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The Hindu case referred to 7-Judge Bench
Army destroys 120 militant camps
Nod to CBI to prosecute 59 officials
Houses adjourned over Laloo-Paswan spat
Explain charges by Gauri, Laloo tells Advani
Left joins Opposition attack on price hike
BJP walkout over remark on Jaswant
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POTA repealed amid walkout Muivah lauds ‘change’ in govt attitude
No compromise on Siachen security
India talking to Pak for land route to Afghanistan
Khurana in charge of Punjab, Delhi, JK
HC no to AP youth’s plea for
mercy killing
Business India Publisher’s bail plea rejected
Pre-arrest bail to Bhandarkar
challenged
Govt warned on criminal nexus
Maj-Gen Dahiya joins DRDO
Govt backing cola firms: CSE
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The Hindu case referred to 7-Judge Bench
New Delhi, December 9 "A newspaper cannot be debarred from reporting even the expunged remarks if it is of great public interest unless it transgressed the Constitutional immunity," The Hindu's counsel Harish Salve said contending that the law on the freedom of expression world over had undergone a sea change. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had convicted The Hindu's Editor N. Ravi and three of its senior journalists on November 7, 2003, for allegedly violating the privilege of legislature while reporting certain statements about state Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. They were sentenced to seven-day jail term. The Assembly, however, had revoked their conviction earlier this year even though a petition by the newspaper was pending before the Supreme Court. Mr Salve today contended before a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti that at present there was no conflict between The Hindu and the Tamil Nadu Government on the issue but the matter of legislators' privilege and the freedom of expression needed to be decided once and for all as a threat of action against the media would always be there. He said there were two apex court judgements on the legislators' privilege, the first by a five-judge Constitution Bench in 1954 and the other by a seven-judge Bench in 1964. But there was a conflict between the two, which needed to be clarified. Elaborating on the conflict, Mr Salve said while the earlier judgement said that the legislators' privilege was subject to the provision of fundamental rights, the 1964 verdict held that it could not be subject to all the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution but only to those under Article 19(1)(a), which deals with the freedom of speech and expression. When the Bench asked how could a newspaper publish a remark ordered to be expunged, Mr Salve said, "The law world over has undergone a sea change on the question of freedom of speech. A newspaper has a right to say something against a person if it is in a position to defend it." The Bench said the protection under Article 19(1)(a) should be available only to those who deserved it. "Should not we have a responsible Press," the court asked. As Mr Salve said that the Press was the fourth important pillar of democracy, the Bench said, "This fact has also to be told to the Press that they are the fourth pillar and there are certain responsibilities attached. " Earlier Solicitor-General G.E. Vahanvati, appearing for the Union Government, said as the matter between the Tamil Nadu Government and the newspaper had been settled, there was no occasion for a decision on the issue. Agreeing with Mr Salve that the matter raised by The Hindu was though of a great importance, Vahanvati said but there was no law on press freedom in the country. The court was not impressed with such a stand and it said, "If there is no law then who is responsible for it." "It is the responsibility of the government. Why it has not formulated any law," the court asked. |
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Army destroys 120 militant camps
Imphal, December 9 On the one hand the Manmohan Singh government is holding talks with
NSCN(IM) leaders in Delhi to resolve the Naga insurgency problem and offered to hold talks with ULFA through Ganpith award winner Indira
Goswami. On the other hand, the Indian Army, supported by Myanmar, has undertaken operations to destroy the Manipuri militant camps on the Manipur-Myanmar border. According to highly placed defence sources at Tejpur in Upper Assam, the Army had been able to destroy 120 militant camps belonging to Manipuri groups. The BSF had been able to locate four camps belonging to ULFA and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation
(KLO) on the Indo-Nepal border in North Bengal. But as part of its strategy, the
centre has not yet initiated steps to destroy the ULFA camps either on the
Manipur-Myanmar border or in Nepal. According to Manipur Chief Minister Ekrom Ibobi Singh, the centre wants to wait for sometime to see the ULFA response with regard to its offer for talks. The Centre reportedly wants to hold talks with ULFA on the lines of the NSCN. By undertaking operations against Manipuri militants on the Manipur-Myanmar border, the Centre wants to send a strong message to ULFA
and militant groups that once they stop talking peace, Delhi would not hesitate to launch operations against them too. |
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Nod to CBI to prosecute 59 officials
New Delhi, December 9 However, the government has lamented that in case of complaints received in the anti-corruption unit, set up in the PM office, against Central and state government officials, some state governments were not providing feedback or taking action. The anti-corruption cell, directly working under the PMO, received 127 complaints against Punjab officials, 82 against Haryana officials and 17 against Chandigarh officials. The government has
informed the Lok Sabha that besides other states, the Punjab Government had not so far sent any feedback in case of 107 complaints, Haryana failed to provide feedback in 47 cases and the Chandigarh Administration had not sent any feedback on 10 complaints. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions informed the Lok Sabha that the government had given permission to the CBI to initiate inquiry even against officers of the rank equivalent to Joint Secretary and above. Among the cases in which the CBI had sought permission to initiate action included an inquiry against the Virender Singh, former Adviser to the Chandigarh Administrator. The CBI was also investigating the allegations against Mr Mandeep Singh, former Director, Rural Development & Panchayats, Punjab. Since the case was referred by the High Court, no government permission was required. It is alleged that he was involved in a scandal pertaining to the recruitment of 909 Panchayat Secretaries during 1996-2001. The government had also given permission to the CBI to initiate action against Mr M. R.
