Wednesday, August 18, 1999
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G-15 begins talks |
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 Egyptian Minister for Trade and Supply Dr Ahmed Goweily, lighting the lamp to inaugurate the G-15 Trade Ministers' conference in Bangalore on Tuesday. Karnataka Governor Khurshed Alam Khan, Chief Minister J. H. Patel and Union Commerce Minister R. K. Hegde are also seen. — PTI
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Speculation rife as Sonia
heads South Cong criticises NDA manifesto BJP objects to EC hiring Kapil
Sibal Forward bloc attack CPI LD-Cong pact changes scenario TMC, PT form third front EC asks DD to stay neutral Special cell to help Gaisal
victims Sinha renominated from Hazaribagh Sahib Singh files papers Advani talks federalism Second phase of poll notified Probe jail officers’ conduct:
NHRC Firm allowed to recover loan from
Bachchans |
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G-15 begins deliberations BANGALORE, Aug 17 (PTI) — India lambasted developed nations’ for veiled attempts to impede free flow of trade by bringing in new issues in the WTO agenda and asked the G-15 developing countries to totally reject any such attempts. "Trade negotiations cannot continue to be an exercise in which we yield market access even as access obtained by us is thwarted or undermined," Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde told the two-day ministerial meeting which got underway here today. Both Mr Hegde and Dr Ahmed Goweily, Trade Minister of Egypt, which is the current Chairman of the G-15, exhorted the group to evolve a co-ordinated approach to the Ministerial conference at Seattle in November. Goweily went one step further in asking not to allow divergence of views to obscure their vision. "Where our concerns are at stake, we should unitedly strive to strike a positive influence over the Seattle outcome," Hegde said underscoring the need for a common strategy on tackling implementation delays by the developed nations on existing WTO agreements. The two-day meeting follows the decision by the G-15 nations at their Montego Bay (Jamaica) summit of February to undertake further consultations on core issues facing the developing nations as a whole. Asian nations led by India, Malaysia and Indonesia are attempting to impress upon Latin American countries like Brazil and Argentina the need to thwart attempts by the USA, European Union and Japan to begin a fresh round of trade talks under the aegis of the Seattle conference. Goweily noted that "co-ordinating our positions is of utmost importance at various stages of negotiations, starting from setting the negotiation agenda until its final conclusion." After the inaugural session, the high-level Indian team and 55 foreign delegates went into a conclave to discuss key issues likely to crop up in the Seattle conference. Sessions relating to implementation delays on existing agreements, agriculture subsidies, trade in services, TRIPS and TRIMS review this year, technical trade barriers review and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures are being held. Though no joint statement is expected after the two-day talks, officials maintained that efforts were to have a better understanding of each other’s positions on various matters. Egypt, current G-15 Chairman, today asked developing countries not to allow their differing interests to "obscure" their vision during the coming WTO ministerial meeting in which developed nations would attempt to erect non-trade barriers by raising new issues. "Co-ordinating our
positions is of utmost importance at the various stages
of negotiations, starting from setting the negotiation
agenda until its final conclusion," Egyptian Trade
Minister Ahmed Goweily said at the inauguration of the
two-day G-15 Ministerial meeting here. |
BJP bares facts on Bofors NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The Bharatiya Janata Party today launched a fresh offensive against the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, by challenging her contention that she had not seen the papers on the Bofors probe which established the complicity of her family friend Ottavio Quattrocchi in the deal. The BJP spokesman, Mr Arun Shourie, who rose to fame as Editor by his exposes on the Bofors gun deal, said the fact that the Italian businessman received money from Bofors as well as particulars of his accounts into which the money was paid, transferred and re-transferred were available in the public domain, in judgements which the courts have already delivered on appeals by her family friend. Mr Shourie said the details of the judgement delivered by the Chamber of Accusation, Switzerland, which is equivalent to the Supreme Court, with regard to Mr Quattrocchi, a judgement of the Delhi High Court, the Supreme Court and some sworn affidavits by key witnesses clearly revealed details of the commission received by the businessman. Quoting the operative portions of several judgements, Mr Shourie said it was clear that Mr Quattrocchi had received 3 per cent of the total amount of the Bofors contract. In dollars it worked out to $ 7,343,941.98. Mr Shourie also quoted a ruling of the Delhi High Court which said "prima facie reveals that the petitioner (Mr Quattrocchi) was recipient of fraud committed in the Bofors gun deal, which he received himself and on behalf of certain public servants and, therefore, he was required to be arrested and interrogated for expeditious investigation of the case and to reveal the truth". Mr Shourie said each of these facts was a matter of public record. Each is available in judgements of the highest courts of India and Switzerland. "And yet Ms Gandhi says: "We have never seen the papers naming him in the deal. They should show the papers establishing that he is guilty", he said. Mr Shourie also alleged
