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Tuesday,
August 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Kashmir
panel draws flak from BJP Stall
Centre’s move on poll, Kalam urged
Centre lowering EC’s dignity: Congress |
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EC deviated from its role: Advani BJP
adopting double standards on poll: SP Oil firms
cancel dealerships Parties
oppose E. Railway bifurcation Court
rejects Babi's plea Shah Rukh
defends Bollywood Sinha to attend SAARC meet VHP
threatens to boycott some papers Maoists
sneak into India Curfew
lifted in Godhra Kidwai to attend CLP function Attendance
recording machines for AIR ‘Command failure
led to ’62 defeat’ Two
acquitted in Kini murder case 3-yr RI
for three in fodder scam case Sahib
Singh Verma stable Avtar
Singh is GOC of A Corps Armitage coming on Aug 23
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Kashmir panel draws flak from BJP New Delhi, August 19 Briefing newspersons here, party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “Deferment of elections to appease those who are unwilling to have faith in India’s Constitution and sovereignty is not the need of the hour.” “All nationalist political parties must carry on a sustained campaign against the fear of the gun and persuade the voters in large numbers to participate in the elections,” the spokesman said. Referring to the statement of Mr Ram Jethmalani that a major demand had come from various parties in Jammu and Kashmir except the ruling National Conference that elections “ought to be postponed for some time”, Mr Naqvi said, “This will not help serve the cause of democracy.” Also taking a dig at opposition parties for not favouring early elections in Gujarat, the BJP spokesman said the party regarded as detrimental to democratic values that organised campaigns had begun suggesting deferment of elections in various states. “The nation is witnessing pseudo-secularists turning into pseudo-democrats, wherein the electorate is to be avoided as a part of secular democracy. We reject this concept,” he said. “Let the elections isolate those who are unwilling to participate in India’s constitutional and democratic activities,” he said. |
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Stall Centre’s move on poll, Kalam urged New Delhi, August 19 Terming the BJP-led NDA government’s move as “unwarranted” and a “mischievous move” to undermine the constitutional authority of the Election Commission, the parties felt that it was fraught with “serious political implications” and called upon the Opposition parties to unitedly protect the democratic institutions from being manipulated by the Sangh Parivar for their political objectives. Responding to the EC’s firm rejection of early elections in Gujarat, the Union Cabinet, at an extraordinary meeting here yesterday, decided to make a presidential reference to seek the Supreme Court’s opinion on the EC’s interpretation of Article 174 of the Constitution under which there should not be a gap of more than six months between two Assembly elections. On the President’s role, CPM politburo member Sita Ram Yechuri remarked that the President had to evaluate the merit of the Cabinet decision and could refer back the decision to the Cabinet for reconsideration. Mr Yechuri said the Cabinet decision had “serious” political implications because it questioned the constitutional authority of the EC as stipulated in Article 324 of the Constitution. The CPI General Secretary, Mr A.B. Bardhan, accused the government of being “hell-bent on questioning the authority of the EC just because it was taking an independent position on its own findings on the spot and had refused to yield to the BJP’s demands.” Stating that the EC’s decision not to hold early elections was within the purview of the powers of the commission, given the situation prevailing in Gujarat, Mr Bardhan said the EC had first sent a nine-member official team, followed by the Chief Election Commissioner’s own visit. CPI (M-L) Central Secretariat member Ranjit Abhigyan said Dr Kalam should take this opportunity to affirm and uphold the authority and dignity of the EC and dismiss the Narendra Modi
government. |
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Centre lowering EC’s dignity: Congress New Delhi, August 19 Party spokesman Anand Sharma said the reaction of the Central government and the BJP on the Election Commission report on Gujarat poll was unfortunate. He said the Centre’s decision was aimed at “subverting institutions empowered to protect the Constitution,’’ and the BJP leadership had acted in furtherance of their agenda to “cynically exploit the communal divide of their creation for electoral benefits.’’ The BJP, Mr Anand Sharma said, wanted early elections in Gujarat and Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who had even gone to the extent of dissolving the state Assembly to pressurise the EC, was disappointed over the Commission’s report on poll in the state resulting in “frustration and nervousness”. “The government has chosen not to accept the report and recommendations of the commission which had exercised its mandate as per the Constitution,’’ he said. Mr Anand Sharma said the detailed report of the Election Commission made it clear that the situation was far from normal and there were a large number of voters whose names did not figure in the electoral rolls which have not been revised. Another spokesman Abhishek Singhvi described as “disinformation” the campaign by BJP leaders that the Election Commission had not acted in its powers by suggesting use of Art 356 in Gujarat. He said the EC only talked about possibilities in the event when the poll process was not completed within six months of the Assembly being dissolved. Raising the issue of BJP president Venkiah Naidu and his family having been allotted land in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Singhvi demanded that the state government should take back the land allotted against rules and prosecute the guilty after an inquiry. |
