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Friday,
May 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Christian body blasts govt over Gujarat Gujarat: life limps back to normal
LS rejects privilege notice against PM |
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Sinha’s rebuttal not satisfactory: Cong New Delhi, May 16 The Congress today said that Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had not given a point by point rebuttal to the allegations levelled against him in connection with Flex Industries. He had not disclosed the conflict of interest when Flex Industry official Ashok Chaturvedi was caught in a case related to Finance Ministry. Govt on life-support system: Sonia Violence in Pak ISI handiwork?
VHP: take action against Pak Jaya upbeat after 1-year party rule NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT No package for PCO owners in J & K Bill on permanent lok adalats passed JD(U) leader quits
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Christian body blasts govt over Gujarat New Delhi, May 16 The Secretary-General of the council, Dr John Dayal, said the Vajpayee government had not only scorned international public opinion by protecting Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his “murderous” state administration dominated by the “RSS pracharaks” (functionaries), but had also tried to derive maximum political mileage out of the Hindutva agenda. “Rubbing salt into the wounds of the Muslim community, the Vajpayee government has trivialised gang-rapes, acquiesced in the fundamentalist demand to close down refugee camps and named the Port Blair airport after Hindutva ideologue Savarkar”, he said. “It has now elevated to the Lok Sabha speakership with Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, who has been indicted by the Srikrishna Commission in the communal riots in Mumbai in 1992-93,’’ he said in a statement. Seeking an international probe into the Sangh Parivar’s role, the Christian leader said the Gujarat Government must be purged of “communal and criminal elements that had systematically infiltrated into the bureaucracy and the police” and steps should be taken to restore the confidence of the people. The most disturbing trend in Gujarat was the violence in tribal areas, he said. Christian leaders who had toured the tribal areas of the country to assess the situation were shocked to see the “Sangh Parivar’s campaign, poisoning, communalising and polarising tribal society” in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Gujarat. Dr Dayal said there had been mass distribution of “hate literature” in all these areas, calling for elimination of Christians and Muslims from the region. “In many areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, arms, including swords and trishul-shaped weapons, have been distributed in lakhs. Many training camps have also been held,’’ he said. Churches had also been attacked in Orissa, Jharkhand and Karnataka’s Bellary district, he said. He asked the state administrations to take ‘’pro-active’’ steps to stop this spiral of violence.
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Gujarat: life limps back to normal Ahmedabad, May 16 In Ahmedabad city, as curfew was relaxed from 6 am to 10 pm in some pockets, large number of people came out braving the sweltering heat, giving the cops at traffic junctions a tough time. There were traffic jams at a number of spots in the trading nerve centres like centres like Ashram Road, C.G. Road and Navrangpura. Barring stray incidents of arson and looting of shops by mobs in the Naroda Patia area, the overall situation was normal, the police said. In Sarkhej and Viramgam towns of Ahmedabad rural district and Baroda city the curfew was further relaxed during the day. Shops and business establishments recorded brisk business at a number of places. Attendance in government and other offices also reported improvement. In yet another illustration of sustained efforts being made to overcome the crisis of confidence between majority and minority communities, a large number of minority people yesterday visited Naroda Patiya in presence of civil and police officials. Although inmates, including women, returned to the “temporary safer havens” in the city-based relief camps, the event was marked by poignant scene with women folks from both sides hugging each other and wiping tears. According to sources in the Shah-e-Alam camp, the gesture was first of its kind to take the inmates to the violence-hit localities to give them a sense of assurance that things would improve. “The warm welcome from the majority community women and erstwhile neighbours was a positive sign,” a relief worker said. The minority community leaders, including Maulvi Shabir Siddiqui, Imam of city-based Jama Masjid, and Madrasa instructor Mahboob-ur-Rahman Qasmi, have said recently that the battered community was gaining confidence particularly in the context of steps being taken by Chief Minister’s security adviser K.P.S. Gill.
