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Maneka, Varun
join BJP
Cong opposes IAF
plane use by Advani |
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BJP to go solo in
Haryana, Jharkhand Cong unveils campaign plan Secular front
will form govt, J&K officials
to meet EC today The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary, the DGP and other officials will meet the three-member Election Commission (EC) tomorrow to outline the measures taken by the state government for the conduct of free and fair poll in the state. VHP brings 586
families back to Hindu fold As many as 586 families residing in 76 villages in the Beawar sub-division of Ajmer district reconverted to Hinduism in a ceremony organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. SAARC members
discuss bird flu In a move to draw a regional contingency plan to prevent the spread of avian flu virus or birdflu, members of the SAARC countries gathered here today.  In
video: (28k, 56k)New Delhi, February 16 The issue of nuclear proliferation came up during Indo-European Union talks during which the EU expressed concern over the menace and asked all countries to act responsibly in ensuring that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) did not fall into the hands of terrorists. Biggest-ever Indo-US exercises
begin India and the USA began their biggest-ever fighter maneuvers with the commencement of the 10-day joint air exercises over the Gwalior skies. Kharif
production may touch 215 m Buoyed by an excellent monsoon, the country is likely to witness an excellent kharif production, ranging from 212 to 215 million tonnes, said Union Agriculture Secretary R.C.A. Jain here today. Project to end
child labour by 2007 The much-awaited Indo-US child labour project was launched today with a hope to end child labour by 2007. Lift curbs on
Sarabhai, SC asks Gujarat The Supreme Court today expressed serious concern over the Gujarat Government imposing restrictions on the movements of noted danseuse Malika Sarabhai and asked it to ensure that these were removed. SC notice to
Punjab on Sidhu’s plea The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Punjab Government on a petition by former Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, seeking consolidated trial in two corruption cases against him in the “job-for-money scam”.
Bollywood eager
to tell Telgi’s tale Bollywood’s dream factory has just discovered Abdul Karim Telgi, the small-town criminal who masterminded the fake stamp paper racket. Zee Cine Awards
to be presented in Dubai In the season of cinema awards, Zee Cine Awards 2004, floated by Zee Group, will this time be presented in Dubai on February 26. 8 Pak nationals to be freed today
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Maneka, Varun join BJP
New Delhi, February 16 The 24-year-old Varun, who was welcomed into the BJP fold by party president M. Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of party general secretary Pramod Mahajan, however, declared that he would avoid making “personal attacks” on his cousins Priyanka Vadra and Rahul Gandhi. “I will try not to do so... we are of the same blood,” Varun said when asked whether he would campaign against his cousins in the coming elections. Varun, who was sporting a tilak on his forehead, however, asserted that foreign origin issue would be an issue in the coming poll, though not the main issue. “It (foreign origin issue) will be an issue, but it will not be the main issue...the main issue will be development, leadership and achievements of the Vajpayee-led NDA government,” he said. He, however, hastened to add that “I don’t believe in attacking anybody personally and rather believe in debating on any issue.” Asked why he had decided to join a “communal party”, Varun said: “I don’t consider the BJP as communal but a large-hearted party which is liberal, progressive, forward-thinking and generous.” In separate statements read out by them, Ms Maneka Gandhi and Varun said they had joined the BJP since strengthening the party was in the nation’s best interests. Ms Maneka Gandhi in her statement said: “In its mature stewardship of the NDA, the BJP has displayed a generosity and the spirit that allows people of strength and vision to blossom and grow. I am confident that in joining the BJP”. Varun said: “My family has been part of the Congress and has led it through its most glorious era. I do believe, however, that what my family was true to was not a party but a value system, a tradition of self-sacrifice, national pride and independence of spirit.” He said he would remain loyal to those ideas and that he thought it was the “time for every right-thinking Indian to strengthen the party that had proved its ability to lead the country forward.” Welcoming them into the fold, Mr Naidu said the party would be benefited by their joining. He avoided a direct reply to a question as to why the BJP was welcoming members from the Gandhi family while it had been attacking the family right through. He said: “Any individual was free to join any party he or she wanted to.” Earlier in the morning, the two had met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here. Ms Maneka Gandhi had been a minister in the Vajpayee government for three years before she was dropped from the Cabinet. She had won from the Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, BJP sources said the party would project Varun as a future leader and utilise him for campaigning across the country, especially in Uttar Pradesh. However, a top party leader said there would be a conscious attempt to avoid “over exposure” of Varun in these elections. He was likely to be present at a public meeting of the Prime Minister at Lucknow on February 29.  |
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Cong opposes IAF plane use by Advani New Delhi, February 16 EC sources, confirming the receipt of the request from the government, said: "It has received a request and the commission is yet to take a view on it." The specific request was that Mr Advani be allowed to continue to use Indian Air Force aircraft during electioneering without attracting any penalties under the Model Code of Conduct. As per the code, only the Prime Minister is allowed to use IAF aircraft for election tours under the security guidelines governing him. Expressing reservation over the proposal, Congress Working Committee member Pranab Mukherjee told newspersons that the Deputy Prime Minister did not enjoy any special constitutional status as in the case of the Prime Minister. |
