Monday, August 17, 1998
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Jaya not to withdraw
support, claims ally |
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Gujral warns against
fundamentalist forces
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Sant Longowal remembered |
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CHENNAI, Aug 16 (PTI) — The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a constituent of the AIADMK front in Tamil Nadu, today gave enough indication that the front would not withdraw its support to the BJP-led government, claiming that there was no danger to the regime, as the PMK had "prevailed upon" the AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha against any such precipitate action. Talking to reporters after participating in the convocation of the national board of examinations here, the PMK founder Dr S. Ramadoss said: "She will definitely not withdraw support and will announce the good news shortly." "I am sure our support will continue. We want this government to last long," he said. To a specific question, Ramadoss, whose party has four MPs in the 27-member front and has a nominee in the Union ministry, said: "Yes. I think we have prevailed upon her." Ramadoss said the Congress was not keen on forming the government, but it was only expecting elections. Earlier in the day, in an informal chat to some reporters at a party workers’ meeting, he had reportedly said the Congress wanted the AIADMK front to take the blame for forcing an election on the country. "We will not allow such a situation to arise," he had said. Ramadoss claimed that over the past few days, the AIADMK front had only been discussing the "betrayal" of Tamil Nadu’s interests in the Cauvery issue, and not the issue of withdrawal of support. He blamed the media for "magnifying the issue". On the merits of the Cauvery accord, hammered out by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee in consultation with the Chief Ministers of the four basin states, Ramadoss said the scheme notified by the Centre represented a great loss for Tamil Nadu and a victory for Karnataka. He claimed that it would only help Karnataka’s objective of prolonging the issue, without implementing the directives of the Cauvery tribunal. The demerits of the scheme would become apparent, once the time for cultivation of "kuruvai" (short-term paddy crop) came sometime in September, he said. He claimed that the
Cauvery river authority proposed in the notified scheme
was a meaningless body, as it had no
"authority" in the lexical meaning of the word,
but was envisaged as a body that would work on consensus. |
Gujral warns against fundamentalist forces NEW DELHI, Aug 16 (PTI) — Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral today said that the greatest threat to democracy was from the forces of fundamentalism which were bent upon capturing power to further their goal. Speaking after giving noted journalist and author Arun Shourie, MP, "the freedom to publish award", instituted by the Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP), Mr Gujral cautioned people, especially the intellectuals against these forces who he said, were not confined to a particular religion. "Democracy and fundamentalism cannot co-exist as the forces propagating it do not see beyond reasons. Dissension against their dictates is considered blasphemous by them," the former Prime Minister said while praising Mr Shourie for his "courageous and bold" writings against such forces. He said "divergent views are essential part of democracy and the society will have to pay heavy price if people do not have tolerance for voice of dissent." Appreciating the efforts of the FIP to encourage books on bold subjects, the former Prime Minister regretted that the number of publications in India was very less in comparison to advanced countries. Thanking the FIP for the award, Mr Shourie said he would enjoy it after being severely criticised in recent times for writing certain books by bringing "hidden facts to light". Defending his writings, the noted author said the society had lost the capacity to face the truth as people had developed the tendency to turn their faces to other direction. He regretted that the society had become indifferent even to major issues like terrorism which had claimed over 35,000 lives during the past decade. Mr Shourie also criticised certain organisations in the country for raising the bogey of human rights violation by the state, especially in the situation where innocent people were frequently being gunned down by terrorists. Referring to the burning of his book on Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mr Shourie accused certain top politicians and bureaucrats for "systematically" managing to publish articles in newspapers which gave an entirely "distorted" view on the book. He said their only purpose was to rouse people’s passion and take political mileage out of it. FIP president Vishwa Nath
and the chairman of the award committee D.N. Malhotra
