Thursday, October 21, 1999
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Brajesh Mishra leaves for USA NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra today left for Washington for crucial discussions with the US officials on a wide variety of issues including developments in Pakistan. Amend protection of rights Act: panel NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — An advisory committee set up by the National Human Rights Commission to assess the need for structural changes in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 has proposed some important amendments to the Act. |
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Bitta hails UN move on Laden NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — The-All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) today reiterated its demand for declaring Pakistan a terrorist state. Byelections to be held for 11 UP seats LUCKNOW, Oct 20 — Uttar Pradesh is going to have byelections for one Lok Sabha, two Rajya Sabha and eight Vidhan Sabha seats within the next six months. Panja for
taking up issues with B’desh Inclusion
of Jats in OBC list sought NDA
on weak footing in RS Minister
flays Orissa govt SC:
income from sale of farm land taxable |
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Brajesh Mishra leaves for USA NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra today left for Washington for crucial discussions with the US officials on a wide variety of issues including developments in Pakistan. Responding to a question, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs admitted that Mr Mishra was visiting Washington on October 21 and 22 but declined to give details of the meetings that the National Security Adviser is likely to have in the US capital. However, Mr Mishra, who left for Washington early today, would hold discussions spread over the next two days with number of US top officials including his counterpart, the US National Security Adviser, Mr Sandy Berger. There is a strong likelihood of a meeting between Mr Mishra and the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, sources said. Mr Mishra’s visit is taking place close on the heels of the visit of two senior US officials to Delhi this week. As a matter of fact, Mr Mishra’s visit was decided immediately after the visit of the US officials. During his meeting with the US officials, Mr Mishra is likely to apprise the US Administration about New Delhi’s perception on developments in Pakistan. Washington is said to be curious to understand reasons behind the shift in India’s stand towards Islamabad as New Delhi initially had reacted to developments in Pakistan cautiously. But on October 18, when the two US officials namely the Senior Director for Near East and South Asia in the National Security Council and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of State, Mr Mathew Daeley were in New Delhi, India described developments in Pakistan akin to imposition of martial law. While Washington has been talking of engaging the military regime in Pakistan, New Delhi appears to be taking a tough posture. During his talks, US officials are likely to impress upon Mr Mishra the need to resume dialogue with Islamabad, the diplomatic sources said. The visit of the US
President, Mr Bill Clinton, will also figure during the
talks with Ms Albright. Ms Albright, is likely to come to
India in November for giving final touches to Mr
Clinton’s Visit. Mr Clinton is likely to come to
India between January and March but a strong possibility
is that he may arrive between January 10 and 20 next
year. |
Amend protection of rights
Act: panel NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — An advisory committee set up by the National Human Rights Commission to assess the need for structural changes in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 has proposed some important amendments to the Act. The six-member committee chaired by the former Chief Justice of India, Justice A.M. Ahmadi has proposed the changes after considering views and representations from various quarters. The committee received letters, notes and memoranda from the Chief Justices of the High Courts, Chairpersons of State Human Rights Commissions, Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, heads of para-military forces, various non-government organisations and members of the public. A press release issued by the NHRC here on Wednesday said that the amendments seek to remove the difficulties experienced by the Commission as well as some structural inadequacies of the Act. The committee has proposed change in the composition of the NHRC with two judicial and three non-judicial members of whom one shall be a woman. Apart from this, the committee has suggested that the National and State Human Rights Commissions be empowered to select staff of their choice from the government and non-government sectors. Another significant change proposed by the committee says that Commissions be empowered to visit jails and other custodial institutions without prior intimation to the state governments. The committee has said that recommendations of the Commission must receive proper, faithful and time-bound consideration from the governments. It has suggested that human rights violations by para-military forces come within the purview of the Commission. The advisory committee has proposed the constitution of joint human rights commission for small states. It has suggested that annual reports of the National and State Human Rights Commissions be placed before Parliament or state legislatures within three months of receipt of such reports. The committee has also
proposed financial autonomy to the National and State
Commissions. |
Website on Kargil martyrs
