Norway custody row: Indian Govt steps in, asks mission to file report

New Delhi: After media reports of Norwegian authorities sending a letter to their parents asking them if they can give their consent to the children to settle in Norway, the Ministry of External Affairs has asked the Indian mission there to find out what is happening on the children's visas.

In a setback for the NRI couple fighting for the custody of their children in Norway, authorities there applied for a short-term resident permit for the children on Tuesday without the parents' consent. The Norwegian child welfare services, which is currently looking after the children, directly approached the country's immigration office for the permit.

The parents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharyya, received a letter yesterday asking them if their children could stay in Norway, also asking them to file an explanation if they decided otherwise. The parents say they will not apply for the renewal of their children's visas that expire on March 8. So if the children are allowed to stay on in Norway, it would likely be on humanitarian grounds.

Sources had earlier told NDTV that keeping the children back in Norway without the parents' consent was possible under the country's law.

Three-year-old Abhigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya, have been in a foster home for the last 10 months. They were taken away by the child welfare service in Stavenger, Norway, and the court found reason not to re-unite them with their parents because the kindergarten staff and child welfare professionals who were in their home to assist them, said Sagarika was clinically depressed and needed help with the children. Sagarika says she has not been tested medically before being termed clinically depressed.

The court also found her attitude towards the children "erratic". It noted that son Abhigyan was diagnosed with attachment disorder; the boy, the court said, reacted if the mother raised her hand, as though she intended to hit him and concluded that he had either been hit before or had seen physical violence between the parents. It also criticised Sagarika for describing Abhigyan as arrogant and for leaving infant Aishwarya "in dangerous situations when changing diapers."

Father Anurup, a Geologist, got his share of blame from the court; the observations would make the average Indian father reassess his work-life balance. The court has objected to his "prioritising work" and for enrolling in a Norwegian language course and taking driving lessons instead of spending more time at home. Sagarika was "rigid", the court said, for not insisting that the husband stay more at home and help. It found Anurup "rigid" because he did not encourage the children's grandparents to come to Norway. It even found Aishwarya, then barely six months old, a "rigid and silent child."

The Bhatacharyas have, through their months of ordeal, said that "cultural misunderstandings" caused this tale of separation. The Norwegian authorities have categorically denied that cultural differences have played a role in their decision to take the children away. Yet, the court noted as part of its case against the parents that they had an arranged marriage; commonplace in India, not largely understood in the West.

And the court takes umbrage at Anurup Bhattacharya saying that going back to India is the solution for the beleaguered family.

Last week, the parents met their children for a few hours watched closely by officials of Norway's child welfare services. They can only meet the children once every three months. A plea by Anurup's brother Arunabhas Bhattacharya that he be given custody of the children is yet to considered by the Norwegian authorities, which agreed to even look at that option only at the intervention of the Indian government.

The uncle, a bachelor and a dentist by vocation, has left his practice in West Bengal to live in Stavenger till he gets custody. He is being made to attend regular sessions with the welfare service and psychologists. He needs to prove to the Norwegian authorities that the upbringing of the two children will "meet with their needs."

In India, the grandparents plan a sit-in in protest against the two children being kept away from the family.

Source:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/norway-custody-row-indian-govt-steps-in-asks-mission-to-file-report-178497

Sonia writes to Mulayam

New Delhi, March 15: The Congress is seeking to repair ties with the Samajwadi Party and is keen to keep the railway pot simmering in order to prolong Mamata Banerjee's public relations agony, though it is resigned to accepting her diktat to replace Dinesh Trivedi.

Sources said the idea of inviting the Samajwadi Party to join the UPA government ' widely speculated over the past few weeks ' was discussed at last night's Congress core committee meeting and it was decided to explore the possibility without wasting time.

