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April 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Official’s remark irks Christians Decision on Jaya ‘within rules’ Uttaranchal Cong stages dharna 17 get life term for raping nuns Deploy Army along B’desh border: AASU Information
on naval exercises not must: India |
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TMC promises new economic policy CAT ruling on CBI chief’s appointment Controversies chase minister
People have lost faith in courts: CJI PM’s J&K initiative
a joke: Bhim Singh Patna HC to rescue of dolphins Govt shunned
discussion on Tehelka: CPM Irrigation staff to be absorbed
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Official’s remark irks Christians New Delhi, April 28 The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) today demanded immediate removal of Mr M.K. Kaw, Education Secretary in the HRD Ministry, and criminal proceedings against him for “casting aspersions” on the followers of these religions who believe in their single holy book. Mr Kaw in an article published in an NCERT journal had said: “The greatest damage to our intellectual freedom has been caused by religions believing in a single holy book.” In a statement, GCIC convener Sajan K. George urged President K.R. Narayanan to remove Mr Kaw from government service and order criminal proceedings against him for his outburst against these religions. He said Mr Kaw seemed to have drawn sustenance to ridicule other religions from the HRD Ministry’s “single point agenda of saffornisation of education.” “The frankenstein created by officials like, Mr Kaw, is destroying the secular fabric of our society. The sense of fair play is fast vanishing even in higher echelons of our government and it is the greatest disappointment of all right thinking citizens of our country,” he said. The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by the Opposition members on April 26 , leading to an adjournment of the House for half an hour. Mr Jaipal Reddy (Congress) had contended that when the Indian Constitution mandated “sarv dharam sambhav” (respect of all religions) the government had to explain how the official had made “objectionable” comments. The agitated members sought a statement from HRD Minister M.M. Joshi on the matter. Intervening, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Parmod Mahajan had said he would take up the issue with the HRD Minister. But the irate members, not satisfied with Mr Mahajan’s assurance, refused to relent, forcing Deputy Speaker P.M. Syeed to adjourn the House.
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Decision on Jaya ‘within rules’ New Delhi, April 28 While the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr M.S. Gill, is tightlipped on the issue, sources point out that the Returning Officer in Kerala had “rightly” accepted the nomination of Mr Pillai as Section 8 (4) of Representation of the People Act, 1951, gives exemption to sitting MLAs/MPs on the application of the “conviction rule” for rejection. “Nothwithstanding anything (in Sub-Section (1) or Sub-Section (2) or Sub-Section (3), a disqualification under either Sub-Section shall not, in the case of a person who on the date of conviction is a Member of Parliament or the legislature of a state, take effect until three months have elapsed from that date or, if within that period an appeal or application for a revision is brought in respect of the conviction or the sentence, until that appeal or application is disposed of by the court,” the Clause reads. In the case of the rejection of Ms Jayalalitha’s nomination papers, the Returning Officers in Tamil Nadu had applied the rule under Section 8 (3) of the RPA, 1951, which reads, “A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years (other than any offence referred to in Sub-Section (1) or Sub-Section (2) shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his/her release.” Ms Jayalalitha had in Chennai alleged that the acceptance of the nomination papers of former minister and sitting MLA, Mr Pillai, in Kerala indicated that injustice had been rendered to her. Describing herself as a “victim of injustice”, she had said that officials in Kerala were not forced to reject the nomination papers of candidates, unlike in Tamil Nadu, where she alleged the Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, had himself “threatened” officials of dire consequences. |
