Saturday, December 5, 1998
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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'Fire' to go back to censor
board HC
flays poisoning incident |
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Brain behind Delhi blasts
killed
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Government
to subsidise vegetables UP
cancels order on Vande Mataram Students
staying away from science SP
asks Cong to oust government Joshi
cheered for quoting Prophet Probe
ordered into auction of women YC
men torch dais, 11 arrested Nurses
threaten agitation Delhi-Lahore
bus service likely by Jan DDA
directed to refund money Chhattisgarh
issue ‘to be decided soon’ Rail
chetna yatra flagged off |
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HC flays poisoning incident NEW DELHI, Dec 4 — The Delhi High Court today condemned the Hauz Khas poisoning incident on November 25, while dismissing a PIL seeking proper probe into the case. Hearing a petition filed by a victim of the poisoning caused due to eating of contaminated salted snacks in which about 300 persons were affected, a Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice, Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice K.S. Gupta, observed it was “premature” to presume that the investigation would not be honest. “What happened to a number of citizens on November 25 deserves to be strongly condemned. However, we make no comment on certain political averments made in the petition,” the court observed. The Bench said: “At present, prima facie there seems to be no doubt that the probe will be impartial and in view of this, the petition is premature and dismissed.” They also rejected the plea of the petitioner for withdrawing the petition. More than 300 persons, including women and children, fell ill after eating the “poisonous” food on Assembly polling day which was distributed by some unidentified persons in the Gautam Nagar slum cluster which falls under the Hauz Khas constituency of BJP leader and then Chief Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj. Counsel for the petitioner, Mr R.N. Mittal, submitted that even though nine days had gone by, not a single person had been arrested and what was on the day one feared as poisoning due to mixing of “dhatura” in the snacks had been converted into “fungus.” Mr Mittal contended that the eyewitnesses and the residents of the affected area had complained to the police regarding the involvement of certain BJP workers, who were seen distributing the snacks, in the incident, but their prayer have remained unheard. He submitted that this and several other factors led to the understanding that the probe into the matter would not be “fair, honest, meaningful and bonafide”. The Bench observed:
“What is there to presume that the probe would not
be honest, purposeful, meaningful and bonafide,
especially with the change in the political and
administrative scenario, this presumption does not hold
good.” |
Regal incident: Delhi Sena chief held NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — The Delhi police today arrested president of the city unit of the Shiv Sena Jai Bhagwan Goel in connection with yesterday’s attack by some Sena activists on the Regal cinema here, which was showing "Fire", the controversial Deepa Mehta film on lesbian relationship. Dhruv Chand Pathak, joint secretary of the party’s state unit, who led the attack protesting the "vulgar scenes" in the film, was arrested yesterday, while search is on for five other Shiv Sainiks accused in the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohun Kudaisya said. "Raiding parties have been despatched to arrest Om Prakash Arya, Shiv Das Puri, Ram Kumar Mittal, Yogesh Mudgal and Satish, all members of the Shiv Sena," he said. The police had registered a case of criminal trespass, rioting, damage to property and criminal conspiracy against the attackers and beefed up security at two cinemas in the city showing Shabana Azmi-Nandita Das starrer following the attack. Meanwhile, PVR Anupam-IV Cineplex in South Delhi, which was showing the English version of the internationally acclaimed movie cancelled its screening citing "unavoidable circumstances". Over a dozen Shiv Sainiks stormed the Regal cinema yesterday causing considerable damage. The cinema has since pulled out the film. The government today decided to refer "Fire," to the Central Board of Film Certification (censor board) for re-examination. The decision was taken by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi under relevant provisions of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983, an official release said. PUNE: The screening of Deepa Mehta's controversial film "Fire" at Westend Theatre here had to be put off following a threat issued by a local organisation to disrupt the shows. The Patit Pavan
Sanghathana forced the management to stop the screening
of the film alleging that its theme was against the
Indian culture. |
Citizens’ plea to SC on ‘Fire’ screening MUMBAI, Dec 4 (PTI) — A group of veteran film personalities and human rights activists today urged Supreme Court Chief Justice A.S. Anand to ensure smooth screening of the controversial film, “Fire”. In a petition, Dilip Kumar, Mahesh Bhatt, Javed Akhtar, Yash Chopra, Atul Setalvad, Justice Hosbet Suresh and Teesta Setalvad urged the apex court to seek an explanation from the Maharashtra Government for its ‘failure’ to provide protection to the screening of the film following a volley of protests over its portrayal of a lesbian relationship. The signatories called upon the Chief Justice to guarantee protection to the screening of the film since he was a custodian of fundamental rights of citizens. They submitted that law and order enforcement authorities had declined to grant protection even though miscreants had forcibly stopped the screening of this film in two theatres in Mumbai on December 2. They alleged that Chief Minister Manohar Joshi had also commended the miscreants for their lawless act. Urging the Chief Justice to admit the petition in public interest, the signatories contended that any objection to a censored film’s screening should follow established legal norms — by filing an appeal before the high court against the certificate issued by the Censor Board. Meanwhile, well-known film-maker Mrinal Sen has described the assault on “Fire” in Delhi and Mumbai as “vandalism”. In a statement here, he
said, “such acts were nothing but vandalism —
the ugliest of its kind. It is appalling that government
remains blissfully silent. The one-line statement of
Manohar Joshi on culture and arts is, to me, the biggest
joke of the decade. All this is a shame, a big
shame.”
