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| Saturday, December 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Bandh in Bongaigaon against massacre Marandi ministry expanded Sonia vows to fight for oppressed 3 Babbar Khalsa men held India justifies anti-dumping
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Panel mooted to probe cases against judges
Allahabad gearing up for Mahakumbh TADA court rejects plea of blast accused Notification in day
or two: Sushma Review interest rate on PF: panel Jyoti Basu to stage dharna on Dec 7 Soldier in India for wedding anniversary Perfectly matched in life and clothes
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Bandh in Bongaigaon against massacre GUWAHATI, Dec 1 (UNI, PTI) — Last night’s massacre of 19 non-Assamese, including 17 persons from Bihar, by suspected United Liberation Front of Asom militants at three places in Bongaigaon district has sent shockwaves among the state’s Hindi-speaking people, official sources said. With this, the total number of such people killed by extremists rose to 50 in the past 41 days in seven districts — Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sibsagar and Kokrajhar. Last night’s unfortunates included a 4-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy besides five members of a family. Though security forces continued a combing operation in Bongaigaon, no arrest has been made in connection with yesterday’s orgy that also injured 12 persons. Police Director General H.K. Deka rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, life was crippled in the district following a dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the ruling Asom Gana Parishad today in protest against last night’s massacre. Shops and other business establishments remained closed, private vehicles were off the roads and work in government offices was disrupted. However, no untoward incident was reported. The ULFA, striking against non-Assamese communities for the seventh time in a month, massacred 18 persons at three places in Bongaigaon district last night while an executive member of Karbi Anglong autonomous council, J.M. Basumatary, was shot down by United Peoples Democratic Solidarity at his official residence. Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who reached Bongaigaon this morning, held an emergency meeting with top police and government officials late last night and ordered immediate steps to nab the killers. Before leaving for the site, Mr Mahanta told PTI that there was “definite proof” that ULFA was behind the massacre, which, he said, was done “in connivance with a political party which is pressurising the Centre to impose president’s rule in the state.” However, he refused to name the party and asserted that the government was determined to take all steps to protect the lives of the innocent non-Assamese residing in the
state. NEW DELHI: Members in the Lok Sabha today expressed serious concern over the killings in Assam and the government agreed to a discussion in the House on the issue. Responding to submissions made during zero hour, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said he had already talked to the Home Minister on the issue following members intervention in the House last week. He said he would request the Home Minister to make a statement in the House on Monday. A number of members, including Mr Santosh Mohan Dev, Mr Madhavrao Scindia, both Congress, former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar (SJP) and Mr Sudip Bandopadhyaya (Trinamool Congress) expressed serious concern over the killing spree in Assam. Mr Chandrashekhar said the Central Government had also not done anything to prevent these killings. He wanted the Centre to direct the state government to take necessary steps. Mr Bandopadhyaya said Hindi speaking people were being killed by extremists and the Central and state governments should unitedly take necessary action to stop this. 3 bodies of ULFA victims found GUWAHATI, Dec 1 (PTI) — The police recovered three bodies from separate places in Assam’s Nalbari district today even as the death toll in last night’s attacks by suspected ULFA militants on non-Assamese communities in Bongaigaon and Karbi Anglong districts rose to 19, with three persons succumbing to bullet injuries. Three bullet-riddled bodies, identified as those of Basanta Sarma, father of ULFA militant, Nripen Kalita, elder brother of ULFA ultra and Khogen Das, were recovered from separate places in Nalbari district, the police said. Police is yet to identify the killers but claimed that Basanta Sarma’s son and Nripen Kalita’s brother were involved in the recent killing of non-Assamese people in lower Assam. Eighteen non-Assamese were massacred at four places of Bongaigaon and Karbi Anglong districts by militants last night, official reports here said. The ULFA ultras armed with sophisticated weapons attacked a group of people, mostly drivers having dinner at a roadside hotel and mowed down eight of them. In the second incident car-borne ULFA ultras gunned down five persons at the Bishjora tea estate and Chitkagaon areas while five others were killed by the militants at Lalmati. An executive member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Mr J.M. Basumatary, was also shot dead by United Peoples Democratic Solidarity ultras in Diphu last night. Meanwhile, a bandh called in Bongaigaon district by the ruling Assam Gana Parishad in protest against the massacres was “near total and spontaneous”. Several arrests have been made in connection with the killings.
