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| Tuesday, March 6, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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NDA extends support to
anti-Laloo lobby Minister criticises Laloo’s rally Colombia backs India for UN Council seat Terrorism assuming new dimension: Governor |
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UNESCO plans fund on cultural property Assembly poll by April end New Delhi, March 5 Activists belonging to nine organisations including the Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bauddha Samaj and the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat today held a demonstration in front of UN House here to condemn the demolition of world famous Buddhist relics in Afghanistan. Uttaranchal Budget may be late Malta tragedy: NHRC moved Karan Singh, morcha assail Taliban action PM, President greet people on Id
Scandal rocks minister’s marriage 40 builders held in Ahmedabad Aarakshan bachao samiti holds
meeting 2 wagons derail as bull hits train Speed post passport
service launched Rs 1 crore for irrigation
project MC
meeting on March 8
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NDA extends
support to anti-Laloo lobby New Delhi, March 5 Backed by the NDA high command, the Samata Party with its 29 MLAs and the Lok Jantantrik Party with seven MLAs today extended open support to the dissident RJD MLAs led by the rebel RJD Working President, Mr Ranjan Prasad Yadav. While the strategy to topple the one-year-old Rabri Devi government was chalked out by the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, the Communication Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, was being kept constantly informed, sources said adding that no efforts would be spared for achieving the target of bringing down the RJD-Congress coalition government. Mr Paswan came into the open when addressing mediapersons he said seven of his party MLAs in the Bihar Assembly would extend “unconditional support” to the Ranjan Yadav group if it mustered enough numbers. While the BJP legislature party is maintaining a low profile in Patna as directed by the party high command, other NDA partners have already come into the open on the side of Mr Ranjan Prasad Yadav. The NDA has the support of 63 MLAs (BJP 35, Samata 29, JD (U) 12 and LJP 7). The rebel group will have to muster 38 MLAs to effect a split in the 114 member RJD Legislature party. With Bakrid and Holi festivals scheduled for this week, the NDA leaders are only going to foment more dissidence within the RJD during this time. The Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Sharad Yadav, surprisingly, has also been assigned a task in the toppling game. |
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Minister criticises Laloo’s rally Patna, March 5 The minister who did not attend the rally, said he absented in protest and wanted attitudinal change in the party leadership for all-round growth of the state. “Nothing has been done for Bihar during the past ten years...We want attitudinal change in leadership...We should continue to work for consolidation of the state,” Mr Tekriwal, once close to Mr Yadav, said. Stating that he would continue to raise his voice for development of the state, Mr Tekriwal, who also holds the portfolio of Minor Irrigation, said: If telling the truth is revolt then you can say that I am a rebel. When asked whether he sided with the dissidents led by Rajya Sabha member and RJD working president Ranjan Prasad
Yadav, who favoured change in the state leadership, Mr Tekriwal said he was not revolting against the party leadership.
PTI |
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Colombia backs India for UN Council seat New Delhi, March 5 Long-term understanding between the two countries was reached during the wideranging discussion between the visiting Colombian President, Dr Andres Pastrana, and the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, during which four bilateral agreements including for academic cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of India and the San Carlos Diplomatic Academy. The other three accords relate to an agreement between Exim Bank of India and Banco De Comercio Exterior De Colombia S.A. “Bancoldex”, an agreement between the two governments on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders and the third agreement between the two governments on visa facilitations. During the talks, Colombia recognised India’s legitimate aspirations to a permanent seat in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council as well as well India’s important role in regional and world affairs. The visiting President welcomed India’s efforts and initiatives with Islamabad for fostering friendly and cooperative ties. “He also appreciated India’s desire to resume the Composite dialouge with Pakistan and for the creation of an appropriate environment for this purpose through cessation of cross-border terrorism”, a joint statement said. The two sides condemned terrorism in strong terms with both stating that “there could be no justification whatsoever for violence and resort to terror against civilian population”. “Such acts must be replaced by reasoned discourse”, the statement said recognising the global menace of terrorism “which today flourishes in conjunction with narco-trafficking as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons”. In this context, both sides agreed to work together for early adoption of a Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism which has been proposed by India at the UN as well as for the success of the UN Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons for which Colombia is a candidate for Chairmanship later this year. |
