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Party authorises Sonia to talk to Surjeet at centre
stage again
BJP hopeful of
300 seats Reddy may finally
realise his dream AP Assembly to be
constituted today,
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No Army for
Chhapra repoll Liberhan panel
gives last chance to UP Govt Singapore to hold
military exercises in India Cave paintings
discovered in Alwar SC upholds
acquittal of three for murders Prosecution of
AIIMS ex-official upheld Hearing in
Salman case on June 9
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Party authorises Sonia to talk to non-NDA partners New Delhi, May 11 It, therefore, initiated post-poll moves in that direction with the party authorising Congress president Sonia Gandhi to talk to its pre-poll allies and non-NDA partners and take any step deemed fit for the formation of a secular alternative. Mrs Gandhi had a 30-minute meeting with CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet in this connection and is also learnt to have spoken to NCP chief Sharad Pawar. This is likely to be followed by a meeting between the two when Mr Pawar comes to Delhi on May 14. In Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC
in charge Vyalar Ravi had a breakfast meeting with NCP leader Sharad Pawar where the three are learnt to have discussed the emerging post-poll scenario. Congress leaders appeared confident that Mr Pawar would not defect to the NDA and would instead help rally further support for the secular alliance. For instance, it was pointed out, that he could help influence senior leaders like former PM Chandra Shekhar. The Congress is well aware that projection of Mrs Sonia Gandhi as a Prime Ministerial candidate may drive away its allies. It
is, therefore, not pushing her candidature overtly. At the same time, not closing its options on this issue. “Sonia Gandhi is our undisputed leader, our star campaigner. We fought the elections under her leadership. Now let’s wait for the results on May 13,” is the party’s latest position while maintaining that the alternative non-NDA secular government will be led by the Congress. Realising that the BJP will make a concerted effort to woo its pre-poll allies, the Congress believes its first priority is to guard against a breach in its ranks. This matter apparently figured at a special strategy meeting called by Mrs Sonia Gandhi this evening where the general consensus was that its allies must stick together. The Congress has set up a core
group, comprising senior leaders, to talk to the allies. Mr Surjeet, on his part, is in touch with Samajwadi Party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav. The Constitutional options available to the President in case of a hung Parliament also figured at today’s meeting. It was felt that it was absolutely imperative for the Congress to keep its flock together for any desertions from its ranks would help the NDA to reach Rashtrapati Bhavan first with letters of support from 272 members. Congress spokesperson Ambika Soni’s repeated assertions today that the party will “stay and work together” with all its allies in Andhra Pradesh was a message to its other partners that the Congress is not an unreliable party. The Congress believes that its landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh will inspire confidence among its allies about the party’s strength. |
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Surjeet
at centre stage again New Delhi, May 11 The Congress President called upon CPM General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet to unite secular forces under one platform to form a Congress-led coalition government at the Centre. The Congress move is seen as a process to bridge differences it had with other secular parties and evolve a
strategy to prevent the BJP-led NDA from coming back to power. The veteran Marxist leader, after a 30-minute meeting with the Congress President, said he favoured a Congress-led coalition but Ms Sonia Gandhi’s “foreign origin” issue was a matter for discussion. A way, however, would be found out. “We will all work together. It will be a coalition government and not that of any party .... the Congress strength is more and, therefore, it has to be acceptable,” he said when asked whether the coalition would be led by the Congress. Asked whether the differences between the Congress and the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party would create hurdles in such an endeavour, the veteran leader said there were major differences between the Left and the Congress, in Kerala and West Bengal, but these did not come in the way of meeting a challenge unitedly. “We don’t want any compromise which will help the NDA. The NDA has been exposed as a front of the BJP. That is a big challenge. We should make people aware of it and not allow the BJP to come to power,” he said. Asked whether smaller non-NDA parties could be supported by the Congress from outside to form the government, Mr Surjeet said: “Such support does not work. In my long experience in politics, such support by a bigger party has not worked”. He said the priority was to form a united front of non-NDA parties and the issue of formation of government was not that ticklish given the fact that there were many experienced leaders who had handled various portfolios. Mr Surjeet said the Andhra Pradesh results not only indicated people’s disenchantment with the Chandrababu Naidu government in the state, but an anti-incumbency wave across the nation against the NDA. He said his party was already in touch with the Samajwadi Party, the RJD, the Janata Dal (Secular) and others as part of its attempt to provide a viable alternative to the NDA at the Centre. He refused to give any details. He, however, made it clear that the main claim of the single largest party in the grouping could not be overlooked. |
