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Monday,
July 22, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Sunil Dutt
launches ‘Sadbhavana Ke Sipahi’
Kalam
calls on President |
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Kalam to
visit HP Dikshit
sends notice to Khurana Gujarat poll:
Congress to call on EC Cong men
resent raids on Sonia’s camp office RSS
front to take on NC AIADMK,
DMK reject TN bifurcation demand
Soz may join Congress Sorabjee
calls for speedy justice Red
Corner notice against Rastogi brothers Afroz’s
brother denied bail
1.5 lakh visited Web site on ’84 riots since July 10
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Sunil Dutt launches ‘Sadbhavana Ke Sipahi’ New Delhi, July 21 Launched at the initiative of Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the AICC here, the Sadbhavana Ke Sipahi will have its branches throughout the country. Claiming that the forum was “apolitical and not a part of the Congress,’’ Mr Dutt said everyone was welcome into its fold if they adhered to the forum’s objectives. He denied that the timing of the launch was aimed at helping the Congress in the forthcoming elections in Gujarat. The forum programme would be focused on Gujarat, apart from giving funds to children affected by riots. Mr Dutt presided over the first meeting of the advisory committee of the forum which was attended among others by Mr Manmohan Singh, Ms Nirmala Deshpandey, Ms Sharmila Tagore, Mr Jairam Ramesh, Mr Salman Khursheed, Ms Chandresh Kumari and Mr Praveen Rashtrapal. Mr Dutt, who earlier visited refugee camps in Gujarat, said the organisation had decided to finance the education of 1,000 orphaned children for at least a year. He said the forum would undertake a peace rally from the Golden Temple to Vaishno Devi and Hazrat Bal. He said Gujarat had been chosen to initiate peace rally as the state was affected by communal violence. It also planned to carry out a ‘sadbhavana abhiyan’ in Uttar Pradesh. Ms Sharmila Tagore said there should not be skepticism over the forum’s ideas or fear of its politicisation. |
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Kalam calls on President New Delhi, July 21 A spokesman for the Rashtrapati Bhavan described the meeting as a courtesy call. Mr Narayanan hosted a dinner reception for Dr Kalam on Friday. Members of Parliament will bid farewell to Mr Narayanan, who completes his term on July 24, at a meeting in the Central Hall of Parliament tomorrow. A scroll signed by the members will be presented to the President by Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi. Meanwhile, arrangements have been finalised for the swearing-in of Dr Kalam in the Central Hall of Parliament on July 25. Dr Kalam, who is staying at Asiad Village in South Delhi, will be escorted to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning. Mr Narayanan and Dr Kalam will arrive at the Central Hall in a procession at 10 am. |
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Kalam to visit HP New Delhi, July 21 Mr Dhumal met Dr Kalam at his Khel Gaon residence and invited him to visit the state. Dr Kalam accepted the invitation and told Mr Dhumal that appropriate dates of his visit would be conveyed to the state government. Dr Kalam told Mr Dhumal that he was impressed with the state’s scenic beauty and clean environment and had already visited Manali which fascinated him very much. Mr Dhumal told Dr Kalam that the state government had launched the Saraswati Vidya Sankalp Yojna under which 13,612 new rooms had been constructed at a cost of Rs 126 crore, thereby ensuring a minimum three-room accommodation to each primary school in the state, according to a press note issued by the state government here. Mr Dhumal told Dr Kalam that an ambitious plan had been formulated to bring an additional 5 lakh hectares under afforestation in the state . This was in addition to 92,000
hectares already covered under afforestation schemes during the past four years in the state. The Chief Minister said the state had formulated an ambitious plan of harnessing 10,000 MW of additional power by 2008 which would generate an additional revenue of Rs 1,000 crore to the state exchequer. |
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Dikshit sends notice to Khurana
New Delhi, July 21 The legal notice alleged that Mr Khurana in letters to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Delhi Lieut-Governor and Ms Dikshit, and at a press conference on July 20 had made defamatory remarks, among other things, alleging that K. K. Malhotra, who was recently convicted in the Coomar Narain spy case, had been appointed to the PMO at the behest of Ms Dikshit and her father-in-law, the late Umashankar Dikshit, who had served as the Union Home Minister. Ms Dikshit refuted all charges levelled by Mr Khurana in his letters dated July 19 and the press conference and said his statements were false and factually erroneous. The notice, served through her counsel, sent to Mr Khurana, copies which were made available to the Press today, demanded an apology from Mr Khurana to be published in major newspapers and aired on TV news channels within three days. She also asked for token damages of Rs 101, failing which she would take legal action against him.
