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| Sunday,
October 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Disgruntled comrades to join
hands DD hands viewers to
Packer channel Vajpayee to fly to
Delhi today Kidney trade racket busted HC upholds death
sentence against 2 |
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Khushwant
on women again Jharkhandis are happy,
apprehensive Oppn, SP leaders
held in UP Police, BSF martyrs
remembered Sawal Dus.... is killer game, says
Kher C’swami ‘knew’ of plot to kill
Rajiv Jethmalani doubtful
about CJI’s real age Nepal ‘will not’ shelter
anti-Indian elements Speakers give pat
on BJP back RSS controlling
govt: Sonia No PM can
ensure mosque’s construction: Uma Kesri still
critical Arrest Mahajan for
violating Act: YC Maximum alert
in Manipur 4 Pak nationals chargesheeted Woman, daughter
charred to death Hindu mahasabha
panel formed
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Disgruntled comrades
to join hands NEW DELHI, Oct 21 — Come Monday, all those who are either disgruntled with the ruling Left Front in West Bengal or have lost hope with the existing political parties in the state will get a platform to join hands. The main actor behind the creation of this platform is former CPM Lok Sabha MP Saifuddin Choudhury who, ever since his expulsion from the CPM, has emerged as a rallying point for the disenchanted comrades. On October 23, seeds for the formation of a new political party would be sown at Moulali Youth Centre in Calcutta, Mr Choudhury told TNS in a conversation ranging from his future plans to his differences with a party which he served for about three decades. “Transparency, equal opportunity to people, democracy, secularism and peace” would be the guiding principles of the movement and eventually of the party, Mr Choudhury, who served the CPM for two terms in the Lok Sabha, said. At the moment we are just launching a platform for like-minded people to come together for deliberating on important issues, Mr
Choudhury said, adding that based on their assessment and popular response, a collective decision would be taken for forming a new party. Asked abut the name of the party or the platform, Mr Choudhury avoided a direct reply, saying that a decision would be taken in consultation with all colleagues. But exactly when would the party come into existence, the former CPM leader, whose name from the CPM register was struck last month, said “definitely by the end of this year”. When confronted about the source of resources required for the movement and eventually for the formation of the party, Mr Choudhury said, “I have been asking for state funding of the parties and elections for years now. Till that happens, we would accept money from all who are prepared to give us openly. Our accounts would be open for auditing and transparency would be the key word in our financing of the organisation and funds etc. To a question on his platform’s relationship with the Trinamool Congress of the Union Railway Minister, Ms Mamta Banerjee, Mr Choudhury replied in negative saying that “no truck with them, who belong to the National Democratic Alliance”. Asked about the Congress, he said that “the Congress is a secular party and we can talk to them”. On how the estrangement with the CPM began, Mr Choudhury reluctantly said that it began with the massacre at the Tiananmen Square in the nineties when he objected to the position taken by the party. |
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DD hands viewers to
Packer channel NEW DELHI, Oct 21— Doordarshan seems to be in a tearing hurry to snatch back its prime time viewership from the satellite channels. It has called in Australian media magnate Kerry Packer owned Channel Nine to refurbish its image and given it a three hour slot in the evening and two hours in the morning and even set up new transmitters to increase its reach. In the process the over-exuberant officials of Doordarshan, including the Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rajiv Ratna Shah, have handed the Australian Channel whatever is left of its viewership on a platter with the “golden hours” of Doordarshan now the property of Channel Nine. Doordarshan officials, in wording the contract with Channel Nine, have ensured that the Australian network got a direct entry into the Indian homes without having to set up a channel of its own. The Australian channel has been allowed to retain the copyrights of the programmes it will be providing to the Doordarshan to be relayed. For the Rs 60 crore a year which Channel Nine will be paying Doordarshan, the latter will get no software while it will be providing the Australian channel with all its infrastructure, expertise and hardware. Sources in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting point out that not only all rules have been flouted in the attempt to accommodate Channel Nine, but Doordarshan officials have also sought personal gains in the process. Relatives of some of DD officials, involved in wording of the