said publishers were always under pressure from
fundamentalist forces and the state for publishing books
on "bold issues". |
SAD to extend base beyond
Punjab NEW DELHI, Aug 16 — The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is planning to expand its activities to other states in a bid to increase its base. The SAD is planning to hold a series of meetings starting next week in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, with an eye on the forthcoming Assembly poll due later this year in these states. The SAD general secretary, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra told TNS here that the first meeting was scheduled to be held in Meerut on August 23. This will be followed by another one at Jabalpur on August 27 and at Indore on August 29. More meetings have been planned during September in Delhi and Rajasthan, which have a sizeable Punjabi and Sikh population. Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra said the SAD which had taken up the cause of the exclusion of Udham Singh Nagar district from the proposed Uttaranchal with vigour plans to expand its base in Uttar Pradesh. Another key reason, as mentioned earlier, is to establish the presence of the SAD in Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh ahead of the Assembly poll, he said. Barring MP,
the BJP is in power in all three states. The BJP is an
ally of the SAD in Punjab and the party hopes there could
be some understanding in other states as well. |
Cong may seek Jaya's support NEW DELHI, Aug 16 (PTI) — Senior Congress leader and party working committee member Sharad Pawar has said his party would think of approaching AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha for support to form an alternative government at the Centre the moment she decided to withdraw support to the Vajpayee ministry. Mr Pawar said he would not like to comment on speculation that the AIADMK chief was putting off a decision on the withdrawal of support to the Vajpayee government in the absence of any concrete assurance from the Congress. “I don’t know anything. I have no knowledge about these things. Whether she has approached the Congress. But according to my information no,” he said in an interview to Eenadu Television. Asked about possible Congress overtures towards her, Mr Pawar first said he did not think there was any need for the party to approach her as it had decided that it was not interested. “But supposing she withdraws support tomorrow then we have to think on what way we have to provide an alternative. Then we will think of approaching,” he added. Mr Pawar clarified that appropriate time for the Congress to approach other parties would come when the Vajpayee government was reduced to a minority government. Asked whether the Congress had any information about the “appropriate decision at the appropriate time” of the AIADMK, Mr Pawar said there were rumours that Jayalalitha was going to “say something on August 16. Some persons say that she would prefer to wait for some more time”. (An AIADMK front meeting on August 13 to review support to BJP-led coalition government had authorised Jayalalitha to take “appropriate decision at the appropriate time.”) “We don’t have any first hand information on that. Neither have we talked to her (on this issue),” Mr Pawar said. Asked whether he thought the Congress could provide a stable government in the event of collapse of the Vajpayee government, Mr Pawar said it was not going to be an easy task. “But being the most experienced party, the party which has held reins of the country for so many years and knows how to function and administer. Our performance will definitely be better than others,” he said. To a question as to how confident the Congress was that the demands of Jayalalitha could be managed better by it than the BJP, Mr Pawar said the party would not like to be put in a position where “everyday somebody would be pressing for this or that”. Mr Pawar said there should be some minimum understanding on all issues “otherwise the same situation may be repeated tomorrow.” Asked, who would head the new government on the fall of the BJP coalition, Pawar said the decision would be that of the Congress party and not that of any individual. “The Congress party will definitely decide. Further there is a chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party and it is up to her,” he said. To a question that the Congress president had always been the automatic choice in the past for prime ministership. Mr Pawar said “yes it is ultimately the Congress president who has to take a decision on this particular subject. She will consult everybody definitely and then take the appropriate decision”. Questioned further whether the Congress president would be the automatic choice for the post Mr Pawar said if there was a clear-cut majority for the party this would be the correct position. “But here if you have
to take the support of over 100 people from outside then
these issues have to be discussed with various people.
