 |
| Friday,
August 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Gopal
contacts Veerappan aides Internal
security tops agenda
Jethmalani
issue rocks RS
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Rail move
awaits clearance Deadline
for paddy milling extended MP offers
3 options to CJI’s wife Left
parties oppose power policy HP
for team to assess losses Rain
in Punjab, UP hills 1,000
pirated books seized DD
Punjabi to be launched on Aug 5
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Gopal contacts Veerappan aides BANGALORE, Aug 3 (PTI) — Gopal, the emissary of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Governments today established contact with the associates of Veerappan for negotiating with the forest bandit, the release of Kannada thespian Rajkumar and three others as the hostage drama entered the fifth day. As journalist emissary R.R. Gopal continued his mission in the jungles, Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge confirmed to reporters that the emissary had established contact with Veerappan’s associates and the medicines sent through Gopal reached Rajkumar. "We are yet to receive further information from Gopal for details", Mr Kharge said, declining to answer questions on the health condition of Rajkumar or the location of the emissary. Asked about reports that Veerappan was demanding release of his associates held under TADA, he said, "The government has an open mind whether it is TADA or kidnap case". The government would take further steps after receiving his demands, he said. He said there had been "some progress with the establishing of the contact and the government was trying to secure the release of the hostages as early as possible". Meanwhile, the situation in Karnataka, which was in the grip of tension following the kidnapping of Rajkumar from his farm house at Gajanur in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, remained calm for the second day today. Joining millions of fans of Rajkumar
who are praying for his safe release, Karnataka Chief Minister S.M.
Krishna today visited to M.M. Hills with his wife Prema and offered
pooja to the presiding deity there. |
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PM
to open CMs’ meeting NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The militancy affecting different parts of the country, the increasing dependence of state governments on central assistance and the need for a collective approach in the management of internal security will be on the top of the agenda at the conference of Chief Ministers to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on August 5 here. The one-day conference will take an overview of the state of internal security in various parts of the country and the problems faced by individual states in this regard, Home Ministry sources said today. Deliberations on the recent offer of talks with the Hizbul Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir, extension of ceasefire with the NSCN(IM) in Nagaland and ceasefire and opening of a dialogue with Bodoland outfits in Assam are likely to take place at the meeting. Specifically, the conference may take up the issue of modernising the state law enforcement machinery for internal security, administration of criminal justice, improvement in the public delivery and grievances redressal system and need for a central law for national security. Besides, two other important issues — introduction of national identity cards and the ‘controversial’ Prevention of Terrorism Bill, would also be deliberated by central and state leaders. The Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2000, which has been drafted to replace the ‘draconian’ Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, has received severe criticism from several quarters, including the National Human Rights Commission. The draft Bill prepared by the Centre has been sent to the states and union territories to elicit their views on it. Home Minister L.K. Advani and the Ministers of State for Home Affairs Vidyasagar Rao and I.D. Swami, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, K.C. Pant are among those expected to attend the conference. A meeting of state Chief Secretaries,
Home Secretaries and Directors-General of Police was held on June 28
to prepare and fine-tune the inputs for the conference. |
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Jethmalani
issue rocks RS NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The Rajya Sabha witnessed noisy scenes as the Opposition Congress members raised the Jethmalani issue again, demanding an early decision on their notice for a discussion on the serious allegations made by the former Law Minister against the judiciary and the executive, leading to the adjournment of the House by Chairman Krishan Kant till 2 pm. The Congress members also pressed for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the issue of the resignation of the former Law Minister. As soon as question hour was over, Mr Suresh Pachauri (Cong) drew the attention of the Chair to the two notices for discussion given by Congress members for a discussion on the resignation of the former Law Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani. He said a demand had been made for constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee in this connection. The motions, he said, were still under the consideration of the Chair. A motion could not be kept pending for consideration for long and it had to be accepted or rejected, he argued. Mr Pachauri said if there was any objection regarding