Tuesday, April 20, 1999
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Sonia meets Jaya, Mulayam NEW DELHI, April 19 — The Congress today gave a forward movement to the process of formation of a new government and intimated the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, that it has authorised the party President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi to take all measures to deal with the current political situation. House adjourned NEW DELHI, April 19 — There was both bonhomie and mild sparring in the Lok Sabha today when the House reassembled for the first time after the Vajpayee government was defeated by one vote on the floor of the House on April 17. |
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 NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav receiving AIADMK leader Jayalalitha at his residence in New Delhi on Monday. — PTI photo
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We are open to all
options: AIFB No plans to form new party: Soz HC seeks draft plan on slums Anita Arya new Delhi Mayor EC ready for mid-term poll
Police pulled up in Skipper case Politicians are not khalnayaks:
Naqvi CPM leader expelled
Evidence over in triple murder
case Sonia’s gift for Chamoli
bride MLA’s dramatic gesture Air chief for top priority to AJT Astrologers foresee unstable
polity |
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Sonia meets Jaya, Mulayam NEW DELHI, April 19 — The Congress today gave a forward movement to the process of formation of a new government and intimated the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, that it has authorised the party President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi to take all measures to deal with the current political situation. The party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Prof P.J. Kurien, and the AICC General Secretary, Mr Oscar Fernandes, met the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan this evening and handed him over a copy each of the resolution of the Congress Working Committee and the Congress Party in Parliament which authorised Mrs Sonia Gandhi to deal with the issue of formation of the next government. The Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi, met the AIADMK chief, Ms J. Jayalalitha, and the Samajwadi chief, Mr Mulayam Singh as part of the ongoing consultation to finalise the structure of the new government. The party’s spokesman, Mr Arjun Singh said a new government would be decided in the next two or three days. Party sources said further movement is expected to pick up after the passage of the Union Budget by April 22, adding that a broad agreement appears to be emerging on the Congress heading a minority government with outside support from anti-BJP parties. Earlier, the General Body of the Congress Party in Parliament (CPP) met this morning and adopted a unanimous resolution authorising Mrs Sonia Gandhi, who is also the CPP Chairperson, to take all appropriate measures to deal with the current political situation. The CPP also underlined the need to deal with the situation in order to avoid the premature dissolution of the 12th Lok Sabha, a fear that has been haunting most of the members. Mrs Sonia Gandhi, addressing the general body, reiterated that the Congress stuck to its position of not destabilising the ruling coalition and did not in any way precipitate the present crisis. While refuting the charge of the government of the Congress having worked to the downfall of the Vajpayee government she said that the party had always maintained that if such a situation developed, the party would discharge its constitutional responsibility. She said now that the government had resigned: "It is now the duty of all those secular forces and parties, who through their commitment have sustained the secular credentials of our nation, to see that the dark forces of communalism and divisiveness, are defeated.’’ The Congress President said her party would do all it could to consolidate the unity of the secular forces in the larger interests of the nation. Political activity continued to be intense as leaders of various parties carried on parleys at different levels. Significant among them was meeting Mrs Sonia Gandhi had with the AIADMK chief, Ms J. Jayalalitha. Soon after the meeting, Ms Jayalalitha said a broad agreement had already been reached with other political parties on the "shape and contour’’ of the new government. "By tomorrow evening we will be able to finalise the shape of the new government,’’ she said. Ms Jayalalitha said the Congress leader, Mr Sharad Pawar had been in regular touch with her for the last two days to decide the shape of the new government. Mr Pawar who has been
playing an active part, today met the leaders of the
Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party along
with Prof P.J. Kurien to sort out the differences. |
