Police told to seal Delhi border
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Nov 21 — The Election Commission today asked the Delhi Police to seal the borders with adjoining states and intensify its drive against anti-social elements to ensure smooth conduct of polls in the Capital.

"There is authentic information that some anti-social elements have filtered into the Capital from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab," Election Commissioner, GVG Krishnamurthy told reporters here after holding a review meeting with senior civil and police officials.

The direction to seal the borders with neighbouring states, he said, was to prevent further infiltration of anti-social elements into the Capital.

The Election Commissioner said the police had been asked to seek similar co-operation from its counterparts in the neighbouring states.

Mr Krishnamurthy said 30 companies of para-military forces, including the CRPF, Rapid Action Force, BSF, 323 companies of Delhi Police and 8,000 Home Guards would be deployed on November 25 to ensure smooth conduct of elections.

One hundred and eight polling booths out of a total of 9128 have been identified as "sensitive", the Election Commissioner said.

He said 1173 sector officers and 20 central observers would supervise the entire poll arrangements, including security.

Drawing attention that only 10 out of 30 para-military companies had arrived in Delhi, Mr Krishnamurthy said the matter would be discussed with the Home Ministry soon.

"We can’t leave anything to chance," he said, adding "the ministry will have to provide the remaining 20 companies."

He said 1041 buses, 900 taxis and 71 mini-buses, equipped with better communication network, would carry polling material and staff on November 25.

Expressing satisfaction over the reduction in the number of candidates in the poll fray, he said Commission’s measure of increasing the security deposit to Rs 5000 had prevented non-serious candidates.

He said there were only 815 candidates in the fray as against 1,316 in 1993.

While the Badarpur constituency in South Delhi was the biggest in the Capital with 2,02,376 voters, the Matia Mahal in the walled city with 78,483 voters was the smallest assembly constituency, he said.

On the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in six constituencies, he said. "It is an experiment. If, successful, it will be introduced in future elections."

'Involve' ultras in poll process

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (PTI) — In a significant statement, the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, today said political solutions could be found to some insurgencies if militants were persuaded to join the democratic process and had a say in the administration through free and fair elections.

"Rather than patronising and promoting corrupt persons to secure and hold on to office through rigging of poll, if the militants were persuaded to take up responsibility for administering their respective states through free and fair elections, a political solution could be found for at least some of the insurgencies," Mr Fernandes said.

Delivering the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Lecture here, he said "in the North-Eastern part of India, it is the criminal neglect by the government from day one of freedom that has alienated the youth."

He said the best way to deal with insurgency was by removing the root cause of the problem and added that many insurgencies in the sensitive border areas had "kept a substantial number of troops in constant action".

Stating that involvement of Army in counter-insurgency operations had an adverse impact on its war-preparedness, Mr Fernandes said "there has not yet been a serious effort to keep the Army out of counter-insurgency operations."

Speaking on "defence strategy — then and now", Mr Fernandes said it was incumbent on the part of China and India to discuss the nuclear issue "to create an environment of mutual confidence as distinct from confidence-building measures".

He said India "as a self-declared nuclear weapons state", had embarked on a multi-dimensional role on the world arena.

"Firstly, its voice on nuclear disarmament issues had now acquired an authority it did not so far possess. Secondly, by undertaking not to go for more nuclear tests, it has demonstrated its commitment to non-proliferation. Thirdly, by unilaterally making a ‘no-first-use’ declaration, it has said that it wants to go all out to make nuclear weapons redundant."

The defence minister said while Washington’s agenda for New Delhi was "unacceptable", the USA should understand India’s security concerns and "reconcile itself to the obvious".

He said the USA could not but be aware that the world was fast moving towards multi-polarity and New Delhi was one of the poles. "No power on earth can prevent India from fulfilling its destiny," he asserted.

"India’s strategic interests require that we engage all our immediate and proximate neighbours, including Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Central Asian republics in a joint effort at economic development," he said.

Mr Fernandes said "with the normalisation of political relations with China and Pakistan, Asia — including South Asia, the Gulf countries and Iran can emerge as the most dynamic economic entity ever in human history."

Asserting that the May 11 and 13 Pokhran tests were not a waste, the Defence Minister said "with two nuclear weapon states on our borders and one other capable of striking any target it chose to anywhere in the world, India’s security concerns could not have been met without the deterrence that the nuclear weapon is."

Castigating the USA for "arrogating itself the role of the global arbiter", he said sanctions "should be and will be converted into opportunities."

Suggesting that such a strategy would lead India to become a global power, he said this required that India put its house in order and take in hand the job of national reconstruction "through a fine blend of high technology, appropriate technology and cottage and rural industries."

