 |
|
AICC issues notice to 3 Kerala ministers Crackers burst
well past SC deadline Vaid refused
licence for AIDS medicine, moves court |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Talks with
Maoists at crucial stage, says expert Court only way to
resolve Ayodhya, says Mulayam Commanders’
meet to discuss security situation in J&K
2 held for
misbehaving on board Magsaysay winner
Athavale dead
|
|
AICC issues notice to 3 Kerala ministers New Delhi, October 26 The notices were despatched from here tonight to Power Minister Kadavur Sivadasan and Health Minister P. Sankaran, both belonging to the Karunakaran faction, Forest Minister K Sudhakaran (Vayalar Ravi group) and Mr K.V. Thomas, (A.K. Antony group), highly placed party sources here said. “They will receive the notices in two days,” sources added. While the process of disciplinary action was initiated against Mr Sivadasan and Mr Sanakaran for their statements critical of Chief Minister Antony, Mr Sudhakaran and Mr Thomas were sent notices for their open criticism of Mr K. Muralidharan, KPCC chief and son of veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran. The AICC took the decision to send the notices after party President Sonia Gandhi had a meeting with AICC general secretary (in charge of Kerala) Ahmed Patel, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Arjun Singh and Mr L.P. Sahi. The meeting reviewed the crisis in the party in Kerala in the wake of the Ernakulam byelection and Mr Karunakaran’s demand for the removal of Mr Antony. Mr Patel told newsmen that he welcomed the statement of the IUML, the second biggest partner of the ruling coalition that the ruling UDF should be strengthened. The KPCC president has been asked to take steps to halt moves by party leaders that could harm the party’s image in the state.
— UNI |
|
Crackers burst well past SC deadline New Delhi, October 26 Reports of bursting crackers after the deadline were received from various areas of the Capital. To check the expected rise in the level of both sound and air pollution, the Supreme Court had restricted the cracker bursting period, saying festivities and noise could not go together. Meanwhile, President A.P.J. Adbul Kalam wished a Happy
Divali, saying: “Divali is a beautiful festival of lights to light the hearts. Everyone of you can light the heart by taking one family which cannot celebrate
Divali.” He sent the message after returning here on Divali morning at the end of a week-long foreign tour. The President also met with a large number of children who called on him at the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee spent the day meeting people from all walks of life. |
|
Vaid refused licence for AIDS medicine, moves court New Delhi, October 26 Justice Bader Durez Ahmed deferred hearing on the petition by Dr A.M. Krishna from Andhra Pradesh, after the Union Government counsel sought further time to make its stand clear on his plea. Dr Krishna, has also challenged the provision of Rule 106(1) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, which he said was the main obstacle in preventing the grant of licence for manufacturing of a drug for AIDS on any such claim. He has sought direction to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) and the Drug Control General of India to consider the grant of licence for manufacturing of the IHS. Dr Krishna, has referred to an earlier order of the High Court in which he was directed to submit his proposal to the Centre and stated that these authorities had brushed aside his claim without considering the medicine for laboratory tests. The Ayurvedic doctor claimed that IHS, invented by him comprised herbal blend of different herbal plants of proved
medicinal value and had no side effect on the patients. “The medicine is very bitter in taste and patients need to take it thrice a day in the quantity of about 19 gms,” he said adding that it costs about Rs 500. The tests of the medicines on advanced stage AIDS patients, administered through qualified Ayurvedic doctors, were so encouraging that they “recovered from symptomatic stage. But they remain HIV positive without any symptomatic conditions and kept very good health and are leading a normal life.” He said that AIDS was not a disease but collection of 70 or more conditions which result from damage done to the immuno system and other parts of the body as a result of infection by HIV positive virus. Instead of encouraging such efforts for prevention of the dreaded disease, which had posed a great threat to the human life, he said the authorities should have considered to have laboratory tests of the medicine and take a decision. Dr Krishna said he had followed the required process for getting licence under Rule 153 of the Drugs and
Cosmetics Rules and submitted 10 samples of the medicine for testing and reports of its effect on 30 patients, who were examined by three qualified Ayurvedic doctors. |
|
Talks with Maoists at crucial stage, says expert
New Delhi, October 26 The peace process in Nepal is delicate and complex one, but everyone seems to be having stakes in sustaining it at least for the present”, says Prof Muni in his 134 page book ‘Maoist Insurgency in Nepal’. The book, sponsored by Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation and published by Rupa, goes on to trace the roots of the Maoists and their growth along with the present status of the civil strife that is threatening to assume dangerous dimensions. Professor Muni, occupying prestigious Appadorai Chair at Jawaharlal Nehru University and former Indian Ambassador to Laos, has gone deep into the roots of the Maoist insurgency and has vividly presented the possible course that the present negotiations could take in coming months. There are three parties to the conflict and all three would have to converge to make any solution of the problem succeed, says Professor Muni adding that the Monarchy, the Maoists and political parties are the main players. The Indian Government and its response to the Maoist problem in the neighbouring country comes under a sharp focus, when Professor Muni says that “Like most of the other countries, India also woke up to the Maoists’ challenge in Nepal after the escalation of violence in November 2001”. “Until then, for nearly six years since the February 1996 declaration of the people’s war by the Maoists, the Government of India’s approach to the possible threat arising from this insurgency was casual”, says the JNU Professor. There are three possible directions that the peace process may take, he points out. There may be a ‘strategic pause’ during which the pace would be kept deliberately slow with both sides trying to fortify their respective strength and expand their political constituencies, says Prof Muni. The second possibility is that each side tries to out-manoeuvre each other politically and talks collapse ultimately resulting in long drawn violent conflict. The time would be used for purchasing weapons and recruiting cadres. The third possibility is that the King and the Maoists may strike a
deal, leaving the political parties on the fringe.
