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| Monday,
April 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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New exim policy draws
flak Troubles not over for Siwan
MP Tehelka vindicates CVC
report Laxman’s act indefensible:
Advani |
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Govt ‘tapping’ phones of Oppn
leaders Congress not for toppling game:
Reddy Fast-track courts start
functioning Centre ‘saffronised’
film awards Garden for the blind in
Lucknow NE steals a march in literacy
rate Rajasthan Day celebrated Anonymous complaint creates panic
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New exim policy draws
flak New Delhi, April 1 Coming heavily on the
Vajpayee government’s economic policy, the CPI said the removal of all quantitative restrictions (QRs) on imports would open the floodgates for foreign goods and send the country’s economy “sliding down the inclined plane at accelerating speed”. The export-import policy further ‘demonstrates the NDA government’s surrender before the G-7 and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the CPI observed in a statement here today. The lifting of restrictions, including on foodgrains, poultry and dairy products and goods manufactured in the small-scale sector, and promotion of agricultural exports is good news for foreign exporters who will find easy and uncontrolled access to “our markets, as well as to their Indian collaborators — the corporate houses, but will gravely jeopardise our agriculture and SSI,” it said. For the elite, the fashion-concious, the affluent, there might be greater consumer choice to meet their tastes. But for the farmer, the artisan, the self-employed, the small entrepreneur, it will spell misery. They cannot be fobbed off by a reassurance about setting up a “war room” to keep vigilant watch and monitor the developments. The CPM said the policy would spell ruin for Indian producers and farmers. The policy has no mechanism to protect the basic interests of the agricultural sector and farmers. There was need for a flexible tariff regime which would automatically adjust tariffs to international price changes to reduce the effects of price changes on Indian producers. This has not been addressed. Instead, the policy is full of assertions about how the agricultural sector will not be affected adversely. The party said the policy’s obsession with export of agricultural commodities is not in the interest of the economy. Diversion of crops area from foodgrains to agricultural exports will be disastrous in the long run for the country’s food security. Further, such exports are not likely to generate adequate foreign exchange for imports of manufactured goods. India’s objective should be to become a manufactured goods exporter as opposed to a primary commodity exporter. It ignores the problems which will be faced by domestic producers and the adverse
consequences for rural employment. The low tariff binding for soyabean oil (45 per cent) and rapeseed oil will affect oil seed cultivators. There will be similar problems in many other sectors. “The only concern the Commerce Minister has shown is the domestic automobile industry which is dominated by multinational companies. No such concern is evident for the capital good industry which is dominated by Indian producers.” The policy lays emphasis on special agricultural economic zones in the name of increasing exports. However, such zones will be the pretext for removing labour protection laws and allowing unfettered exploitation of workers. |
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Troubles not over for Siwan
MP Patna, April 1 Saturday was the fourth death anniversary of student leader, Chandrashekhar for whose murder the Siwan MP is charged with. CPML All-India Students Association and Inquilabi Naujawan Sabha activists and intellectuals from all over India gathered at Siwan to commemorate his death anniversary and vowed to “avenge his killing.” Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday came to the support of its Bihar counterpart, justifying the joint police action on Pratappur village on March 16. The SP of Deoria (UP), Mr Akhil Kumar, in his letter to the top Bihar police officer, has said that Shahabuddin had been patronising and giving shelter to hardened criminals of UP, Jwala Yadav and Jahid Mian. This again gives a new turn to the Siwan episode after the issue seemed settled in disadvantage of the Siwan policemen and officers. The UP police maintained that it had not come to Siwan unexpectedly, as is being made out, but had as part of the earlier programme to attend a joint crime control meet. The Deoria SP maintained that on that fateful day, the criminals fired with AK-47, carbine and other lethal guns on the Bihar police and they were asked by the then SP, Mr B.S. Meena, to come to the help as the criminals were proving too good in their fire power. The SP maintained that even the DGP of Bihar had thanked and congratulated the UP police for the ‘good work’ they had done on that day. Meanwhile, the Bihar Policemen’s Association has demanded that the then DM of Siwan, Mr Rashid Ahmad Khan, and the DIG, Saran Range, Mr C.R. Kaswan, be suspended and a case of murder instituted against them for their ‘guilty’ act in dealing with the Siwan episode. It is a sort of quid pro quo demand against the murder cases lodged against the then SP and DSP of Siwan by the supporters of Shahabuddin. |
