Thursday, December 10, 1998
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Mahant Sewa Dass cautions
PM, Sonia |
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Ambikapur episode condemned
SNA
awards presented |
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MPs protest against Rabri's remarks NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (PTI) — The Lok Sabha today witnessed uproarious scenes as angry members from the BJP and the Samata Party clashed with those from the RJD and the Samajwadi Party over the reported derogatory remarks made yesterday by the Bihar Chief Minister, Mrs Rabri Devi against the Governor at a rally in Patna. Objecting to raising of an issue related to a state by the BJP, members from Rashtriya Janata Dal and its ally Samajwadi Party trooped into the well. As they were protesting and arguing with the Speaker, Mr GMC Balayogi, a few BJP and Samata Party members also rushed to the well and were seen trading charges and counter charges. Responding to the concern expressed over the "abusive’’ language used by Mrs Rabri Devi against the Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Madan Lal Khurana said he would request the Home Minister to verify the veracity of the speech and inform the members. Raising the issue during zero hour, Rita Verma (BJP) said Mrs Rabri Devi had crossed all limits of constitutional dignity by openly abusing the Governor at yesterday’s rally and it was highly unbecoming of a Chief Minister to have used derogatory language. Verma said Mrs Rabri Devi had also made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani at the rally. President and Governors should not be made targets of attack in a democratic set-up, she said. While BJP member C.P. Thakur demanded dismissal of the Rabri Devi Government, Samajwadi Party member Mohan Singh sought recall of the Governor, who he alleged, was openly issuing public statements against the RJD Government. RJD member Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said there was no justification for raising the issue in the House. Samata Party member Prabhunath Singh said the Chief Minister had openly abused the Governor and the government must make a statement on the issue. RJD and SP members were
supported by Republican Party member Ram Das Athwale. |
Mahant Sewa Dass cautions PM,
Sonia NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — The President of the Shaheed Pheruman Akali Dal, Mahant Sewa Dass Singh, has warned the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Punjab Chief Minister of impending escalation in law and order problem in Punjab and the entire country. He told newspersons here today that the appointment of an ‘unrepentant criminal’ as religious head of Akal Takht is bound to lead to unrest and terrorism. He said that he has appealed to the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal to remove Bhai Ranjit Singh from Akal Takht and instead appoint the Jathedar of Takht Anandpur Sahib or Takht Damdama Sahib in his place. Mahant Sewa Dass alleged that Bhai Ranjit Singh has created unrest within the Sikh community by declaring that those who eat langar at tables will be excommunicated. He said that this hukumnama was defied by Canada-based journalist Tara Singh Hayer’s group, which won a poll to reopen locked gurdwaras. Bhai Ranjit Singh excommunicated Hayer and declared his associates ‘tankhaiya’. The Mahant alleged that the strategy behind the murder of Hayer last month was the same as that behind the murder of Nirankari Baba Gurbachan Singh. The President of Pheruman Akali Dal, Mahant Sewa Dass Singh, announced here today that he has written a letter to the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, cautioning her of brewing conspiracies in the party. Mahant Sewa Dass, a key witness before the Jain Commission of inquiry probing the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, that people responsible for leaking secret tour programmes and other security related details shortly before the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, continue to hold senior positions in the Congress party and in some cases even have access to 10, Janpath Road. “You must scrutinise
and get rid of such elements from 24, Akbar Road as well
as 10, Janpath,” he said. |
ISI infiltration likely: George NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (PTI) —The Government today said the possibility of Pakistan’s ISI infiltrating its agents into the Indian armed forces could not be ruled out. Replying to a written question in the Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister George Fernandes said such infiltration could not be ruled out in view of ISI’s support to militant activities in India. However, the Defence Minister said no such incident had come to the notice of the Government so far. Mr Fernandes said the armed forces were equipped with appropriate and elaborate measures to detect and neutralise enemy infiltration. Nuclear deterrent: The government was refining the command and control structure to enable strict political control over nuclear assets of the country, Mr Fernandes said. India’s nuclear deterrent was predicted on the basic principle of strict political/civilian control, he said, adding that such controls would be exercised through appropriate scientific, technological and military management of the nuclear assets of the country to prevent unauthorised or accidental use. LCA: Cooperation between India and General Electric and Lockheed Martin for light combat aircraft (LCA) project has been discontinued after the USA imposed sanctions on India, Mr Fernandes said. Seabird: The Government was setting up a naval base “Seabird” in the Karwar region of Karnataka on the western coast of India. Spare parts: The Defence Minister admitted that the IAF was facing some shortage of spare parts for Russian fighter planes. He said the position had considerably improved after the issue was pursued with the Russians and to ensure availability of adequate spare parts, government had identified alternate sources in CIS and east European countries, besides approaching factories manufacturing spares directly. Efforts are also being made to indigenise spare parts of Russian fighter planes. Crash: He said 68 MIG, six Jaguar, four Sea Harrier and one Kiran fighter planes have crashed since April 1994. Pak shelling: In the past