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12 more CRPF companies
for Gujarat New Delhi, May 16 These additional companies were sent yesterday from Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Altogether 29 companies of the force (21 CRPF and 8 RAF) are now deployed in Gujarat, mostly in Ahmedabad city and in places like Anand, Godhra, Surat, Vadodara and Vejalpur (Panchmahal). |
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Sinha’s rebuttal not satisfactory: Cong New Delhi, May
16 Congress chief spokesman Jaipal Reddy said “His explanation can only wash with an indulgent Prime Minister and permissive party,’’ Mr Reddy maintained that no one from the ruling party had defended Mr Sinha and even the party’s official spokesman had repeated what Mr Sinha had
said. Reacting to the rejection of Congress privilege motion against the Prime Minister, Mr Reddy said the Prime Minister had not rebutted the charge of interpolation. “That the word ‘aise’ had been inserted subsequently had even been acknowledged by Prime Minister. The Prime Minister needs not only to clarify but also recourse to insertions,’’ Mr Reddy
said. Maintaining that the Prime Minister had been giving clarifications repeatedly, Mr Reddy said he had now given a clarification on interpolation. Meanwhile, in a jolt to the BJP ally, Janata Dal (United) general secretary Mohan Prakash today quit the party attacking the Vajpayee government on the Gujarat issue amidst indications that he might join the
Congress. Describing as “shameful’’ the response of Mr Vajpayee and Chief Minister Narendra Modi to the situation in Gujarat, he said here that he was not only quitting the party but saying goodbye to socialist politics “which has lost its
relevance.’’ Without naming anybody, he said some leaders of erstwhile Janata Dal had made the party a “private limited’’ organisation as a result of which BJP
proliferated. To a question, he said there were no immediate plans of joining the Congress, but said if Congress invited him “why shall I not accept it”. |
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LS rejects privilege notice against PM New Delhi, May 16 Informing the House that he had received comments of Mr Vajpayee on the issue, Speaker Manohar Joshi ruled, “I am inclined to accept the clarification given by the Prime Minister. No question of privilege is, therefore, involved in the matter. The notice of Dasmunshi is disallowed.” Mr Dasmunshi had stated in his notice that Mr Vajpayee, while seeking to clarify misgivings about certain portions of a public speech made by him at Goa, stated on the floor of the House: “What I said about Islam is as follows... Wherever such Muslims live, they tend not to mingle with others; instead of propagating their ideas in a peaceful manner, they want to spread their faith by resorting to terror and threats.” The Congress member contended that in the video recording of the speech of the Prime Minister made by him at Goa, the word “such” had not been used before the word “Muslims” and by this interpolation an attempt was made to alter the meaning of the sentence. He alleged that this amounted to misleading the House by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, while admitting that the video tape of his speech at Goa does not contain the word “such”, has stated that “no one who reads my entire speech, and takes note of the tribute I have paid to the tolerant and compassionate teachings of Islam, can be in any doubt that my reference in the second paragraph is only to followers of militant Islam.” Mr Joshi said a clarification statement to this effect was issued by the Prime Minister on April 1, 2002, and the Prime Minister’s Office also released the entire text of his speech to the media with necessary corrections. The Prime Minister has also stated that it is this corrected form from which he read out the relevant paragraphs while speaking on the Gujarat situation in the early hours of May 1, 2002, Mr Joshi said. |
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Govt on life-support system: Sonia New Delhi, May
16 “This government, I believe, is surviving on the life-support system and it would be naive of us to accept it to govern,” Mrs Gandhi said in her address to the Congress Parliamentary Party which met today on the penultimate day of three-month-long Budget session of
Parliament. Mrs Gandhi said she had expected partners of the NDA to put pressure on the Vajpayee government on the Gujarat issue but regretted that the allies had failed to do
so. She assailed the government for rejecting the party’s plea to probe Gujarat violence by a sitting Supreme Court Judge and the dismissal of Chief Minister Narendra
Modi. She said such measures would have helped restore confidence of the people and normalcy in the
state. During her 30-minute address, Mrs Gandhi dwelt at length on the outcome of the Budget
session. Mrs Gandhi demanded that the government take the people into confidence about its long-term strategy of unprecedented troop mobilisation on the
border. Referring to the recent militant strike in Jammu, she called for a comprehensive strategy for countering the menace of terrorism and said tough talking would not
suffice. The co-option of the world’s primary terrorist state, Pakistan, as a principal ally in the global war against terrorism has left India vulnerable to terrorism, she said, adding that the country should learn to rely on itself to counter this threat.
