M A I N   N E W S

“I had raised the matter with the Air Chief and a date was fixed but the flight could not materialise because of some engagements,” he told the Lok Sabha during question hour. Meanwhile, he said there were no plans to shift the Air Force station at Ambala from its current location. — TNS, UNI

George’s boycott set to end

New Delhi, July 24
The Opposition’s boycott of Defence Minister George Fernandes in Parliament is set to end by early next week, with the government agreeing to a short-duration discussion on the Tehelka issue in the Rajya Sabha on July 28.

At the initiative of the presiding officers of the two Houses of Parliament, almost a two-year boycott of Mr Fernandes is going to be lifted, sources said, adding that Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was playing a key role in getting the impasse ended.

Meanwhile, the Congress, Left and other Opposition parties continued their boycott of Mr Fernandes over the Tehelka expose today also as they walked out of the Lok Sabha as soon as he rose to reply to a query during question hour. Soon after Speaker Manohar Joshi asked Mr V.M. Sudheeran (Congress) to put a question to the Defence Minister, the member declined to do so. — TNS