NEW DELHI: The controversial yet historic Women's Reservation Bill, ensuring 33% reservation to women in Parliament and state legislative bodies, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday after two days of high drama that saw suspension of seven members who violently disrupted proceedings.
The Bill, pushed by the government despite the threat of withdrawal of support by Samajwadi Party and RJD, was passed by a two-third majority, a day after it was moved in the House for consideration but could not be taken up because of unruly scenes.
Of the votes polled, 186 were in favour of the bill and only one was against.
The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill could get through with "unequivocal" support from the BJP and the Left in the Upper House where the ruling UPA coalition is in minority. The 245-member House has an effective strength of 233.
UPA ally Trinamool Congress, with two members in the Upper House, did not participate in the voting.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley described the measure as "momentous and historic".
BSP, having 12 members, walked out of the House saying the bill did not contain amendments suggested by it.
Lok Sabha also witnessed unruly scenes created by SP, RJD and JD(U) who forced four adjournments.
14 years after the first attempt was made in the Lok Sabha and repeated failures subsequently, the Constitution amendment bill was adopted in the mandatory division with 186 members voting for it and one voting against.
In the 245-member House with an effective strength of 233, the bill required the backing of at least 155 members and the UPA had the clear support of 165 in the run up to the event.
The bill seeks to reserve for women 181 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,370 out of a total of 4,109 seats in the 28 State Assemblies.
Ruling UPA constituent Trinamool Congress, which has two members, kept away from voting, while 15-member BSP, which has opposed the bill in its present form, walked out before voting.
JD(U), whose present Sharad Yadav is a staunch opponent of the Bill, appears to have backed the Bill fully with most of its 7 members voting for it in response to the call by one of its senior leaders and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
After frenzied opposition and repeated disruptions, the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday evening finally debated the historic women's reservation bill in the run up to a vote on the legislation.
Amongst those who spoke were Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Arun Jaitley, Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) Brinda Karat, Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra and Jayanthi Natarajan of Congress.
Opening the debate was Jaitley, who said his party "unequivocally" supported the women's bill but added that the privilege of supporting it had been diluted by "some of the most shameful incidents in India's parliamentary history".
The leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, who spoke after the constitution amendment bill was put to vote by Chairman Hamid Ansari, said he had a feeling of being a party to history in the making when he came to the house.
Karat, a vocal supporter of the bill, said women's reservation in parliament and state legislatures would change the "culture of the country because women today are still caught in a culture prison. In the name of tradition, stereotypes are imposed and we have to fight these every day".
These stereotypes will also be broken by the bill, said Karat, who believes the entry of a larger number of women in legislatures would make for "more sensitive politics".
"The women's reservation bill will ensure that women of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes, poor women and Muslim women would benefit from it," Karat said, addressing concerns that the bill would benefit only some sections.
Congress leader and spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan also refuted critics demanding a special quota for Dalit women, saying Dalits and tribals would continue to get reservation under the bill.
A triumphant Natarajan said no other party "had the courage to deliver the promise (of reservation for women) to the people of India". She said Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had not lagged behind in supporting measures for women's empowerment.
However, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Mishra said his party would not be able to support the proposed legislation in the current form. He wanted the prime minister to reserve 50 percent of all seats in legislatures for women in line with their population ratio.
Shivanand Tiwari of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) created a minor stir in the house by speaking in favour of the bill, which has been opposed vocally by a section of his colleagues led by party president Sharad Yadav.
The AIADMK's V. Maitreyan pointed out that the bill was a great tribute to the Indian housewife who he said had proved to be better financial managers of the household "than all the finance ministers of India".
The 14-year-journey of Women's Reservation Bill
NEW DELHI: The 14-year journey of the Women's Reservation Bill was marked by high drama and hit roadblocks in each of its outings in Parliament before the historic measure cleared the first legislative hurdle on Tuesday.
The battle for greater representation to women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies was routinely punctuated by frayed tempers and war of words which sometimes got physical, as different governments since 1996 tried to get the Women's Reservation Bill passed in Parliament without success.
The Bill also lapsed each time the House was dissolved and was reintroduced by the Government of the day.
The pathbreaking Bill greenlighted by the Rajya Sabha after some hiccups to create legislative history was first introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Deve Gowda government on Sept 12, 1996.
Snatching of papers from presiding officers and Ministers and scuffles became a familiar scene each time the Bill made its way to Parliament before it was aborted.
Once, Union minister Renuka Chowdhury pushed a Samajwadi member away when a Samajwadi member tried to snatch a copy of the Bill from her Ministerial colleague H R Bhardwaj in the UPA government's first term when it was being introduced.
