 |
| Friday, May 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Jaswant briefed about
Norway’s role Dinner with PM, reprieve for CM Stop interference in DSGMC
affairs: Tohra India enters billion-plus club
CBI files fresh charge
sheet against Laloo |
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SC notice on
soldiers’ pension Delhi BJP chief poll postponed Steps to curb ISI activities
lauded ‘Big companies not procuring
wheat’ Bill on private universities soon Poppy husk vends do brisk business SC imposes fine on Delhi Govt Two held in job racket Muscular distrophia patients to
visit Solan
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Jaswant briefed about
Norway’s role NEW DELHI, May 11— India today said there was general appreciation that any solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka would require New Delhi’s support. Briefing mediapersons about the visit of a Norwegian delegation led by the Norwegian Member of Parliament, Mr Erik Solheim, which met the External Affairs Minister Mr Jaswant Singh today, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India’s offer of mediation between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers. Mr Solheim, accompanied by Norway’s Ambassador to India, Mr Truls Hanevold and the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr Jon Wesborg, briefed Mr Singh about Norway’s role and its perception of developments in Sri Lanka. Indian position on the ethnic conflict was conveyed to Mr Solheim, who has been working as a facilitator between the warring parties in Sri Lanka. Mr Solheim shared India’s approach that the solution to the ethnic conflict in the island had to be worked out in a manner through which all communities could realise their aspirations within the context of the unity , sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, the spokesman said. Mr Solheim, who also held discussions with the Foreign Secretary, Mr Lalit Mansingh, said Norway would keep India informed about the future developments. Norway has kept New Delhi informed in the past also but it was for the first time that Mr Solheim chose to brief the Indian leaders about the ongoing efforts. Mr Solheim told mediapersons after his detailed meeting with the officials of the External Affairs Ministry that a positive role by India was vital for the resolution of the conflict. Mr Solheim, who was in Washington last week for discussions with the US officials over the Sri Lankan problem, has also been in touch with other European capitals. Earlier on his arrival,
the Norwegian facilitator said the purpose of his visit
was to brief New Delhi about what Norway had been doing.
"We will assist both India and Sri Lanka to find a
peaceful solution to the problem. The Indian side also
wished Mr Solheim success. |
Dinner with PM, reprieve for CM NEW DELHI, May 11 — Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal today attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, an invitation that may set at rest the speculation over the relations between the SAD and BJP. For the past few weeks, the dissident leaders in the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) had been successful in giving the impression that the BJP top leadership preferred to do business with the party and not necessarily its chief, Mr Badal. The Prime Minister extended an invitation to the Punjab Chief Minister to join him at a dinner that he was hosting for leaders of the NDA allies. Interestingly, an invitation was also extended to Mr Badal’s political rival and President of Sarb Hind SAD, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. Top BJP leaders said the party was having a good working relationship with the SAD under Mr Badal and denied any contact with the dissident leader Mr Ravi Inder Singh. The party General Secretary, Mr Narender Modi, incharge of affairs in the state, also said there was no contact with the dissidents and dubbed reports to this effect as ‘speculations’. That the Punjab Chief Minister was under pressure from the dissident faction was evident from the fact that he was desperate to have Home Minister, L.K. Advani in Chandigarh on Sunday. Mr Advani who was scheduled to visit Chandigarh on his way back from Jammu and Kashmir, called it off after inclement weather delayed his departure from Delhi which led to appointments in Srinagar, nearly three hours behind schedule. BJP sources said Mr
Badal had suggested that Mr Advani drop in at Chandigarh
for a short while and meet the legislators who had
assembled in the state capital. |
Stop interference in DSGMC
affairs: Tohra NEW DELHI, May 11 — Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, MP and President of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal today urged the Centre to ensure there is no interference by the Punjab Government in the elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) here tomorrow. Mr Tohra charged that the Parkash Singh Badal government in Punjab was ‘interfering’ in the affairs of the DSGMC and "polluting’ the religious body by "politicising the elections". He urged the Centre and the BJP to advise their ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) to release the members of DSGMC held in captivity in Punjab. "There is a great deal of resentment in Punjab for the manner in which Mr Badal is interfering in the religious affairs. I am afraid that things may come to a boil if this goes on,’’ Mr Tohra said here today. Mr Tohra said he feared that if this tendency (of Government interference in religious matter) was allowed to go unchecked some other political leaders may "misuse" it. "The Akalis have always resisted government interference in religious affairs and the community also resents it’’, Mr Tohra said. Meanwhile, the SHSAD General Secretary, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra alleged that Mr Badal and his supporters were trying to "corrupt’’ the members of the Gurdwara committee ahead of the elections tomorrow. "If the government
