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PIL to amend National Anthem
rejected
India willing to discuss Kashmir: PM
2 UK airlines to increase flights from India
Congress to contest 154 seats in Maharashtra
Dawood’s brother moves court to contest
poll
NDA govt almost gave Kalam social security
number!
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Congress facing allies’ threats
Kharif foodgrain output declines
by 10 per cent
Atal, Badal to join ‘Tiranga yatra’ in
Amritsar
Sorabjee lambasts inactive
executive
Indo-US naval exercises scaled down
Kushinagar DM, SP suspended
Trans-Asian rail links to be reality
RPF personnel get police powers
Fodder scam: SC cautions CBI against damaging
evidence
Major to face court martial
today
Agnivesh, Asghar Ali share Right Livelihood
Award
Love for surprise: Uma to Babulal
Gaur
Sikhs number 8.18 lakh in
Rajasthan
Surinder Singh to face court
martial today
Don’t include foreigners in
Plan panel: CPM
Foreign consultants to continue, says Montek
Talbott to launch
Brookings-ORF partnership
Pray for world peace today, urges Mata
Trans-Asian rail links to be reality
RPF personnel get police powers
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PIL to amend National Anthem
rejected
New Delhi, September 20 Dismissing the PIL, filed by former skating champion Sanjeev Bhatnagar, a Bench comprising Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice G.P. Mathur and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar told him to first approach the Union Government on the issue as it was within the competence of the Centre to consider such a request. The Bench, however, gave liberty to Mr Bhatnagar to move the court again if his plea was not entertained by the Union Government. Mr Bhatnagar, who represented India in the Japan Asian Games, in his PIL had contended that the National Anthem could be modified according to the geographical composition of the country. He had placed on record the debate in the Constituent Assembly in support of his petition, contending that the first President Dr Rajendra Prasad while addressing the framer of the Constitution, had stated that the National Anthem “Jana Gana
Mana...” was subject to such an alternation as the Government “may authorise and as the occasion arises.” While seeking substitution of word “Sindh” with “Kashmir”, the petitioner said retaining it in the National Anthem did not make any sense as the provice formed a part of Pakistan after the partition. Apart from violating the sovereignty of Pakistan, retaining of the word “Sindh” in the National Anthem was hurting the sentiments of the Indian citizens who are supposed to sing in the praise of the territory of a foreign country while reciting the Anthem, the PIL said. He had also cited examples of various countries which had made suitable amendments in their national anthem from time to time. |
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India willing to discuss Kashmir: PM
New Delhi, September 20 The leading American weekly , which has put the new Indian Prime Minister on its cover in its latest issue, quotes him as saying, about his meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Friday in New York, that “getting to know each other is important. But we are willing to discuss all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, and find solutions rooted in ground realities.” It quoted the unnamed Indian official as saying that Mr Manmohan Singh, in New York, would make an offer to help defuse the situation in Kashmir. —
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2 UK airlines to increase flights from India
New Delhi, September 20 At the end of two-day Secretary-level talks last week, both countries agreed to increase the number of direct flights from 19 to 40 per week for each side. It has also been decided to increase the number of destinations that may be served in the two countries. British carriers can now operate directly to Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi in addition to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. At the same time, Indian carriers can operate directly to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol in addition to London, Manchester and Birmingham.
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Congress to contest 154 seats in Maharashtra
New Delhi, September 20 The party today declared candidates for 147 of 154 seats, leaving seven seats pending. The party has decided to give four to Left parties, two to RPI (Gavai), one to RJD and two to Independents. Of the 74 sitting MLAs of the Congress, six have been dropped. With the Congress having been allotted 163 seats under the seat-sharing agreement, the NCP has been left with 125 seats in the 288 member house. The Congress is contesting its lowest tally of seats in the state. Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde will seek re-election from his home constituency of Sholapur (south-rural). Former Chief Minister
Vilasrao Deshmukh will contest from Latur and former PCC chief Ranjit Deshmukh from Nagpur (West). The lists were announced by AICC general secretary Margaret Alva and Maharshtra PCC chief Prabha Rau. Ms Alva said the candidates for the pending seats of Malabar Hill, Matunga, Malad (all Mumbai) and Arvi, Umred, Sholapur (North) and Sangrul would be announced tomorrow. She said a “fine balance” had been maintained in selecting nominees which included at least 40 nominees below the
age of 45 years. While 12 women have been given tickets by the party, it has fielded 25 candidates from minorities. To a query, Ms Alva said there would be a joint manifesto which would be announced soon. A programme for joint campaigning by the leaders of the two parties was being worked out in consultation with the state units of the partners,
she said. Asked if the party would be projecting a Chief Minister in the state, she said the newly elected MLAs would decide
the matter. Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar today said he was satisfied”over the seat-sharing deal with Congress for the Maharashtra Assembly polls. “I am satisfied. No one can get complete satisfaction as in an alliance. Some sacrifices are inevitable,” he said. Mr Pawar did not forsee any major problem to the Congress-led alliance due to presence of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. Ruling out his party’s merger with the Congress, he claimed that the alliance would comfortably return to power and provide a stable government.
