Basic Political Developments s23

INDIA COUNTRY BRIEF

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Basic Political Developments

 The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it would move a no-confidence motion against the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly during the next session from November 21.

 Demanding the repeal of Armed Force Special Power Act (AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur, Left parties and LJP on Thursday said they will raise the issue of Kashmir in the coming Parliament session.

 Five years after their arrest, seven of the nine 2006 Malegaon blasts accused — Noorul Huda Samsudoha, Shabbir Ahmed Masiullah, Raees Ahmed Rajab Ali Mansuri, Dr. Salman Farsi Abdul Latif Aimi, Dr. Farogh Iqbal Ahmed Magdumi, Mohammad Zahid Abdul Majid Ansari and Abrar Ahmed Gulam Ahmed — walked out of the prison on bail in the evening. A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court had granted them bail on November 5 on the solvent surety of Rs. 50,000 each after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the agency investigating the case at present, did not oppose their bail pleas. The trial in the matter is set to continue, advocate Irfana Hamdani said.

 Racing against time, the parliamentary standing committee considering the Lokpal Bill is likely to include some of the provisions of social activist Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill.After the panel's meeting on Tuesday, its chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters that Group B employees will be included under the purview of anti- corruption ombudsman.

 Team Anna on Thursday demanded that Citizen's Charter, specifying a time limit on government departments for providing services, should be included in the Lokpal Bill as it will help the common people to get their work done. "Citizen's Charter in the lokpal bill is a must. It will help people get their work done in a time-bound manner," prominent Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said.

National Economic Trends

 Food inflation eased marginally to 10.63 per cent for the week ended November 5, prompting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to say it is a "good sign" and the common man will get some relief if the trend continues. Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

 Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) can now invest USD 5 billion more in the government securities. This move is expected to increase the participation of FIIs in the government securities. The finance ministry has increased the FII investment limit to USD 15 billion.

 At a time when domestic airlines are reporting substantial losses, the Civil Aviation Ministry has proposed that the government allow 24 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by foreign airlines in Indian carriers.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

 A Parliamentary panel on Thursday posed probing questions to top Oil Ministry officials on how they allowed Reliance Industries to violate contract for Krishna-Godavari basin field and why the losses from rise in spending on the gas fields were not quantified.

 A high-level panel of secretaries has recommended rejecting bids by Reliance Industries and state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for the Andaman sea block as they had offered "very low" profit share to the government. RIL, which had bid for six out of the 34 areas offered for exploration under the ninth auction round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) earlier this year, was ranked number one for the Andaman deep-sea blocks, AN-DWN-2010/3 and AN-DWN-2010/4, ahead of a consortia of ONGC and Oil India Ltd.

Militant Activity/Terrorism (Particularly in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Coimbatore)

 Responding to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's call, a hardcore Maoist couple against whom several cases of murder and violence including the deadly attack on a paramilitary camp in Silda were pending surrendered today before the police.

 During 36th day of senior BJP leader L K Advani's rath yatra in Chandigarh, UT police have arrested two members of a minority community and recovered a country made pistol, eight live cartridges and some sharp-edged weapons from their possession on Wednesday night.

Labor/Social Unrest

Full Text

Basic Political Developments SP to move no-trust motion against Mayawati govt. PTI http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2636021.ece The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it would move a no-confidence motion against the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly during the next session from November 21.

“We will bring no-confidence motion in the House against the corrupt BSP government,” Leader of the Opposition Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.

He alleged that be it law and order or development, both had seen a deteriorating trend in the current regime.

Mr. Yadav claimed that only his party was capable of dealing with the situation.

Left, LJP demand revocation of AFSPA from J&K Press Trust of India http://ibnlive.in.com/news/left-ljp-demand-revocation-of-afspa-from-jk/203251-37-64.html New Delhi: Demanding the repeal of Armed Force Special Power Act (AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur, Left parties and LJP on Thursday said they will raise the issue of Kashmir in the coming Parliament session.

At a press conference here, Left front leaders AB Bardhan (CPI), Prakash Karat (CPI-M), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc) and LJP president Ramvilas Paswan accused the government of going back on its promise of limited revocation of AFSPA and demanded the setting up of a parliamentary panel to discuss the situation in Kashmir.

"It is important to draw the attention of the country to what is happening in J and K. Though militancy has come down in the Valley, the oppressive military regime continues there. The army should be there to protect the border and to check infiltration only," Karat, CPI (M) General Secretary, said.

