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Saturday,
December 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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13/12:
homage to slain security personnel
Inspector raj must end, says PM George
boycott on
NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT |
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Nagappa death mystery continues Sex
change: court to rescue of husband Mufti meets Cong leaders Gilani
case: top officials summoned BJP rally
turns violent NSG commando honoured Ex-servicemen
‘being ignored’ Review
issuing of passes to foreign diplomats: BJP HP land
laws: SC not to intervene
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13/12: homage to slain security personnel New Delhi, December 13 Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Speaker Manohar Joshi along with members stood in silence for a minute. Condemning last year’s terrorist attack on Parliament, Mr Shekhawat said in the Rajya Sabha: “Terrorism should be condemned unambiguously. It can be defeated only through determination and sustained efforts. On this occasion, we resolve to fight terrorism unitedly and with determination to eliminate it.” The Speaker said the attempt by five terrorists to enter Parliament was thwarted by the brave security staff of the CRPF, the Delhi police, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Parliament Watch and Ward security. Five security personnel of the Delhi police, a woman constable of the CRPF and two security assistants of Parliament Watch and Ward laid down their lives fighting the terrorists. In their death, these valiant security personnel had set the highest standards of selfless courage and bravery, Mr Joshi said, recalling that an innocent gardener who was on duty also lost his life during the attack. Later, speaking about the safety and security measures taken by the government, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said a lot had been done. A committee had been set up which had gone through several exercises and steps had been taken to strengthen its security, Mr Advani said. “It is much safer than what it was earlier.... Entry even into the compound is not as easy as it was at that point of time (December 13, 2001),” he informed. Meanwhile, Mr Joshi said the Lok Sabha would discuss farmers’ problems on December 19. Mr Joshi made the observation shortly after Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav raised the alleged December-11 police firing on farmers at Basti (UP) in which, he claimed, three farmers were killed. Meanwhile, US Ambassador Robert Blackwill called on Mr Joshi and conveyed that the USA was with India in the war against terrorism. The Ambassador, who visited Parliament House, paid floral tributes to the courageous securitymen who died defending Parliament
House. |
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Eunuchs
hold
dharna Bhopal, December 13 The occasion was the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on Parliament. The protesters carried banners, one of which read: “What happened to the vow of waging
aar-paar ki ladai (fight to the finish)” |
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Inspector
raj must end, says PM New Delhi, December 13 Addressing the inaugural session of the 75th Annual General Meeting of FICCI, the Prime Minister said the slow progress in labour reforms, power sector reforms and infrastructure investments were a cause of concern to him. "We may have done away with the
license-permit-quotaraj, but the 'inspector rajstill survives. Many entrepreneurs, especially those in small and medium sectors, are harassed and humuliated in routine under the inspector raj and this must end", he said. “By carrying out necessary reforms in governance at various levels, we can increase the GDP growth rate by at least a couple of percentage points without any additional financial investments, he said. Emphasising on making the democratic system more development oriented, Mr Vajpayee said the fruits of development must reach the poor and the underprivileged. “The economy must produce more, create more productive employment opportunities and help people lead better lives”. He said the virtuous cycle of reforms-driven development should guide the activities of both the government and Indian business. |
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George boycott on New Delhi, December 13 Only five members turned up at the meeting which was called to take stock of medical facilities and other grievances of ex-servicemen and war widows. The members present were Jayshree Banerjee and Balwant Apte (both BJP), Capt Inder Singh (INLD), Mansoor Ali Khan (BSP) and Swaraj Kaushal (HVP). At the meeting, as part of moves to expand medical facilities for ex-servicemen, Mr Fernandes said 123 more
polyclinics would be set up and medical facilities in 104 existing stations expanded. He said the new scheme launched for ex-servicemen would provide them, war widows and their dependants medical treatment on the pattern of the Central Government Health Scheme. Mr Fernandes said medical facilities at 104 military stations would be augmented at a capital cost of Rs 49 crore with an additional Rs 52 crore annual recurring expenditure. He said 123 new stations where the population of ex-servicemen was more than 2,500 would be set up at a cost of Rs 69 crore and at an annual recurring cost of Rs 98 crore. The minister said ex-servicemen, war widows and their dependants would also be reimbursed the cost of medicines and fee for treatment by specialists, adding that this would cost the exchequer about Rs 201 crore.
