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| Tuesday, December 26, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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PM’s comment on temple helped
party: BJP Vajpayee’s bonanza for nation
RSS chief threatened with defamation |
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India to buy missiles from Russia Year-ender CBI still hopeful of hijackers’ trial Scientist rules out black holes TADA court’s
gesture on Id Aerial search on for Veerappan Nation celebrates
Christmas
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PM’s comment on temple helped
party: BJP NEW DELHI, DEC 25 — The BJP leadership has conducted a survey to assess if Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s controversial statement on Ayodhya has helped in consolidating the majority community. BJP leaders firmly believe Mr Vajpayee’s assertion that construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is in keeping with national sentiments has contributed in bonding the Hindu vote in its favour despite the feeling of despair among the upper castes. The quiet exercise of feeling the pulse of the majority community in the wake of the Prime Minister’s calculated comments on Ayodhya appears to have provided the much needed shot in the arm to the disenchanted BJP activists. The Prime Minister’s observation about the construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya has not only made all sections sit up and take note but also led to intense speculation that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government is considering a snap poll in the next one year. This is hotly contested by the BJP leadership which dismisses the talk of a snap poll as “utter rubbish.” Aides of the Prime Minister are quick to dispel such talk as being ‘‘politically naive’’. ‘‘This is mischief by those wanting to drive a wedge among the partners of the NDA. Why should we even talk of a snap poll and unnecessarily put a spanner in the works.” Realising the inherent constraints of running a disparate coalition government with some of the partners of the NDA vigorously pursuing their own agendas, a section in the BJP is studying various gambits which it feels can catapult the party to the seat of power on the majestic Raisina Hill here on its own. That is the only way the BJP and the Sangh Parivar can pursue its twin objectives of Hindutva and Swadeshi. It is apparent the Prime Minister, by alluding to the Ayodhya issue, has endeavoured to make peace with the Sangh Parivar and bide for time. It is believed that the survey covers all states in the country. It is only in Tamil Nadu and the NorthEast that the Ram Mandir issue has failed to evoke any interest. The survey reportedly propels the BJP to the top of the popularity chart. Such surveys on the sly have also been conducted by previous governments at the Centre to gauge the general mood of the people how they are disposed to the party in power. For obvious reasons the agencies involved in such an exercise have never shut out the prospects of the ruling clique. Invariably a rosy picture irrespective of the ground realities has always been dished out for the powers that be. Interestingly, the survey brings to the fore an element of disquiet in Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s Telegu Desam party (TDP) which is supporting the Vajpayee government from outside and Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. The TDP and the Trinamool Congress have been highly circumspect in taking the Prime Minister’s statement on Ram Mandir at face value. More than half the 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha are of the opinion that Mr Vajpayee is deliberately creating conditions for a snap poll. The apprehension of the TDP stems from the fact that the Ayodhya issue might adversely affect its calculations in Andhra pradesh. The TDP considers the BJP as one of its main enemies in the southern state. At the same time the TDP has secured its pound of flesh from the Vajpayee government as a quid pro quo for its support. On the other hand, the Trinamool Congress is delicately placed with Assembly elections round the corner in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress has to deal with fresh problems as consolidation of the majority community in Ms Banerjee’s state will deal a severe blow to her ambitions of unseating the Left Front in
Kolkata. |
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Vajpayee’s bonanza for nation NEW DELHI, Dec 25 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today celebrated his 76th birthday by launching a Rs 60,000-crore rural roads project and an ambitious scheme for ensuring food security for the poor, involving an annual subsidy of Rs 2,300 crore. Launching the two schemes — “Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana” and “Antyodaya Anna Yojana” — Mr Vajpayee said these projects would help in accelerating the process of socio-economic development in rural areas. Through the “Antyodaya Anna Yojana”, the Prime Minister said one crore families comprising around five crore poor would be provided 25 Kg of grains per month at the rate of Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice, involving an annual subsidy of Rs 2,300 crore. He said the rural roads project, the first Centre-sponsored scheme after independence, would be implemented on a time-bound basis and promised that the requisite funds would be arranged for it from various sources. Stating that the programme had immense potential to boost the economy of rural areas, he said every village with a population of over 1,000 persons would be connected through roads within the next three years while villages with more than 500 persons would be connected by 2007 at a total investment of Rs 60,000 crore. Regretting that rural areas suffered from lack of infrastructure creating