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May 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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PIL filed against Jaya as CM Punjab opposes River Basin Organisation
Panja to seek legal recourse |
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TDP unlikely to join Central Govt UP Assembly poll ‘real test’ for BJP
Wage war against AIDS: PM DPC to attend Godbole panel
meeting Police connived with ’84 rioters: Kishwar
Dried
handpumps, parched throats Of Saraswati and
water-logging Rich sweeper, this! Police encounters: SC notice to Centre PM’s emissary holds talks with NSCN
(I-M) Daman Diu may have Lt-Governor K.P. Singh appointed IB Director Core group set up on water policy
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PIL filed against Jaya as CM Chennai, May 22 The Bench comprising Mr Justice K.P. Sivasubramanian and Mr Justice A.K. Rajan said the petition was maintainable, as the petitioner, advocate V. Selvaraj, wanted it to be. The Bench directed to post the petition for hearing after high court summer vacation. Mr Justice Sivasubramanian, however, said he would not be hearing the petition due to personal preoccupations. Mr Selvaraj sought the court to issue a show cause to Ms Jayalalitha asking her to explain the authority while using, enjoying and performing her rights, duties and privileges as Chief Minister. He contended that Ms Jayalalitha, who had been disqualified from being chosen as the member of the Legislative Assembly, could not be appointed and sworn in as Chief Minister. Mr Selvaraj said Ms Jayalalitha had been convicted in three cases and chargesheeted in several others. The Tamil Nadu Governor had recently granted sanction to prosecute Ms Jayalalitha for offences under FERA and those relating to purchasing a hotel in the United Kingdom. He contended that it would now be difficult for the subordinate judges to conduct the trial when the Chief Minister stood before them as an accused. Mr Selvaraj said it was with an aim to preserve and protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country and the rule of law that the Constitution mentioned certain clauses which would lead to disqualification of a person from becoming an MLA. A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for not less than two years was disqualified from contesting elections under Section 8 (3) of the Representation of the People Act and under Article 191 (1) (e) of the Constitution, he added. The petitioner also contended that a person, who could not become an MLA, cannot be appointed Chief Minister as well. “Hence the appointment of Ms Jayalalitha as Chief Minister is illegal and morally not tenable. It is injurious to the democratic system and the rule of law,” he added. He said Ms Jayalalitha, who was disqualified from contesting elections, cannot be sworn in as Chief Minister under the pretext that under Article 164 of the Constitution a person sworn in as minister or Chief Minister could continue in office for a period of six months. Articles 173, 190, 191 and 164 made it clear that a disqualified person could not be sworn in as the Chief Minister on the pretext that she had a gestation period of six months to become an MLA, he pointed out. Mr Selvaraj contended that just because Ms Jayalalitha had been elected the AIADMK legislature party leader by the newly elected members, the Governor could not appoint her as the Chief Minister, adding that it was in violation of law and the Constitution.
