Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 1: A meeting of Pradesh Vishwakarma Sabha (J&K) was held today at Gurah Morh Bakshi Nagar, Vishwakarma temple complex Jammu under the chairmanship of Ravi Kumar Verma its president to finalise the programme for celebration of Parkash Divas of Bhagwan Vishwakarma falling on Magh Shukal Trodashi.
It decided that the Prakash Divas will be celebrated on January 29 at Sabha Headquarters with full religious fervour and gaiety.
The meeting was also attended by Satish Sharma senior Executive Member of Akhil Bharatiya Vishwakarma Sabha, New Delhi.
Meeting among others was attended by R L Chargotra, R C Angrotra, Puran Chargotra, Vijay Kumar, Charanjeet Bitta, Vinod Jaral, Surinder Kumar, Sanju Kumar, Ravinder Kumar, Jagdish Raj, Pawan Kumar, Joginder Angotra and B R Kataria.
Vishwakarma Sabha holds meeting
BOPEE scam
In our view the Board of Professional Entrance Examination scam is many times more damaging and scandalous than even multi-crore 2G Spectrum or Commonwealth Games scam or even the Coalgate. While these scams are about stealing money, the BPOEE scam is about destroying entire community of meritorious students. It is tantamount to attempting at the destruction of larger society present and future. Young and meritorious students seeking admission to professional institutions are going to be an asset to the society as they are the instruments of development and progress. In particular entry of meritless students through fraud and deceit in medical institution is a heinous crime with horrendous dimensions and consequences. It is a crime against humanity and perpetrators of this crime, more than the implicated students, deserve to be given exemplary punishment. Thanks to the Crime Branch that has unearthed this calumny and most condemnable fraud and pursued it at the court of law.
The Court has minced no words in exposing the big deceit of fraudulently admitting 12 undeserving and meritless students to MBBS course and thus denying these seats to those who deserved them in their right. Advocate General admitted before the court that ten more cases of fraudulent admittance are being investigated by the Crime Branch. It is no small an incident that twenty-two candidates, who never deserved to be admitted have managed it through money power or through political influence. The Court has directed the BOPEE to throw out indicted students and fill their vacancies by the merit holders according to their status. This is for the first time in the history of the State that such a large number of fraudulent admissions in MBBS have been discovered with a clear and threadbare verdict of the court in regard to action to be taken.
Now that this felony has come to light, it is incumbent upon the State authorities to find mechanism of uprooting the evil for the future. There seems to be a full racket working to accomplish the act. The Crime Branch should bring to public domain all details pertaining to the case, and expose all involved persons. It will be reminded that the government did move in the case of an examinee copying in the examination hall and the inquiry pointed finger towards a minister who was sacked. This means the law is in place, the inquiry and investigation are in place; all that is needed is the firm decision of the higher authorities to put an end to the cancer.
This incident reflects abysmal degradation of moral standards of the community. After all they the victimised students have gone through trauma for no fault of theirs and the entire fault is of the administrative organ. The bribe money that has changed hands should be diverted for compensating trauma and mental agony of the deserving and meritorious students, who will now begin their career after the court meted out justice to them.
Govt may soon permit FDI in high speed trains, other projects
NEW DELHI, Jan 1: The Government is likely to allow Foreign Direct Investment in high speed trains and other projects including development of rail lines between project sites and existing network.
“The Commerce and Industry Ministry has sent the cabinet note on the matter and a decision is likely to be taken this this month only,” a Government official told reporters.
Besides, proposing 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in the cash-starved railway sector, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has also proposed to de-license and de-reserve few areas of the sector.
However, FDI will not be allowed in train operations and safety.
At present, there is a complete ban on any kind of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the railways sector except mass rapid transport systems.
According to the proposal, foreign investment would also be allowed in “sub-urban corridor, high speed train systems and dedicated freight line projects implemented in PPP mode ” the official said.
It has also suggested widening the definition of ‘infrastructure’ by including railway line and railway sidings.
