Public warned of rising fraud - Oman Daily Observer

10
INDIA
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013
Lt Col among 5 peacekeepers
killed in South Sudan
School children carry placards as they participate in the Autism Awareness Walk 2013 at India Gate in New
Delhi yesterday. Autism is a neuro-physiological disorder which affects the social and emotional areas of the
brain and the UN General Assembly declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, observed each year since
2008. — AFP
Opposition
shutdown in AP
hits normal life
HYDERABAD Normal life in
Andhra Pradesh was hit yesterday
as opposition parties in the state
called for a shutdown to protest the
hike in electricity tariff.
Buses of the state-owned Andhra
Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
(APSRTC) were suspended
in most parts of the state as opposition
leaders and activists stopped
vehicles. Shops and business establishments
also remained closed in
many towns. In Hyderabad, the response
was mixed.
Ten Left parties have called
for the shutdown, which is being
supported by the Telugu Desam
Party (TDP), YSR Congress Party,
BJP and other opposition parties.
Leaders of the CPI, CPM and the
other Left parties were arrested
when they tried to stop buses at
the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in
Hyderabad.
CPI state secretary K Narayana
said the protest would continue till
the government rolls back the hike
in electricity tariff and also withdraws
the power surcharge imposed
by power distribution companies
for purchase of electricity from
outside the state. Opposition parties
staged sit-ins outside APSRTC depots
in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam,
Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati and
other towns in the state.
Pawar’s remarks rock
Maharashtra house again
MUMBAI The opposition in
the Maharashtra state assembly
created bedlam for the second
successive day here yesterday over
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's
recent remarks on the people in
drought-hit areas and attempted
to bring a censure motion in the
house.
The proceedings started
amidst noisy scenes with Leader
of Opposition Eknath Khadse
saying that a mere apology
from Pawar was not acceptable
and he must resign. "With his
statements, Pawar has insulted
women and lowered the stature of
Maharashtra. He must quit from
his post. The Opposition members
were vehement in their protest on
the remarks.
“The chief minister should
make a statement, apologise
and dismiss Ajit Pawar," Khadse
demanded as opposition
members rushed to the presiding
oficer's chair raising slogans
against Pawar.
The Shiv Sena also sought to
bring a censure motion against
Pawar who maintained that since
he had tendered an apology in
the house Monday, the issue had
ended.
Shiv Sena legislator Subhash
Desai who sought to move the
censure notice, said Pawar's
remarks were "derogatory" and
deserved to be condemned.
However, citing procedural
issues, Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil
rejected the censure motion even
as the house was adjourned twice
amid uproarious scenes and later
adjourned for the day.
Known for his brashness, Pawar
again uttered some controversial
comments which several parties
and groups termed as "insulting
and ridiculing the drought-hit
population".
"Who is that (Bhaisaheb)
Deshmukh? What is the point of
his protest? Will it yield water?
When there is no water, where will
I arrange water from?
“Should I urinate in the dams?"
Pawar had said at a public meeting
in Pune district on Sunday,
sparking off waves of protests and
condemnation across the state.
Later, he said in the same
speech: "The population is
increasing due to load shedding as
people have nothing to do when
there is no electricity."
By Sunday evening, Pawar
apparently sobered up and offered
an apology for his statements.
He followed it up with a similar
apology in the assembly Monday,
but the angry opposition kept up
its demand for his removal.
— IANS
Antony refused to support
Sanjay Gandhi: WikiLeaks
NEW DELHI Five Indian UN
peacekeepers, including a Lieutenant
Colonel, were killed and four injured
by ighters in South Sudan, the
external affairs ministry said yesterday.
"Peacekeepers from India in UN-
MISS (United Nations Mission in the
Republic of South Sudan) attacked in
Jonglei. Five dead and four wounded,"
ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin
tweeted.
Elaborating on the incident, Akbaruddin
said: "It happened this
morning about 8:30 am. The convoy
carrying 32 Indian soldiers was attacked
by ighters. There were ive
casualties, including a Lieutenant
Colonel, a JCO (junior commissioner
oficer) and three soldiers. Four others
have been wounded."
