Wednesday, August 19, 1998

Taliban advances cause worry
From Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

ON BOARD IAF AIRCRAFT, Aug 18 — The advancement of the Taliban militia in Afghanistan should be a cause of worry for the country, the Chief of the Army Staff Gen V.P. Malik said today.

Talking to newsmen on his return from Ambala after inaugurating Army’s first industrial training institute (ITI), General Malik said the advancement of the Taliban militia was not only a cause of worry for India but also for other Central Asian countries, which were likely to be directly affected by its victories. “Whatever is happening in Afghanistan is of concern to us and the long-term strategy will have to accommodate developments there”, he said.

The Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic group, is on the verge of conquering all of Afghanistan. The Taliban has also vowed to restore peace in the war-ravaged country and transform it into a purist Islamic state.

The comments of the Army chief in regard to the Taliban assume importance especially as at present the Army is fighting a proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir with insurgents, a majority of whom are foreigners and that too from Afghanistan. There is a worry that once the Taliban ensure victory in their country, Pakistan could utilise the services of the militia to infiltrate them into Jammu and Kashmir.

Once without an agenda in Afghanistan, the mercenaries could get a clear passage through to Kashmir from Pakistan and the PoK. This especially as the Taliban has emerged from the madarsas’ located in the North-West Frontier Province regions of Pakistan.

The Chief of the Army Staff was, however, confident of tackling militancy in the state.

When asked if the Taliban could also create trouble for Pakistan besides the other Central Asian Islamic countries, General Malik said militancy was a doubled edged weapon, “it can cut both ways”.

Replying to questions, he regretted that the issue of the National security had not received adequate focus in the country.” National security is a very important issue, but unfortunately it has not got the focus and attention it deserves,” he said.

General Malik pointed out that in a bid to create adequate awareness among decision-makers and MPs, the Army had recently organised an exhibition in Delhi of sophisticated arms, ammunition, explosives and communication equipment and propaganda material captured from Pakistan-trained militants in Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking about the firing along the Line of Control (LoC) the Army chief said the situation was under control at the moment and firing from across the border had reduced.

However, when asked if the Army was expecting escalation in firing from across the border especially with the NAM summit scheduled in Durban (South Africa) later this month General Malik said; “There has been a trend, we will have to be careful and take adequate measures”. Pakistan has been following a trend of increasing firing around international events to project Jammu and Kashmir as a flashpoint pointing to the necessity of a third party intervention.

However, India has been maintaining restraint and also rejecting to the idea of a third party intervention to solve the issue.

Four Hizbul men held in Delhi
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 — The Delhi police arrested four activists of the Hizbul Mujahideen, including its “chief administrator” Mushtaq Ahmed Gilkar, from Khanpur in South Delhi yesterday.

While investigating the July 26 bomb blast case at the ISBT, the police received secret information that a person named Suhail Idris had been receiving messages from Srinagar on the telephone for passing them to another person, Mushtaq. Surveillance was kept on the activities of Suhail, who lived in the Khanpur area of South Delhi, the police said.

The surveillance revealed the movements of the core group of the activists of the Hizbul Mujahideen in Delhi and Srinagar. It was also learnt that ‘chief administrator’ of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Mushtaq Ahmed Gilkar, alias Haider Ali, was in constant touch with the “deputy supreme commandeer” of the outfit, Ali Mohammad Dar, through Suhail.

Besides Mushtaq, a few other militants were also reported to be in the Capital with a view to establishing a base in Delhi for terrorist activities.

Further investigations revealed the whereabouts of Ali Mohammad Dar in Srinagar. The information about Dar was passed on to the Kashmir police. However, he was killed in an encounter with the Srinagar police recently, the police said.

In the meantime, the police has also located the house of Mushtaq Ahmed Gilkar and the STD booth from where he used to talk to Suhail Idris in Durga Vihar, South Delhi.

The police noticed a truck (JK-03-1398) and stopped it. During interrogation, the four persons who were travelling in the truck admitted that they were Kashmiri militants. They were identified as Mushtaq Ahmed Gilkar, alias Haider Ali, Javed alias Mushtaq Ahmed Butt, alias Badri Hussain of Anantnag, Fayyaz Ahmed Paddar, alias Tahir of Anantnag, and Suhail Idris of Kishtwar.

Congress will win in Delhi
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 — The anti-incumbency factor will help the Congress come to power in Delhi in the forthcoming Assembly elections, says an opinion poll conducted by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS).

The ruling BJP, which swept the polls in 1993, securing 48 seats in the 70-member Assembly, will get less than 30 seats. However, the Congress, which had managed to win only 14 seats will get 37 to 39 seats, the CMS survey says.

