Sunday, September 12, 1999
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Minister held in NCP
worker’s murder case |
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 RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav worships at Shingheshwar temple in Madhepura on Saturday. — PTI |
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Gujral raps govt on Dara Singh EC takes notice of Laloo's
procession Advani’s volte-face on
foreign origin NCP, CPM flay govt on Kargil Man arrested for murder Congress candidate held, freed 4 held in dowry death case |
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Minister held in NCP worker’s murder case MUMBAI, Sep 11 (PTI) — Maharashtra Minister of State for Revenue and BJP candidate for the Satara Assembly seat, Udayan Raje Bhosle, and four others were arrested today after Bhosle was named as an accused in the murder of an NCP worker at Satara early today, the police said. NCP activist Sharad Lewe was campaigning for former State Minister Abhaysinh Raje Bhosle, the NCP nominee from the same constituency. Mr Abhaysinh Raje Bhosle is an uncle of Udayan Raje Bhosle. The police said the minister and four others were arrested at the Satara and charged under Sections 302, 142 and 147 of IPC following a complaint filed by Mr Vijay Shrikrishna Jadhav, another NCP worker, who alleged that the accused were present at the scene of crime. Mr Lewe, who was travelling in a jeep in Satara, was intercepted by a mob, armed with swords and sharp weapons, which attacked him and his driver. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Satara where he succumbed to his injuries, reports received here said. The others arrested along with the Minister were identified as Chandu Narkar, Manya Narkar, Sanjaya Deshmukh and Sushil Mojhar, the police said. The situation in Satara
was tense but under control, the police said, adding that
the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and the Rapid
Action Force (RAF) had been deployed in the area. |
1 dead, 24 hurt as train derails BIJNORE, (Uttar Pradesh) Sept 11 (PTI) —One person was killed and 24 were injured, four of them seriously, when an engine and six coaches of the Lucknow-Saharanpur intercity express derailed in an act of "sabotage" between Haldaur and Bijnore stations today. A state minister, Mr Raja Gaznaffar Ali, was also travelling by the train was safe, an official press note said. A northern Railway press release attributed the derailment to "sabotage" as a piece of rail was found removed on a bridge between Haldaur and Bijnore stations. The dead passenger was identified as C. M. Malhotra from Bijnore, while four passengers received serious injuries, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Moradabad Ram Prasad said. He said 13 of the injured were discharged after first aid, while the others were admitted to the district hospital here. Mr Prasad said: "The prima facie cause of the derailment is sabotage by miscreants who had cut a 1.56 metre-long rail near fish plate joints on the middle span of the bridge. Fish plate bolts have been found near the bridge on the dry river bed". The railways have announced an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 to the next kin of the dead and Rs 5,000 each for the seriously injured and Rs 500 for those who suffered simple injuries. Bijnore District Magistrate Dev Dutt has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the derailment. An official release quoting the Bijnore District Magistrate said preliminary investigations indicated that the railway track where the train derailed was not properly maintained. "The railway authorities had been requested time and again to initiate proper maintenance of railway tracks through letters, the note said, adding that vigil and patrolling on the railway tracks and bridges in the district had been stepped up since May this year. Northern Railway General
Manager S. P. Mehta had asked the Uttar Pradesh
Government to strengthen security measures on railway
routes, in the state. |
BJP questions Karan Singh's
track record NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The BJP today described Dr Karan Singh’s decision to become the Congress nominee from the Lucknow parliamentary constituency as an "untypical act of courage" on his part. The Congress by deciding to field Dr Karan Singh against the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, would now have to answer several questions, especially the former Union Minister’s views on the status of Jammu and Kashmir, a BJP spokesman, Mr Arun Shourie, said here at the party briefing. He said Dr Karan Singh was heading a Committee which wanted to restore the status of Jammu and Kashmir to that which existed before 1953. The recommendation, if implemented would mean that the Supreme Court would have no jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission would have no say in elections there and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) would not be able to audit the accounts of the State. The Congress would have to answer if it was prepared to have two constitutions in India—one for the country and the other for Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Shourie said. Another BJP spokesman, Mr Arun Jaitley, said Dr Karan Singh had varied experience in politics as he had been hopping from one party to the other in the last three decades. In 1971, Dr Singh was a Congress candidate, an Independent candidate in 1973, an independent candidate backed by the Congress in 1980, an Independent supported by the BJP in 1984, and the last time he was supported by the National Congress for the Rajya Sabha seat. Dr Singh had returned to the Congress fold after 28 years, he added. Mr Shourie said the former Sadar-e-Riyasat would have to do some explaining in Uttar Pradesh as he was the Minister in-charge of Family Planning during the Emergency, a period when the government carried out large scale sterilisation in the state. Mr Shourie, when asked about the stand of the BJP on Kashmir, said the party stood by the unanimous resolution passed by Parliament which stated that the only unfinished agenda was the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He said the Government also wanted to crush Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir. On the polling in 123 constituencies spread over eight States today, Mr Jaitley said the BJP was hopeful of doing better than the 31 seats it got in the 1998 elections. The BJP last time had won 31 seats it contested in the constituencies that went to polls today and this time, along with its allies was contesting 66 seats. The reports received from the various State units of the party were very encouraging and "we are hopeful of making substantial gains", Mr Jaitley said. He said the Central
