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Political parties
decry bid to N. Ram’s car stopped, TN
police blamed Snap poll option
high on AP Cabinet agenda BJP MP from
Bharatpur resigns
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Respect all
religions, says Vajpayee Al-Qaidisation of
Pak worries US expert
Ferry passengers
lynch 5 Bodo militants
Pak prisoners on
hunger strike
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Political parties decry bid to muzzle Press New Delhi, November 8 In a statement here, BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed serious concern over the decision. "This decision is not at all warranted and comes across as an assault on the freedom of the Press," he said. "We, as responsible persons in public life and representatives of the people, are expected to be liberal about criticism. We also sometimes have to accept even unfair criticism with a smile," Mr Naidu said, asserting that "exercise of power by the legislature should appear to be fair." The BJP urges the Government of Tamil Nadu and the state legislature to review and repeal the decision, Mr Naidu said. In a statement, Congress spokesperson S. Jaipal Reddy said, "The privileges of the legislature have been grossly abused to settle a score with independent media and political opponents." "Privileges of the legislature are meant to be used as a shield and not as a sword. The Jayalalithaa government has been on the rampage in Tamil Nadu. It has been suppressing civil liberties of politicians, mediapersons, government employees and trade unions in a fascist fashion," he said, adding that there was an imperative necessity for the entire media and democratic forces in the country to express solidarity with the struggle of people in Tamil Nadu for the freedom of the Press in particular and personal freedom in general. Condemning the decision, Left parties said the action was an outrageous attack on the freedom of the Press and a gross misuse of legislative privilege, which should be revoked. "The decision to imprison the publisher and four Editors and journalists of The Hindu by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is an outrageous attack on the freedom of the Press and the rights of citizens," the CPM said in a statement here. "It is a gross misuse of legislative privilege and another sign of the extreme intolerance to any opposition or dissent by the Jayalalithaa government", the CPM added. The CPI said the extraordinary step was an attack on the freedom of the Press for printing and discharging its legitimate tasks. "It is a deliberate attempt to subvert the fundamental right of free Press," the CPI said. It called upon all democratic sections of the people, organisations and parties to vehemently oppose the action. Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh described it as a slur on the Constitution and a fraud on the statute. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said the Tamil Nadu Assembly's decision revealed a totalitarian psychology. |
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N. Ram’s car stopped, TN
police blamed
Bangalore, November 8 “It was obvious that those who intercepted my car were from The Tamil Nadu police”, Ram told reporters at the hotel and added that it appeared that they mistook N. Murali, his brother and Joint Managing Director of Kasturi and Sons, as N. Ravi, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Ram said he had filed a complaint with Bangalore Police Commissioner Mariswamy against the “totally illegal act” and urged him to take action against the culprits. He expressed confidence that the Karnataka police would take action and apprehend the culprits who, he said, appeared to be from the Tamil Nadu police by the inference from their behaviour. Meanwhile, Mariswamy said four or five persons speaking in Tamil stopped Ram’s car near a five-star hotel and searched for “someone”. After they came to know only Ram and Murali and their wives were in the car, they ran away, he said, adding that they did not cause any harm to the occupants. The Commissioner, however, said it was not sure whether those who stopped Ram’s car belonged to the Tamil Nadu police. The Tamil Nadu police is on the lookout for five senior journalists of the daily after the state Assembly yesterday sentenced them to 15 days imprisonment for breach of privilege. A special team of the Chennai police arrived here this morning in search of the journalists.
— PTI |
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PM, Sonia express concern over TN Assembly verdict New Delhi, November 8 This was conveyed to Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, N Ram who had telephoned the Prime Minister to apprise him of the “developments” and the action taken against journalists following the order by the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker, official sources said here. Congress President Sonia Gandhi today termed a “high-handed” the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s action of sentencing several senior journalists and said it was a “threat” to the country’s
democracy. “I am extremely concerned and disturbed at the attempt being made to curb press freedom in Tamil Nadu she said in a statement here. |
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Snap poll option high on AP Cabinet agenda
Hyderabad, November 8 The unscheduled weekend Cabinet meeting is widely seen in political circles as the beginning of a process leading to early polls with ruling TDP leaders veering towards the view that this is the ‘most opportune time’ to seek a fresh mandate on sympathy plank in the aftermath of recent Naxalite attack on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The Cabinet meeting, advanced by a week, is expected to approve a host of welfare measures, including distribution of fresh ration cards and house sites to the poor, transfer of additional powers to local bodies, sops for agricultural power consumers and reduction of interest rate on co-operative loans. Though a formal announcement on the dissolution of the Assembly is not expected to come today, the issue is set to dominate the proceedings of the meeting being held amidst an air of expectancy over imminent polls. Lending weight to speculation over an early poll, Mr Naidu had switched over to a welfare mode unveiling a series of sops and infusing a sense of urgency into implementation of the ongoing welfare programmes. TDP sources said Mr Naidu was set to seek dissolution of the Assembly and early elections “anytime from now”. Virtually sounding the bugle for an electoral battle, the ruling party would organise three regional conventions, starting with coastal Andhra town of Guntur on November 19, as a major show of strength, the sources said. While Assembly poll in the state is scheduled for September next year, the TDP leadership is looking at a timeframe of mid-February on the ground that another bout of drought and a harsh summer might be a disadvantage for the party.
