Saturday, March 6, 1999
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Cong to raise Bhagwat issue in LS NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Congress will raise the issue arising out of the sacking of former Naval chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat in the Lok Sabha. Bihar again
stalls RS work |
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PM releases encyclopaedia NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, released four-volume “Encyclopaedia of Sikhism” here today.
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LS adjourned due to lack of quorum NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Rajya Sabha was again adjourned today due to the excessive heat generated on the Bihar imbroglio while the Lok Sabha, which conducted business during the first part of the day, had to be also adjourned because of lack of quorum. President
lauds PTI’s role Panel
for 2 Army officers on OFB I
am proud of Hindutva, says Jethmalani D’Silva
is Coast Guard DG |
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HC rejects plea against sack NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Congress will raise the issue arising out of the sacking of former Naval chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat in the Lok Sabha. Several party MPs have given notices to the Speaker for a discussion on the issue under Rule 184, which requires voting, and also under rule 193. The party spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, said today that at least 12 MPs had given notices to the Speaker. Besides this, the party had also sought permission from him to raise the issue during zero hour. Mr Jogi said the thrust of the issue would be on charges of corruption and not sensitive defence matters. Yesterday, the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, held discussions with leaders of various political parties in the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court today dismissed a petition challenging sacking of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat as Navy chief, saying it was not 'maintainable' as the affected person had not come forward to seek redressal of any grievance. A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Mr Justice K.S. Gupta said, ;Any finding by the court naturally affects directly the interest of former Navy chief. Rejecting the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by retired Wg Cdr H.M. Sethi, the Bench said, 'entertaining a petition at the behest of a third person has been depreciated by Supreme Court in Krishna Swami's case.' The petition filed by retired Wg Cdr Sethi had alleged that unceremonious dismissal of Admiral Bhagwat would have 'great' effect on the moral of defence forces. The court accepted the contention of Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee that there could not be any 'proxy litigation' in such cases when the affected party had chosen not to move the court. Mr Sorabjee contended that Bhagwat had 'consciously and deliberately chosen not to come to the court and, therefore, no third party can seek relief for him.' The court said it was not desirable to look into the records which were kept ready by the government for its perusal. A similar PIL filed by a
former Army officer was dismissed by the Mumbai High
Court in January on the grounds of 'locus standi' and
maintainability. |
Bihar again stalls RS work NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Bihar issue continued to stall the government’s business in the Rajya Sabha for the second successive day as a determined Opposition forced one adjournment and only allowed private members’ business to be taken up in the second sitting. Even while the trouble was continuing, with the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) members not allowing the government’s business to be taken up, the Deputy Chairperson, Mrs Najma Heptulla, managed to get the supplementary demands of the Ministry of Railways tabled in the House. Amidst protests by the opposition members, Mrs Heptulla asked the Railway Minister, Mr Nitesh Kumar, to table supplementary demands of his Ministry. The RLM members, supported by some Congress and the CPM MPs, raised serious objections and persisted with their noisy protests at which the Deputy Chairperson warned that she would adjourn the House and reminded them that the House had to transact private members' business. Her warning had a sobering effect on the agitated members and peace was restored with the Janata Dal member, Mrs Kamla Sinha, moving a private members' resolution of atrocities on minorities. Earlier, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned within a minute of its sitting for the day till 2.30 pm by the Chairman, Mr Krishan Kant as the opposition members, particularly from the RLM and the Left parties, started demanding immediate tabling of the statutory resolution on the imposition of President’s rule in Bihar. When the House reassembled after lunch to take up private member’s, the opposition members sprang to their feet demanding to know when the resolution on the presidential proclamation in Bihar would come up. At this, Mrs Heptulla reminded the members that it was time for private members' business and nothing should be done to encroach upon their time. The Opposition contention was that the government was undermining the Rajya Sabha by not bringing the resolution which had been adopted by the Lok Sabha last week. Several members including Mr Viduthalai Virumbi (DMK), Mr Naresh Yadav, Mr Nagmani and Mr Ramdeo Bhandari (all RJD) and Mr Mohammad Salim (CPM) stressed that the House had the right to know when the resolution on Bihar would be taken up in the House and objected to its non-inclusion in the business announced for the next week. At this Mrs Heptulla
