STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Bhubaneswar, 11 July
 The Odisha Power Generation Corporation Ltd (OPGC) took a step forward today by signing a contract for balance of plant Unit 3 and for expansion of its Ib Valley Thermal Station with BGR company today making it ready for commencement of construction activity.
Underling the importance of the contract and the completion of the entire package ~ the first signing for Boiler, Turbine, Generator was done with BHEL earlier ~ Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mahapatra said it was laudable because it comes at a time when there is despondency in the Indian economy.
These are very challenging and turbulent times and public investment of this nature now is very good, he said. We can restore economic growth only by stepping up public investment, he observed.
The chief secretary hoped that the project will be executed expeditiously and it will set a benchmark in safety and environment management. Energy secretary and chairman of OPGC, Mr P K Jena said the corporation had got the best price in terms of contracts that had been awarded to BHEL and BGR. The project will come up at a cost of Rs 4.26 crore per MW which is one of the cheapest, he claimed. The two units will be commissioned by March 2017 he said. Mr Venkatachalam Kuppusami, MD of OPGC said the much delayed project had crossed all hurdles and last year it had successfully obtained the required clearances. The coal block has also been obtained and contracts worth over Rs 4050 crore were sealed this year. The financial closure for Rs 8660 crore has been done with funds from the PFC and REC. US power company AES which is a 49 percent share holder in OPGC will bring in the best available practices to the project, assured the company&’s country head Mr A S Rao.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Raiganj, 11 July
Protesting against relief materials not reaching the flood-affected people, the residents gheraoed the Raiganj SDO Mrs Nandini Saraswati, at the BDO office in Kaliaganj this afternoon.
The agitators also kept the BDO office under lock and key. They dispersed after the SDO reportedly assured them of providing them with the necessary relief materials.
It is learnt that around 10,000 people have been affected in the present flood in Radhikapur gram panchayat in Kaliaganj.
Locals said the BDO was absent when they were waiting for relief in his office premises this afternoon.  “When the SDO Raiganj reached here, we gheraoed her demanding prompt dispatch of the relief materials,” one of the agitators said.
The Congress MLA from Kaliaganj, Mr P N Roy said the water level in Tangan river kept rising at Radhikapur in Kaliaganj since last Monday.
“Already around 15 villages, including Ramganj, Radhikapur, Narayanpur, Chakdulal, Bagda, Bisdanga, Mirjaganj and Kaluhar in the Radhikapur gram panchayat, have been flooded. In the absence of the adequate number of relief centers, the flood-affected people are
being forced to take temporary shelters in a train stranded at Radhikapur station. I have informed the DM of the growing unhappiness among the villagers,” he added.
It is learnt that most of the flood-affected people have not received tarpaulin sheets and any edible items from the administration. However, the administration has sent some speed boats to rescue the marooned people. But locals alleged that such boats are not working. “The BDO is not even attending telephone calls from the distressed people,” an agitator said. The additional district magistrate (general), Mr S W Bhutiya, said the Raiganj SDO had gone to the office of Kaliaganj BDO to ascertain the requirements of the relief materials for the flood-affected persons.
“There was a stir. However, we will send the required relief materials soon,” he added.

Bada Danda yatra is celebrated a day after the one at Puri

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Baripada, 11 July
Thousands of devotees from different parts of the district and beyond thronged Bada Danda at Baripada to participate in the Rath Yatra celebrations today. The uniqueness of Rath Yatra at Baripada is that it is held a day after the festival at Puri. 
Unlike Puri where it is held for a nine day period, the Rath Yatra at Baripada is a 13-day affair. The car festival here is considered second in importance, next only to the one at Puri.
Significantly, it is at Baripada where the trend of women pulling the chariot of Goddess Subhadra had started decades ago. The tradition of only women pulling the chariot of the Goddess was started by the then collector Mr Vivekananda Patnaik way back in 1975, to mark International Women&’s Year celebration. Rath Yatra festivals in several other places have adopted the tradition afterwards.
“It is more than a fair deal for the women of Baripada. Call it women&’s empowerment or a form of reservation, but the Baripada Ratha Yatra is a novel affair where women allegedly get chance to pull the chariot of Goddess Subhadra,” said Mayurbhanj SP Nikhil Kanodia. Senior priest Mr Jayanta Kumar Tripathy said the rituals like “Sakala arati”, “Abkas”, “Bata bandhapana” were performed smoothly before the pulling of the chariots.
Tight security arrangements were made for the festival, with deployment of a total of 23 platoons of police. About 12 platoons of armed forces, 100 home guards, eight inspectors, four DSPs and one additional SP were deployed to ensure a smooth chariot ride for the celestial siblings, sources said.
Besides this, three temporary police outposts were set up at different strategic places of the Grand Road, said Baripada town police station IIC Mr Sudarshan Gangoie.

