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Thursday,
April 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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TC, Cong to launch joint
campaign Checkposts cut off from Army
HQ Delimit Uttaranchal segments:
Cong CPI severs ties with
AGP EC allots telecast time for poll |
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DMK in fray for 13
seats in Pondicherry JD(S) MLA revolts,
to contest poll Tehelka expose probe begins Tehelka expose ‘helping’
Pak Black flags greet Advani,
Fernandes Uttaranchal budget session from May 2 EC official to visit
Haidergarh US envoy’s wife returns
shawl
UK to give £ 33.2 m for Orissa schools DSP suspended
for assaulting IFS officer Customs officials may sue Vittal K. V. Rajan new Adviser, MEA Nehru museum gets new
collection 9 Muslim communities
in MP OBC list Josh claims possession of ICWA Cong dissolves Seva Dal Boards Cong MLAs protest
at PM’s residence
Supply from Bhakra closed, shortage likely Sadhus to boycott VHP
functions Total solar eclipse
on June 21
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TC, Cong to launch joint
campaign Kolkata, April 4 Later, some time in the middle of April, Mrs Sonia Gandhi will address a meeting at Brigade Parade ground in which several prominent Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister
P. V. Narashima Rao will be invited. The BJP has also decided to hold a massive rally in Kolkata in which Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr
L. K. Advani and Mr George Fernandes will be present. ‘‘Our main target to attack will be the Congress and the TMC and we will welcome the CPM, where necessary, to expose the unholy alliance of the Congress and the TMC Mr Tapan Sikdar, Union Minister of State for Communication said. The Chief Ministerial candidate of the Congress-TMC combine, Ms Banerjee, said an agreement was signed at her meeting with Mr Kamal Nath, AICC general secretary, on Monday on the sharing of 276 seats. “And now we have ourselves reached an agreement on the remaining 18 seats by sharing 9 each she added. Ms Banerjee regretted that parties had to sacrifice a lot in the new arrangement which had been agreed upon for the larger interest of the two parties and people in particular. She believed it would be now possible for them to remove the CPM led front government from power after the elections. But Mr Sikdar, however, claimed that certain sitting Congress (I) MLAs, who were denied ticket, had approached them and they had been welcomed. He said the BJP would support them to fight from their respective seats. He, however, refused to disclose their identity at this stage. Mr Adhir Chowdhury, Congress MP from Murshidabad, also admitted that a section of leaders and workers were unhappy that some sitting MLAs had been denied ticket. He, however, denied that they were joining the BJP. But he indicated that some of them might contest the elections as independent candidate. After Ms Banerjee’s new arrangement with the Congress, the BJP will now field candidates in all 294 seats, while parties like the PDS (Saifuddin-Samit group), the KPP, the Naxalites and the partners of the CPM-led front are already in the fray, resulting in four-five cornered contests in all constituencies. |
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Checkposts cut off from Army
HQ Dehra Dun, April 4 According to a communication from the Officer Commanding 3 Company C Composite Signal Regiment to Director (Maintenance) Dehra Dun, TDM, New Tehri and UP Area (Signals) HQ 9 (I) Mtn Bde Gp C Comp Sig Regt, the failure of speech communication operated by the signalling units based in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts has caused a major setback to the operational functioning of the Army. Equipment maintained by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam have remained out of order for more than two weeks. A copy of the emergency communication from this officer obtained by The Tribune revealed that a low noise amplifier deployed in the satellite speech circuit has been out of order since March 20. Due to the failure of the main system of communications, Signals regiment engineers took three days to lodge a complaint with maintenance officials of the BSNL. As the complaint was ignored by the BSNL officials for more than two days, thereafter the commanding officer had to travel a considerable distance to Harsil to speak to the subdivisional engineer in Uttarkashi district who looks after BSNL’s satellite and micro-wave related equipment in the region. However, sources in the BSNL office said that an engineer was sent to the location where the system had failed but the faulty low noise amplifier could not be replaced till this evening. It is believed that it would take another 10 days to replace the faulty equipment and put the communication system in order. Because of the failure of satellite system, the Signals regiment had to break the stringent regulations that restrict the flow of secret information through public communication systems.
