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August 31, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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PM privy to Babri demolition:
ex-SSP SC notice to Centre in Bofors case Appointment of Agnihotri
flayed
Defence Acquisition Council set up PM’s nod to expert panel on CNG
crisis |
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Army on lookout for more land VIP security for Perumal’s
wards
NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT Farooq-Fernandes meeting not held Declare Palace Hotel
a museum: Chohan Left politicising education: BJP Hit for early elections to
DSGMC IT raids on Vandana Luthra’s slimming centres
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PM privy to Babri demolition:
ex-SSP New Delhi, August 30 “If there was any conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid, Mr Vajpayee was privy to it, “Mr Roy, former BJP MP, told reporters here after taking over as the national working president of the Hindu Mahasabha. The meeting, he said, was held at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s residence on the evening of December 5. Home Minister L.K. Advani, who was leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha at that time, and Union Minister M.M. Joshi, the then BJP President, also attended the secret talks. “Mr Vajpayee is as much guilty as Mr Advani, Mr Joshi and Mr Kalyan Singh are considered to be,” he said. Asked about his source of information about the “secret meeting” of senior BJP leaders, he said the Faizabad police authorities and the district administration were constantly in touch with the state government on November 5 as lakhs of kar sevaks had descended on Ayodhya that day. “We were receiving minute by minute information from Lucknow on telephone and wireless. We were told that Mr Advani and Mr Joshi, who were scheduled to reach Ayodhya that evening, were held up in a meeting with Mr Vajpayee at the Chief Minister’s residence,” said the former IPS officer, who resigned from the service in 1996 to enter politics. After the meeting, he claimed, Mr Vajpayee left for Delhi on the Lucknow Mail while Mr Advani and Mr Joshi reached Ayodhya at midnight. “Mr Vajpayee cannot now claim that he did not know of the developments leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid,” he asserted. Mr Roy, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on the BJP ticket twice and was himself staunch supporter of the Ayodhya movement, also blasted the party leadership for going back on its promise regarding construction of the Ram Temple. Rubbishing the recent claim of the Prime Minister that negotiations on the Ayodhya issue were on, Mr Roy said Mr Vajpayee was once again making false promises with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh elections. “Why doesn’t he tell us whom are they talking to. It seems the so called talks were going on in the PMO itself among his own officials,” he quipped.
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SC notice to Centre in Bofors case New Delhi, August 30 A division bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi criticised the Centre and the states for their inaction in not appointing adequate additional judges which led to inordinate delays in disposal of special cases including cases of serious economic offences. The judges observed that inordinate delay not only caused unwarranted harassment to the litigants but the people in general who had began to lose confidence in the judicial system of the country. The judges directed the Centre to state categorically in three weeks the steps taken by it or proposed to be taken to appoint additional judges to cope with the huge pendency of cases before the special court in particular, and other courts in general. The report of the Special Judge trying Bofors payoffs and other CBI cases filed in response to the Supreme Court’s directive of August 9 during the hearing of an application by the Hinduja brothers accused in the matter for going abroad, stated that they should not be allowed to go in view of early disposal of the case. The judges referred to Special Judges report contending that about 310 cases were pending since 1987 and apart from that about five to six cases were being filed every years. The judges further noted the helplessness of the Special Judge to decide the Bofors pay-offs case expeditiously. The report also added that unless counsel for the parties cooperated and did not take unnecessary adjournments, it would not be possible to dispose of the case within two to three years. The court asked counsel for the Hinduja brother Mr Kapil Sibal, senior advocate, seeking permission for one of the brothers, Mr P.P. Hinduja, who had come back from Switzerland in accordance with the apex court’s earlier directives, to go abroad again, that he should put an application to that effect and appropriate orders would be passed thereupon. |
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Appointment of Agnihotri