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Dawood’s brother moves court to contest
poll
Mumbai, September 20 Kaskar’s decision follows the court order that Kaskar’s name be included in the electoral rolls. According to sources here, Kaskar may contest either on the Samajwadi Party or the BSP ticket. However, neither of the two parties were willing to admit that Kaskar would be given the ticket. Police sources say Kaskar has for long been trying to contest elections from the Mohammad Ali Road constituency in South Mumbai, which is dominated by the Muslim community. Despite his arrest under MCOCA, the police has not been able to convict the mafia don’s brother in any major case. He is accused in several murders, including that of a Customs official. He has also been charged with using muscle power in Mumbai’s construction industry. Should Iqbal Kaskar contest the poll, he would be the second major don to fight the Maharashtra Assembly poll. Dawood’s one-time accomplice-turned rival, Arun Gawli, is already contesting the election from Chinchpokli in Central Mumbai under the banner of his Akhil Bharatiya Sena. |
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NDA govt almost gave Kalam social security
number!
New Delhi, September 20 Documents available reveal that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO) under the Labour Ministry planned to present the first national social security number
(NSSN) to the President, but changed its programme at the last minute following legal advice. In a letter to the Centre for the Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on February 14 this year, Additional Central Provident Fund Commissioner
S.K. Khanna informed the CPI (M)-affiliated union that the EPFO would launch the NSSN during its golden jubilee celebrations on February 25, “with the presentation of the first social security card to the President”. Another letter, this time by the Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ajai Singh sent the next day said the President would sign the NSSN, which would be handed over by the then Labour Minister Saheb Singh Verma. The
EPFO, however, rescheduled the programme at the Vigyan Bhavan after legal advice that the President was “not eligible for any Social Security Number under any such law”. The final programme did not include the signing of the NSSN by the President or handing over the number to him by the Labour Minister. Instead, the Labour Minister handed over the numbers to two employee-members of the Employees’ Provident Fund. The President released a special postal cover and the EPF golden jubilee souvenir besides delivering his speech on the occasion. “The President is the most secured pensioner in the country. The First Citizen, however, gets a defined pension and the money for all benefits to him, like healthcare comes from the national budget,” says CITU secretary Tapan Sen. Mr Sen says the national social security scheme of the previous government (the launch of the scheme was mired in controversy after the Congress alleged that the enrolment forms distributed in Mumbai after the announcement of general elections had the election symbol of the BJP) was meant for the unorganised workers. The EPFO, however, was not the authorised agency for dealing with the scheme, he said. In a written reply to CPI (M) Rajya Sabha member Dipankar Mukherjee at the fag end of the Budget session of Parliament, the present Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola said the EPFO was not authorised to issue the NSSN to workers covered under various social security schemes. Mr Ola also said the government had not designated the EPFO as the nodal agency for administering social security schemes in the country. Mr Mukherjee has now written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding an inquiry into the “launch of National Social Security Number and the unauthorised role of the EPFO in allotment of NSSN” besides looking into how the “high office of the President was dragged into this unauthorised venture”. —
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AIATF honours war
veterans
New Delhi, September 20 Among those honoured were Col V N Thapar (retd), who took part in 1965 and 1971 wars and whose son laid down his life for the country in the Kargil war and Lt-Col Inder Singh (retd) whose son Major Gurpreet Singh laid down his life fighting militants in Doda. Sapper Mohammad Arif and Lance Naik Jagseer Singh, who had gone missing during the Kargil operations and returned home after spending five years in Pakistani jails, were also honoured. Former President R Venkataraman, who was the chief guest, complimented AIATF chief M S Bitta for making efforts to imbibe spirit of patriotism in the youth. Except Amitabh Bachchan, all leading lights of the movie ‘Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon’ were present at the music release. Sunny Deol, Akshay Khanna, Danny Denzogpa, Anu Malik, Anuradha Paudwal, Sonu Nigam, Sudesh Bhonsle, Sandali Sinha and Divya Khosla were cheered by the Tricolour waving crowd as they received awards. Rajiv Shukla, MP, was also present. Filmstar Ashutosh Rana made an impressive speech, telling briefly about the effort that had gone into making the film. Audio cassettes and CDs of the songs in the movie were released after a brief audio-visual presentation. The organisers apparently had not cared to check the capacity of Vigyan Bhawan while issuing invitation cards. One hour after the start of function, people were still at the gates in the sweltering heat, waiting for a chance to get in. Director of the movie Anil Sharma also found himself stranded outside. He could manage his way to the stage only after some angry phone calls. There was uproar at one of the doors while Mr Venkataraman was speaking. |
