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Tuesday,
June 4, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Transfers
anger Mayawati’s allies Mishra
resigns, gets a dressing down Parrikar
sworn in as Goa CM Congress nemesis in Goa |
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RJD
leaders quit in Jharkhand Opposition
to Mamata Banerjee’s bandh call Stand up against Fascism: Gilbert 48
charge-sheeted for rioting Fake
marksheet scam in Gujarat PMK
activists held, released SC lawyer
sent to jail Scripts of Bhagat Singh films genuine? "Great
composers" fest from June 8
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Transfers anger Mayawati’s allies Lucknow, June 3 The unprecedented shake-up of the state bureaucracy has not only angered the coalition partners but also forced people to move the court against the orders. More than 900 officers of IAS, IPS and PCS cadres have reportedly been shifted ever since Ms Mayawati took over as the Chief Minister. Those affected include the Chief Secretary, Secretaries, Commissioners, District Magistrates and police officials. The bureaucracy has been shocked by the manner in which state Chief Secretary A.P. Verma was asked to hand over charge to his successor Mr D.S. Bagga. Mr Verma was holding a meeting of internal security when his successor Mr Bagga, who had been flown to the state capital the same evening, walked into the room and claimed that he was the new Chief Secretary! However, the Uttar Pradesh IAS Officers’ Association remained a mute spectator to the humiliation of the senior officer. The association had demanded that an administrative board should be set up to advise the government on issues like transfers and posting of bureaucrats. Despite promises by the successive governments, no attempt has been made to set up the board. The manner in which transfers and postings are made has also annoyed coalition partners who voiced their anger from public platforms the BJP state president, Mr Kalraj Mishra, who has resigned his post, said he received several complaints regarding transfers and postings and advised the Chief Minister to look into them. Former Chief Minister and leader of the BJP Legislature Party Rajnath Singh is unhappy with the government as district officials of his Assembly constituency have been changed without his consent. During his recent visit to the constituency he told his supporters that they should wait for the right time but he would not complain to Ms Mayawati. The Union Minister for Agriculture and president of coalition partner RLD, Mr Ajit Singh criticised the manner in which transfers and posting took place without taking coalition partners into confidence, especially in western Uttar Pradesh. He advised the Chief Minister to maintain restraint in the matter of transfers and postings. Opposition parties made the transfers and postings a major issue during the recently concluded session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature. They alleged that these were politically motivated and crores of rupees had exchanged hands. President of the Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav recently said in Lucknow that he had received reports that Rs 6 crore had been collected through transfers. In several places, he alleged that officers were shifted within two days. He said tainted officers had found their way to key positions. It was alleged by the opposition leaders that the manner in which Dalit officers had been given key postings at the state level and in districts exposed the politicisation of the bureaucracy. On her part, Ms Mayawati denied the allegations made by opposition parties regarding large-scale postings and justified them. |
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Mishra resigns, gets
a dressing down New Delhi, June 3 Even as the BJP central leadership was trying to come to grips with the formation of a coalition government with the Bahujan Samaj Party under the chief ministership of Ms
Mayawati, Mr Mishra brought the image of the party under a dark cloud by permitting media into the state executive meeting and spilling the beans. Mr
Mishra, who had announced his decision to resign at the state executive meeting on Saturday, was summoned by Mr Krishnamurthi and was given a dressing down for his “inexplicable” behaviour during a meeting at the party headquarters with the party President. Mr
Mishra, who was feeling totally sidelined after the formation of the
BSP-BJP government in Lucknow, took the unusual step of allowing mediapersons into the meeting with the argument that even otherwise every detail of what transpires at the meeting is leaked to the media, so it is better to let the media attend the meeting. |
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68 BJP members suspended
Lucknow, June 3 These include three former MLAs. The General Secretary of the state unit of the party Dr Ramapati Ram Tripathi, today said here that former MLAs of Mahoba, Basti and Jaunpur, Mr Chhotelal Verma, Mr Jagdamba Singh and Mr Raghuraj Singh, respectively were among the 68 members and office-bearers who were suspended.
