 |
| Tuesday, April 11, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
Vivek, Ketan get police remand Mishra seeks hefty package for
Bihar Cong committing
‘harakiri’ |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TB centre’s chief
cleared of charges APHC men stopped at airport
Baisakhi event live on etc Rao denied permission to act in
film Manisana board: action by July
|
Vivek, Ketan get police remand MUMBAI, April 10 (PTI) — Vivek and Ketan Anand, sons of film producer-director late Chetan Anand, were remanded to police custody till April 13 along with two others for alleged conspiracy to kill actress Priya Rajvansh. Mala Choudhury, Priya’s maid servant and the co-accused Ashok Chinnaswamy were also remanded to police custody by the Metropolitan Magistrate V.A Pokale. Assistant Public Prosecutor Pradeep Rane urged for custody on ground that the accused were misleading the police who were yet to receive the weapon which was used on Priya before she was strangulated. Besides, he said the police had to find out from where Mala and Ashok had procured poisonous substance recovered from the premises. According to the police, the accused had made futile attempt earlier to poison Priya on a property dispute. Defence counsel Satish Maneshinde urged for bail for Anand brothers saying that mere suspicion of motive can not be the ground for arrest. Vivek and Ketan, he alleged, were harassed by police who kept them hungry and thirsty in jail during interrogation every night. C.M. Solanki urged that Mala and Ashok be remanded to judicial custody as they were already behind bars since March 28. The police theory that Priya was attacked before strangulation or made to consume poison earlier was baseless, he pleaded. Priya, who shared a
close relationship with Chetan Anand for several years,
was found murdered on March 27 at the latter’s Juhu
bungalow. Earlier, the accused were remanded to police
custody till today by the Holiday Magistrate last week. |
Mishra seeks hefty package for Bihar NEW DELHI, April 10 (PTI) — Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra today demanded a massive Rs 200,000 crore long-term package for the speedy development of the remaining parts of Bihar after the creation of Vananchal. Mr Mishra told reporters here that his Bharatiya Jan Congress (BJC) would hold demonstrations at all district headquarters in north and central Bihar on April 20 and at Patna on April 21 to demand setting up of autonomous councils for speedy and integrated development of the rest of Bihar. "On the pattern of the Jharkhand Autonomous Council, there can be a Mithila autonomous council for north Bihar and a Magadh autonomous council for central Bihar," he said. Taking strong exception
to the division of the state, Mr Mishra said the famous
Hindu pilgrim town of Deoghar should not be included in
Vananchal as people of north and central Bihar were
sentimentally and religiously attached to Baidyanathdham
Temple there. "It is like Uttar Pradesh claim on the
holy city of Hardwar," he pointed out. |
Cong committing ‘harakiri’ KOCHI, April 10 (PTI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today said the Congress was on a clear course of committing "harakiri" by continuing with its policy of political untouchability towards other parties. Referring to the recent statement by senior Congress leader A.K. Antony that the BJP and the CPM were untouchable to his party, he told reporters here that "This approach of the Congress, articulated by the Antony, would only destroy the party especially as it has already been dislodged from its prime national position by the BJP". Expressing surprise over "such a statement by a well balanced Congress leader like Mr Antony", Mr Advani said "Mr Antony’s stand will not affect Indian politics; but for the Congress it is a clear course towards committing ‘harakiri’ as has happened in Bihar...and what is happening in West Bengal; it may happen in Kerala also". He said the Congress was also in a great dilemma in states like Bihar, West Bengal, UP and Kerala because it was unable to decide whether it should think in terms of the interest of the people of these states or hold on to its anti-BJP’ism. Explaining his party’s attitude towards other parties, Mr Advani said for the BJP no party, including the Congress and the CPM, was untouchable. This was the stand consistently being adopted by the Jan Sangh of yesteryear and the BJP, ever since the Jan Sangh and CPI joined together to form the Samyuktha Vidayatha Dal ministry in Bihar in the 60’s, he said. Mr Advani said there was serious debate on the propriety of aligning with the CPI at the Jan Sangh All-India Conference held in Kozhikode in 1967 during which Sangh president Din Dayal Upadhyaya strongly held the view that in a parliamentary democracy one might differ strongly with other parties but should not regard any party as untouchable. "Since then the BJP has never allowed its policies to be dictated or influenced by political untouchability", he said, adding for his party neither Congress, the CPM nor the CPI was untouchable. He said in West Bengal the Trinamool Congress was born as the Congress failed to break CPM’s domination over the state over the years and expressed hope that the BJP-Trinamool alliance would be able to dislodge the Left Front in West Bengal in the Assembly polls next year. Mr Advani said a White Paper on ISI activities in India was under consideration. On the Kerala Government’s plans to introduce the system of "peoples police", reportedly in accordance with instructions from the Union Home Ministry, Mr Advani said "I wish I could be shown such an instruction from my ministry". Mr Advani was in the
city in connection with the silver jubilee conference of
"Balagokulam", a children’s movement.
