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Saturday, September 21, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Sonia’s
speech divisive: BJP Reciprocate
move on overflights, Pak told ‘No confidence in Musharraf regime’
3 killed in communal clashes Modi’s
‘hum paanch, hamare pachchis’ on tape |
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RSS man
may be next PIO NCM irons
out Sikh, Christian differences Law has to be recast: CJI PM to
leave for Maldives tomorrow Sushma:
no move to scrap censor board Increase
drought relief, says CPM Afsan
denies hand in Dec 13 attack Lanka-LTTE
talks satisfactory: India
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Sonia’s speech divisive: BJP New Delhi, September 20 Addressing newspersons at a regular media briefing, BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lashed out at Congress President Sonia Gandhi, taking exception to her statement at a election rally in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday in which she promised to hold unconditional talks with all groups for finding an amicable solution to the Kashmir problem. Accusing her of “ignorance of Indian politics”, Mr Naqvi said the country today must speak in one voice to expose the nefarious designs of Pakistan and pointed out that Ms Gandhi’s election speech was “divisive” in nature and its content. She can’t distinguish between the policies of Nehru and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Mr Naqvi pointed out. “It was under the Congress government that India lost territorial control of about 37 per cent of Kashmir to Pakistan and about 17 per cent to China”, Mr Naqvi said blaming country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for it. Posing questions to the Congress, Mr Naqvi asked: “Is the Congress restless to capture power to carry forward the agenda of terrorism caused by its misdeeds and to further its divisive policies in Jammu and Kashmir?” “Does the Congress want to capture power to perpetrate policies of the Nehru family, which is responsible for about 54 per cent portion of Kashmir being ceded away from India”? the spokesman asked the Congress. The Congress, he said, was frustrated over its inability to make even a marginal presence in the elections being held in the state. He said the BJP and the erstwhile Bharatiya Jan Sangh had always maintained that Jammu and Kashmir was part and parcel of India and had opposed constitutional restrictions imposed by the Congress government in the state. Dr Mukherjee had become a martyr fighting for the cause of Kashmir and yet Ms Gandhi was contending that the BJP’s policies were identical to that of Pakistan on Kashmir, Mr Naqvi said. It was the Nehruvian blunder that led to the acceptance of Pakistan’s view in a now redundant resolution of the United Nations, he stated. “Our national aspiration today is to make every inch of Jammu and Kashmir part of India”, he said. “It was the Congress regime under Indira Gandhi that gave up all advantages earned by soldiers in the Simla pact without resolving the problem. Pakistan also internationalised the issue when the Congress was in power,” he said. |
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Reciprocate
move on overflights, Pak told New Delhi, September 20 Reacting to a request made by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) President Assad Kotaite to consider Pakistan’s desire for grant of clearance for commercial flights also, Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain categorically stated that it was important that Pakistan first reciprocated India’s gesture. During a meeting at Montreal yesterday, Mr Hussain also made it clear to the ICAO chief that the issue was not of granting permission for Pakistani aircraft to land, but the “more fundamental question of restoring road, rail and air linkages between the two countries.” Earlier, Mr Kotaite said he had met President Pervez Musharraf in May this year when the Pakistani leader had told him that he had “an open mind” on the subject. The ICAO chief said he had recently received another letter from the Pakistan Government which “indicated its desire for India’s clearance for commercial flights also” and asked Mr Hussain to consider this request. Mr Kotaite appreciated the “very positive step” by India in announcing the withdrawal of all restrictions placed on Pakistani aircraft, including those of Pakistan International Airlines, to fly over Indian territory on a reciprocal basis with due approval. The restrictions were imposed on January 1 and lifted a few months later. Mr Hussain told the ICAO chief that India had been the victim of cross-border terrorism for long and the earlier connectivity with Pakistan through road, rail and air had been discontinued in this context. He also pointed out that New Delhi had taken several initiatives, including the Lahore bus trip by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and invited General Musharraf for the Agra Summit, but to no avail. The lifting of restrictions on overflights was also an initiative taken by New Delhi, he added. At the meeting, other important issues discussed included the ICAO-led initiative for strengthening aviation security standards, audit of airport security, war risk insurance and other issues raised at the recently concluded Air Transport Conference organised by the ICAO. Mr Hussain also met other top officials of the ICAO. |
