Tuesday, April 13, 1999

Sack was sans President’s nod: Bhagwat
NEW DELHI, April 12 — Former Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat today alleged that the President, who is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was not consulted before the government took the decision to sack him. Speaking to reporters here, he said the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet merely informed the President that he had been dismissed.

INSAT-2E operations complete
BANGALORE, April 12 — A critical operation of deploying the 14-metre solar sail and boom on the north face of Insat-2E was successfully completed today.

Pakistan High Commissioner in India, Mr Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, calling on Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in the Capital on Monday — Photo by Vijender Tyagi

Leaders drawing battlelines
NEW DELHI, April 12 — The possibility of elections, either in June or in November, looms large on the political horizon even as the ruling coalition exuded confidence and the principal Opposition party, the Congress, seemed to be preparing for the eventuality of a no-confidence motion, or the government seeking a trust vote.

HC notices on air crash case
NEW DELHI, April 12 — The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre, the Delhi Government and the Airports Authority of India to file replies to a petition seeking compensation for the civilians killed in the defence transport aircraft crash here last month.

Replace pre-1990 taxis: EPA
NEW DELHI, April 12 — The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has proposed the conversion of Delhi’s entire bus fleet to single fuel mode on compressed natural gas and replacement of all pre-1990 autos and taxis with new vehicles on clean fuels by March 2000 to improve air quality in the Capital.

Chopra to recast DPCC
NEW DELHI, April 12 — The new president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Subhash Chopra, said today that he was keen on restructuring the DPCC with a small and efficient team of office-bearers.

• CDS examination results out

Sack was sans President’s nod: Bhagwat

NEW DELHI, April 12 (PTI) — Former Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat today alleged that the President, who is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was not consulted before the government took the decision to sack him.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) merely informed the President that he had been dismissed.

Admiral Bhagwat claimed that he himself learnt of this when he went to meet President K.R. Narayanan on December 30, the day he was sacked. The action of the ACC was unconstitutional and illegal, he added.

He said he was revealing this for the first time because the principle of natural justice was denied to him. Strongly repudiating the charges made by Defence Minister George Fernandes, Admiral Bhagwat asked “who is he to sack me? There is the Cabinet Committee, the Prime Minister and the President who is the Supreme Commander...” Admiral Bhagwat also expressed surprise that the President’s consent was not taken for the appointment of his successor Admiral Sushil Kumar.

Describing all charges by Mr Fernandes as “lies”, he said the charges that he had leaked information to the press about the advance technology vessel (ATV) project were baseless as several articles had appeared in the press and the information was also available on the internet.

Justifying the recall of a naval officer, Commander Bandopadhyay, from the Indian embassy in Russia, Admiral Bhagwat said he had wanted to station an officer who would not in any way be linked with arms dealers. He alleged that the Defence Minister had wanted to station a man of his own choice at the post.

The former naval chief said his successor Admiral Sushil Kumar did not have the requisite experience to hold command of the Navy and he was merely a hydrographer.

Repeating his charges, he said that the conspiracy to remove him had been hatched a long time ago. He added that he would not stoop low “like the Defence Minister” on this issue and wanted that the matter be taken to the highest level.

Admiral Bhagwat claimed that any joint parliamentary committee would take less than four weeks to probe the whole issue.

INSAT-2E operations complete

BANGALORE, April 12 (PTI) — A critical operation of deploying the 14-metre solar sail and boom on the north face of Insat-2E was successfully completed today.

The deployment took place in two stages — first by firing an explosive device to release the sail-boom assembly and later operating a motor for about 15 minutes to ensure a controlled deployment, an Isro press release said here today .

With this, the satellite is in the three-axle stabilised final configuration with earth orientation and the stage is set for turning on the payloads, the release said.

The sail and boom were indigenously designed, developed and manufactured at the Isro satellite centre, Bangalore, followed by extensive testing in simulated zero-gravity conditions.

The deployment was preceded by turning on the momentum wheels onboard the satellite and running them up to a speed of 4,800 revolutions per minute.

Momentum wheels are used for maintaining the precise orientation of the satellite required for the communication and meteorological payloads.

