 |
|
Second relief consignment reaches Pakistan
Uma’s letter to RSS, BJP chiefs causes flutter
Sonia to campaign
in Bihar
Tribunal to decide AI pilots’ seniority
SC no to vacate HC stay on
BSNL,
MTNL officers’ issue
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AIADMK expels ‘missing’ Mayor
Boy’s torture: Haryana DGP asked to comment
Rane meets Sonia
|
|
Second relief consignment reaches Pakistan
New Delhi, October 14 India today announced a major humanitarian gesture by allowing individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including international NGOs, to send quake relief supplies to Pakistan from the Attari-Wagah land border. Two such “private” consignments have already been sent to Pakistan, including one by the International Committee of Red Cross. The second consignment consists of 68 tonnes of relief material, which is made up of 5000 blankets, 320 tents, and 4.5 tonnes of plastic sheets. The Northern Railways provided the service free of cost. The third Indian relief consignment, comprising of medicines, tents, fortified biscuits, is likely to be sent on October 17 by train. New Delhi has decided to send quake relief consignments to Pakistan by train and not by air in view of the higher haulage capacity of the train and also not to add the overcrowding at Islamabad airport where International relief traffic is very high. The first consignment was sent by air on October 10, two days after the earthquake that devastated Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs today announced that the trial run of the Amritsar-Lahore bus that was scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed. Fresh dates would be worked out. The technical-level talks that were scheduled to be held on October 25 and 26 for Amritsar-Nankana Sahib Service have also been postponed. The two countries had decided to start the Amritsar-Lahore bus service in the first half of November 2005 and to start trial run of this service in the second half of October, 2005. The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service has also been suspended till the road network is repaired on either side of the Line of Control, which may take weeks, even months. The Indian High Commission is in constant touch with the Pakistani Authorities to enquire about the welfare of the Indian citizens who had travelled by the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus and had been trapped there. Five of the Indian citizens who were in this position have now returned to India and two others are getting medical treatment in Islamabad. Two more are expected to return soon, the MEA said. |
|
|
Uma’s letter to RSS, BJP chiefs causes flutter
New Delhi, October 14 While the RSS and the BJP have taken the letter as a serious offence that goes against the tenets of the saffron ideology, Ms Bharti has damaged her chances by writing the letter in which she has hurled accusations against Mr Soni, a key functionary coordinating between the Sangh and the BJP. In a letter to Mr Sudarshan and Mr Advani, Ms Bharti has accused Mr Soni of “gross prejudice” against her and scuttling her chances of making a comeback to state politics and to the seat of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. In her letter, leaked selectively to the media, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has also made a scathing attack on party vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu and general secretary (organisation) Sanjay Joshi charging them with being “used” by Mr Soni who is in-charge of party affairs. RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav acknowledged the receipt of her letter, while BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said “we haven’t seen the letter, how can I comment”. RSS sources said Mr Sudarshan had received the letter and expressed his displeasure over the language used by Ms Bharti against Mr Soni. Ms Bharti is understood to have accused Mr Soni of coming in the way of her becoming the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the second time. RSS sources rejected the accusations and said that the Sangh had taken the matter seriously because the language used was unbecoming. Ms Bharti’s letter is considered to be an indirect support to Mr Advani’s charge that a perception was gaining ground that the RSS was interfering in day-to-day work of the BJP, which was not good for both organisations. Seeking clarifications from the Sangh chief, Ms Bharti had said that Mr Soni had been targeting her for the past one year, whether on her proposal for taking out a “padyatra” on “Ram, Roti” or on the question of her being given any responsibility in the BJP. She said she would have kept quiet if it was damaging her alone. “But it affects millions of people affiliated with the BJP,” she had added. “I have nothing to say”, an apparently upset Mr Naidu, who is in Patna, told mediapersons when asked to react on the letter. The letter has thrown the party in further disarray, a senior leader said adding that the BJP cadres were demoralised at the outbreak of fighting within the Sangh
