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Wednesday,
January 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Cabinet berth for Mamata likely Karunanidhi keeps BJP guessing CCS reviews security
Sukh Ram hopeful
of pact with Cong Shekhawat for NHRC role in PDS |
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Crucial CLP meeting in Mumbai today Army will ‘win hearts’ of J&K people
Pipelines burst in Churu, mercury — 1°C Sinha leaves for Greece today Jaswant meets Naga leaders Indo-US missile talks today Decision to go nuclear unavoidable: Gujral Anand Sharma is convener media panel
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Cabinet berth for Mamata likely Kolkata, January 14 It was indicated to Ms Banerjee by Mr Fernandes at Trinamool’s rally on January 6 that soon two ministries would be created in the Cabinet. One dealing with NRI and foreign investment and the other with national rivers and sea resources. Dr Farooq Abdullah and Ms Banerjee would be inducted then. The BJP President, Mr Venkaiah Naidu, also gave similar indications to the BJP’s state leadership and the Trinamool Congress. The BJP Central minister from West Bengal, Mr Satyabrata Mukherjee, said Ms Banerjee’s induction was now a necessity in the wake of the state’s forthcoming panchayat elections where the BJP and the Trinamool would jointly fight the CPM and the Congress. He said they had been pressing the Prime Minister to invite Ms Banerjee to join the Cabinet without delay, to which he had responded positively. The BJP’s newly appointed president of West Bengal, Mr Tathagata Roy, said Ms Banerjee’s joining the ministry would help the state. Ms Banerjee, however, did not disclose anything even to her close associates about her talks with Mr Fernandes and Mr Naidu. The Congress on the other hand has invited all secular parties for an alliance. |
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Karunanidhi keeps BJP guessing Chennai, January 14 The past few weeks have provided enough evidence of the growing strains in their relationship, and the forthcoming byelection to the state Assembly constituency of Sathankulam, which the BJP plans to contest, can only highlight the inevitability of the parting of ways by the two parties. It is no secret that the BJP was surprised at the sharp attack on the Vajpayee government's privatisation policy and opening up of the country's economy by the DMK's executive committee. The BJP all-India secretary, Mr L. Ganesan, has reminded Mr Karunanidhi that the Centre is only following policies enunciated in the NDA agenda to which the DMK has subscribed. A resolution adopted by the committee condemned both the Centre and the state government for pursuing economic reforms which "run counter to socialism, considered part of the basic structure of the Constitution." It urged them to abandon proposals for handing over profitable public sector undertakings to the private sector. When Mr Karunanidhi was reminded by reporters that the NDA government's economic reforms were pursued during the tenure of Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr.Murasoli Maran, a DMK representative — now undergoing medical treatment in the USA — the DMK leader said the reforms did not affect the people then. |
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CCS reviews security New Delhi, January 14 “It was a routine CCS meeting,” External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told newspersons after a 90-minute meeting. He declined to elaborate saying that “the CCS too discusses secret matters.” Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K.C. Pant attended the meeting. Defence Minister George Fernandes was not present at the meeting as he is on a visit to Russia. The meeting, according to sources, heard Mr Sinha’s report on latest Islamabad’s moves. Islamabad, Mr Sinha said, was getting active in the country’s neighbourhood in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka too. The Deputy Prime Minister apprised colleagues of the CCS on Pakistan’s attempt to foment trouble in coming weeks. |
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Sukh Ram hopeful
of pact with Cong New Delhi, January 14 Mr Sukh Ram, who left the Capital today, told The Tribune here that he had informal talks with central and state leaders of the Congress on seat-sharing. He said an agreement could be reached when he next came to the Capital on January 20. Mr Sukh Ram said though he would prefer seat adjustment with the Congress all over the state, his party was not averse to limiting it to the seats in the Mandi parliamentary constituency. The HVC is seeking one-third of the Assembly seats from the Congress. Indicating that the HVC may quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he said a decision was yet to be taken on the issue. “It will be decided by party chief Anil Sharma in consultation with the party executive,” he said. Mr Sukh Ram, however, said he would soon resign as head of the Resource Mobilisation and Employment Generation Committee of the Himachal Pradesh Government. Maintaining that “secular forces” in Himachal Pradesh should join hands, he said the HVC had formed a third front in the state by joining hands with the CPI, CPM, JD (U), JD (S), Samajwadi Janata Party and Lok Janshakti Party. Asked if he considered the BJP to be “communal”, Mr Sukh Ram evaded a direct reply, saying that a “Gujarat-like situation should not be repeated in Himachal Pradesh.” He expressed concern over “prabhat pheris” being taken out in certain parts of the state. |
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Shekhawat for NHRC role in PDS New Delhi, January 14 Mr Shekhawat made this observation after laying the foundation stone for Manavadhikar Bhavan here to house the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Expressing concern over starvation deaths, Mr Shekhawat said although government godowns were overflowing with foodgrains, people in many states of the country were dying of hunger. He said NHRC’s intervention in this regard would be effective. "The PDS system has
totally collapsed and this is seriously affecting the fundamental rights of the poor. This is because of rampant corruption in the country. Only 15 per cent of the country’s total allotted expenditure for the poor actually percolates down, the rest never reaches them." Stressing the need for ensuring human rights and speading awareness about human rights, Mr Shekhawat said any government which failed to protect human rights was not fit to govern the country. |
