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Cong nominees’ selection begins next week
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Punjab Cong seeks quick decision on alliances Division in Akali ranks, Telgi case: Sharma’s plea dismissed
Editors Guild made party in Hindu case
Jaya’s plea on transfer of cases turned down
SC allows POTA panel to hear Vaiko’s case
Foodgrain output pegged at record 212.2 mt
Film on Gujarat wins awards at Berlin fest
HC allows ceremony in Suraiya’s flat
Capt invites Elahi for
cricket match
DTC can run more buses to Lahore
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Sidhu, Oberoi join BJP
New Delhi, February 17 Soon after he was introduced to the media by BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan, Sidhu hailed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his leadership and took a shot at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, without naming her, saying “shikhar mein kauwa baithne se garud nahin ban jata (just by sitting on the top of a peak a crow doesn’t become a garuda).” Going ga ga over Mr Vajpayee’s leadership, Sidhu said: “Due to his unparalleled leadership quality, the Prime Minister has turned ‘weakness into strength’ and ‘disaster into triumph’”. Asked why he joined a “bad” party, Sidhu struck a philosophical note saying that “no party is good or bad. The thinking of the party makes it good or bad.” Over
enthusiasm of Sidhu was evident when he took the mike from the party chief to reply to a question on what he had to say on former BJP president Bangaru Laxman, who is an accused in the Tehelka expose. The 41-year-old Sidhu, who took the art of cricket commentary to new heights after having a glorious innings in the game representing India, however, will not be available for campaigning till the last leg of campaigning as he will be busy doing commentary for a TV channel during the Indo-Pak cricket series. Opinion within the BJP appears to be that in the run up to the crucial Lok Sabha poll, Sidhu’s inimitable style of communication and his fan following would be a big boost. |
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Cong nominees’ selection begins next week
New Delhi, February 17 Party sources today indicated that the central election committee may have its first sitting on February 22 and 23 since Congress president Sonia Gandhi would be in the Capital on these two days. The preliminary round of discussions was expected to begin with an assessment of the sitting MPs. The pradesh election committees have been asked to send their inputs on the potential candidates by then so that the Central leadership can begin processing these names. In true Congress style, virtually all state units had passed one-line resolutions leaving the final selection to Ms Sonia Gandhi. The Congress president, however, has told the state units that these resolutions will not be acceptable and they should undertake an indepth analysis of the constituency profiles and the prospective candidates on the basis of the information conveyed to them by the district committees. It was stated that this exercise should have been completed much earlier but it was delayed because of the resolutions. The states have now been asked to expedite the process. “The state units can send one name or a panel of names but they have all been told very clearly that winnability of the candidate should be the sole
criterion for the recommendation,” said a party leader. These suggestions along with the assessment of the AICC general secretaries and party observers would be taken into account while finalising the names. Party sources also indicated that if sitting MPs did not meet the criterion of winnability, the leadership would not hesitate to drop them. “ This is a crucial election and if a sitting MP is not repeated, it will be for very valid reasons,” remarked a Congress insider. Although the party leadership is keen on fielding senior leaders for the Lok Sabha this time, it will take care to field only those Rajya Sabha members who are either to retire shortly or those who are from states where the Congress is in a position to retain these seats. “What is the point of gaining a seat in the Lok Sabha and losing one in the Rajya Sabha. We also have to keep an eye on the party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha,” explained a Congress leader. |