flayed New Delhi, August 30 Describing the appointment as totally illegal, the Opposition members charged the government with seeking to propagate “Hindutva” through the appointment of Mr Agnihotri. When the government defended the appointment, the Opposition members staged a noisy walkout. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Pramod Mahajan, defended the government’s action saying that it had not committed any crime by his appointment. Mr Mahajan said when both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister of the country were members of the RSS and he too was a minister, despite being a member of the organisation, there was nothing wrong in appointing Mr Agnihotri. “I know this person for about 20 years. He has been living in the USA and serving Indians there”, the minister said, adding that he would carry out the assignment given to him. Mr Mahajan said it was a political appointment and it was not a government job. The minister’s spirited defence of Mr Agnihotri’s appointment came after the Opposition members raised the issue during zero hour. A CPM leader, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, said the government had created an extraordinary situation by appointing functionary of a political organisation as Ambassador-at-large to look after the interests of NRIs. He said the government must clarify Mr Agnihotri’s role as there was already an Ambassador in Washington. Former Prime Minister Chandra Sekhar said the government wanted to propagate “Hindutva” in this manner and did not know where the nation was heading. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said the appointment was against the interest of the nation. |
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Defence Acquisition Council set up New Delhi, August 30 The council, an “overarching structure” to be headed by the Defence Minister, would approve the long term capital acquisition of the three armed forces as well as identify and clear weapon purchases as well as weapon production, both licensed as well as indigenous, officials said. The DAC would have under its umbrella a defence Procurement Board, which officials said would be constituted in the next fortnight, as well as the Defence Production Board and Defence Research and Development Board. Besides the Defence Minister, the Defence Acquisition Council would have as members Minister of State for Defence U.V. Krisham Raju, Chief of Defence Staff (when appointed) Army Chief Gen S. Padmanabhan, Air Chief A.Y. Tipnis, Naval Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar and Defence Secretary Yogendera Narain. The other members are Secretary, Defence Production, Subir Datta, Secretary, DRDO, Dr V.K. Atre, Secretary, Defence Finance, Shivo Subramaniam, Vice-Chief of Defence Staff (when appointed) and Special Secretary (Acquisition) Ajai Vikram Singh. An official announcement said the DAC would have as its member-secretary Director-General, Defence Procurement Staff, who would later be replaced by Deputy Chief of Defence Staff. Officials said the Defence Procurement Board would be headed by Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain with Secretary, Defence Production, Secretary DRDO, Defence and Finance Secretary and Vice-Chief of Defence Staff (when appointed) among the members. The three Vice-Chiefs Lieut-Gen Vijay Oberoi, Air Marshal S. Krishnaswami, Vice-Admiral Madhvendera Singh and Special Secretary (Acquisition) are also members. The Financial Adviser in the ministry acting is member-secretary. Officials said Director-General Quality Assurance, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Planning and Systems), Deputy Chief of Air Staff dealing with plans and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff would attend the meetings of the board as special invitees.
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PM’s nod to expert panel on CNG
crisis New Delhi, August 30 The Prime Minister reviewed the crisis along with a Group of Ministers drawn from the Ministries of Surface Transport, Environment and Petroleum and Natural Gas and it was decided that the committee headed by leading scientist Mashelkar would evolve stringent emission standards for vehicles. This would enable vehicles to use alternative fuels, apart from CNG, as long as they satisfy the standards prescribed by the committee. Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told newspersons after the meeting that the government would “not insist on use of any particular fuel for transportation but would set emission standards.” Mr Naik informed the meeting that the total number of CNG stations would be increased to 87 by September as against 80 directed by the Supreme Court and to 94 by March, 2002. He informed the meeting that the long queues of vehicles waiting to get gas filled at stations would become a thing of the past. |
