 |
Friday,
June 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
Defence lab withdraws facility from Army Crucial UP BJP meeting from today CEC: delimitation of seats in Uttaranchal top priority Pak envoy meeting leaders |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Talks unlikely to yield results,
says Bhim Singh Unity award for Chinese Ambassador Prasar
Bharati Board member quits Drought dries up area of cash crops PM likely to be discharged by
June 18 Monsoon session from July 23 Cabinet expansion likely by July 22 Sonia to address Mahila Congress meeting Man involved in minister’s murder held
|
|
Defence lab withdraws facility from Army Dehra Dun, June 14 According to sources in DEAL, engineers of this laboratory developed the satellite protected terminal to resist the EMP in 1999 just before the Kargil war but so far this technology has not been handed over either to the Army or the Air Force. Higher officials of the Air Force have twice approached DEAL headquarters personally apart from written requests on many occasions to hand over the terminal to the Air Force for deployment. EMP is the latest technology in nuclear as well as non-nuclear warfare in which magnetic pulse is generated to jam electronic instruments of all kinds in a 100-km radius. This type of technology was first used by the US army in the Kosovo war.
Developed by Dr K.K. Jha and his team of scientists, the protected terminal technology can resist the magnetic pulse and nullify its effect. This type of technology is at present available only with the USA, Russia, France, Israel and China. During the time of war, enemy forces try their best to jam the control units of the Air Force. But with this technology, there can be no adverse affect on the communication system. The DEAL has also withdrawn the facility of providing technical assistance for night communication to the Army in Kargil and Dras areas. The director of DEAL, Mr Amarjit Singh Bains, has called back the team headed by senior technician ‘A’ Prabhu Dandriyal from Kargil and Dras areas and placed him under suspension. According to the charge-sheet issued against him he has been accused of “unauthorisedly communicating information (recordings of the meeting) to the public, and appropriate authorities like the President, the Prime Minister, the Principal Adviser to the PM, the Defence Minister and the Defence Secretary”. But talking to The Tribune, Mr Dandriyal denied the allegations and said he demanded a proper inquiry of the “fake” companies who were dealing with DEAL. These companies were Wave Components, California, Wave Components, New Delhi, Ruby Electronics, Illinois (USA), Celstia Dupex Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, and SKJ Components (USA). He alleged that the owners of these companies were directly or indirectly related to Mr Bains. Following his complaint to the Prime Minister, his Principal Adviser, Mr Brajesh Mishra, called Mr Dandriyal and discussed the issue with him for more than two hours before referring the case to CBI. The CBI has registered a case against Mr Bains and further investigations are on. Mr Dandriyal said Mr Bains had suspended him from service to settle personal scores. The Tribune tried to contact him over telephone at his residence last night but he was not available. Efforts were made to contact him this morning but he was not in the office. |
|
Crucial UP BJP meeting from today Saharanpur, June 14 According to party sources, besides the Chief Minister, Mr Raj Nath Singh, and the Uttar Pradesh BJP Chief, Mr Kalraj Mishra, party’s all-India President, Mr Jaina Krishna Murthy, is likely to address the delegates on June 16. Besides, the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, will also be there. Already a large number of delegates had arrived in this town. Mr Kusha Rao Thackerey will also be present at the two-day meeting. It is learnt that about 35 Uttar Pradesh ministers, a large number of legislators and 450 members of the working committee, would attend the meeting. The meeting assumes importance as the elections to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly are likely to be held between October 2001 and March 2002. The meeting will focus its attention on evolving a political strategy which provides it leverage to win majority of seats in the forthcoming elections. It is also learnt that Saharanpur has been chosen as the venue in order to strengthen the party base in western Uttar Pradesh. Enquiries made by The Tribune from highly placed BJP sources at the Centre indicate that the electoral alliance between the BJP and the All-India Lok Dal of Mr Ajit Singh is on the anvil. The final tie-up between the two parties is likely to be announced shortly after the return of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee from Bombay A Union Minister told The Tribune that the INLD led by Mr Om Prakash Chautala was unlikely to stall the electoral alliance between Mr Ajit Singh and the BJP. Both Mr Raj Nath Singh and the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, are credited with the view that the BJP base would be further strengthened after its alliance with Mr Ajit Singh. The delegates, who have reached here so far, are also of the opinion that the political alliance between the two parties would pay dividends in western Uttar Pradesh. In other parts of the state, especially, central and eastern Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is likely to go alone. The entire Saharanpur town has been given a face-lift in view of tomorrow’s meeting. The roads have been recarpeted and areas around the venue of the meeting on the Delhi road at the Sangam Marriage Hall has been
