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Wednesday,
October 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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NCM takes
up Khalistan issue with UK delegation Indo-French
joint exercises next year TN strike
over Cauvery waters today Advani
defends Modi’s Gaurav Yatra |
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Main
accused in Godhra case held TC still
welcome in NDA: Naidu Sonia to visit Mathura on Oct 10 BJP
satisfied over J&K elections Kashmir
panel to visit J&K CPM:
review NCERT books
HC
orders pension for dead man Rape case: main suspect held Salman grilled on
ownership of car CBI
hopes to get Salem’s extradition Heptullah
is IPU Honorary President 12,000
lower courts to be computerised
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NCM takes
up Khalistan issue with UK delegation New Delhi, October 8 NCM Vice-Chairman Tarlochan Singh said a 12-member delegation called on the NCM Chairman, Justice Mohd Shamim, and members to acquaint themselves with the nature of working of the NCM and its relevance when the country had a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The delegation also visited the NHRC office. The NCM Vice-Chairman said he handed over a copy of a news report, ‘Lawmaker backs Sikh separatists’ demand’, published in Sher-e-Panjab, New York, on October 1. The report
detailed Wolverhampton talks of conditional support assured by a senior ruling Labour Party lawmaker to the demand for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan. The lawmaker is reported to have expressed his support at a meeting organised at a pro-Khalistan group at a gurdwara in Wolverhampton on September 22. The report further mentioned that a senior shadow minister of the Conservative Party, who had attended the meeting, had expressed support for Sikhs in Britain and asked them to register themselves as Sikhs and not Indians. Mr Tarlochan Singh reportedly told the delegation that such developments raised apprehensions in India, which had experienced bloodshed and trouble in Punjab over a decade, when some elements raised the demand for Khalistan in the 1980s. According to a press note issued by the NCM here, the visiting delegation comprised six representatives from the House of Commons and six representatives from the House of Lords. The commission explained to the delegation that there was communal harmony in the country and it was redressing the grievances of the minorities. |
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Indo-French joint exercises next year New Delhi, October 8 “The IAF combat aircraft will hold joint training exercise with the French combat aircraft next year,” he said on the sidelines of the 70th Air Force Day celebrations here. “The joint exercise will be held in Gwalior, where our Mirages are stationed and the French Mirages will be coming there,” he said. The joint exercise will enable the IAF to have a better understanding of the intricacies of the combat aircraft, the IAF Chief said. “The joint exercise is part of the interaction with the major air powers of the world and we have been having similar interactions with the USA and UK air forces,” he said. “The interaction will be mutually beneficial and will help have a better understanding of each other’s prowess,” Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy said. On the possibility of trainer aircraft Suryakirans being used for counter-insurgency operations, the Air Chief Marshal said, “Nothing has been decided yet. We are reviewing the
possibility.” On the modernisation of the IAF, he said, “We are upgrading our fleet every year.” |
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TN strike over Cauvery waters today Chennai, October 8 Water and power supply, milk distribution, telephone and telecommunication services, hospital and fire services would be maintained during the strike, called by political parties, as well as various associations, traders’ and farmers’ wings, trade unions, students and women’s organisations. “It is not a bandh, and it has not been sponsored by the government,” an official press note said here today, which however, was silent on the bus services. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa held a meeting with top officials including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director-General of Police and the city Police Commissioner, at the secretariat, on the arrangements for tomorrow’s strike. In a separate statement, Ms Jayalalithaa, who is also AIADMK general secretary, appealed to people to participate in the strike tomorrow in large numbers to make it a grand success. A top Southern Railway official said all trains, including suburban electric trains, would not run throughout the state during the strike period. NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu filed a petition in the Supreme Court, for the second time within a month, requesting it to “punish” Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, his Cabinet colleague H.K. Patil and the state Chief Secretary for “wilfully committing gross contempt of court” by violating the apex court orders for the release of Cauvery water. The contempt petition was filed on the ground that Karnataka did not honour the Supreme Court’s October 4 order directing it to release 9,000 cusecs (approximately 0.8 tmcft) water daily to Tamil Nadu.
