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Cracks within Left on Lalu’s continuation
If Lalu doesn’t quit, dismiss him: BJP
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Govt performance better than party: Sonia
BSNL slashes ISD rates by 33 per cent
Mallya lands in customs trouble over Tipu’s sword
Ordinance on Bihar MLAs’ salaries soon
Chinese delegates hope to see a tiger
Buy 1 kg opium, get a pistol free!
Netaji’s marriage row takes new turn
Centre backs road package for Haryana
Military court denying right to defend: Anjali
38 of marriage party killed
in mishap
Nana Patekar seeks anticipatory bail
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Cracks within Left on Lalu’s continuation
New Delhi, May 17 While the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All-India Forward Bloc demanded the resignation of Lalu from the ministership on moral grounds, the two big brothers, the CPI and the CPM, said they would take “sometime to study the case” before coming to any conclusion. Abani Roy of the RSP and Debabrata Biswas of the AIFB were apparently upset with the decision of the dominant Left allies. Roy said, “In view of the fresh charges against Lalu, the second in over a fortnight, he must resign on moral grounds and should not join the government till he comes out clean.” However, it was clear that the CPI and the CPM did not want to take any hasty decision that would throw a spanner in the UPA anniversary bash and annoy the RJD. Further, strong signal at this juncture by the Left would give much needed ammunition to the BJP, which had boycotted Parliament on tainted ministers’ issue. While the Left leaders apparently saved the UPA government from embarrassment on the issue, they did not spare the Congress-led coalition for its failure to fulfil the promises made in the common minimum programme (CMP). Stating that they had not received any invitation to attend the May 22 anniversary function, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said it was a government function and it had the right to highlight its achievements. “We would not attend it. It is neither a boycott nor a walkout. We are not part of the UPA. We are only supporting the coalition from outside,” he said. He said the Left would take part in the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow, where the party pointed out the failure of the government in legislating on matters concerning the poor. He said during the past one year, no legislation or initiative had been taken to shore up the collapsing public distribution system. He said no legislation had been proposed for unorganised workers, adding that in this way the needs of the poor of the country had not been met. Other areas that came under criticism were the financial policies of the UPA government. He said privatisation of pension funds was not acceptable. Left leaders also rejected the increase in FDIs or foreign direct investment. They said successive hikes in the prices of petroleum products in the past year had adversely affected the common people. Bardhan asked the UPA government to hand over six major Gujarat riot cases, pending before the Supreme Court, to the CBI. He said the party would put pressure on the government to bring in Women’s Reservation Bill and that concerning the land rights to tribesmen. |
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If Lalu doesn’t quit, dismiss him: BJP
New Delhi, May 17 “On the one hand, Mr Lalu Prasad had recently made certain deliberate and calculated attempts to denigrate the Election Commission, on the other hand he is being charged with cheating and corruption in fodder scam cases. He (Mr Lalu) should resign on moral grounds or he should be sacked by the Prime Minister,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told newspersons here. Taking a serious note of the soft approach being adopted by the Prime Minister towards Mr Lalu Prasad, the BJP spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister did not even reprimand the Railway Minister despite the latter’s motivated attempt to denigrate the Election Commission.” “His (Dr Manmohan Singh’s) comment that restraint should be observed from within and outside while the constitutional authority is involved, cannot be considered an admonishment of Mr Lalu Prasad, which everybody expected,” Mr Javadekar said. “We reiterate our demand to sack Mr Lalu Prasad from the Cabinet in view of his denigrating attack on the Election Commission and formal framing of charges today by a Ranchi court in the fodder scam,” he said. On the much-publicised announcement of the Bharat Nirman Scheme by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the BJP said it was no way a new deal for rural India. “It (Bharat Nirman Scheme) is an amalgamation of existing schemes. The government is not really offering anything new...It is repackaging and renaming the existing programmes,” he said. |
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Govt performance better than party: Sonia
New Delhi, May 17 All these myths were shattered today when Mrs Gandhi spent over two hours chatting with mediapersons at a high tea hosted by her on the lawns of the bungalow housing the National Advisory Council (NAC) office. Far from being shy and
reserved, as she is often made out to be, Mrs Gandhi was relaxed and spontaneous as she fielded a plethora of questions ranging from the UPA government’s one year in office and the Congress Party’s poor performance in Bihar and Jharkhand to their relations with the Left parties and growing dissidence in state units. She responded candidly to difficult queries and displayed a rare sense of humour. “I was never very good at
