Governor asks Mehbooba, BJP to clarify stand on govt formation

Jammu/Srinagar, Feb 1, 2016, (PTI):

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra has called PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti and state BJP chief Sat Pal Sharma for meeting tomorrow asking them to clarify their stand on formation of government.
"Yes, Governor has called her (Mehbooba Mufti) for a meeting tomorrow," PDP spokesman Naeem Akhter told PTI today.

According to sources, the Governor sent a fax communication to the PDP Chief last evening for holding consultations.

Mehbooba is scheduled to meet the Governor tomorrow afternoon which will be followed by a meeting between Vohra and the BJP state president.

"Yes. We are going to meet the Governor tomorrow in the evening," Sharma said.
The core group of BJP met today at the residence of its General Secretary (Organisation) Ashok Kaul to decide the future course of action, a day after Mehbooba asserted that her party will have to reassess whether it can continue its alliance with BJP to form government in the state.

In the backdrop of Governor's letter, the PDP has also called its Legislature Party meeting today.

The Governor's consultations with the PDP and BJP are seen as last ditch efforts to avoid snap assembly polls in the state as the regional party has toughened its stand.

After a four-hour long meeting with party leaders yesterday, Mehbooba had said PDP will take a call on government formation as and when it is confident that Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's vision and mission will be carried forward and implemented in letter and spirit.

"The Government of India shall have to take substantive measures towards implementation of the PDP-BJP ‘Agenda of Alliance’ in the interest of peace and stability in J-K and for this PDP needs a set timeframe to be worked out," she had said.

Meanwhile, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today said that if PDP is not ready to form the government, fresh  elections should be held.

"If PDP is not ready to form the government, then the only option is... call for fresh polls. No other party is ready to form government with them and if PDP also wants the same, then it is time they call for fresh polls. This is what should be done in a democracy," he said.

"We have only 15 MLAs and are in no capacity to form a government," Abdullah said.

Is Gujarat not a part of India? SC raps states ignoring key schemes

New Delhi, Feb 1, 2016, (PTI):

The Supreme Court today came down heavily on certain states for not implementing welfare legislation National Food Security Act, saying that why a state like Gujarat is not implementing the law passed by Parliament.
"What is Parliament doing? Is Gujarat not a part of India? The Act says it extends to whole of India and Gujarat is not implementing it. Tomorrow somebody can say that it is not going to implement the CrPC, IPC and the Evidence Act," a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said.

The bench also asked the Centre to collect and collate information from drought-hit states on the status of welfare schemes like MGNREGA, National Food Security and mid-day meal.

It asked the Centre to filed the affidavit by February 10 and posted the matter for further hearing two days thereafter.

The apex court had on January 18 asked the Centre to give information about implementation of schemes under MGNREGA, Food Security Act and the mid-day meal schemes as to whether those affected were being provided the minimum required employment and food or not.

The bench was hearing a PIL which alleged that parts of states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Chattisgarh have been hit by drought and the authorities were not providing adequate relief.

The PIL, filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan run by persons like psephologist Yogendra Yadav, had sought implementation of the National Food Security Act which guarantees 5 kg of food grains per person per month. It also sought a direction to authorities that affected families be also given pulses and edible oils.

The plea had said that school-going children be also given milk and eggs under the mid-day meal scheme.

It had also sought adequate and timely compensation for crop loss and input subsidy for the next crop to the farmers affected by drought and subsidised cattle fodder for animals.

The PIL, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, had alleged that the Centre and states "have been highly negligent in performing their obligations, causing enormous damage to the lives of the people due to their inaction, which is in contravention of the rights guaranteed under Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution of India".

The petition submitted that the drought has led to severe decline in farm employment available to the rural poor.

Boy run over while taking selfie

Chennai, Feb 1, 2016, (PTI):

A 'selfie' moment ended in a tragedy for a 16-year-old student who was run over a speeding train while trying to click a picture of himself besides the train.
Dinesh Kumar, a Class XI student, was walking along the railway track with a friend at suburban Vandalur on Sunday evening when the incident happened, police said today.
He tried to click a picture of himself with the speeding suburban train behind him when it ran over him, killing the teenager on the spot, they added.

The victim's body was sent for post-mortem and further probe was on.
The incident comes close on the heels of a man and a girl drowning in Arabian Sea in Mumbai recently.

