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Tuesday,
May 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Scrap Bengal poll: BJP; toll rises to 25 One more slip by George Hand over
Uphaar, plead Ansals POTA
slapped on editor of Kashmir Press NDA
teacher held for Mulund blast |
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PM security breach: youths freed Notice to
Centre on plea to book Togadia Mukherjee
gets bail in DDA scam Simultaneous
poll in five states ‘Astra’
test-fired for third time
Mozambique President
Joaquim Albarto Chissano inspects the guard of honour at a ceremonial
reception hosted for him at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday.
— PTI photo Shambhu
leaves Samata One
dies as docs refuse to examine
Eunuch’s
election annulled
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Scrap Bengal poll: BJP; toll rises to 25 Kolkata, May 12 While the body of local CPM leader Basu Bhakat was recovered from Jamboni today, two party workers, who sustained serious injuries yesterday, succumbed in hospital. The police said CPM local committee secretary Basu Bhakat was kidnapped by Jharkhand Party supporters yesterday at Pukuria when he was returning to Jamboni from Jhargram. Of the 25 killed in poll violence, 13 belonged to the CPM and seven to the Congress, while two belonged to the SUCI and one to the Trinamool Congress. Meanwhile, the State Election Commission has ordered repolling in 107 booths in different districts. Repolling in 99 booths will be held today. Repolling in the remaining eight booths will be held tomorrow. The counting of votes will start tomorrow. NEW DELHI: Terming the West Bengal Panchayat elections as “the biggest fraud” played on the people of the state, BJP President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday demanded scrapping of the poll and also suggested a Constitution amendment to bring all State Election Commissions under the purview of the Central Election Commission. The BJP President said that there was no institution to which complaints could be made and suggested amending the Constitution to bring all State Election Commissions under the purview of the Central Election Commission.
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One more slip by George New Delhi, May 12 Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Ministry of External Affairs are aghast at Mr Fernandes’ categoric pronouncement that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be visiting China next month. It is understood that no such visit is taking place in the near future though Mr Vajpayee himself and his government attach immense importance to Beijing and the Prime Minister is keen on visiting the eastern neighbour at the earliest available opportunity. The foreign office spokesman today gave a cryptic one-liner reply to a question regarding Mr Fernandes’ statement regarding the Prime Minister’s China visit and said “no dates have been finalised yet” for Mr Vajpayee’s China visit. When pressed further by journalists who demanded to know whether the Prime Minister would be visiting China next month as stated by Mr Fernandes, the spokesman merely commented: “When the dates are yet to be fixed, it can be any month.” The sources said there was little possibility of the Prime Minister visiting China next month in view of the fact that China was currently in the grip of the deadly disease, SARS. Though Mr Fernandes himself has visited China just recently, the sources said national security considerations did not allow the Prime Minister to be exposed to such unnecessary threats. Mr Vajpayee’s China visit has been on the cards since the last quarter of last year and it was put off then largely because of the changes in the top-level political structure in China. The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave for a three-nation week-long tour of Russia, Germany and France on May 28. Apart from this visit, he does not have any foreign tour schedule “as of now”, the sources said. It is understood that the Prime Minister’s senior Cabinet colleagues as well as the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) are wary of the increasing belligerence of the USA and Washington’s double standards on the issues of Pakistan and terrorism. They argue that India can best tackle this situation by fostering good relations with China, cementing ties with Russia and other major western countries like France and Germany and by giving a major boost to India’s economic ties with the European Union (EU). Mr Vajpayee’s visit to China, whenever it materialises, will be of immense strategic and political significance as the Prime Minister will be using this opportunity to embark on this new long-term strategy of India. |
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Sinha
leaves for Russia today Foreign office spokesperson Navtej Sarna told reporters today that
Mr Sinha would be co-chairing the ninth session of the Indo-Russian
Inter-Governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific,
Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC) starting on May 15. |
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Hand over Uphaar, plead Ansals New Delhi, May 12 Senior advocate Ashok Desai pleaded before Mr Justice B.N. Chaturvedi that in order to meet the needs of the victims, the Ansals, the owners of Uphaar, were willing that “the amount of Rs 12 crore approximately from the sale of the theatre could be deposited in the Delhi High Court subject to further remedies and the court order.” The theatre-owning company was studying the high court’s April 24 judgement, directing it to pay the compensation, Ansals’ counsel said. “The company would decide what further step, if any, they should take,” he said. According to the counsel the total amount, including compensation and interest at the rate of 9 per cent as ordered and the Rs 2.5 crore punitive damage had been calculated to be more than Rs 19.47 crore by the company. The CBI, which had sealed the theatre, told the court that Additional Solicitor-General R.N. Trivedi, who is dealing with the case, would make a submission in this regard. Since he was out of the city the CBI sought adjournment of the case. |
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POTA slapped on editor of Kashmir Press New Delhi, May 12 The seizures were made during raids at his Srinagar-based residence and office, the sources said. The seizures indicated that Bhat was channeling the money between the ISI and militants in the country. He was arrested just after he received money from a hawala operator. The police had recovered Rs 6.5 lakh from his possession besides a wrist watch with an
in-built camera, a mobile phone and Chinese pistol and magazines. |
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NDA teacher held for Mulund blast Mumbai, May 12 Anwar Ali, teaching Urdu at the NDA, was arrested last night and produced this afternoon amidst tight security before Designated Judge A.P. Bhangale. He is the ninth accused to be arrested in Mulund bomb blast case. According to the police, Anwar had alleged links with activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India.
