Thursday, February 25, 1999
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Cong bags 8 seats in Assembly bypoll NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — The Congress tonight bagged eight of the 11 Assembly seats for which byelections were held on Monday, maintaining the winning spree that began with the November 1998 Assembly elections. BJP launches attack on Cong NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — The Congress today came under attack from the BJP in the Rajya Sabha on the sudden "volte face" in its stand on the issue of imposition of the President’s rule in Bihar. |
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Delhi bypoll: Cong routs BJP New Delhi, Feb 24 — The ruling Congress today won the Hauz Khas and Nangloi Jat Assembly seats for which byelections were held in Delhi. Sonia goes on offensive NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — Having decided to vote against the ratification of President’s rule in Bihar, the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, has clearly adopted an offensive posture. The strategy is to have a no-holds-barred onslaught aimed at embarrassing the Vajpayee government and in the process weakening its fragile structure. |
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‘No decision yet on CTBT’ NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — India has not agreed to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treat and there is no change in the government’s stand on the issue, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told the Lok Sabha today. Oppn reacts
sharply to Advani's remarks Deputy
Naval Chief appointed after ‘consideration’ Cong
men walk out of AP House Quattrocchi
refuses to come to India Tansi
land case: Judge told to defer proceedings Army
hospital gets cardiac lab Roll
back urea price: Chandumajra Advani:
20 illegal colonies in UT |
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Cong bags 8 seats in Assembly bypoll NEW DELHI, Feb 24 (UNI) — The Congress tonight bagged eight of the 11 Assembly seats for which byelections were held on Monday, maintaining the winning spree that began with the November 1998 Assembly elections. The party won all seats in Rajasthan (four) and Delhi (two) and shared one each with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, according to reports received here. The Khawbung (ST) seat in Mizoram was won by the Mizo National Front, a report from Aizawl said. In Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was declared elected from Sardarpura by a margin of 49,280 votes. Mr Hiralal Deopura was
returned from Kumbhalgarh with a margin of 7,115 votes,
while in Bhim and Mundwa Assembly constituencies the BJP
candidates were defeated by the Congress by more than
18,000 votes. The BJP suffered a humiliating defeat in
Delhi, losing the prestigious Hauz Khab seat vacated by
former Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj. |
Delhi bypoll: Cong routs BJP New Delhi, Feb 24 — The ruling Congress today won the Hauz Khas and Nangloi Jat Assembly seats for which byelections were held in Delhi. The Congress candidates won both the seats, for which elections were held on February 22, defeating its BJP rivals by slender margins. Congress candidate and Delhi University lecturer, Ms Kiran Walia, who lost to the former Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Sushma Swaraj, from Hauz Khas in November poll made it this time by beating the BJP nominee, Mr Hari Shankar Gautam by 3626 votes. While the Congress candidate polled 19,800 votes, the BJP candidate got 16,174 votes. The posh South Delhi Assembly segment had fallen vacant after Ms Swaraj quit to retain her Lok Sabha seat. The issue came handy for the Congress during campaigning this time with the party claiming it was a "betrayal" of people by the former Union Information and Broadcasting Minister. In Nangloi Jat constituency, Mr P.C. Kaushik of the Congress defeated a former Delhi Transport Minister, Mr Devender Singh Shokeen of the BJP, by 2486 votes. While the Samata Party candidate, Ms Panmeshwari Devi, managed to get only 1,139 votes. The Samata Party had nominated Ms Devi, mother of Ved Singh, who was murdered in the run up to November Assembly elections, hoping to cash in on the sympathy factor. The Congress, which already enjoys a majority of 51 seats in the 70-member Assembly, increased its tally to 53 seats with a win in these two seats. The BJP now has 14 members, Janata Dal one and Independents two. Though the BJP alleged that the ruling party indulged in massive rigging and bogus voting in Nangloi Jat segment, Mr Sajjan Kumar, election in-charge for Congress in the constituency, said the verdict was in favour of the Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Sheila Dixit. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Mrs Sheila Dixit, said by winning both the seats in the byelections, "the residents of Delhi have reposed faith in our style of functioning. This is a positive vote for the efforts undertaken by us in the last three months." The Delhi unit BJP president, Mr Mange Ram Garg, alleged that the Congress had misused the official machinery for the poll process "ensuring a win for their candidates." "There are more than 15 complaints which we have forwarded to the Election Commission regarding bogus voting and altercations," he added. Senior party leaders blamed differences between Mr Sahib Singh Verma and Mr Madan Lal Khurana for the party’s humiliating defeat in November polls. The electorate exercised