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Brain behind Delhi blasts killed NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — Abdul Karim Tunda, one of the most wanted terrorists in the country and the alleged mastermind behind the serial bomb blasts that rocked the Capital last year, has been killed in Dhaka, intelligence sources said here today. The body of Tunda, who was among the "most wanted" terrorists in the country, was recently found near a railway track in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka, the sources said. Top Delhi police officials, however, declined to confirm the report, saying they were awaiting a confirmation from the Bangladeshi authorities. Tunda’s was not an accidental death. He was in all probability killed by a rival militant group as per circumstantial evidence, the sources said. He had been absconding from the country since the early nineties and had been shuttling between Pakistan and Bangladesh where he ran training camps for subversive elements. Tunda, who had links with
Dubai-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was heading a
major faction of ‘Lashkar-e-Toiba’, the Islamic
fundamentalist outfit backed by Pakistan’s
Inter-Services Intelligence, the sources said. |
SP asks Cong to oust government NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — The Samajwadi Party today said the Congress should strengthen the unity of secular politics and take the initiative for the removal of BJP-led Vajpayee government at the Centre instead of presenting a picture of decimation of the third front. Party general secretary Amar Singh told mediapersons that Congress inaction in not doing anything for the removal of the Vajpayee government is as bad as "their inaction during the demolition of the Babri Masjid." His party, Mr Singh said would observe December 6, anniversary of the demolition, as a "black day". He said since the danger of communal onslaught was looming large, the Congress should do some introspection. "The minorities are watching and they will not forgive the Congress for their failure in not rising to the occasion to oust the BJP-led government,’’ he warned. He alleged that there was a "biased propaganda" against the Samajwadi Party and "things are not as rosy for the Congress as it claims." In the Bihar by-poll, the
Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) had won all four seats,
while in Gujarat the Congress, had lost in the Broach
parliamentary constituency. |
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TIRUCHIRAPALLI (TN), Dec 4 (PTI) — Nine members of a local businessman’s family allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at a cottage in Puttapurthi in Andhra Pradesh yesterday, the police said here today. The police believes that the family members may have entered into a suicide pact unable to bear the death of a girl member of the family from brain tumour on Wednesday. The 13-year-old girl had been under treatment at the Sri Satyasai Super Specialities Hospital at Puttapurthi. The police forced open the door of the cottage after neighbours reported that it had remained shut since morning. Seven of the family
members were found dead, while two died in the evening
without responding to treatment. |
UP cancels order on Vande Mataram LUCKNOW, Dec 4 (PTI) — Uttar Pradesh Government has decided not to make rendition of Vande Mataram and Saraswati Vandana in government schools compulsory and has cancelled an earlier order that triggered off the controversy. Kalp Yojna, which made singing of Vande Mataram and Saraswati Vandana compulsory in government schools, had sparked off a vociferous protest with minority organisations and institutions criticising the government and taking a firm stand against the decision. An official press note today said it was decided last night that the orders and guidelines issued earlier in this regard under Kalp Yojna stood cancelled as they had been issued without the permission of the competent authority. The controversy over the compulsory rendition of Vande Mataram and Saraswati Vandana took a new turn last month when noted Islamic scholar Maulana Ali Miyan urged Muslims to withdraw their wards from government schools where the singing of these songs was being made compulsory. Kalp Yojna would again be
placed before the state Cabinet at its next meeting. |
Joshi cheered for quoting Prophet NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — The Human Resource Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, who was recently in the eye of a storm on the Saraswati Vandana issue, drew loud cheers at a function here last evening when he narrated an anecdote from Prophet Mohammed’s life to exhort teachers to practice what they preach. The minister, who was addressing teachers and students of navodaya schools from across the country, received a thunderous applause when he recalled that the Prophet of Islam refused to tell a boy to stop eating sweets till he himself overcame the weakness for sweets. Dr Joshi, who also narrated a similar episode from the life of Pandava hero Yudhishtira, said the teachers should preach only what they practice. “The teachers should become role models for the students. They should prove their merit by their conduct. That is why in ancient India, they were known as acharyas, the emphasis being on ‘achaar’ (conduct),” Dr Joshi said. Apparently moved by the
minister’s reference to ‘Hazrat Saheb’ and
