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Monday,
May 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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CPM, Trinamool lock
horns over party offices 3 BJP men in race for CM’s post Vital clues to May 24 Godhra violence found
RSS ‘not for war
against Pak’ Panel to check child trafficking |
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Mera rang de...
'not Bhagat Singh's song
BSP betrayed
Dalits, says SC body chief IYC sends relief material to J & K Prophet’s birth
anniversary celebrated
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CPM, Trinamool lock
horns over party offices Kolkata, May 26 The controversy started last week, following an allegation made by the former Mayor of Kolkata, Mr Kanti Ganguly of the CPM, now a minister in the Left Front government that the Trinamool Congress was setting up their new party office on a six-cuttach of land on the E.M. bypass near Dhakuria, which actually belonged to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). Ms Banerjee laid the foundation stone of the proposed party office building on May 18. The land was handed over to her as “ gift” by Mr Javed Khan, Trinamool Mayor-in-council (Buildings), KMC, who had been owning the land. Ms Banerjee plans to shift the party office from her Kalighat Temple road residence to the new building within the next three months and accordingly she set up a committee, headed by the Mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, to take appropriate steps. But Mr Ganguly’s allegation about the ownership of the land caused much flutter both in the political and official circles. Mr Ganguly demanded that the state Municipal Department Minister, Mr Ashok Bhattacharyya, should institute an official inquiry into the “ownership of the land”, which he alleged, Mr Khan had usurped in his name recently clandestinely and was now gifting to the party. Mr Khan, however, categorically denied the charge and produced land documents and other necessary papers to the TMC supremo and the Mayor, justifying his claim of ownership which he had inherited from his father. On the contrary, he alleged that the CPM party offices at Alimuddin Street and the Ganasakti building (party’s newspaper building) had not only been built illegally but also the lands on which the party building was built, was illegally and forcibly occupied from the Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, located nearby, where the late Nobel laureate Mother had a plan to extend her charity premises. The Mayor has set up an expert committee to probe into the matter. He said he would talk to Sister Nirmala regarding the controversial portion of the land. |
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3 BJP men in race for CM’s post Ponda (Goa), May 26 Former Union Minister of State for Shipping Sripad Naik who is pitted against Congress nominee Ravi Naik in the Ponda constituency, is considered in political circles here as a Chief Minister aspirant, along with Digambar Kamat, another BJP stalwart from Margao, Goa’s commercial town, besides the present Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar himself. Talking to mediapersons, Sripad Naik said the party would have the final say as to who dons the mantle of the Chief Minister. “The party has entrusted the responsibility to Mr Parrikar now. But, I can vouch that if the party decides to give the responsibility to someone else, Mr Parrikar, will step down immediately without battling an eyelid. We are all party cadres, with only the interest of the BJP uppermost in our minds,” he added. Ironically, Sripad Naik was initially supposed to campaign for Ravi Naik, who till a fortnight ago was Deputy Chief Minister in the Parrikar government. But, Ravi Naik quit the BJP when the process of filing of nominations was in progress with the Congress giving him a ticket. Sripad Naik was drafted in by the BJP to counter him. Now the question uppermost in the minds of one and all is ‘Will the BJP’s gamble to pit Sripad Naik against Ravi Naik succeed?’ Sripad Naik said he had no qualms about quitting ministership and entering the election arena when asked by the party to do so. “I am a loyal BJP worker, and I shall abide by whatever my party tells me.’’ The BJP was determined to fight this tendency of defections, said Mr Naik, who along with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, had been instrumental in spreading the BJP mass base in Goa over the past decade. “The BJP had not imagined that Ravi Naik would desert the party so easily,’’ he admitted.