Delimit Uttaranchal segments:
Cong New Delhi, April 4 Talking to mediapersons here, state PCC president Harish Rawat said the state government had not yet provided the requisite information about revenue records and maps to the Election Commission for facilitating the delimitation process. Mr Rawat, along with other state Congress leaders met the Chief Election Commissioner Mr M.S. Gill, here to demand an early start of the delimitation work. Maintaining that the elections to the Uttaranchal legislature be held along with those of the UP Assembly after its term expires at the end of this year, Mr Rawat asserted that the term of elected representatives cannot be extended. Claiming that the BJP government of Uttaranchal may try to extend its rule in the state by delaying the delimitation process, Mr Rawat said the state government had not yet provided names of the five MLAs who are to assist the Election Commission in the delimitation work. He said unlike other such legislations in the past, the Uttaranchal State Reorganisation Act did not mention the quota for SCs and STs. The Congress delegation urged the CEC to fix the number of SCs and STs seats in the state Assembly. Pointing to the tough geographical conditions of the far-flung areas of the state, the delegation demanded that relaxation be granted to such areas in the norms of delimitation. The delegation also sought representation to other social groups like Bengalis, Gorkhas, OBCs in the Assembly. Mr Gill told the delegation that the issue for delimitation was being taken seriously and a special cell had been constituted under Mr Subhashh Pani, Deputy Election Commissioner, to accelerate the process. He said the commission had not yet received requisite statistics, revenue records and maps for starting the delimitation process. The CEC said he would visit Uttaranchal shortly so that process of delimitation could start early. |
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Guwahati, April 4 The other partners, the Samajwadi Party and the CPM, are also coming out as the AGP forged an alliance with the BJP. The CPI is now inching closer to the Congress as PCC president Tarun Gogoi and CPI leader Pramode Gogoi are matching political vibes of uniting all secular forces. Mr Gogoi, veteran leader and senior-most Cabinet member, held the Flood Control portfolio. Mr Gogoi said he did not resign earlier because he did not want to take the blame of disturbing the alliance. He, however, admitted in a press conference today that the Peoples Front comprising the Left, Samajwadi Party and a section of the Janata Dal had no chance of taking on the AGP-BJP combine. “Unless all secular forces join hands, it will be difficult,’’ he said hinting, that the CPI had taken the lead in tilting towards the Congress. The Congress has already suspended the ticket distribution process and is keen to have the CPI on its side. He was specific that the CPI or the Left in general would fight the election state-wise. “The Left’s position in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is different while in West Bengal and Assam they are on the opposite side,’’ he said, adding that compulsion in West Bengal might send negative signal to voters there if the CPI forged an alliance with the Congress.
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DMK in fray for 13
seats in Pondicherry Pondicherry, April 4 In the 1996 elections, the DMK had contested in 18 constituencies and won seven, and wrested the Bussy constituency from the Congress in the byelection held later following the death of Congress legislator C.M. Achraff. The DMK also finished second in six other constituencies it had contested in the last elections. Besides the eight seats being held by it, the party is now contesting in Muthialpet, Ariyankuppam, Ozhavarkarai and Thirunallar and Mudaliarpet constituencies. It is expected that the DMK would field all its sitting members again. However, a final decision would be taken only after the Congress finalises its alliance and poll strategy, DMK sources said here. As far as the Puducherry Makkal Congress (PMC) is concerned, it seems to be satisfied with the nine seats allotted to it, though it had asked for 12 seats. Besides the seats of Cassicade, Ouppalam, Bahour, Mannadipet, Ossudu and Villenopur, which they won on the TMC label earlier, the PMC has also got three more seats held by the Congress to contest the coming elections, which include Nettapakkam, Kuruvinatham and Karaikal (South). The BJP, which had fought the last elections alone contesting 154 seats, has been allotted five seats by the DMK now. Though BJP candidates had lost their deposits in Pondicherry and Karaikal regions in the last elections, it had salvaged some pride by finishing third and fourth respectively in Mahe and Palloor constituencies in Mahe region of the Union Territory. The BJP had given a stiff fight to Chief Minister P. Shanmugham in the Assembly byelection in Yanam an year ago to finish second, and this is an encouraging sign for its cadres.
UNI
EC allots telecast time for poll New Delhi, April 4 While parties in Tamil Nadu have been allotted a total of 985 minutes to use the state-owned Doordarshan and the All India Radio, 805 minutes have been allotted in West Bengal, 860 minutes in Kerala, 765 minutes in Assam and 855 minutes in Pondicherry, an Election Commission press note said. The facilities for use of broadcast and telecast time would be available only to national parties and recognised state parties in the five states going to the polls on May 10, it said. The Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the Commission will decide the actual date and time for broadcast and telecast, it added.
