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Sunday,
May 11, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Govt for legalising political
funding Advani for federal terror combat
force Hope for emigrants to
Canada
Most zoos ‘defying norms’ ‘Akash Ganga’ dominates air
show |
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States given 10 weeks
to hike judges’ salary 3-day remand for Hizbul
conduit CPM flays move to send troops
to Iraq Rabri stomps out
Brar writes to Sonia Ah, Taj at
Chennai Haryana, Punjab get awards
Chautala addresses rally Five of marriage party die in mishap
2 kids die of measles
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Govt for legalising political
funding New Delhi, May 10 These bills were ready for Cabinet clearance and would now be introduced in the monsoon session, Law Minister Arun Jaitley told mediapersons after the introduction of the National Judicial Commission (NJC) Bill. Any donation of more than Rs 10,000 made through cheque to a political party by a company under the proposed legislation would be treated as expenditure and the company would get 100 per cent tax rebate on it, he said. The parties would be required to have compulsory audit of their accounts and submit the list of the donors to the Election Commission, apart from the Income Tax Department, the minister said. Elaborating the provisions of the NJC, he said it would comprise three seniormost judges of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, the Law Minister, a nominee of the President to be appointed on consultation with the Prime Minister. But the commission would have no power to remove a judge as this would be solely done through impeachment, he said, adding it was necessary to uphold the independence of judiciary. The commission would have the power to lay down its own procedure for the appointment and transfer of judges, he said. “Most of the political parties, except the Congress, had said that they had no objection to the setting up of the NJC,” he claimed. |
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Advani for federal terror combat
force New Delhi, May 10 “The Centre’s conduct with all states has been even-handed”, Mr Advani told the India Today’s Chief Ministers’ conclave here today. Referring to the menance of terrorism, particularly the cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and insurgency in some parts of North-Eastern region, he said there was urgent need to set up federal police force to deal with such ‘well defined crimes’. Such a force would not encroach upon the powers of the states rather would help all states. Criticising certain parties for adopting the approach of “political untouchability” towards some others, he said such an attitude should not come in the way of national interests.” Mr Advani said at times he faced criticism for having “a good functional relationship” with Chief Ministers of Opposition-ruled states of West Bengal, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to ‘BIMARU’ states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the DPM said these states accounted for 40 per cent of the total populace. The socio-economic revival of these states was “one of the strategic components or our strategy to make India a developed nation by 2020,” he said. He also expressed serious concern over the “alarming decline” in the male-female ratio in the developed states of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. |
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Hope for emigrants to
Canada New Delhi, May 10 “The judgement in the Dragon case, which helped 102 applicants to be assessed under the old rules for permanent residency in Canada, has opened up doors for all such applicants, who had applied prior to June 28, 2002, when the law was changed,” Canada-based Worldwide Immigration
Consultancy Service (WWICS) Managing Director B.S. Sandhu told media persons here today. Stating that more than 40 per cent of emigrants to Canada were from Punjab, Sandhu said the the new regulations, had made getting clearance of papers difficult. The country needed more than two lakh professionals from various fields, he added. Canada-based US lawyer Timothy Leahy, who was chief litigator in the Dragon case in which the judgement came in January, 2002, told reporters that there was a lot of opposition both in Parliament and outside to the new regulations introduced by the
Canadian government, which had now put the regulations under the Immigration Refugees Protection Act (IRPA). The lawyer said the rules were changed in the mid-process and then the Canadian immigration authority applied those to the people who had already applied and paid their fees. “This was like someone being in the line for three years, and when he finally gets to the front counter, he is told that the rules have been changed, and only by way, we are keeping your money.” Mr Sandhu said. Mr Leahy said in Canada a law suit of this nature would take at least an year to be settled and the WWICS would ensure that the applicants, who had applied before June, 2002, were assessed only under the old rules. Under the new rules, an applicant has to score a minimum of 75 per cent marks based on stringent criteria fixed by the Canadian immigration authority. Only around 170 applicants could qualify since June, 2002, he said. |
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Most zoos ‘defying norms’ New Delhi, May 10 The norms relate to administrative and staffing pattern, design and dimensions of animal enclosures, hygiene, feeding and upkeep, animal care, health and treatment, veterinary facilities, breeding of animals, maintenance of records, display of information about animals, facilities for visitors and development and planning. Of the 370 zoos which applied for recognition to the CZA in 1993, 346 were found valid for inspection by a panel of experts sent by the CZA. Of these, 180 were refused recognition. While 90 zoos have closed down after suitable relocation of animals, the remaining may be given reprieve. The government proposes to relocate 11 zoos in the country due to problems of inadequate space and negligible technical support system — veterinarian and curatorial. CZA member-secretary P.R. Sinha told TNS that they had issued circulars to the state governments inviting proposals for improving their facilities by April-end. “With no response in sight from 90 zoos, we have decided to put up a proposal to the Minister for Environment and Forests who is also the CZA chairperson to convene a meeting of all chief wildlife wardens to tell us if they have any alternatives in mind to run the zoos with the assistance of a voluntary
organisation or a corporate. Although we have identified zoos that need to be relocated, we cannot be very harsh. We have to give them six months to relocate the animals.” |
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‘Akash Ganga’ dominates air show Hyderabad, May 10 The spectacular show, organised at the picturesque Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city, enthralled the people who gathered in large numbers to witness the hour-long event. Organised by the IAF in association with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department, the air show covered flag-trooping, flypasts, small body formation, a mock combat involving a raid by MIGs and interception by SU-30 fighter planes over the lake and sky-diving. Governor Surjeet Singh Barnala, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, state Tourism Minister T. Srinivas Yadav and city Mayor T. Krishna Reddy were present on the occasion. A thunderous applause rent the air as nine Surya Kiran aircraft performed a series of breathtaking aerobatics in the sky with tricolour fumes adding colour to the event. The show began with three Chetak helicopters, carrying the tricolour and the IAF flag, dropping flower petals on the gathering. This was followed by flypasts and small-body formation involving Kiran, Jaguar and Dornier aircraft.