House adjourned NEW DELHI, April 19 — There was both bonhomie and mild sparring in the Lok Sabha today when the House reassembled for the first time after the Vajpayee government was defeated by one vote on the floor of the House on April 17. The business in the House, however, lasted barely for five minutes as the Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, adjourned the Lok Sabha till April 21, when the House would take up the financial business for clearance without any debate. The Rajya Sabha too was adjourned till April 22 after the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Santosh Gangwar, briefed the House about the meeting of all political parties in the chamber of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Balayogi. He said it had been decided that the general Budget and the Railway Budget would be passed by the Lok Sabha without discussion on April 21. Before the Chairman, Mr Krishan Kant, adjourned the House till April 22, the Rajya Sabha mourned the loss of human life in the recent earthquake in the hill region of Uttar Pradesh. It also mourned the death of former members, H.R. Basavaraj and A.R.A. Abdul Samad. A copy of the resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, given to the President on April 17 and of the letter of the President accepting the resignation of the Council of Ministers were also laid on the table of the House. As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled, several members from the treasury benches were on their feet and they were heard taunting the Opposition about their claim of forming a government "within minutes" of the Vajpayee government’s fall. Members also raised slogans like "Vajpayee vapas lao, desh bachao." Mr Harin Pathak, a BJP, MP from Gujarat, was seen dangling his wrist watch as he told the Opposition that their one-minute was running into days. The Opposition members, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal President, Mr Laloo Yadav, reacted with counter slogans on their victory. Amidst the din, the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha read out the copy of the letter of resignation of the Prime Minister and the President’s acceptance letter. He also tabled nine Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President. Calling for order in the House, the Speaker then went on to announce that a decision to transact financial business on Wednesday had been taken at a meeting of all political parties at his chamber in the morning. After seeking the approval of the House for the same, the Speaker adjourned the House. The Lok Sabha’s listed business for the day contained the tabling of various standing committee reports. The Central Vigilance Commission Bill was another casualty of the premature fall of the Vajpayee government and it was listed for business today. However, only essential financial business would get priority now and other business would have to wait till the formation of a new government. Other casualties in the listed business were the introduction of the Trade Marks Bill, consideration of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, and the North Eastern Council (Amendment) Bill. Just before the proceedings began, there was lot of bonhomie in the Opposition benches with several members congratulating each other for their feat of bringing down the government. They also indulged in friendly sparring with members in the treasury benches. Mr S. Muthiah of the AIADMK, whose vote was not registered on April 17, was the cynosure of all eyes and he went about explaining that he had cast his vote and it had not been registered due to a technical fault. He talked to former Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, for quite some time. Mr Vajpayee and the Home
Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, were conspicuous by their
absence in the House. |
We are open to all options:
AIFB NEW DELHI, April 19 — The All-India Forward Bloc (AIFB) said today that it was open to exercising all options in the formation of an alternative government. Talking to media persons after yet another inconclusive round of discussions during a two-hour long meeting of the Left parties, the AIFB general secretary, Mr Debabrata Biswas, said, "We build our Left unity from the ground". Asked whether the RSP would tow the CPM line, Mr Biswas said, "We can exercise all options". The five Left parties, including the Peasants and Workers Party, have agreed to take a final decision on the formation of the government on Wednesday after the Budget is passed, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said. To a question addressed to RSP MP Abani Roy that to but extent they had been persuaded to support a Congress-led government, Mr Bardhan said, "It may follow that he has persuaded us". Mr Bardhan said leaders of the parties assessed the political developments and agreed to face the situation unitedly. AIFB MP, Mr Amar Roy Pradhan said his party had taken a political stand to neither support the Congress nor the BJP. Asked whether his party had been persuaded to change its stand, Mr Pradhan said, "I should not comment at this stage". The West Bengal Chief Minister Mr Jyoti Basu, and CPM General Secretary, Mr Harkishan Singh Surjeet declined to comment. Mr Jyoti Basu stepped out of the meeting midway to keep his appointment with the AIADMK chief, Ms J. Jayalalitha, at Banga Bhavan on Hailey Road here. The meeting was attended by senior leaders of the CPI, the CPM, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the AIFB. The 17-member politburo of the CPM which met for the third time since Sunday afternoon alerted all secular political parties to make sure that "the BJP, manoeuvres to stage a comeback are foiled.". It reiterated the stand
that "in the present situation in the Parliament,
the initiative to form a government will have to be taken
by the Congress. The CPM will support such a government
from outside on an issue-to-issue basis’’. |