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Parrikar sworn in as Goa CM
Panaji, June 3 Mr Parrikar, who took the oath of office and secrecy for the second consecutive time, became the 17th Chief Minister of the state since it was liberated from the Portuguese occupation over four decades ago. The technocrat-turned-politician took the oath in Konkani amid cheers by the party activists. Four MGP-UGDP combine MLAs P Madkaikar, Sudin Dhavlikar (both MGP) and Babush Monserrate and Mickey Pacheco (both UGDP) and an independent Philip Neri Rodrigues were among those inducted in the ministry. The BJP members in the cabinet are Digambar Kamat, Suresh Amonkar, Manohar Azgaonkar, Ramarao Desai, Francis D’souza, Vinay Tendulkar, Dayanand Mandrekar. Later talking to reporters, Mr Parrikar said, “he has not been asked to seek a vote of confidence as he had presented a list of 22 members supporting the coalition government. However, the Assembly would be convened in three to four days as vote on account has to be passed by June 15”. Ruling out any post of the Deputy Chief Minister, he said the portfolios would be announced in three phases from tomorrow. Justifying the 13-member cabinet, he said since the
MGP-UGDP, which were extending support to the BJP, were smaller parties, he had to include all their supporting members.
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Congress nemesis in Goa Not in a long while has Goa witnessed such a close election, not since the opinion poll that is. In the neck-and-neck fight the BJP forged ahead of the Congress. That the BJP nearly doubled their last poll tally (10) is a creditable but the Congress has only itself to blame for coming down from 21 to 16. In almost two decades of governance they have institutionalised corruption and made floor-crossing a way of life. The third front of the alliance between the United Democratic Party (UGDP) and the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) proved to be a marriage of convenience. For all the tall talk of supporting secular parties they were ready to jump on the winning side. It is also believed that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was nurturing them for any eventuality. They clearly became the balancing factor. But then Parrikar had to resort to taking defectors though he was the one to criticise. From the time Parrikar became the Chief Minister he has often spoken in two tongues. He makes the laws and then breaks them. If the BJP made headway it was because of its near-transparent administration. In the stark contrast to the corrupt Congress, the BJP has been more effective though Parrikar is believed to have favoured the majority community in the pre-employment schemes. Veteran politician Dr Wilfred D’souza once again proved to be a stumbling block as he has often been in the past. That he won the Saligao seat for the fourth successive time is creditable but his claim of forming the government was an empty boast. The NCP ended up with just his seat, but the damage he caused by dividing the vote was irreparable. May be the immigrant vote went in favour of the BJP. Parrikar’s coup de grace with buying out the third front only proves it and unless the anti-defection law is changed for smaller states like Goa (and the North-East) defection will continue to plague Goan politics, to say nothing of the cost to the exchequer caused by frequent elections. |
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RJD leaders quit in Jharkhand Ranchi, June 3 Charging the RJD with neglecting the interests of the tribesmen and the sadant, non-tribesmen local inhabitants of the state, Mr Mahanto and Mr Tirkey, also the Vice-President of the Adivasi Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch, resigned yesterday. The two leaders said here that the RJD had no base in the state and was acting against the interests of the people. They charged the state party leadership with neglecting the cause of the state. They further alleged that the party had lost its direction and deviated from the programmes and policies of social justice on which it had been floated by Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav.
