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| Monday,
August 28, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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PM’s visit not tied to CTBT Fresh floods maroon
600 in AP
SC ruling in narcotics case Veerappan’s demand on STF excesses met |
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Mistrust with Centre
has grown: J&K ‘Pak encashing on unemployment’
Panel for state
funding of poll Experts for fresh
look at contempt law
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PM’s visit not tied to CTBT NEW DELHI, Aug 27 — India’s Ambassador to the United States of America is emphatic that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s upcoming summit with President Bill Clinton is not tied to New Delhi signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Mr Chandra, who was here for consultations in preparation for Mr Vajpayee’s fortnight long trip to the USA, said the Clinton administration recognises that initialling the CTBT is to be decided by the political leadership not in isolation but in consultation with all the major parties and groups in Parliament. “The CTBT is not a bilateral issue and is not to be decided in discussions with the United States,” he observed in an exclusive interview. The Ambassador made these comments in response to a specific question about the Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s statement that if India signs the CTBT then Mr Vajpayee’s reception in Washington will be on a different footing and an affair to remember. Mr Chandra, who met the Prime Minister on Thursday, has since returned to Washington. The Ambassador said that the Clinton administration did not support the demand of Pakistan-backed militant organisations for a tripartite peace process for resolving the vexed Kashmir problem. Washington is keen that there should be an early resumption of the stalled Indo-Pak dialogue and for any such talks to be meaningful, cross-border terrorism has to come down. “What Washington is saying is that proper conditions have to be created by Islamabad so that India and Pakistan can sit across the table for removing the irritants that have bedevilled their relations over the last 50 years,” Mr Chandra said. The Clinton administration wants the interests of the Pakistani people to be protected, but for that Islamabad must shed its illusions and misconceptions. Washington has made it clear to Pakistan that by resorting to violence the status of the Line of Control (LoC) or the border is not going to be altered. Talks and not war is only way of resolving issues. Mr Chandra said the second Vajpayee-Clinton summit within a span of six months is an extremely positive development aimed at consolidating the multi-faceted relations between the two countries. The two leaders will review the progress achieved in the road map set out by Mr Vajpayee and Mr Clinton in their vision statement during the latter’s five-day visit to India in March this year. He indicated that clearance will be accorded to new power projects along with giving a fresh impetus to foreign direct investment, which had shown a downward trend lately. Besides, Indian and American officials involved with various groups encompassing trade related issues, science and technology, environment and countering international terrorism will also interact closely. Stating that Mr Vajpayee has a hectic schedule during his stay in the USA, where he will travel from coast to coast, Mr Chandra said that there was every possibility of the Prime Minister having a meeting with the Republican Presidential candidate George W Bush. The Prime Minister will also be interacting in great measure with a large number of Republic Congressmen, business leaders and the National Association of Manufacturers. Mr Chandra disclosed that there are innumerable proposals and requests for meetings with Non-Resident Indians including the members of the Sikh community. A Sikh cultural organisation has also sought an interface with Mr Vajpayee. |
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Fresh floods maroon
600 in AP HYDERABAD, Aug 27 (UNI) — Fresh floods marooned several villages in west and east Godavari, Krishna, Karimnagar and Khammam districts even as relief and rehabilitation measures continued on a war-footing in rain-battered areas of Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu told reporters that the situation was alarming. IAF helicopters and boats were rushed to Brahmanapalli village in Karimnagar district where about 600 persons were marooned. Several villages in Manthani and Mahadevapur mandals in the same district were also inundated by flood waters. He said several villages adjoining Kolleru lake in west Godavari and Krishna have been cut off from the rest of the state and another IAF chopper was sent to rescue 20 persons stranded on a hillock at Lakshmipur in Warangal district. He said heavy rains had lashed Karimnagar and Warangal districts yesterday with the former recording a rainfall of 23 cm. Meanwhile, water level in Godavari river was rising rapidly and was likely to reach the danger mark of 43 feet by this evening at Bhadrachalam in Khammam district. It had already touched 40 feet. Mr Naidu said a fresh breach had developed in the 115-year-old Fox Sagar where irrigation experts and the Army were engaged in plugging the breach. |