During launch, the sail-boom assembly is kept compactly packed, occupying about 1/50th of its final deployed length. The boom is made of ultra light-weight glass fibre structure weighing about 3.5 kg. The sail measuring 2 m across and 5 m in height weighs less than a kg.

Insat-2E carries a meteorological payload, which requires the detector to be maintained at an extremely low pressure. This precludes the use of solar arrays symmetrically on both north and south faces.

To counteract the torque generated by the sun’s radiation falling on the solar array on the south side, the solar sail mounted on a boom is incorporated in the design of Insat-2E on the north side.

The 2250-kg Insat 2-E multi-purpose telecommunications satellite, built by Indian scientists at a cost of Rs 220 crore, was launched by an Ariane rocket from Kourou in France on April 3.

News analysis
Leaders drawing battlelines
From Shubhabrata Bhattacharya
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 12 — The possibility of elections, either in June or in November, looms large on the political horizon even as the ruling coalition exuded confidence and the principal Opposition party, the Congress, seemed to be preparing for the eventuality of a no-confidence motion, or the government seeking a trust vote.

In a hung House, politics, like cricket, traditionally is a game of chance with the outcome being known at the last moment. However, like cricket, politics too has become a game of match-fixing. Thus while the ruling coalition is leaving no stone unturned, the Opposition is looking hopeful.

AIADMK General Secretary, Jayalalitha Jayaram, arrives in the Capital from Chennai tonight. The RJD chief, Mr Laloo Yadav, is flying in from Patna. By all accounts, the plans are afoot for dislodging the Atal Behari Vajpayee government. The CPM General Secretary, Mr Harkishan Singh Surjeet, is working overtime to ensure the exit of the present regime and the possible formation of an alternative government. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called on the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, today. Ostensibly the meeting was meant to brief the Head of State about the Agni missile test carried out yesterday. However, the composition of the three-member Cabinet team which went to Rashtrapati Bhawan suggested otherwise. Home Minister L.K. Advani and Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.R. Kumaramangalam, were present when Mr Vajpayee met the President for 40 minutes.

The most concise comment on the scenario, came from Siliguri in West Bengal, where, turning down a suggestion that he could be a Prime Ministerial candidate, CPM leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu said that only Congress was in a position to form an "interim government". He emphasised, "it would only be a temporary one".

The Congress is waiting for events to unfold after AIADMK formally withdraws support. Sources in the party point out that going by the 1997 experience, when Congress had formally withdrawn support to Mr H.D. Deve Gowda’s government by writing to the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan may ask Mr Vajpayee to seek a vote of confidence from the Lok Sabha. In a television chat show last night, Mr P.R. Kumaramangalam discounted the need for a trust vote by pointing out that when Parliament reassembles on April 15, the Finance Bill and the demands for grants will be taken up by the Lok Sabha and when each demand is considered, the Opposition can move a cut motion and thus seek a division of the House. The course of events in Parliament are yet to be determined. If AIADMK formally withdraws support and the President asks the Prime Minister to seek a trust vote, in that case the leaders of various parties in the House can meet and decide to ensure a smooth passage of the Budget prior to a trust vote, which will be the watershed.

Alternatively, if the Opposition moves a no trust motion, this will get precedence over all other business and its outcome will determine the future scenario.

The Opposition has the option of even offering to pass a vote on account, say for a period of six months, so as to enable the government’s drawals from the Consolidated Fund of India. In this case the vote on account can follow the no-confidence motion.

The BJP has been saying from time to time that the arithmetic of the present House does not support the formation of an alternate government. That could very well be true. But as things stand, despite allout efforts by the ruling front, the arithmetic may not support the continuation of the Vajpayee government either.

The rhetoric about sitting MPs not wanting an election so soon notwithstanding, the nation seems to be hurtling towards the hustings. The next few days will see hectic political activity. However, the game of permutations and combinations may not get very far because the Congress is averse to the concept of a coalition government — it may be willing to form a government with outside support, an eventuality which does not have the possibility given the present arithmetic.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s calculated move is guided by the projection that her party cannot do any worse than its present tally of 141 in the Lok Sabha and conversely the BJP cannot go much beyond its present 180 seats in the next election.

Pak Sufi singers enthral devotees
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 12 — For the first time since Independence, two well-known Pakistani Sufi singers rendered “shabad kirtan” and devotional hymns from the “Dasam Granth” at the premises of a gurdwara in the Capital.

