Friday, August 21, 1998
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Nation pays warm tributes
to Rajiv |
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Pension payment to be
simplified |
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TV scam: Jaya's revision plea admitted CHENNAI, Aug 20 (PTI) — The Madras High Court has admitted revision petitions filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and her close friend Sasikala, challenging a May 14 order by a Special Judge framing charges against them in the Rs 10.16 crore colour television scam. Admitting the petitions yesterday, Justice A. Raman ordered issue of notice to the crime branch-CID of the state police returnable in two weeks. The case relates to the purchase of over 45,000 colour TV sets for village panchayats while Jayalalitha was Chief Minister between 1991 and 1996. Other accused in the case include former Finance Minister, V.R. Nedunchezhiyan, former Local Administration Minister, T.M. Selvaganapathy, Sasikala’s nephew S.R. Bhaskaran, four IAS officers and two others. Contending that the dismissal of her discharge petition by Special Judge, V. Radhakrishnan, trying cases of corruption, was ‘arbitrary’, Ms Jayalalitha said she had prayed for a direction from the Special Judge to the CB-CID to make available to her certain documents ‘critical for proceeding in the case. One of the documents sought was the report of the Additional Director General of Police (Crime), which was mentioned in the sanction order as having been perused by the Tamil Nadu Governor before sanction was given to prosecute her. Alleging that the judge had failed to see that the documents were necessary for proper defence, Ms Jayalalitha contended that the Supreme Court in an order had clearly stated that even while seeking a discharge an accused was entitled to rely on defence documents. She claimed that material gathered during investigation, irrespective of whether the prosecution proposed to rely on it or not, should be disclosed to the accused. Ms Jayalalitha said the trial judge had failed to note that an accused, before participating in a trial had to understand the entirety of the prosecution case to put forward a credible defence. She contended that her
plea that the Special Judge should excuse himself from
the case was maintainable as the judge had participated
in a function in which several political figures,
inimically disposed to her, were present. |
Cong keeps tabs on situation NEW DELHI, Aug 20 — The Congress is on the horns of a dilemma. With uncertainty over continuation of support by the AIADMK dogging the Vajpayee-led coalition government, the Congress has projected it will step in when the opportunity comes and give an alternative government but at the same time does not want to be branded as party which is "power hungry’’. The wound inflicted by the telling comment "old man in a hurry" when the United Front government was being dislodged has not yet healed. The present Congress leadership has been seeking to present new face of the party. For strategic reasons, the Congress has continued dialogue with "secular outfits" so that when an opportunity presents itself, the party is not caught unawares. In fact, the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, has had personal meetings with two important Left leaders, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet (CPM) at the latter’s residence and Mr Indrajit Gupta (CPI) in the Parliament House, in the past few days. She has also authorised some senior CWC leaders to continue personal interaction with leaders of "like-minded parties" which had been described as part of the contingency plan, party sources said. However, care is being taken so that no future alliance partner could drive home any hard bargain. The move is also there to remove any impression that may have gained currency after the statement of the party’s Leader of Opposition, Mr Sharad Pawar, that the Congress would choose its Prime Minister by talking to its allies. Congress leaders want that a message should be sent clearly that Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the party and only her diktat counts. Senior leaders like Mr Arjun Singh and Mr K Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy had taken exception to Mr Pawar’s statement and as a result the party high command decided to view the video tape and pursue the transcript of the television interview in which Mr Pawar had made the remarks. Outside of the controversy, the Congress party has two other plans, one short term and another long-term. As part of the short-term course, the party’s think tank feels that even if the Congress gets an opportunity to form an alternative government, considering the inherent instability in the 12th Lok Sabha, mid-term polls are inevitable. Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and some others are of the opinion that instead of rushing to form a government the party should concentrate on the forthcoming elections to Vidhan Sabhas of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram in November. The Congress which is in opposition both in Delhi and Rajasthan, expects to come to power in these two states and hopes to do well both in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, where the party is in power. The leaders feel, in the event of the Congress riding to power in at least three states there will be an erosion in the BJP-led government’s "charisma" and stage will be set for it to be dislodged. On this issue the opinion is divided with a section advocating that with the party in power at the Centre it will be better placed during the Assembly elections in November. The argument being that in
case the results at the Assembly elections do not go in
favour of the Congress then it will not have the same
strength in destabilising the current arrangement. |
Nation pays warm tributes to
