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| Sunday, January 9, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Amitabh, Nargis ‘best
artistes’ Sonia to visit Bihar from Jan 17 |
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Delay in starting talks defended Ties with Pak not to be snapped:
Joshi APAI seeks probe into hijacking Top IAS officers shifted MP bans fresh recruitment India-born US docs’ medicare
plan DD programme on music maestros Make Kargil report public : Basu Amir Bhai gets judicial remand Set up rail division by March 31:
AGP
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President greets people on Id NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (PTI, UNI) — President K.R. Narayanan, Vice-President Krishan Kant and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today greeted people on the occasion of Id-ul-Fitr. In his message, Mr Narayanan hoped that the festival will help foster fellow feeling and brotherhood among people and instil a sense of unity and pride in the composite culture of the country. Coveying his greeting on the occasion, Mr Krishan Kant said as the festival exudes the spirit of caring and love, it is time people come together "in a common resolve to work for the welfare of the mankind, the weak, poor and the deprived". Mr Vajpayee, greeting people on the occasion, said "on this day of rejoicing and festivities let us not forget that the true spirit of Id is in contributing our mite towards the betterment of the poor and deprived". Meanwhile, special prayers were held in mosques in most parts of the country to celebrate the festival of Id-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the monthlong fasting with Muslim religious leaders, politicians and intellectuals calling for communal harmony and universal peace. In the Capital, large congregations were seen at the historic Jama Masjid and Shahi Masjid Fatehpuri. Dignitaries, including diplomats of various West Asian countries, attended the prayers. The Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri mosque, Dr Mufti Mohammad Mukarram Ahmed, who led the prayers, appealed for peace and justice for the minority community. He also called upon the authorities to facilitate in the rebuilding of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Leading the prayers,
joined in by at least 200,000 people at the grand Jama
Masjid, Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari, also called for
communal harmony in the country and protection of the
democratic rights of the community. |
Amitabh, Nargis ‘best artistes’ MUMBAI, Jan 8 (PTI) — Mega star Amitabh Bachchan and film actress of yesteryear Nargis Dutt were honoured with "best artistes of the millennium" awards by Hero Honda and file magazine "Stardust" at a glittering function here last night. Filmstar Sanjay Dutt received the award on behalf of his mother amidst spectacular fireworks and dazzling illumination at the film city at suburban Goregaon. Showman of the silver screen Raj Kapoor was posthumously declared the best director of the millennium. His award was received by his eldest son Randhir Kapoor. "Mother India" bagged the best film award, while the best music director award went to Naushad. Pran was felicitated with an award for his performance as the best actor in a negative role, while comedy king Mahmood was honoured with "best actor in a comedy role award." Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were declared the best playback singers of the millennium while Majrooh Sultanpuri was bestowed with the honour of being the best lyricist. Mahmood arrived on a
wheelchair to receive the award. |
Sonia to visit Bihar from Jan 17 PATNA, Jan 8 (UNI) — Congress President Sonia Gandhi will visit north and south Bihar areas during her four-day two-phased campaign for the Assembly elections from January 17. AICC Secretary and Bihar in charge, Mr Pratap Bhanu Sharma, told newspersons here that Mrs Gandhi would launch the campaign from Darbhanga on January 17 followed by Purnea on the next day. She would again come here on January 21 to address a public meeting at Bhagalpur followed by Dumka and Ranchi the next day. Mr Sharma said she would interact with party workers to enthuse them for the poll which had become very challenging for the party as it would contest on its own. The party had fought the election with the support of the state’s ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal during the past two parliamentary poll. He said she would also address a public meeting at Patna later this month or early February. He said the deteriorating law and order situation, development and employment for the youth would be the main electoral plank for the party. Mr Sharma said the
Congress would have no chief ministerial candidate and
the elected legislators would be free to elect their own
leader. |
