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Monday,
September 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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PM briefs
Kalam on New York visit TN rejects CRA order, to move SC NC
misusing govt machinery, says Congress Wheat,
rice tariff cut proposed |
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Manisha
meets Sushma Swaraj Air Force to induct upgraded Sukhois Panel:
employers can retrench workers NDA one
on sell-off: Jaitley No move
to ban foreigners on high posts Bid to
split Trinamool PM to
present ‘chadar’ at dargah Shekhawat
in Jaipur
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PM briefs Kalam on New York visit New Delhi, September 8 During his 40-minute meeting, Mr Vajpayee discussed the broad contours of his New York visit where he would meet a host of world leaders on the margins of the UNGA, including US President George W. Bush. There would, however, be no meeting between Mr Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. The Prime Minister is expected to focus on Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism during his address before the United Nations on September 13. In his speech, Mr Vajpayee is likely to underline the importance of international community taking necessary steps to fully implement the UN Security Council’s resolution 1373 which makes it mandatory for member countries to eliminate all forms of terrorism, including action against sponsors. India’s stand has been that Pakistan has failed to implement the resolution by continuing to promote terrorism in Kashmir as also provide safe haven to terrorists in that country. The Indian strategy is going to be impressed upon the international community that the battle against terrorism needed to a comprehensive one and not confined to any “region or religion”. After addressing the UN General Assembly, Mr Vajpayee will meet representatives of GOPIO (Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin) and AAPI (American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin). During his meeting with President Bush, Mr Vajpayee will emphasise on Pakistan’s failure to fulfil its commitment to permanently end infiltration and cross-border terrorism and its attempts to disrupt the coming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister is also expected to discuss India’s candidature for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with Mr Bush during their meeting on September 12. Mr Vajpayee would be discussing with Mr Bush ways to enhance the strategic relationship between the two countries and in this work he would be assisted by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha who is now on an official visit to Washington. During his talks with Mr Bush and other leaders, Mr Vajpayee would renew India’s demand for expansion of the UN Security Council and its claim for a permanent seat. One of the important bilateral meetings of Mr Vajpayee would be with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai with whom he would be discussing the latest situation there and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the war- ravaged country. On his way to New York, he will halt at Frankfurt and on his return journey, he will have a stopover at Zurich on September 16. India’s Ambassador in the USA, Lalit Mansingh, will host a reception in the Prime Minister’s honour to enable him meet the members of the Indian community. On September 14, Mr Vajpayee is expected to meet Senators and Congressmen of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He will attend a commemorative function at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in the evening and address a public meeting organised by Indian organisations. Mr Vajpayee will be accompanied by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal. His programme includes bilateral meetings with the leaders of over 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Japan and Mauritius. |
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TN rejects CRA order, to move SC
New Delhi, September 8 The state government will be challenging the CRA order in the Supreme Court in a day or two. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister C. Ponniyan, who attended the CRA meeting on behalf of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, told newspersons that Tamil Nadu farmers had been betrayed by the CRA order. Earlier, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee asked Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to immediately find a workable solution on sharing Cauvery waters to help farmers in the two states in the present drought situation. Chairing an emergency meeting of the Cauvery River Authority, (CRA), Mr Vajpayee said: “the situation being very critical this year, we have to immediately come out with a workable solution for the current season so that farmers in both the states are able to cultivate their fields.” Recalling yesterday’s Cauvery Monitoring Committee meeting, Mr Vajpayee said while the basin states agreed on certain issues, no final conclusion could be arrived there. Apart from the Prime Minister and Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi, the meeting was
attended by the Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry — Mr S.M. Krishna, Mr A.K. Antony and Mr N. Rangaswamy.
