RSS Feed (xml)The run-up to the Commonwealth Games has brought into focus both our inadequacies regarding the preparations and the enormous corruption involved. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have finally intervened and seem determined to hold the Games and punish the guilty
after it is over. So, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Central Bureau of Investigation and other agencies must start investigations now.
However, the damage to India’s image is done. The world has witnessed the shoddy manner in which we have gone about things. It is unfair to blame Suresh Kalmadi alone for the fiasco. The bigger scam is in the construction and the so-called beautification of Delhi by both the Centre and the Delhi government and its allied agencies. Thousands of crores have been reportedly spent on projects which seem to have missed their deadlines and were cleared at double or many times the cost of similar ones earlier.
In fact, the uglification of the city, as it should be termed, has left every Delhiite fuming. There can be no justification for digging up streets and undertaking substandard work. The roads are full of potholes and motorists pay the price daily. Every portion where sewage pipes have been laid has either sunk or is in a total mess. One wonders what kind of supervision went into creating this muddle. There is a question that every Indian needs to ask himself honestly. Are we really equipped to carry out world-class events given our propensity for corruption and shoddy work? Should we try to make Delhi look like London, Paris or Singapore or any other top city knowing that this cannot happen? Would we not have been better off had we allowed Delhi to remain Delhi and held the Games without creating this confusion? The arguments that one part has been developed by Delhi Development Authority or this by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi or some other by New Delhi Municipal Corporation or the Public Works Department are unconvincing. During elections, why do Congress leaders take credit for something like the Metro that is not within the ambit of its government in the city?
Another argument that we should allow the Games to be held is downright silly. Who is preventing them from being held? It is just that the preparations are not complete. While Suresh Kalmadi may have a lot of answering to do as far as the role of the Organising Committee is concerned, Manohar Singh Gill, Sheila Dikshit and Jaipal Reddy, besides a battery of bureaucrats, will also have a tough time answering queries if and when a probe is held into the major scams.
No one seems to be accountable as of now and even though the bureaucracy and some ministers have been entrusted with the task, there is no option left but to keep one’s fingers crossed. The comparison of the preparations to that of an Indian wedding are stupid. One can only hope that the stadiums built at a huge cost do not later become venues for film star nights and political conventions but are used by our sportspersons.
There are lessons to be learnt from this blunder. India, in its present indecisive phase, should not volunteer to host any international events. Instead there should be a more inward-looking policy where we must recognise our limitations and try to remove them first. India can become a world player only if the quality of what we do is of international standard. More important, the honesty with which we do it is paramount. Between us.
Pankaj Vohra We’re not ready to play the game
With no fresh contact on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill between the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party — or for that matter any other Opposition party — it seems the issue may be resolved, if at all, during the discussion on of the bill when it is taken up for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha. The bill is now the property of the House. While the BJP said “it appears there is a deviation from the text that was agreed,” the Left made it clear that it would oppose the bill. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) did not agree with the text as approved by the BJP and other parties represented on the Standing Committee that considered the bill over the past three months. It had given a dissent note; and there was no question of it supporting the bill with further dilution of supplier liability. The changes in respect of supplier liability were “irrational and ridiculous,” D. Raja of the CPI said. The Left party leaders also said the government seemed to have learnt no lessons from what happened after the deadly Bhopal gas leak. S.S. Ahluwalia, a BJP member of the Standing Committee, was categorical that now whatever needed to be done had to be done on the floor of the House, not behind closed doors. “The bill is now the property of the House. Whatever changes are made now after the bill, with its proposed amendments, has been circulated to MPs, will have to be done during the course of the discussion on the bill. The government can move an amendment, the BJP may do so or any other party MP is free to move an amendment on the floor of the House…” Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan confirmed to The Hindu that there was no contact with the Opposition leaders on Sunday. “We will be contacting them,” he said. For, well before the bill is taken up, the government will again try to hammer out an agreement with the BJP on any fresh amendment that may be worked out. Since Monday and Tuesday are not working days in Parliament — there are no sittings on account of Onam and Rakshabandhan holidays — the earliest the fracas over the exact words to be used to pin supplier liability can only be Wednesday. At least two of the key players from the BJP — Yashwant Sinha and Sushma Swaraj — were both away in their constituencies, while Arun Jaitley told PTI: “We are examining all the papers. Prima facie, it appears there is a deviation from the text, which was agreed upon. The language as framed now substantially nullifies supplier liability.” He confirmed that there was no contact between the government and the BJP. This was on Sunday, a day after the text of the bill, as approved by the Cabinet, began to be circulated among MPs Immediately there were protests, the strongest from the Left parties, that by introducing “intent to cause nuclear damage” as a condition for suppliers' liability, the government was again trying to let nuclear suppliers get away with almost no liability. Open to concerns, says Congress PTI reports: The Congress said on Sunday that the government was open to take Opposition concerns onboard to build the widest possible consensus on the matter. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari termed the bill as “work in progress” and said the government had always been open to address the legitimate concerns on the draft legislation. “It (bill) is a work in progress and I think if at all there are any legitimate concerns, the government has always been open and would be open to taking those concerns onboard because that is what is the essence of any Parliamentary democracy.” However, he made a distinction between criminal and civil liability and said that the Bill in question dealt with “strict civil liability.”
