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Wednesday,
April 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SARS SCARE
Verify damage to Iraqi gurdwara:
NCM
Fernandes welcomes PM’s
initiative |
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Cong welcomes Jamali’s call Left hails Jamali’s call to
PM NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT National Commission for Children
soon Security beefed up for today’s RJD lathi
rally
ISI camps on foreign grounds training Sikhs Bofors case: hearing on CBI appeal starts Prithvi
test-fired SC gives relief to Muslim
woman National memorial for Ambedkar Killings, mar campaigning in West Bengal MPs oppose Kalyan’s ‘return’ to BJP RED FM launched Condition of PM’s sister stable
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SARS SCARE New Delhi, April 29 Air-India took the extreme step of derecognising the IPG as the pilots refused to come forward to take the flights out of the country. Efforts to resolve the issue by holding a meeting with the Regional Labour Commissioner also failed to get the desired results. Air-India’s Public Relations Director Jitender Bhargava confirmed in Mumbai that “a letter has been sent de-recognising the guild for their anti-organisation activities.” Following the
derecognition, there “will be no more collective bargaining”, A-I sources added. Reports also said 18 more pilots were suspended, which brought the total number of pilots suspended a staggering 45. The airline also filed caveats in the Mumbai and Delhi High Courts yesterday, seeking that the management’s version be heard prior to the granting of any stay order on any of the disciplinary action initiated against the pilots. Over the past three days, the management had sent show-cause notices to more than 50 pilots, of whom 27 have been suspended. IPG members and management representatives today met the Regional Labour Commissioner here but the meeting did not result in anything concrete. He was preparing a “failure” notice and would send it to the Central Labour Commissioner’s office, official sources said. Meanwhile, Air-India today cancelled its flight from Chennai to Singapore. A-I officials said the passengers booked for the airliner were being accommodated in Indian Airlines’ flight to Singapore. |
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Verify damage to Iraqi gurdwara:
NCM New Delhi, April 29 In a communication to the minister, the NCM Chairman said the Sikhs felt concerned about the condition of the gurdwara, which commemorates Guru Nanak’s visit as part of his journey to the Arab world in 16th century, after the US-led war. Mr Tarlochan Singh said he had received a number of enquiries both from India and abroad, asking him to take up the matter with the authorities concerned. Interestingly, the NCM chief’s letter urging the External Affairs Minister to verify the claims of the damage to the gurdwara comes within days of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh writing to the US Ambassador expressing his government’s willingness to rebuild it. The BJP had criticised the Punjab Government’s move to directly communicate with the US Ambassador, bypassing the usual protocol of forwarding the communication through the External Affairs Ministry. Political observers said the move by both Punjab Chief Minister and the NCM chief was marred with political overtones aimed at garnering rich political dividends during the Lok Sabha poll next year. According to Mr Tarlochan Singh the gurdwara is located near a railway yard adjacent to the tomb of a Muslim saint, Behlol. The shrine has no “formal gurdwara framework’’ and is housed in a three-room structure. Two of the rooms had tombs and one was used for Sikh religious congregations, he added. Mr Tarlochan Singh said there was an old plaque written in Arabic mentioning about Guru Nanak’s visit to the place. |
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Fernandes welcomes PM’s
initiative New Delhi, April 29 “The Prime Minister’s offer of talks with Pakistan is yet another initiative taken by him in the interest of peace and stability in the region,” the Defence Minister said. Mr Vajpayee had once again showed his statesmanship by extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan, hoping Islamabad would put a permanent end to cross-border terrorism and infiltration, he noted. Addressing separate conferences of Army and Air Force Commanders, Mr Fernandes also referred to the changing scenario in the Gulf and talked about his recent China visit. Top officers of the two services are attending the week-long biennial conferences, which began yesterday. The Defence Minister said India would have to remain vigilant on the border despite signs of normalisation of relations with Pakistan. Referring to his recent visit to China, Mr Fernandes said he had held “fruitful talks” with the new Chinese leadership. The relations with Beijing were improving by leaps and bounds, he added. |
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Cong welcomes Jamali’s call New Delhi, April 29 Congress chief spokesman S. Jaipal Reddy said here that no one in India was opposed to greater normalisation of ties between the two countries. But it was for Pakistan to “demonstrate its will to normalise the relations”. To a question if Mr Vajpayee should visit Pakistan following Mr Jamali’s invitation, Mr Reddy said that the party would give its opinion as and when the Prime Minister consulted. Maintaining that Prime Minister’s statement extending hand of friendship to Pakistan was ‘not an unqualified statement,’ Mr Reddy said Mr Vajpayee had always been known for his ‘generalised statements with inbuilt escape routes’. |
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Left hails Jamali’s call to
PM New Delhi, April 29 In separate statements, the Left parties observed that the conversation between Pakistan Premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would go a long way in resuming the stalled dialogue between the two countries on all outstanding issues. Mr Jamali had appreciated Mr Vajpayee’s offer of talks in Srinagar as well as in both Houses of Parliament earlier this month. During their 10-minute conversation, Mr Vajpayee said cooperation in economic and civil aviation sectors, among other things, would help improve the bilateral ties. The CPM Politburo said recent steps taken by the Indian Government to improve relations with Pakistan were in the right direction. CPI national secretary and spokesman Shamim Faizi hoped that Mr Vajpayee and Mr Jamali would now soon begin confidence-building measures like people-to-people contact, bilateral trade and cultural exchange and would proceed with all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. “However, both countries should not allow third-party intervention in our bilateral relations,” Mr Faizi added. CPI (M-L) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said meaningful talks could never be held till India and Pakistan got rid of the “wrong analogy” of US President George W. Bush’s Iraq war. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, April 29 He said the Government of India had released Rs 35.5 crore up to March 2003, which had already been utilised by the Pushpa Gujral Science Society. “The civil construction work for phase 1 buildings, science voyage hall, space theatre, entrance gate complex, parking area, roads and entrance plazas, is in progress,”
