MPs seek probe in disappearance of ammunition wagons

The issue of disappearance of two wagons of a train loaded with ammunition on way to jodhpur from an ordnance factory in Orissa...

The issue of disappearance of two wagons of a train loaded with ammunition on way to jodhpur from an ordnance factory in Orissa was raised in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Braj Kishore Tripathi (BJD) said the two wagons missing for over two months was a very sensitive matter and needed to be probed deeply. He said that the train had left Bolangir on September 2. His party colleagues Bhartruhari Mahtab and Prasanna Acharya also said that the Railways was silent over the matter and the Government was also not forthcoming. Responding to the issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi assured the members that he would bring the matter to the notice of the Home Minister and the Defence Minister.

N-deal will help power situation: Shinde

The Nuclear deal with the US, when signed, will help tide over the power shortage in the country, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the Lok Sabha on Friday, replying to supplementaries on power projects in states during the Question Hour. “Once the civil nuclear deal gets through, demands from states for setting up nuclear power plants will be looked into,” Shinde said when BJP member Avinash Rai Khanna sought to know whether there was any proposal to set up atomic power plants in Punjab. In reply to another query, Shinde’s said that not a single megawatt was added to power generation capacities in Bihar. This led to a slugfest between RJD and NDA members.

‘India’s greenhouse emissions lowest’

India’s Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are among the lowest in the world in per-capita terms and the principal responsiblity for the problem of climate change lies with the developed countries, Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said here. “Although, the trends in emissions are expected to increase in future, it is very difficult to estimate the exact amounts from different nations as they essentially depend on various factors,” he told the Lok Sabha.

BJP questions Govt on riots witness

BJP members on Friday demanded a statement from the Government on reports about a witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots talking to media despite CBI claim that he was untraceable. Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Ravishankar Prasad (BJP) said reports have appeared in the newspapers that a key witness Jasbir Singh, who is in the US, spoke to the media though the investigating agency said he was untraceable. “Since the Minister, under whom CBI comes, is present in the House he should make a statement,” the BJP member said pointing towards Minister of State for Personnel Suresh Pachouri.

Bill for Gorkha Hill Council introduced

TWO Bills for setting up an autonomous Gorkha Hill Council in Darjeeling were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Parliament has to approve amendments to the Sixth Schedule besides articles 244 and 332 of the Constitution to pave way for the creation of the council. The move comes a month after the Union Cabinet cleared the proposal following a tripartite agreement between the Centre, the West Bengal Government and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) in December, 2005. The existing DGHC was the result of the Darjeeling Accord, 1988. But there were demands to confer a Constitutional status on the Nepali-dominated areas in Darjeeling. The new council will have legislative powers on subjects like land and land revenue, management and settlement of land and no-reserve forest land. The proposed 33-member council will cover Darjeeling, Kurseon and Kalimpong sub-divisions of Darjeeling district and parts of the Siliguri sub-division in West Bengal.