One-day tri-series, Dambulla:
Sri Lanka 104-2 (15.1 ovs) beat India 103 (33.4 ovs) by eight wickets
Tillakaratne Dilshan (35) and Mahela Jayawardene (33) ensured the hosts reached their
The win confirms Sri Lanka's place in the final, while India must beat New Zealand on Wednesday to qualify.
The Black Caps thrashed India by 200 runs in the opening match of the tournament on 10 August, but have since lost to Sri Lanka while their second encounter against the hosts was abandoned because of rain.
However, Mahendra Dhoni's side will need to significantly improve on yet another abject display at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
Sri Lanka, who needed a victory to book their place in the tournament final on Saturday, dropped spinners Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis, and recalled seamer Perera.
 | Their bowlers bowled in the right channels and pushed us into making mistakes Mahendra Singh Dhoni |
After winning his first toss in Sri Lanka, India skipper Dhoni opted to bat but lost the enigmatic Sehwag lbw to Nuwan Kulasekara in the sixth over.
Opening partner Dinesh Karthik soon followed as the seam trio of Lasith Malinga (2-21), Kulasekara (2-31) and Angelo Mathews (1-20) put Sri Lanka in total control.
Perera ripped through the lower middle order, removing Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar for ducks before bowling last-man Ishant Sharma to dismiss India for a paltry 103, their third-lowest total against Sri Lanka in one-day internationals.
Ishant's wicket also gave the 21-year-old, playing in his 11th one-day international, his first limited overs five-wicket haul.
"We would also have batted first had we won the toss. But our bowlers bowled a great line and length right from the start. We have got a varied attack."
The returning Yuvraj, fully recovered after suffering dengue fever earlier in the tour, was the only India batsman to resist, hitting five boundaries and one maximum in his 64-ball innings before he was trapped lbw by Malinga.
India's deficiencies with the bat were ruthlessly exposed by Jayawardene and Dilshan, who smashed 14 boundaries in a blistering 79-run opening wicket partnership from just 50 deliveries.
Although both openers fell in successive deliveries to Ishant in the 10th over, Upal Tharanga and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara ensured there were no further hiccups for the hosts.
"We didn't get the kind of start we needed," said Dhoni. "Their bowlers bowled in the right channels and pushed us into making mistakes."
Bill is now House property, says BJP
With no fresh contact on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill between the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party — or for that matter any other Opposition party — it seems the issue may be resolved, if at all, during the discussion on of the bill when it is taken up for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha. The bill is now the property of the House.
While the BJP said “it appears there is a deviation from the text that was agreed,” the Left made it clear that it would oppose the bill. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) did not agree with the text as approved by the BJP and other parties represented on the Standing Committee that considered the bill over the past three months. It had given a dissent note; and there was no question of it supporting the bill with further dilution of supplier liability. The changes in respect of supplier liability were “irrational and ridiculous,” D. Raja of the CPI said.
The Left party leaders also said the government seemed to have learnt no lessons from what happened after the deadly Bhopal gas leak.
S.S. Ahluwalia, a BJP member of the Standing Committee, was categorical that now whatever needed to be done had to be done on the floor of the House, not behind closed doors. “The bill is now the property of the House. Whatever changes are made now after the bill, with its proposed amendments, has been circulated to MPs, will have to be done during the course of the discussion on the bill. The government can move an amendment, the BJP may do so or any other party MP is free to move an amendment on the floor of the House…”
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan confirmed to The Hindu that there was no contact with the Opposition leaders on Sunday. “We will be contacting them,” he said. For, well before the bill is taken up, the government will again try to hammer out an agreement with the BJP on any fresh amendment that may be worked out.
Since Monday and Tuesday are not working days in Parliament — there are no sittings on account of Onam and Rakshabandhan holidays — the earliest the fracas over the exact words to be used to pin supplier liability can only be Wednesday. At least two of the key players from the BJP — Yashwant Sinha and Sushma Swaraj — were both away in their constituencies, while Arun Jaitley told PTI: “We are examining all the papers. Prima facie, it appears there is a deviation from the text, which was agreed upon. The language as framed now substantially nullifies supplier liability.” He confirmed that there was no contact between the government and the BJP.
This was on Sunday, a day after the text of the bill, as approved by the Cabinet, began to be circulated among MPs Immediately there were protests, the strongest from the Left parties, that by introducing “intent to cause nuclear damage” as a condition for suppliers' liability, the government was again trying to let nuclear suppliers get away with almost no liability.
Open to concerns, says Congress
PTI reports:
The Congress said on Sunday that the government was open to take Opposition concerns onboard to build the widest possible consensus on the matter.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari termed the bill as “work in progress” and said the government had always been open to address the legitimate concerns on the draft legislation.
“It (bill) is a work in progress and I think if at all there are any legitimate concerns, the government has always been open and would be open to taking those concerns onboard because that is what is the essence of any Parliamentary democracy.” However, he made a distinction between criminal and civil liability and said that the Bill in question dealt with “strict civil liability.”