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SC ruling in narcotics case NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (PTI) — A person, during the raid by authorities on suspicion of keeping narcotic or psychotropic drugs, can demand that he be searched before a magistrate and non-compliance of such request would vitiate his conviction, the Supreme Court has ruled. Setting aside the conviction of a person accused of carrying nine grams of charas in his pocket, a Division Bench of Mr Justice G.B Pattanaik and Mr Justice U.C Banerjee said it was mandatory under Section 50 of Narcotic Drugs or Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for the authorities to accede to the request of the accused to be searched before a magistrate. “When a search is about to be made of a person under Section 41, 42 or 43 of the Act, and if the person so requires, the said person of whom search is about to be made has to be taken to the nearest gazetted officer of any of the departments mentioned in Section 42 or to the nearest magistrate,” Mr Justice Pattanaik said in the judgement. A witness in the case against one Ahmed had stated during the cross-examination that the accused himself had requested he taken to the magistrate for being searched but the police had declared that it was not necessary. Taking the refusal of the police seriously, the Bench said “there cannot be any doubt that failure on the part of the prosecution in complying with the provisions of Section 50 renders the recovery of illicit article (charas) suspect and vitiates the conviction and sentence of the accused....” The Court said since the conviction of Ahmed was based solely on the alleged possession of charas, which was recovered from his person during a search conducted in violation of the provisions of Section 50 of the act “the conviction and sentence is set aside.” The Court, while allowing the appeal of Ahmed against the High Court order, also directed that fine amount, if any has been paid by the accused, would be refunded to him. Dwelling in detail on various sections of
NDPS act, the bench was of the view that “a combined reading of the provisions of Section 42 and Section 50 would make it crystal clear that if the person to be searched requires to be taken to a gazetted officer or the nearest magistrate, the same must be complied with.” Mr Justice Pattanaik said failure to comply with the same would constitute violation of the requirements under Section 50 of the Act, which would ultimately vitiate conviction. On the legislative intent behind Section 50, the Court said for the sanctity of the search itself, the person to be searched has been afforded the minimum right to be searched before another gazetted
officer or magistrate and that right cannot be taken away, merely because the officer doing the search happens to be a gazetted officer. This safeguard given by the legislature was due to the provisions of the Act which shifts the onus to the accused and provides severe punishment for an offence under the Act, the court said. |
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Veerappan’s demand on STF excesses met CHENNAI, Aug 27 (UNI) — Conceding forest brigand Veerappan’s one of the two vital demands, the Tamil Nadu government has passed an order, setting aside Rs five crore as a corpus fund for compensation to be paid to the victims of “STF atrocities”, even as official emissary R.R. Gopal is set to leave for his third mission to the forest to secure the release of Dr Rajkumar and three others. Official sources here said the Home Department passed the order last evening after the Finance Department gave its clearance. The Karnataka government has also passed a similar order. The brigand was also firm on his other demand that all 121 Tamils including 51 TADA
detainees be released from the Mysore jail unconditionally. Meanwhile, Nakkeeran Associate Editor A. Kamaraj told UNI that Mr Gopal would set out for the forest tomorrow only if he was given the copy of the order for the release of the 121 persons. The journalist-emissary was yet to get a copy of Karnataka government order relating to the Rs five crore corpus fund set up by it, he added. Though Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had announced on Friday last that Mr Gopal would embark on his third mission tomorrow evening, sources here say that it was directly linked to the release of the 121 persons, said to be Veerappan sympathisers, hailing from Sathyamangalam forest area. Mr Gopal had earlier said that the success of his mission depended on the responses of the two governments. It remained to be seen how Karnataka would respond to the brigand’s demand of unconditional release of the 121 persons. Since the brigand had made it clear to the emissary during his second mission that there was no point in meeting him again without