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Speaker
not right NEW DELHI, June 10: Chief Election Commissioner Manohar Singh Gill today said the "ineffective" anti-defection law could work only if the responsibility to enforce it was taken away from the Speaker and handed ....more
India
seeks help of NEW DELHI, June 10: India has sought the help of British Police to probe whether a document which originated from London and created controversy over the age of Chief Justice of . ...more Problems for Kargil residents continue KARGIL, June 10: Two years after the Pakistani invasion of Kargil heights, tourist inflow in the district has not shown any significant increase because.....more |
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Assam Govt urges GUWAHATI, June 10: The Assam Government has urged the centre to declare a ceasefire against the militant outfits in the state on the Kashmir and Nagalnad lines to find a permanent political solution to the vexed insurgency problem. .....more Taj
has suffered no AGRA, June 10: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) today denied reports that the Taj Mahal had suffered extensive damage in the storm and .....more Political
violence NADAPURAM (KERALA), June 10: If it were natural calamities like quake and floods that prompt people elsewhere to run...more Joshi,
Advani to depose NEW DELHI, June 10: Human Resource Development Minister M M Joshi will tomorrow depose before the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry, probing the December 6, 1992, demolition....more ‘Congress, left have no right to speak against corruption’ CHENNAI, June 10: Union Rural Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu today charged the Congress and the Left Parties with "legitimising corruption" by supporting a convicted person become Chief Minister. .....more |
Speaker
not right authority to enforce NEW DELHI, June 10: Chief Election Commissioner Manohar Singh Gill today said the "ineffective" anti-defection law could work only if the responsibility to enforce it was taken away from the Speaker and handed over to an independent body like the Election Commission. "The anti-defection law is ineffective, not because it is defective but because the enforcing authority, the Speaker of the legislature, is oppressed by Indian party politics," Dr Gill said in an interview to UNI. The Speaker, who was generally dependent on a political party for his position, often did not rise above party loyalties to give harsh rulings. As a result, the malaise of defection was eating into the political system like a cancer, Dr Gill, who demits the office of the CEC on June 13 after a nearly eight-year-long, eventful stint at ‘Nirvachan Sadan’, said. In the wide-ranging interview, Dr Gill also said that that Section 8 (IV) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), which enabled sitting MPs and MLAs to contest elections even after being convicted by courts, was "discriminatory" and should be re-examined. However, he declined to comment on the Tamil Nadu Governor’s decision to invite AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha to form the Government even though she was barred from contesting elections. Once the elections were over, the Commission had no role to play and it was upto other constitutional authorities to take decisions. "The matter is now before the Supreme Court. We should await its judgement," he said. The CEC also refused comment on Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s allegations against him regarding the conduct of the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal. Stating that the commission had always acted as an impartial umpire, handing out unfavourable decisions against every party at some time or the other, Dr Gill said the commission had no private or political agenda. However, the only way to halt such complaints was to accept his long-standing proposal that Assembly elections should be held under a neutral Government, headed by the Governor, Dr Gill added. Emphasising the need to strictly enforce the anti-defection law, Dr Gill said the problem lay not in the law but its implementation. The Speaker of the legislature, who was generally beholden to a political party or parties for his position, could not take harsh decisions and often sat on a matter for years. "If an independent body like the Election Commission is given the responsibility, it would dispose of the matter within a week, firmly stamping out the cancer of defection eating into our political system," he said. On electoral reforms, Dr Gill said checking criminalisation of politics was the need of the hour. The Commission had tried to strictly implement Section 8 of the RPA, which bars convicted persons from contesting elections, by issuing an order in August, 1997, that a stay on the sentence was not enough and the conviction itself had to be stayed by a higher court. Observing that Clause IV of Section 8, which made an exemption for sitting MPs and MLAs, was not a part of the original RPA and was added at a later stage, Dr Gill said "this distinction for elected representatives should be looked at again. Everyone should be equal before the law. Section 8 should be strengthened and simplified to check the criminalisation of politics." Speaking about the Women’s Reservation Bill, the CEC said the proposal to reserve seats for them in legislatures was deadlocked and it was high time alternative formulae were looked at to ensure that the political arena was widely thrown open to women as quickly as possible. The Commission’s suggestion that a certain percentage of tickets be given to women by political parties, failing which they would lose their recognition, was a quick way to ensure greater female participation in elections without amending the constitution, which would require to be approved by a two-third majority in both houses of Parliament and ratified by at least half the total number of states, Dr Gill said. (UNI) |