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Terrorism assuming new dimension: Governor New Delhi, March 5 “The coming decades may well see some fundamentalist terrorists and narco-terrorists getting access to even nuclear and chemical materials. This threat requires urgent attention and adequate preparedness by the international community collectively since it would cut across national boundaries,” he said. Inaugurating the three-day Eighth Asian Executive Policing Conference of the International Association of the Chiefs of Police (IACP) here, he said new types of crimes were threatening to increase and would specially give rise to novel and very complex problems of cyber crime and cyber terrorism. Calling for a more scientific approach to policing and use of scientific aids for prevention, detection and investigation of crime, Mr Saxena said: “Old methods were out of tune with the current times and environment and no longer yielded desired results. Adopting scientific methods would improve their credibility and acceptability among the people.” He said policing in many countries, particularly the Asian region, required a comprehensive understanding of the social and political forces at work, the socio-economic tensions arising in the wake of economic reforms and development and the dynamics of ethnic and other conflicts. Ethical standards for law enforcement agencies were becoming more demanding and strict and in this setting police forces had to demonstrate a high degree of sensitivity, caution and restraint. The conference “Law Enforcement: Emerging Challenges” is being attended by senior police officials, including Directors-General of Police, of various states and heads of central police organisations. During the three days of deliberations, the participants will make presentations on a wide variety of topics, including terrorism, cyber crime, organised crime, VIP securiy, border management and human rights. |
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UNESCO plans fund on cultural property New Delhi, March 5 A press note issued by UNESCO here today said the move would facilitate the return of such properties to their countries of origin and support countries in their endeavour to combat illicit trafficking by helping them launch public awareness programmes, provide specialised training to the police and custom officers and compile national inventories to trace stolen or missing objects. The fund would be administered by UNESCO. The three-day Phnom Penh meeting will discuss theft, looting and clandestine excavation of cultural property in Asia. The meeting is being organised at the behest of Cambodia which is particularly affected by looting of cultural heritage. On the agenda are the request of Greece for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from Britain and Turkey’s demand for the restitution of the Bugoskoy Sphinx from Germany. The committee will consider the principles to be applied for the settlement of disputes concerning cultural property displaced during World War II and discuss ways of disseminating the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property evolved in November last year and an international standard for recording
minimal data on movable cultural property. The issue of illicit traffic in cultural property in Cambodia has been a major concern for UNESCO. The issue is no less significant for major art trading centres as Japan and Thailand. |
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Assembly poll by April end New Delhi, March 5 The Commission announced that by-elections to Haidergarh and Sadadad Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh would be held on April 7. The UP Chief Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, would be one of contestants as he still is not a member of the State Assembly. On the Assembly elections, the sources said that apart from giving sufficient time for the formation of the next State Governments in the five States, factors like examinations in schools and colleges and availability of adequate security forces have been taken into account for the proposed decision. The Model Code of Conduct would come into force from the date of announcement of election schedule. The tenure of Tamil Nadu Assembly ends on May 21, that in Kerala ends on May 28, the Assembly of West Bengal and Pondicherry on June 9 and Assam on June 11. The by-elections in Uttar Pradesh assume significance as Mr Rajnath Singh has to get elected within six months of his assuming the office. There are indications that he may contest from Haidergarh. According to the poll schedule, the notification would be issued on March 12 and the last date for filing nominations would be March 19. While the scrutiny of nominations would take place on March 20, the last date for withdrawal of candidatures would be March 22. The Commission said the Model Code of Conduct had come into effect today following the announcement of the poll schedule. The polling would be conducted through Electronic Voting Machines, the Commission said. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has decided not to put staff and vehicles of wildlife sanctuaries on election duty. The steps follows the recent spurt in poaching of tigers, elephants, rhinos and other endangered species. These instructions would apply to all future elections. The Commission had exempted Wildlife Park officials and their vehicles from being recruited for poll duty in 1999 General Election and Assembly polls last year. |
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Anti-demolition protest held New Delhi, March 5 In a memorandum presented to officials at UN House here, the organisations have urged the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to use his good office to save the great pieces of world heritage even if it means sending the UN forces to Afghanistan to accomplish the job. ``Any action on your part to save these images of the Buddha — the Enlightened one and the Prophet of Peace — would be a sincere step towards protecting, preserving and promoting the spirit of the recently held millennium World Peace Summit under your chairmanship at the UNO,’’ the memorandum reads. The Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association has also voiced its protest against the destruction of Buddhist statues by ruling Taliban militia. It has also appealed to the UNO and the Indian Government to intervene immediately to help in
reconstructing the statues in Afghanistan. A delegation led by the President of the association, Lama Chosphel Zotpa submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister and the UNO. |
