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Thursday,
November 7, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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14 Cong CMs to meet at Mount
Abu Cong to release CDs on BJP’s ‘misrule’ Gujarat poll: EC, Home Secy to discuss security 200 cos of paramilitary forces for
Gujarat |
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BJP nominates
Naqvi, Rajnath for RS seats CJI: keep commercial disputes off
courts 40 officials leave for
Japan USA raises aid to fight
HIV Karunanidhi meets Vaiko in jail
CVC to reject anonymous complaints
Prasar Bharti CEO is ABU Vice-President Power crisis to dominate MP
session Fire in Kolkata ship-building
unit
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14 Cong CMs to meet at Mount
Abu New Delhi, November 6 At the Guwahati conclave six months ago, the Congress Chief Ministers had promised to give utmost attention to power reforms, besides focusing on programmes for weaker sections. Mrs Gandhi, who held her last press conference at Guwahati, would meet mediapersons at the end of the two-day “business-like” session. Congress leaders said the session would be characterised by simplicity. “The Chief Ministers will present the working of their respective governments in the light of Guwahati resolve,” party chief spokesman Jaipal Reddy said. The two-day meeting will have talks by experts in each session. Dr Y.K. Alagh, renowned development economist, will speak on rural development, agriculture and decentralisation, with special focus on weaker sections, employment and drought relief. Mr A.K. Shiv Kumar, Adviser to UNICEF on educational matters, will speak on education, health and women’s empowerment. Mr Ravi Parthasarthi will speak on infrastructure, power, roads and water management. Mr M.K. Narayanan will speak on law and order and security, with emphasis on effective humane approach. The discussion on the security situation, which would also touch the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, has assumed added significance in view of the Congress having a coalition government in the state. Mrs Gandhi will set the tone of the meeting with her inaugural address. Asked if the party’s preparations for the coming Assembly elections in Gujarat would be discussed at the meeting, Mr Reddy said the party’s election strategy in the state was not part of the agenda. Senior Congress leaders, including CWC members, will also attend the meeting. |
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Cong to release CDs on BJP’s ‘misrule’ New Delhi, November 6 To reach out to the masses, especially in the rural areas where the religious polarisation is likely to have minimal impact, the party has chosen to distribute CDs containing three five to seven minute long documentaries “exposing the BJP misrule” and highlighting the legacy and sacrifice of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The CD films, produced by a small Delhi-based production house are likely to be released during formal launch of election campaign by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee on November 11 at Karamsad, sources said. While the Congress leaders strongly believe that though the BJP could have edge of the religious polarisation especially in riot-hit areas with middle-class Hindus backing them, in the rural belt, which is about 70 per cent, it will be economic issues which would dominate the election scene. Keeping this in mind, the campaign film, which has been made with reality bites, focusses on the collapse of several cooperative banks, “many of them governed by BJP leaders”, resulting in loss of crores of rupees to thousands of investors belonging to middle-class families. The film also tries to project the huge loss suffered by the business community ever since the state came under the impact of communal violence, supporting it with vital statistics, and demands an explanation from the Modi government for the fall of Gujarat’s economic status from number two position in the country to number nine. While making a scathing attack on the “Gaurav Yatra” launched by Mr Narendra Modi, there is a conscious effort in the film to focuss mainly on issues rather than personalities, although the legacy of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi has been used to emotionally vow the electorate to vote for the Congress. The producer of the film has also tried to blend the film with some interesting cartoons of BJP leaders starting from Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Narendra Modi. The copies of the CDs will be submitted to the Election Commission for clearance, before it is launched and distributed in a big way in all 182 constituencies in Gujarat, party sources said. |
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Gujarat poll: EC, Home Secy to discuss security New Delhi, November 6 The Election Commissioner has asked the Union Home Ministry to make available 400 companies of Central paramilitary forces to prevent untoward incidents and ensure free and fair elections in Gujarat. “The commission has still not heard from the Home Ministry about this. We will be holding discussions with the Union Home Secretary in this regard in the next few days,” senior commission officials said. They denied media reports that the home ministry had expressed its inability to spare the required number of paramilitary forces and had asked the Election Commission to make do with the state police force. The commission had concluded after extensive discussions with the Union Home Secretary, the Gujarat Chief Secretary and senior state officials that 400 paramilitary companies were needed for security duty to hold a one-day poll in Gujarat. Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, while announcing the poll schedule on October 28, observed that the elections were going to be held in a “somewhat extraordinary situation” and had added that “the commission, on its part, would spare no efforts to uphold the best democratic traditions in the country.” He said in order to ensure that the poll was conducted in the most conducive conditions so that the “little voter”, whatever be his denomination or background, was free to vote, the Commission had separate discussions with the Union Home Secretary and the chief secretary and senior officials of the Gujarat Government.
