Thursday, November 5, 1998
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SAD may opt out of Delhi race NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The Shiromani Akali Dal may opt out of the race for the Delhi Assembly poll and instead extend support to its ally, the BJP. Another show-cause notice to Ahluwalia NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Taking serious note of Mr S S Ahluwalia’s continued diatribes, the Congress has issued a second show-cause notice to the rebel party leader for his criticism of party chief Sonia Gandhi, giving him three days time to explain as to why disciplinary action should not be initiated against him. |
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Militants
gun down six |
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Romesh detained under NSA NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Romesh Sharma, alleged front man of Dubai-based underwold don Dawood Ibrahim, was today detained under the National Security Act on the orders of Delhi Police Commissioner V.N. Singh, citing threat to society and national security. Sushma, Sheila trade
charges Bole
So Nihal show opens Bangla
Sahib goes on Net PM to
chair Khalsa celebration meeting BJP
list for Delhi, Rajasthan |
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SAD may opt out of Delhi race NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) may opt out of the race for the Delhi Assembly poll and instead extend support to its ally, the BJP. A final decision is expected to be taken tomorrow and conveyed to the BJP leadership, party secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said here today. A meeting of the SAD to finalise its stand on the forthcoming poll was held here this afternoon which was attended by the party chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Mr Dhindsa, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, and the president of the SAD's Delhi unit, Mr Avtar Singh Hit. Mr Dhindsa said the meeting reviewed the BJP's offer on four seats. However, it was not able to take a final decision. SAD sources said while the party had no problem in accepting the Vishnu Garden, Jangpura and Gandhi Nagar constituencies, there was reservations about the Rajouri Garden seat in West Delhi. The party was keen on some other seat in West Delhi, the sources said. Earlier, the BJP had sounded the SAD on the Sabzi Mandi constituency, but decided to retain it for its own candidate. The sources said in case the BJP did not accommodate it, the SAD might prefer not to contest the poll and just extend support to its ally. "If we do not get constituencies of our choice, we may not contest at all," the sources said. On the issue of contesting on the BJP's symbol of "lotus" instead of the SAD's "scales", Mr Dhindsa said the Delhi unit favoured contesting under the BJP symbol. SAD leaders were expected to consult the SGPC President, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, before conveying their decision to the BJP, the sources said. Meanwhile, Mr Chandumajra said the SAD would prefer to forgo its demand for seats in Delhi and suggested that the Centre should accede to the other demand of declaring a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal for foodgrain. "Let the central
government give our farmers Rs 100 per quintal as bonus
for foodgrain in lieu of the seats," he said. |
Talks on Tulbul project today NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The Indo-Pak talks, beginning here tomorrow as part of the composite dialogue process between the two countries, will focus on the Tulbul navigation project in Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan have extensively discussed the project during their earlier rounds of talks between 1987-92 and then once again during the Foreign Secretary-level talks between 1990-94. A draft agreement was reportedly finalised between the two sides in October, 1991, at Islamabad. But no formal agreement could be signed then because of Pakistan’s insistence on first solving the Kashmir issue, sources said. India attaches great importance to the project as it concerns the welfare of people of Jammu and Kashmir. The project was conceived in the eighties and work on it began in 1984, but it was stopped midway in 1987 after Islamabad raised certain objections. As it flows through the Kashmir valley, the Jhelum provides an important means for the transportation of goods and the movement of people. In order to sustain navigation throughout the year between the Wullar Lake and the Sopore section of the river, it was considered necessary to maintain a certain depth which would permit the movement of boats for these purposes, especially in winter. For this purpose, the construction of a barrage at the lake was considered necessary. The Tulbul navigation project was designed to maintain the level of water in the Wullar Lake at its natural level so that the flow of water downstream could be regulated during the winter to allow navigation. Invoking the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 on the utilisation of the waters of the Indus system of rivers, Pakistan had objected to the project in 1985. Subsequently, it was discussed by experts of both countries on eight occasions between October, 1987 and August, 1992. It was also taken up during the Foreign Secretary-level talks during the period 1990-1994 During the bilateral technical discussions, India had been making it clear to Pakistan that the project was squarely in keeping with the Indus Water Treaty and hence, Pakistan should have no objection