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Tuesday,
July 8, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Sinha
proposes South Asian union Advani
turns down Mamata’s demand BJP to
discuss Ayodhya at Raipur Cleric
denied bail in Godhra case Abide by
court verdict: CPM SP to go
it alone in Assembly elections TN strike:
PM urged to intervene |
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Per capita income
up: MP
Ganga’s
N-pollution scare revives lost device issue Union team leaves
for dropsy-hit area MTNL officer
testifies in Shivani case 1942: a freedom
fighter’s story Commanders’
meet from tomorrow Four killed in
Roorkee
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Sinha proposes South Asian union New Delhi, July 7 At the same time Islamabad reiterated its desire to enter into a composite dialogue with India on outstanding issues saying, “The vision of a prosperous South Asia beckons us to turn the chapter of confrontation to one of peace and harmony.” External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Pakistan’s High Commissioner Designate in India, Mr Aziz Ahmed Khan, made these observations, respectively while speaking at the third executive meeting of the India Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI). Mr Sinha said that it was imperative that neighbours must become full partners in economic progress. It was in this context that he mooted the idea of forming South Asian Union. “If other reasons could achieve this kind of union, despite political, social and economic differences, there is no reason why we should deprive our people of this opportunity. I repeat this here today to show India’s commitment to the concept of a South Asian Union”, he said. Mr Khan said that addressing the outstanding political issues by the leaders of the two countries on the basis of the universally recognised principles of sovereign equality and mutual benefit would bode well for the promotion of economic cooperation and trade relations, not only between Pakistan and India but the whole of South Asia. “Low intra-regional trade in South Asia can only be attributed to the persistence of suspicion-prone and conflict-ridden relations between the two major countries of the region, India and Pakistan”, Mr Khan said. He said that regions where political climate was marred by acrimony, confrontation and deep distrust among regional countries, trade and economic cooperation were usually the first casualties. “Pakistan believes that a peaceful and secure environment in the region is imperative for the promotion of meaningful economic cooperation and development in the region. To achieve this objective, we must move beyond the roll-back of unilateral measures and promote an enlightened vision of amity and cooperation in South Asia,” the High Commissioner Designate added. Reiterating Pakistan’s desire to address all outstanding issues between the two countries, including that of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Khan said that Pakistan was convinced that the “two countries are not destined to remain locked in perpetual confrontation”. Mr Sinha made an important observation when he allayed fears that enhanced trade relations with Pakistan could swamp the latter’s economy by shifting the balance of trade against it. “Let me assure you that we in India have no intention to overwhelm Pakistan’s economy through trade. Our aim is only to have a normal trade relationship, and promote trade in a manner that people of both countries benefit,” he said. Empirical results had shown that trade with stronger economies did not necessarily shift the balance against the weaker economy. The USA had strong trade relations with its neighbours Canada and Mexico. In both these cases, although the USA was the stronger economy, trade balances were in favour of Canada and Mexico, he said. “Apprehensions, therefore, that the larger economy will inevitably swamp the smaller neighbouring economies are not borne out by reality. Balance of trade is a reflection of complementarities in the economies. The challenge is to exploit the potential that exists to the mutual benefit of both countries,” the Minister said adding,“There is no need, therefore, to harbour any special fears about India”. Regretting about the slow pace of progress made in the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), he said that almost 18 years after it was institutionalised in 1985, intra-SAARC trade formed only 4 per cent of the total trade of South Asia. |
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Advani turns down Mamata’s demand Kolkata, July 7 During his visit to the Trinamool Congress party office at Tiljala last night, the Deputy Prime Minister told Ms Banerjee and other Trinamool leaders that the imposition of Article 356 or 357 in the state was neither possible nor desirable. Ms Banerjee submitted a memorandum to Mr Advani justifying her demand for the President’s rule in West Bengal. She cited some 100 instances of how Trinamool and BJP workers and supporters had been tortured and killed by CPM workers allegedly with the help of the government machinery and the police. At a meeting with Chief Minister Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, in the presence of the Governor, Mr Viren J. Shah at Raj Bhavan, Mr Advani, however, did not raise the issue of law and order problem in
view of Ms Banerjee’s allegations against the CPM. But, he expressed his concern on the increase in the ISI activities in West Bengal and adjoining states. He told the Chief Minister that he had reports that the CPM panchayats in border areas were encouraging Bangladeshi infiltrators for making their political gain. It should be stopped forthwith, he added. |
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BJP to discuss Ayodhya at Raipur New Delhi, July 7 Accordingly, the party leaders have decided to discuss the Ayodhya issue and the recent developments relating to the formula floated by Shankaracharya, in the coming three-day national executive meeting of the party in Raipur beginning July 18. The meeting will be attended by the top leadership of the party, including the Prime Minister and the L.K. Advani. “More than the rejection of the Shankaracharya formula by the AIMPLB, the personal attack launched by VHP leaders against Mr Vajpayee is creating confusion among the party cadre and also the party leaders are losing face in their respective constituencies,” a senior BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity. Briefing newspersons, BJP spokesperson M.A. Naqvi tried to turn the issue on the Congress and maintained that the party was hopeful of a solution either through negotiations, court verdict or legislation. “We do not consider that this rejection of the Shankaracharya formula means that the efforts have failed,” Mr Naqvi said. He accused the Congress of being the “root cause” of the Ram temple issue. “The Congress before countering on this major issue should do some homework and know that among the problems created by it was Ayodhya and efforts are on to resolve it,” he said. Accepting that the rejection of the formula had brought the Ayodhya issue back to square one, he said: “Although neither the party nor the government were involved in the negotiations that took place between the Shankaracharya and the AIMPLB, the BJP will have to make its stand clear and categoric ahead of the poll.” If the BJP wanted to continue with the NDA alliance then it had to dance on the same tune on the Ayodhya issue. |
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Cleric denied bail in Godhra case Ahmedabad, July 7 Special POTA Judge Sonia Gokani, who had reserved her ruling last week, today said the Godhra carnage case was “an extremely serious one’’ and in view of the gravity of the matter and continued abscondence of nearly 50 other accused, the cleric could not be granted bail. Maulana Umarji is accused of being the brains behind the February 27, 2002 Godhra carnage in which 58 devotees returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive.
