Mamata's ban on most papers at government libraries attacked

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Months of acrimony for army chief and the government

New Delhi:  The furore over Army chief General VK Singh's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that has been leaked is just one among a series of incidents that have severely strained ties between the General and the government in this year.

Here is a timeline of the chain of events that has snowballed into an ugly confrontation between the two parties:

JANUARY 2012
This proved to be the near-climax of the simmering age row issue when General VK Singh dragged the government to the Supreme Court over his date of birth. He thus became the first serving Army chief to have taken this unprecedented step. The General contended that he was born in 1951 vis-a-vis 1950 which found mention in at least two Army records. He held his ID card, service record and promotion files to prove his stand. But the government though held that matters of promotion and seniority of General Singh were based on 1950 as his year of birth, citing two documents with the Military Secretary's branch.

The General had already applied to the Defence Ministry in December 2011 to accept his claim but without success. This was critical as it would decide when the General would retire - if the government had accepted his year of birth as 1951, he would get an additional 10 months to continue in office. General Singh is scheduled to retired in May this year.

The government tried its best to settle the matter outside courts but the row escalat6ed with several former Army officers backing the General's claim. The Centre too refused to budge as it worried that a change in stand would set an unhealthy precedent and affect its critical succession plan.

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

In the Supreme Court, it was Advantage Government as the judges indicated that they were not in favour of entertaining General Singh's petition. He withdrew it and was told to stick to the schedule and retire by May 31, 2012.

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Having already suffered a setback in the court, there was further humiliation in store for General Singh as the government cancelled his two-day official trip to Israel. The Ministry of Defence cited "critical situation in the Middle East" and advised him to go towards the end of the year, knowing fully well that the he would have retired by then.

MARCH 25, 2012
The Defence Ministry again tried to sideline General Singh after it refused to consider his proposal in the appointment of a top military official to the post of Director General of Assam Rifles.

MARCH 26, 2012
The bribe bomb that General Singh dropped this week on the government is being seen as a direct fallout of this acrimony. He alleged that he was offered a Rs. 14 crore bribe in 2011 to clear a deal for substandard trucks by a retired Army Officer.

MARCH 27, 2012
In a further bid to corner the government, General Singh said that he had informed Defence Minister AK Antony about the bribery issue.

MARCH 28, 2012
The controversy was quickly followed by a confidential letter that General Singh had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 12 2012, detailing deficiencies in the military, which was leaked to the media.

The letter reveals highly-sensitive information including how the Indian Army's entire tank fleet does not have critical ammunition as also how its air defence is 97% obsolete. The letter also outlines how the Special Forces are short of essential weapons and the gaps in surveillance and night-fighting capabilities.
MPs cutting across party lines hit out at General Singh for the leak, even as the source of the letter still remains unconfirmed. 

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Sri Lanka government denies UN charge of intimidating activists

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Norway custody row: Indian government and parents reconcile

New Delhi:  After hitting near-crisis mode, India's case to bring back two young children placed in foster care in Norway appears to be back on track. Sources say the agreement to be presented in the Norwegian District Court has been signed by the parents and the uncle under the supervision of Indian authorities. The agreement says one-year-old Aishwarya and three-year-old Abhigyan will be placed in the custody of their father's brother, Arunabhas Bhattacharya.

India has spent three months backing the children's parents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattcharya, in their demand that the children be allowed to come back to India. The children were placed in foster care last May by child welfare officials who decided the Bhattacharyas were unfit parents and their son suffered from an attachment disorder and needed better care. A series of visits by Indian diplomats convinced Norwegian authorities to assess Mr Anurup's brother as a possible care-giver. He has been visiting his niece and nephew supervised by child welfare officials.

But over the weekend, Mr Anurup was quoted by a series of newspapers as saying that he was planning to separate from his wife who is physically abusive. Sources in the Indian government said he had told Norwegian authorities that he would prefer his children to stay there. His brother had also allegedly said that he no longer wanted to look after the children because he was worried of a long legal dispute with their mother if the children were to return to India. That left the Indian government deeply embarrassed and yesterday, it asked its officials in Norway to talk to the Bhattacharyas for a clear understanding of their position. Meanwhile, child welfare officials issued a statement saying that the new family dispute would not allow them to hand the children to the Bhattacharyas or their relatives.