interferes in the religious affairs how will people
respect such a body’’ he said. |
India enters billion-plus club NEW DELHI, May 11 (PTI) — India today crossed the one billion mark in population joining China in the billion-plus club as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee expressed serious concern over the development and government set up a national commission to arrest population growth. Aastha, born to an ordinary couple Anjana and Ashok Arora, at the government Safdarjung Hospital here, ushered the country into the Billion-Plus Club at 1256 hours Health Minister N.T. Shanmugam who attended the symbolic function at the hospital said, "not only our numbers but our quality of life have defied experts". India’s population has galloped by nearly five times from about 238 million at the beginning of the last century to one billion now. Shortly later, government announced the setting up of a jumbo-sized 100-member National Commission for Population, headed by Mr Vajpayee, which will focus on the problem states of BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa) which are showing high population growth rates and poor socio-economic performance. The commission will review, monitor and implement the National Population Policy which aims at stabilisation of population by 2045 and fertility replacement level (two children per couple) by 2010. Headed by the Prime Minister, the commission will have ministers, chief ministers, captains of industry and eminent representatives from various walks of life. In a statement, Mr Vajpayee said India crossing the one billion mark in population "is a serious matter that is both a cause for concern and introspection". He said the runaway population growth was bound to have a serious impact on the nation’s economic, natural and other resources. The Prime Minister said there was need for introspection over where the country went wrong and how it could stabilise its population. Conceding there were flaws in the four-decade-old population policy, Mr Vajpayee said stabilisation could not be achieved without all-round socio-economic development and definitely not through coercion. The National Commission
will primarily focus on three fronts — large-scale
involvement of local people, non-government organisations
and Panchayati Raj institutes in family planning and
maternal and child health care programmes, meeting the
unmet needs for contraceptives in remote rural areas,
inter-sectoral coordination between various central and
state departments. |
CBI files fresh charge sheet against Laloo PATNA, May 11 (PTI, UNI) — The CBI today submitted yet another chargesheet against former Chief Minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra, besides 46 others in a conspiracy angle case of the multi-crore fodder scam. The investigating agency filed the chargesheet in the court of the designated CBI Judge, S.K. Lal, who issued arrest warrants against those accused including Jagannath Mishra who are not on bail in this particular case. The court issued notices for appearance to RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav, former state ministers, C.P. Verma, Vidya Sagar Nishad and R.K. Rana who have already secured regular bail in this case. Meanwhile, Laloo Prasad Yadav was released on provisional bail from Beur Central Jail on Thursday after spending 36 days in judicial custody. Mr Yadav was released after completing the formalities and furnishing two separate bail bonds of Rs 2 lakh each in the designated CBI court. Earlier, in 1997, Mr Yadav spent 134 days in judicial custody and again for 73 days in 1998-1999 in connection with the cases relating to multi-crore fodder scam in the state. The RJD chief was sent to the jail in the disproportionate assets case, an offshoot of the fodder scam on April 5 this year. The court, however, had granted bail to Chief Minister Rabri Devi, a co-accused in the case the same day. The CBI after lodging a case on August 19, 1998, had filed a charge sheet in the disproportionate asset case on April 4 after the passage of over one-and-a-half years. The CBI court taking cognisance of the case issued arrest warrant against Mr Yadav and his wife on April 4. They later surrendered in the designated court on April 5. The CBI had sought permission from Governor V.C. Pande on March 8 for prosecuting Mr Yadav and Ms Rabri Devi in the case in which Mr Yadav had been accused of amassing property worth of over Rs 52 lakh from 1990 to 1996. The CBI for the first time had raided the official residence of Rabri Devi and Mr Yadav and residences of some of their relatives on August 21, 1998. Later the agency interrogated Mr Yadav on October 21 in 1998 while it questioned Rabri Devi at her official residence on May 20 and 27 in 1999. Mr Yadav was interrogated again in the case on June 1999. Mr Yadav is now required
to make fresh submission before the court for extension
of the bail period after the expiry of the period of
three months fixed by the Patna High Court in the
provisional bail granted to him yesterday. |
