SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI



THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
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N A T I O N

Telgi scam: SC notice to Centre on CBI plea
New Delhi, November 16
The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Centre on CBI’s plea for not disturbing the Telgi fake stamp paper scam special investigating team, which had maximum number of investigators from various police organisations.

Cabinet panel discusses J&K, Pak PM visit
New Delhi, November 16
A day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh begins his two-day visit to the troubled Jammu and Kashmir, the Cabinet Committee on Security today is understood to have discussed not only the prevailing situation there but also the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to India.

Uma sends signal of rapprochement
New Delhi, November 16
In yet another signal of a climb-down to pave the way for a patch-up with the party leadership, suspended BJP leader Uma Bharti tonight told her supporters to “keep mum” on the disciplinary action against her and said she does not want to turn Madhya Pradesh into a “venue for show of my strength”.

Patil for sustained dialogue with
Kashmir groups

New Delhi, November 16
Home Minister Shivraj Patil has recommended the holding of dialogue on a “sustained basis” with all groups in Jammu and Kashmir that give up violence. He has also advocated the raising of additional battalions of security forces to provide jobs to unemployed youths there.





EARLIER STORIES

 
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee is escorted by Vice-Admiral S.K.K. Krishnan and Vice-Admiral Madamjit Singh as he visits the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Tuesday
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee (left) is escorted by Vice-Admiral S.K.K. Krishnan (centre) and Vice-Admiral Madamjit Singh as he visits the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Tuesday. Mr Mukherjee is on a two-day visit to the Western Naval Command. — AFP

SC rejects plea of the blind for quota in legislature
New Delhi, November 16
Supreme Court today expressed its inability to entertain a petition by blind people, seeking direction to the Centre to make a law for reserving seats for them in Parliament, state Assemblies and local bodies as available to the people belonging to SCs and STs.

Coal shortage: CBI yet to get order
New Delhi, November 16
The CBI said today the agency would investigate the black marketing of coal after receiving an order from the government. Talking to UNI, CBI spokesman said the agency was yet to receive any directive from the government to institute an inquiry into the alleged black marketing of 25-30 million tonnes of coal in the country.

Govt may allow 8 Sikh jathas to Pakistan
New Delhi, November 16
The Manmohan Singh Government is considering a proposal to increase the strength of Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan and also the frequency of such Jathas.

Review panel aims at child-friendly curriculum
New Delhi, November 16
The National Committee to review the National Curriculum Framework, headed by Prof Yashpal, is hopeful of steering clear of controversies as it aims at framing a curriculum which is not just child-friendly but also free from political pressure.

BJP keeps option open on alliance in Bihar
New Delhi, November 16
Even as it kept its doors open for an alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) for the coming Bihar Assembly poll, the BJP central leadership today asked state leaders to go all out against the ruling RJD, led by Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Govindacharya steers clear of Uma row
Lucknow, November 16
Former BJP leader N. Govindacharya today steered clear of the controversy arising out of the suspension of Uma Bharti from the BJP saying he had nothing to do with the party after quitting it last year.

Rajasthan appeal to PM on Punjab waters
Jaipur, November 16
Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make the Punjab Government release irrigation waters as per the inter-state agreement to mitigate the hardships of farmers in Sri Ganganagar district.

Natwar for full use of N-energy
New Delhi, November 16
India today told the International Atomic Energy Agency that full use of nuclear energy by countries with a proven record of safety and responsibility should not be impeded while addressing emerging concerns about proliferation.

Monica Bedi’s plea for release rejected
New Delhi, November 16
Supreme Court of Portugal has dismissed a petition of Abu Salem’s girlfriend Monica Bedi seeking her release after completion of her jail sentence of two years in September this year even as the CBI turned down the request seeking cancellation of extradition proceedings against the little known Bollywood actress.

Screening test must for CIS doctors: SC
New Delhi, November 16
In an important judgement, the Supreme Court today held that screening test for doctors with degrees from the Commonwealth of Independent States, created on the fall of the Soviet Union, was necessary for their enrollment with the Medical Council of India.

