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States can abolish tribunals: SC
Talbott for converting
LoC into border
Gudia must follow Islamic law: ulemas
Brief ministers on poll code, Chief UK ready to open up legal sector Ramdoss for more funds for indigenous medicines |
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Military court rejects Surinder Singh’s
objections West Bengal sends SOS to Centre on Farakka barrage Shahrukh, Preity, Sachin are kids’ favourites
Jamait opposed to
two-child norm
BJP leaders court arrest, hold satyagraha
Jurists’ group leaves for Pak tomorrow Citizens join hands to bring about change in Bihar towns
Shroff figures in second
Pappu Yadav joins RJD
No link between Maharashtra poll, POTA: Cong Dawood’s brother allowed to file nomination from prison Mulayam opposes foreign experts Kalam okays ordinance
on POTA Yogesh panel begins probe into land allotment
Eviction notices to 7 former ministers
Pak spy held in Delhi
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States can abolish tribunals: SC
New Delhi, September 21 The judgment assumes significance in the face of many states demanding abolition of SATs on the ground that they were unnecessary forums as every order passed by them ultimately reached the High Courts. “...We hold that it was within the power of the state governments to continue or not to continue the SAT and it was open to the state governments to take such a decision,” a Bench of Chief Justice R C Lahoti and Mr Justice C K Thakkar in its order said, while upholding the decision of the Madhya Pradesh Government to abolish the Tribunal. The Madhya Pradesh Government had abolished the SAT after partition of the state and creation of Chhattisgarh. Upholding the July 25, 2001 notification of the Madhya Pradesh Government abolishing the SAT, which was set up in August 1988 as per the provisions of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, which empowered the states to set up such bodies to adjudicate the service matters. The court accepted the argument of Madhya Pradesh Government that the Union Government had no role in the matter because the power regarding constitution of the SAT was exclusively vested in the state governments. The decision of the MP Government, “in our opinion, cannot be regarded as illegal, unlawful or otherwise objectionable,” the Bench held. The matter was brought before the apex court in a batch of appeals against the Madhya Pradesh High Court order, which had also upheld the state’s decision. The Supreme Court clarified that Parliament also had empowered the state governments to take appropriate decision by enacting sub-section (1) of Section 74 of the Administrative Tribunal Act by an amendment in 2000 and in the exercise of such power, the MP Government had taken the decision to abolish the SAT. The court rejected the arguments of the petitioners, including the members of the abolished Tribunal, that the decision was taken by the state government by not “applying its mind” properly and without conducting a survey as to how many cases heard by the SAT reached the High Court. The Bench also did not agree with the petitioners’ contention that the MP Government had done away with the Tribunal because its “judicial orders” were not liked by it and the state government why the continuance of the SAT was unnecessary recorded no reason. “We are unable to uphold this argument,” the Bench ruled. It further clarified that a larger Bench of the apex court in the L Chandra Kumar’s case earlier had held that a state was empowered to take a policy decision about abolishing the SAT as Parliament had given it such authority. The MP Government had contended that the Cabinet had taken the decision to abolish the SAT as the Chief Minister and all Ministers were of the view that the Tribunal had been granting stay in many transfers, which the government had effected to improve the administration. |
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Talbott for converting
LoC into border
New Delhi, September 21 A key official of the Clinton Administration, who was engaged in parallel talks with Indian and Pakistani leaders in the aftermath of 1998 nuclear tests, said the USA had acquired a “unique influence” on Islamabad which it would be using for the benefit of this country. “The USA has no secret roadmap for resolution of the Kashmir issue. India and Pakistan should have the roadmap,” Mr Talbott, who was in the State Department for eight years, told PTI in an interview when asked about the perception that Washington had chalked out a plan for the settlement of the vexed issue. “It will not be appropriate for the USA to have a roadmap on Kashmir,” he said. Favouring the conversion of LoC into
permanent border, he said due accommodation should be made for the rights and interests of people who live in Jammu and Kashmir and arrangements for peaceful and commercially-beneficial interaction between the people of Kashmir (on both sides of the divide should be made.” To a question, Mr Talbott said the USA could play the role of a “facilitator” and not a “mediator” in resolving the Kashmir issue, which he said can be settled through the use of “common sense and political will” by India and Pakistan. “We wish it had happened without it (nuclear tests),” he said when asked whether in the aftermath of the tests the USA understood India better. Meanwhile, in a partnership first of its kind between one of the America’s “oldest” and India’s newest think tanks to ostensibly break the monopoly of the
