Wednesday, April 28, 1999
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Panel wants project reviewed NEW DELHI, April 27 — Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence has asked the government to review its project with Russia for modernisation of MiG-21 ‘BIS’ combat jets. BJP, allies to have common
manifesto |
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Mulayam, Arjun blame each other
for poll NEW DELHI, April 27 — The Samajwadi Party President, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and the Congress Working Committee member, Mr Arjun Singh, today traded charges with both leaders holding the other responsible for forcing snap poll on the nation.
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TDP ambivalence irks Cong ‘President could have acted
on his own’
Guru Nanak memorial planned at
Kutch PSLV launch in May likely Order upheld in retirement case |
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Modernisation of combat jets NEW DELHI, April 27 — Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence has asked the government to review its project with Russia for modernisation of MiG-21 ‘BIS’ combat jets. The suggestion from the committee comes in the wake of reports that not even two aircraft have been upgraded in the past three years after an understanding was signed between the two countries on the project. As a consequence, the committee in its latest report has said, all resources should be pooled towards early production of India’s light combat aircraft (LCA) to achieve self-reliance. The Defence Ministry informed the committee that the first flight of LCA, whose development suffered a six-month delay because of sanctions imposed by the USA following the Pokhran-II, will be conducted in July this year. The 44-member committee, which presented its report to the Lok Sabha just before its dissolution, said: "It may be quite possible that the LCA project is being delayed in order to accommodate the delay caused in upgrading MiG-21 BIS aircraft so that early induction of LCA does not render the MiG-21 BIS upgradation project irrelevant". In its seventh report, the committee has said all necessary steps should be taken to overcome "hurdles" in acquisition of the remaining 32 Sukhoi-30 warplanes from Russia to strengthen the Indian Air Force to counter any potential threat to country’s security. On the Rs 6,300 crore Sukhoi deal for purchase of 40 sophisticated jets signed in November 1996, the ministry told the committee that negotiations were at present in progress with Moscow on the new delivery schedule for the SU-30 jets to minimise any further delay in acquisition. According to defence sources, India has so far received eight fighter versions of the contracted 40 SU-30 warplanes. Bomber and multi-role versions of the aircraft are yet to be delivered. Referring to the MiG-21 BIS upgradation project with Russia for modernisation of 125 jets, the committee said the MiG-21 upgradation programme had been launched to bridge their phasing out and induction of the LCA, which has already suffered "considerable time and cost overruns". It said initially only two MiG-21 BIS planes had been sent to Russia for upgradation. For the remaining 123 jets, transfer of technology for upgradation at the Nasik division of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would have taken place consequently, it said. But the committee said "almost three years have already passed since the signing of the contract for upgradation of the aircraft in March 1996 and not even two aircraft have been upgraded till date". It, therefore, recommended to the government "to take a review of the decision to modernise the MiG-21 BIS as already three years have passed since the initiation of the project and not even two aircraft have been upgraded yet, leave alone the remaining 123". The ministry told the
committee that upgradation of another variant of MiG was
also under consideration and the requirement of funds
would be projected adequately when project proposals were
sent. |
BJP, allies to have common