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BJP hopeful of 300 seats New Delhi, May 11 “We gracefully accept the verdict of the people in the Andhra Pradesh assembly poll. However, we believe that the outcome for the Assembly poll will not influence the Lok Sabha poll results,” BJP General Secretary and party spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told mediapersons. Even as the party evaded questions on efforts being made by it to rope in other possible allies in the event of the NDA falling short of the magic figure of 272 seats, sources said top leaders of the party had already began the exercise of establishing informal contacts with leaders of prospective allies like the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the DMK and the Nationalist Congress Party. Citing the precedence of simultaneous poll in Maharashtra in 1999 when the BJP-Shiv Sena government was voted out but the combine bagged 28 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, Mr Naqvi asserted that the Lok Sabha results would not be influenced by the outcome of the Assembly poll in Andhra Pradesh. “Going by our feedback and ground realities, we are confident of forming the government at the Centre with over 300 seats under Mr Vajpayee’s leadership,” he said. Mr Naqvi said the party had no regrets over the decision to advance the poll dates in Andhra Pradesh. The move was “well thought out” keeping in view the ground circumstances and the political climate at that point of time, he said. He, however, admitted that a severe anti-incumbency wave against the TDP and the Telengana issue had “influenced” the poll results in Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, an internal survey conducted by the BJP has predicted as many as 327 seats for the NDA and 242 seats for the BJP. |
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Reddy may finally realise his dream Hyderabad, May 11 The 55-year old firebrand leader, who assiduously built up a mass base for himself and the party through his arduous “padayatras” across the state, may finally realise his long-cherished dream. But running a government may not exactly be a cosy affair for the medical doctor-turned-politician, who is not comfortable with his ally
TRS’ strident demands for a separate Telangana state. TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao does not consider Dr
YSR, as he is known, a friend either and will try to make life difficult for the Congress government on Telangana issue. While Mr Reddy has always stuck to his position that the Congress will recommend constitution of a second states’ reorganisation committee to go into the issue of separate statehood for various regions in the country, Mr Rao wants a firm commitment on securing a separate Telangana within six months. The TRS is expected to build up more pressure on the issue to take its battle to its logical end. This may not exactly gel with Congress interests. The other issue that will test the mettle of the new government will be fulfilling the promise of free power to the agriculture sector. Dr YSR vowed that the first task of the Congress government would be to sign on the file providing free power. This is easier said than done, considering the state’s frail financial health. Increased naxalite activity is another problem that the new Congress government is saddled with. Increased Naxalite activity is another problem that the Congress government is saddled with. The Naxalites, most prominently the People’s War Group (PWG), had for the first time, openly declared their support to the opposition parties and warned people against voting for the TDP-BJP combine. In this backdrop, the Congress government will be morally bound to lift the ban on the militant outfit and put a stop to the so-called encounter killings, as it had promised. Which again is a tough decision to take from the administration point of view, considering that the police has been waging a relentless war against Naxalism for years now. |
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AP Assembly to be constituted today, says EC New Delhi, May 11 Deputy Election Commissioner A.N. Jha told mediapersons here today that the counting for the 542 Lok Sabha seats, excluding Chhapra where repolling is scheduled for May 31, would be held in 1213 centres spread over 854 towns across the country. A total of about 350 million votes, constituting 55 per cent of the 670 million voters, would be counted. Jha said the notification for the constitution of the 294-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly would be issued today to fecilitate convening of the Assembly session within the mandatory six-month period. Asked if the commission had taken any decision on the complaint of saree distribution by a BJP candidate in Delhi on the eve of May 10 elections, he said the preliminary report had been received and the final report was being awaited. |
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New Delhi, May 11 Deputy Election Commissioner A.N. Jha told mediapersons, in reply to a question based on the reported demand of RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav for Army deployment, that there was no need for such an exercise as there were sufficient forces for ensuring a peaceful poll. Mr Yadav’s demand came yesterday in the wake of the countermanding of polling in Chhapra where Mr Yadav was pitted against Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. PATNA: The RJD on Tuesday accused the Union Home Ministry, headed by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, of ‘influencing’ the Election Commission to countermand the election in the Chhapra constituency in Bihar. Reiterating party supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav’s demand for deployment of the Army during the repoll in the
Chhapra constituency on May 31, RJD spokesperson and Bihar Law Minister Shakeel Ahmed Khan and former Minister Bhola Prasad Singh told mediapersons here that the Election Commission had virtually ‘indicted’ its own four observers who had not mentioned in their reports about any wrongdoing during the polling on April 26.