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BJP to go solo in Haryana, Jharkhand New Delhi, February 16 This was decided at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board, which took a comprehensive view of the political realities in the state. Announcing the decision at the end of the two-and-a-half-hour meeting at the residence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan said that the board had accepted the demand of the Haryana unit to this effect. The party contested the Parliament and Assembly elections last time with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) as the senior partner. The parties had swept the Lok Sabha poll, getting five seats each. Even though the central leadership, including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was not in favour of ending the five-year-old relationship, the "maltreatment" meted out to the Haryana BJP leaders by the state government apparatus became the decisive factor, according to sources. Even while the central leadership was mulling over the course of action in Haryana, the party did think of alternative alliances and probed the party of former state Chief Minister Bansi Lal. The talks failed as the two parties remained adamant over the issues of past and bilateral ties. The party also directed the BJP units to finalise their recommendation for party candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections between February 25 and March 5 and send it to the central election committee for final selection. The committee will meet in Delhi between March 10 and 15 and announce all the candidates. On the seat-sharing issue in Tamil Nadu, Mr Mahajan said BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu had apprised the board of the latest position and talks were still on with the AIADMK. The alliance would contest all 40 seats, including Pondicherry, he said. In Andhra Pradesh, the electoral understanding with the Telgu Desam Party would be announced in two days, the sources said. In Jharkhand, the party was going to contest independently as talks with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had failed, the sources added. The party would try to accommodate Chhattisgarh leader V.C. Shukla for one of the Lok Sabha seats, a party leader said. |
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Cong unveils campaign plan New Delhi, February 16 Unveiling the contours of the party’s election campaign today, Congress spokesperson Janardhan Diwedi announced that 21 senior leaders and 23 young leaders would criss-cross the country from February 20 onwards as part of this plan. The Congress leaders, he said, would address public meetings and press conferences and also interact with people in different fields to put across the party’s views. As many as 46 towns and cities are to be covered during the first phase of the campaign, Mr Diwedi said. The second phase would begin around March 15, he added. Among the senior leaders who will be on the move include Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Mr Arjun Singh, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Digvijay Singh, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr Salman Khursheed, Mrs Ambika Soni and Mr Balram Jakhar. The younger leaders leaders include Mr Jyotiraditya, Youth Congress chief Randeep Surjewala and Mr Manish Tiwari. Mr Diwedi explained that there was a decided shift in the campaign style this time. Instead of going in for large rallies and public meetings, Congress leaders would instead focus on intimate interactions with the people. “In a rally, the people hear a leader’s speech and then go home. In such interactions, it is the people who talk while the leader listens,” said a senior Congress leader. Mr Diwedi said the party decided to change its approach following the overwhelming response to Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s “jan samparak” programmes in Uttar Pradesh. Although she will address public rallies once the elections come closer, the focus of her campaign, he said, would be on such ineractions. She is away on a two-day tour to Orissa today and will travel through Andhra Pradesh from February 24 to 26. She will cover all the states by mid-March, he added. As for the issues which the Congress plans to highlight, he said, include the comprehensive failures of the BJP-led NDA government while recalling the Congress party’s past achievements. The Congress party’s priorities, plans and programmes would also be explained during the campaign, Mr Diwedi added. |
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Secular front will form govt, says Paswan New Delhi, February 16 He expressed confidence that the Nationalist Congress Party NCP led by Mr Sharad Pawar and the Samajawadi Party (SP) would not extend their support to the BJP in the formation of a government after the polls. Dismissing the foreign origin issue of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said if the President had no objection in giving chance to Ms Gandhi to prove her majority in 1998, the BJP had no justification to rake up the issue. |
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J&K officials to meet EC today New Delhi, February 16 The EC today completed its consultations with all other states and asked them to report violations of the model code of conduct and election rules without “any delay, pressure or fear”. The commission, which had two rounds of meetings with top officials of 15 states, has so far met with officials of 29 states. The consultation process with the Union Home Ministry and the representatives of all political parties would be completed this week and the commission could announce the poll schedule after February 20. |
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VHP brings 586 families back to Hindu fold Ajmer, February 16 VHP chief Ashok Singhal, who was present at Andheri Deori village, presented tulsi garlands to villagers who returned into the Hindu fold in a ceremony yesterday. “The villagers were converted into Islam by force a few centuries back and most of them were observing religious ceremonies of both faiths,” a VHP spokesman said here. “Now the villagers have joined back their original faith,” he added. Each villagers was given a copy of the Ram Charitmanas by the VHP on this
occasion.