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Congress facing allies’ threats Mumbai, September 20 The first to hit out was the Ramdas Athvale faction of the Republic Party of India. Mr Ramdas Athvale told reporters that his party would contest 100 seats on its own. “We were not consulted and a few seats were allotted to us without our consent,” Mr Athvale said. The Congress and the NCP had earlier sought to placate Mr Athwale by not aligning with the BSP which is making inroads into Maharashtra. The Congress took a share of 159 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly leaving the rest to its partner, the Nationalist Congress Party. The Congress released the names of 147 candidates today. The remaining seats are being held out as a bait to the smaller parties. According to sources here, other factions of the RPI and the CPM are demanding more seats. The CPM was demanding the Solapur South seat which will now be contested by Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. The Congress is hoping that the Left party will settle for less than the 18 seats it has been demanding. |
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Kharif foodgrain output declines
by 10 per cent
New Delhi, September 20 The first advance crop estimates released here today said that the kharif foodgrain output has declined 10.46 per cent to 100.29 million tonnes in the kharif season 2004-05 from 112 million tonnes last year. “Against an actual output of 108 million tonnes in the last rabi, we are confident that the output will touch 125-135 million tonnes this rabi. This will ensure that the total output in 2004-05 will be well above last year’s 212 million tonnes,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here. Releasing the estimates, he said that to encourage farmers for taking up rabi sowing in the right earnest, the MSPs (Minimum Support Prices) of the 25 crops will be announced in the next few days. The Minister said an additional Rs 540 crore has been allocated for agriculture under the Annual Plan, a large part of which will be deployed in improving the micro-nutrients in soil to boost rabi output. “The Ministry is deputing teams to various states to give a massive push for rabi output for which moisture content in soil is much better than last year,” he said. He also expressed confidence that the kharif output shortfall will be covered. Credit allocation for farmers has been enhanced this year to Rs 1.05 lakh crore from 80,000 crore last year and disbursals were being monitored on a daily basis. Total oilseeds output declined 9.11 per cent over the previous kharif season. Production of coarse cereal stood at 24.5 million tonnes and pulses output stood at 4.69 million tonnes. Rice output in the kharif season 2004-05 stood at 71.1 million tonnes, down 3.81 per cent from 73.92 million tonnes in 2003-04 kharif season. Production of groundnut, the most important oilseeds crop of the kharif season with oil content of nearly 32 per cent, stood at 6.3 million tonnes against 7.1 million tonnes last year. Sugarcane production
has registered a fall for the third consecutive year to 235.45 million tonnes from 236.1 million tonnes last year. Cotton output, however, rose marginally to 13.85 million bales of 170 kg each compared to 13.78 million bales in 2003-04. |
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Atal, Badal to join ‘Tiranga yatra’ in
Amritsar
New Delhi, September 20 Former Punjab Chief Minister and chief of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal will also participate in the programme, BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley told newspersons here. Mr Vajpayee would address a public meeting at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to mark the conclusion of the 15-day programme which started from Hubli in Karnataka and criss-crossed various other states, he said. BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu was also expected to participate in the concluding programme if his wife, who was not well, got better by then, he said. The announcement came in the wake of reports that former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister had a tiff with Mr Naidu with the former accusing the party chief of preventing Mr Vajpayee from attending her concluding programme. Terming the news reports as baseless, Mr Jaitley said the party had scheduled a series of programme, including Tiranga Yatra, and there was no difference whatsover between the top leaders of the party. “It is a media creation and I think there is no need for me to react to it,” Mr Jaitley said, adding that Mr Vajpayee would fly down to Amritsar on September 25 after participating in the celebrations to be held at the party headquarters on the same day to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Although the party’s central leaders try to downplay the reports, party sources insisted that Ms Bharti made a strong protest over the “disinterest” being shown by other top party leaders towards her “Tiranga Yatra”. According to reports, Ms Bharti had been angry that the top party leadership did not take active part in her yatra. The cancellation of Mr Naidu’s trip to Bhopal at the last minute had also agitated her. |
