Sunday, August 30, 1998
|
N A T I O N |
|
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
 |
|
|
Political drama takes a break as
Sonia, Atal leave NEW DELHI, Aug 29 — It was a unique Saturday — with both the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the principal Opposition leader, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, taking off for the Gulf region. Though there is no gulf in the thinking of the two leaders about the ‘short-term longevity’ of the government, there will be a three-week interval in the ongoing political drama. 12 killed in NE violence AGARTALA, Aug 29 — Twelve persons were killed and nine, including a former Speaker of Nagaland, injured in incidents of ambush in Tripura and Manipur today. |
 |
 A temple abounding in rats |
|
Panel report "not totally
rejected": Joshi NEW DELHI, Aug 29 — Maharashtra government has "not totally rejected" the Srikrishna Commission’s report on the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and accepted the commission’s view on a number of issues "where it was correct", according to Chief Minister Manohar Joshi. PMK
reiterates support to Vajpayee govt More
landslides near Malpa hit relief work 10
lakh hit as rivers overflow BJP
rule national disaster: CPI Aerial
survey to count illegal colonies |
|||||
|
||||||
Political drama takes a break as NEW DELHI, Aug 29 — It was a unique Saturday — with both the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the principal Opposition leader, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, taking off for their respective destinations in the Gulf region. Though there is no gulf in the thinking of the two leaders about the ‘short-term longevity’ of the government, there will be a three-week interval in the ongoing political drama. Things may hot up again in the last week of September. Mrs Sonia Gandhi will be concentrating on strengthening her party over the next few weeks. The brainstorming session at Pachmarhi will provide her the forum for toning up her team and assessing if the time is ripe for initiating moves for pulling the rug from under the feet of Mr Vajpayee. The "red button" is in her hands, as of now. Unless the tension on the north western border escalates and the focus is turned away from internal bickerings to an international confrontation, the timing of the next act in the ongoing drama will be determined by her. The Vajpayee government has a major problem in its hands. With state after state banning the sale of mustard oil due to the dropsy epidemic emanating from the national capital, there will be a major crisis on the essential commodities front. The traditional support base of the BJP, the trading community, has been hurt. Not only stocks of edible oils but even preservatives like ‘achar’, ‘murabba’ etc, lying in the godowns of traders have been affected. When the BJP leadership held its national executive meeting at Jaipur last weekend, an incident which went rather unnoticed was the call for strike by the Rajasthan Udyog Vyapar Mandal, a forum of traders, protesting against BJP policies to coincide with the meet. The traditional vote bank and financial base of the BJP is thus in turmoil. The mustard oil crisis has come soon after the transporters’ strife. This too had affected trading activity countrywide. While the uncertainty over the AIADMK’s stance continues, its ally in Tamil Nadu, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which has four seats in the Lok Sabha (and thus is a major partner in the southern alliance), announced today that even if Ms Jayalalitha pulls out, the PMK will continue supporting Mr Vajpayee. Thus, the Vajpayee government’s bid for continuing in power minus Ms Jayalalitha and her party is slowly gaining ground. However, at the same time, it cannot be ignored that while the two Communist parties are likely to give a formal stamp of approval to their Congress-friendly line in forthcoming party congresses, the new policy is visible in the various state conferences of the CPI and the CPM, which are being held as a prelude to the Chennai and Calcutta meets. The Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) is firmly with Mrs Sonia Gandhi. The recent raids at the Chief Minister’s residence in Patna has only helped in consolidating the anti-Vajpayee front. The report card of the Vajpayee government is impressive. Cauvery has been managed for the time being. The impressive response to the Resurgent India Bonds has shown the credibility of the government among the NRIs. In Colombo, Mr Vajpayee may not have been able to succeed bilaterally with Pakistan but had scored on the multilateral front. Today, again, the news that the UN Security Council had endorsed India’s view on Afghanistan, which came simultaneously with the news of the complete isolation of Pakistan in that forum, augurs well for the government. However, these achievements apart, Mr Vajpayee, when he returns home, will have to contend with the contradictions which are emerging in his alliance. Political uncertainty is not unique to India. Mr Vajpayee’s counterpart from the East, Sheikh Hasina Wajed of Bangladesh, and from the West, Mr Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, had to call off their trips to Durban due to internal reasons. At least Mr Vajpayee is stable enough to undertake a four-nation tour, which also takes him to the NAM Summit. The President, Mr K.R.
