Thursday, September 16, 1999
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EC to abide by SC verdict: Gill CALCUTTA, Sept 15 — "We shall honour and abide by the Supreme Court’s judgement on allowing the publication and screening of opinion and exit polls. But even then I would advocate that the issue should be debated and discussed at the national fora . . .," said the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr M S Gill, here today. Paddy procurement begins NEW DELHI, Sept 15 —
Procurement of paddy in Punjab for the 1999-2000 Kharif
season will begin tomorrow following a decision taken by
the Union Food Ministry after consultations with Chief
Minister, Parkash Singh Badal. |
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 LONDON: Shelly Smith performing at the inauguration of the 6th World Hindi Conference in London on Tuesday. PTI
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Tight security for Bihar poll PATNA, Sept 15 — Electioneering in 19 constituencies in Bihar, which will go to the polls on Saturday, has reached the highest pitch a day before the campaign ends tomorrow evening. Wasim Ahmed joins Cong Delhi
HC pulls up MoD Criticism
of RSS “misplaced” Yugoslav
envoy releases book Return
soldiers with dignity, says India CRPF
to mobilise armed police SC
clears accused in apple scam Witnesses
turn hostile in dropsy case |
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EC to abide by SC verdict:
Gill CALCUTTA, Sept 15 — "We shall honour and abide by the Supreme Court’s judgement on allowing the publication and screening of opinion and exit polls. But even then I would advocate that the issue should be debated and discussed at the national fora since it relates to the holding of a free and fair poll in a country like India where illiteracy persists to a great extent", said the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr M S Gill, here today. The CEC had come here today to supervise poll arrangements and study the pre-poll situation in the state. At a press conference at Writer’s Building, Mr Gill said the commission had put an embargo on the publication and screening of opinion and exit polls prior to the elections as it thought right. "But the Supreme Court is the higher body and hence, it is the duty of the EC to strictly follow its judgement, he said. The CEC said he hoped that the poll process would be over in due course and it would be free and fair. So far, over 31 crore voters had exercised their franchise in the first two phases and there would be three more phases. There had been no major disturbances anywhere. He hoped the same spirit would continue. He made it clear that repoll would be ordered whenever there was any incident of booth-capture, false voting or some other disturbances. Referring to West Bengal, the CEC said as demanded by the state government, the Home Ministry had agreed to despatch additional central forces to the state. Mr Gill said he met the central observers for West Bengal, who were already in the city, the state Chief Electoral Officer, Mr J. Sircer, and other senior officials of the Election Department and surveyed the arrangements. He also met the Chief Secretary, Mr Manish Gupta and other Home Department officials and reviewed the security arrangements. The CEC said the
observers were specifically told to strictly abide by the
commission's directives for holding a free and fair poll. |
Forced
sterilisations LUCKNOW, Sept 15 (PTI) — The BJP today launched a scathing attack on the Congress for imposing the Emergency on the country and accused Mr Karan Singh, who is contesting against Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, as being a "key figure" behind the "forced sterilisation campaign" carried out in "those dark days". Asking Mr Karan Singh to "clarify his position" in this regard, senior BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya told reporters that the Congress nominee from here was the Union Health Minister during the Emergency who had suggested introduction of "some element of compulsion" in the sterilisation programme at that time. "Mr Karan Singh is in no way an entity noticeable as far as Mr Vajpayee is concerned. He may have some media value, but is a spent force having no political identity or following," Mr Govindacharya said. Mr Karan Singh was not available for comment as he was busy campaigning. Asked whether the BJP was "nervous" at Mr Karan Singh’s candidature, Mr Govindacharya said the Congress nominee was just entertaining us. Replying to questions regarding reported dissensions within the BJP rank and file in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Govindacharya, who is in charge of the state, said the party would not hesitate in initiating disciplinary action against those indulging in anti-party activities. The BJP leader said while former party MP, Mr Sachidanand Sakshi, had himself resigned from the party, a sitting party MLA from Saharanpur, Mr N.P. Sharma, had been expelled. Asked why Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and BJP’s state unit President Rajnath Singh were not campaigning jointly despite a decision taken by the party, he denied any differences between the two leaders and said both would cover more constituencies by moving about separately. Asked to comment on
