Thursday, October 14, 1999

SC notice to AG on undertrials
NEW DELHI, Oct 13 — Taking serious note of lakhs of undertrials languishing in jails across the country, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the Attorney General even as counsel for various states and union territories undertook to advise their clients to speed up trial in cases relating to petty offences.

Lahore bus service to continue: Hashmi
NEW DELHI, Oct 13 — The Delhi-Lahore bus service will continue as normal despite a coup in Pakistan, the Delhi Transport Minister, Mr Parvez Hashmi, said here today.

Karnataka JD (U) snaps ties with BJP

BANGALORE, Oct 13 (UNI) — The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Karnataka today suffered a severe setback with the state Janata Dal (United) unit deciding to severe its links with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Talking to reporters here after a meeting of the newly elected JD (U) legislators, former Chief Minister J.H. Patel said the party would, however, extend full support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

He said the JD (U) would work independently in the legislature and outside and there would be no truck with the BJP henceforth. “We will not discuss any issue with them,” he said.

Mr Patel said today’s meeting did not discuss the alliance issue but would take it up at a meeting to be held in the presence of former Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde.

Mr Patel charged Mr Hegde with having “trapped” the Janata Dal into the alliance.

Severely criticising the state BJP, Mr Patel said the alliance for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections between the two parties never came about.

The polls were of a “low level” and marred by mutual leg pulling, he said.

He said his party would have no truck with the state BJP, adding, “the JD (U) is not likely to discuss any issue with anybody. It’s closed here.”

Earlier, addressing the meeting, Mr Patel said the state BJP had betrayed the JD (U). “Otherwise we could have formed the government”, he said.

Mr Patel, who lost the Assembly elections to BJP rebel Vadnal Rajanna at Chennagairi, alleged that the latter had emerged victorious through the “power of money and liquor”.

Mr Patel and party leaders said the 18 members of the JD (U) would sit as a separate bloc in the assembly and not with the BJP.

He said JD(U) leader Ramakrishna Hegde, state unit president C. Byre Gowda and himself would choose the party’s leader, deputy leader and chief whip in the Assembly.

He said everything would be discussed after Mr Hegde returned from New Delhi.

“It was he (Hegde) who trapped us into this (alliance with BJP)”, Mr Patel said in a lighter vein.

TDP to extend unconditional support
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 — The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will extend unconditional support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

The TDP President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N, Chandrababu Naidu, said here that while his party had extended “issue-based support” to the Vajpayee government last time this time around it was unconditional.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Naidu who came here last night to attend the swearing-in ceremony also indicated that the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, may well be renominated to the post.

Although he made no categorical statement, Mr Naidu dropped enough hints by prefacing his reply to a question on his party’s stand on Speaker by saying that Mr Balayogi had just a term of 18-months.

However, he was quick to follow it up with another statement that “if the Speakership was offered, the TDP would consider it. We have not recommended any one for it”.

Apparently, Mr Naidu who had a dinner meeting with the Prime Minister last night sorted out the issue and it was expected that Mr Balayogi would be the NDA-backed candidate when elections for the Speaker’s post takes place on October 22 in the Lok Sabha.

Comparing the shift in the TDP stand, Mr Naidu said that in 1998 his party decided to field a candidate in order to challenge the Congress.

The TDP supremo made it clear that his party was fully behind the NDA which he claimed was committed to secularism. “Even the (Jammu and Kashmir) National Conference has joined the NDA,” he said to justify his assessment.

Yet, Mr Naidu could not give any categorical reply as to what prompted the Telugu Desam which has a large contingent of 29 MPs not to join the Union Council of Ministers.

To a question if he considered the resurrection of ‘third front’, Mr Naidu described the United Front as an experiment that ended after the 1998 elections.

India may export certain missiles: George
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 — Defence Minister George Fernandes today said that India was considering to export certain types of missiles and armour to some of the “friendly” countries. “Our defence policy is transparent. What we develop and test. We inform the world,” Mr Fernandes said in his speech which was read out in absentia during the inauguration of the international seminar on “Force Multiplier Technologies for Land and Naval Warfare” here. The seminar has been organised as part of the Defexpo India’99 exhibition which got underway at the Pragati Maidan here yesterday.

The Defence Minister said India was ready to share with other countries the design and production experience of various defence systems while looking forward to technological laboratory to laboratory cooperation with those countries in the field.

“We are planning certain joint ventures in defence systems. My advice to technology community and defence leaders is to evolve joint business strategies accepting each country’s strength,” he told the seminar, organised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The three-day seminar, attended by delegations from 19 countries besides representatives from Indian defence establishments, will discuss more than 40 papers on emerging technologies in the field and is aimed at evolving possible international business partnerships.

“India is going through technology denials from multiple sources, our scientists and technologists have generated critical technologies in a cost-effective way,” the Defence Minister said.

In his theme talk, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, the scientific advisor to the Defence Minister and architect of India’s missile programmes, said the DRDO had recently opened eight laboratories to transfer technology to industry in multiple areas to provide a competitive edge.

He said with a focus on self-reliance, India was on course to achieve 70 per cent indigenisation of defence systems by 2005. “UAVS (unmanned aerial vehicles) will be inducted next year and a wide array of systems will be introduced by 2005,” Dr Kalam said. India’s GSLV (geostationary stallite launch vehicle) for communication satellites would be available next year, he said.

He said scientists, technologists and the industry must come together to combat technology denial regimes. “Technology denials, controls and sanctions do not help the world to progress.”

In his talk on force multipliers, Chief of the Army Staff, Gen V P Malik, said this was India’s greatest weakness as evident in the recently fought ‘Kargil war’ with Pakistani intruders.

