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April 9, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Guwahati BJP office vandalised again
Political interference
‘ bane of services’ |
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‘Bukhara’ dishes tickle Clinton’s palate Clinton lays stone of Hillary Centre Student travels 250 km to meet Clinton Govt to give mobile phones through WLL: Paswan Allies unhappy with ADMK list Cong’s ‘new proposal’ for
poll tie-up Poll reform proposals undemocratic: experts ‘Ethical hacking’ gains acceptance Make Sanskrit spoken language, says Joshi Tuli’s name cleared for coveted post Ammonia gas leak causes dizziness Most mega projects lag behind Call for bank strike by RSS body UP tops in human rights violations
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Guwahati BJP office vandalised again Guwahati, April 8 Similar dissent meetings were also being held at many places by the
AGP workers, while their Nalbari district office was ransacked by the angry supporters on Friday for not getting government jobs. About 300 unidentified workers pounced upon the
BJP office at around 1.30 p.m. and ransacked the office shouting slogans against the Central leadership for going with the agp. The situation further aggravated today after reports started appearing that the
BJP was given only 30 seats by the AGP. It has been viewed as humiliation by the state leadership of the
BJP. There were no office-bearers available in the BJP state office today as almost all were camping in New Delhi, where the seat sharing talk with the
AGP had hit the wall. The BJP office was ransacked yesterday by the youth wing of the Lakhimpur unit but today the supporters’ identities had not been ascertained so far. The glasspanes, tables, phones and fax machines were damaged. Already, this had a serious
repercussions in New Delhi, where the talks of seat sharing refused to move since yesterday afternoon. Talks could not be held last night and this evening, talks were expected to restart after Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta cancelled his proposed trip to New Delhi. The BJP wanted at least 16 more seats which meant the AGM would have to sacrifice 16 of their MLAs and ministers and this was staunchly opposed by the Legislature Party meeting of the AGP last night. However, the latest incident of office ransacking had further given a twist to the on going talk. Both the BJP and the AGP had been facing serious
grassroots problem as several local level party leaders had resigned protesting the alliance. The BJP’s top leadership was unhappy as they had been completely sidelined by the new breed of leaders, who were young and aggressive.
UNI |
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NDA govt will last its term: George Vijayawada, April 8 Addressing an NDA rally here last night, he said if the Congress had truth in its hands it should not shy away from Parliament. It knew that its case would be demolished in Parliament in half an hour. Hence the opposition members did not allow him to make a statement in the wake of the Tehelka episode and called him a thief and made obscene gestures, forcing him to resign as Defence Minister and go to the people and explain the truth, he explained. Stating that he did not want to talk about “the character of Tehelka journalists and their criminal background”, the former Defence Minister said “We were told that 100 hours of tapes had been shot. Only four hours of tapes had been released and people were shown boozing for over two-and-a-half hours and responding to suggestive replies given by the journalists. Taking a dig at Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he alleged that though she had married the Prime Minister’s son and stayed in the Prime Minister’s residence, she had refused to become an Indian citizen till her brother-in-law died and her husband was groomed to become the Prime Minister. She had violated every law of the land, he charged. He said he had been well aware that he was making a large number of powerful people unhappy through a series of steps to curb corruption by eliminating middlemen in defence contracts.
