TIMES NATION | Politics & Policy

10

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Fadnavis cabinet follows Modi model Cong jumps to

Saradha case:
CBI to talk to
RBI officials Related Portfolios Given To Single Minister For More Governance, Less Govt
on loopholes
No nod should be needed to probe graft
New Delhi: The CBI will soon
examine some Reserve Bank of
India officials in connection
with the Saradha scam probe
as it wants to understand regulatory loopholes.
Sources said Saradha was
not operating as a non-banking
finance company and RBI had
hardly any role in regulating
its operations, but the agency
had come across some inputs
which required clarification
from the central bank.
Sources, however, clarified
that examining an official
should not be taken to mean
complicity in an alleged crime.
The examination will be
aimed at understanding the
circumstances and seeking
clarification
about
documents, an official said.
The agency will also examine RBI officials to understand
the
regulatory
loopholes
which were allegedly exploited
by the operators of the chit
fund scheme, sources said.
They said the company was
running a form of collective investment scheme which is regulated by the Sebi, adding officials of the market regulator
have also been examined.
Saradha had allegedly violated the Sebi Act and regulations, the sources added.
The agency has already filed a 25-page chargesheet along
with annexures containing
the names of three accused
Sudipta Sen, Debjani Mukherjee and Kunal Ghosh, the last
being a suspended TMC Rajya
Sabha MP who had worked
with Sen, the Saradha founder.
CBI is now working to decipher criminal conspiracy
and the alleged involvement
of regulatory bodies which
purportedly acted late on Saradha, thereby allowing it to
collect massive deposits from
gullible investors. TNN

Modi talks of
govt schemes
on Mann ki
Baat address
New Delhi: In his second radio address on Sunday, PM Narendra Modi talked about his
governments initiatives like
those related to speciallyabled children and cleaning
the country besides social
problems like drug addiction.
He also paid tributes to the
armed forces while referring
to his visit to Siachen in
Jammu and Kashmir on
Diwali day on October 23
where soldiers live in difficult
conditions.
With regard to speciallyabled children, he announced
that a special scholarship will
be given to 1,000 such children
by the HRD ministry. Rs 1
lakh each will also be given to
Kendriya Vidyalayas and central universities for creating
infrastructure for speciallyabled children, he said.
A good beginning has
been made and things will
change, Modi said and added
that the country was headed
towards a big change.
Talking about the Swachh
Bharat drive launched on October 2, he appreciated personalities from various walks of
life as well as common people
for participating . TNN

Post our men

abroad for
black money
probe: CBI
New Delhi: The CBI has
sought posting of its officers
in some Indian missions
abroad besides cutting down
of red-tape involved in sending letters rogatory (LR) as
measures to expedite cases
related to black money. We
have submitted a note to the
special investigation team in
which we have elaborated
about the measures that are
required from the point of
view of the probe agency, a
senior CBI officer said.
The SIT headed by Justice
(retd) M B Shah with Justice
(retd) Arijit Pasayat as its
vice-chairman was constituted by the government in May
on the orders of SC for investigation, initiation of proceedings and prosecution in cases
involving unaccounted money. Heads of all intelligence
agencies and financial probe
bodies were nominated as its
members and shall have jurisdiction in the cases where
probe has already commenced or is pending or
awaiting to be initiated. TNN

Mumbai: A look at the portfolio allocation to ministers by

Maharashtra chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis shows he
is serious about his commitment to provide maximum
governance and minimum
government.
Synergy is the operative
word in allocation of portfolios as seen from several cases
where many ministers handled portfolios of related subjects. For instance, there were
earlier separate ministers for
school and higher education,
medical education and sports
and youth welfare. Now, to ensure better coordination, the
new government has entrusted the job to a single minister,
in this case Vinod Tawde.
Tawde said he has been
given charge of human resource development. Notably,

aharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has proposed

M to do away with the need for sanction to probe the

corruption cases where there is a prima facie evidence. Why

should any sanction be necessary? We would make a
framework...where preliminary inquiry is done and there is a
prima facie evidence, no sanction should be taken. We would
change the law, Fadnavis told a news channel today. There is
no need for discretion (for initiating a probe) for corruption
cases. When you find certain prima facie evidence, why should
you stop? Fadnavis said, when asked about whether he would
allow the anti-corruption bureau to conduct inquiry against NCP
leaders Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare in the irrigation scam. PTI

