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| Sunday,
April 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Congress declares
candidates Panja declares support to NDA
It’s Jaya vs Karunanidhi |
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Betting racket busted,
three held Married woman not part of ‘parents' family’ Fugitive’s trial only for specific crime: SC Suspended cop held Racket of immoral traffickers unearthed Tau’s house to be made into memorial 34 infants rescued from adoption centre Farmers resent policy on
barley
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Congress declares candidates New Delhi, April 21 In Assam, the party will contest all 126 seats. In Pondicherry, where the Congress is in power, the party is contesting 21 of the 30-seats, leaving nine seats for the TMC and the CPI. In Tamil Nadu, the party today declared candidates for 11 of the 14 seats it is contesting. The Congress had been allotted 15 seats in the AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu but it gave one seat out of its share to the Indian Union Muslim League. That the scenario is complicated for the Congress in the three southern states going to polls is reflected by the web of conflicting alliances that the party has entered into. While it will be wishing an electoral victory for the AIADMK-led front in Tamil Nadu of which it is a part, the Congress would like it defeated in Pondicherry. The Congress alliance in Pondicherry also includes the CPI against which the party will be contesting in Kerala. The AIADMK front in Tamil Nadu includes the “pro-LTTE” PMK with which the Congress has its share of differences. Never open to the idea of power-sharing with the “pro-LTTE” PMK in Pondicherry, the Congress was trying to wean away the AIADMK to add strength to its alliance against the DMK. It would even have agreed to making the PMK a “smaller and silent” partner in the alliance. However, the PMK, which nurtures ambitions of coming to power in the small state in the forthcoming polls, was unwilling to be a junior partner in a Congress-led alliance. The PMK, which gave the AIADMK a major share of seats in Tamil Nadu, is now banking on the latter’s support in Pondicherry to come to power. Sources said the Congress list for Assam had certain names against whom criminal cases have been registered. The list contains names of relatives of several senior Congress leaders including PCC chief Tarun Gogoi. The party has still not been able to resolve out the clashing ambitions of its state leaders as reflected in some seats being withheld. While candidates were not declared for four seats in Assam, three seats have been kept pending in Tamil Nadu and one in Pondicherry. For all its
commitment to 33 per cent quota for women in legislatures, the party’s lists released today have few women candidates. The list of 21 in Pondicherry does not have a single woman. Party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said that incumbent Chief Minister of Pandicherry P. Shanmugam would not be contesting the polls and would work for the victory of party candidates. He said that the Chief Minister had himself made a request not to contest the polls. |
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Panja declares support to NDA Kolkata, April 21 Mr Panja, former External Affairs Minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet, said it was his moral duty to stand by Mr Vajpayee at the time of crisis. He said he felt sorry that Ms Banerjee left the NDA govt. Mr Panja
alleged that Banerjee had become in “arrogant and autocrat” and he was sure her high-handedness would soon bring down her fall. Mr Panja, however, is not immediately resigning from the TMC and still holds the post of the party’s Chairman in the state. He said, “Let them sack me and I will declare my future course of action”. The TMC is not Ms Banerjee’s personal property that she can do whatever she wants.” This does not happen in any democratic set-up. She often thinks too much of herself and wants others to bow down to her”, Mr Panja added. Mr Panja would still campaign for the TMC candidates and in fact, he decided to stay in Kolkata till the election is over, engaging himself fully in the electioneering for TMC candidates, including his daughter, Mahua, who is a candidate at Vidyasagar seat against the CPM leader, Mr Lakshmi Dey, former party chief whip in the Assembly. State BJP leadership has welcomed Mr Panja. Mr Muzzafar Khan, BJP Vice-President in Bengal, is confident that Mr Panja and four other TMC MPs would joint the NDA soon after the Assembly elections. According to BJP sources, both Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani are in close contact with Mr Panja and other MPs and welcomed them in the NDA with the ministerial berth at the Centre. Mr Panja apart from Mrs Krishna Bose, daughter-in-law of Netaji Subhas Bose, is likely to be inducted in the Cabinet. |
