Monday, October 25, 1999
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US Energy Secy to visit India NEW DELHI, Oct 24 — With the arrival of US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson here on October 26 for talks with Indian leaders, New Delhi and Washington are beginning to chalk out a detailed route map for the future bilateral ties leading to US President Bill Clinton’s state visit early next year. Jaya asks TMC to join stir CHENNAI, Oct 24 — In a move which may have far reaching implications on Tamil Nadu politics, the AIADMK today invited the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) to join its planned stir against the policies of the BJP and DMK governments. |
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 NEW DELHI: Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the inauguration of Balmiki Jayanti procession in New Delhi on Sunday. — PTI
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Pak hand in J&K militancy
revealed NEW DELHI, Oct 24 — Contesting the oft-repeated Pakistani claims that it had no role in ongoing militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, a top separatist Kashmiri leader has asserted that the ISI conceptualised the plan to sponsor militancy as back as in 1984. CAG indicts J&K Govt Rs
50 crore more for Orissa Uranium shortage may hit N-plan Omar
to undertake export promotion Muslims
safer with BJP: Minister SAD
kirtan durbar |
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US Energy Secy to visit
India NEW DELHI, Oct 24 — With the arrival of US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson here on October 26 for talks with Indian leaders, New Delhi and Washington are beginning to chalk out a detailed route map for the future bilateral ties leading to US President Bill Clinton’s state visit early next year. Further details to the Indo-US route map will be added during the November visit of the US Secretary of State, Mrs Madeleine Albright. The stamp of approval for the route map will be put during the visit of the US President. Mr Richardson, the first US minister to come to India after the assumption of charge by the Vajpayee government with a renewed popular mandate, will hold discussions with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh and other key ministers and officials. Mr Richardson will stay in India for three days. Mr Richardson, who is in charge of not only civilian energy, but also of America’s nuclear weapon establishments, has himself outlined the contours of his visit. He said: "The USA and India share many interests — energy and the environment, economic interaction, international security, fighting terrorism and promoting democracy". His visit, close on the heels of the two-day visit of the National Security Adviser and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr Brajesh Mishra to Washington, is aimed at evolving a common perception on the energy sector. "I plan to talk to Indian leaders about continued progress on economic reforms in the energy sector", Mr Richardson told reporters in Washington, adding that he would cover "some areas of energy cooperation that the Department of Energy will initiate or revive in the areas of climate change, renewable energy and regional energy development". Over a time period, "we hope to expand cooperation in these areas", he said. It may be recalled that Mr Jaswant Singh, soon after his inclusion in the Union Cabinet last year, had accorded priority to energy security in the evolution of the foreign policy. The US Energy Secretary’s stay in the Capital will help in the convergence of views on this vital sector, officials in the Capital observed. In Mr Richardson’s own words, this factor clearly emerged. He said: "India has made strides in opening its markets to foreign investment and creating independent regulatory structures. With nearly 20 per cent of the population without electricity, more can be done to create a climate where private capital can fund increased power generation at affordable rates". During Mr Mishra’s visit to the USA, considerable progress had already been made for evolving a joint Indo-US strategy for countering international terrorism with the two sides proposing to set up a joint working group. The proposal is an outcome of several high-level talks between the two sides and "a better understanding" by Washington of India’s concerns. Mr Mishra has apprised the USA India’s views on the forthcoming World Trade Organisation meeting at Seattle. Describing his talks as "fruitful", Mr Mishra said: "We have been able to present our point of view on some of the contentious issues which are sought to be put on the agenda.There will, however, be discussions in Delhi at the beginning of November with the Deputy Trade Representative, Ms Susan Esserman, at the technical level." India is appreciative of
the latest US response to developments in Pakistan. US
Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth’s
recent statement that the USA would press Pakistan’s
new military regime to halt cross-border terrorism had
gone well with the South Block paving the way for a
qualitative improvement in bilateral ties. |
Jaya asks TMC to join stir CHENNAI, Oct 24 (PTI) — In a move which may have far reaching implications on Tamil Nadu politics, the AIADMK today invited the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) to join its planned stir against the policies of the BJP and DMK governments. AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha told a press conference here after a meeting of the party’s executive that the stir was part of the party’s exercise to consolidate anti-DMK and anti-BJP forces in the state. She said she had already broached the subject with TMC president G.K. Moopanar, when she met him here yesterday. Mr Moopanar had told her a decision on this would be taken only after consultation with TMC leaders and cadre, she said. Asked whether it was the party’s efforts to bring all anti-DMK forces under one umbrella to fight the next assembly elections, she said “yes”. On whether the people would accept an alliance between the AIADMK and the TMC as the latter was born on an anti-AIADMK plank, she said when the people could accept an alliance between the DMK and the MDMK, why would they not accept an alliance between the AIADMK and the TMC. Ms Jayalalitha said if the TMC decided to join the AIADMK-Congress front in the state, she would gladly welcome it. “We are working towards a secular and anti-DMK and anti-BJP front in the state,” she said. She said if the Congress and the TMC came together to form a ministry in Pondicherry, her party would extend support to the move. But no party had so far approached the AIADMK on this, she said. Ms Jayalalitha said she would be writing a letter to Mr Moopanar inviting him to join the AIADMK’s agitation against the diesel price hike, bus fare hike and on other people’s issues. She would be discussing the issue of organising a joint agitation against central and state government policies with state CPM leader N. Sankaraiah tomorrow. She had already discussed the matter with state CPI leader R. Nallakannu, she said. The AIADMK leader said her party would not have any tie-up with the Puthia Tamizhagam, which she described as a ‘violent mob and not a political party’. She also demanded a roll
back in diesel prices. ‘If the Centre is unable to
do it, at least they should reduce the price to some
extent,’ she said. |
Cong warns against bid to malign it NEW DELHI, Oct 24 (PTI) — Two days after the CBI filed a chargesheet in the Bofors payoffs case naming late Rajiv Gandhi as an accused, the Congress today warned that any attempt from any quarter at "slandering or maligning" the party and its leadership would be strongly resisted and ruled out entering into "opportunistic alliances". A statement issued by the party after a two-day meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to introspect on the electoral debacle, however, did not refer to the Bofors scam. In a statement yesterday in between the deliberations, the CWC had made a strongly-worded attack on the CBI chargesheet, accusing the government of attempting to "denigrate" the late Prime Minister and the Congress. The four-page statement welcomed the new government and made it clear it would play a positive role in the spirit of parliamentary democracy keeping in mind its responsibilities as an opposition party. "But the Congress will not acquiesce in any attempt to divide the country on communal or caste lines," it said. The Congress said the very continuance of the nation-state was at stake and warned that India could not survive if the divisive and disruptive forces were allowed to raise their ugly heads taking advantage of the weakness of the central government. It said in keeping with the spirit of Pachmarhi and in contrast to the ruling coalition, the Congress would not have recourse to "unstable, unviable opportunistic alliances united only by the lust for office". Meanwhile, Congress leaders from four northern states have assessed that infighting, wrong selection of candidates, use of Kargil crisis by the BJP and an undercurrent in favour of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee were among the major factors that led to the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. The leaders from Delhi,
Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh expressed their
views at the AICC introspection committee set up by the
party President Sonia Gandhi to analyse the causes of the
party’s worst electoral defeat. |