Left parties and LJP on Thursday said they will raise the issue of Kashmir in the coming Parliament session. "I don't understand why the army continues to argue for this law. The government must take a political decision and we will continue to demand for its (AFSPA) review, he said.

Terming AFSPA, Disturbed Area Act and Public Safety Act as 'draconian' laws, he said "in last year's all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister we were given a clear and unwritten understanding that AFSPA will be revoked from some parts of the state. But the government has backed out from its limited revocation."

"In Manipur, Irom Sharmila has been on fast for the past 11 years against this Act. We feel this Act should be repealed from there also", Karat said.

On Public Safety Act, Karat said "there is a daily harassment of people. I see a vested interest for continuing PSA under which children of 12-13 years are detained in jails. The Constitution does not apply, the law does not apply (there) and there is impunity to whatever they (armed forces) do."

Government continue to talk of a political process but no political process can continue when there is daily harassment of people there... People in J and K are also Indians and it is our duty to see they get their rights, Karat said.

Mumbai, November 17, 2011

Malegaon blasts accused want dignity back http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2633599.ece

The unflinching memory that he has of his father is when the police took him away from the dinner table as the family had just sat down to eat their food.

“He had barely put the first morsel in his mouth when the police came to pick him up. After that day five years ago, it will be today that the entire family will again have food together,” 11-year- old Osama Raees Khan, son of 2006 Malegaon blast accused Raees Ahmed Rajab Ali Mansuri, told The Hindu as he waited patiently for hours together along with many others from Malegaon outside the Arthur Road prison here on Wednesday afternoon.

“All I want is to eat food with my father,” he said.

Five years after their arrest, seven of the nine 2006 Malegaon blasts accused — Noorul Huda Samsudoha, Shabbir Ahmed Masiullah, Raees Ahmed Rajab Ali Mansuri, Dr. Salman Farsi Abdul Latif Aimi, Dr. Farogh Iqbal Ahmed Magdumi, Mohammad Zahid Abdul Majid Ansari and Abrar Ahmed Gulam Ahmed — walked out of the prison on bail in the evening.

A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court had granted them bail on November 5 on the solvent surety of Rs. 50,000 each after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the agency investigating the case at present, did not oppose their bail pleas. The trial in the matter is set to continue, advocate Irfana Hamdani said.

The NIA said in a reply filed before the court: “During the course of further investigation, the NIA - after revelation of Swami Aseemanand, arrested in Mecca Masjid bomb blast case - reviewed the collected evidence and collected fresh evidence in the form of statements and forensic reports. Further investigation is in progress to collect more evidence for arriving at definitive investigative conclusions.”

The Anti-Terrorism Squad, which investigated the case initially, had claimed that many of the arrested were members of the banned Islamic outfit Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which was later handed over the investigation, toed the same line. It was only after Swami Aseemanand's confession about the alleged involvement of right-wing Hindu fundamentalists in the 2006 Malegaon blast was leaked that the line of investigation changed.

The scene outside the Arthur Road prison, where six of the seven accused were lodged, was of subdued happiness. The procedural delay made the family members wait for hours before they could see their loved ones. The seventh accused, Abrar Ahmed Gulam Ahmed, was released from Byculla prison.

“No doubt we are happy that they will now be with us. But real happiness will come only when the court will discharge them from this matter or the prosecution will withdraw the case against them,” Iqbal Ahmed Maqdumi, 63-year-old father of Farogh Iqbal Ahmed Magdumi, said, as he continuously answered calls from home. .

“Back home, they are all waiting very eagerly for these boys. The entire Malegaon is celebrating right now. It is our Eid now. But our struggle is still on. It will continue till these boys are declared innocent and discharged with dignity,” Maulana Abdul Hamid Azhari, spokesperson of Kul Jamaat-i-Tanzeem, Malegaon, said, echoing the feelings of all the relatives of the accused.

“ Of course, I am very happy. There has been a delay in granting justice. Justice is yet to be done,” Salman Farsi Abdul Latif Aimi said.

Raees Ahmed Rajab Ali Mansuri said: “We are very happy to have come out of the jail. But we want our dignity back.”

Shabbir Ahmed said: “I want to thank Allah. We are all keen to meet our family members. I have been falsely implicated and I am sure one day I will be given a clean chit by the court. I hope the trial will begin soon.”

