Thursday, December 9, 1999
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Cong demand
‘unjustified’ NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — The Congress today reiterated that it would continue to press for the resignations of three Union Ministers chargesheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case even as the BJP criticised it for raking up the issue. Walkout in LS over merger issue NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — A government proposal to merge the National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) generated much heat in the Lok Sabha today with major Opposition parties staging a walkout over the issue. |
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 MUMBAI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan along with children at an AIDS awareness, fund raising programme at NSCI in South Mumbai on Tuesday evening. — PTI
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Naxals blow up govt holdings in Andhra HYDERABAD, Dec 8 — In a fresh bout of violence and arson, Naxalites blasted government properties, including three multi-access rural radio (MARR) telephone sets, several state buses and a mandal revenue office at various places in Andhra Pradesh, even as two of them were killed in factional rivalry in Anantapur district during the last 24 hours. Speaker opens course for new MPs Rs
100-cr to boost software export Misa’s
MBBS result generates heat in LS Merchant
robbed of Rs 1.65 lakh CJI
for holding court in jail Badal
calls on Vajpayee Kenyan
Minister arrives today |
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Cong demand
‘unjustified’ NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — The Congress today reiterated that it would continue to press for the resignations of three Union Ministers chargesheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case even as the BJP criticised it for raking up the issue. Party spokesman, M. Venkiah Naidu said the Congress insistence on the resignations of three Union Ministers, including Home Minister, L.K. Advani, was not justified as even Indira Gandhi during her return to power in 1980 had several cases pending against her. He said at the time Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1980 there were cases against her, including the one on procurement of jeeps. Similarly, in the Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai, almost all ministers then had cases (registered during the Emergency) pending against them and in some instances the courts had upheld their detention. He said there was no basis for the Congress argument that the three Ministers—Mr Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms Uma Bharti—who have been “falsely implicated” in the Babri Masjid demolition case, had no right to continue in office as a charge sheet per se did not disentail anybody from being a minister. He said the charges against the ministers did not relate to corruption, misuse of power, or misappropriation. Mr Naidu claimed that the three leaders had merely undertaken a nationwide political journey to educate the masses and counter the disinformation campaign unleashed by their political adversaries. He said there was enough evidence, including cassettes and newspaper reports, that the three leaders had tried to persuade kar sevaks at Ayodhya not to destroy the “disputed structure” there. Mr Naidu said they had been in office for the past 21 months and the Congress had raised the issue against them only now as they wanted to counter the charge sheet filed in respect of the Bofors case. He warned the Congress that it would be better for them not to rake up the issue any more as the BJP’s response would be “unpalatable” to them. He said the Babri case against them was pending since 1993 and there had been no new development since then. At a time when the nation was getting ready to forget the incident, the Congress was creating tension by raking up the issue once again, he alleged. He said fortunately there was peace throughout the country except for Aurangabad, where some tension was reported. He said the Congress provocation would only lead to such incidents of tension in the future and urged it to desist from raking it up. On the Congress claim that the Prime Minister had secured the resignations of Mr Madan Lal Khurana and Mr Advani when they were accused in the Hawala case, Mr Naidu said they had resigned voluntarily. The Congress spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, said the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s refusal to drop the three ministers had exposed the “hypocrisy” of the BJP and the high standards of morality established by successive Congress governments stood destroyed by the BJP-led government. He pointed out that in the past, Congress ministers and Chief Ministers used to tender their resignations on moral grounds whenever allegations were levelled against them. They did not wait for the prosecution to begin or the charge sheet to be filed or charges to be framed. Saying that the Babri Masjid had acquired the status of the symbol of secularism in the country, Mr Jogi said the three ministers had committed a crime against the nation by not only playing a role in the demolition of the mosque, but also by their acts of omission and commission. He said the letter of
resignations which Mr Advani and Dr Joshi allegedly wrote
in Parliament itself and handed over to the Prime
Minister was nothing but a drama enacted in full view of
the nation. |
