Tuesday, April 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India
 Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Paswan quits, parts ways with NDA
New Delhi, April 29
The unabating communal violence in Gujarat had its inevitable fallout on the Atal Behari Vajpayee government today when a highly disturbed Union Coal and Mines Minister Ram Vilas Paswan resigned from the Cabinet and parted ways with the NDA. His resignation was accepted by the President, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.

   BSP, TDP, SDF, DMK to back govt
   Gujarat violence claims 8 lives
   President anguished over Gujarat
   Board exams to be held afresh
   NDA allies uneasy with govt: Cong
   Modi to stay, says BJP
   Analysis:
     What if UK court issues Modi’s arrest warrant?
   NDA to send team to Punjab
   Editorial: March for elusive peace

From left: Pramod Mahajan, George Fernandes, L.K. Advani, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Jaswant Singh and Mamta Banerjee during the NDA meeting in the Capital on Monday. — Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

High court quashes octroi abolition
New govt, too, toeing populist policies
Chandigarh, April 29
Quashing the Acts abolishing octroi in the state of Punjab after holding these unconstitutional, Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ruled that the state which once abounded in sugar was now sad saccharin due to the adoption of populist politics and other revenue sacrificing measures, including free power and water, besides abolition of octroi, house tax and revenue.

Mayawati invited to form govt
May be sworn in on May 3
Lucknow, April 29
Convinced that the BSP Vice-President, Ms Mayawati, has the required numbers under her belt, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, has invited her to form government. Ms Mayawati is likely to take oath of office on May 3.
Video: (28k, 56k)

Cut in CRR, bank rate unchanged
Mumbai, April 29
A reduction of 0.5 percentage point in cash reserve ratio to infuse an additional liquidity of Rs 5,000 crore combined with several prudential measures to make the bank credit attractive to the borrowers at competitive rates were among the major decisions announced by the Reserve Bank of India in its annual monetary and credit policy today.

Finance Bill passed 
New Delhi, April 29
The Lok Sabha tonight passed the Finance Bill, 2002 after union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha rejected the demand for further rollback of tax proposals.

Don’t confirm appointees: HC
Chandigarh, April 29
Issuing notice of motion to the state of Punjab, the Chief Secretary and Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the state and its functionaries not to confirm employees on the posts to which they were selected by the Punjab Public Service Commission chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu.

Touts confess paying 16 cr to Ravi Sidhu
Kharar, April 29
A whopping sum of Rs 16 crore was paid to PPSC Chairman Ravi Sidhu by his two main conduits, Randhir Singh Dhira, a Deputy Manager in Markfed, and Prem Sagar, a petrol pump owner, for the selection of 28 candidates to the PCS and allied services during year 2001. Both were arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau sleuths from Chandigarh last night.

Deputy Manager in Markfed, Randhir Singh Dhira and petrol pump owner Prem Sagar, main suspects in the PPSC recruitment scam, being produced in the Kharar court on Monday.
— Tribune photo Manoj Mahajan

Scandal in selection of teachers?
Chandigarh, April 29
Ms Nisha Kaura’s complaint to the Lok Pal, Punjab, with regard to the selection of science masters has created a sort of “earthquake” in the Punjab Education Department. As things are moving at the moment, it appears that many heads may roll once the inquiry is completed and the report submitted by the Lok Pal to the authorities concerned.