Pasricha, Director (Finance) OIL, who was allegedly invested over Rs 106 crore in state government securities and central PSUs through private brokers, which caused huge losses to OIL. The CBI has also been given permission to pursue an inquiry against Mr Radhakrishnan, Deputy Managing Director, Bank of India, accused of incurring losses worth crores of rupees to the SBI in purchase of ATM machines. |
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Houses adjourned over Laloo-Paswan spat
New Delhi, December 9 While the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12:45 p.m., the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. Proceedings in both Houses were disrupted shortly after Question Hour was over with the BJP-led Opposition persisting with their demand for a statement from the Prime Minister clarifying the matter. The Railway Minister had clarified yesterday in the Lok Sabha that reports about any allegation made by him against Mr Paswan were incorrect. Mr Paswan today said that his remarks pertained to the state government of Bihar and was made in personal capacity and he had not violated collective responsibility of the Cabinet. “I also made certain allegations against the Bihar Government in my personal capacity.... I have not made any allegation against Laloo.... Whatever I said was against the Bihar Government and not against any minister. So, I have not violated the Constitution or the principle or accountability of the Cabinet,” Mr Paswan said. He also said that his remarks were made in the backdrop of the forthcoming Assembly elections in Bihar. An unrelenting Opposition, however, persisted with their demand for a statement from the Prime Minister and said that they were not interested in hearing the versions from the two ministers who were involved in the reported quarrel, even as Speaker Somnath Chatterjee pleaded with the members to maintain House decorum. As nothing could be heard in the din, the Speaker adjourned the House for half-an-hour till 1245 hours. In the Rajya Sabha, the matter was raised by Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh immediately after Question Hour. Several RJD members were on their feet as soon as Mr Jaswant Singh said the two ministers in the Union Cabinet were at loggerheads and had levelled serious charges. Some of the RJD members started waving copies of a letter purportedly written by the former daughter-in-law of BJP chief L.K. Advani. Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat told the RJD members that the Leader of the Opposition had been granted permission to raise the matter in the House and they should not prevent him from speaking. Mr Jaswant Singh, without naming either minister, said the two were lowering the dignity of the government. He urged the Prime Minister to come to the House and make a statement on the issue. RJD members said, Mr Laloo Prasad, had already clarified his position in the matter and it should be treated as closed. The Chairman asked Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri if he had anything to say in the matter. Mr Pachouri said he would convey the sentiments of the Leader of the Opposition to the Prime Minister. However, the BJP members raised slogans, demanding a statement from the Prime Minister. The Chairman asked the Leader of the Opposition to request the BJP members to occupy their seats but they did not relent. Mr Shekhawat later adjourned the House till 2 p.m. |
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Explain charges by Gauri, Laloo tells Advani
New Delhi, December 9 RJD supremo and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav told reporters here that Mr Advani should "give an explanation on the charges levelled against him by his estranged daughter-in-law." He said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and RSS chief K. Sudarshan should make public the content of the letter written to them by Ms Gauri about Mr Advani. Mr Yadav alleged that the BJP was trying to hush up the matter and not facing it firmly. He said a rally would be organised by the RJD in Patna on December 23 to expose "misdeeds" of the BJP. Annoyed over the Opposition's attack on the ruling UPA and his "differences" with Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Mr Yadav said it was unfortunate that Parliament's business was being stalled by the BJP-led NDA. "There is nothing in it," he said responding to queries on the reported differences between him and Mr Paswan. |
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Left joins Opposition attack on price hike