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Opposition
to Mamata Banerjee’s bandh call Kolkata, June 3 Certain prominent TMC leaders, including Mr Subrata Mukherjee, Kolkata Mayor and Mr Saugata Roy, feel the decision had been injudicious and it will deal another blow to the party, after its debacle in the recent Municipal polls in which the TMC was virtually routed. Dissident TMC MP Ajit Panja and his followers are also opposing openly the bandh call. Other TMC MPs like Dr Ranjit Panja, Mrs Krishna Bose and Dr Nitish Sengupta also do not support the bandh decision at this stage when the country has been facing a war-like situation with Pakistan. Ms Banerjee’s decision on bandh has been also criticised by the WBPCC which first gave a 24-hour bandh call on June 7 but withdrew it later. Lashing out at Ms Banerjee’s sudden decision to call a bandh on June 14 when the Congress had earlier given a call for bandh on June 7, Mr Mukherjee felt the TMC leader now was suffering from mental agony in the wake of the repeated political mistakes, which she had done in the past few months. He said it was high time that Ms Banerjee returned to the Congress and jointly fought against the CPM in Bengal. Dissident TMC MP Mr Panja felt that Ms Banerjee was making yet another political blunder in calling a bandh, which the people were opposing. She had been making mistakes repeatedly and doing enormous damage to the party, the people and herself, remarked Mr Panja, adding that she had been now totally isolated in the party. Mr Panja appealed to TMC leaders and workers to oppose bandh call on June 14 but fight the CPM politically. He also asked the party workers to strengthen the Prime Minister’s hand. Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharyya also requested Ms Banerjee to withdraw the bandh decision. |
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Stand
up against Fascism: Gilbert New Delhi, June 3 “We have passed through the fascist phase...but those who believe in vibrant democracy, especially intellectuals should stand firm against upsurge of fascism,” Dr Gilbert said while delivering a lecture on “The Rise of Fascism in Europe in the 20th Century : Lessons for Today”, here at India International Centre. Dr Gilbert, who dedicated the lecture in memory of the late Mr B.K. Nehru, a former Governor, diplomat and a Trustee of The Tribune Trust, was full of praise for Mr Nehru for his strong voice, in his personal memoir, against the Emergency clamped for three years beginning 1975. Quoting Mr Nehru’s memoir he pointed out how a dictatorial or facist regime could totally destroy the democratic institutions. “The pillars of democracy - Parliament, Judiciary and the Press - could well be in its place, but still facism could be around,” Dr Gilbert warned and wanted people to remain vigilant. Dr Gilbert, who is here in India just the second time after 1958 when he was here to do research on Winston Churchill, explained at length how fascism spread across Europe in the 20th Century ruining democratic societies. “It was pure greed which led to the spread of fascism as many - both educated and uneducated - supported such forces for consideration in the form of power, better living, health, etc,” he said. Dr Gilbert, who was heard with rapt attention by a gallaxy of intellectuals, also pointed out that racism was another ill in the society which needed to be checked. “I live in a suburb in London and one day I called for a taxi and the taxi driver quipped ‘You really want to go where monkeys live?’...Is this the 21st century we live in,” Dr Gilbert asked while expressing concern over the racist violence in Bradfort recently. |
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48 charge-sheeted
for rioting Ahmedabad, June 3 The accused have been charged with rioting, murder, conspiracy and rape in the sensational Gulbarg Society mayhem at Naroda Patiya locality in the city on February 28.
PTI |
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Fake marksheet scam in
Gujarat Ahmedabad, June 3 The Chairman of the
GSEB, Mr P.V. Trivedi, said today that this was for the first time such students had been identified by the board and their examination forms rejected. He said the board would initiate further action against the students. Criminal proceedings had not been initiated against them as the students were minors, he added. Mr Trivedi said the GSEB would conduct inquiries whether the bogus marksheets were produced by the students themselves at the time of admission or the principals certified the photocopies without proper verification. He said he would soon write to the District Education Officers to investigate into the cases and take action accordingly.
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PMK activists held, released Chennai, June 3 The demonstrations were held to highlight the “electoral malpractices” during the byelection on May 31 and to press the need for re-poll in all three constituencies — Saidapet, Acharapakkam and Vaniyambadi. The arrested persons, including the party president G.K. Mani, were later released. The Election Commission has kept the counting in Saidapet in abeyance, pending an inquiry into the complaints of irregularities during polling.
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SC lawyer
sent to jail
New Delhi, June 3 Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) V.K. Maheshwari cancelled the interim bail of accused Bajrang Singh Dalal, who allegedly forged a Delhi High Court order passed by a division bench on February 20, 1989 and remanded him in judicial custody till June 6. The judge said: “After considering the gravity and seriousness of the matter, I do not consider it a fit case to grant bail. The interim bail granted to the accused hereby is cancelled.” The accused, as a counsel, has dealt with several cases relating to allotment of flats to the 1984 riots victims which have been pending before the Delhi High Court since 1988. It was alleged that there were several criminal cases against the accused lawyer for his alleged attempts to lure clients and mislead cases pending in different courts.
