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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Shivratri celebrations to be lacklustre in Ayodhya Ayodhya beyond court: Sena MP
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CM’s brother reasoned with arsonists: victim Thai Rajguru keen on Vedic education Adopt ‘polluter must pay’ norm: lawyer 4 airports to be leased out DRDO preparing ‘Karna’ tank Harinder’s decision due to personal reasons Education level in Punjab ‘poor’ Mulayam faces Dy Speaker’s ire Manu remanded in judicial custody
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Shivratri celebrations to be lacklustre in Ayodhya Ayodhya, March 11 The Nageshwar Nath Temple, which is abuzz with activity every year with hundreds and thousands of devotees thronging it from all over the country, especially from the neighbouring district of Faizabad a week before Shivratri, wears a desolate look on the eve of Shivratri. “Every year more than 50,000 devotees visit the temple for offering special prayers but this time thanks to the heavy security bandobast I believe only local people will be able to participate that too in small numbers,” a visibly upset chief of Nageshwar Nath Temple Sabapati Tiwari told Tribune News Service. Mr Tiwari said the Trust with great difficulty had managed to get the permission of the local administration for performing 52 hours of puja and taking out a procession of Lord Shiva in Ayodhya, which is part of the rich tradition and culture being followed since 1922. After repeated requests, the administration had granted permission for the procession with the condition that only local people not exceeding 100-150 would be allowed under tight security arrangements, Mr Tiwari said, adding it seemed this time there would be more policemen than devotees. “I was worried that this time we won’t be able to celebrate Shivratri at all but thanks to the Almighty, we have got permission though at the last minute,” he explained. When contacted, Inspector General of PAC Harbhajan Singh, who is supervising the security arrangements at the Nageshwar Nath Temple justified the restrictions saying Ram sevaks could try to enter Ayodhya by impersonating as pilgrims visiting the temple. Moreover, there are intelligence inputs about a possible terrorist attack during the festivity here, Mr Singh warned and said all precautionary measures had been taken to ensure an incident-free
Shivratri. |
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Ayodhya beyond court: Sena MP New Delhi, March 11 Charging the Opposition for not condemning the Godhra incident, he said that the court cannot decide whether Lord Rama was born in Ayodhya or not. “It is the parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and the Left who raised hue and cry over Ayodhya just to please their Muslim vote bank,’’ he said. Amidst protests from the members of the Left and the Congress, he questioned how a member of the Samajwadi Party could suggest a second division of the country without anybody raising any objection in the House. “Is it a crime to perform puja? Is it a crime to dream of a Ram mandir?’’, he asked. |
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Mann released New Delhi, March 11 Additional District Magistrate Usharaman Tripathi said that Mr Mann was arrested at the UP-Delhi border yesterday for violating prohibitory orders in force in Ghaziabad and that he had been released along with his supporters. “I never shared the views of the VHP on temple construction. My intention is to give a lesson of peace and unity in the country,” Mr Mann said soon after his release from the jail.
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CM’s brother reasoned with arsonists: victim Ahmedabad, March 11 The businessman, belonging to the Laghumati community, whose five city-based hotels were either burnt or ransacked badly during the VHP-sponsored bandh on February 28, said, “Prahlad is good and a different type of a man. He cautioned arsonists against doing anything silly in the village”. The hotelier claimed that he had known Modis for years and also studied together with Narendra from class V to XI at Vatnagar village school. He said he felt hurt because his hotels were targeted adding, “You will be surprised that out of 160 hotels burnt or damaged in the city, none of them served non-vegetation stuff”. The carnage has hit the minority community businessmen as well as several majority community people. “Afterall, our raw materials from paneer to table cloth used to come from them,” he said. Meanwhile, another trader of a minority community claimed that arsonists allegedly used shopkeepers’ licence and other papers from the authorities to destroy economic installations of the minority members. The licence and other papers were used “in connivance” with the police and people concerned to target the minority community, he alleged. All my five hotels, including ‘ranbasera’ meant for poor people, were attacked, while three other hotels in that area were untouched”, said a hotelier. “It was all aimed at our economic foundation,” he said. Earlier, similar questions were raised about the misuse of voters’ list for targeting the community members since February 28, as the frenzied mob went around like predators, attacking the minority community members, cutting across all social stratas.