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Uttaranchal Budget may be late Dehra Dun, March 5 In an interview with The Tribune here, today, Mr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank Finance Minister of Uttaranchal, said that the state was still waiting for the central assistance as the Budget session was in progress. And before March 31, this year it is not possible to get an idea of revenue generated from own resources. He said, to overcome this situation vote-on-accounts will be passed in the Assembly during the last week of March for three months. In the due course, the budget provisions will be prepared after consultation with all departments. The Finance Ministry has called a meeting of higher officials to discuss the revenue policy for the next financial year on March 19. To a question he said that there was possibilities of reconsidering the newly announced excise policy of the state for the year 2001-2002. It is worth mention that the new Excise policy was announced by the state Cabinet in the absence of the Finance Minister. The new Excise policy aims at abolishing the auctioning of liquor vends replacing it by licence system on the pattern of the UP Government. Moreover, in four months of office the Nityanand Swami-led BJP Government in the hill state has not been able to convince the Union Government and the UP Government of
transferring the assets from the parent state. As the next financial year is drawing near, Swami has initiated for the first time to meet his counterpart Mr Rajnath Singh at Lucknow on Tuesday to settle the dispute of the transfer of assets and liabilities. On the other hand, the central government’s acceptance of the fiscal reforms package for the states as suggested by the 11th Finance Commission in January this year has landed Uttaranchal in a spot. In very simple terms, the state would now have to ensure growth in its tax revenue on the scale as suggested by the commission. This means the state has to enhance non-tax revenue through higher irrigation tariff, interest receipts and user charges, to wipe-off state-level subsidies and limit growth of its salary bill to five per cent or to the consumer price index whichever is higher. And this is essential to get the revenue deficit grants from the Centre as laid down under Article 275. Ironically, the Uttaranchal Government has not been able to set up the administrative structure of Tax Department as yet. The drafting of tax policies is a far-off game. Under this situation it would be very difficult for the state government to convince their political bosses in Delhi for getting central assistance. They have to ensure fiscal reforms before the end of this financial year to get assistance from the Centre. Further the situation is more bleak on the expenditure front. Mr Nishank has admitted that the state government is liable to pay more than Rs 1820 crore in lieu of salaries/pension to the Government employees, employees of the government aided organisations and the retired employees. In return, the expectations of revenue generation from Excise duty and taxes are not more than Rs 800 crore , if the situation goes on like this. Economists say that to overcome this situation even after the central assistance the state government has to levy more taxes. |
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Malta tragedy: NHRC moved New Delhi, March 5 Not much progress has been made in the case since December 25, 1996, when 170 Indians, mostly from Punjab met a watery end in Malta Scilly channel near Italy, the chairman of the Malta Boat Tragedy Probe Mission, Mr Balwant Singh Khera said. The victims of the tragedy held a demonstration outside the CBI headquarters to protest against the tardy progress in the case. “The Centre, the Punjab government, the CBI and the Ministry of External Affairs, has not taken this ghastly mass murder tragedy seriously. We request you to order the authorities concerned to present a status report, a list of dead or alive victims and also provide relief to the affected families,” Mr Khera in a memorandum to the NHRC said. He urged the government to confiscate the properties of the identified travel agents and pay back the money and damage claims to the affected families. “Make a comprehensive law against human smugglers, travel agents and safeguard the interest of the labour force going abroad,” he said. |
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Karan
Singh, morcha assail Taliban action New Delhi, March 5 Dr Karan Singh said these were acts of sustained vandalism motivated by hate which we had hoped would never occur in the present day and age. “In particular, it has outraged the sentiments of Hindus and Buddhists around the world”, Dr Singh said adding that “such actions are the antithesis of the inter-religious harmony and understanding that organisations like ours are striving to create and will be condemned by all right thinking people around the world regardless of their religious affiliations.” Meanwhile, the minority morcha of the BJP has condemned the demolition of the world famous Buddhist statues in Afghanistan. A statement issued by the morcha here today said the barbaric act of the Taliban regime to demolish Buddhist statues at Bamiyan in Afghanistan was not only deplorable but also unwarranted. |
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PM, President greet people on Id New Delhi, March 5 In his message, the President said: “I extend my greetings to all fellow citizens and to my Muslim brothers and
sisters. Let us on this occasion recall the spirit of sacrifice and resolve to strive for universal harmony and peace”. Mr Vajpayee said: “The festival reminds us of the significance of sacrifice and charity. May the celebrations usher in a renewed atmosphere of
peace, faith and brotherhood.” Vice-President Krishan Kant and Lok Sabha Speaker
GMC Balayogi have greeted the people on the occasion if Id-ul-Zuha. In his message Mr Kant said Id is reaffirmation of truth. “May the noble spirit of the day endure and bring lasting spiritual happiness to the mankind”, he added.
