Monday, December 13, 1999
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N A T I O N |
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PWG ultras blast railway
station Work on anti-terrorism law begins |
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 Union Defence Minister George Fernandes addressing a "sainik sammelan" in Bhopal on Sunday. — PTI
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CBI will open Mattoo case on
‘HC orders’ Bismillah Khan, Anil Biswas get
Zee awards Jaitley calls for reforms in
parliamentary system UP, Haryana farmers clash over
riverbed Judicial pay panel biased, feel
judges Pressure on Farooq to sack Ansari Kalyan’s expulsion painful:
Sushma Follow Guru’s ideals, says
Vice-President Talks on with CPI for unity:
Yechuri Temple issue ‘on agenda’ 5 shot dead in Haldwani |
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PWG ultras blast railway station HYDERABAD, Dec 12 (UNI) — Naxalites of the banned People’s War Group (PWG) blasted the Rajampet railway station building in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh early today, to protest against the recent killing of their leaders in an encounter. The police said an eight-member Naxalite squad entered the station building and forced the station master and other staff out of the building before blasting it with explosives. In another incident late last night, the extremists dressed like “Ayyappa” devotees shot and wounded a Head Constable at Hanamkonda in Warangal district. The injured policeman, Yadagiri, was admitted to a city hospital, where he was said to be out of danger. In another retaliatory attack, the extremists torched an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus at Dholtapur in Karimnagar district. In the wake of the killing of Nalla Adireddy and two other PWG functionaries in an encounter earlier this month in Karimnagar district, the PWG militants have stepped up violence and begun observing a protest week from December 8 which will culminate in a 48-hour state-wide bandh on December 14. To cope with the situation, the state police has increased security in the Naxalite-dominated North Telangana districts. Apart from conducting surprise checks and combing operations, the police has intensified patrolling in vulnerable points like culverts in rural areas. Security has also been beefed up at government buildings such as railway stations, and political leaders have been advised not to visit interior villages. Expressing serious
concern over the escalation of violence, Chief Minister
N. Chandrababu Naidu had announced on Friday that the
government would implement a rehabilitation package
within 30 days for Naxalites who surrendered and joined
the mainstream. |
Work on anti-terrorism law
begins NEW DELHI, Dec 12 — Preliminary work to draft a new anti-terrorism legislation has begun and the Law Commission is expected to submit its report on the subject after a seminar in the third week of this month. The need to have a new piece of legislation has been felt after the earlier Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act was allowed to lapse in 1995. The Union Home Ministry had requested the Law Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of various anti-terrorism legislations of India and other countries to suggest an appropriate legislation which can address the twin concerns of combating cross-border terrorism and protection of human rights, Home Ministry officials said. The Law Commission has undertaken a study of various anti-terrorism legislations with a view to frame such a legislation which will enable the accused to defend himself more effectively at all stages and at the same time make the fight against terrorism also equally effective, the officials said. It was felt the absence of such a law had seriously constrained the security forces in effectively combating cross-border terrorism and low intensity proxy war being relentlessly waged by Pakistan against India. The ministry said while India lost nearly 30,000 innocent lives in the past 15 years of cross-border terrorism from across the border, the country does not have an anti-terrorism law. It said countries like the UK and the USA who lost very few lives on account of international terrorism had enacted wide-ranging comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation to empower their law enforcement agencies to deal with the situation. It may be recalled that TADA was enacted in 1987 to combat militant activities in Punjab and the ministry said it proved effective in combating cross-border terrorism in Punjab first, later Jammu and Kashmir and still later in other parts of the country. However, during the last year of the Narasimha Rao government the issue of TADA and its application acquired political colour with many sections including influential MPs demanding the Act be scrapped on the grounds that it was “draconian” and was allegedly being misused. Ultimately, in 1995 TADA
was allowed to be lapsed and an alternate law, the
Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, was also introduced in the
Rajya Sabha which had omitted certain provisions of the
erstwhile Act which were allegedly put to use. |
