The Indian Panorama

Month: October 2013

  • Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad jailed for 5 yrs, loses LS seat

    Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad jailed for 5 yrs, loses LS seat

    CBI court holds Lalu and 44 others guilty; Lalu convicted of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating

    NEW DELHI (TIP): RJD chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad has been sentenced to five years in jail and fined Rs 25 lakh in a fodder case – RC 20 A/96 – by a special CBI court on October 3 in Ranchi. With the sentencing Lalu has also been disqualified from Parliament and has lost his Lok Sabha seat. Another former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra has been sentenced to four years in jail and fined Rs 5 lakh in the same case. Janata Dal United MP Jagdish Sharma, another accused, has also got a four-year jail term and he also loses his Lok Sabha seat. While Lalu represented Bihar’s Saran constituency, Sharma was the MP from Jehanabad. The case went on for more than 17 years. On Monday, special CBI judge Pravas Kumar K Singh held Lalu and 44 others guilty in the fodder scam case. Lalu has been convicted of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating. The other politicians who have been convicted and jailed are former legislators RK Rana, Dhruv Bhagat and Vidya Sagar Nishad. The sentencing also renders Lalu ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years as per a recent Supreme Court order.

    Lalu was arrested and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi a few minutes after the verdict. His only hope – an ordinance and Bill to shield convicted legislators – was withdrawn by the Union Cabinet on October 2. As per a recent Supreme Court judgement a legislator convicted in a case where the minimum sentence is two years in jail will lose his/her seat immediately. Lalu was one of the 45 people facing charges in the RC 20 A/96 case and had been charged with fraudulent withdrawing Rs 37.7 crore on fake fodder bills from Chaibasa treasury in the 1990s. Chaibasa was then part of undivided Bihar and is now in Jharkhand. There were a total of 56 accused in the case. But during the trial, seven accused died, two turned approver, one admitted to the crime and one was discharged. Lalu and Jagannath are accused in a total of five fodder scam cases. Lalu quit as Bihar chief minister on July 25, 1997 when his name figured in the CBI investigations in the scam, which surfaced in 1996. After stepping down, he rather surprising pulled his wife Rabri Devi out of the “chowka” (kitchen) and made her the chief minister and continued to rule through proxy.

  • ‘International Day of Non- Violence’ commemorated at the United Nations

    ‘International Day of Non- Violence’ commemorated at the United Nations

    UNITED NATIONS (TIP): The Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York hosted a special event on October 2 at the United Nations to commemorate the “International Day of Non Violence”. UN Secretary General (UNSG) H.E. Mr. Ban ki-moon and President of the 68th UN General Assembly (PGA) H.E. Ambassador John Ashe graced the event and delivered the key note and presidential address respectively. Other speakers on the distinguished panel included the Permanent Representative of South Africa to UN, H.E. Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo, and featured interventions by the Permanent Representative of Argentina, H.E. Ambassador María Cristina Perceval, the Permanent Representative of Czech Republic, H.E. Ambassador Edita Hrda, and Permanent Representative of Norway H.E. Ambassador Geir O. Pedersen.


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    The event had a packed audience of 450 plus, which included 65 Permanent Representatives of UN Member states, in addition to members of the media and several other dignitaries including Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the Special Adviser on Myanmar to U.N. Secretary-General and other senior UN officials. Ambassador Asoke K Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to UN, welcomed the distinguished gathering and underscored the increasing relevance of Gandhian ideals by stating ‘that the path of non-violence and dialogue is the surest path to sustainable peace, sustainable development and indeed, sustainable reforms. It is through such an approach that we would be best equipped to deal with the challenges of change, whether political, social, economic or environmental, and find solutions on the basis of the strength of dialogue.’ Delivering the key note address UN Secretary General called on member states to ‘draw strength from the courage of individuals like Mahatma Gandhi’ and quoting him said : “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent” . UNSG emphasized that it was from this ideology that the UN has “insisted throughout the war in Syria that all concerned must work for a political solution” and reiterated that “whatever one’s sympathies or convictions, violence is a poor means to an unsatisfactory end.” In his Presidential Address, Ambassador John Ashe, President of the 68th UN General Assembly, stated that as the General Assembly embarks upon setting the post 2015 development agenda, it was important that “laying the groundwork for this new agenda, is laying the groundwork for a non-violent world – one that values peace and well-being for all”.