Close contest in DSGMC poll NEW DELHI, May 11 (UNI) — It will be a victory by a whisker for one of the two dominant Akali factions locked in a neck-and-neck fight to wrest control of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) which elects its executive panel tomorrow. As the outcome of the elections carries far-reaching impact on the fight for political supremacy between veteran Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, both factions were using all electoral tactics of secular politics to ensure victory to the religious office, sources say. Tension gripped the Tohra camp led here by DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna which apprehended that the rival camp might "succeed’’ in enlisting the support of some of their loyalists in the committee by whisking them away to an "unknown location’’. On the other side, Mr Avtar Singh Hit, who leads the Badal camp here, admitted that members with "wavering’’ loyalty were now "with us’’ and accused the Sarna group of perpetuating its control of the DSGMC by resorting to undemocratic means in the gurdwara elections. Yesterday, a section of media reported that the "Punjab Government had tucked away 15 of the 49 DSGMC members at the NFL guest house at Naya Nangal to thwart attempts by opposition parties to woo them away’’. According to sources, the Tohra faction is seeking legal opinion to project the tomorrow’s election as ‘’unfair when the members are not free to vote as per their conscience’’. The DSGMC has an annual
budget of Rs 28 crore and runs 10 public schools, nine
colleges and five aided schools. |
SC notice on soldiers’ pension NEW DELHI, May 11 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Defence Ministry on a public interest litigation pointing out several anomalies in the pension given to defence personnel which rendered their retirement emoluments much less than that given to civilians. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice BN Kirpal and Mr Justice Ruma Pal issued the notice to the ministry yesterday on the PIL filed by the All-India Defence Service Advocates Association (AIDSAA) through its president J.S. Manhas. The petitioner said the government while implementing the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations has brought in an absurdity by directing that full pension, at the rate of 50 per cent of the average of last 10 months emoluments, would be paid only if a person had served for 33 years. The AIDSAA said, "This may be justified in case of civil employees but in defence forces there is no common fixed age of superannuating. "It varies from rank to rank. About 94 per cent of persons in defence forces, at least 13 lakh soldiers, retired with 17 to 24 years of services. At least eight lakh get 33 per cent of emoluments as pension instead of 50 per cent fixed by the pay commission," the petitioner said. The AIDSAA said it was a mockery of well settled principle of service jurisprudence that pay and allowances (and pension which is deferred payment) were compensation for sacrifices made in service. The world over armed forces have an edge of 15 to 20 per cent over civil services in terms of pay and allowances and pension, the petitioner said adding that the pension ranged from 75 to 100 per cent of the last pay drawn by them, which was the case in India till it attained independence in 1947. The AIDSAA said one of the reasons for the raw deal given to persons in defence forces in matters of fixing pay and allowances as well as the pensions was due to the fact that there was no separate pay commission as in other countries for the Armed forces. The armed forces have suffered as the central pay commissions appointed from time to time have lacked the expertise to deal with the armed forces, it said. Reflecting on the dismal state of service conditions, the petitioner said 39 per cent of soldiers retire at entry rank without any promotion and added, "There are at least five lakh superseded persons in defence forces at any point of time." The petitioner said low pay, considerably early retirement, service in inhospitable regions like Siachen,Kargil and other high-altitude areas and family sacrifices have put defence forces at the bottom of the career choices of youth, which might jeopardise national security in future. It requested the court
to direct the Centre to delete the provision of Central
Government notification which reduces the pension of
retired defence personnel to less than 50 per cent of the
average of the emoluments drawn in last 10 months before
superannuation. |
Delhi BJP chief poll postponed NEW DELHI, May 11 (UNI) — Election for the post of President of the Delhi unit of the BJP has been postponed till May 17 after the party leaders failed to arrive at a consensus candidate amid reports of internal wranglings. The election was
scheduled to be held tomorrow and on the last day of
filing nominations today, former Delhi Industries
Minister Harsharan Singh Balli came up to challenge the
incumbent President Mange Ram Garg who is seeking his
second term in office. |
Steps to curb ISI activities