But initiative will have to definitely come from the
Congress president herself. She has to take initiative on
these issues. She has to decide in what direction we have
to go and ultimately whatever her thinking is, will be
most important in the process of taking a decision,”
Mr Pawar said. |
Sant Longowal remembered NEW DELHI, Aug 16 (PTI) — Rich tributes were paid to Sant Harchand Singh Longowal today on his 13th death anniversary, observed as National Integration Day. To commemorate the occasion a seminar was organised by the Longowal Peace Foundation where Union Minister of Chemical Fertilisers and Food Surjit Singh Barnala, Delhi Transport Minister Rajendra Gupta and Delhi BJP President Mangey Ram Garg lauded the Sant’s role in achieving the Rajiv-Longowal accord. The foundation urged the
Delhi Government to introduce a postage stamp and name a
street after the late leader to recognise his efforts in
achieving the accord. |
Plea to lift ban on Godse play MUMBAI, Aug 16 (PTI) — The ban on the performance of the Marathi play “Mee Nathuram Godsey Boltey (I am Nathuram Godse Speaking)” should be lifted “even if it is true that Mahatma Gandhi is belittled and his assassin glorified”, according to eminent personalities here. In separate interviews to PTI, jurist Nani Palkhivala and renowned painter M.F. Husain condemned the ban by the Maharashtra government. Husain, who has faced his own share of brickbats for his paintings, said, “people have the right to decide whether they want to see it or not. Those who want to see it will go to the theatre and others who have reservations can stay away”, he reiterated. However, stage actress and film personality Rohini Hattangadi, who played the role of the Mahatma’s wife Kasturba opposite Ben Kingsley in the acclaimed Richard Attenborough movie “Gandhi”, had a different viewpoint while generally supporting the freedom of artistic expression. “Though Godse had different views from Gandhiji’s, it does not mean that he should have killed the Mahatma”, Ms Hattangadi contended, when asked to respond to the argument that even the Godse’s glorification and belittling of Gandhiji should be permitted in a democracy. “But I have not seen it yet and even if I had read the script, it would be difficult to make a judgement as even a harmless bit of dialogue can take on a different colour depending on the style of delivery and presentation”, she observed. Meanwhile, in a statement,
Dr Vijay V. Bedekar, president of the Thane-based
“Satya Shodha Sanstha”, contended that mere
staging of the play could not be interpreted as
acceptance of Godse’s thoughts. “Gandhi himself
would not have minded the staging of the play as he
believed in listening to criticism and had a tolerant
outlook”, Mr Bedekar argued. |
BJP blames Cong, RJD for floods PATNA, Aug 16 (PTI) — The BJP today blamed the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for recurring floods in Bihar alleging that no proper control measures were taken by the two parties during their successive regimes in the state. BJP Bihar unit president Nand Kishore Yadav and Opposition Leader in the Bihar Assembly Sushil Kumar Modi said no proper flood control measures were initiated by RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi or by the Congress to mitigate the problems of people of North Bihar where floods had become a "recurrent feature". Flood victims were suffering as inadequate relief measures had been taken by the state government who, they alleged, had adopted a "negative attitude" towards maintenance of the existing embankments of major rivers. The BJP, they said, had called for a "North Bihar bandh" on August 18 in protest against police firing on relief seekers at Sitamarhi on Tuesday. They said engineers had sought Rs 683 crore for the maintenance of embankments but only Rs 65.45 crore was spent for the purpose during 1992-96. The BJP leaders alleged that during the Eighth Five-Year Plan, "Rs 251.71 crore was earmarked for constructing embankments in a stretch of 98 km in the state but not a single penny was spent on this head." Quoting a national flood
control commission report, they said 60 per cent of total
flood control expenditure was yet to be earmarked for
executing the project and providing protection to flood
areas but "not an inch of embankment has been
constructed during the past eight years." |
University teachers’ stir from
today NEW DELHI, Aug 16 — Teachers of central universities across the country would go on a week-long strike tomorrow demanding implementation of the University Grants Commission (UGC)-recommended pay scales. A meeting of the Federation of Central University Teachers Association (FEDCUTA) held last week decided to hold relay fast in front of the UGC building during the period to protest against the recent announcement on pay scales decided by the Human Resources Development Ministry which did not incorporate all the recommendations of the UGC in the proposals. According to the agitational programme announced by FEDCUTA, representative of all central universities would go on fast on August 17 which would be carried on by representatives of Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, Indira Gandhi Open University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the National Council Education Research and Training. FEDCUTA has expressed solidarity with over four lakh teachers who have been on strike since August 11 for the implementation of the UGC-recommended pay scales following a call given by the All India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (AIFUCTO). The secretary of FEDCUTA,
