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Thursday,
January 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP to
abide by NDA agenda Vasundhara
appeals to RSS joint secy Shinde wins trust vote Army, TV
channel tie up on Everest expedition
Third
front not ‘viable’ in HP |
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BJP poll
panel meet on Jan 29 Togadia
for President’s rule in Bengal
Digvijay
for ban on cow slaughter Chautala for agenda on mining Parts of
UP colder than Shimla
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BJP to abide by NDA agenda New Delhi, January 22 “These issues are dear to our heart. But, as we are a partner in the NDA, we will abide by the National Agenda for Governance. When parties came together to form the NDA coalition, they did not give up their ideology,” party President M Venkaiah Naidu said in an informal chat with newspersons. He said party cadres had been asked to aggressively campaign in the coming Assembly elections. “I have asked the party workers to think progressively, assert ideologically and campaign aggressively.” Asked whether asserting ideologically meant the party would have the three contentious issues in forefront of its poll campaign, he said “these issues are dear to our heart. But, as we are members of the NDA, we will abide by the NDA agenda.” Mr Naidu said the party had asked the state units of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Delhi to prepare an action plan for the Assembly elections in these states highlighting the “failures” of these Congress-ruled states. He said the party cadres had been asked to check the voters lists in these states so that a repetition of Gujarat did not take place where over a thousand names were missing. The BJP president cautioned the party units in these states to be wary of the Congress’ attempts to stir up communal violence in these states as part of a strategy to “defame the BJP and win the support of the minority community.” |
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Vasundhara
appeals to RSS joint secy New Delhi, January 22 In a letter to Mr Devi, who is the liaison man between the RSS and the BJP, Ms Scindia is also understood to have expressed displeasure over the rebellion by some senior state unit leaders against her projection as the chief ministerial candidate. Pointing towards the hold of the Gehlot regime over the bureaucracy in Rajasthan, Ms Scindia has emphasised that it is essential for her to hold on to both positions for some more time to galvanise party workers for Assembly elections to be held before November this year. Sources have said she has defended her continuance as Union Minister along with state unit president by citing the example of BJP Delhi unit president Madan Lal Khurana, who has also been appointed DMRC chairman with Cabinet rank. She has categorically said if the party loses in the coming Assembly elections it will be due to dissident activities and nothing else. Several senior BJP leaders from Rajasthan, including national treasurer Ram Das Aggarwal, have been opposing her as the chief ministerial candidate and also her holding the second position, citing the party’s “one man one post” tradition. Mr Vishvendra Singh was the first to oppose Ms Scindia’s candidature. There is a growing feeling that he and some others are trying to scuttle her chances of leading the state to the Elections. Although a final decision will be decided by the party president in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, mentors of Ms Scindia feel that she should be allowed to continue in both the positions at least for two more months. |
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Shinde wins trust vote
Mumbai, January 22 The motion of confidence, moved by Congress leader Rohidas Patil, was adopted by the lower house by a voice vote. “The house expresses full confidence in the Shinde ministry”, said the one-line motion. Speaker Arun Gujrathi announced that the motion had been adopted by the House. The victory of the multi-party ruling coalition on the floor of the Assembly today was a foregone conclusion as Mr Shinde had listed the support of 148 MLAs in the lower house. The DF was assured support from the two-member CPM, while the five-member Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) had stated that it would maintain its neutral stance in the Assembly. The news of the Shinde ministry winning the trust vote was welcomed by the supporters of the ruling coalition with the bursting of crackers outside the Vidhan Bhavan. The party-wise position in the 289-member Lower House is as follows: Congress-74, Shiv Sena-69, NCP-56, BJP-56, PWP-05, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (B)-3, CPM-2, Janata Dal (Secular)-1, Gondwana Gantantra Party-1, Native Peoples’ Party-1, Republican Party of India (Gavai)-1, Samajwadi Janata Party-1, Independents-12 and one nominated member. Six MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker under the provisions of anti-defection law on June 13, last year. Mr Shinde was asked by Governor Mohammed Fazal to prove his majority on the floor of the House within 15 days. The government had survived the trial of strength by polling 143 votes against 133 of the saffron combine Opposition.
