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Sunday,
May 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Bush emissary skips
mention of Kashmir PM meets trade
unions on labour issues Uttaranchal:
when dreams turn sour 40,000 Uttaranchal cases in Allahabad High Court |
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Sena asks Vajpayee
to apologise PM meets
President Russia test-fires
missiles at Indian range Kisan patras worth
Rs 50 lakh seized Chinese
politburo member arrives Upgrade disaster
management: Advani 50 get Sangeet
Natak Akademi awards
B’deshi infiltrator
shot by BSF VRS turns into
husbands’ nightmare Meeting Big B was more
satisfying RSS “agrees not
to corner govt” BJP chief rejects exit poll
results Days of Rabri Govt “numbered” Rift between
BJP, AGP resurfaces Cong may form govt with
Independents
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Bush emissary skips
mention of Kashmir New Delhi, May 12 The change became more than discernible when Mr Armitage, who was here yesterday as a special envoy of US President George W. Bush to apprise the Indian government and the political leadership of the emerging profile of global security order including missile defence plan. Unlike the officials of the previous US
administrations he did not use typical formulation that Kashmir was a nuclear flashpoint and that is why India and Pakistan must address the issue. While President Bush asked Mr Armitage to travel to Tokyo and Seoul along with New Delhi. The very fact that Islamabad was not included in his itinerary is a small pointer to the shift in the new US Adminstration’s thinking, sources pointed out. India is emerging a key element in the evolution of the US strategic thinking as became evident when Mr Armitage not only met the government side but chose to take even Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi into confidence. In Japan and South Korea, the US Deputy Secretary of State did not meet anyone but the members of the ruling dispensation. Earlier, the US officials used to equate India and Pakistan and would mention Kashmir as a potential source of conflict in the South Asian region but now in the emerging scheme of international security paradigm of the Bush administration New Delhi is an important element, official said. While Mr Armitage did not include Pakistan in the USA’s list of rogue states in whose name missile defence plan is being developed but he had Islamabad in mind when he told newspersons that “we have questions about Pakistan which are well known and of which you are equally aware”. What indeed disturbs Washington is the Sino-Pakistan relationship as Beijing continues to supply missile technology to Islamabad. A shift in the USA’s traditional thinking on South Asia is going to have long term impact on developments both inside Pakistan as well as on groups like the All Party Hurriyat Conference which has, in past, been seeking support in the western capitals, sources said. |
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Armitage calls
on Sonia Gandhi New Delhi, May 12 The Deputy Secretary briefed the Congress president on the missile defence system and the process set in motion in this regard by his discussions in Japan and South Korea. He also informed her that a colleague of his would be visiting Beijing. The meeting lasted 40 minutes. The Congress’ point of view on the US missile defence initiative was conveyed to Mr
Armitage. Other matters of mutual interest also figured in the talks. |
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PM meets trade unions on labour issues New Delhi, May 12 At the meeting, leaders of various trade unions strongly opposed the government’s policies on disinvestment and the proposed amendments in the Contract Labour Act and the Industrial Disputes Act under which no prior permission would be required to sack employees in industries employing less than 1,000 workers. Emerging from the two-hour meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence, Mr Hasmukhbhai Dave, general secretary of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), affiliated to the BJP, said: “We are not satisfied as the government takes ex parte decisions without consulting us.” BMS founder Dattopant Thengdi recently fired salvos at the Vajpayee government on issues like disinvestment and proposed amendments in certain Acts. Mr Dave said Mr Vajpayee should spell out clearly the measures he intended to take for the welfare of workers when he would address the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) here on May 18. Labour Minister Satyanarayan Jatiya told reporters that Mr Vajpayee sought to allay apprehensions among trade union leaders by explaining the intention of the government to protect the labour force and assuring them that a mechanism would be evolved to protect the interests of workers in the face of disinvestment of various PSUs. Representatives of the BMS, INTUC, the HMS, the AITUC, CITU, the UTUC (LS), the UTUC and the NFITU attended the meeting. Mr Jatiya said the Prime Minister had also assured to consider the demand for setting up a Welfare Board for the unorganised sector. Trade union leaders impressed upon the Prime Minister that the economic reforms had caused the closure of industrial units so the unemployed should be given unemployment allowance.