UNI |
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Gujarat poll: Congress to call on EC New Delhi, July 21 The EC is also likely to consider the Gujarat Government’s request to hold early Assembly elections. The state assembly was dissolved on July 19. Sources said the commission had not yet received the Gujarat Government’s letter informing it of its decision to go in for early elections. When the issue comes up before the commission, the government’s recommendation would be one of the several factors to be considered to decide the poll schedule. The EC had indicated to a delegation of eminent citizens led by former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral on July 19 that it was not likely to hold elections in Gujarat before October. |
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Cong men resent raids on Sonia’s camp office Lucknow, July 21 The police raided the camp office twice in search of some criminals. They interrogated the staff and gave a stern warning. The staff informed Mrs Gandhi and UPCC officials before fleeing the camp office, which comes under the Amethi constituency. Though the local police has denied the occurrence of any such incident, the state president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), Mr Arun Kumar Singh ‘Munna’, has constituted a three-member delegation to probe the incident. The delegation is expected to submit its report by tomorrow. As per the reports received, villagers, on the night of July 18, caught hold of two criminals and handed them over to the Gauriganj police. Later, the police released them. As this news spread, the villagers gheraoed the police station. The police had to use force the disperse the mob. The next day, the local MLA, Ms Amita Singh of the BJP, intervened and asked the police to arrest the culprits. Congress leaders alleged that the police raided the camp office of Mrs Gandhi on the insistence of Ms Amita Singh. “The local police is acting on behalf of BJP legislators,” UPCC spokesman Akhilesh Singh said. |
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RSS front to take on NC New Delhi, July 21 Mr Madhav, however, declined to divulge details about the composition of the front. He indicated that it would be a combination of political outfits, social groups and prominent personalities. He also declined to specify whether the proposed group would contest the coming Assembly elections. “Efforts are already on to bring together nationalist forces in the valley to raise voice against the autonomy demand, to challenge the corrupt family rule of the NC and mobilise public opinion against terrorism,” he said. Meanwhile, the Farooq government is understood to have expressed reservations in allowing top leaders of the APHC to roam freely in Jammu and Kashmir before the elections due for October. In view of this, it may be a long haul behind bars for Hurriyat leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and Sheikh Abdul Aziz, sources said. The Farooq government is reportedly jittery about an early release of top Hurriyat leaders as it fears that they could disrupt the election process. Jamat-e-Islami leader Geelani has some pockets of influence in North Kashmir. Similarly, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik is perceived to be having some clout in Srinagar and People’s League chief Aziz in South Kashmir. Union Minister of State for Home I.D. Swami has also gone on record saying in an interview to a television channel yesterday that the J&K Government was detaining the Hurriyat leaders as it fears they will disturb the election process. “It is the state government that is detaining them. The state government is not concerned about whether they will contest or not. But yes, they do feel their being on bail or free would certainly hamper the peaceful election process.” |
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AIADMK, DMK reject TN bifurcation demand
Chennai, July 21 Reacting sharply, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa described as “dangerous” the demand by Dr Ramadoss saying that it only exposed his “true colours” as a “casteist and separatist, while DMK chief M. Karunanidhi in a mild response dismissed it as “impractical and unacceptable”. Ms Jayalalithaa said: “The demand does not surprise me as the separatist forces who had encouraged fissiparous tendencies, will attempt to encourage such forces by any method”. Ramadoss’s statement had only exposed that he was still a “casteist force”, she added. Mr Karunanidhi said “the demand is impractical and it is better if Dr Ramadoss does not press the demand as it will lead to dangerous consequences and controversies”. Ms Jayalalithaa took strong objection to the presence of the two PMK ministers at a conference in which Dr Ramadoss made the statement demanding the bifurcation of the state. Alleging that Dr Ramadoss had created a “bad precedent” by converting Vanniyar Sangam as a political party and indulging in “anti-national activities” by supporting a terrorist organisation like the LTTE, Ms Jayalalithaa said: “Dr Ramadoss has revealed his true colours”. “It is a dangerous trend to demand a separate state for a particular community”, she said, adding that his statement had only revealed that the “casteist fanaticism” was the backbone of his politics. Former Union Minister and a prominent Vanniyar leader Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy said the demand was only to instigate Vanniyar community youth to indulge in violence in support of the ‘separatist demand’. He said Ms Jayalalithaa should not hesitate to take action against Dr Ramadoss for making the demand. TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan has described the demand as dangerous while the CPM leader N. Varadarajan has likened the demand to that of the RSS demand for the trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir on the caste lines. The TMC general secretary, Mr Peter Alphones, has also dismissed the demand. Dr Ramadoss, at a speech at PMK conference at Uthiramerur had demanded separate state for the Vanniyar community, who lived as majority in northern districts of the state. Since independence, no Vanniyars, who formed 30 per cent of the state’s population could become a Chief Minister and only a separate state, consisting of 15 northern districts, should enable a Vanniyar to become the Chief Minister, he said.
