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Wednesday,
April 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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UP BJP MLAs meet top party
leaders BSP, SP vie for main political pie in UP War, SARS hit Air-India flights Iraq war shadows UK-aided workshop |
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SC verdict on Ayodhya lacks law point: VHP |
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Jatha to visit Panja Sahib on
Baisakhi
Army presence to be beefed up in J&K Fare hike: protesters
lathi-charged Matrimonial court can order medical test: SC Japanese loan for Punjab project
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UP BJP MLAs meet top party
leaders New Delhi, April 1 The majority of the BJP MLAs, who gathered at party president Venkaiah Naidu’s residence here, asserted that UP Chief Minister Mayawati’s “pro-Dalit” policies had resulted in increase in Dalit base of the BSP and that there was need for the BJP to consolidate its strength. Some of the legislators minced no words in attacking Ms Mayawati for slapping POTA against Raja Bhaiyya and some others opposed the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) as it was eroding the party’s vote base among the trading community, which was a major support base for the party. Briefing newspersons after four-hour-long meeting, BJP general secretary and spokesperson Parmod Mahajan said: “The legislators from UP expressed their views frankly on strengthening party’s base and also on the functioning of BJP ministers in the state.” Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who participated in the meeting for a while, emphasised the importance of expanding the BJP’s political base in Uttar Pradesh if the party was to retain power at the Centre in the Lok Sabha elections next year, Mr Mahajan said. Mr Advani said Uttar Pradesh was important politically for it sent 85 MPs to the Lok Sabha and therefore the BJP must maintain control over the state. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the party was placed third in the last Assembly elections and therefore it was imperative that its cadres and elected representatives worked towards improving its position in the state as it was “very important to be strong politically in Uttar Pradesh”. Mr Mahajan said some of the MLAs pointed out that the BJP ministers in the state should be given a timeframe for clearing pending projects and programmes. Replying to a question, Mr Mahajan categorically said that there was no debate on review of BJP-BSP coalition. |
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BSP, SP vie for main political pie in UP New Delhi, April 1 Thanks to aggressive approach and focused leadership, the SP is attracting the disillusioned upper caste Thakurs and Brahamins who till sometime back were the main stay of the BJP, observers said adding that the Congress could have easily garnered the support of these sections but its state leadership was wasting its energies on bitter factional fights. Aware of the Congress disarray and the BJP dilemma, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is going ahead full steam pocketing disillusioned and disgruntled elements. In process, the SP political base is rapidly increasing. The BSP-BJP alliance, being led by Chief Minister
Mayawati, is now being even questioned by the same BJP leaders who were the main protagonists of the tie. A central leader, on condition of anonymity, said the UP Government was going to cost very dear to the BJP. Because of the rude, arrogant and highhanded behaviour of Ms
Mayawati, not only the state bureaucracy is disillusioned but even the BJP supporters and sympathisers are having second thoughts. Though UP BJP state president Vinay
Katiyar, who was once the Bajrang Dal chief, is trying his level best to motivate and inspire the party cadres by vehemently reusing the Ram temple card but it is not cutting much ice with the opinion-making middle classes. The BJP central leadership, aware of the simmering crisis in the state, has called a meeting of the state leaders. The other nationalist party — Congress — is totally in disarray as its state president Arun Kumar Singh Munna has not been able to make any impact on the state leadership which is engaged in bitter political feuds. The UPCC president, who was appointed about six months ago because of his loyalties to the Congress president, had not been able to make any headway because the Congress legislature party leader Pramod
Tiwari, enjoying support of AICC treasurer and CWC member Motilal Vora, would not allow any agitational programme to occur, a senior leader said. Uttar Pradesh voters would like to oblige the Congress but its leadership is not in a position to welcome them to its fold, a senior party leader commented saying that the party had no plans and no futuristic strategy. |
