HYDERABAD, July 27:
Accusing Congress of indulging in unfair criticism on the Leader of Opposition (LoP) issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today asserted that the matter is in the purview of the Lok Sabha Speaker.
“The LoP issue is not in Government’s purview. I don’t want to comment. But they criticise the Government. They say that there is no meaning in democracy. It is against spirit of Constitution (if the LoP status is not given). They criticise Speaker also. Kamal Nath said the Speaker’s decisions are “flavoured” by ruling party. What is that flavour. I don’t know. He must be talking about his own experience,” Naidu told reporters here.
Taking exception to Congress leader Anand Sharma’s reaction that the Attorney General’s reported opinion is “not worth the paper on which it is written,” he said the comments are unfair.
“AG’s opinion came. The Speaker would consider that and a decision will be made. They attack AG even before that. First, they criticise Government, then Speaker and now AG,” he said.
“AG is one of the senior-most legal luminary in the country. You may have difference of opinion on that. But how do you say it is not worth the paper it is written on,” he said.
The Government would abide by whatever decision is made by the Lok Sabha Speaker on LoP issue, he said, adding that the NDA Government does not believe in pressurising anybody.
“Why should we fear if an opposition leader comes. We have no problem if the Speaker decides in Lok Sabha. In fact, they did not give their application till the other day,” he said.
Recalling that Leader of Opposition status was not given during Congress regimes earlier, Naidu said the Congress should explain the reasons for doing so before raising questions.
Observing that LoP status was not given to TDP when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister in 1984, he said, “You need to explain to the country why you are not following what you are saying now.”
Alleging that the Congress is criticising the Government even on small issues, he said the the party should behave with “more maturity”.
Referring to the issues of PM’s visit to BRICS summit, rise in rail fares, changes in civil services exam pattern and ordinance on Polavaram irrigation project as examples of Congress’ hasty criticism against the NDA Government, he said decisions on these issues were, in fact, taken by the UPA Government.
“They said PM should make a statement (on BRICS summit). Manmohan Singhji attended BRICS five times. But, he never made any statement,” he said.
Similarly, the decisions on changes in civil service examination and rail fare hike were taken by UPA Government, he said.
“They have a right to question. But how can they question for what they have done,” Naidu said, claiming that Congress is scoring “self-goals” with this behaviour. (PTI)
Cong criticism on LoP issue unfair: Venkaiah Naidu
Father-son held with nagchatri
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 27: A father and his son were arrested with banned forest produce ‘nagchatri’ from Jhajjar Kotli.
As per police sources, Beer Singh and his son Manjeet Singh, a resident of Bhaderwah have been arrested with 63 kilograms of banned forest produce ‘nagchatri’ from Jhajjar Kotli.
A case in this regard has been registered at Jhajjar Kotli police station and investigation started.
Police team headed by SHO Jhajjar Kotli police station Ravinder Singh made the arrest under the supervision of SDPO Khalik Choudhary.
Cook back in form as England reach 247/2 after Ballance ton
Southampton, July 27:
Skipper Alastair Cook marked his return to form with a dogged 95 while youngster Gary Ballance hit his second successive century as England reached a comfortable 247 for two against India on the opening day of the third cricket Test, here today.
The highlight of the day was Cook’s dour batting after getting reprieve on 15 when Ravindra Jadeja dropped a sitter at third slip off debutant Pankaj Singh’s bowling.
Cook, who missed out on a 26th Test century by five runs, has now gone without a three-figure mark in 29 consecutive innings.
Once he got a ‘life’, decided to grind it out as he played 231 balls hitting nine fours frustrating a pedestrian Indian attack in the process.
Cook added 158 runs with the in-form Ballance who struck his third Test century, and second on trot against the visitors remaining unbeaten on 104 at the end of day’s play.
At stumps on a rather disappointing day for Indians, veteran Ian Bell gave Ballance company, batting on 16.
It was Jadeja who got rid of the England skipper after frustrating him with a packed leg-side field. Cook in his bid to pull got a faint nick as Dhoni took a smart catch down leg-side. The England captain didn’t seem too amused with umpire Marais Erasmus’ decision but returned to a standing ovation from the spectators having gone through one of the toughest phases in his international career.
The Indian bowlers didn’t get much help from the Ageas Bowl strip with only debutant Pankaj, who was inducted after Ishant Sharma opted out due to ankle injury, looking good in patches.
