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NDA stages sit-in protest in Parliament

       New Delhi: Accusing Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee of "suppressing the voice of the Opposition in the House," the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders staged a sit-in protest in Parliament premises here today. The NDA leaders, led by Leader of Opposition L K Advani, alleged that the Lok Sabha Speaker did not allow the Opposition to put their points forward in the Lower House over the controversy of the leakage of the Pathak Authority report on the Iraqi-oil-for- food scam. "Their (NDA leaders') experience of yesterday was so distressing that they unanimously decided that today we will register a protest against the manner in which the presiding officer have been conducting the house and more particularly the manner in which he did it yesterday. Let us quietly, first of all, keep away from the House for the day," said Advani. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee termed the action of Opposition parties as unfortunate. "This is the most unfortunate. Opposition have differences, should have differences with the government, for certain action of the government. If they boycott the house, or any other form they express their resentment, it is understandable. But it is really painful that if they take this decision to launch their protest against the Speaker, which is the custodian of the prestige, honour, dignity of the House as a whole," said Mukherjee. BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra has termed the Pathak committee report as a "fraud and cover-up" for the Congress party. Justice R.S. Pathak had concluded Natwar Singh abused his powers for gaining contracts in the UN scheme during the Saddam Hussain regime but gave a clean chit to the Congress party.

Natwar's political fate hangs in balance  (Go To Top)
by Pankaj Yadav

        New Delhi: The Congress party's disciplinary committee, which is headed by former Kerala Chief Minister A K Anthony, is likely to decide the political fate of former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh by midnight. Anthony is slated to arrive in the capital by 9 p.m., after which the three-member disciplinary committee of the AICC will hold a meeting at the party's 24 Akbar Road headquarters to take a decision on Natwar Singh's future with the Congress in the wake of his filing of a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha against Prime Minister Monmohan Singh. Natwar Singh has indirectly accused the Prime Minister's Office of leaking the contents of the Justice R.S.Pathak Authority report on the oil-for-food scam. The committee will subsequently make a recommendation to party president Sonia Gandhi, who is likely to return here from Kanpur. According to a senior Congressman, the party has two ways of taking a disciplinary action against its members i.e. he/she can be expelled from the party straightaway by the party chief (discretionary power) or the member can be issued a show-cause notice. While talking to reporters in his chambers at the party headquarters, a senior leader said that in all likelihood, action would be taken by midnight. The Congress has always had a tradition of taking important decisions at night. Natwar Singh's fate, therefore, appears to be ominous.

Jammu-Srinagar highway closed (Go To Top)

       Srinagar: Movement of traffic on the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been hit as it remained shut for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. Landslides caused by heavy rains in the Patnihal area, particularly in the Ramban-Ramsoo sector, led to the blocking of the route. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been tasked with the responsibility of clearing the highway, state government officials said. Rains, however, continue to thwart clearance efforts. The highway is the only surface link between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.

Rains, floods play havoc in west (Go To Top)

       Akola/Amravati (Maharashtra)/Ahmedabad: Rains continued to lash most of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat on Tuesday, killing dozens of people and displacing lakhs other, even as authorities continued rescue operations in the region. Fifty villages in Maharashtra's Akola district have been submerged due to overflowing in Morna Dam and close to 150 people were reported to be still stuck in the flooded area. "About 2,000 to 3,000 people have been put in different city and municipal schools. We are also providing medical treatment, as some are ill. We are providing them with shelter and food," said Chandrashekhar Rokre, Municipal Commissioner of Akola. Similarly, situation in Aurangabad is no different where at least 52 people have been killed while hundreds have been displaced. Standing crops in lakhs of hectares of land have also been damaged due to the floods. "Lakhs of hectares of farming land has been adversely affected by the floods. The state's agriculture has taken a bad beating. To help the affected farmers rise from this colossal damage, the State government is fully geared up. But our efforts will bear fruit only if the Central Government pitches in," said R.R. Patil, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Meanwhile, a rescue team is all set to leave for Surat in neighbouring Gujarat, which is the worst affected in the State. The team of 26 firemen and 75 rescue workers will leave from Gandhinagar with relief packages and life jackets. "The relief team is leaving for Surat and I have just heard that after the opening of the dam in Sabarmati, 50,000 cusec water will be released, but the citizens of Ahmedabad do not need to worry," said Amit Shah, Ahmedabad Mayor.

