SAADDA HAQ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2015
Vol. 1 Issue: 407
Price: Rs.3:00
Reg. No: DELENG/2014/58212
FIGHT FOR RIGHT
Delhi Edition Pages: 8 Website: www.saaddahaq.in Email: news.saaddahaq@gmail.com
PM Modi to Launch Mudra Schemes in KN Tripathi Swears in as New Jharkhand on October 2 P3 Tripura Governor NEWS IN BRIEF
Salman Khan Hit-and-Run Case: Lawyer Questions Blood Test Done by Police Mumbai, Maharashtra: Pointing to "discrepancies" in the 2002 hit-and-run case involving Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, his lawyer today raised a question in the Bombay High Court as to why police CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Corruption in Railway Catering: Public Interest Litigation to Probe Companies New Delhi: A plea was today filed in Delhi High Court seeking direction to conduct immediate nationwide investigation on catering firms running contracts in Indian Railways, alleging they were over-charging passengers and flouting directions of the Ministry. A doctor in CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Enforcement Directorate Registers Money Laundering Case Against Meat Exporter Moin Qureshi New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case against controversial Delhi-based meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is under the scanner of probe agencies for alleged tax evasion and hawala-like dealings. With the agency filing the CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Consultation Seminar on Country's New Education Policy Held in Gujarat Ahmedabad, Gujarat: A consultation seminar on the country's new education policy was organised by the Gujarat government, where suggestions of many academicians were taken. The Human and Resources Development ministry is in the CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Hardik Patel Announces Formation of New Group New Delhi: Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel on Wednesday announced the formation of a new group, Akhil Bhartiya Patel Navnirman Sena, with the aim to unite the Kurmi, Gujjar, Maratha and Patel communities. Mr Patel, who has been spearheading protests in CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Maggi Ban: Nestle Claims It is Being 'Singled Out' New Delhi: Alleging bias, Nestle India Limited today told the apex consumer commission that it was being "singled out" by the government in the Maggi noodles ban case as no action was being taken against other manufacturers of similar CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Weather Report DELHI
Temperature: 340C Precipitation:26% Humidity: 56% Wind: 20Km/hr
KOLKATA
Temperature: 320C Precipitation: 63% Humidity:90% Wind: 13Km/hr
CHENNAI
Temperature: 330C Precipitation:53% Humidity:64% Wind: 18Km/hr
MUMBAI
Temperature: 340C Precipitation:72% Humidity:75% Wind: 19Km/hr
P4
Sushma Swaraj, British Foreign Secretary Discuss PM Modi's Visit to Britain P8
Nitish Kumar Backstabbed BJP, Says BJP President Amit Shah
Begusarai: Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah today attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing him of backstabbing the NDA by snapping ties and said it was in line with his habit of "deceit" to grab power. "Nitish Kumar betrayed George Fernandes, who gave him (Kumar) a national identity, and more recently, Jitan Ram Manjhi. Where is George Fernandes today? He has been forced to spend 'gumnaami ki zindagi' (a life of obscurity)?" he said. Mr Shah said the saffron party had given a leadership role to Mr Kumar in the NDA and assisted him throughout "even at the cost of insult to the BJP workers" to prevent return of 'jungle raj' in Bihar.
Lalu Prasad: Nitish Kumar is our 'Dulha', BJP has None
"But, in tune with his behaviour he stabbed BJP in the back and joined hands with Lalu Prasad for the sake of power," he said. He told BJP workers to spread the truth among voters. Amit Shah also targeted Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad for CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad today said the BJP-led National Democractic Alliance (NDA) is contesting Bihar assembly polls like hosting a wedding without bridegroom, which the grand alliance has in Nitish Kumar.