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Uttaranchal Cong stages dharna New Delhi April 28 Terming the “interim” BJP government in the state as incompetent, the Congress leaders said that it had withdrawn the benefits of Special Area Status. They alleged that the state government, in collusion with the Central Government, was attempting to stick to power unconstitutionally. The leaders said that the state government had failed to get any financial package from the Central Government. The Congressmen alleged that the state government was protecting the culprits of the Muzaffarnagar, Khatima, Mussourie and Shri Yantra Tapu incidents. Criticising the closure of the IDPL, Rishikesh and some other industrial units, they said that it was leading to unemployment. They said that there had been an unwarranted delay in the division of assets with Uttar Pradesh. The Congressmen said that the interim government did not have a programme for the displaced people of the Tehri Dam project. In the memorandum submitted to the CEC, they demanded immediate proceedings for the delimitation of the assembly segments, fixing of the number of assembly seats of SCs and STs prior to the delimitation process, and
relaxation in delimitation norms due to the tough geographical terrain of the state. |
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17 get life term for raping nuns Jhabua, April 28 Delivering the sentence, District and Sessions Judge K.C. Jain also acquitted seven others as the prosecution failed to prove their involvement in the case. According to the prosecution, on September 23-24, 1998, a group of persons gangraped the nuns residing in Preeti Sharan Seva Kendra at Navapara, 25 km away from the district headquarters. The incident had shocked the nation and the state government was criticised for its failure to protect the missionaries. The 17 persons who have been sentenced and fined Rs 1000 include Badra, Chamna, Bhurji, Pidiya, Ramesh, Kamji, Khemraj, Kesaria, Bhitra, Daru Mansingh, Ruma, Chatra, Daru Dhanna, Kenu and Pappu. The police had made tight security arrangements at the court.
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Deploy Army along B’desh border: AASU Guwahati, April 28 The students’ union has sent memoranda to the President, Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, urging them to replace the existing BSF with Army by 10 a.m. tomorrow to guard the border and provide security to the people there, AASU president Prabin Boro said at a press conference here today. Accusing both the Centre and the Assam Government of failing to protect the border, Boro alleged: “It is the government’s fault that the porous border had not been sealed leading to the attack by the BDR and killing of 16 BSF men by them” in the Mankachar sector on April 18. The AASU, which sponsored the six-year-long anti-foreigners Assam agitation, demanded that the border be
strengthened and “Assam be freed from the onslaught of Bangladesh, either in the form of sending illegal migrants here or attack on our border forces”. Stating that the AASU had repeatedly said the Assam frontiers would soon become another Kargil, Boro accused the Union Government of neglecting the state and asked: “Why the Centre could not deport lakhs of Bangladeshi immigrants here when it could push back only 3,000 Pakistanis infiltrating into Kashmir. AASU general secretary Amiya Bhuyan said as per the Assam Accord, defence and BSF patrolling of the Assam-Bangladesh border was the responsibility of the Centre while the Assam Government was to look after the border fencing. Pointing out that it was nominated in the accord that “any means” would be used for pushing back the illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam, Bhuyan alleged, “no step was, however, taken to push them back all this while allowing lakhs of illegal immigrants to enter the state.” “It’s shameful that a country like Bangladesh could attack India’s border guards. It’s a security lapse on the part of the BSF which is not efficient and should be replaced by Army,” he said.