Rameshwar Thakur new Orissa Governor
New Delhi, November 16
The Centre today appointed veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Rameshwar Thakur the Governor of Orissa.

Another milestone  for Tejas
Bangalore, November 16
The Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, today reached yet another milestone by crossing the 300th flight test sortie mark. Wg. Cdr R.R. Tyagi flew the test sortie on Technology Demonstrator-2, the 116th flight of TD2, an Aeronautical Development agency statement said.

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Telgi scam: SC notice to Centre on CBI plea
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, November 16
The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Centre on CBI’s plea for not disturbing the Telgi fake stamp paper scam special investigating team (SIT), which had maximum number of investigators from various police organisations.

The notice was issued by a Bench of Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice S H Kapaida after the agency filed its second status report stating that a network of 76 front companies of Telgi engaged in selling of the stamp papers had been unearthed.

These companies had received over Rs 62 crore in their 119 bank accounts as proceeds of the sale of fake stamp papers, while Telgi had confessed of acquiring immovable property worth Rs 12 crore, the report said.

Submitting the status report on the progress of probe into 48 cases of major transactions, handed over to the CBI by the Supreme Court, Additional Solicitor General Amrendra Sharan said the agency would like the case to be monitored by the apex court.

The court also directed the CBI to furnish a complete list of the investigators working on deputation in the SIT within four weeks.

The court also issued notices to the Governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra on the CBI’s plea for installing video conferencing facilities in jails for recording of the evidence of the accused by the prosecution so that they need not be taken out to various courts across the country because of the security risk involved.

The status report, synopsis of which were made available to the opposite parties, stated that probe in eight of the 48 cases had been completed by the CBI and 22 chargesheets had already been filed in various courts, in which 11 public servants of various ranks, kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi and his henchmen had been named as accused.

The report was filed in response to application of advocate Ajay Agrawal who had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) for a CBI probe in the Rs 33,000 crore fake stamp paper scam.

The chargesheeted henchmen of Telgi included Samal Jamadar Badruddin, Vazir Ahmed Saliq, Ram Rattan Soni, Mohamad Abdul Hafiz, Abdul Rayees Qadri, Fatarek Abdul Bari, P G Pradip Kumar and Syed Mohiuddin.

Further investigation with the help of other probe agencies like Central Board of Direct Taxes, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was going on into the fake stamp racket, the CBI said.

“Dubious roles and conduct of a large number of public servants and other persons in public life are being established through the investigations conducted by the CBI. It is being firmly indicated in number of instances that the accused public servants had actively aided and abetted the organised crime syndicate of Telgi by way of obtaining pecuniary benefits,” it said.

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Cabinet panel discusses J&K, Pak PM visit
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16
A day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh begins his two-day visit to the troubled Jammu and Kashmir, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) today is understood to have discussed not only the prevailing situation there but also the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to India.

The latter being an important factor as representatives from various Kashmiri separatist factions are expected to meet the Pakistani Prime Minister during his visit.

According to reports, the CCS also took into consideration the level of troop reduction which will be undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir, a decision which was taken by the Prime Minister at the last meeting of the security body last week.

The meeting also discussed various other measures which the Centre could take and announce during the Prime Minister’s visit and which could lead to speedy economic development in the state and also ensure return to normalcy.

The Prime Minister, who will pay a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir from tomorrow, presided over the 40-minute meeting.

Incidentally, the visit of Mr Aziz in his capacity as Chairman of Saarc comes in the backdrop of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s new proposals for resolving the
Kashmir issue.

Both Dr Singh and External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh have stated that the proposals could be considered if they were made formally.

Mr Aziz is expected to hand over Gen Musharraf’s proposals formally to India during his visit.

Among those who attended the meeting were Home Minister Shivraj Patil, K. Natwar Singh, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit, Army Chief General N.C. Vij and top officials.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee did not attend it as he was away in Mumbai.

