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Sunday,
August 11, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Bhajan, Surjewala deny charges
Govt bent on muzzling
Press: Editors Sonia to tour drought-hit areas |
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Talks on devolution of powers to J&K held Ultras threat forces Red Fort closure
BJD suspends three MPs Trinamool divided over dharna President hosts banquet Manmohan hosts lunch for
Oppn leaders Sahib
Singh hurt in mishap
EC team visits riot-hit areas
in Baroda President can talk to MPs: SP CBI detects assets worth 9.5 cr Hazare vows to fight corruption with silence Gateway to Taj opposed Business tycoon Mallya joins
JD(U) Paramhans rejects HC suggestion on excavation
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Bhajan, Surjewala deny charges New Delhi, August 10 In a signed statement, Mr Bhajan Lal said he was giving three days’ notice to Mr Malhotra to prove his allegation or tender an apology, failing which he would be filing a defamation suit against him. Mr Bhajan Lal said the only petrol station he had was given to him 40 years ago. “I can say on oath that except this pump petrol station, neither me nor my wife nor my son have any other petrol station throughout India. If anybody can prove this allegation, I will resign from political life,” he stated. Meanwhile, Indian Youth Congress President Randeep Singh Surjewala today denied that he or any member of his family had ever applied for a petrol station or gas agency. Reacting to his name figuring in the list of Congress leaders owning petrol stations or gas agencies released by the BJP yesterday, Mr Surjewala said in a statement that there was no question of his owning a gas agency or petrol station as neither he nor any of his close relatives had applied for such dealership. He said there was no gas agency working under the name of M/s Karan Gas Service, Panchkula, with which his name had been associated by the BJP. This agency was terminated long ago as shown in the records of the company, he said in the statement. Talking about the case of former Youth Congress chief Manish Tiwari, Congress sources here said that a petrol station was allotted to his family under specified rules following the assassination of his father by terrorists. The sources said the case fell in the category of terrorist victims and the allotment had withstood judicial scrutiny. |
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Govt bent on muzzling Press: Editors New Delhi, August 10 At a seminar ‘Investigative journalism and the state’ editors from the print and the electronic media’ said the pattern in recent times witnessed in the government’s dealing of the Times reporter Alex Perry, journalist Iftikar Geelani and the latest arrest of Tehelka reporter Anirudh Bahal raised fears that Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee dispensation was “bent on muzzling the press” to serve its own end. “Bahal’s arrest and a host of recent unwarranted actions on media personnel show that the intolerance level of the government has reached a new depth,” said Star News Political editor Rajdeep Sardesai. “Obviously the government could not digest the way Tehelka succeeded in exposing corruption at high places and is on the prowl with vindictive actions” he added. Attacking the government for terrorising journalists, Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal said “they seem to have forgotten that India is a democratic country, the fourth estate is being strangulated for the job it is doing in a free society”, a view shared by Hindustan Times Editor Vir Sanghvi. “The methods used by the government are not justified and amount to assault on the democratic tenets” Sanghvi said. “The Vajpayee government is indulging in amazing acts of stupidity just because it is being cornered from various sides” Swapan Dasgupta of India Today said. “Even in the Alex Perry issue, if they felt a particular article on Prime Minister was insulting, they should have registered a protest, or even filed a defamation case rather than taking steps to throw him out of the country”, he added. Pointing out “another instance of state-sponsored harrasment” Bharat Bhushan of Telegraph said journalist Iftikar Geelani, arrested for allegedly possessing some sensitive documents, was still languishing in jail. “Even a murder accused is not treated in this manner” he said adding the Vajpayee Government was that the “most intolerent government the country has witnessed”. Mrinal Pande, Alok Mehta, V.K. Madhavan Kutty, B.G. Varghese were the others who spoke at the seminar. A resolution passed at the seminar “strongly condemned” all forms of intimidation and harrasment of media “as has been witnessed in the recent times”. “We appeal to the Government and all concerned to uphold the freedom of press and independence of the media. Such overt and covert methods should be immediately stopped” a resolution passed at the seminar said.
