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| Sunday, August 27, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Govt has no policy on J&K: Sonia 3 killed in Mumbai blast
No solution sans Pak: Bhat Newspaper office
blown up
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Maharashtra asked
to beef up Amitabh’s security Basu to retire as CM in mid-Sept Maharashtra to implement riots’ report Inter-nation plan
to check HIV Jat Sikhs fall
in backward castes: HC Heavy rain likely
in HP, UP Ban sought on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’
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Govt has no policy on J&K: Sonia NEW DELHI, Aug 26 — Congress President Sonia Gandhi criticised the Atal Behari Vajpayee government for bumbling along in tackling the protracted Jammu and Kashmir problem, which was only compounding the situation. Reaffirming her party’s support to the peace initiative in J and K, she regretted that the Union Government did not have a proper strategy either in dealing with the stepped-up militancy or getting the peace process off the ground. “It is understandable to some extent that the government does not want to spell out what it has in mind in J and K, but at the same time there is no evidence of a credible Kashmir policy,” Mrs Gandhi observed during an interface with mediapersons at a dinner hosted by Congressman and former MP Vishwa Bandhu Gupta here last night. Sporting a new hairdo, Mrs Gandhi exuded confidence. She mingled freely with correspondents covering the Congress beat for nearly an hour and left no room for doubt that she was in command and calling the shots. She spoke about the Congress waiting to step in and fill the void at the Centre, the reason for picking Mr Pranab Mukherjee to head the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, the government apathy in getting the Women’s Reservation Bill passed and the need to closely monitor if the three new states attained economic viability. Asked if the ground was not fertile for the Congress to strike considering the increasing fragility of the NDA government, Mrs Gandhi said: “Why are we there for?” The remark was pregnant with meaning but she did not elaborate. It was, however, evident that the Congress was biding its time and waiting for the BJP and its alliance partners to tie themselves in knots and fall apart. If the Pachmarhi resolution is to be taken as the benchmark, then the Congress has underlined the need to go it alone and taking recourse to coalition arrangements only as a last resort. This even the diehard Congressmen of all hues and colours dismiss as nothing short of wishful thinking. The ground reality, according to these Congress leaders, has changed drastically in the past five years and the power of regional satraps cannot be undermined or wished away. On the old warhorse Mr Mukherjee, who has no mass base being despatched to West Bengal where the Assembly elections are due in the first half of next year, Mrs Gandhi admitted he was reluctant initially due to family problems. “What matters is ultimately that he (Mr Mukherjee) accepted the assignment.” She said she did not expect the Congress to win the elections in West Bengal. At the same time she was confident the party would fare better under Mr Mukherjee’s stewardship. In her opinion Mr Mukherjee was the best bet for the party in West Bengal. On the Women’s Reservation Bill, Mrs Gandhi said there were divisions on the issue within the NDA. Then, there was Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Laloo Prasad Yadav ranged against reservation for women in legislatures. She said the male chauvinistic attitude was unfortunate but she blamed the NDA government for not making requisite effort in getting the legislation passed. “She said the NDA government had held only one all-party meeting on the subject. “The matter needs to be pursued and persevered with. The Vajpayee government lacked sincerity and should have convened at least three or four all-party meetings for any decision or consensus to be evolved.” Mrs Gandhi agreed with the suggestion that carving out new states might open the floodgates for other such demands from various parts of the country. Nevertheless, she was emphatic that the creation of
Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand should be a test case to see if these states were economically viable. The Congress chief refused to be drawn into a controversy as to who would be the leader of
Chhattisgarh where the Congress is sure to form the government. She stressed that the MLAs would decide whether there should be a tribal or non-tribal Chief Minister. Similarly, it was up to the MLAs to decide who would be the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in
Chhattisgarh and if that person should be a sitting MLA or not. |