manifesto NEW DELHI, April 27 — The electoral battle for the coming Lok Sabha elections has begun with serious efforts by the BJP and its allies to enter the fray with a common manifesto, a united front and a suitably changed national agenda for governance (NAG) under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The speculations about whether Mr Vajpayee would lead the election campaign were put to rest when both the BJP and the Samata Party asserted that they would persuade him to be the leader of the common front. While the Samata Party President, Mr George Fernandes, said it would be the job of the allies to "persuade" Mr Vajpayee to lead the alliance and its campaign, the BJP spokesman, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, said, "the people, the party and the alliance want him to contest". Informal discussions among leaders of different parties have been going on to agree on the formation of a common front which would have a common manifesto so that the electorate could be convinced that the BJP and its allies would stick together. It would also counter the Congress argument that the BJP and its allies were not cohesive enough to give a stable government. Mr Fernandes, today gave a hint of the shape of things to come when he said that informal discussions had begun to forge a united front of the parties which supported the Vajpayee government during the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha. Mr Fernandes said: "I have always been in favour of a common front with a common manifesto". The front could be christened either as "national front", "national democratic front" or with any such name, he said. The NAG, which was evolved for the BJP-led coalition, would remain valid and suitable changes in it could be made on the suggestions of the allies, Mr Fernandes said. When asked about the common manifesto, the BJP spokesman said that the party’s national executive meeting scheduled to be held on May 1 and May 2 would take a view on it. To another question whether Ayodhya issue would be on the manifesto, Mr Naidu said "these issues have become points of academic interests only". Meanwhile, the BJP and allies, particularly the Samata Party, have also chalked a strategy to counter the "Sonia Gandhi" factor in the elections. While the Samata Party would attack the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi as a foreigner, the BJP would draw the poeple’s attention to her inexperience and would try to question any comparison of her with Mr Vajpayee. The BJP, meanwhile, is trying to rope in other alliance partners. A senior party leader said that even if there was no formal electoral alliance with the Telugu Desam Party, an understanding on seat adjustments was on the cards. Similarly, the BJP would
like to have the Assam Gantantra Parishad (AGP) in the
alliance. An alliance with the DMK could not be entirely
ruled out, he said. |
Muharram observed with solemnity NEW DELHI, April 27 (PTI) — Muslims all over the country took out ‘tazia’ processions and held special prayers to observe Muharram, marking the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad’s grandsons Hussein and Hassan in the battle of Karbala. Thousands of Muslim devotees beat their chests and inflicted wounds on themselves in remembrance of hardships suffered by Hassan, Hussein and their followers while trying to resist the Army of Yazeed, who derided the tenets of Islam, in the battle of Karbala in Iraq 1,400 years ago. Cries of "Hai Hussein, hai Hassan" rent the air as faithfuls took out ‘tazia’ processions lamenting the slaying of Mohammed’s grandsons. Many also joined the customary race dressing themselves as ‘duldul’, the legendary horse of Karbala. In Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal, Muslim devotees observed the day peacefully and with due solemnity. In Lucknow, thousands of Shias took out a peaceful procession, which began from Imambara Nazim Saheb and ended at Karbala Talkatora where they buried their ‘tazias’ amidst tight security. They kept out of Sunni areas as per an understanding between the two sects and authorities last year. However, in Srinagar, 70
persons, including a top Hurriyat Conference leader, were
taken into preventive custody as the police used force to
thwart attempts by Shias to take out "aashura
processions", which have been banned in the city
since militancy erupted 10 years ago. |
Mulayam, Arjun blame each other
for poll NEW DELHI, April 27 — The Samajwadi Party President, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and the Congress Working Committee member, Mr Arjun Singh, today traded charges with both leaders holding the other responsible for forcing snap poll on the nation. The Samajwadi Party chief was at his vitriolic best and charged the Congress with lacking in its commitment towards secularism and hinting that the party was acting at the behest of foreign powers. He singled out the Congress Working Committee member, Mr Arjun Singh, for his personal attack and took strong exception to Mr Singh’s remarks that there was a nexus between the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. An unsigned note levelling serious allegations against Mr Arjun Singh and tracing his past actions were also circulated at the press conference addressed