NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Senior leader JP Nadda has been apointed the secretary of BJP’s revamped Central Election Committee by party chief Amit Shah, replacing Ananth Kumar.

The 15-membe CEC, which decides on the party candidates and takes other important election related decisions at the national level, was recently revamped by Shah after he took charge as party chief.

Party veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi have been replaced with young faces like Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Nadda.

Nadda is the party’s national general secretary. Kumar held the position of Secretary of CEC for a long time.

The new CEC’s first task will be to finalise candidates for Haryana Assembly polls.

Among its members are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Weeks after India was accused of blocking WTO talks over food subsidy issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the country does not stand in the way of rule-based global trade but the interests of its poor and farmers cannot be sacrificed.

He conveyed India’s position to visiting Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jose Graziano da Silva whom he urged to take the lead in protecting the interests of the poor and farmers at the World Trade Organisation.

During the meeting with da Silva, Modi said India wants active participation of FAO in addressing the emerging challenges in Indian agriculture and in designing a special campaign targeted at women in India, which would highlight ways to improve nutritional value and food habits.

“India does not stand in the way of a rule-based global trade agreement, but India cannot sacrifice the interests and food security of the poor and the farmers,” Modi said when da Silva called on him, according to a PMO statement.

In the WTO talks in Geneva in July, India had taken a tough stance on the issue of foodgrain holding and food subsidy after which the US blamed it for failure of the negotiations.

The 160 members of WTO had gathered there to adopt a treaty to simplify, standardise and streamline the rules for shipping goods across borders, having previously agreed to its terms at a ministerial conference on the Indonesian resort island of Bali last December.

However, India refused to agree to the text because it wanted more attention paid to its concerns over WTO limits on stockpiling of food which will ultimately hit its subsidised food distribution programme, the world`s largest, targeted at nearly 850 million people.

Describing da Silva as one of the champions of the “No

Hunger Project” in Brazil, the Prime Minister said India looks forward to active participation of FAO in addressing the emerging challenges in Indian Agriculture.

Modi sought FAO’s cooperation in designing a special campaign targeted at women in India, which would highlight ways to improve nutritional value and food habits, the PMO statement said.

He discussed ways and means for the FAO to contribute towards increasing nutritional value in the mid-day meal scheme for school children, enhancing production and protein content of pulses, improving production of oilseeds, enhancing milk productivity, and modernization of fisheries sector in India.

Seeking partnership with the FAO for capacity-building in food storage, he suggested that some portion of such capacity addition brought about by the FAO`s efforts through international financial institutions, could be earmarked for the food and nutritional requirements of the poorest countries. (PTI)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Sept 9: Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has been asked to go to New Delhi to coordinate with the Centre on evacuation of Keralites stranded in Jammu and Kashmir due to floods, according to the office of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here today.

The Kerala Home Minister, who is in touch with Horticulture Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Raman Bhalla, said the Kashmir Government was extending all possible help for the evacuation of Keralites from various flood affected areas.

The Home Minister will leave for New Delhi this evening to coordinate on the evacuation efforts.   Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had yesterday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in rescuing the Keralites caught in flash floods.

In his letter to Mr Modi, Mr Chandy said, “If it is necessary, a Kerala Government representative could also be sent to New Delhi.”

More than 100 Keralites are stranded in five hotels. Reports say they are safe. As many as 26 people have been airlifted to Srinagar Aiport.

The Chief Minister had also requested the Prime Minister to send the rescued Keralites to Kerala in a special plane.   A control room has also been opened in

Thiruvananthapuram. Helpline number is 0471 2331639.   Under the directions of Mr Chandy, a 24-hour control room was set up at Kerala House in Delhi.

“The control room is now fully functional and its numbers are 011-30411411 and 011-23347456,” Kerala House Resident Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said.

He said the government had already handed over the details of stranded Keralites to the Jammu and Kashmir Government and to the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF).   These details have also reached the control room of the Ministry of Defence and Home.

Civil Aviation Secretary Somasundaram had already given directions to CMD Air India for full support in this evacuation exercise.

The Controller and the Assisstant Protocol Officer will be stationed at Delhi Airport to bring the Keralites reaching Delhi to Kerala House, he added. (UNI)

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: CBI today informed a special court that it will file a revised closure report giving details in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd and others in which the judge had observed that the probe was “incomplete”.

Special public prosecutor R S Cheema told the court that the agency will file a comprehensive revised closure report which would be “explanatory” in nature.

CBI’s move came after the court had earlier observed that nothing was clear in its closure report and it was irked over the agency adopting different yardsticks in different cases and not following a uniform policy in its investigation.

After Cheema informed the court about filing of a revised closure report in the case, Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar fixed the matter for September 23.

“SPP (special public prosecutor) states that CBI will be filing a revised closure report under the provision of the CrPC which shall be detailed and explanatory in nature,” the court said.

