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Saturday,
June 15, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Amar Singh hits out at Left Lok Janshakti backs Kalam European NGOs urge Pak to rein in ISI ‘Cong will return to power in Gujarat’ |
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Ex-ministers take govt fridge, coolers home Non-Akalis told to stay away from Sikh affairs Film producer’s bail plea adjourned Bhagat’s nephew sees conspiracy
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Amar Singh hits out at Left New Delhi, June 14 The Left parties oppose corruption but still join hands with scam-tainted people at the time of elections. Though we have been extending support to the Left at the time of elections, they never reciprocate. Rather, they field their candidates against us,” SP spokesman Amar Singh said here. He also refuted the Left parties’ claim that the SP had been expelled from the People’s Front. He asserted that the SP had on its own walkedout of the Front and said it would be wrong for CPM leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet to say that the SP was expelled from the Front. “The SP is not isolated, it is the Left,” he added. Asked to comment on his party’s stand on Left candidate Lakshmi Sahgal, he said once Dr Kalam was in the fray and the SP had already announced its support to him, Ms Sahgal’s candidature would not have much of a significance any more. “The Left has committed another historical blunder by fielding Ms Sahgal. They will repent at leisure,” he said. On Left parties’ charges that the SP had joined hands with the BJP in supporting Dr Kalam’s candidature, he said those who levelled such allegations against the SP should see their own nationalist credentials. To a question as to why the SP chose to dump Opposition unity for the sake of the NDA candidate for the high office, he asserted that even before Dr Kalam became an NDA nominee, the name of the noted scientist was proposed by it to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. “How can we oppose him now. Moreover, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as then Defence Minister in the erstwhile United Front government made Dr Kalam the country’s Defence Advisor and recommended his name for Bharat Ratna,” he said. On the Left parties’ reservations that Dr Kalam had no political experience, leged even the former President S. Radhakrishnan did not have any such background. |
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Lok Janshakti backs Kalam New Delhi, June 14 “We wanted second term for Mr Narayanan, who had during his tenure enhanced the stature of the highest office by remaining impartial. But now that an atmosphere has been created in favour of Dr Kalam, everybody should support him gracefully... we also propose to support his candidature,” LJP chief and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told newspersons here. Mr Paswan said “we are not supporting Dr Kalam because he is a Muslim but because he is a renowned scientist, a man of unquestionable stature and is fit to be nominated for any post.” Lauding Mr Narayanan’s performance during the past five years as President, Mr Paswan expressed confidence that Dr Kalam would be “as good a President as Mr Narayanan”. |
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Presidential poll process picks up New Delhi, June 14 Soon after the Left Front announced the candidature of INA veteran Lakshmi Sahgal, CPM MPs Nilotpal Basu and Ramachandra Pillai visited the ground floor office of the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General in Parliament House and collected the nomination papers, sources said. The ruling BJP followed suit by picking up four sets of nomination papers later in the day, sources said. So far, nine nominations had been filed by private citizens for the highest office in the country. However, all these papers were incomplete, without the mandatory backing of 100 MPs or MLAs, and the Rs 15,000 security deposit. The last date for filing nomination is June 25 and the scrutiny of nominations will be taken up on June 26. The last date for withdrawal is June 28. |
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Basu flays NDA for fielding Kalam Kolkata, June 14 Dr Kalam is a scientist and it would have been better for him as well as the country had he remained in the world of science, the veteran CPM leader remarked. |
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European NGOs urge Pak to rein in ISI New Delhi, June 14 The NGOs which have put forward their demand include the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) and the International Peace Bureau (IPB). They have also asked Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to remove top ISI officers from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, reform the organisation and release its hold on national and foreign policies. The NGOs, at a recent news conference in Geneva, called for a genuine, verifiable and permanent end to cross-border terrorism as a covert tool for the promotion of foreign policy goals by Pakistan. Expressing grave concern over dangers of a continuing stand-off between India and Pakistan, the NGOs urged New Delhi to push ahead the ongoing peace process in Jammu and Kashmir and ensure free, fair and impartial elections there, vital for restoring the confidence of the people of the strife-torn state in the democratic process. The NGOs circulated a paper entitled ‘J and K: Road Map for Peace and Reconciliation’ in which they called for de-escalation of current India-Pakistan tensions by adoption of concrete steps to reduce the likelihood of a nuclear conflict, a situation reminiscent of the “balance of terror” that hung over the globe like Damocles’ Sword during the Cold War era. The paper set a deadline of 15 days for shutting down all terrorists’ training camps in Pakistan, Pok and the northern areas. |
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‘Cong will return to power in Gujarat’
Dahod, (Gujarat), June 14 Addressing a well-attended public meeting at the Arts College grounds at Leemkheda in Dahod district during her day-long visit, she said the BJP government led by the Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, had not only “failed’’ on all fronts but also dragged a progressive state like Gujarat back by years due to its policies. Describing Mr Modi as a “criminal’’, she said the state’s sufferings had multiplied after he become the Chief Minister. “He failed to control the unprecedented violence that killed ‘thousands of people’ recently and there should be no place for such an ‘enemy of humanity’ in state politics,’’ she aded. The ideals and achievements of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel in Gujarat had been thoroughly destroyed by the BJP government, she alleged. Mrs Gandhi’s hard-hitting speech began an hour behind schedule after she arrived from Kutch district, where, earlier in the day, she dedicated to the people 754 houses built by the Rajasthan Government for the quake victims of three villages. Criticising the Modi government for its “anti-farmer and anti-industry’’ policies, Mrs Gandhi said unemployment and poverty had increased during the BJP rule and nothing had been done for the emancipation of women. “The entire society in Gujarat is unhappy,’’ she claimed. Mrs Gandhi said after coming to power, the Congress would bring back peace and security in Gujarat and work towards the uplift of the downtrodden, OBCs and others. Referring to the recent communal riots, she said the state had witnessed several crises in the recent past, like the recurring droughts, floods, cyclones and the earthquake. “But none of these put Gujarat back by decades like the recent riots have,’’ she felt.