the language of the motion, objections to it could be registered. Chairman Krishan Kant ruled that Mr Pachauri was questioning his right to admit or not to admit a motion. He said the motion the Congress member was referring to was still under consideration and had not been admitted. When Mr Venkaiah Naidu and Mr S.S. Ahluwalia (both BJP) protested to the remarks made by Mr Pachauri and others, almost all Congress members stood up and persisted with the demand for a discussion. As the furore continued, the Chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm. When the House re-assembled, Deputy Chairperson Dr Najma Heptullah gave a ruling that the issue of constituting a JPC to probe into the issues raised by the resignation of Mr Jethmalani could not be raised, pending a decision from the Chairman. Mr Naidu contended that Mr Pachauri had made certain remarks against the Chair and demanded that the member should withdraw the remarks or else these be expunged. Mr Kapil Sibal (Cong), defending his colleague, said Mr Pachauri had not said anything objectionable against the Chair. An agitated Pachauri, waving a copy of the record of the proceedings, challenged Mr Naidu to prove that he had said anything against the Chair. Mr Pachauri and Mr Sibal said the authority of the Chairman was never questioned and all they wanted was to request the Chair to take an early decision on their notice. Meanwhile, a few members, including Mr Mohamad Salim (CPM), Mr Viduthalai Virumbi (DMK), and Mr Naidu said the Chairman had adjourned the House in the morning, saying he would sort out the issue in his chamber and wanted to know the outcome of the meeting. The matter was resolved by the Deputy Chairperson who ruled that she would go through the record and if anything objectionable was found, it would be removed. She ruled that it was not always necessary that the House be informed of what transpired in the Chairman’s chamber. In the Lok Sabha Congress members insisted on allocating time for discussing the matters arising out of the resignation of Mr Jethmalani. When Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan moved a motion seeking approval of the House for the 11th report of the Business Advisory Committee, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar (Cong) said the Speaker should give an assurance that the matter would be discussed under Rule 184. There were serious criminal charges and issues relating to the judiciary and executive, but there was no mention of this in the next week’s business contained in the report, he said. Mr Mahajan said the report was of the meeting held on August 1 and the Speaker had given his assurance yesterday. Mr V.K. Malhotra (BJP) said leaders of all parties were in the BAC and, therefore, objections should not be raised in the House on the BAC report. Mr Madhavrao Scindia (Cong) said
members wanted to know whether the issue would be discussed at all.
Deputy Speaker P.M. Sayeed, who was in the Chair, said he would
consult the Speaker on this demand. |
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MPs against J&K autonomy NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (UNI) — Members belonging to the Communist Party of India (CPI), Trinamool Congress, Telugu Desam, AIADMK, Congress and other parties made it clear in the Lok Sabha today that there was no question of restoring pre-1953 status to Jammu and Kashmir which should be provided more administrative and financial powers to accelerate socio-economic development. Participating in the resumed debate on the autonomy resolution carried in the J and K Assembly, former Minister of Home Indrajit Gupta, CPI, stressed the need for "democratic governance" in the state saying "corruption is rampant." Funds provided by the Central Government were being diverted. People were dissatisfied with the "undemocratic governance" as many times verdict of elections had been distorted in favour of some particular parties. One of the reasons for the militancy in the state was that the credibility of elections had been eroded. A solution to the Kashmir problem should be evolved with the participation and satisfaction of the people of three regions in the state — the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh — and effective implementation of Article 370 of the Constitution, he added. Prof Krishna Bose, Trinamool Congress, pleaded for a federal republic where all states, including Jammu and Kashmir, would have a sense of belonging and sense of participation in the well-being of the entire country. She said a solution to the Kashmir
problem should be found through discussion and praised Home Minister
L.K. Advani for initiating a dialogue with the Hizbul Mujahideen and
the Hurriyat leaders. |
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North
