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Saturday,
April 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Hegde seeks CBI probe into
expose Bangaru defends accepting
money
National trust for
SCs, STs announced Muslim board seeks nod for Shariat
courts |
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EC directive to CEOs Baisakhi
celebrated Christians observe fast on Good Friday Centre forms panel on
Ganga Bhoogol Ratna awards
announced Conditional use of National Flag allowed Cong releases list of 53 candidates for West Bengal
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Hegde seeks CBI probe into expose New Delhi, April 13 Mr Hegde, said to be making moves for rapprochement with his arch rival and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, came down heavily on former Defence Minister George Fernandes for “giving a weapon on a platter to the Congress” for attacking the government by not resigning immediately in the wake of the tape revelations. “If only the Prime Minister had asked Mr Fernandes to resign immediately as Defence Minister or removed him from office, the crisis that developed could have been avoided”, he said in an interview with PTI in which he hailed Tarun Tejpal, head of tehelka.com for doing a “national service” by exposing the corrupt practices in political, administrative and defence circles. He felt that the judicial inquiry ordered by the government would not meet the requirements of exposing the truth. “It must be entrusted to the CBI”, he said. Mr Hegde, who has been frequently at loggerheads with Mr Fernandes, also disapproved of rallies being held by the NDA as part of its anti-Tehelka campaign. “I am not in favour of organising rallies. I can understand organising rallies against corruption, or highlight problems of farmers...... But this effort will be to glorify an individual (Mr Fernandes) who has been removed from office on the allegations of corruption”, he said. While admitting that the Tehelka expose would have “far-reaching” impact on the NDA government, he did not foresee any realignment of political forces after next month’s Assembly poll. In the interview, Mr Hegde dealt with a variety of issues concerning the NDA as also the proposed talks between him and Mr Gowda amid demands that the two parties should merge, especially in Karnataka. Mr Hegde wanted the Prime Minister to give a “new image” to his government by getting rid of “deadwood” in his Cabinet and be firmer in decisions in administrative matters. “He should also keep the Sangh Parivar away from interfering in the administration. Asked about the Opposition demand for action against former BJP President Bangaru Laxman and former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitley, he hoped that the judicial probe would look into the matter.
PTI |
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Bangaru defends accepting money New Delhi, April 13 Stating that money had played a crucial role in polls ever since the first general elections in 1952, Mr Laxman said, “Everyone knows that irrespective of the laws (model code), lot of money is spent in elections. Which party does not take money? Don’t the political parties need funds and donations?” “Everyone knows what is happening, but we run away from reality. We do not discuss the issue, we do not arrive at a consensus or make a law,” Mr Laxman said addressing a meeting organised by the Scheduled Caste Morcha of the party to mark the 110th birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Mr Laxman, who shared the dais with Home Minister L.K. Advani, said, “Some allegations have been levelled against me. A commission of inquiry has been set up to look into them. I will appear before that. Whatever I did, I did it for the party. I will place the other facts before the commission.” Stating that the US Senate had passed a Bill regulating funding of political parties by the corporates, he said, “We too must decide on political funding. The nation should debate the issue. There should be a system of poll funding in place.” Quoting from senior Congress leader S. Nijalingappa’s autobiography, Mr Laxman said even Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had sought party leader S.K. Patil’s assistance in getting Rs 2.5 lakh for funding his poll campaign. PTI |
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Dewang Mehta died of heart attack New Delhi, April 13 The autopsy carried out by Dr Duflou in a medical centre in Sydney this morning said Mr Mehta died of “ischaemic heart disease”, which caused a massive heart attack. The NASSCOM President was also suffering from “diabetes mellitus”. The cause of the death was confirmed from Sydney by Union Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan, who was leading the team of information technology professionals of which Mr Mehta was also a member. The doctor wrote in his report, faxed to UNI, that he did not suffer from any communicable or contagious disease. The autopsy report did not give the exact time of the death. The Park Hyatt hotel staff had yesterday found Mr Mehta lying dead on his bed when they forced open his hotel room No 222 after he failed to respond to telephone calls
transferred to his room. UNI |
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National trust for
SCs, STs announced New Delhi, April 13 The non-political trust aims to provide infrastructure and other facilities in education and training to the youth of the SC and the ST
communities in scientific, technical, medical and management, software and other areas so that they can get necessary professional and vocational qualifications to compete for jobs. Mr Bhan said since the size of the government and the private sector was reducing and the private sector was not sensitive to the conditions and aspirations of the SCs and STs, the members of these communities had to compete with those who are better placed financially and educationally. He said though a number of measures had been taken for the welfare of the SCs and STs in the past 53 years, inequality and discrimination continued. “The condition of the SCs and STs has hardly improved in the villages,” Mr Bhan asserted. The patrons of the trust include Haryana Governor Babu Parmanand, Union Labour Minister S N Jatia, Justice K. Ramaswamy (retd), Mr G S Bhuria, Chairman, National Commission of SCs and STs, Mr A. Padmanabhan, former Mizoram Governor, Mr Charnajit Singh Atwal, Speaker, Punjab Legislative Assembly, Mr Arjun Charan Sethi, Union Water Resource Minister and G Venkataswamy, former Union Minister. |
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Muslim board seeks nod for Shariat courts New Delhi, April 13 The AIMPLB has also demanded amendments to the Land Act to give women inheritance in their parental agricultural property, as per Islamic law. This right is denied to Muslim women in some states. These demands were made at the end of the seminar convened by the board here early this week on the problems faced by women and their rights. The board was unanimous in its decision to declare dowry as un-Islamic and asked Muslim religious leaders to campaign against this evil which was rampant in the community. “Islam has never endorsed dowry and hence it should be vehemently opposed.” On the issue of ‘mehr’ - money committed to the bride before the consummation of marriage - the board was emphatic that the commitment to pay the amount should be made mandatory. However, the issue of ‘talaq’ and its impact on society had dominated the proceedings of the board, which felt that the misuse of the divorce rights was harming the image of Islam. “There is a need to discourage the trend of giving ‘talaq’ on flimsy grounds. In case it becomes necessary, religious leaders, imams and panchayats should be involved in this respect,” it said. Earlier, participating in the interactive seminar, a cross-section of Muslim women had demanded that the AIMPLB seriously consider amending the provision of triple ‘talaq’, which they said was mindlessly used.