BJP 'shirking' responsibility: Cong
From Chander Parkash and Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

SRIGANGANAGAR, Nov 21 — The AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, today dubbed the allegations of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee that the Congress had hatched a conspiracy to topple his government as baseless, untrue and irresponsible.

"We don't want to topple the Vajpayee government. The BJP-led government and party leaders seek to divert attention from their own political sloth and policy failure to contain the prices of essentials, by blaming the Congress", she said.

Continuing her whirlwind campaign for the party, Mrs Gandhi was addressing an election rally in favour of the Congress candidates from Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh district, here today.

"If the Congress raises its voice for the problems being faced by the people, Mr Vajpayee accuses the party of adopting unscrupulous means to topple his government. But the people know the truth as they are facing spiralling prices, limitless corruption and communalism". Terming the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state, "a party of misgovernance", she said, "a good and ethical and better living" was the agenda of the Congress party.

Mrs Gandhi urged the people to uproot the communal forces from the country. She added that a casteless and classless society could be established if the Congress was voted to power.

Making a reference to the sacrifice of Birbal Singh of Rai Singh Nagar of this district in the freedom struggle, she saluted this land of freedom fighters and hoped that the people would again rise to uproot the communal forces which were conspiring to enslave the country again.

She said the "truncated" BJP-led coalition government had no time to address the problems being faced by the country, the coalition was too occupied in leg-pullings. She appealed the people to vote for the Congress candidates as it was the only party in the country fit to provide a stable government.

Accusing the Shekhawat government in the State for the pitiable condition of the farmers, she said the agriculture economy was on the brink of collapse. Besides the damage of cotton crops in a row, coupled with waterlogging in some areas of Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts, farmers were facing an acute shortage of water, electricity, fertilisers, pesticides and agriculture loans. The Shekhawat government had initiated no programme to eradicate the problem of waterlogging in the area and no compensation was paid to the farmers after floods or when pests attacked the ripe crops.

The Congress would always remain indebted to the farmers who had made the country self-reliant in foodgrains by bringing Green Revolution during the primeministership of Indira Gandhi. It was during the Congress regime that the agriculture entered an new era and industrial revolution made a big plunge. She said the Congress was committed to the well-being of farmers and fulfilling the dream of Rajiv Gandhi who wanted to take the latest technology to the grassroots level.

The state Congress unit President, Mr Ashok Gehlot, who was accompanying the AICC President along with Mr Madhav Rao Sindia, here, said during the last eight years of BJP rule, no development had taken place because of rampant corruption. The debt burden had mounted to a whopping Rs 23,000 crore on the State during the BJP rule.

While students in the state were on the path of self-annihilation, the people were living under a constant threat of insecurity. The rising crime graph and the spurt in atrocities on women belonging to the minorities and backward classes portrayed the deplorable state of law and order in the state, he added.

Mounting a blistering attack on the BJP government, he said the party could not pull its own weight as it was reeling under threats of withdrawal from its own alliances. Only the Congress could provide a stable and progressive government.

Mr Radhe Shyam, sitting MLA from here, Kumari Selja, Mr Shankar Pannu, MP, Sriganganagar, and Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala were also present at the rally.

NEW DELHI: The Congress today alleged that the RSS and the BJP were planning to rig the ensuing assembly poll in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Party spokesperson Ambika Soni said her party had definite information that the RSS was organising camps to train its cadres in electoral malpractices and "misusing" government machinery in the three states for the purpose. She said that the RSS-BJP combine were sensing "certain" defeat and had no option left.

As per reports received by the Congress, she alleged, teachers of government-run schools in Uttar Pradesh were participating in one of these camps called "samrasta shivir" at Meerut.

She alleged that some of these camps were being held openly and others secretly. She also said the Congress would take up the issue with the Election Commission and other authorities concerned to prevent the Sangh Parivar from "indulging in violent activities or false voting".

Ms Soni claimed that RSS-BJP leaders were desperate and had directed the cadres to "go to any extent and do anything to ensure the BJP’s victory in the elections".

She said, about 25,000 cadres would be sent to Delhi after the camp and another equal number to Rajasthan and some more to Madhya Pradesh. She alleged that known Congress voters were being identified to prevent them from casting their votes.

When asked to comment on the reported BJP charge that the Congress was "unpatriotic", Congress leader Anil Shastri said: "We would not like to stoop to the levels the BJP has gone during the past few days".

On the issue of transfer of a Gulmohar Park police Sub-Inspector in Delhi, Mr Shastri said the party was bringing to the notice of the authorities concerned.

In Madhya Pradesh, he said BJP workers were filing false complaints against returning officers in those constituencies where the BJP was slated to lose. "Their intention was to get them transferred before the polls", Mr Shastri said.