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Thursday,
August 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Vajpayee
may visit Ground Zero on Sept 11 Power supply near normal
Ruckus in
RS over Powell’s remarks Ensure fair poll in J&K: Elders Oppn
agrees to talks on George’s boycott |
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Nitish
refutes Mamata’s charge
Slight
fall in infiltration: Advani NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT Army
chief’s China visit cancelled Panel
wants universal PDS to be restored Sushma
warns Bollywood Power
supply to erring VIPs snapped Drought:
Congress CMs to meet on August 4 Magsaysay Award
has come too early: Pandey TOI staffers
share Prem Bhatia award
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Vajpayee may visit Ground Zero on Sept 11 New Delhi, July 31 A special session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is being advanced to enable world leaders to pay homage to the victims and reaffirm their resolve to unitedly fight the menace of international terrorism. The session of the UNGA, generally held at the end of September, is being brought forward at the request of the George Bush administration. During his recent visit to India, US Secretary of State Colin Powell had specially conveyed to Mr Vajpayee the desire of President Bush that the presence of leaders from all over the globe on September 11 would bolster the fight against terrorism. Though official sources said Mr Vajpayee’s programme was yet to be finalised, there is likelihood of his being at Ground Zero in New York to mark the horror of September 11 and then go on to address the UNGA. In the event of the programme being finalised, the Prime Minister will not be going to Washington to meet Mr Bush. The meeting with Mr Bush and other bilaterals will take place in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA session. Meanwhile, General Powell has sought to put his visit to India and Pakistan in perspective to reporters accompanying him. He said his sojourn to the subcontinent was to see that “we are not going down the de-escalatory ladder, to make sure that both nations understood that we had a broader agenda beyond just the campaign against terrorism which is important and beyond just cross-border infiltration.” He acknowledged that there was still a long way to go before negotiations began which got back to the fundamental question of “what happens in Kashmir”. Responding to questions, General Powell said Kashmir was now on the international agenda and everybody was now focused on it. “Everybody understands that we had a close run thing about a month or a month and a half ago and the ultimate cause of that potential conflict was Kashmir,” he added Further, he said: “One will have to wait and see how the elections in Jammu and Kashmir go and whether it is truly free and fair, with broad participation”. He felt the elections were “one step forward in a process of determining the will of the Kashmiri people.” |
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Power supply near normal New Delhi, July 31 BHOPAL: “Indiscipline, maybe; theft, no,” said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh on Wednesday on the state overdrawing power from the western grid. He was talking to mediapersons at the pressroom of the Assembly, the House having been adjourned following the ruckus created by opposition members. Earlier, Leader of Opposition Gauri Shankar Shejwar alleged that the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board Chairman, the Power Minister and the Chief Minister had committed “theft” and their “criminal act” had caused a lot of suffering to the people. He said he was writing to the Prime Minister, seeking a CBI inquiry into the affair. |
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Grid collapse: probe ordered New Delhi, July 31 The Ministry would hold a meeting of
the states coming under the Western Grid along with other officials on
Saturday. UNI |
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Ruckus in RS over Powell’s remarks New Delhi, July 31 Raising the issue during zero hour, Congress member Natwar Singh said External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha should make a statement on Mr Powell’s discussions with Indian leaders as it concerned country’s foreign policy and national security. There should be a full-fledged discussion on the issue, he added. He was joined by several Congress and Left Party members who were on their feet vociferously demanding a detailed discussion immediately. Agreeing that the issue was “serious”, Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah said the Business Advisory Committee meeting tomorrow could decide on when to take up the discussion. Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh said the government was willing for a discussion on it. |