"We were informed that there
were ive casualties of Indian battalion
that was attached to the UN
peacekeeping force in South Sudan.
They were escorting a UN convoy in
the volatile state of Jonglei in South
Ireland probes
death of Indian
woman
GALWAY — An inquest opened in
Ireland into the death of a pregnant
Indian woman who was allegedly
denied a termination, sparking
ierce debate on the Catholic country's
strict abortion laws.
Savita Halappanavar, a 31-yearold
dentist originally from India,
died in a hospital in Galway, on the
west coast of Ireland, last October
after suffering a miscarriage.
She was 17 weeks pregnant and
miscarrying when she went to Galway
University Hospital on October
21, complaining of backache.
Her husband Praveen said his
wife, a Hindu, repeatedly requested
that doctors terminate the pregnancy
but they refused because there
was still a foetal heartbeat and because
Ireland "is a Catholic country".
Savita Halappanavar died of suspected
septicaemia on October 28,
ive days after losing her baby. "The
next few days are going to be very
tough," Praveen said as he arrived
for the irst day of evidence at Galway
Coroner's Court.
The inquest is his last chance
to ind out the truth about how his
wife was treated and why, he said.
The medics who treated Savita
Halappanavar will be among those
called to give evidence at the hearings,
which are expected to last a
week. — AFP
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Sudan," he told a TV channel.
"The casualties, including the injured,
are being brought back by the
UN by helicopters from Jonglei to
Juba (the capital of South Sudan),"
Akbarudddin said.
He said the Indian ambassador in
South Sudan, along an oficer of the
Army Medical Corps, is waiting at
the Juba airport to receive the bodies
and the injured.
"The irst priority will be emergency
treatment for the injured and
they will be sent to UN mission hospital
in South Sudan and then as per
the advise of the medical team, they
then will be transferred appropriately,"
he said.
"With respect to those who have
paid the highest price and laid down
their lives, our embassy will work
with the UN to bring back their bodies
to India," he said.
Akbaruddin said the Indian embassy
is in touch with the UN on the
issue. "We have 2,200 India personnel
in South Sudan. Our embassy is
Fresh all-party meeting on
land takeover bill by April 18
NEW DELHI Consensus eluded an
all-party meeting on the land acquisition
bill yesterday, forcing the government
to ix another meeting on
April 18.
"We have some minor differences
and have decided to meet again on
April 18," Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Kamal Nath told reporters after
the meeting at Parliament House.
Nath said all parties were asked
to give their suggestions by April 15.
These would be circulated April 16,
ahead of the next meeting.
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Bill, 2011,
seeks to address problems of the industry
regarding acquisition of land
for setting up projects.
The bill provides for land acquisition,
rehabilitation and resettlement
of the displaced people. It proposes
to replace the Land Acquisition Act,
1894.
Nath said though parties were
largely of the opinion that the bill
should be passed at the earliest, they
had some suggestions.
Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj
said the bill was earlier with the
parliamentary standing committee
and certain amendments had been
moved but the government failed to
incorporate these amendments.
She said her party's stand was
that acquisition should not be the
only way to acquire land.
"Leasing of land would be a better
in touch with UN representative on
this matter," he added.
India is a major contributor to
UN peacekeeping forces around the
world and has suffered losses in the
past.
“Five peace keepers from India
with UNMISS (United Nations Mission
in the Republic of South Sudan)
killed in ambush in Jonglei state
this morning,” spokesman Syed Akbaruddin
said.
Four Indian soldiers were also
wounded in the attack. “The casualties
including injured are being
lown by UN helicopters to the Juba
(capital of South Sudan),” Akbaruddin
said.
In 2010, ighters hacked to death
three Indians in their camp in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Akbaruddin said that the Indian
foreign ministry was arranging for
the bodies of its peacekeepers in
South Sudan to be returned home.
— IANS
Sushma Swaraj said
the bill was earlier
with the parliamentary
standing committee and
certain amendments
had been moved but
the government failed
to incorporate these
amendments
proposition so that the farmer gets
regular annual income. In this way,
the land would go back to the farmer
if it is not used," she said.
Her party also objected to the deinition
of the term "public purpose" in
the bill as it was "very wide".
