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Tuesday,
September 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak not
reciprocating PM’s initiative, says Advani
Cong for revision plea against
Advani’s discharge 2 Cong nominees elected to
Rajya Sabha Maya takes up
reins of BSP Witness in
Shivani case turns hostile |
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Two more
mountaineers missing Dehra Dun, September 22 Even as the search operation for recovering the bodies of two of the nine mountaineers who were killed in an avalanche after climbing Panchachuli peak in Pithoragarh district continued today, two more mountaineers from Kolkata are missing at Kedardom peak in Uttarkashi district, official sources said.
Suspended
employee must follow service rules, says SC DRDO chief to
visit Israel Walker’s visit
to boost Indo-UK defence ties FBI gives clues about Chandraswami’s links with terrorists Shiromani Award
for O.P. Verma Jethmalani’s
wife dead
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Pak not reciprocating PM’s initiative, says Advani New Delhi, September 22 "Pakistan has not responded in equal terms to the Prime Minister’s initiative. The proxy war is continuing as before and infiltration from across the border is on," Mr Advani said while inaugurating the Border Security Force’s XXXI annual training conference. Stating that terrorism was the greatest challenge to democracy, the Deputy Prime Minister said the NDA government was taking all possible steps to root out the menace. Complimenting the BSF for its recent operational achievement of eliminating the JeM operational commander in India Ghazi Baba, Mr Advani said the success was not accidental, but was the result of intelligent planning and meticulous execution. "It was an exemplary achievement on the part of the BSF. The entire credit for this operation goes to the BSF," he said, in the presence of BSF Director-General Ajai Raj Sharma. Referring to the long-standing demand of the BSF for an increase in strength, Mr Advani said the deficiencies pointed out by the BSF chief with regard to the training aspects as also about lack of teachers and trainers in the training institutions would be removed and the recommendations of the Group of Ministers in this regard would be implemented at an early date. He supported the proposal of Mr Sharma that on the pattern of the National Defence Academy, BSF officers could be inducted immediately after the senior secondary level and could be offered education upto the graduation level free of cost for six terms or three years. These officials could then undergo the commando course at a young age, he added Mr Advani, favoured the implementation of such a scheme for all paramilitary forces. The BSF Director-General said the excellent operational achievements of the BSF in Srinagar were indicative of the training standards of the organisation. Training of officers and men in course on nuclear, biological and chemical warfare with Army training institutions had been initiated, he said. Mr Sharma said the modernisation of the force was on the right course and the BSF was procuring modern firearm training simulators and other high-quality equipment for improving fire power. He, regretted that the collective training for six weeks once a year for the existing companies had suffered a setback and the percentage of those undergoing training had been going down each year, from 61 per cent in 2000-2001 to 53 per cent in 2002-2003. Mr Sharma demanded the sanctioning of 22 more reserve battalions due to shortage of staff. |
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Cong for revision plea against
Advani’s discharge New Delhi, September 22 Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said the legal department of the party was studying the judgement of the Special Rae Bareli court in detail. “It is surprising that Mr Advani was discharged while his colleagues are to be tried. All the accused were facing the same charges. It seems there is a deficiency somewhere,” he said. The spokesman said there were doubts in the minds of people which had to be removed. Asked if the party could boycott Mr Advani as it had been demanding his and HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi’s resignation, Mr Sharma said the party would decide its course of action during the next session of Parliament. He hoped that both the CBI and the state government would take appropriate steps in the case. Asked about the reported remarks of UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav about the case being with the CBI and the state government not having any role in it, Mr Sharma said the party had hope that a revision petition would be filed. “We are watching what the CBI and the government are doing,” he said. He said the ongoing debate in the BJP over the resignation of Mr Joshi was aimed at deflecting attention from the main issue. Mr Sharma welcomed the court judgement in the Staines murder case, saying that the court had taken a judicious view. In reply to a question, he said “acts of the Sangh Parivar were gradually coming before people.” |
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2 Cong nominees elected to Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, September 22 PCC chief V. Narayanaswamy was elected from the lone seat in the Union Territory of Pondicherry and Ms Kamla Manhar from the solitary seat in Chhattisgarh as theirs were the only nominations filed for the biennial poll. The deadline for the withdrawal of nominations drew to a close this evening. The Rajya Sabha poll in Chhattisgarh was necessitated following the death of Bhagat Ram Manhar on June 19. The poll in Pondicherry took place as the term of the DMK’s C.P. Tirunavukarasu ends on October 6.