Tom alter and troupe enthralled kolkatans taking them back to old delhi

Nita Vidyarthi
nitavidyarthi@gmail.com
Kolkata, 11 July
Pierrots Troupe from Delhi enthralled audience with their recent production Lal Quile Ka Aakhri Mushaira at Kalamandir on 23 June. 
The troupe formed in 1989, has acclaimed playwright Dr M Sayeed Alam, known for producing unconventional, original plays in Hindi, Urdu and English. These plays try to liberate theatre from its fixed and rigid mould.
Lal Quile Ka Aakhri Mushaira is actually brought out from the pages of Indian History. 
Set around 1850-1851, the play celebrates Mushaira, a musical congregation, held during the reign of the Mughal Emperor when eminent Urdu poet Bahadur Shah Zafar used to sing in the courtyard of Red Fort. Conceived, produced, directed and written By Sayeed Alam, the Urdu play transported the audience to the mid-19th century in Old Delhi. 
The play opened as the poets gradually assembled on the Chabutra (platform) to take their seats. The emperor is ushered in at the end. 
The Mushaira began on a humorous note with Zauq&’s Laayi hayaat aaye, quaza chali chale, followed by Ghalib&’s Ibn-e Maryam hua kare koi. 
It  continued with the fascinating, charming and enchanting Mere dukh ki dawah kare koi before going to the beautiful nazm bak raha hoon junoon mein kya kya kuch, Na samjhey Khuda Karey Koi, Ibn-e Maryam hua kare koi.
Masterpieces of Mirza Ghalib, Hakeem Momin, Agha Jaan Aish, Mustafa Khan Shouftah, Huzuur, Dagh, Ajurdah, Nishan, and Bahadur Shah Zafar were presented in between conversations by competent actors enacting the legendary shaayaars (poets), with subtle humour and lucidity. 
The actors, clad in period costumes,  imbibed the personal traits of the poets effortlessly. The elegant recitation styles, the Mughaliya mannerisms, the repartees and the interpersonal relationships allowed the audience to travel back in time. 
The director Tom Alter convincingly essayed the character of Ustad Zauq. 
A fine actor, Alter, enthused drama with the beautiful rendition of Aankh padhti hain kahi, Pao Kahi padta Hain of Munshi Krishna.
Equally impressive was Sakhanand&’s anecdote. For those with a penchant for Shaiyerees, the interactive structure of the play regulated by the visually perceived verbal communication of the actors, allowed them to luxuriate in the beauty of the finest poetry immortalised by these Ghalib&’s meaningful Sher woh nahin jisme wah nikalta, accha sher woh jisme Aah nikalta,or Momin&’s famous lines of philosophical detachment Tum mere pas hotey ho goya, jab koi dusra nahin hota.
The final request for poetry was to Tom Alter who began on a lighter note by narrating an anecdote about Badshah Aurangzeb&’s fascination on a Ganeywali Garaz Imtihaney Ishq. 
And the gem of the evening rested on veteran Alter&’s impeccable diction, articulation and soulful rendition of Bahadur Shah Zafar&’s Ya mujhe afsar-e shahana banaya hota and the unforgettable *Roz Mamuaray Duniya mein Kharabi hai Zafar, Aisi basti se to Virana Banaya Hota.
The play was captivating despite the absence of music. 

CORRIGENDUM
Ref. NIT-07/NTKMD of 2013-14 issued by Executive Engineer, New Town, Kol. Mech. Divn., PHE Engineering Dte. Utility Building (Ground Floor) Point-F (near-DPS) AA-ID, New Town, Pin-700135 due to same unavoidable reason the following changes are made in the above NIT please read: Last date of application: 1-8-13 (at 4 p.m.) instead of 12-7-13 (at 4 p.m.), permission 1-8-13 (up to 4 p.m.) instead of 12-7-13 (up to 4 p.m.). Tender paper sale: 2-8-13 (up to 4 p.m.) instead of 15-7-13 (up to 4 p.m.). Submission: 5-8-13 (up to 3 p.m.) instead of 16-7-13 (up to 3 p.m.). Tender opening date: 5-8-13 (at 3-30 p.m.) instead of 16-7-13 (at 3-30 p.m.). Other thing remain unchanged.
Executive Eng.
New Town Kolkata Mech. Divn.
PHE Engineering Dte.
(B0011)         C20243
EASTERN Distilleries & Chemicals Ltd., (A Govt. of W.B. Enterprise), 34, B.L. Saha Road, Kolkata-700053 invites sealed quotation from Electrical Contractors for rewinding of Motors/Pump/Ceiling Fan/Exhaust Fan/Table Fan etc.
The tenderers may contact the A.F.S.O. on any working day from 12 noon to 4 p.m. for inspection within 7 days from the date of publication of this advertisement. The last date of submission of sealed quotation at above address is 30-07-2013. Submissions of documents of PAN No., Sales Tax / VAT No. etc. are essential. The tender should be superscribed “Quotation for Electrical Contactor”.       C20228

