News on India

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Nanda gets five-year jail term NEW DELHI, Sept 5: Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former Naval Chief S M Nanda, was today sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for mowing down six persons, including three policemen, with his BMW car in 1999. “Sanjeev Nanda, I award you five years jail term and the time earlier spent by you inside the jail would be deducted,” said Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar, who had earlier convicted him under a stringent penal provision which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment. The court, however, did not impose any fine on him. It sentenced co-convict and businessman Rajeev Gupta to one year rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence. His two employees — Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh — were however awarded six months’ jail terms each for washing off blood stains and pieces of victims’ flesh from the offending vehicle after the incident. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Gupta and Rs 100 each on his two employees, who were held guilty under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC. The court had on September two convicted Nanda under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC prescribing a jail term of up to 10 years or fine or both as punishment. Nanda had crushed six persons to death while driving the BMW car in an inebriated condition in the wee hours of January 10, 1999 at Lodhi Colony in south Delhi. Nanda, 30, looked emotionally drained when brought to the court by the Delhi Police constables around 2.55 pm. He raised his hand after the judge called his name before pronouncing the sentence. During the five-minute proceedings, Nanda, with a stubble of several days, stood flanked by his mother and sister Sonali and other relatives. The other three convicts seemed more relaxed than Nanda. Unlike Nanda, the three are entitled to bail as a matter of right because their jail term does not exceed three years. Counsel for Nanda, Prem Kumar told reporters that he would file an appeal in High Court after going through the judgement. “There are many shortcomings in the judgement. Invoking of Section 304 II is one of them,” he said, refusing to elaborate on other grounds of the appeal. In its 87-page judgement, the court had on September two convicted Nanda, saying cases of high speed drunken driving in a crowded place resulting into death would be covered under the category of murder. It said Nanda was intoxicated and knew that his driving could result in somebody’s death. The nine-year-long trial in the high-profile case involving Nanda saw many twists and turns with witnesses turning hostile and Nanda’s counsel R K Anand and former Special Public Prosecutor I U Khan getting convicted for obstruction of justice. The two were later barred by the High Court from appearing in courts for four months. The action against the two senior lawyers came after the High Court took suo motu cognisance of a sting operation aired by a TV channel on May 30 last year showed them in collusion to influence eye-witness Sunil Kulkarni. The trial court, however, relied upon the testimony of controversial witness Kulkarni who was shown with the two lawyers in the sting operation. The court had acquitted Nanda’s friend Manik Kapoor, who was also in the car at the time of incident, for want of evidence. Nanda had crushed two Delhi Police constables — Ram Raj and Peru Lal — and one CRPF constable, Rajan Kumar, and three others — Mehdi Hasan, Nazir and Ghulam — to death, while driving the BMW car on January 10, 1999. (PTI)

India to abide by voluntary moratorium on N-tests: Pranab NEW DELHI, Sept 5: India today affirmed its commitment to strengthening the non-proliferation regime and vowed to abide by its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, a move aimed at assuaging concerns of some NSG countries on giving it a waiver for nuclear commerce. New Delhi also made it clear that it will not be a source of proliferation of sensitive technologies, including enrichment and reprocessing transfers and will work with the international community to advance the common objective of non-proliferation. “We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement here. India’s assertion came as four countries of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) stuck to their reservations on the waiver issue at the two-day meeting of the cartel in Vienna. They felt that India could use the NSG exemption to further its military nuclear programme. New Zealand, Austria, Ireland, and Switzerland have sought changes in the draft proposed by the US which projected the waiver as a “historic opportunity” to bring the largest democracy and one of the biggest economies into the global nuclear mainstream. Mukherjee’s statement is significant as it comes soon after Indian officials led by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met representatives of ‘sceptic’ countries of NSG and is seen as an attempt to allay their reservations. An NSG waiver is a key step in the operationalisation of the nuclear deal which will go to the US Congress for approval once the atomic cartel gives the green light. Recalling former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s vision for a world free of nuclear weapons presented to the UN in 1988, Mukherjee said “India has a long standing and steadfast commitment to universal, non-discriminatory and total elimination of nuclear weapons”. “We do not subscribe to any arms race, including nuclear arms race. We have always tempered the exercise of our strategic autonomy with a sense of global responsibility. We affirm our policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons”. Emphasising that the civil nuclear initiative will strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, he said opening of full civil nuclear cooperation will be good for India and for the world. It will have a profound positive impact on global energy security and international efforts to combat climate change,” he said. “We stand for the strengthening of the non-proliferation regime...,” he said. Assuring the international community that it will work for a non-proliferation regime, the minister said New Delhi is “interested in participating as a supplier nation, particularly for thorium-based fuel and in establishment of international fuel banks, which also benefit India.” Mukherjee said India is approaching the NSG for a dialogue in a “spirit of cooperation” that allows for an ongoing frank exchange of views on subjects of mutual interest and concern. “Such a dialogue will strengthen our relationship in the years to come,” he said. Recalling former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s vision for a world free of nuclear weapons presented to the UN in 1988, Mukherjee said “India has a long standing and steadfast commitment to universal, non-discriminatory and total elimination of nuclear weapons”. “We do not subscribe to any arms race, including nuclear arms race. We have always tempered the exercise of our strategic autonomy with a sense of global responsibility. We affirm our policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons”. Noting that India has an impeccable non-proliferation record, Mukherjee said New Delhi has taken necessary steps to secure nuclear materials and technology through comprehensive export control legislation and committing to adhere to Missile Technology Control Regime and NSG guidelines. “We have in place an effective and comprehensive system of national export controls, which has been constantly upgraded to meet the highest international standards. This is manifested in the enactment of the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems Act in 2005,” he said. He noted that India places a great value on the role played by the IAEA safeguards system and it looks forward to working with the atomic agency in implementing the India specific safeguards agreement concluded with it. “In keeping with our commitment to sign and adhere to an Additional Protocol with respect to India’s civil nuclear facilities, we are working closely with the IAEA to ensure early conclusion of an Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement,” he added. (PTI)