office of the BJP had received some complaints of booth
capturing from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Kota, Dausa,
Jhalawar and Udaipur in Rajasthan and some assembly
segments of Karnataka. The party would be forwarding
these complaints to the Election Commission, he added. |
Gujral raps govt on Dara Singh NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (UNI) — A former Prime Minister, Mr I.K. Gujral, today took the government to task for not being able to arrest Dara Singh, the main accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons at Manoharpur in Orissa on January 23, saying he apprehended a grave danger to India’s unity if attacks on secularism were not stopped. "It is impossible to understand that the entire machinery of the Indian state is not able to trace him" even after nearly seven months of the incident, he said while inaugurating a panel discussion on "The Wadhwa Commission report". He expressed surprise that Dara Singh had not been put behind bars even when many FIRs and cases were registered against him earlier also. "Had he been arrested earlier, perhaps Mr Staines would have been still alive. I Don’t come across anything which indicates that efforts are being made to arrest him." He said many witnesses had pointed out Dara Singh’s association with some political parties. Also, many agencies had investigated into the matter which directly pointed out his (Dara Singh’s) involvement. Still he was untraceable. Mr Gujral, however, said he was not raising a finger at any political party but the message was "loud and clear." Stressing on
strengthening secularism, he said unity in diversity was
not only a political slogan but a "tryst we have
made with our lives." |
EC takes notice of Laloo's procession MADHEPURA, Sept 11 (PTI) — Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurthy today took serious exception to the use of a siren-blaring vehicle ahead of the convoy of RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav when he filed his nomination for Madhepura and asked the district magistrate-cum-returning officer to probe the matter and submit a report. Describing the use of such a vehicle in a procession as "absolutely wrong" Mr Krishnamurthy told reporters after reviewing poll preparation in Madhepura that he had taken the matter "seriously." Madhepura is one of the prestigious constituencies in the country and the Election Commission is irrevocably committed to check electoral malpractices in the constituency, he said. The RJD president yesterday filed his nomination papers for Madhepura against JD (U) president Sharad Yadav. Mr Krishnamurthy, who held a high-level meeting with top state officials and Chief Electoral Officer (Bihar) A K Basu to review poll-preparedness, did not rule out the possibility of recurrence of poll-related violence in the state, particularly in Naxalite-hit areas. The Election Commissioner said adequate steps were taken to check violence, prevent booth-capturing and hold repolling if necessary. The EC has issued
necessary instructions to the Madhepura administration
keeping in view the possibility of anti-socials sneaking
into the constituency from outside. |
Advani’s volte-face on foreign
origin NEW DELHI, Sep 11— Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, who is in the forefront of a nationwide campaign to bar persons of foreign origin from holding high offices in India, had opposed a similar suggestion as the member of a Parliamentary Committee 10 years ago. As a member of the Dinesh Goswami Committee on electoral reforms, Mr Advani along with senior CPM leader, Mr Somnath Chatterjee had opposed a suggestion to bar persons of foreign origin from being allowed to hold a high office in the Government. The suggestion was mooted by a former Janata Dal leader, Mr Era Sezhiyan, at a meeting of the Committee and this fact was pointed out to Mr Advani at a press conference here last evening. Mr Advani said he would not dispute the point and it was possible that Mr Era Sezhiyan had made such a proposal and he had turned it down. However, he said at that point of time, when the proposal was made, he had no inkling that such a possibility may arise in the future. The Constitution framers too had not thought about the possibility of a person with foreign origin making his or her claim for the post of Prime Minister and that was the reason that it was silent on the issue. Mr Advani pointed out that the BJP, after the entry of Mrs Sonia Gandhi in politics, was hesitant in raising the issue of her foreign origin and the opposition to her entry came from the Congress camp itself. He said the BJP was happy that the suggestion had come from a section of the Congress and the ruling party had followed it up since then. The Union Home Minister pointed out that no country allowed persons of foreign origin to head their Government. In this regard he referred to the United States of America where persons with foreign origin could become legislators but could not aspire to become the President. Making a special mention of Italy, the country of Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s birth, Mr Advani said that, that country not only debarred people of foreign origin from holding high offices in the Government: they were not even permitted to become a member of a Municipal Corporation. Mr Advani said that if
Mrs Sonia Gandhi felt that she had become an Indian the
day she married Rajiv Gandhi and her citizenship was just