PTI |
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Army, TV channel tie up on Everest expedition New Delhi, January 22 The two have forged an alliance whereby the next attempt being made by the Army to scale the Everest will be captured by the channel and shown in a serial. It is a part of the channel’s six-month-long integrated programming and marketing initiative that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Everest climb. “This is for the first time that we have tied up with a channel like the National Geographic which we feel befits the true spirit of adventure,” said Major-Gen Ashok Vasudeva, DGMT, Indian Army. “The Everest to us is about daring to dream and on the 50th year of the first-Everest climb we bring the dream of Everest to all our countrymen through this alliance.” What, however, is the interesting part of the effort is that from January 26 the channel will announce a contest whereby a common man will be entitled to be part of the expedition. After a preliminary round of selections, participants will be invited to four cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore for physical, medical and psychometric tests. Fifty individuals from each centre (200 in all) will get selected for the next round. Twenty persons will be shortlisted for the final round and will be taken to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi to be trained by instructors of the Indian Army. The Army will select five finalists to accompany the joint Indo-Nepal Army Everest Expedition. “We are proud to tie up with the Indian Army to spread the spirit of adventure and exploration amongst the Indian youth. We felt that the Everest climb is not just topical but also an awe-inspiring icon for Indians,” said Zubin Gandevia, Managing Director, National Geographic Channel, India, “The Everest initiative will celebrate a history of Indian feats and highlight true Indian heroes”. “The Everest initiative has a single point agenda to build relevance in an increasingly cluttered environment by touching lives directly”, said Zubin Gandevia. “The channel is investing over Rs. 11 crore in the promotion and creation of the Everest initiative.” The initiative will also be the first time that the National Geographic Channel will create local programming specifically focusing on the Indian viewer. The channel Geographic will shoot the entire selection and training procedure and the final trudge to the Everest. This reality TV will be telecast on the channel starting April. |
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Third front not ‘viable’ in HP New Delhi, January 22 “The Congress has indulged in a direct collusion with the NLFT which seeks to dismember our country. The Congress has once again shown that it places its narrow electoral interests above the unity and integrity of India,” CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told newspersons here. Mr Yechury submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission yesterday seeking adequate security forces for ensuring free and fair polls in Tripura. To a question whether the party was contemplating a “third front” in Himachal Pradesh, Mr Yechury said it was not viable and the party had decided to contest four seats in alliance with the CPI in the coming elections there. Ruling out an alliance with Sukh Ram’s Himachal Vikas Party, Mr Yechury said he was negotiating with both BJP and Congress. “We have not diluted our stand on corruption,” he said. |
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BJP poll panel meet on Jan 29 New Delhi, January 22 The meeting to be held at Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s residence will be chaired by BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu and attended among others by Deputy Prime Minister
L.K. Advani and all five general secretaries of the party, including Mr Arun Jaitley and Mr Rajnath Singh. |
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Togadia
for President’s rule in Bengal Kolkata, January 22 Mr Togadia wants to repeat the Narendra Modi experiment in Bengal, which, he said, would protect the nation from Muslim fundamentalists and Marxist opportunists. Reacting to the VHP leader’s demand, CPM Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, warned, “Let them try and face the consequences”. He said the people of Bengal would never tolerate the VHP and the RSS fanning any communal tension in Bengal. Trinamool Congress leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee, however, supported Mr Togadia’ s demand. She said she was glad that, at long last, the VHP and RSS had realised the problem. However, the RSS chief, Mr K.S. Sudarshan, who is happy at the growing number of RSS workers and supporters in the Marxist-ruled state, did not want as such imposition of President’s rule in Bengal. But he hoped that it would be possible for them soon to dislodge the Left Front government and bring in a popular government in its place. Both leaders are in the city holding closed-door meetings with their followers and supporters to assess their respective strength and working network in the state. Mr Togadia met a cross-section of the people and the state BJP president, Mr Tathagata Roy, yesterday. |
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Digvijay
for ban on cow slaughter Bhopal, January 22 Addressing a seminar on ‘Cow and Biodiversity’ here last evening, the Chief Minister said Mughal emperor Babar had advised his son Humayun in his will to ensure a ban on cow slaughter because it would not be possible to rule by ignoring the sentiments of the Hindu majority. Babar’s will was preserved in the National Archives, he said. He said that cow slaughter was banned in Madhya Pradesh but the Supreme Court allowed the slaughter of cows above the age of 14. He urged the central government to take steps for a total ban on cow slaughter. Even after a cow stopped giving milk, it continued to serve the society with its dung, urine and even horn, he said. Madhya Pradesh, he said, was promoting the use of cow urine and cow dung in medicines while the fertiliser made with the help of cow urine and cow horn had yielded better results. The seminar was organised by the “Love 4 Cow Trust”, a non-government organisation. |
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Chautala for agenda on mining New Delhi, January 22 The Chief Minister, who was speaking at a conference of Ministers for Mines and Geology of various states here today, said such a programme would accelerate the pace of development and enhance employment opportunities for the common man. Referring to court decisions about the ban on mining, the Chief Minister said the state was suffering a loss of Rs 40 crore per month. |
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Parts of UP colder than Shimla Lucknow January 22 While the night temperature in Shimla is hovering around the 7°C mark, Kanpur recorded 0°C twice last week, while Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra and Lucknow recorded between 2°C and 5°C. “It has been the worst winter during the last four decades,” said the Director, Meteorology, Mr R.K. Verma, adding that this prolonged winter had wreaked havoc on crops. Uttar Pradesh is in the grip of a severe cold wave, resulting in the death of over 223 persons during the past fortnight. Unconfirmed reports say around 500 persons have died in the state, with the maximum deaths reported from the eastern part of the state. Minister of State for Revenue Ghansyam Shukla told this reporter that the government was alive to this natural calamity and had taken all precautions to prevent deaths. |
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The VHP secretary-general, Mr
Praveen Togadia, has sparked off a controversy by demanding
President’s rule in West Bengal. He made the demand for stopping
large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh. The step will also speed up
the process of establishing hindutva in Bengal, Mr Togadia felt.
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