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Panchayats can play major role in power sector, says Prime Minister
Uma guilty of ‘indiscipline’: Naqvi
Hurriyat to decide on continuing talks, |
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UP Cong head may be on his way out
BJP challenges govt to ban RSS
VHP boycotts RSS meeting |
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Better safety on trains, says Laloo Nagaland CM happy over new peace move West Bengal Governor not to quit before term ends 92nd Indian Science Congress to be held in Ahmedabad Artistes from Punjab, Haryana enthral
Is marriage on cards for Hurley, Nayar?
Centre to eliminate scavenging
Charges to be framed in Bilkis Bano case Jyoti Basu’s guard held
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Panchayats can play major role in New Delhi, November 5 “In the field of energy, there are revolutionary possibilities in using the potential of panchayats as an effective institutional intermediary for promoting non-conventional energy such as bio-gas, bio-fuel from Jetropa plantations and solar energy,” he said in his valedictory address at a national conference on ‘Rural Business Hubs: Economic Empowerment through Panchayats’, organised here at Vigyan Bhavan. “There is a possibility of panchayats being engaged as last-leg distributors of electrical energy,” said the Prime Minister. He added that such possibilities also existed in the field of rural credit and finance where banks need to address the constraints that bedevil our existing institutional mechanism. Could panchayats be explored as an alternative credit delivery and loan recovery agencies, he asked. Meanwhile, Over 1000 Panchayat representatives from across the country today called upon the Union Government to make necessary amendments in the Panchayati Raj Act to ensure direct funding to the district level Panchayat bodies besides providing more financial powers to them to “implement the Act in letter and spirit.” The village, block and district level Panchayat representatives lamented that most of the state governments were not ready to “provide sufficient financial powers to meet their constitutional duties.” The delegates are scheduled to meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Teen Murti Bhawan tomorrow to press upon the government to “bring uniformity in the powers and rights of Panchayati Raj bodies besides raising other issues.” Union Panchayat and Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer said, “My ministry has already held five conferences of state Panchayat ministers and other officials and a roadmap would be soon ready to revamp these bodies.”
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Uma guilty of ‘indiscipline’: Naqvi
New Delhi, November 5 In reply to a question, Mr Naqvi told the Tribune on the telephone that Ms Bharti’s claim of individual credit for electoral victory in Madhya Pradesh amounted to “insulting” lakhs of party workers who “worked hard to oust the Congress government” in the state last December. “Any public criticism of a colleague by any leader is not in the spirit of discipline that party President L.K. Advani has emphasised,” Mr Naqvi observed replying to a question about former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister’s criticism of Mr Mahajan in a TV interview. “It is indiscipline,” he said, adding “such comments should be avoided for the benefit of the party.” Mr Naqvi’s stand is understood, to enjoy the blessings of BJP President L.K. Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as it is being strongly felt that if Ms Bharti was not reined in now than she could cause major embarrassment for the party in future. As a matter of fact, many party leaders felt that Ms Bharti’s criticism of Mr Mahajan was also an “insult” to Mr Advani. Mr Naqvi said such developments will be discussed at the party forum. Asked to comment on Ms Bharti’s assertion that the mandate in Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections last year was for her only, he said “if somebody says such a thing, it smacks of arrogance.” “Such a claim also amounts to insulting lakhs of party workers,” the party vice-president said, underlining that the victory was a result of the efforts of the entire party. He said such recent developments were causing harm to the party. Meanwhile, Mr Advani, who was in Haridwar to attend a two day RSS meet, tried to downplay Ms Bharti’s criticism of Mr Mahajan. Asked if he agreed with Ms Bharati’s reported attack on her party colleague, Mr Advani said “I have seen one version in some newspapers which is not objectionable, while I have seen some other versions also. I will ask her what she had actually said.