No plans to form new party: Soz NEW DELHI, April 19 (UNI) — Senior National Conference leader Prof. S.D. Soz, who has been expelled by the party high command for voting against the motion of confidence in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, today said he had no plans to float a regional party or join any other national party. Accusing the BJP and the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, of pressurising the Chief Minister, Mr Farooq Abdullah, to take such a "harsh step," Prof Soz said he had no immediate plans to form any party. "I am not in any hurry. I will go back and consult the people of Jammu and Kashmir. If they want to give any shape to a political party, I will never let them down," he told reporters here. He described the party decision as "most unfortunate," saying that his decision to vote against the motion was in the interest of the people of the state, which always cherished the ideals of secularism. He also accused the BJP-led coalition government of playing into the hands of communal groups. Prof Soz's vote had sealed the fate of the 13-month old Vajpayee government which lost the confidence motion by one vote. Although the National Conference decided to vote in favour of the motion Prof. Soz remained firm and ignored the party directive. Prof Soz, who today held wide-ranging discussion with the CPM leader, Mr Harkishan Singh Surjeet, on the current political scenario, said he favoured a Congress-led government at the Centre. He made it clear that he would support a non-BJP government. He further said all secular parties should give a free hand to the Congress in Ministry formation. He, however, felt some parties were keen to be partners in the new government. He added that the BJP government did nothing to redress the financial and other problems of Jammu and Kashmir. The state was passing through a financial crisis and no attempt was made to extend generous financial help to overcome fiscal problems, he said adding that the state government was forced to impose heavy dose of taxes. Prof Soz said the
National Conference had no mandate to support the BJP. It
was because of this reason that I voted against the BJP
government which had all along opposed Article 370 of the
Constitution. However, he made it clear that he harboured
no ill will against Dr Abdullah, whom "I still
respect." |
DMK, allies repose trust in
BJP NEW DELHI, April 19 — Reiterating their faith in the leadership of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the leaders of the BJP and its allies, including new partners the DMK and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) today resolved to remain united against the Congress’s efforts to form an alternative government. A resolution, adopted at the meeting of the BJP and its allies chaired by Mr Vajpayee expressed "total confidence in the leadership of Mr Vajpayee", the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Pramod Mahajan, told reporters after the meeting. Mr Mahajan said the meeting was of the view that the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, should seek written support from parties which would back such an alternative while inviting any party or combination to form the government. "We have confirmed the support of 269 members and, therefore, the other combination must have a total of 270 or above in order to stake a claim for the government formation", he said. "Anybody with less than this number cannot give a viable government. The President should honour the practice, he had followed when Mr Vajpayee was invited to form the government", Mr Mahajan stressed. The DMK was unable to attend the meeting as its leaders were away in Chennai but had telephonically conveyed their support to the coalition, the minister said. Later, the party spokesman, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, reiterated the party’s demand that the President should seek the written support of more than 270 MPs for the formation of an alternative government. "It is either back to Mr Vajpayee as the Prime Minister or back to people", Mr Naidu said adding that despite the promises of the opposition parties on the floor of the Lok Sabha that an alternative government would be in place within few minutes, days had passed without any sign of an alternative government. The Haryana Vikas Party
leader, Mr Surinder Singh, was unable to reach in time
for the meeting while the INLD leader, Mr S. Sangwan was
present. Others who were present, included the Trinamool
Congress leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee and the Home
Minister, Mr L.K. Advani. |
HC seeks draft plan on slums NEW DELHI, April 19 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today asked the Delhi Government to place before it a comprehensive plan drawn for resettlement of "jhuggi jhompri" (slum) clusters in the Capital. A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice K S Gupta issued the direction following the Delhi Government counsel’s submission that a draft plan had been placed before the state Cabinet for its approval. The court was hearing a public interest writ petition seeking direction to the union and the state governments to remove slum clusters raised unauthorisedly in various parts of Delhi and their proper resettlement. The city government counsel informed the court that the draft plan had been formulated on the basis of the Buch Committee report submitted about three months ago. The committee was set up by the previous BJP government to examine various aspects regarding slum clusters in which over 20 lakh of the Capital’s population live. The court was also informed that the draft plan was drawn up after consultation with Delhi Development Authority, MCD, NDMC, Delhi Jal Board and Delhi Vidyut Board. The Union Government had
in 1990 decided that those living in the slum clusters
upto December 1990 would be given lease holding rights.
