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IAF plans presidential review
Congress hopes for
lasting ties with TMC
Bongaon Assembly seat goes to TMC
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Koda set to sail through trust vote
India, Pak must emulate Germany: Karan Singh
ICMR upgrade on anvil
Soz leaves for Bangladesh
Kharif output pegged at 105 mt
Mattoo case: HC
sceptical of defence arguments
Petrol dealers call off stir in M’rashtra
Yaws eradicated: Ramadoss
Entries invited for Bharatendu awards
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IAF plans presidential review
New Delhi, September 19 The review will be conducted in the first week of March in Chandigarh. The biggest land static display has also been planned for the President. The IAF is looking at this fleet review as a unique honour and is preparing in a big way for it. As part of the plans, President Kalam will stand on a specially erected podium and the frontline fighters of the IAF including SU-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, MiGs 29, 27, 23, 21 and their ungraded version of Bisons will put up an impressive flying display. By early next year, the IAF will also acquire first of its BAe Hawk advance jet trainers and it will form part of a breathtaking aerobatic to be conducted in tandem with the Sukhoi’s. As of now the IAF has 27 different types of helicopters, combat jets, trainers and transport planes and at least one of every type will be a part of the display, either static or aero. For the occasion, the IAF will put on display surface-to-air, air-to-air, beyond visual range and ground-to-air missiles, besides precision bombs and other armaments. The platinum jubilee will officially kick start with an investiture ceremony, march past and a fly past. It will be a grand version of the programme staged during the IAF Day celebrations and will be held at the Hindon Air Base in Uttar Pradesh. It will be the first time that the IAF Day parade will be held at Hindon as its holding here has in the recent years led to massive disruption of civil air traffic and canceling of commercial flights.
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Congress hopes for
lasting ties with TMC
New Delhi, September 19 Senior Congress leaders, including Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Ms Margaret Alva, AICC general secretary in charge, today maintained that the results of the byelections had proved that if the Congress and TMC worked together, they could emerge as a formidable force. She said today’s election results — the Congress retained Malda and Trinamul Congress won the Bongaon seat — could well prove to be a turning point for the party’s revival in the Left-dominated state. “It’s a great victory. I hope it will mark a turning point for the Congress revival in the state,” Ms Alva said. The Congress and the TMC had entered into an unofficial pact for the byelections wherein Ms Banerjee’s party did not field a candidate against the Congress in Malda, which was held by its late veteran leader Ghani Khan Chaudhary. In return, the Congress did not contest the Bongaon Assembly seat. Mr Dasmunshi, who campaigned vigorously, said the results had shown that a “new direction” was possible if the Trinamul and Congress joined hands and that there was “no need for the BJP” in West Bengal. The Congress has made several attempts in the recent past to wean away Ms Banerjee from the BJP but with little success. In fact, a serious move in this direction was made before the last West Bengal Assembly election but it failed to materialise. The Congress is hoping that the results will led to a rethink on both sides.
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Bongaon Assembly seat goes to TMC
Kolkata, September 19 The Malda Lok Sabha seat has once again gone to the Congress after the victory a younger brother of late Ghana Khan Choudhury, Abu Hashen Khan Chaudhury (Dalu), at the byelection whose results were announced today. The Malda byelection was held, along with two other Lok Sabha and Bangoan Assembly seats, on Sunday last. In Katwa and two other constituencies, the byelections were held following the death of the incumbents, while in Purulia, the byelection was necessary due to the resignation of Forward Bloc MP Birsingh Mahato after his "alleged" involvement in a rape case. Abu Hashem Khan Chaudhury won in Malda by a margin of over 63,000 votes by defeating Sailen Sarker, CPM minister in the Left Front government. In Bongaon Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress leader, Mr Saugata Roy, defeated his CPM rival, Mr Pankaj Ghosh, by a margin of 5,761 votes. His victory will now help the TMC to get the main "opposition status" in the Assembly. In both Malda Lok Sabha and Bongaon Assembly seats, both Congress and TMC fought jointly against the CPM. Ms Mamata Banerjee said they did not field any candidate in Malda as a mark of respect to late Ghani Khan Chaudhury, who, till his death, wanted both parties to get united and fight against the CPM. After the victory in Bongaon and Malda, the AICC chief, Ms Sonia Gandhi, congratulated Ms Mamata Banerjee, Ms Banerjee said. The Union Information Minister, Mr Priya Dasmunshi, who campaigned in favour of the TMC candidate also, once again stressed the need of their joint fighting against the CPM and other Left parties in the coming panchayat poll and the subsequent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The CPM leadership, particularly, the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the CPM state secretary, Mr Biman Bose, regretted that an unholy alliance had won. But they congratulated the people in Katwa and Purulia where the Left Front candidates won with a massive margin of votes. In Katwa, CPM candidate Abu Aayesh Mondol won the seat with a margin of over 1,60, 000 votes by defeating TMC's Sushanta Ghosh. In Purulia also, Mr Narahari Mahato of the Forward Bloc won against the Congress' Santiram Mahato.