UNI |
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Ex-ministers take govt fridge, coolers home Lucknow, June 14 According to a report prepared by the PWD, the number of erring ministers is 73. There were 98 ministers in the last government — which saw three chief ministers. Among this list of 73 ministers, 51 had lost election. As per the state government norms, the ministers are entitled to various luxury items in their government bungalows. But once they cease to be ministers, these items are supposed to be returned to the government. Instead, said an official, the majority of them have taken these items to their native places. The PWD has sent notices to the former ministers asking them to return government property by June 30. “If they fail to return the items, the government may deduct money from their pension,” said the official. The PWD report shows that the government had extended this largesse to 103 minister-rank leaders. The list shows that 103 refrigerators, 125 geysers, 208 coolers, 168 pedestal fans, 125 table fans, 124 table lamps and 230 heaters were distributed among these leaders. According to an estimate, the government had spent over Rs 5 crore in furnishing the bungalows of these ministers. But after the elections, the department has got back only 30 refrigerators, 35 geysers, 56 coolers, 42 pedestal fans, 23 table fans, 16 table lamps and 36 heaters. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General had shown that ministers of the last UP Government had gulped tea and snacks worth crores of rupees. One of them Mr Dal Bhadaur Kori, had furnished a bill for Rs 35 lakh as entertainment charges. The situation is no different this time. The Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati, is known to drive in a cavalcade of 20 cars. The fuel costs over Rs 19,000 per day. Over Rs 10 lakh has been spent to re-do the official residence of the CM. Carpets have been replaced with venyl flooring and granite tiles. The bungalow of Public Works Minister Aradhan Chaudhry has been renovated at the cost of around Rs 8 lakh. |
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Non-Akalis told to stay away from Sikh affairs New Delhi, June 14 The call came in the wake of senior BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana pledging support to candidates fielded by the Shiromani Akali Dal, his party’s ally, for the June 30 elections to the Akali-exclusive Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). Mr Khurana had denied charges, levelled by SAD Delhi unit chief Avtar Singh Hit, that the BJP leader was siding with Badal opponents loyal to Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. “Any explicit or implicit support from a national party in Sikh religious affairs will never be tolerated by the community,” Prof Phull, a former chief political adviser to the late Akali leader Master Tara Singh, told a news conference here. Prof Phull, who also announced his resignation as adviser and member of the Badal party, expressed his dissatisfaction with a nine-member candidate selection board set up by the SAD ahead of the DSGMC elections. “Five out of the nine board members are themselves alcoholics, how can one expect them to select candidates who are required to be teetotallers by the Act?” he asked. The DSGMC elections are for the first time being fought on political lines in the wake of a split between Mr Badal and Mr Tohra in 1999. The previous elections were held in 1995, only for the third time since the Act came into being in 1971. The Tohra faction in Delhi is led by former DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna.
UNI |
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Film producer’s bail plea adjourned Mumbai, June 14 Rizvi’s petition was adjourned by Mr Justice S.S. Parkar after special public prosecutor Rohini Salian urged for time to file reply. Rizvi’s lawyer Sayaji Nangre consented to the prosecution’s plea. A local court had yesterday framed charges against him, film financier Bharat Shah and two other accused. Rizvi urged for bail on medical ground and on the ground of parity saying that co-accused Bharat Shah had been enlarged by the Supreme Court.
PTI |
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Bhagat’s nephew sees conspiracy New Delhi, June 14 Stopping short of naming anybody, he said: “It was a continuation of the process of distortion of history,” he said. “I blame the government and the film certification board for allowing these distortions”. |
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