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India not to lower guard on border
BJP meeting on poll strategy
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Cong begins process to pick candidates New Delhi, October 27 The Congress today started the process of finalising party candidates for the coming assembly elections in five states with its Central Election Commission (CEC) meeting here.
PM launches BSNL ‘CellOne’ in Nagaland |
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Poll process in Mizoram set in motion Iraq may become another Vietnam for USA Broker Hiten Dalal’s bail plea rejected Dawood’s brother seeks bail Notice to Centre, ASI on Red Fort renovation SC upholds life term for double murder Regulatory board sole authority on power tariff: SC
Witnesses identify
blast accused SP leader’s son
held with drugs Gopal not to be chargesheeted Man seeks date with PM, detained Four-time CM Lyngdoh dead Lieut-Governor of Pondicherry dead
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India not to lower guard on border New Delhi, October 27 Chief of Army Staff General N.C. Vij said here that not only would the troops remain posted at all crucial posts along the Line of Control (LoC) during the hard winter months ahead but Army’s all operations against the terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir would continue unabated. Though the Army chief did not elaborate on the pull back, reports suggested that unlike in previous years troops will not move back from forward posts in Titwhal, Kel and Machil sectors in Kupwara in North Kashmir and from posts in Gurez and Kanzalwan areas in adjoining Baramula district. The decision is of significance as there were earlier reports that Pakistan was imparting some terrorist groups with winter fighting training and would try and push them into India during the coming months so that they can again occupy higher reaches like in the case of Kargil. As the top commanders from Army, Navy and Air Force began their five-day crucial annual meeting to assess the country’s security situation, the Army chief for the first time also indicated that country’s political leadership, including the Prime Minister, were totally involved in operational war games being conducted by the three services to ensure that there is a smooth chain of command in times of conflict. He however, pointed out that the political leadership had been involved in the operational matters in the past also. “This is not the first time that the political leadership would be involved in operational scenario, including war games for future conflict threats”, Gen Vij said after laying a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti to commemorate Infantry Day. Incidentally, Prime Minister Vajpayee is scheduled to address the combined commanders’ conference on November 1 where he is expected to address the top hierarchy of the armed forces regarding various strategic matters. He would also be first given a graphic presentation by the Army chief regarding the prevailing ground situation, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. Army’s views of the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir would be of importance to the political leadership keeping in view the recent offer made by the Centre to All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to come forward for talks. The move has been appreciated not only by other countries but even by the expatriate Kashmiri groups. There is a feeling here that the Pakistani-sponsored groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and others may attempt to derail the talks by carrying out some strikes. The Army chief in his brief interaction with the media said that with upgradation of firepower of anti-insurgency units and boosting up of the surveillance capabilites, the last few months had seen more of militant interceptions as well as sharp downswing in fidayeen attacks on military installations. According to Defence officials, other highlights of the nearly week-long annual conference would be a presentation on the recently set up army’s first ever Artillery Division in the 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.
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BJP meeting on poll strategy
from November 7 New Delhi, October 27 During the meeting, to be chaired by BJP President Mr Venkaiah Naidu, the 17-member committee will chalk out strategies to oust the Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi and make inroads in Mizoram, party spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told mediapersons here today. The committee would be aided by the inputs provided by the state units about the political situation in the states and the issues to be focussed upon by the party during the election campaign, Mr Naqvi said. The meeting, to be held at the Prime Minister’s house, would also finalise the tour programme of the party’s top leaders. Prior to this meeting, the Central Election Committee of the party would meet for three days from November 3 to finalise the names of the candidates for the Assembly poll. The final selection of candidates would be based on the inputs given by the party’s state units. He said the party would launch its election campaign from the date the Election Commission issued a formal notification. Mr Naqvi denied reports that Bollywood stars were being roped in to campaign for the party. “Only film stars like Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini and Vinod Khanna, who have either taken membership of the party or have been associated with the party, will campaign,” he added. |
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Cong begins process to pick candidates New Delhi, October 27 The deliberations are likely to continue for the next three days under the chairmanship of party President Sonia Gandhi. During the three-day exercise, lists of party candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Chattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram, sent to the central organisation by the respective screening committees of the states, would be discussed and
scrutinised. Mrs Gandhi had appointed separate committees headed by senior party leaders for the states going to the polls to screen the lists before forwarding these to the Central Election Committee. This has considerably reduced pressure on the
