Saturday, May 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Ramachandran, Ajit Singh quit Cabinet

New Delhi, May 23 On the eve of impending Cabinet reshuffle, the Union Minister of State for Finance, Mr Gingee N. Ramachandran, and the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, resigned from the government. While Mr Ramachandran quit the Vajpayee ministry in the wake of the arrest of his personal assistant (PA) Perumal Swamy for allegedly accepting bribe for transferring an Income Tax official, Mr Ajit Singh quit amidst tremendous pressure from the BJP and a word from the Prime Minister’s Office to put in his papers lest he will be dropped.

G.N. Ramachandran Ajit Singh

HOROSCOPE

WEEKLY

In Windows today

Degrees of deception by D. S. Cheema Passion royale for pampering pets by Roshni Johar TALKING POINT ‘Tyrant’s’ inimitable exchange with an ‘idiot’ by Satyendra R. Shukla It is attitude that counts, faith that prevails by R.C. Sharma

THE TRIBUNE MAGAZINES

On alternate Mondays

On Sundays

On Saturdays

Giani Iqbal Singh sticks to stand 
Amritsar, May 23
The Jathedar of Takht Patna Sahib, Giani Iqbal Singh, has said that the hukamnama (edict), declaring Mr Mohinder Singh Romana, president of the management committee, as tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct) would not be withdrawn as he was competent to pronounce the same as per maryada (Sikh tradition).

Punjab page: Badungar’s clarification on hukamnamas

Pak ex-envoy named as accused
New Delhi, May 23
The Delhi police has named former Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner to India Jaleel Abbas Gilani as an accused in the case of alleged funding of separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, but has put him in column number 2 of the charge sheet, indicating that he would not be sent for trial.

Bhajan’s arrest stayed till May 28
Faces case of murderous attack
Fatehabad, May 23
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Darshan Singh, has stayed the arrest of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal till May 28 in a case relating to criminal intimidation and murderous attack registered against him here last night.

Haryana page: FIR against Bhajan 'motivated'

HC judge’s name included in FIR
Chandigarh, May 23
In a major development the CBI today added the name of a Punjab and High Court judge and the SSP, Jalandhar, after getting directions from the Union Home Ministry, in the corruption case involving the suspended Jalandhar District and Sessions Judge, R.M. Gupta and the UT Judicial Magistrate S.S. Bhardwaj.

Punjab gets clean chit in ADTOs’ selection
New Delhi, May 23
Giving the Punjab Government a clean chit in the selection of Assistant District Transport Officer, (ADTOs), the Supreme Court has lambasted those who had challenged the selection process as it found them guilty of misrepresentation and concealing material facts before the court. 

BACK BENCHERS — 1  Poor results in border belt Schools without heads; teachers absent Amritsar, May 23 Reports of large-scale mass copying notwithstanding, the poor result of plus-two in the district, especially in schools close to the zero line, has once again exposed the pitiable standard of education in the border belt. The result of Government Senior Secondary School, Tarsikka, has come as a rude shock to parents and the gram panchayat.