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Sunday,
January 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak
Intelligence Bureau piqued by ISI Japan:
J&K ultras not freedom fighters CBI raids
Usha group Najma, Sibal to be in all-party group Centre was
indifferent during ’84 riots: Sharad Tehelka
rebutts Bangaru’s claim |
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Petrol
consumers surprised at cut TMC
snaps ties with AIADMK Bachchan’s
friendly appearance for SP INS
Vikrant pulls crowds
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Pak Intelligence Bureau piqued by ISI New Delhi, January 12 Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau (IB), a traditional rival of the ISI, has suggested to the Pervez Musharraf regime that there is a need for better coordination between the various intelligence agencies and the government, well-placed sources here said yesterday. This was necessary so that a disastrous turn-around in Pakistan’s strategic policy, as seen after the September 11 terror attacks on the USA, could be avoided. Following the American military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the ISI has become the target of increased criticism not only within the government set-up but also from people in the northern areas and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The ISI is being criticised for its role in helping the government to formulate wrong policies with regard to the Taliban regime. Sources said the people were also sceptical about the success of the strategy of the ISI with respect to its so-called freedom struggle in Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani IB has also asked the Musharraf regime to tackle the problems of shortage of manpower, lack of training/education, removal of non-professionalism and upgradation of technical resources. Besides, the Pakistani IB has underlined the need for upgrading technical resources and man the intelligence agencies with educated, trained and regular staff. According to diplomatic
observers here, there is utter confusion in the ISI and the Pakistan army which received a big setback after the fall of the Taliban regime. It was the ISI which had nurtured the Taliban and had provided sanctuaries to Taliban cadres inside Pakistan. But for Pakistan, Kashmir is a different ball game altogether because aiding and abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir in the name of “freedom struggle” is the corner stone of Pakistan’s foreign policy and its strategic objectives. As such, they said, it was doubtful if the ISI and the army would really curb activities of the elements which were involved with the militancy in Kashmir. The Pakistan Army and the ISI were today facing a very difficult situation because they were under tremendous global pressure to stop supporting the militant groups inside Kashmir. And if this happened, it would be a major blow to the army strategic objectives in the region because then it would be seen as betraying not only the Taliban but now also the Kashmiri militants which would be a tremendous loss of faith for the military in Pakistan. General Musharraf’s much-awaited statement should be viewed in this regard, the sources said. |
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Japan: J&K ultras not freedom fighters
New Delhi, January 12 Addressing newspersons here, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan expressed concern over existing tensions between India and Pakistan and said “we expect Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to take action against terrorists”. Asked about his stand on General Musharraf calling terrorists in Kashmir as freedom fighters, Mr Yukio said “terrorism is terrorism in any form”. Briefing newspersons about his meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Japanese leader said if people crossing from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India indulged in terrorist acts then “Pakistan is responsible for it”. Mr Yukio said extra caution should be exercised so that nuclear arms were not used under any circumstances. Mr Yukio, who along with the other members of the delegation, visited Srinagar where he said referring to the attack on the state Assembly on October last year, “We strongly decry terrorism in any form”. Mr Tsupomu Hata, a former Prime Minister of Japan, was currently in Pakistan and he would impress upon the Pakistani leadership to take action against terrorists, Mr Yukio said. The Japanese delegation led by Mr Yukio, currently in India on the invitation of the BJP, also had a meeting with BJP President K. Jana Krishnamurthi. Mr Yukio, who would return to Japan tonight, also called on President K.R. Narayanan and also met Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi.  |
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CBI raids Usha group
New Delhi, January 12 The searches by sleuths of Special Investigating Group were being conducted at eight residential premises and four official complexes, agency sources said. Besides residence of Vinay Rai, the searches were being carried out at the premises of Mr Anil Rai and Mr Kulwant Rai, Vice-Chairmen of all three firms of the group, M.C. Gupta, Managing Director of Usha India and Usha Ispat, Mr S.K. Mittal, Managing Director of Malvika Steel, Mr J.R. Gupta, Director Usha India, Mr K.B. Gupta, Mr V.B. Gupta and Mr G.D. Goel, Executive Directors of Usha group and official and residential premises of Mr S.K. Bansal, Chartered Accountant of the company. The CBI in its FIRs has alleged that the Usha group had floated nearly 250 fictitious companies and defrauded financial institutions like General Insurance Corporation (GIC), Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) and Unit Trust of India. In its three FIRs, the CBI alleged that the group personnel had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with