Tuesday, September 28, 1999
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weather  spotlighttoday's calendar |
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Put off CRA meeting:
Patel |
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CPI objects to Advani’s
remarks NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The CPI today took strong exception to Union Home Minister L.K. Advani’s reported remark on former Home Minister Indrajit Gupta in which the former had accused latter of failing to curb ISI activities in the country. In a statement, the CPI National Secretary, Mr D. Raja, said that such an important issue should not have been raised by Mr Advani while addressing an election meeting at Midnapore.
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Cong now blames BJP for
oil imports EC orders repoll in 559 booths BJP protecting diplomat : TMC Rly Catering Corpn made company Sonia to campaign in Lucknow Star News exit poll results
telecast today Tandoor murder case hearing begins Chautala gives Rs 7 cr for Agroha
college Film on mountain trains released |
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Put off CRA meeting: Patel BANGALORE, Sept 27 (PTI) — In what could throw a spanner into Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s attempts to resolve the Cauvery dispute, Karnataka today sought postponement of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) meeting slated for September 29 and rejected Tamil Nadu’s demand for immediate release of water to save the standing paddy crops in the Thanjavur delta. The Chief Minister, Mr J. H. Patel, who was discharged today from hospital after treatment for jaundice, sent a message to the Prime Minister’s Office expressing inability to attend the Wednesday meeting on account of ill health and suggested that it be held on October 10 or 11. The state Cabinet, which met today, decided that Karnataka was not in a position to release water to Tamil Nadu as the state was itself facing shortage. "This is the reality," the State Information Minister Mr M P Prakash, told newsmen, giving details about the storage position in both the states and claiming that Tamil Nadu did not need water immediately. He denied that Karnataka was trying to "buy" time. The message also said Mr Patel’s presence was required here to ensure maintenance of law and order in view of the October 3 poll to five assembly constituencies and the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha poll beginning on October 6, Mr Prakash said. In fact, the state Cabinet skipped many topics and discussed only the Cauvery issue as Mr Patel is indisposed. Mr Prakash said Karnataka had released 37 TMC ft of water to Tamil Nadu between January and June as against the stipulated 11 TMC ft. The release of extra 26 TMC ft itself showed that the state never held back water when it was in a position to help. The state’s four reservoirs had a storage of 68 TMC ft and 20 more TMC ft was required to save the standing crops in Karnataka, he said, adding that till December, 110 TMC ft was required. The state, he said, would cooperate with the three-member experts team despatched by the Prime Minister to inspect the reservoirs in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and provide all data required by them. The Monitoring Committee’s role was only to assist the CRA to enable it to come to a decision, he noted. Mr Prakash said he was not aware if the CRA meeting could be held in the absence of the Chief Minister of one of the riparian states. CHENNAI: The three-member expert team deputed by the Prime Minister to make an on-the-spot study of water storage position in reservoirs across the Cauvery river would visit the Stanley reservoir in Mettur tomorrow, Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister Durai Murugan said on Monday. He told reporters here
that Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Expert Cell, Tamil
Nadu, P. Mohanakrishnan, would apprise them about the
storage position in the dam. The storage was enough for
release only up to September 30. |
Floods: Basu seeks Rs 250-cr relief CALCUTTA, Sept 27 (PTI) — West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today reviewed the flood situation in the state at an all-party meeting, but said the Lok Sabha elections in the state should be held on October 3 as per schedule. Asked by newsmen after the meeting whether the elections could be held on time, given the flood situation, Mr Basu said a heavy rainfall had flooded some booths and these could require shifting. "But that will require the Election Commission’s permission. We want the elections to be held as per schedule", he said. The Chief Minister said his government would demand Rs 250 crore from the Central Calamity Relief Fund for carrying out relief and flood management in the affected areas. All parties present at the meeting have endorsed the proposal, he said. Asked about allegations by some political parties that they were prevented by rivals from carrying out relief work, Mr Basu said: "All political parties and NGOs like the Ramakrishna Mission were free to organise relief operations". Meanwhile IAF helicopters air-dropped food packets for the second day today as the toll in rain and subsequent floods in 15 West Bengal districts mounted to 47. More than five million persons were reeling under the impact of a heavy rainfall reports said. Of the districts, Bardhaman accounted for a maximum of 14 deaths while nine persons, including four members of a family, had been washed away by