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Keep allies informed, PM tells ministers
Vilasrao sworn in Maharashtra CM
Centre ready to replace AFSPA with
Manipur ready for talks with Centre
61 children die of mysterious fever
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200
terror camps in Banglades: Natwar
Report on inter-linking of rivers in final stage
Priyanka sends legal notice to Delhi paper
US politics hangs heavy in Mussoorie hills
CPM to launch mass movement against govt policies
Swaraj is BJP spokesperson, Ananth in election committee
No change in stand on Ayodhya, says BJP
SC’s no to consider bail plea of Shahabuddin
Farmers vow to spread stir
Pranab leaves for Poland
Sacked KV teachers to return to work
Give more autonomy to us, says welfare board chairperson
Lifetime Achievement Award for Namdeo
Dacoit problem in MP getting farcical
Bull semen production station opened
Women groups demand easy loan
Sampark Kranti Express to be flagged off on Nov 4
Conference on internal security
from Nov 3
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Keep allies informed, PM tells ministers
New Delhi, November 1 “The UPA government is a coalition government with support of several political parties and all ministers should keep all allies informed about policies being implemented and carry the coalition along”, Dr Manmohan Singh reportedly said in his first-ever meeting of Union Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister’s statement today comes closely on the heels of persistent criticism from the Left parties that policy decisions of the UPA government were being taken without consulting the coalition parties and in certain cases the policies marked a clear deviation from the mutually agreed National Common Minimum Programme
(NCMP). Dr Manmohan Singh had been interacting individually with respective ministers and secretaries, even though this was the first comprehensive “stock-taking” meeting convened by him. Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, however, was not present at the meeting and only decided to break bread together joining the Prime Minister and his colleagues for the dinner subsequently. The Prime Minister cautioned his ministerial colleagues from “over-interfering” in the functioning of the bureaucracy. “They are our instruments for delivering results, hence they need to be given their due place”, the Prime Minister said. He urged his colleagues to interact with the bureaucracy “regularly and creatively”. Dr Manmohan Singh also took an indirect dig at the Left parties, who had vociferously opposed the presence of foreign consultants in various committees of the Planning Commission and forcing the government to disband all such panels, said: “Institutions need to be respected and strengthened... there is a need to associate the best and the brightest from within and outside government to enhance governance”. During the meeting, Dr Manmohan Singh’s primary vocation as an economist took centrestage when he asked his colleagues to adhere to fiscal prudence and not to sugarcoat politics with populism for the sake of it. “Ensure that only realistic, sound and justifiable proposals are put up for
expenditure. It is not fair to expect the Finance Ministry alone to act as the arbiter of expenditure while all other ministers try to enlarge their share of the budget pie”. He identified agriculture, irrigation and drinking water, health, education, health, employment, urban renewal and infrastructure development as the “priority areas” of the government and asked the ministers to “engage in a dialogue with state governments to ensure effective implementation of programmes and policies”. Transparency in government was another key theme touched upon by the Prime Minister at today’s meeting, where he asked his ministers to inform the people about the work being done by their respective ministries.
