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Wednesday,
June 20, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Bitter tussle on in Defence Ministry
Pak defence cut modest:
experts
IA to induct 10 more planes |
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Touts flourish at yatris’ expense RPI asks govt to ban
VHP Laden plot: cops sent to Bihar Two Dawood men arrested Buddhadev keen on renaming W. Bengal Indian jurists
to visit Pak on June 25 Charter presents
humane side of cops
8 Naxalites die in fierce
encounter Jaya has date with ‘cradle’ kids Cong team to visit carnage site
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Bitter tussle on in Defence Ministry New Delhi, June 19 The situation has come to a head with the three services opposing tooth and nail the retaining of the present arrangement and seeking separate and exclusive set-ups. On the other hand another proposal seeking to revamp the present system on the basis of that existing in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has created further confusion. A Media Group, consisting of MoD officials, service officers and a consultant, in former Principal Information Officer (PIO) of the country, has also been set up specially to review the present system and give its suggestions. The group has had several meetings, but there is no consensus within it as the three services are vehemently opposing the retaining of the existing system. The group headed by the Additional Secretary in MoD, Mr Ajay Prasad and having the Additional PIO (Defence), Dr P.K. Bandhopadhyay as Member Secretary has Mr Ram Mohan Rao as its consultant. The other members of the group are four senior service officers- two from the Army and one each from the Navy and the Air Force. Sources in the ministry disclosed that the group was expected to present its report to the Defence Secretary, Mr Yogendra Narain, by the end of the month. This would, however, happen only after the representatives of the three services- Maj Gen S.S. Chahal, Maj Gen G.S. Negi, Rear Adml Bangara and Air Vice Marshal S.K. Jain- give their views in writing. Since the three services are opposing the present set up they have been asked to present their views in writing. As per reports, Mr Ram Mohan Rao has prepared a draft suggesting retaining of the existing system with upgradation of the existing facilities and opening of new offices in some important operational areas. This according to the draft would help in improving the communication between the services and the DPR and help in greater projection within the policy framework of the government. On the other hand, the Three Services are seeking their own exclusive and separate Public Relations set-ups with the MoD retaining the DPR department. After the initial difference of opinion among the three services, when the Army sought to control a merged parallel set-up under its officer of the rank of a Major General, there is a consensus among them on this issue now. As per the suggestions of the services, the policy and the MoD issues could be handled by the DPR Department, while their exclusive PR departments would handle all operational issues. They want these exclusive set-ups to be headed by the officers of the rank of a Major General and equivalent, who would report to the Chiefs of Staff Committee which inturn would interact with the MoD. Incidentally, the Army already has a similar set-up called the Army Liaison Cell (ALC) which forms part of the Directorate General of Military Intelligence. However, a third proposal has now come apparently from the newly appointed Information Consultant of the ministry, Mr B.G. Verghese. After attending a few meetings of the Media Group he has come forth with a suggestion of revamping the DPR on the lines of the office of Joint Secretary, External Publicity in the Ministry of External Affairs.
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Defence staff strike on July 23, 24 New Delhi, June 19 “Allowing private industries and MNCs to produce arms, ammunition, weapons and other defence equipment will jeopardise the entire security of the country,” a joint declaration adopted at a meeting of the defence-civilian employees organistions today said. The two-day joint meeting of the All- India Defence Employees Federation, the Indian National Defence Workers Federation and the Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh, which concluded today noted with “deep concern” the decision taken by the Union Cabinet on May 9 to allow 100 per cent participation of private industries in defence production and permit 26 per cent FDI by amending the industrial policy.