Dharamsala: The Dalai Lama, who is in the United States for medical evaluation, will be back home at Mcleodganj in Dharamsala city on October 3, officials confirmed today. The 80-year-old Tibetan leader cancelled his planned October US appearances after doctors advised him to take rest. Desang Tsering, Secretary to Dalai Lama, said, "He (Dalai Lama) has no health problems and he is doing well. He will be arriving in Dharamsala on October 3." A statement CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government today welcomed the court verdict in the 7/11 Mumbai serial train blasts case, saying that it was committed to strengthen the justice delivery system in the state. Expressing satisfaction on the judgement, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said in the last one year the conviction rate has gone up from 9 percent to 35 per cent. "In the last one year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has worked on
improving loopholes in the judicial delivery system," he said. NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said proper judicial process has been followed and the
Call Drops a Legacy of Previous Government: Telecom Minister
Call Drops Problem is Improving: Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad New Delhi: Asserting that the problem of call drops has begun to improve, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said mobile operators on their own
After Jammu and Kashmir, Demand for Liquor Ban in Uttar Pradesh Lucknow: After Jammu and Kashmir, a demand has been made in Uttar Pradesh for banning liquor, with a Muslim organisation saying there should be prohibition in the state which is a "land of faith for both Hindus and Muslims". The Ittehad-e-Millat Council plans to launch a state-wide campaign for its demand. The Council also voiced concern over
(bridegroom) Nitish Kumar. But BJP-led NDA has no dulha." The former Bihar chief minister, who has a way with words, said people would reject such a marriage party which lacks the bridegroom. CONTD. ON PAGE 2
WA S H I N G T O N : Impressed by Google's flagship Project Loon that takes internet to the remote and inaccessible areas - Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes this has multiple uses like long distance education, rural schools and telemedicine, officials said. He was given a briefing about Loon during his tour to the Google headquarters in the Silicon Valley over
the weekend. Google officials told PM Modi that they were already doing a pilot project in Andhra Pradesh and the idea is to target rural areas which still do not have internet penetration. "So, the Prime Minister felt that this could be a very very significant innovation to help us with rural connectivity," Ministry of External Affairs CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Maharashtra Government Welcomes At Conclave of Chief Ministers, Only 7/11 Mumbai Serial Train Blasts Verdict Mamata Shares Stage With Kejriwal
Dalai Lama to Return to Dharamsala on October 3 After US Checkup
New Delhi: Seeking to turn tables on Congress over the call drops issue, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said this problem is a legacy of the last government and he is clearing thew "mess" left by them. He also said that Congress must be asked why state-owned BSNL and MTNL turned lossmaking entities during the UPA regime. Addressing a press conference here on the call drop menace, Mr Prasad said he is clearing the mess left by the Congress-led UPA CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA alliance for not declaring any chief ministerial candidate ahead of the state assembly polls, Lalu Prasad at a rally in Jamui district said: "We, the grand alliance, have dulha
Google's Flagship Project Loon Impresses PM Modi
slaughter of cows on a mass scale without proper arrangements for cattle breeding like poultry, saying if the situation continues, a time will come when "our children will not get milk" to drink. "Consumption of liquor is considered bad in all religions and Uttar Pradesh is a land of faith for both Hindus and Muslims," its President Maulana Tauqeer Raza CONTD. ON PAGE 2
are showing the shortcomings but appeared to rule out any penalty as of now. While naming telecom operators like Airtel, CONTD. ON PAGE 2
order is final. "We have to honour the judgement." A special MCOCA court in Mumbai today sentenced five of the 12 CONTD. ON PAGE 2
New Delhi: Two chief ministers attended, three sent letters of support. One just sent regrets. In the end, only West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee shared stage with Arvind Kejriwal at his conclave of chief ministers in the national capital today. Manik Sarkar, Tripura Chief Minister sat through discussions but did not stay for the speeches. Mr Kejriwal, in the middle of a protracted turf battle with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, accused the BJP-led NDA government of not allocating funds to states and of
The Indian Connection to Turkey's Booming Fake Passport Mafia ISTANBUL: As dusk fell on Aksaray square in the heart of Istanbul, the refugees began to gather with their luggage. Some were women with children; others, young men in small groups or alone by street carts. The place soon resembled a train station, filled with expectation and the promise of a journey. Except, the people weren't waiting for a train but to make contact with passport forgers. For the hundreds of migrants - many of them Syrian - that have escaped wars, often without documents, the forgery network holds out the possibility of reaching the West and a better life.