bureaucracy over the public policy making was forged here today. Former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, who heads now the Brookings Institution, and the Chairman of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) R.K. Mishra jointly announced the partnership which would seek to address national, international and regional challenges and offer solutions and alternatives. When asked, Mr Talbott admitted that the Reliance Group of Industries, which has helped financially in setting up of the ORF, had donated funds to the Brookings
Institution and was also on its council. This week, Mr Talbott will interact with Indian corporate leaders in New Delhi, Mumbai, and in Bangalore to impress upon them the synergy that can be generated by an interaction between the corporate world, think tanks and policy makers, Mr Mishra said. Mr Talbott would participate in a roundtable discussion with the corporate leaders in the Capital tomorrow. The meeting would be chaired by Congress MP and Industrialist Navin Jindal. |
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Gudia must follow Islamic law: ulemas
New Delhi, September 21 Various women and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) demanded that Gudia should be allowed to decide her future without any pressure from religious and community leaders. She is in a dilemma to whether to leave her child to come back to Arif or to continue to live with the man whom she had married after the ‘disappearance’ of the Army jawan during the Kargil war. However, several Muslim ulemas stressed that any decision of her should be in consonance with the Islamic laws. “Although a strange situation has arisen in the life of Gudia following the return of her first husband Arif, whatever decision she has to take as to conform with Islamic laws,” Mr Mahmood A. Madani, general secretary, Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind told newspersons here. He said as per the Islamic law, since Gudia had not divorced her first husband, her second marriage had no legal sanctity. “If she prefers to stay with her first husband, her children from the second husband will have to be taken care of by the latter. But, if she wants to stay with the second husband, she will have to move the Islamic panchayat and seek divorce from the first husband citing the reason for the same. The panchayat after hearing the version of the first husband would decide on her divorce plea,” he said. Muslim Personal Law Board member SQR Ilyas strongly felt that Gudia should be allowed to take her own decision. However, he pointed out that since Gudia did not take formal divorce from Arif before the second marriage, she should follow all the Islamic procedures. Mr Ilyas, under the Islamic law, Gudia’s marriage with Arif stands valid as she had not been married to her second husband after proper dissolution of the marriage. Under Islam, if a person is absconding for four years, the wife can marry another person after her ‘nikah’ is dissolved or the Qazi secures her divorce on behalf of the absconder. The woman can seek divorce even before four years, if she is facing difficulties in her
maintenance or protecting her honour. The Qazi after ascertaining the situation can then grant her divorce or dissolve her nikah, he pointed out. “Now in the present situation, either Arif should divorce his wife and she should properly marry her second husband after the delivery of the child, or if Gudia wants to come back to the first husband, she should be allowed to do so.” A unique situation has arisen following the return of Armyman Mohammad Arif from a Pakistani jail after five years. Arif had gone missing after the Kargil War and later declared a deserter by the Army. Taking Arif to be dead, his wife Gudia’s parents married her off to another person Taufiq. Now in advanced stage of pregnancy, Gudia finds herself in a peculiar situation with the panchayat deciding that she should go back to her first husband. Arif, While agreeing to accept her has refused to adopt her unborn child. Arif is insisting that Gudia should give up her child after ten days after birth to either her second husband or her parents. |
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Brief ministers on poll code, Chief Secretary told