New Delhi, December 9 “Already six years of NDA regime has put burden on the common people to the extent of Rs 35,000 crore. The UPA government has to reduce the burden. Instead of reducing, if they increase the burden, we cannot support this action of the government,” CPM leader Basudeb Acharia stated initiating a special discussion on rising prices. Mr Acharia wanted rollback of prices of petrol and petroleum products and restoration of the administered price mechanism (APM) in the sector. Expressing concern over virtual dismantling of the public distribution system(PDS), he wanted it to be strengthened and efforts made for its universalisation. He wanted 14 essential commodities be made available through the PDS to help the poor. He attacked the erstwhile BJP-led coalition for dismantling APM and creating problems for the poor by practising “anti-people” policies. In the six months in office, the UPA government had imposed an additional burden of over Rs 90,000 crore on the common man, BJP MP Harin Pathak charged. Ridiculing the pre-election Congress party slogan: ‘Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath’, Mr Pathak said the party had betrayed their faith. The common man was now finding it difficult to make both ends meet, he said. Petrol and diesel prices had been increased thrice and LPG prices twice during this period, resulting in a cascading effect on all commodities and services, he said. Congress MP Jai Prakash accused the BJP of thinking of the plight of farmers when they were in the Opposition and not when in power. He defended the oil price rise saying that when international oil prices increased, Government had no option but to follow suit. BJP MP Bachchi Singh Rawat said there was price increase not only in petro products but also in other commodities like milk, vegetables, pulses and water. He said efforts should be made to identify alternative fuels on the energy front like bio-diesel and bio-gas. |
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BJP walkout over remark on Jaswant
New Delhi, December 9 The remark was subsequently withdrawn by the member. The trouble broke out when Congress member
R.K. Anand made certain remarks triggering a strong protest from BJP members. The Opposition members then walked out demanding expunging of his remarks. While opposing the Statutory Resolution disapproving the POTA repeal ordinance and supporting the POTA repeal Bill, Mr Anand complimented Home Minister Shivraj Patil for the ordinance to scrap the "black law". But when he made a certain remark while referring to the Kandahar hijack, the BJP members strongly refuted his charge and noisy scenes prevailed for some time. Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh, who was the External Affairs Minister that time, took exception to the member's remark against him and denied the charge. Observing that the remark was demeaning not only to him as a person, but also to the country, he asked the Home Minister to order an inquiry into the charge and left the House. He was spontaneously joined by other BJP members. Mr Patil then said if the allegation was objectionable, it could be removed from records to which Deputy Chairman K. Rehman Khan agreed. After a short while, Mr Khan asked Mr Anand to withdraw his remark and the member complied. |
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POTA repealed amid walkout New Delhi, December 9 The Samajwadi Party abstained from voting while the AIADMK opposed the Bills. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Bill will replace POTA. The bills were passed in Lok Sabha on Monday. Responding to the debate on POTA in the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Shivraj Patil defended the repeal of the act, saying the Centre had to strike a balance to ensure the innocent did not suffer and at the same time terrorist activities were contained. “We do not want a draconian law like POTA. On the other hand, we are clear that the terrorist activities also have to be curbed, controlled and contained. We have to strike a balance,” he said in his 45-minute reply to the discussion on the POTA Repeal Bill and introduction of a new legislation replacing it. He said the Unlawful Activities Prevention Bill had provisions for providing security to those appearing as witness and booking those likely to carry their activities outside the country. |
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Muivah lauds ‘change’ in govt attitude New Delhi, December 9 Speaking to mediapersons for the first time since Naga leaders arrival here on Sunday, Mr Muivah said “Our talks with the central leaders have been positive. We appreciate the attitude of the government, which has undergone a change.” His interaction with the media came after Naga leaderships meeting with CPI(M) General Secretary H.S. Surjeet. “This time we are satisfied with all our meetings. We respect the Indian leadership and there is a ray of hope. I am hopeful of a permanent settlement,” the NSCN(I-M) leaders said, indicating that the meetings with the Indian leaders were moving in a positive direction. On his meeting with Mr Surjeet, he said, “The meeting went off very well during which general issues were discussed. He is very understanding and penetrating.” Earlier in the day, the Naga leaders met former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and V.P. Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Leader of the Opposition and BJP president L.K. Advani. The meeting between the NSCN (I-M) and Mr Vajpayee is significant as they discussed contentious issues, which are roadblocks in the peaceful settlement of the Naga insurgency. The NSCN (I-M) leaders’ meeting with Mr Mukherjee lasted for half-an-hour. The Defence Minister described the meeting as a courtesy call. The Naga leaders’ meeting with the former Deputy Prime Minister lasted 15 minutes. Mr Swu was, however, not present during the meeting, which a NSCN (I-M) spokesperson described as a courtesy call.
