Friday, September 25, 1998
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Art 356 casts a shadow on Speakers'
conference NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — The impending decision of the President on the use of Article 356 in Bihar cast a shadow on the recently concluded conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies here with several participants objecting to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to deny a discussion on the controversial subject. Jamnalal Bajaj Awards MUMBAI, Sept 24 — Gandhians Acharya Ramamurti (Bihar), Kumari Jharanadhara Choudhary (Bangladesh), scientist Devendra Kumar (Maharashtra) and social worker Rajammal P. Devdas (Tamil Nadu) have been selected for this year’s prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj awards. |
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"Rationalise" poll reforms NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C.Balayogi, today suggested that the Election Commission, which had come to acquire enormous powers and a high profile should be appointed not merely on the proposals of the government but in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition.
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No pressure to name Sajjan: '84 riot
witness NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — A key witness in a 1984 riot case today denied before a city court that he had named Congress leader Sajjan Kumar as an accused under any pressure from the CBI or the leader’s political opponents. Apply Article 356 to Tripura:
Opposition ‘Involve
NCC in relief work’ No-confidence
move against Delhi Govt Advani
speaks to Gill on poll dates Engineer
held for accepting bribe Rape
of nuns: one identified |
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Art 356 casts a shadow on
Speakers' conference NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — The impending decision of the President on the use of Article 356 in Bihar cast a shadow on the recently concluded conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies here with several participants objecting to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi’s decision to deny a discussion on the controversial subject. Mr Balayogi on his part today denied that he had disallowed a discussion on the subject and said he had only asked the participants to take up the issue at a symposium on electoral reforms held here today. The Speaker said during the two-day conference on September 22 and 23 there was no room for including a discussion on Article 356 as the agenda had already been drawn up. The agenda was confined to a discussion on the need for reviewing the anti-defection law and the need for procedural reforms and better time management of the House. Mr Balayogi’s clarification came after it was reported that the Speakers of the West Bengal Assembly, the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the Orissa Assembly and the Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council had walked out of the meeting yesterday after the Lok Sabha Speaker, who was presiding, said the issue did not concern the presiding officers. The Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly, Mr Hasim Abdul Halim, also complained today that he was not allowed to raise the issue of the Cabinet recommendation for President’s rule in Bihar at the symposium on electoral reforms. Some participants at the meeting pointed out that there was a precedent to take up the discussion on an important development even if it was not there in the original agenda. They pointed out that the conference of the presiding officers held in Shimla last year had taken up a discussion on the Uttar Pradesh imbroglio. Mr Balayogi said the Speaker of Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka representative did speak on the subject today. The Lok Sabha Speaker also said that he had not received a representation from any party to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the use of Article 356 in Bihar. The former Prime Minister, Mr V.P. Singh, had suggested that the recommendation for the imposition of President’s rule in any state should be discussed by the Lok Sabha before it is sent for the President’s consent. Before abruptly ending the
press conference today, the Speaker said he did not want
to speak on the subject as the matter was under the
consideration of the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, and it
would not be proper on his part to comment at this
juncture. |
"Rationalise" poll reforms NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C.Balayogi, today suggested that the Election Commission, which had come to acquire enormous powers and a high profile should be appointed not merely on the proposals of the government but in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition. Speaking at a symposium on "Electoral Reforms" here, which was attended by 17 presiding officers from state assemblies and several members of Parliament, Mr Balayogi touched on a number of issues that have a bearing on the electoral system of the country. He said a committee consisting of Speakers from several states and Parliament and state assembly officers was being formed to look into various issues discussed by the symposium. To begin with, the Speaker suggested that India should opt for the proportional representation system, popularly known as the list system, under which people voted for parties which, in turn, received seats in proportion to their vote share. India