spruced up. Tight security arrangements have been made around the venue. important hotels and rest houses, where the delegates are likely to stay. Almost all hotels here have been booked in advance for the delegates and other VIPs. The district administration has been on its toes for the last over ten days making arrangements so that nothing goes awry during the meeting. |
|
CEC: delimitation of seats in Uttaranchal top priority New Delhi, June 14 On the ticklish question of whether the term of the UP Assembly would expire in October this year or in March next year, Mr Lyngdoh, addressing his maiden press conference after he assumed the charge of the office yesterday, said “the commission is of the view that the tenure of the UP Assembly ends on March 26, 2002, on the basis of the first sitting of the House as per Article 171 of the Constitution.” However, he informed that the issue had been challenged before the Allahabad High Court and its Lucknow Bench. The UP Assembly did not have its first sitting for about five months after its constitution in October 1996. The House was placed in suspended animation and President’s rule was re-imposed as no party was in a position to form the government. While according top priority to completing the process of delimitation in Uttaranchal and seat adjustment in Uttar Pradesh, the CEC said the three-member commission would have to do “quite a lot of slogging” to ensure that these were completed before the elections. Readjustment of seats in Uttar Pradesh had been necessitated with the number of constituencies in the state going down from 425 to 403 with the creation of the new state of Uttaranchal. On the other hand, 22 assembly constituencies of Uttaranchal are to be reorganised into 70 assembly constituencies. Stressing that the delimitation of constituencies would have to be done on a fast pace, the CEC said “who knows when elections will take place in the two states”. Mr Lyngdoh, flanked by the newly appointed Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon and the other Commissioner T. S. Krishnamurthy, said the panel would hold a meeting shortly to discuss the issues relating to delimitation in Uttaranchal and readjustment of SC and ST seats in UP and other pressing matters before it. On delimitation in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar from which Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were carved out. Mr Lyngdoh said the delimitation process in the two states could wait since no elections were due immediately. Mr Lyngdoh, who has a three-year term as CEC, listed among other priorities before the commission the issue of photo-identity cards to voters in UP and Punjab where elections are due next year. While 70 per cent of Punjab’s population has been covered by photo-identity cards only about 50 per cent of the people in UP have such cards. To a question whether the Jammu and Kashmir Government had requested for holding early assembly poll there, Mr Lyngdoh replied in the negative and said, “The Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir will have to be dissolved first and then only the commission’s role will start.” The tenure of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly expires on October 17, 2002. Asked if the commission favoured an amendment to Section 8 Clause (iv) of the Representation of People Act to check criminalisation of politics, Mr Lyngdoh said, “This is part of the legal scheme of things that the people of India wanted and the commission is solidly behind them.” |
|