Pankaj (0/62 in 20 overs) bowled some lovely deliveries including the one which Cook edged to Jadeja, who failed to latch onto a ball that was eminently catchable.
With the second new ball, he produced a delivery that swung from leg to middle to trap Ian Bell in-front but umpire Rod Tucker didn’t seem interested.
Mohammed Shami (1/62) got Sam Robson’s wicket but was the most disappointing of the pace trio erring in length on a number of occasions.
Ballance on his part hit 15 boundaries in his 204 ball unbeaten knock.
When the post-tea session began, Cook (82 batting) needed another few runs to score his first Test century in more than a year.
He began well, reaching the nervous 90s quickly, but once there the Indians mounted the pressure on him and it resulted in his dismissal.
Cook faced 231 balls and struck nine fours during his knock. It was his highest score since the 130 runs he made versus New Zealand in May 2013 and in doing so, reached 8257 runs in his career to overtake David Gower (8231 runs) and Kevin Pietersen (8181 runs) in the overall Test runs scored by Englishman. (PTI)
Def Min defers decision on Navy chopper deal over Agusta links
NEW DELHI, July 27:
The NDA Government has deferred its decision on the procurement of 16 multi-role helicopters for the Indian Navy as one of the two companies in the race for the deal is linked with Finmeccannica– the parent organisation of the scam-tainted firm AgustaWestalnd.
The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley put off its decision on the procurement of the helicopters for the Navy from vendors including American Sikorsky and European NH Industries, which has Finmeccannica as one of its partners, highly-placed sources told here.
Finmeccannica is the parent firm of AgustaWestland firm, whose Rs 3,600 crore contract for supplying 12 VVIP choppers to the IAF has been scrapped by the Government over the charges of paying kickbacks to Indian agents.
The Government had cancelled AgustaWestland’s contract on January 1 and began the process of encashing bank guarantees of the Anglo-Italian firm worth around Rs 2,200 crore deposited in banks of Italy and India.
In its July 19 meeting, the DAC, which is the highest body in the Ministry to decide on procurements, the members had to decide on deviations sought by the two vendors in offsets proposal and the road ahead for the deal, sources said.
The deal has been hanging fire for several years now and has seen a series of anonymous complaints leading to a delay in the procurement of helicopters required by the Navy for its warships.
The Indian Navy has not inducted a single multirole helicopter for over a decade now and is presently flying the SeaKing choppers procured from the UK in the 1980s. (PTI)
Shreyasi clinches silver as shooters fetch more medals
Glasgow, July 27:
Young markswoman Shreyasi Singh notched up a silver medal while Mohammed Asab clinched a bronze as Indian shooters continued their medal-winning feats to add two more to India’s collection on the fourth day of competitions in the 20th Commonwealth Games here today.
The 22-year-old Shreyasi gave ample display of her potential by winning the silver in the women’s double trap event as the shooters accounted for nine medals in India’s overall tally of 19 so far.
Mohammed Asab was the other shooter who provided some cheer for the strong Indian contingent by claiming the bronze medal in the men’s double trap event at the Barry Buddon Centre at Dundee.
With the addition of two more medals, India’s overall medals tally climbed to 19 with five gold, eight silver and six bronze and continued to maintain their fifth position on the medals table.
Powerhouse Australia continued to top the chart with a tally of 19-14-21 followed by England (18-14-15), Scotland (11-6-8) and Canada (7-3-6).
Shreyasi shot down a total target of 92 to bag the silver, two shots behind gold winner Charlotte Kerwood of England. Another Englishwoman Rachel Parish won the bronze with 91 points, after a shoot-off with Cynthia Meyer of Canada.
A not-so-impressive first round of 22 points saw Shreyasi trailing at the third spot after the third and penultimate round but the Delhi shooter recovered some lost ground in the final round. To win the silver at the Barry Buddon Centre at Dundee near here.
With Kerwood, in whose name the Commonwealth Games record of 106 points (at 2006 Melbourne) stands, struggling in the final round, Shreyasi was in with a chance to go for a shoot-off for the gold but missed the double target twice to settle for the white metal. Shreyasi had rounds of 22, 24, 23, 23.
The other Indian in the fray, 20-year-old Varsha Varman finished fifth with 88 points (22, 19, 24, 23).
