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Advani pitches for Ram
temple
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I am not afraid of probe, says George
Fernandes
Cases against Satish Sharma being dropped:
CBI
Basu for intensifying fight against Cong
Underprivileged girls talk their heart
out
Sikhs’ plea on PoK
gurdwaras
Heritage status for Dandi march
route
Medha Patkar held in Mumbai
Andhra to take action against striking
chemists
Panel to discuss VAT
issues
Traders put up shutters in Maharashtra
Court acquits 47 in post-Godhra riots case
Education should be backed by job avenues: Kalam
Indo-US Air Force exercises in November
Nod to build dam in Renuka sanctuary
HC refuses stay on Col Sehgal’s sentence
Surjit Singh new HP High Court judge
Tributes paid to Devi Lal
ISI case: POTA panel hears key accused
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Advani pitches for Ram
temple
New Delhi, April 6 Delivering his presidential address at the silver jubilee session of the party's National Council, Mr Advani said one of the important reasons for the BJP’s debacle in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections was that the party’s “core constituency” had been taken for “granted”. Mr Advani said “our party’s commitment to reconstruction of the Ram temple at the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya remains total, unshakeable and irreversible”. “We continue to believe that a negotiated settlement through dialogue between representatives of the Hindu and Muslim communities in an atmosphere of mutual trust, goodwill and accommodation is the most desirable route to solve this long-pending issue”, Mr Advani said expressing satisfaction over “consensus” among NDA partners over this approach. Defending the party’s ties with the parent organisation, the BJP President said, “our inflexible stand on our association with the RSS gave us a distinct ideological identity, about which we have never been apologetic, nor will we ever be”. Claiming that a much larger constituency of patriotic Indians, outside formal reach of the ‘RSS parivar’, support the BJP, he said, “we need to incessantly and persistently strengthen our bonds with organisations and individuals in this larger fraternity through mutual dialogue”. Mr Advani referred to a Congress Working Committee Resolution of 1999 stating that “Hinduism is the most effective guarantor of secularism” and said the UPA Government’s “desaffronisation and detoxification campaign, under the malignant influence of the Communists, does not square with this resolution”. The BJP chief charged the Congress with “abjuring all faith in democracy, which categorically rejects privileges by birth, and blatantly falling back to feudal and monarchic ways”. The council meeting, attended among others by NDA Convener George Fernandes, got off to a start after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee unfurled the party flag in the presence of senior leaders, including party Chief Ministers and state unit Presidents. He expressed serious concern over the “demographic invasion” of India from Bangladesh. “This could even lead to another partition of India,” he said. Asserting that the BJP viewed the threat of “demographic invasion” as a national issue, he charged the Congress and the Communists with extending a “tacit invitation” to more infiltrators “by enslaving themselves to the politics of minorityism”. Mr Advani demanded the immediate repeal of the IMDT Act and convening of an all-party meeting by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to evolve a national consensus on the issue. The BJP chief also stressed on an urgent need to have a rethinking on the country’s approach to population control and evolve a new strategy to effectively tackle the problem. Pointing towards Mr George, the BJP President said “very same people, who had been making wild allegations against him and boycotted him in Parliament for several years, had to themselves give clean chit to him.” “Today, even the Communists have asked the Congress to clarify their stand on Mr Fernandes,” the BJP leader said adding Mr Fernandes’ presence here at the National Council gives the complete message. Interestingly, Mr Fernandes as well as former BJP President Bangaru Laxman, who had to make an unceremoneous exit from the party’s top post after the Tehelka expose, were seated on the front row on the dias along with top leadership of BJP, including Mr Advani and Mr Vajpayee. L. K. Advani also strongly defended the “dual membership” -- one for the party and the other for the RSS -- saying the decision not to sever links with the Sangh Parivar had been vindicated with the party emerging as a reckoning force in the country's bodypolitic. Without singling out any of the BJP-ruled states, he said the challenge to win the people’s confidence fell on the BJP-run governments and they should remember that “better coordination between the party and the government is necessary to provide good governance.” The Bharatiya Janata Party today gave a call for launching a campaign to oust the “weak” United Progressive Alliance government as it presented a year-long silver jubilee state specific programmes for political consolidation and for the expansion of the party cadre. Announcing the programmes, former party President M. Venkaiah Naidu said the party would seek to strengthen existing strongholds and strive for its revival in places where it had suffered a setback in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. |
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Vajpayee hints at
retirement