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Tehelka vindicates CVC report New Delhi, April 1 Asked whether it meant that he corroborated the existence of middlemen in defence deals and payment of commissions, Mr Vittal said, “I cannot answer such questions as the report was top secret. It is for the government to make it public.” The CVC had given an interim report in August last year and the final report yesterday after probing into 20 allegations levelled by Mr Jayant Malhotra, seven allegations by Rear Admiral S.V. Purohit and the defence deals since 1989 which were worth over Rs 75 crore. He said among the defence deals he examined 25 cases running into over 500 files and has given a comprehensive report to the government. “Our interim report of August last year was vindicated by the Tehelka tapes which came in March,” Mr Vittal said. Asked about the revival of the controversial ‘single directive’ norm recommended by a Parliamentary Standing Committee and accepted by the government barring any probe of an officer above the joint secretary level without government sanction, he said the Supreme Court has already laid the law for this purpose. He said the court had quashed the ‘single directive’ norm twice – once while delivering the Vineet Narain judgement in the hawala case and for the second time when the government had issued the ordinance setting up the Central Vigilance Commission in 1998 — terming it as unconstitutional. The court had held that it violated the equality clause of the Constitution, he added. Mr Vittal said he felt that even if the government made ‘single directive’ as law, it could be struck down again by the Supreme Court if a petition was made before it challenging the same. The CVC has been given the power of superintendence which meant it could give directions as well, Mr Vittal said adding, “I have already conveyed to the Prime Minister that the ‘single directive’ norm should go.”
PTI |
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Laxman’s act indefensible: Advani New Delhi, April 1 Mr Laxman “has deposited the entire amount of Rs 1 lakh with the party and I have checked that out,” he told Karan Thapar on BBC’s ‘Hardtalk India’ programme to be telecast on Wednesday. To a question that never before a party president has been caught ‘red-handed’ accepting money, Mr Advani said “I admit that damage has been caused” and the party would have to “work hard” to restore its “clean” image as a party “with a difference”. Asked if he would prefer Mr Laxman, who resigned as BJP President, to quit his Rajya Sabha membership, he said “I do not see any corruption in it” since the money was taken for the party. “I will not advise him to resign. It is for him to decide,” the Home Minister said, but added that no person, however high, would be spared if the inquiry commission, probing the matter, found anyone guilty. Replying to questions, he said the Group of Ministers (GoM) on National Security, headed by him, had recommended concrete steps to check corruption in defence deals. The GoM’s report, currently being studied by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, was expected to taken up by the Cabinet before the conclusion of the Budget session of Parliament, he said. Elaborating on why he called the BJP a party with a difference, Advani said the party had build up its strength from two seats in the Lok Sabha to 86 seats in the 1989 elections by projecting that it was committed to values and good governance and was not corrupt as measured against other parties which had come up by manipulating vote banks. Asked if the expose would affect its electoral prospects, he candidly told Thapar that the government would over a period of time counter any such image even though the opposition parties would capitalise on it. He said while the previous Congress governments had failed to initiate any action even after the Bofors and HDW submarine scandals had surfaced, this government had responded effectively. He recalled having stated that his resignation from the Lok Sabha in the wake of the 1996 Hawala case should not be treated as a standard for a political leader.
PTI |
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Govt ‘tapping’ phones of Oppn leaders Lucknow, April 1 Addressing a press conference here, Mr Yadav said: “I have a list of the Opposition leaders whose phones are being tapped including myself. But I will reveal the list at the appropriate time.’’ He said the BJP-led NDA government was desperate to implicate the Opposition leaders to keep their mouths shut about the Tehelka revelations. The CBI probe against Mr V. George, Private Secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, was one such example, he added. Alleging that Mr Ashok Saikia, a senior officer in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was using the CBI against the Opposition leaders, Mr Yadav said: “Everyone is raising a hue and cry over the deeds of Mr Brajesh Mishra and Mr N.K. Singh, but none is taking notice of Mr Saikia, who is the main conspirator.’’ Mr Yadav said the SP was against the merger of the UTI and the Global First Bank. On the multi-crore pay order scam, he demanded the resignation of SEBI Chairman D.K. Mehta and RBI Governor Bimal Jalan. On the countrywide raids at offices and residential premises of customs officials, Mr Yadav said the matter was pending for long and it was astonishing why the government chose yesterday for the raids. “These raids were aimed at diverting the attention of the people from the controversy involving the government in the defence deals,’’ he claimed. Mr Yadav also claimed that former Defence Minister George Fernandes was made a “scapegoat” in the Tehelka scandal.
