Wednesday, December 23, 1998
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No-trust move against Basu defeated CALCUTTA, Dec 22 — A Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion against the Jyoti Basu ministry was defeated in the West Bengal Assembly by 49-139 votes today after a four-hour stormy and acrimonious debate. Cong stages walkout in LS |
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Pension of Central Govt staff
revised NEW DELHI, Dec 22 — The Centre has revised the pension and family pension for all Central Government pensioners irrespective of their date of retirement with effect from January 1, 1996.
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Jawans
green desert area House
should last full term: BJP Opposition
assails govt N-policy Bill
on proxy voting introduced Reservation
Bill: women threaten stir Delhi
readying white paper on power Ibrahim serves notice on Asian Age Cong
may withdraw support to Rabri 2
Dawood men sentenced |
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No-trust move against Basu defeated CALCUTTA, Dec 22 (PTI) — A Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion against the Jyoti Basu ministry was defeated in the West Bengal Assembly by 49-139 votes today after a four-hour stormy and acrimonious debate. The motion, moved by CLP chief whip Abdul Mannan, accused the Basu government of inaction and listed its failures on all fronts during its 22-year rule in the state. One Congress member unwittingly pressed the button for abstention during voting in the House conducted by Kripasindhu Saha as chairman in the absence of Speaker H.A. Halim who was ill. In a hard-hitting speech, Chief Minister Jyoti Basu described the Congress charges as unfounded and imaginary. Claiming that the no-trust move against his government would, in effect, win the people’s favour more and more for the ruling Left Front in its 22-year term. Despite certain lapses, the overall performance of the Front government was satisfactory, Mr Basu said. Setting the tone, Mr Basu asked the Congress to mend its ways in West Bengal and select the right path to keep the BJP at bay. The octogenarian Marxist Chief Minister said even though there was no difference in the economic policies of the Congress and the BJP, his party would not mind if the Congress came to power at the Centre removing the communal forces. Mr Basu said he would welcome such an outcome since it would benefit the country. As the Congress bench
interrupted his speech, Mr Basu, implored them to realise
the actual political situation in the country and asked
the party to keep away from communal forces. He cautioned
the Congress not to be complacent in the wake of its
victory in the recent Assembly elections in three major
states. |
Pension of Central Govt staff
revised NEW DELHI, Dec 22 — The Centre has revised the pension and family pension for all Central Government pensioners irrespective of their date of retirement with effect from January 1, 1996. As per a notification issued by the Department of Pensions in the Union Ministry of Personnel, all pensioners will draw not less than 50 per cent of the minimum pay in the revised scale of pay introduced from January 1, 1996, of the post last held by the pensioner. However, such pension would be suitably reduced pro-rata where the pensioner has less than the maximum required service for full pension as per the rule applicable to the pensioner as on the date of their superannuation/ retirement. This in no case will be less than Rs 1,275 a month and will be treated as basic pension for the purpose of future grant of dearness relief on pension. Similarly, family pension will be not less than 30 per cent of the minimum pay in the revised scale introduced from January 1, 1996, for the post last held by the pensioner/ deceased government servant concerned. The notification said the responsibility to issue modified provisions and revised pension payment orders will be of the head of the department of the ministry, department or office from where the government servant had retired or was working prior to the demise. Action to revise pension/family pension in terms of these orders shall be initiated suo motu by the heads of departments concerned in cases where the necessary applications have already been received from pensioners/family pensioners in pursuance of earlier orders irrespective of whether their cases have been finalised or are in the process. Those pensioners/family pensioners who have not submitted the necessary applications to facilitate the revision and desire to avail of the benefits are to apply in prescribed form in duplicate to the pension sanctioning authority by March 31, 1999. In the case of defence
civilian employees, the procedure prescribed in this
regard by the Defence Ministry shall be followed. |