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JD(S) MLA revolts, to contest poll Kochi, April 4 Mr Rawther told a news conference here that he would be contesting the election as an Independent in deference to the wishes of the party’s Idukki district unit and the workers of his constituency. Mr Rawther said he was denied the party ticket without any reason, while sitting MLAs like Dr A. Neelalohithadasan Nadar and Mr C.K. Nanu were renominated despite opposition from the rank and file of the party. He alleged that the party’s state president M.P. Veerendrakumar had acted in an ‘autocratic’ manner while choosing nominees for the coming elections. Asked whether his decision to contest against the party’s decision would invite disciplinary action, Mr Rawther claimed that it was Mr Veerendrakumar who was violating the party discipline. He urged Mr Veerendrakumar to step down as party state president as he had failed to discharge his duties to the satisfaction of the party’s rank and file. If he refused to do so, he would be removed from the post after convening a state conference of the Janata Dal (S) workers, Mr Rawther said. Mr Rawther claimed that Mr Veerendrakumar was afraid of taking the party’s state committee into confidence, and therefore took poll-related decisions unilaterally. He said Education Minister P.J. Joseph had also played a major role in denying ticket to him. Mr Joseph was unhappy about the popular support he (Mr Rawther) enjoyed in Idukki district from where Mr Joseph also hailed. Mr P.J. Joseph was also instrumental in allotting the Idukki seat to Mr M.S. Joseph, who resigned as the State Election Commissioner, to contest the election as the Janata Dal (S) nominee. Mr Rawther said he was in touch with party workers in other districts and was mobilising them against the present party leadership in the state. Asked whether he would enlist the support of the
BJP, Mr Rawther said he would be contesting the election as an
Independent. UNI |
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Tehelka expose probe begins New Delhi, April 4 Justice Venkataswamy, who retired as a Supreme Court Judge in 1999, inspected the office before going through the documents. When asked about the proceedings to be conducted by the commission, its secretary S. K. Dasgupta said that “any progress made by the commission will be informed to the media later”.
PTI
Tehelka expose ‘helping’
Pak Hyderabad, April 4 “Our enemies are now laughing at us. They are getting to know everything about our confidential defence matters as the Congress is continuing with its irresponsible campaign of falsehood,” NDA convener George Fernandes told a well-attended public meeting here tonight. Mr Fernandes, who had resigned last month as Defence Minister following the expose, said the Congress was “deliberately spreading canards” about corruption in defence deals, adversely affecting the morale of soldiers and the country’s image abroad. While Mr Fernandes cautioned people about a wider conspiracy to destabilise the NDA government using the expose as a ruse, Union Home Minister L. K. Advani asserted that no Central government in the past had “given such an ample evidence of accountability” in the face of corruption charges. Even after the government had “sufficiently exposed the lies”, the Opposition was making a “public debate out of top secret information concerning country’s defence equipment”, Mr Fernandes said at the meeting in Nizam College grounds, held as part of NDA’s nation-wide counter-offensive against the Congress. “We were demanding a statement from the government, seeking a debate in the House and asking for an inquiry into the Bofors deal, which the then Congress government did not agree to,” he said. “Here is our NDA government which has offered to give a statement, desired to have a debate and ordered a judicial inquiry but the same Congress, refusing all offers, was only insisting on the resignation of NDA,” he said. “This attitude of the Opposition after the Tehelka expose had shown that the NDA was committed to accountability while the Congress was only after power,” the minister said. He said, “Even the Prime Minister had agreed that flaws in the system which enabled middlemen to reach top defence personnel and politicians should be probed.”
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Black flags greet Advani, Fernandes Hyderabad, April 4 Led by state Youth Congress president P. Sudhakar Reddy and former CLP leader P. Janardhan Reddy, YC activists organised a black flag demonstration near Begumpet airport. Soon after landing at the airport, Mr Advani left for Ramoji film city, situated on the outskirts of the city. The police said the Congress activists were dispersed and some of them were taken into preventive custody. Allahabad: Union Human Resource Development Minister Murali Manohar Joshi has charged the opposition parties with disturbing the peace of the country taking it towards “a situation of civil war.” Addressing a meeting of BJP workers here on Tuesday night, Dr Joshi cautioned the opposition parties not to toe such line in the general interest of the country.