Addressing a public meeting organised in connection with
the same last night, he said the last century belonged to
the West; but this century belonged to India. |
Pact move making Cong ‘shaky’ CHENNAI, April 10 (PTI) — The BJP today said the proposed grand alliance in West Bengal would not affect the power equilibrium of the NDA-led coalition at the Centre. BJP General Secretary M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here that instead the proposal was sending tremors to the Congress because "all is not well with it which is not even able to conduct its organisational poll which have been postponed for unexplained reasons." He said which the Congress in West Bengal wanted to fight and oust the CPM government there, the party high command appeared in a catch-22 situation. While no new party wanted to have any truck with the Congress, even the existing allies like the CPI were having reservation with it, he said. "Therefore, the BJP and its allies are firm and nobody from the NDA will have truck with the Congress", he said. Mr Naidu said his party would cooperate with any party that was opposed to authoritarian CPM in West Bengal. On the recently held NDA bandh in Bihar, he said several Congress leaders were making contradictory statements. Even while Congress leader Sheila Dixit wanted the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, the Congress high command took an opposite view, he said. Mr Rabri Devi’s continuing as Chief Minister is due to the immoral politics of the Congress for which it will pay heavily. It will prove suicidal for the Congress’’, he said. The Congress criticism of the controversial Uttar Pradesh religious places Bill was a "classic instance" of vote bank politics, the BJP said today. Mr Naidu said many states, including, the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, had acts on similar subjects, which were more stringent than the religious places Bill. Citing the reasons for passing the Uttar Pradesh Bill, he said the legislation had come about because some places in the border areas were being used for anti-national activities. While the Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh acts covered all buildings, including
those constructed before the enforcement of the Act, the
Uttar Pradesh Bill included only those built after it had
been passed. These Acts included even temporary religious
places, which was absent in the Uttar Pradesh Bill, he
said. |
SC firm on ban order NEW DELHI, April 10 (PTI) — The Supreme Court today firmly said it would not succumb to pressure tactics like strikes to relax its April 1 deadline for the scrapping of over eight-year-old commercial vehicles and asked the Delhi Government to file a compliance report on the implementation of the deadline. A three-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice A. S. Anand, Mr Justice B. N. Kirpal and Mr Justice V. N. Khare while hearing a public interest litigation on curbing vehicular pollution asked Additional Solicitor-General Kirit Rawal, who appeared for the Delhi Government, to file the report by next week. The court by its July 28, 1998, order had made it clear that no commercial vehicles which were over eight-year-old would be allowed to play in the national capital after April 1, 2000. However, it had said over eight-year-old buses could ply only after converting to compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel. Meanwhile, the Action Committee of Unaided Private Schools withdrew its application seeking the relaxation of the July 28 order after the court pointed out that it did not contain necessary data and was also without an undertaking as to when they would implement the order. Similar application by Delhi Public School, which had sought time till June 30, was kept for hearing next week. Mr Rawal submitted before the court that over eight-year-old three-wheelers might be allowed to ply in the Capital after they convert their engines to run on CNG. The Bench sent the application in this regard to the Bhure Lal Committee, which was set up by the court to suggest ways and means to curb vehicular pollution and to give its comments within two weeks. Amicus curiae in the
case, Harish Salve, submitted that it was wrong on the
part of taxi and autorickshaw unions to resort to strike
and said the taxi owners had even given a statement that
they would continue to run their old taxis till the
police arrested them. |