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War, SARS hit Air-India flights New Delhi, April 1 Officials in the civil aviation sector here said today that the two Air-India flights had been cancelled due to a massive drop in passenger traffic to the region due to the war. The civil aviation sector has seen almost a 50 per cent drop in the passenger traffic to the Gulf region after the start of operation “Iraqi Freedom” late last month. While one of the Air-India flights has been curtailed in the Mumbai-Jeddah sector, the other to be taken off the roster is the Chennai-Dubai flight. Initially, the decision has been taken to curtail the flights for April only. A decision on further curtailing them after April will be taken after taking into view the level of passenger traffic during the month. However, Air India will continue to run its flight schedule to Kuwait normally despite a massive drop in passenger traffic. This is being done keeping in view the possible deterioration in the situation in Kuwait. The Civil Aviation Ministry had last week decided to put on hold the contingency plan, which had been prepared to evacuate Indians from Kuwait. This had been done in view of the almost normal situation prevailing in the country. Meanwhile, Air-India has decided to curtail two of its flights to the east-Asian region in view of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus hitting some of the countries. Air India has cancelled one of its flights in the Hong Kong sector while another has been cancelled in the Bangkok-Tokyo sector. The region has seen a drop in passenger traffic due to the killer pneumonia affecting the east-Asian countries. As a result of the SARS, India has also decided to take some precautionary measures to check the spread of the virus in the country. In consultation with the Ministry of Health, the civil aviation authorities here have decided to check the passengers through the filling up of a proforma during the flight. The passengers arriving from 15 of the countries
affected will be required to fill up the proforma. The proforma will seek details of the passengers’ general health condition. Those cases falling in the suspected category will be reported to the Director of the
NICD. |
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India gears up to fight ‘pneumonia’
New Delhi, April 1 The pneumonia-like disease has taken more than 60 lives in 15 countries, mainly in Asia, baffling scientists and doctors. Arrangements have been made to prevent the entry of carrier patients to the country and isolate them if any one has already arrived, Mrs Swaraj told reporters.
The airport authorities are also coordinating with the health personnel to find suspected cases.
UNI |
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Iraq war shadows UK-aided workshop Kolkata, April 1 The city Mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee of the Trinamool Congress, came to the seminar hall after over an hour. Finding the Chief Minister absent some prominent businessmen and senior officials also left the meeting room before the function started. The inauguration which was to begin at 10.15 a.m. ultimately started at 11.45 a.m. after the arrival of the Mayor. Mr Mukherjee admitted that initially he was reluctant to attend but on second thoughts he felt it necessary to be present for the interest of Kolkata’s development works. The Mayor said he too was against the war on Iraq. But still there could be no reason for boycotting the UK-sponsored workshop on Kolkata’s developments in which the British Government, London River Association and several other British business organisations were participating. |
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SC verdict on Ayodhya lacks law point: VHP New Delhi, April 1 “The Supreme Court only decides on point of law and other lower courts decide on the fact. But it is unfortunate that the 11-page judgement of the apex court on Ayodhya issue lacks point of law. Rather than law, the apex court is worried about maintenance of communal harmony and law and order which, in fact, are the government’s responsibility,” VHP Vice-President Acharya Giriraj Kishore told newspersons here. Claiming that the judgement had further widened the gulf between Hindus and Muslims rather than maintaining harmony which was the stated objective of the court, Mr Kishore asked, “why every time only Hindus were suppressed in the name of the communal harmony.” “Such moves only cause anguish in the community,” he said. The apex court, Mr Kishore suggested, could have instructed the government to maintain harmony rather than giving “all the instructions”
itself. SC verdict on Ayodhya lacks law point: VHP Asked about the VHP’s future plan, Mr Kishore said the Supreme Court had left no other option to them but to knock at the “people’s court” and build up pressure on Members of Parliament for enacting legislation in Parliament to resolve the Ayodhya issue. |
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Jatha to visit Panja Sahib on