New Delhi, April 6 In an apparent reference to his poor health condition, Mr Vajpayee, who delivered the valedictory address seated in his chair, said “you must all be thinking that this man came late and has started advising...Because of me you got delayed. I regret and apologise for that.” This is the second time in less than a year that Mr Vajpayee had hinted about his retirement from active politics. Addressing party workers on the sidelines of the party’s National Exeucitve in Mumbai after the Lok Sabha poll debacle last year, Mr Vajpayee had caused a flutter remarking in Marathi, “enough is enough, now I don’t want any more.” Mr Vajpayee expressed satisfaction that the party was “surging ahead” under L K Advani’s leadership and will continue to do so. Referring to party’s decision to commemorate the silver jubilee year with various countrywide programmes, Mr Vajpayee said “a party’s life cannot be measured by the years of its existence, but only on the basis of its contribution to society.” “Our intention, thus, should not be limited to just ensuring the successful completion of various programmes (related to Silver Jubilee), but should be working sincerely to ensure the achievement of the end results intented from these programmes,” he said. “We have to work more harder and speed up our various programmes and create an atmosphere where more people can join us,” Mr Vajpayee said. |
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I am not afraid of probe, says George
Fernandes
New Delhi, April 6 “We are verifying the information forwarded to us by the Defence Ministry but no case had been filed so far,” CBI Director U.S. Misra told reporters when asked about the status of the investigation in the purchase of arms and ammunition. Asked whether the agency had found anything substantial so far during its inquiry, he said “as of now, I can only say that investigations are on.” The Defence Ministry had in the Supreme Court yesterday filed a counter-affidavit in which it had said there was no violation of the financial rules of the government or the Defence Procurement Procedures, 1992, when procedures were modified to make urgent purchases of arms and equipment during the Kargil conflict. However, on the nature and actual delivery of items, the government said in the affidavit that the Comptroller and Auditor-General had made valid points on certain purchases which had been duly noted and action was being taken on them. The ministry was making efforts to address issues raised in the CAG report. Meanwhile, former Defence Minister George Fernandes said today that he was not afraid of facing any inquiry into the purchase of arms and other systems during the Kargil conflict of 1999. “The government is most welcome to take up all cases against me,” he told newsmen after half-an-hour meeting with Home Minister Shivraj Patil. “I have not so far seen any FIR or any inquiry lodged against me. If they prosecute me, I will welcome it.” His statement came a day after the government made it clear that it had not given a clean-chit in the Supreme Court to Mr Fernandes with regard to allegations of irregularities in the Kargil arms purchases. —
PTI |
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Cases against Satish Sharma being dropped:
CBI
New Delhi, April 6 “One has to understand that we are only the probing agency and not the sanctioning authority,” CBI Director U.S. Misra told reporters when asked why the agency failed to file a chargesheet against Sharma in any of the 15 cases. He denied that the CBI had closed the case following pressure from the government. The closure report in Sharma’s case, filed in November last year, had raised some eyebrows as only a week before charges against Union Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhry for assaulting a police man had been dropped. The court has so far not accepted the closure report of the CBI in Capt Satish Sharma’s case. “We have even annexed the Home Ministry letter which clearly stated that the sanction for prosecution was not being accorded to the CBI,” he said. The Home Ministry letter said the “matter has been considered carefully in this ministry in all aspects in consultation with the Law Ministry. After considering all the factors in totality, including Supreme Court’s review of the judgement dated August 3, 1999, it has been decided with the approval of the Home Minister not to grant sanction for prosecution of Satish Sharma.” The CBI Director said the agency would be filing more closure reports in some cases where sanction for prosecution was pending since long. — PTI |
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Basu for intensifying fight against Cong
Kolkata, April 6 “It should not be forgotten that it was the Congress Government which first introduced the policy of liberalisation in the country when the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, was the Finance Minister. They were isolated from the people by implementing this economic policy and they are still trying to follow it,” Mr Basu said. The Congress-led UPA Government has decided to allow 74 per cent foreign investment in the telecom sector and its aim was to increase private control in banks, Mr Basu said in a write-up in a special supplement of the party mouthpiece ‘Ganashakti’, on the occasion of the CPM’s party Congress. The Congress was also for the privatisation of profitable PSUs and handing over the insurance sector to foreign campanies, he said. He said the people were observing that the Leftists were opposing the ‘anti-people’ policies of the Congress. “Our fight should not be limited to Parliament, it should be intensified outside as well,” he said. Mr Basu, however, said his party, which was providing crucial outside support to the Congress-led government, did not want it to fall as it would facilitate the BJP comeback. “We cannot allow that to happen.” —