UNI
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Cong faces bleak future in WB Kolkata, March 5 As reported in The Tribune yesterday, eight MLAs led by Mr Saugata Roy, one of the vice-presidents of the party’s state unit, and three AICC (I) members formally severed their relations with the party and joined the TMC to strengthen Ms Banerjee’s hands to drive the CPI (M) out of power. Mr Roy said, “We have waited long enough for the state Congress to join hands with the TMC, but some vested interests stood in the way of Ms Banerjee’s fight against the CPI (M) and now we don’t want to wait further and allow the opportunity to slip by and, therefore, we have decided to join the TMC”. Welcoming them, Ms Banerjee promised them suitable positions in the party and reiterated her datermination to remove the CPI (M) from power in the forthcoming state assembly elections. “Now or never” — she gave this call to all the anti-Marxist parties to join hands with them against the CPI (M). The AICC (I) leadership should be perturbed at the party’s bleak future in Bengal, but it has little option as politically and ideologically, it cannot allow the party to join hands with the BJP. Ms Sonia Gandhi and other AICC (I) leaders wanted Ms Banerjee to severe her ties with the BJP and make it possible for the Congress to join her party. This was also not possible for her. Ms Banerjee and other like-minded party leaders feel the BJP is now a changed party and it is no longer communal. Moreover, the TMC has been a partner in the NDA government in Delhi which is being governed by the NDA manifesto and not the BJP’s. Hence, there could be no logic behind branding the TMC a communal force along with the BJP. If Muslim League is not a communal force to Congress (I), why then should be the BJP she wondered. The state Congress (I) which is divided now has 77 MLAs in the 294-member state assembly. Altogether 44 Congress MLAs have so far switched over to the TMC. Leaders like Mr A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, Mr Abdul Mannan and Mr Somen Mitra would still want an understanding with the TMC in the elections since they all are convinced, that the TMC is the only vital force now
against the CPI (M) and without the TMC’s help, it will be next to impossible for them to win the elections. In fact, it was Mr Khan Chowdhury who first spoke in the favour of joining the Mahajot in which BJP is also a partner. He had pleaded that the state Congress (I) would have an electoral understanding with the TMC directly and would have no link with the BJP. Ms Banerjee hopes that some more MLAs and leaders of the state Congress (I) will come forward following the example of Mr Roy and other and, therefore, she will take a few more days to finalise the list of the TMC’s candidates for the assembly elections. |
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Scandal rocks minister’s marriage Jaipur, March 5 Whatever her political future on account of this scandal, her marital life is already on the rocks as her husband has sent her divorce papers. The story of the sex scandal of the Minister of State for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Mrs Beena Kak, was exposed by the Punjab Kesri last week. The minister was charged of having affairs with Salauddin Khan, a senior bureaucrat. When newsmen asked Mr Gehlot about the news item, the CM preferred to keep quite. The paper has alleged that the duo were having fun at the expenses of the state exchequer. Mrs Kak rushed on Friday to Delhi to clarify her position to the high command. But to the minister’s discomfiture, while she was
desperately trying to convince the powers that be at the national Capital about her innocence, her husband further compounded here woes. Her husband Bharat Kak called a press conference on Saturday at Pali to announce that he had sent divorce papers to his wife’s official residence at Jaipur. He had already received acknowledgement of the papers sent by registered post. Mr Kak said that he and his wife had been living separately for the past seven years. He tolerated everything for the sake of his son and daughter. He said that he has already sent a communication to the party high command and Mr Gehlot in this connection, urging them both for the dismissal of Mrs Kak from the Cabinet in order to save the prestige of the party. He said that he would make these letters public at an appropriate time later. He would write to the President also, urging him to dismiss the IAS officer involved. While the minister was away to Delhi explaining her conduct, Mr Salauddin Khan was still seen residing at the minister’s residence. |
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40 builders held in Ahmedabad Gandhinagar, March 5 The government is of the view that most damage in the city was not only because of the natural calamity but also due to human mistakes, he told reporters. Authorities have arrested 40 persons so far in 25 cases, while the police is on the lookout for another 68 accused wanted in 35 cases, he said. Mr Pandya said the government had initiated action against three builders under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act. The state government had also announced a reward of Rs one lakh to those who gave information about the absconding builders, he added. Mr Pandya said initial action was being taken against guilty builders and not against architects, structural engineers or government officials. Follow-up action would be done after completing investigations. The builders have been booked under section 304 of the IPC (culpable homicide) and 120 B. Mr Pandya said cement and soil samples and other material were being sent for tests.