Sonia Gandhi today sent a letter to Mulayam Singh Yadav, regretting her inability to attend the swearing-in ceremony in Lucknow and wishing his son Akhilesh Yadav success as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Sonia said in her letter that she wanted to attend the ceremony but was tied down by political engagements and parliamentary proceedings and hence was sending two senior leaders to represent her. Motilal Vora and Pawan Bansal were chosen by Sonia to attend the event and were flown to Lucknow by a chartered plane.

While Bansal is the parliamentary affairs minister, who has the responsibility to manage numbers in both the Houses, Vora is a member of Sonia's inner coterie who developed a rapport with Mulayam Singh during his stint as Uttar Pradesh governor.

Although Congress leaders contended that sending these leaders to Lucknow was part of normal courtesy, they conceded the majority in the party favoured strengthening the UPA by inducting the Samajwadi Party into the government.

Although it won't be an easy decision as Rahul Gandhi would like to reclaim the political space in Uttar Pradesh, at least in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leadership has decided to at least send out a message that they valued Mulayam Singh as a leader and wanted to work with understanding and co-operation.

The Congress has to do business with Mulayam Singh even in selecting the next President and Vice-President. Speculation has surfaced about Mulayam Singh's brother Ram Gopal Yadav being given the deputy chairman's post in the Rajya Sabha.

The Samajwadi Party, too, is sending positive vibes. While party chief whip Shailendra Kumar yesterday said in the Lok Sabha that the UPA government would run its full term, Ram Gopal today asserted there was no threat to the stability at the Centre.

But a section in the Samajwadi Party believes it should not identify itself too closely with the UPA ' as it did in 2008 during the nuclear deal stand-off and suffered a setback in the 2009 general election in which the Congress gained.

Bansal today sought to rubbish suggestions of an impending crisis, saying there was no worry on the number front. He is also in touch with the BSP, which has assured full co-operation.

Congress managers claimed they were in a position to pass bills and tide the government over cut motions on money bills. But they rejected the possibility of forcing Trinamul out of the ruling combine, insisting that enhancing the comfort level for the government should not be seen as a negative gesture. "We want Trinamul to be with us but we can't ignore the threats to our survival," a minister said.

Congress leaders have not appreciated Mamata's belligerence. One Congress general secretary went to the extent of describing Mamata's response as "apolitical", adding that "nobody should allow personal emotions to override institutional responsibilities".

The Prime Minister is said to have expressed a deep sense of anguish at the Congress core committee meeting and pointed out that inducting a new railway minister mid-session would be an oddity.

The Congress is still hoping to convince Mamata that Trivedi should be replaced only in the recess, which begins from March 31. But Trinamul is insisting on action by the weekend. Even if Trivedi has to be dropped after the general budget, the ministers of state for railways could be asked to handle the job of passing the rail budget.

Singh's reply to the motion of thanks to the President's address, scheduled for this evening, has been postponed as the Trivedi controversy could have clouded the event.

The Prime Minister did not want to give any commitment on the continuance or resignation of Trivedi at this stage and would now reply on Monday. Singh is expected to talk to Mamata after the budget is presented tomorrow, preferably on Saturday or Sunday.

The Congress will not confront Mamata on the question of Trivedi's continuance but the delay in accepting her wish is well planned. While the government does not want to be seen as capitulating in panic, Congress leaders feel that this controversy is causing irreparable damage to Mamata's image and there is no need to draw curtains over the drama in a hurry.

The government today said "one communication" had been received from Mamata and it was under "active consideration".

"The government has not yet taken any action on it. As and when the government will take action, the House will be informed," Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha.

On whether Trivedi had resigned, Mukherjee said the Prime Minister has "not received any resignation letter from the railway minister.... I am saying that the railway minister has not resigned."

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/sonia-writes-mulayam-214421378.html

Rail Minister Dinesh Trivedi resigns

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who presented his first railway budget yesterday, is said to have resigned today following extreme opposition from his own party – TMC - to his proposal of hiking passenger fares.

Mukul Roy, another TMC MP, will most likely replace him as party chief Mamata Banerjee wants him to be the new rail minister after the firing of Trivedi.
Trivedi is said to have sent in his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning.

