29_page01-city final_Layout 1

6
Briefly
� Participants at the
Hyderabad Half-
Marathon, on
Sunday — PTI
Five killed in
landmine blast
Phulbani: At least five people,
including two women
and a three-year-old child,
were killed as Maoists blew
up an ambulance by triggering
a landmine blast at
Brahmanigaon in Orissa’s
Kandhamal district late on
Saturday night, police said
on Sunday. In a separate
incident, a panchayat house
in Latehar, Jharkhand, was
damaged in a blast triggered
by the rebels. — PTI
Andhra Cabinet to
be formed on Dec 1
New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh
chief minister Kiran Kumar
Reddy on Sunday said his
Cabinet would be constituted
on Wednesday with
“balanced” representation
from all religion, caste and
regions in the state. Reddy
reiterated that his deputy
would be from Telangana
region. He met finance minister
Pranab Mukherjee and
law minister Veerappa Moily
on Sunday and discussed
the probables for his new
cabinet. — PTI
Bhujbal rules out
rift with Pawar
Pune: Scoffing speculations
of a rift with Sharad Pawar
after losing the post of
deputy chief minister,
Maharashtra minister
Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday
asserted that the NCP president
always supported the
cause of the OBCs, being
championed by him. — PTI
Teen killing: BSF
to set up court
Srinagar: The Border
Security Force (BSF) has
decided to set up a general
security forces court (GSFC)
this week to put on trial its
officer and a constable who
are accused of killing a
teenaged boy in unprovoked
firing here early this year.
The GSFC is likely to be constituted
on Tuesday or We -
dnesday to begin court martial
proceedings, BSF sources
said. — PTI
Order to shoot
man-eater leopard
Ahmedabad: A leopard has
been declared a man-eater
and orders have been issued
to shoot it in Mandvi taluka
of Surat district, forest officials
said here on Sunday.
The animal has already
killed four people, including
a 11-year-old girl, forest official
said. — PTI
Police yet to lodge
Roy, Geelani case
New Delhi: Delhi Police is
yet to register a case of sedition
against writer-activist
Arundhati Roy and Hurriyat
hardliner Syed Ali Shah
Geelani and others for
allegedly making anti-India
speeches at a convention
‘Azadi — The Only Way’ here
recently and is awaiting a
copy of the court order
directing it to do so. — PTI
Two Hizb militants
killed in gunbattle
Jammu: Two Hizbul
Mujahideen militants were
killed in a fierce gun battle
between militants and security
forces in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Doda district on
Sunday. Tipped-off that two
Hizb ultras were hiding in a
rock cave, security forces
raided the place. An LMG
was recovered from the
scene. — PTI
The Bengal Post Kolkata Monday November 29, 2010
NATION
‘House works for 5 mins’ Land scam: BSY issues
Chidambaram sarcastically depicts the reality in Parliament
New Delhi: Home minister
P Chidambaram on
Saturday used sarcasm to
depict today’s reality in
Parliament, which has been
paralysed during the entire
Monsoon Session over the
2G Spectrum issue.
“Today, the Parliament
convenes at 11 am and it
ends at 11.05 am. It ends in
five minutes. We discuss
about the day-to-day happenings
in just five minutes.
We discuss everything by
that time,” Chidambaram
said sarcastically at a function
in Tamil Sangam
here.
He made the remarks
while recalling “great deba -
tes” between late Congress
leader C Subramaniam and
the DMK leader C N
Annadurai in the Tamil
Nadu Assembly in 1960s.
Since the Winter Session
began on November 10,
Parliament has not been fu -
nctioning due to the Opp o s -
ition uproar over constitution
of a Joint Parliamentary
Committee to probe the 2G
Spectrum scam.
Speaking at the function
to commemorate the centenary
year of Subramaniam,
pioneer of India’s green revolution
who held several
portfolios in the Jawaharlal
Nehru and Indira Gandhi
cabinets, Chidambaram
hailed his role in India’s fre -
‘Cong-DMK split
will bring losses’
Chennai: DMK leader and
Tamil Nadu chief minister M
Karunanidhi has asked the
Congress leadership to prevent
“mischievous” Congress
leaders from making att -
empts to disrupt the alliance
between the two parties.
