Thursday, July 15, 1999

Cotton growers switch to paddy
SRIGANGANAGAR, July 14 — Repeated failures of cotton crop in the north zone has forced farmers of Punjab and Rajasthan to shift to other crops, including paddy.

Army honour for Ladakh Scouts
NEW DELHI, July 14 — In view of the outstanding valour, sacrifice and patriotism displayed by it during Operation Vijay, the Ladakh Scouts has been awarded the “Chief of the Army Staff Banner”.

Malhotra new LS Secretary-General
NEW DELHI, July 14 — Mr G.C.Malhotra, born in 1943 in Lahore, has been appointed the new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha by the Lok Sabha Speaker Mr G.M.C.Balayogi.

SC notice to states on tiger PIL
NEW DELHI, July 14 — The Supreme Court today directed the Chief Secretaries of UP, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Nagaland and Haryana to either appear in person or file affidavits in reply to a petition filed in public interest seeking directions to the government to take steps to protect and save tigers in the country.

Sharma president of Brahman Sabha
NEW DELHI, July 14- Mr Mange Ram Sharma has been appointed National President of the All-India Brahman Sabha for three years.

I may go to court: Dilip
By Humra Quraishi

The veteran 77-year-old film star Dilip Kumar rushed to the Capital last Friday as Shiv Sena threatened him with dire consequences if he didn’t return the award “Nishaan-i-Imtiaz” conferred on him last March, by the government of Pakistan. Dilip Kumar had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, asking him to decide whether he should keep it or not. And though on Sunday the Prime Minister gave the okaying nod but the problem seems far from being sorted out, as reports state that Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray doesn’t seem in a relenting mood.

The following are the excerpts from an exclusive interview with Dilip Kumar, conducted in hotel Le Meridien’s Presidential suite, in the hotel lift as he was going down to have lunch with Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi, and over the telephone just after his meeting with the Prime Minister.

Question: You met the Prime Minister on July 11 and it is said that he has told you keep the award and has also reassured you about security etc. So do you feel secure vis a vis threats from the Shiv Sena?

Answer: I have to go by the Prime Minister’s assurances... I mean I have to go by that and feel confident by the assurances he has given me and the security that the government will be providing me.

Q: Your banking on the Prime Minister’s assurances seems strange in the context of the fact that Shiv Sena is an alliance party of the BJP, Comment.

A: Yes, I know that but I have faith in the Prime Minister and find him to be a seasoned and broadminded person. Also don’t overlook the fact that before accepting this award I had taken permission from him and he had given the go ahead. Not only that he had also asked me to help him in building better relations with Pakistan.

Q: Has the Shiv Sena given you some sort of an ultimatum or issued threats in case you decide not to return the award?

A: Yes they have sent across a message that in case I do not return the award I should go and settle down in Pakistan.

Q: What counter message have you sent them?

A: I have sent them no message. I havn’t got back to them for I have left things to him (Pointing his finger at the ceiling of the hotel room). He is the one who takes up the cause and he is the one who’ll guide...

Q: There has been some rumour that you might change your base from Bombay to New Delhi. Any truth in this?

A: No, I am not changing my base from Bombay... living there I will try to overcome the problems and what is the guarantee that if I come here (New Delhi) some others don’t create similar tensions.

Q: Do you think that lately there is a rise in fascism in the country?

A: Such a rise they wouldn’t know how to cope with.

Q: Who is the “they”?

A: I suppose there is no need to elaborate...for, they are the ones who are engaged in unconstitutional activities and have taken law into their hands, indulging in all sorts of crimes and violations of the human rights and unleashing terror all around.

Q: Earlier whenever there was a crisis filmstars and all those connected with Bollywood rose to the occasion. Nobody seems to react to the peculiar situation you are going through. Comment

A: Yes, I know... normally they used to but may be this new trend is because today we have a modern set of filmstars who are too busy or what... may be they are thinking of their very survival.

Q: Has their quietude disappointed you?

A: One is left disappointed only when one has expectations from someone.

Q: Even the so-called secular organisations have also maintained a quietude on this crisis. Comment

A: I have faith in Him alone (again points to the ceiling of the lift, as we are coming down to the hotel lobby) But, then let me also mention that even today there are members of Parliament, doctors, bureaucrats, lawyers who understand my situation and are definitely with me...