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Punjab opposes River Basin Organisation New Delhi, May 22 Punjab took the stand at the first meeting of the Working Group of National Water Resources Council here. The State Irrigation Minister, Mr S. Janmeja Singh Sekhon, told the meeting that “water” was a state subject under the Constitution. The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, also met the Union Water Resources Minister, Mr Arjun Sethi, and discussed various water-related problems with him. At the meeting, Haryana demanded an early solution to the sharing of river water with the neighbouring Punjab. Mr Sekhon in the meeting said that setting up RBOs armed with statutory powers would be an unnecessary curtailment of the freedom of the states to plan, formulate and execute schemes within their sphere of functions as enshrined in the Constitution. “We are of the view that by establishing RBOs conflicts amongst states will be further aggravated and no useful purpose will be served by them”, he added. On the proposal for enactment of a suitable legislation for modern information system, the Punjab Minister felt that sufficient machinery existed both at the Central and state levels for the purpose. The existing machinery could be strengthened and there was no need for legislation, he added. Mr Sekhon pointed out that the text of the original water policy of 1998 said that “water allocation amongst the basin states should be guided by a national perspective with due regard to water resources availability within the river basin, the existing uses and future needs of water for various uses in each basin state”. The text now has been modified as “the water allocation amongst the basin states should be guided by a national perspective with due regard to water resources availability and demands within the river basin”. The Punjab Minister opposed the substitution of the words “the existing uses and future needs” with the word “demands”. The substitution was vague and instead of promoting harmony would give rise to more conflicts, he added. Punjab also said that the issue of levying any charges for use of water should be left to the states and levying user charges should not be made mandatory. Levying user charges would hit the farmers of Punjab, who are getting free canal water. Punjab, however, welcomed the idea of participatory approach to water management and constitution of water user’s association. The Haryana Finance Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, told the meeting that the delay in the report and implementation of various water tribunals put the states at considerable difficulty. He pointed out that the Eradi Tribunal constituted in 1986 to resolve differences over sharing of the Ravi-Beas water between Punjab and Haryana had not been able to solve the problem in the past 14 years. This despite the tribunal giving its interim report within 11 months of its constitution. He said the tribunals should be given a time limit of three years and their recommendations should be implemented within two years after they were released. While welcoming the proposal to modernise the information system on river waters, the Haryana Minister expressed opposition to the sharing of river water on the basis of the riparian theory. |
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Panja to seek legal recourse Kolkata, May 22 He said people were with him who had elected him for the sixth consecutive term in the Lok Sabha and they all stood by him against the TMC’s coterie. He felt he had not done any wrong in revolting against the functioning of the party by Ms Mamata Banerjee. Mr Panja, who was the External Affairs Minister (State) in the Vajpayee ministry, had protested against Ms Mamata Banerjee’s unilateral decision of stepping out of the NDA on the eve of the elections to the Assembly. He alleged Ms Banerjee’s “arrogance and high-handedness” had led to the party’s debacle in the Assembly elections. Considered himself still a partner of the NDA, Mr Panja met Mr Vajpayee, Mr Advani and Mr Fernandes, NDA Chairman on Sunday in New Delhi and conveyed to them his support to the NDA government. Indications here are that Mr Panja along with two other MPs — Nitish Sengupta and Jayanta Bhattacharyya will step out of the TMC to join hands with the NDA as a new partner. Mr Panja’s elder brother Ranjit may also follow afterwards. Both Bhattacharyya and Ranjit openly criticised TMC’s decision to snap ties with the NDA. But the TMC at its meeting yesterday in which Mr Panja was absent, had summarily removed him from the Chairman’s post. Mr Panja said he would soon decide about his future course of action with regard to his relation with the Trinamool Congress. |
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TDP unlikely to join Central Govt Hyderabad, May 22 According to the TDP politburo members, the party was providing stability to the Centre from outside and there was no compelling necessity to join the central government now. The Chief Minister was confident of protecting the state’s interests through continuous dialogue with the central ministers on related issues. Mr Naidu had gone to the meeting after careful preparation and discussions with the experts to speak out his mind against what he considered a casual attitude of the Centre to the problems likely to be caused to the farming sector from the WTO agreement. He had other grievances regarding clearance of projects by the Centre and the covert support being extended by some BJP leaders to separate Telengana state. But the Chief Minister chose to keep mum at the meeting while taking up the issues privately with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani. This strategy has earned him laurels. With 29 Lok Sabha TDP MPs any critical remarks from Mr Naidu, particularly when a situation had arisen of deep differences between the Samata Party and the BJP, it is said, would have sent the stocking exchange crashing as it did when the AIDMK chief, Ms Jayalalitha, who was then holding the trump card of stability at the Centre, spoke out against the Vajpayee government, leading to the mid-term Lok Sabha poll. Unlike earlier, the Prime Minister is also credited to have handled the situation maturely. Not only had he given personal hearing to TDP members on the state’s problems and had agreed to expedite the clearance of the Rs 4000 crore Pochampalli major irrigation project on the Godavari but in a studied move he had pre-empted any criticism from the Chief Ministers on the procurement of foodgrains by offering the states to take over the task. |