In the men’s double trap event, the 26-year-old Asab from Meerut shot 26 in the finals to pip Nathan Xuereb of Malta, who managed 24.
Asab was placed fifth in the qualifications while another Indian shooter in the event, Ankur Mittal had to be contend with a fifth-place finish in the finals. Mittal qualified second for the finals.
The Indian women’s table tennis team, runners-up in Delhi four years ago, failed to win a medal after losing the bronze play-off to Australia at the Scotstoun Sports Campus.
23-year-old Ziyu Zhang starred for Australia by winning her two singles, against the experienced Shamini Kumaresan and Madhurika Patkar respectively. Zhang’s come from behind victory in the fourth rubber against Patkar helped Australia seal the tie 3-1.
Patkar and Kumaresan had lost the preceding doubles rubber against Jian Fang Lay and Miao Miao to trail 1-2 in the match.
Zhang gave Australia the early advantage by packing off Kumaresan 11-5 2-11 11-6 11-9 in the opening singles. The chubby-looking Chinese-born paddler used her expansive forehand to good effect and was equally potent with her backhand.
For India, the long bright spot was Manika Batra’s convincing win over Fang Lay, an opponent more than double the Delhi girl’s age. The 19-year-old foxed the 41-year-old Australian with smart use of pimples for a 11-5 8-11 11-8 11-7 win. (PTI)
Two drown in nallah
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 27: Two persons drowned, while two others were rescued from Palwas nallah in Warvan area of district Kishtwar this afternoon.
As per police sources, four persons were drowned at Nallah Palwas, Warvan in district Kishtwar. They raised alarm and locals rushed to the spot and started rescue operation.
After hectic efforts, body of one person was fished out and two others were rescued. The body of one of the person was not recovered.
The names of all the persons were not ascertained when last reports compiled.
PYS celebrates 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, 27 July: In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India Progressive Youth Society (Regd), Ramnagar, Udhampur, organized a programme to celebrate 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda in the Auditorium of Red Cross Bhawan, here today.
R C Puri, secretary IRCS Jammu Region was the chief guest, while Manoj Nishchint, president Progressive Youth Society presided over the function.
O P Shakir, president, Chander Bhagha Sanskriti Manch Akhnoor and Vikrant Dogra, vice president Federation of Indian Blood Donors Organization were the guests of honour and Suresh Rahi, Urdu poet was the special guest on the occasion.
The programme started with Saraswati Vandana followed by Songs related to life and work of Swami Vivekananda, presented by the artists- Kuldeep Kumar, Naresh Sharma, Prashant, Sourav Sonik and others.
A play was also presented based on the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda by the artist namely Tarun Sharma, Paramjeet Kour Pammy, Nikhil Sharma, Rahul Kumar, Rohit Kumar, Rohit Verma and Vikas.
The play was directed by Tarun Sharma. Suresh Rahi and Ramesh Rahi presented poems based on the work and philosophy of Swami Vivekananda which were appreciated.
In Symposium, Palvi Sharma, Haripriya, Anandi Gupta, Rishan, Aditya Dhar, Ghandrav and Arnav Gupta participated who threw light on the significance of teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
O P Shakir and Vikrant Dogra delivered lectures based on the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda with reference to present day life and its relevance to present scenario.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest the lauded the performance of artists like Haripriya, Tarun Sharma, Kuldeep Kumar and Anandi.
The Vote of thanks was presented by Manoj Nishchint, while Hitesh Badyal, president Nirvana Academy conducted the proceedings of the function.
All the participants were honoured with certificates, medals and mementoes.
Govt to seeks jurists’ views on bill to scrap collegium system
NEW DELHI, July 27:
Displaying earnest, Government will seek the views of jurists and former judges on the proposed Judicial Appointments Commission bill it plans to bring in Parliament to replace the present collegium system where judges appoint judges.
Sources said Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will listen to top jurists and former judges on Monday to elicit their views on the bill.
The Government has already written to leaders of major political parties seeking their support for the bill. The leaders have also been asked to give their views on the issue.
The move comes in the wake of claims that the previous UPA regime had nudged the Supreme Court collegium to recommend an extension for a Madras High Court judge who was under corruption cloud.
The decision to fast track the bill also comes in the backdrop of a controversy generated by the Centre’s decision to return the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium for appointment of senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium as an apex court judge.