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Sorabjee lambasts inactive
executive
New Delhi, September 20 Addressing a seminar on “Federalism, governance and a conflict of views between the Supreme Court and the Constitution,” he said judicial activism and public interest litigations had made the judiciary sensitive to human sufferings and had enabled them to force the government to act. Stating that there was no conflict between the Supreme Court and the Constitution, he said the apex court interpreted the law and protected the Fundamental Rights. Although it would be ideal to have the basic features of the Constitution in a written format, which made it clear and made it out of bounds for the executive to legislate or curb it, Mr Sorabjee said there were five basic features of the Constitution, which had over the years been upheld. Agreeing with the former Advocate-General, the Editor of The Tribune Mr H.K. Dua, addressing the seminar, said political leaders had “engineered” the 1984 riots and the Gujarat riots, which drove a massive majority to certain political parties. “By creating such circumstances they can create havoc with the system and to prevent such things from happening we need concrete measures to protect the basic structure of the Constitution,” he added. |
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Indo-US naval exercises scaled down
New Delhi, September 20 The exercises which are to begin off the Goa coast from October 1, were expected to see at least one nuclear powered aircraft carrier from the US. But the schedule worked out by the joint Naval group steering committee has been put off now. It also would have been for the first time that Indian Naval warships would have had a chance to match their skills against these giant carriers. Apparently the recent ship-docking tiffs off the Mumbai coast has cast its shadow on the exercises, which the Navy is still not saying as ‘scaled down’. Last year, over nine warships’ including a Los Angeles class nuclear submarine, took part in the joint exercises off the Cochin coast. |
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Kushinagar DM, SP suspended
Lucknow, September 20 Kushinagar has been tense for a while after members of two communities clashed over a minor incident. Before things could return to normal there was a fresh flare-up on Saturday when communal violence erupted in the Padrauna police station area. The three other officials suspended include ASP Jitendra Prasad Singh, DSP Lakshmi Narayan Chaturvedi and Inspector Padrauna Vikram Rao Premi. The Chief Minister reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting yesterday. According to sources, Mr Mulayam Singh expressed displeasure at the district authorities sending misleading reports to the state government instead of trying to bring the situation under control. |
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Trans-Asian rail links to be reality
New Delhi, September 20 Inaugurating a two-day meeting of Chief Executive Officers of Railways of BIMSTEC countries here, Hoda said the vision of Trans-Asian rail links should become a reality. He urged the member countries-Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal — to pool their resources for harmonising different rail technologies, development plan of their national railway networks and training facilities to achieve the ultimate vision of Trans-Asian Rail Links spanning South East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Europe under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Hoda said the railways of the BIMSTEC countries should take advantage of the worldwide revival of railways as energy efficient, eco-friendly and cost-effective bulk transportation system to integrate themsleves for the social and economic prosperity of the people. In his welcome address, Railway Board Chairman, R.K. Singh, who is leading the Indian delegation in the BIMSTEC conference, offered full cooperation for integrating railways of the member countries to achieve the vision for Trans-Asian Rail Links. |
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RPF personnel get police powers
New Delhi, September 20 Speaking at the 20th RPF raising day parade, he took the salute and reminded the force of its role in plugging leakage of revenues on account of overweight and undercharging of parcel and freight traffic and ticketless travelling. He complimented the force for having come out unscathed in fighting insurgency and election-related duties along with other forces of the Union. He pinned up President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service on officers and jawans of the force on the occasion. He announced an award of Rs 1.5 lakh to the RPF personnel who took part in the raising day parade. In his welcome address, the Director-General of the RPF, Mr A.K. Suri, said about 8,000 vacancies would be filled soon. |