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Uma sends signal of rapprochement

New Delhi, November 16
In yet another signal of a climb-down to pave the way for a patch-up with the party leadership, suspended BJP leader Uma Bharti tonight told her supporters to “keep mum” on the disciplinary action against her and said she does not want to turn Madhya Pradesh into a “venue for show of my strength”.

In an open letter to her supporters, she asked them to “stand firmly” behind the party saying that it was necessary as the country was passing through “grave crisis and difficulty”.

Describing Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Mr L.K. Advani, as “symbols of clean politics and development”, she said “We all have worked hard to reach this stage”.

The letter, which she is understood to have dictated from her spiritual sojourn in Kedarnath and released to the media in Delhi, came six days after her sudden suspension from the party following a spat with, Mr Advani, at the first meeting of the party’s new office-bearers in full glare of TV cameras.

“I do not want to turn Madhya Pradesh into a venue of my trial of strength. We cannot become strong by weakening the ideology,” she said making a veiled attack against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Communists. — PTI

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Patil for sustained dialogue with Kashmir groups

New Delhi, November 16
Home Minister Shivraj Patil has recommended the holding of dialogue on a “sustained basis” with all groups in Jammu and Kashmir that give up violence.

He has also advocated the raising of additional battalions of security forces to provide jobs to unemployed youths there.

This was stated in a two-volume report based on his three-day visit to the state earlier this month presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is visiting the valley from tomorrow.

Mr Patil said the security of prominent persons in the state should be further strengthened, clearly in view of the recent incidents of assassination attempts on Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma.

The report carries the minister’s recommendations to improve the situation, including economic development of the state and the representations received by him during his visit to the state.

He recommended the meeting of the Unified Command more frequently and greater coordination among intelligence agencies as well as security forces. — UNI

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SC rejects plea of the blind for quota in legislature
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, November 16
Supreme Court today expressed its inability to entertain a petition by blind people, seeking direction to the Centre to make a law for reserving seats for them in Parliament, state Assemblies and local bodies as available to the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

‘‘We cannot accept your arguments (on reservation) as that will require amendment in the Constitution,’’ a Bench of Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S B Sinha said rejecting the plea filed on behalf of blind persons by Surya Prakash Mahapatra.

Arguing the case in person, Mahapatra and his associate tried in vain to convince the court that they had a genuine case for seeking reservation facilities. The court said that they were confusing the existing reservation facilities for disabled with the reservation to SC and ST in legislature. "Reservation in employment is entirely different than the reservation in legislature," the Court said.

The petitioners in a passionate appeal pleaded with the court that the present day politicians were least concerned about the problems of 12 crore disabled people in the country. But the Court, which, though, was sympathetic in hearing their case, expressed its inability to entertain the petition saying on the face of it, the PIL had no merits and hence it was dismissed. 

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Coal shortage: CBI yet to get order

New Delhi, November 16
The CBI said today the agency would investigate the black marketing of coal after receiving an order from the government.

Talking to UNI, CBI spokesman said the agency was yet to receive any directive from the government to institute an inquiry into the alleged black marketing of 25-30 million tonnes of coal in the country.

Coal Minister Dasari Narayana Rao had ordered for a probe by the CBI to unearth the scam on the direction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The coal, procured by about 7,000 registered consumers from the Coal India Limited and its nine subsidiaries, had been diverted to the black market at a premium of Rs 250 to Rs 2,000 per tonne. — UNI

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Govt may allow 8 Sikh jathas to Pakistan
Ramesh Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16
The Manmohan Singh Government is considering a proposal to increase the strength of Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan and also the frequency of such Jathas (delegations).

The annual pilgrimage, which had been discontinued for a few years, resumed last year. The Home Ministry has invited representatives of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and the National Sikh Organisation of India (NSOI) for a meeting in Delhi next month to ascertain their views.

“We met an Under Secretary in the Home Ministry recently. Besides inviting us for a meeting, he told us that appropriate an action had been recommended to increase the strength and frequency of Sikh Jathas to Pakistan,” observed Paramjit Singh Chandok, general secretary of the NSOI.

