Buddhadeb rejects Trinamool demand for advancing Assembly poll

Kolkata, May 16 (PTI) : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today rejected Trinamool Congress’ demand for advancing 2011 Assembly elections in the state, saying it was only the state government which could make a recommendation in the matter.“We have thought over holding the elections on scheduled time. Only the state government can take a decision to hold elections early or not,” Bhattacharjee said. Addressing a press conference at the CPI-M party office here, the chief minister, without naming Mamata Banerjee, said the person who made this demand was not conversant with the Constitution. “The careless utterances indicate reckless and whimsical thoughts,” he pointed out. He alleged that forces like the RSS, Maoists, ultra-rightists and foreign forces have joined together to fight the Left.Bhattacharjee said RSS mouthpiece Organiser recently said the Trinamool Congress should come to power in West Bengal, indicating that the two organisations had united against the Left Front. “Those leaders from the BJP who have joined the Trinamool Congress have links with the RSS,” he claimed. Attacking the Trinamool Congress, Bhattacharjee said whereas the Left parties want progress of West Bengal, Trinamool wants to take the state backward. Bhattacharjee accused Trinamool Congress of facilitating the support base for the Maoists in West Bengal by consistently denying their existence.Questioning the rationality of Trinamool Congress’ argument that there was no Maoist in West Bengal, he argued how could they be absent if Naxals existed in neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Orissa. “Even the Centre will never accept the argument of Trinamool Congress,” the chief minister said. Maoists were blatantly used by Trinamool Congress to create violence in Nandigram, he alleged. The Congress had realised that the party was a violent and reactionary force and this led to the opposition to its former ally on the issue of civic polls, he said. The chief minister also mocked Trinamool’s “impossible” claim of transforming Kolkata into a London-like city if it won the May 30 civic elections.“The claim is utterly divorced from reality prevailing in the state or for that matter in the country.” Bhattacharjee also questioned Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s frequent announcements of new trains. “We do not know where trains like ‘Duranto’ or others are going,” he said.

Panel to consider demands for HC benches: Moily

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Amid growing clamour for setting up High Court benches in various states, the Government has decided to form a one-man committee to look into the issue. “We have decided to form a one-man committee to look into demands for setting up High Court benches,” Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told PTI here. A former Chief Justice of India would be entrusted with the task and the Law Ministry would move the Union Cabinet shortly for its nod to set up the committee. Sources said former CJI Justice A M Ahmadi is a frontrunner for the post. But Moily said no name has been decided so far. “It is too early to comment,” he said. Moily said as of now, unless the Chief Justice of the High Court agrees, the government cannot consider any request to set up a high court bench in any state. He was referring to a Supreme Court judgement which saidany decision on establishing new benches in any state has to be approved by the Chief Justice of particular High Court.There has been a demand from several quarters to set up benches of high courts in various states so that the cases pending before the respective high courts can be heard at a faster rate. In the 1980s, Justice Jaswant Singh Commission was set up to fix the yardsticks for setting up new High Court benches.The yardsticks included population of the area and the distance of the proposed bench from the principal bench. Kerala has been demanding setting up a bench of the High Court in capital Thiruvananthapuram.The state government has insisted that the capital should have a bench as sending officials to Kochi was a costly affair. Similar demands have been aired by lawyers from western Uttar Pradesh who want benches of the Allahabad High Court to come up at Agra and Muzzaffarnagar. Lawyers from Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court have opposed creation of a new bench fearing loss of clientele. Lawyers and politicians have demanded benches of the Rajasthan High Court in Bikaner. Similar demands have come from Orissa for a Sambalpur bench. “It is also necessary that the work of the High Courts is decentralised, that is, more benches are established in all states.If there is manifold increase in the strength of the judges and the staff, all cannot be housed in one campus. Therefore, establishment of new benches is necessary....” an August, 2009 Law Commission report on judicial reforms had said. The report had said new benches would also help save time of litigants who have to travel to other cities.

