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Thursday,
July 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Mamata,
Samata on collision course Gupta for
Kashmir poll under Governor’s rule Gaurav
Yatra called off to keep rivals in check: BJP
I wasn’t
reluctant to quit post: Jana
Khanna
to promote tourism in Punjab |
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Moradabad
bypass dedicated to nation Sharad
differed with Yashwant on labour reforms Munna UP Cong chief
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Mamata, Samata on
collision course Kolkata, July 3 While Ms Banerjee has demanded that the proposal be dropped in the interests of Bengal, Mr Nitish Kumar has reiterated that the decision would be implemented to facilitate the formation of East-Central Railway with its headquarters at Hajipur. Mr Nitish Kumar pleaded that the decision had been taken by his predecessor, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, and was endorsed by the Union Cabinet. Meanwhile, Samata Party workers and supporters burnt Ms Banerjee’s effigies at several places in Bihar and threatened to launch an agitation demanding the formation of the railway with its headquarters at Hajipur. They also threatened to block rail traffic between Bengal and Bihar if the Trinamool Congress stood in the way of the formation of the railway at Hajipur. On the other hand, Ms Banerjee, now in the Capital, directed her party leaders to be ready to launch a massive agitation including calling a Bangla bandh, against the bifurcation of Eastern Railway. She said the decision was politically motivated to serve vested interests. Mr Subrata Mukherjee, Kolkata Mayor, who accompanied Ms Banerjee to a meeting with the Prime Minister yesterday, returned to the city today with the impression that Ms Banerjee would get the Coal and Mines portfolio as a Cabinet Minister and the issue of the bifurcation of Eastern Railway would be solved amicably. He said the issue would be kept in abeyance and a committee set up to examine the matter. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya sent another letter to Mr Vajpayee and the Railway Minister, requesting them to withdraw the decision. Mr Anil Biswas of the CPM said the party would welcome Ms Banerjee’s fight against the bifurcation move but would not join the Trinamool Congress’ agitation. He said the workers of CPM and other political parties would launch an agitation separately against the move. BJP minister from Bengal, Mr Tapan Sikhdar, and Mr A.B.A Ghani Khan Chowdhury, a former Railway Minister, said they would request Mr Nitish Kumar to re-examine the proposal and then take appropriate steps. |
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Gupta for Kashmir poll
under Governor’s rule New Delhi, July 3 Questioning Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s objection to it, Mr Gupta, after assuming the office, said: “When all parties are demanding that the state should be placed under the Governor’s rule, why should he (Dr Abdullah) have any objection, especially since he claims that he had got a two-third majority in the 1996 election when they were conducted under the Governor’s rule”. Referring to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s recent statement in Lucknow that the Centre was considering the imposition of Governor’s rule in the state for conducting elections he said: “the Centre is committed to holding a free and fair poll in the state and everything should be done to achieve this objective”. Mr Gupta disclosed that the Centre had constituted a Civil-Army Combined Committee for deciding the compensation to be paid to the farmers whose lands were taken over by the armed forces due to the deployment on the border. The committee was expected to submit its report by July 8 after which compensation would be paid to the farmers. In this connection, he pointed out that the committee was constituted due to claims and counter-claims being made by the civilian and Army authorities on the quantum of the land taken over by the armed forces due to the border deployment. |
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Gaurav Yatra called off to keep rivals in check: BJP New Delhi, July 3 Addressing mediapersons, BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley said the decision to postpone the yatra was taken collectively by the state and Central leadership of the party after going into the pros and cons of the yatra which was slated to begin from July 4. The yatra was a “positive political campaign for restoring the prestige and dignity of the state, particularly after a campaign of calumny had been carried against it”. “The NHRC made some observations about the yatras and the Gujarat unit of the BJP consulted the national leadership and was of the view that the yatra was a political campaign. However, we felt that we should not give unnecessary handle to opponents when restoration of peace and normalcy in Gujarat was the top-most priority,” Mr Jaitley said. The National Human Rights Commission had expressed serious concern that the proposed Gaurav Yatra and Jagananth Rath Yatra could re-ignite communal violence in the riot-hit Gujarat. Asserting that the yatra was a political activity, Mr Jaitley said “Legitimate political activity is also an important component of political freedom and political freedom is an integral part of human rights. While public order is our priority, we must make sure that there is no curtailment of legitimate political freedom.” Asked whether this was a veiled criticism of the NHRC for its observations, he said, “It is no veiled criticism and the yatra was postponed so as not to give an unnecessary handle to our critics.” “The BJP Gujarat unit is a responsible party and took into account all these factors