Politicians must understand the importance of education: PM CHENNAI, Sept 5: Emphasising that country’s political leadership should understand the importance of education for development, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that ways should be devised for reversing the brain drain. “I urge all our political leaders to understand the central importance of education in the development of our country,” he said accepting the honorary doctorate conferred by the Madras University at a special convocation to mark the conclusion of its sesquicentennial celebrations. “We have to devise ways and means to facilitate the reverse flow of global Indian talent resident abroad into our knowledge institutions,” he said. Singh said that considerable part of public debate was presently focused on short-term problems and on issues pertaining to access to what is presently available. He opined that students should strive to make India a major powerhouse of knowledge with an inclusive and innovative approach. He said expansion of opportunities should not compromise on the standards and outcome of education. Stressing that a university always stood for “humanism, tolerance, reason and progress”, Singh asked “if the temple of learning itself becomes a home of narrow bigotry and petty objectives, how then will the nation prosper or a people grow in stature.” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the political leadership to understand the importance of education in the country’s development. Asserting that the focus should be on granting access to quality education to all deserving children, Singh said “India cannot realise its full development potential if the hitherto marginalized sections of society do not become active partners in the process of development. Education must contribute to the achievement of this goal.” Making a strong case for democratisation of education and pursuit of excellence, the Prime Minister said “an innovative India must combine both inclusion and excellence and it is wrong to see them as two separate and contradictory goals.” (PTI)

