Saturday, September 19, 1998
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Cauvery: Jaya for PM's intervention CHENNAI, Sept 18 — AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha today urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to ask Karnataka to release the quantum of Cauvery waters stipulated by the Cauvery Waters Disputes Tribunal to Tamil Nadu. Delhi
riots: HC defers Bhagat case hearing |
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 Home Minister L. K. Advani at the golden jubilee celebrations of the liberation of Hyderabad from the Nizam's rule and its merger with the Indian Union in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Thursday. — PTI
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Jain case: SC hearing on Sept 23 NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — The Supreme Court today fixed September 23 for hearing on the Enforcement Directorate’s petition, challenging a Bombay High Court order granting bail to media baron Ashok Jain in alleged FERA violation cases.
BJD
demands President’s rule CPI
for issue-based support to Congress Mathew
elected INS chief |
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Cauvery: Jaya for PM's intervention CHENNAI, Sept 18 (PTI) — AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha today urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to ask Karnataka to release the quantum of Cauvery waters stipulated by the Cauvery Waters Disputes Tribunal to Tamil Nadu. In a statement here she said according to the tribunal’s interim award, Karnataka should have released 120 TMC of water by now. But the Mettur reservoir had received only 90 TMC, which included water from flash floods caused by rainfall in Tamil Nadu. "When the stipulated quantities of water are not being released to Tamil Nadu in a year when all four reservoirs in Karnataka, including Kabini and K.R. Sagar, are overflowing, how will we get our due share of water in a lean year," she asked. The former Chief Minister said she had stated at a public meeting in Tiruchirappalli on Tuesday that Tamil Nadu was yet to receive 27.32 TMC of water from Karnataka for August as stipulated by the tribunal. "But neither Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi nor the Prime Minister, who heads the new authority, has cared to say anything in reply by way of clarification or reassurance," she said. At a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr Vajpayee had allayed fears that the Cauvery accord would affect the interests of Tamil Nadu. Ms Jayalalitha said the storage position at Mettur on the same last year was 93 feet, but today it was only 83.75 feet. The AIADMK leader alleged
Karnataka had not been releasing water every month,from
June to May, as stipulated by the tribunal. But it was
duping the people by declaring that it was releasing the
water only in accordance with the tribunal’s
directive. |
Delhi riots: HC defers Bhagat
case hearing New Delhi, Sept 18 — The Delhi High Court today deferred the hearing of an appeal filed by the Delhi Government challenging the trial court order in the 1984-riots case against Congress leader HKL Bhagat. The state government had moved the high court challenging the trial court order rejecting the prosecution plea for summoning and examining two fresh "eye witnesses" against Mr Bhagat for his alleged involvement in the 1984-riots. Mr Justice J B Goel on the request of counsel I U Khan, appearing for Mr Bhagat, posted the matter for further hearing on October 6. The Special Riot Court had turned down the prosecution’s request for summoning two eye witnesses to the killing of the husband of Satnami Bai during the riots in 1984 at the instance of the former Delhi Congress leader. The appeal said even though Ms Satnami Bai had not named the two in the complaints or cross examination, the fresh "eyewitnesses" should be given an opportunity to reveal the facts. Meanwhile, the Special Riot Court judge has rejected the prosecution’s plea to summon political scientist Rajni Kothari and a "fact-finding report" of two civil rights groups in the other 1984 riots case against Mr Bhagat. The case in question is based on riot widow Darshan Kaur’s testimony. Ms Darshan Kaur, in November 1996, "identified" Mr Bhagat in court as the "neta" with "black goggles", who allegedly "instigated" the mob which killed her husband Ram Singh in Trilokpuri. Now, only two formal witnesses are left to testify in the trial. The People’s Union for Democratic Rights and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties after inquiring into the "cause and impact" of the 1984-riots in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri area prepared the report "Who Was Guilty?". The report, concluded "the attack on the Sikh community was a well-organised plan." However, Special Riot