a careful study of the developments, especially the dates
on which Mr Quattrocchi suffered setbacks in his efforts
to escape the law, would reveal that those were the times
when Ms Gandhi’s efforts to bring down governments
in India accelerated. |
Sorry, says Defence Ministry NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The Defence Ministry today expressed regret for having "erroneously mentioned" Param Vir Chakra awardee Gren Yogender Singh Yadav, as "posthumous" in the official list of awardees. "Yadav is alive and undergoing treatment at the base hospital in Delhi Cantonment. The error is regretted," the corrigendum issued here today said. (The Tribune on Tuesday carried a photograph of the Army Chief complimenting Grenadier Yadav). The Defence Ministry, said that Yadav, belonging to the 18 Grenadiers, "was erroneously mentioned as having been awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously." Grenadier Yadav is undergoing treatment for multiple injuries he sustained while ousting Pakistani intruders from the strategic Tiger Hill in Dras sub-sector. The Army chief, Gen V.P. Malik, visited the hospital to personally congratulate Grenadier Yadav, who along with Capt Vikram Batra, Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey and Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, were decorated with the highest military honour for displaying gallantry in the Kargil operations. Gren Yogender Singh Yadav was part of the Ghatak platoon tasked to capture three bunkers on Tiger Hill on the night of July 3-4. The approach was a vertical cliff face, snowbound at 16,500 feet. Grenadier Yadav volunteering to lead the assault, was climbing the cliff face and fixing the ropes for further assault on the feature. On reaching half way up, an enemy bunker opened up with machine gun and rocket fire. His platoon commander and two other fell to accurate and heavy volume of automatic fire. Realising the enormity of the situation, he continued to scale the sheer cliff face alone through a volley of fire. In spite of having been hit by three bullets in his groin and shoulder, displaying superhuman strength and resolve, Grenadier Yadav climbed the remaining 60 feet, all by himself and reached the top. With rare grit and courage, he crawled up to the bunker critically injured and lobbed a grenade and killed four Pakistani soldiers and neutralised enemy fire. This act was directly instrumental in facilitating the rest of the platoon in climbing up the cliff face. Grievously injured but with disregard to personal safety, Grenadier Yadav yet again charged on to the second bunker and neutralised it with two of his colleagues in a fierce hand to hand combat killing three Pakistani soldiers. This extraordinarily gallant act inspired the rest of his platoon which quickly traversed the treacherous terrain and braving hostile fire, charged onto the enemy and captured Tiger Hill Top, a vital objective. Param Vir Chakra was
last awarded to Subedar Bana Singh of Jammu and Kashmir
Light Infantry on January 26, 1988, for his acts of
gallantry in Siachen. A key mountain post was named
‘Bana Post’. |
Speculation rife as Sonia heads
South NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — Speculation about the possibility of the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, contesting the 1999 Lok Sabha elections reached its zenith with her departure to Hyderabad from here tonight. While offering prayers at the Tirupati shrine in Andhra Pradesh was stated to be the express purpose of her visit to Bangalore. Tirupati, located in Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh, is a few hours drive both from Karnataka’s capital Bangalore and Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai. According to informed sources, Mrs Sonia Gandhi would file her nomination papers either from Bellary in Karnataka or Cuddapah Medak in Andhra Pradesh. The last date for filing of nominations from Bellary and Cuddapah is August 18. The Bellary Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, bordering Andhra Pradesh, is stated to be the choice even though the party had announced the candidature of Mr K.C. Kondaiah last night from there. In Medak the party had cleared Mr Baga Reddy, member of the dissolved Lok Sabha. Similarly, in Cuddapah the party had given a nod to Mr Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, brother of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. Normally, the party members step aside if the party chief opts to contest from any constituency. Informed sources also