Maths, so I won’t quote figures,” she said laughingly when it was pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had given the UPA government six out of ten, adding quickly that Dr Manmohan Singh was a self-effacing person and if he made this remark, “it is only because he is Manmohan Singh.” On a more serious note, she said the government had achieved quite a lot in its first year though much more still needed to be done. “I am very
satisfied with the progress made by the government,” she said, stating that it had done much more than what was achieved by other governments in their first year. The Congress, she felt, had not fared too badly as a coalition manager considering it was its first experience in this regard. Mrs Gandhi refused to be drawn into any controversy over the persistent criticism of the UPA government by the Left parties, stating that they had their views and they were entitled to voice them. As for their decision to stay away from the UPA
government's first anniversary programme on May 22, she merely said, “Let’s see...I am an optimist.” The Congress President was equally quick with her response when asked if she would reconsider her decision on taking over as Prime Minister. “There is no question about it. Why should I reconsider my
decision. We already have a Prime Minister who is doing exceedingly well,” she added. However, she confessed that compared to the government, the party’s performance was found wanting and could have been much better. She admitted that the Congress fared poorly in Jharkhand in the recent Assembly poll because of its own mistakes. “The list of mistakes is long, so I will not elaborate,” Mrs Gandhi said. However, she was unmoved by the Congress performance in Bihar, saying that the party had little presence in the state to begin with. In any case, she said, there would be organisational changes in Bihar and some “minor readjustments” in the AICC in the near future. When her attention was drawn to Mr Ram Vilas Paswan’s new formulation on government formation, she added smilingly, “Bihar is Bihar...let’s leave it there.” As regards dissidence in the party, Mrs Gandhi responded jokingly, “You mean the BJP.” She agreed that there were reports of infighting from the states but added that this kind of “khipit” is not new in the Congress. In any case, she said, these differences generally got resolved though discussions. She agreed that the party did not succeed in the case of Kerala but added that it was not for want of trying. Though she did not name senior leader K. Karunakaran, Mrs Gandhi said every effort was made to accommodate him but to little avail. |
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BSNL slashes ISD rates by 33 per cent
New Delhi, May 17 These rates will be applicable to the landline as well as cellular network of the BSNL. In addition, the company also announced a further 25 per cent reduction in the BSNL's leased line tariff. The new tariffs would come into effect from the midnight of May 20, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Sinha said during the World Telecom Day celebrations in New Delhi. The Communications and Information Technology Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, released two sets of commemorative coins in the denominations of Rs 100 and Rs 2 to mark the completion of 150 years of telecommunications in India. |
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Mallya lands in customs trouble over Tipu’s sword
Mumbai, May 17 The statement comes close on the heels of media reports that the Central Board of Excise and Customs had submitted a report questioning how the export of The Sword of Tipu Sultan was allowed when the law doesn’t permit private persons from sending out antiques. It had also sought action against Mr Mallya for “illegal import and export’’ of the famous Tipu period piece. “I am surprised at the attitude of the customs authorities in instituting an inquiry on import and re-export of the Sword of Tipu Sultan. I thought I was doing something good for my country as an Indian citizen in acquiring this famous sword which is a treasured part of Indian history,’’ Mr Mallya said in a statement issued from San Fransisco, USA. “A good deed with honourable intentions has been unfortunately made the subject of controversy and bureaucratic infighting. I regret having to point out that our mindset does not encourage the fast growth and expansion of our country. If I have done anything wrong I stand ready and willing to face the consequences,’’ he said. The UB Group Chairman had brought the sword for Rs 1.5 crore at an auction in London in September 2003. He brought it into India through Bangalore Airport on March 14, 2004. A probe held by the Customs Department on a directive from the Finance Ministry, indicted Mr Mallya, media reports claimed, saying he neither paid customs duty nor sought exemption for non-payment. The officials at Bangalore Airport allowed its entry without customs duty, thinking it was not chargeable on goods of Indian origin. However, Mr Mallya said, ‘’I have kept the Finance Minister fully informed, both personally and in writing on the import and re-export. In fact, my colleagues in Parliament have expressed their wish to felicitate me for having acquired this national treasure. Subsequently, the Finance Minister, himself, wrote to me granting permission to import the Sword of Tipu Sultan free of duty’’. The letter of January 11, 2005 from Mr P Chidambaram said: “The government has since decided to issue an ad hoc exemption order exempting customs duty on import of ‘The Sword of Tipu Sultan’ imported and re-exported by you. Kindly let us know when the said sword will be reimported by you and from which port/airport, so that, the concerned commissioner of customs may be suitably advised to assist in the clearance of the antique piece without payment of customs duty.’’
