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Friday,
August 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Ayodhya to test BSP-BJP ties BJP trying to rope in NCP
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Major administrative reshuffle at Centre LS adjourned thrice over remarks State’s debt: central solution by Sept NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT |
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Govt unlikely to budge
on Railway zones issue Shivani murder suspect held Jagmeet Brar
elected Farmers’ Forum chief
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Ayodhya to test BSP-BJP ties Lucknow, August 1 This is not going to be an easy decision for the Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati. On one hand will be her party’s major ally – the BJP, while on the other will be her vote bank comprising Muslims. The apex court, through its directive of July 29, has given a last opportunity to the state government to revive cases against Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, two senior Cabinet ministers – Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms Uma Bharti – and 18 others, including Mr Kalyan Singh in the December 6, 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. The court has given eight-week time to the government to remove fallacies in the charges against these leaders and issue fresh charge sheet, if it deems fit. It may be recalled that on February 12 the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court found the notification issued by the then state government to prosecute these 21 leaders full of lacunae, because the state government had not taken prior permission from the high court to set up special court for trial of these leaders in the demolition case. Based on this observation of the high court, the special court of the CBI, on May 4, stopped the trial till the state government issued a fresh and correct notification. The directive of the apex court has sent ripples in the political circles. The BJP leaders are non-committal. The media in charge of the BJP, Mr Vijay Pathak, told The Tribune that it was up to the state government to take decision. This decision would not be easy for Ms Mayawati because on May 4, 2001, in a press conference she had said if the then state government of Rajnath Singh failed to issue a notification against senior BJP leaders than her party would launch agitation against the BJP-led state government. The time has taken a full circle. After almost a year, Ms Mayawati finds the albatross of Ayodhya hanging around her neck. She has been left with just two options – one, oblivious to the repercussions she could issue fresh notification whose echo could be heard in Delhi, and two, notwithstanding her Muslim vote bank throw this issue in the lumber room. Sources close to Ms Mayawati, however, said the Chief Minister was trying to find a way out. She had sent the Advocate General and her close lieutenant Shashank Shekhar Singh to Delhi to fathom legal and political waters. She would decide her future course of action till both of them returned by Saturday.  |
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Tandon heads BJP in House Lucknow, August 1 Mr Tandon, who is also the Urban Development Minister in Mayawati’s Cabinet, was unanimously elected as leader of the BJP Legislature Party today. The post had fallen vacant following Mr Rajnath Singh’s appointment as national General Secretary of the BJP. Mr Tandon said the BJP was not power hungry. We could not compromise on our principles. We were not ready to bow just to remain in power, he said. However, he said the BJP would not take any steps to break the alliance. “We are not averse to Dalit agenda being pursued by the Chief Minister. The BJP also wants that the grievances of the poor should be addressed”, he said and added: “But no agenda should be forcibly enforced”. Earlier, former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh proposed the name of Mr Tandon as his successor. Six other legislators supported his name. As no other name was proposed Mr Tandon was elected unopposed. Mr Kalraj Mishra was present as a central observer. Later, Ms Mayawati congratulated him on his election. |
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BJP trying to rope in NCP New Delhi, August 1 The BJP is trying to convince the NCP that it should contest all 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat so that the Congress votes, particularly of the minorities, are divided and the BJP candidates have an easy time in the Assembly contests. Sources say that the chief architect of the BJP’s Gujarat strategy is Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan who is in touch with NCP President Sharad Pawar. Mr Mahajan has known Mr Pawar for decades and the two have maintained close contacts. Mr Mahajan played a crucial role when Mr Pawar deserted the Congress and formed his own outfit in 1998, the sources pointed out. Mr Mahajan, who has successfully ensured the BJP’s victory in the recently held Assembly elections in Goa, was entrusted the task of ensuring a similar feat in Gujarat by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. Since then, Mr Mahajan has been working overtime and the first move he made was during the Presidential election after the then Maharashtra Governor P C Alexander’s name had been rejected. Mr Mahajan got in touch with Mr Pawar for bringing in Mr Alexander into the Rajya Sabha. While NCP Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel maintained that the party would field someone from its own rank for the Upper House, Mr Mahajan had clinched the deal with Mr Pawar for Mr Alexander, the sources said. Now, with information of the NCP wanting to contest all the 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat being leaked out in the media, the Congress has got into motion and talks for seat sharing in Gujarat has begun but the sources said that these talks are merely eyewash as Mr Pawar’s party would finally field candidates in all assembly seats. |
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Major administrative reshuffle at Centre New Delhi, August 1 Mr R.C.A. Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, has been made Special Secretary in the Home Ministry. Mr A.K. Goswami, Secretary in the Department of Drinking Water Supply, has been appointed as Secretary of Water Resources, replacing Mr B.N. Navalawala. Mr D.K. Biswas, present Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, in place of Mr S.S. Chattopadhyay, who is proceeding on leave from August 16. Mr N.L. Lakhanpal, Director-General of Foreign Trade in the Department of Commerce, has been appointed Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat in the Home Ministry. Mr Binoo Sen, Special Secretary and Central Relief Commissioner, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Mr S.S. Meenakshisundaram, Additional Secretary in the Department of Space, has been made Secretary in the Department of Drinking Water Supply. An official announcement said these postings had been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Mr Jai Singh Gill, Director-General of CAPART, would be upgraded in the rank and pay of Secretary. Mr V.K. Agnihotri, Officer on Special Duty, 12th Finance Commission, who