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Sonia to tour drought-hit areas New Delhi, August 10 The three Congress-ruled states would go to the poll next year and the party is eager to remove any misgivings among the people while portraying the BJP as the “villian.” With the Parliament session likely to end in a stalemate over the issue of the allotment of petrol pumps and gas agencies, the Congress wants to keep up the pressure on the government. The party has planned dharnas and rallies throughout the country from August 16 where the issues of “coffingate,” and Tehelka would also be raised. The Congress is not only positioning itself for the forthcoming elections in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir but also for the poll in 10 states next year. The tour of Ms Gandhi through the drought-affected areas, which is likely to start from August 16, is also aimed at projecting the difference in the approaches of the BJP and Congress governments towards handling of drought. The Congress, which treats the handling of the 1987-88 drought by the Rajiv Gandhi government as a role model, has been calling upon the Vajpayee government to take leads from that example. Apart from setting up a task force, Rajiv Gandhi had personally toured some of the drought-affected areas to get a first-hand assessment of the situation. As if to draw a comparison with the BJP-led government whose senior leaders have not toured the drought-affected areas so far, Ms Gandhi would spend some days with the people in such areas. The Congress president is also planning to focus more on Uttar Pradesh, her home state, where the party has been performing poorly. |
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Talks on devolution of powers to J&K held New Delhi, August 10 The marathon talks, lasting nearly three hours, were held between the Centre’s interlocutor Arun Jaitley and the seniormost minister in Farooq Abdullah’s cabinet Ghulam Mohideen Shah at North Block. During the meeting, Mr Shah explained the legal, political and constitutional aspects of the state government’s demand for greater autonomy, a resolution for which was passed by the state assembly in July 2000, state government sources said. Later talking to reporters, Mr Shah said the meeting went off in a cordial manner. “The positive approach on the part of the Centre’s interlocutor was worth appreciating,” Mr Shah said. “I have explained to him the need for autonomy to the state as this will definitely strengthen the Centre-state relations besides meeting the aspirations of the people of the state,” Mr Shah said. He said the government had suggested sending a delegation to the state and, if possible, holding talks with other groups on the issue of autonomy. The third round of the autonomy talks would be held in the last week of August at Srinagar, he said. Mr Shah said both sides stressed the need for adopting a positive approach in the ongoing talks so that these could lead to an amicable resolution of the issue that had been on the backburner for the past two years. The talks assume significance especially after the poll for the state had been announced. The ruling National Conference would have to explain to its voters the progress made on this front as it was their main poll plank in the 1996 elections. The first round of talks were held on July 25. The state Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution for greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, but it was rejected by the Union Cabinet on July 4, 2000. The Centre said it was willing to hold talks on devolution of more powers to the state but would not agree to restore the pre-1953 status to Jammu and Kashmir. However, the Chief Minister, Mr Farooq Abdullah clarified that the pre-1953 resolution was the basis for only holding the discussions and that the state would settle for anything if mutually agreed.
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Ultras threat forces Red Fort closure
New Delhi, August 10 The closure of the Red Fort is one among the various steps takenby the Delhi police to ensure an incident-free Independence Day celebrations in the Capital. Taking no chances, the Delhi police decided to close the Red Fort for general public from yesterday, a week in advance, as the threat perception is high this year. Normally Red Fort is closed
for public viewing a couple of days before August 15. “Considering the serious threat perception and the need to sanitise the area around the Red Fort well in advance, it was decided to close it from the midnight of August 9,’’ a senior Delhi police official said.