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RANCHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — The Babu Lal Marandi ministry in Jharkhand today effected its second expansion by inducting 16 BJP legislators, of which 10 were of Cabinet rank and the rest ministers of state. The newly-inducted ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Prabhat Kumar at the Raj Bhavan at 3 p.m. With the induction of 16 new faces, the strength of the Council of Ministers has gone up to 26. The Cabinet ministers are: Mr Yamuna Singh (Manika Assembly constituency), Mr Mrigendra Pratap Singh (Jamshedpur-west), Mr Chandra Mohan Prasad (Giridih), Mr Sadhnu Bhagat (Lohardagga), Mr Arjun Munda (Kharsawan), Mr Deodayal Kushwaha (Hazaribagh), Mr Devidhan Besra (Maheshpur), Mr Raghuvar Das (Jamshedpur-east), Mr Ramjilal Sharda (Hatia) and Mr Pashupati Nath Singh (Dhanbad). The six Ministers of State are: Mr Ravindra Rai (Rajdhanwar), Mr Dinesh Sarangi (Bahragora), Mr Pradeep Yadav (Porayahat), Mr Madhu Kodda (Jagannathpur), Mr Neelkanth Singh Munda (Khunti) and Mr Sudershan Bhaghat (Gumla). Mr Marandi is likely to assign portfolios to his colleagues latest by tomorrow, NDA sources said. Till now, the BJP-led NDA Government in Jharkhand had non-BJP allies in the ministry. In the first phase of expansion, 10 ministers — six Cabinet and four ministers of state — were sworn in on November 17, two days after the Marandi government assumed power in the new state. The ministers were Mr Sudesh Mahato, Mrs Joba Manjhi, Mr Lalchan Mahato, Mr Madhu Singh, Mr Samresh Singh, Mr Ramchander Kesri (all Cabinet) Mr Ramesh Singh Munda, Mr Baccha Singh, Mr Jaleshwar Mahato and Mr Baijnath Ram (all ministers of state). The NDA sources said that BJP senior legislators Mrigendra Pratap Singh and Yamuna Singh were likely to be assigned the Finance and Forest Departments, while Mr Arjun Munda and Mr P.N. Singh were likely to be given the Welfare and the Industry portfolios respectively. The All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU)-backed UGDP legislator Sudesh Mahato was likely to get the Road Construction Department while Samata Party legislator Ramchander Kesri may be asked to look after the Water Resources Department along with his present portfolio of Parliamentary Affairs. Mr Deodayal Kushwaha was likely to be given the Department of Agriculture, the sources said. |
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Sonia vows to fight for oppressed RAE BARELI, Dec 1 (UNI) — Congress President Sonia Gandhi today reiterated that her party would wage a campaign for the cause of the common people, particularly the poor and the oppressed. Struggle and sacrifice were the Congress’ heritage and the party was committed to the welfare and well-being of the poor and the downtrodden, she told a Dalit conference at Ahorawa Bhawani in the Tilai Assembly segment of the Amethi parliamentary constituency. Mrs Gandhi alleged that most political parties did not work for the good of the Dalits, but instead exploited them for votes. She said those who misused funds meant to be spent on the development of the Dalits must be dealt with sternly. Mrs Gandhi claimed her party had paid maximum attention to the welfare of the weaker sections of the society. She said she visited localities inhabited by tribesmen and weaker sections of the society every week when her husband Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister “I have (now) been regularly visiting areas where atrocities are being committed against such sectionism,’’ she claimed. The Congress Chief said she had recently called a meeting of the Chief Ministers of her party-ruled states in New Delhi and discussed with them the problems faced by Dalits. Mrs Gandhi said her party would keep all its election promises to the Dalits. “The biggest proof of the uplift of the oppressed classes is the Indian Constitution, ... and we shall not allow any attempt on the part of the NDA government to tamper with the Constitution because such a step would be an insult to stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and B.R. Ambedkar,’’ she said. |
