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Monday,
April 28, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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States rapped on voter ID cards Bus service: DTC seeks dues from Pak
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Advani kicks off BJP poll campaign Rajsamand (Rajasthan), April 27 The Deputy Prime Minister Mr L.K. Advani, today kicked off BJP’s virtual election campaign in the state under the shadow of factionalism with three senior party leaders staying away from the occasion here. I will not return to BJP, says Kalyan Z-plus security for Beigh
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India, France to discuss security Brar made FCI panel chairman
Pet tramples former minister to death
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States rapped on voter ID cards New Delhi, April 27 The states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal have failed to provide electors’ photo identity cards (EPICs) even to 50 per cent of the voters, the committee reviewing the progress of the Department of Law and Justice has said. The committee, however, lauded seven states which have attained the target of providing EPICs to 85 per cent voters. They had been given time till May 2003 to publish the final electoral rolls. The states and Union Territories which have achieved the target are; Haryana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Delhi, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Besides Haryana, the other northern states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have provided the cards to 75.64 per cent and 59 per cent voters, respectively, while there was no data available regarding the militancy-prone Jammu and Kashmir, the committee said. In view of the Assembly elections in some states and the Lok Sabha poll due next year, the Election Commission has directed the states to provide EPICs to all voters whose names will be included in the electoral rolls up to September 2003. “A number of states could not reach the target of providing EPICs to 85 per cent of voters by December 31, 2002, and now the EC has asked them to issue the cards to all electors not only in respect of the 2002 rolls, but also the 2003 list to be completed by September 2003,” the report said. The states, which have not achieved the target of providing EPICs to 85 per cent voters, were asked to go in for a “campaign mode” by giving wide publicity through electronic and print media by the commission, especially in the rural areas. The chief electoral officers of 20 states, where the target was yet to be achieved, had been asked to make concerted efforts through the district and the subdivision machinery to reach to the nearest voters and put to use all available resources at their command. It said the Parliamentary Standing Committee, while reviewing the progress on the issue, appreciated the intention of the EC to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next general election and the Assembly poll. “The committee now urges upon the commission to examine the feasibility of the use of the EVMs in the elections to the local bodies as it will help the people to familiarise themselves with the new mode of casting their votes,” the Law Department in the report said. The government has so far spent Rs 424.29 crore on the purchase of 5.18 lakh
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Bus service: DTC seeks dues from Pak New Delhi, April 27 State-run Pakistan Transport Development Corporation
(PTDC) owes Rs 24,61,187 to the loss-making Delhi Transport Corporation
(DTC), which the latter incurred on providing various facilities during the plying of the ‘Sadbhavna’ bus service in Indian territory. Prospects of a thaw in relations have raised hopes in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the DTC of early clearance of the dues. The dues have been pending ever since the bus service was scrapped on December 31, 2001, when the ties between the two countries hit an all-time low. The expenses were incurred by DTC over provision of fuel, food, and board and lodging facilities to the Pakistani bus and its crew members and passengers. “We have written several times to the
PTDC, Pakistan High Commission here besides the Ministry of External Affairs in a bid to get the money. But there has been no progress,” Delhi Transport Minister Ajay Maken said. He said representatives of the PTDC visited Delhi once and acknowledged standing dues with a promise of paying up. The city government is also facing practical problems over the maintenance of the two highly-luxurious air-conditioned buses. After being removed from the Delhi-Lahore route, the two buses with several hi-tech facilities like STD phone are now ferrying passengers to odd places in the country.
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Advani kicks off BJP poll campaign Rajsamand (Rajasthan), April 27 As Mr Advani flagged off the party’s “Parivartan Yatra” from the temple town of
Charbhuja, near here, in the presence of young state unit President Vasundhara
Raje, key BJP leader Ramdas Agarawal in charge of the party affairs in Rajasthan, former Deputy Chief Minister Hari Shankar Bhavra and Ghanshyam Tiwari were not present. Mr
Agarwal, who is also BJP’s national treasurer, recently said he would not be able to attend the launch of the yatra as he would be away on a foreign trip planned much earlier. Mr Agarwal had in the past made no secret of his displeasure over being ignored to head the party’s state unit in favour of “outsider” Mr
Raje. Bhavra and Tiwari chose to be in Jodhpur attending a Brahmins’ rally this afternoon, coinciding with Parivatan
yatra, seeking reservation of jobs for the caste. Addressing the
yatra, Mr Advani said the BJP should be brought back to power in states so that fruits of the efforts made by the Vajpayee government for providing “suraj” (good governance) reach grassroot level.
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I will not return to BJP, says Kalyan Lucknow, April 27 “There is no question of my returning to the BJP ... I have set up a new house and I have no intention to return to the old house which I had left many years ago,” Mr Kalyan Singh said here. He said the country was being run by “retired officers” and “tired Prime Minister”. “On one hand there is Mr Yashwant Singh while on the other is Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee,” he said. He said the BJP had been reduced to a rudder-less party and “I have no intention to join a sinking ship.” Rumours were agog in political circles about home coming of Mr Kalyan Singh in the BJP. It is said that he had a closed-door meeting with senior BJP leaders, including Balbir Punj, Dinanath Mishra and Gurumurthy, in Lucknow on April 22 in which modalities on his return to saffron party were being worked out. “I had met Mr Mishra and Mr Punj on April 22. They are my old friends,” said Mr Kalyan Singh but he refused to divulge as what transpired between them. “Probably we discussed weather,” he said. |
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Z-plus security for Beigh New Delhi, April 27 Mr Beigh, who survived a serious attempt on his life in north Kashmir yesterday, had been placed in Z-plus category which was almost equivalent to that of the state Chief Minister. A former vice president of People’s Conference, a constituent of Hurriyat Conference, from 1980-84, Mr Beigh has been a prime target of ISI-run militant groups as he has been on the forefront of discrediting Hurriyat Conference and militant groups. Alarm bells for Mr Beigh started ringing in November last year after he visited Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Lone, brother of slain former National Conference Minister Mushtaq Lone, who was killed by militants.
