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Wednesday,
August 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Amnesty
proposal not constitutional: Sachar No
proposal for special powers to J&K: minister India-Nepal
Treaty to be reviewed: Jaswant |
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Phoolan
case: husband, relatives demand CBI probe 126
MPs’ memo to PM on AJT’s acquisition |
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NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT Mulayam Singh falls as dais collapses Minor
fire in IGL CNG station Impounding officer’s jeep costs cops dear
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Amnesty proposal not constitutional: Sachar New Delhi, August 21 Referring to a recent statement of Home Minister L.K. Advani, Justice Sachar said, “shades of Hitler is the only manner I can describe at the shocking statement of Advani that he was contemplating steps to provide legal protection and relief to the personnel of security forces facing prosecution for excesses during their operations.” Such a statement would have the unfortunate effect of making the security forces act like Gestapo, he said referring to the German Security Service agents who attained notoreity during Adolf Hitler’s reign in Germany. “A statement of such nature from the Home Minister ill befits the democratic and civilised government. Mr Advani needs to remember that he is the Home Minister of India which is governed by the Constitution and not the Home Minister of despotic/middle age kingdom,” the former president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties said. In the wake of the demand for general amnesty for the security personnel accused of human rights violations during fight against militancy, Mr Advani had said on August 19 at Jalandhar that the Centre was considering some relief for them, including in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Meanwhile, the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights today condemned Mr Advani for extending relief to security forces personnel facing prosecution under criminal charges and said, if put into practice, it would effectively seal the gate of justice for the victims of human rights violation. The
PUDR said here that Mr Advani’s statement was a cause for grave concern for all those concerned with democratic functioning and protection of Fundamental Rights as it gave the message that criminal behaviour by security forces was acceptable. Accusing the minister of betraying complete lack of concern for the thousands killed, tortured, raped or rendered “missing’’ in counter-insurgency operations, the
PUDR said it made a mockery of the Right to Equality before law. The charges filed against the security forces personnel were concerning acts not covered under any law. Killing in custody, rape and torture could not be permitted under any law consistent with the constitution, the
PUDR said. Highlighting the difficulties faced by victims of atrocities by security forces, the
PUDR said approaching courts was an expensive option while filing of an FIR was routinely denied.
PTI, UNI |
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No proposal for
special powers to J&K: minister New Delhi, August 21 However, the government was of the view that though the resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had not been accepted, yet the matters, if any, on which the state government felt that there should be greater powers with the state and that with such greater powers, it would be able to serve the people of Jammu and Kashmir better, then the Government of India would be willing to consider it, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Lok
Sabha. |
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India-Nepal Treaty to be reviewed: Jaswant New Delhi, August 21 Making a statement in both Houses of Parliament, on his return from Kathmandu on a goodwill visit, the minister said there were “certain issues that had emerged during the implementation of the Treaty over the past five years, which now need to be addressed, then discussed between the two countries and necessary adjustments made.” Mr Jaswant Singh said the technical delegations of the two sides during their forthcoming meeting would discuss the treaty which automatically gets renewed after five years if one of the two countries have any objection. He said the government would take up the trade issue with Kathmandu as in the recent past India was becoming a dumping ground for third country. “The spirit of the treaty should not be missed,” and the discussion would be focused on it, he said. New Delhi has been seeking review and revision of certain provisions of the treaty before considering its extension beyond December 3. The minister said some apprehensions have been expressed in the Nepalese media about the renewal of the existing trade treaty. India is fully committed to the growth of industry in Nepal, enhancing bilateral trade and also growth of employment in the Himalayan kingdom. On the increasing ISI activity from Nepal, Mr Jaswant Singh said New Delhi expressed continuing concerns on clandestine use of territory of the Himalayan kingdom for anti-India activities by Pakistan’s Inter-Services
Intelligence. |
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Phoolan
case: husband, relatives demand CBI probe New Delhi, August 21 Mr Umaid Singh, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike at Raj Ghat here, firmly believes that the slaying of his wife had political overtones and only a CBI probe will be able to identify the persons behind the murder. Even her sister, Ms Munni Devi, who earlier publicly fought with her brother-in-law on the occasion of the 13th day ceremony and before that over the formation of a trust to look after the property, has now veered around to his viewpoint and has seconded his demand for a CBI inquiry. The relatives of the slain ‘bandit queen’, who was gunned down outside her Ashoka Road residence by the suspects most of whom are now in judicial custody, feel that the Delhi Police may not be able to unravel the entire mystery as it had inter-state ramifications with political overtones. They firmly believe that Phoolan’s slaying was not the work of Pankaj, alias Sher Singh Rana, alone, the main accused, who had confessed and claimed that he had done so to avenge the two-decade-old Behmai massacre of Thakurs. KANPUR: The legal battle over the property of former ‘bandit queen’ began on Tuesday her with her first husband, Mr Putti Lal, seeking an injunction from a local court here for maintaining status-quo with respect to her property at various places, including New Delhi. An application for injunction was filed by Mr Putti Lal’s counsel, Mr Dinesh Singh Katiyar and Mr Vinay Kumar Shukla, before the court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Kanpur, Mr Dehat Alok Saxena, seeking to restrain defendants — Phoolan’s second husband Umaid Singh, her mother Moola Devi, sister Munni and brother Shiv Narain — from selling or mortgaging her property and transferring it through Power of Attorney. |
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126 MPs’ memo to PM on AJT’s acquisition New Delhi, August 21 A delegation of MPs, who met Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh this morning, said in a memorandum that all inquiries had concluded that lack of training in Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT) was the most significant factor in the continuing crashes and the death of more than 50 pilots.