launched NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — The Chief of Army Staff, Gen V.P. Malik today said that India was closely watching the situation in Pakistan. Speaking to the media after launching a website on the Kargil martyrs at South Block, Gen Malik, when asked specifically that new regime under Gen Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan has said that it would withdraw troops only from the international border and not from the the Line of Control (LoC), “we are watching the situation closely”. Gen Malik refused to react further even as the media persisted with questions. Earlier, as a salute to the brave Army personnel who laid down their life in the Kargil sector defending the nation’s territorial integrity, a website immortalising the martyrs was launched by Chief of Army Staff, General V.P. Malik, in the Capital today. General Malik described the cyber memorial as a “pious remembrance to the valiant sons of our great country.” He hoped that the stories of valour will inspire and enthuse others to emulate their courage, resolve and determination toward building a stronger India. Describing the website as a “national web mark of courage, valour and sacrifice”, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt General S S Mehta, hoped that it would “serve as an epitome of India’s pride and develop into a revered national memorial”. Country’s first memorial on the Internet to record the sacrifices of Indian soldiers who fought in Kargil was conceived, created and maintained by Investment Research and Information Service Limited (IRIS), an Internet company. Mr S. Swaminathan, Chief Executive of IRIS pointed out that: “A man is not dead until he is forgotten.” This permanent memorial on the web would serve as a constant reminder of the sacrifices of our armed forces, he added. Accessible at “www.indiamail.co.in”, visitors to the site can pay floral tributes to individual soldiers. The website profiles all soldiers who laid down their life in battle, mentions briefly the circumstances in which they died and provides information on surviving members of their families to help anyone wishing to reach out to them. The website is designed to be constant reminder for generations to come, of the bravery of their fellow countrymen, so that they may be inspired by these tales of valour. Much like the Amar Jawan Jyoti which people from all over India, and the world come to pay homage to soldiers, the website too is a memorial, except it is on the Internet, a release said. The sequence of events, beginning with the discovery of the intrusions in Kashmir and leading up to the withdrawal of Pakistani forces from the various areas, is also presented to provide appropriate context for the events. Tributes paid to these
valiant soldiers by citizens from all walks of life,
including the President and Prime Minister, are also
available on the website. |
Bitta hails UN move on Laden NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — The-All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) today reiterated its demand for declaring Pakistan a terrorist state. The Chairman of the AIATF, Mr M. S. Bitta, today said that there was a close linkage between Pakistan’s military rulers and the extremist Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The increased insurgency in Kashmir cannot be ruled out. “As a first step, Pakistan should be declared a terrorist state,” he said. The AIATF led by Mr Bitta today submitted a memorandum at the United Nation office in the Capital “to record the deep sense of appreciation for the ultimatum by the UN Security Council given to Afghanistan’s Taliban, asking them to hand over Osama Bin Laden to USA for legal action”. The memorandum said that in spite of the fact that the UN Security Council has moved into action against Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to allow Laden to run training camps, threaten US and other countries, including India, and provide base in Afghanistan for terrorist operations across the world. The memorandum points out that Taliban had outright rejected the UN Security Council’s demand, “it has become imperative for the world opinion against terrorism to assert itself and save the world from impending holocaust.” “We want to remind you how Bin Laden was given all kinds of support in his operation against India.” “The world is aware how the so call war-like situation was thrust on India in the Kargil sector in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the loss of precious lives,” the memorandum states. Now that the administration in Pakistan had fallen into the hands of the Army, India’s apprehensions have increased, both Pakistan and Afghanistan being contiguous states. “In the event of another flare-up, one can imagine the loss of life and property, both civil and military not only in India but in the entire South Asian sub continent,” the memorandum observes. “We know that the
US State Department is already in touch with the
Government of India, trying to work out a method for
countering the growing threat of terrorism. We only urge
you to hasten the pace before its too late, the
memorandum added. |
Byelections to be held for 11 UP seats LUCKNOW, Oct 20 (UNI) — Uttar Pradesh is going to have byelections for one Lok Sabha, two Rajya Sabha and eight Vidhan Sabha seats within the next six months. The lone Lok Sabha seat in the state is Kannauj, which has fallen vacant after the resignation of Samajwadi Party President, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who chose to retain the Sambhal seat. He was elected from both the seats so he had to vacate one seat within 14 days of his election. Mr Yadav decided to retain the Sambhal seat, which he had won by a margin of 1,15,384 votes, while in Kannauj the victory margin was 79,139 votes. However, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who had also won from two seats, has retained the Amethi seat from Uttar Pradesh and resigned from Bellary in Karnataka, putting at rest all speculations in this regard. The two Rajya Sabha seats for which byelections would be held have been vacated by All-India Congress Committee member Jitendra Prasad and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar who were elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from the state. Both were members of the Upper House of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh. Mr Prasad had defeated his nearest rival Ram Murty Singh Verma of the Samajwadi Party by about 18,000 votes at Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha seat, while Raj Babbar has emerged victorious by a hefty margin of 1,12,892 votes against his nearest rival Bhagwan Singh Rawat of the BJP in Agra. The byelections for
eight assembly seats are also in the offing. |
Panja for taking up issues