According to an estimate, nearly 70 per cent of Syrians have fled without passports. All Syrians we spoke to in Aksaray were too afraid to talk, fearing identification by the Bashar alAssad regime back home. But with the help of a facilitator, we were led to a cafe just a stone's throw away, to meet a prominent member of the forgery racket. The tall, lean young man asked that we called him Oday, and that we mosaic his face once the TV cameras are on. He was more than willing to share in detail the workings of this booming illegal trade. CONTD. ON PAGE 2
On Mob Killing Over Beef Rumours, Ex-BJP Lawmaker's Shocker Dadri, Uttar Pradesh: Commenting on the mob killing of a Muslim man over rumours that he had eaten beef, a BJP leader today controversially said it was "excitement" that led to the incident. Nawab Singh Nagar, a former lawmaker from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, where the killing took place on Monday night, also appeared to justify the killing and described
as "innocent children" the young men arrested after
the incident. CONTD.
ON
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"arm-twisting" them by "misusing" agencies like the Central Bureau of investigation or CBI. He alleged Lt Governor Jung is acting like "an agent" of the Centre by "declaring 30 orders of the
Aam Admi Party government null and void". Ms Banerjee concurred and offered support. "They send the CBI to chief ministers' homes to arrest them, can the chief CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Defence Minister Assures All Help to War Veteran hit by Bureaucrat's Car Mumbai/Chandigarh: No 'legal manipulation' will be allowed in the case of a bureaucrat's car allegedly knocking down a 90year-old war veteran in Chandigarh five days ago, said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has assured all necessary help to injured Captain Paramjit Kaur Dhanoa (Retired). "We will give whatever help is required. I CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Devendra Fadnavis to Inaugurate 'National Agri and Orange Festival' Amravati, Maharashtra: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate 'National Agriculture and Orange festival' in the district tomorrow. The four-day long festival to be held at Warud is being jointly organised by Maharashtra government and 'Krishimitra Events', an official release said. State Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hansraj Ahir and others will be present on the occasion. CONTD. ON PAGE 2
Indian National Lok Dal Opposes Akal Takht's Decision to Pardon Dera Chief Chandigarh, Haryana: The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) party today opposed the decision of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat for Sikhs, to pardon Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of blasphemy charges, saying the Dera chief does not deserve exoneration. "We strongly oppose it... There is no room for any pardon for a man who is booked under section 302 CONTD. ON PAGE 2
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Fight for right
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 01, 2015
From Page 1 Nitish Kumar... trying to create a controversy over reservations for backward castes and dalits and asserted BJP was not against quotas for them. "Lalu Prasad is nowadays talking about reservation for backwards and dalits and accusing the BJP of intending to end reservation which is not true. BJP has been in favour of reservation for backwards and dalits since the promulgation of Constitution and is not in favour of any review," he said. The BJP chief accused Prasad of harping on the issue to "divert the attention of voters from the issue of jungle raj." Addressing a BJP workers' conference at Begusarai, about 100 km from the state capital, the BJP chief said the Modi government attached great importance to national security, which will never be compromised. The BJP president mocked Lalu Prasad's claims of being a Socialist, saying the RJD leader's entire politics nowadays was focused on promoting the interest of his family. "While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will start his campaign for Bihar election from Banka on October 2, (Lalu) Prasad started his campaign from Raghopur (last Sunday) from where his son (Tejaswi Yadav) is contesting and which will see voting in the third phase," Mr Shah pointed out. Defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign trips, the BJP chief said, "Earlier nobody took notice of visit of 'Mauni Baba' (Manmohan Singh) to foreign land, but today people in large numbers welcome Narendra Modi." He promised if the NDA was voted to power in the state, its government would ensure 24-hour electricity and huge investment in Bihar so youth do not have to go to other in search of livelihood. BJP workers from 11 districts participated in the conference which was also attended by Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who is also in-charge of party's Bihar affairs.
Lalu Prasad.. The grand alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal-United (JD-U), and Congress has declared present Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming state assembly polls. BJP leaders have repeatedly said the name of the chief ministerial candidate would be decided after the polls if the NDA wins twothirds majority. Lalu Prasad, however, also sought to caution the voters, saying that BJP workers from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are visiting rural Bihar in large numbers to spread hatred and create communal tension for the party to advantage from it politically. "Till Lalu is alive, reservation for Dalits and OBCs cannot end. RSS and BJP are keen to end reservation," he said, obliquely referring to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's suggestion to review the country's reservation policy.