Code of ethics ‘not enough’ NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani today described as inadequate the code of ethics recently adopted by the judges of superior courts, saying it was “drafted in bad language and more canons of ethics could have been added”. “The code of ethics has been drafted in bad language and more canons of ethics dealing with greater areas could have been added to it,” Mr Jethmalani said, inaugurating the fifth convention on “Judicial accountability” here. He said “though I am glad that judges evolved a code of conduct for themselves”, questions like whether a judge can become an actor should have found a niche in the code of conduct. Mr Jethmalani said the government was committed to the creation of a National Judicial Commission (NJC) which should lay down the code of ethics dealing with greater areas and the code had to be in the form of a “legal document”. Such code should not be construed as “interference but cooperation”, he said, adding the American code of conduct for judges had 36 canons, which were drafted by the American Bar Association. Justice Kuldeep Singh said though there was unanimity on creation of the NJC, the government must come out with a White Paper as to what should be the composition of the commission and how it would bring transparency in the functioning of the judiciary. Mr Jethmalani, deliberating on the draft bill prepared by the Committee on Judicial Accountability on formation of the NJC said it should consist of one member each from the government, the judiciary, main Opposition party in Parliament, the academic community and the Bar. Justice Kuldeep Singh differed with Mr Jethmalani and said the commission should be headed by the Vice-President of India and the other members should comprise the Chief Justice of India along with another judge selected by a collegium of judges of the Supreme Court, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chairman of the Bar Council of India. However, they said the primary remedy for proper functioning of the judiciary, the number of judges should be substantially increased and alternative methods like compulsory arbitration and conciliation should be adopted to bring down the heavy backlog of cases. The Law Minister said he would induce the government to increase the number of competent judges, adding “my Ministry of Law will be the law enforcement ministry and the ministry of justice would be the ministry of speedy justice”. Meanwhile, former Chief Justice J.S.Verma has called for judicial accountability in the country, saying it was essential for the independence of the judiciary and maintenance of high standards in public life. Welcoming the recent decision of the judges to declare their assets, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairperson said the step was long overdue. Besides, it should be provided with legal sanction as then alone could it be effectively enforced. Presiding over a workshop on the “Constitution of India: a case of rethinking” here yesterday, he said accountability applied to everyone who held public office and the judiciary should not be made an exception. Citing instances of judges of various High Courts and the Supreme Court facing corruption charges, he said a legislation should be framed for trying corrupt judges as the present Prevention of Corruption Act was not applicable to them. He said efforts should be made to reiterate the values of judicial life as the judiciary along with the executive was an important pillar of democracy. Justice Verma said the
constitutional provision barring courts from interfering
when elections were in progress should be scrapped as it
gave unscrupulous politicians a free hand to do anything.
Besides, an election petition filed at the end failed to
solve the matter as “everyone knows how they are
filed, who files them and how much evidence of
malpractices are collected at the end.” |
CBI will open Mattoo case on ‘HC orders’ NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — The CBI Director Mr R.K. Raghavan, tonight said the agency would re-investigate the Priyadarshani Mattoo murder case if the High Court directed it to do so. “We have appealed to the higher court and are confident of getting a conviction. But if the court gives us a directive to re-investigate, we will do so,” he told Star News here. He said the agency would not spare any official “if we do find that there were any lapses on the part of any officer.” He said the Delhi court remarks about the CBI in the case were a “blessing in disguise” for the agency as the judgement delivered would help it to review its investigation style. “I think it’s a warning to the CBI and our officers... We must always be conscious of our responsibilities. In that sense, it is a landmark judgement, a watershed that will force us to take a hard look at overselves,” Mr Raghavan said. Denying political
interference in the working of agency, he said: “I
do not agree with the perception that the CBI is
politicised. We have considerable autonomy and are trying
to do our best of what is not always an easy job.” |