CM Fadnavis travelling in economy class on a Nagpur-bound flight

there was no concept of a

HRD ministry earlier in the
state.
Similarly, tribal development and social justice, which
earlier had two ministers, will
now be handled by a single
minister. Though this arrangement is till further expansion of the ministry, a se-

nior bureaucrat said the new

approach is cohesive and will
help focus energy and resources in a much more productive manner.
Revenue and agriculture
portfolios will be handled by a
single minister, in this case by
senior leader Eknath Khadse.
These are related depart-

keep Home portfolio with

himself.
By limiting the number of
ministers to 10, Fadnavis has
also raised hopes in the Sena
camp that there may still be
scope for former allies to work
together in the new regime,
where BJP has usurped Senas role of the Big Brother. PTI

ments, but earlier had separate ministers apparently to

accommodate aspirants.
Khadse will also handle
animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries,
which earlier had separate
minister. The most significant change has come with
the decision of Fadnavis to

Shiv Sena refuses to set Cabinet of 10 against

deadline to join BJP govt law but okay with SC

tion, the states new political

leadership did take note of
the constitutional provisions, but also noted the Supreme Courts observations
in the case of a public interest litigation filed by social
activist Virendra Kumar.
Kumar had approached
the apex court, stating that
the strength of the Himachal
Pradesh cabinet, led by Prem
Kumar Dhumal in 2008, violated the Constitution. The
cabinets strength, including
the CM, was 10. Disposing of
the PIL on May 13, 2008, then
chief justice of India, Justice
K G Balakrishnan, had observed that notwithstanding
the amendment to the Constitution to provide for a minimum strength of the cabinet
at 12, its actual strength can
be lower than that. We have
full respect for the Constitution, but we followed the case
law. We felt that in view of the
specific observations, it will
not be illegal if the cabinets
strength is less than 12, as the
apex court order is being
viewed as the law of the
land, he said.
Endorsing the bureaucrats views, lawyer Shrihari
Aney said that since it was
the SC observations, there
was nothing wrong in having
a slim cabinet.

Prafulla.Marpakwar
@timesgroup.com

Ambarish Mishra
& Samrat Phadnis TNN

Mumbai/Kolhapur: In a
move to gather pressure on
BJP for plum ministerial portfolios, Shiv Sena has refused
to set a deadline to join the new
government in the state. This
will make matters difficult for
BJP, which needs adequate
numbers to pass the trust vote
in the state assembly next
week, say observers.
Senas game plan is to extract key ministerial posts
from BJP by flaunting its
strength of 63 MLAs in the 288member assembly. BJP needs
Senas MLAs to win the trust
vote. The three-day special
session of the state legislative
assembly is scheduled for November 10 in Mumbai. Chief
minister Devendra Fadnavis
plans to pass the floor test on
November 12.
BJP has 122 MLAs and
claims that it has the support
of seven or eight independents. NCP has spelt out its
strategy for the trust vote, according to which its 41 MLAs
will vote in favour of BJP.
The NCP move is aimed at
reducing the Fadnavis ministry's dependence on Sena for
the floor test. The CM is said to

Mumbai: A day after the Devendra Fadnavis-led government was sworn-in, doubts
are being raised over the legal validity of decisions taken by the Cabinet, in view of
its slim size.
When Arun Jaitley was
law minister in 2003, he had
taken the lead in amending
the Constitution to provide for
the smaller size of a Cabinet to
avoid a burden on the state exchequer. It was provided that
the number of ministers, including the chief minister in
the council of ministers, shall
not exceed 15% of the number
of members of the legislative
assembly. The amendment also provided that the number of
ministers, including the chief
minister, should not be less
than 12.
When Fadnavis was
sworn-in as CM, along with
seven cabinet members and
two ministers of state on October 31, the cabinet strength
was 10. Since the cabinets
size is less than the norms
prescribed by the Constitution, does it amount to a
breach of rules?
A high-ranking bureaucrat told TOI on Sunday that
during government-forma-

