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| Friday, January 14, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Love,
gender and infidelity ’84 riots: ‘probe delay
in justice’ Chennai document ‘to
guide’ BJP New turn to Anju death case |
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Panchayats get powers to
oversee PDS Lay-down-arms policy for
extremists soon BJP mum on Advani’s remarks Karan elected to RS Seat-sharing talks on in Bihar CWC to discuss poll strategy NHRC notice to UP on immolation Docs not aware of govt decision
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Love, gender and infidelity NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — The weather changed. There was rain and mist. But the films were good. All the three I saw on Wednesday. The French film " The Bridge," co-directed by famed actor Gerard Depardieu dealt with the age-old problem of infidelity. The American film "Boys Don’t Cry" dealt with the escapades of a girl who wants to be a boy and acts like one. The Australian film " Army " is about a child who becomes deaf after the death of her singer father. It takes music to get her back to her former self. If the French are adept at romance and love-making logically they ought to be good at infidelity too as is evinced by Mina ( Carole Bouquet), the beautiful wife of Georges (Depardieu) bored stiff with her husband. A pre-marital pregnancy had necessitated their marriage. When Mina comes across Mathias, an engineer, she is immediately drawn to him. Mathias is even more passionate. The film is about Georges reaction to her infidelity and the role of their son, Tommy . A fence-sitter in the relationship he eventually admits to his mother’s affair. There is another angle too. Will Mina come back to Georges? After an essay-like approach the film makes it point strongly and symbolically. The other two films are strongly psychological " Boys Don’t Cry" is based on a true-life story from Falls City, Nebraska in which one Teena Brandon becomes Brandon Teena. A girl wanting to be a boy she first manifests lesbian tendencies then leaves Lincoln, her boy friend, because of her troubled feelings. But she gets into even more trouble when she falls in love with Lana, much to the consternation of Lana’s boyfriend, John. The film depicts the confused state of American society and is reminiscent of the Manson murders, in which Sharon Tate, the teenage wife of Polish filmmaker. Roman Polanski was murdered. Director Kimberely Peirce was apparently involved with the real-life Brandon and hence the film. While no one can dispute its honesty as a social document, the latter half of the film is 100 gory and is likely to be seen for all the wrong reasons. Peirce got Hillary Swank, the actress who played Brandon, to live six weeks as a trans-sexual so that she could understand the character. Acting is all about
exteriorising emotions, says Peirce. |
’84 riots: ‘probe delay
in justice’ NEW DELHI, Jan 13 - The new inquiry commission being set up by the government to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots should also inquire into the "undue delay" in providing justice to victims, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) said. "There has been an undue delay in granting justice to to the riot victims. Several persons, acting in connivance of the culprits, have delayed justice being rendered to the victims," the President of the DSGMC, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, told The Tribune. Mr Sarna said the new inquiry commission should study the reports submitted by the previous committees, the investigation carried out by various agencies and also the judgement delivered by the courts against different accused. He said the probe panel should disclose the names of those involved in delaying justice and they should also be punished. Mr Sarna said: "Those who acted to protect culprits are as much guilty as the culprits themselves." While welcoming the constitution of the fresh panel, "The Sikh Forum" said the DSGMC had been demanding the appointment of a fresh commission of inquiry with proper terms of reference, so that responsibility was fixed for the killing of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of the country. "The Ranganath Misra Commission had limited, if not faulty terms of reference. It seems to suggest, as if, it was set up to evade responsibility to fix who were responsible for organised violence and killing," the President of the forum, Lt-Gen (retd) J.S. Aurora, said. The new commission, the forum said should have "wide and proper" terms of reference, so that guilty persons were brought to book and demands of justice were properly met. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of another commission of inquiry headed by a retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to probe the riots which broke out following the assassination of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Fresh probe has been
instituted, the government said as it was felt that the
Ranganath Misra Commission and two other sub-committees
which went into the riots did not do a thorough job. |
Chennai document ‘to
guide’ BJP NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — The Chennai declaration adopted by the National Council of the BJP, which has no mention about the three controversial issues of Ram temple at Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370, and uniform civil code and adheres to the common agenda of the National Democratic Alliance, will be the guiding principle for the party in the coming years. This was stated by the party Vice President, Mr Jana Krishnamoorthy, here after releasing the final declaration with all the amendments suggested by the National Council members at Chennai last month. Mr Krishnamoorthy said "the Chennai declaration was the document of the BJP" and there was no confusion about it. He said the need for such a document was felt as the party had come to the centre-stage of politics in India and there was no guiding document for its cadres till now. When asked if the adoption of the Chennai document meant that the BJP would not raise the controversial issues at any time in the future, Mr Krishnamoorthy said "how can I commit for the future generation in the party?" The amendments
