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Monday,
August 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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All set
for vice-presidential poll Advani denies remarks on CEC Modi
govt cancels 29 death claims MP Speaker
faces graft charges Riots go on with state support: Dipankar Gupta
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Mine blast
kills 7 CRPF men Pak-based
ultra groups to join hands Congress
to decide J&K candidates on Aug 16 Ex-ultras
turn kidnappers Institute
campus made disabled-friendly ‘Muhnuchwa’ scare in UP, 12 hurt Earth turns tubby Principal
insults father; son ends life NCW
team submits report on sati Non-bailable
warrant against Gen Aurora
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All set for vice-presidential poll New Delhi, August 11 The former Rajasthan Chief Minister and a BJP veteran, with the backing of entire NDA as also parties like the TDP and the BSP, has a clear edge over his rival and Congress leader Shinde. Though murmurs of discontent were there in the NDA among some allies, no major change in the support for 78-year-old Shekhawat was being anticipated despite the Trinamool Congress’ disenchantment with the BJP. On the other hand, 61-year-old Shinde, a Dalit, who has been adopted by the entire Opposition as its candidate is expecting cross voting in his favour from some Dalit MPs belonging to the NDA. In an electoral college of 788 MPs, Mr Shekhawat is expected to win with a margin of over 100 votes, if one goes by the voting figure on the POTA legislation in the joint sitting of Parliament earlier this year. The 10-member Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has decided to keep away from voting in the vice-presidential poll in protest against the Cabinet decision not to go back on division of the Eastern Railway Zone. However, rebel Trinamool member Ajit Panja would vote for the NDA nominee. The AIADMK, despite not being part of the NDA, has pledged support to Mr Shekhawat. Mr Shinde, a prominent Dalit leader of the Congress from Maharashtra, was handpicked by Ms Sonia Gandhi. His backers include Left parties. According to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan, Mr Shekhawat is expected to bag around 455 votes, thus, leaving 333 votes for the Opposition candidate Mr Shinde. Despite the comfortable victory margin anticipated for Mr Shekhawat, the NDA alarmed over the large number of invalid votes in the presidential poll, is leaving no stone unturned and has been engaged in the exercise of educating its MPs on how to exercise their
franchise in the vice-presidential poll. On the eve of the poll, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has organised a dinner for NDA members when MPs will be given a power-point presentation on the voting process for the vice-presidential election. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh had hosted a luncheon meeting of Opposition leaders two days back to finalise the Opposition strategy. MDMK leader
Vaiko, arrested under POTA by the Tamil Nadu Government, has been granted permission by the Madras High Court to exercise his franchise in Delhi tomorrow. Akali Dal (Amritsar) MP Simranjit Singh Mann has decided not to vote because of the “anti-minorities” character of the NDA government. Polling will begin at 10 am tomorrow and continue till 5 pm. Counting will begin at 6 pm and the results announced the same day. |
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Advani
denies remarks on CEC New Delhi, August 11 A denial, issued from the media cell of the BJP Headquarters this evening, said amongst the various questions in the interaction that followed, a question was asked about some persons who adopt double standards about elections in Gujarat and those in Kashmir. “The questioner wanted to know how elections are being held in Kashmir when lakhs of people are in refugee relief camps for over a decade and being opposed in Gujarat where 90 per cent of the people living in relief camps have returned home. While answering all questions collectively Mr Advani merely made a one-sentence reference to the question by reminding the questioner that in Assam, the government have been formed after 2 per cent to 3 per cent of voting in some areas. There was no reference to the Chief Election Commissioner or other such matters as reported,” the denial issued by Mr Sidharth Nath Singh said. However, our correspondent says: “The story was based on sources, who were present at that meeting. Many other national dailies, including The Tribune, have reported the same.” The correspondent even tried to contact the Chief Spokesperson of the party, but in vain. |
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Modi govt cancels 29 death claims Ahmedabad, August 11 “Of nearly 1,000 dead during the carnage, including in Godhra, the government has rejected the claims of the next of kin of 29 persons killed,” said Mr
S.M.F. Bukhari, Chief Coordinator (Relief), appointed by the state government. “The cases were rejected because the victims themselves were found to be actively involved in riots,” he said. Mr
Bukhari, a retired IAS officer, said here today that for 774 claims, the state government had already released a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh for each victim killed during the riots. He said of the remaining cases, 14 were disputed and in 21 cases, there were “no legal heir”.
