Saturday, July 31, 1999
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Govt to keep status quo on telecom
policy NEW DELHI, July 30 — The Union Government today undertook before the Delhi High Court to maintain status quo on the new telecom package till August 3, even as the court sought details of the estimated revenue earning under the controversial scheme. Gowda to tie up with parties opposed to Cong, BJP NEW DELHI, July 30 — The Janata Dal headed by Mr H.D. Deve Gowda today declared it would tie up with parties opposed to the Congress and the BJP in the coming elections and asserted it had mustered majority support to retain "chakra" symbol amidst identical claim made by the rival Sharad Yadav Faction. |
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 The JD National Executive meeting in progress in the Capital which was attended by senior leaders, including former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. — Photo by Vijender Tyagi.
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1 hurt in stabbing incident AHMEDABAD, July 30 — The police burst several tear gas shells to scare away stone pelting mobs at Juhapura locality of the city this evening even as one person was injured in a stabbing incident. RJD a
force to reckon with in Bihar Cong holds talks with Ajit Singh
Recruit more Sikhs in Army: DSGMC Alarm bells in Sanchar Bhavan Bodies of 3 more Pakistanis
returned
Trophy presented to Chandimandir
hospital |
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Govt to keep status quo on telecom policy NEW DELHI, July 30 (PTI) — The Union Government today undertook before the Delhi High Court to maintain status quo on the new telecom package till August 3, even as the court sought details of the estimated revenue earning under the controversial scheme. The Attorney-General (AG), Mr Soli J. Sorabjee, assured a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S.N. Variava and Mr Justice S.K. Mahajan during the hearing on a public interest litigation seeking to quash the new telecom package that no fresh agreements or commitments would be made in regard to the package till then. The petitioner, the Delhi Science Forum, sought stay of the new package, but the court did not pass any restraint order. The Bench asked the Union Government to file an affidavit answering "whether under the new policy the government would earn the same amount of money they would have got under the existing licence fee regime". The package allowing private telecom operators to shift from fixed licence fee regime to revenue sharing arrangement from August 1 had drawn flak from the Opposition, which alleged that it was the "scam of the millennium". Petitioner's counsel Indira Jaisingh contended that "the government is giving away the public money to the private telecom operators". Ms Jaisingh challenged the government's contention that telecom companies were turning sick and the new package was aimed at making these firms financially viable. Meanwhile, hearing on the petition filed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was deferred by a special Bench comprising Mr Justice Arun Kumar and Mr Justice Manmohan Sarin for August 13. TRAI has sought to
replace the private telecom operators as appellant in the
case before the Division Bench and pleaded for
pronouncement of the order reserved by it on a bunch of
appeals by the Cellular Operators Association of India
(COAI) and other telecom operators. |
Gowda to tie up with parties opposed to Cong, BJP NEW DELHI, July 30 (PTI) — The Janata Dal headed by Mr H.D. Deve Gowda today declared it would tie up with parties opposed to the Congress and the BJP in the coming elections and asserted it had mustered majority support to retain "chakra" symbol amidst identical claim made by the rival Sharad Yadav Faction. The National Executive Committee of the Gowda faction at a meeting here ratified its stand against aligning with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Former Prime Minister Gowda told reporters that his party, maintaining an equidistance from the Congress and the BJP, would like to have tie-up with "like-minded" parties in the coming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. The executive endorses views of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) that in the interest of secular character of the Janata Dal, it should not join the BJP-led NDA. It also endorsed election of the Gowda as party president. Meanwhile Mr Yadav got a
morale booster with the BJP indicating that it was
inclined to allow his group to join the NDA as part of a
new combination with the Samata Party and the Lok Shakti. |
1 hurt in stabbing incident AHMEDABAD, July 30 (PTI) — The police burst several tear gas shells to scare away stone pelting mobs at Juhapura locality of the city this evening even as one person was injured in a stabbing incident. The incident took place when a group of women was staging a protest demonstration against alleged police atrocities on them in Guptanagar locality on the night of July 28 during stone pelting by clashing groups. A senior police officer received injuries after being hit by splinters from the glass panes of a state transport bus that was smashed in stone pelting. Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawans were deployed this afternoon as tension prevailed in the area. The curfew which was
imposed in Shapur and Karanj police station areas on
Tuesday was relaxed for five hours during the day
following improvement in the law and order situation. No
untoward incident was reported. The curfew in the
Laldarwaza area had also been relaxed today. |
