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Sunday,
April 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP: NDA model of
stable governance Widen base among minorities: PM Salahuddin not to cross over into J&K Buddhist body moves HC over Ayodhya
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Cong rules out change in RS nominees in Kerala Centre mulls ban on defections Charge sheet against Laloo
BJP, Trinamool finalise joint manifesto Women, kids among
12 killed in mishap Girl, driver commit
suicide Rolling Stones roll on Assistant Drug Controller held
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BJP: NDA model of
stable governance Indore, April 5 Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who made the concluding remarks at the national executive meeting here, pointed out that the BJP activists were different from their counterparts in other parties. The political resolution adopted at the two-day meeting asserted that the BJP had converted the compulsion of coalition governance in 1998 into a model of stable and purposive governance. Stating that the culture of selflessness and distinctive tradition of idealism was BJP’s greatest strength, Mr Advani asked why should something that had been their strength, and sustaining force get diluted now when they were in power. Pointing out that the people had high hopes from the BJP, he asked the party activists to remind themselves that they were not in power for the sake of power. “Rather, we are in power, and we want to be in power for a long time to come, because we want to be instruments for the realisation of a high national ideal,” Mr Advani said. Focussing on the behavioural aspect, Mr Advani said government performance was important, but even more important was the behaviour and conduct of the BJP ministers, MPs, MLAs and office-bearers. The eight-page political resolution attributed the success of NDA to the “Unflinching commitment to the supremacy of national interests and faithful adherence to the common manifesto. Placing on record its appreciation for the contribution of every constituent of the NDA, including the TDP, the resolution asserted that the BJP had converted the compulsion of coalition governance in 1998 into a model of stable and purposive governance. “With the Communists as its ideological cheerleaders, the Congress has sought to isolate the BJP in Indian politics on the plank of pseudo-secularism. But after each dabbling in destabilisation, it is the Congress that has got isolated more and more from the people,” it said. Listing various achievements and initiatives of the NDA government, the resolution demanded that the government must now act in a manner that shows that Pakistan had paid a price for its continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism and demanded one passage of women reservation Bill It asked the party workers to put in their best efforts to win the coming Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. |
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Widen base among minorities: PM Indore, April 5 We must widen our party’s social base, especially among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, the minority community and women. To achieve this, all of us will have to speed up our work in this direction,” Mr Vajpayee said at the National Executive meeting here. Interestingly, the Prime Minister did not utter a word on the Ayodhya issue Sangh Parivar outfits, especially the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have been mounting pressure on the government to enact a legislation in Parliament on the subject. Stating that the coming Assembly poll in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Delhi would be crucial and its outcome would decide the future political course, Mr Vajpayee asked the party workers to reach out to the people and build up “live communication” with them. In his brief intervention before leaving for Bilaspur,
Chhatisgarh, for a pre-scheduled function, Mr Vajpayee pointed out that election manifesto and speeches had their own importance, but ultimately it was the performance of the government which would decide the fate of the party. “I have full confidence that the BJP will emerge as a victor in the coming Assembly poll in the four states,” he said. He, however, pointed out that the sweatness of the victory in Gujarat and the soarness of the defeat in Himachal Pradesh was a lesson for the party to prepare itself well for future elections.
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Salahuddin not to cross over into J&K New Delhi, April 5 Far from daring to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, he would continue to function as an armchair strategist of the HM from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and carry out instructions of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), according to an assessment of the Government of India. Salahuddin, who increased his stranglehold over the outfit after the March 23 assassination of his arch rival Abdul Majid Dar, is going to continue with his policy of treating the HM as his fiefdom and personal killing fields, the assessment says. Besides, the Indian and Pakistani chapters of the HM are going to carry on with bloody battles between themselves. The internecine warfare within the HM that has now led to considerable bloodshed has its origins in the July-2000 ceasefire call announced by Abdul Majid Dar, the then chief operations commander of the outfit in Jammu and Kashmir. It is understood that this ceasefire was not Dar’s individual initiative as was subsequently projected by Salahuddin’s supporters but a collective decision of the HM Command Council taken after a series of deliberations at the base camp, Jangal Mangal, sometime towards the end of 1999. The HM’s ceasefire call in July, 2000 was thought of as a fresh path- breaking initiative by the Command Council in its deliberations in the winter of 1999. Salahuddin believed that the BJP-led NDA government would not respond positively and it would enable the United Jehad Council (UJC) to reiterate that “jehad” was the only option left. Majid Dar, who was considered as number two in the HM hierarchy was tasked to cross over and make the announcement at an opportune time after assessing the ground situation. In the spring of 2000, Majid Dar infiltrated into the Valley and held a series of consultations not only with his cadres on ground but also senior political leaders, including All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhatt, Jamaat’s Syed Ali Shah Gilani, People’s Conference chief late Abdul Ghani Lone, Awami Action Committee leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, People’s Democratic Front leader Shabir Shah, Patriotic People’s Front Chairman Fazal Haq Qureshi. That these consultations had been held was recently revealed by Shabir Shah, who took to task the APHC leaders for ignoring Dar’s assassination. Majid’s growing popularity irked Syed Salahuddin who could not brook any challenge to his perceived role as the figurehead of the militant movement in Kashmir. Even earlier, Syed Salahuddin’s supporters, drawn primarily from central and south Kashmir, had clashed with Dar’s supporters, mainly from Kupwara-Baramulla districts of North Kashmir in the HM’s base camp in PoK in 1997. At that time, the ISI had intervened and mediated between the two rival factions. |
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Buddhist body moves HC over Ayodhya New Delhi, April 5 Citing historical facts and writings of fifth century Chinese travellers, Mr Udit Raj, Chairman of the Lord Buddha Club, which filed the petition yesterday, told reporters here that the site belonged to the Buddhists and that Ayodhya was a Buddhist city with the presence of over 3,000 monks and stupas. Mr Raj claimed that “though Tulsidas wrote Ramcharitmanas 50 years after Babar’s invasion, he did not mention the demolition of the temple or construction of a mosque over it.” He claimed that the ongoing excavations had revealed evidence suggesting the place was a Buddhist structure. Informing that the court will decide on April 7 whether to admit his writ petition, Mr Raj said his organisation would abide by the court verdict.