was in the rank of Additional Secretary, would be upgraded in the rank and pay of Secretary. Mr G.R. Patwardhan, Additional Secretary, Department of Health, has been made Special Secretary in the same department by upgrading the post for a period of three months. Mr D.T. Joseph, Director-General, Shipping, would be upgraded in the rank and pay of Secretary by upgrading the post for three months. Mr Mohan Kanda has been made Special Secretary and Central Relief Commissioner, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. Mr N.K. Narad has been appointed Special Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, by upgrading the post for three months. Mr P.L. Thanga, Joint Secretary, North Eastern Council Secretariat, would hold current charge of the post of Secretary, North Eastern Council Secretariat, in addition to his present duties on temporary measure. Mr D.R. Tiwari, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, would hold current charge of the post of Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, in addition to his present duties till further orders. |
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LS adjourned thrice over remarks New Delhi, Aug 1 Congress members, supported by the RJD and Left parties, repeatedly trooped into the well demanding “graceful and unqualified apology” from Samata Party member Prabhunath Singh for his charge that Ms Gandhi was involved in a case of smuggling of statues to Italy. Mr Prabhunath Singh told the House that he was withdrawing his remarks but he would place on Friday documents in support of his contention and gave proper notice to Speaker Manohar Joshi to raise the matter in the House. He also made it clear that he had not apologised for his comments. Congress members, led by Mr S. Jaipal Reddy and Mr P.R. Dasmunsi, took serious exception to the “heavily qualified apology with innuendoes” and requested the Speaker to direct him to withdraw his remarks without any condition. As the protests continued, Mr Joshi adjourned the House for the third time for the lunch recess. |
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State’s debt: central solution by Sept New Delhi, August 1 Replying to a discussion on serious situation arising out of deterioration of finances of states and their unsustainable debt burden, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh told the House that he would chair a series of meetings involving state finance ministers and other representatives. “Once we have controlled the bleeding of finances, we can address the substantive issue. The problem is not deducting more taxes but to administer the existing mechanism. I don’t think can be found in tax formation and there is very little we can do here.’’ The minister said he would also try to find a solution to mitigate the pressures on states on account of the last pay commission. “Once we arrive at a consensus, we shall call the Chief Ministers and then it could be dicussed in Parlaiment,’’ he said. He also hoped to finalise the question of VAT (Value Added Tax). The Finance Minister said the Chairman of the Committee on VAT had told him that 98 per cent of the work of the panel was over. He said once a firm decision was taken on the implementation of VAT, the same can be taken up at the state Finance Ministers meeting. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, August 1 If union territories without legislature are excluded, Delhi has the maximum per capita income, estimated at Rs 35,705. Chandigarh also occupies the first position in terms of highest monthly per capita consumption expenditure. The monthly per capita consumption expenditure has been estimated at Rs 1382.87. The per capita income of Punjab as of 1999-2000 stood at Rs 23,040, while that of Haryana at Rs 21,551, Himachal Pradesh at Rs 15,012 and that of Jammu and Kashmir at Rs 12,338, the Minister said in her reply. The per capita consumption expenditure of Punjab was estimated at Rs 792.07, while that of Haryana at Rs 767.89 and Jammu and Kashmir Rs 746.74, the House was informed. |
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Govt unlikely to budge
on Railway zones issue New Delhi, August 1 The BJP, however, stressed that it would try to retain the Trinamool Congress in the NDA fold in the interest of anti-Left forces in West Bengal. Asked if there would be any review or rethinking on the creation of a Railway zone with its headquarters at Hajipur before August 12, the new deadline set by Ms Banerjee, BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said: “I don’t think so. The Cabinet had certainly taken all these aspects into consideration before endorsing the 1996 decision on Railway zones.” |
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Oppn for review of disinvestment policy New Delhi, August 1 |
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Shivani murder suspect held New Delhi, August 1 Shivani Bhatnagar, a Principal Correspondent of the Indian Express was found murdered in her Navkunj Apartments flat in Inderprastha Extension of east Delhi on January 23, 1999. Wife of Rakesh Bhatnagar, Legal Editor of the Times of India here, Shivani was alone in her house along with her infant son at the time of the incident. Crime branch sources said efforts were on to trace another suspect, Sat Prakash, a property dealer of Jhajjar and a distant relative of Shri Baghwan. Shri Bhagwan is reported to have known Mr R.K. Sharma, a senior Haryana cadre IPS officer and one of the suspects in the case. The sources said Shri Bhagwan’s father, Inspector Omkar Sharma, was at one time a Station House Officer under Mr Sharma while he was posted in the neighbouring Gurgaon district as Superintendent of Police. Mr Sharma, who was earlier with the Air India on deputation, is now posted in Chandigarh as IG, Home Guards. Mr Sharma was alleged to have been close to Shivani and was in touch with her on the telephone even while he was posted in Mumbai at that time. Mr Sharma had been questioned several times by the Delhi police, even as he has refused to undergo the lie detector test. The sources said Shri Bhagwan was produced before a Metropolitan Magistrate here yesterday and was remanded in 14 days’ police custody. He is being intensively interrogated to ascertain his role in the sensational murder which rocked the city three years ago. The sources said a team of the crime branch , led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr M.S. Upadhaya, conducted several raids in the neighbouring cities of Haryana and in several areas in south Delhi on the night of July 23 to arrest Sat Prakash. However, he managed to evade arrest.
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Jagmeet Brar
elected Farmers’ Forum chief New Delhi, August 1 The Farmers’ Forum of Parliament, one of the oldest forums, came into
existence in 1961. Members from all the political parties represent this forum. After being elected to the post, Mr Brar in a statement said the first task of the forum would be to effectively monitor states, which were reeling under drought, and get compensation and relief at the earliest. A five-member team representing different political parties will be shortly visiting the 13 states to personally assess drought situation. |
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