 |
|
Saturday,
October 5, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Stage set
for Gujarat elections Jogi
Cabinet held, released PM’s
three-nation tour from Oct 7 Musharraf
poor hurdler: Sibal |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Feminist
films make their mark
Bhajan
Lal meets Mohsina Salman told to surrender
passport
|
|
Stage set for Gujarat elections Gandhinagar, October 4 Other preparations for the poll expected to take place in November-December are preparation of a 35-page anti-BJP report authored by the Congress under the leadership of former CM and Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Vice-President Shankarsinh Vaghela besides arrival of EVMs in Gandhinagar. Although the BJP-led NDA government is said to be considering the option of imposing President’s rule in the state, sources in the Narendra Modi’s government are unaware of such a line of thinking at the centre. Caretaker Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary, P.K. Mishra, contends that if there had been any need to impose President’s rule, it would have been done earlier. Seemingly inspired by the CEC,
J. M. Lyngdoh, Chief Election Officer, Gurcharan Singh, asserts that his office is immune to political pressure. “We are working independently under the EC. We are totally neutral. We will complete electoral roll revision and print the final rolls by October 16.” Gurcharan Singh says that framing the schedule for the elections is the prerogative of the Commission. “My job starts when the Commission makes a judgment on when to hold elections.” The Congress which has 63 seats in the Assembly is optimistic about its victory in the Assembly elections. Hansmukh Patel, Vice-President Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee says, in the
last four and half years BJP has made some 4,000 announcements but implemented only 25 per cent of them. At the same time Mr Modi seems unfazed by the claims of Congress victory in the upcoming Assembly elections. In a recent interview he expressed confidence that the BJP will get a positive vote because of its performance and will improve its position. Gujarat has 182 Assembly segments and about 3 crore, 24 lakh voters in 26 districts. Veteran journalist,
R. K. Misra says, “Quintessentially, Mr Modi remains a victim of his background and has not broken out of it to evolve as the Chief Minister. In the post Godhra and communal riots, the entire state got communally polarised and the BJP was set to sweep the state. He brought about a 100 per cent turn in the fortunes of the BJP. It was only the induction of another Congress President and former RSS man, Shankarsinh Vaghela, that Modi’s juggernaut has been halted. He knows the Sangh Parivar inside out. The elections will witness a keen contest. Mr Modi’s designs of prematurely dissolving the Assembly and cite Article 174 (1) to ensure holding of elections before October 3 to consolidate Hindu votes post Godhra were defeated after the Election Commission, in the third week of August, said the full Commission was of the view that the law and order situation in Gujarat was not conducive for holding free and fair elections. It further stated that it would consider framing a suitable schedule only in November or December after electoral rolls are corrected and conditions conducive for free and fair poll created. Pending a final verdict by the Supreme Court and the announcement of a schedule by the EC, Gujarat continues to be in a state of political vacuum. The indifference of the electorate may affect the voter turnout when the state finally goes to the polls. |
|
Jogi Cabinet held, released New Delhi, October 4 “The Prime Minister and the Food Minister Sharad Yadav have assured us that they will examine the issue,” said Mr Jogi, who met Mr Vajpayee after he along with his entire Cabinet was “arrested’’ for violations prohibitory orders by the Delhi police about an hour before his scheduled appointment with the Prime Minister. Mr Jogi is the second Congress Chief Minister who has been taken into custody by the police for violating prohibitory orders near Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s residence. Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had staged a dharna near the Prime Minister’s residence on August 27 over the delay by the Centre in announcing the minimum support price for paddy. Mr Jogi, who had a scheduled appointment with the Prime Minister at 12.30 pm, started walking towards his residence along with his ministers, party MLAs and MPs after meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi when they were arrested. Mr Jogi said he had even offered to go to the Prime Minister’s residence in vehicles but the police did not allow them to go. “I am sad as well as surprised over the way they (Centre) got us arrested and then released. There was constitutional crisis in Chhattisgarh as the entire Cabinet was arrested,” Mr Jogi said. The Chief Minister and others were taken to Tughlak Road Police Station from where they went to meet the Prime Minister. Mr Jogi said it was the responsibility of the Centre to procure paddy from the state if the market price was less. “Either the paddy could be procured by the state government on behalf of the Centre or by the FCI,” he said. Mr Jogi said the state had suffered a loss of about Rs 423 crore on procurement last year as the Centre did not fully reimburse the money spent by his government. He said compared to last year’s production of two million tonnes, the state had recorded a production of one million tonnes of paddy this year due to drought. The Congress had called for a Chhattisgarh bandh tomorrow in protest against the delay by the Centre in starting procurement. Mr Jogi said protest against the Centre would continue till the state’s demands were accepted. |
|
