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Tuesday,
November 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Modi files
papers from Maninagar Pandya
opts out of contest
Tehelka
probe to continue NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT |
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Brahmins
want quota MUMBAI FILM FETE
Members of Greenpeace being forcefully taken away by the police
as they gatecrashed into the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal on Monday to clean waste chemicals left behind by the company during the gas disaster.
— PTI photo Old
Sanawar boys’ conference concludes
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Modi files papers from Maninagar Ahmedabad, November 25 Mr Modi filed his papers at 12.30 p.m. He was flanked by his predecessor Keshubhai Patel and Gujarat BJP President Rajendrasinh Rana. Union Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak, who represents Ahmedabad in the Lok Sabha, and BJP National in charge for Gujarat Ramdas Agrawal, besides former Chief Minister Suresh Mehta, were also present apart from a large number of leaders and workers. Meanwhile, the party announced that Municipal Corporator Bhavin Sheth would be its candidate from the Ellis Bridge constituency in place of Mr Pandya, who had declined to contest to “save the party from embarrassment’’ over his candidature. Former BJP MLA-turned-Congressman Yatin Ojha, who has been fielded against Mr Modi from Maninagar, also filed his papers today, the last day of filing of nominations. He was accompanied by former Deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin, who is contesting from the Sabarmati constituency. Later, Mr Ojha too filed his nomination papers for the Ellis Bridge constituency on the Congress ticket. He said he had been asked to contest from two constituencies. As soon as Mr Modi and other BJP leaders came out of the Returning Officer’s office, the Ojha group entered the premises. Seeing this, BJP workers raised pro-Modi slogans. Workers of the two rival parties then left the scene, perhaps saving ‘ammunition’ for the electoral battle ahead, billed as a fierce democratic Mahabharata. Mr Modi filed four sets of his nomination forms. As his dummy candidate, BJP leader Ashit Vora also filed his papers. As Mr Ojha’s dummy, Congress Party’s Municipal Corporator Vidyut Desai filed his nomination. Former Gujarat Bajrang Dal chief Haresh Bhatt filed papers as a BJP candidate from the sensitive Assembly constituency of Godhra on the last day of filing nominations today. However, BJP workers protested over his candidature and wanted Mr Gopalsinh Solanki, a two-time Rajya Sabha member, as the party’s candidate, party sources said. One of the party workers even threatened immolation if Mr Solanki was denied ticket. Mr Rajendrasinh Patel, MLA, and Mr Kalika Kumar Sanjali, also filed their nominations as the Congress and NCP candidates, respectively.
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Pandya opts out of contest New Delhi, November 25 “Mr Pandya telephoned me this morning expressing his desire to opt out from the contest before the party took a final decision on the candidate for the constituency. I have accepted his request, and the chapter is closed,” Mr Naidu told newspersons here. Accepting that there were two points of view on the renomination of Mr Pandya, Mr Naidu said: “Mr Pandya by opting out, has made the party proud.” The BJP President also maintained that “neither has he (Pandya) made any demand, nor have we (central leadership) made any commitment to him. Mr Pandya has promised to do his best for the party.” The BJP leadership was in for a major embarrassment as despite its considered view that Mr Pandya should be given a renomination from the Ellisbridge constituency, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi virtually revolted and wanted the former State Home Minister to be kept out of the race. Repeated intervention by the leadership failed to mollify both Mr Modi and Mr Pandya, before the RSS leader and the liaison man between the Sangh and the BJP, Mr Madan Das Devi, brokered on the issue and finally Mr Pandya opted out of contest. Mr Naidu admitted that 19 MLAs, including some ministers, had been denied ticket while the party could not find any suitable Muslim candidate as the party finalised the nominees for all 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat. |
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First woman IAF Air Vice Marshal
New Delhi, November 25 Air Vice Marshal Bandhopadhyaya, who was decorated by the President with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in April this year for exceptional services, is the first woman to reach this high post. “This is a big day for the IAF as for the first time a woman officer has reached the post of Air Vice Marshal,’’ Air Marshal S K Dham, said. He said the IAF had at least 500 women officers, of which 100 were pilots, but most of them were flying transport planes and helicopters. Nearly 100 women were inducted into the IAF as officers every year and of them 12 were selected as pilots after rigorous training. Admitting that women pilots have not been entrusted with the task of flying fighter planes, Air Marshal Dham said, ‘’It is not due to lack of physical fitness. In fact they have been found to be more sincere, hardworking and dedicated. It is just that the IAF has just opened its doors to woman pilots and it will take some more time in this regard.’’ Air Vice Marshal Bandhopadhyaya, who had earlier received the Indira Priyadarshini Award, also denied that women pilots were facing any discrimination in this regard. She said, ‘’The only hitch is do we need women pilots to fight a war when there are enough men to do so. Moreover, if any woman pilot is caught as a PoW, the enemy country can harass her sexually in many ways, including rape. So this is a very sensitive issue which affects the sensibility of the people of India.’’ However, women were coming up in civil aviation in a big way and at least 24 of them were flying aeroplanes of which nine had reached the high post of Commander, Air Vice Marshal Bandhopadhyaya said proudly. The Professor of Physiology and Aviation Medicine is the only Indian woman Defence officer to go to the North Pole, where she spent three months researching the effect of extreme cold on the human body. Her research there helped Defence forces in designing suitable clothing and food for forces working in the extremely cold weather conditions of the Siachen Glacier, where troops often suffer from acute mountain sickness. She said high altitude pulmonary oedema and frost bites were the most common problems faced by troops at high altitude and extreme cold conditions. If high altitude pulmonary oedema was left untreated, it could lead to cerebral oedema, which could even prove fatal. The only solution to this problem was proper acclimatisation of the personnel, which required that they went up the heights gradually, rest for sometime, and then proceed she said. Air Vice Marshal Bandhopadhyaya is also the first woman aviation medicine specialist, who graduated in 1975, and was the first lady to join the prestigious Defence Service Staff College.
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Tehelka
probe
to continue New Delhi, November 25 The Opposition also demanded the resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes on the issue. The Leader of the Opposition, Dr Manmohan Singh, who led the walk-out, said neither he nor his party had cast aspersions on the judiciary or Justice Venkataswami. But the Opposition was not convinced about the conduct of the Cabinet Committee on Appointments which did not make any effort to know if the Judge handling the probe panel would be able to take on additional responsibilities. The explanations offered by the government were “unsatisfactory” and the probe had already taken 20-long-months without reaching a conclusion. “We protest this dilatory tactics and walk-out,” he said. Mr Jaswant Singh promised that the government would go by the advice of the Chief Justice of India as the Judge inquiring into the allegations had resigned. The appointment was made under the Commissions of the Inquiry Act and that the new appointment would be made according to the established conventions and law. Mr Jaswant Singh said Justice Venkataswami had put it on record that aspersions were cast on him in Parliament. Former Law Minister Arun Jaitley (BJP) said Justice Venkataswami was already heading a railway panel when he was appointed the head of the Tehelka probe. But none from the Opposition objected to it then. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, November 25 While a sum of Rs 1,035 lakh was released by the Centre to Punjab for horticulture development, the government released Rs 1,620 lakh to
Haryana, Rs 1,800 lakh to Himachal Pradesh and Rs 900 lakh to Jammu and Kashmir, the minister told the House. The government also provided Rs 20 lakh to Punjab in 1997-98 for setting up a compost unit . He also informed that Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi were among those states where the National Dairy Development Board had established linkages with farmers’ organisations and vegetable growers to arrange high quality vegetables and fruits for their outlets. Punjab reported the highest number of cases of alleged bonded labour during 2002. The number of such cases registered with the National Human Rights Commission was 190 in Punjab, 18 in Haryana and one in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Ashok
Pradhan, Minister of State for Labour, informed the Lok Sabha. Mr Sahib Singh
Verma, Minister of Labour, told the House that the number of unemployed (as per employment exchange register) in Punjab declined from 5.3 lakh (as on March, 2002) to 5.2 lakh as on August, 2002. In case of Chandigarh, the number was 0.8 lakh as on August, 2002, and in Haryana it increased to 7.7 lakh from the earlier 6.9 lakh in March. The number of beneficiaries who received pension under the National Old-Age Pension Scheme during 2001-02 in Chandigarh was 2,714. Mr
S.B. Mookherjee, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said. |
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Brahmins
want quota Seekar, November 25 A seven point resolution — “Seekar declaration’’ — was also passed. It sought reservation for the community on “caste’’ basis and pledged to remove illiteracy, maintain unity and restore the dignity of the community. AIBF president K.P. Puthaiya said though the Brahmins should be proud of their past, yet they should also seriously think over the community’s present status and future. A former Rajasthan minister and Congress MLA, Ms Indira Mayaram, said an early answer as to why the social condition of Brahmins had been deteriorating had to be found out.