Lucknow, September 21 During his daylong visit to the state to review the preparedness of the Election Commission Mr Gopalaswami received a set of complaints against ministers repeatedly violating the model code of conduct. The violations pointed out included travelling to the constituencies ostensibly on official work, holding review meetings and using official vehicles. In this regard the Election Commissioner has already alerted the Chief Secretary. There were complaints against police officials at the SHO level and above misusing their office to influence the poll process. Speaking to the Press following his visit to review poll arrangements for the forthcoming elections, Mr Gopalaswami said outside Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh, UP had the largest number of seats going to the polls. He said measures would be taken to ensure a free and fair poll. The central paramilitary forces would be deployed in sensitive and hypersensitive areas. Allahabad (West) has been identified as “ sensitive” by the Election
Commission, he revealed. Many complaints were about the Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat where election has been rescinded following the detection of irregularities in the issuing of notice. The notification for this seat was issued and published not in the name of the returning officer but strangely by District Magistrate D.C.D. Bhargava, who was not the designated returning officer. He had also taken the lead at the time of the filing of nominations. Refusing to comment on the charge that the postponement of poll at Akbarpur was a deliberate act, Mr Gopalswami said that the DM had been asked to explain his conduct. The EC has also asked for a fresh panel of officers for replacing the Lucknow Range DIG, Mr Jagmohan Yadav, who has been held responsible by the Lucknow lawyers for the lathi charge on them. |
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UK ready to open up legal sector
New Delhi, September 21 The position was stressed by India’s Minister of State for Law and Justice K Venkatapathy and Bar spokesmen at a seminar last night where a pitch to open up was made by Britain’s visiting Constitutional Affairs Minister David Lammy. “There are very real benefits to be had from further opening up to the international perspective,” Lammy told participants — mostly Indian lawyers. The discussion on “Strengthening of Indo-British Legal Ties” was co-organised by the All-India Bar Association and the Indian Council of Jurists. The participants emphasised the common elements of the Indian and British legal systems as well as the big difference — Britain has no pendency of cases, while Indian courts have 22 million cases pending. Lammy underscored the principles of the legal profession: “Upholding the rule of law, defending people’s rights and — above all — helping people.” He said, “With the rapid growth in cross-border investment and the search for new sources of capital, foreign investors need stability and predictability to manage risk and increase value”. “As part of this process they will often seek the services of lawyers already familiar with their work, who are able to guarantee quality standards, regardless of where it is that business is to take place,” he said. “We welcome foreign lawyers to practise any law in the UK... We accept fair competition both domestically and from overseas,” Lammy declared. Reciprocal treatment for Indian lawyers to practise on foreign — in this case, British — soil was stressed by several speakers, including the Association Chairman and former Bar Council of India Vice Chairman Adish C Aggarwala.
— UNI
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Ramdoss for more funds for indigenous medicines New Delhi, September 21 Inaugurating a six-day health fair on traditional medicines, he said in view of the huge potential of traditional medicines in the country and the growing demand in domestic and international markets, it was important to allocate more funds towards research and development activities of such medicines. The Health Minister said despite enormous potential for the development of indigenous health system in the country and right environmental climate for the cultivation of medicinal plants, India only exported 2 per cent of the world’s requirement of medicinal plants. He stressed the need for creating a conducive atmosphere for manufacturers of indigenous systems of medicine. Mr Ramdoss said the cost of treatment, morbidity and mortality related to communicable diseases and the loss of productive hours of afflicted individuals were the main concerns of governments of developing countries. “This is in sharp contrast to the situation in developed countries where large amounts of governments’ health budget are spent on health care of old people and treatment of chronic diseases.” The Health Minister who is a qualified allopath said the adverse effects of chemical drugs and the compartmentalised fragmented approach of treatment were the common challenges that medical fraternity and the patients were facing all over the world. He took a note of the participation of international companies in the fair for the first time. “There is a paradigm shift from pure medical treatment towards integrated medicine,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, the Secretary, Department of AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoepathy), Palat Mohandass said the public response to the arogya fair in the last three years has prompted the department to consider holding similar fairs at a regional level.
