Monday, August 3, 1998
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Advani makes talks offer to
Pak Karnataka’s
no to curbs on usage of water |
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Jaya: Jain made charges against
Karunanidhi CHENNAI, Aug 2 — The AIADMK today disputed DMK Chief M Karunanidhi’s claim that there were no specific charges against him in the Jain Commission’s final report on Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
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Water Act: Centre seeks
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Advani makes talks offer to Pak BARODA, Aug 2 (PTI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today said India was ready to resume talks with Pakistan on all issues, including Kashmir, on the basis of the Simla Agreement. "The Simla Agreement has been ratified by Parliaments of both countries and there is no change in the stand of the Indian Government, which is committed to implement it", he said. Reacting to the recent spate of violence in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Centre was in the process of implementing pro-active policy for tackling the situation there and rejected the demand for declaring it as a disturbed area. He said a plan had been chalked out at a high-level meeting of Defence Minister George Fernandes, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Girish Chandra Saxena, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and Army Chief V.P. Malik to normalise the situation there. Mr Advani said Pakistan had shifted its focus on Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur districts to create communal tension there. Mr Advani said the government was preparing a plan for strengthening internal security following several bomb blasts in the country. Of the 40 incidents of explosion, involvement of Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) was detected in 36 cases, and a large quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered from them. An attempt was made for creating communal tension in Hyderabad where the pamphlets were seized by the police before their distribution, he added. Mr Advani said the government was also taking steps for making the intelligence agencies more effective and to provide the police with modern equipment and upgrade their training. It is the government’s resolve to strengthen national security and instill confidence among the people, he added. Though it was the responsibility of the state governments to maintain law and order, reports have been received on deterioration of the situation in several states, he said. However, the rising tourist traffic in Jammu and Kashmir indicated that normalcy was returning to the state, he said. More than one lakh Hindus, visiting the holy cave of Amarnath was also indicative of the improved law and order situation in the state, he added. Referring to illegal Bangladeshis staying in the country, Mr Advani said the government was capable of detecting and deporting illegal immigrants from West Bengal, Mumbai and other parts of the country. Preparing registers for Indians and non-residents was the only way to deal with the issue, he added. Mr Advani, however, refused to comment on the report of the Jain Commission on the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi saying that the report was to be discussed in parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday. He said the Centre had not
received any report from Gujarat of forcible conversion
or abduction of Hindu girls by those belonging to
minority communities. "The law and order situation
is good in the state," he added. |
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| Jaya: Jain made charges against
Karunanidhi CHENNAI, Aug 2 (PTI) — The AIADMK today disputed DMK Chief M Karunanidhi’s claim that there were no specific charges against him in the Jain Commission’s final report on the conspiracy aspects of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, and once again demanded his resignation to facilitate an impartial investigation against him. In a lengthy statement here, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha said the commission had levelled serious charges in "unambiguous terms" against Mr Karunanidhi. It had said his interrogation by the special investigation would have been relevant, only because Justice Jain was provided with an "enormous amount of evidence". The government had rightly decided to entrust the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency with the responsibility of interrogating him and to decide how to proceed further in the matter, she said. Ms Jayalalitha said the final report, while exonerating former Prime Ministers V.P Singh, Chandra Shekhar and P.V Narasimha Rao, had dealt with ‘charges and apprehensions’ about Mr Karunanidhi by narrating ‘instances of evidence’ as they are, without dismissing any of them. The killing of EPRLF leader Padmanabha in 1990 when Mr Karunanidhi was Chief Minister, intelligence reports on the free run the LTTE had in 1989-90, and the role of former DMK minister Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan in allegedly harbouring proclaimed offenders wanted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case were cited in the commission’s report, Ms Jayalalitha said. Justice Jain had not dismissed these charges, she said. Referring to Mr Karunanidhi’s warning to the BJP-led government yesterday that it would be ‘stirring a hornet’s nest’ if there was any move to dismiss his government, she said this was nothing except his usual dialogues of bravado, and he had spoken in the same vein in 1991 (when an earlier regime headed by him was dismissed). On the proposed investigation against Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, one of her prominent allies, Ms Jayalalitha said Dr Swamy was responsible for the allegations against him, and it was his lookout to establish his innocence. On Mr Karunanidhi’s