UNI |
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Political interference ‘bane of services’ New Delhi, April 8 “Political parties are thirsty for funds so they buy out bureaucrats and Army officers...Why do they interfere in
appointments. If you get your man into military headquarters you can buy his loyalties”, Gen Vishwanath Sharma, Chief of Army Staff from 1988 to 1990, said. Gen Sharma said many of the ills plaguing the three services was a direct result of too much interference by politicians and the bureaucracy in military matters. “There is nothing like transparency in defence deals because everybody is making a fast buck”, he added. In an interview to UNI, the General from the Armoured Corps, who belonged to a family that gave three generations of top brass to the Army, was sceptical that the politicians who had been caught by the Tehelka expose would go scot-free while the men in uniform will be met out with the strictest punishment. Gen Sharma discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the armed forces in the aftermath of the sleaze in arms procurement, involving the entire political and defence establishment. He was emphatic that the country required a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who should replace many of the functions of the Defence Secretary who is a “Babu” knowing little about operational military matters. “My first reaction when I saw Army officers taking money was that of utmost anger and I said “hang them”. But I was not surprised. The Army has not been devoid of underhand means from day one”, he said. But he said he had a “very high opinion” of the Army and the officers who could be bribed were far and few because of the high moral standards that were inculcated in them during training and the strict punishment that was meted out to those found guilty even on small counts as having a fling with a fellow officer’s wife. Moreover, 95 per cent of the Army officers were not in a position where they could be lured, he added. Gen Sharma was of the opinion that there was nothing wrong in having middlemen in arms deals. He cited the example of the Bofors gun which was of ‘top class’ quality and purchased at almost half the price. He said middlemen were useful to both the user and the seller and quality was not compromised. He said how could you eliminate them when they were all pervasive in every other walk of life. However, what was essential was to legalise arms agents and had a list of them with whom there could be dealings, he added. Let them take their pound of flesh but at no cost should quality be compromised, he added. However, Gen Sharma insisted that armed forces must be scrupulously kept out of defence procurement, except, when it come to short-listing and trials. Noting that defence procurement was the maximum earner in the world, he said, in his view, the armed forces must be insulated from the actual purchases to prevent any tarnishing of their image. Asked, whether ever he had come under political or bureaucratic pressure to induct substandard equipment, Gen Sharma, who said he never expected to be made a Chief, remarked “I was very lucky. But I was also a nasty man”. Whenever something unbecoming was asked of him, he rejected it outright, Gen Sharma added. The General expressed displeasure with the working of the Defence Ministry, especially with regard to arms deals, promotion and appointments and procedures and the undue importance and role given to the Defence Secretary. “Why should the Defence Secretary represent the three chiefs? He is not the Chief of Defence Staff”, he quipped adding that interference by the bureaucracy into military matters must end. Over a period of time, he said the Directorate-General of Quality Assurance
(DGQA) and Research and Development, which was exclusively the domain of the military, was taken over by the Defence Ministry, resulting in the services having little say in what they were getting.
UNI |
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‘Bukhara’ dishes tickle Clinton’s palate New Delhi, April 8 A health enthusiast, Mr Clinton’s
penchant for a hearty meal at Bukhara has become phenomenal. So, along
with placing a stepper, a bowl of fresh fruits, bottles of diet Coke
and mineral water in the bedroom of his resplendent Chandragupta
suite, the hotel had made elaborate arrangements to satiate his palate
for Indian cuisine. Hotel sources said the former US President came to Bukhara for dinner at around 10.15 p.m. The private dining area was blocked for the celebrated dignitary, who was accompanied by six other guests, including Ms Jacqline Lindquest, wife of US Ambassador to India Richard Celeste, Mr Rajat Gupta of Mckenzey and Mr Vinod Gupta, Infosys chief and head of the America-India Foundation. The
menu for Mr Clinton consisted, among other things, of his favourite
“murgh malai kabab”, “sikandari rann” and “seekh kabab”.
But there were also Tandoori Jhinga, Reshmi Kabab, Kasturi Kabab,
Tandoori Aloo, Paneer Tikka and Dal Bukhara. The non-vegetarian
dishes were supplemented by Pudina Paratha, Butter Nan and assorted
bread, including Nan Bukhara, a huge big Nan known as the ‘family
Nan of the restaurant’. For desert, he had Phirni and Gulab Jamun.
Along with his meal, he had his diet Coke and sweet lime juice. Mr
Clinton topped his nearly two-hour-long dinner with two cups of black
coffee. The Bukhara, which he has described as among his favourite restaurants and where he sampled everything on the menu last year, had apparently succeeded in satiating the palate of the former President this time as well. Earlier,
when Mr Clinton, who checked in the hotel last evening from his
Kolkata visit, was given a warm Indian welcome, replete with “aarti”,
vermilion tikka and showering of rose petals by eight Indian girls
attired in bridal finery. The sources said the high-profile dignitary shook hands with everyone in the lobby and posed for photographs with the girls in bridal suits. Mr Clinton, on a philanthropic mission to India, had so far visited the quake-ravaged areas of Gujarat and Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. This
morning he had an hour-long meeting with Union Home Minister L.K.