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Military court rejects Surinder Singh’s
objections
Jodhpur, September 21 A jury comprising seven officers — a Brigadier and
six Colonels — rejected Maj Singh’s objections that he could not
expect justice from the Army and that a jury comprising officers other
than those from the Army be set up for the trial. Presiding Officer
Brigadier A.D.S. Grewal, besides Colonels Y.S. Ganesh, S.S. Chauhan,
A.K. Gera, S.C. Sachdeva, T.R. Niyal and S.K. Uppal, all members of the
jury, then took oath that they would keep the trial impartial. Maj S.V.
Rao was appointed judge advocate to help them with the legal
proceedings. Earlier, when the court martial proceedings began at the
Jodhpur Cantonment, Maj Singh was given chance to raise objections, if
any, against the jury. The accused officer said he wanted some time to
make up his mind as he had not been informed about the jury members in
advance. When the court reassembled after a 30-minute recess, Maj Singh
said he did not expect justice from the jury as its members had already
read media reports about him and were likely to be prejudiced.
Moreover, by making the whistleblower an accused, the Army Chief Gen
N.C. Vij, had displayed a revenge motive against him. ‘’I don’t
expect justice from this jury. I object to the entire jury,’’ he
said. He said the jury had been set up on the directions of the Desert
Corps Commanding Officer, Lt-Gen K.S. Jamwal, and claimed the members
would not be fair since they were under his command. Lt-Gen Jamwal was
likely you be influenced by Gen Vij, he said. He demanded a fresh jury
comprising officers other than those from the Army, such as the Indian
Air Force, the Indian Navy, the CBI or retired Judges. In this context,
he also cited the Brig P.P. Bedi case of 1982 and the comments of the
Apex Court in the matter. The jury, however, rejected the charges and
took a vow to keep the process impartial. The court, which was still in
progress, was yet to decide on Maj Singh’s demand for 10 days’ time
to appoint a lawyer to defend him in place of the
‘’incompetent’’ officer appointed by the Army. — UNI
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West Bengal sends SOS to Centre on Farakka barrage Kolkata, September 21 An official spokesman said red alert had already been sounded in the area, advising the people to shift to safe places for the time being. The Farakka barrage authorities had also been taking necessary steps for safeguarding the barrage which links south Bengal with north Bengal and the adjoining N-E states. The Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, during his recent visit to Delhi met Dr Manmohan Singh, requesting him to immediately sanction adequate funds for several anti-erosion schemes of the Ganga, which had eroded vast areas in Malda and Murshidabad districts and flooded several residential areas, rendering several thousand people homeless. The Chief Minister also urged the Centre to send an official team to make an on-the-spot study of the flood situation in several south Bengal districts vis-à-vis the erosion on the embankment at the Farakka barage. Several areas on the Indo-Bangladesh border in North and South 24-Parganas were flooded today following incessant rain in the catchment areas, forcing hundreds of Bangladeshi nationals to cross over to Bongaon and Bagda-Gaihata in North 24-Parganas and the Sunderbans The districts authorities had accommodated the Bangladeshis in school buildings and other places there. The state government has sent a memorendum to the Centre, seeking Rs 500 crore for flood relief and protection of the Farakka barrage and the NTPC’s power plant.