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Fodder scam: SC cautions CBI against damaging
evidence
New Delhi, September 20 Allowing a petition by pardoned accused Dipesh Chandak against the Patna High Court order permitting the Income Tax authorities to prosecute him even when the CBI had made him a key witness, a Bench of Mr Justice S. N. Variava and Mr Justice H. K. Sema said: “This may result in valuable evidence being lost in the fodder scam cases”. Mr Laloo Prasad is facing charges of corruption and alleged misappropriation in six fodder scam cases being heard by Special Courts in Patna and Ranchi. A separate petition about the alleged “interference” by Mr Prasad in the fodder scam cases, after becoming a Union Minister, has already been referred by the Supreme Court to its Special Bench, monitoring the scam cases. The court while reserving its judgement on the appeal of Chandak, who was the main supplier to the Bihar Animal Husbandry Department and had “confessed” to have made “fake bills” of crores of rupees, had taken exception to the CBI and the Income Tax Department taking different stand on the issue under alleged “pressure” from Mr Prasad. Reversing the Patna High Court’s order in this regard, the Supreme Court said: “To continue with Chandak’s prosecution would thus amount to forcing him to give evidence against himself or to risk pardon being cancelled as he cannot make a full and complete disclosure for fear of being convicted in the other case.” Staying the prosecution of Chandak by the Income Tax Department till trial in the fodder scam was over against the accused, the apex court gave him opportunity to apply for quashing of his prosecution by the department. “Thus, even though the pardon may not extend to him in these (income tax) offences, in our view, this is a fit case where the government should consider not prosecuting him,” the court in its 10-page judgement said. Though the order was pronounced by the court on September 17, the copy of the judgement was made available to the media only today. The court reminded the Income Tax Department that Chandak had made “frank disclosure” regarding the offences of misappropriation of huge amount of government money by the accused. “In our view, the high court was not correct in concluding that until evidence has been given by Chandak, the pardon could not operate,” the apex court said. |
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Major to face court martial
today
Jodhpur, September 20 Maj Surinder Singh, against whom a Court of Inquiry has recommended disciplinary action, will be facing court martial trial at the headquarters of the Signal Unit of Jodhpur Cantonment near here, Defence sources said today. Army on September 17 had ordered GCM against Major Surinder Singh over allegedly “faking of encounters” in Siachen, noting that “prima facie culpability” of the officer has been established on “some of the charges”. A seven member jury — a Brigadier and six Colonels — has been constituted for conducting “transparent and speedy” court martial proceedings, sources said. As a prelude to the court martial proceedings, Summary of Evidence (SoE) was recorded between May and August this year in a miltary court here. Maj Surinder Singh, serving as Company Commander of 5/5 Gorkha Rifles deployed in Siachen, was alleged to have “enacted fake killings” of enemy troops and “cooked up” video shots in support of his claim to get gallantry award. Maj Surinder Singh has been served with notice for the Court Martial and all necessary documents on which the case will be based have been made available to him, sources said. The sources did not rule out action against two other officers, Colonel K.D. Singh and Maj Rohit Lama, who were held responsible for “administrative lapses” by the court of inquiry. —
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Agnivesh, Asghar Ali share Right Livelihood
Award
Hyderabad, September 20 Three recipients, Memorial (Russia), Bianca Jagger (Nicaragua) and Raul Montenegro (Argentina), shared the Right Livelihood cash award, totaling 2 million Swedish kronor, approximately $ 230,000. The award Founder-Chairman Jakob von Uexkull announced the awards for the first time outside of Stockholm at Jubilee Hall here in the presence of Administrative Director of the award Kerstin Bennet and jury member Vithal Rajan. The international jury, headed by Jakab von Uexkull had been camping at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology here since September 12 to select the winners. Established 25 years ago in Sweden, the Right Livelihood Awards are given every year for dedicated work at the community level to “honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today.” Some of the winners of the Right Livelihood Award from India in the past include Sewa (Ela Bhatt’s Self-Employed Women’s Association), Lokayan (Rajni Kothari), Narmanda Bachao Andolan (Medha Patkar and Baba Amte), the Chipko movement and Dr Vandana Shiva of the Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy Institute. “Agnivesh and Engineer have