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| Sunday, July 9, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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PMK, DMK differences
worry BJP Congress assails PM Woman lawyer’s suicide: NCW
for CBI probe |
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Fernandes takes on RSS Vora is interim AICC Treasurer
All-India weather Tigers’ death: no experts
from abroad ‘needed’ Gurdwara dress code criticised
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PMK, DMK differences worry BJP TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, July 8 (PTI, UNI) — The BJP today voiced concern over the growing fissures within the NDA in Tamil Nadu, saying the volleys of allegations against one another might weaken the individual parties or the alliance itself. Party Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthy told reporters here that a solution to the differences between the PMK, the TRC and the DMK could be arrived at if either Dr Ramadoss or Mr Vazhapadi Ramamurthy approached NDA leader M. Karunanidhi or the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit. "I do not think any breach will take place,’ he said. Regretting the "sweeping statements" of senior leaders like G.K. Moopanar about one particular organisation being responsible for the attacks against Christians, he said leaders should refrain from giving "political colour" to such incidents. Mr Krishnamurthy replied in the negative when asked if he thought Farooq Abdullah would get out of the NDA. Dr Abdullah had never mentioned it, either before or after the Kashmir Government passed the legislation. HYDERABAD: Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday that the scrapping of Article 370 of the constitution was not the common agenda of the BJP-led NDA government. Referring to RSS chief K. Sudarshan’s demand for scrapping of Article 370 and imposition of President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, Ms Swaraj, in an informal chat with newsmen here said it was his own view. But the government was
committed to follow the common agenda which did not
contain abrogation of Article 370. However, the issue was
there in the BJP manifesto, she added. |
Congress assails PM GUWAHATI, July 8 (UNI) — The Congress today alleged that the security and integrity of the country were not safe in the hands of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Party spokesperson Ajit Jogi alleged that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah got the controversial autonomy resolution passed by the J&K Assembly with full connivance of Mr Vajpayee. "He was aware of it and later tried to protect Mr Abdullah by saying it was not unconstitutional. Then in a complete turnaround, the Cabinet rejected it and now it says that a private member may bring a resolution in Parliament," Mr Jogi pointed out. This means the NDA, directly or indirectly, had been helping those forces that could disintegrate the nation, he feared. "This is both alarming and dangerous and can lead to the total disintegration of the nation. Already all factions of the Akali Dal have started demanding autonomy. In Assam, the Chief Minister is talking on similar lines," Mr Jogi added. Regarding more powers to
the state, he said the Congress was ready for a debate
and that the Sarkaria Commission could be the basis for
such a debate. But the Congress was completely opposed to
any debate in Parliament about autonomy in the present
form, he stressed. |
Woman lawyer’s suicide: NCW for CBI probe NEW DELHI, July 8 (UNI) — The National Commission for Women (NCW) today said there is sufficient prima facie ground to believe that Andhra Pradesh High Court advocate Sangeeta Sharma was driven to commit suicide because of sexual harassment by her senior colleagues and recommended a CBI probe into the matter. Releasing the report of an inquiry into the incident by NCW member Shanta Reddy, commission Chairperson Vibha Parthasarthi said here this was perhaps the first recorded case of a woman being driven to suicide because of sexual harassment. Sangeeta, (33) consumed insecticide on the night of June 15 and in a suicide note and an affidavit accused her senior Vijay Kumar of harassing her for sexual favours and alleged that her colleagues Narasimha Naidu and Rekha Prasad abetted her senior’s efforts. In her suicide note, Sangeeta also asked for a CBI inquiry into the murky goings-on within the court precincts. Besides writing to Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, asking for a CBI inquiry, the NCW has also written to the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court and the Bar Councils of India and AP to cancel the registration of the three advocates mentioned by Sangeeta in her note, Mrs Parthasarthi said. The commission has also said that the anticipatory bail secured by these persons be cancelled. Noting that Vijay Kumar
tried to induce Sangeeta, a divorcee, into his nefarious
activities by promising to have her promoted as Assistant
Government Pleader, the NCW has said the criteria for
selection of government pleaders, commissions, receivers
should be made transparent and fool-proof. |
Fernandes takes on RSS NEW DELHI, July 8 (UNI) — Defence Minister George Fernandes has come down heavily on the RSS and the Sangh Parivar even as he praised the work being done by Christian missionaries. In an exclusive interview to Outlook magazine, Mr Fernandes said patriotism cannot be linked to religion. "When somebody earns undeserving profit he can’t be a patriot by merely declaring he is one, or by chanting ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’, or by saluting the National flag and singing the National Anthem. I think all that is a fraud on the country." In an unusual departure from his non-committal stand on the activities of Christian missionaries, the Defence Minister was all praise for them. "The ultimate test of your patriotism is what you do or what you don’t. The Christian missionaries in India...have done work to raise the level of consciousness of the people through education, giving a sense of dignity to the people through institutions which look after health needs and so on. So providing education and health facilities, and creating good citizens can’t generate anti-national feeling in the people. If anything, I believe they generate a sense of loyalty to the nation," the Defence Minister said. In another thinly veiled criticism of the RSS, Mr Fernandes rejected the idea of Hinduism being synonymous with patriotism. "I don’t believe in that. And I don’t believe that such a situation prevails in India," he said. On the question of the
growing tendency of projecting Muslims as criminals and
Christians as anti-nationals, Mr Fernandes said that he
does not subscribe to this kind of labelling and added
