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Madhavrao Scindia

Scindia debunks Bangaru’s speech as ‘hypocritical’

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia has debunked as "hypocritical and double standard" the newly-elected BJP president Bangaru Lakshman’s speech in Nagpur favouring opening of party doors to Muslims saying "they have one policy to garner votes and another to run the Government"........more

Bangaru Laxman

Bangaru rules out
change in leadership in UP

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: BJP president Bangaru Laxman today ruled out any change of leadership in Uttar Pradesh.....more

Accused acquitted
from rape case

MUMBAI, Aug 31: A city court has acquitted an accused from a rape case registered thirteen years ago as the victim was now....more

Chief Justice A S Anand

Courts could intervene
to correct election
proceedings: SC

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: In a major judgement, the Supreme Court has ruled that if a petition challenging an election had the....more

Nagaland enters Guinness Book for ‘tallest tree’

KOHIMA, Aug 31: Nagaland has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for "tallest tree". ......more

Plea to equip women
commissions with
adequate powers

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Women-related issues are not treated seriously either at the ......more

Govt constitutes
new Law Commission

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The Centre today constituted the 16th Law Commission....more

Differences among front
partners to fore again

CHENNAI, Aug 31: Differences among partners of the AIADMK-led front in Tamil Nadu on sharing power in the event of being voted to power after next...more

Scindia debunks Bangaru’s speech as ‘hypocritical’

"If BJP is seriously concerned about minorities and secularism, it should disown the demand for a common civil code, tender apology for the Babri Masjid demolition and take action against all those involved in the demolition," he told PTI.

The deputy leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said Lakshman himself has acknowledged the "irrefutable" fact that BJP has reached a "plateau" and therefore, it should open itself to Muslims and win back their confidence.

Stating that the Nagpur conclave has demonstrated the conflict and confusion within the BJP, he said its "knee-jerk, flip-flop" policy on Kashmir has resulted in deepening the crisis in the sensitive state.

"On the one hand the BJP proclaimed that they are prepared to enter into a dialogue on autonomy, on the other they demand abrogation of Art 370 in the state", he said.

Scindia was also critical of Lakshman endorsing the highly generalised and hazy stand of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in stating that the talks with militant groups would be held within the parametres of "Insaniyat".

"How can a serious Government hope to get away with such a generalised term without stating whether this means that the Indian constitution reigns supreme and its authority over Jammu and Kashmir was not a subject matter for discussion," the senior Congress leader said.

Charging the Goverment with mishandling Kashmir affairs, he said Congress viewpoint, which was clearly expressed by the party in Parliament during the monsoon session, has found echo even among senior leaders of BJP which clearly indicates "what they refused to admit in Parliament, they have now admitted in Nagpur".

Referring to the economic resolution, Scindia said the contradictions between the private and public agenda of the party has become so glaring that "it cannot be swept under the carpet any more and is ultimately leading to a sharp division within the party line".

The Finance Minister, he said, on the one side talks of liberalisation and economic reforms, on the other Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) announces a "Quit India" policy for multinational corporations.

Scindia said the lifting of Quantitative Restrictions (QRs) on imports of 714 products is threatening many small scale sectors as well as agriculture, even as a serious attempt is deliberately being made to mislead the nation by onpassing the blame for this on the previous Congress regimes.

He said in bilateral negotiations "the BJP led-Government has utterly failed the country pushing our farmers, small scale sectors and others in a very difficult situation". (PTI)

Accused acquitted from rape case

MUMBAI, Aug 31: A city court has acquitted an accused from a rape case registered thirteen years ago as the victim was now married to the accused and did not want to proceed with the case.

According to prosecution case, on May 25, 1987, Suresh Madi a twenty five year old rickshaw driver, resident of Mograpada, Andheri Mumbai had allegedly kidnapped a minor girl aged 14 years who was his neighbour, from the lawful custody of her parents.

It was submitted in the court of additional session judge S A Basu that accused had promised her that he would marry her and took her to a village in Kolhapur and allegedly raped her for 20 days.

The parents of the victim girl lodged a complaint with the police and following the complaint, police arrested the accused. The victim was sent to police hospital for a medical test which certified that the girl was a minor and the accused had sexually assaulted her on her on several occassion.

Yesterday when the matter came up for hearing in the sessions court of justice S A Basu, the victim who is now 27 years old informed the court that she does not want to proceed with the case as the accused is now her lawful husband. (UNI)

Courts could intervene to correct election
proceedings: SC

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: In a major judgement, the Supreme Court has ruled that if a petition challenging an election had the effect of interrupting, obstructing or protracting the election process, the High Courts should not entertain it till the completion of the election process.

However, the courts could intervene if the petition was "merely to correct or smoothen the progress of election proceedings, to remove the obstacles therein or to preserve a vital piece if the same would be lost or destroyed by the time results are declared", a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice A S Anand said.

