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Sunday,
September 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Reservation
for SC, ST in LS challenged Sonia
charges NDA with betraying people Assassination
of Rajiv due to security lapse, says ex-CBI chief Basu
unhappy over Karat’s opposition to Cong |
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Sukhois
on staggered flying schedule Haryana
to set up expressway with Malaysian help Find
scientific ways to immerse Ganesha idols, HC tells board ‘Chokher
Bali’ heads for Toronto, Chicago, London
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Reservation for SC, ST in LS challenged New Delhi, September 6 A Bench comprising the Chief Justice Mr V.N. Khare, and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha said since the matter involved an important question of law, it had to be decided by a Constitution Bench. Three persons from the Rajasthan’s Tonk Parliamentary constituency, including a Muslim, have challenged the extension in the reservation on the ground that it had been depriving them from contesting the election either to the Vidhan Sabha or the Lok Sabha for the past several years. “This had a direct effect on their democratic right because it not only deprived a citizen from standing as a candidate for the election either to the Lok Sabha or the Vidhan Sabha or elect a representative of his choice,” Mirza Rafiullah Baig, Bahadur Mal Jain and Ashok Kumar Jain in their joint PIL said. Seeking to strike down the amendment, the petitioners said it was against the basic feature of the Constitution which had provided that the reservation facility should remain only till January 26, 1960, but it had since been extended five times for 10 years each by amending the Constitution. Also seeking striking down of the government’s notification issued under the Delimitation Act and the Representation of People’s Act permitting reservation of seats to SC and ST candidates, the PIL said “The provision is also contrary to the norms set out by the International Covenant on Civil and political rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December, 1966, and enforced since March, 1976.” Stating that 120 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,080 out of 4,091 in the state Assemblies were cornered by the SC and ST candidates, people outside these castes had been deprived of their democratic rights to contest elections in these constituencies during the past 50 years. Making their point more elaborate, the petitioners said in 120 Lok Sabha seats reserved for the SC and ST candidates, the population of these communities as per the 1991 Census was only over 4 crore out of a total of 22 crore. This would mean that nearly 18 crore people had been deprived of their right to contest elections in these constituencies since independence, they pointed out. |
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Sonia charges NDA with betraying people Alwar, September 6 “The BJP and its allies made promises in the 1999 poll that they would provide a clean government, give employment to one crore people and make society free from fear and hunger, but none of these was fulfilled”, Ms Gandhi said at a public meeting here. “Instead of doing something for the good of the people, the NDA government is spreading hatred by pitching communities against each other”, she alleged. Referring to the Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion against the Vajpayee government in the Lok Sabha, the Congress President said in a democracy, the opposition had every right to raise questions against the government. Ms Gandhi also charged the NDA government with not extending adequate assistance to Congress-ruled states. Earlier, she unveiled a statue of Rajiv Gandhi and inaugurated an OPD ward at the general hospital here. Referring to the role played by the late Prime Minister, she said the country would have made great progress had he lived today. “The late Prime Minister had always stood for the welfare of the poorer sections of society and it was owing to his efforts that more than one million women and Dalits had got representation in Panchayati Raj bodies,” she said. Praising the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, Ms Gandhi said like other Congress governments, it had fulfilled its election promises and had handled the drought very well. “The drought could have been handled better had the Centre provided more help to the state on time. The state government did whatever possible in the hour of crisis,” she added. Ms Gandhi also congratulated the people for the good monsoon and hoped that there would be happiness all around now.
— PTI, UNI |
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Assassination
of Rajiv due to security lapse, says ex-CBI chief New Delhi, September 6 He was answering a question during an interview for the programme ‘Vir Ke
Teer’ on Star News which will be telecast on September 7 at 10 p.m. focussing on political assassinations. In another interview, People’s Conference Chairman Saijad Lone, son of Abdul Gani Lone, blamed a former and the present Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, for not conducting a proper inquiry into the killing of his father. The weekly programme, covering major political assassinations in independent India, refers to the killings of various people including Mahatma Gandhi, Pratap Singh
Kairon, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal and Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi. Others whose killings have been covered in the programme include Haren
Pandya, Rustom Sohrab Nagarwala, Shyama Prasad Mukherji and Lalit Narain Mishra.
