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Friday,
April 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP executive meeting today Medha files complaint against two BJP men
Post-riots, politicking
begins in Gujarat |
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NCW lauds medicare for riot-hit Women ‘Ram Bhakt’ hog limelight Online job racket detected Pant rules out talks with Pak UP Govt move on township near Taj stayed No NDA stir against Laloo, says Paswan Advani moots
multi-purpose
I-card Spaniard to get
Ambedkar award
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BJP executive meeting today Panjim, April 11 The situation in Gujarat, performance of the Vajpayee government, including the latest Union Budget, the poll debacles in the recently held Assembly and MCD elections, links with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal and overall connections with the RSS need a “brutal analysis”, a party functionary admitted. Even the issue of reaching an understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party to form a government in Uttar Pradesh was haunting the party and there seemed to be no direction from the top, a BJP leader said. But whether over 120 executive members succeed over the next three days in the venture or the Goa meeting proves to be an exercise in futility would largely depend on the party leadership. While the party would discuss and adopt political and economic resolutions and state BJP presidents would also submit their respective reports over the state of the party in their domain, whether an introspection to identify the causes of the decline takes place is doubtful, a leader said. He added “If the High Command
allows a free and frank discussion over Gujarat and other issues confronting it, then the party is over”. He said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani made the party high command and “if the two did not lead from the front in Goa and undertook an introspection themselves, then nobody else has either the conviction or courage to speak out”. He added that from all indications, the two were in no mood to do it. There was silence over the situation in Gujarat and the visit of the Prime Minister last week there had failed to make the desired impact, a former Lok Sabha MP from the party said, adding that the BJP was being perceived popularly as a party which could not be trusted with the task of governance. On other hand, even Mr Advani had failed to make a sobering influence in Gujarat. “The two tallest leaders of the party are not in command of the situation as if glamour of power has blinded their vision” an executive member pointed out. In the name of discipline, a frank discussion would be throttled, another member said, expressing his frustration. |
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Medha files complaint against two BJP men Ahmedabad, April 11 In the fracas at Mahatma Gandhi’s world-famous Abode of Peace, over 10 mediapersons were injured in police crack-down. In her complaint, received by the Sabarmati police station through mail, Ms Patkar charged BJP leaders Amit Thaker and Amit Shah besides NCCL President V.K. Saxena, with unlawfully confining her in a room at the ashram and threatening her, police sources said. She also said they asked for her identity and the reason for her arrival in Ahmedabad on Sunday, shouted slogans, manhandled and rammed her against a wall. Mr Shah, who is the Gujarat unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the ruling BJP, has been mentioned by Ms Patkar in her complaint as an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was a BJP corporator of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Mr Saxena is the President of the city-based NCCL, active in the pro-Sardar Sarovar Dam movement. In fact, several workers of the Congress and the Janata Dal, all pro-dam activists, had also joined the Sunday protest against Ms Patkar. The police has registered a case on Ms Patkar’s complaint under Sections 504, 323, 341, 506 and 114 of Indian Penal Code and appointed Police Inspector G.J. Barad as investigating officer, sources added.
