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PM presents
bravery awards to 26 children
Tight security
across country for R-Day Kalyan is set to
join BJP 4 cops suspended
in Telgi case |
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Pandits’ role
in talks demanded CPM to correct
historical mistake on Netaji Cong
wants Kalam to reprimand govt Cong
seeks Advani’s resignation Notice to Ambuja
on power tariff ILO cautiously
optimistic on jobs in 2004 No to stay on CVC
Act directive Controversial UP
minister quits Thane police
nabs Pak national Gang-rape
accused remanded
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PM presents bravery awards to 26 children
New Delhi, January 24 He was speaking after presenting the National Awards for Bravery set up by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). A total of 26 children were chosen for the awards in 2003. Mr Vajpayee specially appreciated five girls from Haryana who opposed the attempts of forced marriage of two children. “These girls showed extraordinary courage in standing up against a social evil and saving two children from being victimised.” Sarita Tyagi, Swati Tyagi, Neelam Rani, Sunita Devi and Sushma Rani opposed the marriage of two girls aged 12 and 6, whose father had decided to clear his debts by approving their marriage to grown-up men. Despite the threat of being beaten up, the five girls stiffly opposed the attempts and the marriages were ultimately stopped. The Prime Minister also awarded three boys who took off their red shorts and ran on the tracks to stop a passenger train which would have otherwise derailed. Nitin Uttamrao Kakde, Dyaneshwar Manikrao Kakde and Raju Namdev Kakde belong to Parva village in Maharashtra. C. Vanlahhruaia, Lalamdinthara and Asit Ranjan Samal were honoured posthumously for their act of bravery. Chuneshwari Kothalia, a six-year-old girl, was the youngest to be awarded by Mr Vajpayee. She had saved her two-and-a-half-year-old brother from a fire while their parents were away. The fire brought down the house but Chuneshwari brought Deepak out safely while neighbours stood watching helplessly. Minister for Human Resource Development Murli Manohar Joshi was also present on the occasion. ICCW President Andal Damodaran said the winners had helped preserve values relating to family, society and the nation.
— UNI |
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Tight security across country for R-Day
New Delhi, January 24 The national capital, where President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will take salute at the historic Rajpath in the presence of the country’s top leadership, including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, besides chief guest and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has already been placed under a multi-layered security blanket. The lawns flanking the Rajpath, India Gate and Red Fort have been sealed with hundreds of security personnel maintaining a strict round-the-clock vigil. Security measures have also been beefed up at Indira Gandhi International Airport, vital installations, around prominent hotels, tourist spots and other public places in view of intelligence reports about specific threats to these. All buildings flanking the eight-km route would be taken over by security personnel tomorrow, a day ahead of the celebrations, to prevent terrorists from using rocket launchers or missiles to target the parade. In Jammu and Kashmir, security forces have been put on high alert and additional troops mobilised. Maulana Azad Stadium in the state’s winter capital Jammu, venue of the main function where Governor S.K. Sinha will take the salute, has been sealed off and sharpshooters and commando units positioned around it. Extra security measures are being taken in the North East, where insurgents have called for bandh on the Republic Day. In Meghalaya, special operations are being carried out in various areas in the backdrop of repeated attacks on security personnel by insurgents in the last few days. Garo Hills is the main focus of the joint operation of Meghalaya and Assam Police forces along with the CRPF. Additional deployment of troops has been made in Assam and a round-the-clock vigil was being maintained. Security forces have also been alerted in Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur. Extra security measures are also being undertaken in other states of the country, particularly Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
— PTI |
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Punjab tableau to showcase folk dance New Delhi, January 24 The dance used to be performed by tribal women only. This song-dance symbolised happiness and was performed on occasions like marriages, festivals or while visiting
pirs. |
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Kalyan is set to
join BJP Lucknow, January 24 Rashtriya Kranti Party President Kalyan Singh said that the confusion over his return to the BJP would be "clear" within the next few days. "The question whether I would join the BJP or not would be clear within the next few days," he said here today. There was a stream of visitors who met Mr Kalyan Singh at his residence here, a majority of them were BJP workers. "I am meeting with some of my old friends," he said. Over the speculation that Mr Kalyan Singh has put forth conditions for his return to the BJP, he said: "This is wrong. Neither have I put forth any condition, nor has BJP national general secretary Pramod Mahajan put any." "In politics, no one is untouchable. Politicians act according to time, therefore no one should ever think that I had distanced from the BJP," he said. State BJP president Vinay Katiyar also held a meeting with Mr Kalyan Singh today. |
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4 cops suspended in Telgi case
Bangalore, January 24 The four are Assistant Commissioner of Police Sangram Singh, Inspector, City Crime Branch, Val Basha, Sub-Inspector V.A. Khan and Deputy Superintendent of Police, K.M. Muddaiah. The Home Department issued an order placing them under suspension, the sources said.
