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Sunday,
February 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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CBI drive
to unearth black money CPM’s counter-move on temple
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Govt committed to social security: PM Centre proposes, Bihar disposes
Dal Khalsa
writes to Advani BJP
leaders meet on govt formation in UP Maoist leader confesses to China-Pak aid Cinema
drawing best talent: Naipaul TV serial draws flak for showing sex test Chhota Rajan man killed in encounter ‘Sanyas’ after 50, says Uma Decision
to amend Act flayed Dora is
new CISF chief
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CBI drive to unearth black money New Delhi, February 23 The drive conducted under a team of joint directors of the agency, has reportedly been able to unearth black money amounting to lakhs of rupees, CBI sources said here today. The sources said the searches had been planned and executed only after prima facie evidence that the officials had entered into criminal conspiracy and indulged in corrupt practices. They said about 500 sleuths of various wings of the country’s premier investigating agency began search operations early yesterday as part of the special drive and among the officials searched was an Income Tax Commissioner posted in Uttar Pradesh. According to a CBI spokesman, the search operations were launched against corrupt public servants, economic offenders and others, during which 36 cases involving 112 persons including government servants, were taken up for investigation. He said simultaneous searches were carried out on 109 official and residential premises of accused or suspected persons. Cases taken up for investigation were of the Anti-corruption division, the economic offences Wing and the special crimes division. In these cases 21 accused/suspected persons belonged to the Union Bank of India, the Reserve Bank of India, Sikkim Bank, the United Bank of India and private firms located at Mumbai. These cases pertained to cheating, export fraud, abuse of powers and falsification of records resulting in wrongful loss to the banks and public institutions. The special crimes division registered nine cases in which around 30 persons were involved. Some of these cases had been registered on the directions of respective high courts or in pursuance of further investigation carried out in the fake arms licence case. The anti-corruption branches located at Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Gandhinagar, Lucknow, Bhopal and Chandigarh took up 22 cases for intensive investigation in which 38 persons were involved. Searches were carried out at 78 places. The suspected officers belong to the CPWD, DDA, Delhi Vidyut Board, Protectors of Immigrants, Port Trust, Income Tax Department, etc. Searches also involved officers of the level of Executive Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise, etc. |
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CPM’s counter-move on temple Kolkata, February 23 The call was given by the CPM General Secretary, Mr Harkishan Singh Surjeet, while inaugurating the party’s 20th all-India conference at Benoy Chowdhury Nagar in Kolkata yesterday. Some 530 delegates and 33 special invitees from different states were present at the inaugural meeting of the party’s four-day annual conference. Some 130 guests also graced the occasion. An octogenarian, Mr Jyoti Basu, a Politburo member, Mr Sitaram Yechuri, Mr Prakash Karat, Mr S.R. Pillai and 15 other Marxist national leaders attended the conference. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharyya, and the Tripura Chief Minister, Mr Manik Sarkar, were also present. Addressing the meeting, Mr Surjeet warned the Vajpayee government of dire consequences if it did not stop the VHP from going ahead with its plan on Ram Temple and announced that they, too, would organise a “stop temple-construction” move in Ayodhya from March 15 itself. He invited all Left parties and other secular forces to join hands with the CPM against the move. Mr Surjeet said the CPM was against all sorts of fundamentalist activities by Muslim fanatics and Hindu extremists, alleging that both were a threat to the country’s unity and integrity. “Our fight is against terror and fundamentalists, against poverty and hunger”, he said. Mr Surjeet said the time had come for all political parties, irrespective of political and ideological differences, to join hands and throw the “communal BJP” out of power in the country’s larger interests. He alleged that the BJP-led NDA government had failed on all fronts and had no moral right to be in power. Alleging that the Vajpayee government had joined hands with the Bush administration and other capitalist countries on the globalisation issue, Mr Prakash Karat said the BJP was selling out India to the USA and other multinationals. He warned the people against the BJP’s economic policy. Mr Anil Biswas, party secretary in West Bengal, who moved the draft political resolution, said attempts would be made to make the CPM more democratic and national in outlook. |
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Id celebrated
with fervour New Delhi, February 23 In the Capital, the main prayer was held at the historic Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid. Dressed in their colourful bests, devotees, including women and children, chanted verses from the holy Koran at congregations. In Uttar Pradesh, Muslims offered special prayers at the Aishbagh Idgah, Asifi mosque and other mosques besides offering traditional “quarbani” of goats and sheep. They also exchanged greetings with their Hindu brethren. Reports of Id celebrations have come from other parts of the country including, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Congress President Sonia Gandhi greeted the people on the occasion of Id. She wished peace and prosperity to the people of India.