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Vilasrao sworn in Maharashtra CM
Mumbai, November 1 The swearing-in ceremony saw scores of political activists from the constituencies of Deshmukh and Patil. A number of senior leaders from both the parties were in attendance. Now Deshmukh will get his team on Wednesday when a few of his colleagues will be sworn in. At present both the Congress and the NCP have been wracked by acrimony as elected representatives jostle for inclusion in the Cabinet. Sources say that only a handful of senior MLAs from both the parties would be sworn in on Wednesday while the Cabinet would be expanded at a later date. The MLAs from both parties have already begun lobbying with party leaders in Mumbai and in Delhi for a berth in the Cabinet. As per the deal between the Congress and the NCP, they would be able to induct only 18 and 24 ministers, respectively. |
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Centre ready to replace AFSPA with humane Act
New Delhi, November 1 An
announcement to this effect was made by a spokesperson of Prime Minister
Office (PMO) after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
Apunba Lup, the apex body of 32 organisations that has been spearheading
the agitation in Manipur since July 11 demanding the repeal of the
“draconian” AFSPA. “The Prime Minister said he would certainly
consider replacing the AFSPA with a more humane Act that would respect
the national security and human rights of the people of Manipur,” the
spokesperson told newspersons after the 40-minute meeting. “The Prime
Minister has expressed hope, prayer and belief that by working together
with the people of Manipur, we are able to write a new chapter in the
life of the people of the state,” the spokesperson said reading out
the message on behalf of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister,
however, advised the Apunba Lup to continue talking with Home Minister
Shivraj Patil. The spokesman said, “In response to the requests and
sentiments, the Prime Minister has said he would certainly consider a
more humane Act that would respect the security and also the human
rights of the people of Manipur.” Dr Manmohan Singh also announced
that he would visit Manipur later this month to review the situation in
the state, which had been witnessing a violent agitation since July 11
over the alleged rape and killing of 32-year-old woman Manorama Devi by
Assam Rifles personnel. Meanwhile, Apunba Lup representatives
maintained that they would debate among themselves the Prime
Minister’s statement with regard to the AFSPA and only when they were
convinced they would meet the Home Minister tomorrow.
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Manipur ready for talks with Centre
Imphal, November 1 Apunba Lup is the
apex body of 32 social organisations in Manipur, which has been
demanding the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA)
from the state following the alleged rape and murder of Manoroma Devi by
some jawans of Assam Rifles in June last year. Manorama Devi, a
prominent activist in Manipur, was known for her tirade against the
AFSPA. The credit of bringing Apunba Lup on the negotiation table goes
to Governor of Manipur S.S.Sodhi, after Union Home Minister Shivraj
Patil made an abortive attempt to the solve the imbroglio a month
back. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said during the talks with the
Prime Minister Apunba Lup would raise the issue of the withdrawal of the
AFSPA. The alleged delay in the investigation into Manorama Devi episode
would also figure in the talks, he added. He, however, advised Apunba
Lup not to be optimistic about signing an agreement with the Centre on
the first round of talks. “The beginning is good, and I expect a
positive outcome,” claimed Mr Ibobi Singh. He also defended the need
for the presence of the Unified Command, the Army, the Para Military and
the police, headed by him in the state to handle the undergrounds like
Kuki and other groups. Describing the underground as “sons of the
soil”, he appealed to them to come out and hold talks with the
government for the development of the state. The 12-member delegation
of Apunba Lup, led by scholar Arambam Lokendra, was expected to stay in
Delhi for a week. The delegation was accompanied by an officer in the
rank of Joint Secretary on behalf of the government. Meanwhile, to
defuse the crisis in Manipur, the Union Home Ministry with the approval
of the Union Cabinet has created a post of advisor to the Centre for
Manipur and zeroed in on Rajkumer Phlaguni, a 1972-batch officer of
Karnataka cadre, belonging to the royal family of Manipur.
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200 terror
camps in Bangladesh: Natwar
New Delhi, November 1 A senior South Block official told The Tribune that Mr
Natwar Singh forcefully raised the issue of continued presence of over
200 terrorist camps on Bangladesh soil but Mr Morshed Khan mouthed
Dhaka’s oft-repeated assurance: that the Begum Zia government was
committed not to allow the use of its territory for activities
prejudicial to India’s interests. Bangladesh has consistently denied
Indian allegations of fomenting terrorism against New Delhi and has
maintained that there were no terrorist camps on its soil. New Delhi
would continue to engage the Bangladesh Government on these issues.
The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister also met Commerce Minister Kamal Nath
and called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Khan’s visit was
essentially as a special envoy of his government to hand over invitation
for the SAARC summit which is to take place in Dhaka in January 2005.
