Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 11: As approved by the president, People’s Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti and in order to strengthen and rejuvenate the party in Samba district Yashpal Sharma, General Secretary has nominated Ch Saleem Alam as district president, PDP, district Samba replacing Pawan Dev Singh with immediate effect.
Saleem appointed PDP district president
PDD workers hold protest
Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, July 11: The daily wagers of Power Development Department today staged day long dharna in front of PDD office to lay stress upon the Government to regularize them.
Kabla Singh, president of Low Paid Employees Federation, Kathua while addressing the gathering said that workers are struggling for quite a long time for their regularization, but the assurances by those at the helm of affairs have yielded no results.
P C Sharma, president, provincial Electric Employees Union strongly supported the demands for revision of minimum daily wage expeditiously.
Others present on the occasion were Vinay Kumar, Ranbir Singh, Radhey Sham, Rajinder Sharma, Suraj Prakash etc.
Kalachakara initiation witnesses record participation
Excelsior Correspondent
Leh, July 11: Kalachakara initiation by Dalai Lama was witnessed by a record gathering of over 144000 devotees at Jivetsal today amidst heightened security by police and paramilitary assisted by thousands of Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) volunteers to ensure smooth conduct of the three-day event.
Devotees also took vows to observe principal precepts given by Dalai Lama before receiving this special teaching under Kalachakara considered among the supreme teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism of Nalanda tradition preserved by Tibetans.
High spiritual masters, learned monks, hundreds of foreign devotees including Hollywood actor Richard Gere, local leaders were among those who took the vows, which comprise abstaining from killing, lying , adultery and alcoholic abuse. Sacred threads and grass were distributed as an important part of this ritual.
After the culmination of the three-day event, Dalai Lama will offer Tsewang (blessings) followed by opening the Mandala specially designed Buddhist art of universe with sand colours.
Engineer, helper washed away in Chenab
Excelsior Correspondent
KISHTWAR, July 11: An Engineer working at a Hydel Power Project site and his helper were washed away in the Chenab river here today.
As per police sources, Engineer Pramod Pathak and helper Hoshiar Singh, both residents of Uttar Pradesh were working on the test site of Keru Hydel Project during drilling operation, when they slipped into the Chenab river and were washed away.
Police and other workers have launched a rescue operation with the assistance of the Army, but the duo could not be traced till last reports came in.
Union Budget repressive, anti-working class: CPI(M)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 11: Terming the Union Budget as repressive and anti-people, the Regional Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) today held a strong protest here at Press club.
Holding red flags and banners in their hands, the activists of CPI(M) castigated the Modi Government, which had promised the people of India that once it voted to power, the people will get rid of the miseries and agonies inflicted during the UPA Government.
While addressing the demonstrators, Sham Prasad Kesar, Regional Secretary, CPI(M), Jammu, said that Union Budget will have adverse repercussions for the common masses. He also condemned the budget for cutting down the budgetary support for social security measures.
In real terms, the allocation for MGNREGA and IAY schemes have not been enhanced in this budget, which is closely related to the down-trodden people, he added.
Om Prakash, general secretary, CITU, who was also present, said that the Budget failed to propose measures to increase employment growth through revamping of manufacturing growth.
PM to announce role for Planning Commission shortly: Jaitley
NEW DELHI, July 11:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will shortly announce the role that Planning Commission is going to play in his Government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.
Last month, the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) had said that Planning Commission acted as a ‘control commission’ and should be replaced by a ‘reforms and solution body’.
More than one and half months after BJP swept to power, the new Government is yet to announce the new Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, in place of Montek Singh Ahluwalia who held the post for almost a decade under the UPA regime.
“Prime Minister will make an announcement on this,” Jaitley said in an interview here.
He was asked what role the BJP Government envisaged for the Planning Commission.
“Please wait you will hear soon (on the issue),” he said without elaborating.
IEO, which was set up for assessing the effectiveness of Government programmes and institutional policies, in its report recommended that the Planning Commission’s role as an allocator of resources to the states should be taken up by the Finance Commission and the allocation of resources amongst the Central Ministries should be carried out by the Finance Ministry.
The assessment sent to the Prime Minister recommended that a new think-tank be set up with experts of domain knowledge to replace the plan body.
“It is clear that the Planning Commission in its current form and function is a hindrance not a help to India’s development. In my experience it is not easy to reform such a large ossified body and it would be better to replace it with a new body that is needed to assist states in ideas, to provide long term thinking and to help cross cutting reforms” said IEO’s Director General Ajay Chhibber.
