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Speaker’s efforts commended by Kalam
Passengers recount Amsterdam incident
Congress rejects reports of opinion polls
Important Bills passed in RS: PM
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BJP divided over creamy layer
Uproar over Abdullah’s remarks in Houses
US consulate in Punjab likely
Gavit gets clean chit
Pesticide industry debunks CSE report
HC declines stay on Kerala order banning colas
CPM condemns torture of its HP unit member
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Speaker’s efforts commended by Kalam
New Delhi, August 25 Writing to Mr Chatterjee on August 17 in connection with the continuous disruptions in the Lok Sabha and the Opposition’s decision to boycott the proceedings, Mr Kalam observed: ‘‘Your efforts for effective functioning of Parliament are an important aspect of our democratic system and deserve successful conclusion.” Stating that he had derived great “solace and strength” from the President’s encouraging letter, Mr Chatterjee told presspersons today that Mr Kalam had also expressed his concern over the functioning of Parliament to him when they met at Rashtrapati Bhavan for an official programme. The BJP-led Opposition held up proceedings to protest the leakage of the Pathak report and had followed it up with a boycott of the Lok Sabha on the grounds that they were not being treated fairly by the Speaker. Mr Chatterjee said following Mr Kalam’s remarks, he sent the copies of a cassette depicting the House proceedings to the President and informed him of the efforts he had made in persuading the Opposition to end their boycott. He also revealed that he also spoke to Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and sought his help in ending this impasse. The Speaker, however, refused to comment on former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s letter in which he had cast aspersions on Mr Chatterjee. “The letter caused me great pain and anguish. I did not comment on it then and do not propose to do so now since I hold the author in high esteem,” the Speaker said, adding that he had thought of stepping down but was dissuaded from taking such an extreme measure. Continuing with his efforts to reach out to the Opposition, Mr Chatterjee today pointed out that the Opposition’s participation is imperative for the effective functioning of parliamentary democracy. Speaking at the conclusion of the monsoon session this evening, Mr Chatterjee also deplored the ugly scenes witnessed in the Lok Sabha yesterday when RJD and Janata Dal (U) members used abusive language and virtually came to blows. “I strongly deplore this conduct and plead with all sections of the House that we should conduct ourselves in a manner befitting our status,” he said. He, however, ruled out any stern action against the errant members, merely stating that they must change their attitude. “The world is watching them,” he added.
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Prabhunath’s resignation rejected
New Delhi, August 25
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Passengers recount Amsterdam incident
Mumbai, August 25 After spending two days in Amsterdam amidst uncertainty and questioning by the local authorities, several passengers arrived in Mumbai early this morning. They were taken to Singapore and put on a connecting flight after spending several hours in airport lounges. Mr Karan Singh, who was en route to Mumbai for a short vacation, said they became aware of the situation only after the flight landed, being escorted by fighter aircraft. “We were told that the flight was returning because of a technical error. When air marshals rushed in to arrest some passengers did we realise what was happening”, he said. According to him and other passengers, the Dutch authorities were good to Indians and allowed them some facilities while they waited for their connecting flight. Most passengers on the flight said none of the 12 persons detained in Amsterdam could understand the announcements made by the cabin crew. Most of them were asleep when air marshals went up to them with guns and handcuffed them, said the passengers. Some passengers expressed surprise at the arrest of the Mumbai-based Bohras. “Some of them were asleep and were woken up before being taken away in handcuffs”, said Mr Gosain. Passengers felt that some suspects were not familiar with English and could not make out the announcements made on board the aircraft. “The crew may have felt suspicious because the passengers were playing with mobiles and joking when they were being asked to fasten seat belts”, another passenger said. Relatives of the persons arrested spent two frightful days waiting for a word from their loved ones. Eleven of the 12 persons arrested were from Jogeshwari in suburban Mumbai and were into the export business. They were from the Dawoodi Bohra community and were traders by profession. According to their relatives, most of the men had gone for a trade fair in Europe and were returning home at the time of the incident. All of them lived in the same housing complex and usually travelled together for business, according to relatives. Relatives of those arrested said they were considering filing a suit against the Dutch authorities for harassment. Ms Sarhat Batliwala (39), whose husband was arrested, told a local newspaper that the families had been advised to obtain legal advice about suing the Northwest Airlines. A hippie from the Netherlands who was on board the flight told television channels that he saw the passengers being humiliated. He was shoved around and kicked off the plane with no questions asked, he said.
