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Centre, UP Govt to move SC on Taj
SC notice to Himachal CM
Ex-servicemen’s dept in MoD
Sops for all in Cong-NCP manifesto
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BJP steps up campaign against tainted ministers
SC cancels Pappu Yadav’s bail
SC rejects bail plea of J&K officer
Indo-Bangla security conference ends
Menon takes over as Commerce Secy
Sisodia to hold additional charge
Insurance cover for 8 crops
Meteorological Dept to improve forecasts
Ahamed leaves for Uzbekistan
Graphic:
Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Polls 2004 — Factfile
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Centre, UP Govt to move SC on Taj
New Delhi, October 1 Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Culture S. Jaipal Reddy said after a meeting of group of Ministers that the Centre and UP Governments would seek clearance from the Supreme Court for the programmes. The group of ministers, set up to decide the nature of celebrations on 350th anniversary celebrations of the Taj Mahal, had its second meeting today. The meeting was presided over by HRD Minister Arjun Singh. Mr Reddy said nature of the subsequent programmes would depend on instructions from the apex court. Asked about the court’s directive to the UP Government to seek clearance from the Archaeological Survey of India regarding the environmental impact on the monument, Mr Reddy said the ASI was represented in today’s meeting and it would make its submissions to the court on the next hearing. Mr Reddy refused to divulge the views given by ASI at today’s meeting, saying it was independent to consider the environmental aspects while making its submissions to the court. Asked about approaching the Supreme Court for night viewing of the Taj, Mr Reddy said each party would represent its case before the court. On the reported violations of norms regarding protected monuments at the Agra Fort during the inaugural function by UP Government, Mr Reddy said the state government had assured against such violations in the future. UP Tourism Minister Kokab Hameed, who was also present, admitted that a few vehicles were allowed into the fort
during the previous function. The UP minister said the proposed venue for subsequent programmes was on the river bed across the Taj Mahal where famous Greek performer Yanni had performed in the late 90s. |
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SC notice to Himachal CM
New Delhi, October 1 A Bench of Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S. B. Sinha issued the notices on a petition by BJP activist Randhir Sharma from Bilaspur, alleging that the Special Court at Shimla had, on June 14, 2004, discharged the accused persons in the case even when a review petition was pending in the High Court. The order had come in the wake of a fresh probe ordered by the Virbhadra government in the case, after it had come to power in March 2003, even when the charge sheet had been filed and trial process was on. The notices were also issued by the apex court to former Chief Secretary
O. P. Yadav, former Forest Department officer Geeta Ram and owners of Sagar Katha Factory. |
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Follow Vivekananda’s ideals, says Kalam
Kolkata, October 1 During his one-day visit to the state the President visited the Ramkrishina Mission and math at Belur in the morning and spent the time with students and teachers at Santiniketan before coming to Vivekananda’s ancestral house in central Kolkata to formally inaugurate the cultural complex and research centre. He returned to Delhi late in the evening. Shortly after landing at Kolkata airport around 11.30 a.m the President flew to Belurmath in an helicopter. He was received at the airport by Governor Viren J. Shah and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and other dignitaries. At Belurmath, Dr Kalam spent over half an hour meeting Swamis. He also visited the temple and went round the ashrama. He called on the Ramkrishna Mission and math’s President, Swami Ranganathanandaji. At Santiniketan, the President spent over two hours with students and teachers and exchanged views on the writings of Rabindranath Tagore. He also visited Tagore museum from where Tagore’s Nobel Prize Medal and other memorabilias were stolen about six months ago back. Dr Kalam held talks with the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sujit Bose. |
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Ex-servicemen’s dept in MoD New Delhi, October 1 Since it will be an independent department it will have more powers and would be in a position to directly formulate and suggest new policies for the ex-servicemen to the MoD. The new department would now look into the entire gamut of welfare of the ex-servicemen, whose number at present touches almost six lakh. It would be administratively more stronger than the DGR and would directly interact with the ministry. In a related move, Major-General Kuldip Singh Sindhu has taken over as the Director, Resettlement, in the Ministry of Defence replacing Major-General VS Budhwar, who has retired. The DGR would be a subordinate office of this new department in the MoD.
