Government modifies controversial section of IT Act

New Delhi, Nov.29 (ANI): The UPA Government on Thursday decided to modify the controversial section 66A of the Information Technology Act after the Supreme Court asked for Attorney General G.Vahanvati to present himself to explain what steps the government was taking to prevent its misuse.

The government decision came hours after the apex court accepted a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking amendment to the Information Technology Act in the wake of its alleged misuse in recent few cases.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said that it was considering to take suo motu cognisance of recent incidents and wondered why nobody had so far challenged the particular provision of the IT Act.

Taking the case on urgent basis, the bench agreed to hear the PIL filed by a Delhi student Shreya Singhal later today.

However, the government has itself modified rules under Section 66(A).

As per reports, the government has issued an advisory to states on the procedure to be followed while implementing the Act. The new rules mandate a prior approval from the Deputy Commissioner of Inspector General of Police level before the Station House Officer (SHO) can register complaints under the section.

The government has taken the step in wake of growing incidents of alleged miscue of the Act. Two recent cases in Palghar near Mumbai highlighted the urgent need to relook at the Act. (ANI with inputs)

Who says public outcry has no affect.

However, I think, the letter sent by Justice Katju had the most effect.

But will he have the same effect on our own Mamta who too has been criticized by him. I doubt.

Even God does not know what Mamta will do next.

However, I don't know why the approval of only the Deputy Commissioner of Inspector General of Police is required.

Why is the permission not required from the level of the Magistrate as in all other cases of arrest warrants being issued.

Why only the DIG.

After all the police, whatever the level, are easily influenced by their political masters.

I am not vindictive, critics have vested interests: Mamata

Kolkata, Nov 29 (IANS) Claiming that she was not vindictive against those who criticised her government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said she will continue to work for the people.

Speaking at an official function here, Banerjee also alleged that her critics have vested interests.

"I know some people are criticising and demeaning us. They are doing this because they have some vested interest. Let them do. We don't care. Raja chale bazar to kutta bhonke hazaar (the king walks to market, and a thousand dogs bark)," she said.

"Those demeaning the government will fade out one day. I am not vindictive. I don't want to take action against them," she said, on a day Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju criticised her for being "intolerant and whimsical".

Banerjee's government has been going through tough times with a minister, Rabindranath Bhattacharya, alleging that the ruling party leaders and cadres were indulging in extortion.

The chief minister said she had no relationship with those giving a bad name to the "Ma, Mati, Manush (Mother, Land and People − Banerjee's pet slogan)" government. "I don't have any relation with those who are giving a bad name to the Ma, Mati, Manush government. I do not care about what others say about me. I am here only for the cause of the people," Banerjee said while addressing the infrastructure development conclave 'Bengal Builds'.

She asserted that her government would transform the "negative publicity" into positive through its performance.

"We will transform this negative publicity into positive through our work." "I have a will to work. I have always fought for the people and will continue to do so. I can leave other things for the common man, but cannot leave the people for anything. This is my mission and vision," she added.

No amount of denial by Mamta will remove the feeling that she is a whimsical and intolerant person who just desires "Yes" men around her.

Any minister who gives any signs of showing that he has brains is thrown into the Hooghly.

Soumen Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee (in his previous stint), Sudip Bandhopadhyay (when he was forced to contest against Subrata Mukherjee as Independent Candidate), Ajit Panja and Dinesh Trivedi are some of the examples.

I have not mentioned Kabir Suman in the list as Kabir went out of his way to rub her the wrong way.

Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra, farmer Shiladitya Chowdhury, Damyanti Sen, an upright police officer and Tanya Bhardwaj, a young student,were some of the non ministers who faced here ire.

All of them were branded as Maoist agents.

She did not invite Soumitra Chatterjee to the recently head film festival as he had joined a procession against her governments intolerance.

Mend your ways or lose power: Katju to Mamata

By Indo Asian News Service Kolkata, Nov 29 (IANS) Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has described West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "intolerant and whimsical" and warned she would lose power if she did not change.

In a letter to her, Katju sought against policemen who arrested Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and farmer Shiladitya Chowdhury, the first for circulating a cartoon of the chief minister and the second for questioning her policies.

The former Supreme Court judge also said that former joint commissioner of police Damayanti Sen be restored to her earlier office, from which she was removed after she cracked a rape case on Park Street.

"We all make mistakes but a gentleman is one who realises his mistake and apologizes. "I request you to act against the policemen who ordered and implemented the arrest of Mahapatra and Chowdhury, you should immediately withdraw the cases against them and apologize to them."

He accused Banerjee of victimizing Damyanti Sen, who he said was an upright police officer. "You should apologize to her. You should also apologize to Tanya Bharadwaj whom you insulted on CNN−IBN show." Bharadwaj, a young student, received the ire of the chief minister for questioning her on a TV show.

Katju said Banerjee's ministers and bureaucrats "are afraid to speak out their minds fearlessly before you, and are terrorised by your unpredictable and whimsical behaviour".

Stating that her ways were "very unhealthy", he said Banerjee "will not be able to remain chief minister for long unless she changed her ways and became more tolerant... "It is still not too late if you listen to my advice and change your ways. I had praised you at one time. But of late you seem to have become increasingly intolerant and whimsical."

I would like to congratulate Justice Katju for such plain speak.

We lesser mortals have been pointing out these same traits to Mamta Banerjee but she just branded us Maoists.

She likes a monologue in which she is the only speaker.

She ABHORS dialogues especially that which criticizes her.

As long as she was in the opposition it was tolerable as it did not affect the people.

But having this trait while heading a government is unacceptable.

As railway minister, Dinesh Trivedi, realized the folly of not following the dotted line.

People are already fed-up with her but what to they do.

The alternative, the CPM, is equally frightening, to say the least.

Arvind Kejriwal is our only hope.

Key witness in hooch deaths trial shot dead

KOLKATA: Less than three weeks before the trial in Bengal's worst hooch tragedy was to start, a crucial witness was gunned down on Wednesday on a bustling road in Mograhat, a few steps from the local police station. The victim, 32-year-old Abdul Aleem Sk, had dared to take on dreaded gangster Selim Laskar, who was once the mentor of hooch don Khora Badshah and is now working with him, say sources.

The hooch tragedy trial was initially supposed to be held in Diamond Harbour court but the fear of intimidation of the 228 witnesses prompted CID to shift it to Alipore court.

Aleem was a rights activist and had recently joined the Congress. Seven months before the hooch deaths, he had led some locals in demolishing Badshah's hooch dens in Mograhat. He was also instrumental in the reopening of a two-year-old unnatural death case of van-rickshawpuller Hara Fakir. The CID has taken over this case too, since Selim is suspected to be behind the 'murder'.

Selim was suspected to be involved in CPM's Operation Sunshine — the armed recapture of Nandigram — after being arrested from a guest house in Mahisadal in November 2007. He was chargesheeted for possession of illegal firearms.

There is a history of witnesses turning hostile or going silent in cases against Selim, say sources. After Aleem lodged an FIR against Selim and his henchman Mujibur, a counter-FIR was lodged by Mujibur two days later. Surprisingly, while Aleem's FIR (case No. 325, Nov 22) was lodged under bailable sections of rioting, the FIR against him (case No. 328, Nov 24) had non-bailable charges.

Police find clue to killers, hopeful of breakthrough. Aleem moved court for bail and was granted his plea on Tuesday on the condition that he meet his investigating officer at Mograhat police station at regular intervals.

A day later, he was murdered soon after his first visit to the police station.

"Aleem had gone there with three other people. I, too, met him outside the police station. We were talking when Aleem said he needed to go to his office at Gazipara crossing, barely five minutes away," said a witness, who refused to reveal his identity. The friends split up.

"He was alone when he was shot twice in the head. The street was bustling with people and almost everyone saw the killers. The police reached there within minutes," he added.

Aleem's family was too caught up with the post-mortem and other legal formalities to lodge a complaint, said a relative. ASP-rural, South 24-Parganas, Kankar Prasad Barui said police have a "near clear idea" to which gang is behind the killing. "We are hopeful of a breakthrough soon. There are no arrests yet," he said.

Aleem had recently been elected the Congress block president, said district Congress leader Sujit Patowari. "He was murdered by Trinamool-backed criminals," Patowari alleged. Local Trinamool MLA and newly inducted minister of state for minority affairs Giyasuddin Mollah rejected the allegation, saying: "How can Trinamool be linked to this?"

I think this is a continuing affair.

A witness to a crime gives a statement to the police and then just before he can appear in court, he is bumped off so that the criminals escape.

Some changes should be made in the trial procedure.

If any witness is bumped of before a trial, it should be assumed that all that the witness said was true and the court should take appropriate decision.

Further we have examples of witness turning hostile because of threat or inducement, which allows the criminal to go unpunished.

If any witness gives a statement in front of a magistrate, then that statement should be treated as sacrosanct and the witness cannot later retract the statement. The judicial process shall continue as if the statement given was true.

SC takes up student’s plea against IT Act, which allowed Police to Arrest Maharashtra girls

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati, the government’s chief legal advisor, to help it in deciding a petition by a student seeking to amend the Information Technology Act, which has been used to crack down on social-media users.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Delhi student Shreya Singhal seeking changes to the IT Act, especially Section 66A, under which several people have been arrested for making comments on social media sites or over email.

Earlier in the day, voicing concern over such recent incidents, a bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir had said it was considering to take suo motu cognisance of recent incidents and wondered why nobody had so far challenged the particular provision of the IT Act.

The bench had also agreed to hear the public interest litigation later in the day.

Singhal has contended in her plea that “the phraseology of Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 is so wide and vague and incapable of being judged on objective standards, that it is susceptible to wanton abuse and hence falls foul of Article 14, 19 (1)(a) and Article 21 of the Constitution.”

She has submitted that “unless there is judicial sanction as a prerequisite to the setting into motion the criminal law with respect to freedom of speech and expression, the law as it stands is highly susceptible to abuse and for muzzling free speech in the country.”

