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Tuesday,
May 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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CRS to investigate Shramjeevi derailment 2 more Abu Salem men held in Delhi
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Joshi for introspection Gehlot reshuffles cabinet NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT Cong to wait for PM’s proposal on President Sinha to reply in House on Flex
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CRS to investigate Shramjeevi derailment New Delhi, May 13 In his statement in the House, the minister said: “While the Railway officials suspect sabotage as the prima facie cause, the state government officials attribute it to collapse of a bridge”. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Northern Circle, who has been asked to hold a statutory inquiry into the accident, has already reached the site of the accident and started an on-the-spot investigation, he said. On getting report from the CRS, prompt action would be taken against person responsible and remedial steps would be initiated to prevent the recurrence of such accidents, the Minister said, adding the CRS would commence his detailed inquiry at Jaunpur on May 15. Eleven persons lost their lives and 44 suffered injuries when the 2402 Dn New Delhi-Patna Express derailed on the Faizabad-Zafarabad section of Lucknow division at about 3.35 a.m. yesteday, he said. Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi rejected the notice of adjournment motion on yesterday’s accident given by the RJD which along with the Samajwadi Party asked Nitish Kumar to own responsibility for it and resign as Railway Minister. “I have disallowed your notice of adjournment motion but you can speak on the matter,” Mr Joshi observed when RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh wanted to know the fate of his notice. Requesting the Speaker to reconsider his decision as his notice fulfilled all conditions for its admission, the RJD leader said it appeared the rail bridge was weak and it gave way resulting in the tragedy. Quoting a 1989 report, he said it was mentioned that the bridge was unsafe for train journey. Yet, the train was diverted from its original route and allowed to pass through it, he said. “Mr Kumar must resign,” he said, adding he had once resigned after an accident in the past only to gain political mileage as elections were nearing. |
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more Abu Salem men held in Delhi New Delhi, May 13 The suspects, Mohammad Ashraf, alias Babloo, alias Munna Bhai, was arrested from the Old Delhi railway station where he came by the Awadh-Assam Express train and his associate Majid Khan, alias Raju Bhai, was arrested from his residence in South-West Delhi. Ashraf belongs to Azamgarh while Majid is from Lucknow and both worked as informers for Abu Salem. Since they were involved in organised extortions they had been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The police seized a 9 mm pistol along with 5 cartridges. The suspects were arrested following interrogation of Pawan Mittal, alias Raja Bhai, and Sajjan Soni, alias Babu Bhai, who were apprehended a few days ago for giving information to Abu Salem about financial assets of businessmen of South Delhi. Abu Salem subsequently threatened the businessmen and demanded a huge sum of money. They were also booked under MCOCA. During interrogation Mohammad Ashraf disclosed that he came in contact with Abu Salem while he was in Dubai. |
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Golden jubilee of Parliament New Delhi, May 13 He also emphasised the fact that the Rajya Sabha may be the second chamber but is not the secondary chamber due to its emerging role. “The close involvement of the Rajya Sabha in the numerous legislative measures is a testimony to the fact that though a second chamber, it is not a secondary chamber. In matters of ordinary legislation it has equal powers with the Lok Sabha,” he said. He was addressing the members of the House on the 50th anniversary of Parliament. The House had not remained content with its role merely as a revising chamber but had asserted itself, be it a Constitution amendment Bill or an ordinary Bill or the motion of thanks on the President’s Address. Pointing out that the complexion of the House was quite different from that of the Lok Sabha as several states were ruled by parties different than the one at the Centre, Mr Krishan Kant said the recent past had seen several instances where the effect of this had been felt on the country’s politics and the course of history. “We are truly exploring unchartered constitutional territory and making history. The ability of Parliament to withstand the stresses and strains resulting from the new political topology is a tribute to the extraordinary strength of the Indian Constitution.” The Chairman said while the role of the Rajya Sabha was limited in financial matters, its members took keen interest in financial matters-both in the House and committees. The creation of department-related parliamentary standing committees with membership from both Houses to scrutinise the demands for grants and examine the government’s legislative proposals, was an innovation which had greatly strengthened the basic role of Parliament. Mr Krishan Kant said the idea of the second chamber was deeply rooted in the nation’s traditional system of consulting persons of experience and wisdom.”