their franchise on electronic voting machines and the
results were declared within a couple of hours after the
counting began. The voter turnout for the byelections was
low with Hauz Khas Assembly segment recording 33 per cent
polling and in Nangloi Jat only 43 per cent electorate
turned up on the polling day. |
Volte face
on Bihar issue NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — The Congress today came under attack from the BJP in the Rajya Sabha on the sudden "volte face" in its stand on the issue of imposition of the President’s rule in Bihar. Initially singling out the Congress for changing its stance, the BJP member, Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who initiated the debate on the motion of thanks to the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, for his address to the joint session of Parliament, accused the Opposition of playing into the hands of foreign forces. Saying that such foreign forces were trying to dislodge the 11-month old Vajpayee government so as to create instability in the country, Prof Malhotra warned the opposition not to become a tool in the hands of such forces. He launched a frontal attack on the Congress and also admitted that the government was taken in by the initial posture adopted by that party. He said the Congress was making every effort to topple the government so that it could stall the investigations in the Bofors scandal. The Congress somersault on the dismissal of the Rabri Devi government in Bihar, clearly indicated the party’s nervousness on the Bofors issue. The comments from Prof Malhotra evoked a strong reaction from the Congress members leading to heated exchanges between them and the members of the Treasury Benches. The agitated Congress members repeatedly interrupted Prof Malhotra, also in the process forcing the Chairman, Mr Krishan Kant to intervene and ask the BJP member to continue with his speech. The trouble started when the BJP member spoke about how Congress president Sonia Gandhi went back on her support after saying that the Rabri Devi government had lost the moral right to rule after the massacre of Dalits. Congress member Saroj Kharpade immediately stood up in protest and said, "extraneous matters" should not be dragged into the discussion on the motion of thanks. She was supported by her colleagues who contended that Prof Malhotra was going beyond what was contained in the President’s address. Congress member Kapil Sibal, who is also a lawyer, attempted to raise a point of order and said the member should not talk on issues which were beyond the ambit of the Central government. However Mr Kant then ruled that there was a reference to Bihar in the address and rejected Mr Sibal’s point of order further ruling that the member could speak on the issue. Prof Malhotra also said a sinister campaign had been launched against the Vajpayee government to dub it anti-minorities. He said the government was committed to protect minorities and this was proved by its 10 months tenure. He also gave a clean chit to the RSS, stating that it was never involved in any communal riot. Prof Malhotra also spoke at length about the government’s foreign policy initiatives and hailed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s historic visit to Pakistan. He said this would go a long way in normalising relations between the two countries. The BJP leader also drew
the attention of the House to the pledge made by the
Prime Ministers of both the countries to give peace a
chance. |
Sonia goes on offensive NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — Having decided to vote against the ratification of President’s rule in Bihar, the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, has clearly adopted an offensive posture. The strategy is to have a no-holds-barred onslaught aimed at embarrassing the Vajpayee government and in the process weakening its fragile structure. On the other hand, the Bihar decision has also caused fissures in the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM), which has 37 members in the Lok Sabha. Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and his Rashtriya Janata Dal had been soft on the Congress led by Mrs Sonia Gandhi over the past year or so while the posture of the Samajwadi Party chief, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and his enterprising General Secretary, Mr Amar Singh, was that of "patronising" the Congress. The unity in action between the Congress, the Left and the forces which are broadbanded under the "secular" banner had been hampered of late due to anti-Congress pronouncements by Samajwadi Party leaders who want the Congress to spearhead the move for pulling down the Vajpayee regime without taking into account the logistics of the exercise. Mrs Sonia Gandhi has been harping for over a year that the Congress will not be found wanting in case the Vajpayee government collapses and the mantle of governance falls on the second largest party in Lok Sabha, however, she