Addressing a public meeting
at Vellore, about 140 km
from here late on Saturday
night, he said break of the
alliance between Congress
and DMK would only bring
losses to both the parties and
encourage religious fundamentalist
forces to gain entry
into the state.
Only Congressbacked
DMK can
prevent the entry
of religious fundamentalists
forces to the state
M Karunanidhi
“Some mischievous Con -
gress leaders, who could not
digest the DMK leading the
alliance in the state, are making
attempts to disrupt the
alliance and the Congress
leadership has a responsibility
to prevent those elements
from making such attempts,”
he said.
Stating that the alliance
between both parties would
continue for next year’s As -
sembly polls, he said: “Only
the DMK, ably supported by
the Congress, can prevent
the entry of religious
fundamentalist forces to the
state”.
He also said that the Cen -
tre was appreciative of the
functioning of the DMK
government in the state.
On the disruption of proceedings
in Parliament on
the 2G Spectrum scam, Karu -
nanidhi said the DMK asked
its nominee and former telecom
minister A Raja to resign
from the Union ministry to
ensure smooth functioning
of the Parliament.
He said when an allegation
of corruption was made during
the Nehru era against the
then finance minister late T T
Krishnamachary, he had resi -
gned from the Union ministry
and the Opposition,
which demanded a JPC probe
before his resignation, had
allowed Parliament to function
after his exit from the
ministry.
“But now the Parliament,
which is the place for discussing
issues, has converted
into a market place and proceedings
have been disrupted
for the last 10 days,”
he said, adding: “Is it fair to
adopt one stand against a Br -
ahmin (T T Krishnamchary)
and another against a Dalit
(Raja)”.
He said his party had not
taken any decision on the
Spectrum issue and was
waiting for the outcome of
the CBI probe. — PTI
edom struggle and desc r i -
bed him as a statesman.
The minister said C Subra -
maniam, agriculture scientist
M S Swaminathan and
the then agriculture secreta -
ry B Sivaraman played a
major role in translating the
dream of a ‘green revolution’
into reality.
“Then in 1970s we did not
have wheat and most of it
were being imported.
People used to jokingly say
‘Ship to Mouth’. Once the
wheat is shipped into the
country, it is cooked and
people used to have it
immediately. But now the
problem is non-availability
of godowns to store them,”
he said.
As a result of this, 1 lakh
tonnes of wheat and rice are
being wasted and rats are
eating them and the
Supreme Court is chiding.
“It was this man (Subra -
maniam) who pioneered
the Green Revolution... Eve -
r yone is proud that the
three S (Subramaniam, Swa -
minathan and Sivaraman)
are from Tamil Nadu,” he
said.
Terming Subramaniam as
a man who was “deeply in t -
erested” in promoting the
use of Tamil and the lang u -
age, Chidambaram said he
pl ayed a very vital role in
naming the then Madras
state as Tamil Nadu. — PTI
COUNTRY’S HONOUR
gag order to BJP MLAs
Bangalore: Karnataka chi -
ef minister B S Yeddy u r a p -
pa on Sunday virtually iss -
ued a gag order to BJP
MLAs and leaders, asking
them not to take any step
or issue statements that
would lower dignity of
office of the Lokayukta,
which is probing land allotment
complaints against
him.
Yeddyurappa said he
was deeply hurt by the be -
haviour of some BJP MLAs
who threatened to stage a
“dharna” in front of the of f -
ice of Lokayukta if the
ombudsman Justice N San -
tosh Hegde did not tender
an apology to the chief
minister.
“The office of Lok Ayukta
is one of high respect and
dignity. Nobody should
take any action and issue
statement lowering its dignity,”
Yed dyurappa said,
adding: “Henceforth no
statement sh ould be issued
by any BJP legislator and
party leader lowering the
dignity of Lokayukta.” The
Oppos i t ion Con g r ess,
meanwhile, accused the
BJP of trying to undermi ne
the “dignity” of Loka y u k ta.
Leader of the Opposition
in the Legislative Assembly
Siddaramaiah said: “Ye d -
dyurappa is uprooting the
dignity of the Lokayukta”.
