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Tuesday,
June 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Row with Pak: India rules out SAARC role TMC-Cong merger on Aug 1 CPC amendments to be enforced
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Deshmukh to expand Cabinet by July 27 Fillip to irrigation schemes needed Godhra case: 36
get arrest warrants
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Row with Pak: India rules out SAARC role New Delhi, June 17 India’s viewpoint was conveyed by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Murshid Khan at a meeting here this afternoon. The Indian statement came in the wake of reports from Bangladesh which suggested the involvement of SAARC in resolving the long-standing dispute between India and Pakistan. The two foreign ministers also discussed some Indo-Bangla issues as well as the situation in the region and agreed to cooperate in the global war against terrorism. An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Bangladesh concurred with New Delhi’s view that India and Pakistan should bilaterally settle their differences. Bangladesh also assured India that it would not allow its soil to be used by forces inimical to the unity and integrity of India. It pledged to crack down on insurgent groups, which were actively involved in subversive activities in the North-Eastern region. This is the first visit of the Bangladesh Foreign Minister to New Delhi after the installation of the Khaleda Zia government in Dhaka in October last year. The two countries stressed on the need for proper policing of the 4096-km porous border between them. On the demarcation of the remaining 6.5 km border, the two foreign ministers hoped the issue would be resolved soon. Observing that there were certain procedural difficulties in the demarcation of the border, the spokesperson was confident that these would be sorted out amicably. Mr Khan was assisted during the talks by Bangladesh High Commissioner to India T K Haider and other senior officials while Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer and Foreign Secretary-designate Kanwal Sibal assisted the Indian Foreign Minister. Earlier in the day, the visiting minister had a lengthy meeting with National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra. He was also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister
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TMC-Cong merger on Aug 1 New Delhi, June 17 However, the merger convention will be held in Madurai on August 1 and is likely to be presided over by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The TMC leadership took the decision after its 10-member Political Affairs Committee had an hour-long meeting with Mrs Gandhi at her residence here this afternoon. The TMC chief, Mr G.K. Vasan, son of the late G.K. Moopanar, the founder of the TMC who broke away from the Congress six years ago on the issue of the party’s alliance with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, told reporters that TMC leaders explained to Mrs Gandhi that the merger was needed to strengthen the party in the state. Mr Vasan and AICC Secretary Ramesh Cheninithala denied that there were any conditions for the merger of the two parties. “It was the cherished desire of the late Moopanar which has now been fulfilled”, Mr Chennithala said. Asked whether there would be a revamp in the TNCC and who would be heading it, Mr Chennithala said all such issues would be decided by the Congress chief. Sources said TMC leaders pleaded with Mrs Gandhi that the post of Pradesh Congress Committee president be given to a leader from their party. Indications are that the TMC, which has 22 MLAs, might get the leadership of the Congress Legislature Party. Asked whether the merger would lead to the formation of a third front in Tamil Nadu, Mr Chennithala asserted, “We will be the first front in the state and the TMC’s merger with the Congress will rejuvenate the nationalist movement in the state.” The PCC President, Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan, while welcoming the merger, said this would be a turning point in the political history of Tamil Nadu. The TMC had broken away from the Congress in 1996 when the then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao decided to have an alliance with the AIADMK, bypassing the state unit. Negotiations for the merger commenced late last year. The AICC despatched senior leaders Oscar Fernandes and Chennithala to Chennai last month to hold discussions with the rank and file of the TMC in a bid to assuage apprehensions that the merger would mean TMC leaders playing second fiddle to the Congress. |
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CPC amendments to be enforced New Delhi, June 17 The two amendments to the CPC, passed by Parliament this year, restricts a party to the litigation from seeking more than three adjournments and abolishes second appeal in money suits where value did not exceed Rs 25,000. “The general power of the courts to extend the time prescribed in the CPC is restricted to 30 days now. Earlier, the courts could extend time without any limit. Besides, on the filing of revision application against the orders of a subordinate court, its records shall not be called unless the High Court orders to do so specifically,” a note said. The CPC amendments of 1999 and 2002 “will come into force with effect from July 1, 2002”, the official note said here today as these two have been gazetted. “The amendments seek to compress the time frame for disposal of all civil cases within a year by setting a time limit for every stage of litigation,” it said. The reforms initiated by then Law Minister Ram Jethmalani had met with stiff resistance from the advocates who went on long strikes paralysing work in courts in 1999. Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley, who also was in favour of the reforms, held wide consultations with the Law Commission of India, Bar Council of India, Bar Associations and others in thrashing out the controversy and arriving at a broad consensus.
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Deshmukh to expand Cabinet by July 27 New Delhi, June 17 Mr Deshmukh, who called on Congress President Sonia Gandhi here today, told mediapersons that the expansion would take place in consultation with the Congress General Secretary in charge of the state, Mr Vyalar Ravi, before July 27, when the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly commences. This was the first visit of Mr Deshmukh to the Capital after winning the trust vote. Stating that the recent experience had made him “realise” that even small parties were essential in a coalition government, Mr Deshmukh said, “The expansion will involve induction of MLAs from the Peasants and Workers’ Party (PWP) and Independents, besides those of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the Council of Ministers.” The PWP had abstained at the time of trust vote in the Assembly. He said the ratio of Congress and NCP ministers in the expansion would be in accordance with the already laid down agreement between the two coalition partners. Refusing to say how many MLAs would be inducted in the ministry, the Chief Minister said, “A detailed proposal would be prepared by me and Mr Vyalar Ravi. The exercise will take time.” |
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Fillip to irrigation schemes needed New Delhi, June 17 Inaugurating a one-day conference of state secretaries in charge of the Command Area Development Programme here, the minister pointed out that there was a need for a steady implementation of the projects for better results at the farm level. Mr Sompal, Member (Agriculture), Planning Commission, underlined the need for strengthening the agriculture sector as the main base for economic growth. Emphasising on the need for providing a fillip to minor irrigation programmes, he pointed out that economic activity developed in rural areas would alone reflect on the overall development of the economy. |
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Godhra case: 36
get arrest warrants Godhra, June 17 Fiftyeight passengers were burnt alive in the February 27 Sabarmati Express arson. The sources said the Godhra railway court had issued arrest warrants on June 10 ordering the accused — on the run since February 27 — to appear before the court on July 15. They have been charged with murder and damage to public property under several IPC sections.
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