NEW DELHI, July 14: Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party today voiced grave concern over killing of “innocent” people, including children, in Gaza following attacks by Israel and staged a walkout in Lok Sabha.

As soon as the House met for the day, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti wanted to raise the issue saying the House cannot remain silent over the killing of women, children and others in Gaza.

“Why are we silent? Whom are we afraid of? India is the only friend of Palestine since 1947. We have to condemn the attack. We have to discuss,” she said, supported by party member Tariq Hameed Karra.

She was supported by E Ahamed (Indian Union Muslim League), Saugata Roy (Trinamool Congress) and P Karunakaran (CPI-M).

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, however, did not allow her to raise the issue saying she can not allow any discussion on the subject without receiving any notice.

“This is not the way. This is not fair. You have not given any notice. I cannot allow,” Mahajan said.

Unhappy with the Speaker’s ruling, PDP members staged a walkout. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 14: Congress today tried to corner the government on the meeting of an Indian journalist with terror accused Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan, saying it could not have taken place without the knowledge of authorities and claimed the scribe was “very close to Sangh parivar”.

Congress leaders raised in Parliament and outside the issue of journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik meeting the mastermind of Mumbai 26/11 terror attack and asked if the government had sanctioned it.

Congress MPs sought a detailed statement from the government on the “purpose and motive behind the meeting with India’s most wanted terrorist” and even demanded the arrest of the journalist.

“We are going to make an issue out of it because it is not the case of an ordinary journalist. He (journalist) was very close to RSS, closely associated with Ramdev. He has been going to Pakistan and Afghanistan and all the time he is close to the Sangh parivar,” Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said outside Parliament.

Union Minister Arun Jaitley said in Rajya Sabha that Government has nothing to do with “directly, indirectly or even remotely” with any journalist meeting Saeed, adding “government has not sanctioned permission to anyone for meeting him (Saeed).”

But the opposition party kept up its attack saying it was no “ordinary issue” and the scribe could not have met Saeed without the knowledge of Indian authorities.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the country needs to be taken into confidence about this issue.

“We have sought from the government that a reply is needed…. Why had Vaidik gone? Is he an envoy or is some back channel diplomacy taking place? This country should know. The nation needs to know, and the nation must be taken into confidence,” Tharoor said.

Another former Union Minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma also said that the government needs to answer whether it was “in the loop”.

“Such meetings cannot take place without the knowledge of the officials. Therefore a legitimate question arises, was the government of India in the loop? Has our foreign ministry received a report?”

He said Vaidik carries an India passport and asked “whether Indian citizens are allowed to spend time with most wanted terrorists”.

He said that he did not believe that the government was not aware of the meeting. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 14: Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ram Naik was today appointed as Governor of Uttar Pradesh and party’s veteran Delhi leader O P Kohli will move to Gujarat, in the first appointment of five Governors by the Narendra Modi government.

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, Naik will take over in Uttar Pradesh after B L Joshi, perceived to be a close confidante of Gandhi family, was asked to tender his resignation. Joshi was the first Governor who tendered his resignation after the Modi Government came to power on June 17 this year.

A three-time Parliamentarian, 80-year-old Naik has the rare distinction of being the only Minister who completed five years as Petroleum and Natural gas minister in one government.

Hit by cancer, Naik was bedridden in 1994 but fought back resolutely and overcame the deadly disease. He had announced in 2013 that he would not be contesting the 2014 elections.

78-year-old Kohli, who was a Rajya Sabha member from 1994 to 2000, takes over as Governor in Gujarat after 87-year-old Kamla Beniwal was shifted to Mizoram by the Government for remainder of her term till November this year.

A former Chief of BJP’s Delhi unit in 2009, Kohli has been associated with BJP since his student days and was President of its student wing — ABVP — and later became Chief of Delhi University Teacher Association.

According to the communique, Keshari Nath Tripathi, a former Uttar Pradesh Speaker will take over in West Bengal, a post which had fallen vacant after the resignation of M K Narayanan after he was nudged to resign.

A poet and author of books, Tripathi, who will turn 80 in November this year, was a five-time MLA and has written a few books like Commentary on “The Representation of the People Act, 1951” and two poetic books in Hindi – ‘Manonukriti’, ‘Aayu Pankh’.