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Cong panel on Gujarat meets New Delhi, November 6 The meeting, which was attended by PCC chief Shankersinh Vaghela and CLP leader Amarsinh Chaudhary, AICC general secretary Kamal Nath and some other leaders, shortlisted candidates for all 182 seats in the state. The recommendations would be discussed at the party’s Central Election Committee meeting on November 11 and 12 in the Capital where the candidates would be finalised. The Gujarat PCC had received about 2,000 applications from the candidates of which 700 were shortlisted for today’s meeting. |
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Samata to go it alone in Gujarat New Delhi, November 6 “We will have no alliance with the BJP in Gujarat. There will be no common manifesto or programme. We will have our own manifesto and they will have their own,” party spokesman Shambu Shrivastava told reporters here. He said there was a proposal for seat adjustment with the BJP and party chief George Fernandes had conveyed it to BJP President Venkaiah Naidu who asked for a week’s time to decide. “But more than a week has passed since and there is no communication from the other side,” he said.
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200 cos of paramilitary forces for
Gujarat New Delhi, November 6 “The Ministry of Home Affairs has already ordered the deployment of 200 companies of central paramilitary forces from November 22 onwards as desired by the Election Commission”, the Ministry said in a statement refuting news reports that the Centre had expressed its inability to provide adequate number of forces in the state hit by communal violence. Stating that the Home Ministry was surprised at the “totally misleading and baseless news”, the statement said “at no stage it (ministry) had communicated to the Election Commission its inability to provide adequate number of paramilitary forces and other state armed forces in election duty in Gujarat as per requirements communicated by the Election Commission.” It said further requirements were to be met only by December 5, a week before the scheduled elections. Announcing the poll schedule on October 28, the commission had sought 400 companies of paramilitary forces for smooth conduct of Assembly elections. |
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BJP nominates
Naqvi, Rajnath for RS seats New Delhi, November 6 In the backdrop of the continuing political crisis in the party, the BJP central leadership has apparently decided to keep the claim of Mr Shastri on the backburner and have preferred Mr Singh and Mr Naqvi for political reasons. Sources said the party was still studying the highly volatile situation in Lucknow where two industrialists and an international arms dealer were trying to enter the Rajya Sabha on their own strength. Entry of these powerful persons in the race for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats has unnerved most of the political parties as the industrialists, which include a hotelier and an arms dealer, will resort to every possible trick of the trade to win the election. If the party is sure of managing the third seat, vacated by Karnataka Chief Minister T.N. Chaturvedi, it will nominate Mr Shastri, sources said. Mr Shastri, brought to the Rajya Sabha for a term of six months, was pushed to number three position of the party priorities in the new political equations in the party. Mr Shastri, who had been given a Rajya Sabha berth in the time of former party President K. Jana Krishnamurthi, was not a hot favourite of BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu. While Mr Shastri is still waiting in the wings, Mr Naqvi is not so sure of an easy entry into the Upper House as fear of cross-voting is genuine, sources said. |
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CJI: keep commercial disputes off courts New Delhi, November 6 “It is worrying to see some windows are being opened to the courts and it will lead to doors being opened to courts,” Mr Justice Kirpal said referring to the proposed amendments to the Act while inaugurating a colloquium on “Commercial arbitration - need for reforms.” He said in India an unfortunate mindset prevailed among many which led to the thinking that courts should be the final arbiter of all kinds of disputes. “It should stop,” the CJI added. “If the litigants choose arbitration as the forum for dispute resolution, there is no reason why they should be allowed to go back to the court,” Mr Justice Kirpal said. President of the Indian Council of Arbitration Chirayu R. Amin said if courts were again given power to interfere with the alternate dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism, the system would find it difficult to develop. “What the ADR movement needs is not a supervisory role from the courts but a supportive role - of assisting ADR mechanisms to develop to their full potential in their sphere,” he said.