CM Fadnavis pays his respects at the Bal Thackeray memorial in

Mumbai. For steps to use and dowload Alive app, see P2

be not keen to choose the NCP

option in view of his crusade
against the multi-crore irrigation scam involving NCP ministers Ajit Pawar and Sunil
Tatkare in the former Congress-NCP government.
On Sunday, Sena chief
Uddhav Thackeray told reporters in Kolhapur, I am in
no hurry (to join the government); nor are my Shiv Sainiks. I will not disclose any
equations before the media.
He said the Fadnavis government must decide on toll,
recalling that during the Lok
Sabha polls, the Sena-BJP-led

saffron alliance had promised

a toll-free Maharashtra.
In Nagpur, Fadnavis told
journalists that the cabinet
will be expanded only after the
government wins the trust
vote. If by joining government they (Sena) mean induction in the state cabinet, it will
happen only after the trust
vote. They know this, he said.
On Senas demand for the
post of deputy CM, Fadnavis
said, We haven't thought
about it. Whether to create the
post or not will be decided by
my party. I will be comfortable
with what my party decides.

defence of pvt
citizen Vadra

Continued from P 1
he Congress rushed to
Robert Vadras defence
on Sunday, arguing he
was entitled to some privacy
since he was not in public life.
Indian Constitution and
our established ethos guarantee right of privacy, personal
space and liberty to all individuals, more so, when a person is neither in public life
nor holds any public office.
Unpleasantness of repeatedly asking questions at private
functions, like what happened with Robert Vadra yesterday, must be avoided at all
times, AICC spokesman
Randeep Surjewala said.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh tweeted,
Why is a private citizen being unnecessarily hounded?
If he has violated any law,
prosecute him. If he has ill
gotten wealth, confiscate it,
but this unnecessary media
attention is not justified.
Rubbishing the defence,
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said Vadra was not a private citizen. Vadra is not a
private person. If he had been
a private person, then he
would not have got the privileges in Haryana, neither he
would have got privileges at
airports, he said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit
Patra said it was Vadra's
sheer frustration that
caused this inappropriate behaviour. Vadra was the one
who had called India a banana republic and we Indians
as mango people but it is time
that we make him realize that
India is no more a banana republic which was ruled by the
first family of the Congress,
Patra said. AAP leader Yogendra Yadav was quoted by an
agency as saying that Vadra's
snapping at the reporter
showed the Gandhi familys
arrogance was intact and
they needed to be taught
more lessons. On Saturday,
Vadra lost his cool and
pushed aside a reporters mic
at a function to inaugurate an
exhibition on gym equipment
when he was quizzed about
his controversial land deals.
He also directed Delhi Police
personnel guarding him to
seize the reporter's camera
and delete the visuals.

RSS ranks swelling as BJP makes electoral gains

Mohua.Chatterjee
@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The BJPs big victory in the last Lok Sabha polls
may be a reflection of growing
support for the RSS, apart
from the desire for change that
worked in favour of PM Narendra Modi.
The figures put together by
the Sangh in its annual stocktaking meeting in Lucknow in
October showed a phenomenal growth in its support base
over the last three years.
While there has been a steady rise in the number of people
joining the Sangh and its various activities since 1985, when
the organization which started in 1925 began its first doorto-door campaign across the
country, the last three years
showed a huge swing in favour

HOW SANGH HAS GROWN

Between 2012 and
2015 2,000 sakhas
per year gone up
across the country
But this year
between Jan 1 and
Sep 30, the increase
was of 4,500 sakhas

AVG. ONLINE REQUESTS 2012

RECEIVED (per month)
1,000

2013

2,500

2014
(till Sep 30) 7,000

Week-long primary training camp for beginners had

80,000 people in 2013 (13 to 40 yrs old)
2014 (Jan to Sep) 1.2 Lakh
of the group. The shakhas run
in neighbourhoods are considered the biggest measure of
Sanghs strength. When they
were shrinking in number, the
Sangh decided to make changes in its approach and go for an

aggressive membership drive

from 2012 and focus on a threeyear period till 2014.
The RSSs annual stocktaking exercise found that
while the number of shakhas
grew by 2,000 per year since