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‘Mulayam shielding godman’ NEW DELHI, Aug 26 — Demanding his immediate arrest, Durga Bharti and Savitri Devi, the women who have accused Sakshi Maharaj of raping them and threatening to kill them, have accused Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav of resorting to “lies and drama” to protect him. Talking to mediapersons here, the women alleged that Sakshi Maharaj was exploiting women in all his 110 ashrams. Gram Vikas and Suraksha Samiti president Arun Dixit, who has helped the women register police cases, said they would soon move the Supreme Court. He said the women had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. Saying that he had not met any BJP or Congress leader yet, the samiti president denied any political motive behind the women’s complaints. Asked why they had taken so long to lodge a complaint against Sakshi Maharaj, who, they said, had been sexually abusing them for years, the women said he would not let them come out of his ashram and threaten them with dire consequences. They said Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was resorting to lies and pressure tactics to save Sakshi Maharaj. They alleged that Sakshi Maharaj with the help of the police and anti-social elements had turned his abodes into places of vice and had illegally amassed property worth crores. Narrating her tale, Durga Bharti said she had gone to Sakhsi Maharaj as a pupil in 1996. She said that
exploiting her circumstances, Sakshi Maharaj, who addressed her as ‘beti’, brought her to Delhi and after shifting her into a flat, raped her. “Threatening me against speaking out, he never allowed me to move out and tapped my phones,” she said. Durga Bharti said she was made principal of a college in Uddaitpur by Sakshi Maharaj who continued to exploit her sexually. She said after Sakhshi Maharaj learnt that she knew a lot about his wrongdoings, she was threatened at gunpoint and her licencesed revolver snatched. Durga Bharti said she had received threats from Sakshi Maharaj even after she was able to get a case registered against him on the state DGP’s intervention. Savitri Devi, who also accused Sakshi Maharaj of raping her along with her estranged husband and relatives, said she was stripped of clothes and kept in confinement for days. She also accused Sakhsi Maharaj of grabbing her land which she had got as relief from court after prolonged litigation. The woman said she had approached Mr Arun Dixit after reading about his having provided help to Durga Bharti in her fight against Sakshi Maharaj. |
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3 killed in Mumbai blast MUMBAI, Aug 26 (UNI, PTI) — Three persons, including two children, were killed and four injured in a blast at the Anna Nagar hutment in Sahar village of Andheri East early today. The police said the blast occurred in a hut where a cache of gunpowder was kept. Those killed included two brothers, identified as Vijay Thakur (3) and Ajay Thakur (5). 35.-year-old victim was yet to be identified. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, the police said. It was investigating how a large amount of gunpowder reached the hut. The injured, including the mother of the two children, were admitted to hospital. The explosion occurred merely 500 metres away from a petrol station. Meanwhile, the police has arrested two persons — Bharatsingh Anandsingh Thakur (24) and Vynketraman, alias Ramanna Laxmansingh Shista — in connection with the blast. The police was on the lookout for another absconding accused, identified as Babu Laxmansingh
Shista. |
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Maharashtra asked
to beef up Amitabh’s security NEW DELHI, Aug 26 (PTI) — The Union Home Ministry has asked the Maharashtra Government to beef up security cover of cine superstar Amitabh Bachchan after he wrote a letter to Home Minister L.K. Advani stating that he had received threats. The Home Ministry has asked the Maharashtra Government, which had downscaled Bachchan’s security cover, to provide him with protection given to the superstar earlier, official sources said here today. Bachchan, who is also anchoring the popular TV programme “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, had written to Mr Advani that he was receiving threats on his personal mobile. In his letter, Bachchan has expressed fears that he might be kidnapped in the same fashion as Kannada superstar Rajkumar, who had been abducted and held hostage by three others by forest brigand Veerappan. The Mumbai police has of late received intelligence reports that cine stars, including Bachchan, the dream girl of yesteryears Hema Malini and tragedy king Dilip Kumar might be kidnapped to secure release of some detenues arrested under TADA during Bombay blasts, the sources said. |