The arrests which have been referred to by Singhal in her petition include that of a 21-year-old girl for questioning on Facebook the shutdown in Mumbai after Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death, which was 'liked' and shared by her friend, who was also arrested.

Singhal has also referred to an April 2012 incident, when a professor of chemistry from Jadavpur University in West Bengal, Ambikesh Mahapatra, was arrested for posting a cartoon concerning a political figure on social networking sites.

She has also referred to the arrest of businessman Ravi Srinivasan in October 2012 by the Puducherry Police for having made a allegation on twitter against a politician from Tamil Nadu as well as the May 2012 arrests of two Air India employees, V Jaganatharao and Mayank Sharma, by the Mumbai Police under the IT Act for posting content of Facebook and Orkut against a trade union leader and some politicians.

Singhal has also sought issue of guidelines by the apex court, to “reconcile section 41 and 156 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code with Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution” and that offences under the Indian penal Code and any other legislation if they involve the freedom of speech and expression be treated as a non-cognizable offence for the purposes of Section 41 and Section 156 (1).

Section 41 of the CrPC empowers the police to arrest any person without an order from the magistrate and without a warrant in the event that the offence involved is a cognizable offence. Section 156 (1) empowers the investigation by the police into a cognizable offence without an order of a magistrate.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Could this be the silver lining of the arrest faced by the girls?

Why I am against FDI in retail

G V Dasarathi

I am the typical urban consumer who is supposed to be salivating at the thought of FDI in retail. Here is my little story that explains why I'm not only not salivating, but actually dreading the thought.

This story involves four actors: The FDI company store, the Indian Retail Chain store, the Mom-and-Pop grocery store and me. Let's call the first three FDI, IRC and MomPop.

I have been living in my locality in Bangalore for the past 15 years. I bought vegetables at the local HOPCOMS store that is ubiquitous in Bangalore. All other groceries I bought at a couple of MomPops half a kilometre away from my home.

If one of them did not have something that I wanted, the other would. I used to drop in a couple of times a week at the MomPops to buy stuff and chat with the owners about the day's news. The owners Venkatesh and Javed gave me free advice on what to buy, and in what quantity.

We asked about each others' family, who was doing what, etc. Sometimes the owner's wife would be managing the shop, and often his little daughter would be sitting at the back doing her homework or playing.

About three years ago, an IRC (Indian Retail Chain store) opened my locality very close to the MomPops. The IRC had everything that the MomPops had, and everything cost a little less.

Venkatesh and Javed started losing customers to the IRC, and every trip of mine to them had involved a little discussion on how they were worried about the future.

I was one of their diehard customers for whom the human touch mattered more than the small difference in prices, but there weren't enough people like me.

In less than a year both the MomPops closed down, along with another one nearby. I was forced to go to the retail chain store after this, because the next nearest MomPop was 1 kilometre away across a busy traffic intersection -- an unpleasant walk. In less than a month after the MomPops closed, the prices at the IRC rose and the quality dropped quite dramatically.

What it stocked was expensive varieties of rice, dal and vegetables. I had to repeatedly complain to the management about products past their expiry date, bread with fungus and other such issues -- obviously a direct result of a lack of competition.

I actually had to fill in a form to get a replacement for the bread. Along with me, a lot of low income people too lost the convenience of the MomPops. I started cycling to the MomPop across the busy traffic intersection, and have been with this shop ever since -- Ganesh has replaced Venkatesh and Javed.

Why was the IRC able to push the MomPops out of business? Because it had deep pockets, could reduce its prices for a year, take away all the MomPops' customers and get them to close down.

What did the IRC do after it became a monopoly? Raised its prices and diluted its quality, because it had no competition.

An IRC is LARGE, and needs a whole locality dependent on it to survive, which means it has to kill off competition in the whole locality. An FDI (like Walmart) is HUGE, and needs 4 to 5 localities dependent on it, which means it would have to kill all the MomPops and IRCs in these localities.

If you have to travel 1 km to the nearest IRC, you will have to travel maybe 5 kms to the nearest FDI. This is exactly the situation in countries like the US. If you run out of milk, you drive 5 kms to the 'neighbourhood' FDI. So, based on this personal experience, do I think FDI in retail makes sense to me as a (urban rich) consumer? NO. I don't even think local retail chains make sense, and avoid them like the plague.

As a consumer, I do not have a choice between multiple vendors and am forced to depend on a monopoly. The monopoly ensures that I do not get the best quality and price possible.

I lose the convenience of the neighbourhood store. I am forced to travel long distances for my purchases, and the cost and time of travel are added to the cost of purchase.

A key pro-FDI argument is that the FDI will buy direct from the farmer and eliminate a lot of 'middlemen', so the farmer will get better prices thereby leading to prosperity. This bogey of 'middleman' is a throwback to the socialist days of the 1970s, and needs to be jettisoned.

No commerce is possible without a sales chain between the producer and the consumer, and each link in this chain is a middleman. This is as true of vegetables or pulses as it is of garments or footwear.

Now, each farmer has a number of potential buyers and the buyers have to compete to get the farmer's produce, resulting in the best possible price for the farmer.

In the FDI-era what is likely to happen is this: A single FDI becomes the sole buyer of produce from farmers in a whole taluk or district, and dictates the (obviously low) prices.

The farmer has no other potential buyer, and is forced to sell at whatever price the FDI specifies.

Even worse, the FDI may decide one year that it is cheaper to import onions from Mexico or Pakistan, and import ship-loads of the stuff for its stores country-wide. So the farmer has nowhere to sell his onions that year because the monopoly buyer is not interested.

The retail trade in India is the third largest employer after agriculture and textiles. FDIs are definitely going to make a lot of these people unemployed.

The FDIs will cater to the urban rich, and any supposed reduction in food prices is not going to benefit the poor, whether urban or rural.

What WILL benefit them is an improved public distribution system with less leakage.

Sensible cities worldwide are moving towards town planning that reduces commuting, with self-contained localities where workplaces, shops and entertainment are close to homes, reducing the need to use automobiles.

US-style town planning where you travel 5 kms to get to the nearest Walmart is obsolete, not sustainable. What is sustainable is small shops in each neighbourhood, not HUGE shops each servicing multiple neighbourhoods.

India's current account deficit and the devaluation of the rupee can be fixed by reducing the oil import bill. The fiscal deficit and inflation can be fixed by reducing diesel subsidies. Reducing dependence on petroleum by reducing the use of private automobiles is one of the keys to a healthier economy.

FDIs would promote more travel, more use of petroleum by consumers. This is another reason they don't make sense.

So in sum, FDI is going to be a monopoly buyer from farmers and a monopoly seller to urban rich consumers.

It will be bad for the farmer and the consumer.

It will be bad for the poor -- urban and rural.

It will put a lot of people in the retail trade out of jobs. It will increase fuel use.

So then who is FDI in retail good for?

Should it not be allowed at all?

Should it be allowed only for manufactured goods and processed foods, disallowed for raw foods (pulses, rice, wheat, vegetables and fruits, etc)?

Maybe it need a lot more dispassionate thinking and analysis before the nation decides on it?

G V Dasarathi is a resident of Bangalore, and the person responsible for buying groceries in his home for the past 15 years. Our Indian system of having small localized stores has been tested over time.

We have a large population and this system provides employment to a large number of our people.

FDI will again make the rich richer.

Some companies and their owners like Walmart, Bharti and Reliance will mint money at the expense of the poor consumers and farmers. In the meantime politicians will get their cut for allowing FDI.

WAKE UP PEOPLE OF INDIA.

FDI IS AGAINST YOUR INTEREST.

Staged shootout accused Amit Shah to contest polls

New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) Amit Shah, former Gujarat minister of state for home and an accused in the Soharabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati staged shootout cases, will contest in the upcoming state assembly elections.

Shah will contest from Naranpura in Ahmedabad. His name features in the second list of candidates released by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the capital Wednesday. Shah won the last time from the Sarkhej assembly constituency, with a margin of over 2.50 lakh votes.

After delimitation, Sarkhej has been divided into three constituencies −− Vejalpur, Ghatlodia and Naranpura.

Shah is a close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In September, Shah returned to Gujarat after a gap of two years, following the Supreme Court ruling allowing him to enter the state. The apex court rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea to cancel Amit Shah's bail granted in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

Since his return to Ahmedabad, Shah was keeping a low profile. He has stayed away from public functions, and has not interacted with the media. The CBI has, in its charge sheet, named Shah the prime accused in the Tulsi Prajapati staged shootout case.

Acting on a petition filed by Shah, the Supreme Court had stayed all the proceedings in the Prajapati case.

The two−phase Gujarat assembly elections will be held Dec 13 and 17. Counting of votes will take place Dec 20.

Caesar's wife should be beyond suspicion.

How can we expect Mr. Shah will leave this opportunity when we have elected leaders pulling along shamefacedly inspite of being accused of corruption.

B S Yedyurappa the BJP ex-chief minister of Karnataka.

Nitin Gadkari the BJP President

Salman Khursid who as law minister was accused of corruption and hence he has been promoted as foreign minister.

The list is very long and would probably go on and on.

The whole lot of politicians of all parties should be sacked.

Gujarat Cong poll ad on malnutrition a fraud?

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Congress has shot itself in the foot over its desperation to portray the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in the state in bad light: this time through its own election advertisement.

The Congress's election advertisement -- part of the ad campaign 'Join Hands for Congress' - says that 45 per cent of the children in Gujarat are malnourished under the leadership of Modi. It also shows the pathetic photograph of a malnourished infant as 'proof' to drive home the point.

Only the photograph is that of a Sri Lankan infant and was taken during Sri Lankan floods by a UNICEF photographer, and is not related to Gujarat at all.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has said that the Congress has perpetrated a fraud on the people of Gujarat in an election advertisement that the party released in the state. The Congress has made such ad goof-ups time and again. Earlier this year, the party released an advertisement which praised its arch rival Narendra Modi to the skies. In yet another ad, the Gujarat Congress used the image of a child from East Africa to make 'show' the pathetic condition of children in the state, but that too was proven wrong.