UNI
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Aarakshan bachao samiti holds
meeting Hanumangarh, March 5 Addressing the meeting, the regional president of the samiti, Mr Dungar Ram Gedar, said that the samiti was organising public awareness rallies all over the state, demanding a division of the other backward communities in two categories. Memorandums were also sent to the Chief Minister and the samiti was also trying to contact the SC/ST commission in this regard. Mr Gader said that in October 1999 the state government included some new communities in the OBC category because of this inclusion people who really belonged to OBC were deprived of reservation rights. This inclusion was against the interests of the OBC. He added the results of these inclusions were seen in the panchayati raj and municipal council elections and in the Rajasthan Administrative Service examination conducted by Rajasthan Public Services Commission. He further said that the new communities included in the OBC categories were well established and they had occupied 95 per cent posts of the OBC categories. The district president of the samiti, Mr Mahadev Soni, said that, the OBCs would have to struggle to secure their rights.
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2 wagons
derail as bull hits train Hanumangarh, March 5 The schedule of other trains was disturbed and the passengers also faced problems. According to the sources, at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, a bull collided with the train and got struck in the engine, derailing two coaches. Since both the coaches were empty, there was no loss of property. The schedule of the trains on the Sadulpura-Hanumangarh rail track was disturbed, the Jaipur-Sriganganagar Express was stopped at Bhadra. It started about seven hours late. Some trains were cancelled. Many passengers reached their destinations by jeeps or buses. They have demanded refund of the full amount of the freight. Meanwhile, some organisations have asked the Railway Minister that a new railway track be laid from Hanumangarh to Sadulpura as the present track was badly and the train accidents occurred very frequently. Higher authorities of the Railway Department said the accident took place because of negligence by the driver and the guard. Cranes were sent from Hanumangarh to clear the track and the situation came to normal after about seven hours.
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Speed post passport
service launched New Delhi, March 5 Launching the service, the Communication Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, and the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Ajit Panja, said under the scheme select post offices would sell passport application forms and accept completed forms from the applicants. Mr Paswan said once the applications were checked at a post office with the help of a check-list, the forms would be despatched to the Regional Passport Office through speed post. Initially, the service will be available in select places in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and throughout Kerala and Karnataka. |
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Rs 1 crore for irrigation
project Hanumangarh, March 5 With the completion of this project, drinking water will be available in 36 villages of Hanumangarh and Churu districts and an area of 17,340 hectares will come under irrigation. To start with Rs 1 crore would be allotted for the project the Additional Chief Engineer, Mr Setia, said, adding that land procurement would be done and compensation would be given to farmers within this month. Mr Setia said for land procurement the SDM, Nohar, had been asked to issue awards to be sent to the state government for approval. After land procurement the project would come under the list of those schemes for which work had been started and then there would not be any problem in making available the amount required for the project, he said. |
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MC
meeting on March 8 Hanumangarh, March 5 The proceedings of the meeting held on February 5 has been included in its agenda thus it clear that the issues discussed on January 22 would not be taken up. According to sources, the opposition was divided over the issue of the Budget. One section thinks that they made a mistake by rejecting the revised Budget in the past and they were not ready to repeat the same act. Another section thinks if it is not passed all projects will come to a halt and they will not be able to face the voters. |
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ICWA Bill withdrawn New Delhi, March 5
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Property dealer
stabbed to death New Delhi, March 5 Lal Singh, proprietor of Vaishnav Properties was alone in his house this morning when the incident occurred. His wife, who is a teacher, and children had gone to the school, the police said. |
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Bitta meets
British High Commissioner New Delhi, March 5 The AIATF chief in a memorandum also made a request to the British High Commissioner to mobilise international opinion to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state.
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