The Tribune – Install scanner to counter drug smuggling in rail cargo: Sidhu

Manmeet Singh Gill, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 21. Local MP Navjot Singh Sidhu has demanded installation of a high-tech scanner at the rail cargo facility in Attari to check the smuggling of narcotics from Pakistan. Addressing mediapersons here, Sidhu said the two recent seizures of heroin from railway wagons carrying cement from Pakistan on June 2 and July 17 had left traders on either side of the border worried.

The BJP MP also advocated a complete security overhaul at rail cargo facility, besides equipping it with modern infrastructure and adequate storage facilities. Sidhu said he had also written to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as well as the Railway Minister on the issue. He said he had also sought an appointment with Chidambaram to take up the matter with him.

“A delegation of traders will also meet him whenever possible,” he said. He said he would also arrange an inspection of the railway yard and a meeting between senior railway officials and representatives of the trading community. “The traders can air their grievances and expect positive response during the inspection,” he said.

Sidhu said as cement consignments entered India after being checked by customs officials in Pakistan, Indian traders had no role to play in smuggling of narcotics . “If a high-powered scanner is installed at the entry point, it will help scan every bogey of the train for the contraband,” he said. One such scanner was already functioning at the border with Bangladesh, he said.

All-India Cement Importers Association president MPS Chatha said they had also sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apprising him of the problems being faced by the traders.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120722/punjab.htm#5

The Tribune – Badal counters Chidambaram, says militancy revival unlikely

Archit Watts, Tribune News Service

Raniwala (Muktsar), July 14. A day after attending the 26th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council of Chief Ministers held at Chandigarh, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today countered the statement of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram that threat of terrorism prevails in Punjab. “When not a single incident related to militancy took place in the state in the past couple of years, how does he foresee the unlikely situation?” he said.

Claiming that there was no chance of revival of militancy in the state, Badal said: “We are already taking preventive steps to maintain law and order in the state and recruited a huge number of policemen for the purpose.”

“Still, if Chidambaram sees the threat then why doesn’t the UPA government come forward to help us out?” Badal said while replying to a query in this regard after holding a sangat darshan programme in his Lambi assembly constituency. When asked about the Operation Bluestar Memorial, Badal said: “The opposition to the memorial by the Congress is part of its ‘divide and rule’ strategy, which they have been sticking to for the last several decades to attain power in the state”.

“The memorial will be built keeping in view religious sentiments of all communities. It is being constructed at a religious place and its purpose is also purely religious”.

Badal also termed the meeting of state Congress leaders with Chidambaram on the issue of vendetta a political gimmick. He said: “I have already replied them about such cases. The Congress leaders had brought 39 cases to my notice, which had nothing to do with vendetta”.

Asked about Haryana Chief Minister’s reaction on inter-state issues, he said: “Everyone knows that Punjab had been discriminated against. We are trying our best to get our share of everything from Haryana”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120715/punjab.htm#3

The Tribune – Northern states adamant, no headway on contentious issues; Chidambaram says a separate meeting on water issue to be convened

Yoginder Gupta and Naveen S Garewal, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 13. The one-day 26th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) could not resolve long-standing contentious issues between various states as the participating states stuck to their known stand on these issues and decided to leave their resolution to some other day.

On the various water disputes, including the SYL canal and the Hansi-Butana canal, between Punjab and Haryana, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who had presided over the meeting held here today, said a separate meeting exclusively on this issue would have to be convened.

However, Chidambaram maintained that on several issues various states reached an agreement. But he did not elaborate those issues, which, he said, would be known when the minutes of the meeting would be circulated by the Secretary, NZC, “soon”.

When Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, who had hosted the meeting, raised the issue of transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas to his state, his Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda said these issues could not be discussed in isolation. If any decision was to be taken, then all the pending issues should be considered keeping in view the decisions and awards of various courts and tribunals, he added.