"But I am very hopeful that a consensus
would be arrived at," she said
here yesterday.
The bill seeks to provide for a fair
compensation to land owners in both
rural and urban areas with the stipulation
that consent of 80 per cent of
the people for acquiring land for private
industry was necessary.
Earlier, the bill's consideration
was deferred by the Lok Sabha in the
winter session till the budget session
under pressure from opposition
members.
It was referred to the standing
committee. — IANS
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — A powerful
section in the Congress party
led by A K Antony in Kerala opposed
ascendance of Sanjay Gandhi as heir
to his mother Indira Gandhi and
hence he failed to visit the state during
the Emergency.
According to the unclassiied
US diplomatic cables published by
Wikileaks yesterday, CPI, his party's
key ally in the ruling coalition led by
Chief Minister C Achutha Menon during
1970-77, was also angered at him
calling it "the most corrupt party".
"Antony and those refusing to support
Sanjay question his rapid ascent
to a position of power, asking themselves,
we understand, what sacri-
ices he has made for the party or the
country," says the cable dated May
14, 1976, quoting "knowledgeable
newsmen".
Sanjay Gandhi died in a 1980
plane crash at the age of 33 while
Indira Gandhi, the second longestserving
prime minister of India, was
assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards
four years later.
Antony, who was elected the party
chief in Kerala in 1972 at a young age
of 32, was "one of the only leaders
to latly criticise the new Youth Congress
and Sanjay". The other key critic
was West Bengal Congress leader
Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi of West Bengal.
"Despite an earlier announcement
that he would visit Kerala, Sanjay has
not so far done so, though Ambika
Soni (his close associate and president
of Youth Congress) was in the
state last month," the cable says.
Describing the Kerala Youth
Congress "somewhat more radical
than the Youth Congresses in other
states", it says Sanjay's policies were
not popular in Kerala. The Americans
also suspected the split in the Youth
Congress in the state and the CPI's attitude
toward him "might well combine
to make him decide against visiting
the state at least until" he gets a
warm welcome.
"Talks with a variety of people in
Kerala May 9-11 left us with the impression
that Sanjay Gandhi is not
very popular in that state. Knowledgeable
newsmen with whom we
met resented Sanjay's rapid buildup,
saying that until 1975 he was
known only for his association with
the Maruti (the car he introduced in
collaboration with Japan's Suzuki)," it
says.
Though the newspapers were
gagged and public protests outlawed
like anywhere in India during the
state of Emergency, the state's coalition
government was hugely popular
that it returned to power with a huge
majority of 111 seats in the 140-
member Assembly.
Though Antony, Vayalar Ravi and
Oommen Chandy were in the rival
camp, the Gandhis enjoyed the strong
support of K Karunakaran, the powerful
home minister of the state who
succeeded Achutha Menon as chief
minister.
"One of the journalists with whom
we met speculated that it could be
extremely embarrassing for the KPCC
to have to ask the CPI chief minister
of the state to welcome Sanjay at
the airport if he were invited to visit
Kerala," the cable says.
"Despite differences of opinion of
him, all those with whom we talked
agreed that Sanjay is being groomed
to succeed his mother some day.
Sanjay already wields great inluence
with his mother, one stated he had
heard from his Delhi sources, and he
discusses policy matters with ministers
and gives them instructions on
actions to be taken," it says.
According to one journalist, it
says, Sanjay was known as a "friend
of the United States," and his policies
and programmes seem designed to
appeal to "capitalists and industrialists."
Disgust with years of work stoppages,
violence, demonstrations, and
student unrest was widespread and
few wanted a return to pre-Emergency
politics.
Newsmen, Kerala govt ministers,
professors, and non-Communist opposition
politicians all agreed that in
any election a Congress-dominated
coalition would sweep the polls.
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CITIZENS carry placards during a protest march near the Myanmar
Embassy in New Delhi yesterday against the killing and the torching of
Rohingya homes in Myanmar. Organisations and civil society condemned
the Burmese government in the strongest terms for its inaction and
collaboration to stop violence against and expulsion of Rohingya people
in Rakhine (Arakan) state. — AFP