pointed out that the government had not said that the
resolution would not be taken up. "It does not mean
that it is not coming up", she remarked. |
PM releases encyclopaedia NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, released four-volume “Encyclopaedia of Sikhism” here today. Addressing the gathering after releasing the publication published by Punjabi University, Patiala, Mr Vajpayee said: “The very history of Sikhism is a history of national integration. The encyclopaedia is a mirror to the profound patriotism of the Sikh community.” Stating that Sikhism combines the ‘Bhakti’ and ‘Shakti’ traditions in equal measure, he said Sikhism is a young religion but it embodies all the age-old values of India. Mr Vajpayee suggested that “this magnificent work be put on Internet, so that the people of the world may refer to it, learn from it, and marvel at the glory of the Sikh faith.” Earlier, the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, said the release of the encyclopaedia on the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of Khalsa Panth “is all the more significant as we are presenting to the scholarly world, a repository of all the basic information about Sikhism.” Mr Badal said: “The encyclopaedia is, beyond doubt, Punjabi University’s outstanding contribution. This will enable the people all over the world to understand Sikhism better.” Paying tributes to the late editor-in-chief of the encyclopaedia, Prof Harbans Singh, the Chief Minister said, “he accomplished the job with the spirit of dedication possessed by the sages.” The Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Prof Joginder Singh Puar, said the four volumes have been the outcome of hard work done by academicians and researchers for nearly three decades. The encyclopaedia, the first of its kind in the field of Sikh studies. The Union Minister for
Chemicals and Fertiliser, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Union
Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar
Joshi, and the Punjab Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit
Singh, were also present. |
LS adjourned due to lack of
quorum NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Rajya Sabha was again adjourned today due to the excessive heat generated on the Bihar imbroglio while the Lok Sabha, which conducted business during the first part of the day, had to be also adjourned because of lack of quorum. Rules in this regard are rarely brought into play. As per procedure, one-tenth of the total members of the House constitute the quorum. However, unless some member points out the lack of quorum, the House may continue with its sitting. Very often, on Friday afternoons, which is reserved for private Members’ business (the government doesn’t bring forward any business allowing members to bring forward Bills or other matters of importance), the numbers are thin but the sitting goes on. However, today was
different. A Congress member from Bihar, Mr Rajo Singh,
raised an objection regarding the members present. Mr
P.M. Sayeed, Deputy Speaker, who was in Chair, rang the
quorum bell. This did not help. Parliamentary Affairs
Minister, Mr P.R. Kumaramangalam, and his deputy, Mr
Santosh Kumar Gangwar, ran helter skelter to muster the
numbers. They didn’t succeed. The House was
adjourned for lack of quorum. |
President lauds PTI’s role NEW DELHI, March 5 (PTI) — President K.R.Narayanan today released a postage stamp on PTI marking the golden jubilee of the country’s first independent news agency, saying that there was need for attaining independence in communication technology also to face challenges posed by transnational agencies. The multicoloured, multilingual Rs 15 commemorative stamp along with the first day cover depicting PTI’s journey from ticker-tape printers to satellite transmission was presented to the President by Union Communications Minister Jagmohan at a simple function at the agency’s headquarters here. Departing from the convention of releasing commemorative stamps without any speech, the President paid glowing tributes to the role of the developing world’s leading news agency in dissemination of news in India and abroad. “We got independence in August 1947. But independence in news and information, we got only with the establishment of PTI in 1949. That is the significance of PTI and its golden jubilee,” Mr Narayanan said. Expressing concern over the “bombarding” of information by transnational news agencies “day in and day out” the President said, “if we want to defend our independence in collection and dissemination of news, then we have to attain independence in communication technology also.” Mr Jagmohan described PTI as a fast-emerging “multimedia giant” and said the release of the stamp was “an expression of national respect” for its “great service.” Welcoming the President, PTI Chairman R Lakshmipathy said the agency had played a “key role in the development and growth of a free press in India taking special care of the small and language newspapers.” PTI General Manager and
Editor-in-Chief M.K.Razdan said the agency had fulfilled