PTI |
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Cong rules out change in RS nominees in Kerala New Delhi, April 5 Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni, who is in charge of Kerala, said today that there was no reconsideration on the names of Mr Vayalar Ravi and Mr T.B. Pillai as party candidates. Mr Karunakaran, who felt slighted over not having been consulted before the final decision about the Rajya Sabha nominations by the high command, has fielded Mr K G Nair for the Rajya Sabha elections. AICC sources said the high command was looking at various options to resolve the impasse. Aware that one of the official nominees could be defeated if Mr Nair remained in the fray, the high command was talking to senior state leaders to find a way out. Defeat of the official nominee could plunge the Antony government in a political crisis. Mrs Soni said the question of disciplinary action would arise only after April 7, which is the last date for the withdrawal of candidature. Three ministers of the Antony Cabinet, considered loyalists of Mr Karunakaran, have threatened to resign from the ministry over the controversy
surrounding the Rajya Sabha nominations. |
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Centre mulls ban on defections Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), April 5 Addressing a “parivartan rally” organised by the Chhattisgarh unit of the BJP, he said the Centre wanted to make the anti-defection law more effective to put an end to political defections. “The provisions in the existing anti-defection law have proved to be ineffective. We are in favour of a total ban on defections,” he added. He pointed out that the amendment was aimed at adding provisions in the anti-defection law to ensure that anyone, who is elected on a particular political party’s ticket, loses membership of Parliament or the state legislative Assembly on quitting his original party. Noting that at present there was no limit on the number of ministers, the Prime Minister said his government would also bring a legislation to ensure that there was a restriction on the number of ministers in proportion to the strength of the House.
UNI |
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Charge sheet against Laloo
Patna, April 5 In the special CBI court, charge sheets were filed against Mr Yadav, Dr Mishra and former Bihar ministers Vidyasagar Nishad, Bhola Ram Toofani and Chandradeo Prasad Verma, besides MLAs Jagdish Sharma and R.K. Rana. In the court of Special Judge S.K. Mishra, CBI Inspector Nagendra Prasad and counsel L.R. Ansari also deposited case diaries and all other documents. The Judge, however, returned the diaries and documents, ordering to produce them on the next date of hearing, fixed on April 21 when the court would also decide on taking cognisance of the present case. The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of nearly Rs 50 lakh from the Bhagalpur and Banka treasuries by AHD officials through forged and fake bills between 1988-96. Two accused — Bhola Ram Toofani and Shyam Bihari Sinha — died during the intervening period. The others also included senior IAS officers Phoolchand Singh, K. Arumugham, Beck Julius and Mahesh Prasad.
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BJP, Trinamool finalise joint manifesto Kolkata, April 5 Ms Banerjee and Mr Roy would formally release the manifesto at a joint press conference on April 7. On the other hand the CPM was still holding talks with other front partners on the sharing of seats. |
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Women, kids among
12 killed in mishap Kolkata, April 5 After the accident, residents of the locality blocked the G.T. Road for over two hours which disrupted the traffic flow on the busy highway. The local residents alleged that the poor condition of the road and faulty signal system had caused a number of accidents in the area. |
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Girl, driver commit suicide New Delhi, April 5 According to the police, the girl had left her Rohini residence in a Lancer car driven by her chauffeur Anil Kumar at about 10 a.m. under the pretext of attending her tutorial classes. Anil called up the father of the girl, a contractor, at his residence to inform that both of them had consumed poison to end their lives. The father of the girl reached the spot and took both of them to a hospital where they were declared brought dead. A case under Section 174 of the CrPC has been registered. UNI |
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Rolling Stones roll on Bangalore, April 5 Stones fans from all over the country turned up in force on the Palace Grounds to catch the high-voltage performance of the age-less band. ‘’Hum pehli baar India mein apna sangeet laye hain’’ , said ‘Stones front-man Mick
Jagger, clipped British accent and all, on his arrival here on April 1, setting the tone to the Indian leg of band’s world tour to promote their compilation album ‘40 Licks’. It was the kind of evening when the skies opening up a few minutes into the concert dampened neither the fans’ nor the band’s
enthusiasm. UNI |
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Assistant Drug Controller held Dehra Dun, April 5 |
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