Advani. When Mr Clinton had visited India last time during March
19-22, 2000, Chandragupta suite was his home. As a special gesture for
the former US President, who charmed one and all last year by breaking
protocol and shaking hands and posing for photographs, the hotel is to
offer him the life membership of the “Golf Bar” which opened last
month. They are sure that this would ensure several return visits by
Mr Clinton, a keen golfer. UNI |
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Clinton lays stone of Hillary Centre Rampur (Saharanpur), April 8 The
former President landed at the Sarsawa Air Force base at 12.25 p.m.
and drove away straightaway to Rampur village along with his friend Mr
Vinod Gupta. At the airport, he was welcomed by senior Air Force and
civil administration officers. Mr Clinton preferred to go to the
village directly. Mr Clinton first laid down the foundation stone of
the Hillary Rodham Clinton Centre for Multimedia Technology at
Shrimati Ram Rati Gupta Woman’s Polytechnic, an institution set up
by Mr Gupta in the memory of his mother. Later, Mr Clinton inaugurated the Bill Clinton Science and Technology Centre at Gochar Krishi Intermediate College. |
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Student travels 250 km to meet
Clinton Rampur Maniharan (UP), April 8 A class seven student of DPS R.K. Puram (New Delhi), Abani Sood, was not only obliged by the President with his autograph, but Mr Clinton also took some time out to talk to her. As soon as she arrived at Krishi Intermediate College here, the girl, who had come here with her father, Mr Anil Sood, shouted from behind the barricades asking Mr Clinton for his autograph. In response, Mr Clinton asked her to wait till after he had addressed the gathering.
UNI |
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Govt to give mobile phones through WLL: Paswan Patna, April 8 “We are committed to providing limited-area telephone through WLL...we are also examining whether it will be in conformity with the NTP, 1999,” he told reporters here. He said NTP, 1999, did not permit the introduction of WLL and would be modified suitably. Mr Paswan said the introduction of WLL would force private operators to lower their tariff which would enable even common people to subscribe to their services.
PTI |
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Allies unhappy with ADMK list Chennai, April 8 The CPI state Secretary, Mr R. Nallakannu, after a 30-minute meeting with TMC President Moopanar, told mediapersons here that it was ‘improper’ on the part of the AIADMK to have released the list, especially when the allies were still discussing distribution of constituencies. “It is fine if the AIADMK had announced only the seats that it was contesting and not the ones it is discussing with its allies. But it is improper to release the list that includes some seats that we are asking for which talks were going on”, he said, adding that a final decision would be taken when the state executive met here on April 10. The TNCC President, Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan said he was ‘unhappy’ over the release of list by the AIADMK. He said he had spoken to Mr Moopanar in this regard. “I hope Moopanar will take a good decision soon”, he said. Rebel TMC leader P. Chidambaram said the AIADMK had, insulted, the TMC by denying the party a large number of constituencies held by it for the next month’s Assembly elections. “My heart is bleeding because the AIADMK has insulted the TMC by taking away constituencies won by the party in 1996,” Mr Chidambaram told a public meeting here. The meeting was organised by the India Muslim Jamaat Federation (IMJF) which has decided to support the TMC Democratic Forum (TMC-DF) floated by Mr Chidambaram to campaign against the AIADMK-led alliance of which the TMC is a part. Stating the forum would vigorously campaign against the AIADMK, which he described as a “corrupt” party, Mr Chidambaram reiterated his criticism of the TMC leadership for aligning with AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha. PTI |
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Cong’s ‘new proposal’ for poll tie-up New Delhi, April 8 The “new proposal” was arrived at during a meeting AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad had here with four senior party leaders from the union territory. The meeting was attended by Pondicherry Chief Minister P. Shanmugam, state PCC chief V. Narayanswamy, MP M.O.H. Farook and former Chief Minister Vaidyalingam. The leaders have been camping here for the past two days to discuss the matter. After the meeting, Mr Azad declined to elaborate on what the proposal was but said the Chief Minister would be meeting AIADMK chief Jayalalitha in Chennai tomorrow and report back to the high command. “After that we will take the final decision,” he said. Pondicherry delegation is also likely to meet TMC president G.K. Moopanar. Asked whether there was any change with regard to the party’s stand with PMK, Mr Azad replied in the negative. “Same stand still holds,” he said. Earlier, the party entered into a tie-up with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and but had delinked elections in Pondicherry saying it would not share power with PMK in the union territory.
PTI |
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Jaya hits out at Natarajan Chennai, April 8 “If Mr Natarajan made such promises, neither I nor the party should be held responsible. The same holds good for leaders and workers of fraternal parties”, she said in a hard-hitting statement against him last night. Describing Mr Natarajan as an ‘untrustworthy’ person, Ms Jayalalitha asked partymen not to have any truck with him. ‘Disciplinary action’ would be taken against those violating this order, she said. Referring to a remark made by Mr Natarajan at a function recently in the city that he would ‘stand behind Ms Jayalalitha in her victory’, Ms Jayalalitha said he was repeatedly indulging in such deceptive acts with a view to hoodwinking partymen. Even in the last elections, he did so, she pointed out. Ms Jayalalitha said she hoped that Mr Natarajan would ‘correct himself’ but he had not done so. “There are no words in dictionary to describe his
treacherous acts”, she said, adding that he had absolutely no role to play in party and election works, and selection of candidates. “Nearly 11 years had passed since my last meeting with him. I have completely sidelined him. He cannot see or even talk to me now’, she said, adding that Mr Natarajan had no qualms and always tried to stick like a leech.