The current case was 'exposed' by a pro-BJP website which compared the two pictures (the original and the one in the Congress ad).

The Congress, however, has tried to wash its hands of the controversy and said that the picture was only used for representative purposes (although the ad does not clarify that the photo is that of a Sri Lankan child and not from Gujarat). The party also blamed the advertising agency it has hired for the ad campaign for the 'error'.

The BJP, meanwhile, has blasted the Congress, saying that it should apologise to the people of Gujarat for 'tarnishing the image of the state'.

The Congress in its defence said that the BJP was trivialising the issue. Whether the photo is real or not is not of significance; what is important is 'the fact that 45 per cent children in Gujarat are malnourished', the Congress alleged.

The advertisement, meanwhile, has gone viral on the Internet.

The two-phase Gujarat elections take place on December 13 and 17. Counting will be undertaken on December 20.

The Congress is becoming increasingly frustrated at all the set-backs it is receiving and cannot even think properly.

You should not blame them.

They should be pitied for they are fighting a losing balance against the onslught of Arvind Kejriwal and Anna.

Lie Detectors

PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW.....

A guy asked a girl in a library: "Do you mind if I sit beside you?”

The girl replied with a loud voice: "I DON'T WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH YOU!"

All the students in the library started staring at the guy, he was embarrassed. After a couple of minutes, the girl walked quietly to the guy's table and said: "I study psychology and I know what a man is thinking, I guess you felt embarrassed right?

The guy responded with a loud voice: $500 FOR ONE NIGHT? THAT'S TOO MUCH!

All the people in the library looked at the girl in shock. The guy whispered in her ears; "I study Law and I know how to make someone feel guilty.”

Robotic Lie Detector

John was a salesman's delight when it came to any kind of unusual gimmicks. His wife Marsha had long ago given up trying to get him to change.

One day John came home with another one of his unusual purchases. It was a robot that John claimed was actually a lie detector. It was about 5:30 that afternoon when Tommy, their 11 year old son, returned home from school. Tommy was over 2 hours late.

"Where have you been? Why are you over 2 hours late getting home?" asked John...

"Several of us went to the library to work on an extra credit project,” said Tommy.

The robot walked around the table and slapped Tommy, knocking him out of his chair.

"Son," said John, "this robot is a lie detector, now tell us where you really were after school."

"We went to Bobby's house and watched a movie." said Tommy.

"What did you watch?" asked Marsha.

"The Ten Commandments." answered Tommy.

The robot went around to Tommy and once again slapped him, knocking him off his chair. With his lip quivering, Tommy got up, sat down and said, "I am sorry I lied, we really watched a tape called Sex Queen."

"I am ashamed of you son,” said John. "When I was your age, I never lied to my parents."

The robot walked around to John and knocked him out of his chair...

Marsha doubled over in laughter, almost in tears and said, "Boy, did you ever ask for that one, you can’t be too mad with Tommy. After all, he is your son!" The robot walked around to Marsha and knocked her out of her chair.

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Bring law to curb baseless allegations: Congress MP

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) In a veiled reference to activist−politician Arvind Kejriwal, a Congress MP from Goa Monday demanded that a new law be passed to provide civil remedy for defamation so that the defamer is forced to shell out "substantial monetary damages".

"The temptation of power and greed makes some fly−by−night leaders get on the streets and defame individuals and denigrate institutions. These leaders get a further boost with coverage, as the media cannot resist the temptation of spicy material," Congress member of the Rajya Sabha from Goa Shantaram Naik said in parliament by way of a special mention.

During his campaign for the Lokpal bill as well as in the run up to the launch of his new 'Aam Aadmi Party', Kejriwal has been levelling substantial charges against leading politicians on counts of corruption and impropriety.

"Punishment under criminal law is not a deterrent. Besides, since cases take years together for decisions, people who are habituated to use the weapon of defamation to achieve their political ends have virtually nothing to fear," Naik said, adding that habitual offenders in defamation cases need to be compulsorily imprisoned.

Being an MP it is surprising that he does not know there is already a law against libel.

Many people have threatened Kejriwal to take him to court for libel but nobody takes him to court.

They know that if they take Kejriwal to court, they will be made naked. All their skeletons will be brought out.

Kejriwal is a highly respected and educated and he does not speak unless he is sure of the facts.

Why doesn't Mr. Naik make the CBI, CVC, ED and Income Tax department and other investigation agencies independent of government interference. Then we will know who is speaking the truth, Kejriwal or the people against whom he is speaking.

Robert Vadera has not uttered a word against Kejriwal regarding the DLF scam.

Salman khurshid our ex-law minister,had threatened a libel suit but it is yet to come. Instead of taking action against Salman Khurshid, the Congress party has promoted him as Foreign minister.

Digvijay Singh criticises Kejriwal, challenges him to win elections

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi, Nov. 25 (ANI): Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Sunday criticized anti-graft crusader Arvind Kejriwal for borrowing the theme of their party for his own and challenged him to win elections to prove his mettle.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Singh said Kejriwal's move reflected his intellectual bankruptcy.

"It reflects the intellectual bankruptcy of Arvind Kejriwal that he has adopted the theme of the Congress Party," he said.

"Kejriwal should first get elected as an MLA (legislator) or MP (lawmaker) or a municipal corporator first," he added.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, a day after launching his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Kejriwal on Sunday said he will tour the the country for the next one year to "expose" the Congress and BJP while trying to convince people on why they should support his party. Eyeing the next year's assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal made a passionate plea to youth to join him full-time to bring about a revolutionary change in the country's political system.

Addressing his supporters near Rajghat in Delhi, the activist-turned-politician also used the platform to attack Congress and BJP saying they "used" people only to get votes and never bothered about them.

"There are people who have looted India a lot. Now the youth have decided to come out and drive them out of Parliament. I ask all youth therefore to come to Jantar Mantar tomorrow and they will be given the status of founder member of the party," Kejriwal said.

Claiming that AAP was different from existing outfits, he said the donations and expenses would be uploaded every now and then on the outfit's website which is being launched tomorrow.

"We have set a series of guidelines for the party members. I want only those of you who can work full-time to come to this party and no one should be found indulging in any activities of taking money for votes during elections," he said. Arvind Kejriwal said that the Congress and the BJP used people only to get votes and never bothered about them.

Diggy Raja is issuing useless challenges.

Corruption starts at the top and trickles down to the bottom.

If corruption is to be eradicated, the top should be attacked first and Arvind is doing the correct thing by trying to enter parliament for it was our MPs who had deceived us.

How can Digvijay claim that the Congress is an Aam Aadmi Party when all its MPs start off as lakhpatis and within 5 years multi crorepatis.

Can Digvijay mention any MP in his party who is not a crorepati.

Is the Aam Aadmi of India a crorepati.

So how can Digvijay claim to be a party of the Aam Aadmi.

Rather, it is a party of crorepatis.

Rather it has become a family of crorepatis.

Even son-in-laws who dealt in brass scrap become multi-crorepatis in 15 years.

How? I wonder.

Kejriwal’s party named Aam Admi Party

Arvind Kejriwal’s party was on Saturday named ‘Aam Admi Party' at a meeting of its founder members in New Delhi during which the Constitution for the organisation was also adopted.

The meeting of around 300 founder members was held at Constitution Club in New Delhi during which Mr Kejriwal proposed the name of the party which was accepted by other members, sources said.

The Constitution of the party was also adopted at the meeting. It was proposed by Mayank Gandhi and seconded by Chandramohan, they said.

The formation of the party came after a bitter split with Anna Hazare over the question of the anti-corruption movement taking a political plunge as Mr Kejriwal desired.

During the August fast, Mr Hazare and Mr Kejriwal ended the agitation saying they will work for providing a political alternative for the country to fight both Congress and BJP.

However, both Mr Hazare and Mr Kejriwal announced parting of ways on September 19 following differences over forming a party with the former sticking to his position that the movement should remain apolitical.

On October 02, Mr Kejriwal announced the formation of the party saying its official launch will be on November 26, the day Constitution was adopted in 1949.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Kejriwal said on Saturday that common men, women, children are forming their party.

“They are not politicians. They are fed up of politicians. They are the people who are fed up of corruption and price rise. This is why the common man has decided to challenge them. Now the common man will sit in Parliament.

“Party’s vision is Swaraj. People should get the ‘Raj’. Committees will be formed. They will make drafts in four-five months. There will be discussions through the country,” he said.

Activist Yogendra Yadav said that the party will have provisions against domination by one family.

The meeting also saw some disagreement among a section of workers who were not allowed to attend it. A group from Tamil Nadu was seen arguing with a party coordinator on why they were not accommodated.

The above is from The Hindu.

At last we have a name for Kejriwal's party.

As per Robert Vadra - it is the Mango Party.

Now we have all to work to see that it gradually replaces all the existing parties.

24.11.2012 is a date to be remembered as on this day a new party is born which will make us Indians truly Independent.

Independent of Corrupt politicians.

The dangerous world of Ponty Chaddha

Controversial businessman Ponty Chaddha, who was killed along with his brother in an exchange of fire between the two men and their security staff over a family dispute in New Delhi on Saturday, lived and died for money.

Rising from extremely humble beginnings, Chaddha raised a Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) empire, sprawling across large parts of North India -- Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan -- where he nearly monopolised the liquor trade.

According to sources in Ramnagar, a small town on the UP-Uttarakhand border, Chaddha's father Kulwant Singh sold fried fish from a handcart parked outside a country liquor shop.

After a few years, Kulwant Singh set up a small sugarcane crusher, which raised his earnings and enabled him to secure the contract for a country liquor shop. That became the turning point in the life of Kulwant Singh and his sons.

Ponty grew up amidst an environment of prohibition across the then hill region (now Uttarakhand state) in Uttar Pradesh, of which he made full use to his blatant advantage. Very early in life he earned the sobriquet, 'Liquor don' of the hills.

