Monday, September 13, 1999
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Jethmalani opposes fixed
LS tenure |
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 Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray plays with his grandchild at home as he has been disenfranchised by the Election Commissioner. — PTI photo
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‘Docs not guilty
without evidence’
BJD, BJP to campaign jointly Sonia lambasts BJP govt EC ‘transgressing’
authority TUJS tie-up with BJP in Tripura Congress wave in country: Dhawan Polling in Bihar areas may be put
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Jethmalani opposes fixed LS tenure LUCKNOW, Sept 12 (PTI) — In sharp contrast to BJP-led NDA manifesto, Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani today opposed a fixed tenure for the Lok Sabha, saying it was a "wrong proposition". Asserting that it was his personal opinion, he told reporters here that "a fixed tenure for the Lok Sabha will not be advisable as there may be situations when it is essential to dissolve the House before the completion of its term... a five-year fixed tenure is a wrong proposition." "You cannot legislate character," he said. Stating that the Vajpayee government was dislodged in an "improper manner", Mr Jethmalani said he supported the Law Commission’s recommendation that along with the no-confidence motion against any government there should also be a confidence motion in favour of the person who was expected to form the alternative government. On the reported us proposal to send an emissary to India to discuss "religious freedom in the country", the minister said: "I welcome any such visit." He, however, said it was not "the proper time to discuss such things". Referring to the exclusion of contentious issues like the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 and introducing the common civil code from the NDA manifesto, Mr Jethamalani said the BJP "has done the right thing" by declaring a moratorium on these issues for five years. On the proposal to amend the constitution to ban a person of foreign origin from occupying high posts, Mr Jethmalani said "Our Constitution-makers had not envisaged that such a situation might arise." Replying to a question he said the Election Commission had some "wrong notions" about its powers regarding the holding of elections in the country. On Dr Karan Singh’s candidature against Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, the minister said it was an evidence of "total bankruptcy" of the Congress. "The Congress has
brought out an old feudal relic almost from the political
godowns of India," he said. |
BJP responsible for Kargil war: Sonia SATNA (MP), Sept 12 (UNI) — Launching a blistering attack on the BJP, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today reiterated that the Vajpayee government was responsible for the Kargil intrusions. Addressing a public gathering here, Mrs Sonia Gandhi said that when the BJP was celebrating the Lahore bus ride, the intruders were building bunkers in Indian territory. The Congress President said her party was planning to start an education scheme whereby tribal children and children from backward communities could be guaranteed free education till the university level. She also assured the public that her party would pass the women’s reservation Bill if it was voted to power. Eulogising the panchayati raj system in Madhya Pradesh, she said seats have been reserved for women in this grassroots mode of governance, and added that it had benefited Dalits, adivasis and other backward castes. She also underlined the various developmental avenues which could be opened up through a pragmatic exploitation of the mineral resources in the Vindhya region. Addressing a meeting in
Jabalpur at the Garrison ground, Mrs Gandhi said only her
party could provide the country a stable government
ingrained with clear polices. |
‘Cost per candidate 1.3 cr’ NEW DELHI: A new and pioneering study on black economy has estimated that the expense per serious candidate in General Election in India is Rs 1.3 crore. Thus, the total cost to the nation in the 1998 elections comes to a staggering Rs 4,000 crore. Nevertheless, in relation to the GDP this works out to 0.25 per cent. The book, besides making several estimates of the black money phenomenon in various areas, is described as a "long and perspective" essay by public finance analyst Dr Arun Kumar, member of the National Institute of Public Finance, and a policy study on the black economy (1982-85) for the Central Board of Direct Taxes. Entitled "Black Economy in India, Dr Arun Kumar, Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University, critically examines the standard explanations of the causes and consequences of black income generation and the methods suggested for curbing it. The expenses per candidate in the General Election were calculated on the basis of a detailed data collected from 14 politicians. The interviewers belonged to different parties and came from various parts of India. The expenses included buying out opposition candidates and putting up non-serious candidates. These also involved payments to proprietors of local newspapers and journalists. The total expenses included calculations by adding up the expense on manpower, office staff, vehicles, publicity, communications, employing musclemen and distributing gifts for purchase of votes. The sources of finance were big business, important leaders of parties, corrupt bureaucrats and politicians and local businessmen. Many politicians admitted that they did not spend any of their personal money. This shows the nexus which exists between business, politicians and bureaucrats. The money donated has an associated quid pro quo for businessmen to enable them to get a favourable policy and manipulation of policy. Many politicians admitted that they needed money outside the election time for keeping their political careers going and for this many politicians took money or help in kind from big and local businessmen. Major candidates spent
roughly equal amounts and other serious candidates also
had to spend a considerable amount to stay in the
reckoning for the future. Parties poured in more money
where the chances of winning were greater. — UNI |