— UNI |
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Ordinance on Bihar MLAs’ salaries soon
New Delhi, May 17 The issue of ordinance had necessitated as the Bihar Legislature (Members’ salaries, allowances and pension) Act, 1960, prohibits any MLA from drawing salary until the member has taken oath of affirmation referred to in Article 188 of the Constitution. A peculiar situation had arisen in Bihar after the recent Assembly elections as the newly elected MLAs could not take oath as President’s rule was imposed on March 7, 2005, placing the Assembly under suspended animation as no party or political formation could muster majority. “With a view to facilitating the newly elected MLAs to draw salaries and allowances, the government has initiated steps for issuing a proclamation under Article 356 for revoking suspension of Article 195 of the Constitution, thereby paving the way for issue of an ordinance to amend the stated provisions of the Act,” an official notification said here. It, however, did not specify whether the issue of ordinance will enable the MLAs to draw their salaries from retrospective or prospective effect. This issue was first raised by BJP MLA Rameshwar, who had also moved the court in this regard. Subsequently, the issue was lobbied at the Centre level by Lok Janshakti Party chief and Cabinet Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who had, besides meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also sought the support of Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the. Since the Centre could not have issued ordinance when the Parliament was in session, the UPA Government waited for the Budget session to get over to begin the process of issuing ordinance in this regard. |
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Chinese delegates hope to see a tiger
New Delhi, May 17 The delegation led by Jian Wel Chen is here on a week-long visit to take part in the CITES tiger enforcement task force meeting. It was at the meeting of the Asian Conservation Alliance in Beijing last month that some members of the delegation met Mr Ashok Kumar, senior adviser and trustee of the Wildlife Trust of India and expressed their interest in visiting the Jim Corbett national park. They sent a formal request to the Indian Government expressing their desire to see a tiger reserve and see Indian wildlife conservation methods. Mr Kumar who is accompanying the delegation to the Jim Corbett National Park, near Ramnagar in
Uttranchal for two days told TNS here on Tuesday that he chose Corbett for two reasons. ``It is the nearest to Delhi and the delegation had little time. They are flying back on May 23. The idea of taking them to Jim Corbett is to show them the wild tiger they have never seen.’’ Mr Kumar said that one has to be lucky to sight a tiger. ``You can miss a tiger by a second but the delegation can also hope to see wild elephants, lots of deer and hornbill.’’ He said that census figures for the last year showed that there were about 100 odd tigers in the entire Corbett tiger reserve. Professor Li Zhang Aster, China Country Director of the
International Fund for Animal Welfare cannot wait to see a tiger in the wild. ``I have never seen a tiger in the wild. It would be so exciting for me to see a tiger in the wild because I know that it is such an endangered specie. People should work together to protect the tiger in the wild. We have very few tigers in the world.’’ Professor Aster said that there are three sub species of tigers found in China, the Amur tiger, the South China tiger and the Indo China tiger. He said that while the total population of Amur tiger in the wild was less than 20, the total population of South China tiger is less than 50. He said that there were over 1,500 tigers in captivity in China. He said that the other members of the delegation are Ziming Wan and Xiao Yan Wang, CITES officials. Wei Wang, a Customs official and Loulou Zheng, a forest official. |
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Tigers falling prey to poachers, SC told
New Delhi, May 17 This has been stated by the Centre in an affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court in response to its notice on an application by a wildlife conservationist in the wake of disappearance of tigers from the famous Sariska sanctuary in Rajasthan. The Supreme Court had issued notices to the Centre and the CBI on an application of wildlife conservationist Ashok Kumar, seeking a probe by the agency into the disappearance of tigers from Sariska and depletion of their population in other sanctuaries. The affidavit, based on data collected by the agency on the tiger population
between 1999 and 2003, stated that of the 411 big cats, poaching of 114 had been directly confirmed in various forests, while skins of 238 were seized from conduits along with their bones in different parts of the country, indicating that they were apparently killed by poachers. The remaining 59 might have died of natural death. The data showed that the maximum number of tigers fell to poachers’ bullets in Uttar Pradesh (24), Maharashtra (23) and Madhya Pradesh (13), the affidavit said adding that the natural mortality of the species was highest in MP (15), UP (12) and Uttaranchal (10). MP with the seizure of 57 skins of big cats along with their bones again topped the list, followed by UP (44), West Bengal (39), Maharashtra (19), Uttaranchal (15) and Andhra Pradesh (11). The tiger skins and bones fetched a very high price in the international market, with most of the demand coming from China and South-East Asia, where they were used for preparing certain traditional Chinese medicines. The revelation of data was disturbing as major reserved forests like Corbett and Rajaji Park (Uttaranchal), Dudhwa (UP), Kanha, Bandhvagarh, Panna (MP) and Tadoba, Pench, Melghat (Maharashtra) were located in the states which had shown either high toll of killing by poachers or mortality rate. The other forests where the population of big cat is being conserved under the Project Tiger, launched more than three decades ago, includes Sunderban (West Bengal), Kaziranga (Assam), Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu), Bandipur and Nagarhole (Karnataka) and Ranthambore and Sariska (Rajasthan). The affidavit said international borders with China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar were vulnerable for illegal trade of wildlife items, including tiger and leopard skins and their bones. |
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Buy 1 kg opium, get a pistol free!