to it. The Treaty permits India the use of the Jhelum waters for navigation. The Tulbul navigation project is, therefore, entirely in keeping with the provisions of the Treaty, Delhi has been telling Islamabad. The technical and legal aspects were successfully addressed during the discussions on the subject, the sources said. The Pakistani team for the talks is being led by Syed Shahid Hussain, Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Power. The team will include officials of the ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Water and Power, Pakistan’s Commissioner of Indus Water and officials of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. The Indian side would be led by Mr Z. Hassan, Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources. The team will include officials of the ministries of External Affairs and Water Resources, the Indian Commissioner of Indus Water and officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Meanwhile, a high-level delegation, led by Pakistan’s Defence Secretary Lt-Gen Chaudhary Iftikhar Ali Khan (retd) arrived here today for Friday’s talks on Siachen with India. The 12-member delegation
was received at Indira Gandhi international airport by
the Defence Secretary, Mr Ajit Kumar, who will head the
Indian delegation. The Pakistani delegation will leave
India on November 9 after visits to Agra and Ajmer. |
Another show-cause notice to Ahluwalia NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (PTI) — Taking serious note of Mr S S Ahluwalia’s continued diatribes, the Congress has issued a second show-cause notice to the rebel party leader for his criticism of party chief Sonia Gandhi, giving him three days time to explain as to why disciplinary action should not be initiated against him. AICC General Secretary Madhavrao Scindia, who is in charge of party affairs in Bihar, issued a four-page notice to Mr Ahluwalia yesterday, party sources said. The notice came a day after the AICC announced that action would be taken against Mr Ahluwalia for his "incorrect" behaviour and violating party norms. A Rajiv loyalist, Mr Ahluwalia, incurred the wrath of the leadership after he wrote a strongly-worded letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, assailing the Congress move to give positions to those allegedly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. Taking strong exception to the appointments of Mr H K L Bhagat, Mr Sajjan Kumar and Mr Dharamdas Shastri in the campaign committee for Delhi, Mr Ahluwalia had alleged that Mrs Gandhi was acting on the "advice of sycophants" who were surrounding her. Last month, Mr Ahluwalia was issued a show-cause notice by Mr Scindia after he criticised the party line of supporting the Rabri Devi Government in Bihar. Mr Ahluwalia had already
stated that he was not bothered about action against him
as he had "not spoken anything against the party
policy and merely wanted justice to the victims of 1984
riots". |
Militants gun down six in Tripura AGARTALA, Nov 4 (UNI) — Guerrillas of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) gunned down at least six persons, shot at 17 others and kidnapped five villagers in separate incidents in Tripura last night. The state government has sounded a red alert all over the state and asked the security forces to intensify their counter-insurgency operation against the militants, who have stepped up their violent activities during the past month. Additional security forces led by senior police officials have rushed to the spots in Dhalai and West Tripura districts and launched a massive manhunt to nab the militants. Local people blocked the Agartala-Sabroom road in protest against the militant attack at Bishramganj, 30-km from here. South and parts of West Tripura district remained cut off from the rest of the state following the road blockade since early this morning. Heavily armed NLFT militants raided the Maynama market under Dhalai district and opened fire killing three persons, including two aged tribal men, on the spot. Eight others were injured in the attack. The rebel kidnapped one person before leaving the spot, 94-km from here. In another incident, armed militants raided a shop at Barjala in West Tripura district and kidnapped four persons. When the local people tried to prevent them, the extremists opened fire, killing two persons, including a nine-year-old girl, on the spot. Two others were injured in the neck. In the third attack, the NLFT rebels attacked a passenger jeep at Champaknagar on the Assam-Agartala national highway in West Tripura district and shot dead one person. Seven persons, including women and children, were injured in the attack. For the first time, the NLFT militants, who recently collected huge quantities of arms and ammunition, simultaneously attacked at there places. Meanwhile, the security forces recovered the mutilated body of a teacher, who was kidnapped by militants along with seven others from a jungle in South Tripura in September. With last night's incidents, the tribal militants have killed 42 persons, including security personnel, besides top CPM leaders during the past month. The ultras also kidnapped 49 persons, including a doctor and officials, and injured 45 during this period. On the other hand, seven terrorists and their collaborators were killed in the past one month during encounter with the security forces. Three tribesmen were also lynched by a violent mob. Meanwhile, the state
government has decided to relax the recruitment rules for
appointment of civilian driver in hired vehicles used by
the Tripura State Rifles (TSR). |
