|
|
No need to snap RSS-BJP NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Expressing pride over BJP’s links with RSS, Tourism Minister Ananth Kumar has .....more
No plans to privatise NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee clarified today that the Government had no ....more
Karunanidhi crippled STF CHENNAI, Oct 19: The AIADMK today accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi....more |
|
Cong-NCP
front MUMBAI, Oct 19: Notwithstanding its slender majority in the State Assembly, the Congress-NCP Led Democratic Front (DF) Government in.....more
Krishna’s consent
taken CHENNAI, Oct 19: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today asserted that the decision to send Tamils national movement leader P Nedumaran....more Another instalment of DA CHANDIGARH, Oct 19: The Punjab Government has decided to release Dearness Allowance (DA) to its employees on the pattern of Central Government. ....more Dams cannot be NEW DELHI, Oct 19: While giving green signal to the Sardar Sarovar Project, the Supreme Court has ruled that construction of big dams cannot....more NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Justice Brijesh Kumar and Justice Bishwanath Agarwal were today sworn-in as judges of the Supreme Court taking the strength of...more |
No need to snap RSS-BJP links: Ananth Kumar NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Expressing pride over BJP’s links with RSS, Tourism Minister Ananth Kumar has said "there is no need to snap the umbilical chord" between the two but asserted that the Government would uphold the right of every citizen to profess any religion. Kumar, who was participating in a discussion with CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury in Doordarshan’s "Talkback" programme, said Christians and Muslims were "as patriotic as a Hindu" but added that "whoever resides in India should owe allegiance to the country and be patriotic". To a question by programme Anchor Karan Thapar on RSS supremo K S Sudarshan’s statement suggesting formation of a ‘Swadeshi Church’ and Indian Christians breaking their ties with the vatican, the BJP leader from Karnataka said "under Vajpayee Govitution is very clear that each one has the right to profess his religion." "Sudarshan has his own views and we respect them. But our (Government’s) view is to adhere to the constitution and promote its viewpoint," the Minister said. "We don’t need to snap our umbilical chord with RSS and we are proud of it," he added. Reacting to it, Yechury said "that is where we doubt your credentials of upholding the constitution and protecting minorities." "You have not broken the umbilical chord (between BJP and RSS) and you will never do it," the CPI-M leader said. Kumar snapped back "we are proud to be `Swayamsevaks’ ... It is an emotional and moral bondage." Asked about Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel’s reported statement that Christians, Muslims and Parsis were "foreigners", Kumar said he did not think Patel had made such a statement. He achievements of the Vajpayee Government’s rule, the Minister claimed the NDA regime has an excellent record on all fronts - from "negotiating sanctions and floating India resurgent bonds to Kargil, nuclear arms programme and Cauvery (river water dispute) settlement". Yechury said even the Planning Commission and the central statistical organisation had published figures to show that the population below poverty line has been increasing, while GDP growth had been scaled by a full percentage point. He questioned the Government’s decision to hike petroleum prices "six times in two and half years" and said "when international prices are low you tax the people, when these are high you tax the people." Kumar countered this by saying that the Government did not impose a ‘war tax’ either during the Kargil war or during the Orissa super-cyclone. But Yechury said the Government had imposed a one rupee levy last year when international prices had gone down to earn Rs 6000 crore. (PTI) |
 |
No plans to privatise railways: Mamata NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee clarified today that the Government had no intention to privatise the railways by involving the private sector for its modernisation and improvement in services. Inaugurating the fourth international exhibition on various equipment used by the railways in association with the CII here, Ms Banerjee urged the captains of business and industry to invest in the railway sector for upgrading and expanding the system. The minister said in a large developing country like India, pressure on the railways to become a more efficient and effective mode of transport for the public continued. For this purpose, what was needed was substantial investment in fixed and moving assets. The railways on its part was endeavouring modernisation of the telecommunication and signalling network and introducing faster trains, according priority to the safety of the travelling public, she said. While the railways was giving concessions to senior citizens, students, the physically handicapped and other sections of the society and had to transport certain commodities at subsidised rates, the budgetary allocation from the Government had not increased substantially over the years except this fiscal year. This was not up to requirements. She suggested that the states should enter into agreements with the railways on a cost sharing basis for constructing railway projects. The railways had signed such agreements with the Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. All other states should emulate them for expanding the railway network in their states considering the fact that the railways was facing an acute financial crunch, she said. (UNI) |