Google's Flagship ... spokesman Vikas Swarup said. The Google officials said their research tells them that 160 million people can be lifted out of poverty if given internet access. "So, the Prime Minister immediately felt applications of Project Loon in areas such as long distance education, rural schools and telemedicine etc. And they said that the technology exists to scale up," Mr Swarup said. "As of now, it simply a means to deliver internet to places where no internet exists, but depending on what the requirements are, this could be scaled up," he added. In his interaction with Google officials, the Prime Minister talked about his favourite concept called 'JAM' where the 'J' stands for the Jan Dhan Yojana, the 'A' stands for the Aadhaar platform and the 'M' stands for mobile governance. PM Modi told them that the Jan Dhan Yojana is more or less done, 180 million people who were outside the banking sector have now been covered by bank accounts. The Aadhaar project is about 90 per cent done. "But mobile governance is where he wanted to move on next and that is where he sought inputs from Google, how that could be made possible," Mr Swarup said. Specifically, there was a discussion on the possibilities of Google technologies for the agricultural sector in terms of if they could develop algorithm etc. to predict rainfall or to say what is going to happen next in terms of crop patterns etc. which could really be of transformative use in agriculture, he added.
Dalai Lama to... issued on the Tibetan leader's website on September 25 stated that "His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in the United States for a medical checkup. The doctors have advised His Holiness to rest for the next several weeks. As a result, His Holiness' planned October US visit has been cancelled." The official from Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala confirmed today that no programs are scheduled during his stay in Dharamsala as he is advised complete rest by the doctors, who attended upon him at Mayo
Clinic in the US. The Tibetan leader will be meeting the Tibetan Community of Minnesota today, after which he will rest and not attend any public event scheduled, the official said. He had been scheduled to speak at events in Colorado, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Utah from October 17 to October 26, and was to receive an award from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on the concluding day.
Maharashtra Government... convicted in the case to death while the remaining were awarded life imprisonment. Seven RDX bombs exploded in the firstclass coaches in as many suburban trains, killing 189 people and injuring 829 others on July 11, 2006.
At Conclave... minister order a raid at the Prime Minister's house?" she said. The Bengal CM also said, "Declaring orders null and void is not good... What is happening in Delhi and other states is not cooperative federalism. It is a danger." The Centre, she said, was running a parallel government through Governors. Together they pitched for the supremacy of elected governments, demanding complete de-centralisation. "States will have to be given more power, rising above party politics," said Mr Kejriwal. The conclave was to have served as a coming together of chief ministers of states not ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies against the Centre. Mr Kejriwal had also invited Congress CMs, but none attended. The chief ministers of Mizoram and Pudducherry sent letters of support. So did Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has in recent days shared a relationship of mutual admiration and support with Mr Kejriwal. Mr Kumar is busy campaigning for elections in Bihar next month. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sent word he would not attend the conclave. Mr Kejriwal admitted he should have checked on the availability of the chief ministers before deciding on the date of the conclave.
Call Drops a... government and during their tenure the Sanchar Bhawan - the seat of Telecom Ministry - was known for all the wrong reasons including "corruption, loot and impropriety". The Congress had yesterday demanded sacking of Telecom Minister for his "incompetence" in resolving the issue of frequent call drops experienced by consumers. Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed had said it was becoming difficult to talk on mobile "for even five seconds" and the problem was more in the networks of state-owned MTNL and BSNL. Responding to the Congress' charge, Mr Prasad said, "Call drop is also a legacy of previous government. We inherited it. The weakness in telecom sector that came due to lack of monitoring...call drop came from other factors... lack of network improvement, optimisation of network equipment." The Minister added that BSNL and MTNL were making profit in 2004 till the time the then NDA government was in power, but the two firms became loss-making in 10 years of the Congress rule. "BSNL's profit was Rs. 10,183 crore in 2004 and after ten years, when we came back, BSNL was suffering a loss of Rs. 8,234 crore. Who is responsible for this. Will the Congress party government give answer to this? MTNL in 2004 was in profit of Rs. 938 crore and in 2014, it was suffering a loss of Rs. 2,843 crore," Mr Prasad said.