— PTI |
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Pandits’ role
in talks demanded New Delhi, January 24 "The dialogue between the Indian government and Kashmiri groups is a major step for establishing peace and stability in the region," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi in a statement here. The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum (JKDF) in a statement said for the success of the dialogue process the Centre should also invite Kashmiri Pandits and hard-line separatists for the talks. Welcoming the beginning of the dialogue process, it said: "The two sides should come out with a solution which may be acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and restore peace in the strife-torn state." |
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CPM to correct historical mistake
on Netaji Kolkata, January 24 The politburo and the central committee at the three-day meeting beginning from January 28 will also discuss the political situation and finalise its strategy in the ensuing Lok Sabha poll. The CPM leadership, including Mr Jyoti Basu and Mr Harkrishen Singh
Surjeet, have already announced that the party Mr Anil
Biswas, also a politburo member and the party secretary, West Bengal said beside deciding on the party’s poll strategy, the leadership at the Hyderabad meeting might also pass a resolution to rectify their past mistake in
the assessment of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s contribution to the Independence movement. During the Second World
War, the then CPM leadership had made some derogatory remarks against him
(Netaji was called a traitor and a quisling!), which were also recorded in the party document. But now we realise that it was a mistake, Mr Biswas admitted. The state Chief Minister, Mr Buddadeb
Bhattacharjee, demanded there should be a re-assessment of Netaji’s contribution to the country. He admitted like many others the CPM also undermined
Netaji’s contribution and now we understand that was a blunder on our
part, he said. Incidentally, this year for the first time, the CPM formally observed Netaji’s birthday celebration under the party banner. However, this stand of the CPM, had been criticised by the party’s adversaries as an attempt to woo the voters in the
coming Lok Sabha poll. Mr Bhattacharjee admitted that some books written on Netaji which carried wrong words about him unfortunately, had been recommended as text books in some schools and colleges in the state. He announced all these books would be corrected and re-written. before allowing them to be
read as text books. |
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Cong wants Kalam to reprimand govt New Delhi, January 24 Since the government did not prorogue Parliament after it was adjourned sine die last December, next week’s session called by the NDA government to seek a vote on account will, therefore, be considered as a continuation of the last session. As a result, the government has been able to avoid the President’s Address to the joint session of Parliament, which is to be held at the beginning of the year’s first session. The Congress memorandum, it is learnt, will point out that the NDA government’s move is violative of the spirit of the Constitution and indicative of the “exclusion of the President.” It will also quote past precedents when the year’s first session always began with the President’s Address even when a government intended to constitute a new Parliament before March 31. The Congress maintained that the NDA government’s election schedule would have remained undisturbed even if it had held the joint session of Parliament. If there had been a Presidential Address, the NDA government would also have to hold a debate on the motion of thanks, which would have given an opportunity to the Opposition to attack the government’s claims on the “feel good factor” and the pre-election sops it has announced this month. By avoiding the Address and the subsequent debate, the NDA government had staved off this attack and the necessity of replying to the debate. With the Parliament session to be held on January 29, Congress President Sonia Gandhi called a special meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee today primarily to discuss this issue. There was a general consensus that the party should highlight this matter. The party’s legal experts, including Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi and
H.R.Bharadwaj, were subsequently called for another round of discussions with senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh where this memorandum was finalised. After submitting a memorandum to the President, the Congress also plans to raise it in Parliament when it opens next week. |
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Cong
seeks Advani’s resignation New Delhi, January 24 “Mr Advani should accept moral responsibility for this sensational escape since Burail Jail is under the direct charge of the Centre,” AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni said here today. Ms Soni said the Home Minister constantly speaks of national security, but in this case the Centre had failed in its responsibility to check the security at a Central jail. She said the Home Minister ought to make enquiries about the state of security in Punjab, Haryana and adjoining areas after this incident as the people here were feeling particularly vulnerable. |