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3 Babbar Khalsa men held MUMBAI, Dec 1 (PTI) — Three members of the Babbar Khalsa militant outfit, who had planned to kidnap former Gujarat Chief Minister Amarsinh Chaudhary for a huge ransom, were nabbed by the police today. The trio — Yusuf Hasanbhai Memon (40), Sharif Miya Amir Miya Shaikh (34) and Sudhakar Baburao Chavan (47) — had planned to send the ransom to their counterparts, operating from Pakistan, the police said. They were wanted by the crime branch of Ahmedabad for allegedly waging a war against the country, they said. The three were also working for dreaded terrorists Sarabjit Singh and Swaroop Singh Gill — members of the Babbar Khalsa militant outfit currently in Gujarat jail in connection with the seizure of RDX, the police added. The trio was changing their places of residence from time to time in the metropolis to evade arrest. The accused had allegedly planned to kidnap eminent eye specialist Dr Amit Shah from Ahmedabad along with the former Chief Minister for huge ransom which was to be sent to terrorists Wadhva Singh and Mahal Singh operating from Pakistan for Babbar Khalsa, the police said. The trio was wanted by Ahemdabad police under various sections of the Arms Act, the police added. |
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India justifies anti-dumping
steps NEW DELHI, Dec 1 — India today made it clear that its recent anti-dumping steps were “non-discriminatory” and were fully in accordance with its international obligations. In response to a question, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said “some recent measures announced by the Ministry of Commerce are completely non-discriminatory in their application and not aimed at any particular source of supply of imports and are fully in keeping with India’s international obligations”. He was asked about media reports which have highlighted goods from China flooding Indian markets and the protests from domestic industry in this regard. The spokesman said trade and economic relations with China were improving. |
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Panel mooted to probe cases against judges NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — Former Supreme Court Judge P.B. Sawant today mooted the constitution of an internal independent commission for investigating charges against judges, saying that the present procedure was” not satisfactory” “The constitution of such a commission will ensure both the indepedence of the judiciary and impartial justice” Justice Sawant observed while delivering the 21st Bhimsen Sachar Memorial Lecture on “media and judiciary” here. Former Union Finance Minister Madhu Dandawate presided over the function. Justice Sawant said the present procedure under the Judges Enquiry Act, 1968, for investigating allegations against high court and Supreme Court judges was not up to the mark as from the stage of investigation of enquiry process, till the ultimate decision by Parliament, the process got politicised. Justice Sawant, Chairman of the Press Council of India, said such commissions or forums existed in some countries which were working effectively to deal with complaints of improper conduct on the part of the judges. Even the media might approach such a commission where it was constituted and discharged its obligations to the people by ensuring the accountability of the judiciary to them. In his 23-page lecture, he said both the media and the judiciary, during the Emergency days, had” caved in” and submitted to the draconian laws which suppressed freedom of the media and people’ s liberties. Justice Sawant made a strong case for closer cooperation between the two to defend human issues, the rule of law and democracy. Justice Sawant, who is also the president of the World Association of Press Councils, dwelt in length on the media’s social responsibility, need for an inbuilt system of accountability of the judiciary, the areas of conflict between the media and the judiciary, the Contempt of Court Act, fair and accurate reporting of the judicial proceedings and the relevance of checks and balances in a democratic society like India. Stating that the media, despite having emerged as the “ first estate”, was practically accountable to none, Justice Sawant observed that the freedom of the media, essentially the freedom of the people to know all developments of public importance, including those relating to the administration of law and justice, enabled them to take steps to correct the distortions.” An unbalanced administration of justice is a negation of the rule of law and therefore, of democracy,” he said. Referring to certain minimum qualifications of those who preside over the courts, proceedings