The man had perished trying to save the girl who fell into the sea while attempting a selfie.
Doctors have been warning that taking too many selfies could result in "Selfitis," which they describe as a mental disorder.

Dalit student suicide: Classes resume in Hyderabad University

Hyderabad, Feb 1, 2016, PTI:

Classes resumed today in Hyderabad Central University, two weeks after the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula and subsequent agitation by the varsity students.

"Classes are going on. Administration is also working," a JAC spokesperson Dickens told PTI.

"We have set a deadline of ten days. We will continue our agitation in the form of relay hunger strike and organising seminars and rallies peacefully. People from outside also have come to express solidarity to our agitation. (VC) Professor Appa Rao should go. There is no change in that demand," he said.

When contacted, SC/ST Faculty Forum convener Sudhakar Babu said they (teachers) are attending classes.

He also said as per the request by in-charge Vice Chancellor M Periasamy, the faculty members would also continue in the administrative position. Earlier, the teachers' body said they had laid down papers from the administrative position.

Periasamy yesterday held a meeting with representatives of Join Action Committee for Social Justice and discussed the demands put forward by the student body.

Periasamy took charge of the varsity after in-charge VC Vipin Srivastava proceeded on leave on Saturday. Srivastava was given charge after the regular VC, Appa Rao Podile, went on leave following the row over Vemula's suicide.

The agitating students earlier said they would not accept Srivastava, who was the sub-committee chairman that barred the five Dalit students including Vemula from accessing hostel facilities, as in-charge VC.

The HCU sailed through rough weathers with agitations ever since Vemula committed suicide in a hostel room on the campus on January 17.

He was one of the five students suspended from using hostel facilities for their alleged role in a case related to the attack of ABVP leader N Susheel Kumar. Subsequently, after Vemula's suicide, the university terminated the suspension of the four students.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi visited the campus twice while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, CPI(M) general Secretary Sitaram Yechury, YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy and MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi were among the prominent political leaders who visited the campus and expressed solidarity with the agitating students.

Govt praises MGNREGA as scheme completes 10 years tomorrow

New Delhi, Feb 1, 2016, PTI:

As MGNREGA completes ten years tomorrow, Narendra Modi govermment, which earlier appeared critical of the UPA's flagship rural job scheme, today hailed the measure saying the achievements of a decade are a "cause of "national pride and celebration".

In a statement, the government also claimed that the last financial year saw a "revival" of the programme and announced that the focus in upcoming years will be towards simplifying and strengthening the procedures of the scheme and towards building sustainable assets to benefit the poor.

Some announcements are also expected tomorrow when Finance Minister Arun Jaitely delivers a key note address at MGNREGA SAMMELAN-2016 here. "The personday generation is the highest in the second quarter (45.88 crore) and third quarter (46.10 crore) than it has been in the last five years," it said in a statement, adding that there will be a renewed focus on sustainable individual assets to benefit the poor and vulnerable households under the scheme in future.

Marking the completion of ten years of UPA's flagship rural job guarantee scheme, which was announced by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in February 2006, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will tomorrow visit Bandlapalli village of Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh from where the scheme had taken off.

The UPA government had then described it as "a landmark in our history in removing poverty from the face of the nation".

Narendra Modi-led NDA government, which was initially critical of the scheme, has continued with the progreamme even as the Prime Minister had last year dubbed it a "living monument" of Congress' "failure" to tackle poverty in last 60 years.

"Do you think, I will put an end to the scheme. My political wisdom does not allow me to do it. This is a living monument of your failure to tackle poverty in 60 years. With song and dance and drum beat, I will continue with the scheme," Modi had said during the Budget Session last year.

In a statement, the Rural Development Ministry today said that the achievements of MGNREGA of a decade are a cause of national pride and celebration.

It noted that since the start of the programme, the expenditure on the programme has amounted to over Rs 3,13,844. 55 crore of which 71 per cent has been spent on wage payments to workers.

"Of the workers, the percentage of Scheduled Caste workers has consistently been about 20 per cent and Scheduled Tribe workers has been about 17 per cent," it said adding that a total of over 1,980 crore persondays have been generated so far out of which the percentage worked by women has steadily increased much above the statutory minimum of 33 per cent.

"Sustainable assets have been created linked to conservation of natural resources and overall development of Gram Panchayats. More than 65 per cent of the works taken up under the programme are linked to agriculture and allied activities," it said.