imbalances in the overall development, Mr Vajpayee said roads were key to development and employment in rural and underlined the need for the programme to be efficiently implemented on a time-bound manner. He said roads were a key element of infrastructure which villages to towns, thereby ensuring that people had better medical facilities and better marketing of their produce and allow them to reap the fruits of development. Mr Vajpayee said it was his wish that his birthday be celebrated in a different way. “I am happy that two important projects have been inaugurated,” he said at his residence in front of a large gathering of people who had come to wish him. Referring to the “Antyodaya Anna Yojana”, the Prime Minister said though there were surplus foodgrains, the distribution system was not good, as a result of which those living below the poverty line failed to get even two square meals a day. He took the opportunity to allay apprehensions that the new economic reforms would slash employment opportunities saying percentage of people living below the poverty line had gone down in the recent years. Mr Vajpayee said the government would impose an import duty on such goods which led to unfair competition for the domestic industry. The rural roads project was simultaneously launched by the Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Orissa in the state capitals today. Mr Vajpayee also launched Netaji Subhash Saksharta Mission, aimed at completely eradicating illiteracy from the country within a short span of time. |
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Thousands greet PM on birthday NEW DELHI, Dec 25— Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was today greeted by thousands on his 76th birthday. While President K.R. Narayanan, Vice-President Krishan Kant and Home Minister L.K. Advani came to 7 Race Course Road residence of the Prime Minister to greet him, a large number of people, including those from his constituency, Lucknow, came with flowers and sweets to wish Mr Vajpayee. Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi along with TDP leader
Yerran Naidu also greeted Mr Vajpayee. Talking to a gathering, the Prime Minister said, ‘‘Much greater people were born today. Jesus Christ, Madan Mohan Malviya... Mahraj Suraj Mal made his sacrifice today. My birthday is not so important.’’ Mr Vajpayee said a large part of his life had gone by and he was not sure how much time was left. ‘‘When I was undergoing my knee operation I got several messages. Some appeared as if they were bidding goodbye to me’’, he said in a lighter vein and added that it was love and cooperation of the people which was his biggest asset. ‘‘I wanted my birthday to be celebrated in a different way’’, Mr Vajpayee said, adding that he was happy on this day as he was able to gift two projects to the nation — the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana and Antyodaya Anna Yojana — or rural areas and the poorest of the poor involving an annual subsidy of Rs 2,300 crore. He also launched the Netaji Subash Saksharta Mission aimed at completely eradicating illiteracy from the country in a short span of time. There were bells, gongs and dance performances by children. A traditional welcome with bells and cymbals awaited the Prime Minister as he came out to launch the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana. Special prayers were offered by a group of people in a corner. Several of his ministerial colleagues also came to greet him on the occasion. |
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RSS chief threatened with defamation new DELHI, Dec 25 (UNI) — Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshan has been threatened with a Rs 50-crore defamation suit for deposing before the Liberhan Commission that a Muslim Rajpoot man by the name of Anis Ahmed Gehlot allegedly blew up the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. In a notice to Mr Sudarshan and a few others, Mr Aslam Javed, who identified himself as the son of Mr Gehlot, demanded that the RSS chief make an unconditional apology and withdraw his “false, concocted and motivated” statement, failing which he would be sued for defamation. Mr Sudarshan, in his deposition before the Liberhan Panel on December 20, claimed that Dharam Vir Singh Mandal, president, Federation Rajput Sabha, told him that Anis Ahmad Gehlot placed three brick shaped bombs with ‘Sri Ram’ inscribed on them inside the disputed structure as he strongly felt that the Babri Masjid was built in an “un-Islamic manner”. “I categorically deny each and every word of the statement as the same is false, bogus, concocted and motivated. The allegations levelled against my father are part of a political conspiracy,” Mr Aslam Javed, who identified himself as the elder son of Mr Gehlot, said. He asserted that his father was at home on December 6, 1992, and had never gone to
Ayodhya. |
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India to buy missiles from Russia NEW DELHI, Dec 25 — India is to buy a large quantity of anti-tank guided missiles from Russia in the coming year with negotiations with the manufacturers being in the final stages. India is not only looking towards buying the latest laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles, Kornet, but also wants to increase its stock of Konkur missiles. The two deals together would be worth over Rs 250 crore and were negotiated during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year. According to sources while the price negotiations have been completed for the Kornet missiles, various evaluations for the Konkur missiles have been completed by the Army. The proposal has now been sent for Cabinet approval. Reports said India was looking to buy over a dozen Kornet anti-tank guided missile launchers with more than 400 missiles which would give it a cutting edge. The missiles have the facility of “thermal imaging” which would facilitate their use even during night. The deal signed with KBP Tula of Russia is expected to be worth over Rs 70 crore. This was one of the major items on the Indian agenda, which had to be negotiated during the Russian President’s visit. On the other hand, India already