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Vital clues to May 24 Godhra violence found Ahmedabad, May 26 “As of now, I can say we got some leads and further investigations are on,” S.P. Panchmahal Raju Bhargav told PTI. He said situation was “as normal as it was two days ago but we are not taking any chance”. So far 54 persons, from both communities, had been taken into custody, he said adding “prima facie there is no evidence yet to show that people from outside Godhra, Gujarat or country were involved in trying to precipitate another serious problem in this small township”. “Right now we are looking at which community was really responsible for precipitating the May 24 violence in the Zuharpura area of the city,” he said. The police opened fire and lobbed teargas shells to control the situation resulting in the killing of two people and leaving seven others, including two women, injured. To a question, Mr Bhargav said so far there was no strong clue to suggest whether those killed in police firing or those taken into custody had hatched “any conspiracy”, that resulted in the eruption of violence. He said as per the directives from Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s Security Adviser K.P.S. Gill, who had threadbare discussions with police, civil officials and representatives from both communities, authorities had initiated steps to ensure “greater interaction between the two communities”. “To start with, we are involving people from both sides for round-the-clock vigil in sensitive pockets,” he said. Besides this, proposals are afoot to organise cultural, educational and sports events to ensure greater “free and frank” deliberations between two communities. A committee would also be set up for the purpose, Mr Bhargav added.
PTI |
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Lust for power led to Gujarat riots: Paswan New Delhi, May 26 Mr
Paswan, who quit the NDA government in protest against the Centre’s inadequate response in containing the violence in Gujarat, said, “The problem is not just Gujarat, but it is barbarism versus humanity. And fanning communal hatred is generally resorted to by those who see their failure near”. “An invisible hand is stoking religious violence and it has to be cut off”, he said last evening at a function organised to mark Prophet Mohammad’s birthday. |
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Report exposes rights violation in Pak New Delhi, May 26 Titled — Human Rights Monitor 2001 — the report not only supplies evidence of social, legal and political discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan but also details heart-rending cases of police brutality and crimes against women. Discriminatory policies at the work place like witholding appointment, promotion and pension diminish job opportunities for the minorities. But cases of harassment on the basis of religion in public life represent institutionalised intolerance patronised by the law of the land, says the report of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) — a Pakistan-based non-profit organisation. The report cites provisions in the Constitution of Pakistan (CoP) and then provides proof of their blatant violation through real life cases and instances. As for the biases in the curriculum, ‘Islamiat’ is a compulsory subject though for some classes and ethics is an alternative for non-Muslims. However, the non-Muslim students are obliged to opt for ‘Islamiat’ as any other option will single them out and will be a source of enhanced discrimination. Not only is the coverage of non-Muslim religions weak, that of the traditions of Islam is inadequate and biased to create tension within Muslim groups. Coverage of Shi’ism (an important minority group in Pakistan), Sufism or Islamic mysticism (a dominant spiritual tradition in Pak) are particularly problematic. While Article 20 of the CoP grants: "Freedom to profess religion and to manage institutions subject to public order, law and morality ...,’’ Pastor Nur Alam was killed because he tried to build a church in Sheikhpura in 1997. The report observes that while suitable laws may be in place, there is little or no motivation to observe laws that safeguard places of worship. Temples in various places in Sind, Lahore and Peshawar have been occupied by land grabbers. Bait-e-Alhammad, a place of worship for minority Ahmadis, was sealed 15 years ago denying the community a basic human right. The report has presented scores of cases of forced conversions across Pakistan in gross violation of not only the CoP but also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It says the staff at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore were accused of asking a patient to embrace Islam in order to get free treatment from the institution. Ironically, conversion from Islam to other religions is not illegal but impracticable as it is generally considered apostasy — an offence carrying death penalty according to some interpretations of the Islamic Shariah. The law enforcement agencies can offer no protection to the converts and the social attitude is generally hostile towards them, the report says. The report cites cases where girls from minority communities were abducted or forced to embrace Islam for marriage. Taking a serious view of human rights violations in Pakistan, the NCJP report calls for the constitution of a permanent commission for minorities where complaints of human rights violations could be heard on a priority basis. It urges the abolition of discriminatory laws like the Blasphemy laws, laws of evidence and the Shariat.
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RSS ‘not for war
against Pak’ Bangalore, May 26 “We are not in favour of war. But we want total security and
tranquility for our people. In order to ensure such a situation, any healthy country should be prepared for any eventuality, including hostile eventuality,” RSS working committee member Sripati Shastry told reporters here. Mr Shastry gave a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that the latter had nothing to do with communal violence that rocked the state. Acknowledging that any violence, anywhere, was reprehensible and unjustifiable, he opposed the removal of Mr Modi.