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UP Assembly poll ‘real test’ for BJP Mussoorie, May 22 For the BJP, UP is the most important state to retain hold of in national politics, but more important for it is to stage a come back in a totally changed scenario. In the early nineties, the BJP emerged as a powerful political party banking upon the issue of Ram Temple attracting, in the process, the Hindu masses of the country. But a decade later, the priorities for the party have changed. In trying to save their government at the Centre, the BJP is trying to call itself a ‘secularist’ party. But politics for the BJP at the Centre and in UP is entirely different. In UP, the party needs the support of the RSS to stage a come back while at the Centre it needs to keep the RSS at bay to save the government. This seems to be the acid test for the BJP in the months to come. Although the BJP president, Mr K. Jana Krishnamurthi, told the mediapersons in Mussoorie that a majority of the office-bearers felt that they should try to project themselves as independent of the RSS or the VHP. Despite this, RSS leader, Madan Dass attended the two-day meet as a special guest to promote the ideology of the RSS. The BJP president has to ensure that such hardline Hindutva elements are at a distance from the party politically. In fact, the party will have to redefine its relationship with such organisations. One of the office-bearers of the BJP told The Tribune that the RSS and the VHP could not erase their communal past. A majority of the office-bearers of the BJP in the first session of the meet said the party needed a change of tactics. They said despite many general elections since the beginning of nineties, they have not been able to win a majority on their own. According to Mr Saheb Singh Verma, former CM of Delhi, the need of the hour is to promote the party’s ideology and policies in a more effective way among the rural people. Another member belonging to a minority class said, the views expressed by the members were valuable, but since most of them had an RSS background, this could hardly be comforting to the Muslim minority which is being wooed in the coming UP Assembly elections. Political observers feel that these are some of the questions which need to be answered by the party to dispel doubts created by its attempts to acquire a new image. |
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‘Monkey-man
product of hysteria’ New Delhi, May 22 The four-member committee chaired by Dr Sunil Mittal, Director of Delhi Psychiatry Centre has concluded the monkey-man is a figment of the imagination of people with similar socio-economic, cultural and emotional backgrounds. The committee has pointed that those claiming to be victims of the monkey-man are actually going through psychological turmoil which temporarily suspends their rational thinking allowing auto suggestion. The DMA has further said the description of the monkey-man with its ability to jump, fly, vanish or have remote or laser lights is “all rubbish”. The DMA has said the role of the media and the police have confirmed the existence of the non-existent monkey-man. The committee has urged people not to believe the rumour and avoid discussing the monkey-man. It has also asked people not to misinterpret ordinary nocturnal noises and lights. Dr Mittal has pointed out that a false belief which spreads like wildfire is more aptly a “mass sociogenic illness” which has roots in superstition, folklore, fantasy and cultural and religious beliefs. “It is more to do with the gullibility of the human mind, illiteracy, social backwardness and a tendency to believe the irrational and obscure than the actual fact,” he said. Dr Pradeep Aggarwal, senior psychiatrist at Lady Hardinge Medical College and a member of the committee, said that similar phenomenon had been reported in India in recent decades. These include the mass hysteric belief of Ganesha idols drinking milk and Stove Devta and Ring Devta of the sixties and seventies. The committee said the monkey-man phenomenon was first reported from Ghaziabad and then spread to the neighbouring areas. |
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‘Monkey-man’ now
in Rajasthan? Jaipur, May 22 While media has been speculating that the mysterious ‘monkey-man’ had reached Nagaur district of the state, the authorities have strongly ruled out any such possibility. District Collector Niranjan Arya told PTI on the telephone that an animal belonging to the wild cat family ‘bijju’ had been sighted in some villages. PTI |
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HC to hear Manu’s
bail plea on May 24 New Delhi, May 22 Mr Justice R.C. Chopra fixed hearing on the bail application for Thursday following an application by Manu’s counsel R.K. Naseem, who said all key witnesses including the three eye witnesses, had been examined by the trial court. Mr Naseem had moved the bail application in the high court on behalf of his client before recording of the statements of the key witnesses and hearing on the bail plea was fixed for sometime in July. All three eyewitnesses produced by the prosecution before the trial court had turned hostile as they retracted their statements given to the police during investigation. |
