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Monday,
June 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Opposition
dares Maya to prove majority
Uphaar
hero’s death ‘part of duty’ PM for early solution to Ayodhya issue PM’s
peace bonus for Nagaland
President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
serves
food to children as part of the ongoing "akshya patra"
programme at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness temple in
Bangalore on Saturday. — PTI photo |
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DMK mum
on Cong plea Kushabhau Thakre may campaign for BJP Farewell
to WW II arms 3
coaches derail
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Opposition dares Maya to prove majority Lucknow, June 8 “We have no faith in Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri as he had allowed a minority government to continue and therefore we have decided to go to the people,” said Opposition leaders. Opposition leaders held almost an hour-long meeting at the residence of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, which was attended by the Samajwadi Party supremo Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief, Mr Ajit Singh, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mr Jagdambika Pal and the SP national general secretary Mr Amar Singh. Addressing a joint press conference here the Opposition leaders alleged that though the Mayawati-led coalition government in Uttar Pradesh had been reduced to a minority after the withdrawal of support by 14-member RLD, “the government is continuing with the blessings of the Governor, support of the Speaker, Mr Keshari Nath Tripathi, and on the directions of the Prime Minister”. “When such highly placed people were out to styme democracy we have no other option but to go to the people and ask them to throw this corrupt government out,” they said. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav said in the last show of strength, in the form of State Council elections, the ruling coalition candidate had won with a margin of just 11 votes. “After 14 RLD MLAs withdrawing support from the government and the Congress, which had boycotted the last election, supporting Opposition campaign, the Opposition tally is going to be over 200,” he said. In the 402-member state Assembly the Mayawati government enjoys the support of 211 against 202 required to prove majority. “We have the number under our belt”, said RKP chief Kalyan Singh. “And if Mayawati feels she has the number she should prove it on the floor of the House,” he said. The Governor should either dismiss the Mayawati-led government or ask it to prove its majority, said Mr Kalyan Singh. Opposition members, however, said they would not bring a no-trust motion against the government. “Our demand is that the corrupt Mayawati government should be dismissed,” said UPCC president Jagdambika Pal. RLD chief Ajit Singh, who came to Lucknow specially to attend the meeting ruled out any split in the party after the resignation of Rameshwar Singh, party vice-president, from the party. He alleged that senior BJP leaders were intimidating RLD legislators. “People close to senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon had threatened RLD MLAs to support the coalition government otherwise cases would be lodged against them,” he said. “RLD MLAs are under tremendous pressure, he said and added therefore some of them were cooling their heels in Srinagar. SIDDHARTHANAGAR (Uttar
Pradesh): According to UNI a report the BJP state president, Mr Vinay Katiyar, has claimed that even after the withdrawal of support by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) the Mayawati-led government in the state was completely “safe.” During his Lok Janjagran Sanskriti Yatra, Mr Katiyar claimed here on Sunday that at present the government was in majority and there was no “danger” to it. He alleged that the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, in a bid to create anarchy and class-conflict in the state were alleging that the government was in minority. |
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Uphaar hero’s death ‘part of duty’ New Delhi, June 8 This has been admitted in the report of the Army’s court of inquiry into the death of Captain Bhinder, who fell victim to the fire tragedy on June 13, 1997, with his wife Jot Roop and 4-year-old son Ruskin after he had helped in rescuing more than 150 persons trapped inside the theatre. Army’s counsel Rekha Palli, however, sought more time from the court to make its stand clear whether Bhinder’s father will be entitled to special family pension as he himself was a retired junior commissioner officer and getting pension. A Bench comprising Mr Justice D. K. Jain and Mr Justice Madan B. Lokur, while perusing the court of inquiry report had observed that the death of Bhinder was attributed by it to have been caused as part of Army duty. The judges, however, took a serious view of the Army taking three years to clarify this to the court. The court had on February 10 directed the Army to place before it the report of the court of inquiry to show as what view it had taken on Bhinder’s death. The Chandigarh-based All-India Ex-Servicemen