he said. The minister also told the House that according to the society, the project could be completed by March 31, 2005, subject to the provision of adequate funding as per the approved project outlay. Gurdwara reconstruction in Iraq:
Congress MP Jagmeet Brar today urged the government to take up the issue of reconstruction of historic gurdwara in Iraq which had been destroyed during the recent war. Participating in a Parliamentary debate, Mr Brar said the gurdwara was associated with Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, who was revered equally by Sikhs, Hindus and the people from other religions. Balika Samridhi Yojna:
The unspent balance, lying with Punjab under the Balika Samridhi Yojna, as on March 31, 2003, was Rs 82.5 lakh, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Jas Kaur Meena informed the Lok Sabha. She said funds would be allocated or released to the states only after they furnish full utilisation certificates for the funds released so far. While no funds had been released under scheme during 2002-03, a provision of Rs 15 crore had been kept for 2003-04, the minister told the House. The unspent amount lying with Haryana was Rs 68.9 lakh, with Himachal Pradesh Rs 21.2 lakh and with Jammu and Kashmir Rs 80 lakh, the minister said. Poverty alleviation: Under the Centre-sponsored urban poverty alleviation scheme ‘Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojna’, the government released Rs 67.4 lakh to Punjab; Rs 238.4 lakh to Haryana; Rs 63.7 lakh to Himachal Pradesh, and Rs 62.9 lakh to Jammu and Kashmir during 2002-03, Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Pon Radha Krishnan informed the House. Funds for drinking water Minister of State for Rural Development Annasaheb M.K. Patil informed the House that while the state-wise allocation and releases under the Accelerated Rural Water Supply programme had not been finalised so far, Rs 4,442 lakh of additional central assistance had been allocated to Punjab under the PMGY, which included elementary education, primary health, drinking water, rural shelter, nutrition and rural electrification in 2003-04. The states have been given the flexibility to decide inter-se allocation of the ACA among the six components of the PMGY as per their own plans and priorities, the minister said. |
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National Commission for Children
soon New Delhi, April 29 The Union HRD Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi told mediapersons here today that the commission would be a statutory body and would be constituted under an Act of Parliament. He said that the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) would introduce the National Commission for Children Bill in the ongoing session or the Monsoon session of Parliament. The constitution of the commission holds special significance for India which has the largest child population in the world. Dr Joshi said that about 40 per cent of the population was below the age of 18 years and 15.37 per cent in the 0 to six age group, as reported in the 2001 census. Dr Joshi said that although the government had evolved sound legislation, policies and programmes for the welfare and protection of children since Independence, their implementation was inter-sectoral and was dispersed across atleast eight departments both at the Centre and in the states. “Therefore a strong monitoring agency is essential to obtain optimal results, ensure sustained coordination, promote holistic study and research, to advise government and facilitate interface with the community and
voluntary organisations across the country.” The Minister said that the commission would assist the government in addressing issues as heinous offences against the girl child, including female infanticide and trafficking, child abuse and
exploitation of children fordrugs and pornography. Enumerating the proposed functions of the Commission, Dr Joshi said that it would investigate and examine all matters relating to safeguards provided for children under existing laws, report the functioning of these safeguards to the Central Government annually and from time to time, review existing policies, programmes and other activities for children and inspect juvenile custodial homes or any other residence or institution meant for children. The commission would also take suo motu cognisance of matters related to deprivation of rights of children, non-implementation of laws providing for protection and development of children and non compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or directions aimed at ensuring welfare of children. |
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Security beefed up for today’s RJD lathi rally Patna, April 29 Cane-weilding musclemen have been mobilised by the organisers both from within and outside the state for the success of the rally. State Home Secretary B.K. Haldar gave the final touches to the contingency plan last evening in consultations with the senior police officials for the purpose of maintaining normal life in the state capital and pre-empting any attempt to disturb peace. At least 5,000 police personnel and 200 officers would be on duty tomorrow to provide security cover to traders apprehending trouble by rallyists. Special arrangements have been made to protect Railway properties and 200 additional policemen deployed at Patna junction to strengthen the existing security set-up manned by the GRP and the RPF. Armed escorts were provided in all local trains entering Patna today and would be provided tomorrow also anticipating heavy rush of passengers to participate in the rally. Two rakes with 15 coaches each hired by the RJD were likely to be inadequate to transport large number of rallyists. Huge pandals adorned the sprawling premises of ministers’ bunglows to be used as shelter. Cultural shows have been organised for the entertainment of people thronging the capital from the different districts.