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Ensure fair poll in J&K: Elders New Delhi, July 31 Participating in a short discussion on the situation in Kashmir with particular reference to the recent incident in Qasim Nagar, Jammu, former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani suggested that the work of the Election Commission be supplemented with independent observers. Expressing optimism that a peaceful solution to the Kashmir problem was possible within the ambit of the Constitution, Mr Jethmalani said the need of the hour is for the government to initiate a sincere dialogue with genuine representatives of the Kashmiri people. “I have always said that if there is any government which can find a solution, it is the government in which the BJP is an active participant. I believe that this problem can be solved when we give up the frozen postures of cliches of the last 55 years.” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh said that excessive dependence on the international community, like the USA and the UK to solve the Pakistan and Kashmir imbroglio has not helped to address the situation. Congress member and J & K PCC chief Ghulam Nabi Azad said that college and university boys in J& K wield AK 47 rifles instead of pens and carry greanades in place of books in their bags. He said that Kashmiri Pandits are living in subhuman conditions. In his maiden speech, Congress member Ashwani Kumar said the government’s response to the grave situation in J & K suggests nothing more than ad hoc reactions to each crisis. He said American State Department spokesman Richard Boucher’s description of General Musharraf as a “stalwart ally’ in the fight
against terrorism has been shredded to smithereens the government’s claim that
Pakistan stands diplomatically isolated. Others who participated in the debate were Mr N. Chaturvedi (BJP), Mr P.G. Narayanan (AIADMK), Mr S. Vidhuthalai Virumbi (DMK) and Mr Janeshwar Mishra (SP). |
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Tolerance need of the hour: PM
New Delhi, July 31 “After every few years, something happens in our country that makes us uncomfortable about the disconnect between what we preach and what we practice,” Mr Vajpayee said at a function after releasing three books written by eminent jurist and Member of Parliament
L.M. Singhvi. UNI |
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Oppn agrees to talks on George’s boycott New Delhi, July 31 After Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani suggested that the issue had stretched too long and it should be resolved, the Leader of the Opposition Dr Manmohan Singh agreed to hold a meeting with Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah over the issue. However, the RJD and the Left parties were not satisfied and insisted that they would put forward their viewpoint in the House. The Deputy Chairperson refused to hold any discussion during question hour, which led to a walkout by the RJD and the Left parties. Opposition members in both Houses of Parliament have frequently paralysed the proceedings over the issue, saying that they did not recognise Mr Fernandes as the Defence Minister ever since he was re-inducted into the Union Cabinet last year. The issue came up today again in the Rajya Sabha during question hour when a Congress member refused to ask a question on defence, saying that he did not recognise Mr George Fernandes as the Defence Minister. Mr Fernandes was not present in the House when the Deputy Chairperson called Mr R S Gavai to come up with his query on whether Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was looking towards the private sector to execute its major projects. However, the Minister of State for Defence Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, was present. “I am sorry, I cannot put up my question because we don’t recognise Mr George Fernandes as the Defence Minister,” Mr Gavai said after the Deputy Chairperson called his name. This was followed by loud protests and counter-protests from Opposition and Treasury Benches. The Left and RJD members seemed in no mood to settle down and wanted to start a discussion, which was disallowed by the Chair. Dissatisfied, the Left and RJD members, led by Mr Nilotpal Basu (CPM), walked out of the House. |
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Nitish refutes Mamata’s charge New Delhi, July 31 After the issue was raised by Congress member Kamal Nath in the Lok Sabha, Mr Nitish Kumar said he was under no pressure from any quarters to hide the real facts about the incidents. Accepting the demand for a full-fledged discussion on the issue, the Railway Minister dismissed the Opposition charge that the bifurcation decision was aimed at appeasing the Samata Party and Bihar. Mr Nitish Kumar said the Samata Party had fought the elections as part of the NDA on a common minimum programme and a national agenda for governance. “The bifurcation has nothing to do with politics. There is no question of give and take,” he said. On the issue of Railway zones he said it was decided by the Union Cabinet in 1996 and 1998. The decision on the creation of new divisional railways was taken much earlier, he added. Earlier raising the issue, Mr Nath quoted Ms Bannerjee as saying that Mr Nitish Kumar had a role in the Godhra incident “cover-up”. The Congress member demanded that the forensic report on the incident be placed in Parliament and the names of those killed in the carnage be made public. Significantly, no Trinamool Congress member was present in the House during the discussion. CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee contended that the issue should not be treated as one of confrontation between West Bengal and Bihar. He said the reports of the CAG, standing committee on the Railways, the Rakesh Mohan Committee and six former railway board chairmen had opposed the move on the ground that it would be an “operational disaster”. Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said the division was not feasible or economically viable. The Railway Minister reminded members in the Lok Sabha that he can’t be engaged in a “running commentary” as a minister. “I cannot be responding to a running commentary,” the minister said, adding jocularly that “it was a different thing when I was on the other side”. Samata Party member Prabhunath Singh was unsparing in his criticism, charging Ms Banerjee with raking up the issue so that a scandal involving rail supplies when she was the minister was not exposed. |