the two demands being conceded, Mr Gopal would like to undertake the third and crucial mission only when a clear picture emerged on the release of the 121 persons, the source said. It may be recalled that Mr Karunanidhi and his Karnataka counterpart S.M. Krishna who had studied the “clarifications” sought by Veerappan here on Friday, decided to set apart a total sum of Rs 10 crore (Rs five crore each) for providing compensation to victims of STF excesses. The exact amount of compensation to be paid to the victims would be based on the recommendations of the Sadashiva Commission which was constituted to inquire into the alleged atrocities committed by the personnel of Special Task Forces of the two states during their operations in 1992-93 to nab Veerappan and his gang members. |
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Mistrust with Centre
has grown: J&K NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Government has said “mistrust and hostility” between the state and the Centre have increased over the years and that grant of autonomy to the state is an “acute necessity” to salvage the situation. “We are not more united, not more integrated today than we were in 1952. During the 1965 and 1971 wars, people in the state were with the country against the enemy. Can that be true of today,” Jammu and Kashmir Law Minister P.L. Handoo said at a seminar here last evening. “Mistrust and hostility have increased between the Centre and the state government,” he added at the seminar on ‘how much autonomy for states?’ Mr Handoo said reversal and restoration of the status — pledged and promised — would salvage the situation and bring back normalcy to the militancy-hit state. The minister asserted that there was an “acute need for restoration of autonomy for the state, not as a demand for anything new but for restoration of what had been on the anvil in early 1950s and chosen later for future governance of Jammu and Kashmir.” After what started from August, 1989, with terrorist onslaught followed by imposition of central rule till October 1996, Jammu and Kashmir presented a panorama that must raise questions and seek answers, he said. Justice H.R. Khanna (retd) advocated more financial powers be given to the states. |
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‘Pak encashing on unemployment’ CALCUTTA, Aug 27 (UNI) — The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, today said Pakistan had been waging a proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir by taking advantage of the growing unemployment in the country. “There are 41 million registered unemployed in the country and Pakistan is taking advantage of it and fighting a proxy war,” “The 2000-odd ULFA men and women, who have surrendered, have asked for jobs only and nothing else,” he pointed out. Referring to the Kargil war, the Defence Minister charged Pakistan with betraying the 22-year-old understanding between the two countries over the non-demarcation of Line of Control in the remote Kargil and Dras sectors. He dismissed the allegations of the Army slackness in the Kargil sector and lambasted the previous governments for not taking proper care of the armed forces. Mr Fernandes regretted the general insensitivity towards the armed forces: “If we are so insensitive towards those who stake their lives for the country how we can care for the national security.” “The general feeling is that we are paying taxes and those in uniform will do the fighting.” “The Army is the fist and janta is the arm. The fist will be strengthened only when the people are totally committed to national security. Unfortunately, this type of commitment has not been a way of life with us,” he pointed out. He assured that there would not be another mistake of the Kargil kind in the future and said the NDA government had taken enough precautionary measures. He, however, said it would take some time to procure weapons of latest technology. “Lack of proper attention by the previous governments has taken us 17 years to procure advanced Jet trainer,” he observed. Refuting the allegation that the setting up of the committee to probe intelligence failure in Kargil was an eyewash, Mr Fernandes said the report of the committee had already been made public. He said the four task forces set up by his government on internal security and intelligence would submit their reports to the government shortly. |
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Vajpayee
visits RSS headquarters NAGPUR, Aug 27 — In an attempt to send a positive message to the hard-core followers and sympathisers of the party, the Prime Minister today went to the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh headquarters and paid homage to the RSS founder Dr K.B. Hedgewar. Not only that Mr Vajpayee made a point to mention the visit to the National Council delegates. Observers said that the Prime Minister wanted to convey that even while his government’s economic and other policies like on Kashmir were against the RSS precepts, he continues to be loyal to an organisation which indoctrinated him in forties. According to those who accompanied the Prime Minister to the RSS headquarters at Reshimbagh, Mr Vajpayee met the person who had indoctrinated him into the RSS at Gwalior and touched his