Dr M Rais Khan, has urged the HRD Minister, Dr Murli
Manohar Joshi, to immediately open negotiations with the
teachers representatives to implement the UGC-recommended
pay scales and avoid disruption of academic life. |
Tie-up between Indo-US satellite operators NEW DELHI, Aug 16 (PTI) — Indian astronomers have agreed to restrict the operation of their Rs 60 crore Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune to accommodate the commercial interests of the global telecommunications satellite operator Iridium llc of the USA, which is due to begin its worldwide mobile telephone services next month. Under a time-sharing agreement announced today the GMRT will be able to scan the skies in the astronomically important 1612 mhz band for only six hours a day between midnight and 6 a.m. During this period the US company has agreed to limit its satellite telephone traffic to avoid interference with GMRT’s observations at this frequency. Rest of the day, the telescope will not be able to make observations in this particular band called the OH band as it will be swamped by spurious emissions from Iridium’s constellation of 66 orbiting satellites. The GMRT consisting of an array of 30 giant parabolic antennae is being operated by the National Centre for Radio Astronomy (NCRA) under the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. Mr Vijay Kapahi, Director
of the NCRA, said “although Indian astronomers are
unhappy over the time restrictions, yet, the compromise
solution was acceptable as only a small fraction of GMRT
time was expected to be used for observations in the OH
band.’’ |
500 stranded in Rudraprayag LUCKNOW, Aug 16 (PTI) — More than 500 people were stranded in the Kalishila high-altitude area of Rudraprayag district of Garhwal hills due to a major landslide following torrential rain last night while Army jawans continued rescue and relief operations in other rain-affected areas of the district, official reports said here today. Several pilgrims to the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines were also stranded due to extensive damage to roads, the reports added. Meanwhile, heavy rain continued to lash Chamoli, Pauri and Pithorgarh hill districts paralysing normal life and hampering relief and rescue operations, the reports said. Of the 69 deaths and several others reported missing in landslides following torrential rain in Rudraprayag district since Wednesday last, 40 bodies had so far been recovered, the reports said. Officials at the Central
Command here said Army columns from Joshimath and
Rudraprayag were engaged in clearing debris while the
civil administration, NGOs and the medical teams were
trying to reach the affected people to provide them food
and medicines. |
‘Partners' credibility at stake’ HYDERABAD, Aug 16 (UNI) — The BJP Vice-President and party spokesman, Mr K.L. Sharma, today said that the repeated crises being faced by the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre were "manageable" and asserted that the government would complete its full term. Addressing a press conference here, he said the repeated crises being faced by the coalition government would affect its functioning and also the credibility of the coalition partners. The BJP leadership and the government were making sincere efforts to overcome the crises, he added. Mr Sharma challenged all those who wanted to destabilise the government to come out with a common minimum programme and a common leader. "There was no alternative to the present government and nobody can claim that they would provide a more stable government", he added. He said the Opposition,
which had to play a constructive role, was doing
disservice to the nation by creating an atmosphere of
instability and pushing the country towards a mid-term
poll, which was not acceptable to both Members of
Parliament and the people. |
Bengali Tiger Force militants kill seven GUWAHATI, Aug 16 (UNI) — Though the Independence Day celebrations passed off peacefully under tight security yesterday, at least 11 persons, including three women, were killed in extremist violence during the past 48 hours, official reports said. Unidentified gunmen shot dead one Dabakanta Gogoi, an upper division assistant of Dibrugarh University and elder brother of an ULFA leader Krishna Gogoi, at his residence in the tea town last night while suspected Bodo militants killed two Santhals. Suspected Bengali Tiger
Force militants shot dead seven persons at Milanpur in
Darrang district. |
Two killed in Tripura AGARTALA, Aug 16 (PTI) — Militants of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura struck again today killing two businessmen and kidnapping three others in two separate incidents in the state. The extremists raided
Pramod Nagar market this afternoon and shot dead two
traders, Prem Singh Oram and Ratia Oram. Some shops were
looted at gunpoint, the police said. |
| In
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comes true 20m undergo
‘unsafe abortions’ 5 killed in wall
collapses JMM (S) threat on
support 16 Al-Umma members
held NHRC plea to UP
govt |
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