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Saturday,
January 18, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP rider on Cabinet berth to Mamata NCERT to remove objectionable portions Missionary ‘was not’ target Dec 13 case: HC admits death reference
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Prasar Bharti takes key decisions Kanpur freezes, UP toll 400
Book on Afghanistan released
J&K CM meets Advani I was
tortured: Gilani Review closure of Govt Press: BJP
Congress undecided
on pact with HVC Khatami’s envoy gives letter to PM Mizo CM: talks satisfactory National science centre mooted Claim on detainees exposed TV channel for engg students
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BJP rider on Cabinet berth to Mamata Kolkata, January 17 The question of Ms Banerjee’s re-joining the Cabinet vis-a-vis another reshuffle before the Republic Day, was discussed at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s house on Saturday in which both the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and the BJP chief, Mr Venkaiah Naidu, were present. The reshuffle has been necessitated in view of the coming Assembly elections in nine states, including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP leadership wants Uma Bharati and Vasundhara Raje Scindia to steer the party in the electioneering after stepping down from the Cabinet. They are now holding Coal Ministry and Small Industries and Personnel Departments respectively. Moreover, the Law Minister, Mr Jana Krishnamurthi, who has been ailing for some time has expressed his willingness to resign and Dr Farooq Abdullah can no longer be kept waiting for a berth in the Cabinet which both Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani have agreed upon. According to BJP sources, Mr Advani who had been all through opposing Ms Mamata Banerjee’s re-entry could ultimately be persuaded by the Prime Minister at the meeting for a Cabinet berth to her. But Mr Advani stressed that Ms Banerjee would have to accept Mr Panja back in the ministry. Party sources further said the Health Minister, Mr Shatrughan Sinha might be shifted to some other ministry to re-accommodate the former incumbent, Dr C.P. Thakur. Former UP Chief Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, now BJP General Secretary, could also be re-inducted to the Cabinet. Meanwhile, a section of the TMC leadership here, including Mr Sudip Bandopadhyya, has been demanding that Mr Panja be brought back immediately. |
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NCERT to remove objectionable portions New Delhi, January 17 The Vice-Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Tarlochan Singh, reacting to a news report in The Tribune, had convened a meeting of senior NCERT officials yesterday on Thursday. The officials led by Secretary of the NCERT, Mr Satandra Singh, assured the commission that they would “remove all objectionable portions.” Mr Tarlochan Singh said he was consulting specialists in Sikh history to study the NCERT book. The scholars apart from pointing out the objectionable portions would also provide authentic details. The Sikh Core Group member, Dr M.S. Rahi, had pointed out to several
denegrating references to the Sikh Gurus and wrong interpretation of historical facts. The NCERT officials, had apologised for the denegrating references and stated that the meagre time period for the preparation of the book had resulted in the “error.” The book stated that Guru Nanak “renounced the world and Guru Gobind Singh was described as “a devotee of Goddess Chandi” despite the fact that Sikhism as a faith did not accept any “avtar” between God and humanity. |
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Missionary ‘was not’ target New Delhi, January 17 The probe by Mr John Joseph, member of the NCM, revealed that the “real target of attack by the public at the Gospel Convention, Kilimanoor, Trivandrum, was one Benson and not the American missionary.” The attack on Benson was as a result of the alleged immoral acts committed by him and he was a civil contractor working for Trivandrum Bible College and was not a preacher or a pastor, as stated in the section of the media, the report said. Benson and his family members were attacked by a mob on his way back from the Gospel Convention on January 13. Unfortunately, the American missionary, who was also present there was inadvertantly attacked by the mob whose main target was Benson, the report stated. The report prepared by the Christian member of the NCM has been sent to the National Human Rights Commission. Media reports had indicated that the attack had been carried out by suspected RSS members. Political parties had condemned the violence and had stated that this was the continued attack on the Christian community by members of the Sangh Parivar. The probe by the NCM stated that a local girl had allegedly been sexually abused and harassed for four months at the Bible Christian Centre. Non-bailable case against Rev P K Sam and his son was registered by the police. While the entire family of Rev P.K. Sam went into hiding fearing arrest, all of them except Benson took anticipatory bail. Since October, 2002, Benson has been in hiding. The report by Mr John Joseph said the wrongdoings of Rev Sam’s family had been reported widely in the local media and residents of the area had held dharnas for their arrests. When Benson all of a sudden surfaced in the eyes of the public at a Gospel Convention along with Rev Joseph Cooper, who is one of the financier for Rev Sam’s missionary work in the country, the probe report stated that “it spontaneously aroused the fury of some who knew about the misdeeds of Benson.” |
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Dec 13 case: HC admits death reference New Delhi, January 17 A Division Bench comprising Justices Usha Mehra and Pradeep Nandrajog issued notice, returnable by February 3, to Mohd Afzal, Shaukat Hussain and S.A.R. Geelani. The notices are to be served through the Jail Superintendent. The death sentences passed by a trial court can only be executed after being confirmed by a Division Bench of the High Court. Yesterday, the court had admitted an appeal by convict S.A.R. Geelani, a suspended Delhi University lecturer, and issued notice to the Delhi police for February 3 to reply to the challenge to the conviction and death sentence. The Bench also issued notice to the police, on an application filed by Geelani, seeking permission for his family members to supply him reading and writing material and for access to the Tihar Jail library. The judges observed that family members were not required to supply the reading and writing material as the jail authorities could do so at the convict’s request and the same could be supplied by his family if certain material was not available with the authorities. In his petition, filed through Counsel Kamini Jaiswal, Geelani said the trial court’s order was based on no evidence except a 2.16-minute telephonic conversation, intercepted “illegally”.