PTI |
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Poll reform proposals undemocratic: experts New Delhi, April 8 Addressing a seminar on “Review of Election Law Process and Reforms Suggested by National Commission to Review the Constitution” organised by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties here yesterday, political thinkers, legal luminaries and human rights activists said the proposals would have long-term negative effect on the political and democratic set-up of the system. The consultation paper circulated by the commission contains suggestion that direct election should be held only at the level of panchayats and other local bodies and they should elect zila parishads which together could elect state legislatures. These three could elect Parliament and all four should collectively elect the President, it has suggested and termed it as the Gandhian model. Former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Rajinder Sachar said Gandhiji’s name has been wrongly used to describe the proposal as it was a mixture of Gandhian philosophy and ideas drawn form various sources which have already failed in other countries. Mr R.B. Mehrotra, president of human rights body PUCL, said Gandhiji believed in complete decentralisation of economic and political power at the panchayat level and in the hierarchy of governing authorities, the apex body was supposed to have only powers with regard to the defence of the country. However, in the present set-up when most of the power was vested in the Centre, the introduction of the indirect election would affect the basic democratic rights of the people. He pointed out that the constituent assembly accepted adult franchise as the norm for empowering citizens to elect their representatives for Parliament and Assemblies, and said indirect elections could be easily manipulated by money, mafia and state power than direct elections. Regarding the recommendation that the prime minister and chief ministers should be directly elected by the MPs and MLAs, respectively, and for being elected they should necessarily secure not less than 51 per cent votes, Mr Mehrotra said it would create political chaos as those wishing to get elected would use money power and there would be no accountability of any political party in such a government. The proposal that once elected the prime minister or a chief minister should be removable only by constructive vote of confidence would
abridge the right of citizens to topple an inefficient government, he said adding that these recommendations were not only impractical but also against the basic concept of parliamentary democratic system. Prof M.P. Singh, Head of the Department of Political Science in Delhi University, questioned the legality and propriety of setting up of a commission to review the Constitution as it did not have any major lacuna at present. Only developing proper norms for political parties and effective implementations of the present provisions were required.
UNI |
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‘Ethical hacking’ gains acceptance New Delhi, April 8 Now a new term in gaining acceptability “ethical hacking”. It is allowing good guys to break the system with consent and let the organisation know, how much vulnerable their security systems are. “While Internet is about sharing information, every organisation has some information, which is confidential and still is of interest to other. Information systems security is all about protecting all such information,” said Mr Milind Dikshit, security practice head of Bangalore Labs, the company which has launched the ethical hacking service in the country. A leading global consultancy firm, KPMG said most security breaches were committed by individuals who possessed intimate knowledge of the systems they attacked. “Over 90 per cent of the global CEOs and CIOs believe a breach of e-commerce systems would be perpetrated through Internet or other external means,” said a KPMG survey of 1,283 companies across the globe. “At risk is intellectual property or customer information residing on a data base, including credit card numbers or heath details,” KPMG said, adding a vast majority of electronic fraud went unreported to the police and in many cases to the top brass in the organisation itself. Last week, hackers defaced a popular Bollywood site bwsx.com (Bollywood stock exchange) and cricket site, www.cricketbulls.com. While one site was pasted with statements criticising India’s role in Kashmir, the other had a dark green colour resembling the Pakistani flag. This is not the first time that an Indian site has been hacked. Baba Atomic Energy’s site was hacked and was posted with slogans/statements criticising Indian policies on Kashmir. The company had introduced vulnerability assessment test, which examine the security an information systems infrastructure comprising of network devices, systems, applications and databases. “Ethical hacking, simulation of a real intruder’s attacks in a controlled environment, will expose the potential vulnerabilities in the organisation’s systems and the results can then be used to incorporate the appropriate security features to make the infrastructure more secure. “We do tool based security scan as just the starting point. Port based attack simulations, operating systems enumeration, firewall penetration tests and analysed results of the security scans is what brings in the actual value that the CIO is looking for,” said Mr Dikshit. Hacking is penal offence punishable with imprisonment and fine under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. However, this section gives the widest definition and interpretation of the term “hacking”, experts said. |