Mr Anurup told NDTV yesterday that his wife and he remain committed to bring their children home with Mr Arunabhas as their legal guardian. The statement will now be put forth to the Stavanger District court that needs to be convinced that it is best for children to return to India with their uncle. With the Indian diplomats backing the parents, the Norwegians will be under pressure again to not make fresh demands to dictate terms that they assess as necessary for children's well being with the uncle.

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Cricket is not a government job, says Sehwag

New Delhi: Less than 24 hours after Team India's exit from the Asia Cup, the players were engaged in their next assignments. Although 'rested' for the Asia Cup, regular vice-captain Virender Sehwag was the first to engage in Indian Premier League (IPL) promotional events. Sehwag was not inclined to talk on his team's recent showing in Australia and Bangladesh, but eventually conceded that performing abroad had become tougher in recent years even for the best teams.

"Every team goes through such phases. Even the mighty Australians have not been an exception. England lost 0-3 in Pakistan. There is always a home advantage, and every team is exploiting that now.  I think our time will come, and results will change for Indian cricket too," Sehwag said.

The IPL thrives on young blood, but Sehwag insisted that age had little to do with performance, before dismissing talk of the seniors' impending retirement. "I think when a player thinks that his time is up, then he should decide on his retirement. As long as the player is enjoying, performing and winning games, he should be allowed to continue.

"It's up to the individual. Nobody can force them to retire. Cricket is not like a government job where retirement age is fixed at 60. A cricketer can retire at 30 or 60; it's up to the player. (Sanath) Jayasuriya played till 42," Sehwag said.

Before signing off, Sehwag admitted that he regrets missing the celebrations of Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international century, having waited for the milestone for more than 12 months.

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Government initiates regular exercise of floor coordination with UPA allies in Parliament

New Delhi:  The absence of a large number of UPA members during voting on President's address today prompted the Government to set in motion in Parliament a formal floor coordination mechanism with allies.

In a move that could lead to cracking the whip, Congress floor managers also announced that explanation will be sought from its members absent in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during voting on President Address yesterday and today respectively.

Nearly 50 members of the UPA, about half of them from the Congress, were absent in the Lok Sabha yesterday and some half a dozen Congress members in the Rajya Sabha today despite a three-line whip issued by the ruling party.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters that he would be writing letters to the members who played truant and seek clarification as to why they were absent.

He said he would also seek details of members from the Upper House who were absent during the debate on the Lokpal bill.

The party leadership could take serious cognizance of the absence of MPs in view of the fact that a three-line whip asking members to be present during the voting was issued.

Several Union Ministers were also absent from the Lok Sabha yesterday during the voting including some from the allies.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar of the NCP and T R Baalu of the DMK were among leaders who attended the formal floor coordination meeting of the UPA convened by Bansal who said such meetings will take place on the mornings of Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

If need be consultations will be held on Monday and Friday too, he said.

Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj had alleged in the Lok Sabha that the numbers on the vote had exposed government's claim of majority.

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Will Mamata vote against the government tomorrow? Unlikely, say sources

Kolkata:  Mamata Banerjee's commitment to her fight against the National Counter Terrorism Centre could be tested tomorrow in Parliament. The head of the Trinamool Congress has field-marshalled a group of ten chief ministers who have opposed the centre's new anti-terror agency on the grounds that it erodes the autonomy of state governments.

Ms Banerjee's party members yesterday moved amendments to "the motion of thanks to the President" for her speech delivered this week to Parliament (the President's address  outlines the government's agenda). In the Lok Sabha, these amendments have been rejected on technical grounds -the wording was incorrect and they were filed too late. But they've been accepted in the Rajya Sabha. The main opposition party, the BJP, has moved similar amendments. So if Ms Banerjee wants to further embarrass the government which she belongs to, her MPs could vote with the BJP and against the ruling UPA. That's not likely to happen, say sources.  