Narayanan, will be away for a fortnight soon after Mr
Vajpayee returns from abroad. Thus, political
developments are likely to gain momentum only after
September 20. Till then, the guessing game will be on. |
12 killed in NE violence AGARTALA, Aug 29 (PTI) — Twelve persons were killed and nine, including a former Speaker of Nagaland, injured in incidents of ambush in Tripura and Manipur today. In Tripura, seven labourers were killed, an equal number injured and some others were missing after their vehicle came under fire from militants at Sibbari in Dhalai district. The police said six persons died on the spot when a group of 25 banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) activists opened fire at the vehicle. One person died later in hospital, while seven persons with serious injuries were hospitalised. Some of the labourers, working for the Border Roads Organisation to construct roads, were missing after the incident, the police said. In Manipur, five persons were killed and a former Speaker of the Nagaland Assembly, Thamicho Angami, was seriously injured when some armed persons attacked his vehicle at Imphal this morning. Official sources said some
armed persons wearing the uniform of security forces
attacked Angami’s vehicle on Imphal airport road,
killing the driver and three others in the vehicle and
injuring Angami. A civilian, who was working nearby, was
also killed in the attack. Yangmasho Shaiza, who was chief minister for two terms, was killed by Naga militants in the early 1980s. The Army and two platoons of the CRPF have launched combing operations, in the area, Army sources said. Nearby BSF outposts were alerted to prevent the militants escaping across the international border. Meanwhile, the Tripura
People's Democratic Front (TPDF), the political wing of
the banned All-Tripura Tiger Force, has demanded that
negotiations for solving insurgency in the state be held
in a third country, rejecting the Tripura
Government’s recent offer of a dialogue with the
Centre. |
A temple abounding in rats BIKANER: There is probably no other temple in the world which has thousands of rats moving on its premises without any fear. The temple of Karni Mata situated in Deshnokhe village, about 30 km from Bikaner, is such a temple. Nevertheless, no one has ever heard of an epidemic of plague erupting despite the large number of rodents in this temple. This temple was built by the rulers of Bikaner state with the blessings of their "kuldevi", — Karni Devi, who herself was not a worshipper of Ganesh. But still the "vehicle" of Ganapati is greatly regarded and no devotee can touch any rat during worship at the temple. This famous temple attracts large crowds from Gujarat and Kathiawar also. The rats, numbering about 20,000 spread over the temple premises, are of a special variety, called "kabas". They never mix with other rats outside the temple precincts. In 1927 when plague was raging everywhere in the state, there was not a single case of the disease inside the temple. The worship in the temple is of "Shakti" and not of Kabe, the "vahan" of the goddess. The temple of Deshnokhe was constructed with white marble in simple architectural style. The inner gates of the temple are made of gold. Funds for the temple come from the rulers of Bikaner and from devotees' offerings. The puja ceremonies are performed by Charans of the Karni clan. The stone carvings on the main gate of the temple are a sign of the artisans' high skill and perfection. The patronage of the rulers enabled artisans to do exquisite marble carvings which have few parallels in the contemporary period. The rulers gave all facilities and encouragement to translate the dream of the rulers and their people into stone. The temple represents the glorious age of stone carving in Rajasthan. Karni was incarnated as "Devi" during her lifetime. She was the sixth daughter of a Charan named Meha. All the daughters of Meha are worshipped out of religious deference. While Karni attracts the upper class, the other sisters namely, Lal Bai and Phool Bai are revered by the Scheduled Castes. At the age of 27, Karni was married to one Deepa of Marwar, but the marriage was dissolved soon, and since then Karni adorned the clothes of a "sanyasan" and devoted her life to the service of the poor. According to legend, Karni breathed her last in an unusual way. She evaporated in a flash of fire. Since then she has been regarded as the incarnation of Shakti. The main attraction of the
temple is the congregation and movements of rats. There
is a regular budget to feed these rats with milk and
sweets. Sufficient staff is employed to avoid depredation
by rats. To protect them from other animals, copper nets
have also been laid on the premises. Visitors are warned
