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Wednesday,
February 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Opposition
plea on anti-war resolution rejected White
Paper on rail safety likely Increase
wheat MSP, says MP India,
Pakistan diplomats get visas |
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NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT CAT-III
landing system safe: minister Editors
Guild to hold seminar Material
ready for Ram Temple Amarinder
to open gallery in USA BJP for
probe into sex scandal
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Opposition plea on anti-war resolution rejected New Delhi, February 18 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, sharing the concern of the Rajya Sabha members over the developing situation in West Asia, which might lead to an armed conflict, said: “We are prepared for a full-fledged discussion on the Iraq issue but anything more than that can be considered only after taking the sense of the
House”. Wondering why the government was opposed to the passage of a unanimous resolution, some Opposition members shouted: “The government is afraid of the USA”. Raising the issue during zero hour, Mr Pranab Mukherjee (Congress) said his party was opposed to any unilateral action by the USA. The Iraq issue should be resolved peacefully in accordance with the United Nations mandate, he said. Mr Mukherjee wanted that Parliament should adopt a unanimous resolution, reflecting the views of the political parties as well as the nation at large. Mr Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party) said the USA was behaving like a “global policeman” and its policies were not in the interests of the humanity. Mr Nilotpal Basu (CPM), noting that many members of the UN Security Council had opposed any unilateral action by the USA against Iraq, also demanded a resolution on the issue. However, Mrs Swaraj, while associating with the views of the members, said the government was prepared for a discussion on the Iraq issue but a resolution at this stage would not be proper. In this connection, she pointed out that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be leaving for Kuala Lumpur for the NAM Summit later this week while External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha would also be abroad, where India’s views on the Iraq issue would be amply articulated. |
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White Paper on rail safety likely New Delhi, February 18 It would mention more incentives and sops, besides improved marketing strategy to attract goods traffic and prevent diversion of potential business to roadways. Sources in the Railway Ministry said since the Railways was essentially a commercial organisation and “rationalisation of fare structure cannot be overlooked. Unless the fare structure is rationalised, occupancy will not be maintained during the lean season,” the sources said. The freight performance had exceeded the target of 510 million tonnes by almost 8 million tonnes. In passenger
earnings, there is a shortfall of about Rs 300 crore as of now which is expected to be made up for by the end of the current financial year. The financial target for 2002-2003 was Rs 41,000 crore through freight and passenger fare. Policy-makers have to bear in mind the competition from private airlines and domestic carrier to attract more passengers. The sources said “rationalisation of Shatabdi train services cannot be ruled out. Some Shatabdis don’t have the desired occupancy. Except the Delhi-Chandigarh, the Delhi- Lucknow and the Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdis, others are not adequately patronised.” |
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Increase
wheat MSP, says MP New Delhi, February 18 The government’s decision “has come as a jolt to farmers of Punjab,” the Congress member, in a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, said. He said: “The farmers of Punjab are in a distress on account of various natural calamities, which forced the farmers to commit suicides, unable to bear the anguish and distress caused by abject poverty and financial impoverishment”. Despite the financial constraints, the letter said the government would find ways and means to bring succour to the farmers. If the plight of the farmers are “left unremedied, it would lead to social unrest and political instability in the state,” he added. On the issue of wheat export from the state, he said due to sudden change in policy, the FCI had stopped issuing release order since December 18, which had resulted in exporters defaulting their international commitment. Mr Ashwani Kumar requested the Prime Minister to issue order to enable exporters who had entered into a contract on or before December 18, to fulfil their contract. On the Bathinda refinery project, the letter said: “The real issue seems to be whether any existing petroleum corporation in the public sector or the majority equity holder in the HPCL after its disinvestment would be inclined to take up the refinery project without an assured profitability”. |