— PTI |
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Maya takes up reins of BSP New Delhi, September 22 Ms Mayawati, till now general secretary, was unanimously elected the national president of the BSP on September 18 at a meeting of the party’s central general body, a party statement said. She addressed public meetings in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the past 10 days. Mr Kanshi Ram, who has not been keeping well for the past few months, had decided to make Ms Mayawati the party president. The decision to convene the meeting to elect BSP’s national president was taken by the central executive committee of the party which met under the chairmanship of Mr Kanshi Ram on August 24 at Lucknow. |
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Witness in Shivani case turns hostile
New Delhi, September 22 Mr Suresh Kumar Kukreja, a family friend of Sharma, who had earlier "admitted" that he had given his mobile phone bearing the number 9822028128 to Sharma during the latter’s stay in Pune in January, 1999, today denied that he had given it to the IPS officer. “I never gave my mobile to R.K. Sharma at any point of time,” Mr Kukreja told Additional Sessions Judge J.M. Malik, adding that he had given the earlier statement under pressure. He indicated that he had only parroted before the Magistrate what the police had tutored him to do. According to the prosecution, Sharma had used this phone to keep in touch with the co-accused in the case. Mr Kukreja’s version is in sharp contrast to what he stated before a Magistrate in October last while recording his statement under Section 164 of the Cr PC. Mr Kukreja, a businessman, had then told the Magistrate that Sharma had borrowed his mobile phone during a trip to Pune in January, 1999. Later, Sharma sent him the SIM card of the mobile to his residence in Delhi from Mumbai which he received on January 25, 1999, he had said, adding that Sharma, had not returned the instrument. Departing from that statement today, he said in court that he had handed over the instrument without its SIM card for repairs as it had been malfunctioning. A fire had gutted the shop where it was given, burning his mobile phone in the process, he said. For the loss caused, the shopkeeper had given him a cheque for Rs 5,000, Mr Kukreja said. He denied suggestions that the story had been cooked up. The shopkeeper had also given him a receipt for the compensation given, the witness said, adding that he had shown this to Crime Branch officials.
— PTI |
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Dehra Dun, September 22 The two members — Arijit Banerjee and Tusharendu Kabi of Airit Mountaineering Federation — went missing after successfully climbing the Kedardom peak (6830 mt), the sources said. Police and ITBP teams have launched a search and rescue operation in this regard along with local porters. The nine-member expedition from Kolkata was flagged off on September 5 to scale Kedarom. On September 17, they successfully climbed the peak and while returning to the base camp, they were trapped when a patch of snow suddenly cracked. While seven members of the team came back to the base camp safely, Banerjee (35) and Kabi (22) were missing.
— PTI |
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Rajasthan Governor dead
Jaipur, September 22 Jain leaves behind his wife, a son and three daughters. The body was taken to his home town of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in a special BSF plane where the cremation was performed with full state honours this evening. A public holiday was declared in government offices in Rajasthan for the day while a day’s mourning was announced in Madhya Pradesh. Consequent to his death, Gujarat Governor Kailashpati Mishra was asked to discharge the functions of Rajasthan Governor in addition to his own duties.
— PTI, UNI |
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Suspended employee must follow service rules, says SC New Delhi, September 22 The view taken by the courts decreeing the suit (of head constable Charanjit Singh) that since he was under suspension, he was not required to take leave, is erroneous, a Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice V. N. Khare and Mr Justice S. B. Sinha said. Allowing the Punjab Government’s special leave petition against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order rejecting state’s appeal against the lower court order decreeing the suit in favour of Charanjit Singh, the apex court said his stand that he was not required to take leave since he was under suspension was also “erroneous”. The court said the order of suspension issued by the SP, Patiala, on November 24, 1984 against Charanjit Singh had stated that he “shall” remain present in the Police Lines, “will” attend all roll calls, parades and not leave the station without prior permission. “For this reason, we find that the appeal (by Punjab Government) deserves to succeed, the order of the High Court is set aside and the suit filed by the respondent (Charanjit Singh) in the trial court shall stand dismissed,” the court said. The Punjab police had said that Charanjit Singh, while under suspension, had abstained from duty thrice without taking leave. An inquiry into his conduct was held by a departmental disciplinary committee, which found him guilty of violating the service rules. Following this, he was dismissed from service in April 1985, against which he filed a suit in the civil court. The civil judge had decreed the suit in his favour, saying, “It would appear that the period of absence of the plaintiff (Charanjit Singh) having been treated as period spent on leave without pay,
charging for which he was proceeded against departmentally is knocked out.” The apex court, however, gave liberty to Charanjit Singh to give representation to the state government about treating his dismissal as compulsory retirement in view of the conflicting stand taken during the hearing of the appeal by Punjab’s counsel on the issue. “We are of the opinion that in the fitness of the matter, the appellants (government) may consider his representation,” the Bench said. |
