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Saturday,
September 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP, Cong trying to cash in on attack Pay hike for NSG commandos in offing
Sikhs empathise with Swaminarayan sect |
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India chides Pervez on church attacks IAF inducts upgraded
SU-30 fighters Oppn may join hands in WB Advani to attend BSP rally Terrorism affecting tourism: Jagmohan Ramoowalia meets Sonia Kidwai to look into DCC chiefs’ removal Form panel to
end Krishna row, Centre told NCM summons Principal, DCP Heritage status sought for
Golden Temple Tarun Tejpal
gets bail
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BJP, Cong trying to cash in on attack New Delhi, September 27 The BJP leadership decided yesterday to observe October 1 as anti-terrorism day at an emergency meeting of its office-bearers which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. In Gujarat, October 1 will be observed with special care during which BJP leaders will “tell” the electorate that terrorism was the main enemy of every Gujarati and they should renew their mandate for the party. The party leadership is asking the local leaders to evoke a sense of insecurity among the masses which will help the party. The Central leadership of the BJP is worried at the growing popularity of Gujarat Congress president Shankarsinh Vaghela and a plan is afoot for sharpening the differences within the Congress camp with a view to exploiting it for its own advantage. According to this plan, stories will be planted in the media which will suggest that Mr Vaghela has fallen out of grace with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mr Vaghela will have no say in the distribution of ticket. Meanwhile, the Congress is also readying its ammunition for an attack on the BJP. Mr Vaghela is planning to launch a direct assault on Mr Advani, saying that not only has Gujarat suffered but also the entire country as terrorism has come to India’s doorsteps and the BJP was incapable to control terrorism. The Congress is going to inform the masses that the ruling party at the Centre as well as in the state cannot govern and that is why terroist attacks like the one on Tuesday took place. Gandhinagar is represented by Mr Advani who is the Deputy Prime Minister and when the ruling party cannot even protect religious places, the mandate should be renewed. During the BJP rule, Gujarat has not only suffered economically but the terrorist attacks have also increased. Mr Vaghela is also going to tell the masses that the Swaminarain sect which represented the noblest traditions of Hindus became the target of terrorist attack because of the hatred preached by the VHP and the Bajrang
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Pay hike for NSG commandos in offing New Delhi, September 27 Although the NSG commandos, who play a behind the scene role in protecting lives of the innocent and of the VIPs, shot back into limelight on Thursday following the successful storming of Akshardham, the authorities have already proposed a major pay hike for the elite force. The elite “men in black” are likely to get a 25 per cent hike in their salaries in the coming months. The MHA is expected to take a decision on the issue, which is likely to go a long way in attracting the best of the men, soon. “We have proposed a 25 per cent hike in the salary of the force. Since this is an administrative matter, a final decision is expected very soon from the MHA”, Director General of NSG R.S. Mooshahary told The Tribune. Mr Mooshahary acknowledged that given the unconventional nature of work involved in the force and special skills required to carry out specific operations the existing salary structure was not attractive enough to bring in the best talent. “NSG is an entirely deputationist organisation, and it will continue to remain so. The corps commandos are drawn out from the Army and various Central Paramilitary Orgnisations such as the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). It is important to ensure the salary structure is compatible to motivate the best officers to join our force”, he said. The NSG, which has the best facilities to prepare the men for the worst and has even imparted training to men of security forces from other countries, is presently facing a major shortage of 1,500 men in its cadre. The authorities hope to fill the vacancies once the tenure at the NSG becomes more attractive with the increase in the salaries. Besides being deployed for specific anti-terrorist operations, the NSG commandos also provide close protection to the VIPs under threat. The tough demands of the job and the difference in salary had been a major shortcoming for the force. The NSG is also embarking on a five-year plan aimed at enhancing the technical wherewithal of the force. This involves arming the NSG with the state-of-the-art equipments to enhance the precision of their strikes. During the coming years, Mr Mooshahary said, the focus will shift towards attracting younger talent. “Presently, the average age of the commandos are in the range of late twenties. Our endeavour is to bring it down to the early twenties in the future”, he said. He however, ruled out putting in place a direct recruitment system for creating a pool of permanent cadre. “The problem with a permanent cadre is that it is difficult to weed out those personnel who do not fit into the scheme of things. Under the existing system, we keep on getting fresh talent from various cadres. If not found fit enough we can look for others to retain the best cadre”, the NSG Director-General said. |
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Sikhs empathise with Swaminarayan sect Gandhinagar, September 27 The president of the Gujarat Pratinidhi Parishad and former Additional Chief Secretary to the Gujarat government, Mr Balwant Singh, visited the Akshardham here today noon along with heads and senior office bearers of other gurdwaras in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. They handed over a letter of sympathy to the Swami at the temple. The delegation comprised the President of Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Dudeshwar, Ahmedabad and member of the World Sikh Council, Mr Pritam Singh Bhatia, the secretary of Gurdwara Nanak Sahib, Gandhinagar, Jatinder Pal Singh, the Secretary, Gurdwara Gobind Dham, Ahmedabad, Mr Kartar Singh, Mr H.M. Singh, trustee, Guru Nanak Study Circle, Ahmedabad, Mr Gopal Singh Khalsa, vice-president of Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha, Ahmedabad and Gujarat Red Cross Society and Mr Rachpal Singh, member of a gurdwara in Gandhinagar. In another letter addressed to Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj here today, the president of the Gujarat Sikh Pratinidhi Parishad, headquartered in Ahmedabad, expressed deep pain at the dastardly terrorist attack” on the Akshardham temple. Condemning the attack, the parishad has reminded the communal forces of the oneness of God. Of the 40,000 Sikh population in the state, 25,000 Sikhs live in Ahmedabad. The remaining are in Surat, Baroda, Rajkot and Gandhinagar. |
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India chides Pervez on church attacks New Delhi, September 27 “Every statement (from Islamabad) is replete with falsehood from the beginning to end’’, an External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson told reporters here. She said nobody attached any credibility to what Pakistan was saying on the attacks on churches in that country.
