Saturday, September 4, 1999
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Dr Arya races against
time |
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IYC men to prevent bogus
voting BJP steps up attack on Bofors Brajesh Mishra in Israel Thakre against personal attacks PM knew of telecom scam: Surjeet Samata Party flays Congress Website on Gandhi dedicated to
nation |
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Dr Arya races against time NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — The convoy of Delhi Mayor and BJP candidate from the Karol Bagh Parliamentary constituency struggled to move swiftly in the midst of zealous supporters and curious voters. Racing against time on the last day of campaigning in Delhi, Dr Anita Arya’s supporters appeared somewhat nervous and unsure of completing the final round before the end of campaigning at 5 pm. Supporters grew impatient as Dr Arya’s white gypsy crawled through the West Extension area and Pusa Road and wondered how they would manage to squeeze in another four meetings in 60 minutes. "Now you will have to cancel the meeting in Kathputli Colony, Shadipur Depot, a senior supporter instructed the president of the South Patel Nagar Mandal, Mr T. R. Kohli. "Why are we going street to street with such little time in hand?’’, asked another. Oblivious of murmurs of protest behind her back, the young candidate, attired in a bright pink saree stood up in the car to wave to the crowds. Supporters sprinted along the car to welcome Dr Arya. Deafening drum-beats and appeals over loudspeakers awake the curiosity of the young and the old alike who chose to take a view from their balconies and roof-tops. Even ineligible voters contributed to the show. At a few places, foreign tourists came out of a lodge to get what they described as "a feel of the Indian elections". At other places, children volunteered to distribute pamphlets in every house to canvass for Dr Arya. Dr Arya’s campaigning evoked an overwhelming response. In Vivekanandpuri, Chandrashekhar Azad Colony, Balmiki Quarters 100 number and Kishanganj, she was weighed against coins. As if this were not enough, supporters weighed her against laddoos. Party workers said they
were looking forward to some rest after a long day. They
said they had taken a quick round of Raigerpura, Sat
Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Link Road and Kishan Ganj. They
said that indoor meetings to assess Dr Arya’s
prospects would continue. Apart from this, meetings would
be held with party workers who had been assigned election
duties. |
Jehangirpuri case worked out: NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (PTI) — The police today ruled out any political angle or mischief behind Wednesday night's truck crash into the dais of a Congress poll rally in North-West Delhi, minutes before Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was to address it, with the arrest of the absconding driver of the vehicle who has allegedly confessed to drunken driving. Gurnam Singh, alias Bhola, the truck driver, who had absconded after the incident was arrested from the premises of his Assam Golden Transport Company office in Sanjay Nagar late last night by sleuths of the crime branch, Joint Commissioner of Police Dr K.K. Paul told reporters here. Dr Paul said the driver allegedly confessed during interrogation that he had consumed liquor and got panicky when the police questioned him about the presence of a woman in the vehicle. "Investigations so far have not revealed any conspiracy. It was a case of drunken driving", Dr Paul said. The truck crushed to death an unidentified person in Jehangirpuri leading to mob violence and subsequent police firing in which 22 persons were injured. The Congress had alleged the incident was an attempt by the BJP to disrupt the meeting. "I got frightened and drove madly to escape the police", the driver told reporters before whom he was produced. He said he was unaware as to how the "mentally disturbed woman", who had since been hospitalised, got into the truck. Police Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma had yesterday directed the Crime Branch to probe the case. The police had constituted six special teams to arrest the absconding driver. The Joint Commissioner said the police was investigating other aspects of the incident, including the security angle and the police firing. Dr Paul said the truck driver, belonged to Batala in Punjab. Asked about the driver's
political affiliations, Dr Paul said he had never voted
in his life. |
IYC men to prevent bogus
voting NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — The Indian Youth Congress workers armed "mentally and materially" would be present at all the polling stations where the electorate would exercise their franchise on Sunday, the IYC President, Mr Manish Tewari said here today. "The IYC workers armed mentally and materially would be there in all the polling booths. The workers at the district level have been given training for the past six months to prevent bogus voting, how to challenge and register protest," Mr Manish Tewari addressing newspersons said. Alleging that the BJP
