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Thursday,
January 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Nominations begin for Assembly poll UP poll: BJP, RLD deadlock continues Jaya to contest from Andipatti Ex-minister held in Sheikhpura case Jaya Jaitly’s plea on Tehelka tapes rejected |
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CBI seeking Interpol’s help BDO suspended in murder case
VHP rejects PM’s appeal Gujral wants initiative on J&K Witness fails to identify accused in Jessica case Evidence of oldest settlement found Rajiv govt ‘let it go on’, Nanavati panel told Bodo militants
mow down 13
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Nominations begin for Assembly poll New Delhi, January 16 Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief, Mrs J. Jayalalitha, who was disqualified from contesting the last Assembly elections and unseated from Chief Ministership would be amongst one of the contestants as she announced to contest from Andipatti Assembly constituency in the by-elections in Tamil Nadu. Slain dacoit-turned MP Phoolan Devi’s husband, Umed Singh also announced to contest Mirzapur Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Umed Singh had said that he would not enter politics as his wife had fallen prey to political conspiracy. However, later changing his mind, he said he was doing it under pressure of the people. He did not indicate if any political party was supporting him. Ms Jayalalitha’s decision to contest had the DMK descending on Election Commission office here with a plea that the byelection be postponed on grounds of irregularities in preparation of electoral rolls. A
four member DMK MPs delegation urged Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy to apply the yardstick applied on Saidapet and Vaniyambadi constituencies to postpone the polls. Meanwhile, the Election Commission ordered the replacement of the Commissioner of Chennai Corporation suspension of eight officials and transfer of seven others for “dereliction” of duties in the preparation of electoral rolls in the two constituencies of Saidapet and Vaniyambadi. Polling in Uttar Pradesh would be spread over three days — February 14, 18 and 21. Punjab and Uttaranchal, which would have the first
legislative Assembly elections, would go to polls on February 13 and 14 respectively. Manipur would have two-day polls on February 14 and 21. Last date for filing of nominations is January 23. Scrutiny of papers will take place the next day and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 28. By-elections for six Lok Sabha and seven Assembly constituencies will also be held along with the Assembly elections. The seven Assembly constituencies where by-elections will be held are Yamunanagar (Haryana), Arvi (Mahrashtra), Ajmer West (Rajasthan), Andipatti (Tamil Nadu), Sayajiganj and Mahuva and Rajkot II (Gujarat). |
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UP poll: BJP, RLD deadlock continues Saharanpur, January 16 Sources in the two parties here told The Tribune that hurdles related to the claims of the two parties about seats like Khekhra in Baghpat parliamentary constituency and Baghra Assembly seat in Muzzaffarnagar district. Further- more, the BJP was not ready to eschew its claim on three seats in Mathura district. These seats were won by Mr Laxmi Narain, Mr Sham Sunder Dass and Mr Sardar Singh of the Lok Tantrik Congress in the last election. All the three were now ministers in the Raj Nath Singh government. The BJP leadership argued that its claim over the seats which were won by the party or its political allies was “just and right.” On the other hand, the RLD leadership was credited with the view that the division of seats should be based on “new political realities” in the state. It is learnt that a last ditch effort is on between Mr Ajit Singh and the BJP’s top central leadership to sort out the matter amicably. Political sources, however, point out that of late the attitude of the state leadership of the BJP has stiffened vis-a-vis the RLD. At one time, the BJP was prepared to cede 45 seats to the RLD while the latest thinking is to leave only 25 seats. Such a situation is considered totally unacceptable to the RLD. The seat sharing issue is more complex with regard to the Khekhra seat. This seat falls in the Baghpat parliamentary seat which had all along been a traditional stronghold of the family of late Chaudhary Charan Singh. But in the 1998 parliamentary poll Mr Ajit Singh was trounced by Mr Sompal Shastri when, the latter had polled 95,000 votes as against 25,000 polled by Mr Ajit Singh in this segment. If the BJP surrenders its claim even on such seats, it will annoy its political allies. The schism on seat sharing between the two has widened as the BJP is not ready to surrender its claim on seats which were won by its partners. Political pundits are of the opinion that if the BJP chooses to go it alone, it would be suicidal for it in western Uttasr Pradesh. However, parties like the INLD of Mr Om Prakash Chautala are also waiting in the wings. The INLD had made persistent efforts to gain a foothold in western Uttar Pradesh. The Lok Tantrik leaders like Mr Laxmi Narain and Mr Sardar Singh have given open support to the INLD. The INLD has also raised a very sensitive issue of separate “Kisan Pradesh.” If the political tie up between the BJP and the RLD flounders, Mr Chautala is likely to throw his weight behind the BJP. On the other hand, it is learnt that Mr Ajit Singh is likely to rake up the “Harit Pradesh” issue in a more vocal manner. |
