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Wednesday,
October 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Housing
scheme for urban poor okayed Stop
attacks on Hindus, VHP tells Khaleda Charges
framed against 167 blast accused |
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Jogi got
tribal status certificate ‘fraudulently’ SAHMAT
flays Imam’s remarks against Shabana
Badal
chairs meeting on celebrations
Subsidy
for Haj pilgrims retained Advani’s office gets ‘suspicious’
letter Anthrax:
BSNL setting up detection cells BJP team
leaves for China today SC:
failure to keep promise not cheating Uttaranchal
to ban smoking LCP
merges with Samajwadi Party
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Housing scheme for urban poor
okayed New Delhi, October 23 The Union Cabinet, at its meeting today, gave the approval for the scheme to be implemented forthwith. The scheme — Valmiki Ambedkar Awaas Yojna — was announced on the Independence Day by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that while Rs 1000 crore would be given as grant, a similar amount would be provided to slum-dwellers and the urban poor as loan. The minister said through the scheme, four lakh houses per year would be provided to the slum-dwellers and the urban poor across the country in over 5,160 towns and cities. Under the scheme, Rs 60,000 per house had been earmarked for houses in the megapolises of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. For towns and cities with a population between one million and 10 million, a sum of Rs 50,000 had been earmarked while Rs 40,000 had been earmarked for other towns and cities. The houses would be constructed in a plinth area of 150 sq feet having sanitary facilities, a kitchen and a balcony. The minister said as per the scheme, 50 per cent of the amount would be provided as grant. The other 50 per cent would be given as loan, repayable over 15 years. The scheme was aimed at fulfilling the promise made by the Prime Minister, the minister said. It was the first ever housing programme for the urban poor and slum-dwellers approved after the Independence Day, he said. The scheme envisaged providing shelter for all by 2010. There were 1.76 crore shelterless people in urban areas. “This scheme will go a long way in providing a roof to the shelterless by 2010”, Mr Ananth Kumar said. The minister clarified that the construction pattern would depend on the geographical needs of the region. The scheme would have a quota of 50 per cent for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 30 per cent for the OBCs, 15 per cent for economically weaker sections and five per cent for physically and mentally challenged. The Cabinet gave its approval for the Rs 400 crore National City Sanitation Project titled Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan which would be a sub-project of the Valmiki Ambedkar Awaas Yojna. Under the scheme, the government would provide toilet facilities to the slum-dwellers in urban areas. The government would provide money for the construction of toilets in slums and also provide a shelter for caretakers of the toilets near the facilities. The toilets would be maintained on a community basis by the slum-dwellers themselves at a token charge and the scheme would target 7.5 crore slum population in the country. |
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Stop attacks on Hindus, VHP tells Khaleda New Delhi, October 23 In a hard-hitting memorandum addressed to the Bangladesh Prime Minister, leaders of these organisations observed that Bangladesh was seemingly going the Afghanistan way. “Under your leadership, Bangladesh seems to have adopted the path of jehad and Laden”, said the memorandum signed by VHP’s Delhi unit chief Om Prakash Singhal, Bajrang Dal convener Surendra Jain and Hindu Mahasabha president Dinesh Chandra Tyagi. It was a matter of shame for the Khaleda Zia government that the Hindus living in Bangladesh were forced to leave the land of their ancestors in view of the increasing atrocities , the memorandum said. It demanded that the government in Dhaka stop the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh forthwith failing which it should be ready to give them a separate homeland within that country. The Khaleda Zia government should also take steps to rehabilitate Hindus who had been forced to flee, it said.
UNI |
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Charges
framed against 167 blast accused Coimbatore, October 23 The accused, numbering 164 and lodged in the local central prison, were brought under tight security. Three others admitted to the government hospital, were also produced before Special Judge, A Selvam. An accused, Riaz-ur Rehman, who allegedly supplied explosives for manufacturing bombs and devices, had turned approver in the case. As many as 58 persons were killed and over 250 injured, when a series of explosions rocked the city and suburbs during the visit of BJP leader L.K. Advani, on February 14, 1998. The leaders of banned outfit Al-Umma, S.A. Batcha, and his son, Siddiq Ali, Mohammed Ansari, and Kerala-based People’s Democratic Party founder leader Abdul Nasser Mahdhani, were among the accused. Mr Selvam posted the case to November 27 — the sources added.