to be careful while moving in the temple. A rat of gold
has to be presented to the temple in return for one
killed. |
Panel report "not totally rejected": Joshi NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (PTI) — Maharashtra government has "not totally rejected" the Srikrishna Commission’s report on the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and accepted the commission’s view on a number of issues "where it was correct", according to Chief Minister Manohar Joshi. The Chief Minister was, however, critical of the commission and repeated his charge that the report was "anti-Hindu and favours and supports Muslims". Participating in a private TV programme "Janata ki Adalat" here, Mr Joshi accused the commission of underplaying the role of Muslims in the riots. "There is no mention in the report of the arrest of Tanzeem Allaho-Akbar workers, who were caught red-handed making bombs". A release issued by the Independent Media Pvt Ltd, which produces the programme, said today that Mr Joshi sought to underplay intra-party tussle in the Shiv Sena saying he had offered to quit twice. "I sent him (Sena chief Bal Thackeray) my resignation letter twice. If he is unhappy with my performance, why didn’t he accept it?" he asked. On the deportation of Bangladeshis from Mumbai, he said "we have sent back 8000 persons who had come from Bangladesh without passports. We will send back many more. I take the responsibility for this and I don’t feel any remorse, because I am doing this in the service of the nation". Mr Joshi said it had become now a trend to label someone secular only if he speaks out for the minorities. "I do not accept this. It is not acceptable that just because somebody is Muslim, we should be lenient with him. We have not allowed any Hindu to get scot free for similar activities", he said. Asked about attacks on the house of painter M.F. Husain over some "controversial" paintings, Mr Joshi said "how long can we tolerate insults to our Gods and Goddesses". "Nobody has come to lodge a complaint. How can we take action and against whom", he said when asked about Shiv Sena men disrupting Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai. On the deportation of illegal migrants from Mumbai, he said "we have sent back 8,000 persons who has come from Bangladesh without passports. We will send back many more in the best interests of the country". He sought to underplay the intra-party tussle in the Shiv Sena, saying that he had offered to quit twice. He has also tried to reason with party legislators who wanted to leave but did not meet with much success. BJP Ministers had recently
boycotted a cabinet meeting as they were unhappy over
some issue which is being sorted out by the leadership,
he added. |
PMK reiterates support to Vajpayee govt CHENNAI, Aug 29 (PTI) — The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a constituent of AIADMK front, today asserted that it would continue to support the Vajpayee government, even if the AIADMK withdrew its support to the coalition. Addressing a press conference here, PMK founder Dr S. Ramadoss said "there is no alternative to the BJP at the national level and that is why we will continue our support". However, he said his party would not quit the AIADMK Front. Mr Ramadoss said the PMK would never support Congress "efforts to topple the Vajpayee government. We do not want to become a prey in the dangerous net cast by the Congress", he said. He claimed that the Congress was not really interested in forming a government at the Centre. It only wanted to force elections on the people, he added. The PMK leader said he had already spoken to AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha to prevail upon her to desist from withdrawing support to the Vajpayee ministry. "I even told her that she will be blamed for forcing elections on the people, if the AIADMK withdraws support", he said. Mr Ramadoss said the BJP and its allies got a mandate from the people by promising a stable government at the Centre. That promise had to be fulfilled, he added. He said the PMK did not want elections now. Asked for his comments on DMK president M. Karunanidhi’s remarks that a snap poll to the Lok Sabha seemed "inevitable", Mr Ramadoss said "it is his wish". He said though he was piqued by the BJP government’s delay in declaring all 19 national languages as official languages, he felt that the government had to be given some time to settle down. "You cannot assess the performance of the government in just five months. Give us some time to prepare before asking us to sit for the examinations", he said. He alleged that Mr Karunanidhi had betrayed the farmers of the state on the Cauvery issue. He should not have accepted the Prime Minister’s proposal for a "powerless Cauvery authority", he said. Mr Vajpayee, in a bid to solve the issue without antagonising the people of Karnataka, had brought about a solution to the row, which was not acceptable to the PMK, he said. He said the PMK would