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Jaya to contest from Andipatti Chennai, January 16 The announcement signalled her intention to end the present rule by proxy and return to power as Chief Minister which post she had resigned in September last year following a Supreme Court ruling. It came amid clamour from the rival DMK party for postponement of the by-election from the constituency on ground of malpractices in the preparation of electoral rolls. The DMK leader, Mr M. Karunanidhi, taking exception to the postponement of byelections from only two other constituencies — Saidapet and Vaniyambadi — has told the Chief Election Commissioner that holding elections only in Andipatti would facilitate largescale bogus voting with police power. Some other parties, including the Congress (I), also contended that holding byelections only in Andipatti would raise suspicions. The Election Commission had yesterday ordered the postponement of byelections in the Saidapet and Vaniyambadi constituencies “in view of large-scale inclusions in and deletions from electoral rolls without following the prescribed procedure.” The Commission decided that the byelection to Andipatti would be held as scheduled. A Press release from the AIADMK, signed by Ms Jayalalitha, said she was being nominated as the party candidate for the Andipatti constituency in Theni district. The seat had been vacated by party MLA Tamizhselvan to enable Ms Jayalalitha to contest the poll. Ms Jayalalitha resigned her post as Chief Minister on September 11 last year following a Supreme Court decision setting aside her appointment on account of her conviction in corruption cases. She was succeeded by her nominee, Mr O. Paneerselvan. On December 4, 2001, she was acquitted by the Madras High Court in the two TANSI land deal cases and the Pleasant Stay Hotel case. Since then, the expectation in the state has been that Ms Jayalalitha would assume the mantle of chief ministership after getting elected to the State Assembly. |
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Ex-minister held in Sheikhpura case Sheikhpura, January 16 The DSP, Mr Baldeo Prasad, told reporters that Sanjay Singh, a Congress MLA, and four others accused of the carnage, were arrested from Hathiyawa, the ancestral village of Sanjay Singh, this morning. All accused were produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Mr P.K. Dixit, who remanded them in judicial custody till January 21. The Munger District and Sessions Judge, Mr Kanhaiya Prasad Verma, had yesterday rejected the anticipatory bail application of Congress MP and Sanjay Singh’s father, Rajo Singh, who is also an accused in the case. Rajo Singh, who represents the Begusarai constituency in the Lok Sabha had been declared an absconder by the Judicial Magistrate of Sheikhpura who also issued an order for attachment of his property last week. Nine RJD workers, including its Sheikhpura district president, Kashi Yadav and district board member Anil Mahto, were gunned down allegedly by the henchmen of Sanjay Singh and Rajo Singh near Tatipul on December 26. Meanwhile, the dawn-to-dusk all-party bandh, called here to press for the arrest of all 11 accused in the case and setting up a special court for their speedy trial, evoked a good response today. Almost all business establishments, government offices, banks, post offices and educational institutions remained closed. Vehicles were off the roads and bandh supporters paralysed rail traffic on the Kiul-Gaya section of the Eastern Railway.
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Jaya Jaitly’s plea on Tehelka tapes rejected New Delhi, January 16 Justice K. Venkataswami, probing the Tehelka expose, had on Monday turned down the request of the parties to refer the unedited 100-hour Tehelka tapes for forensic examination to check their veracity saying that “let the whole proceedings be completed and if the Commission felt the need of verifying the veracity of the tapes, it would consider the issue at that stage”. However, Ms Jaitly came up with a fresh application through her lawyer today seeking the copies of the tapes as she wanted to independently verify the veracity of the tapes. The Judge felt that the issue had been dealt with earlier and there was no need to go into it again and rejected the application. Meanwhile, the cross-examination of noted filmmaker Anand Patwardhan by various parties concluded today. Additional Solicitor General Kirit Rawal and counsel for the Commission Gopal Subramaniam were the last to examine him. Mr Patwardhan told the Commission that he did not find the 100-hour Tehelka tapes to be tampered with at any instance and the four-and-a-half hour edited version was an ‘honest attempt’ to increase its visual worthiness.
