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Wednesday,
July 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Sahib
Singh vows to end red tape Shanta
dispels speculations Venkaiah’s team after July 6 |
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Mamata’s
insistence angers partymen J&K
poll acid test for Pak: Digvijay CBI asks
USA to extradite Rastogi Baldev
Singh’s statue demanded Tejpal,
government trade charges Sanjay
Dutt denies making confession NDA wins
RS seat in Jharkhand
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Sahib Singh vows to end red tape
New Delhi, July 2 Mr Verma, who made a comeback to the governance nearly five years after being removed as the Delhi Chief Minister, asserted that the procedures to ensure better labour welfare would be simplified and red tape eliminated. Soon after taking over the reins at Shram Shakti Bhavan, the Labour Minister held meetings with the senior officials of his ministry and the committees under his department. During a brief interaction with mediapersons, Mr Verma briefly touched upon his reaction on implementation of the report of the Second National Commission on Labour, protection of the workers interests, toning up of his department, removal of dissatisfaction among the employers and the employees and eradication of corruption. “I hope that I will come up to the expectations of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani who have reposed confidence in me. Indeed, they are highly concerned about the interests of the employers and those of the workers,” Mr Verma said. “The interests of the workers will be protected. We must ensure that everybody gets justice,” the minister assured. On how he proposed to implement the Report of the Second National Commission on Labour, Mr Verma remarked that he had not seen the report as yet. “But we have to see how quickly it can be acted upon,” he added. Earlier, he was received by the Labour Secretary Dr P.D. Shenoi, and other senior officials. He addressed them and the heads of departments. Mr Verma also presided over a meeting of the Central Advisory Committee on Limestone and Dolomite Mine Labour Welfare Fund. His predecessor Sharad Yadav also attended the meeting. Earlier, Minister of State of Labour and Employment Ashok Pradhan also assumed charge. Mr Pradhan was earlier Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.  |
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Shanta dispels speculations New Delhi, July 2 “This (change of portfolio) has nothing to do with it. It is the Prime Minister’s prerogative. I am fortunate to have been entrusted with this very important department,” Mr Kumar said replying to questions from mediapersons after taking over his new portfolio. Sources said Mr Kumar as a matter of fact had been rewarded by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as he was shifted to such a high-profile ministry. The minister said he would carry out the projects launched by Mr Naidu in the areas of drinking water and rural roads. Stating that his earlier portfolio too was related to the rural masses, he said the new assignment would be equally challenging as “India still lives in villages even over 50 years of independence”. Recalling his eventful stint in the Food Ministry, Mr Kumar claimed that he had succeeded in preventing starvation deaths in Kalahandi district of Orissa by making adequate quantity of foodgrain available in the drought-hit areas of the state at the rate of Rs 2 a kg for wheat and Rs 3 for rice. To a question, he said the proposed two-day conference of nodal agencies at Hyderabad from July 5 had been put off for the time being. The meeting had been convened to review the implementation of development programmes at the grassroots. While Mr Jaswant Singh and Mr Yashwant Sinha, who swapped the External Affairs and Finance portfolios are expected to assume charge of their respective
ministries, Mr Vikhe Patil was one of the first ministers to assume charge of the Ministry of Heavy Industries. Cine star-turned-politician Vinod Khanna took charge of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture as a Minister of State in the presence of senior minister Jagmohan. |
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Venkaiah’s team after July 6 New Delhi, July 2 In a chat with mediapersons here, new BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley said Mr Naidu had started consultations with senior party leaders and he would continue the process after his return from his native state Andhra Pradesh on July 6. Defining the goals of the BJP, Mr Jaitley said the organisation would be like a “live wire”, promoting better understanding between people and the government. “It would communicate the government’s achievements to people and convey their concerns and grievances to the government,” said Mr Jaitley who gave up his Law, Justice and Company Affairs portfolio in the Vajpayee government to opt for party work. To achieve this, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani would visit the party office once a week and similarly senior government functionaries would visit party offices frequently to send right signals to the party, people and the Government about the seriousness of the purpose. The party felt that the government’s good work did not get the right projection in the media because it tended to display the “bad news syndrome”. The party would ensure that the achievements of the government were properly projected, he added. Mr Jaitley said some hard decisions on the economic front had resulted in a 5.7 per cent growth rate at a time when the world economy was grappling out of economic recession. He agreed that the government needed to pay more attention to the concerns of the common man and ensure that his investments yielded higher and safe returns. About the problems with the allies like Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee not joining the Union Cabinet in yesterday’s expansion, he hinted that a solution was emerging. The Ministry of Railways was not a source of conflict, Mr Jaitley said. On former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel declining to join the Cabinet, Mr Jaitley said his services were needed in Gujarat where the Assembly elections were to be held before February next. |
