Sunday, March 28, 1999
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Jaya not to meet Sonia Centre's
package for N-E militants |
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Gujral for India’s proactive
role NEW DELHI, March 27-Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral has given a call for India to play a more proactive role in the ongoing trouble in Yugoslavia, specially since it was a member of the Non-aligned Movement.
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Kunjam case: police custody
for Mishra Bandh
by Sikhs in Nagpur Cop
killed, another shot at in Delhi Technique
for treating deformities |
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Jaya not to meet Sonia NEW DELHI, March 27 — The AIADMK General Secretary, Ms J. Jayalalitha, today said that the Prime Minister had categorically ruled out a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the dismissal of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. Talking to correspondents at a party hosted by the BJP MP, Mr Vijay Goel, at his residence, the AIADMK leader reiterated that she had no plans to meet the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, during her current visit to Delhi. The party, which was a counter to the one to be organised by the Janata Party President, Dr Subramanian Swamy, on Monday, was attended by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, several MPs from the BJP, the AIADMK, the Biju Janata Dal, the Trinamool Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal. Mr Vajpayee refrained from adding anything, except stating that the decision reached at the meeting of the Coordination Committee was a collective one. Ms Jayalalitha said while her party had expressed views on the Bhagwat dismissal and even at the Coordination Committee meeting, she had raised the issue, others present had opposed a JPC probe. The AIADMK leader made it clear that she had accepted the decision and would go along with it as her party was still part of the BJP-led coalition. She clarified that the AIADMK could not finalise any thing on its own. Considerable significance is being attached to her statement on a meeting with Mrs Sonia Gandhi, since there had been speculation that it could result in a regrouping of non-BJP parties. It remains to be seen whether the Congress President would attend the tea party which Dr Swamy is hosting in honour of the AIADMK leader here on Monday. Mrs Sonia Gandhi has also been invited but statements by Congress leaders that no political significance should be attached to Ms Jayalalitha’s visit could mean that the party is distancing itself for the time being from the AIADMK. Meanwhile, apart from Mr
Vajpayee, those present at the party included the BJP
President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, the Union Power Minister,
Mr P.R. Kumaramangalam, the Minister of State for
Finance, Mr K. Janarathanan, the Punjab Chief Minister,
Mr Parkash Singh Badal, SAD MP, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa,
BJP MPs, Mr Satya Pal Jain and Mr Vinod Khanna, Pakistan
High Commissioner, Mr Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, former Punjab
Police Chief and Mr KPS Gill, the IOA President, Mr
Suresh Kalmadi and others. |
Centre's package for N-E militants GUWAHATI, March 27 (UNI) — The much-awaited rehabilitation package for militants, who laid down arms in the north-eastern region, was announced by the Centre yesterday. A copy of the scheme was released by the Assam Government here last night. It would be implemented by the state government with 100 per cent reimbursement from the Centre. The scheme was formulated to wean away misguided youths and hardcore militants who had strayed into militancy and found themselves trapped. The scheme also seeks to ensure that the surrendered extremists do not rejoin militancy. The scheme is applicable to those militants who surrendered at least with one weapon. However, in exceptional cases ultras who surrender without arms, may also be considered for rehabilitation. The names of such militants will be scrutinised by a screening committee and a final view taken by the unified headquarters or similar body at the state government headquarters. Under the package the surrendered militants will initially be lodged in a rehabilitation camp with facility for training in a particular trade of their liking and as per aptitude. They will be paid a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000 for a year. The scale of stipend for various categories will be decided by the state government in consultation with the central government. Board and lodging will be free at the camp. Attempts will be made to settle the surrendered militants within one year. As per the package, cases
of minor crimes against successfully rehabilitated
militants will be withdrawn. |