Walkout in LS over merger issue NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — A government proposal to merge the National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) generated much heat in the Lok Sabha today with major Opposition parties staging a walkout over the issue. Members of the Congress, the Left, the Samajwadi Party and other parties walked out expressing dissatisfaction over Union Power Minister P.R.Kumaramangalam’s contention that the government had taken no decision on allowing the NTPC to purchase the NHPC and the proposed merger was only one of the options being considered by the government so that it could pursue an accelerated power development programme and also improve the hydel-thermal mix during the time frame up to 2012. Replying to a calling attention notice given by Mr S.Jaipal Reddy of the Congress and Mr Basudev Acharia CPM, Mr Kumaramangalam said the NTPC had appointed the ICICI to analyse various options for financial engineering and disinvestment in the central power sector undertakings CPSUs and the final report was awaited. The minister said the power development programme of the government involved a capacity addition of 1.28 lakh MW during the 10th and 11th five year plans and associated transmission and distribution systems, the requirement of funds would be of the order of Rs 11 lakh crore. The ninth plan had provided for a plan outlay of Rs 1.25 lakh crore of which the Central outlay was Rs 53,299 crore and state sector outlay Rs 71,227 crore. Since the resources likely to be made available in the 10th and the 11th plans would be of the order of Rs 2.5 lakh crore it would have to be substantially augmented to a level of around Rs 11 lakh crore by mobilising resources. It was in this respect that the government was considering various options like higher plan allocation, levy of cess on power generation, upward revision of tariff, financial engineering like acquisition, amalgamation or disinvestment and implementation of power sector reforms, he said. Refuting the allegation that the chairmen of the PSUs were not aware of the options being mooted by the government, he said he had a meeting with them and other officials. Objecting to the proposal to merge the NTPC and the NHPC, Mr Jaipal Reddy said there was nothing in common between the two state owned corporations except that both of these generated electricity. He said both companies had adopted different technologies for generating electricity and their merger would affect their profitability. He pointed out that the Disinvestment Commission had opposed disinvestment of shares in the two PSUs and had instead suggested strategic alliances. Mr Acharia said both the NTPC and the NHPC were profit-making units and the purchase of the NHPC would prove expensive for the NTPC and it would become bankrupt. He said after the sale, the NTPC would have no funds to undertake new projects. He said the main
objective of the move to sell the NHPC appeared to be to
bridge the budgetary gap of the Union Government and it
was not intended to strengthen the public sector
corporations. |
There are enemies within:
Mamata CALCUTTA, Dec 8 — Ms Mamata Banerjee has alleged that some ministers from Bihar in the Central Cabinet have ganged up to discredit her functioning as the Railway Minister. According to party sources, Ms Banerjee had already expressed resentment to the Prime Minister at the “odd attitude” of some Cabinet ministers towards her ministry. At a recent meeting with some senior party colleagues at her residence in Delhi, the Railway Minister explained the difficulties she had been facing in running the department following pressure from “within the Cabinet.” She felt she was being isolated and cornered. The party sources refused to identify the ministers but gave enough indications towards two former Railway Ministers, Mr Nitish Kumar and Mr Ram Vilas Paswan and the Finance Minister. Both Mr Nitish Kumar and Mr Paswan had staked their claim for the railway ministership but were denied in favour of Ms Banerjee by the Prime Minister. Ms Banerjee is aggrieved at the direct refusal of the Finance Minister for releasing funds to the Railways to meet the additional burden of the employees’ enhanced salaries as recommended by the pay commission. The railways need an additional Rs 5,000 crore to sanction increased pay packets to its employees, numbering over 15 lakh. Ms Banerjee had already declared that she would not increase the passenger fare and freight, which were the traditional sources of the Railways’ earnings. But the Finance Minister’s refusal to advance funds is now forcing Ms Banerjee to review her decision. Ms Banerjee has demanded that the Finance Minister should sanction the funds or else she would withdraw the subsidy on the freight of coal, fertilisers etc, the earnings of which go to the government exchequer. She has also threatened to stop free passes to MPs, MLAs and other VIPs which “will prevent the Railways’ loss to a certain extent”. Ms Banerjee, who is
already displeased at the sudden appointment of Mr
Bangaru Laxman as the Minister of State for Railways
without her knowledge, feels that she has been purposely
humiliated by some “vested interests” who want
her out of the ministry. |
Naxals blow up govt holdings in Andhra HYDERABAD, Dec 8 (PTI) — In a fresh bout of violence and arson, Naxalites blasted government properties, including three multi-access rural radio (MARR) telephone sets, several state buses and a mandal revenue office at various places in Andhra Pradesh, even as two of them were killed in factional rivalry in Anantapur district during the last 24 hours. PWG activists went on a rampage destroying MARR telephone sets at Laxmipur, Gullapet and Vinavanka villages in Karimnagar district to protest again the killing of four Naxalites, including three top PWG functionaries, allegedly in a police encounter in the Tadhicherla forest area in the district on December 2, the police said. Four state buses were also torched by the ultras in the rural and far-flung areas of Warangal and Nizamabad districts last night forcing the authorities to withdraw bus services in the Naxal-hit areas of the North Telangana region, official sources said. In another incident, eight armed Naxals stormed the office premises of the mandal revenue office at Addatigala in Rajahmundry and blasted the office building with explosives after asking the watch and ward staff to come out. Earlier on Monday night,
two PWG ultras were killed by rivals within the outfit
near Kadiri in Anantapur district. PWG dalam led by
Marrna attacked another dalam led by Sudharshan and shot
dead two of its members, police added. |