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We’re fully prepared, says Naval chief New Delhi, January 16 Asked whether the Indian Navy was making an offensive posture post- December 13 like what it did during the Kargil war, the Naval chief said at a press conference: “There is no reason for us to make an offensive foray in the North Arabian Sea... The Navy is fully stood to, its powder is dry and we are ready.” While stating that “the most powerful leg” of the nuclear triad was in the Navy — because it is hidden, moving and under water — Admiral Singh said his force of nearly 90,000 sailors and officers was ready. “Naval forces are
always ready. All our operational ships are traditionally on operational duty at 8-hour notice and can travel 500 miles a day. Our ships are armed, fuelled and provisioned.” Asked if the Indian Navy stood to lose some strategic edge over Pakistan in view of the Pakistanis building up Gwadar port with assistance from the Chinese, Admiral Singh said the move would simply “make our job a little more difficult, that’s all.” However, he said the construction of Gwadar port was still eight to 10 years away which meant that it was not the cause of an immediate worry. |
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CBI seeking Interpol’s help New Delhi, January 16 CBI spokesman, while briefing reporters about the last year’s achievements of the agency, said the agency had credible information that the five hijackers and two of their accomplices were in Pakistan. “We have secured a red corner alert against all seven and we hope that the Interpol notice would be executed and they would be arrested,” Mr Khan said. He said the CBI and the Interpol were mainly concerned with the arrest of the seven accused and added that “extradition proceedings can be initiated only after that.” The CBI has secured a “red corner” notice against hijackers — Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter Sayed and Shakir — and their two accomplices Yusuf Azhar and Abdul Rauf from the Interpol. Azhar and Rauf are believed to be key conspirators behind the hijacking of the plane from Kathmandu to Kandahar in Afghanistan on December 24. India has also approached Pakistan regularly for the extradition of terrorists and criminals under the Hague Convention on tackling international terrorism and crime under which Pakistan is obliged to extradite them. About Bombay blast accused, he said “Last information received by the agency suggested they were in one of the cities of Pakistan.”
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BDO suspended in murder case Patna, January 16 Meanwhile, a delegation of the Bihar Administrative Service Association (BASA) that visited the spot of the killing admitted that BASA could invite flak if it defended the BDO, but it looked that it is out to defend the accused. The threat to Naubatpur BDO, Mr Devendra Prasad, from the block pramukh may boost the cause of the Bihta BDO. The Opposition cries foul over the law and order crisis but the incident speaks of the slow but deep change in the democratic governance pattern in Bihar. Since the panchayat poll in February, last year, more than 10 mukhiyas have been killed in different incidents. The locals have reacted in a violent manner in favour of the killed mukhiyas. In the Bihta incident too after the killing there was a spontaneous uprising against the BDO. This trend speaks of the change in social change towards the governance system prevalent in the state. There has been delay in handing over the administrative and financial powers of the panchayats to the elected representatives at the grassroots level and despite the Patna High Court strictures against the state government the power devolution process is slow. That is irritating the mukhiyas and the villagers alike. On the other hand the BDOs are reluctant to hand over the real powers to the newly elected representatives of the panchayats. The tension at the block and village level is apparent and often clashes take place between the ‘de facto’ and ‘de jure’ power centres. The recent killing is an outcome of the same tussel. The BDO has reported ‘political links’ and in past too his behaviour towards his seniors have been more than ‘officious’. |
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VHP rejects PM’s appeal New Delhi, January 16 “We are not listening to those appeals,” VHP senior vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore told newspersons when asked about the appeal made by Mr Vajpayee and BJP President K Jana Krishnamurthy not to raise divisive issues. At the same time, the VHP leader also claimed that AIADMK chief Jayalalitha and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee have agreed not to oppose the construction of the shrine at Ayodhya. The BJP President had on January 12 appealed to the VHP not to do anything that would divert nation’s attention from the on-going war against terrorism. “Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has gone back on his word to remove all hurdles in the way of temple construction by March 12 but we will stick to our programme to begin construction work after this deadline,” the VHP vice-president said. Asked if it would not lead to a confrontation with the Vajpayee government, the Acharya said: “We are ready for any confrontation. We are willing to go to jail and even face bullets, if need be.” “If elections can be held, what is wrong in our going ahead with the temple agitational programmes. However,if there is a war and the polls are postponed, then we can reconsider our decision,” Mr Kishore stated. Mr Kishore announced that thousands of activists from across the country would reach the capital on January 26, to mark the culmination of the week-long “Sant Yatra” from Ayodhya. It would be followed by a VHP delegation’s meeting with Mr Vajpayee and a public rally on the Ram temple issue at the Ramlila Maidan here. On the meetings VHP leaders had with leaders of different political parties, he claimed that Defence Minister George Fernandes has agreed to “convince” other NDA allies on the issue. Ms Mamata Banerjee and Ms Jayalalitha had assured them that they would not oppose temple construction, he claimed Only Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar had opposed the move, the VHP leader said. The VHP leader said keeping in view the allegation that the Sangh Parivar outfit had designed its programme to coincide with the elections to the UP Assembly, it has postponed till February 24 its “purn ahuti” programme, which earlier was scheduled to start on February 17. |