Court Judge, Additional Sessions Judge, O.P. Dwivedi held
that "the PUCL-PUDR inquiry report is not a public
document but a private document prepared by a private
organisation. So, it does not stand on a better footing
than a private individual’s opinion." |
Law panel proposes ban on splits, mergers NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — The Law Commission today proposed a total ban on split and merger of political parties among many other suggestions on electoral reforms. These proposals were meant to elicit reaction from parties and public to help the Commission in preparing a final report to be submitted to the government, the Commission Chairman Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, told reporters here. In the draft proposals, already given to the government, Election Commission and political parties, the Commission has suggested a 25 per cent increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha, he said. "These 25 per cent seats, which would be allotted to various states after classifying them as territorial units, would be distributed among the political parties immediately after a general election proportionate to the percentage of votes secured by them in that election," Justice Reddy said. Giving the example of Andhra Pradesh, the Chairman said, the state has 42 Lok Sabha seats and would get an additional 11 seats, which would be distributed among the parties after computing the percentage of votes secured by them after a general election. To discourage non-serious persons from contesting elections, the commission also proposed steep 10 fold hike in the deposits for independent and non-recognised party candidates. The Commission rejected a proposal mooted by Vice-President Krishan Kant and others to hold elections afresh where it was found that the winning candidate did not secure 50 per cent of the votes polled. Justice Reddy said, "this is impractical since in many constituencies the winning candidate gets on an average 30 to 35 per cent of the votes polled. "This would also involve considerable expenditure and delay in the constitution of the Lok Sabha and legislative Assemblies," he added. In another significant suggestion, the Commission suggested disqualification of a person to contest election if any court frames charges against him in poll related offences. At present, the law allows disqualification of those who were convicted of certain offences. For expedient hearing of election petitions, the Law Commission has proposed timely filling of vacancies in the high courts and appointment of ad hoc judges mainly to try election petitions. However, it rejected the idea of creating special tribunals to hear election petitions. Justice Reddy said the
government had asked for the Commission’s
suggestions to devise a way for expedient hearing of
election petitions, but "we wanted to have a
thorough review of electoral laws". |
World's longest sari BANGALORE, Sept 18 (ANI) — An embroidered hand-printed crepe silk sari has found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest sari in the world. It is 121 metres long, 45 inches wide and weighs 0.84 kg. Designed and created by two brothers, Vikas and Rajesh Chhajer, for Prithvi Silk Creations in Bangalore, the sari is dedicated to 50 years of the country's independence. The sari, dyed in colours of the Indian Flag, displays various symbols and images. One end of the sari displays a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and a logo commemorating 50 years of independence, while the other shows world famous Indian historical monuments. The border is printed with hand-painted portraits of famous women personalities, including Queen Elizabeth, Mrs Hillary Clinton, Ms Cindy Crawford, Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mother Teresa. "It is a tribute to
the women because the traditional dress worn by women is
sari", says Ravi V. Melwani, proprietor of Saree
Kemp which sponsored the sari and is one of the world's
largest sari show-rooms. |