India in Parliament NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The survey report on the doubling of rail line between Jalandhar and Jammu is being sent to the Planning Commission, the Minister of State for Railways, Mr Digvijay Singh told the Lok Sabha today. Responding to a question by Mr Abdul Rasheed Shaheen and Mr Ali Mohammad Naik whether the necessary clearance for doubling of rail line between Jalandhar and Jammu had been obtained, he said it would be considered by Expanded Board after an appraisal of the survey report by the Planning Commission and thereafter the proposal would be sent for necessary clearances. The minister said the work would commence once the clearances were obtained. LPG DEALERS: One petrol retail outlet dealership is proposed to be set up on the Chandigarh-Ambala Road near Ambala and one LPG distributorship each is proposed to be set up at Naraingarh and Babiyal in Ambala district, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Santosh Kumar Gangwar, told the Lok Sabha today. In response to a question by Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, he said there were 36 retail outlets and 18 LPG distributorships in operation in Ambala district. He said the selection of dealers and distributors was made in a phased manner and it was not possible at this stage to indicate the time frame for the completion of selection for pending location. CHANA VARIETIES: The scientists of Chowdhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University have developed two varieties of gram (chana) in the past two years, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today. He said "the HC 3 variety of gram is tolerant to wilt, blight and root rot diseases". It was released in 1999 for cultivation in Haryana. "The other variety HC 1 is early maturing and is suitable for late sown and rainfed conditions. The university has also developed recently a new variety, H-96-99 which is being tested in the initial varietal trail of the "All-India Coordinated Research Project on gram", he added. POVERTY LINE: To a question by Mr Anil Sharma about the district-wise detail of the families living below the poverty line in Himachal Pradesh in the past five years, the Minister of Planning, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Mr Arun Shourie said these estimates were not yet available. He said the survey regarding consumer expenditure had been conducted from July 1999 to June 2000. He informed that the Planning Commission estimated the percentage of persons living below the poverty line at national and state level from the large sample surveys on consumer expenditure conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) at an interval of about five years. He said the data about persons living
below poverty line was not available at district level in Himachal as
NSSO consumer expenditure data was not available. As per the latest
available estimate, 28.44 per cent of the people lived below the
poverty line in Himachal Pradesh, the Minister said. Apart from
acceleration of economic growth, development through means like
literacy, education and health care, poverty was being reduced through
employment generating programmes, he said. |
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BJP
against J&K Govt’s dismissal NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The Bharatiya Janata Party today ruled out the dismissal of the Farooq Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir. Responding to questions, the BJP spokesman, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, told newspersons that the party did not agree with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s demand for dismissal of the National Conference government in Jammu and Kashmir. When asked about the party’s reaction to the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh Chief, Mr K. Sudarshan’s statement that the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister should voluntarily resign paving the way for the Central rule, Mr Naidu said "the BJP has no intention to ask Mr Abdullah to step down as demanded by the VHP and the RSS". "It is no solution to the problem", he said. Lashing out at the Congress, Mr Naidu said the party appears to be only keen on scoring political points by harping upon Ram Jethmalani issue instead of the dastardly killing by militants of the innocent people. "On a day when the entire nation is concerned with Pakistan-inspired terrorism, the Congress succeeded in disrupting Parliament on the Jethmalani issue", the BJP leader pointed out. The killings by militants was to sabotage the peace process, he said, adding that the government’s two-pronged policy was need of the hour and the BJP fully supported it. While going ahead with the peace process, the government had said it would continue to take steps to stop militancy, Mr Naidu pointed out. "We are happy that the world
community is realising Pakistan’s attempts to foil peace
talks", he said referring to the US President, Mr Bill Clinton’s
telephonic talk with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in
which the former had expressed sympathies for those killed in Jammu
and Kashmir. |
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Bitta
condemns killings NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — Activists of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front today held a demonstration in front of the Pakistan High Commission and gave a memorandum to the Pakistan High Commissioner about the gruesome killings in Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement, Mr Bitta strongly condemned the barbarous killing of hundreds of innocent people including minors, women, pilgrims and poor by the Pakistan-sponsored outfits. He said the government was trying its best to create cordial relations between the two countries but Pakistan had betrayed the bilateral settlements. In spite of the aggressive acts of the ISI, the people of the country at no stage had given up their faith in the bilateral process with the militant groups in Kashmir, he said, adding that the Hizbul Mujahideen was convinced that their acts of terrorism were against the interest of people. Expressing the determination of people to thwart the designs of the ISI, Mr Bitta said Pakistan should learn lessons from the past. Members of the National Akali Dal (NAD)
