Wednesday, April 7, 1999
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Jaya contests notification |
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 NEW DELHI: Devotees paying tributes to the "jyoti" which is being brought from Patna Saheb on its arrival in New Delhi on Tuesday. The procession is in connection with the Tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa. — PTI
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DMK lacks numbers to save
PM Delhi,
UP to pay up, not to face power cut AIR,
DD services crippled Kalyan’s
sack demanded
House
reprimands Akbar |
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Transfer of cases NEW DELHI, April 6 (UNI) In a surprise move, AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha today challenged the central notification transferring 46 corruption cases against her and others to three special courts for trial — of course by implication. Senior counsel P.P Rao appearing for her submitted before the Supreme Court that both state and central notifications relating to the trial of corruption cases against her and others were "bad" in law as they were issued without proper consultation. The counsel made the submission during resumed hearing on a batch of special leave petitions by Ms Jayalalitha and others against a Madras High Court judgement upholding the validity of the April 30,1997, notification issued by the state government, transferring the corruption cases against her and others for trial by three special judges. At this point, when Attorney-General Soli J. Sorabjee wanted a clarification as to whether the counsel was also challenging the central notification, Mr Rao replied that he was not challenging the central notification. But if consultation was to be taken into account, both notifications would not conform to the procedures laid down in the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) for the purpose. Mr Rao said that consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court or a committee of judges of the High Court did not constitute proper consultation as the view of the High Court could only be expressed by the full court. In the present case, the Karunanidhi government consulted only the Chief Justice before issuing the notification. Similarly, there was no consultation by the Centre before issuing the February 5 notification transferring these cases to a Session Court. Earlier, senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, while concluding his submissions in the case on behalf of Ms Jayalalitha, contended that the state government had no power under Section 3 (1) of the PCA to divest an area special judge of cases pending before him and entrust the same to other special judges. So far, the central notification had not been questioned by any of the counsel appearing for Ms Jayalalitha. In a way, the central notification gives a sort of respite to Ms Jayalalitha. The arguments will
continue tomorrow. |
INSAT 2-E orbit raised BANGALORE, April 6 (UNI) — The orbit of the country's most advanced and powerful multipurpose satellite INSAT 2E was today raised after the successful second firing of the onboard liquid Apogee motor. On its way to the space home of 83 degrees east longitude (over the Indian Ocean), INSAT 2E has now an orbital plane of 14,600 km perigee (nearest to the earth) and 35.925 km apogee with the satellite orbiting the earth once in 15 hours 34 minutes. All systems onboard were functioning normally and its health was being monitored continuously. In a release here, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Apogee motor was fired for a duration of 60 minutes and 05 seconds by the spacecraft controllers at the master control facility at Hassan. ISRO sources told UNI that the second firing of the 400 newton thrust liquid Apogee motor (LAM) went as per schedule and there was no hitch in the process. Scientists at the master control facility (MCF) at Hassan had curtailed the first firing of the LAM only to 16 minutes as against the intended 70 minutes in the early hours of Sunday last. Consequently, the satellite's perigee which should have crossed 20,000 km as originally planned was curtailed to 2000 km. The sources said the next firing, to further raise the perigee to attain a near circular orbit, would take place around noon on April 8, after the satellite completed three more orbits. The duration of the firing was being finalised by the spacecraft controllers after the precise orbit was determined. Following its successful launch on April 3 from Kourou in French Guyeana, the satellite would consume less fuel than intended by the time by the time it reached its geostationary orbit. After today's firing of
the LAM, the inclination of the satellite orbit with
respect to the equator had also been reduced from 3.289
degree to 1.027 degree as per the mission requirement. |
DMK lacks numbers to save PM CHENNAI, April 6 — The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr M. Karunanidhi, today ridiculed AIADMK leader Jayalalitha’s decision withdrawing the two ministers representing her party in the Vajpayee Government as part of the year-long “comical street drama” she had been staging. Mr Karunanidhi, the dismissal of whose government had been on the top of Ms Jayalalitha’s agenda must be chuckling over the exit of the major BJP coalition partner from the South as it remains an intermittent threat that had been stalking his administration despite the two-thirds majority his party (DMK) enjoys in the state assembly. The Chief Minister, who was answering questions from reporters, said neither the Congress nor the BJP had approached him for support to tackle the present political crisis at the Centre, but he hastened to add that his party did not have the required number of MPs to ensure the continuation of the coalition. The DMK has six members in the Lok Sabha, while its electoral ally in the state, Tamil Manila Congress holds three seats. Two state BJP leaders, Mr K. Lakshmanan and Mr I. Ganesan, met Mr Karunanidhi today, but both sides denied any political significance to the talks, saying the meeting had been scheduled much