But here too, sources said, Mr Khan left much to be desired. He did
not bring the Draft Declaration of the coming Dhaka summit of SAARC as
is the tradition. Mr Khan told the Indian side, during his
45-minute-long talks with Mr Natwar Singh, that he had come to seek New
Delhi’s inputs for the draft declaration. Normally, the draft is
circulated by the host for comments by member states. In the absence
of the draft, the two sides discussed the preparations for the Dhaka
Summit, the status of the draft declaration and the status of
implementation of the decisions taken at the Islamabad Summit. Mr
Morshed Khan also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and conveyed
Bangladesh Prime Minister’s appreciation of the Indian offer of
assistance for flood relief of Rs 100 crore that would be utilised by
Dhaka to source flood relief and rehabilitation materials from India,
including foodstuff, building materials and medical supplies. Dr
Manmohan Singh thanked him for the invitation and recalled his meeting
with Begum Khaleda Zia in Bangkok in September. |
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61 children die of mysterious fever
Saharanpur, November 1 His mother Rani, who rushed her son to the hospital when he took ill with high fever and irritability, does not know any better either. What one cannot miss noticing about Aquib and all other children in the ward is that they are grossly undernourished children from economically backward village families. At this festive time of the year for the rest of the country, western UP is reeling under the crisis of a mysterious fever, taking a toll of young lives in the region for the past three years now. Acute viral encephalitis, also known as Japanese encephalitis has broken out leaving a death toll of 61 at the Government Hospital in Saharanpur alone. According to the records at the Seth Baldeo Das Bajoria Hospital in
Saharanpur, there have been 88 admissions till date this year out of which 61 children have succumbed to the epidemic. Last year, around same time, there were 111 admissions and 80 of the children died. According to the doctors, over the past three years the death ratio to the cases admitted has been more than 80 per cent. Medical science did not have a cure for the disease yet, only the symptoms were curable, said the Chief Medical Superintendent, Dr.
M.K. Gupta. The cause of the disease was a virus carried by female Culex mosquito, found in moist, unclean places, and stagnant water around paddy fields, he said. The lack of personal hygiene and sanitation were the primary causes of the disease whereas malnutrition that caused low resistance indirectly helped in transmission of the virus, Dr Gupta added. Experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, who surveyed the region recently, said improved sanitation in the area was the only solution of the disease, which had no clear cure as of now. When contacted, the Vice-Chairman of the Municipal Corporation told the Tribune that the sanitation in the area was poor and with lax officials, little was being done to fight the three-year-old disease. |
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Report on inter-linking of rivers in final stage
New Delhi, November 1 Submitting a progress report on the proposed 231-km link project for Ken and Betwa rivers in UP and MP and 243-km link of Parbati, Kalisindh and Chambal rivers in MP and Rajasthan, Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati told a Bench of Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari that a Consensus Group (CG) of experts had been set up in the Ministry of Water Resources to resolve minor technical issues
between these states. The two projects, with an estimated cost of over Rs 1,000 crore, were discussed at a high-level meeting on October 11, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and PM’s Principal Secretary, among others. The CG was directed to submit its report to the government by middle of this month about resolution of certain “technical apprehensions” raised by the three states so that detailed project report (DPR) could be prepared for execution of the projects as early as possible, the SG informed the court. He said the environment aspect and displacement of people would form a compulsory part of the project. To ensure that both these issues were dealt properly, environment experts and social scientists had also been included in the CG. The Solicitor General further said the government would discuss the matter with political leadership of the three states after it would receive the report of CG. If any other minor issues still remain to be resolved, those would be considered at the time of finalising the DPR, he said. |
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Priyanka sends legal notice to Delhi paper