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Sops for all in Cong-NCP manifesto
Mumbai, October 1 Apart from free power for farmers, the alliance also promised a waiver of loans to the agricultural community across the state if returned to power. At present loans to farmers are waived in only drought- affected areas of Maharashtra. The two parties are also wooing the labour class by promising a package for sick cotton mills in the state. The cotton mills in eastern Maharashtra have been facing rough weather mainly due to bumper crops and competition from synthetic fibres and imports. The coalition has also promised sops to the environmental groups by constituting a commission for water conservation. Incidentally, the three parties also promised to implement the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission, which probed the 1993 anti-Muslim Mumbai riots, and take action against the guilty. A similar promise was made in the 1999 elections as well and the Muslim community in Maharashtra is sore that indicted politicians from the Shiv Sena, including its chief Bal Thackeray, continue to roam free. The three parties have also decided to woo the slum-dwellers in Mumbai and other major cities by promising to protect structures that have come up before 2000. At present only those structures constructed before 1995 are eligible for protection. Dwellers of protected areas eligible for free houses under the Slum Redevelopment Scheme implemented in Maharashtra. The three parties have also promised to reserve 33 per cent government jobs for women and generate one crore jobs over the next five years. Project-affected people are also being wooed with one job to every member of the affected families. The manifesto was released by AICC General Secretary Margaret Alva, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Prabha Rau, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, NCP leader Praful Patel and RPI leader Ramdas Athavale. |
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BJP steps up campaign against tainted ministers
New Delhi, October 1 Stating that the presence of “tainted” ministers in the Cabinet has reduced the credibility of the government, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said these ministers were “misusing their positions to wash off their taint”. “Under these circumstances, the PM is morally responsible for the happenings,” he said. Asking the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to change its name to “United Tainted Alliance”, Mr Jaitley said but for the judiciary, the murder charges pending against Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Taslimuddin would have been removed. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had today cancelled the bail issued to UPA candidate from the Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency Pappu Yadav, who had been chosen to contest despite being under trial and facing grave charges, he said. The cases involving Taslimuddin, Laloo Prasad and Pappu Yadav were not an exception, but a pattern, he added. |
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SC cancels Pappu Yadav’s bail
New Delhi, October 1 A Bench of Mr Justice N. Santosh Heged and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha took exception to the Patna High Court granting bail to Pappu Yadav recently despite the apex court having cancelled it earlier following a suo motu notice. Admitting a petition by Kalyan Sarkar, brother of the slain trade union leader, the court stayed the High Court order and directed that Yadav should surrender to the jail authorities immediately, failing which, the CBI should take him into custody. As Yadav’s counsel pleaded for deferring the implementation of its order till October 15 to enable his client to contest the Madhepura Lok Sabha byelection, scheduled for October 13, the court said, “No, such relief cannot not be given in this case.” The court reminded him that his client had earlier “violated” the court order and jail norms and had landed in Madhepura during General Elections in May while in judicial custody. Pappu Yadav, who allegedly wielded both money and muscle power, had recently quit Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and had joined the RJD. He had been fielded from Madhepura. The court also gave liberty to former Additional Solicitor-General Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Kalyan Sarkar, to file an application for sending Pappu Yadav to some other jail instead of the Beur jail in Patna, where he allegedly had a “clout” over the prison staff. Ramachandran said this was evident from the fact that he had thrown a “lavish party” in the jail to its officials and inmates after being released on bail. Ramachandran sought his shifting to some other prison. “File a formal application in this regard, we will consider it,” the Bench said. The court was informed that of the 38 witnesses, the trial court had so far examined 17 and all of them, barring one, had turned hostile. |
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SC rejects bail plea of J&K officer
New Delhi, October 1 A Bench of Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari rejected his plea for anticipatory bail as it was not impressed with his counsel Ram Jethmalani’s contention that no reasonable opportunity was given to him by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, while dismissing his petition. |
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Indo-Bangla security conference ends
New Delhi, October 1 The bi-annual conference ended on a note of “optimism”, with the signing of the Joint Record of Discussion by BSF Director- General Ajai Raj Sharma and BDR Director- General Mohammad Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, even as both sides held on to their respective stand on the existence of Indian insurgent groups/camps in Bangladesh and illegal migration from the Bangladeshi side. “The dialogue has facilitated the better understanding of each other’s point of view and helped in breaking fresh ground on issues where the two countries’ perceptions differed,” Mr Sharma told newspersons with Mr Chowdhury on his side. “Both sides have agreed to work on the modalities of simultaneous coordinated patrolling on the border by both the border forces. Coordinated patrolling will be implemented at the ground level soon,” Mr Sharma said without giving a timeframe. |
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Menon takes over as Commerce Secy
New Delhi, October 1 Earlier, he had served in the Department of Commerce for almost three-and-a-half years, initially as Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser from February 2001 and then as Special Secretary with effect from September 2003, in which capacity he headed the Trade Policy Division (TPD). |
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Sisodia to hold additional charge
New Delhi, October 1 Official sources said that he would continue to hold the additional charge till the joining of the full time Secretary, Department of Revenue. |
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Insurance cover for 8 crops
Jaipur, October 1 The crops notified are wheat, mustard, gram, barley,
taramira, commin, coriander and lentil, an official spokesman said. The last date for getting insurance cover for
non-loanee farmers will be December 31 or within one month of the sowing of the crop, whichever is earlier. The farmers taking crop loans from financial institutions would be able to get it any time between September 1, 2004, and March 31, 2005, the spokesman said. The risk cover for wheat, mustard, barley and lentil would be 80 per cent while for other crops it would be 60 per cent. The state government would pay 10 per cent of the premium for small and marginal farmers, the spokesman added.
— PTI |
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Meteorological
Dept to improve forecasts New Delhi, October 1 These stations, expected to begin working in phases, will be completely operational within the next three to four years and will be particularly helpful in accurate prediction of the monsoon, day-to-day weather forecast and represent areas which do not have observatories or are inaccessible at present. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the Disaster Management Workshop organised by the Indian Institute of Disaster Management and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), here today, Additional Director-General,
Meteorology R.C. Bhatia also said that the department was in the process of closing its monsoon account and would release its end-of-the season report in a day or two. The report is based on the data collected between June and September every year and is released during the first week of October. “We are waiting for some more data before we close the account for this year,” he said. The preliminary reports have indicated that the meteorological office’s predictions for a normal monsoon have failed this year and their predictions have gone off the mark throughout the entire country, including Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, which have had a monsoon-deficient season this year. Mr Bhatia admitted that the predictions of the department had gone off the mark this year. “Our predictions are based on a statistical model, which in turn is based on the probability data dependent upon several parameters. In certain areas, including cyclones, storms and general forecasts, our predictions have been most accurate. Rain is a phenomenon which has high variability. We will go for a review. But we also need to have a better and a more dense network of observation. In any case, we are regularly upgrading our model.” |
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Ahamed leaves for Uzbekistan
New Delhi, October 1 According to Mr Ahamed, the UPA government would strengthen ties with the Central Asian region, which is highly strategic.
— TNS |
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