comment that Ms Jayalalitha could not demand his
resignation while continuing to regard Dr Swamy as her
‘adviser’, she said she had categorically
refuted Dr Swamy’s charge before the commission that
she had sent LTTE men to Sriperumbudur. |
Cauvery water issue: Karnataka’s no to curbs on usage of water BANGALORE, Aug 2 (PTI) — Karnataka Chief Minister J.H. Patel today said the state’s stand on the Cauvery issue would be made known after the August 6 meeting of Chief Ministers of riparian states, convened by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee to discuss the modified scheme for implementing the Cauvery tribunal’s interim order. He told reporters here that Karnataka would not, however, accept any curbs on water utilisation. "Who are they to say that we should limit our irrigation facilities," the Chief Minister asked. The modified scheme, which proposed that Karnataka limit its irrigation potential to 11 lakh hectares,was unacceptable, as it would infringe the state’s autonomy, he said. "It is a foolish idea to impose curbs on usage of water for irrigation by the state," he said. Mr Patel reiterated that Karnataka had all along been opposing the tribunal’s interim award, directing it to release 205 TMC ft of water to Tamil Nadu every year. The Chief Minister said Karnataka had reservations on certain provisions in the modified draft scheme. However, he said he would not discuss them at this stage. Mr Patel said he would put forth his views before the Prime Minister at the meeting. Asked whether he was hopeful of a solution emerging at the Chief Ministers meeting, he said "if I had no hope, I would not have consented to attend it". He said Karnataka was not against supplying water to farmers in Tamil Nadu. The question haunting the state was how to ensure supply during distress periods, he said. Without mentioning the AIADMK, Mr Patel said the Cauvery issue had more of "political overtones" than the farmers interests. "A party is waiting to get the government dismissed to come to power using the issue," he said. Mr Patel has convened an
all-party meeting of state MPs and former Chief Ministers
at Delhi on August 5 to apprise them of the modified
draft and to seek their views. |
Rajiv killing: Book reveals LTTE-Lebanese nexus NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (UNI) — The LTTE had received two consignments of arms and ammunition from two Lebanese nationals just over a month before Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, according to a top secret note of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The note, sent on April 24, 1991, by the then Joint Director N.V. Vathsan to the IB Director, identified the Lebanese nationals as Ibrahim, based in Cyprus, and Charles Obed. Charles Obed, whose daughter was married to the son of mafia don Joseph of Beirut, was also to pay $ 200,000 to the LTTE, the note said. “Joseph also deals in arms and is suspected to have connections with the Central Intelligence of Agency (CIA): of the USA, it said. K. Padmanathan, who was in charge of raising funds abroad for the LTTE, was in touch with these arms dealers and made purchases. LTTE ship “Yelicia” was scheduled to touch the Tuticorin harbour on April 9. The other vessel, belonging to the group, ‘Sunbird’, was then in the Malaysian port of Kuching, according to the note. The note and several other wireless messages of the LTTE intercepted by the IB have been published in a book. “Beyond the Tigers — tracking the Rajib Gandhi assassination” to be released later this month. The book has been authored by Rajeev Sharma who covered the proceedings of both the Jain and Verma commission of inquiry and the CBI investigations in the case. The government yesterday informed Parliament that a multi-disciplinary monitoring agency (MDMA) in the CBI would, among other things, conduct further investigations into the possible involvement of foreign hands behind the LTTE move. According to another note of Mr Vathsan sent on September 11, 1990, to the then Additional Director K. Saranyan, Padamanathan, alias ‘KP’, had sent a coded communication from Cyprus to LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran, indicating that he would be in a position to spare $ 1 million for buying arms and ammunition, provided the amount was returned within two months. According to the coded communication of ‘KP’, sent on September 10, 1990, his friend was willing to supply goods as per the list of Prabhakaran. “KP” had hoped that he could meet the LTTE supremo soon with the ‘goods’. Prabhakaran
sent a coded message to ‘KP’ the same night
(September 10, 1990) in which the emphasis was on
purchase of different types of optical accessories like
celstron telescope, snipe sighter and parallax adjusting
rifle scopes. |
Amendment to water Act: Centre seeks
NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (PTI) — Concerned over the prolonged inter-state water disputes, the Centre is seeking to strengthen legal instruments by amending the River Waters Disputes Act to make the constitution of tribunals “mandatory” and give them more teeth for time-bound settlement. Suggesting amendments to Inter-State River Waters Disputes (ISRWD) Act of 1956, a special action plan (SAP) on the national water policy, says: “A tribunal’s award should have the same force and sanction behind it as an order or decree of the Supreme Court.” The SAP, circulated by the Planning Commission to the states for their opinion, said such changes would make the tribunal award “really binding” on the parties concerned — states and the Centre — for its implementation. The need for strengthening the water disputes mechanism has been felt more and more in the light of prolonged disputes between the riparian states on the issues like the Cauvery, the Almatti dam over the Krishna etc, sources in the state governments said. “In view of our experience over the past few decades on the inter-state river disputes, there is a need to make the available legal instruments more effective,” the Planning Commission note, prepared last month, said. The SAP proposed to vest tribunals with powers of a court to acquire the necessary information and data from states concerned and deliver the award within five years of their constitution. The note said though the present Act seemingly provided “fairly clear procedures” for handling disputes, the law nevertheless permitted considerable discretions. “Disputes have been settled through various options, yet in some cases disagreements have continued,” it pointed out. The note said that once an application under the Act was received from a state, it should be “mandatory” on the part of the central government to constitute a tribunal within a period not exceeding one year from the date of receipt of the application by any disputant state. Suggesting that a tribunal must deliver the award within five years from the date of its constitution, the note said that if, for some reasons, the tribunal felt that a five-year period had to be extended, the Centre may do so. A tribunal’s award should also decide the period of implementation of the award along with its funding schedule which should be binding on each of the states involved in the dispute, the SAP said. The SAP has been
formulated with an aim to providing irrigation facilities
for 14.15 million hectares of land over the next 10 years
at an estimated total investment of Rs 32,736 crore.This
includes central support to the extent of Rs 14,060 crore
and the remaining Rs 18,676 crore from the state’s
plan resources. |
Sack Fernandes, demands RJD PATNA, Aug 2 (PTI) — The Rashtriya Janata Dal today charged the Defence Minister with “transgressing” his authority in the “politically motivated and scurrilous” demand for the imposition of President’s rule in Bihar and demanded his immediate removal from the Union Cabinet. Taking serious exception to the Union Minister George Fernandes reported statement that “Bihar is a fit case for use of Article 356 but the Centre cannot invoke the article as it lacks the required numbers in the Rajya Sabha”, RJD spokesman Shakeel Ahmed Khan said: “It is quite unbecoming on the part of a seasoned politician like him (George)”. “It is an instance of transgression of authority... more so as Mr Fernandes has the dubious distinction of interfering in the affairs of other ministries”, Mr Khan said. He took a dig at Mr Fernandes allegedly defending the CBI’s action seeking the Army’s help to execute the arrest warrant against former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case last year and said the agency’s action then had “shocked the entire nation and even disturbed Parliament”. “Mr Fernandes’
justification of the CBI action smacks of vendetta...
Such a biased person should not be allowed to continue as
Defence Minister”, he said. |
BJP conclave for more coordination BARODA, Aug 2 (PTI) — The three-day state-level BJP conclave concluded today with a call for greater coordination among the organisational and executive wings of the party. Party chief Kushabhau Thakre said by organising such camps at the national as well as state levels “free and frank discussions among party functionaries could be undertaken to help in better understanding of the problems of the masses”. Several party members criticised the style of functioning of the BJP government in Gujarat and said it was becoming difficult to explain to the people the reason for price rise of essential commodities. The party leadership was ignoring them while rewarding junior members berths in the ministry and post of chairman in several undertakings, they alleged. More such conclaves would help workers to redress their complaints and solve issues through discussions, Mr Thakre said. He said till now the party had played the role of an Opposition party only, but being in power at the Centre as well as in several states, the conclaves would help training party members for their role. Issues of steep hike in
prices, deterioration in law and order and failure in
handling of the situation after the devastating cyclone
were the other issues discussed at the meeting. |
Chhinda murder case: SC acquits three convicts NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has acquitted three persons convicted in the sensational Chhinda murder case that rocked Chandigarh in November, 1991, saying the conviction order by the High Court was not “justified”. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice M.K. Mukherjee and Mr Justice D.P. Wadhwa, after perusing the evidence on record, held “the high court was not at all justified in convicting the accused persons for none of the reasons given by the trial court (while acquitting them) can be said to be perverse.” “On the contrary, in our considered view, each of the reasons (given by the trial court) is substantial and based on proper appreciation of evidence,” the Bench observed. The High Court had overturned the trial court’s order acquitting the accused and sentenced three of them to life imprisonment on charges of murder and conspiring to murder Chhinda while awarding seven year detention to the two juveniles at a special home. The prosecution story was that on November 9, 1991, Chhinda and his friends had accosted five boys — Jai Sham, Durga Das, Pawan Kumar, Jai Pal and Padam — on the suspicion that they were carrying stolen property. A week later