CEC. Dr Manmohan Singh heads the committee for Rajasthan, Mr Motilal Vora and Mr Pranab Mukherjee for Delhi and
Chattisgarh, respectively, and Mr G Venkataswami for Madhya Pradesh. However, the task of scrutinising the affidavits of candidates, which they are required to submit to the Election Commission in keeping with its directives and the Supreme Court verdict in this regard, is bound to take time, party sources pointed out. The Congress was the first to ask aspirants for the party ticket to submit in advance affidavits meant for the EC with details regarding criminal antecedents, if any, moveable and immoveable assets, liabilities and dues and educational qualifications. The party is likely to take up Madhya Pradesh first to finalise candidates for the 230-member assembly. Rajasthan will be taken up tomorrow and Chattisgarh on Thursday. |
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PM launches BSNL ‘CellOne’ in Nagaland Kohima, October 27 Talking to Communications Minister Arun Shourie in Delhi through the new service, Mr Vajpayee said his message today was “Let the talks continue. Let the dialogue proceed. Let distances be removed. Let confidence be built and let us together create peace and accelerate the development.” Mr Vajpayee told Mr Shourie over phone that he did not know much as to how mobile phone technology worked, but he knew that “it is all about connecting people. It is all about removing distances and it is all about making life better.” Thanking the Prime Minister for taking special interest in developing communication technology in the North-East, Mr Shourie said India had been the fastest growing telecom market in the world. Nagaland is the third state in the North-East to get the mobile phone service, the first being Assam and the second Meghalaya. Mr Shourie, who was earlier Minister for NE development, told the people of Nagaland: “The faster you bring peace to the North-East, you will see this (NDA) government will spare no effort to help develop Nagaland.” Nagaland Governor Shyamal Dutta and Chief Minister N. Rio, who also talked to Mr Shourie on the phone, thanked Mr Vajpayee and the minister for making available the service in Nagaland. —
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Poll process in Mizoram set in motion New Delhi, October 27 The notification was issued by Governor Amolok Rattan Kohli. While counting of votes in Mizoram would take place on December 2, for the other four states it would be on December 4. The tenure of the 40-member Mizoram assembly ends on December 7. |
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Iraq may become another Vietnam for USA New Delhi, October 27 But the major worry of the Bush Administration is that this cost is going to go further up substantially in the coming months as Iraq is fast threatening to become a Vietnam-type quagmire for Washington. The Americans are investing far more in Iraq than what they expected to earn by selling Iraqi oil. And this disparity is going to get wider as attacks on pielines and oil infrastructure continue. But American interests in Iraq are not limited to oil and in consideration of long-term geo-political and strategic interests, the Bush Administration is willing to pump huge amounts of money into Iraq. According to American figures, the US Budget deficit and trade deficit are pegged at $ 455 billion and $ 500 billion, respectively, and the figures are going to go up with the ever-increasing global commitments of the American armed forces. Things have already started hoting up for the US in Afghanistan, ruling out the possibility of any reduction in the American forces there. The most serious aspect of the American trouble is not financial burden, but increasing bodybags which President Bush cannot afford to ignore when presidential elections are about a year away. Yesterday’s audacious attack on the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz in a Baghdad hotel and an equally shocking incident of downing of an American helicopter in Saddam Hussein’s native town of Tikrit show the extent of American malaise in Iraq. |
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Broker Hiten Dalal’s bail plea rejected New Delhi, October 27 Rejecting their petitions, a Bench comprising Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal and Mr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan said there had been no change in the circumstances warranting consideration of their plea since the same were rejected earlier on July 14. Dalal was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment by the trial court, along with co-accused A D Narottam and Anil Narichania, for cheating investors and financial institutions. Their appeals are still pending before the Bombay High Court. |
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Dawood’s brother seeks bail Mumbai, October 27 In his bail plea, Kaskar’s lawyer Shyam Keswani pleaded that the police had not made any case against him under the special anti-crime law and he be released bail. Kaskar’s bail plea would come up for hearing on tomorrow. This was the first time Kaskar sought bail since his arrest after his extradition to India earlier this year. Kaskar and two others, including Ejaz Pathan, are in judicial custody till October 28. The court had dropped murder charges against Kaskar and he was accused of using muscle power to grab real estate in different parts of Mumbai. He had been arrested for the murder of police informer Ravindra Singh in 1998. The charges were dropped subsequently. Two of the buildings allegedly developed by Kaskar — Sara and Sahara shopping centres — are located opposite the Mumbai police headquarters near Crawford Market in downtown Mumbai. Kaskar had left India in the early 80s along with his brothers Dawood, Noora, Anees and Mushtaqeen. Since then, he has been in Dubai, running Ibrahim’s legitimate businesses. The others are reported to be in Karachi. Kaskar’s case is being watched at the highest political level in Maharashtra. According to sources here, the release of Kaskar on bail will have severe political repercussions on the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine in the state. Maharashtra goes to the polls next year and the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combine may make political capital if Kaskar is released on bail, it is felt. Police officials here feel that the release of Kaskar on bail will be a major fillip to the D-Company, as the gang is called. Dawood is on the run after being declared an international terrorist. |