the swirling Ajay river at Mangalkot. Five persons died in house collapses in the district, a report received here said. Midnapore,Birbhum and Murshidabad districts accounted for five deaths each, followed by Calcutta (four), Nadia (three), Bankura, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas (two each) and Hoogly and Howrah (one each). Most of these victims died in incidents of house collapse, electrocution and snake bites. According to preliminary reports, the overall damage in the deluge had been estimated at Rs 1,500 crore. The state government had demanded immediate release of Rs 250 crore from the National Calamity Relief Fund. Most of the rivers in the affected districts were in spate following a heavy rainfall and the subsequent discharge of water from the reservoirs in the state and neighbouring Bihar. The mighty Ajay river breached its embankment at five places in Bardhaman and Birbhum districts inundating vast areas of human habitation and agricultural land. The Ajay and the Mayurakshi had overtopped at two places in Birbhum and Murshidabad districts, submerging large areas of the two districts. A report from Midnapore
said the Kangsabati river had breached its embankment at
Debra, Panskura and Ghatal, inundating vast areas and
affecting more than 400,000 persons. |
Cong blamed for Assam’s
problems NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The BJP today questioned the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s demand for President’s rule in Assam saying the problems plaguing the North Eastern state was the result of the 40 years of Congress ‘‘misrule’’. Since the Congress has ruled Assam for nearly 40 years "it has a major accountability and responsibility for the problems in the state today", BJP spokesman, Mr Arun Jaitley, told newspersons here. Saying that ULFA terrorism was at its peak during the Congress regimes in Assam, Mr Jaitley added that for the economic backwardness of the state, it was the Congress and its President who owe an explanation to the people of Assam. Referring to the problem of infiltration from Bangladesh in Assam, Mr Jaitley said it was a matter of record that Congress leaders were the ones who used all the means including the machinery of the state to "smuggle" the infiltrators on to the voters’ list. "Rather than owning up any responsibility for the state of affairs in states like Assam, Mrs Sonia Gandhi laments the conditions of these regions as if it was the doing of others", the spokesman said. Mr Jaitley also drew a parallel between Bihar and Assam regarding the law and order problem saying "if President’s rule according to her is required in Assam, a question she has to answer is what about President’s rule in Bihar?" Bihar, he said, was the only State which had witnessed unprecedented atrocities against Dalits in the last few months and the treasury of the state had been looted in a conspiracy by corrupt officials and politicians led by Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav. The BJP also attacked Mrs Sonia Gandhi for an interview she gave to a British newspaper where she has been quoted as saying that she could leave politics if she felt like it. The statement, Mr Jaitley, said reflects her mindset and she has shown that in her perception Indian public life was merely a "club, which one may join or leave at convenience". He said her statement was apparently prompted by the defeat that the Congress was likely to suffer in the current elections and this displayed a casual attitude to the Indian public life. The BJP spokesman said participation in public life should entail an enduring commitment and one should be willing to make sacrifices, whether in government or in Opposition. The need of the hour
today was not merely a stable Government but also a
stable leadership. Those who are unsure of their
continuation in Indian politics and Indian public life
have certainly made the people unsure of their commitment
to the issues which face the country", he added. |
Cong now blames BJP for oil
imports NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The Congress today alleged that the BJP-led Government continued to allow edible oil imports, severely affecting both the domestic industry and causing suffering to oilseeds farmers. Close on the heels of its allegations on import of wheat, the Congress said that the Vajpayee government continued to allow edible oil imports which also reduced the self-sufficiency level. The Congress alleged that the Prime Minister was aware of the imports but he did not prevent them to help the oilseeds industry. The party said that the oilseeds sector, which earned net foreign exchange worth Rs 1,500 crore in 1993-94, now has a net outflow of Rs 5000 crore per annum and that the country now spends Rs 8000 crore on import of edible oils. Quoting statistics, the Congress spokesman, Mr Kapil Sibal, said that as against the official estimated gap of 1.4 to 1.5 million tonnes for the current oil year, import of vegetable oils had crossed 3.1 million tonnes till July this year. Mr Sibal said the BJP-led government continued to import edible oil by not taking into account the domestic conditions. "Vajpayee obviously understands the word protection as being considerate to interests outside India, be it in Pakistan, Australia or Malaysia,’’ the Congress charged. It said that rising edible oil imports were a heavy burden on the Indian economy and have already resulted in loss of valuable foreign exchange. "Such a policy is anti-farmer and anti-industry, anti-farmer because despite record production of oilseeds of approximately 193 lakh tonnes for 1998-99, the farmer cannot get a remunerative price because the market is flooded with imported edible oils and domestic industrial units are working at 30 per cent to 40 per cent capacity’’, he said. The Congress said that
