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| Saturday, July 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Violence
in WB Assembly HP forest
cover 22.5 p.c. Forged
drafts issue rocks MP House IT
men open 2 more lockers |
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Nepalese
PM to arrive on July 31 Crocodile’s
killing: CM suspends 21 Bansal’s
plea on UT transfers ‘Regard
Tibet, Taiwan disputed territories’ ADMK,
DMK men clash, 100 held Heavy
rain likely in Himachal 22
widows recruited in Delhi police Zee
starts contest to counter Star Plus
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Violence
in WB Assembly CALCUTTA, July 28 — Violence erupted in the West Bengal Assembly today over the killing of 11 Trinamool Congress supporters in Sujapur village at Nanur in Birbhum district yesterday allegedly by CPM workers. The aggrieved MLAs broke down tables and chairs, twisted microphones, tried in vain to snatch papers and hammer from the Speaker’s desk and later, MLAs of the Trinamool Congress the BJP and the Congress jointly staged a walk-out from the house protesting against the Speaker’s disallowing of the adjournment motion on the issue. Scuffles followed inside the House, resulting in injuries to some MLAs, belonging to the Opposition as well as ruling Left Front partners. Some watch and ward staff of the Assembly also received injuries. Opposition MLAs in the afternoon met the Governor, Mr Biren J.Shah and submitted a memorandum demanding the imposition of the President’s rule in the state. Violence also broke out in the city when workers and supporters of Trinamool Congress the BJP and the Congress demonstrated in different places, by making road blockades, throwing stones at the moving vehicles and setting fire to government buses. The irate people also burnt effigies of Mr Jyoti Basu and the Home Minister Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharyya. The Yuva Congress gave a call for 12-hour Bangla bandh on July 3. The Trinamool Congress and the BJP which demanded the imposition of President’s rule in West Bengal, however, are opposed to the bandh call. Instead, they would observe week-long protest days over the government’s failure to handle law and order problems. In Parliament also, the Nanur incident caused uproar when the Trinamool Congress MPs raised the issue and wanted a discussion on the West Bengal’s deteriorating law and order situation. A delegation led by Mr Sudip Bandopadhyya later called on the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and demanded the immediate imposition of the President’s rule in the state. An official team of the Union Home Ministry will be soon sent to West Bengal to study the law and order situations there the Prime Minister assured the delegation. The chairman of the policy making body of the Trinamool Congress, Mr Pankaj Banerjee alleged the CPM with the help of the police and local administration had been creating a reign of terror in all places in a bid to capture areas which they had lost and the Nanur incident was a sequel to this. ‘First it was at Keshpur (Midnapore) and now at Nanur (Birbhum). He feared that many more such incidents would take place soon in other districts where the CPM supporters are coming out voluntarily in large number in support of the Trinamool Congress. Mr Buddhadev
Bhattacharyya, who had to cancel his visit to Delhi yesterday to
attend the party’s politburo and central committee meeting following
the incident, said it was a clash between the "jotedar" and
landless labourers over the cultivation of a disputed land at Sujaur
village. He alleged that the jotedars were being encouraged and helped
by Trinamool Congress but the CPM and Forward Bloc stood by the poor
landless people. |
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North
India in Parliament NEW DELHI, July 28 — As many as 32 samples of spurious drugs were detected in 1999-2000 as against 22 samples of adulterated drugs in the previous year, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr C.P. Thakur, informed the Rajya Sabha today. In a written reply to a joint question from Mr Suresh Kalmadi and Mrs Ambika Soni, the minister informed that under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the responsibility for regulating the manufacture and sale of drugs as well as monitoring of their quality was vested with the state governments. Prosecution had been launched so far in 18 of the 22 cases of spurious drugs detected during 1998-99 in Haryana, while prosecution had been ordered in the remaining four cases, he said. Similarly, prosecution had been launched in 8 of the 32 cases detected in 1999-2000 while the rest of the cases were under investigation, he informed. Dr Thakur said a meeting was also convened by the Drugs Controller of India on March 1, 2000, of the state Drugs Controllers of the northern region (including Haryana) as well as representatives of the Pharmaceuticals Industry and trade associations to curb these activities. The state governments and the associations were advised to take a number of measures to check the menace of spurious drugs, he said. Besides these policy directives, assistance was also being provided to the state governments to augment testing facilities and develop an information system to maintain a suitable data base for purposes of monitoring, he said. VLPT, LPT in Himachal Pradesh: One low power transmitter (LPT) and seven