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Notice to Centre, ASI on Red Fort renovation New Delhi, October 27 Issuing notices to the Cabinet Secretariat, the Union Ministry for Culture and Tourism and the
ASI, a Bench comprising the Chief Justice, Mr V.N. Khare, and Mr Justice
S.B. Sinha directed them to file their affidavits within two weeks. The matter was brought before the court in a public interest litigation
(PIL) by seven citizens from the capital, led by Rajeev Sethi, who was recently awarded Padma Bhushan for his contribution in the field of development of arts and handicrafts. The court also issued notices to the respondents on an application seeking stay of the renovation being carried out jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and the
ASI, which included beautification of the area around the Red Fort. |
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SC upholds life term for double murder New Delhi, October 27 A Bench comprising Mr Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat upheld the High Court order reversing the trial court judgement, acquitting Kamaljit Singh, a worker of Goetze Foundry at Bahadurgarh in Patiala in the case. Rejecting the appeal of Kamaljit Singh against the High Court order, the apex court said the Sessions Court at Patiala had committed error in analysing the evidence in the case by “ignoring valuable and credible evidence”. |
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Regulatory board sole authority on power tariff: SC New Delhi, October 27 A Bench, comprising Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur, in a recent judgement, has said tariff for intra-state transmission of electricity and tariff for supply of electricity in wholesale, bulk or retail has to be determined by the electricity regulatory commission of the state and a licensee cannot by its unilateral action enhance the charges. This ruling has been given by the Bench while referring the dispute relating to payments over supply of power between the Tata Power Company and the Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply Company to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for fresh consideration. —
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NE women being smuggled to Punjab Kolkata, October 26 According to Mr P.
Bhattacharjee, IG, CID, they had the information of such a gang operating in the Indo-Bangladesh border areas in West Dinajpur in North Bengal when some teenaged girls who were being smuggled to Bengal for handing them over to an Arab agent at high prices were rescued. Last year, one such linkman was caught in the border town of Balurghat and six girls between six and 10 years of age were rescued. The police has come to know about the existence of another gang engaged in the trafficking of women to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the CID official said. The DG of police, Mr D.
Bajpayee, also confirmed the report. The state government has suggested to the Centre that the help of Interpol be sought to crack down on the international gang involved in the operation. The Punjab police recently alerted the police authorities in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Bihar against the operation of a notorious gang involved in the trafficking of women. |
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Witnesses identify
blast accused Mumbai, October 27 The case against the four bombers who planted two car bombs in Mumbai on August 25 has been further strengthened with witnesses identifying them. Witnesses identified Sayed Abdul
Hanif, his wife Fehmida, daughter Farheen and another accomplice Ashraf
Ansari. So far the four have been accused of setting off bombs at the Gateway of India on August 25 and inside a BEST bus at Ghatkopar in Central Mumbai a few weeks earlier. The cab driver who ferried the four to Gateway of India survived the blast and identified all the four. The police killed Nasir, the alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba operative who recruited all bombers last month. All four have been charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for their role in the Ghatkopar and Gateway of India blasts. They will now be charged under POTA for the Zaveri Bazar blast as well. |
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SP leader’s son
held with drugs
Mumbai, October 27 A team from Ul-refa police station in Dubai raided Hotel Imperial and arrested Mr Azmi’s son Farhan, Mr Chhabria’s son Bobby, Mr Sippy’s grandson Shaan and one Prasad Dandekar on October 21, they said. The Dubai police had contacted the Interpol and their counterparts in Mumbai for more details about the four, the sources said, adding information about them had been provided to them. —
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Gopal not to be chargesheeted New Delhi, October 27 A Bench comprising Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice Ashok Bhan ordered continuation of the interim order till the court delivered its verdict on a petition filed by Gopal challenging certain provisions of POTA and seeking CBI inquiry into the cases instituted against him by the state government. —
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Man seeks date with PM, detained New Delhi, October 27 |
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Four-time CM Lyngdoh dead Shillong, October 27 His battle in the Assembly poll never saw him as a loser. He was returned to the House for eight terms since his debut in the electoral battle in 1957. —
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Lieut-Governor of Pondicherry dead Pondicherry, October 27 He was as admitted to government hospital here today due to a cardiac problem and his condition was stated to be serious, hospital sources said. The 83-year-old Malkani complained of chest pain in the evening and he was rushed to the hospital. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, some of his Cabinet colleagues, party leaders and senior officials were in the hospital. —
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