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Punjab Cong seeks quick decision on alliances New Delhi, February 17 There is a general perception that the political rival’s selection has met with tremendous resentment from the Akali Dal’s own cadres and this could ultimately help the Congress. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and the state unit President Hanspal are learnt to have conveyed this to the central party leadership today at the meeting of the AICC coordination committee on Punjab, which was also attended by general secretaries Mohsina Kidwai and Ambika Soni. While giving their assessment of the prevailing political situation in Punjab, the state leaders are learnt to pointed out that the SAD workers are extremely angry over the choice of the candidates as a result of which several rebels could enter the fray. “There is bound to lead to turmoil in the Akail Dal .... in fact, it is already happening,” remarked a Punjab Congress leader, adding that this could work to their benefit. According to Punjab Congress leaders, the selection of candidates and the rally organised by SAD near Ludhiana on Monday has sent out a clear cut message to its cadres that former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s one-point agenda is to promote his son Sukhbir Badal. “This has not been received well by the party,” remarked a Congress leader. The AICC coordination committee generally oversees the implementation of the various development schemes in a state but with a crucial Lok Sabha election coming up, the deliberations today also focussed on the political situation in the state and the Congress party’s own preparations for the election. Besides discussing the fall-out of the SAD’s Lok Sabha candidates, the committee also undertook an assessment of the Congress position in the various constituencies. The second round of discussions being held on Wednesday is likely to take up the names of prospective candidates, it is learnt. It was also clarified at this meeting that there have been no formal discussion on seat sharing with the Left parties so far. CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet’s announcement that the Congress had agreed to leave the Hoshiarpur seat to his party was not correct, the meeting was told. The Punjab leaders, are learnt to have urged the AICC to take a quick decision on alliances as this had held up the selection of candidates. The state unit is keen that the candidates are finalised soon so to enable them to commence their campaign. |
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Division in Akali ranks, says Bhattal New Delhi, February 17 “Though the Akali Dals led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Mr G.S. Tohra had united, divisions in the Akali Dal are becoming apparent after the declaration of their first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls,’’ she said. Ms Bhattal, who was in the forefront of a revolt against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in December last, said the Congress will fight the coming polls unitedly. “There is difference between December and February,’’ she said in reply to a question. Maintaining she was not keen to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Ms Bhattal, however, did not rule out the possibility. “I and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh can both contest on the directions of the high command,’’ she said. Ms Bhattal said the state party unit had already sent panel of names to the Central leadership for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state. She said the party could win all the seats. The Congress leader said the party would gain from alliances in the state but the final decision in the matter would be taken by the party high command. To a question, the Deputy Chief Minister said development and corruption would be among the poll planks of the Congress in the coming polls. She said the party’s Central leadership was still considering some of the points of the compromise formula for unity in the state party unit, which have not been implemented so far. |
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Telgi case: Sharma’s plea dismissed
Mumbai, February 17 Dismissing Mr Sharma’s petition, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Mr Justice V.G. Palshikar and Mr Justice P.V. Kakade said a detailed judgment would follow later. The judges also dismissed similar petitions by two other accused, MLA Anil Gote and Deputy Commissioner of Police Pradeep Sawant on similar grounds. In his plea, Mr Sharma had contended that the act had been specially legislated to combat the underworld and its provisions could be applied only in cases when violence, threat or coercion were employed. The former police commissioner, who was punished with a transfer before being arrested, pleaded that the fake stamp scam case did not fall under the Act because it involved only fraudulent purchase of old printing machines from the Indian Security Press that were used to print forged stamp papers. Mr Sharma had pleaded that the principal accused, Abdul Karim Telgi be also brought out of the purview of the Act. Advocate-General Goolam Vahanvati, appearing for the state government, argued that the applications by Mr Sharma and others before the high court were premature and they should have actually challenged the Act before the special MCOCA court. Meanwhile, Mr Sharma’s bail plea would be heard by the high court on February 24. He was arrested on December 1, 2003, for his involvement in the fake stamp scam. |
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Editors Guild made party in Hindu case
