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Restructure UN, says
Vajpayee
NCP splits in
Chhattisgarh BJP forms two
panels for LS poll |
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NDA misleading
public, says Sonia Gadhvi appointed
Gujarat Cong-DMK reach
poll pact JD(S) to petition
EC on poll schedule CJI asks
judiciary to remain vigilant 11 acquitted in
Sati glorification case
Sinha takes over
as CRPF chief
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Restructure UN, says Vajpayee New Delhi, January 31 “India has never been an aggressor nation, a coloniser or arrested its hegemon in her long history. We are alive to our responsibility to contribute to peace, friendship and cooperation both in our region and around the world,” Mr Vajpayee said here. The Prime Minister also called for reform and restructuring of the United Nations to make it more effective in dealing with the challenges of today’s world. He was inaugurating the global convention on peace and non-violence, attended by a galaxy of dignitaries, including diplomats and Gandhians. Emphasising that the countries in the region have to work together to change South Asia’s image the Prime Minister said “the Islamabad SAARC summit was a major step forward in regional cooperation.” Recalling his speech at the summit that the countries must make the bold transition from mistrust to trust, Mr Vajpayee said: “It is in the same spirit that my government has been trying to resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan through a dialogue.” Stating that the people of India were inheritors to a great civilisation whose life chant has been “shanti” (peace) and “bhaichara” (brotherhood), Mr Vajpayee observed that modern world was seeing new threats to peace and terrorism inspired by religious extremism. “Perhaps no country has suffered as much from this threat as India has. The threat of terrorism had to be dealt with firmly — both through the action of individual nations and through international solidarity,” he said and expressed confidence that this was a passing phase and the world’s collective efforts would succeed in dealing with this menace. “The United Nations was the singlemost important contributor in preventing any major war after the Second World War, but now it was time to reform and restructure it,” Mr Vajpayee said. “Recent global developments have sharply illustrated this need.” The Prime Minister said certain objective factors like power of democracy and treaties adopted by the international community for peace and disarmament have strengthened the forces of peace. He said the importance of these treaties should not be belittled and all countries should act upon these treaties with sincerity and big powers have a greater responsibility to act with self-restraint. “Collectively, we must take the world swiftly towards the goal of disarmament and, specifically, the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction in the 21st century,” he added. He said technology and trade became another peace-enhancing objective factor making the world much more inter-dependent, integrated and smaller. Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral said the Islamabad SAARC summit would have a positive impact on the sub-continent and there was a need for global cooperation to fight the menace of terrorism. Strongly pleading for more representation to developing countries in the UN Security Council, Mr Gujral suggested that the Security Council should hold a special meeting to study international law in the wake of pre-emptive attack by some
countries. |
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India, Romania sign four pacts
New Delhi, January 31 The agreements were signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and visiting Romanian President Ion Iliescu on bilateral and international issues. The agreements are on Cooperation in Plant Protection and Phytosanitary Quarantine Field and Exemption of Visa Requirement for holders of Diplomatic Passports, and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between the Romanian National Television and Doordarshan and the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation and All India Radio. In a joint statement issued by the two sides, India and Romania expressed satisfaction at the initiation of negotiations on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and expressed readiness to sign this accord in the near future. The two leaders noted that there had been a steady increase in bilateral economic interaction. They were of the view that the trade relationship should reflect the industrial and commercial capabilities of the two nations.
— UNI |
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NCP splits in Chhattisgarh Raipur, January 31 "Because of the prevailing situation at that time, we had joined the NCP. But the situation in the state has currently changed, hence we have joined the Congress today," Narendra Tiwari, who is the senior vice-president of state NCP, told PTI here. PCC state president Motilal Vora said about 90 NCP leaders were admitted as primary members of the party after they expressed confidence in Sonia Gandhi's leadership and expressed desire to join the party. Following Mr Shukla's decision to go with the NDA in the coming Lok Sabha elections, several NCP leaders have decided to join the Congress saying "they had the base of a Congressman", Mr Tiwari said. "Mr Shukla decided to go with the NDA without consulting any of the party leaders here. The situation that had prevailed earlier had forced them to desert the Congress, but that did not mean going with the BJP or the NDA," spokesman for the NCP and state general secretary Pramod Choubey told.