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Mamata’s insistence
angers partymen Kolkata, July 2 Not only her adversaries, including Mr Ajit Kumar Panja, but some of her loyalists, including Mr Jayanta Bhattacharyya, MP and Mr Sovandeb Chattopadhyya, the party’s chief whip in the state Assembly, have publicly criticised Ms Banerjee for rejecting Mr Vajpayee’s offer of ‘some other important berth other than Railways’. This was suicidal for the party and the Bengal people, remarked Ms Banerjee’s close associate, Mr Chattopadhyya. Mr Bhattacharyya said as Chairperson of the party, she might take a decision on her own, but she too should remember she was answerable to the party and the people. After this insult and rebuff, would it be wise for her to remain a partner of the NDA, he asked. Mr Panja felt Ms Banerjee had betrayed the party and the people. She had committed a blunder once in leaving the NDA and joining the Congress on the even of the state Assembly elections and had again committed a blunder by not allowing the Trinamool Congress to join the NDA. Mr Panja’s followers claimed that seven other party MPs and at least 20 MLAs did not approve of Ms Banerjee’s present stand and they would soon come out in the public against her “coterie” and highhandedness. Senior leaders of the party like Mr Saugata Roy, Mr Sadan Pande, Mr Paresh Pal, Mr Subrata Bakshi and Mr Tapash Roy were not happy that Ms Banerjee had taken such a step. They were of the opinion that she ought to have joined the Cabinet and fought against Mr Nitish Kumar’s move of bifurcating Eastern Railways from within. Mr Pranab Mukherjee, WBPCC (I) President, bantered at Ms Banerjee’s rejoining the NDA, which had been suicidal for her and her party. He hoped that after this insult, she would leave NDA and join forces with the Congress to fight the CPI (M) and the BJP. The CPI (M) leadership, including the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharyya, criticised Ms Banerjee’s queer political moves which had been hampering the interest of the state. According to Mr Anil Biswas, CPI (M) Secretary of the state and a Politburo member, it was another drama by Ms Banerjee. He hoped that after this incident, Ms Banerjee would leave the NDA and join hands with the secular forces against the BJP. |
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J&K poll acid test
for Pak: Digvijay New Delhi, July 2 Talking to reporters soon after assuming charge of his new portfolio, Mr Digvijay Singh made light of his special assignment of minister-in-waiting for Musharraf saying: “That was at an individual level. We have to assess him (Gen Musharraf) by his actions in bilateral ties.” He said Pakistan would have to prove by its actions on the ground that it was determined to plug cross-border infiltration and made it clear that the elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be an “acid test” for Islamabad’s sincerity. According to him, the real challenge on the Indian foreign policy front today was to normalise relations with Pakistan. “ If a way can be found for peace after two world wars, India and Pakistan can also find a way towards peace”, he said. He added that the world was asking Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism which was a “major victory” for India. On whether there was any possibility of the resumption of a dialogue between India and Pakistan, he said “ It depends on how the situation unfolds...we have to continue to make attempts to improve the situation”. Adding a word of caution, the minister stated: “We will not allow cross-border terrorism and infiltration to continue...after all, it is a question of our sovereignty as a nation...terrorists had the audacity to attack even our Parliament.” |
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CBI asks USA to extradite Rastogi
New Delhi, July 2 Rastogi, who was arrested by the FBI in May this year in another case there, has been cited as a wanted criminal by the CBI. The CBI, after the arrest of Rastogi and three others for defrauding banks worldwide of an estimated $ 600 million by obtaining financing for sham transactions and then pledging them as collateral for loans, sent the request to the USA giving them details about the frauds committed by him in India. The FBI had sought details about Rastogi’s modus operandi in the cases he was involved in. Highly placed CBI sources said the FBI had been forwarded all details of the eight cases in which he had been involved to facilitate the extradition
request. Narendra Rastogi, along with his three brothers, was facing charges of criminal conspiracy and fraud for cheating the government of Rs 43 crore in eight cases.
