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Thursday,
May 3, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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MoD inquiry into expose
extended Pandemonium over Tehelka issue Cabinet okays rice export
proposal Commotion
in UP House over power failures |
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Manhunt for killers of candidate Plea against Sonia’s election
adjourned SAD disappoints
Rajasthan farmers
Mann favours forum of
Sikh MPs Delhi Govt flayed for delaying DSGMC poll
ASSEMBLY POLL KERALA Get rid of LDF, Sonia urges
voters LEADER BEHIND THE FRAY Leaders turn singers More observers for WB, TN, Kerala Blast near
Panja’s
house
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MoD inquiry into expose extended New Delhi, May 2 Mr Bagai, Joint Secretary and Chief Vigilance Officer in the ministry, could not complete the inquiry in the stipulated time and hence had sought an extension. “The government accordingly has extended the committee’s term by one more month so that all aspects relating to its terms of reference are inquired into,’’ Defence Ministry sources said. The committee had also been asked to suggest modifications, if any, for making the system more transparent and foolproof. The court of inquiry, instituted by the Army to probe the Tehelka controversy, is expected to finalise its report by May 31, the sources said. “Efforts are being made to complete the inquiry by month-end,” the sources said. The one-man inquiry commission, headed by former Supreme Court Judge, Justice K. Venkataswami, set up on the orders of the government, had already started its work on the Tehelka episode. It had been given four months’ time to complete the probe. The commission had already sent notices to the news site, Ministry of
Defence, Zee News and others. It had sought from the portal unedited tapes which were not shown on television. “In the coming days, more notices are expected to be despatched to those concerned including the political leaders and others who were shown on the tapes,” the commission sources said.
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Pandemonium over Tehelka issue Dehra Dun, May 2 The CLP leader, Mrs Indira Hriyadesh, raised the Tehelka issue and demanded a discussion on it in the House. The Speaker, Mr Prakash Pant, ruled out the discussion which led to heated exchange of words between the Treasury Benches and the Opposition. The Congress leader along with Mr Kazi Mohiuddin staged a dharna in the well of the House leading to the disruption of the proceedings for more than half-an-hour. Meanwhile, the Leader of the House, Mr Nityanand Swami, stood up and said the issue was not related to the state and hence it could not be raised or discussed. Accepting the plea of the Leader of the House, the Speaker ruled out the possibility of discussion on the Tehelka issue. Anguished over the Speaker’s ruling the CLP leader walked out saying she would boycott the House proceedings. She did not attend the House for the rest of the day. Later, the Assembly passed three Bills — Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation Act (Uttaranchal Amendment) 2001, Joint State Excise Act (Uttaranchal Amendment) 2001 and the Uttaranchal Contingency Fund (Amendment) 2001. The ordinances of these Acts had already been passed by the Governor of the state. The Opposition urged the government to take immediate steps to rehabilitate the Tehri Dam oustees or pay compensation to them to prevent further delay in the completion of the project. Mr Ambrish Kumar of the Samajwadi Party and members belonging to other opposition parties raised the issue during the question hour. Mr Kumar said 6,600 families were yet to be rehabilitated and employment had to be provided to the displaced people. He urged the government to release the youths who had been arrested from Tehri and were now in jail in Hardwar. Power and Irrigation Minister B.S Koshiyari assured the House that the youths and others imprisoned for protesting against the dam would be released soon. Replying to another question from a member of the same party, Mr Munna Singh Chauhan, the Chief Minister said the government was committed to pay full compensation to the dependents of the Uttarakhand activists killed in Muzaffarnagar firing in 1994 and it had already paid some amount of compensation. To a question from Congress MLA Indira
Hridesh, Industry Minister K.S Fonia said the Khadi Gramudyog Board of Uttaranchal would be constituted soon. |
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Cabinet okays rice export