New Delhi, November 1 The notice was also sent to the private hospital, Max Med Centre’s Medical Superintendent, asking him whether the news was “leaked” to the media by any of its staff. Publication of the news report on the front page on October 25 by “Today” with photographs amounted to interfering in the private life of the child, the notice said. The notice sent by Priyanka’s lawyer Arun Bhardwaj on October 29, sought to immediately stop writing anything about Rehan or his so called injury in the future. This amounted to infringing his privacy and “exposing him to unwarranted public gaze”, thus affecting his “natural growth and upbringing”, and even to security risk, the notice said. The notice to hospital was sent apprehending that the news about the child’s accident might have been “leaked” to media from it by some of its staff member. The hospital was asked to ensure that no information regarding the child was made available to media and action be taken against the staff members, if any found guilty of leaking the information. It appeared that the whole attempt to publish the story was to “create unnecessary controversy, sensationalise a personal incident and generate undue curiosity” of people in a purely private matter, the notice said. Producing such article was “highly unethical and against the journalistic” norms to exploit an incident involving a child to increase the sale of the paper by creating unnecessary hype on the issue, it said. |
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US politics hangs heavy in Mussoorie hills
Mussoorie, November 1 Kerry has an edge over Bush for most of the Americans here, but which of them is the lesser evil is the criterion, asks Sally from the batch of 1950. A lot of the current Woodstockians however would rather take a tangent from the old students and take sides with Bush. “His stringent policies have worked to counter the Maoists problem in Nepal, where I come from,” says the school head boy Lokesh Todhi. And it’s not just the Uncle Sam politics but Maoist insurgency and the Iraq conflict that are everybody’s business and hot subjects of debate here. Conner, a student whose parents are aid workers in Afghanistan, dreams of being an international journalist. The one thing that comes easy at a school, which is a little bit of a global village, is to dream big, says Anjolie. A melting pot of cultures and nationalities nestled in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas, Woodstock, as Akshay Birla, a seven-year student put it is ‘a mini-UN sans the fights’. Even as ‘sans the fights’ is arguable, Principal David Jeffery swears by the school’s international identity. “We have students from nearly 30 countries at the school, which is a conscious effort to take forward its global identity”, says Mr Jeffery. Far from the crowd under the towering deodars was a sun-baked Tom Alter trying to shield the teasing name twisting from ‘Tom Alter’ to ‘Tamatar’ from Kavi Singh of the batch of 47. In his fine Urdu, Tom got back at Kari by calling the diminutive frame in front of him ‘the biggest man’. And then flowed some of the funniest anecdotes about his dopey friends and school romances. When not on the job as the master of the ceremonies, Tom Alter was trying to hunt for a spot he had not romanced at in his school days, he said. The school, which began as a finishing school for girls, has graduated to become the storybook school anyone with a global connection, besides the money, to afford the studies here. While some of the locals would rather dismiss it as a school for the whites and wannabe whites, the students disagree. |
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CPM to launch mass movement against govt policies
New Delhi, November 1 “Emphasis will be given to the mobilisation and struggles by different sections of the working people in defence of their interest and for change in the government’s polices in this regard,” the party’s Politbureau member Prakash Karat said. He was briefing mediapersons about the decisions taken by the party’s Central Committee which reviewed the performance of the UPA government. Pointing out to the remark by BJP president L.K. Advani that Ram Temple would have been built if the BJP-led government had returned to office, Mr Karat said, “This only confirms how the BJP was trying to subvert the law and bypass the judicial process to begin the illegal construction of the temple at the disputed site.” Taking a dig at the BJP allies in the NDA, especially JD (United), Trinamool Congress and the TDP, he said, “Being allied to the BJP means serving the interest of the RSS and association with the BJP is also damaging their credibility as secular parties.” His remarks comes within days of JD (U) calling for a NDA meeting following Advani’s remarks hinting to the return of Hindutva agenda. Regarding the functioning of the UPA government on the economic front, he said some of the policy positions were “dictated by erroneous outlook that unjustifiable concessions must be given to foreign capital at the expense of domestic industry and the public sector to attract more FDI”. Maintaining that “we are not in the business of running the government”, Karat said “we cannot accept” the government’s approach that the Left should confine itself to issues like employment generation, food supply, education and health, while