In his student life, he went to jail in connection with the Kashmir Movement.

Balram Das Tandon, 87, founder member of Jan Sangh in 1951, was appointed Governor of Chhatisgarh after Shekhar Dutt tendered his resignation on June 18 after he too was sounded by the Union Home Ministry.

Tandon was the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab in 1969 and later served as Cabinet Minister in Parkash Singh Badal’s government. A six time MLA, Tandon was critical of Badal government’s decision in 2012 of providing free electricity to state farmers.

Padmanabha Acharya, a member of working group on North East region of BJP and Co-Convener of Overseas Friends of BJP, was appointed Governor of Nagaland after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted resignation of Tripura Governor Vakkom Purushothaman, who was also officiating as Nagaland Governor.

The President asked Acharaya to perform the duties of Tripura Governor until regular arrangements are made, the communique said. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI, July 14: The reported meeting of a journalist considered close to yoga guru Ramdev, a staunch BJP supporter, with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed generated heat in Parliament today with Rajya Sabha witnessing two adjournments during Question Hour.

Though the government clarified in the Upper House that it had nothing to do with this meeting, Congress members in both Houses sought a detailed statement from the government on the “purpose and motive behind the meeting with India’s most wanted terrorist”.

Congress members created uproar in Rajya Sabha forcing two adjournments during Question Hour, as they and their counterparts in Lok Sabha, as well as those from their allies, sought to know whether the journalist had sought government’s permission before meeting Saeed and who facilitated it.

They demanded a statement by either the External Affairs Minister or Home Minister saying this was “a serious matter concerning national security”. They also alleged that the journalist was a key member of outfits close to BJP.

In Rajya Sabha, Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said for India, Saeed was a terrorist and indeed involved in terrorism against India.

Government has nothing to do with “directly, indirectly or even remotely” with any journalist meeting Saeed, he said, adding “government has not sanctioned permission to anyone for meeting him (Saeed).”

The issue was raised strongly in the Lower House by K C Venugopal (Cong), N K Premachandran (RSP) and E Ahamed (IUML), with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asking the agitated members to take their seats, saying “you can’t compel the government to make a statement.”

In Rajya Sabha, Congress members demanded the arrest of the journalist, with their leader Digvijay Singh raising the issue seeking to know from Jaitley if the meeting had government’s sanction.

Chairman Hamid Ansari disallowed him from raising the issue saying this was not the occasion for it and took up the Question Hour. But as Congress members persisted, Ansari adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

When the House reassembled, Congress members again raised the issue, with senior member Anand Sharma saying that Saeed was the “most wanted terrorist not just in India but all over the world.”

Reports said Ved Pratap Vaidik, a freelance journalist, had met the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief in Lahore on July 2 while touring Pakistan with a group of journalists and politicians invited by a peace research institute.

India accuses Saeed, the founder of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed. He is on India’s most wanted list and has a bounty of USD 10 million on him. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 14: A large section of people in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh have neither built toilets at their homes nor use them as they continue to remain unaware about the benefits of using lavatories, the government said today.

Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation Upendra Kushwaha further informed the Rajya Sabha that a large section of female population in the rural areas of these states do not have the access to toilets.

He said the position regarding the availability of toilet facilities to women and girls is not monitored separately.

“A large number of people defecate in the open (in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh) because they can not afford to build a toilet from their own resources,” the Minister said in a written reply.

He said as per 2011 census, only 18.6 per cent households in Bihar have the access to toilet. It is 8.3 per cent in Jharkhand, 14.8 per cent in Chattisgarh, 15.3 per cent in Odisha and 22.9 per cent in Uttar Pradesh.

Kushwaha said it is through the states that the Centre administers Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), a comprehensive programme to ensure sanitation facilities in rural areas with the main objective of eradicating the practice of open defecation and ensuring clean environment.

The programme also provides for separate toilets for girls in government schools that were built prior to 2007.

Separate girls toilets are also provided in schools under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan scheme. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 14: The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme for rehabilitation of child labour is presently approved for 270 districts in 20 states of the country, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Vishnu Deo Sai in a written reply said the government was implementing this scheme in the area of high concentration of child labour.