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BJD suspends three MPs Bhubaneswar, August 10 According to the BJD secretary-general Dr Damodar Rout, the Lok Sabha Speaker has been informed about the suspension of these members from the party. The suspended BJD MPs were: Ms Kumuduni Pattnaik, Mr Prabhat Kumar Samantray and Mr Jagannath Mallick. BJD parliamentary leader and Union Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethy had submitted the necessary papers to the Lok Sabha Speaker on the suspension of these MPs, sources said. The BJD has 10 members in the Lok Sabha. Of the suspended members, Ms Pattnaik is the wife of senior BJD leader Ram Krushna Pattnaik who recently resigned from the Cabinet expressing displeasure over the induction of some BJD leaders into the August 6 expansion of the Council of Ministers. His wife had created ripples in the party when she dashed a letter to the Chief Minister in June last urging him to sever links with the NDA if the Centre did not declare Orissa a special category state. Political observers viewed the suspension of the MPs as a move to pre-empt a possible split in the BJD parliamentary party. Recently six BJD Lok Sabha members, including the suspended MPs had met Prime Minister and submitted a memorandum demanding revision of coal royalty, waiver of loan and operationalisation of east coast zone at Bhubaneswar forthwith. Party sources said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took exception to the way the delegation met the Prime Minister without intimating Parliamentary Party Leader Arjun Charan Sethy.
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Trinamool divided over dharna Kolkata, August 10 Uncertainty prevails because the party’s central leadership is now divided over the issue. Moreover, several MPs have also opposed the decision to boycott the election of the Vice-President, scheduled for that day. Party MPs like Mr Sudip Bandopadhyya and Mr Bikram Sarker are now openly objecting Ms Banerjee’s decision to boycott the NDA candidate, Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, whose name was proposed by Mr Sarker which Ms Banerjee herself seconded. Another problem arose due to non-availability of bulk reservation of tickets for all party delegates in Rajdhani Express for Sunday. Mr Jyotirmoy Mallick, MLA, who is negotiating with the Railways, admitted that so far he had failed to procure tickets for all delegates. Mr Mallick alleged that no railway officer was helping them get the reservation since their plan was to stage a dharna before the Prime Minister’s residence. Ms Banerjee, however, has not so far made it clear whether the decisions to boycott the Vice-President’s poll and pull out of the NDA will be changed. She said the party’s working committee would meet in the Capital on August 13 to finally decide on the matters. But leaders close to her indicated that party MPs and MLAs might take part in the Vice-President’s election and vote for the NDA candidate, Mr Shekhawat. Meanwhile, the Trainamool Congress today, as part of its programme of agitation took out a procession in the city against the bifurcation decision. The CPM organised demonstrations separately at various railway station including Howrah and Sealdah against the bifurcation. Meanwhile, the Congress formally asked the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, to call an all-party meeting for calling a Bangla bandh against the bifurcation, which both the Chief Minister and the CPM Secretary, Mr Anil Biswas rejected. |
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President hosts banquet New Delhi, August 10 This was the customary inaugural banquet given in Ashoka Hall by the President to the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers. Apart from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and a host of ministers, the Presiding Officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha — Speaker Manohar Joshi and Acting Chairperson Najma Heptullah — attended the several-course banquet. Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma, who hurt his back in a freak car accident today, could not attend the banquet as he is admitted to Apollo Hospital and had been advised bed rest for several days. Sources disclosed to The Tribune that about 100 invitation cards had been printed for the banquet that began at 8 p.m. Political observers see the presidential banquet in context of Dr Kalam’s visit to Gujarat beginning on August 12 which has stirred a hornet’s nest in the Vajpayee government. The Sangh Parivar is peeved at President Kalam’s forthcoming Gujarat visit. This is evident by the fact that VHP's Jammu and Kashmir unit President Ramakant Dubey today wrote to President Kalam clearly expressing his anger and shock at Dr Kalam’s move. Mr Dubey said "This news shocked us as you have not thought of visiting our state Jammu and Kashmir where Hindu refugees, 50 times more in number than the refugrees of Gujarat, stood hounded out from the Kashmir valley and living in outside camps in a pitiable condition for long 12 years. "We ... request you to postpone your Gujarat visit and first come to Jammu and Kashmir refugee camps, see the plight of the hapless Kashmiri Hindu refugees, extend a healing touch to their wounds and thus establish your impartiality and a sense of natural justice. |
