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Friday,
May 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Governors’ list sent
to Kalam Air-India
pilots call off stir Ex-judge
remanded in CBI custody
BJP draws
blank in UP Govt booklet PETA
leader to have her hide tanned |
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Reliance, BSNL plans put on hold Hema
Malini may enter Rajya Sabha Assessment
of Taj corridor ordered ISI bid
to revive militancy in Punjab Haryana,
UP told to survey disputed land DMA for
doctors as bureaucrats Joint
groups with Dhaka to be revived Bandh
in Bihar town hits life Tributes
paid to TVL, KBK
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Governors’ list sent to Kalam New Delhi, May 1 The Rashtrapati Bhavan will issue a communique announcing the names of new Governors as soon as the President puts his signatures. Immediately thereafter, the Centre would issue a notification. The Vajpayee government is learnt to have decided to keep the new round of Governors’ appointments BJP-specific. The Governors of six states, who have completed their tenure — Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — are to be replaced by new incumbents. As the Assam Governor, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd), is certain to succeed Mr G.C. Saxena as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, at least seven gubernatorial appointments have to be announced by the Centre. The sources said the government had “finalised” a list of six persons, a stark feature of which was that not a single individual on the list was a former bureaucrat or a military man or a technocrat or an intelligence chief. Except a former judge, all individuals, who find a mention in this list, are BJP leaders. Sources named the five BJP leaders tipped for gubernatorial assignments as follows: Mr Ram Prakash Gupta, a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Pyare Lal Khandelwal, senior BJP leader, Mr Mallikarjuniah, a former Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Mr Kailash Pati Mishra, a former Vice-President of the BJP, and Mr Nirmal Chand Jain, a former BJP Lok Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh and also former Advocate General of Madhya Pradesh. The shifting of Gen S.K. Sinha to Jammu and Kashmir seems to be a foregone conclusion and it has got the seal of approval from the chief ministers of the two states concerned. It is understood that Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani telephoned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed a couple of days back and consulted him over the Centre’s move to appoint General Sinha as Jammu and Kashmir Governor. Mr Mufti Sayeed is believed to have told Mr Advani that he had no problems with this appointment. The sources said the name of Mr Ishwar Prasad, a former judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, could also be in the reckoning for appointment as a Governor. |
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Air-India pilots call off stir
New Delhi, May 1 Spokesman for the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) Captain Mahesh Gulwani said it decided to withdraw the stir following three rounds of talks with Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma that concluded shortly before midnight. He said the IPG also decided to take back the controversial directive asking its members to insist on Air-India management providing a certificate about accompanying crew not having travelled to SARS-affected regions in the past 10 days, a demand which had been rejected by the management. Mr Gulwani said Mr Verma had “convinced us to withdraw our directive and return to flying duties immediately in national interest.” In Mumbai, Air-India management spokesman Jitendra Bhargava welcomed the IPG’s decision to withdraw the agitation. Asked about withdrawal of suspension and de-recognition of the IPG following the pilots decision to end the stir, Mr Bhargava said “This is something we have to look into in great detail.” Referring to restoration of normalcy in Air-India flight operations, he said, “It will be done as early as possible.”
PTI |
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Ex-judge remanded in CBI custody New Delhi, May 1 Mukherjee, who was arrested by the CBI, was produced before designated judge
V.K. Jain and remanded in custody of the investigating agency till May 7 to facilitate his interrogation. The CBI alleged that he had given “doctored” orders pertaining to some DDA cases in return of illegal gratification. The CBI registered a fresh case against Mukherjee and four others on April 29 for alleged abuse of official position and entering into a criminal conspiracy to pass an order in favour of a particular party. The others named in the FIR include sacked DDA Vice-Chairman Subash Sharma, alleged middleman Dharambir
Khattar, suspended DDA official Ashok Kapoor and hotelier Vinod Khatri. This is the fourth case in the DDA scam which came to light on March 26 after the CBI conducted searches on the premises of top DDA officials. The CBI also carried out searches yesterday at 11 places of the accused and seized some documents relating to the scam, agency sources said. The CBI had also questioned an advocate — Anshu Agarwal — last evening after her official and residential premises were searched. The agency seized her computer and some files.