— UNI |
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Basu unhappy over Karat’s opposition to Cong Kolkata, September 6 Mr Basu, it is learnt, has conveyed his resentment in this regard to the party General Secretary, Mr H.S. Surjeet, in Delhi while talking to him over the phone on Thursday. The former Bengal Chief Minister is unhappy that while he had been campaigning for the past few days for supporting the Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and the state elections against the BJP, Mr Prakash Karat, another politburo member, was against supporting the Congress. Incidentally, Mr Karat at a public meeting in Chennai on Wednesday had opposed the decision of supporting the Congress, when Mr Basu at another meeting at Asansol, the same day declared that they would support the Congress against the BJP. Mr Basu last week also stated that he would welcome Ms Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister in place of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, heading a BJP-led government at the Centre. The Marxist leader said the issue of supporting Ms Gandhi had been discussed at the politburo and the central committee meetings recently, where it was decided that they would support the Congress. The veteran leader pleaded that in the country’s changing political situation, the CPM and other Left parties should stand on the same platform with the Congress against the BJP for the larger interest of the nation. |
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Sukhois
on staggered flying schedule New Delhi, September 6 The Lohegaon (Pune)-based Hunting Hawk squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF), which has the first batch of the SU-30K combat aircraft, will now observe a conserved flying schedule as just about 300 hours of the 1,000 hours of the “air frame” flying time is left. The conserved flying time schedule will also be observed as there still is time for these Sukhois to go for an upgrade to SU-30MKI level, being specially manufactured by the Russians for India. The SU-30K combat aircraft are to go in for an upgrade by the end of 2004. Officially, the IAF is not ready to say anything to media reports that the Sukhois have been ‘effectively’ grounded. IAF spokesman Squadron Leader Mahesh Upasni said an official reaction would be available on Monday. However, reports said the IAF was working towards advancing the schedule for the upgrading of the SU-30K aircraft so that this control over flying could be lifted. The IAF had approached the Russian manufacturers for this, but was still to get any confirmed reply. The problem apparently exists with the first batch of the 28 SU-30K aircraft which India had started receiving from 1997-98. India recently also started receiving the upgraded version of Sukhois, the SU-30MKI, and till now, 10 had arrived. According to reports, the engines of the SU-30Ks have developed some “nicks” in the blades, which need replacement of parts. The IAF is hoping that the servicing schedule for the aircrafts will be advanced and the problem sorted out effectively. |
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Haryana
to set up expressway with Malaysian help New Delhi, September 6 This was discussed at a meeting held here last evening between the Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and Malaysian Minister of Works Dato Seri S. Samy Vellu. The Malaysian team would submit a detailed proposal to the state government and start work on the project immediately. The express way would connect national highways 1, 10, 8 and 2 that pass through Haryana. This would also serve as a major artery for traffic from western and southern India to Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Vellu suggested that it would be better and economical to go in for a six-lane express way right from the beginning rather than build a four-lane express way and later on upgrade it to six lane. Mr Chautala said the project would directly help in the promotion of rapid economic activity and ensure smooth flow of goods all over the country. |
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Find scientific ways to immerse Ganesha idols, HC tells board Chennai, September 6 A division Bench, comprising Mr Chief Justice B. Subhashan Reddy and Mr Justice A. Kulasekaran, gave the suggestion yesterday while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate V Elangovan, seeking to forebear the authorities from permitting any organisation to take out procession carrying large size idols of Lord Ganesha made of plaster of Paris and other chemicals and immerse them in sea, rivers and other water sources in the state.
— UNI |
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‘Chokher Bali’ heads for Toronto, Chicago, London
Kolkata, September 6 After the Locarno Film Festival in August last, the film has been invited to participate in several high-profile film festivals around the world, including at Toronto, where it is being shown in the masters category, and Chicago, where it is featuring in the competitive section. “Chokher Bali” has also been invited to the London Festival during the third week of October tentatively, according to sources in the film’s production company. Even as the Locarno jury commended the film, reviewers were unequivocal in their praise for Rituparno’s “sensitive” direction and the performances of Aishwarya Rai and Raima Sen. Dan Fainaru of Screen Daily had said, “Rai’s masterful control over her part, which runs from meek devotion to outright rebellion, is spot on, making for a deeply felt and moving performance. Sen’s ‘Asha’ is not far behind.” “‘Chokher Bali’, a slow burning, dialogue-driven but still highly cinematic drama lit by a radiant performance from Hindi megastar Aishwarya Rai,” Derek Flley of Variety wrote. Steve Gravestock of Toronto International film festival said, “Beautifully directed and acted, most notably by ‘Devdas’ heroine Aishwarya, who gives a truly layered and touching performance as Binodini, ‘Chokher Bali’ features a recurring signature shot that should go down in the annals of Indian cinema”. The look of the film, the setting, the ambience and the performance have been praised. The film has been described as beautifully shot in dark, reddish hues, mostly in interiors, lavishly designed and featuring stellar performances by Aishwarya Rai and Raima Sen in the two title roles in the film. Representatives of Miramax, the global distributors renowned for their state of the art theatres, spotted the film at Locarno and indicated immediate interest, the sources said. The film has also attracted the attention of Cinema Vault, whose criteria for inclusion are equally stringent. Negotiations for world-wide distribution negotiations are currently in progress. “Chokher Bali’s” release in India is scheduled for October 2.
— UNI |
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