Deficit Budget presented JAIPUR, March 27 — Even after raising additional resources of Rs 672 crore, Rajasthan's Budget for the next year will have deficit of Rs 1041 crore. Though Finance Minister Chandan Mal Baid, while presenting state's Budget for 1999-2000 in the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha claimed that the Budget would have an estimated surplus of Rs 160.41 crore he conveniently forgot to take into account the carry-over loss of Rs 1201.83 crore likely to accrue at the end of the current year. When his attention was drawn to this fact at the news conference, he addressed immediately after the presentation of the Budget, that though the Budget speech projects a surplus of Rs 160.41 crore the real picture was not as rosy, the Finance Minister said that he did not attempt to take care of the carry-forward deficit of Rs 1201.83 crore as the matter about it was under consideration of the Union Government. Supplementing Finance Minister's remarks the Financial Commissioner, Dr Adarsh Kishore added that the Union Government and the Reserve Bank of India had already indicated that a package was on the anvil to take care of the deficits in state Budgets and the states would not have to suffer on that account. That is why the carry-over deficit had not been considered while projecting figures for the next year, he said. Mr Baid said that he was in touch with finance ministers of other states and had sent them a copy of letter addressed by him to the Union Finance Minister. All finance ministers feel that central loans to states should be waived because the states had plunged into financial crisis due to implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission report. It was the Government of India which had raised the hike by 40 per cent even though the Pay Commission had recommended only 20 per cent hike. Even if the Centre was not in a position to waive the loans it should at least postpone recovery thereof by a year, Mr Baid said. The Finance Minister observed that as a measure to cut government expenditure the state has decided not to fill the vacancies caused due to retirement of a large number of employees on March 31 this year as a result of restoring retirement age to 58. Additional levies
announced by the Finance Minister in yesterday's Budget
speech included a profession tax between ranging Rs 50 to
Rs 200 per month on persons having monthly income of Rs
5000 or more per month. Persons employed in defence
forces, pensioners, disabled persons or parents of
disabled children will not be subjected to profession
tax. The entertainment tax has been doubled from the
present 50 to 100 per cent. Persons having cable
connection will have to dish out Rs 10 per month as state
tax. |
Kunjam case: police custody for Mishra NEW DELHI, March 27 (PTI) — Surender Mishra, alias Surender Sharma, accused in the murder of Romesh Sharma’s fashion designer girlfriend Kunjam Budhraj here on March 20, was today remanded to 10 days’ police custody by a city court. Mishra, nephew of Dawood Ibrahim’s alleged frontman Romesh Sharma, was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate V.K. Khanna, who remanded him in police custody till April 4 to facilitate custodial interrogation. The police sought Surender’s custodial remand for eliciting information leading to the arrest of his four henchmen — Hemchand alias Naini, Rakesh, Ramesh and Prahlad — who had allegedly committed the crime and the recovery of weapons used. Mishra, who was arrested in Ahmedabad on March 23 by a joint team of the Gujarat and Delhi Police, during his initial interrogation had reportedly indicated Romesh Sharma’s involvement in the conspiracy to eliminate Kunjam. The 27-year-old fashion
designer was stabbed to death allegedly by the four
henchmen of Surender when she had gone to offer prayers
at a temple in Romesh Sharma’s ‘Jai Mata
Di’ farmhouse in South Delhi. |
Yugoslavia crisis NEW DELHI, March 27-Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral has given a call for India to play a more proactive role in the ongoing trouble in Yugoslavia, specially since it was a member of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM). Speaking to television network before he left for Nainital, the former Prime Minister while condemning the NATO’s airstrikes against Yugoslavia said, that country was still a member of NAM like India and we should take a more proactive stand on the issue. This specially as it was an aggression on another member state of the NAM, said Mr Gujral, who is also the Chairman of Parliament’s Standing Committee on External Affairs. Non-Aligned Movement had been started by India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, along with Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and Kamal Abdul Naser of Egypt. Mr Gujral had earlier also urged India to activate itself and express concern in the world fora over the recent expansion of NATO and its flexing of muscle over the trouble in Yugoslavia. He had regretted that the Indian Government had neither commented nor taken a position on some of NATO activities and the ramifications they could have beyond the frontiers of Europe. The not so strong a reaction from India over