PTI |
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States given 10 weeks
to hike judges’ salary New Delhi, May 10 The states, which had failed to implement the pay scales, included Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and some north-eastern states. The direction was issued by a Bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Mr Justice M.B. Shar yesterday when chief secretaries of 17 states were summoned by the court to explain the reason for the delay in implementing the 1999 recommendations of the Shetty Commission. Punjab and Haryana had issued notifications for implementation of the recommendations after the court had summoned the chief secretaries last week. The other states had already implemented the recommendations.
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3-day remand for Hizbul
conduit New Delhi, May 10 The police said that Rs 6.5 lakh and one Star-make Chinese pistol along with 16 live cartridges were recovered from his possession. The conduit was a close associate of Syed Salahuddin, supreme commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen. He was also editor of Srinagar-based news agency, Kashmir Press Service, and a daily newspaper, Tameel-i-Irshad. He had been allegedly getting funds for the militant outfit in Jammu and Kashmir through hawala channels for the past six years, according to the police. He had been allegedly receiving funds for the outfit sent by the ISI through hawala channel since 1997. Moiudin was earlier picked by security agencies in September 2001 at Wagah border in Punjab while returning from Pakistan on a regular visa but was let off after interrogation. The police said that Moiudin was involved in a vicious campaign against the security forces after the killing of Farooq Mirza, a close aide of slain Hizbul leader Abdul Majid Dar. He also kept track of activities of journalists in the valley and anybody writing objectively on militant activities, and used to inform the Hizbul Mujahideen, who then intimated them. He also used various pseudonyms and acted as a spokesperson for the outfit. |
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CPM flays move to send troops
to Iraq New Delhi, May 10 In a statement, the CPM politburo said here that the Vajpayee government “is eager to extend cooperation to the USA in its occupation plans of Iraq”. Stating that the current visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is not only connected with the Indo-Pak relations but also with the role India can play in Iraq, the CPM said the Indian, who were opposed to the American war on Iraq, would not accept the use of Indian troops for America’s mercenary purposes. |
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Rabri stomps out Chief Minister Rabri Devi walked out of the conclave. While leaving, she said a wrong picture was being projected of her state which she would not tolerate. Accompanying her was her husband Laloo Prasad Yadav, who threatened to burn copies of the magazine. Mr Yadav was, however, later persuaded to stay on and have his say. Rabri Devi, however, did not return. While addressing the function, Mr Yadav flayed the government and the Planning Commission for “discriminating” against Bihar in allocation of funds. Recalling that at the time of carving Jharkhand Prime Minister Vajpayee had promised a special package for his state, Mr Yadav said, “till today not a single paisa had been given. |
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Brar writes to Sonia New Delhi, May 10 AICC sources said Mr Brar, who was relieved from the position of whip for defying the party’s boycott of Defence Minister George Fernandes, has replied to the ‘memorandum’ given to him by the party’s Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Shivraj Patil. The sources said Mr Brar has also written a separate letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi about the “injustice” done to him despite his writing a letter of apology to her almost immediately after the “mistake” of putting a question to the Defence Minister on the calling attention motion. Mr Brar has also sought a meeting with Ms Gandhi. |
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Ah, Taj at Chennai Chennai, May 10 While it took 17 years and hard labour of 20,000 workers to build the original white marble monument of Agra, this plaster of paris, timber and plywood structure was erected in just over a month by a 300-member team at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore as part of a series of consumer exhibitions being organised at the grounds during this summer. The replica, designed and erected under the direct supervision of Tamin-Anand Shinde, the well known art director duo of Bollywood, has the typical Taj ambience with fountains and gardens akin to the surroundings of the original one in Agra. The replica was opened to the public last evening coinciding with the inauguration of ‘Zak India International expo-2003,’ the 109th exhibition organised by the Chennai-based Zak Trade Fairs and Exhibitions private ltd.
PTI |
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Haryana, Punjab get awards New Delhi, May 10 The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), the nodal agency in the state for promotion and
development of non-conventional energy sources and energy conservation in the state, has also won honours. According to a state government spokesman, the achievements made by PEDA under Solar Photovoltaic water pumping programme has been awarded first prize for 2001-02.
New Delhi, May 10 Addressing a ‘Kisan Sammelan’ in Sikar today, he said that due representation would be given to women, youth and senior citizens in the allotment of party tickets for ensuing Assembly elections. Mr Chautala appealed to people of Rajasthan to bring a political change in the state. He alleged that those in power in Rajasthan were dividing the people on lines of caste and religion to extend their rule. |
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Five of marriage party die in mishap
Lucknow, May 10
The police said here today that four persons died on the spot while one succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital. The marriage party was going to Sambaur village in Sitapur from the adjoining Lakhimpur Kheri district.
UNI
Fatehpur (UP), May 10
Medical sources here said Babu (3) and Shivam (4) succumbed to the disease which spread fast in the tehsil due to dirty water and unhygienic surroundings. However, all residents of the village had now been administered vaccine against measles, sources said adding the spread of the disease in the area had been completely controlled.
UNI |
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