PTI |
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Pak defence cut modest:
experts New Delhi, June 19 As Pakistan’s Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz promised in his Budget speech that the country’s sovereignty and credible deterrence will not be compromised despite the stationary Defence Budget, the experts here said the reduction was more due to the deteriorating economic condition of our neighbours rather than any real good intentions. As per the Budget announced yesterday, Pakistan’s military expenditure remains stable at $ 2.09 billion, the amount allocated last year also. However, the figure represents a 5 per cent decrease in terms of the inflation rate and a 20 per cent decrease in terms of the dollar rate. The experts said the reduction was mainly because of Pakistan’s fragile macro fiscal indicators and pressures from the international lending agencies. Pakistan has been under pressure from donor countries and agencies to cut down its military expenditure. It is presently groaning under a $ 38 billion external debt and even a larger amount in internal debt. Almost 44 per cent of Pakistan’s national Budget of $ 12 billion for the new year would go into servicing the debts. The experts were of the view that this figure could be misleading as the reduction of two billion rupees in a figure of almost 150 billion was virtually nothing. They felt that this gesture from Pakistan was more a symbolic one for the lending institutions rather than for the people of the sub-continent. There are certain hidden defence expenditures which are not shown in the Budget. Pakistan has a number of long-term defence projects on in cooperation with China. They possibly have a flexible payment schedule and could have been avoided from the Budget at present. Defence Ministry officials here were also of the view that there could possibly be some hidden expenses which have been shown under other heads rather than defence. Citing an example, a ministry official said that even in 1999-2000 Pakistan had put the military pensions under a civilian head leading to reduction in the Defence Budget. But in reality the Budget was raised from Rs 119 billion to Rs 133 billion. Pakistan’s defence spending over the years as a percentage of the GDP has been much higher than India’s. New Delhi’s defence hike of 13.8 per cent in 2001-2002 (Rs. 62,000 crore) constituted 2.4 per cent of the GDP while Islamabad’s 1999-2000 defence outlay stood at 4.4 per cent. |
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IA to induct 10 more planes New Delhi, June 19 While the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Mr S.C. Jamir has welcomed the Centre’s decision to extend the ceasefire to other areas, the party’s Chief Minister in Assam has strongly opposed it. Mr Gogoi has allged that the ceasefire was extended by the Centre without consulting the Chief Ministers concerned. There is also a Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh which has Naga inhabited pockets. Unlike the NDA ally, Samata Party, which was quick to criticise the ceasefire extension to other North-Eastern states, the Congress took its own time in deciding the party’s stand on the issue. To take care of sensibilities of its constituents in Nagaland on the one hand and in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on the other, the Congress opposed the extension of ceasefire. That the Nagaland Chief Minister is not in agreement with the Congress high command’s thinking on the issue was reflected in his statement that the ceasefire should be extended to Naga-inhabited contiguous areas if the residents of those areas so desired. Central leaders of the Congress, however, clarified here that the party was against extension of ceasefire. The party also urged the Centre to look into the issue once again. Unwilling to restrain Mr Jamir, the leaders said some leniency had to be given to him due to local conditions. Charging the NDA with not consulting the state governments on the issue, the party reiterated its commitment to maintenance of territorial integrity of Manipur and other North-Eastern states. The party said it was another fall out of NDA’s lack of experience, more particularly when it came to dealing with sensitive matters like the North-East. Terming the Congress stance as “very nuanced,” a Congress leader said while the party would like the ceasefire in Nagaland to continue, its extension to other areas should be reconsidered by the Centre. |
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Touts flourish at yatris’ expense New Delhi, June 19 Chanting ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shankar’ these people appear like any other devotees. However, a closer scrutiny unmasks their real persona. With less than a week to go for the completion of registration for the yatra, touts are adopting innovative methods to beat the official “restriction” of issuing registration to limited number of persons per form. Faced with numerous complaints from “real” devotees not getting a chance to register themselves, the government has imposed a restriction of registering only six persons per form. To decrease the incidents of mishaps, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has allotted each state a fixed quota for the registration of pilgrims. Unlike the previous times the Tourism Department is doing all it can to check fake registration and to regulate the number of pilgrims from each state. The touts have always found a way of being within the system. They come in a group, stand in queue again and again till