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Friday,
June 27, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Advani slams USA for
aiding Pak China turns neutral towards India, Pak Task force to review drought
relief Capt for tie-up with Left for Lok Sabha poll
Contempt notice against
Hazare |
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Experts rushed to anthrax-hit area
Blasts rock Ahmedabad
MiG controversy raked up again Ananth chief of
Karnataka BJP Nagaland peace talks: state govt to stay
away BJP condemns lathi charge NCP workers
join Cong Suicide bid by six
students 2 die after eating rotten beef in WB Bail plea of Shilpa’s
father rejected
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Advani slams USA for
aiding Pak New Delhi, June 26 “We as a government could understand your (America’s) compulsions. But our people may not understand how a country which is leading the fight against global terrorism could give monetary and arms support to a country (Pakistan) which is abetting cross-border terrorism,” Mr Advani said while speaking at a function at the BJP headquarters to condemn the promulgation of Emergency 26 years ago by the Congress regime. Without naming the USA, Mr Advani, in the presence of several Cabinet ministers and top BJP leaders, said: “When you think about us (India) you should not think about the government alone, but also about the people of India.” Referring to his recent visit to the USA and UK, Mr Advani said India’s image abroad had gone up manifold in the recent past due to two factors — excellence of non-resident Indians in various spheres and the successful continuation of a vibrant democracy despite 50 per cent of the people still remaining illiterate. Mr Advani said the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency as the Allahabad High Court held her guilty for electoral corruption and set aside her election and due to the drubbing the Congress had in Gujarat at the hands of the united opposition. Earlier, initiating a debate, BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu said promulgation of Emergency brought to the fore the “fascist attitudes” of the Congress and those who did everything to protect “one person” and “one family”. Asserting that the responsibility of protecting civil liberties could not be rested on the government and politicians alone and that people should remain conscious, Mr Naidu said, “Eternal vigilance is the price for civil liberties”. |
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China turns neutral
towards India, Pak New Delhi, June 26 Post September 11 and post Iraq War-II, China looks at the United States of America warily and is more willing to build bridges with India on one hand and Russia on the other (leading to some experts talking about the possibility of a Russia-China-India triad). The visit of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to China has given a fillip to improving relations between the two most populous countries in the world. Now, they don’t fight shy of declaring their intent of standing united when it comes to important issues like the WTO. For the past four decades, China-India relations remained in the dog house mainly because of the special relationship between China and Pakistan which threatened India politically, economically and militarily. Diplomatic observers say that China as well as the USA gave Pakistan the time, protective umbrella and assistance during the 1980-89 Afghan war to develop its nuclear capability. China’s blatant pro-Pakistan tilt could be clearly seen till as late as May 1998 when India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests and China “condemned” the Indian tests. Besides, China has been mainly responsible for the dangerous relationship between Pakistan and North Korea. While Pakistan received tested designs for its nuclear weapons from China, it got tested launch vehicles (Ho Dong missiles) from North Korea. After having done damage to the security environment in South Asia, China is, now, showing signs of detaching itself from Pakistan’s military adventurism and brinkmanship. This is evident from China’s reluctance to openly support Pakistan during the Kargil crisis. Two former Foreign Secretaries, Mr S.K. Singh and Mr J.N. Dixit, see Mr Vajpayee’s visit to China as extremely significant. Mr Singh said, while Mr Vajpayee was thinking of the next election, the Chinese leadership was thinking of the next generation. Mr J.N. Dixit told The Tribune: “India could have asked for more.” |
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Task force to review drought
relief New Delhi, June 26 However, a close scrutiny of the relief disbursement during the past one year indicates that out of the nine states acutely affected by drought, Rajasthan got 41 per cent of the Central assistance and 38 per cent of total foodgrain relief. Nine of the 17 states which were affected by the drought in over a century were Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra. The Congress-ruled desert state has accused the BJP-led NDA government of discriminating against Rajasthan in the disbursal of drought relief. As the Assembly elections are slated in November, the Congress-led Rajasthan Government wants to shift the blame on the Centre and gain political mileage. However, the BJP has been favouring the state by extending a major portion of the drought assistance to Rajasthan as the party wants to regain control of the border state. Union Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh said: “The Centre does not discriminate on partisan political interests. Such allegations on relief discriminations are baseless.” Defending the measures, Mr Rajnath Singh said: “The state is facing fourth drought year and has lost 75 per cent of kharif and 50 per cent of rabi crop. Therefore, so much of assistance was given to Rajasthan.” He said it had also been decided that farmers who defaulted on loans would not be deprived of the one-year waiver of interest as announced by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A directive to this effect had been given to banks all over the country, he added. |
