 |
Sunday,
July 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Another Muslim body for ‘give and take formula’ Stadium ‘unsafe’ for celebrations CAS imbroglio gets
murkier Arrest warrant
against Yasin
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kalam asks NRIs to help uproot
poverty SP seeks CBI probe
Flood fury in Assam unabated
N-E rebels ready for talks: CM Workshop on rail
safety Jilted lover kills
beloved, 3 others Anti-Terrorist Front member found dead
|
|
Another Muslim body for ‘give and take formula’ New Delhi, July 5 The AFM passed a resolution supporting the formula, which was originally forwarded by the All-India United Muslim Morcha last week, and asked the Central Government to bring a legislation in Parliament to permanently solve the vexed Ayodhya dispute by handing over the Babri Masjid site to Hindus for Ram Temple construction while removing a ban, under Article 341 of the Constitution to re-include Dalit Muslims in the Scheduled Caste category as has been done in case of Sikhs and Neo-Buddhists. The resolution, however, clarified that status quo should be maintained over other disputed religious places like Kashi and Mathura. The AFM, which is a Muslim social organisation working with downtrodden people, and has 50,000 members in Delhi, wants that this formula should be the basis for negotiations between the Muslims and Hindus on the Ayodhya issue, AFM general secretary Shahab-uddin Saboo said at a conference on “Article 341 and Ayodhya Dispute.” The Personal Law Board would hold a meeting tomorrow at Lucknow to discuss the formula forwarded by the Kanchi Shankaracharya. The AFM wants that during the behind-the-scenes negotiations, the “give and take formula” should be the basis for discussion. Addressing the conference, the AIUMM president, Dr M. Ejaz Ali, who had first put forward the formula, said that a permanent solution of Ayodhya could only be found through compromise between the leaders of the two communities whereby one of the claimants would have to withdraw its claim on the disputed site. He said that the Muslim community was ready to give up its claim if it was provided reservation benefits by removing a ban on Article 341. “The court cannot solve the Ayodhya dispute as it is a matter of religious faith. It will only be dragged further. Moreover, if the temple and mosque are constructed side by side in Ayodhya, it will again create a problem which may disrupt peace after 50 or 100 years by provocative statements of extreme elements in both communities. So, the give and take formula involving the disputed site, in lieu of reservation for Muslims, is the only effective formula available,” he said. Dr Ali said the Muslim community had suffered a lot due to the Ayodhya dispute as the reservation provided to it in 1935 was withdrawn in 1950 as part of a compromise to solve the Ayodhya dispute in 1949. The Ram Janambhoomi supporters agreed to stop religious activities in Babri mosque, as demanded by Muslims, only when leaders of the minority community gave into their demand of promulgating of religious restrictions over Article 341 and thereby debarring Dalit Muslims from the facilities of Scheduled Castes which they were getting since 1935. —
UNI |
|
Stadium ‘unsafe’ for celebrations Kolkata, July 5 The Union Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, Mrs Sushma Swarj, the BJP general secretary, Mr Kailaspati Mishra and a host of other eminent leaders will be present at the stadium on the occasion. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, who had been invited as special guest, however, turned down the invitation on the plea that Dr Mukherjee was the founder member of a communal organisation. In 1999, Mr Bhattacharjee created a controversy by turning down the invitation of the centenary celebration function of Dr Mukherjee which the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee had inaugurated. Senior engineers and police security staff visited the stadium today and made some make-shift arrangement inside the stadium to facilitate the smooth holding of the function. An additional roof top over the stage was installed and the cracked walls were repaired. But still large areas of the vast open stadium will remain unguarded and unsafe. The State PWD Minister, Mr Amar Chowdhury(RSP), said personally he was against renting out the stadium in this dilapidated condition but still it had been hired out to Dr Shayama Prasad Mukherjee Celebration Committee of which the Union Minister, Mr Tapan Sikhdar, is the Chairman, by the Sports Minister, Mr Subhas Chakraborty (CPM), he alleged. The decision is not wise as it involves the safety and security of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Home Minister and hundreds others, including some central ministers and eminent personalities, remarked the PWD Minister. Incidentally, the stadium belongs to the Sports Department, though it is maintained by the PWD. The Sports Minister, however, claimed he had let out the stadium to the celebration committee at the request of the Union Minister, Mr Tapan Sikhdar, after obtaining proper clearance from the PWD. He accused the PWD Minister of ignoring the maintenance of the stadium despite repeated requests by the Sports Department. |
|
