0815 HRS.

    13^th December, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung invites Aam Aadmi Party to discuss Government formation after BJP refuses the offer.

• Government approves changes in Code of Conduct for Ministers to check misuse of Bureaucrats by them for political purposes.

• ·Retail inflation rises to 11.24 per cent in November; Industrial production shrinks by 1.8 per cent in October.

• Vasundhara Raje to be sworn-in as Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

• And Bangladesh hangs top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah for war crimes.

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Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has invited Aam Aadmi Party Convener Arvind Kejriwal to discuss government formation after BJP refused the offer. Kejriwal received a call from the Lieutenant Governor's office last evening soon after the BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan declined the offer to form a government citing lack of majority in the 70-member House. AAP leader and party spokesperson Manish Sisodia said that they have been given a time for tomorrow at 10:30 AM for meeting with the Lt Governor. He said the party is sticking to its stand of neither taking support from the Congress nor the BJP. He said senior party leaders would be meeting today to discuss the future course of action.

After meeting the Lt Governor BJP leader Harsh Vardhan said his party would like to sit in the opposition in view of the lack of a clear mandate by the people of Delhi.

We don't have a clear majority in the Delhi Assembly. Therefore, it will be better if we continue to serve the people of Delhi by sitting in the opposition.

Meanwhile Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has said that the issue of extending support to the AAP is under consideration.

The Delhi polls threw up a fractured mandate with no party securing a majority in the 70-member assembly and the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 31 seats. BJP's ally the Akali Dal has one MLA. AAP got 28 seats in the assembly followed by Congress' eight. JD-U has won one seat while the Mundka seat has gone to an Independent.

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The government has approved fresh amendments to a 50-year-old Code of Conduct for Ministers to check the misuse of bureaucrats by Ministers for political purposes, both at the Centre and in the states. The meeting of the Union Cabinet last evening added a new clause which will also help check civil servants from cultivating political patronage.

While the fresh clause will come into effect at the Centre immediately, it will be sent to the state governments for their adoption.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved proposal of 6500 crore rupees of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to continue the district component of the Backward Region Grants Fund, the BRGF in the current financial year. The fund will contribute towards poverty alleviation in backward districts.

The CCEA also gave its nod to the retention of Minimum Support Prices, MSP for Fair Average Quality of Milling Copra at 5,250 rupees per quintal and Ball Copra at 5,500 rupees per quintal for 2014 season.

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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has said that passing the Lokpal Bill will be the first priority of the government.

We have major priority in passing the Lokpal Bill. We have just had a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of Rajya Sabha where the Lokpal Bill is pending. And I have said that this is the highest priority the government has. So we are going to list it in the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP yesterday offered its cooperation in getting the Lokpal Bill passed by Parliament even without discussion. Briefing media in New Delhi, Leaders of Opposition in the two Houses, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley proposed that the UPA and the NDA join hands to have the Bill passed without any discussion since it is pending for a long time.

They should pass the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha first. And bring it in the Lok Sabha on Monday for the clearance.

The Lokpal Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier and is awaiting approval of the upper house.

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The country's Industrial production contracted 1.8 per cent in October this year mainly due to poor performance of the manufacturing sector. Factory output, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 8.4 per cent in October last year.

The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 2 per cent in October as against a growth of 9.9 per cent a year ago. The mining sector dipped by 3.5 per cent in October this year as against a dip of 0.2 per cent in the same month last fiscal.

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Retail inflation jumps to a 9-month high at 11.24 per cent in November following costlier fruits and vegetables such as onions and tomatoes. Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October was revised upwards to 10.17 per cent from the preliminary estimate of 10.09 per cent.

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Vasundhara Raje will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Rajasthan at Jaipur today. Governor Margaret Alva will administer the oath of office to Ms. Raje. Many Senior BJP leaders including L.K. Advani, Party President Rajnath Singh and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will be present at the event. The BJP recorded a thumping victory in Rajasthan, ending five years of the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress rule. 

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the state assembly . Today Mrs.Raje alone will take oath. Mrs Vasundhara Raje will be the 24th Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The state government has made elaborate sitting and security arrangements for this function. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the ceremony at Janpath near state assembly for which arrangements have made within the Assembly premises and outside. In the assembly election BJP won 162 seats and Mrs Raje elected from Jhalrapatan with a margin of more than 61 thousand votes. Anurag Vajpeyi, AIR News, Jaipur.

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Meanwhile Polling has begun in the Churu assembly constituency of Rajasthan and will conclude at 5.00 pm. Polling was postponed in Churu due to death of a BSP candidate. Counting of votes will take place on 16th December.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh articulated India's concerns over recent disturbances on the Line of Control,the LoC when Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab Province and brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, met him in New Delhi Yesterday. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Sharif said that Dr Singh discussed disturbances on the LoC in the recent months. Mr Sharif, who is number two in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), pressed the need for resolving all problems through peaceful dialogue.