UNI |
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Congress not for toppling game: Reddy New Delhi, April 1 “We will do nothing to bring about the fall of the government,’’ he said in an interview to UNI here. “We are neither in the toppling game nor in the destabilisation game’’. Mr Reddy said the crisis created by tehelka.com had deepened within the NDA. This was clear from increasing contradictions within the alliance — Ms Mamata Banerjee had quit the NDA, the Telugu Desam Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had refused to associate themselves with the Prime Minister’s anti-Tehelka platform and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray continued to ask for the heads of Mr Brajesh Mishra and Mr N.K. Singh. The Sena wants a probe into the activities of Mr Ranjan Bhattacharya, foster son-in-law of the Prime Minister. “All these developments indicate only one thing — that crisis in the NDA government is increasing,’’ according to Mr Reddy. Asked about the possibility of a mid-term poll, he said: “We are neither envisaging nor welcoming the possibility’’. About the Congress strategy, he said it would depend on how and when the government fell. “Our strategy will depend on the context of the fall of the government,’’ he added. Explaining why the Congress was opposed to a judicial inquiry or a debate in Parliament over the Tehelka expose, Mr Reddy said a judicial probe, going by the terms of reference, was a ‘’whitewash and an attempt at massive cover-up’’. According to Mr Reddy, when there was “indisputable evidence’’ (about pay-offs in defence deals), action was required. “We will debate in Parliament after action is taken,’’ he said. “Debate is no substitute for action’’. Describing as “totally false and misleading’’ the BJP charge that the Tehelka expose was the “Congress handiwork, he said his party had nothing to do with it and pointed out that Union Home Minister L.K. Advani himself admitted that seeing a conspiracy behind the episode was wrong. About senior Congress leader Arjun Singh’s name being dragged into the episode, Mr Reddy said he had already clarified that Mr Singh and Congress media department official Tom Wadakkan had nothing to do with Tehelka.
UNI |
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Fast-track courts start functioning New Delhi, April 1 The courts would first deal with criminal cases pending for two or more years and those of undertrials in jails, Law Ministry sources said today. Cases of undertrials were likely to be disposed of in the very first year under the scheme, recommended by the 11th Finance Commission for the creation of the new courts for clearing long-pending cases. Under the scheme, initiated by the Justice Department, Rs 502.90 crore has already been sanctioned as special problems and upgradation grant for judicial administration for five years till 2005. At present, there are 1.8 lakh undertrials in jails on whose maintenance the government is spending about Rs 361 crore per year at the rate of Rs 55 per person per day in prison. About 2 crore cases were expected to be disposed of by these courts by 2005,” the sources said. “It will entail substantial saving in jail expenditure, besides addressing a serious human rights problem”, the sources added. Steps were being taken to computerise city courts in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata at a cost of over Rs 10 crore, they said, adding that the Planning Commission had already allocated Rs 8.53 crore for 2001-02 for the purpose. However, till March 15, only four states have sent action plans for setting up fast-track courts for the speedy disposal of cases. The courts began functioning today in Kerala, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The infrastructure for the courts would be provided by the state governments and the selection of judges would be made by the high courts. Law Minister Arun Jaitley had said recently that at least five such courts ran in all districts in the country with full central funding.” He had said the mechanism was also cost-effective as it would entail an estimated expenditure of Rs 100 crore annually as against a total amount of Rs 360 crore being spent by states for the maintenance of undertrials each year. Mr Jaitley said a “long-term road map” for judicial reforms was being charted out by the government. In this context, he said a number of amendments had been made in the Civil Procedure Code and placed before Parliament. He said the Home Ministry had already set up a committee to suggest similar amendments in the Criminal Procedure code.
PTI |
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Centre ‘saffronised’ film awards Kolkata, April 1 Film-maker Gautam Ghosh had refused the Award for Best Bengali Film, “Dekha”, while thespian Soumitra Chatterjee turned down the Special Jury Award for his role of a blind poet in that film in the light of the controversy. Saying he was not “at all uncomfortable or embarrassed” with the National Award as the Best Director for his Bengali film “Utsav”, film-maker Rituparno Ghosh said: “I think the lesson from this, if any, is to publish the credentials of a juror right at the onset of the selection procedure.” Rituparno said, “The current farce of a confidential selection committee should be completely done away with because this confidentiality leaves us nowhere except for allowing vested interest to tamper with it.” On the rejection of the Special Jury Award by Soumitra Chatterjee for his role of a blind poet in a crumbling mansion in “Dekha”, Rituparno said “Soumitra Da has been very unfortunate as far as national awards or acting is concerned”. Alleging that the Centre saffronised this year’s film awards, eminent film director Buddhadeb Dasgupta said, “Unless you free the National Film Awards from political interference you will see the same sordid saga happening. You cannot have political appointees in a national festival”. Veteran film-maker Mrinal Sen said: “It is possible for awards to be rigged...it would depend on who comprise the jury. At the national level most of the judges have very little knowledge about cinema and hence the lobbying begins. The few who are knowledgeable have to suffer because of this.