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Notice to Ambuja on power tariff New Delhi, January 24 The state government had challenged the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s judgement directing it to refund the tariff charged, amounting to Rs 13.90 crore along with 9 per cent interest, to Ambuja since September 1995 when the company had started production at its Darlaghat plant in Solan district. The high court had upheld the right of Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd to enjoy the benefit under the power tariff freeze policy of the state even for running its plant during the peak load hours specified by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) and also for producing clinker, an intermediate product for manufacturing cement. A Bench comprising Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Mr Justice G.P.Mathur, while seeking reply from Ambuja to the HP’s special leave petition (SLP), declined to stay the judgement of the high court. Senior advocate Mr M.N. Rao, appearing for the state, along with Additional Advocate-General J.S. Attri contended that the high court had “erred” in arriving at the conclusion that Ambuja was entitled to the power tariff hike waiver even during the peak hours and production of clinker. Mr Rao said as per the agreement with Ambuja the benefit of power tariff freeze was available to the company for the first four years but it was not available for running the plant during the peak hours as per the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) notification of January 1994. The Himachal Government alleged that Ambuja, which was supposed to produce about 8 lakh tonnes of cement annually, had not fully complied with the provision of the contract under which it had to manufacture 75 per cent of cement and 25 per cent of clinker. Though there was no bar on the export of clinker, Ambuja instead of meeting the production target had produced more clinker than the permitted limit and used the electricity tariff freeze incentives for this, the state government said. |
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ILO cautiously optimistic on jobs in 2004 New Delhi, January 24 “It’s too early to say that the worst is over,” said Juan Somavia, Director- General of the ILO. “However, if current estimates of global growth and demand hold steady or improve over the coming year then the global employment picture may brighten somewhat in 2004,” he said. The annual jobs report said the overall global unemployment rose in 2003 to 185.9 million or 6.2 per cent of the total workforce despite economic growth after a two-year slump. He said, “Our greatest concern is that if the economic recovery fails to pick up and our hopes for more and better jobs are further delayed then many countries will fail to cut poverty by half as targeted by the millennium development goal for 2015.” In South Asia, the report said the unemployment rate remained stable despite 5.1 per cent of the GDP growth. Consequently, South Asia saw no decline in working poverty. |
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No to stay on CVC Act directive New Delhi, January 24 However, the court issued notice to the Centre on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the restoration of the “single directive” by the government in the CVC Act, passed in September last year. |
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Controversial UP minister quits Lucknow, January 24 The Samajwadi Party MLA from Agra Cantonment told newspersons here today that he was forced to resign following the government’s decision to remove the principal of Agra Medical College Ghayasuddin Qureshi. “Mr Qureshi was the first Muslim Principal of the college and he was removed against my wishes. I resigned as I failed to protect the interests of the Muslim community,” he claimed. Mr Bashir said he tried to meet the Chief Minister several times but had not been successful in conveying his grievances to the SP supremo. Announcing that he was firm on his resignation, he said he would continue to be a member of the SP in the state Assembly. Earlier today, he held a demonstration at the Hussainganj crossing here for the alleged manhandling of his gunner and driver by the police.
— UNI |
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Thane police nabs Pak national
Mumbai, January 24 Thane Police Commissioner Suprakash Chakravorty told reporters here today that it was yet to be established if Abdul Rehman Taj Mohammed Khan Pathan alias Junglee Pathan — the Pakistani national held, was an ISI operative. Earlier, Inspector in-charge Ravindra Angre of the anti-extortion cell of the Thane police, while talking to PTI had claimed that Pathan was an ISI operative. Chakravorty informed that Pathan was nabbed by the anti-extortion cell of the Thane police near J.J. Hospital of Central Mumbai last night. Pathan, he claimed, had recently contacted a resident of Mumbra and asked him to get two fake passports prepared for two Kashmiri residents. When the resident refused, Pathan is alleged to have assaulted
him. — PTI |
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Gang-rape accused remanded Ahmedabad, January 24 The five comprise Seema and Shreya Jaiswal (mother and sister of Sugam Jaiswal, who is in judicial custody), Pannalal Jaiswal (owner of Ashok Palace Hotel, where the alleged gang-rape occurred), Anand Jaiswal (Pannalal's son-in-law) and Ashok Patel (a carry and forwarding agent of ‘Mahek Gutka' from Anand district). Meanwhile, Sajal Jain, the prime accused whose three-day police remand ended today was sent to judicial custody, even as the police submitted an application seeking his re-arrest in the offence of suicide registered by the victim.
— PTI |
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