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Shahrukh, Preity, Sachin are kids’ favourites
New Delhi, September 21 Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai and Rahul Dravid share second place for Indian kids aged seven to 14, according to the findings of the Cartoon Network’s New Generations-2004 research. The survey was carried out during May-June this year, covering 14 centres and 6,412 respondents, half of them mothers. The top sport boys play is cricket (79 per cent), followed by badminton (10 per cent) and tennis (5 per cent). Girls prefer badminton (33 per cent) over cricket (31 per cent) and hide and seek (13 per cent). But both Indian boys and girls watch cricket more than other sports, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc Vice-President (Research) Duncan Morris told a news conference here today. What they want to be; For both boys and girls the top job is doctor. For boys, their second preference is engineer followed by pilot. Teaching shares second place for girls followed by engineering. Achieving good grades at school and studying hard are on the top of the list for both the sexes while looking good and lots of pocket money are relatively less important for them, the study showed. Just half (51 per cent) of the child respondents said they sometimes liked to buy things because their friends had them. A good 67 per cent like to help the poor and the needy while 59 per cent intend to fight crime and injustice in society. Parents in Delhi are the most generous when it comes to giving pocket money, their children get Rs 197 a month from them, the highest of all the 14 cities surveyed. On an all-India basis, 42 per cent kids get pocket money at an average of Rs 120 a month, the study showed. — UNI
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Jamait opposed to
two-child norm
New Delhi, September 21 “We are strongly opposed to two-child norm. It should be the individual decision on the family size he/she would like to have,” Maulana Mahmood A
Madani, general secretary of Jamait, said here. Stating that any measure from the government on controlling population could be cohesive and would appear to target the minority community, he said, “We would oppose any unilateral measure to control the population growth rate.” Mr Madani said imparting literacy was the best and the only progressive way to control population. He lamented that the issue of population explosion was being seen as a Hindu-Muslim problem, which could create fissures within the society. The Maulana said the Census figures had been wrongly interpreted with “ulterior” motives. He claimed that the Hindu population had declined by 2.8 per cent and during the same period the Muslim population had declined by 3.6 per cent. The population growth problem should be viewed as a national problem and the government should take measures to increase literacy rate in the country. According to projections, India’s population is likely to surpass China by 2050 and it will become the most populous country globally. |
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BJP leaders court arrest, hold satyagraha
Port Blair, September 21 They had come to the jail, now a national memorial, marching from the Tiranga park, 1 km away. Those arrested in front of the jail gates included Ms Swaraj, former Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Satya Narain Jatiya, who participated in the satyagraha despite a fractured leg, BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra, former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla, Mr S.S. Ahluwalia and Mr Kalraj Mishra. Along with the leaders, about 1,000 party workers also courted arrest. All MPs and legislators were then taken to the Subhas Chandra Stadium which was converted into a temporary court and produced before a magistrate who ordered their release after completing the formalities. The magistrate also sought an assurance from them that they would not do anything which would disturb the peace of the Andaman and Nicobar islands’ capital town. The BJP leaders from various states and workers were shouting slogans like “no going back unless the plaque was restored” or “we would not tolerate insults to the martyrs”, the satyagraha remained peaceful.
— UNI |
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Jurists’ group leaves for Pak tomorrow New Delhi, September 21 Though visas had been sought for a 31-member delegation, including 10 journalists by the
sponsored, the Indian Council of Jurists (ICJ), but so far the Pakistani authorities had cleared the travel documents for 16 members, council’s convener Adish C. Aggarwala said here today. The visit was postponed in September last year after the Pakistani authorities declined to clear the visas for the delegation members due to security reasons in the wake of continued tension between the two
countries. The 16 members, whose travel papers had been cleared by the Pakistani Government, include former Supreme Court Judge, Faizanuddin, former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice D. S. Tewatia, former Gujarat High Court Judge A. N.Divecha, former Bombay High Court Judge Gurbax Rai Majithia and former Delhi High Court Judge Mohammed Shamim. Besides, the travel papers of 11 members of the ICJ had also been cleared by Pakistani Government, Aggrawala told The Tribune. Mr Aggarwala said the delegation would meet Pakistan Prime
Minister Shaukat Azia and country’s Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui and members of the judiciary and government during its trip from September 23 and 28 and discuss the issues of common interests , including a law on
international terrorism. He, however, expressed his surprise over the non-clearance of the travel documents of the remaining 14 members of the delegation, including 10 journalists from the electronic media. The Pakistan Bar Association had recommended to the country’s Interior Ministry the names of 31 members of the delegation for clearance of visas but they had issued the documents for only 16 members, Mr Aggarwala said.