Reports suggest that a rollback in fare hike can now take place after the presentation of the General Budget on March 16. This is what Mamata has demanded and the Congress is said to have accepted her demands.

Furious at the hike in passenger fares, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had asked the prime minister to fire as Trivedi justified his proposals to increase fares and remained defiant.

Yesterday, under fire from his own Trinamool Congress members for having increased railway fares, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had justified his move. A defiant Trivedi, however, had also dismissed the idea of quitting, saying that he was 'not afraid of God' and would not roll back railway fare hike at the cost of compromising passenger safety, while speaking to a television channel.

Trivedi also said that he had not consulted Mamata Banerjee before proposing the fare hike, confirming the TMC leader's outburst against the increase in fares.

For the record, this is the first time that passenger rail fares have been proposed to be increased in almost a decade.

Barely minutes after the Railway Minister and TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi had announced a hike in passenger fares across all classes, his own party had blasted him for the proposals.

Mamata Banerjee said that the TMC had not been informed about the rail fare hike.
"We had the portfolio of railways. At that time we had done several developmental works. Today the rail fare has been increased we were not aware of it. Our parliamentary party has already opposed it," Banerjee had said in Nandigram yesterday.

"We will not accept the fire hike. We will not allow the fire hike to happen for the sake of the common man... We are totally against it. I can assure you this," Banerjee had said.

TV reports suggested that Mamata has said that the railway budget cannot be passed with the support of the Trinamool Congress.

Trivedi's justification -- that the rail fare hike has been proposed to take care of the rising expenses on security and modernization of the railways and to provide better amenities to passengers - did not go down well with his own party members.
Other party members too raised a war cry against Trivedi's proposals.

Trinamool Congress MP S Bandopadhyay, criticizing Trivedi's budget, said that party was not consulted before the railway minister presented the budget.
Another party MP, former quiz-master Derek O'Brien too blasted his colleague for the fare hike on Twitter, saying: 'Railway Budget...what was all that about increasing fares across the board? Upper class...maybe ok...but all? Sorry, cannot agree.'

Meanwhile, the Congress has called it a budget for all, with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee describing it as 'positive'.

Stating that people will happily accept modest hikes in rail fares, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said empathised with Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi who was put on notice by his party Trinamool Congress for raising passenger fares.

'All said and done, I'd hate to be in Dinesh Trivedi's shoes today. Today was supposed to be the highlight of his political career. Poor chap,' Abdullah said on Twitter.

The chief minister added: 'We take populism to ridiculous levels. I genuinely believe people would happily accept the modest hike if safety and quality of service better.'

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/rail-minister-dinesh-trivedi-resigns-20120315.html;_ylt=AjFwFy5vAha_RPt.JmiP6SlNc.h_;_ylu=X3oDMTNqNDJma2FlBGNjb2RlA2N0LmMEcGtnA2YxNTY1NDY4LTdhZDMtM2M0NC1hOWNkLTUyYjE1YTNmMzUxNQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDbW9zdF9wb3B1bGFyBHZlcgMzZjgyYjVkMC02ZTUyLTExZTEtYmVlYi1lODVmMGVkNzMxOGQ-;_ylg=X3oDMTI0MDUxbGNnBGludGwDaW4EbGFuZwNlbi1pbgRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lfGJpZ3F1ZXN0aW9uBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

UP CM Akhilesh defends inclusion of Raja Bhaiya in cabinet

Lucknow, Mar 15 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday defended his decision to give cabinet berth to Kunwar Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, saying the charges levelled against the latter were politically motivated and were all fabricated by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Government.

"You also know under which government's rule charges were slapped against Raja Bhaiya. You can go back check the dates also. The previous government had sent him to jail too," he said.

Yadav said his newly elected cabinet would take important decisions keeping the youth in mind, as the youth had voted en masse for his Samajwadi Party (SP).

