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Centre may reopen ’84 riot cases
Entrance test for quota seats
Iranian envoy meets Natwar
Violence in Mau again
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SAFMA’s appeal to help journalists
Narrow escape for Russian minister
Partial lunar eclipse today
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Centre may reopen ’84 riot cases
New Delhi, October 16 The move comes after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently consulted UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the issue, sources said, adding that she had indicated her approval. Mrs Gandhi is understood to have told Dr Singh that the Congress should not carry any baggage from the past. The Congress has been carrying the burden of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that has affected its image, credibility and popularity. The UPA government’s intended move to reopen cases against former Union Ministers Jagdish Tytler and H K L Bhagat , Lok Sabha MP Sajjan Kumar and another Congress leader Dharm Das Shastri, who are largely perceived as the force behind the riots in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984, would start a process of reconciliation with the minority community. The Prime Minister, speaking in Parliament on August 10, had apologised to the Sikh community and to the nation for the 1984 violence, bowing his head in shame that such a thing took place. He also promised that the government would reopen cases against those, whose names appeared in the Nanavati Commission report. “Our government stands committed to do all that we can humanly do to get to the root of the problem and all those individuals about whom the Commission has drawn adverse inferences, suggestions and recommendations, we will have a relook at them,” Dr Singh had stressed. The Union Home Ministry then went into the Nanavati Commission’s report and sought the Law Ministry’s view on the issue. The Home Ministry is now considering reopening of cases against the three Congress leaders and a final decision is expected to be taken by this month end or early next month. The Nanavati Commission, which probed the anti-Sikh riots, indicted Mr Tytler saying there was “credible evidence” against him, that he “very probably” had a hand in organising attacks and demanded that government take “further action as may be necessary”. The report had, however, absolved the party, saying there was no evidence to suggest that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi or any other high-ranking leader had “suggested or organised” the attacks in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. Sources said the affidavits filed against the three Congress leaders from Delhi were likely to be looked afresh, in all probability, by the CBI and not Delhi Police as the Commission has observed that there was “colossal failure” of law and order in the Capital at that time. |
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Chennai, October 16 Addressing a press conference here, AMIECA president TD Naidu said the association, having a membership of 1,570 medical and engineering colleges across the country, wished to conduct the AICET for medical, para-medical, dental, engineering, technology and management courses. He said the recent seven-Judge Bench Supreme Court order in the ‘’PA Inamdar vs State of Maharashtra case’’, had recognised the need for a national level common entrance test to fill seats under the management quota. The AIMECA’s writ petition to conduct the national level common entrance test had been accepted in principle in the judgment, he claimed. “By writing the AICET, an aspirant to a medical, engineering or any other course will not be required to write several common entrance tests as all colleges have come under one roof to make admissions on merit under the single-window counselling system,’’ he said. Thanks to the apex court judgment, AIMECA would conduct the AICET by a controller of examinations and by following a transparent procedure, he said. The whole process would be supervised by a panel of experts and eminent persons as suggested by the apex court, he added. Stating that AIMECA proposed to conduct the AICET by the end of May next, Mr Naidu said aspiring candidates could download the applications, along with prospectus, from the association’s websites- www.aimeca.org or www.aicet.org or obtain the information booklet and application form by post, sending a demand draft for Rs 1,100 (Rs 250 for application, Rs 750 for examination fee and Rs 100 for postage). Students could also get the applications by sending a photo copy of the challan towards payment of Rs 1,100 in any one of the branches of UTI Bank, he added. Question papers were prepared in a scientific way by experts in each field to enable candidates of Central Board or any state board to face the AICET without any hardship. Students would be admitted to colleges of their choice all over India, based on the merit list through single-window counselling, he said, adding that allocation of seats would be made after verification of documents. After the entrance test, a complete all-India rank list, merit list and statement of marks (single-window counselling format) would be prepared and it would be sent to the students. The all-India ranks would also be published in AIMECA and AICET websites to ensure transparency, he said. According to the schedule, applications would be issued from October 17. April 10, 2006 would be the last date for receipt of filled in applications. Hall tickets would be issued by May 3 and the examinations would be held on May 27 and 28. — UNI
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Iranian envoy meets Natwar
New Delhi, October 16 The hour-long meeting assumes significance in view of the fact that the next meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors on Iran’s nuclear programme is just five weeks away. During the meeting the Iranian envoy assured the minister that Teheran was committed to honour all bilateral agreements with India, including the energy deal the two countries had signed in June this year. Under the $22 billion Indo-Iran deal, India will import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran for 25 years from 2009, when Iran’s exports of the super cooled fuel are due to hit world markets. Two important leaders of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Agha Mohammadi and Ali Larijani, as well as the Iranian Embassy here have gone on record recently stating that the Indo-Iran energy deal was on track. Their clarifications followed when an Indian English daily reported that Iran had cancelled its energy deal with India after New Delhi voted for the EU-3 resolution at the IAEA Board meeting in Vienna last month. Mr Natwar Singh, during yesterday’s meeting, also conveyed Indian position that its voting at Vienna was not a vote against Iran and the Indian move actually succeeded in preventing referring the issue to the United Nations Security Council. Mr Yaghoubi sought India’s support to Iran and explained to the minister how Iran, a signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), had not flouted the NPT. He also told the minister that the people of Iran were within their right to avail of the fuel cycle which even the NPT permits. Significantly, the minister heard him and did not give any assurance. The Iranian issue is fraught with grave political and diplomatic repercussions for India. The UPA government, whose survival depends on Left parties’ support, is facing acute pressure from the Left Front which do not want India to vote against Iran the second time. The Left parties have, time and again warned of serious consequences if India were to vote against Iran the second time.