Association had filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the high court three years ago, seeking grant of family pension to Capt Bhinder’s 71-year-old father Vardip Singh. The association had contended that Bhinder was fully entitled to family pension as he had sacrificed his life while saving many people without caring for the safety of his wife and son, whom he could have easily saved. The Army authorities had in its affidavit submitted that Bhinder was not entitled to special family pension because his death had not occurred on official duty, though they had admitted that he had taken steps to control and guide the mob at the time of the fire and tried to save the lives of several people. He was not on “bona fide” military duty at that time and his death was “classified as physical casualty”, the Army’s affidavit had said. Bhinder, a native of Mehta Chowk in Punjab and then posted in Delhi, had gone to see the movie “Border” in the Uphaar cinema with his family when the tragedy struck in the afternoon, in which 59 persons were killed and 104 injured. Association’s counsel R. K. Saini and Bhim Sen Sehgal had said Bhinder’s action indicated that he had shown true sense of Army duty as was expected of a true soldier in such a situation. Denial of family pension to his kin would be a great injustice to him and amount to “derecognising” his service to the society, they argued. |
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PM for early solution to Ayodhya issue New Delhi, June 8 “We want to see an early solution to the Ayodhya issue. How long will this issue linger on?” he asked at a function here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the consecration of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati. “We have been saying right from the beginning that the solution to this problem lies either in a dialogue leading to a mutually acceptable agreement, or in a verdict of the judiciary. However, these two options are not mutually exclusive. They can be made complementary,” Mr Vajpayee said in the presence of the Leader of the Opposition and Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and his senior Cabinet colleagues, Mr Jaswant Singh and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, among others. Taking note of the effort being made by the Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati to find an amicable solution the vexed issue, the Prime Minister said: “It is necessary that the representatives of Hindus and Muslims begin to talk to each other to find an amicable and mutually acceptable solution.” “It is true that he (Kanchi Shankaracharya) faced some difficulties and roadblocks. But he did not lose faith in his effort. He has been meeting Muslim leaders wherever he goes. He has earned the respect and trust of people belonging to other religions and such trust is always the most precious capital, which helps us in resolving the gravest of problems,” he said. “The more goodwill we create, the easier it becomes to solve contentious issues,” he said. “It seems difficult that such fruitful talks can take place between political parties and their leaders. It is also clear that the Ayodhya issue can be resolved only when it is freed from politics and when political parties stop looking at it from the point of view of who gains and who loses,” he said. |
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PM’s peace bonus for Nagaland New Delhi, June 8 “I have decided to extend a peace bonus to Nagaland. An amount of Rs 365 crore extended to Nagaland as Ways and Means loans, will now be converted into a one-time grant. This will enable the state to meet all its liabilities and will also result in an annual interest saving of Rs 44 crore by the state”, the Prime Minister said in a statement here. Stating that sustainable development was the only key to an enduring peace process, Mr Vajpayee said the Naga peace process had attained momentum and needed to be sustained. Nagaland should now be able to devote its efforts to schemes and policies aimed at poverty alleviation and balanced economic development, he said. The Prime Minister said the Centre had taken several steps to encourage economic activity and generate employment in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and Mizoram where a substantial progress had been made in peace process. “In the year 2000, I had announced a similar package to Mizoram. This involved conversion of the Rs 100-crore loan owed to the Government of India into an outright grant”, he said. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister said, the presentation of a zero-deficit Budget by the state government this year was significant as it came after deficit budgets borne of strife and insurgency. “This has been made possible by a Central assistance of Rs 2950 crore that I have sanctioned for the state”, he said. The grant is Rs 750 crore more than last year. |
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Kalam has meals with underprivileged kids