also held a demonstration outside the Pakistan High Commission today. |
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Koirala
condemns J&K killings NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — In an expression of grief and dismay, the Nepalese Prime Minister, Mr Girija Prasad Koirala, today condemned the massacre of more than 100 persons in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists and conveyed his government’s solidarity with India for fighting against such acts. Mr Koirala, who is in India on a week-long official visit, in a message to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on behalf of his government and King Birendra Bikram Shah, strongly condemned such dastardly acts of terrorism. "I express solidarity of His Majesty’s government and the people of Nepal to fight the menace of such mindless acts of terrorism directed against a civilised society". The Nepalese Prime Minister also extended deep condolences to the "friendly people of India" on the loss of so many lives. On the completion of the official talks in the Capital, the two countries issued a joint press statement which reiterates the mutual desire to strengthen bilateral ties. "In the new millennium, the two countries must constantly upgrade their partnership which derived sustenance from traditional links and shared values", the statement said. Mr Koirala today said his ongoing tour to India was a goodwill visit aimed at confidence building. "I have come to India on a goodwill visit and it is a confidence building mission," he said on the sidelines of a breakfast meeting here with his old friend and former Prime Minister, Mr Chandra Shekhar. Stating that people of Nepal had lot of goodwill for Indians, he said "I am going back to Nepal with the same amount of goodwill from the people of India for our citizens". During his parleys with Mr Vajpayee yesterday, Mr Koirala assured India that Nepalese territory would not be allowed to be used by Pakistan’s ISI agency for anti-India activities. Both the countries also agreed on a wide-ranging package of confidence-building measures to remove irritants and give a new dimension to bilateral ties. The Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, and several other Union Ministers were present at the breakfast meeting attended by another former Prime Minister — Mr Inder Kumar Gujral. Senior Congress leader, Dr Manmohan
Singh, MDMK leader Vaiko, NCP chief, Mr Sharad Pawar, and RJD Working
President, Mr Ranjan Yadav, were also present. |
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Deadline
for paddy milling extended NEW DELHI, Aug 3— The Centre has extended the deadline for paddy milling in Punjab up to August 31. This decision was taken by the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Mr Shanta Kumar, during a meeting with the Punjab Food Minister, Mr Madan Mohan Mittal. While extending the deadline, Mr Shanta Kumar said no more extension would be given for milling paddy for the central pool and no compromise would be made in the quality of rice to be accepted by the Food Corporation of India for the central pool. The minister was informed that a stock of about 4.7 lakh tonnes of paddy was left with the Punjab millers till date. He also requested the Punjab Government to examine the feasibility of making it legally binding on its millers to purchase more paddy so that the levy percentage could be enhanced. The minister reviewed the storage
capacity in Punjab and directed the FCI to increase its storage
arrangements there. He said the Centre would be increasing the storage
capacity step by step and this year 10 lakh tonnes storage capacity
would be constructed in the State. |
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MP offers 3 options to CJI’s wife BHOPAL, Aug 3 (UNI) — The Madhya Pradesh Government has offered three options to the wife of Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand and another relative in lieu of their land taken over by the State Seeds Corporation in Guna district. Chief Minister Digvijay Singh told mediapersons here today that the compensation would be awarded in accordance with the law. Even as the state government wanted to retain the land, it had given three options to the plaintiffs — returning the land, allotting alternative land or providing compensation. The Chief Minister made it clear that no favouritism was shown by the state government while withdrawing the special leave petition (SLP) from the Supreme Court. The decision was taken in keeping with the opinion of the state Law Department that it was a weal case and the chances of success were bleak, he said, adding that the verdict had earlier gone against the state government at different levels of court. Mr DigVijay Singh said the land developed by the Seeds Corporation was valuable but not worth crores of rupees. The case pertains to agriculture land allotted to General Girdhari Singh (Rtd) and General Yadunath Singh (Rtd) by the erstwhile State of Madhya Bharat in recognition of their services in the Army. The land was taken over as "abandoned" by the state government in the 1970s, which prompted an appeal by Mrs Sushila Singh and Mrs Anand. The trial court has accepted a
proposal from the State Seeds Corporation to make good the plaintiff’s
loss at an alternative site. |
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Left