As per the proposal, foreign companies would be allowed to pick up 100 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will construct and maintain rail lines connecting ports, mines and industrial hubs with the existing rail network.
“It will be first-to-last mile connectivity between ports and things like coal mines to the existing railway freight stations,” the official said.
First-to-last mile connectivity would mean smooth movement of raw materials from mines to ports.
The move will help in attracting more and more FDI besides development of infrastructure for industrial purposes. Indian Railways are facing a cash problem.
Industrial development and exports have been suffering on account of poor infrastructure which hampers output and raises the cost of production.
It is felt railways can play a role in providing a reliable transport facility necessary for promoting industrial growth.
Players setting up sea ports and large mines need efficient railway connectivity.
Welcoming the development, experts said the Government should come out with clear rules for public-Private- Partnership (PPP) projects.
“A clarity is required on scope and terms of PPP projects,” Head of Tax department in corporate law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas, Krishan Malhotra said. (PTI)
Kejriwal to face crucial confidence vote today
NEW DELHI : Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will face a crucial vote of confidence tomorrow in the Delhi Assembly which he may sail through with the backing of the Congress MLAs, notwithstanding reports of uncertainty surrounding the minority government.
The Delhi Assembly today completed the formality of oath taking by the members including the Chief Minister and other ministers with senior Congress member Matin Ahmed functioning as pro-tem Speaker.
Ahead of tomorrow’s vote, the Congress made it clear that it will continue its support to the AAP government and there was no question of reviewing the decision.
“We had decided to support the AAP government from outside and we are not reviewing it. We stand by our decision. There is no threat to the government from our side,” Delhi Pradesh Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely told PTI.
He termed as “misplaced” Kejriwal’s apprehension yesterday that his government has only 48 hours to deliver on the promises. “We only have 48 hours to deliver,” the Chief Minister had said.
AAP has 28 MLAs and needs at least eight MLAs to achieve the required majority of 36 in a House of 70.
While the Congress has eight MLAs, the BJP and its ally SAD have a total of 32 MLAs. The JD(U) which has offered support of its lone MLA to the government and an Independent account for the remaining two members.
The oath taking was not without controversy with members from Congress and BJP objecting to Kejriwal leaving the House shortly after taking the oath.
In keeping with his unconventional style and not observing the political niceties of sitting through the proceedings when other members were taking oath, the Chief Minister took the oath first, went to the Speaker’s podium and came back to his seat after greeting BJP leader Harsh Vardhan.
He left the House within a couple of minutes which the members later criticised for not showing “courtesies”. Earlier, he had come a little late to the House after the proceedings started.
After the confidence vote tomorrow, the ruling AAP will find a tougher task when the House would elect a new speaker and deputy speaker.
While the AAP has chosen M S Dhir as its candidate for the speaker’s post, the BJP appears all set to field its candidate. The party had already refused the pro-tem speaker’s post when Lt Governor had appointed its nominee Jagdish Mukhi.
Lot of enthusiasm was witnessed among the AAP MLAs, all of them first-timers. However, there was no bonhomie among AAP and MLAs from other parties.
Some of the Congress MLAs said the AAP legislators violated the decorum of the House by wearing their trademark Gandhi caps proclaiming “I am an aam aadmi”.
“Wearing caps is not allowed inside the House. They do not have any regard for decorum of the house. One AAP member was even talking on phone when the proceedings were on,” said a Congress MLA.
Almost all the AAP MLAs including a number of ministers had come to the House wearing Gandhi caps.
Majority of AAP MLAs came to the Assembly riding on Metro along with their supporters while one legislator arrived in a battery-operated rickshaw.
Rajesh Garg, AAP MLA from Rohini constituency, said he travelled 16 km on the rickshaw to reach the assembly. The rickshaw was covered with AAP poster and fitted with brooms – the party’s election symbol.
Garg, who was in Congress until recently, said his supporters in Rohini had gifted him the vehicle and he has been using for the last couple of months.