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India seeks help of British Police in CJI case NEW DELHI, June 10: India has sought the help of British Police to probe whether a document which originated from London and created controversy over the age of Chief Justice of India A S Anand was a forged one. The External Affairs Minister recently sent letters rogatory to Britain as requested by CBI for a thorough probe into the matter. The sources said CBI had sought help of Scotland Yard sleuths to check the genuineness of a certificate purported to have been issued by the General Council of Bar of England showing Justice Anand’s year of birth as 1934 though all other documents showed it to be 1936. CBI would send its team only if the British Police asked for some clarifications, the sources said. The document purported to have been sent by the General Council of Bar, London, on September four, 2000 to Sohul and company first appeared in former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani’s recent book "Small men, big egoes". The case was transferred from police to CBI as per a Supreme Court direction and CBI re-registered the case under Sections 465 (Forgery) and 469 (Forging to harm reputation). The CBI has also sought some more time from the trial court before submitting its report. (PTI) |
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Problems for Kargil residents continue KARGIL, June 10: Two years after the Pakistani invasion of Kargil heights, tourist inflow in the district has not shown any significant increase because of lack of adequate infrastructure facilities including non-completion of the airport. "Despite several promises of making Kargil a tourist spot, the State Government has done nothing in this direction," says Haji Ghulam Hassan, who owns a hotel in Kargil. Hassan feels like a "betrayed" man today as he contends that "no sincere efforts were made to boost tourism in this district." Another problem, which the tour operators highlight, is non-completion of the airport. "The airport has been left unfinished at 6000 metres while the runway needed for a boeing aircraft to land was 9000 metres. The infrastructure is available, but funds have not been allocated," Sonam Namgiyal, president of Zanskar unit of Ladakh Buddhist Association, said. Even tour operators have opined that non-completion of the airport had affected the tourism industry very badly and all petitions to the state and centre had fallen on deaf ears. Several groups and individuals had also raised the issue with centre’s interlocutor K C Pant during his visit to the district on May 31. "Yes, people here have been stressing for completing the airport as they feel this would give fillip to the dying tourism industry in the district," said Pant promising to look into it. About the average inflow of tourists into the district, Hassan says "if you are lucky, you can barely touch a three digit mark in a year." However, the woes of people do not end here only. The district is facing acute power shortage as the Iqbal Hydel Power Project has stopped generating power and proper drinking water facilities were yet to be provided by the State Government. "We are hoping that situation on these fronts would be solved within next two or three months," Qamar Ali Akhoon, State Minister, said. However, all these tall promises by politicians have no takers in Kargil. "We hear all these things but when they return to Delhi, they forget whether Kargil district even exists in the country or not," Hassan said. (PTI) |
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Joshi, Advani to depose before Liberhan Commission NEW DELHI, June 10: Human Resource Development Minister M M Joshi will tomorrow depose before the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry, probing the December 6, 1992, demolition of Babri mosque in Ayodhya, to explain his role in the incident. Home Minister L K Advani, who had played a crucial role in the Ram Janambhoomi movement through his Rathyatras, will also depose before the panel for two days this week on June 13 and 14 explaining his role. This will be the fifth appearance for Mr Advani while Dr Joshi, who had last appeared on May 1, will depose for two successive days this time. The hearing will be significant as the commission, whose term has been recently entended till December this year, is likely to confront Mr Advani with the eyewitness account of a journalist who said that the BJP leader was "jubiliant" after the domes fell. Mr Advani had earlier told that the panel that he was deeply "dejected, pained and stressed" after the "unfortunate"incident. He had said that the angry Karsevaks took the ‘wrongful course’ as they felt that leaders of the Ayodhya movement would not be able to get the Ram Temple built in accordance with the law. Describing the disputed structure not only as a "de facto" temple but also a "de jure" one, the Home Minister had asserted that the Ayodhya issue could be resolved only through negotiations or legislation and not by litigation. Accusing the Congress Governments, led by Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao, of using the courts as "weapon and shield" to delay an early verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute and thwarting people’s desire in the matter, Mr Advani had said that the demolition could have been avoided if the court verdict on the Uttar Pradesh Government’s land acquisition order had come earlier. The anger