M A I N   N E W S

Manipur House to be dissolved
Parliament approves President’s rule
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 30
The Manipur Assembly, which is under suspended animation, will be dissolved after Parliament approves President’s rule in the North-Eastern state and “no attempt will be made to form any fresh government” before the poll, the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani assured the Lok Sabha today.

Moving the statutory resolution imposing President’s rule in Manipur, which has already been approved by the Rajya Sabha, Mr Advani pointed out as per the Supreme Court verdict in the Bommai case the legislative assembly could be dissolved only after Parliament approved President’s rule in the state.

He reiterated that “on behalf of the government and to a certain extent on behalf of my party (Bharatiya Janata Party)” there would be no attempt at forming a government in Manipur after the June 2 proclamation was approved by Parliament.

Though there was general support for the proclamation from parties cutting across the political spectrum, the Congress was unsparing in its criticism of the government’s handling of the Manipur crisis.

Initiating the discussion, Mr Santosh Mohan Dev of the Congress held the BJP and the NDA partners responsible for encouraging defections among the members of the state assembly.

The problems in the state had not started overnight and the government should probe the alleged link between the militants and some politicians in the state, he said.

His colleague, Mr Mani Shanker Aiyar, who is Congress in-charge for the North-East, blamed Samata Party leader and former Defence Minister George Fernandes for the political flux in the sensitive state.

He said the Samata Party, which had no elected MLA, had by its manipulations come to occupy the government and that too with the active support of the BJP, which too swelled its ranks with the help of defections.

Other factors which contributed to the crisis was the stoking of communal tension by the NDA government and extension of the Nagaland ceasefire beyond Nagaland.

He felt the bureaucrats at the Centre were not equipped to handle a sensitive subject like the North-East and the government should involve people who know the area. He said the Centre’s interlocutor, Mr K. Padmanabhaih, should be removed.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav felt the situation in the North-East was far more sensitive than Kashmir and the Centre should not ignore the happenings there.

He advised the Home Minister to keep in constant touch with the North-Eastern states and ensure that they don’t feel alienated from the Centre.

Telegu Desam leader Yerrannaidu said though his party was opposed to President’s rule in principle it felt that Manipur was an exception. He felt such situations could be averted if there was a strong anti-defection law which prevented legislators from switching over parties.

“We can check ‘Aaya Rams’ and ‘Gaya Rams’ with this” he said.

CPM member Baju Ban Riyan made a plea for early lifting of President’s rule as the assembly had three years and nine months of its term left.

Mr Kharabela Swain of the BJP accused the Naga Pradesh Congress Committee of taking a stand which was different from that of the Congress at the Centre.

US envoy vows to reduce visa line
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 30
In a powerful diplomatic symbolism, the new United States Ambassador Robert Blackwill today entered the US Embassy to begin his assignment not through the VIP gate but through the one used by Indian visa seekers.

Mr Blackwill, who replaces Mr Richard Celeste, announced shortly afterwards that in the coming few months he would ensure that the time spent by Indians waiting in the queue would be “drastically reduced.”

Mr Blackwill had a brief interaction with some of the visa seekers after which he announced that “the visa line is the face of the US Government that most interact with here in India and I wanted to see it myself first hand as I begin my tenure. I want the experience that Indians encounter in the visa process to be of the highest possible quality.”

According to a US Embassy press note here, the embassy is already actively exploring under Mr Blackwill’s guidance several means of processing visas to improve the service offered to Indians travelling to the USA. The means being explored include a possible interview appointment system.

Mr Blackwill underlined the need for handling the visa issuing operations in such a way that the rapidly expanding Indo-US ties are taken care of.