There was no looking back for Ponty even after he lost a forearm and three fingers of his other arm under a sugarcane crusher. The handicap never came in the way of building a fortune in the most ruthless manner.

After establishing himself as the undisputed liquor king in the northern states, he started spreading his tentacles into other businesses. Using his money power to influence governments -- cutting across political parties -- he established his sway over the child nutrition programme run by various state governments.

The supply and distribution of readymade 'nutritious' food -- worth billions of rupees -- began to be monopolied by Ponty in the same way as he did the liquor trade.

If that was not enough to fulfill his lust for money, he diversified into the construction of malls and multiplexes in prime areas in Noida, Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Hardwar.

Clearly knowing which side of the toast to butter, he could cultivate sworn political rivals like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati or opposing political parties like the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party.

It was no surprise that he was rewarded with two new sectors carved out for him along National Highway 24 in Noida during the Mayawati regime.

During Mayawati's fourth stint as UP chief minister between 2007 and 2012, Ponty Chadda made inroads into the sugar industry. Using his clout with Mayawati, he took over nearly half a dozen 'sick' state sugar mills, put up for privatisation by the UP government.

No sooner did the Samajwadi Party bounce back to power in UP this year, Ponty wasted no time in regaining Mulayam Singh's favour, to once again manipulate and influence key government policies to his pecuniary advantage.

His insatiable craving for wealth and more wealth ultimately became his nemesis on Saturday afternoon.

The above is from Rediffmail

Shows explicitly the connection between criminals, politicians and businessmen.

EVERY SEED OF POMEGRANATE WHICH GOES IN YOUR STOMACH IS A SEED OF LIFE FOR YOUR HEART!!!

From: dr. thahira kukkady Date: Sun, Jul 29, 2012

Two things are full of benefits for the human being, lukewarm water and pomegranate.

Pomegranate is a seasonal fruit in Pakistan & India so I tried an experiment with dried pomegranate seeds.

I prepared a decoction boiling the fistful of dried seeds in half liter of water for 10 minutes, squeezed the seeds, strained the decoction and advised those patients suffering from painful angina to use a glass of lukewarm decoction on an empty stomach in the morning.

Amazing result was observed, the decoction of dried pomegranate seeds worked like a magic, the feelings of tightness and heaviness of chest and the pain had gone.

It encouraged me to try more experiments on all types of cardiac patients so I tried other experiments on patients who were suffering from painful angina, coronary arterial blockage, cardiac ischemia (insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle) etc., waiting for a bypass surgery. The same lukewarm decoction was used on an empty stomach in the morning. The patients experienced quick relief in all symptoms including painful condition.

In another case of coronary arterial blockage the patient started using half glass of fresh pomegranate juice every day for one year, although all symptoms were completely relieved within a week but he continued taking it for a whole year, it completely reversed the plaque build-up and unblocked his arteries to normal, the angiography report confirmed the evidence.

Thus decoction of dried pomegranate seeds, fresh pomegranate juice or eating a whole pomegranate on empty stomach in the morning proved to be a miracle cure for cardiac patients. But the lukewarm dried seeds decoction proved to be more effective compared to eating a whole pomegranate or fresh pomegranate juice. Use of pomegranate in any way has demonstrated even more dramatic effects as blood thinner, pain killing properties for cardiac patients, lowers LDL (low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol) and raises the HDL (high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol). There are more than 50 different types of heart diseases, the most common being coronary artery disease (CAD), which is the number one killer of both women and men in some countries, and there has been no medicinal cure for this disease.

Many cardiac patients have reversed their heart diseases on my advice using one glass of lukewarm decoction of pomegranate dried seeds, half glass of fresh pomegranate juice or eating a whole pomegranate on empty stomach in the morning. It was the very first real breakthrough in the history of cardiology to successfully treat the cardiac diseases by a fruit.

The more super foods to obtain the even faster results for cardiac patients which are most promising curative and protective agents like fresh raisins, quince, guava, prunes (dried plums), natural vinegar, mixture of grape fruit juice and honey in the morning (empty stomach), basil leaves, chicory leaves, powder of oregano leaves and rock salt in equal quantity (in case the patient is not hypertensive) and sesame oil as cooking oil for cardiac patients.

It is regretted to say that treating the heart patients and bypass surgery has become far more profitable business around the world which has failed to help avert life threatening heart attacks and life time cardiac complications resulting in almost paralyzed life. A regular use of pomegranate in any way ensures a healthy cardiac life, thinning your blood, dissolving the blood clots and obstruction inside the coronary arteries, maintains an optimal blood flow, supports a healthy blood pressure, prevents and reverses atherosclerosis. (Thickening of the internal lining of the blood vessels) from whatever I experienced and observed in last several years, I can say:

“A pomegranate a day keeps the cardiologist away” you can try and see the wonder.

The above has been sent by Arun Shroff

Some Important Contact Nos

1. If you see children Begging anywhere in INDIA ,

please contact: "RED SOCIETY" at 9940217816 . They will help the children for their studies.

2. Where you can search for any BLOOD GROUP, you will get thousand's of donor address.www.friendstosupport. org

3. Engineering Students can register inwww.campuscouncil. com to attend Off Campus for 40 Companies.

4. Free Education and Free hostel for Handicapped/Physically Challenged children.

Contact:- 09842062501 &0989406 7506.

5. If anyone met with fire accident or people born with problems in their ear, nose and mouth can get free PLASTIC SURGERY done by Kodaikanal PASAM Hospital .Everything is free.

Contact : 045420-240668,245732 "Helping Hands are Better than Praying Lips"

6. If you find any important documents like Driving license, Ration card, Passport, Bank Pass Book, etc., missed by someone, simply put them into any near by Post Boxes. They will automatically reach the owner and Fine will be collected from them.

7. By the next 10 months, our earth will become 4 degrees hotter than what it is now. Our Himalayan glaciers are melting at rapid rate. So let all of us lend our hands to fight GLOBAL WARMING.

-Plant more Trees.

-Don't waste Water & Electricity.

-Don't use or burn Plastics

8. It costs 38 Trillion dollars to create OXYGEN for 6 months for all Human beings on earth.

"TREES DO IT FOR FREE"

"Respect them and Save them"

9. Special phone number for Eye bank and Eye donation: 04428281919 and 0 4428271616(Sankara Nethralaya Eye Bank).

For More information about how to donate eyes plz visit these sites.http://ruraleye.org/

10. Heart Surgery free of cost for children (0-10 yr) Sri Valli Baba Institute Banglore.

Contact : 09916737471

11. Medicine for Blood Cancer!!!!

'Imitinef Mercilet' is a medicine which cures blood cancer. It is available free of cost at "Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai". Create Awareness. It might help someone. Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai

Category: Cancer

Address:

East Canal Bank Road , Gandhi Nagar Adyar

Chennai -600020

Landmark: Near Michael School

Phone: 044-24910754 044- 24910754 , 044-24911526 044- 24911526 , 044-22350241 044- 22350241

12. Please CHECK WASTAGE OF FOOD

If you have a function/party at your home in India and food gets wasted, don't hesitate to call 1098 (only in India ) - Its not a Joke, This is the number of Child helpline.

They will come and collect the food. Please circulate this message which can help feed many children.

AND LETS TRY TO HELP INDIA BE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN

Please Save Our Mother Nature for

"OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS"

Sent by Subrata Gupta

Weekend Smiles

Prince Harry says to The Queen "I say Granma, I can't find my personal packet of ginger biscuits - have you seen them?"

The Queen says "No dear, I'll ask your grandfather."

"Philip - Have you seen Harry's ginger nuts?"

Prince Philip replies "I think the whole bloody world has seen them by now, Liz!"

An American tourist asked a boat guy in Zanzibar, "Do you know Biology, Psychology, Geography, Geology or Criminology?"

The boat guy said, "No. I don't know any of these."

The tourist then said, "What the hell do you know on the face of this Earth? You will die of illiteracy!"

The boat guy said nothing.. After a while the boat developed a fault and started sinking. The boatman then asked the tourist, "Do you know Swimology and Escapology from Crocodiology?"

The tourist said, "No!"

The boat guy replied, "Well, today you will Drownology and Crocodiology will eat your Assology. I will not Helpology and you will Dieology because of your Badmouthology."

Sent by Arun Shroff

UPA ready for FDI debate without vote: Shinde

New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) The government is ready for a debate to end the parliament row over FDI in retail but will not agree on a vote, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Friday.

"The government is ready for a debate on FDI issue but without a vote. We are working a way out of the logjam," Shinde told IANS.

With the issue of 51 percent foreign equity in retail trade disrupting the Lok Sabha for a second day, the Congress core group −− including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi −− met here to firm up a strategy against the opposition.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Shinde attended the meeting.

The BJP and the CPI−M, backed by the Trinamool Congress, want a debate on FDI under parliament rule 184, which entails voting, to corner the government.

The BJP and CPI−M have charged the government with going back on its assurance that it would consult political parties before moving ahead on FDI in retail.

Informed sources said the government was preparing to counter the opposition's demand and would confront it with proof that consultations were indeed held.

"We will expose their claim," a cabinet minister told IANS.

After the core group meeting, Chidambaram said the government was ready for a debate on FDI but there was no question of agreeing to it under rule 184.

"We are ready for a debate. Where is the question of rule 184?" Chidambaram told reporters.

UPA sources expressed hope the logjam would be resolved by Monday when the prime minister has called an all−party meeting.

On the one hand the government says parliament is supreme and on the other hand the government is afraid to have a debate under rule 184 which allows voting.

Why?

Because the government knows that the majority of MPs are against FDI.

Then why is the government trying to bulldoze it through?

PM rejects BJP's demand on appointment of Sinha as CBI chief

New Delhi, Nov.24 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand to keep the appointment of new CBI Director Ranjit Sinha in abeyance.

In a letter to senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, the Prime Minister said the CBI could not be kept without a head pending the enactment of the Lokpal and "the question of keeping the new appointment in abeyance does not arise."