Similarly, Hooda did not agree with Badal’s contention about the channelisation of the Ghaggar and the Lisara Nallah. Earlier Badal had underscored the need for channelisation of the Ghaggar from Makorar Sahib to Karail. Hooda said since the earlier channelisation of the seasonal river had caused immense floods in Haryana in 2010, the behaviour of earlier channelisation should be watched for some more years.

Badal also raised the issue re-excavation of lower Lissara Nallah that originates from Dhamot village in Ludhiana district and falls into the Ghaggar, urging the Centre to prevail upon Haryana to get the nallah re-excavated in its territory. Hooda again responded in negative, saying that Punjab should not insist on earlier alignment as 2000 acre had already been returned to farmers. Punjab should take the Lisara Nallah water to the Satluj through the Chandbhan drain as was planned in 1960s.

Badal said there was a genuine need to establish a genuine federal structure in the country, with more financial and political powers to the states. He complained that the tendency of the Centre to usurp, “through open and clandestine ways”, the powers and authority of the states had been on the rise “at a scale never seen before”.

Hooda urged the Central government to request the Supreme Court to expedite its decision on the issue of presidential reference concerning the Ravi-Beas waters as it was the only reference which had been pending for more than seven years.

Hooda also urged Badal to start the work on the link between Anandpur Sahib and the Ropar Thermal Plant, so that Haryana was able to carry its share of water through the BML as per the original project report of the SYL canal. He said the second Ravi-Beas link should also be constructed at the earliest as even after signing of the Indus Water Treaty in 1960, more than three MAF of water was being allowed to flow into Pakistan.

Hooda pointed out that while Haryana was supplying quality water to Delhi, but in return, it was getting extremely polluted water from Delhi at Badarpur border, both in Gurgaon and Agra canals.

Chidambaram underlined the need to resolve the issues of common interest in spirit of cooperative federalism to promote better Centre-state and inter-state relations. Listing a few recent initiatives taken by the Union Government to strengthen the Centre- state Relations, the Union Home Minister said a commission under the chairmanship of Justice M.M. Punchi, former Chief Justice of India, was constituted to look into the changing dynamics of Centre-state relations.

Among those present at the meeting included Governor of Punjab and Administrator, UT Chandigarh Shivraj V. Patil, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Himachal Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and Lt. Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120714/main1.htm

Dawn – Mumbai attack was run from Pakistan, India says

New Delhi, 30 June 2012. The leader of the Pakistan-based militant group India blames for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks may have been present in a Pakistani “control room” where the attacks were coordinated, India said on Friday.

Indian authorities have long viewed Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-i-Taiba, as the mastermind of the attacks in which 166 people were killed.

In April the United States announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Although Islamabad did not react to the charges on Friday, it previously has rejected Indian allegations of any involvement and said it has acted against the members of Lashkar-i-Taiba accused of mounting the raid.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that questioning of an Indian man suspected of helping plot the operation had revealed the existence of the control room and suggested it had state support.

“Yes, others were also present and we think one of them was Hafiz Saeed,” Chidambaram said when asked if the group’s founder had been in the room at the time.

Sayeed Zabiuddin Ansari, an alleged key plotter of the attacks, was arrested in New Delhi on June 21 as he arrived from Saudi Arabia.

The police have accused him of training the 10 militants who went on a rampage in India’s financial hub.

Ansari, who also went by the names Abu Hamza, Abu Jindal and Abu Jundal, was present in the “control room”, located in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, Indian newspapers, citing intelligence sources, said on Wednesday.

“His interrogations now prove beyond doubt the existence of such a control room,” Chidambaram said. “Such a control room could not have been established without some kind of a state support.”

The Mumbai attacks served to further strain the already fragile relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three wars in the past 65 years.

http://dawn.com/2012/06/30/mumbai-attack-was-run-from-pakistan-india-says/

The Tribune – Pakistan backed 26/11 attack: Palaniappan Chidambaram

Ajay Banerjee & Shaurya Karanbir Gurung, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 27. India today, yet again, accused Pakistan of supporting the Lashker-e-Toiba for carrying out the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks while claiming that India’s investigators were keeping a track of all the key accused in the conspiracy, including those based in Pakistan.