Cong stages walkout in LS NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — The Congress today staged a walk- out in the Lok Sabha over the government’s failure to come out with effective measures to combat the deteriorating law and order situation in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir. The walkout came at the end of a calling attention discussion raised by Congress member Rajesh Pilot and the reply by Home Minister L.K. Advani rejecting the allegation that internal security situation in the country had deteriorated. Mr Advani expressed serious concern over Pakistan-guided insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, subversive activities in the North-East and the violence perpetrated by Left-wing extremists. An action plan has been launched in Jammu and Kashmir to curb infiltration, combat militancy in hinterland, protect minorities, enhance intelligence capabilities and have greater functional integration and coordination among security forces, Mr Advani said. Stating that periodic review was also carried out at the state government and Central levels, the Home Minister said support from Pakistan for terrorists and foreign mercenaries, however, continued undiminished. Dissatisfied over Mr Advani’s statement and accusing the government of failing to list measures to combat violence in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress, joined by Republican Party of India and the Muslim League, walked out of the House. Mr Pilot charged the BJP-led government with being complacent when nearly 300 innocent persons had been killed in the North-East since October this year. Mr Pilot said while
infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir was continuing unabated
from across the western border and through Nepal,
militants in Nagaland were rearming themselves taking
advantage of the ceasefire. |
Supreme
Court-1998 NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — It was a year of reversals for the union government in the Supreme Court — be it the transfer of Enforcement Director M K Bezboruah, constitution of the Central Vigilance Commission, or review of the controversial judgement on the JMM MPs bribery case. Apart from being vigilant of government’s faux paus, the Supreme Court heard a mosaic of cases including sensitive ones like Presidential reference on judges’ appointment, fodder scam, Uttar Pradesh Speaker’s controversial ruling in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) defection, special courts to try Jayalalitha cases, Cauvery and Almatti issues, Rajiv assassination case and the violent protests against screening of the film “Fire”. The apex court remained sensitive to the growing vehicular pollution in the Capital coming down heavily on the government for its inaction to tackle the problem and fixed deadlines for phasing out old commercial vehicles. The court also asked the Imams of Calcutta, who had appealed against the contempt notices issued to them by the Calcutta High Court for allegedly violating court orders banning use of loud speakers for Azaan and refusing to appear before it, to face the contempt cases against them. One of the most important issues decided by the court was the presidential reference regarding the consultation process involved in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and Chief Justice and judges to the high courts. A nine-judge constitutional bench opined that the Chief Justice of India while making the recommendations to the President for appointment of judges has to follow prescribed norms provided in the consultation process and any recommendation sans proper consultation would not be binding on the government. On the reversals suffered by the government, it buckled under pressure of criticism from the Supreme Court and revoked its August 13 order transferring M K Bezboruah to the Delhi government and reinstated him as Director, Enforcement. While deciding the immunity provision given in Article 105(2) of the Constitution, a five-judge bench in April this year ruled that an MP/MLA would not be liable for prosecution even if he had voted in the House after taking a bribe. Significantly, the court ruled that all MPs/MLAs were public servants and at the same time held that MPs/MLAs who accept bribe but do not participate in the voting would be liable for prosecution. The ruling was given in April. But the government slept over it for over seven months despite severe criticism of the judgement making MPs who had accepted bribes immune from prosecution. Finally, it woke up from its slumber and filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to review the earlier order. But it was too late. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice A S Anand severely criticised the government for the unreasonable delay and dismissed the review petition. The year did not augur well for former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in the Supreme Court. Both he and Jagannath Mishra, accused in the Rs 950 crore fodder scam and enjoying state hospitality in a guest house notified as a jail, were ordered to be shifted to Beur Central Jail. While, Mishra found light at the end of the tunnel by getting bail on the last working day of the Supreme Court this year, Yadav didn’t. Another former Chief Minister who kept the Supreme Court busy was AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha, who challenged the constitutional validity of Section three of the Prevention of Corruption Act which empowered the state