Daily News (In Short)-21-August-2015

#* India 'advises' Pakistani NSA Aziz not to meet Hurriyat leaders

India has advised Pakistani NSA Sartaj Aziz not to meet separatist Hurriyat leaders before talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, raising a question mark about the meeting of the NSAs scheduled for Monday.
 
External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a series of tweets that India has also sought confirmation of the proposed agenda for the meeting, which India has insisted should be confined to “terrorism-related issues”.
 
Pakistan has said it plans to raise all important issues, including Kashmir, when Aziz meets his Indian counterpart. Aziz is expected to meet Hurriyat leaders shortly after he arrives in Delhi on August 23.
 
“India has advised Pakistan yesterday that it would not be appropriate for Mr Sartaz Aziz to meet with Hurriyat representatives in India,” Swarup posted on his official Twitter account.
 
“Such a meeting would not be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Ufa understanding to jointly work to combat terrorism,” he tweeted, referring to a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in the Russian city in July.
 
“We have also sought (confirmation) of our proposed agenda for the NSA level talks that was conveyed to the Pakistani side on 18 Aug 2015,” Swarup said.

#* North Korea's Kim Jong-un orders troops on war footing as border tensions soar

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline troops onto a war footing as military tensions with South Korea soar following a rare exchange of artillery shells across the heavily fortified border.

The CMC meeting came hours after the two Koreas traded artillery fire on Thursday, leaving no apparent casualties but pushing already elevated cross-border tensions to dangerously high levels.

The KPA followed up with an ultimatum sent via military hotline that gave the South 48 hours to dismantle loudspeakers blasting propaganda messages across the border or face further military action.

The ultimatum expires at 5:00pm local time (6:30pm AEST) on Saturday.

Thursday's artillery exchange in a western quarter of the border came amid heightened tensions following mine blasts that maimed two members of a South Korean border patrol earlier this month, and the launch this week of a major South Korea-US military exercise that infuriated Pyongyang.

Seoul said the mines were placed by North Korea and responded by resuming high-decibel propaganda broadcasts across the border, using loudspeakers that had lain silent for more than a decade.

#* IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt sacked: Shame-then-frame trend part of vendetta politics of Gujarat?

Sanjay Bhai Joshi, Bharat Sinh Solanki and Sanjiv Bhatt should exchange notes on the art of giving a dog a bad name and hanging him. All three Gujaratis, by birth or karma, have had the unfortunate distinction of figuring in scandals that derailed their careers. They share a common past, common enemies and a common destiny perpetrated by sex CDs.
Bhatt's case is a shocking example of a state judging an officer on the basis of what he does outside the office, in his bedroom. The 1988 batch IPS officer, who was suspended in 2011 for being absent from duty, has been kicked out for, among other things, an alleged extra-marital affair.
Bhatt, like Joshi, has denied that he is the man in the CD. Though he has refused to challenge his termination arguing the futility of staying on when he is not wanted by the government, Bhatt claims somebody impersonated him in the sleaze video.
Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was sacked on Wednesday. PTISuspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was sacked on Wednesday. PTI
Since when has the private life of an officer become a valid entry in his CR? Amitabh Thakur, the UP-cadre IPS officer who was suspended recently after a taking on Mulayam Singh Yadav, claims Bhatt is a victim, not the offender.
"All that Rule 20 (applicable to conduct of officers like Bhatt) prohibits is public drinking, heavy use of drugs, being intoxicated in public...what a person does as regards having physical relationship with another is definitely his personal affair," Thakur has written in a letter to the Gujarat home secretary.
Bhatt is no saint, he has a controversial past and questionable credibility. Before he took on Narendra Modi in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, Bhatt was a non-descript officer except with a few skeletons at his home. Later, when he fell out with 'family friend' Tushar Mehta, an additional advocate general of the Gujarat government, several sleazy stories about the reason for the animus surfaced.
Bhatt's testimony, that he was present at a meeting of police officials at Modi's residence where "he claims the then Gujarat CM asked cops to allow Hindus to vent their anger, is also disputed. Nobody has backed his assertion; he has himself failed to explain how he was present at the alleged meeting without being invited.
But, there no is gainsaying that Bhatt riled Modi, first with his campaign and then by propping up his wife as the BJP candidate from Maninagar against the then CM in the 2012 election.
By design or default, or because of sheer bad luck or karma, not many get away after taking on Modi in Gujarat.

