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Dual Citizenship Ordinance turns into law
by Pankaj Yadav

     New Delhi: The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2005, which aims to grant dual citizenship to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), other than Pakistan and Bangladesh, was passed by the Lok Sabha by a voice of vote, and it took the shape of an enactment. Now, all Indians who migrated from the country after January 26,1950, would be entitled to dual citizenship. At present facility is extended to NRIs living in 16 countries only. The list of countries would grow as and when the Home Ministry receives assent from other nations, said Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal while replying to the debate over the Bill in he Lok Sabha. The UPA government had promulgated an Ordinance to this effect on June 28. The Rajya Sabha had already passed last month. The passing of the Bill in the Lower House was a mere formality, as it received support by members cutting across party lines. Besides replacing the Ordinance, the Bill also reduced the period of residence in India from two years to one year for persons registered as overseas citizens of India to acquire Indian citizenship. The 16 countries whose citizens of Indian origin would be eligible for dual citizenship are Australia, Canada, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States Replying to the debate in the Lower House, Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal said that two countries " Pakistan and Bangladesh " have been left because the people of Indian origin living there chose to stay there at the time of Partition, or were unable to come to India. The Bill received only a mild resistance from a few Communists. CPI-M member Varkala Radhakrishanan demanded that the provisions of the Bill should also be extended to people living in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Besides, a few suggestions came from other members. RJDs Ram Kripal Yadav suggested that around 50 lakh contract labourers working in Gulf countries must be granted voting rights. Jaiswal rejected the suggestion saying that the Union Law Ministry would deal with this matter.

Mumbai dance bar association challenges ban (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: A group of dance bar owners today approached the Bombay High Court challenging the Mumbai Police (Amendment) Bill, 2005, which banned the dance bars from August 14. The group, Aahar, has asked the Court to quash the Bill as it would render around 10 lakh persons unemployed. Manjit Singh Abrol representing Aahar and also the spokesperson of Fight for Rights of Bar Owners Association said that the petition would come up for hearing on Wednesday. "We were waiting for the notification to be issued before seeking legal help," said Abroi. President of the Bar Girls Union Varsha Kale said that other two groups, Dance Bars Association and Bhartiya Bar Girls Union would also file separate petitions in the Bombay High Court challenging the State Government's order to enforce ban on the dance bars. The Bill prohibits staging of dance of any kind in an eating- house, (liquor) permit room or beer bar in the State. However, it does not bar high rated hotels (three stars and above), drama theatres, cinema halls, auditoriums, sports clubs and gymkhanas from hosting a dance performance. State Governor S. M. Krishna had given his assent to the Mumbai Police (Amendment) Bill, 2005, on August 9 after it was unanimously passed in both the houses of the State Legislature during the Monsoon session last month. Earlier, the Government sought to impose ban on the dance bars by promulgating an ordinance. But the Governor returned it on June 23. Several NGOs are also opposing this ban. They opine that the Government has done very little to provide alternative means of livelihood to the bar dancers. "Our petition mainly focuses on two issues. One is loss of employment for over 100,000 people, who have been associated with this trade for long and the second is the discriminatory nature of the ban order," Manjit added. The representatives of the dance bar association said that a large number of people were associated with the bar business in the State and that the owners of the bars wanted complete relief from the ban. "If we don't get relief then we are prepared to take our fight to the Supreme Court," said Manjit. There are around 1500 dance bars across the State, out of which only Mumbai has 700 bars. Closure of these bars would render around 75,000 bar dancers jobless.

Rane supports Raj Thackeray's stand on inefficient Sena leaders (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Congress leader and Maharashtra's Revenue Minister Narayan Rane today supported Raj Thackeray's view that the Shiv Sena now had a bunch of inefficient leaders. "The Shiv Sena is a sinking ship and nobody can save it. The comment by junior Thackeray that 'the Shiv Sena has some incompetent and useless leaders and needs changing of faces' is too late," Rane said. Commenting over his expulsion from the Shiv Sena, Rane said, " had he (Raj Thackeray) made these observations when I was expelled from the party after my 39 years association, there could have been some propriety in his utterances". Rane was expelled from the Shiv Sena over a month ago when he raised the topic of inefficient functioning of the party and some of its workers. He has since joined the Congress.

In Bihar, paddy fields are National Highways on paper (Go To Top)
by Pankaj Yadav

     New Delhi: Whether Bihar remains under the Rashtriya Janata Dal's reign or President's, Rule, the dilapidated condition of roads and national highways in the state will always remain a hot topic of discussion at every forum. It appears that Bihar strongman's Lalu Prasad Yadav's dream of `making roads in his state as smooth as Hema Malini's (Bollywood actress) cheeks', has not materialised so far! The pathetic condition of roads in the state reached a new low today, when the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, T.R. Baalu announced in the Lok Sabha that Bihar's paddy fields have been declared as national highways on paper. According to him, there was also no possibility of improving the condition of the roads as there are no capable engineers in the state who have possess know-how to build new roads or repair those having ditches as deep as two meters. "The engineers have absolutely no technical knowledge in so far as repairing or building new roads is concerned," he added. Replying to a calling attention motion moved by RJD MP Raghunath Jha regarding the dilapidated condition of National Highways and steps taken by the Union Government in this regard, Baalu said, "I have personally visited Bihar, and found that at several places paddy fields were being shown as National Highways on paper. I suppose this was done at the behest of the former Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitish Kumar during NDA rule." The minister also said that nearly 53 percent of the National Highways in the state were single lanes. Taking strong exception to this charge, Nitish Kumar demanded national statistics from the minister to the effect that why Bihar was isolated. Nitish said, "The minister should tell how much percentage of the national highways across the country were single lanes, and why was the minister isolating the Bihar's case." To this Baalu replied, "according to the information available, nearly 37 percent of national highway stretches is single lanes." Later, while speaking to ANI, a senior BJP MP from Bihar, said that the minister's statement that "paddy fields have been declared as national highways" should not be taken as literally. Elaborating he said, "in some areas in the state the condition of NHs is so bad that you can't differentiate between roads and paddy fields'. In other words there are no charcoal roads. Before Nitishji became minister, there were nearly 2000 km of highways in Bihar. He increased it to nearly 4000 kms, but the funds available to re-build or repair remained the same."