Pak as a terrorist state NEW DELHI: The USA can declare Pakistan a "terrorist State" in accordance with the letter and spirit of its own draft convention presented to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in September, 1972, titled "Convention for the prevention and punishment of certain acts of international terrorism". Article 1 of the draft reads: "Any person who unlawfully kills, causes serious bodily harm or kidnaps another person, attempts to commit any such act or participates as an accomplice of a person who commits or attempts to commit any such act, commits an offence of international significance... "(d) Is intended to damage the interests of or obtain concession from a State or an international organisation..." International law — The Tokyo Convention of 1963, the Hague Convention of 1970, the Montreal Convention of 1973, and several UN General Assembly resolutions — makes it incumbent on signatories to punish culprits of unlawful seizure of aircraft and their accomplices by unilateral and collective action as well as applications of their own national laws. India, as a victim State, can invoke ICAO protection and apply unilateral sanctions like banning overflights by Pakistani civil aircraft across Indian territory as it did soon after the hijacking and destruction of the Indian airline aircraft in Lahore in early 1971. Such a move will break the ISI nexus in Nepal and impose severe economic hardships on an already cash-strapped Pakistan. There has been a steady growth of international case-law pertaining to international civil aviation beginning with the Chicago Convention of 1944. However, it was with the Tokyo Convention that offences on board aircraft began to be recognised as something that the international community must act in concert to prevent. It banned offences under penal law as well as acts which jeopardised the safety of the aircraft and passengers. In keeping with the times and an escalation in the number of hijackings the accent shifted to "unlawful seizure of aircraft" and the ICAO developed legal concepts to underline the role and responsibility of the authorities of the State in whose territory the ofgender leaves the aircraft. These included prosecution under its own laws or extradition which would be enshrined in every international covenant to plug any loophole against escape. In this context the role and responsibility of both Afghanistan and Pakistan are well covered by international law. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has said that India is evaluating the Taliban attitude during the hostage crisis. An analysis of the weapons that the Taliban deployed around the hijacked aircraft will show that they were intended to prevent a direct intrusion from the air like the Israeli Entebbe rescue operation by bringing in short-range, quick reaction surface-to-air Strela missiles mounted on an armoured personnel carrier chassis; or prevent the kind of mission the USA launched to rescue US hostages in Iran by posting tanks, infantry combat vehicles and shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade-armed sentries in widely-dispersed concentric circles around the aircraft and the airport. None of these weapons was directed at, or intended to be used against the hijackers — for that stun grenades and close-combat infantry weapons like carbines would suffice. The message the Taliban sent to the hijackers was clear and unambiguous — nobody would be allowed to interfere with their mission. Thus, in the first instance, the Taliban did not adhere to the international laws and conventions governing hijacking and bringing the hijackers to book under its own laws. It did not dispense Islamic justice for the killing of Rupin Katyal. Instead, it afforded safe passage (with escort) to the killers and then sought to make out that it did not have any knowledge where and how they left the country. The UN General Assembly resolution adopted in its 25th session in November, 1970, unambiguously "calls upon States to take any appropriate measures to deter, prevent or suppress such acts within their jurisdiction, at every stage of the execution of those acts, and to provide for the prosecution and punishment of persons who perpetrate such acts, in a manner commensurate with the gravity of those crimes, or without prejudice to the rights and obligations of States under existing international instruments relating to the matter, for the extradition of such persons for the purpose of their prosecution and punishment. The same resolution adds: "Calls upon States to take joint and separate action, in accordance with the Charter, in cooperation with the United Nations and the International Civil Aviation Organisation to ensure that passengers, crew and aircraft engaged in civil aviation are not used as a means of extorting advantage of any kind..." This covers any bargain for the lives of the passenger and crew for the release of persons accused of international terrorism. In this particular case cross-border terrorism. Under the draft convention for the "prevention and punishment of certain acts of international terrorism" submitted to the 27th session of the UN General Assembly in September, 1972, the USA had suggested in Article 5 that. "A State party in which one or more of the offences set for in Article 1 have been committed shall, if it has reason to believe an alleged offender has fled from its territory, communicate to all other States parties all the pertinent facts regarding the offence committed and all available information regarding the identity of the alleged offender". Article 6 tends to cover the role of Pakistan. It reads: "I, Any State party in whose territory any alleged offender is found shall take appropriate measures under its internal law so as to ensure his presence for prosecution or extradition. Such measures shall be immediately notified to the State mentioned in Article 4, paragraph 1 (State with jurisdiction of aircraft) and all other interested States." It is no secret that the
beneficiary of the hijacking. Maulana Mahmud Azhar has
been preaching terrorism against India on his arrival in
Pakistan and the USA too found it necessary to condemn
his pronouncements. — ADNI |