Differences persist between Govt, Team Anna on Lokpal Bill draft http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/anna-hazare-lokpal-bill-parliamentary- committee/1/160348.html

Racing against time, the parliamentary standing committee considering the Lokpal Bill is likely to include some of the provisions of social activist Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill.

But, as the details are emerging from the standing committee meetings, its recommendations are likely to take a middle path between the drafts of the government and Team Anna.

After the panel's meeting on Tuesday, its chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters that Group B employees will be included under the purview of anti- corruption ombudsman.

Anna Hazare's camp was quick to react. "We welcome their decision to include Group B officials in its ambit. (However) we would appeal to the standing committee to reconsider their decision to keep Group C and Group D officials out. Where would a poor person, whose ration has been siphoned off, go?" The standing committee is also likely to shift the anti-corruption and prosecution wings of the CBI under the Lokpal. It is in consonance with the Jan Lokpal Bill.

But it is yet to be seen whether the panel will put the two wings of the CBI at the disposal of the Lokpal or make them independent of government's interference.

As the standing committee is also considering providing Lokayukta in states through the same Bill, Hazare's team has welcomed it. Apart from some meeting ground, the standing committee's recommendations differ from Team Anna on the demand to put judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal which according to the panel will be taken care of by a separate judicial accountability Bill. Also, a consensus still eludes the committee on the issue of inclusion of the PM under the purview of Lokpal.

'Citizen's Charter be included in lokpal bill' Press Trust Of India http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Citizen-s-Charter-be-included-in-lokpal- bill/Article1-770392.aspx Team Anna on Thursday demanded that Citizen's Charter, specifying a time limit on government departments for providing services, should be included in the Lokpal Bill as it will help the common people to get their work done. "Citizen's Charter in the lokpal bill is a must. It will help people get their work done in a time-bound manner," prominent Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said.

He said the charter was needed as government employees "deliberately" sit on files to cause delays and extract bribes.

"Citizen's Charter will effectively check this," he said.

Inclusion of such a charter was one of the three key demands put forward by Team Anna for Anna Hazare to call off his hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan here in August.

Parliament had urged the Standing Committee to consider this demand. However, the draft bill does not provide for a Citizen's Charter and, instead, the Government has prepared a draft Public Greivances Bill.

Another activist Kiran Bedi said government's stand was not clear yet on the issue of bringing anti-corruption wing of CBI under lokpal.

"Anti-corruption wing of CBI must come under an independent lokpal. (Government's stand is) not clear yet," she said.

National Economic Trends Food inflation ebbs to 10.63%; a good sign, says Pranab Mukherjee http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_food-inflation-ebbs-to-10-63pct-a-good-sign-says- pranab-mukherjee_1613784

Food inflation eased marginally to 10.63 per cent for the week ended November 5, prompting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to say it is a "good sign" and the common man will get some relief if the trend continues.

Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), declined by 1.18 percentage points in the week under review from 11.81 per cent in the previous week that ended on October 29. It stood at 11.41 per cent in the corresponding week of the previous year.

"... If this trend of food inflation continues, then it is a good sign. At least on the food front, we may expect some relief if this trend continues for some more time," Mukherjee told reporters here.

The marginal decline, however, has not brought much relief to the common man at present, as prices of most commodities -- with the exception of onions and wheat --continued to remain firm.

On the positive side, onions became cheaper by 22.89 per cent year-on-year, while wheat prices were down 3.63 per cent.

Vegetables, however, grew dearer by 27.26 per cent, pulses by 14.44 per cent, milk by 10.74 per cent and eggs, meat and fish by 11.73 per cent.

"We expect prices to display a moderate decline in the coming weeks. Overall, food inflation is expected to moderate to single digits in November, 2011, on account of a moderation in demand subsequent to the festive season, and ease substantially in December, 2011, reflecting the base effect," ICRA economist Aditi Nayar said.

Inflation in the overall primary articles category stood at 10.39 per cent during the week ended November 5, as against 11.43 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles have over 20 per cent weight in the wholesale price index.

Inflation in non-food articles, including fibres, oilseeds and minerals, was recorded at 5.33 per cent during the week under review, as against 6.41 per cent in the week ended October 29.

Fuel and power inflation stood at 15.49 per cent during the week that ended on November 5, as against 14.50 per cent in the previous week.