worked unceasingly for social justice and communal harmony and have brought out the spiritual and secular essence of their respective religions, which assumes significance in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots,” Mr Vithal Rajan, the jury member from India, said. Memorial, a volunteer organisation in Russia, working for a mature civil society and democracy, was honoured “for showing under very difficult conditions, and with great personal courage, that history must be recorded and understood, and human rights respected everywhere, if sustainable solutions to the legacy of the past are to be achieved.” Bianca Jagger, who has shown how celebrity can be put at the service of the exploited and disadvantaged, was recognised for “her long-standing commitment and dedicated campaigning over a wide range of issues of human rights, social justice and environmental protection.” The jury honoured Raul Montenegro for his outstanding and wide-ranging work with local communities and indigenous people to protect environment and conserve natural resources in Latin America. The award presentation ceremony in the Swedish Parliament will be held on December 9. |
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Love for surprise: Uma to Babulal
Gaur
Bhopal, September 20 After attending a late evening function in the city, Ms Bharti was returning to her residence. All of a sudden she asked the driver to stop and take her, instead, to Hoshangabad for a midnight bath in the Narmada. One can imagine the problems this would have created for the Chief Minister’s security staff. The 90-km stretch from Bhopal to Hoshangabad passes through Raisen and Sehore districts. So, the Collectors and the SPs of Raisen, Sehore and Hoshangabad had to be alerted. The problem did not end there. The women members of the Chief Minister’s security outfit were reportedly not expert swimmers. The men members were but they were wary of lurching too close to the sadhvi as she entered the mighty waters of the Narmada at that odd hour. Mr Babulal Gaur asked his driver last evening to move on towards the old city and went straight to the Shahjehanabad police station, taking the police station staff completely by surprise. He inspected all rooms, including the lockup room and the malkhana, talked to the inmates and scrutinised meticulously the records. Then he took a chair and waited patiently for the SHO, Mr Rajkumar Sharma, and several other staff members who should have been present at the police station at that time. When the SHO turned up, Mr Gaur gave him a piece of his mind about the filth and squalor in the police station and on the flab surrounding the SHO’s belly. The police personnel should always look smart, he advised. It was followed by a similar visit to the Talaiya police station. Mr Gaur took time to listen to the problems of the staff at the two police stations and issued instructions for the redress of their grievances. His security chief, Mr D.S. Sengar, later remarked that he thought the Chief Minister was going on some personal visit. |
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Sikhs number 8.18 lakh in
Rajasthan
Jaipur, September 20 A striking feature of the Sikh population in Rajasthan is that in the 1991 Census the number of Sikhs in Sri Ganganagar district was over 5.15 lakh. The rate of literacy among Sikhs inhabit has been calculated at 64.7 per cent whereas the female ratio is 892 as against 1000 males. According to the report, the female ratio among the Christians is the highest — being 986 against 1000 males. |
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Surinder Singh to face court martial today
Jodhpur, September 20 Maj Surinder Singh, against whom a Court of Inquiry has recommended disciplinary action, will be facing court martial trial at the headquarters of the Signal Unit of Jodhpur Cantonment near here, Defence sources said today. Army on September 17 had ordered GCM against Major Surinder Singh over allegedly “faking of encounters” in Siachen, noting that “prima facie culpability” of the officer has been established on “some of the charges”. A seven member jury — a Brigadier and six Colonels — has been constituted for conducting “transparent and speedy” court martial proceedings, sources said. As a prelude to the court martial proceedings, Summary of Evidence (SoE) was recorded between May and August this year in a miltary court here. Maj Surinder Singh, serving as Company Commander of 5/5 Gorkha Rifles deployed in Siachen, was alleged to have “enacted fake killings” of enemy troops and “cooked up” video shots in support of his claim to get gallantry award. Maj Surinder Singh has been served with notice for the Court Martial and all necessary documents on which the case will be based have been made available to him, sources said. The sources did not rule out action against two other officers, Colonel K.D. Singh and Maj Rohit Lama, who were held responsible for “administrative lapses” by the court of inquiry. —
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Don’t include foreigners in
Plan panel: CPM