Separately, investigators have got a few leads regarding the other blast cases. Three more Indians based in Saudi Arabia, who had been carrying out anti-India activities, are set to be deported.

The interrogation of arrested LeT member Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Hamza alias Abu Jundal, who was deported from Saudi Arabia, has revealed a web of sleeper agents cultivated by him.

His network is spread across Delhi, Mumbai, Darbangha, Bihar and Beed, Maharashtra. The agents were living normal lives and would melt into the background to mask their activities.

A joint team of the Research and Analysis Wing, the Intelligence Bureau and the Delhi Police is questioning Ansari. A local court today refused to hand over Ansari to a team of the Mumbai police till July 5.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, speaking to reporters at Thiruvananthapuram, pointed an accusing finger at Pakistan saying the attacks were carried out in an organised manner with state support. The contention that the attacks were perpetrated by non-state players was no more valid, said the Home Minister. He said, “I’m not pinpointing any particular agency, but there was state support.”

The Tribune in its edition today had reported how the role of more and more Pakistani Army officers was being uncovered during the probe.

India, especially after a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned David Coleman Headley — another accused in the 26/11 attacks — in Chicago, has maintained that certain members of the Pakistan’s Army were actively involved in the planning, execution and direction of the Mumbai attacks in which 166 persons lost their lives.

Chidambaram, who in June 2011 visited Pakistan and was unhappy after his unfruitful meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik, today said the world had appreciated the restraint that India has shown in tracking down the attackers.

“We have been tracking Jundal for a year. We tracked him down, found him and apprehended him. We are tracking all the masterminds of the Mumbai attack,” the Home Minister said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120628/main3.htm

The Asian Age – Defiant PC says won’t step down

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 8 June 2012. Union home ministry P. Chidambaram on Thursday categorically ruled out his resignation in the wake of Madras high court decision in the election petition against him saying the verdict was not a setback for him but for his rival.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Chidambaram said, “I am astonished by the monumental ignorance displayed by certain political leaders. This is an election petition. There are 111 election petitions filed against members of 15th Lok Sabha”. Reacting to the demands of the opponents, he said those who make the demand for his resignation “do not have criminal case, do not have charges and have not been questioned under Criminal Procedure Code”. He ridiculed the demand for his resignation by BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Thursday declined Mr Chidambaram’s plea for dismissal of the election petition against him by the losing AIADMK candidate R.S. Rajakann-appan in Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu in 2009 Lok Sabha polls. But the court struck down two paras in Mr Rajakannappan’s petition containing allegations against returning officer, government and bank officials. He said that the verdict was not a setback for him but for his rival.

Mr Chidambaram said he sincerely hoped that political leaders will read Order 6, Rule 16 of the Civil Procedure Code and understand what is the meaning of “strike out the pleadings”. “If pleadings are struck out, it is a setback to the election petitioner and not to me,” he clarified. He further said, “That application has been partly allowed and para 4 and 5 which contain allegations against returning officer, police officers, other government servants and bank officials have been struck out”.

When asked about the claim of the lawyer for Mr Rajakannappan that except para 4 and 5, all other charges in the petition have been accepted by the court, Mr Chidambaram said “pleadings have not been accepted. Now the trial is to start. Not one witness has been examined so far”. Reacting to Jayalalithaa’s charge that out of fear of facing the case he had moved court for dismissal of the petition only to delay the process, Mr Chidambaram said “Rivals are entitled to make these demands”.

http://www.asianage.com/india/defiant-pc-says-won-t-step-down-979

The Asian Age – Palaniappan Chidambaram seeks all-party view on J&K interlocutors’ report

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 1 June 2012. Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday said that an all-party meet may be called to discuss the Jammu and Kashmir interlocutors report at a later stage. He said that the government has not yet taken a view on the panel’s recommendation on setting up of a constitutional committee to review all Central acts and articles of the Constitution of India to the state extended after 1952.