with B’desh CALCUTTA, Oct 20 — Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Ajit Kumar Panja talking this correspondent said an initiative should be made to negotiate a dialogue with all neighbouring countries, including China and Pakistan, for restoring harmony in the subcontinent. He, however, made it clear that the Indian initiative would take place only when there was a reciprocal friendly gesture from the neighbouring countries. Mr Panja said there were some pending issues with Bangladesh, including the transfer of enclaves, which had already been delayed and any further delay might embitter the relations between the two countries. The Union Minister said he would hold talks with the Chief Ministers of the border states of West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya as well as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a quick and smooth exchange of enclaves. There were 119 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh which needed to be exchanged with 78 Bangladesh enclaves in India, mostly in West Bengal and Assam. The Union Minister welcomed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s eagerness to open both countries’ border for rail movement and said he would talk to the Prime Minister, Mr Vajpayee, and the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, for executing the proposal. He said at a meeting
with Ms Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Foreign Minister
would propose to discuss various bilateral matters,
including border problems, opening of free trade zones
between the countries and the quick issuance of passport
and visas. |
Inclusion of Jats in OBC list
sought NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — The Delhi State Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti has urged the Delhi Government to immediately implement the recommendations made by the Delhi Backward Commission on the inclusion of Jats in the list of OBCs (Other Backward Classes). The President of the Samiti, Mr Naresh Shaukeen, told newspersons here today that the report of the four-member commission, chaired by Justice (retd) Guman Mal Lodha, was sent to the Leiut-Governor of Delhi, Mr Vijai Kapoor, on October 13. It had been forwarded to the Chief Secretary, Mr Omesh Saigal. Mr Shaukeen said if the Delhi Government had the political will, it should hold a meeting of the Cabinet for necessary approval. “We want the recommendations to be implemented in reasonable time. All it needs is a resolution by the Cabinet and notification. The government has no excuse now to delay the implementation of the recommendations made through an appropriate legal procedure.” Asked what the samiti proposed to do if the recommendations were not implemented, Mr Shaukeen said, “I don’t think we would need to resort to extreme measures to have our demands met. But, the Jats will not tolerate any injustice.” Mr Shaukeen said although the last national caste-based census was made in 1931, the number of Jats in Delhi was estimated to be 10 per cent of the total population of the Capital. He said the Jain Commission, in its report in 1994, had included all Other Backward Classes mentioned in the list of the Mandal Commission. He said Prof K L Sharma of the Department of Sociology in Jawaharlal Nehru University disagreed with the recommendations of other members and said Jats be included in the list of OBCs. He was also against the inclusion of ‘sunars’ in the list. The General Secretary of the All-India Jat Mahsabaha, Mr Yudhveer Singh, who met Mrs Dikshit this morning said that he was assured speedy implementation of the recommendations made by the Lodha Commission. Separately, a delegation of the Rashtriya Lok Dal led by its President, Mr Ajit Singh, today met the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, to demand the inclusion of the Jat community of the Capital in the list of OBCs. Supporting the recommendations of a commission on Other Backward Classes, Mr Ajit Singh urged the Delhi Chief Minister for “immediate implementation of Justice Guman Mal Lodha report.” Mr Ajit Singh also drew
the attention to the plight of bus commuters in Delhi and
urged the Chief Minister to review the high bus fares. |
NDA on weak footing in RS NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — Despite a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha will continue to be a source of concern for the Vajpayee government as the combined strength of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) falls precariously short of the majority in the 245-member House. While the Congress, the main Opposition party in the Upper House, has today rejected Dr Manmohan Singh’s resignation as the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha retaining him in the post, the real test of the NDA would come when the law making is taken up on contentious issues. In another signal of its positive intent, the Congress today announced that Mr Pranab Mukherjee would continue to be the Chief Whip of the party in the Upper House. But all loud talk of pushing economic reforms is likely to come to naught if the Government does not tread cautiously, taking the Opposition, particularly the Congress, into confidence. While getting a Bill passed in the Lok Sabha would be an easy task, law-making would remain an Achilles, heel for the Vajpayee government. The BJP has a strength of 45, which is next to that of the Congress. The BJP member in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who has been elected to the Lok Sahba from South Delhi, will vacate his seat in the Upper House, reducing the party’s strength to 44. The BJP’s allies are not strong in the Upper House and there is no chance even that the ruling combinations strength would go up in the near future. The next elections to the Rajya Sabha are due on April 2, 2000, when a contest for 62 seats would be held. At present, there are 12 vacancies and 58 members retire by April next year. Four more retire earlier in January and February next year. Going by the existing party strength in the various assemblies, some of which are ruled by the opposition parties, the ruling NDA would be able to increase its strength marginally. The Opposition has 23 members of the Left parties, eight from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, seven from the Samajwadi Party, five from the AIADMK and four from the Bahujan Samaj Party. The Telugu Desam Party, one of the members of the NDA, has 11 and the Shiv Sena five members in the Rajya Sabha. Other allies, the Shiromani Akali Dal has five members, the Biju Janata Dal three, the National Conference has two members. All other NDA members do not have enough members for strengthening the Government. While the numbers do not favour the NDA government, a policy of consensus and path of consensus through consultation may prove to be a way out. The Congress, learning from its bitter experience in the period from 1967 to 1974, had declared in 1977 that it would not negate the achievements of the Lok Sabha in the Rajya Sabha. Rejection of Dr Manmohan