the Pandava prince on the same issue, a Muslim teacher
said, “Our composite culture is a treasure trove of
wisdom. Can’t we avoid controversies”. |
Probe ordered into auction of women NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — The Andhra Pradesh Government has ordered a "thorough" probe into the reported auction of women that took place a few days ago at Eluru town in the state. Condemning the incident, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asked the Director-General of Police and the Superintendent of Police of the area to investigate the matter and submit a detailed report to him, a release issued here by the CM’s office said. Expressing anguish over the reported incident, Mr Naidu said he had asked officials to take immediate action to prevent such illegal and immoral activities not only in Eluru but in the entire state. He urged the voluntary agencies and gram sabhas to help prevent such incidents by immediately reporting to the authorities concerned and the police. Such social evils should be condemned by one and all, he said. The report had stated that most of the women, bidders and the auctioneers belonged to two particular communities and some of the women came from nearby towns such as Tenali, Nidadavole, Velpur, Tanuku and Tadepalligudem. Meanwhile, indignant members in the Rajya Sabha, cutting across party lines, today strongly condemned the reported sale of women at Eluru in Andhra Pradesh for flesh trade and extracted an assurance from the government that the matter would be inquired into. "It is a very alarming news but there should be no political overtones. This matter should be above politics. I will request the Home Minister to inquire and find out the facts," Food Minister S.S. Barnala assured the House after an hour-long discussion on the matter. The issue, raised by senior Congress member Pranab Mukherjee through a special mention, evoked a sharp reaction from women members from all political parties who demanded strong action by the Centre to stop such inhuman practices prevailing even 50 years after Independence. There were heated exchanges when Mr Mukherjee held Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu morally responsible for the incident, with TDP member S. Ramachandra Reddy accusing the Congress of trying to politicise the serious social evil rampant not in just in one state but several parts of the country. Joining other members, Mr
Reddy said he too strongly condemned the incident, if it
was true, and wanted it to be thoroughly inquired into by
the Centre. But he maintained that Naidu was a
progressive leader who had done a lot for protecting
women’s interests in the state. |
Government to subsidise
vegetables NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — The Centre will provide 50 per cent of the market intervention cost borne by states for providing vegetables to people at subsidised rates, Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs Surjit Singh Barnala told the Rajya Sabha today. "If the respective state governments want to subsidise any of the vegetables, the Central Government will bear 50 per cent of the expenditure," Mr Barnala said in reply to a supplementary by CPM member A. Vijay Raghavan during question hour. The Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat also supplied vegetables at subsidised rates through their public distribution systems, he said. The government had accorded sanction to import 10,000 metric tonnes of onion through Nafed, out of which 687 metric tonnes had been imported at a cost of Rs 1.61 crore, he said. A total of 3,433 hoarders and blackmarketeers had been arrested under the Essential Commodities Act to check the spiralling prices. The maximum number of arrests under the Act were made in Andhra Pradesh, where 2,060 were arrested for hoarding and blackmarketing up to September, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Satyapal Singh Yadav said in a written reply. As many as 455 were nabbed in Jammu and Kashmir. To a question on percentage of rise in prices of essential commodities, he said while wholesale price of rice had increased by 12.2 per cent, that of wheat was up by 10 per cent. Gram prices rose by 26.4 per cent, arhar by 46.8 per cent, potatoes by 85.9 per cent, onion by 218.5 per cent, tea by 2.1 per cent, salt by 0.7 per cent, vanaspati by 0.3 per cent, mustard oil by 32.3 per cent and groundnut oil by 11.6 per cent. Sugar prices, however, had declined by 0.4 per cent. A decline in production due to adverse climatic conditions and shortage in global market were the main reasons for the rapid rise in the prices of these commodities, he said. Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s said a number of policy initiatives had been taken by the government to check price rise and added the state governments requested to take action against hoarders and anti-social elements. He said the steps taken by the government to reduce the prices had brought down inflation to 8.1 per cent in the 34th week of the current financial year. The government had no intention of repeating the voluntary disclosure of income scheme (VDIS) but would tackle it at the source. Mr Sinha said the fact that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had convened a meeting of Chief Ministers to discuss the issue showed that the government was worried and concerned about it. A CBI probe had established a criminal conspiracy behind the mustard oil contamination that resulted in 67 deaths due to dropsy, Health Minister Dalit Ezhilmalai told the Rajya Sabha. The minister said so far