PTI |
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BJP draws blank in UP Govt booklet Lucknow, May 1 The 48-page coloured booklet, released by the Information Department, has Ms Mayawati’s picture with Dalit icon Dr B.R. Ambedkar taking the centrestage. The specially designed booklet having a coloured photograph in almost all the pages, would be distributed among people, down to the village level on May 3 when Ms Mayawati would complete one year in office. Political analysts see it as a subtle move by Ms Mayawati to sideline the BJP. “The booklet is annihilation of the BJP, which of late due to certain reasons, finding itself in a sticky wicket,” said one of the political analysts. The booklet “Unki Disha: Hamare Prayaas” has pictures of Dr Ambedkar and Ms Mayawati on the cover with muti-crore Ambedkar Park at the backdrop. Dalit icons such as Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj and Jyotirba Rao Phule find mention in the booklet. But there is no picture of BJP ideologues as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The only saving grace for the BJP is a picture of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee flanked by Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri on the left and Ms Mayawati and Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon on the left at page number 30 of the booklet. It is not only the picture even with words Ms Mayawati had indicted the previous BJP government. She said in the booklet that “she had inherited a state that was in a poor financial health, had a bad law and order situation and acute shortage of power.” |
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PETA leader to have
her hide tanned New Delhi, May 1 Ms Newkirk (53) believes human beings have a responsibility to protect other forms of life and has decided to ‘campaign to end animal abuse after death’ by using her body to draw attention to common yet needless cruelties. A few of her wishes are as follows: 1. A portion of her own skin be made into a leather product like a briefcase or handbag, and displayed outside the Indian leather fair each year to draw attention to the suffering of cows and bullocks slaughtered for their skin; 2. A portion of her body be cooked and distributed from a ‘human barbeque’, to remind those who eat meat that it is flesh and that no one needs to eat it; 3. Her feet be cut off and turned into umbrella stands, like those made from elephants’ feet, which she saw when she lived in Delhi as a child, to admonish against the use of animals as mere objects for human entertainment. Ms Newkirk says: “If using my body can wake up just one person to the wanton exploitation of animals, then it is a success. People will see that when my skin is tanned, there is no difference between it and the skin they buy in the form of shoes and briefcases. The difference is only that, unlike the millions of cows and buffaloes in India who are beaten and abused before they die a wretched death, I have not been oppressed.” She continues: “Expect to find a kabab stand set up in front of an Idgah or Deonar abattoir or in the middle of Connaught Place, giving away my cooked flesh. This is far less shocking than stealing the very life of a chicken or goat for nothing more than a fleeting taste sensation.” Ms Newkirk grew up in India, and she credits her time here to teaching her the compassion and ahimsa values she now lives by. Her campaigns to save animal lives have made headlines around the world. She has written seven books on animal protection and has spoken internationally on animal rights issues, from a cage in the Taiwan street markets to the hearing rooms of the US Congress. “I want my work for animals to live on when I’m gone,”
says Ms Newkirk, “I will continue to make a stir, even when I am long in the ground.” A full copy of Ms Newkirk’s will is enclosed along with a photo of her. |
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Reliance, BSNL plans put on hold
New Delhi, May 1 TRAI is understood to have sent notices to this effect to these service providers a day ahead of the new IUC regime came into effect from May 1, prompting a large number of officials, including those from BSNL and Reliance, rushing to the regulator’s office. TRAI Chairman Pradip Baijal told PTI that “we have sought certain clarifications from cellular and WLL service providers.”
PTI |
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Hema Malini may enter Rajya Sabha New Delhi, May 1 She is said to be lobbying hard to get the nomination. But the actress may find the going tough as a section in the BJP is opposing her candidature. Their plea is that she had charged money for campaigning for the party. Hema Malini had been offered the post of Censor Board Chairperson after Asha Parekh, but had refused the offer. Besides Hema Malini, others who may find their way to the Rajya Sabha are the BJP’s two favourite journalists, Rajat Sharma of “Aaj Ki Baat” and “India Today” Editor Prabhu Chawla. Chawla was also awarded Padma Bhushan early this year. Meanwhile, another heroine-cum-activist, Shabana Azmi, will retire on August 21, along with seven other nominated members. She was nominated by former President K.R. Narayanan. Hectic lobbying is on within the BJP for the eight vacancies in the nominated slot. Among others for whom lobbying is on are Chandan Mitra, Editor, The Pioneer, supercop KPS Gill, MJ Akbar, Editor, Asian Age, cricketer Kapil Dev, industrialist Ratan Tata, theatre personality Amir Husain and composer AR Rehman. The name of cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar is also doing the rounds.