former minister Jagmohan’s role during the Emergency
as the Lt Governor of Delhi, Mr Govindacharya said he had
already clarified that he was "merely a bureaucrat
who was following the orders of the political
bosses" at that time. |
Paddy procurement begins today NEW DELHI, Sept 15 — Procurement of paddy in Punjab for the 1999-2000 Kharif season will begin tomorrow following a decision taken by the Union Food Ministry after consultations with Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal. Speaking to The Tribune, Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala, after more than an hour long discussion with the Punjab Chief Minister, said the procurement was being advanced as paddy has started arriving in mandis of the state despite the government’s earlier request to the farmers to sow the crop after June 10. "The government has advanced its procurement date from October 1 to September 16 in the interest of the farmers," Mr Barnala said. Mr Barnala said about 60 per cent of the paddy was transplanted after June 10 as per the government guidelines and the remaining 40 per cent which was sowed earlier has already started arriving in the mandis. The Minister said "the government has decided to procure the paddy at the minimum support prices of Rs 490 and Rs 520 per quintal as notified earlier." The Food Corporation of India will procure 40 per cent of the total arrivals. The remaining 60 per cent will be procured by the state procurement agencies like the Punjab Warehousing Corporation and the Food and Civil Supplies Department. Mr Badal, Food Minister, M.M. Mittal and other senior state government officials met the Union Food Minister as large amount of arrivals of paddy in the mandis had started taking place. Last year also, the government had advanced its procurement date to September 15 in view of the bumper crop of paddy and early arrival of paddy. The procurement agencies last year had procured 93 lakh tonnes of paddy in Punjab. The Punjab government had earlier issued the paddy sowing guideline in view of the last year’s experience. Official sources said this year the production of paddy was likely to touch the figure of 127 lakh tonnes and the market arrivals would be to the tune of 102 lakh tonnes. The state government has set up 1431 purchase centres equipped with all kinds of material and infrastructural support and has arranged 2.80 lakh gunny bales, sources said. The Punjab government has also sent the proposal to the Reserve Bank of India for release of cash credit amounting to Rs 3,700 crore and the clearance is expected, Mr Barnala said. The Union Food Minister said remunerative levy rates for rice would be announced soon to encourage rice millers to purchase the stocks. The Centre had also agreed to conduct fresh experimentation for determination of specification of rice procurement as a long term measure, he added. The Union Food Secretary, Mr M. D. Asthana, assured the Chief Minister that the Centre would soon release dues to the state for the purchase made by the Central agencies. According to sources the total outstanding amount stands at around Rs 800 crore currently. The Managing Director of
Food Corporation of India, Mr S.S. Dawra, who attended
the meeting, said the movement of grains from the state
would be stepped up to ensure that there was enough
storage capacities in Punjab. |
Era Sezhiyan bails out
Advani NEW DELHI, Sept 15 — Lok Shakti vice-president Era Sezhiyan today denied reports that the Union Home Minister L.K. Advani who is at the forefront of a nationwide campaign to bar people of foreign origin from holding high offices in India, had opposed a similar suggestion mooted by him in a parliamentary committee meeting 10 years ago. Mr Sezhiyan was reacting to media reports that as a member of the Dinesh Goswami Committee on electoral reforms, Mr Advani and senior CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee, had turned down a suggestion by the then Janata Dal leader to prohibit persons of foreign origin from being allowed to hold a high office in the government. Mr Sezhiyan said in a statement here that as a member of the Goswami Committee in 1990, he gave a note seeking a constitutional amendment for eligibility of only a natural-born citizen to the office of Prime Minister. I regret that the proposal was not given serious consideration. But it is totally wrong to say that Mr L.K.Advani opposed the proposal. “In fact there was no detailed discussion on my proposal and the question of support or opposition did not arise”, he said. When asked about the report about a week ago, Mr Advani had said that he would not dispute the point and it was possible that Mr Era Sezhiyan had made such a proposal and he had turned it down. However, he said at that point of time he had no inkling that such a possibility might arise in the future. The Constitution framers too had not thought about the possibility of a person with foreign origin making his or her claim for the post of Prime Minister and that was the reason that it was silent on the issue. Mr Advani pointed out