"In the evening today the cabinet will meet. We have said it earlier also that the youth of the state had voted for the Samajwadi party and as a result we will take some important decisions today with regard to education and employment allowance. There will be very big decisions after the cabinet meets," he said.

Continuing his focus on youth, Yadav said that the recent clamour and long lines for employment allowances in the state exposed the rampant unemployment during the rule of the previous government.

"The most important fact which was visible in the newspapers also was that for employment allowance a lot of youngsters including girls have come out. There was a mad rush for registrations," said Yadav.

"So, the hidden unemployment has now come out in the open and is for yours to see. I want to assure the youth of the state that we will fulfil all our promises," he added.

Akhilesh, 38, became the youngest chief minister of India's largest and most populous state of Uttar Pradesh today.

Uttar Pradesh Governor B.L. Joshi administered the oath of office to Akhilesh at a ceremony here in presence of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, family members, leaders of various political parties and prominent personalities.

Nineteen Ministers of Cabinet rank were also administered oath besides 29 Ministers of State.

Thursday's swearing-in ceremony took place nine days after the Samajwadi Party secured an absolute majority in the seven-phased state assembly elections.

Akhilesh and his party won 224 of the 403 state assembly seats. (ANI)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/cm-akhilesh-defends-inclusion-raja-bhaiya-cabinet-142455308.html

Railway Budget 2012 highlights

 

New Delhi: As he presents his first rail budget, Dinesh Trivedi has his task cut out. His focus, he says, is three-pronged: "Safety, safety, safety."  Following very closely behind are consolidation, decongestion and modernisation.

So aided by poetry, quotable quotes and many mentions of his party chief and predecessor Mamata Banerjee, the railway minister today proposed the highest ever annual plan outlay for the railways at Rs. 60,100 crore, of which Rs. 50,000 crore he said, would be from market borrowing.  Mr Trivedi's big emphasis is on safety. This would include setting up an independent Railway safety authority and phasing out level crossings in five years among other initiatives. Here are the Major highlights of the budget.

• Exp train fare up by 5 paise per km, 10 paise per km for AC chair car, 10 paise per km for AC 3-tier, 15 p per km for AC 2-tier, 30 paise per km for AC First class.

• No steep increase in passenger fares; 2 paisa per km for suburban trains; 3 paisa per km for mail and express trains.

• Independent tariff authority suggested; needs serious debate; experts panel established; decision after debate in parliament.

• GRP/RPF personnel deployed on 3,500 trains.

• Free travel by Rajdhani express for Arjuna awardees.

• Targeting freight carriage of 1,025 million tonnes to bring in Rs.89,339 crore; passenger earnings estimated at Rs.36,073 crore; gross receipts estimated at Rs.1.32 lakh crore.

• Excess of Rs.1,492 crore after meeting expenses/dividend payments not adequate for meeting costs of several projects.

• Dedicated railway design wing at National Institute of Design with a contribution of Rs.10 crore.

• New passenger services: 820 new items; 75 new express trains; 21 new passenger trains; 75 new services in Mumbai suburban system.

• Guru Parikrama trains to be run to Amritsar, Patna and Nanded.

• Passenger fare for sub-urban trains hiked by 2 paise per km, mail trains by 3 paise per km.

• Platform tickets to cost Rs. five.

• 50 per cent concession in fare in AC classes to anaemia and sickle cell disease patients.

• Body of experts to examine setting up of an independent Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority

• No steep increase in passenger fares: Railway Minister.

• Finance Ministry agrees to loan Rs. 3,000 crore to Railways at 8.55 per cent interest: Trivedi

• Gross rail traffic targeted to increase by Rs. 28,635 crore to Rs. 1,32,552 crore in 2012-13.

• Passenger earnings to increase to Rs. 36,200 crore. Gross traffic receipts Rs. 1,32,552 crore.

• Railways to carry 55 million tons more freight at 1025 million tonnes in 2012-13.