Bharadwaj also took his seat between two women ministers and was guarded by some women MPs to ward off any attack on him by some opposition members.
And the opposition to the Constitution Amendment Bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Legislatures hit a nadir yesterday when some opposition members tried to attack Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and disrupted tabling of the Bill.
The opposition to the Bill had its own share of lows when JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav, a critic of the legislation, asked in June 1997, "Do you think these women with short hair can speak for women, for our women..."(
In the Bill's previous foray on May 6, 2008, a resolute government introduced the legislation in the Rajya Sabha yet another time amid high drama and scuffles between members.
With Congress Parliamentarians providing protective cover, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj introduced the Bill in the midst of Samajwadi Party members trying to snatch its copies from the hands of the Minister.
Samajwadi members stormed the well soon after the House resumed at noon in an apparent attempt to stall introduction of the Bill, which they have been opposing along with JD(U.)
However, the disruptions could not dissuade the government from going ahead and introducing the Bill.
As agitated SP member Abu Asim Azmi and his party colleagues tried to snatch the Bill copy from Bhardwaj, Congress members intervened and Renuka Chaudhary, then the Women and Child Development Minister, repulsed the attempts by pushing Azmi away.
Expecting trouble, Bharadwaj was seated in the middle row of the treasury benches flanked by two women ministers - Kumari Selja and Ambika Soni. On top of it, Congress women Parliamentarians Jayanti Natarajan and Alka Balram Kshatriya guarded Bharadwaj from SP members who had taken the position for the go.
Top leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh, were witness to the high drama. Several Lok Sabha lawmakers were also seated in the gallery.
"Take back the Women's Reservation Bill" was among the slogans raised by the SP members from the well of the Rajya Sabha.
After the Bill introduced by the Deve Gowda government on September 12, 1996 failed to get approval in Lok Sabha, it was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by Geeta Mukherjee, which presented its report to the Lok Sabha on December 9, 1996.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government re-introduced the bill in 1998 the 12th Lok Sabha.
When Law minister M. Thambidurai rose to introduce the bill on July 13, 1998 RJD MP Surendra Prasad Yadav goes to the well of the House, snatches it from Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi and tears it to bits.
The NDA government re-introduced the bill in the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
It moved the Bill again amid pandemonium in 2002 and Left parties and the Congress give assurances to support the bill if it is taken up.
The Bill was introduced twice in Parliament in 2003 and after an all-party meeting, BJP spokesperson Vijay Malhotra said, "We want the Bill passed in this session itself, with or without consensus".
In May that year, at an all-party meeting, Speaker Manohar Joshi announced deferring of the Bill. Protesting MPs rush to the well of the House during Question Hour, saying they would never allow the Bill to be passed in the present form.
Just before the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, Vajpayee blamed Congress for stalling the Bill and said BJP and its allies would pass the legislation after getting a decisive mandate in 2004 elections.
In 2004, the UPA government includes it in the Common Minimum Programme, which said: "The UPA government will take the lead to introduce legislation for one-third reservations for women in Vidhan Sabhas and in the Lok Sabha."
In 2005, BJP announced complete support for the bill. Subsequently, it yields to the objections of Uma Bharati and several others within the party, who stress on quota within quota for women on caste basis.
In 2008, the government tabled the bill in the Rajya Sabha so that the legislation does not lapse.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, and Personnel recommended passage of the Bill in Dec 2009.
The Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on February 25, 2010.
CIA warns India of al-Qaida threats
WASHINGTON: The CIA on Tuesday warned India and Brazil that they face "emerging threats" from al-Qaida and Taliban, though the terrorist outfits are "on the run" due to extreme pressure exerted on them in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
CIA Director Leon Panetta, said that the US spy agency has a "fundamental duty to provide warning and prevent surprise," which also refers to "emerging threats" to nations like Brazil and India, indicating the need for growing cooperation between the US and India on intelligence sharing.
Intense operations have put top al-Qaida and Taliban leaders under extreme pressure and "many of them are on the run," Panetta claimed.
He said "Our counter-terrorism operation have put put top al-Qaida leaders under intense pressure and much of their network has been disrupted."
He said that American efforts both in Afghanistan and Pakistan were aimed at hitting command and control centres of the al-Qaida. Panetta's claim comes as Pakistani forces with the help of CIA have captured some top Taliban commanders, including the outfits Nos 2 Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Without referring to covert drone attacks believed to be launched from Pakistani soil, Panetta said in his address at the University of Oklahoma.
