PORT BLAIR: Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Ramvilas Paswan today charged that Bihar was now passing through a ‘jungle raj’ and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should resign.

“The voters in Bihar have by now realised their mistakes by choosing the present government in power,” Paswan, on a two-day visit to the islands told PTI here.

He alleged that the “deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar” indicated that the state was passing through “jungle raj” and the Chief Min .. PTI

The magisterial probe into the death of Ryan School student Devansh Kakora indicates towards a “heinous crime” and the investigations so far have “ignored” the observations of the child’s parents, Delhi Government said.
“The observation of the parents are being ignored that the private parts of the child had cotton on them. The report is indicating towards a heinous crime. And saying that he hada disorder amounts to running away from responsibilities,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.
Sisodia termed as “conspiratorial” the alleged attempts on the part of the school management to betray an impression that the six-year-old, who was found dead in a water tank inside its campus, was a “special child”.
The “deliberate” inaction of Ryan International School authorities that amounts to “gross criminal negligence” led to the death of the child, the report produced by SDM Sonal Swaroop has said. It slammed the authorities for “insinuating” him to be special kid.
Sisodia said the foundings of the report raises a “lot of questions” as to how the school could be so “careless”. The government is studying its contents and would take appropriate action, he said.
“The time that elapsed due to deliberate inaction by the school staff in rescuing Devansh amounts to gross criminal negligence. Had the time essentially wasted in discussion, calling for a particular person and denial, been utilised in rescuing the drowned child it would have been pivotal in saving his life,” the report has observed.
Devansh was found dead last Saturday, in the reservoir under the amphitheatre of the school located in South Delhi. The initial postmortem report of Devansh suggested he died of drowning and no external injuries were found, police had said.
pti

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today defended the Governor’s sanction for prosecuting Congress leader Ashok Chavan in Adarsh scam case, stating the step was taken as per the advice of the state’s top law officer and rejected the “vendetta” charge.

Governor C Vidyasagar Rao today gave sanction to CBI to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the case, days after the BJP-led state government recommended action against the leader, who is also a Lok Sabha MP.

Fadnavis said the opinion of Advocate General was sought on the sanction and the law officer clearly said “such permission should be and could be granted.”

“CBI said after the last Governor rejected permission to prosecute Ashok Chavan, a new set of facts was discovered which clearly proved quid pro quo, that is, he gave permissions (for construction of ‘Adarsh’ building) and his close relatives got flats (in the housing society).

“Thus, CBI once again asked the Governor to permit it to prosecute Chavan,” Fadnavis told PTI.

He said the Governor had forwarded the CBI’s request to the Council of Ministers for aid and advice, which was in turn sent to the Advocate General.

“The Council of Ministers, thus, decided to recommend the Governor to act in accordance with the opinion of AG and the Governor in turn gave his consent to CBI to prosecute (Chavan). Hence, there is no question of political vendetta (as alleged by Chavan),” he said.

Fadnavis sought to know why would the Governor or the government refuse sanction to proceed against the Lok Sabha MP from Nanded (who is also President of Congress in Maharashtra), when the central agency has stated that it had evidence of his involvement in the case.

“Even when the earlier Governor rejected permission and CBI went to the High Court, stating they don’t want to file a chargesheet since Governor had denied sanction, the Court did not accept its plea and directed it to file a chargesheet,” Fadnavis said.

The erstwhile Congress-NCP government had also accepted the Adarsh Commission report which “clearly stated that Ashok Chavan is guilty”. They only protected him in ATR (action taken report), saying CBI is already investigating so government does not need to take action, he added:pti

New Delhi: Extending support to striking MCD workers demanding dues, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday hoped that “some solution” will emerge after the high court hears the matter next week.

“I support demand of protesting MCD employees that they shud get their full salaries. I hope some solution will emerge after Tue HC hearing,” Kejriwal, currently in Bangalore for naturopathy treatment, said on Twitter.

The chief minister also lauded personnel from the state’s public works department (PWD) for working the “whole night” to clear garbage and urged AAP functionaries to help the department men.

“I am told PWD people and trucks worked whole nite to clean up garbage. I wud urge all AAP volunteers to help PWD,” he said on the micro-blogging site, urging the PWD to “keep it up”.

The government had yesterday deployed hundreds of PWD workers to lift garbage from across the city as nearly 60,000 civic sanitation workers continued their indefinite strike demanding payment of dues amid a blame game over the issue between AAP and BJP, which rules the three municipalities.

The strike was launched by sanitation workers on January 27, demanding timely salaries and payment of arrears.

New Delhi: The Delhi government has proposed setting up Local Complaints Committee (LCC) in every district of the national capital which the victims of sexual harassment at workplace denied justice by the Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) can approach.
According to the proposal drafted by the Women and Child Development department, District Magistrates or Additional District Magistrates will be notified as District Officers (DOs) to exercise the powers and discharge functions under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.