would prefer to pull the rug according to the timetable set by herself. She is not in a hurry, as Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Amar Singh seem to be. The presence of a unified group of 37 in the Lok Sabha was acting as a catalyst for the re-emergence of the third force — a group of non-BJP parties who are erstwhile allies of the Sangh Parivar and more attuned to anti-Congressism than BJP-bashing. Intrinsically, left to themselves, the so-called third force elements find the Congress to be a strange bedfellow. The fissures in the RLM which are emerging since the past two days have put a question mark on the emergence of the third force as an alternative to the Congress. Mrs Gandhi would like the Congress to deal with allies from the non-BJP world, and not create a "master". The Congress strategy is
to consolidate the anti-BJP forces for a future election
— an election which will follow the collapse of the
Vajpayee regime caused by its own inner contradictions.
Towards this end, the strategy on Bihar will prove to be
a watershed. |
‘No decision yet on CTBT’ NEW DELHI, Feb 24 (PTI) — India has not agreed to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treat (CTBT) and there is no change in the government’s stand on the issue, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told the Lok Sabha today. “The answer is clear, explicit and unambiguous no,” he said to a spate of supplementaries during question hour on whether the government had consented to sign the CTBT during the several rounds of Indo-US strategic talks. “The government has not agreed to sign it. The government’s stand remains what it has been, what it has stated in the House, what the Prime Minister has stated in the UN General assembly,” he said to a question by Prof P.J. Kurien of the Congress. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had stated that India was prepared to bring to a successful conclusion discussions with key interlocutors on a range of issues, including the CTBT, so that the entry into force of the treaty was not delayed beyond September this year. NEPAL: Nepal has assured India that its territories will not be used for activities inimical to India’s interests, Mr Jaswant Singh said. The government was aware of reports of Pakistan’s ISI and some fundamentalist groups misusing the Nepalese territory for their operations in India. He said the matter was taken up with the authorities concerned of Nepal and “we have received assurances at the highest levels that the Nepalese territory would not be used for such activities”. Bhutan: India and Bhutan share concerns on the presence of insurgent groups from North-Eastern India on the Bhutanese territory and had remained in frequent touch to find a solution to the issue, he said. The National Assembly of Bhutan, at its last session in June-July, recognised the danger posed by these militants to Bhutan itself and sought to find ways to move them from their territory, he said. Minorities: Concern was expressed by some countries, including Australia, UK, USA and European Parliament following recent attacks on Christians in the country, he said. He said the government had emphasised India’s continuing commitment to maintain the long established tradition of religious tolerance and secularism and added that foreign governments, people and media had been sensitised to it. UK: The Indian High Commission in London had provided information on the activities of extremist groups in Britain, the minister said adding that there was ongoing cooperation with the British Government on matters relating to terrorism. Japan: The Japanese Government had frozen the yen-loan programme and grant-aid for new projects, except for emergency, humanitarian and grassroot projects, he stated. However, disbursements for ongoing projects (both loans and grants) were continuing. Japan would like India to take “positive” steps on nuclear non-proliferation issue for positive consideration. Torture:
India had signed, but not ratified the UN convention
against torture and other cruel, inhuman degrading
treatment or punishment as the need to amend its
legislation to bring it in conformity with provisions of
the convention was under examination, he said. |
Oppn reacts sharply to Advani's
remarks NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — The Rajya Sabha today again witnessed noisy scenes as members of the opposition protested the comments of the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, that the commission set up to inquire into the antecedents of the outlawed Ranvir Sena was yet to be provided with an office. Replying to a question raised by Mr Jalaluddin Ansari and Ms Kamla Sinha during question hour, on the massacre of 22 Dalits in Jehanabad district allegedly by the Ranvir Sena, the Home Minister said the Bihar Government had constituted a commission under Justice Amir Das in December 1997 to inquire into the antecedents of the Ranvir Sena. But the commission was still to be provided with an office. The Home Minister conceded that the Ranvir Sena was the most aggressive outfit and the commission headed by the sitting Judge Amir Das could have been asked to finish the inquiry within six months, he said. "The commission, however, is yet to be given a office accommodation." This led to shouts of "shame" from the Treasury Benches. Mr Advani pointed out that
