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Presidential poll
NDA accuses Congress of favouring ULFA
A Tribune Exclusive Ram Setu |
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Trans-Asian Railway Project TN to provide
quota for Muslims National Anthem Row Women-related laws
TDP shifts focus on farmers
Blasts: Assam bandh today
Daughter makes documentary on Karunanidhi
CPM accuses UPA of not implementing Sachar report
Poor girls on Unicef calendar
Cake row: Clean chit to Sachin
Mayawati calls on Gopalswami
Naidu’s son to get married to NTR’s kin
Woman sacrifices tongue at Kashi temple
Kumaraswamy’s chopper forcelands
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CPM to start talks
with UPA allies
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27 While the opposition alliance NDA indicated that it was not averse to a contest and was ready to field vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as its presidential nominee, the UPA is still to zero in on a candidate who could take on the Opposition. Though the NDA is banking on the Shekhawat’s popularity, which cuts across narrow party lines and his “friends” in almost every political party, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat claimed that the UPA and the Left parties had more numbers in the electoral college. A senior BJP leader said the ruling alliance might be in for a shock as a contest may turn out that of 1969 when official Congress candidate Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was defeated by V. V. Giri as a call had been given to go for a conscience vote. Giri was put up as an Independent candidate by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to upstage her detractors from the party and the development later resulted in a split in the organisation. Meanwhile, Karat said the CPM would start consultation with UPA alliance partners soon on the issue of presidential election. There will be a secular President, he asserted. Karat yesterday said the party was in touch with the Congress and other parties within and outside the UPA on the names of possible presidential candidates while not ruling out the possibility of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee being in the race. The Left will go for a presidential nominee who has a political background and has firm secular credential. The future President must be able to exercise judgement to maintain balance between Parliament, executive and Judiciary, it said. Other names, apart from the Lok Sabha Speaker, being discussed in the political circles, include that of union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and Indian council of cultural relation chairman Karan Singh. However, there has been no decision on any one of them yet as both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have been busy for the past two days to firm up the support of BSP chief Mayawati. On the other hand BJP and NDA leaders are confident that Shekhawat, who is emerging as NDA’s frontrunner for the presidential elections, has history on his side. This was because so far those vice-presidents, who ran for the presidency, have been successful in reaching the Raisina Hill.
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NDA accuses Congress of favouring ULFA
Patna, May 27 The sharp reaction from the deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Modi, was in the wake of the massacre series involving Hindi speaking people, mostly Biharis, in Assam by ULFA since January this year. Seven persons, all Biharis, were reportedly killed and 25 others injured in a bomb blast in Guwahati following the fresh salvo by the ULFA against Hindi speaking people yesterday. Talking to the mediapersons here, Modi alleged that the Congress in Assam had enjoyed a tacit support of the ULFA during the assembly polls last year, which was evident from the extremist outfit’s decision not to boycott elections. He claimed that this prompted the Congress to be soft towards the ULFA. Modi pointed out that this was the first time when the ULFA did not boycott the polls ever since its formation in 1979. Assam had experienced an undeclared ceasefire during the last assembly polls in May as both the ULFA and the Centre were working out the modalities for peace talks which had collapsed in September last year. About 88 Hindi speaking people were killed in Assam in a series of attack since January this year. The biggest massacre was in January when the ULFA had killed 70 Hindi speaking people, mostly Biharis. Intelligence sources here claimed that the basic motive of the ULFA behind targeting Hindi speaking people was to force Delhi to restore peace talks on its terms of sovereignty as the extremist outfit had believed the cow-belt, comprising Bihar and UP, as the real nerve centre of Indian politics. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urged the Assam government to take determined and strong action against the separatist outfit which was regularly targeting Hindi speaking people. He also demanded adequate security for Biharis residing there.