has mobilised its workers and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak
Sangh (RSS) members to intimidate and impersonate the
voters, the IYC President said "the Youth Congress
workers would prevent any such attempts in a democratic
way." |
‘PM knew of intrusion on May 4’ NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (UNI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee came to know of the Kargil intrusion on May 4 this year, BJP general secretary K.N. Govindacharya said today. The BJP leader made the statement in response to a clarification sought during his debate with Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal at a “face-off” programme at the Press Club of India here. The statement comes in the wake of conflicting reports quoting Defence Minister George Fernandes and Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan. According to Mr Fernandes, it was May 6 while Mr Mahajan had initially given April 6 as the date, but subsequently said it was a slip of the tongue and corrected it as May 6. Mr Govindacharya, however, parried a question whether the BJP, in the case of forming the next government, was prepared to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or order a CBI probe into the intelligence failure and other lapses relating to the Kargil conflict. Citing reported distribution of religious material and “rakhis” to the armed forces, Mr Sibal attacked the BJP and its parent bodies for politicising the armed forces at the cost of national security. Mr Sibal said the Kargil conflict in itself amounted to a scam as the money paid for sugar imports from Pakistan was utilised for fighting the war by the hostile neighbour. Blaming the Congress on the same issue Mr Govindacharya said his party and the government led by it never claimed credit for the Kargil victory. On the other hand, the Congress was trying to “trivialise” the victory of the nation and its armed forces. The two leaders also had
a heated debate on the issue of secularism, with Mr Sibal
criticising the BJP on its stand on Ayodhya, special
status to Jammu and Kashmir and the common civil code and
the ruling party leader blaming the Congress for the
problems in Jammu and Kashmir and the vote bank politics
on casteist lines. |
BJP steps up attack on
Bofors NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — The Bharatiya Janata Party today stated that the Italian businessman and close friend of the Rajiv Gandhi family, Mr Ottavio Quattrocchi, should be prosecuted as the Congress party and a Swiss court have admitted that he received a commission for the Bofors deal. “The close friend of the Gandhi family, Mr Ottavio Quattrocchi, secured the contract at a time when the Rajiv Gandhi’s government had barred dealings with middlemen in defence contract,” Mr Arun Jaitley, the BJP’s spokesperson said. “Unfair means had been adopted to secure the contract by abusing the position of a public servant, which is a violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act,” the BJP spokesman charged. The BJP also released the text of the remarks made by the Congress party spokesman, Mr Kapil Sibal, to a television channel: “Question: The firm in which Mr Quattrocchi was working had nothing to do with the arms, still the Bofors money went to his account? Answer: Quattrocchi had a contract with Bofors and he had stated it and it is part of the evidence. If Bofors gave the money to Quattrocchi, then why Rajiv Gandhi should be blamed. Under the contract this is not illegal. If under the contract if someone gives money which law does it violate?.” A Swiss court order on Quattrocchi and Colbar Investments states that: “Now, Colbar Investment Ltd. and Ottavio Quattrocchi seem to have received an amount issuing from commissions paid by Bofors and one cannot therefore say that their appearance in the case, was the proceed of pure chance, especially that on the own confession of the appellants it appears that Ottavio Quattrocchi had relationship in India at the highest level and that he had very close relationship with this country.” The BJP said the admission of the Congress spokesman and the Swiss court observation that Quattrocchi influenced the contract of award, the “public servants” who got influenced to award the contract of Bofors at the behest of a middleman, abused their position to cause wrongful commercial loss to the government and wrongful gain to a private person. “The middleman and the public servants are, therefore, liable for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” Mr Arun Jaitley said. The BJP spokesman said it was in October 1985 that AE Services entered into a contract with the manufacturers of Bofors. The contract, amongst others stated that the AE Services shall obtain for Bofors on or before March 31, 1986 — only if they were able to obtain the contract before that date, would they be entitled to commission. The contract was awarded on March 24, 1986 and the AE Services was paid the commission by Bofors. “This money was
transferred by the AE Services to the Colbar Investments.