PTI, UNI |
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Uttaranchal:
when dreams turn sour Dehra Dun Unilateral decisions taken by those in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre, who handled the official formation of the state, have disappointed the hill folks. But the virtually unrivalled ruling party dotes on the handicapped offspring of their statehood agitation. The planners showed less regard for popular aspirations from the outset. Neither the party that holds 23 out of the 30 seats in the provisional Legislative Assembly, nor the Opposition parties that share the remaining seats have bothered to join issue on any crucial matter of Uttaranchal. It all began when the 1.8 million people of Hardwar were left with no option but to become part of Uttaranchal. In one stroke of the pen, the architects of the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000, had skewed the demographic composition of the state that was to be called “Uttarakhand”, derecognising the regional aspirations of the people of Kumaon and Garhwal and their assertion for limited self determination. The people of Kumaon and Garhwal have come to realise this fact that in case usual stipulations are followed by the Election Commission while delimiting the 70 Assembly constituencies of the new state, the hill folk may end up with only one-fourth representation. Since about 76 per cent of the 8.7 million population of Uttaranchal are estimated to be residing in the foothills, three-fourth of the seats could be allotted to Dehra Dun, Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar, unless a different criterion is adopted for the delimitation process. Already the demand for setting up the capital in the hills has got the short shrift. The 10th hill state is likely to end up being the only one of its kind, with a capital in the foothills. Although the decision takes away much of the steam from the anti-merger agitation in Hardwar, the de facto rejection of Gairsain as the capital has created disenchantment among the people of Kumaon and Garhwal. By setting up High Court in Nainital, local lawyers have been silenced. But the long distance between Nainital on the one hand and Dehra Dun, Chamoli, Tehri Garhwal, Rudra Prayag and many more places on the other, have added to the woes of the people. To make matters worse, the Chief Ministership of Mr Nityanand Swami is being seen by a majority of the local people as little more than a decorative interlude in transition. The former Chairman of the UP Legislative Council, after six months in office as CM, has not been able to get himself out of the practised ease with which statutory statements are offered as answers to burning issues plaguing the masses. With a whopping debt of Rs 2,600 crore inherited from the parent state UP and an annual deficit of Rs 1061.03 crore by the end of March 31, 2002, there are few takers for the assurance of Mr Swami that drinking water will be provided in every village, the backlog of the vacancies of teachers in the far-flung areas of Garhwal and Kumaon will be cleared, the transport system will be improved and many more.... According to Mr Lakhe Ram Joshi, a BJP MLA from Tehri, the state government has failed to pick up the issues concerning the overall development of the hill state. Surprisingly, even after six months of the formation of the interim government, only 5 per cent assets have been transferred from UP. The industrial policy is yet to be announced. It seems to be that Mr Swami has failed to manage the administrative set-up of the state. “Beneath the surface, one can see the signs of increasing polarisation, the hills versus the plains and the under-developed versus the developed. The only difference lies in the parameters of polarisation, which have shrunk to the size of a smaller state”, says Mr Munna Singh Chauhan, MLA, who recently parted ways from the Samajwadi Party. But on the other hand, Mr Narayan Ram Dass, Minister of Social Welfare Department, claims: “The two major achievements of the BJP government in Uttaranchal during the past six months are the formal acceptance of the Union Cabinet to grant special economic status to the state, besides upgrading the status of Roorkee University to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)”. To overcome all problems, Mr Swami has to draw a clear line of vision for development by announcing friendly policies to attract tourists, industries and investment in other sectors. |
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40,000 Uttaranchal cases in Allahabad High Court Dehra dun, May 12 As per the judicial procedure, the cases cannot be transferred automatically to the Uttaranchal High Court in Nainital. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has filed an application before the Allahabad Court contending that such cases be placed before the court and only after a certificate issued by the court these cases should go to the Uttaranchal High Court. The Uttaranchal High Court Bar Association on the other hand contends that no judicial hearing relating to the cases of the Uttaranchal region can take place in the Allahabad High Court as the new High Court of Uttaranchal has already started functioning. It is only after an administrative order in the form of certificate issued by the Registrar of the Allahabad High Court that all such cases can be transferred to the Uttaranchal High Court. The important question of law was discussed in the Allahabad High Court by a Division Bench consisting of two senior judges, but the order was reserved on the PUCL writ petition. The petitioner has contended that the honourable court should direct its Registrar not to transfer the cases of the Uttaranchal region at the Nainital High Court unless it obtains the certificates as required under Section 35 (2) of the Uttar Pradesh State Re-organisation Act 2000. |