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No compromise on Siachen security
New Delhi, December 9 An indication to this effect was given by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha today in a reply to a question. While India and Pakistan had discussed the disengagement of troops in Siachen, which had bled both countries in the context of costs relating to maintaining the force strength in the region, the exact modalities were still to be worked out. In reply to a question, the Defence Minister said India and Pakistan had discussed modalities for the disengagement and redeployment of troops in Siachen at the Defence Secretaries-level talks held here on August 5 and 6 within the framework of the composite dialogue. However, he pointed out clearly that the government was fully aware of security implications, which would be involved while disengaging the troops in Siachen, and that all safeguards had been taken to ensure that the security of the region was not compromised in any manner. Incidentally, India spends almost an additional $ 1.5 billion every year to maintain the force levels in the treacherous condition atop Siachen and Pakistan on the other hand spends $ 350 million for the same purpose. However, with Indian budgetary allocations being much larger than that of Pakistan it is Islamabad that faces more of a cash crunch while spending $ 350 million. Experts point out that this was also precisely the reason that the proposal for the disengagement of troops in Siachen came from Pakistan. However, India had maintained that for disengagement first the Actual Group Position Line
(AGPL) had to be demarcated and then the issue could be discussed. India had very clearly pointed out during the Defence Secretary-level talks, "They should tell us where they are and we will tell them where we are," and then further discussions could be held. This suggestion came as the Line of Control (LoC) was demarcated but not the
AGPL. Pakistan on the other hand is insisting on the recognition of the pre-1972 situation. While concluding the two-day Defence Secretary-level talks in August last India and Pakistan had agreed to continue discussions to work out modalities for the disengagement and redeployment of troops in Siachen and resolve the issue "in a peaceful manner". "Frank and candid discussions were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere aimed at taking the process forward. Both sides assessed positively the ceasefire that has been in effect since November 25, 2003," the joint press statement issued after the talks had said. When the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir was demarcated between the two countries under the 1972 Simla Agreement, it concluded at the Point NJ9842 just ahead of the Kargil area. India's contention was that "the line runs south from this point to the glaciers, the word used in the Simla Agreement while Pakistan said the LoC runs north to the Karakoram
Pass." |
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India talking to Pak for land route to Afghanistan
New Delhi, December 9 Mr Manmohan Singh told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour that nothing had been finalised as yet but the issue of a normal transit route through Pakistan and getting the most favoured nation status were on the agenda of the talks. Earlier, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said India was helping Afghanistan in its reconstruction. Besides offering to undertake the construction of a new Parliament building in Afghanistan, the government had also approved Rs 9.82 crore for the repair and renovation of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Rs 20.18 crore for Habibia School and Common Facility and Rs 4.01 crore for the
Tool Room Centre (CFTRC) at the Industrial Park in Kabul, he said. |
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Khurana in charge of Punjab, Delhi, JK
New Delhi, December 9 BJP President L K Advani appointed Mr Khurana as zonal in charge of Delhi, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here today. Mr Khurana had been away from active politics ever since he was made Governor of Rajasthan in January this year, but quit the post about two months back to plunge into active politics again. Mr Khurana, however, was not given any responsibility by the party immediately after his resignation, except that he was made an executive member. The party's decision to make Mr Khurana in charge of Delhi holds significance as it is aimed at rejuvenating the Delhi BJP cadre which is at its lowest ebb eversince the party lost the Delhi Assembly elections and six of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the Capital. |
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Happy Birthday, Madam! New Delhi, December 9 The alliance did not come through but Ms Mayawati, nevertheless, chose to return the compliment today. The BSP chief was among the thousands who landed up at Ms Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence to wish her on her 58th birthday. The fact that the Congress is in power was reason enough for Ms Mayawati to turn up in person. Not just Ms Mayawati, but all UPA allies along with Congress leaders and workers were present on the occasion. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh drove to her residence early in the morning, followed by all his Cabinet colleagues, Congress chief ministers, AICC office-bearers and party workers. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sent a bouquet of flowers. Among those who dropped in were RJD’s Laloo Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP, TRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao, DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran, NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patgel and CPM’s Sitaram Yechuri. DMK chief M. Karunanidhi called up to greet her while former President K.R. Narayanan was among the visitors. Although it is a normal sight to see obsequious party workers landing up with flowers, sweets and gifts on Ms Gandhi’s birthday, the festivities this year acquired a special flavour. These doubled as a victory
