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Wednesday,
August 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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UP poll crucial
for Centre: PM TDP to react if govt backtracks on NEP
Bitta to fight for jailed securitymen Medha let off, notice to Arundhati |
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USA hasn’t patented Basmati,
neem: India New Delhi, August 28 The government today denied that any US company, including Ricetec, has patented Basmati rice. Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh informed the Rajya Sabha that the company had indeed patented three varieties of Basmati for which they had obtained plant genomes from Pakistan. Bofors case: CBI gets papers from Sweden “Forged” letter issue:
Speaker defers verdict
AIIMS strike called off Edit page: AIIMS strike Agnihotri
meets Mishra, Chokila NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT Spell out package on UTI: Cong Defence Procurement Board soon Only PM can use IAF planes: HC PM unveils mural at Parliament SC ruling in favour of tenants No talks with Centre on temple issue: VHP
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UP poll crucial
for Centre: PM New Delhi, August 28 “Uttar Pradesh is important and all MPs from the state should take it seriously and do proper groundwork.....The election outcome will have its fallout at the Centre,” he told a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party, its spokesman, Mr V.K. Malhotra told reporters. The Prime Minister’s remarks indicate the significance attached by the BJP leadership to the stakes involved in the Assembly elections, especially in the context of main rivals SP and BSP already preparing for the poll. Mr Vajpayee said the Opposition which had raised issues like UTI, and “saffronisation” of education and Ayodhya “fell flat” as they were divided. He said at the beginning of the monsoon session, the Opposition parties gave the impression of being on the verge of cornering the government. As the session progressed, they gradually petered out and “ran out of issues towards the last period of the session”, Mr Malhotra said. Apparently referring to the re-entry into the NDA of the PMK and the Trinamool Congress, Mr Vajpayee said the alliance had been strengthened and the members should convey this in their constituencies and thus give the message that the hands of the government had been strengthened, he said. |
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TDP to react if govt backtracks on NEP New Delhi, August 28 “We have faith in the Union Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Joshi’s assurance on the floor of the Lok Sabha that the proposed curriculum would be based on NEP, but if there is any deviation we will react,” Mr Yeran Naidu, leader of the TDP Parliamentary Party told the UNI. The TDP is supporting the NDA government from outside. “NEP of 1986 was adopted by Parliament and we will discuss the draft of the proposed curriculum framework,” he said. Mr Naidu had recently said his party was totally opposed to any changes made in the syllabus without a proper national discussion and a thorough debate in Parliament. “Any change can be made only with the full consent of the state governments. Education is on the concurrent list and we will not accept the imposition of any new education policy,” he had emphasised. After criticism from the Opposition and even constituents and allies of the NDA government, Mr Joshi, in a reply to a debate in the Lok Sabha on “saffronisation of education” had said the draft of the curriculum had been disseminated on a very wide scale and it was drafted with a view to improve the quality of education. The government had not deviated from the NEP of 1986 that was implemented during the Congress regime, he had assured the House.
