The temple may come up at Navi Mumbai where the state government has agreed to provide land free of cost, or on a private property at Chembur, which has a sizablepopulation of South Indian devotees.

Another place that is likely to get Venkateswara temple is Kanyakumari. The TTD is planning to build the temple on the sea shore. Another place ear marked for the construction of a temple is in Gole Market which is in the heart of New Delhi.

“These temples will satiate the devotion of the local population and enhance manifold their affinity to the Lord”, said TTD Executive Officer L.V.Subramaniam. Another plan is to do away with the guesthouse and rooms at the TTD’s Chennai Information centre in T.nagar, Chennai, and retain it as a fully fledged temple.

The rooms may be shifted either to the property on G.N.Chetty Road, which was donated by yesteryear actor Kanchana, or a huge complex in Royapettah, Mr. Subramaniam said. With such measures, the TTD hopes the devotees will focus more on the local temples, thus making the turnout at Tirumala more manageable. In Tirumala, during auspicious days and during vacations, Crowds gathered to have a darshan of Lord Venkateswara may have to wait for twenty four hours in the que which causes lot of discomfort to the elderly, women and children.This plan to decongest Tirumala also stems from the fact that Tirumala has to be in constant vigil against any possible security threat and overcrowding will hamper the safety of the temple.

The government has proposed that the first two be taken up for discussion together, although this was met with considerable resistance from the Left and some other parties at a meeting of the Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee on Wednesday evening.
The time-table for consideration and passage of this important legislation was finalized after Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee got a green signal from Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L.K.Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, whom he met in his chamber.

Since all MPs require sufficient time to read the Bill before it is taken up for discussion and passage, it had become impossible for the government to push the Bill through by December 23. The BJP has reserved its considered reaction to the Bill till after it studies the ‘fine print’ The government can push the Lokpal Bill through by a simple majority- whips have been issued;

some parties said they would do this on Thursday asking their MPs to be present to vote on all three days from December 27 to29. But for giving the new authority a constitutional status- first proposed by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi during the monsoon session debate on the issue- it will need substantial Opposition support. A constitutional amendment, which this would be, can be carried only if atleast 50 per cent of all members are present and two-thirds vote in its favour. It is not yet clear whether the Lokpal constitutional status will be put to vote at all on December27, for technically that can be done later, even months or years later as the BJP would prefer.

The Prime Minister will be under the Lokpal, but with safeguards, so that the matters relating to external affairs, atomic energy and national security are excluded. A complaint against the Prime Minister will be accepted only if three-fourths of the Lokpal Committee is party to it; the enquiry will be in-camera and the report will go to Parliament.
The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India will choose the Lokpal. To ensure that the Lokpal is accountable, 100 MPs can sign a petition to initiate proceedings for the removal of the Lokpal. Five of the nine members of the Lokpal Committee will be SCs/STs/OBCs, women or from minorities.

In the meeting there were very little discussions on the provisions, but one Minister asked whether the fact that the draft bill includes a provision for setting up Lokayuktas in the States, something that was not there in the original draft bill, meant it needed to go back to the Standing Committee. Team Anna is clearly unhappy with the draft Lokpal Bill and called the draft bill ‘as a fraud committed on the people of India’. Mr. Anna Hazare has announced that he would go on fast from Dec 27-29 and thereafter will lead the country in ‘Jail Barao’ campaign from Dec 30 to Jan I, 2012. He also announced that he will campaign in the poll bound states against the UPA government on the Lokpal issue.

MPs cutting across party lines said that India will not tolerate any move to insult Lord Krishna. A court in Tomsk-Siberia is about to pronounce its verdict on banning Bhagawad Gita has led to this vehement protest by India. The Russian translation of a book” Bhagwad Gita as It Is “written by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of’ International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ (ISKCON), is beings ought to be banned for reportedly being extreme in nature and spreading “social discord”. A case was filed in June this year seeking the ban.

The ISKCON argument is that the proponents of the case have not consulted any Ideologist and have based their arguments on misplaced information. Raising this issue, the BJD wanted the Indian Embassy in Moscow to take up the matter with Russian authorities.

The External Affairs Minister Mr. S.M.Krishna will make a statement in the House on this issue according to Parliament sources. Demanding that religious freedom of the Hindus in Russia should not be compromised, The BJD MP Mr.Bhratuhari Mahtab said that ISKCON authorities in Russia have also appealed to the Indian government to take up the matter.

The Janata Dal (UNITED)’s Sharad Yadav said sentiments of millions of Indians were associated with the issue and the government should take the initiative to solve the likely ban on Bhagwad Gita at the earliest. According to sources a strong protest is likely to be lodged by the Indian Embassy in Russia with the Russian authorities on this issue and the Indian community in Russia is watching the developments with deep interest and concern.

People were seen wearing tee shirts with “I am Anna” or “India against Corruption” slogans written on them. All age groups were present and this indicated people’s strong sentiments against corruption. The 74 year old Anna Hazare, in the rally, declared that “youth power determined a nation’s strength” and how he himself felt rejuvenated at seeing so many youngsters in the rally.