UNI |
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Post-riots, politicking
begins in Gujarat Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad, April 11 As part of the all-India agitation plan chalked out by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party activists led by Pradesh Congress President Amar Singh Choudhary today launched a relay dharna near the Gujarat Government Secretariat in Gandhinagar, demanding the removal of Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his failure to protect the minorities. The dharna, launched on the eve of the three-day National Executive meeting of the BJP in Goa, also saw the participation of the Congress chief whip in the Gujarat Assembly, Mr Naresh Rawal. The activists wearing black badges shouted anti-Modi slogans and demanded the immediate resignation of the Gujarat Chief Minister on moral grounds. The Congress, which is not leaving any stone unturned to expose the Modi government, has also decided to hold a relay dharna outside Gandhi Ashram against the attack on mediapersons by the police on April 7. Although the inaugural day of the dharna in the state capital was a symbolic one, with only a handful of Congress activists participating in it, the party is likely to intensify its campaign in a phased manner so that greater political mileage could be gained. According to Congress sources, the party will restructure its campaign if the Modi government plans to go for a snap poll. The dharna was actually scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, which witnessed maximum killings in communal violence, but the party changed the venue to Gandhinagar after having been denied permission by the police due to the sensitive situation prevailing in the city. Meanwhile, the Modi government took the political fight to the Opposition camp by fishing out an old report of the Lokayukta. On its basis, it decided to initiate legal action against a former Chief Minister and Congress leader Shanker Singh Vaghela and two other officials for allegedly encroaching upon and regularising 50,459 sq metres of land in Vasan village of Gandhinagar district for religious and educational trusts run by Mr Vaghela in flagrant violation of laws. A decision to this effect was taken at a Cabinet meeting last evening presided over by Mr Modi. During the meeting, Mr Modi decided to accept the recommendation made by the Lokayukta that action should be taken against Mr Vaghela and two officials under the IPC on the grounds that the former Chief Minister had indulged in gross misuse of his position. The Lokayukta had, on the basis of complaints and a subsequent probe into the alleged encroachment on government land, found that the action of the Vaghela regime was grossly illegal and had recommended action. The trusts named in the report are Samarpan Seva Trust, Vaijnath Seva Trust and Vasan Hitvardhak Kelvani Trust. The timing of the decision assumes great significance as it will surely put the Congress on the back foot and might create some confusion in the party ranks although Mr Vaghela is not the Pradesh Congress chief, according to political analysts. They also feel that another reason for Mr Modi’s decision could be due to Mr Vaghela’s active campaign against him during the recent byelections. It may be recalled that Mr Modi and Mr Vaghela have been at loggerheads for a long time. Mr Vaghela camped in Rajkot and took an active part in campaigning against Mr Modi’s election to the Assembly a few months ago. Likewise, a few years ago, Mr Modi had gone all out to defeat Mr Vaghela when he stood for election from the Radhanpur constituency. Meanwhile, Mr Modi, who has been under attack from his own party colleagues over the handling of the communal riots, is understood to have compiled a detailed report on the communal incidents and the action taken by his government to present his case before the National Executive in Goa. |
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NCW lauds medicare for riot-hit Ahmedabad, April 11 The eight-member NCW fact-finding team led by its Chairperson, Dr Purnima Advani, has expressed happiness over the medical facilities being extended in various relief camps here even as it wanted the government to speed up relief and rehabilitation work. The delegation was apparently happy over the babies being born in various camps in the past few weeks and the medical support being given to expectant mothers in the camps. Nearly 70 babies have born in the past two weeks in various camps in Ahmedabad itself. “The relief work seems to be visible now”, Ms Reva Nayyar, Member Secretary of NCW, quipped even as the delegation was busy perusing representations made by various women’s and non-governmental organisations during the day-long visit here. The NCW delegation today visited the Shah Alam camp, which Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had visited on April 4, and three other camps located in Himatnagar, Bombay Flats area and Vatva. The delegation, which is on a three-day visit to Gujarat, will leave for Vadodara tomorrow and then visit Godhra the next day. Earlier, the NCW delegation had a closed-door meeting with officials of the Gujarat Government and wanted them to step up relief and rehabilitation work. Some of the members of the delegation also expressed concern over the delay in the constitution of state women’s commission and felt that the absence of such a body has resulted in lack of an appropriate forum for women in distress in the state. The state government had passed a Bill for the constitution of state women’s commission last year in the Assembly but it has not yet been notified. Meanwhile, according to a report compiled by the state Health Department, there are 1,11,167 riot-hit people in 104 relief camps set up by the government across the state after the communal violence. Of this, more than 50 per cent are women and children and the number of children is likely to go up with 409 women reported pregnant and likely to deliver in the next one to two weeks. In Ahmedabad, the state government has pressed into service 12 ambulance exclusively for the relief camps even as the Red Cross Society is extending medical help. Besides, two medical teams from Hyderabad and Bangalore are also here to supplement the resources. |