PTI |
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Advani defends Modi’s Gaurav Yatra Ahmedabad, October 8 He decried detractors who had carried on a sustained campaign that President’s rule should be imposed in Gujarat after October 3 and said, “Today is October 8 and Modi is continuing as Chief Minister and will continue.” On a day’s visit to the city and addressing party workers, Mr Advani hit out at Modi’s critics, calling Gujarat as “Godse’s Gujarat”, and said, “The Gaurav Yatra was undertaken to restore the pride of the state after the Godhra incident and the violence in Ahmedabad, which had given the state a bad
name.” GANDHINAGAR: Mr Advani said Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Doda during the final round of polling in Jammu and Kashmir was not unexpected and reflected “frustration and desperation” of terrorist groups from across the border. “This was not unexpected. They thought this was the fourth phase. As the polls inched towards success gradually, their frustration and desperation has been increasing,” Mr Advani said.
PTI |
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Main accused in Godhra case held Godhra, October 8 Police sources said today that he was taken to an unspecified place for interrogation. From there, he was to be brought back to Godhra and produced in a railway court soon, the sources said. The police clarified that so far, 68 persons have been arrested in the Sabarmati attack case while 54 were absconding.
UNI |
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TC still welcome
in NDA: Naidu Kolkata, October 8 But if these two parties ultimately decide to leave the NDA and want to move independently, the BJP would not certainly pamper their leadership to still remain within the NDA, Mr Naidu announced. Mr Naidu said they were not hopeful about the party’s success in the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also not sure if the National Conference would alone form a single party government there. He, however, made it clear neither the Prime Minister nor he himself would make any second request to Ms Mamata Banerjee to remain within the NDA. He said the TMC’s stand towards the NDA stood in a peculiar state of affair. |
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Sonia to visit Mathura on Oct 10 New Delhi, October 8 At the AICC session last May, Mrs Sonia Gandhi had said that she would devote more time to Uttar Pradesh. The party has planned seven such meetings that will cover 17 divisions of the state. The meetings are aimed at finding ways to revive the party in the electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh. The party is also undertaking a padyatra from Allahabad to Lucknow between October 31 and November 19, two dates associated with the memory of Indira Gandhi, to demand the restoration of land of Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow. The party has also protested against vandalism of idols of Mahatma Gandhi and change in nomenclature of places named after the “Father of Nation”. AICC treasurer Motilal Vora, who is in charge of Uttar Pradesh said the BSP-BJP government in Uttar Pradesh seemed bent upon removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi wherever it appears. Mr Vora said a few days ago, an old statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed in the premises of Government Degree College, Meerut, was vandalised the middle of the night. Mr Vora has written a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee over “uspering” of the land of Indira Gandhi Pratishthan by the Mayawati government. |
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BJP satisfied over
J&K elections New Delhi, October 8 Addressing mediapersons, party General Secretary and spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that though Pakistan sponsored terrorist outfits tried to disrupt the democratic process in Doda and its nearby areas by spreading terror, “the people have shown that they have faith in Indian democracy and are not in favour of supporting militancy”. He said the successful completion of the Assembly elections in the state exposed Pakistan’s policy on Jammu and Kashmir and also their disinformation campaign on Jammu and Kashmir to the world. Attacking those organisations which had called for the boycott of the Jammu and Kashmir elections, he said the people of the state had understood them and now the support on the ground for such organisations stood exposed. He said in the fight between the bullet and the ballot, the ballot had emerged victorious. “This is a living example of the success of the Vajpayee-led NDA government in creating an atmosphere of security and faith among the people of the state in the Indian Constitution and at the same time defeating various acts of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism at all levels”.