point out that irrespective of filing of nominations
tomorrow, it will not exclude the possibility of her
contesting from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in
Uttar Pradesh, once represented by her husband. |
Cong criticises NDA manifesto NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The Congress today criticised the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) manifesto released by the Prime Minister yesterday and described it as a "recipe for disaster’’. Reacting to the manifesto, the AICC spokesman, Mr Kapil Sibal, said that nearly three-fourths of the agenda had been taken out from the previous national agenda for governance and only 12 new points were added to it. Taking on the NDA punchline that it would focus on "bhookh, bhay and bhrashtachar’’ (Hunger, Fear and Corruption), he said the BJP had given up its claim of achievements in the form of three B’s — Bus (to Lahore) Bomb (nuclear test) and Budget (of 1999). The Congress criticised the suggestion to amend the Constitution to give Lok Sabha a full-five year term as an "undemocratic solution to the problem of stability’’. He said instead of working towards evolution of a mature political system the BJP had chosen to go by this suggestion. Mr Sibal said that the BJP should had been more thoughtful and wondered whether the antidote it suggests was far worse than the malaise it purports to treat. On the issue of allowing only natural-born citizens to occupy high offices, Mr Sibal said the manifesto was against the statement by Mr Vajpayee that the foreign origin of Mrs Sonia Gandhi would not be made an issue in these elections. "This only shows the extent of intolerance and instead of having a political battle, the BJP is resorting to law to debar someone,’’ he said. The formulation of proxy voting with regard to armed forces was described as "bizarre an idea as can be expected from an intellectually challenged mindset.’’ He said instead of taking realistic and practical steps in order to ensure that members of the armed forces were able to exercise their franchise, proxy voting was being projected as a way out. The party said the NDA
manifesto was "longer on promises and shorter on
delivery’’ and said in the last agenda, the
parties had promised a National Security Council and said
the country had witnessed the Kargil conflict as it had
shown how effective the Council was. |
BJP objects to EC hiring
Kapil Sibal NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The BJP today objected to the Election Commission hiring senior lawyer, Mr Kapil Sibal, by saying that the "legal spokesperson of the Election Commission of India who also happens to be the political spokesperson of the Congress, lacks the appearance of justice". In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, signed by its Office Secretary, Dr R.K. Sinha, the BJP pointed out that on the allegation of using government vehicles by Ministers of the UP Government, the EC had requested Mr Kapil Sibal to appear for it. Mr Sibal had made submissions on behalf of the EC before the Supreme Court. "As your counsel, he is certainly entitled to do so. However, Mr Sibal also happens to be the Congress official spokesperson", the letter said. It said that the Election Commission as an independent, impartial body, in a legal issue between it and the BJP-led UP Government, had considered engaging the services of the Congress official spokesperson, appeared a little disturbing. "It contradicts the impartiality and fairness of the Election Commission" the letter said. The party also noted that in certain sensitive cases where the EC was discharging its quasi-judicial function, Mr Sibal had appeared on behalf of the Commission. He did so in the recent case relating to the allotment of the "Charkha" symbol to the Nationalist Congress Party led by Mr Sharad Pawar. Saying that impartiality
and fairness have to be the hallmarks of the Election
Commission’s functioning, the party said it wished
to place on record its serious concern on the recent
developments which tend to "erode the EC’s
fairness". |
Forward bloc attack CPI NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The All-India Forward Bloc (AIFB) today launched a frontal attack on two of its long standing partners the CPI and the CPM for arriving at "an unethical political alliances with the so called secular parties" like the Congress. Expressing its resolve to fight both the BJP and the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha polls, the AIFB manifesto said: "Lack of coordination among Left parties in some states, unethical political alliances at regional level and more inclination to the so called secular parties are the main reasons behind the dismal performance of the Left parties." Releasing the manifesto here, the AIFB General Secretary, Mr Debabrata Biswas said "if the BJP is more aggressive in communalism, the Congress is blatantly compromising with communalism. Both are harmful to the nation and society." The manifesto said that the AIFB’s main poll plank would be to "defeat the BJP, reject the Congress, unite the Left Front and elect the Third Front". Stressing that it was not possible for the AIFB to toe the CPI and the CPM line of having some kind of understanding with the Congress, Mr Biswas said that the two major partners were "bungling under pressure after the fall of Vajpayee government and aligning with the foe against whom we fought for decades". The party, which is
