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Tuesday,
March 4, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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PM, Parliament laud Indian cricket team German President meets PM, Kalam
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BJP asks Sonia to clear stand on SYL NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT Rail Budget soft, status quoist: Cong IYC workers march to Parliament against Budget |
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Walkout in LS over fertiliser prices Cabinet expansion: Capt meets Mohsina Drug menace: govt taking strict steps Probe threat to Abrar Ahmed’s family: Najma Charges framed against
R.K. Sharma Left Front protest in
Delhi on March 11 Staff shortage affecting CBI’s functioning Jamir resigns: Rio is NPF leader Plan to phase out mobile eye clinics India
had ‘intention’ to attend SAARC meet BSF founding father Rustamji dead Film-maker arrested
Verdict on Shah’s petition tomorrow Government to ban cow slaughter
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PM, Parliament laud Indian cricket team New Delhi, March 3 “It was an excellent display of team spirit and togetherness by all members of the Indian cricket team,” Mr Vajpayee said in a letter to Captain Sourav Ganguly and hoped that Ganguly’s boys would bring the cup home. “I am sure that the team will continue to play with the same spirit in the World Cup and win laurels for the country,” Mr Vajpayee said in his letter which was sent to Mr Rajiv Shukla, MP and Chairman, Media Co-ordination Committee of the Indian Cricket Board, to be handed over to Ganguly in South Africa. Meanwhile, Parliament today applauded the “good work” done by the Indian cricket team in the World Cup, but refused to discuss the poor performance of Pakistan which was a “foreign problem”. Rajya Sabha chairperson Najma Heptullah said: “We are happy that the team has done well and we wish they will win the cup for India.” When BJP member S.S. Ahluwalia raised doubts about Pakistani team members not wanting to go back to their homeland after the Saturday’s defeat against India, Dr Heptullah quipped: “It is a foreign problem, we have no jurisdiction to discuss the issue.” The Lok Sabha also congratulated the Indian cricket team for its “convincing” victory over Pakistan. As soon as the House assembled, members wanted that the House should put on record the splendid performance by the Indian team. Congratulating the team on behalf of the House, Speaker Manohar Joshi said the Indian cricketers had scored a “convincing victory” over Pakistan and said: “We wish them success in winning matches in the World Cup”. |
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German President meets PM, Kalam New Delhi, March 3 The two countries shared a common view that the Iraq crisis must be resolved through peaceful political means though the aim of all countries was to eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. The entire gamut of bilateral relations was discussed at the delegation-level talks between the Prime Minister and Mr Rau, foreign office spokesman Mr Navtej Sarna said. Mr Rau addressed a business session organised jointly by the CII and FICCI where he said: “It is the aim of us all to eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and to cause Iraq to comply strictly with the terms of UN Resolution 1441.” Germany is India’s sixth largest trading partner with bilateral trade pegged at 5 billion euros. Germany’s pledged foreign direct investment in India is to the tune of $ 2.4 billion, of which the actual inflow is $ 750 million. The Indo-German Joint Commission is scheduled to hold its next meeting here on April 7. A bio-tech delegation is also scheduled to visit Germany later this year. |
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BJP asks Sonia to clear stand on SYL New Delhi, March 3 “On one hand, a Congress leader in Haryana threatens to block approach roads to Delhi, on the other Congress Chief Minister in Punjab Amarinder Singh refuses to honour the Supreme Court verdict...So, Ms Gandhi should clarify her party’s stand on the SYL issue,” BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told newspersons. “Ms Gandhi has been all along maintaining that the Court verdict should be honoured. However, Capt Amarinder Singh has refused to abide by the apex court order,” he said adding that it would be apt that the Congress President talks to both Congress leaders and make her party’s stand clear on the sensitive issue. Addressing a gathering in the Anaj Mandi area at Jhajjar yesterday, Mr Hooda, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, threatened a ‘jal yudh’ if the work on the Sutlej-Yamuna Canal was not taken up by the Centre. He said bands of youths, led by him, would blockade roads from Delhi, linking districts such as Rohtak, the G T Road and the Jaipur road, running across Mahendragarh, Rewari and Gurgaon districts of Haryana. