M A I N   N E W S

Jitendra Prasada suffers brain haemorrhage

NEW DELHI, Jan 9 (PTI) — Senior Congress leader Jitendra Prasada, admitted to Apollo Hospital here this morning after he suffered a “massive brain haemorrhage,” was in critical condition, a hospital release said.

“He continues to be on a ventilator in the Neuro-ICU under constant monitoring, as he is still in a critical condition,” Director of the medical services of the hospital B.M. Aiyanna said.

The Congress leader was transferred to Apollo from RML Hospital at 6.50 a.m. He was immediately taken for a CT Scan and diagnosis of a massive “brain haemorrhage” was made, he said in the release.

He was then taken into the operating theatre where a drainage of the fluid cavities in the brain was performed for releasing blood and decreasing brain pressure by a team of neurosurgeons, the director said.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is in constant touch with family members of Mr Prasada and hospital authorities. Many senior party leaders, including Ahmad Patel, R. K. Dhawan, Pranab Mukherjee and Oscar Fernandes, visited the ailing leader.

Meanwhile, Home Minister L. K. Advani visited Apollo Hospital to enquire about the health of the ailing Congress leader.

Shocked over the brain haemorrhage suffered by Jitendra Prasada, his younger brother Janendra Prasada collapsed on hearing the news and was also admitted to Apollo Hospital here.

Hospital sources said Janendra Prasada was being operated upon for a “blood clot” in the brain.

India, Vietnam sign 5 accords

HANOI, Jan 9 (PTI) — India and Vietnam today took a giant leap in economic relations signing five accords, including one that envisaged $ 238 million Indian investment in the oil and gas exploration as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee declared that enhanced bilateral cooperation was “critical” in New Delhi’s plans to forge stronger links with ASEAN.

“Closer economic cooperation with Vietnam is a critical element in India’s plans to forge stronger ties with ASEAN. It is pivotal to our “Look East’ policy,” Mr Vajpayee said addressing the fourth meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Business Council where the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed.

The investment in the oil sector is the largest by India in any country. The MoU was signed between ONGC Videsh Ltd and the Petroleum Investment and Development Corporation of Vietnam.

The other MoUs included one by Ranbaxy for setting up of a new drug manufacturing facility at Ho Chi Minh city and supply of 300 Tata bus chassis to a Vietnamese company in the next three months. FICCI and the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (INCHAM), apex body of 50-odd Indian companies operating in Vietnam, also signed an MoU.

Making a strong plea for greater economic cooperation between the two countries, Mr Vajpayee expressed India’s readiness to assist Hanoi with requisite capital to boost cooperation in sectors like transportation, telecommunications, railways, power generation and distribution in which New Delhi has developed considerable expertise.

The Prime Minister said one of the sunrise areas where the two countries should maximise their cooperation was information technology.

The Prime Minister later met the legendary military officer, Vo Nguyen Giap, who led the Viet Minh in the war against the French and later against the USA.

The 88-year-old General, considered one of the great architects of revolutionary warfare and guerrilla tactics, is best remembered for his victory against the French in the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

The Prime Minister also visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and placed a wreath at the memorial of the Father of Vietnam’s freedom struggle.

India said its defence cooperation with Vietnam was not directed against China, USA or any other country and asserted that it stood for peace and stability in South-East Asia.

“Nothing is directed against any country. The Prime Minister has said that Vietnam is a factor of peace and stability in South-East Asia. We want peace and stability in South-East Asia,” Mr Brajesh Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, told reporters on the conclusion of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s three-day visit to Vietnam. He was asked whether the defence cooperation and security dialogue between India and Vietnam would have implications in the region.

Mr Mishra replied in the negative when asked whether the USA and China could become suspicious of the development. “Why should they be suspicious?” he said, noting that US President Bill Clinton had sometime back visited Hanoi while Chinese leader Li Peng was visiting India.

“China did not come up at all” during discussions the Prime Minister had with Vietnamese leaders, he said.