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MP Speaker faces graft charges Bhopal, August 11 The high court has issued notices to Mr Tiwari and others returnable with in three weeks. The petition, the second in the matter, has been filed by Mr Laxman Tiwari and four others of Rewa from where Mr Shreenivas Tiwari also hails. The first petition levelling charges against the Speaker annexed with the supporting documents was filed in the high court by Ram Charan Patel in 1999. The petition was dismissed without hearing by the high court with the observation that these kinds of allegations “cannot be construed as a public interest litigation” (PIL). Mr Patel then moved the apex court where a Division Bench ordered: “we are of the opinion that the high court ought not to have dismissed the writ petition before it in limine without calling for a reply and examining the same. We, therefore, allow this, set aside the impugned order of the high court and remand the case to the high court for a fresh decision in accordance with law.” As the writ petition was once again listed for hearing in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Mr Ram Charan Patel took a somersault and sought permission to withdraw the writ petition. It was dismissed as withdrawn on March 6 this year. Thereafter, the present petition, containing similar allegations and the supporting documents, was filed before the high court. The respondents are the state of Madhya Pradesh, the Secretary to the state Assembly, Mr Shreenivas Tiwari, the Union of India, and the Alp Aay Varg Griha Nirman Sahakari Samiti of
Rewa. The notices have been sent to all except the Union of India as the counsel for the petitioner had submitted that it was not necessary. The allegations against Mr Tiwari are:
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Riots go on with state support: Dipankar Gupta New Delhi, August 11 “The truth is that when a riot happens it always needs authoritative support. There can be the occasional skirmishes, but for protracted riots, state support, overt or covert, is absolutely essential,” Prof Gupta said while presenting an analytical view on the recent protracted communal violence in Gujarat. Prof Gupta was delivering the seventh Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture on “Not By Tolerance Alone: Prospects of Secularism in India after Gujarat”. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Dr Manmohan Singh, was the guest of honour on the occasion. Stating that the rhetoric of tolerant secularism just does not work to check the fire of communalism, Prof Gupta said unless one had alternative political formulations which provide some kind of hope for the future, a vision with an aura, Hindu parties would always have an edge. “Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum,” he said, adding: “to fight Hindu sectarians it is important to have realisable and promising programmes of economic well-being and development.” “A secular ideology by itself is not enough. Just discoursing on the ideology of secularism and hoping for a change of heart to come along is as good as whistling for the moon,” he said, adding: “unless our secular parties can come up with another vision, which is grand and compelling to light a fire in the popular imagination, they will be forced to bicker with sectarians on petty details, much like haggling over small change, and will constantly miss out on the bigger picture.” Dwelling at length on the pattern of the recent communal violence in Gujarat, in which hundreds of people belonging to a minority community were killed and thousands rendered homeless, Prof Gupta asserted that religion had little to do with ethnic strife. “This may sound contradictory, but a little attention to the details of rioting will demonstrate that most of the activists are not religious people themselves, and neither are their leaders. Killings take place not because contrary religious principles goad rioters on to take adversarial positions against minorities. It is enough, in such cases, that the opponents are born in a different community with a different primordial identity,” he said. He pointed out that “When Sikhs were killed in Delhi, did the Hindus bother to figure out what in Sikh religion was so offensive? Likewise, in the riots against Muslims it is not the tenets of Islam which are at issue. The rioters know so little about their own religion that it is impossible for us to expect that they know something about Islam as well.” Asserting that riots are “created”, Prof Gupta said “the need of the hour is to insist that the law applies to everybody equally and that even the political high and mighty should be answerable for crimes against citizens. “We have whole clutch of laws and that should be implemented rigorously when hate speeches and inflammatory articles are published. Then there are the known laws against murder, mayhem and arson. These constitute our secular foundations, not Gandhian goodwill, nor the pious formulations of religious liberals. Faith can never be allowed to undermine the Constitution, nor should the bigness of heart substitute for the letter of the law,” he added. Earlier, the Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis for 2001-02 was presented to Kingshuk Nag, Resident Editor, Times of India, Ahmedabad and Bharat Desai, Assistant Editor (News) of the same paper. Both shared the award, carrying a cash component of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. The award was presented by Chairman and Trustee of the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, Air Chief Marshal (retd)
O.P. Mehra. Prem Bhatia Memorial Scholarships for Research in Journalism for the present year was also presented on the occasion by well-known historian Kapila
Vatsyayan. 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, were the recipients of the scholarships. |
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Mine blast kills 7 CRPF men Bhubaneswar, August 11 According to state Director-General of Police N.C. Padhi the blast took place when the vehicle carrying the jawans was proceeding to the village to flush out naxalites involved in the murder of a villager last night. Official sources said, while five jawans and the driver of the vehicle died on the spot, a jawan succumbed to his injuries at the Gunupur hospital. Mr Padhi said exchange of fire was still continuing between the jawans and the naxalites. Soon after the incident the Naxalites, who had taken shelter in the nearby jungles, opened fire at the police party. This was the first major landmine blast by the naxalites in the history of their insurgency in Orissa.