Jain case: SC hearing on Sept 23 NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — The Supreme Court today fixed September 23 for hearing on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition, challenging a Bombay High Court order granting bail to media baron Ashok Jain in alleged FERA violation cases. A three-judge Bench comprising Mr Justice M.K. Mukherjee, Mr Justice S.P. Kurdukar and Mr Justice K.T. Thomas will also hear on the same day the directorate’s petition seeking some more time to retain certain documents claimed to have been seized from Mr Jain’s house which were allegedly related to FERA violations. At the beginning of the hearing, Mr Jain’s counsel K.K. Venugopal submitted that the time sought by the ED to retain the documents seized during a raid in January, 1997, was infructuous as the directorate has already initiated proceedings. He further said Mr Jain, a critical heart patient, was interrogated 19 times for over 24 hours in the whole of last year and the plea that these documents were required for probe and interrogation did not hold any water. The Bench said these
contentions were considered by the court earlier and it
was being unfair to the court to urge the same when Mr
Jain had not made himself available even once for
interrogation this year. |
Congress refutes Vajpayee's charge NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — The Congress today rejected Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s charge that the party was responsible for "fracturing" the politics of consensus on foreign policy and that it was attempting to run a parallel diplomacy by sending delegations to other countries. "We strongly refute the charge. We maintain that the BJP and its government are solely and wholly responsible for fracturing consensus on foreign policy," party spokesman Ajit Jogi told reporters. He said "inept" handling of diplomacy after the Pokhran tests was responsible for "isolation" of India. Mr Jogi also made it clear that evolving consensus was more the responsibility of the party in power than those in the opposition. On the charge of parallel diplomacy, Mr Jogi said there was nothing exceptional in the party deciding to send delegations to China and South Africa. "Party to party delegations, called goodwill missions, are a routine and a normal practice." He said that for the last
50 years, delegations of various political parties were
travelling to other countries, and pointed out the BJP
had also sent a delegation to China in 1993 led by Mr
Brajesh Mishra. |
Child labourers hold demonstration NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — A large number of child labourers, schoolchildren and representatives of several voluntary organisations held a demonstration here on the anti-child servitude day today, demanding a ban on the employment of children as domestic help. While hundreds of children, holding placards and raising slogans, assembled at Jantar Mantar, a delegation of the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), which organised the demonstration, submitted a memorandum to President K.R. Narayanan seeking steps for banning employment of children as domestic help. Addressing the gathering,
the Chairperson of SACCS, Mr Kailash Satyarthi, demanded
immediate implementation of National Human Rights
Commission’s (NHRC) recommendation to make
amendments in the Central Civil Services Rules, 1964,
prohibiting the employment of children as domestic help
by government employees. |
BJD demands President’s rule BHUBANESWAR, Sept 18 (PTI) — The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today demanded imposition of President’s rule on Orissa in view of the allegation against Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik by former Director General of Police A.B. Tripathy and the “failure” of the Congress government in maintaining law and order. “Tripathy’s allegation of obstruction of justice by the Chief Minister in the Anjana Mishra case indicates that there was a total breakdown of the rule of law in Orissa,” BJD President and Union Minister for Steel and Mines Naveen Patnaik told reporters here. Mr Tripathy, in an affidavit filed before the Orissa High Court on Tuesday, accused the Chief Minister of trying to suppress the case in which former state Advocate General Indrajeet Roy had been charged with attempting to rape Ms Anjana Mishra, estranged wife of an ifs officer. “I will take up the matter with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee after I return to Delhi,” the BJD chief said. Justifying the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution in “dire situations”, Mr Patnaik said the situation in Orissa was “serious and warranted central intervention” if the Chief Minister did not quit on his own. Mr Patnaik, who undertook
an 11-day tour of the drought-hit districts of the state,
