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April 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Be strict on poll violations: Gill Babri was ‘hostage in UP govt’s hands’ BJP, AGP reach poll pact Anti-liquor stir hides political ambitions |
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Ketan in CBI remand till April 12 Devi Lal’s ashes sent to different places Jatiya assures Balco workers on wages ‘Busybee’ Contractor passes away BJP MLA’s son kidnapped CBI arrests
another conduit of Verma Artillery ammunition blast kills 4 RSS removes
tainted trustee Bodies for disabled to oppose appointment Residents pelt stones at demolition staff Reimbursement of claims Possession of plot not given
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Be strict on poll violations: Gill New Delhi, April 9 Anticipating a “difficult poll” to the Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, scheduled for May 10, Dr Gill told the central observers to do just the opposite of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous slogan “hear no evil, see no evil”. “I saw no virtue of the great man’s saying see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. You have to do exactly the opposite of that. You have to watch, be active and make your presence felt.” “There will be the usual push and pull of electioneering. You have to ensure that the code of conduct is abided by and generally keep the candidate aware of it,” he said adding “this could be ensured only with an activist role by you.” The CEC said the Chief Electoral Officer in the states going to the polls would be a “clear link” with the observers and interact directly with them. Stating that electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be used in all states and union territories barring Assam, where EVMs would be used only in four constituencies, Dr Gill asked the observers to brush up their knowledge about the use of voting machines. The Commission had also made voters’ identification a compulsory feature and the central observers should ensure compliance with this, he added. Later talking to newsmen, the CEC pointed out that the Commission had already outlined guidelines regarding candidate’s expenditure and that the observers were expected to act “fiercely” in ensuring discipline regarding instructions of the Commission. To a question if the Commission was taking any action against the use of cutouts of candidates, which was common in the southern states, he said a code of conduct was being issued on it. On the smooth conduct of elections in the militancy-hit Assam, which is also going for a one-day poll along with other three states and the union territory, Dr Gill said “before every election we are scared. But we have conducted so many elections.” The Commission would be briefing the central poll observers for over two days. About 250 of them attended the briefing today. |
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Babri was ‘hostage in UP govt’s hands’ New Delhi, April 9 Explaining the sequence of events leading to the demolition of the disputed structure on December 6, 1992, he said “the hostage crisis became even more serious when the kar sevaks assembled there in large numbers.” Asserting that the Centre had no role to play except to help the state government, Mr Rao said even the Supreme Court had in effect told the Government of India to keep out. Mr Rao said the court itself had taken effective steps including appointing an observer and securing an affidavit from the state government to
safeguard the structure. He said he had sent 20,000 central forces to the state which were stationed barely 10 minutes away from the disputed structure but their deployment was entirely dependent on the orders of the state government. He blamed sants for the failure of parleys saying the Dharam Sansad had unilaterally announced the kar seva date before the third round of talks scheduled on November 8, 1992. In its meeting on October 30-31, 1992, the Dharam Sansad fixed December 6, 1992, for kar seva. As a result of the unilateral decision of the Dharam Sansad, the talks failed. “When the two sides came for the meeting on November 8, 1992, the other side (Muslim leaders) said since the sants have unilaterally fixed the date for kar seva, there is no point in continuing the negotiations,” the former PM said. Deposing before the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry probing the demolition of disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, former Prime Minister also explained the reasons for not implementing the contingency plan prepared by the then Home Secretary Madhav Godbole to prevent the demolition by imposing Article 355 for a brief period followed by imposition of President’s rule in UP to prevent the demolition. He told the Liberhan Commission that he owed an explanation to history on the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya. The statement came from the octogenarian leader when the counsel for the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board Y.H. Muchhala asked him not to read out the Supreme Court order in the matter as the same was already available to the commission. “I am explaining it to history and not to you my friend,” Mr Rao told Muchhala and went on to read the November 25, 1992, order of the apex court. On this, the commission remarked “the old man is not tired but the younger ones are.” Then again Mr Rao shot back “I have been accused
of....I can’t be tired. I have to explain it to history.” The former Prime Minister appeared for the third time as witness before the commission that is probing the sequence of events leading to the demolition of disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