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Wage war against AIDS: PM New Delhi, May 22 Addressing Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland, Mr Vajpayee said about 3.86 million persons are estimated to be infected with HIV in India. Quoting from a survey carried out by the National AIDS Control Organisation, the Prime Minister said a high prevalence of over 1 per cent in the general population had been reported in the aforesaid states. He said the prevalence level among the STD clinics was even higher and this was a cause for serious concern. The Prime Minister said the AIDS epidemic had presented a grave challenge. He said the six states carried the burden of almost 75 per cent of the total estimated HIV infections in the country and must include programmes for schoolchildren, street children and other young people to help them adopt a responsible lifestyle. “We should also actively involve religious establishments who can have a strong positive influence over large sections of our society,” he said. Mr Vajpayee said experience in several African countries had shown that if the spread of the infection was not controlled at a level of one to two per cent of the general population, it would lead to a geographical increase in the prevalence level. He said the African experience had also demonstrated the gains of development achieved painstakingly over many years, could be nullified by an AIDS epidemic. “In India, we still have an opportunity to prevent the AIDS epidemic from becoming as widespread and as devastating as we see in Africa today. This necessitates urgent and concerted action by the government and society,” Mr Vajpayee said. While assuring the states the full support of the Centre, Mr Vajpayee said, “Our success in these six states will greatly boost our ability and our confidence in fighting the menace elsewhere in the country.” He said persons infected with HIV and their families continued facing stigma and discrimination. He said it was important to intensify the awareness drive based on community participation. Mr Vajpayee said the ongoing operational research in Tamil Nadu to use ayurveda and siddha drugs in care of AIDS infected persons could provide important feedback on the values of Indian system of medicine in fighting the epidemic. “These remedies can be a low-cost alternative to anti-retroviral drugs,” he said. |
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DPC to attend Godbole panel meeting Mumbai, May 22 In a statement here, the DPC said, “It (DPC) is looking forward to hear the proposed solutions from the Godbole Renegotiations Committee, particularly related to credit-worthy purchasers of power.” “In addition, we are especially interested in government of India’s attendance and learning of their expected role,” the statement said.
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Police connived with ’84 rioters: Kishwar New Delhi, May 22 Deposing the Nanavati Commission, probing the riots afresh, Ms Kishwar said she had visited many areas of the Capital during the riots and interviewed several victims who testified that the police actively connived with the violent mobs. “I saw the gurdwa are near my house burning and the police personnel standing near it were making no efforts to douse the flames. They even dissuaded me from extinguishing the flames. The mob, which was standing there even threatened to throw me in the flames and the police was standing there as a mute spectator,” she deposed before the commission. Ms Kishwar told the commission that during her visit to the Mool Chand area in South Delhi she found a Tempo full of iron rods and sticks being distributed to the mob. Recalling the gruesome incident narrated by the riot victims, she said one woman Gurdeep Kaur told her that she was gang-raped in front of her 17-year-old son by the mob and they later killed him. |
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CBI busts antique smugglers’ gang New Delhi, May 22 CBI Joint Director Neeraj Kumar told reporters that the idols made of ‘Panchdhatu’ belong to the Vijay Nagar empire dating back to the 18th century and were reported to be stolen from Sri Channakeshvaswami Temple at Chitlure village in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Mr Neeraj Kumar identified the three members of the Nellore-based gang as Rakesh Dhiman (a businessman), owner of Hotel Adarsh M. Jagdeesh Rao and a thief Ramesh. The CBI is on the look out for the other members of the gang. “We are looking for four to five gangmen who are also part of the international operation,” he said. The senior official said though the value of the idols of Lord Vishnu, Goddess Sridevi and Goddess Bhudevi in the Indian market was valued at Rs 1 crore each, their cost in the international market could be much more. The arrests of Rakesh and M. Jagdeesh Rao was made after several months of investigation by the sleuths of the Antiquities Branch of the bureau at Bangalore, Mangalore (both in Karnataka) and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. The case was transferred to the CBI for further investigation by the Bangalore unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) after making the seizure on
February 1, 2000 from Hotel Adarsh in Mangalore. Inquiries by the DRI revealed that the room had been booked in a fictitious name. During investigation by the CBI, it came to notice that the owner of the hotel was in regular touch with Dhiman, a resident of R.T. Nagar, Bangalore, for procurement of precious antiques for smuggling out of the country.