• Surplus with railways at Rs. 1,492 crore in current year as against targeted Rs. 5,258 crore.

• Expansion of suburban rail networks and addition of more services in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

• Guru Parikarma special trains to cover Sikh pilgrimage centres of Amritsar, Patna and Nanded.

• 75 new express passenger trains to be introduced.

• Railway Board to be restructured, two more members to be included.

• Railways to recruit more than one lakh persons in 2012-13.

• Railways to replace open discharge toilets with green toilets. 2,500 coaches will be equipped with bio-toilets next year.

• All Garib Rath trains to have one special AC coach for differently abled persons.

• All out efforts to improve hygiene in trains and stations in next six months.

• Special housekeeping body to be set up to maintain stations and trains.

• Improvement of passenger amenities at a cost of Rs.1,112 crore; regional cuisines to be introduced.

• World Bank funding of R.6,500 crore firmed up for dedicated freight corridors; land acquired for 3,300 km; first contracts to be handed out during 2012-13

• Standard of hygiene needs to be improved substantially; all out efforts will be made on this in the next six months; duty bound to provide high standard of services; special housekeeping body to be set up for stations and trains.

• Corrosion from night soil being discharged from toilets on tracks costs Rs.350 crore annually; green toilets to be installed in 2,500 coaches in the next one year.

• Two thousand one hundred specially designed coaches manufactured to meet needs of the differently abled; aim to provide one such coach in each express train.

• Electrification to be undertaken over 6,500 km at an allocation of Rs.8,000 crore during 12th Plan.

• Conversion from DC to AC power supply completed in Western Railway corridor of Mumbai suburban rail system; conversion of Central Railway corridor to be completed in 2012-13.

• Elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar in Mumbai being firmed up.

• Government should consider dividend payback to railways.

• Thirty-one projects over 5,000 km being implemented with state governments sharing costs.

• Capacity augmentation to get Rs.4,410 crore during 2012-13.

• Eighty-five new line projects to be taken up during 2012-13.

• One hundred and fourteen new line surveys to be undertaken during 2012-13.

• New line projects to get Rs.6,870 crore in 2012-13.

• Gauge conversion to be undertaken over 800 km with an allocation of Rs.1,950 crore.

• Focus during next five years on five areas: tracks, bridges, signalling, rolling stock and stations.

• Signalling to be improved over 19,000 km.

• Investment of Rs.1.70 lakh crore on rolling stock in next five years.

• Attempt to increase train speeds to 160 kmph; journey time from New Delhi to Kolkata can be brought down to 14 hours from 17 hours.

• Improvements to railway stations can provide employment to 50,000 people.

• Outlay of Rs.60,100 crore during 2012-13, the highest ever.

• Railways will require Rs.14 lakh crore in the next 10 years for modernisation.

• Aim to bring down operating ratio from 90 percent to 84.9 percent in 2012-13 and to 72 percent by 2016-17.

• Time has come for formulating national policy for railways on the lines of that for defence and external affairs.

• Railways should grow at 10 percent annually for sustained GDP growth.

• Railways to invest Rs.7.35 lakh crore during 12th Five Year Plan period (2012-17), a quantum jump from the Rs.1.92 lakh crore invested in previous plan period.

• Railways must attract 10 percent of the Rs.20 lakh crore government expects to spend on infrastructure during 12th Plan.

• Railways expect gross budgetary support of Rs.2.5 lakh crore during 12th Plan.

• Collective challenge to formulate viable funding mechanism for modernisation.

• Railways should contribute 2 percent of GDP from the present 1 percent.

• Stress on strengthening safety. Has to be be benchmarked with the best in the world.

• Target of reducing accidents from 0.55 to 0.17 has been met.

• Special purpose vehicle to be set up on safety protocols.

• Independent railway safety authority to be set up as statutory safety body.

• Investment of Rs.5.60 lakh crore required for modernisation.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/railway-budget-2012-highlights-185843&cp

Source:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/railway-budget-2012-highlights-185843