the NATO strikes over Kosovo had also evoked a response from former Union minister Eduardo Faleiro, who said that India had been less sensitive to the plight of the beleaguered people of Kosovo. The people of Kosovo along with the rest of the Muslim population in Bosnia and elsewhere in former Yugoslavia have been the hapless victims of the carnage unleashed by ethnic and religious hatred which had engulfed the region. Mr Faleiro was of the view that in such circumstances, the Government of India must take initiative to move the United Nations for a UN Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo in substitution of the present NATO forces. This will halt the bloodshed and pave the way for a durable and equitable peace there. He also called the opening of an Indian mission in Bosnia. Meanwhile, the Russian
Foreign Minister, Igor Sergeivich Ivanov had a telephonic
conversation with External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh
and apparently sought help to control the growing western
influence. India and Russia have also agreed to keep in
close touch over the events in Yugoslavia and even work
together at the UN to halt the strikes. |
Cop killed, another shot at in
Delhi NEW DELHI, March 27 — In two separate incidents last night, a constable of the Delhi Police was shot dead while another injured in different areas of the city. The killing of Constable Rambir last night came to light early this morning when somebody went to Rajokari hills in the area to answer nature’s call. The constable was posted at the Vasant Kunj police station. The police identified the body as that of Constable Rambir, who was on patrolling duty in the area last night. The motor cycle of the constable was also missing. He had bullet injuries. The body of the constable has been kept in Safdarjang Hospital for a post-mortem examination. It will be handed over to family members of the deceased after completing the legal formalities. He belonged to Palwal in Haryana. The police suspects the involvement of bad characters of the area. In the second incident, Constable Jaipal, posted at the Pashchim Vihar police station in West Delhi, was shot at by unidentified persons while he was on patrolling duty in the area. He received bullet injuries in his hip. He has been admitted to Jia Lal Hospital on the Rohtak road. His condition is stated to be serious. The police said while the constable was on patrolling duty he saw three suspicious looking youths. When he approached them they ran away. However, the constable caught one of them. While the constable was
taking him to the police station, his accomplices shot
the cop from behind. |
Bandh by Sikhs in Nagpur NAGPUR, March 27 (PTI) — Traders and businessmen belonging to the Sikh community observed a bandh today in protest against the theft of Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara in the Ramdaspeth locality on Thursday. A large number of Sikhs also gathered near the gurdwara and blocked traffic on the busy national highway, the police said. Senior police officials and state reserve police personnel were camping near the gurdwara and the Janata Chowk area to maintain the law and order. Members of the community, sporting black badges, had staged a dharna near the gurdwara yesterday demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. The community announced a
cash reward of Rs 51,000 for anyone providing a clue to
identity of the culprits while the police also announced
a cash reward of Rs 10,000. |
Technique for treating deformities NEW DELHI, March 27 — An effective method for treating various deformities of the limbs through the Illizaroy technique will now be available at a clinic opened at a hospital here. Illizaroy technique (ring fixator) is relatively knew in the method used by orthopaedic surgeons for the treatment of various deformities of the limbs especially caused by polio, management of infected fractures and ununited fractures. Dr A.K. Dubey, Medical
Superintendent of the hospital located at Rohini, said to
technique was also used in the management of limb-length
discrepancies and gap non-unions which were sometimes
caused by trauma and afflicted by cancer. |
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| Black bucks’ killing:
probe ordered JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Forest Department has ordered a high-level inquiry into the killing of 25 black bucks kept in the Bikaner zoo by stray dogs on Wednesday. A Regional Forest Officer and two other employees of the department had been suspended in connection with the incident, Mr V.C. Sancheti, the Chief Wildlife Warden, said here on Saturday. A committee has been constituted to hold the inquiry and suggest measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. — PTI Ganesh
is Punjab JD President CBI reward in
Anjana Mishra case Gene protection
laws on anvil 2 MLAs hurt in
road mishap 1 hurt in stone
pelting Gujjars not to be
evicted: NHRC 6 die as buses
collide |
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