proposal New Delhi, May 2 The Cabinet also took a host of other decisions, including granting special category status to Uttaranchal, renaming airports in Himachal Pradesh and declaring the year as the year of books. Cabinet spokesperson Pramod Mahajan while briefing newspersons on the decisions said regarding the export of rice by the Food Corporation of India its prices would be fixed by a high-level inter-ministerial committee taking into consideration various factors, including international prices. It has been decided that the export price would not be less than the central issue price for below poverty line (BPL) families. The Agriculture Ministry has also been told by the Cabinet that it can revise the export commitment upward after the monsoon as the actual stocks position would be more clear by that time. The State Trading Corporation (STC), the MMTC and other private parties have been authorised to undertake exports through tendering process. The country has been facing a glut of foodgrains with 232 lakh tonnes of rice in the godowns. The buffer stock stipulation is 118 lakh tonnes, leaving a surplus of 114.24 lakh tonnes of the foodgrains, Mr Mahajan said, adding that the decision would help the domestic market as well as farmers to offload excess supply of rice. The Cabinet also decided to amend the Food Corporation Act, 1964, to enable the corporation to borrow more funds against its stocks position instead of borrowing up to 10 times of the paid up capital. The Bill proposing amendment in the Act would be introduced in the coming session of Parliament. The other decision taken by the Cabinet included giving special category status to Uttaranchal from April 1, which would make the hilly state eligible for allocation of larger central assistance on liberal terms. Uttaranchal becomes the 11th State to be given the special status, Mr Mahajan said. Other States in the category include Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Mr Mahajan said the special category status was given generally to states with hilly and difficult terrain, low population density, strategic location, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable nature of the state’s finances. These states are given 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan by the Centre while the other States get 30 per cent grant and 70 per cent loan. The Cabinet also decided to rename two airports in Himachal Pradesh. Bhuntar Airport will now be known as Kulu Manali Airport and Jubbar Hatti will be renamed Shimla Airport. The changing of the names would help boost tourism in the state as earlier tourists, especially those from abroad, could not connect the airports to the destinations as they were named after villages. It was also decided at the meeting to declare the current year as the year of
books. |
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Commotion
in UP House over power failures Lucknow, May 2 The people are facing 12-18 hours rostering in the various parts of the state due to sudden breakdown at Anpara and Obra Power plants. While there is some technical fault in 500 MW machine of Anpara plant but 200 MW machine of Obra thermal plant had to be shutdown due to shortage of coal. Energy Minister Naresh Agarwal tried to pacify agitated MLAs promising restoration of normalcy by May 4 but they continued to demand a debate in the House. The Minister also apprised the members that a committee had already been constituted comprising Secretary Energy and Adviser Energy to the Chief Minister to report with in a week fixing the responsibility for the failure. Earlier Congress leader Pramod Tewari, Samajwadi Party MLA Dr Ashok Bajpai and others raised the issue of unbearable power cut all over the state. They also drew the attention of the House towards sudden rise in
temperature resulting in hardship and diseases particularly affecting school going children. Inadequate water supply is adding to the sufferings of the people. The presiding officer Ravindra Shukla rejected the adjournment motion following Minister’s reply. The Opposition Parties staged a walkout in protest of the ruling. On the other hand power consumers were unhappy with an “arrogant” order of the UP Power Corporation (UPPC). According to it, the consumers would have to buy electronic meters, thrice the cost of ordinary ones. The order became effective from May 1. As per this order, no new connection would be released if there is no meter. As per electricity rules, meters should be provided by UPPC itself and meter rent should be charged from the consumers. But as meters are in short supply, this in reality is not going to happen. UPPC officials accept that they have got one lakh electro-magnetic and electronic meters in the central store, but they are meant to be used for replacing old defective meters. “Two lakh meters of single-phase and one lakh meters of three-phase are being purchased,” said an official of central purchase at UPPC. Although officials claim to have arranged 1000 single-phase meters for each of the three circles, “but they are yet to reach us,” remarked an official in the meter section at Gomtinagar. |
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Manhunt for killers of candidate Guwahati, May 2 Combing operations are on in suspected hideouts, hills and jungles to nab the militants of the banned outfit who gunned down Dutta and the party’s state general secretary along with district secretary Biren Phukan and two party workers in New Market area of the city. PTI |