84 cases had been registered under the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act in Delhi. |
Students staying away from science NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — As students continue to stay away from science courses, strung by limited career options, outdated syllabi and age-old teaching techniques, experts predict it will virtually smother India’s scientific research and development in the future. In the past few years, the number of science students has dropped from 32 per cent to less than 19 creating fear among the scientific community that progress in space research and atomic energy will gradually collapse irrespective of the nascent efforts made by the government and educational institutions. “I for one feel we are already late in understanding the situation and taking any corrective steps. We will have to prevent this disaster at any cost. Otherwise there will be only a few persons in our labs after five or 10 years,” says Mr Roddam Narasimha, Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS). But Dr R.D. Shukla, Head of the Department of Science and Mathematics, NCERT, considers the decline in interest in science a global phenomenon supplementing it with the fact that the number of students opting for science has come down by nearly 50 per cent in London within a span of 14 years (27.6 per cent in 1980 to 16.7 per cent in 1994) which is more or less similar to the decline observed in India. “There is still time left,” says Dr Shukla suggesting a complete change in the teaching pattern. Science should be taught in such a way as to create interest and enthusiasm among students. Having observed India’s performance in the field of science and technology for more than three decades, a former Director-General of the National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA), Dr Reimer Luset says it’s basic research that needs uplift in India. “Of course science should inspire the students. But it is basic research that needs to be upgraded,” said the renowned German scientist here recently. He further observed that India needed to set up more centres of excellence like IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) to boost science and mould future scientists. But senior scientist Dhirendra Sharma says “scientists in India are a frustrated lot and only a mission oriented programme can save them. So let us have a programme which will trigger a cooperative campaign that will set out spirits high and steady.” Scientists also attribute the decline in interest to changed attitudes with the result that the subject has lost its place as a status symbol. Besides, the wide difference of treatment of sciences in higher classes has led to a sense of disillusionment. “It is the chasm that exists between class X-level science and the plus-two level that makes all the difference. If in class X general science is taught, the syllabus at the plus-two level deals with pure science,” says Dr Sangeeta Bhartia, Principal of New State Academy in the Capital. This sudden change in the
syllabus content — from general to serious —
makes it difficult for an average student to cope with
the rise in standard. He thus loses interest in science
and opts for other streams. |
YC men torch dais, 11 arrested CALCUTTA, Dec 4 (PTI) — Controversy over the private function at the Victoria Memorial premises here took an ugly turn yesterday with the state Youth Congress activists setting fire to the wooden podium and furniture on the lawns of the 19th century edifice. Lathi-wielding policemen arrested 11 YC workers, including its state chief Paresh Pal, MLA, as they were protesting against holding of Wednesday’s function ‘Sangeet’ ceremony preceding the marriage of NRI industrialist L.N. Mittal’s son on the lawns of the memorial. Expressing anguish at the YC action, Chief Minister Jyoti Basu said: “This is Congress culture. But this will in no way deter industrialists from coming to West Bengal.” Justifying the police action, octogenarian Marxist Chief Minister said he would be attending the marriage ceremony on Friday, “I have asked the police to forcibly remove trouble-makers from the spot. The police has done its duty and our government will do its own,” he said. The activists entered the western side of the premises where the decorator’s men were dismantling the temporary stage and set it on fire. The police said there was, however, no damage to the lawn and garden of the memorial. The police said the YC activists set fire to the stage, furniture, carpets and a loaded truck, causing considerable panic. Four fire-engines were
sent to put out the blaze and the situation was brought
under control within an hour. |