— UNI
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Abide by court verdict: CPM New Delhi, July 7 Describing the failure of efforts by the Kanchi seer as “not surprising”, the party politburo said in a statement that the developments “once again highlight the necessity to get a judicial verdict to settle the dispute”. “It is unfortunate that the Shankaracharya’s formula was tantamount to asking Muslims to hand over the Ayodhya site where the masjid stood for building a temple. Further, his letter of July 1 to the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board makes similar demands regarding the Kashi and Mathura sites which echo the RSS-VHP stand,” it
said. |
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SP to go it alone in Assembly elections New Delhi, July 7 Sensing that the Congress, with its majority base in the five states, will not be willing to go for an electoral alliance with any other “secular” party, the SP at its national executive meeting held here has decided to fight the elections on its own. Although the party was open to “give and take” support from the secular parties, it would contest for the maximum number of seats on its own, SP general secretary Amar Singh told newspersons after the meeting. The decision was also taken with a view to proving the national character of the party, he said. The 41-member national executive presided over by party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav also decided to hold another meeting at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, next month. Asked about the party’s response if the Congress decided on forging alliances with “secular forces” in states as well as at the national level at the Shimla conclave, Mr Amar Singh said: “we are open to give and take support from any secular force to contain the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. The party, however, seemed to be disillusioned with the attitude of the Congress, specially after the recently held Chiraigaon Assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh, in which it did not get support from the former. He expressed unhappiness that the Chiraigaon Assembly seat was lost due to fragmentation among anti-communalism parties which resulted in the victory of the BSP candidate. He said if the Congress wanted to contest alone in UP, the SP was also free to strengthen its base in whichever way it liked. The SP national executive also condemned the BJP for “using” Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati on the Ayodhya issue. “The efforts of the Shankaracharya at the behest of the BJP were bound to fail and the party will now waste no time to dump the seer,” he said. The recent so-called efforts on Ayodhya were evidence of the fact that even Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was under pressure from the RSS, he said. According to the SP leader, the meeting had decided to oppose both within and outside Parliament any endeavour of the Central Government to bring a legislation on Ayodhya. |
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TN strike: PM urged to intervene New Delhi, July 7 In a letter to Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he urged that the Prime Minister should instruct the Attorney General to appear before the Supreme Court and seek directions to immediately put an end to the “unconstitutional acts of the Tamil Nadu Government” and restore the rights of the striking employees. “Nearly 2 lakh government employees were dismissed by the state government without any opportunity to plead their case, and lakhs of families are, now, suffering both mentally and financially due to this,” Mr Karunanidhi said. The state government employees and teachers have been on strike since July 2 in protest against the unilateral decision to modify the service rules which would cause them financial loss. |
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Per capita income up: MP Bhopal, July 7 An official press note issued on Sunday said the “increase in real per capita income is a major indicator of progress and development in a state. From 1993-94 to 2001-02, Madhya Pradesh has posted 2.24 per cent rise in annual income in real terms”. While raising the reservations for the OBCs from the existing 14 per cent to 27 per cent on June 30, the state government had claimed that “special circumstances” existed in the state for doing so. The gazette notification had listed nine grounds to justify the state’s claim about the special circumstances. The first was low per capita income, followed by inadequate communication network, low industrial growth, subsistence level of agriculture, lack of irrigation facilities, low literacy level, low rural electrification, low urbanisation and a high percentage of people living below the poverty line. The Supreme Court had ruled in writ petition no. 930/90 that the reservations could be made beyond 50 per cent only “if a special case is made out”. |
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Ganga’s N-pollution scare revives lost device