Lucknow students to tie Rakhi on trees (Go To Top)
by Kamna Mathur

     Lucknow: Social activists in Lucknow are making a huge Rakhi, the sacred band, normally, tied on the wrist of brothers as a token of love and protection, which will be wrapped around a tree to make people sensitive towards environment. School children and social activists will take a pledge to save trees and spread the message to save trees and plant more saplings. Various decorative pieces like mirrors of various shapes and sizes, crepe papers, artificial flowers, and peacock feathers are being used to embellish the sacred thread that will be tied to an ancient tree among others, in the city on the day of festival. P.K. Gupta, a social activist, says that the idea is to make the younger generation conscious of the damage that is being done to our eco-system by cutting trees. "This (rakhi) will be tied around a tree. Our aim is to instill determination among the young generation to protect the trees. Through this we want to motivate them to save the trees," says Gupta. This Rakhi measures seven metres in diameter and has a peacock motif in its centre. Rakhis are usually made of tinsel, colourful cotton, silk, gold or silver twisted threads and the price ranges from about five cents for a plain thread to nearly 100 dollars for a golden bracelet. The origin of this festival dates back several centuries when an Indian queen Rani Roopmati, in time of war, sent a thread to the Muslim ruler Jehangir, requesting her protection from the enemy. King Jehangir accepted the thread and honoured her request. Since then, the tradition continues in most Indian families. The Rakshabandhan, which is considered to be a Hindu festival, is celebrated by people of other communities of the country as well. This year the festival of Rakhi will be celebrated on August 19.

London Mela 2005: A celebration of Asian culture (Go To Top)

     London: Bollywood and British Bhangra legends were two of the highlights at the London Mela 2005, a one-day festival celebrating South Asian culture and creativity from London, the UK and overseas. The event, with twelve zones covering 30 acres of Gunnersbury Park, is one of the only melas in the country that commissions new work, provides a platform for emerging British acts, and brings traditional and classical art forms to a wider audience. Performers included Bollywood legend Usha Uthup; Legends of British Bangra - Alaap, DCS and Malkit Singh - performing together for the first time; and award-winning singer-songwriter, Susheela Raman. It is the third year that the Mayor of London has supported the London Mela, which is produced by Ealing Council in partnership with Hounslow Council. On the occasion, London's Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "The London Mela is a hugely popular festival. It reflects the unity in our city and is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the contribution that diverse Asian communities make to culture, life and business in London." Cllr Leo Thomson, Leader of Ealing Council, said: 'The London Mela is now an integral part of the country's cultural calendar, and it is completely appropriate to host the festival in Ealing, a borough with one of the most diverse communities in London. The Mela just keeps getting bigger and better every year and we are truly proud in Ealing to have been involved in such a fantastic event right from the beginning.' Cllr Colin Ellar, Leader of Hounslow Council, said: 'Hounslow is honoured to host this great festival again this year, which really places the creativity of South Asian music at the forefront of our community. This year's Mela had a wonderfully diverse line-up of performers. It was a lively and enjoyable day offering an opportunity for everyone across London to experience different cultures and receive a warm welcome at the same time.' The London Mela is the climax of the Ealing Summer Festival, which has previously attracted crowds of up to 85,000. Principal sponsors for the London Mela 2005 were Barclays; Sunrise Radio; Sony Entertainment Television Asia.

No more strategic sale in PSUs: Chidambaram  (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram said here on Tuesday that the government is no longer in favour of strategic sale in Public Sector Enterprises. "I believe that strategic sale is no longer in my view the proper approach to adopt because it raises more questions and so it is not the preferred route, said Chidambaram while talking to reporters. On the question of irregularities in the disinvestment process undertaken during the NDA government, Chidambaram said, "there are legal obligations and the government would deal with all the cases accordingly." He said that the Finance Ministry is ready to bring white paper on the issue. However, Chidambaram denied that the government has taken the decision under pressure from the Left Parties. He said that the decision to abandon plans to sell stakes in these firms was taken in line with the ruling coalition's policy blueprint, the Common Minimum Programme.Meanwhile, the government today formally called-off plans to sell 13 profit-making Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and National Aluminum Company Limited (NALCO). "In keeping with the National Common Minimum Programme guidelines it has been decided to call off the process of disinvestment through strategic sale of 13 profit-making PSUs," said S S Palanimanickam, Minister of State for Finance in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. Shipping Corporation of India, National Fertilizers Ltd, Engineers India Ltd, Balmer Lawrie, Hindustan Paper Corporation, State Trading Corporation, National Building Construction Corporation, Engineering Projects India Ltd, Sponge Iron India Ltd, Manganese Ore India Ltd and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers are the other companies which will not be privatised. The decision has come just 10 days after the government put on hold its plans to sell a stake Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and its residual stake in Maruti Udyog Limited.

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