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Uttaranchal budget session from May 2 Dehra Dun, April 4 Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, Mr R.S. Tolia, Principal Secretary, said the budget session was likely to continue for two weeks but the period might be altered if so advised by the business advisory committee of the Assembly. The budget session of the state was put off in view of the debate in the Parliament over the Union Budget. The state government was looking at the Centre for special economic package. This led to the postponement of the preparatory work on the state budget. Although there are still confusing signals from the Centre regarding the grant of special economic package, but pressure from the Opposition parties against the delay of budget has forced the state government to announce the date of the budget session. In an another decision, the Uttaranchal Government will make arrangements for the purchase of 1.56 lakh metric tonnes of wheat at the minimum support price announced by the Union Government. |
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EC official to visit
Haidergarh New Delhi, April 4 Earlier, a Congress delegation met Chief Election Commissioner M. S. Gill here and urged that all polling stations in Haidergarh be declared “sensitive’’ and the Rapid Action Force be deployed there. The Congress has alleged that all mafia leaders of Uttar Pradesh and adjoining states were terrorising the electorate in Haidergarh to muster support for the Chief Minister. It also claimed that government employees were working as election agents of the BJP. The Secretary, Election Commission, Mr K.J. Rao, will visit Haidergarh tomorrow and conduct a thorough inquiry into the charges, commission sources said here. The EC today also appointed a third central observer for the Haidergarh constituency in addition to the Director, Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, Mr Upamanyu Chatterjee, who has been appointed as the EC’s general observer and the Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax, New Delhi, Mr S.K. Jain, who is the expenditure observer. In other measures to ensure free and fair polling in the constituency, the EC ordered the removal of red lights from all vehicles, including official ones, in Haidergarh. |
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US envoy’s wife returns
shawl New Delhi, April 4 Reacting to a US Embassy spokesperson’s statement that Ms Lundquist will return the shawl to the “appropriate Government of India authorities,” animal rights activists said: “If she surrenders the shawl, we would like to commend her.” A US Embassy spokesperson today said although Ms Lundquist had not given any timeframe for returning the shawl, she would do so as soon she finds out who the appropriate authorities were. Sources said Ms Lundquist would return the shawl before leaving Roosevelt House, the official residence of the US envoy, at the end of this month. Animal rights activists said although Ms Lundqist’s promise to return the shawl and the diplomatic immunity she enjoyed might prevent legal action, she would have to reply if a legal notice was sent. Mr Ashok Kumar, Trustee, Wildlife Trust of India and honorary wildlife warden to the Delhi Government said diplomatic immunity should not be misused by diplomats for buying or moving out of the country products made out of endangered species. Ms Belinda Wright, Executive Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India, said it was important that diplomats stay within the law. “This is an unfortunate incident. Ms Lundquist claims she did it unintentionally. I hope that diplomats will realise that it is illegal and wrong to buy “shahtoosh.” Mr S.S. Garbyal, Chief Wildlife Warden of Delhi said: “I have not heard from the US Embassy, the US Ambassador or Ms Lundquist till now. She has the option of giving it to the police who in turn will hand it over to us.” |
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Delhi Govt wins
no-trust move New Delhi, April 4 The motion, moved by the Leader of the Opposition in the House, Prof Jagdish Mukhi and four others, showed a voting pattern of 13 BJP legislators in favour and 42 Congress MLAs and one Independent against it. Expelled Congress MLA Jagdish Anand, a signatory to the motion, squatted in the well of the House when the Speaker, Chaudhary Prem Singh, denied him the permission to speak on the issue. Mr Anand made persistent demands for raising the corruption issue and even said that his voice was being stifled. He was later marshalled out. Professor Mukhi later said though the defeat of the Opposition motion was a foregone conclusion, considering the brute majority of the ruling party members, it had also exposed the dissidence in the Congress with nine of its members abstaining during the voting in defiance of the party whip. When asked for her reaction against some abstentions by her party members, Ms Dikshit did not rule out disciplinary action against them.