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Slight fall in infiltration: Advani New Delhi, July 31 Answering a series of questions on terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the Deputy Prime Minister, also looking after the Home Ministry, said India was still verifying Pakistan’s claims that it had stopped abetting infiltration. He said it was too early to carry out an assessment as to whether infiltration had ended permanently or temporarily. The recent figure collected by various intelligence agencies reflected that infiltration had gone down marginally, he said, adding that the Pakistani statements were an indirect admission that it had been sending terrorists in the past. Pakistan was also using neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh to push infiltrators, he added. Mr Advani said the security forces had stepped up their vigil and had apprehended or killed infiltrators. Minister of State for Home Affairs Ch Vidyasagar Rao said the diplomatic and effective border control measures had seemed to have yielded results. However, according to the information available, about 3,000 infiltrators, most of them of foreign origin, were waiting to cross over to India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, said Mr
Rao. There were about 70 to 75 camps active in this region offering terrorist training, he added. Mr Rao said the number of terrorists killed this year so far was 870 in 1,863 incidents, as against 757 in 2,105 incidents previous year. The civilian casualties so far were 483 and 437, respectively, during the same period. The number of security force personnel killed this year was 163, compared to 170 in the previous year, he said. This figure included volunteers of village defence committees and special police officers. Mr Rao said the number of terrorist-related incidents in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh was negligible, but there were reports that the possibility of the ISI attempting to revive violence by foreign-based Khalistani forces was high. In the recent incident in the firing range in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, the guns recovered had markings of the militant group
Lashkar-e-Toiba. He said Pakistan had been providing arms, ammunition and training to terrorists and had also been transporting them. It had also been providing them with money in India through clandestine channels. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, July 31 In a written reply, Minister of State of Home Affairs Ch Vidyasagar Rao said during this period, 163 security personnel, 870 terrorists and 483 civilians were killed. The minister said in addition to continued diplomatic initiatives at various levels, redeployment of troops at the borders and intensive pressure on terrorists in the hinterland, the Centre, conjointly with the state government, had adopted a multi-pronged approach to contain cross-border terrorism perpetrated by the pro-Pak terrorist outfits or the ISI. The measures adopted included strengthening of border management to check infiltration, proactive action against terrorists, gearing up of intelligence machinery, greater functional integration through an institutional framework of operation groups and intelligence groups of Unified Headquarters at all levels, improved technology, weapons and equipment for security forces and action as per law against overground supporters of the terrorists, the minister told the House. The strategies, tactics and dynamic deployment to counter the terrorists were being constantly reviewed, refined and monitored at various levels in the state and government and the Centre, the House was told. In reply to another question, the minister said there was no specific information about activities of the Jaish-e-Mohammad in Uttaranchal. However, the presence of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in particular had been noticed in the recent past. Some remnants of Punjab militant groups were also active some time back. The minister said 32 organisations had been notified as terrorist organisations under their support in countering the activities of militant groups. Under the scheme of modernisation of state police forces, financial assistance of Rs 5.05 crore and Rs 8.444 crore were released to the Government of Uttaranchal during 2000-01 and 2001-02, respectively, the minister said. In reply to a question whether the ISI of Pakistan had formulated a plan to attack the Jammu and Kashmir Press, Ch Vidyasagar Rao said the government had no specific report about this. However, some mediapersons in the state had been threatened, manhandled or shot at in the recent past by various separatist or terrorist elements as they attempted coverage of their activities. Further, because the Government of Pakistan did not favour holding of free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the ISI was making efforts to disrupt the peaceful conduct of Assembly elections there. The minister said the state authorities had recently been advised in the context of the forthcoming Assembly elections to review the assessment of threat to various categories of persons, including mediapersons, and to provide them with necessary security. Such a review of the assessments had recently been carried out by the state authorities, following which many mediapersons had been provided with security cover as deemed to be appropriate by the competent authorities, the minister told the House. |