very low power transmitters (VLPT) projects are presently under implementation in Himachal Pradesh, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Arun Jaitley, informed the Lower House. Replying to a question from Mr Maheshwar Singh, the minister informed that installation works pertaining to three projects were in progress, while the sites for the remaining five projects were to be taken over by Doordarshan. Stating that requests for setting up of TV transmitters in uncovered areas of Himachal Pradesh had been received from time to time from various quarters, he said these requests were considered while formulating the plans of TV expansion, subject to availability of resources and technical feasibility. Convention centre at Leh: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has requested the Central Government for providing Rs 2.4 crore for setting up of a convention centre at Leh, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Mr Ananth Kumar, informed the Lok Sabha. In a written reply to a question from Mr Ali Mohammad Naik, he said a feasibility study report for setting up a convention centre at Leh, had been completed by RITES and had been sent to the state government. Forest cover in Himachal Pradesh: As per the State of Forest Report, 1997, forest cover in Himachal Pradesh is 22.5 per cent of the geographical area, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mr Babu Lal Marandi, informed the Rajya Sabha. Hill transport subsidy: Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir were given Rs 2.29 crore and Rs 3.39 crore, respectively, as hill transport subsidy for transportation of foodgrains provided under the public distribution system during the financial year 1999-2000, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Mr Sriram Chauhan, informed the Lok Sabha. The transport subsidy scheme of
the Central Government was applicable only to the predominantly hilly
states with little or no railways and poor road network, he said. |
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Forged
drafts issue rocks MP House BHOPAL, July 28 — The Madhya Pradesh Assembly has not functioned properly for the past 10 days. On Friday, too, the question hour was followed by an uproar, a half-hour adjournment, greater uproar after it reassembled, and then the House was adjourned till Monday. The BJP opposition has obstreperously been demanding a discussion on the activities of Som Distillery in the wake of the fake bank drafts worth crores of rupees submitted by some people to bag liquor contracts in several cities of the state. The government has been vehemently opposed to a discussion. The Speaker, Mr Shreenivas Tiwari, has been adamant in not allowing a discussion. The arguments advanced by Mr Tiwari are that the matter is subjudice (as the Economic Offences Wing of the MP Police has put up a challan in the court) and that it has already been "discussed" during question hour (on July 19). The BJP members, notably Mr Babulal Gour, Mr Mahesh Tiwari, Mr Banwarilal Agarwal and Mr Kamal Patel have been quoting the rule book to point out that a matter raised through a question did not mean "discussion", that there are precedents (the Maihar police firing, for one) when the matter was raised through a question and then discussed at length in the House and that the mere submission of a challan in the court did not preclude the Assembly from its discussion. In reply to all these arguments, the Speaker then asserts loudly that it is his discretion whether to permit discussion on a matter and that he is not permitting it. The BJP members have been challenging the Speaker’s ruling by jumping into the well of the House. On Friday, the 10th day of the stalemate, the government made some concession as the Chief Minister, Mr Digvijay Singh, agreed that the government was prepared for a discussion in whichever manner the Speaker decided. The Deputy Speaker, Mr Ishwardas Rohani, who was in the Chair, then announced that the Speaker had permitted a half-hour discussion on the subject. The BJP members were not satisfied. They again quoted, extensively from the rule book to point out that the matter was important enough to be discussed through an-Adjournment Motion, 32 notices of which had been submitted to the Assembly Secretariat, they said. The House was adjourned till Monday. Mr J.K. Arora, Chairman of the
Som Distillery, which had virtually replaced the House of Kedias as
the biggest liquor magnate in Madhya Pradesh, made a slip as one of
his men submitted a forged bank draft for Rs 3 crore for deposit at
the annual auction of liquor shops in Raipur in March. The draft was
purported to have been issued by a Ghaziabad branch of the
nationalised bank. Forged bank drafts were used in several other
cities also. While the CBI is looking into the forgery aspect of the
case, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is inquiring into the other
complaints against the Som Distillery. (The Raipur liquor shop
contract was, in any case, given to Mr Arora’s man for nearly Rs 97
crore). |