It has been proposed to increase the strength of pilgrims to 5,000 and the number of visits in a calendar year from four to eight. Every year, the Home Ministry sponsors a list of Sikh pilgrims under the 1974 Protocol.

Besides the birthday of Sri Guru Nanak Dev in November every year, Sikh Jathas also visit religious shrines in Pakistan on the occasion of Baisakhi in April, the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev in May and the Barsi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in June.

If all goes well four more visits will be added in a calendar year. They are: Shahidi Saka in February; Jyoti Jot of Sri Guru Nanak Dev in Kartarpur in September; Parkash Utsav of Guru Ramdas, Lahore, in October; and Bhai Joga Singh Gurdwara, Peshawar, in December.

This year, a 3,000-strong delegation of Sikh and Sehajdhari Sikh pilgrims is leaving for Pakistan on November 21 to celebrate the birthday of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jee, which falls on November 26. The Jatha will return on November 30.

The delegation, which will comprise Sikhs and Sehajdhari Sikhs from various states, will visit Gurdwara Punja Sahib, Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Gurdwara Dera Sahib and Nankana Sahib, where Sri Guru Nanak was born, in the Shekupura district. The 3,000-strong delegation comprises 1,800 pilgrims from Punjab (SGPC), 466 from Delhi (DSGMC and NSOI), 200 from Haryana and 100 from Chandigarh, besides batches of pilgrims from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

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Review panel aims at child-friendly curriculum
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16
The National Committee to review the National Curriculum Framework, headed by Prof Yashpal, is hopeful of steering clear of controversies as it aims at framing a curriculum which is not just child-friendly but also free from political pressure.

The review work is expected to be completed by the end of 2005, revealed a senior NCERT official.

"We expect the process to wind up by the end of 2005, thereafter the procedures or textbook writing will begin," he added.

In an interaction with the media here today, Prof Yashpal said he wished for a curriculum that would make "tuition and coaching classes redundant".

Calling for an education that does not limit the inquisition and learning of a child, he also laid stress on the 'guru shishya' tradition.

"I hope education would not only be child-centric, but also child-inspired. Teachers should not be couriers of learning and learning would be acquired and created in student -teacher interaction", he said.

Apart from the 30-member National Steering Committee constituted today by the NCERT, 21 National Focus Groups have been formed to study various aspects of curriculum.

Under the chairmanship of experts from various fields, the National Focus Groups would present their papers to the National Steering Committee comprising 30 members.

Director, NCERT, Prof Krishna Kumar said on completion the documents prepared by the two committees would be placed before the NCERT's Executive Committee and the General Body for discussions and thereafter submitted to the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE).

Experts from various fields have been drawn to head the committees, including one on Education, Science education, art and music among others.

Separate focus groups are being set up for looking into reform in examination system, peace education and problems of tribal and dalit children.

A consultation committee consisting of experts nominated by the states is also a feature of the curriculum review.

Lamenting that teaching has robbed children of their natural instincts to ask questions about what they observe, Prof Yashpal said, "school questions have been separated from those that come naturally..I hope education will not be broken up into watertight disciplines and each discipline would flow into several around."

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BJP keeps option open on alliance in Bihar
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16
Even as it kept its doors open for an alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) for the coming Bihar Assembly poll, the BJP central leadership today asked state leaders to go all out against the ruling RJD, led by Laloo Prasad Yadav.

At a meeting of the core group of Bihar with BJP’s central leadership here, it was decided to leave the task of bringing in Paswan’s LJP to the Janata Dal (U) as it was felt that uniting anti-Laloo forces would be key to turning the tables against the RJD.

The party also decided to start “Parivartan Yatra” led by state leaders to mobilise party cadres and to reach out to the masses.

The detail of the yatra will be worked out on November 22 at the meeting of the state election campaign committee, led by national vice-president of the party Sushil Kumar Modi.