Our second chamber was not born out of a contract between the federating units as in the case with some other countries, but is in fact a part of the historical evolutionary process.” He said as part of the system of ensuring accountability of the Executive to Parliament, the function of focussing attention on matters of public importance too had been well discharged by the House. An important feature of setting up a second chamber was to provide an opportunity for the representation of seasoned and eminent people and facilitate reasoned debate. The formation of the Ethics Committee in the Rajya Sabha on March 4, 1997, as one of the instruments to ensure value-based politics, was an attempt to evolve an internal self-regulatory mechanism. After the formation of the Constitution, the Council of State met for the first time on May 13, 1952, after being constituted on April 3, 1952, under the Constitution. The name ‘Rajya Sabha’ was adopted for the Council of States on August 23, 1954. |
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Joshi for introspection New Delhi, May 13 Speaking on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi sought introspection and stock-taking by MPs saying “there should be no room for any divisive agenda in our political landscape”. Asserting that no purpose would be realised through violence and hatred, Mr Joshi said in a statement in the House that “our own tested path of the past, the path of non-violence that inspired and guided our freedom movement, has not lost its relevance for our country, nay the world, today.” It was on this day 50 years ago that people’s representatives elected through the first general election met in the Lok Sabha under Speaker G.V. Mavalankar. |
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Gehlot reshuffles cabinet Jaipur, May 13 Governor Anshuman Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to six ministers of Cabinet rank and 11 Ministers of State at a simple ceremony at Raj Bhavan. The Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues, former Chief Minister Shiv Charan Mathur, state BJP President Bhawarlal Sharma and senior officers were among those present at the ceremony. Talking to reporters after the ceremony, Mr Gehlot said all his 28 Cabinet colleagues resigned this morning to help him form a new team. He hinted at least six ministers were likely to be dropped. The portfolios would be announced later today. “A fresh team will work with new energy. Change is for the better,” Mr Gehlot said, adding the ministry was not being changed because he was unhappy with anyone’s performance. “People expect new faces. Naturally, when some new members come in some of those already present will have to go,’’ he said. He said his good governance and reforms programme had been appreciated all over the country and he wanted to carry it forward with his new team. “Governance means team work,” he said. Four of the cabinet ministers sworn in today — Govind Singh Gurjar, Ram Narain Choudhary, Janardhan Singh Gehlot and Madho Singh Diwan — all new faces, while Hiralal Indora and Parsadilal Meena have been promoted from the Minister of State rank. The 11 Ministers of State sworn in are: Ratan Lal Tambi, Parasram Morodia, Ram Gopal Bairwa, Ram Swaroop Meena, Habiburrahman, Shailendra Joshi, Raghuveer Singh Meena, Takiuddin Ahmed, Hemaram Choudhary, Radheyshyam and K.C. Vishnoi. No first-time MLA was sworn in today, but Ms Mamata Sharma and Ms Vijaylakshmi Vishnoi, both first timers, will take oath as parliamentary secretaries later in the day. The expansion is being viewed here as an exercise at refurbishing the government ahead of Assembly poll in the state 18 months away.
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, May 13 Approved capital cost of VLPT, Jatingri and VLPT, Kaja, are Rs 83 lakh each while that of the Chirgaon VLPT is Rs 81.6 lakh, the minister told the House. Two high power transmitters (HPTs) ( DD1 and DD2) are already functioning in Shimla. At present, there is no approved scheme to upgrade the existing VLPT in Shimla district to HPT, the House was informed. The scientists of National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, have worked out status and control pesticide residues in milk and milk products. A limited survey of milk and ghee carried out in Haryana, Punjab, UP and Delhi shows only isolated cases of presence of DDT and BHC in milk and ghee. In general, most of the samples tested were lower than the maximum residue limit for DDT and BHC, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. In reply to a separate question, the minister said although the yield of cotton in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during the past years had not shown any significant variation, there had been extensive damage to the cotton crop in the last season due to attack of pest and disease. In order to tackle the problem, under the Technology Mission on Cotton, assistance is being provided to the state governments of these states for promoting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) through demonstration and training of farmers etc., the minister said. The project implementation committee (PIC), and an ad hoc committee was constituted with the approval of the Institute Body of PGIMER, Chandigarh, for the first time in 1987 to execute engineering works, undertake construction activities at the PGIMER, Chandigarh, and generally monitor its completion, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Mr A, Raja, told the Rajya Sabha. In reply to another question, the minister said subsequent to the plague outbreak in Himachal Pradesh in the first week of February, 2002, three suspected cases with plague like symptoms were reported from Chandigarh and its adjoining areas. After March 14, 2002, no fresh case had been reported. According to the Bhakra Beas Management Board, whenever short supplies are delivered to Rajasthan, the board has been requesting Punjab and Haryana Irrigation Departments to deliver correct supplies to Rajasthan, the Minister of State for Water Resources, Mr Bijoya Chakravarty, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. |
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Cong to wait for PM’s proposal on President New Delhi, May 13 Congress chief spokesman Jaipal Reddy said that the process for the choice of the next President had just begun. ``If the Prime Minister talks, we will naturally welcome it,’’ he said, adding that the party would respond as and when the proposals were mooted. Asked if the party would back the candidature of President K R Narayanan if he sought re-election, Mr Reddy said the party could not make up its mind till it knew the mind of Mr Narayanan. Mr Narayanan, he said, had been one of the exceptionally good presidents . Mr Reddy said since no one party or group had 51 per cent votes in the electoral college, everybody had to move carefully on the issue. The President, he said, would have to be a person who understood the working of the Constitiuion. He clarified that the Congress would not support any ``trade-off’’ in the elections to the posts of President and Vice-President. |
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Sinha to reply in House on Flex New Delhi, May 13 While Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan gave this assurance in the Lok Sabha after the issue was raised in the zero hour, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs O. Rajgopal told the Rajya Sabha about Mr Sinha’s statement after the matter was raised by senior Congress member Arjun Singh. In the Lok Sabha the matter was raised by Congress member Pawan Kumar Bansal. Mr Pramod Mahajan also made it clear in the Lok Sabha that action against Flex Industries had been initiated by the NDA government and it would be taken to its logical end. He said he had talked to Mr Sinha after reading a newspaper report yesterday and requested him to make a statement in the House. Mr Bansal said according to the newspaper report, Mr Sinha had also turned down a request for continuation of an officer in his then capacity until he could finish the investigation against the Flex Industries. |
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Women stage dharna over Gujarat issue Mumbai, May 13 Such protests were part of the nation-wide protest by women’s organisations. The women staged a dharna at Hutatma Chowk, South Mumbai, throughout the day as part of their protest.
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