had a "majoritarian system under which the winning candidate is the one who gains more votes than any other candidate, but not necessarily a majority of votes". "This kind of vote-seat distortion which is a serious inadequacy in the majoritarian system of representation can be avoided if we opt for the proportional representation system" Mr Balayogi said. Many European countries, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands follow this system. The Speaker said the majoritarian system was voter-centric while the proportional system was party centric. Mr Balayogi also called for an early solution to the problem of women’s representation to enhance the representative character of legislative bodies. Referring to the allotment of seats in the Lok Sabha in proportion to the population, the Speaker said the continuation of this policy would mean rewarding the states with low performance in population control and punishing those with good performance. He said this had serious implications for equitable political participation by people in different parts of country. Legal sanction for the model code of conduct established by the Election Commission was another suggestion made by the Speaker. The Speaker felt that the state funding of elections in the country’s multi-party system might not be easy to implement and there was need to work out equitable systems of state funding, consistent with society and political culture. He also suggested practical steps to prevent criminalisation of politics, adding firm legal provisions to prevent the entry of persons with criminal background into electoral contests should be established and implemented. One surest method of preventing persons with public reputation for criminal background from access to electoral contests was for the parties themselves to deny them ticket for contests, he said. Mr Balayogi also mentioned that of late, there had been serious complaints regarding the use of moneypower within the narrow confines of elections to the Rajya Sabha. Switching over to direct election of Rajya Sabha members on the pattern of the American experience should be considered. The Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, who also participated in the symposium said the state funding of electoral expenses would help in controlling moneypower in the democratic process of the country. He said the introduction
of photo- identity cards and electronic voting machines
would go a long way in ensuring free and fair elections. |
Jamnalal Bajaj Awards MUMBAI, Sept 24 (UNI) — Gandhians Acharya Ramamurti (Bihar), Kumari Jharanadhara Choudhary (Bangladesh), scientist Devendra Kumar (Maharashtra) and social worker Rajammal P. Devdas (Tamil Nadu) have been selected for this year’s prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj awards announced today. The awards, which carry a citation, trophy and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh each, will be presented here in November. Acharya Ramamurti will receive the award for his contribution in the field of constructive social work while Dr Devendra Kumar gets it for his work in application of science and technology for rural development. Ms Devdas, who is Chancellor of the Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Studies for Women in Tamil Nadu, was selected for her outstanding contribution in espousing the cause of women and children and Ms Choudhary was selected for the international award for promoting Gandhian values outside India. The awards were announced by the trustees of the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation and President of Bajaj Auto Madhur Bajaj. This year 106 persons from
all over the country sent recommendations, sponsoring 72
names for the award for constructive social work, 10
names in application of science and technology in rural
development and 24 names for uplift and welfare of women
and children. For the international award, 11 persons
from various countries responded to the foundation’s
invitation. |
BJP poll drive starts today SRIGANGANAGAR, Sept 24 — Though no date has been announced by the Election Commission for the general assembly elections in Rajasthan so far, the BJP leadership will start its election campaign exercise tomorrow. Party sources said in the initial phase the state as well as district-level leaders of this state and the leaders of the districts of other states bordering Rajasthan would fan out in the border assembly segments of the state to conduct a quick survey regarding the prospect of party candidates in the forthcoming elections. As the elections are expected in November, the party leadership recently gave the task to BJP leaders of various districts of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat Uttar Pradesh and Delhi bordering Rajasthan to manage the campaign of party candidates in the border assembly segments of their respected areas. Mr Jugal Mahajan general secretary, BJP, Punjab, had been made in-charge of the campaign team of Punjab. After finishing a quick survey, the campaign teams of different states would meet after a week or so to lay down the strategy of the hectic election campaign. The Punjab team would convene a meeting on October 5 at Muktsar, party sources added. The sources said the central BJP leadership was putting more stress on the 66 border assembly segments out of the total 200 assembly segments of the state to gain a comfortable majority to form the government again in the state. The BJP leadership had directed the party leaders of other