Persistently high food prices are likely to exert further pressure on the government and the Reserve Bank to tackle the situation expeditiously.

Headline inflation, which also factors in manufactured items, has been above the 9 per cent-mark since December, 2010. It stood at 9.73 per cent in September this year. The RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to tame demand and curb inflation.

In its second quarterly review of the monetary policy last month, the apex bank said it expects inflation to remain elevated till December on account of the demand-supply mismatch, before moderating to 7 per cent by March, 2012.

"Going forward, the inflation numbers will tend to move downward. This decline is good, but over the long run, we still need to set right the fundamentals of fiscal deficit agriculture production if we wish to see the numbers on the lower side of the target range," financial services firm KASSA Director Siddharth Shankar said.

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions Finance Ministry increases FII investment limit to $15bn

Published on Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 17:47 | Source : CNBC-TV18 http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/finance-ministry-increases-fii- investment-limit-to-3615bn_619672.html

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) can now invest USD 5 billion more in the government securities. This move is expected to increase the participation of FIIs in the government securities. The finance ministry has increased the FII investment limit to USD 15 billion, reports CNBC-TV18's Aakanksha Sethi.

The finance ministry has raised the limit for FII inflow in government securities and corporate bonds to facilitate better access for capital for the corporate sector and encourage FII inflows.

For the government securities, the limit currently stands at USD 10 billion, which has been raised to USD 15 billion. For corporate bonds, the limit for FII inflows stands at USD 15 billion, which has been raised to USD 20 billion.

Last time, this limit was reviewed in 2010. In September 2010 and since then, about 94% of the limit for government securities and about 91% for FII investments in corporate bonds have been used up. So, both these limits are close to exhaust. Hence, the finance ministry raised these limits after a review.

The securities and exchange board of India (SEBI) is expected to notify this in the next few days. From then, the FIIs will be allowed to invest high amounts, which should come as good news for the corporate sector as it has been facing a credit constriction. In case the government surpasses this fiscal deficit target, extra bowering will be easier with this higher limit for FII inflows.

Ministry moots 24 p.c. FDI in civil aviation sector Vinay Kumar http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article2635738.ece At a time when domestic airlines are reporting substantial losses, the Civil Aviation Ministry has proposed that the government allow 24 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by foreign airlines in Indian carriers.

The Civil Aviation Ministry is preparing a note for the Union Cabinet and it is likely to come up for discussion in the Cabinet over the next few days, sources in the ministry said here on Thursday.

``The Civil Aviation Ministry has proposed 24 per cent investment by foreign airlines. The Cabinet is likely to take a call on the issue in a couple of weeks,’’ official sources said.

When asked about the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) proposing a 26 per cent cap, the sources said the government would take a final call on it. Current rules allow 49% FDI in Indian aviation companies, but do not permit foreign airlines to own stake in India’s carriers.

While a majority of Indian airlines are opposed to FDI as they fear that foreign partners would eventually take over the carriers in which they invest, liquor baron Vijay Mallya whose Kingfisher Airlines has sunk into a deep financial crisis has raised the pitch for allowing foreign airlines to invest in India’s domestic carriers. A number of banks which have exposure to domestic carriers are also finding it hard to restructure their loans. In such a scenario, FDI could infuse funds in the carriers which they badly need.

Apart from Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Spicejet have also reported losses due to high costs of operation and tax structure. State-owned Air India is also looking for infusion of more funds from the government to bail it out of financial crisis.

The current policy bars foreign airlines from investing in Indian carriers primarily on security grounds. A 26 per cent cap would allow a foreign investor to have voting rights in the board of an Indian carrier which would be not allowed if the cap is fixed at 24 per cent, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) could allocate slots at airports vacated by Kingfisher Airlines to other airlines over the next few weeks. Kingfisher announced that it would slash about 40 daily flights where the company was making losses following a plan to reconfigure aircraft and cut costs.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has also indicated that over the next few months, an aviation ombudsman will be appointed to help the sector which is in dire financial strait.

``All stake holders have agreed to setting up an Ombudsman for the sector,’’ ministry sources said. The ombudsman’s office would also look into complaints by the passengers.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) KG basin contract: PAC grills top Oil Ministry officials PTI http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article2636077.ece

A Parliamentary panel on Thursday posed probing questions to top Oil Ministry officials on how they allowed Reliance Industries to violate contract for Krishna-Godavari basin field and why the losses from rise in spending on the gas fields were not quantified.