Rajiv NEW DELHI, Aug 20 — The nation paid rich tributes to the former Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, on his 54th birth anniversary in the Capital today. President K R Narayanan, Vice-President Krishan Kant, Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, former President, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma and former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, leaders of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, Mr Sharad Pawar and Dr Manmohan Singh paid floral tributes at his samadhi “Veer Bhumi”. At a function in the Central Hall of Parliament, attended among others by Lok Sabha Speaker, G M C Balayogi, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, Ms Najma Heptullah and former Prime Ministers, H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral, warm tributes were paid to Rajiv Gandhi. Union Home Minister, L. K. Advani administered pledge to work for “oneness and harmony” to employees of his ministry and exhorted them to do their work righteously without favour to any one. Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, her daughter, Ms Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra were the first to offer tributes at a solemn ceremony in the front of the white flower-bedecked samadhi early in the morning. As Ms Sonia Gandhi, Ms Priyanka and Mr Vadra offered flowers at the samadhi, school children sang hymns. A group of handicapped students painted murals of Rajiv Gandhi and his vision of modern India on the spot. The government today honoured Mr Anantrai K Shah, a social worker, with Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for his outstanding contributions towards children’s cause. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, presented motorised tri-cycles to disabled persons, prizes to amateur radio artists and special gifts to insulin dependent diabetic children on the occasion. For 20 diabetic children, the meeting with Ms Gandhi who gave them books on diabetic care and special gift, was an occasion to remember. Ms Gandhi gave away prizes to three persons in recognition of their efforts to promote amateur radio activities. The winners were Mr Ravaprolu Sarath Babu, Hyderabad, Mr H. N. Naveen, Mysore, and V. Palanalappan, Thanjavur. A large number of disabled persons were among those who met Ms Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence today. Eminent musicologist Dr N. P. Seshadri was conferred the prestigious “Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Ekta Award” for his outstanding work for the promotion of national integration, communal harmony and unity in the past 50 years. The award, instituted by the All-India Unity Conference, was presented here by former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil, former Tamil Nadu Governor, Dr Bhisma Narain Singh, were among those participated in a symposium on “Communal Harmony” organised at Teen Murti auditorium here. Mr V. N. Srivastava, Additional Director-General of the CRPF administered pledge to all officers and personnel at a function organised to mark the Sadbhavana Divas. Torchlight procession from the AICC office to the samadhi of Rajiv Gandhi was taken out by the Indian Youth Congress in the evening. The Congress workers pledged to follow Rajiv Gandhi’s path and build modern India, the way he had dreamt. A blood donation camp was organised at the AICC headquarters. Inaugurating the camp, Mr Ahmed Patel, AICC treasurer, remembered the ideals of Rajiv Gandhi and emphasised that donating blood is the true tribute to the late leader. The Delhi Pradesh Youth
Congress activists also took out processions in various
parts of the Capital. According to DPYC vice- president,
Mr Pradeep Devgan, the activists remembered Rajiv Gandhi
as a person who always encouraged the youth. |
Pension payment to be simplified NEW DELHI, Aug 20 (UNI) — The government will consider the demand for reducing the commuted period of pensions from 15 to 12 years following the raising of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, according to Minister of State for Personnel, Pensions and Public Grievances M.R. Janarthanan. In an interview on the Awaaz programme of Star Plus this week, Mr Janarthanan said that he was prepared to review the policy in the cases of those persons whose pensions had not been revised as per the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission. The Minister announced that he had asked his Ministry officials to visit the aged, infirm and sick pensioners at their residence to verify claims and ensure prompt payment of pensions, admitting that the process of claiming pensions was complex and difficult. The Minister promised to settle within a month all problematic cases like the one that involved a 75-year-old bed-ridden woman who had been running from pillar to post to get her pension. He also promised to look
into complaints that banks took a long time to disburse
pensions and additional benefits as they wanted to wait
for the guidelines from their headquarters despite
consolidated instructions from the Reserve Bank of India. |
Biswas reviews fodder scam probe PATNA, Aug 20 (PTI) — CBI Joint Director U.N. Biswas today reviewed the progress of investigations into different fodder scam cases for the third consecutive day. Mr Biswas held close-door meetings with senior CBI officials, including the DIG (Patna Range) Mr N.C. Verma, the Superintendents of Police of Dhanbad and Patna, Mr R.K. Asthana and Mr V.S.K. Kaumudi, respectively, CBI sources said. The CBI Joint Director, in charge of investigations into the multi-crore scam, undertook an “in-depth study” of proposals for registering fresh cases of disproportionate assets against some key accused, including politicians allegedly involved in the scam. The meetings assume significance in the light of the Patna High Court directive asking the CBI to institute fresh cases in regard to alleged accumulation of huge wealth by scam accused, disproportionate to their known sources of income. CBI Director Trinath Mishra had, about two months ago, in an affidavit filed with the Division Bench of the High Court, monitoring the investigations, promised that the investigating agency would complete the probe into all scam cases within six months. Of the 49 regular cases instituted in connection with fraudulent withdrawals of several crores of rupees from various district treasuries through “fake and forged” bills, the CBI had already filed charge sheets in about 21 cases. Of the seven conspiracy angle cases of the multi-crore scam, the agency had so far submitted charge sheets in two cases (RC 64(A)/96 and RC 20(1)/96) in which several politicians, including former Chief Ministers, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr Jagannath Mishra, besides RJD MLAs, Mr Vidya Sagar Nishad, Mr Bholaram Toofani and Mr R.K. Rana, and suspended a BJP MLA, Mr Dhruv Bhagat, are named accused. While Mr Yadav and Mr Mishra, had already been granted regular bail in RC 20(A)/96 case, they had moved the Supreme Court against a Patna High Court order rejecting their petitions seeking quashing of special court order asking them to surrender in another case (RC 64(A)/96). The apex court while