the core issues like liberalisation and privatisation are handled by the government. The CPI(M) leader said the common minimum programme and the Lok Sabha poll verdict requires the government “not to blindly pursue the course adopted by the previous BJP-led government”. Regarding Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s recent announcement to allow foreign banks to hold stake and increase it annually in private Indian banks, Karat said, “We are surprised that he has decided to give a special gift to them. This will be harmful as it will give them unfair advantage to capture small private banks when they are already operating in the country”. On EPF interest rate, he said the trade unions would decide on protest actions adding “we had opposed reduction of the rate to 8.5 per cent. How can we support 8.25”. He, however, said the Central Committee welcomed several decisions of the UPA government, including repeal of POTA, handing over Tehelka probe to the CBI, setting up of the Godhra probe panel and preparation of a Bill to enact the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. |
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Swaraj is BJP spokesperson, Ananth in election committee
New Delhi, November 1 In the list announced today, new party general secretary Ananth Kumar has acquired a promising profile as he was nominated to the party’s powerful Central Election Committee by Mr Advani. Former BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu has been retained in the Parliamentary Board. In the second round of reshuffle here, Mr Advani has also given Mrs Sushma Swaraj, the party’s Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha and Parliamentary Party spokesperson, the additional responsibility of spokesperson for the party. Mr Manvendra Singh, MP and son of a senior leader, Mr Jaswant Singh, who was the additional spokesman, has been promoted as a spokesman alongside other incumbents, Mr Arun Jaitley and former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was earlier a spokesman, continues to hold the important position of Headquarters in charge. The induction of Mr Kumar, former Union Minister and Karnataka state president of the BJP, both as general secretary and in the Election Committee, is being seen as part of the party’s attempts to fill the vacuum from southern India caused by Mr Naidu’s exit as the party President. Mr Kumar replaces party MP Pyarelal Khandelwal in the Election Committee. Besides Mr Advani, the nine-member Parliamentary Board includes former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior leaders, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Mr Jaswant Singh and Mrs Swaraj. Party general secretaries Pramod Mahajan and Mr Jaitley also figure in the list while Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan will be the secretary to the board. Party general secretary Sanjay Joshi, who has been allocated organisational responsibility in the party, will be a special invitee. Senior leader Yashwant Sinha, Mr Jaitley and Mr Manvendra Singh will also function as BJP spokespersons. For the BJP Parliamentary Party, its Deputy Leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Mr Sushil Modi and Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the spokespersons. The 16-member Central Election Committee will comprise all the nine Parliamentary Board members. Besides Mr Naqvi, Dr Joshi and Mr Modi, other members are former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, former Union Minister Ananth Kumar and Mr Thavarchand Gehlot. Mr Chauhan will also be the secretary to the Parliamentary Board as well as the Central Election Committee. Mr Advani has retained Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, MP, as the president of the Yuva Morcha. Others who continue to head the morchas are Mr Annasaheb M.K. Patil (Kisan Morcha), Mrs Karuna Shukla (Mahila Morcha), Mr Ramnath Kovind (Scheduled Caste Morcha) and Mr Faggan Singh Kulaste (ST Morcha). Mr Tanveer Haider Usmani has been retained as the Minority Morcha chief. Former Petroleum Minister Ram Naik will head the five-member BJP Disciplinary Committee. Mr O.P. Kohli, Mr Brijlal Rinwa, Prof Seshagiri Rao and Mr Nandkishore Yadav are the other members. |
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No change in stand on Ayodhya, says BJP
New Delhi, November 1 “The BJP’s stand is not contrary to the stand of the NDA on the Ayodhya issue, which has been clearly spelt out in the NDA’s National Agenda for Governance,” BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley told newspersons reacting to news reports about Janata Dal (U) leaders expressing concern over Mr Advani’s statement on Ayodhya during BJP’s National Council meeting last week. “All that Mr Advani had stated during his Presidential remarks at the National Council meeting here was that the solution to the dispute for a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya should be through judicial verdict or through negotiations among the parties concerned. ...He had only expressed the feelings of the people of the country that Mandir should be a reality and a solution should be found out,” Mr Jaitley said. BJP’s assertion of its stand on Ayodhya comes even as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh today asking the BJP to stay firm on the ‘Hindutva” issues in order to return to power at the Centre. The RSS topbrass, at a meeting with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP President L K Advani, are understood to have insisted that the party cannot afford to neglect its “constituency” if it was keen to return to power. “The Sangh wanted the BJP to stay firm on Hindutva,” RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav told newspersons. The BJP dubbed the meeting as a routine one. |