While the former Chief Minister of Delhi Madan Lal Khurana is preferred as the next Chief Minister by 28 per cent of the respondents, followed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Sheila Dikshit with 15 per cent support and Ms Meira Kumar with 13 per cent. The present incumbent, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, comes a poor fourth with 11 per cent, the survey claims.

The CMS survey was conducted last week among 420 voters from “seven carefully selected Assembly segments”.

The term of the present Assembly ends on December 13. Mr Sahib Singh had said that the election would be held after November 20.

The CMS psephologist, Mr Dharmender Kumar Singh, who analysed the data, in a release said “the anti-incumbency phenomena is swaying voters far more is too obvious from the study not only in Delhi but also in Rajasthan.”

A loss of 3 per cent vote base of the BJP in Delhi will make a significant difference to its fortunes in Delhi, the survey predicts. “The erosion of BJP vote is uniform in all parts of Delhi except perhaps in Delhi Sadar,” the survey said.

The prime reasons for the voters’ unhappiness with the city BJP government were identified as law and order and shortage of civic amenities, particularly electricity and water.

“Fortysix per cent voters think that the public distribution system has not been functioning well in Delhi,” the survey stated.

Delhi voters think the key issues on the eve of the assembly polls are: water, electricity, good governance, price rise, corruption and indecisiveness on the part of the government.

One-third of the Delhi voters do not think that the proposed full statehood for Delhi would not make any difference to their woes, but 45 per cent expect “some difference and hope some improvement in the living conditions.”

Compared to the voting pattern of the 1993 Assembly polls, the Congress is set to gain seven percentage point, BJP will lose three percentage points compared to the recent Lok Sabha polls, in which the BJP won six of the seven seats.

Goa Speaker’s order stayed

PANAJI, Aug 18 (PTI) — The Wilfed D’Souza ministry in Goa earned a reprieve today when the Mumbai High Court stayed the order of the Speaker Tomazinho Cardozo disqualifying the Chief Minister and nine other MLAs of the Goa Rajiv Congress Party (GRCP) under the anti-defection law.

The interim order granting the stay was passed by a Division Bench of the court comprising Justice E.R.K. Bhatta and Justice J.A. Patil on a petition filed by GRCP challenging the Speaker’s ruling.

Cardozo disqualified 10 MLAs from membership on Friday last on two petitions filed before him by former Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane and former Revenue Minister Wilfred Mesquita plunging the state into a constitutional crisis.

D’Souza who along with nine other MLAs broke away from the 25-member Congress, formed the GRCP and was installed at the head of a coalition ministry with the Maharashtra Gomantak Party on July 29 following the dismissal of the Rane government by Governor J.F.R. Jacob.

D’Souza expressed happiness that the disqualification order has been stayed.

“I am waiting for the order on the other petition filed by Rane before the high court challenging the dismissal of his ministry by the Governor,” he said. The high court has reserved its order on this point.

Cogentrix hearing may be delayed

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (UNI) — The Supreme Court hearing in the Cogentrix Thermal Power Project case of Karnataka is likely to be delayed further with Mr Justice S.K. Kukurdukar withdrawing today from the three-judges Bench headed by Mr Justice S.C. Agrawal which had been hearing the matter.

He advanced personal reasons for the decision. The third judge on the Bench was Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu.

Now, a new Bench would have to be constituted by the Chief Justice before the hearing is restarted.

Senior counsel S.S. Nariman appearing for Cogentrix pleaded for earlier hearing as the stay granted earlier by the court was serving no purpose and due to it counter-guarantee could not be obtained from the Chief Justice.

Counsel said the entire project had been stalled due to the public interest litigation in which the Karnataka High Court ordered an inquiry by the CBI into allegations of heavy bribes having been paid to some political entities.

It was against this order that Congentrix, the state of Karnataka and others have come before the Supreme Court by way of appeal.

Delhi police within panel purview
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 — The ambit of the Public Grievances Commission set up by the Delhi Government has been extended by bringing the Delhi Police within its purview.

Addressing a press conference here today, the Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, said the “Union Home Ministry has extended the jurisdiction of the commission to the Delhi police also.”

Corruption cases, delay in the registration of cases, harassment and other grievances of the people against the Delhi police could be registered, the Chairman of the commission, Mr Mahesh Prasad, said.

Apart from the police, the commission looks into the grievances of the local bodies, autonomous organisations/undertakings and institutions owned and financed by the Delhi Government.

Mr Prasad said the complainant should first approach the authority with which he had a grievance. A complaint should be registered with the commission only if it was not attended to by the respective authority.

Though the commission had no authority to take action against the erring organisation or person, it would submit a report to the Delhi Assembly and the Lt-Governor.