celebration since the birthday follows the Congress’ return to power at the Centre after eight years in the wilderness. Huge cutouts of her being blessed by the trinity of gods along with posters and hoardings were aplenty as drums rolled and folk dances ranging from kathakali to bhangra were performed outside her residence. Workers jostled to get inside and register their presence with the leader. Although they were specifically instructed not to bring cakes, they all came armed with flowers, massive garlands, sweets and shawls. The festivities were, however, marred by the spate of advertisements put out by party-run state governments in the newspapers today, greeting Ms Gandhi. An
embarrassed Congress had a tough time explaining this expense from the public exchequer since it had come down heavily on the NDA government for its “India Shining” campaign.
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HC no to AP youth’s plea for
mercy killing
Hyderabad, December 9 While not allowing mercy killing of the youth, the court yesterday asked the state government to constitute an experts committee to examine the boy and go into the modalities for organ donation under the Andhra Pradesh Transplantation of Human Organs Act. The youth, K. Venkatesh, has been afflicted with the debilitating disease since his childhood but with the help and devotion of his mother, Sujatha, he managed to survive this long. Recently diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, he is currently in a private hospital, prolonging his life on a ventilator. “I want to donate my organs to help another life” were the last words scribbled by Venkatesh and handed over to her mother. The boy said he was unable to go on like this anymore. “He forced the doctors and then me to take away the life-support systems so that he can at least make some others live long through organ donation,” said his mother. When the mother could not approve of his request, Venkatesh was unhappy. Finally, the mother had to bow to his desire, and prayed to the doctors to remove the life-support systems. The doctors, however, refused, as such a step was unwarranted in the circumstances. Euthanasia is not legally permissible in India. “The family’s intentions are highly commendable, but unfortunately Venkatesh’s is not the right case for retrieval of organs. The boy is not brain-dead, and he is still very conscious about his surroundings. He is smiling and even talking,” Ms Lalitha Raghuram of the Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network said. |
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Business India Publisher’s bail plea rejected
Mumbai, December 9 Additional Metropolitan Magistrate B.A. Shelar, however, allowed Advani, arrested for allegedly siphoning off Rs 27 crore from Jaihind Co-operative Bank, home food and medicine. Advani, a former director of the bank, who was also Chairman, Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board, is accused of transferring the money from the board’s account to his own. Construction magnate Niranjan Hiranandani who succeeded Advani as head of the board in his police complaint alleged that the publisher owed a total of Rs 37 crore, including accumulated interest. Jai Hind Cooperative Bank is now under liquidation as its directors who availed of a total of Rs 49.77 crore by way of loans failed to pay up. The General Manager of the bank, J.K. Lalchandani, is already in police custody. |
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Pre-arrest bail to Bhandarkar
challenged
Mumbai, December 9 Acting on the state government’s revision petition before the Bombay High Court, notice has been issued to Bhandarkar. He has been asked to reply by December 20. The actress, Preeti Jain, had alleged that the director had raped her on the pretext of marriage. Bhandarkar was also accused of promising her role in a film. Bhandarkar, however, obtained anticipatory bail after his lawyers submitted before a local court that Preeti Jain had earlier attempted to blackmail him. Bhandarkar is charged with Section 376, IPC (rape), Section 493 IPC (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), Section 506 (2) IPC (criminal intimidation) and 509 IPC (act intended to outrage the modesty of woman). |
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Govt warned on criminal nexus