KOLKATA
METROPOLITAN
WATER & SANITATION
AUTHORITY
O/o. the Superintending Engineer (GRWW), Ph-I
Bidhangarh, Kol.-66
ABRIDGED TENDER
NOTICE
Sealed tenders are invited for the following work from reliable, experienced, bona fide and resourceful contractors of proven ability, having executed similar type of work during the last 5 (five) years under Govt. / Semi-Govt. / Statutory or local bodies and possessing valid PAN Card, VAT registration and current P.T. Challan.
1. Name of work: Maintenance of landscape gardening including sweeping and cleaning of road surface, drains etc. within SWTP & RWPS Campus for 12 (twelve) months.
2. Tender No.: SE(GRWW) / Ph-I / T-03 of 2013-2014.
3. Estimated Cost: Rs. 6,91,772.
4. Earnest Money: 2% (two per cent) of the total quoted price or 2% of the Estimated Cost whichever is higher in a form as specified in the detailed NIT.
5. Cost of tender paper: Rs. 700 (in cash) for each set.
6. a) Last date of application for tenders: 18-07-2013 up to 3-00 p.m.
b) Last date of sale of tender papers: 19-07-2013 up to 3-00 p.m.
c) Last date of submission of sealed tenders: 25-07-2013 up to 2-00 p.m.
d) Opening of tenders: 25-07-2013 at 2-30 p.m.
7. Detailed NIT may be seen at the office of the undermentioned at the 1st floor of the Administrative Building of Garden Reach Water Works, Bidhangarh, Kolkata-700066 or any working day between 11-00 a.m. and 4-00 p.m.
8. The undermentioned reserves the right to reject / cancel any or all tenders without assigning any reason whatsoever.
Please visit our website at www.kmwsa.gov.in
Superintending Engineer
GRWW, Phase-I
KMW & SA
(B0008)         C20242

NIT NO. 11/B OF
2013-2014
OF THE E.E.I., ALIPORE
DIVISION, PWD
Sealed tender is invited by the Executive Engineer-I for 2 (two) Nos. work from PWD enlisted Class-IV (R&B) contractors & other eligible contractors as per G.O. for renovation of different Toilets at Baghajatin State General Hospital under Baruipur Sub-Division. Last date of application: 22-07-2013 up to 2-00 p.m. All others details available in website: www.pwdwb.in as well as in the office Notice Board.
Sd/-
Executive Engineer-I
Alipore Division (P.W.D.)
(B0001)         C20233

EXECUTIVE Engineer, Burdwan Division, P.W.D., Aftab Club Compound (near Court Compound), Burdwan-713101 invites Sealed Quotation in prescribed form vide N.I.Q. No. 03 of 2013-2014 vide T.O. Memo. No. 2258 / M-76 dated: 08-07-2013 from the Contractors having valid Trade Licence, PAN, Prof. Tax Challan for the year 2013-14 etc. for the work “Caretaking Service including Gardening, Sweeping and Cleaning, House Keeping, Servicing, Guarding, Operation of Main Gate and providing Uninterpreted Power Supply (without A.C.) at Inspection Bungalow (Damodar Bhavan), P.W.D. at Burdwan in the District of Burdwan. Last date of application (with original & 1 set Photo copies of all such documents): 23-07-2013 upto 14-00 hours. Date of submission of Quotation: 26-07-2013 upto 14-00 hours. Detailed downloading may be made from the http://www.pwdwb.in and all other information in this regard will be had from the aforesaid office in any working day.
Executive Engineer-I
Burdwan Division, P.W.D.
(B0004)         C20238

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Rangpo, 11 July
The delegates of All Sikkim Democratic Labour Front (ASDLF), the labour affiliate of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, are reported to have visited the project site of Jal Power Corporation Limited in Jorethang today.
It is learnt that Mr B M Ramudamu, the vice president of the Front along with its general secretary and some other members of the organisation are said to have met the workers to enquire into their problems.
The workers are said to have informed them about the non-payment of the Employees’ Provident Fund receipts since 2007.
The power project employees have also complained about the discrimination being made between the outsiders and Sikkimese workers.
It was informed that the non-Sikkimese labourers are receiving better payment than those from Sikkim.
The locals of Rhotak complained that they are being deprived of the small contractual works with the big construction company cornering them.
It is also learnt that the management of the company has assured to solve the EPF problem in one month. “They also assured that the remaining problems would be solved in due course in consultation with the higher authorities of the company,” one of the delegates said.

