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| Monday,
March 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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People’s
Front not ready to form govt: Basu Army
begins probe today Sonia
afraid of probe: BJP RSS forms
panel on Kashmir issue Annan’s
plainspeak turning point |
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‘Kaho
Na...’ sweeps Zee awards SBI
officers’ strike call for April 4 VHP
terms for poll support INL
split formalised ISRO
scientist all praise for judiciary Lifers
not free after 20 years: SC
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People’s Front not ready to form govt: Basu Kolkata, March 18 Mr Basu was unanimously chosen Chairman of the newly formed third front — Janamorcha (People’s Front) at a meeting last week in Delhi, which was attended, among others by former Prime Ministers — Mr Chandrashekhar and Mr I.K. Gujral — and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr H.K. Surjeet and Mr A.B. Bardhan. In an interview with the Bangla channel of Calcutta Doordarshan, the People’s Front Chairman said, “Ours is a new front and I personally think we cannot take over the responsibility of running a government right now. But the situation will certainly help us to prepare ourselves for running an alternative government at the Centre in the near future.” Mr Basu said: “I am not in a good health and my age is also a handicap. Still, I, as leader of the front, will do the utmost to mobilise all secular forces to come on one platform to save the country from the onslaught of the BJP and other vested interests. We, the Marxists, believe in work and I shall work till the last day of my life for the interests of the party, the people and the country.” The 87-year-old leader said there were some talks recently in New Delhi about the formation of an alternative government. More talks would begin soon. “There are some problems but we will sort these out. We are determined to remove the corrupt and communal BJP from power in the larger interests of the country,” Mr Basu added. Mr Basu also criticised Ms Mamata Banerjee for letting down Mr Vajpayee for her own political interest. “It is not the corruption issue that has prompted her to step down but she has resigned to derive political mileage in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state,” he remarked. |
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Army begins probe today New Delhi, March 18 The other officers, who could be asked to present themselves in front of the inquiry committee, may include the Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Vijay Oberoi and the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen S.S. Mehta. The inquiry committee, to be headed by Lt. Gen S.K. Jain, has two other members and will go into various aspects alleged in the video tapes including whether the senior officers had compromised their position and integrity while accepting gratification from men posing as arms dealers. Already one senior Army officer, Maj Gen P.S.K. Chaudhury, Additional Director-General, Weapons and Equipment, has been placed under suspension and at least two more officers of the same rank are allegedly involved in accepting the gratification. These officers, along with some others are expected to give their statement regarding their involvement in the scandal in front of the inquiry committee tomorrow. The sources said the inquiry would also suggest a new system to make procurement of arms and weapons systems more transparent. It would also probe whether any compromise was made in moral turpitude on the part of the officers filmed clandestinely by the reporters from the website. Senior Army officers, including Lt Gen J S Dhillon, Master General of Ordinance, may also be asked to depose before the Army’s high-level court of inquiry, sources added. Sources said General Mehta, a highly decorated Armoured Corp officer, may be asked to depose as he was the immediate superior of Maj Gen P.S.K.
Chaudhary. General Dhillon may be questioned as he heads the Ordnance Corp, five of whose officers are in the dock. The sources said Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi may also be asked to make a statement before the three-member Court of Inquiry as he heads the tainted Equipment and Weapons Establishment at Army Headquarters. Others who may be asked to depose include Lt Gen Shankar Prasad, Director-General, Infantry, whose name figures in the tapes. Four other officers who were filmed in the web portal expose - Maj Gen M S Ahluwalia, Additional Director General Ordinance Services, his predecessor Maj Gen Satnam Singh, who is posted in Leh, Brig Iqbal Singh, Prospective Procurement Officer and Col Anil Sehgal, former Director in the Ordinance Services — had submitted written statements, the sources said but would make formal official statements tomorrow.
All of them have, in their statements, not disputed being approached by the tehelka team but had denied receiving any bribes in cash, they said.