The previous BJP government in Delhi had announced this
benefit would be extended upto December 1993. |
Anita Arya new Delhi Mayor NEW DELHI, April 19 — Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Ms Anita Arya, was today elected Mayor of Delhi. She succeeds Mr Yog Dhyan Ahuja, from Ambala. Ms Anita Arya defeated her rival candidate, Mr Anand Kumar Gautam. Mr Mahesh Chand Sharma of the BJP was elected Deputy Mayor after he defeated his rival candidate, Mr Mukesh Goel. While Mr Prithvi Raj
Chand was elected Delhi Development Authority member, Mr
Shanti Desai, Mr Suresh Yadav and Mr Ved Prakash Gupta
were elected unopposed as members of the Standing
Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. |
EC ready for mid-term poll NEW DELHI, April 19 (PTI) — Election Commissioner G.V.G Krishnamurthy today said periodic dissolution of parliament does not reflect a healthy democracy but asserted that the panel was prepared to hold mid-term polls at short notice. "Periodic dissolution of Parliament does not speak well of sufficient health of the democracy," Mr Krishnamurthy told PTI. When asked whether the commission was prepared to hold mid-term polls in the light of recent political developments, he said, "as a constitutional body, the Election Commission would not be found wanting if mid-term polls are to be held in the larger interests of the nation." "We cannot remain oblivious to the political developments in the country. Therefore, we are prepared to hold elections even at short notice," he added. He said the poll panel was contemplating a move to derecognise "non-serious" political parties which do not contest three elections consecutively. "Non-serious political parties are not conducive for the health of democracy. At present, there are 684 registered political parties in the country of which only 176 contested the last elections," Mr Krishnamurthy said addressing the 37th annual session of All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation here. "Democracy is a serious exercise involving the fate of 100 crore people of this country. You cannot allow it to be a non-serious matter. The names of those parties which do not contest three polls consecutively will get automatically deleted from the commission’s register under the proposal," the Election Commissioner said. He suggested establishment of a regulating authority to check "monopoly in the media" and protect small and medium newspapers "which cater to information needs of majority of the population." Referring to "price wars" between major newspapers which was seriously affecting the sale and circulation of small and medium newspapers, Mr Krishnamurthy said, "there must be some law to prevent the monopoly of newspapers. No big newspaper should be allowed to kill other papers." He suggested a regulatory authority on the lines of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) to prevent "monopoly in the media." Recalling his days as an honorary director of Telugu daily ‘Prajaprabha’, Mr Krishnamurthy said the rural populace determined the future of the country and people in those areas depended on small and medium newspapers for their information needs. "Small and medium papers must flourish, if India is to progress and if democracy is to survive in this country," he said, adding it was the government’s responsibility to protect them by way of advertisement support and other concessions. In his address, Minister
of state for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi said the government was planning to give industry
status to newspapers as also establish a media
development corporation. |
Petrol pumps looted NEW DELHI, April 19 — Two petrol pumps were looted by armed dacoits in different areas of south district today. In the first incident, six Maruti-born armed dacoits looted Rs 3.12 lakh from a petrol pump in Lodhi Colony early this morning. The incident occurred at 3 a.m. when three employees, including an armed guard, were asleep in the petrol pump, police said. The dacoits overpowered the guard beat up the other employees, and secured the keys to the vault. In the second incident, two Maruti-born suspects snatched Rs 3.18 lakh from a helper, Manoj, of a petrol pump, Usha Speedways, in Sarita Vihar at Mathura Road this afternoon when he and manager of the filling station, S. P. Singh, were going on a two-wheeler, to deposit the money in a bank. The police said when the
victims reached the crossing at Mathura Road the suspects
hit them from behind and snatched their bag. |
Police pulled up in Skipper case NEW DELHI, April 19 (PTI) — The Supreme Court today criticised the Delhi police for not being able to arrest the son of Tejwant Singh of Skipper group of companies, in a case pertaining to bungling in allotment of flats by the group despite court orders. A Division Bench comprising Justice M.J. Rao and Justice U. C. Banerjee, before whom Delhi Police Commissioner V.N. Singh was present, directed the police to place before the court on May 3 all steps taken to arrest Prabhjot Singh. The court further directed that if the accused was arrested in the meantime, he should be produced in the apex court. In an affidavit, the police commissioner stated that court's March 15 order could not be implemented as the same had been missing from the police files. The bench said during the last hearing on April 5 five Prabhjot's uncle appearing for him gave an assurance to the court about his nephew's presence in the court during the next hearing. The bench expressed concern that the same uncle has not yet been questioned. To which Additional Solicitor General K.N. Rawal told the court that the house of Prabhjot's uncle had been raided but he was not found there. The court said "it
should not look as if the rich people can get away
without obeying court's orders". |