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Citizens join hands to bring about change in Bihar towns
Patna, September 21 The tale of the two cities begins from Muzaffarpur, a city in northern Bihar, which was ravaged by flood during the monsoons not so long ago. In the face of a devastating flood, the residents of Muzaffarpur, with help from NGOs, joined hands to distribute relief material to the victims. Asserting the significance of a collective civic initiative, local coordinator of the NGO `Sansarg’ Jitendra Prasad said, “On July 17, a meeting of the local administration, NGOs and representatives of various sections of the society cutting across caste and religion was held, where each decided to contribute towards taking steps to mitigate the effects of floods”. “Within an hour we could collect Rs 12,000 and started the relief distribution work immediately. Housewives and students played an important role as finances kept pouring in from various sections to fuel the good work,” Prasad said. Lauding the initiative of the NGOs to channelise the resources and human effort, state Minister of Education Ram Prakash Mahto said. “The NGOs and public initiative together have played a major role in fighting the wrath of nature. The government alone cannot bring about a revolution. It needs the active participation of the citizens.” Officials in the local administration agree: “Had the public not taken the initiative, the toll could have been much higher. But they ensured that essentials like food packets and medicines reached even the interior-most and worst-hit zones.” In the second initiative, Madhubani — a medium-sized town with 24 wards and a population of 70,000 — was chosen by the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) to initiate a sanitation drive involving the locals after the municipal staff there went on a strike. According to Shalini Bijlani, representative of the PRIA who led the drive, achieving a breakthrough was tough as there was apathy among the residents and they believed it was municipality’s duty to provide sanitation. “After repeated interactions, certain volunteers came forward and after site-identification we went ahead with the cleanliness drive,” she said. “Once the drive was initiated, many volunteers joined us. Tractors were donated to us and by the fourth day the DM joined the drive himself.” Explaining the strategy, Shalini said, “We adopted a two-pronged strategy by involving the citizens to act as a pressure group while inviting the officers to participate in community functions and sought their suggestions. “Today, the municipal body wants to join us in the sanitation drive and talks are on to constitute an Urban Task Force,” she said. While Muzaffarpur and Madhubani stand as paragons for other cities, Pankaj Anand, Programme Coordinator, PRIA, believes that there is dire need for both the urban local bodies and the citizens to be aware of their roles and responsibilities. — PTI
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Shroff figures in second Cong list
New Delhi, September 21 The party changed candidates on two seats on the list of eight names released today. It is yet to finalise candidates for Matunga and Naigaum. The Congress had last night announced that it would contest 154 seats and had released names of 147 candidates. In the seat-sharing arrangement with the NCP, the Congress had been allotted 163 seats of which it has given nine seats to other allies — four to the Left, two to the RPI (Gavai), one to the RJD and two to Independents. The NCP has got 125 seats. Mr Shroff has been made a nominee from Malabar Hill despite protests from Congress workers in Mumbai against giving party tickets to the kith and kin of senior leaders. The party has changed seat of Varsha Gaekwad, daughter of Lok Sabha member Eknath Gaekwad, who will now contest from Dharavi. The party has also changed its candidate from Washim. Former Maharashtra Minister Anantrao Tophte, who was defeated in the last Assembly elections, has been nominated from Bhor in Pune. |
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Pappu Yadav joins RJD
Patna, September 21 Talking to mediapersons here after being released by the Patna High Court on bail, Mr Yadav, who was the LJP national general secretary, said he was feeling “suffocated” in the party since it had turned into “a family enterprise of Ram Vilas Paswan”. “The RJD is the appropriate forum to promote secularism and social justice and to fight the evils of communalism,” he added. Asked about his future political plans, particularly keeping in view his projection as a probable RJD nominee for the Madhepura Lok Sabha byelections, Mr Yadav said any decision in this regard would be taken by the RJD chief Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav. Earlier during the day, the Patna High Court granted regular bail to Mr Yadav, accused in the
CPI (M) legislator Ajit Sarkar murder case. Mr Yadav was put behind bars on charges of being involved in the murder Sarkar in 1998 and was granted bail by the Patna High Court on May 23, 2003. The Supreme Court, however, set aside the high court orders on March 12, 2004, and since then Mr Yadav was lodged in the jail.