that the BJP, after the entry of Mrs Sonia Gandhi into
politics, was hesitant in raising the issue of her
foreign origin and the opposition to her entry came from
the Congress camp itself. The BJP was happy that the
suggestion had come from a section of the Congress and
the ruling party had followed it up since then. The Union
Home Minister pointed out that no country allowed people
of foreign origin to head government. In this regard he
referred to the USA where people with foreign origin
could become legislators but could not aspire to become
the President. Making a special mention of Italy, the
country of Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s birth, Mr Advani said
that country not only disallowed people with foreign
origin from holding high offices in the government but
they were not permitted to become members of even
municipal corporations. |
Tight security for Bihar poll PATNA, Sept 15 (UNI, PTI) — Electioneering in 19 constituencies in Bihar, which will go to the polls on Saturday, has reached the highest pitch a day before the campaign ends tomorrow evening. Altogether 20,675,446 electorate are to exercise their franchise in 29,169 booths in the first phase poll, mostly in the southern districts. More than 50 per cent constituencies are sensitive or hypersensitive. In all, 180 candidates are in the fray for the 19 seats – 13 in South Bihar and the remaining six in the central parts of the state. The election campaign which had reached a high pitch after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, AICC President Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani, firebrand BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Laloo Prasad Yadav, Defence Minister George Fernandes, cine star Shatrughan Sinha, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar and BSP President Kanshi Ram addressed a series of meetings in these constituencies where electoral future of several key personalities including Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and several ministers of Bihar is at stake. The Election Commission (EC) has made stringent security arrangements for holding a peaceful, free and fair polling in the state particularly in the extremist dominated areas. More than 150 companies of security personnel will be deputed in the sensitive and hypersensitive polling booths to thwart poll-related disturbances. To check “import of goondas” by political parties, the EC has directed the state government to seal the state’s borders with Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bengal before the poll dates. The constituencies going to polls in the first phase of elections in the state are Dumka (ST), Godda, Sasaram (SC), Bikramganj, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Nawada (SC), Gaya (SC), Chatra , Koderma, Giridih, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Singhbhum (ST), Khunti (ST), Lohardagga (ST) and Palamau (SC). Prominent candidates whose fate would be decided in the first phase are Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha (BJP-Hazaribagh), Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment Babu Lal Marandi (BJP-Dumka), former Union Ministers K.K. Tiwari (Congress-Ranchi), Karia Munda (BJP-Khunti), Ms Kanti Singh (RJD-Bikramganj) and Ms Rita Verma (BJP-Dhanbad). The BJP is contesting all seats for which elections will be held in the first phase except Bikramganj, Aurangabad and Jehanabad, which have been left for its alliance partner the Janata Dal (United). The RJD-Congress combine is contesting all seats except Dhanbad which has been left for Marxist coordination committee nominee A.K. Roy. However, both the RDJ and the Congress - the alliance partners - have fielded their candidates for the Godda seat. The RJD has also fielded State Cabinet Minister Aklo Ram Mahato against Mr Yashwant Sinha of the BJP from Hazaribagh constituency which will go to the polls on Saturday. More than a dozen legislators, a state Legislative Council member and a Rajya Sabha member are contesting in the first phase of the poll. Left in the fray are
legislators Shushila Karketta (Khunti), Furkan Ansari
(Godda), Rajendra Prasad Singh (Giridih) Champai Soreen
(Singhbhum), Vishwanath Bhagat (Lohardagga), N.E. Horo
(Khunti), Lakshman Gilua (Singhbhum), Aklu Ram Mahato
(Hazaribagh), Tek Lal Mahato (Hazaribagh) and Shiva
Mahato (Giridih). A lone member of Legislative Council
Arun Kumar of Janata Dal (United), is seeking election
from the Naxalite dominated Jehanabad constituency. |