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Dried handpumps, parched throats Pal Dewal village, Rajasthan, May 22 Harji Pal, a farmer from Dewal Khas village, walks 2 km everyday to fetch water from this structure. Contrary to the claims of the district administration, villagers say that Dewal Khas village is facing acute water scarcity. The authorities claim the construction of the water harvesting structure with a storage capacity of one MCFT has helped in recharging wells, handpumps and tubewells and benefited a population of 10,000 to 15,000 persons in adjoining villages of Majola, Panduri and Dewal Khas. On the other hand, inhabitants from Dewal khas told this correspondent that all 60 handpumps in the village which has a population of 1,440, have dried. “Half of the wells in the village don’t work and one can only draw 20 litre water in a single day which is not enough for the entire village,” Pal said. The Additional District Magistrate (Development), Dungarpur, Mr B.L. Kothari, denied Dewal Khas was facing acute water shortage. “They are talking of old times”, he said dismissively. He said the aforesaid structure was constructed with the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund with the sixth phase of the loan provided by Nabard. Work started here last May and the annicut for water harvesting was completed in March. Mr Kothari said villages are covered by piped water scheme. Of the 871 villages, about 80 villages have piped water supply. The remaining, which have a scattered habitation pattern have about 25 to 30 handpumps in each village. At a famine relief work site in Sati Rampur, 8 km from Dungarpur town, 70 labourers are working to repair and strengthen the traditional tank. Mr Kothari is confident the completion of the project will serve to conserve surface water and recharge underground water. District Collector Akhil Arora said that the district depended on Boondi, Kota, and Punjab for the supply of fodder. As such, fodder was priced at Rs 180 per quintal at 105 fodder depots run by cooperative societies and the Rajasthan Seva Sangh, a voluntary organisation. |
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Of Saraswati and
water-logging Sriganganagar, May 22 The answer has been eluding everyone for ages but an answer seems at hand following research by scientists working at a Dutch-funded project. In case they arrive at something concrete thousands of acres of water-logged areas can be reclaimed and made fit for cultivation. According to sources, the scientists using satellite images have charted what could be the flow area of the
Saraswati. They drew a line through the areas which water are logged and the area connected by the Indira Gandhi Nehar Parijojna
(IGNP) and came up with a serpentine line denoting that once a river might have flown through these parts. The most affected area starts from the Tibbi in Hanumangarh and ends at Badopal near
Suratgarh. Acres of once prime cultivable land is water-logged and is presently under three to 10 feet of water. It has been a traditionally held belief that the Saraswati once flowed through these very area. This has pleased scientists plagued with a viable method to deal with the ever-increasing menace of water-logging. They are wondering whether both facts are connected in some way. In case some link is established then the flow area of the mythical river can be used to drain off the water-logged areas. Sources said that a perusal of the satellite pictures shows that the river traced by them runs from the north of Hanumangarh town and goes on to Sriganganagar and joins the present day Ghaggar river in the district. According to the
Puranas, the Hirnyavati river, a tributary of the Saraswati once flowed here. It is widely believed that the
Ghaggar, which flows from Punjab, Haryana and enters Rajasthan and subsequently flows into Pakistan, is indeed the Hirnyavati river. Some village elders in these areas recall that a river by the name of Hakra Wala Baan flowed 70 - 80 years ago and was believed to be another tributary of
Saraswati. This was corroborated again by satellite pictures which showed that the river indeed flowed through the water-logged areas in
Rawatsar, Nohar, Beer Kali, Gandhali, Dasuwali, Kanwani, Jeevansar,
Jakharanwali, and Suratgarh and finally joined the Ghaggar. IGNP, which was hailed as the lifeline of Rajasthan in the 60s has caused widespread destruction by way of water-logging in just over 20 years. According to present estimates more than 12, 000 hectares of land in
