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Thursday,
October 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP, RSS meet today Advani to attend Friday’s NDA rally COP-8 to address climate change
UP BJP rebels toughen stand SC ruling overlooked |
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Arrest Togadia ‘under POTA’ States told to detail cases against Salem Court objects to police remarks in Salman case Probe Jaswant son’s gun deal, says Congress
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BJP, RSS meet today New Delhi, October 23 The meeting, during which Mr Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu , Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, RSS chief K. Sudarshan, general secretary H.Y. Sheshadhari and Joint general secretary Madandas Devi will be present, was long overdue but it is being held now as the Prime Minister made it clear to his trusted party colleagues that he was fed up with daily attacks on him and his policies. Sources said Defence Minister George Fernandes may also be called to the meeting. Mr Fernandes has already met the RSS chief recently. Alarmed at the growing opposition to the ongoing disinvestment of PSUs from the RSS and some prominent ministerial colleagues, besides attacks by VHP leaders, directed not only at him but also at his Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra, the Prime Minister had asked Mr Advani to arrange a meeting with the RSS. The meeting was to be held today but it had to be postponed as both Mr Advani and Mr Naidu were to be in Gandhinagar to attend the meeting of the Election Campaign Committee. So much so, Mr Vajpayee had to precipitate the issue by stressing on his illness at Lucknow and mounted pressure by cancelling his public engagements as well as a scheduled Cabinet meeting on Monday, sources said. Mr Vajpayee has asked the Disinvestment Ministry to prepare a paper giving details of all PSUs which have been disinvested by now and who have been the buyers. A concerted effort is being made to convince the RSS leadership that disinvestment favours Indian entrepreneurs which gels well with the argument of Swadeshi. Indications are that the RSS is willing to accept the disinvestment but Ayodhya continues to remain a stumbling block as Mr Vajpayee is said to be opposed to the issuing of an ordinance for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site. The VHP has been saying that Mr Vajpayee has promised to find a solution to the contentious issue in three months at the time of Shiladan in Ayodhya. But it is over six months now and there are no indications of a solutions, the VHP leaders have been saying. |
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Advani to attend Friday’s NDA rally New Delhi, October 23 Mr Advani came under tremendous pressure to attend the rally because of media stories about his prime ministerial ambitions as well as the Vajpayee government being under attack from some ministers and Vishva Hindu Parishad leaders. An impression was gaining ground that the Vajpayee government was losing its orientation on its commitments like disinvestment. Moreover, the rally on October 25 was turning out to be a lacklustre affair as majority of the top NDA leaders were reluctant to attend it. Mr Advani addressed a televised press conference on Sunday last to highlight the achievements of the Vajpayee government and thus, it was originally felt that Mr Vajpayee would be the right person to address the rally. But the news of the absence of Mr Advani at the rally gave grist to rumour mills and the Deputy Prime Minister was left with no alternative but to attend the function on Friday. Meanwhile, preparations for the rally are going on at a hectic pace and Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik are coming to address the rally. |
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COP-8 to address climate change New Delhi, October 23 The declaration will be adopted at the end of the conference through consensus. This was stated by Environment and Forests Minister T.R. Baalu at the inauguration of the 10-day conference. About 4,000 delegates from 186 countries are participating in the conference. Elected as president of the Eighth Conference of Parties (COP-8) on the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change, Mr Baalu said, “We will make efforts to reach a consensus at this eighth session so that member-countries make a commitment to reduce emission level by 5.2 per cent to prevent climate change.” He said climate change and sustainable development were interlinked and it was necessary to focus on poverty, land degradation, access to water and food and human health to address the climate change concerns effectively. He said innovative technologies were needed in the energy sector as energy played a central role in reducing poverty. Mr Baalu urged the developed countries to bring the Kyoto Protocol on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into force at the earliest. Taking over charge from the outgoing President Mohammed Elyazghi of Morocco, Mr Baalu said the collective statesmanship of the previous COP meet would be of great benefit and help in future negotiations. The minister said the COP-8 could become a milestone for implementation and promotion of sustainable development to address climate change. Stating that developing countries were most vulnerable to climate change, he stressed the need for giving priority to adaptation to climate change to enable them withstand the ill-effects of climate change. He said that climate change could reduce the global yield of major food crops. Frequent floods and droughts were already having a serious impact in various parts of the world. Mr Baalu urged the participants to address the problems of marginal farmers, fishermen, small livestock owners, including indigenous communities, and find solutions to the causes and consequences of climate change. “We must keep ourselves alive to the ethical and moral dimensions of the global problem of climate change,” he said. The minister said the metropolitan mindset should not be allowed to come in the way of addressing the concerns of the most vulnerable communities and countries.