Pak envoy meeting leaders New Delhi, June 14 While Mr Qazi has already met Communist Party of India General Secretary A.B. Bardhan and CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, his meetings with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BJP President K. Jana Krishnamurthi are yet to take place. The High Commissioner has sought an appointment with Mrs Gandhi, Congress sources confirmed but declined to say anything further on the likely date of a meeting. The Pakistan High Commissioner was working with a view to create a conducive environment for the General Musharraf’s visit, sources said, adding that the main thrust of Mr Qazi’s approach at these meetings was to convey a message that General Musharraf was “sincere” about the Indo-Pakistan dialogue. The meeting between two leaders from India and Pakistan must emit “positive signals” to their respective bureaucracy that there has to be forward movement in the bilateral ties, Mr Qazi is trying to impress upon the leaders he is meeting. Asked whether Mr Qazi had sought a meeting with Mr Jana Krishnamurthi, BJP spokesman Sunil Shastri declined to either confirm or deny the question but sources said the High Commissioner had sought an appointment. Mr Qazi met the CPI leader on June 2 and briefed him about the impending visit of the Pakistani Chief Executive. Asked about the meeting, Mr Bardhan told TNS that he had handed over copies of the two party resolutions to the High Commissioner. The CPI had welcomed the government’s decision to invite General Musharraf for dialogue, Mr Bardhan said and strongly refuted a media report that the CPI was willing to accept a Pakistani proposal wherein the Indian Government accepted Kashmir as a disputed territory and negotiated with Islamabad on that basis. Mr Bardhan said there was no substance in that media report as the CPI was party to the 1994 parliamentary resolution, which describes Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India. Meanwhile, CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri admitted of his meeting with the High Commissioner saying that Mr Qazi had sought a meeting. The High Commissioner also had a meeting with former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral couple of days ago. Asked about the meeting, Mr Gujral said he met Mr Qazi twice in the last few days. Declining to divulge the details of his discussions with Mr Qazi, Mr Gujral said there was no discussion on a Pakistani proposal urging India to “recognise” Kashmir as a “disputed territory”. |
|
Talks unlikely to yield results,
says Bhim Singh New Delhi, June 14 “The much publicised visit of Pakistan’s military ruler to India cannot yield any positive or constructive result under the circumstances,” the president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, Prof Bhim Singh, said here today. His remarks come within days of the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, stating that a breakthrough in the talks was not expected. Prof Bhim Singh said there was a need to set up a joint parliamentary committee by India as well as Pakistan to work out modalities to resolve the situation. He was delivering a lecture on “Genesis of Jammu and Kashmir Situation: what needs to be done to resolve it” organised by ICSSR here. Prof Bhim Singh said this could be achieved only through a dialogue between the representatives of both sides of Jammu and Kashmir. The chairman of the ICSSR, Prof M.L. Sondhi said the Vajpayee-Musharraf talks was one level of the dialogue process. |
|
Unity award for Chinese Ambassador New Delhi, June 14 Though the two countries have some difference they do not pose a threat to each other, Mr Zhou said, adding that the principal of Panchsheel would see the two most populous nations through. He was speaking at a function organised to confer the “Lifetime Achievement Award in Diplomacy” to him by the Unity International Foundation. The award presented by former Prime Minister Deve Gowda marks the Ambassador’s outstanding role in rejuvenating Sino-Indian ties. Mr Gowda welcomed the efforts made by the Vajpayee government in normalising relations with China which had soured following the 1998 nuclear tests. “For a peaceful atmosphere, friendly ties between neighbours is of paramount importance....Whatever has happened in the past, sticking by it will not help,” he said. The Chinese Ambassador said even though Sino-Indian relationship had undergone many ups and downs in the last 50 years “friendship and cooperation have always been their mainstream”. He acknowledged the role of the leaders and the resolve of the two governments. Dwelling on the maintenance of world peace, the Ambassador referred to Panchsheel, jointly initiated by the Indians and the Chinese as an effective means. He said, “It is our shared responsibility for safeguarding world peace, promoting common development and progress of mankind”. The award ceremony was presided over by former Chief Justice of India Ahmadi, while, former Minister of State for External Affairs K Natwar Singh was the guest of honour. Ambassadors of several other countries were also present on the occasion. |
||
|
Prasar
Bharati Board member quits
New Delhi, June 14 According to sources, the board members are not happy that several
vacancies, including that of the Chairman, have not been filled.
Prasar Bharati’s Acting CEO A.Baijal told PTI that Dr Hussain’s
resignation, sent around 15 days ago, had been forwarded to the
Information and Broadcasting Ministry but was yet to be accepted. Dr
Hussain was to retire in November this year as under the Prasar
Bharati Act, one-third of the members should retire every second year.