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Capt for tie-up with Left for Lok Sabha poll New Delhi, June 26 The Chief Minister, who was in the capital for a conference on Panchayati Raj, said he would ask the Congress high-command to go in for such a tie-up. “The CPI and CPI (M) have pockets of influence in the state,” he said. The issue of alliances is expected to be one of the main concerns of the Congress at the party’s brainstorming session in Shimla from July 7. The Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, had said in Srinagar recently that the party was open to alliances and the final decision would be taken according to suggestions of the Chief Ministers, Congress Legislature Party leaders and pradesh Congress chiefs. The relations between the Congress in Punjab and the Left parties, particularly the CPI, are strained ever since two CPI MLAs have joined the Congress. The parties had fought the last Assembly elections together. The state CPI has not lost an opportunity to criticise the Amarinder government in the recent past, but the Chief Minister said all problems between the two would be sorted out once a decision was taken on the tie-up. “However, the final decision has to be taken by the Congress president,” he said. Capt Amarinder Singh said the party MPs had begun preparing for the next Lok Sabha elections. Asked if it meant that the candidates would be repeated, he said the decision would be taken by the high-command. On the ongoing probe against a former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister said action against him would be based on directions of court. “I am not going to say if he will be arrested,” he said. He “welcomed” the proposed visit of the NDA team to the state to assess the situation following allegations of witch hunting against his government. He dismissed the Akali unity as a “Badal-Tohra patch up,” and said the unity was not visible in the panchayat elections. He said nominations of about 25 per cent of Congress candidates had been rejected in the panchayat elections in the tenure of the previous government. He indicated that the Youth Congress chief and Mahila Congress chief in the state could be changed. |
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Contempt notice against Hazare Mumbai, June 26 A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice V.G. Palshikar and Mr Justice D.B. Bhosale gave the direction in response to a contempt petition filed by Sharad Wani, Shiv Sena MLC from the Jalgaon local body constituency, seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Mr Hazare for his alleged derogatory remarks against the judiciary. Advocate R.D. Soni for the petitioner submitted before the court that Mr Hazare had on May 9 this year made a statement that four ministers of the Maharashtra Government —Padamsinh Patil (irrigation), Sureshdada Jain (Civil Supplies), Vijay Kumar Gavit (General Administration Department) and Nawab Malik (Housing) — had indulged in corrupt practices and accumulated properties disproportionate to their known sources of income. This statement had been widely published in newspapers and one of the ministers, Sureshdada Jain, had served a legal notice on Mr Hazare, saying that the allegations were baseless and “had nothing to do with real life”. —
UNI |
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Experts rushed to anthrax-hit area Bhubaneswar, June 26 Director Health Services Dr Niranjan Kar told UNI here today that the Superintendent of the hospital had been asked to constitute the expert body to go to the anthrax-affected village and submit a report to the government within a week. Dr Kar said so far officially only one casualty had been reported from the village while two affected by the disease had been admitted to the hospital. He said preliminary report indicated that consumption of carcass by the tribals had led to the spread of anthrax in the area. At least seven persons were found affected by the disease in the district’s Baipariguda block of whom one died in the hospital two months ago, Dr Kar said. Official sources said the Animal Resources Development Department had despatched a huge quantity of anthrax vaccines to Koraput to prevent spread of the disease. Anthrax has been reportedly found in the tribal-dominated Malkangiri, Koraput and Rayagada districts where the tribals are used to eating carcass. —
UNI |
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Blasts rock Ahmedabad Ahmedabad, June 26 A crude bomb exploded after midnight in an open plot in Valab Wadi, residential area of Maninagar, close on the heels of a powerful explosion on a rented premises opposite Shakari Masjid in the Vatva area around 9.45 pm,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VI) S.M. Katara said. He said those injured in the Vatva incident included a woman who was being treated for temporary hearing impairment. The other person was under treatment at a local hospital. Security measures, meanwhile, have been stepped up in the area following the two blasts, he said, adding that two small “dabba” or tin bombs, one pipe bomb and another crude explosive were recovered from the spot. —
PTI |
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MiG controversy raked up again New Delhi, June 26 Defence experts here said the MiG-21 issue, which would have emotions of several families running high and invites the wrath of critics, should have been allowed to rest. By reeling out statistics in defence of the MiG-21s for almost two hours at the specially organised press meet, the Chief of Air Staff has stirred up the hornet’s nest. Defending the aircraft which form the backbone of the country’s air defence, the Chief of Air Staff also said he would fly a MiG-21s till the end of its technical life. He urged the media not to call the MiG-21s “flying coffins”. The statement of Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, however, clearly reflected the sensitive nature of the issue and the caution with which the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was handling the matter. The experts pointed out that two completely opposite statements from the top IAF and MoD officials on the same day from two places did not actually reflect the issue in good light. Rather than settling the matter amicably to the satisfaction of all concerned it had created more anxiety. It seemed as if the MoD was keen on phasing out the aircraft and the IAF was insisting on carrying on with them despite the severe criticism against them. It also appeared that two arms of the same ministry did not