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40 officials leave for
Japan New Delhi, November 6 The visit of officials below 35 years is being sponsored by the Government of Japan under its Japan south-west Asian Youth Friendship programme, administered by Japan International Cooperation Agency, which implements the Japan-aided technical cooperation programmes. Among the officials touring Japan are Mr Shyamal Mishra, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad, Ms Sukriti Likhi, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, Ms Geetanjali Kalra, Mohali Government College, Punjab, Mr Surindra Pal Singh, Agricultural Development Officer, Ms Bhawna Garg, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Ludhiana and Ms Payal Sodhi, CAWDES coordinator, Chandigarh. During their three-week stay in Japan, Indian participants will visit different places and institutions related to their subject of interest and acquire familiarity with Japanese counterpart set-up. The programme is also aimed at promoting long-standing understanding and friendship among young persons of the two countries. |
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USA raises aid to fight HIV Chennai, November 6 Addressing a select gathering on “India, the USA and the fight Against HIV/AIDS,” he said in the past five years, the US Government had contributed $ 63 million to fight HIV/AIDS in India. Over the next five years, the total contribution would be $ 120 million, he added. The Ambassador said his country’s efforts had gained some success, especially in Tamil Nadu, which had a strong political will, a sound State AIDS Control Society and committed NGOs. The city-based AIDS Prevention and Control Project (APAC), funded by the US Agency for International Development, had completed seven years and had been extended for another five years. This project had become a model project for public-private sector cooperation, Mr Blackwill observed. With financial assistance from the US National Institute of Health, HIV/AIDS investigators from the USA had been collaborating with YRG Care, an NGO working in the areas of prevention and care. Mr Blackwill noted that the joint efforts of the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine in Tambaram here and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, a memorandum for which was signed by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa last September, would strengthen information systems and laboratories and impart specialised training in diagnostics and other new technologies related to HIV/AIDS. During his meeting with Ms Jayalalithaa earlier in the day, he presented a blueprint for renovating the HIV/AIDS laboratory at the Tambaram Hospital, funded by the USA, he said, commending her determination and dedication to combat the dreaded disease. Many sections of the US government mission to India were involved in a team approach to help India in limiting the transmission of HIV/AIDS. The USAID, which also supported the AVERT Project in Maharashtra, was planning to incorporate HIV prevention into its other endeavours, notably the innovations in family planning services project in Uttar Pradesh and assistance in CARE India. “HIV/AIDS vaccine development is an unprecedented challenge that is engaging talent worldwide. Scientists from India and the USA are collaborating through the Indo-US vaccine action programme and the new Indo-US HIV/AIDS prevention research programme to support joint efforts to produce a vaccine”, Mr Blackwill pointed out.
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Karunanidhi meets Vaiko in jail Chennai, November 6 The 40-minute meeting between the estranged leaders led to speculation in political circles if it was a prelude to a rapprochement that could lead to the merger of the two Dravidian parties. But Mr Karunanidhi declared that the meeting had no political significance or motive. Asked by reporters if merger between the two constituents of the NDA at the Centre was a possibility, he shot back saying he had already said there was no political significance. Mr Karunanidhi said his visit was just a courtesy call and a return “gesture” as Mr Vaiko’s family had visited the Union Minister of Commerce, Mr Murasoli Maran, undergoing treatment for a serious illness in a private hospital here. But speculation persists in both DMK and MDMK camps that the meeting between the two leaders more than meets the eye, especially as it followed a recent visit to Mr Vaiko by a senior DMK leader, Mr Durai Murugan. Mr Vaiko’s party had been in alliance at one time or the other with both the AIADMK and the DMK. In the last Assembly elections, it was ditched by the DMK after differences in seat sharing. Many times in the past, Mr Vaiko had used his sharp tongue to attack Mr Karunanidhi and the latter had hit back in his own style. Their Vellore jail meeting seems to indicate that they are ready to forget and forgive and open a new chapter of bonhomie. Whether it will translate itself into political terms remains to be seen. |
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CPM directs comrades to