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Sena asks Vajpayee
to apologise New Delhi, May 12 The sainiks, led by Delhi unit President Jai Bhagwan Goyal and party’s state executive member Abhimanyu Gulati, also asked Mr Vajpayee to withdraw his proposal to provide work permits to illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “The whole nation is shocked by your statement. We fail to understand what you want to convey to your countrymen by making such statements,” Mr Goyal said in a memorandum to Mr Vajpayee in which he demanded that the Prime Minister should apologise for his remarks. Addressing a public meeting at Loni in Uttar Pradesh on May 9, Mr Vajpayee had said some sections had blown up the recent skirmishes along the Bangladesh border out of proportion. “Chhoti si ghatna thi .... til ka tad banaya gaya (It was a small incident, they made a mountain out of a molehill),” he had said. The Sena leader said by making a proposal to provide work permits to Bangladeshi immigrants, the BJP-led government was resorting to vote bank politics and treading the Congress line of “Muslim appeasement”. |
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PM meets
President New Delhi, May 12 Mr Vajpayee is believed to have briefed the President about his visit to Malaysia beginning tomorrow. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman described the meeting as a “routine one.” Sources said Mr Vajpayee also briefed him about the government’s decision to integrate the three headquarters of the armed forces and set up an Intelligence Coordination Group. Mr Vajpayee’s Malaysian visit would clear the hurdles in bringing Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochi here to face trial in the Bofors pay-off case. The visit of Mr Vajpayee, who will be accompanied by Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan and Minister of State for Commerce Omar Abdullah, besides a strong 70-member trade delegation, is expected to give a big boost to the economic ties between the two countries. The extradition treaty is under discussion and it may be signed during the visit, officials said.
PTI |
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Russia test-fires missiles at Indian range Balasore (Orissa), May 12 Scientists and engineers as well the upgraded missiles for test firing have been flown here by Russian Air Force IL 76 transport planes. OSA-AK is a 15 km-range anti-aircraft missile which is already in the arsenal of the Indian Air Force and was used in the just concluded wargames in the Thar desert. While the Russians basically are carrying out advanced tests on the OSA-AK, Defence Ministry in New Delhi said that some of these missiles with the IAF, which were nearing their shelf life, were also going to be tested for their efficacy.
PTI |
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Kisan patras worth
Rs 50 lakh seized New Delhi, May 12 Anupam, Sudhir, Ravinder and Dayanand were arrested by sleuths of the operation cell of the North-West District police when they came to deliver the bonds to a decoy who posed as a factory owner wanting the Kisan Vikas Patras as surety for getting a loan to establish his unit in Haryana, Deputy Commissioner of Police
R. P. Upadhayaya told mediapersons. While bonds worth Rs 4 lakh were seized from the spot, subsequent raids at the residence of the accused led to the recovery of the Kisan Vikas Patras and 22 seals and stamps of various postmasters and post offices, including Alwar, Ambala, Jalandhar, Jammu cantonment, Jodhpur, Bareilly cantonment, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Ferozepore cantonment, Jodhpur, Shamli, Jhunjhunu and Karnal, Mr Upadhayaya
said. |
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Chinese politburo member arrives New Delhi, May 12 Although officials here described the visit by the Chinese leader as “part of the process of high-level political exchanges between India and China in the recent years,” it is believed that the US missile defence programme would figure during the discussions between Mr Li Changchun and Indian leaders. His main engagement will be on May 17 in Delhi when he holds talks with External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on bilateral, regional and international issues He will also call on President K.R. Narayanan.
UNI |
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Upgrade disaster management: Advani Ahmedabad, May 12 “But every time the disaster occurs in the state or at any other place, an impression is generated that there was something lacking in the level of preparedness to mitigate the effects of the crisis”, the minister said. Mr Advani said natural calamities could not be prevented, but an effective disaster preparedness system could always reduce the adverse effects and vulnerability of the people. Mr Hafiz Paza, United Nation’s Assistant Secretary General, said the UN was planning to set up a centre for disaster management in New Delhi. Mr Advani said it would be unrealistic to except that emergencies wouldnot occur in India which had 55 per cent of its surface area vulnerable to earthquakes, 8 per cent to cyclones and 5 per cent to floods. The minister stressed the need for setting up a network of state-of-the-art emergency operation centres at national and state capitals and in the headquarters of the disaster-prone districts in India. He also underlined the need for training and equipping urban research and rescue teams in about 30 locations in the country initially. Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel said after the first phase of rescue and relief work for the earthquake victims was over, the crucial second phase focussing on rehabilitation was underway.