As per the assessment, the opaqueness in the functioning of the Planning Commission is a matter of concern considering its role as a major allocator of resources to states and central ministries. (PTI)
Gavaskar was as good as Tendulkar, Bradman: Nadkarni
Mumbai, July 11:
The modern generation of cricket followers might feel Sachin Tendulkar is the last word in batting, but for people of the previous generation or even older, Sunil Gavaskar was as good a batsman, according to former Test all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni.
“While it is Tendulkar now, then it was Gavaskar. In the class of cricket (batting) Gavaskar was as good as Tendulkar as a stroke maker, or even the Don (Bradman),” said the octogenarian in his keynote address at the Legends Club here last evening at the function to celebrate Gavaskar’s 65th birthday.
Nadkarni, who is 81, recalled how the “Little Master” had batted without the helmet during his entire cricket career.
“He refused to wear a helmet while batting though helmet was available to be used,” said Nadkarni who played 41 Tests between 1955 and 1968 in which he scored 1,414 runs with 122 not out as his highest score and also grabbed 88 wickets with his inch-perfect left arm spin bowling.
Nadkarni also praised Gavaskar as the first person to scale what was the Himalayan peak of 10,000 Test runs that he accomplished in Ahmedabad.
“It’s a great feat as the intensity of cricket matches was not as much as it’s now. There were fewer Test matches to be played, at least two years for a series to happen. In our time we had to wait even for four years (for India to play a Test series),” remembered Nadkarni.
“He went to the top step by step, from schools cricket to collegiate and then inter-university cricket to first class cricket. His dedication to the game and powers of concentration never flagged till the end of his career,” he said.
“For us it was Gavaskar in cricket, (Nandu) Natekar in badminton and (Ramanathan) Krishnan in tennis. They all made the game look easy,” Nadkarni said and also recalled the former India captain’s dedication to the only club he played for in local league cricket, Dadar Union.(PTI)
“When he was in Mumbai he saw to it that he played for Dadar Union,” said Nadkarni. (PTI)
Govt shifts 128 cos to ‘watch list’;78 firms untraceable
NEW DELHI, July 11:
As many as 128 firms have been placed under ‘watch list’ after they began filing their account details pursuant to be being declared as ‘vanishing companies’, government said today.
However, 78 other companies remain in the list of vanishing companies, while 32 others are currently under liquidation.
The entities are classified as ‘vanishing companies’ if they cease to file their balance sheets and other documents after raising capital and the whereabouts of their offices or directors become untraceable.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman said that initially, a total of 238 companies were identified which vanished after raising funds through public issues.
“Out of these, 128 companies were removed from this category (vanished companies list) and placed under a ‘watch list’ as they had started filing their documents/balance sheets etc,” she said.
The 78 vanishing companies had collectively mopped-up about Rs 310 crore.
She further said that FIRs have been lodged with police against all these companies and their directors to trace their whereabouts and to take action against these firms.
“Prosecutions have also been filed against such firms and their promoters/directors under Companies Act … For non-filing of annual returns and balance sheets… For mis-statement in prospectus/ fraudulently inducing persons to invest money/false statements made in the offer documents, etc,” she said. (PTI)
Bhiwandi court summons Rahul Gandhi over RSS defamation charge
THANE, July 11: A magisterial court in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra’s Thane district today ordered issuing summons to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi asking him to appear before it on October 7 in connection with his allegedly defamatory speech against RSS made during Lok Sabha elections.
The court’s directive came on a case filed by secretary of Bhiwandi unit of RSS Rajesh Kunte, who claimed the Congress leader had “distorted history” and “defamed” the organisation by alleging that “RSS people had killed Mahatma Gandhi”, Kunte’s lawyer Ganesh Dharghalkar said.
Dharghalkar said that after hearing him and perusing the police report, the Magistrate held that a prima facie case was made out against Rahul Gandhi and ordered issue of process against Rahul Gandhi.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JFMC) S V Swamy ordered summons to be issued against Rahul under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (defamation) for allegedly accusing RSS of killing Mahatma Gandhi, while addressing an election rally at Sonale village on March 6. (PTI)
Safai Karamcharis’ strike enters tenth day
Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, July 11: The ongoing indefinite strike by Safai Karamcharis of Udhampur Municipal Committee entered into tenth day today.
The protesting employees held a dharna outside the MCU office and raised slogans in support of their demands, which included regularization and enhancement of their daily wages, etc.
Meanwhile, due to the ongoing strike, the sanitary condition in entire Udhampur town has gone from bad to worse with filth and heaps of garbage lying here and there emitting foul smell.
The locals of Udhampur have also appealed the concerned authorities to immediately concede the genuine demands of the Safai Karamcharis. “Task of Safai Karamcharis is not only essential but also a noble cause and Government should pay Rs 500 per day to the casual laborers till they are regularized,” they said.