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| Wednesday, November 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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CJI case hearing adjourned Trinamool, CPM members clash Special status for Bihar sought It’s Laloo vs ‘baloo’ in Bihar Donkeys rule the roost in Bihar MPs complain against Jogi |
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SP claims gains in UP poll North India in Parliament Bank staff march
to Parliament ‘Hero of the hills’ gears up for stir
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CJI case hearing adjourned NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — A Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Mr Justice K.T. Thomas and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi today adjourned to December 6 hearing in the court’s suo motu contempt proceedings against Mr S.K. Sundaram relating to his threat to the Chief Justice of India, Dr A.S. Anand, to step down in view of the CJI’s age controversy. The Judges adjourned the hearing as Mr S.K. Sundaram collapsed during the court proceedings due to a mild heart attack and had to be rushed to a hospital. Earlier, the Judges declined to hear an intervention application by former Law Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani, praying that the court to keep its order of November 27 directing a CBI probe into the genuineness of the document relating to the CJI’s age. The court asked the senior counsel, Mr Shanti Bhusan, appearing for Mr Jethmalani, to file the intervention application in the registry and it would hear it in the normal course. They could not pass any order without seeing the application, the Judges said. Mr Shanti Bhusan pleaded that the court should hear the application along with the contempt petition as the order directing the CBI probe was passed by the court during the contempt proceedings. The court order had destroyed the reputation of Mr Jethmalani all over the world, he stated. Further, the court in its order had rendered a finding that “prima facie the document in question (annexed to Mr Jethmalani’s book “Big Egos and Small Men) dated September 4, 2000, giving the date of birth of the CJI was not a genuine document”, the counsel added. Mr Shanti Bhusan said that the order was passed behind the back of Mr Jethmalani and adversely affected his reputation. If the intervention application was heard, he would be able to demonstrate to the court that the document in question was a genuine one. Meanwhile, Mr Jethmalani filed a petition in the court under Article 32 (writ provision) and Article 142 (inherent powers of the court to do complete justice in any case) of the Constitution seeking recall of the court’s order of November 27 as it was in violation of the principles of natural justice and bad in law. |
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Trinamool, CPM members clash NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — Members of Left parties and the Trinamool Congress clashed in the Lok Sabha over the situation in West Bengal, forcing the Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, to adjourn the House during zero hour till lunch. Pandemonium broke out for an hour after the Speaker rejected a CPM sponsored notice for adjournment motion over Centre’s failure to provide immediate relief to the flood-hit West Bengal. Soon after the chair disallowed the motion, angry Left party members trooped into the well protesting “step-motherly” treatment to people of the state. Raising the issue during zero hour, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee accused the government of “declaring a war on the people of West Bengal and in a deliberate and calculated manner, it is turning a deaf ear to our legitimate demands.” Though Mr Chatterjee did not name the Trinamool Congress, he said the Centre was not extending any help to the State as it was being prevented by a section of the National Democratic Alliance. This drew loud protests from Trinamool Congress members who shouted that “it is a man-made flood” and also sought Centre’s intervention in West Bengal where, they alleged, the law and order machinery had broken down. Rejecting several notices including that of Mr Chatterjee, Mr Balayogi observed that though it was a serious matter, it did not merit admission of the adjournment motion and said he would allow a discussion under Rule 193 on the flood and drought situation in some states. Congress deputy leader, Madhavrao Scindia said he associated himself with the issue raised by Mr Chatterjee. He had given notices for discussion on drought in five states, Mr Scindia added. Earlier in the day, agitated opposition members in the House charged the government with failure to provide remunerative prices to farmers for their produce and warned that a major country-wide agitation would be launched if redress measures were not taken. The members demanded that a parliamentary committee be constituted to study the plight of the farmers and suggest remedial steps. Responding to the members’ concern, Consumer Affairs Minister, Shanta Kumar assured the House that Government was prepared to convert 125 FCI godowns in Bihar into crop procurement centres to allow the farmers to get remunerative prices for their produce. Contesting the opposition charge that the government was neglecting the farmers, Mr Kumar said the FCI itself did not undertake the entire procurement and had assigned the task to other agencies. Maintaining that the FCI was geared to meet the challenge of extra procurement, he said 102 lakh tonnes of rice had been procured this year as against 86.77 lakh tonnes last year. The debate on the plight of the farmers continued in the Rajya Sabha also with opposition Congress and the CPM making a frontal attack on the NDA government for pursuing “wrong” agriculture policies leading to growing number of suicides by the farmers due to poor returns from farms. Participating in the resumed discussion the members demanded a review of the agriculture policy which was “pro-rich and anti-farmer”. Special status for Bihar sought NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — An all-party delegation of MPs from Bihar today submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, demanding special category status and an economic package for the development of Bihar. The 31-page memorandum bearing signatures of 50 of the total 56 MPs (from both Houses) sought special financial help, particularly in shape of development projects in 11 sectors to regenerate the state economy which lost two-thirds of the revenue resource base due to the newly created state of Jharkhand. It also demanded waiver on all loans by the Central Government. The MPs said since the mineral-rich Jharkhand had been carved out, Bihar had been reduced to a disadvantageous position. Members belonging to seven political parties met several times to discuss the post-division scenario for Bihar. After detailed deliberations, they concluded that if Bihar was not to be allowed to sink deeper into the morass into which it finds itself today and if its people were to be provided with decent standards of living and adequate employment opportunities, the Central Government would have to provide a financial package for Bihar. The convener of the core committee of MPs and Agriculture Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, was quoted by news reports as saying that the Prime Minister’s response was “positive and encouraging” to their demand. The memorandum pointed out that after the formation of Jharkhand as a separate state, Bihar was left with 56 per cent of area and 75 per cent of the population of the undivided Bihar. As much as 56.5 per cent population of the left-out Bihar lived in flood-prone conditions, the memorandum said. With the lowest per capita productivity in agriculture at Rs 661 against the national average of Rs 2,370, Bihar also suffered from lowest investment having highly adverse credit-deposit ratio of 24.5 per cent against the national average of 53.4 per cent. In addition, the bifurcation resulted in transferring 79 per cent forest area to Jharkhand. Heavy industry like TELCO, TISCO and Bokaro Steel had also gone to the new state, the memorandum said. |
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It’s Laloo vs ‘baloo’ in Bihar PATNA, Nov 28 — When only ‘baloo’ and ‘Laloo’ are left in divided Bihar, naturally the politics will be an inter-play between the two. So, after a brief political lull, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav is set to create a political storm over the plight of those associated with the baloo (sandy soil). The RJD has decided to go the whole hog over the cause of the farmers and in the wake of it threatened to stall Parliament proceedings yesterday onwards. Mr Laloo Prasad has announced a state-wide agitation against the “anti-farmer” NDA government. The RJD leader in the Lok Sabha, Prof Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, and the Water Resource Minister, Mr Jagadanand Singh, threatened to paralyse Lok Sabha proceedings to put pressure on the Centre to procure at least 20 lakh tonnes of paddy and rice at the support price of Rs 510-40 per quintal. It is to be mentioned here that flood and drought-affected farmers are forced to sell their produce at half the support price in the absence of procurement centres of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and lack of enthusiasm shown by the FCI people in bailing out the state’s farmers. In the meantime, Mr Laloo Prasad, realising that in truncated Bihar, peasant politics is that he can rely on, has announced to take up a tour of villages to mobilise farmers’ support against the NDA. The agitation programme and his personal itinerary will be announced soon. He has been championing the cause of farmers against the entry of multi-nationals and RJD activists have carried his message to villages. The farmers’ movement is aimed at “exposing” the “anti-poor” policies of the NDA government. Meanwhile, the RJD has charged the NDA government with playing into the hands of the lobby of Punjab farmers. The RJD spokesperson, Mr Shivanand Tiwari, said the Centre had succumbed to the pressure of Punjab MPs and the FCI was procuring foodgrains heavily from Punjab and not from poorer states like Bihar. Mr Tiwari said despite the fact that the Agriculture Minister was from Bihar, the Centre was intentionally neglecting the cause of farmers of Bihar. It is indeed a good move for the farmers as the political parties vie for their support. The Samata Party and the BJP too have resolved to reach out to the farmers and poor villagers. As the ‘urban-centric’ politics goes ‘ruralwards’, Bihar stands to gain. |
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Donkeys rule the roost in Bihar PATNA, Nov 28 — Ask Maneka Gandhi and she would call it human barbarism but the Bihar politicians are prompt to call it political altruism. As powers that be get desensitised to the human protest and demonstrations, opposition parties and other non-political bodies have opted to put the obedient donkey to the forefront of state politics. The state BJP leaders have threatened to gherao the Chief Minister’s residence with a fleet of donkeys if the government does not concede its demand for compensation to the family of Ramesh Razak, who was killed in police firing. The Leader of Opposition, Mr Shushli Modi is already sitting on dharna at Itwa in protest and intends to proceed on to indefinite fast. As the government seems not to yield, the BJP leaders have resorted to “donkey demonstration”. The trend of involving donkeys in political and non-political protests picked up recently when the student organisations, waging a battle against the 100-day-long college teachers’ strike, took out a donkey rally in the state capital. The idea was an instant hit with the intellectuals. “The donkey symbolises the current status of the intellectuals in the state and also it stands for the crowd of ruling machinery”, says a research scholar of A.N. Sinha Institute. Now it has become a fad with all sorts of demonstrators in the state capital. Recently, some opposition parties announced that they would launch a campaign against corrupt officials and after blackening their faces they would be made to sit on a donkey and taken out in a procession. Instantly, the donkeys in Patna are in great demand. “They might now launch a stir seeking over time from dhobis”, quipped a striking student leader. It seems that the donkeys have been made to stand in the forefront of the protest march and demonstrations as a safety device too. Given the brutal nature of the state police and their past record in dealing with the anti-government protesters, it is always safe to throw the donkeys ahead to bear the brunt of police lathis and tear gas. Ahoy! Animal lovers, come to the rescue of the bechara donkeys! |
