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Thursday,
October 11, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Buta denies links with Baba Bhaniara
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India has option to hit PoK
camps: Omar New Delhi, October 10 Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah has said military strikes against terrorist training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is an option but the stage has not reached yet. Pak snaps
Indian channel access SGPC’s offer to Afghan Sikhs Afghans huddle indoors |
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Karnataka told to release waters Tribunal to adjudicate ban on SIMI Farmers uproot crop hit by
bollworm Govt notification
on crackers U.R. Rao Prasar
Bharati Chairman Partial bandh in Hanumangarh
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Buta denies links with Baba Bhaniara New Delhi, October 10 Talking to TNS here, Mr Buta Singh said he was a devotee of Guru Granth Sahib and had no association with the religious discourses or ideology of the Baba. Condemning the recent incidents of sacrilege, Mr Buta Singh supported the demand of the Punjab Congress chief, Capt Amarinder Singh, for having a judicial probe into the incidents to ascertain the truth and punish the guilty. He accused Mr Badal of trying to stoke communal feelings to consolidate Sikh votes with an eye on the coming Assembly elections. At a “sangat darshan” in Sangrur district yesterday, Mr Badal had alleged that the Congress was behind the acts of sacrilege. Clarifying his position for the first time since his name came up with regard to having links with the controversial Baba, Mr Buta Singh said he had visited the Baba four or five times between 1985 and 1995 for treatment of his wife Manjit Kaur, who was suffering from several illnesses including problems of heart, kidney, skin and lungs. Mr Buta Singh, who served as Union Home Minister between 1986 and 1989, said his wife got some relief from her problem of breathlessness due to the herbal medicine given by the Baba. He said it was in this connection that he visited the latter’s place in Ropar following suggestions from his supporters. “I did not visit the Baba after the death of my wife. She was taken for treatment to several hospitals in the country and expired in London in the last months of 1995,” said Mr Buta Singh, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Ropar several times. Stating that he had no inkling about the religious thoughts of the Baba, Mr Buta Singh said that during his visits, he did not find the Baba indulging in any activity connected to religion. “At that time, the Baba was known in the neighbouring areas as a social worker and a healer,” Mr Buta Singh said. He said the Baba used to go into the adjoining jungles to leave vegetarian food for animals. “During one of my visits, he urged me to lay the foundation stone of a small structure for the stay of people coming for treatment of their diseases. Later, a plaque mentioning my name was put at the place,” the Congress leader said. Denying that he had any “saint-disciple relationship” with the Baba, Mr Buta Singh said he had highest regard for Guru Granth Sahib and prayed regularly. “I am an Amritdhari, Shastradhari Sikh,” he said. |
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India has option to hit PoK camps: Omar New Delhi, October 10 The government reserves the right to preserve sovereignty and integrity of the country and military strikes against terrorist training camps is an option, Mr Abdullah said participating in Karan Thapar’s “Line of Fire” programme of Sab TV. “A point is reached when you no longer can take the sufferings, bloodshed and deaths by thousands of cuts,” he said, adding that “I don’t say we have reached that stage. But it (strikes) cannot be ruled out.” Stating that India had a “lot of patience”, he said even during the Kargil conflict Indian forces did not cross the LoC. “We are not fools to decide suddenly to attack,” he said. He said actions to close down training camps did not necessarily mean going to war with aircraft dropping bombs. “Actions to close down training camps do not have to be overt. There are covert operations. There are covert agencies which can be trained and intelligence gathered to close down the camps,” he said. There was also the UN resolution which empowered countries to go against those supporting terrorists, Mr Abdullah said. He said National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra had provided to his US counterpart Condoleeza Rice evidence of the links between terrorist groups Operating in Jammu and Kashmir and Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaida.
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Pak snaps Indian channel access New Delhi, October 10 As a result, the Indian mission which was getting all Indian news channels through its satellite dish, is not able to do so now. “We are getting the full facts. If true, it is unfortunate. There is something amiss,” an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told reporters today. She said the matter would be taken up with the Pakistani authorities. The Karachi Cable Operators Association, ostensibly at the behest of the Musharraf regime, had last month decided not to beam Indian channels in Pakistan through their networks. Asked whether India would retaliate by banning Pakistan television (PTV) in the country, she shot back: “This is not a zero-sum game”.