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Communist names to combat casteism in TN
Arup Chanda Tribune News Service
Chennai, May 27 It may sound strange but to combat casteism, people in this caste-ridden state are naming their children after countries some of which are Communist states. A newborn baby in Coimbatore, 550 km from here in western Tamil Nadu, was named Cuba, as she is an offspring of inter-caste marriage. Her mother, too, was named Russia, long before the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic of Russia in 1991, to further the spirit of Marxism, which preaches a classless society. Russia, a teacher, married an LIC officer, Arivukadal, who belonged to a different caste. To encourage more of inter-caste marriages they decided to give their daughter a revolutionary name like Cuba, where the dictatorship of the proletariat prevails under the leadership of Communist leader Fidel Castro. Cuba’s grand father S. Tamizhendi, a freelance journalist with a Tamil magazine, explained, “They chose to name their daughter Cuba as it is a revolutionary island nation and against imperialism.” There are many other couples that had entered into inter-caste wedlock and named their children Vietnam, Tripura, Jakarta, Malaysia, Vavuniya and even Manila. Said one of the pioneers of inter-caste marriages in the region, K. Ramakrishnan, “These names may sound very strange but they are given to revolutionise people’s attitudes and ways of thinking. A name is just an identity and does not need to indicate the caste of an individual. As caste differences are a major stumbling block for such marriages, the couples choose names for their children, which have no association with any particular caste or community. The names also reflect rationalist thought and communist principles.” Ramakrishnan, who is also general secretary of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, said over the last few years inter-religious and inter-caste marriages had increased. “There has been a rise of 25 per cent in the number of such marriages in 2006 compared to the year before,” he added. However, some of these offsprings also face problems at times. The couple Veeramani and Sivagami had named their daughter Vietnam, who graduated from Lady Sriram College in New Delhi. They recounted that when their daughter filled up her application form for civil services examination, an assistant in the UPSC asked her to write her name and not the name of a place! There are others too, who are likely to encounter similar problems like the daughter of PDK district secretary, Aruchami, who has named his daughter- “Tamil Eelam”. “It has nothing to do with inter-caste marriage but it signifies my support for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,” he said.
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Ram Setu New Delhi, May 27 “We can even think of all options, including the use of force, to stop the destruction of Ram Setu, which is a symbol of our culture and faith,” VHP president Ashok Singhal said while addressing a rally at the Ramlila Grounds here. He said the Hindu outfits would intensify the national agitation to protect Ram Setu if the Centre failed to scrap the project. The heads of Hindu outfits will decide on the future course of action to prevent the project at the ‘Dharma Sansad’ (religious meeting) scheduled for July 22 in the capital. The Sethusamudram project proposes to link the Palk Bay with the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a ship canal in the shallow sea, thereby providing a continuous navigable route around the Indian peninsula. The project has run into opposition from the VHP, which claims that it would destroy the Ram Setu. Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi claimed his party had support of the RJD, SP, AIADMK and Trinamool Congress on the issue. “We will not allow anybody to destroy it at any cost,” he said. VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia said the decision to “destroy Ram Setu is intended to hurt the Hindu sentiments.”
— PTI
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Trans-Asian Railway Project New Delhi, May 27 This is despite the fact that the project is stated to be close to the heart of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Union Cabinet had earlier this year given green light to the Indian participation for the mammoth project, finally casting aside the security apprehensions. The Government of India, had on March 8 this year, ratified an inter-governmental agreement on the railway network connecting 32 Asian countries to Europe. The inter-governmental agreement has already been signed by 18 countries, including Russia, China, Iran, several Central Asian countries, Turkey, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, Laos and Mongolia. The Indian part of the commitment for the TAR project involves constructing a 350-km link by the Indian Railways between Jiribam, India, and Moreh, Burma, for the proposed link-up. The Burmese government will share part of the project cost. India's cost is estimated at about Rs 18 billion and the total cost is expected to be about Rs 30 billion. The total length of the inter-continental rail link will be a whopping 81,000 kilometers. The project is touted as the most important transport link in modern history. It will connect India with China in the east and Europe in the west. From the Indian government point of view, the project continues to remain on paper even though more than two and a half months have elapsed since India ratified the inter-governmental agreement on TAR project. Till date no concrete forward movement has taken place on the project and no date has been fixed yet to start the work, as the Ministries of Home and Defence have yet to work out the exact modalities. TAR project was started in the 1960s to initially provide a 14,000 -km unbroken rail line between Singapore and Istanbul. The TAR project, when completed, will relegate the 9288-km-long Trans-Siberia rail journey from Moscow to Vladivostok, to second position.
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TN to provide
quota for Muslims Chennai, May 27 He made the announcement while responding to requests from various speakers at the Seventh International Islamic Literary Convention here tonight. The speakers, including deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha, Rehman Khan, wanted reservation for Muslims on the lines of those available in Kerala and Karnataka. Karunanidhi promised quota within quota, whereby the Muslims will be entitled for reservation within the existing 69 per cent reservation. Kerala and Karnataka have made 4 per cent reservation within the 50 per cent reservation in education and employment. Khan said it was under his chairmanship of the Minorities Welfare Committee in 1993 that reservation for Muslims was implemented in Karnataka. Earlier, Karunanidhi was honoured with ‘Umara Pulavar Award’ comprising Rs 1 lakh cash prize and a memento. Stressing the need to keep up promises, he said the world lost Saddam Hussein since the US did not keep its word. “US President George Bush had promised that if weapons of mass destruction were not to be found in Iraq, the US would not attack the country. However, he did not keep his promise, though no such weapons were found, and we lost Saddam,” he said. State Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, in his address, stressed on religious harmony in the country for its growth and development. He also recollected the contribution of the Muslim community in the country’s freedom struggle.