ISI settles Afghans along LoC in PoK NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Pakistan’s ISI has reportedly got hundreds of Afghan mercenaries settled close to Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the October 12 army takeover, a move seen as an indicator towards the military regime’s plans to increase infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir for militant activities. The way for the settlement of Afghans along one-km belt near the LoC has been paved by evacuating the local populace in Bagh Tehsil, Kotli, Nikial and Balnoi areas of PoK, according to intelligence sources. “The belt is being used for launching militant groups into Jammu and Kashmir,” the intelligence sources said, adding the services of Pakistan’s ex-servicemen were also used for these activities. Stating that the process of settling the Afghans near the LoC started soon after the military takeover in Pakistan, they said “it is evident from the action that the General Pervez Musharraf regime wants the proxy war to intensify.” The reports assume significance since two militant groups active in Jammu and Kashmir — the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen — have very recently announced their plans to increase their activities in the coming days and months. Lashkar-e-Toiba last week asked its ‘Mujahideen’ in the state to further intensify their attacks on army installations during the holy month of Ramzan which began on Friday last. Lashkar chief Hafiz Muhammad Sayeed, in a message to his group’s activists, had asked them to increase their activities since Ramzan was the “month of Jehad” (holy war). Another militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen had announced earlier that it would repeat the Kargil episode by sending its activists across the LoC to capture strategic heights. “Second Kargil campaign” would be undertaken immediately after snow melts there, Harkat chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khaleel had announced at a press conference in Hazira in PoK. The Lashkar and the Harkat are among the six militant groups active in J and K and mostly comprise foreign mercenaries. Other groups active in the state are the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, the Al Badr, the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Islamic front. India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to stop abetting terrorism for any bilateral talks to begin. The Afghans have been settled in increasing numbers opposite Rajouri, Poonch and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir, obviously with an intention to push them across through these areas at any opportunity for militant activities. The settlement has, however, been resented by the local Kashmiris, who fear that it would cause problems for them, besides effecting a demographic change, the sources said. There have been protests in several parts of PoK against the settlements, they said adding in a recent demonstration in Nikial, a large group of local people demanded immediate vacation for their land by the Afghans. The authorities have tried to pacify them by saying that the displacement was not permanent and that the settlers were “Mujahideen” who had come to fight “Jehad in Kashmir”. The protests are said to have been spearheaded by the J and K National Students Federation, the National Liberation Front, and the Al-Mujahid Force. Meanwhile, several groups in PoK have voiced their opposition to any move to convert LoC into permanent border, saying the Jammu and Kashmir could not be divided on the basis of religion or ethnicity. The group, at a convention held in Islamabad recently, also demanded involvement of representatives of people of Jammu and Kashmir of both sides in any Indo-Pakistani talks, the sources said. These groups include the
J and K Muslim Conference, the J and K Muslim League, the
Azad Kashmir League, and PoK wing of the Hurriyat
Conference. |
Bismillah Khan, Anil Biswas get MUMBAI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Shehnai Maestro Ustaad Bismillah Khan and veteran music director Anil Biswas were honoured with the lifetime achievement awards at the first Zee Sangeet awards here for their contribution to light and Hindustani classical music, respectively. Receiving the award from renowned sarod exponent Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan yesterday night, a visibly emotional Bismillah Khan, whose career spans seven decades, said he was thrilled at getting the honour. The Shehnai Maestro, brought in a wheelchair, also stressed the need to encourage classical musicians. Anil Biswas, whose song “Hum Honge Kamyab” became an anthem in Indian schools and with people, was presented the award by renowned music director O. P. Nayyar. Biswas was also instrumental in introducing Mukesh into the world of playback singing in the film ‘Pehli Nazar’. However, the night belonged to Yash Johar’s film ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (KKHH) and Polygram’s Indipop Album ‘Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi’ which won maximum awards. KKHH bagged as many as four awards — the best film album of the year, best song of the year for the film’s title music, best male vocal performance (Udit Narayan) and best female vocal performance (Alka Yagnik). A. R. Rehman won the best music director’s award for the number ‘Chaiyya, Chaiyya’ in Mani Rathnam’s ‘Dil Se’, while Gulzar won the best song writer award for the same number. In the Indipop category,
Polygram’s ‘Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi’ bagged
five awards including the best album, song of the year
(Chudi), best female vocal performance (Falguni Pathak
for Chudi), best music director (Lalit Sen for Chudi) and
best video (Polygram multimedia for Chudi). |