— PTI |
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BJP forms two
panels for LS poll New Delhi, January 31 The Campaign and Election Management Committee will have party General Secretary Pramod Mahajan as its convener, while Law Minister Arun Jaitley will be the convener of the Vision Document Committee. Besides Mr Mahajan, the other members of the Election Management Committee include Chief Ministers of Gujarat (Narendra Modi), Rajasthan (Vasundhara Raje), Madhya Pradesh (Uma Bharti) and Jharkhand (Arjun Munda). Among the 12 members in the Vision Document Committee are Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Rajnath Singh and Arun Shourie, BJP Vice-President Bal Apte, former Economic Cell Convener Jagadish Shettigar and Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra. |
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NDA misleading public, says Sonia
Nandurbar (Maharashtra), January 31 Addressing a rally in the tribal-dominated area of Nawabpur in the district, she said that since the Lok Sabha elections were near, the NDA government was spending crores of money for the “Shining India” campaign, while the truth was something else. She said the life of common citizens has moved into darkness rather than shining under the NDA rule. Speaking soon after inaugurating the first sugarcane crushing at the Adivasi Cooperative Sugar Mill, the Congress President said, the BJP-led government was doing injustice to the poor and the tribals. Ms Gandhi said the tribals and farmers have suffered during the NDA rule which has neglected them. Appealing to people to vote the Congress to power, Ms Gandhi, in her 15-minute speech, said “given an opportunity, my party will bring back the country on the track of progress as it had come to a halt during the NDA rule.” “It is the Congress that had made the country self-reliant through its public-oriented policies,” she said. Alleging that the NDA government had failed on all fronts, from providing security at the borders to public welfare, Ms Gandhi said the corruption level had reached its peak under its rule. She said the “common citizen’s life has been in trouble due to the increasing unemployment and rise in prices during the NDA rule.” She remarked that the Atal Bihari government has been privatising the public sector undertakings further adding to the unemployment. |
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Gadhvi appointed
Gujarat Cong chief New Delhi, January 31 Party spokesman Anand Sharma said here that the services of Mr Vaghela would be utilised during the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll. The change was part of the party’s efforts to tone up its units in the states, he said. The decision to remove Mr Vaghela follows demands from state Congress leaders who had complained about his floating a new outfit. Though Mr Veghela maintained that the outfit had been floated to counter Sangh Parivar in the state, Congress leaders from the state submitted a memorandum to the party president Sonia Gandhi last month requesting her to intervene. They had also opposed Mr Vaghela holding a rally. |
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Chennai, January 31 Speaking to reporters after a nearly two-hour meeting with the DMK election team and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, Kamal Nath said, “We have almost reached an agreement, including that on the number of seats and identification of constituencies.” On the allocation of the lone Pondicherry seat to the PMK by the DMK, Mr Kamal Nath said discussions were still on to find a satisfactory solution.
— PTI |
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JD(S) to petition EC on poll schedule New Delhi, January 31 The delegation will try to impress upon the Election Commission that the poll in April will deprive a large number of youth voters from exercising their franchise due to exams.
TNS |
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CJI asks judiciary to remain vigilant
Allahabad, January 31 “The judiciary has to play a sacrosanct role not only in resolving disputes but also ensuring that the legislature and the executive maintain the delicate balance of power under the Constitution by not transgressing their boundaries”, he said after unveiling a portrait of former Additional Solicitor-General of India late A.D. Giri, at a function here. Mr Justice Khare said the courts of law must guard against defacement and defilement of Constitutional values and act as instrumentalities for fulfilling the ideals enshrined in the Constitution. Asserting the judiciary had an onerous responsibility to protest democracy in the country, he said “if it fails to live up to its duties, then democracy itself may collapse.” Exhorting the judges to be honest, upright and full of integrity, the Chief Justice said “they should take care to ensure that there is not even any inadvertant lapse on their part as the public expects them to maintain high ethics”. Any misadventure or lack of commitment to work on their part could have serious implications for the continuance of democracy itself in the country, he said, adding “any conduct which would tend to undermine public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the courts would be detrimental to the efficacy of the judicial process”. “It is a basic requirement of the judicial
system that personal conduct of judges should be free from impropriety”, Mr Justice Khare said.
— PTI |
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11 acquitted in Sati glorification case
Jaipur, January 31 The 11 were among 16 persons who had participated in protests that followed the police sweep against the guilty in the burning alive of the 17-year-old on her husband’s funeral pyre, at Deorala in Sikar district on September 4, 1987. Today’s acquittal relates to four of the 21 cases that were lodged in various police stations of the district during the period. Of the 16 accused, five — Hat Singh, Bhagirath Singh, Risal Singh, Inder Kumar Tiwari and Laxmi Narayan — died during the trial. All 11 accused, including sitting BJP MLA from Churu and state party vice-president Rajendra Rathore, former BJP Yuva Morcha state president Pratap Singh Khachriyawas, Narendra Singh of the Rajput Sabha and journalist Anand Sharma, were present in the packed courtroom when Additional Sessions Judge Shiv Singh Chouhan read out the judgement. The judge said the prosecution had failed to establish that there was ‘Sati’ at Deorala, so the question of its glorification does not arise. In the Deorala incident, a case of murder had been lodged at the Neem Ka Thana police station against the 45 accused, he pointed out. All 45 accused in the murder case there have already been acquitted. Mr Rathore, a former state minister, and Mr Khachriyawas, nephew of Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, reacted with relief after the judgment was delivered. “Justice has been done,” Mr Rathore said, maintaining that he had been protesting “police atrocities” and was made a victim of political vendetta.
— UNI |
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Bleach’s release delayed
Kolkata, January 31 Mr Deb said that after thorough examination, it was found that a case was still pending against Bleach, a British national, with the Mumbai Customs authorities, and he had referred the matter to the Union Home Ministry this morning. “We have referred the matter to the Home Ministry and his release depends subject to the fact that he has no other case against him under any other law”, Mr Deb said, adding that it was also to be ascertained if any more case was pending against Bleach in any other court of law. He said that till there was clearance from the Home Ministry, the release of Bleach might be delayed. He, however, could not specify the date when he would be released. Certain procedures, he said, were yet to be formalised by the Customs Department. Meanwhile, officials from the British Deputy High Commission here arrived at the jail at around 1030 a.m. to talk to the authorities in connection with Bleach’s release. The Home Secretary earlier said that he had received a copy of Bleach’s release order from the Department of Justice of the Home Affairs Department last evening and accordingly forwarded it to the jail authorities for compliance.
— PTI |
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Sinha takes over as
CRPF chief New Delhi, January 31 Prior to this Mr Sinha, an IPS officer of the 1969 batch of the Bihar cadre, was Additional Director-General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP). Mr Sinha, who has served in various capacities in the Bihar police, was promoted as Additional DG of the ITBP in June, 2001. |
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Mulayam’s kin kidnapped Lucknow, January 31 The boy had gone out with the servant in the evening and did not return home till late in the night, the police said. A case of kidnapping had been registered.
— PTI |
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