PM to address rally on March 25 New Delhi, March 18 NDA convener George Fernandes said here that this was decided at a meeting he had with Mr Vajpayee this evening.
PTI |
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Sonia afraid of
probe: BJP New Delhi, March 18 In an informal chat with mediapersons, he said the government, was ready for any inquiry and wanted probe to be completed within four months but Mrs Sonia Gandhi was avoiding any inquiry. “I am accusing Sonia Gandhi of avoiding an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the Tehelka revelations”, the acting President asserted. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Dr A.S. Anand is believed to have turned down the Government’s request for sparing a sitting judge to head the proposed inquiry into the expose. |
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RSS forms panel on Kashmir issue New Delhi, March 18 The committee comprising two other elected delegates, Dr Bajrang Lal Gupta and Mr Bal Apte, will present its recommendations before the two-day meeting of the RSS national executive expected to take place in Kanpur or Jhansi from June 30. While passing a resolution on the J&K problem, the committee authorised the Sarkaryavaha (Sangh General Secreatry) to constitute the aforesaid committee. In another resolution on communal disturbances in the country, the RSS has urged the Centre and state governments to “put down with an iron hand all such violent and anti-national machinations of extremist Muslim groups.” Briefing newspersons at Sewa Dham, Mandoli, here on the concluding day of the three-day session of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratindhi Sabha (ABPS), RSS spokesperson Mr M.G. Vaidya said its resolution on Jammu and Kashmir had emphasised that the government should “at the earliest” start a dialogue with outfits really interested in peace through negotiations and put down insurgent terrorism with “an iron hand.” Mr Vaidya said sources of insurgency must be demolished either by negotiations or by force. “Training centres in PoK should be closed down. Why should we be blackmailed by another nuclear power when we are ourselves a nuclear power?” The resolution states: “Along with targeting the
civilian population, as is evident from the killings of the innocent Sikhs, terrorist groups have, during the intervening period, become so audacious as to strike at the security installations and forces. In fact, three months should have been a sufficient time for the experimentation but the government, in its wisdom, thought it fit to extend the time frame of the cease-fire. Though the ABPS has no right to question the government’s assessment of the situation, it would like to emphasise that the cease-fire is not an end in itself.” Mr Vaidya said cease-fire was not a total failure, but it was not a total success either. The resolution has placed on record its dissatisfaction with the results of the government’s decision to declare a
unilateral cease-fire. “The ABPS feels extremely disturbed over the recent happenings in J&K in general and Kashmir in particular. The government’s decision to declare a
unilateral cease-fire did not, however, bring about the desired results. It is true that hostilities on the LoC have declined but there has been no let-up in terroroist ativities,” the resoluion text reads. The resolution further calls upon the government to “give security forces the freedom of decision and action, including the
destruction of terrorist training centres, in PoK.” Replying to questions, Mr Vaidya said the talks should be held at the earliest with all those groups who have given a positive response to the government’s decision on cease-fire. “The objective is to have lasting peace in the valley.” Asked whether Pakistan will play a role in the
negotiations, Mr Vaidya said, “As far as the internal situation in the valley is concerned, Pakistan is nowhere.” Asked
whether the problem would be sorted out within the Constitutional framework, Mr Vidya drew attention to the PM’s assurance of
addressing the issue within humanitarian boundaries. |
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Annan’s plainspeak turning point New