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Prasar Bharti takes key decisions New Delhi, January 17 In his first interaction with mediapersons after assuming charge as Chairman of Prasar Bharti, the former Editor, Mr M.V. Kamath, said the board wanted to be fully autonomous. Briefing mediapersons on the key decisions taken during a three-hour meeting earlier in the day, Prasar Bharti CEO K.S. Sarma said he was particularly proud of the arrangement with Global Rights Corporation. “Under the previous
arrangement, we were paying the rights fee, the satellite cost and the production cost. We have reversed that process. This, we thought, is a win-win arrangement. This is the best arrangement we can have as a public service broadcaster. In the worst scenario, DD has a minimum guarantee of Rs 23 crore from the telecast of the entire match and in the best scenario of Rs 30 crore. NIMBUS has booked advertisements worth Rs 100 crore already.” |
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Kanpur freezes, UP toll 400 Lucknow, January 17 Six persons reportedly died due to biting cold during the past 24 hours in Jhansi, four each in Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Hardoi, Saharanpur, three each in Etawah, Lakhimpur, Badaun and Agra, two each in Lucknow and Faizabad and one each in Basti, Gazipur, Pilibhit, Kanpur, Kaushambi and Bhadoi. Kanpur, for the second time in the season, recorded the lowest temperature in the state with the mercury dipping to 0.6°C. The industrial town had recorded minus zero, a week ago. Met Department Director R.K. Verma today said that the present cold wave conditions would continue for few days. While Bareilly and Moradabad recorded a minimum temperature of 5°C, it settled at 6°C in Gorakhpur, 4°C in Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra and Hardoi and 3°C in Allahabad, the weather office said. Heavy fog enveloped many cities, paralysing air, rail and road traffic in the state. Most long-distance trains on the Howrah-Delhi route were 15 hours behind schedule, including Lucknow-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, Delhi-Katihar Mahananda Express, New Delhi-Guwahati North East Express, Bhiwani-Malda Town Express, Jammu Tawi-Tatanagar Express, Delhi-Howrah Kalka Express and the Howrah-Jodhpur Express. According to Amausi airport sources here, several incoming flights were delayed due to bad weather and couple of flights between New Delhi and Lucknow were cancelled for the day. Schools, particularly primary sections in the state, have been closed till Sunday by the order of the district administration while elaborate arrangements have been made by the officials to provide relief to the poor.
