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NDA to disrupt Parliament until Natwar quits
ED team leaves for Iraq
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SC didn’t order change of judge
in Lalu case
Extradition treaty with
S. Africa becomes effective
Bill to make HIV test must for all
Vajpayee refutes Uma’s allegations
Advani seeks CBI probe into MLA’s murder
Shahabuddin’s bail plea rejected
Rs 10 lakh given to bereaved
Sikh family
Kamal Nath rules out concessions at WTO
Shiv Sena MLA attempts immolation
Bihar districts to have women police stations
Amitabh sees visitors at hospital
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NDA to disrupt Parliament until Natwar quits
New Delhi, December 6 “The BJP is surprised that Mr Natwar Singh has been allowed to wait to resign till the return of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from his Russia visit while the decision of the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly was taken through a fax communication at midnight when President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was abroad,” BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said. A meeting of NDA leader was called to discuss the situation arising out of Mr Natwar Singh’s offer to resign when the Prime Minister returned from his Russia visit. The NDA leaders hailed the Union Minister’s decision to resign as a “victory” for the sustained Opposition campaign. Prof Malhotra said the NDA would also insist on Mrs Gandhi’s resignation as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council. “How can we allow smooth transaction of business in Parliament so long as these two people remain in office,” he asked in response to a question whether the NDA would stall proceedings. However, sources indicated that the Opposition alliance would allow normal functioning in Parliament once Mr Natwar Singh submits his resignation and was not likely to insist on Mrs Gandhi’s resignation. They would, however, continue to press with the demand. Earlier, Prof Malhotra said it was “amusing” that the Congress, which had dropped Mr Natwar Singh from its steering committee, was still speaking in “symbolic language” when it should have sent a right message to those who had sold national interests for the sake of petro-dollars. “It is not a crime to take an anti-US stance in and outside Parliament but it is certainly a crime to take such a stance in return for money and coupons to sell oil,” he remarked. Asked if normalcy would return to Parliament after Mr Natwar Singh’s resignation, the BJP spokesman remarked: “I hope so. However, a final decision will be taken by the NDA.” The BJP, Mr Malhotra said, found the CPM’s “shameless support” to Mr Natwar Singh’s continuance as “strange logic” because according to them all those who were seeking resignation were “stooges of the US”. |
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ED team leaves for Iraq
New Delhi, December 6 The ED Director is likely to interact with officials of the Iraqi government to ascertain what transpired during the visit of Congress delegation led by Singh in 2001. With Natwar Singh, now certain to tender his resignation from the Cabinet, the ED is preparing itself to question his son and Rajasthan MLA, Jagat Singh. In that move, it continued its rounds of questioning Matherani and Andaleeb Sehgal, a relative of Jagat Singh, for several hours today. Sehgal, Director of Hamdaan Exports, had been named as a “non-contractual beneficiary” of Iraq’s oil-for-food programme in the Volcker report. Sehgal was asked to provide certain documents, official sources said. Both Sehgal and Matherani arrived at the Directorate’s office in Khan Market 90 minutes from each other in the morning. ED officials, who are investigating whether any illegal foreign currency transaction took place in connection with the UN oil-for-food programme, questioned Matherani for almost five-and-a-half hours. Sehgal was questioned by the Directorate officials for several days about a month ago after the findings of the UN-appointed committee were made public. The committee, in the annexure of its report on Iraq’s oil-for-food programme of 2001, has named Natwar Singh and the Congress party as “non-contractual”
beneficiaries of the alleged Iraqi oil payoffs. Meanwhile, Jagat Singh told reporters that the ED has not summoned him, so far. “There is no questioning by the Enforcement Directorate. ED has to investigate into any kind of foreign exchange violations,” he said. |
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J.K. Dutt new CBI Director
New Delhi, December 6 “I will follow the same procedures and lines which Mr U.S. Misra had laid, during the last general assembly at Berlin, to get other wanted terrorists to India,” the acting chief of the CBI said. Mr Misra had worked for a “special notice”, higher than the “red corner notice” and which was endorsed by the United Nations against international terrorists that would help it in extraditing them, he said, adding that “On the basis of those efforts, through which Abu Salem and Monica Bedi were brought here, steps will be made to get several of those wanted by India.” His priorities would also include continuing with the anti-corruption drives, which had yielded good results in the past, he said. “Till now raids were being conducted on the basis of complaints, but now for the first time, raids will take place based on our own investigation and information,” he said. The challenge would be to get this mission implemented in letter and spirit, he said. Stress would also be on increasing the conviction rate of the accused in courts with better groundwork and deft handling of cases, the new Director elaborated. An IPS of the 1971 batch (West Bengal cadre), Mr Dutt had been Additional Director (Establishment) in the CBI since March 2005. Before joining the CBI, he was Additional Director General in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) where he was actively associated with the Passenger Feedback Scheme. |
