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Monday,
January 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Digvijay’s move to counter Hindutva Govt to rope in PIOs for
projects
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Curtain draws on NRI jamboree Gujral asks writers to usher in
revolution 2003 year of action, says
Kalam
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Dalai Lama stresses on
peace
Blast accused was hired by Lashkar Hurriyat sticks to stand on Pak role Cong aligning with ‘pseudo-secularists’ Paswan breaks ties with
Congress Deshmukh, Adik to meet Sonia CPM’s show of strength in
Kolkata
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Digvijay’s move to counter Hindutva Indore, January 12 Instead of a customary speech to launch the “Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara” which coincides with Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary, he urged the people gathered on the occasion to raise patriotic slogans with him. The 19-day campaign will end on January 30, Indore Collector Mohammad Suleiman, the brain behind the campaign along with an NGO, Seva Sourabh, said. Veteran freedom fighter Padmashree Babulal Patodi, who witnessed country’s Independence celebrations in 1947 here, said: “After Independence, I am seeing for the first time such nationalistic fervour in the city.” DHAR (MP): The Chief Minister said on Sunday that the district administration would not restrict entry of VHP leader Praveen Togadia to a disputed ‘Bhojshala’ here on Basant Panchami on February 6, but would ensure that his speech did not whip up communal passion. “In India people have freedom to go anywhere, but we will take measures, including video recording of his visit and speech, to ensure that it will not disturb communal harmony”, he told reporters. The ‘Bhojshala’, is in possession of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) where a temple and a mosque co-exist. As per the arrangement of the ASI, Muslims can offer prayers in the mosque on every Friday while Hindus were allowed to perform puja at the temple only once in a year on the occasion of Basant Panchami. The Chief Minister said since the ‘Bhojshala’ was the property of the ASI, therefore the state government would not have any say with regard to affairs of the ‘Bhojshala’ except ensuring law and order there. On the issue of bringing back the idol of “Wagdevi”, which was situated in the ‘Bhojshala’ during the pre-independence period and was later taken away by the Britishers, the Chief Minister said: “The government will take an initiative in this regard only when Hindu organisations leave their demand to install it in the ‘Bhojshala’.”
PTI |
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Govt to rope in PIOs for
projects New Delhi, January 12 Besides, the Ministry of External Affairs is going to soon start phase two of the Dual Citizenship offer and would identify more countries whose PIOs can be offered dual citizenship. The dual citizenship offer announced by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, yesterday is presently applicable only to seven countries — the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. Apart from these countries, there are four more countries which have more than half-a-million PIOs. The USA, of course, takes the lead as it has 1.7 million PIOs. The next task before the Vajpayee government is to make the investment climate better and evolve a single-window clearance system for the purpose. Well placed sources in the government said while some of the fresh measures were likely to be announced soon, by the time the second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held on January 9, 2004 the investment climate for the NRIs would have improved considerably. The government was looking upon the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a “parva” (festival) which had sanctity rather than as a “mela” (fair) which was merely enjoyable. It is understood that the Vajpayee government is contemplating to evolve some special schemes of national magnitude for which PIOs can send financial contributions directly to the government here, thus circumventing all bureaucratic hurdles and red tapism. For example, the government may well come up with a scheme aimed at roping in PIOs for ambitious projects like linking of rivers and Mr Vajpayee’s golden quadrilateral highway project. The estimated costs of the two projects are Rs 1 lakh crore and Rs 59,000 crore, respectively. Meanwhile, aware of the criticism that its dual citizenship offer is being viewed as dollar-and-pound-specific only because SAARC countries have been ignored, sources in the Vajpayee government emphatically said that it would never extend such a dual citizenship scheme to countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. |
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Curtain draws on NRI jamboree New Delhi, January 12 As the curtains came down on the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here, participants, old and young, left with mixed feelings as the sun beat down the sprawling Pragati Maidan for the first time in three-days. Not everybody was happy though. “There did not appear to be a carefully prepared structured agenda for event. But, nevertheless, a beginning has been made and hopefully, the loose ends will be tied up in the years to come”, a first-generation NRI from the USA said, even as he requested anonymity. Many felt the conferences were distinctly officialese, with no scope for interactivity and dialogue. “Most of the time, the sessions were an exercise in monologue and the participants were not allowed to clarify details”, said Mr S Choudhury, an artist from New York, who has come to India after 23 years. For the record, as many as 160 panelists and speakers addressed the gathering. Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipaul, a man known for non-conformist and no-holds-barred opinions, likened the event to a trade fair. “It (dual citizenship) does not really make sense to us. It is only for citizens from richer countries”, said a PIO from Guadelope, France. Many participants also rued the fact that the event was structured in a way as if the government was laying down a red carpet for NRI investment in the country. “Isn’t there a distinction between the silicon-valley graduates and those of us who have graduated from indentured labour”? Ms Mewa Ramgobin, Member of Parliament of South Africa, observed. Experts opined that it was necessary to clearly define the role of the diaspora in nation building. “If India fails to develop a coherent diasporic policy, there is a grave danger that the long-awaited reunion of the globally extended Indian family might break up in mutual recrimination. As India should know, the joint family can turn into a veritable hell if the patterns of interaction between its members are not clearly defined and charitably interpreted”, Professor of London School of Economics, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, said. Worldwide Managing Director, McKinsey and Company Inc, USA, Mr Rajat Gupta said “it is important to note here that leveraging talent of the Indian diaspora is not a panacea for fundamental economic reform. By itself, it cannot lead to economic development, which is critical to creating self-perpetuating cycle of investment and return for the expatriate Indian”. A mathematician from the USA summed it up in a typical style. “This seems to be the perfect application of Chaos Theory — uniformity in chaos”. |
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Gujral asks writers to usher in
revolution New Delhi, January 12 With an eye on the ensuing Assembly elections in different parts of the country, political leaders, primarily belonging to the Congress, urged the intelligentsia to use their pen to bring about a “social revolution” in the country. Even the ripple created by the Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul’s remarks about the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, came under sharp criticism. The theme of the conference, which has been organised for the first time, “Contemporary World and Role of Punjabi Writers’’. Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral urged the galaxy of writers present at the venue to bring about a social revolution through their writings, while hitting out at the communal forces which wanted to brand India as a “Hindu country.” “Gujarat violence should have ideally forced the writers to bring a social revolution. It was with their writings that the Progressive Writers Movement kindled the fire of patriotism, which laid the foundation of a secular India. It is a challenge for you (writers) to unite the people who have got waylaid by the fiery and communal speeches of some leaders,” Mr Gujral said. Denial of entry to 13 Pakistani writers, who had been invited to attend the conference, came under criticism. This way, the Indian rulers “are doing what the terrorists are wishing for,’’ he said. Former premiere of British Columbia, Mr Ujjal Singh Dosanjh, said, “India’s image has been tarnished in the eyes of the international community with the gruesome murder of humanity which followed Godhra..” Lashing out at Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul for causing an irreparable harm to the image of Mahatma Gandhi, Mr Dosanjh, a recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, said, “As we cannot blame the British for every problem we face in modern India, similarly we cannot blame Gandhiji, if Apartheid still exists in South Africa.” Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit blamed the BJP for obstructing the grant of second language status to Punjabi in Delhi while pretending to be the saviour of the Sikh community, merely to secure votes in the coming elections. Punjab Pradesh Congress chief H.S. Hanspal and eminent Punjabi writer and Rajya Sabha MP Kartar Singh Duggal also spoke. |
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2003 year of action, says
Kalam New Delhi, January 12 Speaking on “Transforming India into a developed country by 2020”, on the concluding day of the two-day Governors Conference at Rashtrapati Bhavan, he said for India to be a developed country by 2020, there was need for involvement of all concerned specially the Governors. He outlined his talk with a computerised show explaining various aspects which needed to be focussed upon for the country to become a developed nation. In his address, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, said his government was committed to making India a developed country by 2020 and concurred with the opinion of the President that all persons should actively participate in reaching this goal. Mr Vajpayee said the deliberations at the conference were meaningful as it enabled the government to know about the developmental works being carried out in states and also provided a forum for exchanging of views on various issues. Among those who participated in the conference were the Vice-President, Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant and several Union ministers. The 28 Governors and three Lt Governors suggested measures to take India towards the goal of becoming a developed country by 2020 which formed the agenda for discussion. |
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Kalpana to go on second space mission New Delhi, January 12 The Space Transport Shuttle-107 (STS-107) will be launched on January 16 between 10 am and 2pm (Eastern Standard Time) with a seven member crew, NASA sources said. “We are upbeat about the mission and getting ready for it,” Ms Chawla told her family members here last week, who will fly down to the KSC to witness the proud moment. The crew, on a SPACEHAB/FREESTAR microgravity research mission, will conduct nearly 80 experiments that will study the earth and space science, advance technology development, and astronaut health and safety, the sources said.