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Book on Afghanistan released New Delhi, January 17 Mr Mishra made this statement after releasing a book ‘Contemporary Afghanistan’ authored by Shyam Bhatia, UK-based journalist and son of the late Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune, Prem Bhatia. The book has been published by Har Anand. Expressing concern over latest reports about grouping of remnants of Taliban, Mr Mishra said, “This is a dangerous situation. President Hamid Karzai has made a commendable contribution to establishing a multi-ethnic and secular administration. But we are concerned about re-grouping of Taliban elements in southern and eastern Afghanistan.” He said the Indian Government would like to help support the Karzai government in extending powers all over Afghanistan. Mr Mishra said the Indian Government would like to see Afghanistan as a “united, secular country. We want Afghanistan to be in the hands of those who don’t spread fundamentalism, extremism, terrorism outside Afghanistan. We want Afghanistan to have good relations with all its neighbours and we want all its neighbours to have good relations with Afghanistan without any interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.” He made a mention of $ 100 million grant committed by India for re-construction projects to Afghanistan of which $ 30 million had already been sent. He also made a mention of the problems the Indian Government faced in getting 1 million tonnes of wheat across to Afghanistan through Pakistan. Mr Satinder Lamba, India’s former envoy on Afghanistan, hoped that the book would be useful to scholars and students. Introducing the distinguished gathering to the book, Shyam Bhatia described Afghanistan as an extraordinary country. Looking back at his first eventful visit to Afghanistan in 1979 to report the Soviet takeover, Bhatia said that he was kidnapped by a gang of Gulbuddin Hikmatyar loyalists 48 hours after landing at Kabul airport and taken on a forced march across the frozen countryside and released several days after protracted negotiations. His second visit to Afghanistan last summer, after 22 years, was a different experience altogether. “I was in Kabul, or should I say the ruins of Kabul because the Afghan capital I remembered from 1979 had been laid to waste. I did not recognise the buildings. My friends from earlier years had disappeared. It was then that I thought of a book that would chronicle the changes of the last 20-30 years and also include a who’s who of the country.’’ Bhatia said he also compiled the list of delegates who attended the Loya Jirga (national gathering). “So in many ways this is a book of reference.” Prominent among those present at the gathering were Samata party leader, Jaya Jaitley, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Navtej Sarna. |
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J&K CM meets Advani New Delhi, January 17 Mr Sayeed, who met Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani for about 20 minutes today, discussed with him the law and order situation in the state. Sources said the issue of dialogue between the Centre and elected representatives came up for discussion. The meeting between the two leaders comes in the backdrop of a scheduled meeting of screening committee to review the cases of militants lodged in jails. Mr Sayeed said later that there were no differences on the issue of the screening committee as the Centre had also nominated a representative. The Chief Minister maintained that the issue of release of militants was in no way a bone of contention between the state and the Centre. Sources said the screening committee was headed by the Financial Commissioner (Home) and had Director-General of the state police and Additional Director-General (CID) as its members. The Centre had nominated Joint Secretary (Kashmir Affairs) as its representative. The Chief Minister also raised the issue of drought as Mr Advani was heading the task force on drought. The power shortage faced by Jammu and Kashmir was also discussed. |
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I was tortured: Gilani New Delhi, January 17 “In fact, my humiliation started from the day my house was raided in connection with the charges I was framed under,” Gilani said while speaking at an interaction with the media at the Press Club of India here today evening. “On June 9, late in the night, several policemen barged into my home and took positions as if they were going to ensure me in an encounter. The policemen were at various points in my locality. They had terrorised the people living there”. “Though it was apparently an Income Tax raid, it was in fact an Intelligence Bureau (IB) show. It was at the special cell of the Delhi police at the Lodhi Road that I first saw the document downloaded from the Internet for which I was framed under the Official Secrets Act”, he said. Mr Gilani, who is the son-in-law of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, said in Tihar Jail undertrial office, he was badly beaten up and made to clean the bathroom with his own shirt. He said initially he was kept in the high
security special cell where only dreaded criminals were kept. He was also kept in ward No. 10 with hardened
criminals. However, later, he was shifted to a ward where things were better and had a library. UNI |
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Review closure of Govt Press: BJP New Delhi, January 17 The closure of the Government Press, which falls under the domain of Union Urban Development Ministry, would mean displacement of at least 200 employees. According to party sources, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley has forwarded a letter written by Himachal Chief Minister P K Dhumal in this regard to Union Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar, requesting him to take up the matter with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Acting on Mr Jaitley’s January 15 letter, Mr Ananth Kumar is understood to have written a letter to Mr Vajpayee today to reconsider the Cabinet decision on the closure. It may be recalled that under the recommendation of the Union Finance Ministry, the Cabinet had recently decided to close Government Press due to its “non-viability”. Mr Jaitley, based on the representation given by the local employees union and Mr Dhumal’s letter has emphasised that the press could be made “workable”. The BJP move in this regard comes in the wake of the Assembly poll in the state slated for February 26, as a major chunk of electorate in the hill state comprises government employees and they can decide the fate of the candidates. |