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BJP, AGP reach poll pact New Delhi, April 9 Making a joint announcement of the electoral understanding, Assam Chief Minister P.K. Mahanta and BJP President K. Jana Krishnamurthi said that the two parties had decided to fight the elections together in the interest of the state. The BJP central leadership chose to ignore the reservations of the state unit under the express advice of the NDA convener that this move would strengthen the NDA in that region. The AGP is now the part of the NDA. The understanding was reached following intervention of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani after the week-long talks between the leaders of both the parties had failed to clinch the issue. The Assam Chief Minister also had to tell his party colleagues that a compromise was necessary at this point of time. “Keeping the interests of Assam from the point of view of security, economic progress and prosperity, it was decided by the AGP, BJP and the allies that elections should be fought together so that Assam can have a stable, enduring and purposeful Government”, Mr Jana Krishnamurthi said. “The AGP decided to fight the poll in alliance with a national political party, the BJP, and other like-minded regional parties, who are responsive to the problems of the state in view of the changing economic, socio-political scenario.. The alliance will fight the elections for continued unity, peace and progress of the state,” Mr Mahanta said. In reply to a question as who would be projected as the chief ministerial candidate, Mr Jana Krishnamurthi said, “It will be seen after results are announced”. On the reservations within the BJP state unit over the understanding , Mr Krishnamurthi retorted saying that, “ I know the party cadres better than you”. Mr Advani, who was present on the occasion, announced the AGP’s entry into the NDA. |
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Anti-liquor stir hides political ambitions Dehra Dun, April 9 Activists of the “Uttarakhand Sangharash Vahini” decided this after discussions at Basbheera village recently 5 km from Chaukhutiya in Kumaon Division and 25 km from Cairsain in the Garhwal division. Basbheera is the village from which the movement against liquor was flagged off under the banner of the USV. The leaders — Dr Shamsher Singh Disht and Mr P.C. Tiwari, exploited the movement — conducted by hill women against drinking. Ayurvedic concoctions then were in circulation, making prohibition imposed in the hills by the Morarji Desai Government in the late seventies meaningless. The movement spread under the slogan “Nasha Nahin, Rozgaar Do” (give us employment not intoxicants) coined at Basbheera 17 years ago. Since then leaders of the movement had, except for a single exception, stayed clear of elections even while having considerable clout in the area of Uttarakhand (original name of Uttaranchal). Of late, the leaders of the anti-liquor stir, inspired by a weird combination of Marxist, Lohia-ite and Gandhian ideology have been feeling left out in the race for power. At times their supporters grew impatient that there was little scope for self-promotion in the struggle chosen by the Vahini and its organisational offspring. The anti-liquor agitation has witnessed intense discussion since the formation of the hill state was cleared by the Lok Sabha last year. Trends represented by Dr Shamsher Singh Bisht and Mr P.C. Tiwari finally reached an agreement on the formation of a separate electoral plank to challenge the political status quo in the hills. The new platform aims at filling the void left by the three major political parties in the state, the BJP, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. A spokesman of the Uttarakhand Coordination Committee formed by the Vahini offshoots in September last year, hinted at electoral alliances. The so-called “third front” could have an electoral understanding with regional parties like the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, the Uttarakhand Jan Vikas Party and other small groups having common political agenda. The leaders of the social movement who were until recently loosely called “non-political” have jumped into the electoral politics even before the Assembly constituencies are formed in the new state by the Election Commission. |
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Ketan in CBI remand till April 12 Mumbai, April 9 Ketan and Ramesh were remanded to CBI custody while the other two were remanded to judicial custody for the same period by designated judge
A.R. Joshi. All four filed bail petitions through their lawyers I.P. Bagadia, Avinash Rasal and Vijay Garg. The CBI prosecutors Bharat Kumar Raghuvanshi and Gul Asnani sought time to reply on April 12. The CBI prosecutors submitted that Madhavpura bank had issued 13 pay orders on March 8 and 9 which were purchased by Bank of India’s stock exchange branch and credited in the accounts of firms belonging to Ketan Parekh (Rs 65 crore in M/S Classic Credit Ltd, Rs 52 crore in M/S Panther Fin Cap Management and Rs 20 crore in M/S Panther Investrade). When pay orders were sent for clearance, RBI returned them because Madhavpura bank failed to meet the liability and also did not participate in the clearing on that day, the CBI alleged. On the other hand, after getting immediate credit, the funds so generated were transferred by accused to Chitrakoot Computers, Goldfish Computer and Nakshatra Software in which Ketan and his family had controlling interest, the CBI submitted.
