Congress encouraging people to convert: Jaitley

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley today alleged that the Congress was ''encouraging people to convert'' by providing reservation to the converted Muslims and Christians.

''By providing reservation to the people who convert from Hindu to other minority religions, the Congress is encouraging people to convert and reap the benefits of reservation as well as of minority,'' Mr Jaitley said.

Mr Jaitley was speaking at a protest demonstration against Rangnath Mishra Commission Report, which recommended inclusion of minorities under the Backward Class, organised by 'Anusuchit Jati Arakshan Bachao Manch' at the Parliament Street.

He stated that the provision for reservation was made to promote the people who were denied fair share of opportunities for years and it was that it would not be provided on the basis of religion.

The Constitution has separate provisions for the minorities, he added.

The BJP leader asserted that if someone converts to another religion which is a casteless society and sets himself free from the bounds of backwardness then the benefits of reservation should not be given to him. What applies to a minority should be applied on him.

''But Mishra commission says if someone converts from Hindu to other religion he should be given both rights, reservation as well as minority rights'' Mr Jaitley said.

The Mishra Commission was formed to divide the society within the society and confiscating the rights of weaker sections promised to them in the Constitution, he opined.

BJP to oppose Ranganath Mishra Commission report

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) The BJP today said it would oppose the Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, which recomended reservation for the minority communities, as its implementation would disintegrate the society.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said,''It is a conspiracy that the Congress has been planning for a very long time and the BJP will not let them do this injustice to the backward people.'' ''We would fight for the rights of the backward classes both inside and outside Parliament,'' she added.

She was addressing a gathering of thousands of people who came to the national capital from all over the country to oppose the Mishra Commission Report under the banner of 'Anusuchit Jati Arakshan Bachao Manch'.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley alleged the Congress of encouraging people to convert.

''By providing reservation to the people who converts from Hindu to other minority religions, the Congress is encouraging people to convert and reap the benefits of reservation as well as of minority,'' Mr Jaitley said.

Both the leaders asserted that the provision for reservation in the Constitution was made to promote the people who were denied fair share of opportunities for years and it was decided that it would not be provided on the basis of religion.

''Those who converted to reap the benefits of being a member of minority community now wants to snatch the few benefits reaching the backward classes after a long struggle,'' Ms Swaraj opined.

Calling this move an ''irony'' for the nation, former BJP president Bangaru Laxman said,''They are providing reservation to those communities which never had any caste system.'' Mr Jaitley said the Constitution had provided several other provision for the minority communities and inclusion of the minorities in the Scheduled Caste category would be an injustice to the people who faced difficulties for hundreds of years.

They should not be given two rights -- reservation and minority rights, he added.

Mishra Commission was formed to divide the society within the society and confiscating the rights of weaker sections promised to them in the Constitution, he opined.

Like India, US also differs over women reservation

Kashmir Times
New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) It is not only Indians who are divided in their opinion on the issue of giving 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures, Americans also share similar views over the matter.

A visiting students group from University of Texas, at a media interaction, felt that such issues also stir debate in the US as some find it ''demeaning'' and a ''disservice'' to woman whiles others hail it as a ''step in the right direction.'' The delegation of 30 MBA students from University of Texas, Austin, is in India on a study tour.

Asked how they looked at the Women Reservation Bill, they came out with various shades of opinion.

''For me it would be a tremendous success to actually have more representation of women in the government. The reason behind this is that women bring different perspectives on an issue, which men may not be able to bring on the table,'' Monica, a student from Columbia said.

She was immediately confronted by Catherine, a second year student who asserted that women of her generation always believe that they do not deserve any special treatment just because they are female.

''To stipulate a certain number of Parliament members have to be women is actually, in some ways, a disservice to women. ''I find it demeaning because I do not need help. I can do it on my own regardless of what my genetic make up is,'' she said.

She pointed out that Ms Hilary Clinton, who ran for the presidency, provided an interesting demonstration of this view as she belonged to that generation which really did not have a fair share like the present day. But she still managed to reach at that level.

Another student, Danielle, however, said her colleague was viewing it from a western women's perspective. The history and role the Indian women played over the years is very different, she added.

''Though I feel it will only help India in the next 20-25 years, but certainly, it is a step in the right direction,'' she said adding that she felt one third reservation will not be enough.

Underlining the need for empowerment of women, she said, ''There are so many young girls in this country who need representation and role model at a very high political level and this is where it gets to start and it is a great idea,'' she said.

Chidambaram asks CISF to set up R&D unit

New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today asked the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to set up a small Research and Development (R&D) unit to keep up with the growing security threat in the country.

''It is important to have latest of science and technology for securing vital installations like airports, atomic energy establishments and iconic establishments of the country,'' Mr Chidambaram told mediapersons on the sidelines of the 41st CISF Day.

He said in view of varied responsibility from airports to atomic energy establishments and from VIP security to fire fighting, it was important that the paramilitary security force harness science and technology.

''The CISF should set up a small R&D centre within the force to look for new ideas and build them,'' he stated.

''A small unit of highly qualified physicists and engineers needs to be established, which should look all over the world how important establishments elsewhere are being protected,'' he added.