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EC deviated from its role: Advani New Delhi, August 19 “It is the duty of the Election Commission to conduct elections and not to postpone it. Never in 55 years, the Election Commission has taken such a decision,” Mr Advani told newspersons here. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that in the present case, the Election Commission instead of seeking necessary help from the Centre for the conduct of free and fair poll had decided to postpone it indefinitely. |
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BJP adopting double standards on poll: SP New Delhi, August 19 Reacting to the Cabinet action to make a presidential reference on the Election Commission’s order on Gujarat poll SP General Secretary Amar Singh said the decision was an attack on the constitutional authority. He said neither the President was bound to take opinion of the court, nor was the court compelled to advise the President. Referring to the developments in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he charged the Vajpayee government with adopting different yardsticks by favouring Central rule in J&K and opposing such a measure in the riot-torn Gujarat. He said though the National Human Rights Commission and the Election Commission described the situation in Gujarat as serious, the government was not prepared to back their views. On the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, Mr Amar Singh criticised the media trial of Union Minister Pramod Mahajan and said the SP opposed witch-hunting, personal character assassination and levelling of allegations without substantial evidence. "It is not fair to point the needle of suspicion at Mr Mahajan," he said, adding that it was for the minister to decide whether or not to resign from the government or
not. |
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Oil firms cancel dealerships
New Delhi, August 19 As the controversy that marred the monsoon session of Parliament dragged on, the Centre informed the Delhi High Court that it would not dispossess the dealers whose allotments had been cancelled because of the government’s August 9 order. It would, however, continue its cancellation drive. Oil companies said the first phase of the cancellation process had almost been completed. The second phase of terminating the letters of intent has also begun as the supplies to more than 500 distributors of petrol, LPG and kerosene had been stopped by oil companies. Highly-placed sources in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said more than 2,100 notices to dealers had been served till yesterday. Oil companies today reportedly served more than 1,500 notices on their dealers for cancelling the letters of intent.
UNI |
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Parties
oppose E. Railway bifurcation Kolkata, August 19 The Trinamool Congress, which has been fighting separately under the leadership of Ms Mamata Banerjee, also took part in the meeting. The BJP, however, did not join the meeting. After the meeting Mr Bhattacherjee told the media he would meet the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, either tomorrow or on Tuesday to convey to him the united stand of all political parties of the state. He said he would request Mr Vajpayee to once again review the decision and set up an expert committee to re-examine the bifurcation proposal. If the bifurcation move was not stopped, he would once again meet the political parties to chalk a future programme of agitation, the Chief Minister said. Congress(l) leader Atish Sinha and Mr Pradip Bhattacharyee said they would extend all support to Mr Bhattacharjee to force the Centre to withdraw the bifurcation move. Other party leaders like Mr Debabrata Sarbhadhikery (SUCI) and Mr Kironmoy Nanda (DSP) expressed the similar views. Trinamool Congress leaders taking part in the meeting, however, did not meet newsmen at Writers Buildings and told them they would first report to their leadership about the outcome of the meeting. The TMC leaders who participated in the meeting were Mr Mukul Roy, an office-bearer, and Mr Partha Chatterjee, MLA. SUCI leaders said they were in favour of calling an India bandh involving other states to be similarly affected by bifurcations. The other states, which will be affected by the Railway Minister’s decision to set up nine new zones, are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Jharkhand and
Maharashtra. |
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Court rejects
Babi's plea Mumbai, August 19 The designated
judge, Mr P D Kode, rejected her plea on the ground that Babi had not deposed before, despite being summoned thrice. The judge also perused the documents filed by her in the court and observed there was no evidence to show Dutt’s involvement in the case. The judge observed that Babi had also made serious allegations against the CBI and international secret agencies, but could not substantiate her claim. He directed the registrar to warn Babi not to send such letters to the court and make false claims without any substance. The judge warned that in future such petitions would not be entertained and that the court would take serious view of wild allegations levelled against anyone without any material. He upheld the contention of public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam that Babi’s application be dismissed as she had failed to produce evidence against Dutt.