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SGPC’s offer to Afghan Sikhs New Delhi, October 10 In identical letters to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, SGPC President Jagdev Singh Talwandi said there were reports that a good number of Sikh men, along with women and children were stranded in the Sikh shrines in Afghanistan. He pointed out that some of the women may not be having passports or other documents with them as the Taliban regime had put severe restrictions on them. “It is apprehended that these people, if not rescued, might be massacred or used as hostage or human shield,” he added. He suggested that the government could seek the help of the Pakistan Embassy to help evacuate the Sikhs in Afghanistan to Gurdwara Panja Sahib (Hassan Abdal) in Pakistan and subsequently to India. Mr Talwandi said the SGPC would bear all expenses in this regard. The SGPC also authorised the Vice-Chairman of the Minorities Commission, Mr Tarlochan Singh to liaise with the government for this purpose. The letter has already approached the government to take urgent steps to help the Sikh families stranded in Afghanistan. According to Mr Tarlochan Singh, there were around 1500 Sikhs in Afghanistan and around 100 of them had fled to Peshawar in Pakistan. He said several Sikhs wanted to come to India but the strict documentation process in India made their travel difficult. So far only two Sikhs have managed to come to India by train at the Attari border. Mr Tarlochan Singh said the Home Ministry, which controls the arrival of passengers from Pakistan, should coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure smooth passage for genuine stranded families of Indian origin. |
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Afghans huddle indoors Kolkata, October 10 The city Afghans say they feel safe and secure in Kolkata, but still they are spending sleepless nights as they are worried about their relatives. They spend most of their time in front of TV to get information about their homeland, which they left decades ago in search of greener pastures. Many of them still visit Afghanistan every year taking back money and material for their family. Most of them are engaged in the trade of selling fruits or are moneylenders. As many as 27 Afghans now live in the small Afghan colony at Chandi Chowk, business hub of the city. Some have their names on the voters list and are also having ration cards. No longer are they treated as foreigners though they are living without passport and visas for decades. Adam Khan, Sultan, Mir Afjala and Asham Khan are called “kabuliwallah” as they frequent the streets selling dry fruits. Adam Khan’s cousin, Zahabaj (43) married a Bengali girl, Sushmita (40). He, however, does not live in Afghan colony, but share the worries of its residents. They are all praying to God for an early end to the war and restoration of normalcy in Afghanistan under a democratic government. |
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Karnataka told to release waters New Delhi, October 10 The authority gave the direction “after taking note of the drought conditions in the basin in both the states,” an official press note said this evening. The directive came hours after Tamil Nadu described the high-level meeting called by the Prime Minister to discuss the Cauvery dispute as “very disappointing.” The Tamil Nadu Government decided to move the Supreme Court as Karnataka outrightly rejected its demand for 1 tmcft of additional water daily at the meeting called by Mr Vajpayee to discuss the Cauvery water dispute. Even the Prime Minister’s intervention on the issue failed to impress upon Karnataka. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr O. Paneerselvam, said the decision of the Cauvery Water Authority was to “leave the farmers of Tamil Nadu to the fate of the rain god.” He said the issue would be taken up with the Supreme Court. He said Karnataka had not listened to Tamil Nadu’s plea. “Even the authority has not been helpful in solving the problem,” he said. The Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, expressing his inability to give more water to Tamil Nadu, said 42 of the 46 talukas in the cauvery basin were in the grip of drought.The Centre had issued no directions to Karnataka, he said. The Prime Minister, however, said: “Should a situation of distress arise in Tamil Nadu, I would like to assure that the authority will meet at short notice and provide whatever is possible.” He said at present the rainfall in Ayacut and the reservoir storage were adequate for carrying out the agricultural operations. “The situation, of course, needs constant monitoring,” he said. The Prime Minister also made it clear that the riparian states were bound by the spirit and letter of the tribunal’s directions. “The tribunal clearly laid down that there has to be pro-rata sharing of the distress,” Mr Vajpayee said. Disagreeing with Tamil Nadu’s contention, Mr Krishna said the state had provided 27 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu during the past month. Tamil Naud Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan said Karnataka’s failure to release 66 tmcft of water in the past four months had resulted in a loss of Rs 300 crore to Tamil Nadu farmers. |