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Pak-based ultra groups
to join hands New Delhi, August 11 "If all militant outfits unite under one banner, they stand a strong chance of replacing the APHC as the mainstream representative of Kashmiri people," the latest issue of Pakistani weekly The Herald said in an article. Quoting unnamed sources and observers among the militant ranks, it said attempts to "merge Pakistan-based outfits with those inside the valley are aimed at dismantling the now universal perception that Islamabad has indeed been guilty of cross-border terrorism". The two Kashmiri militant outfits, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad, "have now been completely disbanded and their activists have been placed at the disposal of either Syed Salahuddin’s
Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen or the Al-Omar Mujahedeen led by Mushtaq Ahmed
Zargar", alias Mushtaq Latram, who was released by India along with Masood Azhar in exchange for the Kandahar hijack hostages. A person who could play a key role in this merger move, the magazine said, was Zargar who "has since been shuttling" between the occupied Kashmir and Srinagar. "Given that he has consistently supported (the move for) Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan, he seems to be the military establishment’s favourite to head whatever united entity comes into being in the near future", it said. On the APHC, Zargar in an interview told the weekly "those conducting politics on the blood of the martyrs do not have any right to represent Kashmir". He said he could consider calling for a ceasefire with India if New Delhi "withdraws its troops from Kashmir and accepts the whole of Kashmir as disputed territory". Meanwhile, top leaders of the LeT and the JeM, including Azhar, are currently in preventive custody whereas LeT chief Hafiz Saeed’s movements are restricted after he was recently released from prison. The weekly quoted the sources as saying the Pervez Musharraf regime has decided not to raise any more Pakistan-based outfits to fight in the valley. "Although still in its infancy, this move is likely to gain momentum with the onset of winter - historically a period of low activity in the valley, and, according to ‘jehadi’ circles in
Muzaffarabad, may even result in one united organisation." "The Kashmir Liberation Army is amongst the more popular names currently floating around in
Muzaffarabad," it said. It quoted Kashmir observers as saying there was another "less visible agenda behind the proposed mergers" and that was to "replace" the APHC. Since the last ceasefire in 2000, APHC has become "increasingly frustrated with the fact that Pakistan has actually become an obstacle rather than a benefactor". "If all militant outfits unite under one banner, they stand a strong chance of replacing the APHC as the mainstream representative of Kashmiri people", it added. PTI |
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Congress
to decide J&K candidates on Aug 16 New Delhi, August 11 AICC sources said Congress President Sonia Gandhi had called a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee, which decides the candidates, on August 16. The candidates for seven constituencies in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region, 15 in Srinagar, Kupwara, Baramulla districts of Kashmir region and four in Ladakh region were expected to be finalised at the August 16 meeting. The party’s manifesto for the elections was expected to be released before the candidates were announced. The four-phased poll for 87 seats of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly would be held on September 16, 24 and October 1 and 8, 2002. The sources said a panel of two or three names for each seat had already been submitted to the Congress high command. Early declaration of candidates was aimed at giving candidates time to
canvass in the state’s mountainous terrain. Most of the areas going to the polls were also hit by militancy, they said. They said Mrs Gandhi had also convened a meeting of party MLAs, who would serve as observers for the elections, on August 13. The sources said 37 MLAs from neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were likely to be sent as observers for the elections. Apart from the MLAs, the high command was also deputing AICC observers, including Mr Mahabir Prasad, Ms Krishna Tirath, Mr Pervez Hashmi and Mr Syed Sibte Razi. While Mr Hashmi was being sent to the Kashmir valley, Mr Razi would be sent to Kargil. The Congress, which has sought the imposition of Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir before the Assembly elections, has alleged that the state government is not providing its leaders in Jammu and Kashmir with adequate security. Party leaders said security arrangements of Jammu and Kashmir PCC chief Ghulam Nabi Azad were of the level of