the main reason for the tension prevailing in the area
was the non-implementation of the land reforms. The
Ranvir Sena was certainly a major hurdle for maintaining
peace, he said while informing that till now 32 persons
had been arrested in connection with the massacre. |
Deputy Naval Chief appointed
after ‘consideration’ NEW DELHI, Feb 24 - The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff was appointed after consideration of all aspects by the government, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes replied in the negative when asked whether in the recent appointment to the post of the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, the government had overlooked any provisions of the Navy Act. The recommendations made by the Chief of Naval Staff on the appointment were by definition, ‘recommendations’. Appointments were made by the government, he said. The government also said the appointment of retired defence officers in sensitive areas of defence procurement was not permitted. Asked in the Rajya Sabha
whether some top ranked retired officers were engaged in
the arms business, Mr George Fernandes said as per the
existing instructions, defence service officers were
required to obtain prior permission of the government for
accepting any commercial employment within a period of
two years from the date of retirement. |
Cong men walk out of AP House HYDERABAD, Feb 24 (PTI) — The main opposition Congress today staged a noisy walkout in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in protest against what it called “gross failure” of the Telugu Desam government in handling the law and order situation in the state. Raising the issue during a zero hour mention, Mr E. Pratha Reddy (Cong) brought to the notice of the chair that the followers of a TDP MP in Kurnool district had attacked the brother of a former MP recently and no action had been taken in this regard so far. Political killings were on the rise in Kurnool district, with TDP leaders attacking Congress workers frequently and the state taking no action despite public outcry, he alleged. When Legislative Affairs Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said he had noted down the details and would forward them to the authorities for necessary action, the Congress members, not satisfied with the reply, walked out of the House. Mr Nayanar said there was another scheme for beautifying the area around the martyr’s column for which the government had earmarked Rs. 22 lakh. When that scheme would be implemented the parking area would have to be shifted elsewhere. The government would then make alternative arrangements for the parking of vehicles coming to the Palayam area, he said. However, the proposed EMS
statue would in no way affect the parking of vehicles in
the area, he added. |
Quattrocchi refuses to come to India NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — The Italian businessman, Mr Ottavio Quattrocchi, an accused in the Bofors case, who has been directed by the Supreme Court to appear before a Special Judge dealing with the case in Delhi on March 15, today refused to come to India and denied his involvement in the multi-crore gun deal. In a faxed message to The Tribune from Kuala Lumpur, Mr Quattrocchi said his willingness to appear before the designated court was due to a “miscomprehension” with his lawyer. “A miscomprehension
between me and my senior counsel made him suggest to the
Supreme Court that I was ready to go to India to be
interrogated on the Bofors case”, the Italian
businessman said, adding, “I am available to
cooperate with the CBI even though I have nothing to do
with the Bofors deal, provided I am interrogated in Kuala
Lumpur or Italy in the presence of my lawyer”. |
Tansi land
case CHENNAI, Feb 24 (PTI) — The Madras High Court today directed a special judge, trying former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and others in the Tansi land deal case, to defer further proceedings in the case till March 1. The order effectively stays the framing of charges in the case, fixed for tomorrow by Special Judge-III P. Anbazhagan. Mr Justice S.S. Subramani passed the interim order on a petition from former State Small Industries Minister Mohammed Asif, alleging that judge P. Anbazhagan, was biased against the accused and was acting against their interests, and seeking transfer of the trial to some other court. Mr Justice Subramani said as certain allegations had been made against the judge concerned, it was better for him not to proceed till March 1, and asked him to send his remarks on Mr Asif’s allegation to the court by then. Mr Asif alleged that the judge was “more on the side of the prosecution”, and the accused could not be expected to get justice from them. The case pertains to the purchase of land belonging to the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (Tansi) by Jaya Publications, a firm in which Ms Jayalalitha and her close associate Sasikala Natarajan were partners. According to the crime
branch-CID chargesheet, the transaction allegedly
involved undervaluation and evasion of stamp duty and
registration charges, totally involving over Rs 3 crore.