Baisakhi New Delhi, April 1 “The Government of India has agreed to send a token jatha of 100 Sikhs to participate in the Baisakhi programme in Panja Sahib near Islamabad,” said Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh here today. Stating that no Sikh jatha could go to Pakistan after the Kargil war, he said the government allowed only 50 Sikh pilgrims to go to Nankana Sahib in November last to celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak. “The SGPC will coordinate the 100-member jatha, comprising 30 persons from Delhi, 20 from the rest of India and 50 from the SGPC itself.” The jatha will reach Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan on April 11, two days ahead of Baisakhi, after crossing Wagah border by road as rail transport remained suspended between the two countries since the Kargil invasion, Mr Tarlochan Singh said. |
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Army presence to be beefed up in J&K
New Delhi, April 1 At the same time, he favoured the continuance of the “healing touch” policy of the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government. Mr Fernandes said while the world attention was riveted on the conflict in Iraq, reports were emerging of 200,000 trained ‘jehadis’ comprising Afghans, Pakistanis and from some other countries getting together across the border for any kind of action in the valley. Such reports have been corroborated in London and the US State Department and this would be factored in by the special group set up to review the security scenario in the state, especially in the wake of the Nadimarg massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits, he told PTI in a wide-ranging interview here. Stressing that such reports become significant as Pakistan was looked upon as “comrade in the fight against terrorism,” he said, “There is confirmation now that it is the biggest terrorist state”, confirmation coming from two major allies of the coalition at present waging war against Iraq. Observing that the special group, set up by a high-level meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani last night, was seized of the entire security scenario in J&K, Mr Fernandes said it had been authorised to codify India’s “reposte”. When asked why a political interlocutor had not been named for the state on the lines as envisaged in the North-East, Mr Fernandes said the situation in J&K and that in North-East was entirely different. On measures to reassure and safeguard minorities in the wake of the recent Nadimarg massacre, he said there could be two ways to deal with the menace. He said one was self-generated security in form of training and arming the public on the lines of village defence committee and secondly to sanitise the areas where the minority community lives. Asked whether moves to disband the Special Operations Group (SOG) had affected the drive against cross-border terrorism, Mr Fernandes said though SOG was doing a useful job, the state government was not showing laxity in application of laws to deal with terrorists.
PTI |
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Fare hike: protesters
lathi-charged Kolkata, April 1 The demonstration was organised by the SUCI in which CPI(M-L) and PDS supporters took part. The police chief, Mr S. Chakraborty, admitted that the police had to lathi-charge for dispersing the violent mob, engaged in hurling of stones and brickbats at the police party and other security staff on duty in and around Writers Buildings. Six police personnel were injured. The SUCI general secretary, Mr Provash Ghosh, however, alleged that about 20 persons, including women and children, taking part in the demonstration, were severely injured due to the lathi charge by the police. The injured persons had to a be admitted to a hospital. |
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Matrimonial court can order medical test: SC
New Delhi, April 1 Passing of such an order by the court will not be in violation of the right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court added. However, such powers, the court said, could be exercised by the matrimonial court if the party seeking the medical examination of the other party had a strong prima facie case and there was sufficient material before it. The ruling was handed down by a three-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice A.R. Lakashmanan while dismissing an appeal against a judgement of the Rajasthan High Court. By the impugned judgement, the high court had upheld an order of a matrimonial court, directing Sharda, appellant and wife of respondent Dharampal, to undergo a medical examination. The husband, who had filed a divorce petition against his wife, had sought the medical examination of his wife.
UNI |
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Japanese loan for Punjab project New Delhi, April 1 The project to be taken up by the state Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation would support to rehabilitate degraded forest areas to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of forest produce. The project would help reverse the environmental degradation of hilly areas of the state through active participation of the communities to increase the forest cover, a press note said. The two afforestation projects in Punjab and Rajasthan will contribute to global environmental conservation as they will increase forest cover and secure water resources by preserving ground water, checking desertification and halting global warming,’ the bank said. |
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