Parliament adjourned For the second time in less than a fortnight, Parliament failed again today to transact any business in the two Houses because of absence of quorum in the post-lunch session, resulting to their adjournment till December 16. The quorum bells were pressed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha during private members’ business.
Nitish finds rat
on train Not only passengers but even Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had to suffer the rat menace in trains. “Even I faced this problem. I was travelling to Patna by train when a rat came under my feet,” he told CPM Lok Sabha member A.P. Abdullah Kutty at a meeting here today. “The disturbances created by innumerable mice running here and there in the coach is a problem for sleeping passengers as well,” the member told Mr Nitish Kumar. The MP said he had seen foreign tourists in trains spending sleepless night fearing a mice attack. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, December 13 In a written reply, the Minister of State of Railways said suitable steps were taken to ensure the safety of the tracks. The issue was being taken up with the civil authorities from time to time and waste were removed through cleanliness drive, the House was told. Central scheme in J&K:
The government is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme on macro-management in agriculture — supplementation/complementation of state efforts through work plan in all states and union territories, including Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Minister of State of Ministry of Agriculture Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today. The minister said under this scheme assistance was provided to the state government for taking up various activities, including the development of horticulture. This scheme provides flexibility to the state governments to prioritise their activities like the supply of good quality planting material through nurseries, tissue culture units, assistance for area expansion, productivity improvement programmes, training on latest, technologies creation of infrastructure for disease forecasting, plant health clinics, tissue/leaf analysis, mechanisation and on-farm handling of produce, the Minister told the House. During 2002-03, an amount of Rs 16 crore each has been allocated for Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir under the macro-management scheme, the House was told. Storage facility:
The governments of Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have requested 7.5 lakh mt and 10000 mt of additional storage capacity respectively, under the seven-year guarantee scheme, the Minister of state of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution U.V. Krishnan Raju told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. |
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Nagappa
death mystery continues Chennai, December 13 There is still no clue as to how Veerappan’s hostage met with his tragic end. The Karnataka Home Minister, Mr M.
Kharge, says the investigations are still on and the facts leading to Nagappa’s death are yet to be ascertained. According to media reports from Bangalore, Nagappa has written in his notebook “Om Namah
Shivayah” several times each day from August 26 to December 4, lending credence to the belief that he may have been killed on December 5. He has written about his travails as a hostage, and his family is planning to reveal the information contained in the diary in the next few days. The Karnataka Special Task Force (STF) is reported to have recovered 27 spent bullet casings of AK-47 rifles and three spent bullets in the Changadi forest area where Nagappa’s body was found. Mr Kharge has refused to comment on the theory that Nagappa was killed in an encounter between Veerappan and the Tamil Nadu STF. “I cannot say anything,” he told reporters. The Karnataka Government has denied rumours that Veerappan has sent a seventh cassette in which he is said to have apologised for the incident leading to the death of Nagappa. Reports that another body was found near where Nagappa got killed have also been discounted. The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr
S. M. Krishna, has asked the Centre to convene a meeting of Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the Defence and Home Ministries on December 21 to chalk out a joint strategy to capture Veerappan. |
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Sex change: court to rescue of husband New Delhi, December 13 A Delhi court has restrained the parents from marrying off their daughter as she is already married and her marriage is registered in the
court. Ananay Kakkar, who became a male through a sex-change operation, had married Deepak Sharma but when he came to know that his partner was going to be re-married, he approached the court which stayed the second marriage of Deepak Sharma. “...ex-parte order is granted to the effect that the defendant (Deepak Sharma) is restrained from contracting second marriage till the next date,” Civil Judge Anu Geover Baliga said in her order yesterday restraining the remarriage of the woman which was fixed for today. The court fixed January 2 as the next date of hearing on the matter stating that if Deepak Sharma was not available, the summons should be affixed at the address furnished by Kakkar about his wife. Kakkar had approached the court claiming that he had married Deepak according to the Hindu rights and ceremonies at a Temple in Ghaziabad on November 26 last year after becoming a man by operation three-and-half years ago. He alleged that his wife was forcibly kept away from him by his in-laws and they secretly prepared for her second marriage.