certain bank officials and committed financial bunglings to the tune of nearly Rs 100 crore. No company official could yet be reached for comments. According to FIR in the Usha India case, the IFCI had sanctioned a loan of Rs 18 crore and also invested Rs 50 crore for general corporate purpose. However, the Usha group in alleged pursuance of a criminal conspiracy misutilised these funds and the company was in default of payment of the term loan amounting to Rs 6.75 crore with an additional interest of Rs 5.13 crore, the FIR said. Similarly the company was in default in payment of Rs 30 crore against non-convertible debentures and Rs 18.31 crore towards interest accrued there upon, the FIR alleged. The CBI alleged that misutilisation of funds, which was in the knowledge of IFCI officials, continued and in pursuance of the alleged criminal conspiracy, a loss to the tune of Rs 44.75 crore was caused to the government. In another FIR about the Usha Ispat Limited, the CBI said IDBI and other financial institutions sanctioned term loan and other finances to set up two plants. The CBI alleged in its FIR that there was inordinate delay in completing the projects, whose estimated cost was Rs 96.52 crore (pig iron) and Rs 1200 crore (integrated steel plant). The FIR alleged that in pursuance of the alleged criminal conspiracy, the estimated cost of the project was increased to Rs 2,110 crore and the same was approved by officials of the IDBI. In another FIR about Malvika Steel Plant, the CBI alleged that the company personnel and some officials of the IDBI and the IFCI entered into a criminal conspiracy and caused a loss of Rs 40.84 crore to the government.
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Najma, Sibal to be in all-party group New Delhi, January 12 Party leaders today said the Congress, which had initially declined to participate in these delegations, had reviewed its decision after a meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Following yesterday’s meeting between Mr Vajpayee and Ms Gandhi, senior Congress leaders met this morning to decide the names of party representatives. Apart from Ms Gandhi, the meeting was attended by Mr Manmohan Singh, Mr Natwar Singh, Mr Arjun Singh and Mr Jaipal Reddy. While Ms Najma Heptullah will lead the delegation visiting Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Sudan, Mr R.L. Bhatia would be a member of the delegation going to Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar would be a member of the delegation going to Brussels and Mr Kapil Sibal of the delegation going to South Africa, Nigeria and Senegal. The Congress has not spared the services of senior leader Manmohan Singh, saying that he had
commitments in view of the Assembly elections to four states. Congress leaders said the Prime Minister, during his meeting with Ms Gandhi, talked of some communication gap in conveying government’s proposal on sending delegations about which agreement was reached at the last all-party meeting. Congress leaders said that not only the dates of delegations’ visit had yet not been decided, the government was not sure of the level at which the delegations would be received in the foreign countries. |
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Centre was indifferent during ’84 riots: Sharad
New Delhi, January 12 “We met the then Home Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao twice on November 1 and discussed with him the prevailing situation. I felt that Mr Rao was indifferent as he did not respond to our request to take steps to curb violence in the city,” Mr Yadav, deposing as a witness told the Nanavati Commission, probing the anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He said during the riots “we noticed that administrative machinery entrusted with maintaining the law and order situation was avoiding its responsibility and not responding to the task facing it”. The minister said the fact that when military moved into the city, all incidents of violence stopped and mobs disappeared showed that earlier “no determination was shown by the administrative machinery to curb the violence”. He said it appeared that the entire administration was “paralysed”. Narrating in detail about the riots, Mr Yadav said he and former Prime Minister Charan Singh had gone to hospital to inquire about Indira Gandhi and while returning they saw the then President Giani Zail Singh’s car being stoned by a mob. “When the car of the President was attacked on October 31, the police and the government should have anticipated the anger of people and taken steps to prevent any violent incident,” he said. Mr Yadav said violent incidents might have been instigated by interested persons because there were reports about similar incidents from Jabalpur, Kanpur, Dhanbad and other places with sizeable Sikh presence. He said despite repeated request government remained inactive and failed to perform its duty. He said when they had gone to Rashtrapati Bhavan to request the President to call Mr Narasimha Rao to take prompt action, Zail Singh listened and asked them to call the Home Minister. “We felt that he was feeling helpless”, Mr Yadav said. The minister said he and other members of his then Lok Dal saved several Sikhs by giving them shelter in the party office and thwarted mobs’ attempt to attack the premises. He said when they were moving around the city to assess the situation, they saw Sikhs being burnt alive on the Janpath road and their properties looted. “We could see widespread damage caused to the properties of Sikhs and loss of numerous lives,” Mr Yadav said, adding that the trucks carrying mobs were freely moving on the road. He said from the entire event there was a feeling that if a handful of us succeeded in stopping such mobs, the administrative machinery could have controlled the situation easily had it acted with some responsibility.