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SC didn’t order change of judge
in Lalu case
New Delhi, December 6 Allaying any fear of Lalu Prasad that the apex court direction would prejudice his trial, a Bench of Mr Justice K G Balakrishnan, Mr Justice A R Lakshmanan and Mr Justice S H Kapadia said, “We make it clear that it (order) is not to be taken as direction for change of the (judicial) officer for the time being.” The clarification came after Lalu’s counsel Ram Jethmalani contended that the apex court order had caused “great prejudice” to his client, Lalu Prasad. Jethmalani said his fear was that his client might not get “justice” in Bihar and Jharkhand. The high court had appointed Muni Lal Paswan as Special Judge in June to replace Yogendra Prasad who had been holding the trial in the case for the past five years. “We have only asked Registrar-General (HC) to explain whether relevant steps were taken in consultation with a standing committee (of high court on the appointment of judicial officers),” the Bench made it clear. Drawing the attention of Jethmalani to the relevant concluding para in its order issued on October 10 regarding which he had the objection, the court said it read …"it is clarified that neither due to the fact of pendency of these writ petitions nor by any order is there any restraint on the Chief Justice (HC), who has recently taken charge, from reconsidering who is to be posted for hearing of the concerned fodder scam case, if he is so inclined to do.” |
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Extradition treaty with
S. Africa becomes effective
New Delhi, December 6 One of the concrete results of today’s meeting is that instruments of ratification were exchanged on the Extradition Treaty and Agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, meaning that the two agreements became operational from today. This will permit close cooperation between the two countries. The two countries are also going to sign an agreement on police cooperation and an Indian team is due to visit South Africa to hold discussions in this regard. Minister of State for External Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh, along with his counterpart from South Africa, Mr Aziz Pahad, inaugurated the two-day Joint Commission meeting yesterday. A 47-member South African delegation, from a wide range of ministries visited India on the occasion which testifies to the importance placed by South African Government on the Joint Commission. The two sides expressed satisfaction at the progress in cooperation under the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Dialogue Forum. The ministers agreed that the decision to hold a summit-level IBSA meeting in 2006 in Brazil would further consolidate this unique trilateral cooperation. Mr Inderjit Singh emphasised that India and South Africa had a commonality of views on most of the issues concerning UN reforms. He expressed the hope that the African Union would agree with the G-4 that an early expansion, which brought in developing countries, including two from Africa, as permanent members, was in the continent’s best interest, and that South Africa would work closely with India towards this end. |
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Bill to make HIV test must for all
Patna, December 6 The move by the Centre is not without any basis. As the country observed World AIDS Day on December 1, there are, at present, 1,11,608 confirmed AIDS cases in India,of which 95,941 were the results of “unsafe sex”. Quoting the report published by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) on July 31 this year,the Director of Rajendra Memorial Institute of Medical Science in Patna, Dr P.K.Das, apprehended that actual number of confirmed AIDS cases might be more once a better scientific survey was carried out in different parts of the country. According to Dr Das, the number of HIV-infected cases could be estimated around 10 lakh. Talking to The Tribune, Dr Das said there were 7,500 HIV-infected cases in Bihar, in which 155 were confirmed AIDS cases. Out of 1,11,608 confirmed AIDS cases till July 31 this year, 79,041 were male victims and 32,567 were women. And despite the promise by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to extend all support to combat HIV and AIDS, Dr Das regretted that the institute had been “forced to stop” HIV tests conducted by it because of “irregular supply of medical kits” by the state government since January this year. Dr Das stressed the need to involve panchayats across the country to launch a massive awareness campaign against HIV and AIDS which he considered as a major threat to human civilisation. Out of the 1,11,608 confirmed AIDS cases, Tamil Nadu figured top on the list with 52,036 cases, followed by Maharashtra (13,747), Andhra Pradesh(12349), West Bengal recorded 2,397 cases. Jharkhand,
Arunachal, Chhatisgarh were among the few states where NACO recorded no AIDS cases as on July 31 this year. |
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Vajpayee refutes Uma’s allegations
New Delhi, December 6 After her expulsion from the party for indiscipline and anti-party activities yesterday, Ms Bharti had said the party piloted by Mr Advani and Mr Vajpayee had been hijacked by some persons. Reacting to her accusation, Mr Vajpayee today said, "Nobody has hijacked it." Talking to mediapersons at the BJP headquarters, Mr Vajpayee described the demolition of the Babri Masjid on this day in 1992, as a sad incident. |
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Advani seeks CBI probe into MLA’s murder
Ghazipur, December 6 Attacking the “jungle raj in Uttar Pradesh”, he said Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav should “fulfil his duty” as a Chief Minister and accede to the demand of Rai’s family for a CBI probe into the killing.
