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Cong dilemma: how
to attack Atal and not hurt Sonia Bhujbal’s
nephew fails to turn up before SIT LS poll may be
advanced: Mahajan Naqvi hints at
more joining NDA |
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Notices to
Centre, PMO in Dubey case Rare manuscripts
lost in mob attack Muslim religious
leaders head towards Ayodhya
The President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, presents the Gandhi Peace Prize, 2003, to former President of Czechoslovakia Vaclav Havel at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Deputy Prime Minister
L.K. Advani is also seen in the picture. — PTI photo
ULFA insurgents
threaten Bhutan SC dismisses plea
on AP House dissolution HZL sell-off
case General Mammen
is Engineer-in-Chief Uttaranchal sets
up Anant Kumbh Nidhi Hospital
authorised to teach
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Cong dilemma: how to attack Atal and not hurt Sonia New Delhi, January 5 If Ms Sonia Gandhi is not projected as the prime-ministerial candidate of the secular alliance that she is seeking to put together, the Opposition lays itself open to the charge that the NDA alternative does not have a leader. It will also recall 1998 when the Opposition was unable to form a government because its various constituents could not agree on a consensus candidate. On the flip side, it is felt that the BJP’s campaign could be effectively defused by not projecting one single leader of the proposed alliance. In such an event, it will become a “BJP vs the rest” contest, instead of “Vajpayee vs Sonia.” Alternatively, if the focus is on Ms Sonia Gandhi, Congress spin doctors have to come up with a winning campaign to pit her as a better candidate. Admitting that an “Atal vs Vajpayee” campaign would be tough to counter, party insiders said they would then focus on positive aspects like “age, agility and family background.” The AICC’s newly constituted publicity committee, which recently debated all these issues, is generally agreed that the Congress should mount a political campaign against Mr Vajpayee and not a personal one as past experience has shown that a personalised campaign does not go down well with the people. The slogans to be used in countering this campaign and how to convey its message down the line were among the issues which figured in the preliminary discussions. Among the issues which the Congress has so far identified are rising unemployment, farmers’ suicides and other economic ills. The committee, which includes Mr Rajeev Desai, Mr Bal Kavi Bairagi, Mr Janardhan Divwedi, Mr Motilal Vora and Mr Shakeel Ahmed, also discussed the way the BJP ran a successful campaign by focusing on core issues like Mr Vajpayee’s leadership as against Ms Gandhi’s foreign origins and inexperience, five years of NDA rule as compared to 45 years of Congress rule and the completion of five years of NDA in power as opposed to the Congress’ inability to run coalitions. It was pointed out at this meeting, which was chaired by Ms Sonia Gandhi, that the Congress campaign should involve the large segment of society which is essentially anti-BJP and those who comprise image-makers and opinion-makers. “There are so many groups, including NGOs, which could form a lose secular or anti-communal alliance or platform, which can help the Congress in its campaign,” a senior leader pointed out. In fact, the committee members stressed the need for setting up such platforms down the line to reach out to different sections, be it farmers, traders or women. It was also felt that the pradesh and district Congress committees should be involved and their activities be monitored by the AICC to make sure that they disseminate the information. Meanwhile, the Congress’ anti-NDA campaign began today with AICC secretary Jairam Ramesh questioning the NDA government’s claims that it had achieved 8 per cent growth rate. He said the truth was that this growth was just for a three-month period from July to September 2003 and reflected in large part a low base during the earlier period. In any case, he said, this was not the first time that this growth rate had been recorded, stating that the country achieved an unprecedented growth during the Congress regime in 1991-96. |
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Bhujbal’s nephew fails to turn up before SIT Mumbai, January 5 Mr Bhujbal’s relatives told reporters that he was in the USA on a business trip and would appear before SIT when he returns home in a few days. SIT officials had delivered the summons meant for Sameer Bhujbal at Ramtek, the official residence of Mr Chhagan Bhujbal, allotted to him when he was Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister but is still being retained by him. The senior politician is presently in Kerala at an ayurvedic spa there. However, S.K. Bankar, Personal
Assistant to Mr Chhagan Bhujbal, appeared before the SIT officials today, where he was interrogated. Sources say Bankar was questioned about his links with Antim Totla, a trader in petroleum products, who is accused of having links with Telgi. Investigators are also seeking information as to whether Telgi channeled his ill-gotten funds to the Nationalist Congress Party last year when it was on the verge of a split, throwing the Democratic Front government in Maharashtra into a crisis. Telgi is believed to have funded the en masse transfer of NCP legislators to a resort owned by actor Sanjay Khan outside Bangalore. The money was allegedly routed through Totla. Karnataka’s high profile politician Roshan Baig had to quit after it was revealed that his brother Rehan was involved with Telgi and Totla. Bankar is still attached to the office of Mr Bhujbal and is based in Pune from where he came to Mumbai in response to the summons, sources here said. |
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LS poll may be advanced: Mahajan Port Blair, January 5 Addressing mediapersons, Mr Mahajan said the dates would be decided by the Election Commission. The BJP leader, who is here on party-related work, had arrived earlier in the day. He said the BJP was in a very good position at present and the development works during the past five years by the NDA government “will be our main issue’’ in the coming elections. Referring to the situation in Tamil Nadu in the wake of the DMK and the MDMK leaving the NDA, he said the combination there would be “the BJP plus the PMK” as the “the DMK and the MDMK are no more with the BJP for reasons best known to them”. Mr Mahajan said at present there was no proposal for a possible alliance with the AIADMK. “During the elections, the situation can change, but presently there is nothing like that,” he said in reply to a question.
