Excelsior... Nation

Nitish Kumar

Samata ministers withdraw
resignation, return to work

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The suspense over continuance of Nitish Kumar and two other Samata Party ministers in the Vajpayee Government ended today.....more

Murli Manohar Joshi

Joshi attacks opposition
for disrupting Parliament

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi today attacked the opposition for disruption in Parliament and accused ....more

TDP not to withdraw support to Govt

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Telugu Desam Party, a key ally of the ruling NDA, today ruled out withdrawal of support to the Vajpayee Government or....more

Gujarat Governor
abruptly ends his
address to Assembly

GANDHINAGAR, Mar 19: Gujarat Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari today abruptly ended his address and left the Legislative Assembly when the ..more

NBW against
Quattrocchi extended

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: A designated CBI court today extended the Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against Kuala Lumpur-based Italia......more

Smuggling from Bangladesh continues
No plan to enact legislation
against fake currency

From B L Kak
NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The Union Finance Ministry has made it abundantly clear that the Government does not propose to enact a .....more

Heroin worth
Rs 1.50 cr seized

MANDSAUR (MP), Mar 19: Police have seized heroin worth Rs 1.50 crore in the international market from......more

Officials transferred,
probe ordered into
Pratappur killings

PATNA, Mar 19: Bihar Government has transferred Siwan’s District Magistrate....more

Samata ministers withdraw resignation, return to work

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The suspense over continuance of Nitish Kumar and two other Samata Party ministers in the Vajpayee Government ended today after they agreed to withdraw their resignation and return to work.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s parliamentary party at the residence of party leader Defence Minister George Fernandes.

Stoutly denying that the three ministers - Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar, Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs V Sreenivasa Prasad - had resigned at his instance, Fernandes told reporters that they had done so to express solidarity with him in the wake of the defence deal expose.

Asked if it was a unanimous decision, the former Defence Minister said "though there are differences of opinion in a democratic party, the final decision is taken unanimously".

About charges levelled by some party MPs against the Prime Minister’s Office, he said one should refrain from making allegations which could cause inconvenience to the Government.

On being approached by mediapersons, Kumar said "what Fernandes has said is ultimate and it is a collective decision."

However, before leaving the venue, a visibly angry Prabhunath Singh told reporters that he was not aware of what was decided at the meeting. "I don’t know what decision was taken," he said.

A section of Samata Party MPs are reported to have held a dinner meeting at Singh’s residence last night and expressed the view that the three ministers should not withdraw their resignation till their leader, Fernandes, was back in the cabinet. (PTI)

Joshi attacks opposition for disrupting Parliament

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi today attacked the opposition for disruption in Parliament and accused the Congress of being afraid of facing the truth from an impartial inquiry into the Tehelka tapes expose.

The political developments in the country for the past one week following the release of videotapes had revealed the "diabolical" intentions of the opposition, the senior BJP leader said in a statement, adding, "a divided opposition united in disruptionist mindset seems to be bent upon creating instability."

"By refusing to accept the judicial probe, debate in parliament or even a confidence motion, what is the message the opposition trying to send out? can such issues be settled through firstfight or slogan shouting on the streets?," he asked.

Congress has a long history of bypassing the judiciary and parliament to stick to power, Joshi said adding it seemed that the party was afraid that truth would come out if an impartial inquiry was ordered or the matter was debated threadbare in Parliament.

"If this method is allowed to be followed at the central level, it will percolate into State Assemblies and even up to the panchayat level. It will make democratic institutions dysfunctional," Joshi said adding it was for the first time that any Government had acted with such promptness merely on any allegation of irregularity.

Stating that several important bills such Lok Pal Bill, CVC Bill and the Bill on the Right to Information dealing with the issue of probity in public life were pending passage, he said "by stalling the Parliament and delaying the passage of the bills, the opposition parties are not helping the cause they are pretending to uphold." (PTI)

TDP not to withdraw support to Govt

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Telugu Desam Party, a key ally of the ruling NDA, today ruled out withdrawal of support to the Vajpayee Government or possibility of a mid-term poll in the wake of Tehelka expose but felt that its fallout may have "some impact" on the electoral fortunes of the coalition in the coming Assembly polls in five states.

It also made it clear that there was no question of his party with 29 MPs withdrawing support to Government. "We have never spoken about withdrawing support," TDP parliamentary leader K Yerran Naidu told PTI.

"There is no possibility of a mid-term poll. Government enjoys full majority in the Lok Sabha," he said.

Asked whether TDP endorsed the idea of the Government seeking a confidence vote in the Lok Sabha, he said "confidence vote is not necessary. If the opposition is very particular, there are several occasions when it can test the government strength in the budget session" during voting on money bills.

To a question on electoral prospects of NDA in the light of the expose, Naidu said "I can’t say. But people are better judges. It may have some impact".

Naidu sought to downplay opposition charge that the judicial inquiry was being sabotaged by comments of Home Minister L K Advani that after the inquiry was over within five-six months, George Fernandes would be Defence Minister once again.

"The judicial inquiry will go into all aspects. Such comments are based on the confidence Advani has in Fernandes. But it will have no effect on the probe," he said.