the counter, which is open for a couple of hours, finally closes. “I came here at 4 am. It is about 1 pm now. I am not sure whether my turn will ever come today,” said Pankaj, who is on his first trip to the holy Hindu pilgrimage site. A Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department official said efforts were being made to regulate the registration with ease, but our appeal for help to the NGOs, the Shiv Sena and the Delhi police had not yielded much result. “We have brought in students from the state to scrutinise the registration forms, which is a tedious and time consuming process,” Mr Sonam Dorjay, Assistant Director in the Tourism Department, told The Tribune. Cautioning the yatris against touts, he said a batch of 2,000 persons would be allowed to proceed in a group at a time from Pahalgam, which is about 40 km from Amarnath cave. |
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RPI asks govt to ban
VHP New Delhi, June 19 The RPI urged the government to ban the VHP for trying to disturb the communal harmony by announcing plans for construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. The Ayodhya dispute was in court and the VHP’s announcement of plans to construct the temple without waiting for the judicial order is a challenge to the communal harmony, RPI president Ramadas Athawale told mediapersons here. He said Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee as an Opposition leader had promised to protect the Babri Masjid in 1992. In spite of it, the mosque was demolished. Now it was the responsibility of his government to protect the disputed site till the judiciary pronounced its verdict, he said. Arms training to Bajrang Dal activists by sangh parivar was condemned by leaders attending the Muslim Convention and they urged the government to ban the activity. The convention was attended by leaders of the All-India Insaf Party, Indian Union Muslim League, Indian National League and National Loktantrik Party. On the NCSN (IM) ceasefire, the RPI president said the decision of the government had created doubts in the minds of the people of Manipur about the larger implications of the Centre’s decision. |
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Laden plot: cops sent to Bihar New Delhi, June 19 The police was also making efforts to identify an Iranian national, who was supposed to provide technical know-how to Hawash, the Sudanese national arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police on Friday, a senior police official said. During interrogation, the Sudanese national disclosed that he was to receive help from the Iranian national in fitting the explosive in a car, which was to be parked near the visa section of the Embassy. The explosive was to be exploded by a timer device. The car was to be provided by Abbas who was arrested from Udaipur in Rajasthan. The efforts were also being made to find out whether Dhaka was also a target of the alleged terrorists for carrying out blast at the US Embassy there, the police official said. New Delhi, June 19 The gangsters, Mohammad Farooque and Zeeshan, were arrested yesterday when they tried to run away after having seen a police team, the police said. The gangsters first called the owner of the shop and asked him to talk Dawood Bhai in Dubai on a given telephone number. When the owner did not respond, they went to the shop to shoot him. They belong to walled city. During interrogation, they confessed to having come to shoot the owner of the shop on the direction of Dawood’s henchman, Guddu Bhai. |
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Buddhadev keen on renaming W. Bengal Kolkata, June 19 But, before any name is given to West Bengal, Mr Bhattacharyya wants that the issue be raised, discussed and debated at all levels. However, he himself prefers that West Bengal be renamed as Bangla or Banga. At the state Assembly, he disclosed the governments intention to rename West Bengal. A resolution was also passed at the last Assembly session in February before the Assembly elections. And now the government has taken up the move to implement the proposal. Mr Bhattacharyya has been talking to several eminent persons for their views in this connection. The 90-year-old novelist, Ananda Sankar Ray, wants that West Bengal be renamed as Paschim Bengasa and not Bangla or Banga. He feels that the word ‘paschim’ will easily identify West Bengal against ‘Purba Banga’ which was created following Partition. Sunil Gangopadhyya, Bengali poet and novelist, favours the Chief Minister’s view that like Kolkata, West Bengal should also be called either Bangla or Banga. Leaders of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress feel there are some more crucial issues to be discussed than the renaming of West Bengal. BJP leaders also have the same views. |
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Indian jurists
to visit Pak on June 25 New Delhi, 19 The delegation comprising former Supreme Court judge, Justice K.N. Saikia, former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Justice D.S. Tewatia, former Chairman of Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission ( MRTPC), Justice A N Divecha, former Judge of Allahabad High Court Justice S.I. Jafri, and member of Bar Council of India, Mr Adish C. Aggarwal, will meet Pakistan President Rafiq Tarar, Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf, Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, the Law Minister, the Internal Minister and the Foreign Minister. “The delegation will try to create conditions which are conducive to the building of mutual trust for peaceful co-existence”, Mr Aggarwal said. |