PTI |
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Mufti meets Cong leaders New Delhi, December 13 Mr Sayeed, who yesterday spoke to Congress President Sonia Gandhi over phone, today met Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh. He met Jammu and Kashmir PCC chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday. Mr Sayeed will also meet senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh. He is likely to meet Mrs Sonia Gandhi before returning to Jammu. Sources said Mr Sayeed was keen on the expansion of the Cabinet so that the burden of work was reduced on the ministers. There are, at present, eight ministers in the Cabinet and the Chief Minister is holding several portfolios. |
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Gilani case: top
officials summoned New Delhi, December 13 The order came from Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
(CMM) Sangita Dhingra Sehgal on an application moved by V. K. Ohri, counsel for Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani’s son-in-law Iftikar
Gilani, who is in jail since his arrest in June last under the Official Secrets Act. The officials summoned by the court are: Director-General of Military Intelligence, Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and Government of India Under Secretary
B. R. Dhiman. “We sought action against the officials who misled the court and obstructed the course of justice,” the counsel said.
PTI |
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BJP rally
turns violent Dehra Dun, December 13 At least 150 BJP workers were arrested as they tried to cross the barricades to proceed towards the Vidhan Sabha alleging widespread corruption and deteriorating law and order situation in the state, police sources said. As the rally comprising hundreds of BJP workers, led by state BJP president Manohar Kant Dhyani proceeded towards the Vidhan Sabha to gherao it on the opening day of the winter session, the police put up barricades in the Rispana bridge area to stop them. However, the slogan-shouting BJP workers broke some of the barricades forcing the police to use force against them. SP (City)
G. S. Mortolia said at least 25 policemen were injured during the clash with BJP workers.
PTI |
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NSG commando
honoured Ahmedabad, December 13 The commando has been battling for life for over two months after being injured during a fierce gunbattle with terrorists who had stormed the temple on September 24.
PTI |
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Ex-servicemen
‘being ignored’ New Delhi, December 13 Raising the issue during zero hour, Congress MP Sonaram Chaudhary said ex-servicemen, who retired at the age of 35 to 40 years, were being subjected to hardships. Supporting him, party colleague Renuka Chowdhary said ex-servicemen, who comprised the largest “secular” force which could be called for duty during emergencies, were “virtually begging”. |
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Review issuing of passes to foreign diplomats: BJP New Delhi, December 13 BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said issuing special passes to foreign diplomats by the Election Commission was “inappropriate” and the country did not need certificate of fairness of elections from anybody. He said while there was some logic behind allowing foreign diplomats to witness elections in Jammu and Kashmir, such a step in Gujarat was unnecessary. “I hope, the EC will review its stand”, he said. |
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3 on poll duty
dead Vadodara, December 13 |
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HP land laws: SC not to intervene New Delhi, December 13 The SLPs by Ms Meenakshi Kumari and Ms Sukarma Bhardwaj were dismissed by a Bench comprising Justice Mr S.N. Variava and Justice Mr B.N. Agarwal. The SLPs were filed following the rejection of petitions before the Himachal Pradesh High Court challenging the validity of the provisions of the HP Land Ceiling Act on the ground of gender discrimination. |
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IAS officer shifted Patna, December 13 |
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