Delay in starting talks defended NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (PTI) — The government has sought to justify the delay in initiating a dialogue with the hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane, saying that there was no other alternative as the aircraft was in a country with which there were no diplomatic relations and time was also needed to mobilise international opinion against the hijackers, but the Congress has dismissed the contention as untenable. "With the land in which the plane was placed, Afghanistan, with which we have got no diplomatic relations, our first task was to have a dialogue with the Taliban regime," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta said participating in a BBC programme "Question time India". Mr Gupta said the three-day time taken by the government was also to mobilise international opinion against the hijackers. However, this was stoutly countered by Congress leader Ajit Jogi, who said: "Global support against terrorism and negotiations could have gone simultaneously." He said support against hijacking had not to be sought from the international community because it came automatically and the three-day delay was not justified. Justifying the release of three militants in exchange for nearly 155 passengers, Mr Gupta said: "We wanted to save lives of all passengers on board.....". However, the government came in for a flak for not immobilising the plane while it was at Amritsar airport as Mr Jogi termed that the plane landing on Indian soil was a "God sent opportunity." The pilot was being pressured by hijackers and "he was left with no other option but to fly," Mr Gupta said though failing to justify the delay in orders from the Centre for blocking the runway. Asked to specify whether the government decision to release three militants was right or wrong, former Army chief Shanker Roychoudhary said he would have placed national security above the safety of the passengers. "But it is very easy statement because none of my relatives was on board," he said. About the delay in Amritsar, senior journalist M.J. Akbar said the government had "lost its nerves" when the hijackers claimed that four passengers had been killed. "Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should have come out on TV to say "I am sorry.... I have to take some tough decisions," he said, adding that a minister taking militants with him was "more painful and a symbol of how the crisis had been mishandled." Justifying Foreign
Minister Jaswant Singh’s visit to Kandahar along
with the militants, Mr Gupta said the talks had to reach
a conclusive end and for that "some responsible
person should have been there." |
Ties with Pak not to be snapped: Joshi JAIPUR, Jan 8 (UNI) — Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi today said that India was still trying to build up an international public opinion to get Pakistan declared a "terrorist state", but said diplomatic ties with Islamabad would not be cut. Addressing a news conference here, Dr Joshi said he saw no reason to snap bilateral links with the neighbouring country. "I don’t find any reason for such a step. Moreover, it is premature as of now to think of it," he said. Dr Joshi said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was "very much clear" in his objective in this regard. "I am optimistic that Mr Vajpayee will succeed in his mission," he said. Answering a question, the minister said India had urged the USA to announce Pakistan a ‘’terrorist state’’ because "America has been pumping funds and other aids into Pakistan. Thus an American sanction on Islamabad will have serious impact on that country’s economy, which was in a shamble." Replying to another query, he justified the Centre’s decision to free three terrorists to secure the release of the hijacked Indian airlines passengers at Kandahar. "It was the best way, under the circumstances.’’ To a question, the Union Minister said the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh had only raised a "different point’’ on the hijacking episode but not disapproved the government’s decision to let off the three terrorists. "What it (RSS) said was that the government should show greater courage in dealing with such situations,’’ he added. NEW DELHI: India has initiated steps seeking international cooperation in declaring Pakistan a terrorist state, according to Mr Brajesh Mishra, National Security Adviser and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. "There are no two opinions that Pakistan will have to stop terrorist activities it has begun in India, but how this is to be done, there may be two opinions on that. We have taken steps in this direction by seeking international cooperation...we have already said we consider Pakistan a terrorist state,’’ he said. Speaking on Star TV, Mr Mishra said snapping diplomatic ties with Pakistan would put to an end whatever little that could be achieved. Commenting on the Taliban’s role during the negotiations with the hijackers, he said their biggest cooperation was in warning the hijackers that they would not go scot-free if any of the hostages were killed. Mr Mishra categorically
denied that any money was given to the hijackers. |