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‘No confidence in Musharraf regime’ New Delhi, September 20 Mr Blackwill yesterday told television channels that he was hopeful that elections would lead to the resumption of a dialogue between India and Pakistan. Political signals emanated from today’s briefing of Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, convened for giving details about Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s upcoming visit to Maldives. Mr Sibal went to the extent of saying India did not have any confidence in Pakistan’s military regime of General Pervez Musharraf. Significantly, India also made it clear that irrespective of Pakistan’s conduct during the elections, the only yardstick for resumption of dialogue would be deliverance of Islamabad’s commitment of putting a total and permanent end to cross-border terrorism. Mr Sibal, in response to a specific query from this correspondent whether India no longer had any confidence in General Musharraf’s regime, said: “It is very clear that we have no confidence in his regime. That is because on numerous occasions he has not lived up to his commitments. The question is not whether India has confidence in his regime or not. The question is that other countries are beginning to lose confidence in his regime.” |
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3 killed in communal clashes
Vadodara, September 20 The police opened fire on two clashing groups in the sensitive Fathepura locality, killing one person, while two were stabbed to death, City Police Commissioner D.D. Tuteja said. Trouble broke out when people coming out of a mosque in the area after offering Friday prayers and those taking part in the immersion procession hurled stones and acid bottles at each other. A total of 38 persons were arrested in connection with the incident, Mr Tuteja said, adding that the situation was under control. The minority community was observing a “janata (mass) curfew” when the procession passed through the area. Violence was also reported from Fatehpura, Panigate, Yakutpura, Machhipith and Raopura areas . Control room sources, however, ruled out the possibility of clamping curfew in the city in view of the ongoing immersion ceremony being witnessed by thousands at about a dozen places in the city. Meanwhile, security had been further tightened in trouble-prone areas, with the deployment of rapid action force and the armed Gujarat state reserve police. A 12-year-old girl was seriously injured when an acid bulb hit her at Fatehpura, from where the violence spread to different areas.
PTI, UNI
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Modi’s ‘hum paanch, hamare pachchis’ on tape
Ahmedabad, September 20 These remarks were made by Mr Modi at Bahucharaji on September 9 during his ongoing gaurav yatra aimed at highlighting the BJP government’s achievements and refurbishing the state’s image. In a statement here last night, Gujarat VHP general secretary Dilip Trivedi defended Mr Modi’s alleged remark “Hum paanch aur hamare pachchis (we five and ours 25) made in the course of his speech. Mr Trivedi said population boom was an “extremely serious” problem in India like “Jehadi terrorism”. He alleged that family planning at present was limited only to the majority community. “Even the late Sanjay Gandhi had expressed the same fears as Mr Modi”, he added. Mr Modi had in his speech reportedly asked the people to “teach a lesson” to those who followed the family planning principle of “Hum paanch, hamare pachchis” and his remarks had come in for criticism from the Opposition parties as communal. When the speech was published in a section of the media, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had sought the tapes of the same. However, the state government expressed its inability to produce the tapes on the plea that it had no records of the speeches made at functions organised by the BJP, including the gaurav yatra. Subsequently, the state government transferred three senior police officers of the CID (intelligence) although the Minister of State for Home Gordhan Jhadafiya DID admitted that the leakage of tapes was a serious matter. Curiously, the VHP did not mention the source of the tapes which the state government claimed it did not have. A national TV news channel had earlier this week played those tapes.