Kapu stir leader Padmanabham threatens indefinite fast

Hyderabad, Feb 1, 216, (PTI):

Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham, whose stir for inclusion of the community in Backward Class category turned violent, today threatened to sit on an indefinite fast.
"...I will continue the indefinite fast even if I am put in jail. The government is conspiring to create a terrible atmosphere and to defame Kapu community," he told reporters in his native East Godavari district.

He held "bad elements" encouraged by ruling TDP for the violence that erupted at Tuni in the district yesterday, and alleged that the TDP government tried to suppress his agitation by creating obstacles to the public meeting.

"Is this state their estate?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N Chinna Rajappa and Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana condemned the Padmnabham's comments.
The government let buses used for the public meeting yesterday, Chinna Rajappa said.
Alleging that Padmanabham incited people in the public meeting, they both held him responsible for the violent incidents.

Though the Congress government led by K Vijayabhaskar Reddy in 1990s issued orders providing reservation to Kapus, the orders were not clear, Chinna Rajappa said.
Noting that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is committed to provide quota to the community as promised by TDP, they said the government constituted a commission headed by a retired judge to go into the issue.

At least 15 policemen, including a senior district police officer, were injured yesterday when a stir by Kapu community members seeking reservation under Backward Class category turned violent as the agitators went on rampage, set four coaches of Ratnachal Express on fire at Tuni station and blocked the National Highway-16 in East Godavari district.

The protesters withdrew the blockade on the national highway, connecting Kolkata and Chennai, late last night.

Earlier yesterday, the agitators gathered at Tuni to attend a public meeting addressed by Padmanabham, pelted the engine of the train with stones and also attacked police personnel, before ransacking the railway station. Some bogies were also set ablaze.
However, no passenger was injured in the incident as they had alighted from the train before it was set on fire.

Telecom secretary 'dropped' over call drops

NEW DELHI, Jan 29, 2016, DHNS:

DoT has been under fire over the contentious issue

Apparently for the Department of Telecom’s (DoT) failure in addressing the contentious call drops issue, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg was on Friday shunted out to the Minorities Ministry in a reshuffle.

In the shake-up nine top IAS officers got new assignments. Garg, a 1980-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre officer, was replaced by J S Deepak of the same cadre, who is two years junior to him.

The tasks for the new Telecom Secretary has already been cut out as he will have to steer the e-auctioning of spectrum sale in June this year during which the government expects to collect over Rs five lakh crore.

The first challenge for Deepak, who was the Secretary of Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DiETY), would be dealing with call drops issue besides on net neutrality and differential pricing as the regulator Trai is to submit its report on the issue.

Deepak, who had served as a joint secretary earlier, is credited with successfully conducting the first ever e-auction of spectrum in 2010, which helped the government raise close to Rs 1.06 lakh crore and set the roadmap for future auction of natural resources. Dr Aruna Sharma, Madhya Pradesh cadre officer of 1982 batch, replaces Deepak in DiETY.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has been under fire on the call drop issue, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulling up the ministry in the recent times.

Karntaka cadre officer of 1982 batch S K Pattanayak has been appointed as the new Agriculture Secretary in place of Siraj Hussain of Uttar Pradesh cadre (1979), who retired on Friday.

Avinash K Srivastava, a 1982-batch officer of UP cadre who is currently Special Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, has been promoted as secretary and given the assignment in Ministry of Food Processing Industries. He replaces Ranglal Jamuda, the Odisha cadre officer of 1981 batch who retired on Friday.

Dr Krishan Kumar Jalan of Haryana cadre of 1982 batch, presently the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, has been appointed as secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in place of Anup K Pujari, a Karnataka cadre officer of 1980 batch on his superannuation.

Dr Vinod Agrawal of Jharkhand cadre (1980), presently the secretary in National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NSCS), has been appointed as secretary in Departmentof Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the vacancy of Lov Verma, UP cadre officer of 1978-batch on his retirement.

In another appointment, Dr Shyam S Agarwal of Rajasthan cadre (1980) has been appointed as secretary of the Tribal Affairs Ministry in place of Arun Jha, a Bihar-cadre officer of 1980 batch, on his appointment as Secretary as National Commissionfor Scheduled Castes (NCSC). Agarwal will hold additional charge of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).