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Saturday,
February 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Vajpayee seeks minorities’ help Exit poll unreliable, says Congress
Fatehpur poll may spring surprises |
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Lucknow, February 15 Senior Congress leader and MP Karan Singh today claimed that his party would form the next government in Uttaranchal. ‘Shotgun’ compares stars with pigeons Ajit lashes out at Mulayam PM functions on US advice: CPM Temple: BJP, VHP have divergent views 175 girls fall ill after taking iron tablets 18 nations to take part in Defexpo SSB’s withdrawal from NE resented Karzai to visit India Paul new Aviation Secy
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Vajpayee seeks minorities’ help Kanpur, February 15 If BJP MLAs win in Uttar Pradesh they will strengthen my hands at the Centre and would increase my enthusiasm. I will be able to take on the world and give a befitting reply if anyone attacks,” Mr Vajpayee said while addressing an election rally here at the Phulbagh grounds. Realising the need to garner the support of the minority community to clinch a decisive win in the six assembly constituencies here, the Prime Minister without naming any party said,” “Other parties treat you (minorities) as mere vote bank, but I want to tell Muslim brothers that we (BJP) see you as human beings and as sons of India.” The BJP here is worried about the erosion of Brahmin votes due to the emergence of the Congress and in this caste-ridden politics they will need a little support from the minority community on some of the seats to register a win Accusing the opposition parties of trying to create a situation of polarisation on the grounds of caste and communal lines, Mr Vajpayee urged the voters to rise above these lines and ensure that an “able and stable government is formed in the state.” On the
madarsa issue, he said, “If any activity, which is inimical to the security of the nation, takes place there (madarsas) then no government can ignore” To justify his government’s stand on the issue, the Prime Minister said even the West Bengal Chief Minister had expressed his concern on the issue although he was under tremendous pressure from his own party. He also emphasised on the need to modernise
madarsas. Criticising the opposition parties stand that terrorism should not be made an election issue, the Prime Minister said “Terrorism must be crushed... Only when there is peace and security, economic development can take place.” “National security could be ensured only when the government at the Centre and state is committed to root out terrorism, instill confidence among the people, infuse enthusiasm among the youths,” he said. Dwelling on the local developmental and economic issues, the Prime Minister said the Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie, who is a Rajya Sabha member has given his entire MP development fund of Rs 12 crore for the development of IIT, Kanpur. “Jab hum Dilli mein rahkar aapka dhyan rakhte hain, Kanpurwaloan ko bhi hamara dhyan rakhna chahiye (When we sitting at Delhi take care of people of Kanpur, you should also take care of us,”) Mr Vajpayee said, obviously asking the people to vote for the party in the Assembly poll slated here on February 18. While he devoted considerable time of his speech on the need for overall growth of the country’s economy and some of the achievements made by the BJP-led government at the Centre in giving increased return for farmer’s produce and agricultural development, Mr Vajpayee did not make any reference to the issue of revival of the five defunct mills of National Textile Corporation, about which he had promised during his whirlwind tour here before the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. |
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Exit poll unreliable, says Congress New Delhi, February 15 The party, however, maintained it would get a two-third majority in Punjab, clear majority in Uttaranchal and heading towards more than half-way mark in Manipur, besides emerging as a “reckonable” factor to play a decisive role in Uttar Pradesh. “There were many exit poll. Inevitably, there was a considerable divergence between the results produced by different poll agencies. We are also saying about inexactitude of the science of psephology in the Indian social context. It is as unreliable as the astrology of Union Minister M.M. Joshi”, party spokesman S. Jaipal Reddy told reporters. Asked whether it was proper for the Election Commission to allow the exit poll till the Assembly elections in all four states were over, he said exit poll were not permitted in the West till the entire exercise was over and “we should emulate that practice”. To a query, whether it would make a protest with the EC on the issue, he said the commission was a constitutional authority and “we don’t launch daily complaints about its action or inaction”. Asked if he was also dissatisfied with the exit poll predictions
about Punjab, which had shown that the party was getting a comfortable majority, he said the party’s own reports indicated that it would get a two-third majority in the state.