New Delhi, September 20 “With a new government in place, it becomes all the more important to dispel such a notion and not to be seen as further accommodating such agencies in our policy-making structures,” Prakash Karat said, objecting to the presence of foreign experts, including from the IMF and the World Bank. In a letter to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, he said there was a “widespread” feeling that since 1991, agencies like the IMF and the World Bank have had an “undue” influence on policy making in the country. The Left parties are likely to take up the issue at the next meeting of UPA government-Left Coordination Committee. The meeting will be held after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is the chairman of the commission, comes back from his tour abroad. |
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Foreign consultants to continue, says Montek
London, September 20 Allaying the fears of the Left that the government will surrender to the dictates of the foreign consultants from the World Bank and other multilateral agencies, Dr Ahluwalia told reporters on board the Prime Minister's Special Air India flight on way to London last night, "We are only seeking their opinion. The government invites so many people for consultations and then mulls over their suggestions, but takes decisions on its own." The Left had already shown "a better understanding" of the government stand and "we hope we can persuade them on this issue," he said. —
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Talbott to launch
Brookings-ORF partnership
New Delhi, September 20 Mr Talbott, who took over the presidency of the 90-year-old Brookings Institution after a seven-year stint in the Clinton Administration, will launch the partnership along with ORF Chairman Rishi Kumar Mishra. The ORF-Brookings includes macro-economic modelling of the major policies, an ORF press note said. Initially, it will focus on the energy sector, and exchange visits of experts and scholars on critical emerging issues of global concern. An ORF Americal study centre will also set up. Brookings is a prestigious US research organisation which has for the past 90 years conducted public policy research that has been a major force in improving US economic and foreign policies. In a similar way, the ORF is poised to take on a similar role in ensuring that India achieves its potential to joint the ranks of the world’s leading powers. |
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Pray for world peace today, urges Mata
New Delhi, September 20 Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, the only recipient in Asia of the Gandhi-King award for Peace and Non-Violence, has drawn the attention of the Indian citizens to the United Nations declaration of September 21 as the “Day to Pray for World Peace.” Addressed by her devotees as Amma, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi has said, “No matter where you are-at home, office, in bathroom, the market, the shopping centre-irrespective of your faith and religion, stop what you are doing, close your eyes and pray for one minute for world peace. Through our sincere prayers and earnest effort, we can invoke the grace of God, the Universal Consciousness, which will bring some relief to the present situation.” |
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Trans-Asian rail links to be reality
New Delhi, September 20 Inaugurating a two-day meeting of Chief Executive Officers of Railways of BIMSTEC countries here, Hoda said the vision of Trans-Asian rail links should become a reality. He urged the member countries-Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal — to pool their resources for harmonising different rail technologies, development plan of their national railway networks and training facilities to achieve the ultimate vision of Trans-Asian Rail Links spanning South East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Europe under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Hoda said the railways of the BIMSTEC countries should take advantage of the worldwide revival of railways as energy efficient, eco-friendly and cost-effective bulk transportation system to integrate themsleves for the social and economic prosperity of the people. In his welcome address, Railway Board Chairman, R.K. Singh, who is leading the Indian delegation in the BIMSTEC conference, offered full cooperation for integrating railways of the member countries to achieve the vision for Trans-Asian Rail Links.
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RPF personnel get police powers
New Delhi, September 20 Speaking at the 20th RPF raising day parade, he took the salute and reminded the force of its role in plugging leakage of revenues on account of overweight and undercharging of parcel and freight traffic and ticketless travelling. He complimented the force for having come out unscathed in fighting insurgency and election-related duties along with other forces of the Union. He pinned up President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service on officers and jawans of the force on the occasion. He announced an award of Rs 1.5 lakh to the RPF personnel who took part in the raising day parade. In his welcome address, the Director-General of the RPF, Mr A.K. Suri, said about 8,000 vacancies would be filled soon.
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