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OBITUARY New Delhi, April 27 Otherwise, what else can explain the sufferings of T.V. Lakshminarayan and the trauma of his family, particulalrly his wife Ranjana, who virtually moved mountains in the past two years in a vain bid to cure him of lung cancer? Hindu philosophy, which talks of the life-death-rebirth cycle, says that your previous births do influence your present birth and the present birth would cast a reflection on your future births. The life (and death) of Lakshminarayan, better known by his initials "TVL", is a glaring example of this and a fit case for metaphysical researchers. This is because a noble soul like TVL, who never harmed even a flea, went through hell for the past more than two years since he tested positive for an advanced lung cancer. The life of TVL raises an important metaphysical question: why a man who has not harmed anybody and has led a virtuous, sinless life should suffer? I first met T.V. Lakshminarayan at his B-98 Gulmohar Park residence in 1983. He was in school then. What struck me most, apart from his towering physique, was the confidence with which he talked to me on various subjects at our first meeting. His elder brother, T.V. Sriram, had introduced TVL to me saying, "Meet my younger big brother." Three years later, TVL joined United News Of India (UNI) and very soon became the most sought-after "reporter" though he was on the Central Desk. He impressed everybody with his all-rounder skills. Those in charge of different beats like courts, sports and economics used to fight among themselves to ensure that TVL covered their assignment only. In the nineties, when I was in charge of legal reporting in UNI, I confess to have fought with the sports chief and economics chief to have exclusive "rights" over TVL. Such was the halo around TVL. He was a willing worker who never said no to any work at any time of the day or night. Year after year, he would be given early morning assignments which other reporters loathed. And yet, he would willingly go for the late night assignments too. TVL was extremely popular among girls, but he never chased any girl. As far as I know, Ranjana was the only girl in his life. But the most striking thing about TVL was that during the 20 years of my association with him, I did not come across a single person who ever talked ill of him. Some achievement this. So many times I thought that a day would come when he would lose his battle against cancer. Once I asked him whether he had seen the popular Hindi film "Anand" in which the hero Rajesh Khanna is a terminal cancer patient and is loved by all and sundry. He replied in the negative and disclosed that whenever the film was being telecast, Ranjana would immediately change the channel. Once I asked him whether he had read a talked about a recent book, "The Joy of Cancer", he said Ranjana does not keep a single cancer-related book in the house. Today that day has come. TVL Has lost his battle against cancer. But as the "Anand" protagonist said in the film: "Zindagi lambi nahin badi honi chahiye" (The life should be great, not long). TVL did not have a long life. But he definitely had a great life. TVLs do not die. |
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India, France to discuss security New Delhi, April 27 The French minister will hold one-to-one talks with Defence Minister George Fernandes which would be followed by delegation-level talks with Indian officials led by Defence Secretary Subir Dutta and Secretary, Defence Productions, N S Sisodia. Later in the day, the French minister is likely to meet External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee may also be scheduled. The two sides will brief each other on the assessment of the international scenario after the Iraq war, situation in the Indian subcontinent and developments in Afghanistan. |
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Brar made FCI panel chairman New Delhi, April 27 The appointment was made here following a partial modification of the orders issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Mr Brar, who has been actively participating on various matters related to the FCI and problems of farmers, has been appointed for two years and will be functioning as per the rules laid down by the Government of India. |
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‘Devdas’ bags 8 more awards Mumbai, April 27 The magnum opus bagged the gold medal for best film and direction. Aishwarya Rai bagged the award for the best female artiste for her role in the movie while Saroj Khan (choreography), Binod Pradhan (cinematography), Bela Saigal (editing), Ismail Darbar (music) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (screenplay) also bagged awards for the same film. Malayalam film ‘Sesham’ won the silver medal while Jagmohan Mundra’s ‘Bawandar’ won the bronze medal. T.K. Rajiv Kumar was awarded the silver medal for best direction for ‘Sesham’ while Bharati Raja bagged the bronze for best direction for Tamil film ‘Kadal Pookal’. Puga Zendhi received the best debut direction award for Tamil film ‘Kaatrukkella’. The best male artiste award went to Jayaram for his portrayal in ‘Sesham’, while up and coming star Vivek Oberoi was honoured with best debut male artiste for his role in Hindi film ‘Company’. Gauri Karnik received the best female debut artiste award for her performance in ‘Sur — the melody of Life’. The awards were presented by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and some film personalities.
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Pet tramples former minister to death Lucknow, April 27 The DGP said here that Mr Verma (60) was trampled by his pet elephant at his Pahapur village residence in Ambedkar Nagar district. Later, villagers killed the beast. Mr Verma was the leader of the BSP legislature party and was the forest minister in the BSP-SP ruling alliance in 1993. Later, he joined the Samajwadi Party and remained an SP member. The former minister remained in the headlines for maintaining a mini zoo at his official residence in the state capital.
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MEA pulled up on spendings New Delhi, April 27 |
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