by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier in the day. Reacting to the allegations, Mr Arjun Singh said at the regular briefing of the Congress that he was prepared for an open debate on the "life and times of Arjun Singh and the life and times of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav". He said what was more important was that Mr Yadav had yet to explain his volte face at the last minute when he refused to support the formation of a Congress government. He pointed out that the SP chief had all along during the past eight to nine months been asking the Congress to take the lead in toppling the BJP-led coalition and when it came to the crunch he backed out. "He owes an explanation to the nation on this change of stand", Mr Arjun Singh said. He admitted that the Congress was stumped by the unpredictable posture taken by Mr Yadav at the last minute saying: "We never imagined about it since we had been having continuous interaction". Mr Yadav was, however, of the view that it was both the Congress and the BJP which were responsible for thrusting the fresh round of poll on the country. He charged that the Congress and the BJP were power hungry and not ready to see other smaller parties coming to power. He charged that the Congress lacked in its "commitment towards secularism" and that was not even ready to share power with others. The Samajwadi Party chief disclosed that he was against the Congress alone coming to power as "it would have been an unbridled alternative" and the smaller parties supporting it from outside would have had little say in the Congress government. He referred to the demolition of the Babri Masjid during the minority Congress government led by Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao as one such incident. He, however, evaded a direct reply to an observation that Mr Rao’s government was not propped up by parties from outside. Mr Yadav also charged that several countries were involved in the recent political crisis in the nation and wanted to get a government of their choice installed in the country. "Not any one country in particular, but several countries were involved in the latest power struggle," he said. He however clarified that his assessment had nothing to do with the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin. The Samajwadi Party leader said: "It seems the Congress is not sincere in fighting the BJP". He also referred to the decision of the Congress, not to support the CPM leader Mr Jyoti Basu as the Prime Minister as "unilateral and autocratic. "While we continue to fight the BJP, for the Congress the primary target always is my party," he said and added that "it was due to the Congress, that the BJP came to power and it was due to them that the mid-term poll has been forced upon the country". he said that there seemed to be some kind of understanding between the two parties. He also clarified that he was not against any individual (Sonia Gandhi) but against the Congress coming to power. He categorically stated that even if the Congress had suggested another name instead of Ms Gandhi for the post of the Prime Minister while wanting to form a minority government, he would have opposed it. Releasing copies of press clippings, the SP leader alleged Arjun Singh was "soft" towards the then Kalyan Singh government in 1992 preceding the demolition of the Babri Masjid. "As a Minister in (Narasimha) Rao government he (Singh) had strongly opposed the dismissal of Kalyan Singh government prior to the demolition," Mr Yadav charged. Mr Arjun Singh, however, said that Mr Yadav’s allegations had no base as the entire Ayodhya episode was well documented and all incidents leading to the demolition had been gone over thoroughly. Mr Yadav also launched a stinging attack on the BJP for "forcing" the elections. He said "had not Mr Vajpayee and his party been power hungry and had they proposed the Akali Dal leader Mr Surjit Singh Barnala for Prime Ministership, we could have had second thoughts". Denying that he was responsible for forcing a mid-term poll, he said "history will judge us how we saved the country from being influenced by foreign powers". Asked to name the countries who were involved in the power game, Mr Yadav said: "I am not George Fernandes to keep naming countries". He denied having "differences" with the RJD President, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, on the issue of supporting a Congress government. Asked whether his equation with the Left parties would suffer due to the latest political developments, Mr Yadav said: "We cannot differ with each other for long". "CPM General
Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet is an elderly person.
