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Friday,
October
3, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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NDA allies may form forum to Cong high command puts on thinking cap HC refuses to stay order on rallies Gandhi, Shastri remembered
Top govt officer held in Army recruitment scam |
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Singhal warns against ban on Ayodhya march Erstwhile Soviet envoy dead
Mulayam to expand ministry today CBI questions Madhumita kin Shekhar
doing well Akalis to petition NHRC today
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NDA allies may form forum to ‘check’ BJP New Delhi, October 2 NDA sources said an initial round of talk with other alliance partners had evoked positive response and a formal meeting of party leaders could be expected soon after working out the broad modalities. The need for a forum had been felt mainly by the smaller parties, who felt that their voice was being pushed aside by the dominant players. Further, the BJP chose its alliance partner to its advantage even though it hurt the political interest of another parties in the coalition. The sources pointed out to the open support sought from the AIADMK even though it directly hurt the political base of DMK. The saffron party’s action had put the Dravidan party in a quandary. Although for most of the NDA allies, the Congress was the main Opposition party in the state, sources said they would not like the BJP to take advantage of this fact and merely use them for its numerical strength. While in the states, the BJP had to depend on these regional parties, the situation underwent dramatic change at the Centre. In this context, sources pointed out to the situation in Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. Regional parties with higher representation took advantage of their numerical strength in the Lok Sabha and were able to get their ‘work’ done, while smaller regional parties found themselves in a Catch-22 situation. Considering the fact that the next Lok Sabha polls would turn out to be a contest between the NDA allies and the Congress partners, sources said they would like to form a forum, which would protect the interests of the alliance partners. The forum, however, would not interfere on the number of seats to be shared between a regional party and the BJP in respective states. However, it would be actively involved in the post poll scenario, where it would negotiate with the BJP and protect the interests of alliance partners. The forum would be headed on a rotational basis and would en masse extend support or otherwise to the BJP. The move assumed significance in view of the proposed amendment to the Anti-Defection Law, which would disqualify parliamentary membership, if anybody defected to another party. With the general elections scheduled to be held next year, the political parties were assessing their strengths and the ways to consolidate their position and be on the driving seats by learning lessons from the 13th Lok Sabha. |
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Cong high command puts on thinking cap New Delhi, October 2 In at least Chattisgarh and Kerala, intense factionalism and intra-party squabbles have compelled the Congress high command to put on its thinking cap while in Maharashtra serious cracks have developed in the Congress-Nationalist Congress party (NCP) coalition government. The loss of the Lok Sabha by-elections from Ernakulam (Kerala) and Solapur (Maharashtra) coupled with the threat of a forgery case being slapped on Mr Jogi in Chattisgarh, where Assembly elections are due next month, has compelled the three chief ministers to adopt a posture of defiance. Expectedly, the Congress high command is watching the situation, even as Mr Jogi has maintained that he will lead the party in the upcoming elections in Chattisgarh. He has accused senior leaders in the party of queering the pitch for him and has quickly put together a minuscule grouping, demanding that a tribesman should be the Chief Minister of Chattisgarh. Notwithstanding the anti-incumbancy factor, Mr Jogi’s problems are far from over even though he made a breezy trip here and apprised Congress president Sonia Gandhi about the machinations against him by senior leaders in the party. In Kerala, Mr Antony is under attack from old war horse K. Karunakaran who is demanding that the Chief Minister be sent packing. Mr Karunakaran and his faction in the Congress has set November 19 as the deadline for effecting a leadership change in Kerala. Meanwhile, the CPI-M has changed track and decided to adopt a different strategy in the states compared to that at the national arena. The CPI-M has expressed its willingness to support an alternative government headed by Mr Karunakaran. The IUML has also joined Antony-bashing in Kerala and told the Congress high command that the Chief Minister has lost the confidence of the minorities, who were
displaced after the bout of violence in Marad. The central leadership of the Congress has refused to comment about the CPI-M’s overtures towards Mr Karunakaran. In Maharashtra, serious fissures are developing between the Congress and Mr Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Sources in the NCP insist that the party is having second thoughts about continuing with the present arrangement in Mumbai. |
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HC refuses to stay order on rallies Kolkata, October 2 The vacation Bench, comprising Mr Justice Alok Chakraborti and Mr Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, allowed immersion processions of Durga puja, Lakshmi puja and Kali puja festivals terming them as very important festivals of Bengal. The court declined to proceed with the appeal against the earlier order of a single Bench as the signed copy of Mr Justice Amitava Lala's order of September 29 was not yet available. It directed that a plain copy of the order of Mr Justice Lala be provided to the state as soon as possible. The Bench also directed that the appeal by the West Bengal Government against the order of Mr Justice Lala on a suo motu contempt would be heard by a regular Bench after the puja holidays. Permission, however, was granted to the state or any aggrieved party to move the vacation court in the meantime in case of an exigency. Mr Justice Lala had in his order directed the police that even on Sundays and public holidays, rallies should be allowed only at three designated venues. Defence authorities were also directed to abide by the order and asked to discuss the matter with the police to finalise modalities.
— PTI |
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Gandhi, Shastri remembered New Delhi, October 2 Besides the President and the Prime Minister, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her Maharashtra counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Ministers Bandaru Dattatreya and Vijay Goel, senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh also paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation on his 134th birth anniversary at the Rajghat. These leaders then went to Vijay Ghat to pay respects to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 99th birth anniversary. Later, eminent Parliamentarians paid floral tributes to Mahatama Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri at their portraits in the Central Hall of the Parliament house.
