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Wednesday,
April 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Move to repair damaged gurdwara in Iraq Indian cos set to lose 1,000 cr 25 guests quarantined as SARS bride weds |
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Suspected SARS patient
in Jaipur Oppn picks chinks in anti-terror
armour Panel for pre-audited 5-yr defence
budget HC order on felling of trees
stayed Report on criminal justice system reforms
submitted Don’t air views on VAT publicly, PM tells
MPs NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT Karunakaran meets Sonia over poll
row Sonia writes
to PM on women’s Bill
Rebel CPM leader floats
party Award for Rajesh Khanna 20 shops gutted in fire
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Move to repair damaged gurdwara in Iraq New Delhi, April 22 Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has taken up the matter with the USA seeking details about the damage to the gurdwara. He has written a letter to the US Ambassador proposing that former Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry be allowed to visit Iraq to assess the damage. R.S. Kalha had been the Indian Ambassador to Iraq during 1992-94. The present gurdwara was constructed in April, 1943, by the Sikh Engineers Regiment. It underwent some renovations and modifications in the succeeding years with the help of funds from devotees. It is generally believed that Guru Nanak Dev visited Baghdad while on the way to Mecca and Medina. History has it that the place where the Caliph of Baghdad and other Sufi saints met Guru Nanak Dev was marked by a gurdwara located at the existing site near the Baghdad-Samara railway station. After several decades of obscurity, the gurdwara was discovered in 1917 by the Sikh Engineers Regiment. The discovery was announced by Subedar Fateh Singh on May 9, 1918. There are several versions of Guru Nanak Dev’s stay in Baghdad. A popular version has it that the Guru’s daily practice was to sit near a tomb in Baghdad and sing hymns in praise of God. He was accompanied by a Muslim, Mardana. The legend has it that some Muslim orthodox officials objected as they felt-that music was forbidden in the Islam. The agitated crowd gathered on the spot. The people were to throw stones but were stopped when they heard the Guru’s divine invocation. The people in remorse went to their Pir and told him of the presence of a holy man. The Pir, having reached the place, enquired from Mardana who the holy man was. He was told that he was Nanak who had rejected all others except one God who was all pervading on earth, sky and in all four directions. The Pir sought proof and it is said the Guru took the Pir’s son and showed him the whole world. This event has also been recorded by Bhai Gurdas. Pir Babhol, a Sufi saint was also deeply influenced by Guru Nanak Dev. He continued to live where the Guru had stayed. Even today his “mazar” lies adjacent to the gurdwara. |
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Indian cos set to lose 1,000 cr New Delhi, April 22 Mr Tyagi landed here yesterday, coinciding with the arrival in Baghdad of Lieut-Gen Jay Garner of the USA who has taken over the reins of administration in Iraq. In view of the most recent political developments in the post-Saddam Iraq, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha has had long telephonic conversations with his counterparts in key countries like the United Kingdom, France and Iran. In his talk today with French Foreign Minister Mr Villepin and Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and yesterday’s talk with his British counterpart Jack Straw, Mr Sinha focussed on the reconstruction of Iraq and how the Indian companies were getting adversely affected by the USA’s reprioritisation of Iraqi imports. It is understood that the Indian companies are going to lose business worth Rs 1000 crore in the redrawn list of items to be imported in Iraq. Mr Sinha started the process of engaging the major powers on the situation last weekend when he called up US Secretary of State Colin Powell and talked for over 30 minutes. India’s fear is that certain policies and strategies of the USA in Iraq are not conducive to Indian interests and could disturb regional politics. Russia, too, is alarmed over the US moves and it is understood that the proposed American changes could cause a loss of $ 30 billion to international companies, a large chunk of them from countries like Russia, China, France and India. A major Indian fear is that sweeping changes in Iraq and biased reconstruction contracts could anger the Muslim world which could give a fillip to Islamist terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. In his telephonic conversations with Mr Powell, Mr Straw, Mr Vilepin and Mr
Kharazi, Mr Sinha has shared concerns about cross-border terrorism and underlined the need for Pakistan to fulfil its commitments to stop aiding terrorism.
