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NDA seeks Kalam’s intervention in Jharkhand
Cong defends Jharkhand Governor’s action
Oppn stalls Parliament
Rane to seek trust vote tomorrow
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Reprieve for rly squatters
UP power corpns get immune to politicking
Security in Manipur next only to J&K
India, Indonesia to share intelligence on terrorism
Concern over poppy cultivation in Pak
It’s ‘mini Davos’ on
eve of conclave
Petition against FDI in construction sector
MLCs charge SP with hurling threats
Bihar Govt defends move to drop case against Taslimuddin
TV news crew assaulted in Dehra Dun
Army to inspect border fencing
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NDA seeks Kalam’s intervention in Jharkhand
New Delhi, March 2 In anguish and anger, the NDA leaders not only sought President A P J Abdul Kalam’s immediate intervention to “reverse the delinquent acts” of the Jharkhand Governor but also stalled the Lok Sabha proceedings and threatened to disrupt Parliament. A delegation of NDA leaders, led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, after calling on the President, said the Governor’s action was like “trampling upon all the canons and conventions of Parliamentary democracy. He is contemptuously disregarding explicit directives of the Supreme Court in the Bommai case.” BJP President and Leader of Opposition L K Advani told newspersons that by this act the “institution of governor had been besmirched and we hope that before any further action is taken in other states he (President) would do the needful”. He said the Governor in Goa too had indulged in an “unconstitutional act and before similar action is taken elsewhere, we asked him (the President) to intervene.” The memorandum said in the case of a hung Assembly, the Governor is obliged under the Constitution to invite the leader of the largest party or the largest pre-poll alliance to form the government and seek a vote of confidence from a majority of the members of the Assembly. Attacking the Jharkhand Governor, the memorandum said the “Governor is trampling upon all the canons and conventions of parliamentary democracy. He is contemptuously disregarding explicit directives of the Supreme Court on the Bommai case. He is arrogantly flouting the guidelines of the Sarkaria Commission. In short, he is proving himself as the henchman of the Congress Party, willingly carrying out diktats of its high command.” The NDA leaders told the President that they were prepared to parade the 41 elected MLAs from Jharkhand similar to what Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N T Rama Rao did in 1984 when he brought all his 164 MLAs to the Capital and paraded them at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The NDA delegation also included NDA convenor George Fernandes, JD(U) leaders Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav, TDP leader Yerrannaidu, Anant Geete (Shiv Sena), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress), Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, M Venkaiah Naidu, V K Malhotra, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley (all BJP). Earlier, addressing a press conference in Parliament House along with NDA Convener George Fernandes, the BJP president demanded immediate recall of Governor of Goa S C Jamir, for dismissing an “elected” Government and Jharkhand Governor for not inviting the largest pre-poll alliance.
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Cong defends Jharkhand Governor’s action
New Delhi, March 2 Describing Opposition Leader L.K. Advani’s allegation against the Jharkhand Governor as “politically motivated”, Mr Sharma said the Governor had with him claims and counter claims of the UPA and the NDA regarding support of MLAs. “A Governor is expected to satisfy himself about the claims of majority support. On that basis, he invites a party or a combination of parties to form the government with the rider to prove their majority on the floor of the House,” he said. Mr Sharma alleged that Jharkhand police, under directions of outgoing Chief Minister Arjun Munda, had “kidnapped” three MLAs while they were going to meet UPA leaders. “The three were held as hostage at the CM’s residence and their relatives were not allowed to meet them. If this is what Mr Advani calls democracy then he should do introspection,’’ he said. The spokesman claimed that the list furnished by the UPA to the Governor contained names of 42 MLAs while that of the NDA had 41 names. The UPA had challenged two names in the NDA list and the NDA too had disputed two names in the UPA list. Even if the disputed names on the two sides were kept aside, the UPA added up to a total of 40 names and the NDA 39. “Ultimately the test of strength is the floor of the House,” Mr Sharma said. |
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Oppn stalls Parliament
New Delhi, March 2 Both Houses adjourned without transacting any business for the second consecutive day today and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said: “It is a very sad day for Indian democracy.” The Upper House adjourned for the day shortly after it met as an incensed Opposition targeted the Governor as also the Congress-led coalition at the Centre on the issue. Raising the issue, the BJP led by Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani accused the Congress of manipulating Jharkhand’s government formation through Governor. He said: “The NDA has a majority in Jharkhand but it is not being allowed to form a government and had met both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil on the issue.” BJP MPs shouted: “We will not allow the House to run. Respect the rule of majority. Down with dictatorship!” Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, urging members to maintain order and keep state issues out of Parliament. Advani pointed out that in a federal setup, the role of a Governor was well defined. “The NDA coalition has a majority in Jharkhand but the Governor is not allowing us to form the government.” Responding to the Opposition’s accusation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said: “As long as the UPA is running the Central Government, no Governor will be allowed to violate constitutional norms or misuse his office.” Unconvinced Opposition MPs crowded at the centre of the House and kept raising slogans. The Speaker reminded them: “You should also learn to honour the majority. A majority in this House wants the House to function.” The Lok Sabha was adjourned as many as four times, the fourth time for the day at 2.50 pm. |
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Rane to seek trust vote tomorrow
GOA’S Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane will face a vote of confidence on Friday, the third trust vote in less than 35 days in this politically troubled state.