Pollution in Delhi ‘alarming’ NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (PTI) — Pollution levels in Delhi are comparable to the infamous 1952 London smog that claimed 4000 lives, according to Washington-based Worldwatch Institute. Similar levels also exist in Beijing and many other cities. Stressing on the need to globally phase out coal as a fuel source due to its high-polluting potential, the institute in a report says acid haze over the Indian Ocean is reducing wheat yield in India. Coal, being the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, accounts for 43 per cent of the annual global carbon emissions and burning the entire coal reserve would release three trillion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere — five times more than the safe limit for averting serious climatic disruptions. The London smog resulted from coal-burnt smoke with high sulphur content which lead to the production of high concentration of sulphuric acid in fog droplets. The acidic droplets along with high-density smoke inhibit normal functioning of lungs resulting in symptoms including chest constriction, difficulty in breathing, headache, nausea, vomiting and irritation in eyes, ears, nose and throat. Thirteen countries continue to depend on coal for at least one quarter of their total energy. These include the USA and Denmark in the industrialised world which depend on coal for 53 and 74 per cent of their electricity, respectively. China, where acid hazes cause annual damage worth $ 14 billion has more than halved its coal subsidy rates — a move which led to a 5.2 per cent drop in its coal consumption last year. Belgium, France, Japan, Spain and the UK have also halved their coal use. Particulate matter and
sulphur dioxide — two main constituents of coal
smoke —cause about five lakh premature deaths per
year worldwide. Coal smoke accounts for 1.8 million
annual deaths in rural areas globally, the report says. |
Consumer panel’s order set aside NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (PTI) — The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ruled that doctors can not be held guilty of “medical negligence” in treatment of patients in the absence of any “medical evidence”. The NCDRC set aside a West Bengal State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission order asking two doctors of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to pay Rs 2 lakh each to the wife of a DVC engineer for allegedly giving her wrong treatment for her bronchial problems. “We are of the opinion that the two appellant doctors should not have been held guilty of giving wrong treatment without some medical evidence to that effect,” NCDRC President Suhas C. Sen and members R. Thamarajakshi, C.L. Chaudhry and J.K. Mehra said in a recent judgement. Exonerating Dr Subhasis Dhar and Dr Sanjay Ghosh of the charge of medical negligence and deficiency in service, the NCDRC observed that the complainant, Sanjukta Sengupta, had failed to show any expert medical opinion that the treatment given and the medicines prescribed by the doctors were wrong. The National Commission, which decided the case on merits, however, refused to go into the doctors’ contention that the complainant could not be considered as a consumer. The appellant doctors
had pleaded that the complainant was receiving free
medical treatment being the wife of a DVC engineer and as
such she was not a consumer. |
BJD, BJP to campaign jointly BHUBANESWAR, Sept 12 (PTI) — The BJP-BJD alliance in Orissa will carry out a joint poll campaign in all 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state to defeat the Congress, senior leaders of both parties announced this at a joint press conference here last night after holding a state-level coordination committee meeting of the allies. The coordination committee met at the BJP’s state party headquarters after a month-long deadlock over the seat sharing arrangement between the two partners which had led to the BJP’s boycott of the committee with the party demanding more seats than it had contested in the 1989 Lok Sabha poll and the BJD sticking to last year’s seat-sharing formula. Finally, the two parties agreed to bury the differences and settled for the 1998 arrangement under which BJD had contested 12 seats and the BJP nine. Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal has come up with a special package for the development of Orissa. The Orissa package, which figures in the party’s 22-point election manifesto released last night, promises to accord special status to the state. Releasing the manifesto, party President Naveen Patnaik said although his party subscribed to the national agenda of the NDA, the Orissa package was intended to safeguard and promote the state’s interests. The package promised to secure a place of prominence for the state in the country by bringing about its all-round development. It also sought to bail the state out of its present financial crisis. The manifesto said the BJD would ensure the development of highways, ports, communication, industry and a central university in the state. It vowed to remove
regional imbalances, adequate power to the Western Orissa
Development Council (WODC) and special assistance and
greater justice to the Scheduled Castes, scheduled
tribes, women, minorities and other weaker sections. |
Sonia lambasts BJP govt KORBA (MP), Sept 12 (PTI) — Congress President Sonia Gandhi today renewed her attack on the Vajpayee Government charging it with having failed in every sphere. In an aggressive speech at the local Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini stadium, the Congress President alleged that under the Vajpayee Government, prices had gone up, crimes had increased, corruption had spread and there were more atrocities on Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes people. “To top it all, it had even failed to protect the country’s borders and allowed intruders from Pakistan to enter Kargil”, she said. She said even while the intruders were entering Kargil, the BJP and its allies were celebrating the Prime Minister’s bus trip to Lahore. During the Kargil crisis, the Vajpayee Government had given a clean chit to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, when there was no need at all to do this. She claimed the BJP-led Government had not fulfilled any of its promises made to the people in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha poll in February, 1998. The Congress President said her party would fulfil its promise to create a separate Chhattisgarh state if it formed the government at the Centre. The BJP, she said, had not honoured its commitment to carve out a separate Chhattisgarh state. The Madhya Pradesh Government had even sent a proposal in this regard to the Centre, but the BJP dumped it. Maintaining that the
Congress Governments at the Centre and in the states had
always abided by its promises, she said the BJP had been
levelling baseless charges against her party simply to
“camouflage” its own mistakes and misdeeds.