IPA |
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Assessment
of Taj corridor ordered New Delhi, May 1 The other monuments falling in the heritage corridor are Aram Bagh, built by Babur in 1528, Agra Fort constructed by Akbar (1673), Itmad-ud-Daula’s tomb (1628), Chini-ka-Rouza (1639). An order to this effect was passed by a Bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah and Mr Justice Arun Kumar after recording the statement of Uttar Pradesh Government counsel Ajay Aggarwal, who assured that till the assessment was done, further work on the project would be stopped. The Bench asked the Kharagvasla-based Central Water Power Research Station to study the behaviour of the river and impact of the reclamation of about 70 acres of land behind the Taj and 40 acres behind Aram Bagh for the heritage corridor. |
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ISI bid to revive militancy in Punjab New Delhi, May 1 “There are inputs suggesting plans by terrorists based in foreign countries to revive terrorism in the state, the report said. Citing intelligence inputs, the report says that terrorist elements based in the USA and Canada are keen to register their presence through one or two major actions. “There are reports that ISI officials have assured their commitment to the overseas pro-Khalistani leaders who visited Pakistan for Baisakhi celebrations in April, 2002,” it said. The government on its part has adopted a well coordinated and multi-pronged approach for tackling terrorism, according to the report. |
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Haryana, UP told to
survey disputed land New Delhi, May 1 The Deputy Commissioner of Faridabad and the District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar would conduct the survey in their respective areas and submit their reports by July 2, when the matter would be taken up for hearing again, a Bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah and Mr Justice Arun Kumar said. While Uttar Pradesh Government counsel stated that 512 acres of land from its territory had gone into Haryana, counsel for the latter said the disputed land only measured 360 acres. The report said the boundaries of four disputed villages —Chandhat, Gurwari, Kanigarhi and Shamsham Nagar — had been fixed in the revenue records. The deep-stream channel of the Yamuna, which has been replaced by a “fixed boundary”, is no more in existence on the ground as it is being utilised as cultivated land, the report said. |
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DMA for doctors as bureaucrats New Delhi, May 1 The panel headed by Congress MP Pranab Mukherjee has opined that graduates from professional courses who later opt for the civil services block the seats of other aspiring candidates. The DMA president, Dr Anil Bansal, and honorary state secretary, Dr Vijay Kumar Malhotra, have contested the panel’s opinion that government expenditure on students of professional courses goes down the drain when they join the civil services. In its letter to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the DMA has said that it is incorrect that the government spends a lot of money on medical professionals. “No professionals are different. Thirty to forty per cent of medical colleges today are private without any burden on the government. Most of the money that the government is spending is on hospitals and not on medical students directly.” the DMA has stated. The association has drawn the Prime Minister’s attention to the fact that about 8,000 to 10,000 qualified doctors in the country are either unemployed or not adequately employed. There is no harm if they opt for the civil services. |
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Joint groups with Dhaka to be revived New Delhi, May 1 This was stated in a joint statement following Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal’s talks with the Bangladesh leadership during his just-concluded three-day visit to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has also assured India that it would not allow its territory to be used for any activities inimical to New Delhi’s interests, a foreign office spokesman here said today. The joint statement said issues relating to the completion of demarcation of the India-Bangladesh land boundary, exchange of enclaves and of territories in adverse possession and cross-border illegal movement of people figured prominently during the discussions. |
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Bandh in Bihar town hits life Patna, May 1 Official sources said there was no report of any violence. A host of NDA leaders, including Union Ministers Nitish Kumar,
C.P. Thakur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sanjay Paswan, Hukumde Narain Yadav, visited
Sarari, the native village of the slain BJP leader, and laid wreaths on his body. A person who was injured in police firing yesterday, succumbed to his injuries today.
PTI |
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Tributes
paid to TVL, KBK New Delhi, May 1 At a condolence meeting held at the Press Information Bureau here, senior journalists paid tributes and recalled the contributions made by KBK and TVL. A minute of silence was observed. |
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Name LCA
‘Ranjit’ New Delhi, May 1 Since the aircraft is indigenously developed, it should be named after a hero who could inspire the defence
force. |
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Minister
denies nexus with NSCN
Guwahati, May 1 NLFT
kills two
Agartala, May 1 |
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