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Tehelka rebutts Bangaru’s claim
New Delhi, January 12 “In any case the entire sequence captures on camera the blatant and unmistakable exchange of cash and it would seem pointless to emblish such a visually strong sequence by doctoring a word here or there,” Mr Patwardhan, deposing as Tehelka’s expert witness before the commission, said.
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Petrol consumers surprised at cut
New Delhi, January 12 The cut in several cities was more than a rupee, officials here said. The decline in the retail prices of petrol followed more than 40 per cent cut in ex-storage point prices. The ex-storage point prices of petrol and diesel are in single rate throughout the country and considered as the base price of petrol and diesel. With steep hike in excise duty on petrol from 32 per cent to 90 per cent and diesel from 16 per cent to 20 per cent, the Petroleum Ministry had also decided to adjust the ex-storage prices of petrol and diesel in such a way that the retail selling prices of both commodities were not increased in any part of the country. Since the retail prices of petrol and diesel were fixed considering ex-storage point, various duties like excise, sales tax, octroi were added to determine final retail prices. This was the main cause that prices varied from place to place. In Raichur, prices always remain at the highest level because of distance and higher local taxes.
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TMC snaps ties with AIADMK Chennai, January 12 The TMC would also not neither support the DMK nominees in the by-elections to Andipatti, Saidapet and Vanimabadi, he said, adding that a decision on contesting the elections would be taken after consulting friendly parties like the Congress, CPI-M and the CPI. The TMC, frustrated by the denial of the Rajya Sabha seat, which became vacant due to the death of its founder G.K. Moopanar by the AIADMK, would form part of the third front proposed by the Congress and Left parties for the by-elections.
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Bachchan’s friendly appearance for SP New Delhi, January 12 Samajwadi party’s (SP) poll tactician and former Union Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav obviously wants to capitalise on the actor’s charisma and face which can draw huge crowds and shape the SP’s destiny in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. Mr Bachchan’s experiment with politics in the 1984 Lok Sabha poll when he defeated Hemwati Nanadan Bahuguna of the Lok Dal from his home town of Allahabad was an eventful chapter in his public life. But, he opted out and vowed never to come back. Reiterating his previous stand, Mr Bachchan has said that he does not associate himself with politics and it is another matter that he has friends who are in politics. SP General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, however, maintains that Mr Bachchan’s appearance is “not at all political. People are seeing political meaning in it.” In a telephonic interview to the Tribune past midnight after a day-long visit to Azamgarh on Friday, Mr Amar Singh said, “The Azamgarh District Bar Association had invited Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr Bachchan and myself to distribute aids and others devices to physically challenged persons.” Cine actress and Rajya Sabha MP (nominated), Shabana Azmi were also present at the function.” The SP plans to contest from all 20 odd Assembly seats in Azamgarh. Asked whether the big B’s
appearance at select places in Uttar Pradesh close to the date of elections would serve to swing the votes in favour of the Samjawadi Party, Mr Singh said “Mr Bachchan is not making any political visit. Non-political organisations have been inviting him for espousing charitable causes. If more such invitations are extended, I will definitely accompany him regardless of elections. Why should elections stop work for a noble cause?” Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr Amar Singh and Mr Bachchan also attended a camp on Thursday for distributing artificial limbs among disabled children at Rampur, a Congress stronghold near Moradabad. Here, the crowds got an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Jaya as well. The camp was organised by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar Welfare Trust. Mr Amar Singh is also expected to visit Pratapgarh on Monday. For whatever the people may say, Mr Amar Singh does not agree with the popular public perception that Mr Bachchan is willing to play the real-life role of a political marionette. To a question whether Mr Bachchan would be the party’s star campaigner in the poll he said “For me he is neither a superstar nor a star of the millennium. He is my elder brother. I do not want to exploit him politically and he does not want to be exploited either. But, if both of us are invited to attend a function and we can spare time from our gruelling schedule, we will certainly be seen together. If people are craving for us in preference to the Chief Minister or the Governor, it only shows the direction in which the wind is blowing.” Dismissing the hullabaloo over the actor’s recent visits to Uttar Pradesh as much ado about nothing, he drew attention to the Congress and BJP’s choice of celebrities in the last parliamentary elections. “Every know personality in the entertainment world, including Sunil Dutt, Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, Johnny Walker, Nitin Bhardwaj and Arvind Dwivedi were used. There was nohullahallo then.” Asked to give a candid assessment of the party’s prospects in the forthcoming poll, he said “I do not want to make a pompous statement. I believe in the theory Man proposes, God disposes. But we are far ahead of others in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is non existant. The BSP is exposed because of its past formation with the BJP government not once but twice. People treat the BJP as the B team of the BJP.” Questioning the Uttar Pradesh government’s moral right to address the issue of
terrorism, Mr Amar Singh alleged “The Cabinet is full of terrorists and criminals. It is like the kettle calling the pot black. They should look at their own face in the mirror.” He said the party has begun the exercise of drafting a “pro-people, short and sweet manifesto.” The manifesto would address issues like the plight of unemployed youths, problems of farmers and alienation of minorities from the mainstream.” Mr Amar Singh said the six-year-old party had come a long way. “Our entire focus is on Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. In Uttar Pradesh plan to contest over 350 of the 403 Assembly seats. We also plan to contest from Punjab.” The Aligarh born, Kolkatta bred leader whose ancestors hail from Azamgarh sounds disillusioned with politics and calls it thankless. “If you do well people think that you are supposed to do well anyway. If you do badly, you are lynched.” Mr Amar Singh does not like to be compared with his friends, Anil Ambani and Amitabah Bachchan. “My party is not in power at the Centre and we are still struggling as an Opposition party. I’m not trying to be humble but they are too big. I am not a pauper. At the same time, I’m not a tycoon either,” he added. |
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INS Vikrant pulls crowds Mumbai, January 12 Rechristened as the “Indian museum ship”, Vikrant has been moored off the Gateway of India and will be open for public for a month on an experimental basis. Visitors made a beeline to reach the ship by a ferry. The Navy is now planning to set up a trust to run the museum. It was the tremendous response on the first day which made the naval authorities make available the ferries every 15 minutes. Earlier, the museum was opened briefly from December 1 to 17, as part of the Navy Week celebrations, and during this period, more than a lakh people visited the ship. The Navy collected close to Rs 30 lakh through these visits, which is to be utilised for the ship’s maintenance. The Navy now need to raise around Rs 12 crore as corpus fund for running the project. The revised ticket prices are Rs 70 for adults and Rs 25 for children (below 14) and to and fro ferry ride will cost Rs 30 and Rs 20 for adults and children, respectively. It is most likely that the museum will be opened to the public till the onset of monsoon when she will be taken inside the 250-year-old naval dockyard here. The Maharashtra Government is still interested in her full-fledged conversion into a maritime museum-cum-helipad and after conversion she will be berthed at Oyster Rock here. The project, earlier scaled at Rs 76 crore, when the ship was decommissioned on January 31, 1997, is now expected to cost around Rs 100 crore.
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