Earlier it was viewed Article 329 of the Constitution barred courts from intervening in the election process till its completion or unless an election petition was filed after the results were declared.

Justice R C Lahoti, who wrote the judgement for the bench, said "any decision sought and rendered will not amount to calling in question an election if it subserves the progress of the election and facilitates the completion of the elections."

The bench said anything done towards completing or in furtherance of the election proceedings cannot be described as questioning the election.

However, the apex court said the high courts must be very circumspect and act with caution while entertaining any election dispute though not hit by the bar of Article 329 but brought to it during the pendency of election proceedings. (PTI)

Nagaland enters Guinness Book for ‘tallest tree’

KOHIMA, Aug 31: Nagaland has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for "tallest tree".

According to State Forest Department sources, a rhododendron tree at Japfu Mountain Range in the Kohima district measuring 30.79 m in height and 2.41 m in girth has been registered as the world’s tallest tree in the Guinness Book of Records.

Besides, a rare species of orchid, bulbaphyllum rothschildianum, had also been recorded in the Guinness Book, the sources said adding that there were other rare species of flora and fauna which remained to be discovered.

The silviculture division of the Department during 1999-2000 had taken up works on sample plots of the tropical economic tree species and Mokai, Nahar and Champa had been established at singphan forest in Mon district. A sub-tropical botanical garden had also been set up at Minkong forest in the Mokokchung district for preservation, cultivation and displaying of variety of indigenous species.

Trial plantation of pinus petula, pinus caribea, pinus oocarpa, pinus jubregie, pinus muricata, cryptomoria japanica had been carried out by the silviculture range of the department at Kohima, the sources added. (UNI)

Plea to equip women commissions with adequate powers

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Women-related issues are not treated seriously either at the central or state level and women commissions are ignored while taking important policy decisions, members of these panels have complained.

At a meeting of State Women Commissions of North and West India convened by the National Commission for Women recently, the members said that the recommendations made by them should be binding on Governments.

The meeting was attended by the Women Commisions of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan in Jaipur on August 26-27.

Releasing the joint declaration of the conclave here today, the NCW said it was important for the commissions to be equipped with adequate financial and administrative powers to discharge their functions properly.

In separate sections on women’s interaction with police, law and society and on the girl child, the state commissions stressed the need to have more women personnel at police stations alongside gender sensitisation of the police force.

The meeting also suggested certain changes in the dowry prohibition act and called for wider dissemination of progressive and women-friendly orders of the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court.

Emphasising the role played by the family and schools in the socialisation of the girl child, the meeting said there was a need for special programmes to end discrimination against girls.

Calling for codification of personal laws, the state commissions spoke out strongly against the practice of child marriage and women being branded and hounded as ‘’witches". (UNI)

Govt constitutes new Law Commission

NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The Centre today constituted the 16th Law Commission of India with Justice B P Jeevan Reddy as its chairman to review and repeal obsolete laws among other work.

With this Justice Reddy, who was also the chairman of the 15th Law Commission, becomes only the second person to get a second term in the Commission after M C Shetalvad.

The tenure of the Commission would be for three years from September 1, 2000, an official release said adding Dr N M Ghatate, member of the previous Commission, has also been appointed as member of the new Commission.

Other two full time members are yet to be named by the Government, it said adding T K Vishwanathan, belonging to the Indian legal service would continue as the member secretary.

The work of the Commission included review and repeal of obsolete laws, taking measures to harness law and the legal process for poverty alleviation, review of the judicial administration to attain the objectives set out in the preamble of the constitution, the release said.

Besides, the Commission will revise the central acts and suggest their simplification and consider any matter that the Government would refer to it regarding law and judicial administration. (PTI)

Differences among front partners to fore again

CHENNAI, Aug 31: Differences among partners of the AIADMK-led front in Tamil Nadu on sharing power in the event of being voted to power after next year’s Assembly elections came to the fore today with the Congress endorsing the stand of the Tamil Maanila Congress that only a coalition Government could be formed in the state.

AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha had ruled out sharing of power, stating that "people wanted single party rule."

Senior Congress leader and TNCC election officer E Sankaranarayan, also the UDF convenor in Kerala, told a press conference here that "no party in tamil nadu will be able to form a Government on its own today".

"Why can’t coalition politics, being successfully practised in neighbouring Kerala for long, also be successful here?" he asked.

The TMC at its executive committee meeting at Chidambaram on Tuesday had said "share in power would be the only guiding principle for any electoral alliance."

The chairman of the Congress Central Election Authority and CWC member, Ram Nivas Mirdha, who is here to monitor arrangements for the organisational polls, said Jayalalitha should restrain her party leaders from making "provocative statements" against the alliance partners.

On AIADMK chairman K Kalimuthu’s remarks describing AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s actions as "childish," he said "such statements will vitiate the good atmosphere." (PTI)