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DRDO chief to visit Israel New Delhi, September 22 More importantly, the issues on his agenda during the talks with his Israeli counterparts will be closer cooperation with Tel Aviv on a nuclear-powered submarine, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and missiles. The dates for the visit were, however, still to be finalised. During the September 9-11 India visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Tel Aviv had expressed its willingness to work closely with New Delhi in the key areas of defence and security. The focus of Tel Aviv’s proposed cooperation will be production of submarines which will be of strategic importance to both countries. Missiles will be another field where India and Israel plan to come together in a big way as during Mr Sharon’s visit here, the Israelis had placed on record their appreciation for India’s strides in the fields of missile development. “The fact that India and Israel are going to cooperate in a big way in such sensitive areas shows the depth of the strategic ties which have developed between the two countries over the past few years,” a senior official of the Ministry of Defence told The Tribune. The upcoming visit of DRDO officials to Israel is being seen in the defence circles here as a follow-up on negotiations the Israeli delegation, led by their Defence Ministry’s exports chief, Major-General Amos Mayer, held here recently. Israeli cooperation with India on the missile programme will give a much-needed boost to the Indian missile programme which has been hit by time overrun and technology denial. Sources in the Ministry of Defence indicated that the Israeli assistance could be in such fields as short-range missiles like the sea-skimming ‘Dhanush’ as well as longer-range missiles like the 3000-km-range ‘Agni III’ which is waiting to be test-fired. The short-range missiles are slated to be ready for induction to a new Innertial Navigation System (INS). The two countries are also likely to have a joint collaboration to revive the extremely complex multi-target surface-to-air missile. India uses the strap-down INS guidance, which is said to be unsuitable for long-range missiles as it could lead to inaccuracies. Besides, the revival of the indigenous surface-to-air ‘Trishul’ missile could also figure in the DRDO delegation’s talks in Tel Aviv. This missile has been on the back-burner following technological denial and failure in a number of test-firings. The missile is being developed for both surface to air and naval applications. |
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Walker’s visit to boost Indo-UK defence ties New Delhi, September 22 According to a spokesperson of the UK High Commission, this is General Walker's first overseas visit since taking over as the CDS in May last. During his four-day visit here, he will call on Defence Minister George Fernandes, General N.C.
Vij, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, Admiral Madhvendera Singh and Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad and will meet other senior Defence Ministry officials. He will also visit a number of units in Jammu and Kashmir, Agra and
Gwalior. This will be the first high-level visit here by a British defence officer after New Delhi announced its intention to buy the Hawk
AJTs. According to reports here, General Walker will take up the full range of ongoing bilateral defence initiatives during his discussions with the Service Chiefs. These will include joint training exercises since the armed forces of the two countries have undertaken a number of joint exercises in the past one year. While three Royal Navy ships have visited India this year to maintain professional contact between the two navies, the fourth, HMS Kent, is due to visit Mumbai in November for a short exercise. A joint deployment command post exercise is planned for spring next year in India, following Indian attendance at a joint operation planning course in the UK in August this year. He will also discuss existing annual bilateral exchanges of cadets and students at defence colleges and staff colleges. Further exchange initiatives are planned to include exercise observers, exercise controllers, mountain and jungle warfare specialists and training instructors. The UK also plans to run courses in India, or neighbouring countries, with Indian participation, on the planning of joint operations, peacekeeping, defence management, maritime history and disaster management. A broad range of bilateral defence equipment matters will also be discussed during the visit. This is the latest in a series of high-level British military visits to India. Following the visits of the British Foreign Minister and CDS last summer, India entertained the Chief of the Air Staff in November 2002, and Minister for Defence Procurement in February, 2003. The British Chief of Naval Staff is expected to be here later this year and the Chief of General Staff in 2004. The General will be accompanied by Lady Walker, whose grandfather served in the Skinner's Horse cavalry unit of the British Indian Army. |
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FBI gives clues about Chandraswami’s links with terrorists
New Delhi, September 22 Intelligence sources said today that the FBI provided the information secretly to the CBI, which is under the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Committee, probing the conspiracy aspect of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. Last week, the committee had questioned the controversial tantrik-turned-godman about his knowledge of the conspiracy and his possible involvement in the case. The sources said the CBI had sent letters rogatory to 23 countries, but only a few countries had responded to it. The information provided by the USA through the FBI indicated certain financial dealings between Chandraswami and terrorist
groups. — UNI |
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Shiromani Award for O.P. Verma New Delhi, September 22 The recipients were the Governor of Punjab, Justice O.P. Verma in the filed of judiciary, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr RA Mashelkar. Speaking at the award ceremony held at Kapurthala House, the founder general-secretary, Mr Jagmohan Singh, said the recipients were chosen on the basis of merit and commitment to national progress and human welfare. |
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New Delhi, September 22 Mrs Ratna, who was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital after she fell and sustained injuries in the hip sometime back, went into coma a few days ago. Her husband was on her side when the end came at 0630 hours in the hospital. Mr Ram Jethmalani had postponed his birthday celebrations last week owing to her hospitalisation.
— PTI |
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