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Sunday,
November 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP: Kelkar report can spell doom for NDA India overcomes Pak hurdle
Manmohan to assist govt in J&K |
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Mann questions naming
peace award after Indira New Delhi, November 23 Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) President Simranjit Singh Mann has questioned the rationale behind honouring former UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) with the Indira Gandhi International Award of Peace, Disarmament and Development. President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave the award to Professor Sogata at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.
Temple row threatens
Kalchakra Puja
Handcuffing
of Geelani set aside Consensus
on sending Mani as emissary Ex-CM’s house torched Advani holds meeting on Naga peace talks
Sai Baba temple blast suspect shot Aryan invasion a myth: Prof Lal Jat conference today
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BJP: Kelkar report can spell doom for NDA New Delhi, November 23 “If the Kelkar report proposals are expedited, there is no need for an Opposition,” BJP’s Economic Cell member Jagdish Shettigar told The Tribune here today. A multi-member committee headed by Dr Vijay Kelkar, Adviser to Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, had recommended among other things doing away with income tax exemption, imposing tax on farmers and removing tax exemption on housing loans. Criticising the views of Dr Kelkar that the Central Government should either accept the recommendations in toto or outrightly reject these, Mr Shettigar said “I got a strong suspicion that there must be some conspiracy — external or internal — to ensure that the NDA government does not come back to power.” Mr Shettigar, an economist and a prominent economic think-tank of the BJP, felt that the Kelkar Committee recommendations were so “drastic” that if implemented, these would alienate the working class from the party and also people from both the rural and urban areas. “There is a proposal to impose agriculture tax, which is not possible now,” he said. On the recommendation to abolish tax rebates and tax benefits on housing loans, Mr Shettigar said such a step would drastically affect small savings of hundreds and thousands of employees in private, government and public sector companies. The funds for infrastructure development, which are crucial for development, come mainly from small savings. So, who will shoulder the responsibility of developing the crucial infrastructure, he asked. Mr Shettigar also rubbished the argument by a section that non-implementation of the Kelkar report would be anti-reforms. Senior BJP leader and Parliamentary Party spokesperson Vijay Kumar Malhotra said, “Only good recommendations can be accepted and others will have to be left out. Any recommendation of the report should be implemented after extensive discussions and debate”. Dr Kelkar has defended the recommendations on the ground that these will spur growth by creating a more efficient tax system.
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India overcomes Pak hurdle New Delhi, November 23 India has successfully ended an almost year-long diplomatic impasse on how to send its long-promised gift of one million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan in the face of Pakistan’s refusal to allow use of its territory. And the icing on the cake of this diplomatic triumph of sorts was that this came about with the help of Iran, demonstrating yet again the growing trilateral cooperation among New Delhi, Kabul and Teheran, sources in South Block said today. It was more than a year ago when India had pledged to send one million tonnes of wheat as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. The promised wheat was to be sent to Kabul through Pakistan but Islamabad blocked the move with an allegation that the Indian wheat was “infected” and this could expose the Pakistani wheat to unnecessary risks. India stoutly denied that its wheat was infected and got in touch with the World Food Programme of the UN, the nodal agency for distributing the proposed Indian wheat in Afghanistan. Pakistan rejected WFP’s requests in this regard. Then came the Indian master stroke. A decision was taken to send high protein biscuits instead of wheat. When External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha gifted the first consignment of high protein biscuits for the people of Afghanistan to Afghan Education Minister Yunus Qanooni at Hyderabad House on November 21, “operation wheat” (no code name) was over. As part of the first consignment 80,000 tonnes of wheat has been floured, compressed into 20,000 tonnes of high-protein biscuits and sent to Afghanistan through Bandar Abbas. By decreasing the weight of the consignment India saved enormously on the freight on board duty without compromising on the nutrition value. The New Delhi-Kabul-Teheran trilateral cooperation has already kickstarted in developing road infrastructure inside Afghanistan to link up Afghanistan with its closest Iranian port of Chabahar so that Indian goods can be sent to Afghanistan. |
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Manmohan to assist govt in J&K New Delhi, November 23 Sources said Dr Manmohan Singh was willing to lend a helping hand in the state’s efforts for better fiscal management. The Jammu and Kashmir Government wants a liberal economic package from the Centre to cope with the multifarious problems of the militancy-affected state. Though no formal request has yet been sent to Dr Manmohan Singh by the state government, senior PDP leaders have been informally interacting with him on economic issues. The PDP Vice-President, Ms Mehbooba Mufti,