Saying that US was at war with al-Qaida and its affiliated terrorist organisations, America's top spy claimed that operations in tribal areas of Pakistan has killed more than half of al-Qaida's top 20 commanders.
US drone attacks have also claimed to have killed more than 600 al-Qaida and Taliban militants in less than three years.
Warning that it was a war, the spy chief said al-Qaida would keep on coming at the Americans and said new intelligence indicated that Osama bin Laden led outfit was changing its tactics and trying to launch attacks on the US through people with no history of terrorist activities.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Panetta said America's goal is to "degrade the Taliban" in order to allow the Afghan people to govern themselves freely.
The question that most concerned Panetta was whether the US would be able to ultimately transfer power to the Afghan people.
The answer, he said, lies in whether the Karzai administration will succeed in building effective government, which he defined as the capacity to protect the people "at the provincial level."
Panetta said fighting the spread of deadly weapons is a core issue of the CIA's duties, especially in light of Osama Bin Laden describing the acquisition of nuclear weapons a "religious duty."
The CIA Director said the US is lagging behind in the cyber war and told the audience that he feared that the next Pearl Harbor might be a cyber attack.
Air India to lose Rs 5,400cr in 2009-10, says Praful Patel
NEW DELHI: National carrier Air India is expected to incur losses of around $1.8 billion (Rs.5,400 crore) this fiscal and the trend is likely to continue for a few more years, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
"The trend of losses is likely to continue for a few more years," the minister told the Rajya Sabha. He did not say when the airline would start making profits. The state-owned carrier is run by the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (NACIL).
With the expected losses of $1.8 billion (Rs.5,400 crore) in 2009-10, the carrier's losses will mount to over $2.64 billion (Rs.13,174 crore) in three straight fiscals. The carrier had incurred a loss of $445.2 million (Rs.2,226.16 crore) in 2007-08 and $1.11 billion (Rs.5,548 crore) in 2008-09.
"The airline has initiated action as part of the turnaround plan and is focusing on fleet and manpower rationalisation, route profitability, and structural changes. These plan envisages benefits of $382.2 million (Rs.1911 crore) for the current financial year," Patel said.
These initiatives taken by the airline will only result in savings of $150.6 million (Rs.753 crore) in fiscal 2010-11, he said.
The minister also said the airline's outstanding fuel dues till January end stood at $348.2 million (Rs.1741 crore). "We have asked the airlines to clear the dues expeditiously."
The airline is waiting for a cabinet nod to raise its working capital by $200 million (Rs.1,000 crore). Currently the airline's working capital is $3.4 billion (Rs.17,000 crore).
The government last month approved equity infusion of $160 million (Rs.800 crore) for the ailing carrier in two instalments to tide over the cash flow problem and finance fleet acquisition plans.
Kasab trial: 'Pak Army sponsored the 26/11 attacks'
Mumbai: The 26/11 trial took a new turn on Tuesday with the prosecution stating that Pakistan Army was involved in the Mumbai terror attacks and a serving Major General had supervised their training in LeT camps across the border.
Attired in white kurta and pyjama, 22-year-old Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani gunman, was seen in the dock covering his face with a handkerchief most of the time. Two other accused, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, sat besides him on a bench.
Nikam said Kasab and the nine other slain terrorists had undergone military and intelligence training in Pakistan given by activists of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and supervised by certain officers of the Pakistan Army.
"Kasab in his confession has said one Major General was present during their training and supervised the firing practice. The name of this Major General was deliberately not revealed to the attackers as he occupies a senior position in the army," Nikam said.
The Major General had taken keen interest during the firing practice and even patted Kasab for his good shots at targets, he said.
Kasab, he said, was a well trained commando and had also been imparted intelligence training to mislead the court. He had taken U-turns a number of times by making confessions and later retracting them, Nikam said. Alleging that the LeT and the Army were hand-in glove, the prosecution said a deliberate attempt was made by the conspirators to conceal Pakistan's involvement in the attack.
"The attackers were given fake identity cards under fictitious Indian names to conceal their nationality so that Pakistan's name did not surface. Slain terrorist Imran Babbar had even contacted a TV news channel during the attacks and claimed that he was from Hyderabad," Nikam argued.
Nikam said top LeT leaders including Hafeez Sayeed and Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi were present at the Pakistan training camp.
The conspirators had directed the terrorists not to reveal their true identity and nationality to ensure that Pakistan's name does not crop up in the attack.