PTI |
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Baldev Singh’s statue demanded New Delhi, July 2 In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Tarlochan Singh said the installation of a statue and release of a postage stamp in honour of Sardar Baldev Singh would be a fitting tribute to him on his birth centenary on July 11. The letter stated, “The role of Sardar Baldev Singh, who was India’s first Defence Minister, was unique and historical at the time of Partition. He was one of the three representatives from India who went to England to declare on behalf of the country the acceptance of the decision on Independence of India. The late Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah were the other members. Sardar Baldev Singh, following instructions from his mentor Master Tara Singh, who was leader of the Sikhs, announced that Sikhs would go with India. He as Defence Minister did a great service and was actively involved in Kashmir when an attack was made by the tribal people”. “So far India has not honoured the memory of this great son of India. I have requested the Defence Minister to have his statue outside the Army Headquarters and a photo in the Ministry of Defence. I have also requested the Minister for Communications to release a commemorative postal stamp in his
memory.” |
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Tejpal, government trade charges
New Delhi, July 2 Pointing out that Tehelka was the only
noticee to be cross-examined by the government, Tejpal, who was being questioned continuously for the fourth day here, said the government never cared to cross-examine any of the other noticees and never even wrote a line against them in the reams of affidavits filed before the commission. It was a clear evidence of the government’s intention of probing only Tehelka and not others against whom allegations of corruption were made, Tejpal said when questioned by the government’s counsel, Additional Solicitor-General. Contesting the same and citing the actions such as court martial and the establishment of the commission, the counsel said they all were actions taken by the government to ascertain the facts. Accusing Tehelka of “transgression”, he alleged that it had violated the law of the land, including the Prevention of Corruption Act and Immoral Traffic Prevention Act.
PTI |
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Sanjay Dutt denies making confession Mumbai, July 2 Dutt’s lawyers, Rajendra Singh and Farhana Shah, argued that the actor was arrested in the early hours of April 19 but in the FIR, the time of arrest was shown as 11 p.m. Defence lawyers argued that Dutt had not made a confession but merely expressed his desire to make a statement and such alleged confession was not voluntary. Besides, they said, procedure laid down under Section 15 of TADA (P) Act for recording confession was not followed in Dutt’s case. The lawyers told Judge P.D. Kode that there was no evidence to suggest that Dutt conspired with 172 others to commit terrorist acts in Mumbai between January and March, 1993. He said the prosecution was relying upon his confession and those of co-accused. These confessions had been retracted and they could not be accepted without corroboration, he added. Dutt said his confession did not disclose an offence under TADA and was also inadmissible as evidence for offence under the IPC. His alleged confession was not recorded as per law and hence could not be considered as true and voluntary, he said.
PTI |
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NDA wins RS seat in Jharkhand Ranchi, July 2 The BJP backed NDA nominee Devdas Apte won the seat by a margin of 15 votes, securing 47 votes, two more than the official strength of the NDA in the state. He defeated JMM’s Mukti Nath Upadhyaya who received 32 of the 36 official Opposition votes. The NDA has an official strength of 45 in the 81-member Legislative Assembly. The two additional votes might have come from the JMM and the Congress, political observers feel. Some Congress MLAs were reportedly unhappy with the decision of the party’s central leadership to back the Morcha nominee and opined that the Congress should have abstained from voting. Barring the two additional votes received by the NDA, the entire Opposition, including the Congress, the RJD and Left supported the JMM at the hustings.
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