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Thursday,
May 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Goa poll: Cong, BJP neck & neck UP byelections to witness caste war NDA yet to decide on presidential candidate
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VHP stands by mosque demolition
Special flights for Sindhu darshan Postal
services to cost more Rajbhasha Shield for ITBP IMA
journal released
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Goa poll: Cong, BJP neck & neck Panjim, May 29 The third front comprising the United Goan Democratic Party (UGDP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the National Congress Party (NCP) is not expected to get more than 10 seats in all which means that the remaining 30 seats will be shared by the front-runners. But there are some experts who are willing to give the Congress the magic number 21. Never has this tiny state of Goa seen so many big fish. Leaders from Delhi, Maharashtra and other states have descended on Goa like the south-west monsoon which is yet to arrive. For the Congress it is hoping that it will win the 15th state while the BJP is hell-bent on trying to eradicate the damage that Gujarat has done to the party. A former Youth Congress leader and current personal assistant to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Ms Ambika Soni, says with so many bigwigs in Goa work is at a standstill in New Delhi. It is the same feeling in Mumbai. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan says he has never visited as high a percentage of constituencies in Maharashtra as he has done in Goa but one can’t take him seriously as percentages don’t tell the right tale. Goa has only 40 seats compared to Maharashtra’s 240-odd seats. His unwillingness to discuss the Gujarat issue is pertinent while Mr Parrikar brushing away Gujarat is pure wishful thinking or a case of side-stepping the problem. “A vote for the BJP is a vote for the carnage in Gujarat,” is what Congress supporters and democratically thinking folks say and the screening of the film on the Gujarat carnage “Hey Ram” has surely had its impact. That the film has been seized is sure to go against the BJP. Panjim, the capital city, which was all praise for Mr Parrikar’s administration a year ago, is now having second thoughts. But they are afraid to come out openly against him. There is a whispering campaign and though Mr Parrikar is expected to claim the seat, it is possible that the next two days could prove vital to his fortunes. The South has always been a Congress stronghold, but this time the BJP is likely to make inroads into them, through Independents supported by them. The Congress candidate from Velim, Mr Marcus D’silva, is rather weak and the former Chief Minister, Mr Francisco Sardinha, is also said to be facing tough competition. In North Goa many of the fights are many-cornered. Take Saligao for example. Sitting MLA Dr Wilfred D’Souza has his former PA Trajan D’Mello as his main opponent. Both being Catholic they are likely to split the Catholic vote. In a similar vein, BJP candidate Sdguru Harmalkar and Shiv Sena-supported Independent Dilip Kalaggutkar (runner-up for the past two years) are expected to split the Hindu vote. In such a set-up, it is hard to pick the winner. In Ponda there will be a close fight between former Chief Minister Mr Ravi Naik (Congress) and Mr Shripad Naik (BJP), who is the prospective Deputy Chief Minister. In fact so hot is the campaign that tempers were frayed and Naik’s son was arrested for assaulting Parrikar’s PA. But as in Saligao the many-cornered contests leave grey areas where anyone could emerge victors. It is likely to be the day of the dark horse. But if the Congress has lost ground in the South it may find some gains in the North and this should more than make up for the setback in the South. Ramakant Khalap should win the Mandrem seat and Jeetendra Deshprabhu of the royal Viconte de Pernem family should emulate him in Pernem. Tainted men like Mauvin Godinho and Dayanand Narvekar (both Congress) are expected to win their seats as is the BJP’s Sheik Hassan. Mr Churchill Alemao, once a sure winner, is finding the going tough. Actually it will be touch-and-go for most of the seats. |