Politicians are not khalnayaks: Naqvi NEW DELHI April 19 (PTI) — Films and television serials are portraying politicians in bad light and projecting them as villains which in turn is eroding people's faith in democracy, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said here today. "The image of politicians as "khalnayaks" (villains) is contrary to facts. Films and television serials have created this image. Over 90 per cent of the politicians are honest," Mr Naqvi said while addressing the 37th session of the All-India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation. He said politicians were also part of society and "if 5 or 10 per cent among them are not good the entire tribe should not be dubbed as crooks and villains." Mr Naqvi said while it
was necessary that media exposes those who are at fault,
a general labelling was not in the larger interests of
democracy "as is evident from the declining voting
percentage." |
CPM leader expelled KOZHIKODE, April 19 (PTI) — A veteran Communist trade union leader and former member of Parliament, Mr O. Bharathan, was expelled from the CPM today for "anti-party activities". Mr Bharathan, who had been sidelined from party activities ever since he wrote an article against the CPM politburo member, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, in the official organ of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), was given the expulsion order by the Edakkad North Local Committee which met at Kannur today. The veteran leader, who joined the Communist movement in the early fifties, had announced his decision to retire from active politics a couple of weeks back. He had also come out with charges against CPM leaders. A press note from Kannur district said the party had been trying to "correct" Mr Bharathan, who had been issuing statements against the CPM leaders. However, he had been attempting to defame the party by giving successive interviews to the "bourgeois media." He had also ignored the
letter from the Kakkara Local Committee of the party, of
which he was a member, seeking an explanation for his
attempts to malign party leaders, it said. |
Child killed, 200 jhuggis burnt NEW DELHI, April 19 (UNI) — In yet another in the spate of fire incidents in jhuggi clusters of the Capital, a blaze today gutted nearly 200 jhuggis, killing a three-year-old child in the Shahbad dairy area of north-west Delhi. The Capital, has during the last couple of days, witnessed a series of fires, especially in jhuggi clusters. Fire brigade sources told UNI that the fire, which broke out around 2.20 p.m. this afternoon was brought under control by eight fire tenders after nearly two hours. Yesterday, 500 jhuggis were destroyed in a fire that broke out in a jhuggi cluster in Jungpura in south Delhi. In another incident, a person was killed when a fire occurred in a bus manufacturing market in Gokulpuri in north-east Delhi. a fire raged in the Shadar Bazar area for hours. On Saturday, a plastic
moulding factory was completely destroyed in a fire. |
Evidence over in triple murder case NEW DELHI, April 19 (PTI) — A city court today completed recording of evidence of the witnesses in the Personal Point triple murder case in which a doctor and his two female associates were killed in June 1996. Additional Sessions Judge N.K. Gupta who today examined Mr Balwant Singh, the investigating officer in the case, would begin recording of the statements of accused persons tomorrow to enable them to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against them. According to prosecution case, former MCD contractor Subhash Gupta, in conspiracy with other accused, had abducted and killed the owner of the South Delhi-based Personal Point Fitness Centre Sunil Kaul and his associates Sujata Saha and Deepa Gupta on June 6, 1996. The police had recovered body of Sunil from the Hodel area in Haryana and those of Sujata and Deepa from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh some days after the crime. The court, which is hearing the case on day-to-day basis, recorded statements of 143 of 178 witnesses and of them about 12 witnesses have turned hostile, the police has dropped 35 prosecution witnesses from being examined. Besides Subhash Gupta,
Kamal Singh, alias Shaily, Vibhor Singh, alias Lavi,
Vijay Mohan Sharma, alias Mintu, Hemant Kalra, Vinay
Kumar, alias Veeru, Deepak Dass, alias Deepu, Ravi
Prakash, Kamal Kumar, alias Pinky and J.K. Tyagi, are
facing trial in the case. |
Sonia’s gift for Chamoli bride SRINAGAR, UP, April 19 (UNI) — For Rajendra Singh Rawat, the quake that devastated Chamoli district last month could not have come at the worst of times. He had to get his daughter married a month later. Like many others, he was rendered homeless, his belongings were buried under the debris of his house. When Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited the upper Chamoli town, she was told about his predicament. As Rajendra was trying to piece together his life, he had an unexpected visitor in his tent. Former MP Satpal
Maharaj, an emissary of Mrs Gandhi, came to his makeshift
home on Saturday and handed over to him ornaments, a
bridal dress, a dinner set and cash for the marriage of
his daughter. |
MLA’s dramatic gesture CHENNAI, April 19 (UNI) — AIADMK Legislator P. R. Sundaram today came to the Tamil Nadu Assembly sporting a “namam’’ (a Vaishnavite symbol) on his forehead to drive home his point that the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had made a deceptive bid to bail out the Vajpayee government at the Centre by supporting it at the last minute during the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha. The “namam”, which is traditionally worn by Vaishnavites, also signifies deception in local parlance. The much-amused members, could not control their laughter on seeing Mr Sundaram, a non-Vaishnavite, sporting the “namam”. Mr Sundaram had created
mild flutter in the House twice earlier by wearing a
cricket headgear to convey his apprehension that there
was no security to members in the House and displaying a
hangman’s noose to highlight the plight of farmers.