He has right to scold me. For these I won’t go to
the press. We can sort it out," Mr Yadav said on the
Marxist leader’s criticism of the Samajwadi
Party’s stand in refusing to support a Congress
government. |
TDP ambivalence irks Cong HYDERABAD, April 27 (PTI) — The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress today ridiculed the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for “double speak” on its relationship with the BJP and dared it to spell out its stand on the issue. The APCC the chief spokesman, Mr K. Rosaiah, accused the TDP of being a time-server and opportunistic and said the party’s “ambivalent” approach towards the BJP had proved this again. A day after the BJP-led government, which the TDP had supported from the outside, was voted out, state Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu asserted that his party would not have any tie-up with the BJP in any form. “Now Mr Naidu is again saying that his party’s option on having an electoral alliance with the BJP is open, “Mr Rosaiah told mediapersons. Mr Rosaiah, who was a member of the dissolved Lok Sabha, alleged that Mr Naidu was not coming out openly on his party’s relationship with the BJP since he was scared of the backlash from the minorities who supported him in the last elections on the assumption that the TDP would protect and uphold their interests. “However, everybody knows what the TDP did after the elections”, he said, charging Mr Naidu with playing politics of opportunism and convenience. The TDP supremo has held a series of consultations with his party colleagues to elicit their views on the strategy for the coming poll. The party leaders are, however, divided on the issue of an electoral understanding with BJP with some wanting the party to go it alone. The party leadership is reportedly veering round to the view that a “tactical understanding” would be in the interest of the party. The Congress role in dislodging the Vajpayee government and its “attempts at horse trading” would form one of the main planks of the TDP, besides the “innovative” developmental schemes initiated by the state government in the past four years, a TDP leader said. “There is bound to be a groundswell of sympathy for Mr Vajpayee in the coming poll,” he said, adding that his party would take all these factors into consideration before deciding on poll strategy. Despite steadfastly
standing by the BJP coalition in times of crisis, there
is marked hesitation on the part of TDP leadership to
come out openly in favour of an electoral tie-up with the
BJP. |
‘President could have acted on his own’ NEW DELHI, April 27 (PTI) — The President Mr K.R.Narayanan, could have dissolved the 12th Lok Sabha on his own in the prevailing political situation and a recommendation to this effect from the caretaker Vajpayee government was a precautionary step, constitutional experts say. A senior advocate in the Supreme Court Mr P.P. Rao, said when the President through his wide-ranging consultations found that there was no other party or coalition which could provide a viable alternative to the Vajpayee government, “he could have dissolved the House on his own”. “The President wanted to do it in the formal way,” Mr Rao said, adding that the recommendation of the caretaker government, which had lost the vote of confidence in the House, was not binding on the President. “If the Council of Ministers of the caretaker government had recommended non-dissolution of the House, the President could have rejected the same,” he said. A former Secretary-General of Lok Sabha Dr Subhash Kashyap, said, “It is a ridiculous situation when the President advises the Council of Ministers to give a particular advice to him.” Mr Kashyap said: “It is most unfortunate since the President can dissolve the House on his own. When he found through consultation with various political parties that there was no viable alternative to the Vajpayee government, he should have taken a decision on his own.” A former
Solicitor-General, Mr Dipankar Gupta, said it was an
appropriate step taken by the President though he on his
own could have dissolved the House. |
Successors of riot victims to get
more NEW DELHI, April 27 — Seventyfour victims of the 1984-riots would get an enhanced compensation of Rs 3.50 lakh within a week, Delhi Government officials said here today. The screening committee cleared 74 of the 112 pending cases. The payment would be made by the Deputy Commissioner concerned, the officials added. The payment would be released to a few cases on the production of succession certificates. About 21 cases could not be considered by the screening committee for want of complete documents and verification. The cases were considered on the basis of the recommendations made by the SDMs/Deputy Commissioners concerned and reports obtained from the police and the Prosecution Department. The Delhi Chief
Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, had stated that her
government would clear all pending cases and was
committed to their rehabilitation. |