The full-time members of the commission are Mr Mahesh Prasad, former chairman of ITPO, Mr A.K. Tandon, former Director-General of the BSF. The two part-time members were Mr R.K. Mahajan, a Supreme Court advocate, and Dr Kusum Lata, an educationist.

AISSF submits memo on
Udham Singh Nagar
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 — A delegation of the All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) today submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, pressing for exclusion of Udham Singh Nagar district from the proposed Uttaranchal state.

The delegation, led by the AISSF president, Mr Harminder Singh Gill, said that farmers from the State who had settled in Udham Singh Nagar district would be affected on account of the land ceiling Act.

It urged the Central Government to reconsider the issue of inclusion of the district in the proposed state and also conveyed its protest on the move.

Mr Gill said the BJP, which had an alliance with the SAD, had to protect the interests of Punjabis and should not “humiliate them on account of the callous attitude of the government”.

The delegation also drew the attention of the government to other long-pending demands like the transfer of Chandigarh, negotiations for transfer of other Punjabi-speaking areas and settlement of the water dispute.

The AISSF also conveyed its opposition to the proposal to impose tax on the agricultural sector. It said the farmers of Punjab were in distress and many committed suicides due to the “unbearable debt-trap”.

Congress wants Advani to quit
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 — The Congress today demanded the resignation of the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, on the grounds that the Srikrishna Commission report stated that his 1991 rath yatra was the build-up for communal riots that rocked Mumbai during 1992-93.

“Mr Advani was categorically indicted in the report and he has no moral or constitutional right to continue as the Home Minister. He should step down,” the party spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, said today.

He said in the opinion of the Congress, Mr Advani, who has been chargesheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case also stood indicted by the Srikrishna Commission for the build-up of riots.

Mr Jogi said there were two references to Mr Advani, in the commission report which said the rath yatra was a build-up.

Meanwhile, the party today criticised the move by the government of seeking details from the AIADMK chief, Ms Jayalalitha, to substantiate her charges of corruption against some persons close to the Prime Minister.

Yamuna crosses danger mark
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 — The Yamuna flowing through Delhi crossed the danger mark today.

The river was flowing at 205.15 metres this evening while the danger mark is at 204.83 metres.

At 9 a.m. this morning, the water level was 205.03 metres up from the 6 a.m. figure of 204.99 metres. The river is steadily rising.

The flood controlroom told the TNS that the rise was likely to continue for a while. Those people living in low-lying areas had been asked to move to safer places.

Sack Bihar Governor, says Laloo

PATNA, Aug 18 (PTI, UNI) — The RJD Chief, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, today demanded the resignation of the Bihar Governor, Mr Sunder Singh Bhandari, for having "failed to secure relief" for the flood-ravaged state from the Centre.

The former Bihar Chief Minister told reporters here that the Governor after holding an all-party meeting had said that he would request the Centre to send a team to assess the flood situation, but "no team nor any central assistance is forthcoming".

"Mr Bhandari should realised that he has cut a sorry figure and put in his papers as even his old friends in power at the Centre have paid no heed to his request," Mr Yadav said.

Charging the Centre with being "insensitive to the plight of the sufferings masses", he said the state government had sought an immediate assistance of Rs 100 crore from the Centre to step up relief operations, but to no avail.

The Chief Minister, Ms Rabri Devi, who was also present at the press conference, said: "not a single person will be allowed to starve. Adequate relief material are being supplied to the flood-hit people", she said dismissing the opposition charge of inadequate relief as "politically motivated".

Meanwhile the 12-hour 'Bihar bandh' sponsored by the opposition, demanding adequate relief to the flood-affected people of north Bihar and in protest against the August 11 Sitamarhi police firing, evoked partial response on Tuesday.

According to the police the bandh was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported so far.

In the state capital, all the markets were closed but government officers and the state secretariat along with commercial banks were functioning normally. Vehicular traffic in the city was, however, thin and schools and colleges were closed.

Vaghela hints at 'third force'

AHMEDABAD, Aug 18 (PTI) — The Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) would discuss the creation of a 'strong third force' at its meeting here tomorrow, the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) president, Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela said today.

Mr Vaghela, who joined the morcha in Delhi yesterday, told newspersons here that the meeting would also decide the agenda for the August 20 rally.

He said the meeting would be attended by RLM leaders, including its president Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, film star-turned-politician Raj Babbar and RJP office-bearers from 13 states.

Mr Vaghela alleged the BJP governments in Delhi and Gujarat had 'failed" on all fronts.

Answering a question, he said there should be an alternative government either by the Congress or the morcha.

