PEACE IN NORTH-EAST?: Tripartite agreement signed with ULFA!

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With Due Acknowledgement To:  Special Correspondent, The Hindu / NEW DELHI, September 3, 2011.

ULFA leaders Arabinda Rajkhowa and Shashadhar Choudhary at the North Block in New Delhi, in February this year. Mr. Choudhary has said the agreement with the government is not final. File photo - The Hindu.

It will pave the way for putting an end to violence in Assam.

In the first step towards finding ways for ushering in permanent peace in Assam, a tripartite agreement for Suspension of Operations (SoO) was signed here on Saturday among the Centre, the Assam government and the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

The Union government was represented by the Joint Secretary (North East), Home Ministry and the Assam government by the Home Commissioner. Shahdhar Chaudhuri, Chtraban Hazarika and Raju Barua, three key ULFA functionaries represented the organisation, an official release said.

The ULFA had earlier agreed to abjure violence and find a solution to the problems as perceived by the outfit through peaceful negotiations with the Union government and the Assam government.

The agreement would pave the way for putting an end to violence in the North-Eastern State and clear the decks for initiating the process of holding peace talks with the banned insurgent group. Both the ULFA and the security forces, according to the pact, will not carry out operations against each other.

“We had a very good round of talks. The agreement was signed. The first round spells out the road to political dialogue. It is the harbinger of future talks,”Joint Secretary (North East) in the Home Ministry Shambhu Singh told journalists here. The pact will continue during the political talks and till a final agreement is signed.

The meeting deliberated in detail on various aspects of the ground rules of the SoO and how to maintain peace in Assam. Members of the rebel group — numbering around 600 — will be put in special camps which will be called “nabanirman kendras.”

Asked whether the ULFA cadres would surrender all arms and ammunition, the outfit's self-styled ‘foreign secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury said, “why should we? This is not a final agreement. This is a gentleman's agreement. We will see how the parleys go forward,” Mr. Choudhury said.

Last month, the ULFA submitted to the Centre its charter of demands which sought amendment in the Constitution for finding “meaningful” ways to protect the rights and identity of the indigenous people of Assam.

The ULFA's other demands include discussion on grounds for its struggle, status report on missing ULFA leaders and cadres (numbering around 50) and other socio-economic issues.

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ANOTHER MIDNIGHT MAYHEM?: Govt evaluates plans to move Anna to hospital!

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Kashish, NDTV / Updated: August 24, 2011 23:51 IST.

New Delhi:  With Anna Hazare declaring this evening that he will not end his hunger strike against corruption, the Government is preparing a plan to move him to hospital, if needed. So far, his doctors say this is not required. His aides also say the police present at Anna's camp at Ramlila Maidan have promised they will not try to move him without the consent of Anna's doctors.

Anna aide Arvind Kejriwal told the supporters gathered at the Ramlila maidan, that Team Anna has reports that the Government may forcibly move Anna out of Ramlila Maidan between 3 and 4 am. However, Mr Hazare asked his supporters not to resort to violence in case such a situation arises.

74-year-old Anna is on the ninth day of his fast. Doctors attending to him last night said they were worried about his blood pressure and his vital signs. This morning, they said that because Anna had slept well, he had recovered a little.

Rest at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/govt-evaluates-plans-to-move-anna-to-hospital-128713

FINAL SPEECH?: Talks collapse; don't stop them from taking me away, says Anna!

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Rahul Shrivastava & Sandeep Phukan, NDTV / Updated: August 24, 2011 23:33 IST.

New Delhi:  Anna Hazare's hunger strike is approaching the early hours of its tenth day. Talks between the government and his associates ended a little before 10 pm without any progress. "We are trying to understand each other's perspectives," said Law Minister Salman Khurshid after the meeting. "There is nothing to report immediately...we will talk tomorrow as well...the priority is Anna's health." (Read: Who is Anna Hazare?) 

Anna's associate Prashant Bhushan's diagnosis was more severe. "We are back to square one," he said. The two other Anna representatives, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi said the language used by the ministers was less conciliatory than yesterday. "Today they scolded us," they reported. Ms Bedi also tweeted that the government said it was up to Team Anna to end his fast. Team Anna said after progress made at last night's negotiations, there has been a complete breakdown tonight. The crisis centres around the Lokpal Bill, which provides for a new agency to handle official corruption, and whose version should transform into law.

The government has refused to allow Anna's version of the Lokpal Bill to be introduced directly in Parliament for a debate, bypassing the procedure that refers bills first to a Standing Committee for review.  Instead, Mr Khurshid and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allegedly told Anna's aides that they should discuss which features are not acceptable to them in the government's version of the Lokpal Bill, which has already been introduced in Parliament. 