— UNI |
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Top govt officer held in Army recruitment scam
New Delhi, October 2 South-west district Deputy Commissioner of Police Tajendra Luthra said today ex-servicemen, lawyers, Delhi government staff and Central Government officials were also involved in the racket. Besides Deputy Director (sugar technology) Suresh Chandra, a former DTC conductor Jitender Kumar, who prepared the forged documents, was also arrested by a police team following a tip-off yesterday. A large number of documents, including nine secret verification forms of Army personnel undergoing training; 94 rubber stamps embossed with “DCP Special Branch Delhi Police’’ and other police stations as also of
DCs, SDMs, councillors, doctors, principals of various states; 258 filled and blank domicile certificates, 173 caste certificates, 190 ration card forms, 187 marksheets and certificates and 100 affidavits on forged stamp papers have been seized so far, besides computers and other equipment. Mr Luthra said the police had been working on the case for the past few months after getting wind of the racket and arrested Ram Sewak on August 30, who was running the racket under the name of “Bajaj Physical Institute’’ at Raj Nagar-II in
Palam, south Delhi. On Sewak’s disclosures, the police had been conducting raids till they made the big catch yesterday.
— UNI |
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Singhal warns against ban on Ayodhya march
Allahabad, October 2 VHP President Ashok Singhal also rejected the proposal for construction of a mosque adjacent to Ram Temple at Ayodhya, saying “no mosque will be allowed to be constructed in the vicinity of the temple. Muslims can construct a mosque in Sahanwa village, about 8 km away from Ayodhya.” “The ‘Ayodhya march’ and the public meeting will be peaceful and democratic. But there will be grave consequences if the Centre or the state government tries to ban the march,” he said here. On media reports quoting a senior police official about the plans to deal with the VHP’s meeting at Ayodhya at the conclusion of the march, Mr Singhal said: “If the official’s statement reflected the perception of the state government, then they should be prepared for the consequences.” The meeting at Ayodhya has been planned with a view to putting strong pressure on the Vajpayee government to expedite legislation for handing over the undisputed land to Ramjanambhoomi Nyas for undertaking construction of a grand Ram Temple there, he said. “The meeting is not aimed at undertaking the construction of Ram Temple by any means. The temple cannot be constructed in a day,” Mr Singhal said. The VHP leader flayed the BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for not doing homework for bringing a legislation in Parliament for handing over the undisputed land to the Hindus for Ram Temple construction. He flayed the BJP for indulging in double speak on its stand on the issue and said the party should make up its mind before it was too late.
— PTI |
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Erstwhile Soviet envoy dead New Delhi, October 2 He was 86. He was instrumental in the development of relations between the two countries based on the treaty. His tenure in India was also characterised by the continuity of relations after the Janata Party came to power in 1977.
— UNI |
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Mulayam to expand ministry today Lucknow, October 2 Sources said the swearing-in ceremony would be held at K.D. Singh Babu Stadium at 1500 hours. Mr Yadav had taken the oath of office and secrecy on August 29 and later in a minor expansion inducted six ministers in his Cabinet. However, the portfolios had not been distributed. Sources said earlier the Samajwadi Party had cited ‘’Pitra Paksh’’ as the reason for not expanding the Ministry. Mr Yadav has held several rounds of meetings with RLD chief Ajit Singh and Rashtriya Kranti Party President Kalyan Singh. Sources said the RLD and the RKP were expecting a good representation in the ministry, even as the Congress had decided to support the Mulayam-led government from outside. |
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CBI questions Madhumita kin Lucknow, October 2 Sources claimed here even as Mr Tripathi had yesterday reportedly admitted that he had talked over telephone to Madhumita’s elder sister Nidhi after the crime, Ms Shanti Devi and Nidhi were questioned for several hours in various phases to confirm the fact. The two were reportedly asked questions on important phone calls in the presence of the disgraced SP MLA to counter-check facts. This is for the second time Mr Tripathi was made to confront a member of the Shukla household during interrogation by the central investigating agency. Recently, he was questioned in the presence of nine-year-old Desraj, the sole witness to the crime.
— UNI |
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Shekhar
doing well New Delhi, October 2 Dr Anupam
Sibal, Director (Medical Services), Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said this evening that Mr Chandra Shekhar was “progressing satisfactorily”. Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat visited Apollo again and spent 30 minutes with his friend in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit of the hospital. Sources said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee rang up today to inquire about Mr Chandra Shekhar’s health. President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sent a bouquet of flowers to him. A team of doctors had performed the four coronary bypass grafts during a more than three hours operation on Wednesday morning. |
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Akalis to petition NHRC today New Delhi, October 2 The actions of the Congress government in the state, the SAD said was “not only
unprecedented abuse of government resources and authority to settle political score.” “It is much more diabolic because it goes far beyond by threatening the life and limb of the political rivals by resorting to illegal and
coercive use of the state apparatus. It is a systematic violation of the human rights of Akali workers and their leader,” the SAD said . |
| Minister hurt as lift crashes Bareilly, October 2 CBI chief is vice-chief of Interpol New Delhi, October 2 |
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