Pak hand in J&K militancy revealed NEW DELHI, Oct 24 (PTI) — Contesting the oft-repeated Pakistani claims that it had no role in ongoing militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, a top separatist Kashmiri leader has asserted that the ISI conceptualised the plan to sponsor militancy as back as in 1984. Hashim Qureshi, former organising Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), has revealed that ISI officials approached him in 1984 seeking his organisation’s cooperation in starting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. Militancy showed its first signs in Kashmir in 1988 with isolated bomb blasts and it turned into a full-fledged armed campaign a year later. According to Qureshi, the ISI engaged in “intense” talks in Pakistan with a four-member JKLF team, led by him, to impress upon the organisation to “bring Kashmiri Youth from across the border so that they could be used as gun-fodder against Indian security forces”. After four months of discussions, “I refused to become kothedar (a Kashmiri term meaning supplier of sheep to butcher) for the ISI’s grand game plan”, Qureshi, one of the two Kashmiri hijackers of an Indian Airlines plane from Srinagar to Lahore in 1971, writes in his book — “Unveiling the Truth”. My conscience refused to even consider such a scenario and I revolted against the very idea.... There were also fears that the ISI would backtrack on its promises and succeed only in ensuring genocide of Kashmiris at the hands of Indian Army, as Pakistan did with the Bengalis in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1971”, he says. Qureshi says that following his non-cooperation, he was targeted by the ISI in “every conceivable way” resulting in his expatriation to Europe where he is currently staying. “Unfortunately, others fell for the ISI trap”, he says apparently referring to the incumbent Chairman Amanullah Khan. “The Kalashnikov culture came with large-scale Pakistan funding. Weapons of all kinds were freely distributed among Kashmiri youth brought into the training camps (in Pakistan) by the self-styled nationalists”, writes Qureshi, who later founded the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party (JKDLF). Asserting that the ISI and its creations have done enough damage in Kashmir”, he says, “Time has come for Pakistan to stop meddling in the affairs of Kashmir”. Stating that Pakistan’s “sincerity towards Kashmir has always been dictated only by one factor — to enslave the people of Kashmir”, he says “Time has come not only to expose Pakistani rulers’ designs but also to reveal its real intentions to people of Kashmir”. “For the past 50 years, Pakistan rulers and politicians have made people sentimental on the basis of religion and Kashmir.... There was time when I shared the same blind emotions about Pakistan, which many sentimental Kashmiris do today”, says Qureshi, who was one of the early separatists of Kashmir. Narrating an incident about his sentimentalism regarding Pakistan, he writes: “In 1969, while visiting Pakistan for the first time, at the Ganda Singh border, I bowed and kissed the land. A Pakistan Ranger on duty looked genuinely surprised and asked me what I was doing. I explained that Pakistan was “Mecca and Medina” for us”. He adds that later he realised that Pakistan may be “Mecca and Medina for its feudal lords, its Generals and its bureaucrats but it is certainly not the promised land for Muslims of the sub-continent”. Qureshi also narrates the bad experiences he underwent after the IA plane hijacked by him and Ashraf Qureshi landed at Lahore airport. He repeatedly writes in the book that he always considered Pakistan a friend of Kashmir but realised the contrary. “After the
hijacking, the mood was initially euphoric in Lahore and
even then Pakistan Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto came to
meet me and Ashraf Qureshi”, he recalls. However,
later the two hijackers were labelled as “Indian
agents” and tried in a special court following which
he had to spend 10 years in Pakistani jails. |
CAG indicts J&K Govt NEW DELHI, Oct 24 (UNI) — The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has revealed that as against a net surplus of Rs 357 crore projected in the Budget estimates of the Farooq Abdullah Government in Jammu and Kashmir in 1997-98, the surplus in the consolidated fund amounted to only Rs 90 crore. In its latest report (1997-98) which was made available to UNI here, the CAG said the capital expenditure of the state government decreased from Rs 1000.11 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 889.47 crore in 1997-98 indicating an 11 per cent decrease over that of the previous year. The capital expenditure during 1997-98 fell short of Budget Estimates by Rs 457.90 crore (34 per cent). The state government investment in the statutory corporations, government companies, joint-stock companies, cooperative banks and societies increased from Rs 244.22 crore in 1993-94 to Rs 324.76 crore at the end of 1997-98. However, no dividend was received from these during 1994-95 to 1997-98. In the case of 13 loss-making companies in