Oil Secretary G.C. Chaturvedi and head of oil regulator, the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons S.K. Srivastava appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader M.M. Joshi, to answer issues raised by CAG audit of RIL’s eastern offshore KG-D6 gas block.

Members sought to know why RIL was allowed to retain the entire exploration area when as per the contract, it was to relinquish 25 per cent of the area after first phase of exploration.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report tabled in Parliament in September, had criticised the ministry and DGH for allowing RIL to retain the entire KG-D6 block in contravention to the signed Production Sharing Contract (PSC).

Mr. Chaturvedi explained that declaring entire block as discovery area and allowing operators to retain is permissible but sought more time from the Committee to provide details of the pertinent policy.

Members also asked why CAG had not quantified loss to the government from RIL revising capital expenditure in developing KG-D6 field from $2.4 billion proposed in 2004 to $8.8 billion in 2006.

Mr. Chaturvedi is understood to have explained that the ministry did not quantify the losses as it comes under CAG’s domain.

At this some members pointed that losses were quantified in the draft report and the Ministry’s internal auditors should have worked on the issue.

Mr. Joshi is understood to have given the Ministry time till November 30 to reply to a set of questions PAC will send to it.

Some members asked the Ministry representatives as to why no single policy was followed by the Ministry in giving the KG-D6 gas block and the reasons behind frequent change of stand.

On the issue of single point bidding, panel members asked the officials why the CAG was not explained the reason despite the government auditor raising objections on it.

Mr. Chaturvedi is learnt to have said that he would get back to the contractor and inform the committee.

At this, some members questioned the failure of the Oil Ministry in getting facts before deposing before the panel as the report was tabled in Parliament as back as September this year.

A member sought to know the stand of the Ministry on objections raised by the Defence Ministry on carrying out exploration work off the east coast.

Some blocks fall under the missile testing path and others in Naval firing/exercise area, leading to Ministry of Defence objecting to putting up permanent structures there.

The officials were also asked how they plan to deal with the situation in consultation with the Defence Ministry. This issue is not covered by the CAG report.

The audit report does not quantify how much the government lost when Reliance hiked capital expenditure at the nation’s biggest gas field from $2.4 billion proposed in 2004 to $8.8 billion estimate in 2006.

This is perhaps the first CAG report which has gone into a public-private partnership (PPP) contract and some members felt that perhaps this was the reason the auditor did not go into the issue of quantifying the losses.

The CAG had sharply criticised Reliance Industries and the Oil Ministry for violation of contract over the showpiece KG-D6 gas block and called for revamping the current profit-sharing arrangement that reduces government revenues.

ECS recommends rejecting Reliance Industries and ONGC bids for two oil blocks in Andaman http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/oil-gas/ecs-recommends- rejecting-reliance-industries-and-ongc-bids-for-two-oil-blocks-in- andaman/articleshow/10769005.cms NEW DELHI: A high-level panel of secretaries has recommended rejecting bids by Reliance Industries and state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for the Andaman sea block as they had offered "very low" profit share to the government.

RIL, which had bid for six out of the 34 areas offered for exploration under the ninth auction round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) earlier this year, was ranked number one for the Andaman deep-sea blocks, AN-DWN-2010/3 and AN-DWN-2010/4, ahead of a consortia of ONGC and Oil India Ltd.

An Empowered Committee of Secretaries, which reviewed the bids recently, felt that 10.95 per cent profit share offered by RIL was less than benchmark 15 per cent and therefore was deemed very low, sources privy to the deliberations said.

ECS in its recommendations, which would go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), opined that RIL should not be awarded these two blocks, they said.

The panel had gave the same opinion on ONGC's 6.7 per cent profit share offer for two other Andaman Sea block - AN-DWN-2010/1 and AN-DWN-2010/2, where it was the sole bidder. It also wanted the bid by a consortium of ONGC-OIL and GAIL for deepsea block GS-DWN- 2010/1 and that of ONGC-OIL-BPRL for Kerala-Konkan deepwater block KK-DWN-2010/1 also rejected as they offered very low profit share.

RIL lost out to lesser known companies on the four Gujarat and Rajasthan onland blocks it had bid for.

Sources said ECS recommended award of only 14 out of the 33 blocks that had received bids. Of the 33 blocks, three in Mahanadi basin off the Orissa coast were to be shelved as they fell in Naval firing/exercise areas.