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, March 3 He informed the House that the department had also identified tourism circuits for integrated development in different regions. Golden Temple Complex in Punjab; Kurukshetra in Haryana; Leh, Leh Palace, Monastries and Dal Lake in J&K and Upchi-Manali Road and other areas in HP had been identified as the hubs of culture, tourism and civic governance, the minister informed . Fast track courts As many as 29 fast track courts in Punjab; 36 in Haryana; nine in HP and 12 in J&K would be set up, Mr Arun Jaitley, Law and Justice Minister, informed the Rajya Sabha. He told the House that under the government sponsored scheme, 1,734 fast track courts were proposed to be set up in the country. Currently the number of such courts operational in Punjab are 16; six in Haryana and 40 in J&K. New industrial units by KVIC Mr Sangh Priya Gautam, Minister of State for Agro and Rural Industries, told the House that the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had provided incentives by way of margin money to 1,118 units in Punjab; 511 units in Haryana; 594 units in HP and 790 units in Jammu and Kashmir in 2001-02. The minister informed the House that the number of projects sanctioned by KVIC in 2002-03 (upto January) were 1,161 in Punjab, 576 in Haryana; 45 in HP and 390 in J&K. Water resources The Central Ground Water Board, under the Ministry of Water Resources, is implementing demonstrative rainwater harvesting and recharge projects in the country, Ms Bijoya Chakravarty, Minister of State for Water Resources, told the Lok Sabha. Under this scheme the amount of funds allocated were Rs 361.92 lakh to Punjab; Rs 107.17 lakh to Haryana; Rs 81.65 lakh to HP and Rs 78.96 lakh to J&K. Health Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Rajya Sabha that 22 deaths due to AIDS had been reported in Chandigarh in 2002; two in Punjab; and one in HP. The number of AIDS cases reported in 2001 were four in Punjab; 141 in Haryana and 51 in Himachal Pradesh. |
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Rail Budget soft, status quoist: Cong New Delhi, March 3 The Opposition members stated that the Railway Minister had not announced any concrete measures to check accidents and increase traffic. They said mere admission of human error for the accidents, which resulted in the loss of a large number of passengers, would not suffice. The government should come out with concrete measures it plans to take. Initiating a discussion on the Railway Budget in the Upper House, Congress member K. Rehman Khan said a large number of accidents in recent years had shaken the confidence of travelling public. “Safety is a major concern of the Railways, statistics showed that in the past three years, 13,000 accidents have taken place,” he said adding that mere presentation of a white paper on safety would not do and the government should come out with concrete action plan. The passenger traffic in the Railways, he pointed out, was gradually decreasing as air travel had become cheap. People were also afraid of travelling by train because of the frequency of rail accidents, he said. Mr Khan said the government must strengthen the checks on ticketless travel. “The government has to take adequate measure to ensure customer satisfaction,” he added. The Congress member also wanted the installation of anti-collision device in all express trains. Describing the Budget as directionless, Deepanker Mukherjee (CPM) said priority should be given to the railway safety. Despite loss of lives, which generally runs into hundreds, there is a mere lip service and mostly the cause is attributed to “human failure,” the CPM leader said. He said during the Budget speech, the Railway Minister had expresed gratitude to the Prime Minister five times while he had not even mentioned a word of condolence to people killed in railway accidents in the past one year. Prof M. Sankarlingam (DMK) said while the Railway Budget was passenger friendly, the schemes announced should be implemented in a time-bound manner. Mr Gaya Singh, CPI, said the Railways could not increase the fare since it was losing passengers and freight. He demanded that more general compartments should be introduced. The luxury trains had no passengers at all. Mr Gandhi Azad, BSP, said SC/ST and OBCs should be given their quota in the 20,000 vacancies that would be filled up. Mr Ramchandra Khuntia, Congress, alleged that the government was diverting rail safety funds for meeting general expenditure. Several bridges continue to remain in dilapidated condition but the Ministry of Railways had not taken any measures to repair them, he said. The discussion, which remained inconclusive, would continue. |
