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Tuesday,
March 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Support
POTO, Vajpayee urges Congress
BJP infighting hit development: Cong Cong holds dharna on poll roll issue
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HP seeks Rs 18-cr tourism package DISTRICT DIARY Plea to Governor on state rent control Fresh snow in
HP regions
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Support POTO, Vajpayee urges Congress Shimla, March 25 Mr Vajpayee was talking to mediapersons before returning to Delhi after his two-day visit here. The Prime Minister also said there was no proposal to de-escalate the military deployment on the country’s borders with Pakistan. He said that the passage of POTO tomorrow was a certainty, but, “in my view this extraordinary constitutional device of a joint session should not have become necessary at all.” The need for POTO in the present situation, when the country was waging a war against cross-border terrorism, was so evident that it ought to have received the support of all political parties, he said. He said the Congress should realise that its opposition to POTO was not only against the national interest, but it was also against its own interests. He said he was dismayed by the short-sighted and narrow outlook of the Congress leadership on the POTO issue. Mr Vajpayee said after the defeat of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the government had no alternative but to bring it before a joint session of Parliament which was a rare event and had taken place only twice before. He said the Congress was a national party which had considerable experience of fighting cross-border terrorism. TADA, after all, was a creation of the Congress government and the BJP, which was then in the opposition, supported it whole-heartedly because of the conviction that such a law was in the nation’s interests. The implementation of POTO was the responsibility of the state governments and in 11 states the Congress was in power. Replying to a question about the different stand of certain constituents of the NDA government over POTO, Mr Vajpayee said the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah had assured that his National Conference MPs will participate in the joint session to vote for the ordinance. He said there was no basis for the fears of the Trinamool Congress that POTO would be misused by the West Bengal Government to harass them and because of this reason they had decided to abstain from the House. He said no law could be misused these days as the media, human rights bodies and non-government organisations were there to keep an eye on such happenings. The Prime Minister said the decision to deploy the forces on the borders was taken by the security committee which is represented by all three wings of the Army, the Navy and the IAF and there was no proposal to de-escalate the deployment because Pakistan continue to encourage terrorist activities. Although the President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has been claiming that Pakistan was willing to take action against terrorists operating in their country, but there actions do not reflect any serious intention to solve the issue. A congenial atmosphere should be created by Pakistan to start a dialogue on the basis of the Shimla agreement. Asked whether the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, would be sacked after having been indicted by the National Human Rights Commission for the communal incidents, Mr Vajpayee replied that the Centre was waiting for the full and final report of the Commission. He said the situation in Gujarat called for a concerted effort by the state government, political parties, voluntary organisations and community based groups to start programme for the rehabilitation of victims of the violence. The Centre was willing to fully support such a programme. He said he would visit Gujarat soon to take stock of the situation. The Prime Minister said everyone had appreciated the efforts of the Shankaracharaya to initiate settlement of the Ayodhya tangle and the Centre will provide him all assistance for the cause. Mr Vajpayee also ruled out the possibility or threat of nuclear conflict with Pakistan and withdrawal of troops from the border. He said India had declared that it would not be the first to use nuclear weapon and Pakistan had also expressed similar views. “I do not perceive any such threat” he said adding that India was prepared for any eventuality. When asked to comment on the statement of General Malik that the deployment of forces on the border for a longer period lowered the morale of the forces, Mr Vajpayee said his views were not shared by many. The decision to deploy the troops was taken by a high-level committee of defence officers and there was no move at present to withdraw the troops, he added. He said stopping of cross-border terrorism and handing over of 20 wanted terrorists were necessary for restarting the talks but the issues could only be resolved through talks on the basis of the Shimla agreement. Replying to a question on Ayodhya, Mr Vajpayee said the government would support any initiative by Shankaracharya Nischalanand who was currently in Delhi with some formula to settle the Ayodhya issue. He said that the government would not seek any amendment in the Constitution to resolve the Ayodhya issue and said that there was no need to change the Constitution. |
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BJP infighting hit development: Cong Kangra, March 25 Mr G.S. Bali was addressing a press conference here today. He alleged that most of the ministers representing Kangra district belonged to Shanta Kumar faction whom the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, was considering as dissidents thus making the development in the district almost negligible. He alleged that the group rivalry within the BJP was the “root cause” of “no development” in the district. Mr Bali suggested that Prof Dhumal should do “introspection” regarding the achievements of government during the past four years and whether he had fulfilled promises made by the BJP during polls or not. He complained that Union Minister Shanta Kumar could not place things in a right perspective before the Central Government thus depriving the state of any big railway or tourism project. Mr Bali said even the interests of the Bhuntar Airport could not be protected, despite an assurance of proper funding from the Prime Minister for its expansion. He pointed out that it was indicating that the BJP was not serious about the development of the state but was engaged in the party infighting. He suggested that in the state the BJP should have taken the opposition party into confidence and a consensus should have been developed to bring out the state from the current financial crunch and develop policies for transfers, law and order and revenue. He supported the demand of OBCs for 27 per cent reservation. |
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Cong holds dharna on poll roll
issue Shimla, March 25 Led by Mr Harbhajan Singh Bhaji, President of the DCC (Shimla Urban), they submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr P.C. Katoch, who they alleged was trying to benefit a particular political outfit. They alleged that no opportunity was provided to raise objections as the electoral rolls were got printed at Chandigarh. Mr Bhaji pointed out that instead of getting the new electoral rolls printed, the voter lists of the Assembly constituency should have been updated to prevent large-scale mistakes.