Romesh detained under NSA NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Romesh Sharma, alleged front man of Dubai-based underwold don Dawood Ibrahim, was today detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on the orders of Delhi Police Commissioner V.N. Singh, citing threat to society and national security. A detention warrant under the NSA was served on Sharma, who was formally arrested today by the Crime Branch of the city police on charges of conspiring to kill notorious gangster Babloo Srivastava, currently lodged in Allahabad's Naini Jail and extorting money from a few tycoons, the police said. Sharma had also reportedly identified a few leading businessmen from whom he wanted to extort money by using the influence and threats of his connections based in Dubai. According to sources, the businessmen were based in different cities of the country. Their names were, however, not disclosed by the Crime Branch of the Delhi police for obvious reasons. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr Karnal Singh, said here that Sharma had allegedly used the influence of Abu Salem to threaten Vinay Singh, who was the proprietor of Lucky Export, to force him to shell out money. Mr Karnal Singh said that due to the involvement of Babloo in the killing of Mirza Dilshad Begh, who was a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and was based in Nepal, the Dubai-based don wanted to eliminate Babloo. The police had apparently taped the conversation between Romesh Sharma and Abu Salem in which they had conspired to kill Babloo. Dawood Ibrahim reportedly discussed with Abu Salem to kill Babloo while he was in jail. Abu Salem discussed their plan with Romesh who allegedly assured him of eliminating Babloo with the help of the Uttar Pradesh police. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch again yesterday raided the Mayfair Garden residence of Romesh Sharma during which documents of several other properties were recovered. This was the second raid conducted by the police since his arrest on October 21. The raid followed the complaint filed by a Mumbai resident, Lachman Das Jivani, who claimed that the Mayfair Garden residence of Sharma actually belonged to him. According to reports, 30
air-conditioners were installed at the residence. There
were also reportedly huge portraits of former Prime
Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in the house.
Besides, there was also the portrait of Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose which was hanging in the house. The living
room had antique furniture and the interiors had been
done by decorators from Mumbai, the DCP said. |
Sushma, Sheila trade charges NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The political atmosphere in the Capital hotted up today with the chief ministerial candidates of the two major parties in Delhi — the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party — lashing out at each other for the woes of the people. The Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, accused the Congress of lowering the standard of political debate in the Capital by starting a “sinister personal campaign” to malign her image by linking her name with self-styled politician Romesh Sharma. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Sheila Dikshit alleged that the ills and woes of the people of Delhi were due to the BJP government’s “callous and indifferent attitude towards the hoarders and blackmarketeers.” “The BJP as a political party is extremely smart in words and gimmicks but very short in action,” Ms Dikshit said, adding that the onion was only a symbolic representation of the unprecedented price rise during its regime which had made “life hell for the common man”. While the BJP blamed the past rule of the Congress in the country for all the problems being faced by the people, the Congress stated that the ruling BJP government’s “maladministration” was the cause of all ills. On the question of fighting the forthcoming November 25 poll, both Ms Swaraj and Ms Dikshit, skirted the issue. While Ms Swaraj stated that she would be contesting from one of the Assembly segment falling in the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency, which she represents for the second consecutive time, Ms Dikshit said, “Wait and watch....Only a few days are left for November 6 (the last date for filing the nominations).” Ms Dikshit was addressing newspersons at the “Face the Media” programme organised by the Press Club of India and Ms Swaraj was addressing a press conference in reaction to a media report alleging her links with Romesh Sharma. The DPCC President said the Congress would not give ticket to any person with a criminal background. However, she justified the presence of 1984 anti-Sikh riot tainted politicians, Mr H K L Bhagat, Mr Sajjan Kumar and Mr Jagdish Tytler, in the party’s selection committee. “These leaders have been Congressmen for decades and we want to use their expertise within the party. We do not want to bring them in the poll arena,” Ms Dikshit said, adding that they were denied ticket for the last Lok Sabha poll and they had sought the assembly ticket. She said the party had received about 1800 applications from ticket seekers for the 70 assembly segments. Explaining the delay in finalising the party’s candidate for the poll, the DPCC President said each ticket seeker was asked to give an affidavit regarding any involvement in criminal activities. The mere registration of an FIR would not be considered unless there is a case pending against a particular candidate. Stating