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Plea against Sonia’s election adjourned New Delhi, May 2 The hearing was adjourned by a three-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice A.S Anand, Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice Doraiswamy Raju as the appellant — defeated candidate Hari Sanker Jain — sought adjournment on the ground of ill-health and being unable to argue the matter. |
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SAD disappoints
Rajasthan farmers Sriganganagar, May 2 The much-touted Akali conference of the local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) proved to be a let-down for the farmers and people who had assembled here from far-flung places of the state, hoping that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will “announce” the release of more canal water for drought hit
Rajasthan. This was not to be as the farmers patiently waited in the 40°C heat to hear the announcement that would solve their hardship by saving whatever remained of their crops. Rajasthan is in the grip of a severe drought for the third consecutive year. Speakers eugolised the CM and his service to the people of Punjab but there was no word on the main issue at hand — release of water — which had been listed as the top priority topic to be discussed at the conference. This had also been mentioned in posters plastered in towns and villages, exhorting residents to reach the venue in large numbers. Many people could be seen venting their ire at the
organisers’ at the “double speak” and the fact that they had been “misled” to ensure the success of the event. Many people walked out of the venue in a huff even as the CM was addressing the gathering. Talking to mediapersons later, Mr Badal denied that he was supposed to make any such announcement. He added that he was aware of the suffering of the people of
Rajasthan, but there was little he could do to help as was barely enough water for Punjab. He, however, stressed that he would do everything in his power to mitigate the suffering and declared that the legal share of the canal water for the state was being scrupulously released by Punjab.
Mr Badal said the state was committed to repairing the stretch of Gang
(Bikaner) Canal which passed through Punjab, but the funds had to be provided by
Rajasthan. A sum of Rs 450 crore is to be spent on its renovation and it was a big amount. “Had it been Rs 20
crore, Punjab would have gone ahead with the work on its own on humanitarian grounds,” he added. He offered to take up the issue of the repair of the canal with the Prime Minister and promised to use his influence to get the needful done. He added that the reported issue of large-scale water theft from the Rajasthan canals passing through Punjab would be stopped and the guilty punished. Commenting on the holding of elections on the state, he said he would do it in time but refused to comment further. He said too much was being made of the arrest of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal and that rumours of the KCF Chief’ s contesting assembly elections were “unfounded”. Earlier, Mr Badal recalled the sacrifices made by the Punjabis and said the SAD had a rich past of 81 years of struggle for the people and the country. Others who addressed the gathering included Mr B S
Bhunder, MP, Mr Nihal Chand, local MP, Mr Gurdas Singh Badal, former MP, Mr Surjit Singh Kang, Chief, Rajasthan SAD, and Mr Kulwant Singh. The resolutions passed at the gathering include the immediate repair of Gang Canal on a war footing, stopping of the water theft at the Hussainiwala and Shivpuri Heads, laying a 32 km rail line between Fazilka and Sriganganagar which would then connect Sri Harmandar Sahib to
Sriganganagar, renumerative prices for farm produce in the wake of the WTO and strict implementation of the law on addictive substances. Plots for Dalits in Punjab The Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal announced here today that the state will provide five marla plots to all Dalit families of Punjab. Land for this was being identified and would either be allotted by the village panchayats by passing resolutions or will be bought by the government. The expenditure would be borne by the state government and a grant of Rs 10 crore had already been secured from the Centre for the purpose, he revealed. He clarified that it was meant to ensure a decent living place for the Dalit families and was not an election sop. |
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Mann favours forum of
