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Saturday,
March 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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SC modifies order on NCERT books Reconsider resolution, NCM urges RSS NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT RS poll: boost to criminalisation RS bids farewell to members |
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400 NCC officers join Army efforts Superfast trains for Holi rush US envoy on
Afghanistan meets Jaswant Parliament passes Budget
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SC modifies order on NCERT books New Delhi, March 22 Modifying its March 1 order putting a blanket ban on introduction of the new National Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education (NCFSE), a Bench comprising Chief Justice S.P. Bharucha, Justice S.N. Phukan and Justice S.V. Patil accepted the plea of Solicitor-General Harish Salve that NCERT be permitted to publish books on non-controversial subjects. The court, acting on a PIL filed by Aruna Roy and some others, had stayed the implementation of the controversial National Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education (NCFSE) termed by many educationists as an attempt to saffronise school syllabi. Appearing for the Centre, Mr Salve submitted that students would be placed in a disadvantageous position if the new curriculum was not allowed to be implemented. He said though the Centre did not agree with the allegations made in the petition, it would request the court to allow publication of books on those subjects like physics, mathematics and science which were not in the centre of the controversy. The modification of the March 1 order came on two applications filed by the Centre and the NCERT seeking vacation of the stay while denying allegations by petitioners that there was an attempt to ‘saffronise’ the syllabi. The Bench, after modifying the order, fixed April 12 for further hearing on the matter.
PTI |
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Reconsider resolution, NCM urges RSS New Delhi, March 22 Taking
cognisance of news reports on the proposed ‘asthi yatra’, the NCM Vice-Chairman, Mr Tarlochan Singh, shot a letter to the VHP asking its leaders to stop such activity. “You are well aware that after the sad happening in Godhra and later in other parts of the state, the atmosphere is charged. In spite of the best efforts of the state government, the killings have not yet stopped. Any action at this stage which further contributes’ to exciting the feelings of a particular community will definitely lead to escalation of tension among the people”, he said in his letter. In a letter to RSS leader K. Sudarshan, he said: “The resolution by RSS has created a stir and we have been approached by many organisations to request you to reconsider its wordings.” This will be in the larger interests of the country and the people if you suitably modify the resolution,” he said. |
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RSS resolution on minorities justified Bangalore, March 22 Talking to newspersons after the sixth round of meeting the RSS had with Christian leaders here, he said the resolution adopted at the general council meeting held at Chennanahalli on the outskirts of the city, only reiterated what other leaders, including former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had stated earlier. Speaking in defence of the resolution, he claimed that in 1949, Sardar Patel had stated that protection of minorities depended on the goodwill of the majority.
UNI |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, March 22 There is no interest outstanding as on March 31, 2001, the Minister said. In 1998-99 the principal amount stood at Rs 1244.62 crore while the interest amount stood at Rs 1500.46 crore. In 1999-2000 the principal was Rs 1094.75 crore and interest Rs 1687.89 crore while in 2000-01 the principal amount was Rs 594.88 crore and interest was Rs 1176.10 crore, the Minister told the House while replying to a question of Simranjit Singh Mann. In replying to a separate question, the Minister said that the Planning Commission had allocated Rs 102.43 crore so far for the
renovation of Dal Lake. According to the Planning Commission, no utilisation certificates have been received so far. The Jammu and Kashmir Government has reported that so far 17 officers have been placed under arrest after investigations by the State Vigilance Organisation. To the extent that funds released by the Centre get diverted, recoveries are effected from the state according to Planning Commission instructions, the Minister told the House. Member of Parliament from Chandigarh Pawan Kumar Bansal has called for the introduction of a direct train link from Chandigarh to the south by extending any one train from Delhi to Chandigarh since the terminal facilities now exist there. The city also needs to be connected direct to Mount Abu as large number of pilgrims from the region visit that place. Making submissions in the discussion of the Railway Budget for 2002-03 late last night, Mr Bansal said that a new platform had been built at Chandigarh on the Panchkula-Mauli Jagran side but it lacked essential facilities. Of these, absence of a covered scooter and cycle stand for commuters was acutely felt. “It is a small matter which needs to attended immediately”, he contended. One important project announced for Northern Railways some time back was the Pathankot-Udhampur line but it seemed to have been forgotten said Mr Bansal. By its size and importance, Punjab needed due attention by Railways. Moga to Maur via Badhni also needed to be brought on the Railway map, he added. |
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RS poll: boost to criminalisation Political life in New Delhi continues to be an exercise in conscious and unending double talk and unabashed hypocrisy. Every party and all top leaders bemoan ad nauseum the collapse of values and increasing criminalisation of politics. Yet, they do little to end it. On the other hand, they have no qualms of conscience in acquiescing in it and even encouraging honourable men to indulge in the crime, as reflected in the latest biennial poll for the Rajya Sabha. A fresh boost has been given to criminalisation by almost all national parties by throwing overboard the most basic qualification required for the membership of the Rajya Sabha, which is the council of states and neither India’s House of Lords nor the House of Elders. Any Indian citizen duly registered as a voter can stand for the Lok Sabha from any part of the country. But only, persons “ordinarily resident” of a state are entitled to contest the poll for the council of states. Not a few “outsiders” have been given party ticket for the latest poll in violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The basic requirement of “ordinarily resident” in a given state has been met by getting candidates to file false affidavits, a crime both under the Indian Penal Code and Section 31 of the 1950 Act. A scandalous case this time is that of the nomination of Mr Obaidullah Khan Azmi from Madhya Pradesh by the Congress, a party he joined only on or about January 3 last. Mr Azmi, reportedly a fundamentalist product of
madarsas in Azamgarh and one involved in “anti-national” controversies, was first elected to the Rajya Sabha from his home state of UP as a Janata Dal nominee in 1989. Thereafter, he got elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, courtesy Mr Laloo Yadav and his RJD. This time, he is among those elected unopposed from Madhya Pradesh. Interestingly, the BJP President, Mr Jana Krishnamurthi has been elected from Gujarat.