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A Lucknow Sikh’s poll analysis Lucknow, February 15 Harcharan Singh, whose taxi I hired for driving me through the city, turned out to be a voluble young man. I tried speaking in Punjabi to impress him. But his Punjabi was only a shade better than mine. He would not stand a ghost of a chance in the backwaters of Phagwara. Young Harcharan’s grandfather had migrated from Lahore. After a bit of wandering they made Alambagh, on the outskirts of Lucknow, their home. But the Little Punjab, that Alambagh is known as, has not been able to protect the younger generation’s Punjabi diction. They speak with such a pronounced Lakhnavi accent that I began to wonder whether I need to relearn the Avadhi way of speaking from them. Before getting into the taxi I decided to talk to the Sikh taxi drivers to find out how they would vote in the assembly elections. A stupid question. Not even a dumb voter would like to make a public announcement about his voting preference because the entire political system seems to have been taken over by criminal elements. People are known to have been bumped of by political rivals on the mere suspicion of being from the enemy’s camp. During our journey to my place of residence, Harcharan Singh in a manner of speaking made up for the reticence of his colleagues. He was refreshing and very clear about the options available to the Uttar Pradesh voters. He would put so many of our respected column writers to shame with the ease with which he ran through the gamut of choices that could be explored for giving UP a stable government. In a matter-of-fact tone he said that current indications showed the Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav in the lead. He traced the emergence of caste as the most important factor in electoral politics to the period when Mr V.P. Singh as Prime Minister implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations. How did he remember the Mandal Commission?. His friends were involved in the anti-Mandal agitations that had broken out in most parts of the country in 1989. According to Harcharan option number two was to somehow help the Bharatiya Janata Party stay in power. No he was not a BJP
sympathiser. His pro-BJP preference was based on the assumption that today’s politicians were mostly corrupt. Their only concern was to make money that would last them seven generations. Since the BJP had been in power for five years “unkey pait bharein huai hain”. Indeed, they would be less greedy than those who would get a chance to wield political power after a long gap of five years. Then he moved on to the Congress. “Dekhiye janab”, he said in chaste Urdu, “Congress bahut purani party
hai. Political party mein bhi khaandaaniyat dekhni chahiye, jo Congress mein aaj bhi
hai. Punjab nay lagta hai is ko 1984 kay danggon kay liye muaaf kar
diya. Agar exit poll sahi hain”. He said in UP the Muslims are more angry than any other group or community with the Congress after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. “magar aisey ghussay kaa kya faida jissey dushman ki maddad ho?” Is it possible to punch holes in this line of
arugment? To conclude his argument in favour of the Congress Harcharan Singh said with an amazing air of confidence, “inko agar is baar sanjhaa sarkar bananney ka mauqa mil jaai to yeh agli baar complete majority lay kar aiyen gay”. He was of the view that the Congress would try to rebuild itself as it had done in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka rather than repeat the mistakes that reduced its credibility in UP. Just when I thought he had run out of options to discuss, he brought up the subject of the eunuch candidates were receiving. The large turn out at Shabnam Mausi’s public rally had to be seen to be believed. The enthusiasm in his voice when he was discussing Shabnam
Mausi, perhaps, betrayed where his vote would go on February 21. |
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Fatehpur poll may spring surprises Fatehpur, February 15 Fatehpur is known for providing surprises. The political fate of an MLA from here, who went on to become a minister in the state government, was sealed by the electorate in the next election. And a majority of them could not become legislators again. In Fatehpur Sadar, BJP sitting MLA and Law Minister in the Rajnath Singh Government Radhe Shyam Gupta is facing a serious challenge to his political future. He is locked in a three-cornered contest with BSP’s Anand Lodhi and Samajwadi Party candidate Rafi Ahmad Khan making things difficult for him. An independent candidate Mr Ramakant Bajpai, Rashtriya Kranti Party challenger Sudhakar Awasthi and Congress candidate Vimal Jaihind are no pushovers as their caste
