 |
Saturday,
June 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India   
|
Advani warns Pak of retaliation
MP Govt ‘shielding’ corrupt |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Nitish orders probe into recruitment scam Bandh hits life in Bengal, 700 held Craze catches on for Hollywood films NCP MLAs move HC over Speaker’s notices Gogoi inducts 20
new ministers AIADMK wins Assembly byelection FERA case against Jaya closed Ex-Vice-President Jatti dead Commissioner held on graft charge CBI brings arms smugglers
to Delhi Puri promoted as IG, CRPF
|
|
Advani warns Pak of retaliation New Delhi, June 7 “If Pakistan does not deliver on its promise to stop and put an end to cross-border terrorism and infiltration into the Indian territory...India would definitely take retaliatory action against the neighbour,” Mr Advani said and described the recent CICA summit at Almaty as a success for India in exposing Pakistan’s involvement in cross-border terrorism. He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a conservation complex at Qila Rai Pithora here. The Home Minister, who accused President Pervez Musharraf for not keeping his promises, said “there is no surprise that the Prime Minister did not have any talks during Summit with President Pervez Musharraf...such talks are possible only after Islamabad stops the killings of the innocent people in our country and puts an end to cross-border terrorism and infiltration.” The Home Minister said though Pakistan was under tremendous pressure from the international community, it was yet to fulfil its promises given to them. “There is much difference between what Pakistan says and what it does,” he said adding that Pakistan stood exposed as the international community had recognised for the first time Islamabad’s role in promoting terrorism. “In fact, the world has realised this. The statement of Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and US Secretary of State Collin Powell that General Musharraf should translate his words into action to check cross-border terrorism is a clear recognition by the West that Islamabad is not taking necessary action on the issue,” he added. However, Mr Advani pointed out that India was always in favour of peace with Pakistan but the neighbouring country must fulfil its promises. Mr Advani said the world must continue to support India’s stand on the issue and put all possible pressure on Pakistan to fulfil its promises at the earliest |
|
Plea to end use
of anti-personnel landmines New Delhi, June 7 Pointing out that the treaty which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines was ratified by 123 countries, they said India and Pakistan were among the 14 countries in the world that still produce anti-personnel mines.
PTI |
|
MP Govt ‘shielding’ corrupt Bhopal, June 7 A police inspector Ms Shahida Sultan was picked up by the Lokayukta police at the Bhopal railway station as she alighted from the Karnataka Express on May 8, 1997 with a suitcase containing Rs 6 lakh. Ms Sultan was on deputation with the Transport Department and was posted at a checkpost on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border in Khandwa district. The police investigation was said to have discovered that the money was meant for the then Transport Minister who once enjoyed the confidence of Mr Arjun Singh and had later become a close confidant of Mr Digvijay Singh. It was said Ms Sultan was a regular courier of hush money for the minister. The Lokayukta police investigated the case and filed challans in the court under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The minister had, meanwhile, fallen out with Mr Digvijay Singh and was dropped from the Council of Ministers following corruption charges against him. He was, however, taken back at the intervention of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and is once again considered very close to Mr Digvijay Singh. The advocate for the Lokayukta, Mr N.C.Jain, surprised everyone, including the investigators by moving an application in the court on May 14 for the withdrawal of the case “in public interest”. A Deputy Superintendent in the Lokayukta police moved another application in the court the next day stating that there was no question of the case being withdrawn, that the Lokayukta police had lost confidence in advocate N.C. Jain. He said the process had been started for Mr Jain’s removal from the case. Mr Jain fought it out bitterly saying that he had been appointed by the government and that the Lokayukta had no powers to withdraw him from the case. The court will hear Mr Jain’s application on June 17. The Lokayukta has, meanwhile, taken up the matter with the government. State BJP vice-president Babulal Gour and another party leader Madanlal Ranjhi, have now moved an application in the court opposing the withdrawal of the case and allowing them to become interveners. |
|
Nitish orders probe into recruitment scam Patna, June 7 Mr Nitish Kumar said here that there was nothing as the ‘Railway Minister’s quota’ and all appointments were done in transparent manner by the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). He said the probe had been ordered and the Railway officials were enquiring who the touts were and whether they had any connection with the Railway authorities. He maintained that appointments in the third grade had already been done by the RRBs but since the last Rail Budget, appointments of even the fourth grade staff had been entrusted to the RRBs to ensure transparency. The minister however maintained that if anyone was engaged in befooling the masses in the name of Railway authorities it was the duty of the police to act tough and arrest the culprits. The Railways was not responsible, he said. He, however, assured all assistance to the state police from the Railway authorities in this regard. |
|
Bandh hits life in Bengal, 700 held Kolkata, June 7 Taking part in a protest march in support of the bandh in south Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee suddenly fell unconscious on the street, She was taken to a nursing home and later regained consciousness. Over 700 workers and supporters were arrested from various parts of the state for disrupting normal activities and obstructing movement of public transport. There were road blockades and obstruction of train movement at different places. The bandh supporters also forcibly closed several shops and other establishments in the city. The Trinamool Congress claimed that the bandh was successful. Both Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee and Left Front Chairman Biman Bose denied that there was any response to the bandh call. Mr Bhattacharjee said public transport was operating in the city and employees attended their offices. He admitted the attendance in offices was low, but this was because of the World Cup matches. The state Assembly, which opened today, was attended by MLAs of all parties except Trinamool Congress MLAs said they were opposing the bandh call and that was why they were attending the Assembly session. The Assembly was soon adjourned after passing an obituary resolution. |