“People of my constituency have given me the rickshaw. I do not have even a scooter,” said Garg.
Today, 67 MLAs took oath. The pro-tem speaker need not have to take oath while one MLA each from Congress and AAP was absent.
Kirari MLA Anil Jha took oath in Maithali while BJP legislators Nand Kishore Garg and Naresh Gaud took oath in Sanskrit.
Congress’ Harun Yusuf, Asif Mohammad Khan and Hassan Ahmed took oath in Urdu while Lovely took oath in English. First time BJP MLA R P Singh took the oath in Punjabi.
When Kejriwal was taking oath, some AAP MLAs were seen clapping which was opposed by a senior BJP MLA. (PTI)
11 killed, 7 injured in Nepal bus accident
KATHMANDU, Jan 1: Eleven people were killed today and seven others injured when a passenger bus veered off the road and fell into a river in Nepal’s Salyan district.
The bus, en route to Rukum from Kathmandu, fell some 100 meters down in Sarada River at Banskada-5 this morning.
The visibility in the region had decreased due to thick fog, police said.
The identification of the deceased has not been established. The driver of the bus is on the run after the accident. (AGENCIES)
US, UK take fresh initiative to end political crisis in B’desh
DHAKA, Jan 1: World powers, including the US and the UK, took a fresh initiative to end the deadlock in Bangladesh, asking two major political parties to resolve the impasse over upcoming elections through dialogue.
The US and British envoys in Dhaka shuttled between camps of ruling Awami League and main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the past several days in their bid to bridge the gaps between two rival parties despite the apparent failure of a UN mission to end the political crisis.
The developments came as the opposition BNP and its allies have begun enforcing a non-stop blockade of road, rail and water transports across Bangladesh from early today, the first day of 2014, to thwart the January 5 elections.
The opposition enforced a series of strikes last year but their protests intensified in the past one month as the election commission declared the polls schedule. The opposition is boycotting the polls and violence during strikes by them have left over 120 people dead since November.
British High Commissioner Robert Gibson called on BNP chief Khaleda Zia on Monday and then met ruling Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday, while US Ambassador Dan Mozena met the former prime minister yesterday and is expected to meet the Government leaders shortly.
The fresh initiatives came as the US last week said, “we believe it’s more urgent than ever for the major parties to redouble their efforts to engage in constructive dialogue to find a way forward to holding free and fair elections that are credible and reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her archrival BNP chief Zia “missed the train” for the 10th general elections but she was ready for talks with the opposition on the 11th parliamentary polls hinting that her upcoming Government could be short-lived to pave ways for the next polls.
But Zia demanded the January 5 polls plan be scrapped as over half of the candidates in the 300-seat parliament were set to be declared unopposed in the absence of rivals from her party and called for the blockade for indefinite period. (AGENCIES)
Lt Gen Suhag takes over as Vice Chief of Army
NEW DELHI : Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who is tipped to be the next Army Chief, today took over as the Vice-Chief of the Army Staff.
Gen Suhag, who was commissioned in the Gorkha Rifles in 1974, has a long experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North East and had participated in IPKF operation in Sri Lanka.
The Army had announced the decision to designate Suhag, till now the Eastern Army Commander, as the next Vice Chief on December 12.
His fate appeared uncertain after the then Army chief Gen V K Singh had imposed a discipline and vigilance promotion ban on him when he was heading the 3 Corps in Dimapur.
V K Singh had charged Suhag with “abdicating responsibility” in “a most unprofessional and lackadaisical manner” while dealing with a botched operation by an intelligence and surveillance unit under him.
The ban was revoked by Gen Bikram Singh, when he took over as the Army chief, paving the way for Suhag’s elevation as the Eastern Army Commander in June, 2012.
Gen Suhag has had a tenure as a company commander in Operation Pawan, which was launched by Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.
He raised and commanded 33 RR in Nagaland and later led 53 Infantry Brigade, which was involved in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir, an Army spokesperson said.