TB centre’s chief cleared of charges NEW DELHI, April 10 (UNI) — The third official inquiry ordered by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry into the last year’s incident of alleged sexual harassment at the country’s premier Institute for TB and Allied Diseases here has exonerated the Director of the charge and ordered action against Nursing Superintendent for various charges, including instigating the staff to go on strike. The institute had witnessed an indefinite strike by class C and D employees over the alleged incident of sexual harassment of a nurse, Mahima Bisht, in February last year following which Director Dr V.K. Arora was transferred from the institute and three departmental inquiries, the last having representation from the women commission, were ordered. All the three inquiries gave a clean chit to Dr Arora. According to Health Ministry sources, while Dr Arora has now been sent back to the institute as an officer on special duty (OSD), the disciplinary action has been initiated against Nursing Superintendent, Mrs John, under Rule 14 for misconduct and misbehaviour. The official order dated April 7/8 has asked her to submit her reply within 10 days. The charges levelled against her include that she was reported to have coerced the nurses using her powers as the Bursing Superintendent and instigated them to go on strike on various issues leading to disruption of work causing undue hardship to the patients/public. She has also been
charged with writing directly to Secretary (Health) on
October 20, 1998 alleging harassment and humiliating
treatment by the Director of the institute in response to
memos issued to her by the institute. |
APHC men stopped at airport NEW DELHI, April 10 — A four-member delegation of the Hurriyat Conference has been prevented from boarding a flight to Geneva for attending the 56th UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) meeting at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Home Ministry clarified that the delegation was stopped yesterday as it would have indulged in anti-India campaign at the international conference. The delegation comprising Abdul Majid Bandey (spokesman of Hurriyat Conference in Delhi), Raja Tufail Ahmed, Mohammed Amin Bhat and Abdul Rashid was stopped at the immigration cell of the airport from boarding the flight to Geneva via Amesterdam, Mr Bandey told PTI here. He said after completing the formalities the delegation was stopped at the immigration counter where the passport and other travel documents were seized by the authorities. The four members of the
delegation were given back their travel documents after
the flight took off from the airport |
Rao denied permission to act in film JAIPUR, April 10 (UNI) — Senior Congress leader and former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao did not turn up to give the bravery award to the rape victim "Sanvari’’ in the movie "Bavander", as he was refused permission by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre as well as his party high command. However, Mr Rao sent his 62 year old brother, former Andhra Pradesh Ministers, Mr Manohar Prasad Rao who resembles him, in his place for the three minute scene. The scene was shot at the Birla auditorium here last night, said the film producer Gorang Doshi while talking to UNI today. "Due to protocol,
Mr Rao being a former Prime Minister was denied
permission by the Central Government whereas the Congress
party also did not allow him to essay his role in the
film’’, he said. |
Baisakhi event live on etc MUMBAI, April 10 — Entertainment Television Channel (etc) will cover the Baisakhi celebrations being held at Anandpur Sahib live on its channel on April 13 from 5 am onwards. Etc will telecast live the function including kirtan, religious lectures and public speeches by various leaders. Etc is setting up a
portable uplink station with the help of Doordarshan at
Anandpur Sahib to enable the live coverage throughout the
country and abroad. This is for the first time that any
Sikh historic event is being telecast live on any private
channel. This is a precursor to the launch of a separate
etc Punjabi channel by the first week of June. Etc has
now been given the exclusive rights to telecast all
programmes being held at any of the Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee’s historic gurdwaras in Punjab
and other states. |
Manisana board: action by July CALCUTTA, April 10 (PTI) — The recommendations of the Manisana Singh Wage Board for Journalists and Non-Journalists will be implemented latest by the end of July, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Muni Lall said today. "The interim report
has already been submitted and the board is expected to
submit its final recommendations in three months’
time," the minister told reporters here. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | In Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 119 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