Jaitley calls for reforms in parliamentary system BANGALORE, Dec 12 (PTI) — Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley today called for correcting “aberrations” in the present functioning of the parliamentary system but disagreed with a view favouring a switch over to the presidential form of government. “While correcting parliamentary democracy, we should not go to the other extreme of vesting too much power in one individual, Mr Jaitley said at a seminar here. He struck a different note from Lok Shakti President Ramakrishna Hegde who, in his speech, strongly advocated the presidential system saying the present system had “injected corruption, manipulation, treachery and deception”. They were participating in a national seminar on “50 years of the working of The Indian Constitution — Imperatives of Reforms”, organised by the Rashtriya Nava Niramana Vedike, a non-political outfit of Hegde. Mr Jaitley said, conceptually, parliamentary system was the best system that “we could pick up” but aberrations had crept in by virtue of the election system and the quality of politics being practised now. “We have seen the danger of vesting too much power in one individual”, he said, referring to the days of the Emergency. The present electoral system, he said, the quality of politics emerging out of this system, corruption in public life in a big way and the problem of instability had “tried to fail the country’s parliamentary democracy”. The “fault lies not with parliamentary democracy but with the quality of men who man it. The threat to parliamentary democracy comes not from a dictatorial attitude but from the quality of people who manage it”, he observed. Noting that federalism had been one of the strengths of the constitution, he said states should be given more powers so that they do not “come to the Centre with begging bowls”. He also said repeated abuse of article 356 of the Constitution providing for dismissal of a state government was a danger to federalism and said it required a debate whether it should be abrogated or amended to limit its exercise to “the rarest of rare cases with clear guidelines”. Mr Jaitley said appointment of judges was another area which required a review. He suggested forming of a national judicial commission to appoint judges. Mr Hegde, who favoured the presidential form of government, called for a system wherein the people must directly elect the chief executive be it at the national or state level or even district and panchayat levels. Pleading for the abrogation of Article 356 of the Constitution, he said the federal structure of the Constitution had “completely gone” because of exercise of undue authority by the Centre which dismissed the state governments “negating the popular will”. Mr S. Nijalingappa,
former Karnataka Chief Minister and a member of the
Constituent Assembly, in a message, said directive
principles of the Constitution must be given “utmost
consideration” and implemented. |
UP, Haryana farmers clash
over riverbed SAHPAT (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 12 — Vast open expanses which once served as the riverbed of Yamuna have become a battleground for long standing landownership disputes between the villages of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh resulting in frequent trespassing, skirmishes and damaging of the crop by both sides. While the Panipat district administration had been claiming that it had restored the possession of 40 acres of land to the villagers of Rahimpur Kheri and Mirzapur (Haryana) retrieving it peacefully from the illegal occupation of the farmers of Sahpat and Dundukhera village in Uttar Pradesh, farmers of the UP villages have a different story altogether to tell. Wheat saplings had barely sprouted, just enough as one could feel them. It was around 3.30 p.m. on December 8 when 30 tractors from Haryana side entered our fields and trampled over whatever was there. They made fresh furrows in the fields and dug up the earth in the most violent manner, says Rattan Lal showing deep treadmarks of tractor on the damaged wheat fields. Along with the fertile land of the riverbed lay barren and sandy stretches which have nothing on them except uneven hillocks and holes made by the rats and reptiles. But no one seems to be interested in staking claim over these barren chunks of land. Officials of the Haryana government say that border dispute took a fresh turn some years ago when while conducting consolidation in Sahpat, revenue officials of the Muzaffarnagar district crossed over into the territory of Haryana and demarcated the land of Haryana as their own. This prompted the farmers of Sahpat to cultivate this land. Initially, a “burdi baramadi” record was prepared annually for the villages situated on the banks of Yamuna in which the land recovered or surrendered in the village by alluvion and dilluvion was recorded after conducting a survey every year. This practice continued till the Dixit boundary line established in 1974 and village maps were frozen according to the demarcated line. However the matter didn’t end there. Says the Deputy Commissioner of Panipat, Mr Sandeep Garg: After the establishment of the Dixit boundary line, pillars were erected alongside the Yamuna to demarcate the territories of both states but with the passage of time villagers uprooted these pillars and started grabbing the land. The changing of course by Yamuna too helped them to a great extent. For many years, the river kept deviating from its path creating huge chunks of no-man’s land which lured the villagers into committing bunglings. Sources said that the situation was so grim that both sides had forged Revenue documents and in the absence of proper authentic