Top IAS officers shifted NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (UNI) — Delhi Lieut-Gov Vijai Kapoor today ordered the transfers/postings of several senior IAS officers of the AGMU and UTCS cadre, an official spokesman said here today. Former Director-General (Tourism) Ashok Pradhan has been appointed Principal Secretary (Power and Technical Education) of the Delhi Government. Mr Pradhan, an IAS officer of the 1967 batch of the AGMU cadre, who was also Chairman of the ITDC, had recently reported back in his cadre after completion of deputation with the Tourism Ministry and was awaiting posting. Besides Mr Pradhan, Mr H.A. Arfi, IAS (AGMU), has been posted as Secretary (SC/ST). Mr K.S. Singh, UTCS officer, currently posted as Additional Secretary (Urban Development) will hold additional charge of the post of Additional Secretary (Power). He will relieve Mr U.R. Kapoor, Additional Secretary (Services) of the additional charge of power he was holding. Mr Madhukar, a UTCS officer, has been posted as Director TTE against a vacant post. The services of Mr A.K. Garg, a UTCS officer, currently Deputy Director Transport, are placed at the disposal of the Delhi Jal Board for appointment as Additional Director (Vigilance) on deputation. Mr H.R. Sapra, a UTCS officer, currently Deputy Director (Land and Building), has been posted as Registrar, State Commission for Consumer Affairs, Delhi, in diverted capacity. Mr D.K. Gaur, Assistant
Registrar, Co-operative Societies, has been posted as
Under Secretary (Land and Building) against a vacant
post. |
MP bans fresh recruitment BHOPAL, Jan 8 (UNI) — The Madhya Pradesh Government today announced a 30 per cent cut in posts and banned fresh recruitment and transfers in all departments of the state, barring education, health and police, as part of its effort to nurse the state back to financial health. Also, government employees appointed after January 1, 1989 either on daily wages or contingency basis would be removed from service. Chief Minister Digvijay Singh told reporters that the government also planned to restructure all departments, implement the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and raise the provident fund (PF) contribution, to meet its financial crunch. Other steps include lowering the age and tenure of service from 55 and 25 years to 50 and 20 years, respectively, for compulsory retirement and withdrawal of the vehicle facility to MPs and MLAs for tour in their constituencies. He said the 30 per cent cut in government posts was in accordance with the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission. Three per cent of the staff would be reduced annually to achieve the goal of 30 per cent in the coming five years. He said various departments had been asked to consider restructuring along with a review of all schemes in a bid to do away with posts and schemes not required. He announced a total ban on fresh appointments this year. The ban on transfers would remain in force till April next year, he said, adding that transfers, which did not cause financial burden on the state, could be ordered in education, health and tribal welfare departments during April-May. The Chief Minister said
the rules for taking loans from PF were being made strict
and the rate of PF contribution would be raised from 7 to
12 per cent. |
APAI seeks probe into hijacking CHENNAI, Jan 8 (PTI) — The Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) today demanded a comprehensive probe into the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane. APAI President D. Sudhakara Reddy told reporters here that the probe should include all aspects, including whether there were intelligence and communication failures. Mr Reddy also demanded that if there was a contingency plan to face eventualities, like hijacking, it should be constantly reviewed and updated. The entire security system should be evolved with a holistic perspective. He said in the USA contingency plan was followed by all airlines and "we should not hesitate to get expert advice from the federal aviation authority". On security regulation, Mr Reddy said there was a very strict and clear plan drawn by the Centre and the Civil Aviation Ministry in 1993. "It is sad that these security measures are only implemented whenever we come across an ugly incident like the hijacking of IC 814," he lamented. Strict adherence to security system should be followed by all airports in the country and even VVIPs’ baggages should be checked and handled by the VVIPs themselves. Under no circumstances should assistants be allowed to carry VVIPs’ baggages upto the aircraft, he added. Disagreeing with the
Centre’s decision to place commandos aboard the
flights, Mr Reddy said it was "very dangerous"
as the presence of commandos would "create confusion
and tension inside the aircraft". |
India-born US docs’ medicare plan NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (UNI) — A group of India-born American doctors is striving to realise a dream to revolutionise the current moribund healthcare system in their motherland to bring it on a par with the one in the USA. At a select media briefing here, Dr Navin C. Shah, former Chief of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), said the deplorable healthcare system in the country called for immediate redemption which entailed accountability of the medical practitioners and educating the medical fraternity of the latest advancements in the field of medicine through continuous medical education (CME). Dr Shah, currently a trustee of the AAPI which has 32,000 doctors of Indian origin, said his organisation along with Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai would conduct the CME. He said 200 seminars had already been conducted. He said hands on training for doctors would be conducted through seminars and any latest technique would be practically demonstrated. He said the course would last two to three weeks on each subject. Emphasising on the thrust area, Dr Shah said initially courses would be conducted on cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics and neurology. He stated that Hinduja Hospital was a state-of-the-art one and so its choice was a foregone conclusion. But what would the AAPI gain out of its alliance with Hinduja Hospital? Dr Shah emphatically replied: "Whatever money the hospital earns, we will get one-thirds of it which will be pumped in the 12 charitable centres spread across the country." But as a prelude to this a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Hindujas and AAPI would be signed in Washington in February. Dr Shah said constant monitoring of the hospital to ensure high standards was imperative to maintain its standards. But was there any competent authority to certify that? "Of course" he said and added that "we shall ask the Joint Commission of American Hospitals Organisation (JCAHO) to monitor the hospital from time to time. We shall train a group of doctors under the JCAHO for two years and thereafter this group will certify such standards in other hospitals if necessary. After that JCAHO will offer us consultancy services." He said a particular hospital in the USA needed to pay $30,000 to $ 45,000 for JCAHO affiliation. He said all hospitals in America had to be accredited to the JCAHO to earn government business. Hinduja Hospital would have to bear the cost of the JCAHO team as it required the due certification. When asked despite the existence of other world class hospitals in India like the Apollo Group of Hospitals, Escorts Heart Institute and Jaslok Hospital, why choose Hinduja Hospital? Dr Shah replied that besides being a world class hospital, its owner S.P. Hinduja who met him in Chicago evinced a keen interest on the project and volunteered to offer his hospital as the AAPI’s launching pad. Dwelling at length on the rapidly degenerating Indian healthcare system, Dr Shah said five key factors have to be taken into consideration which has rendered the American healthcare system today the most enviable one. He said he had put forward these suggestions to competent government authority for their kind consideration and enforce them to have better results. The prime factor found missing among the Indian medical fraternity was severe lack of CME. Citing his own example, Dr Shah said: "If I don’t put in 50 hours of compulsory CME in the USA, then my licence might be cancelled, but here this is not the case. Doctors often do not upgrade themselves for years and no one bothers. So you have to make CME compulsory." He suggested that at least 150 hours of CME be made compulsory for practising physicians. If they failed to comply with this they should be de-licensed straightaway. Another serious impediment to good and effective treatment was lack of maintenance of proper medical records by both the doctors and the hospital administration in India. Without naming an Indian hospital, Dr Shah said once he happened to visit it and found that the information in the patient chart was grossly inadequate and by any chance if the doctor attending a particular patient was transferred, then the next doctor who would attend him would have little information on the patient’s condition. As a result he had to begin his treatment anew. Finally there should be
peer review and quality assurance mechanism in all
teaching hospitals and other hospitals with capacity of
100 or more beds Dr Shah said. Elaborating on this he
said doctors of a hospital should meet periodically to
assess their own functions. If any doctor committed any
mistake, fellow doctors should enlighten him on this to
correct him rather than demeaning him so that he refrains
from doing that next time. |
DD programme on music maestros NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (UNI) — For the first time, eminent vocalists Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Ustad Rashid Khan have sung in Jugalbandi for a special programme on Doordarshan aimed at paying a tribute to the "living legends and music maestros of the new millennium". The programme, being telecast tomorrow at 9a.m. on the national network DD one, will also show other legends of Hindustan classical music like Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma in interviews. The maestros will also discuss how they have nurtured their classical music and passed it on to their progeny or disciples who include Ustad Rashid Khan, Shahid Pervez, Shujaat Khan, Rahul Sharma, and the brothers Aayan Ali and Amaan Ali Bangash. The artistes point out that for them, Hindustani classical music is not merely music but a way of life, and has to be passed on from generation to generation since it is an "oral" art. Doordarshan is to telecast a serial on Kashmir, "Humsaya", which gives the message of futility of resorting to terrorism and violence. The serial has been produced by Pooran Chand Sarin. The serial tells the story of an Afghan mercenary and the youth whom he leads astray. The serial will be telecast on DD II on Sunday’s at 9.30 a.m. from tomorrow. "School Days", a series on life in a public school in the city which has been telecast on DD one at 11.30 a.m. for the past year, has been given another extension. The series, directed by Dilip Sood for producer Sunil Sood, stars children from different schools in the capital. The focus is class eleven, and so the series mostly concentrates on senior children. Another series by the same producer, "We Love You", is to commence telecast on Sundays mornings on DD two later this month. Doordarshan has also
begun the telecast of a weekly musical extravaganza
"Sargam" every Tuesday at 9 p.m. on DD one.