Kohima, May 17 To make matters more serious, the drugs don't remain confined to the region but find their way, via Dimapur, to various parts of the country including Bihar, UP, Delhi and even far-flung Mumbai. The 9 mm pistol, however, is kept by the local buyers and sold in the local market later. One of the areas notorious for such secret drug deals is Moya village of Kiphire district, where a state government power project is lying in disuse. Myanmar nationals come to the
village, which is less than 40 Km from the international border, to barter wool, batteries and salt for tribal machetes, cheap Myanmar rum and whisky. Drug dealers come regularly too, and peddle 'Kannni' (opium) more openly than anyone can imagine. The arms they offer for free are generally those smuggled in by the Myanmar's drug barons from China and Thailand for their own use. Though the barter system is bringing prosperity to the villagers, Moya
village council chairman S. Kiusumew expressed concern over the sale of drugs on the sly and the offer of arms as freebies. He blamed the
government's apathy towards the border villages for the growth of the narcotics trade. A policeman, one of the few manning the rundown police outpost in the area, admitted knowing about the offer of free 9 mm pistol with a kg of opium. A senior police official said drugs were being smuggled into Nagaland from Myanmar through a well-organised network spread along the border districts. "We are helpless, because the smugglers have better network than us, " he regretted. |
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Netaji’s marriage row takes new turn
New Delhi, May 17 The Shyam Benegal movie “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the forgotten hero”, shows Netaji got married in 1941. He came to Thailand in 1943 and was there for nearly one-and-a-half years. During this time, he never even once mentioned about his marriage, Seth Trilok Singh said. An Indo-Thai Friendship Association release quoting Seth stated this on Netaji’s marriage in the wake of the controversy generated by the movie which showed Netaji married to a German. The association, headed by Seth’s son, also said the film was an “incomplete” tribute to Netaji. The film makes no mention of Netaji’s stay in Thailand and the contribution that country made in furthering Netaji’s struggle, said Santokh Singh Chawla, CEO of the association. “It was in Thailand that people weighed Netaji with gold on his birthday... the business community in Thailand pledged not only their wealth but every drop of their blood to Netaji for the freedom of India and even a free Azad Hind Radio Broadcasting Station was provided by Thailand,” he said. Even today, there is a hospital building in Thailand in the name of Netaji, he said, adding that “it is disheartening to see that the sacrifice of people of Thailand is not highlighted in the movie.”
— PTI |
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Centre backs road package for Haryana
New Delhi, May 17 Mr Hooda said work on widening the Delhi-Hisar stretch should be divided into two packages. He called for construction of an elevated flyover on NH-I at Panipat. He pointed to the need of improving the Murthal-Sonepat-Jhajjar-Gurgaon-Sohna-Palwal road and stretches including Jatheri-Akharpur,Rathdana-Nahra, and Bahadurgarh -Badli-Chandu, a spokesman said.
— TNS |
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Military court denying right to defend: Anjali
Bangalore, May 17 The military court, headed by Group Captian V. Ganesh, had arraigned seven charges against Anjali Gupta and initiated formal hearing yesterday, denying further time to the accused IAF woman officer to commission a civil advocate to plead her case. She had also claimed that she could not find a civil advocate despite the court being adjourned for five days as she was under close arrest. The woman officer today stated in the court that it was going ahead with her case after slashing her right of defence in engaging her own choice of civil advocate to plead her case.
— UNI |
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38 of marriage party killed
in mishap
Dehra Dun, May 17 Rescue and relief operations were on and there a possibility of more persons being rescued, officials said. The injured have been admitted at the Karanprayag hospital. Eight persons were reported to be seriously injured, officials said. The bus was on its way from Srinagar to Maithana. Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari has expressed grief over the incident. He announced a relief of Rs 50,000 each to the families of those killed and Rs 15,000 to the injured. |
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Nana Patekar seeks anticipatory bail
Mumbai, May 17 The Maharashtra Police had booked Patekar last week for threatening a businessman with his gun and assaulting him in the town of Navi Mumbai just outside Mumbai. The businessman, Utkarsh Morarma, complained that he had an argument with the actor after their cars brushed against each other on the road. Morarma alleged that Patekar caught up with him later and slapped him before threatening to kill him with his gun. |
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