The court was hearing arguments on the closure report filed by CBI in the case in which it had lodged FIR against Nagpur-based businessman Manoj Jayaswal and others for alleged irregularities by JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited in acquiring the coal blocks.

The court had asked CBI whether it was a “deliberate act or negligent act” by Coal Ministry officials to clear files relating to allocation of coal blocks. It had also expressed dissatisfaction over the explanation given by CBI.

The court had observed that the issue in coal blocks

allocation cases, including this case, was that there was loss to the exchequer but CBI’s probe was silent on the aspect if “it was a deliberate act or negligent act on the part of the officials of Ministry of Coal” to allocate coal blocks to such firms.

CBI had told the court that during its probe it had not found misrepresentation of facts by JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited.

It had lodged an FIR in the case on the allegation that JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd had not disclosed to the Coal Ministry that it was in possession of coal blocks earlier.

The company allegedly signed memorandum of understanding for small periods with a number of companies and added their equity to project their sound financial status at the time of application for coal blocks, CBI had alleged in its FIR.

However, during the investigation, CBI could not find any “prosecutable evidence” against the firm and others and filed a closure report in the case. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Nine months after downgrading DGCA in the aviation safety rankings, a Federal Aviation Administration team is likely to visit India soon to review the corrective measures taken by the Indian aviation regulator to meet the deficiencies listed by its US counterpart.

“We would like India to be Category-I as soon as possible. We invited them (FAA) to visit DGCA for a review in September or October, when our team went to the US and made a presentation to them last month,” Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters here.

He said the FAA team would be visiting India and “I am sure India will return to Category-I.”

FAA had conducted two safety audits last year in India and downgraded India’s aviation safety ranking to Category-II from the top category as it found deficiencies in over 30 counts. These included lack of technical manpower like flight inspectors, a large number of whom have now been recruited.

To a question on DGCA serving showcause notices to 131 pilots of Jet Airways for not clearing necessary checks, he said “there can be no compromise on safety… DGCA is expected to act according to the law and they are doing it… It will definitely act as per the law.”

Asked about aviation bodies Air India, AAI and AERA “remaining headless”, Raju said “we don’t intend to keep any organisation headless. We are taking care that the work does not suffer. But there is a procedure through which such vacancies are filled up and that is being followed.”

While Air India CMD Rohit Nandan is on a three-month extension that ends in October, the post of AAI Chairman is being occupied by its Board member S Raheja till a full-time chief is appointed.

Regarding Air India’s financial position, Raju said the state-run airline had shown “major improvements” in its load factors and yields.

Government has released Rs 3,833 crore in the first quarter of 2014-15 against the total allocation of Rs 6,600 crore for the entire financial year, he said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: The Government will very soon have a conclusive opinion on the issue of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha as a member of the selection committees that make appointments in various statutory bodies, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said today.

“We had this problem (requirement of LoP). We sought the opinion of the secretary of the Lok Sabha as to what would be the ideal way to proceed. I think very soon we will have conclusive opinion about it. I don’t need to speculate,” he told reporters during a press conference without indicating whether or not LoP would be a member of selection committees.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had already rejected Congress’ demand for LoP status as its nominee.

Congress with 44 seats in the Lok Sabha has emerged as the second largest party after the BJP with 282 seats, but fell short by 11 to stake claim for the LoP, for which a strength of 55 is required.

Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, said the Government will very soon appoint new chief of Central Information Commission (CIC) and Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).

“As far as the appointment of the CVC is concerned, CVC is still there. He is to retire at the end of September. We will take a call when that happens. The appointment of CIC and other Commissioners is in process. It will happen very soon,” he said.

The post of Chief Information Commissioner has been lying vacant for over a fortnight. Chief Information Commissioner Rajiv Mathur had relinquished his charge on August 22.

Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar’s tenure will end on September 28. There is also a vacancy of Vigilance Commissioner in the CVC as the tenure of J M Garg, one of the two Commissioners, ended on Sunday.

However, there is no mandatory requirement of LoP in the selection committee that recommends persons for Central Vigilance Commissioner, Vigilance Commissioner, chairpersons and members for the Lokpal, official sources said.

The appointment of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and Vigilance Commissioner is done by the President on the basis of recommendation from a three-member selection committee headed by Prime Minister and comprising Minister for Home Affairs and the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People, as per the Central Vigilance Act, 2003.

The Act further has a provision that when no such leader (LoP) has been recognised then the selection committee can include the leader of the single largest group in Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

“No appointment of a Central Vigilance Commissioner or a Vigilance Commissioner shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy in the Committee,” the Act states.

The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are appointed by the President following a recommendation by a selection committee headed by Prime Minister and comprising the Leader of the Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister (to be nominated by the Prime Minister) as members.

“For the purposes of removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that where the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People has not been recognised as such, the Leader of the single largest group in Opposition of the Government in the House of the People shall be deemed to be the Leader of Opposition,” said the Right to Information Act, 2005. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to apprise it by October 10 about the outcome of political process initiated by Lt Governor by writing a letter to the President on exploring the possibility of government formation in Delhi.