Wasim Ahmed joins Cong NEW DELHI, Sept 15 — Mr Wasim Ahmed, a Former JD MP and a close associate of former Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, today joined the Congress. Mr Ahmed, a Rajya Sabha MP during 1996-98, said his decision to join the Congress came after a "lot of introspection" and that it was only the Congress which was now carrying the fight for secularism in the country. "The Congress has long personified my personal beliefs of secularism and social justice. It is the only party which has unconditionally stood up for the rights of the weaker sections and provided stable governance. The hollow rhetoric and hidden agenda of the BJP, in spite of their NDA garb, has been exposed by their own dual voice on secular issues," Mr Ahmed said in a press note. Mr Ahmed, who was also General Secretary of the Janata Dal (Secular) said the party with which he was associated had been marginalised and its influence diminished. His admission into the Congress was announced by the AICC General Secretary, Sushil Kumar Shinde, in charge of party affairs in the state. Mr Ahmed, when asked if he had taken permission from his mentor and political guide, Mr V.P. Singh, replied that that he had always enjoyed the blessings of the former Premier and would continue to do so. Meanwhile, the Congress has criticised the Prime Minister and the BJP for raising the issue of ‘failure’ in the Pakistan policy by previous Congress governments, specially for returning the 90,000-odd PoWs without gaining anything. Congress spokesman, Kapil Sibal said before the Shimla accord of 1972, Pakistan used to refer to the UN Security Council resolutions which had ceased after the 1972 agreement. Mr Sibal said if the BJP
wanted India to hold back the PoWs then why did the Prime
Minister offer "safe passage" to the Kargil
intruders. |
Delhi HC pulls up MoD NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (PTI) —The Delhi High Court today took the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to task for trying to take shelter under Kargil incidents to extend by six months the eviction of “ineligible” allottees from its Santushti complex near the Prime Minister’s residence. Rejecting the MoD request, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S. N. Variava and Mr Justice S K Mahajan said “none of the allottees is related to the defence personnel killed in Kargil and, therefore, the incidents of Kargil have no connection with their continuing in the complex.” Coming down heavily on the ministry for its failure to evict the allottees within six months, the court said the use of defence land for commercial purposes merely because the government had yet to take a decision, should not be a ground for the allottees to continue to be in possession of the shops. Directing the ministry to file an affidavit within three weeks stating what action it was proposing against the allottees whose term of allotment had expired, the Bench said there was no reason for the MoD for stalling the eviction process. Questioning the allotment of shops to private parties by the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA), which earlier controlled the complex, the court said commercial activity near the Prime Minister’s residence was a “security” risk. The MoD, which in April
had given an undertaking to the court that it would evict
all allottees within six months, had sought further six
months pleading that due to Kargil incidents the scenario
had changed. |
Criticism of RSS
“misplaced” NEW DELHI, Sept 15 — The BJP claimed today that the Congress Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru had honoured the RSS after the 1962 Chinese conflict and the criticism of the organisation now was misplaced. A BJP spokesman, Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, told newspersons here that Jawaharlal Nehru had allowed RSS activists to participate in the 1963 Republic Day, and that too in their full uniform. He said it was the RSS which had come to the aid of the nation at the time of the crisis and it had helped keep the morale of the people high at the time of the conflict. Mr Sharma’s unprovoked defence of the RSS came during the course of his briefing on the Kargil conflict. Mr Sharma, when asked the reason for his statement on the RSS, retorted “it is not a crime to defend the RSS”. Speaking about the Prime Minister’s commitment to probity and leadership abilities, Mr Sharma chose to highlight the Kargil conflict and the way it had been handled by the government. “India’s triumphant military and diplomatic victory in Kargil stands out in sharp contrast to the lack of direction and absence of political leadership during earlier conflicts when the Congress was in power”, he added. He said in 1948, it was a Congress Prime Minister who decided to halt the country’s advancing Army, and instead to needlessly take Kashmir to the United Nations, thus internationalising the Kashmir issue. In 1971, it was a
Congress Prime Minister who once again returned the
heights which the Indian soldiers had captured and
returned 93,000 prisoners of war without getting Pakistan
to agree to abandon its evil designs on Kashmir. |
Yugoslav envoy releases book NEW DELHI, Sept 15 —In a bid to stir global conscience, Yugoslavia is planning to move the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against NATO airstrikes in its territory in the wake of the Kosovo crisis. Releasing the second volume of the White Book “NATO Crimes in Yugoslavia — Documentary Evidence”, the Yugoslav Ambassador to India, Mr Cedomir Strbac, said his country was in touch with eminent jurists, including those from India to move the ICJ at the Hague against NATO airstrikes which he termed as the “biggest crime against humanity” since World War II. Mr Strbac said Belgrade had prepared a list of 14 persons, including that of the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, the British Prime Minister,Mr Tony Blair, and the Foreign and Defence Ministers of frontline NATO countries, for the airstrikes which resulted in a loss of about $ 100 million. In the three months