statesman news service
Kurseong, 11 July
A 14-month old girl was beaten to death by her father, as he disliked the child on the basis of gender and was also irritated with her constant wailings. This shocking incident was reported at Reang Bazar in the Kalimpong Sub-division in the Darjeeling Hills.
The father, Sanjay Baraily (28), is a resident of Reang Bazar and works as a labourer along the banks of River Teesta. It was learnt that on the evening of 9 July the injured baby was taken to the Rambhi Primary Health Centre. To the enquiries of the doctors, the parents of the child had said that she had been injured in a fall. After a couple of hours of her admission, the child died. The emotionally distressed mother while taking her dead daughter back home could not bear the grief and disclosed the truth to her fellow villagers.
The mother, Pooja Baraily, said that she had two children ~ a three-year-old boy and a 14-month old girl, Priya Baraily. Sanjay disliked the girl child since her birth. Even on simple pretexts he used to beat her frequently. In order to protect her child, Pooja had asked him to stop hitting the baby to which he had replied that he hated her wailings and would kill her one day. Pooja had pleaded with Sanjay to give the baby away for adoption, to which he had refused. She also said that on the evening of 8 July, after her husband returned from his work, he was irritated with his daughter’s wails. He had slapped her hard with his full strength.
Later, on 9 July, at around 7 a.m., before leaving for his work, he again thrashed the baby hard and threw her on the bed. As a result the baby was severely injured and fell unconscious later.
Meanwhile, seeing the condition of her daughter, the anxious mother immediately brought her baby to the nearby Rambi Block Primary Health Centre in the afternoon, where later Priya&’s father also reached. He told the hospital authorities that his baby had slipped and hurt herself. At around 7 p.m., the baby breathed her last. The villagers, on hearing the truth from Pooja, reached the Rambhi police Out Post and narrated the whole incident after which police immediately visited Sanjay Baraily’s house and arrested him on the same night. Yesterday, he was produced before the ACJM Court in Kalimpong, under Section 304 of the IPC, from where he was taken into judicial custody.

Fire at school: Fire broke out at Ranidanga Kalaram High School on Thursday.  The incident triggered panic among the students. However, there is no report of any damage. According to preliminary investigation, the fire was caused due to a short circuit. One fire tender rushed to the spot.
Strike called: The North Bengal state committee of the Rashtriya Shiv Sena has called a 12-hour north Bengal bandh demanding abrogation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement on 19 July.
Accident kills three: Three persons were killed on the spot and three more injured when a van carrying them had a head-on collision with a truck at Mirapota in Burdwan district early on Thursday, police said. pti
CU to colleges: Calcutta University has warned three city colleges not to admit students going beyond the stipulated intake capacity in Commerce. The university received such complaints particularly against these three colleges.
"It is true that these colleges did not have any definite intake capacity. But as they were admitting a huge number of students, we have warned them," said Prof Dhrobojyoti Chatterjee, pro Vice-Chancellor, Calcutta University.     sns
Kamduni: The Kamduni rape victim’s family has decided to go to Delhi to meet the President for demanding justice. They will got to Delhi on 13 July. The family will be accompanied by 28 villagers.
Suicide: A housewife, committed suicide in aher residence on Muraripukur Road in Manicktala.  Swapna Das died on Wednesday by hanging from the ceiling inside her house. No suicide note was found.     sns
One arrested: Police arrested Saddam Hussein (21), in Fakir Chandra Mitra Street on Thursday on charges of carrying illegal arms. A country made pistol and one live cartridge was seized from him.     sns
Rapist arrested: Police arrested Wahid Ali on charges of raping a 19-year-old girl in the Ekbalpore area after giving her false assurances of marrying her.  The victim’s father lodged a complaint.     sns
Suicide: Harinder Singh (42), an Army personnel, committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan inside a room at Ballygunge Military Camp in Ballygunge on Thursday. The body was sent for autopsy.     sns
3 dead, 3 injured: Three persons were killed and three others injured on Wednesday when a car carrying them collided with a lorry atv the in Burdwan.The injured were taken toBurdwan
hospital.     sns
 

U’khand relief:The members of IPS Association, Odisha branch have resolved to contribute one day&’s salary to the chief minister&’s relief fund, Uttarakhand following the large scale loss of life and property due to the recent natural disaster, said its honorary secretary Mr Satyajit Mohanty. In the first phase, an amount of Rs 1.51 lakh has been deposited on Thursday. Contributions received from members afterwards will be remitted in the second phase.
Yatra injury: The state government will bear the medical expenditure of the servitor who was injured during Rath Yatra celebrations at Puri yesterday. Chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik, who made a formal announcement in this regard, informed that the expenditure will be borne from the chief minister’ relief fund (CMRF).
Jumping ship:Congress got a major boost in Dhenkanal with several functionaries of Kamakshanagar unit of District Dalit Mahasangha joined the Opposition party. Claiming that the  welfare schemes of the UPA government has helped the financially weaker families, the president of the Kamakshanagar unit Mr Laxman Kumar Naik assured support to the Congress.