PTI |
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Jogi got tribal status certificate ‘fraudulently’ Bhopal, October 23 The immediate disaster has been averted by the interim injunction granted by the Chhattisgarh High Court against the order of the Commission on Mr Jogi’s petition. Mr Jogi had just started settling down and asserting his authority. He will now be seen struggling for his political survival instead of paying attention to the state administration. If the Commission’s order is upheld by the High Court, Mr Jogi will have to go immediately. He was not a member of the Assembly when he was sworn in Chief Minister of the newly created state on November 1 last year. Later on he was elected from a constituency (Marwahi) reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. (Incidentally, it was a BJP member, Mr Ram Dayal Uike, who had vacated this “safe” constituency for Mr Jogi). Mr Jogi appeared to be shaky on his tribal status from the moment the Commission had taken up the inquiry late last year on a complaint from a tribal in Chhattisgarh. The Commission’s communications to the state government on the subject remained unanswered. Eventually, the Commission had sent its own official from Delhi to complete the investigation. According to the Commission Chairman, Mr Dileep Singh Bhuria, one gets the tribal status by birth and there is the Presidential notification listing the castes and sub-castes in each district as Scheduled Tribes. The Commission’s finding is that Mr Jogi was not born in the Kanwar tribe as he claims, but in the Satnami caste, which is included in the list of the Scheduled Castes in the state. The Commission has sent its finding to the Chhattisgarh government with the direction to file a criminal case against Mr Jogi for “fraudulently” obtaining the certificate of tribal status. As the Commission is a constitutional body, its findings and directions are binding on the state government, according to Mr Bhuria. |
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SAHMAT flays
Imam’s remarks against Shabana New Delhi, October 23 In a statement here, SAHMAT secretary Shabnam Hashmi said the Imam’s description of Ms Azmi as a “nachne, gaanewali tawaif” during a programme “We the People” on Star News, from which the word ‘tawaif’ was edited before it was beamed, “only reflected the vulgarity of the Imam’s mind.” “This is not surprising given his well-known medieval mindset and retrogressive views. The Imam seems to have been rattled by the fact that Ms Shabana Azmi and others were effectively and successfully able to counter the perception that the Imam represented the views of the Muslim community as a whole,” she said. SAHMAT demanded an apology from the Imam and appealed to democratic sections in all communities to unequivocally condemn his comment.
UNI |
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Badal chairs
meeting on celebrations New Delhi, October 23 Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who presided over the concept committee meeting of the bicentenary celebrations of the coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the Capital today, finalised the programmes to be held during November 11 to 13 in Amritsar. Mr Badal informed the meeting that the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, would release a Maharaja Ranjit Singh commemorative postage stamp. It would be released at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 9. The Chief Minister said the state government had decided to declare November 13 a public holiday as a mark of respect and tribute to this great son of India. Mr Badal said a political rally would be organised in the city of the Golden Temple on November 13, where the Prime Minister and senior leaders of the Centre would be present. The celebrations will start on November 11 with prayers at Sri Harmandir Sahib, followed by “kirtan” and “ardas” at Takht Akal Takht Sahib. Thereafter, a colourful ceremonial procession with decorated elephants, horses, camels, traditional bands followed by sangat in thousands will be taken out from Sri Harmandir Sahib to Ram Bagh where the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be garlanded. |
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Subsidy
for Haj pilgrims retained New Delhi, October 23 The government provides a subsidy of Rs 18,000 per pilgrim for air travel and the Finance Ministry had favoured that it be slashed by 50 per cent as part of the process to gradually eliminate the subsidy. The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, shot down the proposal and the government decided to pay around Rs 110 crore as subsidy for the Haj travel. In a statement today, Haj Committee (India) executive officer Abdul Rashid Mir said the amount had to be paid through a bank draft drawn in favour of “Haj Committee (India), Mumbai” and sent to the executive officer, Haj Committee (India) Haj House, 7-A, MRA Marg, (Palton) Road, Mumbai-400001. The bank draft should be accompanied with a covering letter indicating the name, address and the cover number of the prospective pilgrim. The cover number should be mentioned on the reverse of the bank draft. The last date for the receipt of the draft is November 30. |
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Advani’s office gets ‘suspicious’
letter New Delhi, October 23 A similar suspicious letter addressed to the Home Ministry was received at the North Block office. A letter containing suspicious powder was also spotted in the mail addressed to the private secretary to the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare here on Tuesday. Sources said preliminary investigations had shown negative results on the presence of anthrax spores. Experts suspected that the white powder being mailed to different persons across the country could just be talcum or chalk powder. Mr A.R. Nanda, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told the TNS that the letter bearing the address of the UNFPA was addressed to his private secretary, Samadar. He said the sample had been handed over to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. Meanwhile, the issue of bio-terrorism was also discussed at a meeting focussing on the VIP security. Officers of the PMO, Intelligence Bureau, Health Ministry, the NICD and the Defence Research and Development Organisation attended the meeting. |