fielding 16 candidates in four states, pledged among
other things electoral reforms and to make right to work
a fundamental right. |
LD-Cong pact changes
scenario MEERUT, Aug 17 — The political scene in western UP is likely to undergo a radical change following the poll tie-up between the Congress and the Lok Dal led by Mr Ajit Singh. The coming together of the two will have political ramifications in over two dozen seats. So far, both the Congress and the Lok Dal had remained underdogs in western UP. During the last parliamentary poll, the Congress, which once had been a major force to reckon with in the region, could not win a single seat. Similarly, Mr Ajit Singh’s party was badly mauled. Even Mr Ajit Singh was defeated by little-known Som Pal Shastri of the BJP in Bagpat which was supposed to be his citadel. Mr Ajit Singh, scion of the late Choudhary Charan Singh, had always won the Bagpat seat. But alignment of forces worked to his disadvantage during the previous elections and he was defeated by the BJP. Likewise, in the Saharanpur parliamentary seat, Muslim leader Kazi Rashid Masood had also to taste defeat at the hands of BJP’s Naqli Singh. During the elections held last the BJP won the Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Hardwar and Bijnore seats. The Samajwadi Party which claims the support of Muslim voters could make it only from the Kairana parliamentary seat. A clear trend which has been visible in western U.P. during the past one decade has been the rising popularity of the BJP, especially among the Jats of western Uttar Pradesh. However, the scenario during this poll seems to be different. For one, the BJP popularity among the Jats of western Uttar Pradesh is on the decline. Second, the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh which had shown their inclination towards the Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav have slowly drifted away from the party. For the Congress, this has been a positive sign. Hence, the tie-up between the Lok Dal and the Congress is likely to improve the poll prospects of the two parties in over a dozen seats. In Saharanpur, prior to Mr Naqli Singh’s victory, Kazi Rashid Masood, General Secretary, Lok Dal, had won the seat thrice. Mr Masood has a strong following among the urban and rural Muslim voters. Further, he also has a good equation with non-Muslim voters in cities. Saharanpur is a Muslim majority constituency with over 3.40 lakh Muslim voters. There is a fair sprinkling of Gurjar voters also. Mr Naqli Singh won with the support of Gurjar and Punjabi voters. Mr Masood had to face defeat because of the Samajwadi Party candidate, Mr Irshad Ahmad. The Gurjar Congress leader, Mr Yashpal, is angry with the party leadership over the poll pact. His annoyance may lead to loss of support to Kazi Rashid Masood among the Gurjar voters. Although Jats had been die-hard supporters of Mr Ajit Singh, yet during the previous poll a section of them chose to vote for Mr Sompal Shastri. But during the past about 15 months, Mr Shastri as Union Agriculture Minister did little for his constituents. Therefore, voters are likely to rally round Mr Ajit Singh once again. In Hardwar, the BJP had won twice. Its sitting MP, Mr Harpal Sathi, who is likely to be renominated, is in knee-deep waters. The poll pact may further affect his chances. Mr Sathi can win from Hardwar provided the Samajwadi Party MLA, Mr Ambrish Kumar, comes to his rescue. But this seems to be a remote possibility. Similarly, in Meerut and
Muzaffarnagar, which were won by the BJP in the last
elections, the Lok Dal-Congress tie-up is likely to
change the scenario. |
TMC, PT form third front CHENNAI, Aug 17 — The hiccups in the formation of the Third Front in Tamil Nadu ended today when the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) leader, Mr G.K. Moopanar, and Dr K. Krishnaswami, leader of the Puthia Tamizhagam (PT), jointly announced the formation of what is to be known as the Progressive Peoples Front (PPF) to fight the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the state. The announcement signalled that the sharp differences that had developed between the TMC and the PT over seat-sharing had been amicably resolved. Neither Mr Moopanar nor Dr Krishnaswamy gave details of the agreement but indicated they would be announced later in the day. It was, however, stated that the PT would contest 10 seats. The controversy over the allocation of a couple of constituencies between the two parties had seemed insurmountable over the weekend, but detailed talks between the two leaders last night resulted in the accord. At the press conference, leaders of other small parties, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Republican Party of India, the Janata Dal and the Dalit Panthers, who have joined the front were present and expressed their solidarity with the TMC leading the alliance. Mr Moopanar also released the manifesto of his party and said the front would fight the elections on the twin planks of anti-communalism and anti-corruption. He said the motivation for the formation of the third front was the undesirability of the two other electoral alliances in the state led by the DMK and the AIADMK. It is too early to predict what is in store for the PPF in the elections for the 39 Lok Sabha seats, but a triangular contest in which two established Dravidian parties figure prominently could prove to be a disadvantage to the Moopanar alliance. But the TMC manifesto claimed that the two weeks since the Third Front took shape had shown that a social revolution in Tamil Nadu was on the anvil. Mr Moopanar is hoping