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Hurriyat to decide on continuing talks, says Patil
New Delhi, November 5 “We have already made it clear that we are ready for unconditional talks with anybody who wants to talk.... As far as dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference is concerned, I leave it to them to decide,” Mr Patil, told newspersons here. Earlier in the day, while addressing the first Consultative Committee meeting of the Home Ministry after constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha, Mr Patil asserted that talks alone may not resolve all the issues and other steps were also required to be taken simultaneously. “Economic and social justice will have to be done to people. Better transport and communication facilities will have to be provided to the unemployed. If use of force is required to protect innocent people, even this will have to be done,” he told the committee comprising MPs of various political parties. The Home Minister also said that there should be no let-up in preparedness on the part of the state governments during the period of talks. “The Centre favours the state governments to talk to insurgent groups, because they are in the field and are fully aware of the ground realities,” he said, adding that “however, the Centre will extend all possible support to the state governments”. He expressed satisfaction over the fact that none of the members present opposed holding of talks with insurgent groups. Stating that laws were required to curb insurgency, but these should be humane, Mr Patil, said in line with this thinking, the Centre was going to constitute a committee to look into the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and suggest what should be done. Detailing about his visit to Jammu and Kashmir at the press conference, Mr Patil, said his visit was to acquaint himself with the aspirations, demands and difficulties. He said “this tour could well be considered as a preparatory visit for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tour to the Valley in the third week of this month”. During his visit, he will be accompanied by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ministers of State for Home S. Raghupathy and Shriprakash Jaiswal. Mr Patil, said he would meet the Governor, the Chief Minister, Speaker, Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, leaders of different political parties, leaders of different sections of society and hear what they had to say and suggest, and learn in person as to how the development work started with the help of the Union Government was going on. He would visit Srinagar, Jammu, Ladakh and border areas and would see the fence erected on the border. On his return, the Home Minister will brief the Prime Minister on the demands and requirements of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to enable him to decide on any package to be given to the hill state. Mr Patil, said subsequently he would visit Jammu and Kashmir two months later during which he would spend one or two days in Jammu and one or two days in Ladakh and would meet more number of leaders of political parties and sections of society in these two regions and learn from them more about their aspirations, demands and the work that was being done there.
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UP Cong head may be on his way out New Delhi, November 5 Although Mr Pal’s departure has been on the cards since the Lok Sabha elections, it could come sooner than later. In a candid admission at the Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative Conference today, Ms Gandhi agreed that the Congress organisation in the key state of Uttar Pradesh was “dismal.” She indicated that changes in the state unit could take place any time. Replying to questions about the state of Congress in UP, she said, “I have been disappointed by the situation in UP. I have been thinking about it day and night as to what can we do in the state, which is so vital to the Congress party,” she confessed. Normally quite circumspect on party affairs, Ms Gandhi’s remarks today came as a surprise for senior Congress leaders, including PCC chief Jagdambika Pal and Mr Satyawat Chaturvedi, AICC general secretary in charge of UP. Both said they had no information about the changes though Mr Pal said he was ready to shoulder any responsibilities assigned to him by Ms Sonia Gandhi. So far, he said, he had not been asked to resign but will not hesitate to do so if required in the party’s interests. Predictably, Ms Gandhi’s comments set off immediate speculation about Mr Pal’s replacement. Several names are doing the rounds which include former UPCC chief Salman Khursheed, Begum Noor Bano, former MP from Rampur, Varanasi MP Rajesh Mishra and Mr Nirmal Khatri, AICC secretary from Faizabad. In case, Ms Gandhi decides on Mr Khursheed, it will be a clear signal that the Congress is all set to take on the Mulayum Singh Yadav government. Mr Khursheed’s antipathy towards Mr Yadav is well known. Party strategists believe that if the Congress is to retrieve its lost social base in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, it has to bring back the minorities and upper castes to the party fold. The Brahmins, it is believed, are now disenchanted with the BJP and are looking to the Congress again. The minorities, presently with the Samajwadi Party, could be weaned away provided the Congress is seen to be a winning proposition, it is said. Given this situation, senior Congress leaders believe, the party needs a young, dynamic leader who can energise the party organisation and take on SP leader Mulayum Singh Yadav.