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Government and the Congress party have criticised the Supreme Court judgement re-criminalising gay sex and indicated that various options, including an ordinance, were available for negating the verdict. Filing a curative petition or a review plea of the apex court's judgement setting aside a Delhi High Court order four years ago is also being considered.

Expressing disappointment over the apex court's decision, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi hoped Parliament will address the issue and uphold the constitutional guarantee of life and liberty to all citizens of India. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that these are matters of personal freedom.

My personal view is that these are matters of personal freedom and I think I would agree more with the High Court. I think these type of matters should be left to individuals and these are their choices. This country is known for its freedom of expression.

The BJP put the ball in the government's court on the verdict, saying it will take a stand on the matter if the government calls an all-party meeting and presents a proposal for amending Section 377 of the IPC.

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The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Draft Bill has reached the state to enable a detailed discussion in the state Legislature over the bifurcation. Joint Secretary to the Government in the Union Home Ministry, Suresh Kumar handed over copies of the draft bill to the State Chief Secretary P K Mohanthy. 

The process of state bifurcation has reached a crucial and important stage with the Joint Secretary to the Home Ministry Suresh Kumar handed over copies to the Governor, Chief Minister and the Assembly Speaker to facilitate immediate discussion without any delay. The Assembly has reportedly got six weeks time to send the mood of the house to the President of India while the time schedule is yet to be decided for distribution of copies to each member and discussion over the proposed state bifurcation to carve out separate Telangana. Lakshmi, AIR, News, Hyderabad.

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Top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, was hanged last night at the Dhaka Central Jail for war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War. He was hanged amidst tight security in and around the jail. His body was handed over to his family, and was buried at his native village of Amirabad in Faridpur district late last night. The execution took place after the Supreme Court rejected his review petition against the death sentence yesterday.

This is the first execution of a war crimes convict in Bangladesh after 42 years of the 1971 Liberation War. Jamaat e Islami has announced a dawn-to dusk general strike on Sunday in protest against the execution. Security has been further tightened across the country and in the capital to avoid any untoward incident. Besides regular law enforcing agencies, Border Guards Bangladesh has been put on the highest alert. Meanwhile violence, arson and crude bomb explosions have been reported across the country. In Rajshahi, hundreds of activists reportedly tried to block the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway and exploded crude bombs. Melinda dias for AIR news, Dhaka.

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India registered a comfortable 4-2 win over Argentina to set up a clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 9th-10th place classification match at the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup in New Delhi. India will now face Pakistan in the 9-10th place play-off match tomorrow. Holland, Malaysia and France have entered the semifinals of the ongoing tournament.

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The Nation remembers the martyrs today who sacrificed their lives during terrorist attack on Parliament in 2001. On this day in 2001, five Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists infiltrated the Parliament House and began firing their weapons during the time of Parliament session.Five policemen, a Parliament security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured in the attack. The Ministers and MPs escaped unhurt.

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

• The Congress and the UPA government going all out against the Supreme Court's controversial judgement re-criminalising gay sex between consenting adults, finds front page coverage. The Indian Express's top headline reads - "To undo Supreme Court verdict, govt. says it will change law and file review". Hindustan Times writes 'Sonia, P Chidambaram root for gay rights, law may change."

• Aam Aadmi Party's stunning electoral debut, Anna Hazare's ongoing fast and the approaching Lok Sabha elections have brought the Lokpal bill back to political centre-stage says, the Times of India. The Asian Age writes, that government managers have made contradictory statements about the date, with Kamal Nath saying the measure will be listed on Friday and Harish Rawat telling reporters that Monday is the day.

• "Rahul gets reality check from Delhi Congress MLAs", writes Mail Today. When Rahul Gandhi asked the party's 8 winning MLAs about the Congress humiliation in the polls - he was told that "they did not get the required support from the Delhi leadership, and that there were only leaders, no followers in the Delhi Congress"

• The Times of India writes that investigative website Cobrapost has exposed 11 Members of Parliament across the political spectrum as willing to write letters of recommendation for a fictitious foreign oil company, in exchange for money.

• Paving the way for Nokia to sell its business in India to Microsoft Corp, the Delhi High Court has lifted the income tax department's order attaching Nokia's assests in India, including a major facility in Chennai reports HT Business.

• The Pioneer informs us that the Archeological Survey of India will soon restore Rabindranath Tagore's home "Kuthibari" in Bangladesh's Kushtia district, where the Nobel laureate lived a part of his life and penned some memorable poems. The 1890's house, a tourist hot spot now, will get its original off white colour, obtained by mixing shell powder in the plaster material.