The Prime Minister added, "The insinuation that appointment was to pre-empt the procedure recommended by the select committee is wholly unwarranted and devoid of any merit. I also refute the suggestion that appointments to this post in the past by UPA Government were motivated."

In a series of tweets, the PMO added, "As you are aware, the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill 2011 is still awaiting passage in the Rajya Sabha. Many changes have been suggested by the Select Committee which are required to be considered by the Government for amendments. After the Bill as amended is duly passed by the Rajya Sabha, it will be returned to the Lok Sabha for further consideration. A premier agency like the CBI cannot be left without an administrative head pending the enactment of the new law."

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill are still awaiting passage in the Rajya Sabha and it was referred to a Select Committee which has tabled its report in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said. (ANI)

The PMO is in the habit of rejecting everything raised by the opposition initially.

Let us recall.

First: 2G scam in 2008

Second: CWG scam in 2010

Third: CVC appointment of Mr P J Thomas in Nov 2010

Finally they have had to eat dust in all the three cases.

Let us forget what the PMO says.

Let us again take the CBI directors appointment to the Supreme Court for it is only then will the government understand.

We must not only have an honest CBI head but he should also appear to be honest.

When already there are corruption charges against him for the Fodder case, he should not be appointed.

RTI activist murdered

RTI activist linked with the recent Lokayukta raid on a councillor was hacked to death as his horror-struck wife watched the murder from their first floor home in Vittalnagar in Chamarajpet here in the early hours of Tuesday.

Lingaraju (45) had come down around 6 a.m. as usual to fetch water from a nearby public tap when three armed men — all in their early 20s and their faces masked with woollen balaclavas — pounced on him, hacked him to death and disappeared in the bylanes. Chamarajpet police said that Lingaraju ran the now defunct Kannada tabloid, “Mahaprachanda”. He became a Right to Information (RTI) activist after it folded up. Raid and calls

It is said that he started getting threatening calls after the Lokayukta raided the residence and other premises of a Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) councillor earlier this month.

He apparently bragged about how he had tipped off the sleuths about the councillor’s riches, even claiming that he had got a certificate of appreciation from the Lokayukta top brass. This proved costly, an investigation officer said and added that his wife suspected the hand of the councilor in the murder.

Five police teams have been formed to arrest the assailants. Karnataka High Court on Wednesday treated press reports about the brutal hacking to death of an RTI activist in Bangalore as a suo motu PIL and ordered issue of notice to the city and State police.

A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen appointed senior counsel Hazmath Pasha as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

Lingaraju (40), an RTI activist and a whistle-blower, was hacked to death at Vittal Nagar in Chamarajpet by three unidentified persons in front of his house last night.

The activist was rushed to a private hospital where doctors declared him dead.

A former employee of Canara Bank, he had launched a Kannada tabloid “Maha Prachanda” but closed it some years ago to become a full-time RTI activist. He also dabbled in real estate and was associated with the Congress Party.

Recently, Mr. Lingaraju had filed a private complaint in the Lokayukta Court against his political rival Govindraju, husband of Azadnagar corporator Gowramma. He had also lodged a complaint with the Upalokayukta against the couple.

On November 9, Lokayukta police had raided Gowramma and Govindraju’s residence and recovered documents relating to property besides assets worth over Rs 16 crore.

Mr. Lingaraju is also reported to have provided crucial documents, during preliminary investigation of the cases involving Gowramma and Govindraju, which subsequently led to the raids, police said.

According to Mr. Lingaraju’s wife, Gowramma had recently approached her through some people to get the complaint withdrawn.

The family has now filed a complaint, alleging that Gowramma and her associates were behind Mr. Lingaraju’s murder, police said.

It seems the government is more interested in protecting the corrupt than in protecting the whistle-blowers.

But then what can you expect of a government and an opposition which is equally steeped and reeking in corruption.

It is now obvious that only Anna and Arvind Kejriwal can save India.

The BJP is just aiming to protect Nitin Gadkari so how can you expect it will fight corruption.

Comparing Shiv Sena with the Nazis

Shiv Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut justified the police action against the two girls from Palghar for their Facebook comments against the shutdown for Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray's funeral.

"Balasaheb's death has been a shock to the entire nation. Sainiks showed tremendous restrain in controlling their emotions," Raut told PTI.

"The bandh was spontaneous and not forced by the Sena. It was because of the love and respect for Balasaheb. Shiv Sainiks were naturally upset at the misuse of the social media to post provocative comments," he added.

Inquiry report expected on Wednesday: Maha govt

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government said the report of inquiry, ordered into the arrest of two girls is expected on Wednesday.

"The inquiry has begun and will look into whether the arrests were warranted and whether the sections applied were correct. Similarly, the probe will also investigate the incident of vandalism in the aftermath," Home Minister R R Patil said.

The government instituted an inquiry headed by the Konkan range inspector general into the matter on Monday and sought a report immediately.

Patil said it would be wrong on his part to comment on the police action when the inquiry was on.

The report of the IG level inquiry in the case is expected on Wednesday, he said.

"The government has taken the incident very seriously," he said, adding more clarity was required in the IT Act to prevent misuse.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan [ Images ] told reporters, "Let the report come, then action would be taken."

The above is from Rediffmail.

Maharashtra was never made what it is by Maharashtrians.

Shivaji may have played a part during the fight against the Mughals but thereafter, it was developed by the British because it had good porting facilities on the Western coast which was nearer to England.

The business in Maharashtra was developed by the Gujaratis, Marwaris and Parsis. By speaking against people of other regions selectively The two imbeciles, Bal and Raj have won the hearts of the Mararthis but it has driven business and other investments out of Maharashtra.

Gujarat has been the net gainer.

Mahaashtrians can afford to be parochial for they have never gone our of Maharashtra as they never required to go out as the rest of India supplied them good opportunities in Maharashtra, because of its location.

I think the time has come for the rest of India to let them know that we run India and not the other way round.

That is if the Congress and BJP have the guts.

The Man who Captured Kasab

This is what Inspector Govilkar, who is now posted to the Mumbai police's Crime Branch told Rediff.com:

I am very happy today. We have proven to the world that we are a legitimate democracy. Even terrorists get the same protection under the law just as every Indian citizen does.

My colleagues used to curse me for saving Kasab. They would say, 'Why did you stop us, we could have beaten him to death -- he deserves it. Do you know the number of people he killed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus?'

Sanjay Govilkar, who was on duty at Chowpatty when Ajmal Kasab and his accomplice Ismail Khan approached them in their stolen car on November 26, 2008.

In the gunfight that ensued, Inspector Sanjay Govilkar shot Khan and injured Kasab.

He witnessed Assistant Sub-Inspector Tukaram Omble struggling and holding onto Kasab's rifle, and subsequently losing his life.

No sooner had he and his colleagues started beating up Kasab with their lathis, Govilkar realised that Kasab would be more valuable alive.

He pleaded with his fellow policemen to stop beating up the terrorist and they took Kasab to the Nair Hospital.

It was only then that the attending doctor realised that Govilkar was bleeding heavily from his back.

The doctors later discovered that the wound was caused by a bullet.

In his anxiety to capture the terrorist, Govilkar had not realised that he had been shot!

A week after the attacks, my superiors congratulated me on keeping Kasab alive. The conspiracy was unraveling and we realised he was the only reason that stopped Pakistan from denying everything like they usually do.

Keeping him alive for four years has kept the pressure on Pakistan. He was allowed every avenue provided by the law to defend himself. This shows what a great country we are.

Diwali might have been on November 13 this year, but for me, today is the real Diwali. Today is the day to celebrate.

I am proud that I was part of the team that caught him alive.

I am proud that I am part of a force that solved the case.

I am proud of my country that treated him by the law and not vengefully.

I am proud to be an Indian.

The above is from Rediffmail.A Ganesh Nadar spoke to Inspector Govilkar who was instrumental in capturing Kasab alive.

Many civilians and security personnel lot their lives.

Unfortunately, no politician lost his life, they never do.

Three government wickets fell at that time.

R R Patil who was the Home Minister of Maharashtra at that point of time lost his job for making an inappropriate statement.

He got his job back after the outcry died down.

Bilasrao Deshmukh who was the Chief Minister at that time lost his job for taking a Bollywood team on a sight-seeing visit to the area.

He was later promoted to the centre.

Shivraj Patel, who was the Home Minister at Delhi lost his job as he was more interested in dressing separately for each time he appeared in an interview. He is still out of madam's good books.

Our Congress party are in the habit of promoting disgraced people.

See how Salmon Khurshid has been promoted although his name is yet to be cleared from the Handicapped Scam.

Lalu Yadav, did not spare his cows. he even ate their fodder.

Salman Khurshid did not leave even the handicapped. His wife's NGO stole their money.

Ajmal Kasab hanged at Pune"s Yerawada Jail

Pune, Nov.21 (ANI): Ajmal Kasab, the prime accused for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, was hanged at Pune"s Yerawada Jail at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday,after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy petition.

According to television reports, the petition was rejected on November 5 after which the Lashkar-e-Toiba operative was shifted from Mumbai"s Arthur Road Jail to Pune"s Yerawada Jail.

The entire process was excuted in complete secrecy, television channels said. President Mukherjee"s rejection came two months after the Union Home Ministry rejected Kasab"s mercy petition.

Kasab and nine other Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists had sailed into Mumbai on November 26, 2008 from Karachi and killed 166 people. (ANI)

At last, the event which all Indians were wanting ever since 26/11 has been done.

I don't understand why it took so long?

It was an open and shut case.

If it takes so long in cases which have occurred under full TV coverage, how can we solve the millions of cases which are piling up in the various courts.

This problem should be seriously thought about.

Further, the alacricity with which our judiciary gives bail to kidnappers, rapists, extorters,murderers just encourages them to further crimes.

No sooner they come out of jail and then continue the nefarious activities for which they were jailed.

If necessary, new jails should be made.