— PTI |
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SAARC members discuss bird flu New Delhi, February 16 Opening the meet, Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said: “Since the virus does not discriminate political and geographic boundaries, there is a need devise joint strategy in consultation with neighbouring countries.” With inputs from members of SAARC countries, experts from the WHO, health and agricultural departments, a strategy would be evolved to prevent the occurrence of the disease in the country, she said. While the Food Agriculture Organisation has stated that the spread of the avian influenza virus in several Asian
countries is still not under control, the WHO has said it could have more devastating impact than SARS. There was a need to address the problem at the psychological level as well, she said. The members would discuss preventing unnecessary panic among the public, she said, adding that the delegation would come out with a joint contingency plan against the avian flu virus which had killed 19 persons in Vietnam and Thailand. While Pakistan reported an outbreak of birdflu last month in Karachi, at least 20 persons have died from a mysterious birdflu like disease in Bangladesh, but birdflu has been ruled out there. India has no reported cases of birdflu so far, but has banned poultry imports. The country does not import any live birds. |
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N-proliferation worries EU New Delhi, February 16 The EU Troika was led by Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen, accompanied by Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs Bernard R.
Bot. The political dialogue meetings concentrated on bilateral relations, regional issues and international concerns. European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten voiced EU’s concern on nuclear proliferation at a press conference here in response to a question. “All of us are interested that all countries show restraint in this area,” Mr Patten said. Asked whether there was need to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) in the backdrop of reports of leak by Pakistani nuclear scientists, he said the EU was not in favour of this. Mr Patten acknowledged differences between India and the EU on the
NPT, saying that “we have differences. Either side is not going to change its position. All of us are interested in cooperating and acting responsibly. It is a dangerous problem.” Mr Patten will leave tonight for Afghanistan and thereafter will visit Pakistan. The EU Troika leaders met External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh. Mr Patten said given the comfortable foreign exchange reserves, Indian companies should plan bigger investments in Europe. The Indian government should facilitate this process. Other issues which came up during discussions today included the proposed 33 million Euro assistance to India which will enable a much larger intake of students from India into European universities. An agreement in this regard is to be signed later. India’s participation in the Galileo project on global positioning and navigation also came up during the talks. About the meeting with the EU Troika, Mr Sinha said the two sides were exploring the possibility of taking their cooperation in the fight against terrorism to a higher strata through agency-level interaction with
Europol. He said the establishment of the Indo-EU Joint Working Group
(JWG) on terrorism was a natural culmination of their common commitment in the fight against terrorism. |
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Biggest-ever Indo-US exercises begin New Delhi, February 16 In the combat exercises code named “Cope India 04”, the IAF will be pitted against one of the most hi-tech forces in the world. The Pacific Command of the US Air Force will pit its F-15C air superiority fighters against the IAF’s Mig-21, Mig 29 and Sukhoi-30 fighters and Gwalior-based Mirage 2000 fighter in simulated beyond visual range combat, high value asset protection and a number of the low and high altitude combat missions. The US Pacific Command Air Force team flew in with its planes in two giant C-5 galaxy transport aircraft for the joint exercises which would be witnessed by Air Chief S. Krashanswamy and other top IAF brass. The IAF was wanting to match its formidable frontline fighter fleet with the USAF F-16 fighting falcons. However, the USAF sent in the F-15C, which are labelled as flying eagles. The IAF’s deep penetration strike aircraft, Jaguar, were also slated to be included in the exercises but these are scheduled to leave for Alaska for similar joint exercises where these would be pitted against the USAF F-16s. This is the second joint exercise being conducted by the IAF which held
maneuvers with the French Air Force’s upgraded Mirage 2000-5 last year at the same air base. |
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Kharif production may touch 215 m New Delhi, February 16 Inaugurating the National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign, 2004, he stated that assisted by an excellent monsoon last year, Indian agriculture had made a resurgence after the setback received during 2002-03 due to severe drought. He said there was overproduction of wheat and rice and oilseeds and pulses continue to be imported. Mr Jain said some areas under wheat and rice cultivation needed to be diverted to pulses and oilseeds. The Agriculture Secretary said the ministry had prepared an action plan to facilitate this and consultations had also been held with the