Bangalore, June 8 It was a sight to watch as India’s first citizen sat with poor children and ate, The students relished every moment of his company. Dr Kalam, flanked by two poverty-stricken students, had lunch on a plantain leaf after he interacted with hundreds of children benefitting from the “Akshaya Patra” programme. Earlier, he had a lively session at the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple here, giving a new momentum to the free mid-day meal programme of the “Akshaya Patra” Foundation. In addition to the “Anna (food) Patra”, he urged the foundation to come out with “Vidya (knowledge) Patra” as well. The foundation said it was now covering around 43,000 students in 119 schools in and around Bangalore under the free mid-day meal programme. On the mid-day meal programme for children, Dr Kalam, in particular, singled out former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers Kamaraj and MGR for doing a good job. When reporters asked him if he thought all states should provide free mid-day meals for schoolchildren, he said “Many states have implemented that. Education is a state subject and it’s for the states to decide.” He said good education led one to gain knowledge which ultimately helped in the development of society. He urged the children to develop leadership qualities without expecting fame and serve the needy. On behalf of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Rajiv, a student, urged the President to prevail upon the governments to invest in feeding and empowering every child by earmarking a portion of funds for the purpose. The foundation launched the Akshaya Patra Scheme in 2000 to provide free unlimited mid-day meal scheme to 1500 school children in Bangalore and its surroundings. It was scaled to 12,500 children in 2001 and 43,000 last year. It was hoped to cover one lakh children now and 2,50,000 by 2005.
PTI, UNI |
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DMK mum on Cong plea Chennai, June 8 “It is an issue between the Congress and the BJP”, DMK President M. Karunanidhi said when asked to comment on the demand by the Congress. “If the matter comes to the fore again, the DMK’s position on the Babri Masjid issue will remain the same”, he said after addressing a meeting of district secretaries of the party here. The DMK had come out strongly against the demolition of the mosque in December 1992.
PTI |
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Kushabhau Thakre may campaign for BJP Bhopal, June 8 Mr Thakre, who will be 81 on August 15, is now in Delhi undergoing treatment for some serious ailments. The BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate in the state, Ms Uma Bharati, has formally invited Mr Thakre “to visit” the state. Specialists will accompany the ailing leader when he will be taken around the state in a specially equipped ambulance. Mr Thakre was drafted, along with Mr Pyarelal Khandelwal and Mr Narayan Prasad Gupta, by the RSS in the early ’50s to build up the Jana Sangh in Central India region. No other party leader had as live a contact with party rank and file as Mr Thakre had. Considered the “pitamaha” of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, he was almost constantly on tour of the state. That is, till he got more involved in the national-level politics. The BJP feels that a statewide tour by ailing Thakre would move the people, particularly in Malwa region, from where Mr Thakre hails. |
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Farewell to WW II arms Kohima, June 8 As the Nagaland government prepares to replace Lee Enfield 303 and the sten gun of World War II from the state police forces with AK series and SLRS, these weapons would continue to ignite memories of a bygone era among the surviving war veterans. They claim that these two masterpieces were the determining factors in the victory of many a land battle fought in Asia, Africa and Europe during the war. The two weapons had long found their resting ground in the war museums in western countries, but in remote Nagaland of a Third World nation, these are used as primary weapons by the police force. In many police units of the state, the Enfield rifle and the sten gun are still the backbone of the force, so far as weaponry is concerned. Times have changed and so have weapons and guns. It is no longer practical to fight battles with weapons like the 303 rifle and the sten gun in this AK series era. Phasing out these weapons from Nagaland is not only inevitable but a rather late decision, since the guns have now come into the limelight for the wrong reasons: their antique status in the age of sophisticated weapons possessed by the criminals and ultras. The Lee Enfield 303 is perhaps the most popular rifle of World War II and its popularity in a state like Nagaland is tremendous.
UNI |
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3 coaches derail Gaya, June 8 Three rear coaches of the train jumped the track while the train was about to reach the station. There was no report of casualty as the train was at a slow speed since it was approaching the station. The derailed coaches included two sleeper bogies and an AC coach, the sources said. Movement of trains on both up and down main lines remained unaffected since the train was entering the Gaya station through an additional line.
PTI |
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