six months, 68 security personnel were killed and 273
injured due to unprovoked Pakistani firing on the border
of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Fernandes said. |
Ambikapur episode condemned NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — The Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, today suggested the need for positive changes in judiciary to expeditiously deal with crimes like eve-teasing as the Rajya Sabha strongly condemned the gruesome incident of eve-teasing and murder in Ambikapur, Madhya Pradesh. The judiciary, executive and legislature should deliberate and come out with recommendations to prevent delay in giving out justice in such heinous crimes which concerned all in the society, he said responding to an hour-long discussion on the issue. Cutting across party lines members said this "murder for fun" reflected the decadence of society and demanded a comprehensive legislation to deal with ragging, eve-teasing and other offences against women, which presently formed the grey area of the Indian Penal Code. A college student, Preeti Srivastava, was run over by a jeep carrying four teenaged boys inside the college campus in Ambikapur last week when the girl protested against the boys’ eve-teasing. Sharing the concern of members, the Home Minister said he had sought a report from the state government on the "murder for fun". Agreeing with members that incidents of rape in the country were increasing, Mr Advani said capital punishment was alone not enough to deter eve-teasers and rapists. What was more important than the quantum of punishment was that judiciary and legal system should be able to ensure that justice was not delayed and for this a positive change has to be brought about in the legal system, he said. In this context he
stressed the importance of religion, tradition and
culture to inculcate social and moral values specially
among the youth. |
Broadcast Bill in Budget session NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (PTI) — The government plans to hike foreign equity in uplinking from the current level of 20 per cent and the broadcast Bill would be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said. "We’ve already allowed 20 per cent foreign participation for uplinking in phase one. In phases two and three, further foreign participation will be announced," the minister said, without divulging either extent of further foreign equity to be allowed or a time-frame within which these provisions would be effective. Despite repeated questions, Mr Naqvi refused to reveal if these provisions would be contained in the Bill itself. "Things are changing daily in the area of broadcasting and we have to gather opinion from various quarters before the Bill is finalised," he said. Commenting on the ongoing annual trade shows — Broadcast Show and Communications India — at Pragati Maidan organised by Exhibitions India here, the minister welcomed increased foreign participation in the sector. "This is evidence of
how India is increasingly attracting foreign investors
and we aim to become a superpower in the areas of
communications and broadcasting soon," he said. |
11 undertrials rearrested in jailbreak case BERHAMPUR (Orissa), Dec 9 (PTI) — The police has rearrested 11 of the undertrial prisoners who had escaped from the sub-jail at Ramgiri-Udayagiri in Gajapati district after nearly 5,000 tribesmen broke open the prison and dragged out two undertrials before burning them alive yesterday, according to official reports. The two victims, as Joy Singh and Trinath Behera, were first attacked with bows and arrows and then torched alive as the police watched helplessly, witnesses said. The rampaging tribesmen also set fire to the police station at Udayagiri, torched several vehicles belonging to the government and the local church and burnt down 92 houses belonging to a particular minority community in the town. The tribesmen had been protesting against a bus dacoity which occurred on December 1 at Purunaghati near the town in which a substantial amount was looted from tribesmen who worked as labourers outside the district. Although the police
arrested the two suspects, the tribesmen continued to
protest demanding that the money looted from them should
be returned. They had also called a 12-hour bandh at
Udayagiri yesterday and announced that they would gherao
the tehsil office and the police station. |
