New Delhi, The government on Wednesday claimed that political parties were in the know of the move to refer the Lokpal bill to a select committee and that leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was consulted on its composition. "The committee was drawn up after consultation," parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal said. The government claimed that there might have been a gap in communication within BJP as party MPs protested the move while Jaitley sat without intervening. Jaitley contested the government's suggestion that he was on board, saying that he had only been informed about the move to refer the bill to a select committee. "I was not consulted, the ministers merely told me about the government's plan," he said. He also said that when Bansal met him, he had told the minister that he intended to "raise objections with relation to the incompetent amendment to refer the bill to a select committee". He pointed out that in the House, he had asked the government to be upfront about its intent rather than getting a Samajwadi Party MP to move the amendment. Speaking to the media, Bansal said all parties were consulted over the composition of the ...
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New Delhi, Had internet been there, the Emergency of 1975 would have been a "fiasco", said Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley Thursday as the upper house of parliament took up a debate on a motion to annul a set of government's rules on internet. A motion to annul the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, moved by P. Rajeeve of the Communist Party of India-Marxist was taken up by the Rajya Sabha in the morning. The rules, enforced in April 2011, have been perceived largely as an indirect censorship of internet content. The set of rules require that all intermediaries, which includes all those who provide internet, telecom, e-mail or blogging services, and cyber cafes, have to remove content that is "grossly harmful, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically objectionable, disparaging, relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling, or otherwise unlawful in any manner whatever". Participating in the debate, Jaitley pointed out that the 1975 Emergency would have failed if internet had been there. "If internet had been ...
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Guwahati, Emulating his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday announced plans to start a TV channel by his government that will present the "official" side of stories. Talking to reporters here, Gogoi accused the electronic media of going "hyper" and not being "impartial" in its reporting and said a government-owned channel will help to bring balance. "We will start a government TV channel. While newspapers are more or less objective in their news reporting, the coverage given by TV channels is biased in many instances and I believe in freedom of speech, but we also have to give our views," he said. Asked if his government's plan is an emulation of Banerjee, Gogoi said on a lighter note: "I will follow Mamata." The chief minister criticised local TV channels on their reportage during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's one-day trip to Guwahati on April 20. The banned ULFA had called for a state-wide bandh in protest against Singh's visit. "The channels created an impression as if Assam runs on the writ of ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah. What are the channels trying to prove by sending this kind of message?" Gogoi ...
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Chennai, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has told DMK chief M. Karunanidhi that a suitable outcome would be reached on the Sri Lankan issue soon, according to her letter released Monday. Acknowledging the DMK's chief March 9 letter, Gandhi in her letter dated March 15, copies of which were released to the media by the DMK here, said: "I have been informed that the government is fully aware of the important issues involved and is engaged with all parties to find a just solution." "I believe the prime minister is writing to you in this regard. I hope that a suitable outcome is reached soon," she said. Amid increasing pressure from coalition ally DMK, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday assured parliament that India was "inclined" to vote in favour of a UN resolution over Sri Lanka's "war crimes" and hoped it will ensure the Tamil community in Sri Lanka "equality, justice and self-respect". Karunanidhi was quick to welcome the prime minister's assurance, describing it as "a victory for the Sri Lankan ...
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New Delhi, The BJP is all set to corner the government over the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha with Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley to seek suspension of question hour to discuss the anti-graft legislation. According to Times Now, Arun Jaitley will raise the issue in the Upper House under Rule 257, which will allow the opposition to question the fiasco in the last session. The government had on Monday said that it will pursue the contentious Lokpal bill in the budget session of Parliament. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the winter session last year but got stuck in the Rajya Sabha, where the United Progressive Alliance government is short on numbers. ...
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New Delhi, Dismissing China's objections to Defence Minister A.K. Antony's recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India Monday said the defence minister has the right to visit any part of the country and protested against any outside interference. "Arunachal Pradesh is a part and parcel of India. The defence minister is entitled to go anywhere in the country he considers necessary," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters here. The question of any country raising objection does not come into consideration, said Krishna. Antony, who visited Arunachal Pradesh Feb 20 for the Silver Jubilee celebrations of its statehood in state capital Itanagar, called the Chinese comments "objectionable". "It's most unfortunate. It's really objectionable because Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India," Antony told reporters here Monday. Objecting to the Indian defence minister's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei had Saturday asked "India to work with China to maintain peace and stability in border areas". Hong had asserted that China advocated seeking a fair and rational solution through equal and friendly negotiations, ...
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New Delhi, Defence Minister A K Antony has hit back at China for its shocking objections to his visit to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. "I was surprised at this reaction. This is unfortunate and really objectionable," Antony said referring to China, which has pricked India time and again by various means over the territorial claims along the border with India. Antony said he has the right to visit any part of his country and has been visiting Arunachal Pradesh since 1984. "I have the privilege of visiting Arunachal Pradesh since 1984 and I am happy to see the progress of the state and Arunachal Pradesh is progressing well," he said. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted saying on Saturday "India should refrain from taking any action that could complicate the border issue." India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna had also reacted sharply to the China remarks and said it took the matter seriously. China earlier had objected to Tibetan exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh earlier. The northern border of Arunachal Pradesh follows the McMahon Line, a border delineated in the Simla Accord that ...