UNI |
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RSS man may be next PIO New Delhi, September 20 With the country’s official spokesperson and the Principal Information Officer
(PIO), Ms N.J. Krishna, due for retirement, names of those connected with the Sangh Parivar and of mediapersons known to be close to the BJP, especially Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani have emerged as the frontrunners for the coveted post. With the general perception in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is that the image of the government has taken a beating on various fronts over the last few months, attempts are reportedly under way to install a person close to the Sangh Parivar ideology as the chief spokesperson of the country. There is an apparent feeling that the officers from the Indian Information Service
(IIS), who form part of the PIB and the other information related sectors of the government have not been able to do justice to the image of the government. With the crucial period now approaching, the government wants a person who can give a fillip to its sagging image keeping its ideology in mind. Importance is being attached to filling the post of the Principal Information Officer with someone who also doubles up as the Prime Minister’s media adviser. His role becomes specially important at the time of foreign tours. However, this role over the years has been taken over by the Ministry of External Affairs, which has conveniently sidelined the PIB in these matters. Among the names doing the rounds for this prestigious Government position are those of Mr Tarun Vijay, Editor of RSS mouthpiece “Panchajanya” and Mr Prabhu
Chawla, Editor-in-Chief of India Today Group of Publications. While Mr Vijay and Mr Chawla are being considered as the frontrunners at the moment, the name of the Prasar Bharati Director-General, Mr
S.Y. Quraishi has also cropped up as a possible candidate for the post. Mr
Quraishi, a Haryana-cadre IAS officer, is considered close to Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma
Swaraj, under whose ministry the PIB falls. However, Ms Krishna is apparently still not out of the race with reports suggesting that her case was being pursued for an extended tenure. She is due for retirement in October-end. Efforts by the government to bring a person from outside the IIS as the head of the PIB and the Chief Information Officer of the country is being viewed as an attempt to saffronise the information set-up of the country. There are murmurs specially in the PIB as the name of the seniormost IIS officer in line for the post, Mr Sahib Singh, does not figure anywhere among the frontrunners. Incidentally, if the government decides to install a person from outside the IIS service as the head of the
PIB, it would not be precedent setting. At least on three previous occasions persons from outside the IIS have been appointed as the PIO and the media adviser to the Prime Minister. This is not the first time that the name of Mr Vijay has emerged for taking over as the media adviser to the Prime Minister. Earlier, he was tipped to join the Prime Minister’s Office
(PMO) as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) advising the Prime Minister on matters related to media. Being the Editor of
“Panchajanya”, he is close to the BJP establishment and an insider of the
RSS, which has great influence in all major decisions of the Vajpayee Government. Moreover, he has good rapport with both Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr
Advani, besides enjoying cordial relations with other BJP leaders. With the ideology and media experience he could well fit into BJP’s big puzzle. Sources said the possibility of Mr Chawla taking over as PIO “could well be his first step towards entering the Rajya
Sabha”. He can easily fit into the key position being an experienced media man, but speculation is rife over whether he would move to this government position. |
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NCM irons out Sikh, Christian differences New Delhi, September 20 Leaders of the two communities today resolved to treat each other’s religion with respect and favoured the constitution of an intra-community coordination committee to sort out other minority problems, if any. The meeting chaired by NCM Chairman, Justice Mohd Shamim, took cognisance of the recent cases of conversion of Sikhs in Punjab. The meeting was attended by SGPC President, Prof. Kirpal Singh Badungar, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and SGPC General Secretary, Bibi Kiranjot Kaur. The Christian side was represented by the President of the National Council of Churches in India, Bishop Geevarghese Mar Coorilose, the Secretary-General of the National Council of Churches in India, Rev Dr Ipe Joseph, the President of the Lutheran Churches in India, Bishop John Franklin, the Director of the Church Auxillary for Social Action, Suhsant Aggarwal, Pradeep Mahanty from the Young Men’s Christian Association, the Vice-President of Catholics Bishops’ Conference of India, Archbishop Vincent Concessco, the Secretary, Church of North India, Dr V.S. Lal and President, TRACI, Rev Dr Valson Thampu. NCM Vice-Chairman, Tarlochan Singh said the “historic meeting is a good beginning which will go a long way in resolving differences and maintaining communal amity and harmony.’’ Mr Tarlochan Singh said Prof Badungar had invited the Christain leaders to visit the Golden Temple. The Christian leaders, in turn, invited their Sikh counterparts to attend their meeting in November. Mr Badungar told TNS that they
discussed the disturbing cases of conversion of Sikhs in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and parts of Doaba. He said the Christian leaders said they respected Sikh tenets and assured them that they would look into cases of conversion. The NCM Vice-Chairman said other minority communities would also meet in due course under the aegis of the NCM to resolve their differences. |
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Law has to be recast: CJI
Jaipur, September 20 He was speaking at ninth SAARCLAW international conference that began here this evening. Besides host India, judicial and legal experts including Chief Justices of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh are participating in the conference. In his inaugural address, Mr Justice Kirpal noted that “the process of liberalisation demands changes in some of our old laws that have been rendered either redundant or incompatible, and also necessitates the creation of new laws to deal with new situation, such as recent technological revolution.’’