PTI |
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50 get Sangeet Natak Akademi awards New Delhi, May 12 Vice-President Krishan Kant presented the awards at a glittering ceremony held at the Convention Hall of Hotel Ashok this evening. The awardees include 12 each in the music and dance categories and 11 each in theatre and traditional arts. Musicologist B.V.K. Sastry, art critics Shanta Serbjeet Singh and Nemi Chand Jain were awarded for overall contribution to performing arts. The awardees were chosen by the general council of the Akademi headed by its chairman Bhupen Hazarika. The awards carry a cash component of Rs 25,000, a plaque and a shawl each. The awarded musicians are Ajoy Chakraborty, Malabika Kanan and Rita Ganguli (Hindustani vocal), Neyattinkara Vasudevan, S.R. Janakiraman and T.N. Seshagopalan (carnatic vocal), Shankar Ghosh (Tabla), T.S. Sankaran (flute), Rajiv Taranath (sarod), Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium), R.R. Keshavamurthy (violin) and V. Kamalakar Rao (mridangam). The dancers are Swapnasundari (Kuchipudi), Shovana Narayan (Kathak), Madhavi Mudgal and Minati Mishra (Odissi), Nelliyodu Vasudevan Namboodiri (Kathakali), Bharati Shivaji (Mohiniattam), Leela Samson, K. Kalyanasundaram Pillai and H.R. Keshavamurthy (Bharatanatyam), Mallika Sarabhai (creative) and Sorokhaibam Naran Singh (arts Manipuri). In theatre, Seema Biswas, Ketaki Dutta and Sabitri Chattopadhyay were awarded for acting, Prasanna, Nadira Zaheer Babbar and Balwant Thakur for direction, R.K. Dhingra (lighting), Kamal Tiwari and Kajal Ghosh (music), Shakti Sen (make-up) and Robin Das (scenic design). In folk music, the awards went to Gajanan Verma (Rajasthan), H. Kaibuia (Mizoram), Agat A. Sangama (Meghalaya), Mammam Khan (Haryana) and Sharda Sinha (Bihar). In traditional music and theatre, Maddalam Maestro V. Appukuty Poduval (Kerala), Kamala Murthy of Tamil Nadu (Harikatha), twin brothers Kalu and Balu Kulapurkar of Maharashtra (Tamasha), Krushna Chandra Sahu of Orissa (Prahlad Natak), G.S. Channi of Punjab (Community theatre) and B.H. Puttasamachar of Karnataka (puppetry) were the winners. The presentation ceremony was followed by a Hindustani-Carnatic ‘jugalbandi’ by the award-winning Ajoy Chakraborty and T.N. Seshagopalan, accompanied by Kamalakar Rao on the mridangam. The award winners will perform at a nine-day festival of music, dance and theatre beginning here tomorrow.