Post-poll math upsets NDA NEW DELHI, July 30 — Intense activity was noticed in the ruling coalition camp today, on the eve of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting scheduled for tomorrow. The Janata Dal’s “Wheel” symbol is emerging not only as a bone of contention between the rival factions led by Mr Sharad Yadav and Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, respectively, it is also acting as a stumbling block for the BJP-inclined JD faction’s entry into the NDA. Since the split, both the Yadav and the Gowda factions have claimed the symbol. Considering that the incumbent president, majority of the national council members and a good number of legislators, have sided with Mr Sharad Yadav’s party, the likelihood of “Wheel” remaining with this faction is quite bright. The BJP, however, is wary of the “Wheel”. In Karnataka, it would like the JD led by the Chief Minister, Mr J.H. Patel to adopt the Lok Shakti’s symbol in order to be part of the NDA. In Bihar and other states where the Samata Party exists, BJP leaders would prefer Mr Sharad Yadav’s party to adopt the Samata symbol. Eversince Mr Sharad Yadav’s Janata Dal, which now engulfs both the Lok Shakti and the Samata Party, has started knocking at the doors of the NDA, the reverberations have been too harsh for the Sangh Parivar. While the doves close to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee find the knocking to be sweet music to their ears, the hawks perceived to be close to Mr L.K. Advani find the knocking to be jarring. Even the BJP president, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, and other senior leaders close to the RSS do not find the JD’s unilateral manoeuvres too amusing. The former Socialists, who have arraigned themselves all over again under the Sharad Yadav-led Janata Dal banner, are in no doubt about Mr Sharad Yadav’s position as the organisational head and Mr George Fernandes’ supremacy in the parliamentary arena. Though Mr Ramakrishna Hegde, coming from the erstwhile Congress (O) camp, cannot be described as a “former Socialist”, in Janata Party and later the Janata Dal politics he has been closely identified with the Socialist group. At present, isolated in Karnataka due to the defection of his followers into the Congress, he is aligned behind Mr George Fernandes. The BJP’s nightmare is that in the present Union Cabinet four members who can claim equal seniority are Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Lal Krishan Advani, Mr George Fernandes and Mr Surjeet Singh Barnala — all Cabinet ministers under Mr Morarji Desai in the firstever non-Congress government, formed in 1977. Mr Hegde was an all India General Secretary of the Janata Party then. With this background, there could be a possibility of the Socialists demanding their pound of flesh in the form of deputy prime ministership in the post-election scenario, if they can muster, say around 25-30 MPs. And the candidate for this job most likely will be Mr George Fernandes. The BJP’s dilemma is that while it would like to stall the moves aimed at post-election power-sharing, Mr George Fernandes being the convener of the NDA whether to discuss the JD’s entry or not will not be the prerogative of the Sangh Parivar alone. Thus, senior BJP leaders
met each other today. Leaders of NDA parties also held
separate parleys. Ms Jayalalitha’s AIADMK may not be
a thorn in the BJP’s flesh now, but fresh thorns are
clearly emerging in the BJP-led NDA. |
RJD a force to reckon with in Bihar RANCHI, July 30 (UNI) — Despite the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government’s aversion for separate Jharkhand state comprising 18 districts of South Bihar, the RJD remains a force to reckon with in the region. The party’s opposition to the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill, 1998, notwithstanding, it managed to garner 25.66 per cent votes in the five constituencies of Jharkand in the 1998 elections, which it fought in alliance with the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Soren). Though the party, holding sway over 17 of the 81 Assembly constituencies in the region, failed to bag even a single Lok Sabha seat last time from South Bihar and yielded to its arch rival, the BJP, in all five constituencies, the party’s performance in three of the seats was commendable. This time the party was planning to contest the coming elections in alliance with the Congress and also the Left parties — the CPI and CPM. Though the RJD was keen to contest the same parliamentary seats this time as in 1998, the Congress at the moment appeared in no mood to oblige it, particularly in this region. The regional unit of the Congress had expressed reservation over forming an alliance with the RJD in the elections, saying that latter’s denial to bifurcate Bihar and grant statehood to Jharkhand would have an adverse impact on the electoral prospects of the party. The Congress had claimed that it had consolidated its position in this region by incorporating the statehood demand in the national agenda. The Congress, which contested seven seats in 1998, polled 34.26 per cent votes. Also, the RJD in all probability, might not find a friend in the Jharkhand-named parties following its rejection of the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill, 1998. Which was sent last year to the Assembly for ratification after presidential assent for the creation of Vananchal. The JMM (S) had already refused to have any truck with the RJD while its breakaway faction, the All-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, was reportedly trying to find a taker in the Congress. According to RJD Secretary-General Ram Kripal Yadav, who was here recently, the party, during its campaign in this region, would apprise the tribals of the alleged conspiracy behind the concept of Vananchal, which he claimed was an attempt to “colonise” the area by the communal forces. The RJD would contest the coming elections on the plank of realisation of the traditional demand of a greater Jharkhand state comprising 26 districts of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, Mr Yadav said, adding that his party was against the BJP’s Vananchal. Other issues, which
