Wednesday, September 29, 1999
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BJP lambasts W. Bengal
Govt |
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Rajiv killing case: order
reserved Star exit poll: NDA close to
majority Sonia no more an alien: Swami
Appellate court for armed forces
mooted ACP, two sons arrested Cong prepares for post-poll
scenario Tandoor murder case: SI
cross-examined NCP regrets BJP, Congress stands NCW to probe nun case |
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BJP lambasts W. Bengal Govt NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — With the entire state of West Bengal slated to go to polls on October 3, the BJP today targeted the state government for criticism saying the poll will be a test of the non-performance of the Left Front administration. Party spokesman, Arun Jaitley, took the help of economic indicators to prove his point and said the Left Front government, which had been in power in the state for the past over 22 years, was responsible for the underdevelopment in the state. The indicators related to the state’s per capita income, employment, spending on education, road development, electrification, drinking water availability and law and order situation. In 1980-81, the per capita income in West Bengal was ranked eighth in the country and in 1995-96, it came down to the sixteenth position. Even states like Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram and Nagaland, which were considered underdeveloped, were placed ahead of West Bengal with regard to per capita income, he pointed out. Mr Jaitley said on the employment front too the state had not performed well as the actual figures of employed people in West Bengal was declining. The total number of employed in the state in 1992 was 2.47 million and in 1997 it had declined to 2.36 million. The percentage unemployed in West Bengal was 7.9 as against the all-India average of 4.52 per cent. The law and order in West Bengal had also substantially deteriorated and ISI activities leading to piling up of RDX stock with militant organisations had increased. Mr Jaitley said the state was in the hands of a fatigued leadership and it was hardly capable of any initiative towards development. The BJP spokesman also
lambasted the Left Front for having a tie-up with the
Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the AIADMK
saying "they profess ideological posturing and adopt
a moral high ground, but in real terms they are going to
be judged by their political company". |
Cong threatens to sue
Vajpayee NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The Congress today challenged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to prove his charge that the Congress had tried to buy some MPs to topple his government and said otherwise he should apologise. "The Congress wants Mr Vajpayee to name these MPs. If he fails to do so, he should at least apologise. Should he fail to do this also, the Congress will consider suing him for defamation", AICC spokesman Kapil Sibal said today. The Congress attack came in response to a report in a Hindi daily which quoted Mr Vajpayee as having said in Sitapur that the Congress had tried to buy some MPs to topple his government. The party also reiterated its charge that Mr Vajpayee had not clarified on the allegations on imports of sugar, wheat and oil. Referring to Mr Vajpayee’s speech in March, 1998, on the floor of Parliament, the Congress said: "It is a matter of supreme irony that this is the same Vajpayee who announced his readiness to quit politics in March 1998 on the floor of Parliament. Now he refuses to quit the political scene even though the circumstantial evidence regarding his dubious record mounts to alarming proportions". It went on to state that
much of the tearing down of the BJP’s ‘false
edifice’ had been done not by the Congress but Mr
Kalyan Singh, Mr Sakshi Maharaj and Mr Swaraj Kaushal. |
Rajiv killing case: order reserved NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (PTI) — The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on a petition moved by four condemned convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case seeking to review court’s earlier order confirming the death penalty awarded to them by a trial court in Chennai. A three-Judge Bench comprising Mr Justice K.T. Thomas, Mr Justice D.P. Wadhwa and Mr Justice S.S.M. Quadri reserved judgement on the review petition filed by Nalini, her husband Sriharan, alias Murugan, T. Suthenthiraja, alias Santhan and Periarivalan alias Arivu. Except for Nalini, an Indian Tamil, all others were LTTE activists. The trial court had convicted all 26 of participating in the conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed by a human bomb at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991, and awarded them death sentence. The Supreme Court had confirmed the death sentence of the four, commuted to life imprisonment for three and acquitted 