The DO will constitute the LCC in his district and will further appoint a nodal officer in every ward, municipality to receive the complaints and forward it to the concerned Committee within a period of seven days.

The DO will also monitor the timely submission of reports furnished by the local complaints committees and take measures as may be necessary for engaging NGOs in creating awareness about sexual harassment and the rights of women.

The members of the LCC will include a chairperson, to be nominated from among eminent women in the field of social work and committed to the cause of women. There will be one member from among the women working in municipality in the district, two members, of whom at least one shall be woman, to be nominated from among such NGOs or associations as are committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues related to the protection of women from sexual harassment.

Also, an officer dealing with women and child development in the district, shall be it ex-officio member.

The chairperson and every member of the LCC will hold office for three years from the date of their appointment as may be specified by the DO.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal has expressed sadness over the fact that even after two years of the passage of the Act, the DOs and LCCs have not been notified in the city till date. She had written to Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung about it.

“There has already been a considerable delay in this regard. It cannot be overemphasized that the Act virtually exists on paper and steps are yet to taken for its effective implementation,” she had said in her letter, adding, the Commission has been receiving a large number of complaints regarding sexual harassment at workplace.

Under Section 5 and 6 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, state is required to set up a LCC to investigate complaints related to sexual harassment from cases which cannot be dealt with by the ICC or where there is no ICC.
by: pti

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi today accused the government of delaying a decision on the issue of net neutrality on the “pretext” of repeated discussions and took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his ‘Digital India’ scheme cannot become a “euphemism” for an Internet controlled by large remote corporations.

Insisting that the Congress has always stood for ‘Freedom of the Internet’ and ‘Net Neutrality’, he said the party wanted that Internet Service Providers (ISPs)/Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and government should treat all data on Internet equally.

“With Digital India, people would get more access to the Internet – the whole Internet – and not primarily a filter on the web. This is imperative for India to grow in 21st Century.

I sincerely hope that TRAI report and Modi government will adhere to this bounden need espoused by millions of Indians”, the Congress Vice President said in a statement.

He told the Prime Minister that ‘Digital India’ “cannot become a euphemism for an Internet controlled by large remote corporations. Digital India should mean Internet connectivity as a public utility, open ended and generative.”

“Congress Party’s and my belief is shaped by our faith that Internet users should be free to connect to any website or service that they want, enabling a level playing field on the ‘world wide web’. We recognize the danger of privileging a private platform over a public Internet introducing a new digital divide,” he said.

He wanted the government to realise that Internet is a powerful poverty alleviation tool, offering unbounded opportunities limited only by imagination, whether it is a farmer looking for information on monsoon preparedness, artisans connecting with buyers in a market place or a college student from rural India enrolling for an online course.

“NASSCOM has asked for Net Neutrality, over 500 start-up entrepreneurs are pleading for it, young in India have been demanding it, yet we have a government, which under the pretext of repeated discussions, has been delaying framing a clear-cut policy on this”, Mr Gandhi said attacking the government.

He charged that the BJP government “quietly looked the other way” when Telecom companies introduced price differential through zero rating plans and attempts to charge for OTT (Over The Top) services.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued consultation papers on the issue twice over, covering similar questions for consumers to answer on Net Neutrality, free basics and data price differentiation.

“Like millions of Indians out there, I am earnestly hoping to see a TRAI report (scheduled for 31st January) and Modi government’s commitment in favor of an open Internet in its entirety where there is no ambiguity in regard to difference in pricing or VOIP”, Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress Vice President said he was aware that past few months haven’t been easy for Free Internet and Net Neutrality activists, civil society and researchers, who are engaged in the movement to disseminate useful and relevant information to the public despite “misleading marketing gimmicks.”

“I salute their indomitable spirit and would like to congratulate them.”

The Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the security agencies were capable of dealing with any threat posed by the ISIS group.

“We have the capacity to meet any threat. We will face it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

The Home Minister’s comments came when asked about the ISIS threat in the country.

Last week, 14 youths were arrested by the NIA and other security agencies after they allegedly formed a module on the pattern of dreaded ISIS to carry out strikes at vital installations.

According to Indian intelligence agencies, a total of 23 Indians have so far joined the ISIS of which six were reportedly killed in different incidents in Iraq-Syria.
by : pti

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has appointed a Commission of Inquiry to address “unheeded” complaints of women by the police and tasked it to recommend action in cases of crime against women and amendments to existing laws.

The three-member commission, to be headed by retired district judge Dinesh Dayal, will receive complaints, including on violence, sexual harassment, stalking and voyeurism against women since February 2013.

The appointment of the probe panel was notified by Delhi Women and Child Development Department on January 19.

The Arvind Kejriwal government had in August called a one-day assembly session, which had passed a resolution to set up the commission following the brutal murder of a 19-year-old girl in Anand Parbat area here on July 16, last year.

The tenure of the commission shall be for a period of two years and it will submit its report to the government every three months from ..

by : PTI