parivar. |
|
Sonia to campaign
in Bihar
New Delhi, October 14 Not just the electorate but even political parties are finding it hard to whip up the necessary enthusiasm for the second Bihar election, which comes just seven months after the last poll, which resulted in a fractured mandate. Campaigning for the first phase of polling on October 18 ends this coming Sunday. Even Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the party’s star campaigner, is not planning to undertake an exhaustive tour. She is putting in a token appearance, visiting the state only twice during the month-long campaign. She will address only six to eight rallies on these two trips. She is scheduled to visit Bihar tomorrow where she will address rallies at Gaya and Samastipur and round up the tour with a joint public meeting at
Patna. Although the CPM is unlikely to join tomorrow’s rally, the RJD and the NCP will share the dais with the Congress to send out a message of solidarity. Mrs Gandhi’s second trip has been scheduled for the the
post-Divali third and fourth phases. Congress leaders explained that since they are contesting only eight seats in the first phase and a total of 51 seats, it was not necessary to rush a large number of campaigners right away. Nevertheless, it was stated, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh in charge of the Bihar campaign, has travelled extensively and will virtually be camping in the state. Other leaders, including Mahabir
Prasad, Subodh Kant Sahay, Shakeel Ahmed and Meira Kumar, have also been canvassing. In fact, Congress poll managers are trying hard to inject a modicum of enthusiasm in the election and are persuading senior leaders to put in an appearance for the campaign. Union Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi is expected to spend five days in Bihar after October 19 while Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee is listed to visit the state next month. Chief Ministers Sheila
Dikshit, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Amarinder Singh also figure in the list of campaigners. |
|
|
Tribunal to decide AI pilots’ seniority
New Delhi, October 14 A Bench of Mr Justice Ruma Pal, Mr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan and Mr Justice C.K. Thakker said the issue needed to be decided by a tribunal as it involved several intricate questions, which had been subject matters of a series of litigations since 1992. The most important one was whether seniority of a copilot was to be calculated from the day he got the Air Lines Transport Pilot Licence (ALTPL) or from the day he entered the service of the Air India with only a commercial pilot’s licence (CPL). Framing a five-point questions to be determined by the tribunal, the apex court, in a recent order, said it would decide whether the requirement of the ALTP licence was necessary for copilots, whether a group of pilots, which was party to the 1998 settlement on the issue with the government, was entitled to the seniority over the CLP holders in the line of seniority list and what would be the legal effect of the conciliation if the Air India accepted it and what relief the parties were entitled to. These questions were framed by the court because the petition before it, filed by a group of pilots known as Adhikari group, had raised only a particular issue and had not included entire gamut of the dispute on seniority and related matters arising out various subsequent developments and litigations. The dispute over seniority had arisen between two groups over differences between an ALTP and a CPL, provided in schedule-II of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The rules provided that an ALTP licence holder had at least 1,500 hours of flying, including 500 hours as a pilot-in-command. A CPL holder should have 250 flying hours with 150 hours as a pilot-in-command. Amidst a series of litigations between two groups of pilots and management of the airliner since 1992, a settlement was arrived between the Air India and the Pilot Guild pertaining to various demands and conditions of service of pilots, including their seniority in 1998.