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New Delhi, Amid China's renewed assertion of its claims over Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi comes here Wednesday for wide-ranging talks that will set the stage for Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit here for the BRICS summit that New Delhi will be hosting this March-end. Yang will hold the annual dialogue with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. The two ministers are expected to review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and firm up the agenda for the visit of the Chinese president's bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the margins of the BRICS summit, government sources told IANS. India will host the leaders of the five emerging economies of BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- here March 29. Hu last came to India in 2006. Yang comes to India barely weeks after Krishna went to Beijing early this month to inaugurate the new Indian embassy building in the Chinese capital. During the talks with Krishna, senior Chinese leaders and officials had sought India's support to ease the Tibet crisis in the wake of a spate of self-immolations in the country. The Tibetan issue is expected to ...
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Washington, As India officially took up the issue of popular TV show host Jay Leno’s objectionable depiction of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a US based Sikh rights group lodged a complaint with Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Indian Deputy Chief of Mission Arun Kumar Singh met US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake Tuesday and conveyed India's objection to Leno passing off a visual of the Golden Temple as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's vacation home. The Indian mission has also written a "strong letter" to NBC, which broadcast Leno's "The Tonight Show" featuring the joke Thursday. Meanwhile, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has lodged a complaint with the broadcasting regulator FCC against Leno’s objectionable depiction of Golden Temple. The SFJ complaint filed with Joel Gurin, bureau chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at FCC, states that “Jay Leno’s depiction of Golden Temple as the home of the rich is racist, derogatory, defamatory, contrary to the reality, inimical to the principles of Sikhism, and thus hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community”. The complaint demands imposition ...
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Chandigarh, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley Tuesday said author Salman Rushdie should have been allowed to come to India and given police protection. “He came to India during the Vajpayee government...Obviously, he should have been allowed,” Jaitley, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, told reporters here referring to Rushdie calling off his visit to the Jaipur Literature Festival due to security fears. Jaitley slammed the Congress government in Rajasthan for a "fake" police report to prevent Rushdie's visit. “Even if there was a threat, protection should have been given,” he said, adding that the Rajasthan government faked a police report to claim a threat to Rushdie's life. “First you misled Salman Rushdie by a fake police report so that he does not come, now I have read in paper that he may or may not be allowed to do the video conferencing,” he said. "I believe the state government, under any law, does not have the right to stop videoconferencing," he said. According to reports, the Rajasthan government initially was reluctant to allow a videoconference by Rushdie at the Jaipur Literature Festival. The organisers, ...
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New Delhi, Targeting the strained relations of the Congress party with its chief ally the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley has said that the UPA Government was searching for a new ally. "Congress is not sure about its alliance of West Bengal (TMC), so they have decided to use the assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh to find a new alliance partner. The central government is playing mean politics it is not sure about its alliance with one partner then they begin the search of another partner," Jaitley told the media here. The alliance of the TMC and the Congress had run into trouble on several issues like the passage of bill for the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the domestic retail market and the Lokpal Bill. Strains were visible during the parliamentary debate on the anti-graft Lokpal Bill , when TMC did a volte-face and opposed certain provisions in the government-draft of the legislation. Despite several attempts by the government, the TMC has so far refused to budge from its stand on the issue, leaving the Congress party unhappy. The TMC and Congress have voiced their differences on several platforms in the recent past on ...
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New Delhi, An Indian military delegation to Beijing under a bilateral defence exchange programme was put on hold after China refused a visa to a senior air force officer from Arunachal Pradesh, media reports said on Friday. Group Captain M Panging was part of the team that was to travel to Beijing on Jan 10 for a four-day defence exchange programme that was reciprocal to one undertaken by the Chinese last month and is part of the confidence building measures between the two South Asian rivals. The reasons for his visa being rejected were not shared, media reports said. The 30-member delegation, led by an Air Vice Marshal-rank officer, from the of the army, navy and air force were to spend time in Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai. According to media reports, the Indian government is trying to settle the issue with its China that lays claim over Arunachal Pradesh and has often denied visa to those hailing from the state despite protests by India. Earlier in 2010, the then Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General B S Jaswal was denied a visa as he was serving in Jammu and Kashmir - a state that Pakistan has made claims over - leading to souring of bilateral ...
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New Delhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley has rubbished the reports over possibility of settlement between the BJP and the ruling Congress party over the controversial issue of Lokpal Bill. Talking to reporters here, Jaitley said: "There is no question of any understanding by which is possible or likely. We and our MPs had submitted a detailed dissent note that has been a well considered document of the party that provides for an independent Lokpal, the appointment mechanism has to be independent." He further asserted that the BJP would intricately analyze the government draft once available. Jaitley also added that the BJP would not accept any flaws in the Ombudsman Bill and would judge the government''s draft with a keen eye. "If the appointment mechanism as is being proposed is government dominated, if CBI is government controlled then Lokpal will itself loose it''s strength and relevance, that is something we are not going to accept and therefore we are going to judge it very closely and at times even harshly the government draft on the yard stick of what we have said in our dissent note," said Jaitley. Earlier BJP had assailed the draft of the ...
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Washington, Naming yet another Indian American to a key administration post, President Barack Obama has appointed Arun Majumdar, an Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, alumnus as the top bureaucrat in the Department of Energy. Announcing the appointment of Majumdar as Under Secretary of Energy along with four other key administration posts, Obama said: "These men and women have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers. "I am grateful they have chosen to take on these important roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come." At over two dozen, Obama administration has more Indian-Americans in high places than ever before with their numbers rising through Clinton and Bush presidencies. By far the highest ranking Indian-American in any presidential administration is USAID administrator Rajiv Shah. According to the White House, Majumdar has served as the Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) since 2009. Previously, he was Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and ...
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