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Army hospital gets cardiac lab NEW DELHI, Feb 24 (PTI) — A state-of-the-art cardiac laboratory has been set up at the Army’s apex Research and Referral (R & R) Hospital here for the treatment of complex heart ailments among defence personnel both serving and retired and their families. The cardiac catherization and interventional laboratory is first of its kind and has full capabilities for all types of investigations and treatment of severe cardiac ailments among armed forces, Commandant of R&R Hospital and reputed cardiologist, Maj Gen B.N. Shahi, told PTI. More than 300 cases of coronary angiography, a number of balloon angioplasty, balloon valvotomy and dual chamber pacemakers, have been performed at the hospital, he said. The open heart surgery programme has also started in a big way and five to six by-pass surgeries are being performed successfully every week, he said. The new laboratory was
formally inaugurated today by Chief of Western Command,
Lieut-Gen H.B. Kala. |
Roll back urea price:
Chandumajra NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, SAD MP, today demanded the withdrawal of hike in the prices of essential commodities, specially on urea. Raising the issue during zero hour, Mr Chandumajra, said the poor people in the country were suffering on account of the rise in prices and stated that farmers were forced to commit suicide due to non-profitability in the agricultural sector. He said there was stagnation in the agricultural sector due to reduction in yield and simultaneous rise in the cost of inputs. Mr Chandumajra said last
year the government had withdrawn the hike in the prices
of urea on the grounds that the farmers would not be able
bear the burden but the prices had been raised again,
now. |
Advani: 20 illegal colonies in UT NEW DELHI, Feb 24 — There are 23 authorised and 20 unauthorised labour colonies in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, informed the Lok Sabha today. He was replying to a question put by Mr Satya Pal Jain, local MP. Mr Advani informed Mr Jain that out of the 20 unauthorised colonies, 11 were on the government land while the remaining nine were on private land, established by land owners, who by providing small plots, were charging rents. The Chandigarh Administration had no proposal to provide any facility to these unauthorised colonies established by the private land owners. Mr Advani said at present, there was no policy of the administration to rehabilitate and resettle the remaining 11 labour colonies on government land. However, it had been decided to provide basic services like electricity, drinking water, street lights, mobile toilets and educational facilities in these colonies. The Home Minister further
said that Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, Karsan, had been
rehabilitated in 1998 in Sector 52 by allotting sites to
17,00 persons. The process of resettlement of Labour
Colony, Sector 31, and a Karsan colony was in progress
and was likely to be completed by March 31. For this more
than 2,560 sites were being allotted, he added. |
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| Action against 69 officials LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Government on Tuesday initiated disciplinary proceedings against 69 senior officials of the Rural Engineering Department found guilty of misappropriation of funds. The state Minister for Rural Engineering Services and Minor Irrigation, Mr Markandey Chand, told the reporters here that the officials had misused the funds amounting to several crores of rupees meant for rural development. He said action against the officials, including an IAS officer, followed an inquiry by the financial controller. — PTI Teacher ‘rapes’
student 6 buried alive in
mine collapses AMU to honour OPEC
President 4 kidnapped in
Tripura Jubilee
celebrations planned |
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