CAS imbroglio gets murkier New Delhi, July 5 A day after reaching an agreement with the government, broadcasters today said their understanding was that the offer was restricted to the zone for the month before it got notified for the CAS, but the cable operators claim that it is applicable to all consumers in August and will stretch further to non-notified areas. The government, in a press note issued today, maintained that cable operators would charge only Rs 72 a month plus taxes for all channels, including pay, from August 1. Disagreeing with this interpretation, broadcasters said consumers would be given an “introductory offer” only for the month before which they were notified to go under the CAS regime. They also see no logic in consumers in a particular zone getting this benefit for four months and those in another part of the city only for a month. “It’s a monthly roll-over. The honeymoon period is only a month for anyone,” said Deepak Shourie of Discovery. Going by this, the government will have to notify the first phase before August 1. Star’s Sameer Nair said it was intended to give everyone a one-month waiver in each of the four zones in all the metros. He said the zone-wise implementation was to ensure the availability of set-top boxes for a smooth roll-out in the four cities, which have a total of 6.5 million cable TV viewers. The cable operators, who are with the government on the proposal, blamed broadcasters for creating confusion over it. “It is Rs 72 plus taxes for all channels for all cable TV consumers in August and then those notified for the CAS will go into that regime while the others will continue to pay Rs 72 till notified,” Vicky Chaudhury of NCTA, a cable operators association said. In its official press note, the Government said in the non-notified zone, cable operators will charge only Rs 72 a month plus taxes for all channels, including pay. It said yesterday’s meeting addressed twin objectives of the CAS based on the principle that “consumers can choose what they wish to watch and pay only for what they watch”. It said all stakeholders— broadcasters, cable operators and multi-system operators— were committed to the implementation of the CAS in the interest of the consumer and ensuring regulated growth of cable TV industry. The period from July 14 to August 31 will be used for creating consumer awareness about CAS, procurement of set-top boxes and promotional campaigns for pay channels. Each of the four notified metros will be divided into four zones for a staggered roll-out of the addressable system of transmission of pay channels. Once a zone is notified, pay channels can be watched only with the use of set-top boxes, and consumers will be charged for channels of their choice in addition to the Rs 72 plus taxes for the basic tier of free-to-air channels. Consumers of only free-to-air channels will not need set-top boxes and will pay only Rs 72 plus taxes. — PTI |
|
|
Minister sees new
vistas in TV
viewing Jaipur, July 5 Speaking to reporters here, he claimed that the CAS would ‘’empower the family with technology’’. The set-top box would be a one stop route for the covergence of various other technologies. It will open new vistas of TV viewing in the country, he said. On the simultaneous introduction of direct to home (DTH) and the CAS, he said the DTH was costly and was not likely to replace the CAS in future. ‘’They will be there side by side’’. KOLKATA: Continuing her tirade against the controversial Conditional Access System, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit on Saturday said there could be a scam behind the Centre’s haste in importing set top boxes from Europe and the USA. “There is too much of a hurry to import set top boxes. A scam is not outside the realm of possibility. Some people are certainly not coming out clean on the issue,” she told reporters here. MUMBAI: Samajwadi Party on Saturday demanded a high-level probe into the delay in the implementation of the Conditional Access System (CAS) alleging that it was being deferred for the benefit of a foreign channel. “The government is dithering on the implementation of the CAS despite a Bill being passed by Parliament. Hence, we suspect that there is a huge scam involved in it,” its general secretary Amar Singh told reporters here. —
UNI, PTI |
|
|
Arrest warrant
against Yasin
New Delhi, June 5 Special Judge S.N. Dhingra cancelled the bail, granted to Malik in a 10-year-old case after he failed to appear before it even after issuing repeated summons to attend the trial proceedings. Admitting the contention of CBI that Malik had violated the bail conditions, which required that he should periodically mark his attendance before the Tilak Nagar police station in North Delhi on the 16th of every month, the court also issued notice to the person who had stood surety to him when the bail was granted. The case was registered against him under TADA in 1992 for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The CBI had chargesheeted Malik for allegedly providing funds to terrorist organisations in the Kashmir valley, which was supplied to him by ISI of Pakistan between 1985-1992. He was arrested from the Tilk Nagar area on February 13, 1992, and the CBI had claimed that an amount of around Rs 5 lakh was recovered from him. The prosecuting agency had alleged that Malik and another accused Mohammed Sheikh had received over Rs 32 lakh from an ISI agent in Delhi in February, 1992, on different dates for supporting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
The accused had also spent a part of the amount for setting up terrorist bases in Nepal and the investigators had come across evidence of spending nearly Rs 6 lakh for this purpose, the prosecuting agency has alleged. Militant organisations which were benefited by such transactions, included Al Umar and Jamat-e-Mujahidden, the CBI had claimed. |
|