contract with Channel Nine have apparently been accommodated by the channel. According to reports, the wife of a DD official who already has a vigilance inquiry pending against him, was ‘accommodated’ by the channel on a hefty salary. While employed in the Metro channel the official was involved in wording of the contract with Channel Nine. He is said to be close to the Prasar Bharati CEO but has now been transferred out of Metro channel by Ms Sushma Swaraj, who took charge of the I&B Ministry. She has herself been questioning the deal with Channel Nine. Incidentally, the contract has certain clauses which also ensure that all the programmes provided by Channel Nine will have to be shown during the ‘golden hours’ on Metro channel. As a result some of the programmes rejected earlier by the DD are now back in prime time slots. Some defaulters in Doordarshan’s list have also found a way back on through Channel Nine. Sources point out that had the Australian channel decided to make its own way into India, like another Australian Rupert Murdoch owned Star TV, it would not only have to start from scratch as far as the viewership was concerned, but would also have had to invest large sums to create facilities for beaming its programmes. According to reports for the first time Doordarshan will be repeating programmes in the morning which it will be showing during the ‘golden hours’. Surprisingly Doordarshan has allowed its Australian partner to charge advertisers for the repeat relay. This, sources point out, would imply that Chennal Nine would be earning twice for the same programmes as there will be different advertisers for the morning and evening slots. Doordarshan once had advertisement revenue of more than Rs 300 crore, which now has plummeted to as little as Rs 36 crore. It will be interesting to see, how the national broadcaster will increase its earnings by such arrangements with its partners? |
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Vajpayee to fly to Delhi today MUMBAI, Oct 21 (UNI) — A fortnight after the knee-replacement surgery, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is ‘fully fit’ and all set to fly to the Capital tomorrow afternoon. Dr Farooq E. Udwadia and Dr Nandu Laud, who constantly monitored the progress of Mr Vajpayee at the Breach Candy Hospital after he was successfully operated on October 10 for his arthritic left knee by the New York-based orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Chitranjan Ranawat, are satisfied with the good recovery and found him fit to be discharged from the hospital on Sunday. “He is walking up and down the corridor of the hospital and his vital signs were normal’’, they said. “He is by and large free from pain and can now flex his knee satisfactorily.’’ From day one after the operation, Mr Vajpayee continued to monitor the national and international developments. He was reading newspapers and magazines and watching television to be aware of the latest developments. Even from the hospital he attended to important official business and went through important files. The Prime Minister will leave for the Capital by a special IAF aircraft. According to sources here, the Prime Minister will have to use a walker for a few days. During Mr Vajpayee’s stay here, his spokesperson Ashok Tandon denied reports that he might have to undergo surgery on his right knee as well. Meanwhile, residents of Mumbai are hoisting a 1-km-long banner bedecked with messages of good wishes and bidding a fond “bye...bye’’ to the Prime Minister. The banner starts from the Breach Candy Hospital to Haji Ali. Mr Mahajan unfolded the banner in presence of actress Juhi Chawla an actor and BJP leader Nitish Bharadwaj. Meanwhile, tight security continued to be maintained in the city in the wake of PM’s stay here. It is perhaps for the first time that any Prime Minister was in the metropolis for a stretch of 14 days constantly. Mr Cyrus Engineer, General Manager (planning and marketing) of the Breach Candy Hospital feels proud that Mr Vajpayee was operated at his hospital. |
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Kidney trade racket busted PATNA, Oct 21 — Reports of atrocities on starved and job-seeking Bihari work force, who migrate to other states in search of work, are not uncommon. To this tale of woes is added the racket of kidney trade. In a sensational revelation, some Bihari labourers put off the lid on the secret trade of removal of kidneys from minor boys of Bihar in Sikkim and West Bengal and their sale to doctors and medical dalals (middle men) from Mumbai and Calcutta. Two batches of workers from Kasmar village of Bokaro district were taken to Sikkim. One batch was promised jobs in Calcutta but was later moved to Sikkim, via Siliguri. Some of these workers, who got wind of this kidney trade, fled in the dark of the night and reached their village to narrate the tale. They were contacted by some alleged contractors who promised them jobs in Sikkim. When they reached there, they were put up in camps and given