being open to the public except in a few cases of in-camera, decisions to be given in accordance with the statutory laws and earlier precedents, decisions being open to scrutiny and their being applicable to higher courts, he said these are thus in-built safeguards against arbitrariness and an inbuilt system accountability of the judiciary. On areas of conflict between the media and the judiciary, Justice Sawant said these were broadly in relation with pre-trial or pre-hearing stage of the cases, access to the courts during the trial or the hearing of the cases, the trial or the hearing of a case and the post-trial or the post-hearing stage of the case. He said the other conflict areas included contempt of court, disclosure of the sources of information by the media, pre-censorship of or the stays on the publications granted by the courts, encouragement by the media of the cult of populism and publicity among the investigating officers and the judges and access of the media to the documents and records of the judicial administration. Fair and accurate reporting of the judicial proceedings did not amount to the contempt of the court, nor fair comment on the merits of any case which had been heard and finally decided. |
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IT notice on wards of
teachers NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — The income tax authorities have issued notice to several schools asking them to add the cost of free education to the wards of teachers to their salary and pay taxes accordingly. Replying to a question of Mr Basudeb Acharia, the Minister of State for Finance informed the Lok Sabha that the value of perquisites, including the value of benefit or amenity granted by any employer to an employee, was taxed as per Section 17 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The law is uniformly applicable to all employees in public and private sector, who enjoy perquisites. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has reportedly received 135 applications from all over the country up to November 22, 2000, and 26 institutions have been granted approval to impart training to insurance agents the minister informed the Lok Sabha. The IRDA has also intimated that it has granted certificate of registration to five insurance companies — three in life and two in general insurance business, the minister said. He said the restructuring of the General Insurance Corporation was also under the government’s consideration. A number of measures have been taken to strengthen public sector insurance companies, including grant of greater autonomy, upgradation of technology, development of human resources through training, cost reduction and introduction of productivity linked incentive. |
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North India in Parliament NEW DELHI, Dec 1 — The Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr T. R. Baalu, told the Rajya Sabha that some MPs have written to his ministry about the health hazards being faced by inhabitants of a village in the Chabha area near Tarn Taran. Replying to a question, Mr Baalu said that the matter had been taken up with the Punjab State Pollution Control Board. He said that the board has initiated legal action against six defaulting units under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Sutlej restoration: The Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr T. R. Baalu, told the Rajya Sabha that the government received a proposal of Rs 78.60 lakh from the Himachal Pradesh Government in October, 1994, to assess the pollution load of the Sutlej in the state. The state government also proposed to prepare an action plan for restoring the water quality of the river. The minister informed the House that the study was not undertaken as the water quality of the stretch flowing through Himachal Pradesh was within the prescribed standards.
Railway reservation: The Minister of State for Railways, Mr Digvijay Singh, told the Rajya Sabha that there is no plan to set up railway reservation counters in all district headqaurters in Jammu and Kashmir. Replying to a question, he said such facilities are available in Jammu, Srinagar and Udhampur districts.
Jagraon underbridge: Replying to another question, Mr Digvijay Singh said that the Railway Ministry does not have a proposal to construct an underbridge near the level crossing at Jagraon Mandi in Ludhiana district.