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Kalyan to steer electoral wagon in UP
New Delhi, September 19 Knowing fully well that the BJP is a House divided in the state and its popularity stands at the lowest ebb, the appointment of Kalyan Singh to carry the party’s electoral battle in the Assembly elections early next year is being seen as an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. “If Kalyan Singh manages to ensure that the BJP wins a respectable number of Assembly seats, the credit for that will go to the party chief for whom the electoral performance of the party is crucial,” a senior leader said. If the party is relegated to number three or four after the BSP and the Samajwadi Party, the tall claims of the two-time UP Chief Minister would stand exposed, he added. Kalyan Singh, who rejoined the BJP only last year after a gap of over three years, has announced that he will start his campaign from Ayodhya on September 27 making it clear that Ram temple would be his main electoral plank. Despite a host of issues confronting the state, the electoral battle was going to be essentially fought between BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and in that political scenario, the challenge for Kalyan Singh was tough, a BJP state leader pointed out. Moreover, there are divisions within the state unit and much would depend upon Kalyan Singh’s ability to handle leaders like Kalraj Mishra and Laljee Tandon, who have never been favourably disposed towards the former BJP Chief Minister. As a matter of fact, Tandon and Mishra were instrumental in widening the rift between Kalyan Singh and the BJP leadership in Delhi. Sources said Rajnath Singh, conscious of the odds against the party, made the astute move to give Kalyan Singh the responsibility of steering the BJP’s electoral ship in the state.
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Koda set to sail through trust vote
Ranchi, September 19 Koda, who was sworn-in as Chief Minister yesterday, has the support of 41 UPA MLAs (excluding the officiating Speaker) while the BJP-led NDA has 39 legislators in the 82 member House. Pradeep Kumar Balmachu has been appointed the officiating Speaker by Governor Syed Sibte Razi after Inder Singh Namdhari resigned from the post on September 14. Balmachu held the JPCC president’s post when the appointment was made. The lone CPI (ML-Liberation) legislator, Vinod Kumar Singh, who all along had sided with the UPA to overthrow the Arjun Munda-led NDA government till September 14, has now chosen to sit in the Opposition. Apparently to avoid resentment among the UPA allies over claims on ministerial berths, Koda has kept the expansion plans of his ministry pending till a later date.
— PTI
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India, Pak must emulate Germany: Karan Singh
New Delhi, September 19 “It is a startling proposal which I very warmly welcome because any proposal that gives promise of reducing, diluting, fighting or eliminating terrorism is to be welcome,” he said in an interview with The Tribune. Dr Karan Singh, who is said to be in the reckoning for the post of the next External Affairs Minister, said: “If the proposal goes through and the mechanism to jointly fight terrorism is put on ground, it would be a big leap in bilateral relationship as it would unleash such creative forces which would help in realising the true potential of the people of the two countries. “If France and Germany, having over thousand years of animosity, could become friends and prosper, I see no reason why India and Pakistan could not put an end to their six decades of hostility and progress. “If you take a larger vision of India in the 21st century in which the country develops as a major political democracy playing a bigger economic and cultural player, it is imperative for us to get over regional problems. These are albatrosses around our neck. They are pulling us down. We rise up and they pull us down. Of course, Pakistan is in much more danger than we are because it is a smaller country,” he said. With the resolution of Franco-German problems, the European Union could become a major economic block and SAARC could evolve into a big economic force but “till this conflict remains, even SAARC cannot develop,” he added.
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ICMR upgrade on anvil
New Delhi, September 19 Health Minister Anbhumani Ramadoss announced here today that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will become the Department of Medical Research and would have Secretary-level cadre. The Director-General, ICMR, Prof N.K. Ganguly, would be the Secretary of the department. Sources in the ICMR said a note in this regard had been sent to the Cabinet for approval. The minister’s commitment to have a full-fledged medical research department was the fulfilment of a long-standing demand of ICMR scientists. ICMR is the apex body in the country for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research. It is hoped that the creation of the medical research department will make decision-making easier for the DG, ICMR. Sources said at present, the ICMR DG had to refer to the Secretary, Health, for scientific policies. “One step in processing will get reduced. It will, however, not make much difference to scientists applying for projects. The ICMR has a final say in project clearance,” the sources said. The WHO representative to India, Dr Salim J. Habayeb, said: “This is a good step to recognise and acknowledge the services of the ICMR to the country and to the world. The ICMR is globally recognised as a centre of excellence and research. It is very good in technical policy development.
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Tiger Memon’s driver found guilty
Mumbai, September 19 The blasts killed 113 persons and injured more than 225 persons. Turk is the eighth person to be convicted in the case. He was also found guilty in the RDX landing operation at Shekhadi coast in Raigad district.