SP to give 12 seats to Congress in UP NEW DELHI, Sept 5: The Samajwadi Party today indicated that it was ready to concede only about a dozen seats to Congress in Uttar Pradesh and firmly rejected the ally’s idea of “friendly fights” in the Lok Sabha polls. SP general secretary Amar Singh, who is leading the seat-sharing talks with a Congress team headed by Rahul Gandhi, also said the party would not concede seats like Rampur and s on which the Congress had laid claim during the recent parleys. The seat-sharing could be on the basis of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections or the “RJD model” adopted by Lalu Prasad in Bihar, Singh told reporters here. As per the 2004 poll performance of Congress, it could be given a dozen seats and if the Bihar model is adopted, then only eight seats, he said noting that Lalu Prasad had given only four of the 40 seats in Bihar to Congress. UP has 80 Lok Sabha seats. Singh said that during the talks, the SP has also sought “few” seats in other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Expressing opposition to the Congress’ idea of “friendly fights” on a few seats in UP, he said that “in such an eventuality, there will be friendly fights in 78 seats and that the SP will extend support to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli and Amethi respectively”. Singh made it clear that his party was not ready to vacate any of the seats won by it in the last Lok Sabha elections, including Allahabad, to Congress. Besides, he said that it was for the Congress to think how effectively it could contest seats like Ghaziabad and Varanasi amid BJP’s reported plans to put up Rajnath Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi from there. Singh gave enough hints that Raj Babbar and Beni Prasad Verma may find little sympathy during the seat-sharing. The two MPs are currently suspended from SP and have moved closer to Congress. The SP, however, was ready to give the newly created seat of Daurhara for Union Minister Jitin Prasad whose seat Shahjanahpur is now a reserved constituency. Asked whether efforts would be made to rope in RLD in the SP-Congress alliance, Amar Singh pointed to its chief Ajit Singh’s history of choosing allies, suggesting that he could not be easily trusted. He said that Singh went along with the BSP in the recent trust vote in Lok Sabha after ensuring that the Congress-led government renamed the Amausi airport in Lucknow after his father late Chaudhury Charan Singh and later held talks with BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. To a query whether he wanted removal of the AICC general secretary in-charge of UP, Digvijay Singh, from the Congress’ team of negotiators, he replied in the negative. Singh said it was the prerogative of the Congress president. “Digvijay Singh is carrying out his task honestly, as I am for my party... He also related to me from my wife’s side,” Singh added. (PTI) Power cut at mass wedding causes mix-up of brides THENI (TN), Sept 5: Married the wrong girl? At least two grooms in Tamil Nadu can blame it on a power cut. A black out at a crowded mass marriage venue here at an auspicious moment when about 40 grooms had to simultaneously tie the mangal sutra around their bride’s neck led to a mix up with two of them missing the target. Veerachamy, instead of tying the mangal sutra to Subbulakshmi, the bride, tied it around the neck of her friend, who was standing near her. Similarly, Balamurugan tied the sacred thread around another girl’s neck, instead of Sivakami. The mix-up which took place at the Sri Subramaniaswamy temple complex at Periyakulam, however, was soon detected. All ended well as elders, in a quick damage control exercise, removed the mangal sutras and made the grooms tie the tread to the right brides after a parikara pooja (pooja for making amends). Temple officials said that as all the couples had gathered along with their relatives and their friends, which lead to overcrowding on Wednesday night. (PTI) BJP asks Centre to come clear on all aspects of N-deal NEW DELHI, Sept 5: In the light of the controversial disclosures on the Indo-US nuclear deal by the “leaking” of a letter, BJP today asked the government to come clear on all the conditions it had covertly agreed to with the US to get the deal through. “Whatever little credibility this government had, it has lost after the revelations made in the letter- published in the US -on the Indo-US nuclear deal. If they knew about the letter then why they did not confide in Parliament,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference here. Asking what other conditions they have agreed to with the US that they are hiding and how many more such letters are there, he demanded that the government should bring all aspects of the issue out in the open. Javadekar also charged the government with fooling the people and betraying the nation for the past three years on the nuclear deal issue. Earlier, the BJP had accused the government of heading towards surrender of its right to conduct nuclear tests in future as per the provisions of the nuclear deal. “However, BJP is not against a nuclear deal with the US. If we come to power we will re-negotiate the deal and seek removal of the controversial issues from it,” Javadekar said. (PTI) Singur talks heading for a solution KOLKATA, Sept 5: Brightening the prospects of an end to the Singur deadlock, the first round of talks between West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress ended here today with the party saying “we are heading towards a solution”. “We are heading towards a solution. The discussion is on and it will resume tomorrow,” Partha Chatterjee, who led the TC delegation at the three-hour talks at Raj Bhawan, told reporters after the three-hour meeting. Before leaving for the party’s dharna site in Singur, he said the land issue was discussed. The talks between the West Bengal government and the Trinamool Congress-led opposition was presided by Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. A press statement issued by Raj Bhavan said both sides expressed their respective views and discussions were held in a “constructive spirit with the intention of providing a way out”. (PTI) Bachna Ae Haseeno music is pulsating NEW DELHI, Sept 5: Call it youthful, rocking, romantic or folksy, the music of Bachna Ae Haseeno has it all. Who can forget R D Burman’s rollicking number Bachna ae haseeno for the 1977 chartbuster Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin sung by Kishore Kumar? And now composer duo of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani try to create that magic of the Bachna ae haseeno song by “trying to stay as true to Panchamda’s style of composing while giving it a bit of modern twist”. Besides retaining some of Kishore’s voice in the song, the composers roped in his son Sumit Kumar to get his own rendition going with Vishal chipping in for some rap lyrics. According to the duo, “the song is a tribute to R D, Kishore da and Majrooh Sultanpuri. The exciting part for us is being able to use Sumit’s voice and have him jam with Kishoreda himself.” Another highpoint of the album is the opening track Khuda jaane by KK and Shilpa Rao. It’s melodious, has a silky touch with good supporting lyrics and the music arrangement is great. The lyrics of the song, picturised on Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, are in a sort of conversational mode. There is a remixed version of Khuda jaane by Abhijit Nalani for party freaks. Lucky boy, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, Raja Hassan and Hard Kaur, is “full of attitude, style and confidence”. Hard Kaur lends some Punjabi folk bit into the song. Lucky Ali teams up with Shreya Ghoshal for the soulful Aahista aahista. At many stages of the love track, Lucky’s voice shows some resemblance to A R Rehman. This modern-day Heer Ranjha-esque love ballad, Jogi mahi is sung by Shekhar Ravjiani, Sukhvinder Singh and Himani Kapoor. The traditional Punjabi folk track has a heavy dose of dhol and will definitely make a good dance number at family gatherings. Small town girl is the type of song in which the likes of Shankar Mahadevan excel and he does full justice to the number which is has a lot of Punjabi music influence. In a nutshell, Bachna Ae Haseeno is truly refreshing and caters to the Gen Y’s and Z’s. Vishal-Shekhar comes up with another pulsating score after the Om Shanti Om success. The title song act is definitely an innovative and point-scoring venture. (PTI)

source: sentinel assam