President of the
Karnataka Pradesh Cong -
� Ex-servicemen deposit their medals and submit memoranda signed with their blood during a protest organised
by the Indian ex-Servicemen Movement, demanding better pension, in New Delhi, on Sunday — PTI
‘Wrongdoers will be punished’
New Delhi: With several
armed force officers being
investigated in the Adarsh
Housing Society scam in
Mumbai, Navy Chief
Admiral Nirmal Verma has
said all wrongdoers in the
episode will be brought to
justice and the government
was taking requisite steps in
this regard.
“In so far as the Adarsh
Society scam is concerned,
the requisite steps are being
taken by the government
and I am sure that any
wrongdoer will be brought
to justice,” Verma said in an
interview to the defence
ministry’s official fortnightly
Sanik Samachar.
He said the armed forces
have always demanded the
highest standards of
integrity and conduct from
their personnel.
“Any incident, which
smudges an officer’s int e g r -
ity, invariably has an impact
on the morale of the men.
As such, I have always dem -
anded the highest standards
of honesty and integrity
from all men under my
command,” Verma said in
his first comments on the
Adarsh scam.
After the alleged involvement
of both serving and
retired officers from
the Army and the defence
est ates department in
Isolated Jagan may float new party
Hyderabad: Amid speculation
that the Congress will
neutralise the Jagan camp
by accommodating some of
his loyalists in the new
Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, the
rebel Kadapa MP may find
the going tough.
For the 38-year-old son of
former chief minister Y S R
Reddy, who has been aspiring
to become the CM, the
increasing isolation may pu -
sh him into breaking away
from the Congress and for -
ming a new party, political
analysts feel.
His uncle and member of
New Delhi: AK rifles firing
rubber bullets? This will
soon be a reality with trial
runs for firing such bullets
from Kalashnikov automatic
rifles to control mobs having
been completed.
A decision to this effect
was taken here during a
meeting of senior officials of
the ministry of home affairs
which has constituted a special
group for analysing various
methods needed for
� Home minister P Chidambaram at the Delhi Tamil
Sangam, in New Delhi, on Sunday — PTI
� Jaganmohan Reddy
the Legislative Council, Y S
Vivekananda Reddy, YSR’s
brother, has rubbed salt to
Jaganmohan Reddy’s injury
controlling violent crowds
with least force in the backdrop
of large-scale violence
in the Kashmir Valley this
summer, official sources
said here on Sunday.
The Defence Research and
Development Organisation
(DRDO) has conducted the
field trials for using the we a -
pons, first of which were
introduced in 1947. They
would be seen in action so -
on, particularly in the Valley.
by offering to “patch up” the
strained relationship bet -
ween his nephew and the
Congress high command by
“expressing our regret over
the episodes telecast on Sa -
kshi television channel.”
The channel, owned by
Jagan, raised the hackles of
the party leadership by targeting
Sonia Gandhi, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh
and Rahul Gandhi.
Vivekananda’s move has
only left a defiant Jagan mo -
re embarrassed even as his
camp tried to do some da -
ma ge control by announ -
The use of rubber bullets
will lessen the risk of fatalities
while controlling cro -
wds, the officials said.
The rubber bullets from
the AK-47 rifles may not
pro ve fatal if not fired from a
cl o se range and if they don’t
hit a vital organ, the sources
said.
Another riot-controlling
device that has been cleared
is the ‘dazzler’ which uses
laser beams to disperse
cing that their leader had
done nothing wrong that
warranted any explanation
to the high command.
Vivekananda on Sunday
met Sonia in Delhi and is
understood to have discus s -
ed the political situation in
Andhra Pradesh arising out
of the rebellious attitude of
Jagan. Jagan will have to
wait till Wednesday to make
up his mind on whether or
not to continue in the Co -
ngress party, what with the
constitution of the state
council of ministers likely to
happen only that day. — PTI
mobs by causing temporary
blindness. These may be
ADARSH SCAM
� Adarsh Housing Society
handed over to security
forces operating in Kashmir-
� B S Yeddyurappa
awarding a no-objection
certificate to the private
society to build the 31storeyed
complex on
defence land came out, the
defence ministry had
entrusted the investigation
on their role to the CBI this
month.
The 103-apartment society
in Colaba had also allotted
flats to retired Army
Chiefs General De e p ak
Kapoor and General N C Vij,
apart from retired Navy
Chief Admiral Mad ha v endra
Singh, former Union minister
Suresh Prabhu and
relatives of former
Maha r a s htra CM Ashok
Chavan. — PTI
like situations soon, the
sources said. The dazzler
may help in restricting sto -
ne-pelters as it can be used
towards individuals, rendering
them temporarily blind.