government to constitute special courts to try corruption cases. The Supreme Court said a loud ‘no’ time and again when she sought stay of trial against her in the three special Chennai courts during the pendency of her petition in the apex court. However, in an important development during the hearing of her petition, the union government informed the Supreme Court that only it had the power to transfer cases from one special court to another and not the state government. While hearing a contentious issue between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the Supreme Court allowed Karnataka to begin skeletal works connected with erection of 26 crest gates at Almatti Dam on Krishna river at “its own risk and cost” but directed it not to raise the dam height beyond the present 509 metres. The six-year legal battle on the implementation of Cauvery water tribunal’s interim award came to a close on August 17 with the Supreme Court disposing of a Tamil Nadu petition following an agreement reached between the four riparian states. Meanwhile, all the 26 accused in the Rajiv assassination case, who were handed capital punishment by the trial court, approached the Supreme Court and the court stayed their sentences. The court also gave relief to the first woman convict Ram Shree to be awarded the death sentence in a murder case and commuted her sentence to life imprisonment. However, a three-judge
bench of the court gave a fractured verdict over the
legality of Uttar Pradesh Speaker Kesri Nath
Tripathi’s ruling recognising the split in the BSP,
which helped the Kalyan Singh government to win
confidence vote. The matter is now referred to a
five-judge bench. |
It’s doves vs hawks in BJP NEW DELHI, Dec 22 — Stung by the November 25 poll debacle, the BJP establishment is trying to find a way out of the present maze in which it finds itself engulfed today. Sharp differences have surfaced. The perception of the hardliners, who make no bones about their “Sangh Parivar” connections and the doves who are wary of projecting this government as being one which is controlled by the RSS supremos is at total variance with each other. It is being said in the corridors of power that there are two governments in the country today — the “liberal” government owing allegiance to the South Block office of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and an orthodox government owing allegiance to the office of Mr Lal Krishan Advani, in the North Block. In the crossfire decisions are mooted and then given up by both sides. Yesterday the government denied reports in a section of the Press about the move to reduce the retirement age of the government servants from 60 to 58. Interestingly, over the last weekend, at the initiative of the Prime Minister, the retirement age of doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and PGI, Chandigarh, was raised to 62 years. Someone in the orthodox think-tank had identified the raising of the retirement age in May as being one of the reasons for the BJP debacle. Thus, a move was afoot to review and possibly bring down the retirement age to 58. The story was leaked out to the Press. It was promptly denied. However, sources in the government say that this certainly is not a case of smoke without fire. Moves are now afoot to effect reshuffles at various levels of the government. There is a serious move to have new faces in the offices of the Finance Minister, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretary and the Home Secretary. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr Brajesh Mishra, is being targeted by the orthodox group because he had opposed certain witch-hunting exercises which had been undertaken by the government last month. It is now being said that Mr Mishra has his hands full in his role as the National Security Adviser and, thus, there is a need to have a “full time” Principal Secretary. The name of Mr Naresh Chandra, a retired senior civil servant, currently serving as the Ambassador to Washington, is figuring in this context. One of the reasons for the now aborted move for lowering the retirement age was that it could have ensured the end of the tenure for the Cabinet Secretary, Mr Prabhat Kumar, as well as for Mr N.K. Singh, Secretary in the PMO. Mr Yashwant Sinha is being targeted because the orthodox camp holds him responsible for the price rise which has been identified as the major reason for the poll debacle The last round of Cabinet expansion was limited to members of the BJP. The ministerial reshuffle being mooted now will engulf the allies as well. A battle of wits is on. The Prime Minister is trying to assert his supremacy. The orthodox camp is trying to assert the supremacy of the Sangh Parivar. Though no mishap occurred on the floor of Parliament during the winter session which concludes tomorrow. The Atal Behari Vajpayee regime undoubtedly is skating on thin ice. A joke going around the corridors of power is that indeed the government is surviving on “outside support” — the support of the Congress, which does not want to see an untimely collapse of the present regime. The winter session has
ended on a frozen note. Thawing may be visible with the