He has also headed 8 Mountain Division in J&K, which was deployed on the LoC in a high altitude Area from Oct 2007 to Dec 2008.
If the government sticks to seniority criteria, which it has for long, Suhag will become the Army chief when Bikram Singh retires.
In the Air Force, Air Marshal Ravi Kant Sharma took over as the Vice Chief. He was commissioned into the Fighters’ stream of the IAF in June 1975. (AGENCIES)
Goods over Rs 46 lakh traded across LoC
POONCH: Goods worth over over Rs 46 lakh were traded from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to Jammu and Kashmir along Line of Control (LoC) at Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point in district Poonch today, officials said.
As many as four trucks rolled out from the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) here to PoK, they said, adding, these trucks carried bags of coriander and herbs worth Rs 17,17,600.
From PoK, 4 truck carrying bags of herbs, orange and dry dates worth Rs 29,92,084 entered India, they said.
Officials from both sides monitored transportation of these goods twice during the day. (AGENCIES)
Price of non-subsidised LPG hiked by Rs 220 per cylinder
NEW DELHI, Jan 1: The price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG), which customers buy after consuming their quota of subsidised cylinders, was hiked by a steep Rs 220 per bottle today on firming international rates.
The 14.2-kg cooking gas cylinder that consumers buy beyond their entitled nine bottles at subsidised rates, will now cost Rs 1,241, up from Rs 1,021 in Delhi, state-owned fuel retailers said.
This is the third increase in non-subsidised LPG rates in the past month. The price was hiked by Rs 63 a cylinder to Rs 1,017.50 on December 1. It was increased by a further Rs 3.50 to Rs 1,021 on December 11, when the government raised the commission for LPG dealers and distributors.
The government had in September 2012 capped the supply of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders to six per household in a year. The quota was raised to nine bottles per household in a year in January 2013.
Any requirement above this limit has to be purchased at market rates. There is no restriction on the number of non-subsidised cylinders that a consumer can buy.
State-owned oil companies revise rates of non-subsidised LPG on the 1st of every month, based on the average imported cost and rupee-US dollar rate during the previous month.
A subsidised, 14.2-kg cylinder of LPG costs Rs 414 in Delhi. Officials said state-owned oil firms currently lose Rs 762.70 per cylinder on the sale of subsidised LPG.
Non-subsidised LPG rates in Mumbai have been increased to Rs 1,264.50 per cylinder from Rs 1,038.
International LPG rates have firmed up due to increased winter heating demand, they said. (AGENCIES)
Lokpal Bill gets President’s nod
NEW DELHI, Jan 1: The much-awaited Lokpal Bill today got the assent from President Pranab Mukherjee, providing for creation of an anti-graft watchdog which will bring under its purview even the Prime Minister with certain safeguards.
The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 17 and by the Lok Sabha the next day.
The Lok Sabha secretariat had yesterday sent to the Law Ministry a copy of the Bill which has been signed by Speaker Meira Kumar. The Bill was then forwarded to the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the President’s assent, official sources said.
The President has signed the Lokpal Bill, the sources said.
The Bill takes the shape of the Act after the signing by the President and following certain procedures.
After the assent by the President, Secretary Legislative Department in the Law Ministry will sign it and send it for publication in the official gazettee.
The Bill aims to set up institution of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states by law enacted by respective legislatures within one year of coming into force of the Act.
The Bill was first passed by the Lok Sabha at the fag end of the winter session of 2011, but not by the Rajya Sabha, where it was debated but the house was adjourned before voting on it.
Later, a select committee of the Rajya Sabha had suggested changes in the Bill, most of which which were incorporated and approved by the Union Cabinet. Following the amendments, the Rajya Sabha had passed the bill.
The Lokpal had become a bone of contention among ruling Congress, opposition BJP and civil societies with each one of them wanting to make changes in it to make it more effective. (AGENCIES)