rotten food and wine. No cash was paid. During their morning ablutions, one of the victims of this kidney trade revealed to them the modus operandi of the trade. The labourers were given stale food and spurious wine to drink. Many of them naturally fell ill. They were then taken to clinics and through operations, one of their kidneys was removed. After a few days’ rest, they were given some money to return to their villages to take more rest. Getting terrified by the tales, the labourers confirmed the story with those Bihari labourers who were there before they arrived. They too confirmed that they were promised wages of Rs 100 per day but were getting only Rs 30. The labourers who fled and reached Kasmar said that they were kept in tight security and were not allowed to move out of the camp. The Siliguri and Jalpaiguri areas have seen sudden spurt of high profile medical clinics. It is believed that kidneys are kept in these clinics and later sold to doctors from Calcutta and Mumbai, who either have their frontman there or themselves come to buy the kidneys. Doctors are of the opinion that a kidney can be preserved for transplantation up to three weeks. This is not the only such case in the state. A few days back, a man was caught with a boy, in the Samastipur area, whom he had lured to sell to the racketeers in Nepal who take away both the kidneys and kill the boys. The man confessed to his crime. It is believed that doctors along the Indo-Nepal border areas of Bihar are hand in glove with the racketeers of kidney trade. They perform the operations and preserve the kidneys which are then sold to the doctors of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The flourishing kidney trade in the state capital was also busted recently when an agent of the doctor was arrested recently from Patna Medical College Hospital. He is said to be working for some important doctors in Patna. The Patna police is still investigating the case. It is alleged that there is pressure on the police to `wind up’ the case. A year back, a very prestigious hospital of Patna had to be closed in haste and the owner had to flee as the ongoing kidney trade was reported in a section of the local media. The hospital is still lying unclaimed and vacant. |
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HC upholds death sentence against 2 NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court has upheld the death sentence against a man and a woman for sacrificing a one-and-half-year-old girl in cold blood in a witchcraft ritual and converted the capital punishment of two others into seven years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI). A Division Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice Arijit Passayat and Mr Justice D.K. Jain, which yesterday heard the reference for the confirmation of the capital punishment of the six convicts, however, acquitted two of them giving them the benefit of doubt. Describing the murder as a rare offence, the Bench confirmed the death sentence awarded by a sessions court on Shakila and Babu Lal, but converted the capital punishment of Iqbal and Munir Bux into seven years’ RI as the duo were found guilty of concealing the evidence under Section 201 of the IPC. Giving the benefit of doubt to Chaman for whose benefit the witchcraft was performed because she did not have a child even after three years of marriage, the court also said there was no clear evidence against the sixth convict, Tabiz Ali. Government counsel Anil Soni said Shakila had arranged the performance of witchcraft for the benefit of her daughter, Chaman, in Sultanpuri area of West Delhi on October 2, 1987 and Babu Lal had picked up one-and-half-year-old Kavita for the sacrifice from the neighbourhood. Additional Sessions Judge K.P. Verma had awarded death sentence to all six accused on April 29 this year subject to its confirmation by the high court. The child was allegedly burnt with acid and her body was later found in a nearby water tank. The police, which had recovered most of the articles used in the ritual, had alleged that Munir Bux and Iqbal had abetted in destroying the evidence. The government counsel had pleaded in the court that none of the accused should be let off for being involved in such a heinous crime. |