— PTI
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Register case against Infosys chief, says court
Tribune News Service
Bangalore, May 27 The court, which took up the case after a complaint filed by the Kannada Vakilara Vedika, a body of advocates, has also issued summons to Murthy to appear before it on June 21. The orders were passed by second additional city and chief metropolitan magistrate M. Mujahid Ulla yesterday. The action follows numerous complaints by Kannada organisations as well as advocates of Mysore who have registered complaints with the Mysore police. The police has investigated the matter and because the issue was discussed in the state assembly also, sent a report to the government. The report states that there was no insult to the national anthem during Kalam’s visit. Murthy’s gaffe occurred when he was addressing the press after the function at a different location in the Infosys campus. When questioned about a suggestion by the President that it would have been better to sing the national anthem instead of playing its instrumental version, Murthy said five trainees were originally scheduled to sing the national anthem. He said, however, it was later decided to go in for the instrumental version so as not to embarrass the foreign trainees who were also part of the audience and who would feel awkward at not being able to take part in the singing of the anthem. Murthy later apologised for making the statement but continued to face criticism from politicians as well as Kannada organisations. Vedike general secretary M.N. Raghavendra when contacted said his organisation had waited for a reasonable time for the police to take action on the complaint that was filed on April 19. “When no action was taken on our complaint we decided to approach the court”, he said. Now the court has ordered registration of a criminal case under Section 3 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971. Murthy is travelling abroad. A company spokesperson said the company did not want to comment on the issue presently.
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Women-related laws New Delhi, May 27 Under its policy of women empowerment, the UPA government has set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Legal Equality (IMCLE) to monitor the status of the amendments in the 42 legislations under scrutiny with a view to making them more women friendly. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, taking direct interest in the matter, has asked the IMCLE to coordinate with the ministries and departments concerned to cull out the outdated provisions in these legislations which require immediate changes. A Bill for making registration of marriages compulsory is under consideration of the government. Amendments to the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, are being introduced, informed sources. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill is at its finalisation stage. Steps were also afoot to put in place a law to eliminate female foeticide. A Bill for amending the Factories Act, 1948 already been introduced in Parliament. The government is also considering amendment in the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, the Dowry Prohibition Act, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and Guardians and Wards Act, the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, Foreign Marriage Act, Women’s Compensation Act, Maternity Benefit Act and State Migrant Women Act.
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TDP shifts focus on farmers
Tirupati, May 27 At the three-day conclave of the party, which began in this temple town today, Telugu Desam Party supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu gave indications of shift towards populism in a bid to win back the alienated sections, particularly the farmers. Setting the tone for this image makeover, the TDP president and former Chief Minister said his party would work towards evolving an alternative economic policy to benefit the poor. “The fruits of reforms have not reached the poor. The reforms may have created several billionaires but the poor have become poorer. We need an alternative policy that takes care of the needs of the poor,” Naidu, who was once an icon of reforms in the country, said. Seeking suggestions from more than 10,000 delegates who gathered at the Nehru Municipal School grounds here, Naidu said the party would prepare a document on alternative economic policy, focusing on reviving rural economy and bridging increasing inequalities. He strongly opposed taking over of farm lands for SEZs and said his party would stand by farmers in their agitation against forcible acquisition of agriculture land. The party also appeared to be bracing up for a new role in national politics, which the party sees as being increasingly dominated by coalition compulsions. “There is no alternative to coalition governments for the next 20 years. In the coming days, the regional parties will become stronger and will decide the shape of future coalitions at the Centre," he said. During the three-day deliberations, the party will adopt resolutions on a wide range of subjects, covering economic, politics and social issues, besides highlighting the omissions and commissions of the ruling Congress government.
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Blasts: Assam bandh today
Guwahati, May 27 The blast at Anthgaon in the city yesterday, in which seven civilians were killed and 30 others injured, has drawn flak even from the People's Committee for Peace Initiative in Assam (PCPIA), a banner organisation which is considered close to the banned outfit. "The violence targeting innocent people is not going to serve anybody's interests. The ULFA must desist from repeating such acts," said Dilip Patgiri, a convener of the PCPIA, which is demanding the revival of the peace process. The influential All-Assam Students Union termed the blast a dastardly act and called upon ULFA to desist from killing innocent people. "No one has any right to kill people in a democratic society," AASU adviser Samujja Bhattacharrya said. The state government, while condemning the killing, has stated that such act only confirms that ULFA is acting at the instance of forces inimical to the country. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said bomb blasts proved that the outfit was getting frustrated on being isolated by the people of the state. The opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the BJP have lambasted the state government for failing to rein in ULFA ultras. Both opposition parties have called for a bandh tomorrow.