Sikh MPs New Delhi, May 2 In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Mr Mann has appealed to all MPs to join hands to put forward their demands to the Central government and solve long pending issues relating to Punjab. He has called upon the MPs to take up issues of Sikh prisoners languishing in jails since 1984, appeal to the Central Government to punish conspirators of ’84 massacre, grant visa and rehabilitate 25,000 Sikhs from Afghanistan who want to come to India, lift ban on the recruitment of Sikhs to the SPG and the NSG, merge Punjabi speaking areas of Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan with Punjab and draw the government’s attention to the distortion of Sikh history. |
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Delhi Govt flayed for delaying DSGMC poll New Delhi, May 2 |
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Get rid of LDF, Sonia urges voters Kottayam, May 2 Addressing an election meeting here, she alleged the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had completely failed in solving the burning issues confronting the people, including farmers’ problems, financial crisis and the erosion in the educational standards. She said the CPM-led government had made the Panchayati Raj a mockery by injecting party cadres into its functioning. Unemployment was another issue which threatened the progress of the state, she said. “In the next few days you will get opportunity to decide the future of the state through ballots. On one side you have the LDF which has destroyed the state in every field and on the other the UDF which is committed to restore its lost glory”, she said, adding, “The UDF is fighting not only against the LDF but also against the RSS and the BJP who are trying to communalise the nation”. The opposition leader in the state Assembly, Mr A.K. Antony, who also addressed the gathering, wanted the electorate to observe the polling day of May 10 as the “liberation day from the LDF misrule”. Mrs Gandhi reached here from Palakkad accompanied by senior party leaders, including Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr A.K. Antony and Mr Thennala Balakrishna Pillai.
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LEADER BEHIND THE FRAY Malda, May 2 But to others, he is still a great leader—a leader of the masses, a great organiser who has large number of followers by his side. And he is still popular as Malda mango. The leader is Abul Barkat Ataur Ghani Chowdhury, a former Railway Minister, and WBPCC president and the “king” of Malda, his home district, who once as loyalist could win the heart of Mrs Indira Gandhi. But the old and invalid “groaning Malda lion” today has been fighting against himself. It is he who first propagated the formation of a mahajot against the CPM with the Trinamool Congress and other like-minded parties as partners, but the AICC high command stood firmly against it. And now when an electoral understanding has been reached between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, his stand is otherwise. “I didn’t want that adjustment which will bring a total downfall of the Congress”, Mr Chowdhury says. To him, the seat-sharing has been something like selling out the party to the Trinamool Congress, which is neither good for Congress nor for Bengal people. And the ailing Ghani has his reasons to get aggrieved. First, the seat sharing with Ms Mamata Banerjee was finalised by Mr Kamal Nath, AICC General Secretary, who did not care to consult him in any matter. Even in respect of Malda, Mr Nath had taken the decision unilaterally in sharing of seats with Ms Banerjee, keeping him totally in the darkness. This was too much for Mr Chowdhury to swallow. Truly, even today, he holds supremacy in Malda, which is his kingdom. He has been representing it as an MP since 1977 and prior to that also, to the state Assembly since 1967. And even in the worst days of the party, Mr Chowdhury had gifted eight MLAs of the total 11 in Malda to the Congress, which had been his great success as leader and as an organiser, which he feels, has been ignored by the AICC. Mr Chowdhury also did not like that the AICC should bow down to Ms Banerjee at the cost of 12 sitting party MLAs who had been denied tickets. And that is why, his fight is against the AICC leadership against the designer of seat adjustment with the TMC, who he felt, had altogether ignored the present political necessity of the Congress in Bengal. “I whole-heartedly wanted a change and the situation had been very much favourable but, I am afraid, the leadership had bungled it, making room for the CPM to again back to power, he opined. “But I want to make it evidently clear that so far my district is concerned, there will be no seat sharing with the TMC and my candidates will fight in all seats, including Englishbazar, which had been gifted to the TMC by Mr Kamal Nath. How dare Mamata is to ask for Englishbazar which is my own seat in Parliament and what bloody right Mr Nath has to hand it over to the TMC against my will?” the Malda lion roared. In 1991 and 96 elections, Mr Chowdhury played a vital role in the electioneering for Congress candidates. But this time, he is not going out of Malda. He wants his loyalists to get all 11 seats by defeating