PTI |
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Shah Rukh defends Bollywood
Agra, August 19 “In my 11-year stint as an actor, I have failed to get proof of a nexus between the Bollywood and the underworld and if this misconception was a fact, either I am blind or a fool,”
Shah Rukh told a press conference last night. He said if there was any such nexus, it had been exaggerated grossly out of proportion and he was sure that 90 per cent of the film-makers had nothing to do with the underworld The actor was here in connection with the launching of a new product by the Videocon group of companies. Shah Rukh said the film industry in the country had been growing on its own strength and it needed public support to grow further. He expressed the hope that the next 10 to 12 years would see the industry becoming one of international repute
and one of the few best film industries in the world. Comparing the film ‘Devdas’, in which he played the lead role, with the older one, the matinee idol said the latter was the original and the new film was only a remake of it. On the attempts to make a comparison of his performance with the one by Dilip Kumar in the old ‘Devdas,' Shah Rukh said one could not compare a father and son. He said the popularity of TV channels had not affected the film industry as 80 per cent of television programmes were film-based. The actor said he did not have any immediate plans to act in TV serials.
PTI |
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Sinha to attend SAARC meet New Delhi, August 19 Mr Sinha made this clear when he told reporters after the swearing in of Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as Vice-President. “There is no question of meeting Mr Haq in the present circumstances when infiltration from across the border is continuing,” he said. Interestingly, spokespersons of both Indian and Pakistani foreign offices also stated that no meeting between Mr Sinha and Mr Haq was “envisaged”. Pakistan has to clearly deliver on its pledges to permanently end cross-border terrorism and dismantle terrorist infrastructure, including training camps, the Indian foreign office spokesperson, Ms Nirupama
Rao, said. Meanwhile, India today dismissed as “baseless and rubbish” Pakistan’s allegation that New Delhi was involved in attacks on churches and other minority institutions. Ms Rao said Pakistan was itself involved in promoting and encouraging terrorism in other countries. |
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VHP threatens to
boycott some papers New Delhi, August 19 Maintaining that the land allotted to Sangh-affiliated institutions in the Capital was as per norms and without any concessions whatsoever, VHP Senior Vice-President Acharya Giriraj Kishore accused a particular daily, which "exposed the scam", of itself taking favours from a previous government, turning its plot into a commercial complex and encroaching on public land. The VHP leader, in his usual self-righteous assertion, said: "Those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others. This does not indicate healthy journalism. If this targeting continues, we can even go to the Press Council of India and call for a boycott. Newspapers should not forget our cadres are part of their readership". Shaken by media stories, Mr Kishore claimed that the VHP had paid over Rs 23.27 lakh towards the cost of the plot allotted to it in the heart of the city and would be paying an annual rent of Rs 56,760 for it. "All rules have been followed. All clearance has been taken. Is it a crime to have affiliation with the Sangh? The media should exercise some restraint," he said. He asked why no one was questioning “the land allotted to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and the Communist Party next to our plot.” Asked why so many Sangh-affiliated outfits had been allotted land, he said: "If there are 50 members in a family, shouldn’t they have one roti each?" |
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Maoists
sneak into India Patna, August 19 The border
police, is alerted after central Intelligence agencies warned the state police of infiltration. The Intelligence sources said that Tibetans were opting to enter India via Nepal. Sources said that the Tibetans fleeing their country are travelling to Kathmandu and making all papers there to enter India. However , Intelligence sleuths said that the Chinese insurgents, who resembled the Tibetans were using Tibetan identity as a guise to enter India with arms. Sources maintained that through Bihar, where the entry is most convenient because of a long and porous boundary with Nepal along its eight districts , the Tibetans went to
Dharamsala and other places in Himachal Pradesh to take refuge. In the meantime, intelligence sources have warned that Maoists are sneaking into Bihar alongwith the large number of Nepalese visiting Deoghar in Jharkhand to participate in the month-long Shrawani Mela. Many Hindu devotees are going to Deoghar to offer prayers in Baidyanathdham Temple and the Maoists of Nepal mingle with them and sneak in arms to be delivered to the MCC ultras in Bihar. The state government has already sent a Special Task Force in the Bagha forest areas of West Champaran after intelligence reports that the Maoists are getting arms training there and are running camps for the purpose. |
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Curfew
lifted in Godhra Godhra (Gujarat), August 19 The miscreants had begun their attack on the ill-fated train at around 0815 hours on February 27 and torched four coaches an hour later. The district administration had imposed a curfew at 10.00 hours that day.