These devices can be useful
in restricting mobs bet -
ween a range of 50 metres to
250 metres. Jammu and Kas -
hmir Police, which has been
facing allegations of using
excessive force for mob con -
t rol, have got two new wea -
ress Committee G Parma -
eshwara flayed the government
move seeking a status
report from Lokayukta
on seven cases and said: “It
amounted to holding out a
threat that the institution
is not working properly”.
Meanwhile, the standoff
between the government
and Hegde over the
legality of ordering a judicial
probe into land scams
showed no sign of abating
with the Ombu d s man
questioning the former’s
contention.
Justice Hegde has obs e r -
ved that the probe cannot
be held as the Lokayukta is
al ready probing some sca -
ms which come under the
judicial commission for in -
quiry and the government
has not taken his permissi -
on, required under the
Lokayukta Act before issuing
the notification. — PTI
Missing
papers case
transferred to
crime branch
Mumbai: Case pertaining to
the theft of key documents
in Adarsh Housing Society
scam was on Sunday transferred
to the Mumbai crime
branch due to seriousness of
the issue.
“The case has been transferred
to the crime branch.
This special wing is working
on the case and have asked
for the FIR details which was
registered in the local police
station,” a crime branch official
said on condition of
anonymity.
The crime branch of the
city police usually probes
underworld-related or sensitive
in nature cases.
A case of theft was registered
on Saturday by police
after crucial documents from
10 files on Adarsh Society
went missing from the
urban development department
here.
Secretary of the department
Gurudas Bajpe gave a
written complaint to the
Marine Drive police on
Friday night about the missing
papers. The disappearance
of the papers has been
brought to the notice of CBI,
which is probing into the
scam. The missing papers
inc l u de remarks of the state
gove rnment officials and
chief minister.
The Adarsh society, origin -
a lly meant to be a six-sto r e -
yed structure to house Kargil
war heroes and war widows,
was converted into a 31-st o r -
eyed building, violating a nu -
mber of laws. The flats were
al l otted to bureaucrats, pol i -
ticians’ relatives. — PTI
Fire leads to house collapse
New Delhi: A four-storeyed
building went up in flames
and a portion of it collapsed
in central Delhi on Sunday
after plastic stored in its
ground floor caught fire following
suspected short-circuit
injuring four people.
Four people, including
three firemen, were injured
when a portion of the building
collapsed following the
blaze that was reported from
the building located in Ma l i -
wada locality of Naya Sada
near Chowri Bazar around 5
pm, fire brigade officials said.
Two mysterious explosions
were also heard from inside
the building.
The building appeared like
a hot blazing inferno with
red flames and thick smokes
billowing out of the structure.
The fire that broke out
in the ground floor spread to
the other floors and within
no time, it was all over the
building, officials said. Twe -
nty-seven fire tenders were
rushed to the spot to douse
the fire. Narrow lanes were
an impediment for fire fighters
to reach the spot and initiate
the exercise.
Soon after the incident
was reported, fire brigade
officials said, power supply
to the area was snapped
while people residing in the
adjoining buildings were
evacuated as a precaution
measure.
“The building houses a go -
down of plastic. The app r o a -
ch to the building was ve ry
na rrow. We had to park the
fire tenders around 500 me t -
res in the main road and
then take the hoses to the
building,” the officials said.
At least on 10 spots, the
ho ses were leaking and a
large quantity of water did
not reach the building. “A lot
of water was lost,” the locals
claimed. — PTI
Deadly AK rifles to now fire rubber bullets to disperse mobs
What Is AK-47
� Is a selective-fire gas-op -
e rated 7.62x 39mm assa -
ult rifle
� Stands for Kalashnikov
automatic rifle, 1947
model
� Was first developed in
the Soviet Union by
Mikhail Kalashnikov
pons in its armoury — pu -
mp-action and riot-control
guns — which are non-lethal
but can injure a person in -
dulging in violence.
Chief minister Omar Ab d -
ullah had requested the Ce n -
t re to take immediate steps
for producing a non-lethal
weapon as a number of people
had died when police
and security forces fired to
disperse demonstrators in
the Kashmir Valley. — PTI