Striking an emotional chord, Mrs Sonia Gandhi said she
understood the virtues of gaining the love and faith of
people. “I am prepared to face any danger for their
welfare,” she said. |
EC ‘transgressing’ authority BALLIA, Sept 12 (PTI) — Former Prime Minister and Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) candidate from the Ballia Lok Sabha constituency Chandra Shekhar today opposed the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, being called a “foreigner”, even as he accused the Election Commission of “transgressing” its authority. “It is not proper to call the AICC President Sonia Gandhi a foreigner. Whether a person of foreign origin can hold the post of President or Prime Minister is a fundamental question but casting aspersions on Mrs Sonia Gandhi cannot be justified,” Mr Chandra Shekhar told PTI here. Without naming anybody, he criticised those indulging in “character assassination” and said the basic issues confronting people had of late been relegated to the background. To a question, Mr Chandra Shekhar said the Election Commission was “guilty of transgressing the authority conferred upon it by the Constitution.” Referring to the debate regarding a fixed tenure for the Lok Sabha, the former premier said “it can be achieved only through strong willpower. There is no need to amend the constitution.” Predicting a hung Lok
Sabha, he claimed that no single party would be able to
secure in absolute majority. “A consensus would be
required to run Parliament in future,” he said. |
TUJS tie-up with BJP in Tripura AGARTALA, Sept 12 (PTI) — The TUJS, a former ally of the Congress in Tripura, and the BJP have agreed in principle to have an electoral alliance in the state, TUJS general secretary Rabindra Debbarma said today. As a result of the new alliance, the TUJS will support the Trinamool Congress candidate Sudhir Ranjan Majumder from the West Tripura seat and BJP nominee Jishnu Debbarma from the East Tripura (reserved) constituency. The Trinamool Congress and the BJP already have an electoral alliance in Tripura and West Bengal. After returning from New Delhi, the TUJS general secretary said a party delegation had a series of discussions with top BJP leaders, including its President Mr Kushabhau Thakre and expressed its satisfaction over the outcome. The combination of the
BJP, the TUJS and the Trinamool Congress in Tripura will
be a strong third force which would pose a serious threat
to both the ruling Left Front and the Congress, the TUJS
leader claimed. |
Congress wave in country: Dhawan VIJAYAWADA, Sept 12 (PTI) — A Congress wave is sweeping across the country and the party would form the next government at the Centre on its own, Mr R.K. Dhawan, AICC General Secretary and in charge of Andhra Pradesh unit, said here today. Mr Dhawan told reporters that the BJP was blaming a Congress for its failures and collapse of its government at the Centre “but the government collapsed on its own due to its bad performance and as it could not keep its flock together”. Mr Dhawan alleged that instead of taking up issues of public importance, the BJP was indulging in “personal vilification” and “Congress President Sonia Gandhi is their target”. “When with 18
partners they failed to rule the country, how do you
expect them to now rule the country with 24
partners,” he asked. |
Polling in Bihar areas may be put off PATNA, Sept 12 (PTI) — Election Commissioner G.V.G. Krishnamurthy has said polling in certain flood-hit constituencies of Bihar might have to be deferred if the situation does not improve. Mr Krishnamurthy told
reporters last night before leaving for Delhi after a
two-day visit to the state that he hoped the situation
would ease over the next few days. |
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| All-party march after
girl set ablaze JALGAON: An all-party silent march was taken out at Dodvad in the district on Saturday demanding immediate arrest of three absconding culprits, allegedly involved in setting ablaze a 19-year-old college girl. Later, leaders of the morcha submitted a memorandum of their demand to the Tehsildar. Three unidentified youths had gone to the residence of Sarika Munot on Friday and told her that she was called by her teacher. When she refused to go with them, they poured kerosene on her and set her afire, the police said. Sarika, who received 65 per cent burns, succumbed to her injuries in Jalgaon Civil Hospital on the same day, the police added. — PTI Laxity
in house collapse probe Brothers make
musical waves Flora face
extinction: book 6 killed in
collision Tele-serial on
IPC Peace march in
memory of priest 2 die after
consuming liquor |
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