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Monday,
September 8, 2003, Chandigarh, India 
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Naga sadhus boycott shahi snan
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BJP rules out alliance with BSP BSP moves
SC for dissolution
of Assembly Israeli PM Sharon arrives today
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SC wants Centre’s reply on NPAs Emplaned Ajit Singh has
narrow escape Brahmins demand ordinance on reservation
before poll Badal, Tohra meet Advani Murasoli Maran’s condition okay, says Karunanidhi
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Naga sadhus boycott shahi snan Trimbakeshwar, September 7 Mahants and sadhus belonging to Avahan, Agni, Anand, Niranjani, Mahanirwani and Atal akhadas took the royal bath between 4.00 am and 5.35 am in the sacred pond after which it was kept reserved for Vaishanav sadhus till 8.00 am. The mahants arrived for the royal bath carrying their
`nishan’ (symbols) in a procession dotted with silver maces with beautiful carvings, silver pallanquins mounted on cars or car roofs, spears with silver rods and also golden idols of their favourite gods. Chanting `Bam Bam Bhole’ and
`Har Har Mahadev’, the Naga sadhus smeared in ash and wearing flower garlands took the holy dip and offered prayers to Lord Shiva in the ancient Trimbakeshwar temple, which houses one of the 12 ‘jyotirlingas’. However, the procession by sadhus was simple and without music and other instruments as a mark of respect to the victims of stampede incident at Nashik on August 27. —
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BJP rules out alliance with BSP Mirzapur, September 7 The Union Agriculture Minister and senior BJP leader, Mr Rajnath Singh, today said the party had decided against any future understanding with the BSP. Addressing newspersons here, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister observed that the BSP Vice-President, Ms Mayawati, should realise that in a democracy a political leader could not stay at the helm of power with vanity and pursue vandetta. On the agricultural front, Mr Singh said the government would soon announce the support price for rabi crops before the sowing season. “Now the farmer can procure a tractor on similar terms as other vehicles, like cars, while the government is also contemplating giving subsidy on small tractors,” he claimed. The government was also planning to insure against the market and support prices of crops and offer 75 per cent subsidy on the premium so that farmers were assured of the market price of their produce. Talks are underway between insurance companies and the government and an early decision was expected, he added. The BJP leader claimed the NDA government had reduced the agricultural interest rates from 14 to 18 per cent to under 9 per cent, which he said was a big achievement of the current government. Mr Singh later took part in a function organised by the local BJP unit. —
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BSP moves SC for dissolution
of Assembly New Delhi, September 7 “I have filed a writ petition in the apex court praying that the state Assembly be dissolved because the decision taken by the Governor, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, asking Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to form the government is an unconstitutional act,” Mr Alvi said here. The BSP leader said under Article 174 of the Constitution, the Governor was bound to act in accordance with the advice of the council of ministers. The Mayawati ministry had asked the Governor to dissolve the House, he said. |
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Israeli PM Sharon arrives today New Delhi, September 7 Significantly, New Delhi will be rolling out a red carpet for the first Israeli premier to visit this country on the eve of the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the USA . Though no defence agreement will be signed during the path-breaking visit, the two countries will certainly discuss enhancing cooperation in defence and counter-terrorism, Indian officials said. The two countries are set to sign six agreements and a joint statement after Mr Sharon’s delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Tuesday. The six accords relate to environmental protection; combating psychotropic and illicit drugs and narcotics; visa-free travel for diplomats, health and medicine; and cooperation in education and in culture. Mr Sharon is being accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and businessmen on his much-awaited visit to India. The three Cabinet ministers in the delegation are: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Mr Yosef Lapid, the Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, Mrs Limor Livnat, and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Yisrael Katz. Mr Sharon will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday morning, followed by his visit to ‘Rajghat’, the ‘samadhi’ of Mahatma Gandhi. He is scheduled to have meetings with the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and the External Affairs Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha. In the evening, he will have delegation level talks with Mr Vajpayee, followed by the signing of the agreements. Mr Sharon and his delegation will be in Mumbai on September 11, where the Israeli premier will address a business meeting to be hosted by the CII. He will also meet members of the Jewish community before leaving for Tel Aviv in the night. In view of his visit being opposed by a section of the intelligensia and certain political parties, Mr Sharon, who has been under continued threat from international terrorist organisations like Hamas and
Al-Qaeda, will be provided a multi-layered security cover during his visit. —