Agni-II ballistic missile likely to be test fired today

    Balasore (Orissa), May 16 (PTI) The nuclear-capable Agni-II intermediate range ballistic missile, with a range of 2000 kms, is likely to be test fired tomorrow from a range off the Orissa coast during a trial by the Army, defence sources said today."The trial is to be conducted from the Wheelers Island, about 120 km from here off the Orissa coast tomorrow," the sources said. Range integration work in the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur and Dhamara for trial of Agni-II missile is near completion and if final check-up in the sub-systems of the missile is found to be flaw-less, the mission will be taken up tomorrow, they said. A special strategic command force (SSC) raised by Army would conduct the trial with necessary logistic support provided by various laboratories of the ITR and Defence Research and Development Organisation scientists, the sources said.  The indigenously-built Agni-II missile is a two-stage solid propelled ballistic missile. Its length is 21 metres, width one metre and launch weight is 17 tonnes.  It can carry a payload of one tonne over a distance of 2,000 km. However, the range can be extended if the payload is reduced. The missile has already been inducted into the services and the SSC is in charge of the missile's operation.Agni-II was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory along with other laboratories of DRDO and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad. Private industry has participated in a big way in its production, the sources said. The missile is part of the Agni series which includes Agni-I of 700 km range and Agni-III of 3,500 km range. Agni-I has been inducted into the forces and Agni-III is in the process of induction.

Navy to buy hydrographic survey vessels to train sailors

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) To train naval cadets on coastal and oceanic hydrographic survey, the Navy is on the lookout for a shipbuilder with the capability to build vessels that can map underwater landscape. The vessels are required to carry out surveys near ports and harbours for determination of navigational approaches, channels and routes for defence applications. “We want these survey vessels to be modelled on our own INS Darshak built by the Goa Shipyard and commissioned into naval service in 2001,” a Navy officer said here today. Keeping in mind its future order for such survey vessels, the Navy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to shipyards, both in public and private sector, he added.Darshak is the Navy’s eighth survey vessel with a length of approximately 85 metres and 1,800-tonne to 2,000-tonne standard displacement.The vessels, the RFI said, would have an expected life of 25 years and adhere to International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships.The vessels’ machinery, sensors and equipment would have reliability and maintainability for a mission time of eight weeks at a stretch.The new ships would have a single hull of proven design and made of welded steel with steel or aluminium super structure.With an endurance of 6,500 nautical miles at an economical speed, the vessels would be capable of attaining maximum speeds of 16 knots, the officer said. It would also be capable of operating a single-engine 6-tonne helicopter and have a retractable hangar for full stowage of the rotary wing aircraft. Each ship would have 23 officers including the commanding officer, apart from 188 sailors.

Multi-layer security  for Amarnath Yatra

Srinagar, May 16 (PTI) A multi-cordon security blanket will be thrown to thwart any terrorist plot during the two-month-long Amarnath Yatra beginning July one. The Yatra to the cave, which houses the naturally-formed ice Shivlingam at a height of 3,880 metres in the south Kashmir Himalayas, is expected to draw nearly four lakh pilgrims from across the country. “Fidayeen or no fidayeen, we will ensure that the Yatra takes place peacefully. If militants try to disturb peace, we will hunt them down,” Inspector General (Kashmir) of CRPF P V K Reddy told a visiting group of journalists.The multi-cordon security blanket will be thrown along the Yatra route. While the Indian Army is to man the heights to prevent any infiltration from the mountains, BSF personnel will guard the trek route. The safety of the camps put up for the pilgrims for night halts will be handled by CRPF jawans. “The idea is that even if terrorists breach one cordon, they will be checkmated by one of the remaining two,” Reddy said.The arduous trek in hostile terrain to pay obeisance at the cave shrine of Amarnath has been considered an expression of unity and traditional secular values since time immemorial in Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Ministry is also expected to send some additional forces to the state during the Yatra to augment the strength of the security personnel currently posted there. Last year, 67 companies (about 6700 personnel) of central paramilitary forces (CRPF — 40 companies, BSF — 27) were deployed for the Yatra. Besides, the state police had deployed their own forces.“Despite a large number of attempts to infiltrate and disrupt the Yatra last year, security forces were able to ensure that it was not disturbed and that all the pilgrims were safe,” CRPF spokesperson Prabhakar Tripathi said. Amranath pilgrimages in the last few years have been largely free of violence primarily due to the security arrangements made along the entire route assisted by dog squads and latest technology like unmanned aerial vehicles However, in 2008, the pilgrimage was engulfed in turmoil with both Jammu as well as Kashmir regions holding rallies and protests over the controversial transfer of land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which is responsible for conducting the Yatra. The protests also acquired political colour with various parties openly coming out either in support or against the allotment of over 40 hectares of land to the Board.