PTI |
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Bishops call
for peace New Delhi, May 26 Condemning terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the CBCI called upon Pakistan to do everything to stop the infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir. |
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Panel to check child trafficking Lucknow, May 26 The committee will ensure implementation of rules to stop child prostitution and trafficking. The voluntary organisations will then make people aware as how the Nepalese girls are being
ill-treated in the brothels. The committee will comprise 10 members, including one official each from the Indian and Nepal side. Maiti, NGO, will represent Nepal, while the Manav Seva Sansthan will be its Indian counter-part. The rest of the members comprise educationists, psychiatrists and social workers. It is known fact that forced by poverty Nepalese parents sell off their daughters. These girls are sold for anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 along the UP-Nepal border. With the increase in Maoist activities in Nepal, more and more girls are pushed into this profession. The Manav Seva Sansthan, which carried out a survey in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal, found that middlemen are active in these areas and girls, aged between 16 and 25 years are sold openly. The modus operandi of these middlemen is quite simple. At the border, they claim these girls to be their relatives. As no documentary evidences are required at the Indo-Nepal border these girls find their way into India through Uttar Pradesh. From here they are sent to the brothels of big cities. Prabha Khanaal of Maiti, a Nepal-based NGO, said at the borders the guards were more concerned about checking foreign goods and no one takes notice of these girls. According to her, Nepalese girls could be found in brothels of Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. Over two lakh Nepalese girls were in Indian brothels and anything between 5,000 and 7,000 enter this profession every year, she added. This was for the first time that NGOs and the government agencies had joined hands to fight this menace, said Pravin Kumar of the Manav Seva Sansthan. |
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Mera rang de... ‘not Bhagat Singh’s song’ Mumbai, May 26 Bhagat Singh was a writer himself and had penned many songs, but not ‘Mera rang de basanti chola.’ The recent spate of Bhagat Singh movies due to the shoddy research gave a contrary impression, Saha said. ‘’The revolutionary leader, inspired by communism and socialism, was more attracted to colours like black and red and not basanti,’’ Saha added. The writer, who spent over a year researching on Bhagat Singh’s life, agreed that while making a commercial film on a historical event, the maker could take some cinematic liberties. ‘’But facts should not be tampered with,’’ he asserted, adding that to link ‘basanti’ colour with Bhagat Singh, was a wrong presentation of his mindset. Saha said Bhagat Singh was an ‘Arya Samaji’ in his childhood and later became an atheist. He also had written a book titled
‘Main Nastik Kyon Hoon’ and had strongly protested against dividing Hindus and Muslims in separate groups during the freedom struggle.
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BSP betrayed
Dalits, says SC body chief New Delhi, May 26 In their pursuit for power, BSP leader Kanshi Ram and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati have become instruments of the BJP and without even realising that by opposing another term to Mr Narayanan they are harming the Dalit cause. They have agreed to the machinations of the
RSS, Mr Raj alleged adding that the Indian “nation needs his (Mr Narayanan) services more than he needs the post”. Addressing newspersons after his return from Libya, Mr Raj said the BJP-led NDA government was opposing another term to Mr Narayanan because he was from the Dalit community. |
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IYC sends relief material to J & K New Delhi, May 26 Flagging off 1,000 quintals of wheat for the migrants, AICC Secretary Mukul Wasnik said another consignment of 3,000 quintals of wheat for relief camps would be sent tomorrow. Mr Wasnik said the camps did not have adequate relief material. He asked the IYC to arrange more material for the migrants. |
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Prophet’s birth
anniversary celebrated New Delhi, May 26 On the occasion appeals were made to the people to work for peace and communal amity following the Prophet’s teachings. Noted Islamic scholar Rafiq Zakaria on the occasion emphasised that terror was not part of Islam, said a report from Mumbai. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has greeted members of the All-India Khilafat Committee on the occasion. A report from Kolkata said a huge procession was brought out there today to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet. The participants also attended a prayer meeting at Park Circus where they prayed for world peace.
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SATELLITE PHONE FOR BSF MEN 89 OFFICERS TRANSFERRED CELESTIAL FIREWORKS ON JUNE 3 GOVERNOR RELEASES BOOK ON SWAMINATHAN YAMUNOTRI ROUTE NOT DISRUPTED ASSAM MALARIA TOLL 50 4 PWG INSURGENTS GUNNED DOWN 5,000 DALITS CONVERT TO BUDDHISM |
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