Sunday, December 12, 1999
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Kalyan Singh chapter
closed: Thakre |
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 Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen at a Press conference in New Delhi on Saturday. — PTI photo |
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1
killed; 4,500 huts burnt in major fire Navy ‘must acquire’
N-submarine Mahajan confident on women’s
Bill Portfolios distribution triggers
resentment
Proposal on Ayodhya as
‘heritage city’ Two arrested in murder case SCs threaten rally
SP for speedy implementation of
Srikrishna report CDs worth 4 cr seized |
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Kalyan Singh chapter closed: Thakre LUCKNOW, Dec 11 (UNI) — The BJP President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, today said that the Kalyan Singh chapter was closed for the party and his utterings were now meaningless. Talking to mediapersons, he said the former Chief Minister indulged in indiscipline. In fact, his expulsion should have come about much earlier. The BJP chief presided over a meeting of the national executive of the BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha here. Mr Thakre said the party was not concerned about what Mr Kalyan Singh said regarding BJP leaders or others. "A leaf is relevant only till it is attached to the tree,’’ he said. To a query he admitted that the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister alone was not responsible for the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. "However, it is the prerogative of the party to utilise the services and capabilities of its workers according to needs. Yet, sadly enough, Mr Kalyan Singh wanted to snatch these rights from the party.’’ Mr Thakre categorically stated that Mr Kalyan Singh’s ouster from the BJP would have absolutely no affect on the party. When asked that in such a case Mr Kalyan Singh should have been expelled earlier, the BJP chief replied in the affirmative and quipped, "I consider myself guilty for that.’’ He dismissed speculation regarding the change in the Uttar Pradesh leadership saying, that "the party is not planning a change in the Mr Ram Prakash Gupta government and the next elections would be contested under his leadership’’. Mr Thakre said the new
party chief of the Uttar Pradesh unit would be named in
the next few days. "It was delayed due to my
preoccupations in party affairs and would not be further
delayed,’’ he added. |
557 cadets pass out of IMA DEHRA DUN, Dec 11 — The Indian Military Academy campus here resounded with cheers of 557 gentlemen cadets after the passing-out parade this morning. Anxiety, enthusiasm and ecstasy contributed to the grit and determination of the cadets at the threshold of their self-forgetful career and duty to the nation. The 105th batch of the academy comprising 18 foreign gentlemen cadets took the final step into Chetwode Hall before introducing themselves as Lieutenants instead of GCs. Parents, relatives and friends could hardly resist taking photographs during the march past and were overjoyed when choppers showered flower petals on the cadets. The Vice-Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Chandra Shekhar, who passed out from the IMA in 1959, described the parade as "historic". Addressing the gentlemen cadets of the 105th regular course and 88th technical course, he said those commissioned today would effectively begin their careers in the new millennium. General Shekhar appreciated the valour shown by young officers in Kargil and asked them to put their training at IMA to optimum use in the fields. He conferred distinctions of Sword of Honour, gold, silver and bronze medals on the winners of the autumn term. The Sword of Honour for the best all-round Gentleman Cadet and the gold medal for being the first in order of merit was awarded to Academy Cadet Adjutant Shitij Balhara. Parents and relatives of the cadets were impatient to participate in the traditional piping ceremony where they get a chance to unbutton the flap on the shoulder. This flap shields the cadet’s rank. Later, General Shekhar unbuttoned the flaps for the foreign cadets, some of whom were commissioned into the Royal Bhutan Army. He told TNS that the great deeds of young officers in Kargil had inspired the youth to join the Army. He said about 35 per cent of the commissioned officers would be posted in Jammu and Kashmir. Col Mastinder Singh, who got the Sena Medal after the ‘71 operations, said he allowed his son to join the Army despite his own disability. He said his son had opted for 103 Engineer Regiment which he had also served. Girish Chandra Pandey, son of an architect, is all set to join the 3 Punjab Regiment in Batalik. He said his assignment would entail a strict vigil to prevent intrusion. Vikas Sharma, who hails
from Palampur, dropped out from M.Sc. (microbiology) from
HP University to join the Army. He is looking forward to
joining 15 Punjab Regiment in Jammu. |
1 killed; 4,500 huts burnt in major fire MUMBAI, Dec 11 (PTI) — A seven-year-old girl was charred to death and 4,500 hutments were gutted in a major fire at Dharavi in Central Mumbai today. Two slum dwellers were injured in the fire, which broke out in Asia’s largest slum colony at around 9.45 a.m., the police said, adding that they were hospitalised. The fire brigade said the cause of the fire and the extent of damage were yet to be ascertained. The cause of the fire
that started at 9.46 a.m. is yet to be ascertained.