Call Drops Problem... Aircel, Idea, Vodafone and Tata Tele among those having contained the problem, he said nearly half of the defective mobile sites have been fixed to address the menace. Addressing a press conference on the issue of call drops, the Minister said a total of 34,460 mobile sites were found to be defective, out of which 16,962 were fixed in the third week of September. As per the data shared by the Minister, 17,498 sites still needed to be repaired across country. As per the data, Aircel's network accounted for the maximum number of sites found to be defective, with 5,741 cells, about one-third of the total, that needed to be fixed. Idea Cellular is required to fix 3,468 cells, Vodafone 3,344, Bharti Airtel 2,159, Tata Teleservices 1,881, Telenor 530, Reliance Communications 33, Videocon Telecommunications 46, Quadrant 81 and Sistema Shyam Teleservices 65. The operators have said they would try to fix these defective cells by next month, the Minister said, while adding that the companies feel they must resolve the problem as it was a matter of credibility for them. Without giving any direct answer on penalising the erring telecom operators, Mr Prasad said that the regulator TRAI was working on a framework about incentives and disincentives linked to call drops and the government
would consider it as and when the recommendations come in. TRAI has said that the recommendations can come in by mid-October, although operators have been opposing any move to compensate the consumers on the basis of call drops.
The Indian Connection... Oday, who says he is from the Golan Heights, says that once contact is made, all refugees need to give him their basic details and photographs. In two days he says, the passport is ready. "Faster than the embassies," said Oday, According to an estimate, nearly 70 per cent of Syrians have fled without passports. But the price is heavy: 700 to 1,000 Euros for a fake passport for any country in Europe. The price barrier explains why only a tiny fraction of refugees - about 10 per cent - can actually afford to attempt to make the trip to Europe, compared to those who remain in the Middle East, close to Syria's borders. "Passports for France or Germany are more expensive. Also, some passports are not fake but genuine, just sold after changing the names and photos," he said. The smugglers don't guarantee success. But the money is deposited with a third party, to be handed over when the refugee reaches his or her final destination. "They only need to get out of Turkey. Once they get to Europe, they declare themselves refugees and have to be taken in," he said, adding, "We don't take the money upfront. A third person gives it to us once the passport holder is out of Turkey." Oday wasn't bragging. Sefik Dinc, an Istanbul-based journalist with the paper Haberturk pretended to be a Syrian refugee and bought a forged Finnish passport in two days, exposing the rot in the system. A charitable explanation for why forgery operates so freely is so Syrians get a free passage. According to an official Turkish report, nearly 70% of the refugees left behind their passports in Syria and have no chance of getting them back.
After Jammu... Khan told PTI. "If liquor is sold in UP, then it means that it is sold in a place of pilgrimage," said Mr Khan who claimed to have already talked to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in this regard. Bareilly in the state, he particularly noted, is the centre of faith for Sunni sect and Deobandis. The demand for liquor ban comes close on the heels of a similar one in Jammu and Kashmir where a religious organisation Karwan-e-Islami has moved the High Court to seek prohibition in the state. The High Court yesterday asked government to give its view by October 6 on the plea. The Maulana said availability of liquor in UP has been made so easy that even minors can access it. "I have seen minors having drinks at juice stalls. I have told the government that if liquor is banned in UP, both Hindus and Muslims would appreciate," he said. Contending that in Islam, liquor has been termed as mother of all evils, the Maulana said henious crimes like murder, rape and dacoities could be checked if it is banned. He refused to accept the argument that ban on liquor would result in loss of revenue and cited the case of Gujarat. "The revenue loss can be compensated by other means, but loss of religion cannot be compensated. For example, liquor is banned in Gujarat, but there is no impact on revenue," he said, adding "When there is a ban on liquor in birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, then why is it allowed in the land of Ram and Krishna?"