Sanjay summoned for recording plea Mumbai, July 5 The summons were issued by designated Judge P.D. Kode, who directed all 1993 bomb blast accused to remain present on July 7 for recording their plea. Their plea will be recorded to amend the common charge of conspiracy in view of the court deciding to conduct separate trial of co-accused Majnu Mustaffa, who was deported from Dubai recently. Majnu was not shown in the list of accused or absconding accused. After his deportation, he was arrested in the case by the CBI which alleged that his involvement figured in the confession of co-accused Salim Mira Shaikh. The Judge separated his trial but allowed the CBI to use the evidence adduced against him. Majnu’s name will now be added in the common charge of conspiracy and hence the plea of all accused will be recorded on July 7, defence lawyers Subhash Kanse and Farhana Shah said. —
PTI |
|
Kalam asks NRIs to help uproot poverty New Delhi, July 5 Inaugurating the annual convention of the Federation of North American Tamils being held in New Jersey through a video conference, he stressed the importance of Indian philosophy in arriving at a unified theory for understanding the mystery of the universe, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan release. He also inaugurated the translation into Tamil of the famous Prof David Goldstein’s 52 part physics lecture series on mechanical universe and beyond. —
PTI |
|
|
SP seeks CBI probe Lucknow, July 5 Addressing a joint news conference here, state SP President Ram Sharan Das, General Secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Ahmed Hasan alleged that the Mayawati government flouted legal provisions and ignored the Taj Mahal’s safety by starting the Rs 175 crore Heritage Corridor project. “We hold Chief Minister Mayawati directly responsible for the fiasco and demand an impartial CBI probe into the incident,’’ they said. A five-member SP committee headed by Mr Hasan recently returned from Agra after conducting an inquiry into the case. Mr Yadav alleged that Ms Mayawati had lied before the people by stating that she was not aware of the project’s implementation. “Nobody can believe that a Chief Minister who passed the project, had no idea about it,” Mr Hasan said. The construction work behind the Taj Mahal had been going on since August last year and no tender was floated for it. The government did not even take the permission from the Centre, the Agra Development Authority, the Agra Nagar Nigam, the Central Pollution Control Board and the Central Ground Water Department in this regard, they said. — UNI, PTI |
|
Flood fury in Assam unabated Guwahati, July 5
Even though the rainfall was normal in the state, the incessant downpour on the foothills of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh was causing the rivers here to swell alarmingly, official sources said here today. —
PTI |
|
N-E rebels ready for talks: CM New Delhi, July 5 “Deliberations are on with a number of North-East rebel groups and I will be contacting a few others in near future to convince them to enter into a dialogue with the Centre,” Mr Zoramthanga told newspersons here. Mr Zoramthanga, who had met Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani yesterday and apprised him of the progress made in the peace process in North-East, said: “My mission was to act as a bridge between them and the government and it was with the full knowledge of the government. My job was not to discuss their political demands.” Stating that it was “not a secret” that he met leaders of “several” underground groups from the North-East at Bangkok, Mr Zoramthanga said “I do not want to reveal the identities of the groups I contacted, barring the Nagas (NSCN-IM).” Asked whether certain groups had also agreed to announce a ceasefire with the government at the meetings he had with them, he said “whenever any peace talks have to be initiated, ceasefire is a must. This is only one requirement.” |
|
|
Workshop on rail
safety New Delhi, July 5 Sources in the Railway Ministry told TNS here yesterday that participants would deliberate ways and means to check train accidents involving casualties. They would also discuss infrastructure maintenance, operation, rescue and relief systems, training and upgradation of skills and other internal and external factors affecting rail safety. Of the 15.4 lakh strong workforce of the Railways, six lakh are involved in safety-related operations. |
|
Jilted lover kills
beloved, 3 others Faizabad (UP), July 5 Mohammed Omar shot dead Sajida, 24, his maternal uncle, sister-in-law and nephew and later shot himself with the same rifle after his marriage proposal was refused by the elders of the family, the police said. —
PTI |
|
Anti-Terrorist Front member found dead New Delhi, July 5 The deceased was the Delhi Pradesh secretary of the front led by former Youth Congress President and present Chairman of the front M.S. Bitta. Sodhi’s daughter Sonia Sodhi, is the vice-president of the women’s wing of the front. Mr Bitta said Sodhi was a very active member and had threats from various terrorist outfits. The police said there was no electricity on the fateful evening and Sodhi, who went to find out about the electricity situation in the Sarita Vihar area, went missing since then. His body was later found this evening after he went missing for the last three days. The family members of Sodhi had registered a case of abduction with the police yesterday. Sodhi’s body was examined by the teams of the CFSL and Delhi police which apparently has no injury marks. The body will be sent for post-mortem examination tomorrow. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