issue New Delhi, July 7 His reminiscences had also created a flutter among the intelligentsia and policy makers, who had presumed that they had successfully given a quiet burial to the device and the controversy in the deep, shifting snows of the Himalayas. Capt Kohli should know. After all, he was the leader of the nine-member team which was selected by the intelligence agencies of the USA and India to transport the device to the 1717-metre Nanda Devi peak for installation so that they could monitor China’s nuclear programme undetected. The joint operation was perhaps one of the rarest examples of the “friendly liaison” between the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — an euphemism for clandestine sharing of intelligence. That the operation ended in a fiasco is another story. The team was forced to abandon the device, along with the plutonium-powered battery with an active life span of 100 years, because of inclement weather. However, the redeeming factor was that the CIA experts claimed that the plutonium cells were well insulated and the chances of a leak were minimal. But, at the same time, some of the experts claimed that perhaps elaborate studies had not been carried out to ascertain the impact of the Himalayan weather on the casing of the battery. There was no guarantee that the casing could withstand the vagaries of the treacherous mountain weather. The details of the device and the attempts to plant it in Capt Kohli’s book (co-authored by a CIA expert), “Spies in the Himalayas”, created a sensation universally . Explanations were hard to come by. Several subsequent attempts to locate and retrieve the device also proved futile because of the extreme weather conditions in that particular region of the mighty Himalayas. After several years of controversy, the matter was officially closed in 1993. The verdict was that there was no threat of nuclear contamination to the Ganga or the region. How the powers that be reached this conclusion was, of course, kept a secret. After four decades, with advances in science, locating the nuclear-powered device (if not already done) should not pose a major problem, though retrieving it may still be an Herculean
task. The weather conditions in the Himalayas remain unchanged. A section in the nation’s Capital feels that the government owes the public an explanation even if fears of nuclear contamination are unfounded. At the same time, a plausible explanation will enhance the country’s image as a responsible nuclear power. |
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Union team leaves for dropsy-hit area New Delhi, July 7 Sources in the Health Ministry told TNS here today that the team comprised Dr S. Cugh, Head of the Department of Medicine at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Dr R.C. Bhat, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, and Dr S. Dhariwa, Joint Director, Epidemiology, National Institute of Communicable
Diseases. |
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MTNL officer
testifies in
Shivani case New Delhi, July 7 These records pertained to the period from December 15, 1997 to December 31, 1999 and contained details of STD and ISD calls made from Sharma’s residence and office in Mumbai, where he was posted with Air-India, the witness, Mr D.T.Saroda, told the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr J.M. Malik. During cross-examination, Mr Saroda, however, admitted that the printouts of the records were not taken in his presence. He also pleaded ignorance when asked whether the clocks in MTNL offices in various states were standardised as to match second to second. Asked why, the data was recorded, he said it was done to maintain records regarding the duration of STD and ISD calls. Besides Sharma, five other accused —Pradeep Sharma, Satya Prakash, Sri Bhagwan Sharma, Ved Parkash Sharma and Ved alias Kalu— are undergoing trial in the
case. — PTI |
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1942: a freedom fighter’s story
Kochi, July 7 The petitioner, Mr N. Raghavan, of Kavanad in Kollam district, submitted that he was the recipient of the Central pension for freedom fighters during the 1970s, which was stopped following a report by the state government that he was not entitled for the pension. But the state government started giving him the pension from 1982 onwards. Declining his plea for a direction to the Union Government to grant him pension, Justice M. Ramachandran, said the age shown by the petitioner in his petition was 58. If this was true, he was born during the Quit India movement. Observing that after 40 to 45 years certificates had been issued to the petitioner by other freedom fighters stating that the exact date of imprisonment from ‘magical memories’. No authoritative certificates had been produced by the petitioner to substantiate his claim. The petitioner, who claimed that it was due to his efforts that India became a free nation, had produced certificates from other freedom fighters to support his claim that he was a freedom fighter.
— PTI |
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Commanders’ meet from tomorrow New Delhi, July 7 The three-day 27th Infantry Commanders Conference, to be inaugurated by Army chief Gen N. C. Vij, will also deliberate on modernisation of the infantry and focus on the infantry of the future, an Army spokesman said. Besides Director-General (Infantry) Lt-Gen K. Nagaraj, the conference would also be attended by General Officers Commanding-in-Chief of Northern, Central and Training Commands, Principal Staff Officers at the Army Headquarters and a number of field force commanders and heads of various training establishments, he said. |
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Four killed in Roorkee Hardwar, July 7 Police sources said the miscreants killed three persons with sharp weapons and iron rods, while one was shot dead. They also looted cash and jewellery from the houses. The police suspects the Bawariya group’s involvement in the crime. |
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