that the forthcoming elections would be the springboard
for the front to revive the Kamaraj rule in 2001 when the
elections for the Tamil Nadu Assembly are due. |
EC asks DD to stay neutral NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — The Election Commission today directed the Chief Executive of the Prasar Bharati Corporation and other senior officers of the Doordarshan to maintain "absolute neutrality" in their news bulletins and news related programmes including those on its 24-hour news channel in the election period and sought detailed information in this regard on a regular basis. "The commission gave a clear and unambiguous message to the senior officials that both in the normal news and news related programmes of the Doordarshan and in its 24-hour news channel, absolute neutrality is to be maintained with a fair and balanced coverage of the views and opinions of the various players in the political spectrum," it said after a meeting with the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting and the CEO of Prasar Bharati Corporation. The commission had recently directed that during the election period the ministry and political executive should keep their distance from the day-to-day operations of the All India Radio and Doordarshan, it said. "The commission has
directed that this should be closely monitored, at the
highest level, by the Prasar Bharati Corporation and the
commission is to be provided with detailed information,
in this regard on a regular basis," it said. |
Special cell to help Gaisal
victims NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The Gaisal railway accident is one of the biggest ever claim event to be handled by the Railway Claims Tribunal in this century. Sources said the Indian Railways has so far paid Rs 14 crore to the United India Insurance Company (UIC) as premium for insurance to its passengers against death and injury while travelling by train. For the purpose the railways is setting up a special cell and will approach the families of the victims, instead of the usual practice of waiting for the application to be filed by the affected persons or families. A spokesman of the insurance company said no claims for compensation had yet been forwarded by the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) as the special cell of the RCT was in the process of eliciting applications. The insurance policy is said to be one of the world’s biggest covering more than 400 crore passengers per annum. Till date Rs 35 crore has been paid by the insurance company under the scheme. From August 1, 1994, the railway administration has become liable to pay compensation for loss of life or injury to bona fide rail passengers , “ who become victims of untoward incidents”. Payment of compensation is governed by the Railway Accidents and Untoward Incidents (Compensation) Amendment Rules, 1997. Under these rules, the amount of compensation payable in case of death and injuries which deprive a person of all capacity do any work is Rs 4 lakhs. For other injuries, the amount varies from Rs 32,000 to Rs 3.62 lakh depending upon the nature of the injury. Ex-gratia relief is given by the railway administration soon after an accident. While Rs 15,000 is paid to next of kin of the dead, Rs 5,000 in the case of the grievous injury and Rs 500 in the case of simple injury. The ex-gratia relief is intended to meet the immediate expenses and is not taken into account at the time of final settlement of compensation claims. In the case of Gaisal accident, assuming that not more than 300 persons have died, an amount of Rs 12 crore would have paid by the insurance company as claims. Add this to the claims that have to be paid to injured, the total amount would exceed the premium (Rs 14 crore) paid the railway authorities to the insurance company this year. An application for compensation be made to the tribunal by the person who has suffered any injury or suffered any loss or by any agent duly authorised by such person on his behalf. If the affected person is a minor the application can be filed by his guardian. If a person, who has made an application for compensation, desires to be paid an interim relief, he should apply to the railway administration for payment of interim relief along with the copy of the application. Prior to August 1994, death and injury compensation claims were considered by the claims commissioners who were specifically appointed for each accident. Sources say the present system of referring claims to the Tribunal, is more scientific and passenger friendly. The rules of compensation are said to be more scientific and the amount is determined on the basis of the doctor’s certificate. The compensation awarded by the RCT in the case of deaths has been increased from Rs 2 lakh in August, 1994, to Rs 4 lakh. The enhanced amount came into effect from November 1998. There are 21 branches of the RCT located all across the country with Uttar Pradesh alone having three branches. Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989, says that the railway administration will pay compensation for loss of life to rail passengers who become victims of untoward incidents such as terrorist acts, violent attack, robbery, dacoity, rioting, shoot-out or arson. The passengers, for the