Cycle/scooter stand contract: Mr Digvijay Singh informed the Rajya Sabha that a tender was invited in April to allot cycle/scooter stand contract at Ludhiana railway station. The tender was discharged as the offer quoted by the bidder was less compared to the revised parking charges approved by the administration in May, 2000. He said that the tender was floated again to fetch a reasonable amount. |
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Allahabad gearing up for Mahakumbh HARDWAR, Dec 1— Over 70 million pilgrims are expected to visit Allahabad during the first Mahakumbh of the 21st century which will start in January, 2001, at the banks of ‘Sangam’. According to Mahant Gangapuri, General Secretary of the Mahanirwani Akhara, which is one of the main akharas amongst the main sadhu akharas of the country, the Kumbh Mela would probably be the first of its kind in the world to attract so many pilgrims. The ‘kumbh parv’ is the main meeting place for the sadhu akharas of the country. Mahant Gangapuri stated that the sadhus of the akharas and the Khat Darshan Sadhu Samaj would start converging at Prayag Raj on the banks of holy Ganga from the first week of December itself. The main akharas, who would be staying at the banks of the Ganga throughout the two month-long Kumbh Mela, are Niranjani Akhara, Maha Nirwani Akhara, Nirwani Akhara, Nirmala Akhara, Agni Akhara, Ahawan Akhara, Juna Akhara, Vaishnav Akhara. Besides, 50 lakh ‘Kalapvasis’ would stay on the banks of Ganga permanently in tents from ‘Paus Poornima’ to ‘Maagh Poornima’. The main Sahi bath of the Kumbh Mela would be on January 8 — the Paus Poornima day, January 14 — the Makar Sakranti day, January 24 — the Mauni Amavas day, January 29 — the Basant Panchami day. Besides, two other main baths would be on February 8 (the Maagh Poornima day) and February 21 (the Maha Shivratri day). The Uttar Pradesh administration expects the main crowd of pilgrims on Mauni Amavasya day which is likely to be over 2 crore. Already, a town of tents have started taking shape on the banks of the river. The administration is engaged in allotting land to the different sadhu akharas. A media centre with all modern facilities is being set up according to a telephonic message received from official sources. |
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TADA court rejects plea of blast accused MUMBAI, Dec 1 (PTI) — A TADA court yesterday rejected the plea of 128 serial blast accused, including film star Sanjay Dutt, to discharge those against whom no evidence had surfaced during the five-year trial. Designated judge Pramod Kode agreed with the CBI that discharging the accused due to lack of evidence was the sole prerogative of the prosecution and said the accused could not press for such relief. He also felt that their plea was vague as it did not name the accused against whom no evidence had come on record. Defence counsel Subhash Kanse and Farhana Shah filed a petition contending that the trial had concluded and the court should discharge those accused against whom the prosecution had failed to prove their case. The review committee, set up to screen the cases of blast accused in keeping with Supreme Court directives, had also opined that withdrawal of charges due to lack of evidence could be considered at the end of the trial, the defence lawyers submitted. |
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Notification in day
or two: Sushma NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said today that the notification relating to journalists and non-journalist wage revision would be issued “in a day or two.” Speaking to reporters at an informal meeting, Mrs Swaraj said that she had spoken to the Labour Minister Satya Narayan Jatiya last night after the Cabinet meeting, where he explained about the problems in certain category of pay scales. She said the Labour Minister had informed her that these disparities had already been sorted out and the matter was now pending with the Labour Commissioner, who would approve the final notification. “Accordingly, the notification will be issued in a day or two,” she said confidently. The Cabinet had already approved the pay scales and allowances for journalists and non-journalists with minor modifications about a fortnight ago. |
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Review interest rate on PF: panel NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (PTI) — A Parliamentary committee has recommended review of the existing 11 per cent interest rate on Provident Fund for 2000-01 and pulled up the Labour Ministry for not constituting state-level boards of trustees under the Employees Provident Fund Act. In its 130th report, the Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation said the Labour Ministry should call another meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) to apprise all parties of the exact position of the fund. The committee questioned the government decision to reduce the interest rate payable to subscribers of the Employment Provident Fund (EPF) for 2000-01 saying that the recommendations of the CBT against the move were overlooked. Though the CBT decided unanimously at its meeting to recommend interest at the rate of 12 per cent to be credit to EPF members for the financial year 2000-01, the government did not consult the board on its proposal to not accept the recommendations, the report said. The report of the Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr Dipankar Mukherjee, presented to Parliament today said the CBT being an autonomous organisation should have been consulted on the issue. The Labour Ministry, in its comments during the meeting, said the Central Government considered the recommendations of the board in the light of average income of the fund from April, 2000, onwards. The ministry said in its view the average income had drastically fallen to less than 11 per cent and it accordingly determined interest for EPF at 11 per cent for the current financial year. |
