 |
|
BSP to launch statewide stir from February 2 Congress in dilemma over support to Mulayam
Adhere to CMP, Left to Congress
Left puts govt on notice |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
BJP submits memo to Governor
Historian Romila Thapar refuses award
Order on ‘Black Friday’ challenged
Politicians make best out of Satara stampede
SC seeks states’ comment on unmanned rail crossings
Land was acquired for Ram temple: Kalyan
Nanavati panel sources decry media speculation
|
|
BSP to launch statewide stir from February 2
Lucknow, January 27 Mohammad Ashraf was yesterday arrested from Hazratganj by the Lucknow police and presented in the district and sessions court in Lucknow where he pleaded innocence. He was then sent to Allahabad under heavy security on a day’s transit remand where he was further remanded in judicial custody, announced Home Secretary Alok Sinha. Claiming to have arrested the prime accused named in the FIR filed by the widow of the MLA within 36 hours of the crime, Mr Sinha said that an investigation team under the Additional SP Allahabad had already been formed which would make further arrests. Ashraf, a brother of Samajwadi MP from Phoolpur, Atiq Ahmad, had unsuccessfully contested the Allahabad West seat from the Samajwadi party ticket in October 2004. His BSP rival Raju Pal had won the seat. His brother Atiq had been representing the constituency for the last five terms. Meanwhile, BSP supremo Mayawati in Allahabad declared a state-wide agitation from February 2 to dislodge the Mulayam Singh government as Allahabad limped back to normalcy today. No report of any untoward incident was received from any part of Allahabad today. Shops, which had remained closed since January 25 onwards, opened today morning. However, educational institutes would remain shut till tomorrow as a precautionary measure. Earlier, addressing a receptive audience at the Niwan village, home of the slain BSP MLA Raju Pal, Mayawati launched an offensive against the Samajwadi Party government. Amid loud applause she called the murder a “political conspiracy” at the behest of the Mulayam government. Declaring a dharna at every district headquarters from February 2 onwards, she said that the BSP would work towards dislodging the government under which even elected representatives of the people were not safe. Demanding a CBI enquiry into the affair Mayawati also challenged the Congress to withdraw support from the Mulayam Singh government. Handing over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to Puja Pal, the young widow of MLA, Mayawati said the widow had expressed her doubts of ever getting justice. She also gave cash to the family members of the other two BSP supporters killed in Tuesday’s attack.
|
|
Congress in dilemma over support to Mulayam New Delhi, January 28 There is a strong view in the party, articulated by the UP state unit, that the deteriorating law and order situation could be a fit case for the dismissal of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government. However, there is also a realisation that this decision may prove difficult to implement. This diffidence stems from the fact that the UPA government will hit a roadblock as several of its allies like the DMK and RJD are vehemently opposed to the promulgation of Article 356. Besides, any such move would meet with immediate resistance from the Left parties which have been backing the Mulayam Singh Yadav government on grounds of keeping all secular forces united. The Congress position has become more difficult after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee stepped in and demanded the imposition of President's rule in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress can hardly be seen to be endorsing this view as it would not only be bracketed with the BJP but also be accused of creating fissures in the secular forces. Besides, such a move in Uttar Pradesh could trigger a demand for similar action in Bihar. The Congress dilemma was evident today when its party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi and UPCC president Salman Khursheed hit out at the UP government for the deteriorating law and order situation but stopped short of demanding imposition of President's rule. The party has, however, endorsed BSP leader Mayawati's demand for a CBI probe into her party MLA's killing. In fact, the Congress is not even able to take the first step of formally withdrawing its support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government given that its relations with the SP are virtually at breaking point. Mr Khursheed, who was in Delhi today, had a lengthy meeting with senior AICC leaders Arjun Singh, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and Satyavrat Chaturvedi. Given the Congress-SP relations, the UP unit has again asked the party leadership that it withdraw its support to the UP government. Stating that he had not advocated Central rule, Mr Khursheed said he told the senior leaders that the situation in UP was very bad.