SNA awards presented NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (PTI) —President K.R. Narayanan today presented the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi annual awards 1997 to 23 eminent personalities in dance, music and theatre in recognition of their distinguished contribution to the Indian performing arts. Twelve musicians, six dancers and five theatre personalities were honoured with the awards at the ornate Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and leading artistes, including sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Odissi danseuse Sonal Mansingh. The awards carry a shawl, a citation and a prize money of Rs 25,000. Noted playwright Badal Sircar, who was selected for the Akademi fellowship, restricted to only 30 living artistes at any given time, did not receive the award “owing to his pre-occupation”. Those awarded in music were Laxman Krishnarao Pandit (Hindustani vocal), Lalji Raghunath Gokhale (tabla), Sisir Kana Dhar Chaidhury (violin), Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla), M. Balasubramania Sarma (Carnatic vocal), Tiruvengadam Rukmini (violin), Kesi Narayanswamy (flute) and Satish Bhatia (creative). The recipients of the awards for dance and theatre were Kanaka Srinivasan (bharatanatyam), Gangadhar Pradhan (Odissi), M. Vasudevan Nair (kathakali), Tondon Devi (Manipuri), Rajkumar Bhogen Singh (acting), Bhanu Bharti (direction), H.S. Shiva Prakash (playwriting), Motilal Kemmu (playwriting) and Mansukh Prabhulal Joshi (other aspects of theatre). For the first time, an award was conferred for instrument making to Bishandas Sharma. In a gesture appreciated by many in the audience, the President himself came down from the dais to present the shawl, citation and cheque to Manipuri danseuse Samanduram Tondon Devi, who was on a wheelchair and “nata-sankirtana” artiste Y. Ranjana Devi. Other artistes honoured on the occasion were Arghya Sen (Rabindra sangeet), Pithukuli Murugadas (bhajan), Y. Ranjana Devi (nata sankirtan), Keshav Laxman Badge (gondhal) and P.R. Thilagam (kuravanji). Badge, who came in his
traditional dress, including a Marathi hedgear, was the
cynosure of all eyes. |
5 officials suspended BHUBANESWAR, Dec 9 (PTI) — Five officials of Gajapati district, including Additional District Magistrate and Deputy Superintendent of Police, have been suspended in connection with yesterday’s jailbreak following an attack by tribesmen, even as 11 of the 33 escapee prisoners have been re-arrested. The 33 undertrials in the sub-jail at Ramgiri-Udayagiri in the district escaped after about 5,000 irate tribesmen attacked it, dragging out two inmates — Joy Singh and Trinath Behera — and burning them alive, officials said. The tribesmen protesting against a bus dacoity at Purunaghati near Ramgiri-Udayagiri on December 1, also set afire the police station and torched several government vehicles and 92 houses belonging to a particular community. About 20 policemen were injured as the tribesmen vent their ire on their two victims providing an opportunity to 30 undertrials to escape, officials said. While nobody was arrested in connection with the jail violence, 11 of the escapees were re-arrested. The Orissa Chief Minister, Mr J.B. Patnaik, told the state Assembly that five officials — the Additional District Magistrate, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, the circle Inspector of police, the officer-in-charge of the police station and Assistant Sub-Inspector of police — had been placed under suspension for dereliction of duty. Admitting that the local administration had failed to handle the situation, Mr Patnaik said the Peoples’ War Group (PWG), its front wing, Chasi Mulia Sangha, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and a local organisation, Kuilabanga Sangha, were suspected to be involved in the incident. The Chief Minister made the statement amid uproarious scenes with Opposition members demanding his resignation and a judicial inquiry into the incident. Later, he told reporters that although the two victims belonged to a minority community and the houses burnt belonged to the same community, the government would not allow the situation to take a communal turn. The administration had totally failed to tackle the mob, Mr Patnaik said, adding that the miscreants and the organisations supporting them had taken advantage of the situation. Asked whether the government would order a judicial probe into the incident, he said he did not think it necessary since it was not a situation where the police had committed any excess. It is rather the reverse situation, he said. The Chief Minister said senior officers, including Director General of Police Shyam Mathur, DIG (Southern range) Sanjeev Marik, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern division) and Director General of Police (Jails) had rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. After getting a detailed
report from them, the government would take necessary
action, he said. |
Race on for post of Delhi
Speaker NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — The race for the post of the Delhi Assembly Speaker has gained momentum with some of the seasoned Congress MLAs who were not accommodated as ministers throwing in their hat for the post. While the former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Mr Prem Singh, has emerged as the frontrunner for the post. The others in the fray include Ms Tajdar Babar, Mr Subhash Chopra and Mr Deep Chand Bandhu. The four-day session of the newly constituted Vidhan Sabha would commence on December 14. The election for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker would take place on the first day of the session. Mr Prem Singh, who has not lost a single election since 1958 from Ambedkar Nagar constituency, is being considered for the post of Speaker owing to his vast experience about House procedures, sources in the Delhi unit of the Congress said. Mr S.C. Vats, the All-India Congress Committee Secretary, who has been elected for the first time as an MLA, is being considered for the post of Deputy Speaker, sources added. The Congress is planning to have senior leaders to head the House as there are 42 newcomers, 9 women and a 28-year-old legislator. Out of the 51 Congress legislators, 36 are new and among the BJP’s 15 members of the House, five are new. The orientation programme for the newly elected members commenced this week with the legislators being acquainted with the House proceedings. Apart from rules and procedures to be followed by the members, the legislators are being handed over a copy of the rules and regulations of the Vidhan Sabha.