the demanding mandate of its founders to provide an
“efficient, comprehensive, unbiased and reliable
news service.” |
Cleopatra’s palace found submerged NEW DELHI, March 5 (PTI) — Nearly 2000 years later, an underwater exploration team has located the remains of Cleopatra’s palace, the legendary queen of Egypt, as well as the entire royal quarters in the harbour of modern Alexandria. Claimed to be the most beautiful woman in the world, Cleopatra will once again capture the world on March 14 when Discovery Channel premieres at 9.10 pm for the first time in television history “Cleopatra’s palace: in search of a legend” in 142 countries and 24 languages across the globe, it was announced at a special screening of the programme yesterday. A photo exhibition showcasing the lost relics pertaining to the life of the remarkable ruler as also what went behind the scenes during the exploration is also on at the India Habitat Centre from March 4 to 10. The expedition, led by French explorer Franck Goddio, has thrown new light on the ptolemic period (Cleopatra was last of this Egyptian dynasty) and on the fabled city of Alexandria, home to the queen and her Roman consort Mark Antony. “The city collapsed into the sea after a series of earthquakes and tidal waves starting around fourth century BC in which everything disappeared, we thought, forever,” said Goddio about the expedition. “Since that time the
city dropped by at least 19 feet and the sea level rose
by over 4 1/2 feet with the result that today we have a
difference in the water level of the harbour,” he
said, adding that “this made it difficult to find
the lost city even by diving”. |
Panel for 2 Army officers on OFB NEW DELHI, March 5 — Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence has called for the appointment of two Army officers as members on the Ordnance Factory Board. The committee, headed by Sqn Ldr Kamal Chaudhry (retd) (BJP), regretted that the Chairman and most members of the Board did not have a fixed term. He asked the Government to ensure that such offices had a tenure of three years. “This will ensure continuity of decisions taken by the Board,” the committee felt. The committee strongly disapproved of the appointment of an officer as Chairman or member when he had only three months or so to retire and said such a practice was against public interest. The committee noted with
concern that the government had not been able to take
steps to successfully tap the markets abroad for export
of Ordnance products. It recommended that a provision be
made for granting of special waiver on licence
restrictions currently applicable to export of products
from ordnance factories. |
I am proud of Hindutva, says
Jethmalani NEW DELHI, March 5 — The Union Minister for Urban Affairs, Mr Ram Jethmalani, has said there is no place for fundamentalism in Hinduism since it does not pursue any dogma. Speaking at a function to release the book “The Making of Modern Hinduism” here, Mr Jethmalani pointed out Hinduism doesn’t have a fixed dogma or scripture. The book, authored by Prof M.L. Sondhi and his wife Madhuri, is a collection of essays on various facets of Hinduism. “I am a strong and proud follower of Hindutva as it is the only doctrine which accepts Ram and Rahim as one,” Mr Jethmalani said. On the question of reforming of Hinduism, Mr Jethmalani said: “Hinduism is the most modern. All conflicts over masjid and mandir are futile,” he added. “The isolation of religion from schools has brought greatest damage to the country,” Mr Jethmalani said. The Human Resource
Development Minister, Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, was also
present. |
D’Silva is DG Coast Guard NEW DELHI, March 5 — Vice-Admiral JC D’Silva has assumed charge as Director-General Coast Guard at the Coast Guard Headquarters today. Vice-Admiral JC D’Silva, a graduate of the National Defence Academy, was commissioned in the Indian Navy in January 1965. He is a specialist in gunnery. He was the Chief of Personnel at Naval Headquarters since March 1998. He was decorated with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 1993. He was promoted to the rank of Vice- Admiral in 1997 and appointed as the Controller, Warship Production and Acquisition at Naval Headquarters. Vice-Admiral D’Silva
succeeds Vice-Admiral R.N. Ganesh who will take over as
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command,
Kochi. Vice-Admiral R.N. Ganesh held the post of
Director-General Coast Guard since November 1996. |
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| Indians as virile as ever NEW DELHI: Sperm counts, an index of male fertility, in Indian men have not declined since 1993, says a recent study. The findings contradicts earlier reports of a decline in sperm concentration from 69 to 43 million per millilitre (ML) in Indian males between 1992 and 1996. Carried out on 1855 men attending Infertility Institute and Research Centre (IIRC) at Secunderabad, the five-year long study observes other semen parameters like volume and sperm mobility also remain unchanged in that period. Decline in sperm counts, a globally observed phenomenon with a fall from 113 million sperms per ml in 1940 to only 60 million in 1990, is generally attributed to increasing level of chemical pollutants. — PTI 4 arrested for kidnap bid Suicide after
shooting spree Protest against DD
coverage Major police
reshuffle Constable shot
dead ‘Tholi
Prema’ wins best film award |
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