Emergency shutdown at ONGC complex (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: Floods hit ONGC Hazira Gas Processing Complex on the midnight of August 7-8, calling for emergency shut down. The catchments area of Tapi River had been experiencing heavy rains continuously for the past few days resulting in increase of water level at Ukai Dam to 340 feet. Due to the high water level, around 7 lakh cusec water from Ukai Dam was released on August 07, 2006 which was subsequently raised to 8 lakh cusec. The water started coming into the Hazira Gas Processing Complex through storm water channel resulting in flooding of plant to the level of 4-5 feet which led to closure of plant by 0153 hrs on August 8, 2006. In the morning of August 08, 2006 the boundary wall of the plant gave way and the river water flooded the complex to around 10 feet. The gas wells of offshore platforms of Bassein field of ONGC and Joint Venture fields of Panna-Mukta & Tapti have since been closed. The gas supplies to the tune of 40 MMSCMD from the Hazira Plant have been suspended. GAIL has been kept informed since August 07, 2006 about the situation for necessary action to inform the consumers across HVJ Gas Pipe line. A Navy helicopter with inflatable raft has since been mobilized from Mumbai for rescue operations.

Aamir gets notice for filming Chinkara (Go To Top)

      Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Department of Forests has issued a notice to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and his entire production team for filming Chinkara in his movie 'Lagaan' without permission. The Department has given him a week to reply to the notice that was issued on Monday. Khan allegedly violated the Wildlife Act by filming Chinkara in the protected sanctuary in Kutch District eight years ago. Although Khan had sought permission to film Chinkaras, the Department had refused permission for the commercial use of the endangered species. However, when the film was released it was found to have footages of Chinkara. After some preliminary inquiry the matter was closed. After Youth Nature Club filed a fresh complaint the case was reopened. Preliminary probe has revealed that that the Khan did not take permission from the forest department to film Chinkara. The forest officials had earlier said that though no animal was harmed in any way during the filming process, the producers and some officials had broken the rules and the footages taken were solely for commercial purposes For months together in 1998, Khan and his team were in parts of Kutch district for the shooting of 'Lagaan'.

Be ready for 'do or die battle': Sonia (Go To Top)

       Kanpur: With less than a year left for Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday asked party members in the state to be ready for a "do or die battle" to overthrow the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Government. Speaking at the party's 'Nav-Nirman' rally at the Phoolbagh Maidan here, Sonia said, "Let us pledge for a do-or-die battle to save Uttar Pradesh", adding that a secular government should come to power in the state which cares for all sections of society. She squarely blamed the Samajwadi Party (SP)-led Government for the lack of development in the state. Seeking an account of the money provided by the UPA Government at the Centre, Gandhi said: "More money was given to Uttar Pradesh in the last two years. But where has all that money gone? You should ask this question to the State Government and if they cannot answer it, then the Chief Minister should vacate his chair". Accusing the previous NDA Government of formulating laws that lacked teeth, Gandhi said that the Manmohan Singh Government was finding it difficult to crack down on hoarders and black marketeers. The UPA was committed to the welfare of the people, Sonia said.

Plea to recall Asom Governor (Go To Top)

       Guwahati: Several social organisations here on Tuesday demanded recall of Governor Ajai Singh, accusing him of being involved in anti-peace talk activities. Activists of 22 organisations under the banner of People's Committee for Peace Initiative (PCPI) took out a protest march in the state capital Guwahati to press for their demand. PCPI had expressed displeasure over the recent killing of five members of rebel group by security forces, saying it might lead to further violence. "Our main demand is to protest the anti-peace activities of the Governor of Assam and the Indian Army. So, we have resorted to this movement protesting anti-peace talk activity of Governor Ajai Singh from Assam. If the Government is sincere about the talks then they should remove all those anti-talk faction," said Lachit Bordoloi, an activist of PCPI. The Central Government had held talks with mediators of Assam's underground rebels, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) but any progress in talks is said to be stalled by recent killings of five insurgents by security forces. ULFA has been fighting for an independent Assam state since 1979. Thousands of people have been killed in the insurgency in oil, tea and timber-rich Assam. ULFA claims that New Delhi neglects Assam by taking away its rich resources.

Three Jaish militants killed (Go To Top)

       Srinagar: Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were killed on Tuesday in an encounter in the Jakti-Negrota area in Jammu. The terrorists were spotted and killed in the encounter that lasted for an hour. One of the militants has been identified as Abu Khalid of Pakistan. State police sources said that a huge cache of arms and ammunitions has been retrieved from the encounter site. Police also confirmed the killing of another militant, Hassan Bhai, in Doda District's Keshwan area.