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Devi Lal’s ashes sent to different places New Delhi, April 9 Amidst the chanting of hymns, state Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, collected the ashes of his father in separate urns and began despatching them to different destinations. The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, collected a few urns from Mr Chautala at Kisan Ghat here and left for Kiratpur Sahib by road to immerse the ashes in the Sutlej. Mr Badal was accompanied to the ghat by the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertiliser, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, his son and Rajya Sabha MP, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal and Mr Tarlochan Singh, Vice Chairman of the Minorities Commission. Mr Badal would also hand over an urn each to representatives from Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab Finance Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh to be taken to the different parts of the region for enabling people to pay homage to the departed leader. Devi Lal’s grandson Mr Abhay, Singh Chautala, is scheduled to carry a part of the ashes to various parts of Haryana tomorrow for people of the state to pay homage to the former Chief Minister. The urn would be brought back to Delhi on April 15 and the ashes would be immersed in the Yamuna. Another grandson, Ajay Singh Chautala, took the ashes to Hardwar to perform a religious ceremony on the banks of the Ganges and later immerse them there. The urns were carried in flower bedecked vehicle carrying a large portrait of the former Deputy Prime Minister. Another vehicle carrying priests of different religions, chanting hymns and religious songs, followed it. Devi Lal had wanted his ashes to be immersed in different rivers as he felt that they would flow back to the various fields in the country. Urns containing the ashes were also handed over to representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, Assam, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Minister of State for Home,
I.D. Swami, MPs Capt Inder Singh and Mr Surender Barwala, Deputy Speaker of Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Mr Gopi Chand Gahlot and senior state government functionaries were among those present at the ceremony. |
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Jatiya assures Balco workers on wages New Delhi, April 9 The Balco Women’s Sangharsh Samiti, including women workers from the company, submitted a memorandum to the minister, accusing the Balco management of violating the Payment of Wages Act. While contract workers had not been paid for three months, the permanent employees had not been paid from February 10 to March 2. The permanent workers had also not been paid their arrears of incentive payment from April to December, which was in violation of an earlier agreement, the memorandum said. All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) General Secretary Brinda Karat said Mr Jatiya assured them that he would intervene to ensure that wages for work done were not withheld. Later, the women workers from the Balco and the activists blocked the entrance gate of Yojana Bhavan, where Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie’s office is located, to protest against the sale of the majority stake in the public sector unit to Sterlite Industries. Carrying placards and shouting slogans against the privatisation of the profit making concern, the demonstrators claimed that it was not a “sale” but a “sell-out”. UNI |
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‘Busybee’ Contractor passes away Mumbai, April 9 He was 70, and is survived by his wife Farzana. Contractor was not keeping well for the past one year. The end came in the ambulance while on the way to the Bombay Hospital from his Malabar Hill residence after he complained of severe lung pain at 00.40 am yesterday. The funeral will take place at 5 pm at Chandanwadi crematorium as despite being a Parsi, he had expressed a wish that his body should be cremated. One of the long-standing journalists of Mumbai, Contractor began his chequered career as a journalist from the free press journal newspaper. In the paper’s eveninger ‘Free Press Bulletin’, he used to write a column. Contractor was a widely travelled man, and wrote several articles on places he visited and interesting things about the places. After he joined the ‘Times of India, his column in the evening news of India ‘Round and About’, a satire on everyday events in Mumbai, was very popular. He joined Mid-Day in 1979 and started his own eveninger ‘Afternoon and Dispatch Courier’ in 1985. He again came to limelight with his column ‘Busybee’. The prolific writer was known for his sharp memory of events and the graphic and detailed accounts which he depicted in his columns. He was known for his sharp wit and humour. Apart from the Busybee column, he wrote on cricket and eating in his paper. Recently, he and his wife brought out a good food guide ‘Upper Crust.’ Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Governor Dr
P.C. Alexander, has expressed condolence on the death of veteran journalist Behram Contractor. “In the demise of Mr Contractor, Mumbai has lost one of its most brilliant and popular journalists. He was not just an individual, but an institution in the city. With his informal writing and sharp but witty observations, he had endeared himself to the readers from all walks of life. For the past many year, `Afternoon’ and `Busybee’ had become an integral part of the life of people in the city,” the Governor said in a release issued here today. “It is hard to accept the fact that he is no more. We will always miss his few stray thoughts and general opinions,” Mr Alexander added.
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BJP MLA’s son kidnapped Patna, April 9 The Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Mr. Babu Lal Marandi, yesterday called an urgent meeting of the state police top brass and has ordered the quick and safe recovery of the MLA’s son. It is not the first time that the newborn state has landed itself in crisis over the criminal legacy of its parent state. A few months back, a top industrialist of Dhanbad, Mr Ashok Jalan was kidnapped by the alleged abductors of Bihar for a ransom of Rs 2 crore. Mr Choubey told mediapersons before rushing to Ranchi that it might be the handiwork of the gang lords against whom he had launched a war. He said neither he nor his son had anything against anyone nor did they have the money to pay the huge ransom.
Apparently, he fell short of pointing finger at the politically backed goons. It is to be mentioned here that after the businessmen, doctors and bureaucrats, the politicians are now in the firing line of the kidnappers, extortionists and local dons who had the gumption and the courage to not even spare the ruling party legislators and ministers. It is believed that a senior minister fell away from the RJD chief Laloo Yadav and later resigned, as one of his relatives was kidnapped by gang lords, allegedly having close links with a very powerful ruling party leader. Also, many MLAs and MLCs have of late been targeted by the criminals, some of them having political patronage that they flaunt. The RJD MLA from Masaurhi, Mr. Dharmendra Yadav, and the RJD MLC, Mr. Puneshwar Mandal, have earlier received letters from extortionists demanding Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively, failing which they threatened to kill them or their relatives. It is to be mentioned here that kidnapping has become a virtual industry in northern Bihar where hardcore criminals rule the roost. Bhagalpur, that Mr. Choubey represents, is also notorious for gang wars and parallel rule of the dons. The most notorious don of the area, Ras Behari Mandal, was recently arrested and the manhunt for his arch rival gang of Dina Yadav is on. It might have been the handiwork of the gangs to mount pressure on the government to go slow on the drive against the gangs. So far however, no breakthrough has been made in the Arjit Shashwat kidnapping case. CBI arrests another conduit of Verma New Delhi, April 9 CBI sources told UNI that the arrested person, Mohan Gupta, was in agency’s custody and being interrogated. Preliminary inquiry had shown that he was acting as a conduit to Verma in his illegal business. Gupta is the second conduit after Bhavna Pandey to be arrested by the agency. CBI sleuths are also on the look out for other conduits of Verma, who allegedly had agents working in various parts of the country for carrying out his illegal business. The CBI had called Mohan Gupta for interrogation to its headquarters here and arrested him after his preliminary questioning was completed.