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Newspaper office
blown up
IMPHAL, Aug 26 (PTI) — Armed militants today blew up a newspaper office located inside the Pan Manipur Youth League (PMYL) building at Konung Lampak here after ordering 11 trainee journalists to leave the room where they planted an explosive, official sources said. Two unidentified persons entered the PMYL premises at 11 a.m. on the pretension of wanting to enrol themselves for a riding course conducted by the organisation. They then took out arms and ordered 11 trainee journalists present in the next room to leave the building and planted the explosive, the sources said. The powerful bomb exploded 45 minutes later, destroying the front portion of the building. There was no casualty as all the people present in the building had vacated it. However a car and a two wheeler parked in front of the office were destroyed in the explosion. The motive behind the attack was not immediately known. The PMYL, a social organisation devoted to impart sports training to youth, was planning to bring out its monthly journal ‘Lamyanba’ as a Manipuri daily from next month. ‘Lamyanba’ Editor Irengbam Arun told reporters that the armed men said they had been instructed by “elders” to carry out the “mission.” An investigation is on to ascertain whether RDX had been used in the explosion. A team of reporters who visited the site saw complete destruction of the front portion, including the office room of Lamyanba Pakhang, a youth wing of PMYL. PMYL sources said unidentified gunmen had hurled grenades at the office complex some years ago. Manipur Chief Minister W. Nipamacha Singh and Deputy Chief Minister I. Chandramani Singh have condemned the incident. |
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Basu to retire as CM in mid-Sept CALCUTTA, Aug 26 — Mr Jyoti Basu may take over as Left Front’s Chairman after he steps down from the Chief Minister’s post. The present incumbent, Mr Sailen Dasgupta, has volunteered to quit to make room for his senior colleague now being persuaded to accept the offer. Indications are there both in official and political circles about Mr Basu’s certain retirement in mid-September when he will complete his tenure of 23 years three months in Chief Minister’s office at a stretch. Mr Basu as longest-term Chief Minister has a right claim to put his name in the Guinness Book of World Records. Though Mr Basu has indicated his desire to quit as Chief Minister, he in no case will retire from politics. Initially, Mr Basu was keen to take part in national politics and had been assured of support of four former Prime Ministers — Mr V.P. Singh, Mr Chandra Shekhar, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and Mr I.K. Gujral who wanted him to lead the anti-BJP third front. But since the idea of formation of a third national front has become a remote possibility, Mr Basu may accept the prestigious offer of chairmanship of the Left Front committee which will make him “political godfather” of the Leftist parties. As instructed by him, the Chief Minister’s office has already started refusing all of his engagements after September 15 which is a pointer to Mr Basu’s decision of not remaining in Chief Minister’s chair afterwards. But still Mr Basu will remain as the Chief Minister at least for some time more to arrange the ‘coronation’ of his younger successor, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharyya, the next man in command. The Left Front committee will meet on September 2, when the issue of Mr Basu’s retirement as well as appointment of his successor, will be officially decided. At that meeting, formal request may be made to Mr Basu by all partners to head the front as its chairman. Mr Basu will visit Santi Niketan on September 15 to inaugurate Rabindra Bhavan, which the state Information and Culture Department has built. But as desired by him, the industrialists’ meet at Agartala arranged by the CPM Chief Minister, Mr Manik Sarkar, has been advanced to September 12 from September 16. Mr Basu has been invited to inaugurate the industrialists’ meet there. Mr Basu’s resignation on health ground has been on the cards for some time past. He himself has expressed his desire to quit more than once. But the party as well as other partners of the Left Front did not allow him to do so as he was considered to be irreplaceable. And even now when Mr Basu has decided not to remain in his office after September 30, some Front leaders want him to head the government till the next Assembly poll, which is likely some time in March-April next year. Mr Basu is, however, now certain to relinquish the post though he will be not be altogether retiring from politics. Mr Basu has assured the leaders that if his health permits, he will participate in electioneering in favour of the Left Front candidates in the assembly polls when they will have to fight a tough battle in the face of threat made by Ms