UNI |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, August 21 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has not formulated any special scheme for women in Himachal Pradesh, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today. The refinance disbursed by Nabard for various purposes in the state includes disbursements made to rural and poor women. In Himachal, 240 women were covered through eight agencies involving an assistance of Rs 11.77 lakh under the Assistance to Rural Women in Non-farm Development (Arwind) scheme, the Minister informed. The districts covered under the Arwind Scheme are Kulu, Solan, Shimla, Dharamsala, Kangra, Hamirpur and Chamba. The districts covered by women development cells are Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Chamba, Kinnaur, Kangra, Sirmour, Kulu, Bilaspur and Manali, the minister further informed. In Haryana 514 cases of human rights violations have been registered with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) so far this year till June 2001, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr Vidyasagar Rao informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. While 79 cases had been registered in Jammu and Kashmir, 28 cases have been registered in Himachal and in Punjab 279 cases of human rights violations had registered, the Minister further informed. There are 12872 Anganwadi centres in Punjab, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply. In Haryana there are 13544 Anganwadi centres, 7122 in Himachal, 6261 in Jammu and Kashmir and 12872 in Punjab, the Minister added. An sum of Rs 2538.59 lakh had been released for Haryana in 1999-2000 under Centrally sponsored schemes for the expansion of education, Dr Joshi told the Lok Sabha in response to a separate question. For Punjab Rs 1542.79 lakh had been released, Rs 2198.46 lakh had been released for Himachal. For Jammu and Kashmir Rs 89.38 lakh had been released under Centrally sponsored schemes. |
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Mulayam Singh falls as dais collapses
Etawah (Uttar Pradesh), August 21 More than a dozen
people, including two policemen, SP leaders and some photojournalists
were among the injured. UNI |
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Minor fire in IGL
CNG station New Delhi, August 21 The Delhi Fire Service sources said the fire was reported from the generator of the mother filling station of CNG and four fire engines brought it under control. “There were no casualties in the incident,” the sources said. The cause of the fire was a short circuit. A couple of weeks back, a CNG bus had caught fire in the Punjabi Bagh area in West Delhi spreading panic among the people and raising eyebrows about the safety of the fuel. |
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Impounding officer’s jeep costs cops dear Hanumangarh, August 21 Police sources said that about 15 days ago, Mr Ranjeet Singh Poonia, the in charge of the local police station, impounded a jeep of an officer of the Telecom Department which was allegedly carrying passengers illegally. An employee of the local office of the department reached the police station and asked the police officials to release the vehicle. Mr Poonia, however, refused to do so. After this, the DSP, Nohar, imposed a fine on the owner of the vehicle. The particular officer of the Telecom Department reached the police station and expressed anger over the action taken by the police. He allegedly warned the in charge of the police station to remain prepared to face the consequences. After this, the police station was issued a notice by the Telecom Department to pay the pending telephone bills. The bills sent included one which had already been paid by the police station. The aforesaid officer of the Telecom Department allegedly rang up the police station on August 6 after the issuance of the notice and said the office telephone would not function properly from now. After this, the telephone service has been restricted to incoming calls. Though the police department has deposited the pending bills, its telephone is not functioning properly, due to which police officials are facing difficulties in transmitting information. |
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