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Avoid misleading reports, new Governor tells scribes Bill on reviving AP Legislative Council
adopted Bad weather affects rescue operations
Five ministers shown the door |
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Avoid misleading reports, new Governor tells scribes Lucknow, July 8 While refusing to elaborate on the tersely-worded prepared statement, which the new Governor read out, it was apparent that he was alluding to news reports appearing in leading English dailies referring to his tough cop background and ability to handle the law and order situation in the state “if the need arose”. It was obvious by his address that the new Governor did not want to start his innings on a sticky wicket, hence his eagerness to disassociate himself with reports which referred to his closeness to the Gandhi family. Definitely such news could not serve as an ice breaker for establishing a relationship with the Samajwadi party-led government in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, Allahabad Chief Justice Tarun Chatterji swore-in Mr Rajeswar at a glittering ceremony in Gandhi Sabhagar at Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, his Cabinet colleagues, Congress chief Jagdambika Pal, Mr Pramod Tiwari and many Congress workers could be spotted in the select audience. Senior Army, police and civil service officers were present at the ceremony. The wife of the Governor, Mrs Mahalaxmi Rajeswar, accompanied him. It is after a gap of five years that the state will have a Lady Governor, as the outgoing governor, Mr Vishnukant Shastri, is a widower. |
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Bill on reviving AP Legislative Council
adopted Hyderabad, July 8 The resolution, introduced by the Minister of Finance and Legislative Affairs, Mr K.
Rosaiah, was supported by 207 members of the Congress-TRS alliance,
while 44 TDP members voted against what they called a “drain on the exchequer.” The resumption of the Council, abolished in 1985 by the then TDP government, dubbing it as “a political rehabilitation centre”, was one of the poll promises of the Congress. With pressure mounting on the ruling party for accommodating political aspirants who were denied ticket in the
recent elections to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha, the Rajasekhara Reddy government had decided to table the
resolution, providing for setting up of the Council under Article 168 of the Constitution during the ongoing Budget session. Following its adoption in the Assembly, the resolution will now be referred to Parliament for its assent. With the Congress at the helm both in the state and at the Centre, the passage of the Bill is expected to be a smooth affair. While coalition partner Telangana Rashtra Samithi favoured the revival of the Council, the Left, particularly the CPM, which abstained from voting today, expressed reservations over the issue. Opposition leader and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the revival of the Council would be an unnecessary burden on the exchequer and only end up serving as a rehabilitation
camp for political aspirants. This will be the second such effort by the Congress, which in its earlier stint during 1989-94, had got a similar Bill passed in the Assembly but the United Front government at the Centre had spiked the proposal, apparently at the behest of Telugu Desam Party which was then part of the Central coalition. The Legislative Council will have 90 members, less than one-thirds of the strength of the 294-member Assembly. |
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Bad weather affects rescue operations Dehra Dun, July 8 The official estimate of the deceased in the Vishnu Prayag landslide reached seven with the recovery of one more body. According to official estimates, 746 out of the 1,231 pilgrims stranded at Badrinath have been rescued through the Jaypee Industry tunnel, under construction in the region. As many as 49 persons were rescued by two MI-17 Air Force choppers earlier, while 292 pilgrims were on their way out through the tunnel, said Information Secretary N.M. Prasad. Rescuers recovered one more body of the Vishnu Prayag accident victim near Joshimath. The body has been identified as that of Gurmit Singh, a resident of Govindgarh Mandi, Panjab. Six bodies of pilgrims from Punjab, on their way to Hemkund Sahib, were recovered earlier, while nine persons were still missing. Meanwhile, the government has announced a relief of Rs 1,000 each for the injured. The landslide on Tuesday left seven dead, 21 injured and nine missing after huge boulders hit a truck, a bus and a car. The landslide followed the Lambagar cloudburst, caused by excess surface flow-in. All those stranded were likely to be rescued from Badrinath by evening, today, said Mr Prasad. Besides pilgrims, over 3,000 villagers were also trapped in the region and arrangements to provide them with objects of daily needs were underway, he added. Acute crisis of kerosene and gas is likely to hit the area in the days to come. Power failure and disrupted phone lines have also hampered the rescue operations. The administration is using Jaypee’s satellite phone lines and the coordination of rescue efforts is being undertaken from Joshinath. The state government had demanded a financial aid of Rs 100 crore from the Centre, said Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Ramchandran. The Bhimkul Sahab yatra would carry on, he added. However, no clear time estimate had been made about the reopening of the blocked national highway number 58. |
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Five ministers shown the door Dehra dun, July 8 With a view to trimming down the ministry from 17 to 12, Minister of State for Industrial Development Kishore Upadhayaya and four Cabinet Ministers — Minister for Irrigation Shoorveer Singh Sajwan, Cooperatives and Animal Welfare Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, Water Supply Minister Surendra Singh Negi and Minister for Social Welfare Ram Prasad Tamta — have been shown the door. Accepting the resignations, the Governor, Mr Sudershan Agarwal, said the process was to meet the provisions under the 91st constitutional amendment. |
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