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Army chief’s China visit cancelled New Delhi, July 31 The MEA intervention came days before General Padmanabhan was to leave for a 10-day trip to China. His departure was tentatively slated for July 29. "No visit (by the Army chief) to China is taking place. This is how the things stand as of now," well-placed sources in the government told The Tribune. The MEA objection to the Army chief's proposed China visit is believed to be two-fold. One, though New Delhi is committed to improving ties with China, the Vajpayee government is keen to do so on an equal footing and on the principle of reciprocity. New Delhi does not want to be seen as going head over heels in its dealings with China as the Pakistani establishment has been doing for years. Sources said the chiefs of Indian Air Force and Navy had already visited China and the Chinese Air and Naval chiefs were yet to return the visit. The then Air Chief ACM A Y Tipnis and the then Naval chief Admiral Sushil Kumar had visited China. Secondly, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself is slated to visit China sometime later this year. Though the exact dates of Mr Vajpayee's visit are yet to be worked out, some dates in September or October may be considered. In the event of the head of the government himself due to visit China, there was no need for the Army Chief to visit that country, sources added. Interestingly, if General Padmanabhan were to proceed to China as planned his visit there would have eventually coincided with that of his Pakistani counterpart, who is also the President — General Pervez Musharraf. General Musharraf is reaching China in a couple of days, marking the final leg of his three-nation tour of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China. |
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Panel wants universal PDS to be restored New Delhi, July 31 The committee, headed by farm economist Abhijit
Sen, also asked the government to immediately rationalise the Minimum Support Price policy on the basis of cost of production. The committee on Long Term Foodgrain policy in its report presented to Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Mr Sharad Yadav favoured going back to the “universal Public Distribution System with uniform foodgrain prices for all consumers.” The committee recommended that an additional subsidy meant for the poor or persons in relatively backward regions should be given in cash to states. “The fiscal impact under universal PDS will be small .... and positive”, Mr Sen told reporters soon after submitting the report. Other recommendations for streamlining the PDS include setting up of an independent watchdog body, relaxation of restrictions on eligibility to be a licensed fair price shop dealer, effective implementation of the PDS (Control) Order, 2001, and greater responsibilities to panchayati raj bodies. |
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Sushma warns Bollywood
New Delhi, July 31 “Industry status was given to the sector so that film makers can get funding from legitimate sources. But in spite of that if they approach the underworld, serious steps will be taken and they will be prosecuted as per the law,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters on the sidelines of a book release function here last night.
PTI |
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Power supply to erring VIPs snapped Lucknow, July 31 The dues ranged from Rs 23 lakh to Rs 2.9 lakh and the defaulters included four former UP Chief Ministers Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta, Ram Naresh Yadav and Narain Dutt Tiwari, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal. The sudden action of the power engineers, associated with the Uttar Pradesh Abhiyanta Sangh, has caught the government unawares. What prompted the engineers to take up cudgels with this privileged lot was the suspension of two of their members by the Power Minister, Mr Ramveer Upadhaya, for failing to realise pending dues of around Rs 4,000 from a consumer. The minister had detected the default during a surprise inspection of a sub-station in Lucknow following which he decided to fix the responsibility on an assistant engineer and a junior engineer and ordered their suspension. “Two of our colleagues were suspended for their failure to realise just Rs 4,000. So we decided that we should start realising dues from those consumers who owe Rs 1 lakh or more to the UPPCL, Mr Shailendra Dubey, national general secretary of the All-India Power Engineers Confederation, said. The government finds itself in a quandary as it cannot ask the engineers to suspend the drive as Chief Minister Mayawati in a written order had stated that power employees would not be paid salaries if they failed to realise power dues. The senior ministers held a meeting at the residence of the CM and it was decided that the power supply could be restored if the defaulter pays 10 per cent of the unpaid amount and pay the rest on a regular monthly basis. Mr Dubey told TNS that there was tremendous political pressure on the employees responsible for the drive. “At the residence