There are 1336 prisons across the country, with Maharashtra having the maximum number (210). Prisons in India are categorised as central jails (111), district jails (293), sub-jails (852), women jails (15), borstal schools (10), open jails (8), special jails (20), and other jails (8). There are no set criteria - that are common to all the states and union territories - for differentiating between these prisons.

The population of India has increased threefold since independence.

Have the number of prisons increased in the same ratio.

Actually, these should have increased five folds since the number of criminals have increased much more than the increase in population.

Before independence our politicians were not criminals.

Now at least 60 % of our politicians have criminal back-ground.

Facebook outrage: 9 arrested for vandalising clinic

Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS) It was unfair, Shaheen Dadha who was arrested for posting a comment on Facebook after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's death said Tuesday as police nabbed nine people for allegedly vandalising her uncle's clinic following her post. The nine, all believed to be from the Shiv Sena, were arrested Monday night.

"Nine people were arrested late Monday night under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rioting and vandalising... We are looking to make more arrests," said an official from Thane's Palghar police station near Mumbai where the clinic was vandalised.

Thane rural police had arrested Shaheen for questioning the shutdown in the city after Thackeray's death Saturday and the subsequent shutdown Sunday for his funeral and cremation. Her friend Renu who had 'liked' the post was also arrested. As debate over the high handedness of the police intensified, Renu, Shaheen and her uncle Abdul Dadha told journalists Tuesday that they had sworn off Facebook and would never post anything on the social networking site. "It is very unfair. I am not scared. But I just want to apologise," is all Shaheen would say.

Traumatised by their experiences, both girls needed much coaxing to talk. After much persuasion, Shaheen did concede that their arrests were unfair and that she never dreamt she would have to go to the police station for her "mistake". Abdul Dadha said his niece was not arrested Sunday night but was only detained at the police station on security grounds. "The formal arrest was made only in the morning (Monday)," he said.

He said his orthopaedic clinic was totally ransacked. He added that he had lost a lot of money and his practice and that nobody was going to pay for the damages. Maharashtra Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal Monday ordered a probe into the arrests.

"An inquiry has been ordered in the case and a report will be submitted by the inspector general of the Konkan range Saturday," Dayal had told IANS Monday. Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju also wrote two emails to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and demanded immediate action. Terming the girls' arrest "blatant misuse of state machinery", Katju also asked why this arrest of a woman was made in Mumbai just for putting up an apparently innocuous material on the Facebook.

He also asked what action has been taken against the "delinquent policemen" and others involved in this high handedness.

The PCI chairman added that if Chavan failed to take action, he would "deem it that you as chief minister are unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged by the constitution to which you have taken oath, and then the legal consequences will follow".

The administration may take all the action they want but this is the second time they have been caught with their pants down.

Who is going to compensate the uncle for the damage done to his clinic?

I would suggest, the Shiv Sena party be made to pay the compensation.

I think it is about time our administration started taking action for damage done to public and private property by political parties.

However, if they would like to do this they would have to remove the police and CBI from the government control.

The government is preparing to pass a highly diluted version of the Lok Pal bill.

Unless the CBI and CVC are removed from government, it is not acceptable.

Cell phone etiquette:

After a very busy, tiring day at the office, the young woman settled down in her seat and closed her eyes as the train departed the station.

As the train rolled out of the station, the guy sitting next to her pulled out his cell phone and started talking in a loud voice:

“Hi sweetheart, it’s Eric, I’m on the train – yes, I know it’s the six thirty and not the four thirty, but I had a long meeting – no, honey, not with that floozy from the accounts office, with the boss. No sweetheart, you’re the only one in my life – yes, I’m sure, cross my heart,” etc., etc.

Fifteen minutes later, he was still talking loudly, when the woman sitting next to him, who was obviously annoyed by his continuous loud blabbing, yelled

"Hey, Eric, turn that stupid phone off, and come back to bed!”

Eric doesn’t use his cell phone in public any more.

Sent by Arun Shroff

Probe ordered into girls' arrest for questioning Mumbai shutdown

Mumbai, Nov 19 (IANS) Maharashtra Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal Monday ordered a probe into the arrest of a 21−year−old girl and her friend for posting comments on a social networking website on the shutdown in Mumbai after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's death.

"An inquiry has been ordered in the case and a report will be submitted by the inspector general of the Konkan range Saturday," Dayal told IANS. Thane rural police Sunday arrested Shaheen Dadha for questioning the shutdown in the city after Thackeray's death Saturday, and the subsequent shutdown Sunday for his funeral and cremation.

Another girl in Dadha's friends' list, who 'liked' the comment, was also arrested. An official from Palghar police station in Thane rural confirmed the arrests of the girls. The official said the girls were released on bail Monday after they were presented in the local court.

Reports here said that both the girls were booked and arrested under Section 295(a) of the Indian Penal Code (for hurting religious sentiments) and Section 64(a) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju Monday criticised the arrests in strong words and requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to suspend the official who arrested the girls.

"I received an email stating that the woman has been arrested for protesting on Facebook against the shutdown in Mumbai on the occasion of the death of Mr. Bal Thackeray. It is alleged that she has been arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments," Katju wrote.

"Hence if the facts reported are correct, I request you to immediately order the suspension, arrest, chargesheeting and criminal prosecution of the police personnel (however high they may be) who ordered as well as implemented the arrest of that woman," Katju said.

The PCI chairman added that if Chavan failed to take action, then he would "deem it that you as chief minister are unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged by the constitution to which you have taken oath, and then the legal consequences will follow".

Katju said that it was absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurt religious sentiments.

"Under Article 19(1)(a) of our constitution, freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right. We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act since under sections 341 and 342 it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime," he pointed out.

This is the Maharashtra that Bal Thackeray created.

Hooliganism.

Now that he is gone, I hope the administration will take action so that another madman by the name of Raj Thackeray does not take his place.

He is in the habit of creating enmity between the different people of India.

The next time he makes this a issue, as he is surely likely to do, to show that he is the true successor of Bal Thackeray, he should be arrested and sent to Patna jail.

It seems the Maharashtra police have become trigger happy in making arrests.

In September, a cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested on charges of sedition (under IPC section 124A), violation of section 66A of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, and the Prevention of Insults of National Honour Act, 1971.

He was released when there was an outbreak of anger against the arrest, all over India.

These girls too were released because of the outbreak of public indignation.

SC issues notice to CBI and Centre on coal scam

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre and the CBI on a plea for a probe by a special investigation team into the alleged irregularities in the coal block allocations.

A bench of justices R M Lodha and A R Dave also sought response from them on a public interest litigation petition seeking cancellation of the licenses granted by the government for coal blocks to various private companies.

The bench, however, refused to stay the licences, which were allegedly granted in violation the of law.

The court asked the government and the agency to file its comprehensive reply on the alleged irregularities in the coal block allocation within eight weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on January 24.

The bench was hearing a PIL filed by various members of civil society including former CEC N Gopalaswami, ex-Navy chief L Ramdas and former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian, seeking a SIT probe into the alleged scam.

They have alleged the ongoing CBI investigation into the alleged coal block scam is not sufficient and only SIT can conduct an impartial probe in the case, in which names of many ministers and their kith and kin have cropped up.

The alleged coal block allocation scam came under judicial scrutiny on September 14 when the apex court, on a PIL by advocate M L Sharma, had directed the Centre to explain if the guidelines on allotting natural resources to private companies were being strictly followed.

Expanding the ambit of judicial scrutiny of the alleged irregularities, the bench today also issued notice to the CBI on a plea for appointment of a SIT and the cancellation of allocation of 194 coal blocks to various companies.

In the fresh PIL filed by members of civil society and NGO Common Cause, the petitioners sought quashing of the entire allocation of coal blocks to private companies, made by the Centre from 1993 onwards.

"The involvement of senior ministers, public servants, different departments of Centre and state governments concerned in the alleged corruption and bribery by beneficiary companies need to be investigated.

"Considering the magnitude of investigation and possibility of involvement of high public offices, including the PMO, and the fact that CBI functions under the same very government it is supposed to investigate, a court-monitored investigation by an SIT is required to ensure proper investigation in the matter," the petition said.

The petitioners alleged that allotment of coal blocks was non-transparent and conducted in an unfair manner in violation of various rules and procedures.

"That investigation of CBI at the instance of CVC is partial and does not cover the full magnitude of the coal scam. The alleged conspiracy in blocking the policy of competitive bidding and the manner in which the screening committee functioned need to be investigated thoroughly, which involves senior ministers including the highest executive office of the country," the petition said.

The way the Congress government is misutilizing the CBI and CVC, to further it narrow agenda, have made the mango people of India lose all confidence on these agencies. Further, the centre has been dragging its feet in getting to the bottom of the Coalgate scam.

This delaying tactics are understandable since many ministers and their kins are involved, including Navin jindal

Navin Jindal is the person who won for you the right for flying the national flag on your car.

He is the person who supports the khap panchayat in haryana in all their decisions. He is the person who has gained the maximum in these Coal mines auction as reported by Zee News.He has filed a case against the news channel.

Monitoring by the Supreme Court is the only solution and we all welcome it.

Have we accepted corruption in public life?

By PROFESSOR K. C. MEHTA

Political corruption was there even during the time of Pandit Nehru. But later a rapid erosion in the selfless dedication of leaders led to the growth of corruption in the entire body politic. National interest became nobody’s business. Welfare schemes turned the biggest source for siphoning off public funds.

Scandals of free India In the post-independence period, only six out of the 14 Prime Ministers had a term of five years or more: Nehru about 17 years, Indira Gandhi 16, Rajiv Gandhi five, Narasimha Rao five, Atal Behari Vajpayee six, Manmohan Singh over eight years to date.

Out of these six Prime Ministers who really matter, five were from the Congress, accounting for 51 years of Congress-led governments. Out of these 51 years, 38 years belonged to the Nehru dynasty. The article gives an overview of corruption during their tenure. All figures are converted to the 2011 price level to make them comparable. The Wholesale Price Index Numbers are used for the purpose.