parties oppose power policy NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The Left parties today came out strongly against the Vajpayee government’s anti-people power policy and announced their decision to observe August 24 as national protest day. In a joint press statement, the four Leftist leaders have demanded that the Vajpayee government should reverse these policies immediately and express solidarity with the movement against the increase in electrictiy rates in Andhra Pradesh and employees of the power sector agitating against privatisation. "The Vajpayee government is callously going ahead with the privatisation of power and allowing foreign companies to take over the assets of the state electricity boards. The cuts in public investment in the power sector in the past one decade have caused serious setback in the expansion of power generation", the CPM General Secretary, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, the CPI General Secretary, Mr A.B. Bardhan, the Forward Block leader, Mr Debabrata Biswas and the RSP leader, Mr Abani Roy said. Blaming the
government for pursuing policies under the dictates of the World Bank
and the foreign finance capital, the statement said these policies
were increasing burdens on the people in the form of increased rate of
electricity tariffs. |
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HP
for team to assess losses NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister, Mr Mohinder Singh, has requested the Centre to depute high-powered central team to assess the damage due to flash floods in Sutlej river. Mr Mohinder Singh met the Union Surface Transport Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, today and requested him to release Rs 500 crore assistance to repair and reconstruct damaged roads and bridges in the state. The minister told him that National Highway-22 has been opened for light vehicular traffic upto Bangtu and the road would be opened for heavy traffic shortly as restoration work was on a war footing. According to a press release, he
urged the Central Government to extend services of military personnel
in setting up baily bridges. |
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Rain
in Punjab, UP hills NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — Monsoon has been active in Himachal Pradesh. Rainfall: Rain or thundershowers have occurred at most places in Himachal Pradesh, at many places in Punjab and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh, at a few places in Jammu and Kashmir at isolated places in Haryana and east Uttar Pradesh. Weather was mainly dry in the rest of the region. The chief amounts of rainfall in cm are: Haryana: Chandigarh 3, Himachal Pradesh: Berthin 6, Barsar and Gohar 5 each, Kasol 4, Kahu, Nadaun and Pandoh 3 each, Shimla, Sunibhaji and Una 2 each and Bhuntar, Kangra, Kotkhai and Sundernagar 1 each, Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar 1, Punjab: Nangal 4, Batala 3, Amritsar 2 and Dasuya 1. Forecast valid until the morning August 5: Rain or thundershowers will occur at many places in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh, at a few places in Punjab and the plains of north Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in the rest of the region. Subdued rainfall activity likely to continue over the region outside hilly areas. Heavy rainfall warning: Heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh during next 24 hours. Forecast for Delhi and neighbourhood valid until the morning of Aug 5: Partly cloudy sky with possibility of thundery development in some areas towards evening. Farmers weather bulletin for Delhi: Forecast valid until the morning of Aug 5: Development of thunderclouds is likely at a few places. Outlook for the subsequent two days:
No large change. |
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1,000
pirated books seized NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — Over 1000 pirated books originally published by American publishers were seized from stationary and book shops located in educational institutions in the Capital with the arrest of four persons. Sleuths of the Economic Offences wing of the Crime Branch of the Delhi police raided Jawahar Book Depot at Ber Sarai opposite Jawahar Lal Nehru University gate, Kamal Book Sellers and xerox stall in Hostel number seven in AIIMS, Grover Reprographics in Kidwai Nagar and Vidya Book Stores at Nai Sarak and seized the books and arrested the accused, police said. The accused were identified as Ravi Kumar Majumdar, Vinod Singh, Narain Datta, Sanjeev Sharma and Jitender Grover. The raid was conducted after a
complaint lodged by the Publishers Association, the Association of
American Publishers and their member companies including Harcourt,
Persons, Prentic Hall Inc, Addison Wesley, John Wiley & Sns, Mc
Graw Hill Inc. |
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DD
Punjabi to be launched on Aug 5 NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — DD Punjabi, Doordarshan’s Punjabi Channel, will soon become the fifth satellite television channel in Punjabi to be telecast round-the- clock. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr
Parkash Singh Badal will formally launch the new channel on August 5
in Jalandhar at a function which will be attended by the Information
and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, and the Sports Minister,
Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. The launch of the round-the-clock regional
language satellite service will be followed by a cultural programme
which will be telecast live. The telecast will be from 7.30 pm to 8 pm
on DD 1 and from 7.30 pm to 11 pm on DD 2. |
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