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Congress rejects reports of opinion polls
New Delhi, August 25 Congress president Sonia Gandhi herself dismissed these polls
today, stating that she “does not believe in surveys.” In an informal chat with presspersons, Mrs Gandhi was equally dismissive of the constant rumours about an impending mid-term poll. “You yourself referred to mid-term poll as speculation, what can I say. I don’t believe in opinion polls and surveys. I don’t take them seriously,” she maintained. Mrs Gandhi’s remarks come in the backdrop of a recent survey, conducted by two media organisations, which has predicted that the Congress would get 240 seats if the Lok Sabha elections were held immediately. Mrs Gandhi also admitted that the Congress faced an uphill task in Uttar Pradesh, stating that the state party unit believes that it is in a hopeless position. “We need to change this mindset,” she remarked. She said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would go it alone in next year’s assembly elections but did not rule out the possibility of having an electoral understanding with smaller parties like V.P.Singh’s Jan Morcha and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal. The Congress president also attacked the BJP for its ‘disruptive tactics” during the monsoon session of Parliament which concluded here today, adding that despite their behaviour, the UPA government managed to do considerable work in this session.
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Important Bills passed in RS: PM
New Delhi, August 25 “As this session comes to an end, we can look back with some satisfaction on the work accomplished despite turbulences,” the Prime Minister said before the House was adjourned sine die. Dr Singh said 16 Bills were approved, besides debates on important issues despite turbulences. “So much has been accomplished,” he said commending the standard of debate, particularly on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. Among the Bills passed during the Monsoon Session, the Prime Minister made a mention of the legislation on food safety, saying that agro-processing holds immense potential for growth and job creation. Dr Singh said the House also saw a high-quality debate on the Office-of-Profit Bill and referred to constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into long-term issues on the subject. Mr Shekhawat expressed disappointment at occasional discords and disturbances. “The lesson for us is to build a shared ethos of transacting business as per rules without disturbance and for this to achieve, we need a mechanism whereby we pro-actively
engage ourselves in dialogue and discussion to speedily resolve any difference of conflict that may arise on any sensitive issue.
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BJP divided over creamy layer
New Delhi, August 25 "The party wants to ensure that benefit of reservation for the backward castes goes to deserving and economically weaker sections of the students from the classes", BJP spokesman Prakash Javdekar told the Tribune, carefully avoiding any reference to the word "creamy layer". The party this time is treading the path very carefully as it does not want to alienate the backward castes in view of the coming Assembly elections in the biggest state of Uttar Pradesh.
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Uproar over Abdullah’s remarks in Houses
New Delhi, August 25 The Rajya Sabha was adjourned four times and the Lok Sabha once as the issue rocked both the Houses. Soon after laying on the table listed papers in the Rajya Sabha, Congress members waving newspaper copies said the report quoted Dr Abdullah as saying that the decision to release terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar during the Kandahar hijacking was taken by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani. This sparked acrimonious scenes as Congress members, led by Mr Rajiv Shukla and Mr V. Narayanasamy who had given notice, wanted the Chair to take up the issue. With the Congress members vociferously pressing for their demand, Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat adjourned the House for half-an hour till 12.30pm, within minutes after question hour. When the House reassembled, it was adjourned till 2pm only to be adjourned again to 2.30 pm. When the House met again, the Congress members were on their feet, demanding a clarification from Dr Abdullah who was present in the House. The Chairman disallowed the demand and ordered the taking up of private members’ business. At one time, Dr Abdullah indicated his willingness to speak and even stood up. As the din continued, Mr Shekhawat adjourned the House till 5 pm.. In the Lok Sabha, raising the issue, Madhusudan Mistry and other Congress members waved copies of the newspaper which reported Dr Abdullah’s remarks. The NDA members vehemently protested against this. As his effort to pacify the members failed, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the House for an hour till 4 pm. The Elders House was also rocked by the issue of three Muslim policemen in Maharashtra being asked to shave off their beards. Agitated Samajwadi Party members, led by Mr Amar Singh got up during zero hour and waved copied of a media report that the police chief of Beed district in Maharashtra had told three policemen that they could not keep their beards without their superiors’ permission.