the boys came back and ambushed Chhinda and his friends with Jai Sham repeatedly stabbing Chhinda leading to his death. The trial court rejected the prosecution story saying there were discrepancies in the evidence as to with whom and where the first information report was lodged and noted no witness could explain the details recorded in the FIR. The trial court further said that the prosecution could not explain as to how the evidence of the two eyewitnesses and that of the two investigating officers was contradictory on material particulars. However, the High Court, while upsetting the findings of the trial court held that the evidence of the two eyewitnesses was reliable and could be made the basis for conviction. The Supreme Court, while allowing the appeal of Jai Sham and two juveniles, said. “In our considered view, each of the reasons (given by the trial court) is substantial and based on proper appreciation of evidence. The High Court, therefore, ought not to have set aside the acquittal merely because a different view of the evidence can be taken.” The Bench also said, “Since this judgement of ours is based on an overall consideration of the prosecution case and not qua any particular accused, the benefit of this order should also go to the other two accused, even though they have not preferred any appeal before this court.” “We direct that Jai
Sham, Durga Dass and Pawan Kumar, all of whom are in
jail, be released forthwith, unless they are wanted in
connection with some other case. Further we set aside the
direction of the High Court to detain the two juveniles
Jai Pal and Padam in special home,” the Bench
ordered. |
Delhi CM to quit if power crisis stays NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (UNI) — Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma has offered to quit if there was no “substantial” respite from the power crisis, water shortage and transport bottlenecks in the city before the Assembly poll due later this year and assured an improvement in the law and order situation within a month. Talking about the problems relating to basic amenities in the Capital in an interview to Home TV, to be telecast tomorrow, the Chief Minister said categorically: “I can say that if these do not improve tremendously before elections, I will not be in this post. I will resign from this post.” Regarding the deteriorating law and order situation, with the crime graph showing an alarming rise as evident from the recent spate of robberies, dacoities and murder, Mr Verma felt it “needs a lot of improvement” and stressed the need for the Delhi police to “do more and to make up for the ‘shathiltha’ (slowness) in its work”. “I am confident that in a month’s time, it will certainly improve. I can make this promise to the people and if you like you can meet me again on August 31,” he said. Speaking about the image of the Delhi police, he said: “The police need much more upgrading in all things ... the commitment that it should have is not up to the level.” The Chief Minister said he had asked Home Minister L.K. Advani for deputations from the BSF, CRPF and other police agencies “as early as possible.” He said he had also asked Police Commissioner V.N. Singh to withdraw the security personnel attached to him. Mr Verma said he would also request the Police Commissioner to withdraw the security personnel from those VIPs who did not require them. The Chief Minister had
already written to Lt-Governor Vijai Kapoor on this and
had also said that he believed thousands of police
personnel were deployed for the VIPs, many of whom had
criminal cases registered against them. |
Annual Plan: Jaswant to meet Delhi CM NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (PTI) — Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh will meet the Chief Ministers of Delhi and Tripura on Monday, thus setting off the annual exercise of fixing state Plan outlays for 1998-99. Discussions with the states, which were earlier deferred by a week, will start tomorrow and continue for about two weeks and cover 19 states, official sources said. The dates for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, West Bengal and the Andaman and the Andaman Nicobar Islands are yet be finalised. Indications are that the full exercise might get delayed due to the scheduled meeting between Mr Jaswant Singh and the US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott towards end of the month. However, the sources said
the National Development Council, (NDC), comprising all
Chief Ministers, would meet as per schedule in September
to finalise the states’ annual Plans. |
Shabana Azmi against ban on play THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Aug 2 (PTI) — Noted actress Shabana Azmi has said she was against a ban on the controversial Marathi play “Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy” which allegedly denigrates Mahatma Gandhi, although she does not share the views expressed through the play. Participating in an interface with students last evening, Azmi said although she did not agree with the play’s contents, she felt that the people of the country should have been given an opportunity to watch it and form their own impression. Every citizen of the country must have freedom of dissent, the actress said, adding any opposition to the views expressed through the play should be in a democratic manner. Azmi said she opposed the
ban on the play as much as she opposed the recent attacks
on painter M.E. Hussain and disruption of programme by
Pakistani gazal singer Ghulam Ali. |
| In
brief Medical journal for laymen Lawyer gets
compensation Novel cataract
surgery Sex workers’
kids adopted 34 villages
flooded 5 die of
gastro-enteritis 24-hour AIDS
hotline |
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