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ISI camps on foreign grounds training Sikhs New Delhi, April 29 The annual report of the ministry for 2002 and 2003 said the recent inputs suggested that the ISI had established training centres for Sikh youths in Muscat, Dubai, Thailand and Iran with the aim of reviving militancy in Punjab. The report said there were approximately 50 splinter groups of Punjab militants still active in the state. The most active among them were Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Zindabad Force, its splinter group headed by Ranjit Singh Neeta and International Sikh Youth Federation (Rode) faction.
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Bofors case: hearing on CBI appeal starts Delhi, April 29 Describing the high court order as “erronous” interpretation of the apex court judgement in the Jain-Hawala case, based on which the charge sheet was quashed, Solicitor-General Kirit Raval told a Bench comprising Mr Justice S. Rajindra Babu and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur that the first charge sheet in the case was filed by the CBI in October, 1999, after informing the CVC. In the face of it the June 10, 2002, order of the high court was “erronous”, the Solicitor-General said, adding that there was no indication in the Supreme Court judgement on Vineet Narain’s petition in Jain-Hawala case that the CVC’s prior sanction for filing of the charge sheet in a corruption case was required. The Supreme Court had stayed the trial proceedings against Hinduja brothers — Gopichand, Srichand and Prakashchand — before a special court here on December 2, last year, following an appeal by the CBI against the high court order. |
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Prithvi
test-fired Balasore, Orissa, April 29 According to ITR sources, the missile, developed by the Defence Research Development
Organisation (DRDO), was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the Launch Complex III, inside the ITR at 11.27 am. The 300-350-km range Prithvi designed for quick manoeuvrability and war-time efficiency soared into the clear blue skies hitting the built-up target. The ITR sources said the missile could be used as a tactical battlefield weapon. Although it had a range of 250-300 km with a 250 kg warhead, the payload could be increased to 1,000 kg. The missile was a modified version of the indigenous satellite launch vehicle (SLV-3) and used liquid propellant with almost all components made in the country.
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SC gives relief to Muslim
woman New Delhi, April 29 While deciding a legal question arising out of an appeal by one Amina whether such a marriage can be said to be illegal, the apex court said such reasoning could not be accepted. Amina had filed the appeal against a Kerala High Court order holding the marriage void because her husband Hassan Koya had alleged that she was five-month pregnant when he married her 31 years ago, “We are unable to accept this reasoning. It is very difficult to believe that a woman who is five months pregnant will be able to conceal the pregnancy from the husband,” a Bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah and Mr Justice Arun Kumar in a judgment said reversing the high court order and restoring the monthly maintenance of Rs 75 to her since 1979. |
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National memorial for Ambedkar New Delhi, April 29 Besides, the Cabinet approved the proposed amendments to the Companies Act, 1956 and withdraw the Companies Bill 1997. Also, the setting up of a national memorial of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, in NCT of Delhi. The decisions were taken in the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. |
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Killings, mar campaigning in West Bengal Kolkata, April 29 The elections will be held for some 59,000 odd seats in the three-tier panchayat body on May 11 where some 1.29 lakh candidates of the CPM, Trinamool Congress, Congress, BJP and other Left Front partners will contest. During the past two months, 59 major political clashes took place in different districts in which 27 persons were killed and 80 injured. The killed included the workers and supporters of the CPM, Trinamool Congress, RSP, SUCI and Forward Bloc. A huge stock of firearms, including AK-47, LMG, pistols, pipeguns and explosives had been seized. |
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MPs oppose Kalyan’s ‘return’ to BJP New Delhi, April 29 The clearance to these proposed Bills were given by the Cabinet last week. Earlier, BJP MPs from UP opposed any move to bring back former state Chief Minister Kalyan Singh into party’s fold. |
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RED FM launched New Delhi, April 29 RED would soon be launching its operations in Kolkata next week, a press note said. The channel has roped in the legendary Ameen Sayani, besides Usha Uthup and Shamshir Rai Luthra as radio jockeys on the station. RED, which is also the official radio partner for the Samsung IIFA awards, will target audience in the age group of 18-35.
New Delhi, April 29 AIIMS sources said Ms Mishra was conscious but disoriented. She was suffering from sub-acute intestinal obstruction. Investigative tests were being conducted to confirm the type of cancer and the state. |
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In video (
India today successfully test-fired the indigenously built medium range surface to surface missile Prithvi from the Integrated Test Range on Chandipur-on-sea, about 15 km from here, today.
According to ITR sources, the missile, developed by the DRDO, was
test-fired from a mobile launcher from the Launch Complex III.