yesterday met Dr Manmohan Singh during her visit to the Capital. With militancy in Jammu and Kashmir seen as a national issue by both the Congress and the BJP, the NDA government has indicated its willingness to extend the necessary help to the new government in the state. Sources said Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had conveyed the Centre’s assurance to Dr Manmohan Singh on this regard during their meeting recently. During Ms Mehbooba’s meeting with Mrs Gandhi yesterday, the working of coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir was discussed. Sources said the PDP-Congress government is unlikely to release any more separatist leaders from jail till the Gujarat elections. The release of separatist leader Yasin Malik by the government was criticised by the BJP. Both the Congress and PDP leaders feel that the issue was being raised by the ruling party in view of the Gujarat poll though the BJP-led government had itself declared a unilateral ceasefire and released jailed leaders. At her meetings with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani yesterday, Ms Mehbooba sought central assistance and suggested that new battalions of the Jammu Kashmir Armed Police be raised which would not only help absorb educated youth but enable the local police to take over security duties from paramilitary forces.
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Mann questions naming
peace award after Indira New Delhi, November 23 In a letter to Mr Kalam, the Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur has expressed surprise at the gullibility of those who have named an award for peace and disarmament after Indira Gandhi. “By no stretch of imagination was Indira Gandhi a woman of peace and she never believed in disarmament,’’ the letter reads. Mr Mann has humbly advised the President not to give away “a peace and disarmament (India is a nuclear country with biological and chemical weapons in its arsenal) prize in the name of the late Indira Gandhi as this will only invite ridicule.’’ A
member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr Mann has “humbly advised Professor Ogata to return this prize as it brings her good reputation no honour.” Questioning the selection of Professor Sadako Ogata for the award, Mr Mann has reminded the President that no Indian government, past or present has signed or ratified the UN 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. |
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No necking in public Mumbai, November 23 The list, aimed at preventing young lovers from indulging in “indecent behaviour”, comes days after the police here arrested 43 couples necking at a popular seaside promenade. Acting on a suggestion mooted by a cloth shop owner-turned-deputy mayor in the local Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the list will come in the next few days, police say. Exactly what type of behaviour will be prohibited is still being decided, officials at the Bandra police station told
IANS. Babubhai Bhawanji, the deputy mayor of Mumbai, has suggested that notices be put up asking couples not to cuddle or kiss or “express excessive affection for each other” in public. He had earlier suggested that notices should go up at the popular Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai. He told reporters that elderly people and parents with young children had often complained to him about the behaviour of couples. However, in Bandra a large number of residents complained against what they called the highhandedness of the police. On Saturday evening, a team from the Bandra police station had raided Bandra Bandstand in the suburbs and rounded up 43 couples. They were fined Rs 1,250 per person and allowed to go. A few who could not pay had to be bailed out later. Though the police say all the couples were indulging in “indecent activity”, most of them have denied it. They told local newspapers they were picked up for just strolling on the promenade or holding hands while sitting on park benches. Residents associations in the area have called for restraint from the police, though some told local dailies that a few couples indeed went too far in displaying their affections in public. Even politicians have come out in support of the couples. “ The police are doing this only to make money,” alleged Narayan
Rane, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. He said there was severe lack of space in the city where couples could spend some quiet time together. With the cramped city not permitting privacy for couples young and old, quiet street corners, beaches, the seafront, movie theatres and even moving cabs are employed for a few moments together. Surrounded by quiet bungalows and with the sea lashing along it, Bandra Bandstand offers tempting privacy in the evenings and is naturally a big draw. The police says complaints have been received against even middle-aged couples who cosy up in taxis. While most cabbies look the other way, a few have been known to drive to the nearest police station and complain. But the latest cleansing drive by the police doesn’t seem to have helped. Bandra residents say most couples were back on the Bandstand. The police argues their crackdown was as much to protect the couples as to end their “indecent” behaviour because often the criminally inclined and eunuchs prey on them. Last year thieves stabbed to death a marketing executive of a multinational company and took away valuables, including a mobile phone and jewellery. His girlfriend was, however, left unharmed. IANS |
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Temple row threatens Kalchakra Puja Bodhgaya, November 23 A section of the Buddhist monks have threatened to disrupt all prayers in the temple, including the Kalchakra Puja scheduled for coming January. The monks want the district administration to concede to their three-point demands.