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SC’s no to consider bail plea of Shahabuddin
New Delhi, November 1 A Bench of Mr Justice Shivaraj V Patil and Mr Justice B N Srikrishna, however, referred Shahabuddin bail plea back to the Patna High Court, which had earlier rejected it and had initiated contempt proceedings against him for alleged
interference in the administration of justice. The Bench said the high court should hear the contempt case and his bail plea one after the other within two months. The Patna High Court had also issued a contempt notice to the trial judge for passing an order on May 28 allowing Shahabuddin to go to Delhi in police custody to take oath as MP after he had won the last election for the Siwan Lok Sabha seat from jail. He has been confined to the judicial custody since August 18, 2002, for the alleged abduction of Munna Chaudhary, who is believed to have been murdered on January 13, 2001. The apex court took serious note of the trial judge granting him permission to go to Delhi to take oath, asking his lawyer Sushil Kumar and the Bihar Government counsel as “under which rules such a permission was granted.” “The Sessions Judge holding trial in the case, does not have extraordinary powers to grant such permission,” the Court observed. The high court had suo motu initiated contempt proceedings against the trial judge for passing such order as well as Shahabuddin after media reports that he was seen moving freely in Delhi during his stay though he was supposed to be in police custody. His bail plea was earlier rejected by the high court. |
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Farmers vow to spread stir
Sriganganagar, November 1 Meanwhile, taking exception to the state government’s “indifferent” attitude, the Kisan, Mazdoor, Vyapari Sangharsh Samiti has decided to spread agitation from tomorrow. Talking to The Tribune over phone from an undisclosed location, farmer leader and former CPM MLA Hetram Beniwal said the farmers had vowed to make any sacrifice for the cause. The agitating farmers front would hold a demonstration tomorrow at Srivijaynagar to press their demands. He said the front would organise a rally tomorrow in the Suratgarh area. Mr Beniwal said since the government had not shown any “serious” interest, the farmers were bound to spread the agitation. According to reports reaching here today, the farmers in more than a dozen villages held protests and vowed to spread the agitation. Since Wednesday, the administration gave a full day’s relaxation in Rawala village but most of the shops and other commercial establishments remained closed. Mr Beniwal said the villagers were not ready to open the market till the government agreed to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Ms Vijyaraje Scindia, held a Cabinet meeting today at Jaipur and discussed the issue. Talking to The Tribune from Jaipur, the PWD Minister, Mr Rajinder Singh Rathore, who was a member of the committee that visited the villages, said the law and order situation was discussed. Elaborating further, Mr Rathore said the state government was well aware of the hardships the farmers of the area were facing and promised to provide 5.23 cusecs water to the farmers. He blamed certain anti-social elements for hijacking the issue and giving it a political colour in view of the forthcoming civic body elections. In another move, villagers held protest demonstrations in Bhhadra, Rawatsir and other nearby villages in Hanumangarh district. They also supported the demands of the protesting farmers of the area. Interestingly, the Congress has also extended its support to the agitating farmers and announced a state-level bandh on November 4. At a press conference held here today by the state Congress chief, Mr Narian Singh, he promised full support to the farmers. While criticising the state government, he said it had not taken the problems of the farmers in the area seriously. The state Congress chief demanded that a sitting judge be appointed to conduct an impartial inquiry into the entire matter. |
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Pranab leaves for Poland