bordering states to manage the campaign in the border assembly segments and earn maximum number of votes for the party candidates by using their own influence. The BJP leadership by giving the management of election campaign in the hands of leaders of other state was also trying to boost the morale of local party leaders who were lying low after the desertion of 14 MLAs from Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s government. The party sources said after managing to win the maximum number of border assembly segments the state BJP leadership would not need the support of any independent MLA to form the government and the party would be saved from subsequent embarrassments by such MLAs. Mr Parminder Goyal, member of the state executive of the Punjab unit of the BJP, while talking to TNS said at a meeting convened by Mr Kushabhau Thakre and Mr Govindacharya, party president and general secretary, respectively, on September 20 at Delhi the party leaders of the other states had been ordered to carry out the election campaign exercise. He said the Bathinda unit of the BJP had been allocated the Sangria and Hanumangarh assembly segments while the Abohar and Muktsar units had been allocated the Sriganganagar, Pilianbanga, Kesarsinghpura and Sri Karanpur assembly segments. On the other hand, the
return of 14 MLAs to its fold has failed to cheer up the
ranks and file of the Congress party. Already
faction-ridden, the leaders of the Congress think the new
entrants would further aggravate the crises by hotting up
groupism within the party. |
No pressure to name Sajjan: '84 riot witness NEW DELHI, Sept 24 (PTI) — A key witness in a 1984 riot case today denied before a city court that he had named Congress leader Sajjan Kumar as an accused under any pressure from the CBI or the leader’s political opponents. Phota Singh, the second witness in the case, told Additional District and Sessions Judge Sharda Aggarwal, "It is incorrect to suggest that I have falsely introduced the name of Sajjan Kumar at the instance of the CBI and his political opponents". Phota Singh’s son Dalgir Singh and brother-in-law Nevin Singh were brutally murdered by a mob on November 1, 1984 at Sultanpuri in West Delhi a day after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Mr Kumar’s counsel I.U. Khan cross-examined the witness with an intention to suggest to the court that when according to prosecution case there were over 50 persons killed by the mob in Sultanpuri, why his client’s name has been figured in only one case. "It is wrong to suggest that Sajjan Kumar had not come to the place (Sultanpuri) on November 1, 1984, nor he instigated the mob", Mr Singh said, adding, "I wanted to name him in earlier proceedings but I did not do so as I was directed not to name him by police". The court fixed December 1
and 2 for further proceedings when Anwar Kaur, another
eye-witness would be examined. |
Apply Article 356 to Tripura: Opposition AGARTALA, Sept 24 (UNI) — The opposition parties in Tripura have demanded the promulgation of Article 356 in the state and bringing the entire state under the Disturbed Areas Act. a meeting here last night, the opposition Congress, the Tripura Upajati Juba Samity (TUJS) and the Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) alliance demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar for his alleged failure as Home Minister to protect the lives and properties of the people of the state . Expressing deep concern over the alleged fast deteriorating law and order situation in the state, the parties, in a joint statement issued after the meeting, asked the Chief Minister to step down owning moral responsibility for his failure to curb militants’ activities in the state. Leaders of the three opposition parties expressed their unhappiness over the way government was tackling the situation. The meeting also decided that the three parties would sit on a strike on October 12 in protest against the deteriorating law and order situation in view of the growing militants’ violence. A memorandum would be submitted to the Governor for taking necessary action in this regard. Opposition leader Samir
Ranjan Burman, demanded the implementation of Article 356
in Tripura, adding that the entire state should be
brought under the Disturbed Areas Act. He also demanded
that the security forces should be given a free hand in
fighting insurgency. |
‘Involve NCC in relief work’ NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, has called for a structure involving the NCC and other agencies for relief and rescue operations in times of natural calamities. The armed forces, the railways and the medical services could also be part of the structural arrangement, he said. The minister was addressing the 13th meeting of state representatives and Deputy Directors-General of the NCC here today. The day-long meeting, convened after two years, was attended, among others, by the Defence Secretary, Mr Ajit Kumar, the Additional Secretary, Mr Subir Dutta, the Director-General, NCC, Lt Gen B.S. Malik and senior civil and military officials. Mr Fernandes underlined the need for making NCC a more effective body which should take up socially useful work like afforestation in a planned manner. He expressed concern at the state of the Himalayas, which he described as crumbling mountains putting our very future at stake. Saving the Himalayas should be our priority and the NCC should address this problem, he said. The Defence Minister emphasised that the NCC continued to have a major role in inculcating discipline and motivation. Increasing its present strength of 11.63 lakh could be considered and monetary constraints should not come in the way. Earlier, state representative gave a review of the functioning of the NCC in their areas. Assuring the NCC of full support and coordination, they commended the work of NCC cadets during the recent floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Mr George Fernandes also called for serious efforts to prevent ecological degradation of Himalayas while welcoming the members of successful Joint Indo-Argentine Mountaineering Expedition to Mt Kamet and Mt Abi Gamin here yesterday. The Joint Indo-Argentine