press trust of india
New Delhi, 11 July
A Delhi court today extended till 19 July the judicial custody of suspended Railway Board Member Mahesh Kumar and Vijay Singla, nephew of former Railway Minister Mr P K Bansal, besides five others in the Rs 10 crore cash-for-post railway bribery case.
Special CBI Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma extended remand of the seven arrested accused after they were produced before it on expiry of their judicial custody.
The court also issued fresh summons to accused M V Murali Krishan, who did not appear before it due to non-service of the earlier summons.
Krishan and C V Venugopal, who appeared in court today in pursuance to its summons, were not arrested by the CBI during the investigation and they were named as accused in the charge sheet filed on 2 July. Venugopal also moved a bail plea.
The court sent Singla, then Member (Staff) of Railway Board Mahesh Kumar, Managing Director of Bangalore-based G G Tronics India Pvt Ltd Narayan Rao Manjunath, middleman Sandeep Goyal, Rahul Yadav, Samir Sandhir and Sushil Daga in judicial custody till 19 July.
Alleged middleman Mr Ajay Garg, who has been accused of being instrumental in fixing the bribe amount for getting a favourable post for Kumar, was granted bail by the court on 8 July. All the 10 accused have been charge sheeted for the offence of criminal conspiracy under the IPC and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

associated press
Baghdad, 11 July
Insurgents launched a two-day f bloody assault on security force posts in Iraq’s restive Anbar province, killing at least 16 at the start of the holy month of Ramzan, authorities said today.
The killings are the latest in a wave of bloodshed that has left more than 2,600 people dead since April.
The violence, Iraq’s worst in half a decade, is raising fears the country is again returning to the brink
of a civil war pitting its Sunni and Shiite Muslim sects against one another.
The deadliest attack happened at sundown yesterday as Iraqis were marking the end of the first day of Ramzan fasting.
Gunmen launched their assault on the army checkpoint near the town of Barwana, which lies across the Euphrates River from the town of Haditha, about 220 km (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad.
Barwana’s mayor, Meyasser Abdul-Mohsin, said three soldiers were killed and four were wounded in that attack.
The attackers then made their way to a trailer not far away that is used by special oil industry police assigned to protect a nearby pipeline. The men inside were sitting down to have the iftar meal that breaks the daytime Ramzan fast at sunset, Abdul-Mohsin said.
The gunmen shot at the trailer and then set it on fire, the mayor said.
Eleven police officers were left dead, with some of their bodies badly burned and making it difficult to identify, he said.
“This is a crime carried out by terrorists during iftar on the first day of Ramzan,” Abdul-Mohsin said. “It just proves what a cowardly act it is.”
A security official in nearby Haditha gave a similar account and confirmed the death toll. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.
Insurgents launched more attacks today.
A police station in the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi came under attack by militants in the morning in an assault that left two policemen dead, provincial council member councilman Talib Hamadi and deputy provincial governor Dhari Arkan said.
Ramadi is 115 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad.

Rae bareli gets women&’s aviation varsity
archana srivastava
archana23srivastava@yahoo.com 
Lucknow, 11 July
With an eye on the 2014 parliamentary election, the Congress-led UPA government is raining largesse on Mrs Sonia Gandhi&’s constituency of Rae Bareli, where ironically, despite such earlier beneficence and the hectic touring of the Gandhi clan, the national party was able to bag just one of the seven assembly seats in the 2012 Vidhan Sabha polls.
The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to the setting up of the first ever national aviation university and also the country’s first university for women in the UPA chairperson’s political borough. While the aviation university has been christened the Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University, the women university has been named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The Women varsity will promote the all-round growth and development of women in the country and supplement the government’s efforts towards women empowerment by giving them increased access to employment oriented basic courses and high end research.
The aviation university which will be set up on a 26 acre  plot in Fursatganj has an estimated funding of Rs 202 crore. It will be an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Bill for which is likely to be brought up in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament. To be set up in keeping with the recommendations of the MK Kaw committee in 2006, this Central varsity will promote aviation studies, training and research with a focus on emerging areas like aviation management, aviation regulation and policy, aviation history, law, safety etc.
Congress MLA from the Raudrapur constituency in the Deoria district Mr Akhilesh Pratap Singh said both the universities form part of the Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s vision of making Rae Bareli and its adjoining areas a world class educational hub in northern India, which would attract the best talent from the country. He added the opening of a fashion technology  institute, the setting up of an engineering college, a petroleum and automobile institute, and recently the two varsities form part of the educational hub scheme. Both Amethi, represented by Mr Gandhi, and Rae Bareli are close to Lucknow and have a good connectivity with the state capital, he added. The Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University will not be Rae Bareli’s first brush with the aviation sector. 
In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi had laid the foundation of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Akademi (IGRAU), an aviation school under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Akademi set up at Fursatganj, just 18 kms from Rae Bareli, offers both commercial pilot licence and commercial helicopter pilot licence courses.
The opening of two new varsities in Rae Bareli has to be seen in conjunction with election 2014. Mrs Gandhi’s daughter, Mrs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has been made in-charge of both the Rae Bareli and the Amethi constituencies to oversee the fortunes of the Congress in what are regarded the bastions of the Gandhi clan.
The two Congress bastions received a severe drubbing in the 2012 Vidhan Sabha polls. Of the seven Assembly segments of Rae Bareli, the Congress was able to retain just one (Tiloi). Five went into the Samajwadi Party’s kitty and one to an independent.