feet. |
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Panel for state
funding of poll NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (UNI) — A parliamentary committee headed by veteran leader Indrajit Gupta has recommended state funding of elections and said such a demand is justified constitutionally, legally and in the larger public interest. In the over 100-page report tabled in Parliament in the Monsoon Session, the committee has emphasised the need for an immediate overhauling of the electoral process to free it from criminalisation. Identifying money power and muscle power as the two major ills vitiating the electoral process, the committee said meaningful electoral reforms were urgently needed in these and other spheres. The committee, constituted on June three, 1998, pursuant to a decision of an all-party meeting on May 22, said state funding of elections was justified as political parties perform a vital public function of sustaining democracy and for performing this function of great importance, they should be financed from public funds. It recommended that the Centre create a separate election fund with a corpus of Rs 600 crore annually with another Rs 600 crore chipped in annually by the states. Observing that fighting elections had become a costly affair, the committee said that state funding of political parties and their candidates would tend to provide a level playing field even for those weaker parties which may not have easy access to big business or industrial houses. However, it said that state funding should be confined only to the parties recognised as national or state parties by the election commission and to the candidates set up by such parties. While upholding the ban on donations by government companies for political purposes, the committee said the issue of private corporate funding may be decided by the government and Parliament. Recommending that any state funding should be in kind, not in cash, the committee has suggested several facilities which could be given to recognised national and state parties and their candidates at state cost. These include rent-free accommodation in the national or state capitals with one rent-free telephone to political parties, free air time on Doordarshan and Air for election propaganda, specified quantity of petrol or diesel, paper for printing election literature, postal stamps, five copies of electoral rolls, one set of loudspeaker and refreshments for counting agents. |
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Himachal areas may
get heavy rain NEW DELHI, Aug 27 — The Monsoon has been active in Himachal Pradesh. Rainfall: Rain or thundershowers have occurred at many places in Himachal Pradesh, a few places in Jammu and
Kashmir, east Rajasthan and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in Haryana, Punjab, west Rajasthan and east Uttar
Pradesh.Weather was mainly dry in the plains of west Uttar Pradesh. The chief amounts of rainfall in cm are; Haryana: Delhi Ridge 1, Himachal Pradesh: Nadaun 8, Sujanpur Tira 5, Nagrota Surian 4, Kangra, Mandi and Paonta 3 each and Pandoh 1, Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu 5 and Kathua 2, Punjab: Mukerian 1, Rajasthan: Sangwara 3 and Banswara and Pushkar 1 each and Uttar Pradesh: Haripur and Uttarkashi 2 each and Basti 1. Temperatures: On Saturday, maximum temperatures were markedly above normal over most parts of Rajasthan. Forecast valid until the morning of Aug 29: 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 Haryana, Punjab, north Rajasthan and the plains of Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in south Rajasthan. 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 Aug 29: Generally cloudy sky with one or two showers/thundershowers in some areas. Farmers’ weather bulletin for Delhi: forecast valid until the morning of Aug 29: Light to moderate rain will occur at a few places. Outlook for the subsequent two days: No large change. |
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Experts for fresh
look at contempt law NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (UNI) — Contempt law must achieve a delicate balance between individual liberty, right to free speech and credibility of the courts, according to senior Supreme Court lawyer K.K. Venugopal. He said scandalising and attacking the courts, the judges and their decisions was a worldwide phenomenon. “But the courts are satisfied to leave to public opinion the attacks that are common, derogatory or contumacious to them.” Mr Venugopal was delivering a lecture on “Contempt Jurisdiction: Exploring Its Limits” organised here recently by the Capital Foundation Society. He said the admissibility of truth as a ground for defence against contempt needs to be explored. Speaking on the occasion, former Supreme Court Judge V.R. Krishna Iyer emphasised the need to have a fresh look at the contempt law. |
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