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| Wednesday, June 7, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Restrain allies, Cong tells PM NEW DELHI, June 6 — The Congress today demanded that the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, should clarify India’s stand on Sri Lanka and restrain his coalition partners from using "avoidable and unguarded comments."
Plan to launch INSAT series Solution of Sino-Indian border dispute ‘soon’ Gillani meets Pak
Embassy staff Move on gas tragedy funds |
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Common carrier to pay damages
India decries coup
in Solomon Islands
Sikh Forum seeks
return of relics Row over renovation of Gateway Kant’s foreign tour
from June 8
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Restrain allies, Cong tells PM NEW DELHI, June 6 — The Congress today demanded that the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, should clarify India’s stand on Sri Lanka and restrain his coalition partners from using
"avoidable and unguarded comments." The party’s demand came in reaction to the statement by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M Karunanidhi, that the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka could be resolved by balkanising that country. The Chairman of the AICC Media Department, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said today that the evolving situation in Sri Lanka was a matter of serious concern to the party. “Even though the government has reaffirmed India’s earlier position of political resolution of the ethnic conflict within the framework of the territorial unity and integrity of Sri Lanka, the hawkish posture of its allies like the DMK and MDMK created avoidable confusion’’, Mr Mukherjee said. He alleged that the statement of Mr Karunanidhi has complicated matters and evoked sharp reaction in Sri Lanka, with that country’s President and senior Ministers cautioning India that advocating the creation of a Tamil Eelam will lead to another partition of India. The party said that in view of this development, India should display heightened sensitivity to the Sri Lankan crisis, taking into consideration the regional security and India’s own strategic interest in the region. Reacting to developments in Fiji, the party expressed concern over the continuing stalemate and imposition of martial law. The Congress criticised New Delhi’s response to the crisis as “extremely slow and utterly inadequate’’. “India must take the initiative for convening an emergent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Commonwealth countries and call for the imposition of sanctions against Fiji until the restoration of democracy’’ the party said in a statement. The party said government of India should exercise all possible diplomatic means and mount international pressure for the release of Prime Minister, Mr Mahendra Chaudhary. Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, said here today that a party delegation would soon meet the Prime Minister and urge him to take initiative to end the Fiji crisis. In a statement here, Mr Chandumajra also criticised the government for its “inability to garner’’ opinion of the Commonwealth countries to put pressure on Fiji for restoration of democracy. |
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TN Cong in for uneasy times CHENNAI, June 6 — The Congress party in Tamil Nadu has, in recent years, been in anaemic state, and the latest cure of change in the leadership announced by the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, yesterday, is more likely to prove worse than the disease. The victim of the change, Mr Tindivanam Ramamurthy, has denounced the Congress high command’s move as an “insult” to loyalists in the party. A visibly angry Mr Ramamurthy, who is being succeeded by the lesser known Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan, told reporters that “it is a very wrong move which move which will end the history of the party in Tamil Nadu.” Mr Elangovan, until now the general secretary of the party in the State, is the son of late DMK leader E.V.K. Sampath. His mother, Mrs Sulochana Sampath, is the AIADMK women’s wing secretary. Mr Elangovan and once briefly left the Congress and joined the short-lived N.D. Tiwari Congress. Mr Ramamurthy said appointing a “deserter” was an “insult to all loyal Congressmen and it only shows that Mrs Gandhi is a captive of Mr Arjun Singh”. He threw hints that after consultations with his supporters he would quit the party unless the high command reviewed its decision. Other Congress leaders like Mr K.V. Tangabalu and Mr Kumari Ananthan, former presidents of the party in the State, have not come out openly the high command’s decision, but are known to have their reservations. Mr Tangabalu had recently suggested that state party chiefs should not be nominated but duly elected. The high command that move does not augur well for the unity of the party which is to prepare itself for the state assembly elections early next year. The party has been virtually in the doldrums ever since the split in 1996, when Mr G.K. Moopanar walked out to form his Tamil Maanila Congress. Its record in parliamentary and assembly polls in recent years has been one of “also ran”. Mr
Ramamurthy, who had lately been engaged in interacting with Mr Moopanar, claimed that he had tried to strengthen the Congress in Tamil Nadu, “but if the party high
command wants to weaken the party and its coordination with TMC, let them do it.” |