PTI |
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Garden for the blind in Lucknow Lucknow, April 1 Claimed to be the first of its kind not only in the country, but in the entire Asia, the garden is to be ready in few weeks time at the premier National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) here, under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The idea behind this novel project is to provide a healthy environment to the visually challenged, who would be able to walk around and enjoy the sweet smell of flowers around them. All facilities in the garden would be disabled-friendly. The NBRI Director, Dr Pushpangadan, said there were only four such gardens in the world, one each in the USA, Poland, Germany and Britain. This garden would be unique in having Braille writings on the placards, posters and even stones providing the necessary information. The garden is being developed beside the walking plaza, where thousands of morning walkers take a stroll every morning. The rectangular walkways would have pavement stones carved in such a manner to facilitate easy navigation for the visually challenged, Dr Pushpangadan said. Special emphasis has been laid on growing the best of aromatic plants like Rose, Tulsi, Raat-ki-Rani, Bela and Chameli to accentuate the sense of smell, the NBRI Director said.
UNI |
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NE steals a march in literacy rate Patna, April 1 The literacy rate in the state is only 47.53 per cent against the national average of 65.38 per cent. According to the provisional report of Census 2001, the total number of male literates is 20,978,955 while the total number of female literates is 10,696,652. Male literacy rate is almost double (60.32) of the female literacy rate (33.57). The report said the literacy rate in the state increased by roughly 10 percentage points from 37.49 per cent in 1991 to 47.53 per cent in 2001. It was still low compared to the all-India average of 65.38 per cent. The male literacy rate had gone up to 60.32 per cent in 2001 from 51.47 per cent in 1991 while the female literacy rate had gone up to 33.57 per cent in 2001 from 21.99 per cent in 1991. The report revealed that all districts had registered an increase in the literacy over the decade. The Bihar Government has admitted that literacy rate of the Dalit women in the state was poor and ranged between 1.61 to 6.72 per cent. This was stated in reply to a question of a BJP member, Ms Sukhda Pandey, by Bihar Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Chandra Purvey in the state assembly yesterday. LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh has made remarkable strides in literacy with over 57 per cent of the total population literate, according to the census report. The literacy rate of the state, though much below the national average of 65.38 per cent, has, however, improved a lot in the past one decade with the percentage of male literates going up to 70.23 from 54.82 registered in 1991. The improvement in the female literacy percentage in comparison to that of males was notable recording 42.98 per cent as compared to 24.37 per cent in the last decade. ITANAGAR: The population of Arunachal Pradesh has gone up to 1,091,117, a growth of 26.21 per cent, according to the provisional population census. Census Director N.K. Lahkar said the density of the population per sq km had gone up to 13 as against 10 in the 1991 census. The literacy rate has gone up to 54.74 per cent of which the male literacy rate is 64.07 per cent and the female 44.24 per cent. AGARTALA: The north-eastern states have marched ahead of other states in the literacy race as per the Census report. On an average 68.76 per cent of the total of 3,90,35,582 persons of the eight NE states, including Sikkim, are literate, which is 3.38 per cent more than the national literacy rate of 65.38 per cent, according to a provisional report of the Census 2001. Mizoram remained in the second position of literacy race in the country after Kerala. It is at the top with 88.49 per cent, followed by Tripura (73.66), Sikkim (69.68), Manipur (68.87), Nagaland (67.11), Assam (64.28), Meghalaya (63.31) and Arunachal Pradesh (54.74). KOHIMA: The decadal growth rate in Nagaland was highest in the country at 64.41 per cent with literacy rate going up to 67.11 per cent in 2001 from 61.65 per cent in 1991, according to the Census report 2001. Dimapur district which witnessed a population growth of 176.44 per cent in 1981-1991 registered 73.30 per cent in the past decade. In the literacy ratio, Mokokchung district registered the highest rate of 84.27 per cent followed by Wokha with 81.28 per cent. Mon district registered the lowest literacy rate of 42.25 per cent in the state. The percentage of male literates was 71.77 as against the proportion of female literates which stood at 61.92 per cent. GANGTOK: Female literacy rate in Sikkim has jumped significantly from 8.9 per cent in 1971 to 61.46 per cent in 2001 even though the state witnessed a decline in sex ratio, according to the provisional census data. Sikkim, which became the 22nd state of the Indian union in 1975, had recorded an overall literacy rate of 17.74 per cent in 1971 comprising 25.37 per cent male and 8.9 per cent female. But the state’s literacy rate rose to 69.68 in 2001 with 76.73 per cent men and 61.46 women. PTI, UNI |