purpose of definition, includes a railway servant on duty
and a person who has purchased a valid ticket for
travelling by a train carrying passengers on any date or
a valid platform ticket and becomes a victim of an
untoward incident. |
Sinha renominated from
Hazaribagh NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — Having overcome the hiccups over a seat sharing arrangement with the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party today released the names of candidates for all the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies it is contesting in the state. The BJP also released a revised list of seven candidates from Andhra Pradesh following its seat sharing arrangements with the Telugu Desam Party. It also announced the name of two candidates from Maharashtra. The names of candidates for 23 assembly seats in Andhra and six in Maharashtra were also released. The BJP has so far announced the names of 312 candidates, including today’s list. The party which contested 32 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the 1998 elections has conceded the constituencies of Siwan, Sitamarhi and Balia to the JD (U). Prominent among those who would be contesting in the BJP ticket from Bihar includes the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, who has been renominated from Hazaribagh. Cricketer Kirti Azad, who contested the Delhi Assembly elections against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, also finds a place in Darbhanga constituency. Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Babu Lal Marandi, (Dumka ST) senior party leader Mrs Rita Verma (Dhanbad), and Mrs Abha Mahto (Jamshedpur) have also been renominated. In Maharashtra, the party replaced Mr Ghanshyam Shelar, who had been named earlier to contest from Ahmednagar with Mr Dileep Gandhi. Mr Rajendra Dange has been nominated from Sangli. Of the seven seats announced in Andhra Pradesh, Union Minister of State for Urban Affairs Bandaru Dattareya would contest from Secunderabad and state party Vice-President N. Venkataswamy, a retired IAS officer from the pilgrimage centre of Tirupati (SC). Mr Govindacharya said
the party would contest eight constituencies in Andhra
Pradesh and the eighth seat would be announced later. |
Sahib Singh files papers NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — Twenty-two candidates, including the BJP candidate for Outer Delhi Parliamentary seat, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, filed their nominations today. With one day to go for the nomination process to conclude, a total of 49 candidates have filed their papers so far. Polling will take place on September 5. The maximum number of 11 candidates, including the BJP candidate and Delhi Mayor Anita Arya, filed their nominations for the Karol Bagh reserved constituency. Till yesterday, no candidate had filed his nomination for this seat. For the only reserved constituency the Congress had announced the name of the sitting MP Ms Meira Kumar. Others who filed their nominations for the Karol Bagh seat were Ms Purnima Vidhyarthi (BJP covering candidate), Mr Ganga Sahai Bairwa of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Mr Ram Swroop Bhairav and Mr Jai Singh Bhari of the BSP, Ms Kalawati of the Bhartiya Parivartan Morcha, Mr Shailender Kumar of the Akhil Bhartiya Manav Adhikar Dal and four Independents. Mr Sahib Singh and two other Independent candidates, filed their papers for the Outer Delhi seat. Five candidates including Mr Ram Swaroop Rawat of the Bahujan Ekta Party, Mr Narinder Kumar Jain of the Akhil Bhartiya Manav Adhikar Dal, Mr Shyam Bihari of the People Front, Delhi and Mr Ishwar Verma of the Sarpanch Samaj Party filed their nominations for the East Delhi Parliamentary seat. Former Delhi Minister, Purnima Sethi filed her nominations for the South Delhi seat as BJP covering candidate. The official BJP candidate, Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra, was among the first persons to file nominations. Mr J. L. Jahrat of the N CP filed his nominations for the New Delhi seat. While the BJP has announced the names of the candidates for all seats, the Congress has so far announced three candidates — Mr R K Dhawan from New Delhi, Ms Meira Kumar from Karol Bagh and Dr Manmohan Singh. The seven BJP candidates
are: Dr Vijay Kumar Malhotra from South Delhi, Mr Lal
Bihari Tiwari from East Delhi, Mr Sahib Singh Verma from
Outer Delhi, Mr Madan Lal Khurana from Sadar, Mr Vijay
