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Wednesday,
August 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SC declines stay in
Babri Masjid case Choose sentiments or ‘raj dharma’, Cong tells
Vajpayee Debate exposed Opposition, says BJP
Defence panel favours one rank, one
pension
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10-yr corporate safety plan for
Railways
Ashwani Kumar’s book
released Sonia to launch mobile diagnostic unit scheme Bangladesh objection on river linking rejected
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SC declines stay in
Babri Masjid case New Delhi, August 19 A Bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice H.K. Sema and Mr Justice S B Sinha, however, ordered tagging of the writ petition with a review petition against the Allahabad High Court order allowing the transfer of the case from the Lucknow Special Court to the Rae Bareily court. The court said the matter should be listed for hearing after a week before an appropriate Bench. The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Wajahat Ansari, was mentioned before the Bench by senior advocate S.C. Maheshwari, appearing for him. The petitioner had sought stay of the proceeding before the Rae Bareily court on the ground that the CBI in its supplementary chargesheet, filed before it on May 30, had dropped the charge of conspiracy under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Mr Advani, Mr Joshi, VHP leaders Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Sadhvi Ritambara and BJP leaders Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar in violation of the laid-down procedure. Besides these leaders, the petitioner has named the Uttar Pradesh Government, CBI and the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Rae Bareily as respondents. The petitioner accused the state government and CBI of “indulging in gross motivated, malafide and colourable misuse of power in order to subvert the provisions of Section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code.” As per the provision laid down in the section, no fresh chargesheet could be filed in a case after the court had taken cognisance of a chargesheet already filed before it, the petitioner contended. Since the chargesheet had already been filed in the case way back on October 5, 1993 before the Lucknow court and a review petition against the Allahabad High Court order permitting the transfer of the case to Rae Bareily was still pending before the apex court, the filing of fresh chargehseet was not warranted in the case, the petition said. “The filing of the subsequent chargesheet before the special court of the ACJM at Rae Bareily by the CBI by deleting the offence under Section 120-B of the IPC, is not sustainable in law,” it said, adding the premier investigating agency, bound to protect the rule of law, could not be allowed to “abuse the laid-down procedure at the behest of political masters”. “The violation of the law by the CBI in filing the fresh chargesheet in the guise of a supplementary chargesheet without any cause of justification warrants emergent interference by the apcx court,” the petitioner said. The petitioner also claimed that the explanation given by the Law Minister on the issue “is completely contrary to the record of the case.” |
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Choose sentiments or ‘raj dharma’, Cong tells Vajpayee New Delhi, August 19 Hitting out at Mr Vajpayee’s poem on “Aar-paar ki ladai”, Congress Chief Whip Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said Indira Gandhi actually pushed the enemy far in the “Aar-paar ki ladai” (fight to the finish). “Aar mein reh gaya Vajpayee, paar mein reh gaya Musharraf, beech mein George Bush aur hum sab khush (Vajpayee remained this side, Musharraf that side, in between was George Bush and everyone was happy,” he quipped causing laughter in the House. Mr Dasmunshi, who accused Mr Vajpayee of shifting stands frequently on vital and contentious issues like the Ram temple, said at the funeral of Mahant Paramhans he became “sentimental” and spoke of the temple while at the Red Fort he became “awakened” and said “kadam mila kar chalna hoga”. The Congress leader said he liked Mr Vajpayee’s poetry but would advise that as Prime Minister he should be “awakened” and not “sentimental” citing the example of Lord Rama. “Either you lead a life of sentimentality or follow ‘raj dharma’ (ethics of governance) and carry out your responsibilities,” Mr Dasmunshi said participating in a debate on the no-confidence motion. —
PTI |
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Debate exposed Opposition, says BJP New Delhi, August 19 “The motion was supposed to be a show of opposition unity but now they must be cursing those who advised them to go for it. The Opposition unity has been torn apart and they have been unable to split the NDA,” BJP spokesperson V.K. Malhotra told newspersons here. Mr Malhotra said during the course of the debate the opposition unity stood exposed on many important issues, including the Women’s Reservation Bill, Ms Sonia Gandhi’s leadership and boycott of Defence Minister George Fernandes. “Not only has the CPI opposed the CPI (M)’s decision to back Ms Sonia Gandhi, but even some leaders of the Left Front in West Bengal have expressed reservations about it,” he claimed. |
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Cong, SP differ on Women’s Reservation Bill New Delhi, August 19 During the course of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s speech on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha today, Mr Yadav wasted no time in reminding the Congress that a way was found for trashing out a consensus on the Women’s Reservation Bill and it was the Congress which had pressed hard on the issue. He said the SP had placed an alternative and the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister had agreed to it but it could not be pushed through. Mr Yadav said he deliberately avoided the issue during his speech yesterday to prevent a picture of disunity within the Opposition. Sitting right next to Mr Yadav, veteran CPI-M leader Somnath Chatterjee looked uneasy as differences surfaced between the Congress and Left and strong opponents like Samajwadi Party. |
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Rajya Sabha passes
Bodo Bill New Delhi, August 19 The Opposition, barring Samajwadi Party and the AIADMK, which has been boycotting the House over the CVC issue came to participate in the voting as Constitution Amendment required presence of at least 50 per cent of members and two-thirds majority for the passage. Minister of State for Home Swami Chinmayanand moved the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2003, and the Constitution (Ninetyninth Amendment) Bill. The Bill makes specific mention about the Bodos, the Bodo Accord which was signed on February 20, 1993, with All-India Bodo Students Union and Bodo People’s Action Committee. |
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Defence panel favours one rank, one