INFA |
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RS bids farewell to members New Delhi, March 22 As leaders of all political parties complimented the retiring members for making Parliamentary debate lively and raising the standards of it in the House, TDP member, actress-turned politician Jayaprada Nahata broke down publicly for the support she received from the members. Delivering her farewell speech in the Rajya Sabha, Jayapradha, the retiring member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), thanked all sections of the House for supporting her from time to time. An emotionally-charged Jayaprada was specially grateful to women members of the House, from whom, she said, she had learnt a lot. As Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other senior leaders heard her speech with rapt attention, the film star-turned politician said she would like to apologise to the members if she had ever hurt their feelings. He was joined by Mrs Sarla Maheshwari (CPM), Mr Satish Pradhan (SS), Mr Alladi Rajkumar (TDP), Mr Ramgopal Yadav (SP), and Mr B S Ramoowalia (UPG). Mr S.B. Chavan, Mr Sikander Bakht (BJP), Mr N.K.P. Salve (Congress), Mr Bangaru Laxman (BJP), Mr Adhik Shirodkar (SS), Mr K.K. Birla (Congress) and Ms Jayaprada Nahata (TDP), Mr Raja Ramanna (NOM), Mr N.K. Premachandran (RSP), Gandhi Azad (BSP), Mr Ramdas Agarwal (BJP), Mrs Saroj Dubey (RJD), Mr Gopalsinh Solanki (BJP), Mrs Niraikulathan (AIADMK), are among 74 members who are retiring from the upper house. |
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400 NCC officers join Army efforts New Delhi, March 22 “The continued troop build-up has caused a bit of a problem to the NCC. Several stations having more units than one are left without a single officer,” NCC Director-General Lt-Gen Bopanna said at the conclusion of the annual two-day meeting of the Deputy Directors General, NCC here. He said more than 400 officers who had been with NCC were sent out to the border where the troops were stationed more than three months back in the wake of the December 13 strike on Parliament. Addressing
DDSG in the presence of Minister of State for Defence U.V. Krishnamraju, General Bopanna said NCC had made fresh proposals including revival of an auxiliary cadet corps to cover a larger number of youths in the country besides making changes in the programmes to include weapons’ training for the cadets. The NCC cadets at present number a little less than 13 lakh of the total 40.2 million population of youth (age group 13-24). “It is very difficult for NCC to go beyond its present coverage. Something on the lines of auxiliary corps can be constituted while other organisations like National Service Scheme and Scouts and Guides need to be made more effective,” the NCC DG said. He said the recommendations have been made in the light of the directives of the Group of Ministers (GoM) to expand the coverage of youth. “Any further expansion of the NCC is not possible unless the government provides the infrastructure support.’’ General Bopanna said some weapons, microlight aircraft, powered gliders and wind surfing equipment were being acquired as part of the refinement of the training programmes. ‘’Certain subjects which have become obsolete in the present context have been scrapped.’’ The DG said scope of the NCC Youth Exchange Programme (YEP) was being expanded to include some more countries like Russia, Australia and some South East Asian nations. |
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Operation Taimur New Delhi, March 22 |
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Superfast trains for Holi rush New Delhi, March 22 The 403-D New Delhi-Jammu Tawi superfast special train will leave New Delhi station at 8.30 p.m. on March 23, 25 and 27 and reach Jammu Tawi at 6.10 a.m. the following day. On its return journey, 404-D Jammu Tawi-New Delhi superfast special will leave Jammu Tawi station on March 24, 26 and 28 at 8.30 p.m. and reach New Delhi at 6.40 a.m the next day. The trains have one AC two-tier, 10 sleeper class and four general second-class coaches and will stop at Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantonment and Chakki Bank stations. The 437 Allahabad-New Delhi superfast special train will leave Allahabad station at 10 p.m. on March 22, 24 and 26 and reach New Delhi at 7.45 a.m. the next day. The 438-D New Delhi-Allahabad superfast special train will leave New Delhi at 10.50 p.m. on March 23, 25 and 27 and reach Allahabad at 8.30 a.m. the next day. The 437/438 D has an AC 2-tier, 10 sleeper class and four general second-class coaches. It will stop at Ghaziabad, Aligarh junction, Tundla, Kanpur and Fatehpur stations. |
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US envoy on
Afghanistan meets Jaswant New Delhi, March 22 During the talks with the visiting US envoy, concern was expressed on regrouping of Al-Qaida and Taliban cadres in some parts of Afghanistan. Both sides recognised that there was a similarity of interests with regard to the situation in Afghanistan. |
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Parliament passes Budget New Delhi, March 22 Members in the Rajya Sabha cut short the discussion and agreed to return the Finance Bill moved by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to the Lok Sabha. The House was to meet tomorrow also and take up the private members’ Bills. The House returned three Appropriation Bills after about two hours of debate.
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TMC LEGISLATOR EXPELLED 2 IMPERSONATING AS SCRIBES HELD HEAVY SNOWFALL IN KUMAON FBI TO TRAIN INDIAN COPS PANEL FOR YOUTH SET UP 
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