records this matter seems to be turning out into a nagging headache. In fact, the Uttar Pradesh farmers have even raised loans from banks on these disputed chunks for buying tractors and other agricultural inputs. If the land did not belong to us then how could the government give us loans on this land, questions Kali Ram, an elderly villager. No one here seems to be new to such incidents of rivalry and show of strength not even the jawans of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) who have been posted here after the December 8 incident for patrolling the area. “This sugarcane crop belongs to the villagers of Dundukhera and the farmers of Mirzapur in Haryana were trying to harvest it. This is unfair. We told them that since the dispute is slated to come up for discussion between the officers of the both states on December 14 at a meeting in Panipat, they should not take any step nor should chop down the sugarcane. On the face of it they agreed but when we came here in the morning, the Mirzapur farmers had already harvested the cane. Now what can be done. This will only flare up the issue, “said a PAC jawan. District Magistrate of
Muzaffarnagar, Mr Dinesh Chandra Mishra when contacted
said that they were sending a delegation of the officers
to meet their Haryana counterparts and sort out the
dispute. “My information was that even a posse of
cops of Haryana Police were also involved in the December
8 incident which is bad. This is an inter-state dispute
and such things will only make things worse. We are
trying to sort out the matter through dialogue and if
needed I will myself talk to the Deputy Commissioner of
Panipat on this matter,” Mr Mishra said. |
Judicial pay panel biased, feel judges NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (UNI) — Hundreds of district judges (direct recruit) from across the country are up in arms against the First National Judicial Pay Commission recommendations, which they feel, are not only biased but heavily tilted in favour of promoted officers. Coming together under the banner of All-India Direct Recruit Higher Judicial Service Association (registered), they today decided to move the Supreme Court through a writ petition to challenge the recommendations and seek redressal to the injustice done to them. Association president Additional District and Sessions Judge S.N. Dhingra told newspersons here that the association strongly disapproved the attempt of the pay commission to undermine and look down upon the experience at Bar. Mr Dhingra said the commission had recommended the same pay scale for a civil judge, senior division, and a district judge at entry level which was contrary to service jurisprudence as the district judge was the appellate court of civil judge, senior division, and was on a higher pedestal. Mr Dhingra said the payscales recommended by the pay commission were much below the expectations of the district judiciary. The commission had lowered the annual increment from Rs 450 to Rs 350. He pointed out that while appointing judges for high court, more weightage was given to the experience at Bar and 66 per cent judges were appointed from the Bar, while the commission had discouraged the appointment at district judge level from the Bar by reducing the quota of direct recruits from the existing 15 to 50 per cent to 25 per cent (uniform). Besides, it had given
lower pay scales to the direct recruit from Bar at entry
level than the promoted judges, made the direct recruit
three years junior to the promotee judge at entry level
by giving weightage to service period and providing no
weightage for the period of practice at Bar. |
Pressure on Farooq to sack Ansari NEW DELHI, Dec 11 (PTI) — In a bid to tide over the recent corruption scandal, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah will revamp his entire Cabinet next week even as pressure is building up on him to sack Urban and Housing Minister Maulvi Ifthikar Hussain Ansari, allegedly involved in a housing scam, from the Cabinet. Dr Abdullah has been able to secure resignations from all his ministers except Ansari. The state police has charged Ansari with being involved in a multi-score housing colony scam, sources close to the Chief Minister said here today. The police has also suggested questioning Ansari’s relatives, a top official of the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and some officials of Jammu and Kashmir Bank. Though Ansari has claimed that police investigations have been a ‘‘one-sided affair’’, several NC leaders are of the opinion that he should come out ‘‘clean’’ before any responsibility was given to him in the state Cabinet. This is the first scam that has hit the Abdullah Ministry during his three stints as Chief Minister. Though Dr Abdullah is maintaining a ‘‘studied’’ silence on the issue, party workers have opined that keeping Ansari in the Cabinet may cause a wave of dissension among the rank and file of the party. A number of Cabinet ministers in the Abdullah Ministry had submitted resignations earlier this week, responding to the Chief Minister’s decision to prune his ministry. Dr Abdullah, who has been authorised by the Cabinet to take any decision in this regard, maintains that the matter had been handed over to the police and if Ansari is proved guilty in a court of law he will be punished. Ansari, however, has reportedly threatened to expose a section of the bureaucracy and politicians who, according to him, are bent upon maligning him to ruin his political career. This statement from Ansari has also invited wrath of National Conference leaders, who say that ‘‘no one could hold the party to ransom, particularly an outsider.’’ Ansari was elected from the Pattan assembly segment of North Kashmir on the Congress ticket. However, his close proximity with the Chief Minister earned him a berth in the Cabinet. Meanwhile, the state