participate in any agitation organised by the AIADMK on
the Cauvery issue. |
More landslides near Malpa hit relief work LUCKNOW, Aug 29 (PTI) — Fresh landslides near Malpa village in Pithoragarh district since last evening have caused extensive damage to the Dharchula-Tavaghat and the Tavaghat-Mangti roads, disrupting relief operation in landslide hit hills of Uttar Pradesh, an Army spokesman said here today. Army helicopters today carried out a number of sorties over Kali river to trace more bodies of the landslide victims in and around the river. Till yesterday, 40 bodies have been extricated, an Army spokesman said. The spokesman said soldiers were assisting the civil administration in clearing the Dharchula-Tavaghat, the Tavaghat-Mangti roads and the Jidpi-Malapa track damaged in fresh landslides that occurred yesterday. Meanwhile, the 11th batch of 49 pilgrims today reached Gunji and were air-lifted to Pithoragarh, a Home Department spokesman said. Meanwhile, two helicopters were pressed into service to supply food and medicines to the stranded villagers of Rasi, Udiana and Gondar in Ukhimath block where about 1200 persons were hit by fresh landslides which have cut off the area from rest of the state. Altogether, 333 persons
including 60 Kailash Manasrovar pilgrims were feared
killed during the last 15 days in a series of landslides
in Kumaon and Garhwal divisions. |
10 lakh hit as rivers overflow MALDA (West Bengal), Aug 30 (PTI) — With reports of five more deaths, the toll increased to 15 in flood-ravaged Malda district in West Bengal today as the situation remained grim with all major rivers rising, according to official reports here. A central team led by the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Agriculture will visit the district this week to take stock of the situation. Of the five deaths, four persons were washed away in the Mothabari Baisanagar area, while a baby drowned at Bhutni Island yesterday, District Magistrate M.V. Rao said. All major rivers — the Ganga, the Mahananda and the Fulahar — were flowing above the red mark hitting a population of over 10 lakh people as the Army, along with voluntary agencies, was engaged in rescue and relief operations. Panic gripped the area as the water level of rivers began rising since this morning, Mr M.V. Rao said power supply in English Bazar town was threatened with the water level just one foot below the danger mark at Kalindri power house at Nimasarai, the main power distributing agency in the area. Engineers were working round-the-clock to drain out the water from the power house. The state government’s Principal Secretary (Relief), Mr P.S. Engti told newsmen in Calcutta that 186 cattle heads had perished in the floods, which had damaged standing crop in 75,355 hectares. In all, 56,624 houses were destroyed partially and 39,082 fully by the floods. In Jalpaiguri district, flood waters were receding though four gram panchayats in the Dhupguri area was under water. The courses of Jaldhaka, Daikhawa, Ajay and Gulami had changed following a breach in the railway embankment. While three north Bengal districts — Malda, Jalpaiguri and Murshidabad — were reeling under floods, major districts in south Bengal — Medinipur, Bardhaman and North and South 24 Parganas — were facing a “drought like situation” due to scanty rainfalls. CPI parliamentarian Geeta
Mukherjee and state’s Water Resources Minister Nanda
Gopal Mukherjee in a statement have urged the government
to take up measures on a war-footing in 24 blocks and
three municipalities in Medinipur district to save the
crop. |
BJP rule national disaster: CPI WARANGAL, Aug 29 (PTI) — CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan today described the BJP-led government at the centre as a “national disaster” and vowed to fight its “fascist tendencies tooth and nail to uphold secular values of the country. “It is disastrous for the nation that a party which has no tradition of participating in the country’s freedom struggle and is not wedded to the cause of secularism should hold the reins in the golden jubilee year of our independence”, he said while inaugurating the 20th Andhra Pradesh CPI conference here. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent body of the BJP, was never involved in the freedom struggle and its founder Hedgewar had renounced all connection with the national liberation movement after forming the RSS in 1925, Mr Bardhan said. “The BJP on the other hand continues to pursue its communal ideology which is leading to fascism and should be rejected by all secular and democratic forces”, he said. “Today the BJP government, loaded with contradictions within and without is surviving by default”, Mr Bardhan said adding that extending support to an alternative government was high on the CPI agenda. Hoping that United Front would be rejuvenated, Mr Bardhan said the left parties and some of the regional parties would be part of the new front. “The 1996-97 edition of the United Front failed as it was born out of political compulsions. However, the new front would have a major role to play in the coming days. “We are not ruling out that the DMK and many other regional parties may join in”, he added. Mr Bardhan appealed to the