Produced by In House Productions, the series is a musical
quiz presented by playback singer Sudesh Bhosle, who had
gained fame by mimicking the voice of actors like Amitabh
Bachchan. |
Make Kargil report public : Basu CALCUTTA, Jan 8 (PTI) — West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today demanded that with the submission of the official probe report on the Kargil conflict to the Centre, people of the country should be informed about the background of the happenings. In a statement here, the Chief Minister said there was unanimity at the Chief Ministers’ meet, called by the Prime Minister on the Kargil conflict last year, on the urgent need to throw out Pakistani infiltrators. The meeting extolled the heroic role of the armed forces, he said. "But many of the Chief Ministers, including myself, demanded that after the conflict, the centre should give a reply with regard to the question how thousands of infiltrators crossed the Line of Control with arms, ammunition and food supply and occupied our bunkers on the mountains," he said. "Now that the
much-awaited report has been submitted, people of the
country should be informed about the background of the
happening", he said. |
Amir Bhai gets judicial remand NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (PTI) — Mohammed Amiruddin Habib, alias Amir Bhai, the main source of the alleged money transaction in the multi-crore Jain-hawala case, has been remanded in judicial custody till January 10 by a special court here. The alleged hawala kingpin, who was arrested by a joint team of CBI and Enforcement Directorate officials was remanded in judicial custody by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal at her residence last night after he was produced before her. Amir Bhai, they said,
who had been eluding the authorities for about five years
was finally nabbed by Interpol at Indira Gandhi
International airport on Thursday night after his arrival
by a flight from Dubai via Hong Kong. He was subsequently
handed over to the CBI and the ED officials. |
7 jawans feared killed in accident TEZPUR (Assam), Jan 8 (UNI) — At least seven Army jawans were feared killed and 27 others injured when the vehicle in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near Elephant Point, 76 km from here in west Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, this morning. Official sources said an army recovery van rushed to the spot and took the injured to hospital. In another accident, two
persons died when an oil tanker skidded off the road and
rolled down a gorge near Sisa, 96 km from here, in the
same district, |
Set up rail division by March 31: AGP GUWAHATI, Jan 8 (PTI) — The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today set March 31 as the deadline for the setting up of a separate Rangiya rail division of the North East Frontier railway and warned the Centre of a mass movement if it failed to meet it. "It is a matter of great regret that the ruling combine at the Centre has failed to take any final decision on this matter though the proposal is in the final stage of approval," the AGP General Secretary and state Forest and PWD Minister, Mr Nagen Sarmah said. He warned that if the Centre failed to meet the deadline of March 31 set by the AGP then the party would be left with no option but to launch an intensive agitation. He also pointed out that
the Railway Minister had recently stated in Parliament
that 2,500 posts were lying vacant in the North East
Frontier Railway but the authorities had not taken any
step in this regard. |
Show-cause notice to Saifuddin CALCUTTA, Jan 8 (PTI) — Mr Saifuddin Chaudhury, a dissident CPM leader embroiled in controversy for his repeated demands for inner-party democracy in the party, was today formally served with the show-cause notice by the CPM state committee — construed in the political circles here as a step towards expelling him for his alleged anti-party activity. Mr Chaudhury, who earned the wrath of party hardliners preparing grounds for his expulsion, met the CPM state committee Secretary, Mr Anil Biswas, besides Deputy Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee and senior leader Benoy Konar at the party headquarters here. He told PTI over phone
that he had received the show-cause notice during the day
that called for his reply to the same. |
India cautious NEW DELHI, Jan 8 (PTI) — India today reacted cautiously to the defection of Tibetan spiritual leader Karmapa Lama Orjeyen Trinley Dorji from Chinese-ruled Tibet, saying it was inquiring into the circumstances of his reported arrival in the country and its consequences. "We are inquiring
into the circumstances attendant upon the sudden arrival
in India of the Lama as also into the consequences of
it", an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said in
the government’s first reaction to the arrival of
the third highest Tibetan spiritual leader who was
recognised both by the Dalai Lama and the Chinese
Government. |
Naxalites behind Kavre’s killing BHOPAL, Jan 8 (UNI) — Naxalites were behind the killing of Madhya Pradesh Transport Minister Likhiram Kavre, according to the special investigating team’s interim report. State Chief Minister
told a news conference here according to the interim
report of the special team probing the case there were
between 20 and 25 Naxalites behind. Kavre’s murder
last month. The assailants have been identified, he
added. |
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