a mere “technicality”, then what the BJP was
saying was also a technical suggestion. |
NCP, CPM flay govt on Kargil NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (PTI) — The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the CPM today severely criticised the BJP-led government for its “inept” handling of the Kargil crisis, nuclear policy and rise in the prices of essential commodities, but the BJP said the government had handled these issues in a very sound manner winning international acclaim. Participating in a debate “Elections ‘99” organised by Think India Trust, a social organisation, CPM leader Sunit Chopra said the BJP chose to explode nuclear devices at a time when 40 per cent of the country’s population was still continuing to remain below poverty line. Mr Chopra said the BJP should immediately stop taking credit for victory in Kargil as the party was responsible “for leading nearly 500 soldiers to grave.” “When Pakistani intruders were inching ahead in the Kargil sector, the Defence Minister was holding talks with Jayalalitha,” he said. Similar views on Kargil were expressed by the NCP leader, Mr D.P. Tripathi. However, Mr Narendra Modi of the BJP said Kargil victory was a moment to rejoice for the whole nation. “The BJP is claiming of securing a victory at the diplomatic front which no party had been able to achieve during the earlier three wars,” Mr Modi said, apparently referring to the Congress. Mr Modi, however, adopted a taciturn policy over the criticism by the CPM and the NCP of Pokhran-II. Mr Chopra said the BJP had promised to provide 1 crore jobs in its manifesto last year. “However, contrary to that, the staff strength in several sectors was being reduced like in the Railways, where the present strength, which used to be 20 lakh, is only 16 lakh.” Mr Chopra and Mr Tripathi alleged that several irregularities were committed in signing of the Telecom Policy. “The ‘caretaker’ government is taking care of its party coffers by allowing such a deal,” Mr Tripathi alleged. However, Mr Modi said the BJP had ensured that the Telecom sector was turned into a service sector rather than a revenue earning sector. “Due to the policy pursued by the Central Government, the customers’ bills would be curtailed by one-third from November 1,” Mr Modi claimed. The CPM and the NCP flayed the BJP for promising to present a Bill before Parliament which would make five years term of Lok Sabha compulsory. While Mr Tripathi termed such a move as “anti-national”, Mr Chopra said the “BJP should remember that the fundamental rights of the people of this country were not saleable. The NCP and the BJP chose the occasion to rake up the “Swadeshi vs Videshi” issue. While Mr Tripathi said,
“One billion population could never be led by a
foreigner”, the BJP leader said, “The country
needed an experienced politician to run it and this
quality was missing in Congress President Sonia
Gandhi.” |
Man arrested for murder NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — With the arrest of one person, Liaqat Hussain, the Delhi Police claimed to have worked out a murder case. The accused along with the associate, Nagender Pal, allegedly killed Ibrahim Khan, alias Billo, as he suspected that the deceased had illicit relations with his wife, the police said. Liaqat Hussain, who was a truck driver, killed the alleged paramour of his wife, Razia, by putting sleeping pills in his tea. He reportedly took the deceased to Rajasthan in a truck where he had cut the body of the deceased in two parts. The head of the deceased was recovered from Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, about 700 km away from Delhi, and the body was burnt to eliminate any identification marks. Liaqat lived in Sultanpuri in West Delhi where the deceased also lived. When Liaqat suspected that the deceased had illicit relations with his wife, he shifted his residence to Nangloi. But the deceased allegedly continued to visit there. Liaqat then, along with
his associate, killed Ibrahim. |
Congress candidate held, freed NAGPUR, Sept 11 (UNI) — Former Rajya Sabha member and Congress candidate for the Bhandara parliamentary constituency Shrikant Jichkar was arrested on the charge of seeking votes on the basis of his caste and released on anticipatory bail. The arrest was made by
the Bhandara police on the office premises of the Deputy
Inspector-General police here yesterday. Since Dr
Jichkar, a former Maharashtra minister, had obtained an
anticipatory bail, he was immediately released, Bhandara
Deputy Superintendent of Police G.S. Empalliwar said Dr
Jichkar, had given an advertisement in local newspapers
describing himself as “a son of the soil born in an
ordinary kunbhi (Maratha) family”. |
4 held in dowry death case NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The Delhi Police has arrested four persons in a dowry death case of a 22-year-old woman, Santosh, who was married in February this year. The arrested persons were identified as Kamla (47), Yashwant (24), husband of the deceased, Yudhvir (22) and Yatinder (20), the police said. Santosh was reportedly murdered on Thursday. The parents of the deceased gave a scooter in dowry to Yashwant, but he demanded a car for which he allegedly used to harass his wife. When his demand was not
met, he allegedly killed her, the police said. |
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| A.R. Rahman bags MTV
award NEW NELHI: Renowned Maestro A.R. Rehman, who has risen to dizzy heights within a short span of five years with his innovative music, has been selected as the winner of the Indian viewers choice of the 16th MTV video music awards. The award was given for the success of the song “Dil Se” from the film of the same name, which had been voted the best song by Indian viewers of the channel. India’s singing queen Lata Mangeshkar and Udit Narayan had won the award last year for the title song “Dil to Pagal Hai”. — UNI Woman
hacked to death Surinder Nath
assumes charge Freedom fighter
dead Multi-purpose
‘Gujarat card’ 90 teachers
honoured IYCP to be
launched on Sept 14 |
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