PM’s three-nation tour from Oct 7 New Delhi, October 4 Mr Vajpayee will be attending the third Indo-European Union summit in Copenhagen on October 10. The institutionalisation of the annual Indo-EU summits since June, 2000, when the first summit was held in Lisbon is a demonstration of the new depth and maturity of India’s relations with the EU, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told reporters here today. Following the Indo-EU summit the Prime Minister will stay in Copenhagen for a bilateral visit to Denmark. The Danish Premier will hold an official dinner for Mr Vajpayee on October 10. This will be the first head of government-level bilateral visit to Denmark in the past 19 years, the last visit being in 1983 by Mrs Indira Gandhi. Enroute to Copenhagen, Mr Vajpayee will visit Cyprus from October 7 to 9 where he will be holding discussions with his Cypriot counterpart President Glafcos Clerides. On his way back to India from Copenhagen, Mr Vajpayee will stop over in London for a meeting with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr Vajpayee’s visit is in the context of a broader framework of India’s relationship with the UK as envisaged in the New Delhi declaration, Mr Sibal said. |
|
Musharraf
poor hurdler: Sibal New Delhi, October 4 At a briefing here Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said Pakistan had failed all tests, litmus or otherwise, and the cross-border infiltration had still not ended as the training camps were still functioning. “We hope they (Pakistan) will see reason and accept the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and stop cross-border terrorism to pave way for the resumption of a dialogue”, Mr Sibal said. The Foreign Secretary pointed out that General Musharraf continued to be provocative in his statements and speeches. “He has not passed even the test of using moderate and sober language.” In a tongue-in-cheek remark, Mr Sibal said: “In this hurdle race instead of jumping over the hurdles he (General Musharraf) seems to be crashing on them each time he is running.” Mr Sibal drew attention to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s recent anti-India statements at the UN General Assembly session and other international fora and remarked: “His discourses and provocative statements have only ignited terrorists to indulge in violence and continue their deeds”. Mr Sibal once again reminded Pakistan to act on the list of 20, which was given by New Delhi to Islamabad last year for handing over to India the criminals and terrorists named in it. “Even when we say these terrorists are there in Pakistan, Islamabad claims they are not there.” |
|
Feminist
films make their mark TRUE, the 33rd International Film Festival of India is off to a lukewarm start, the two-year hibernation period being responsible for this, but there is a silver lining. Though the “Cinema of the World” is not the best selection and most of the films are at least two years old, one was lucky to see two feminist films in quick succession and they were set in contrasting locales, Iran and the Netherlands. But basically it is a question of women wanting to find their identity and making an equal contribution to society. Dariush Mehrjui’s “Bemani” is a simple but strong narrative, about three young girls and their encounters with marriage but the focal point is Bemani (meaning Stay Alive). She was born after two stillborn babies and hence the name. But life is anything but smooth-sailing for her. The script says “you, like anybody else, are here to suffer and die.” That seems to be the plight of most Iranian women and Bemani is no exception. Against her wishes she is married to an old man fit enough to be her father and one of the reasons for this is to avoid paying the house rent for three months. The old man has two fridges, one stacked with money but to him Bemani is merely a maid to do all the housework. She has to slave with the washing of the dishes and clothes and be at the mercy of not only the old man but her mother-in-law. Bemani bears this for a week and then explodes, revolts. She smashes the dishes and is roundly thrashed for it. This is the last straw. Bemani leaves her husband and returns home where she tries to burn herself. But even here she doesn’t succeed and is ostracised by society. “A woman without beauty is like a soldier without a firearm,” goes on the script and Bemani is back to her miserable plight. But unlike most Iranian films this one is imbued with hope. It is about life and death and by a strange quirk of faith she runs into another social outcast, a man who washes the bodies of the dead. It is a quaint touch with the man giving Bemani a flower to sort of seal their love. Peter Verhoeff’s “Nynke” is about a woman Sjouke, who dreams of a special life with a special man. After the Iranian film it provided a contrast and shows that women per se have their own problems be it in developed or developing nations... . |
|
Bhajan Lal meets Mohsina New Delhi, October 4 The Congress high-command had taken a serious view of the matter and had sought an explanation from Mr Bhajan Lal. CLP leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former PCC chief Birender Singh, AICC Secretary Shelja and Rao Inderjit Singh had met Ms Kidwai earlier this week complaining about the “unconstitutional’’ action of Mr Bhajan Lal. The removed DCC chiefs are considered loyalists of these leaders. Sources in the high command said a decision on the issue would be taken soon in accordance with the party’s constitution for Haryana. |
|
Salman told to surrender passport Mumbai, October 4 The police asked Salman to surrender his passport and warned him not to leave the country for shooting or any other purpose until the probe was concluded, police sources said. The police also interrogated Kamal Khan, singer and cousin of Salman, who was reportedly with the actor in the Toyota Land Cruiser which rammed into the A-1 Bakery on September 28, killing one person and injuring four in Bandra. Kamal is an eyewitness in this case and his statement on the incident will assume significance, particularly in view of the controversy over the driver of the vehicle.
PTI |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
(