(NHRC’s observations) into consideration while taking the decision,” he said. To a question as to why former Prime Minister V P Singh was not allowed to visit Ayodhya after the demolition of the disputed structure when the party was in power in Uttar Pradesh, he said, “There could be several instances where for the sake of public order, some restraints are necessary.” |
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I wasn’t reluctant
to quit post: Jana New Delhi, July 3 “I was never reluctant to quit the post but never wanted to accept the new responsibility,” Mr
Krishnamurthy, who assumed office as the Law Minister, told reporters here. The 72-year-old RSS
pracharak-turned-politician said “destiny” made him the Law Minister. “Destiny plays its role... If I am able to do something to uphold the majesty of law in social life, I will think I have succeeded in the task entrusted to me,” he said. Minister of State for Law Ravi Shanker
Prasad, who was practising in the Patna High Court as senior advocate, also assumed office along with Mr
Krishnamurthy. On the shifting of the Department of Company Affairs from his ministry to the Ministry of Finance, Mr Krishnamurthy said this was a purely administrative arrangement and nothing should be read into it. “Company Law is with me,” he quipped. Commenting on the July 8 all-party meeting, convened to discuss the Supreme Court directive making it mandatory for candidates to furnish details of their criminal past, if any, Mr Krishnamurthy said: “We will talk to the political parties and on the basis of their views the government will take a decision.” Both Mr Krishnamurthy and Mr Prasad said outgoing minister Arun Jaitley had done a lot in the field of judicial reforms and to speed up the justice delivery system. |
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Khanna to promote tourism in Punjab New Delhi, July 3 Agreeing that not much had been done to promote tourism in Punjab, the newly appointed minister said tourism as a whole had to be promoted as an industry. He said although there were a number of tourism spots in Punjab which could be promoted, not much attention had been paid to them. Speaking to the media after assuming office, he also mooted an innovative idea of promoting tourism through Bollywood. “We are going to study all aspects of tourism promotion in the country and also do it through Bollywood.” He said Bollywood was a strong medium for promoting the country’s tourism, which had been hit hard after the September 11 incidents, Khanna said: “We will be identifying and developing innovative tourist packages for Bollywood but it will take some time.” He said the tourism industry had still performed well despite all odds, with only a 17 per cent drop in tourist arrivals. Mr Khanna said he would also do whatever possible to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been severely hit by terrorism. He said new packages for Kulu, Manali and other tourist destinations would be designed. Replying to a query on why the Indian tourism industry was not performing better than other small countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Mr Khanna said: “We cannot compare India with any other country as our problems are different than theirs.” |
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Moradabad
bypass dedicated to nation Moradabad, July 3 “Innovative schemes are being devised to attract private investment into the road sector,” Mr Khanduri said while inaugurating the phase II of the Moradabad bypass on the NH-24 last evening. The Moradabad bypass project has been implemented by the Highways Authority of India (NHAI) through an innovative financing mechanism by incorporating the Moradabad Toll Road Company Limited. The total cost of the project is Rs 103.50 crore, out of which Rs 31.05 crore is the share capital and Rs 72.45 crore has been raised through long-term loans. |
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Sharad differed with Yashwant on labour reforms New Delhi, July 3 “As Labour Minister, I had differences with some of my colleagues, particularly Finance Minister, over issues like labour reforms and interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund,” he said after taking charge as the Food Minister today. He said differences with his ministerial colleagues were on some finer details and were on the verge of being sorted out when the reshuffle of portfolios took place. |
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Munna UP Cong chief New Delhi, July 3 A two-time minister in UP who was also an office-bearer of the Youth Congress, Mr Munna has worked both with Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Hailing from Jaunpur, Mr Munna also served as deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party in UP. He was also in the Congress (Tiwari). The appointment of Mr Munna as PCC chief comes at a time when the high command is making hectic efforts to revive the Congress in UP. Meanwhile, the Congress today expressed relief that the rath yatra of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been stopped in its tracks. |
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