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Soz leaves for Bangladesh
New Delhi, September 19 Water Resources Minister Saiffudin Soz today left for four-day visit to Bangladesh during which the two sides will discuss ways of tackling problems of siltation and weakening of embankments in the Feni, the Muhuri and the Ichamati. Bangladesh Water Resources Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed visited some sites, along the three rivers, last week, along with Mr Soz , to get a firsthand account of the problems being faced by people living along the three rivers. While the Feni and the Muhuri are in Tripura, the Ichamati is in West Bengal. Among the proposals under consideration is joint dredging of 21 km stretch along the Ichamati. The Bangladesh Rifles had been opposing construction of pump houses on the Feni for the past few years. The two sides would also discuss ways to boost lift irrigation and get more drinking water, Mr Soz said.
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Kharif output pegged at 105 mt
New Delhi, September 19 The first and fourth advance estimates of production of foodgrains for 2005-06 are 105.25 million tonnes and 109.7 million tonnes, according to an official release here today. The Agriculture Ministry hopes that the late monsoon will result in an increased wheat production during 2006-07, which is evident from the record 75.53 million tonne production target it has set for this period. This will be about 9 per cent more than the estimated 69.48 million tonne of wheat production achieved in 2005-06. The target for the coming year will be the second highest in the past 10 years when compared to the actual output of 76.37 million tonne in 1999-00. The production during that year was the highest between 1994-95 and 2004-05. The rice production in the first advance estimate for 2006-07 is 75.74 million tonnes against a target of 80.78 million tonnes. The fourth advance estimate of rice production for 2005-06 was 78.04 million tonnes while the first advance estimate was pegged at 73.83 million tonnes. The production of pulses has been estimated at 4.97 million tonnes for 2006-07 as against a target of 5.78 million tonnes. The first and fourth advance estimates for 2005-06 were 4.98 and 4.66 million tonnes. The production of bajra and maize are estimated at 7.74 million tonnes and 11.43 million tonnes in the first advance estimate for 2006-07 against a target of 8.55 million tonnes and 12.54 million tonnes. The cereal production is estimated at 100.25 million tonnes against a target of 109.47 million tonnes.
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Mattoo case: HC
sceptical of defence arguments
New Delhi, September 19 Counsel for main accused Santosh Singh said Dr G.V. Rao, who conducted the tests at the CCMD Laboratory in Hyderabad, had admitted that certain procedural errors might have occurred during the analysis. However,
a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice R.S. Sodhi and Mr Justice P.K.
Bhasin said, “The deductions are yours and not the doctor’s. It is
not a way to cross-examine the doctor.” He alleged that in his
earlier statement, the doctor had claimed that the blood samples of the
accused bore a seal of Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in Delhi. However, he
later admitted that the seal was not discernible. He further said this indicated that the samples had been tampered with.
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Petrol dealers call off stir in M’rashtra
Mumbai, September 19 The strikers said the minister promised to use his influence to get the Maharashtra Government reduce the sales tax on petroleum products in the state. The meeting between the petrol station owners and Deora lasted an hour. More than 2,200 dealers across Maharashtra were on strike since Sunday to protest the 34 per cent sales tax on petroleum products. Murli Deora said he would get the petroleum dealers to meet with Maharashtra’s Finance Minister to resolve the issue. Both Deora and the petroleum dealers hoped to resolve the matter in a week’s time.
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Yaws eradicated: Ramadoss
New Delhi, September 19 Announcing ‘Yaws Elimination from India’ at a function in Vigyan Bhavan here on Tuesday, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Anbhumani Ramadoss said, “India has finally eliminated yaws. Elimination of yaws is a step towards eradication. Last year, it was Leprosy. Next year, it is supposed to be polio. And after another year, it will be kala
azhar. Of the four, we are going on track on three except polio,” he said. The minister said the disease was reported from 49 tribal districts of 10 states in India and was prevalent among marginalised population living in remote, inaccessible hilly and tribal areas under unhygienic conditions. The Yaws Eradication Programme (YEP) was launched in India in 1996- 07 as a pilot project in Koraput district, Orissa and was expanded to cover all endemic districts in 1999. The minister said although in the past four years, India has had the largest number of cases of polio in the world, it is determined to get rid of it. “I was very optimistic last year when we had 66 cases of polio. Let us not be crestfallen. Let us be optimistic,” he said.
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Entries invited for Bharatendu awards
New Delhi, September 19 According to a press note by the ministry yesterday, the first prize is of Rs 35,000, the second of Rs 25,000 and the third Rs 20,000. There are five consolation prizes of Rs 5,000 each. The last date for the receipt of entries is October 31. The awards are open to all Indian authors and books and manuscripts written between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2005, will be considered for the awards. |
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