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IYC workers march to Parliament against Budget New Delhi, March 3 Carrying placards and raising slogans like ''Kaisa Budget BJP lai janata karti trahi trahi'', ''Garib ka chulha rota hai, Atal Behari sota hai'', they held a rally near Parliament which was addressed by several senior Congress leaders. Addressing the IYC workers, Mr Shivraj Patil, Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, exhorted the youth to launch a movement to oust the NDA government. He criticised the government for the hike in the prices of diesel and fertilisers. Congress general secretary Mohsina Kidwai hoped that the BJP would learn a lesson from its defeat in Himachal Pradesh and three north-eastern states. The four states have rejected its ''divisive agenda'', she said. IYC chief Randeep Singh Surjewala said that ''anti-poor'' face of the government had been exposed from the way prices of luxury items like cars, air-conditioners and imported liquor had been slashed. ''The prices of essential commodities like diesel and fertilisers have been unjustifiably hiked at a time when the farmers were facing acute distress on account of drought and unremunerative agricultural prices,'' Mr Surjewala said. Making a comparison with the 1996 prices when the Congress government was in office at the Centre, he pointed out that prices of diesel were Rs 8.50 per litre and Rs 21.57 now. A similar hike had come in the prices of kerosene, urea and DAP fertiliser, he said. Mr Surjewala said that the Finance Minister had offered no proposal for employment generation in his Budget speech. Reminding the Prime Minister of his promise to create one crore jobs a year, he asked the government to bring out a White Paper on employment opportunities in the years of the BJP-led rule. He denounced the cut on interest rates in small saving scheme and public provident fund. |
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Walkout in LS over fertiliser prices New Delhi, March 3 The Opposition charged the allies with shedding crocodile tears as their actions belied their assertion in the House. Raising the issue, Mr Ramjilal Suman (SP) said the price increase, aimed at putting an additional burden of Rs 500 crore on farmers, was “unjust” in view of adverse conditions being faced by farmers and in the absence of increase in the procurement prices for their produce. Mr Jagmit Singh Brar (Congress) wondered that on the one hand, prices of air conditioners, gold, diamond, wines, computers, mobile phones and cars had been slashed, on the other hand the farmers were being burdened with costlier fertilisers despite having suffered severe drought. Members belonging to the ruling NDA’s allies such as the Telugu Desam Party, the DMK and the Shiv Sena also strongly urged the government to withdraw these Budget proposals, arguing that the farmers were already facing difficulties due to drought and flood in various parts of the country. AIADMK Member P.H. Pandian said his party leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had already sought withdrawal of the price increase and expressed confidence that his party would be able to exert pressure on the government on the issue as it had done earlier. Mr Raghunath Jha (JD-U) said the move amounted to committing atrocities against farmers. Mr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD) said the Opposition would launch a countrywide agitation against the proposals. Mr Yerran Naidu (TDP) said the proposals went against the recommendations of the Economic Survey 2003, which had described the farms as the “backbone of India’s economy”. |
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Cabinet expansion: Capt meets Mohsina New Delhi, March 3 The Chief Minister will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi tomorrow to get a formal clearance for the Cabinet expansion which will take place before the start of Assembly session this month. Sources said the Chief Minister was keen to include some second-time MLAs in the expansion and nearly seven MLAs were likely to be made ministers. While no minister is likely to be dropped, there will be redistribution of portfolios. The Chief Minister plans to fill the nearly 30 vacancies of heads of state-run corporations. The government also plans to simultaneously appoint members to the commissions and corporations. PCC chief
H.S. Hanspal also met Ms Kidwai today. He is likely to accompany the Chief Minister at the tomorrow’s meeting with Ms Gandhi. The Amarinder government recently completed one year in office. This will be the first expansion of the 23-member state ministry. |
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Drug menace: govt taking strict steps New Delhi, March 3 Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj said as an important measure, the drug testing laboratories were being strengthened. The minister said the Mashelkar Committee constituted to look into the problem was set up in January and has been given six months to submit its report. The report would recommend steps to be taken by pharmaceutical industry and pharmaceutical association to tackle the problem of spurious drugs. Besides, it would recommend a new structure for the Drug Regulator System including the setting up of a National Drug Authority, the minister said. The committee would recommend changes required in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, as well as in judicial procedures related to offences committed under this Act. |