While deciding on a series of programmes, including the yatra by leaders, the meeting, chaired by BJP president L.K. Advani, decided to virtually launch its election campaign with a rally in Patna on December 2, which is likely to be addressed by former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.

“The people of Bihar want change. The anti-RJD votes in the state are more than the pro-RJD votes. Our party’s priority will be to ensure that the anti-RJD votes don’t get spilt,” party spokesperson and in charge for Bihar elections Arun Jaitley told mediapersons after the meeting of the party’s core committee here.

Evading a direct answer to a question on if the BJP would hold direct talks with the LJP, he said: “The JD(U) is our partner, we will work in coordination with them and not through the media. We will not give any statement that would split the anti-RJD votes.”

Mr Jaitley, however, said the NDA should become the nucleus for the anti-RJD votes.

Today’s meeting was attended among others by senior party leaders Jaswant Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shatrughan Sinha, Jainarayan Nishad, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Sanjay Joshi, Sushil Kumar Modi and state president Gopal Narain Singh.

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Govindacharya steers clear of Uma row

Lucknow, November 16
Former BJP leader N. Govindacharya today steered clear of the controversy arising out of the suspension of Uma Bharti from the BJP saying he had nothing to do with the party after quitting it last year.

“Since I have resigned from the BJP, I have nothing to do with the affairs of that party or any other political outfit,” Govindacharya told reporters here.

He, however, said as per the reports in media, Uma Bharti was still active in politics.

Referring to the arrest of Kanchi’s Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, he said it was an outcome of the “tussle and petty politics” between the AIADMK and DMK in Tamil Nadu.

“The manner in which the Sankaracharya was arrested on the eve of Divali and deprived of basic facilities are indicative of the ill will of the Tamil Nadu Government,” Govindacharya said. — PTI

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Sadhus hold dharna
Our Correspondent

Bhopal, November 16
Sadhus in a sizeable number today held a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan in protest against the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati. They were shouting slogans against the Tamil Nadu Government.

The dharna was held without prior announcement. The surprised security personnel persuaded them to lift the dharna in about an hour after Governor Bal Ram Jakhar agreed to meet their delegation.

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Rajasthan appeal to PM on Punjab waters
Tribune News Service

Jaipur, November 16
Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make the Punjab Government release irrigation waters as per the inter-state agreement to mitigate the hardships of farmers in Sri Ganganagar district.

In a letter written to the Prime Minister in the wake of the recent agitation of farmers in the Indira Gandhi Canal area, Ms Raje has underlined the problems borne-out of fluctuations in the release of water, saying that farmers are deprived of the assured supply in time. Owing to scant rain and inadequate supply of water, crops in Sri Ganganagar and the adjoining areas have suffered great damage, putting the farmers in a distressing position.

Ms Raje has invited particular attention of the Prime Minister to the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, under which the control of the Ropar, Harike and Ferozepore headworks was to be transferred to the BBMB. This should now be done without any further delay.

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Natwar for full use of N-energy
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16
India today told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that full use of nuclear energy by countries with a proven record of safety and responsibility should not be impeded while addressing emerging concerns about proliferation.

This was conveyed during talks visiting Director-General of IAEA Mohammed El Baradei had here with External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, National Security Adviser J N Dixit and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.

An External Affairs Ministry statement said nuclear energy would continue to occupy an important place in India’s energy mix, given its desire to sustain a fast rate of economic growth,

Mr Baradei left tonight at the end of a five-day visit.

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Monica Bedi’s plea for release rejected

New Delhi, November 16
Supreme Court of Portugal has dismissed a petition of Abu Salem’s girlfriend Monica Bedi seeking her release after completion of her jail sentence of two years in September this year even as the CBI turned down the request seeking cancellation of extradition proceedings against the little known Bollywood actress.

Bedi had claimed in her petition that she had completed her sentence of two years in September 17 this year and that she should be released now, CBI sources said.