Bhadant Anand, general secretary of the All-India Monks Federation, has sent a letter to the District Magistrate of Gaya, who is the ex-officio chairman of the Mahaboddhi Temple Management Committee
(MTMC), seeking his demands by December 10. The monks seek the transfer of the management of Mahaboddhi Temple (built 1200 years back at this place) exclusively to the Buddhists, ban on footwear entry in the Temple and the rehabilitation of monks relieved from temple duty by the administration. The Kalchakra
Puja, a festival of Tibetan rituals, is an occasion of the largest gathering of Buddhist monks and followers in lakhs from all parts of the world. The Buddhist spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, who performs the 10-day-long Kalchakra Puja has already confirmed his participation.
Bhadant Anand, confirming his threat, also made no bones of his dislike for the Dalai Lama. “The administration has neglected our long-pending demands and that is why we have taken the extreme step”, he said. The Mahaboddhi Temple has been in controversy over its management rules. As per the existing rules, the temple management is in the joint hands of Hindus and Buddhists and only a Hindu can head it. The Gaya DM is ex-officio head, provided he is a Hindu. Since the temple’s admittance in World Heritage list by United Nation’s body, the Buddhist monks have intensified their demand for total control of temple in their hands. The Kalchakra Puja has also been in controversy as a sect of the Buddhists, belonging to Japan, is reportedly against it, maintaining that it is essentially a Tibetan tantrik (occult) ritual and has nothing to do with Buddhist beliefs and rituals. |
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Handcuffing of Geelani set aside
New Delhi, November 23 Allowing S.A.R. Geelani’s plea against the handcuffing/ chaining and setting aside Additional Sessions Judge S.N. Dhingra’s July 23 order, Mr Justice M.A. Khan said the undertrial should not be handcuffed while being taken from a New Delhi court lock-up to the court and back to the lock-up. The Judge said there was total non-application of the mind by the special court, it was flagrant violation of the mandate given by the Supreme Court in this regard. “The special court was not justified in accepting the prayer of the lock-up in-charge without some material or evidence to justify the apprehensions shown in his application,” he said. It was not shown in the application that the accused had violent character or shown propensity of taking to violence.
UNI
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Consensus on sending Mani as emissary Bangalore, November 23 Speaking to mediapersons after the three-hour-long meeting,
Opposition leaders Jagadish Shettar (BJP) and C. Byregowda (JD-U) said
the government had no option but to send Mani as the emissary at this
juncture.
The government had inherent powers to withdraw all cases against
Mani and send him as the negotiator, as demanded by the brigand in his
latest cassette to the government, Mr Byregowda said, opining that
there had been an inordinate delay in handling the issue.
Home Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge told mediapersons separately that
the government was always serious about the issue.
Several cases were pending against Mani and the government was also
examining legal aspects with regard to these cases.
He said the government was also prepared to send an alternative
negotiator. He hoped that some “good result’’ would come in a
few days. The Council of Ministers, scheduled to meet again today,
would consider the suggestions made at the all-party meet, he added. UNI
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Ex-CM’s house torched
Alibag (Raigad), November 23 The clash broke out over the outcome of the November 14 Kalsuli Gram Panchayat poll in which the slain NCP leader Satyavijay Bhise was elected.
