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| Tuesday, February 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Jaswant: Taliban helped hijackers Lathi charge on lawyers: Govt
ready to order probe Vice-President felicitated
Budget not to be harsh? Polling for 60 RS seats on March
29
Karmapa willing to go to Sikkim Waitlist no criterion for
recruitment: HC |
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INSAT-3B launch on March 21
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Jaswant: Taliban helped hijackers NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI) — India today said there was a "triangular coordination" between the hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane, the Taliban, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the ISI and the result achieved was the "best possible" in a basket of worst alternatives. Disclosing for the first time Taliban’s complicity in the hijack episode, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told the Rajya Sabha that Kandahar was possibly "the most adverse location for us" to address the situation. In the statement tabled in the House, the first official comment on the incident by the government, Mr Jaswant Singh said his carrying the three terrorists in exchange for the hostages was "entirely on account of logistical compulsions". He said the Taliban authorities "consistently and clearly had their sympathies with the hijackers and their other supporters and acted accordingly" even while adopting the attitude of "correct facilitators". The minister said the decision taken by the Taliban to allow the hijackers and the released terrorists 10 hours to leave Afghanistan was its own, even after it had been explicitly conveyed to them that "India expected that the hijackers and the released terrorists would be treated as criminals in conformity with law". He said the Taliban turned a deaf ear to India’s plea that a demand for the release of terrorists asked by the hijackers was also "un-Islamic" and the Taliban did not press on this while dealing with the hijackers. The External Affairs Minister said India had brought to the attention of the international community the role played by Pakistan and also raised the issue with Islamabad, providing it with evidence of involvement of its nationals in the hijacking. India, he said, had also told Pakistan that as a signatory to international conventions against terrorism it had an obligation to take the hijackers into custody and extradite them here. The Pakistan Government though reiterating that it would undertake to apprehend and prosecute any person found in its territory or the occupied Kashmir who may be suspected of having committed offences related to hijacking "rejected our demarche", he said. India had also raised the matter with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to bring to the attention of member countries the need to adopt appropriate measures to apprehend and extradite the hijackers to India. On doubts raised whether the hijackers could have been confronted at Amritsar, the External Affairs Minister said the hijackers had forced the aircraft’s engines to be kept running and making efforts to stop the aircraft would have been precarious amidst information that the hijackers had begun killing the passengers. "Precipitate action, in the absence of even basic information of the intentions of the hijackers, was, therefore, judged as being fraught with unacceptable levels of risk," he said, adding that the government had readied the National Security Guards in New Delhi and instructed local authorities to delay refuelling to the maximum extent possible. After the Pakistani authorities allowed the plane to land at Lahore, the Pakistani Foreign Minister "on my request for assistance" conveyed that his government would act in accordance with law. However, the plane was allowed to take off even before the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan could leave for Lahore from Islamabad by a helicopter, he added. Regarding security
situation at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International
Airport, he said the Nepal Government has appointed a
committee to probe security lapses and already initiated
action against some officials there. |
Lathi charge on lawyers Govt ready to order probe NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI) — The Union Law Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani today said that the government was ready to order an inquiry by a sitting Judge into the recent incident of lathi charge on lawyers and appealed to lawyers to start a fruitful dialogue to resolve the issue. "The government has no objection to this provided the Chief Justice of India can provide one of his colleagues for this probe", he said. The minister tabled a statement to this effect in the Upper House. Mr Jethmalani also assured lawyers that the government had no proposal, even tentative, for unrestricted entry of foreign lawyers into India or for periodic examinations for practising lawyers. He said the date for notifying the coming into force of the CPC Amendment Act had not been fixed. He said conflicting versions of lawyers and the police on the incident only called for a totally impartial and thorough probe and expressed government’s willingness to have an immediate inquiry in this regard. He said all facilities
would be extended in carrying out the probe. |