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Crucial CLP meeting in Mumbai today New Delhi, January 14 Announcing this here, AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni said the observers would meet party MLAs and try to ascertain their views. She parried a question whether they would meet Independent MLAs considered loyal to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Mr Ravi, who is in charge of Maharashtra, said the central leaders would first talk to the party MLAs individually. A meeting of the CLP will be held later. All party MLAs have been asked to be present in Mumbai tomorrow, he said. Mr Ravi said they would also talk to coalition partners in the state. |
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Army will ‘win hearts’ of J&K people New Delhi, January 14 In his first interview as the Chief of Army Staff published in the Army Day issue of "Sainik Samachar", General Vij while pointing out that all counter-terrorist measures and counter-infiltration measures would continue as earlier said the Army would work in close conjunction with the government to win the hearts of people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the force would assist in civic actions and other development projects. He said besides taking up these projects, the Army would remain prepared for any kind of contingency at a "short notice". For this, the Army would now devote time in drawing lessons from Operation Parakram, start new courses, turn over the units and also get back to the task of training and being prepared for war. The Army Chief also described the situation in the North East as better than before. He said as a result of the Army’s operations in the region, sustained pressure and various measures instituted by the government there had been a significant marginalisation of most of the terrorist organisations. The progress made in the Naga peace process and the spin-offs that it had generated for people of the state, had an overall impact in the region. "An early resolution of the Naga problem is bound to have a cascading effect in the entire region." he said. |
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Pipelines burst in Churu, mercury — 1°C Jaipur, January 14 Pipelines burst as water froze due to the severe cold in Churu last night, Met office said. Sriganganagar recorded a minimum of 1°C, while Pilani 3, Bikaner and Udaipur 4, Bhilwara and Jaipur 5 and Jaisalmer 7. KANPUR: The severe cold wave in the city and adjoining areas claimed the life of a security guard while the closure of educational institutions was extended till January 18 as the mercury dipped to 1°C here on Tuesday. PATNA: Cold wave conditions continued unabated in Bihar claiming at least 85 lives as icy westerly winds swept the state. Official sources said 13 more deaths were reported from Chapra (5), Darbhanga (2), Samastipur (3) and Khagaria (3) during the past 48 hours.
PTI |
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Sinha leaves for Greece today New Delhi, January 14 A Foreign Office spokesman said here today that the talks would focus essentially on the review of such talks held so far and identify more spheres of cooperation. Apart from Greece, two other components of the EU Troika are Italy and European Commission. The spokesman, Mr Navtej Sarna, said previously the talks used to be held annually but now these talks had been made biannual. |
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Jaswant meets Naga leaders New Delhi, January 14 "There is no alternative to peace and the Centre-NSCN talks will pave the way for the resolution of the long-drawn conflict", Mr Jaswant Singh told newspersons after a meeting with NSCN (I-M) leaders T. Muivah and Isak Swu at his office here. The Finance Minister termed the meeting as cordial and said he was "honoured to be part of the peace process". "I believe that it would enable the establishment of permanent peace in Nagaland", he said. A spokesperson for the NSCN (I-M) said the talks had been positive and a beginning had been made for restoring normalcy in the strife-torn state. |
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Indo-US missile talks today New Delhi, January 14 Foreign Office spokesman Navtej Sarna said today that the USA had been holding such talks with only a few countries like Russia, its military allies and other friendly nations. The Indian side would be led by Dr Sheel Kant Sharma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament), while the US delegation would be headed by Mr David Trachtenberg, Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defence. |
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Decision to go nuclear unavoidable: Gujral New Delhi, January 14 In his latest book, ‘Continuity and Change, India’s foreign policy”, released today by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at a simple ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the former Prime Minister has urged India to continue to press for global disarmament and work with Pakistan and China for “qualitatively better relations”. “The risk element (of nuclear weapons) is just too great for anyone’s comfort and India must therefore remain focused on the central requirement, comprehensive nuclear disarmament under international supervision,” Mr Gujral said. The book is a collection of Mr Gujral’s speeches on foreign policy. |
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Anand Sharma is convener media panel New Delhi, January 14 The members of the committee include Mr Rangila Ram Rao, MLA, Mr Prem Singh, MLA, Mr G.S. Bali, MLA, Mrs Asha Kumari, MLA, Mr Lajja Ram, MLA, Mr Vijay Singh Mankotia, Mr Satya Prakash Thakur, Mr Kuldip Singh Rathor and Mr Sandeep Sharma. |
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Gehlot meets Sonia New Delhi, January 14 |
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Mob sets 25 shops afire Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh), January 14 |
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Conviction of Harshad upheld New Delhi, January 14 A Bench a 2:1 majority upheld the verdict of the Special Court but altered the sentence awarded to Harshad Mehta and two others to the period of imprisonment already undergone. PTI |
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College of Combat of Army to be renamed New Delhi, January 14 |
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