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MPs complain against Jogi NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — The Chhattisgarh BJP MPs today met the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and complained that the state Chief Minister, Mr Ajit Jogi, was not consulting them for relief work in the famine-hit areas in the state. Twelve of the 16 districts of the newly carved out state of Chhattisgarh are in the grip of famine and need immediate relief. The MPs delegation, which included the Union Minister of State, Mr Raman Singh, informed the Prime Minister that Mr Jogi was consulting only state ministers about the relief work. They said the Chief Minister had passed orders that any work being started as relief had to be done in consultation with the minister responsible for the district and the views of the MPs were not being taken. The MPs urged Mr Vajpayee to direct the Union Agriculture Minister to release funds for relief, based on the report given by the fact-finding team which the Centre had sent to the state 15 days ago. |
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SP claims gains in UP poll NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — The Samajwadi Party today claimed that it had made substantial gains in the recently concluded elections to the local bodies in Uttar Pradesh. The party spokesman, Mr Amar Singh said the party had made a clean sweep in the elections in the eastern region of the state. In the Bundelkhand region, the party made substantial gains, Mr Amar Singh told a media meet. He said the ruling BJP had lost in many areas though it had managed to come second. He said the BSP’s gains had been confined to certain districts of western Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to Delhi. The Congress did not make any tangible gain and stood at the fourth place in the elections, he said. Mr Amar Singh said in the elections for the municipal corporations, the Samajwadi Party had won at 58 places. The BJP could capture only 45 corporations, he said. For the BSP the gains stood at 22 and for the Congress at only 25. |
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North India in Parliament NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — The Justice Pandian Committee Enquiry Commission on the firing at Brakpora on April 3, 2000, and the Lt-Gen Mukherjee Committee Enquiry Commission on the attack on pilgrims at Pahalgam on August 1, this year, have submitted their respective reports to the government. The Minister for Home told the Lok Sabha in a written answer that the report of the committee constituted by the state government headed by Lt General Mukherjee had recently been received from the state government and was being examined from the point of view of action required by the Union Government. Since a large number of the recommendations pertained to the state government, consultations with the state government would be necessary for the Centre to form its views on the subject. The state government had reported that findings concerning the state government were under its consideration for appropriate action. As informed by the state government, the Justice Pandian Commission’s report was under the consideration of the state government which had appointed Justice Pandian to carry out the inquiry, the minister said. Punjab assistance: An amount of Rs 6.40 crore has been earmarked as additional Central assistance to Punjab during 2000-2001 for creation of infrastructural facilities in the border areas. The Minister for Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha that farmers in Punjab, who had their lands beyond the fencing on the Indo-Pak border had certain problems relating to cultivation in their fields. With a view to minimising the farmers’ hardships on account of security fencing, the BSF authorities should hold meetings with the representatives of farmers and the civil administration. Masood Azhar’s outfit: The Centre today said it was aware of the reports on Masood Azhar’s new outfit gaining foothold in the Kashmir valley. The Minister for Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha that since its creation in early February the Jaish-e-Mohammad had claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist activities, including firing on security forces, launching of grenades and a suicidal bomb attack. The minister said the government was aware of the situation and had been adopting a multi-pronged strategy to check terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. This included intelligence-based operations to neutralise terrorists and their hideouts, regular sharing of intelligence inputs at various levels through close coordination and management of border to check infiltration. Border fencing: The Centre has disclosed that it has no plans for fencing the entire Line of Control with Pakistan. The Minister for Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha that a group of officers constituted by the Defence Ministry in 1996 had examined measures to curb infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of arms, ammunition and explosives through the Jammu and Kashmir border. The group came to the conclusion that in view of the rugged nature of the terrain, gaps due to rivers, nullahs and streams, fencing along the Line of Control was not feasible. Nuchem Limited FDRs: The Company Law Board had passed a general order on May 20, 1997, approving a scheme for repayment of deposits taken by Nuchem Limited of Faridabad. The scheme was for repayment of the entire outstanding deposits and interest due thereon by June 30, 1999, in a phased manner. Since the company did not comply with the orders passed by the Company Law Board, the Registrar of Companies, Delhi, had filed two cases against the company before the court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Tis Hazari in Delhi, for non-compliance of orders. The cases are pending in the court for final orders. Kargil airport: A new airport is being constructed at Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. The Centre is providing funds amounting to Rs 37.81 crore to the Airports Authority of India for the construction of the airport. |
