Tuesday, September 29, 1998
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Delhi MLAs gear up for poll NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — Several members of the Delhi Assembly have kicked off their ‘unofficial’ election campaign by reaching out to people during the Ramlila celebrations. MP Govt seeks review of
Governor’s order |
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INLD
‘not to accept’ |
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Ramakrishna Mission wins
Gandhi award NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — Ramakrishna Mission has been chosen for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 1998 for its charitable and philanthropic work. New power plant for Kailash halt
site Moopanar
lauds President’s action Panel
flays gangrape of nuns |
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Delhi MLAs gear up for poll NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — Several members of the Delhi Assembly have kicked off their ‘unofficial’ election campaign by reaching out to people during the Ramlila celebrations. With less than two months to go for the elections for the 70-member assembly and the model code of conduct by the Election Commission coming into force, the festive season offers them a good opportunity to be in touch with the electorate. Sources in the BJP and the Congress said the large gatherings would provide a good opportunity for the party to gauge the mood of the people and the leaders to “re-establish” their contact with the electorate. The legislators toured their constituencies and took note of the problems faced by the residents. According to sources, the Delhi government has instructed its public utility department to redress the complaints regarding public services on a priority basis. Since the code has come into force from Saturday, the government cannot directly step up development work lest it should influence voters. The reaction to public complaints does not fall in this category. The sources said while the state government was determined to make the last few days of its rule in the city before elections a bliss, the sitting MLAs have been instructed to be careful as not to violate the code. While the BJP legislators were highlighting the achievements of the government Congress legislators were attacking the state government for the ills faced by the people. Meanwhile, a draft Congress manifesto for the assembly elections has been prepared by the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Mr Jag Pravesh Chandra. The draft manifesto is expected to spell out the Congress stand on the unauthorised colonies. Residents of the unauthorised colonies had been backing the Congress in the past but with the BSP trying to establish its hold in Delhi, a lot of significance is being attached to the Congress strategy. A delegation led by the leader of the Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Dr Narendra Nath, has already met the Lt Governor of Delhi regarding the regularisation of unauthorised colonies. Moreover, the norms for
the selection of candidates are also nearing completion.
DPCC president, Ms Sheila Dikshit, who also heads the
election committee, said the norms for the selection will
be decided very soon and the “winnability” of
the candidate will be the foremost consideration. |
Police indicted for fake encounters MUMBAI, Sept 28 (PTI) — In a severe indictment against the law enforcing machinery, a Sessions Court probe here has held that police encounters in which a peanut vendor and two Gawli gangsters were killed last year were not “genuine”. This is probably for the first time that the judiciary has held the law enforcement machinery responsible for taking the law in its own hands by staging “fake” encounters. The probe was conducted by Principal Judge of the Sessions Court, Mr A.S. Aguiar, on directions of a Division Bench of the Mumbai High Court headed by Justice A.P. Shah who heard on December 10 a bunch of petitions challenging two encounters in which peanut vendor Abu Sayema alias Javed Fawda and Gawli gangsters Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel were killed. Samajwadi Party had filed a petition challenging the killing of Abu Sayema on August 28 last year on a mistaken identity of criminal Javed Fawda, while petitions filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties and the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights had questioned the gunning down of the two Gawli gangsters on June 26 last year. The Sessions Court
submitted its 223-page report on the probe in a sealed
cover to the high court on July 15. It was made available
to the lawyers today and the matter would now come up for
hearing before the high court on October 5. |