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Manmohan hosts lunch for
Oppn leaders New Delhi, August 10 The luncheon meeting was attended by a number of Opposition Leaders, including Mr Somnath Chatterjee, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Mr Nilotpal Basu. A similar get-together is being hosted by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee over dinner for MPs of the NDA and other supporting parties which are backing the NDA’s vice-presidential nominee Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. The dinner, a day before the Vice-Presidential elections, is being organised to acquaint members about the poll procedure in view of the large number of invalid votes in the presidential poll. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was present along with senior leaders Arjun Singh, Pranab Mukherjee and Suresh Pachouri at the meeting. |
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Sahib Singh hurt in mishap New Delhi, August 10 Hospital sources said Mr Verma has suffered thoracic-spinal injuries and his condition was reported to be stable. However, they maintained that investigations were going on and only after conducting all necessary tests and getting a complete assessment report, the actual condition of his health could be gauged. The minister would be kept under observation for some time at the hospital, they added. Earlier, family sources said, Mr Verma suffered injuries in the back when the driver of his car applied sudden brakes. |
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Delhi HC directive on matrimonial ads New Delhi, August 10 Mr Justice S.N. Kapoor said the advice aimed to guard against misrepresentations that may be made in some matrimonial advertisements. The
judge noted that the Press Council of India (PCI) had advised all
newspaper editors to publish such advice which reads: “Readers are
advised to make appropriate thorough inquiries before acting upon the
advertisement. The newspaper does not vouch or subscribe to the claims
and representations made by the advertisers regarding the particulars
of status, age and income of the bride/bridegroom.” On May 16, the
PCI informed the High Court that it had approved the draft of the
advice. PCI Law Officer Manju Sharma told Mr Justice Kapoor that the
note was unanimously passed at a full council meeting chaired by
Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy (retd). The judge said newspapers would discharge a social responsibility by publishing the advice, though adding that they were not responsible for advertisement contents. The court was dealing with a case in connection with glaring false representations in a matrimonial advertisement by a man. Similar false representations were surely being made by others as well, the judge noted. All newspapers should take appropriate precautions so that they do not become party to duping, he said. “It
is a matter of grave public importance and we all have to make an
effort to save the gullible. Not only the newspapers but also the
entire society is supposed to take precautions in this regard,” he
said. UNI |
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EC team visits riot-hit areas
in Baroda Baroda, August 10 Mr Lyngdoh, accompanied by the Election Commissioners Mr T.V. Krishnamurthy, and Mr B.B. Tandon, is in Gujarat to ascertain if the situation was conducive for elections. Minority community leaders put forth their views on behalf of the victims before the team that spent a couple of hours in the
localities. During visit to the Best Bakery area, where about 12 persons were burnt alive, the team interacted with local members. At several places, the team was told how rioters wearing masks attacked them and looted their houses and shops before setting fire to the same. The Hindu residents complained they were being harassed by the police and those detained had not been released on bail. The Gujarat state Election Commissioner, Mr Gurucharan Singh, also accompanied the team.
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President can talk to MPs: SP New Delhi, August 10 Talking to reporters, the SP spokesman Mr Amar Singh also hailed the President’s decision to visit Gujarat saying that it should not be viewed from a political angle, but rather from a human angle. Mr Kalam is reported to have expressed a desire to address MPs before Independence Day to emphasise the need for speedy and all round development of the nation. However, the idea has since been seemingly dropped in view of the present stand-off between the government and the Opposition on the petrol pump allotments. On the political scenario in Gujarat, Mr Amar Singh said the party was in a position to take on the Congress there but to keep communal forces out, it favoured a tie up with that party. However, he ruled out any such arrangement with the NCP. He attacked the Mayawati government for its handling of the drought situation. |
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PM’s remarks insulting: Ahmadi
Bangalore, August 10 Refering to his speech in Goa where he was quoted by the media as blaming Muslims as a class, Justice Ahmadi said “the Goa speech took away everything of what he spoke in Ahmedabad. It has added insult to injury (to the Muslim community)”.