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Khushwant on women again NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (UNI) — Barely a few months after the launch of ‘The Company of Women’, Khushwant Singh is out with another book on his favourite subject. The Company of Unforgettable Women, a compilation of characters from his earlier works put together by his daughter Mala Dayal, profiles some of the many women he has known, from his grandmother to mother, Mother Teresa to Phoolan Devi and the Muslim girl Ghayoorunnisa Hafeez, who forever changed his attitude toward Muslims. The book, launched last evening at a glittering ceremony, paints colourful and true-to-life portraits of the women he has known, loved, despised and been with. The list of women include Indira Gandhi, — who when she was elected Prime Minister for the first time, his father opined “how a woman could rule this country”, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first woman Cabinet minister, painter Amrita Shergil, Sarojini Naidu and Sadia Dehlvi. The book, published by Penguin India, begins with ‘The Portrait of a Lady’, his memories of his grandmother, who “like everybody’s grandmother, was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the 20 years that I had known her.” The women are also those he has conjured up in his numerous stories written over 60 years, like Martha Stack (Black Jasmine), Lady Mohan Lal (Karma), Jean Memsahib (The Memsahib of Mandla), the hijra whore Bhagmati (Delhi) and the free-spirited Molley Gomes (The Company of Women). Khushwant Singh, who kept a picture of Mother Teresa in his study at his villa in Kasauli, also talks of his interview with Mother Teresa, on whom he was commissioned by ‘The New York Times’ to write a profile a decade ago. He spent three days with the mother starting the interview sessions early morning and going right through the evening. The author’s opposition to reservation for women, which he feels benefits only a select few, ‘’the granting of equal rights to women are far from being the social or educational equals of men has brought a bumper harvest of important positions to the very small number of women who are capable of grasping the opportunity’’. ‘’Though I am nothing to look at, it is women who have sought my company more than I have sought theirs,’’ quips the author, who has been accused of being distracted from serious work due to his fondness for the company of women. |
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Jharkhandis are happy,
apprehensive RANCHI, Oct 21 — There is hope and joy, but there is apprehension too. As various political parties engage in their power games to capture the hot seat in the new mineral-rich state of Jharkhand, people are hoping that the game of political upmanship does not spill over to the streets. Anxiously waiting for November 15 when they would be residents of the state of their dreams, people in this capital city hope that no one tries to stoke fire over words like “tribals” and “outsiders”. The issue has been at the back of mind of people who have come and settled in this city and other urban areas over the years. “After the Bill for the creation of the new state of Jharkhand was adopted, there have been one or two incidents of rough handling of outsiders. We hope such incidents do not happen again”, says Rajeev Kumar, a lawyer who hails from Chhapra in Bihar. Though a little apprehensive, a majority of the settlers feel that everything would work out well. “Patience and mutual accommodation would ultimately triumph”, says Mr Pramod Narang, president of the Main Road Traders Association. The feeling spreads across all sections of people. There have been celebratory rallies almost every day since the Bill for the creation of the new state was passed. “It is like the birth of a new baby who holds out a lot of promise”, says Mr Inderpal Singh, a shopkeeper, referring to the state’s immense mineral wealth. Mr Jagdev Mahato, a rickshaw-puller, is equally happy. “I hope to raise my earnings from Rs 100 to Rs 150 a month”, he asserts. And he is not placing his bets on any of the three main contestants for Chief Minister’s post. “I will support whoever becomes the Chief Minister”, he says. As for the most important task ahead for the new government, most agree that it will be to contain violence of the Marxist Coordination Committee which has influence in 14 of the 18 districts of the new state. |
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Oppn, SP leaders held in UP MAU (UP), Oct 21 (UNI) — Senior leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP), including leaders of Opposition in both Houses of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature, were arrested here today while they were attempting to enter the district town to meet riot-affected people. The seven-member SP inquiry team that came to visit the curfew-bound areas here, was arrested along with hundreds of partymen at Dohrighat on the district border. Those who were taken into custody included Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Dhaniram Verma, Vidhan Parishad Opposition leader Ahmad Hasan, Rajya Sabha member Dara Singh Chauhan, MLC Ramashray Vishwakarma, MLAs Ram Piyare Singh and Waseem Ahmed, besides party leaders Durga Yadav, Ram Darshan Singh Yadav, Altaf Ahmed Ansari and Raj Kumar Rai. The police, however, said only 100 SP workers were arrested. The district administration said here that in three out of the four sectors of Roza, Chowk and Sanskrit Pathshala, curfew would be relaxed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. |