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Women ‘Ram Bhakt’ hog limelight Ahmedabad, April 11 With male counterparts either undertaking the hyped temple movement or facing police bullets; eves among the Ram Bhakts or the female protagonists of Hindutva are much in demand, say insiders in: the Durga Vahini. The Durga Vahini, often described as the female face of the hardliner Bajrang Dal, was founded in 1991 under the tutelage of Sadhvi Rithambara as its founding chairperson and the support of the VHP. The Durga Vahini has come a long way, in Gujarat in particular and in the rest of the country in general. “In Gujarat, we have at least 8,000 members, of which 1,000 are in Ahmedabad,” said Kalpana Vyash, a senior leader and also an instructor of martial art. “To say that the Durga Vahini was formed as a female face of the Bajrang Dal will be injustice to us. We here dedicate ourselves to physical, mental and knowledge development,” she said. According to VHP sources, the Durga Vahini was floated with the idea to encourage greater women participation in prayer meetings and cultural renaissance activities. However, none either in the Durga Vahini or the VHP would confirm whether the women Ram Bhakts trained in marshal art to rifle shooting had “any role” during the recent carnage. “We in the VHP had nothing to do with the violence except to take care of widows and victims of the Godhra mayhem. So was the case with the Durga Vahini,” said state VHP spokesman Kaushikbahi Mehta. But in several parts of the city, residents say that many, white-churidar clad or otherwise, majority community girls and women were seen in action after the violence. “They were found providing healing touch to the male activists, information back-up and if the ethnic cleansing theory is true, I have a feeling they played a significant role in intelligence network as well,” said a senior police official. “While it will be very difficult to prove their direct involvement, women Sanghis had definitely scrutinised voters’ list or the traders’ licence papers to screen the minorities with an innocuous intention,” he added.
PTI |
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Online job racket detected New Delhi, April 11 The complainants alleged that they had received e-mails from a person called Mohammad Firoz informing them that they had been selected for the posts of Network Administrator and Programmer, respectively, without any formal interview, in a German company, DIS AG Personal Vermittlung, for posting in Germany. The company is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of cosmetics, drugs and toiletries. The complainants were asked to pay Rs 10,000 and Rs 40,000 respectively, in ICICI Bank account No. 000701027838. The complainants were asked to come to Delhi for their visa interview at the German Embassy and to collect their visas and contract papers from the company’s representative, Mohammad Firoz. They were asked to meet him after contacting him on the mobile numbers mentioned in the e-mails. One of the complainants even contacted the German Embassy for verification and the embassy authorities informed him that neither Mohammad Firoz nor the company, DIS-AG Personal Vermittlung were known to them. Also, no interviews were being conducted. The CBI investigation has revealed that the ICICI account No. was of Mohammad Firoz Khan who had given his residential address of Harinagar, Ashram, New Delhi. The account statement obtained from the bank revealed deposit of cash in the account from different parts of the country and abroad. The intensive field investigations revealed that a person by the name of Mohammad Firoz had lived in Harinagar, Ashram, about a year ago and had cheated several other persons of a huge amount by promising them lucrative jobs. The suspect was found to be withdrawing money from his account through ICICI ATMs located in Delhi. Ultimately, he was traced to Asansol, West Bengal. A CBI team rushed to Asansol and arrested him. He is a 23-year-old unemployed graduate from Aligarh Muslim University, a CBI press note said here today. The search conducted at his residence in Asansol resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents, including a visiting card in his name of DIS-AG Personal Vermittlung, which he used to scan and attach with the e-mails to the victims. Several company letterheads, appointment letters, certificates of many multinational companies based in Canada, Germany, etc were found at his residence. He has also travelled to Indonesia and Germany. He makes girlfriends through chat rooms and has friends in India and abroad. The modus operandi was that he, along with an unidentified person, used to give advertisements in newspapers for lucrative overseas jobs for luring unsuspecting job seekers. On receiving the CVs, they used to send the e-mails from them informing them that they had been selected for the jobs and used to ask them to pay amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 as papers and visa processing fees. The recovered documents revealed that he was able to secure an appointment letter from another German company, owned by the brother of one of his girlfriends, and would have escaped after obtaining a German visa. The CBI produced him in a court at Asansol and brought him to Delhi after obtaining transit remand. He was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi, yesterday and remanded in CBI custody till April 15. |