Shafqat Ali Khan and Sharafat Ali Khan, scions of the legendary Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of the Sham Chaurasi gharana, rendered the hymns in an almost 90-minute concert near the sarovar of the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib last night. And those present to listen to them sing to a multitude of devotees was the Human Resources Development, Mr Murli Manohar Joshi.

As Shafqat Ali told the enthralled listeners, the aim of music was devotion and therefore it did not matter who sang it if the objective of creating inner peace could be achieved.

He did not rehearse the devotional hymns as he had been rendering them in gurdwaras in the USA for several years, the Pakistani singer said.

The concert had been organised by the Sarthak Music World, which was set up recently by businessman Bhupinder Singh with the aim of giving “music with meaning”.

Other who participated in the concert included Jatinder Dogra from Jammu, who rendered Gurbani for the first time, Bhai Sahib Amrik Singh Zakhmi and professor Gurinder Kaur.

HC notices on air crash case
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 12 — The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre, the Delhi Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to file replies to a petition seeking compensation for the civilians killed in the defence transport aircraft crash here last month.

A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice Arun Kumar and Mr Justice Manmohan Sarin issued show cause notices to the Ministry of Defence and the Home Affairs, the AAI and the Delhi Government asking them to file replies before July 20, the next date of hearing.

The petition filed by the All India Lawyers Union (AILU) sought court’s intervention against “inaction” of the government in announcing adequate compensation to the families of civilians affected by the crash of AN-32 Indian Air Force (IAF) transport plane on March seven at Pappankalan near Indira Gandhi International (IGI), airport here.

Replace pre-1990 taxis: EPA

NEW DELHI, April 12 (PTI) — The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPA) has proposed the conversion of Delhi’s entire bus fleet to single fuel mode on compressed natural gas (CNG) and replacement of all pre-1990 autos and taxis with new vehicles on clean fuels by March 2000 to improve air quality in the Capital.

To provide infrastructural support to the implementation of the proposals, the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will expand its existing nine CNG supply outlets to 80 by March 31, 2000, EPA Chairman Bhure Lal told reporters here.

While land has been allotted for 52 sites, GAIL has taken possession of nine sites for the outlets, he said.

The EPA has also suggested financial incentives for the replacement of all post-1990 autos and taxis with new vehicles on clean fuels.

Another priority measure listed by the authority for implementation by March 2000 is establishment of automated inspection and maintenance facilities for commercial vehicles.

Chopra to recast DPCC
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 12 — The new president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), Mr Subhash Chopra, said today that he was keen on restructuring the DPCC with a small and efficient team of office-bearers.

Expressing confidence that he would get support from all levels of the Congress since he had risen from the grassroots to the current position, Mr Subhash Chopra said that he would soon start putting his plans into action.

Giving credit for his appointment as the city Congress chief to Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, he said, “I will live up to the faith reposed in me by them.”

CDS examination results out

NEW DELHI, April 12 —The following are the roll numbers, in order of merit, of 411 candidates, who have finally qualified on the basis of the result of the Combined Defence Services Examination, held on May 3, 1998 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and interview held by the Services Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence, for admission to the Officers’ Training Academy, Madras, for the 69th Short Service Commission Course, commencing in May. The list also includes the names of some candidates who were recommended earlier on the result of the same examination for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun Naval Academy, Goa Air Force station, Begumpet, Hyderabad Course(s).

The candidature of all candidates is provisional.

54983 26125 40785 55748 15646 52925 12555 51686 24527 54947 67219 49081 71860 55739 03328 36361 65916 09867 59311 40126 63697 28184 23842 09727 06986

47384 41427 02722 33286 34731 74755 38199 34907 47818 62976 13573 64429 12620 05934 48121 20374 28883 38064 52943 09779 04746 45937 19135 30584 30313 51302 2416 18947 0881 5483 61916 34950 19222 26873 39014 38489 59376 18864 43581 69452 69133 2308 16074 17971 4265 8379 3726 52625 20469 42231 3943 61856 71734 34033 39453 18216 53244 66836 6597 33297 12686 665 52949 53268 1093 6780 52857 48011 56348 67782 14626 163 12853 27542 54302