"Till date Pakistan has refused to take responsibility for the attacks and not yet claimed bodies of the nine slain terrorists," Nikam said. "Are they apprehending that relatives of the slain terrorists would reveal the secrets"? he asked.
Nikam said that Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) accounts were opened prior to the attacks through Callphonex, a service provider in New Jersey to use mobile phones and the payments were made by Mohammad Iqbal, a Pakistani national.
Summing up, Nikam said "When I was leading evidence I was looking at the larger picture to get to the root of the conspiracy and find out who were conspirators of this attack.
The terror of this nature would not have been possible without overt support of organised state actors".
One more student commits suicide over Telangana
Hyderabad: One more student of Osmania University allegedly committed suicide in support of statehood to Telangana by hanging himself in his hostel room here on Tuesday.
M Saikumar, a B Tech second year student, after attending a class in the morning went to his hostel room and hanged himself with a rope, Osmania University police said.
When his room-mates came to the room after attending their classes, they found Saikumar hanging from the window and immediately alerted the police and called an ambulance, police said.
Saikumar died on the way to the Gandhi hospital.
The police recovered a suicide note purportedly written by Saikumar in which he stated that he is sacrificing his life for the cause of Telangana.
Additional forces have been deployed in the University campus and near Gandhi hospital as tension prevailed after the news of Saikumar’s death spread.
Business News
IT sector created most jobs in Q3: Report
New Delhi: Ninety per cent of the new jobs created during the last quarter were direct recruitments by employers while the rest were done through contracts, a latest government survey said.
Most of the increase in employment of direct category workers was accounted for by the IT/BPO sector, Labour Bureau said in its survey report for October-December quarter.
During this period, employment rose by 6.38 lakh over the July-September quarter, an apparent reflection of the gradual turnaround of the economy, the report said.
Out of 6.38 lakh, employment in the direct category rose by 5.79 lakh while employment of contract workers increased by only 0.59 lakh, it said.
Direct workers include permanent, temporary and casual workers employed directly by the employer. Contract workers, on the other hand, are those hired by the employer to perform specific functions through a contractor for a defined period of time.
The report, which was compiled out of a survey carried out in eight selected sectors of the economy, revealed that IT/BPO sector created 5.67 out of the 5.79 lakh jobs in direct worker category.
The sectors covered in the survey included textiles, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport and handloom apart from the IT/BPO.
Taxes make 50 pct of petrol price
New Delhi: More than half of the Rs 47.43 a litre retail price of petrol in Delhi is made up of taxes, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee raised excise and customs duty on auto fuels in the Budget 2010-11.
Mukherjee last month raised excise duty on petrol and diesel by Re one per litre and import duty from 2.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, resulting in a 12.7 per cent increase in tax component in the retail selling price.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada informed Rajya Sabha that central and state taxes make up for Rs 24.41 or 51.5 per cent of the retail selling price of Rs 47.43 a litre of petrol in the national capital.
Prior to the February 26 proposal, customs and excise duties and state taxes totalled to Rs 21.65 in the retail selling price of Rs 44.72 per litre.
In case of diesel, taxes comprise Rs 10.73 or 30.25 per cent of Rs 35.47 a litre retail selling price in Delhi.
Earlier, one-fourth (Rs 8.11) was the tax component in retail price of Rs 32.92 per litre.
The Budget proposals led to a Rs 2.71 a litre increase in petrol prices and Rs 2.55 per litre hike in diesel rates.
Prasada said customs duty contributed Rs 1.73 in the retail price of petrol, excise duty Rs 14.78 and state taxes Rs 7.90. In case of diesel, Rs 1.80 was because of import duty, Rs 4.74 due to excise and Rs 4.19 resulting from state taxes.
A loan of Rs 8,966 on every MP citizen!
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh government has a debt of Rs 54,111 crore as on March 31, 2009, which means Rs 8,966 per person in the state according to the 2001 census, Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Raghavji said in the Assembly.
Replying to the Congress's Ram Niwas Rawat, Raghavji said that till March 31, 2004, the state government had a debt of Rs 34,109 crore, while it is Rs 54,111 crore as on March 31, 2009.
According to the 2001 census, the population of the state was 6,03,48,000 which means every citizen of the state carries an average loan of Rs 8,911, the minister said.
He said that as per the Budget estimates for the year 2009-10, the amount of debt repayment will be Rs 3,604.81 crore and interest on it will be Rs 4,794.10 crore which is 7.21 per cent and 9.59 per cent respectively of the total budget.
Sports News
Sachin is India’s top sportsman
Mumbai: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the most influential person in Indian sports in the annual Sports Illustrated Power list.