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Information
on naval exercises not must: India New Delhi, April 28 “No international conventions have been broken. Exercises of this nature are not required to be conveyed to neighbouring countries,” an official press note said. “These exercises are carried out in the international waters of Bangladesh and are routine in nature. It is customary for ships visiting friendly countries to carry out joint naval exercises with the host country, which are generally termed passing exercises,” the note added. The programme of the Pakistani ships had been scheduled months in advance. The ships were on their way to Singapore for the international maritime defence exhibition. They have been routed through Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
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TMC promises new economic policy Chennai, April 28 The manifesto says it will fight communal forces and protect secularism and strive to ensure that politics is devoid of casteism and religion. TMC President G.K. Moopanar, who was discharged from hospital yesterday after 10 days of treatment, released the 16-page manifesto. The manifesto assures free power supply to farmers, crop insurance and soft credit system for the development of agriculture sector. It says the party will take urgent steps to help industries acquire
modern technology and support modernisation to compete in the world market. The manifesto, in a bid to prevent environmental degradation, says that it will take steps to prevent use of plastics and encourage the use of fibre glass. The manifesto proposes various schemes for the welfare of women, workers and other sections of society. The manifesto also proposes to appoint prosecuting inspectors to deal with court cases instead of asking the police to appear in the courts. Exposing the divide between practice and precept, the TMC assured to strive to bring about 33 per cent reservation for women not only in legislatures but in all fora in public life while allotting not even a single seat to women in the 31 constituencies it was contesting. The manifesto promised to strengthen the public distribution system and ensure that all provisions were available throughout the month. The party will press for a final verdict of the Cauvery Disputes Tribunal and ensure that Tamil Nadu’s quota was released even in times of drought and shortfall. It was for linking the Pandyar, Punnapuzha, Achankovil and Pamba rivers. Besides the party will also strive for nationalisation of rivers. For Chennai city, the TMC will ensure the full 15 TMC feet of water supplied from the Krishna every year. It will strive to include the Sethusamudram project in the next Five Year Plan. The party will also strive for removing government control of temples and setting up of separate boards for the administration of the temples.
UNI, PTI Rickshaw-puller in fray for
ninth time Kolkata, April 28 A self-styled crusader determined to “purge society of corrupt politicians” and bring in “an era of justice and equality”, Mr Mandal has filed his nomination as an independent, this time from the Jadavpore seat, Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee’s constituency. |
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CAT ruling on CBI chief’s appointment Bangalore, April 28 The interim order was passed on Wednesday by the Bangalore Bench of CAT on an application filed by the DGP (Fire Forces and Home Guards), Mr R. Viswanathan. In the brief order, the CAT said: “Considering the circumstances of this case, we are of the view that it is just and proper to pass an interim order that the appointment of the CBI Director shall be subject to the final outcome of the original application pending further orders.” Former Karnataka DGP C. Dinakar, who had contested the appointment of Mr R.K. Raghavan, is arguing the case of Dr Viswanathan. The Bangalore Bench had quashed the appointment of Mr Raghavan on February 8. However, the same had been stayed by the Karnataka High Court. It was argued before the CAT that Dr Viswanathan had fulfilled the criteria of seniority, integrity and experience in investigation as laid down by the Supreme Court in the Vineet Narain case.
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Controversies chase minister Jaipur, April 28 Beena Kak’s husband Bharat Kak had publicly rebuked her for her affairs with an Indian Administrative Service officer of the Rajasthan cadre. He had called a press conference to announce his intention to divorce her only last month. Now former finance minister Manak Chand Surana, the BJP MLA from Lankaransar, has demanded her immediate dismissal from the Cabinet. Surana has alleged that the minister frauded the Rajasthan state Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) during the marriage of her niece. In a letter to the Speaker of Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha, Surana has alleged that the entire Gangaur Hotel was put at the disposal of the minister during the marriage free of cost. All expenses incurred by her on arranging the reception, decoration, catering, flower arrangement and lighting were paid for by the RTDC. Surana says that the International Rajasthani Conclave (IRC) was arranged by the Rajasthan Government on September 23 and 24. A separate department was set up to look after the arrangement of the conclave. The caterer, who was given contract for the dinner hosted by the