integration with the ASEAN, border trade should be legalised, expanded and strengthened with supportive international trade infrastructure, he said. Mr Sangama said the party’s vision would be discussed with other political parties. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a major regional party, had already responded, he said adding that a series of seminars on it would be held at different places.

In the ‘vision’, the party had given details about its views on different fields, including agriculture, infrastructure and tourism.

The NCP felt that tourism should be seen as a prime mover of growth in the region. The North-East’s natural resource and ethnic and cultural diversities held out significant potential for eco, adventure, sports, cultural and religious tourism, it added.

Domestic and international tourist flow to the region, however, was rather meagre. The problems which needed to be addressed were lack of publicity and basic amenities for tourists, transport and communication problems and inadequacy of trained manpower for tourism management, besides varying degrees of movement restrictions in the region, he said.

The party had also emphasised on the need to control population. According to the census 2001, the growth rate of population in all the states of the region (except for assam and tripura), ranging from 2.6 to 6.4 per cent, was much higher than the all-India rate, which was 2.1 per cent. (UNI)

Rule may be framed against slogan-shouting in Assembly

RAIPUR, Oct 26: Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker Rajendra Prasad Shukla has said he was attempting to evolve a consensus on checking slogan-shouting in the House.

"I am exploring the possibility of framing a rule for this purpose," Mr Shukla told UNI here.

He said it was the responsibility of the treasury benches and the opposition to ensure smooth conduct of proceedings.

"We have to maintain decorum in the august House. Both the ruling party and the opposition have to contribute equally to strengthen Parliamentary culture," he said adding that slogan-shouting would only waste precious time and none would profit from a pandemonium.

The Chhattisgarh Assembly, which came into existence two years ago after the State was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, was the first to introduce a rule that provides for automatic suspension of those members who troop into the well to register their protests.

Mr Shukla, who had served as Speaker of undivided Madhya Pradesh’s Assembly, also took the initiative and introduced a concept whereby members used a separate podium to address the House, a system yet to be started either in parliament or in State assemblies.

During the recent debate on the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against the Ajit Jogi Government, members of the ruling and opposition parties made history by speaking from a separate podium. During last year’s presiding officers’ conference at Chandigarh, Mr Shukla mooted a proposal for automatic suspension of legislators who trooped into the well of the House. Then Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi welcomed the idea.

To a query, Mr Shukla said he favoured more sittings of the House as it would help strengthen democracy. "After all, we are also spending a lot on salaries and allowances of legislators," he added.

Admitting that the Speaker always faced a challenge in discharging responsibilities impartially in the present set-up of party politics, Mr Shukla said the extent to which presiding officers could function impartially was debatable.

"In the British House of Commons and in Parliaments in some other countries, there is a practice of not fielding any candidate against the presiding officer in the elections. The officer also files a nomination as an independent," he said and added that it was not easy to introduce such a practice as it required strong political will.

Fielding a query on the anti-defection law, the veteran Congress leader said the Speaker had to take all legal aspects into consideration before deciding on such matters. "I feel that speakers’ decisions on anti-defection will be by and large impartial," he added.

Mr Shukla expressed satisfaction over the functioning of the assembly in the past couple of years. (UNI)

CDM can be tapped with indigenous technologies too: NGO

NEW DELHI, Oct 26: As the Eighth Conference of Parties (CoP8) argues on the utility of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a measure to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions under the Kyoto protocol, an Indian NGO today argued for the use of the CDM in financing indigenous technologies to achieve GHGs reductions in developing countries rather that importing technologies from the developed countries.

The CDM is a mechanism that has been evolved under the Kyoto protocol wherein the developed countries would promote carbon-reducing projects in developing countries and in return would get carbon credits to be used by them to help meet the reduction targets agreed to by them under the protocol.

"CDM does not obligate the host countries to import technologies, that too, outdated technologies of the developed countries. It is a question of choice and convenience. There are umpteen opportunities in India to generate carbon credits with indigenous technologies and skills,"the institute of solid waste research and ecological balance (INSWAREB) today said.

The suggestion comes at a time when there is tremendous criticism, in environmental circles, of the CDM mechanism in its present form.

In fact, a new report by the International River Network (IRN) and the CDM watch , relesed yesterday, pointed out that several big hydroelectric projects being implemented in developing countries as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are business-as-usual projects which provide little or no actual reduction in carbon emissions, thus threatening to undermine the Kyoto protocol. The report of the IRN and CDM watch has serious implications. What this means is that credits these projects generate would subsidise hydro developers and provide industrialised countries with a massive loophole in the already inadequate eduction targets they agreed to under the protocol.

It is in this context that the idea of using indigenous technologies under the CDM seems relevant. According to Mr N Kalidas, any technology that can serve the purpose of baseline and additionality within the definition and framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) would enable an industry to qualify for the CDM.

"For example, industrial solid waste utilisation towards cement and building materials is one of the proven ways to get into the framework of the CDM. India is fully geared up to tap this avenue with total indigenous know-how. This avenue alone is capable of offering carbon dioxide credits to the tune of 80-100 million tonnes," he said.

According to Mr Kalidas, CDM is an opportunity for developing countries like India. Instead of letting issues like equality bog down the protocol, the spirit of equality should be involked whereby the carbon credits should flow from second and third world countries to developed countries and the wealth of the latter should flow to the former.

"This is the simple and sensible philosophy of the visionaries in articulating the CDM mechanism," he said. "India’s logistics are altogether different compared to the rest of the G 77 countries and China with regard to CDM opportunities. Hence the country has to draw a strategy conducive to its industrial operations, economic liberalization policy, infrastructure needs and commitment to the people for all-round development," Mr Kalidas said.

Quoting in this regard an Oxford University study which projected that India would be benefited by 35 billion dollars if the totals mechanism comes into operation, Mr Kalidas said,"there is a need for the country to decipher these projections and work for vindicating its part of the cake."

In this context, he pointed out that the garland canal project, the project that had been discussed by almost every resouce crunch, can be taken up now in view of the funding opportunity through the CDM. (UNI)