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Scripts of Bhagat Singh films genuine?
New Delhi, June 3 And though the makers of each of them claim to have adhered to historical fact, questions are being raised on various issues linked to the life of the martyr who was hanged by the British on March 23, 1931, including one relating to whether he was seriously involved with any woman, and another on the songs he wrote and sang. While TIPS who have produced ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’ by Raj Kumar Santoshi with Ajay Devgan in the title role have taken pride in the fact that the martyr’s ageing brother Kultar Singh had been associated with the making of the film, Iqbal Dhillon who has produced the already-released ‘Shaheed-e-Azam’ directed by Sukumar Nair says the research was done by Prof Jagmohan Singh, son of Bhagat Singh’s sister. But despite this, the martyr’s youngest brother Rajinder Singh and his sons and daughters have moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a stay on the screening of all films based on the life and history of the martyr. And the Delhi-based Article 51 A Forum demanded a ban on all versions, questioning the authenticity of the films and accused them of distorting history. Soham Saha, researcher and writer of the film ‘Shaheed-e-Azam’ claimed that his research of over one year had revealed that Bhagat Singh never penned the song ‘Mera Rang De Basanti Chola.’ ‘The revolutionary leader, inspired by communism and socialism, was more attracted to colours like black and red and not ‘basanti’, Saha said in an interview in Mumbai. He attributed this misconceived belief to Manoj Kumar who had first shown the martyr singing this song in his film. Actor Sunny Deol who produced ‘23rd March 1931 — Shaheed’ with brother Bobby Deol in the title role and his director Guddu Dhanoa at a press meet recently claimed that a lot of research had gone into the making of the film, and denied that it was based on “Shaheed” made by Manoj Kumar in 1965. Apart from Sunny, the film also stars Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai. The two other versions are by senior filmmaker Ramanand Sagar and by Tarun Wadhwa. While Manoj Kumar is said to have read more than 150 books on Bhagat Singh in course of his research, Sunny said he had consulted some historians in different parts of the country, including Punjab and Bangalore. Guddu added that his version had also explored certain aspects like Bhagat Singh’s childhood and the influences on him, which had not been shown by Manoj Kumar. Santoshi’s team relied on several biographies of the man including those by K.K. Khullar, A.G. Noorani and Kuldip Nayyar. Ajay Devgan said recently that ‘Shaheed’ had not concentrated merely on Bhagat Singh and had also not shown why he had turned into a freedom fighter and a revolutionary. Soham Saha lamented that the Central Board of Film Certification deleted a scene in his film relating to Mahatma Gandhi despite historical evidence that he had not tried wholeheartedly to save Bhagat Singh. He alleged that the censors do not want any ‘truth’ about Gandhi-Nehru to come out. He said there had even been a demand to remove a scene that shows that the British tried to tamper with Bhagat Singh’s body, but this was allowed after referring to the facts, he said.
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"Great composers" fest from June 8 Bangalore, June 3 More than 10 renowned artistes in classical music will participate in the festival, considered to be unique in the field of Indian Classical Music. They included Hyderabad Brothers, Sowmya, Nithyasthree Mahadevan, O.S. Thyagarajan, T.M. Krishna, Tiruchur Ramachandran, M.S. Sheela and Nedanoori Krishnamurthy. During the Festival, music lovers would have the opportunity to listen to the compositions of great Saint Tyagaraja, Shri Swathi Tirunal, Shri Papanasam Sivan, Shri Muthaiah Bagawathar, Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, Shri Shyama Sastri, Shri Mysore Vasudevachar, Shri Muthuswamy Dixitar, Saint Puradhara Dasa and Sri Annamacharya. The festival will be organised by S V N Music Academy formed by Sri Ramaseva Mandali, Chamarajpet, founded by the late S.V. Narayanaswamy Rao, which had become a household name among music lovers with its annual music festival conducted during Sri Rama Navami since past 64 years. The academy
proposes to set up a music school here on the lines of one established by the Music Academy, Chennai.
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