#* L is for Life Sciences: Google's contact lens maker will be its own company

Google's Life Sciences unit, whose projects include a smart contact lens for measuring blood glucose levels, will become an independent company within Alphabet under Google's reorganization.

The unit, previously part of the Google X research lab, will become a standalone Alphabet company, Google cofounder Sergey Brin said in a Google+ post on Thursday.

Andy Conrad, who has run the division since 2013, will be its CEO. Conrad was previously chief scientific officer at molecular diagnostic testing company LabCorp. and also cofounded the National Genetics Institute.

He will oversee software engineers, oncologists and optics experts at the Alphabet company, where they'll continue to work with other life sciences companies to move new technologies from early stage R&D to clinical testing, Brin said.

The new company will aim to develop proactive, rather than reactive, approaches to health care. In addition to the contact lens, its work includes a gene analysis project to create a picture of a person's health on a molecular level, and a diagnostics system built around nanotechnology.

Google announced its sweeping reorganization last week, which separates its core services like search and ads from emerging projects like self-driving cars, under a new holding company named Alphabet.

When the changes were announced, Google said Alphabet's new companies would comprise "far afield" efforts like its Life Sciences unit as well as Calico, which is focused on health and aging. But at the time, Google stopped short of saying which companies will be spun out under Alphabet.

"This is the type of company we hope will thrive as part of Alphabet," Brin said on Thursday.

He didn't announce a new name for the Life Sciences division, so it's unclear yet what it will be called, and he didn't say when it will officially be formed. Alphabet will come into existence later this year.

While Google is now identifying new companies within Alphabet, it's also starting to slim down Google itself. Niantic Labs, an augmented reality division, will split from Google and Alphabet entirely.

Brin will become Alphabet's president. Larry Page, Google's cofounder and current CEO, will become CEO of Alphabet. Sundar Pichai, currently Google's head of product, will become Google's CEO.

#* IRCTC e-ticketing: contract workers allege labour law violations

Contract workers doing back-end jobs for the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) in central Delhi have knocked on the doors of the Labour Ministry, seeking regularisation of jobs of perennial nature and compliance of contract labour laws.

In a memorandum submitted to Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday, the workers said some of them have been working for as long as 12 years but have not yet been regularised.

“The security guards or housing cleaning staffs are working in IT Centre, IRCTC, with 12-hour duty shifts without being paid overtime. They do not get weekly rest, privilege or casual leave even though they have been through several contracts in the past several years,” said Surjeet Shyamal, Convener of Unit IRCTC, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

‘No benefits’
He said despite being a public sector unit, the workers were not being paid minimum wages, getting salary slips or bonuses as per Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. “The workmen are paid a meagre ₹12,000/month, whereas regular staff gets over ₹30,000/month with benefits,” Shyamal said.

There are about 300 employees working on a contract basis, employed for the last 11 years in the category of executive IT or customer care executives, said the memo, alleging that some contractors did not even have the requisite licence.

The memo drew the Minister’s attention to a Ministry circular dated January, 23, 2013, which, among others, highlighted penal action against defaulters of the Contract Act and Central Rules framed thereunder. “The IRCTC has not implemented the above circular,” it added.