incorporated in the Chennai declaration are only minor in
nature as none of the 66 participants who spoke at the
National Council meeting in Chennai suggested any
deletion from the document. A few suggestions relating to
the youth power, women, NRIs and national security are
the only amendments incorporated in the document. |
New turn to Anju death case NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (UNI) — The mystery over the death of Anju Illyasi, wife of producer-anchor of "India’s Most Wanted’ Suhaib Illyasi, took a new turn with apprehension that she might have consumed poison before allegedly stabbing herself. Anju had died in her IFS apartment on Monday night after a serious altercation with her husband over the involvement of Narender, an overpossessive fan of the TV serial producer, in his life. Mr Illyasi said today that the manner in which she behaved on the fateful night, he apprehended that she might be under the influence of some ‘substance’. Even in his statement to the police, Illyasi had informed that his wife had told him vaguely that "Itna ho gaya hai, aur bas itna hi bacha hai.... Jaldi batao tum Aalia ka khayal rakho ge. (tell me fast whether you will take care of my daughter or not. Only a little bit of ‘it’ was left)?" The television producer said "I fear that she had taken "something" because her eyes bore a different look when she threatened to stab herself. "After Anju stabbed herself, I never thought she would be in trouble as there was no blood oozing out of her stomach. My main apprehension was that she might have consumed poison," he said. "I kept on talking
to her while driving to Virmani Nursing Home to ensure
that she does not looses consciousness. Even in the car,
there was no blood coming out of her stomach," he
recalled. |
Panchayats get powers to oversee
PDS NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — The Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Mr Shanta Kumar, today empowered Gram Panchayats to supervise and regulate the distribution of ration under the public distribution system to make it more responsive to people. Involvement of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the distribution of ration in villages through the Fair Price Shops was among the six-point action plan announced by the Minister to make the public distribution system (PDS) more accountable and transparent. The minister also disclosed that he would hold meetings with State Governments all over the country in the next 20 days to have a first hand account of the problems being faced in the distribution of ration under the PDS. These meetings would be precursor to the complete restructuring of the PDS, he added. He said the measures were necessary as the Government doled out Rs 10,000 crore worth of subsidy under the PDS and there was nearly 35 per cent diversion of the commodities supplied to around 4.5 lakh fair price shops (FPS). To ensure that rations reached the poor in every village, the minister said it had been decided to involve Gram Panchayats in the supervision and monitoring of PDS especially at the fair price shop-level as a measure of social audit. It is felt that this step would make the PDS transparent, efficient and accountable to public institutions. Mr Shanta Kumar said State Governments had been requested to associate Gram Panchayats for identification of the population Below Poverty Line in the rural areas as they have got intimate knowledge about the people and their problems. Under the guidelines for involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the measures suggested are: the consumers should have the right to information regarding fair price shops, entitlement, price, number of cards attached to FPS; display of stock position on display boards of FPS; List of BPL beneficiaries to be displayed at FPS and offices of Gram Panchayats; Involving Gram Panchayat for inspecting FPS records and to keep a watch on functioning of FPS. The copy of the monthly allocation, being given to the FPS should be supplied to the Gram Panchayat by the appropriate authority at the district level making such allotment. Besides, the copy of the monthly allocation, the FPS should display the daily stock position and would supply the monthly closing statement to the Gram Panchayat. Gram Panchayats have been authorised to check ration cards for genuineness and correct entries of units. Mr Kumar said the Government had already written to States that Gram Sabhas should be convened four times in a year on January 26 (Republic Day), May one (Labour Day), August 15 (Independence Day) and October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) wherein report of the Gram Panchayat Committee on the functioning of FPS of the areas should be discussed. The State Governments have been asked to use the relevant provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 for issuing licences to regulate the storage, transportation, distribution of any essential commodity. In such an order the rights, duties, responsibilities, obligations and liabilities of the FPS owners should be defined, the States have been told. The other measures
suggested to strengthen the PDS include use of National
Informatics Centre (NIC), advising the State Governments
to take steps to make the Fair Price Shops viable,
setting up of public grievance redressal cell in the
Ministry regarding PDS and setting up of flying squads
for surprise inspections. |
Lay-down-arms policy for extremists soon NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (UNI) — The Centre is likely to announce a surrender policy for Left wing extremists soon. Announcing this a spokesman of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told reporters here today that although the surrender policy existed for militants in Jammu and Kashmir and the north east, no such policy had so far been announced for Left wing militants active in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra. He said this decision
followed a meeting of the coordination centre under the
chairmanship of Home Secretary Kamal Pande at Hyderabad
yesterday which reviewed measures to combat Left wing
extremism. |
