Lok Sabha row over phone tapping, price rise

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the second time on Tuesday, till 2 pm, amid uproar from the Opposition benches. BJP members protested against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's refusal to set up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on phone tapping, and Samajwadi Party and RJD members protested on the price rise issue. The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day. The Lok Sabha reconvened after adjournment at noon, only to have slogan-shouting members gather in the Well as the government laid papers on the table of the House. The House was adjourned soon after. In the morning, as proceedings began and Speaker Meira Kumar completed the obituary references, Opposition members were on their feet in protest against the government's stand on phone tapping and price rise. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said she was surprised to see reports in newspapers quoting the Prime Minister as saying there would be no JPC to investigate the phone tapping issue. "This is a disrespect of the House. The Prime Minister should give a statement in the House on the issue," she said. She insisted this was a serious matter as phones of even cabinet ministers were tapped. BJP has also demanded Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into IPL scam and phone tapping. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal and his deputy V Narayanasamy accused Swaraj of making "baseless" allegations. SP members Dharmendra Yadav and Shailendra Kumar showed placards which said "Bharat Bandh against the government which has failed to control prices has been successful". Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav led the protest. RJD members, led by party chief Lalu Prasad and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, shouted slogans against the government. They walked into the Well and shouted slogans like "Yeh sarkar nikkami hai. Jo sarkar nikkami hai, woh sarkar badalni hai" (this government is ineffective and has to be changed) and "Yeh to abhi angadai hai, aage abhi ladai hai" (This is just the beginning, the struggle lies ahead). A general strike has been called today by 13 non-NDA and non-UPA parties. After 10 minutes of uproar, the House was adjourned by the Speaker till 12 noon. Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow Opposition BJP, SP and Left parties on Tuesday forced adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for the day without transacting any business over rise in prices of essential commodities and IPL controversy. Soon after the House met, almost the entire Opposition was on its feet. The SP, RJD and Left parties, which have given call for a nation-wide strike in protest against price rise, raised the issue of increase in cost of essential commodities, while BJP members were on their feet demanding a JPC to go into the IPL affairs. Chairman Hamid Ansari asked members to resume their seats and let the Question Hour to proceed. "This is unbecoming (of members)," he said when members raised slogans. "Mr Kamal Akhtar (SP) you are coming to notice. Don't raise slogans," he observed even as the din continued. Minutes into the pandemonium, Ansari adjourned the House till tomorrow.

Andhra govt wants schools to drop fancy tags

If it was the "International" tag that made you pick your children's school in Andhra Pradesh, please begin looking for more reasons to keep them there. For the Andhra Pradesh government wants schools to have simple names and drop misleading tags like "International", "World", "Global" or even "Techno," which hold out the promise of global standards in school education, but may not provide it. Armed with the Right to Education Act, that frowns upon such names, the state government now wants names of schools to only indicate the level at which the school offers an education. The government's argument is that such names are only a ploy to charge higher fees. The Andhra School Education Minister, M.Varaprasad, says, "They have to follow many norms but we find even ordinary schools calling themselves international schools.'' Parents flock to these schools looking for that international edge, but as educationist Isidore Philips points out, "A fancy title would mean your marketability increases, but has it translated into the school becoming really world class? These terms of world class, global, international, techno, concept all need a definition and I think to that extent, the government saying please do not use that is a step in the right direction.'' Corporate schools do not agree. They say the government should not harass schools with genuine international affiliations. According to B Gavish Reddy, Director, Niraj International School: "The schools which are genuine, which are affiliating with foreign bodies, foreign universities and education institutions definitely must be permitted to use the word International.'' Such corporate schools are likely to go to court if the government insists that they drop their fancy tags.

Modi to be stripped off his security cover?

A day after Lalit Modi was shown the door by the BCCI, he is all set to lose his security cover too. If reports are to be believed, Modi's security cavalcade will be a thing of the past. Mumbai police officials are considering withdrawing his police protection, which incidentally he had been getting for free for the past year. A senior police officer confirmed the move, saying, "We are awaiting the reports from the local police station, Crime Branch and Special Branch on threat perception to Modi and his family. If the report is negative, we will immediately pull out the policemen provided for his security." Free of cost Modi had been given police protection free of cost, thanks to a powerful neta, who apparently made a phone call to a senior cop, asking that Modi and his family be provided security. Five cops were immediately sent to give day-night protection to Modi and his family. For the past two months, this number has increased to 10. The estimated cost of this protection works out to almost Rs 15 lakh (at the rate of Rs 600 per constable per day, for a year). MiD DAY had reported about police security for Modi on April 2, 2009 'Lalit Modi and family live under threat'. Police officials attached to the protection branch admitted to receiving verbal instructions initially on Modi's security cover and subsequently provided him with two armed constables (one on each shift). His wife and children were entitled to one constable each for 12 hours. Cop cover The number of policemen was gradually increased after Modi wrote a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner D Shiva-Nandan on March 2, 2010 (a copy of which is with MiD DAY), in which he thanks the police department for doubling his security and also asks for more protection for his family. Accordingly, a few days later the protection department doubled the manpower for Modi and his family. Modi was provided 2+2 (two constables in day and two at night) armed with carbines and his family was provided with one constable each (12-hr shift) for 24 hours. "Even if Modi stayed out of Mumbai or India during the above period, he was still under the police cover and officials from protection branch were in constant touch with his personal security guards, knowing his movements and details," said a police officer. Advocate M P Vashi, who had earlier filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court on unwanted police protection given to political leaders, said, "The police should not have wasted 10 of their men for Modi and his family. They do not deserve such treatment. They enjoy such luxury for free only due to their nexus with certain political leaders."