Q: To put it bluntly do you think Shiv Sena has put you in this situation because you are a member of the minority community?

A: I don’t know. You make a guess and I am very sure you won’t be wrong.

Q: You came to Bombay in 1929 and have been living there since then. Did you ever visualise that a day would come when you’d be facing such a crisis.

A: No, I couldn’t ever visualise that I would be facing a crisis of this nature. In fact, even before we settled down in Bombay (in 1929) we used to keep coming from Peshawar to Bombay and mind you Peshawar was then a part of Bharat, of undivided India.

Q: How are you coping with the tension, especially in view of the fact that only some months back you underwent a by-pass surgery?

A: I am not well. Even last night I had a breakdown... well coping with it like you go through a day’s script...what else...

Q: Just in case these threats increase and are not controlled what next step do you contemplate taking?

A: I would refer to the security provided to me and then if need be even take recourse to law.

Q: Your critics have stated that since Rabindranath Tagore had returned the honour and title given to him by the British, and so in keeping with the same tradition you should return this “Nishaan-i-Imtiaz” award. Comment.

A: It is so irrelevant! How are they equating the two? Here let me also add that Rabindranath Tagore had kept that honour/title for several years and only when an occasion arose he gave it up on his own and not because he was being bullied to do so.. You cannot humiliate a person, you cannot bully a person, you cannot mentally torture...

Q: When you just had this hour-long meeting with the Prime Minister did you focus his attention to the growing communalism and rise in fascism?

A: No, I couldn’t .We couldn’t talk on that aspect.

AIADMK-Cong tie up for LS poll

CHENNAI, July 14 (PTI) — The Congress and the AIADMK today reached an alliance for the Lok Sabha poll in Tamil Nadu reviving there traditional relationship, but with the Congress getting only 12 seats and the AIADMK cornering the lion's share of 23 of the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

The alliance was struck at the end of the third round of discussions between Congress emissaries Manmohan Singh and A.K. Antony and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha here when it was also announced that new AIADMK allies, the CPM and the CPI, would get two seats each and the Indian National League one seat.

"We have reached an agreement with the AIADMK to work together in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. We are satisfied with the arrangement and will be campaigning jointly", Dr Monmohan Singh, who, along with CWC member A.K. Antony took part in the parleys, said.

With the DMK, the BJP, the MDMK, the PMK and the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress tying up as the National Democratic Alliance, today's development is expected to influence the decision likely to be taken by the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) headed by Mr Moopanar at a conference in Madurai tomorrow.

The TMC is pledged to remain equidistant from both the BJP and the AIADMK on an anti-communal and anti-corruption plank.

In a surprise development, Ms Jayalalitha's ally, Dr Subramaniam Swamy, who was said to have played a leading role in the efforts to withdraw the AIADMK's support to the BJP-led coalition government in April, has not been allotted any seat. However, it remains to be seen whether the AIADMK will give one of its seats to him. Madurai, won by Dr Swamy in 1998, may in all probability go to the CPM, whose stronghold it is.

With the deal, the AIADMK and the Congress would revive their 22-year-old ties which were broken by the regional party in the 1998 elections when it joined hands with the BJP by ditching the Congress.

The Congress, which used to contest a majority of seats under an old MGR formula has been forced to settle for the junior partner status after a vast erosion in its base.

The party drew a blank in the last two Lok Sabha elections after it parted ways in 1996 with Mr G. Moopanar floating the TMC and teaming up with the DMK.

The TMC may tie-up with a new Dalit party, the Puthiya Thamizhaqam, which like the TMC is pledged to an anti-communal and anti-corruption plank.

Meanwhile, TMC president G.K., Moopanar told reporters that the alliance was not unexpected as it was in the offing for quite some time.

The AIADMK also decided to contest two by elections to the state assembly from Natham and Tiruvattur.

While Dr Manmohan Singh expressed satisfaction over the arrangement, saying the AIADMK and Congress would campaign jointly by working together in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the Janata Party leader, Dr Subramaniam Swamy, now in Madurai, expressed surprise at his exclusion and said "at the moment, I do not have any comments".