|
Craze catches on for Hollywood films New Delhi, June 7 Four big Hollywood studios — Warner Bros, Columbia Tristar, Paramount and 20th Century Fox — now engage in India-specific ad spurts, cross-promotions, merchandising, brand-building, media launches, dubbing to break language barriers as also releasing separate genres in different states as “culture varies here every 50 km.” Their experience reveal that films which have not done well at home sometimes become big grossers in India, because of the themes’ appeal to the Indian tastes. “Spidey”, the Marvel Comics character from childhood, has also led the way in a spurt of cross-brand promotions as well as pre-release and post-release merchandising. “We have gone on a massive integrated marketing and communication campaign to re-establish the superhero’s brand equity and created a “must see” factor which was translated into a huge business opportunity,” says Uday Singh, Managing Director of Columbia Tristar Films of India. “Dubbing it in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu meant that people across India could participate in the ultimate spin,” he quips. “‘Spider-man’ had the fastest release, less than a month after its US premiere. “Mind you, the UK release is still away, and ‘Star Wars — Attack of the Clones’ will be released in India this month, one month ahead of Japan,” says Vivek Behl, marketing manager of PVR cinemas. “An almost simultaneous release means we are able to cash in on the international hype and news surrounding the films,” he adds. At around 2 per cent and nearly Rs 300 crore, the Indian market may not be big now in Hollywood terms, but it is going up to between 5-7 per cent, which means at over 100 per cent per year, claims Raj Mallik, North India manager of Warner Bros India, whose “Ocean’s 11”, “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” were huge hits in India. A Columbia Tristar distributor says the box office percentage of Hollywood films in India may be around 10 per cent. But the Asian market has grown from 9th position to 6th recently, he adds. “Frankly,” says Mallik, “a whole lot of Bollywood films are remakes of, or inspired by Hollywood. Naturally, people want to see the original.”
PTI |
|
NCP MLAs move HC over Speaker’s notices Mumbai, June 7 Chief Justice C.K. Thakker and Ms Justice Ranjana Desai adjourned the matter to June 10 as petitioners said enough time was not given to them for filing replies to the notices. The judges asked the MLAs to approach the Speaker Arun Gujarati for
extension of time to file replies and granted them liberty to move the court in case they were aggrieved.
PTI |
|
|
Gogoi inducts 20
new ministers Guwahati, June 7 Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi brought in 20 new faces and upgraded three of his previous ministers. With the expansion, the number of ministers rose to 36, 19 of Cabinet rank, five Ministers of State with independent charge and others Ministers of State. Mr Gogoi rushed from New Delhi this morning along with Congress in charge Mohsina Kidwai and was present in the Raj Bhavan when the Governor Lt Gen S.K. Sinha, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers. Meanwhile, Assam Agriculture and Fishery Minister Nazibul Omar lost his rank as he was dropped, but the Chief Minister, Mr Gogoi allowed him to resign as a face-saving measure. The portfolios would be allocated by the evening. Hectic lobbying was on to corner lucrative portfolios by the ministers.
UNI |
|
AIADMK wins Assembly byelection Chennai, June 7 Tamil movie actor Radha Ravi wrested the DMK seat, defeating his rival, Mr M.Subramanian, by 11,925 votes. All other candidates lost their deposits. The AIADMK had earlier won the byelections in Acharapakkam and Vaniambadi constituencies. Repoll in 58 booths of the Saidapet constituency took place yesterday on the orders of the Election Commission, following Opposition’s allegations of poll irregularities on the part of the ruling party. |
|
FERA case against Jaya closed New Delhi, June 7 Highly placed directorate sources said prima facie no case existed against the two as they had received a gift of foreign exchange during 1991, when the government had given immunity for gifts received from abroad. The directorate sources denied media reports that the case was closed under “some political pressure” and said Ms Jayalalithaa and Ms Sashikala had received a gift amount of $ 3 lakh and $ 2 lakh, respectively, from abroad during 1991. The sources said the amount was mentioned in the income tax returns filed by the two for the relevant period.
PTI
Ex-Vice-President Jatti dead Bangalore, June 7
|
|
|
Commissioner held on graft charge New Delhi, June 7 The accused — Regional Labour Commissioner of Jabalpur MMA Kumar and Labour Enforcement Officer Mohan S Rughani — were arrested after one person complained to the CBI that the two officials were seeking illegal gratification, a CBI statement said here today. The CBI said the agency received a complaint that the two officials were allegedly demanding a bribe from the complainant to settle his case regarding less payment of wages to the labourers. It claimed that the officials were caught red-handed when they were demanding and accepting the bribe from the complainant.
PTI |
|
CBI brings arms smugglers to Delhi New Delhi, June 7 The two — Hari Bhai Manu Bhai Patel and Mohammed Ahmed Bhai — were brought here from Gujarat this afternoon after a court in Banaskantha
district remanded them to CBI custody till June 17. Probe so far showed that the weapons were being smuggled into the state for creating further disturbances, the CBI sources said. They also did not rule out Pakistan’s ISI trying to unleash a fresh communal flare-up in the state. The two were arrested on June 5 from Tharad in the district after 20 “star marked pistols”, 38 magazines and 132 rounds of ammunition, concealed in the cabin of a truck were seized during a surveillance in the area.
PTI |
|
|
Puri promoted as IG, CRPF New Delhi, June 7 He joined the CRPF in 1968 as Deputy Superintendent of Police after serving the Army for five years. In his 34 years of stint in the CRPF, he served in various capacities in Punjab, North-East and Jammu and Kashmir. He is a recipient of President’s Police Medal for distinguished Service and Police Medal for meritorious Service. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
In video (
