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Steps to sustain missile capabilities okayed
New govt can’t resile previous govt’s decision: SC
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New Delhi, October 14 The much-awaited Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service is unlikely to take off, according to latest indications from Pakistan. Well-placed sources here told The Tribune this evening that the indications were that Islamabad was in no mood to encourage people-to-people contacts between the Kashmiris on either sides of the Line of Control and Islamabad will never allow the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service to begin.
National Commission on Farmers reconstituted
Development plan for urban poor on the cards
Ashram inmates deny sexual harassment complaints
Naxal factions unite to form CPI (Maoist)
Government dissolves Khadi Commission
Home Ministry to have adviser on Manipur affairs
Vajpayee disappoints journalists
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Steps to sustain missile capabilities okayed
New Delhi, October 14 The NCA, which is responsible for the country’s strategic assets, meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and it discussed “all aspects” of the country’s nuclear capabilities, an official statement here said. The nuclear doctrine, formulated after the 1998 Pokhran tests, makes it clear that
India would not undertake any first-use of its nuclear weapons and would not use such arsenal against non-nuclear states. The NCA was set up in January 2003 and is a two-tier body consisting of a Political Council and an Executive Council. The Political Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, is the sole body which can authorise the use of nuclear weapons while the Executive Council, consisting of top civil servants and military officials, provides inputs for decision-making by the NCA and executes the directives given to it by the Political Council. India, incidentally has stated that it would maintain a minimum nuclear deterrence. Today’s meeting was attended among others by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil and National Security Advisor
J.N. Dixit. On Tuesday, Pakistan had carried out test-firing of its intermediate range ballistic missile
`Hatf-V’, which has a strike range of 1500 km and is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads. Most of the major Indian cities fall under its range. |
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New govt can’t resile previous govt’s decision: SC
New Delhi, October 14 The ruling came in a judgement ordering Bihar and Jharkhand governments to regularise the services of 3,200 college teachers and nearly 3,000 non-teaching staff in 40 colleges in the two states. These persons were appointed way back in 1988-89 by the then Congress Government, headed by Jagannath Mishra in undivided Bihar. The Laloo Prasad government, which took over in 1990, refused to honour the decision and decided to quash the appointments without formally rescinding or withdrawing the order of the previous government. A Bench of Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice D.M. Dharamdhikari said the state, being the author of the decision, could not be allowed to “resile or go back” on it later on the change of government. “Mere change of the elected government does not justify dishonouring the decision of previous elected government... later if it has not formally rescined or withdrawn it,” the court said, reminding the RJD government in Bihar that it was open for it to formally withdraw the decision. The court said the argument of Bihar and Jharkhand that the decision of the previous government was not binding on them, could not be accepted. |
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Kher’s ultimatum to Surjeet
New Delhi, October 14 Taking pains to explain that his appointment as censor board chief a year back was based on merit and his work in the past 20 years, the actor told mediapersons here that he had not been given any just reason for being asked to quit. “This position was offered to me solely on my reputation and not because I believed in any particular dogma. I never canvassed
for this job.” Mr Kher hit out at the UPA government for succumbing to pressure of the Left. “They are so dependent that if asked to bend, they crawl.” he said. Mr Kher has sent a legal notice to Mr Surjeet for his article in the party mouthpiece `People’s Democracy’ on the need to “de-saffronise” posts and “linking” the actor to RSS. The notice asks Mr Surjeet to withdraw his allegation or face defamation suit. “Mr Surjeet had reportedly expressed his views that I am an RSS man and therefor misfit in the present structure of the government,” Mr Kher said. A copy of the notice has also been sent to Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy. Mr Kher said he was consulting his lawyer on whether he could directly sue the government since his tenure was for three years. Asked about the post of CBFC chief being held at the pleasure of the government, Mr Kher said technically the government may prove right but he was fighting for his honour. “It (the government move) is unjust, humiliating and against my dignity.” Mr Kher, however, said the present government or the earlier one had not interfered in any way in the functioning of the CBFC. “I will give them a clean chit,” he said. Mr Kher said the