Although the TMC's strategy is to be made known at Madurai tomorrow, it may have no other option but to float a third front with the Pudhiya Thamizhaqam (PT) which has pockets of influence in Tamil Nadu.

The PT leader, Mr K. Krishnasamy's recent suggestion for a Congress-TMC-PT front to take on the DMK-BJP combine has now been rendered infructuous.

For the Congress, it is a reflection of its decline that it had to settle for just 12 seats, after having invariably contested 28 seats or more every time it had an alliance with the AIADMK under the time-tested MGR formula which allowed the Congress to contest two-thirds of the Lok Sabha seats leaving the lesser share to the AIADMK.

After the formation of the TMC, which was the result of widespread resentment among Mr Moopanar's followers against the Congress's decision to go with the AIADMK in 1996, the Congress suffered humiliation in the last two Lok Sabha elections and did not have a single member in the Lower House from the state

The allocation of 12 seats to the Congress must, in any case, satisfy the national party, as there were indications that it would be offered just five or six seats by the AIADMK.

SP, NCP talks on new front
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 14 — Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav today started earnest efforts to forge a new front as a viable alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With the United Front having disintegrated and no signs of the forging of a ‘Third Front’ including the major Left parties, leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Forward Bloc and Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) today held preliminary discussions on a new front which could start the process of coming together of non-Congress, non-BJP secular parties.

The meeting of leaders from the four parties was held at the residence of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, apparently at the behest of the Samajwadi Party chief, who has been feeling isolated after two of his former allies, the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Party of Mr Shanker Sinh Vaghela deserted him in favour of the Congress. Although the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) still stands on paper, the Samajwadi Party remains its lone member.

This, along with the increasing isolation of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and in other states where it has some presence prompted Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav to rope in other small parties in a front to increase his presence. Mr Yadav is looking to major Left parties joining the new front. Reports said he was in constant touch with the leaders of CPI and CPM and he was also hoping to rope in the Janata Dal.

Emerging from a two-hour long meeting of the presidents of NCP, and SP Mr Sharad Pawar and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, told reporters that the next round of meeting will be held on July 16.

"Today’s discussions were limited to identifying issues on which we can contest elections jointly and defeat the BJP and Sonia Congress," Mr Pawar said.

Mr Yadav said former Prime Minister and senior Janata Dal leader H D Deve Gowda, who was also expected to attend the meeting, " expressed his inability over the phone this morning as he had an urgent matter to attend to".

Referring to the participation of Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas, Mr Yadav dispelled notions that efforts were on to split the Left Front saying "we would like to have all those who are opposed to Congress and BJP".

Mr Biswas in turn claimed the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) had also decided to associate with the proposed new front. Talks were on even with CPM and CPI, he said.

Other parties including the Trinamool Congress would also be approached, Mr Yadav said in reply to a question.

SP spokesman Amar Singh however said any party associating with the BJP had no place in the proposed front.

Asked whether RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav was also being contacted, the SP chief said "The matter has been left to him, let him take a decision".

Slamming both the BJP and the Congress for their "announcement" to make the "Kargil conflict" an election issue, Mr Yadav said "Only those parties with no serious issue worth taking to the people can play such gimmicks".

"We are grateful to our soldiers for protecting our motherland," Mr Yadav said adding "Or else, BJP government’s achievement has been to help Kashmir become an international issue".

Jaya moves High Court

CHENNAI, July 14 (UNI) — Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha today moved the Madras High Court seeking to adjourn the proceedings in the Tansi land deal case in respect of Jaya Publications and Sasi Enterprises, in which she and her close aide Sasikala Natarajan are the prime accused, till the application filed by her in the Supreme Court was disposed of.

The application, challenging the power of the state Governor to accord sanction for prosecuting her, has been referred to the Constitutional Bench.

Mr Justice A. Ramamoorthy, before whom the separate petitions filed by Ms Jayalalitha came up for admission, adjourned the hearing to July 22.

In her petitions, Ms Jayalalitha also prayed that all further proceedings in the case in respect of Jaya Publications might be withheld till it was decided whether the sanction under Section 197 of the Cr.P.C. For prosecuting her could be granted to any number of persons in respect of the same cause of action, whether fresh sanction could be granted on the same issue to a different prosecuting agency when the first sanction was stayed by the apex court and whether fresh sanction could be granted at all when the basic question whether the Governor could grant the sanction was pending before the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court.