earlier and it only coincided with the latest political developments. Ms Jayalalitha, who announced her decision to withdraw two AIADMK ministers from the Union Council of Ministers, did not disguise her anger with the BJP leadership for convening the emergency Cabinet meeting which had rejected all her three demands on the Admiral Bhagwat issue. “In the 50 years of our democracy, never has a Cabinet met with the single-point agenda of slighting an ally that is responsible for the majority the Vajpayee Government has thus far enjoyed in the Lok Sabha,” she said in a press statement. Ms Jayalalitha’s next move signalling a final break with the BJP coalition, is expected to come next week when she will be in the Capital on the eve of the resumed Budget session of Parliament, beginning April 15. The Janata Party president, Dr Subramanian Swamy, met Ms Jayalalitha today and gave her his assessment of the possible party alignments for an alternative government in the event of the fall of the Vajpayee coalition, which he predicted , would happen on April 15. He said Ms Jayalalitha would meet leaders of the secular Opposition in Delhi, including Mrs Sonia Gandhi. The situation was such that the BJP was on the verge of a split. Mr Govindacharya , BJP
general secretary, told reporters in Chennai, there was
no scope for any reconciliation with Ms Jayalalitha. |
Follow Gurus’ ideals: Sonia NEW DELHI, April 6 — “Bole so nihal” rent the air here today as the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, paid obeisance to the holy “jyot” being carried to Anandpur Sahib for the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth. “The Sikh Gurus showed the way not only to the community but to the entire nation,” Mrs Gandhi said, urging the people to follow the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh. “Sikh history is a saga of sacrifice and service. Guru Teg Bahadur sacrificed his life for the nation and society while Guru Gobind Singh is an epitome of bravery and brotherhood,” she said at a function jointly organised by the Tercentenary Celebrations Committee and the Delhi Government. The “jyot” is being carried along with several weapons of Guru Gobind Singh in a saffron coloured, fibre-glassed Tata mini truck. After being taken to several parts of the city for “darshan”, the “jyot” will be taken to Anandpur Sahib on April 12 night. While Patna Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, Anandpur Sahib is the place where he founded the Khalsa Panth on April 13, 1699. The Congress president said Guru Granth Sahib contained not only the teachings of Guru Nanak but also those of several Hindu and Muslim saints. Also, the five persons who were ordained as “panj pyaras” by Guru Gobind Singh on April 13, 1699, belonged to different parts of the country and different castes. She said the establishment of the Panth by the Tenth Guru was aimed at spreading the message of sacrifice and establishing a casteless and classless society. Earlier, the convoy carrying the holy “jyot” was received at the Badarpur border by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her cabinet colleagues Mahinder Singh Saathi and Parvez Hashmi and several MLAs this morning. Mrs Dikshit declared April 13 as a holiday in Delhi. Indraprastha University would be renamed as Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, she said. Also, a large public park would be named after Guru Gobind Singh. Lieut-Governor Vijai Kapoor said Delhi had the honour of having a deep association with the Khalsa Panth as the martyrdom of the Ninth Guru took place here. He hoped the Sikh community known for its resilience and spirit of service, would continue to provide leadership and direction to the country in the next millennium. The Punjab PCC president, Mr Amarinder Singh, also spoke. Identifying unemployment and poverty as the two main problems facing the country, he exhorted the community to fight against these. Besides Mrs Gandhi, others present at the function were senior Congress leaders Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr R.K. Dhawan, Mr Rajesh Pilot, Ms Ambika Soni, Mr Jagdish Tytler, Mr Sajjan Kumar and Mr Jag Pravesh Chandra. Former Delhi Chief
Minister Sahib Singh Verma was the only prominent BJP
leader seen at the function. |
Delhi, UP to pay up, not to face power cut NEW DELHI, April 6 (UNI) — The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited has decided not to cut power supply to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh after the two states agreed to pay up their collective arrears of Rs 393 crore. The PGCIL had, in the wake of mounting dues from the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) and the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board (UPSEB), stated that it would withdraw power supply to the two states from the first fortnight of this month. However, senior PGCIL officials told UNI here today that the DVB had already paid up Rs 10 crore of the Rs 125 crore it owed the corporation, “it has also agreed to pay-up the rest of the arrears by the year-end at Rs 10 crore per month. So we have decided against regulating power supply to the capital”. The UPSEB has also paid up close to Rs 25 crore of its total outstanding of Rs 268 crore, the officials added. However, Bihar, which is
another major defaulter in payment of electricity bills,
is yet to pay its outstandings. Till January-end this
year, total outstanding to PGCIL from various state
governments amounted to Rs 900 crore. |
AIR, DD services crippled NEW DELHI, April 6 (PTI) — Services in AIR and Doordarshan stations across the country were affected today as several cadres of Prasar Bharati went on an indefinite strike last midnight over the pay parity issue. Thousands of employees have struck work in protest against the government’s decision to enhance pay scales of only the engineering and programme staff. The services of AIR and DD have been affected “to some extent” though alternative arrangements have been made, officials in Prasar Bharati said, adding that the strike could have a severe impact if it continued. According to the administrative staff, who have been on strike for the past two weeks, the agitation has severely affected news and other programmes on AIR and Doordarshan. Many news bulletins could not go on air since midnight and many were truncated, a statement by the Akashvani and Doordarshan Administrative Staff Association (ADASA) said and added that the in-house production in Doordarshan was also affected “forcing the management to purchase news clippings from outside agencies at huge costs”. The agitating cadres include newscasters, artists, Doordarshan programme professionals, drivers and group D employees. Meanwhile, the CPI has
