Bengal

WIPRO chairman honoured by IIT Kharagpur

• The Statesman
• 27 Jul 2014

biswabrata goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net

KHARAGPUR, 26 JULY: Wipro Chairman Azim Premji was today honoured with a doctorate degree by IIT Kharagpur.
The 69-year-old businessman and philanthropist who is guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to emerge as one of the Indian leaders in the software industry was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Science “for being one of the pioneers of entrepreneurship in modern India through the establishment of Wipro, an organisation deeply committed to values” at the 60th convocation of the institution.
Mr Premji received the D Sc (Honaris Causa) from ‘Bharat Ratna’ scientist Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao FRS, also known as C.N.R. Rao, who was the chief guest at the convocation.
Professor Rao, who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry, currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
Besides Mr Premji, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, Professor Rao, Mr Faqir Chand Kohli, often referred to as the father of the Indian software industry, Prof Roddam Narasimha and Mr Pradeep K Khosla also received the prestigious award.
While addressing the convocation, Professor Rao praised the talent of young IIT students and said some IIT undergraduates were even smarter than their professors.
“It is very challenging to teach in IIT. Some undergraduate students are smarter than the professors,” Professor Rao, who had earlier taught at the IIT, said.
He urged students to always think about what they can contribute to the country.  “You also have to keep in mind that today’s technology will not be tomorrow’s technology. Science keeps changing and we must keep abreast of the changing scenario. The younger generation must get used to this,” Professor Rao said.
The Bharat Ratna recipient scientist also discouraged the comparison of the IIT director’s role with the act of a corporate company’s CEO. “For a company, CEO deals with the profit while IIT itself has a specific role.”
Describing IITs as a wonderful garden, he said all kinds of trees, fruits and flowers could be found in the multi-faceted atmosphere of the institute.
Referring to the service for the sake of Nation, Professor Rao said, “Unless we understand the spirit of science, we can never create an atmosphere of science in a country like India.
India’s future is closely tied up with science and if it has to do well in any sector, it has to do well in science. Unfortunately, we are not doing well at all.”
Professor Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Director of IIT, KGP said it has received Rs 100 crore from the Union government for setting up a National Digital Library.

Bengal

3,000 CPM workers quit party

• The Statesman
• 27 Jul 2014

Lakshman seth’s wife leads mass desertion from left party in east midnapore
biswabrata goswami
Tamluk, 26 July: In the backdrop of CPI-M’s dismal show in Lok Sabha election, the party faced a mass desertion today as around 3000 party workers and leaders including six district secretariat and 26 district committee members of East Midnapre have resigned from the party today.
The resignation letters were sent to the district secretary hours before the district committee meeting held at the party’s district headquarter in presence of the party’s state secretariat member Mr Rabin Deb and the politburo leader Mr Surya Kanta Mishra.
Mrs Tamalika Panda Seth, wife of expelled leader Lakshman Seth and former chairperson of Haldia municipality said, “We have decided to quit the party as the present leaderships are paying no heed to their comments while taking any decision on certain issues inside the party. The party has become autocratic and only a few people are running the party.”
Besides Mrs Seth, Ashok Guria, Amiya Sahoo, Pranab Das, Prasanta Patra and Saktipada Bera, all the district secretariat members and known as Lokshman Seth loyalists sent their resignation letters highlighting the same allegation against the party’s top brasses.
Mr Ded who convened the district committee meeting where barely 39 out of 69 district committee members attended later said, “As per the rules and guidelines, the party would take necessary steps against the deserted members.”
The East Midnapore unit of the CPI-M is in disarray since Mr Seth was expelled before the Lok Sabha polls.
A day after CPI-M's controversial leader and Haldia strongman Mr Seth sent his “resignation” letter to Alimuddin Street, hundreds of his followers had savagely beat up about 20 party leaders and manhandled two state secretariat members ~ Rabin Deb and Mridul Dey ~ to vent their ire against the party's top leadership for giving a “raw deal” to Mr Seth.
The protesters accused the leaders of making Mr Seth a scapegoat for various incidents, starting from Nandigram to his NGO organisation ~ ICARE ~ and demanded immediate withdrawal of the investigation being carried out by the party against Mr Seth.
“The party leadership was well aware of what Mr Seth did during his tenure,” an angry protester had then said.
Later the party had expelled him and since then the party’s district unit started losing its mass base as hundreds of Seth’s loyalists across the district started campaigning against the party leaders.
When asked, Mr Seth today criticised the leadership alleging “autocracy and individualism are replacing democracy” in the party.
He called for restructuring the organisation, saying the present middle-class leaders would not be able to cause a turnaround
in the party's fortunes by taking on the ruling Trinamul Congress.
Venting his ire against the former Chief Minister Mr Buddhadev Bhattacherjee, Mr Seth said, “Nandan was virtually turned as a amusing spot of
the party leaders from where the party leadership used to run the party. There is an imme
diate need to change the party’s leadership”.