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India, Pakistan diplomats get visas New Delhi, February 18 According to diplomatic observers here, another Indo-Pak slanging match appears to be on the anvil at a yet another multilateral forum — this time at the 13th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Malaysia. India anticipates that Pakistan will raise the issue of Kashmir in Kuala Lumpur and will counter Islamabad’s every ploy diplomatically. India today granted visa to Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner-designate, Mr Munnawar Saeed Bhatty, while Islamabad reciprocated the move by granting visa to Mr T C A Raghavan who will be India’s new Charge d’ Affaires in Pakistan. India expects trouble from Pakistan during the NAM summit not only over Kashmir, but also regarding one of the important themes of the two-day summit beginning on February 23 — terrorism. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had gone on record recently saying that the United Nations must come out with a definition of terrorism and Pakistan would abide by that. Mr Sibal ruled out any meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Musharraf at 13th NAM summit in Malaysia. Asked if the two countries’ foreign offices were preparing their respective leader’s itinerary in such a way that they do not run into each other, Mr Sibal said; “There is no question of a meeting (between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf). When there is no meeting, there is no need for a choreography.” |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, February 18 The Minister of State for Rural Development, Mr Annasaheb M.K. Patil, in a written reply said the Central Government had been persuading the states/union territories, including the Union Territory Administration of Chandigarh, through high-level meetings, as also through correspondence with the Chief Minister and state ministers in charge of Panchayati Raj, to devolve powers to panchayats. The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Ram Naik, informed the Rajya Sabha that the Bathinda refinery project would either be implemented by HPCL or the government through an appropriate agency. The minister said the government had decided to divest 34.01 per cent of equity shares of the HPCL through strategic sale and offer 5 per cent of the equity shares of the HPCL to the employees. The Minister of State for Water Resources, Ms Bijoya Chakravarty, said the government was working out a contingency plan for the completion of the SYL canal. Requisite information, like details of the works, the revised costs and construction schedule had been requested from the Punjab Government, she said. The minister said no definite date for restarting work on this canal or its completion had been decided so far. Keeping in view that no work were executed in the past several years, only a token provision had been tentatively kept now in the Budget estimates of the Union Government for 2003-04. The Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Mr Jagmohan, informed the Rajya Sabha that out of the 61 tourism projects sanctioned in Himachal Pradesh since 1998-99, only 23 had been completed and six had been dropped. |
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CAT-III landing system safe: minister New Delhi, February 18 To a question raised by Mr Rajkumar Dhoot and Mr Suresh Kalmadi during question hour in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said 43 international flights had landed and 13 flights had taken off during fog conditions and the system had functioned effectively. He, however, pointed out that there were only eight trained pilots in Indian Airlines and Air-India who could use the CAT-III system for landing and take-off of flights under fog conditions. He added that as a result of this the impact of the system could not be felt this winter. Each pilot would require three to six months of training, he said. The system would allow landing and take-off with a 200-metre visibility and 50 metres in the runway. He said Boeing and Airbus were the only two companies who could train pilots on the use of the CAT-III system and they did not send trainers following the terrorist attacks of September 11 in New York and the December 13 attack on Parliament. Air-India had suffered a loss of Rs 4.89 crore and Indian Airlines Rs 3 crore because of flight diversions during winter. He agreed with the suggestion of Mr Saifuddin Soz to talk to the defence authorities to allow them to use the CAT-III system in Srinagar and Jammu airports by civil aircraft. |
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Editors
Guild to hold seminar New Delhi, February 18 The Chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy, will inaugurate the seminar, while eminent jurist F.S. Nariman will be the chief guest. The Union Minister of Law and Justice, Commerce and Industry, Mr Arun Jaitley, will address the seminar said the convener of the committee for the national seminar, Mr Hiranmay Karlekar, in a statement here today. The seminar will have two focuses. The first will be the Contempt of Court Act, which is sometimes used to gag even legitimate media criticism of reportage concerning the judiciary. The second will be the filing of defamation cases in places far away for the centre of publication of a newspaper or periodical and the courts’ refusal to grant the media personnel concerned exemption from personal appearance, Mr Karlekar said. |
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Material
ready for Ram Temple Lucknow, February 18 “All preparations have been made to start construction of the ground floor... the stones have been carved and the pillars are ready... we are only waiting for a go-ahead from the Dharam Sansad,” Ram Chandra Paramhans, chief of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas told The Tribune from Ayodhya on the telephone before leaving for Ahmedabad. |
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Amarinder
to open gallery in USA New Delhi, February 18 The gallery is being set up to mark the 35th anniversary of the Sikh Foundation. The Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Tarlochan Singh and the Mayor of San Francisco, Mr Willie Brown, will attend the function. |
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BJP for probe into sex scandal New Delhi, February 18 |
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