|
Karunanidhi crippled STF operations, alleges Jaya CHENNAI, Oct 19: The AIADMK today accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of deliberately crippling the special task force operations against outlaw Veerappan in the last four years and held him responsible for the brigand’s nexus with extremist and secessionist outfits. "Anticipating Karunanidhi’s defeat in the next Assembly elections, extremist outfits, in collusion with Veerappan, are planning to cause turmoil and anarchy in the state when the new Government is formed under my leadership," AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha said in a statement here. She said the Chief Minister had unceremoniously removed former state DGP W I Dawaram as STF commander, even though the STF had reduced the gang’s strength from 150 to a mere five. In contrast to her regime, during which there were 58 encounters and 58 members of Veerappan’s gang were killed 10 police personnel lost their lives, there had not been one encounter during the last four and a half years of DMK rule, she said. "Not even one accomplice of Veerappan has been killed during this period. Not even one member of Veerappan’s gang has been arrested. Complete peace prevails," she said. She claimed that even on the day of Kannada filmstar Rajkumar’s abduction, the fugitive had only two firearms and only 12 men with him. ‘Today, because of the efflux of time, the TNLA and TNRT, apart from LTTE, have been allowed by Karunanidhi to join hands with him.’ Karunanidhi had also declined to utilise K Vijayakumar, now with the BSF as IGP, who had offered his services to capture the outlaw, Jayalalitha said. Referring to the involvement of the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army and Tamil Nation Retrieval Troops in the kidnap episode, Jayalalitha said the TNLA had been crushed during the late M G Ramachandran’s rule, but it had been allowed to grow along with the TNRT, whose members were ‘bomb experts’. Questioning the strategy of negotiating with the outlaw and taking the help of persons like ‘Nakkheeraan P Nedumaran in the process, she said whenshe was Chief Minister, a Police Deputy Superintendent and two forest officials were rescued from the brigand’s hideout by the STF after direct encounters under her instructions. On the decision to release TADA and NSA detenus as demanded by Veerappan, she said if this was done, the nation’s unity, sovereignty and security would be threatened. (PTI) |
|
Cong-NCP front completes one year MUMBAI, Oct 19: Notwithstanding its slender majority in the State Assembly, the Congress-NCP Led Democratic Front (DF) Government in Maharashtra has completed one year in office amidst signs of a stable coalition and appears determined to take on the main opposition Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. Overcoming the initial hiccups in cobbling the coalition, following a fractured electoral verdict in Sep and NCP under the stewardship of Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh (Congress) and his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal of NCP today appear more in command of the eight-party Government than the days goneby. The Government hogged limelight in July this year when Bhujbal ordered prosecution of his former mentor Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in a case relating to the latter’s alleged inflammatory writing during 1992-93 communal riots in Mumbai. The move led to weeks of tension and raised a spectre of gory showdown between DF and Sena-BJP alliance. The build-up to the issuance of warrant of arrest against Thackeray and security arrangement for executing it also saw a war of words between Maharashtra Government and the Centre. It also strained Shiv Sena-BJP relations as Sena representatives in the Union Council of Ministers, including Suresh Prabhu and Manohar Joshi resigned to press the Centre to intervene in the case against Thackeray. (PTI) |
|
|
|
|
|
NEW DELHI, Oct 19: Justice Brijesh Kumar and Justice Bishwanath Agarwal were today sworn-in as judges of the Supreme Court taking the strength of judges in the Apex Court to 25 as against the sanctioned strength of 26. The oath-of-office was administered to the new judges by Chief Justice of India A S Anand at a brief ceremony in the Supreme Court here. The ceremony was attended by other judges of Supreme Court and senior advocates besides Solicitor General Harish Salve. Justice Kumar has been elevated to the Supreme Court from Guwahati High Court where he was the Chief Justice while Justice Agarwal was serving as the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court before his new appointment. (PTI) |
|
||
|
| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports | |
