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Monday,
August 11, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Why did
Pak official spill beans on Kashmir issue?
Chief Secy
cleared Taj project, says suspended official George’s complicity in defence scam exposed, alleges YC
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Mazdoor
sangh to meet Kalam on ruling on strikes Online
rail reservation a big hit Goa
Express derails
Nar Bahadur Bhandari is Sikkim Cong chief Boy
tonsured, paraded naked
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Why did Pak official spill beans on Kashmir issue? New Delhi, August 10 Why a seasoned diplomat like Mr Naik decided to narrate what was under wraps violating some of the determining principles of back-channel diplomacy is intriguing. While Mr Naik has chosen to come out with his side of the version, his dialogue partner in India, Rishi Kumar Mishra, a veteran journalist, has been maintaining a strict silence on the issue. When contacted by TNS, Mr Mishra declined to speak on the issue or about Mr Naik’s sudden eloquence in providing details of a mission conducted on the basis of mutual trust and confidentiality. Mr Mishra had earlier refused to depose before the Kargil Review Committee. Mr Naik gave details for the first time of the secret deal between the two Prime Ministers in their one-to-one meeting ahead of the inking of the Lahore Declaration in February 1999 at a panel discussion recently in Islamabad. Mr Naik was highly selective in his narration telling what suits Islamabad and remaining silent on the rest. The two Prime Ministers had agreed to track II diplomacy setting even a deadline of 10 months for the secret exercise as both were eager to thrash out a permanent solution to the Kashmir tangle before the advent of the new millennium, Mr Naik said. Mr Naik has tried to suggest that the Chenab formula was emerging as one possible way out of the Kashmir tangle. “After agreeing on three parameters for the important talks, we (Mr Naik and Mishra) again went to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the evening who welcomed the initiatives and proposed two amendments in the parameters: interest of Kashmiris should be kept above all and the solution of Kashmir should be final and not partial.” They started discussing different options, including plebiscite, the Dixen proposal, permanent status of the LoC and independent Kashmir. Mishra requested that the communal factor should not form the basis of a possible solution to the Kashmir dispute, otherwise it would lead to riots. Later, they discussed different options, including creating sovereign entities in Jammu and Kashmir without any international supervision and the watershed principle which has been applied all over the world. “I proposed that Chenab river can become the boundary.” Mishra put some questions on this proposal, Mr Naik said explaining the geo-physical position of Kashmir. When questioned, Mr Naik said Pakistan could get two-third Kashmir if the Chenab formula was accepted. The Chenab Plan had also been discussed during the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Swaran Singh multi-round talks on Kashmir in the sixties which was firmly rejected by New Delhi. Mishra travelled on April 9, 19 and then in May to Islamabad at the height of the Kargil war but then Mr Vajpayee had started coming under a lot of pressure from his Home Minister L K Advani and other hawks, Mr Naik said. To Mr Sharief’s written proposals to Mr Vajpayee that both sides should observe the sanctity of the LoC and continuation of the back channel, Mr Naik said that at time he had objected to the use of words “sanctity of the LoC” as it would amount to giving a permanent status to the LoC. On May 5, the first skirmish in Kargil had taken place. Mishra gave a message to Mr Naik: “Pakistan and India are an inch away from war. This time nuclear war cannot be ruled out.” Mishra again came to Pakistan with a message that war was round the corner. The Indians again invited Mr Naik. He met Mr Vajpayee who said, “Naik ji how did we reach Kargil Hills from Lahore?” Mr Naik replied, “We will again go back to Lahore.” Mr Vajpayee demanded withdrawal of troops from Kargil Hills. Mr Sharief’s aircraft was to have a 10-minute technical stopover in New Delhi on his way back to Pakistan after his visit to China in the heat of the Kargil crisis for a Nawaz Sharief-Vajpayee meeting, but it failed to materialise. Mr Naik’s fresh effort appears to be to get the Chenab formula back in the reckoning for division of Kashmir on religious lines. |
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Delhi statehood Bill in monsoon session,