PTI |
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Dalai Lama stresses on peace Bodh Gaya (Bihar), January 12 During his preaching at Kalachakra Maidan, the Dalai Lama said: “Incidents of violence among youngsters indicates that there is no peace in the world’’. Urging the Buddhists to take out their shoes before entering the shrine of the Lord Buddha, he also asked them to strictly adhere to vegetarian food in the “Land of Buddha’’. He appealed to them to control the worldly vices, adding, that “the peace messages have been initiated from Tibet and now spread all over the world’’. The preliminary teachings of the Kalachakra puja began today at Bodh Gaya amid great fanfare and chanting of mantras. Bodh Gaya, the seat of enlightenment of Lord Buddha, is crowned with the distinction of holding the third Kalachakra puja under the 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhism. Kalachakra initiation was earlier given by him at Bodh Gaya in December 1974, which was attended by at least 1 lakh persons, and again in December 1985, which was attended by over 2 lakh persons. Providing the chronology of Kalachakra initiations given by the 14th Dalai Lama, Additional Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations in the Central Tibetan Administration Sonam N.Dagpo said the first Kalachakra initiation was given by the 14th Dalai Lama at Norbulingka, Lhasa, in Tibet in May, 1954, while the first Kalachakra initiation in India was given at Dharmhalain in May, 1970. UNI |
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Blast accused was hired by Lashkar New Delhi, January 12 Imran, whose deportation was another feather in the cap of central intelligence agencies, had said during his interrogation that LeT cadres in Saudi Arabia had given him cassettes besides exhorting him to take revenge for the killings of Muslims in Gujarat riots. Besides highlighting the presence of a second LeT unit outside Pakistan, his arrest also brought to light that the ISI was still bent on carrying out subversive activities in Gujarat to spark a communal clash. Imran was deported from Dubai to Mumbai on January 9.
PTI |
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Hurriyat sticks to stand on Pak role New Delhi, January 12 “Involvement of Pakistan in talks is not a beaten track. This is not condition and the Hurriyat does not believe to be guided by
conditionalities. We choose to be guided by realities. The participation of Islamabad is a principle after which the talks can proceed,” Hurriyat Conference Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said here. “Whom we should talk to first is a matter of detail. If the principle is accepted, we may talk to India and then go to Pakistan,” he said. When asked to comment on the statement of Deputy Prime Minister
L.K. Advani that the Hurriyat conference was a spokesperson for Pakistan, Mr Bhat said: “I do not deny Mr Advani the right to choose his words likewise I hope he will not deny me the right to choose my words.
PTI |
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Cong aligning with ‘pseudo-secularists’ New Delhi, January 12 In Chhattisgarh, basic issues of development was ignored by the Congress government and in Maharashtra the Congress-NCP alliance had failed to control the deteriorating law and order situation, he said. In Madhya Pradesh, Mr Naqvi said, the Congress government was fomenting “cultural terrorism”. While in Bihar, the RJD government, which is supported by the Congress has earned the dubious distinction being a “symbol of bankruptcy” he said. He also charged the
Congress-PDP Government of Jammu and Kashmir with “succumbing before anti-national elements”. In the Capital, the Delhi Government was desperately trying to take credit for the success in the Metro Rail project and in the process ignoring fundamental issues of governance. |
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Paswan breaks ties with Congress New Delhi, January 12 Party sources said though the Congress used Mr Paswan for the Gujarat election campaign, it was averse to the idea of seat adjustment. Talking to newspersons here, Mr Paswan said he would hold a rally at Nahan on January 20 to kickstart the party’s election campaign in Himachal Pradesh. He also released the first list of 20 candidates fielded by the party. Mr Paswan said a protest march to Rashtrapati Bhavan would be taken out on January 15 to demand the dismissal of the Mayawati government.
UNI, PTI |
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Deshmukh, Adik to meet Sonia New Delhi, January 12 Maharashtra Pradesh Congress chief Govindrao
Adik, a known detractor of Mr Deshmukh, is also expected to reach here tomorrow to have talks with Ms Gandhi following a summon from the party high command.
PTI |
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CPM’s show of strength in
Kolkata Kolkata, January 12 CPM leaders also asked the people to prepare themselves for the forthcoming panchayat elections in West Bengal and defeat the Trinamool-BJP's “unholy” alliance. Kolkata turned into a city of processions with all streets flooded with processions and gatherings of the CPM workers and supporters. People started coming from distant places by trains, buses, trucks, mini-buses since last night and assembled near the maidan. From the early morning, the processionists, carrying red flags and festoons converged at the maidan. According to the police, the CPM gathering today swelled to over 2 lakh. Addressing the people, Mr Jyoti Basu warned the people against the Centre's wrong economic policies which had been ruining the country. |
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Hearing in Sonali case today
CRA meeting Pondicherry, January 12
Advani “Janus faced” New Delhi, January 12
Pune, January 12 |
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