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Kidwai to attend CLP function New Delhi, August 19 Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be formally elected CLP leader at the meeting of the Congress
MLAs. AICC leaders said Mr Hooda would be elected CLP leader unanimously according to the decision taken by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The leaders said there was no confusion on the issue. “As CLP leader is always elected in the presence of AICC leaders, the process would formally take place in the presence of Ms Mohsina Kidwai on August 23,’’ they said. During her meeting with the Haryana
MLAs, Ms Kidwai is expected to give a tough message on the issue of indiscipline, which has been rattling the high-command. The infighting has not abated even after the recent top-level changes in Haryana
PCC. Ms Kidwai today described as “politically motivated,’’ registering of cases against former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and several other Congress MLAs in the state by the BJP government. She said the Congress would not be cowed down by such steps. “These steps were being taken by the BJP government in desperation as all its earlier efforts to book Congress leaders had come to a naught,’’ Ms Kidwai said. She raised questions over the inquiry
commission report on the basis of which the Congress leaders had been booked. Ms Kidwai indicated that the new PCC team in Punjab would be constituted soon. |
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Attendance
recording machines for AIR New Delhi, August 19 Although the move is being resisted by the unions, the authorities are not willing to yield. Sources in Broadcasting House told TNS that their photographs were taken for the punch cards early this month. The Association of Radio and TV Engineering Employees (ARTEE) recently met the Director-General, Doordarshan, Mr S.Y. Quraishi, and said the move to instal punching machines was illegal in the absence of any policy decision. “He told us that the decision was taken by the former CEO, Prasar Bharti Board, Anil Baijal, who is presently Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,” said Debashish Chowdhury, Additional General Secretary of the ARTEE. The Deputy Director-General (Administration), AIR and Chief Vigilance Officer, Prasar Bharti Board, Mr Uday Sahai, told TNS that the punch card system would serve as an access control system in terms of fixing responsibility about who comes at what time. |
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‘Command failure
led to ’62 defeat’ New Delhi, August 19 “We got badly beaten in 1962 war not because our Army was not capable, but it was due to failure of the Command,” he said at a function organised by the Delhi Study Group. |
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Two acquitted in Kini murder case Mumbai, August 19 Laxmichand Shah, the landlord of a building at Matunga in central Mumbai, and Suman had been charged with putting pressure and threatening Ramesh Kini, a resident, to vacate his rented flat. Kini’s death on July 23, 1996, had made headlines for several reasons — his body was found in a theatre in faraway Pune and for the political overtones the case had acquired. His wife too had alleged that some political personalities were behind her husband’s murder. Two post-mortem examinations were conducted in the case.
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3-yr RI for three in fodder scam case Patna, August 19 Designated CBI Judge
S.K. Mishra, who had on August 16 convicted Lalit Kishore Prasad
Srivastava, Naresh Choubey (both clerks at the treasury) and Ramaballabh
Choudhary, an employee of the Animal Husbandry Department, of the crime, announced the sentence this
afternoon. PTI |
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Sahib Singh Verma stable New Delhi, August 19 |
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Avtar Singh is GOC of A Corps New Delhi, August 19 A veteran of the 1965 and 1971 wars in the western sector, General Avtar Singh had commanded a strategically important brigade in Jammu and Kashmir and a frontline division in the western theatre. |
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Armitage coming on Aug 23 New Delhi, August 19 Speculation about the postponement of Mr Armitage’s visit was being made as External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha would be away on the dates when Mr Armitage would be here. Mr Sinha is leaving for Nepal tomorrow to attend SAARC Foreign Ministers’ meeting. |
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