New Delhi, November 1 During the visit, he will have one-to-one meeting with Polish Minister for National Defence Jerzy Szmajdzinski and discuss further on improving the ties between the two countries. The Defence Minister will also call on the Polish President Mr K. Kwasniewski and the Prime Minister Mr Marek Belka. Mr Mukherjee will also lay a wreath at the Unknown Soldier’s Tomb at Marshal J. Pilsudski Square at Warsaw. On Wednesday, the Defence Minister will visit the First Warsaw Armoured Brigade at Wesola, to see the demonstration of military equipment. Later at Deblin, he is slated to visit an Air exhibition and demonstration. The Defence Minister is accompanied by Mr Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Joint Secretary (Policy and International Cooperation) in the Ministry of Defence. The minister will return home on Friday. This is Mr Mukherjee’s first visit abroad after assuming the office. |
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Sacked KV teachers to return to work
New Delhi, November 1 Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan authorities would examine afresh the circumstances in which teachers under transfer resigned or were dismissed following the guidelines put into effect in 2000, an announcement said. It said Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who was the Chairman of the KVS, had ordered a fresh look at the cases of teachers victimised under the norms introduced under his predecessor Murli Manohar Joshi. Mr Arjun Singh has ordered the constitution of a committee to examine such cases and, if justified, permit individuals to return to work. “If the committee comes to the conclusion that there was no justification for the transfers as also there were attenuating circumstances under which the employees were not able to move to the transferred place, it may recommend that those persons may be allowed to withdraw their resignations and dismissals or removals from service annulled,” the announcement said. It said the committee would be headed by the KVS Joint Commissioner of Administration and consist of two senior principals. The affected persons could apply before the committee by December 15 and the committee would take its decision within a month after that. The transfers, made following the April 1, 2000 guidelines, led to widespread dislocation of teachers in the KVS system across the country, throwing families-even teacher couples-thousands of kilometres apart or from home.
— UNI |
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Give more autonomy to us, says welfare board chairperson
New Delhi, November 1 Addressing a press conference, the out going chairperson of the board, which is an autonomous body under the Department of Women and Child Development, Human Resource Development Ministry, said the board should be allowed greater autonomy in formulating and implementing programmes. Regretting that several recommendations had been made by different groups for the welfare of women but not implemented so far, the outgoing chairperson suggested the setting up of a committee with the board as a nodal organisation. “This committee can coordinate with different government departments for programmes related to women, children and other marginalised groups,” she added. She also recommended a review of the border areas projects so that these could be used as counselling centres for trauma, vocational and security training and urged the government to integrate old-age homes with creches. “Voluntary organisations should create an atmosphere in which the new generation readily takes care of the elderly,” she said. |
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Lifetime Achievement Award for Namdeo
New Delhi, November 1 Inaugurating the celebrations, the Prime Minister hailed the Akademi for its remarkable success in nurturing the diversity of literary life of the country for five decades. He said by providing a national platform for literature, the Akademi had profoundly enriched the democracy. It was a responsibility that required to be nurtured through ceaseless vigil, he added. Information, Broadcasting and Culture Minister S. Jaipal Reddy was the chief guest on the occasion. The Prime Minister also conferred honorary fellowship of the Akademi on Prof E. P. Chelyshev of the Russian Academy of Science for his studies on modern and contemporary Indian literature. He also conferred fellowships on eminent writers in various languages, including Vijay Dan Detha, Bh. Krishnamurti, U. R Anantha Murthy, Sankha Ghosh and Amrita Pritam. The Golden Jubilee Young Writers’ Awards were given to Mandakratna Sen (Bengali), Ranjit Hoskote (English), Neelakshi Singh (Hindi), Abdul Rasheed (Kannada) and S. Sithara (Malayalam). The existing fellows, who received the award, were Krishna Sobti, Vidya Niwas Misra, Govind Vinayak Karandikar, D. Jayakanthan, N. Khelchandra Singh, Gunturu Seshendra Sharma, Nilmani Phookan and G. C. Pande. The awards were decided by a seven-member jury comprising Kamleshwar, Dilip Chitre, Jayakanthan, Girilal Kishore, K.K. Daruwala, Debyendu Palit and Chandrashekhar Kambar. Excerpts of a film by Gulzar were screened at the function, while noted ghazal singer Jagjit Singh gave a recital of poems by Kabir. Sahitya Akademi president Gopi Chand Narang presented the welcome address while Sahitya Akademi secretary K. Sachidanandan proposed the vote of thanks. |