    In the subsequent statements by the Ambassadors of South Africa, Czech, Argentina and Norway, the need for the world to resort to ‘non violent’ pathways as the only available solution to conflicts around the world, was emphasized as a common resonating theme. Ambassador John Ashe, President of the 68th UN General Assembly was also presented with a life size portrait of Mahatma Gandhi by renowned artist, Dr. R.D. Pareek, who had flown in from Mumbai to present his painting to the PGA. In addition, a ‘special edition book’ on the life of Mahatma Gandhi was presented to the UN Secretary General for his personal collection by the Permanent Representative of India to UN, Ambassador Asoke K Mukerji. The Special Event also featured an exclusive Sarod recital by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, his sons Amaan and Ayaan and accompanying artists. The performance included special renditions of tunes of ‘Vaishnav Jan to Tene Kahiye’ and ‘Raghupati Raghav Rajaram’ to mark the occasion and drew a standing ovation from the packed audience at the UN. It may be recalled that the UN General Assembly had adopted resolution 61/271 with a record number of 143 co sponsors in June 2007, whereby it declared October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as “International Day of Non Violence” and invited all member states, NGOs and individuals, including the United Nations to organize events to commemorate this day.

  • India, US Seal First Commercial Civil Nuclear Power Deal

    India, US Seal First Commercial Civil Nuclear Power Deal

    WASHINGTON (TIP): India and the US have reached the first commercial agreement on civilian nuclear power, five years after a landmark deal between the two countries was clinched. Addressing a joint media interaction after talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Barack Obama disclosed that the two countries have sealed the agreement. “We’ve made enormous progress on the issue of civilian nuclear power, and in fact, have been able to achieve just in the last few days an agreement on the first commercial agreement between a US company and India on civilian nuclear power,” Obama said.

    India’s nuclear operator NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited) and US firm Westinghouse have signed an agreement that will pave the way for setting up an atomic plant in India. However, there was no word on the tough nuclear liability clause in the Indian laws over which the US firms had strong objections. There was a major uproar in India last week over the agreement because of apprehensions that it entailed bypassing the Civil Nuclear Liability Law in place in the country by waiving the operator’s right to recourse with the supplier. Reiterating his commitment for strong ties, Obama said India is not just a regional, but also a global power. Prime Minister Singh reciprocated the feelings, saying US is as an indispensable partner for India. “India, as a significant not just regional power but world power, has worked closely with us on a whole range of issues from climate change to how we can help feed the world, alleviate poverty and deal with disease,” Obama told reporters in his Oval Office following their hourlong meeting. Praising the Prime Minister for his leadership in strengthening India-US ties, Obama said Singh has been a great friend and partner to the United States and to him personally.

    “Across the board, Prime Minister Singh has been an outstanding partner,” Obama said, adding that India continues to grow at an amazing rate, but obviously there are a lot of people in India that are still trapped in poverty. He said US is a strong partner to help India realize that vision because if there is a strong India, that is good for the world and it’s ultimately good for the US. In his remarks, Singh said Obama has imparted a powerful impetus to that process of the two countries being on the same page. “I’ve always believed that India and America are indispensable partners. During the time that I have been Prime Minister, and particularly during the time that President Obama and I have worked together, I think President Obama has made an outstanding contribution to strengthening, widening and deepening of our cooperation in diverse ways,” he said. Singh said India and America are working together to build on the cooperation and widening and deepening it in diverse directions. “We are cooperating in expanding the frontiers of trade investment in technology. Our bilateral trade today is USD 100 billion. Investments in India are USD 80 billion. And they are growing, despite the slowdown in the global economy,” Singh said, referring to the increasing trade between the two sides. “Outside the area of trade technology and investment, we are exploring avenues of cooperation in new areas like energy cooperation, clean coal technology, energy-efficient technology, cooperation in the field of environment, cooperation in the field of defense and securityrelated, cooperation with regard to the intelligence gathering and counterterrorism. In all these areas, India needs the United States to be standing by our side,” Singh said.