know what the other was doing. There were a few red faces over the contradictory statements in the IAF and the MoD. Officials from the two departments were hard-pressed to explain how divergent statements had emerged on the same issue. Incidentally, both Mr Gupta and the Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy were correct in their statements. What needed to be explained by the minister was that from the large number of variants (a total of nine) of MiG-21s available with the IAF some had been phased out and some were being phased out. The others upgraded ones, would continue to remain in service for at least another eight to 10 years. There was a difference in “end of life” phasing out and general phasing out. The IAF had already phased out the Type-66 MiG-21s and was in the process of phasing out the Type-77 MiG-21s. However, the aircraft which form the backbone of the IAF were the Type-96, acquired between 1970 and 1981 and the MiG-21BIS, (Type-75) having the powerful R-25 engines, which were manufactured indigenously between 1977 and 1987. While none of the MiG-21BIS had been manufactured after 1987, they were now being upgraded with the installation of the latest avionics and weapon systems. The upgradation programme started in 2001 and about 25 of them had been upgraded. After the upgradation of the entire fleet, the MiG-21s would be in a position to serve for some more years. Although this explanation did come from the Chief of Air Staff, the experts pointed out that even this was ill-timed as presently there was no need to rake up the issue. With no real urgency, the matter should have been allowed to rest in peace. |
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Ananth chief of
Karnataka BJP New Delhi, June 26 Mr Ananth Kumar replaces Mr Basavraj Patil Sedam, who had offered to resign six months ago as part of restructuring the state unit. Senior BJP leader Yediyurappa, who had been instrumental in building the party in the Karnataka, has been appointed the chairman of the campaign committee in the state. Talking to newspersons, Mr Ananth Kumar said: “There is no question of sticking to any post, but we are in a transition stage. It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister whether to retain me as a minister or not.” “The Prime Minister will decide on the issue in due course in consultation with Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and party President Venkaiah Naidu,” he added. To a question why he had been appointed as the president of the Karnataka unit when the party’s internal elections were due in September, Mr Ananth Kumar said: “The party men wanted it and the high command has so decided.” Regarding his priorities, Mr Ananth Kumar said it would be his endeavour to formalise and formulate political and electoral campaign strategy in Karnataka to emerge as a strong alternative to the Congress. The BJP had only one MLA in 1987 in the state, while now it has 44 MLAs, 12 MLCs and seven MPs in Karnataka. |
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Nagaland peace talks: state govt to stay away Kohima, June 26 Interacting with mediapersons last night, Mr Rio asserted that the Democratic Alliance of the Nagaland Government had approached mass-based civil organisations in the state to bring about unity among various underground factions and reconciliation among all sections of Nagas. As far as the Naga issue is concerned, the state government could only support the peace initiatives but will never be part of the decision or outcome, he pointed out. To a query regarding a statement made by one of his Cabinet colleagues that he should be included in the talks, Mr Rio said if the Centre wanted his involvement in the process directly then he would consider it. He, however, added that his inclusion in the peace talks did not arise at this juncture. —
UNI |
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BJP condemns lathi charge New Delhi, June 26 The party would oppose this brutality and dictatorial approach, it added.
The BJP workers were observing ‘Black Day’ to mark 28 years of the declaration of Emergency and against the ‘vindictive attitude’ of the Virbhadra Singh-led government. |
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BJP seeks apology on
Emergency New Delhi, June 26 “Many wonder why we are year after year holding functions to condemn the promulgation of Emergency...because the party (Congress), which was responsible for imposing Emergency, has not apologised so far,” Mr Mahajan said. |
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NCP workers
join Cong New Delhi, June 26 Mr Pramod Tewari, Congress Legislature Party leader in the Assembly, said here that the NCP workers, led by Mr Siraj Mehndi, joined the Congress. State Congress chief Jagdambika Pal and AICC General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh affairs Nawal Kishore Sharma were present at the AICC office at the function. |
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Suicide bid by six
students Patna, June 26 A group of students of the dental college has been camping here for the past many days to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards their plight. Lalit Narayan Mithila University is not allowing them to sit in their final examination. Their case is pending in the Patna High Court. In their suicide notes, the students have held the Bihar Governor, Patna High Court, Dental Council of India and many other responsible for their extreme step. |
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2 die after eating rotten beef in WB Kolkata, June 26 Some of the victims, reportedly suffering from anthrax, were admitted to the ID Hospital here. A team of doctors visited the affected area. |
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Bail plea of Shilpa’s father rejected Surat, June 26 Chief Judicial Magistrate R.P. Mehta observed that Surendra’s bail was being rejected as the alleged offence was “serious and grave”. —
PTI |
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With an eye on the Assembly elections in four states, especially Rajasthan, the task force headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr
L.K. Advani, will meet here on June 30 to review the drought-relief measures and chalk out an assistance programme.
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