that projecting false enemies is very wrong. |
SGPC to go online NEW DELHI, July 8 — In a week’s time the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee’s (SGPC) plan to go online will come into being. From July 15, all those who wish to pay their respects at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, will just have to log on to the new website and will be able to listen to kirtan or even book their accommodation on the Net. The SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur, told TNS here that devotees could even send their donations through the Net directly to the bank with whom the SGPC had a tie-up. Those visiting the website, the address of which would be disclosed later this week, could in about two months time hear kirtan on the Net. She said in the course of time, the website would have all publications of the SGPC and also the three monthly bulletins, including "Gurmat Prakash", "Shiromani Bulletin" and "Gurdwara Gazette". Efforts were on the upload rare books and those connected with history. The SGPC, she said, had also decided to open five cyber cafes in the complex at Amritsar, enabling those on a visit to India and the holy city to keep in touch with their family through e-mail. The SGPC would provide free access to the Net from the cafes, she added. Another project undertaken by the SGPC was to generate signals from the Sri Harmandir Sahib. The committee had entered into a tie-up with a firm from the United Kingdom which would place seven remote-controlled cameras and provide the signal to the committee which in turn could be given to any television network. This, she said, would eliminate the chances of failure of the networks to sustain the channel after obtaining rights to relay the kirtan. The Rs 2 crore project would be set up by the UK firm and in return for some rights in specified areas, the firm would also give Rs 50 lakh to the committee for its education fund, she said. In order to promote education, the SGPC would run 15 buses connecting rural areas to various colleges. Overall, the SGPC had hiked its budget from Rs 32 crore to Rs 172 crore, Bibi Jagir Kaur said. In order to celebrate the 400 years of "Prakash Divas" of Guru Gobind Singh in 2004, the SGPC had earmarked funds for a period. It envisaged scholarships to 11 researchers whose efforts would be published and circulated by the committee, she said. The SGPC also planned to
open an academy in Chandigarh which would provide
coaching to candidates preparing for the civil services. |
Businessman murdered NEW DELHI, July 8 — A businessman of South Extension, Part II, Surender Mathur, was murdered and robbed by three unidentified armed assailants this afternoon. The assailants, who were armed with a sword, entered a photo camera shop, Excellor Production, owned by the victim, the police said. When they entered the shop, the victim was alone. They slit his neck with the sword and decamped with five cameras. The victim was taken to
AIIMS where he succumbed to his injuries. |
Tigers’ death: no experts from abroad ‘needed’ MADURAI, July 8 (UNI) — The Union Environment and Forests Minister Mr T.R. Baalu said today that an experts committee had been set up to go into the causes of the death of 12 tigers at the Nandankanan zoo in Orissa. Talking to newpersons here, he said of the 56 tigers in the zoo, 12 had lost their lives due to "immune deficiency". Attempts were being made to shift the wild animals to other zoos. The minister said the committee’s report which would be available by July 15 next, would reveal whether outdated drugs were given to the tigers. He took exception to the reported demand for summoning experts from other countries, and said experts were available in the country to deal with such problems. On the death of about 50 peacocks in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Baalu claimed that the deaths were caused due to consumption of pesticides by the birds from the fields. Mr Baalu said a draft was being prepared to amend the Environment Protection Act 1986. An environment protection fund was also being created in the Environment Ministry, he said. Efforts are being made
to shift the remaining tigers in the Nandankanan zoo in
Orissa to other zoos Mr Balu said. |
All-India weather PUNE, July 8 (PTI) — Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at most places in Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka and Kerala, at many places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Telangana and Lakshadweep and at a few places over the rest of the country, outside west Rajasthan where it will be at isolated places. Heavy rainfall warning: Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Konkan and Goa, coastal Karantaka and Kerala during the next 48 hours. The south-west monsoon
has been vigorous in Konkan and Goa and active in
Himachal Pradesh and coastal Karnataka. Rain or
thundershowers have occurred at most places in Kerala, at
many places in Assam and Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh, at
a few places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Orissa, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada,
Vidarbha, interior Karnataka and Lakshadweep and at
isolated places in Gangetic West Bengal, Punjab, Jammu
and Kashmir, east Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch,
coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Mainly
dry weather prevailed over the rest of the country. |
Shilpa Shirodkar weds today MUMBAI, July 8 (UNI) — Hindi film actress Shilpa Shirodkar will tie the nuptial knot with a London-based businessman at a simple ceremony here tomorrow. The reception will be held a day later at The Club, Andheri, and will be attended by select film personalities, close friends and relatives. Speaking to UNI, she
said the bridegroom was Aparesh Ranjit and that it was an
arranged match. "I am pretty excited about the whole
thing." |
Vora is interim AICC Treasurer NEW DELHI, July 8 (UNI) — Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Motilal Vora will be the new treasurer of the AICC it was officially announced here today. Mr Vora will replace Mr
Ahmed Patel, who had quit the post a few days ago
protesting against the failure of the Congress leadership
to take action against dissidents in Gujarat. |
Gurdwara dress code criticised NEW DELHI, July 8 — A member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Mr Harinder Pal Singh, today criticised the dress code suggested by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. He said some basic rules like covering one’s head and not coming while intoxicated should apply and not any dress code. The DSGMC has kicked off
a new controversy by banning entry of girls wearing
skirts and boys sporting caps instead of the traditional
turban to gurdwaras. |
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