PTI |
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Underprivileged girls talk their heart
out
New Delhi, April 6 Today Pushpa is pursuing education and like her scores of others having faced deterrents and even parental opposition have success stories to share. These girls from not so privileged backgrounds are example of determination overcoming obstacles. “Had it not been for Mahila Shiksha Kendra I would have not been able to study”, said a physically challenged girl, who was advised to learn sewing and cooking instead of pursuing education. During an interaction with the Executive Director of Unicef, Ms Carol Bellamy, here today, they apprised her of the hardship faced to receive basic education. Having come together from various states across the country they also put forth their views on what needs to happen to ensure that every girl in the country has access to quality education. “Putting money into girl’s education is the best investment…if a girl gets just basic education, survey proves she grow into a healthy adult, her children are healthier and her family is liable to be stable economically”, said Ms Bellamy. She said there can be no significant or sustainable transformation in societies and no reduction in poverty, until girls receive quality basic education to take their place as equal partners in development. It was pointed out that though significant advances have been achieved in girl’s education through collaborative efforts, two-third of the out-of-school children are girls and the female literacy is still 22 percentage points lower than the male literacy rate. Gender disparity, it was pointed out, reinforced by social fault lines of caste, tribe and community has made the girl child from poor marginalised sects more vulnerable. Despite the female literacy rates having shot up from 39 per cent in 1991 to 54 per cent in 2001, more girls drop out of the educational system during the transition from primary to upper primary. |
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Sikhs’ plea on PoK
gurdwaras
New Delhi, April 6 “We met former Pak Premier Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and their High Commissioner here and apprised them of the issue. We would be giving a memorandum to the High Commissioner next week urging them to allow our delegation to visit those villages in Pok and other areas where hundreds of gurdwaras lie neglected,” Shiromani Akali Dal Panthak President Manjit Singh told reporters here today. “Most of the Sikh Gurus lived in this area and thus there are hundreds of small gurdwaras in villages there. The Pakistan Government has all records and we would be urging them to give the upkeep of these shrines to various Sikh bodies in India,” he said. |
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Heritage status for Dandi march
route
Dandi (Gujarat), April 6 Participating in the 75th anniversary celebrations of the historic walk, he said the route from Ahmedabad to Dandi would be given heritage status. Mahatma’s statue and that of his 78 supporters who participated in the march would be constructed in Dandi. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and top Congress leaders and Cabinet Ministers were also present on the occasion. —
UNI |
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Medha Patkar held in Mumbai
Mumbai, April 6 Several activists of the National Association of People’s Movements gathered at the Azad Maidan grounds to protest against the recent demolition drives undertaken by the states government. The demonstrators were cane charged after they disregarded prohibitory orders and disrupted the vehicular traffic. However, the activists said they could not enter the ground as it was already packed with other protestors. The ground usually attracts demonstrators when the state Assembly is in session. Apart from Medha Patkar, Patwardhan, who was shooting the protest rally for a forthcoming documentary was also beaten up and his equipment smashed. The activists accused Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh of targeting Medha Patkar for successfully getting Congress President Sonia Gandhi to stall the demolition drives in Mumbai. The state government had originally planned to demolish all slums that came up after 1995. However, the activists and even Congress MLAs demanded that the Deshmukh government should fulfill his election promise to rehabilitate slum dwellers who arrived in Mumbai till 2000. |
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Andhra to take action against striking
chemists
Hyderabad, April 6 Making it clear that the government was not prepared at this stage to meet their demands, the Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who also addressed the press conference, warned that the striking pharmacists would not be allowed to play with the lives of the people. More than 36,000 druggists and chemists across the state have downed their shutters since April 1, in protest against the new tax regime. The indefinite closure of medical stores has led to unavailability of life saving drugs The ministers said medicines would be directly procured from manufacturers and sold at all government hospitals, 34 teaching hospitals, 23 district hospitals and select super markets across the state. Meanwhile, in another setback to the striking druggists, the High Court today asked them to open their shops by tomorrow, failing which serious action would be initiated against them. |
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Panel to discuss VAT
issues