would figure prominently in the RJD’s poll campaign,
includes the controversial Patent Bill, corruption in the
BJP government and the lapses leading to the intrusion in
Kargil. |
Cong holds talks with Ajit
Singh NEW DELHI, July 30 — In an effort to expand its political base in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is on the verge of arriving at an understanding with the Lok Dal of Mr Ajit Singh while gradually working to woo the minorities. Congress leaders have been holding talks with Mr Ajit Singh for adjustment in Western Uttar Pradesh, where the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Charan Singh has a considerable hold. Mr Ajit Singh today had a meeting with the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, along with a AICC General Secretary, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, in charge of party affairs in the state and Mr Moti Lal Vora, AICC observer for Uttar Pradesh. While Mr Vora did not give any indication whether the Congress and the Lok Dal are close to striking an agreement, party sources said the discussions are centred on the number of seats Mr Ajit Singh is claiming. Mr Ajit Singh is reportedly seeking eight seats, including the traditional Baghpat and Kairana. Apart from these he wants to the Congress to leave Mathura, Moradabad, Muzzafarnagar, Bulandshahr, Amroha and Saharnpur seats too. The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee had earlier preferred to concede not more than three seats as against the demand of 11 seats by Mr Ajit Singh which was later brought down to eight, party sources said. The Congress, which is so far having no alliance in Uttar Pradesh, prefers an adjustment with the Bahujan Samaj Party but till date it has not materialised. The BSP leader, Ms Mayawati, is reluctant to give any share to the Congress and has already announced that the BSP would field its candidates from all 85 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. In absence of any agreement, there could be a four-way contest in India’s largest state between the Congress, the BJP, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP. Meanwhile, in an effort to woo back the minorities to its fold in the country, particularly Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has been organising several programmes and interaction sessions with the leaders and people from the community. Apart from it, the
Congress party has been organising popular Mushairas and
already some of them have been conducted in places like
Hyderabad and Bhopal with another in the offing in Delhi. |
Recruit more Sikhs in Army:
DSGMC NEW DELHI, July 30 — The recruitment percentage of Sikhs in Army should be increased, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, urged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, here today. "The percentage of Sikhs solider must be increased to 12 per cent and the ban to this effect must be lifted by the government," Mr Sarna urged the Prime Minister when he met him along with other office-bearers of the DSGMC. "The percentage of Sikh jawans have decreased from 12 per cent to 2.5 per cent, while the percentage of Sikh martyrs in the Kargil conflict was about 25 per cent," Mr Sarna said. Presenting a cheque for Rs 11 lakh to the Prime Minister at his residence for the National Defence Fund, Mr Sarna said the DSGMC has pledged to give Rs 31,000 to the families of Kargil martyrs hailing from Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. The DSGMC will give Rs 21,000 to all injured soldiers from these states, he said, adding that free education would be given to the children of these personnel in the educational institutions run by it. Ambulance van, X-ray
machines and other medical equipment were being given to
the Army Base Hospital in Delhi, he added. |
Telecom deal NEW DELHI, July 30 — The telecom package that allows private basic and cellular phone operators to shift to a revenue sharing arrangement from the existing licence fee regime from August 1, has run into opposition not only on the political front but also from within the bureaucracy. The government is divided on the issue. All the Prime Minister’s men are on one side and officials at Sanchar Bhavan, the hub of all telecom sector-related activities till the other day, are on the other. Ever since, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee decided to shift Communications Minister Jagmohan, to the Urban Development Ministry, officials in the Sanchar Bhavan’s are not very happy. Mr Jagmohan’s departure has taken the sheen out of Sanchar Bhavan and the scene of activity has shifted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the South Block. As Mr Vajpayee, is in charge of the Communications Ministry, officials from Sanchar Bhavan are often summoned to the PMO. There is no scope for counterviews and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has to comply with the orders from South Block. Bureaucrats in the DoT, who had been dragging their feet on the telecom package for quite some time, were literally woken from their slumber and asked to prepare the details of the package on a particular night. The next day saw the department despatching hurriedly drafted letters to the private operators asking them to opt for the new scheme. DoT officials have not been too happy with the shoddy treatment being meted out to them and they have been airing their difference of opinion rather discreetly in select quarters. The past week has seen several unofficial leaks of official documents in the media. To begin with there were the several questions which Mr Jagmohan raised on the need for a bailout package during his tenure. A compilation of all he had said during his tenure was promptly circulated. The questions related to the legal, constitutional, commercial and moral justification for the demand. Incidentally, at a time when Mr Jagmohan was opposing the private operators’ demand to shift to a revenue sharing arrangement, several Opposition parties, who are criticising the new package now, had supported it then. For now all eyes are on