UNI |
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PM to leave for Maldives tomorrow New Delhi, September 20 Mr Vajpayee’s four-day visit is reflective of the importance that India attaches to forging close relations with Maldives, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said at a news conference here today. The visit, at the invitation of Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, is aimed at further strengthening multi-faceted relationship and exploring prospects of enhancing bilateral cooperation with Maldives in various fields, including the new areas of cooperation, especially tourism and information technology. Indo-Pak tensions would obviously dominate Mr Vajpayee’s talks with Mr Gayoom — who is Maldives President for the past 26 years — and Mr Vajpayee would be apprising Mr Gayoom of Islamabad’s failure to honour its commitments to visibly and permanently end cross-border terrorism. |
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Sushma: no move to scrap censor board Raipur, September 20 Speaking at a meet-the-press programme organised by Raipur Press Club here, she said the ministry was not in favour of the demand from certain quarters to abolish the censor board. Replying to a question about the mechanism to check obscene and vulgar advertisements in the electronic media, the minister said there were no such advertisements on DD-I and DD-II, which were following an advertisement code. As far as advertisements on other channels were concerned, she said a council had been set up to deal with the complaints in this regard.
UNI |
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Increase
drought relief, says CPM New Delhi, September 20 The Delhi unit of
the party which held a rally on Parliament Street to draw the
attention of the government toward drought, urged Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee in a memorandum to start “food for work” schemes
on a large scale in the affected states, besides the provision of
foodgrains, fodder and potable water. Describing the drought as a
national calamity, CPM Delhi state committee secretary P.M.S. Grewal
said the dismantling of the public distribution system had endangered
food security and aggravated the plight of the drought-affected
people. “The spectre of starvation looms large over the poorest
section of the population”, he said. |
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Afsan denies hand in Dec 13 attack New Delhi, September 20 “I am not involved in this case. I did not even know anything about the activities of the terrorists. None visited our house and no meeting had taken place at our house in Mukherjee Nagar,’’ she said before Special Judge S.N. Dhingra. Afsan alleged that the police made her sign some documents but she was not allowed to read them. All witnesses were deposed falsely against her in the case, she added.
UNI |
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Lanka-LTTE talks satisfactory: India New Delhi, September 20 Mr Sibal said at a news conference that New Delhi had always been supportive of a peaceful settlement “that meets the just aspirations of all elements of the Sri Lankan society within a sovereign, united Sri Lanka.” |
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Narendra Mohan dead
New Delhi, September 20 Mohan, 68, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, is survived by the wife, two sons and a daughter. A former Chairman of PTI, Mohan was recently in the news as one who had actively campaigned for allowing foreign direct investment in the print media. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu and General Secretary Arun Jaitley, senior Congress leader Motilal Vora and Minister of State Vijay Goel visited the residence of the departed MP and offered floral tributes. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal recalled the valuable contribution made by Mr Mohan in the field of music, arts, journalism, yoga, meditation and social service. CHANDIGARH: Haryana and Punjab Chief Ministers Om Prakash Chautala and Capt Amarinder Singh have expressed their profound grief and sorrow at the passing away of Narendra Mohan.
PTI, UNI |
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