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Plan to launch INSAT series CALCUTTA, June 6 (PTI) — India is planning to launch four new satellites in the INSAT-3 series soon and two more in the IRS series within 2002, according to the annual report of the Department of Space,1999-2000. INSAT-3B, the first of the five in this set of third generation satellites, was launched by Ariane from Kourou in French Guyana on March 22. The subsystems for INSAT-3A and INSAT-3C were in an advanced stage of fabrication and test, the report said. The configuration of INSAT-3D has been finalised and that of INSAT-3E was in the final stages of definition, it added. Besides INSAT, GSAT-1, to be launched on board the first developmental test flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), was under development. Integration of the satellite had been initiated and the payloads realised, the report said. The configuration of GSAT-2, to be flown on the second developmental flight of GSLV, had also been worked out, it said. The IRS-P5 (CARTOSAT) which was planned for launch during 2001-02 was now under development. It would carry two panchromatic cameras with 2.5 metre spatial resolution and a swath of 30 km. The cameras would provide stereo imaging useful for generation of digital terrain models. IRS-P5 would also carry a solid-state recorder for storing payload data. The satellite, whose fabrication had been initiated, was planned to be placed in a 617 km polar sun-synchronous orbit that could provide a revisit capability of five days, the report said. IRS-P6 (RESOURCESAT), planned for launch during 2001-2002, was intended to continue the services of IRS-1D and would carry a multispectral camera LISS-III, similar to that of IRC-1C and 1D. It would provide a spatial resolution of 23.6 metre in four spectral bands with another camera LISS-IV providing better than six metre resolution in the first three spectral bands of green, red and near infra-red. Besides, it would also carry an Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWIFS) with a spatial resolution of 70 metre in three bands providing a swath of 400 km, the report said. The satellite, for which payload and subsystem specifications had been finalised and fabrication initiated, would be placed in an 817 km polar sun-synchronous orbit. CARTOSAT-2, an advanced remote sensing satellite with a higher spatial resolution than that of its predecessor CARTOSAT-1, was also planned to be launched during the 10th Five Year Plan. Studies on configuration, definition of subsystems, their specification and interfaces had begun, the report said. |
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Solution of Sino-Indian border dispute ‘soon’ NEW DELHI, June 6 (ANI) — Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj has expressed confidence about the border dispute between India and China being resolved in one or maybe two years. In an interview with ANI held here, Ms Swaraj, who was part of the Indian delegation that accompanied President K.R.
Narayanan on his six-day visit to China (May 28 to June 3), said her confidence about a solution to the dispute emerging, stemmed from the bonhomie and plainspeak expressed during President Narayanan’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin. She said during the meeting President Jiang Zemin in the context of the border dispute, had expressed the view that both China and India had inherited some problems from the past, and said that the time was appropriate to forget these problems for sometime and to concentrate on issues on which there was near unanimity between the two countries. Mr Narayanan to her surprise she said responded in plain terms by saying that even if the two countries had inherited something from the past, there was no need to pass it on to the next generation. The Indian President went one step further by saying, “If history has given this to us, let us resolve to solve these disputes,” Ms Swaraj added. The BJP MP said the Indian delegation was happy with the reply as was the Chinese leadership, which appeared eager to set bilateral ties on a new and progressive course. The fact that citizens, opinion leaders and intellectuals welcomed Mr Narayanan’s response to Mr Zemin’s query could make the task of resolving the border dispute easier for both sides, she added. “I am very hopeful that even these matters now will be addressed by the leadership of both the countries. The resolve that I am seeing in the leadership of both countries, maybe in the coming year or two we may have a solution to these problems,” Ms Swaraj said. Giving her comments on the economic aspect of the trip, the senior BJP leader said the announcement of the Kunming Initiative by both India and China was a very bold and welcome step. She said during the Indian delegation’s tete-a-tete with the Vice-Governor of Kunming, specific areas were identified where both countries could cooperate with each other. For instance, she said, that there was a suggestion by the Kunming Vice-Governor to build two highways — one linking China to India’s north-eastern states via Myanmar and the other linking China to Rourkela in Orissa via Myanmar. A suggestion was also made for establishing air connections between China and the Indian metros of Delhi, Calcutta and Mumbai, which she said was quite possible. When asked to respond to a query as to how could the integration of nearly 500-million people in three countries (China, Myanmar and India) take place when most of the North-East was in an underdevelopment state and in the grip of terrorists and insurgents Ms Swaraj said : “A little bit of disturbance here and there does not mean that they (the North-Eastern states) are not a part of the mainstream.” She went on to say that government in the seven North-Eastern states were in complete agreement with the Centre on development-related policies, and added that there were some insurgent groups attempting to derail the process. These groups would be tackled firmly in time, she said. On the economic growth seen in the Chinese cities of Dalian and Kunming, the BJP MP said the progress seen reflected leadership and vision and if such initiatives were taken in other parts of the world, including India, then anything was possible. Ms Swaraj said when she talked with the Mayor of Dalian, he told her that Dalian 13 years ago was the most backward city of China. Today it was comparable to the best in the West. Ms Swaraj said she was personally impressed by what she saw at Dalian and Kunming and saw no reason why Indian cities could not be the same as these. Asked for her views on the free trade zones and development zones, where at least 39 Fortune 500 companies had set up base, the BJP MP said there was a three-fold reason for such progress and development namely, unpolluted production inclusive of treatment plants for waste matter in all FTZ’s and DZ’s, residential apartments for labourers and farmers working in these areas with emphasis on health consciousness and last but not least city management of the highest order. Kunming, she said, was as good if not better than Switzerland. Ms Swaraj concluded by saying that while China and India enjoyed an equal relationship, on the economic front the level of
