Saturday, June 5, 1999
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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JMM case: Six ex-MPs let
off Directive to Punjab CEO on poll rolls |
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Shift George, says Gujral
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Talks preliminary:
Manmohan UP surpasses Punjab in milk
production Amarinder seeks case withdrawal No cigarettes, bidis at rly
platforms |
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JMM case: Six ex-MPs let off NEW DELHI, June 4 (PTI) — A city court today discharged six former MPs in the multi-crore JMM MPs bribery case in view of immunity for an act done in Parliament but turned down the plea of former union minister Ajit Singh for discharge. Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke discharged former union minister Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, Roshan Lal, Hazi Ghulam Mohammad, Ram Sharan Yadav, Anadi Charan Das and Abhey Pratap Singh, saying "they are entitled to immunity in view of the Supreme Court ruling" of April 17 last year. These MPs had allegedly taken bribe to vote against a no-confidence motion against the then P.V. Narasimha Rao Government in July, 1993. The Congress Government, though in minority, had scraped through the motion by a slender margin. The Supreme Court had held that Article 105(2) of the Constitution, which granted immunity to the MPs from criminal prosecution for anything said and done in Parliament, extended to even voting in consideration of a bribe. The court rejected the plea of former union minister Ajit Singh seeking discharge from the case, saying "he is not entitled to immunity as his case is very different from the other accused who were granted immunity in the case". The court said that Mr Ajit Singh had voted in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Rao Government after allegedly receiving the bribe for voting against it and thus "no nexus between the alleged motive and criminal conspiracy is established". The court discharged the then three JMM MPs, Shibu Soren, Simon Marandi and Suraj Mandal, from the charges under Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) and criminal conspiracy against them on the basis of the Supreme Court ruling but said they would face trial for "fabricating false evidence during the investigation of the case". The court also directed the CBI to amend its charges in view of its order and directed the accused, except those discharged, to appear in person before it on July 5, the next date of hearing. The CBI had alleged that the three JMM MPs had fabricated documents during the investigation of the case in 1996 and produced fake donation receipts in respect of the bribe money deposited by them in the bank and that they should face trial for fabricating false evidence. The court accepted the contention of the prosecutor that the fabrication of evidence was done in 1996 and this could not be related to the offence for which the Supreme Court had granted immunity. Following the discharge of the six accused in the case, former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, former union ministers Capt Satish Sharma, Ajit Singh and Buta Singh, former chief ministers M. Veerappa Moily and Bhajan Lal and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeshwar Rao are among the others to face trial in the case. Other accused who would
face trial in the case are two former Karnataka
ministers, H.M. Revenna and Ramalinga Reddy, two
Karnataka based liquor barons, D. K. Adikeshavulu and M.
Thimme Gowda. |
Directive to Punjab CEO on poll rolls NEW DELHI, June 4 — The Election Commission (EC) today directed electoral registration officers of certain states to personally scrutinise the high registration of voters which in some cases went up to between 6 per cent and 7 per cent. The EC also asked the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab and the District Electoral Officer of Faridkot district to specially supervise and inquire into allegations of the stuffing of electoral rolls, EC sources said today. The EC's response came in the wake of news reports in this regard, the sources added. The EC also sent a communication to the chief electoral officers of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka where it was noticed that the percentage jumped after the revision to enrol voters. The EC said this was against the normal annual increase of 2 per cent. The high percentage was noticed in 52 assembly constituencies in West Bengal, 18 in Karnataka and 44 in Andhra Pradesh. The officers concerned were asked to personally supervise the scrutiny before disposing of the cases, either by acceptance or rejection. They were also directed to send progress reports twice in a week. They were told that they would be held personally responsible if any lapse occurred. Similar directions were issued to all other states to personally look into the matter before June 21 and scrutinise the lists once again. The order followed the
EC directive to all states on May 20 asking them to take
measures to prevent stuffing the electoral rolls on the
eve of the general election. |