— TNS |
|
Court only way to resolve Ayodhya, says Mulayam
Lucknow, October 26 “All efforts for a negotiated settlement have failed. Therefore, I am of the firm view that parties concerned should wait for court’s verdict for the resolution of the issue,” Mr Yadav said in an interview to Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi here. He said communal parties were raising the issue time and again to gain political mileage. On Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, the Chief Minister said the issue was no longer relevant after the court judgement. In a lighter vein, he said the issue, however, had been hijacked by the likes of Mr P.A. Sangma and Mr Sharad Pawar. On supporting a congress government at the centre headed by Mrs Gandhi, he said this was a hypothetical question. His Samajwadi Party would decide on supporting a particular government only after the announcement of results of the next Lok Sabha poll, the chief minister said. On uniting secular forces, Mr Yadav said it was difficult to identify who really believed in secularism. He said the Congress was secular only till Rajiv Gandhi was its leader. The Chief Minister said: “The people’s problems must be resolved if we want to defeat communal forces. Mere sloganeering will not help.” Opposing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the newspaper industry, Mr Yadav said “if this is allowed, it will affect the very roots of democratic institutions.” “If FDI is allowed in the fourth estate, then foreign participation is also possible in first, second and third estates. “What will be left of democracy in the country then?” the Chief Minister asked. On tapping of water resources by multinational Cola companies, he said this could have “disastrous” environmental consequences. “It will adversely affect agricultural operations and deny masses the potable water,” Mr Yadav said. Asserting water is not a commodity, he said “it is an irony that people who cry about hindutva day in and day out are siding with the argument that water is a commodity.”
— PTI |
|
Commanders’ meet to discuss security situation in J&K
New Delhi, October 26 Army chief Gen N.C. Vij will give a detailed presentation to Mr Vajpayee and other members of the Cabinet Committee on Security, including Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, on the prevailing security situation in the valley and the recent upgradation of firepower of Army units to meet the challenges. The presentation assumes significance with the Centre now opting for an open dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference and the expected moves by Pakistan-sponsored terrorist outfits. According to defence officials, other highlight of the nearly week-long annual conference will be another detailed presentation on the recently set up the Army’s first-ever artillery division which has come up in Southern Command. The artillery division, includes three to four missile groups which are to be armed with short and medium range Pakistan-specific Agni missiles. Naval chief Madhvendera Singh and Air Chief S. Krishnaswamy are also likely to give presentations on air and naval power projections. For the first time, the Army will release its new quality assurance manual. Western Army Command has recently come with a detailed paper on command on insurgency forces by Armoured Corp and mechanised corp officers which may be endorsed in the Army manual, thereby implying that more officer cadre and personnel from these highly elite units will now be drafted for the insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
— PTI |
|
2 held for misbehaving
on board New Delhi, October 26 The arrested persons Australian Marc Stacey (28) and British Manoj Kumar Dadral (35), were drunk on board and tried to take pictures of two young women with their mobile phones. When the two women and the airhostess objected to their indecent behaviour, the duo had allegedly used foul language for them. The airhostess immediately reported the matter to the pilot, who then informed the ATC about the incident. The police said the two persons were arrested on their arrival at the IGIA airport. |
|
Magsaysay winner Athavale dead
Mumbai, October 25 Athavale, 84, who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership in 1996 and the $ 1.2 million Templeton Award in 1997, is survived by his wife and a daughter. Founder of the ‘Swadhyaya Movement,’ the movement to discover inner-self, Athavale is revered in Maharashtra and Gujarat as a modern day thinker and a social reformer. Athavale, also a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, strived throughout his life to fight inequality, casteism in society and vices among the cultivating and fishermen communities in the two states. The Swadhyaya movement has a following among millions of people from weaker sections in the two states, like Harijans, fishermen and the backward caste Vaghris. Echoing the central philosophy of the Bhagvad Gita and the Upanishads, Athavale or ‘Dadaji’ as he was affectionately called, asked people to recognise the inner presence of God, which leads to a sense of self-esteem as well as awareness of divine presence within a person. Drawing on ‘jnana’, ‘bhakti’ and ‘karma’ yoga, the practice of ‘Swadhyaya’ initiated by him more than 50 years ago has become a formidable force for moral, social and economic change in society.
— PTI, UNI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