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BJP challenges govt to ban RSS
New Delhi, November 5 Reacting to Union Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh’s recent observation that the Centre would come out with a legislation in the forthcoming session of Parliament to bring the “communal organisations” within the ambit of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, BJP general secretary Rajnath Singh said. He said the UPA government was working with a bias towards the RSS and its sister organisations. “The RSS and other organisations are nationalist organisations and capable of defending themselves”, he said. Mr Rajnath Singh accused the government of not acting against corruption, saying it had prevented the CBI from proceeding against a former Union Minister in the petrol pump allotment scandal. |
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VHP boycotts RSS meeting
Hardwar, November 5 The VHP has expressed its distrust about the BJP’s homecoming to the Hindutva issues after the party’s twin debacle in the LS and Maharashtra elections and its turning away from Hindutva agenda when it was in power. VHP Chief Ashok Singhal, along with Praveen Togadia and Acharya Giriraj Kishore, attended a religious function at Hardwar, keeping away from the meeting on its first day to register their differences. RSS spokesperson Ram Madhava, however, said the Sangh Parivar discussed issues like internal security and floods. BJP President L.K. Adwani tried to underplay the absence of the VHP leaders. He said even as he was not fully aware of the reasons for their absence, it was possible that the VHP leaders could not attend the first day of the meeting due to personal engagements. The issues of the Sangh Parivar and their future plans were the key subjects on the agenda. Tension between the BJP and the VHP comes in the backdrop of the latters’ allegations that the former had failed to meet the aspirations of the Hindus.
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VHP boycotts RSS meeting Hardwar, November 5 The VHP has expressed its distrust about the BJP’s homecoming to the Hindutva issues after the party’s twin debacle in the LS and Maharashtra elections and its turning away from Hindutva agenda when it was in power. VHP Chief Ashok Singhal, along with Praveen Togadia and Acharya Giriraj Kishore, attended a religious function at Hardwar, keeping away from the meeting on its first day to register their differences. RSS spokesperson Ram Madhava, however, said the Sangh Parivar discussed issues like internal security and floods. BJP President L.K. Adwani tried to underplay the absence of the VHP leaders. He said even as he was not fully aware of the reasons for their absence, it was possible that the VHP leaders could not attend the first day of the meeting due to personal engagements. The issues of the Sangh Parivar and their future plans were the key subjects on the agenda. |
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Better safety on trains, says Laloo New Delhi, November 5 Addressing the first meeting of the consultative committee of Members of Parliament for his ministry, Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav said following comprehensive efforts, the number of train accidents during the first half of the current fiscal had come down to 115 compared to 189 during the corresponding period of the previous year. He said due to the healthy growth of traffic output up to September this year, Rs 2,201 crore was earned by the Railways, which was 2.23 per cent higher than the budgetary target. He described the performance of the Railways during the first half of the current financial year as “appreciable.” Referring to budgetary announcements on new trains, he said 11 pairs of trains, including three Sampark Kranti Express trains, have been introduced. Four trains had been extended and frequency of nine trains increased. He said a new catering policy was being introduced to improve the standard of catering. The Railways Minister announced that from next financial year, bogies and couplers would be supplied free to wagon builders. He said all passenger coaches would be fitted with biodegradable modular toilets by 2012. The modular toilets would prevent discharge of effluents at stations. Mr Yadav said all air-conditioned coaches would be provided with electrical points for charging cellular phones and laptops within a year. So far, 500 AC coaches had been provided with such facilities. He said the Railways would sell itmes of daily use like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap strips, bandaids and non-prescription medicines from pantry cars of important trains to provide more satisfaction to its customers. The Minister also informed the members that a Technology Mission on Railway Safety had been taken up in collaboration with the IIT, Kanpur.
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Nagaland CM happy over new peace move Guwahati, November 5 In a four-page statement from Bangkok, NSCN (IM) Chairman Isak Chisi Swn and general secretary Th Muviah, said: “We hold out a hand of friendship to all Nagas, including the NSCN (Khaflang), irrespective of their past standing and ask all of them to join us in working together for a peaceful and honourable solution to the Indo-Nagaland political issue by taking up the matter with Delhi”. Nagaland Chief Minister Mr Neiphiu Rio could not conceal his jubilation over such unexpected development on the eve of NSCN (IM) leaders’ visit to Delhi. “With the NSCN (IM) and the NSCN (Khaflang) coming closer, this is indeed a great development for Nagaland, and will also help Delhi’s effort to negotiate with them for permanent peace in Nagaland”, said Mr Rio. Mr Rio, however, cautioned the Centre on its proposed move to undertake a joint operation on Nagaland-Myanmar border with Myanmar to destroy the militant bases there. “Delhi needs to be cautious on this move. Any misadventure can derail the entire Naga peace process”, he added.