of the Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) the guard even threatened to open fire,” he said. Among the defaulters is the Civil Services Institute run by IAS officers with power dues is up to Rs 23 lakh. The pending bill of the APC, Mr Brijendra Yadav, is Rs 9 lakh. Former Chairman of the Revenue Board Aparmita Prasad Singh owes Rs 5,09,162. Another retired officer V.N. Channa had failed to pay up bills totaling Rs 1,85,016. Among the former Chief Minister Mr N.D. Tiwari topped the list with outstanding power dues of 5.7 lakh, following by Mr Kalyan Singh Rs 2.18 lakh, Mr Ram Prakash Gupta Rs 2.02 lakh and Mr Ram Naresh Yadav Rs 8.01 lakh. Close on their heels were former ministers Sanjay Singh with a pending power bill of Rs 5.12 lakh, Mr Ammar Razvi with Rs 4.59 lakh. But it was Mr Fateh Bahadur Singh son of former Chief Minister late Veer Bahadur Singh, who took the cake with outstanding dues of Rs 12 lakh. |
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Drought: Congress CMs to meet on August 4 Raipur, July 31 He told reporters here that the meeting was expected to evolve a strategy to effectively deal with the situation which, he said, was alarming in several states. Mr Jogi hinted that Ms Gandhi might tour the drought-hit areas of some states, and a programme in this regard was being prepared. Replying to a question about the drought situation in Chhattisgarh, Mr Jogi said the state government had already declared all 98 tehsils in 16 districts as drought-affected. As per preliminary estimates, the state would require a package of Rs 1,700 crore to tackle the drought situation, which has led to the damage of crops, drinking water crisis and shortage of fodder for animals. Pointing out that the state government had requested the Centre to send a study team to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, the Chief Minister said an assistance of 100,000 tonnes of foodgrains and Rs 330 crore was required immediately. He said directives had already been issued to district collectors to start relief works in all affected areas to check migration of agriculture labourers. Besides, steps were also being taken on a warfooting to ensure drinking water arrangements, he added.
UNI |
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Starvation
deaths disturb MPs New Delhi, July 31 Some members belonging to the Biju Janata Dal alleged that the Food Corporation of India’s purchase of agricultural produce from farmers in Orissa was inadequate and payment was invariably delayed.
UNI |
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Small farmers to be hit hard: Ajit New Delhi, July 31 Describing the crop prospects as grim, the minister said coarse cereals like bajra were the worst victims of erratic monsoon behaviour, while pulses and oilseeds would also be affected substantially. “It is a bad sign. The situation in areas badly affected by drought has become worse as there has been no rainfall for the past several days in most of the regions experiencing dry spell”, he said. However, the worst drought in 15 years would not affect consumers severely as there were huge food stocks and enough foreign exchange for import of edible oils, if necessary. |
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Magsaysay
Award has come too early: Pandey Lucknow, July 31 Mr Pandey said he was not even aware that the work he started with two other fellow NRI students from California 11 years ago would earn him international recognition. “At that time it was primarily the concern of contributing something for the children back home that had led us to establish the orgnaisation,” he said of Asha, founded in 1991 for educating and running livelihood projects for children in Uttar Pradesh. Today, Asha has spread its wings all over the globe with at least 35 chapters in the USA, besides separate chapters in Hong Kong, Australia and several other countries. In India, it funds as many as 120 projects in places like Guwahati, Chennai, Kanpur and Mumbai, besides running schools in the quake-hit Kutch, the riot-hit Gujarat and the insurgency-infested areas of Assam.
PTI |
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TOI staffers share
Prem Bhatia award New Delhi, July 31 Mr Nag and Mr Desai have been honoured with the award in recognition of their “ excellent professional and objective reporting and analysis of the communal violence in Gujarat”. The award carries a cash component of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. The jury consisting of S Nihal Singh, Ajit Bhattacharjea, S.K. Singh, Inder Malhotra, Madhavan Kutty and Harish Khare, announced the award on Monday. The award will be presented on August 11 by the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust. Noted sociologist of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Prof Dipankar Gupta will deliver the Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture on the topic, “India after Gujarat”. The jury also
announced the names of the recipients of the scholarships for research in journalism for the present year. Jaideep Mishra, Assistant Editor of the Times of India, New Delhi, Luv Puri, Staff Reporter at Jammu of The Hindu, and M.P. Basheer of the Quest Feature and Footage, Kochi, are the recipients of this year’s scholarship. The scholarships, two of which have been funded by the Sir Dorabjee Tata Trust and third by the Mahindra Educational Foundation, carry an amount of Rs 60,000 each. |
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