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Police, BSF martyrs remembered NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (UNI) — The police and paramilitary forces all over the country today paid homage to 1,248 valiant personnel who had laid down their lives in the line of duty, by holding commemorative parades. Commemoration Day was marked by the BSF with a parade at the BSF Memorial at Chhawla Camp here in the presence of Director-General E.N. Rammohan and other senior officers. Officers and men of the Delhi police and various central police organisations observed the day with great solemnity at the New Police Lines, Kingsway Camp, here. Rich tributes were paid to the 1248 policemen of various central police organisations and state police, including 12 from the Delhi police, who died last year in various operations. Delhi Police Commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma, along with Directors of the Intelligence Bureau and the CBI and heads of central police organisations, placed wreaths on the memorial dedicated to the ‘unknown policemen’. The Commissioner distributed sarees/shawls to widows and dependants of 12 policemen who laid down their lives while on duty during the last year and also handed over letters of appointment to 53 widows and dependants of police personnel. At the Chhawla Camp function, the BSF Director read out the names of the martyrs from a “martyrs book” brought to him by ensigns and laid wreaths on the memorial. The flag was flown at half mast as officers and staff observed two minutes’ silence. |
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Sawal Dus.... is killer game, says Kher MUMBAI, Oct 21 (PTI) — If Amitabh Bachchan says “lock kiya jaye” in “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, the favourite words of host Anupam Kher in the forthcoming mega show “Sawal Dus Crore Ke” are “freeze it”. If “Kaun Banega Crorepati” has more questions on history, geography, people and places, “Sawal Dus Crore Ke” focuses more on current affairs. This is how the two shows differ from each other, Kher told a press conference here today. To be aired on Zee Network at 8.30 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from October 23, “Sawal Dus Crore Ke” was not just a money game. It was more about compassion between participants, hosts and viewers. It was a killer game and well- devised, Kher said. Asked what were his choicest words he decided to use as the host of this mega show, Kher said many suggestions came to him. One of them was “seal kiya jaye”. The show director had given me briefs but first I have to get familiarised with them before using such phrases, he said. To a question whether he was apprehensive about the show’s success particularly when mega star Amitabh Bachchan was anchoring a similar programme, Kher said “I have great regards for him. He is a good friend. But when it comes to professionalism it is altogether different. “I do not take life as a success or a failure. I just do my job properly. There is a place under the sun for everyone”. |
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C’swami ‘knew’ of plot to kill Rajiv NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (PTI) — “The big leader could be killed” and the 1991 polls postponed, a key witness before the Jain Commission has quoted controversial godman Chandraswamy as having told him before Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. The witness, Ramesh Dalal, claimed Chandraswamy made this statement prior to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by a human bomb at Sriperumbudur on May 21 that year. In his forthcoming book on the assassination, its conspiracy and “Cover-up”, Dalal said he had gone to Chandraswamy to get election funds for a candidate who was contesting the Lok Sabha polls on a Samajwadi Janata Party (headed by then Premier Chandra Shekhar) ticket from Yeotmal in Maharashtra. The godman told him “There was no need to send the money for the election campaign as the election would be postponed.” “I asked him what was the reason for his saying so, to which he (Chandraswamy) did not reply. I told him that I had visited his ashram specially at the instance of the candidate and therefore, he should tell me when he was going to send the money. “I continued to ask why the elections would be postponed. He (the godman) replied angrily ‘there might be several reasons. Even the big leader could be killed’,” Dalal, who had deposed before the commission on several occasions, said in his book. In 1995 when Chandraswamy’s name cropped up during the Jain panel’s proceedings, Dalal claimed the controversial religious figure had “offered a huge amount” and a petrol pump to him if he “sided with him” in the commission’s proceedings. The author said though he was “scared that he (Chandraswamy) might get me killed before my deposition” before the Jain panel, he wanted to find out more about the “conspiracy behind the assassination”. In a chapter on the “origin of LTTE in Sri Lanka”, Dalal claimed that a senior Tamil leader (then a Congress MLA) had given shelter to LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in his house in Madurai, while another top leader (then in DMK) used to frequently visit the LTTE chief’s ailing mother who was being treated in a local hospital. The book also has a chapter on the role of Sikh militants and their “links” with the