Describing the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha as uninspiring and directionless, Mrs Gandhi expressed concern at the way financial institutions were “mismanaged.” |
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Violence in Pak ISI handiwork? New Delhi, May 16 Against this backdrop, well-placed sources today said, US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca’s visit to India and Pakistan should be seen more in the context of Pakistan’s internal developments and US-Pakistan relations than Indo-Pakistan tension. According to this assessment — made at the top level of the Vajpayee government with inputs from various quarters, including diplomatic — Pakistan’s post September 11 conduct raises some questions. A realisation is gradually dawning on Americans that in the wake of September 11 developments the Americans ignored Pakistan’s terrorism-based security policy at their own peril hoping that their generous financial assistance would take care of this aspect. But that did not happen as Pakistan accepted the money and General Pervez Musharraf exploited the situation for his political aggrandisement. The roots of Pakistan’s security policy remained where they were. The ISI and a large section of the Army was not willing to drop this policy. Gen Musharraf had hoped that the US operations in Afghanistan would be short. Already more than eight months have passed and the western estimates are that to take its war against terror to its logical conclusion, the USA may have to remain in Afghanistan for years, may be even 10 years. Gen Musharraf’s dilemma is that he cannot keep the ISI and the Army with him for so long. Thus, in spite of the original claims that the Pakistan border with Afghanistan was sealed, Taliban and Al-Qaida cadres managed to sneak into Pakistan. The two church attacks in Pakistan and the suicide bomb attacks in Karachi, as also the sectarian violence in which more than 130 persons have been killed in past 100 days could well be the handiwork of the ISI itself to frighten and drive Americans out of Pakistan, according to this assessment. According to this assessment, the China card may well be an important factor in the cloak-and- dagger games being played by Pakistan. Islamabad has very close relations with China and Beijing is worried about American presence in Pakistan. Ms Rocca has to examine these developments. The question that the American official, who was an agent with the CIA from 1982 to 1997, has to confront is: Are the Americans looking for an alternative to Pakistan as a strategic partner in international war against terrorism? |
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Stabilising influence of Indo-US military ties RECENT events have brought upfront the increasing cooperation in defence matters between India and the USA. The long-awaited sale of gun-locating radars for the Indian Army has now fructified. Indian Navy ships are cooperating with the US naval fleet in safeguarding sealanes in the Malacca Straits. The more dramatic and visible manifestation of this cooperation is the joint exercises being held between Indian para commandos and US Special Forces teams in Agra. In the coming winter Indian Army teams will take part in extreme cold weather operations in Alaska jointly with US military forces. The range and depth of US-India military cooperation, though still small, would have been unthinkable five years ago. Cold War mindsets and doubts about each other’s intentions prevented defence cooperation to develop. India’s nuclear tests of 1998 further delayed the process for a couple of years. Despite these troughs in the relationship, the BJP-led government has, to its credit, retained its focus on widening and deepening Indo-US relations. India’s regional power status and its potential as a rising global power in economic and technology fields provided the ballast to the mutual perceptions of the need to build a stable and trusting relationship between the two countries. Combined exercises between defence forces allow easier cooperation in military operations. They provide insights into each other’s leadership techniques, communications channels, battle drills and standard operating procedures. In times of actual military operations contusion and delays are prevented and joint operations are made smooth and effective by training together in peace time. Confidence levels and professional trust and respect are built up through joint exercises. Moreover, such exercises convey signals to potential adversaries and challengers of authority about the military response their actions would invite. The two sets of joint operational cooperation which are taking place convey the threat perceptions shared by the US and Indian governments. On the high seas likely disruption of high-value energy flows across the Indian Ocean pose a live and serious threat to all nations extending from Indonesia to Japan. High seas piracy, trafficking in human cargo, illicit trade and weapons transfers form part of the current threat. In future, attempts by any one nation to dominate or disrupt energy and trade flows are perceived as potential