BJP mum on Advani’s remarks NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI) — The BJP today sought to distance itself from Home Minister L.K. Advani’s statement that the handling of the Indian Airlines plane had damaged the party’s image. "Our stand has always been that the government was the best judge in such matters and that national interests and the safety of the passengers should be top priority when dealing with it," party Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthy told reporters here. Repeatedly asked about
party’s views on Mr Advani’s remarks, Mr
Krishnamurthy declined to comment, saying "Advani is
the Home Minister and a senior leader of the party, I
have no comments on his statement." |
Karan elected to RS NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI) — The Congress nominees, Mr Karan Singh, Ms Ambika Soni and Mr A.S. Kidwai, were today declared elected unopposed to the three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi. The announcement was made by the Returning Officer, Mr S.K. Sharma, after the time for withdrawal of nominations expired. With no other party putting up any candidate the election of the three Congress candidates was a foregone conclusion. The election to the three seats was necessitated following retirement of the BJP members, Mr K.R. Malkani and Mr O.P. Kohli and Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra’s election to the Lok Sabha. Mr Karan Singh, a former union minister, had unsuccessfully contested against the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee from Lucknow during the last Lok Sabha polls. While the Congress
General Secretary, Ms Ambika Soni, is considered close to
the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, former Bihar
Governor Mr A.R. Kidwai, emerged as a dark horse to get
party’s nomination. |
Seat-sharing talks on in Bihar PATNA, Jan 13 (UNI) — Hectic talks by political parties for electoral alliances are underway for next month’s assembly elections in Bihar. According to indications available so far, multi-cornered contests are inevitable in majority of the seats in elections to the 324-member assembly scheduled to be held in three phases on February 12, 17 and 22. Differences between the leaders of Janata Dal (United) and the Samata Party on the leadership and seat sharing issues were continuing. The RJD, which has announced its decision to have an alliance with the CPI(M) in the elections, is yet to work out the number of seats it would contest. The party has 150 members in the present assembly and the CPI(M) six. However, the RJD parliamentary board has authorised Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav to select the party candidates. Senior BJP leaders in
New Delhi are holding talks with the JD(U) leaders, Mr
Sharad Yadav and Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, besides the Samata
Party leaders Mr George Fernandes and Mr Nitish Kumar,
for an amicable solution. |
CWC to discuss poll strategy NEW DELHI, Jan 13 —The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet here on Saturday to discuss the party strategy for the forthcoming elections to four state assemblies and also the implication of moves made by the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh government. The party has already expressed concern over the order of the Gujarat Government, allowing its employees to attend the RSS camps (Shakas) and also the latest enactment of the "Religious Building and Places Regulation Act, 2000" in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh government had recently passed the Act which makes it mandatory for all those who want to build religious buildings to take permission of the District Magistrate. The enactment, the state government said, was necessitated by the growth of ISI activities through religious schools being run in Uttar Pradesh, specially in districts adjoining Nepal. The Congress has been
critical of the move and had opposed its passage. The
party has maintained that the State government would have
tackled the problem within existing laws. |
NHRC notice to UP on immolation NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI) — The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has served notices to the Uttar Pradesh Government and the state police to report to the commission on the circumstances leading to the self-immolation of a Sikh youth in Lucknow. "We have served a notice to state Chief Secretary and Director General of Police yesterday asking them to report back to us within a week," NHRC chairman Justice J.S. Verma told PTI here on the sidelines of a human rights conference. The 25-year-old Mandeep Singh Sodhi set himself on fire in front of the UP Assembly complex in Lucknow on January 10. Sodhi’s mother,
Manpreet Kaur, has accused the police of forcing her son
to take the extreme step "after he was fed up with
police harassment" meted out to him and his family
"for past some time". |
Docs not aware of govt
decision NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — The Faculty Association of the All- India Institute of Medical Sciences said it had no knowledge of the Union Cabinet’s rejection of the Bakshi Committee recommendations of higher pay scales for doctors of AIIMS and PGIMER, Chandigarh. The Union Cabinet’s decision on the matter was conveyed to reporters by the Cabinet spokesperson, Mr Pramod Mahajan here on Wednesday afternoon. Dr S. K. Acharya,
President of the AIIMS Faculty Association and
gastroenterologist told The Tribune here on Wednesday
that they had not received any official information on
the matter. |
CBI registers hijack case NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI) — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane setting in motion a formal investigation into the week-long ordeal, CBI sources said today. The investigation being conducted by the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) of the agency is headed by Joint Director, Special Crime, M.L. Sharma. Investigation is still
in the preliminary stage and "necessary paper work
is being done for further action", they said. |
Website on Sikhism NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — A new website on Sikhism and the community (www.sikhcyber.com) would be launched here tomorrow. It comprises two parts — Sikhism zone and cyber zone. Sikhism zone is devoted to Sikh religion, history, historic shrines, literature and culture.
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