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Bank staff march
to Parliament NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — Bank employees held a protest march to Parliament today against a Bill to reduce government equity in public sector banks. The Union Forum of Bank Union, an umbrella group of nine bank unions representing over 10 lakh employees, threatened to intensify the stir if the government went ahead and introduced the Bill in Parliament. Though the Bill to reduce the government stake had already been cleared by the Cabinet, the Union Finance Minister had said the public sector character of the bank would continue despite reduction in government equity. “The unions were against the intimidatory voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and the proposed reduction of retirement age for bank employees from 60 to 58 years,” the Delhi convener of the union, Mr V. K. Gupta said. |
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‘Hero of the hills’ gears up for stir KURSEONG (Darjeeling), Nov 28 — The “Hero of the hills”, Chhatray Subha, a one-time trustworthy lieutenant of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subhas Ghising is now “loading his gun” to strike at the latter to get the hill people a separate homeland — a demand for which the Gorkhas fiercely fought against Jyoti Basu’s government in the 1980s. Chhatray Subha has now been preparing himself to launch a strong agitation in the hills to “free themselves” from their “present bondage” and is seeking the help and direct participation of all Nepalese speaking people of the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan as well as the Gorkhas of Darjeeling, Sikkim and the Duars. Since he is on the “wanted” list of the state police as well as of Mr Subhas Ghising, Chhatray Subha, now underground, has been making written appeals to hill people through secret circulars, leaflets and other means of communication, asking them to prepare themselves for another round of battle against the government. Posters have been hung by his followers at several places in his home-town of Kurseong, Mirik, Gangtok and in the Nepal-Bhutan region. Eventually, the wintry hills of Darjeeling will now get gradually “heated” in the wake of another spurt of agitation by the dissidents of the GNLF under Chhatray Subha’s leadership. Subha and a large number of his young followers, intelligence sources say, have been undergoing special armed training in the Shamsir jungle of the Duars by Naga insurgents who have been getting regular supply of modern arms and adequate funds from the ISI, as admitted by the newly appointed West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharya. Though Mr Ghising and his followers have openly discounted Subha’s threat, they are aware that Subha will have the support of a large number of hill people, who are now unhappy with Ghising for having failed to fulfil the promise of a separate homeland. One of Chhatray Subhas’s associates, Telang Gurung, told The Tribune at the Kurseong shopping centre that the new phase of agitation in the hills would begin early next year with the direct participation of thousands of trained Nepalese youths. The agitation would lead to bloodshed, arson, kidnapping, looting and other violent activities in the hill region, he threatened. However, in the meantime, sporadic incidents of violence would begin soon, Gurung said. “We are asking the people to store foodstuffs, medicines and other essentials for the bad days”, he said. Chhatray Subhas’s supporters have distributed leaflets giving an ultimatum to Mr Subhas Ghising to step down from the Hill Council’s chairmanship by December 31 and disband the council, or face dire consequences. They have alleged that Subhas Ghising has been bribed with a chair in the council and a huge amount of unaccounted money at the cost of the long-standing demand, of the hill people. Mr Ghising was for a long-time an “uncrowned king of the hills” but he has been gradually losing control over the people, as admitted by his lieutenant, Deepak Gurung, president Darjeeling unit of the GNLF. However, he says, Chhatray Subha has been a self-styled leader and he has a small number of followers and supporters in the district. |
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Ramoowalia urged
to form third front NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — The President of Lok Bhalai Party and MP, Mr B.S. Ramoowalia, was today asked to form a third front in Punjab by academicians to save the state from political and economic crisis. In a letter signed by 105 professors of different colleges and universities of Punjab and Chandigarh, they urged Mr Ramoowalia to form the third front, a press note said here today. Ultra shot in WB CALCUTTA, Nov 28 (UNI) — A Kamtapuri militant was killed and 18 policemen, including a circle inspector, were injured in an encounter near Siliguri in Darjeeling district today. West Bengal Urban Development Minister Ashok Bhattacharjee, who hails from north Bengal, told reporters here that the militants opened fire when a police party was combing the area in search of a training camp.
Church attacked,
priest beaten up MORENA (MP), Nov 28 (UNI) — A catholic church was attacked and its priest beaten up by some armed miscreants at Peeparipura village in this district of Madhya Pradesh late last night. District Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar said the miscreants forcibly entered the church and assaulted its 65-year-old priest, Father Alface, who lived alone in the church, with iron rods. The priest had been admitted to a hospital at Gwalior in a serious condition, he added. Expressing the possibility that the gate of the church was opened for the assaulters by the guard, he said the locks of almirahs were found broken. |
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