hopes Advani New Delhi, August 10 “My ministry has prepared the blueprint for the state of NCT of Delhi. I hope the Bill will be introduced in this session and all parties will support the Bill wholeheartedly,” Mr Advani said at the ‘parivartan rally’ hosted by the Delhi BJP. The Deputy Prime Minister hinted at the party hardselling the twin issues of statehood for the NCT of Delhi and the new guidelines for the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, in the run-up to the elections later this year. He chose to ignore the issues of Ayodhya and the Ram temple. It was left to BJP parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra to join issue with Ms Sonia Gandhi for invoking Lord Ram at her rally yesterday. The BJP, he said, was all for a Ram temple, but the attitude of other parties was suspect. Launching his party’s campaign for the Assembly elections in Delhi later this year, Mr Advani said the Bill could be tabled anytime after the two Houses met again on August 13. The BJP, he said, was committed to making the Capital into a truly metropolitan city-state. The ‘parivartan rally’ came a day after Ms Gandhi started her party’s campaign in the capital. All seven Members of Parliament of the BJP were present. Mr Advani reiterated that the party would fight the poll under the stewardship of Delhi BJP President Madan Lal Khurana. Mr Khurana told the gathering that the acute shortage of water and electricity would also be highlighted when the party’s campaigners fanned out into the constituencies. |
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Chief Secy cleared Taj project, says suspended official Lucknow, August 10 Sources said Mr Sharma, who was interrogated by the CBI on Friday and Saturday, told the sleuths that Mr Bagga had cleared the project and the Chief Minister Mayawati knew about the project from the onset. Ms Mayawati had suspended Mr Sharma after the misuse of money on the Rs 175-crore project came to light. She had blamed Mr Sharma for initiating the project without taking senior officials into confidence. Sources said during the interrogation, Mr Sharma told the sleuths that Mission Management Board, headed by Mr Bagga, had cleared the project in principle at its meeting on August 4, 2002. The minutes of the Board’s meeting were duly recorded and signed by Mr Bagga. Mr Sharma also told the CBI that Mr Bagga had asked him to start work on the project immediately without getting the Detailed Project Report prepared. Under the direction of Mr Bagga, he even did not take permission from the Centre to start construction work near Taj Mahal. The CBI had interrogated senior officials, including the Chief Secretary and the Finance Secretary, Mr Naveen Chandra Vajpayee. |
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George’s complicity in defence scam New Delhi, August 10 While interacting with mediapersons yesterday, Mr Fernandes had ruled out the possibility of placing the CVC report before the PAC. He said the report had been labelled as “top secret” by the CVC. In a statement issued here today, the IYC President, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, said Mr Fernandes’ attempts to prove his innocence to mediapersons further pointed to his complicity. The IYC President has stated that collective conscience and a sense of patriotism demand that Mr Fernandes demit office immediately or is removed and all papers, including the CVC report, placed before the PAC and on the floor of Parliament. “It is time that the Vajpayee government made a public admission of its guilt, tender an apology to the nation and quit office.’’ The statement reads, “Patent corruption, malfeasance of public funds and a politico-bureaucratic-contractor nexus in the purchase of coffins, gloves, woollen socks, boots, jackets, arms and ammunition during Operation Vijay (in May/June, 1999) stand unabashedly exposed before the people of India. Undoubtedly, Mr George Fernandes as Defence Minister has been at the centrestage of this shameful scam involving corruption even in the purchase of coffins meant to carry the bodies of our martyrs from Kargil.’’ |
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Mazdoor
sangh to meet Kalam on ruling on strikes New Delhi, August 10 The sangh has appealed to the President to refer the ruling on right to strike to the Constitution Bench for opinion and relief. Employees would lose their fundamental right to withhold their labour for a while when no other way to seek justice is left, it said. The sangh would also seek an appointment with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to request him to protect the right of the government employees through a legislation allowing strikes.