Goel from Chandni Chowk, Ms Anita Arya from Karol Bagh
and Mr Jagmohan from New Delhi parliamentary
constituency. |
Advani talks federalism MADURAI, Aug 17 (PTI) — Union Home Minister and BJP leader L.K. Advani today said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was a powerful coalition comprising of a galaxy of great leaders like A.B. Vajpayee and M. Karunanidhi and claimed that only the NDA could protect democracy and provide a stable and efficient administration. Launching the election campaign of the NDA in this temple city, Mr Advani said unlike the congress, the BJP believed in participatory democracy and strengthening regional parties. “We believe that by aligning with the regional parties the federal set up of the country could be protected,” he said. The BJP succeeded in bringing regional parties, including the National Conference, DMK and other smaller parties under the banner of NDA, only because it believed in a federal set-up for the country, Mr Advani said. Mr A.B. Vajpayee, he said, had proved himself to be an able Prime Minister during his 13-month rule. He had proved that he was efficient as an administrator and peace-maker, he said. Listing the achievements
of the the BJP-led government, he said a solution to the
decades-long Cauvery dispute was a remarkable one. |
Second phase of poll notified NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (UNI) — The process for the second phase of the 13th Lok Sabha elections spread over 123 constituencies in eight states was set in motion today with the President issuing the notification for the September 11 polling. However, the today’s notification will actually cover only 103 constituencies in seven states as the elections in 20 constituencies in Kerala which will also go to the polls on September 11 have already been notified on August 12. Separate notifications were issued by the respective state Governors for the second phase of assembly polling in Andhra Pradesh (105 constituencies), Karnataka (104) and Maharashtra (144). The today’s
notification covers the states of Andhra Pradesh (15
constituencies), Jammu and Kashmir (2), Karnataka (13),
Madhya Pradesh (14), Maharashtra (24), Rajasthan (15) and
Tamil Nadu (20). All these states, apart from Andhra
Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, will have a two-day poll
on September 5 and 11. |
Probe jail officers’
conduct: NHRC NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Rajasthan Government to order a probe into the conduct of officers of Bikaner Central Jail. The commission has also asked the state government to pay an interim relief of Rs 20,000 to the complainant who was harassed by the officers. The commission has acted on a complaint made by a convict serving life imprisonment. In his complaint to the NHRC, Harbhajan Singh, levelled charges of corruption against the Jail Superintendent. He alleged that the officer denied him parole for the treatment of his wife (who died later) by deliberately furnishing false documents. According to the
complainant, the officer allegedly used travel documents
belonging to another prisoner, a namesake of Harbhajan
Singh to oppose his plea for parole before the District
Magistrate. |
Firm allowed to recover loan from Bachchans MUMBAI, Aug 17 (PTI) — In a significant order, the Mumbai High Court has allowed a London-based firm to execute a decree in India to recover $ 14,57,230 along with interest from film star Amitabh Bachchan and his brother Ajitabh. Dallah Albaraka Investment Co Limited, a body corporate existing under the laws of the UK, had moved the High Court through chamber summons to execute a decree under Section 13 read with Section 44A of the Civil Procedure Code. The firm also annexed a certificate from the Master of Queen’s Bench division of the Supreme Court of England and Wales which stated that a decree for $ 14,57,230 plus interest remained outstanding from Bachchan brothers who had borrowed a sum of $ 16,09,135 for business purpose. Allowing execution of the decree, Mr Justice F.I. Rebello disposed of the chamber summons taken out by the UK-based firm but stayed his order until September 29 next to enable the judgement debtors (Bachchan brothers) file an appeal. Counsel for Bachchan
brothers Virendra Tulzapurkar and Anil Menon, opposed the
chamber summons on the ground that the consent given (on
the basis of which decree was passed) was not a free
consent. |
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| Convict flees from police
custody AHMEDABAD: A murder convict serving life imprisonment at the Sabarmati central jail here escaped from police custody on Monday. Chandrabhusan Yadav was admitted to a civil hospital on being indisposed and was allotted a bed in ward number B-8 from where he escaped in the wee hours, according to police sources. Following the incident, two policemen were arrested and served with suspension orders, the sources added. — PTI Shubha Mudgal’s
album released IAF told to pay
arrears to employee Indian second in
essay competition No RDX found at
Sealdah Quarterly on
terrorism |
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| Punjab
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