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Bitta to fight for jailed securitymen New Delhi, August 28 Welcoming the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani’s recent statement on granting amnesty to security personnel jailed for human rights violation, Mr Bitta said “the Home Minister should not succumb to any pressure from political, electoral or human rights groups.” “Human rights charges should be revoked that are pending against the police personnel who fought to curb terrorism, otherwise it will affect the moral of the security forces posted in terrorist-prone areas of the country,” he said. Criticising the political parties for allowing militant leaders like Jagjit Singh Chohan and Wassan Singh Zaffarwal to join the political outfits, he said security personnel who fought for the country to stem out militancy are languishing in jail and no political party is coming to their rescue. Several lesser known militants are being given political patronage by different politician in view of the forthcoming assembly poll in Punjab, Mr Bitta said, adding that he would soon release the names of these militants and the politicians giving patronage to them. Stating that there was a nexus between politicians, militants and bureaucrats behind the attempt to kill him, Mr Bitta today released a letter written by the ITBP Commandant to the Delhi police indicating the withdrawal of their personnel deployed for Mr Bitta’s security. Claiming that there was a larger conspiracy behind the move, he said a retired Supreme Court or high court judge should inquire into the incident. On the conviction of Devender Pal Singh by a session court in the case, Mr Bitta said the court has acquitted co-accused Daya Singh Lahoria. Claiming that Daya Singh was the main conspirator for the blast outside the IYC building, Mr Bitta said he would move the high court to appeal against the lower court verdict. |
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Medha let off, notice to Arundhati New Delhi, August 28 Dismissing the proceedings initiated on the basis of a petition filed by a group of lawyers seeking action against Ms Patkar, Ms Roy and advocate Prashant Bhushan for raising slogans against the judiciary during a dharna outside the court, the apex court directed notice be issued to Ms Roy asking to show cause why she should not be proceeded against for contempt. “Ms Roy has imputed motives to specific courts for entertaining litigations or passing orders against her. She has accused courts of ‘harassing’ her as if the judiciary were carrying out a personal vendetta against her,” Ms Justice Pal reasoned on the issuance of notice to her. “We are conscious that Ms Roy has said before us that she stood by the comments made even if they were held to be contumacious,” the Bench said but gave her another chance to explain her stand. The proceedings arose on the petition by a few lawyers who alleged that during the dharna by NBA activists before the Supreme Court gate in December last year, the three raised slogans against the judiciary and judges of the court. The activists were protesting against the apex court’s decision in October, last year, allowing the raising of the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The court specified three paragraphs of Ms Roy’s affidavit, filed in response to the petition of the lawyers, to be prima facie contemptuous. However, it said Ms Patkar in her affidavit had not ascribed any personal motive to a judge. Giving her the benefit of doubt, Ms Justice Pal said, “Her comments are general in nature and may be construed as the expression of a perceived error in the decision of superior courts in their contempt jurisdiction. The Bench said it was not inclined to direct any further inquiry into the alleged raising of slogans by the respondents during the dharna while pointing out several flaws in the petition filed by the lawyers.
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USA hasn’t patented Basmati, neem: India New Delhi, August 28 Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh informed the Rajya Sabha that the company had indeed patented three varieties of Basmati for which they had obtained plant genomes from Pakistan. The minister also said that neem had not been patented by the USA as was widely believed. However, it had patented medicines prepared from neem. “We have also done that in India,” he said. The minister said, “WTO or no WTO, the competition would have to come anyway.” The remarks came when Mr Ajit Singh was replying to the debate on the “Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill, 2001” which the House later passed. The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
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Bofors case: CBI gets papers from Sweden New Delhi, August 28 The sources said the documents, which had been sent back to Sweden as they were in the Swedish language, were received last night from Sweden. The agency expected the documents to throw more light on the alleged bunglings that had taken place in the purchase of 155-mm Howitzer guns from a Swedish-government owned gun firm, A.B. Bofors. The documents, first since the agency began probe into the scandal, had been sent back as they were in the Swedish language and the agency was unable to find any translator in the country. The documents came following a discussion between the CBI officials and the Swedish authorities in April this year after which Sweden assured the agency of executing its letters rogatory partially. The sources said the documents were being scrutinised and a follow-up action would be taken soon. However, the sources could not confirm whether the documents had the statement of Bofors chief Martin Ardbo and the complete report of the Swedish National Audit Bureau. The letters rogatory sent to the Swedish authorities had sought all details regarding Ardbo, including the statement which he was reported to have given before the Swedish authorities during their probe into the Bofors scandal.