LTTE in the context of the “larger conspiracy” to kill the former Prime Minister. The author claimed that the assassination was a “joint operation” of the sikh militants and the
LTTE. |
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Jethmalani doubtful about CJI’s real age NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (PTI) — Former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani today stirred another controversy by expressing doubts over the “real age” of Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand in his new book, but official records support the Chief Justice. The 175-page book, “Big Egos, Small Men”, which hit book stores two days ahead of its formal release on Monday, is written in the backdrop of Mr Jethmalani’s confrontation with Mr Justice Anand and Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee that led to his sacking from the Union Cabinet in July. It is the “untold story” of three persons — the third one being the current Law Minister Arun Jaitley — who “bamboozled an unsuspecting Prime Minister”, according to the blurb. Mr Jethmalani, in the chapter “Our Chief Justice”, refers to a petition filed in the early 1990s in the Madras High Court when Mr Justice Anand became its Chief Justice, challenging his claim to have been born in 1936. The petition was dismissed “without dealing with the merits of the issue in controversy”, he says. He claims that a document made available by the General Council of the Bar in England shows Mr Justice Anand’s year of birth as 1934. He reproduces the document in the annexure of the book. However, official records show that the Chief Justice’s matriculation certificate shows his date of birth as November 1, 1936. His passport, issued in 1960, gives the same date. Mr Jethmalani, referring to the enrolment of Mr Justice Anand with the Bar Council of Delhi, writes: “The records show that Dr Anand claimed to have been born on November 1, 1936. But he also claimed that his matriculation certificate had been misplaced.” “There is no evidence,” he says, “that Dr Anand ever produced the matriculation certificate which he affirmed to have been misplaced.” However, to a query from the President’s Office last year on this issue, the Law Ministry had written in April 28, 1999, saying that “we do not see any need to reopen the matter”, according to official records. The ministry had cited the May 16, 1991, communication from the President’s Secretary which referred to petitions on Mr Justice Anand’s age and said: “The records have been perused and the matter considered by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (Justice Ranganath Mishra). “The President has come to the conclusion that the petitions of the S.K. Sundaram, in respect of the age of Dr Anand, the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, be rejected and that no inquiry as stipulated under Article 217(3) of the Constitution need be undertaken,” the 1991 communication from the President’s office had said. |
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Nepal ‘will not’ shelter
anti-Indian elements DEHRA DUN, Oct 21 — Nepal will not give shelter to anti-Indian elements and will never permit its soil to be misused against a friendly country, Mr Narayan Singh Pun, MP of the ruling Nepali Congress and former Minister for Tourism, said. He was in the city to attend the diamond jubilee celebrations of Gorkha Military Inter-College. In reply to a question, he said the instability in Nepal was because democracy was at an infancy stage. In comparison, India had been a democracy for the past over 50 years. Regarding the law and order situation in Nepal, he said Maoists did create some problems in Nepal but the Nepali Congress had recently invited them for talks. When asked about Pakistan’s ISI activities from Nepal, Mr Pun said the government had started a campaign to nab bad elements. Anybody operating against a friendly nation from within Nepal’s territory would not be tolerated. Strict orders had already been passed to the security forces to keep an eye on those entering the country. Regarding Mirza Dilshad Baig’s entry in the Cabinet ministry of Nepal he said Mirza fought the elections as per Nepal’s constitution. There was no criminal case registered against him in Nepal. Mr Pun had studied in Gorkha Military Inter-College and was commissioned in the Nepalese army. After retiring, he started his own civil airlines service. Later, he joined politics. |