government has given the green signal to the R.V. Raju
Commission, probing the scam, to go ahead with
investigations. The panel has indicted Ansari for
accepting kickbacks worth Rs 60.25 lakh in the Sidhra
land scam. |
Kalyan’s expulsion painful: Sushma BHOPAL, Dec 12 (UNI) — Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj today said the expulsion of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh was a subject for introspection by the party. Talking to mediapersons here, she said the issue was really ponderable on how someone who at one stage was a “nayak” (leader) had reached such a situation. The expulsion was “painful” for the party as well as Mr Singh, she said, and added that it was a topic to think on for both sides. Ms Swaraj parried a
direct reply by saying, “instead of unfolding my
views publicly, I prefer to voice it in an appropriate
forum.” |
5 shot dead in Haldwani LUCKNOW, Dec 12 (PTI) — Five persons were shot dead by some miscreants at Haldwani in Nainital district of Uttar Pradesh last night, allegedly owing to gang rivalry, the police said here today. Some of the accused had
been identified, the police said, adding that a case had
been registered and a hunt launched to nab the culprits. |
Follow Guru’s ideals, says Vice-President NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Vice-President Krishna Kant today asked the people to renew their resolve to follow the ideals of Guru Teg Bahadur who sacrificed his life to defend his faith and save his devotees from retribution. In his message, he said “the glorious life of Guru Teg Bahadur is a heroic saga of service and supreme sacrifice for the cause of his belief.” “In an era, which was marked by superstition, oppression and tyranny, he enlightened the masses, infused them with faith and inspired them to proceed on the path of righteousness.” He said on the occasion
of his death anniversary, people should renew their
resolve to follow his ideals for which he lived and died.
|
Talks on with CPI for unity: Yechuri PATNA, Dec 12 (UNI) — The Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member, Mr Sitaram Yechuri today, maintained the CPI would only brighten the electoral prospects of the “communal forces” in the coming Assembly elections in the state if it kept away from entering into electoral ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the CPM. Briefing newspersons on the outcome of its two-day state committee meeting here, Mr Yechuri said it would be “unfortunate” if the CPI did not enter in to electoral alliance with the “secular forces”. He said preliminary talks were on with the CPI leadership to avoid a situation which could be exploited by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) to grab power in the state after the Assembly elections with the “cooperation” of the Vajpayee government at the Centre. The CPM leader said his party was interested in evolving unity among the non-Congress secular forces for defeating the nefarious designs of the “communal forces”. He said the option was open for the CPI (M-L) to enter into the combine. Mr Yechuri said the
Assembly elections in the state were approaching fast and
it was of paramount importance that the secular forces
work together to defeat the communal forces in the state
which, according to him, were “represented by the
BJP and JD (U)”. |
Temple issue ‘on agenda’ NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Close on the heels of expelled BJP leader Kalyan Singh making a volte face on his hardline Hindutva-stand, the saffron party today declared the Ayodhya issue remained on its agenda, asserting the temple would be constructed only when the party was in a position to form government at the Centre on its own. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the temple, as also uniform civil code and ending special status to Jammu and Kashmir, continued to be very much part of the agenda of the BJP. “The Ram temple at Ayodhya may not be on the agenda of the National Democratic Alliance but as far as the BJP is concerned, it is very much on our agenda,” Mr Gupta told reporters in Faizabad. Mrs Sushma Swaraj told
reporters in Bhopal the BJP had not “deserted”
Ram and said “if the party ever comes to power on
its own, it will not shy away from introducing a common
civil code, repealing Article 370 of the Constitution and
other issues.” |
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| Teacher held for
molesting student NASIK: A zilla parishad school teacher at Panwadi in Nandgoan taluka in the district was arrested on Saturday for allegedly molesting a girl student in his school last week. The police said Vijay Bapurao Nikam, who was released on bail, has asked the sixth standard student to prepare tea for him in the school’s canteen where he molested her. The zilla parishad authorities have suspended Nikam. — PTI Economic
package for Uttarakhand sought 11 AP districts
have gold deposits Tusker kills 2
mahouts Youth kills
wife, kids, self Malaria claims
30 lives |
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