Delhi Overshadowed by the developments in the wake of tehelka.com expose, Mr Annan’s visit to New Delhi is a starting point of fresh efforts for preparing a favourable ground for bilateral talks between India and Pakistan, with a third-party mediation ruled out. Notable among the UN Secretary-General’s remarks made in Pakistan on Kashmir, is the clarification that the UN itself has no “interventionary” role in Jammu and Kashmir, as the issue figures in the world body’s category of disputes, where the UN has no mandate to intervene. In this context, he referred to East Timor, which, he said, belonged to a category of disputes where the UN enjoyed the right to intervene. Much to the disappointment of Pakistani rulers, Mr Annan also declared that the UN resolution on holding plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir was no longer applicable, as the situation had vastly changed, and there was no agreement between the parties concerned to implement it. While Mr Annan’s declaration on plebiscite has been received with great satisfaction in New Delhi, observers here are not surprised that the highest in the UN hierarchy has said something which had been obvious to many in the world body more than a decade ago, when a move was made during Mr Boutros Ghali’s tenure to remove Kashmir from the UN agenda. The move was given up as Pakistan felt embarrassed and pleaded with members to let the issue stay on the agenda. That apart, the “commitment” to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir, given by India was conditional, envisaging withdrawal of troops from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), total demobilisation of “Azad kashmir” battalions, and handing over the administrative control of the area to the Government of India. But more important was the rehabilitation of voters, who were forced to leave their residences because of violence and war, so that they could vote if the plebiscite was held. Lakhs of eligible voters, especially non-Muslims, had to abandon their places in the face of Pakistan-backed tribal raid on Kashmir. More than 50 years have passed since, and over 50 per cent of “voters” are
presumably dead. Who is the voter now? And which agency will verify the authenticity of a voter’s list, even if in theory plebiscite is still held as a valid proposition? Other important changes brought about by Pakistan to drastically reverse the pluralistic demographic profile of the state that existed in 1948, when the UN body took the decision to hold the plebiscite, was to turn the PoK into a “one-community” area, with non-Muslims totally absent from it. It was in this context that New Delhi assessed that plebiscite was no longer feasible and valid. Jawaharlal Nehru in 1958 finally declared in Srinagar that plebiscite was not valid and India was no longer committed to it. Even though it has taken decades for the UN body to formally declare that plebiscite was not possible, Mr Annan’s declaration to this effect contains a message for Pakistani rulers that dominant powers in the Security Council are no longer prepared to pull Pakistani chestnuts out of fire and intervene in Jammu and Kashmir. By his “plain-speaking” to Pakistan on plebiscite and the UN mediation, Mr Annan has strengthened the hands of those wanting New Delhi to have bilateral talks with Islamabad on Kashmir. He has also dealt a blow to religious extremists and fundamentalists, who were propagating that India was isolated internationally, and about to give in, if only militants and jehadis energised their “violent push” in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir.
‘Kaho Na...’ sweeps Zee awards Mumbai, March 18 Budding superstar Hrithik Roshan and versatile actress Tabu received the honours in the best actor and actress category. Hrithik won the trophy for the debut film “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” and Tabu for her sensitive and strong performance in “Astitva” while Karisma Kapoor for “Fiza” and Sanjay Dutt for “Mission Kashmir” bagged the Zee Premier-Choice awards for best actor and actress. Writer-filmmaker-actor Vijay Anand, who scripted classics like “Guide” and “Blackmail” and directed films like “Teesri Manzil” was the recipient of the Zee Hall of Fame Award, which has been instituted for the first time. Similarly, actor-filmmaker and member of the Lok Sabha from Mumbai (North-West) Sunil Dutt received the Lifetime Achievement Award. “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” was also voted as the best film by netizens the world over and received the Zee Netizen-Best Film Award. Kareena Kapoor walked away with the Lux Face of the Year trophy while Ameesha Patel won the trophy for being the best female debutante. Apart from the Best Act Award, Hrithik also bagged the Best Male Debut Award. “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” also received trophies for the best story, best playback singing (both male and female), best film, best director and best music director. Jaya
Bachhan and Sunil Shetty bagged the award for Best Supporting Actress and Actor for “Fiza” and “Dhadkan”, respectively. Paresh Rawal (Best Comedian — “Hera Pheri”) and Sushant Singh (Best Villain — “Jungle”), Javed Akhtar (Best Lyricist — “Refugee”) for “Panchi nadiya...” were among the other winners. Dance performance by former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, “Khiladi” man Akshay Kumar, Priety Zinta, Urmila Matondkar were applauded by the audience. But the highlight of the function was the tribute to movie greats like Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna, down to Anil Kapoor by superstar of today Shah Rukh Khan.