Budget not to be harsh? NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (UNI) — Contrary to the forecasts by some economic analysts, the first millennium Budget to be presented tomorrow is not likely to be harsh. The Budget 2000-01 is likely to be growth oriented, investment and industry friendly with thrust on job creation and rural development. The protagonists of the theory of tough Budget argue that with political stability at the Centre for a long time, a leader of the stature of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee at the helm of affairs, parliamentary and Assembly poll far away, sound economic fundamentals and inflation at an all-time low, it is the most opportune time to take hard decisions to collect revenue to bridge the growing fiscal deficit. However, political and economic considerations will not allow the government to take hard decisions. There are some grey areas and it would be difficult for the government to take any decisions which will hurt the common man. The verdict of the Assembly poll in the four states indicates an erosion of the support base of the BJP. As such the BJP would not like to antagonise the vulnerable sections of society. In fact, the compulsions of a coalition government with regional parties having an upper hand will make it very difficult for Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to drastically cut subsidies. The government will put the Union Budget 2000-2001 on its website tomorrow immediately after presentation in Parliament. Four government websites would be used for display of Budget, an official press note said here on Monday. The websites are http://www.nic.in/indiabudget, http://indiabudget.nic.in, http://finmin.nic.in and http://pib.nic.in. |
Polling for 60 RS seats on March 29 NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (UNI) — The biennial elections will be held on March 29 for 58 Rajya Sabha seats from 12 states and the byelections for two vacant Rajya Sabha seats, the Election Commission announced here today. The byelections have been necessitated for two seats following the resignation of Dr Karan Singh on August 12, 1999, and the death of Mr Jagdambi Mandal on January 13, 2000. Elections would also be held on March 29 to fill one vacancy each in the Legislative Councils in Bihar, Karnataka and UP, the commission said. The 58 Rajya Sabha seats for which elections are to be held are six in Andhra Pradesh, eight in Bihar, four in Gujarat, one each in Haryana and Himachal, four in Karnataka, six each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, three each in Orissa and Rajasthan, 11 in UP and five in West Bengal. All these seats will fall vacant on April 2 with the retirement of the incumbent MPs. According to the schedule announced by the commission, the poll notification would be issued on March 7. The last date for filing of nominations would be March 14. Scrutiny would be conducted on March 15. The last date for withdrawal of candidatures would be March 17 in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, and March 18 for Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, UP and West Bengal. The last date for withdrawal of candidature for Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir would be March 22. The last date for withdrawal varies over the different states because of local holidays, the commission said. The polling for all seats would be held on March 29. Counting would begin at 5 p.m. the same day. The date before which
the election shall be completed was March 31, the
commission said. |
Vice-President felicitated NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI) — President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee greeted Vice-President Krishan Kant on his 74th birthday here today. The dignitaries called
on Mr Kant and presented bouquets of flowers and wished
him long and healthy life. |
Notice to Jaya in coal case NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI) — The Supreme Court today issued notice to AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha on an appeal by Tamil Nadu Government challenging the Madras High Court order which upheld trial court verdict discharging her from Rs 6.5 crore coal import scam of 1992. A division Bench comprising Justice K.T. Thomas and Justice M.B. Shah heard counsel for the state government Shanti Bhushan in detail about evidence against her in the case before issuing the notice returnable by three weeks. A Chennai Special Court on June 16, 1999, had discharged Ms Jayalalitha and her former Cabinet colleague V.R. Neunchezhian, since deceased, but had framed charges against nine other accused in the case. The High Court had dismissed on January 13 this year a review petition filed by the state challenging her discharge from the case. Bhushan contended that the trial court had discharged the former Chief Minister ignoring "overwhelming evidence" linking her to the conspiracy to import coal at a higher price which resulted in a loss to the tune of over Rs 6 crore to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The counsel contended
that the coal was imported spite the then Union Coal
Minister P.A. Sangma writing to Ms Jayalalitha that the
coal stock position of TNEB was more than sufficient to
meet the demands from the three power plants in the
state. |
IAF planes to carry flares NEW DELHI: Learning from the experiences of the Kargil war, the Indian Air Force is to incorporate flares as an integral equipment in its fleet. Flares, usually made of magnesium, emit heat and light in the infra-red spectrum and act as decoys for surface-to-air missiles, drawing them away from their intended target, the aircraft. Had Sq Ldr Ajay Ahuja’s MiG-21 aircraft been fitted with flaredispensers, it is more likely that the aircraft would have escaped being shot down while he was looking for the crash site of his junior colleague, Flt-Lt K. Nachiketa’s MiG-27, which went down because of engine failure during the first sorties against Pakistani troops entrenched in the Kargil heights in the last week of May, 1999. The absence of flares proved costly again when a Mi-17 helicopter was shot down a few days later later killing all on board. When it became obvious that the IAF’s role in the Kargil war was crucial to enable quick dislodgement of the Pakistani intruders from the strategic heights flare dispensers were retrofitted on the aircraft that were deployed in that sector. It is generally believed that aircraft and helicopters shot down during the Kargil