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US consulate in Punjab likely
New Delhi, August 25 Mr
Kaestner, in an interface with the media, admitted that post 9/11, there were fewer Muslims applying for US visa. He, however, could not tell the number of visas given or refused to Muslims saying that Washington did not keep a record of visas based on religion. He, however, was emphatic in stating that the USA did not discriminate against Muslims while granting visas. “We do not have special procedures or special rules for Muslims. Visas are refused in a majority of cases because applicants are not able to convince the authorities that they would return to their country. We are not targeting Muslims.” In this context, he said the USA was the most liberal country in the world in issuing green cards and as many as over a million green cards were issued every year. Asked whether there was a move to raise the ceiling on H1B visas or scrap it altogether, the Consul General said it was a political issue and there was a lot of concern back home that H-category work visas take a lot of jobs away from the Americans.
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Gavit gets clean chit
New Delhi, August 25 Mr Patil said that the CBI was asked to inquire into the matter and it had collected the tapes and sent them to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for a voice test. It was found that the voice was not that of Gavit but of a different person. Even the audio spectography test result showed that the voice did not tally with that of
Gavit. He said that priority had been given to ascertain whether it was actually Gavit’s voice as the accused minister had been staying away from the House.
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Pesticide industry debunks CSE report
New Delhi, August 25 “All chemicals, including pesticides, are harmless when used in recommended dosages.... The story of poison is the story of dosage,” Chairman — Emeritus Crop Care Federation of India Sahil Singhal told reporters here. He said the cola controversy had unnecessarily dragged the pesticide industry into the issue. “It is the pesticides which have come into the line of fire, while the entire issue is really between the government and the cola
companies," he said. Debunking the CSE report that claimed that the aerated drinks contained pesticide residues well above the permissible limit, Mr Singhal said the industry had introduced new molecules that were effective against targeting pests at low dosages. |
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HC declines stay on Kerala order banning colas
Kochi, August 25 When the petitions by Hindustan Coco Cola Beverages Ltd and Pepsi India Holdings Private Ltd came up for hearing, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice
V.K. Bali and Justice M. Ramachandran said the court was not inclined to grant stay and posted the case to September 11 for final hearing.
— PTI
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Kalam’s gesture helps debt-ridden farmer’s family
New Delhi, August 25 Speaking at the centenary celebration function of the Bank of India here today, the President narrated the incident in detail, and called upon the bankers to help the people in rural areas. He said he had received a letter from Jaspreet Kaur, a 22-year-old girl from Thakkarwal village in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab in 2004. Jaspreet, who had three sisters and a brother all in school and college going age at that time, wrote that her father Gurpal Singh was finding it difficult to take care of the family with just 2.5 hectares of land. With a debt of around Rs 2 lakh on his head, and little earning from the land, the family was not able to sow cash crops because of the high expenditure, she wrote. "Due to non-availability of funds we cannot own a tractor, sow tested good quality seeds and fertilisers." She asked how a farmer with small holding could get the advantage of large farm practices or work in the farm and create his own wealth, since he was not used to working in the farm with his hands. Her father initially owned 5 hectares of land but a part had been sold to repay the family debt. Jaspreet said the family was continuously in a debt trap. At the time of writing the letter, the family had a debt of Rs 2 lakh borrowed from the Primary Agriculture and Land Development Bank, Mahilpur, and bank employees were giving them trouble by going to their house and insulting them. In addition, the family was having a court case in the high court for the past 34 years which could be decided in their favour if fought properly by the lawyer. The lawyer was demanding Rs 10,000 for the appearance. The letter apparently moved the President, who discussed the matter with the then Chairman and Managing Director, Punjab National Bank
S.S.Kohli, and requested him to help the family. Mr Kohli intervened personally and sent a lady officer to understand and provide assistance, the President told the bankers. "Through this beautiful gesture, he got the loan drawn from the Mahilpur bank branch regularised and he also resolved the family dispute between her father and her grandfather Saran Singh who agreed to provide a share of the land to Gurupal Singh, her father." These two actions resulted in improving the total economic condition of the family, leading to a stress-free better quality life for all family members. Jaspreet Kaur is today happy with the help rendered by Punjab National Bank and the children are pursuing their studies in peace without humiliation and stress, the President told hundred of officials, amid clapping.
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CPM condemns torture of its HP unit member
New Delhi, August 25 The CPM said Kashmir Singh was fighting against construction contractor, Hindustan Construction Company, in Chamba district. The HCC management was illegally planning to restart the work of the project by recruiting new workers, throwing out all the workers who were demanding minimum wages.
— TNS
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Thar Express suspended
New Delhi, August 25 Executive Director, Coaching, Railway Board, Purshottam Guha told TNS here on Thursday evening that the train had been suspended for the next three to four weeks as large stretches of track on the section were submerged in deep water. He said although restoration and repair of tracks had begun, the extent of damage would be known only after the water receded.
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