the Election Commission. The EC is likely to take up the
various perceptions on the telecom policy on Monday. |
Bodies of 3 more Pakistanis
returned NEW DELHI, July 30 — Three more bodies of Pakistani army regulars were returned by India yesterday at the Zulu Ridge in the Mushkoh Valley sub-sector of Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. During the operations at Zulu Ridge, a position which the intruders were still on to after the passing of deadline on July 17, the Indian jawans had inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistani army regulars. The bodies returned were from among the soldiers who were killed during the operation. Pakistan had yesterday made a request to the Indian Army to return the bodies of their soldiers. Accordingly today a "flag meeting" was held at Zulu Ridge during which the three bodies were returned. The bodies had been recovered by our jawans despite the area being heavily mined by the retreating Pakistanis. This was done in keeping with the Indian tradition of honouring soldiers who lay down their lives in battle. The bodies of Pakistani
soldiers were collected by two officers and 20 men of the
19 Frontier Force of Force Commander, Northern Area, from
a contingent of Gorkha Rifles. The Pakistani contingent
was headed by one Major Mohammed, who also conveyed the
gratitude of his Commanding Officer for honouring the
dead. |
Girl set ablaze for Rs 50 MUMBAI, July 30 (UNI) — Enraged by her asking back the money lent, a youth along with his associate allegedly set ablaze a teenaged girl here today. The police said the 14-year-old girl received 35 per cent burn injuries and was admitted to hospital. Both the accused have been arrested. The FIR said the girl,
who is a resident of Mont Hutments in Vadala — a
suburb of this metro, had given Rs 50 to Ganesh Pawar. On
being asked to give back the amount, he got reportedly
angry and, taking along an associate, allegedly poured
kerosene on the girl before setting her afire. |
Special relief package for
soldiers NEW DELHI, July 30 — The Government today announced a special relief and rehabilitation package of Rs 8 lakh each for the dependants/parents of the jawans, airmen and officers of the defence forces who laid down their lives during ‘Operation Vijay’ in Kargil. The families may be paid up to Rs 5 lakh for acquiring residential accommodations and another Rs 1 lakh per child but not more than Rs 2 lakh for children’s education, the Prime Minister’s office said here today. The package also includes an ex-gratia relief of Rs 1.20 lakh for the dependants/parents of those killed in action and if the amount is deposited with a bank it could fetch them Rs 1,000 per month for 10 years. This package from the National Defence Fund is in addition to the ex-gratia payment of Rs 7.50 lakh each and other benefits announced by the Defence Ministry as well as the State Governments for the dependants/parents of those who made the supreme sacrifice in defence of the country. A separate disability ex-gratia payment for the personnel invalidated out of service, has also been announced in the package. This includes Rs 6 lakh each for a disability of more than 75 per cent, Rs 4.50 lakh each for a disability between 75 per cent and 50 per cent and Rs 3 lakh each for a disability of less than 50 per cent. The package will be
implemented by the Army Central Welfare Fund and the Air
Force Welfare Fund from the Rs 45.35 crore already
released to them by the Prime Minister from the National
Defence Fund. |
Trophy presented to Chandimandir hospital NEW DELHI, July 30 (PTI) — The government is seriously considering setting up another military hospital in Partapur in the Ladakh region, Defence Minister George Fernandes said here today. A new heating arrangement in the Partapur hospital is also in the process of being installed, he said presenting the Raksha Mantri’s running trophy for the best armed forces hospital to the Command Hospital, Chandimandir. Mr Fernandes said the
Army Hospitals in Srinagar and Udhampur have recently
been provided with an MRI and a CT scan to facilitate
emergency treatment of battle injuries, according to an
official press release. |
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| Kidnapped trader freed NEW DELHI: Mr Swatantra Rastogi, a Meerut-based industrialist kidnapped reportedly by Madan Bhaiya gang from the Meerut-Delhi road on July 11, reached his home on Friday, sources in the Delhi Police said. Madan Bhaiya and his three accomplices were arrested in Delhi from outside Ashoka Hotel after an encounter with the police a few days back. They came to the Capital to finalise the deal with family members of Mr Rastogi. — FOC Ban on PWG extended Row over IAS
appointment New committee to
probe charges UP Airways
penalised Ex-CJ of
Guwahati HC dead |
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