threats. The naval joint exercises between the US Pacific Command and Indian naval forces are designed to ensure the stability and safety of the region’s economy. The joint exercises between the US Special Forces and Indian para commando are more focused and are aimed at specific threats emanating from terrorists. These threats can range from hijacking operations to kidnapping, sabotage, dealing with terrorist leadership taking shelter in protective countries, and disaster relief. Such operations will take place when the security interests of US and India are at risk or when assistance is sought by smaller states against threats to legitimate governments. After 11 September, 2001, India readily offered help and cooperation for the US anti-terrorist operations. It shared valuable intelligence on the Afghan situation. It was willing to consider refuelling and repair facilities to US aircraft. Pakistan on the other hand had to be pressured with dire consequences before it agreed to give up on its Afghan linkages with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda networks. The import of these military exercises is therefore clear, India is recognised as a stabilissing influence in the South Asian region. Its military capabilities are considered of an order which permit their use in support of regional and trans-regional needs. The writer is a former Director-General, Military Operations, of the Indian Army. |
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VHP: take action against Pak New Delhi, May 16 Reacting strongly to the terrorist strike at Kaluchak near Jammu on Tuesday, VHP international President V.H. Dalmia said the government seemed to be in a dilemma on the issue and was not able to take right decisions. “If the situation continues like this for some more time, the people will lose confidence in the government,’’ Mr Dalmia said while addressing a joint press conference with Bajrang Dal chief Surendra Jain. Demanding that Army should be given full control of Jammu and Kashmir, the VHP leader said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani had made big statements in Parliament but these were not being implemented.
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Jaya upbeat after 1-year party rule Chennai, May 16 Conceding that the first year of the AIADMK government was a “roller-coaster”, Ms Jayalalithaa, however, asserted that “we are back on top.” She has not forgotten the “dark moment” when she had to resign and nominate a dummy, Mr O. Panneerselvam, as her temporary successor, following the Supreme Court ruling on September 21 that her appointment by the then Governor, Ms Fathima Beewi, as Chief Minister was “null and void” on account of her conviction on charges of corruption by a special court in the Tansi land deal and Koadikanal Pleasant Stay Hotel cases. But the Madras High Court subsequently acquitted her in both cases, and Ms Jayalalithaa lost no time in contesting and securing a seat in the state Assembly from the Andipatti constituency, and bounced back as Chief Minister much to the chagrin of her political foe, Mr M. Karunanidhi. Faced with a fiscal crisis (Ms Jayalalithaa has been quick to charge the former DMK government with leaving “an empty treasury”) the Chief Minister had to resort to some tough measures, taking care to ensure that the vulnerable sections of society were not hurt. She also brought about some controversial measures, including banning of strikes in essential services and of holding of dual posts by MPs and MLAs in civic bodies. The latter legislation was described by the DMK as targeting Chennai Mayor M.K. Stalin, who is also a member of the state Assembly. Ms Jayalalithaa refuted the suggestion that the legislation was aimed at anyone in particular. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, May 16 “The Haj pilgrimage is carried on even if Iran does not get on well with Saudi Arabia. The next pilgrimage to Pakistan will begin in the second week of June. I hope that the Minister for External Affairs will keep our jathas in mind for June”, he said. The Government of Haryana had forwarded a copy of the resolution of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha for the creation of a separate high court for Haryana on the existing premises in Chandigarh, Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. Establishment of a separate high court for Haryana would depend upon the shifting of its capital from Chandigarh as also developing infrastructure for a new high court within Haryana. Out of the total 1421 exchanges in Punjab, there were only 565 exchanges where the waiting list was pending, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Tapan Sikdar told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The government had not worked out any 10-year programme to release retail outlet dealerships (petrol pumps) to the war widows of Kargil and the widows of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Kashmir, the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Santosh Kumar Gangowar told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. The government had formulated a special scheme for allotment of retail outlet dealerships/ LPG distributorships to widows/next of kin of defence personnel killed in action in ‘Operation Vijay’ in Kargil, the minister said. |