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Speakers give pat on BJP back SULTANPUR (UP), Oct 21 (UNI) — Speakers at a state executive meet of the Bharatiya Janata Party today gave their governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh a big pat on the back and expressed the hope they would last their full terms. The BJP-led central government had improved the country’s image and notched up successes on the development front, they said. The security situation was good and government agencies were zealously pursuing corruption cases. Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta held the Congress governments of the past responsible for the state’s backwardness and claimed that Uttar Pradesh had not received its due share of funds in the first three five-year plans. Union Surface Transport Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the Ayodhya-Allahabad road route would be made a national highway, thus strengthening connections between the two “holy cities”. State BJP chief Kalraj Mishra reiterated that the court decision in the Ayodhya case would be honoured. Among other speakers were Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, state Higher Education Minister Om Prakash Singh and former mp Sanjay Singh. The meeting will continue tomorrow. |
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RSS controlling govt: Sonia KANPUR, Oct 21 (UNI) — Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said it was a ‘sin’ to equate the status of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) with the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, and alleged that the BJP-led coalition government was running on the dictates of an organisation that had spread communal hatred in the country. Addressing a rally organised by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee here, the Congress President said several personalities of the BJP-led coalition, including the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and up chief Minister had no courage to speak a word against the RSS. In an oblique disapproval of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani attending the three-day RSS national camp at Agra, Ms Gandhi alleged that these people proudly associated with an organisation that had spread the hate campaign and principles which resulted in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Vowing to fight these “dangerous elements” vigorously and unitedly, she urged people to be under no illusions and confront such principles. Ms Gandhi, who was addressing a public rally at Phoolbagh, the home town of newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Sri Prakash Jaiswal, MP, said misgovernance and all pervasive corruption were the hallmarks of the central and Uttar Pradesh governments and the common man was the worst-hit. “The farmers get lathi blows when they ask money for their crushed sugarcane, while the government is making merry selling off the public sector sugar units,” she alleged. Policemen were being attacked by criminals with the “blessings and protection” of the government, she charged. She said social justice did not mean encouraging casteism and fundamentalism. The Congress would fight them and take the country towards progress and development. For some people, the fight was to protect their own interests and positions and they had no concern for the plight of the people. The recent hikes in petroleum products, food and other essential items had hit middle class families, she claimed. Declaring her aim to run the Congress as a movement and not as a party, the Congress President said, “We have to show through our work that we can perform”. Making an indirect reference to the ongoing infighting in the UPCC, Ms Gandhi said she would brook no indiscipline and irresponsible behaviour from the Congressmen. She said the attitude of some opposition parties had encouraged encouraging communal elements and weakened secular forces. The Congress, she said, could have earned total support of the people had the partymen stood united, even as the BJP-led coalition had failed to perform on all fronts. The citizens felt insecure and the women unsafe, as the law and order situation was worsening, she lamented. The promise made by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to build a Ganga barrage at Kanpur was still a distant dream she said. Those who attended the rally included
AICC general secretaries Sushil Shinde and Mohsina Kidwai, former UPCC
president Salman Khurshid, Leader of the Congress group in the up assembly Pramod Tiwari and former up chief Minister Ram Naresh Yadav. |
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No PM can
ensure mosque’s construction: Uma NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (UNI) — Fireband BJP MP Uma Bharati today asserted that no prime minister could ensure the reconstruction of a mosque on the disputed site at Ayodhya. Talking to UNI, she said even if the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid became the prime minister he wouldn’t be able to construct a mosque at the site where the Babri Masjid stood earlier. The structure at Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1996. Ms Bharati, who had been on the forefront of the Ram temple issue, was asked why the party had sidetracked the matter. She replied that the people were faced with issues such as food, unemployment and economic backwardness. “We cannot continue to ‘cry’ on the same issue (temple).” The BJP leader said every party would take up only those issues that had popular support. |