— UNI |
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Liberhan panel gives last chance to UP Govt New Delhi, May 11 Taking strong exception to the UP Government seeking adjournment of the hearing, Mr Justice M.S. Liberhan told state’s Advocate-General Virender Bhatia that last opportunity was being given to it to express its opinion on the incident. The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which is the main party in the civil suit relating to the dispute over the ownership of the disputed land before the Allahabad High Court, told the commission that it did not want to make further submission regarding its position vis-a-vis the demolition conspiracy. The board had on the previous hearing said that it was not in a position to place any evidence before the panel to show whether there was a conspiracy to demolish the mosque on December 6, 1992. The commission adjourned hearing till May 24. |
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Singapore to hold military exercises
in India New Delhi, May 11 Gen Kulk, who met Chief of Army Staff Gen N.C. Vij here, later said: “We hope to come and do some training in India in the near future”. Singapore had last month approached India to allow its space to conduct live army and air force exercises to overcome the paucity of land to carry out exercises on its own soil. Reports here suggested that now apparently the Ministry of Defence had allowed Singapore armed forces to carry out exercises in its Army’s armoured corp and IAF firing range jointly with Indian armed forces. Such exercises could be beneficial to India as the Singapore’s armed forces, particularly its air force, is equipped with American F-16C fighting Falcons and its special forces with latest US light arms. General Kulk is on a three-day visit here which follows the visit last month to India of the country’s Defence Minister. The visiting army chief was presented a ceremonial guard of honour at the South Block. He will meet other services chiefs and also hold talks with top Ministry of Defence officials. |
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Cave paintings discovered in Alwar
Jaipur, May 11 The paintings and cave shelters on a 10-12 square km area on the Balakila hills, could throw further light on human and local history, the researcher J S Bakshi told UNI. He said he had reported the matter to the Archaeological Survey of India, Jaipur, the Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata, as well as the District Collector and the Union ministry of tourism, in 1999 itself, but despite their assurances that further studies would be conducted in the area, no action had been taken so far. Mr Bakshi is enthused in particular by a large painting he claims to have discovered at Hajipur-Dhadhiker, 13 km west of Alwar town. He says the maroon-white paintings on a rock surface outside a cave carry pictures of Nandi, the Sun god, an elephant, a big fish, humans and what looks like a tribal god. If the antiquity of the painting could be established, it could throw light on both the history of Alwar belt, which comes in the ‘Matsya’ region, as well as that of sun worship, he said. He also claims to have discovered a “dynasty symbol’’ of the Matsya kingdom. Further, at Jodhawas, 4 km from Sariska on the Thanagazi route, ancient copper, lead and tin mines were in existence which could throw “meaningful light’’ on primitive technology, he said. Mr Bakshi, who had retired as Development Officer from the LIC, says archaeology has been his hobby for the past 30 years. professional historians and archaeologists have made stone age discoveries in the belt in the 19th century and in the 1960s, he says. But little anthropological and archaeological studies have been conducted in the area over the last four decades, he rues. “It is a mine field of information that is lying waste. I hope more academic interest is taken in the area’’.
— UNI |
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SC upholds acquittal of three for murders New Delhi, May 11 Upholding the acquittal of the brothers — Teja Singh
and Mohinder Singh — and their accomplice Baldev Singh, the apex court said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had “meticulously” examined the evidence
against the trio. “The high court has very meticulously examined the evidence on record and its findings are fully supported by the evidence,” a Bench, comprising Mr Justice
N. Santosh Hege and Mr Justice B.P. Singh, said, while dismissing the Punjab
Government appeal, challenging their acquittal by the trial court and the
high court. The trial court had, however, awarded death sentence to Ajaib Singh, Balwinder
Singh and Joginder Singh, the brothers of Teja Singh and Mohinder Singh for murdering their mother Surjit Kaur, their maternal grandmother Jangir Kaur, their sister Sujan Kaur and her husband Mohinder Singh and their six-year-old daughter Kirna. The land dispute was the motive behind the murders. The Punjab Government had challenged the acquittal of the three on the ground that all six accused were involved in the case and the trial court and the high court had “failed” to examine the evidence properly. But the apex court said the presence of the three acquitted persons on the spot of incident could not be established on the basis of the evidence before the court. |
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Prosecution
of AIIMS
ex-official upheld New Delhi, May 11 Setting aside the Delhi High Court order quashing the sanction given by the AIIMS’ Governing Body for his prosecution, a Bench of Mr Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat said the high court judgement was “indefensible”. The high court had quashed the sanction on the ground that the AIIMS’ Governing body president had denied it. But the apex court ruled that the sanctioning body under the law was not the AIIMS president but the Governing Body. “We find from the judgement of the high court that it proceeded on the premises that the sanctioning authority was to apply its own independent mind, and it was applied by the president and he sought for ratification by the Governing Body. The approach is clearly erroneous,” the apex
court Bench ruled. The high court order was challenged in the apex court by the Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi Police against Anand, who was allegedly caught red-handed in accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a medicine supplier in July 1998 after he had lodged a complaint that money was being demanded from him by the Medical Superintendent. The AIIMS Governing Body had granted sanction for his prosecution in April 2000 by overruling its president’s order. |
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Hearing in Salman case on June 9 Mumbai, May 11 Principal Judge
R. R. Vachha, decided to hear the case on June 9. Salman Khan is accused of driving negligently on the night of
September 28, 2002 when he drove his Land Cruiser over some persons sleeping on the pavement in suburban Bandra. One person was killed and four others were injured in the incident. |
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