2012, it jumped to 4,500 in 2014

(between January 1 and
September 30), with three
months of the year still to be
accounted for.
After going online in 2012,
RSS received 1,000 requests
per month on an average from
those interested in joining.
This number went up to 2,500
per month in 2013. The number jumped to 7,000 per month
between January 1 and September 30, 2014. The profile
was mostly young, educated
netizens, it was found.
For those who join as primary members, the Sangh
holds a seven-day prathmik
siksha varg (introductory
training camp) where members have to pay for the programme.
For the full report, log on to
www.timesofindia.com

VK Singh comes late to RSS

event, not allowed to speak
Ishita.Mishra@timesgroup.com

Agra: Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh was

not allowed to address a session at the ongoing three-day yuva sankalp shivir of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Agra on Sunday
because he arrived at the venue late.
Sources say General (retired) Singh was
to address an hour-long session on security
and defence policies of the country at 11 am
on Sunday, but he could not make it to the venue in time.
Singh paid the price for his late arrival as he was made
to sit behind other dignitaries present in the room where
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was also present.
Singh was scheduled to arrive in the camp before 11, as
his session was to begin at 11. But he arrived at the venue
around12:40. According to the policies of the RSS, we do
not shift our schedule for anyone. He was late, hence he was
not allowed to address youths, Virendra Varshaneya,
media in-charge RSS yuva sankalp shivir, told TOI.

Info can be out only after India must revisit plan on

proceedings initiated climate change: Pachauri
Continued from P 1

few hours after PM Modi asserted in

a radio address that he was committed to ensuring the return of black
money held in foreign banks, finance minister Arun Jaitley went on Facebook and
questioned the need for immediate disclosure of names in light of the confidentiality
clause in tax treaties.
Jaitley underlined that information received through the agreements could only
be disclosed after prosecution proceedings
were initiated. The issue is not whether
but when disclosure can be made. The debate is not between disclosure and non-disclosure of confidential information. It is between unauthorized disclosure in violation
of tax treaties and disclosure as per tax treaties, he said, adding that premature revelation only benefits those who have stashed illicit funds abroad.
A disclosure in violation of tax treaties
helps the account holder. The reciprocating
state would treat this as a violation of a tax
treaty and refuse to provide any evidence in
support of the unauthorized account. The
holder of the unauthorized account in the
absence of any proof and confirmation
from the reciprocating state would get the
benefit in any investigation or prosecution
and then claim that I stand vindicated. In
fact, a premature disclosure would additionally alert the account holder to prepare

AAP says PM has changed

stance on black money
AP on Sunday questioned PM Narendra
Modis changed stance regarding black
money and demanded an apology for lying
to the public. In his address to the nation on
radio, Modi said he did not know the exact
amount of black money stashed in illegal
foreign bank accounts but promised to
bring it back. Reacting to this AAP said
Modis speech was disappointing.
During his campaign Mr Modi was quoting
exact figures of black money stashed away
in foreign accounts. Not just that, he had
been claiming that once the money came
back, all Indians would get Rs 15 lakh each.
His party president Mr Rajnath Singh had
promised to bring back all the black money
stashed away in foreign bank accounts in
hundred days, the party said. TNN

some documentation or a sham defence. It

may even enable him to destroy evidence,
he added. Attacking the Congress, Jaitley
said its stance was understandable given
that it does not want names to come out.
Notwithstanding its clarity, why should
someone with adequate understanding of
the subject demand a disclosure in violation of the treaty... Are some others ill informed, just indulging in bravado or are
they Trojan horses?