He spoke of his frugal lifestyle inside a temple with only a mat to sleep on and a plate to eat from Pointing out that he had sent home six Ministers apart from at least 400 officers during his battle against graft, Mr. Hazare remarked: “I took six wickets ; imagine where India could go if each of you took one wicket each.”

Anna recollected the inspiration he got from reading Swami Vivekananda, reminded youth that service to the community and the nation was akin to worshipping the Almighty. Mr. Hazare encouraged youth to marry, unlike him, and have one or two children but requested them to spare a few hours everyday to serve the community.

She also categorically said that under no circumstance will the rights of Tamil Nadu on Mullaiperiyar dam would be compromised. She also demanded deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for the protection of the dam in view of the tense situation prevailing in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Ms. Jayalalithaa, who initiated the debate on the resolution, also wrapped it up. In her initial and concluding speeches, she explained the historical account of the Mullaiperiyar dam issue and the works carried out by the State government to strengthen the dam during 1980-1994.

Ms. Jayalalithaa further said that a suspicion had arisen that the Kerala government was carrying on the “mischievous campaign” regarding the dam safety possibly for producing more hydropower. The Original plan of the Kerala government was to produce 780 MW through the Idukki dam, located 50km downstream of the Mullaiperiyar dam. But, as the dam was not getting enough water, the planned power production could not be achieved, and that if there is no Mullaiperiyar dam then the entire water will reach Idukki facilitating Kerala to generate more power. The resolution was passed unanimously by the Tami Nadu Assembly where all parties rose above their political differences in support of peoples’ rights.

Speaking to reporters after meeting the Prime Minister, the Kerala Chief Minister Mr. Oomen Chandy said that he was appealing to the people to call off their agitations. He said the delegation has promised all co-operations to the Centre to settle the Mullaiperiyar Dam issue amicably. Mr. Chandy said the all party delegation urged Dr. Singh to initiate a dialogue between Kerala and Tamil Nadu to find a solution at the earliest in view of the “current sense” of anxiety and fear among the Keralites.

The delegation presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister. It said no responsible government or party could afford to remain silent spectator when people were living in constant fear of death and destruction in view of the safety of the dam. They alleged that there have been more than 26 tremors in the area around the Mullaiperiyar Dam in Idukki District since July this year, with the highest recorded magnitude being 3.8.It is also worth remembering that the Supreme Court had advised Both TN and Kerala to cool tempers till a detailed report on the ground realities from the Empowered Committee is received.

The Bench, however, said the apprehensions of Kerala regarding the safety of the dam could not be brushed aside since the water level in the dam has gone beyond 136 ft. on four days from November 26 to December 2 coupled with earthquakes. The Bench questioned Tamil Nadu’s Senior Counsel Mr. Raju Ramachandran as to why the water level was allowed to go beyond 136 ft. when the order of the Suoreme Court was to maintain the water level at 136ft. “This could be one of the reasons coupled with earthquakes the cause of concern for Kerala” observed the bench.

The Bench, on the other hand, dismissed the petition of Kerala government to advise Tamilnadu to reduce the water level of Mullaiperiyar Dam from136 ft. to 120 ft. The Bench categorically said that it will study the report of the Empowered Committee on the ground realities and then pass necessary orders and as of now the situation is not grave and does not warrant its intervention.

The CBI, in a release, said the investigation has “established that the said telecom private firm (Loop Telecom) was an ineligible company to get the said licenses being an associate/ front company of another telecom group/group of companies, under a corporate veil.” CBI Investigating Officer Vivek Priyadarshi submitted the charge sheet along with 398 files, running into over 20,000 pages before Special Judge O.P.Saini in five large metal trunks.

There are 100 prosecution witnesses, with four of the witness statements having been recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which makes these admissible during trial as evidence.Special Judge Mr. O.P.Saini said the matter required “further consideration” and deferred a decision on taking cognizance of the charge sheet to December 17.

There is also a possibility of the case being transferred to the court of a first class magistrate. The offence of cheating carries a maximum punishment of seven years’ imprisonment and is also triable in the court of a first class magistrate. However, Mr. Saini’s court was designated as a special court by the Supreme Court exclusively to hear 2G cases. The CBI has said that it could not find any evidence of Dot officials or any public servant being aware of the alleged violation of clause 8 by Loop Telecom.

Mr. Anna Hazare said that he will lead the fight for a strong Lokpal Bill if the Parliament does not pass the same with the assurances of the Government before dec 22 when the winter session is likely to end. Team Anna wants lower bureaucracy(C&D categories) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to be included in the Lokpal Bill.

The opposition parties- the Natioan Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Left also extended their support to Team Anna for a strong Lokpal Bill by participationg in a public debate during the day long fast by Anna Hazare. Overwhelmed by the support he received, Mr. Hazare threatened the government that he will go on an indefinite fast from Dec 27 if the Government refuses to give into people’s demand for a corruption free government by adapting a strong Lokpal Bill in this winter session of the Parliament.

Leaders of the opposition said that if necessary the Parliament session could be extended for arriving at a consensus on the Bill.
In the meanwhile it is learnt that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has called for an all party meeting to discuss the draft Lokpal Bill and to arrive at a amicable solution.