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BJP workers stage walkout NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — A meeting of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party to discuss party’s rout in the Assembly poll, witnessed heated arguments with a section of workers staging a walkout. Several senior city BJP leaders, who attended the meeting, held the party workers responsible for the poor performance in the poll. The BJP, which had 49 seats in the last Assembly, could manage to win only 15 seats this time. The workers were angry on being held responsible for the debacle, and they alleged that the top leaders were equally responsible for it, hinting at the Khurana-Sahib Singh feud. The trouble began when the Delhi BJP president, Mr Mange Ram Garg, stood up to express his views, some of the workers demanded that opportunity should be given to them to speak on the issue. However, when their demands were not fulfilled, a section of workers staged a walkout. The workers also criticised former Chief Minister, Mrs Sushma Swaraj’s decision to resign from the Hauz Khas seat. They expressed the view that Ms Swaraj should have instead served the state unit in its hour of need. Earlier, the former Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, gave a clean chit to the workers by stating that the cadre worked whole heartedly and demanded action even against senior leaders who had let down the party. Meanwhile, the Delhi unit
of the BJP has set up a five-member committee to probe
the party’s debacle. The report is likely to be
submitted before the bye-election for four vacant seats
— two Assembly seats and two Corporation seats. |
Swiss examining India’s plea on beneficiaries NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (PTI) — The Swiss Law Ministry is examining India’s request for revealing names of persons who received kickbacks in the Rs 420-crore HDW submarine deal signed during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, the CBI told the Delhi High Court today. Additional Solicitor-General R.N. Trivedi, while submitting a “status report” on the investigation into the alleged kickbacks, told a Division Bench of Mr Justice Anil Dev Singh and Mr Justice Mukul Mudgal that the Swiss Government responding to a letters rogatory said the request was being processed by its Ministry of Justice. He, however, said the German Government had not yet responded to the letters rogatory. The court, after perusing the status report, directed the agency to file fresh progress report by February 9, the next date of hearing, and ordered the registry to keep in sealed cover the report submitted by the agency today. Meanwhile, Advocate B.L. Wadhera, who had filed the public interest litigation seeking thorough probe into the case, submitted a letter received from the Germany’s Federal Minister of Justice, Mr Schmidt Jortzig, which stated that delay in processing the Indian request was due to the non-supply of German translation of the details given by the Indian authorities. Mr Trivedi said there was a problem of finding a good translator as it was not a matter of mere translation. It should be accurate and authentic, he said. Mr Wadhera also submitted a letter he had written to the CBI Director as per the earlier direction of the court regarding former Prime Minister V.P. Singh’s statement before the Jain Commission, which probed the conspiracy aspects of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Mr Wadhera, who had cross examined Mr V.P. Singh before the Jain Commission, in his letter claimed that he had told the panel that Rajiv Gandhi was “very angry” on his (V.P. Singh’s) ordering an inquiry into the alleged 7 per cent kickbacks after receiving a telegram from the then Indian Ambassador in Germany. The Bench on October 8 had asked Mr Wadhera to send any information he had on Mr V.P. Singh’s deposition to the CBI. “I decided it was not
proper for me to continue in the Cabinet. Later on
attempts were made by Rajiv Gandhi for
reconciliation,” the letter quoting Mr V.P.
Singh’s statement said. |
Essential items' Bill 'soon' NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — The government will bring the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill before Parliament very soon, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Madan Lal Khurana said here today. Earlier, the Parliamentary Joint Committee headed by Mr Shyam Behari Mishra today returned the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 1998, to the Lok Sabha. Addressing newspersons, Mr Mishra said the decision to return the Bill had been taken unanimously on the ground that it had not been given sufficient time to go into its minute details, study the implications of the provisions of the Bill and formulate its recommendations. Mr Mishra said the committee had urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to extend the period up to the budget session and or at least up to the last week of the winter session, but its demand was rejected. The Committee also took
note of the statement made by the Minister for Food and
Consumer Affairs on the floor of the House on December 4
that the Government would bring a comprehensive Bill,
with more stringent provisions based on the suggestions
made at the recently held Chief Ministers meeting. |
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| Lawyers to continue stir SILIGURI: Lawyers of the Siliguri Bar and Taxation Bar Association, on strike since November and demanding the setting up of a circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court here, said on Wednesday they would continue the agitation till their demand was met. Convener of the High Court Circuit Bench Action Committee Dibis Roy said they had demanded rejection of the three-judge committee report recommending Jalpaiguri as the site for setting up the circuit Bench. — PTI TDP leader’s house
blasted 2 ULFA militants
killed Over 215 cr spent
on VIP security Coronary artery
disease Dawood’s
hitman shot |
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