|
|
Mumbai, January 28 The Congress lost its bastion, Solapur (South) seat, to Sena candidate Ratikant Patil, who defeated Congress nominee Rajshekhar Shivdare by 1609 votes. The saffron combine won the seat for the first time while it was only for the second time that Congress lost the seat. Mr Patil secured 50,791 votes and Mr Shivdare bagged 49,184 votes, Election Office sources said. The Solapur (South) seat was vacated after former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh. However, the Congress managed to retain the Nagpur (South) assembly seat with its candidate Dinanath Padole defeating his nearest rival Ashok Mankar of the BJP by 2227 votes. The Nagpur (South) seat fell vacant due to the death of its legislator Govindrao Wanjari on October 17. The bypoll were a prestige issue for Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who will soon be completing 100 days in office. Taking no chances, he had toured the Solapur (South) constituency twice before the byelections. With this win, the Congress has increased its tally in the Legislative Assembly to 68, while its coalition partner, NCP, has 71 seats. Similarly, the Shiv Sena tally goes up to 63 while its alliance partner BJP has 54 seats. — PTI
|
|
Adhere to CMP, Left to Congress
Hyderabad, January 28 Addressing a public meeting organised on the concluding day of the 21st Andhra Pradesh state conference of the party at Warangal, 150 km from here, senior leaders of the party stressed that the Congress government could not take the Left support for granted. While the party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said the party would be vigilant at a time when it was following a “middle path”, West Bengal Chief Minister and party Politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said “the experiment with the UPA” would last as long as the Centre did not digress from “areas of difference” such as PSU divestment. Referring to the pitfalls that lay ahead in his party’s support to the UPA government, Mr Surjeet said the party was always ready to beat any exigency. “We don’t give up our principal fight,” he said. Earlier, Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri described the Left as a “watchdog” and not a “pet dog” in protecting the interests of the people. Mr Yechuri said the stability of the UPA government was closely linked to the latter’s commitment to the CMP. Reiterating the party’s commitment to an integrated Andhra Pradesh, he said the demand for a separate Telangana was only a ruse for self-elevation of some political parties. “It’s an illusion that smaller states can progress better. Newly formed states like Jharkhand and Uttaranchal have, in fact, witnessed economic regression,” he commented.
|
|
Left puts govt on notice Hyderabad, January 28 Addressing a public meeting organised on the concluding day of the 21st Andhra Pradesh state conference of the party at Warangal, 150 km from here, senior leaders of the party stressed that the Congress government could not take the Left support for granted. While the party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said the party would be vigilant at a time when it was following a “middle path”, West Bengal Chief Minister and party Politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said “the experiment with the UPA” would last as long as the Centre did not digress from “areas of difference” such as PSU divestment. Referring to the pitfalls that lay ahead in his party’s support to the UPA government, Mr Surjeet said the party was always ready to beat any exigency. “We don’t give up our principal fight,” he said. Earlier, Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri described the Left as a “watchdog” and not a “pet dog” in protecting the interests of the people. Mr Yechuri said the stability of the UPA government was closely linked to the latter’s commitment to the CMP. Reiterating the party’s commitment to an integrated Andhra Pradesh, he said the demand for a separate Telangana was only a ruse for self-elevation of some political parties. “It’s an illusion that smaller states can progress better. Newly formed states like Jharkhand and Uttaranchal have, in fact, witnessed economic regression,” he commented.
|
|
BJP submits memo to Governor
Lucknow, January 28 In a crisply worded memo, the BJP quoted crime statistics to substantiate its charges of complete failure of the government machinery under the Samajwadi Party. Referring to the murder of the BSP MLA in Allahabad and an earlier murder of a Samajwadi party MLC Ajit Singh near Unnao, it also mentioned the looting of an IG’s wife in the heart of the state capital on last evening. |
|
Historian Romila Thapar refuses award
New Delhi, January 28 Prof Thapar said her decision was “purely personal” as she had resolved not to accept any “state awards”. She told the Tribune that she had written to President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam explaining the reason for not accepting the award. Prof Thapar added: “I will accept the awards instituted by educational institutions and not the state”. In her letter to the President, she said: “Whereas I am deeply appreciative of the honour that you have done me in making this award, I am at the same time, regretfully, unable to accept it.” A retired Professor from the School of Social Sciences of Jawaharlal Nehru University here, Prof Thapar mentioned that her decision to accept awards from academic institutions or those associated with her professional work was purely personal and did reflect on the other recipients of state awards. She also dismissed the possibility of accepting the award on government’s request. Prof Thapar pointed out that she had made her stand clear to the HRD Ministry when she was sounded about the move three months ago. |
|
Vice-President releases book on NRIs’ legal problems
New Delhi, January 28 Co-authored by two Chandigarh-based lawyers Anil Malhotra and Ranjit Malhotra with Rambert de Mellow, a UK barrister, the book titled “Acting for Non-Resident Indian Clients” deals mainly with issues like marriage, divorce, custody of children, maintenance, guardianship, adoption, wills, abduction of child in a dispute between parents, succession and sale of properties in a foreing country. The book was released by the Vice-President at his Maulana Azad Road residence here at a brief function, which was also attended by Indian Society of International Law president Ram Niwas Mirdha. It also deals with English family laws in the immigration context. The Vice-President said bringing a book on such a vital issue would be of great help to the Indians settled abroad.