|
|
Education specialist is Info Commissioner
New Delhi, October 14 Professor Ansari, Director of Distance Education at Jamia Hamdard in South Delhi, would be working with the Chief Information Commissioner, Mr Wajahat Habibullah. Other bureaucrats who have been appointed Information Commisioners are Mr A.N. Tewari, Secretary, Department of Personnel, Mr O.P. Kejriwal, former Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharti and Padma Balasubramaniam, former Secretary, Department of Posts. Professor Ansari who called on Mr Wajahat Habibullah at the latter’s residence on Friday morning told TNS that he did not feel like the odd man out among Bureaucrats. Professor Ansari, who holds a doctorate in Economics of education from the universities of Buckingham (England) and Aligarh, sees no difficulty in working with bureaucrats. “We have a mandate and everybody has to work on it. Bureaucrats are everyhwere. They are running the show. We will have to evolve our own procedures and programmes which will enable us to comply us with the requirements of the Act. All of them are experienced hands in bureaucracy and this will help me understand how decision making processes are pursued.” Professor Ansari who has been Director of Distance Education Council at the Indira Gandhi National Open University, is “delighted to be associated with the important activity related to sharing of information.” He believes that sharing of information adds to the pool of knowledge that is necessary for development of institutions in the country. He is convinced of the merits of the Right to Information Act. “Besides ensuring transparency in the functioning of all departments of the government, it will empower people. It will also strengthen their confidence in the government.” According to the notification issued by the government, the term of the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners shall be for five years or the date on which they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier from the date on which they enter office.
|
|
SC no to vacate HC stay on
BSNL,
MTNL officers’ issue
New Delhi, October 14 The stay on the government decision to withdraw the officers back to DoT was granted by the Uttaranchal High Court on a petition filed by Indian Telcom Seervice Officers’ association. Aggrieved by the stay order, the government had yesterday approached the Supreme Court for lifting of the order to ensure that the decision was implemented. A Bench of Ms Justice Ruma Pal and Mr Justice B N Srikrishna, which heard the matter at the resident of the former in view of ongoing puja holidays, declined to intervene in the matter at this stage and directed the government to approach the High Court, which had granted the stay, for early disposal of the case. The Bench, however, directed the High Court to decide the matter within four weeks. As per the government decision, the DoT was to withdraw Group-A technical officers from BSNL and MTNL. Nearly 2,200 officers had been sent on deputation to the two public sector companies when they came into existence and recently the DoT had drawn a list showing over 200 officers as surplus with them. On the other hand the association had contested the claim of the government and stated that if the officers were withdrawn, telecom services would be adversely affected across the country.
|
|
AIADMK expels ‘missing’ Mayor
Chennai, October 14 Mystery shrouded the disappearance of Mr Thiagarajan since September 29 as he reportedly went into hiding to escape the wrath of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. There were also reports of an inquiry into a scam related to advertisement hoardings in the city and that he would be arrested. While the Mayor, who was in touch with some journalists, said he was vacationing in Delhi, his wife moved the Madras High Court alleging threat to his life and sought police protection. The Madras High Court had then directed the police to provide protection to Mr Thyagrajan’s wife, Ms Jyothi. She alleged there was a conspiracy to implicate Mr Thyagarajan in a narcotics case by planting ganja in his house, or even kill him in a “fake encounter”. Tamil Nadu Law Minister D. Jayakumar said, “The entire episode is a political drama scripted by our political adversaries.” There were reports that Mr Thiagarajan was likely to switch over to the Congress along with some councillors and become a full-fledged Mayor. With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due in May next year it would be a shot in the arm of the Congress. |
|
Boy’s torture: Haryana DGP asked to comment
New Delhi, October 14 The commission has asked the Haryana DGP to look into the matter and send his comments within three weeks. It has also sent a copy of the news report and a copy of the transcript of the TV channel report to the DGP. According to the report, Mukesh, an inhabitant of a slum cluster in Mansa Devi compound was allegedly picked up by the police and tortured. His hands were tied and he was made to hang from a tree. The channel report showed the police beating up the boy. |
|
Rane meets Sonia
New Delhi, October 14 While Mr Rane maintained that 10 Shiv Sena legislators who are set to resign and follow him to the Congress did not meet Mrs Gandhi today, senior Congress leaders said that the MLAs did visit the Congress President’s residence at 10 Janpath. Mr Rane, who addressed a special press conference after his meeting with Mrs Gandhi, insisted that the legislators were not present at this interaction. He admitted that they
were supposed to meet the Congress President but this meeting did not materialise. He said they had travelled with him to Delhi and had met several senior Congress leaders, who he refused to name. |
| 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