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Congress undecided on pact with HVC New Delhi, January 17 Replying to a question on opposition within the party to such a tie-up with Mr Sukh Ram’s party, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said no decision had been taken in this regard. Indications are that Congress may have an indirect pact with the HVC in the Mandi region. Referring to the BJP’s claim that the per capita income of Himachal Pradesh was higher than Madhya Pradesh, Mr Singhvi said the comparison between a large state like Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh was misleading. Himachal Pradesh, he said, was reeling under a debt burden of Rs 13,000 crore and its Budget deficit was around Rs 2,400 crore for a second successive year. The state’s salary bill was a staggering Rs 1,600 crore while its annual plan was Rs 1,700 crore, he said. |
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Khatami’s envoy gives letter to PM New Delhi, January 17 The letter was handed over today by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Adeli who came as a special envoy of President Khatami. It underlined the high expectations of the visit and the prospects of a long-term economic cooperation between India and Iran. Mr
Khatami, who will be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day celebrations, will hold wide-ranging discussions with the Prime Minister on the entire gamut of bilateral relations. |
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Mizo CM: talks satisfactory New Delhi, January 17 Mr Zoramthanga, who has been acting as a facilitator in the entire Naga peace process and had met Naga leaders T Muivah and Isak Swu this morning, told reporters that the NSCN(IM) leadership had decided to continue the negotiations with the Centre for their successful completion. He said this was “the right time’’ to appoint a political negotiator to carry the peace process further as the NSCN(IM) leaders were at present in the Capital and the talks were going on. The same formula had been applied in the case of Mizoram also in 1987, he said. The Chief Minister said a Cabinet Minister should be appointed as the political negotiator. However, it was for the Centre to decide who would be appointed and when. Asked whether the appointment would be made during the next two days as the political negotiations were due to start from Monday, Mr Zoramthanga said it was not for him to decide as he was not party to the talks. He was “only facilitating’’ the process.
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National science centre mooted New Delhi, January 17 The meeting convened by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation expressed concern about the decline in the number and quality of scientific papers coming out of India and decreasing enrolment of students in the science stream. The meeting chaired by Prof C.N.R. Rao of the JNU Centre for Advanced Scientific Research called for stronger and closer links between research institutes and science departments at schools and colleges. |
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Claim on detainees exposed New Delhi, January 17 Exposing the baseless claims by the US Congressmen, the Vice-Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Tarlochan Singh, told The Tribune that there were only 236 Sikh detainees under TADA in the country and 15 of them were awaiting trial. He said the Director-General of Punjab, in a written communique to the commission had stated that trial was pending against 15 persons, 221 had been convicted under TADA and 68 persons were missing in TADA cases. He said the Home Ministry and the Chief Secretaries of the states reported that very few persons belonging to different minority communities were in jails pending trials. |
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TV channel for engg students New Delhi, January 17 A free-to-air digital channel, this would be launched as part of Gyan Darshan by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Starting with 16 hours of daily transmission, it would eventually be a 24-hour channel, a press note said, adding that infrastructure at Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) would be used for uplinking this channel. Nearly 15 lakh students studying technical education in 1,200 colleges across the country are expected to benefit from this initiative. The focus of the channel would be curriculum-based programmes for undergraduate studies in engineering and technology. It would be coordinated by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. All IITs would participate in this venture. The channel would relay eight courses in a series to be telecast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A repeat telecast will also be made on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Sundays, special interest programmes and small modules on thematic topics would be telecast, the release added.
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Shinde elected leader of DF Mumbai, January 17 Shortly after the outgoing Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s resignation was accepted by Governor Mohammed Fazal, the 61-year-old Dalit leader met the Governor and informed him about the change of leadership in the coalition. He presented him with a list of 148 MLAs supporting him with their signatures in a House of 289 after which the Governor gave him 15 days time to prove his majority in the Assembly.
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Harivansh Rai in critical condition Mumbai, January
17 Harivansh Rai's
condition had deteriorated on Wednesday night after a breathing
problem. PTI |
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Abducted child rescued New Delhi, January 17 Shivam Arora, a class I student of St Columbus School near Connaught Place, was rescued by the police from a house in the Karol Bagh area in Central Delhi, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi Range) B.K. Gupta said, adding that hunt was on for four more persons. The abduction was allegedly masterminded by Mangesh, a taxi driver from the area with six of his associates. Jairaj and two persons with the same name of Santhal Kumar were arrested while Mangesh, Kannan and two unidentified persons were still at large.
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