The exit route for Ms Banerjee may come in the form of a protest by her MPs, who could walk out of the House before a vote, demanding financial assistance for Bengal, which is governed by their leader. Ms Banerjee has been asking the centre for 22000 crores; she also wants the centre to suspend the interest the state owes on loans already taken.

Financial assistance is the centre's only hold over Ms Banerjee, whose relationship with the UPA has been in the danger zone for a while now. At a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister last night, Ms Banerjee was missing - she chose to fly to Nagpur instead to attend a wedding. The fact that she deputed a first-time MP, Ratna De Nag, and not one of her senior ministers or leaders was seen as a flat snub to the Congress.

Pointedly, Ms Banerjee deputed two of her union ministers to attend the swearing-in today of the Punjab government, a partnership between the Akalis and the BJP. For the UPA's political rival, Ms Banerjee sent a senior delegation. The Prime Minister's dinner, in comparison, received minimal attention.

At the dinner last night, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that Ms Banerjee's amendments could cost the government heavily - if a vote was held, he warned, the government could lose.

Ms Banerjee's 19 Lok Sabha MPs give her the power to call the shots with the Congress - without her support, the UPA would collapse - and she has held the government and its policies to hostage with increasing daring. She recently forced the UPA to suspend its reforms in retail - the increased Foreign Direct Investment in shops or chains that stock different brands was a move by the Prime Minister and his team to prove wrong allegations of policy paralysis.

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Will Mamata vote against the government today? Unlikely, say sources

Kolkata:  Mamata Banerjee's commitment to her fight against the National Counter Terrorism Centre could be tested today in Parliament. The head of the Trinamool Congress has field-marshalled a group of ten chief ministers who have opposed the Centre's new anti-terror agency on the grounds that it erodes the autonomy of state governments.

Ms Banerjee's party members had moved amendments to "the motion of thanks to the President" for her speech delivered this week to Parliament (the President's address  outlines the government's agenda). In the Lok Sabha, these amendments have been rejected on technical grounds - the wording was incorrect and they were filed too late. But they've been accepted in the Rajya Sabha. The main Opposition party, the BJP, has moved similar amendments. So if Ms Banerjee wants to further embarrass the government which she belongs to, her MPs could vote with the BJP and against the ruling UPA. That's not likely to happen, say sources.

The exit route for Ms Banerjee may come in the form of a protest by her MPs, who could walk out of the House before a vote, demanding financial assistance for West Bengal, which is governed by their leader. Ms Banerjee has been asking the Centre for Rs 22000 crore; she also wants the Centre to suspend the interest the state owes on loans already taken.

Financial assistance is the Centre's only hold over Ms Banerjee, whose relationship with the UPA has been in the danger zone for a while now. At a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister last night, Ms Banerjee was missing - she chose to fly to Nagpur instead to attend a wedding. The fact that she deputed a first-time MP, Ratna De Nag, and not one of her senior ministers or leaders was seen as a flat snub to the Congress.

Pointedly, Ms Banerjee deputed two of her Union ministers to attend the swearing-in of the Punjab government, a partnership between the Akalis and the BJP. For the UPA's political rival, Ms Banerjee sent a senior delegation. The Prime Minister's dinner, in comparison, received minimal attention.

At the dinner on Tuesday night, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that Ms Banerjee's amendments could cost the government heavily - if a vote was held, he warned, the government could lose.

Ms Banerjee's 19 Lok Sabha MPs give her the power to call the shots with the Congress - without her support, the UPA would collapse - and she has held the government and its policies to hostage with increasing daring. She recently forced the UPA to suspend its reforms in retail - the increased Foreign Direct Investment in shops or chains that stock different brands was a move by the Prime Minister and his team to prove wrong allegations of policy paralysis.

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Court wants contract between Indian maid, government

New Delhi:  The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the central government for a copy of the contract signed with an Indian domestic help who was working with a diplomat at the consulate in New York and has alleged that she was ill-treated. The court said the government had to take care of the maid as she was also Indian.