New Delhi, February 17 The guild in its application said it wanted to become party to the case as a vital question of the freedom of the Press and speech as guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution was involved and it, as an apex body of over 100 editors of all major publications in the country, was duty bound to safeguard the media's independence. Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde admitted the application of the guild for making it party after its counsel, Mr P.H. Parekh, made a special mention of the filing before him. "The guild is vitally interested in protecting the freedom of speech and in clearly laying down the scope and extent of this right as it affects the conduct of work of the Press and its representatives on a day-to-day basis," Mr Parekh told the court. The court had on December 8, 2003, stayed the arrest warrants against Ravi and four of his senior colleagues and DMK mouthpiece Murasoli's Editor issued by the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker after the House had pronounced them guilty of "breach of privilege" and sentenced them to 15 days' imprisonment on November 7. The court has referred the matter to a Constitution Bench, saying that a very important question of law relating to the issue of freedom of speech and its interplay vis a vis the privilege of the legislature, is involved. |
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Jaya’s plea on transfer of cases turned down
New Delhi, February 17 A Bench comprising Mr Justice S. N. Variava and Mr Justice H. K. Sema, which had ordered the transfer on November 18 last year, declined to modify the order, holding that her petition was “devoid of merits”. Ms Jayalalithaa, her close associate Sasikala Natrajan and three others, accused of amassing assets worth Rs 66.65 crore by the prosecution, had opposed the transfer of the cases to Karnataka, alleging that she would neither get a fair trial nor adequate security there due to “anti-Tamilian” sentiments in the state over the Cauvery waters issue. |
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SC allows POTA panel to hear Vaiko’s case
New Delhi, February 17 A Bench of Chief Justice Mr V N Khare and Mr Justice S H Kapadia, however, said that the POTA Review Committee would not pronounce its final verdict in the cases against Vaiko and Gopal till March 8 when the matter would come up for hearing again by the court. The direction was given by the court during the brief hearing on the Tamil Nadu Government’s appeals against the Madras High Court’s February 4 order upholding the POTA panel’s jurisdiction to review all cases referred to it, including those pending before the courts. While Vaiko had alleged that the POTA case against him was slapped due to political reasons by the Jayalalithaa government, Gopal had claimed that he was “falsely” implicated. The Tamil Nadu Government had challenged the high court order in the apex court on the ground that the POTA Review Committee was only an administrative body, and therefore, it had no power to hear the cases pending in courts. |
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Foodgrain output pegged at record 212.2 mt
New Delhi, February 17 The estimates of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of 208 million tonne were revised during the National Conference on Agriculture for kharif campaign and released by outgoing Agriculture Secretary R.C. Jain. The second advance crop estimates for 2003-04 and the ‘first’ for the entire season showed that total grain output in the rabi season would register a growth of 17.2 per cent to 101.22 million tonne from 86.38 million tonne, Mr Jain said. The country’s oilseeds output was pegged at an all-time high of 249.98 lakh tonne in 2003-04, which is a whopping 65.9 per cent higher than last year’s 150.58 lakh tonne. Kharif output will rise to 110.98 million tonne from 87.81 million tonne, an increase of 26.4 per cent, primarily because the production had been devastated by drought last year. Wheat production is poised to rise 16.9 per cent to a record 76.12 million tonne from last year’s drought-hit 65.1 million tonne. The estimates pegged rice production at 87.94
million tonne, up 21 per cent from 72.66 million tonne last year. This included the increase in output in the kharif season to 77.83 million tonne from 63.66 million tonne and 10.11 million tonne from 9 million tonne in the rabi season. The second advance crop estimates for oilseeds for the current year are also higher than the figure of 235 lakh tonne arrived at the Directorate of Economics and Statistics earlier this month. Mr Jain said production of mustard, the most important oilseeds crop in the rabi season would rise to 58.83 lakh tonne, up 50 per cent from 39.18 lakh tonne in 2002-03. Mr Jain said overall production in kharif and rabi seasons would be 166.89 lakh tonne and 82.86 lakh tonne,