Mr Rane’s Cabinet passed a formal resolution late last night to this effect and early this morning Governor S.C. Jamir sent a communication to pro-tem speaker Fransisco Sardinha covening the Assembly. Mr Rane will induct spokesperson Jitendra Deshprabhu, MLA Joaquim Alemao and former BJP no. 2 Digambar Kamat in his Cabinet before the vote, sources said. Both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP have lined up legal experts for yet another showdown that promises to test the limits of constitutional law. Mr Sardinha today admitted a petition by Deputy Chief Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, praying that the order of disqualification passed against him by former Speaker Vishwas Satarkar be not executed. While Mr Rodrigues maintained that he was an Independent MLA, former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said he had attended the BJP’s national executive meetings and even seconded important resolutions passed there. Mr Rodrigues, however received a setback with the state Advocate-General, Mr Subodh Kantak, ruling that the Deputy CM could not hold office after being disqualified. Congress leaders say Mr Sardinha will disregard the BJP’s arguments as the party desperately needs Mr Rodrigues’ vote as it is tied with the BJP in the House. Both groups have 17 MLAs each in the truncated House after Mr Rodrigues’ disqualification. However, the Congress is at a disadvantage since Mr Sardinha cannot normally vote as a Speaker. To further bolster its chances at victory, the Congress is now trying to get Mr Matanhy Saldanha, the lone legislator of the United Goans Democratic Party, disqualified. The UGDP today filed a disqualification application against Mr Saldanha on the grounds that he had defied the party’s whip by supporting the BJP in the House. |
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Reprieve for rly squatters
Kolkata, March 2 According to official sources, the decision was taken at the highest level after discussions with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee early this morning. It was, however, officially stated that the eviction drive had been postponed for the time being in the view of the on-going school final and higher secondary examinations conducted by the state school boards, the ICSC and the CBSF. The drive was to be launched this morning on the 3.5-km stretch on both sides of the railway track between Dhakuria and Lake Road stations following the Calcutta High Court’s order. Over 20,000 persons have been living in these areas illegally on railway land for the past over 30 years. The Trinamool Congress supremo along with over 20 of her close aides, including the city Mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, Mr Saugata Roy, local MLA, Mr Sodeondeb Chatterjee, spent the whole night with the people squatting on the railway lines. The Chief Minister later told mediapersons that the decision to postpone the drive was taken on humanitarian considerations. He said he telephoned Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee and demanded that the Railways should also shoulder the responsibility of rehabilitating the evicted people. He said the Defence Minister advised him to negotiate with Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. Ms Banerjee said she too was in favour of honouring the court’s order but demanded that alternative accommodation should be given before the people were evicted. She said she would release Rs 50 lakh from her MP’s fund, besides Rs 1 crore from the Kolkata’s Mayor’s special fund, if the state government and the Railways come forward to rehabilitate these hapless people. |
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UP power corpns get immune to politicking
New Delhi, March 2 Upholding the autonomy of these corporations, a Bench of Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde, Mr Justice B.N. Srikrishna and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan said, “Neither any minister, nor any official of the UP Government shall interfere with the transfer and posting of the officers in any of the eight government corporation.” The court said as per the 1998 directive, a five-member monitoring committee of specialists drawn from various institutions, headed by S. Venkatnarayanan, would oversee the transfer and postings of these corporations. The order was considered to be significant in context of the ongoing reforms in power sector, which were often stalled due to unnecessary political
interference. The eight corporations were created to improve the electricity supply in the state, which has been facing major power crisis, after extensive consultations with Central Power Research Institute and the Indian Institute of Management by the state government. While UP Power Corporation Ltd and its five subsidiary PSUs were engaged in the distribution of electricity, UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd and UP Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd were engaged in its production. The direction came on a petition, alleging that rampant political inferference with the autonomous functioning of these PSUs by the state government was affecting their functioning. |