onset of spring, in the budget session. Some political
pundits feel that in Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s political
calendar the suitable string of events would be a sudden
collapse of the present regime during the budget session
followed by the formation of a transition government
which will hold fresh elections to the Lok Sabha and to
as many as 11 state assemblies before the next year is
out. Some assemblies are due to finish their terms by the
end of 1999. Some others would do so in the first quarter
of 2000. Together the states where elections can thus be
held total eleven. Therefore, 1999, is poised to be an
election year. |
Jawans green desert area SRIGANGANAGAR: The society in general perceives the Army only as an organisation trained to eliminate and maim the nation's enemies. Few know the yeoman's service it has been rendering to society irrespective of the location. Horrifying blasts of artillery shells rattling bursts of machine guns on the Line of Control, persistent pursuit of insurgencies in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern region reflect the professional face of the Army to the common man. But its human face is not visible to all. Whether it is earthquakes, floods and emergency rescue of tourists or sharing the concern of environmental degradation, the Army with its massive and remotely spread strength has been carrying out these tasks with utmost dedication, enthusiasm and a sense of national urgency. The Army has set an example in this town by converting the local cantonment, spread over 1900 acres from a desert to a lush green pasture. Though the desert had been reclaimed for cultivation, there was no ecological development of this area. From 1986, when construction of the cantonment started here, concerted efforts put in by the Army have earned it the recommendation for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar-1997. Brig M.B.S. Bist, Deputy General Officer Commanding, while talking to TNS said the Sriganganagar military station was desert terrain with sand dunes and mirages, devoid of vegetation. Once construction work started the Army took up afforestation. Initially the thrust was on planting such trees which required less water as irrigation facilities were not developed. However, with greater irrigation facilities, emphasis shifted to plantation of fruit, ornamental and other varieties of tropical shady trees. In the past two years, about 42,000 saplings had been planted on the military station's premises and these saplings were procured from the every nook and corner of the country. He stated that the Sriganganagar military station could today boast of lush green parks, tree-lined roads, well-maintained golf ground, a boat club, nature park and an aesthetically landscaped silver jubilee park. He said for further enhancing the greenery in the military station, all Army ranks and their families were involved in growing trees and lookafter them and by utilising vacant areas for plantation of fruit trees. He said the military
station had also been considered by the Rajasthan
Government for the best management tree plantation award.
The greening exercise had also been taken up in the
Lalgarh, Fazilka and Abohar military stations in a big
way. |
House should last full term: BJP NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — The BJP today indicated that it was in favour of the Lok Sabha completing its full five-year term and that in case of the ruling party being reduced to a minority, the House could be given an opportunity to elect a leader. “If there is a consensus among members, we cannot rule out even a legislation on the issue of the Lok Sabha completing its full five-year term,” party Vice-President K.L. Sharma told reporters after a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting. Asked whether the party was agreeable to any other combination staking its claim in case the ruling party was reduced to a minority, he said: “If the government is reduced to a minority, the House should be given an opportunity to elect a leader.” He said all political parties were of the view that the Lok Sabha should complete its full five-year term. Addressing the Parliamentary Party meeting, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee asked the BJP MPs to inform their constituents about the achievements of the BJP-led coalition with courage and conviction, Mr Sharma said. Mr Vajpayee said the MPs should highlight various bills which had been introduced in Parliament. Elaborating on the issue, Mr Sharma said: “No one is interested in mid-term poll and some members of Parliament want it to complete its tenure. Besides, no political party has come up with a viable alternative.” He said BJP MPs wanted the amount allocated under the MPs local area Development Scheme to be doubled from Rs 1 crore per year. They felt the amount was not sufficient in view of the fall in value of the rupee and the rising cost of goods over the past few years, he said. The meeting chaired by Mr
Vajpayee was attended by party President Kushabhau
Thakre, Home Minister L.K. Advani and other leaders, he
said. |
Opposition assails govt N-policy NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — Opposition members in the Lok Sabha today severely criticised the government for “surrendering” to the USA on the issue of the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) and demanded India should not sign the treaty. Initiating a special discussion on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statement on bilateral talks with the USA, Mr Rup Chand Pal (CPM) said the five nuclear powers were proliferating “nuclear apartheid” by asking India to join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear nation. Accusing the USA taking a pro-Pakistan attitude even in post-nuclear test sanctions, he asked the government to spurn American pressures and declare that “India will not sign the CTBT and will not go for weaponisation”. Mr Vajpayee had stated in the Lok Sabha last week that New Delhi was looking forward to the creation of a “positive environment” by key interlocutors for successful conclusion of talks on the CTBT. At the same time he had categorically ruled out a moratorium on production of fissile material and asserted India would not accept any restraints on its research and development capabilities to maintain a minimum credible nuclear deterrent. Charging the Centre with making India vulnerable in the world community for small political gains, Mr Pal said New Delhi had not even condemned the USA for attacks on Iraq, which Washington was forced to abandon due to adverse world opinion. Mr Vaiko (MDMK) congratulated Mr Vajpayee for his decision to go nuclear, saying India had to adopt a posture of nuclear deterrent in view of threat perceptions from Pakistan and China. India had taken a stand at
a time when five nuclear powers were pursuing the policy
of nuclear apartheid after conducting over 2,000 tests
themselves, he said. |
Bill on proxy voting introduced NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — The government today introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha that will allow members of the armed forces to vote in the General Election by proxy instead of postal ballot. The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1998, seeks to amend the relevant provisions of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1961, and the Indian Penal Code to give service personnel the right to vote by proxy. The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill says that the Election Commission has recommended that the members of the armed forces may be allowed to vote by proxy instead of postal ballot so that their full participation in the electoral exercise is ensured. The commission made this recommendation keeping in view the reduction of the minimum campaign period from 20 days to 14 days and the logistic constraints involved in despatching postal ballots to members of the armed forces through their record offices and receiving these back before the counting process commenced. Mr Varkala Radhakrishnan
(CPM) raised objections to the introduction of the Bill,
saying it violated secrecy of voting as provided in the
Constitution. |
Reservation Bill: women threaten stir NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — Women activists today threatened to launch a “jail bharo satyagraha” and not to cook meal for one time on March 8, if the Bill for the reservation of 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies was not passed in the current Parliament session. Mohini Giri, former chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), heading a joint action front for women told reporters here that women all over the country would not cook food on March 8 as a mark of protest and participate in the “satyagraha” if government failed to get the Bill passed. Ms Giri, who recently
undertook a countrywide “chetna yatra”
(awareness campaign) in favour of the Bill, said
“during the yatra we collected over one lakh
signatures from women and men in 11 states in favour of
the early passage of the Bill.” |
Delhi readying white paper on
power NEW DELHI, Dec 22 — The Delhi Government is preparing a white paper on the power scenario, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced today. Addressing a press conference here today, Mrs Dikshit said the white strategy paper would be completed by January 15. She said the Delhi Vidyut Board had been told to get its act together and "the DVB would be fully responsible for any electricity pilferage." The current power crisis is due to the prevailing cold weather condition as the demand for electricity has gone up and the northern grid is not able to meet the demand, she said. Mrs Dikshit pointed out the eastern grid may be approached for supplying some electricity available with it. "The cost for power from there would be higher but we want to ensure that the residents of the Capital do not have to face power shortage," she said. She said an action plan was also being formulated to tone up the administration and "to make the administration more efficient and people-friendly". The Chief Minister said "vigil" committees would be formed to tackle the steady increase in incidents of crime. "The vigil committee would have the area MLA as chairman, the SHO as convener and eminent citizens of the area as members," she said. The vigil committee would meet at least once a month and include at least two women. The committee would oversee the law and order situation in the area. "We want to raise the awareness level among the citizens and take their help in fighting crime," Mrs Dikshit said. Besides appointing special police officers, the antecedents of the private guards hired for security purposes in various colonies would be verified and students would be involved in traffic management. Another aspect of the