PTI |
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NC misusing govt machinery, says Congress New Delhi, September 8 All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesman S. Jaipal Reddy alleged that the Farooq Abdullah government was “violating” directives of the EC with “impunity” and had “denied proper security cover” to Opposition candidates “with the ulterior motive of crippling their election campaign.” In a statement issued here, Mr Reddy said the Congress had long maintained that the Governor’s rule was “essential” in the state for “ensuring a fair and free election”. “The worst fears of the Congress about the intentions of NC leaders have unfortunately come true,” he said, adding that “It is not too late for the EC to exercise its inherent authority and curb the anti-democratic activities of the NC.” The party “has unleashed a reign of terror in the state with the assistance of surrendered extremists,” Mr Reddy said adding that the party was “Routinely resorting to frighten and force away the political workers of the Opposition parties.”
PTI |
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Wheat, rice tariff cut proposed
New Delhi, September 8 The rationale for slashing tariff rates on these two major crops is to bring them in line with the reduction in “peak’ customs rate. Making a case for permitting 49 per cent FDI in food retailing, the report says such food retailers will also be free to sell other agro-based and rural industrial products. The report has asked the government to announce a policy renouncing the use of export restrictions on agricultural items. Domestic shortages should be met by imports, but not by imposing export controls, the report titled ‘Excess Food Stocks, PDS and Procurement Policy’ says. The study has been carried out by Dr Arvind Virmani, Adviser, Planning Commission, and Dr P.V. Rajeev, Director in the Commission. The study has suggested lifting the ban on future trading and stocking of all agricultural commodities and on institutional credit and finance for such activities. It has called for amending Agricultural Produce and Marketing Acts of States to allow direct purchase of grain and other produce from farmers by agro-produce trading, storage and processing companies. Removing all restrictions on supply of credit in agriculture trade and stocking is another recommendation of the report. The report has asked the government to remove all state taxes on production and marketing of cereals (including octroi). It has suggested eliminating all central taxes on production and marketing of cereals and other food products. The authors have called for integrating disparate laws into a single modern Food Regulatory Act with a single food regulatory agency to be set up under this Act. The study says reform of the food procurement and support systems must be accompanied by a series of policy reforms that support crop diversification, strengthens agricultural demand and supply of technology. The Central Government should progressively move from running the food procurement system to merely financing it. For the purpose, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) should be restricted to buffer stock operations. The Minimum Support Prices (MSP) operations should be phased out and gradually handed over to private trade. The FCI assets more than that required for maintenance of a minimum buffer stock should be privatised. Private-public partnership should be initiated for construction of modern procurement, transport and storage. In the transition the FCI could also conduct open market operations within a price band. The study says the actual or announced MSP should be less than or equal to MSP recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Saying monopoly purchase of all forms should be phased out, the study recommends that the FCI godowns with staff should be transferred to the states. Private agencies should be hired by states to procure grain. Among the suggestions regarding the creation of a single market by the authors were enactment of a Central Act to ban controls on the movement within and between states and amendment of the Essential Commodities Act to make it an emergency provision that will have to be formally invoked by notification for a limited period. The study calls for supporting and promoting provision of all types of insurance (health and hospitalisation, crop and weather) to farmers and other rural inhabitants. This will involve giving income tax incentives to insurance companies for a specified promotional period of say, five years. The report recommends permitting 100 per cent FDI in insurance for agricultural and rural areas.
UNI
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Manisha
meets Sushma Swaraj New Delhi, September 8 The actress, accompanied by her lawyer Satish Maneshinde, asked the minister if the Centre’s certificate given to the film could be withdrawn under the Cinematograph Act. The minister said she would look into the matter and act in accordance with the provisions of the Act, official sources said. The meeting lasted for 10 minutes, the sources said, adding that the actress had sought an appointment with the minister yesterday itself and since Ms Swaraj was away in Kolkata, the meeting took place today.
PTI |
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Air Force to induct upgraded Sukhois
New Delhi, September 8 Ten Sukhoi aircraft, with fly-by-wire control system and thrust vector, will be formally inducted into the IAF at a ceremony at Pune towards the end of this month. Defence Minister George Fernandes and Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, are expected to be present at the function. According to official sources, these upgraded Sukhois have already been received from Russia in the last two months. Indian experts were fully involved in the development of the upgraded version.