UNI |
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EC directive to CEOs New Delhi, April 13 “I am writing this to say that you will be held personally responsible to ensure full compliance in all districts of the state”, the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr M.S. Gill, said in a communication to the CEOs of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry and Assam. While the EVMs would be used in all constituencies in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Pondicherry, it would be introduced in four Assembly constituencies in Assam. The Election Commission had also directed the Kerala Government to move out all Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) working in their home districts forthwith in view of the May 10 Assembly polls in the state. |
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Baisakhi celebrated New Delhi, April 13 Community kitchens were organised in Gurdwaras, decorated and lit up for the occasion. The day has a special significance in Punjab as it was on this day the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa in 1699 by baptising Panj Piaras, five of his close disciples, who offered themselves for supreme sacrifice for Sikh faith. Christians observe fast on Good Friday New Delhi, April 13 Soft strains of the popular hymn “the old wooden cross” echoed through the steeples of churches which held prayer service recounting the trials and tribulations of Christ. Christians also observed “the stations of the cross” enacting 14 stages of Jesus’s sufferings, including his being crowned with thorns, flogged by iron-embedded rods and his final death on the cross on Mount Calvary. Good Friday, symbolising an act of love of God for mankind, is the second day of the Holy week observed by Christians.
PTI |
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Centre forms panel on
Ganga Dehra Dun, April 13 The committee is headed by Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Minister for Human Resource Development. Other members are — Mr R.K. Mashelkar, Registrar, Industrial Research Centre, Dr C.D. Thate, a former Secretary, Ministry for Water Resources, Prof K.S. Waldia of Scientific Research Institute, Bangalore, and Prof T. Shivaji from Vishakhapatnam. Among others are the Chairman of the Central Water Commission, the Managing Director of the Survey of India, the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, the Registrar of NEERI and Mr Gurudas Aggarwal of Chitrakoot. |
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Bhoogol Ratna awards announced New Delhi, April 13 The award instituted by the Bhoovigyan Vikas Foundation carries Rs 1 lakh cash and a citation. They will be presented on the occasion of the Earth Day on April 22. Briefing media, former Agriculture Minister and member of Planning Commission, Mr Sompal said the award had been given to the eminent geographers for their significant contribution to the sustainable use of resources. Mr Sompal, adviser of the foundation, has also announced the R.N. Dubey Memorial Leadership Award to four middle-level geographers for their contribution to the earth science. They are Prof A.C. Mohpatra of North East University, Dr V. Raghavswamy of the NRSA, Dr Srikumar Chattopadhyay of the Centre for Earth Sciences, Thiruvananthpuram, and Dr Anu Kapoor of Delhi School of Economics.
UNI |
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Conditional use of National Flag allowed New Delhi, April 13 The committee, which submitted its report yesterday to the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, while recommending the liberalisation of the use and display of the National Flag by general public has also recommended stringent punishment, including imprisonment for deliberate insult to the National Flag. However, the committee has recommended only a token punishment by way of fine to those showing disrespect to the National Flag. The committee headed by the Additional Secretary (Home), Dr P.D. Shenoy was formed on October 18, 2000, following the direction of the High Court on a petition filed by an aggrieved person, who was prevented from hoisting the Tricolour at his business premises. |
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Cong releases list of 53 candidates for West Bengal New Delhi, April 13 Decision on five seats is pending, including that on English Bazaar and Harishchandrapur, forming part of the Malda Lok Sabha constituency, represented by senior leader A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury. While Mr Mitra has been renominated from Sealdah, Mr Sinha from Kandi and Mr Mannan from Champdani. Mrs Dipa Dasmunshi, wife of senior MP P.R.Dasmunshi, has been given ticket from Goalpokhar while Mr Arit Majumdar, brother-in-law of another MP Adhip Chowdhury, is the candidate from Nabagram. Mrs Rubi Noor and Mr A.H.Khan Chowdhury, sister and brother of Mr A.B.A.Ghani Khan Chowdhury, are among the MLAs who have been renominated.
PTI |
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Dharna by DRG activists today New Delhi, April 13 Sources in Disabled Rights Group, a non-political advocacy group told TNS here that the decision to stage a dharna to insist on the appointment of a disabled person to the aforesaid post was taken at a meeting of DRG, Spastics Society of Northern India, Haeamophilia Federation, National Association of the Blind and other NGOs working in the disability sector.
Spinfed staff not to claim DA raise, medical bills Hanumangarh, April 13 Sources revealed after that an inspection of the mill recently the cooperative registrar had said that the blame for poor situation of the mill should not be put on the workers alone. He had appealed to the officers and the employees to make some
sacrifice. The Spinfed administration decided to go for six-day week keeping Sunday as holiday, as the mill was going in loss.
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Removal sought New Delhi, April 13 |
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TIGER KILLED IN CORBETT PARK LUCKNOW LAD AIMS AT GUINNESS BOOK THUNDERBOLTS CLAIM 6 LIVES YOUTH GETS 5-YR RI FOR RAPE AGP LEGISLATOR JOINS CONG 13 KILLED IN 2 TC SUPPORTERS
WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR MANEKA LEGAL AWARENESS CAMP |
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