The 74-year-old activist's doctors said his blood pressure and vital signs are stable, but his health is now the over-riding concern for the government, some of his associates, and the thousands of Indians who have reposed their faith in his movement against corruption. "If anything happens to Anna, the government will be responsible," warned Anna's close aide, Arvind Kejriwal, at the massive camp set up in Delhi by Team Anna. "I can last for another nine days," said Anna, who has not eaten for nine days, to an audience of nearly 15,000 people this evening at Ramlila Maidan.

Sources say the government is preparing an emergency plan to move Anna to hospital; the doctors attending to the activist have been consulted, they will indicate if and when Anna should be air-lifted to hospital. For now, they've deemed that unnecessary.  

Rest at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/talks-collapse-don-t-stop-them-from-taking-me-away-says-anna-128730

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MORNING ADDRESS OF ANNA: Govt still not serious on corruption!

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zeenews.india.com / Last Updated: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 11:47.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Even as the government launched concerted efforts to end the standoff with the civil society over the Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare on Wednesday hit back saying it still lacks will power to fight corruption.

Addressing a sea of his supporters at the Ramlila Ground on the ninth day of his fast, Anna said, “Despite hectic negotiations, it appears that the government is still not serious in fighting corruption. The government lacks will power to remove corruption from the society.”

Attacking the government, he said, “Yesterday three of our associates met government representatives but still no agreement could be reached on various issues. Three sticking points are yet to be resolved. The government is still not ready to accept our demand for including lower bureaucracy and all the state Lokayukta’s under the purview of Lokpal panel.”

“We want that everyone from village to ministries should come under the ambit of the Lokpal,” Anna said adding, “Fight against corruption will be fruitless unless a strong anti-graft legislation is put in place.”

The social worker warned that he won’t budge till the government accepts the civil society’s demand for including lower bureaucracy and CVCs under Lokpal.

Rest at,.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/govt-still-not-serious-on-corruption-anna_727960.html


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LOK PAL BILL: Team Anna vs Govt: Areas of dispute, negotiation!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 23, 2011 15:05 IST.

New Delhi:  The Anna-Hazare-government standoff continues, the 74-year-old Gandhian is still fasting. But moves are afoot now to ensure a compromise is reached to break the impasse.   

The government is making frantic efforts and seems willing to give in on key sticking points.

At the Ramlila Maidan, where Team Anna has set up camp, there seems to have been a softening of stand too. What started out as two different draft Bills after members of a joint committee failed to agree, may yet be put together in a new draft.

The story so far: Anna Hazare was on hunger strike for four days in April this year, before the government invited him and his team to join a committee set up to draft an anti-corruption law - the Lok Pal Bill. There were an equal number of government representatives and civil society members on the panel. After several meetings and many disagreements, both sides drafted different versions of the Bill.

The government introduced its version in Parliament this month. Anna Hazare and his fellow anti-corruption activists were livid - they demanded that Parliament discuss and approve provisions of their draft Bill, the Jan Lok Pal Bill. On August 16, as planned, Anna Hazare was ready to begin his indefinite fast and mass protest when the Delhi Police swooped down on him, detained, and later arrested him and sent him to jail. There has been a public and political outcry since, Anna has become a global icon and the government is in damage-control mode.

Central to any compromise will be the contours of the Bill that Parliament will debate and approve. Sources say the government may make major changes to its draft Lok Pal Bill to include provisions from Team Anna's Jan Lok Pal Bill. The key differences between the two are:      

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Full Story at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/team-anna-vs-govt-areas-of-dispute-negotiation-128409

  

ANNALILA: Govt appoints Vilasrao Deshmukh to talk with Team Anna!

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Pallavi Ghosh, CNN-IBN / Updated Aug 23, 2011 at 01:07pm IST.

New Delhi: Union Science and Technology Minister and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has been appointed by the Government to negotiate with Anna Hazare and his associates. The decision to appoint Deshmukh to start talks with Team Anna was taken after he met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday.

Deshmukh has had the experience of dealing with Hazare during his stint as Maharashtra's chief minister.

The Government is also discussing various other options to break the Lokpal deadlock.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called an all party meet and sources say that the Centre may also bring the prime minister's post under the ambit of the Lokpal.

At the all-party meet the Government will try to get the Opposition parties to support the idea that Team Anna cannot be allowed to bypass Parliament on the Lokpal issue.

Full Story at,

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/govt-appoints-vilasrao-to-talk-with-team-anna/177966-37-64.html

  

Govt attempting back channel talks with Anna Hazare - sources!

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CNN-IBN / Updated Aug 19, 2011 at 11:08am IST.