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Violence in Mau again
Lucknow, October 16 With Governor
T.V. Rajeswar scheduled to visit the strife-torn city on Monday, a visibly nervous district administration was gearing up to face the music. In view of the demand for calling the Army, the Governor visits acquires a political significance. To prevent politicians from extracting political mileage out of the communal violence, the district administration barred leaders from entering the district. BJP president Keshari Nath Tripathi and senior BJP leaders Kalyan Singh and Lalji Tandon were detained at the
Sultanpur-Jaunpur border. Similarly, MP Adityanath Yogi of Gorakhpur was stopped from crossing the Ghaghra river to enter the district. Another 26 preventive arrests were made from different parts of the city. According to a resident of Sindhi Colony near the railway station, there were tense moments in the afternoon when the news spread that a youth had been killed at the station. Patrolling was intensified in the city with additional forces released from election duty being made available to the strife-torn district. While peace committees were activated on Saturday, they did not prove to be much useful. “The local residents were not ready to listen to their local leaders”, complained
ADM, Mau. |
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SAFMA’s appeal to help journalists New Delhi, October 16 As millions of people are faced with the worst trauma of their life, most communities have been left without the means of living that require contribution from every quarter. The journalists’ community from the earthquake-hit areas, like any other community, is also in a miserable condition along with their families. The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), a main media body of the region associated with the south Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC) has called upon the journalist community in the region and the world at large and all concerned international agencies to come to the rescue of the journalists who are in need of substantial humanitarian assistance for their rehabilitation. SAFMA has created a separate account under its subsidiary, Free Media Foundation, a registered and legal body, with the title of FMF (Journalists’s Rehabilitation Fund) to support the aggrieved journalists in this hour of trial. The account is solely meant for the rehabilitation of journalists affected by the earthquake.
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Narrow escape for Russian minister
Mahajan Ranges, (Bikaner), October 16 Four Army jeeps, mounted with anti-tank guided “Milan” missile system, dropped by IAF An-32s in the first drop of the exercise, went off course due to unexpected gust of wind. Though one landed in the proper drop zone, the other three overshot with one sailing precariously close to the viewstand where Mr Ivanov, the Army chief, Gen J.J. Singh, the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Trubnikov and other dignitaries were sitting. Mr Ivanov made light of the incident. “The situation was supposed to be of a conflict zone. Might I say there are no ministers or generals sitting in a grandstand to view the proceedings,” he remarked in a press conference. “Nothing terrible happened, we all saw that and we all had sufficient time to react. Thank God we are not blind,” he added. However, Gen J.J. Singh, said not much should be made of the incident. “Heavy drops are tricky things and gusts of wind can play havoc. However, please appreciate that the pilots managed to drop everything in the drop zone area,” he said.
— UNI |
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Patna boy released
Patna, October 16 The DGP Ashish Ranjan Sinha said, “Golu was safe and sound”. Golu, a DAV school student, was abducted on September 26 from Danapur. The court snubbed the police for failing to protect the fundamental rights of the people of the state and making their life safe and secured. Sources in the police disclosed that the release followed the arrest of two noted criminals of Guddu Rai gang from Gajipur in UP. "Golu was put on a Hajipur bound
train from Gajipur. The police picked the boy up from Hajpur and brought him to Danapur, his residence,” they said. The sources also denied of having paid any ransom against the release of Golu. The abduction of Golu had raised a hue and cry here, as school children took to the
streets by lodging their protests with the Governor and sending a delegation to the President. |
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Chennai, October 16 According to a press note from the Indian Meteorological Department here today, the beginning of the partial phase of the eclipse will be visible from the eastern parts of India. The ending of the partial phase will be visible from all over India except the western parts where the moon rises after eclipse ends, it said. The eclipse starts globally at 1521 hrs and ends at 1945 hrs. — UNI
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