Continued from P1
he findings and recommendations of the synthesis report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) on
completely phasing out fossil fuels are expected to be
discussed thoroughly when
more than 190 countries
would assemble for a climate
conference in Lima, Peru,
next month.
Expectedly, representatives from Saudi Arabia and
other oil exporting countries protested against such
drastic recommendations
during the consultations
round before accepting the
IPCC report in Copenhagen.
In his advice to the Indian government, IPCC chairman R K Pachauri told TOI,
India has a national action
plan on climate change that,
I think, will need to be revisited in the light of the findings of the report. I hope that
will be beneficial.
Asked whether he envisaged a world that would be
without fossil fuels, Pachau-

GAS EMISSION IMPACT

WHAT THE UN PANEL (IPCC) WANTS

Law to take own

course on Vadra,
says Haryana CM
aryana CM Manohar Lal

H Khattar on Sunday said

that law will take its own

course in the controversial
land deals of Robert Vadra,
son-in-law of Congress

For steps on Alive, see P2

president Sonia Gandhi. All
the promises made to the
people of Haryana, especially
on clean, transparent and
corruption-free government,
would be fulfilled. Whatever is
in the interest of the 2.5 crore
people of the state would be
done, Khattar told media
persons here. The response
from the CM came in response
to questions regarding Vadras
reaction to a news crew in a
New Delhi hotel Saturday
night. Khattars comments are
being seen as a softening of
stand of the new BJP
government on the land scams
during the Hooda regime. IANS

Will take action if

plaint is filed: Min
eacting to Congress

R president Sonia Gandhis

son-in-law Vadra sniping at a

TV reporter for asking about
the Haryana land deal, I&B
minister Prakash Javadekar
said action will be taken if a
complaint is registered with
the ministry. We will take
action if a complaint is filed.
The media should be allowed
to do its work, he said.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesman
Sambit Patra said: It was the
sheer frustration of Robert
Vadra that became
manifested as inappropriate
behaviour against a
journalist. PTI

INDIA DIGEST

BSF seizes 22kg of

heroin in Punjab
The BSF has seized 22 kg of heroin
valued around Rs 110 crore in the international market after a gun battle with smugglers in Punjabs Gurdaspur district on Sunday. Pakistani
smugglers also opened fire from
across the border to give cover to
their Indian counterparts but failed.

CBI likely to quiz Jayanthi

over Jindal plant: CBI is likely to
convert into FIRs the preliminary
probe against Jindal Steel and Power
Ltd and JSW Steel for alleged diversion of forest land for their plant in
violation of norms and may also examine ex-minister Jayanthi Natarajan.

Drone sees bricks on Lucknow

rooftops, clean-up ordered:
A drone camera deployed by the
administration to keep an eye on
sensitive areas during Muharram
has spotted bricks and stones on
several rooftops in Lucknow. Notices have been issued to the owners of 19 houses in the Old City to
clear their terraces.

ACB finds `29L in Mumbai

inspectors home: The anticorruption bureau of Mumbai on
Saturday found Rs 29 lakh in cash
at the home of a sanitary inspector
of the civic corporation.

JD(U) to contest polls under

Nitish: Manjhi: Bihar CM Jitan
Ram Manjhi on Sunday said JD(U)
would contest the polls next year
under the leadership of his predecessor Nitish Kumar.

Fossil fuels
Cut greenhouse
should be
gas (GHG)
phased out
emissions by 40completely in power 70% by 2050 from
generation by 2100 the year 2010 level

JUST LIKE THAT

3
4

GHG emissions should be zero by

2100 to keep temp rise below 2C

AJIT NINAN

Urges nations to increase the share of

clean energy (solar, wind, bio, nuclear
& others) from existing 30% to 80% of
the entire power generation by 2050

WHAT THE IPCC SAID ABOUT IMPACT Global mean sea

Average surface
temperature has
already increased
by 0.85 degree
Celsius over the
period from
1880 to 2012

Existing levels
of three key GHGs
carbon dioxide,
methane and
nitrous oxide are
the highest in at
least 800,000 years

ri said, We have brought out

very clearly (in the report)
that if we want to keep global temperature increase to
below 2 degrees Celsius
from 1880 level, then by the
end of this century, fossil

level rose by 19 cm
from 1901-2010
Period from 1983
to 2012 was the
warmest 30-year
period in the last
1,400 years

fuel based power generation

will be phased out unless
weuse carbon capture and
storage (CCS) facility technology.
For the full report, log on
to www.timesofindia.com

Hes evolving. After piggybacking on

Sonia initially, its now Diggybacking.