Mountaineering Expedition has returned after successfully
scaling Mt Kamet (25447 ft) and Mt Abi Gamin (24130 ft)
in the Garhwal Himalayas. The expedition was organised by
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling, and
was led by its Principal, Col H S Chauhan. |
No-confidence move against
Delhi Govt NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — A no-confidence motion was moved by the Opposition Congress against the ruling BJP Government in the Delhi Assembly today. In the 70-member House the ruling BJP has 46 members. This is the fifth no-confidence motion to be moved by the Congress since 1993. The four-day session of the Assembly, which began today, is the last before polls in November. Moving the motion, the Chief Whip of the Congress, Mr Deep Chand Bandhu, launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP for its failure to fulfil its promises in the last five years. Mr Deep Chand Bandhu said
that the BJP government had “failed on all
fronts” and their 153 promises in the election
manifesto remained only on paper. |
Advani speaks to Gill on poll dates NEW DELHI, Sept 24 (PTI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today spoke to Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill to know the dates for the forthcoming assembly elections in four states to enable the government to finalise the date for the winter session of Parliament. In an informal chat with newspersons at a lunch hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi for the presiding officers of state assemblies, the Home Minister said Mr Gill told him that the dates for the assembly elections would be decided after the return of Election Commissioner GVG Krishnamurthy who was out of station. "I had a telephonic talk with the Chief Election Commissioner to know the dates for the assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram so that the dates for the Parliament session could be fixed," he said. The lunch was attended by
several union ministers, the Leader of the Opposition in
the Lok Sabha, Mr Sharad Pawar, and leaders of various
parties. |
Engineer held for accepting bribe NEW DELHI, Sept 24 — The Anti-corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an executive engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) in Delhi for demanding and accepting Rs 10,000 as bribe. The complainant had informed the CBI that he was working as a contractor in the PWD and was allotted a work of white-washing. The work was completed a few months back but his bill, amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh, was not being cleared for payment by the executive engineer, a bureau release said. The executive engineer had demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000, which the complainant was not ready to pay. The executive engineer had asked the complainant to bring the money to his office on September 23. The complainant reported the matter to the anti-corruption branch and the executive engineer was arrested while demanding and accepting Rs 10,000, the release said. In a follow-up action,
searches were conducted at the residence of the accused.
During the house search, papers relating to two houses,
one at Shankar Nagar Extension and another at Pitampura
worth several lakh rupees have been recovered. |
Rape of nuns: one identified INDORE, Sept 24 (PTI) — The police today identified a member of the 11-member armed gang allegedly involved in the gangrape of four nuns attached to the Christian Missionary School at Navapura Church in Jhabua district yesterday. The Divisional Commissioner, Mr Iqbal Ahmed, told PTI that the accused was identified by the nuns by his photograph. Two security guards, deployed at the residence of the church priest, about 100 metre from the scene of the crime, did not respond to the nuns screaming for help, he said, adding the priest was away when the incident took place. The Commissioner said
medical examination of one of the nuns had confirmed the
rape while the reports on the three other nuns were being
referred to experts. |
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| 3 killed as fishermen clash
NAGERCOIL: Three persons were killed and six injured when two groups of fishermen clashed hurling country bombs one another at Kootapuliillage in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district early on Thursday, the police said. The clash was a sequel to the recent murder of a fisherman belonging to one of the group. At least 20 country bombs were used in the clash, the police said, adding that five persons have been reported missing since the incident took place. Security has been tightened in the village following the incident — PTI CBI probe demanded Counterfeit
currency seized 4 die in
jeep-truck collision Staff blamed for
train mishap Starr report
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