Replying to another query, he said efforts would be made to ensure that the Republican Party of India (RPI) joined the morcha.

Thambidurai challenges government

CHENNAI, Aug 18 (PTI) — Union Law Minister M. Thambidurai today challenged the Vajpayee government to prove its majority without the support of the AIADMK saying: "let us see how they survive".

Asked for comments on the remarks of a senior BJP leader that the Vajpayee government would survive even if the AIADMK pulled out, Mr Thambidurai, who met AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha thrice today, told mediapersons after the second meeting: "Let us see how they survive".

He said only Ms Jayalalitha could take a decision on the question of pulling out of the BJP-led coalition at the Centre.

Asked whether there was any significance in the meeting between Ms Jayalalitha and former Union Minister Buta Singh, scheduled for tomorrow, Mr Thambidurai said he was not aware of any such meeting.

The Union Minister of State for Personnel K.M.R. Janarthanam also met Ms Jayalalitha.

Jaya intimidating, says TN CM

CHENNAI, Aug 18 (PTI) — Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said here today that the disunity among the BJP-led coalition partners had brought the governance of the country to a standstill and blamed the AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha for this.

In an interview to a private TV channel programme “Aaj Tak”, he said the BJP-led coalition had gone to pieces as Ms Jayalalitha, who believed that she would be relieved from the cases filed against her and his government would be dismissed, was thoroughly disappointed. “In a fit of anger, she has started intimidating the Centre with withdrawal threats, which has created political “uncertainty”, he said.

Mr Karunanidhi said he wished that the coalition would be allowed to complete its term and discharge its duty to the people. “If the government is toppled, it is a disgrace to the Indian democracy”, he said, adding that the DMK would co-operate with the Centre in delivering goods to the people.

He said the Cauvery accord and nuclear tests were the only achievements of the Vajpayee ministry and disunity among the coalition partners was the reason for its poor performance. Asked whether the DMK would extend support to the BJP, if the AIADMK withdrew support, Mr Karunanidhi said as a constituent of the United Front, the DMK would like a common stand by the front on the issue. “If the UF constituents take individual decisions, the DMK’s executive and general council will meet to discuss the issue,” he said. He refused to comment on the controversy over the transfer of Enforcement Director M.K. Bezboruah.

Scribes’ wage board hearing
NEW DELHI: The next round of hearing by wage boards for working journalists and non-journalists, newspaper and news agency employees scheduled to be held here from August 24 will cover all states and union territories, an official press note said on Tuesday. Earlier, the wage boards had invited persons for hearing from Rajasthan, Goa, Assam and national capital territory of Delhi only. Newspaper establishments, newspaper unions and federations and individuals concerned with the newspaper industry and desirous of making written or oral submission before the board may make a request to Mr P. Kumar, Administrative Officer, Wage Boards at Shram Shakti Bhavan, New Delhi. — UNI

Centre for mentally handicapped
NEW DELHI: For the 45 children of a centre for the mentally handicapped in Dakshinpuri, a resettlement colony in the capital, it was an immemorable day. The children got chocolates from a “policewallah”, as Joint Commissioner of Police Kiran Bedi, who inaugurated the day-care centre for Samadhan, a voluntary body working among mentally handicapped children, described herself. But even more thrilling for them was the ‘clown’ — the British Airways General Manager for South Asia, Kevin Steele, all dressed up, face painted for the occasion — who handed out toys sent all the way from Britain by 12 British Airways staffers who built the centre as part of the airline’s community relations programme. — PTI

Cong leaders head PSUs in Orissa
BHUBANESWAR: Orissa Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik has appointed leaders of the ruling Congress as heads of 12 public sector undertakings in the state, official sources said. Former Minister Jogesh Rout has been appointed Chairman of newly-created Agriculture Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Limited, while a former Janata Dal minister and now Congressman, Syed Mustafiz Ahmed, has been made the head of State Seeds Corporation. Former Congress MLA Prafulla Bhanja has been appointed Chairman of the Orissa Bridge Construction Corporation and Gopanarayan Das Chairman of the Orissa Small Industries Corporation. — PTI

8th century technique discovered
CHENNAI: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered the hitherto unknown technique, storing lime-based mortar for long periods, adopted by masons while erecting panels of exquisite sculpture in temples of south India. The chance discovery of seven brick-layered convex-shaped cisterns during digging of the outer ‘’prakaram’’ of the Uthamanatha Swamy temple at Kiranur in Pudukkottai district revealed that the mortar had been stored in these cisterns for use in sculpting panels. Superintending Archaeologist (southern cirlce) K.T. Narasimhan said one of the cisterns found in the eighth century Chola temple contained frozen mortar and another was partially full. — UNI