“The government has not yet taken a view so it would be inappropriate for me to express my personal view. The matter has been thrown open for an informed debate,” he said while addressing his ministry’s monthly press conference. The home minister also urged the political parties to come out with their views on the recommendations of the report.

“Each one of us in some way is a prisoner of our assumptions or a prisoner of the past. We should release ourselves from the past and genuinely participate in the debate. When the debate takes place, I am sure, different view be expressed on the proposal to constitute a constitutional committee and let us look at the pros and cons of the proposal,” he said.

Asked whether it would be a structured debate, the home minister said the interlocutors have offered to act as resource persons to facilitate the debate.

http://www.asianage.com/india/pc-seeks-all-party-view-jk-interlocutors-report-599

The Asian Age – In LS, PC strikes Bhojpuri chord

Asian Age Corresponden

tNew Delhi, 18 May 2012. For a minister who is hesitant to speak in Hindi since it is not a language he is comfortable with, Union home minister P. Chidambaram sprung a surprise on Lok Sabha MPs on Thursday when he uttered a sentence in Bhojpuri. It was a gesture that won the home minister, whose mother tongue is Tamil, applause from both fellow MPs and Speaker Meira Kumar.

“Hum rauwa sabke bhavna samjhatani (I understand everyone’s sentiments)” is what Mr Chidambaram told a number of agitated MPs in the House who were demanding inclusion of the Bhojpuri language in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution.

The sentence had reportedly been penned in English for the home minister by fellow Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam. It is a sentence he uttered twice to the delight of other MPs.

Though spoken with an anglicised accent, just the fact that the minister had attempted to speak a few words in Bhojpuri appeared to disarm the MPs, many of whom had stood in the aisle next to the front row to push for the cause of Bhojpuri. It is a language spoken in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Speaker Meira Kumar, herself an advocate of the Bhojpuri cause, remarked: “I have never seen him speaking in Hindi but he has spoken in Bhojpuri. He has expressed the hope that he will come back with good news. I hope he will come back soon.” The issue of Bhojpuri’s inclusion in the VIII Schedule came up during a calling attention moved by three MPs — Jagdambika Pal (Congress), Shailendra Kumar (SP) and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD). All three made a feisty cause for the inclusion of Bhojpuri in the VIII Schedule.

In his response to the strong espousal of Bhojpuri, Mr Chidambaram said that the MPs had “made out a very strong and powerful case for inclusion of Bhojpuri language in the VIII Schedule”. He added, “I am at a disadvantage. I wish I could have replied, at least, in Hindi. Now, let me say in Bhojpuri that ‘hum rauwa sabke bhavna samjhatani’”.

http://www.asianage.com/india/ls-pc-strikes-bhojpuri-chord-789

The Hindu – NCTC won’t tread on your toes, Chidambaram assures States

Fighting terror and violence is a shared responsibility, he asserts

Vinay Kumar

New Delhi, 3 May 2012. While asserting that fighting terror and violence is a shared responsibility of the Centre and the States, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday sought to allay the fears of States that the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)
would encroach upon their rights.

His comments in the Lok Sabha came ahead of the May 5 meeting of the Chief Ministers on the controversial counter-terror hub. Almost all non-Congress Chief Ministers are opposing creation of the NCTC on the ground that it would violate principles of federal structure.

During his 50-minute reply to a five-hour debate on the demand for grants for the Home Ministry for 2012-13, Mr. Chidambaram renewed his offer of talks to Maoists, provided they abjured violence during the period of negotiations. He also dwelt on the Telangana issue, who had often led to uproar in the Lok Sabha.

The Minister questioned the opposition to the amendment to the BSF Act, saying it gave the Central paramilitary force no additional powers but was only aimed at regularising deployment in States which was not provided under the original law.

“Dealing with violence and terrorism is the shared responsibility. While we are willing to share our responsibility, we want States to share their responsibility,” he said.

Referring to the NCTC, Mr. Chidambaram said it was an offshoot of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act that was debated and passed by Parliament in 2004 and amended in 2008.