lauded NEW DELHI, May 11 — The Union Home Minister Mr L.K Advani today highlighted the expanse and manifestation of ISI’s covert offensive against India to members of Consultative Committee of the Ministry. A detailed presentation on the current activities of the ISI and its security implications for the country was organised by the intelligence agencies. It brought into focus different aspects of the ISI’s covert action against India and details of ISI involvement in terrorism, subversion, disruption/sabotage, espionage and money actions were also highlighted during the presentation. The two-track response strategy formulated by the Centre to counter the ISI design through proactive actions and enhancing security of threatened targets was also explained to members who appreciated the success achieved by the government in containing the threat to national security, according to an official release here today. The members took note of the fact that 54 ISI backed modules had been busted in 11 states during the last 27 months and that several conspiracies to assassinate political leaders, promote terrorism, abduct or kill prominent persons, set off explosions and carry out sabotage had been thwarted as a result of proactive measures. Members concurred with the assessment that the ISI had been engaging in nationwide covert actions to destabilise the country and the threat was real and of continuing nature, the release said. They noted with concern that the ISI was spreading its tentacles to new areas and a large number of states had already become vulnerable to ISI’s subversive activities. ISI activities in India’s neighbourhood to achieve intelligence encirclement of India were also viewed with concern. Members of the Consultative Committee wanted the Government to take effective counter measures in collaboration with the State governments to defeat Pakistan’s nefarious designs. The need for intelligence support, training and making adequate resources and infrastructural support available to the state police forces was emphasised. The members underlined the need to strengthen the state police machinery in J and K. The Home Minister elaborated various measures that had been taken to strengthen the local police in J and K and informed that an amount of Rs 169 crore had been sanctioned by the Centre to modernise the police force. The members were also briefed about the measures taken and proposed to be taken to strengthen the border security. On the recent instances of terrorist activities on Indo-Nepal border , Mr Advani told the members that both India and Nepal were aware of the situation and had agreed to cooperate in this regard. Nepal and India were in regard in touch regularly through Joint Working Group and talks on Home Secretary level. The Uttar Pradesh government had also constituted Indo-Nepal force for the border. Mr Dina Nath Mishra, Mr
S Viduthalai Virumbi, Mr Swaraj Kaushal, Mr Sikander
Bakht, Mr Narendra Mohan, Mr Debabrata Biswas, Mr Ghulam
Nabi Azad, Dr Karan Singh, Gen S. Roy Chowdhury all from
the Rajya Sabha and Mr S.K. Bwiswmuthiary, Holkhomang
Haokip, Mr Jadgambi Prasad Yadav, Mr Bishnu Pada Ray, Mr
S P Singh Baghel, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, Mr Babban
Rajbhar, Mr G Ganga Reddy, Mr Ali Mohd Naik, Mr Wangcha
Rajkumar, Mr Shivraj V. Patil and Mr Jayanta Rongpi all
from the Lok Sabha participated. |
‘Big companies not procuring
wheat’ NEW DELHI, May 11 — The Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution has said big companies like Godrej, Hindustan Lever Limited, Kargil India, I.T.C. Agro are not procuring wheat in Punjab and Haryana. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha today, the Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Mr Shanta Kumar, said as per reports none of these companies had procured, wheat either in Punjab or in Haryana. Mr Shanta Kumar said private traders had purchased 1.85 lakh tonnes and 0.90 lakh tonnes of wheat out of the total arrival of 82.35 lakh tonnes and 34.99 lakh tonnes of wheat in Punjab and Haryana, respectively. In reply to another question raised in the Lok Sabha regarding intimating state agencies about the centres for the delivery of foodgrains, Mr Shanta Kumar said no intimation had been given to the Punjab Government and its agencies for he direct delivery of wheat during rabi 2000-2001. He said the position was being assessed. The minister said in Haryana, the FCI had directed its district managers to intimate details to agencies concerned where the FCI could get direct deliveries from the local mandis as per the availability of stocks. He said the FCI intended to take over direct delivery of wheat from the state agencies to the extent of about three lakh tonnes during the current rabi marketing season. Regarding the non-conversion of Chandigarh Railway Station to a big terminal, the Minister of State for Railways, Mr Digvijay Singh, said the "expansion of coaching terminal facilities at Chandigarh has been taken in hand." He said there was no proposal to originate important mail/ express trains from Chandigarh Railway Station. While replying to another question on whether the government proposed to introduce local trains for other cities like Ambala, Agra, Alwar, Bhiwani and Hisar, Mr Singh said all these stations were connected with Delhi by direct train services. He said "the introduction of train services is an ongoing process subject to the availability of resources, operational feasibility and traffic justification. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on the impact of terrorist activities on the inflow of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, the Minister of Tourism, Mr Anant Kumar, said the tourist inflow in 1999 was 1.64 per cent more than that in the previous year. He said 48,22,966 tourists had visited Jammu and Kashmir in 1999-2000. In reply to a question
regarding the facilities being provided to farmers by the
Himachal Pradesh Government in order to increase
agricultural and horticultural production in the state,
the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Satyanarayana
Rao, said in the Rajya Sabha that the state was arranging
training programmes and workshops on the latest
production technologies for various crops and was also