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IAF inducts upgraded
SU-30 fighters
Pune, September 27 The induction of 10 of these upgraded Sukhois was made at an impressive ceremony here presided over by the Defence Minister Mr George Fernandes, and in the presence of the IAF chief S. Krishnaswamy. Also present were aviation experts from Russia, France and Israel. India is the first country to get these combat aircraft, considered to be the most potent fighters in the region. The aircraft has a considerable indigenous content. Expressing happiness over the induction of Sukhoi fighter, the Defence Minister said, with this, the IAF became one of the most formidable forces and it would send a “proper signal to those people who look at India with an evil eye”. The SU-30 MKI is the first Russian fighter aircraft designed in collaboration with a foreign customer. It is seen as the “ultimate” evolution of the highly regarded SU-27 Flanker, which was first produced in the former Soviet Union starting 1982. Air Marshal Krishnaswamy said the SU-30 MKI aircraft were so special that no other country in the world had such a formidable aircraft to match this.
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Oppn may join hands in WB Kolkata, September 27 The initiative came from two veteran Congress leaders, — Mr Siddhartha Sankar Ray, former Chief Minister and Mr A.B. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, a former Railway Minister. Both are in the eighties, who hold the view that the situation is advantageous now for them to jointly fight and oust the CPI(M)-led front government in power since 1977. The initiative, by and large, has been welcomed by a larger section of the leadership of both parties. But Ms Mamata Banerjee has not yet responded. During his recent stay in the city, Mr Ray, who is also a former Governor of Punjab and the country’s Ambassador in the USA, had advised the leaders of the Congress(l) and TMC to bridge their differences and prepare themselves whole-heatedly to fight against the CPI(M) in the coming elections. He spoke to Ms Mamata Banerjee and Mr Pranab Mukherjee and asked them to sit together once again and thrash out their differences and fight against the CPI(M). Mr Khan Chowdhury met separately leaders of both parties and reiterated the necessity of their unity on the eve of the panchayat elections. Mr Khan Chowdhury expressed his willingness to negotiate with Ms Banerjee and Mr Somen Mitra, along with Mr Pranab Mukherjee, WBPCC(l) President, to bring them together on a common platform. Some TMC MPs like Mr Krishna Bose, Dr Ranjit Panja, Mr Nitish Sengupta and MLAs like Mr Saugata Ray, Mr Sadhan Pande, Mr Paresh Pal and Mr Tapash Roy have been openly advocating the need for both parties to unite. But leaders like Mr Sudip Bandopadhyya, MP, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, Kolkata Mayor and Mr Pankaj Banerjee have reservation in making a poll alliance with the Congress after their disastrous experience in the last Assembly elections when their poll alliance resulted in the defeat of the TMC in many seats. These leaders are in favour of remaining in the NDA and fighting with the state BJP against the Congress and the CPI(M). Mr Ajit Kumar Panja, veteran TMC rebel leader, has already declared his decision to remain in the NDA and fight the panchayat poll against the Congress and the
CPI(M). |
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Advani to attend BSP rally Lucknow, September 27 Senior BJP leaders who had come to attend the meet were confident that the experiment will continue and the coalition government in Uttar Pradesh will complete its five-year term. The Union Human Resource Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, said at a press conference that Mr Advani’s participation in the rally would cement the bond between the two parties. But there was confusion as to whether Mr Advani is participating in the BSP’s rally as BJP’s representative or in his personal capacity. The BJP in charge of Uttar Pradesh affairs, Mr Kalraj Mishra, told The Tribune that the Deputy Prime Minister would take part in tomorrow’s rally in a personal capacity. “Mr Advani is not representing the BJP,” he said. On the other hand, the state president of the BJP, Mr Vinay Katiyar, asked: “What is the difference between Advaniji and BJP? His participation means that he will represent the BJP.” Interestingly, not all BJP leaders have been invited to the rally. Besides Mr Advani, only Mr Katiyar and Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon have been invited to the rally. Dr M.M. Joshi and Mr Mishra, who will be present in Lucknow tomorrow, have not been invited. “I have not been invited to the rally,” said Mr Mishra. However, the BSP is gearing up for the ‘Dhikaar’ rally. The party workers have started coming to the state capital. The Ambedkar park is choc-a-bloc with party workers. The city has acquired a blue hue with banners and party flags. Meanwhile, at the state executive meeting, Mr Katiyar asked the party workers to propagate the achievements of the Central and the state governments among the masses. He, however, assured the workers that he would protect their pride. “There would be no compromise on the self-respect of the party workers,” he said. He said he had received complaints from some districts about BSP legislators and MPs misbehaving with the BJP party workers. We have identified those districts and will take up the issue with the Chief Minister soon, he added. |
