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| Wednesday,
July 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
Probe
sought against Sports Minister Tehelka:
Army officials resent additional probe
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New
facility for US visa seekers First
private FM station opened PM to
join bachelors’ club India,
B’desh sign pact on bus service |
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Govindacharya
working on project Shah
refuses test, sent back to jail Maya
backs govt’s J&K peace move Pact to
develop herbal products SFI to launch national-level campaign Welfare projects on priority, says PWD
Minister
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Probe sought against
Sports Minister Kolkata, July 3 The minister has been accused of hiring criminals during the recent assembly elections. They were arrested with arms from the Salt Lake sports stadium on June 28. But Mr Chakraborty denied the charges as false, fabricated and mischievous, though the arrested persons include two main lieutenants of the ministers, who were in charge of his electioneering. The Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharyya, however, is not satisfied with the minister’s denial. He has sought personal explanation from the minister. The CID has also been directed to probe the matter. Senior party leaders like Mr Jyoti Basu and Mr Sailen Dasgupta have advised young leaders to ignore the matter. But Mr Birman Basu, Mr Anil Biswas and Chief Minister himself and others want that since there had an accusation, the matter should be probed. A section of the district leadership of North 24-parganas, led by the district committee secretary Amitava Bose also demanded that Mr Chakraborty should resign. Mr Bose said he had been sending reports to the state leadership against Mr Chakraborty for his “hobnobbing” with the antisocial elements, which he felt had been tarnishing the image of the party. But he was ignored. Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharyya, however, does not like to ignore the issue. He wants that Mr Chakraborty should come out with a clean image. But he has discarded the demand of sacking the minister before any inquiry. The Trinamool Congress and the Congress have already taken up the issue for their political campaign against the CPM. Both Ms Mamata Banerjee and Mr Pranab Mukherjee after their election debacle had been complaining about rigging and the CPM muscle power used in the electioneering. Ms Banerjee said they would soon launch a massive agitation all over the state, demanding a CBI probe into the minister’s link with the criminals vis-a-vis CPM’s connection with anti-socials and the corrupt people. Already in the Assembly, both the TMC and Congress had staged a walk-out and protested. They demanded probe into the allegation against the minister by the Assembly committee, which the Speaker, Mr Hashim Abdul Halim had refused. Their demand for a discussion on the issue was also turned down by the Speaker, which had annoyed opposition MLAs. |
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Tehelka: Army officials resent additional probe
New Delhi, July 3 “Why this step-brotherly treatment with Army officers. When all other public servants, who are accused, are made to undergo one commission of inquiry then why Army officers, who are already facing a departmental inquiry, should be made to undergo the ordeal twice,” R.P.Sharma, counsel for Anil Sehgal, one of the accused Army officers, told the commission. Requesting that the commission should recommend to the Central Government that Army officers should be excluded from one of the inquiries, Mr Sharma also sought protection under Section 20(3) which states that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. Justice Venkataswami Commission has reserved his order on the issue till Friday. He would also decide whether he would pass any recommendation to the Centre on the issue. Various parties concerned demanded that they should be given unedited Tehelka expose tapes before they were issued notices by the commission under the Section 8(B). However, representing the government, Additional Solicitor-General Kirit Rawal said there was no need for unedited tapes to be provided before the issuance of the notice. Commission’s counsel Gopal Subramanian also agreed with Mr Rawal and said: “The issuance of notice under 8 (B) was not a pronouncement on anybody’s reputation. It is merely a notice to ensure participation.” Whereas, the counsel for
P.Shahi, an accused Defence Ministry official, said it was a matter of natural justice to make these unedited tapes available, which were the “very basis of the whole allegations.”
PTI |
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Dalai Lama meets PM
New Delhi, July 3 The 30-minute meeting was described by officials as a “courtesy call”. The Tibetan leader had returned from Italy and other countries, where he had gone to propagate peace and harmony.
UNI |
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New facility for US visa seekers New Delhi, July 3 TT Services, a subsidiary of TTK industries, has come up with this novel customer-friendly facility to lessen the hardships of prospective travellers to the USA. The new visa processing procedures announced by the US Embassy in association with the TT Services has evoked significant response from US visa seekers from North India within 10 days of operation. The system, which got underway with a quite profile to assess the response, has been encouraging both to the embassy and the applicants. The company charges Rs 3,525 as visa fee, Rs 2,115 as processing fee and Rs 300 as service charge. Mr P. Varadan, Managing Director, TT Services, says successful applicants will no longer have to return and wait at the embassy to collect their passports and visa as these will be sent by courier to any part of the northern region. This would cut the time wasted waiting in long queues and also ensure service at the doorstep, he added. Mr Varadan said TT services with its state-of-the-art infrastructure had been providing service on similar lines to the US Consulate-General in Chennai for the southern region for more than a year. Though the Delhi office has been functional since June 14, it was formally inaugurated yesterday. Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Albert Thibault, Charge d’Affaires, US Embassy, expressed satisfaction that not a single case of loss of passport has been reported so far. However, first-time applicants cannot avail themselves of the facility. Only those who had been to the USA before or were senior citizens were eligible, he said. “A person can log on to our website and fill in the web application and seek an appointment with us,” he added.