Security agencies still concerned over Chinese telecom firms

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) The two Chinese telecom firm wanting to do business in India are still under the scrutiny of the security agencies who will take a final call only after they get additional information sought from them. A high-level meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar was recently held to discuss "in totality" the issues related to Chinese companies doing business in India in which recent hacking attempts from China were also deliberated upon, according to official sources. Some Chinese companies have raised security concerns in India. The security agencies expressed reservations on allowing the Chinese companies in telecom and information technology citing the incidents of Chinese hackers targeting sensitive data on government web sites, they said. Union Home Secretary G K Pillai will be chairing another meeting soon to have a thread-bare discussion on the issue. A controversy had even broken over Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh's remark against the home ministry over its decision regarding the two Chinese telecom companies,  In a recent meeting with officials of Chinese telecom company ZTE, the Home Ministry had sought clarifications and additional information before giving green signal to the use of its equipment in India.

Sinha appointed as new BARC director

 Mumbai, May 16 (PTI) Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha, who is closely associated with the design and development of India's first thorium based Advanced Heavy Water Reactor, will be the new Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC)  Sources in the Department of Atomic Energy told PTI today that Sinha's appointment has been cleared by the Union Government. A formal announcement is expected this week.Sinha will be taking over from Dr S Banerjee, who had been holding the post of BARC director and Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Born on October 23, 1951, Sinha, a mechanical engineer of the 16th batch of BARC training school, is currently the director of Reactor Design Development Group of BARC, the country's premier nuclear research centre.

'Lashkar man had received instruction from Pak-based handler'

 Hyderabad, May 16 (PTI) Suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Mohammad Zia Ul Haq, recently nabbed by Hyderabad police, had received e-mails originating from Pakistan asking him to carryout "subversive" activities in India and had lakhs of rupees deposited against his name in various banks.Officials of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) said they are trying to verify the statements made by Haq, who is accused of plotting terror attacks in the city. He was held from Edibazar area here on May 3 along with two hand-grenades, firearm ammunition and some incriminating documents. Haq, now under police custody, reportedly confessed to having received e-mails from one Abdul Aziz of Pakistan, who instigated him to carry out subversive activities in India, they said.For receiving and sending the mails, Haq had visited cyber cafes in Rein Bazar and Mehdipatnam areas among others  ast month, the officials said, adding they have seized four computer hard disks from the shops and sent them to Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

Sonia to begin tour of Rae Bareli today

    Lucknow, May 16 (PTI) Congress President Sonia Gandhi begins a three-day tour of her constituency Rae Bareli tomorrow during which she will inaugurate a slew of development programmes. "The Congress president is scheduled to inaugurate a number of facilities in Rae Bareli, besides meeting party workers and people during her three-day stay," party spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said here today. On the first day, Gandhi would inaugurate the newly constructed building of a sub-post office in Saraini block and launch Wi-Max services BSNL at Dalmau, he said."On the second day, she would meet party workers and people at the NTPC guest house, after which she would attend a programme organised by UCO bank with the support of Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna at Kajiyana," Singh said. In the afternoon, she would inaugurate roads constructed under Prime Minister Gramin Sadak Yojna at Nela Tikali and would continue with the surprise visit, he said. On the third and final day, she would meet people at ITI guest house and undertake surprise visit before leaving for Delhi, the spokesman said.

Cameron govt to audit Labour govt spending

 London, May 16 (PTI) Stating that the previous Labour government had indulged in "crazy" spending decision, Britain's new Prime Minister David Cameron today announced an audit of accounts during the last year of the Gordon Brown administration. In his first television interview after taking over as Prime Minister of a coalition government, Cameron told the BBC that the audit would be officially launched on Monday by the new Office of Budget Responsibility.He also said there would be a crackdown on top civil service pay and bonuses. He said: "What we have seen so far are just individual examples of very bad procedures and bad behaviour, spending decisions taken in the last year or so of the Labour government that no rational government would have done - giving something like 75 percent of senior civil servants bonuses after everything that's happened in the current year".He added: "That's not a fiscal stimulus. It is a crazy thing to do. We are beginning to find individual decisions like that."According to him, the the coalition between his Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats would last, and said the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who is now the deputy prime minister, would be part of his "inner circle" and have a say in hiring and firing ministers.

Arjun Munda to become Jharkhand CM?

 Ranchi, May 16 (PTI) BJP MP from Jamshedpur Arjun Munda today appeared to be the chief ministerial candidate in Jharkhand as the party has given him the responsibility to explore government formation in the state."The BJP leadership has decided that government should be formed in Jharkhand, and has given me the responsibility to talk to the allies in this regard," Munda, a former chief minister, said at the airport here on his return from Delhi.Asked whether that meant the BJP had officially named him as the chief ministerial candidate, Munda said "A decision will be taken at a meeting of the legislative party, where central leaders will be present."He said he would meet all the allies, including Chief Minister Shibu Soren.BJP sources said the party had not announced Munda's name for the CM's post officially due to the death of former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat yesterday.The BJP had taken several days to choose between Munda and Deputy Chief Minister Raghuvar Das while the JMM and the AJSU mounted pressure on it to finalise a candidate soon.The political stalemate in the state was triggered by BJP's decision to withdraw support to Shibu Soren government on April 28, a day after the chief minister had voted against BJP-sponsored cut motions in the Lok Sabha. The decision was, however, put on hold following a request by JMM-LP leader Hemant Soren who offered the party the CM post. On May 8, BJP had announced in Delhi that it would head a new coalition ministry for the remainder of the tenure with support from JMM and AJSU.

