Parrikar arrives in J&K to review security situation

The Defence Minister is accompanied by Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command Lt Gen D S Hooda during the visit which will cover all three regions of the state.

Lt Gen V S Negi, General Officer Commanding of 14 Corps, will brief him about the situation along the Line of Control on Pakistani side and Line of Actual Control along the Chinese side, a Defence spokesman said.

Parrikar will then fly to Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, where he will hold meetings with Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. "Besides these meetings, the Defence Minister will be briefed by GoC 15 Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha on the security situation in the valley and along the Line of Control," he added.

 

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No report of defence sector networks being attacked: Parrikar

Parrikar further said said the government has taken a number of steps to protect confidential information pertaining to the defence sector from cyber attack.
  
"There are no reports of defence sector networks being attacked by cyber hackers and foreign intelligence agencies,” Parrikar said.
  
"However, cyber attacks are faced by Internet connected personal computers and these relate to unauthorised data access, denial of service, compromise of logic credentials," he added.
  
He was replying to a query on whether reports of defence networks being continuously attacked by cyber hackers and foreign intelligence agencies have come to the notice of the government.
  
"To protect important and confidential data from cyber attack, the operational networks of the Armed Forces are air gapped from Internet.
  
"Further, Defence Services have established Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to prevent and react to cyber attacks," Parrikar said.
 
The Minister also said that safeguards have been instituted in the form of audits and physical checks.
   

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Was surprised by court order to search my residence: Parrikar

"It was a surprise to me. I had moved into my official residence the earlier day," said Parrikar, responding to a question today.
  
The local court which was hearing the petition on Pacheco, who is missing after being convicted for slapping a government servant, had on April 23 ordered the search of 10, Akbar Road in New Delhi after social activist and lawyer Aires Rodrigues had petitioned the court against delay by police in tracking down the ex-minister.
  
The order came after Rodrigues submitted to the court that there was "information" that Pacheco was "hiding" at 10, Akbar Road. It was, however, stayed by a higher court in Goa the same day.
  
"The order is quashed... so I don't want to comment further. It is an issue which probably the investigating agency should work on. How does Defence Minister's residence come in the picture?," Parrikar replied.
  
"How do you stop people who have flight of imagination and slight bent of crooked behaviour?" Parrikar asked, making an apparent reference to Rodrigues who had moved the court seeking the order.

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Defence Minister Parrikar objects to large security cover

Parrikar, who attended a BJP programme at BNSD Shiksha Niketan here, told his security personnel to leave only one vehicle for him and take away the rest.

"I do not need so much of security, one security vehicle is enough for me. Anything more than that causes inconvenience to people," Parikar later told reporters at a press conference.

At the programme, Parrikar also objected to a larger chair placed for him and smaller ones for others and insisted on sitting in smaller chair.

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Attacks in Jammu and Kashmir an attempt by militants to raise their low morale: Manohar Parrikar

"When the morale of the opponents are down, they make such attempts to boost it," Parrikar said replying to questions about the attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Stating that the International Border has many "nallas", he said at times it is difficult to man the area completely. The IB comes under the purview of the BSF. Giving figures, Parrikar said that about 26 militants have been killed this year by the Army with only one loss from its side.

He said this proves that the Army was doing better and that intelligence has also improved.Terror had again struck Jammu on Saturday where militants opened fire at an army camp on Jammu-Pathankot Highway in Samba district. Parrikar said the two terrorists have been killed.
  
Yesterday,'fidayeen' militants in army fatigues had stormed a police station in Jammu's Kathua, killing three security personnel and two civilians, and leaving 11 others including Deputy SP wounded. Two militants were also killed in the gun battle.

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Sukhoi's serviceability to improve by year-end: Parrikar

We have been trying to improve the serviceability of Sukhois. It has improved by seven percent in last 8-9 months to reach to 56-57 per cent," he added in Rajya Sabha, exuding hope that it would go up to 75 per cent by the year end.

A total of 35 incidents of engine failures in air or other engine-related problems have occured between January, 2013 and December 2014.

To a question, Parrikar said the Russian OriginalEquipment Manufacturer had introduced a number of measures to contain and eliminate technical issues that have led to engine troubles in flight.

Parrikar explained the Indian Air Force has also finalised long-term repair agreements with Russian OEMs to improve availability of aircraft for operational use.

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We oppose offshore casinos, ok with land ones: Parrikar

Parrikar was replying to a query during question hour during the budget session."I assure you that by 2015, there will be no operational casino in the Mandovi," he said.

Parrikar said the five offshore casinos currently operating in the river off Panaji would have to be moved.

"If they approach me, we can think about giving them a place somewhere," he said.

Goa has five operational offshore casinos and 10 five star hotel-run onshore casinos, which attract thousands of people to the state annually.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had been opposing casinos for over seven years, had before elections promised to "throw the casinos into the sea", but after coming to power in 2012 Parrikar said the casinos would be relocated to the deep seas off Goa, but only after four years.

The Chief Minister has now said the BJP's opposition was only to offshore casinos and not the ones on land."Our opposition was only to offshore casinos not onshore casinos. There is a difference," Parrikar said.

(Agencies)

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Tehelka case: Tip off led to prison raid, says Goa CM Parrikar

Speaking at a public function here, Parrikar alleged that Tejpal from whom a mobile phone was allegedly recovered during a raid on February 23 was speaking to Delhi-based journalists every morning.

"There are journalists in Delhi who reported us that he was speaking to reporters from Delhi every morning," Parrikar said.

"The intelligence (for the raid) came from the Delhi press," he added.

Nine mobile phones were allegedly found in the Sada prison complex housing Tejpal.

Prison officials claim that a SIM card was also found in the editor's shirt collar. Tejpal, however, told the raiding team that the phone could belong to another inmate living in his cell.

While prison authorities had called the raid ‘routine’, Parrikar claimed the raid was made possible because of ‘good’ journalists, who co-operated with the government agencies.

The Goa Chief Minister was last week accused of insulting the journalist community in Goa, by questioning their educational qualifications, net worth and intellect.

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Probe in Tejpal case sets a benchmark: Goa Chief Minister

"This is a benchmark investigation after the (Delhi's) Nirbhaya case," Parrikar said, reacting to the filing of the charge sheet against the founder-editor of Tehelka by the Goa crime branch.

    

“The police have done a meticulous investigation in this case,” he claimed.

    

Within 80 days of registration of the FIR, Goa police today filed a 2,684-page chargesheet against Tejpal, in jail since December 1, under sections 354, 354-A (sexual harassment), 341 and 342 (wrongful restraint), 376 (rape), 376(2)(f) and 376 (2)(k) (taking advantage of official position and raping a woman in custody) of IPC.

    

Tejpal is accused of sexually assaulting a young woman journalist, his colleague, at a hotel in Panaji on November 7 and 8 last year.

(Agencies)

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