UNI
UK to give £ 33.2 m for Orissa schools New Delhi, April 4 The project will enable up to 3,500 primary schools to be rebuilt in the 14 cyclone-affected districts of Orissa. The schools will be rebuilt using cost- effective technologies, with modifications, to provide greater cyclone-resistance. |
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DSP suspended for assaulting IFS officer Dehra Dun, April 4 The order, which was issued by Uttaranchal Chief Minister Nityanand Swami last evening, came after the police inquiry report found prima facie evidence of Sansar Singh’s involvement in the assault of IFS officer Ashok Pai. SP City (Dehra Dun) G.S. Martolia probed the incident after Mr Pai lodged a formal complaint with the SSP, Dehra Dun. In his report, Mr Martolia said Sansar Singh had dragged Mr Pai, who was on his way to Dehra Dun to join duty out of his vehicle on Monday and thrashed him without any provocation. “The conduct of the police officer is against the morale and esteem of the police force and it is necessary to give a message that such misbehaviour will not be tolerated,” the report had stated and recommended major departmental action against Sansar Singh which led to the suspension.
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BJYM workers
tear gassed New Delhi, April 4 The police lobbed 26 tear-gas shells when the demonstrators tried to break the barricade at Rafi Marg. The demonstrators allegedly pelted stones on them causing injury to a few personnel. No one among the demonstrators were injured, the police said. However, the BJYM chief, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said the activists were protesting peacefully. They gathered at Vittal Bhai Patel house from where they marched towards Ms Sonia Gandhi’s residence at Janpath. The police stopped them when they reached at Rafi Marg. They were protesting against Ms Sonia Gandhi’s speech in the recent AICC session in Bangalore where she allegedly described Mr Vajpayee as a “traitor” while referring to the tehelka expose on defence deal, Mr Chouhan said. |
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Customs officials may sue Vittal New Delhi, April 4 Representing 1,729 Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officials of the rank of Assistant Commissioner and above, the IRS (Customs and Central Excise) Association held a press conference here to hit out at Mr Vittal and also at media for allegedly describing the entire service as
corrupt. The association is holding a meeting to consider a legal action against Mr Vittal, who it accused of undermining the morale of officers by his remarks. |
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K. V. Rajan new Adviser, MEA New Delhi, April 4 As Adviser , Mr Rajan would continue to look after matters dealing with the East, a spokesman the Ministry of External Affairs said here. Mr Shashank, at present India’s Ambassador in Denmark, will take over as Secretary (East) in the MEA upon his return to the headquarters. Mr Rajan, who has served as India’s Ambassador to Nepal and Algiers, had led India’s delegation to Iraq and Iran, where strategic negotiations for long- term oil purchases were undertaken for firming up country’s security and energy needs. While earlier officers upon their retirement have been re-employed in the past by the government, Mr Rajan’s appointment as Adviser appears, at least on the surface, an unusual step. Mr Rajan, who is on a visit to Muscat, will return to the Capital on April 8, two days before the Prime Minister leaves for Iran on an official visit. |
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Nehru museum gets new
collection New Delhi, April 4 The Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Dr O.P. Kejriwal told newspersons here today that James Princep, an Assay Master in the Varanasi and Calcutta mint had the distinction of being the first to decipher the inscriptions of Ashoka. He said the 20 collections acquired recently constituted an invaluable source for historical research. He said it would take at least six months before then library completes an entire index of the collections. “We cannot keep up with the indexes as the donations come.” Mr Kejriwal said Vinoba Bhave’s collection, acquired from the Wardha, comprised letters to his father and brother and Gita pravachans and bhajans sung by him. He said that the library had also acquired the complete files of The Times, London, (January 1785 to December 1996), The Times Literary Supplement (January 1902 to June 1997), The Economist (1961-’73), The Capital (1889-1984) and the volumes of Himmat (1964-’65 to ’76-’77). National College, Mumbai has gifted copies of nine audio tapes to the library. These comprise recordings by noted musicologists on the evolution of string instruments in India. Dr Subadhra Anand, Principal of the college who took this initiative during the golden jubilee celebrations of the college in 1999, said they had recordings of Naushad, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shyam Benegal and Shiv Kumar Sharma. Dr Anand said the project was funded by the University Grants Commission. Dr Kejriwal said another outstanding feature of the library was its collection of oral history recordings. |
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9 Muslim communities in MP OBC list Bhopal, April 4 A decision to this effect was taken by the state Cabinet here yesterday. According to another decision, some provisions of the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for employees of public sector undertaking have been amended, it said, adding that the temporary employees which come under the purview of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Employment (standing order) Act, 1961, and drawing salary from the Contingency Fund or other temporary employees will now get the benefit of the VRS. Farmers of the Tawa and Chambal command areas have been exempted from paying interest and penalty on the loans given to them by Madhya Pradesh State Land Development Bank. However, the exemption would be available to farmers who repay loan amount by July 31, 2001. The Cabinet also sanctioned ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of nine persons killed in Naxalite violence in Balaghat before December 10, 1997.