pension New Delhi, August 19 “The committee have been recommending for the grant of “One Rank One Pension” to the armed forces personnel time and again. The committee would like the Inter-Ministerial Committee to complete its task speedily,” the PAC, in its 20th report tabled in both Houses of Parliament today, said. Declaring that the nation must repay its debt to defendents of the motherland, the committee, chaired by Madan Lal Khurana, drew the attention of the government to the plight some ex-servicemen who were struggling to survive on a paltry pension and asked it to re-examine the two schemes which had earlier been rejected. The committee also strongly recommended that the weightage given to various categories of retired defence service personnel should be reviewed so as to give full benefit to the personnel of the lower ranks who retire early and suffer the most on account of the 33 years conditionality for grant of full pension. “The committee recommended that the condition of 33 years of qualifying service to get full pension at 50 per cent of the last pay drawn for the past 10 months should be reviewed in respect of armed forces personnel who serve in adverse conditions and in-hospitable environment throughout their career and, for no fault of theirs, retire comparably at a young age in the interest of the nation,” the committee said. The committee called for giving ex-servicemen insurance cover till death irrespective of their ranks and reservations for wards of servicemen in professional institutions. The committee also called for setting up of special court of appeal, independent of Service Headquarters, where those charged by military courts could appeal within 90 days. It said such courts should be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court and his judgement could only be reviewed by the apex court. Stressing on the importance of cadre review in armed forces, the high-level Parliamentary committee asked the government to study the A.V. Singh Committee report in this regard expeditiously. |
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10-yr corporate safety plan for
Railways New Delhi, August 19 “As announced by the Prime Minister on August 15, Indian Railways will go for technology mission on railway safety in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, IIT Kanpur and the Consortium of Industries for developing appropriate technology”, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar said. “Safety-related projects have to be clearly defined, planned, funded and executed. Maximum has to be squeezed from minimum. At the same time, railway assets must not become bottomless pits for constant investments”, he said. The plan has been prepared as recommended by the Railway Safety Review Committee, headed by Justice H.R. Khanna, he said. He said the endeavour was to minimise fatalities in accidents and the plan objectives could be treated as an “intermediate stage in our efforts to realise a vision of accident-free and casualty-free railway system”. Outlining the objectives, strategies and targets for reducing train accidents and improving safety, Mr Nitish Kumar said the Rs 31, 835-crore plan had been envisaged for safety enhancement which included funds already available under the Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF) and the Railway Safety Fund. The plan also envisages stepping up non-budgetary initiatives to meet additional requirements for money, he said adding a special safety scheme might also be resorted to with assistance of the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance. The need for the corporate plan, the Railway Minister said had been felt for quite some time so as to have a safety blueprint on technological inputs, work culture, managerial focus and required investments. To sustain the public pronouncement that safety was not compromised for the shortage of funds, he said although budgetary support was increasing, it was still not coming up as per requirement. Investment policy and norms were getting re-focussed in this pursuit and creation of SRSF was the first bold step, he said adding to give more and more safety shelter, “it appears necessary to reorient our investment policies and sustain the system by not permitting any accumulation of arrears of replacement at any stage. |
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Ashwani Kumar’s book
released New Delhi, August 19 Releasing a book ‘Law, Ideas and Ideology in Politics: Perspectives of an Activist,’ written by Congress MP Ashwani Kumar, the former President said emphasis on the country’s constitutional principles was extremely important in the present times. Congratulating Mr Ashwani Kumar, he said the book had laid a lot of emphasis on constitutional morality. Describing him as a friend, a creative person and a thinker, Mr Narayanan said the author had introduced new ideas which were needed by the society. “The book is beginning of your career in political activism,” he added. Praising his work as a lawyer, former Chief Justice of India Rangnath Mishra, recalled his
appearances before the court during the Bhopal gas case. “When a lawyer becomes acceptable on facts, it is easy for him to proceed,” Mr Misra said. Introducing the book and the author, senior journalist Dilip Padgaonkar said Mr Ashwani Kumar was among the few politicians who were low on rhetoric and high on political insight. Mr Ashwani Kumar, said, belongs to the species whose existence was threatened. “He does not qualify to be a successful politician as he does not shout and does not rush to the well of the House.” Taking a dig at the media, Mr Padgaonkar said it had eye only for high drama. “The media has entered the entertainment mode,” he said. He said the compendium of topical writings had been compiled to coincide with the first anniversary of his membership of the Rajya Sabha. He said the book was dedicated to the memory of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was “an inspiration.” The 224 page book, brought out by Har-Anand publications, is a collection of Mr Ashwani Kumar’s writings, articles, interviews besides speeches delivered in the Rajya Sabha. Divided into four parts, it comprises reflections on constitutional and economic issues, international relations, law and terrorism, and politics and civil society. |
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Sonia to launch mobile diagnostic unit scheme New Delhi, August 19 Being launched to commemorate Rajiv Gandhi’s 59th birth anniversary, the scheme is Punjab Government’s maiden initiative to ensure the availability of advanced diagonstic facilities to the people living in remote areas of the state through mobile diagnostic vehicles. The mobile diagnostic vehicles, initially six in number, will be deployed in the remote areas of Punjab, specially in the border areas of Gurdaspur, Ferozpore, Amritsar and the kandi region. A medical officer, a pathologist, a lab technician, an opthalmic assistant and a woman assistant will be on each mobile unit. |
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Bangladesh
objection on river linking rejected New Delhi, August 19 Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said, “As a general rule, countries should not jump the gun and seek information on an issue and then see if there is any ground for protest. It only complicates matters.” Sources said Bangladesh was trying to draw political mileage from the issue for domestic consumption. They said the two countries, as close neighbours, could have handled the issue in a “more mature manner.” They added that India had shown a great degree of generosity to Bangladesh by signing the Ganga Water Treaty, keeping in mind the needs of the neighbouring country. |
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