“I am accused of encroaching upon powers of the States. What power am I encroaching upon? … [Under the NCTC], the designated agency, during counter-terrorism operation, may arrest an accused, make seizure and hand [him] over to the nearest police station immediately. Thereafter the SHO will take over the investigation.” Mr. Chidambaram was referring to the UAPA provision 43(A), which empowered the designated agency to make arrests and search and seizure. This was being opposed by the States.

“You should have accused me of tardy progress and delay and asked me what I was doing for [the] last three years. But you are accusing me of encroaching upon your powers.”

Another offer to Maoists

Reiterating the offer of talks to the CPI (Maoists), Mr. Chidambaram asked: “Should there be violence when we hold talks?”

So far there had not been any response but he was willing to make the offer once again. The Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Odisha had also made the offer of talks but did not receive any response from the Maoists, Mr. Chidambaram said.

Referring to the Integrated Action Plan, under which development projects had been undertaken in 60 districts affected by Naxal violence, he said so far Rs. 3,300 crore was spent on completion of 66,000 works.

“CPI (Maoists) don’t want roads and school buildings to be built because roads will open up the hinterland and schools will impart education. That’s why they target construction companies and indulge in extortion from mining companies.”

Mr. Chidambaram said the Maoists wanted to overthrow parliamentary democracy through an armed rebellion. “They say that power must be seized through [the] barrel of a gun. I ask this House, is this negotiable?

Referring to terror networks in India’s “troubled” neighbourhood, the Minister said 80 per cent of terror incidents had occurred in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. “Terror organisations like the al-Qaeda, LeT, HuJI and Taliban have their bases in these countries,” he said.

“To assume that we will not be affected is not a correct assumption. We have to make our country more secure. Every country is vulnerable today. India is no more vulnerable and is no less vulnerable than [are] other countries.”

BJP seeks White Paper

Earlier, the BJP attacked the government for not doing enough to effectively deal with terrorism and Naxalism, accusing the UPA government of turning India into a “soft” state.

Initiating the discussion, the BJP’s Anurag Thakur demanded a White Paper on the government’s initiative to deal with Naxalism, which had become a big threat to the nation.

Later, the demand for grants was passed by voice vote after all cut motions were negated together.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3377851.ece

The Tribune – Compromise formula on NCTC ready: Palaniappan Chidambaram

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 30. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday made it clear that a compromise formula has been worked out to settle the raging dispute between the Centre and states over setting up of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

Faced with stinging criticism from the BJP-ruled states and also UPA ally Mamata Banerjee for allegedly trying to weaken the federal structure, Chidambaram hoped that the formula would be acceptable to states.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate the special meeting of Chief Ministers on May 5 to address the concerns raised by the states. The NCTC was to start for March 1, however, it was kept in abeyance following protests from states.

Chidambaram said a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been circulated to states. “Much of their (CMs) doubts will be resolved after reading the SOPs. And if they have any suggestions on the SOPs, we are willing to listen and incorporate them”, the Home Minister said. One of the objections raised by states and several experts (The Tribune had run a special debate in which leading security experts had expressed their views) was to give powers of arrest to the NCTC, a body that will work directly under the Intelligence Bureau.

The Section 3.2 of the February 3 office order says officers of the operations division of NCTC shall have the power to arrest and the power to search under Section 43A of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). This section was opposed by the non-Congress Chief Ministers – Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu’s J Jayalalitha, Gujarat’s Narendra Modi, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar & UPA ally and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee – alleging that by vesting such powers on NCTC, the Centre was trying to curb states’ powers.

Sources said one of the key compromise formula is that the powers to arrest and conduct operations will now jointly lie with the state police and the NCTC, which will intervene in rare cases when immediate action is needed. Even after doing that it will immediately inform the state police chief. The Home Ministry has proposed that the NCTC would “as far as possible” keep the heads of the state police and anti-terror squads informed about its operations in advance. The SOPs list powers and functions of the anti-terror hub’s Standing Council, which will have representatives of all state governments and the Centre.

The Home Minister said if the NCTC comes into existence, it would help in dealing with hostage situations in a better way.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120501/main2.htm