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Gujral wants initiative on J&K New Delhi, January 16 “If there is life as yet in Pant’s mission. It should be pursued further, and very soon. If that is not possible then other avenues should be opened with the help of political parties and others. Within the state and in the rest of the country,” Mr Gujral said in a statement here. He said the government should get on with political initiatives in J & K while waiting for Pakistan to live up to the promises made by General Pervez Musharraf and lamented that “so far this is not visible.” Warning that J & K was proceeding towards elections in a vacuum, Mr Gujral said there had not been any visible progress on the question of autonomy for the state since the report adopted by J & K Assembly was rejected by the Centre. Moreover, he said, it was not known what was the outcome of the initiative begun through the talks between Centre’s key negotiator K.C. Pant and various political actors in the state. |
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Witness fails to identify accused in Jessica case New Delhi, January 16 Gajinder Singh, an employee of hotel Sariska Palace, Alwar, where Vikas had allegedly stayed under a fake name for a few days soon after the killing of the model on the night of April 29, 1999, told the court that the police came to the hotel to enquire about Vikas in connection with the murder case. The police was accompanied by a few people one of whom they said was Vikas Yadav, the hotel employee said while deposing before Additional Sessions Judge R.L. Chugh. He told the court that he would try to identify the accused in the court. However, when Vikas was shown to him he failed to identify him saying that the man shown by the police almost three years’ ago was not present in the court. On cross-examination by Special Public Prosecutor S.K. Saxena, the witness said at present he owned a petrol station in Alwar which was allotted in his sister-in-law’s name in March last year. He denied that Mr D.P. Yadav had helped her in getting the petrol station. Model Jessica Lal was shot by prime accused Siddharth Vashist, alias Manu Sharma, after she refused to serve liquor to him at a private party in Tamarind Court cafe. Accused Vikas Yadav had also accompanied Manu and was present in the cafe during the incident.
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Evidence of oldest settlement found New Delhi, January 16 Antiquities at the site preceded the Harappan civilisation by about 3000 years and dated back to around 7500 BC, the Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, told newspersons here today. “This is for the first time in India that such important discoveries dating back to 7500 BC have been reported from the off-shore region (near the Dwaraka site),” he said. All findings have been alongside a Palaeolithic age river course traced upto 9 km south of the Saurashtra coastline. The antiquity of these uncovered artefacts have been independently assessed as belonging to 7500 BC by the Birbal Sahni institute of Palaeobotony and the National Geophysical Research Institute. The recovery of remnants of logs of wood by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) was an indication of the existence of a very ancient culture in the area which got subsequently submerged. The surveys had also revealed significant seismic activities and more studies needed to be done, Dr Joshi said. He said a multi-disciplinary team comprising NIOT, the National Institute of Oceanography, the Archaeological Survey of India, PRL, Ahmedabad, BSIP, NGRI and specialists from universities had been constituted to conduct further studies. The team would be provided with the most modern equipment and infrastructure, he said. Prof S.N. Rajguru, former Head of the Department of Archaeology, Deccan College, Pune, who was also present said the discovery could have been a coastline settlement when the sea level was low. |
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Rajiv govt ‘let it go on’, Nanavati panel told New
Delhi, January 16 Deposing as a witness before the commission, probing the riots that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Mr Verghese said the government’s “let it go on approach” during the riots was demonstrated by the way Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s statement “when a big tree falls, the earth does shatter” was publicised over state-controlled media. He said it appeared the administration allowed the riots to happen for some time and later the situation went out of its
control.
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Bodo militants
mow down 13 Guwahati, January 16 The police said the incident occurred at around 0100 hrs when the heavily armed militants open fire in the village. Most of the people were killed on the spot. Unconfirmed reports said the militants dragged the victims out of their beds, lined them up and then gunned them down. Two of the seriously injured were, however, shifted to Bongaigaon civil hospital. The Dailonghar village is located near the Indo-Bhutan border and is 10 km north of Bijni in Bongaigaon district. Senior officials, including IGP (Law and Order) Mohan Raj and other top officials of the district rushed to the spot.
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