— PTI |
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BJP MP from Bharatpur resigns New Delhi, November 8 Mr Vishvendra Singh, who represents the Bharatpur Lok Sabha constituency, told UNI that he had sent in his papers detailing objections to the BJP leadership explaining the reasons behind the decision. He said he was finding it “difficult” to work for the non-BJP candidates imposed by the state party leadership.
— UNI |
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PM greets Advani on 76th birthday New Delhi, November 8 Mr Vajpayee drove to Mr Advani’s Prithviraj Road residence to wish him a happy birthday. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sent a bouquet and a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister on the occasion. Among other prominent visitors at Mr Advani’s residence were Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, BJP President Venkaiah Naidu, party general secretary Pramod Mahajan and Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley. Several other Cabinet ministers, MPs and party workers also called on Mr Advani to wish him. Born on November 8, 1929, in Karachi, Mr Advani did his early schooling at St Patrick’s in Karachi. A law graduate from Bombay University, Mr Advani had argued on behalf of the Jan Sangh in 1974 before the Supreme Court in the presidential reference whether election to the post of President could be held when the Gujarat Assembly was dissolved. He was Member of the Rajya Sabha between 1970 and 1989, before he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989. Since then, he has won in all Lok Sabha elections. In 1991, he was appointed Leader of the Opposition. |
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Respect all religions, says Vajpayee New Delhi, November 8 “Indian ethos regards secularism as equal respect for all religions. But, even this is being criticised these days. However, those opposed to such a concept of secularism would not succeed,” he said at a function organised at his residence to mark Guru Nanak’s Prakash Ustav as universal Brotherhood Day.
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Al-Qaidisation
of Pak worries
US expert New Delhi, November 8 Delivering a lecture of Current US Perception of India at Observer Research Foundation, Prof Cohen said that those who turn to Taliban had a low life but those getting attracted to Al-Qaida philosophy were young middle class youth — skilled, intelligent and educated — like the former Marxists. Prof Cohen, who has authored several books on South Asia and is a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, pleaded for bit by bit and piece by piece approach between India and Pakistan with the US playing a “more forward leaning” role in promoting an amicable solution to the long -standing Kashmir issue. There has to be people-to-people contacts and stronger economic inter-dependence between the two countries which could rule out
possibility of nuclear accidents, Prof Cohen said adding that many Indians and Pakistanis privately support a pro-active US role in the region. “Stakes are too high for the US to stay away”, the Brooking Fellow said and added that “we can’t allow two neighbouring states to come to brink of war particularly when they are nuclear weapons states”. Professor Cohen said that the Washington should have no reservation in giving India access to the US technology and Pakistan was in need of an international rescue operation since if it fails as a state it would have serious consequences. Talking of the non-proliferation, Professor Cohen, who is also an ORF Resident Scholar also, argued for a NPT regime outside the existing NPT to
accommodate the responsible nuclear weapons states like India and Pakistan. |
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Ferry passengers lynch 5 Bodo militants Guwahati, November 8 The police said suspected Bodo militants were trying to cross the river in a ferry when passengers challenged them. Five youths, with a gunny bag, boarded the ferry at Dingdinga, 15 km from Lakhipur. The co-passengers suspected their movements and demanded that the gunny bag be opened. The youths resisted and exploded a grenade, killing one passenger. When the passengers chased the other three, they blasted another grenade, which killed three passengers besides injuring others. The passengers overpowered the trio and lynched the five Bodo militants. It was suspected that the militants belonged to the National Democratic Front.
— UNI |
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Mumbai to have skytrains Mumbai, November 8 MMRDA officials say the pilot project would be 9 km long extending between Andheri in western suburbs and Ghatkopar in the central suburbs with a link to the Sahara International Airport. The route covers a number of congested localities like Asalfa, Marol and Saki Naka, officials say. The trains will have a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. According to MMRDA officials, the skytrain is a rail-based mass rapid transit system, which would be mostly elevated running on standard gauge. It would be implemented within three years from the start of the project. The agency has already invited Expression of Interest (EOIs) on the basis of the techno-economic feasibility study carried out by German consultancy De Consult, sources said. So far, 24 companies have expressed interest to bid for the Andheri-Ghatkopar route. The final tender is expected to be awarded by January next. Officials say, a second route will connect the World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade to Chatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus at a later stage. Subsequently, important railway stations on the suburban railway network would be connected to interior areas. The authorities chose the skytrain after rejecting the skybus, a technology promoted by the Konkan Railway Corporation. Though the Skybus, suspended from rails along the city’s major roads would have cost less than half of the skytrain, officials rejected it on the grounds that it was untested technology. |
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Pak prisoners on hunger strike
Alwar, November 8 The Pakistani prisoners, who have already completed their sentences, were recently brought here from different jails and lodged in a transit camp set up in Central Jail following a Supreme Court order to send them back home. The delay was being made at the Pakistan High Commission office, the sources said, adding that since none of the inmates of the transit camp was carrying valid travel documents, the Pakistan High Commission office would have to prepare fresh documents to allow them to travel back home. The prisoners started the hunger strike three days back, demanding their early repatriation. As the condition of six of the agitating prisoners deteriorated, five of them were taken to the jail hospital. Another prisoner was admitted to the local General Hospital, the sources said.
— PTI |
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