Violence in Chandauli (Go To Top)

      Chandauli (Uttar Pradesh): The killing of a Muslim trader in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli District has triggered off communal violence in the area. Houses of several Hindu families were razed to the ground on Monday in the wake of trader Arshad Ahmed's killing. "Around three or four in the afternoon, they announced on the loudspeaker 'wherever you find Yadavs, kill the children and ransack and burn the houses. We heard the announcement and hid ourselves," said Uday Yadav, an affected villager. Yadav alleged the miscreants broke the door of his house and took away his valuables. Police have deployed security in the area in an attempt to bring the situation under control. "The brother of the chief of the village, Khurshid Ahmed, was going to Mughal Sarai on the Grand Trunk road. Two men followed him and fired at him. When he fell down, they fired at him from point-blank range. He died on the way to hospital," said A.K. Shukla, Additional Superintendent of Police. Grieving relatives of the trader alleged that local goons of the Yadav community had killed Ahmed. "People had threatened him if he contested the local elections they would teach him a lesson, and if he became the chief they would take revenge. They are people from the Yadav belt," said Shameem, a relative of Arshad Ahmed. Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli is communally sensitive area and there have been several incidents of violence in the past involving the Yadav community and the Muslims.

Naval chief rues link to war room leak (Go To Top)

      Bhopal: The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, said on Tuesday that it was unfortunate that he was linked to the Naval War Room leak case due to his filial ties with one of the accused, Ravi Shankaran. Prakash, who was speaking to reporters after inaugurating a sailing school in Bhopal, said that other than his connection to Ravi Shakaran, he had no role in the case. "I am unfortunate that my wife's nephew is involved in this case. But I have no link with him. If his name is there, I cannot help it. All the investigating agencies, the CBI, the investigating bureaus, the court all are there, but I am in no way involved. I am only carrying out the work of the Chief of the Naval Staff," said Admiral Prakash. It maybe recalled that based on the information provided by the Ministry of Defence, the CBI had registered a case against dismissed officers of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force besides others for illegally trading of classified defence ministry documents. A chargesheet was filed in the Court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Delhi on July 3, 2006 against Lt. (retd) Kulbhushan Parashar, Lt. Commander (Retd.) Ravi Shankaran, Wing Commander (Retd.) S L Surve, Commander (Retd.) Vijender Rana, Commander (Retd.) Vinod Kumar Jha.

Lanka for outside pressure on LTTE for talks

       New Delhi: Visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangla Samaraweera on Tuesday urged the international community to put sufficient pressure on Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to halt violence and come back for talks. Samaraweera, who met Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahmed here today, expressed satisfaction over India's stance on the escalating violence in the island nation. "I think India has been very supportive. We are not expecting to open up new spheres, but basically we want to see the LTTE come back to the negotiation table. Hopefully the international community will put sufficient pressure to end their campaign of violence and get them back to the table," Samaraweera told reporters. At the meeting, Samaraweera briefed the minister about the latest situation in Sri Lanka and efforts to diffuse the current conflict from slipping back to a war-like situation. The meeting took place on the 14th day of the fight between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army over disputed water supplies in the island's east. The Sri Lankan government insists it is committed to the 2002 ceasefire agreement with the LTTE, but analysts fear the ceasefire exist only on paper, as the death toll rises in the recent escalation of violence in the island nation. India has reiterated the need for both sides to honour the ceasefire agreement and raised their concern over the violence in Sri Lanka. However, the Centre has rejected any military action against the LTTE to bring them back to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded in Colombo this evening, killing two people, including a three-year-old boy. The blast was allegedly aimed at a minority Tamil leader opposed to the LTTE. "I just heard about the blast. It's a part of the same campaign. They are targeting the few democratic leaders among the Tamils," said Samaraweera. The fighting is the most intense and prolonged since a 2002 truce and diplomats and some military personnel say the civil war that began in 1983 appears to have resumed in all but name. Sri Lanka's army vowed on Monday to push on with the campaign to wrest control of an eastern water supply from the Tamil Tigers, after rebels warned its attacks were a declaration of war. The LTTE had on Sunday offered to end a fortnight-long blockade of water to government land to defuse the heaviest fighting, but army replied with heavy artillery and multi-barrel rockets. Over 800 people have been killed so far this year in escalating attacks and military clashes between the army and the Tigers, who are furious at President Mahinda Rajapakse's outright rejection of their demand for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east.

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