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SC wants Centre’s reply on NPAs New Delhi, September 7 The government has estimated the NPAs to be about Rs 1,00,000 that was advanced as loans to thousands of companies by various nationalised banks over the past several decades. A Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India, Mr V.N. Khare, and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha, directed the government to submit its reply within four weeks. An NGO — Common Cause — had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue. The court on April 28 had directed the government to take into consideration suggestions given by Common Cause. One of the suggestions was that the government should make a provision for mandatory filing of affidavits by directors of the companies seeking loans saying whether or not they had been directors in a defaulting company earlier. The affidavits should also contain details of the personal assets of the directors concerned, says the NGO. The government has now said that the companies have “completely ruled this out”. It was found by the Government that most directors had “siphoned” out money from the company accounts to their personal accounts. Though the Reserve Bank of India had issued guidelines to the banks on advancing loans, in the absence of monitoring, the rules continued to be violated. The petitioner alleged that a loan of Rs 100 crore had recently been sanctioned to a major company for a power project on the intervention of politicians. |
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Emplaned Ajit Singh has
narrow escape New Delhi, September 7 Besides Mr Ajit Singh, a cameraman of a private television company and two crew members were also in the plane. They were all safe, the Additional DCP said. He said the former minister and others were coming from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and the aircraft had landed at runway number 10 at 5.30 p.m. when the incident took place. There was no disruption of air traffic as alternative runways were put to use immediately, he said. |
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Brahmins demand ordinance on reservation Jaipur, September 7 Neither the next session of Parliament could be commenced for a constitutional amendment so early, nor a committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani could adopt a constructive approach, hence the ordinance will ensure acceptance of Brahmins’ demands, mahasabha president B.L. Sharma, Congress MLA, said at a rally here at Amroodon-ka-bagh. “If the Congress does not support the Bill in Parliament, the Brahmin Congress MLAs will discontinue their relations with the party,” he said. About 42 lakh Brahmins should vote only for their candidates irrespective of the party affiliations, he added. The state Education Minister, Dr B.D. Kalla, said his government had recommended 14 per cent reservation to poor among forward classes, and if the Brahmin Mahasabha proposed any further resolution, the Gehlot government would consider that. Senior BJP leader G.S. Tiwari asked the Vajpayee government to accord Brahmins reservation on the basis of economically backward communities on a par with the OBCs. Both the Congress and the BJP should get cleared a
constitutional amendment after the recommendation of the Advani committee, he said, adding that there should be unity among Brahmin sub-castes so that their voice could be heard. The rally was attended by MLAs and senior leaders cutting across party lines. —
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Badal, Tohra meet Advani New Delhi, September 7 While officially Mr Tohra, after a 30-minute meeting, said that the Centre was considering to send a jatha of Sikh pilgrims to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan, it is understood that the three leaders discussed various issues, including “false cases” against Akali leaders and workers by the Punjab Government and the coming Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where Sikh votes can play a crucial role. Mr Tohra along with Mr Badal told newspersons that the jatha would comprise about 500 pilgrims. They alleged that the Punjab Vigilance Department was in particular targeting party workers in Punjab where, they said, the law and order situation had also deteriorated. Sources said Delhi BJP chief Madanlal Khurana, who had been in touch with the Akali Dal leaders, was instrumental in arranging a meeting of prominent Sikh leaders with Mr Advani. Since Sikh votes are important for the BJP not only in the Delhi Assembly elections but also in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Mr Khurana has been impressing on the party high command that some visible steps need to be taken by the Centre. A signal about the visit of a jatha to Pakistan is one such step but sources said it was very difficult, particularly in the background of the present Indo-Pak ties. Islamabad may be willing to grant permission as such a gesture from Pakistani military leadership may camouflage its real intentions but whether the Vajpayee government will like to accept it is another question, sources pointed out. |
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Murasoli Maran’s condition okay, says Karunanidhi Chennai, September 7 “He is okay,” Mr Karunanidhi, who is Maran’s uncle, told reporters at Apollo Hospital here after visiting the ailing Maran, who arrived here in the wee hours from a hospital in Houston in the USA where he had spent nearly 10 months. When asked what prompted Maran to be brought to Apollo Hospital, after it was stated that he would be taken to Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital (SRMC), the DMK leader said, “Due to lack of facilities we directed that Maran be brought down here”. When reminded that he had complained about the medical treatment given to the Union Minister at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and Apollo Hospital and demanded an inquiry, Mr Karunanidhi said immediately after he had complained Apollo Hospital furnished a detailed explanation which satisfied him. Mr Karunanidhi, who was accompanied to the hospital by Union Ministers T.R. Baalu and A Raja, spent about 15 minutes with Maran’s family members and also enquired from the doctors about the health of the ailing minister. —
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