Bangalore, December 9 Speaking at a civil-military liaison conference, he said: “Smuggling of arms, ammunition, explosives and narcotics through exposed coast land is a great possibility.” All state agencies should keep under “covert surveillance” various fundamentalist and communal organisations operating in the state. “The migrant population, foreigners presence and student communities from J&K and North-Eastern regions are all potential problem centres. Similarly, students hailing from particular countries who study, marry and settle down need to be watched,” he said. In the long term, Chinese aims and ideologies were bound to come into conflict with India’s, he said. Though relations with China were cordial at present, but China has put issues with its neighbours on the backburner, as it needs a minimum of a decade or so of peace in order to develop, he said. “In my assessment, we have time till 2010-15 to prepare ourselves to meet challenges from our northern borders.” Sustained development of infrastructure in the Tibet region, deployment of strategic weapons, and strengthening of ability to mount and sustain operations on the part of China were of particular concern, he said. It was continuing to implement a policy of “encirclement and isolation” of China with its relationships with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Vis-a-vis Pakistan, he said that though a lot of peace overtures had been made in the recent past, “the situation on the ground has not changed much. We are still fighting a war on the LoC and the international border of J&K.” “We cannot rest and give away the advantages we hold in any part of J&K till unresolved problems of terrorism are addressed to our full satisfaction,” he added. |
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First woman to disclose HIV+ status
New Delhi, December 9 “May be my story will help spread awareness and new infections can be prevented and HIV positive people will learn to live more positively,“ says the 30-year-old president of the Positive Women Network (PWN+). She was in the Capital for a three-day consultation in which more than 120 HIV positive women from 16 states participated to evolve new strategies and forge new partnerships for a more strengthened response towards HIV/AIDS. Kousalya was barely 21 years old when in 1995 she discovered that she, like her husband, was HIV positive. “That time I did not know anything. I was very scared and the doctor told me that I had only two years to live.” Just seven months later her husband died and she was left to fend for herself by her husband’s family. It was her maternal grandmother who supported her. The sense of fear, helplessness and denial that this naive plus-two educated village girl from Tamil Nadu felt then has long been pushed out of the mind. Today, Kousalya confidently speaks in English as she discusses issues related with HIV positive people at regional, national and international fora. “Ten years back, I could only speak in Tamil,” she smiles. Interestingly, she thanks her HIV status for her confidence, exposure and friends in other countries. Kousalya is also an executive committee member of the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society and the youth ambassador of the Commonwealth for spreading AIDS/HIV awareness. For her efforts in spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS, she was presented with an award, till recently reserved only for medical researchers working in the field. Kousalya has been on the anti-retro viral(ARV) drugs for more than four years now and says her CD4 count is under control and she is feeling OK. “This is what I want to tell all those who are HIV positive that there is hope. Lots of drugs are available for all opportunistic infections and it is not that I am HIV positive everything is finished and I am going to die. There are PWN+ members who have known they are HIV positive for more than 10 years. Doctors tell them they still have time before their CD4 count goes down and they need the ARV. The second and third line of treatment are very expensive, for which I hope the government does something.” “There are more than 2 million HIV positive women in India,” says Kousalya, who started the network with 20 women in 1998 in Chennai. The network has more than 5,000 members in 16 states of the country. |
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Maj-Gen Dahiya joins DRDO
New Delhi, December 9 An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, he was commissioned in the Corps of Signals and on conversion to the corps of EME, he stood first in the young officer corps. He was awarded the Bedi Memorial Cup for the achievement. He took part in the Indo-Pak War in 1971 in the chicken neck sector. He has seen active service in counter-insurgency operations in Mizoram as well as on the Indo-Nepal Border. He was on the instructional staff of the MCTE, Mow and has held varied appointments prior to his induction into the DRDO. |
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Govt backing cola firms: CSE
New Delhi, December 9 Quoting letters written by Pepsico India Ltd to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on August 30, and a subsequent letter by the Health Ministry to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the CSE alleged that the government was bending backwards to support cola companies. In a press note issued today, it said the judiciary had taken a stern view and was clear on the issue of public health. The Health Ministry’s letter indicated that it was working in a direction contrary to the seriousness demonstrated by the apex court in deposing matters related to public health and interest. |
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Mani Ratnam has mild heart attack Panaji, December 9
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New Delhi, December 9