Shift George, says Gujral NEW DELHI, June 4 — A former Prime Minister, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral, today urged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to shift Mr George Fernandes from the Defence Ministry. Mr Gujral said in a letter to the Prime Minister that Mr Fernandes had been making "imprudent" statements without realising that "the burden of his office demands restraint". The former Prime Minister in his letter said "the country is involved in a grave struggle in the killing fields of Kargil where our brave men and officers of the Army and the Air Force are making supreme sacrifices to safeguard the nation’s integrity. Their acts of bravery and valour are admired by a grateful nation." Referring to the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister to brief the political parties on the Kargil developments here last month, Mr Gujral pointed out that even in that meeting voices of protest were raised regarding some imprudent statements by the Defence Minister. "You had tried to modulate these feelings. Like others I had hoped that at least your counsel of moderation would make Mr Fernandes tone down his subsequent utterances. Unfortunately, such hopes have been belied", Mr Gujral said. "The irony is that despite the protests from your own party, the minister does not appreciate that the burden of his office demands added restraint", he said. As a result, the former Prime Minister stated, the government was speaking in varied voices and tones as was witnessed soon after the Pokhran 11 nuclear tests. Mr Gujral said he held Mr Fernandes in high esteem for many of qualities of head and heart but "I have to overcome this emotion and ask you to please shift him to a position that may be more in tune with his temperament". He said this was a
moment of grave crisis. The Prime Minister has to rise
above constraints and not let the nation get involved in
avoidable controversies. I do hope you will appreciate
the spirit and motive of my writing to you", he
added. |
The Pak jugglery on LoC NEW DELHI: A detailed study of the 1949 India-Pakistan agreement on the establishment of a ceasefire line in Jammu and Kashmir gives the lie to the latest Pakistani claim that the ceasefire line was not demarcated on the ground. The claim was made by Brig Abdul Rashid Qureshi, Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Service public relations, apparently to justify the Pakistani armed thrust along the Batalik ridge in the Kargil-Dras sector, where Indian combat aircraft have gone into action to uproot a sizeable force of infiltrators occupying high ground. The Simla Agreement, which bound India and Pakistan not to resort to force in the settlement of disputed issues, updated the 1949 Ceasefire Agreement with modifications and termed it the Line of Control (LoC) held by the two sides in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has been using the controversy on the demarcation of the line to justify its aggressive forays aimed at changing the alignment of LoC to its advantage, and thereby gaining strategic depth inside Jammu and Kashmir. The argument has dangerous implications for peace in the sub-continent as it tends to seek endorsement of Pakistani bid to change alignment of LoC, not through negotiations, as is implicit in the Lahore Declaration, but through mercenary infiltrators, who spearhead its aggressive forays along the Batalik ridge in the Kargil-Dras sector of the state. The agreement establishing a ceasefire line was signed in Karachi on July 27, 1949, and the document was jointly signed by Gen(retd) Shrinagesh on behalf of India, and Major-General J. Cawthorn on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. Mr Hemando Samper and Mr Delvoie signed the agreement on behalf of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan. A close scrutiny of the ceasefire agreement clearly reveals that the ceasefire line runs from Manawar in the south, north to Keran and from Keran east to the Glacier area in the north. Not only was the ceasefire line delineated point by point on the ground, but was also drawn on a one-inch map and finally verified mutually on the ground by local commanders on each side with the assistance of UN Military Observers. Apart from binding the two sides to maintain a 500-yard no-man’s land separating them, Clause (D) of the Agreement made it clear that no troops “shall be stationed or operate in the area of Burzil Nullah from south of Minimarg”, currently the headquarters of Pakistan army brigade, which also serves as a base for infiltration along the Batalik ridge, in addition to brigade headquarters at Skardu. In order not to leave any room for ambiguity on the delineation of line in this sector, the Agreement specifically mentioned that the area south of Minimarg “is bounded on the west by the ridge leading northeast from Dudaikal to point 13071....”. In fact, around the time the ceasefire line was established, India challenged Pakistan’s right to be acknowledged as a party to the agreement, in relation to the northern frontier areas as the situation there was “qualitatively different from other areas of the state”. New Delhi held the view
that “disturbances” in the northern frontier
region, comprising Baltistan and Gilgit were a
“local affair”, and Pakistan had no
locus-standi there. It was in pursuance of this that
Jawaharlal Nehru asserted that the defence of
‘northern territories’ was the responsibility
of India. In a series of communications to the United
Nations Commission of India and Pakistan, the late Prime
Minister proposed to garrison troops at 14 places —
a demand which the Commission agreed to consider, while
implementing other UN resolutions relating to Kashmir.