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, the BJP and the Congress. |
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No solution sans Pak: Bhat NEW DELHI, Aug 26 (PTI, UNI) — The Hurriyat Conference today said the Kashmir issue could be resolved only by tripartite talks among India, Pakistan and representatives of the valley and ceasefire by the Hizbul Mujahideen would not restore peace in Jammu and Kashmir. “Talks among the three parties have to take place and there is no alternative to it. The ceasefire offer has to come from Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir,” newly elected Chairman of Hurriyat Conference Abdul Gani Bhat said in an interview to “Eenadu Television”. Mr Bhat, who was in the Capital, said the other course to resolve the decades-old disputes was giving the people the right to self-determination. “Whatsoever results will emerge after the referendum would have to be accepted by the three parties — India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir,” Mr Bhat said. He said this should be held in areas of Kashmir (ceded to China by Pakistan) and Gilgit and Baltistan if necessary. The Hurriyat Chairman said if the issue was not solved across the table, “there were apprehensions that it is extremely likely that a war may erupt and if it does it will mean an atomic confrontation”. Replying to his proposal for bifurcating Hurriyat’s executive for holding talks with India and Pakistan separately, Mr Bhat said: “This is my idea in my personal capacity to break the deadlock in Kashmir, but this issue is yet to be ratified by the executive body of the Hurriyat Conference.” He said Pakistan’s
reaction to his proposal was encouraging and its Foreign Minister had said he would welcome the Hurriyat delegation “with open arms.” About the ceasefire announced and later
withdrawn by the Hizbul Mujahideen, Mr Bhat said there were many groups operating in Kashmir and efforts should not be restricted to bringing peace but also resolving the dispute. He justified Pakistan’s involvement in talks on the Kashmir issue, stating it was completely in line with the Indian government’s policy that Islamabad was a party to the dispute . “The Indians have been talking to Pakistan for the past 52 years. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself went to Pakistan in a bus last year and signed the Lahore Declaration,” he said. “While insisting on involvement of Pakistan in the talks, I am not going against the wishes or policies of India”, he said. The Hurriyat chief had come here to see Mr Mohammed Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation
Front (JKLF), who is in hospital. |
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Maharashtra to implement riots’ report MUMBAI, Aug 26 (PTI) — Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today reiterated that the Congress-led Democratic Front (DF) ruling coalition was committed to implement the recommendations of Srikrishna Commission report that probed the 1992-93 communal riots and serial blasts in the metropolis. “Nobody is above the law and law is equal for all”, Mr Deshmukh, who presided over a day-long convention of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) workers at the Shanmukhanand Hall here, said. Today’s convention was the culmination of a series of training camps organised by the MRCC for active Congressmen under its six districts in the city. The convention was inaugurated by AICC General Secretary Motilal Vora. The Chief Minister came down heavily on the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP Government and added that the Congress-led regime was committed to fulfil the aspirations of common man. In an indirect reference to the
Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, Mr Deshmukh said “sena leaders are afraid of being arrested while many members of Gandhi family have sacrificed their lives for the cause of the country”. Mr Deshmukh announced that a bronze statue of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi would be installed in the metropolis soon. He recalled the contributions of Rajiv in the field of science and technology and especially in the information technology sector. Inaugurating the convention, Mr Vora said Mumbai has a place of prime importance in the history of the Congress, which was established in the metropolis and from where Mahatma Gandhi gave the clarion call of “Quit India” to the British in 1942. |
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Inter-nation plan