FAO. He said diversification was also essential for increasing incomes of farmers, who need to switch to high-value crops. Regarding the Farm Income Insurance Scheme, he said it would extended to 100 districts from the current 20 during the kharif season. An effort would be made to cover all states and union territories during the kharif season. On the WTO issue, he said protection of the interests of Indian farmers was the top priority of the government and there was increasing international appreciation now of India’s position. The DG of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Dr Mangla Rai, stressed that the transfer of technology was the key to enhancing productivity, adding that the progress made by Indian agriculture had not been commensurate with its potential. About diversification, he said aquaculture could be a very fruitful area. Water management, production of quality seeds and integrated pest management were some key areas to which he drew attention for increasing productivity. The conference will review the performance during the 2003-04 rabi season, besides the programmes for the forthcoming kharif season. State agriculture secretaries, vice-chancellors of agricultural universities, heads of institutions of Indian Council for Agriculture Research and senior officers of various Central ministries are attending the two-day conference. |
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Project to end child labour by 2007 New Delhi, February 16 The $ 40 million project, directed at some 10 million children in 10 hazardous industries, is the largest ever labour programme being executed by the ILO at the national level. Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said the initiative was part of the government's resolve to send nearly 10 million child labourers to schools by 2007. He said the implementation of the project would go a long way in sending children to schools instead to workplaces. "The government has taken
similar measures to integrate the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Literacy Mission of the Human Resource Development Ministry with the child labour elimination programme of the Labour Department to achieve the target," he said. Steps had also been taken to ensure that by the end of the Tenth Plan every child below 14 years was in school and not at work, he said, adding that initiatives were also being taken to ensure that children between five to eight years were directly linked to the formal school education system through a coordinated effort with the SSA. US Secretary of Labour Elaine L Chao said the project would remove children from exploitative conditions, provide educational alternatives for child labourers and increase awareness of laws in India that restricted child labour practices. The project would be implemented in 20 districts in Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The Indian Government, on its own, would have completed
similar programmes in as many as 250 districts by the end of the Tenth Plan, Mr Sahib Singh added. |
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Lift curbs on
Sarabhai, SC asks Gujarat New Delhi, February 16 Seeking a reply in this regard from the Gujarat Government by February 23, the court also sought a response from it on a petition seeking the transfer of the Godhra train carnage trial out of the state, alleging that the state police was biased against the accused. On the question of the alleged restrictions on Sarabhai, a Bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Mr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan and Mr Justice S.H. Kapadia observed, “she is not a criminal. There has to be some fairness in the prosecution of a person.” |
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SC notice to Punjab on Sidhu’s plea New Delhi, February 16 The two-Judge Bench issued the notice after Sidhu’s counsel, Mr S.
Murlidhar, said the prosecution had failed to explain the reason before the Punjab and Haryana High Court why the case had been split into two parts, while the police had registered only one FIR. Punjab’s standing counsel, Mr Bimal Roy
Jad, who received the notice on behalf of the state, was directed by the court to submit an affidavit in reply to the petition. “The state has to explain why they are doing this. There should be some explanation somewhere,” Sidhu’s counsel said, alleging that no clear reason had been given by the prosecution why separate chargesheets had been filed in the “trap case” and the “disproportionate assets” case. |
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Bollywood eager to tell Telgi’s tale Mumbai, February 16 One film on the racketeer has already been released and two others are in the pipeline. Mahesh Bhatt is backing one of the ventures, which is snowballing into a controversy. Just days after Bhatt announced his intention to script Telgi’s rags-to-riches-to-bust tale on celluloid, the fraudster himself threatened to move court to halt the venture.
Bhatt now says the movie will be fictional and would not refer to Telgi. Having ensured that the film at least gets a decent opening thanks to the controversy, Bhatt has roped in Irfan Khan to play the lead.
Irfan, who is basking in the glory of his highly acclaimed performance in Maqbool, has already enrolled himself as a member of the Telgi fan club. “He is an uneducated man who took the government machinery for a ride...how he bribed officials is just incredible,” Irfan has been quoted as saying.
Bhatt thought of the film on Telgi after investigators reported that the scamster blew up almost a crore on a Mumbai bar-girl in just one night. |
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Zee Cine Awards to be presented in Dubai New Delhi, February 16 It will be the first time that an Indian cinema award ceremony will be held abroad and it is likely to be one of the biggest events seen in Dubai. Zee Cine Awards will be witnessed this time by over 8,000 persons from across the globe. The awards would be distributed in all categories, including those in the technical field. The network has already announced awards in the technical category. “Pinjar” bagged three of the technical awards, followed by
“Bhoot”, “Munnabhai MBBS” and “Koi Mil Gaya”. |
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8 Pak nationals to be freed today New Delhi, February 16 Foreign Office spokesman Navtej Sarna said the eight Pakistanis — four civilians and as many boys — would be released tomorrow. The four civilians were detained in Gujarat, while the four Pakistani boys were detained and lodged at the Faridkot Juvenile Detention Centre. The civilians were granted consular access on May 19 last year while travel documents were issued to facilitate their repatriation on January 12 this year. |
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