The Law Minister had on July 21 said the Government is seeking the views of various political parties and eminent jurists for setting up a Judicial Appointments Commission which would scrap the present system of judges appointing judges.
The sources said the NDA Government is not averse to the previous UPA Government’s plan to put the composition and functions of the proposed Judicial Appointments Commission Bill in Constitution.
By giving the composition and functions of the proposed commission Constitutional status, UPA had sought to ally fears of the judiciary that the composition and functions can be tweaked by any future Government.
BJP, then in Opposition, had also raised the issue of constitutional status for the proposed body.
While a constitutional amendment bill requires two-third majority for passage in a House, a normal legislation needs just a simple majority.
But the NDA Government is learnt to be planning to rejig the composition of the proposed panel, the sources said.
They said the NDA Government has found “certain infirmities” in the UPA version.
The UPA bill had proposed that the Commission be headed by the Chief Justice of India with two senior judges of the Supreme Court, two eminent persons and the Law Minister as its members.
The Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry was to be the convenor.
UPA had proposed that the two eminent persons on the Commission be selected by a panel consisting of the Prime Minister, the CJI and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
A Constitutional Amendment Bill to set up the proposed commission has lapsed following the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha and an accompanying bill is pending in Rajya Sabha.
An earlier effort by the NDA-I Government in 2003 to replace the collegium system met with no success. The then NDA Government had introduced a Constitution amendment bill but Lok Sabha was dissolved when the bill was before a Standing Committee. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was the Law Minister then.
After any Constitutional amendment bill gets Parliamentary nod, it is sent to all the states and 50 per cent of the state legislatures have to ratify it. The process could take up to eight months. After ratification, the Government sends it to the President for his approval.
The practice of judges appointing judges started after 1993, replacing the system of Government picking judges for higher judiciary comprising the Supreme Court and high courts.
The move to set aside the 1993 Supreme Court judgement, which led to the collegium system, requires a Constitutional amendment. (PTI)
Stokes, Prior testify against Jadeja
London, July 27:
In a fresh twist to the alleged altercation between Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson, two England players have testified that the Indian all-rounder had turned towards the English bowler with a raised bat during the showdown.
According to a report in ‘ESPNCricinfo’, Ben Stokes and Matt Prior, during the hearing against Jadeja, testified that the Indian raised his bat at Anderson during the altercation for which he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.
“…At the hearing England witnesses, Ben Stokes and Matt Prior, suggested to match referee David Boon that Jadeja had turned threateningly towards James Anderson, and the England fast bowler had acted in self defence,” the website reported.
The hearing on the level 3 charges against Anderson will be conducted on August 1. The pacer allegedly pushed and abused Jadeja during the lunch break of the second day’s play in the opening Test in Nottingham.
“Prior contended Jadeja’s bat was raised dangerously when he turned towards Anderson, and Stokes suggested Jadeja had pushed Anderson first. India claim Jadeja neither touched nor swore at anyone,” the report stated quoting sources.
The entire case is based on testimonies of rival players as there is no video available of the incident.
Jadeja’s fine has not gone down too well with the Indian team management and an appeal has been filed against the ICC ruling. (PTI)
Glory for Punam, wins bronze in women 63kg weightlifting
Glasgow, July 27:
Punam Yadav clinched India’s seventh medal in the weightlifting event of the Commonwealth Games as she lifted a total of 202kg to claim a bronze in the women’s 63kg category, here today.
Punam, who won a bronze in junior Asian Championship early this year, was locked in a gripping battle with Olayuwatoyin Adesanmi and defending champion Obioma Okoli, but the two Nigerian athletes totalled five kilos more than the Indian.
Both Adesanmi and Okoli totalled 207kg but the former was awarded gold as her body weight was one kilo less than the defending champion at 62kg.
Punam’s best lifts in both Snatch and Clean and Jerk came in her third attempts. After starting with 85kg, Punam ended her Snatch attempts with a final lift of 88kg.
In the Clean and Jerk, the 19-year-old Punam continued to improve on her lifts, managing 110kg, 114kg before ending with a flourish with a clean lift of 117kg.
Another Indian, Vandana Gupta, finished fourth in the same event as she ended with a total of 198kg. Her best lift in Snatch was 91kg in her third attempt and in Clean and Jerk she could manage only 107kh as her two later attempts of 110kg failed. (PTI)