19 others of all charges. The three-Judge Bench also reserved its verdict on a CBI application pointing out that it was wrong on the part of the court to acquit them of charges under TADA. Arguing for the accused, senior advocate N. Natrajan said these four accused knew nothing more than the other who were either acquitted or their sentence commuted to life imprisonment and pleaded with the court to review the order confirming the death sentence. Arguing for CBI, Attorney-General Soli J. Sorabjee said that it was not a mere act of revenge as the assassination was carried out by a human bomb at a public meeting where it had the potential to take away innocent human lives. He said it was also to send a message to the Indian leadership by killing a former Prime Minister that any act of interference in LTTE’s operations would not be tolerated. Mr Sorabjee said it was
clear from the above that the act clearly fell within the
meaning of the terrorist acts as enumerated in TADA. |
Star exit poll: NDA close to majority NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (PTI) — An exit poll telecast on Star News channel tonight placed the BJP and its allies constituting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) close to a majority in the Lok Sabha elections giving them 249 out of the 418 seats in the first four phases despite losses predicted for the BJP in the crucial states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. With the NDA gaining 35 seats so far, it needs only 23 out of the remaining 125 seats in the last phase of poll to get a simple majority and 51 to cross the 300-mark, according to the exit poll conducted by "Insight" covering about 1.2 lakh voters in 200 constituencies. The poll gave the Congress and its allies 134 seats, a reduction of 27 seats they had in the last Lok Sabha. "Others" are likely to bag 35 seats, a loss of eight seats. In Uttar Pradesh, the poll forecast that the BJP would suffer a loss of seven seats to get 35 out of 54 seats that went to poll so far. The Congress, which had failed to open its account last time, is likely to bag as many as eight seats. The SP and the BSP have been predicted to get 11 seats in all, marking a loss of one seat. In Bihar, the BJP and its allies are set to lose four seats bagging 20 out of the 38 seats that went to polls so far while the RJD-Congress combine is poised to get 18 seats, a gain of five. The BJP is also set to suffer a setback in Madhya Pradesh losing six of its 30 seats, while the Congress will gain that many seats to reach 16. In Orissa, no change has been forecast with the BJP-BJD alliance bagging eight seats and the Congress two in 10 of the 21 seats where polling has been held. In Andhra Pradesh, the
NDA likely to make impressive gains bagging 33 of the 42
seats gaining 17, while the Congress is set to lose 15 of
the 22 seats it held. The "others" will bag two
seats. |
Sonia no more an alien: Swami NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (UNI) — Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Madhvanand today termed as ‘baseless’ the issue of foreign origin of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and scoffed at the BJP’s promise to enact a law banning foreign-born citizens from high office. At a press conference here, the swami said that Mrs Gandhi was no more alien to the country as she had got married to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. When reminded of the Chanakya doctrine that an Indian king was not supposed to marry a foreigner woman, he replied,"We believe in the Vidura doctrine which is based on religious fervour." The Jagatguru, who is the founder president of the Vishwa Kalyan Parishad, made it clear he was not for any particular party, be it the Congress or the BJP and said that he was with the latter for some time on the Ram Mandir issue. He said that the Congress headed by Mrs Gandhi was definitely a secular party and that it could be supported for its position on secularism. He also announced that
the parishad would hold a peaceful ‘upvaas’
(fast) at Rajghat, the samadhi of the Father of the
Nation, here on Gandhi Jayanti, to press for a ban on the
word "India" for all practical purposes and
instead the use of "Bharat" in its place. |