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Kashmir
panel to visit J&K New
Delhi, October 8 According to Mr Jethmalani, the committee would meet Hurriyat chairman Abdul Ghani Bhatt, senior Hurriyat leaders and Shabir Shah. The committee’s forthcoming visit to Jammu and Kashmir is in pursuance of its earlier resolve to carry forward the dialogue process after the poll process in the state is
over. |
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CPM: review NCERT books New Delhi, October 8 The books “quite unmistakably reveal the totally unprofessional pedagogical approach, shoddy editing, gross inaccuracies and blatantly pro-Sangh Parivar bias of the authors, editors and the NCERT establishment,” the party
polit-bureau said in a statement. Unless a thorough pubic review by academics and experts is carried out and is discussed at a state Education Ministers’ conference, these books should not be introduced in schools, the statement said. It was “disgraceful” that the book ‘Contemporary India’ “does not even mention the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by a Hindu fanatic while discussing his political role. I is not even mentioned that the RSS was banned following the assassination”, the party said adding that the Sangh Parivar’s “sympathy” for the murderer, Nathuram
Godse, “is no secret”. “What is more shocking is the defence of this omission by the NCERT Director as a mere biographical detail, the non- inclusion of which does not matter much,” it said. The politburo also opposed the Tamil Nadu Government’s ordinance on prohibition of conversion. “The right to profess,
propagate any religion by any person is fundamentally guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Any attempt by anybody to enforce a religious conversion is punishable in the existing laws,” the party polit-bureau
said in a statement. |
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Enthusiasm
and sensitivity New Delhi, October 8 “American
Chai” (a take on “American Pie”) by Anurag Mehta is yet another in the same genre. If enthusiasm could be converted into effectiveness, it would have won accolades. Director Anurag Mehta flogs most cliches and chuckles Indian background. In the end, he churns out a mishmash that could do Bollywood proud, the same Bollywood he scoffs at in his
film. Suneel (Aalok Mehta) is a first-generation Indian American college boy who cannot tell his conservative parents, especially his very strict father
(Paresh Rawal) that he wants to be a musician, not a doctor. Suneel wants to be like his American friends, but a tight rein on his activities makes him tell lies and indulge in duplicity. How he manages to keep his music a secret from his parents and how his friends react to the situation is what the film is all about. At first, he has an American girlfriend, who soon dumps him. His next girlfriend is Indian
(Sheetal Sheth), who is a dancer too. How the young ones do their thing is treated rather sketchily. The plot is wafer-thin and the situation far from realistic. Dramatic relief of course, is provided by Paresh
Rawal, who comes out with some excellent lines. But Anurag is so predictable, it is almost unbelievable. Changing partners lack conviction and Aalok tries his best to look convincing, but does not always succeed. The Indian sentimentality is copious towards the end, but the whole exercise is futile. Very little seeps through when all these caricatures have their say. The ending is typically Bollywood. Anurag and Aalok are brothers. At a press conference, like most immigrants, they spoke eloquently about their Indian roots. “Our home is there, but the roots are here, Aalok said. He has a good sense of humour. He does not have much experience as an actor, but intends working on his acting career. Anurag said he was inspired by films like “Mississippi
Masala” and “Hyderabad Blues”. He took four months to write the screenplay, but shot the film in 21 days, the budget being $ one million. Having worked with a number of Hollywood directors, he has picked up film-making, but like many of these
second-generation Indian Americans, he is confused. When told that the relationships between men and women were not always convincing, he begged to differ. “It is a matter of opinion,” he said. One can only be a bit lenient because this is his first film. But there is surely room for improvement. Polish film-maker Krzystof Zanussi is an old friend of India. Not only has he taught at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, but has visited this country on several occasions. I first met him in the early 1980s, when I interviewed him after his film, “The Structure of Crystals”. He is not only an excellent
film-maker, but a good human being. His latest film, “Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease”, is one of the better films in a generally poor ‘Cinema of the World’ section and is centred on the life of Tomasc
(Zbignew Zapasieweicz), a physician in his 60s who suspects he is terminally ill. How he reacts to the situation is handled most sensitively by Zanussi as he weaves his way about a handful by characters he is involved with. There is his ex-wife who has not taken on a young couple. That Tomasc was born a Catholic is inspired, but at the moment, he is an existentialist. At first, there is a desire to deny all moral principles he once cherished. He tries to destroy the young couple’s love, asks his wife money for the operation, if the need arises, and is very temperamental. It is the road downhill for him, but can he arrest the slide mentally? True, there are some morbid moments, but Zanussi keeps them to the minimum and dots them with his typical flavour. When Tomasc secretly gives morphine to a patient (to end his life,) he says, “We are in the same boat, but will still try and paddle upstream”. And then, there is some sort of change. Is this Zanussi’s tryst with Catholicism? The camerawork is fluid and it is 99 minutes of rapt narrative. Filmed mostly in interiors (of a hospital), there is dramatic relief by way of outdoor