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PCI’s clean chit to tehelka.com New Delhi, April 21 “Corruption can never be exposed without using subterfuge. Even the investigating agencies have to use such cover, including numbered currency note, when they lay traps. These means are permissible under law,” Justice Sawant said addressing a seminar on media and citizens’ initiative on the Tehelka expose. Stating that similar means had been used earlier in major exposes like “Watergate” which rocked the USA in the early 70s, he said, “If the means were used ultimately in public interest, in social and national interest, then they are justified. That is the only touchstone.” On the criticism by some people that the portal had intruded into the citizens’ right to privacy, Justice Sawant said, “The right to privacy has a limit. It ceases to be a right the moment it is used for anti-social activity. You cannot make bombs at your home and claim a right to privacy.” Individuals occupying public offices, he said, should maintain a consistency in their public and private lives. Lauding the website’s journalists for working for months together with “bare capital”, Justice Sawant said, “there is no reason why society should not come forward and reward such organisations, who do excellent service to the nation.” Meanwhile, 14 MPs from different parties have urged the Prime Minister to revoke the suspension of Home Ministry Director Thomas Mathew, carried out in the wake of the Tehelka controversy. In a letter to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the MPs said the suspension of Mr Mathew on the basis of alleged but unsubstantiated misconduct had caused irreparable damage to the officer and his family. It was, therefore, requested that his suspension be revoked immediately, the MPs said.
PTI, UNI |
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It’s Jaya vs Karunanidhi IT is election time in Tamil Nadu, and the two inveterate political adversaries, Kalaignar Muthuvel Karunanidhi, heading the DMK Front, and Puratchi Thalaivi Jayalalitha leading the AIADMK alliance are at each other’s throat, signalling the advent of a frenzied and no holds barred campaign for the May 10 state Assembly poll. The choice before the voters is another five years of the DMK rule or return of “MGR rule” that Ms Jayalalitha is promising under her leadership. Thanks to the TMC leader, Mr G.K. Moopanar, finally giving up the Hamletian dilemma over the formation of a third front and deciding to join the Jaya bandwagon, the third alternative of “Kamaraj rule” he had been promising should no longer interest the voters. It the early crossing of swords between the two rival fronts is any indication, the issues that should concern the public are more likely to get fuddled with the cacophony of mutual attacks and recriminations. The promise of El Dorado by either side could only evoke derisive dismissal from the voters who say they have now become familiar with the big gap between promises and fulfilment. Caste, communalism and corruption will become the primary “mantras” to tarnish each other’s image. With the incumbency handicap, Mr Karunandhi cannot be said to have a political advantage over Ms Jayalalitha in the electoral battle, but uncertainty over her eligibility to contest the elections because of her conviction in the Tansi land deal case is giving the DMK leader a ray of hope for his chances of winning the people’s mandate. Mr Karunanidhi took the earlier opportunity, to launch his election campaign, to warn the voters against extending support to Ms Jayalalitha, who had “entered the electoral fray despite knowing full well that she is not eligible to contest. “Despite the disqualification she faced. Mr Karunanidhi pointed out, she had filed her nomination papers thinking that she could “bend” the law”. If such persons came to power again, “you will know how they will bend the law”. The 76-year-old Mr Karunanidhi, whose front has 16 parties, invokes a
familiar Tamil phrase of blessing by the elders “Pathinarum petru peruvazhvu vazhga” (give birth to 16 children and live happily) to predict a DMK victory. He has described his party’s election manifesto as the DMK’s “contract with the people”. For her part, Ms Jayalalitha is seeking to convince the voters that the DMK has taken the state down “the path of destruction”, and that it has encouraged “secessionist and extremist forces” and ignored the interests of the downtrodden. She talks of a “political conspiracy” by her enemies to institute cases against her to prevent her from contesting the elections, and declares she is more concerned about the ultimate verdict of the people. For all the setbacks she has received in recent times, Ms Jayalalitha has not lost her grit and determination to stand up against heavy odds and has, as one commentator puts it, “risen from extinction of distinction.” During her five-year-rule as the Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalitha did make some notable contributions, winning the goodwill and popularity of the public, especially the poor sections of the society. In the first round of the electoral battle, Ms Jayalalitha has fared much batter than Mr Karunanidhi, with the TMC and the Congress, deciding even if reluctantly, to go along with her, not withstanding lack of agreement in the formation. of an alliance in Pondicherry Assembly elections. She had also won a victory by roping in the pro-LTTE Pattali Makkal Kutchi (PMK) led by Dr Ramdoss, ignoring the sentiments of the Congress. She is now boasting of a secular front and jeering at Mr Karunanidhi for giving room to several casteist factions. The revolt by Mr P. Chidambaram against Mr Moopanar’s decision to join hands with the AIADMK leader was a setback for the TMC, but the electoral damage will be minimal. |