PTI, UNI |
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Govt committed to social security: PM New Delhi, February 23 “The industrial scene has changed dramatically .... However, what has remained unchanged is the government’s commitment to ensure social security for workers.... I must emphasise that this commitment has continued even after the country adopted economic reforms. This commitment will continue in the future too,” Mr Vajpayee said while inaugurating a seminar on “Evolving a National Policy on Social Security” here today. The seminar was organised on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme. Favouring the need for a national policy on social security, the Prime Minister said the lack of a social security system for the unorganised sector and women in particular is not only their loss, but it is the loss of their employers and the nation, because their sickness and absenteeism has a direct effect on their productivity and financial bottomlines of their employers. Without offering a categorical solution, Mr Vajpayee presented some issues for debate such as healthcare side of social security, to bring about changes in its delivery mechanism by making
administration of healthcare infrastructure more accountable, decentralised, participative and cost-effective. Meanwhile, the Cabinet’s approval to the proposal permitting lay-off retrenchment and closure of industrial units came under strong criticism from the Opposition. Left parties accused the government of going in for “hire and fire” as part of labour reforms under pressure from the World Bank, IMF and captains of industry. The CPI Central Secretariat said in a statement that the decision to go ahead with the amendments was taken without waiting for the report of the National Labour Commission, “and it seems in spite of some ministers pleading for caution”. |
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Centre proposes, Bihar disposes Patna, February 23 The Union government has asked the Bihar government to drive around 1500 Pakistanis out of the Indian boundary who have either overstayed their visa stipulated time or are otherwise illegally staying in the state. The Director-General of Police (DGP), Mr R.R. Prasad, while accepting the receipt of such orders, said action against illegal Pakistani settlers had already started in the light of the central government orders. Mr Prasad said raids had been conducted in the past few days in the Danapur and Phulwarisharif areas to nab these illegal settlers. The state officials maintained that the central intelligence had apprehended that despite the deadline given to Pakistanis who had come to India on visa before the closure of ‘Samjhauta Express’ train between India and Pakistan, a large number of Pakistanis had overstayed. The state government has been asked to ‘clear them off’. Apart from the Pakistanis overstaying their visa period, a large number is hiding in the areas along the long and porous Indo-Nepal borders. Identifying the illegal Pakistani settlers here in the state would be a difficult task as in the past such a move has failed. Two years back, the SPs of the districts of the state were also to submit a list of such illegal settlers, but not a single report has been submitted so far. Not only that, earlier the central government had asked the state government to submit a list of Pakhtoons in the state in order to avoid confusion over the illegal Afghan settlers, many of whom were suspected to be involved in mercenary activities. This too could not be done. It is also said that the Union Government had wanted the list of registered and unregistered madrasas in the state so that their credentials could be checked. This too was reportedly not complied with. Political observers feel that owing to the compulsion of votebank politics in the state and general apathy of the administration towards hard steps, all Union Government and Parliamentary orders go down the drain in Bihar. |
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Dal Khalsa writes to Advani New Delhi, February 23 In a letter to Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, the party has described as “negative” the government’s decision of branding S Gajinder Singh as a terrorist. Referring to news reports, the party has said that a 21-year-old case of sedition has been made the basis to stake a claim for his extradition from Pakistan. The letter states, "While we are
actually aware that India does not provide the right environment for debate and dissent, we take this
opportunity to present the case of Gajinder Singh, which should be viewed in the right perspective." Expressing strong reservations about the Union Government’s viewpoint on Gajinder Singh, the party has stated that the decision to label him as a ‘terrorist’ is unjustified. “The decision is, of course, the reflection of the mindset that sees every dissident/rebel as a traitor. It is precisely this thinking that has alienated the Sikhs from the Indian state. He is not a killer or a criminal. He is a revolutionary poet; a rebel, who wanted to change the system.” The letter, also sent to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Punjab Government, says that party activists led by Gajinder Singh hijacked the Indian Airlines aircraft to Lahore in September 1981 to highlight the precarious status of the Sikh people. The letter has drawn attention to the fact that hijackers had no firearms and did not harm any passenger. |
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BJP leaders meet on