—PTI
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Shahabuddin’s bail plea rejected
Siwan (Bihar), December 6 Additional District and Sessions Judge of Siwan B N Mishra turned down the bail prayer of Shahabuddin in a case under the Arms Act, registered on the basis of the confessional statement of an associate, Jamaluddin, who was arrested with illegal firearms during a raid on the MP’s house at Pratappur on April 24 this year. Jamaluddin had confessed to keeping in safe custody the firearms of foreign make which allegedly belonged to Shahabuddin. The judge dismissed the application after hearing Shahabuddin’s counsels Ishtdeo Tiwari and Bengali Singh and counsel for prosecution Nurul Islam. Shahabuddin, who was arrested from his residence in Delhi in the first week of November, is lodged at Bhagalpur Central Jail in judicial custody in connection with 10 cases of kidnapping, murder and possession of illegal firearms.
— PTI |
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Rs 10 lakh given to bereaved
Sikh family
Musakheda (Alwar), December 6 Several leaders present on the occasion demanded exemplary punishment to the culprits. Mr Sukhdeo Singh, Secretary-General of the SGPC, announced a relief of Rs 3 lakh on behalf of the SGPC to kins of the victims. Mr Ajaypal Singh, chief of the Rajasthan Sikh Samaj, also gave Rs 1 lakh to the widows of the victims. Mr Singh Ajaypal also disbursed Rs 1 lakh each to the three widows as an immediate special relief from the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ms Vasundhara Raje. The state unit of the BJP also provided a relief of Rs 3 lakh to the bereaved family. Mr Gulabchand Kataria, State Home Minister, said the case would be entrusted to a fast-track court. |
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Kamal Nath rules out concessions at WTO
New Delhi, December 6 Talking to the reporters here today, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, who is leading a delegation to the Hong Kong, said, “We do not see the possibility of any movement on the full modalities of the talks though one should be ready for any surprises at the last moment.” The EU and the US have also expressed reservations about any concrete outcome of talks, while emphasising that it will pave a way for further discussions. |
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Shiv Sena MLA attempts immolation
Mumbai, December 6 Shortly after the winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly commenced in Nagpur today, Mr Gawande moved to the well of the Lower House and poured kerosene on his clothes and tried to swallow some poisonous susbtance before he was overpowered by his party colleagues. Other Shiv Sena MLAs grabbed him and snatched two bottles of kerosene and some poisonous substance believed to be pesticides from him, reports reaching here said. Some kerosene also fell on the clothes of Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil and Parliamentary Affairs Harshwardhan Patil. Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar adjourned the House for the rest of the day after Mr Harshwar-dhan Patil moved a proposal to suspend Mr Gawande from the House for the rest of the winter session. A resolution to this effect was passed by voice vote.
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Bihar districts to have women police stations
Patna, December 6 Sources in the state Home Department disclosed the state government would soon set up women police station in all 38 districts of Bihar. The sources said at present only five women police stations were functional in the state. The state government had also decided to approach the Rajasthan Government and study its pattern to set up women police stations. As many as 581 women were abducted in the state between 1995 and 2005 who were yet to be recovered. This was disclosed by DGP Ashish Ranjansinha during a recent submission before the Patna High Court.
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Amitabh sees visitors at hospital
Mumbai, December 6
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