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UP BJP rebels toughen stand Lucknow, October 23 The legislators held a meeting today in which they reiterated their demand that the party should support the Mayawati government from outside. According to Mr Rai, 28 MLAs and 4 MLCs took part in the meeting. The rebels made Mr Katiyar wait for over half an hour outside the meeting hall. When the meeting ended, they walked out leaving only the convener of the BJP Bachao Samiti, the party launched by rebels, to have confabulations with him. Mr Kalraj Mishra, who was present in the party office, refused to talk to the Press. He even refused to confirm whether or not any legislator had been suspended. Rebel BJP legislators, who are up in arms against the party leadership for denying berth in the cabinet in the recent expansion carried out by Chief Minister Mayawati, denied that any of them had been suspended so far. “Only four of us have received show-cause notices regarding our outburst against the leadership on Cabinet expansion”, Mr Rai said. Though the senior leaders here deny that none of the rebel legislators have been suspended, the news from New Delhi that two legislators — Mr Ganga Bux Singh and Ms Ramashish Rai — have been suspended has angered the legislators, Mr Rai said. Meanwhile, there was a political buzz in the state capital after the national President of the Samajwadi party, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, urged Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri to suspend the Mayawati-led government. He gave hints to suggest that he was in touch with the Congress to topple the govt. |
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SC ruling overlooked New Delhi, October 23 The judgement was reserved by a three-judge Bench comprising Mr Justices M.B. Shah, P.V. Reddy and D.M. Dharmadhikari on the conclusion of argument on behalf of the parties concerned. It was contended on behalf of the petitioners that an attempt had been made by the Centre to bypass the apex court judgement aimed at cleansing Indian politics and breaking the nexus between criminals and politicians. It was also contended that the apex court in its judgement had rightly held that the right to information was a fundamental right and a voter was entitled to know about the candidate. Additional Solicitor-General Kirit Rawal, appearing for the Centre, submitted that the judgement of the court was rendered at a time when there was no law on information to be disclosed by the candidate. He said the judgement clarified that the law on the issue would hold the field till such a law was made. Now that the law had been passed by the legislature, wisdom must be accorded to its role and the court should not substitute its own judgement for a purely legislative function, Mr Rawal added. Mr Rawal further said the right to information having been upheld by the earlier judgements of the court, had not been a fundamental right but a statutory one and it would be appropriate if the matter was heard by a constitutional Bench. He said what was relevant information was a matter for Parliament to decide. The right to information had to be considered after balancing the right to privacy of the candidate as also ensuring that the public was not flooded with irrelevant information, Mr Rawal submitted. He said even the Constituent Assembly, while framing the Constitution, did not consider the need to prescribe any educational qualifications for legislators and it would be appropriate for the court not to insist that Parliament pass such a law.
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Arrest Togadia ‘under POTA’ Kanpur, October 23 Congress workers assembled at the party office and marched to the Moolganj crossing where they held a meeting seeking Togadia’s arrest and burnt his effigy. PUNE: Congress activists here claimed to have blackened the face of VHP leader Pravin Togadia for his “derogatory” remarks against party President Sonia Gandhi. City unit president of the Congress, Mr Mohan Joshi, today said that party activists, led by him, had gheraoed the Togadia on Tuesday night outside the Jain temple opposite Nehru stadium and had blackened his face.
PTI |
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States told to detail cases against Salem New Delhi, October 23 “To firm up the case and to help the CBI in preparing a foolproof extradition case against Salem in the court of law in Lisbon, the Home Ministry has asked various states where different crime cases are pending against the mafia don to send the details of the same along with the available evidence,” Home Ministry sources said here today. |
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Court objects to police remarks in Salman case Mumbai, October 23 Additional Sessions Judge P.V. Baokar adjourned the hearing till tomorrow and asked for the charge sheet which the Mumbai police filed in the Bandra metropolitan court along with the statement of the witnesses. Judge Baokar took objection to some of the words used by the Mumbai police in its report, which suggested that the court might ‘pass an appropriate order’ on the actor’s bail application. The Judge noted that the Mumbai police, the prosecuting agency, must clearly mention whether it had no objection to Salman’s bail or wanted his custody instead of using words “which are not desirable’’.
Public prosecutor R.V. Keni appeared on behalf of the Mumbai police, while senior advocate A. Ponda appeared from the actor’s side.
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Probe Jaswant son’s gun deal, says Congress New Delhi, October 23 “It is no coincidence that the application of Mr Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh for licences for the prohibited weapons, which had been rejected by the Home Ministry on July 4, the day his father moved to North Block, was approved just six days later,” Congress spokesman Anand Sharma claimed. Talking to reporters here, he said throwing all norms and rules to the wind the Commerce Ministry’s Directorate-General of Foreign Trade had generously opened up the confiscated stock of the Customs Department to allow Manvendra Singh to buy a prohibited bore German gun for just a quarter of the price it commands on the open market. “The other son, Bhupendra Singh, did not find anything to suit his fancy,” he alleged.
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