“Twelve fire engines, four water tankers and two
ambulances were rushed to the spot and the fire was
extinguished by 12 noon, a fire brigade official said. |
Navy ‘must acquire’ N-submarine ON BOARD INS RAJPUR, Dec 11 (UNI) — The Indian Navy must give priority to acquiring a nuclear submarine as part of the indigenisation process to be more pro-active in the Asian region in the coming years, Vice-Admiral Vinod Pasricha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, said today. He was talking to newspersons who were taken on board this vessel to witness naval exercises as part the Navy Week celebrations. Asked whether the Navy
had plans to acquire nuclear submarines, he said the
country having gone nuclear, it was only logical that a
nuclear sub was also inducted to build up its strength
Acquisition of conventional submarines was also being
looked into, he added. |
Net services for space by 2008: Cerf MUMBAI, Dec 11 (PTI) — "Father of Internet" Vinton G Cerf, has shifted gears of Internet (Net) research and started work on developing an inter-planetary networking model targeted at improving the efficiency of space missions to other planets such as Mars, Jupiter and Venus. At a lecture organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) here yesterday, Mr Cerf, the co-founder of Internet Protocol TCP/IP in 1974, along with Mr Rabert E Kahn, said he was working on the project for developing the inter-planetary protocol for the past 18 months, in association with US-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). "The pilot project, involving design and development of hardware and software systems and on which six engineers are working now, is expected to be ready by 2008", he said, adding it was expected to take 40 years to practically implement the whole project on a few planets. Mr Cerf is the Senior Vice-President, Internet Architecture and Technology of the US-based MCI WorldCom. "Space is the final frontier of the Net and the challenge lies in developing a model for inter-planetary network to impart efficiency to the space missions undertaken by the USA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to other planets", he said. The challenge lies in the limiting factors associated with development of space devices such as size, weight and ensuring continuous power supply (through independent and non-replaceable batteries) to them, he added. The other challenges in inter-planetary model include low gravity environment in which computers have to work, providing connectivity between plants and satellites orbiting planets and earth, all of which are mobile objects, Mr Cerf said. The distance between satellites in orbit around various planets and earth would be changing constantly, he added. "We are planning to use radio waves for transmitting data between satellites orbiting around these planets", Mr Cerf said adding the data from Mars takes 20 minutes to reach earth. However, the inter-planetary network will not be so interactive as its earth counterpart, and it would be mostly used for one way communication — from planets to earth — because of longer response time, he said. The design and development part of the project would be over by 2005 and the hardware would be put in place in the same year, Mr Cerf said, adding major advantages of the model would be an opportunity to commercialise such models, low cost and quick transmission and the possible adoption of the model for global environment. Low cost of ownership and operation of Internet devices was the only means by which Net use could get a boost, he said. Two chips have been developed by a US-company for addressing (TCP/IP) protocol and data storage and transmission needs, respectively, were being tested now, Mr Cerf said, adding if the trials proved successful PC prices would come down drastically. Household appliances such as refrigerator and washing machine could be web-enabled in a few years and ‘reading glasses’ which can provide virtual experience to a person would also be available, he added. Auto servicing and health check-up procedures would witness a sea-change when Net-enabled devices come into being, he added. Stating that India was
still at an evolutionary stage, he said offering IT and
web-hosting services globally would be a best bet for
India before Net use picks up in the country. The Indian
government should privatise telecom services more
vigorously to enable growth of Net use, Mr Cerf said. |