PTI |
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PM security breach: youths freed
New Delhi, May 12 The police had released the third intruder, a minor, yesterday itself after his interrogation. Rinku Kumar and Ravi Kumar, both aged 20, were released from the Tughlaq Road police station in central Delhi after they furnished a bail bond of Rs 5,000 and a surety of an equal amount. The three youths had strayed into the motorcade of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the Subramanian Bharti Marg near Khan Market in south Delhi.
UNI |
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Notice
to Centre on plea to book Togadia New Delhi, May 12 Taking cognisance of a criminal writ by one Kamran Siddiqui, whose similar petitions were rejected by the high court earlier, a Bench comprising Ms Justice Usha Mehra and Mr Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, directed the Union Home Ministry, the Police Commissioner and the Delhi Chief Secretary to submit their replies by August 22. The notices were issued by the court after Mr Siddiqui submitted before it transcripts of video film recorded while the speeches were made by Mr Togadia and other VHP leaders on March 23 and May 4 at the Capital’s Ram Leela grounds, as evidence for its perusal. The petitioner said he had written several letters to the Union Home Ministry, the Delhi Government and the Commissioner of Delhi Police and also lodged a formal complaint with the police for registering an FIR against Mr Togadia and other VHP leaders under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but no action had been taken so far. He said the video films had been obtained by him from a TV channel, which had recorded the events live, to show how “damaging” they were for the secular fabric of the country. “The speech, specially made by Mr Togadia during the ‘trishul deeksha’ ceremony organised by the VHP on May 4, was targeted against a section, particularly the Muslims, which warranted action against him for spreading communal disharmony and distrust among different sections of society,” he contended. While the authorities should have taken “suo motu” action for registering a case in this regard, they failed to take any step even after he had written letters to the Home Ministry, the Chief Secretary of Delhi and the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Mr Siddiqui said. |
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Mukherjee gets bail in DDA scam
New Delhi, May 12 Special Judge Prem Kumar ordered his release in view of the Delhi High Court’s May 5 order, granting him 30 days’ interim bail on the ground that he has to attend ailing wife and old-aged mother. Mr Mukherjee has already furnished a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety for the same amount as had been directed by the high court in its order, the Special Judge was informed by Mr Mukherjee’s his counsel. The court directed him to surrender before it on June 12 on expiry of the interim bail. Mr Mukherjee, accused of passing a judgement in favour of a hotelier in a DDA land dispute case in return for allegedly receiving gratifications from him, was arrested on April 30 by the agency. The CBI has registered a corruption and criminal conspiracy case against the former Judge, sacked DDA vice-chairman Subhash Sharma, another DDA official Ashok Kapoor, hotelier Vinod Khatri and conduit Dharmabir Khattar.
TNS |
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Simultaneous
poll in five states Mount Abu (Rajasthan), May 12 Speaking to reporters here on Monday, he said the commission would strive to stop people with criminal antecedents from contesting the elections. Efforts were on to issue identity cards to every voter. Mr Krishnamurthy reviewed the voters’ list at a meeting with district officials here. The commission was trying to rectify any mistakes that might have crept into the lists in the past, he said. NEW DELHI: Taking cognisance of complaints about irregularities in electoral rolls in Ujjain and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission has asked a three-member team to probe it. The team led by EC Consultant K.J. Rao left for Bhopal on Sunday to make an on-the-spot inquiry into complaints of bulk addition and deletion of names from the rolls in some places in these two districts, EC sources said here today. During its three-day stay, the team would visit both places. |
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‘Astra’ test-fired for third time Balasore, May 12 The sleek 3.8-metre high missile was fired from the specially erected launcher at 10.50 a.m. Developed by the DRDO, the missile has a striking range of 25 to 40 km providing it a beyond visual range interception capability, the sources said.
PTI |
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India, Mozambique sign MoU
New Delhi, May 12 The agreement, signed by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister for Science and Technology, and Mozambique’s Minister for Higher Education and Science and Technology, Ms Lidia de Brito, here, envisages, among other things, setting up of a joint working group to identify specific areas for cooperation. The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and visiting Mozambique President Joaquim Aberto Chissano. The visiting Mozambique President, later met President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. An MoU in the field of agriculture and a bilateral inter-governmental science and technology was signed.
TNS, UNI |
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Shambhu
leaves Samata New Delhi, May 12 Mr Shrivastva met Congress President Sonia Gandhi today. Mr Shrivastva, who has resigned from the primary membership of the Samata Party, denied that his resignation was linked to internal problems in that party and perceived differences between Mr Fernandes and Mr Nitish Kumar. Congress General Secretary R.K. Dhawan and Political Secretary to Sonia Ahmed Patel were present at the AICC briefing. |
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One dies as docs refuse to examine Madurai, May 12 The victim’s relatives told reporters here today that they rushed him to the hospital late in the evening, but they were told there was no doctor in the ward due to the strike. They were advised to fake him to a private hospital and their plea that they could not afford it fell on deaf ears. The patient died after three hours, the relatives said. The stretcher boys allegedly demanded Rs 500 for removing the body to the mortuary for a post-mortem. The angry relatives then blocked the emergency ward and held a dharna for more than two hours. The body was handed over to the relatives after the intervention of the police.
PTI |
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Eunuch’s election
annulled Gorakhpur, May 12 The Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Mr
A.N. Upadhyaya, while announcing the verdict, said Asha Devi was not a woman and the mayoral seat was reserved for women. The decision was taken on the writ petition of Mr Anju
Devi, another candidate for the post, challenging Asha Devi’s election.
UNI |
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A
professor of the National Defence Academy based in Pune was arrested
under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in connection with the Mulund bomb
blast and produced before a special court which remanded him in police
custody till May 26.
In
video (
New
Delhi, May 12