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Soz may join Congress New Delhi, July 21 Mr Soz, who was present at the launch of the Sadbhavna Ke Sipahi at the AICC here today, said that he would soon declare his next course of action. Having maintained a low profile for the past three years after he left the National Conference (NC), Mr Soz said he had been "in the Congress movement." Talking to TNS here, Mr Soz said he was "deadly against communalism and had sympathy for the secular mainstream." Mr Soz had violated the NC whip and had voted against the Vajpayee government which lost the trust vote in the Lok Sabha by one vote. "I told the NC leaders that they did not have the mandate to support the BJP. I told them that I cannot go against my conscience. I am against NC's policy of allying with whoever came to power at the Centre. This is suicidal politics," he said. Mr Soz, who may contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, said the new state Congress president Ghulam Nabi Azad was doing "good work." Now heading the People's Empowerment Mission, Mr Soz said he would soon articulate his views about the political situation and his course of action in view of the elections in the state. Mr Soz, who has worked with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi when NC and Congress were in an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, favours emergence of a secular alternative to the National Conference in the state. |
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Sorabjee calls for speedy justice
Dehra Dun, July 21 “Access to courts is a basic human right and unless there is effective and expeditious access, there is denial of justice and denial of this basic right, Mr Sorabjee said while delivering a lecture on judicial protection of human rights here. Warning that if speedy disposal of cases was not ensured, people would lose confidence in the judicial system, he said: “What is required is a concerted drive, a crusade in which the government, the Bar and the Bench all have to play their respective roles.” Establishing more courts and appointing more judges was not the only necessary thing for the speedy disposal of pending cases, but utmost care should be taken to ensure that judges have the requisite qualities of intelligence, integrity and commitment to judicial work, the Attorney-General said. Lauding the role of judiciary in protecting human rights, he said it had upheld the rule of law and sustained constitutional values. Observing that the citizens also have an important role in protecting human rights. Mr Sorabjee said: “Judgements and orders of the court, especially the Supreme Court, delivered after a fair contest should be accepted and complied with, not defied and disobeyed, particularly by the administration and the powers that be”. On charges that some orders passed by the courts in PILs tantamount to the judiciary extending into the business of the government, he said: “What is forgotten is that it is the notorious tardiness of legislature and the inertia, almost bordering on callousness, of the executive branch which provide a proper occasion for judicial intervention”.
PTI |
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Red Corner notice against Rastogi brothers
New Delhi, July 21 The proceedings for their extradition or deportation from the UK and Dubai can now be expedited, CBI sources said. The CBI move comes within two months of US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arresting their brother Narendra Rastogi for an alleged bank fraud. The agency had moved France-based Interpol for the issuance of a Red Corner notice against them after filing a charge sheet against the brothers in the duty drawback scam in Chennai and Mumbai courts, they said. The two were also served non-bailable warrants by a Delhi court, which were kept in abeyance as their counsel had stated that they would be appearing before the court. The government has already moved extradition proceedings for Virender Rastogi and has informed the British authorities about the revocation of his passport following the two charge sheets against him and others in the scam.
PTI |
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Afroz’s brother denied bail
Mumbai, July 21 Metropolitan Magistrate R.D. Gate rejected Farooq's bail petition yesterday following opposition from the prosecution which contended that he might threaten witnesses if granted liberty. Farooq's lawyer Mubin Solkar alleged that the city police was acting vindictively towards his client because his brother Mohammad Afroz had sued it for damages amounting to Rs 10 crore for booking him under the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) and later dropping the charges. Afroz was arrested in October last year on the charge of waging war against the nation and released on bail in April this year after the police failed to file charge sheet against him within the stipulated 90-day period. Farooq surrendered before the court recently after he was declared a proclaimed offender. The police has alleged that Farooq and Afroz are Al-Qaida terrorists and that the former had financed Afroz's pilot training abroad. Afroz allegedly was hired to blow up targets in foreign countries.
PTI |
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1.5 lakh visited website on ’84 riots since July 10
New Delhi, July 21 “Over 1.5 lakh persons have visited the
Web site since its inauguration on July 10,” Mr Rajiv Chugh, who has launched the site carnage84.com in collaboration with the DSGMC told PTI. “This is quite unusual for people visiting a website on such a subject in recent past as only sports sites were the most sought after,” he said. Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka, who had mooted the idea of launching a website containing entire details about the 1984 riots in which over 2,700 persons were killed in Delhi alone, said, according to the report from the host, nearly 30 per cent of the 1.51 lakh visitors to it by Saturday were from the USA.
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