— UNI |
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No link between Maharashtra poll, POTA: Cong New Delhi, September 21 Party spokesman Anand Sharma said the Congress was opposed to POTA from the beginning as it felt that it would be misused. Rejecting suggestions that the move was linked to the Maharashtra poll, he said the misuse of POTA was even admitted by the previous government. He said the existing Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act would be amended to deal with terrorism and it would have adequate safeguards to check any misuse. The spokesman said the Congress and other opposition parties had opposed the passage of the POTA Bill during the NDA’s tenure as it did not have adequate safeguards. Meanwhile, the Congress got a boost in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the byelections to 12 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats with former union minister Balram Singh Yadav and former MP Prabhu Dayal Latheria joining the party at the AICC here today.
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Dawood’s brother allowed to file nomination from prison
Mumbai, September 21 Hearing their plea, Justice Ajay Khanvilkar allowed the two to file nominations from jail and asked them to submit affidavits before the prison superintendent. Kaskar, lodged in central prison here in a case of alleged extortion, sought permission to file nomination from Umerkhedi and Nagpada constituencies in South Mumbai while Gote, housed in Pune’s Yerwada prison in the fake stamp paper case, said he would file his nomination from Dhule. Earlier in the day, a special court rejected Iqbal’s petition seeking police protection to file nominations from Umerkhadi and Nagpada constituencies here. Prosecutor Rohini Salian opposed Iqbal’s plea in the special court saying there was threat to his life from rival gangs. She also expressed fear that Iqbal may escape from police custody if he was released to file nominations. — PTI |
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Mulayam opposes foreign experts New Delhi, September 21 Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav told reporters here that like the Communist parties he was also opposed to the issue of having foreign experts in consultative committees of the Planning Commission. He said the country had experts who can make a better evaluation as they were familiar with the ground realities. The Congress today refused to comment on Mr Yadav’s remarks about opposing the involvement of foreign experts in the panels of Planning Commission. Party spokesman Anand Sharma said the issue had been discussed between the top leadership of the Congress and Left parties and would be further discussed on return of the Prime Minister from his visit abroad. Mr Sharma skipped questions about the recent remarks of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia defending the decision to have foreign experts.
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Kalam okays ordinance on POTA
New Delhi, September 21 Official sources said the Prevention of Terrorism (Repeal) Ordinance — 2004 would be issued by the Law Ministry, most likely tomorrow. The Union Cabinet had, at a meeting on September 17, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the ordinance expressing concern over the misuse of the law in the past two years. Home Minister Shivraj Patil had on the same day clarified that POTA review committees, which reviewed the cases under the draconian Act, would continue for one year. “After one year everything will come to an end,” he said. — UNI
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Yogesh panel begins probe into land allotment
New Delhi, September 21 The one-man committee would be submitting its report within two months to the government during which it would ascertain why the previous government had changed the land use from residential to institutional, official sources said here. Over 1000-odd structures, including bunglows meant for ministers, senior bureaucrats and other government officials, were razed to facilitate handing over of the land to these institutions despite the fact that there was an acute shortage of official premises in the national capital. Mr Chandra, a former Chairman of the ITPO, would also ascertain whether all the guidelines were followed and who were the officials and others involved in the decision making. — PTI
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Eviction notices to 7 former ministers
New Delhi, September 21 The notices have been issued to them as 14 ministers in the Congress-led UPA Government were awaiting allotment, official sources said. However, the Urban Development Ministry had made alternative arrangements for these former ministers from general pool category as they happened to be the Members of Parliament from either house. Others who had been served eviction notices are Mr Ramesh Bias, Mr Ved Prakash Goel and Mr M. Rajashekhran.
— PTI |
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Pak spy held in Delhi
New Delhi, September 21 The accused has been identified as Asif Rais alias Nadim Ahmed alias Kabeer Malhotra. According to DCP Special Cell Ashok Chand, “We have recovered important defence documents related to area in Gangtok and Sikkim. Asif got the training from the ISI.” Asif was first sent to Bangladesh and thereafter he came to Delhi via Kolkata. In Delhi, he was residing in Welcome Colony in a rented house that was arranged by his relative Naushad who was already residing in the area. According to the police, Asif had told Naushad that he was facing serious criminal charges against him in Pakistan so he escaped from there to Delhi. |
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