PTI |
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Advani holds meeting on Naga peace talks New Delhi, November 23 Sources said the meeting, that lasted for more than an hour, took stock of the ground situation. While no official word was available from the government, it is learnt that the Centre is considering to provide a “safe passage” to NSCN (I-M) leaders Isak Chisi Swu and Thuigaleng Muivah. Mr Swu and Mr Muivah are learnt to have expressed their willingness to visit India for carrying forward the peace process under the condition that they would not be arrested or detained in the eventuality of failure of talks. The sources indicated that the ban on the NSCN(I-M) may not be extended after it expired on November 26. Today’s meeting convened by the Deputy Prime Minister was attended by Centre’s interlocutor K Padmanabhaiah, Nagaland Governor Shyamal Dutta, Home Secretary N Gopalaswamy and Intelligence Bureau chief K.P. Singh. The Naga leaders have also sent to the Centre a set of proposals for creating a basis for carrying the peace talks forward. The success of the Naga peace process is crucial for the entire north-east region as it is expected to pave the way for similar negotiations with other insurgency outfits in the trouble-torn region. |
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Sai Baba temple blast suspect shot Hyderabad, November 23 The police has also detained a cloth merchant who had checked out of a lodge near the temple at Dilsukhnagar immediately after the blast. Azam was picked up by the police around 11.30 p.m. last night at Medapalli checkpost, about 30 km from here, when he was riding a scooter without a number plate, Ranga Reddy District Superintendent of Police M. V. Ramachandra Raju said. The encounter took place in the Paravatipuram area.
PTI |
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Aryan invasion a myth: Prof Lal New Delhi, November 23 “It is a myth that the Aryans invaded India. For a pretty long time four myths have been obscuring our vision of India’s past”, said Prof Lal. Elaborating on the inaccuracy of the Aryan invasion he said none of the sites excavated in the southern parts of the country had shown evidences that the Dravidian-speaking Harappan people were pushed down south by the invaders. “We have not found any trace of the fact. In fact, none of the southern states have a single site of the Harappan culture. How are we expected to believe that the urban Harappans on being sent away shed their urban characteristics overnight and took to the stone age way of living”. Elucidating, he added that the discovery of skeletons at the Mohenjodaro site, the basis for hypothesising an invasion is expected to come from latest levels, but the “hard fact is that these came from various levels and some were found in deposits after the site was abandoned”. As for the reference of the Rig Vedic Saraswati being the Helmland of Afghanistan, Prof Lal said there are no rivers by the name of Yamuna and Sutlej in Afghanistan and there are radio-carbon dating evidences, which prove that the Saraswati was not in Afghanistan and that it dried up around 2000 BC. Countering allegations that the figurines excavated in Pakistan, which were reported to have been found with vermilion in the hair parting, were doctored, Prof Lal said: “The excavations were carried out jointly by the French and the Pakistanis and they proclaimed that some of the features like the use of kohl and vermilion is still being carried out in India”. A section of academicians and historians had earlier slammed the reference to the use of vermilion in the Harappan times in the recently published history texts as the government’s alleged bid to saffronise education. Prof Lal, who was speaking on “Why perpetuate myths — A fresh look at ancient history” organised by the NCERT, however, declined to speak about the much controversial theory that equates the Harappan civilisation with the Vedic civilisation. He said, “it would be prudent to put this equation on hold until the Harappan script is satisfactorily deciphered”. |
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Jat conference today New Delhi, November 23 The chairman of the All-India Young Farmers’ conference, Chaudhari Radha Krishan Hooda, said in a statement that tributes would be paid to former Prime Minister Chaudhari Charan Singh on December 23 at a function at Kisan Ghat. Another function will be oragnised at Maharaja Suraj Mal Park at Suraj Mal Vihar where tributes will be paid to Chaudhari Charan Singh and Maharaja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur. Mr Hooda has urged the government to install a statue of Chaudhari Charan Singh in Parliament and issue stamps in his memory. A biography of Chaudhari Charan Singh will also be released on December 22 in New Delhi, Mr Hooda said. |
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