7
TH
 JAN 2013    EVENING NEWS    1920 HRS
THE HEADLINES
• Six political parties from Nagaland, including Congress and BJP, want
deferment of assembly election until a settlement to Naga political problem
arrived at.
• Naga Council Dimapur demands effective measures to curb growing cases
of sexual violence against women; Gokha community to hold protest rally at
Dimapur on 11
th
 January.
• The focus of 12th Plan will be to provide quality higher education for
children, says HRD Minister Pallam Raju.
• Five accused in Delhi gang-rape case produced before a Court in the
capital.
Opposition political parties in Nagaland, including Congress and BJP, have
urged the Centre to defer the coming assembly elections in the state until an
honourable settlement of the vexed Naga political conflict is arrived at. A joint
meeting at Dimapur, leaders of Nagaland units of Congress, BJP, JD (U), NCP,
TMC and RJD resolved that the Government of India should give more
importance to the on-going political talks between the government of India and
the Naga groups. They have sent a joint memorandum  to the Prime Minister,
requesting him to expedite the peace talks to arrive at a logical conclusion and
till that time election should be kept in hold. The letter pointed out that in view of
the on-going Naga peace talks that had elicited strong sentiments of the people
in favour of solution and not elections. The Naga Hoho also told before the
Election Commission that solution to Naga problem should precede the
assembly election. Joint Legislators Forum comprising of all 60 MLAs had on
19
th
July 19 resolved to give up their present positions paving the way for any
alternative political arrangement in the event of settlement of vexed Naga
conflict. All the legislators, led by the Speaker and the Chief Minister went to
Delhi in September and informed about their resolution to the central leaders,
including the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Nagaland BJP today staged a dharna
outside Old MLA Hostel at Kohima demanding an early settlement to the Naga
political problem and resignation of all the 60 MLAs. The party also submitted a
memorandum to the Governor Nikhil Kumar in this regard. Addressing the
protest Nagaland BJP President Dr. M. Chuba Ao said the Union Governments
were neglecting the Naga political problem for past 60 years and even after the
cease-fire no tangible solution was in sight during the last 15 years of political
negotiation. He said the UPA Government continued the divide and rule policy
and the Nagas became victims of that policy and cannot be united so far.


In view of increasing cases of crime against women in the state, Naga Council
Dimapur has called for effective measures to curb atrocities against women. The
Council also expressed solidarity with Dimapur Gorkha Union which has called
for a public rally on 11
th
 January to protest the spate of rapes and murders of
women from their community. The Naga Council, in a  statement, expressed
shock at the series of violent assaults against women, including rape of a fouryear-old girl, at a time when the whole country was up in arms against sexual
assaults against women. The Council also requested various tribal councils and
students bodies in Dimapur to support the proposed protest rally at Clock Tower
junction. Meanwhile, Watsu Mungdang, the Ao women organisation, demanded
amendments to the existing laws on rape and other sexual offences, making
provision of death sentences to rapists. The Ao women also demanded
reduction of juvenile age from 18 years to 16 years.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari today said that National Cadet Corps, NCC, is the
premier uniformed youth organization of the country and it has made immense
contribution to the nation building. Addressing the NCC officers and cadets after
inaugurating the annual Republic Day Camp, 2013 in New Delhi, he said that it is
heartening to see cadets representing various states which reflect the unity in
diversity of the country. The Vice-President also said that NCC is a great
platform to channelise the energy of youth into a creative force to usher in social
change. over two thousand cadets, both boys and girls, are participating in this
camp. There are 111 cadets from North Eastern Region.
The renowned agricultural scientist Dr M S Swaminathan has called for adequate
recognition to the community bio-diversity conservation. Underlining the role of
community conservation efforts, he said such conservation know -how of the
tribal and rural communities should be promoted in  the field of agriculture,
forestry and fishery. Speaking at the centenary session of the Indian Science
Congress in Kolkota today, he said such an effort would meet the need of what
he termed as bio-happiness, which is a combination  of sustainability,
conservation and equitable use of bio-diversity and the blending of traditional
knowledge with frontier technology.
The focus of the 12th plan would be to provide quality higher education for
children, Union HRD Minister Pallam Raju has said.  Speaking at a function in
Kochi, the minister said Colleges and universities  will be encouraged to get
accredited. The Minister also said there was 30 percent shortage of faculty in
higher education and there was a need to consolidate these aspects. Pointing
that there were several challenges and opportunities for India, he listed the
young population of 55 crore kids below the age of 24 as the opportunity India
had. The five accused in the brutal gang-rape case were tod

The five accused in the brutal gang-rape case were today produced before the
Metropolitan Magistrate court of Saket in Delhi. The Juvenile Justice Board will
take up the matter of verifying the age of the sixth accused who claims to be a
minor.The Metropolitan Magistrate asked police to hand over a copy of the
charge sheet to each of the five accused after which the trial will begin in a fasttrack court. As Saket court lawyers have decided to not defend the accused, the
court is likely to direct that lawyers from legal aid cell be provided to the five
accused.The court had taken cognisance of the charge sheet against the
accused on Saturday.
Union Home Secretary RK Singh has suggested that a  policeman should be
suspended immediately, if he refuses to register a complaint. While speaking at
the conference of top police brass in New Delhi, the Home Secretary said that
not registering any complaint by police is a violation of law. He said that people
have to face ordeal at every step while going to a police station for registering a
case or trying to know the status of their complaint. Mr. Singh said this practice
has to be changed and an atmosphere should be created where women and
weaker sections of the society get the ability to register a complaint without
facing any difficulty. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, five policemen of NOIDA
police outpost were suspended after a public outcry against the cops who
refused to lodge the FIR on Saturday when the half naked body of a young girl
was found in Sector 63 of NOIDA, on the outskirts of Delhi.
The Rongmei Community of Nagaland today celebrated Chakan Gaan Ngai, the
post harvest festival, at Dimapur.  Greeting the people on the occasion, Chief
Minister Neiphiu Rio said the Rongmei Community, which had been recently
recognized as the 17
th
 tribe of Nagaland by the State Government, will officially
participate in the Hornbill Festival from this year. The State Government will
provide necessary assistance to establish permanent morung of Rongmei tribe
at Kisama Heritage village, Rio said. The Chief Minister also appealed to the
community to work for strengthening unity among the Nagas. Planning Minister
T.R. Zeliang also spoke on the occasion.
It was another chilly day for North-India including national capital Delhi on
Monday as the minimum temperature was recorded at 2.4 degrees Celsius, five
degrees below normal. On Sunday, the mercury dropped to the season's lowest
of 1.9 degrees Celsius, forcing people to stay indoors. Icy winds blew over the
capital throughout the day. In Uttar Pradesh, 15 more persons died due to
intense cold conditions, taking the toll in the state this winter to 155.