Ukraine woos Indian students

 New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Ukraine is the latest among several countries that are queueing up with offers for Indian students who aspire to study abroad. The eastern European country has recently set up an office in New Delhi to support Indian students in taking admission in its various universities and educational institutions.he ministry of education and science in Ukraine has appointed Proactive Group, a member of International Chamber of Commerce and partner of 30 leading Ukrainian universities, as its official partner in India to facilitate easy movement of students to that country."Over the years, Ukraine, owing to its world-class education system, infrastructure and universities has emergedas one amidst top 10 countries that attract maximum number of international students. Supported by the Ukrainian government, we guarantee transparent process of enrolling into the university and a clear fee policy," Yuri Gorokhovskyi, CEO, Proactive Group told PTI.

India, US to work out processes on access to Headley

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) India and the US will work out processes to give Indian investigators access to David Headley, a planner of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and the issue will figure during their Strategic Dialogue in Washington next month. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is scheduled to travel to Washington on June three for the first ever India-US Strategic Dialogue with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton since its upgrading to the ministerial level last year.During the Strategic Dialogue, the issue of access to Headley will be discussed, official sources said. "They are saying yes to access to Headley.But the process has to be followed. Their process is totally different from our process.Process has to be gone through before we get access. That is our understanding," the sources said.The US has assured at the top level that Indian investigators will get access to Headley to unravel the entire conspiracy of the Mumbai attack. In pursuance to that Indian Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam had travelled to the US late last month to discuss legal modalities in this regard.The sources pointed out that the legal system in the US was different than that of India and hence there was need to understand it properly and move ahead accordingly. India wants to question Headley in a manner that his statement would be acceptable in a court of law here.

Nation bids adieu to Shekhawat

Jaipur, May 16 (PTI) Amid a sombre mood, the mortal remains of former Vice President and thrice Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat were consigned to flames with full state honours here today.As priests chanted vedic hyms, Shekhawat's grandsons -- Vikramaditya Singh and Abhimanyu Singh-- lit the funeral pyre at the Vidhyadhar cremation ground. A police contingent reversed arms and later fired in the air as a mark of respect to the departed leader hailed as the doyen of Rajasthan politics.  A police band played melancholy tunes as family members, relatives, friends, admirers and leaders across the political spectrum bade adieu to Shekhawat, affectionately called "Babo Sa".Vice President Hamid Ansari, BJP leaders L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were among a large number of dignitaries who attended the funeral.

Next phase of temple movement from August: Togadia

Thiruvananthapuram, May 16 (PTI) Vishwa Hindu Parishad would launch the next phase of agitation for construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya in August this year, its leader Pravin Togadia said today. The temple movement would also be part of campaign against "Jihadi terrorism" which posed a "grave danger" to the country, he said, addressing a ''Hindu Sammelan'' organised by VHP at Neyyattinakara, about 25 kms from here. The VHP leader came down heavily on Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments for proposing religion-based reservation in jobs  or minorities. "This policy would mean that various communities in the Hindu fold would be losing opportunities and denial of justice," he said.VHP would strive to forge unity among all sections of Hindus, regardless of caste and wage an agitation for opportunities in education and government jobs, Togadia said.

Assam hit by second wave of floods

Lakhimpur (Assam), May 16 (PTI) Assam''s flood-prone Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts were today hit by the second flood of the season following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, officials said. The water level of Brahmaputra''s tributaries Ranganadi and Singora was rising alarmingly with fresh areas being inundated affecting 30 villages under Lakhimpur and Naoboicha revenue circles.The North Eastern Electricity Power Corporation released 30 cusecs of water and opened its sluice gates at the Ranganadi Hydel Power Project following technical snag in a power grid yesterday, they said. This also led to fresh flooding in the two districts with the causeway of National Highway-52 near Ranganadi Bridge submerged and road communication disrupted.The state government has directed the district administration to provide immediate relief and rehabilitation to the affected people, the officials said. Several districts of Upper Assam were hit by the first wave of floods in last week of March.