M A I N   N E W S

DSGPC members herded to Nangal
From Lalit Mohan

NANGAL, May 9 — The strategy of secreting away suspect supporters on the eve of an election to prevent them being won over by opponents which is commonly in Indian politics, is now being practised by the Punjab Government for election of office-bearers to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DSGPC) scheduled for May, 12.

The government has tucked away 15 of the DSGPC’s 49 members at the NFL Guest House at Naya Nangal, to thwart attempts by opposition parties to woo them away.

The DSGPC members, as per the register of the NFL Guest House, have been shown to be the guests of SP (Operations), Ropar and there names have not been entered against the four rooms booked for them.

They arrived here on Saturday and, as per the booking register, will stay on till May, 11, after which date they will leave for Delhi for voting on May 12.

Sources in the NFL Guest House said the movements of these members was restricted and monitored by the local police. The members come out of their rooms only for their meals and no visitor is allowed to approach them.

But to ensure their special guests don’t get impatient their hosts have lined up suitable tours.

They moved out of the guest house yesterday in a special bus escorted by the local police to visit Bhakra Dam. Interestingly at Bhakra too they were listed as guests of the police official. Today the DSGPC members were taken to Anandpur Sahib in a similar fashion. While local police officials insist that the 15 men at the NFL Guest House are guests of SP (Operations), Ropar, they are silent on why the guests were under such strict surveillance.

Parliament okays Budget

NEW DELHI, May 9 (PTI) — Parliament today approved the general Budget for 2000-01 with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha allaying fears of the Opposition that the country was moving towards debt trap.

The Budget got the parliamentary approval with the Rajya Sabha returning the Finance Bill by a voice vote. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.

“There is absolutely nothing to worry. We have nothing to worry as far as external situation is concerned”, Mr Sinha said replying to day-long discussion on the Finance Bill.

Replying to the debate in the Upper House, Mr Sinha said the main area of concern is the growing fiscal deficit.

He said last year’s aim of pegging fiscal deficit at 4 per cent went haywire and finally it went up to 5.6 per cent, the major cause being the large amount of interest payment. This along with Rs 13,000 crores higher defence allocation due to the Kargil war and implementation of the interim award of the Eleventh Finance Commission, among other factors, resulted in a net Rs 46,000 crore rise in budgetary expenditure.

About the need for downsizing the government, the Finance Minister said it was a very very difficult task and could not be achieved overnight. No government with best intention could order curtailment of the number of employees. At best they could be adjusted from the surplus department to some other place but even in that case they had to be paid for that.

He maintained that there had been less than 2 per cent growth in the non-plan expenditure and the government was not letting it go out of hand. In spite of the East Asian financial crisis looming over the world and unfavourable domestic situation the Indian economy performed better and there had been an increase of Rs 1,000 crore in revenue collection.

He said the biggest paradox of our economy was that through it was doing well in trade, industrial production and all other fronts but still 400 million people were living below the poverty line.

Mr Sinha justified his decision on the imposing higher dividend tax of 20 per cent and said the companies could avail relief from this if they fully redeploy this surplus distributable fund in the new venture.

He said last year the crude oil prices went up by over 300 per cent but now it had come down which was expected to help the government in maintaining the targets of the Budget.

He said the way India had managed its economy was now being praised by the World Bank and the IMF. “We have a very special place now India speaks a voice of confidence and determination and the rest of the world listens to us”.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha today unanimously passed the Constitution (89th Amendment) Bill under which 29 per cent of the “net proceeds” of all Central taxes will be passed on to the states in the spirit of the Tenth Finance Commission recommendation.

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who piloted the Bill, told the House that the move would enable the Centre to pursue tax reforms without the need to consider whether a tax is sharable with the state or not.

The Bill that sought Amendment in Article 269, 270 and 272 would put the new sharing formula retrospectively effective from April 1, 1996. Being a Constitution Amendment, division was mandatory at every clause of the Bill.

Mr Sinha pointed out that the Amendment was in pursuance of the Tenth Finance Commission suggestion for an alternative scheme of sharing of the proceeds of Union taxes and duties between the Centre and states and had specified a 29 per cent devolution of the gross proceeds.

Malik admits hand in Rubaiya case

NEW DELHI, May 9 (PTI) — Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and senior executive member of the Hurriyat Conference Yaseen Malik has admitted that he was involved in kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Home Minister Mufit Sayeed in 1989.

“It is correct, yes,” was the reply of Malik when asked whether he was involved in the kidnapping of Rubaiya.

Malik, released last week after six-month detention under the Public Safety Act, was replying to a question in “India Talks” programme of the CNBC which was telecast tonight.

Rubaiya was kidnapped in December, 1989. The then V.P. Singh government had to release five hardcore militants in exchange for her release.