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IT men open 2 more lockers NEW DELHI, July 28 (PTI) — The Income Tax (IT) authorities today opened two more lockers here sealed during the massive searches conducted by the authorities on the premises of top cricketers, administrators and bookies in the wake of match-fixing scandal. With this the number of lockers opened since Tuesday goes up to nine. Highly-placed IT sources said two more lockers of cricket associates were opened by the IT authorities in Delhi. However, they refused to divulge the contents seized from these lockers saying that it was being scrutinised. Jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh was found from four lockers, belonging to a cricketer and a bookie, opened on Tuesday and Wednesday. The IT
authorities were ascertaining whether the jewellery had been included
in the annual returns filed by the cricketer before initiating action
against him, they said. |
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Crocodile’s killing: CM suspends 21 BHUBANESWAR, July 28 (UNI) — Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today ordered the suspension of 21 forest officials of the Nandankanan zoo, holding them responsible for the beheading of an adult crocodile inside the reptile enclosure of the zoo yesterday. In one of the
ghastly incidents, a five feet saltwater crocodile was beheaded inside
its enclosure yesterday morning. The incident came to light when a zoo
keeper entered to clean its chamber. |
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Nepalese
PM to arrive on July 31 NEW DELHI, July 28 — Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala arrives here on July 31 on a seven-day goodwill visit. During Mr Koirala’s stay in the Capital, India and Nepal would discuss several issues of bilateral interests and concerns, including the ISI activities directed against India from the Nepalese soil. The Nepalese Prime Minister would hold delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on August 1 at Hyderabad House. The two Prime Ministers would discuss bilateral, regional and international issues. Bilateral trade, Indian investments in Nepal and Indian assistance in the field of information technology would be under focus during the talks. The discussions would be followed by a dinner hosted by Mr Vajpayee. Mr Koirala would also call on the President, Mr K.R.Naryanan. Mr Naryanan would host a lunch in Mr Koirala’s honour. Mr Koirala would also meet the Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant, besides having separate meetings with the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, the Minister for Water Resources, the Human Resource Development Minister, Dr M.M. Joshi, and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant. The Nepalese Prime Minister would also meet the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Sonia Gandhi, and former Prime Ministers, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, Mr I.K. Gujral and Mr Chandra Shekhar. On August 2, Mr Koirala would be attending a business meeting organised by the CII. Almost 34 businessmen from Nepal would accompanying Mr Koirala on the visit. The Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, concluded in 1950, would also come up for discussions. Nepal has been asking for a review of the treaty. New Delhi has an open mind on the issue and the two Foreign Secretaries have already taken up the issue during their discussions on earlier occasions. Development of water resources
in Nepal for tapping of hydel power is one of the key issues which
would be taken up during the discussions. |
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Bansal’s
plea on UT transfers NEW DELHI, July 28 — The Centre has been urged to treat on deputation all such employees who have been transferred from the UT Administration to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Making a calling attention motion in the Lok Sabha today, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, MP, said the transfer of these employees to the corporation some time back had given rise to some genuine apprehensions in their minds and no effort had been made so far to allay the fears. The alteration in their status from "government employees" to the "employees of a local body" has already affected their service career and conditions of service. Certain rights granted by the Constitution to government employees would no longer be available to them and many other disparities would also result in their pay structure and allowances vis-a-vis their erstwhile colleagues serving in the UT Administration. While urging that all such
employees sent to the corporation be treated on deputation in the
interest of justice, he said fresh recruitment in future could be made
directly by the corporation. |
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‘Regard
Tibet, Taiwan disputed territories’ NEW DELHI, July 28 — India needs to have greater leverage vis-a-vis China with a policy of "engagement and containment" so as to base the mutual relationship on the principle of reciprocity. Speaking on ‘India, China and Tibet: Strategic options for New Delhi," Prof Brahma Chellaney of the Centre for Policy Research, called for a policy shift that exploited the vulnerabilities of China in the manner China does of India. Asserting that China was the only country in the world which, did not recognise Sikkim as part of India and also made claims over Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, he said that New Delhi should, at least, start regarding Tibet and Taiwan as disputed territories. "Let us assert our minimal rights," he demanded, adding that there was no need to provoke China or to adopt an aggressive posture. He said by helping Pakistan’s