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Pant rules out talks with Pak New Delhi, April 11 Addressing a news conference here on his return from Islamabad where he attended the third SAARC Ministerial Conference on Poverty Alleviation, Mr Pant said a purposeful dialogue with Pakistan could be possible only after it addressed Indian concerns which included putting an immediate stop to cross-border terrorism and handing over 20 terrorists and criminals mentioned in the list to India. “India is committed to bring peace in the region under Simla and Lahore Agreements, but the question is whether one wants to have a dialogue for dialogue sake or purposeful talks,” he said. Mr Pant demanded that Pakistan should ensure that its territory or the territory administered by it (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) was not used in launching terrorist activities against India. He, however, described as “positive” Pakistan’s recognition of the intra-regional trade as a means to alleviate poverty in the SAARC region. He said one of the major achievements of the meeting was the recommendation that intra-regional trade needed expansion. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has himself raised the issue of the need for forging ahead with the operationalisation of SAPTA and a faster movement towards SAFTA. Mr Pant said recognition by Pakistan that trade among the members of the SAARC region was less than 5 per cent of the world trade and could be enhanced was a positive step. “India, of course, has argued in favour of SAFTA and SAPTA. It has given 3500 tariff concessions, out of a total of 5000, in the region and has extended unilaterally MFN status to Pakistan in an attempt to increase intra-regional trade,” he said. |
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UP Govt move on township near Taj stayed New Delhi, April 11 A three-judge bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah, Mr Justice Bisheshwar Prasad Singh, and Mr Justice H.K. Sema in an interim order said the state government would not take any further action with regard to the proposed industrial township on Shamshabad and Fathehbad areas near the Taj. Directing Secretary Housing, UP Government, to file a reply within two weeks, the Bench, hearing a bunch of petitions on the pollution around the Taj, sought a reply from the Union Culture Ministry regarding the alleged neglect of various places of cultural importance in Agra and Mathura districts. The court directed Commissioner of Agra and Collectors and SPs of Mathura and the Taj city to take action against encroachers of land around Astha Sati Kund and Radha and Shyam Kunds in Vrindaban area of Mathura district. The direction came following a petition filed by advocate M.C. Mehta alleging that the very existence of the ancient ‘kunds’ having religious and cultural importance was threatened by encroachments of land around them. Central Pollution Control Board counsel Vijay Panjwani told the court that despite a ban on brick-kilns and foundries around Taj, the level of pollution has not come down as per the board’s monitoring reports for December to March. Fixing next hearing of the matter on May 2, the court asked the UP Government counsel, Mr Ajay Aggarwal, to file a detailed affidavit on all these issues.
PTI |
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No NDA stir against Laloo, says Paswan Patna, April 11 “There is no unity among the NDA constituents in Bihar and as such there is no joint campaign against Mr Laloo,” Mr Paswan told reporters here yesterday. Had the NDA put up a united show during the last Assembly elections in 2000, the political scene would have changed and the people of the state would have got rid of the “anarchy of the Laloo-Rabri regime”, Mr Paswan said.
PTI |
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Advani moots
multi-purpose
I-card New Delhi, April 11 “We need a law to make the multi-purpose identity card mandatory,” he said after inaugurating a workshop on “Infant mortality: levels, trends and interventions” here. He said a scheme in this regard was already in place and there was need to evolve a consensus among all political parties and state governments. He stated that the implementation of such a scheme was practical and feasible. |
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Spaniard to get
Ambedkar award New Delhi, April 11 A press note issued here today said Mr Remy had been chosen for the award in recognition of his outstanding services in espousing the cause of the exploited and underprivileged and pursuing the high ideals of human dignity. The award carries Rs 1.5 million and a citation. Born on March 17, 1935 at Beziers in France, Remy started Jeunes Amis des Lepreux (JAL) — Young Friends of the Leprosy Affected as a non-profit welfare organisation. It extended its activities to India in 1994 by providing boarding facilities to the elderly affected by leprosy. |
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Eight N-reactors by 2008 New Delhi, April 11 Work was on in full swing on two 500 mw-each pressurised heavy water reactors at Tarapur - Tarapur 3 and Tarapur 4. They were expected to be complete by 2005, he said.
PTI |
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