— UNI |
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Naqvi hints at more
joining NDA
Hyderabad, January 5 Though he did not name the parties that would join the NDA, Mr Naqvi said: “Even Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) may come.” Stating that there was no strength in the so-called secular front, either by way of ideology, policy or leadership, he said here that the exercise of political parties (on creation of a secular front with the Congress) was only for political existence. Alleging that the Congress had “no experience to run an alliance as it had only the experience to break,” the BJP leader said the Congress had “practical problems” to sort out with its partners on the leadership issue. Pointing out that Prime Minister
A.B. Vajpayee’s leadership had been accepted by the people for its performance and for providing a stable government, he said this was the first time that none of the NDA partners, including the
DMK, had any difference on performance of the government, implementation of the common minimum programme or the leadership issue. Some small regional parties earlier with the Rastriya Janata Dal in Bihar had joined the NDA and many would come before the elections, he claimed. The two-day National Executive of the BJP beginning January 11 here would “give a final shape” to the strategy for taking on the secular front in the coming parliamentary poll, he said, adding that the meet would not decide on the dissolution of the House, but give a final shape to the party’s mission to muster majority on its own and two-third with its allies in the 2004 poll. The Vajpayee government would get the feedback from the BJP and its allies before deciding on holding early poll, he added.
— UNI |
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Notices to Centre, PMO in Dubey case New Delhi, January 5 The petitioner also sought a response from the Centre on “whistle-blower law” as suggested by the Law Commission. The petitioner alleged that Mr Dubey was murdered on November 27 after he had written a letter to the PMO complaining about widespread corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral Project.
— UNI |
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Rare manuscripts lost in mob attack Mumbai, January 5 The mob was protesting against a book, “Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India,” written by historian James Lane. It attacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI). Shrikant Bahulkar, a Sanskrit scholar from Pune attached to the institute, was associated with the book, thereby provoking the mob, the police said. This was the second attack on the institute. A gang of Shiv Sainiks had smeared tar on Bahulkar’s face on December 22 over the same incident. The move then backfired as another historian from the institute, Gajanan Mahendale, 86, burnt parts of his manuscript on the Maratha king. After the news hit the headlines, Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray had to apologise to Bahulkar and Mahendale in order to prevent the destruction of the remaining work. Mahendale, who handed over his entire manuscript to Pune MP Pradeep Rawat, said his book on Shivaji should not be published in his lifetime. Initial information received from Pune indicates that more than 30,000 manuscripts from the institute were destroyed in today’s attack. The Bhandarkar institute was a treasure trove of rare manuscripts on a number of subjects like ayurveda, the Mahabharata, the Bhakti Movement, etc. The institute attracts a large number of students from all over the world for research on India. The Pune police has arrested 71 persons so far on charges of arson and violence. The BORI was established in 1917 to commemorate the works of Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar. The then Government of Bombay, under the British, handed over its entire collection of nearly 20,000 manuscripts to the institute. |
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Muslim religious leaders head towards Ayodhya Ayodhya, January 5 All-India Shia Conference national general secretary Allama Syed Asgar Abbas Rizvi said a five-member group comprising Akhil Bharatiya Imam Sangathan national president Hazrat Maulana Jameel Ahmed Iliyasi and Hamair Nakshabandi, Bharatiya Mulsim Parishad President Maulana Hazrat Dr Syed Kalbe Jawwad, Mufti Ikarmul Islam and Maulana Zakir Dehlavi and Captain Sikander Rizvi from Gujarat will reach here tomorrow for discussions. Expressing confidence that the vexed Ayodhya issue could be solved through dialogue between the two contending parties, Mr Rizvi said the other side for talks would comprise Sri Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas Chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Hanumangarhi Mahant Gyandas, Raja Sahab, Ayodhya Vimlendra Pratap Singh, Tatshah Masjid Imam Maulana Qutubuddin, Babri Masjid contesting party Mohammed Hashim Ansari, Babri Masjid Action Committee local convenor Mohammed Yunus Siddiqui and other Muslim leaders.