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Probe threat to Abrar Ahmed’s family: Najma New Delhi, March 3 As the Opposition and the ruling party MPs expressed serious concern over the incidents after Dr Ahmed raised the issue during zero hour, Dr Heptullah intervened and gave her directions to the government. Dr Heptullah asked the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs O. Rajagopal to investigate the matter. Mr Rajagopal agreed to bring the incident to the notice of the Home Ministry. Dr Ahmed said he and his family members had been threatened at least three times by the unknown armed intruders since last Friday. His 20-year-old son was attacked and followed near his residence by the men who were carrying revolvers and pistols and a hockey stick. The watch and ward staff of Parliament offered shelter and protection to his son, he said. Dr Heptullah said the issue raised by Mr Ahmed was very important and the government and the Home Ministry should take it seriously and provide protection to the MPs to function in a free and fearless atmosphere. Safety of the lives of MPs had to be ensured by the government, the Deputy Chairperson said, and reminded the House about the murder of Lok Sabha MP Phoolan Devi in the Parliament neighbourhood. Narrating the events, Dr Ahmed said an intruder was spotted entering his house from the rear side of the Talkatora Road on Friday night but he fled in a waiting van after his son raised an alarm. The matter was reported to the police, he added. The intruders had left a crumpled map of his residence with his bedroom marked `xx,’ Dr Ahmed said. He said, the next day his son’s car’s windowpanes were smashed by the armed occupants of a red Qualis with hockey stick. The men were carrying pistols and revolvers in the high security zone, he added. They followed him at high speed but his son managed to seek the assistance of the Parliament security staff. They, too, saw a red Qualis, he added. Dr Ahmed said his staff found a note in Hindi lying near his house which read “How long you and your family members can escape death? Jai Shri Krishna Jai Allah.” The MP said he was not seeking protection but these men should be identified and apprehended and their motives ascertained. Mr Rajagopal assured the House that the government would take a serious view of the incident and would keep the House informed after several MPs from the Opposition Benches as well as the ruling party joined Dr Ahmed in expressing their concern.
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Charges framed against
R.K. Sharma New Delhi, March 3 Additional District and Sessions Judge J.M. Malik read out the charges to all accused — R.K. Sharma, Sree Bhagwan, Satya Prakash, Pradeep, Ved Prakash Sharma and Ved, alias Kalu, for the murder of the Indian Express journalist on January 23, 1999, at her East Delhi Navkunj Apartments. All accused present in the court pleaded not guilty and appealed to the court to go for trial. Accused R.K. Sharma, Shree Bhagwan, Pradeep, Ved Prakash, Ved Sharma and Satya Prakash were charged under Sections 302, 120B, 201, 401 and 403 of the IPC for murder, conspiracy and other offences.
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Left Front protest in
Delhi on March 11 Kolkata, March 3 Mr Jyoti Basu may also take part in the dharna to highlight the importance of the movement on this vital national issue, according to front chairman, Biman Basu. Mr Basu alleges the BJP government has been ignoring the protection of the lives and properties of lakhs in Bengal against the Ganga and Padma erosion. It is the duty and the responsibility of the Centre to protect the land and people of the state against the erosion of these rivers, Mr Basu feels. Incidentally, the Congress led by Mr Adhir Chowdhury, an MP from North Bengal, has already launched a movement demanding the Centre’s intervention for the protection of the Ganga and Padma against erosion. “The Ganga has been a national river and the Padma an
international river and, hence, it should be the Centre’s responsibility to protect them against erosion,” said Mr A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury. Meanwhile, the BJP MP’s team that visited the Dhantala village in Nadia on Saturday to make an on-the-spot inquiry into the raping incident of February 5, today returned to Delhi to submit its report to the BJP chief, Mr Venkaiah Naidu, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. Before leaving the city, Mr Bishnupada Roy, MP from the Andamans, alleged the police had been sheltering several culprits because of their links with the CPI(M). He said investigations had ascertained the CPI(M)’s involvement in the mass rape of women of a marriage party at Dhantala village on its way to Nadia. He demanded a CBI probe into the incident. Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and WBPCC(l) President Pranab Mukherjee have also demanded a CBI inquiry into the Dhantala incident. |