SC ruling disqualifying them has cast shadow on their future
Manoj Chaurasia
cmanoj28@gmail.com
Patna, 11 July
The Supreme Court ruling disqualifying the convicted lawmakers—sentenced to two years of imprisonment or more—from holding offices or contesting elections is set to cast a shadow over the fate of scores of criminal-politicians in Bihar. A latest report of the National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms, Indian civil society groups fighting for electoral reforms in the country, says Bihar currently has 59 per cent lawmakers with criminal antecedents indicating how much the state political scene stands vitiated.
Quite a number of politicians have criminal or corruption cases pending against them, yet they managed to stay in active politics taking advantage of the slow-paced justice delivery system in the country as the court is yet to deliver its final judgment in the case. But the latest verdict in all likelihood is set to bring a pall of gloom on their political life soon.
The latest victim of the SC ruling could be RJD chief Lalu Prasad as the CBI court is soon to deliver its judgment in a fodder scam case in which he is an accused. Although the SC has temporarily given reprieve to Mr Prasad by restraining a trial court in Ranchi from giving verdict in the fodder scam case no RC 20A/96, the trial in the case has just been completed. The trial court was to deliver its judgment later this week on 15 July when the RJD chief filed an appeal in the apex court apprehending he may not get justice as the trial judge is a close relative of Bihar education minister PK Shahi who, after losing the Maharajganj LS polls to a RJD candidate, will try to settle political scores through this case. Mr Prasad is an accused in a total of five fodder scam cases.
Like him, the JD-U&’s MP from Jehanabad Jagdish Sharma too is an accused in the fodder scam case. A serious criminal case is also pending against the newly-elected RJD parliamentarian Prabhunath Singh. Apart from them, there are a number of legislators in the Bihar Assembly against whom several criminal cases are pending in the court, which means they will stand to lose the House membership the moment they are convicted. They include Mr Ranvijay Singh, Mr Manoranjan Singh alias Dhumal Singh, Mr Ajit Kumar, all from the JD-U, Mr Nityanand Rai and Mr Ashok Agrawal, both from the BJP and Mr Kedarnath Singh and Mr Tausif Alam from the RJD.
However, not all politicians are fools and they have taken “preventive” measures well in advance by fielding their wives in the election arena before the court spoils their political career. While some have succeeded, some have not but this has been described by observers as a very smart move. The first one to make this experiment was none other than former Bihar chief minister Prasad who, before going to jail in the fodder scam in 1997, had appointed his wife Rabri Devi as his successor and much to everyone’s surprise, she completed two terms in office before being voted out in the February 2005 Assembly polls.
Like Mr Prasad, several other politicians facing threats to their political career too have fielded their wives in politics. The list includes Veena Devi, wife of criminal-politician Suraj Bhan Singh, Heena Sahab, wife of muscle-flexing politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, Lovely Anand, wife of Anand Mohan, Ranjit Ranjan, wife of Pappu Yadav who only recently was acquitted in the Ajit Sarkar murder case, Nitu Kumari, daughter-in-law of former minister Aditya Singh who faces serious charges like murder, kidnapping and extortion, Aruna Devi, wife of dreaded gangster Akhilesh Singh and Kunti Devi, wife of former RJD legislator Rajendra Yadav.
According to a latest report of NEW-ADR, a total of 141 legislators in the  243-member Bihar Assembly have pending criminal cases that comes to nearly 59 per cent, up by 24 per cent from the past Assembly polls. In 2005, this percentage was just 35. Of 141 MLAs, 85 face serious criminal charges like murder and attempt to murder. The JD-U and BJP have the highest number of lawmakers with criminal cases, followed by the RJD, Independents and others.