Mahajan confident on women’s Bill NAGPUR, Dec 11 (PTI, UNI) — Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said today that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), an ally of the NDA Government, would be convinced to approve the creation of three new states. "We will try to change their (TDP’s) opinion on the issue as by and large a consensus has emerged regarding creation of Chhattisgarh, Vananchal and Uttranchal", Mr Mahajan told reporters here. The Bill on Reorganisation of States may not come up in this Parliament session but as a first step the Cabinet has cleared the proposal to start the process, he said. Mr Mahajan was confident about the smooth passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill during the session. "Though the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have expressed their opposition, the assurance by the main Opposition Congress to extend support will ensure its passage," he said. Referring to some of the Cabinet members’ reservation on the issue, he said the Prime Minister wanted unanimity on the issue and "the decision of the Cabinet is always unanimous and hence there is no question of opposition within the Cabinet". Mr Mahajan said at present the government had no intention of introducing a Bill barring persons of foreign origin from occupying top executive posts. "It will be done at an appropriate time," he added. On the Information Technology Ministry headed by him, Mr Mahajan said he had urged the Prime Minister to constitute a committee for coordination among the space technology, communication and electronic departments. Mr Mahajan defended the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C Balayogi, to allot front row seat to the NCP President, Mr Sharad Pawar on the ground that Mr Pawar had held the posts of the Chief Minister and the Union Defence Minister and had also been the Leader of Opposition earlier. On the claim of the Shiv Sena leader and former Chief Minister, Mr Narayan Rane, that the saffron combine had a strength of 145 legislators in the Maharashtra Assembly to stake claim to form the government, he said, "As far as I remember, we were about 134 or 136 and had the SS-BJP been in a commanding position, the Governor would have obviously invited them to form the government". Asked about the BJP Lok Sabha member, Mr Kirit Somaiyya’s non-official Bill on the issue, he said that but for once a private member’s Bill had not been accepted by the government in the last 45 years. Mr Mahajan recalled that
the only Bill the government had accepted was the one
moved by late Firoz Gandhi on granting immunity to the
members of Parliament against prosecution for their
speeches in the House. |
Portfolios distribution triggers resentment BHUBANESWAR, Dec 11 (PTI) — Debendra Mansingh was inducted as a Minister of State in the Hemananda Biswal ministry today increasing its strength to 31. Mr Mansingh was the lone minister from the previous Giridhar Gamang ministry who had been left out when Mr Biswal expanded his Cabinet on Thursday, causing rumblings within the ruling party. Governor M.M. Rajendran administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new minister at a simple function at Raj Bhavan which was attended, among others, by the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers. Meanwhile, the distribution of portfolios among the ministers had triggered fresh resentment in the ruling party which had witnessed a revolt recently leading to the exit of former Chief Minister Gamang on December 6. Many party legislators, particularly supporters of former Chief Minister J.B.Patnaik openly alleged that ministers belonging to the Basanta Kumar Biswal group had cornered the plum portfolios. Party sources said over 20 MLAs assembled immediately after the expansion on Thursday at the residence of Bijay Kumar Nayak, MLA, from Ersama constituency, to voice their resentment at the way the portfolios were distributed. A former minister in the J.B.Patnaik ministry, who was ignored by both Mr Gamang and Mr Biswal during the constitution of their Cabinets and did not want to be quoted, spoke of quitting the party. He said he was going to his native constituency to discuss the matter with his supporters before taking any decision about his political future. Disgruntled partymen, on the other hand, pointed out that the 31 ministers in the ministry including the Chief Minister, belonged to only 23 of the 30 districts. The party did not have any representation in the Assembly from three districts of Boudh, Deogarh and Malkangiri. But none of seven party MLAs from the four districts of Rayagada, Jajpur, Kandhamal and Sonepur had been picked, they said. On the contrary, the three Congress legislators from Bargarh district and three out of four MLAs in Cuttack district had been taken into the Council of Ministers. The districts of