On Mob ... Mohammad Ikhlaq, 52, was lynched by some 100 men, allegedly over a rumour that he had slaughtered a calf and had beef in his house in a village around 35 km from Delhi. Mr Nagar, who visited Ikhlaq's family, described what happened as sad but said: "If anybody was consuming cow meat then that is wrong." Six of the attackers were arrested the same night. They are "innocent kids" and "children barely 10-15 years old," the BJP leader said. The state's Samajwadi Party government, after an initial inquiry, has said that the rumours that allegedly drove the mob killing were false. Ikhlaq and his 22-year-old son were dragged from their house, and kicked and beaten. Ikhlaq died on the spot while his son is critical. Half an hour before the attack, an announcement was allegedly made at a temple nearby that a calf had been slaughtered and its carcass had been found near a transformer. The police are investigating who started the rumours in a part of western Uttar Pradesh that is prone to communal flare-ups.
Defence Minister... can ask my people in Chandigarh to monitor and see that legal manipulation does not take place because of the influential person involved," the minister told reporters today in Mumbai on board the warship, INS Kochi. The car belonging to Secretary, Industrial Training in Haryana, Anil Kumar had allegedly knocked down Ms Dhanoa, a former army doctor, on September 25 when she
was entering the Tagore theatre to watch a play along with her family members. The veteran has alleged that the officer neither provided any help nor did he apologise to her as she lay on the road bleeding and bruised. Ms Dhanoa received injuries on her face and her head and also suffered broken rib. She was admitted to Command Hospital, Chandimandir and her condition was now stable, her family said. Her grandson, Gobind Singh Dhanoa took to Facebbook to express his "disgust" over what is being described on social media as VVIP racism. Social media users expressed outrage at the incident. The Chandigarh Police has booked an "unknown person" under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (endangering life and personal safety of others) of Indian Penal Code.
Devendra Fadnavis... Nagpur-based orange grower Dhiraj Junghare and scientist SAMH Naqvi will be awarded Mohanrao Totey Santra Bhushan award for their remarkable achievements in orange production and orange pest control research respectively, it said.
Indian National... (murder) and 376 (rape) of IPC and who has also hurt the sentiments of Sikhs by dressing himself up as Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru," said Leader of Opposition in Haryana assembly and INLD lawmaker, Abhay Chautala. Last week, the Akal Takht had pardoned the chief of the Sirsa-headquartered sect following a letter of apology from him, to put behind a bitter row between them. There has been criticism of the pardon by some Sikh organisations, some of them today observed a Punjab shutdown in protest against the decision of Akal Takht. The opposition leader also lashed out at the Haryana government alleging that it has failed in ensuring purchase of paddy in the state for the Kharif season, as a result of which growers are upset who are unable to sell their produce. He also hit out at the government for higher electricity bills being received by consumers. "The state government has raised energy by 43 per cent in clandestine manner," he alleged. Mr Chautala also said that INLD was organising 'Samman Diwas' on November 1 marking the birth anniversary of party's founder leader Chaudhary Devi Lal in Rohtak, and has invited Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav for the event. Earlier, the party had planned to organise the event at Ram Leela Maidan in Delhi, but it could not get the space on that day for holding the progamme.
Salman Khan... had gone for a blood test when no witness or First Information Report (FIR) had ever suggested that the actor was drunk or was smelling of liquor.
Corruption in ... his petition before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath alleged that the catering companies were charging arbitrarily and not complying with the rates prescribed in the circular issued by the Ministry of Railways, to the prejudice of the common passengers who were being over charged. The court has fixed hearing on the public interest litigation (PIL) on November 18. Doctor Sanjay Gupta, in his PIL, said exorbitant rates were being charged for food and beverage items on trains by the caterers. "The money involved could be in thousands of crores, once the matter is investigated. Since the catering companies are not issuing bills to the buyers, there is bound to be tax evasion by the companies, depriving the exchequer of valuable tax. "The receipts issued by the caterers in different trains are in similar layout and printing, indicating that most caterers are common or have formed a cartel," the PIL said. The petitioner said that in 2012, Railways had released an elaborate circular pertaining to catering services and prices. "The circular also stated categorically that under no circumstances, the railway should charge different rates as rates of these items are determined at the Railway Board level," he said. The petitioner also urged the court to see whether the caterers were complying with the circular, whether they issued bills of food items sold by them to on-board passengers and were paying all applicable taxes on the entire sales made by them on the trains. He said that while undertaking railway journeys, he found that caterers were not charging uniform rates prescribed by the railways, which was "totally arbitrary and in flagrant violation of the said circular". While seeking action against officials and the catering companies, the plea said that the railways have "not bothered to rectify the procedure resulting in routine loss to the citizen and to the exchequer". The plea also sought direction to the Ministry to "initiate awareness programme for the passengers".