The following three scandals surfaced during the Nehruvian period. The figures in brackets are the indexed value in 2011:

(i) the jeep scandal (1948) Rs. 80 lakh, (Rs. 36.52 crore)

(ii) the Mundra scandal (1958) Rs. 1.20 crore (Rs. 47.73 crore) and

(iii) the Dharma Teja loans Rs. 22 crore (Rs. 785.32 crore).

The total indexed value in 2011 would be Rs. 869.57 crore.

Indira Gandhi’s tenure was tainted with

(i) the Nagarwala scandal (1971) Rs. 60 lakh, (Rs. 11.10 crore)

(ii) the Kuo oil scandal (1976) Rs. 2.2 crore (Rs. 24.80 crore)

(iii) the cement scam : Donations for the Indira Pratishthan Trust collected by Antulay Rs. 30 crore (Rs. 208.80 crore).

The total indexed value would be Rs. 244.70 crore.

Rajiv Gandhi’s term is known for the Bofors scandal of Rs. 64 crore in 1987 (Rs. 313.72 crore).

Narasimha Rao’s regime saw many scandals:

(i) the Lakhubhai Pathak pickles scam (1984) $1,30,000 equivalent at the then conversion rate to Rs. 22.75 lakh (Rs. 7.79 crore)

(ii) the sugar import scam (1994) Rs. 650 crore (Rs. 1627.99 crore)

(iii) the Sukhram telecom scandal (1996) Rs. 3.6 crore (Rs. 12.33 crore)

(iv) the C R Bhansali scam (1998) Rs. 1,100 crore (Rs. 2,438.60 crore) and

(iv) the fertilizer scam (1996) Rs. 133 crore, (Rs. 294.85 crore). The total indexed value of these scams comes to Rs. 4,381.56 crore.

Vajpayee’s BJP-led government was also not free from scandals:

(i) the Kargil coffin scandal (1995) $1.87 lakh equivalent at the then conversion rate to Rs. 80.64 lakh (Rs. 1.87 crore) and

(ii) the Barak missile scandal $80.64 lakh equivalent at the then conversion rate to Rs. 36.29 crore (Rs. 66.13 crore). The total indexed value would be approximately Rs. 68 crore.

The government of Manmohan Singh, whose personal integrity is doubted by none, is mired in a cobweb of corruption:

(i) the Scorpene submarine deal (2006) Rs. 500 crore (Rs. 685.80 crore)

(ii) the cash-for-votes scandal Rs. 50 crore (Rs. 59.95 crore)

(iii) the 2G Spectrum (2010) Rs. 1,76,000 crore (Rs. 1,89,200 crore) and

(iv) the Commonwealth Games scam Rs. 8,000 crore (Rs. 8,599.99 crore). The total indexed value of corruption so far is Rs. 1,98,546 crore.

All these scandals directly or indirectly involved Cabinet Ministers of the then Prime Ministers.

These figures do not include black money stashed away by politicians and bureaucrats in numbered accounts outside India. It is well known that after a substantial reduction in the marginal tax rate from 97 to 30 per cent, the incentive for accumulating black money amongst business and industry has disappeared and the major hoards of black money abroad are by corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, smugglers, drugs-traffickers, etc.

According to a White Paper brought out by the government of India, the black money stashed away in Swiss banks by Indians stood at Rs. 9,295 crore during 2010. According to FICCI, by July 2012 this figure stood at Rs. 45 lakh crore. CBI Director A. P. Singh, in his address to the Interpol Global Program on Anti-corruption and Asset Recovery, said such amount stood at $500 billion. His statement came up before a case in the Supreme Court in February 2012. These estimates exclude money stashed away abroad as valuables in Safe Deposit Boxes, a recent innovation by Swiss banks to overcome international treaties.

On the one hand, there are greedy politicians grabbing public money in truckloads and, on the other, there are 10 crore families below the poverty line who do not have sufficient food, drinking water, shelter or clothes to cover their bodies. It is strange that these unfortunate fellow countrymen continue to look to our leaders for ameliorating their living conditions.

Vote them out

Anna Hazare tries to awaken the people against corruption. But he was talking to dead mutton. Can one man eradicate corruption in India? Unless people rise in revolt against this demon and punish the corrupt by refusing to vote for them, a time will come (if it has not already) when we get used to the debased public life.

(Professor K. C. Mehta, former Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Finance, MS University of Baroda, can be contacted at kcmehta_75@yahoo.co.in)

A very informative article.

However, I feel that he may have missed out some of big scams like Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh but that may have been because no minister was involved in those.

He has also left out the state scams in Maharashtra and UP, Bihar, Andhra and Jharkhand where Ashok Chavan, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh. Lalu Yadav, Y S Rao Madhu Koda were involved.

Although the Congress was not directly involved but these august personalities were shored up by the Congress with the help of a pliant CBI.

The BJP is no better at the way they have supported the Reddy brother and Yeddurappa in Karnataka and its past president Bangaru Laxman and present president Nitin Gadkari, caught in scandals.

Vendor to booze baron, on back of patrons How Ponty rose & rose

Nov. 17: Till he was nearly 40, Ponty Chadha was a physically challenged street vendor, selling snacks from a trolley with father Kulwant in front of a country liquor shop in Moradabad, western Uttar Pradesh.

A decade and a half later, Ponty and his two brothers were running an estimated Rs 12,000-crore business empire of distilleries, malls, multiplexes, real estate, hotels, bars, sugar and paper mills, poultry and movies.

Industry sources say it all became possible because of Ponty’s knack for making friends among powerful politicians across the spectrum, exemplified by his closeness to both Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Ponty recounted in a recent interview how his family had lost hope in him after an electric shock he suffered as a boy left one of his arms paralyzed and the other partially inactive. Now, he said, his family thought that “the empire I have built would last through several generations”.

This is how the Chadhas climbed the business ladder:

Amarinder aid

By 1995, the family had saved enough to buy the liquor shop at hometown Moradabad in front of which Ponty sold snacks. As the business grew, Ponty began cultivating the association of politicians.

In 2002, he gained his first big political patron in Punjab’s then Congress chief minister Amarinder Singh. For the next five years until the Akalis came to power, the Chadhas monopolized Punjab’s liquor trade by bagging the sole liquor distribution rights in the state.

Mulayam’s man

Ponty turned towards Uttar Pradesh in 2003 after Mulayam became chief minister. Friends and associates said that after a few meetings, Mulayam, with his keen eye for potential fund-raisers, was convinced that it was worth investing in Ponty.

The Chadhas took control of more than half the liquor outlets in the state. Surprisingly, they also bagged a Rs 3,000-crore contract to supply grains for the state government’s Integrated Child Development Scheme, and entered the real estate and multiplex businesses, acquiring prime land in Lucknow and Noida.

Maya & Dalits

Ponty’s biggest coup, perhaps, was winning over Mulayam’s arch-foe Mayawati as soon as she came to power in 2007. Quick to sense which way the wind was blowing, Ponty had begun cozying up to the Bahujan Samaj Party chief shortly before the Samajwadi Party government was voted out.

He pulled it off by helping one of Mayawati’s pet projects of Dalit empowerment.

The liquor vends in western Uttar Pradesh were at that time in the grip of the upper castes and the Other Backward Classes. The Dalits and the most backward castes (MBCs) eked out a living as farm hands or construction workers, breaking stones and carrying them to distant places on their heads.

Mayawati ordered Ponty to sub-contract the liquor vends to her electoral constituents in the villages and towns, and he did it over the protests of the upper castes and the OBCs.

The Dalits and MBCs say that if Mayawati guaranteed them the opportunity to vote without fear and coercion, Ponty “liberated” them. The sub-lease on the liquor vends allowed them to earn decent money, opening up a passageway to education, better jobs and social respectability.

‘Ponty tax’

In 2009, Mayawati gave Ponty the sole liquor distribution rights across India’s most populous state, allowing him to monopolize a huge market — selling brands from Blender’s Pride and Signature to the poor man’s pouches, tantalizingly named Rangeeli, Maikhana and Nasheeli Jawani.

“Ponty Chadha had the final word on the type or volume of liquor that companies other than his would supply to the retail outlets. He even dictated the prices,” a liquor trader in Lucknow said.

In 2010, Ponty stopped the state’s liquor shops from selling any Indian rum other than a brand launched by one of his distilleries that year.

Business rules and norms were insouciantly flouted. Ponty levied an extra Rs 15 to Rs 25 on every bottle or pouch — it was called “Ponty tax”. Mayawati made sure the private tax was returned to her in political kind.

Ponty became synonymous with liquor — so much so that sozzled guests in Uttar Pradesh’s raucous parties were told: “Arre, tum pe to Ponty chad gaya hai (you are high on Ponty).”

Sugar ’’ spice The Chadha Group, which later became Wave Inc with Ponty as chief managing director and chairman, launched real estate projects in Noida, Greater Noida, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly, Moradabad and Lucknow since 2008-09. The group has built the 152-acre city centre in Noida.

Ponty’s last big bang endeavour was floating the Wave Infratech mixed-use project in Noida. Sprawled over 40 million square feet, it has been billed as India’s largest realty project.

PTI said Ponty produced the film Jo Bole So Nihaal and distributed movies such as Kahaani, Murder 2 and No Entry in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The group runs a bottling plant for an international soft drinks company besides three distilleries in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

It has also branched out into sports, winning the Delhi franchise of the Hockey India League.

In 2010, when Mayawati sold loss-making state sugar mills, Ponty got three of them on a long lease in a deal that prompted Opposition allegations of a Rs 124.70-crore loss to the exchequer.

The Samajwadis made it a poll plank. When Akhilesh Yadav became chief minister, many competitors thought gleefully that Ponty had finally run out of luck.

Akhilesh too

Ponty’s critics were, however, shocked when they saw Ponty’s son get off a plane along with a Mumbai industrialist to attend Akhilesh’s swearing in. A state government official said that given the venue was sealed and sanitized, Ponty’s son couldn't have turned up uninvited and that too in a private aircraft.