UNI |
| Sriganganagar hottest at 49°C Sriganganagar, May 12 In view of the heat wave, various schools have preponed the summer vacations while the administration has shortened and changed the timings of all schools in the district. Schools will now open at 7.30 a.m. and close at 10.30 a.m. Earlier, the timings were altered in June only. The temperatures for the past fortnight have been unbearably high — never below 45 degrees — and are unprecedented in May for the past many years. The temperature today was a scorching 49 degrees for the second time in this week alone. The humidity level is the lowest ever at 6-7 per cent only. The minimum temperature too has rarely gone below 30 degrees even during the night. Coolers and fans are not enough to beat the heat and the rich are just about making it in air-conditioned rooms. The saving grace has been the almost uninterrupted power supply which was erratic for the past many days. Doctors have been advising people not to venture out in the intense heat and have advised two-wheeler riders and cyclists to cover their heads and faces if they venture out at all. The city comes to life only after 6 p.m. and people can be seen sitting in parks enjoying the relatively cool atmosphere till 1 a.m. |
| B’deshi infiltrator
shot by BSF Sriganganagar, May 12 According to sources, the 35-year-old-man had crawled through the first line of the barbed wire fence near the Sakhi observation post (pillar number 391/1) and was trying to negotiate the second fence when he was spotted by a patrol and asked to stop. When he paid no heed and started to frantically negotiate the fence, the personnel opened fire killing him on the spot. He is stated to be a Bangladeshi national after initial investigations. |
| VRS turns into husbands’
nightmare Sriganganagar, May 12 According to sources, Jagmati Devi and Sumitra were angry over the fact that they had not been consulted by their husbands and worried as to what would their families do after they retired. Things took a turn for the worse and after a bitter quarrel, the duo threatened to set themselves afire if their husbands did not withdraw their applications. The neighbours informed the police as things got out of hand. An ASI reached the spot and tried to reason with them, but to no avail. In view of their threat, he took them into custody. The women were produced before the SDM who released them after asking them to furnish a surety of Rs 25, 000 each and issuing a warning to them. Rameshwar and Ram Chander had applied for the VRS in view of the poor financial health of the Central State Agricultural Farms,
Suratgarh. Their request was accepted by the management today. |
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Meeting Big B was more satisfying Rourkela, May 12 Friends, relatives and even unknown persons are calling to congratulate Bijay kumar Raul, an employee of the Rourkela Steel Plant, and his wife Arundhati, who have become the first “crorepati pati-patni” (couple) of the popular TV quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati anchored by Amitabh Bachchan. The episode, which was telecast on Star Plus in two parts on May 2 and 7, had catapulted the unknown couple from Orissa’s Ganjam district to fame. They are the second winners of the Rs 1 crore jackpot after Mumbai’s Harshvadan Nawathe. “It will remain an unforgettable chapter of our lives. But more than winning Rs 1 crore, it was the opportunity to interact with a star of Amitabh Bachchan’s stature and celebrated quiz master Siddharth Basu gave us more satisfaction”, the couple told PTI here. All it required was a deep knowledge of various subjects, logical and analytical thinking and presence of mind, they said. “We never felt nervous while facing the 15 questions. We were calm though we had to ponder over certain answers”, 32-year-old Raul said. The couple have decided to donate a portion of the prize money to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, utilise a part of it for the education of their two-year-old son and use the rest of it themselves.
PTI |
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RSS “agrees not
to corner govt” New Delhi, May 12 However, party sources said the meeting helped the party and the RSS in agreeing to stop adopting an attitude of “confrontationist” towards each other. The meeting of senior RSS leaders, including H.V. Seshadri and M.G. Vaidya with Vajpayee was a follow-up to the one Home Minister L.K. Advani had with them at the local RSS headquarters here on Thursday. The BJP had taken exception to the strong criticism of government’s economic policies and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha by the chief of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) Dattopant Thengadi. The RSS leadership is understood to have conveyed to Mr Vajpayee that it would “restrain” its affiliated organisations from making critical comments on the government’s policies, party sources said. However, party sources said even though Parivar affiliates may be “politely” told not to be “too critical” of the government’s economic policies, at the same time “we cannot completely ask them to stop being critical”.
PTI |
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BJP chief rejects exit poll results New Delhi, May 12 The party has two MLAs in Tamil Nadu, one in West Bengal and five in Assam. Talking to newspersons after reviewing the political situation at a meeting of central office-bearers here, Mr Krishnamurthy said the exit poll had given a margin of 3 per cent which was quite high and could change the scenario altogether. He claimed that the DMK-led front would form the government in Tamil Nadu. “Similarly our AGP-BJP would do better in Assam. But in Bengal, anything can happen,” he said. About Kerala, he said the past experience had shown that there had always been a shift in the voting pattern; anti-incumbency trend had always been there. So this time the United Democratic Front had a very fair chance as compared to the Left Democratic Front. “This time the BJP would be able to make an electoral breakthrough. We are just waiting for it. Once it happens the picture will change slowly in that state,” he said. The BJP President said the party had got only 5.8 per cent of the votes in previous elections. This time it was likely to achieve about 10 per cent more. “We will be able to match the Marxists in the coming days,” he claimed. Similarly, the BJP was making a steady progress in Pondicherry, he added. The exit poll had predicted that in West Bengal, the Left Front would win 150 seats, and the
Congress-Trinamool Congress combine 138. In Kerala, it had shown the UDF getting 100 seats and the LDF 37 in Assam, it has given the Congress 60, the AGP-BJP 33 and others 32.