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UP byelections to witness caste war Lucknow, May 29 All prominent backward caste parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Rashtriya Kranti Party (RKP) of Mr Kalyan Singh with the Lodh vote bank under its belt and the Apna Dal have joined hands for the byelections. The President of the SP, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, minced no words in accepting that this time it would be a contest between the backward classes on one hand and the upper caste and Dalits on the other. Caste factor has always influenced elections in the cow belt. But as these parties had their own areas of influence, their impact was localised. The Lodh vote bank of Mr Kalyan Singh and the Yadavs had always been at daggers drawn. The Kurmis, another backward caste, had formed the Apna Dal and tried to maintain a separate identity. Coming together of these backward caste parties could give a new meaning to the political equations in the state, said Dr S.P. Singh, Director, Pt Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Social Development. Mr Mulayam Singh himself knows that this byelection could chart out a new political agenda for the state. Without naming the BSP, he said that some political parties had given a slogan of ‘Jiski jitni sankhya bhaari, uski utni bhagidaari’ (sharing of power would depend on population). “Earlier, we discarded this slogan but now we accept it. The backward classes are 54 per cent of population and so they should get their share,” he told The Tribune recently. From now on our politics would hover around this 54 per cent backward class population. Our mantra has changed and the focus area is backward classes, plus Muslims,” he said. To give this dream a final shape Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had a closed door meeting with his one-time political foe, Mr Kalyan Singh in Lucknow. Both would now meet Mr Sone Lal Patel, president of the Apna Dal to chalk out election strategy. Alarmed at this new political equation, Ms Mayawati and BJP leaders have started confabulations to finalise strategy. “The BSP is well placed because we won two of the four seats, Jahangirganj and Akbarpur. It is up to the BJP to ensure transfer of their votes in favour of the BSP candidate,” said BSP state president Indrajit Saroj. |
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NDA yet to decide on presidential candidate New Delhi, May 29 In a reply to a question if the BJP would favour another term for him since the Congress and the Left were supporting Mr Narayanan for another term, party spokesman Sunil Shastri said: “This issue has not been brought up for consideration in the BJP. It is still premature”. “The NDA has authorised Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to have consultations with other political parties before a final decision on the matter”, he said. Even though a section of the BJP leadership was not in favour of a second term for Mr Narayanan on the grounds of convention that barring the first President Dr Rajendra Prasad no other President had served a second term, Mr Shastri said “at the moment nothing can be said on who is the candidate”. The party was exploring the possibility of having a consensus on the issue, he said. To a question why the party was delaying taking a decision on the presidential candidate, Mr Shastri said: “Unless the Election Commission comes out with a formal date, how can we take a decision.” He was confident that the BJP’s presidential candidate would be elected to the highest post. |
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Campaign ends for TN byelections Chennai, May 29 The issues with which the voters are concerned are kicked to the background. Mercifully for them, the campaign was coming to an end this evening. The AIADMK is contesting all three constituencies — Saidapet in Chennai, Acharapakkam in Kancheepurm and Vaniambadi in Vellore district. Ms
Jayalalithaa, who has just ended her campaign trail, wants to teach Mr Karunanidhi’s
DMK, which lost heavily in last year’s Assembly
elections, a fresh “lesson”. Mr Karunanidhi has been highlighting what he calls “anti-people” policies of one-year of the AIADMK rule. “What has Jayalalithaa done for you in one year?” He asks the voters, and blames the administration for the “deterioration” in the law and order situation in the state. He also accuses the ruling party of violations of election code of conduct. The DMK has put up candidates for two constituencies, while leaving the third — Acharapakkam — to its ally, the
PMK, led by Dr Ramdoss, which had won the seat in the last year’s elections. Vaniyambadi is a predominantly Muslim constituency, but Ms Jayalalithaa has chosen to field a Hindu candidate, while the DMK has fielded a Muslim. The Congress, the TMC of late G.K.Moopanar, and the left parties have formed a separate front and fielded candidates for all constituencies. The
MDMK, led by Mr Vaiko, a constituent of the NDA, is contesting from two constituencies — Saidapet and Vaniyambadi — in a bid to secure a presence in the Assembly. |