15th Law Commission proposal NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The 15th Law Commission of India, headed by Mr Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, has recommended creation of a separate Armed Forces Appellate Tribunal. In its 169th report, the commission has made the recommendations with the basic idea of entertaining appeals against the sentence or finding or order of the court martial under the Army Act, the Navy Act and the Air Force Act. The appeal can be preferred against the final orders of the court martial. The commission has also recommended suitable amendments to these Acts to provide for the appellate tribunal. The amendment should further provide for a statutory appeal to the Supreme Court against the final decisions and orders of such a tribunal, an official press note released said here today. The recommendations of the Law Commission follow the observations of the Supreme Court in Lt Col Prithi Pal Singh versus Union of India, 1982, underlying a glaring deficiency in the laws governing the armed forces caused by the absence of the remedy of appeal against the orders of court martial and the desirability of recording reasons by court martial in support of their conclusions and orders. The release said that the objective underlying the report is that while maintaining the discipline in the armed forces, the dignity of the individual must be respected. It is necessary to ensure that armed forces are not deprived of the services of the bright and courageous young men and women of society on account of inadequate machinery for getting justice in the armed forces, or fear of being punished for no wrong done by them or for imposition of disproportionate punishment for an offence. The tribunal will consist of a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of the High Court who shall preside over the tribunal as President, a retired officer of the Army of the rank of Major General or above or retired officer of the Air Force of the rank of Air Vice-Marshal or a retired officer of the Navy of the rank of Rear Admiral and retired Advocate-General of the Army, Air Force and Navy. The term of the president and members shall be four years. Against the orders of
the tribunal, an appeal will be made to the Supreme Court
and subject to such appeal, if any, and the orders passed
therein the decision of the tribunal shall be final. |
ACP, two sons arrested NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Jagdish Rana and his two sons, Shailesh Krishen and Ravi Rajan, were arrested today on charge of rioting. The ACP was later released on bail. The third son of the ACP, Parvesh, is still absconding. The rioting case against the ACP was registered at police station, Keshav Puram, in North-West Delhi on Saturday. The incident occurred at 11.35 p.m. on Friday night, when Sunil Kumar, a 37-year-old employee of the Palam Airport Fire Service, overtook a motor cyclist near Shanti Nagar traffic crossings. Mr Sunil was driving a Maruti car. The motorcyclist allegedly chased Sunil, caught him near the police station of Keshav Puram and started rebuking him. They called two youths from nearby and had beaten Sunil. A few minutes later Shailesh along with his friends has also reportedly come in a Honda City car. The police took both the
parties to the police station. The ACP, Mr Jagdish Rana
reached there and allegedly instigated the youths to beat
Sunil Kumar inside the police station. |
Retirement not to affect poll
process: GVG NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The outgoing Election Commissioner, Mr G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, today said his retirement would not have any impact on the election process. "All arrangements have been made for the smooth and peaceful conduct of fifth phase of elections," Mr Krishnamurthy, who retires on September 30, said. "Individuals may come and go. If institutions are strengthened, then the country is safe," Mr Krishnamurthy said while recalling the contributions of the leaders who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. "I was never interested in seeking an extension. I always believed in completing the term and gracefully quitting," the outgoing Election Commissioner said. Not ruling out the possibility of joining active politics, he said, "I will continue to serve the people in my own capacity and whatever job is entrusted to me I will continue to carryout." Former Prime Minister
Inder Kumar Gujral pointed out that internal democracy
did not exist in some political parties but they were
keen to run this democratic system. |
Cong prepares for post-poll
scenario NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — As the elections enter the final phase, the Congress party today started positioning itself for the post-poll scenario while maintaining it would get a clear majority to form the next government. The Congress stand became clear with the AICC spokesman, Mr Kapil Sibal, stating that in the event of the party failing to get a clear majority it would still emerge as the "single largest party". He said under law the leader of the single largest party gets invited to form the next government and ridiculed the BJP’s claim that the National Democratic Alliance, a pre-poll arrangement, should be the natural choice. The Congress said that the BJP was aware that it could not become the single largest party and hence was harping on pre-poll alliance so that it could press the claim to form the next government. "What do you mean by a pre-poll alliance when all are fighting on separate symbols. We (the Congress) have no alliance only seat adjustments", Mr Sibal said, adding that already the Telugu Desam and Trinamool Congress had started distancing from each other. While Mr Naidu, whose Telugu Desam is part of the NDA, said his party may not share power with the BJP at the Centre. Mr Sibal further said