which the state government had invested Rs 124.62 crore as share capital up to 1997-98, the accummulated losses amounted to Rs 57.24 crore. While the percentage of expenditure on general services to total expenditure varied between 24 and 34 during 1993-94 to 1997-98, the percentage of expenditure on social services and economic services decreased from 29 and 42 in 1993-94 to 25 and 41 in 1997-98. The total indebtedness of the state increased by 41 per cent from Rs 4157.92 crore at the end of 1993-94 to Rs 5857.48 crore at the end of 1997-98. The percentage of gross state domestic product ranged between 66 and 91 during the period. According to the report, the state government obtained Rs 3861.84 crore temporary loans from the Jammu and Kashmir Bank during the year and paid an interest of Rs 117.48 crore. Temporary loans outstanding at the end of 1997-98 amounted to Rs 1003.72 crore which were 34 per cent more than the preceding year. The revenue realised from six major revenue earning irrigation projects with a total capital outlay of Rs 66.07 crore was only Rs nine lakh. The Rs 35 lakh revenue realised from these projects over a period of five years was not enough to cover interest charges of Rs 4.46 crore paid during the above period. The report says the total expenditure of the state government aggregated Rs 9544.61 crore against the provision of Rs 6373.49 crore resulting in excess of Rs 3171.12 crore, reflecting inadequacies of the budgetary control mechanism. The report revealed many irregularities in the centrally-sponsored command area development programme which was launched in selected irrigation commands with the objective of ensuring efficient utilisation of created irrigation potential and increasing agricultural production on sustainable basis. Among various irregularities it says were payment of Rs 1.56 crore to farmers for land levelling and shaping works without preparing estimates and maintaining inventory of works executed, installation of 642 pumps at a cost of Rs 44.11 lakh without conducting surveys, cash subsidy of Rs 3.79 crore and Rs 81.08 lakh for on-farm development works in disregard of approved pattern of assistance and without identifying beneficiaries and failure to lift seeds from the agriculture department for sale to farmers resulting in loss of Rs 18.70 lakh. The report states that statutory command area development boards and command area councils at the state-level had not been set up for monitoring the programme and evaluation studies had also not been undertaken. In a strong indictment
of the state Industries and Commerce Department, the
report says there was a shortfall between 6 and 51 per
cent in utilisation of funds allotted by the government
during 1993-94 to 1997-98. Registers of
grants/appropriations and other budgetary control records
had not been maintained on a monthly basis or at the end
of each year by any of the administrative/controlling
officers level. An expenditure of Rs 7.78 crore was
incurred by the officers of the department without any
budget provision. |
Rs 50 crore more for Orissa BHUBANESWAR, Oct 24 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today announced an advance assistance of Rs 50 crore to Orissa to meet the situation arising out of the devastation wrought by a cyclone on October 17. The amount was in addition to the Rs 200 crore advance assistance released by the Centre yesterday to rescue the state from the serious financial crisis, the Prime Minister told reporters after making an aerial survey of the cyclone-ravaged areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Mr Vajpayee said although the Orissa Government had drawn overdraft with the prospect of stoppage of payment from the Reserve Bank of India, the state’s financial crisis would not be allowed to come in the way of relief operation in the cyclone-hit areas. He also announced that the Centre would immediately release the fourth instalment of its share towards the state’s Calamity Relief Fund which was due on January 1. Mr Vajpayee said he would convene a meeting of Chief Ministers to decide on the norms for describing natural disasters as national calamity. "I will have to call a meeting of the Chief Ministers to decide on the norms to declare a national calamity," he said. "In case of a national calamity, a lot of formalities have to be gone into.... It will also have to be decided what portion of the funds (meant for natural disasters) will go where and in what manner," he said when asked whether the recent cyclone had been declared a national calamity. The Prime Minister, however, did not specify when he intends to call this meeting. The affected states
would not be at a loss despite the norms not being
finalised as yet, he said, adding that "every time
there is a disaster, this debate (about national
calamity) goes on.... We will have to find a
solution." |