action plan for improving the administration includes
officials being asked to be more courteous while dealing
with problems of the people and "not putting off a
problem for a later date". "The officials are
being asked to immediately take a decision on a issue so
that people do not have to pay repeated visits," Mrs
Dikshit said. |
Ibrahim serves notice on Asian Age NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — Former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim today served legal notices on Home Secretary B.P. Singh and Asian Age Editor-in-Chief M.J. Akbar, seeking clarification from them regarding a item in the newspaper yesterday about his alleged "links" with Romesh Sharma, a reported frontman of underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim. In the notice served through his counsel Anis Suhrawardy, the former minister said: "irreparable loss and injury has been caused" to his "reputation among the masses as a devout Muslim and deeply religious man." Seeking clarification from Mr B.P. Singh and Mr Akbar about their position on the matter, Mr Ibrahim asked them to "desist from such act of unnecessarily dragging" his name and "tarnishing his image". "Please clarify the sources or the material on the basis of which the name of my client has figured in the news item so that appropriate action can be taken for the purpose of initiating such legal action, including civil and criminal, for defamation or otherwise," Mr Ibrahim’s lawyer in the notice said. Giving seven days to the
notices for a reply, Mr Ibrahim’s lawyer further
said if no clarification was given within the stipulated
period, "my client will be left with no other
alternative except to initiate appropriate legal
action." |
Cong may withdraw support to Rabri PATNA, Dec 22 (PTI) — The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mr Ramashray Prasad Singh today hinted at the possibility of withdrawal of his party’s support to the Rabri Devi government in Bihar saying that he was awaiting the party high command’s signal. "Withdrawal of support to Rabri Government may come about during the ongoing session of state legislature," Mr Ramashray Prasad Singh told reporters a day after a delegation of senior Congress leaders from the state submitted a memorandum to party president Sonia Gandhi urging her to withdraw support to the RJD ministry. "We have already started distancing ourselves from the RJD. The recent state-wide dharna against corruption and deterioration in law and order under RJD dispensation is quite indicative of that," he said. The CLP leader, however, went on to add that any decision to be taken by the Congress president would be in a national perspective since "the Congress alone is a pan-Indian political entity." Ruling out the possibility of a split in the Congress in Bihar in the event of withdrawal of support, he said the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha was itself quite uncertain and divided on the issue of its relations with the Congress. "RLM leaders are themselves singing different tunes. While Mulayam Singh Yadav has branded us as the Samajwadi Party’s biggest enemy, Laloo Prasad Yadav is for continuance of alliance with us," he said. Asked if the BJP leaders suspended for anti-party activities were in touch with his party, he replied in the negative but added that secular elements in the BJP willing to join the Congress were always welcome. The state unit of the BJP had yesterday suspended former state unit president Tarakant Jha, party’s leader in the legislative council Yashodanand Singh and Vice-Chairman of the national Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission Kameshwar Paswan for their anti-party activities. It had also recommended disciplinary action against Mr Lalmuni Chaubey and Mr Janardan Yadav (both MPs) to BJP President Kushabhau Thakre. Meanwhile, the Bihar Assembly was adjourned 90 minutes before lunch today amid uproarious scenes as angry BJP members stalled the proceedings demanding an unqualified apology from Chief Minister Rabri Devi for her recent remarks against Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari. Hardly had the House assembled for the day, when placard-waving and slogan-shouting BJP MLAs trooped into the well of the House seeking an apology from the Chief Minister for her remarks against Mr Bhandari at a Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha rally. "The Chief Minister must express regrets for her remarks. Her unseemly behaviour has undermined parliamentary democracy", said leader of the Opposition Sushil