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Security in Manipur next only to J&K
Imphal (Manipur), March 2 This has made Manipur as one of the most fortified states. There are two divisions each of the Army and the Assam Rifles, besides 18 battalions of the CRPF and the BSF. To counter the insurgency, the Army and the Assam Rifles alone have a combined strength of over 25,000 troops in the state. The CRPF has 12 battalions guarding vital installations while the BSF has six. This is over and above the 18,000-strong state police force that includes commandos, Manipur Rifles and the Indian Reserve Battalion. Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, said containing insurgency and bringing militants to the negotiating table were a top priority. The command headquarters, headed by the Chief Minister, looks after overall counter-insurgency operations. |
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India, Indonesia to share intelligence on terrorism
New Delhi, March 2 The two also agreed to have mutual legal cooperation and explore deeper and more meaningful interaction on the issue of maritime security in the region. The idea of India and Indonesia carrying out joint patrols in sea lanes in the region also came up for discussion when the Indo-Indonesia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism held its first meeting here yesterday. The JWG was constituted under the MoU on cooperation to combat international terrorism signed between the two in July 2004. The high-level interaction between India and Indonesia was occasioned by the second meeting of the joint commission between the two countries. The Indian delegation was led by External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, and the Indonesian delegation was led by Foreign Minister N. Hassan Wirajuda. The Indonesian delegation also included Ms Siti Fadila Supari, Health Minister. The delegations exchanged views on the security situation in the region. The Indonesian side sought cooperation and collaboration with the Indian side in IT, biotechnology, space and remote sensing. Both sides decided to work towards enhancing cooperation in the CNG sector, with Delhi’s experience being replicated in Jakarta. The joint commission meeting was preceded by meetings of two working groups covering bilateral cooperation in trade, banking, investment, tourism, culture, agriculture, transportation, energy, mining, technical cooperation, science and technology, defence and security, immigration and consular matters, health and pharmaceuticals, women’s empowerment, education and legal cooperation. Two special working groups also met during the course of the meeting and reported to the commission. In the evening the Indonesian Foreign Minister called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. |
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Concern over poppy cultivation in Pak
New Delhi, March 2 “Most of the opium produced in Afghanistan and Pakistan is sent to the West through India. Its impact on peace and security remains the central element of the drug situation in West Asia,” INCB Vice-President M. M. Bhatnagar said while releasing the annual report of the board here today. The opium production in Afghanistan, which was 3,600 metric tonnes in 2003, increased by 17 per cent during 2004, he said. The governments in the region should share real-time information on seizures and movement of these substances to prevent the abuse in the region, he said. The 96-page report has also expressed concern over the increase in HIV infection as a result of shift from opium abuse to heroin abuse, most notably in India and Nepal, and the increasing abuse of injectable analgesics such as buprenorphine and propoxyphene. |
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It’s ‘mini Davos’ on
eve of conclave
New Delhi, March 2 The Ministry of External Affairs is upbeat about the novel diplomatic initiative which will see India engaging itself with 54 African countries. This is the first time India is getting engaged in a multi-sectoral project-based partnership with an entire continent which is bound to yield rich diplomatic dividends to India especially when New Delhi is lobbying hard for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. Scores of “Project Ideas” are going to be discussed at this conclave which, if implemented, are worth billions of dollars, according to Mr Navdeep Puri, Joint Secretary (Central and Western Africa) in the MEA. It is interesting to note in this context here that according to a recent survey by The Economist, London, of the 12 fastest developing world economies, six are in Africa and of these six, five are in West Africa alone. This is despite long-standing internal conflicts in countries like Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Liberia. “This kind of gathering, short of NAM, has never happened before. It is like a Mini Davos,” Mr Puri remarked while briefing about the conclave to be inaugurated by External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh tomorrow. More than 350 Indian businessmen have already confirmed their participation in the conclave. On the AIDS front, the conclave will also throw an opportunity for the African ministers to get in touch with the Indian pharmaceutical companies which claim to have developed an AIDS vaccine. African countries look upon India as a role model in economic development. Many of African countries have been registering a double digit growth which they want to keep up by forging closer ties with India in an instituionalised mechanism. The India-Africa Project Partnership supplements another Indian diplomatic initiative vis a vis Africa — TEAM — which was launched two years ago. |