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Betting racket busted,
three held New Delhi, April 21 The accused were betting on the one- day cricket match played between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at Sharjah. The accused were identified as Gurminder Pal Singh, prime accused, his accomplices, Dharmender Wadhwa and Sudesh Kumar, the police said. The prime accused used to handle phones, while Dharmender was page operator and Sudesh managed accounts of betting. The police recovered five mobile phones, two static phones, tape recorder instrument with mobile attachment facility, one television calculator, eight audio cassettes, mobile chargers, stake money worth Rs 5840 and some other incriminating material. They had been involved in this racket for six months and earned lakhs , the police said. |
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Married woman not part of ‘parents' family’ New Delhi, April 21 “Even if a married woman, who has separated from her husband by a decree or order of a court under any custom or usage having force of law and staying along with her parents, it would be difficult to hold that she is a member of her parent’s family,” the court said recently. The ruling was given by a Bench comprising Mr Justice M. B. Shah and Mr Justice K.G.Balakrishnan, which upheld the Orissa High Court verdict that a married woman could not be part of her parent’s family for the purpose of land ceiling under the Act. Mr Justice Shah said a married woman was an individual and as per the definition of the word ‘family’ given in the Act, her family would consist of herself, her husband and their children. “If she is holding land, she would be regarded as a separate unit who will have to file a separate declaration in respect of her holding and that of her family under the Act,” he said. The definition would also indicate that a woman was considered to be a separate entity having her own individuality and after marriage there was no question of clubbing her holdings with the family of her parents, the Bench said.
PTI |
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Fugitive’s trial only for specific crime: SC New Delhi, April 21 “If the requesting state deems it desirable to try the extradited fugitive for some other crime committed before his extradition, the fugitive has to be brought to the status-quo-ante, in the sense that he has to be returned first to the state which granted the extradition and a fresh extradition has to be requested for the latter crime”, the court held. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.B. Patnaik and Mr Justice U.C. Banerjee while disposing of a writ petition by Daya Singh Lahoria and a special leave petition by the Union of India against a judgement of the Rajasthan High Court on the aforesaid issue, said that the Indian Extradition Act made a specific provision to that effect. “In view of Section 21 of the Act, an extradited fugitive cannot be tried in India for any offence other than the one for which he has been extradited unless he has been restored to or has had an opportunity to return to the state which sheltered him”, the judges pointed out. Citing the position in international law from a United Supreme Court judgement, the judges stated. “The weight of authority and sound principle are in favour of the proposition that a person who has been brought within the jurisdiction of the court by virtue of proceedings under an extradition treaty can only be tried for one of the offences described in that treaty and for the offence with which he is charged in the proceedings for his extradiction.” This is the position “until a reasonable time and opportunity have been given him, after his release or trial upon such charge, to return to the country from whose asylum he had been forcibly taken under those proceedings”, the US Supreme Court judgement continued. The Indian Supreme Court judges upheld the plea of the petitioner, Daya Singh Lahoria, that the criminal courts in the country have no jurisdiction to try in respect of offences which do not form part of the extradition judgement by virtue of which he had been brought to India and he could be tried only for the offences mentioned in the extradition decree. The judges noted that the United States District of Texas Fort Worth Division issued the judgement of certification of extradiability sustained under extradition treaty between the United States of America and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland with the Government of Republic of India and specified the offences for which the accused could be tried. The Rajasthan High Court had refused to entertain the habeas corpus petition of Daya Singh as not maintainable and held that his objections could be decided by the Designated Court under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987. |