Uranium shortage may hit N-plan HYDERABAD, Oct 24 (UNI) — India’s nuclear power programme is expected to receive a body blow following a potential threat of uranium shortage. Against a minimum requirement of 400 tonnes of uranium for the 10 operating reactors in the country, only 200 tonnes were being supplied by the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL), Dr C. Ganguly, chief executive of the city-based Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), told UNI. The uranium supplied by the UCIL is converted into uranium oxide fuel at the NFC, the only supplier of natural and enriched uranium oxide fuels and zirconium alloy core components for all reactors in the country. Added to this, the
uranium ore found in the country was among the lowest
grade in the world which was pushing up the production
cost of mining and concentration (purification and
refining of the uranium ore), and thus leading to an
increase in the nuclear power generation costs. Dr
Ganguly said Canada produced the highest grade uranium
ore, besides having access to international mines in
Australia and South Africa. |
Omar to undertake export
promotion NEW DELHI, Oct 24 — He is young, suave, erudite and fluent in both Hindi and English languages. He is the youngest member of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s ministerial team. Mr Omar Abdullah, the 29-year old Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, believes these very qualities would stand him in good stead while carrying out the duties reposed in him by the Prime Minister. Son of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Mr Omar admits that he will have to play the dual role of both a minister at the Centre and the sole representative of the state in New Delhi. “I am not just a Minister of State for Jammu and Kashmir but a minister for whole of India. While my state will occupy a special place in my working, I will not allow it to cloud my functioning as a Central Minister”, he told TNS. Though he has not been officially allotted work, Mr Omar says he has requested his senior minister, Mr Murasoli Maran, to give him commerce as he is comfortable with the subject. Mr Omar says he will undertake export promotion in a big way and in this regard points out that traditional items like shawls from Kulu-Manali, shawls from Kashmir and other handicraft items have a good potential. He has identified the
USA and Europe as India’s major trading partners. He
feels there is need to set up trade promotion centres in
all major cities of the world. |
Muslims safer with BJP: Minister GUWAHATI, Oct 24 (PTI) — Union Minister of State for Food Processing S.S. Hussain has said the just concluded Lok Sabha elections in the country “clearly indicated” that the Muslims are with the BJP. Hussain, who arrived here late last night after campaigning for Bimal Prasad Oswal, BJP candidate for the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat, where polling is scheduled for October 28, told reporters that during the 13-month rule of the previous BJP-led government Muslims were “much safer” than earlier and there was no instance of clashes between Muslims and other communities. The community had voted for the party in Assam also and would do so again in Dhubri as “the Muslims are now sure that their security would be ensured only by the BJP.” “Oswal, he said,
would win as there is “a very strong BJP wave”
in Assam and its vote percentage had also increased this
time. |
SAD kirtan durbar NEW DELHI, Oct 24 — A kirtan durbar will be held on November 1 at a Punjabi Bagh gurdwara as part of a series of religious programmes arranged in the Capital by the Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Delhi unit, party chief Avtar Singh Hit, said here today. Punjab Chief Minister
and SAD President Parkash Singh Badal and Bibi Jagir
Kaur, head of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee, would be present at the Tikana Sahib Gurdwara
to attend the programme. |
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| 52 IAS officers shifted LUCKNOW: In a major administrative reshuffle, the UP Government transferred 52 senior IAS officers including three Principal Secretaries, 15 Secretaries and Commissioners and 34 District Magistrates and Special Secretaries on Saturday. An official release issued here said Ajay Prakash Verma, posted in Industrial Development Department, has been made the new Agriculture Production Commissioner of the state. The government also transferred the Commissioner and District Magistrate of Lucknow besides shifting the District Magistrates of Sultanpur, Varanasi, Meerut and Azamgarh . This is the first major administrative reshuffle by the BJP-led coalition government in the state after the recent Lok Sabha poll. — PTI Vajpayee releases
anthology Kabir samman for
Narayan Surve Urdu scribe dead Award for
Girirajsharan Aggarwal |
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