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CBI detects assets worth 9.5 cr New Delhi, August 10 Senior agency officials said the raids were carried out at 114 locations spread over 40 cities and 37 cases of corruption were registered, 10 against senior government officials.
The raids, which started last morning and continued till early today led to the recovery of cash and investments of Rs 1.52 crore and property worth Rs 7.90 crore.
They were part of a special CBI drive to detect cases of corruption, bribery and abuse of official position by public servants and against economic offenders. A CBI spokesman said a Superintendent of Customs, A.C. Punwar, was arrested by the CBI during the special drive for allegedly accepting a bribe.
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Hazare vows to fight corruption with silence Ralegan-Siddhi (Maharashtra), August 10 Addressing a gathering here today, Mr Hazare said about 18 months ago he had submitted at least 736 cases of corruption with evidence but the state government had failed to take any action. He asked the government to take stern action against “corrupt” ministers within a month, failing which he would resort to “maun-vrat’’ (silence) from September 21 to October 2. He alleged that the Chief Minister was shielding corrupt elements, including some of the Nationalist Congress Party, major coalition partner of the Democratic Front. Charging that the Democratic Front government had failed on all fronts, Mr Hazare suggested that mid-term polls would be the best solution to check the deteriorating condition of the state. Mr Hazare also pointed out that Mr Pawanraje Nimbalkar, Chairman of Osmanabad District Cooperative Bank, the main accused in the government securities scam who was arrested in Pune, was a brother of state Energy and Irrigation Minister Padmasingh Patil.
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Gateway to Taj opposed Agra, August 10 The Tata group, which last October entered into an agreement with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), for maintenance of the monument, has finalised plans to open a new gateway to the Taj through a cowshed, according to sources here. Situated north of the eastern gate of the Taj, the cowshed is the property of the ASI, and is looked after by the Chief Horticulturist. Though ASI officials did not give details of the plan, it is learnt that the proposal provided for the construction of a reception centre in the area vacated by the cowshed. On entering the Taj precincts, the visitors would have to pass through a new gate opening on the Taj quadrangle and reach the main gateway. Reacting sharply to the proposed changes, Prof Ramnath, noted writer on Mughul architecture, and Prof Agam Prasad Mathur, historian and former Vice-Chancellor of Agra University, said no one had the right to tamper with protected monuments, specially a world heritage monument such as Taj Mahal. The Preservation of Monuments Act 1958 specifically forbids any change in the structure of the monuments or their plan, the sources said.
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Business tycoon Mallya joins JD(U) Bangalore, August 10 JD(U) President and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Sharad Yadav made the announcement at a news conference in the presence of Mr Mallya, party leader Ramakrishna Hegde and state leaders. Mr Yadav said Mr Mallya who was “informally” associated with the party had now made a formal entry into it and announced his appointment as Senior Vice-President of the party. Mr Mallya, Chairman of the UB Group, who had won the Rajya Sabha seat with the support of Janata parivar — JD(U) and JD(S) from Karnataka, said he joined the JD(U) following the advice of Mr Hegde. “I have publicly stated that my father figure and mentor is Mr Hegde. He is largely instrumental in getting me into Parliament. Following his advice and wishes I am joining JD(U),” Mr Mallya said.
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Paramhans rejects HC suggestion on excavation Jaipur, August 10 “No Hindu religious deity, once installed, can be shifted and I will not allow removal of the Ram Lala idol from the present site till the last drop of blood in my body,” he told a press conference here. He asserted that the court could arrive at a conclusion without digging the disputed site.
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