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Terrorism affecting tourism: Jagmohan New Delhi, September 27 He added that it was also unfair to insist on sustainable development when three-fourth of the world is forced to live in poverty and there is no transfer of resources from the developed to the developing or under-developed world. Inaugurating the 38th convention of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), Mr Jagmohan said a year had elapsed since the events of September 11 in New York but the problem of terrorism persists. The minister said the New Tourism Policy had given due importance to developing international as well as domestic tourism and synthesising the civil governance, the country’s culture, and tourism. |
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Ramoowalia meets Sonia New Delhi, September 27 Mr Ramoowalia briefed the Congress President about the “plight of those young girls who after marriage are shunned and deserted by NRI grooms after accepting hefty dowry and cash running into lakhs,” a statement issued by Mr Ramoowalia said. |
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Kidwai to look into DCC chiefs’ removal New Delhi, September 27 Congress general secretary Mohsina Kidwai, who is in charge of Haryana, said today that she would speak to Mr Bhajan Lal on the issue. Mrs Kidwai, who today returned from a tour of Himachal Pradesh, said the high command was seized of the matter. Sources said the removed DCC chiefs, who met her today and expressed their resentment were told to continue working. |
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Form panel to
end Krishna row, Centre told Bangalore, September 27 Briefing reporters about the complaint filed with the Centre yesterday by the Water Resources Secretary, Irrigation Minister H. K. Patil said this was done as earlier correspondence and discussions with the riparian states had proved futile. The executive action of the Andhra Pradesh Government in utilising (even before allocation) surplus water by way of the permanent construction of large scale- projects and water reservoirs and its refusal to share the surplus at 75 per cent dependability had prejudicially affected people of Karnataka.
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NCM summons Principal, DCP New Delhi, September 27 NCM Vice-Chairman Tarlochan Singh said today that the meeting would be held on September 30. Fifteen-year-old Jaideep Singh was attacked in the school bathroom on September 20 by five teenagers rowdies who cut his hair to avenge a scuffle during a pop show two months ago. His father Paramjit Singh also has been asked to attend the meeting. “We can decide the matter only after getting to know the details of the incident. For this reason, school officials, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and the complainant have been called to appear before the commission,” Mr Tarlochan Singh said. Asked whether the students accused of cutting Jaideep’s hair were summoned, he said they had not been called as the complaint had not named them. Senior Sikh leader Manjit Singh, son of the late Akali leader Santokh Singh, complained to the NCM, the Delhi Minorities Commission, the Lieut-Governor and the Delhi Government, demanding that the guilty be brought to book. Jaideep’s father, Mr Manjit Singh, and a group of other community members also had met Delhi police officials over the incident. Earlier, Delhi Minorities Commission member Navinpal Singh Bhandari had assured them that the incident would be probed as it was a “serious incident”. Jaideep’s father had expressed dissatisfaction over the principal’s reported remarks that the school authorities had “nothing to do with tennis camps” during which the Sikh boy was attacked.
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Heritage status sought for
Golden Temple New Delhi, September 27 In a letter to Mr Jagmohan, Mr Tarlochan Singh pointed out that a 100-year old gurdwara in Canada had recently been declared as a world heritage site by the Canadian government whereas the 400-year old Golden Temple was still awaiting such a status from the Indian government. He pointed out that the year 2004 was being celebrated as 400th year of placing of Guru Granth Sahib in the Golden Temple. |
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Tarun Tejpal
gets bail New Delhi, September 27 Tarun Tejpal appeared before Metropolitan Magistrate Gulshan Kumar in a defamation case filed by former Samata Party President Jaya Jaitly. The judge fixed December 3 as the date for the argument on an application filed by Tejpal for dropping of proceedings against him. Ms Jaitly had moved the application against Tejpal for publishing a “false and malicious” article on his website in February this year.
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