Nurses threaten agitation NEW DELHI, Dec 4 — Agitated over the alleged inaction of the Union Minister for Railways on complaints of harassment against a Kapurthala-based doctor, the All-India Government Nurses Federation has threatened a nationwide stir. The General Secretary of the federation, Mrs G.K. Khurana, said although several nurses had complained of harassment by the senior Deputy Medical Officer (DMO) of Lala Lajpat Rai Rail Coach Factory Hospital, the authorities had not cared to take any action. She said complaints made by the nurses to senior railway officers had fallen on deaf ears. The federation has made a representation to the Union Minister for Railways, Mr Nitish Kumar. The letter says: “This harassment at workplace amounts to sexual harassment as per the Supreme Court judgement dated August 13, 1997. After coming to know about the complaint, the said DMO has started harassing the nurses even more. The nurses are perturbed. Whenever they go near him in the course of their duties, they come traumatised and are getting outraged over his immodest utterances/advances.” Mrs Khurana said if the Minister did not take prompt action against the doctor, the nurses would be compelled to go on a nationwide stir. Mrs Khurana said the federation had also sought the intervention of the National Commission for Women. She pointed out that even favourable interventions by the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Railways, Mrs Mamata Banerjee and Chairman of the Defence Committee, Sqn Ldr Kamal Chowdhary in June and August, respectively, had proved futile. Mrs Khurana said
government’s indifference to repeated
representations had left them with no choice but to
resort to an agitation. “In the past three days, we
have made several attempts to meet the Union Minister for
Railways, Mr Nitish Kumar. Today, we have sent our
complaint to him by speed post.” |
Delhi-Lahore bus service
likely by Jan NEW DELHI, Dec 4 — India and Pakistan yesterday initialled an agreement and a protocol in Islamabad to pave the way for the commencement of Delhi-Lahore bus service by the middle of January. A joint press statement issued in Islamabad said the two countries, at the conclusion of two days’ discussions, initialled an agreement and a protocol for providing a framework and operational mechanism for the bus service. Follow-up action will now
be taken for the signing of the agreement by the two
governments, the statement said, adding that “the
bus service is expected to commence by the middle of
January, 1999”. |
DDA directed to refund
money NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — A city consumer forum has directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to refund earnest money with interest to a person who had sought cancellation of an allotted flat’s registration. A Bench, presided by Mr P.K. Jain and attended by Mrs Santosh Khanna, directed the DDA to refund within two months earnest money of Rs 5000 along with interest from April 24, 1981, to December 30, 1994, and 15 per cent interest from January 1,1995. In his complaint to the Tis Hazari Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Mr Bhagwan Dass Goel, a resident of Model Basti, stated that he paid Rs 5000 for the registration of a DDA flat under the Rohini MIG scheme in 1981. Since he was allotted a flat in Amrit Cooperative Group Housing Society, Pitampura in March, 1992, he requested the DDA to cancel the registration and refund the earnest money with up-to-date interest on it. In his letter, Mr Goel
stated that since he had been allotted the said flat, he
was no longer entitled to the MIG scheme of the DDA.
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Chhattisgarh issue ‘to be decided soon’ NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (PTI) — The Centre is expected to take a decision soon on the creation of a separate state of Chhattisgarh to be carved out of Madhya Pradesh, state Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said today. Mr Singh told reporters after separate meetings with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani that the Centre was examining the Bill sent by the state on the issue. “I hope the Centre
will take an early decision”, Mr Singh said adding
that he was given an assurance that the Bill would be
placed before the Union Cabinet soon. |
Rail chetna yatra flagged
off NEW DELHI, Dec 4 — A rail chetna yatra aimed at empowering women was flagged off at the Nizamuddin railway station this morning by the Chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board, Mrs Mridula Sinha. Members of the National Commission for Women wished bon voyage to the 45 volunteers participating in the yatra. The Union Minister of Railways who had agreed to flag off the week-long yatra from Delhi to Chennai via Ernakulam, was conspicuous by his absence. The participants, who are travelling by Mangala Express, will pass through eight states and spread awareness on women’s issues at main stations. The yatra has been
organised to mobilise public opinion about women’s
issues, violence against women, their political
participation and socio-economic emancipation. |
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| Giant idol for temple in
USA TIRUCHIRAPPALLI: A large-sized granite replica of the idol of Lord Ranganathaswamy at the famous Srirangam temple near here has been sent to the USA for a shrine being constructed there by Indians. The 8.5 feet long and 3.5 feet breadth idol, in lying posture, was sculpted at Srirangam with the granite stone brought from hills near Namakkal in Tamil Nadu. The idol, weighing 4.75 tonne, for the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple being built in Pomana, a town 110 km from New Jersey, was despatched to Chennai on Wednesday night enroute to the USA. It would be shipped via Colombo and reach New York port on January 6. — PTI Narasimha Rao operated on Passing of Tamil
test must Steps to check
child abuse |
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