Singh’s resignation and continuing with Mr Mukherjee
as the Chief Whip are pointing to the Congress’s
positive attitude that it would not like to negate the
work of the Lok Sabha by adopting an obstructionist
approach to issues. |
Minister flays Orissa govt BHUBANESWAR, Oct 20 (PTI) — The toll in the cyclone that hit the Orissa coast Sunday night rose to 82 today even as the official machinery geared itself to cope with the enormity of the situation. Of these deaths, 71 occurred in Ganjam district followed by the districts of Keonjhar (four), Puri, Khurda and Gajapati (two each) and Dhenkanal (one) which were partially affected, official sources said. The worst-hit Berhampur groped without power or water for the fourth day as workers belonging to various departments toiled to restore electricity and water supply systems, State Revenue Minister, Jagannath Patnaik, who returned here from the cyclone-ravaged city today, said. The Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Gridco) authorities have said that power supply would be restored at least to the MKCG Medical College Hospital and the water supply facility by this evening, he said adding that supply of electricity to the entire town would require at least another four to five days. Meanwhile, Union Minister for Mines and Minerals Naveen Patnaik today accused the Orissa Government of having failed to handle the relief and restoration work satisfactorily in Ganjam district. Steps should be initiated on a war-footing to provide relief to the affected and restore normalcy in the area, he told newsmen here after a two-day visit to the district. Mr Patnaik appealed to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to immediately release central assistance of Rs 50 crore on an ad hoc basis to meet the situation. Mr Patnaik, after touring different areas by road, alleged that the local administration had not risen to the occasion. Except the district superintendent of police, he had not come across any other senior official engaged in relief and restoration work. He also appealed to non-government organisations and charitable institutions to move to the affected areas and help rehabilitate thousands of people rendered homeless. Orissa Congress President Hemananda Biswal today appealed to the Centre to treat the recent devastation caused by the cyclone as a national calamity and sought immediate release of ad hoc central assistance of Rs 50 crore to meet the situation. Mr Biswal, who visited the area yesterday, told newsmen here that the total loss including damage to standing crops would not be less than Rs 500 crore. Quoting preliminary reports, Mr Biswal said 30,000 houses had collapsed fully or partially in the cyclone besides extensive damage to public institutions. Mr Biswal said he had apprised AICC President Sonia Gandhi about the devastation and requested her to visit the state. A two-member AICC team, comprising former union minister Balram Jakhar and party secretary S.C. Vat, would tour the affected area. NEW DELHI (UNI): Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each to the families of those killed during the cyclone that hit the southern districts of Orissa this week. He announced the grant from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund after a two-member ministerial team, which visited the affected areas, submitted its report. The team consisting of Tribal Affairs Minister Juel Oram and Minister of State for Surface Transport Debendra Pradhan were deputed by Mr Vajpayee to visit the cyclone affected areas. The Prime Minister directed the Cabinet Secretary to monitor the progress of relief and rescue operations in Orissa "closely and to apprise him on a regular basis,’’ Mr Pradhan later said. PATNA: The flood situation in Bihar deteriorated today as the swollen Ganga inundated fresh areas in Katihar district following incessant rains in the area for the last three days even as more than 325 persons had so far lost their lives in this year’s flood in the state. A report from Katihar
said the Ganga inundated a large stretch in Mednipur
panchayat under Manihari sub-division in the district.
More than 100 families were rendered homeless and had
been shifted to Manihari college. |
SC: income from sale of farm land taxable NEW DELHI, Oct 20 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has ruled that income derived from sale of agricultural land could not be treated as agricultural income and would be taxed under the Income Tax Act. Setting aside an Andhra Pradesh High Court order, a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti gave this ruling saying that the Finance Act, 1989, had made this position clear. The high court had held that capital gains arising from sale of land used for agricultural purposes would be revenue derived from such land and, therefore, could be termed as ‘agricultural income’ within the definition under Section 2 (1A) of the Income Tax Act making it non-taxable. The apex court said by the 1989 Act ‘explanation’ to Section 2 (1A) of the Income Tax Act was inserted with effect from April 1, 1970, to supersede the above view expressed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court and several other high courts. “This declaratory amendment (Finance Act, 1989) having retrospective operation though coming into force during the pendency of this appeal must be given effect to,” Mr Justice Babu said writing the judgement for the Bench. He said the ‘explanation’ clearly declared that the revenue derived from land “sall not include and shall be deemed never to have included any income arising from the transfer of any land. “The upshot of the
same is that income derived from sale of such
agricultural land cannot be treated as agricultural
income,” the Bench said. |
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