to check HIV NEW DELHI, Aug 26 — The three-day South-East Asia regional conference of Health Ministers, which concluded in Kathmandu yesterday, has called for rational and effective response to HIV/AIDS from all member-countries. Another significant decision taken at the meeting was launching an inter-country programme among India, Nepal and Bangladesh to control communicable diseases. The conference was attended by Health Ministers of 10 countries, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bhutan, North Korea and Thailand. The Indian side was represented by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, C.P. Thakur, Director-General Health Services, Dr S.P. Aggarwal and Additional Secretary, Health, Mr G.R. Patwardhan. The agenda of the conference included rationalisation of WHO resources to strengthen inter-country collaboration, health sector reforms, HIV/AIDS in South-East Asia region and recommendations. Sources in the Health Ministry said the participants agreed that knowledge and tools to prevent HIV and to provide care to people living with HIV/AIDS were available in the region. |
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Jat Sikhs fall
in backward castes: HC ALLAHABAD, Aug 26 (UNI) —In an important verdict, a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court yesterday ruled that Jat Sikhs were also included in the backward castes category. The Bench allowed the writ petition of a Sikh Jat Baldeo Singh of Rampur district with cost and held that Jats among Sikhs were included in the backward castes and they should be given caste certificate to this effect. The Bench comprising Chief Justice S.K. Sen and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur, turned down the plea of the state government that only Jats among Hindus were backward castes and not Jat Sikhs. The petitioner had contested the election for the Rampur Zila Panchayat as a backward candidate for the seat reserved in the backward castes category. The tehsildar refused to issue a certificate to the petitioner for contesting the election on the ground that he was not entitled to a certificate of backward caste candidate. The Bench quashed the order of the tehsildar holding that Jat Sikhs were also included in the list of backward castes. |
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Heavy rain likely
in HP, UP NEW DELHI, Aug 26 — Rainfall: Rain or thundershowers have occurred at a few places in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, east Rajasthan and the plains of Uttar Pradesh. Weather was mainly dry in the rest of the region. The chief amounts of rainfall in cms are: Haryana: Jhajjar 6, Jagadhari 3, Guhla and New Delhi (Safdarjung) 2 each and Ayanagar (Delhi) 1, Himachal Pradesh: Jogindernagar 9, Sundernagar 5, Gohar and Pandoh 3 each, Kangra 2 and Nahan 1, Jammu and Kashmir: Katra 4 and Uttar Pradesh: Banbasa 7 and Bareilly, Basti, Regoli and Uttarkashi 1 each. Forecast valid until the morning of 28th: Rain or thundershowers will occur at many places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh, at a few places in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, east Rajasthan and the plains of Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in the rest of the region. Heavy rainfall warning: Heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh during next 48 hours. Forecast for Delhi & neighbourhood valid until the morning of 28th: Generally cloudy sky with a few showers/thundershowers, one or two may be heavy in some areas. Farmers weather bulletin for Delhi: Forecast valid until the morning of 28th: Moderate to rather heavy rain will occur at many places. Outlook for the subsequent two days: No large change. |
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Ban sought on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ CALCUTTA, Aug 26 (UNI) — A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court has directed New India Television to serve notice to a city woman who moved the court seeking a ban on the programme “Kaun Banega Crorepati’’. Ms Debasmita Sridhar, filed a petition before the court saying the programme is nothing but gambling and sought a ban on it. Mr Justice Asoke Kumar Ganguly passed an injunction on the telecasting of the programme. New India Television had moved the Division Bench challenging the order. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice A.K. Mathur and Justice Barin Ghosh passed an order staying the injunction. The matter will be heard on September 8. |
Bandh call for
actor’s release BANGALORE, Aug 26 (UNI) — Kannada Chaluvali (Narayanakumar group) leader G. Narayana Kumar has called for a state-wide bandh on September 2 if filmstar Dr Rajkumar is not released by forest brigand
Veerappan. He said here today that things had come to a stage that Kannadigas could ill-afford to remain silent. “Dr Rajkumar is the soul and spirit of
Kannadigas. If he is not released hundreds of Kannadigas will storm the forests”, he warned. |
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