MP Govt seeks review of Governor’s order BHOPAL, Sept 28 (UNI) — The Madhya Pradesh Government has asked the Governor, Dr Bhai Mahavir, to reconsider his decision of granting sanction for prosecution of two former Congress ministers in a land deal case. According to official sources, the Governor has ‘not acted’ in accordance with the Constitution and rulings of Supreme Court on such matters. Dr Mahavir overruled a state Cabinet decision turning down a request by the Lokayukta for prosecuting former ministers B.R. Yadav and Rajendra Kumar Singh in an alleged criminal conspiracy to give undue benefit to an individual by releasing a land acquired by the Indore Development Authority. The government has also decided to write to the Lokayukta, explaining the constitutional position of the entire case, the sources said. The government is of the view that no prima facie case has been registered against the ministers that called for sanction for prosecution. Legal opinion did not justify the Governor’s action. The Governor, if not satisfied with the Cabinet decision, should have referred it back to it rather than taking ‘suo motu’ executive action, the sources said. The Lokayukta cannot proceed against the ministers on the basis of the Governor’s sanction as it would not stand judicial scrutiny, they said. According to the state Advocate-General, the state government alone is competent to accord sanction, although it may not be the appointing authority. In his order granting permission for prosecution of the ministers, the Governor had noted that the sanctioning authority cannot substitute for itself the role of a judge. According to him, “the sanctioning authority, should not by assuming a role larger than is expected of it, pre-empt thorough appreciation of evidence by a court of law”. Quoting legal opinion in
the matter, the sources said the Governor, as per the
Constitution, was expected to function on the advice of
the Council of Ministers, except in those cases whereby
he could exercise his discretion. According sanction for
prosecuting a minister did not fall within the
discretionary powers of the Governor, they added. |
Ramakrishna Mission wins Gandhi award NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (PTI) — Ramakrishna Mission has been chosen for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 1998 for its charitable and philanthropic work. This was announced by the Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti here today. "This prize honours the commitment and contribution of the mission towards the amelioration of human sufferings and undertaking activities, which are close to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi" Dr Joshi told reporters here. The award carrying a cash prize of Rs 1 crore, a citation and a plaque will be given away by President K.R. Narayanan sometime in January, he said. This is the first time that an institution has bagged the award. Instituted in 1995, the earlier three awards had gone to former President of Tanzania, Dr Julius K Nyerere (1995), Sri Lankan social scientist, Dr A T Ariyaratne (1996) and former German diplomat, Dr Gerhard Fischer (1997). A high-powered jury
chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
unanimously chose the organisation for the prize for
"social economic and political transformation
through non-violence", he said. |
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Kailash pilgrimage SRINAGAR (Garhwal), Sept 28 (UNI) — After the disaster which struck the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims near the Malpa region in Uttar Pradesh recently the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has begun a survey to find a safe route for pilgrims. Talking to UNI here yesterday after returning from the survey of two routes, the ITBP Director-General, Mr Gautam Kaul, said a final decision would be taken after a survey of all five routes was completed. The ITBP had finished a survey of the Mana and Balchadhurh (Rimkhim) passes in Garhwal. The remaining routes, passing through Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir and Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh would be surveyed next month. Earlier, addressing jawans at the headquarters of the 13 Battalion of the ITBP here, Mr Kaul hailed the role of the force in helping civil administration in times of calamities. Mr Kaul, who was accompanied by the Garhwal sector Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr D.N. Gautam, also inspected security posts, besides taking stock of food and medicine supplies. Expressing concern about the plight of the victims of landslides and floods in the Ukhimath and Malpa regions, Mr Kaul said rehabilitation efforts were hampered because the district administration lacked resources to provide adequate logistic support. The ITBP was seriously considering evolving a foolproof system to identify genuine victims and transport relief to remote areas. The local administration should efficiently and quickly identify the victims and fix parameters for relief and rehabilitation, he added. The ITBP would build a 66 kw micro-hydel plant at Kalapani, near Dharchulla, in Pithoragarh district to supply electricity to it camps and nearby villages, Kalapani is an important halt for Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrims. The plant, which is
expected to be operational within two years, will be
located 1 km upstream from Kalapani. The plant would be
designed to increase generation to 120 kw, he added. |
INLD ‘not to accept’