that the Congress would give “adequate” and “as much as possible” representation to the women while distributing ticket, she said the Congress first initiated the concept of 33 per cent reservation to women in nagar palikas and panchayats. The DPCC president said that her party wanted to consolidate the non-BJP votes but that did not work out. “The party would go alone and it is a big challenge for us.” On the specific question of resolving various problems facing the people of Delhi, Ms Dikshit said “we will try our level best to ameliorate them. The Congress does not talk big, it tries to do whatever is possible within the given situation.” The BJP, on the other hand, has been holding serious discussions with the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Indian National Lok Dal to win over the Sikh and Jat community, Ms Swaraj said. Ms Swaraj said that SAD would be given three seats to fight under the BJP symbol. Negotiations were still on with SAD leaders on the fourth seat. On the talks between the BJP and the INLD, Delhi Chief Minister said, “The matter has been left to the Prime Minister.” The INLD has been demanding five seats for its party primarily in the Outer Delhi parliamentary constituency following the unceremonious exit of Mr Sahib Singh Verma from the post of Chief Minister. The leader of the INLD, Mr
Om Prakash Chautala, had stated that the removal of Mr
Sahib Singh had hurt the sentiments of the Jat community. |
Bole So Nihal
show opens NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The world premiere of a hi-tech sound and light show depicting the history of Sikhs was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, here today. The war cry of the Sikhs during their struggles against invaders, “Bole So Nihal”, was the title of the son et lumiere show organised by the World Punjabi Organisation at Siri Fort Auditorium. A double cassette album of the musical epic, ‘Bole So Nihal’, was also released on the occasion. ‘Bole So Nihal’ is a fusion of verse and poetry glorifying the 500 years of the Sikh history. The album, brought out by the World Punjabi Organisation and Times Music, has 28 music tracks which capture the history of Punjabis in verse and song. The sacrifices of the Sikh Gurus, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shaheed Bhagat Singh have been portrayed as also the teachings of Guru Nanak and other Gurus. The drama and sound show will travel to Toronto, New York, Montreal, Vancouver and London to foster a sense of brotherhood and promote an understanding of the Sikhs’ proud past, a member of the World Punjabi Organisation said. The show highlights the message of universal brotherhood preached by the great Gurus. It laid special stress on the episodes of bloodshed in Punjab’s history, the rich cultural heritage, the contribution of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Punjabis to the freedom struggle. Among others, Hans Raj
Hans, Mohinder Kapoor, Kuldeep Manik, Surinder Shinda and
Vinod Sehgal were part of the presentation as artistes. |
Bangla Sahib goes on Net NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and Kartik purnima were celebrated in the Capital with religious fervour and gaiety. Most of the gurdwaras were decked up for the occasion. A look of festivity marked the area. Shabad kirtans and langars were organised and the principles for which Guru Nanak Dev stood for were recited by religious leaders. The historic gurdwara, Bangla Sahib, here went on the Internet today. The website was created to make the common man aware of the history and significance of the gurdwara and Guru Hari Krishan Dev. Information in the website includes the Sikh calendar, screen saver for downloading, list of historical gurdwaras, daily hukumnama and prayer. Special tributes were paid to the victims of the 1984 riots at Shahid Ganj Gurdwara in Tilak Vihar. PTI adds: Meanwhile, Hindu devotees bathed in holy rivers and offered special prayers to mark ‘Kartik Purnima’. Over two lakh persons, braving the early winter chill, took a holy dip in Pushkar Lake near Ajmer in Rajasthan amid chanting of vedic mantras. Thousands took holy dip in
Saryu river in Ayodhya and the Ganges in Lucknow,
Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Farrukhabad, Muzaffarnagar
and Unnao. |
PM to chair Khalsa
celebration meeting NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The first meeting of the National Committee on the Ter-centenary celebrations of Khalsa will be held here tomorrow under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. The committee was formed recently to chalk out a programme to celebrate 300 years of founding of Khalsa Panth, which is scheduled to start next year. Apart from the Prime
Minister, the meeting will be attended by several Union
Ministers and the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh
Badal. |