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Kesri still
critical NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (UNI) — Former Congress President Sitaram Kesri was reported to be in a “serious, but stable” condition in the intensive care unit of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here today. A spokesman for the AIIMS said the veteran leader was under constant observation and treatment for pulmonary embolism and chest infection. He was being administered high doses of oxygen to control frequent attacks of broncho spasms and antibiotics for a severe chest infection. Mr Kesri was moved to the AIIMS on Wednesday after being treated at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for a few days. The 81-year-old leader was hospitalised on the night of October 12, with a fractured hip. He was put on an artificial respiratory support after being shifted to the ICU the next day when he complained of chest pain and doctors found a sharp fall in his blood pressure. |
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Arrest Mahajan for
violating Act: YC NEW DELHI, Oct 21— The Indian Youth Congress President, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala has demanded the arrest of Union Minister of Information Technology, Mr Pramod Mahajan whose family owes Prasar Bharti Rs 6.5 crore. In a statement issued here on Saturday, Mr Surjewala said that the charges against Mr Mahajan’s family constitute a violation of the Prasar Bharti Act. He has demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. “The BJP led government is not arresting their minister whereas they are putting behind bars leaders of various political parties who are not their allies” he said. The Youth Congress also plans to burn Mr Mahajan’s effigy at a demonstration in Parliament on Monday. |
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Maximum alert
in Manipur IMPHAL, Oct 21 (PTI) — The police and security outposts have been put on maximum alert following yesterday’s incident in which militants looted arms from Manipur’s Jiribam police station after overpowering the police personnel, official sources said today. The police and security personnel in the outflying areas had been asked to step up patrolling and frisking to detect movement of armed militants, who, the sources said, had been “roaming” in the area for the past few days. At least 40 suspected activists of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF) had fired in the air and stormed the police station, about 220 km west of here. They disarmed the policemen and took away 12 self-loading rifles, 14. 303 rifles, one sten gun, three revolvers, four 9mm pistols and two powerful grenade-firing rifles. The sources said senior police officials were concerned over the incident as the arms may be used against the security personnel. |
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4 Pak nationals chargesheeted BANGALORE, Oct 21 (UNI) — Four Pakistani nationals are among the 31 accused, including activists of the Deendar Anjuman, against whom the Karnataka Corps of Detectives (CoD) has filed charge sheets in connection with the series of bomb blasts in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa. The charge sheets were filed yesterday in the courts in Bangalore, Hubli and Wadi in Gulbarga district of Karnataka, where the bomb blasts had occurred in June-July this year. The accused have been charged with sedition, promotion of enmity among religious groups, mischief and conspiracy and under the Explosives Act, CoD Director General of Police V.V. Bhaskar told a crowded press conference here this evening. |
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Woman, daughter
charred to death NEW DELHI, Oct 21 — A 25-year-old woman, Rukhsana, her six-month old daughter, Rehana, were charred to death while her husband, Mohammad Rustam, and another person Mohammad Abdul injured in a fire break out in their house in the Vikaspuri area of West Delhi. The injured were taken to Safdarjung hospital where their condition was stated to be serious, the police said. The fire broke out at 3.30 a.m. last night when they were asleep. |
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Hindu mahasabha
panel formed NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (UNI) — A new 40-member national working committee of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has been constituted with Mr Dinesh Chandra Tyagi as president for a two-year period. The new committee has 15 new faces while 25 members have been re-elected. In addition, it will have 33 permanent invitees and 19 special invitees from all states. At its 56th national convention here the mahasabha also constituted an eight-member Marg Darshak Mandal and a nine-member Dharmacharya Samadeshak Mandal. |
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