press trust of india
London, 11 July
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge is due to have a baby any time soon and world media have descended outside a hospital here to cover the royal birth.
Media from around the world have gathered outside the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in central London, where the baby is expected to be born.
Prince William plans to be with his 31-year-old wife when she has their child at the hospital in Paddington, where his mother, Princess Diana, gave birth to him in June 1982.
The cost of a suite at the unit is 6,265 pounds for a one-night stay with no complications and 2,200 pounds for each extra night.
Based on a trouble-free three-night stay, Kate’s bill will top 10,000 pounds and it is possible the Royal couple may have booked more than one suite, the Sun reported.
All rooms have satellite TV, wi-fi, radio and a safe. The wing also offers a “comprehensive wine list.”
A fresh bouquet of flowers are delivered every day and blackout curtains ensure total privacy.

Jerusalem, 11 July: A Greek plane landed safely in Tel Aviv without anyone being hurt today after issuing a rare mayday call on its approach to Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport. The plane had apparently suffered a hydraulic problem around noon and was forced to take measures for an emergency landing, said airport spokesman.     AP

Absurd  response  to  Chinese  intrusion
SIR, India’s response to the latest Chinese intrusion into Ladakh was almost comical. However, it was more than compensated by your lead story, "Chinese troops re-enter Ladakh" (10 July). Indeed, the government’s reaction was hilarious. Please note the points of absurdity ~ the area is not accessible from the Chinese side though there are roads leading  to the region. But somehow they ~ and not we ~ managed to move in. The cameras didn’t function, and this perhaps facilitated their disappearance.  Incidentally, they returned after a protest was lodged. Last year, PLA soldiers were airdropped, and they dismantled the storage tents of our Army and ITBP.  What did we do about it?
It is a fact of history that various parts of South Asia have been claimed by China irrespective of the rulers (dynastic, nationalist or socialist) as its ‘lost territory’. It has relentlessly tried to ‘retrieve’ these areas. This once again begs the question ~ what are we doing? Isn’t it comical that we still call India a  ‘sovereign’ and ‘independent’ country despite our failure to defend our territory?
Pericles had once said: "Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it". Do we belong to that category?
Yours, etc., Sucheta Ghosh, Kolkata, 10 July.
SECURITY OF SHRINES
SIR, The serial explosions in Bodhgaya threatened the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine, considered the holiest in Buddhism.  India may not have the Bamiyan Buddhas, but it boasts treasures that are equally priceless.  This has been the first terrorist strike in Bihar and the target is a Buddhist shrine, situated at the spot where Gautama Buddha  is said to have attained enlightenment.   The modus operandi and the timing suggest that the operation was carefully planned so as not to result in severe damage and casualties.
According to the government’s version, it was a terrorist outrage, perpetrated in retaliation  to the persecution of Rohingya Muslims by Buddhists in Rakhine district of Myanmar. If the blasts were intended to serve as a warning, there may be more to come. It is obvious that there is little or no coordination between the security agencies of the Centre and Bihar.   The protection of shrines is direly imperative. But this is India, where only certain politicians are entitled to Z-plus security. 
Yours, etc., Achyut Mukherjee, Howrah, 10 July.
IT’S FREE
SIR, The citizens of India have been promised ‘free food’, ‘free health care’, free education’ , ‘free home’ and so on. I wonder where the money will come from as these are positive ‘dis-incentives’ to work  in order to earn one&’s keep. The most surprising aspect of the welfare handouts is that the citizens don’t have ‘job security’ as that will make the political parties insignificant and irrelevant.
Yours, etc., Saroj Mukherjee, Kolkata, 9 July
BLESSING IN DISGUISE
SIR, Romit Bagchi&’s article, “Jyoti Basu: A lost opportunity” (9 July) is a delightful read.  But perhaps he has forgotten to mention a point. The CPI-M took the right decision when it prevented Jyoti Basu from becoming the Prime Minister. Swami Vivekananda had once remarked that “religion is the heart of our nation”. But Communists are atheists. They neither believe in god nor in religion. Had Basu become the Prime Minister, he would have been a God-defying PM for a God-loving and God-fearing country. Therefore, what he had called a “historic blunder” was actually a blessing in disguise.
Yours, etc., Aranya Sanyal, Siliguri, 9 July.
CHANGE IN DESIGN
SIR, I was bewildered this morning when I realised that the look of my paper had changed. When I started reading my beloved The Statesman, I had the same feeling of satisfaction that I have enjoyed for more than 20 years. Though "change is the only constant", as they say, I somehow wish to read my old The Statesman, which is distinctly different from the others.
Yours etc. Dipan Roy, Kolkata, 2 July.