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MUMBAI FILM FETE Mumbai, November 25 The Y.B. Chavan Centre was buzzing with activity. Come November and it’s time for film buffs to congregate and have a taste of good, wholesome cinema. Call it by any name (and the authorities keep changing it almost every year), the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) in collaboration with the state government and a few other sponsors get their act together and this is the fifth event and from the look of things it is a promising fare in store. Like all openings, this one was not without its blemishes and delays. And excellent though Astad Deboo’s dance was, it was a tad too long and played on the guests’. Sadly Hrishikesh Mukherjee was not present (Because of indifferent health) to receive his lifetime award, and so Kiran Shantaram, also the Sheriff of Mumbai, collected it for him and Hrishida’s note was read to the audience. Szabo’s films are always on so many levels. Like “Mephisto” and “Confidence”, his latest effort “Taking Sides” also has so many hues. While the Jew lobby and the USA keep flogging the Nazi atrocities year in and year out for over six decades, Szabo has new insights as he deals with the rise to fame of one of Germany’s most distinguished music conductors Wilhelm Furtwangler and his encounter with the American Denazification Committee. Opening with Mozart’s Fifth Symphony sets the tempo for this very thought-provoking film. The fact that Furtwangler was acquitted of all charges against him calls for a more sympathetic view to the Nazi collaborators. There are simple solutions in life, it seems to say, and though the USA inquisitor brandishes his sword with as much gusto as he can, he slowly but surely erodes the sympathy of the audience and before long he is like a modern Don Quixote swinging at the windmills. The brash American attitude comes across loud and clear, but not until the second half. It is like a red herring and is also reminiscent of President George Bush and his flexing of his muscles at the rest of the world, especially Iraq. “Why the Jews?”, a line oft-repeated, surely provokes thought. For too long one has seen the same subject worn threadbare. And do we not see the nexus between Israel and the USA? May be that is why the reaction is setting in. It is like Kurosawa’s “Roshomon” or the four different versions of the truth. Is Furtwangler a hero or a villain? It is said he helped so many Jews escape from Germany. But why did he stay on? To achieve fame, no doubt. And was he able to keep music and politics apart? These are the many questions it raises and Szabo deals with them comprehensively. It is the first time Szabo hasn’t written the screenplay, but Ronald Harwood does an excellent job and Lajos Koltai’s camerawork is caressing and all this is rounded off by the compelling performances by the three leading performers — Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgard and Moritz Bleibtreu. The Hungarian film, “Island of their Own”, is also a tense drama of four men in a sort of reunion on an island. How they react to the changing mores of the times and how violence is a natural fallout is deftly handled by director Miklos Szurdi. Shades of “In Cold Blood” where multiple murders are committed just to dare the other, these four weird young men are exposing their hidden demons. Here also it is shades of grey and the director leaves some things unsaid and this adds to the overall charm of the film. It is also the creation of the right ambience and the outdoor shots, particularly the lighting, that play an important part in the build up of the story. B.V. Karanth’s “Choumana Dudi” (Choma’s Drum) still has its moments, but it is somewhat dated. May be the fact that since then social themes like this have been tackled as candidly. M.V. Vasudeva Rao made his debut in this film and what a performance it was. Incidentally, his last role was played in Girish Kasaravali’s “Dwepa.” The focus of this festival appears to be Europe and it’s a great chance for the Mumbaiites to have their fill of good cinema as Hollywood is scraping the bottom of the barrel. |
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Gas tragedy widows write to Vajpayee Bhopal, November 25 A colony at Karond village on the outskirts of the city was constructed for the rehabilitation of the women widowed by gas tragedy, numbering over 2,400. Around 1,100 of them are in a pretty bad condition. They have informed the Prime Minister that they receive a monthly pension of just Rs 150, which is too inadequate for their sustenance. Some of them have lost all male members of their family and are unable to undertake any job because of illness or old age. They have demanded that they should be paid at least Rs 1,000 per month. Besides, their houses should be exempted from power and water charges. Another protest was organised by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) at the Union Carbide factory site where its 56 activists, including foreigners, were taken into custody by the police. |
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Old Sanawar boys’ conference concludes Dehra Dun, November 25 The IMA Commandant, LieUt-Gen T.S. Shergill, PVSM, who is a product of the famous public school, exhorted the ex-students of the school to excel in their respective fields and contribute their mite for the nation’s development. He said the school had produced numerous eminent personalities not only in the country but also the world over. |
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Even as the government today
promised to complete the Tehelka probe at the earliest with the
appointment of a new Judge after consulting the Chief Justice of India,
a dissatisfied Opposition demanded a probe by the Joint Parliamentary
Committee (JPC) and staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha.
In video (