staying the operation of arrest warrant or surrender had
fixed August 22 for resuming hearing on their petitions. |
Cop, suspect hurt in encounter NEW DELHI, Aug 20 — The Delhi police has arrested a Bahadurgarh-based “criminal” after an encounter on the outskirts of Mandothi village this morning. The suspect, Sanjay, was reportedly involved in an armed robbery case last month in North-West Delhi. Two other suspects, Ashok and Ajay, were handed over to the Bahadurgarh police. They were reportedly involved in 10 criminal cases registered in Delhi and Bahadurgarh, the police said. According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Satyendra Garg, a team of North-West Delhi district was sent to Mandothi village to nab Sanjay early this morning. While they were on their
way, the suspects were coming from the village in a
tractor-trolley with 10 others. When the team members
tried to find out where they were coming from, Ashok
reportedly fired at them. Constable Gulab Singh was
injured. In the encounter, the team members also fired
and wounded one suspect, Ajay. |
Resource crunch hits Delhi college NEW DELHI, Aug 20 — The resource crunch being faced by Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbiya College is hampering its functioning, say the alumni of the college. The alumni point out that the Hindustani Dawakhana has been affected following the collapse of a wall last month. “The wall of the dawakhana of the college which has been awarded for being a heritage monument by the Delhi Government collapsed due to lack of maintenance,” an alumnus said. Dr Aslam Javed, an alumnus, said things had come to such a pass that even food could not be made available in the hospital for about four days recently. The alumni have formed an
association called the Hakim Ajmal Khan Memorial Society
which is spearheading the campaign for getting university
status for the institution which was set up in 1916. |
IGNOU VC gets award NEW DELHI, Aug 20 — The Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University, Prof A. W. Khan, was awarded Rashtriya Ekta Award by former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda yesterday. Dr Khan was given this
award for his efforts towards highlighting the relevance
of unity and national integration at a time when communal
forces were trying to create chaos in the country, a
release said. |
Sadbhavna Divas NEW DELHI, Aug 20 — “Irrespective of caste, creed, religion and culture, India is one,” said the Additional Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force, Mr Y. N. Srivastava on the occasion of Sadbhavna Divas here today. Addressing CRPF personnel at the force headquarters, Mr Srivastava said unity in diversity was the special feature of Indian culture and “we should maintain it at any cost”. He administered the pledge
of Sadbhavna Divas to all officers and personnel present
on the occasion. |
9-year jail for Pak spy JAIPUR, Aug 20 (PTI) — A Pakistani ISI agent has been sentenced to nine years’ rigorous imprisonment by a district and sessions court here on the charge of spying in India and sending information to the ISI. The sentence was pronounced on the ISI agent, Nur Mohammed, yesterday. The police had seized Pakistani currency and a few letters written in Urdu from him about eight years ago in Bikaner in connection with his spying activities. Another local, Bakku Khan,
was also arrested for giving shelter to Nur Mohammed. |
Three-day Cong camp from September 4 BHOPAL, Aug 20 (PTI) — A three-day camp to be attended by top Congress leaders from all over the country would be held at Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh from September 4. Invitations have been sent to around 200 leaders, including members of the Congress Working Committee and other top functionaries, Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary and spokesman Manak Agarwal said here today. Mr Agarwal said the need for a camp on the lines of the one held at Narora was being felt for a long time but it could not be organised due to “unavoidable circumstances”. Participants at the camp would be divided into five groups and each group would meet separately and discuss the topics allotted to it, he said, adding that the groups would discuss issues relating to finance, foreign policy, agriculture, political situation and organisation. No media briefings would be held during the camp and it was merely a “chintan shivir” (meditation camp), he said. The spokesman said the
Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, would reach Bhopal
on September 3. The camp was expected to send the
party’s message on various issues to its workers all
over the country, he added. |
| In
brief 4 of family commit suicide JAIPUR: Four members of a family were found dead in a house at the local Mansarovar colony, the police said here on Thursday. The bodies were identified as of Alok Shah, his wife, son and daughter. The police suspects that Shah committed suicide after poisoning and strangulating his family members to death on Wednesday. The bodies have been sent for a postmortem examination. — PTI Militant outfit demands
‘tax’ Prostitutes seek
closure of brothels Koran’s Hindi
version released |
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