#* Modi vs Sonia: A serious clash of personalities

In a wonderful television series on the great boxing fights, Joe Frazier is asked on his legendary match-ups with Mohammed Ali. “I guess it wasn’t just about boxing, it was personal, we just didn’t like each other,” is Frazier’s candid reply.
What is true of Ali versus Frazier could well be said about politics in this country at the moment. Narendra Modi versus Sonia Gandhi is a battle of political heavyweights that is sharply personal as much as it is a clash of party leaderships.

The washed out monsoon session of Parliament was not just Congress versus BJP tit-for-tat politics: It is also about two leaders engaged in a seemingly mortal combat, who just don’t see eye to eye on any issue and can’t evolve a working relationship as a result. We’ve seen this happen in state assemblies before: Jayalalithaa versus Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu or Mayawati versus Mulayam in UP or Left versus Mamata in Bengal.

Now, it’s being reflected at the Centre resulting in a deep institutional crisis where Parliament won’t function because the principal Opposition leader and the leader of the house are on a collision course.

Their animosity has a chequered past. Remember Sonia’s infamous ‘Maut ka Saudagar’ (Merchant of Death) remark during the 2007 Gujarat election campaign? By using an ill-advised and controversial epithet, she revived the ghosts of the 2002 riots. Clever politician that he is, Modi immediately appealed to a sense of Gujarati asmita (pride) and scored an easy political victory.

Five years earlier, it was Modi who had described the Congress leader in derogatory terms. The 2002 Gujarat election saw Sonia’s foreign origins being raked up repeatedly — the coarse language used exemplified one of the most bitter and divisive campaigns in this country’s electoral history.

But this isn’t just about name calling: in the heat and dust of electoral battles, politicians do target their rivals. The sense one gets is that the Modi-Sonia tussle has gone well beyond winning and losing elections.

It is now, especially in the case of the Congress leadership, a question of political survival. Modi has on more than one occasion spoken of a Congress Mukt Bharat; he doesn’t want to just defeat the Congress, he wants to ‘eliminate’ it.

At the heart of the Modi game plan to ‘finish’ the ‘Ma-beta’ party is his aversion to the continuance of the Nehru-dynasty — scarcely has the Prime Minister acknowledged Jawaharlal Nehru in any of his speeches even while he extols the achievements of a Patel, a Bose, a Shastri and, of course, the Mahatma.

It is almost as if the Nehruvian legacy must be erased, perhaps a consequence of an RSS background that has always seen Nehru as its principal ideological adversary.

Sonia Gandhi perhaps recognises this, which is why she suddenly seems to have decided to take charge and send out the impression to her party cadres that they must not ‘fear’ Modi. Notice the manner in which she even leapt into the well of the Lok Sabha during the shrill and rather acrimonious  debate over the NDA’s links with former IPL chief commissioner Lalit Modi.

At one level, Sonia’s actions are about self-preservation and protecting the family legacy; she wants to pass on the baton to Rahul Gandhi but is aware that Rahul still doesn’t have the political acumen or even internal party support to mount an effective challenge on his own.

At another level, there are ideological fault-lines that are accentuated by the challenge which Modi has thrown to the very basis of the Congress’ existence. Sonia’s idea of India seems shaped by a very basic commitment to Nehruvian secularism — the idea of a multi-faith society where the Congress must ensure that minorities are protected and guaranteed equal citizenship.

In the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, Sonia seemed convinced that Modi didn’t share that belief and actually was a threat to the idea of India. She could reach out to an Atal Bihari Vajpayee because he was seen to be part of the broadly ‘secular’ establishment, someone who was often projected as a statesman in the Nehruvian mould.

Modi, on the other hand, is the quintessential ‘outsider’, the pracharak-politician for whom Golwalkar was an original hero and who refuses to play by the rules set by the traditional Lutyens’ political elite. Which is why in the 2014 elections, for example, he did what few others have attempted — challenged the Gandhi family in its bastion of Amethi by campaigning there and getting Smriti Irani to put up a spirited fight. 