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Dacoit problem in MP getting farcical
Bhopal, November 1 Nirbhay Gurjar, wanted by the police in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for numerous murders, kidnappings and extortions, has expressed outrage at Friday’s killing of 13 persons in a Gwalior village by the Rambabu Gadaria gang. In a communication, sent to some reporters in Bhind, Gurjar has adumbrated that Rambabu Gadaria is getting protection from the police. “I can finish off the Rambabu Gadaria gang within three days provided the police does not help him”, he was quoted. Gurjar is not entirely wrong in his allegation about Rambabu Gadaria’s “amicable” relationship with a section of policemen posted in the Chambal-Gwalior region. Mr Anshuman Yadav, SP of Shivpuri district, was reportedly shifted on Rambabu Gadaria’s “request” because the SP had made movements of the gang difficult. It was, however, considered sheer presumptuousness on the part of Nirbhay Gurjar to objurgate the “patronage” enjoyed by Rambabu Gadaria. Gurjar, too, is said to be in a position to send missives to reporters in Bhind because of his politician-police connections. Gurjar was cornered by the SP, Mr Shazid Farid Shapoo of Bhind, who had vowed to finish his gang. In the midst of his campaign, Mr Shapoo was transferred last month to the police headquarters in Bhopal. An influential BJP leader of Bhind had pleaded with the Chief Minister, Mr Babulal Gaur, on behalf of Nirbhay Gurjar. |
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Bull semen production station opened
New Delhi, November 1 Mr Pawar said to meet the requirement of high quality bulls, the NDDB should prepare proposals for four such stations in different parts of the country which the government would support. He also supported the idea of setting up a project in Haryana to produce Murrah buffaloes in their native tract. The SAG is one of the three centres in India producing progeny tested bulls. The breed includes Sahiwal, Kankrej, Gir, Red Sindhi, Holstein Friesian and Jersy, Crossbred and buffalo bred of Murrah and Jafrabadi. The station — the largest in the world — produces 36 lakh semen doses which are supplied to cooperatives and government agencies. |
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Women groups demand easy loan
New Delhi, November 1 Speaking at the three-day national conference of self-help group (SHG) leaders, which ended today, she urged different financial institutions of the government, participating in the conference, to take note of suggestions and recommendations by the leaders. Participants at the meeting, organised by the All-India Women’s Conference (AIWC), urged the government agencies to make micro-credit available to women for self-employment. They also demanded the creation of marketing facilities for the SHGs to make them sustainable. As many as 200 delegates from different parts of the country participated in the conference. Ms Selja also advised the AIWC to set up self-help groups in urban areas. Representatives of NABARD, SIDBI, the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and the Oriental Bank of Commerce also attended the meeting. The AIWC, one of the oldest voluntary organisations in the country, began micro-credit schemes for poor women in rural areas in 1977-78. Under the scheme, women were mobilised to form SHGs to encourage savings and small business and enterprises. |
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Sampark Kranti Express to be flagged off on Nov 4
New Delhi, November 1 According to sources, the train, which will be flagged off from the Nizamuddin railway station on November 4, by Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, will have its first stoppage only at Borivili, after it enters Maharashtra. The last stoppage will be at Bandra in Mumbai. The Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express will start from Nizamuddin on Mondays and Thursdays, while the return journey from Bandra will be on Wednesdays and Sundays. The new train will be cheaper than the Rajdhani Express and will also have more sleeper accommodations, besides one coach each of II AC and I AC. |
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Conference on internal security
from Nov 3
New Delhi, November 1 Organised by the Intelligence Bureau, the conference assumes great significance in the wake of heightened insurgent activities in the north-eastern states and the initiation of talks by Andhra Pradesh Government with the Naxal group-Peoples’ War Group (PWG). The conference will be addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The conference will deliberate issues pertaining to internal security challenges, including the Left Wing extremism and insurgency in the North-East, an official statement said here today. |
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New Delhi, November 1
New Delhi, November 1
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