demanded that the government should concede the demand of
agitating Prasar Bharati employees for pay parity and
start the process of restoring autonomy of the electronic
media. Extending its support to the indefinite strike by
several cadres of AIR and Doordarshan, the CPI said that
by awarding pay parity to a certain category, Minister
for Information and Broadcasting Pramod Mahajan has
“attempted to divide the employees of Prasar
Bharati”. |
Map issue LUCKNOW, April 6 (UNI) — Opposition leaders of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council today demanded the dismissal of the Kalyan Singh government, alleging that it was responsible for “tampering with” the print of India’s map sketched for recent high school examination in the state. Addressing a joint press conference here, leader of the Opposition, Mr Ahmad Hasan, teachers group leader, Om Prakash Sharma, the Bahujan Samaj Party member, Mr Sukhdev Rajbhar, Congress member Sarvashkti Singh and Mr Ram Sumer Yadav of the CPI alleged that the BJP administration deliberately allowed a “wrong map showing Indian territory in Pakistan”. “The map even showed strategic places like Gligit in Pakistan”, they said and demanded that the government be dismissed immediately as “this clearly amounted to treachery on its part”. “Had this been the lone instance, it could have been dismissed as a printing error, but the same mistake was repeated in the different history and geography papers”, they claimed and alleged that the mistake was allowed to creep into the papers following a “tacit understanding between the Governments of India and Pakistan after the Lahore visit of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee”. The Opposition leaders
also regretted that despite the discrepancy in the map
being pointed out, the State Government ordered neither
nay inquiry nor held any official responsible. |
Suicide by DCP’s PSO NEW DELHI, April 6 — The personal security officer (PSO) of the Deputy Commissioner of Police of North district, Mr S.N. Srivastava, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service stengun this morning. The 26-year-old PSO, Ram Babu Sharma, was found bleeding in the children’s park at India Gate in New Delhi. He was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where he was declared brought dead. His stengun was lying beside his body, the police said. According to the police, it appears the constable committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his service stengun. No suicide note was found, the police said. The police has no evidence
that the constable was under medication for depression.
Foul play has been ruled out by the police. |
House reprimands Akbar CALCUTTA, April 5 (PTI) — West Bengal Assembly yesterday reprimanded M.J. Akbar, Editor-in Chief and Managing Director of “Asian Age,” for publishing an article “Distorting House proceedings and lowering dignity of the Speaker in the people’s eyes” in July, 1996. Akbar was escorted by the marshal to the dock, specially erected in the well of the House, as soon as the House reassembled after its normal business only to take up the issue as per its earlier announcement. As Akbar stood inside the dock, Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim read out the charges against him including “deliberately bypassing” the House summons for appearance to receive punishment as decided by the House on March 23. Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Probodh Chandra Sinha read out a motion referring to the House decision to summon Akbar to the bar of the House to receive punishment on July 6, 1998. The House, he said, was of
the opinion that Akbar had “deliberately
distorted” proceedings and lowered position of the
Speaker and “regrettably” remained unapologetic
for the article, which had “adverse reflection”
on the House. |
Army gets Casspir NEW DELHI, April 6 — The first lot of 10 mine protected vehicles, known as Casspir, were received by Lt-Gen Shankar Prasad, Director-General of Infantry, on behalf of the Army Chief from Mr H. Krick, Project Manager of Reumech OMC of South Africa, in a ceremony at the Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre here today. The Casspir is a
custom-built vehicle, which provides unhindered mobility
to security forces as it has inherent protection from
rifle and machinegun fire and against improvised
explosive devises (IED), an official press note said. |
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| TN may appoint doctors CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government would not hesitate to appoint new doctors wherever emergency operations were not being performed in the wake of the strike by the government doctors since Monday, Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy told the state Assembly on Tuesday. The strike was in protest against 10-years’ rigorous imprisonment awarded to Dr Umakanthan following the death of a woman, who underwent a family planning operation at Chidambaram in February 1995. Mr Veerasamy said the state government could not interfere with the judicial process. Dr Umakanthan had fought the case on his own without taking the assistance of the state Health Department. The doctors would now have to wait for the verdict of the higher court where Dr Umakanthan had challenged the sentence, he added. — UNI Hope
for gangrene patients Militants kill 3
in Tripura Tamil film shot in
24 hours Goods train
derailed UP revises
prisoners’ wages |
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