inequality was too stark to be ignored. She said only willpower and a reopening of border trade between these two countries could correct this imbalance. |
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Gillani meets Pak
Embassy staff NEW DELHI, June 6 — All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman S.A.S. Gillani today met officials of the Pakistan High Commission. Mr Gillani, who arrived yesterday evening, met the High Commission officials amidst reports over differences among the various constituents of the APHC. A prominent Shia leader, Maulana Abbas Ansari, whose outfit is the part of the Hurriyat Conference, also had a meeting today with the Pakistan High Commission officials. Islamabad has not been very happy over the reported differences within the Hurriyat and the sources said that the meeting with the APHC Chairman and Maulana Ansari are a step to bring various groups on the same wave length. Many Hurriyat leaders have not taken very kindly to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader, Mr Yasin Malik’s 36 hours hunger strike last month to protest against the alleged human rights violations in the state. These leaders are not happy as they view Mr Malik’s hunger strike as a move to build his own image and support base. Inside sources said that sudden spurt of statements condemning human rights violations by various Hurriyat leaders was the outcome of the inherent jealousy that these leaders nurse against Mr Malik. A soft resolution on the innocent killings of the Shia Muslims last week by the APHC has also become a cause of resentment. The resolution expressed anguish but failed to condemn the killings of innocent Muslims. The sources said that the APHC’s refusal to condemn the innocent killings was because Mr Gillani was opposed to any tough statement on the incident as the Hizbul
Mujahideen had initially claimed the responsibility for the killings. The Hijbul
Mujahideen is the armed wing of the Jammait-e- Islami which is presided over by Mr Gillani. |
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Move on gas tragedy funds BHOPAL, June 6 (UNI) — The Centre will institute a high level investigation into the utilisation of $ 261 crore under gas relief and rehabilitation funds if the Madhya Pradesh Government fails to give accounts of the expenditure. Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers Ramesh Bais told newspersons here last night that his ministry had sought details of the amount spent so far from the state government following complaints of several irregularities in this regard. He said the Centre would consider the state government’s Rs 185 crore package for the gas victims only when it provided proper details of the previous expenditure. Mr Bais said after the Bhopal gas tragedy, which took place on the intervening night of December 2 and 3 in 1984, the Union Carbide Corporation had given $ 430 crore as compensation. This amount was deposited with the Reserve Bank of India in New Delhi. Of this, $ 261 crore had already been given to the state by the Centre for conducting relief and rehabilitation schemes. Referring to complaints, Mr Bais said the population of Bhopal at the time of tragedy was 6.72 lakh. At that time , 36 wards were declared gas affected. However, more than 10 lakh persons had been registered as gas victims. He said four lakh persons got themselves registered as gas victims when the Centre had given one more chance for submitting claims in 1992. How the number of gas affected persons in the city could be more than its total population, he asked adding that such a statistics had placed a question mark on the relief distribution programme. After a meeting with state Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Arif Aqueel and other officials, Mr Bais said he was told by the department secretary that work in this direction had begun after Mr Aqueel assumed office. He said the Centre had provided funds for the state government for the construction of new hospitals and expansion of existing ones from time to time but the hospital under construction had not been completed so far. Mr Bais said it had come to the notice that construction work had been delayed to the extent that the original cost had increased three-fold. Besides, complaints of serious irregularities in building construction contract had also been received, he added. He said complaints had been received that the whereabouts of machines and equipment worth more than Rs 300 crore, which were brought all the way from the USA and Russia for the gas victims, were not known. |
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Common carrier to pay damages NEW DELHI, June 6 (UNI) — Coming close on the heels of a recent Supreme Court verdict that the liability of a common carrier is absolute and it is not for the consumer to prove negligence, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has imposed damages of Rs 4,64,430 on a common carrier for its negligence in service. The commission also awarded interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the complaint in the case till actual payment. The commission thus dismissed an appeal by Messrs. Jainsons Roadways. The appeal was directed against a judgement dated May 10, 1994, of the Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission upholding the claim of damages by Orient Syntex against the appellant carrier. The respondent company had hired the services of the appellant carrier to carry its goods worth Rs 4,64,430 from Rajasthan for safe and secure delivery at Bombay. The goods, however, did not reach the destination as they were destroyed in a fire which broke out in the godown of the carrier at Bombay. The claim of damages of the respondent was accepted by the state commission which prompted the appellant to approach the national commission. A four-member Bench of the national commission, headed by Mr Justice S.C. Sen, found no merit in the appeal. The national commission agreed with the submission of Mr S.K. Sharma, counsel for the respondent, that since no contract was signed between the parties limiting the liability of the carrier, it was liable to pay damages for the full value of the goods destroyed. Mr Sharma also submitted that mere writing on the invoice the words “at the owners risk’’ would not absolve the carrier of its liability in case of any damage caused to the goods. |