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25 guests quarantined as SARS bride weds Mumbai, April 22 The bride, whose mother and brother also tested positive for the flu-like disease that has killed 225 persons worldwide, wed on Monday under the gaze of government doctors in the Pune church. After the ceremony, the bride was rushed to hospital to join her brother and mother, who were already in an isolation unit. The 25 guests, who included four children, were quarantined in separate apartments. “This should have not happened. I was shocked,” the Maharashtra Health Minister, Mr Digvijay Khanvilkar, told Reuters. He also said the couple had rejected appeals from medical officials to delay the wedding. Doctors believe that the bride was infected by her brother, who arrived in India from Indonesia this month. The three members of the family are all doing well in hospital, according to doctors. The groom and the priest who conducted the ring-exchange ceremony have been asked to stay in isolation in their homes, the Pune Municipal Corp health chief, Dr Anil Ravetkar, told Reuters. “We’ve been keeping the guests under observation in three apartments since last night,” Mr Ravetkar said. “We’ve asked them not to step outside and our doctors are keeping a round-the-clock vigil.” He said they would stay in quarantine for a week. Doctors fear that SARS could reach epidemic proportions in India — the second most populous nation — due to its congested cities, overstretched health system and media reports of lax airport screening. However, government officials have downplayed chances. Meanwhile, the IANS adds from New Delhi that doctors in Nasik said they were awaiting results of SARS tests on Girish Gajwani, 23, who had arrived from the United States of America with symptoms of the contagious illness that can be fatal. The fifth SARS case was reported today, a day after three were declared infected in Pune. From a control room set up in the Health Ministry in New Delhi, the Indian government was constantly keeping vigil on the situation in the country, health officials said. Gajwani’s blood samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Efforts are being made to keep people informed to avoid any panic reaction. “It would be advisable that persons suspected to have SARS are quarantined for at least 10 days, so that, they do not spread the infection,” Dr V. K. Vijayan, Director of the VP Chest Institute, told the IANS. He, however, said it was not necessary that a person having the symptoms of SARS would, in fact, have the infection. Through the polymerase chain reaction technique, the genetic coding of SARS would have to be matched, as it was being done at the NIV in Pune, to detect if there was SARS infection. Even in the incubation period — between being exposed to the disease and nearly 10 days for the disease to develop and symptoms to appear — it would be advisable to take precautions. Once the symptoms of cough and breathlessness appeared along with fever, it would be possible to detect pneumonic patches through X-ray. Dr Vijayan advised the use of surgical masks of N-95 quality. “It will filter even extremely small particles. Though expensive, it is the most effective precaution, besides quarantine.” So far, four cases of SARS have been confirmed in India. The first case was that of a marine engineer in Goa, who has since recovered.
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Steps taken to check
SARS: Sushma New Delhi, April 22 The Centre also convened a meeting of State Health Ministers on Thursday and laid down a broad plan of action to deal with the situation. Speaking during zero hour at the Lok Sabha, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Sushma Swaraj said: “The government has taken effective measures to deal with the situation and it will not be found lacking”. The minister said passengers arriving from overseas locations were screened by health officials in airport and anybody found to be having symptoms of the disease were immediately quarantined. They were discharged only after necessary reports showed that they were not suffering from the disease. Pointing out that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had appreciated India for “effectively” dealing with the situation, Mrs Swaraj said it was to the credit of Indian doctors that they were able to diagnose and treat SARS patients without any assistance from outside. Rejecting a suggestion that all international flights should be cancelled, she said even though it was serious matter, panic should not be created. |
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George to undergo SARS check-up
New Delhi, April 22 Ms Swaraj was replying to questions on the steps taken by the government to monitor the occurrence of SARS in the country. China and Hong Kong have reported several deaths due to this disease and the government has made arrangements at international airports to screen passengers arriving from these countries.