“If we had satellite imagery and UAV surveillance platform, despite human intelligence failure, we could have detected Pak army build-up and intrusion in those difficult terrain and climatic conditions much earlier. Adequate night vision devices, laser-guided artillery and weapon locating radars could have reduced the total cost and duration of war as well as casualties.”

“I must admit that the Indian Army has been slow in the induction of force multipliers, including information technology. The reasons range from financial, procedural, developmental and even traditional thinking,” the army chief said.

He said technology was the key to fight in extended, elastic and increasingly transparent battlefield. In a low intensity conflict situation as faced by India, He said, force multipliers could be of immense value in checking infiltration, detection of improvised explosive devices and reducing collateral damages.

SC notice to AG on undertrials

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 (PTI) — Taking serious note of lakhs of undertrials languishing in jails across the country, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the Attorney General even as counsel for various states and union territories undertook to advise their clients to speed up trial in cases relating to petty offences.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice A S Anand, while hearing a public interest litigation espousing the cause of undertrials, said of the total jail population of 2,57,000 prisoners around 73 per cent constituting over 1,82,000 were undertrial prisoners, many of whom were booked for petty offences.

“Counsel for states and union territories undertake to advice their clients to take effective steps to file charge sheets/reports in six weeks in cases which are related to petty offences and for which undertrials are languishing in jails,” the court observed in its order.

“There must be instances where migrant labourers are languishing in jail for want of sureties for carrying a quarter bottle of alcohol in areas where prohibition is in force,” the Chief Justice said expressing grave concern and stressed the need for an urgent move to dispose of these cases.

Amicus Curiae (advocate appointed by court to assist) in the matter Ranjit Kumar pointed out that the states should create more courts to lessen the burden of pending criminal cases and added in Uttar Pradesh alone over 1,73,000 sessions cases were pending trial.

Russia offers more fighter jets to India

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 (PTI) — Russia today proposed to sell more fighter jets to India to enhance the IAF’s cutting edge even as upgradation of Mig-21 ‘BIS’ aircraft will be completed by January, 2000.

“Russia has been catering to Indian defence needs for the past 30 years and soon more modern fighter aircraft will be deployed in the IAF to enhance its strike capability”, Mr Ereshenko Vladimir, head of the Russian delegation at Defexpo-99, told reporters here.

“We hope to complete upgrading the fighter planes as per schedule,” Mr Vladimir said, adding that in the first phase two fighter planes would be upgraded in Russia by January 2000 and later the work on upgradation would be carried out in India.

Mr Vladimir represents “Rosvoorouzhenie”, a federal state unitary enterprise, which is dedicated to representation of the Russian defence industry.

Pak instability concerns Malik

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 (PTI) — The Army Chief, Gen V.P. Malik, today said political instability in the neighbourhood “is not a good thing for our security”.

“We have to watch the situation and have to be vigilant he told PTI, while reacting to developments in Pakistan following ouster of the Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, by the Army Chief Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Asked if he foresaw any enhanced Pakistani military activity along the border, General Malik said “I don’t anticipate any serious development.”

Lahore bus service to continue: Hashmi
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 — The Delhi-Lahore bus service will continue as normal despite a coup in Pakistan, the Delhi Transport Minister, Mr Parvez Hashmi, said here today.

"The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, (PTDC) which operates the bus service from across the border, has guaranteed the safety of passengers," Mr Hashmi told The Tribune.

The PTDC bus left the Capital this morning carrying 30 passengers and two crew on board and the DTC bus from Lahore left on time and it crossed Wagha border without any problem, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) officials said.

The DTC, which operates the service from here said, they had not received any instruction to discontinue the bus service.

"The bus service, however, would be discontinued if there was any threat to the security and safety of the passengers," Mr Hashmi said, adding "the bus service continued unabated even during Kargil conflict."

Meanwhile, there was no rush to cancel the tickets for the bus service which operates four times a week. And, the tickets for the next week had been booked in advance, officials said.

The Pakistani authorities had earlier requested the Delhi Government to increase the frequency of the service. Mr Hashmi said the proposal was under consideration as the route is the most profitable for the DTC.

VHP stand on Pope’s visit
CHENNAI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday said if Pope John Paul II’s visit to India during the first week of November was only as head of a state then he should be accorded all honours, otherwise not. “If the Pope is coming here in the capacity as the head of state, all honours should be given. If he is coming as a religious leader then no honour should be given,” VHP International Working President Ashok Singhal told reporters here. — PTI

4 killed in building collapse
MUMBAI: Four persons were killed and 10 injured when a two-storey building collapsed in Dombivli in Thane district of Maharashtra on Wednesday, the police said. The “Chintamani Mhatre” building caved in like a pack of cards at 7.45 a.m., fire-brigade sources said. — PTI

Top US officials to visit India
NEW DELHI: Top US officials will be coming to New Delhi in the coming two months to firm up the agenda for president Bill Clinton’s visit early next year. Mr Clinton’s pointman for South Asia, Bruce Riedel, who will be the first visitor from Washington to greet the new government, is expected to have wide-ranging discussions with Indian officials early next week soon after his arrival here after a brief stay in Pakistan. This will be followed by the visit of Mr Bill Richardson, US Energy Secretary, who will have parleys with his Indian counterpart and others during his two-day visit here from October 26. — PTI

Pregnant woman raped
NOIDA: A pregnant woman of Surkha village in the Boida area was allegedly raped by a resident of same village when she had gone to answer nature’s call. Initially, the Sector 49 police refused to register the case and it was only when the victim approached SP (city) Piyush Srivastva, that an FIR was registered. Seven-month pregnant victim (21) alleged that she was raped by Ashok Yadav of her village. The police arrested the culprit under Sections 323 and 376, IPC. — FOC