Speaker opens course for new MPs NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, today inaugurated an orientation programme for the new members of the House. Speaking on the occasion, he said as the presiding officer it was his constant endeavour to facilitate orderly conduct of the House. However, he said, it could not be possible without the cooperation of the members. Mr Balayogi said since most new MPs would be associated with some committees on various ministries and departments, they should utilise the opportunity to specialise in the subjects they would be asked to deal with. In his welcome address, the Deputy Speaker, Mr P.M. Sayeed, said the objective of the programme was to expose the participants to parliamentary norms and traditions and provide them with an insight into the way Parliament functioned. The week-long programme will provide opportunities to members to discuss and analyse various aspects of parliamentary procedures and familiarise themselves with the operational mechanics of parliamentary institutions. The programme includes
making the members aware of their amenities and
facilities. Rs 100-cr to boost software
export NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — Information Technology venture capital fund to the tune of Rs 100 crore would be launched by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Friday to propel India into a global software export giant. The fund is expected to push India’s software exports to $ 50 billion by the year 2008 as against $ 2.2 billion registered in 1998-99, an annual growth rate of 50 per cent. The fund is being set up by the government in collaboration with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and the software industry, official sources in the recently constituted Information Technology Ministry said. The ministry would contribute Rs 30 crore, SIDBI Rs 40 crore, and IDBI Rs 20 crore towards the fund. The fund aims at
providing venture capital to assist software
professionals and information technology units in the
small-scale sector. |
Misa’s MBBS result generates heat in LS NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (PTI) — The issue of Misa Bharti, a daughter of RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav, topping the MBBS examination conducted by Patna Medical College, today generated heat in the Lok Sabha with a BJP member alleging that she was given the highest marks under pressure from the Rabri Devi government. Raising the issue during
zero hour, Mr Shankar Prasad Jaiswal (BJP) said the
matter had lead to unrest in Patna University where
students had launched an agitation in protest. |
Merchant robbed of Rs 1.65 lakh GREATER NOIDA, Dec 8 — Two armed miscreants robbed Rs 1.65 lakh from a steel merchant here. The victim, Mohan Lal
Kakkar, closed his shop around 6 p.m. and proceeded
towards home on his scooter. As he was about to reach his
house, a green Maruti car approached from behind and
intercepted him suddenly. Mr Kakkar lost his balance and
fell on the roadside. Before he could get up, two armed+
miscreants came out of the car and threatened to kill
him. They snatched the bag containing money from him and
escaped. |
CJI for holding court in jail NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (PTI) — Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand has suggested a novel idea of judges holding courts inside the jail premises to help lessen the agony of thousands of “poor and underprivileged” undertrial prisoners who are languishing behind the bars for committing petty offences. Mr Justice Anand, in a recent letter to the Chief Justices of the high courts, suggested that “every Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the area, in which the district jail falls, could hold his court once or twice a month, depending upon the workload, in jail to take up the cases of those undertrial prisoners who were involved in petty offences and were keen to confess their guilt.” While seeking response from the Chief Justices to the idea, he said, “it is not fair that persons involved in petty offences should suffer incarceration much beyond the ultimate punishment merely on account of fact that they happen to be poor and underprivileged.” The CJI said according to a survey, of the total jail population in the country, the undertrial prisoners constituted 73 per cent and many of them involved in petty offences were ready and willing to confess their guilt. However, he lamented
that they did not have an opportunity to even confess to
their crime before a court of law as the police was yet
to file charge sheets in their cases. |
Badal calls on Vajpayee NEW DELHI, Dec 8 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today urged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to expedite several pending projects in the State. The Chief Minister, who called on Mr Vajpayee along with the former Union Minister, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, requested the Prime Minister to ensure the speedy implementation of projects like Amritsar international airport, Bathinda refinery, Science city and railway links. Earlier, the Chief Minister called on the Communication Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, and discussed steps to strengthen telecom facilities in the State. Mr Paswan assured the
Punjab Chief Minister that the ISD facility would be
provided at all focal points in the state in the near
future. |
Kenyan Minister arrives today NEW DELHI, Dec 8 - Kenyan Foreign Minister Bonaya A. Godana is arriving here tomorrow on a five-day official visit for strengthening bilateral economic and political ties. A bilateral agreement on setting up an India-Kenya joint commission will be signed during Dr Godana’s stay in the capital. The Kenyan Minister of
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will hold
talks with the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant
Singh on December 9. |
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| Super speciality dental
college for Delhi New Delhi: A full-fledged super speciality dental college will soon be set up on the premises of Lok Nayak Jai Parkash (LNJP) Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) in the Capital at a total cost of Rs 14.3 crore. Delhi Health Minister Dr A.K. Walia while inaugurating the four-day All-India Dental Students Convention (AIDSC) here on Wednesday, announced that construction of the dental college spread over 1.25 lakh square feet would begin early next year.—UNI NHRC direction to AP govt Zoramthanga
retains MNF presidentship Indian cheetah
to be resurrected Naval aircraft
crashes |
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