Cabinet posts NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), whose four MPs are supporting the BJP-led government at the centre, today ruled out its participation in the government. “We are not going to accept ministerial berths” if the Union Cabinet is expanded, INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala told reporters here. The party wants to give a free hand to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to run the government smoothly, Mr Chautala said elaborating INLD’s decision not to participate in the government. Meanwhile the INLD MPs on Monday criticised Doordarshan for “ignoring” the rally organised on September 25 on the occasion of birthday of Mr Devi Lal. In a statement issued here, the party MPs said the rally which was attended by the former Prime Minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and others was not telecast by Doordarshan. The MPs said it was not the first time that Doordarshan had ignored the programme of the party. Alleging a ‘conspiracy’ behind it, the MPs warned that if the Information and Broadcasting Ministry persisted with ‘its policy of ignoring the INLD functions’ the party will have to take “strong steps”. The statement was issued
by Mr Kishen Singh Sangwan, Mr Surinder Singh Barwala, Dr
Sushil Indora and Mrs Kailasho Saini. |
Moopanar lauds President’s action COIMBATORE, Sept 28 (PTI) — Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) President G.K. Moopanar has lauded the decision of President K. R. Narayanan in sending back for reconsideration the Cabinet recommendation on the dismissal of the Rabri Devi Government in Bihar. Addressing a public meeting to mark the completion of the golden jubilee of Independence organised by his party at Tirupur last night, Mr Moopanar said that the BJP-led government should also be congratulated for not pursuing the matter by presenting the recommendation again to the President. Mr Moopanar asked his party men to do away with rallies associated with its political meetings to avoid inconvenience to the public. He expressed hope that the
state government would take steps to solve the crisis
faced by the textile industry in the state. |
Panel flays gangrape of nuns NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (PTI) — The National Commission for Minorities has condemned last week’s gangrape of four nuns in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh and forwarded a complain in this regard to the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women for “immediate action”. “Such ghastly crimes are a disgrace for the nation and make us hang our head in shame,” the commission chairman Tahir Mahmood said in a statement here, adding a complaint against the incident, received from an all-India Christians’ body, has been forwarded to the NHRC and the NCW for “immediate action.” Describing it as “a
case of wild abuse of human rights and naked militancy
against women’s right to modesty,” Mahmood said
the Madhya Pradesh Government must take “swift
action, treating this case as a test for its genuine
commitment to protection of humanitarian values and
rights.” |
Pak national arrested NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The special cell of the Delhi police arrested a Pakistani national from the Churi Walan area today. He was allegedly involved in a fake currency racket. The suspect was identified as Khalid Salim, alias Rashid, alias Sheeda. He wanted to exchange 2000 fake currency notes on payment of Rs 1000 genuine currency notes. The police sent a decoy
customer to the suspect. As the decoy customer handed
over the genuine currency notes to the suspect, the
police arrested him. |
DANICS officers’ stir hits work NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The strike by the Delhi Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Service (DANICS) officers has affected the state government’s much-publicised “Government at your doorsteps” programme launched last year to bring together all its departments under one roof. The DANICS officers have
been on strike demanding parity with Central Government
officials in the implementation of the Fifth Pay
Commission recommendations. With the state bureaucracy
remaining off duty, the government work has almost come
to a halt. |
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| Neighbour kills two boys ROURKELA: Two brothers aged 10 and eight years were beaten to death and their throats slit by a neighbourhood friend here, the police said on Monday. The assailant, Raphael Kerketta, a 50-year-old tribesman, was stated to be a psychiatric patient and was arrested on Saturday, the police said. Kerketta confessed to killing the two boys at the house of a contractor. The father of the deceased, Satya Narayan Choudhury, a nearby slum-dweller, told the police that he had no enmity with Kerketta and used to send his sons to sleep in his room for the past one month. The police seized a knife, a stick and a piece of brick allegedly used in killings. —PTI Son to pen EMS’
biography HC stays DSGMC
order Naxals blast
Gandhi’s statue Indian Viagra by
March The irresistible
onions 10 killed in
truck-van collision Businessman’s
house robbed |
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