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Make Sanskrit spoken language, says Joshi New Delhi, April 8 Addressing the World Sanskrit Conference here today, Dr Joshi said if these steps were not undertaken, Sanskrit would remain a classical language of scholars. Calling for urgent steps to promote Sanskrit, the HRD Minister said there were enough indications to show a new world wide interest in Sanskrit. The language was cherished because the knowledge that it contained was relevant to the crisis of our contemporary world. The knowledge contained in Sanskrit and allied works was manifold and covered practically every field, including science. Inescapably, Sanskrit would become a leading world language, Dr Joshi added. UNI |
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Tuli’s name cleared for coveted post New Delhi, April 8 In doing so, the government has risked incurring the wrath of disabled rights activists who have been resisting the appointment of a non-disabled person to the post. They feel that a disabled person alone understands the needs and constraints of another disabled person. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Disabled Rights Group (DRG) convener Javed Abidi has questioned the decision to choose a non-disabled professional in preference to two extremely qualified and eminent disabled people. The reference is to Dr Tuli who emerged as the final choice of the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms Maneka Gandhi in preference to Gen Ian Cardozo and Mr Sarabjeet Singh. The Secretary-level post for a tenure of three years fell vacant six months ago when the previous incumbent, Mr B.L. Sharma, a bureaucrat of the Rajasthan cadre resigned. Sources in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told The Tribune that the ACC gave its nod only on Tuesday. The sources said the Search Committee met in January and suggested a bureaucrat for the post. The minister felt that the committee suggest instead a non-bureaucrat. The committee suggested a fresh panel comprising two disabled persons, General Cardozo and Mr Sarabjit Singh, and two non-disabled persons, Mr Bhushan Punani and Dr Tuli. The sources in the ministry said they were inclined to have Mr Javed Abidi as the Disability Commissioner, but the search
committee rejected his name and instead selected Dr Tuli for the post. The minister is said to have okayed Dr Tuli’s name and sent the file more than a month ago. It may be recalled that Mr Abidi’s name was shortlisted for the aforesaid post in 1997 by a search committee headed by Dr Abid Hussain. Dr Tuli runs one of the largest NGOs in the country in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. The 58-year-old former Reader in English in Mata Sundri College expressed surprise over the brouhaha over the fact that her name had been shortlisted. “I never applied for the post; nor do I have any communication from the ministry that my name has been shortlisted for the post. It is incorrect to say that non-disabled persons lack sensitivity towards the disabled.” Dr Tuli who has been involved in the disability movement for the past 20 years said, “The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, does not say that the aforesaid post should be filled by a disabled person. The first Chief Commissioner, Disabilities was not disabled.” Dr Tuli also holds an M.Ed. in Special Education from Manchester University. While sources in the ministry say that Mr Abidi was an aspirant to the post, the DRG convener said the post was offered to him by none other than the minister. He claimed that he accepted the offer
initially, but changed his mind later after he learnt that his appointment was being resisted. “We would have been very happy to have Mr Sarabjeet Singh or Gen Ian Cordozo. Both of them have good knowledge, administrative experience and good exposure to the needs of the disabled. The government could have thought of promoting Anuradaha Mohit, Deputy Chief Commissioner, Disabilities, who is visually challenged.” Mr Abidi said, “We are only raising an issue where names don’t matter. All we are requesting the government to do is to appoint a disabled person as the Chief Disabiliy Commissioner.’’ Mr Abidi said they had tried their best to put their point across to the government. |
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Ammonia gas leak causes dizziness Mumbai, April 8 A senior fire brigade official, Mr M.N. Desai, who visited the affected area said there was a leak of ammonia from the Ammonium Nitro-Phosphate (ANP) plant of Rashtriya Chemical and Fertiliser Limited (RCF) in North-East Mumbai. The leak was plugged at around 11 a.m., Mr Desai said. However, RCF sources said there was a leak due to a defective valve of the ANP plant at 11 pm yesterday and the valve was rectified at 2 am today. Fire brigade sources said there were several telephone calls and complaints of foul odour of ammonia gas causing dizziness and irritation in the eyes of residents of Lower Parel, Dadar, Sewri and Parel in Central Mumbai since 9.48 a.m. Subsequently, three fire engines and two ambulances were rushed to the areas to detect the leak, fire brigade sources said, adding that the leak was traced to the ANP plant of the RCF and was plugged.
