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Mulayam warns of third front govt at Centre
Nuclear leak fear stalks Kalpakkam residents
PM hopes best for Iraq, puts stake in normalcy
Proposal on WMDs need “relook” Shia Personal Law Board formed |
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Vasundhara on backfoot on refinery issue
Jaipur, January 29 The hue and cry over the decision of establishing refinery at Bathinda for the past few weeks in Rajasthan has put the Vasundhara Raje led-BJP government of the state in an embarrassing situation.
SGPC: probe leak of Nanavati
report
Kalam to meet Padma Bhushan awardee today
Power board plans hike in tariff
BJP MLA joins BSP
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Mulayam warns of third front govt at Centre New Delhi, January 29 Mr Yadav’s comments made in the course of a television interview came a day after the Congress lashed out at the Samajwadi Party government for its failure to control the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh and threatened to launch a public campaign against him. The four-member
committee, comprising senior Congress leaders Mr Ramlal Rahi, Mr Raj Bahadur, Mr Amaar Rizvi
and Mr Hafiz Mohammad Umar, has been asked to study the political implications of this murder, which allegedly involves an SP leader. Congress sources maintained that as of now, they were still weighing the pros and cons of various options available to them and that a final decision would be taken after due deliberation. The unfolding situation in UP, where the Congress is supporting the SP government, was discussed at a meeting of senior AICC leaders on Friday after a briefing from UPCC President Salman Khursheed. AICC leaders said they could opt for a caliberated approach which could begin with a public demand for Mr Mulayum Singh Yadav resignation, accompanied by a concerted campaign against his government. The second step would be to formally withdraw support to the SP government and finally go in for its dismissal and imposition of Central rule. Given the growing proximity between the Congress and the BSP, there is a section in the AICC which favours precipitate action in Uttar Pradesh. However, the party has also to consider how its decision will impact the UPA government at the Centre in view of the Left support for Mr Mulayum Singh Yadav. Realising that the Congress is mulling its options on UP, Mr Yadav took the preemptive step of threatening the formation of a third front government at the Centre with Left backing and withdrawal of support to the UPA government. |
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Nuclear leak fear stalks Kalpakkam residents
Chennai, January 29 When the tsunami waves struck, water had not only entered the nuclear plant at Kalpakkam, around 70 km south of here, but caused extensive damage to the complex, which was immediately shut down. Four days after the tsunami struck on December 26, people not only from Kalpakkam but also from the famous tourist resort of Mahabalipuram, which by road is only 30 km away from the nuclear plant and only 7 km by sea, fled the towns as there were rumours of a possible nuclear leak because of the damage caused. Senior scientists and nuclear experts have visited the plant and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) have issued several statements assuring people that the reactors were safe and there was no cause for concern. They have even assured that at least 1,000 men in the Kalpakkam nuclear plant were trained in dealing with emergency situations, while the local populace was also given regular training to combat any disaster. There are two Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) reactors and one test reactor for the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in operation at Kalpakkam. However, workers at the complex and inhabitants of Kalpakkam and Mahabalipuram towns are not convinced and have evacuated their families. According to official sources, 80 people died and around 1,000 houses were damaged at the Kalpakkam complex. The walls of the complex were smashed, while some of the buildings were still in shambles. Said an inhabitant: “The force of the water was so strong that even dentists’ chairs on the hospital’s second floor were flung out through the windows.” According to the Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Station Casual Contract Labourers’ Federation, around 300 contract labourers were missing from the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) site, whose foundation pit was flooded by the tsunami. Since 29 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) barracks were damaged and many security men died, there was no check for outsiders to enter the complex. The nuclear power plant had lost all contact and in case of a leak none could have been informed. At Mahabalipuram, even people living far away from the seashore and unaffected by the tsunami panicked when on December 30 there was a rumour about a possible nuclear leak. Real estate agents wanted to cash in on the situation and created more confusion. Said Aijaz Baba, a Kashmiri businessman who has been running a shop for the past 15 years: “We usually bring our families here from Kashmir during winter.... Because of the panic over nuclear leak we immediately hired a truck and took them to Chennai and sent them back to Srinagar.” As a result, even Mahabalipuram which usually teems with foreign tourists during this part of the year, wears a deserted look with most of the beach resorts and hotels empty. |