Justice Kailash Gambhir also sought the bank account details regarding the salary given to Shanti Gurung, who has alleged that she was not paid during her stay in New York when she was working with Neena Malhotra, the press counsellor at the Indian Consulate in 2006, and her husband Jogesh Malhotra.

The government had Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to restrain Gurung from pursuing the claim in a New York court.

A New York judge had last month recommended that Gurung deserved nearly $1.5 million for her "barbaric treatment". The proposed award included $500,000 for the "emotional distress" inflicted on Gurung, who was a teenager when she was taken to the US.

Taking note of Gurung's allegation that she had drastically lost weight, Justice Gambhir asked the central government to produce documents pertaining to her health records by March 14, the next date of hearing.

Additional Solicitor General A.S. Chandiok told the court that Gurung was the employee of the central government. "She was the service staff member of Indian consulate employee and the government of India paid her salary."

"Can such an government employee ever be under the jurisdiction of foreign court?" Chandiok asked, saying that the New York court lacked jurisdiction to entertain her complaint.

Justice Gambhir said that as the government of India "you have to take care of the maid also, as she is also an Indian".

Countering Gurung's allegation that she was trafficked to the US against her will, the government's petition said "the fact is she travelled to New York at the expenses of the government of India".

"Gurung also alleged that she was not paid during her stay in New York as service staff to Neena Malhotra. Admittedly, Neena Malhotra was making payments as per mutually agreed terms and conditions in the form of regular transfers into a bank account in India," the petition said.

The government said the couple enjoyed diplomatic immunity and any legal action against them could only be done in Delhi.

Gurung in her complaint in the US alleged that she was made to work without pay. Her passport and visa had been seized, her movements were restricted and she was constantly warned her that if she travelled on her own, without their permission, she would be arrested, beaten and raped.

In her lawsuit, Gurung had alleged that in bringing her over to the US in 2006 on an A-3 visa, Neena Malhotra instructed Gurung to tell the US embassy in New Delhi that she would be paid $7 per hour.

The complaint also said that with a steady deterioration in her living conditions from June 2006, Gurung was required to "perform substantially more duties than had been represented at the time of recruitment".

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Government to lift cotton export ban: Commerce Minister Anand Sharma

Union commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma has said that the government has decided to lift the ban on the export of cotton from India that was imposed last week.

"Keeping in view the facts, the interests of the farmers, interest of the industry, trade, a balance view has been considered by the Group of Ministers to roll back the ban and a formal order will be made public tomorrow by the government," he said.
"The matter of cotton exports has been discussed. MPs from Gujarat had met the Prime Minister and senior MP, Mr Ahmed Patel, Leader of Opposition in Gujarat, Mr Shakti Singh Gohil, CPP President, Arjun Modwalia met me and discussed the issue," he added further.
The decision was taken by the GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, which met on last Friday, after a directive from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "urgently" review the decision.
On March 5, the Commerce Ministry had imposed the ban on cotton exports, which had come under fire from various states, including Gujarat, and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Objecting to the ban, Pawar had said, "They (Commerce and Textiles ministries) kept me in the dark. I came to know about this only after a notification was issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)."

Early last week, the Textile Ministry had said the ban was imposed after taking into account "the trend of domestic consumption and depletion of domestic availability".
It had pointed out that the country had already shipped 10 lakh bales more than the exportable surplus, reducing the domestic availability.
"Almost 94 lakh bales (170 kg each) have already shipped out, against an estimated export surplus of 84 lakh bales," the ministry had said. It feared the exports could reach 100 lakh bales by mid-March with registration of export contracts touching 120 lakh bales so far.
India is the second largest cotton exporter and Maharashtra and Gujarat are the biggest producers of cotton.
Cotton production 340 lakh bales of is estimated during the current season.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Gujarat cotton farmers also met Sharma today, demanding lifting of the ban.
(With PTI inputs)
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Government puts disinvestment in top gear

New Delhi: 

The union cabinet approved buyback of shares for public sector enterprises to meet the daunting Rs 40,000 crore disinvestment target set in the budget of February 2011. The cabinet also cleared cross-holdings among various state-owned enterprises. So far the government has managed to raise about Rs 1,100 crore and is looking to mobilise another Rs 12,500 crore with the offer for sale of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation today.

