NoBody even CJ cant be excluded from People Rights : SOMNATH

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Tuesday (April 22) disagreed with Chief Justice of India -- K G Balakrishnan's views that the Right the Information Act was not applicable to his office.

"I am not questioning the Chief Justice. He is a high constitutional functionary. But since you ask me, I feel we should not keep anything back from people," he told reporters when asked about the CJI's views.

Chatterjee said in a democracy people occupy the central position and insisted that once such information is denied then "there is scope for speculation which may affect the credibility of the institution".

Disputing Balakrishnan's views that Constitutional functionaries are not covered under the RTI, he said "everything is under the Constitution or should be under the Constitution. The question is whether people are entitled to know."

"The Constitutional position of people's right to know has been recognised under the RTI Act," he said noting that it has been brought for the purpose of enforcement. The refrain of the Speaker, who has been forthright in airing his views on judicial activism, was that "we should not keep anything back from people" as they have the right to know in a democracy

Security Scare on PM's Flight

A plane carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh got a security scare on Tuesday evening when an unidentified object was spotted flying close to it.

Singh was returning from Jamshedpur when Delhi’s air traffic control (ATC) picked up an unidentified blip on its radar. The blip could have been an unidentified aircraft.

The Prime Minister’s aircraft was aligned to the instrument landing system—a system which aids planes to land—of the runway at the Delhi International aircraft when ATC picked up the blip.

Fearing for security, the plane was disengaged from the instrument landing system to take evasive action from the unidentified object. Sources at the Delhi ATC though say that the blip could have been a radar malfunction.

The plane was delayed by 16 minutes.

This was the second security scare for the PM’s aircraft since December 2007. The pilot and co-pilot of a private airline's helicopter were arrested on December 17 when they landed at a helipad in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, minutes before Singh was about to take off.

Beggars Gets New LIFE.......!!

A unique initiative at a shelter for beggars in Surat has changed their lives. Today, not only do they earn enough to feed themselves and their families, they have also earned a lot of respect and admiration.

Today Modh, a beggar, is really a son of the soil at peace with himself and his work. But Modh's life wasn't always this peaceful. Until a few months ago, his only income was from begging at the Surat railway station.

Then the police picked him up and brought him to the temporary shelter. But now he's got a permanent job at the shelter and he does well enough to support his family. There are others like him here, all once beggars, all now gainfully employed.

And thanks to the home's unique scheme, they can all now dream of a future.

''Once I am out of this place, I will earn enough money to start farming on my own. I don't wish to beg any further; it hardly brings you money and you loose prestige. I want to earn money by farming for my family,'' said Durgadas Modh, beggar turned farmer.

''I never thought of earning money by producing vegetables and selling them. I used to believe in easy money coming as alms from pedestrians and passengers. Now I have a new lease of life,'' said Birju Lohar, beggar turned farmer.

The vegetables they grow are organic and there's a good market for them.

''We have initiated talks with corporates in retail of vegetables to buy from us and sell through our outlets. In fact, that will also ensure a steadier income for the inmates,'' said Dina Patel, Superintendent, Surat Bhikshuk Gruh.

This is a success story the government wants to replicate at other homes for beggars in Gujarat.