giving incentives and concessions on various agricultural
inputs. |
Bill on private universities
soon NEW DELHI, May 11 — The government will introduce the Private Universities Bill soon and will seek a national debate on its policy to privatise higher education, this was stated by Dr K. Venkatasubramaniam, Member-Education, Planning Commission, here today. The genuine problems being faced by private sector in corporatising education should be taken up with the government in the right earnest, he said, while addressing a seminar organised by the FICCI. Dr Venkatasubramaniam said private sector should take moral responsibility for imparting quality education at a competitive cost and should desist from excessive profiteering. He said there was a need for complete reformation and innovation in curriculum. "Most of the universities are clinging on to the same curricula for decades. This has to be changed in order to induct greater dynamism and relevance in the content of syllabus". Dr Venkatasubramaniam said there had to be focus on technical education, vocational training, higher learning and above all creation of schools of excellence. Mr Vinay Rai, chairman of Education and Vocational Training Committee of the FICCI said the government should concentrate on primary education. Government has been incurring a loss of Rs 300 crore on IITs by way of subsidy on higher education. However, 70 per cent of the students passing out from the IITs, join MNCs abroad. He suggested that user charges had to be levied in the higher schools of learning so that government could concentrate fully on universal primary education. He, however, said the
Bill contained many stringent provisions which would take
away the freedom of the private sector in managing these
institutions. The law, he said should be simple,
transparent and easy to administer. |
Poppy husk vends do brisk
business SADUL SHEHAR (Sriganganagar), May 11 — Addicts from neighbouring parts of Punjab buy their fix from poppy husk vends on the Rajasthan border where trade of the drug is legalised. A haven for poppy husk addicts, vends close to the inter-state border, are not only convenient for addicts from across the border to visit, but due to restrictions in Punjab, to smuggle in small amounts of poppy husk as well. Poppy husk packs range in price from Rs 35 to 350 according to weight at the half dozen vends along the inter-state border. In Punjab, the same husk can sell for up to 10 times as much. Enquiries reveal that addicts from Abohar usually cross over to buy small packs of husk weighing around 100 grams after sunset. Apart from the Hanumangarh-Abohar road, the addicts also use dusty lanes connecting villages on either side of the interstate border to carry packs over. Punjab Police officials say that the vends are not the source for large scale poppy husk smuggling but admit that peddlers and addicts continue to smuggle the drug in small quantities. Interestingly, a canal dividing the two territories is a favoured route for addict-smugglers when water supply is suspended. "It is difficult to keep a check along the canal all the time", a middle rung Punjab officer at Abohar said. Dodewala village which falls partly in Punjab and partly in Rajasthan is also a commonly used crossing point according to locals. Nine trucks carrying husk have been seized by the Ferozepore police since the beginning of the current year. Of these six were seized in Abohar alone. Ferozepore Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Mr NPS Sidhu revealed that over 6,000 kilograms of the poppy husk were seized this year was smuggled from Rajasthan. However, DSP Abohar, Mr
S.S. Randhawa said vends along the interstate border were
not implicated in large scale smuggling and most of the
trucks seized were loaded at faraway places like Bhilwara
in Rajasthan. |
SC imposes fine on Delhi Govt NEW DELHI, May 11 (PTI) — Taking the Delhi Government to task, the Supreme Court today imposed on it a fine of Rs 10,000 for its failure to implement court orders to check discharge of untreated domestic waste water and industrial effluent into the Yamuna river. "We cannot overlook the fact that earlier orders of the court have not been implemented," a Division Bench comprising Mr Justices B.N. Kirpal and Ruma Pal said. However, on repeated
pleadings of Additional Solicitor-General Mukul Rohatagi
that the government was doing its best to make the river
water potable, the Bench took a lenient view and
suspended the realisation of the fine amount. |
Two held in job racket NEW DELHI, May 11 — The Delhi Police arrested two persons who were allegedly running fake employment racket in north-west Delhi. The two — Rajiv Kumar Sharma and Narender Kumar Singh had allegedly cheated 22 persons by promising them jobs in the name of Social Welfare Department of the Delhi Government. The suspects used to
change a "fee" of Rs 50,000 to 1.40 lakh from a
"victim". The victims were promised jobs in
various capacities like LDC, Sub-Inspector,
Sub-Divisional Welfare Officer, Supervisor and anganwari
workers. |
Muscular distrophia patients to
visit Solan NEW DELHI, May 11 — In a move to bring about awareness about muscular distrophia, about 50 persons suffering from this disease from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Himachal would travel to Solan on Saturday. "During this
two-day trip, some of the patients would be venturing out
of their homes for the first time," Mr Sanjeev
Sachdeva, the founder president of Muscular Distrophia
Society of India told The Tribune. |
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