Maseetanwali, Tibbi and Badopal alone has been rendered useless due to water-logging rendering hundreds of farmers without a means of livelihood. An estimated 20,000 - 25,000 hectares of land elsewhere is under several feet of alkaline and saline water. Samples of water tested show that salinity levels are several times higher than that of sea water. The scientists believe that the water- logging problem could be due to the continuous seepage from the IGNP over
the decades which could have recharged the ancient river at some places. This has raised hopes of using the natural gradient of the Saraswati to drain at the water-logged areas which will be a boon for the hapless farmers of these areas, the sources pointed out. |
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Rich sweeper, this! Mumbai, May 22 They said acting on a tip-off that fake currency notes had been stacked in a house, a raid was conducted at the residence of Nagura Malku Ghadge on Sunday. However, the notes, found hidden in a secret wallet behind a fridge, were all genuine Indian currency, according to a senior police official of the crime branch. Ghadge had been remanded to police custody till May 28. Ghadge claimed that he was into money lending business, owned a chit fund company and the money was genuinely earned by him. “But he was yet to produce relevant documents,” the official said.
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Police encounters: SC notice to Centre New Delhi, May 22 The apex court Bench of Mr Justice K.T. Thomas and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi, stayed the operation of this order, when a police officer involved in one such alleged fake encounter appealed against the high court verdict. While advocate P. Parameswaran accepted notice on behalf of the Union Government, Solicitor General Harish Salve said in all probability the Centre would file an appeal against the high court verdict. The high court Bench comprising Mr Justice M. Katju and Mr Justice O. Bhatt in its April 9 judgement observed “in our opinion, if a policeman is given an illegal order by any superior to do an ‘encounter’ it is his duty to refuse to carry out such illegal order, otherwise he will be charged for murder, and if found guilty sentenced to death.” “While not commenting on the facts of the present case, we would certainly like to say that often innocent persons are murdered by the police in the name of encounter,” the Bench said.
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Daman Diu may have Lt-Governor New Delhi, May 22 “A decision in this regard will be taken soon,” the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, said here today while laying the foundation stone of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Bhavan, an official release said. Mr Advani pointed out that new steps were needed for the development of union territories. Speaking on the occasion, Urban Development Minister Jagmohan said development of these areas was needed to be done wisely. The real progress came only through overall development and not material development alone, he said. PM’s emissary holds talks with NSCN (I-M) Bangkok, May 22 Padmanabhaiah, who flew in here from New Delhi, met a two-member team led by NSCN (I-M) general secretary T. Muivah at a city hotel. The talks are expected to conclude tomorrow. NSCN (I-M) General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah is also participating in the parleys.
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K.P. Singh appointed IB Director New Delhi, May 22 Mr K.P. Singh, whose name was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Appointments, is presently posted as the Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau. Mr K.P. Singh, a 1966-batch Chattisgarh Cadre officer, has been serving in the Bureau for the past three decades. |
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Core group set up on water policy New Delhi, May 22 The core group would examine the amendments proposed in the national water policy, particularly provisions of setting up River Basin Organisation and water allocation among the states. The group would consist of Irrigation or Water Resources Minister from Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka and Rajasthan. |
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