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Tribunal to adjudicate ban on SIMI New Delhi, October 10 The tribunal, headed by Mr Justice S.K. Agarwal of the Delhi High Court, will adjudicate whether or not there are sufficient reasons for declaring SIMI as an unlawful organisation. After considering all arguments and evidences to be given by the government and SIMI, the tribunal will give its report within six months. The declaration of any organisation or association as “unlawful” is required to be referred to a tribunal, constituted by a high court judge, within one month of declaring it as ‘unlawful.’ The Centre’s ban on SIMI came on September 27 in the wake of demands from UP, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in the wake of allegations that the organisation was carrying on anti-national activities and its activists were aligned with terrorist outfits like Pakistan-backed Hizbul Mujahideen. |
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Farmers uproot crop hit by
bollworm Hanumangarh, October 10 The situation has deteriorated to such extent that the cultivators have started uprooting both American and Indian cotton crops after all their efforts to save the crop from bollworm proved futile. Among the cultivators maximum are those who spray insecticides 10-12 times and still bollworm had destroyed the crop. The cultivators are now preparing fields for the rabi crop. They are raising money by mortgaging lands with the financial organisations for the purpose. Though no official figure has been obtained the loss of crop is reportedly over 500 bighas. In some areas, the destruction has been up to 90 per cent. Due to shortage of both water and electricity, the cultivators had sown cotton with priority to paddy. Good response encouraged many others to shift to the cultivation of cotton, but bollworm destroyed the crop when it was about to ripen. The cultivators said though the cotton produce had been declining for the past few years, yet this year destruction of crop because of bollworm had been extensive. They said the loss of crop would further deteriorate their financial condition and the money lenders would refuse to lend money now. |
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Govt notification
on crackers New Delhi, October 10 According to the notification, the noise produced by bursting of crackers is not to exceed 125 decibel. Also, crackers can only be burst between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Furthermore, restrictions are in place in the silence zone, which means no fire cracker will be burst within 100 metres from hospitals, educational institutions, courts, religious places or “any other area declared by the competent authority.” The apex court order was given by a three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice A.S. Anand and Justices R.C. Lahoti and Ashok Bhan on September 27. |
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U.R. Rao Prasar
Bharati Chairman New Delhi, October 10 These appointments have been made on the recommendation of the Selection Committee headed by the Vice-President of India where the Chairman of the Press Council and Mr T.V.R. Shenoy (noted journalists) are the other committee members. The post of the chairman had fallen vacant due to the death of Mr Nikhil Chakraborty. Prof U.R. Rao, who is already serving as a part-time member, will now head Prasar Bharti as Chairman till 22.11.2003. |
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Partial bandh in Hanumangarh Hanumangarh, October 10 Agitators put the electricity poles on the town-junction road, that had been lying on the roads for the past many months, and blocked the traffic. Mr Nihal Chand, MP, Mr Ram Partap, local MLA, along with other party workers held a dharna on the road. Agitating party workers held a demonstration and asked shopkeepers to close their shops. It was only in the afternoon that the life came back to normal when barriers from roads were removed and agitators allowed the shops to open. The BJP had give the bandh call in support of their demands, including compensation to farmers for damage caused to their crops, pension to old age and handicap persons. |
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Centre to revive
Ayodhya Cell New Delhi, October 10 Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday assured VHP working president Ashok Singhal and chief of the Ram Mandir Nyas Mahant Ram Chander Das that the cell would be revived soon.
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Staffer who got hijack call dead New Delhi, October 10 There was no mystery behind the death of the supervisor. He was admitted to AIIMS, where doctors on duty declared him brought dead. When he was
admitted to AIIMS, blood was oozing from his nose. His post-mortem was waived as it was not an accidental case of death. |
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NDA’s volte-face New Delhi, October 10 |
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Bomb-like object
found in Delhi New Delhi, October 10 The object was found by some boys playing in the park. Bomb disposal squad of the Delhi police was called immediately which took the object in its possession to
examine it, a senior official of the police said. |
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Ex-minister held Berhampur (Orissa), October 10 The arrest was made yesterday in connection with his alleged involvement in booth-capturing at Mahupadar in the Aska Assembly constituency during the 1995 assembly poll.
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Undisclosed income up to 1,400 cr detected Mumbai, October 10 The searches from stock brokers helped in detecting prima facie undisclosed income of about Rs 1,200 crore, while the concealed income found so far since April 2001 was in excess of Rs 1,400 crore, IT Director-General (Investigation) G. Saran said in a statement here today.
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