PTI |
|
Drought dries up area of cash crops Sriganganagar, June 14 The situation can be gauged from the fact that the area under cultivation of mustard and rye has decreased by 2 lakh hectares in the past four years while that under sugarcane has registered a drop of 9,000 hectares and that of cotton 8,500 hectares. Agriculture experts reveal that in 1995-96, mustard and rye was sown in 26.91 lakh hectares in the state. It came down to 24.95 lakh hectares in 1999-2000. Similarly, the area under cultivation of sugarcane was 24 lakh hectare in 1995-96 which, at present stands at 19 lakh hectares only. Cotton too has lost its lustre with the area under cultivation falling to 5 lakh hectares from 6 lakh a few years ago. On the other hand, the area under arandi, which requires less water, has shown an upswing, with more farmers opting for it. A total of .79 lakh hectares was sown this year as compared to .34 lakh hectares a couple of years ago. The area under sugarcane plantation is likely to come down further next year, with several crushing mills remaining closed for various reasons besides the need for using sugarcane for fodder in view of the unavailability of fodder in the state. Experts add that the irrigated area in the state has increased to 67.33 lakh hectares from 58.15 lakh hectares in the past five years. In contrast, the amount of rainfall has decreased from 62 cm to just 43 cm today. This has resulted in a fall in the groundwater level. Farmers are the worst affected and have to bore to deeper depths to sink tubewells for farming operations. Farming for the marginal farmer is no more a paying proposition in the state. The drought coupled with the steep hike in power, increase in the prices of fertilisers, insecticides and seeds and inadequate remuneration for the produce has literally broken the back of the farmer. The state has not assured adequate minimum support price for bajra, wheat, barley and mustard this year which has further added to the already overflowing cup of woes of the farmer. The area under cultivation of these crops will also to register a downswing, the experts point out. In the case of mustard, a favourite cash crop with the farmer, the outbreak of dropsy two years ago, coupled with a disease the same year meant huge losses to the farmer. The glut in the international edible oil market, cheaper imports and the unremunerative prices in the local market also forced the farmer to opt for other crops.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
PM likely to be discharged by June 18 Mumbai, June 14 “He is likely to be discharged this weekend or on Monday,” Breach Candy Hospital and Research Centre’s General Manager (Planning and Marketing) Cyrus Engineer told UNI here. Mr Engineer said the doctors monitoring the Prime Minister’s progress were satisfied with his recovery. Mr Vajpayee was successfully operated upon by New York-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr Chittranjan Ranawat on June 7 for his osteoarthritis problem. Dr Ranawat, who left for Japan yesterday to attend an international conference, has also expressed satisfaction over the progress of the Prime Minister. Mr Vajpayee continues to monitor national and international developments from the make-shift Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) set up at the hospital. Cabinet Secretary
T.R. Prasad called on the Prime Minister last evening and held an official meeting.
UNI |
|
Monsoon session from July 23 New Delhi, June 14 Mr Mahajan said the session, spread over 40 days, would have 29 sittings, including six private members’
days. He said usually the duration of a monsoon session was 20 to 22 days but since the government had promised the Lok Sabha Speaker that the duration would be longer as the Budget session was curtailed, it was decided to have seven more sittings. When the Budget session concluded on April 27, as many as 28 Bills were pending in the Lok Sabha and 48 in the Rajya Sabha. Two Ordinances, Indian Council of World Affairs (Second) Ordinance, 2001 and the Food Corporations (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001 - have so far been promulgated by the President during the inter-session period, he said adding that they would be passed during the forthcoming session. To a question, he said 14 Cabinet ministers, besides Centre’s interlocutor on Kashmir, K.C. Pant, attended the meeting.
PTI |
|
Cabinet expansion likely by July 22 New Delhi, June 14 The sources said the Cabinet expansion, which the Prime Minister had recently indicated would take place in the near future, would only be possible after the proposed visit of Pakistan Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf to India in mid-July and before the start of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 23.
UNI |
|
Sonia to address Mahila Congress meeting New Delhi, June 14 According to Mahila Congress chief Chandresh Kumari, MP, the AIMC had chalked out a comprehensive programme to empower women politically and economically in the context of amendment to the Congress Constitution which reserves 33 per cent seats for women at all levels of the party structure. The Mahila Congress would stake claim for 33 per cent seats in the forthcoming assembly poll, its leaders said. The national council meeting would be preceded by a one-day interactive session. The session would discuss “A Vision” for the Mahila Congress. The convention would be addressed by Dr Najma Heptullah, Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha, Ms Sheila Dixit, Delhi Chief Minister, besides several Congress general secretaries and CWC members. |
|
Man involved in minister’s murder held New Delhi, June 14 Rajpal, a former constable of the Central Security Force, was arrested from New Delhi Railway Station where he had gone to board a train for Lucknow, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr Qamar Ahmed, said. The police seized a .32-bore Pak-made revolver and four cartridges from his possession. Mr Ahmed said Rajpal was reportedly involved in the murder of Dwivedi and the recent attempt on the life of Mr Atul Aggarwal, a relative of BJP MLA Amit Aggarwal. He is being interrogated by a joint team of the Delhi police and the Uttar Pradesh police, Mr Ahmed said. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