Truth the first casualty in CBI-IB slugfest ~ Seema Mustafa
The Ishrat Jahan encounter case is a severe human rights violation that needs quick dispensation of justice so that those responsible are held accountable by institutions of the state for cold blooded murder. Nothing can justify the victims being shot down in cold blood.
Why has the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, in which three others were killed along with her, excited such passion? Was she innocent, was she guilty? Was she a terrorist? Was she a woman of “loose morals” (an issue that always agitates our middle class)? All these questions along with an almost voyeuristic interest in her relationship with Javed Shaikh has turned a straightforward case of encounter killing into high drama pitting the Congress against the BJP, and the CBI against the IB. The media, of course, has shed all sense of responsibility and has decided to sit back and have a ball, regardless of the damage done in the process.
The first point that needs to be made is that the issue is not about the innocence or otherwise of the young girl. This can be fought and decided upon in the courts by her family, who obviously do not want her reputation to be sullied; as Ishrat Jahan&’s sister told a crowded public meeting in Delhi recently, they have been made to pay a high price for this by a moralistic society that was and is more bothered about her personal behaviour than the fact that she was shot dead in a staged encounter by the Gujarat police.
The issue is she and three others were shot dead in cold blood by policemen in what is now clearly recognised by even the CBI as a staged encounter.
The polarising arguments around the case almost make it seem that if Ishrat Jahan is proven to be a terrorist, the fake encounter is justified. So conversely, if she is innocent, then of course the police had no right to kill her in cold blood. In the midst of the passionate debate, the fact that the police does not have the right to shoot anyone down in cold blood ~ criminal, terrorist, sex worker, trade unionist, Muslim, Dalit ~ is being lost sight of. And her innocence is thus irrelevant to the case in which the police not only gunned down four persons, but created evidence to insist that it was a genuine and not a fake encounter. And this is a severe human rights violation that needs quick dispensation of justice so that those responsible are made accountable by the state institutions for cold blooded murder.
Unfortunately, civil rights groups have all become investigators, with many having placed themselves dangerously in the midst of the ongoing CBI versus IB slugfest by supporting the former against the latter. Seasoned journalists will be the first to tell them that these agency wars are old hat, and when these come out into the open, as has happened over the Ishrat Jahan case, truth becomes the first casualty.
Neither the CBI nor the IB have done themselves proud, and while it is always exciting to nip at their heels, this never really works for citizens in the long run. Both agencies are highly politicised, both come with bad baggage, are expert at media manipulation, and at the end of it, both serve the government of the day with fissures only temporary. It is important, thus, for civil rights activists not to allow themselves to be painted into a corner, and understand that the differing stories from the IB and the CBI today could become just the one story tomorrow that would then take away from the legitimacy of the Ishrat Jahan case by insisting that she was a terrorist.
In other words, her innocence should not become the issue. The manner in which the Gujarat police has acted in this case, and several other encounter cases during that period is the sole issue. How did the police acquire such authority? Who were the political leaders behind these decisions? What was the Home Minister of Gujarat and the Chief Minister of Gujarat doing those days? Did the police stage such dramatic encounters without their knowledge? Was that possible in a state where the Chief Minister claimed to be in complete control? How was it that only Muslims were killed in these fake encounters? How was it that the cover up was never busted?
There are answers to all these questions with officials who had served in the administration at that time. And this is the real story that could then through Ishrat Jahan and the three others killed with her, take the conspiracy to the very top. In this, it does not matter whether Ishrat Jahan was innocent or not. That is, as pointed out earlier, an issue that can be fought in the courts but cannot become the basis for rights and justice. After all, justice ensures that a sex worker retains the right to say ‘no’ and if this right is violated and she is raped, she must be given full justice under the law. Similarly, a person, proven to be a terrorist or not, cannot be shot down by the police in a fake encounter. The issue has to be tried in court. After all, even the most famous terrorist of all, Ajmal Kasab, was arrested, and not killed by the police in Maharashtra at that time.
Ishrat Jahan&’s death in cold blood makes it imperative for concerned citizens and organisations to ensure that the Gujarat police and its political mentors are made accountable for the murders. The fact that she was just 19 years old, and clearly a victim of manipulations, makes her case more poignant but in terms of cold justice, the murder of the other three men with her is as important. There is no justification for the police to shoot them down in cold blood.
This can then feed into the larger issue of wrongful arrests, poor evidence, fake encounters and custodial deaths, with every single person entitled to protection and trial under the law. Too many deaths have taken place at the hands of the police outside the law, and this needs to be stopped through the combined efforts of all.
The Gujarat police in recent years has become notorious for these outside-the-law murders, and the government in that state must be held responsible for the trigger happy, rampaging men in uniform. The presence of the IB should be at best another nail in the coffin, not turned into the coffin itself

The writer is Consulting Editor, The Statesman.