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“Forged” letter issue:
Speaker defers verdict New Delhi, August 28 Mr Balayogi, who conferred with former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan and Mr Dasmunshi was reluctant to refer the issue to the Privileges Committee. He asked the Lok Sabha Secretariat to find out whether the House had anytime in the past come across any similar issue, before he took a final decision, sources said. During the meeting Mr Balayogi felt that the issue could only be referred to the House committee and not to the Privileges Committee as neither Mr Dasmunshi nor Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie had written to him about breach of privilege, sources. However, when Mr Dasmunshi insisted that the issue be referred to the Privileges Committee, the Speaker wanted to know whether there was any such case in the House in the past and decided to meet again tomorrow to take a final decision. While Mr Chandra Shekhar and Mr Chatterjee are understood to have not opposed to the suggestion of the Speaker to refer it to the House Committee, Mr Mahajan left the decision on the issue entirely on the jurisprudence of the Speaker. Mr Mahajan is understood to have made it clear that the government had no objection whatsoever to the Speaker referring the matter to either the House Committee or the Privileges Committee, but stressed that any decision on the issue should not violate set traditions of the House. |
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AIIMS strike called off New Delhi, August 28 According to hospital sources, the strike has been called off at the behest of the court’s directive to restore healthcare services. The Karamchari Union is demanding that the suspension order against some karamcharis, as demanded by the doctors, be revoked. |
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Agnihotri meets Mishra, Chokila New Delhi, August 28 Mr Agnihotri is understood to have discussed with them the priorities of his new job and how to go about it. According to sources, Mr Agnihotri has been assured of all support to make his assignment a success. Mr Agnihotri will be in India for about a week and he is expected to meet External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The government decision to appoint Mr Agnihotri, who is not a diplomat or a politician, for a diplomatic job has created heartburn in a section of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This is the first time when the Indian Ambassador in USA has been given an advisor and that too solely for non resident Indians (NRIs). Mr Agnihotri’s appointment is a commentary on the growing importance of the NRIs in the USA. It is expected that Mr Agnihotri is likely to tap the growing clout of the NRIs in the USA, both in economic and political terms. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, August 28 It is also necessary to maintain a distinction between those who had been displaced in and around 1947 as a result of partition of the country and those who have become Indian citizens shifted over from one area to another area of the state, the Minister told the House. Further, the term “migrants” has not come in the way of mitigating their hardships and the government has not come across any instance which suggests that the word “migrant” has been mistaken or misinterpreted to the disadvantage of migrants, the Minister said in his reply. In October 2000, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir submitted an Action for the Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants report involving a total amount of Rs 2589.73 crore to enable 52,689 families of Kashmiri migrants comprising about 1.25 lakh persons in Jammu, Delhi and other states and union territories to return to the valley, the House was told. The project, “Swan River Flood Management and Integrated Land Development Project -Phase-I”, at Una district in Himachal Pradesh has been considered acceptable by the Planning Commission on March 30, 2000 for investment in the state Plan with an estimated cost of Rs 102.72 crore at the 1999 price level, the Minister of State of Water Resources, Mr Bijoya Chakravarty, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today. |
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Spell out package on UTI: Cong New Delhi, August 28 Party chief whip, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, while raising the issue during zero hour also demanded that the government explain the action taken against those involved in the mutual fund scam. Mr Dasmunshi said more than a month had passed since the UTI scam came to light but the government had not yet given any information on the interim progress of the investigations carried out so far. It was not clear what was the exact progress of the ongoing investigations as confusing statements on the issue had been coming from various quarters of the government, he added. “Members have a right to know the real position as they are flooded with letters and queries from the small investors” , he said. School teachers, farmers and government employees, the salaried class and retired persons were worried about the fate of their investments in the UTI, he added. He said there was also no information forthcoming on the action taken against those responsible for the “loot”. The government’s failure to make a statement in the House might be interpreted that some interested elements in the government were themselves attempting to brush the share scam under the carpet, he said. He pointed out that the House would be sitting only till August 31 for the current session and demanded that the government come out with a statement on the issue in the session itself. |
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Defence Procurement Board soon New Delhi, August 28 The minister said the implementation of the Group of Ministers (GoM) recommendations, including the tri-services joint command for the strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands would be completed soon. In his reply to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the security scenario in the country in the light of terrorist and other internal and external threats, he said the process of procurement of arms and ammunition would be transparent and all purchases put on the ministry’s website. He refuted various charges made by the Opposition with regard to MiG and Sukhoi fighter aircraft and the T-90 main battle tanks and termed as baseless the criticism that since there was no ‘full time’ Defence Minister, the ministry was crippled. All matters pertaining to the Defence Ministry were being attended to urgently, he said, reminding the Congress that in its regime, the Prime Minister had held the portfolio of the Defence Minister. Mr Jaswant Singh said the first batch of the T-90 tanks would be readied in Russia by December 15 and would be inducted into the Indian Army by the middle of next year. On the Advanced Jet Trainer for the Indian Air Force, the minister said the Price Negotiation Committee had not been able to negotiate the price of the Hawk aircraft with British Aerospace with whom a single vendor situation had been arrived at.