possesses the Konkur missiles and a variant of it is also being produced at the Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), Hyderabad. However India is apparently seeking to buy the latest version and is also seeking to work out modalities for “technology transfer” during the signing of the deal. According to reports, Kornet is one of the latest anti-tank guided missiles developed by Russia. It is a tripod mounted laser-beam riding missile. It also has a semi-automatic command line of sight guidance system. It has a maximum range of about 5000-5500 metres and can hit even at a range of a minimum of 100 metres. It is available with two types of warheads, those being the tandem high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead and the blast enhanced fuel air explosives (FAE) warhead. The HEAT warhead is claimed to be able to penetrate up to 1200-mm of RHAe protected by explosive reactive armour (RAE). On the other hand, the FAE warheads are effective against not only buildings but also against troops in the open and various types of armoured vehicles. While the FAE will not penetrate the armour it will create a massive overpressure which will cause injury to the troops inside the vehicle. The basic system has a day sight but a thermal night sight has been developed which enables targets to be recognised at a range of up to 3500 metres depending on the conditions. The thermal sight is clipped onto the right side of the launcher with the bottle at the rear. Incidentally, India’s intention of purchasing the Kornet and Konkur missiles also points out that there would still be a long delay in the induction of the indigenous Nag anti-tank guided missiles, being developed under the country’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. Reports say although it is in the final stages of tests and trials but the series production and induction could take some time. As a result, the missiles are being bought from Russia to meet the Army’s current and immediate requirements. Nag is a third generation “fire and forget” anti-tank guided missile with a range of 4 to 6 km. Nag can be mounted on an infantry combat vehicle and helicopter launched version of the missile is also being developed. It is India’s all-weather capability missile and capable of defeating modern armour. It uses imaging infra-red (IIR) guidance having both day and night capability. Both the Army and the Air Force versions are being tested separately. For the Army the missile will be carried by specialist carrier vehicles equipped with a thermal imager for target acquisition. For the Air Force, a nose-mounted thermal imaging system has been developed for guiding the missile’s trajectory. A twin launcher for the advanced light helicopter (ALH) and a single launcher for the Cheetah helicopter have also been developed. |
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Year-ender NEW DELHI, Dec 25 — Emerging out of the dark clouds of the underground nuclear tests in May 1998, the Atal Behari Vajpayee’s foreign policy initiatives have helped the country hit a pragmatic path towards a global role. Not only has the year under review drawing to a close witnessed high level visits of US President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, but significant progress was also made in strengthening ties with immediate neighbours, barring Pakistan. Even in the case of Pakistan, some signs of a possible resumption of a bilateral dialogue are discernible as the year comes to an end. In the words of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, his government was planning “exploratory ways” for resuming the composite dialogue process with Islamabad which was abandoned after Pakistan’s Kargil misadventure. Under the overall policy direction of the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has given the necessary content to the Indian foreign policy which was struggling to acquire a new shape in the changed global order. Mr Jaswant Singh, who maintained an overdrive throughout the year in criss crossing the world, took many initiatives to provide a long-term perspective to the country’s foreign policy which eventually would go a long way in preserving vital national interests. Not only that the Indo-US relations were given a new orientation during Mr Clinton’s visit, with New Delhi and Washington establishing an architecture of a wide-ranging institutional dialogue, but also Indo-Russian ties were revived culminating in the successful visit of Russian President in October this year during which a strategic partnership was put in place. Sino-Indian relations have also come out of the shadow with New Delhi and Beijing working slowly not only towards maintaining tranquility on the borders but also taking small steps towards ultimate resolution of vexed border dispute. Burgeoning bilateral trade is reflective of the confidence that the two neighbours seem to have been developing in each other. The Japanese Prime Minister’s visit was confirmation of the fact that Tokyo and New Delhi would not allow any irritant, including Pokhran II, to come in the way of development of bilateral ties. A new dimension to the country’s foreign policy, which is particularly a brainchild of Mr Jaswant Singh, received further shape and content this year with New Delhi taking many small but sure steps on the energy front. Energy security is being pursued with patience as Indian diplomacy has been working zealously to preserve country’s long term energy requirements. The Indo-Iraq understanding, arrived during the Iraqi Vice President’s visit