that even the Janata Dal (United) was not part of the NDA
and even earlier partners like the Samata had now merged
with the JD (U). |
Panag to be HelpAge India envoy NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (PTI) — Reigning Miss India Gul Panag will be HelpAge India Ambassador for 1999-2000, an "International Year of Older Persons". She will act as an official spokesperson for the organisation and aim to raise awareness of the condition of older persons in the country. HelpAge President D.R. Kohli announced here today. "I plan to highlight the cause of old persons at every platform and opportunity I get", the 20-year-old beauty pageant winner, who comes from a rural family, said. "The biggest challenge facing governments and society in the next century will be how to keep this grey population gainfully occupied, "HelpAge India Director-General S.S. Sandhu said adding "In this regard, the organisation has stepped up its activity to help them lead a life of dignity. We are their voice. Panag has strengthened that voice so much". Panag, who feels
strongly for the cause of older persons said, "While
their numbers are growing exponentially, the quality of
their life is declining at virtually the same pace. They
have given us the life we are leading. Shouldn’t we
all work to get their rightful place in society?" |
Tandoor murder case: SI
cross-examined NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The Delhi police Sub-Inspector, who deposed on Monday in the "tandoor" murder case, today contradicted his statement during cross- examination. The former Delhi Youth Congress President Sushil Sharma is facing trial for allegedly killing and burning his wife, Naina Sahni, in an oven in a restaurant here in July, 1995. Mr K.K. Sud, the counsel for the accused Sushil Sharma, cross-examined the Sub-Inspector, Mr Omvir Singh, in the court of Additional Sessions Judge G.P. Thareja. The Sub-Inspector, Mr Omvir Singh, had taken the body of Naina Sahni, for the second post-mortem examination. During the cross-examination, Mr Omvir Singh contradicted whether he had seen the face and different parts of the body. The Sub-Inspector admitted that he had not mentioned the time the body was taken to the Civil Hospital for the second post-mortem examination from Lady Hardinge Medical College during his statement to the police under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The day-to-day hearing began after the court passed the order on an application filed by co-accused Keshav Kumar seeking regular hearing of the case. "The court appeals
to counsel of the case that they will not ask the court
on any ground whatsoever to change the order until the
trial is finished," the judge observed. |
NCP regrets BJP, Congress
stands NEW DELHI, Sept 28 — The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today regretted attempts by the leadership of the BJP and the Congress to use the Constitution as a football in the electoral game. The party spokesman Mr Devendra Nath Dwivedi told newspersons that both the Congress and the BJP had not only made highly personalised attacks on their electoral adversaries but they had also needlessly dragged the key institutions and constitutional functionaries. "They have not
spared the institutions of the Governor, the armed
forces, the IB Chief, the Election Commission, and the
Speaker. |
NCW to probe nun case NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (PTI) — The National Commission for Women (NCW) has decided to look into the reported case of a nun being stripped and forced to drink urine in Chapra district of Bihar, jointly with the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), and take action in the matter. A team comprising NCM members Sayeda Hameed and Purnima Advani along with NCM vice-chair Man Bawa Singh, is leaving for Bihar tomorrow to get first-hand information regarding the incident, Ms Hameed told PTI here today. "The commission has
written to the District Magistrate to line up meetings
with the victim and other members of the church in
Chapra," she said. |
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| Suspected ISI agent held VARANASI: The police have arrested a suspected agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from the Ram Nagar area of the city. Ghafoor, stated to be from Madhubani, Bihar, was arrested on Monday after he was found moving about suspiciously near the Jal Sansthan water tank in Ramnagar, city police chief G.L. Meena said here on Tuesday. — PTI Dying woman gives birth Man kills
family, himself File charges
against ex-minister: HC 2 white tigers
die in zoo Magsaysay Award
winner dead Film journalist
dead Baburao
Paranjape cremated |
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