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Oppn picks chinks in anti-terror
armour New Delhi, April 22 Charging the government with failure to project Pakistan’s terror antecedents internationally, the Opposition members said this would now put the onus on New Delhi to fight its own battle to end the menace. Participating in a discussion on the working of the Home Ministry, the Opposition charged that the government had failed to maintain law and order across the country despite enactment of draconian laws like POTA. Senior Congress leader and former minister Pranab Mukherjee said “our perception of the cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir does not match with that of the international community or else Pakistan would have been declared a rogue state.” “Our fight against terrorism is a lone battle and we shall have to fight it on our own.” Charging the government with failure to protect the right of citizens to life and security, Mr Mukherjee urged it to usher in administrative reforms for better governance. Asserting that modernisation of state police forces is key to lessen the burden on central para-military forces, Mr Mukherjee said the Centre should on its own procure modern weapons and gadgets and give it to state police. The present system of extending 50 per cent funding as a matcher to the state government’s contribution for modernisation of police forces was not helping in any manner as the states did not have adequate resources, he said. CPM’s Sarla Maheshwari wanted to know what was the Home Minister doing when minorities were being targeted in Gujarat. Mr Janeshwar Mishra (Samajwadi Party) referred to Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani’s coming visit to the USA and cautioned that Washington was putting pressure on New Delhi to compromise with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. He referred to the growing trend of policemen indulging in crimes in the country and said the government should take steps to overhaul the system. The House witnessed frayed tempers for over 45 minutes when AIADMK’s V Maitreyan attacked the Home Ministry for changing affidavit in the Vaiko case saying that it amounted to mortgaging national pride. The member said when Pakistan’s Gen Pervez Musharraf labelled terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as freedom struggle, India cried wolf and action was now sought to be diluted when “somebody openly says I am a supporter of the LTTE”. The remarks evoked protests from BJP, DMK and other members, who said how could the member raise the Vaiko issue when the case was sub judice and the person was not present to defend himself. As Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla cautioned the members against raising sub judice issues, Mr Maitreyan said he was referring to the invocation of POTA against anti-national elements, which was part of the Home Ministry’s job. The DMK and AIADMK members exchanged allegations and counter allegations and Mrs Heptulla had a had time cautioning the members not to confine the topic to only Tamil Nadu politics. Congress member Kapil Sibal accused the government of being soft in countering terrorism concerned and said it did not have any plans or policies for countering the menace. He also alleged that the ruling party was “dividing the country” for electoral gains. “You are a soft state. You do not have the courage or a gameplan (for countering terrorism). Therefore, Pakistani intruders come into the country and we cannot stop them...If this situation continues, how can the Deputy Prime Minister still be in office,” he asked. |
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Panel for pre-audited 5-yr defence
budget New Delhi, April 22 The committee also rapped the MoD for the delay in the purchase of Advance Jet Trainers (AJTs) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and directed the ministry to finalise at the earliest the options between British Aerospace Hawks and Czech L 159B. The Chairman of the committee, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, told reporters that the ministry should fix responsibility for the delay in the acquisition so that the step worked as a deterrent. Noting that the Finance Ministry had declared the creation of a non-lapsable fund for weapon acquisition as non-feasible, Mr Khurana said the “committee strongly felt that a five-year defence budget be formulated to ensure speedy weapon acquisition”. The committee pulled up the Defence Ministry for continuous lapse of allocated budgetary grants for defence capital outlay. He said the members of the Standing Committee on Defence, in its 19th report tabled in Parliament, expressed concern that earlier mistakes in the defence planning process were being repeated and was “indicative of ad hocism and the non-serious approach, which still seems to prevail, notwithstanding the trauma of Kargil and othe assaults on national security.” The committee said both Hawks and L 159B were found to be viable and acceptable to the IAF. It recommended that both options should be considered to ensure that suitable trainer aircraft were available at the lowest cost. |
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HC order on felling of trees
stayed New Delhi, April 22 The stay was granted by a Bench comprising Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice H.K. Sema on an appeal filed by the Himachal Government against the high court’s February 27, 2002, order. Issuing notices to the respondents — three members of a family — whose plea for felling of nearly 800 trees was rejected by the Himachal’s Conservator of Forests, the apex court has sought replies to the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the state. The family, which owns 390 bighas (more than 12 hectares) of forest land having 10,157 deodar, kail and other precious trees grown on it, had claimed that the land did not fall under the definition of forest and they were entitled to cut the trees. However, the government had contended that no tree could be cut as the Supreme Court in 1996 had banned felling of green forests whether they are on government land or private land. The owners of the land — Ashok Sood, his wife and daughter — had claimed that they had a separate share in the land and the total area in the possession of each was below the required limit to attract the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Himachal Pradesh’s Additional Advocate-General J.S. Attri told the court that the forest which was sought to be cut by Sood, his wife and daughter at Kiari village of Theog subdivision of Shimla district was worth crores and they had got the ownership partitioned to facilitate the felling of trees. Any permission for cutting trees “is
fraught with danger of overexploitation of forest wealth by vested interests by splitting the land holding,” the government in its appeal said. Moreover, the land in question “is part of single holding and classified as forest in the revenue record”, the SLP said, adding that “division of land among co-shareholders cannot change its status”. The state government contended that the high court had “erred” in interpreting the recommendations of an expert committee set up by the government, which was of the opinion that a compact block of 5 hectares would be treated as forest irrespective of the fact that it was private or public land. |