Bengal

PMO asks port trust for scam details

• The Statesman
• 03 Jul 2014

On the heels of a cbi enquiry into the multi crore scam
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Haldia, 2 July
In the wake of the massive financial irregularities facing Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has sought details of cargo handling, tendering, the licensing process, contractors, revenue earned, etc, from the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).
Details have also been sought on the nominees of the Union Shipping Ministry selected in the Board of Trustees of Kolkata Port Trust   for the last five years.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has already started a probe on 19 June in connection with the investigation into the alleged issue of multi-crore corruption at Haldia port which has been on the Shipping Ministry’s list of top problems facing the KoPT.
The multi-crore scam involving shore-handling of cargo at Haldia port could just be the proverbial tip of the iceberg of what has been going on in all the 12 ports across the country.
Complaints to authorities and related documents suggest that the scam could touch astronomical levels, putting to shame the much talked about CWG, 2G or 3G scams.
As per the complaint lodged with the Union government, the total financial losses suffered by the government over the past 40 years on account of the alleged illegal shore-handling of cargo could be more than Rs 8 lakh crores.
The Statesman had earlier reported on the Haldia port scam on the basis of the Rajya Sabha secretariat memorandum, CAG and parliamentary panel reports, which highlighted major discrepancies in appointment of cargo-handling agents and disposing waste oil from the ports.
The CAG had also pointed out appointment of unauthorised agents or handling agents for onshore operation violating the provisions of the Major Port Trust Act.
Besides, based on the complaint lodged by Bharatiya Janta Party MP from Bharuch in Gujarat, Mr Mansukh Bhai D Vasava, the Union Shipping Ministry has also swung into action against other 11 major ports on the same financial scam issues.
In the latest, the Prime Minister’s Office  has sought detailed information on Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and HDC for the last five financial years lasting up to March 2014.
A set of 16 questions have been put up to KoPT to answer, encompassing details of cargo operations in HDC and KDS.
The Prime Minister’s Office  wants to know details of the total number of berths and the break-up of where cargo is handled mechanically and non-mechanically; berths where cargo handling is done partially mechanically on-board with Mobile Harbour Cranes and ship cranes by engaging contractors and shore handling done manually by private cargo handling agents.
It has sought details of the private handling agents engaged in the port with date of issuance of licenses and the basis for their selection, amount paid by them, year-wise both as license fee and revenue.
The Prime Minister’s Office also wants to know if efforts were made by the port for auctioning of onshore handling activities, and the status of such efforts.
The Prime Minister’s Office  has asked if any proposal was approved by Board of Trustees of the Kolkata Port Trust  for revenue earning from on-shore handling agents and its status.