the ruling CPM. In the last two elections, his men won all seven seats of the Malda Lok Sabha constituency and of the total 11 seats in the district, only three went to the left front—two to CPM and one to the Forward Bloc. He is not much optimistic about the Congress’s over all performances in the coming elections. He also does not think that an alternative government with Ms Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister will come to power after the poll. “This might have been possible if all the anti-Left forces including the BJP could come together on an electoral understanding and fight against CPM and its partners. But the opportunity is allowed to slip by the impractical and unwise decision of a section of the Congress leadership”, the veteran leader alleged. |
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Chennai, May 2 Napolean, the screen villain-turned hero and the new DMK candidate for Villivakkam, the largest constituency in the city, first attracted attention by adopting an innovative method to carry his message to the voters. Not comfortable with long winding speeches, he took to singing his lines based on popular tunes from some of the films in which he had acted. AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha, disqualified from contesting the polls following her conviction in a corruption case, has nevertheless been campaigning for her front comprising the PMK, the Congress, the Tamil Maanila Congress, the CPI and the CPM. She also demonstrated her singing prowess. Punning on a popular song from “Rickshawkaran” (Rickshawpuller) two decades ago in which her political mentor MGR had starred, she croons a few lines “Ange sirippavargal sirikkattum athu anavan sirippu, neengal srikkum ponsirippo anandha sirippu...” (They laugh with arrogance, but you laugh out of joy), she then says, “Nalla theerpai ulagam sollumpothu , sirippavar yaar, azhubavar yaar?” (when the judgment is delivered by the people, we will know who is going to laugh, who is going to weep). Taking a leaf out of Ms Jayalalitha’s book, Tamil Nadu BJP General Secretary, L. Ganesan campaigning for the DMK-led front, has also been belting out his own numbers at public meetings to hit out at her. Punning on another popular song from an old MGR-starrer, “Ethanaikkalam than emattruvai...” (How long can you deceive the people), Mr Ganesan counters to ridicule Ms Jayalalitha, who has been wooing the voters claiming that the move to disqualify her was the result of a conspiracy hatched by her political opponent, the ruling DMK. But perhaps the most dramatic singing campaigning has been by controversial sitting MLA Tamaraikani, who is contesting as an Independent against his own son. After expelling him from the AIADMK, Ms Jayalalitha pitted Mr Tamaraikani’s son against the former, giving the boy her party ticket from the Srivilliputhur constituency. Mr Tamaraikani is playing the cassette of a hit number from an old Sivaji Ganesan-starred family drama “Gauravam”, in which a public prosecutor feels betrayed when his nephew appears as the defence counsel to argue a murder case. The song goes thus: “Palooti valartha kili, pazham koduthu paartha kili, naan valakkum pachaikili nalaivarum katherikkki” meaning: “Look, who is to challenge me on the morrow, my own dear parrot which I have been tending most lovingly...” Mr Tamaraikani is making use of this song to explain to the voters the “injustice” done to him by pitting his own son against him.
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More observers for WB, TN, Kerala New Delhi, May 2 This was decided at a meeting of the full bench of the commission, chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr M.S. Gill. The meeting, which reviewed the security situation in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry, found the overall security scenario “satisfactory”, even as it decided to send more Central forces to Assam and 20 additional Central observers to sensitive areas of other states, EC sources said. Of the 20 Central observers, 10 are being sent to the West Bengal constituencies of Midnapore, Hooghly, 24 North and South Parganas, Nadia, Howrah and Bankura. |
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Kolkata, May 2 The explosion occurred around 5.45 pm when Mr Panja was addressing a press conference along with West Bengal BJP President Asim Ghosh and Vice-President Muzaffar Khan after accepting the party’s invitation to attend its election rally near Kamarhati on May 6 to be addressed by Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee. |
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Samata candidate shot at by ULFA Guwahati, May 2 |
TMC expels three
MLAS 4 sacked for campaigning 6 TMC workers injured in attack |
JNANPITH AWARDEE FACES CASE AGRICULTURAL EXPERT DEAD UTTARANCHAL TO START GALLANTRY AWARD Secretarial aid for retd chief justices Veteran scribe
Khagen Sarkar dead |
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