She said the prosecuting agency might not have placed all relevant records, particularly the stay granted by the apex court, in respect of the earlier sanction granted against her in this regard.

She contended that the sanction claimed to have been granted by the Governor and relied on by the prosecution was not sustainable.

Ms Jayalalitha said due to political reasons and to prevent her from discharging her lawful duties as Chief Minister, the then Governor, Dr Chenna Reddy, had granted sanction to prosecute her on a petition presented by a political personality, Dr Subramanian Swamy. The same was questioned by her before the High Court and a Division Bench dismissed the petition as not maintainable.

A ray of hope for Punjab villages
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 14 — Avtar Singh’s family no longer have to travel to the nearest town when somebody falls ill. Earlier, the usual coughs and colds would be ignored, leading to general weakness and diminishing immunity. But then, travelling 10-12 miles on foot or on a truck was hardly the treatment for a recurrent cough.

Today, Avtar Singh himself feels relieved, thanks to the doctors who visit his village every week to conduct general check up and ensure his family is well.

Thousands of such families have been healed by “Umeed”, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), fulfilling the medical need of the 600-odd villages of Sangrur district of Punjab.

Too date, 511 villages have been tapped, and now receive weekly medical care and medicines, free of cost. Apart from this, Umeed focuses on disabled and orphaned children and has just begun a cell to educate women. Says Arvind Khanna, founder of Umeed, “If you educate a woman, you educate a family.”

Cotton growers switch to paddy
From Chander Parkash and Balwant Garg

SRIGANGANAGAR, July 14 — Repeated failures of cotton crop in the north zone has forced farmers of Punjab and Rajasthan to shift to other crops, including paddy.

Not having received adequate returns from the fields due to crop failure for the past six years, the farmers this season have sown cotton in very little area as compared to the area brought under cotton crop last year.

Official sources said in Punjab, the cotton crop had been sown in 4.65 lakh hectares against the target of 5 lakh hectares set by the state Agriculture Department. In Rajasthan, the area under cotton crop had come down drastically in Hanumangarh and Kriganaganagar districts. In both districts, the area had been reduced to 86,000 hectares as compared to 1.44 lakh hectares last year.

Official sources said in Rajasthan, the area had been reduced due to closure of the Indira Gandhi Canal during the months of April and May while in Punjab, the majority of farmers shifted to the paddy crop where water was available in sufficient quantity. The dry heat spell which gripped the Rajasthan area for long period also reduced the area under cotton crop.

The sources added that in Rajasthan last year cotton growers in most areas could not shift to paddy due to less availability of water. Most of the farmers of Rajasthan and Punjab had come under heavy debt due to failure of the cotton crop.

In Punjab last year the fall in the area under cotton crop was 20 per cent while this year about one lakh hectare area more had been shifted to other crops than cotton as compared to the last year. In the past two years, the area under cotton crop had come down by 40 per cent.

The sources added that 93,000 hectare area was covered under cotton crop in Ferozepore district, 1.50 lakh hectare in Bathinda 60,000 in Mansa, 23,000 in Sangrur, 21,000 in Faridkot, 15,000 in Moga and 95,000 in Muktsar in Punjab this season.

Apart from bitter experiences of crop failure in the past six years, the farmers of the Punjab and Rajasthan have also been forced to shift to other crops as the respective state governments could not provide them the certified cotton seeds in required quantity.

On the other hand, the fall in area and yield of cotton crop has shattered the economy of the farmers who have come under heavy debts. These states have also witnessed hundreds of suicides by frustrated farmers who could not repay their debt.

In Punjab last year, the production was less than five lakh bales while in Rajasthan it was around nine lakh bales. The production of crop in both states was much below their production targets and on account of low production, the growers suffered heavy losses. The production of 12 lakh bales fixed by the Punjab Government in this season is also not achievable as the weathers conditions in Punjab have become unfavourable during the past few days.

Dr A.S. Chandi, Joint Director, Agriculture, said drastic fall in the area under cotton crop was due to its repeated failure in the last many years. He added that he hoped that target of 12 lakh bales would be met this season.