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VHP stands by mosque demolition New Delhi, May 29 Deposing before the commission here, Acharya Kishore stood by news reports which quoted him as saying that the demolition had helped “put Muslims in their place”, besides creating an awakening among Hindus. He further said, “It was our misfortune that no collective response was given to the atrocities carried out by Muslim invaders. Individual struggles were waged in the past, too. But the task was fulfilled on December 6. Muslims understood that Hindus will not tolerate this anymore.” Acharya Kishore also asserted that the structure which was brought down was not a mosque but a temple for all practical purposes and Hindus had struggled 76 times from ancient times to liberate it. However, when commission counsel Anupam Gupta asked that if it was a temple, why it was demolished, he said, “old construction has to be demolished for renovation and building a new grand structure.” The VHP leader said the demolition had resulted in tremendous self-esteem among Hindus and “succeeded in reining in our fanatic Muslim brothers who were forever dictating terms to us. That has stopped at least, and they have been put in their place.” |
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VHP ‘misusing’ funds meant for Ram temple New Delhi, May 29 Mahant
Dass, who has been sidelined by the VHP on the temple issue, told a press conference here that “the VHP leaders have been misusing their self-appointed positions of champions of “Hindutva” and exploiting the religious sentiments of large sections of Hindu masses”. |
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India, Pak meet on water sharing “Data relating to various technical aspects of the treaty under which water of six rivers are being shared between India and Pakistan were exchanged between the parties,” sources in the Water Resources Ministry said. The Commissioner-level meeting, which lasted nearly three hours, was “routine” in nature as such meetings were held every year alternatively in India and Pakistan, they said. Being an upper riparian state of the rivers Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, India was fully aware of its obligations under the treaty, the sources said. The treaty, which came into effect retrospectively from April 1, 1960, envisages that waters of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi would be utilised by India while those of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum by Pakistan. India had said yesterday that the prevailing tension between the two neighbours would not affect the talks as the country was committed to honour international treaties. Denying reports about the treaty itself being under threat due to the tension at Indo-Pakistan border, the Minister of State for Water Resources Bijoya Chakraborty had said: “There is no question of abrogating the treaty. The present level of tension will have no bearing on the talks.”
PTI |
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Special flights for Sindhu darshan New Delhi, May 29 Alliance Air will operate four additional flights from tomorrow to June 4 on the Delhi-Leh-Delhi sector. The four additional flights will be run on all four days, with the first flight leaving Delhi at 5.30 am in the morning on May 30. The additional flight on May 31 would be leaving Delhi at 9 am and reaching Leh at about 10.15 am. Similarly, the flights would leave Leh from June 2 at 7.15 am. Another additional flight would leave Leh on June 3 at 10.45 am. |
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Postal
services to cost more New Delhi, May 29 A letter card will cost Rs 2.50 instead of Rs 2, while the price of a printed postcard has been increased to Rs 6 from Rs 3 at present. A competition post card will cost Rs 10, double that of Rs 5 presently. For book posts, pattern and sample post cards, the rate of first 50 gm or fraction thereof will be Rs 4 instead of Rs 3 earlier. For every additional 50 gm, the revised rate will be Rs 3 instead of Rs 4 at present. For parcel, the rate for first 500 gm has been jacked up from Rs 16 to Rs 19. For every additional 500 gms, the revised rate will be Rs 16 instead of Rs 15 at present. |
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Rajbhasha Shield for ITBP New Delhi, May 29 The ITBP has bagged the shield of the Ministry Home Affairs for the year 2000-2001, Mr S.C. Chaube, DG, ITBP, received the shield from Mr Advani. The Home Minister felicitated two personnel of the ITBP viz. Inspector, CM, L.S. Negi and Inspector, CM, Om Prakash Sharma with commendation letters and mementos for their contribution in the field of Hindi. |
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IMA journal released Dehra Dun, May 29 The journal has been published under the aegis of the IMA’s Academic Department and guidance of its Head, Brig P.S. Bhatnagar. Lieut-General Shergill said the aim of the journal was to chronicle the life and events at the academy and to provide a platform for the creative channelisation of talent, aptitude and interests. The journal has a wide circulation and reaches military training establishments, formations and units of the Army and foreign military training academies. |
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