an MLA, despite Congress President writing several letters on the issue. “While security has been provided to 4,500 leaders of the ruling National Conference, only 56 Congress leaders have been given security,” a senior AICC leader said. Referring to a recent statement of senior Congress leader from the valley about the possibility of the party not taking part in the elections in case security was not provided to its leaders, AICC leaders said the remarks emphasised the level of threat being faced by Congress workers in the valley. The Congress has begun sending its senior leaders, including Chief Ministers to the state. The Congress had planned a few more rallies in the valley in the past two days but these had to be deferred due to the illness of Mr Azad. |
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Ex-ultras turn kidnappers Lucknow, August 11 While their training in the guerrilla warfare has toughened them mentally and physically leaving them a hard nut to crack for the police, the tag of former Punjab militant help them to execute the crime with consummate ease. These facts came to the fore after the arrest of Kuldeep Singh by the Task Force
(TF) of the Pilibhit police in Amritsar recently where he was living with an assumed name. Kuldeep, a KCF member, was wanted in connection with an attack on a police party in Pilibhit district. Kuldeep confessed that he was brother-in-law of Satnam Singh
Chinna. The police claim that Chinna and his associate Swaran Singh Jwanda were self-styled KCF commandos and were operating in the Terai region when militancy was at its height in Punjab. While Chinna was a name to reckon with in the Pilibhit and Shahajahanpur region, Jwanda operated in the Nainital and Bijnore areas. After militancy died down in Punjab and Chinna was killed in a police encounter in early 1994, Kuldeep Singh, who was till then Chinna’s associate, took to criminal activities of kidnapping and collecting ransom. He was once arrested under TADA too. A police official told The Tribune that the involvement of Kuldeep in criminal activities were confirmed recently with the arrest of Jaswant Singh, alias
Chabba, of Amritsar and Satwant Singh of Sahreli in Amritsar district. A double-barrel gun was also recovered from them which was stolen from Rampur police constable in June, 2001. The two revealed names of their associates who had been listed members of the
KCF, booked under TADA, and were now actively involved in kidnapping and murders for extortions, he said. More dreaded names of KCF ultras like Gurnam Singh, Angrez Singh and Sarwajeet Singh
Pipal, who were now in operation in Terai region came to light, he said. |
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Institute
campus made disabled-friendly Jaipur, August 11 The two-day conference which concluded recently was attended by over a 100 disabled delegates from various parts of the country. The event was organised by the Disabled People’s International (India), the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and the Rajasthan Government. Efforts to make the place disabled friendly began after the Rajasthan Government agreed to the NCPEDP’s request to spare premises to accommodate delegates. NCPEDP Executive Director, Javed Abidi says he visited the institute sometime in mid-July after the Rajasthan Government identified it for hosting the conference. He surveyed the premises, including the Conference hall and the hostel along with officers of the Institute and staff members from the office of the Disabilities Commissioner’s Office. “We then wrote to State Disabilities Commissioner Damodar Thanvi and suggested modifications. The place was reasonably disabled-friendly. It was on the ground floor.” Mr A.K. Pandey, Principal Secretary, Training and Director of the institute told TNS, “We were told that about nine wheel-chair bound delegates were expected to attend the conference. We identified a block of eight rooms in our hostel. The modifications suggested included construction of Two ramps leading to the conference hall, widening of bathroom doors, lowering wash basins in bathrooms and dining hall washroom and a support bar in bathrooms. “It took us 10 days to introduce these modifications. These arrangements cost a little over a lakh. We could have saved some money by making temporary structures but we wanted to provide facilities which would benefit the disabled in times to come. We intend to carry out a disability audit to make the entire campus disabled friendly. For instance, Patel Bhawan , a building on the campus is double-storeyed and it would be necessary to construct lifts with special features but we are determined to convert it into a disabled friendly campus.” Mr Pandey said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took a round of the building after addressing the delegates at the seminar. Mr Anil Srivastava, Chief