New Delhi: The Congress is still figuring out a strategy for a breakthrough with Team Anna. At the moment, the sticking points are on lower bureaucracy and the CBI being under the Lokpal ambit. Sources say neither the govt nor team Anna are willing to budge on it.

But the government is attempting back channel talks by roping in politicians and NGOs from Maharashtra into negotiations.

For now though the government is adopting a wait and watch policy but they are eventually willing to break the deadlock on contentious issues.

When contacted by CNN-IBN, team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan say they have not been contacted by anyone from the government's side.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media on Thursday, former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde had hinted at a compromise between the government and Team Anna.

Full Story at,

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/congress-reaching-out-to-team-anna-sources/176766-37-64.html

UNETHICAL STATE CENSOR: How good is India at patrolling the web?

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Jaimon Joseph, CNN-IBN / Updated Aug 16, 2011 at 06:00pm IST.

New Delhi: In the aftermath of the London riots, Britain considered tighter controls on the Internet, to prevent social unrest. How good is India at patrolling the web? Nikhil Pahwa, the Editor of www.Medianama.com recently tried uploading his holiday photos from Ladakh to a file sharing site to share it with friends. He couldn't do it because unknown to most of us, Internet Service Providers (ISP), had blocked all file sharing sites in the country, to prevent online piracy of the movie 'Singham'.

"Instead of blocking access only to the copyright infringement of 'Singham', everything was blocked. That's limiting my choice, my usage of services when I have done nothing wrong," Nikhil said.

Now, with a new set of IT rules for companies that connect people to the Internet, any content or any website the government objects to, can be blocked within 36 hours by sending a written note to an ISP. The rules cover any content deemed harmful, blasphemous, defamatory or obscene and anything that disrupts public order or threatens India's security.

Some legal experts suggest that these words are too ambiguous. For example, a big part of Anna Hazare's campaign was waged online. The question is whether the government could one day decide that it is a risk to public order and force it offline.

Recent reports suggest that the government will watch whatever one posts on Facebook and Twitter. The new IT rules allow the government to find out who we are, where we are and what we do on the net. Unusual, because till now, even for a simple telephone tap, the government needed authorisation from court.

Full Story at,

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/how-good-is-india-at-patrolling-the-web/176152-11.html

UNDECLARED EMERGENCY: NHRC seeks report on police action on Anna!

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Press Trust Of India / ibnlive.in.com / Posted on Aug 16, 2011 at 06:19pm IST.

New Delhi: Hours after Anna Hazare was taken into preventive custody, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notices to the Union Home Secretary and the Delhi Police Commissioner seeking a report within two weeks on the episode.

The Commission notice came this evening after it received a complaint from a human rights activist Anirudhasudhan Chakraborty, who alleged that provisions of Constitution and international human rights conventions were violated in the police action against Anna and his supporters.

"The Commission received a complaint regarding the preventive action against Anna. The complainant claimed that Anna and his supporters were to stage a peaceful protest and action has been taken against them," an NHRC spokesperson said.

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http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nhrc-seeks-report-on-police-action-on-anna/176156-3.html

Government wants to monitor Facebook, Twitter accounts!

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August 14, 2011 / IANS, New Delhi / DC.

It is not just your BlackBerry and mobile phones, the government also wants to snoop in on your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Communication and IT Milind Deora has said the telecom department has received a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure effective monitoring of social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter.

The minister said the government is in regular conversation with the telecom service providers to address security issues and implement the solution to the extent possible, keeping in view security, service and developmental needs of the country.

India's security establishment has also been in talks with Canadian BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) over access to encrypted data sent on BlackBerry devices while the Canadian firm has been ruling out 'selective' decoding of e-mails and SMSes.

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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/government-wants-monitor-facebook-twitter-accounts-815

CNN-IBN & CNBC-TV18 ‘State of the Nation Poll’, Part-V: Rating the governments!

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The Hindu / August 12, 2011.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi after their victory in the Lok Sabha elections on May 16, 2009, in New Delhi - The Hindu.

"The Hindu" presents the findings of the CNN-IBN & CNBC-TV18 ‘State of the Nation Poll’, conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. The results of the poll on the theme ‘Performance at the Centre and the States’ show that at the national level, the news is not very good for UPA-II. It does not have much to celebrate at the State level either.

The Hindu presents the findings of the CNN-IBN & CNBC-TV18 ‘State of the Nation Poll’, conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. This surveys the popular mood on a number of issues such as the popularity of political leaders, the economy, corruption and terrorism.

The results of the poll on the theme 'Performance at the Centre and the States' are presented here. CNN-IBN will telecast the programme at 10 p.m. today.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2348079.ece?homepage=true