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Mann highlights farmers’ plight New Delhi, May 16 Mr Mann, who recently toured Amritsar, has pointed out that the farmers are getting very little compensation for the wheat crop destroyed by the armed forces. Moreover, he has said that the Army is disbursing Rs 11,000 per acre to each farmer in four instalments and the local administration is “demanding their share (bribe) in every cheque that they disburse”. On the reported expansion of the Vajpayee Cabinet and the Vice-President’s election, Mr Mann, in a separate letter to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, has suggested the reinduction of former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani into the Cabinet or nomination to the office of the Vice-President. |
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No package for PCO owners in J & K New Delhi, May 16 The issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha during question hour when Minister of State for Telecommunications Tapan Sikdar was asked specifically about the government’s policy towards the PCO owners who had been directly hit by the Centre’s decision. Asked whether the government had any rehabilitation package for the PCO owners, the minister said, “Practically we have not yet prepared any package for Jammu and Kashmir. But we are providing technical equipment which they can use to run their booths. We are considering the matter sympathetically,” he added. The minister said the decision had been taken in view of the security situation in the state. Because of the security situation, telecom people were not able to reach the far-flung areas in the state. The minister was told that more than 1,000 PCOs had been closed as a result and many youths running these had been rendered jobless. State Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had had a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in this regard. The minister assured the members that the matter would be looked at sympathetically. |
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Bill on permanent lok adalats passed New Delhi, May 16 The legal services authorities (amendment) Bill, 2002, seeking to further amend the Legal Services Act,1987, already passed by the Lok Sabha, was passed by the Upper House by a voice vote. Under the amended Bill, it has been made a permanent three-member institution headed by a judicial officer, serving or retired.
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JD(U) leader quits New Delhi, May 16 Describing as “shameful” the response of Prime Minister Vajpayee and Chief Minister Narendra Modi to the situation in Gujarat, he told a press conference here that he was not only quitting the party, but bidding goodbye to socialist politics. Replying to questions on his future course of action, he said he had no immediate plans of joining the Congress, but claimed that the Congress was better than other parties.
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Four suspected terrorists
held Kolkata, May 16 One pistol and weapons like daggers and knives were seized from their
possession. The persons arrested were identified as Sanjay Kumar and Deepak Kukraja of Haryana and Ranjit Singh and Kuldeep Singh of old
Delhi. The police suspected that they might be planning to hijack the plane they were to travel in. |
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Panel clears way for fertiliser
reforms New Delhi, May 16 The policy, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), aims at updating capital additions, salaries and wages, repairs and maintenance, packing material, selling expenses and other overheads, Fertiliser Secretary Nripendra Mishra told reporters. UNI |
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Congress MLA recovering New Delhi, May 16 He was shifted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on his personal request. Ms Choudhary continues to stay at the RML hospital where she has been declared out of danger. According to the Medical Superintendent of the RML hospital, Dr C.P. Thakur, the condition of Mr Bali was not serious but he was shifted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. |
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Haj
panel gets statutory status New Delhi, May 16 Replying to the debate, Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah announced that it had been decided in acceptance of a suggestion by a member of the Rajya Sabha that the working of the committee would be scrutinised by the Vigilance Wing of his ministry. All amendments moved by members were rejected. |
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Woman who breastfed lamb New Delhi, May 16 The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha today during zero hour by former Union Minister and JD(U) member D. P. Yadav who pleaded that a national award be given to the woman for her unique gesture.
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