Raipur, March 13:, 2010
The PCC spokesperson Iqbal Ahmed Rizvi has welcomed the decision of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to summon Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to appear before it for questioning on March 21 pertaining 2002 Gujarat communal riots.
“The India constitution and law does not discriminate between the people and consider everyone equal. Hence, if a person holds big or small post and if he is a culprit, he should be interrogated,” Rizvi said.
“The SIT’s summon to Modi is an evident indicator of his might have been involved in Gujarat riots,” Rizvi added.
“The people across the country are well aware about sponsored Riots in Gujarat in which the government had given carte blanche to the rioters to victimise a specific community. However, although late, but the SIT had taken right decision to summon Modi pertaining to riots,” he said.
Rizvi said the culprits of Gujarat riots should not be spared. “It was strange that Modi shrugged off about occurrence of riots in his state in spite of knowing that the rioters had killed thousands of innocent people in three days under government’s protection,” Rizvi charged.
“Whether Modi extended his help to the rioters covertly or overtly, according to law he has done crime,” he said. “After SIT’s summon, if Modi has self-respect, he should immediately resign from the post of CM,” he added.
Rizvi felt that the culprits of Gujarat riots would only be exposed by CBI. Pointing out towards riots against Sikhs in 1984 after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination and no action against various culprits, Rizvi said that the probe of Gujarat riots should done seriously to ensure that the guilty ones punished.
Govt to provide soil testing facility in krishi mandis
Under Gram Suraj campaign 2010
Raipur, March 13:, 2010
The government will soon provide free-of-cost soil testing facility in all the krishi upaj mandis. Chief Minister Raman Singh issued a directive in this regard to the Agriculture department during Collectors’ conference here on Saturday. Singh said the government would strongly focus on agriculture, food and civil supplies, health, drinking water, rural development and water conservation in the fifth Gram Suraj campaign that would be launched in April 2010.
He said the technical report of the soil testing facility would not only help the farmers to improve the quality of the soil but they would also select suitable crop accordingly.
Appreciating the proposal to establish information centres in the mandis pertaining to wide publicity of various government schemes that have been launched for farmers, Singh said the farmers would also know about updated mandi rates of major cities through internet.
Informing about the status of Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Agriculture department’s Additional Chief Secretary Serjius Minj informed Singh said that the workers under the scheme were getting their payments through banks and post offices and no complaint had been received regarding less payment.
Agriculture department’s Principal Secretary DS Mishra informed that a number of works would be carried out on the basis of targets set for agricultural development. In the first phase, display boards would be installed in the 20 mandis so that the farmers could remain about the popular rates of mandis of big cities, he said.
The department has installed electronic weighing machines in 73 mandis across the state, he said. Similarly, grading machines have been approved for 20 mandis of which five have started functioning while the remaining 15 would become operational in April, he added. It would also ensure that the farmers would get payment on the same day against selling their foodgrains, he said. The farmers will also be encouraged for land consolidation (chakbandi) under Gram Suraj campaign, he said.
Principal Secretary Food and Civil Supplies department Vivek Dhand informed that for the first time the state had procured 44 lakh MT rice and paid Rs 4400 crore to about 8.5 lakh farmers. Under Antyodaya scheme, the poor are now getting 15 kg usna rice instead of 10 kg, he said. Considering delayed supply of LPG gas cylinders, he directed the Collectors to organise special camps to provide double bottle connections (one connection with two cylinders) to the beneficiaries and to charge Rs 1610.
Health Secretary Vikas Sheel asked the Collectors to publicise Smart Card Scheme under which the poor get treatment facility up to Rs 30,000. The CM’s Joint Secretary Subodh Kumar Singh informed that the applications under Gram Suraj campaign would be fed in computers with specific code numbers to quickly solve the problems and to frame organised development plan for rural areas. For this, the government would also use District Human Development report and Village Asset report, he said.
YC demands removal of Nand Kumar
Raipur, March 13:, 2010
Youth Congress (YC) has demanded removal of School Education Secretary Nand Kumar for his alleged involvement in appointment irregularities pointed out by Lokayukta recently. The State YC president Rajkumari Diwan gave a memorandum the Governor Shekhar Dutt in this regard. Diwan said if the government would not take action against Nand Kumar, the YC would launch state-wide protest.
“Nand Kumar is involved in various other corruption cases besides irregularities in appointment process like corruption in Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, furniture scam, computer scam and computer training scam,” Diwan alleged.
“In spite of various charges against Nand Kumar, government is deliberately refraining to take action against him because he is related to one of the high-profile leaders of BJP,” she said.
“Since the BJP has soft corner towards Nand Kumar, the fair and transparent investigation into the matter of irregularities in appointments would only be done by CBI,” Diwan said.
Notably, the Lokayukta had recently recommended action against Nand Kumar for the irregularities in the appointment of the director and the assistant director in the Chhattisgarh Mahila Samakhya Society that works for education and empowerment of women in rural pockets.
In this regard, Lokayukta Justice LC Bhadu had sent his report to the government. The report had also recommended termination of Shalini Raman and Prashant Sukhdev who were appointed as director and assistant director respectively some two years back. The duo were appointed by a committee which was headed by Nand Kumar.
Pertaining to this issue, the Lokayukta had further recommended action against Education department’s three more officials - GR Chandrakar, RK Sharma and Bajrang Prajapati.
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