Kendrapara, Khurda, Keonjhar and Sundergarh had two
ministers each, they said. |
Chandigarh scientist gets award NEW DELHI, Dec 11 (PTI) — Two scientists from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here were among five awarded today by Ranbaxy Science Foundation (RSF) for outstanding contributions in medical sciences. The awards, comprising Rs 100,000 each and a citation, were given away by Dr N K Ganguly, DG, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), at a function. Mr N Kochupillai, Head of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at AIIMS, was awarded for the development of cheap techniques to diagnose endocrine and metabolic diseases and Mr J N Pande, Head of the Medicine Deaprtment at AIIMS, for his contribution to understanding chronic obstructive lung disease, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Mr Amit Ghosh, Director Institute of Microbial Technology Chandigarh, was given the award for his contribution in the development of indigenous cholera vaccine. In the area of basic medical sciences, the award was shared between Prof MRS Rao, of Biochemistry at Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore and Ms Kasturi Datta from the School of Environmental Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here. Prof Rao was selected
for his valuable work in understanding cell genetics
while Ms Datta was selected for her work on hyaluronan
acid binding protein and its role in cellular signalling
process. |
Proposal on Ayodhya as ‘heritage city’ FAIZABAD, Dec 11 (PTI) – A proposal to declare Ayodhya as a "heritage city" has been sent to the Centre in view of its importance as a spiritual and historical centre, Faizabad Divisional Commissioner S P Singh said here today. Another proposal to declare Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama, as a "sister city" of the South Korean capital and develop it in that perspective had been sent by the Resident Commissioner of the state in the capital, he said. The External Affairs Ministry had been requested to take up the matter of developing Ayodhya as a "sister city" of Seoul with the South Korean Government. The Korean Ambassador had also visited Ayodhya recently and expressed desire for constructing a suitable memorial for the princess here. Seoul Mayor Kim He Kay is expected to visit Ayodhya in January to decide on the memorial. A Rs 21-crore Ayodhya development plan had been forwarded to the Uttar Pradesh Government for protecting the heritage of the city which had been divided into three heritage zones,Mr S P Singh said. The zones covered all
spiritual and historical places, including the
traditional "Chaudahkosi" and "Panchkosi
parikarma’’ routes, and development and
conservation plans of these places were included in the
proposal. |
Two arrested in murder case NEW DELHI, Dec 11 — The Delhi police has arrested Vishal Kapahi and Deepak, alias Gora, who were allegedly involved in the murder case of Narender Singh, brother of Model Town MLA, Mr Karan Singh Tanwar. The murder was committed last month at Invitation Banquet Hall in the Model Town area of North West Delhi. The police said Vishal Kapahi was arrested from old Delhi railway station where he had reportedly come from Bihar and was planning to leave for Punjab. Deepak was arrested from his house in Keval Kunj Apartments in Sector 13, Rohini. The police alleged that blood-soaked clothes of Vishal and another suspect, Rajesh, and the weapon of offence were recovered from the house of Deepak. This case had led to the
transfer of the district Deputy Commissioner of Police,
Mr Satyendra Garg, and Assistant Commissioner of Police,
Mr D.D. Sharma. It had been alleged that Mr Garg had
accepted a gift of a checkmate pistol from Ms Saroj Goel,
wife of Susheel Goel, who was one of the suspects in the
murder case. |
SCs threaten rally NEW DELHI, Dec 11 — The All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations today charged the BJP government of making efforts to the convert the confederation’s proposed ‘save reservation rally’ on December 13 into a thanksgiving rally. In a statement issued today, the chairman of the confederation, Mr Ram Raj, said that the Railways Minister of State, Bangaru Laxman and Mr Ram Nath Govind, a BJP MP and national president of Scheduled Castes Front had assured the Prime Minister of converting the rally into thanksgiving rally. "We are determined to hold the rally. If the government wants to convert it in to thanksgiving rally, they should implement the announcement of the Prime Minister on December 5, 1999 before the day of the rally", Mr Ram Raj said. The Department of