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Most mega projects lag behind New Delhi, April 8 An analysis of the projects indicates that 117 projects have witnessed cost overrun of Rs 25,540 crore, which is 38 per cent higher than the anticipated cost and 98 projects are lagging behind due to time overrun ranging between four months and 130 months imposing an extra burden of over Rs 14,500 crore. Of these projects, 22 are in Maharashtra entailing an additional cost of Rs 4090 crore, 19 in West Bengal (Rs 487 crore), 14 in Tamil Nadu (Rs 1781 crore), 12 in UP (Rs 6713 crore), 10 each in Bihar (Rs 1529 crore) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 612 crore), nine each in Orissa (Rs 2102 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 873 crore), Assocham said. Currently there are 463 central sector projects — mega (33), major (156) and medium (274), involving a cost of over Rs 16,285 crore under various stages of implementation. In the power sector, 12 mega projects are in various stages of implementation at an anticipated cost of Rs 43,357 crore. Major and medium sized projects (16 in number) account for Rs 6249.82 crore. Six mega projects in petroleum costing Rs 16,085.45 crore, and 17 medium projects costing Rs 1052.26 crore are under way. In the coal sector, a total of 56 projects costing Rs 12,237 crore are under implementation. In the railways, four mega projects costing Rs 6898 crore, 85 major projects and 101 medium are being implemented. The chambers said to check cost escalation and ensure the timely completion of mega, major and medium central sector projects, there is a need to set up a special project review cell in the PMO and the grant of matching funds. There is an immediate need to identity and remove hurdles in land acquisition and rehabilitation of the oustees and closer inter-ministerial coordination to speed up decision making. There is also a need to set up an empowered body comprising central, state government and project authorities. |
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Call for bank strike by RSS body New Delhi, April 8 “The government is adamant on privatising and disinvesting public sector banks under pressure from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the IMF. Through Budget proposals, it has reduced the rate of interest on public provident fund and small savings schemes,” said a press note issued by the National Organisation Bank Workers, an affiliate of the BMS. More than one lakh bank employees have already left their jobs in banks under the VRS. “This will affect customer services. Small and rural customers will be more affected because private and foreign banks are more concerned about big clients,” it said. Criticising Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for his proposal to abolish the Banking Services Recruitment Board, the NOBW said the move would not only reduce employment opportunities in the banking sector, but also foster corruption in recruitment by strengthening a “pick and choose policy”. Instead of pursuing a policy of disinvesting and privatising public sector banks, the government should give preference to bank employees for allotment of share in bank equity. “The policies being followed by the government
vis-à-vis the banking sector are patently anti-labour and betray the definite impression that these were being done at the behest of the IMF and the WTO,” the note added. |
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UP tops in human rights violations New Delhi, April 8 Uttar Pradesh, which is yet to act on the Allahabad High Court ruling directing it to set up a state human rights commission, accounted for about 60 per cent of the total cases reported to the NHRC during 2000-01. Out of the total number of 71,685 cases considered by the NHRC, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with a staggering number of 41,984 cases followed by Bihar and Delhi with 4,895 and 4081 cases, respectively, commission’s data said. Despite various recommendations by the NHRC, the irony was that, besides having the highest number of human rights violations, the state had failed to perform its social obligation towards citizens by not establishing the state human rights commission, the NHRC sources said. The figures during 2000-01 showed a quantum jump of about 45 per cent in the total number of cases of human rights violations over 47,819 cases during 1999-2000, the sources said. Delhi was followed by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra in the human rights violation cases, the NHRC sources said. While Madhya Pradesh had 3,102 cases, Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra, had 2,604, 2,583 and 2,541 cases, respectively, of human rights violations during 2001-01, the sources said. The minimum number of complaints on human rights abuse, such as custodial deaths, rape, atrocities on minorities and SC, ST and illegal detention, were reported from the North-East (comprising seven states) (156).
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Drunkard hangs himself to death Noida, April 8 According to the information available from police headquarters, Ranjit (24), a resident of Sector 58, who was an alcoholic, came to his house around 11 pm last night and after a heated exchange with his wife pushed her out of room and bolted the room from inside. When Ranjit’s mother peeped into the room in the morning, she saw Ranjit hanging ceiling fan. The police has sent the body for a postmortem. In another incident, an industrialist, Bharat Bhushan, has reportedly been kidnapped by some unidentified persons. His whereabouts are not known since he left for his factory in Sector 57 last morning. |
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Curfew relaxed Jaipur, April 8 |
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New Delhi, April 8