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Artillery ammunition blast kills 4 Chennai, April 9 Chengalpattu (East) Superintendent of Police Balasubramanian said it was suspected that the ammunition, part of rocket shells, might have been sold to the shop by scavengers. The ammunition went off while the owner of the waste paper shop was trying to make scrap out of it. “He was obviously ignorant of what it might be”, he added. The body of one of the victims was blown apart under the impact of the explosion, besides waste material spewing out of the shop located on the main road. The police gave names of the victims as Muthumani (40), owner of the shop, and Mahendran (20), Muthu (19) and Mariyappan (21), shop employees. Madhi (20), who was seriously injured, was admitted to the government General Hospital. “There were five such pieces of the ammunition. Of the remaining four, three are live and have been recovered”, Mr Balasubramanian said. He said the ammunition, used in training military personnel, were usually discarded if they misfired. “It is nothing but gross negligence on the part of the military officials in not disposing them of properly”. It would be investigated of what use the discarded ammunition were and how they found their way here, the SP said, adding that the makers and brand names of the shells would also be ascertained.
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RSS removes
tainted trustee New Delhi, April 9 “As soon as the Board of Trustees came to know about the alleged involvement of Pradeep Narayan Mathur in the shady transactions of the Century Consultants, an emergency meeting of trustees was convened and Mathur was removed from the board,” RSS media in charge Kishore Kant said here today. Century Consultants, a Lucknow-based finance firm, duped unsuspecting small investors of crore of rupees in the name of various schemes before its proprietors Johri Brothers went missing recently. In a statement, Mr Kant also sought to clarify that Mathur was one of the 90 employees of the Century Consultants and was never a director or a
promoter of the firm.
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Bodies for disabled to oppose appointment New Delhi, April 9 DRG Convenor Javed Abidi told TNS that office-bearers and policy-makers of the aforesaid groups had decided to hold a meeting of disabled persons and NGOs working in the disability sector to chalk out an action plan to oppose the appointment of Dr Uma Tuli as Chief Disabilities Commissioner. Dr Tuli’s name is understood to have been cleared by the Cabinet’s Appointments Committee. The DRG is also reported to have sought an appointment with the Prime
Minister to take up the issue. |
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Residents pelt stones at demolition staff New Delhi, April 9 There were, however, no injuries in the stone pelting, the sources said. The demolition operation was launched in the morning. When contacted, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Range, Mr P. Kamraj, said the demolition was continuing peacefully.
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Reimbursement of claims New Delhi, April 9 The payments were made to these states for the financial year ending March 31, 2001, after a thorough scrutiny of their claims. Andhra Pradesh got Rs 674 lakh, Orissa Rs 190.83 lakh, Madhya Pradesh Rs 141.90 lakh and Maharashtra Rs 50 lakh. Bihar, which is also facing left-wing extremism, has already been paid Rs 19.80 crore after deducting Rs 9.90 crore towards outstanding dues of the state government on account of deployment of
para-military forces. |
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Possession of plot not given Hanumangarh, April 9 Information available revealed that the husband of Mrs Jagir Kaur, Mr Gurdayal Singh, of Dablirathan had purchased a plot from the Mandi Development Committee. Though he had made all payments to the committee yet his wife was not given the possession of the plot. In 1996, Mrs Jagir Kaur filed a case in the District Consumer Court here. On September 20, 1997, the committee approved the case and verbally assured them of the possession of the plot. On October 25, 1997, the District Consumer Court ordered the committee to give the possession of plot to Mrs Jagir Kaur. Even after reported requests by Mrs Jagir Kaur for the possession within the time limit set by the consumer court, she was not given the possession. She also gave a notice on February 13, 2001, to the Mandi Development Committee.
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HINDUJA BROTHERS
HONOURED FOUR OF FAMILY KILLED IN MISHAP TRC DECISION ON APRIL 13 9 KILLED AS TEMPO FALLS INTO KHUD GNLF BANDH IN BENGAL HILLS MARATHI WRITER KHARAT DEAD BLAST ACCUSED GETS PAROLE FRAMING OF CHARGES IN GULSHAN CASE  |
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New Delhi, April 9