Army honour for Ladakh Scouts
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 14 — In view of the outstanding valour, sacrifice and patriotism displayed by it during Operation Vijay, the Ladakh Scouts has been awarded the “Chief of the Army Staff Banner”.

The unparalleled performance of the Ladakh Scouts during Operation Vijay has added yet another glorious chapter of gallantry and courage to its regimental history, an Army spokesman said.

“These gallant soldiers, in utter disregard to their personal safety, played a stellar role in the resounding victory of the Indian Army and the nation against a well-entrenched enemy,” he said.

The Ladakh Scouts has already been awarded the prestigious unit citation by the Chief of the Army Staff for its exemplary performance during the operations.

This unique regiment has once again proven that for it, no terrain is too difficult nor is any mission unachievable,” he said.

Malhotra new LS Secretary-General
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 14 — Mr G.C.Malhotra, born in 1943 in Lahore, has been appointed the new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha by the Lok Sabha Speaker Mr G.M.C.Balayogi.

With his appointment the tradition of appointing the seniormost officer to the highest position in the Lok Sabha Secretariat has been restored.

Mr Malhotra succeeds Mr S.Gopalan, who relinquished office on completion of his term today.

Mr Malhotra has served parliamentary institutions for nearly three decades and been associated with almost every area of the functioning of Parliament.

SC notice to states on tiger PIL
From Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, July 14 — The Supreme Court today directed the Chief Secretaries of UP, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Nagaland and Haryana to either appear in person or file affidavits in reply to a petition filed in public interest seeking directions to the government to take steps to protect and save tigers in the country.

The bench comprising the Chief Justice, Dr A S Anand and Mr Justice Jaganadha Rao directed that other states who have not filed affidavits should file the same within four weeks.

The Additional Solicitor-General, Mr Altaf Ahmed, appearing for the Union of India submitted that the Centre would file a comprehensive supplementary affidavit.

Sharma president of Brahman Sabha
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 14- Mr Mange Ram Sharma has been appointed National President of the All-India Brahman Sabha for three years.

Representatives of Brahman Sabhas from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and several other states made the unanimous decision at their general body meeting in the capital.

Jharkhand leader shot dead
JAMSHEDPUR: The secretary of Akhil Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Ratilal Mohato, was today shot dead by unindentified people near his residence in West Singhbhum district of Bihar. The police said that 50-year-old Ratilal, a former senior leader of the JMM, was returning home after putting his child in the school bus when four persons on two-wheelers stopped his car and fired at him, killing him instantaneously, about 50 yards from Gamariha police station. — PTI

Skeleton of victim in court
CALCUTTA: Horror struck a court room here when a skeleton of a murder victim was produced during trial of a case today. The skeleton, produced as an exhibit before the City Sessions Judge, Mr R.N. Bhadury, was dug out from the wall of a house, submitted the prosecution counsel. According to the prosecution, the skeleton was of one Biswanath Dutta who was murdered allegedly by his brother and three other relatives in Dutta’s residence in 1994 — PTI

Bollywood to close on July 17
MUMBAI: The film industry here would close down business for a day on July 17 as a mark of respect to the martyrs who laid down their lives fighting Pakistani intruders in Kargil. The studios have decided to remain closed on Saturday, various organisations of the industry announced in a joint press note here today. — PTI

Astrophysicist Sarkar dead
CALCUTTA: Renowned astrophysicist Dr Ramatosh Sarkar died here last night following protracted illness, M.P. Birla Planetarium sources said. He was 69 and is survived by his wife and two daughters. Sarkar, who held the post of curator at the M.P. Birla Planetarium here, had done a host of research work in the fields of astronomy, relativity and history of ethnoastronomy and archaeoastronomy. — PTI

Pranab’s nomination challenged
CALCUTTA: Nomination of Congress Working Committee member Pranab Mukherjee as a candidiate for the coming Rajya Sabha election has been challenged in the Calcutta High Court through a public interest litigation. Ramapati Roy, who filed the nomination today, prayed for an interim order by the high court debarring Mukherjee from contesting the election for alleged malpractices committed by him in the 1993 election to the Upper House. — PTI