communication by the Ministry, a copy of which was sent to him addressed as CBFC chief, simply said Ms Sharmila Tagore had been appointed in an honorary capacity for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge. Mr Kher said he had not received any order removing him from the post and would attend office. He humorously remarked that he may be greeted by a lock on the door of his office. “She (Sharmila Tagore) has taken over in Delhi. I will go to the office in Mumbai tomorrow or the day after,” he said. Referring to reports in the media about the delay in clearence to `Final Solution,’ a documentary on Gujarat riots, Mr Kher said the process of clearence took two months as it passed several committees. “The documentary, which to some extent is anti-BJP, was passed without a single cut.” Mr Kher said ‘Black Friday’, a movie on 1993 riots in Mumbai was also passed during his tenure. Asking the government to give him even one reason for his removal, Mr Kher said he was fighting for his honour . “The abrupt direction from the government asking me to step down without any reason tramples on my sense of right and wrong,” he said. |
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Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service unlikely
New Delhi, October 14 Well-placed sources here told The Tribune this evening that the indications were that Islamabad was in no mood to encourage people-to-people contacts between the Kashmiris on either sides of the Line of Control and Islamabad will never allow the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service to begin. Significantly, one of the 72 proposals the Indian side had given to the Pakistanis during the meeting of the two countries’ Foreign Secretaries in June last included visits by Indian citizens from J&K to Kashmiri religious shrines located in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. According to this proposal, the Indian Kashmiris could pay obeisance at a gurdwara, a temple and a Muslim shrine in the PoK if Islamabad were to approve the proposal. Four months have passed and there is no response from Pakistan on the Indian proposal of exchange of visits by Kashmiris to religious shrines on either side of the LoC. Sources ascribed two reasons for this. One, the last week’s historic visit of 16 Pakistani journalists to Jammu and Kashmir has “unnerved” the Pakistani establishment as the Pakistani scribes saw for themselves that the situation in J&K was not what they had been indoctrinated to believe for decades. The Pakistani journalists went back with the discovery that there was total social and political liberty in J&K and that the Indian state was far more advanced than Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Secondly, the October 12 refusal of permission by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry to a delegation of 12 Kashmiri intelectuals, political workers and journalists to visit the famous shrine near Srinagar Charar-e-Sharif is a demonstration of the Pakistani establishment’s mindset. Pakistan’s leading Urdu daily reported in its today’s edition the October 12 incident in full. When the delegation of Pakistani Kashmiris arrived at the Wagah border around 2.30 p.m., a senior immigration official told the delegation that that the Interior Ministry had imposed restriction on the delegation’s visit to India and “occupied Kashmir” by crossing the border either by foot or through bus or train. “Nawai Waqt” reported that at the time the Pakistani delegation was stopped to cross the border, their hosts — two Members of Indian Parliament, Chairperson of South Asia Peace Committee Nirmala Deshpande and National Conference leader Abdul Rasheed Shaheen were waiting to receive the delegation on the Indian side of the border. The spokesman of the Pakistani delegation, Mr Bashir Indrabi and Secretary Athar Masood Wani, after arriving in Rawalpindi last night, stated that they had proceeded to Wagah only after receiving clearance letters from Pakistan’s Interior and Foreign Ministries and after obtaining Indian visa, the newspaper said. The spokesman said that members of the delegation were highly disappointed with the decision of the Interior Ministry because permission to visit J&K was happily granted to SAFMA delegation. |
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National Commission on Farmers reconstituted
New Delhi, October 14 The commission will recommend measures for the increased inflow of rural credit, enhanced productivity and profitability to the farmer. The commission would recommend the strategy for food and nutrition security, enhancing productivity, profitability of major farming systems of the country and enhanced investment in agriculture research, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. It would also suggest steps for the increased flow of rural credit to farmers, triggering agricultural growth-led economic progress, enhancing quality and cost competitiveness of farm commodities through the application of frontier technology and the empowerment of women in agriculture. The commission would submit a medium-term policy for the food and nutrition security overtime within the next three months and submit its recommendations on other terms of reference within a period of two years, Mr Chidambaram said. The Cabinet also approved ex post facto the appointment of the Chairman of the commission and the revised terms of reference. The Cabinet accorded permission to Minister of Agriculture and Food to introduce changes in the terms of reference or composition of the commission, if necessary, to achieve the objectives for which the commission had been set up. |