It could even be argued, as Modi has apparently suggested at a BJP parliamentary party meeting, that Sonia has never reconciled to his becoming prime minister. Conversely, Modi too, has never overcome his contempt for Sonia’s foreign origins.

The fact is, much water has now flown under the Sabarmati since their first battle in 2002: Modi is the prime minister of a majority government while Sonia is the leader of the largest opposition party.

While Modi has every right to challenge the dynasty, and Sonia can question the prime minister’s “secular” credentials, their mutual lack of respect cannot be allowed to undermine the parliamentary system.

Both Modi and Sonia need to recognise each other as ‘adversaries’, not ‘enemies’, and learn to do business with each other. What stops the prime minister from inviting Sonia for a breakfast meeting to discuss urgent legislation? And why cant the Congress president reciprocate? The country must be placed above individual detestations.

Post-script: A few years ago, we had organised a ceremony to award the best states in the country. Hours before the function, our chief guest, a senior UPA leader, threatened to drop out if Modi was on stage. It took us much cajoling to convince her not to cancel — political ‘untouchability’ is dangerous for the future of our democracy.

#* On PM Modi's behalf, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore receives 'Asian of the Year' award

India's High Commissioner to Singapore, Vijay Singh Thakur, has received 'Asian of the Year 2014' award by leading Singapore daily The Straits Times, on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore.

Modi was given the award in December last year for putting focus on India's development and getting the world "excited" about the prospects of the country again. "In picking Mr Modi, ST editors recognised not only his track record as an administrator who propelled his home state Gujarat to global recognition but also for the promise he holds to re-energise India," Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez said.
Modi is expected to visit Singapore in November during which he would sign a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries. The award was instituted in 2012 to recognise a person or organisation that has contributed significantly to either his own nation or Asia.

The inaugural award went to Myanmar president Thein Sein while Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe share the 2013 award.

#* Security Stepped Up Ahead of FIPIC Summit in Jaipur

JAIPUR:  Security across Jaipur has been tightened ahead of the 2nd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit today which will witness participation by heads of state and government officials from 14 resource-rich nations.

The state capital is decked up and adequate security arrangements have been taken for the high profile event which will begin later in the day.

"All the arrangements have been made accordingly for the summit," Jaipur Police Commissioner Janga Srinivas Rao said today.

DCP Traffic Haidar Ali informed that proper arrangements for regulating traffic during the event have also been made.

The delegates are also scheduled to visit Amber fort and City palace before the summit.

India is expected to push for deeper engagement with 14 resource-rich Pacific Island nations today at the summit of the countries of strategically important South Pacific region where China has strong presence.

The summit is aimed at stepping up cooperation with the island nations, some which have large oil and gas reserves.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the summit, in which the island nations located in the strategically important South Pacific region where China has strong presence.

Mr Modi has expressed hope that the summit will strengthen India's bonds with the 14 nations.

#* Four new fires break out at Tianjin blast site

Chinese emergency workers raced to put out four new fires that had broken out close to the site where two massive explosions in a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals killed 114 people last week, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Xinhua said one of the "ignition points" came from within an automobile distribution area near the blast site and the other three were within the central blast area.

#* Greek PM Alexis Tsipras resigns, calls for elections in September

Athens: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has proposed calling an early election in the crisis-hit country on 20 September, the ANA news agency said on Thursday, citing government sources.The hard-left leader is expected to make the announcement in an address to the nation before going to see President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to submit his government's resignation, the agency said.
Tsipras has been under mounting pressure to call early elections because of rifts in his own Syriza party over a massive new bailout deal with Greece's international creditors.
Greece repaid a 3.4 billion euro ($3.8 billion) debt to the European Central Bank on Thursday, effectively starting its third loans-for-reforms package in five years.
Tsipras rode to power in January on a wave of popular anger against the tax hikes, spending cuts and reforms demanded by creditors in exchange for two previous bailouts costing 240 billion euros.

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