The panel recommended award of two shallow water and two onland blocks to consortia led by ONGC. State-owned OIL led consortia was adjudged winner for two onland blocks in the Assam-Arakan basin. Deep Energy walked away with two Cambay basin blocks while Focus Energy beat RIL to bag an area in Rajasthan.

The remaining five blocks were recommended for award to companies like Sankalp Oil and Natural Resources, Pratibha Oil and Natural Gas Pvt Ltd and Pan India Consultants.

The government had offered eight deepsea blocks, seven shallow water areas and 19 onland blocks for bidding in NELP-IX. One shallow water block did not receive any bid at the close of bidding on March 28.

The ECS recommended rejection of single bids for eight blocks where profit petroleum offered to the government ranged betwen 6.6 to 6.7 per cent.

It sought assessment of networth of top bidder for three blocks in Cambay and Rajasthan before awarding them.

Militant Activity/Terrorism (Particularly in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Coimbatore)

Hardcore Maoist couple surrenders, meets Mamata Banerjee Published: Thursday, Nov 17, 2011, 17:29 IST http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_hardcore-maoist-couple-surrenders-meets-mamata- banerjee_1613924

Responding to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's call, a hardcore Maoist couple against whom several cases of murder and violence including the deadly attack on a paramilitary camp in Silda were pending surrendered today before the police.

The wanted top Maoists--Jagari Baskey (26) and her husband Rajaram Soren (34)--were also presented before the Trinamool Congress supremo, who welcomed their decision and promised that the West Bengal government would take care of those who would surrender and eschew violence. The couple, who were accompanied by their four-year-old son Bahadur, surrendered before the IG (IB) OP Gupta at the state secretariat.

Officials said this is for the first time any Naxal has surrendered at the Writers' Building, housing the secretariat.

The dreaded duo were involved in several incidents of ambush on security camps and villagers in Purulia, Bankura, and West Midnapore district.

The couple, dressed in Army fatigues, first contacted SP, Purulia. The SP then contacted Gupta in Kolkata.

Thereafter the two were brought to the Writers' Building and presented before the Chief Minister.

The couple said they had decided to surrender in response to the chief minister's call to return to the mainstream, lay down arms and lead a normal life taking advantage of the government's package.

Welcoming the decision, an elated Banerjee said, "I am again calling my brothers and sisters, who have been misguided and have taken up arms, to surrender to take advantage of government's economic package and lead a normal life."

Jagari was involved in the Silda EFR camp attack in which 21 personnel of the state's paramilitary force were killed in February last year.

The surrender took place amid intensification of joint operations against Naxals today in junglemahal, round-the-clock patrols in Purulia district and combing of some areas in West Midnapore district.

Two arrested with arms and sharp edged weapons during Advani's rath yatra Saurabh PrasharSaurabh Prashar, TNN | Nov 17, 2011, 04.36PM IST http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Two-arrested-with-arms-and-sharp-edged- weapons-during-Advanis-rath-yatra/articleshow/10768432.cms CHANDIGARH: During 36th day of senior BJP leader L K Advani's rath yatra in Chandigarh, UT police have arrested two members of a minority community and recovered a country made pistol, eight live cartridges and some sharp-edged weapons from their possession on Wednesday night.

Though senior chandigarh police were tight-lipped on the development, reliable police sources said, "Both persons were arrested following the input of intelligence wing of local police and one of the rounded up persons was also involved in two years back reported riots in Haryana."

SHO of police station, sector 31, Inspector Jaspal Singh, said, "Rounded up persons were identified as Akram Khan and Karvinder Singh of Saharanpur in UP and a car was also seized from their possession." When asked either both were came to Chandigarh for disturbing ongoing Rath Yatra, Inspector Singh refused to make any comment and said a case of Arms Act was registered against both of them, and both were produced in a local court for obtaining police custody.

Chandigarh police have already arrested a total 14 members of two radical organizations included All India Sikh Student Federation ( AISSF) and Akal Sahai International (ASI) prior before the entrance of Advani led rath yatra in Chandigarh on November 16.

However, police sources said one of the arrested, Akram, introduced himself as the district level BJP leader of Saharanpur and Karvinder was involved in the reaction violence of Gohana incident around five years back in Panchkula district of Haryana.

Labor/Social Unrest