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Army on lookout for more land Sriganganagar, August 30 According to sources, the Army is on the lookout for more land for its routine training exercises since it is being felt that the existing area was inadequate. The go-ahead for initiating the ground work was given by the Home Department recently and forwarded to the state government. The Army had written to the Home Ministry that it needed 39 km by 35 km to meet its requirements and the land in the vicinity of the existing range would be ideal for its needs. The issue figured prominently at the Civil Military Liaison Conference held at Bikaner recently which was presided over by the state Principal Secretary, Home. Various procedural measures likely to arise during the exercise were discussed. The Deputy Commissioner of Bikaner has been directed to conduct a survey of villages whose land is to be acquired and shortlist the problems likely to be faced by the government. The issue of rehabilitation and the cost of the land is also to be assessed by the district authorities. The willingness of the people to move out is also to be taken into consideration before the actual acquisition process is initiated. Land in 26 villages falling on the periphery of the range have been shortlisted by the authorities. The earmarked area includes both agricultural and residential areas. The arid terrain covered with dunes will suit to the needs of the Army. Hundreds of acres belonging to 34 villages in the district were acquired for setting up the existing range more than 15 years ago. The range is used by various formations and units of the Army for training and equipment-testing needs all year round. The largely successful exercise Vijay Chakra, in active coordination with the Air Force, was conducted on this range nearly two years ago. Besides, the issue of raising illegal structures near the border was raised by the Army authorities. Officers attending the conference told their civilian counterparts that the permission of the defence authorities should be made mandatory for all types of construction along the border belt. The issue of repair of border roads was also raised. The sources said it was the first meeting of its kind to be held at
Bikaner.
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VIP security for Perumal’s
wards Sriganganagar, August 30 The police, however, refused to divulge the names of the sisters who were students of the prestigious Sophiya College, Ajmer. They are participating in the 15 Inter- University Girls Meet being held at the Gurmit Singh Ghanshyam Dass Kanya Mahavidalaya. According to sources, they are daughters of Vardarajan Perumal, who has been living in Ajmer for the past many years. He is said to be facing threat from the LTTE. He has been provided political asylum by India. The girls, who were escorted by securitymen from Ajmer, were provided security by the district police. They were provided with an escort vehicle and watched over by an SI, five constables, two women constables and a security officer of the CRPF, the sources revealed. The police did not disclose the events in which the girls are participating. The cops had strict instructions that the duo were to be provided with VIP status and treated as such. The arrangements were made accordingly at the school premises, the sources said. It may be recalled that Perumal was a close friend of the late Rajiv Gandhi and a bitter critic of the LTTE. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, August 30 The minister further informed the House that the Central Government had provided Rs 70,000 crore for the project. The rates of monthly minimum charges (MMC) for various categories of consumers of Chandigarh have been increased with effect from February 2001, Minister of State of Power Jaywanti Mehta informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply in response to question asked by MP from Chandigarh, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal. In response to another question by Mr Bansal, the minister informed the House that a total of 951.46 MUs have been purchased during 2000-01 by Chandigarh. Apart from payments made during 1998-2001, an approximate liability of Rs 2,400 lakh was pending on account of budget constraints, the minister told the House. Against the scheduled arrival of 9:30 a.m. at New Delhi of the Sirsa-Tilakbridge Haryana Express, the train, on some days, is arriving late, the Minister of State of Railways and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr O. Rajagopal, informed the Lok Sabha today. The rescheduling of the Sirsa-Tilakbridge Haryana Express and 2 TR Rohtak-Tilakbridge Passenger is not feasible on operational and other grounds, the Minister of State of Railways and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr O. Rajagopal, informed the Lok Sabha. The Technology Mission on Oilseeds has launched a centrally sponsored Oilseeds Production Programme ( OPP) in 28 states, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Shripad Y. Naik informed the Lok Sabha. |
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Farooq-Fernandes meeting not held New Delhi, August 30 Though the Chief Minister had reiterated his party’s support to the NDA, he did not meet Mr Fernandes for clearing of misunderstanding over the Central leadership’s remarks implying lack of fairness in poll in the state. With some uneasiness in relations with the