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Thai Rajguru keen on Vedic education New Delhi, March 11 Giving a new dimension to New Delhi’s look East Policy, “culturally contiguous landmasses” like the South-East Asian countries and the Far East have come in for special attention on account of the sizeable population of the Indian diaspora there. The latest in a series of high-profile visits undertaken to India is that of Var Rajaguru Vamadeva Muni, the royal court chief brahmin of the King of Thailand Bhumibal Atulyatej. This comes in the wake of similar interactions of Union Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi with the delegation from Bhutan (for the setting up of institutions for Sanskrit and
Vedic studies), Japan and certain other South East Asian nations. Sharing the purpose of his visit with The Tribune, the Rajaguru says he in his meetings with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee discussed the setting up of an Indological Research Centre on the outskirts of Bangkok for which the Thai government had earmarked 2.5 acre of land. According to Dr Amarjeeva Lochan of the University of Delhi, who is accompanying the Rajaguru during his stay here, the Rajguru will also meet the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Jayendra Saraswati “to zero in on a suitable place in India to send children of Thai Brahmins for studying the
Vedic scriptures.” Giving an “apolitical” perspective to the “dissemination of what India has to offer the world,” Dr L M Singhvi, chairman of the high level Committee on the Indian diaspora, says an exercise of this nature had its applications in fields like as diplomacy and culture. The setting up of institutions of
Vedic learning at home and abroad and offering Sanskrit studies to foreign scholars are not for academic purposes only. “It evokes an interest towards the Indian sub-continent,” he notes. The Prime Minister’s visits to ancient Hindu sites during his visit to Indonesia last year and his meeting now with the Thai guest, they say, are a part of a series of steps initiated by the Centre to familiarise the world with the virtues of ancient Indian heritage. |
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Adopt ‘polluter must pay’ norm: lawyer New Delhi, March 11 Inaugurating the workshop, Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice S Rajendra Babu said the constitutional and statutory provisions protect a person’s right to fresh air, clean water and pollution free environment which were a part of the basic jurisprudence of law. On the question of HIV/AIDS, Justice Rajendra Babu said that if monogamy was observed, the problem of AIDS could be resolved. Mr S. Kumar, Supreme Court advocate and President, Society for Civic Rights said the “polluter must pay” principle which emerged in the Rio declaration ought to be strictly enforced in the country for preventing environmental degradation. Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, suggested a change in law on the pattern of the Disabilities Act, 1990, of the USA to provide better care and treatment of HIV/AIDS victims. Eminent judges of the Supreme Court and high court drew attention to the polluter pay principle. |
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4 airports to be leased out New Delhi, March 11 “We will hold road shows in New Delhi and London next month to attract bidders for leasing of airports in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai,” Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain told newspersons here. Global management consultants, the KPMG is in the process of finalising the details for the roadshows. The KPMG has been appointed as consultants for leasing of the airports. Road show in London will be held on April 18 while that in New Delhi will be held a week before that. On the timings of inviting the bids, the minister said that was being worked out but said the entire process will be over by 2002-03. He said private sector participation in greenfield airport projects would be encouraged through a package of concessions which would specially benefit airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore. The minister also said the government would shortly formulate new safety guidelines and operational procedures for small aircraft and helicopters. “A separate wing has been constituted in the DGCA to look into the affairs of small planes and helicopters. We are reviewing the safety norms for these and a decision will be taken very soon,” he said adding. “We have invited comments on the safety and operations of single and double engine helicopters. Besides, present norms are being compared with the international best practices,” he said. |
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DRDO preparing ‘Karna’ tank New Delhi, March 11 The DRDO has already prepared the prototype of “Karna” and is presently conducting field tests, well-placed sources said today. It would be some time before “Karna” is made available for Army trials. “Karna”, sources claimed, would be at par with internationally leading tanks like Abrams of the USA, Leopard (Germany), Challenger (UK) and Leclerc (France). If the “Karna” project is completed at an early date, it would be good news for the Army which badly requires new generation, indigenously-made tanks. “Arjun” was a resounding failure and was rejected a decade ago by the then Army chief Gen V.N. Sharma on grounds of technical deficiencies. Though the Army had recently placed an order for 120 “Arjun” tanks, it was unlikely to place a new order for “Arjun”, sources said. |
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Harinder’s decision due to personal reasons Kochi, March 11 The Vice-Admiral, who is to retire this year-end, had sought early retirement purely due to personal reasons, the sources said. The C-in-C’s son, who was abroad, was graduating and he wanted to attend the ceremony and stay on for a few months, they said. Sources denied press reports that the Vice-Admiral had sought premature retirement as he had been overlooked for the post of Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS).
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Education level in Punjab ‘poor’ New Delhi, March 11 Speaking at a function organised by Guru Gobind Singh College of Delhi University, Mr Gujral said that Punjab had failed to keep pace with changes in the educational system and update its institutions in accordance with modern trends. Recalling that during his tenure as Prime Minister he had told Akali leaders Parkash Singh Badal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra to improve literacy levels in the state, Mr Gujral lamented that despite the appeal not much was achieved. “I told them that I accept all your demands, but you will have to promise me that within five years you will raise Punjab’s literacy-level,” he said adding that developing the intellect was more important than buildings and facilities. |
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Mulayam faces Dy Speaker’s ire New Delhi, Mar 11 “Mend your ways. You are a senior member,” said a visibly annoyed Mr Sayeed as his repeated requests to Mr Yadav to resume his seat went unheeded. Mr Yadav retorted by asking that since there was no Assembly in Uttar Pradesh where else could he raise the issue of what was happening in Ayodhya. Mr Yadav refused to relent despite being admonished by the chair and continued to exchange words across the floor with BJP member from Ayodhya, Vinay Katiyar. |
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Manu remanded in judicial custody New Delhi, March 11 Manu, whose interim bail of six weeks expired today surrendered before Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, who remanded him to judicial custody till March 14, the next date of hearing in the case. The accused was released from the jail on January 28 following a Delhi High Court order after remaining incarcerated for over two-and-half years in judicial custody. The high court had granted interim bail to the accused on the ground that prosecution had failed to complete trial proceedings in the lower court within four months as directed by it on September 3 last year. Manu has moved a regular bail application before the High Court which will be heard on March 15. The prosecution had alleged that Manu, son of former Union Minister Vinod Sharma, had shot dead Jessica Lal on intervening night of April 29-30, 1999, at a south Delhi restaurant, owned by NRI socialite Bina
Ramani, where she had hosted a farewell party for her Canadian husband. George Malihot.
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