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Development plan for urban poor on the cards
New Delhi, October 14 The policy proposes to remodel some of the ongoing welfare schemes like the Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) to promote social housing in association with private players and urban local bodies. “The idea is to take an integrated approach so that states can choose the type and location of welfare projects,” the Union Minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Ms Selja said. Also on the agenda will be the less-popular concept of rental housing where low-income families get to live in small dwellings constructed jointly with the private sector by paying a rental to the urban local bodies like a corporation or municipality. This would form a part of the urban renewal programme initiated by the ministry to tackle the problem of slums mushrooming in the cities. The policy also proposes to give a fillip to the Urban Reform Incentive Fund, which has a corpus of Rs 1000 crore, to encourage the states to introduce reforms by levying user charge on civic services or by enacting suitable legislation. |
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Ashram inmates deny sexual harassment complaints
New Delhi, October 14 Following a complaint by five sisters who are the inmates of the ashram in Pondicherry, the NCW had sought a report by the state government and the state’s women commission. However, these charges are now being described as “motivated and false”, by 45 women inmates who have written to the NCW. In a statement issued here today, the commission says, it “has received a representation from about 45 women inmates of Sri Aurobindo Ashram stating that the complaint, which has been referred to in the newspapers, has been motivated and false”. The NCW has also issued a clarification about the complaint in view of the representation, stating that neither the Commission not its chairperson Dr Poornima Advani have given any opinion on the merits of the complaint as the outcome of the inquiry was still awaited. “The merits of the case are decided only after giving a fair opportunity to both sides to present their views,” the commission clarified. Dr Advani had told reporters earlier this week that five sisters living at the ashram had complained of sexual harassment and other perverted acts. |
Naxal factions unite to form CPI (Maoist)
Hyderabad, October 14 People’s War state secretary Akkiraju Haragopal, alias Ramakrishna, who surfaced recently after two decades in hiding to participate in the proposed talks with the Andhra Pradesh Government, announced at a press conference here today that the merger had taken place on
September 21. ETV (Telugu) channel, which broke the story first, played the visuals of celebrations by armed guerillas of both groups on the occasion of the merger at an undisclosed forest location. “The historic merger will further strengthen the hands of the oppressed people to wage a more effective war against the exploitative classes,” Ramakrishna, who was designated as central member of the new
entity, said. Muppalla Lakshman Rao, alias Ganapati, general secretary of the PW, will be the chief of the newly formed CPI (Maoist) party. |
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Government dissolves Khadi Commission
New Delhi, October 14 KVIC Financial Advisor Maya Sinha has been given the charge of the commission, which would be reconstituted soon. Sources said Mr Sharma was appointed by the National Democratic Alliance government in 1998, and was reportedly asked to resign by the Ministry of Small Scale, Agri and Rural Industries a few days ago. The sources, however, clarified that the decision to remove Mr Sharma was part of a larger plan to reorganise the KVIC.. |
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Home Ministry to have adviser on Manipur affairs
New Delhi, October 14 The decision has been taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters today. The Adviser, preferably from the state, will have expertise on Manipur affairs and a thorough knowledge of the situation in by to take appropriate decisions expeditiously to improve the law and order situation and contain insurgency, Mr Chidambaram said. |
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Vajpayee disappoints journalists
New Delhi, October 14 In the absence of Mr Vajpayee, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh chaired the function, organised by Delhi Study Group. Hosts of mediapersons, got annoyed over the manner in which the office-bearers kept the media in dark about Mr Vajpayee not attending the function. |
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In video (
Nirupa Roy who played ‘mother’ to a galaxy of actors in mainstream Hindi cinema died here last night following a massive heart attack and was cremated today.
She was 73 and is survived by her husband and two sons. The body was consigned to the flames at the Chandanwadi crematorium at Marine Lines in South Mumbai, family sources said.
Her elder son, Yogesh, lit the funeral pyre. Several film personalities arrived at her Napean Sea Road home to pay their last respects.
— UNI