locales, but it is the hero Zapasieweicz who is such a magnetic force. There is also a touch of Ingrid Bergman at the end. That the thought is essentially modern there is no doubt. But there is an element of hope and the climax is surely elevating. It also shows that death is an important aspect of life. In fact, it is the only thing sure about life. It also shows that Zanussi has not lost that magical touch. |
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HC orders pension for dead man Kolkata, October 8 Mr Justice Barin Ghosh of High Court in an order passed yesterday asked the state government to pay full pension to Jyotsnamayee, widow of Parbati Kumar Das, till December 2002 while maintaining that she would be eligible for widow pension from January 2003 onward. Das, a non-teaching employee of a government-aided school at Malihati village of Murshidabad district, retired from service in January 1995 and despite his best efforts did not get his pension till his death in October 1998. The court also said in its order that if the government failed to make payment by the end of the year then the rate of interest on the dues would be raised from 12 to 20 per cent while giving the option to realise the dues from Education Department employees responsible for the delay in payment of pension to Das. According to the case record, Das filed his pension claim immediately after his retirement, but his case was delayed at the Murhidabad district inspector of school level forcing Das to move to the High Court in March 1998. But even an order to release the pension by the court at that time went unheeded by the district authorities as Das died. Jyotsnamayee filed another petition before the High Court in 2001 leading to the fresh order by the court in the presence of the district school inspector.
PTI |
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Rape case: main suspect held New Delhi, October 8 “We have also identified the other suspects who were present with Avdhesh and they will be nabbed soon,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police
(South) P Kamaraj. A special team has been constituted by the South District police to investigate the rape and to nab suspects. However, the police did not disclose the names of the other suspects who abducted the girl and raped her at a flat in Alaknanda in Lajpat Nagar. The victim who works in a musical troupe and a resident of Patparganj was accompanied by her two friends Sanjay Lal (35) and Sanjeev (25). All the three were in their Indica car when they left India Gate and the suspects at least six persons followed them in Lancer and an Indica car. They finally managed to stop them near Amar Colony in Lajpat Nagar and beat up her two friends. The girl was abducted at 1 am and taken to a flat in Alaknanda and the suspects raped her by taking turns. When the both immediately lodged a complaint with the police, the police could not trace the suspects and their whereabouts. |
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Salman grilled on
ownership of car
Mumbai, October 8 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chagan Bhujbal said Salman “has failed to give details about how the car came to him. He could not give proof as to whether he had purchased it or it was gifted to him. What he said was found to be false.” The police questioned Salman on the mode of payment made for the purchase of the vehicle as well as other details about the place of purchase. The actor, who was shifted to the Crime Branch cell from the Santacruz lock up late last night, was also likely to be questioned on the possibility of the underworld being involved in the purchase of the vehicle, a senior police officer told reporters here. If the car was found to be ‘benami’, then it would open up a whole new Pandora’s box. The issue of the star possessing a ‘benami’ property could open up various possibilities, police sources said.
PTI |
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CBI hopes to get Salem’s extradition New Delhi, October 8 Mr Sharma said the team had explained the Indian laws to them and had gathered a thorough knowledge about their laws. Commenting on the cooperation extended to the CBI team in Lisbon, Mr Sharma said they were treated very well by the Portugese administration and had effective and well coordinated
cooperation from the Indian mission there. PTI |
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Heptullah
is IPU Honorary President New Delhi, October 8 Dr Heptullah was unanimously elected the President of the IPU in 1999 for a three-year term. She was the first women to head this world organisation of 145 national parliaments in its 113 years history. |
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12,000 lower courts to be computerised New Delhi, October 8 The initiative was taken by the Department of Justice in getting plans prepared for a model scheme for the purpose in consultation with the subordinate courts and the high courts overseeing them, an official statement said. Subordinate courts in four metros — New
Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai — were already being computerised
The drive in the rest of the country would be carried out by the state governments in consultation with the Centre, the statement said. |
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