Manager of the hostel showed this scribe the modifications which had been introduced in the hostel and the conference hall. Mr B.L. Sharma, Chairman of Lok Jumbish, a registered society working for universalisation of elementary education and former Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, welcomed the initiative Of the institute in making the premises disabled friendly. He said the Collector in Jaipur, Mr B.N. Sharma had made his office disabled-friendly. The Collector’s intervention has also helped in making the Golcha cinema hall disabled-friendly. The sincerity of the Rajasthan Government towards executing the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 can be gauged by from the fact that it ensures 3 per cent reservation for the disabled in the State Civil Service. Apart from this, it is one of the few states which gives 3 per cent reservation to the disabled students in medical and engineering colleges. According to a booklet published by the Commissioner, Disabilities Office, every 25th person in the state is suffering from one form of disability. |
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‘Muhnuchwa’ scare in UP, 12 hurt
Hardoi (UP), August 11 After Delhi's 'monkey man', it's now
'muhnuchwa' or the, face-scratcher in Uttar Pradesh which is terrorising people, attacks by night and has the capability to fly and emit rays or light while approaching the targets, say reports. According to the police, about 2,500 persons from various villages blocked the Farhal railway crossing to register their protest against prolonged power cuts and
'muhnuchwa'. The unruly mob also managed to stop a goods train while trying to damage the locomotive and the railway line. The police claimed that the mob hurled stones when district and police officials tried to pacify the villagers. The use of force by authorities and stone pelting left 12 persons, including nine policemen, injured. Meanwhile, according to the DGP office in Lucknow, the mob was led by former Samajwadi Party MLA Dharmagya Mishra. A case has been registered against 45 persons in this regard, while 23 persons including Mr Mishra, have been taken into custody.
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Earth turns tubby
Hyderabad, August 11 Ice-cap melting as a result of global warming could be releasing more water to equatorial regions, widening the Earth. But the requisite rise in the sea level hasn’t been detected on Earth. Instead, the researchers think a flipping of the Earth’s magnetic field transferring the Earth’s liquid metal core away from the poles towards the equator can be part of the cause. Such a switch occurred in 1999. It is also suspected that a change in ocean currents may be piling more water around the equator than before, adding to the effect. But scientists agree the planet’s weight problem is probably just a passing phase and is not a result of human activity.
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Principal insults father; son ends life Muzaffarpur (Bihar), August 11 Mr R.K. Singh, SP, said the student, Sanjar Mishra (20), along with his father Vinay Narayan Mishra, had met the Principal of J.M. College on August 9. The Principal lost his cool when the boy’s father asked him to provide proper practical facilities to students in science subjects. He reportedly used filthy language and with the help of some staff members beat up Vinay Narayan. Upset over the Principal’s rude behaviour, the boy consumed poison later in the night, the SP said. An FIR has been lodged against the Principal.
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NCW team
submits
report on sati New Delhi, August 11 Expressing shock that such an incident
could happen even in present times, NCW Chairperson Poornima Advani,
who headed the four-member fact-finding team, said “everyone knew
about the incident in advance.” “Villagers and others knew two to
three hours beforehand that Kuttu Bai was planning to commit sati”,
she said casting aspersions on the role of the administration in the
incident. “Let me say, nobody pushed her, but nobody also saved
her,” she said. In its report, the team also recommended that the
Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act should be made applicable more
strictly. PTI |
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Non-bailable warrant against Gen Aurora Patna, August 11 However, General Aurora (retd) has also filed a petition with the Sessions Judge, Patna, seeking anticipatory bail in the complaint case pending in the Magistrate, Mr Bhanu Pratap Singh’s court. Advocate Mohammad Kamran, in a release, said the complaint case No 145 (C) of 2001 was filed by an officer of the Jharkhand Government Mohar Lal Manjhi against Chairman of Hindustan Financial Management Ltd., General Aurora (retd) and seven others.
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