Bengal

WOMEN OF NADIA FEEL INSECURE

• The Statesman
• 02 Jul 2014

MP TAPAS PAUL’S  REMARKS ROUNDLY CONDEMNED
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabratagoswami@gmail.com
Choumaha, 1 July
Hundreds of women living in Choumaha and its surrounding villages in Nakashipara in Nadia have started feeling insecure soon after the Trinamul Congrees MP Mr Tapas Paul’s startling and derogatory remarks towards women broadcast.
The actor-turned politician had threatened to “liquidate” CPI-M activists and have their women “raped” if any of his Trinamul workers were attacked.
Mr Paul had made his controversial remarks at Choumaha village on 14 June while paying his visit to commemorate the family of a slain party worker who was killed a fortnight ago allegedly by the CPI-M goons. But the video footage of his high decibel threats and ranting was telecast by some private channels yesterday.
“We are feeling insecure here because when a MP himself can unleash such type of threats, then the lower-rung party workers or any criminal in the name of Trinamul party can easily attack us. So, we demand to the state administration to provide security in our villages,” said an aged woman who was not willing to be named.
Slamming the MP for making nastiest remarks on women, the BJP  leader Ms Jaya Sarkar has lodged a FIR against Mr Paul demanding his immediate arrest.
“How can an MP make such type of remarks while venting his anger to others. He has made purported hate remarks to women which is unforgiving. He has no right to be a member of the Parliament and he should be dismissed,” said Ms Sarkar.
The condemnation also came from the CPI-M’s youth and women wing which organised a protest rally in Krishnagar and burnt his effigy.
They denounced Mr Pal for making such irresponsible statements and said that the Chief Minister and Trinamul Congress Chief Miss Mamata Banerjee must take strict disciplinary action against him.
“In a country and in a state where the security of women has become a matter of such grave concern, for an MP to make such threats is completely unwarranted. Trinamul Congress must and should take stern action against him,” said Mrs Minati Biswas, a house-wife living at Nakashipara, which falls under the Krishnagar parliamentary constituency from where Mr Paul had won the Lok Sabha elections for the second time.
While talking with the villagers at Choumaha, some youths  criticised Mr Paul saying that he had done nothing new on 14 June. On that day, after visiting Choumaha, Mr Paul had gone to nearby Gopinathpur where also he  made derogatory remarks against  CPI-M women which are not printable.
The youths opened their mobile phones and showed the video footage of his remarks.
“The way Mr Paul had unleashed his verbal attacks to the Opposition and their women, only reveals his low level of culture,” said a youth  who too was unwilling to be named.

Page1

Lawmaker postures as lawbreaker

• The Statesman
• 01 Jul 2014

Top gangster’ Tapas Paul threatens to kill CPM activists, get women raped

 
UDAY BASU (With inputs from Soma Mookherjee and Biswabrata Goswami)
uday@thestatesman.net 
Kolkata, 30 June 
Here's one more addition to the list of Trinamul Congress lawmakers posturing as lawbreakers. 
And this time around it's film star-turned-politician Tapas Paul who openly declared he “carries a revolver” which he would use to “liquidate” CPI-M activists and claimed he was a top “gangster”.
Mr Paul made these startling and controversial remarks at the height of electioneering during the last Lok Sabha polls. The video footage of his high decibel threats and ranting was telecast by some private channels during the day triggering protests from politicians and civil society groups.
Mr Paul was addressing a gathering at Choumaha village at Nakashipara in Nadia, which is a part of his parliamentary constituency ~ Krishnagar. He began his torrent of threats in the style and language of gangsters.
“I'm a chap from Chandernagar and not from Kolkata. I know very well what gangsterism is, I tried my hand in it as well. I also carry that thing, you know what it is (he puts his fingers in the shape of a revolver trigger) and with it I'll liquidate our opponents if they touch any of our party supporters,” he thundered.
Then came the nastiest and horrifying one : “I'll send them (party supporters) to rape (women belonging to the opposite camp).”
When contacted, Mr Paul flatly denied he had used the word ~ “rape” and claimed :"I actually said I would send the police and party supporters to raid (the village) and not rape.” 
Explaining the circumstances that “forced” him to make the remarks, Mr Paul said at that time CPI-M-backed goons had unleashed a reign of terror in the area and he had to rush to the village in order to “boost the morale of party supporters.”
“I admit I had to use a very aggressive language to match the terror campaign by the CPI-M. Otherwise, our party supporters would have been demoralised and terrorised,” he said.
However, Trinamul national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said : “The statements made by Mr Tapas Pal are utterly insensitive. The party does not in any way endorse what he said many weeks ago, which is being played out on TV channels today.”
On the other hand, Trinamul secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said in the first place it has to be examined in what context Mr Paul had made those remarks and what the CPI-M had done to provoke him to behave in such a manner. 
“Of course, it's highly improper for even ordinary persons to speak in such a language and in the case of Mr Paul this is unthinkable,” Mr Chatterjee added.
In a way Mr Paul followed in the footsteps of Manirul Haque, MLA and party’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal. The latter had exhorted his party activists to throw bombs at the police and set fire to the houses of CPI-M cadres. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee even went to the length of saying that Mr Mondal was being wrongly targeted. “He is a patient and less oxygen flows to his brains. Whatever he said should be seen in that light,” she stated.
(With inputs from Soma Mookherjee     and Biswabrata Goswami)