71728 59497 51247 2475 34468 31231 4951 41039 35639 33132 45798 54364 47410 21500 15967 34814 33649 34728 26094 62977 46045 36643 66821 71726 19122

38994 67013 2957 56187 61014 1389 43041 32635 28798 16112 2995 62771 70857 24144 4644 18379 46863 55072 6817 2938 33864 71733 66616 36583 19960

52289 34714 4634 23863 29068 65933 16017 12547 66235 4391 50199 12039 63563 33875 27966 34293 31985 4258 63659 40348 45702 26492 67508 15762 32866

67547 7439 63757 71874 74585 72648 5138 4420 35867 55060 51576 2097 24996 3737 34789 48117 59509 31473 10354 54741 56724 3066 71770 56215 70545

52938 30207 63518 1211 36198 32901 39639 00544 16381 61673 67530 01144 50257 20213 52745 22383 65559 41570 25606 61769 12954 55848 52090 17071 00065.

9334 19418 28947 45901 69504 8950 47637 65886 38343 35233 39631 8779 21567 67541 43665 5270 72943 07624 47029 4456 1167 8719 67647 32739 70389.

20151 24657 20267 52104 49651 70393 25370 10360 33403 71983 32854 7048 41247 10446 27260 62170 71563 73019 18960 13652 56829 33312 06271 26281 52694.

65824 10952 43301 38205 01017 71814 02049 42659 36180 01143 23181 51833 27212 15931 45295 31079 60129 55944 65200 3153 8698 20446 17360 913 73412

5684, 30088, 21497, 34822, 64058, 45853, 17632 , 51715 , 17350, 60696, 61447, 05310, 06264, 51292, 30866, 02999, 30300, 52985, 34225, 29591, 67107, 28880, 53761, 63685, 16561

13489, 53878, 03508, 61687, 66794, 42705, 72000, 963, 108, 229, 66983, 05111, 619, 16931, 9445, 32497, 69271, 59341, 46566, 02302, 38322, 65913, 73986, 1465, 5980.

67776 33260 23727 52407 48060 26099 23999 48559 56736 15746 33826 32324 11954 47298 21279 35933 65545 03031 20413 58458 49955 29918 43791 31632 51698 22828 7802 14261 41756 8026 13619 37155 2241 12571 15430 15743 09195 57099 65156 23924 51335 35200 52133 31507 03981 23938 71470 19220 8955 1505 3218 68780 24225 21296 31203 39597 26923 51815 26705 27818 69905.

Northerners prone to kidney stones
GORAKHPUR: The police of northern states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh are more prone to development of kidney stone due to diet being followed by them, according to Dr K.M. Singh, Head of the Department of Urology, King George Medical College (KGMC), Lucknow. Dr Singh said here on Sunday that though the exact cause of kidney and bladder stone was yet to be ascertained. It had been established that it has much to do with the diet. “Non-vegetarian food stuff is identified as a major causative factor of kidney stones”, he noted. — UNI

Documentary on Gujral
NEW DELHI: A documentary film on former Prime Minister I K Gujral has been made as a student venture. The 26-minute documentary titled, I K Gujral, is produced by A J Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre and directed by Shibani Kapur, a student of Jamia Milia Islamia’s Mass Communication Research Centre. The film documents the life of a man who came to India “as a refugee and went on to become its prime minister”. — PTI

Fire in police headquarters
NEW DELHI: Minor fire was reported in the Delhi police headquarters on Monday afternoon. The fire was noticed in a switchboard on the fifth floor in the headquarters which erupted due to a short-circuit, a spokesman of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said. The fire was doused by the quick action of firefighters of the DFS. A total of five fire fighters were rushed to the headquarters. The short-circuit took place due to the power load, the spokesman said. — (FOC)

13-hour-long kirtan durbar
NEW DELHI: A unique 13-hour-long kirtan durbar, jointly organised by 25 gurdwaras and Singh Sabhas, was held at Rohini, North Delhi to mark the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa. The tercentenary Khalsa Birth Anniversary Celebration Committee in a release said the people at the gathering also passed a resolution demanding the use of Punjabi in all offices in Delhi, introduction of news in Punjabi on the national channel and allocation of land for the construction of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Pitampura. — (TNS)