UNI |
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SBI officers’ strike call
for April 4 Kolkata, March 18 The decision was taken by the federation at a meeting convened here to discuss the situation arising out of the implementation of the voluntary retirement scheme, federation president B.B. Das said. Stating that of the total 24,000 VRS applications accepted, 9,000 were of officers’ cadre, he said officers would go for the strike if the authorities did not increase the salary by 10 per cent. Meanwhile, the State Bank of India Staff Federation (SBISF) has also demanded compensation and ‘replacement recruitment’ following lowering of the clerical staff strength by about 15,000 via VRS and promotions. The
SBISF General Secretary, Mr Ashok Dutta, said the SBISF would hold a meeting on March 23 at Hyderabad to decide on its next course of action.
PTI |
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VHP terms for poll support Coimbatore, March 18 Irrespective of political alliance, any party which promises to constitute an autonomous board for Hindu temples would get full support from the
organisation, VHP Tamil Nadu unit joint General Secretary S. Gopalarathnam said today. Stating the
VHP wanted the state government to hand over the management of temples, as in the case of churches and mosques, to an autonomous body, he said other major demands included imposition of a blanket ban on conversions in the country. However, considering the ‘acceptance’ of several demands of the organisation by the
BJP support would be extended to its candidates in 23 Assembly constituencies and the Tiruchirapally Lok Sabha constituency, Mr Gopalarathnam said. He alleged the government was using temple land to construct ‘samathuvapurams’ in the state. Asked about the Congress demand for resignation by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee in the wake of the Tehelka.com expose, he said, “it was an election gimmick.” However, he added that Mr Vajpayee should ensure that the government came clean out of it. On Ram Temple, Mr Gopalarathnam said fabrication works were going on and outer construction works would be completed before March, 2002.
PTI |
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INL split formalised Chennai, March 18 Claiming “we are the real INL’’, Mr Nizamudeen told newsmen here that Mr Latheef was expelled from the party as he had betrayed the interests of the party as well as the Muslim community by accepting just one seat from AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalitha for the coming Assembly elections. The council, in a unanimous resolution, also stripped Mr Latheef of his post as leader of the INL legislature party in the state Assembly and decided to write to the Assembly Secretary to remove his name from the list of INL legislators in the Assembly records, he said. The council elected Mr Nizamudeen, who was the Organising Secretary of the INL, as working President of the party.
UNI |
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ISRO scientist all praise for judiciary Thiruvananthapuram, March 18 Reacting to the recent order of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the Kerala Government to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation for gross violation of his human rights by public servants, Mr Narayanan said here: “But for the judiciary, I would not have been alive today.” Referring to the compensation, he said the people who made the mistake should say “sorry”. Stating that he had no complaint against the Kerala police in general and other investigation agencies involved, Mr Nambinarayanan said one or two individuals in the system had been bent upon creating trouble. “The whole system itself was not bad to fabricate a story.” In the interest of the nation and democracy it was necessary to weed out such individuals from the system, he said. “My efforts hereon would be to identify these elements,” Mr Nambinarayanan, working as Director, Advance Technology and Planning, ISRO, said. He said he was in the process of writing a book on the ordeal he underwent during the past seven years while fighting the so-called ‘spy case’. PTI |
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Lifers not free after 20 years: SC New Delhi, March 18 “A sentence of imprisonment for life means a sentence for the entire life of the prisoner unless the appropriate government chooses to exercise its discretion to remit either the whole or part of the sentence,” a Bench of Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Justice S.N. Phukan has said. |
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10 govt employees compulsorily retired Jaipur, March 18 The employees were two land record inspectors, six patawaris and two clerks in the Banswada district administration, he said.
UNI CPM activist killed Midnapore, March 18 |
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