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Anthrax:
BSNL setting
up detection cells Kolkata, October 23 The Union Minister of State for Communications, Mr Tapan Sikhdar, has met local Postmaster Generals and senior officials of BSNL and discussed the problems relating to suspected anthrax envelopes. The postal authorities have been asked to take extreme precautions before handling envelopes suspected to be carrying anthrax spores. Now all such envelopes would be handled by special detection-cum-protection cells in post offices, which will be empowered to directly send such envelopes to the police. The cells will be compose of staff competent to handle these envelopes. Special detection machines will also be installed in all post offices. The Union Health Minister, Mr C.P. Thakur, has written to all Chief Ministers to set up testing machinery in government hospitals and laboratories to handle all letters and envelopes which might carrying anthrax germs. He accused the press of causing panic by giving a false report of the receipt of an anthrax envelope in his office yesterday. MARGAO: The Goa police has handed over a parcel, received by a city resident from the USA, to the Health Department after the recipient suspected that it could possibly contain anthrax spores. |
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BJP team
leaves for China today New Delhi, October 23 The delegation, led by former Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, would visit Shanghai and Hongkong apart from Beijing where the BJP leaders would have wide-ranging discussions on international terrorism and current developments in Afghanistan and the region. The visit, part of a memorendum of understanding (MoU) between the BJP and the ruling CPC signed in mid-nineties, is aimed at strengthening Sino-Indian ties and at promoting better understanding between the two parties. BJP general secretary and spokesman Sunil Shastri said the visit would provide a first-hand understanding of the developments in China. Besides Mr Shekhawat, other members of the delegation are Lieut Gen K.P. Candeth, co-convener of the BJP economic affairs R. Ramakrishna, Mr Narpat Singh Razvi from Rajasthan, convener of the Foreign Affairs cell Surindra Arora and Mr Shastri. |
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SC: failure to keep promise not cheating New Delhi, October 23 “A mere failure to keep promise subsequently cannot be presumed as an act leading to cheating,” a Bench comprising Justice D.P. Mohapatra and Justice Shivaraj V. Patil said in a judgement. Justice Patil, delivering the judgement, said: “In order to constitute an offence of cheating, the intention to deceive should be in existence at the time when the inducement was made. It is necessary to show that a person had fraudulent or dishonest intention at the time of making the promise.” This ruling came in a case where the apex court quashed the proceedings against company officials in a cheating case arising from a complaint filed by a person after certain disputes between them. The Bench said if the person was aggrieved that the company had committed breach of agreement, it was open for him to seek redressal in a competent court or forum to recover damages but this would not amount to cheating. It said many a times complaints were filed by the parties with an oblique motive or for collateral purposes to harass, to wreck vengeance, to pressurise the accused to bring them to their own terms.
PTI |
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Uttaranchal
to ban smoking Dehra Dun, October 23 Briefing mediapersons here this evening, Mr Madhukar Gupta Chief Secretary, said: “The prevention of Smoking at Public Places Bill, 2001, is to be introduced in the Assembly in the coming session. The Bill has been drafted on the pattern of the Delhi Government”. Following approval from the Assembly, smoking would be banned in hospitals, buses, railway stations, auditoriums, restaurants, colleges, schools and other public places. Nobody would be allowed to sell tobacco at bus stands, railway stations and other public places. Provisions of fine ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 500 for violation of this Act were likely to come into existence. The Cabinet had also decided to raise Uttaranchal Contingency Fund and rules regarding this had been framed. A proposal from the Finance Department regarding the approval of supplementary grants was also discussed by the Cabinet. Bills were being introduced regarding these two decisions in the coming session. Apart from this, the state Cabinet had approved a proposal to set up Labour Commission with headquarters at Haldwani, industrial tribunal and labour courts. The Department of Employment and Training had been attached with the Labour Commission. |
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LCP merges with Samajwadi Party Lucknow, October 23 An announcement to this effect was made at a meeting in Faizabad which was addressed by Samajwadi Party President, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Mr Agarwal, Samajwadi Party spokesman Mr S.R.S. Yadav told PTI here. Mr Naresh Agarwal was sacked as the Energy Minister by the Chief Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, in August following which there was a split in the 19-member LCP legislature party with all party MLAs, Barring Mr Ram Pal Verma, pledging support to Mr Rajnath Singh. Meanwhile, all LCP MLAs, who had parted ways with Mr Agarwal, continue to hold their posts in Mr Rajnath Singh’s Council of Ministers.
PTI |
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Cong leader chargesheeted Bhopal, October 23 |
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Hundreds
of activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and the
Hindu Mahasabha today staged a demonstration outside the Bangladesh High
Commission in the Capital to protest against the increasing attacks on
Hindus living in Bangladesh after the Khaleda Zia regime took over in
Dhaka.
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