M A I N   N E W S

UP govt plunges into crisis

LUCKNOW, April 4 (UNI, PTI) — The BJP-led coalition government lurched towards a crisis in Uttar Pradesh late tonight as its allies the Loktantrik Congress Party (LCP) and the Janata Dal (Rajaram) boycotted a Cabinet meeting in protest against the Chief Minister’s style of functioning.

The LCP, one of the major constituents of the ruling coalition, said it was against the ‘‘working style, behaviour and lacklustre leadership’’ of Mr Ram Prakash Gupta.

‘‘How can a chief minister like Mr Gupta run the state when he has failed to muster courage to contest any by-election himself,’’ LCP chief Naresh Agarwal said. When asked about the immediate provocation for the boycott, Mr Agarwal said, ‘‘for some time now we have had the feeling that the functioning of the Chief Minister was not up to the mark.’’

The LCP leader said he would talk with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee about his party’s grudge against Mr Gupta. The LCP has 20 members in the state assembly, while the Janata Dal (Rajaram) has three members in the 425-member House.

The LCP chief asked the Chief Minister to seek the people’s mandate rather than make a ‘‘backdoor entry’’ through the Vidhan Parishad.

Ex-Chief Secretary booked
From Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, April 4 — The state Vigilance Department has finally registered a case in connection with the alleged irregularities and favouritism in allotment of khair wood quota to a private industry by the previous Congress government.

The politically sensitive case has been registered after almost two years.

Mr O.P. Yadav, a former Chief Secretary, who dealt with the relevant file as Secretary, Forests, and Mr Geeta Ram, then Deputy Secretary of Forests, have been named in the FIR registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. They have been charged with causing pecuniary loss to the government by granting 6 per cent price benefit in the allotment of 25 per cent khair wood quota to Sagar Katha Udyog without approval from the competent authority.

The police also looked into the alleged overwritings, cuttings, insertions and application of correction fluid on certain notings by the officers and political functionaries in the file.

As per the notings on the file, initially the case for allotment of khair quota was to be put up before the Cabinet. However, on March 7, one day after the Congress lost the assembly elections, the matter was reviewed and 25 per cent quota was allotted without the approval of the Cabinet.

Thereafter on March 23, a day before the Dhumal government assumed office, an agreement was signed in this regard. Besides allotment of quota, it also allowed price benefit of 6 per cent to the manufacturing unit. After the allotment, only 12.5 per cent of khair wood was left for open auction, which determined the rate at which it was to be supplied to the factories. While 50 per cent quota was allotted to Mahesh Udyog, 12.5 per cent was given to Katha Bhattis. The agreement was, however, never implemented as the new government reviewed the decision.

The Himachal Vikas Congress supremo had been asking the government to register a case, though it did not form part of the charge sheet submitted by his party against Mr Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister.

Bengal ‘mahajot’ on cards

NEW DELHI, April 4 (UNI) — West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhary has been “authorised”by Congress President Sonia Gandhi “to go ahead” to force a “mahajot” (grand alliance) to fight the CPM without compromising on the party’s ideology.

Disclosing this at a press conference here today, Mr Choudhary said he had apprised Mrs Sonia Gandhi of the political developments in the state and on the necessity to forge the grand alliance. He also briefed her on the talks he had with Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on the issue.

Asked whether the Congress would ally with the Trinamool Congress which is a partner of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he reacted angrily, saying, “I have talked to Ms Banerjee. Whether she would continue in the NDA is her problem.”

Mr Choudhary along with his predecessor Somen Mitra had met Mrs Sonia Gandhi earlier today.