Governor and Chief Minister submitted his bills for Rs 11,17,596 and was paid by cheque on December 13, 2000. The corporation was officially assigned the task of hospitality and its officials verified the bills. However, on January 2001 the Executive Director of RTDC forwarded five more bills to the IRC department for expenses incurred during the conclave. The bills related to decoration (Rs 40,255), catering (Rs 2,95,396,42), flower decoration (Rs 41,000) and tents (Rs 1,30,920). But the commissioner IRC returned the bills expressing inability to make payment as they were not submitted in the prescribed time limit. When the IRC returned the bills, Surana claims, a high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mrs Kak. Those who attended the meeting included the Managing Director and Executive Director of the RTDC and the Secretary, Tourism. On assurance from the Secretary, Tourism, that he would get the amount reimbursed from the IRC, decision was taken to make payment of the pending bills to respective parties by the RTDC. The payment has since been made, says Surana. However, Surana alleges that the bills by the caterer and others were an afterthought to take care of the expenses incurred on the marriage ceremony of the niece of the minister. Otherwise there is no reason why the bills for catering in the form of supplementary bills should come after four months of IRC, says the MLA. In his letter to the Speaker, Surana has made another startling revelation. He wonders that how in the month of December, which is a peak tourist season, the entire RTDC-run hotel Gangaur at Jaipur remained unoccupied for about a week. In fact the entire hotel was put at minister’s disposal for the stay of the guests free of cost during the marriage of her niece , the MLA alleges. |
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Tiger, leopard skins seized, 5 arrested Lucknow, April 28 Director-General of UP police Mahesh Chandra Dwivedi told reporters here that those arrested were sending animal skins to the international market via Nepal after acquiring them from poachers in different towns of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. He said the recovery was the biggest in the state since the January 2000 seizure of rare animal skins and nails worth crores of rupees in Fatehpur district. A Special Task Force team of the police arrested four persons, including two Nepali citizens, from the Kooli Bazar area of Kanpur in the wee hours and seized 19 leopard and one tiger skins, besides Rs 5 lakh in cash. He said a passport, a driving licence, a pistol and some cartridges were also seized. In the second haul, another STF team seized five leopard skins and 10 leopard nails from a person in Lucknow, he said. Mr Dwivedi said two of the skins were packed in stamped packets, which were allegedly sent through courier from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, adding that the person was carrying out illicit trade in rare animal skins from a rented house in Allahabad.
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People have lost faith in courts: CJI New Delhi, April 28 “Justice delivery institutions, in most of the developing countries and in some of the developed countries, are confronted with a serious crisis mainly on account of delay in resolution of civil disputes and disposal of criminal matters.” “We must admit that this situation erodes public trust and confidence in the legal institutions and obstructs growth of social justice and economic development. This crisis, therefore, calls for urgent solutions,” said Mr Justice Anand while delivering the inaugural address here on “International commercial arbitration and recognition and enforcement of interim orders in international litigation.” He said India today was in the process of economic liberalisation. Integration with global economy was going on simultaneously. Business had overtaken politics in international relations. Many developed economies were keen on business in India. Lengthy and cumbersome court trials were acting as a deterrent for many business houses to come forward for large investments in the country. “It is now recognised all over the world that commercial transactions should normally have an arbitration clause and commercial disputes are resolved quickly through an alternative dispute resolution mechanisms,” Mr Justice Anand said. Considering the present day needs Parliament had enacted the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in 1996 to minimise the role of courts, giving maximum freedom to the parties to resolve the disputes, he said. “However, ingenuity of the legal profession, takes many matters to the courts even though they are not required,” he regretted. Senior advocate S.K. Dholakia argued that India should follow the English pattern which provided that the parties would first attempt to resolve the dispute themselves before approaching the arbitrator for resolution. Former Additional Solicitor-General of India A.M. Singhvi said though the role of courts in the arbitral processes was intended to be minimum, yet it must be permissible in unavoidable circumstances. “In case of power to grant interim relief, the intervention of the court generally is unavoidable,” he said. Mr Justice S.P. Bharucha, Mr Justice B.N. Kirpal of the Supreme Court and Mr Justice Anil Deve Singh of the Delhi High Court and many senior advocates participated. UNI |
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PM’s J&K initiative
a joke: Bhim Singh New Delhi, April 28 Talking to reporters, Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh said: “The so-called initiative by the Centre to hold unconditional talks with the political parties, NGOs, rickshawalas, dhobi associations, all legislators, social and religious organisations to achieve peace is a joke of the 21st century.” Stressing the need for limiting the dialogue to genuine political representatives of the people, Prof Bhim Singh said if the Centre wanted to hold talks with dhobis, rickshawalas, panchs and sarpanchs, it would take 100 years to complete the process. |
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Patna HC to rescue of dolphins Patna, April 28 The court, expressing its concern, maintained that it has the impression that there was no monitoring to do the needful for the dolphins and if soon something concrete was not done the mammals might well disappear from the face of the earth. Yesterday it was reported in the local media that in the past four months around 30 dolphins were killed in an area that marks the confluence of the Ganga and the Gandak, few kilometres off state capital. A group of fishermen is camping in the areas with their “mahajaal” to catch them. As the water of the river turns shallow, it becomes the favourite hunting ground for the fishermen. Fresh water dolphins are facing threat of extinction as Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary of Bihar, a 50 km. stretch in the Ganga between Sultanganj and Kahalgaon, the only sanctuary in India for the fast depleting river dolphins is neglected and the ignorant locals are killing them. Locally known as `sons’, they are also killed for heir fat and flesh. The fat is considered of immense medicinal value and the flesh is used for catching other big fishes. However, the chairman of the Asian River Dolphin Committee, Mr R.K. Sinha, denies the myth. Mr Sinha says that it is a misnomer that the dolphin fat is of medicinal value. |
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Govt shunned
discussion on Tehelka: CPM New Delhi, April 28 In a statement, the CPM politburo said here that while the session should have been adjourned till May 10 as Assembly elections were taking place in four states and one union territory but the two Houses should have resumed sitting from May 11 to take up several important issues. The government chose to otherwise and recommended sine die
adjournment of both Houses of Parliament with an argument that the Prime Minister would not be available as he was
visiting Malaysia, the politburo said, adding that this was a clear move to ensure that the Tehelka and other issues were not taken up by the Opposition.
Irrigation staff to be absorbed Hanumangarh, April 28 According to sources, the exercise of declaring “surplus”, patwaris of the Irrigation Department had been going on for long. Now the formalities are being completed to issue orders in this regard. The sources said earlier it was not decided when the patwaris, ziledars and Deputy Collectors would be shifted to the Revenue Department, but now the orders had been issued by the Chief Engineer (Headquarters), Jaipur, of the Irrigation Department, on April 18. All over the state, chief engineers, assistant chief engineers and superintending engineers of various irrigation projects, including IGNP, have been ordered by the Jaipur office to complete the job of shifting the employees as early as possible. The state government has ordered to make the payments of medical bills and travelling allowances to the patwaris, ziledars and Deputy Collectors if pending. A special budget could be demanded for payments from the state government. The Irrigation Department authorities have been asked to settle cases concerning salaries of these employees and to make a list of records of irrigation tax to be transfered to the Revenue Department. The government has also demanded proposals from the department authorities pertaining to the shifting of these employees, and amendments to land records.
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Thackeray warns govt Mumbai, April 28 “We are not given the required information during meetings of the Union Cabinet,” he said.
PTI
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Man kills wife Machilipatnam, April 28 A. Narasimha Rao of Pedayadara village, near here, first hit wife Leela on July 21, last year, with a wooden rod. She was admitted to a local hospital, where she died when her husband, on being released on bail for assaulting her, stabbed her to death barely three weeks later. The capital punishment was given by the sessions court in Krishna district yesterday. The fight between Rao and his wife reportedly happened when Leela pleaded him to pay the balance amount of the dowry for their married daughter.
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Procurement stopped Hanumangarh, April 28 In the absence of procurement by the government, farmers are forced to sell it at lower prices. The FCI has procured the maximum barley at 43,650 tonnes, while just 4,370 tonnes of barley have been procured by Rajfed in the district.
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Depot-holders face loss Hanumangarh, April 28 It was thought that the dry fodder would be sold at about Rs 300 per quintal, but nobody is willing to purchase fodder even at Rs 80 per quintal. |
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