The Ponty-Samajwadi connection was re-established when the Akhilesh government renewed the three-year contract — now worth Rs 10,000 crore — to supply food and nutrients for the state’s Integrated Child Development Scheme.

The Samajwadi poll manifesto had promised a probe into the sugar mill controversy but Akhilesh refused to order one.

Uttar Pradesh remained Ponty’s principal foraging ground though he branched out to Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand — with “friends” in every party.

The nexus between politicians, businessmen and criminals which has always been nferred is out open in the above case history.

The income tax department should immediately be called in to find out what income tax the man paid in 15 years while building his empire from scratch to 12000 crores.

If you have noticed, the Punjab police personnel were doing guard duty for both Ponty and his brother. So what we saw was one lot of Punjab policemen firing on another lot of Punjab policemen, to protect criminals for you can rest assured that no person could legally have amassed RS 12000 crores in just 15 years.

Further, what donation he made to the coffers of Mulayam Singh, Akhilesh Singh, Mayawati and Amarinder Singh.

Further, since Prakash Singh Badal must have given the licence to his own crony after 2002, the new licencee should also be probed.

Where whistleblowers are hounded out

When Haryana’s top land registration official, Ashok Khemka, decided to probe Robert Vadra’s land deals in the State, he perhaps never anticipated the kind of animosity that his actions against Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law would generate within the government. Or, maybe he did, but went ahead nevertheless, hoping that a proactive media would serve as his force multiplier and help him take on the opposition. In all the 40-odd postings that he has had so far, Mr. Khemka never got the kind of wild publicity that his investigation of Robert Vadra’s property empire did. Conversely, never before did he encounter the almost immediate threatening calls and complaints against him from obscure employees and their relatives, against whom he had initiated disciplinary action years ago. He believes the complaints are motivated and at the behest of ‘vested interests’ who have been harmed by his actions.

Because before Mr. Khemka, there was Sanjiv Chaturvedi in Haryana. An officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS), his saga of unearthing scams in every place of posting and the inevitable repercussions has become a case study in leading officer-training academies of the country. Today he is a sought after speaker on ‘Anti-corruption Strategies’ for probationers at the IAS, IPS and IFS training academies. But some of the cases registered against him, after he began taking action against questionable activities in the Haryana Forest Department, continue to dog him.

Mr. Chaturvedi started out with the 2nd rank in the all-India IFS examination and two special medals for excellence in training. He ran into trouble in his first posting in 2005, in Kurukshetra, when he objected to the digging of a canal and destruction of habitat in the Saraswati Wildlife Sanctuary, because a Supreme Court ruling of 2000 bans construction of canals inside a sanctuary without its permission. He was given a severe warning and posted out. At his next posting, in Fatehabad, he stopped the flow of public funds to a herbal park being established on private land belonging to an associate of the then State Forest Minister. He was suspended in August 2007 for insubordination and also served a charge sheet for dismissal from service. This was reversed five months later, by a Presidential order that termed the grounds for his suspension as “unjustified.”

In 2009, Mr. Chaturvedi went on to expose large-scale bungling in plantation projects funded by the Centre and international agencies in Jhajjar and Hissar divisions. On the basis of his evidence, around 40 field staff were chargesheeted and since the scandal broke in the midst of the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s son, Deepender Singh Hooda, in whose constituency Jhajjar falls, was hugely embarrassed.

Mr. Chaturvedi was again chargesheeted but was cleared by a rare intervention by the President in January 2011. And on the recommendations of the CBI and the CVC, the Ministry of Environment and Forests asked the Haryana government to hand over the matter to the CBI for investigation. This has not been done so far.

However, five months after Mr. Chaturvedi suspended the foresters, one of them, a range officer named Sanjiv Tomar, was found dead at his home in Jhajjar. The police lodged a case against Mr. Chaturvedi for abetting suicide, even though Tomar’s father, Ram Pal Tomar, in his complaint before the police had recorded that his son had died due to other reasons. An internal police inquiry too found no evidence to implicate Mr. Chaturvedi but the inquiry report was not filed before the trial court. In January, at around the time that the Centre recommended a CBI enquiry into the Jhajjar fake plantations, Ram Pal Tomar did an about turn and stated before the IG of Police, Rohtak that his son had committed suicide because he had been suspended by Mr. Chaturvedi. The case was reopened.

Mr. Chaturvedi was, meanwhile, cleared for Central deputation, but the State government did not relieve him on the ground that criminal cases were pending against him. He was relieved by the Central government against the wishes of the Haryana government, and in June took over as the Chief Vigilance Officer of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Delhi.

There are six Vigilance enquiries and police cases that he is still battling in Haryana. With his case as a precedent, the perception that the Haryana government is harsh on whistleblowers has strengthened.

It also explains why Mr. Khemka, when asked whether he would like the government to provide him security against the threats that he is getting, replied, “I do not need security, but would like a fair and quick investigation into these threats and an in-depth probe to find out if a conspiracy is being hatched against me by instigating people to lodge complaints.”

In the past few days, Mr. Khemka has received two threatening calls from Umed Singh, a former employee of the Haryana Housing Board who was dismissed by him in 2006 when he was administrator of the Board. On his complaint, the police arrested Umed Singh from Gurgaon. The man is a history-sheeter who was penalised once before for beating up an executive engineer. Mr. Khemka’s own order of 2006, dismissing him from service, sheds more light on the clout and reach of the man. “Three senior officers of the board made excuses to avoid conducting an inquiry against Umed Singh due to his ill-reputation. One of them even preferred to pay a minor penalty for not doing the assigned duty of conducting an inquiry against Umed rather than being a party to record inquiry against him… There is mortal fear of Umed among senior supervisory officers of the board due to his volatile propensity.” His order also noted, “It is unlikely that any officer of the board would tender evidence against Umed due to his infamy of misbehaving and assaulting senior officers at the slightest pretext and then getting away with it”.

Soon after that, a woman complained to the DGP that her husband Jaswant Singh, who had gone missing five years ago after losing his mental balance, had done so because he was dismissed by Mr. Khemka from the Haryana Housing Board. Her unemployed son, Nitin, followed it up with a press conference in a posh hotel run by the Haryana Tourism Development Corporation, where he repeated these allegations.

Mr. Khemka is also facing the ire of his IAS fraternity, as many of them feel that he has violated the rules of conduct that prevent an officer from talking to the media about government action and policy. The other grouse of his superiors is that his action of ordering the cancellation of Robert Vadra’s mutation after transfer orders had been served on him was morally incorrect.

The jury is still out on both these questions, even as it raises some more. How did the media, for instance, become an essential weapon in the arsenal of the present day muckraker? Is it because the inbuilt mechanisms within the government machinery that enable an officer to do his or her job with integrity have become rusted and don’t work anymore? In Haryana, the answer is mostly in the affirmative.

The above has been written by CHANDER SUTA DOGRA for The Hindu.

Off hot seat, Bush buys but Pratibha seeks

New Delhi, Nov. 16: When George W. Bush wanted a post-retirement home, he had to buy one for $3 million.

When Pratibha Patil wanted a bigger government bungalow, the Centre scurried to sanction the building of extra rooms at its own cost.

America does not provide ex-Presidents with official accommodation and sticks to the rulebook. India, which does allow the perk, has been only too happy to change the size regulations on Patil’s demand.

The former President, who lives with her husband, son, daughter-in-law, daughter and son-in-law, had found the 2,000sqft Pune house allotted to her too small. She sought an additional 2,500sqft.

Sources said the urban development ministry forwarded her application to the home ministry, which has given an in-principle approval to making the necessary changes to the rules.

Under the President’s Pension Rule, 1962, former Presidents are entitled to a Type 8 bungalow on a par with cabinet ministers. If they prefer to live in a place without such bungalows, they are to be given the highest type of government accommodation available.

If the place lacks any suitable government accommodation, a leased house with living area not exceeding 2,000sqft is to be allotted.

Controversy began dogging the subject of Patil’s retirement home even before she stepped down on July 24. After she decided to live in Pune, the urban development ministry arranged a plot in a defence area and fixed a Rs 7-crore budget for construction of the house.

Two Raj-era bungalows were demolished to open up a 6.5-acre (2.6 lakh square feet) plot, where a 4,500sqft house was to be built. Patil was forced to give up the house after a group of ex-servicemen filed a PIL arguing no former President was entitled to such a huge house.

The ministry then chose a four-bedroom, 2,000sqft house in Pune belonging to the Maharashtra PWD. Patil now stays in a Type 8 bungalow in Delhi, waiting for the Pune house’s renovation to be complete. Sources said this could take another six months.

Type 8 bungalows, most of them built by Lutyens himself, have no fixed size: their compounds vary from one acre to six acres and floor area from 2,500sqft to 10,000sqft. The one where Patil now stays is among the smaller Type 8 bungalows, with a plinth area close to 3,000sqft.

No other former President has been involved in such controversy. The first and second Presidents, Rajendra Prasad and S. Radhakrishnan, had returned to their personal homes in Bihar and Chennai after retirement. So did V.V. Giri and Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.

R. Venkataraman went back to Chennai for a while before returning to Delhi to spend his last days.

“The trend of former Presidents moving into government accommodations in New Delhi has been seen only in the past several years,” an official said.

Zail Singh, Shanker Dayal Sharma, K.R. Narayanan and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had all moved into government houses in New Delhi, settling for the specified Type 8 bungalows.

As for Bush, he lives in an affluent neighbourhood at Preston Hollow, Dallas County, Texas. The 8,501sqft house, which sits on a 1.1-acre plot, backs up into a creek.

The above is from Rediffmail.

It is only in the fitness of things that the most corrupt government since independence should have had the most corrupt president to rule over it.

Like the Wills Add - :Made for Each Other.

Pratibha Patel has been in the eye of controversy right from the time she filed her nomination for presidency and she continues to hog the limelight for her greediness. And the government continues to concede her demands.

I suppose the government cannot refuse her as she probably is aware of many chink in their armour for she must have been party to many of their nefarious decisions.