Here are key highlights:

• Public sector units or PSU boards will decide on implementation of the share buyback. Cash rich public sector companies like Coal India (cash of Rs 45,862 crore, 90 per cent government ownership), Oil and Natural Gas or ONGC (Rs 28,688 crore, 74 per cent government ownership), National Thermal Power Corporation or NTPC (Rs 17,859 crore, 84.5 per cent), Steel Authority or SAIL (Rs 17,747 crore, 85.82 per cent), National Mineral Development or NMDC (Rs 17,228 crore, 90 percent) among others can execute the buyback plan. These companies would purchase government shares using the cash on their balance sheet.

• The Cabinet has empowered a group of ministers to decide on pricing and number of shares that the government would tender in the buyback offer. However, not all public sector companies want to participate. NTPC has expressed reservations since it needs money for funding capacity.

• The government has also approved a cross-holding scheme wherein cash rich state-owned companies or financial institutions like LIC and State Bank of India would buy government holding in other public sector companies. The two financial institutions have agreed to participate in the process. This would allow government to raise money and still maintain an indirect ownership. 

• Buybacks, cross-holdings are a way to increase divestment proceeds. Economists estimate that the government may be able to raise Rs20,000-30,000 crore through this route. The government needs significant non tax revenue to improve the fiscal situation. The fiscal deficit has already exceeded the limit set in budget 2011 and is set to be close to 6 per cent of GDP. This is much higher than 4.6 per cent target.

• LIC has said that it would participate in the disinvestment programme. It would consider buying PSU stocks at attractive prices. The LIC board will take a decision on individual investments and that that the institution has enough cash to participate in the programme.

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Government puts disinvestment in top gear

New Delhi: 

The union cabinet approved buyback of shares for public sector enterprises to meet the daunting Rs 40,000 crore disinvestment target set in the budget of February 2011. The cabinet also cleared cross-holdings among various state-owned enterprises. So far the government has managed to raise about Rs 1,100 crore and is looking to mobilise another Rs 12,500 crore with the offer for sale of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation today.

Here are key highlights:

• Public sector units or PSU boards will decide on implementation of the share buyback. Cash rich public sector companies like Coal India (cash of Rs 45,862 crore, 90 per cent government ownership), Oil and Natural Gas or ONGC (Rs 28,688 crore, 74 per cent government ownership), National Thermal Power Corporation or NTPC (Rs 17,859 crore, 84.5 per cent), Steel Authority or SAIL (Rs 17,747 crore, 85.82 per cent), National Mineral Development or NMDC (Rs 17,228 crore, 90 percent) among others can execute the buyback plan. These companies would purchase government shares using the cash on their balance sheet.

• The Cabinet has empowered a group of ministers to decide on pricing and number of shares that the government would tender in the buyback offer. However, not all public sector companies want to participate. NTPC has expressed reservations since it needs money for funding capacity.

• The government has also approved a cross-holding scheme wherein cash rich state-owned companies or financial institutions like LIC and State Bank of India would buy government holding in other public sector companies. The two financial institutions have agreed to participate in the process. This would allow government to raise money and still maintain an indirect ownership. 

• Buybacks, cross-holdings are a way to increase divestment proceeds. Economists estimate that the government may be able to raise Rs20,000-30,000 crore through this route. The government needs significant non tax revenue to improve the fiscal situation. The fiscal deficit has already exceeded the limit set in budget 2011 and is set to be close to 6 per cent of GDP. This is much higher than 4.6 per cent target.

• LIC has said that it would participate in the disinvestment programme. It would consider buying PSU stocks at attractive prices. The LIC board will take a decision on individual investments and that that the institution has enough cash to participate in the programme.

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