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Jyoti Basu to stage dharna on Dec 7 CALCUTTA, Dec 1 — Mr Jyoti Basu will lead a dharna at Sansad Bhavan on December 7 of all MPs and MLAs of the CPI (M) and other Left parties in West Bengal to protest the Centre’s apathy towards millions of victims of the recent floods in the state, which had caused havoc and had resulted in the loss of over 1,400 lives. So far, the Centre has not released any fund to the state on flood relief assistance, even though the state government had sent a memorandum of Rs 1,487 crore against a loss of some Rs 6,000 crore towards crops and properties due to floods. The state has spent Rs 584 crore on its own for relief and restoration work in the nine flood-hit districts in South Bengal and now is in need of more funds to continue the flood relief operation in the affected districts. The former Chief Minister will be going to Delhi on December 6 to attend the party’s politburo meeting, which will discuss the country’s present political situation vis-a-vis the formation of an anti-BJP “third front” to remove the communal party from power. This will be Mr Basu’s first visit to the Capital after stepping down as Chief Minister. After resigning as Chief Minister, Mr Basu has been actively engaged in the CPM internal activities and national politics. During his stay in Delhi, Mr Basu will hold meetings with the former Prime Ministers Mr V.P. Singh, Mr Chandrasekhar, Mr I.K. Gujral and Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and other national leaders like Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav in connection with the setting up of the third front. Mr Basu had already held several rounds of talks with the leaders in this connection in the recent past. Mr Basu said he had invited the MPs and MLAs of various other political parties in West Bengal and other states to take part in the proposed dharna at the Sansad Bhavan to protest against the Centre’s “step-motherly attitude” towards the states. He hoped the MPs and MLAs of non-BJP states, including Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh would respond to his appeal. Meanwhile, a controversy arose in both political and administrative circles on the legitimacy of Mr Jyoti Basu accepting an official guard of honour by the state police during his recent visit to the flood-affected district of Murshidabad. The district police offered him a guard of honour when Mr Basu visited Lalbag last week to address a public meeting. Mr Basu admitted that he accepted the official guard of honour though he was not the Chief Minister. He said he had been given the guard of honour as a security measure and therefore he did not go into the legitimacy of the system. Anyway, if the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan does not approve of this, I will not accept any such guard of honour in future. Mr Basu said the former Chief Minister will visit North Bengal on December 11 on a pre-election campaign. Soldier in India for wedding anniversary NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — there was no arch of swords, no flashing uniforms, no drums and no wedding cake as the officer led his lady down the aisle from the altar. But that didn’t seem to lessen one bit the joy of the moment. The officers and men of the 4th Horse were assembled in the Church of Redemption on Cathedral Road as Brigadier (retd) Bill Magan, British Army, celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss with Maxine in the very chapel that had united them, this very day. Magan’s son George and his wife Wendy were present at the church service. It was while serving in Hodson’s Horse (now the 4th Horse), the regiment that former British Premier Winston Churchill’s memoirs mention as “worth joining”, Bill saw Maxine at the Gymkhana Club here and liked what he saw. “My wedding day was a disastrous one,” Bill told mediapersons. “He was in uniform but running a temperature of 103 during the ceremony,” Maxine, now 84-years-old, said as she posed for snaps outside the church alongwith her husband - now bespectacled and balding. “I was wearing an ivory-coloured satin dress. All my bridesmaids are grandmothers now,” she added with a smile. After Independence, the couple went to England where Bill rose to the rank of Brigadier, retired and settled in Kent. Magan spent some years of the Second World War in Persia which helped him later in his work as interpretor. The now-frail man had been director of the dreaded Mi5 for one-and-a-half decades. Magan has two books to his credit including ‘The story of Ireland’. According to Bill, the city of Delhi has changed in two distinct ways over the years. “I haven’t seen a single bullock cart since I arrived. The population has increased.” “When my time comes, I hope paradise will be like this,” Maxine said holding Bill’s hand. While he was clad immaculately in a suit, she wore a shimmering silver-coloured dress and a pearl necklace.