of the ‘Karsevaks’ would have got a smooth outlet if they were allowed to carry out ‘Karseva’ on the 2.77 acres of land adjoining the disputed structure, he had claimed. On the other hand, Dr Joshi had blamed the "oppressive" attitude of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and backtracking by former Prime Minister V P Singh on the promises to solve the Ayodhya tangle for the demolition. The BJP’s attitude on Ayodhya was of grand reconciliation to undo the wrongs of history but instead of finding a solution and initiating a dialogue, Mr Yadav took a highly oppressive approach towards Karsevaks, he had said. The "oppressive, undemocratic and uncivilised" attitude of Mr Yadav and backtracking by former Prime Minister V P Singh on the promises he had made had strengthened the resolve of the karsevaks who pulled down the Masjid, Dr Joshi had told the Commission while narrating the events of November 2, 1992, when Karsevaks were fired upon at Ayodhya. Coming down heavily on Mr Singh, he had said that instead of finding a solution to the dispute, he backtracked from the promises and tried to play in an unfair manner by first issuing an ordinance on the Ayodhya matter and then withdrawing it. The former Prime Minister had promised to solve the Ayodhya issue in four months, but instead of doing so, he sometimes formed a committee, offered certain solutions and then withdrew them and changed his stance, he charged. The Human Resource Development Minister had said the BJP considered that the mosque in Ayodhya was built by Babar as a sign of his victory over the country and not as a service to Islam. But still it wanted a solution through negotiations and legislation and had not propagated demolishing the structure. "We wanted the wrongs of the history to be remedied through grand reconciliation. The BJP was committed on building a temple at Ram Janamsthan by relocating the superimposed Babri structure with respect," he said. He had accused Mr Yadav of being partial and trying to appease Muslims for their votes without hearing the views of the leaders of the Ayodhaya movement. He said the firing on Karsevaks on November 2, 1990, in which 50 people had died and over 100 were injured, strengthened the resolve of people associated with the Ayodhya movement. Dr Joshi had said withdrawal of ordinance on the Ayodhya issue and arrest of Mr Advani and other leaders of the Ayodhya movement in 1990 aggravated the tension and people resorted to agitations and strike all over the country in support of the movement. (UNI) |
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‘Congress, left have no right to speak against corruption’ CHENNAI, June 10: Union Rural Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu today charged the Congress and the Left Parties with "legitimising corruption" by supporting a convicted person become Chief Minister. They did this for "narrow, short-term political gains which will have wider ramifications at the national level", the senior BJP leader told a press conference here. By supporting Ms J Jayalalitha’s candidature for Chief Ministership despite her conviction in corruption cases, the Congress and the Left Parties have forfeited any moral right to talk against corruption, he said. "The Congress and the left stalled Parliament twice in the recent past. Once, pressing that chargesheeted persons should not remain in the Government, and later demanding the resignation of the Vajpayee Government on the basis of allegations contained in the Tehelka tapes," Mr Naidu recalled. The same parties have now supported the AIADMK leader’s candidature, he added. On the state unit of the BJP demanding the recall of governor m Fathima Beevi for having sworn in Ms Jayalalitha, Mr Naidu said the Prime Minister had taken a stand against the recall and the matter was closed. "Besides, the issue is before the Supreme Court," he pointed out. Answering a question, Mr Naidu said the party’s alliance with the DMK would continue for future elections. He ruled out any tie-up with the AIADMK as was being speculated by the media during the past month. "There is no substance in such reports. Our alliance with the DMK is firm." Asked whether the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) was renewing its tie-up with the BJP, Mr Naidu said only PMK leader S Ramadosss could answer that. To another query, he said the Centre would not discriminate against Tamil Nadu because it was being ruled by a party which sat in the opposition in Parliament. "This is true in the case of any opposition-ruled state," he added. The minister welcomed Ms Jayalalitha’s stand of maintaining cordial relations with the Centre. "Any sensible Chief Minister will do so," he noted. Mr Naidu declined to comment on the role of the Governor in swearing in Ms Jayalalitha, saying that he, as a central minister, should not comment on the role of a constitutional functionary. The Union Minister called for a national debate on the wider issue of a convicted person holding office as the architects of the constitution did not envisage such an eventuality. According to him, the "sheer arithmetic" of the alliance resulted in the AIADMK-led front winning the polls. "There was, of course, a certain amount of anti-incumbency wave too," he added. On the Tamil Nadu Government’s reported plan to reopen the findings of the Sarkaria Commission, that probed the corruption charges against former Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi, Mr Naidu said "let them reopen, then we will comment." Replying to a question, he opposed any possible move to dissolve the local bodies in the state ahead of their term, ending September. (UNI) |
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