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Report on criminal justice system reforms
submitted New Delhi, April 22 The two-volume report comprising 158 recommendations to improve the criminal justice system was submitted to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani here at his North Block office by Justice Malimath. Mr Advani, who received the report, refused to make any comment on it saying that Parliament was in Session. However, sources told The Tribune that the Home Ministry would be constituting an internal committee to go through the recommendations and suggest further course of action. According to the gist of the recommendations made available to mediapersons here, the committee has recommended a summary procedure for trial and enhancement of punishment if the witnesses give false evidence in the court. It has also recommended that before the evidence of the witnesses is recorded the Judge should caution the witness that it is his duty to tell the truth and if the court finds that he is telling a lie then the court has the power to punish him. In a far-reaching step, the committee has recommended that the statements of witnesses examined during investigation should be recorded and got signed by the witnesses and made admissible in evidence by suitably amending Sections 161 and 162 of the CrPC, etc. The committee has called for amendment to Section 25 of the Evidence Act to provide for recording of confession by an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police or above with simultaneous audio/video recording and to render it admissible in evidence on the lines of Section 32 of POTA, 2002. To speed up the trial of cases involving less serious offences, it has recommended that all cases in which the punishment prescribed is 3 years and below should be tried summarily with power to the Magistrate to award punishment up to three years. It has further recommended that every Magistrate shall have the power to try summarily. In order to improve efficiency in investigation, the committee has endorsed the recommendations of the National Police Commission that the investigating wing should be separated from Law and Order functions and deal exclusively with investigating work. To insulate the investigating agency from political and other influences and to ensure fair treatment to them the committee has recommended the constitution of National Security Commission and State Security Commissions on the lines suggested by the National Police Commission. “These measures would ensure a high level of credibility of the investigating officers,” it said. Noting that the criminal justice system does not adequately focus on justice to victims, the committee has recommended that the victim should be given the right to be impleaded as a party in criminal cases involving serious offences punishable with imprisonment for seven years and above, to enable him to participate in the trial. “A law should be enacted to provide reasonable compensation to the victims and as the victims are often subjected to serious threats a law should be enacted to provide adequate protection to the victims,” it said. Another recommendation worth noting is entitlement of benefit of maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC to a woman who is living with a man like his wife for a reasonably long period. To tackle organised crime and terrorism effectively, the committee has recommended enactment of uniform law. It has recommended federal law to deal with crimes of inter-state and/or international/transnational ramifications by including them in List 1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. The committee has recommended that the Nodal Group recommended by the Vohra Committee be given the status of a National Authority with a legal framework with adequate powers, including powers to freeze accounts of the suspects/accused, etc and to attach their property. In its vision for the future, the committee has recommended that a provision should be made in the Constitution for appointment of a presidential commission to periodically review the functioning of the Criminal Justice System. “There is need for the government to come out with a policy statement on criminal justice and in particular implementation of the committee’s recommendations,” it added. |
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Don’t air views on VAT publicly, PM tells
MPs New Delhi, April 22 “Whatever views you have, convey these to the Deputy Prime Minister or the Finance Minister, but do not air these publicly. We should always present a united picture
outside,” Mr Vajpayee told the weekly meeting of the BJP parliamentary party. Briefing reporters, party spokesman
V.K. Malhotra said the Prime Minister told the members that though they might represent all sections, they should not express views outside which might be at variance with that of the party.” The Prime Minister’s direction comes in the wake of some party MPs campaigning for those opposed to VAT though the party is trying to impress upon them that the implementation of the new tax structure is a state subject and that the state governments will have to take a decision on the issue. The VAT issue was discussed during the meeting of top BJP leaders at the Prime Minister’s residence on Sunday. Elaborating on VAT, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh reiterated that it was a state subject and they were free to decide on its imposition. As far the imposition of excise on powerloom and readymade garments was concerned, he said the interests of those who were self-employed in the sector would be taken care of. He indicated some relief would be provided to this sector when the Finance Bill was moved. Another issue which was deliberated upon was the plight of lakhs of sugarcane growers in Uttar Pradesh, who had not been getting their dues from sugar mills. Soon after the issue was raised by BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu and other MPs, Mr Vajpayee asked his deputy L.K. Advani to look into the problem. The Prime Minister asked Mr Advani to assess the problems of the farmers and in turn ask Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati to do the needful in this regard. Mr Malhotra told reporters that the members said at the meeting that several crores were due from the sugar mills. The farmers had to face a lot of hardship due to it, the members said. The Deputy Prime Minister would soon start his deliberations in this direction, Mr Malhotra said. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, April 22 Responding to Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal’s query, the minister said while the Chandigarh Administration transferred nearly Rs 82 crore, which was 11.2 per cent of its total tax revenue to the municipal corporation in 2002-03, the Delhi Finance Commission had recommended a grant of 17 per cent of the UT revenue to the municipal corporation. He also informed the House that the Chandigarh Administration had a positive balance from the current account. ROZGAR YOJNA:
Due to various complaints regarding the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojna
(PMRY) like delay in sanction and disbursement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been asking the banks for strict compliance, informed the Minister of State for Finance and Company Affairs, Mr Anandrao V.