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Rajasthan Day celebrated Hanumangarh, April 1 Mr Chandellia said the district was agriculture-based and for the development it was necessary that the cultivators were prosperous. He said a writer could speak about the problems of the people in his compositions as he had got vision and was frank. There should be coordination between the administration and the literary persons, he said. Literature guides the society and the administration, so the administration would try to work according to the literary teachings, said the Collector. Dr Amar Setia, President Lions Club, said we got freedom after a prolonged struggle and now we were on a path of progress. He said to help poor was not the lone responsibility of the administration but the whole society should contribute to it. Speaking as the chief guest, Ms Damyanti Beniwal, District Council Chief, said the credit for progress done after Independence went to the system as a whole, but yet a major opportunity required to overcome was illiteracy among women. On this occasion, various poets recited their compositions. |
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Anonymous complaint creates panic Hanumangarh, April 1 Information available said an unknown person alleged that parts of two Hindustan tractors, send to the department last year for repair had been taken away. Officials said the complaint was false. Sources in the nigam revealed that last year two tractors were brought for repair and parked in the godown of the office and Rs 70,000 were demanded for repair. A complaint addressed to the manager maintenance landed into the hand of an employee of the government rest house in
Bhadra. The complaint was against the Assistant Engineer of the local office who has also been officiating as Executive Engineer. According to the complaint, two 1978 model Hindustan tractors were parked in the store. In March, 2000, the then Executive Engineer again issued orders for the repair of the tractors, for which a budget of Rs 35,135 and 34,643 was sought. The complaint has alleged in between parts of the both the tractors were sold. An inquiry into this has been demanded in the letter. The Assistant Engineer was terming the complaint false,
unconfirmed sources revealed a budget of Rs 40,000 in May, 2000, was sent in the local office for the repair of the tractors, but the amount was never used. The sources also revealed after the sanction of the budget when a mechanical manual was prepared again, the material was not available in the store, though the Assistant Engineer was of the view that all parts of the tractors were lying there. According to a calculation if these tractors were now repaired again the expenses would be more than one
lakh. Meanwhile, the complaint has created panic in the office as local level officials were trying to fuel the complaint. |
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Pact with Trinamool almost final: Cong New Delhi, April 1 “With the positive trend of talks
until now with the Trinamool Congress, it is expected that the electoral alliance in line with the wishes of the people of Bengal would be finalised very soon,” the
AICC General Secretary and in charge of West Bengal affairs, Mr Kamal Nath, said in a statement here. |
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Bihar MLAs’
salary hiked Patna, April 1 Over the last decade, the practice of surrender of huge development funds along with departmental budgetary allocations has become common. The Planning Commission has, time and again, asked the state government to fix its plan size pragmatically. Meanwhile, the legislator of Bihar has become richer as the Bihar legislature passed the Bill on Saturday with voice vote. This has caused an additional load of Rs 1.4 crore per annum to the state exchequer. The legislators would now get Rs 11,000 as against the earlier Rs 6350. |
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PGI-AIIMS tele-medicine linkage soon New Delhi, April 1 The main objective of the programme is to utilise vast resources of medical specialists and super-specialists. The Rs 7 crore pilot project is being funded by the Ministry of Information Technology to start tele-medicine linkage. Prof P.K. Dave, Director of the AIIMS, told TNS that the institute had also planned to start tele-medicine linkage with the Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project Hospital in Ballabgarh. The tele-medicine linkage enabled patients living in remote and inhospitable areas seek the opinion of specialists in a short time. |
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Panel to study faction killings Hyderabad, April 1 In the particular incident that happened at Kappatralla village, Mr Venkatappa Naidu, the village strong man who belonged to the ruling Telugu Desam Party was attacked by hired assassins. His followers chased the assassins and killed them. |
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