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PM hopes best for Iraq, puts stake in normalcy
New Delhi, January 29 In his address, at the inauguration of the Centre of West Asian Studies at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here, he expressed concern that the impact of any negative developments in West Asia could greatly affect the Indian economy and threaten its energy security strategy. Affirming India's commitment to the prosperity and well-being of the people of Iraq, the Prime Minister said the country would do all that it can, as Iraq stabilises, to help with the return of normalcy and in the task of reconstruction that lies ahead. As a nation that has always stood by the people of Iraq, the Prime Minister said, the country hoped that the elections were held in an environment of peace, with the full and genuine participation of all Iraqis in the democratic process. Maintaining that West Asia would be the key foreign policy issue not only for the neighbouring regions but also in terms of its global impact, Dr Manmohan Singh said, "ongoing processes in West Asia will have a crucial impact on the global strategic environment." Expressing concern over the increasing military presence in West Asia and the growing influence of radical religious groups, the Prime Minister said, "Strategic thinkers the world over will weigh the possible impact of the large and growing extra-regional military presence in West Asia, or the possibility of radical religious groups seeking to create and fill in a political vacuum in this region''. The Prime Minister said India was exploring "several interesting" options to expand its energy security options. Hoping that peace process between Palestine and Israel was at a "positive juncture", he said, the country's position in support of a viable and independent state of Palestine, living in peace and prosperity within secure boundaries in peaceful co-existence with Israel, remained unshaken. “If there is truly one message that we have for the world, it is that neither richness nor poverty; religion or culture, or indeed tradition and history preclude a people from aspiring to create an open and democratic party society, based on their own inherent genius," he
asserted. |
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Proposal on WMDs need “relook”
New Delhi, January 29 Cautioning that there existed grave dangers of WMD proliferation through sea lanes as had been borne out by recent seizures of ships of North Korea and other nations carrying missile components, he said these instances could well be the tip of the iceberg. Underlining the need for consensual multilateral efforts to curb such clandestine nuclear and WMD networks, the minister said: “Some initiatives such as the PSI have been mooted. These need to be examined in greater detail”. He emphasised the immediate necessity to institutionalise regional mechanisms aimed at dealing with these threats in his concluding address at the 7th Asian Security Conference.
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Shia Personal Law Board formed Lucknow, January 29 It probably energised the organisers all the more as after announcing a 70-member executive they decided to accommodate more names and release the final list of the board after the Mohurrum mourning. The Saeed-ul Millat Hall at the Shia P.G. College was packed to capacity. Despite the short notice, clerics from eight states were present on the marigold and rose bedecked dais. Traffic came to a halt on the busy Victoria Street in the old part of the city as hundreds of people sat in the pandal erected outside hearing one booming speech after another. In his presidential speech, Maulana Mohammad Athar reiterated the demand for more political representation. "There is not a single Shia member in the Parliament today to represent the 5 crore Shia population of the country. None of the nine Muslim ministers in Mulayam Singh Yadav's government is a Shia. A Shia MLA in Maharashtra, Ahmad Mazloom, who had earlier been a minister was not accommodated in the ministry this time" While appreciating the secular credentials of the state, Maulana Athar asserted that none of the political parties had paid any attention to the Shia community and their problems. Denying any links with any particular political party, he said that the main reason for the formation of a separate board was to assert the rights of the community within the framework of the Indian Constitution. While the general body could not be finalised, one general secretary, one vice-president and three secretaries were appointed. The general secretary is a reputed cleric from Hyderabad, Maulana Raza Agha Khan. Maulana Syed Mohammad Taqi from the city has been elected the vice-president and the three secretaries are Maulana Sharafat Hussain Kazmi of Meerut, Maulana Zaheer Abbas of Mumbai and Dr Sadiq Naqvi of Hyderbad. Meanwhile, vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB) and eminent cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq who returned to the city on Saturday after the month-long Haj, refused to comment on the formal inauguration of a separate Shia Board. |