“Government is implementing NCLP scheme for rehabilitation of child labour in the area of high concentration. At present the scheme is approved for 270 districts in 20 states of the country through approximately 6,000 special training centres with enrolment of about 2.80 lakh children,” Sai said.

He said under the scheme, funds are released to the district project societies headed by district magistrates who in turn allocate the fund for special training centres run by NGOs, government or local agencies.

According to figures, the scheme is approved in 47 districts in Uttar Pradesh and 27 districts of Rajasthan making it the highest among other states.

Replying to another question, the minister said according to figures of grants released under NCLP in 2014-15 (upto July 8 this year), Maharashtra has been allocated the maximum of Rs 287.02 lakh while Rs 241 lakh has been allocated to Tamil Nadu.

He said Rs 220 lakh has been allocated to Odisha, Rs 210 lakh has been allocated to Madhya Pradesh till July 8, 2014, while a total of Rs 32,03,553 grant has been released to NGOs in 2013-14 under Grant in Aid (GIA) scheme, no funds have been released under GIA scheme during 2014-15.

The minister said that a total of 64,050 children have been brought to mainstream in 2013-14 against 1,25,716 in 2011-12.

In reply to a separate question, the minister said in 2013, 8,776 violations under child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 were detected in which 2,567 were prosecuted and 828 convictions were done.

The minister said as per 2001 census, a total number of working children in the age group of 5-14 years was 1.26 crore out of which 12 lakh were found working in hazardous occupations.

As per census 2011, the total number of working children in the same age group was 43.53 lakh which is a reduction of 65 per cent, Sai said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 14: Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt will be awarded the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013 by President Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted by the government in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

80-year-old Bhatt is a environmentalist and social activist who has worked extensively on Gandhian principles.

“This annual award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods. It carries a plaque, citation and an amount of Rs one crore,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said.

The recipients of this award include former Tanzanian President Dr Julius K Nyerere, founder President of Sarvodaya Sharamadana movement in Sri Lanka Dr A T Ariyaratne, Dr Gerhard Fischer of Rama Krishna Mission in Germany, Baba Amte, Dr Nelson Mandela and Grameen Bank of Bangladesh (jointly), Dr John Hume of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan in Ireland, former Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 14: As a row erupted over his meeting with Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik, considered close to Baba Ramdev, today rejected suggestions by Congress that he might have acted as government’s envoy, saying he was “nobody’s envoy but my own”.

Vaidik also defended his action, saying he has been meeting all kinds of people and it was a “simple thing” for him.

“Journalists in Pakistan know me for decades. They made a gesture (about meeting Saeed) to me and I said alright I will meet him. It was no big deal for me. It was a simple thing. For me it was like a normal meeting. I have been meeting the Maoists of Nepal, Taliban of Afghanistan…,” he told reporters.

Vaidik had met the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, said to be the parent organisation of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, in Lahore on July 2 while touring Pakistan along with a group of journalists and politicians invited by a peace research institute.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh raised questions as to whether Vaidik met Saeed as an envoy of the NDA government or as a personal envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“If they raise the issue in Parliament, it is good as they will publicise me against my will. But nothing will come out of it,” Vaidik RPT Vaidik told reporters.

Ramdev, meanwhile, came to Vaidik’s defence, saying he would have tried to effect a “change of heart” in the globally-designated terrorist.

“He is a senior journalist and if in any context he is meeting a particular person, then there must be a reason behind it,” the yoga guru said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI : Asserting that no files relating to the assassination of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi has been destroyed, the Government today assured the Rajya Sabha said it would not allow the continuity of history to be destroyed.

”On behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I want to assure the House that the BJP will not allow the continuity of history to be destroyed,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh said while responding to clarifications on his statement on the alleged destruction of more than 1.5 lakh files in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The statement came after several members in the House expressed apprehension that the destruction of files could be part of attempts by the new Government to rewrite history.   Allaying apprehensions of members that the 11,000 files destroyed by the Ministry might contain files pertaining to the events around the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Mr Singh said he had, in his statement on July 11, already clarified that files relating to Mahatma

Gandhi’s assassination, death of late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Lord Louis Mountbatten and India’s first President Rajendra Prasad have not been destroyed.   ”In no case will our Government tamper with the continuity of history,” Mr Singh said.

(UNI)