UNI |
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Days of Rabri Govt “numbered” Ranchi, May 12 “The government in Bihar is bound to fall due to its strong inherent contradictions and the NDA will not hesitate extending unconditional support to dissident RJD leader Ranjan Yadav,’’ the former Defence Minister said. Mr Ranjan Yadav (MP) had recently floated the RJD (Democratic) to challenge Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav. On the assembly elections in five states, he said: “The outcome of the poll will have no impact on the NDA, government. The results of the poll would not also surprise anyone.’’ In West Bengal, the Left Front government would have been ousted had the Trinamool Congress not drifted away from the NDA, he claimed, adding that the political situation there two months ago was completely against the Left parties. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu anti-incumbency was the major factor which had decided the outcome of the elections.
UNI |
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Victory for democracy in Assam Guwahati, May 12 The state witnessed large-scale violence in the run-up to the poll as the militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) targeted leaders and workers of the AGP-BJP alliance. In the later stages of the campaign, a few Congress workers were also attacked by unidentified miscreants. More than 40 persons, including BJP candidate for the Dibrugarh Assembly constituency Jayanta Dutta were killed while, a few others including the AGP candidate for the Barpeta Assembly constituency Kumar Dipak Das, critically injured in ULFA attacks. The large-scale pre-poll violence raised apprehensions that the voter turn out would be very low and the Governor of Assam Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd) termed the poll as a battle between the ballot and bullet. Ultimately the ballot defeated the bullet as a large number of people of the State came out to cast their votes. The turnout was very high even in areas considered to be the strongholds of the ULFA. Nalbari district in lower Assam, considered to be a stronghold of the ULFA witnessed the maximum number of incidents of pre-poll violence but the district recorded a turnout of more than 70 per cent, while, Nagaon district, which was also a strong base of the outfit at one point of time, recorded 75 per cent. The situation was different from that of the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha poll. Nalbari district witnessed a very low turnout of voters in 1998. While the turnout improved in 1999, the tension in the minds of the people was quite evident. But this time, the people have overcome their fear for the militants and a festive atmosphere was witnessed in front of the polling stations. Despite the threat, the workers of the AGP-BJP alliance also came out to make their presence felt in front of the polling stations. In the Bahjani area of Nalbari, where the former public works Minister Nagen Sarma was killed by the ULFA last year, the turnout of voters was very impressive. Over 50 per cent of the voters in the polling station just near the place where Sarma was killed, exercised their franchise till 12 noon on the voting day when this correspondent visited the spot. Similar was the case in other ULFA strongholds and even the relatives of the ULFA leaders came out to cast their votes. |
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Rift between BJP, AGP resurfaces
Guwahati,
May 12 BJP leader and Union Minister Bijoya Chakravarty and Assam unit party vice-president Ramendra Nath Deka have made similar allegations, saying that they were not adequately helped by AGP supporters. Mr Deka, a candidate from Jalukbari constituency, said! “We have worked hard to help AGP candidates, like Moidul Islam Bora in the Kamalpur constituency. But that was not reciprocated in the constituencies where the BJP was fighting as an alliance candidate.’’ Mrs Chakarvarty also alleged that money meant for the BJP candiadates was used to “buy voters and officials’’ by their alliance partner for their benefit only. AGP spokesman Birendra Prasad Baishya denied the allegations saying that the AGP workers had extended full help. Terming the allegations the personal comments of the two BJP
leaders, Mr Baishya said the remarks were not the party statement. UNI |
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Cong may form govt with
Independents Guwahati, May 12 Major parties have started identifying potential winners amongst Independents and smaller parties. “They are very important’’ said Congress spokesman Abdul
Khaleque. His words were echoed by the AGP and the BJP as well. “We would get at least 70 seats’’ claimed state Congress President Tarun Gogoi while Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was confident of a majority. “You just wait and see the results’’ he said. Meanwhile, expelled Congress leader Matang Sing reiterated that he would support the party only if Mr Tarun Gogoi was not made the Chief
Minister. UNI |
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