govt formation in UP New Delhi, February 23 The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s residence this morning, was attended, among others, by Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, BJP President Jana Krishnamurthy, former BJP President Kushabhau Thakre, BJP Uttar Pradesh unit President Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Rajnath Singh. After the meeting with Mr Vajpayee, Mr Rajnath Singh apparently hinted that the BJP was not averse to joining hands with Ms Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). “Nobody can be considered untouchable,” he said, asserting that the party would continue to explore the possibility of having its candidate as Chief Minister. Both Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Mishra maintained that the BJP and its allies would be able to form the government not giving credence to the predictions of the exit polls. With most exit polls placing the BJP only in the second spot after the Samajwadi Party, the leadership is said to have considered the option of allying with the BSP, which has been placed third. Another important factor that weighed in the minds of the BJP leadership was the impact that would be created if a non-BJP formation was able to form government in Uttar Pradesh. A section of the BJP, which includes Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani, feel that the party should sit in the Opposition if it is not in a position to form a government with the help of the allies. The other section in the party, including Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Mr Pramod Mahajan, feel that the party should do everything, including entering into a post-poll alliance with the BSP. Meanwhile, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Mishra have left for Lucknow. |
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Maoist leader confesses to China-Pak aid Patna, February 23 Kamleshwar Jha, district chief of the party, has reportedly told the police interrogating him that the Maoists in Nepal are being ‘aided by China and Pakistan’. However, whether he meant the help at the government level or by the ISI and Chinese insurgent groups could not be made clear. The police has already communicated the arrest of Kamleshwar to the Nepal authorities. Police sources said he was arrested on January 15 from Vikas Hotel in Sitamarhi district of Bihar. The police maintained that Jha was a Nepali and a key Maoist leader. However the most damaging part of the revelation of Jha was that he maintained that the Maoists are running the guerrilla training camps with the Chinese and Pakistani help and their activities were functioning under the banner of the Madheshi Mukti Morcha. The Madheshi is the name given to the Indians, mostly Biharis who have settled in Nepal for the past 50 years and are now hated by the local Nepalese. The Madheshis are fighting against the Nepal Government for their citizenship rights and are therefore disliked by the Nepalese administration and cops. |
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Cinema drawing best talent: Naipaul New Delhi, February 23 Responding to a question on the growing popularity of his books on the Muslim world by a panel, Mr Naipaul said that the subcontinental origin of the people of Pakistan was being denied to them. Speaking about India, he said there was a tendency to be “ashamed to accept defeat of the past.” Asked about his reference to India and England in his Nobel Prize-acceptance speech, Mr Naipaul said: “India fed me while England made me survive.” The tone of the discussion, held as part of the International Festival of Indian Literature, was set with panelists Farrukh Dhondy, Tarun Tejpaul and Mr David Pryce-Jones giving a brief account of the works of Mr Naipaul. The Nobel Laureate said the best talent in the 21st century was gravitating towards cinema as there was much more scope of originality in cinema. “You will need writers in changing societies like India but in the West, cinema is important,” he said. Earlier during the session on multi-culturalism, Mr Pico Iyer, a Japan-based writer, said Indians were born multi-culturists and the world was, in certain ways, trying to catch up with India. He said more and more people in the world were becoming multi-cultural. Noted Hindi writer Nirmal Verma said multi-culturalism in an individual was often awakened after he read accounts by foreigners which were close to his own reality. |
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TV serial draws flak for showing sex test Mumbai, February 23 The police said today that Dr Sheikh Iqbal, a health officer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), filed a complaint at a police station on February 21 against Star TV, director and producers of the serial for depicting the pre-natal sex-determination test, which is banned under existing
laws. PTI |
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Chhota Rajan man killed in encounter
Mumbai, February 23 Acting on a tip-off that Mohanlal Dhuliya will be arriving in the area to eliminate a businessman, who had refused to give in to the gang’s extortion demands, the police laid a trap in the vicinity yesterday, they said. On spotting Dhulia, who arrived in a car, the police ordered him to surrender. However, he opened fire at the police with his foreign-made pistol. The police immediately fired in self-defence, resulting in serious injuries to the gangster. Dhuliya, who was rushed to Rajawadi Hospital, was declared dead before admission, the police said.
PTI |
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‘Sanyas’ after 50, says Uma
Kota, February 23 In a lighter vein, the minister said: “Neta jab tak Bhagvan ke ghar nahin jate, tab tak retire nahin hote,” (leaders retire only once they are dead). Ms Bharti also quipped that only two types of people succeeded in politics, the “too clever” ones or those having a “fakirana” (pauper’s) attitude.
UNI |
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Decision
to amend Act flayed New Delhi, February 23 In a statement, the CPM Politburo said " if this proposal is approved by Parliament, it would grant blanket right to hire and fire to industrial establishments employing 85 per cent of the organised workers in India". |
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Dora is new CISF chief New Delhi, February 23 Born on October 4, 1943, Mr H J Dora hails from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. After the completion of his postgraduation, Mr Dora joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1965 and was allotted the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Before joining the CISF, Mr Dora was holding the charge of Director-General of the Andhra Pradesh police. He held the post for more than five years. |
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In
video
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New Delhi, February 23