the expected production for 1999-2000 would see a rapid
decline of almost 26 per cent and said if the current
policy continued, India would be an importer of oilseeds
and that it would destroy the benefits of Rajiv
Gandhi’s oilseeds technology mission. |
CPI objects to Advani’s
remarks NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The CPI today took strong exception to Union Home Minister L.K.Advani’s reported remark on former Home Minister Indrajit Gupta in which the former had accused latter of failing to curb ISI activities in the country. In a statement, the CPI National Secretary, Mr D. Raja, said that such an important issue should not have been raised by Mr Advani while addressing an election meeting at Midnapore, where Mr Gupta was a CPI nominee for the Lok Sabha poll. Mr Raja said Mr Advani had launched a "malicious campaign" against Mr Gupta who was considered one of the best parliamentarians in the country. Earlier in the day, Mr Advani had issued a statement denying having ever blamed Mr Gupta for being responsible for the ISI intrusions in the country. Mr Advani said that his reported remark was "totally false". He said a question was put to him in a press conference in Calcutta yesterday in response to which he had stated: "If any government has taken the ISI threat seriously and initiated effective action, it is the BJP Government at the Centre. This problem assumed serious proportions in the last 15 years because the successive Congress governments and also the United Front government ignored it." Mr Advani said he had
not taken the name of Mr Gupta in his reply or while
answering any related question in his press conference. |
EC orders repoll in 559
booths NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The Election Commission today ordered repoll in 559 polling stations in four states which went to the polls on Saturday. The repoll will be held on September 28 in 481 polling stations in Bihar, 13 in Madhya Pradesh and 36 in Uttar Pradesh. Repoll in 29 polling stations in Nagaland will be held on September 29, a release said. On September 25, the
fourth phase of elections were held in nine states and
electorate cast their vote in 1,05,580 polling stations. |
BJP protecting diplomat : TMC CHENNAI, Sept 27 (PTI) — The Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) today condemned the BJP-led government for trying to ‘protect’ a Paris-based Indian diplomat allegedly involved in the ill-treatment of his maid. Alleging that the Centre was trying to suppress facts in the name of "diplomatic immunity", TMC leader and former Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters here that she had sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to take action against those found guilty of sexually abusing the maid, Lalita Oraon. "I am afraid there may be no proper inquiry into an incident that can be described as the shame of the century," she said. Citing the alleged molestation of Dalit women in Andhra Pradesh, humiliation of a nun in Bihar and the reported "Sati Mata worship" at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh early this month, Mrs Natarajan stated that the position of women was vulnerable under the BJP-led government. She alleged that the
wives of district officials had participated in the
veneration of Sati Mata, but no action had been taken
against its organisers, despite protests by women. |
Rly Catering Corpn made
company NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation was incorporated as a company under the Companies Act today. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Railways said that the company would commence business in the beginning of the coming year. The authorised capital of the company is Rs 50 crore with a paid up capital of Rs 20 crore. Of this, the Ministry of Railways is providing Rs 5 crore in the current year. The constitution of the company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways was approved by the Union Cabinet in March this year. The corporation will be entrusted with the task of upgrading the rail catering services, rail tourism infrastructure and hospitality services through joint ventures, franchises and other similar projects on ‘Build, own and operate’ basis. Some of these projects include construction and management of budget hotels on railway land, introduction of tourist trains and rail based tourism packages. The certificate was
handed over to member (traffic), Mr Shanti Narain by the
Chairman, Railway Board, Mr V.K. Aggarwal at Rail Bhavan
here on Monday. Mr S.K. Malik has taken over as Director
of the corporation. |
Sonia to campaign in Lucknow NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — With the election entering the final phase, the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi has intensified her campaign addressing as many as eight to nine rallies a day. Party sources said that the Congress President was scheduled to campaign in Lucknow on Thursday for its candidate, Dr Karan Singh, who is pitted against Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. After Lucknow she will head towards Amethi, and spend time till the end of campaign, party sources said. Mrs Sonia Gandhi had not gone to Amethi after filing her nomination papers earlier this month. Her daughter Mrs Priyanka Vadra is campaigning there on behalf of Mrs Gandhi. Voting in 122