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Suspended cop held Noida, April 21 According to information available from police headquarters, the Noida police, on a tip-off, today arrested Amarjeet Singh when he was about to board a local bus in Sector 15. He is charged with murderous attack on the couple last month when they were returning home at Sector 26 here from Delhi. According to the police, the accused, a resident of Gurugobind Singh Nagar, Punjab, had admitted to his crime. He had also confessed that since his termination from police services in 1998, he had been engaged in crimes in the national Capital for the sake of money. |
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Racket of immoral traffickers unearthed Bhopal, April 21 Saran is said to be the local agent of “Anil Gupta Broadminded Club”, which has its operational headquarters in Delhi. The club, according to the police, enlists members, both men and women, who believe in free sex. The membership fee ranges between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 for men and it is gratis for women. According to the disclosures made by Saran during interrogation, the club has over 3,500 members spread across several countries, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Bhopal has around 30 members, mostly women. The racket came to light when Saran approached a woman for enlisting her as a member of the club. The woman talked to her husband who reported the matter to Mr Arun Pratap Singh, SP. The SP constituted a task force to track down the racketeers. A probationer Sub-Inspector of Police, Ms Sofia Quereshi, posing as ‘Radhika’ contacted Saran over his mobile phone and expressed her desire to join the club. They agreed to meet at 7 pm at hotel Ranjit Lakeview. |
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Tau’s house to be made into memorial New Delhi, April 21 This decision is said to have been taken at a meeting here on Friday evening between Union Urban Development Minister Jagmohan and Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. While attending the late leader’s “rasam pagri” at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had promised a grand memorial to Devi Lal to inspire future generations. The late leader had been living in this bungalow since March, 1996. Sources in the Haryana Government told TNS that they had also planned an exhibition on the life and achievements of Devi Lal. |
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34 infants rescued from adoption centre Hyderabad, April 21 The infants, aged between a month and a year, were rescued by officials of the Department of Women’s Development and Child Welfare from the centre run by an
NGO, Action for Social Development (ASD), during a surprise check in Gandhinagar locality here yesterday, the police said today. They were shifted to a state government run “shishu vihar” at Vengalraonagar. Meanwhile, following reports of illegal procurement and sale of children by voluntary organisations, the state government has decided to evolve measures to control such trafficking on a war-footing, Director of Women Development and Child Welfare Shalini Misra said in a statement. The government has framed specific rules prohibiting relinquishment of children by biological parents. The rules issued under the Orphanage Rules-2001 vide a government order dated April 18 also makes it mandatory for nursing homes and hospitals to report the details of abandoned children and also children of unwed mothers to the project director of the
Department of Women and Child Welfare, she added. Meanwhile, an orphanage in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh has been playing foul with its registers and not reported the death of 26 of its female infants in a period of two months last year, a voluntary organisation alleged yesterday.
PTI, UNI |
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Farmers resent policy on
barley Hanumangarh, April 21 The produce of barley has been more than 20,000 quintals per hectare this year in the district, but the government has declared that it will purchase only 5,000 quintals at the minimum support price of Rs 500. Barley purchase centres have been set up at only three places in the district by Rajfed. At places where such centres have not been opened, the cultivators are forced to sell their produce at lower rates. At Pilibangan, Rawatsar and here Rajfed is purchasing barley at Rs 500 per quintal whereas in Sangaria, Nohar and Tibbi etc it is being sold at Rs 300-350 per quintal in the absence of government purchase centres. The cultivators have expressed their resentment saying that the government has adopted a dual policy. Sources say unhappiness among farmers may turn into violence, adding that the government should not have adopted a discriminatory policy in the matter of opening purchase centres. According to these sources, the government has not opened purchase centres at all places as it is not interested in purchasing barley at the minimum support price. The Agriculture Department is reportedly not happy with this move of the government. The produce has been excellent this year but it is decaying in the mandis, particularly by as farmers are not ready to sell their produce at lower rates. |
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