Personal and Training (DoP&T) had issued five
anti-reservation orders in 1997 which diluted reservation
to the extent of 40 to 50 per cent. "We want the
withdrawal of these anti-reservation orders and enactment
of Reservation Act which shall be put in place in the 9th
schedule of the Constitution", he said in the
statement. |
SP for speedy
implementation of MUMBAI, Dec 11 (PTI) — The Samajwadi Party, an ally of the Democratic Front (DF) government in Maharashtra, would ask the government for the speedy implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report, that probed the 1992-93 communal riots and serial blasts in the metropolis. "Implementation of the report was the SP’s poll promise and our demand is that those found guilty by the commission must be punished", party leader Majid Memon told newspersons here today. Mr Memon, however, welcomed Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s statement that the DF government would take action on the report within two months and was examining legal and technical aspects pertaining to the commission. The SP leader condemned the "police excesses on minorities" in Aurangabad on the seventh anniversary of the demolition of the Babri mosque. Welcoming the
appointment of a judicial inquiry into the incident, Mr
Memon demanded strict action against the guilty police
officials. |
‘Millennium tourist package’ trains NEW DELHI, Dec 11 (PTI) — The Railways have made special arrangements for celebrating the dawn of the next millennium in a unique way. Two "millennium tourist package" trains, one covering North India and the other South India, will be operational by this month-end. The North India "Millennium Express", carrying 90 passengers at Rs 24,500 per head, would run between December 28 and January 2, 2000. Children below five would be allowed travel free of cost, an official press note said. The train consisting of five first class AC coaches with two-berth and four-berth cabins, a pantry car and staff-cum-guards van would provide local sightseeing at Jaipur (City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Amer Fort), Agra (Taj Mahal, Agra Fort), Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandrabad, Khajuraho (ancient temples) over four days and five nights. The package would cover local transport, entry to historical monuments and special arrangements for the millennium festivities at Agra. Besides traditional receptions, tourists would be provided meals on board or in local hotels, it said. The South India package, costing Rs 18,000 per head, would be available from December 30 to January 4 for 36 persons. The journey by an AC
coach would cover Chennai, Ooty, Bandipur, Mysore and
Bangalore before returning to Chennai. |
CDs worth 4 cr seized NEW DELHI, Dec 11 (UNI) — The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police has seized software and music CDs worth more than Rs 4 crore in the pirated market from a shop in Nehru Place in South Delhi. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Pradeep Srivastava told newspersons today that on a complaint of Dharmender Kapoor of Super Network, a team headed by ACP Rajan Bhagat yesterday raided the shop of M/s R.K. Computers in Nehru Place and recovered 620 CDs containing computer software and 2,112 pirated MP-3 audio CDs each equivalent to 10 -12 normal CDs. Mr Srivastava said the
owner of the shop, Vijay Kumar, had been arrested. A case
under the Copyright Act has been registered against him. |
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| Tibetans hold candlelight
march MUMBAI: scores of Tibetans held a candlelight march at Azad Maidan in South-Mumbai in protest against the "colonial occupation" of Tibet by China on the occasion of Human Rights Day on Friday. Thousands of Tibetans were still languishing behind bars, completely deprived of their human rights, a Tibetan Refugee Association press note said on Saturday. — PTI Pirates
apprehended Youth stabs
grandfather 4 killed in
Tripura Law
Commission’s report A popular site
for tourists INSAT-3B
transponders BJP men blockade
govt offices Restricted
holiday on Dec 13 |
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