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Highlight misdeeds of BJP govt:
minister Paonta Sahib, March 25 He was talking to mediapersons here today.
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HP seeks Rs 18-cr tourism package Manali, March 25 He was addressing mediapersons at the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, here. Mr Thakur said the state government had sent a comprehensive proposal seeking approximately Rs 18 crore to the Centre. He said keeping in view the safety of foreign tourists visiting for trekking and
mountaineering, the state government had written to the American, German and French embassies to brief their citizens that they should organise trekking through registered trek-and-tour operators. He further said the state government had suggested the foreign tourists visiting the state to stay in registered hotels. He said in the coming years, the state would have nearly 400 to 500 trained tourist policemen who would provide basic information to the domestic and foreign tourists. He said only registered guides would be allowed to attend to the tourists. He said the issuance of licences to the tourist guides in the tourist town would be reviewed soon in order to identify the unscrupulous elements. Mr Thakur, said the state government was committed to the promotion of eco-friendly tourism in the state. For keeping the 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass clean and green, he said a spacious parking lot would be developed for the tourist vehicles which would not only help generate money but also to conserve the environment. He added that the money generated from the proposed parking fees on Rohtang Pass would be utilised for the cleanliness of all tourist sports on the Manali-Rohtang road. Mr H.S. Chauhan, Director, directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, here, gave detailed information about various courses being conducted in skiing, mountaineering, trekking and water sports. He said the mountaineering institute had trained 719 trainees in skiing courses and till now, 4,140 trainees has trained in different disciplines of adventure sports. He said this year, nearly 10,000 trainees had booked for different adventure-related activities by the institute. He said from the next year, all trainees would be covered under short-term group insurance scheme. |
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DISTRICT DIARY Hamirpur Farmers who had lost their rabi crops last year due to drought-like conditions are relieved. One of them, Mr Pritam Chand, an ex-serviceman of the Bamsan area, said he hoped to get a bumper crop. He said even though wheat seed was not made available to him in time, he managed to get the late-sowing variety. Ms Sarla Devi of the Bijheri area gave full credit to the rain gods. She regretted that the government officials concerned had done little to bring more area under irrigation. Dr Hans Raj Sharma, Deputy Director of Agriculture, said his department provided good quality seed to farmers despite the heavy demand. The department hoped that wheat production this time would be between 60,000 and 65,000 metric tonnes. Last time the district was declared a no-crop district due to the drought-like situation. Meanwhile, monkeys and other wild animals have started destroying crops in various parts of the district. Residents are unhappy at the failure of the authorities to find a permanent solution to problem. Farmers of the Upper Bamsan area and the Lagwalti belt have complained about damage to their vegetable and other crops by wild animals. They said they had stopped sowing the gram crop recently due to the monkey menace in their areas.
* * * Residents of Hamirpur town are upset over the failure of the Public Works Department to re-tar the potholed stretch of the Shimla- Dharamsala road in the town. The issue had figured at Press conferences of the local MLA and Parliamentary Secretary, Mrs Urmila Thakur. She had given an assurance that the work would be done soon. The department says the 2.5 km stretch falls on the proposed National Highway and as such no funds are available with the state government for its re-tarring.
* * * Mahre, headquarters of Barsar subdivision, does not have a nagar panchayat. Its affairs are being managed by the Barsar gram panchayat. While most residents favour the setting up of a nagar panchayat, there is a powerful lobby in the area that opposes the move. This lobby feels that if the area comes under such a panchayat, residents will have to pay taxes on the pattern of urban areas.
* * * This district headquarters town lacks various basic amenities, including
adequate number of public toilets. Most parts of the town do not have such toilets. Women visiting the town from other areas of the district are in particular put to inconvenience. A scheme was drawn up for the construction of Sulabh shauchalayas a few years ago but has not yet been implemented. |
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Plea to Governor on state rent
control Shimla, March 25 He also urged the Governor to direct the state government not to enforce the rent control act on the wakf properties. The wakf had properties worth crores of rupees but the board was receiving very little rent. |
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Fresh snow in HP regions Shimla, March 25 The tribal district of Lahaul Spiti and the Rohtang Pass, gateway to the district, had moderate snow. Keylong, headquarters of the district, experienced intermittent snow since last night. Shimla and its adjoining areas were lashed by rain. Tourist resorts of Wildflower Hall, Kufri, Naldehra and Narkanda in Shimla district also experienced rain. Hamirpur and Mandi regions were also lashed by hail and rain. Wintry conditions prevailed in Mandi following snow in the higher reaches, forcing people to unpack their woollens, a report from Mandi said. Agriculture experts have described the rain in the lower belt as beneficial for wheat, fruit and vegetable crops.
UNI |
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Hailstorm, rain in Mandi
region Mandi, March 25 Agriculture experts describe the rain as beneficial for the wheat, fruit and vegetable crops. With six successive snowfalls it was an ideal winter after a decade for the apple growers who had virtually abandoned their orchards as snowfall had been eluding them for the past over 11 years. |
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video: Prime
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nuclear war with arch-rival Pakistan.
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