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Josh claims possession of ICWA New Delhi, April 4 “The ordinance, which was promulgated for the third time, by the government had lapsed on the night of April 2 as it was not ratified by Parliament,” Mr Josh, who was sitting in an icwa room along with the his lawyer Bhim Singh and a group of supporters, said. Meanwhile, in a letter to the Lt- Governor Vijay Kapoor, Mr Josh said the duly elected committee of the icwa, headed by him as president, and Deputy Speaker P.M.Sayeed, former External Affairs Minister R.L.Bhatia, Balbir Singh (mp), former External Affairs Secretary K.L.Dalal, as vice- presidents “shall assume responsibility and charge of the entire property, including the Sapru House, which are the lawful property of the
icwa”. PTI |
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Cong dissolves Seva Dal Boards New Delhi, April 4 Accordingly, all-India chairman and state-level chairman of the Dal cease to hold their respective officies ,but the remaining organisational structure of the Dal all over the country would continue to function normally, it said. As per the constitution of the Dal, the tenure of the boards at the Central and the state-level is coterminous with the organisational election of the party, the note
added. UNI |
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Cong MLAs protest
at PM’s residence New Delhi, April 4 The MLAs alleged that the Central Government was trying to remain a mute spectator by not intervening in the matter and was responsible for the suffering of Delhi residents. |
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Supply from Bhakra closed, shortage likely Hanumangarh, April 4 Sources in the Irrigation Department said the work of connecting Sidhmukh feeder with Bhakra main canal at Tohana head, completion of the work at Kajal head and connecting the tail of Fatehabad branch with the Nohar feeder was to be carried out. For this a programme of stopping the supply from Bhakra main canal was scheduled from April 9- April 24 but now the check had started from today only. With the supply from the Bhakra canal getting closed, water supply from the Amar Singh branch system would also be stopped. With that there was a possibility of shortage of water in the area. In the Bhakra and Nohar area of Bhakra canal the supply was being provided at a gap of 24 days, because of shortage of water. With the supply getting closed four days ahead of schedule, a danger of non-availability of water in the area could arise as water has not been stored because of lack of prior information. Sources in Irrigation Department said they were trying if water in the Amar Singh branch could be made available for another two days. Sources maintained because of this rescheduled programme, danger of unavailability of water was there, though from Monday onwards priority was being given to fill the water storage tanks of the Water Works Department. Due to efforts by the Collector, Mr J.P. Chandellia and officials of Irrigation Department, Haryana had agreed to give supply of water from April 1-8. With this rescheduling of programme, the earlier plan of closing water supply from April 4 was now of no use. Now going by the new programme, water from the Amar Singh branch would be available in this area almost after one month, due to which there could arise water crisis. Of the total 23 water supply schemes of the Water Works Department, Bhadra, none had the capacity of supplying water for this much time. Sources in the Water Works Department said for the 136 villages of tehsil and population of about 244339, the demand was of 18184 kilolitre water a day and the reservoirs were of a capacity of 312000 kilolitre, which means that water would be available for 17-20 days only. |
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Sadhus to boycott VHP functions Dehra Dun, April 4 “VHP President Ashok Singhal has misled the Hindu community over the Ram janam bhoomi issue and now that everybody got to know his gameplans, he has raked up the Tehri Dam issue,” said a resolution passed yesterday at a meeting in Hardwar, convened by the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad and attended by prominent sadhus from different akharas and other ashrams across the country. “We will be boycotting all VHP programmes on Ram janam bhoomi in Ayodhya, Mathura, Varanasi and other areas,” the resolution said. The meeting also asked Mr Singhal to give a written apology for his reported remarks against sadhus and saints over the Tehri Dam issue.
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Total solar eclipse on June 21 Mumbai, April 4 The eclipse will be visible on land only from parts of the Southern hemisphere, Nehru Centre sources said here today. It will not be visible in India, they said. A group of amateur and professional astronomers from India would visit Zambian villages Kamilonga and Karubwe where the view of the totality would be the maximum, they said. The next solar eclipse’s totality would be visible in India in 2009, they said.
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