|
|
Order on ‘Black Friday’ challenged
New Delhi, January 28 But there was no immediate relief to film’s producer Mid-day Multimedia Ltd, as a Bench headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti posted hearing of its petition for Monday without passing any direction. The High Court had stopped the release of the movie today on a plea of blast case accused Mustaq Musa Tarani, who contended that the film, which was being projected as a true story, would “prejudice” the trial in blast cases to a great extent and would also amount to contempt of court, which has yet to pronounce verdict. Senior advocate Ashok Desai, made a special mention of the petition by Mid-day before the Chief Justice’s Bench. The film was based on a book “Black Friday” published in December 2002 and the Mid-day had bought its copyright.
|
|
Politicians make best out of Satara stampede
POLITICAL parties have scented fresh opportunity in Tuesday’s stampede at the Mandhradevi temple in Satara, where at least 258 persons lost their lives.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his deputy R.R. Patil were the first to rush here even while the rescue work was on. Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar who considers the area his bailiwick followed a day later and announced a relief of Rs 15 crore. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray accompanied by former Chief Minister Manohar Joshi too made a visit to denounce the local administration for shoddy arrangements. Political observers here say Satara is seen as a major turf war between the Shiv Sena and the NCP. The latter has a strong base here with party chief Sharad Pawar playing a major in developing the district and other parts of western Maharashtra in the past two decades. The cooperative sector, the primary source of political power in the region, is firmly in the hands of the NCP though the Shiv Sena has made major inroads in the past few years. Not surprisingly, Pawar flew down to the temple one day after the disaster and announced an aid of Rs 15 crore. Already, local villagers whose businesses were destroyed by devotees in the riots following the stampede are demanding adequate compensation from the funds promised by the Maratha chieftain. The trustees of the Kalubai temple, as the Kaleshwari Devi-Mahadev shrine is known here, are also using the occasion to press for increased assistance to renovate the premises. “The temple trust has 28 acres of land and we have plans to build a grander shrine with modern amenities for pilgrims,” says Sudhir Kshirsagar while displaying a miniature model of the proposed structure. He adds that lack of funds has so far prevented the trustees from renovating the structure. Though the shrine attracts a large number of devotees, most of them belong to the lower classes and are unable to donate large sums of money to the temple. Temple reopens The Mandhardevi temple was reopened for public worship on Friday. According to priests at the shrine, the morning puja and evening aarti was as per the schedule. For the past two days, Pujas was being conducted with only a handful of devotees. The shrine was shut after that. |
|
SC seeks states’ comment on
New Delhi, January 28 Taking note of the frequent accidents at unguarded level crossings, a Bench of Ms Justice Ruma Pal and Mr Justice C.K. Thakkar has issued notices to the states and UTs on a public interest litigation by an NGO on the issue. “We propose, subject to hearing of the concerned states, to direct the Railways to close all unmanned level crossings which do not have any traffic,” the Bench in its order said, while seeking affidavits from the state within six weeks and a status report from the Railways. The NGO, Consumer Education and Research Centre, in its petition had said at least those level crossings could be closed on which there was no vehicular traffic and were left unguarded. It pointed out that the Railways had sought consent of the states for closing such level crossings. The court further directed the Railways not to leave any level-crossing without a guard. |
|
Land was acquired for Ram temple: Kalyan
New Delhi, January 28 He made it clear that there was no contradiction in the statement of his government in this regard or the BJP stand on the issue made either before the court in an affidavit by his government or in the party’s white paper. He said the land was only acquired to “facilitate” building of Ram temple and his government had made it clear in the affidavit filed before the Supreme Court. To a specific question from commission’s counsel Anupam Gupta, Kalyan said some land adjacent to the disputed structure was left out and was not acquired. |
|
Nanavati panel sources decry media speculation
New Delhi, January 28 Commission sources today said the report was almost ready and would be submitted to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on January 31 when the extended term of the panel ends. The sources took strong objections to both electronic and print media circulating “speculative” reports on the contents of the report, saying “it was not fair on their part to speculate when the report is still being finalised”. “Any speculation about the report prior to its submission will be premature,” the sources said adding that the conclusion of the commission would entirely depend on how “strong or weak” the evidence was against a person. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