— UNI |
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ULFA insurgents threaten Bhutan
Guwahati, January 5 In an e-mail to the local media last night, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa accused the Bhutan prime minister of “lying” at the 12th SAARC summit yesterday about the army operations, and threatened that the kingdom would not be able to “sleep peacefully” after souring its relations with its “neighbours”. Rajkhowa rejected Bhutan Premier Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley’s statement in Islamabad that the army operations had to be launched on December 15 against the ULFA, the NDFB and the KLO to flush them out following a painstakingly long and frustrating dialogue with them for six years. He warned the kingdom would not be able to “sleep peacefully” following the “irritating relations” between the Bhutan Government and the rebels resulting from the Royal Bhutan Army offensives amidst negotiations between the two parties. Accusing Bhutan of “betraying” the three separatist groups, the ULFA supremo asserted that “it will be very childish for Bhutan to imagine it will have a sound sleep when the neighbours burn in the fire of conflicts”. Meanwhile, ULFA founder member Buragohain alias “Mama”, who had surrendered to the RBA, was remanded in eight days police custody by the Kamrup Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate. At the court yesterday he alleged before reporters that he was “tortured” by both the RBA and the Indian Army.
— PTI |
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Havel receives Gandhi Peace Prize New Delhi, January 5 The award carries Rs 1 crore and a citation. The prize is given for outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through Gandhian means. The name of Mr Havel for the award was finalised by a five-member jury chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Chief Justice of India, former President R Venkataraman and former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral. Born on October 5, 1936, in Prague, Mr Havel is known for his outstanding contribution for upholding human rights in most difficult situations.
— UNI |
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SC dismisses plea on AP House dissolution New Delhi, January 5 “We find no merit in the petition and so it is dismissed,” said a Bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice S. H. Kapadia in a brief order. During the short arguments on the appeal filed by R.Krishnaiah against the dism2issal of his petition by the AP High Court on November 27, the Bench observed that it had passed a number of judgements on such an issue earlier and in the light of the same, the petition was not maintainable. The high court had dismissed the petition by giving a detailed order, upholding the state Cabinet’s November 14 resolution for dissolving the Assembly. The high court Bench, headed by Chief Justice Devender Gupta, had held that there was no reason for a judicial interference in the matter. The petitioner had alleged that the pre-mature dissolution of the Assembly by Mr Naidu was prompted by his attempt to encash upon the “sympathy wave generated” in his favour in the wake of the recent Naxalite attack on him. |
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HZL sell-off case transferred to SC New Delhi, January 5 “So far as the company is not created by a Parliamentary Act, the Government can sell it. That is a different thing,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice, Mr V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice H.S. Kapadia said. The notice for the transfer of the petition from the Rajasthan High Court to it, was issued on the plea of the Centre stating that all disinvestment matters should be heard by the apex
court. |
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General Mammen is Engineer-in-Chief New Delhi, January 5 The General, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, was commissioned in February 1964. He is a graduate from the Defence Services Staff College and has done the Higher Command Course and attended the National Defence College, New Delhi. As Engineer-in-Chief, he will be the engineer adviser to the three service chiefs and the Ministry of Defence. The General has held prestigious appointments, both in command and general staff. Till recently, he was the Director, General Operational Logistics, and responsible for the entire planning and execution of the logistic support for the Indian Army during the Kargil operations and Operation Parakram. The officer was the Sub Area Commander at Pune from December 95 to December 97. In recognition of his meritorious service, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 1985 and 1998 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2000. |
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Uttaranchal sets up Anant Kumbh Nidhi Hardwar, January 5 A high-power committee will be constituted to monitor the funds. State Minister for Urban Development, Nav Prabhat said here that the Anant Kumbh Nidhi would consist of grants from the Centre and the state government, besides donations from individuals, trusts and companies. Mela sources said the Nidhi would not only be used to improve the civic amenities and streamline the infrastructure facilities in the mela area, but would also be utilised to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the city, including its monuments, ancient temples and mythological structures. The fund would also be used towards promoting researches, training and other activities and achieving the religious and cultural objectives of the Kumbh. |
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Hospital authorised to teach New Delhi, January 5 By this recognition, the ISO-9001 certificate holder institute has emerged as a new centre for cardiology training and teaching, the founder and chairman of Metro Institute and Hospitals, Dr Purshottam Lal, told The Tribune here today. “The institute will now confer a degree of DNB, which is equivalent to DM cardiology degree being conferred by select government institutes like the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences”, Dr Lal said. |
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