Union Agriculture Minister and President elect, ICC Sharad Pawar, Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and BCCI president Shashank Manohar are fourth, fifth and sixth on the list respectively.
Some of the names in 50 most influential people in Indian sports including Tendulkar, tennis ace Sania Mirza (50th on the list), Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra (41st), Churchill Brothers Team owner Churchill Alemao (48th), Dempo Sports Team owner Shrinivas Dempo (49) were felicitated during a function here late last night.
"I wanted to play cricket whole-heartedly for the country. I am living my dream and have played with two-three generations. I wanted to be a special member of the team and I have done it," Tendulkar said on the occasion.
Tendulkar added he was still receiving congratulatory messages for becoming first batsman in the history of One-day cricket to score a double hundred and that he was enjoying the good time.
"It has taken many years for a batsman to get a double-hundred (in ODIs). I am still getting great feedback. It feels terrific," he said.
Asked how he kept himself composed even after becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in Olympics, Bindra said, "I have waited for it for the last 16 years."
Meanwhile, Sania, who had recently sustained a wrist injury said she was on the way to recovery and was preparing for the Commonwealth games.
"I am recovering from the injury. Should be back in a couple of weeks."
As a special gesture, Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta (the most powerful woman at 23 on the list) was presented with a diamond studded cricket ball.
Germany quell New Zealand fightback to storm into semis
Defending champions Germany saw off a late challenge from New Zealand to score a thumping 5-2 victory and booked a semifinal berth in the Hero Honda Hockey World Cup here on Tuesday.
The world number one Germans, gunning for a hat-trick of titles, then scored twice in the space of two minutes towards close through Moritz Furste (63rd) and Matthias Witthaus (64th) to romp home with a morale-boosting vicrtory.
After three wins and two draws, Germany ended the Pool A engagements with 11 points.
New Zealand failed to qualify for the semifinals with six points from five matches.
The Germans forwards put pressure on the Kiwis right from the word go while the Black Sticks rarely reached the opposition circle.
The incessant attack paid off and the Germans took lead in the 15th minute with Christoph Menke deflecting a Florian Fuchs' pass from the left at the roof of New Zealand goal.
Seven minutes later, Jan-Marco Montag dodged past two New Zealand defenders but his reverse stick shot inside the striking circle sailed over the crossbar.
New Zealand got their first penalty corner one minute from the breather and Nicholas Wilson's attempt from close range was saved by German goalkeeper Tim Jessulat.
The Germans made it 3-0 in the 47th minute with Philip Witte deflecting a Tobias Hauke shot from outside the striking circle into the goal.
New Zealand struck back scoring twice in five minutes to make it 3-2 by the 54th minute.
Shea Mcaleese scored the first Kiwi goal in the 50th minute following their second penalty corner. He guided the ball into the German net after Andrew Hayward's strike was deflected by a German defender.
Four minutes later, Wilson Nicholas, who missed a chance in the first half, scored a gem of a goal. He got the better of a German defender with a fine stickwork and then rounded off the advancing goalkeeper before blasting into empty net.
Germany then scored twice in two minutes, with Moritz Furste converting their third penalty corner in the 63rd minute and Matthias Witthaus volleying a rebound off the New Zealand goalkeeper from their fourth penalty corner few moments later.
Germany got their first and only penalty corner of the first half in the 28th minute and they double the lead from it with Florian volleying a waist-high rebound off New Zealand goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex.
New Zealand got their first penalty corner one minute from the breather and Nicholas Wilson's attempt from close range was saved by German goalkeeper Tim Jessulat.
New Zealand struck back scoring twice in five minutes to make it 3-2 by the 54th minute.
Shea Mcaleese scored the first Kiwi goal in the 50th minute following their second penalty corner. He guided the ball into the German net after Andrew Hayward's strike was deflected by a German defender.
Four minutes later, Wilson Nicholas, who missed a chance in the first half, scored a gem of a goal. He got the better of a German defender with a fine stickwork and then rounded off the advancing goalkeeper before blasting into empty net.
Germany then scored twice in two minutes, with Moritz Furste converting their third penalty corner in the 63rd minute and Matthias Witthaus volleying a rebound off the New Zealand goalkeeper from their fourth penalty corner few moments later.
The Germans made it 3-0 in the 47th minute with Philip Witte deflecting a Tobias Hauke shot from outside the striking circle into the goal.
Germany got their first and only penalty corner of the first half in the 28th minute and they double the lead from it with Florian volleying a waist-high rebound off New Zealand goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex.