is one evidence of it. In Vietnam and Russia’s Sakhlin-I project, country’s ONGC Videsh Limited has been able to have some stakes. His emphasis on strengthening ties with the countries of the Mekong delta and ASEAN is one such step which can be mentioned in this regard. Ganga-Mekong Swarnabhoomi project and BIMST-EC initiative are a few other steps in the direction of taking the country towards relatively more important role in the international arena. The President, Mr K. R. Narayanan’s visit to Singapore recently confirmed that India was beginning to take as a serious partner in the South-East Asia. The forthcoming visit of Mr Vajpayee to Vietnam and Indonesia next month would only further deepen India’s ties with the region. India today stands in the forefront of the international fight against global terrorism with New Delhi having joint working group with the US and Russia on the issue and special strategic understanding with the European Union. The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has undoubtedly been one area of concern as Islamabad has refused to read the signs of time and has continued to obstruct the expansion of the regional organisation towards the objectives for which it was launched. But fortunately, even in this area, some positive development took place this month when New Delhi agreed to participate in a technical meeting of the SAARC officials in Islamabad next month. After an initial neglect, the South bloc has engaged itself well in the West Asia too where India is being taken seriously by both Israel and Palestine. While the External Affairs Minister’s visit to this region did create some misunderstanding, it was removed quickly without any long-term damage. While India has made some moves to restore the original warmth in its ties with the Arab world, its real impact would be more felt when Mr Jaswant Singh visits Saudi Arabia and Algiers in the next year. India and the USA have even a joint working group on the UN peace keeping. India, along with other major
democratic countries held a conference on democracy in Warsaw in June this year, during which it was decided to undertake various steps to strengthen democracy. The conduct of Indian foreign policy in the past one year has projected the country in a positive perspective which would go a long way to establish New Delhi’s credentials for a permanent seat in the reformed and expanded Security Council of the United Nations. |
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CBI still hopeful of hijackers’ trial NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (PTI) — Even as the road to prosecute the five hijackers of an Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu a year ago and two of their accomplices seems to be uncertain despite the completion of the probe, the CBI is still hopeful that a trial would begin, may be in a third country. “We are tied at present but our hopes have not ended especially after the cases like Lockerbie-bombing of Pan Am aircraft and Kanishka which began after several years,” said a senior CBI official. The CBI managed to secure a “red corner” notice against the five hijackers — Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter Sayed and Shakir — and two of their accomplices — Yusuf Azhar and Abdul Rauf — believed to be key conspirators. “Eventhough Pakistan, being a signatory to Interpol conventions, should honour the red corner notice, there is a little hope as it seems that Islamabad has no control over the fundamentalist groups sheltering them,” the official said. The CBI has also not been averse to a trial of these persons in a third country, hopes for which brightened after the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the USA filed a case in the hijacking and sought help from Pakistan to nab them. The CBI filed a chargesheet against three Indian nationals, Abdul Latif, alias Patel, Bhupalmar Damai alias Yusuf Nepali and Dilip Kumar Bhujel. The CBI official said prosecution against the three arrested persons would begin soon after the formalities for declaring the seven accused as proclaimed offenders was complete. Besides, the agency has written to Pakistan as Islamabad is under obligation to extradite the hijackers under the Hague Convention on Hijacking and the treaties signed under the SAARC aegis, the official said. He said the agency had already handed over a copy of the chargesheet to the three Indian accused persons and the trial was scheduled to begin soon in the special session court at Patiala. According to the chargesheet, Masood Azhar’s release was the motive for the hijack and his rescuers were a part of the same gang of militants who tried to get him released by digging an underground tunnel at Jammu prison in June 1999. While Latif and Nepali are alleged to have provided logistical help to the hijackers and helped them in procuring Indian passports, Bhujel is alleged to have helped them in procuring arms used for hijacking. |
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Scientist rules out black holes MUMBAI, Dec 25 (UNI) — A scientist with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has ruled out the existence of black holes. Dr Abhas Mitra said in the December issue of the United States Foundations of Physics Letters that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (GTR) did not allow the formation or existence of black holes which are regions in space from which no matter or radiation can escape. He said no truly realistic calculations ever showed the creation of black holes in the strict sense. On the other hand, according to Dr Mitra, their concept took root by means of inference and interpretation of a highly idealised unrealistic calculation. “In fact, many popular articles on black holes portray Einstein as some sort of an intellectual senile as far as black holes are concerned”, he said in his research titled “Non-occurrence of Trapped Surfaces and Black Holes in Spherical Gravitational Collapse”. Dr Mitra said Einstein, unsuccessfully, struggled to convince his followers and peers that his theory actually did not allow the existence of black holes. Despite his objections, the concept of black holes grew like a sphinx in the sixties and continues to facinate not only modern astrophysics but theoretical physics in general, he added. According to Dr Mitra all “idealised” calculations and assumptions consolidating the notion of black holes are either faulty or invalid. He basis his findings on the principle that the (local) speed of a collapsing matter cannot exceed the speed of light. According to the GTR, the actual physical space (time) is something like a rubber membrane which curves or sags by the presence of mass or energy. This curvature of space (time) is the manifestation of gravity. According to Dr Mitra as the collapsing object, becomes more compact, the gravity associated with it sags the space (time) membrane without any limit. As a result, the star continues to collapse indefinitely in this infinitely deep pit, he said. Technically, this means that for isolated bodies like stars, the GTR may be the lone truly “singularity-free” theory, a theory which does not allow occurrence of infinite density or pressure, Dr Mitra said. And as the massive star collapses indefinitely and no (finite mass) black hole is formed, the star tends to radiate away its entire mass-energy, if true, this would immediately resolve the energy crisis occurring for the explanation of observed Cosmic Gamma Ray Bursts, which are explosive events lasting only few seconds during which the energy may be radiated as gamma rays. According to Dr Mitra, the supported astrophysical black holes are actually ultracompact objects collapsing with negligible yet finite speed. |
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TADA court’s
gesture on Id MUMBAI, Dec 25 (PTI) — In a humanitarian gesture, a TADA court has allowed the serial blast accused, lodged in Central Prison here, to have the customary “sheer kurma” (sweet dish) on the festival of Ramzan Id this week. This is for the first time that such a facility is being extended to prisoners. On a plea made by defence lawyer Farhana Shah and Subhash Kanse, Designated Judge P.D. Kode summoned the jailer to the court and asked him to submit his say on allowing such a facility on December 27. The jailer informed the court that “sheer kurma” could be made available in prison canteen on payment or allowed in jail through the relatives of inmates, subject to security checks. CBI prosecutor A.S. Kulaye granted no objection to such facility being allowed. Accordingly, the court has directed the jailer to allow the relatives of accused to bring “sheer kurma” on Id festival day, subject to security checks. In a related development, the serial blast accused have challenged the recent amendment to the Prisoners Act which took away their right to have home food. The Mumbai High Court will hear this petition on January 21. Most of the petitioners have been in custody for more than seven years. Some of them are either old or infirm prisoners. All of them have been refused bail as they are accused of offences under TADA (P) act which expired in 1995. The amended sections of Prisoners Act deny undertrials all over Maharashtra their right to have home food. The petitioners urged that the recent amendment was violative of Articles 14 and 21 which deal with fundamental rights laid down by the Constitution. |
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Aerial search on for Veerappan COIMBATORE, Dec 25 (PTI) -Joint aerial search to nab forest brigand Veerappan is continuing on the 200 km forest stretch spread over coimbatore and nilgiris districts, the police sources said here today. Two helicopters, carrying top officials of the
STF and BSF, were flying over the jungles in chinnampathy in coimbatoredistrict and barliar in nilgiris districts, they said. The copters, fitted with powerful electronic microscopes- capable of tracking movements up to a distance of 1.5 to 2 km - were hovering as low as 100 feet to trace him, the sources said. The telescopes, each costing
Rs 7 lakh, were imported from Germany, they said. Four companies - drawn from the
BSF and STF, and divided into four batches, were mainly concentrating their operations in the thick forests behind Vadavalli, Alanthurai and Mettupalayam areas, the sources said. In order to thwart any abduction
attempts, the nilgiris district authorities had closed vehicular traffic to mysore from udhagamandalam via kalhatti ghat near mudumal from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.. |
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Nation celebrates
Christmas NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (PTI) — The millennium’s first Christmas was celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervour all over the country with devout Christians participating in large numbers in midnight mass and special feasts. Braving the frosty winds, Christians in the Capital visited churches and participated in carol singing. Special feasts were organised at several places and brightly decorated Christmas trees adorned several houses. A special midnight mass was held at the famous St Joseph’s Cathedral in Thiruvananthapuram and other churches and illuminated Christmas trees provided the festive ambience. In Nagaland, merry making, late night parties marked the Christmas celebrations. Buildings and houses were tastefully decorated and Santa Claus images were seen in every nook and corner. Church bells summoned Christians in the city, where the devout masses flocked to the prayer service to commemorate the birth of one they believe to be the word of God turned flesh, a Calcutta report said. |
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