party cadre to return to villages, which had given birth
to the party, in order to strengthen its base. |
Aerial survey to count illegal
colonies NEW DELHI, Aug 29 — The Delhi Government is planning an aerial survey to find out the exact number of unauthorised colonies on private lands that came into existence after March 31, 1993. A decision to this effect was reportedly taken at a meeting attended by Lt-Governor, Mr Vijai Kapoor, Chief Minister Sahib Singh and chief secretary Omesh Saigal and other senior officers. A Delhi Government official said that they would urge the court to grant a next date so that an aerial survey could be done to identify the number of unauthorised colonies after March 1993 and decide further the course of action accordingly. According to the new government’s survey only around 20 unauthorised colonies have come into existence in the past five years — since March 1993 till today. Following High Court’s direction at its last hearing that a final decision on the cut-off date for regularising these colonies be taken, the government has prepared a fresh list of the unauthorised colonies that came into existence after March 1993. In the last hearing on
August 17, Chief Minister Sahib Singh, in person, had
pleaded before the High Court that the cut-off date for
the regularisation of unauthorised colonies built on
private land be extended. |
Preparations on for Cong session PACHMARHI (Madhya Pradesh), Aug 29 ( UNI) — Hectic preparations are being made at this hill resort in the Satpura mountain ranges to host the three-day brain storming session of the Congress, beginning here on September 4. Elaborate security arrangements have been made as senior party leaders are assembling here to deliberate on various matters pertaining to the organisation, political, economic, foreign affairs and agriculture. Besides, the Congress is also likely to take an overview of the present political situation in the country, particularly in the light of the forthcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram. State Congress spokesman Manak Agrawal said all members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), presidents of Pradesh Congress Committees, Legislature Congress Party (LC) leaders, former governors, former union ministers, former PCC chiefs, and presidents of frontal organisations of the AICC were among the invitees. Named as “vichar manthan shivir”, the Narora type session will be addressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the inaugural day. Hoshangabad district
administration sources said the Congress had reserved all
hotels and guest houses and had even hired a few private
bungalows to accommodate nearly 225 invitees. |
Maharashtra bans Godse play MUMBAI, Aug 29 (PTI) — The Maharashtra Government today banned the controversial play “Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy” (I am Nathuram Godse speaking), reportedly glorifying the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Chief Minister Manohar Joshi made this categorical announcement at a Press briefing after the weekly cabinet meeting at Mantralaya here today. Speculation was rife over further performances of the play, following the Mumbai High Court’s observation that the playwright could go ahead with its staging if he so desired. To a query that state Advocate General C.J. Sawant had stated in the court that no formal orders banning the play had been issued, Mr Joshi said the AG was either not briefed properly or he “spoke voluntarily” in the court. When reporters pointed out
that this amounted to a major lapse, Mr Joshi said he
would have to look into the matter. |
| In
brief Lanka to develop ‘Sita
Eliya’ 'Prasad' makes 49
students ill New transit system
by 2002 Gangster killed in
encounter BJP leader’s
arrest sparks violence Phone exchange
blasted 38 schools closed
due to insurgency Sugarless biscuits |
 |
 |
 |
| Punjab
| Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | Chandigarh | | Editorial | Business | Stocks | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