UNI |
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1 m Indian visitors to USA likely by 2003-2004 New Delhi, July 3 “Our projection ahead for Indian visitors to the USA by 2003-2004 is one million,” said Albert Thibault, Charged-Affaires at the US embassy.
PTI |
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First private FM station opened Bangalore, July 3 The radio station, which commenced broadcast at 9 a m here, is promoted by Music Broadcast Private Ltd (MBPL) where STAR will supply content and provide sales and marketing support to MBPL’s investments in radio. MBPL holds FM radio licences to operate in six cities — Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Nagpur and Lucknow. Terming Bangalore as a ‘prime market’, MBPL’s Director, Ashok Khinvasara told reporters here that the company had planned to set up FM radio stations in the other five cities over the next six to nine months. Radio City on 91 FM aims to reach out to listeners across demographic barriers with a portfolio of entertainment programming 24 hours a day, the company said, adding that dedicated and enthusiastic radio jockeys would broadcast from Radio City’s state-of-the-art digital studios. The CEO of Star India Private Limited, Mr Peter Mukherjea, said through its participation in the emerging sector, STAR — Asia’s leading multi-platform content and service provider, would be able to extend its relationship with audiences in India by connecting them in more ways than television. Asked why it had taken MBPL to start the service more than one year after it received the licence, Mr Khinvasara said, it had to get clearances from 19 ministries.
PTI |
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PM to join bachelors’ club Kolkata, July 3 “We had sent a letter to Mr Vajpayee in April inviting him to join our club. He wrote back asking for details. The Prime Minister again wrote to me in June, saying that he wants to join the club,” Mr Debashish Goutam, the architect of the idea, said. The Mukto Bihanga (which in Bengali means free bird), which was formally launched in the city on Sunday, has also wooed some other big names who have been fighting shy of the nuptial knot. The names include Minister of State for Communications Tapan Sikdar, CPM leader Biman Bose, BJP leader Surya Kanta Mishra and noted Bengali actress Sabitri Chattopadhyay. The club, modelled on the Bachelors Anonymous, a group immortalised by P.G. Wodehouse in a novel of the same name, has only one criterion for membership though: remaining single. Armed with 25 members, the Mukto Bihanga plans to build a village for unmarried people in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas. “We have visited the site and will buy the plot next month. Various small-scale units will be set up in the village to create employment opportunities for the residents,” Mr Goutam added. “The idea of forming the club evolved from a need to help the bachelors who face discrimination in society. A single person has to always explain why hasn’t he married and what he will do with the money. They are often made scapegoats when it comes to helping others in need,” Mr Goutam, a Programme Executive at Doordarshan Kendra, Kolkata, explained. The seven Goutam siblings (three brothers and four sisters), unmarried out of choice than compulsion, said they faced hostility from relatives and friends. The club also wants to help bachelors across the country. It will form a special group whose members will act as volunteers in areas affected by natural calamities. To recognise bachelors, the club wants a “minister for singles”. “We plan to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya listing our several demands. These include a minister representing the singles, an unmarried sheriff every two years, a government appointed single lawyer, a judge and a medical officer,” Mr Goutam said. Another demand is declaring July 1, the birthday of state’s first Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy (who was also a bachelor), as “bachelors’ day”.
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India, B’desh sign pact on bus service Agartala, July 3 The agreement was signed here by the Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), Azmal Chowdhury, and the Chairman of Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC), Manik De. Expressing hope that the bus service would be launched by mid-September, they told reporters that security would be provided to bus passengers at both sides. It was decided that BRTC would operate two buses while TRTC would operate one bus everyday, they said, adding return bus fare would be $ 10. A TRTC bus was operated to Dhaka on July 1 while a BRTC bus arrived here last night.