respectively, an increase of 84.4 per cent and 37.9 per cent respectively, from 90.5 and 60.08 lakh tonne in 2002-03. Record production has been registered in soyabean at 76.07 lakh tonne, up 66.9 per cent from 45.58 lakh tonnes last year. Groundnut production has nearly doubled to 84.77 lakh tonne against 43.63 lakh tonne in 2002-03. This includes output of 71.28 lakh tonne and 13.49 lakh tonne in the kharif and rabi seasons respectively against a mere 32.38 lakh tonne and 11.25 lakh tonne in 4he previous year. Output of linseeds has been put at 1.78 lakh tonne, marginally higher than 1.73 lakh tonne in 2002-03 and that of sunflower at 1.24 lakh tonne, slightly lower than last year’s 1.57 lakh tonne. Castorseed output will also rise to 7.64 lakh tonne from 4.34 lakh tonne while that of sesamum is projected to be up 79 per cent to 7.78 lakh tonnes from 4.34 lakh tonne. Nigerseed production will, however, fall to 1.09 lakh tonne from 1.17 lakh tonne. Sunflower output is projected at 10.55 lakh tonne against 9.1
lakh tonne in the previous year. It includes a production of 7.52 lakh tonne and 3.03 lakh tonne in rabi and kharif season respectively compared to 6.35 lakh tonne and 2.75 lakh tonne in the year-ago period. |
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Kalam for new varsity at Nalanda
New Delhi, February 17 Inaugurating an international conclave on Buddhism and
spiritual tourism here, he said it was essential to re-establish a university at Nalanda which would cherish and find new meaning in the philosophy of Lord Buddha. He suggested that the conclave should recommend the establishment of a “university of unity and understanding” to the ministries of Human Resources Development and Tourism and Culture. Recalling that during his visit to Bodh Gaya, a young monk had posed to him a question on the country’s nuclear warheads, the President said he narrated Emperor Asoka’s preaching of “ahimsa” and “dharma” after the Kalinga war and the new dimension given by Mahatma Gandhi to these great principles during the freedom
movement. He said in India’s case, it was self-defence for which nuclear weapons were developed and the nation had to become a nuclear weapon power. “At no time, we will use them, unless someone uses against us. If every nation with nuclear weapons decides to dismantle them completely, India will be the first to do so. India has always been advocating a total disarmament in the world”, he said. |
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Film on Gujarat wins awards at Berlin fest
Mumbai, February 17 The documentary film by Rakesh Sharma was awarded the Wolfgang Staudte Award and the Special Jury Award at the festival which concluded on Sunday. Interestingly, “Final Solutions” was rejected by the recently concluded Mumbai International Film Festival. However, it was screened at a parallel festival, “Vikalp”. The second award was presented to the film for its clarification of issues that spawned hate and violence between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, its analysis of propaganda mechanisms for political purposes, and its measured voice to seek a solution.
—PTI |
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HC allows ceremony in Suraiya’s flat Mumbai, February 17 Mr Justice S.J. Majuamdar gave the direction on an application filed by Amee Shah, who claims to be the singer’s adopted daughter. Ms Shah had said she wanted to organise “chalisva” (a Muslim tradition of offering prayers on the 40th day after a person’s death) in the flat at Marine Drive in South Mumbai, where the actress lived. In a related development, the Registrar of the High Court today submitted a list of jewellery and other items lying in the cupboard of Suraiya’s flat, as sought by Ms Shah. Meanwhile, the court deferred its verdict for four weeks on two claims on the singer’s properties. Ms Shah, the daughter of Suraiya’s solicitor Dhiman Thakker and Mehfooz Ahmed, the Pakistan-based “cousin” of late actress, have made claims on the properties owned by Suraiya, who died here on January 31. — UNI |
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Capt invites Elahi for
cricket match
New Delhi, February 17 Capt Amarinder Singh, who was in the Capital, telephoned Mr Elahi after learning about clearance to his proposal from the Ministry of External Affairs. Mr Elahi expressed his inability to come for the match due to the Basant festival being held in his state. According to Rana G S Sodhi, political secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr Elahi conveyed that he would come to Punjab at a later date. |
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DTC can run more buses to Lahore
New Delhi, February 17 Under the agreement, Pakistan also can introduce additional buses depending on the demand on the Lahore-Delhi route. The additional buses could be operated as part of the scheduled service and the same convoy. A six-member delegation, headed by DTC Managing Director AJ Sawhney, had held two-day talks with Pakistani counterparts last month for the renewal of the agreement on the bus service for another five years. The accord was signed in February 1999. |
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