Maoists fuelling tribal agitation in West Midnapore: Buddhadeb

Kolkata, Dec 4 (PTI): Maoists were behind the tribal agitation at Lalgarh which has remained blockaded and cutoff from the rest of West Bengal since last month, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said today.Buddhadeb said the November two landmine blast, which he and union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitindra Prasada escaped narrowly, was triggered by maoists. Those behind the blast was Lalgarh squad of Maoists led by Sasadhar Mahato, allegedly brother of a Trinamool Congress leader, the Chief Minister told the state Assembly.

He said one maoist squad was at Lalgarh which was joined by two to three others from Jharkhand. Maoist leaders were also camping at Dalilpur in West Midnapore.Stating that maoists were behind the ongoing agitation and blockade at Lalgarh block, he said that it had resulted into price rise, shortage of kerosene oil and suffering of the students.

The administration wanted talks and was being patient, Buddhadeb said, but the venue could not be decided by the agitators as demanded by them.The chief minister, however, said police action was not the only way to counter maoists, who had to be isolated from the tribal population.The state government, he said, would also not ban maoists as demanded by the Trinamool Congress. PTI

Chandraketugarh unfold Bengal’s rich heritage

THE STATE of West Bengal is renowned for its historical heritage, some dating to the era before the British colonial regime. History unfolds many mysteries and myths of the past. One such place of historical importance is Chandraketugarh, about 50 km from Kolkata, via Barasat, in the North 24 Parganas.

A civilization that flourished between 4th century BC and the 12th century AD, Chandraketugarh, comprises of the remains of a temple and a palace, which has been excavated from a mound. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, which carried out the excavation, the era was a prosperous one under the mythical emperor Chandraketu, spanning at least six eras, beginning from the pre-Mauryas and ending with the Palas.

The site of the remains of the palace, and the temple in Beramchapa, is named Khanamihirer Dhipi. Nothing much is left of the structure except for the thick walls and several flights of stairs but that has not taken away the grandeur of the palace or the temple. A sharp contrast of the old and the new has, however, set upon the place with modern day apartments around the site and cars speeding down the road beside the static remains of the age old civilization. Children of the vicinity jump up and down the walls and play amongst the ruins; few adults gather there to gamble over the game of cards and tourists walk about with a feeling of awe witnessing archaeological skills of the ancient primitive era.

The remains of the once palatial structure have been declared a national property under the ’Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958’. Further 300 metres from the site have been declared prohibited for the purpose of both mining operation and construction. The discovery of kingdom of the bygone era was made following the excavation carried out by the Ashutosh Museum of the Calcutta University in 1956-1957 which revealed the cultural remains.

The most extraordinary unearthing has been the brick temple, endowed with architectural and decorative designs belonging to the Pala period. Buddha images and stupas, terracotta plaques and sealing, Jataka stories coins, different types of beads, were among the several other findings from the quarry. A dusty road from Baramchapa, which after some distance turns into a path flanked by green fields on either side, leads the way to Chandraketugarh.

by Samrat Roy

Constitution Bench takes up validity of ordering CBI probes

New Delhi, December 4, 2008: A five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court commenced hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of courts ordering CBI probes into various incidents occurring in different states of the country.

Opening the arguments for West Bengal Government senior counsel K K Venugopal told the Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices R V Raveendran, D K Jain, P Sathasivam and J M Panchal, that neither the High Court, nor the apex court, has the power to order a CBI probe into alleged scandals or on any other issue.

He claimed that the power to order a CBI probe is solely vested with the respective state governments and even the Central Government had no power to order a probe by the Central agency unless the state concerned gave its consent. As per Section 5 & 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, under which the CBI has been constituted, the agency can conduct a probe in any state only with prior consent of the said government.

However, in recent years, the Supreme Court and also various High Courts had been ordering probes by the CBI into high-profile cases.West Bengal is the main petitioner in this case as it had taken exception to the Calcutta High Court order for a CBI probe into the Midnapore firing incidents in which several persons were killed.

FROM THE HINDU,

5TH DECEMBER EDITION:

The Supreme Court and the High Courts have no power to order a CBI probe, contrary to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE) that contemplates prior consent of the State concerned.

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal made this submission before a five-judge Constitution Bench, hearing the question raised by the West Bengal government on the courts’ powers to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The State challenged the powers of the Calcutta High Court to order a CBI inquiry into the death of 11 Trinamool Congress workers in an incident at Gabreta in Midnapore district, which allegedly involved ruling party workers.

During the pendency of this special leave petition, several other State governments also questioned the powers of the High Courts to order a CBI enquiry and hence the matter was referred to the Constitution Bench.

Statutory limitations

Mr. Venugopal said though the High Courts had on several occasions held that they had the inherent powers to refer a matter for CBI probe even without the State government’s consent, they could not do so in the face of statutory limitations.

Under Section 6 of the DSPE Act, prior consent of the State government was a necessity for ordering a CBI probe.

On many occasions, the State governments had themselves, on political or other considerations, given leave for CBI probe but even as the enquiry was on, in the face of unpleasant investigation, the consent was withdrawn, he pointed out.

When Justice R.V. Raveendran told counsel that Section 6 would bind only the Centre and not the courts, Mr. Venugopal said even in the case of inter-State crimes, they could not order a CBI probe without State government’s consent as the matter had wide ramifications.

Checks and balances

He said the function of the apex court or the High Court in a federal/quasi-federal structure was to maintain the ‘checks and balances’ between the Centre and the States.

“This is a crucial role and the apex court would not so interpret the Constitution as to defeat or affect the federal balance maintained by it.

“No provision of the Constitution authorises the court to exercise judicial power contrary to the express provisions of the Constitution itself, or of an Act of Parliament.”

Only curative powers

On the powers of the Supreme Court exercising powers under Article 142 to do substantive justice, Mr. Venugopal, quoting an earlier judgment, said “Powers under Article 142 being curative in nature cannot be construed as powers which authorise the court to ignore the substantive rights of a litigant while dealing with a cause pending before it.”

“The argument that the enquiry is against a Chief Minister or against the interests of the party in power and hence the court has the jurisdiction and duty to direct an investigation and prosecution by the CBI is to ignore a few fundamentals”, he said.

Arguments will continue on December 10 before the Bench, which includes Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices D.K. Jain, P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal.

West Bengal to extend reach of schools for child labourers

Kolkata, December 4, 2008: The West Bengal government will extend the reach of more than 850 special schools meant for child labourers to help them enter the mainstream education, an official here said.”We are trying to ensure that children who stop working after certain interventions should be admitted to these special schools run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP). So far, at least 44,000 child labourers have benefited from these schools,”

Trilochan Singh, principal secretary of the department of labour in the state government, told mediapersons on the sidelines of a regional consultation here recently. “These schools run bridge courses. Those child labourers, who stop working, study here and then they are admitted to the mainstream schools where the can continue their education,” Singh said.

The regional consultation was organised by the state’s labour department, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and UNICEF on the ‘abolition of child labour and attainment of Children’s Right to Education’.

The meet focused on bringing together different stakeholders to work out some possible solutions towards achieving these aims. The 2001 census report estimates that nearly 857,086 children are working in the state, which violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which India acceded in 1992.