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Only PM can use IAF planes: HC New Delhi, August 28 A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice Devinder Gupta and Mr Justice S.K. Kaul noted that though the President and the Vice-President were also entitled to IAF VIP flights for discharge of official duties, only the Prime Minister was allowed to use them even when he travelled otherwise. Referring to an affidavit filed by Mr V. Shanmugam, Joint Director (Accounts) with the Ministry of Defence, the Bench, however, said the Bill for such an unofficial use would be raised on the Prime Minister’s Office, which in turn would forward the same for realisation to the political party to which the Prime Minister belonged. To a query, Additional Solicitor General K.K. Sud and government counsel said though some VIPs, including the Defence Minister, could use IAF planes for discharge of their official duties, none of them could use the planes for personal use. The court was hearing a PIL petition filed by an advocate which alleged that former Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had used the official aircraft nine times in the first month, 18 times in the second, 17 times in the third and 22 times in November 1996 but the government had taken no action to recover the dues from him as all such trips were marked “official” by his staff and the Cabinet secretariat and the Finance Ministry seemed to be satisfied with such certificates. During his 18-month as Defence Minister, Mr Yadav logged in about 1,450 hours of flying in defence aircraft. The 307 trips, one-third of which were personal or political tours, cost Rs 41.57 crore to the national exchequer, the PIL alleged. Confirming that all trips undertaken by Mr Yadav were certified as official by personal staff of the minister, the affidavit said the nature/purpose of each visit could not be confirmed or denied beyond what was stated in the official communications received from the personal staff of the former Defence Minister. The communication was received as an official request to the Air Headquarters and there was no intervention on a daily or routine basis in this regard, it said. Claiming that the IAF planes were being misused by politicians and bureaucrats, the PIL also said besides being a drag on scarce resources, such misuse of official aircraft adversely affected the defence preparedness. The affidavit said the IAF’s VIP Squardon catered to the airlift requirements of the entitled dignitaries and was not meant for defence services.
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PM unveils mural at Parliament New Delhi, August 28 The seven feet by 68 feet mural is in seventeen parts. It depicts 5000 years of the Indian history, spanning from Mohenjodaro days to Mahatama Gandhi. Done in oil, Windsor and Newton English colours were specially brought from England for the painting. Pictorial elements such as Swastika, Yantaras, Nataraj, Buddha and Jaina catch the eye. Mahatama Gandhi has been depicted as an epitome of peace and the Himalayas at the top of the mural are picturised as the mute witness of
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SC ruling in favour of tenants New Delhi, August 28 “In our considered opinion by no stretch of imagination it could be held that landlord has any vested right by virtue of Section 14 of the rent Act,” a Bench of Mr Justice A.P. Misra and Mr Justice D.P. Mohapatra said in a recent judgement. Section 14 of the Act says, “not withstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law for contract, no order or decree for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made by any court or controller in favour of the landlord
against a tenant.” However, it provides grounds in sub-Sections (a) to (l) under which the controller could make an order for the recovery of the possession of the premises in favour of the landlord. These grounds included default in payment of rent, subletting, violation of residential use, non-use, bonafide requirement of landlord and renovation of the rented premises.
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No talks with Centre on temple issue: VHP Jaipur, August 28 The VHP was not ready for any dialogue but committed to building the temple at Ayodhya, said the VHP central margdarshak mandal member Acharya Dharmendra, while talking to UNI here. Categorically declaring that now there was no question of any talks over the Ram temple construction issue, he pointed out that earlier so many occasions came for holding dialogues, however, the Babri Masjid Action Committee and others lost the opportunity as they were not mentally prepared.
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New Delhi, August
28