During his address to CISF personnel, the Minister appreciated their efforts in securing vital establishments in the country.

''Laying their lives for the country is a testimony of the standard of courage and determination the CISF personnel have,'' he observed.

Paying homage to Martyrs and their families, Mr Chidambaram assured them that next to the kin of the Martyrs would be provided jobs.

He also criticised the ''hostile forces'' for attempting to destabilise the country. ''Hostile forces seek to undermine the security and stability of our country,'' he asserted.

''Terrorism and militancy are trying to hinder our economic growth,'' he added.

Underlining the importance of CISF, he said, ''Our growth depends on our infrastructure and our infrastructure will grow only in a secured environment and this is where the crucial role of CISF comes to play in.'' He also assured that Private Sector would be treated on par with the Public Sector.

''The private and public sector will be treated on par. We will not compromise on providing security to the public sector undertakings, while extending the same to the private sector,'' Mr Chidambaram said.

''We have been receiving large number of requests from the private sector for the deployment of CISF. They are being examined and the force will be deployed in order of priority,'' he informed.

The security force came into existence in 1969 with an initial strength of about 3,000 personnel to provide security to industrial establishments and has since moved on to new areas like airports, government buildings, monuments, disaster management, VIP security and Delhi Metro Rail, with a strength of 1,22,000 personnel.

It is providing security cover to over 290 units including 57 airports spread all over the country.

With the growing threat of terrorist outfits, over 100 private sector industries approached the government to get CISF cover.

Only 1% disabled children are in mainstream schools

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Suraj, a 12-year-old physically disabled child from

Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, was among the hundreds of children with

disabilities, who marched to Parliament today demanding their Right

to Education.

His mother carrying him on a wheelchair hoped that her child will get proper education and health treatment to be able to lead a normal life.

They were part of a movement, initiated by All India Parents Association (AIPA) and supported by many NGOs working for children to ensure more than two crore
disabled children their Right to Education.

AIPA president Ashok Aggarwal said, ''Even after 62 years of Independence, only one per cent out of two crore disabled children are in the mainstream schools.''
Saying that the children with disabilities are grossly deprived of all fundamental rights, Mr Aggarwal told UNI

''There is a need to enact a national law specifically for the children with special needs and enforce all the authorities to implement it.''

He also mentioned that there was a dearth of staff in schools to take care of their educational needs, which shows the government's apathy towards the educational needs of such children.

The AIPA on behalf of all other human rights organisations wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the matter.

In the letter, it was demanded that all the government schools in the country should be upgraded to the minimum level of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
(KVS) schools.

Articulating that there was a widespread exploitation of parents of disabled children by private schools, General Secretary of Summer Fields Public School Parents Association Bipin Arora noted, ''Commercialisation of education should be immediately curbed.''

Reiterating Mr Aggarwal's demand of national law, he stated that a lot of things were missing in the existing laws so enactment of new law was necessary.

Director of Chetnalya, an NGO, Father Susai Sebastian pointed out few necessary things for all the schools in India to educate special children.

He said, ''Basic facilities like resource centre and special ramp are must for every school to support children with special needs.''

He also urged the parents and the whole community to support and work for these children.

During the ninth national meeting of State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities here two days ago, Union Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment Mukul Wasnik accepted that lakhs of disabled children were yet to identified.

There is a need to identify such children across the country especially in the rural areas as more than 75 per cent of the disabled lived there, he observed.

Kashmir Times

Commodity exchanges are scam, Govt working for MNCs: Gadkari

New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) BJP president Nitin Gadkari today attacked the ruling UPA Government alleging that commodity exchanges are a scam and the government is working for big corporates and multi-national companies.

''People sitting in rooms are selling essential commodities on papers. There is a huge difference between speculated and actual amount of commodities, which is creating false sense of availability leading to price rise,'' Mr Gadkari said during a protest against price rise at Jantar Mantar here.

''It is a scam of around Rs 2.8 lakh crore and the UPA Government is also involved in this,'' he added.

He also accused UPA Ministers of passing the buck and opined that the Congress, including allies of the UPA, was responsible for inflation in the country.

Commenting on the UPA Government's claims that the country was going to achieve double digit economic growth very soon which was an indication of development, the BJP leader said, ''The country may or may not achieve double digit growth but inflation is definitely growing in double digits.'' Pointing out the Congress' reiteration that the saffron party was communal, he said inflation was not related to religion or caste, it was related to the wrong policies of the government.

Despite numerous programmes announced by the UPA to reduce poverty, population of the poor has increased and they had become poorer and poorer, he stated.

Expressing disappointment over agriculture, Mr Gadkari said Minimum Support Price given to farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab last year was Rs 9.5 per kg for wheat and imported at Rs 19 per kg from foreign countries.

He said in fact, the imported wheat was of worst quality which was used to feed pigs in those countries.

Saying that government policies were helping big corporates and multi-national companies in exploiting the poor, Mr Gadkari exhorted people to stand up and ask the government to control the sky-rocketed prices or step down.

''This is a struggle and we have to fight against government.

We welcome all the people and parties who want to join us in this struggle,'' the BJP president announced.