NDA, party sources said Dr Abdullah would like to await the alliance’s proposed code for allies before deciding his next move.  |
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Declare Palace Hotel
a museum: Chohan Neemrana (Rajasthan), August 30 Dr Chohan had came here to visit the temple of Goddess Aashawari, the deity of the Chauhan clan, which was in the premises of the hotel palace. The administration, which first stopped the motorcade of Dr Chohan about half a kilometer away from the Hotel Palace, relented to the persuasions of the office-bearers of the foundation that there was no intention to breach the peace. The Additional District Collector, Alwar district, Mr Virender Singh Banqawal, along with security personnel accompanied the motorcade of Dr Chohan to Hotel Palace. The office-bearers of the Samraat Prithviraj Chauhan Foundation and Dr Chohan came here to register their protest against the conversion of the fort and the palace of the descendants of the King Prithviraj Chauhan to a hotel. Dr Chohan and others were stumped when they were told by district administration officials that there was no temple in the hotel premises. Hence, the question of a deity did not arise. The office-bearers of the foundation replied that they had documentary evidence to prove them wrong. The district authorities and the police evaded a direct answer to Dr Chohan as to why FIR was not registered on the complaint with regard to the missing statute. He said it was a national shame and the most reprehensible act” to misuse the building related to the last King of Bharat, Prithviraj Chauhan which should be a national heritage. Later talking to newmen, he said he would take up the issue with the Prime Minister, for converting the hotel into a national museum. He said the Foundation would also move the court. Simultaneously the ongoing campaign will be intensified. He declared that he would be a part of the agitation. He criticised the Congress for not giving importance to the history of the country and its heritage. It only cared to set up institutes in memory of Indira Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi. Earlier at Rewari in Haryana, he garlanded the statute of Rao Tula Rao, the 1857 hero of Ahirwal belt in Haryana. He also laid wreath on the Rajangla War Memorial. Majority of those who lost lives were from the Ahirwal belt. The Rewari Ex-Servicemen Association president, Col Ranbir Sing welcome Dr Chohan on the occasion. The president of the Prithviraj
Foundation, Mr Vikram Singh and the national general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Chhatriya Mahasabha, Kanwar Bajranj Singh Tanwar accompanied Dr Chohan on the occasion. |
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Left politicising education: BJP New Delhi, August 30 “There is no substance in the Left parties voicing saffronisation of education,” BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra told newspersons here. The senior BJP leader said by calling a meeting of non-NDA chief ministers to discuss the issue, they were trying to “politicise the education”. Accusing the Left of always giving a wrong interpretation to history and political science, Mr Malhotra said the Congress which had opposed the Leftist interpretation of these subjects, was “now joining forces with these groups which are attempting to de-Indianise the country”. Stating that there had been no change in the history textbooks, the BJP spokesman said the Left parties and Congress were “merely criticising for the sake of doing so”. He said Indian universities were autonomous and could decide on syllabus for subjects like history and political science. Mr Malhotra said the government was ready to accept suggestions on various subjects. No changes had been made in the syllabus, he added. |
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Hit for early elections to
DSGMC New Delhi, August 30 The term of the present DSGMC has expired more than a year ago and elections have not taken place. Mr Hit said we have asked the government to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years bringing in parity with the voting rights for the Lok Sabha and state Assembly. He said they had demanded that employees of gurdwara committees should be debarred from contesting the DSGMC poll. “Though the Delhi Gurdwara Act, 1971, has clearly laid down rules debarring the employees from contesting the DSGMC poll, it has not been strictly followed,” he said and urged the government to implement the Act in letter and spirit. |
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IT raids on Vandana Luthra’s slimming centres New Delhi, August 30 The sleuths of the Income Tax Department swooped on the premises of Vandana Luthra slimming centres and residential premises of its owners, IT sources said here. The sources said the searches were on at 16 places in the Capital.
PTI |
HARDWAR BACHAO SAMITI CALLS OFF STIR BIHAR TRANSPORTERS ON STRIKE BOMB BLAST ACCUSED CONVICTED ULTRAS SHOT DEAD 3 PERSONS GUJARATI NOVELIST MANUBHAI DEAD MOSQUE SACRILEGE CASE: 8 MORE HELD AGITATING LAWYERS STOP TAJ EXPRESS |
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