He was also served a week-long suspension for displaying
black cloth when Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi presented
the state Budget on March 17 last. |
Air chief for top priority
to AJT NEW DELHI, April 19 — The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis said today the induction of the Advance Jet Trainer must be accorded highest priority to ensure operational preparedness of the IAF. He was addressing the Air Force Commanders on the inaugural day of week-long Air Force Commanders Conference. The Air Chief said human resource development was the greatest operational asset and it would be one of the key result areas in the next millennium. He said a series of measures had been initiated to strengthen the inter-personnel relations and enhance camaraderie within the Air Force. The other key result area identified was infrastructure upgradation. He said while technology updates had been most evident on our air- craft, system and equipment, our basis infrastructure had not kept pace in tandem. Air Chief Marshal said he had full faith in the capabilities of the hard working and dedicated men of the IAF to deliver even under most difficult situations and said that improvement in quality of life and increased availability of dwelling units for married personnel was being accorded highest priority. This, he said, would go a long way in providing better working environment, reduced stress and heightened self-esteem and would increase output manifold. He stressed the need for an early resolution of anomalies in pay, allowances and pensionary benefits for the defence personnel. The Air Force Commanders
Conference is held twice a year to identify key result
areas, review operational preparedness and initiate
requisite measures to meet the planned tasks. This
involves participation of all Air Officers
Commanding-in-Chief of various Commands and Principal
Staff Officers at Air Headquarters. |
Astrologers foresee unstable polity NEW DELHI, April 19 (IANS) — Astrologers agree that the number 13 did prove to be the Vajpayee government’s undoing and foresee an unstable polity for India till the next election, possibly by the end of this year. “There was every chance of the Vajpayee government surviving its full (five-year) term, but the number 13 emerged as the giant killer,” astrologer Acharya Siddhartha said. The BJP-led coalition government was defeated on the floor of the Lok Sabha on Saturday by the narrowest possible margin — one vote — in its 13th month in office. The number 13 has gone against Mr Vajpayee earlier as well. In 1996 Mr Vajpayee was the Prime Minister for just 13 days, after which the BJP government was voted out of power as it could not muster enough support in the 545-member Lok Sabha. “Next time the BJP comes to power, it will rule the nation for 13 years,” Siddhartha forecast, adding that thereafter the system of governance would change in the country. The system had to change as the BJP could not possibly rule for 130 years, he rationalised. “Atal Behari Vajpayee represents number five while the BJP represents number eight. The two combined make 13. What aggravated the situation was the time of voting, which took place at 1 p.m.,” Churamani claimed. “In these circumstances there was no chance for the survival of the present government,” he added. Numerologically, the Vajpayee government’s greatest chance of survival was on April 16, 1999, which adds up to nine that could, through its heat and fire, have defeated the sadness that 13 portends, he claimed. About the next government, astrologer Ajay Bhambi said: “At this present juncture no government can run this country. Whosoever will form the government would be in charge of a caretaker government. The situation is not going to change at all till the next general election is held either later this year or early next year.” Another astrologer, Asha Chopra, claimed no government in New Delhi could last more than three months and after that, in all probability, President K.R. Narayanan would call for an election. “Astrologically it is very difficult to form any government now,” she said. Asked about Mr Vajpayee’s successor, Chopra said: “Again there would be some unknown person whom no one would have expected.” But whoever forms the
next coalition or becomes Prime Minister, Churamani said,
for the next three months Indian politics would be
dominated by three women: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi,
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) head
Jayaram Jayalalitha and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader
Mayawati. |
Watchman killed on court premises NASIK, April 19 (PTI) — Armed dacoits murdered a watchman and fled with Rs 30,000 from an advocate's room in "Maruti Chamber" here yesterday. Police said the watchman, Nagesh Janardan Upasani (70) had rushed to the room on hearing noises. The dacoits tied him up and banged his head against the wall. No one has been arrested
so far. |
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| 3 labourers killed in
blast RAIGARH: Three labourers were killed in an explosion in a mine belonging to the South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) at Jhilmili near Baikanthpur in the newly-formed Koriya district, the police said on Monday. Angry labourers did not allow the bodies of the victims to be removed from the mine and demanded that action be taken against officials responsible for the explosion on Sunday. — PTI Leopard kills 2 children Gangrape
incident causes uproar Fresh tremors
rock Garhwal HC order on
reinstatement 12 hurt as train
derails |
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