India decries coup
in Solomon Islands NEW DELHI, June 6 — India today condemned the military coup in Solomon Islands and called upon the Commonwealth to protect the fundamental political values enshrined in the Harare Declaration and the Millbrook Action Programme for restoring the legitimate governments in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. In a statement, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said here that the Government of India was disturbed about reports of a coup in the Solomon Islands yesterday and the kidnapping of the Prime Minister and the Governor-General by armed militant attempting to seize power by force. “We strongly condemn such illegal activity anywhere”, the spokesman said, calling upon the international community, particularly the Commonwealth, to protect the fundamental political values enshrined in the Harare Declaration. |
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Sikh Forum seeks
return of relics NEW DELHI, June 6 — The Sikh Forum today said the Centre should return the Sikh relics, historical documents and other material taken from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, during Operation Bluestar. The forum headed by 1971 India-Pakistan war hero, Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, said: “The Centre should take immediate steps to return all documents, relics and other material seized by armed forces from the SGPC, Amritsar, without any further delay, for their restoration at appropriate places.” “The important documents, historical materials and relics, which were declared by the government to have been burnt during Operation Bluestar, Defence Minister has recently said were in the custody of the government,” press not said. At a recently organised seminar by the forum, the speakers expressed the view that Operation Bluestar was politically motivated, aimed at gaining advantage for the ruling party in the next general election. |
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Row over renovation of Gateway MUMBAI, June 6 (UNI) — The conservation of the historic Gateway of India in south Mumbai may snowball into a major controversy with experts airing different views on ways and means of conserving the British era monument. Conservation activists and experts at the meeting held here yesterday to discuss the ‘Partners in Conservation’ project were divided over the issue whether the world’s largest chandelier be hung in the Gateway of India during Divali later this year as part of the fund raising drive for the restoration of this heritage monument. Since the chandelier’s weight is enormous many experts questioned the need for using it as it would put a lot of pressure on the original structure built in 1924. Noted activist Kisan Mehta wondered as to why the authorities, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), had initiated such a move without public discussion. Urban designer Harshad Bhatia and architect and interior designer Moayyed Fatehi raised doubts over the use of the chandelier. However, noted social figure Gerson d’Cuna felt that experts could take care of it. Structural engineer Shirish Patel said the load was calculated and engineers of the heritage committee had approved the process. Former Municipal Commissioner D.M. Sukhtankar also defended the project. Indian corporates Taj Mahal Hotel and Air India and French companies BNP Paribas and Baccarat have come together for the project while the BMC will monitor it. These companies have committed to initiate conservation project and raise funds for the future works on this monument and
any other worthy projects in the city. “As this monument is of national importance we are aware of the responsibility to ensure that work is carried out in a transparent manner,” said noted architect Brinda Somaya, who is an expert in the conservation team. Mr Jonathan Lyon, Chief Executive and Country Manager for Baccarat and BNP, said that the Gateway of India was a historical landmark so the experts should be unanimous over restoring such an important monument. He said a detailed scientific inspection report on the restoration of the stone would be commissioned by the BMC and PIC through Mr Didier Repellin, Architecte en Chef des Monuments Historiques, Lyon, France and the National Research Laboratory for Conservation, Lucknow. One report has already been prepared by Partners in Conservation (PIC). PIC has already committed to invest Rs 70 lakh, exclusively for the restoration project Phase I and Phase II. Whatever work would remain after Phase I, the PIC was prepared to carry it on with the Phase II and was also open to additional support from other corporates and bodies, experts involved in the project said. |
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Kant’s foreign tour
from June 8
NEW DELHI, June 6 (UNI) — Vice-President Mr Krishan Kant will pay a week-long state visit to Bulgaria and Slovakia en route to Egypt where he is to participate in the summit of G-15 countries from June 17 to 21. Mr Kant, who will be accompanied by a high-level delegation of officials, MPs and his wife, Suman Kant, will visit Bulgaria from June 9 to 11. His talks with the top Bulgarian leadership will concentrate on strengthening bilateral ties in economic and other spheres. Mr Kant, who will be in Slovakia from June 13 to 16, will hold talks with the leaders of that country on boosting cooperation between India and the East European country in trade, commerce, culture and education. The G-15 summit will devote itself to promoting the North-South and South-South dialogue on issues related to economic development, poverty, strengthening democracy and security in the countries in the region. |
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