said the BJD would also take up an agitational programme
demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister. |
CPI for issue-based support to Congress CHENNAI, Sept 18 (PTI) — The CPI today announced issue-based outside support to a Congress-led government at the Centre in the event of the fall of the Vajpayee Ministry. The decision was part of the CPI’s political resolution adopted at its 17th congress here, the CPI General Secretary, Mr A. B. Bardhan, told mediapersons. “There is no question of entering into a general alliance with the Congress. If the present BJP government falls or is pulled down because of its inherent instability, the CPI will offer issue-based support to the formation of an alternative government, in which the Congress will play an important role, from outside,” Mr Bardhan quoted the final resolution as saying. The resolution, which was adopted with 47 amendments in the draft, with 11 out of the 832 voting delegates abstaining, said the outcome of the recent Pachmarhi conclave of the Congress had belied earlier expectations that the party would undertake a serious re-appraisal of its policies. Despite some Congress
leaders voicing the demand for a shift in the economic
liberalisation policy, “no serious review was
undertaken,” the CPI resolution said. The reference
to the resolution of the Avadi Congress (on adopting
socialist pattern of economy) at Pachmarhi was only a
‘rhetorical step’. |
Mathew elected INS chief MUMBAI, Sept 18 (UNI) — Editor and Managing Director of Malayala Manorama Mammen Mathew was today elected president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 1998-99. He succeeds Vijay Darda of The Lokmat group of publications. Mr Mathew is a member of the Press Council of India and chairman of the Commonwealth Press Union, India section. Mrs Shobha Subrahmanyan of the Anand Bazar Patrika was elected the deputy president while Mr Vijay Kumar Chopra of Hind Samachar has been voted vice-president. The honorary treasurer is Mr Paresh Nath of Women’s Era. The other executive members elected today at the 59th annual general body meeting of the society are Mr R.M. Cama (Bombay Samachar). Mr Tuhin Kanti Ghosh (Northern India Patrika), Mr Pravinchandra V. Gandhi (Janmabhoomi), Mr Mahendra Mohan Gupta (Dainik Jagran), Mr Naresh Mohan (Hindustan Times, Patna), Mr R. Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar), Mr Vishwa Bandhu Gupta (Daily Tej), Dr B.S. Adityan Vdityan (Vaaraantari Rani), Mr Vivek Goenka (Indian Express, New Delhi), Mr Vijay Darda (Lokmat), Mr S.D. Bhambri (The Tribune), Mrs Shobhana Bhartia (Hindustan Times, New Delhi), Mrs Mohini Bhullar (India Today), Mr Ramesh Chandra (Navbharat Times), Mr Abhay Chhajlani (Nai Dunia), Mr Sunil Dang (Day After), and Mrs Sakti Das Gupta (Bartaman). The rest of the members
are: Mr J. S. Dardi (Charhdikala), Mr Pradeep Guha
(Filmfare), Mr Ramawatar Gupta (Sanmarg), Mr C.R. Irani
(Statesman), Mr Vineet Jain (Maharashtra Times), Mr Gulab
Kothari (Rajasthan Patrika), Mr P.K. Maheshwari (Nava
Bharat), Mr Atul Maheshwari (Amar Ujala), Mr Jacob Mathew
(Vanitha), Mr Ashok Mitra (Manorama), Mr N. Murali (The
Hindu), Mr V. Murali (Kalki), Mr Digvijay Singh (Indian
Express, Mumbai), Mr P.G. Pawar (Sakal), Mr P.K. Roy
(Aajkaal), Mrs. Indira Rajkhewa (Sentinel), Mr T.
Venkatram Reddy (Deccan Chronicle), Mr Bahubali S. Shah
(Gujarat Samachar), Mr C.B. Sen (Business World), Mr K.N.
Shanth Kumar (Deccan Herald), Mr Manoj K. Sonthalia
(Dinamani), Mr Jacob Thomas (Deepika), Mr I. Venkat
(Sitara Film Weekly) and Mr M.P. Veerendrakumar
(Mathrubhumi). |
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| Rhino poachers beware! NEW DELHI: Poachers of rhinoceros for its valued horn better watch out because conservationists will soon be arming themselves with a sensitive detection kit. Scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (NII)) here have developed a genetic probe that can detect rhino horn even if it is crushed into powder or mixed with something else to evade recognition by wild life inspectors. “The probe is so powerful it can not only find out whether the specimen contained rhino horn but also tell whether it came from a rhino in Assam or West Bengal,” said Mr Sher Ali, head of NIN’s molecular genetics laboratory. —PTI Emergency landing NCC expedition Assault on Jet
Airways’ officer, 1 held 7 killed in
accident 6 cops killed in
collision Flood situation
improves Trains collide, 1
killed Two sentenced for
father’s murder |
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