— PTI |
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Online rail reservation a big hit
New Delhi, August 10 In a bid to further improve the online reservation, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTRC) is planning to make available the reservation through mobile phones. Talks are on with major cellular companies in this regard, IRCTRC Managing Director M.N. Chopra told UNI. Heralding a new era of e-booking in the Railways, the Internet railway reservation has caught the fancy of consumers in a big way, registering a volume of 60,000 tickets per month. With a publicity campaign being launched in many countries and a slew of schemes in the offing, the Indian Railways are looking forward to touch the figure of 100,000 online reservations per month by the end of this calendar year, Mr Chopra said. IRCTRC, the marketing arm of the Railways, which launched the online reservation facility on an experimental basis in August last year, was upbeat on its success. It was now planning to extend this facility on mobile network, which was sure to revolutionise the reservation system of the Indian Railways to bring it on a par with any other such system in the world, Mr Chopra said. “Yes, the response has been overwhelming and it encouraged us to expand it further with more schemes and more ideas,’’ Mr Chopra said. The IRCTC MD said the facility was already available at 62 railway stations in the country and was being extended to other stations as well. Some of the stations having online reservation facility included Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Kochi, Calicut, Patna, Agra, Ahmedabad and Indore. Through this facility, the tickets are delivered at the given address by courier and payments are done through credit cards though the amendment in the payment structure is mooted. He said a massive publicity campaign had been planned through Indian tourism offices abroad to woo foreign tourists. About 4000 foreign tourists had availed this opportunity so far and the number would go up considerably if the facility is publicised properly, he said. A leaflet saying “Visiting India, Indian Railways now host Online Reservations at www.irctc.co.in” is being made available for display at tourism offices abroad. Quite satisfied with the growth of this facility, Mr Chopra said even the number of queries coming in from within the country and abroad were encouraging.
— UNI |
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Goa Express derails Pune, August 10 There was no casualty in the mishap which took place near Adarki around 1.50 am when the train, coming from Goa, crossed a ghat section, Central Railway PRO Suhas Lohkare said. The derailed coaches were detached and the train resumed its journey.
Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express and Maharahstra Express were running behind schedule.
— PTI |
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Janaki’s pet dog to live
Purnia (Bihar), August 10 The administration of Bihar’s Purnia district has reversed its decision to kill the dog. The SDO, Mr Jitendra Prasad, had on July 22 ordered the execution of the dog without delay after hearing its owner and complainants of the Shiv Mandir locality. The District Magistrate, Mr Pankaj Kumar, said today that he had received numerous calls from animal right activists, including Ms Maneka Gandhi, asking him to save the dog from death. If the dog was found to have become dangerous enough, it should be banished to some animal home, callers suggested. “Acting on the advice, I suggested the SDO to amend his order and send the dog to some animal home early this week”, the District Magistrate said. Octogenarian Janaki Devi, whose pet dog was sentenced to death by a Subdivisional Officer last month following public outcry over its “biting tendency’’, is begging for clemency saying that being a widow, it is her only companion and protector. The judgement, passed by Purnia SDO Jitendra Prasad, has itself come in for criticism from legal experts. They are of the view that no law permits an SDO to pass an order of capital punishment on any pet animal, including a dog. The SDO had taken the decision after hearing both parties over complaints made by local people. The SDO directed the local municipal authorities and the police to kill the dog and execute the order without delay. The administration found itself in a catch-22 situation when it went to execute the court’s order. Janaki refused to part with the dog and allow the sentence to be carried out. She informed the administrative authorities that the pet was like a family member to her and it would be difficult for her to be separated from it. She also submitted that if the dog was killed, she would be left with no one to protect her from miscreants who were bent upon grabbing her property.
— UNI, PTI
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Nar Bahadur Bhandari is Sikkim Cong chief New Delhi, August 10 According to a statement issued by the All India Congress Committee here on Sunday, Mr Namkha Gyaltsan has been appointed Working President of the SPCC. |
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Boy tonsured, paraded naked Bhadohi, August 10 Fifteen-year-old Pam Prakash Pali, a grade nine student, said he unknowingly put an extra book in his bag after buying one from the bookshop. The SHO of the Gopiganj police station, however, claimed that it was a “normal incident and if required would be taken notice of.” But, the boy said the police was threatening him and had refused to lodge his complaint.
— UNI |
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