constituencies in the fifth and final phase of general
election will be held on October 3. |
Star News exit poll results telecast today NEW DELHI, Sept 27 (UNI) — The Star News channel will telecast tomorrow the results of an exit poll conducted after the fourth phase of polling. The poll has been conducted by Insight, a prominent market research agency. The telecast will begin at 8 p.m. PTI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today rejected exit poll results showing a set back to the party and claimed that it would form its government in Maharashtra with the help of allies and win a majority of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The NCP will also get more than 12 Lok Sabha seats in other parts of the country, party spokesman D.N. Dwivedi told reporters here. He said in all probability there would be a hung Parliament and in such a scenario the NCP would play a significant role in the formation of a secular government. "We expect some NDA
partners to pull out of the BJP-led alliance and help
form a secular government," he added. |
Tandoor murder case hearing
begins NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The day-to-day hearing of the "tandoor" murder case began here today. Former Delhi Youth Congress president Sushil Sharma is facing trial for allegedly killing and burning his wife, Naina Sahni, in an oven in a restaurant here in July, 1995. Additional Sessions Judge G P Thareja recorded the evidence of Sub Inspector, Mr Ombir Singh, who had taken the body of Naina Sahni, for the second post-mortem examination. Sushil Sharma’s counsel, Mr Jayant K. Sud, would cross examine the witness tomorrow. The Sub Inspector submitted that as per the directions of the Connaught Place SHO on July 12, 1995, he took the body from Lady Hardinge Medical College mortuary to the Civil Hospital, Rajpur Road for second post-mortem examination. Doctors at the Civil Hospital after conducting the post-mortem handed over three sealed packets and a diagram of the bullet recovered from the body, Mr Ombir Singh submitted. After the Civil Hospital doctors handed over the body, he took it to the LHMC mortuary and the sealed packets were submitted to the SHO, the police official said. The day-to-day hearing began after court passed the order on an application filed by co-accused Keshav Kumar seeking regular hearing of the case. "The court appeals to all the counsel of the case that they will not ask the court on any ground whatsoever to change the order until the trial is finished," the Judge observed. Keshav who along with Sharma has been lodged in judicial custody since July 1995 in his application said the manner in which the trial was continuing, it would take another four years to complete. The court, which has so
far recorded evidence of 53 witnesses out of over 100
witnesses.The police had arrested Keshav on the spot,
Sushil Sharma was arrested after eight days in Bangalore. |
Chautala gives Rs 7 cr for Agroha
college NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — Haryana Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, today announced a Rs 7 crore financial grant for setting up a medical college at Agroha. Mr Chautala announced this at a meeting here with the members of the governing body of Maharaja Agersen Institute of Medical Research and Science Society Agroha. The amount would be spent on the completion of buildings and other infrastructure so that the college could start functioning from the next academic session. The Chief Minister also announced that the state government would adopt the proposed medical college as a model institute. Mr Chautala also
announced the setting up of a seven-member committee,
chaired by the State Finance Minister, to review and
expedite work on the college. |
Film on mountain trains
released NEW DELHI, Sept 27 — The Chairman, Railway Board, Mr V K Aggarwal, released a film on mountain railway to mark World Tourism Day today. The production of the film was assigned to Messers TV India. The film on mountain railway journeys captures the unique charm of India’s hill railways said to be the oldest in the world. The film is an attempt to woo the tourists around the world to experience hill journeys in India. It covers the toy trains of Shimla, Ooty, Darjeeling and Matheran. While the famous toy
train between Kalka and Shimla offers breath-taking
glimpses of snow-capped mountains, the train between
Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling is inviting. The Nilgiri
mountain train between Mettupalayam and Udhagamandalam
(Ooty) passes through rocky tunnels that seem perilously
close to the passengers. The journey between Neral and
Matheran on the Mumbai-Pune line captures enchanting
scenic beauty. |
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| Gujarat former Governor
dead BHOPAL: Former Gujarat Governor and senior Congress leader Krishnapal Singh died here on Monday following a massive heart attack, family sources said. He was 78 and is survived by wife, three sons and two daughters. He suffered a heart attack at 5.45 a.m. at his residence in Civil Lines and breathed his last before the doctors could arrive, the sources said. — PTI 2
bodies recovered from debris 2 held for
carrying fake notes Two police
officers suspended One arrested for
rape Gujarat ex-Home
Minister dead Couple commits
suicide Delhi SI dies in
accident |
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