The financial owner of the Colbar Investments is none
other than Quattrocchi,” he charged. |
Brajesh Mishra in Israel NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — The National Security Adviser, Mr Brajesh Mishra, is in Israel for talks on a wide range of subjects, including the security related issues. Mr Mishra, who is slated to call on the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, is likely to sound the Israeli Government on the purchase of vital defence equipment, diplomatic sources pointed out. When asked to confirm an Israeli newspaper report on Mr Mishra’s trip to Tel Aviv, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs, said the visit was part of the “on going diplomatic dialogue”. The spokesman further said a Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr Nareshwar Dayal, had been in Tel Aviv for the past couple of days to prepare ground for Mr Mishra’s visit. Indo-Israeli relations have been growing since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1992. Observers said there was a mutual desire in both Capitals to further consolidate these ties and Mr Mishra’s trip was a step in that direction. Indian armed forces, which use a lot of Israeli defence equipment and technology are said to be very keen for an early replenishment from the Israeli sources. During Mr Mishra’s
talks with the Israeli leaders, regional and security
issues apart from expanding bilateral trade would figure
prominently. |
Thakre against personal attacks BELLARY, Sept 3 (UNI) — BJP President Kushabau Thakre today expressed himself against personal attacks on individuals during campaign. Talking to reporters here, he, however, said there was nothing wrong in discussing personalities. After all the Congress was only a competitor and not an enemy. In the heat of the elections, many things were said, but they should be taken in a lighter vein, he added. Asked whether the comparison of Congress President Sonia Gandhi with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky should be taken in a lighter vein, Mr Thakre said he had read union minister Pramod Mahajan’s statement and there was nothing wrong in it. However, he expressed regrets if it had hurt someone. He said for the first time in the history of elections in the country, issues were clear and there was no ambiguity. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was united on the national agenda as well as the leadership issue. Mr Thakre said the Congress had no common agenda and no common leader. These were the two main issues during the elections and the people had to take a decision. Replying to queries, he
said despite the Kargil conflict, which was imposed on
the country, emergency was not declared. This had spared
the people of any inconvenience. Besides, there was no
extra economic burden on the people. But the Congress
criticism on handling the Kargil issue had demoralised
the country’s armed forces and had helped Pakistan,
he charged. |
PM knew of telecom scam: Surjeet CHENNAI, Sept 3 (PTI) — The CPM today maintained that the change in telecom policy involved a Rs 50,000 crore scam and said it could not have taken place without the knowledge of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. “I have no doubt that it was in his personal knowledge, it is difficult to say he did not know about it, as the scam is of such a serious nature”, the CPM General Secretary, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, told a press conference here. On whether the CPM, which is attacking the BJP-led government on this issue, believed that the Prime Minister was directly involved in it, he said” “I don’t want to say anything about Vajpayee personally, but it is a serious matter as without his knowledge, the proposal could not have been cleared.” The proposal (allowing
telecom operators to switch over from the licence fee
dispensation under the old policy to the revenue-sharing
arrangement under a new policy had been objected to by
senior officials and even the President had written a
letter in this regard, the CPM leader said. |
Samata Party flays Congress NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — The Samata Party today accused the Congress of resorting to cheap and despicable tactics and lying to the people that the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister had a beforehand knowledge about the intrusions in Kargil. Reacting strongly to the statements being made by the Congress, the Samata Party General Secretary, Ms Jaya Jaitly, said, the “Congress is deliberately lying to the people on the eve of elections”. She was referring to the allegation that a letter was received by the Chief of Army Staff, General V.P. Malik, from Brig Surinder Singh about the threat perception in Kargil. Stating that the Army chief had denied having received any such letter, Ms Jaitly said, “when even the Army chief did not receive such a letter where is the question of the Defence Ministry, leave alone the Defence Minister or the Prime Minister having a beforehand knowledge of the intrusion.” She said when Congress
president Sonia Gandhi accuses the government of
suppressing information about the intruders, “it is
charging the armed forces of collusion in what would be
an heinous act” and described the party as being
irresponsible. |
Website on Gandhi dedicated to
nation NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — A website on the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was today dedicated to the nation by veteran Gandhian and freedom fighter, Ms Ushaben Mehta. The website on Mahatma Gandhi is one of the largest archives of authentic information on the Father of the Nation with a database of more than 16 giga bytes. The website, web.mahatma.org.in was conceived by Mahatma’s great grandson, Tushar Gandhi.Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) has provided all the infrastructure, including a webserver, leased lines and other facilities to carry out this development.The website is physically housed in the VSNL. Chief Executive of Microgiga Infotech, which has pioneered the development of the website, Mr K Pandian recounted the tremendous efforts which have gone into scanning through millions of documents , films and other material to create this historic encyclopaedia on the Mahatma. The information in the
site totals 100,000 pages of text, thousands of
photographs and hours of audio and video on Mahatma
Gandhi.The site also has hundreds of books, articles and
other information on the Father of the Nation. |
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| Man kills parents,
brother SAMASTIPUR: In a shocking incident, a man killed his parents, and younger brother at Dinmanpur village in Samastipur district on Wednesday night. The police said Ganesh Sah slit the throats of his parents — Ramavtar and Draupadi — and brother Suresh with a sharp-edged weapon when the three were sleeping. A family dispute was stated to be the reason behind the murder. — PTI 30 Hindi scholars to be
honoured 10 killed as bus
falls into well 10 feared
drowned in boat mishap 5 lynched in
Murshidabad J.J. shoot-out
accused gunned down EC seeks report
on ransacking Priyadarshini
award for Mizo official Congress worker
murdered |
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