since Yugoslavia was forced to withdraw from “its
own territory” under the UN Security Council
resolution Kosovo had become a “land of
lawlessness” with a systematic campaign of ethnic
cleansing leading to the expulsion of a large number of
Serbs continuing, he said, adding that in spite of such
large-scale problem, the western media was maintaining a
silence. |
Return soldiers with dignity,
says India NEW DELHI, Sept 15 — India today reiterated that Pakistan should return two Indian soldiers from its custody with military etiquette, traditions and dignity due to soldiers without subjecting them to a public spectacle. Responding to questions, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said Islamabad should hand over two of our soldiers the way India had done. Asked if agony of family
members of the soldiers would not mount by a delay in
their return, the spokesman said the family members would
be equally pained if they were subjected to a public
spectacle. |
CRPF to mobilise armed police NEW DELHI, Sept 15 — The CRPF has been entrusted with the task of mobilising state armed police companies from various states, including Punjab and Haryana, for election duties in West Bengal, Bihar and UP. During the ongoing parliamentary elections, the CRPF has deployed a large number of companies for election duties in different constituencies. More than 100 companies
of the CRPF are being utilised in different phases so as
to increase the availability of the force. Almost 50
companies are being deployed for election duties twice, a
press note issued by it said. |
SC clears accused in apple scam NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has given a clean chit to all accused in the “apple scam” case of 1983 by ruling that the prosecution has failed to establish that the Himachal Pradesh government was cheated of a huge amount of money by apple growers acting in connivance with officials. In 1983, apple orchards in parts of the state were afflicted by scab disease rendering the fruit unfit for human consumption. The state government took a policy decision to purchase the diseased fruit and destroy the same after compensating the growers. In this operation, about 3,000 tonnes of scab-affected apples were procured and destroyed. A large number of complaints were received about financial bungling and a commission of inquiry held that some persons had obtained false payments by showing inflated quantities of apples. The commission also held that the bungling was done in connivance with the members of the team engaged in procurement and destruction of the fruit. The trial court accepted the prosecution evidence and framed charges against the accused but the high court took the view that the prosecution failed to establish any of the charges against the accused persons and acquitted them. The apex court said,
“There is no evidence, direct or circumstantial, in
support of the charge of conspiracy amongst the accused
persons to cheat the state exchequer.” |
Witnesses turn hostile in dropsy case NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (UNI) — Ten out of the 12 prosecution witnesses examined by a CBI court till now in the controversial "dropsy case" have turned hostile. In a latest development in the trial, which is going on in the court of Additional Sessions Judge P.S. Teji, three seed suppliers today denied having ever supplied argemone to Kamal Oil Mills, thus retracting their earlier statements. The suppliers said they had been supplying "sheria" and not "argemone". "Sheria" is a non edible oil used in the manufacture of soaps while the CBI’s allegations were that a poisonous and cheap argemone was being mixed with the mustard oil for huge monetary benefits. More than 60 persons
died by consuming the allegedly contaminated mustard oil
in the Capital last year. Six persons, including three
directors of the mills, were chargesheeted by the CBI for
causing death by selling contaminated mustard oil. |
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| UP dists in grip of
encephalitis LUCKNOW: As many as 11 districts of Uttar Pradesh are in the grip of the dreaded encephalitis disease. State Principal Secretary (Health), V.K. Diwan said here that 13 new encephalitis patients were admitted to government hospitals on Tuesday and so far three persons had died of the disease. He said a six-member team of doctors would leave for Gorakhpur. Besides, the World Health Organisation and the UNICEF teams were touring the affected districts which include Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Sant Kabirnagar, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Mau, Bahraich and Khiri. — UNI Waqf board official suspended Dainik Bhaskar
tops in readership It’s comet
seeing time now 11-year-old held
for murder Inter-state
gangsters held US grant for
AIDS project Kataria Cong
observer for HP |
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