affiliations and rapport with the electorate are strong factors which are bound to influence the electorate’s choice. BSP’s challenger Anand Lodhi, who had contested the last Lok Sabha poll from Rae Bareilly, is strong as even in 1996 the party had secured the second spot. But Mr Gupta, who apart from being the Law Minister is also one of the richest individuals in the state, is leaving no stone unturned. Since he has been financing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities in the state, the RSS and the party cadres are working hard to demolish the jinx this time. Not only this, the Bahujan Samaj Party, which had won five seats in 1996, is also facing an uphill task as every party has sought to play the caste card and its success or failure would depend on what caste a particular candidate belongs to. In Khaga — a seat won by the BSP in 1996, BJP candidate Munna Lal Maurya, who had won this seat on the BSP symbol and went on to become the Minister of Food and Civil supplies in the BJP-led government by deserting his own party, is facing a tough contest from an independent candidate Ranvendra Pratap Singh, whose alleged criminal background is an issue which would have a decisive influence on the outcome of the result. Similarly, SP candidate Veer Abhimanyu alias Bees Yadav is also known for his muscle power and is trying to mobilise Muslim voters in his favour. But Congress and BSP candidates Wasim Ansari and Safir Ahmed, respectively, can also divide the Muslim votes. |
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Karan Singh
predicts Cong victory in Uttaranchal Lucknow, February 15 “The Congress will give a tough fight to the BJP and is likely to form the next government in the hill state,” the congress leader told reporters here. Refusing to comment on the party’s prospects in Uttar Pradesh, Dr Karan Singh said, “I have just landed and it is difficult for me to comment on the Congress’ prospects in the state”. The Congress leader, who had lost the last Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, said security should not be made a political issue. “People opposing POTO are not necessarily supporting terrorism.” Terming as unfortunate the Prime Minister’s reference to Congress President Sonia Gandhi as “a foreigner”, he said the issue should not have been raised after the Supreme Court had set the controversy to rest. Dr Karan Singh was in the state capital to campaign for party candidates.
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‘Shotgun’ compares stars with pigeons Agra, February 15 The “Bihari babu” in his inimitable style regaled a well-attended rally in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh last evening and rendered several couplets to the delight of the assembled crowd. “These stars are like pigeons pulled out of their holes for campaigning for political parties only to be kept back after the completion of elections,” he said. Seeking to defend his present poll campaign for the BJP, he said he had joined the BJP when it was in the opposition itself. The ebullient star was not sparing in his attack on Amitabh Bachchan, who had the image of an angry young man like in their films.
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Ajit lashes out at Mulayam Agra, February 15 Addressing a public meeting at Kiroli town near here yesterday, Mr Ajit Singh alleged Mr Mulayam Singh had shunned the ideology of the Ram Manohar Lohia and now his ideals were Mr Amar Singh and Amitabh Bachchan. He said: “If Mayawati becomes CM, she would again start land grabbing”.
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PM functions on US advice: CPM Kannur, February 15 Opening a four-day state conference of the party here, he said the Vajpayee government did not take any step towards improving the economy, “left in ruins by the Congress.” “On the other hand, it is speeding up implementation of its anti-people policies,” Mr Surjeet noted. On the foreign front, the NDA government maintained a “poor policy” of going by the US dictates, which if continued, would lead to a total sell-out of the nation, he warned. Mr Surjeet claimed that the people’s attitude towards the BJP rule was that of contempt, which would reflect in the results of the ongoing Assembly elections in some states. He alleged that the Vajpayee government was trying to “saffronise” all sectors, including education. He came down heavily on those raking up the Ayodhya issue, noting that it would only hurt the sentiments of the people. Lashing out at the Prime Minister for reinducting Mr George Fernandes as Defence Minister, he said the Samata Party leader should have been kept out till the probe into the Tehelka episode was over.