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Staff shortage affecting CBI’s functioning New Delhi, March 3 With the premier investigating agency’s workload increasing every year, not only in the terms of number of cases taken up for investigation but also the complexities of the crime, CBI, Director P.C. Sharma admits the investigation in many cases slows down due to manpower resources remaining static. “Sometimes, a few complex cases demand all our attention and resources which slows down the investigation of other cases because manpower and other resources have almost remained static, particularly in the rank of investigating officers,” Mr Sharma said in an interview to The Tribune recently. Mr Sharma revealed there were as many as 105 vacancies in the rank of DSPs, who form the core group of investigators. Similarly, in the rank of Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors there were 95 and 88 vacancies respectively, he said. Another area of concern is — the shortage of prosecutors, who play a crucial role in ensuring that CBI cases are foolproof and that each case is presented in the court in such a manner that it does not get dismissed due to technical fault or legal loopholes. “We have 155 prosecutors against the sanctioned strength of 230,” Mr Sharma said admitting that “this also slows down the pace of trial in the courts.” |
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Jamir resigns: Rio is NPF leader Kohima, March 3 Governor Shyamal Datta accepted Mr Jamir’s resignation, Raj Bhavan sources said. Meanwhile, the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) at a meeting held this morning unanimously elected former Home Minister and party convener Neiphiu Rio as its leader. They said that the other allies of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) had already agreed in principle to propose Mr Rio’s name as the Chief Ministerial candidate. The other Chief Ministerial candidate in the alliance, Mr Hokishe Sema of the BJP, had told a local daily yesterday that he was not interested for the post, but would support the alliance. Citing health reasons, Mr Sema said since the NPF was the major constituent of the alliance, as it got the maximum number of seats, the Chief Ministerial candidate should be from that party. Mr Rio, when contacted, stated that the alliance would form the government as soon as the Governor invited it.
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Plan to phase out mobile eye clinics New Delhi, March 3 Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha during the question hour, Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said that government did not have any scheme for running mobile diagnostic clinics and was instead, assisting the 1,37,311 medical sub-centres all over the country, particularly in rural areas. Many other ministries, including the Social Welfare Ministry and the Ministry for Tribal Welfare, were running mobile clinics in far-flung areas. These were being assisted by NGOs like the Rama Krishna Mission. Moreover, state governments themselves were undertaking mobile health services. “The government has a fixed sub-centre scheme and not a scheme for mobile clinics,” she added. Giving details, the minister said under the National Programme for Control of Blindness, up to the Ninth Five Year Plan, assistance was given to 344 district mobile ophthalmic units and 80 central mobile ophthalmic units to screen patients, treat minor eye ailments and undertake cataract surgery. |
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India
had ‘intention’ to attend SAARC meet New Delhi, March 3 “We had an intention to go to
Islamabad. But it was short-circuited by Pakistan’s postponement,”
Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters
today. He said Pakistan had similarly pre-empted and announced a
postponement for the SAARC summit in Islamabad a month before the
event. |
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BSF founding father Rustamji dead New Delhi, March 3 Born on May 22, 1916, he was from the 36th Batch of IP (Indian Police) from Madhya Pradesh cadre and was commissioned in 1944. He retired from the BSF on September 30, 1974, after serving the BSF for about nine years. Rustamji’s major contribution to the force was during the India-Pakistan war in 1971 when BSF personnel fought defensive and offensive wars with regular and irregular troops of Pakistan. |
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Film-maker arrested Mumbai, March 3 Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Pradip Sawant today said the accused, booked for allegedly cheating and issuing threats, has been remanded in police custody till March 13 by a local court. Adil is the managing director of FKF Film Production and was allegedly threatening to kill a complainant who had paid him Rs 40,000 for a job in a Gulf country.
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Verdict on Shah’s petition tomorrow Mumbai, March 3 Though the matter was not on the board, the defence counsel led by Shrikant Shivade and public prosecutor Rohini Salian met Justice V B Palshikar in his chamber this afternoon with a request for a date of pronouncement of judgement on the petition. Speaking to newsmen after meeting Justice Palshikar, defence advocate Shrikant Shivade said the judge informed them that the Bench would deliver its verdict on Wednesday.
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Government to ban cow slaughter New Delhi, March 3 He said since West Bengal has not completely banned cow slaughter, the cattle are transported to West Bengal and may be smuggled to Bangladesh illegally. |
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