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Vasundhara on backfoot on refinery issue
Jaipur, January 29 Facts have come to light that the foundation stone of the proposed refinery was laid by then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee as back as in 1998 when Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal was Chief Minister of Punjab. It was, therefore, futile to allege that the Centre was favouring Punjab because of the Congress being in power in that state, said the sources. The delay in setting up of the refinery has reportedly been due to lingering negotiations between the Government of Punjab and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation on certain concessions demanded by the latter. The HPCL is stated to have requested the Punjab Government to defer payment of sales tax on its products for 15 years which, if granted, would have caused the state exchequer colossal loss in revenue. It is understood that now the HPCL has urged exemption of sales tax for five years from the date of production with revised terms and conditions. While a decision on this issue has yet to be made by the Punjab Government, poetess-turned politician Prabha Thakur, Congress member of the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, in a communication addressed to Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Union Minister for Petroleum, has asked him to do justice to the desert state which is endowed with rich oil deposits. |
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SGPC: probe leak of Nanavati
report
New Delhi, January 29 On Saturday, a TV channel reported that Justice Nanavati was "understood
to have" recommended reinvestigation of cases against some Congress
leaders, including MP Sajjan Kumar, but did not blame the entire party or the
then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for the events that followed the assassination
of Indira Gandhi. SGPC general-secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur asked that
"How can such sensitive documents become accessible to a TV channel? What
was the need to try and make the 'findings' public when the commission has yet
to submit them with the government?" Even when the report was be to handed
over to the Centre on Monday, Mr Bhaur also wondered how stories ran about
Justice G.T. Nanavati's conclusions when the judge investigating the carnage
claimed that he had yet to complete the report. However, Justice Nanavati
dismissed the news report as media “guesswork” |
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Kalam to meet Padma Bhushan awardee today
New Delhi, January 29 Dr Kalam, it was pointed out had taken a serious note of the reports wherein the author had complained of not being treated properly by the security personnel. The security had refused to allow Mr Prabhakar's son to accompany him to the 'At Home' Function organised at the Presidential residence on Republic Day. Mr Prabhakar told medipersons that he requested the authorities to allow his son to accompany him as his wife was no more and he did not want to venture out on his own. Incidentally, the invitation card carried the name of the author and his wife. The President has now invited the 93-year-old author for a meeting and is expected to seek a first hand account of the incident. Mr Prabhakar, who made the announcement of returning the award that was bestowed on him last year, said he considered the incident not as a personal slur but as an insult to Hindi, the national language. |
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Power board plans hike in tariff
Dehra Dun, January 29 While the hike in the proposal excludes the below poverty line consumers, it is applicable to those who consume 50 units of power per month or more. The proposal suggests revising the domestic tariff from the existing Rs 2.10 per unit to Rs 3.21, tariff for consumers who use up to 50 units per month from Rs 1.80 to Rs 2.80 per unit. For unmetered rural consumers the proposed hike is from Rs 0.83 to Rs 1.22, while for housing societies it is from Rs 2.05 to Rs 3.44 per unit and for cantonment boards it is Rs 2.05 to Rs 3.74 per unit. According to UPCL CMD S.P.S. Raghav, the corporation has proposed the hike in tariffs due to the widening gap between power production in the state and increasing consumption. The corporation has had to incur losses totalling Rs 50 crores due to relaxation in tariffs last year. |
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BJP MLA joins BSP
Lucknow, January 29 Welcoming Mr Ajay Pratap Singh into the party fold, BSP general secretary, S.C. Misra told reporters here that "more MLAs of the BJP and other parties were in touch with the BSP" but refused to divulge any detail. Mr Ajay Pratap Singh, who was defeated by the BSP nominee in the last Assembly elections said he was "disenchanted with the BJP after it deviated from its policies and
traditions". "BSP's policies and discipline is what attracted me to the party and I have joined it today with my supporters", he said.
— PTI |
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