Guru Nanak memorial planned at Kutch NEW DELHI, April 27 (UNI) — A memorial in honour of Guru Nanak Dev and Swami Vivekananda will be set up at the historic Narayan Sarovar in the arid Kutch region of Gujarat to mark the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa. The SGPC had recently passed a resolution permitting the Deendayal Development and Charitable Trust (DDCT) to set up the memorial. Mr Anant Dave and Mr P.S.Gadhavi, trustees of the trust said here today that the memorial would cost about Rs 11 crore. The entire amount would be collected by way of donations of Rs 100 each from individuals. The response from the people had been encouraging, they added. According to documentary proof, Guru Nanak, on his way to Mecca and Madina by sea, had visited the Narayan Sarovar and Koteshwar in the Kutch region in 1519, and stayed in the region for some time. Swami Vivekananda had also visited these places during his padyatra and spent a few days. It was proposed to install life-size statues of Guru Nanak and Swami Vivekananda at the memorial site, for which six acres of land had been acquired, three from the Gujarat Government and the rest from the Tirthraj Narayan Sarovar Vikas Trust. The trust proposed to set up residential accommodation for the visitors to the Narayan Sarovar and a dhyan khand for meditation. It was proposed to set up a number of facilities including an ayurvedic research centre, a primary health centre, water recharging and harvesting projects besides child and women welfare activities, propagation of cultural activities and augmentation of drinking water facilities in surrounding villages. A gurdwara has been
built in the memory of Guru Nanak at Lakhpat Port near
Narayan Sarovar and it has become an important pilgrimage
spot for the Sikhs. |
PSLV launch in May likely BANGALORE, April 27 (PTI) — The first mutli-satellite launch from India is expected to take place in May when the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C2), with three satellites on board, will be blasted into space from Sriharikota, the Department of Space (DOS) today said. PSLV-C2 would carry the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS-P4 (Oceansat-1) as the primary payload, a South Korean micro satellite Kitsat and a German microsatellite Tubsat as piggybacks, DOS Secretary Dr K. Kasturirangan told reporters here. According to officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the event would also signify the start of marketing of Indian launch services. Kasturirangan, also the ISRO Chairman, said integration and final checks with regard to IRS-P4, meant for observation of oceans, were being carried out and it would be shipped to Sriharikota on April 30. The launch window would be opened on May 25 and the launch would take place anyday after that. Some 10 to 12 universities had lined up to carry out research on oceanography from data of IRS-P4, he said. He said INSAT-3B would be launched by Arianespace from Kourou in French Guyana during September-October this year. ISRO officials said the
launch of INSAT-3B had been advanced to precede that of
INSAT-3A to quickly augment the extended C-band capacity
of the INSAT system. |
Order upheld in retirement case NEW DELHI, April 27 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has upheld a Delhi High Court Order allowing a joint secretary in the Defence Ministry to withdraw his request for voluntary retirement in view of the two year increase in the retirement age of government servants. A Division Bench comprising Justice B.N. Kirpal and Justice S. Rajendra Babu dismissed earlier this month the appeal by the Central government against the High Court order. The joint secretary, Mr M.S. Sokhanda, had applied on April 24, 1998, seeking voluntary retirement from service and the same was accepted by the ministry on May 8. However, in view of the May 12 decision of the government to raise the retirement age from 58 to 60 years, Mr Sokhanda on the same day applied for withdrawal of his request. But the government rejected his application four days later. When he appealed in Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against rejection of his request, CAT had upheld government decision and asked him to take voluntary retirement. The High Court, however, had set aside CAT order and also quashed the government decision in refusing to approve Mr Sokhanda’s request for withdrawal of his notice for voluntary retirement. Based on the High Court
order, Mr Sokhanda had joined the Defence Ministry on
November 19 last year and was treated to be in continuous
service from May 16, the date when he requested for
withdrawal of his voluntary retirement notice. |
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| Three killed in train
mishap SILIGURI: At least three passengers, including two women, were killed and 12 injured when the 5657 UP Kanchenjunga Express met with an accident between Dhulabari Halt-Magurjan railway station in Bihar’s Katihar division, about 50 km from here, on Monday, Railway’s officials said. The new Jalpaiguri-bound train from Sealdah met with the accident when a check rail at the entrance of a bridge penetrated through the floor of a general compartment, killing the passengers on the spot, Superintendent of Railway Police S. Biswas said. — PTI Mastermind behind blast held Suresh Dube
murder case Quake-resistant
houses for UP 4 boys held for
killing friend Maneater killed,
hunter hurt |
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