However, the Portuguese Prosecutor-General’s office challenged her petition saying she was facing an extradition trial to India and that she should be kept in judicial custody.

The Supreme Court rejected her petition and ordered that she should be kept in judicial custody, the sources said.

The Portugal High Court had earlier ruled that Bedi could be extradited to India to face trial in a case related to possession of forged passport.

Bedi was sentenced to two years imprisonment in Portugal for entering that country on a forged document and continuing to use it for stay there.

The little-known Bollywood actress had also written a letter to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking pardon and allowing her to go to Norway where her parents were settled.

The letter was handed over to the CBI for opinion on which the agency suggested to the government that it would not be feasible to stop the extradition trial against her at this stage.

A handwritten letter of Monica Bedi requesting the cancellation of extradition trial and giving her a “second chance” was received at the Prime Minister’s Office.

She had expressed apprehension that she would be tortured physically and mentally by the CBI to find her links with Abu Salem, who was introduced to her during a stage show as Arslam Ali, a businessman from Pakistan.

Bedi said Abu Salem had forced her to secure a forged passport and claimed that she had never used it while going out of India or in Dubai.

“I know that I have committed a mistake and all I require is a second chance,” she had said.

The CBI had sought Bedi’s extradition for obtaining a fake travel document in the name of Sanha Kamal Mallick from Hyderabad. She was caught in Portugal with the same passport and detained on September 18, 2002 along with Salem and two companions.

In its appeal, the CBI had stated Bedi had submitted forged documents to obtain passports whereas the crime committed in Portugal was possession of forged documents and the two crimes were different. — PTI

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Screening test must for CIS doctors: SC
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, November 16
In an important judgement, the Supreme Court today held that screening test for doctors with degrees from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), created on the fall of the Soviet Union, was necessary for their enrollment with the Medical Council of India (MCI).

A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice Ashok Bhan and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur gave the ruling on a batch of petition by around 5,000 doctors with degrees from medical institutions in the CIS.

The MCI had refused to grant them licences on the ground that the education in medical colleges in the CIS was adversely affected due to fall of the Soviet Union.

Most of the students had passed out during the period when disintegration process of the Soviet Union had set in motion, affecting their studies adversely. The court rejecting the plea of doctors against the screening test said they had to pass it as per the guidelines laid down at a meeting of Union Government officials on June 30, 2004, to be followed by the MCI.

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Rameshwar Thakur new Orissa Governor

New Delhi, November 16
The Centre today appointed veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Rameshwar Thakur the Governor of Orissa.

Mr Thakur, who has been the Minister of State for Finance and Rural Development, succeeds Mr M.M. Rajendran, appointed by the previous NDA government. The Congress leader from Bihar is a law graduate and a Rajya Sabha member. — TNS

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Another milestone for Tejas

Bangalore, November 16
The Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, today reached yet another milestone by crossing the 300th flight test sortie mark.
Wg. Cdr R.R. Tyagi flew the test sortie on Technology Demonstrator-2, the 116th flight of TD2, an Aeronautical Development agency statement said.

The sortie lasted 25 minutes, in which flutter tests were conducted, it said.

The Technology Demonstrator-1 (TD1) has completed 106 flights, TD2 119 flights and Proto Vehicle 1 (PV1) 75 flight test sorties. The flights include 82 supersonic flights, the statement said. PTI 

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BRIEFLY

Ultras blow up guest house
GARWAH (Jharkhand): Striking for the fifth time in a week, CPI (Maoist) ultras blew up a forest department guest house on the Garwah-Ambikapur road in the district, the police said. Around 25-30 extremists came to the guest house, situated in Bishrampur under Ranka police station on Monday and blew it up with dynamite. There was no one inside the guest house when the incident occurred, they said. — PTI

Action against four policemen
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Government on Tuesday took disciplinary action against four police officials, including a Superintendent of Police, who were found guilty of failing to provide adequate protection to journalists who were assaulted, reportedly by activists of the Indian Union Muslim League, at Kariput airport last month. — UNI

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