UNI |
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Panel: employers can retrench workers
New Delhi, September 8 “Prior permission is not necessary in respect of layoff and retrenchment in an establishment of any employment size,” the commission said in its report. However, workers will be entitled to two months’ notice or notice pay in lieu of notice, in case of retrenchment, the panel, headed by Ravinder Verma, said. The panel felt the rate of retrenchment compensation should be higher in a running organisation than in an organisation which is being closed. It said the scale of compensation might vary for sick units and profit making units even in cases of retrenchment. However, in case of establishments employing 300 or more workers where the layoff exceeds 30 days, post facto permission of the appropriate government shall be required. It recommended that provisions pertaining to permission for closure should be made applicable to all establishments to protect the interests of workers in establishments which are not covered at present by this provision if they are employing 300 or more workers. Meanwhile, holidays at the drop of a hat may soon become a thing of the past for government employees if the Second National Labour Commission has its way. “We have the maximum number of holidays,” the panel headed by Ravindra Verma, said in its report.
PTI |
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NDA one on sell-off: Jaitley Kolkata, September 8 Referring to the recent protest of NDA convener and Defence Minister George Fernandes over the disinvestment proposal of some public sector oil companies, Mr Jaitley said the matter had already been sorted out by the Prime Minister to the satisfaction of not only Mr Fernandes, but all other NDA partners. However, keeping in mind the growing disenchantment among the people on the sensitive issue of disinvestment of public sector units, the meeting had also decided to go in for a mid-term appraisal of the entire policy after considering all its pros and cons, the BJP general secretary pointed out. Mr Jaitley was speaking to mediapersons at the conclusion of the two-day Eastern Zonal Conference of the BJP here. Asked about the possibility of the government meeting the target of revenue collection to the tune of Rs 50,000 crores by March, 2003 through disinvestment of public sector units, Mr Jaitley said though the target appeared to be stiff at the present juncture, it could be achieved within the next 12 months. “It is true that the government also fell short of last year’s target but that does not mean that the policy is useless,” Mr Jaitley said and reiterated that there was absolute unanimity among all NDA partners to carry forward the policy.
UNI |
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No move to ban foreigners on high posts Chennai, September 8 “One cannot say now whether such a legislation is possible at a later date”, he said, responding to questions at Meenambakkam airport on his arrival from Delhi on a private visit. Ruling out the possibility of yet another amendment to the Civil Procedure Code in the light of protests by advocates in Tamil Nadu, he wondered whether bringing in more amendments would be in accordance with parliamentary practices. “I do not think there is a possibility to bring in further amendments”.
PTI |
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Bid to split Trinamool Kolkata, September 8 At the same time, an attempt was being made to split the Trinamool to minimise Ms Banerjee’s importance in the party. Mr Sudip Bandopadhyya, Trinamool’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha and Ms Banerjee’s closed associate, invited Union Communication Minister Pramod Mahajan at a tea party last evening at his residence, defying Ms Banerjee’s directives. Both leaders said theirs was a courtesy meeting. Rebel Trinamool leader Ajit Kumar Panja, who attended the BJP conference as a special invitee, had a prolonged talks later with the BJP leader who were convinced that most of the Trinamool MPs and MLAs would soon leave Ms Banerjee and join the NDA. Mr Panja also had talks with Mr Bandopadhyya and other Trinamool leaders. On the other hand, the Trinamool chief, at a seminar on the railways bifurcation, declared the party would not be a partner of the NDA till the decision of Eastern Railway’s bifurcation was withdrawn. Meanwhile, the formation of the new Hajipur zone in Bihar suffered a set-back following stiff
resistance by Eastern Railway’s employees to get transferred from Kolkata to Hajipur. So far, only 248 employees of the targeted 2,350 of Eastern Railway have agreed to opt for Hajipur. |
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PM to present ‘chadar’ at dargah Jaipur, September 8 Khwaja’s six-day long, 790 annual Urs will formally begin at the dargah, either today or tomorrow, depending on the sighting of the moon.
UNI |
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Shekhawat in Jaipur
Jaipur, September 8 |
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