Enforcement Directorate... fresh case under the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA), proceedings against the businessman will now be carried out under criminal laws as against the current ones being conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Income Tax Act which are civil in nature. Officials said the agency slapped the fresh charges after taking cognisance of the I-T department's charge sheet (also called prosecution complaint) against Qureshi in their alleged tax evasion case in a local court here sometime back. "The new rules notified by the agency state that in any case if the prosecuting agency (tax department here) has filed a complaint in a competent court and the court has admitted it, such a case can be taken up for probe under PMLA," they said. The ED has taken over this case under FEMA early this year after the I-T department shared documents indicating hawala and alleged contravention of forex laws by the businessman and his business entities based here. The ED had alleged that Qureshi has sent "huge amount of funds" through the hawala route to Dubai, London and few other overseas destinations in Europe. The agency early this year had also conducted searches on Qureshi's premises and had also questioned him. It is expected that he may be summoned again for questioning and his assets may be attached as part of the fresh proceedings under money laundering laws. The I-T department, during its probe, had found Qureshi had 11 bank lockers which were in the names of his employees and associates but the articles belonged to the businessman. The lockers were operated by the employees of AMQ Group of Qureshi claiming that over Rs. 11.26 crore in cash and jewellery worth over Rs. 8.35 crore were found in these lockers.
Consultation Seminar... process of drafting a policy after 29 years. "No country in the world had done such a long process or it had shared experience from all the quarters to draft an education policy, but we will do it and Gujarat has already taken the lead in this (in form of consultation)," Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, state education minister, said in the event held at the Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat (KCG) campus here. According to the minister, the consultation process on primary education has been conducted in around 12,304 out of 14,049 villages in the state. In the higher and technical education segment, the process has been conducted in 188 out of 224 blocks, and in 19 out of 26 districts have been completed. Mr Chudasama also spoke about how the country and the state are far behind in Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in comparison with the developed countries. He said, "Gujarat has GER of 21 per cent, while the country has GER of 20 per cent, but if you compare it with the developed countries, then we are far behind. The GER in those developed countries would be more than 50 per cent. We need to think on this as well." The minister also said the government must reconsider its proposed 'No Detention Policy'. "I insist to reconsider this act. This is Gujarat's message to the Union government. Because, if you do not fix the accountability of the teacher, then I think he will not teach properly. There must be changes in the No Detention policy," Mr Chudasama said. In an appeal to academicians Mr Chudasama also said the new education policy should be such which made countrymen reliable, disciplined, patriotic and honest. Representative of Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry, Shakila Shamsu said the new education policy is being drafted and it is likely to be introduced by December this year.
Hardik Patel ... Gujarat to demand reservations for the Patel community, said at a press conference in New Delhi that the new organisation would try to mobilise support of these communities on the issue of reservation. "The Akhil Bhartiya Patel Navnirman Sena will fight for the cause of farmers, labourers and youth of the country," he said. Mr Patel said he would also fight for reservation in government jobs on the basis of castes. Earlier, he had said that he would fight for reservation in jobs according to the economic condition of the candidate. Mr Patel also plans to organise a Mahasabha in the national capital next month to further his cause.
Maggi Ban... products. Citing Bombay High Court order which had set aside the countrywide ban on Maggi, the company also sought to recall an earlier order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) by which it had admitted government's Rs. 640 crore suit against the noodles manufacturer for alleged unfair trade practices and other charges. A bench, headed by Justice V K Jain, issued notice to the government on the company's plea and sought response by October 8. It also issued notice to Nestle on a separate plea filed by the government seeking further testing of Maggi noodles.