war were targets of Stinger shoulder-fired surface-to-air (SAM) missiles supplied by the USA to Pakistan for distribution among the Afghan Mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Stinger proved extremely effective against the Soviet helicopter gunships and transport aircraft till they fitted with magnesium flare dispensers which helped deflect a SAM attack. When the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the US CIA sought to retrieve the remaining Stinger missiles and offered a huge sum for each missile returned but neither the Mujahideen nor Pakistan returned any, preferring to hide them away for use against India. The IAF has realised that the future battlefield, both in the mountains as well as in the plains, is likely to include enemy air defence ground environment systems incorporating anti-aircraft guns and both shoulder-fired and mounted surface-to-air missiles. It has, therefore, decided to make flare dispensers and integral part of the war load of aircraft and helicopters in its fleet. Initially, aircraft and helicopters that are likely to be required in areas of heightened threat will be retrofitted with the dispensers. The two likely suppliers are Russia and Israel, both of whom have wide operational experience of using decoys in air warfare. The flare dispensers
will reduce the payload — munitions, bombs and
missiles — that the IAF aircraft will be able to
carry into the battlefield but it will go a long way in
reducing losses of expensive weapons and invaluable
pilots to surface-to-air batteries.— ADNI |
Karmapa willing to go to Sikkim GANGTOK, Feb 28 (PTI) — Ogyen Trinley Dorjee, the reincarnated 17th Karmapa recognised by the Dalai Lama, has expressed his willingness to come to Sikkim but is unsure of the timing. "I’ve to come to Sikkim. But do not know when," the reincarnate Karmapa, who fled Tibet and is now stationed at Dharamsala, was quoted as saying by the President of a Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the All Sikkim Buddhist Organisation, Mr Kunzang Sherab. Mr Sherab, who led a delegation from Sikkim to Dharamsala to request moving the Karmapa to the Rumtek monastry in Sikkim, told PTI here today "we are hopeful and we are sure of his arrival to Rumtek. Only thing is that it will take time." Mr Sherab said although they could not be given an audience with the Prime Minister in Delhi recently, they submitted a memorandum to Mr Vajpayee requesting an early decision on the arrival of the Karmapa to Sikkim. The copies of memorandum were also submitted to the Home, Defence, Foreign and Law ministers and the secretaries of the departments concerned, he said. The JAC, an umbrella organisation of 38 Buddhist associations, was formed in 1992 with an objective to bring the "genuine" Karmapa to Sikkim and instal him at Rumtek, he said. Meanwhile, a special
puja for the early arrival of the 17th Karmapa was
organised yesterday in west Sikkim’s Norbugang. |
Waitlist no criterion for recruitment: HC JAIPUR, Feb 28 (UNI) — In a significant judgement, the Rajasthan High Court has ruled that a waitlist can’t be used as a perennial source of recruitment for filling vacancies that are not advertised. "The waitlisted candidates have only a limited right and the right is acquired only when the selected candidate did not join for some reason and the list is still operative," Mr Justice Shiv Kumar Sharma observed while delivering the judgement on a petition moved by two waitlisted candidates seeking recruitment as senior demonstrators in Pathology. The court, however,
noted that if there was some extreme exigency the
government might, as a matter of policy, pick up persons
in the order of merit from the waitlist, but said the
waitlisted candidates could not claim appointment on the
ground that the vacancies were not worked out properly. |
Patnaik has open mind on Dy CM NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI) — Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President Naveen Patnaik, who is set to take over as the Orissa Chief Minister, said today after meeting with the Prime Minister that he has an "open mind" on having a BJP Deputy Chief Minister but talks were yet to begin on the ministry formation with the BJP. "My mind is open (on Deputy Chief Minister). But the talks have not yet started with the BJP on any matter relating to the government formation, including the Deputy Chief Minister’s post," Patnaik told reporters soon after meeting Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee here. Describing his meeting
as a courtesy call the Union Mines Minister said matters
relating to induction of ministers and allocation of
portfolios would be done "on correct
principles" after discussion between the two allies. |
Counting in Tiruchi today NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI) — The Election Commission today ordered the counting of votes to be taken up in the Tiruchirapalli byelection in Tamil Nadu tomorrow which was withheld following complaints of electoral malpractices. ".......The
Commission does not propose to pursue the matter further
in so far as the present byelection is concerned.
Accordingly we hereby direct the Returning Officer to
proceed with the counting of votes and declare the
result," the commission said in an order. |
INSAT-3B launch on March 21 TIRUPATI, Feb 28 (UNI) — The first of the third generation Indian communication satellite — INSAT-3B — primarily intended for business, developmental and mobile communication network, will be launched from Kourou in French Guyana on March 21, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman, Dr K. Kasturirangan announced today. Addressing newspersons
here, he said the communication satellite with a payload
of 12 extended C-band transponders, three KU band
transponders and S-band mobile satellite service, would
exclusively serve the V-Sat operations, which enabled use
of smaller ground terminals. |
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