Adsul. He told the House that nearly 17,000 applications had been received under the scheme from Punjab in 2000-01 of which loan worth Rs 6,309.8 lakh was sanctioned to 9,488 applicants. In Haryana the amount of loan sanctioned was Rs 5,256.8 lakh, while Rs 1,490 lakh was sanctioned to Himachal Pradesh and Rs 824 lakh to Jammu and Kashmir. CONSTRUCTION OF CANALS: The Minister of State for Water Resources, Ms Bojoya Chakravarty, told the Rajya Sabha that five major proposals from Punjab, two from Haryana, and one each from HP and J&K for the construction of canals and other means of irrigation had been received by the Central Water Commission for techno-economic appraisal. She said the clearance of the projects depended on the promptness with which the state governments arranged compliance to the observations of the Central appraising agencies. EDUCATING THE DISABLED:
The government provided assistance of Rs 3.3 lakh under the Integrated Education for Disabled Children scheme in Chandigarh during 2002-03, informed Dr Vallabhbhai
Katharia, Minister of State for Human Resource Development. The assistance provided to Haryana was Rs 68.3 lakh. He said under the scheme, the state or UT government’s assistance was required for providing necessary facilities to children with mild to moderate disability with the purpose of integrating them in a regular school system. WASTELAND DEVELOPMENT:
The Rural Development Minister Mr Ananth Kumar told the Lok Sabha that under the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme, the government had released Rs 1.17 crore to Punjab, Rs 2.5 crore to Haryana, Rs 6.3 crore to J&K and Rs 33 crore to Himachal Pradesh. |
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Karunakaran meets Sonia over poll
row New Delhi, April 22 Mr Karunakaran said after one-hour meeting at Mrs Gandhi’s residence that he endorsed the contents of letters of KPCC chief K. Muraleedharan and party’s chief whip P.P. George to the high command in which they had explained the reasons for some party MLAs backing rebel candidate K Govindan Nair in the Rajya Sabha elections. The letters, Mr Karunakaran said, “explained that the intention was not to challenge, show any disrespect or lack of confidence in the Congress President.” Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni, who later joined one-to-one talks between Mr Karunakaran and Ms Gandhi, said Mr Karunakaran had urged the Congress President to be generous in her dealing with the MLAs, who had voted for the rebel candidate and members of the I-faction in general. Ms Soni said the Congress President conveyed that she would keep views of Mr Karunakaran in mind and hoped that the party would work unitedly in the state. Asked if he was satisfied with the outcome of talks, Mr Karunakaran said he was “by and large happy.” To a question about revocation of expulsion of Mr Nair, Mr Karunakaran said the decision of the Congress president would be acceptable to him. Asked if he would meet Mrs Gandhi again, Mr Karunakaran said it was not on his agenda now. “As long as I am a Congress man, I am bound to come and discuss any issue with her,” he said. Significantly, he later added that “a number of issues are pending on Kerala” which were to be decided by the high command. |
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Sonia writes to PM on women’s Bill New Delhi, April 22 “The Congress will lend its support to the passage of the Bill in Parliament. I shall be grateful if your government takes early action in this matter,” Ms Gandhi wrote in a letter to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. Ms Gandhi said a number of national and state-level women’s organisations had approached her with a request for Congress support in ensuring the passage of the long-pending Bill in Parliament. She said her party had extended support to the Bill at the all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister last month. However, consensus eluded though a majority of the political parties supported the Bill. The constitutional amendment Bill, seeking to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in both Houses of Parliament, was being opposed by the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, in its present form. |
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Rebel CPM leader floats
party Kolkata, April 22 The veteran CPM leader, who had been in the party for over 50 years, revolted against the state leadership by publicly accusing the leaders of involving in corruption and malpractices. After Mr Saifuddin Chowdhury, a former party MP, and Mr Samir Patutunda, a long-time party secretary in south 24-parganas, Dr Pramanick has now come out in the public challenging the leadership and accusing it of including in corruption and malpractices. |
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Award for Rajesh Khanna Mumbai, April 22 Addressing a press conference today, Cultural Affairs Minister Ashok Chavan said both stars had been chosen for their contribution to the film industry. The Raj Kapoor Award carries Rs 1 lakh, a memento and a citation and the V Shantaram award comprises of Rs 1.25 lakh, a memento and a citation. The awards will be presented on April 30 on the birth anniversary of Father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke, he said.
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20 shops gutted in fire Lucknow, April 22 |
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