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West Bengal Governor not to quit before term ends Kolkata, November 5 As it is clear that Mr Shah will not get another term, he will join national politics as a BJP member after retiring as a Governor. There has been no discussion on Mr Shah’s successor with either the Prime Minister or Home Minister Shivraj Patil by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. But Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri has conveyed to Dr Manmohan Singh that they would like either Dr M. Hasan, Vice-Chalcellor of Jamia Millia University, or Dr Gopal Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, as the next Governor of West Bengal.
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92nd Indian Science Congress to be held in Ahmedabad New Delhi, November 5 Addressing a press conference here, he disclosed that after 91st Indian Science Congress in Chandigarh last year, the mega event would provide an opportunity to over 7,000 scientists from India and abroad to gather and "discuss issues like healthcare delivery system for the nation, new technologies in pharmaceutical, research process outsourcing, diagnostic instrument, biotechnology and vaccines." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to inaugurate the Indian Science Congress and President A.P.J.Kalam will participate as a scientist, Mr Ganguly said. Nirma Univesity and National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad would jointly host the programme. Referring to the role of ISC, Prof Asis Datta, former president, Indian Science Congress, said, "the previous Science Congress organised in Chandigarh had made various recommendations to the government for strengthening the role of science in the society, which are in different stages of implementation." Prof M.R. Bhan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnogy, said, "the government has already increased the Budget allocations for the health and science and technology sector. The next Science Congress will also help the government in preparing the country for the coming years."
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Artistes from Punjab, Haryana enthral Jaipur, November 5 As part of an 11-day folk festival titled ‘Lok Rang’, the programme was organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala. It was the sixth day of the festival in which folk artistes from different parts of the country are participating. So much was the temptation to enjoy the ‘balle-balle’ performance of the Punjab troupe that much before the scheduled time, the open air theatre of the Jawahar Kala Kendra with a sitting capacity of 3000 persons was packed to the full. Hundreds of connoisseurs were enjoying the show on the close circuit TV standing outside the venue. What put the audience in a boisterous mood was the bhangra dance. Besides the rhythmic movements and lively music, the audience was surprisingly delighted by the acrobatics of the martial art known as ‘Gatka’. They were also stunned to see the feats of bajigars, including crossing a narrow ring with fire all around and dancing with swords in the mouth.
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Is marriage on cards for Hurley, Nayar?
Udaipur, November 5 This picturesque heritage town, nestled in the Aravalli hills, has seen many celebrations, but this time it may well witness one of the most-talked about love affair culminate at the holy altar. The “bedazzled” star, accompanied by her son Damien, and Nayar arrived late last night and drove straight to the Palace-turned hotel, 30 km from here, amidst tight security. A host of high-profile guests accompanied the star-couple and more close friends and relatives trickled in today to take part in the birthday bash of Nayar, a London-based businessman. The private event has, however, evinced keen interest among the media as it is speculated that the two may tie the nuptial knot at one of the two lavish parties the 39-year-old Hollywood star is throwing for her boyfriend, who is turning 41. About two dozen rooms are booked by the glamorous couple and more than 50 close friends and relatives are expected to take part in the celebrations, palace sources said. They were tight-lipped when asked about the wedding plans and maintained that it was a purely personal affair. — PTI |
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Centre to eliminate scavenging
New Delhi, November 5 Speaking at the Social Editors conference here, Ms Selja said there were six lakh scavengers in the country who needed to be rehabilitated. Referring to development of slums, she said Rs 75 crore had been earmarked for development of Dharavi. The minister said a comprehensive programme was being worked out to tackle problem of slums in both big and small cities. She said the ministry was working on a scheme for “capacity building” of NGOs.
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Charges to be framed in Bilkis Bano case
Mumbai, November 5 According to the prosecution, 12 accused attacked 17 members of a minority community at Devgarh Baria village in Dahod district of Gujarat on February 28, 2002, and gangraped six-month pregnant Bilkis Bano while sexually molesting her family members and assaulting them.
— PTI |
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Jyoti Basu’s guard held Kolkata, November 5 According to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the money had been withdrawn through Mr Basu’s ATM card which his personal secretary, Mr Jaikrishna Ghosh, detected today. The police, however, soon recovered the entire money after arresting Mr Basu’s own security guard and interrogating two other persons. |
Buta Singh assumes office Ashutosh academy member BJP calls
for bandh Contempt notices |
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