— IPA |
Cong-AIADMK tie-up CHENNAI, June 4 (PTI) — The Congress today said it was optimistic about formalising its alliance with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu soon and wanted the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) to join the front to consolidate secular forces. CWC member Manmohan Singh, who called on AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha for resuming alliance talks yesterday along with his colleague, Mr A. K. Antony, told a press conference here that the TMC, comprising “old Congress colleagues”, should take note of the changed political situation. “We hope they will join the secular forces”, Dr Manmohan Singh said. Asked whether during his talks with Ms Jayalalitha she had laid down any precondition for the dismissal of the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu, Dr Manmohan Singh replied in the negative. The discussions were “preliminary”. “We have not yet formalised the alliance between the two parties,” he said. On the possibility of the “MRG formula” of seat-sharing being adopted by the Congress and the AIADMK, he said, “we discussed some permutations and combinations”. Under the formula, the Congress takes two-thirds of the Lok Sabha seats in the state and the AIADMK one-third, with the figures being reversed for the assembly). On the significance of TMC president G K Moopanar rushing to Delhi yesterday, apparently at the invitation of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Dr Manmohan Singh said it would be only after he and Mr Antony reported back to Mr Sonia Gandhi and their inputs were collated with the details of the discussions with the TMC, that he could say whether there was any significance to it. Asked whether the corruption cases against Ms Jayalalitha would be a burden on the alliance, as the factor might weigh with the voters, he said his party would not condone acts of corruption. While the courts should deal with charges, the issue should not be used for political “vendetta”, he said. When it was pointed out that the Supreme Court had said there was no “vendetta” involved in the institution of cases against her, Dr Manmohan Singh hastened to say he was not saying that some sort of vendetta was involved. Dr Manmohan Singh said
the prospects of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections
would not be affected by the party’s stand to not
project anyone as the Prime Ministerial candidate until
after the elections. |
UP surpasses Punjab in milk production RAE BAREILLY, June 4 (UNI) — Uttar Pradesh has surpassed Punjab as the number one milk producer in the country, thus achieving a landmark in dairy development. Milk Development Secretary J.P. Sharma told UNI here that the state was now producing 140 lakh tonnes milk annually, accounting for 18 per cent of the total milk production in the country. With the increase in milk production following adoption of several measures, including financial and technical back-up to milk unions, the per capita availability of milk has also gone up from 192 grams to 220 grams per day. According to Mr Sharma, a total of 15,759 milk cooperative societies had been formed till March this year, leading to the procurement of 8.39 lakh litres of milk per day. A record was set by procuring 13.50 lakh litres of milk, the highest ever, on any single day in 1998-99, he disclosed. The sale of milk went up to 5.25 lakh litres per day, which was 17 per cent higher than that of the same in the preceding year, he said. Besides, 2,453.38 tonnes of ghee, 1,849.61 tonnes of butter and 2,853.41 tonnes of skimmed milk powder of excellent quality was also produced in the last financial year, Mr Sharma added. Under this project, till March a loan of Rs 64.85 crore was given to 26,268 persons, who purchased 43,671 milch animals of developed breed, which, in turn provided self-employment opportunities to 36,355 people at their door-step. To maximise the participation of women in the dairy sector, a mahila dairy project was implemented in 72 districts of the state. Under this project, 1935 women milk cooperative societies with 67,535 members has so far been organised, Mr Sharma said. The Secretary, Dairy Development, said keeping in view the harmful effects of synthetic milk quality control managers of all milk unions had been trained and asked to maintain a strict vigil in this connection. Besides, the infrastructure made available through a World Bank- financed project ‘UP DASP’ was being regularly utilised to impart special training to secretaries of milk societies about “hygienic milk production”. The officials of the
Dairy Development Department had already started checking
adulterated milk in 30 districts, with the help of
special kits made available to them by the Research and
Development Department of the Pradeshik Cooperative Dairy
Federation (PCDF). Such kits would soon be distributed in
the remaining districts of the state, Mr Sharma
disclosed. |
Amarinder seeks case withdrawal NEW DELHI, June 4 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President, Mr Amarinder Singh, today demanded the immediate withdrawal of a case against former state Chief Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, and sought the intervention of the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Mr Amarinder Singh said if the state government did not withdraw the case, then the PCC would be forced to draw an action plan and launch an agitation. The Punjab PCC chief also met the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and apprised her of the case. He said the case
registered at Nabha was “false and politically
motivated’’. He said Mrs Bhattal had nothing to
do with the incident of stone throwing at a police
station in Nabha by a group of people following a murder
in the area. |
No cigarettes, bidis at rly
platforms NEW DELHI, June 4 — The sale of bidis and cigarettes at stalls and kiosks at railway platforms and on trains will be stopped from tomorrow, the World Environment Day. The Indian Railways has taken the step in the interest of general health and well being of the people as part of its commitment to the cause of environment issues in the country, an official release said here today. The Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, in the 1999-2000 Budget session had announced the decision of stopping sale of cigarettes and bidis. The stalls will sell other items like beverages, mineral water and confectionery. Some of the selected
locations on railway premises and air-conditioned coaches
of trains at present are “non-smoking zones”.
The sale of ‘paan’ is already prohibited. |
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| Tripura demands transit
via B’desh CALCUTTA: With the Dhaka-Calcutta bus service fast becoming a reality, the Tripura Government has once again raised the demand for Agartala-Calcutta transit facilities through Bangladesh. Tripura Industries and Commerce Minister Pabitra Kar told reporters here on Thursday that an an all-party delegation from his state, led by Speaker Jiten Sarkar, would visit Bangladesh later this month to discuss the possibility of trade and industry linkages with Bangladesh. It would also raise the demand for opening a Tripura-West Bengal corridor via Bangladesh. — PTI Food poisoning bug West Bengal bans
PTV Army stages flag
march in Dhubri 3 CPM workers
killed |
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