A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Justice H L Dattu, said that it is not going to keep this matter pending for a longer period of time and asked the Centre to inform it about the decision to be taken by the President of India on the LG’s letter.

“What is the possible time by which his Excellency would take a decision?” the bench asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P S Narsimha, who was appearing for the Centre.

At the outset of the hearing, the ASG referred to the letter written by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on September 4 to the President seeking to explore the possibility of government formation in Delhi.

In his letter to the President, the LG had sought permission to call the single largest party (BJP) to take a shot at power though it is well short of majority in the Assembly.

Senior advocate Fali S Nariman and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), raised the issue of horse-trading by BJP for getting the numbers to form the government in Delhi.

The bench, however, said that it will not take on record the additional affidavit filed on this issue by AAP and asked Nariman to wait till October 10.

Referring to the LG’s letter to the President, the ASG said that the political process has started again to explore the possibility of government formation in the national capital and four more weeks be granted for the same.

On August 5, the apex court had given five weeks’ time to the Centre to take a decision on dissolution of the Delhi Assembly “one way or another”, questioning it for continuing to keep the House in suspended animation when no party was coming forward to form the government.

The bench had also asked why the MLAs be paid from taxpayers’ money for sitting idle when the Assembly had been kept in suspended animation.

On the petition filed by AAP seeking dissolution of the Assembly, the bench had asked the Centre what steps it has taken to explore the possibility of government formation during the last five months.

It had, however, turned down the plea of AAP which

submitted that the apex court should pass order so that elections in Delhi are held along with that of four other states later this year.

The apex court said it is for the appropriate authority to take a decision.

President’s rule was imposed in Delhi on February 17 with no party coming forward to stake claim for government formation after AAP government headed by leader Arvind Kejriwal resigned.

The petition filed by AAP had sought a direction to the Lt Governor to dissolve the Assembly and hold fresh polls.

It had challenged the decision to impose President’s rule in Delhi on the recommendation of the LG alleging that it was done to protect Congress leaders and former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit from corruption charges.

The petition had said the order to impose President’s rule was “illegal, arbitrary and in violation” of Article 14 of the Constitution as after the resignation of Kejriwal neither BJP nor Congress were in a position to form the government and they had already expressed their unwillingness in that regard.

It had further raised constitutional questions to keep the Assembly under suspended animation by ignoring the categorical recommendation of the majority government of the NCT of Delhi for dissolving the House.

BJP had emerged the single largest party after the Assembly polls in December last year with 32 seats including ally Akali Dal’s one MLA in the 70-member House.

BJP fell four seats short of a simple majority and had refused to form the government, saying it did not have the numbers and will not resort to any “unfair means” to take the reins.

AAP with 28 MLAs had later formed the government with support of eight Congress MLAs. AAP’s strength has also come down to 27 after expulsion of party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny.

BJP’s number came down to 28 in the House in May after three of its legislators–Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma–were elected to Lok Sabha. With the resignation of three MLAs, the strength of the Assembly also went down to 67. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: The Centre will replace the requirement of furnishing affidavits with self-attested declarations in a major chunk of government-related work and an official order in this regard will be issued soon, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said today.

“This thought (to promote self-attestation) was in the process. But it was not been implemented in the full way. No notification has been issued on it. It will be done soon,” he told a press conference on works done by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions during the 100 days of the NDA government.

He said different departments have different sensitivities. However, self-attestation would be pushed to the maximum extent possible, the minister said.

“There may be a problem when you go to some place and an officer may say he will not receive a self-attested document. He will say there is no such order. So, the order will be issued by us. But, till then all stakeholders including the state governments need to work together for it,” said Singh.

He said self-certification of documents is going to be a great boon for the unemployed youth. “In certain security- related matters, gazetted certification might have to be retained, after a dispassionate look,” he said.

“For the first time in independent India, the practice of documents being attested by gazetted officers will be done away with. We have broadly focused on making governance good and simple in the last three months,” Singh said, referring to the work done by the ministry.

He said the promotion of self-certification in place of notarised affidavits will be a significant step in making life easier for the common man and building trust. “As India goes into the 21st century, everyone would recognise the stakes involved in false attestation,” he said.

The minister also said the government is trying to

involve pensioners in various pension works.

“We would involve some of the retired people in various committees of administrative reforms,” Singh said, adding that the number of pensioners is more than the number of central government employees.

There are about 31 lakh central government employees and 50 lakh pensioners.

“Pre-retirement counselling coupled with post-retirement engagement is required for pensioners. Today there is a huge need for pre-retirement counselling,” he said.

Singh said his ministry had shown speed in facilitating the setting up of the state administrative machinery in newly created Telengana. “Within five days of assumption of office, orders were issued to around 10,000 state government employees for serving in Telengana,” he said.

He said the ministry was moving towards reducing the processing time and fast tracking decisions, including in service and cadre allocation. (PTI)