Perfectly matched in life and clothes RAJNATH (MP), Dec 1 (ANI) — Anita and Basant Jain have been wearing matching clothes for over 14 years and consider it a symbol of their love and commitment to each other. They married against their parents’ wishes and have since done everything they can together, from running their book stall in the market place to praying in a temple. In 1986, shortly after their marriage, the Jains realised their separate wardrobes were full of similar colours. This became an inspiration for the couple. “We started wearing similar clothes in 1986 after we realised that our house was full of same coloured clothes like blue and blue, yellow and yellow. So we decided to wear them together —that was our first step in this direction,” said Mr Jain. “So slowly we started getting recognition for this in newspapers and magazines,” he added. At first people were amused by the Jains’ unusual decision to constantly dress alike, and shopkeepers were taken aback by their requests for matching fabrics, but gradually as their fame spread, they became prized citizens in this small town of Rajnath. Mr Jain said it was difficult to manage their passion in the initial four to five years. But the people realised that this was a special couple that did everything together from travelling to eating to wearing the same kind of clothes. The Jains say although there have been ups and downs in their life, neither has ever wavered in their commitment to each other. Anita says their early days were difficult. “Initially when I started managing the shop with him, it was a difficult period. We were not well off and it was a tough time but slowly we worked our way through the hard times, doing everything together. I never backed out of any thing, no matter how tough the going became. I always walked step by step by his side,” Anita says. Both Jains say they will continue to wear matching clothes and do everything they can together until their death.
Rs 500 notes land Indians in jail NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — Three Indians have landed in jail in Nepal for carrying Rs 500 notes, the possession of which is a penal offence in the Himalayan kingdom. They have been sentenced to imprisonment varying from 12 days to three months. The Nepalese Government had issued a gazette notification making the possession of Rs 500 notes an offence under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act
(FERA). |
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All over a name NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (PTI) — “I am Swain and not swine,” a BJP member remonstrated to the Chair in the Lok Sabha today. Mr M.A. Kharabela Swain, whose name was called by the Chair to initiate a discussion on a Bill, said “my name is Swain and you have mispronounced it as swine which means pig.” Ms Margaret Alva, who was presiding over the proceedings, said she had correctly called his name as Swain and not what the member had heard. |
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Govt gives clean chit to KBC NEW DELHI, Dec 1 (UNI) — Star TV’s megastar Amitabh Bachchan-presented “Kaun Banega Crorepati” is closer to a quiz programme and does not “seem to attract” any specific objection under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act. Stating this in the Lok Sabha in a written reply, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj also noted that a petition against the programme in the Delhi High Court had been dismissed. |
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No plan to cut subsidies on
fertiliser: Dhindsa NEW DELHI, Dec 1 — The government today said that there is no proposal to reduce fertiliser subsidies though it was examining reports of 15 fertiliser companies availing of subsidies to the tune of Rs 450 crore by falsely projecting higher production and lower capacity utilisation. Replying to supplementaries during question hour in Rajya Sabha, Chemical and Fertiliser Minister S.S. Dhindsa said that though the Expenditure Reform Commission has recommended consideration of gradual reduction in fertiliser, the government has no proposal to implement it. |
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