New Delhi, April 6 The full meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers will meet before month end, said Empowered Committee Secretary Ramesh Chandra here today. Talking to the reporters on the sidelines of a CII seminar, he said: “ We agree there is some confusion over some issues. But all these issues would be addressed in the meeting. We should appreciate that 18 states have so far implemented VAT from April 1.” He said the Central Sales Tax (CST) is likely to be phased out by 2007. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, besides BJP-ruled states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh — have not introduced the new tax system. So far, 18 states have implemented VAT, while Assam and Meghalaya will introduce it on Friday. |
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Traders put up shutters in Maharashtra
Mumbai, April 6 Though most retailers opened for business normally in the morning, members of FAM were seen exhorting shopkeepers to down their shutters all over the city. By afternoon most of the shops had downed their shutters though they all reopened by the evening. “They refused to show me a piece of paper explaining why VAT is bad for us,” Mr John Marquis, a bank employee-turned retailer, told this reporter. Most retailers say they have little idea as to how VAT would impact their businesses. Meanwhile, FAM has threatened an indefinite strike from April 14. The body is demanding that Maharashtra should abolish taxes like octroi and other duties following the implementation of VAT. |
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Court acquits 47 in post-Godhra riots case
Anand, April 6 Judge T.N. Shah passed the orders yesterday after witnesses in the case could not identify the accused. Among the acquitted were Rajesh Trivedi, Petlad city president of the BJP, and Rangraipura sarpanch Kirit Patel. —
UNI |
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Education should be backed by job avenues: Kalam
New Delhi, April 6 “We are generating over 10 million job aspirants every year. However, our employment generation system is not in a position to absorb all these youth leading to increase in the numbers of educated unemployed, year after year. This situation will lead to instability in the social structure,” Dr Kalam said. The President, who was speaking on “Employment generator and employment potential” said the educational system should inculcate entrepreneurial skills among its students. He also said the banks should provide venture capital right from the village level to promote entrepreneurship. —
UNI |
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Indo-US Air Force exercises in November
New Delhi, April 6 This time again, pilots of the two air forces would match their skills in close range as well as beyond visual range combats over the Kalikunda airbase in West Bengal. In their first test of wits, the Indian pilots had got the better of their US counterparts in Gwalior last year. According to reports received here, eight to 12 US F-16s would be taking part in the exercise. |
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Nod to build dam in Renuka sanctuary
New Delhi, April 6 The committee approved various projects put forth by different state governments, like the construction of dams, roads and power houses, besides laying down of power and electricity lines, after assessing and discussing their impact on environment and wildlife in the areas. Sources said an irrigation proposal by the Himachal Pradesh Government for constructing a dam in the sanctuary at Renuka and hydro-electrical and transmission projects by the Uttaranchal Government were among the projects approved by the standing committee, chaired by the Union Environment and Forests Minister, Mr A. Raja, and attended by representatives of the state governments. These decisions will now be forwarded to the apex court for final approval. |
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HC refuses stay on Col Sehgal’s sentence
New Delhi, April 6 After this order by a Division Bench of Mr Justice B.A. Khan and Mr Justice Anil Kumar, there is no impediment in Colonel Sehgal being communicated the sentence and sent to jail as the GCM order has already been confirmed by the Army authorities on March 17. The Bench, however, said any further action of the Army against Colonel Sehgal would be subject to his writ petition. The court issued notice to the Army on Colonel Sehgal’s plea and fixed April 13 further hearing. In his application filed through counsel Maj Ramesh (retd), Colonel Sehgal had urged the court to stay the promulgation of sentence at least till April 13 when his writ petition against GCM proceedings was scheduled to be heard. — PTI |
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Surjit Singh new HP High Court judge
New Delhi, April 6 President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has issued orders of appointment to Mr Justice Singh and his appointment will be effective from the day he assumes the charge of his office, a brief statement issued by the Law Ministry said. |
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Tributes paid to Devi Lal
New Delhi, April 6 An all-religon prayer meeting was held at his samadhi `Sangarsh Sthal’ in the morning in which admirers of the late leader from Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh took part. The members of the late leaders’s family, including wife of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, INLD secretary-general Ajay Singh Chautala paid their tributes. |
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ISI case: POTA panel hears key accused
Ahmedabad, April 6 Javed Khan, who is the brother of Karachi-based gangster Sharif Khan, is facing charges of transferring huge amounts of money to be used in conducting anti-national activities in Gujarat. — PTI
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