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Petition against FDI in construction sector
New Delhi, March 2 An application to this effect was filed in the Supreme Court by an NGO, Society for Safe Structures (SSS), on whose public interest litigation (PIL) regarding mandatory safety measures against earthquake in high-rise buildings, the court had earlier issued notices to the Union Government and its 11 other agencies engaged in construction activities for providing approval of building structures. The NGO said law for establishing “techno-legal” regime in construction sector was necessary to ensure safety of buildings against any natural disaster like earthquake. |
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MLCs charge SP with hurling threats
Lucknow, March 2 An unprecedented situation arose in the Vidhan Parishad when as a breach of privilege of the House BSP MLC Heera Thakur complained that the SP, Lakhimpur Kheri, was threatening him with dire consequences for taking up the issue of Amar Ujala’s Lakhimpur Kheri reporter Samiuddin, alias Neelu, in the House. Corroborating him was leader of the teachers’ group Om Prakash Sharma, who said that he, too, had received threats by persons close to the district police chief for taking up the issue. He pointed out that in his long career of 36 years as a member of the parishad he had raised many public issues but had
been issued such a threat for the first time. Mr Sharma also submitted documents to the Chair to support his charge that the SP was making efforts to get rid of the journalist. It may be recalled that the Chairman’s ruling
had come after members expressed grave concern after the incident was reported in several
newspapers. |
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Bihar Govt defends move to drop case against Taslimuddin
New Delhi, March 2 “The public prosecutor can file an application for the withdrawal under Section 321 of the CrPC on the ground of maintenance of public peace and avoidance of destabalisation of a stable government...” the outgoing RJD Government in its affidavit said. A Bench of Mr Justice B.P. Singh and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha, which had questioned the hurry of the Bihar Government in withdrawing the case, today further adjourned the hearing in the matter after the Bihar Government sought further time for preparing its arguments. The court had issued notices to the Union Government, Bihar Government and Mr Taslimuddin on a petition challenging the state government’s decision to withdraw the case. The affidavit filed by Bihar Government’s Law Department Joint Secretary Rajesh Kumar claimed that the case was sought to be withdrawn against Taslimuddin because the public prosecutor was of the opinion that as per the “evidence collected there was no prospect of conviction” of the accused in the case. |
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TV news crew assaulted in Dehra Dun
Dehra Dun, March 2 The incident occurred in front of Information Department officials, bureaucrats and rolling television cameras following an argument over entry into the secretariat on last year’s admit pass. The crew said they showed the guards last year’s pass since the new passes had not been issued. The guards, however, kept the pass and asked them to leave. They later assaulted the crew, leaving the cameraman injured. |
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US visa application fee up
New Delhi, March 2 Besides, a person applying for an L-1 visa will have to pay an additional fee of $ 500, the US Embassy here announced yesterday. These are part of new charges for consular services in American diplomatic missions in New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata. Persons applying for ‘blanket’ L-1 visas will have to pay $ 500 “fraud prevention and detection fee” at the time of submitting their papers. This fee must be paid via bank draft for Rs 22,000 made out to the American Embassy or to the American Consulate General where the applicant will be applying. |
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Army to inspect border fencing
New Delhi, March 2 While officials maintained that there was no let-down in vigilance along the border with Pakistan despite bad weather, they admitted that the fence might have been damaged at some places. “We will assess the situation once the weather improves”, a top Army official said here yesterday while stressing that the Army had catered for such exigencies. “We feel that once the snow melts there could be landslides further damaging the fence but the Army is prepared to face the situation and repair the damage,” Brig Vikram Singh, Deputy Director-General Military Operations, said. |
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