proxy war against India, China was ensuring that the country remained tied down with problems. Nor has China shown any serious interest to resolve its border differences with India. "While China has solved its border problems with its neighbours, no progress has been made in talks with India though these have been continuing for over 19 years. There is no clarity about the line between the two countries and the Sino-India border talks are the longest in modern histories," he maintained. Professor Chellaney said a reason for China not resolving its border disputes with India could be that it wanted to keep up the pressure on the Indian Army and security forces so that these were not spared for the border with Pakistan. Referring to Beijing’s ambition to be the unchallenged power in Asia, he said China was constructing 2,000 km of tunnels to hide its military assets. "The ambitious project started after the Gulf war," he said. Maintaining that the People’s Liberation Army, the most powerful institution in China, saw India essentially in the role of an adversary, he said the coming together of India and the USA was a sign of worry for Beijing. He said 95 per cent of China’s missiles were useful only against its neighbours and called for a strong strategic partnership with all of China’s 15 neighbours. The lecture, organised by the
‘Tibet Sansadia Avam Niti Shodh Kendra’ was presided over by
former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray. |
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ADMK, DMK men clash, 100 held CHENNAI, July 28 (PTI) — Pandemonium prevailed on the streets of the Chepauk constituency in the city when two groups belonging to the AIADMK and the DMK clashed over alleged bogus voting by the latter in a ward by-election held today. The police resorted to a lathi
charge to disperse the clashing groups and nearly 100 persons, mainly
belonging to the opposition parties were taken into custody, according
to police sources. |
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Heavy
rain likely in Himachal NEW DELHI, July 28 — Monsoon has been active in Himachal Pradesh. Rainfall: Rain or thundershowers have occurred at most places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh, at a few places in the plains of Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Weather was mainly dry in the rest of the region. The chief amounts of rain in cm are: Himachal Pradesh: Baijnath 15, Ghamroor, Kataula, Mandi and Paonta 8 each, Guler and Kangra 7 each, Nagrota Surian and Pandoh 5 each, Dehragopipur, Nadaun and Sarkaghat 4 each, Sujanpur Tira 3, Bhuntar, Gohar, Ghumarwin and Pachhad 2 each and Bhoranj, Bharwain, Hamirpur, Jubbal and Rajgarh 1 each; Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu 3; Punjab: Gurdaspur 5; and Uttar Pradesh: Narora 7, Haripur 6, Uttarkashi 5, Banda, Banbasa and Mirzapur 3 each, Bhatpurwaghat, Ghazipur, Hardwar, Kanpur, Lucknow (Control Room), Sultanpur and Varanasi 2 each and Bareilly, Ballia, Dalmau, Fatehgarh, Joshimath, Marora, Rudraprayag and Tehri 1 each. Forecast valid until the morning of 30th: Rain or thundershowers will occur at many places in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and west Uttar Pradesh, at a few places in Haryana, Punjab and east Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in east Rajasthan. Weather will be mainly dry in the rest of the region. Heavy rainfall warning: Heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh during the next 48 hours. Forecast for Delhi and neighbourhood valid until the morning of 30th: Generally cloudy sky with the possibility of one or two showers/thundershowers. Farmers weather bulletin for Delhi: Forecast valid until the morning of 30th: Light to moderate rain is likely at a few places. Outlook for the subsequent two
days: No large change. |
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22
widows recruited in Delhi police NEW DELHI, July 28 — The Delhi police recruited 72 persons, including 22 women, who were next of the kin of the personnel who died on duty. They were given appointment letters by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ajai Raj Sharma at a function organised in the honour of martyr personnel of the Delhi police. Five per cent jobs are reserved
in the Delhi police for family members of the martyr personnel. Such
recruitments are made every year. Last year, 103 youth were recruited,
Mr Ajai Raj Sharma said. |
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Zee starts contest to counter Star Plus NEW DELHI, July 28 (PTI) — Stung by consistent loss of viewership to arch rival Star TV, Subhash Chandra promoted Zee Network today announced the "Zee Malamaal" contest offering cash prizes, on air from July 31 for 10 weeks. While Chief Executive Officer of Zee TV R.K. Singh said this was a step towards increased interactive programming, he also admitted that the "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC) contest on Star Plus had resulted in dwindling viewership for the past two weeks. "Four of our programmes have given way to the KBC in the weekly Top 10 list in the two weeks the KBC has been on air. Our GRPs are also down to about 50, Mr Singh said. The contest offers a total of
Rs 2 lakh on every weekday (Monday-Friday) to viewers for answering
two separate questions and a bumper prize of Rs 11 lakh on weekends. |
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