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Daughter makes documentary on Karunanidhi
Chennai, May 27 Kanimozhi wanted to present the documentary as a birthday gift to her father on June 3 but the film would not be ready by then. The 39-year-old poetess said, “The documentary will be released only after two months as the editing process is still going on. Unfortunately, it will not coincide with his birthday next month.” The focus in political circles in Tamil Nadu is on
Kanimozhi, who will be elected to the Rajya Sabha next month and likely to replace her cousin Dayanidhi Maran in the Union Cabinet. Being fluent in English she is expected to be the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) spokesperson in New Delhi. She started shooting for the film three years ago and now it would take two more months to complete the editing. Kanimozhi has been assisted by award-winning wildlife photographer Alphonse Roy and she has personally interviewed many political personalities, including former Prime Minister V P Singh, who have been closely associated with Karunanidhi. The film recorded views of political analysts, journalists and even that of Cho Ramaswamy, editor of Tamil magazine
“Tughlaq”, who is a strong critic of Karunanidhi.
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CPM accuses UPA of not implementing Sachar report
New Delhi, May 27 The Left party also accused the government of not taking practical steps for the uplift of Muslims in the country. Addressing a convention on the Sachar Committee Report here, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said the Sachar Committee had submitted its report seven months ago, but the government has failed to take any practical steps since then to implement it. The Left leader was also critical of the government’s failure to ensure a debate on the report in Parliament. “The Prime Minister had assured a CPM delegation that the report would be debated in Parliament during Budget Session of Parliament, but unfortunately no discussion had taken place,” Karat said. Asserting that the Left parties had helped in the installation of the UPA government to keep the communal forces away from power, the CPM leader asked the Congress-led government to effectively debunk the campaign of the BJP on Muslims being appeased.
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Poor girls on Unicef calendar
Patna, May 27 They are the role models and agents of change in the state. They were selected from 2,500 girls who took part in the Kishori Mahotsav held here recently. Ten-year-old Abhilasha Kumari from Lalbagh village of Nalanda district, who figures in the calendar, is the deputy education minister of her school. Not only she is a painter, but she also convinced parents in her locality to send their daughters to school. Around 50 girls of her village now go to school, thanks to her efforts. Lalita of Khopraha village in Sitamarhi hails from Musahar community, the most backward of the Dalit subcaste. She has appeared for Class-X examination recently, and is a judo trainer.
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Cake row: Clean chit to Sachin
Badwani (MP), May 27 In its report submitted before a local court yesterday, the police said complainant had not provided sufficient evidence. Prima facie, no case was made out against Tendulkar. The police said as per the material provided by the complainant, the form of the cake, its colours, dimensions and spokes of the wheel did not match with that of the national flag. Moreover, Sachin was not shown cutting the cake. The police told the court that statements of the complainant and others had been recorded. However, when called for recording statement, Sachin did not appear nor he sent a reply. The next date of hearing was fixed on August 18.
— UNI
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Mayawati calls on Gopalswami
New Delhi, May 27 “The EC has an important role to play in safeguarding the Constitution. They conducted the UP elections in a free and fair manner. People belonging to weaker sections and the poor among upper castes, who were not allowed to vote earlier, exercised their franchise this time. This has strengthened democracy. The special steps they have taken are appreciable,” she said.
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Naidu’s son to get married to NTR’s kin
Hyderabad, May 27 His son, N. Lokesh, is getting married to NTR’s son and well-known Telugu film star Nandamuri Balakrishna’s daughter Brahmani. Naidu confirmed the news to reporters when asked about media stories in this regard. “Yes, it is true. Brahmani is an intelligent but traditional girl. We wanted her to be part of our family,” Naidu said. The wedding would be held in the last week of August. Naidu indicated that the high-profile matrimony would be a low-key affair and only close family and friends would be invited on the occasion. Lokesh is doing MBA at Stanford University in the USA, while Brahmani is studying B.Tech final year in the city. The wedding is expected to boost Naidu’s otherwise strained relationship with NTR family, following the party founder’s ignominious removal from power in 1995. NTR’s other daughter Purandhareswari and her husband Venkateswara Rao are presently in the Congress after falling out with Naidu.
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Woman sacrifices tongue at Kashi temple
Varanasi, May 27 Shaila Bai (50), a native of Faridnagar (Chattisgarh) cut her tongue with a blade inside the revered shrine as an alleged sacrifice to Lord Shiv after being unable to find her husband Nandu Singh missing since yesterday, while they were
bathing in Ganga river here. The woman was rushed to the district hospital. However, now she is under police custody. Meanwhile, Additional Police Superintendent (Gyanwapi Security) Jugal Kishore Tiwari claimed the woman was not in a stable mental state and her tongue came between both the jaws accidentally, after she fell inside the temple. The incident at the highly sensitive Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanwapi complex is being considered a major security breach, as extra security checks have been put in place, following the blasts at Hyderabad and Gorakhpur.
— UNI
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Kumaraswamy’s chopper forcelands
Mysore, May 27
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