BJP list for Delhi, Rajasthan NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The BJP today released 50 names for Delhi and 114 names for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, leaving out 20 seats in Delhi and 86 in Rajasthan. Releasing the list, the BJP General Secretary, Mr M Venkaiah Naidu, said the talks with the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Indian National Lok Dal for seat sharing in Delhi and Rajasthan were still continuing. Out of the 50 seats announced for Delhi, in 35 Assembly segments the BJP had sitting MLAs. Among those, 27 sitting MLAs have been renominated while eight have been replaced, Mr Naidu said. He said the remaining 20 seats for the 70-member Delhi Assembly would be announced tomorrow. Mr Naidu clarified that the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Charti Lal Goel, would not be contesting the elections this time. "Also the former Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr Sahib Singh, will not be fighting these Assembly polls," he said. Mr Naidu did not mention whether the former Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, would be contesting the election or not. He, however, stated that the Chief Ministerial candidate, Ms Sushma Swaraj, would be in the run, but did not announce from which Assembly seat. Among the ministers in the Delhi Cabinet, Delhi Civil Supplies Minister, Poornima Sethi, will fight from Kalkaji, Delhi Finance Minister, Jagdish Mukhi, will contest from Janakpuri, Delhi Industries Minister Harsharan Singh Balli, will fight from Hari Nagar and Delhi Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will contest from Krishna Nagar. Mr Devinder Singh Shaukeen, the newly inducted minister in Sushma Swaraj’s Cabinet, would contest from Nangloi Jat. It was still not known whether the former Delhi Transport Minister Mr Rajendra Gupta, would be given a the ticket or not. Mr Rajendra Gupta had been replaced by Mr Devinder Singh Shaukeen. The city leaders who have got a ticket include Mr Ram Bhaj from Sarojini Nagar, former international cricketer Kirti Azad from Gole Market, former BJP legislative party secretary Nand Kishore Garg from Tri Nagar, Mr P K Chandla from Kamla Nagar, and Mr Mewa Ram Arya from Patel Nagar. In Rajasthan out of the total of 200 seats, 114 candidates had been announced. Among those, 63 sitting MLAs had been renominated while eight sitting members had been replaced by new candidates. Besides four women
candidates were being fielded in the first list, one Sikh
candidate and two Muslim candidates were also being
fielded by the BJP. |
Notice to IIT on students’ plea NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (UNI) — The Delhi High Court has issued show-cause notices to the seniormost functionaries of Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Delhi Police Commissioner, VN Singh on a plea by students of the Design School run on institute's premises. The students alleged they were cheated by the institute which disowned the course and the police failed to act on their complaint. A Division Bench comprising Ms Justice Usha Mehra and Mr Justice NG Nandi, earlier this week directed the IIT Director, Mr VS Raju, Design School (Industrial Design Clinic) coordinator SK Atreya, the police chief and the SHO of the Hauz Khas police station to reply to the notices within four weeks. The judges listed the matter for further hearing on December 12. The petition filed by a group of students of the school alleged the SHO was not taking any action on their complaint despite special allegations against Mr Raju and had not registered an FIR till date. The petition filed through
advocate Rakesh Sharma said the IIT came out with an
advertisement on April 9 last year inviting applications
for its "innovative course to be started by the
Design School. The course was to be run in collaboration
with two industrial partners — M/s Next Technology
and M/s Katra Technology. |
Trial in Jaya cases likely soon CHENNAI, Nov 4 (PTI) — Two special judges trying cases of corruption against AIADMK leader Jayalalitha today said they would go ahead with the trial, if the Supreme Court declined to stay the operation of yesterday’s Madras High Court order upholding their appointment. Judges S. Sambandham and V. Radhakrishnan made this clear at separate hearings pertaining to the Rs 66.65 crore ‘disproportionate assets case’ and ‘Pleasant Stay Hotel case’, respectively, in which Jayalalitha is the prime accused. A Division Bench of the high court, which had upheld the appointment of three special judges to try offences of corruption during the 1991-96 Jayalalitha regime, had stayed operation of its order for eight days to enable Ms Jayalalitha and others to move the Supreme Court. When the cases came up for hearing today, her lawyers sought adjourments on the ground that they were planning to move the Supreme Court soon. Mr Sambandham adjourned the ‘wealth case’ to November 17 and said summons would be issued to witnesses to appear for examination at the next hearing and trial would be conducted on a day-to-day basis. He also made it clear that
he would not entertain pleas under Section 205, Cr PC, to
dispense with the appearance of the accused during the
trial. However, in some cases, the court would allow
petitions under Section 317, Cr PC, for dispensing with
personal appearance for a particular day. |
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| Trolley bus service in
Calcutta CALCUTTA: In a bid to ease Calcutta’s age-old traffic congestion, the West Bengal Government will soon introduce trolley bus service in the city under foreign collaboration. State Home(Police) and Information Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who chaired an important meeting with two foreign agencies — Avto Export Agency from Moscow and the London-based Royal Bengal Industries — said here on Tuesday night that both the agencies had made a detailed survey about the prospect and usefulness of the introduction of the “eco-friendly mass transport system” trolley bus service in the 308-year-old city to ease its increasing traffic congestion. — UNI Vaccine against prostate
cancer 3 Viagra deaths in
India HC notice to
Railways Infertility
conference 9 killed as
building collapses |
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