change lifestyle Kolkata, November 6 These guidelines for improving the lifestyle of the party comrades are being sent to all the CPI (M) ministers, MPs, MLAs and other party members by way of a circular. According to the party leadership, the decisions have been taken with a view to giving a chance to the corrupt and unwanted leaders and workers to rectify themselves or get sacked. Steps have already been taken for removing corrupt and reckless people and so far, over 100 workers have been either suspended or dismissed in the past one year, party sources said. CPI (M) state secretary Anil Biswas, also a politburo member, has admitted that the life-style of their leaders and workers have changed much in the past two decades since the party came into power in Bengal. “We have reports of misuse of money and of reckless lifestyle by some leaders and workers, which we do not support. We want them either to change their present lifestyle or quit the party”, he stated. The issue came up for discussion during the two-hour long meeting of the party bosses, which all ministers, MPs, MLAs and other leaders attended, for reviewing the ministerial performances vis-à-vis the state’s present financial crises, which had been making it extremely difficult for the government to regularly pay employees salaries. Mr Biswas said he had received performance reports of their one-year activities from the Chief Minister and ministers, which would be examined within a few weeks, and further directives would be made to them accordingly. “But we are not all happy with the activities of some of our ministers who have already been asked to improve their performances”, the CPI (M) leader said. The party secretary said all ministers would have to prove their worth by performing themselves and no excuse would be accepted. He regretted that a tendency had developed by the ministers of excusing themselves of non-work in the plea of want of funds, which the leadership condemned. There were problems and shortage of money, but that could never be the excuse for a total non-functioning of the ministers, Mr Biswas reiterated. The meeting urged the ministers, MPs, MLAs and other leaders to develop more mass contact and try to help the people. Mr Biswas regretted that the leaders were gradually losing their contact with the common people, which had been damaging the party to a large extent. |
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CVC to reject anonymous complaints
Chennai, November 6 Describing this step as a major decision, Chief Vigilance Commissioner P. Shankar told mediapersons here that a complainant had the right to request for
withholding his name, but the name and address had to be provided so that the commission had access to that person. In an attempt to avoid the kind of controversy generated by his predecessor on publishing the names of persons facing investigations following complaints, Mr Shankar said the commission had decided to publish only the names of people punished and not the names of those being investigated.
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Ministry seeks details of Plaza encounter New Delhi, November 6 The report was sought following the statements of the eyewitnesses to mediapersons that the suspected terrorists, Abu Anas, alias Dawood Ali Ahmed, of Kasoor in and Ejaz Ahmed, alias Deepak, of Gujranwala, Pakistan’s Punjab province were shot dead in cold blood. One of the eyewitnesses, Dr Krishna was allegedly threatened by the Delhi police not to give further statements against the police in connection with the encounter, sources said. Dr Krishna said the shoot out took place in the basement of the shopping complex of Ansal Plaza when he along with his wife and son went there. |
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Prasar Bharti CEO is ABU Vice-President New Delhi, November 6 Mr Sarma, former Director-General of Doordarshan, was elected for the post at the 39th general assembly of the ABU which opened at Tokyo today. The ABU is an association of the television and radio networks in the Asia-Pacific region and comprises 100 broadcasters from 49 nations and territories. The focus of the general assembly is on the role of broadcasting in the 21st century and how broadcasting can solve such global issues as education and environment. More than 400 delegates are attending the general assembly. Prasar Bharti is being represented by its CEO, Doordarshan Director-General S.Y. Quraishi and Doordarshan Engineer-in-Chief R.K. Gupta. The ABU was founded in 1964 and now has 100 members in 49 countries and areas, including a number of associate members in Europe and the USA.
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Power crisis to dominate MP
session Bhopal, November 6 To add to Chief Minister Digvijay Singh’s woes, two seniormost members of his Cabinet have recently been publicly criticising the government for its miserable failure on the power front. They are Ms Jamuna Devi and Mr Subhash Yadav, both Deputy Chief Ministers. That none of the other members of the Council of Ministers or the Congress Legislature Party has even reminded the two that they, being part of the government, should also own up the responsibility for the government’s failure only adds to Mr Digvijay Singh’s discomfiture. While the government is obviously on the defensive on the power crisis, a large number of non-government organisations (NGOs) have launched a joint offensive against the MP State Electricity Board’s move to raise the power tariff manifold. The Jan Sangharsh Morcha that comprises 15 NGOs had held rallies in protest against the move at Mandleshwar, Sendhva and in front of the office of the Electricity Regulatory Commission in Indore. The morcha has chalked out a programme to simultaneously organise marches in the entire state from November 15 to 30. |
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Fire in Kolkata ship-building
unit Kolkata, November 6 Some important documents, along with equipment have reportedly been damaged. Thirty firefighters brought the fire under control. Since the unit belongs to the Defence Directorate, senior Army officials from Fort William and Calcutta Port Trust inspected the area and made an on-the-spot inquiry. An official probe has been ordered into the incident. |
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