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Temple: BJP, VHP have divergent views Kolkata, February 15 Swami Giriraj charged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, of ignoring the genuine demand and religious sentiments of the Hindus by unnecessarily opposing the construction of the temple. But Mr Naidu lashed out at the VHP’s decision to start the construction of the temple from March 15, which had neither the approval of the Supreme Court nor that of the NDA government. Mr Naidu said the BJP was not against the construction of the temple but was for an amicable solution to the dispute. He asked the VHP to have some more patience to get the dispute settled. Swami Giriraj, however, reiterated the VHP’s decision to go ahead with the construction programme. He warned that if necessary they would force the BJP-led government to step down to enable the smooth construction of the temple. He said they had waited for long without achieving anything and would not wait any further just to please the Vajpayee government. Both of them met newspersons separately and expressed their respective stands on the issue. Swami Giriraj said thousands of VHP workers would soon start marching towards Ayodhya for taking part in the construction. |
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175 girls fall ill after taking iron tablets Coimbatore, February 15 The police said the PHC doctors distributed the tablets to students studying at government schools in Thirumurthy Nagar, Mampatti and Shivasakthi colonies in the Udumalpet areas, besides the Panchayath Union School at Nerupacchal, near Tirupur.
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18 nations to take part in Defexpo New Delhi, February 15 The exhibition, to be organised at the Pragati Maidan, is the second being hosted by India. It will be inaugurated by Defence Minister George Fernandes. The second Land and Naval System exhibition, as it is known, will be the largest to be hosted by India. But unlike the first one, in which the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had played a vital role, the second edition, spread over five days will see the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) playing the lead role. The CII has been entrusted with the responsibility of organising the event in association with the Department of Defence Production and Supplies. With the government opening up the defence production sector for private entrepreneurs, the exhibition will provide the Indian manufacturers a big opportunity to display their goods and also possibly to strike agreements with the foreign participants. Besides the 18 countries which are participating, over 40 countries have been given the invitation to send their defence delegations to the exhibition. As per reports, already over 140 exhibitors from abroad have confirmed their participation in the Defexpo. Over 160 exhibitors from India would also be displaying their goods in it. In order to give an opportunity to the participants to interact with the business visitors, the first three days of the show have been earmarked as ‘trade days’. The exhibition would be open for general public on February 22 and 23. In conjunction with the Defexpo, the CII will also be organising “Defence Industry Summit” at the Pragati Maidan on February 21 and 22. |
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SSB’s withdrawal from NE resented Tezpur, February 15 Apprehending that the militant activities in the region might gather momentum owing to lack of intelligence network after the SSB was shifted, the decision has irked the people of the region. Also the SSB officials were peeved at the decision. A senior SSB official said the Subrahmanyam Committee in its report after the Kargil war had suggested “one border one force” formula and thereafter the Centre had decided to relocate the SSB along the Indo-Nepal border, especially following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines from Kathmandu on December 22, 1999. The Himalayan border at present has become a hotbed of anti-national activities backed by the Pakistan-based ISI. The withdrawal of SSB will further aggravate the unemployment scenario as the SSB, apart from spreading nationalism, also used to recruit local youths for its battalions, sources said. “With the shifting of the SSB, employment generation opportunities from the region will be lost,” they said. Besides, various development schemes undertaken by the SSB for civilians would also be lost. “Further, the North East directly or indirectly will lose Rs 100 crore annually as the employees’ salary of all four divisions of the SSB with their headquarters at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Imphal in Manipur, Tezpur in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya and its 10 battalion staff will leave the north eastern region,” they said.
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Karzai to visit India New Delhi, February 15 “We look forward to Mr Karzai’s to visit India,” an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told newspersons here. However, no date has been fixed for his proposed visit. Mr Karzai paid a day-long visit to Islamabad last week to develop rapport with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and seek his help in restoring peace and security in Afghanistan.
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Paul new Aviation Secy New Delhi, February 15 In another reshuffle Ms Malti S. Sinha, Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been shifted as Secretary, Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy. While Mr Paul is a Bihar cadre IAS officer of the 1967 batch, Ms Sinha also belongs to the Bihar cadre from 1966 batch. Ms Sinha will be succeeded as Secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by Mr Ashok K. Gupta, a 1967 West Bengal cadre IAS officer, as far the decisions taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Mr K.C. Misra, a 1967 batch IAS officer from Andhra Pradesh cadre, will take over as Environment and Forests Special Secretary from Mr Paul. |
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US Embassy to remain closed on February 18 New Delhi, February 15 Consular (Visa) Services
will also remain closed on Monday. The Embassy will open for business again at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 19. |
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Cheque presented to DG of BSF New Delhi, February 15 The amount represents donation from the council towards education and welfare programmes for the children of BSF personnel. |
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