PTI |
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Govindacharya
working on
project New Delhi, July 3 Ever since, Mr Govindacharya developed differences with the BJP high command, particularly on the economic path that the Vajpayee government was traversing and decided to withdraw from active politics to develop alternative models of economic development, the former BJP ideologue has been collecting material for his research project. Mr Govindacharya, who has a large following in the party and in the Sangh Parivar, has been treading on many toes in the government and there is a lobby which is out to draw him into another controversy like that of the yesteryears when his conversation with some British diplomats had then poisoned the mind of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. This time, inspired and motivated stories of a letter to Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti from the daughter of a party functionary from Ranchi are doing rounds in political circles. The said letter, which has not been seen, is reportedly the cause of the envy of Ms Bharti which has resulted in differences between Ms Bharti and Mr Govindacharya. The stories suggest that the differences with Ms Bharti forced Mr Govindacharya to go underground. One of the reasons of drawing him into controversy with the objective of maligning his popular image is related to intense battle going on within the BJP over the successor to Mr Vajpayee. In an eventual battle of succession, Mr Govindacharya would prove to be a useful ally of anyone as he has an excellent rapport with the party workers and functionaries in different states. |
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Shah refuses test, sent back to jail Mumbai, July 3 Shah, arrested on January 8 on the charge of an alleged nexus with the underworld, was admitted to the hospital on June 20 after he complained of uneasiness. On June 22, he moved a special court urging that he may be shifted from the government hospital to a private hospital for complete medical check-up at his own cost, as the former did not have adequate facilities. Designated Judge A.P. Bhangale invited comments from the Dean of J.J. Hospital on Shah’s allegation that it was not fully equipped. The court had also formed a panel of doctors to examine Shah and included his family physician in the team. The Dean filed a report saying that the hospital had all modern facilities and he also informed the court that the results of tests performed on Shah were satisfactory. He also suggested angiogram test for Shah. Shah refused to undergo the test as he felt the hospital did not have proper equipment and was discharged yesterday.
PTI |
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Maya backs govt’s J&K peace
move New Delhi, July 3 “It is a positive step taken by the government and all parties must rise above party politics in supporting the move,” the party general secretary, Ms Mayawati, told reporters. The BSP leader met the government’s chief interlocutor for Kashmir talks and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr K C Pant. Ms Mayawati said the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister was a “good step” as it would help the government understand the views of different political parties and the parties would know the government’s proposal. |
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Pact to develop herbal
products New Delhi, July 3 A Memorandum of Agreement to this effect was signed here today among the CCRAS, CSIR and DRI. Mr G. Veluchamy, Mr Pushpangadan and Mr Bharat Pathak signed the agreement on behalf of the CCRAS, CSIR and DRI, respectively. Secretary, Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) Shailaja Chandra, and Mr R.A. Mashelkar, Director-General, CSIR, signed as witnesses. According to the agreement, the CCRAS will extend knowhow relating to its clinical research programme on family welfare, chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis), malaria, reproductive child healthcare and healthy aging. Sources in the Health Ministry said that the council would provide specialised training in research methodology and help procure specific equipment and requisite manpower. The CSIR would provide training and technical advice for setting up the laboratory and instrument facilities for physico-chemical standardisation of their ayurvedic formulations and preparations. The CSIR would also assist the DRI in developing agro-techniques for cultivating medicinal plants. The DRI, a Delhi-based registered society, has set-up a research institute ‘Arogyadham’ at Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh) for development of ayurveda and for better healthcare through herbal products. |
| SFI to launch national-level campaign Hanumangarh, July 3 The national vice-president and regional secretary of the SFI, Dr Sanjay ‘Madhav’, in a press conference here today alleged that the state and the Central government were neglecting the interest of the people of the country. He said the Prime Minister had promised to provide employment to 1 crore youth before the General Elections, but now the government had imposed a ban on new recruitments for 10 years. Mr Madhav alleged that on the one hand, the Education Minister, Mr Murali Manohar Joshi, was raising voice against the commercialisation of education and hike in fee in various courses, on the other hand, his party was supporting private education in Andhra Pradesh. He said in the past year, because of hike in fee, nearly 1 lakh students had been deprived of education in the state. He said the SFI would launch a national-level campaign against the government. The regional vice-president of the SFI, Mr Anil Choudhary, in a press conference alleged that both Congress and BJP governments had ignored the students of the Bikaner region. |
| Welfare projects on priority, says PWD
Minister Hanumangarh, July 3 Speaking at a press conference here yesterday, the minister said for the welfare of public sometimes harsh decision had to be taken and that required firm political will, which was there in the Chief Minister, Mr Ashok Gehlot. Mr Mirdha said though power plants were set up during the rule of the BJP in the state, but these were completed and started in the last two-and-a-half year rule of the Congress government. He said the electricity thefts and its wastage had been controlled to a great extent. Mr Mirdha said, the government had decided to relay 26,000 km of roads in the next two years and Rs 600 crore would be spent on this. He said under the Prime Minister Village Road Scheme all villages with a population of more than, 1,000, according to 1991 Census, would be connected by roads by 2003. Mr Mirdha said the cancellation of tenders approved for the Hanumangarh-Ratangarh road was done because of technical reasons. He said fresh tenders would be invited in next 15-20 days. Mr Mirdha said because of famine the state government had failed to contribute in some schemes to be run with the help of the Centre. He said the movement launched by the BJP against the state government a few days ago proved to be a flop and public did not support it. |
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