Kumar Modi and urged Speaker Deonarayan Yadav to ask Ms Rabri Devi to come to the House to tender an apology to "the Governor and the people of Bihar". A number of BJP MLAs walked up to the Speaker’s podium and were seen engaged in heated arguments with the Chair. Some of them even started banging the official reporters’ table as the Speaker made futile attempts to persuade them to take their seats. "I have heard your grievance and will give a ruling on it later", Mr Yadav told the vociferous BJP MLAs. In the absence of Ms Rabri Devi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ramchandra Purve, Minor Irrigation Minister Vijay Krishna and Human Resource Development Minister Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav took up cudgels on her behalf, accusing the BJP of being "communal and lowering the prestige of the gubernatorial office by raking up contentious issues". Mr Vijay Krishna was heard saying that the House was of the opinion that the Governor be recalled to protect democracy. An angry Upendranath Das (BJP) said his party MLAs would not allow the House to transact any business if their demand was not met. Several Congress members were seen rushing to the well seeking to know the fate of their adjournment motion on the recent killing of tribesmen at Nakhrail village in Purnea district. The Speaker announced he had rejected the motion but permitted a debate on the carnage in the post-lunch session. This, however, failed to pacify the Congress MLAs who insisted that the Speaker allow the adjournment motion. Soon the CPM and JMM(S) members also walked into the well shouting slogans for and against bifurcation of Bihar and creation of Vananchal state. "Vananchal rajya le ke rahenge" (we will ensure creation of Vananchal), shouted the JMM(S) members as their CPM counterparts responded with cries of "Bihar ka vibhajn nahin hone denge" (we will not allow partition of Bihar). With chaos reigning and members refusing to take their seats, the Speaker adjourned the House 90 minutes before the lunch recess. PANAJI: A decision on the demand made by Congressmen in Bihar to sever all ties with the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal in that state would be considered soon, the AICC General Secretary, Mr Madhavrao Scindia said here today. It was for the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to take a decision, Mr Scindia said when asked for his comments on the demand by his party’s Bihar unit. Mr Scindia, who looks after the party affairs in Bihar and Goa, was addressing a press conference at Congress House. "While taking a decision, the views of the party workers in Bihar will be kept in mind", Mr Scindia, who is on a two-day visit to the state as part of the party’s initiative to strengthen the party, said. The Congress registered an
improvement in its performance in the byelections to four
Assembly seats held in Bihar in November along with the
general election to four states, he claimed. |
2 Dawood men sentenced NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (PTI) — Two alleged accomplices of Dawood Ibrahim have been sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment by a city court here for possessing illegal weapons in 1994. Designated Tada Judge D.S. Pawaria sentenced Francis Celvester Kutino and Arpud Raj John under the terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and slapped Rs 2,000 as fine on each of them. "I am of the opinion that the prosecution has been able to prove its case against accused Kutino and John under Section 5 of TADA for keeping in their possession a revolver, live cartridges and two hand grenades," the court said. The duo was arrested along with four others from the Lodhi Road area in November 1994 by the police in a TADA case. Of the four remaining accused the court ordered for continuing with the trial of Ram Chander Pandey while acquitting three others for want of evidence against them. According to the
prosecution case Kutino, John and Pandey had disclosed
that they were possessing weapons and on the basis of
their statements the police had recovered two hand
grenades, an AK-47 rifle, a revolver and six live
cartridges from Hotel India International here. |
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| ‘Lost’ Buddha
statue on way to India NEW DELHI: A 14th century lifesize stone statue of Buddha, which had disappeared from a ‘math’ in Bodh Gaya in late 1980s, will soon start its odyssey back home from a New York museum where it was relocated. Modalities for return of the antique were finalised during a meeting between Secretary (Culture), Dr R.V.V. Ayyar and Mahrukh Tarapor, Associate Director for Exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The statue, a listed antique, which went missing from the collection of the Mahant of Bodh Gaya (Bihar) in 1989, is now on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the reputed centre for art collection in New York, Ayyar told PTI. — PTI Suicide by teenaged lovers NLFT frees 8, 6
hospitalised 4 undertrials
escape Shiv Sena to
thwart “Fire” Janakiraman wins
trust vote 2 Dawood men
sentenced |
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