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Charter presents
humane side of cops
Sriganganagar, June 19 Instructions have been issued from the police headquarters to all district police chiefs to distribute copies of the charter besides prominently displaying its provisions in all police stations and posts. Police-public interactions in the cities and the countryside will be organised at regular intervals. Any violations will be taken seriously and the defaulting officials severely dealt with, the charter states. A perusal of the charter reveals that henceforth the police will be bound to inform relatives and family members of an arrested person and will have to produce him in a court within 24 hours. In case, he is arrested from a place other than his residence, he will be allowed to make a telephone call to inform his family. The first information report (FIR) will be registered immediately and a copy of the report will be provided to the complainant immediately free of cost. Similarly, the investigating officer will inform the complainant about the progress made in the case. Help for aggrieved women has a place of prominence in the charter. A woman who complains of any wrong doing or harassment will be provided all necessary help by the cops. If a woman complainant is reluctant to come to the police station to lodge a complaint, a police officer will have to go to her residence to register her grievance. The presence of a woman officer has been made mandatory when a woman accused is brought to the police station for questioning. If the accused so desires, the relatives of the accused will also be allowed to be present at that time. Any arrest of women have to be effected during the day time and they will have to be produced in the court on the same day. In exceptional cases — where the accused is arrested during the night time, the presence of a woman police officer besides a family member or a relative of the accused — has to be ensured, the charter stipulates. The charter also lays down guidelines in case of delinquents and children. All officials have been asked to shed their hard image and treat the children in a humane manner. They should be discouraged from anti-social acts and the emphasis should be on reforming such kids at their level rather than booking them for petty acts. In cases where children have to be taken into custody, they should be kept in separate lock ups and away from hardened criminals. They should not be ill-treated or brutalised. The common man too is expected to be treated with respect and civility. The message should go that the people should freely come to police stations for help, cooperation and the speedy redressal of their grievances. Similarly, the people too have been asked to exercise their duties and extend a helping hand to the police in carrying out their duties effectively. The people should inform the cops about the movement of any anti- social or suspicious people in their neighbourhood. The apprehension of the people about helping road accident victims has been laid to rest. Any person who brings a road victim to a hospital will not be detained, harassed or forced to give his address. However, it is his duty to help the police during further investigations or give his evidence in courts. The charter further states all information will be kept confidential, if the informant so desires. A person can also call up the DGP if he feels that his complaint was not being redressed at the lower-level. |
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8 Naxalites die in fierce
encounter Hyderabad, June 19 Acting on a tip-off that Naxalites were holding a major meeting on a hillock near Chintapally village, about 65 km from Nalgonda town, a police party surrounded the hideout, the police said. In the ensuing six-hour long fierce exchange of fire, eight ultras and a constable were killed while four extremists were believed to have escaped. The encounter, which began at 7.30 am, continued till late afternoon. The police suspect that top functionaries of the PWG belonging to three major “Dalams” in the area, were participating in the meeting when the police cornered
them. PTI |
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Jaya has date with ‘cradle’ kids Chennai, June 19 The children were filled with awe, nevertheless nervous, as they entered the Chief Minister’s chambers to meet Ms J. Jayalalithaa, who introduced the “cradle baby scheme” during her previous regime, in an attempt to put an end to the female infanticide, prevalent especially in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Under the scheme, the parents could leave their “unwanted” girl babies in the cradles installed by the government. Hundreds of children, thus rescued, now attend schools, thanks to the S.O.S. village in Tambaram, which adopted them. Ms Jayalalithaa, who distributed chocolates and sweets to the girls, also named two infants rescued through the scheme, which has since been revived.
UNI |
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Cong team to visit carnage site New Delhi, June 19 The team comprises the AICC General Secretary, Mr Mahavir Prasad, the AICC Secretary, Mr Subodh Kant Sahay, in charge of UP affairs, Mr Shriprakash Jaiswal, President, UPCC, and Mr S.S. Bundela, Vice-President, UPCC. Other senior leaders of the UP Congress Committee will also accompany the team. The delegation will submit its report tomorrow to Mrs Sonia Gandhi. |
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