About charges against the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), he said these were "mere allegations".

He said "we are for an independent high-level investigation. The inquiry must be completed within four months a, he stressed, must make available all necessary facilities and information to the inquiry commission to ensure that it completed its task within the given time frame. "There should be no extension given to the commission," he said citing examples in the past when extensions were given to such commissions.

"The guilty must be brought to book and punished, howsoever big or small the person is," he said.

Naidu referred to Vajpayee’s address to the nation on Saturday where he said the expose was a wake-up call and promised to cleanse the administration. "We have to believe the Prime Minister".

Naidu said his party had never asked for the resignation of any minister and had made clear its stand on an independent probe even without a discussion in Parliament since the charges related to a "sensitive issue of national security".

Fernandes and the presidents of BJP and Samata had resigned on moral grounds, he said adding "it was their individual decision".

Regretting the continued stalling of proceedings in parliament by the opposition, the TDP leader said they should be ready for a threadbare discussion on pressing issues like Tehelka expose, farmers’ plight, Kargil report and drinking water problem. (PTI)

Gujarat Governor abruptly ends his address to Assembly

GANDHINAGAR, Mar 19: Gujarat Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari today abruptly ended his address and left the Legislative Assembly when the opposition Congress members hurled currency notes in the House and a Congress member, Mr Khumansinh Chouhan, placed a wad of notes on his dias, even the marshals formed a human wall between the Congress and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members to avert a clash between them over the Tehelka expose issue.

As soon as the house assembled on the opening day of the 13-day session, summoned to take vote-on-account, and no sooner then the Governor had begun to read his speech, when Mr Chouhan rushed towards his dias and placed a wad of currency notes in front of Mr Bhandari.

Other Congress members displayed seven banners about the alleged failure of the Keshubhai Patel Government to tackle the post-quake and post-Tehelka situations, and raised slogans against the BJP. Meanwhile, Mr Chouhan also rushed towards the treasury benches and placed wads of currency notes on the desks of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and Industry Minister Suresh Mehta. The Congress member again went to the Governor and placed more currency notes before him. The marshalls were seen running from one desk to another and collecting currency notes, even as other Congress members hurled more notes in the House.

Meanwhile, as Mr Chouhan was still in the well of the House, Social Welfare and Prohibition Minister Fakirbhai Vaghela caught hold of him and other BJP members were seen rushing to the well. To avoid a scuffle, the marshalls formed a chain between the two warring groups who were seen advancing towards each other menacingly.

In this pandemonium, the Governor ended his speech abruptly, which largely went inaudible due to the din, and asked the Speaker, Mr Dhirubhai Shah, to deem the address as having been finished. The Governor then left the House and was escorted out by the Speaker.

Due to the post-quake situation, the Gujarat Government had scrapped the regular budget session and called the house to have a vote-on-account in a brief session that begun today. The session will come to end on March 31 and will have ten sittings.

Last year also, the Congress members had hurled Khaki shorts before the Governor on the opening day of the budget session, to register their protest against the alleged circular of the state Government allowing its officials and employees to voluntarily participate in the RSS activities. (UNI)

NBW against Quattrocchi extended

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: A designated CBI court today extended the Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against Kuala Lumpur-based Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, a key accused in the Rs 64 crore Bofors pay-off case.

Special Judge R L Chugh, hearing the sensitive case for the first time after Ajit Bharihoke’s transfer early this month, extended the NBW till further orders following CBI’s submission that extradition proceedings against Quattrocchi in a Malaysian court would take more time.

Besides Quattrocchi, Europe-based Hinduja brothers —Srichand, Prakashchand and Gopichand, former Bofors agent Win Chadha, former Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar, then Bofors chief Martin Ardbo and the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors have been chargesheeted in the case.

They have been accused of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption in the Rs 1,437 crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm howitzer guns by Bofors company to India in 1986.

The court directed CBI to supply legible copies of certain documents to the Hinduja Brothers and the Bofors company, now renamed as Kartongen Kemi Och farvaltning AB, by the next date and adjourned the proceedings for March 30 with the direction that the case file be sent to the High Court which is scheduled to hear on March 23 the Hindujas’ plea seeking permission to leave the country.

The direction came in the wake of applications moved by Hindujas’ counsel Arvind Nigan and Bofors counsel Alok Sen Gupta saying certain documents supplied by CBI were not legible. (PTI)

Smuggling from Bangladesh continues
No plan to enact legislation against fake currency

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The Union Finance Ministry has made it abundantly clear that the Government does not propose to enact a legislature in the foreseeable future to curb the smuggling of fake currency into India.

Fake currency seized by the Government in different parts of the country during 1999 totalled Rs 1,83,35,315 as against the recovery of fake currency of the order of Rs 3,56,57,820 in the year 2000. And according to the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, the total quantity of fake notes seized or recovered "is only a miniscule proportion of the total notes in circulation".

Mr Yashwant Sinha has also sought to allay anxiety of certain categories of the populace by making it public that currency notes in the denominations of Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5 are no longer printed and the notes already in circulation will get replaced by coins.

Admitting that there is a general shortage of coin in the country due to supply and demand gap, the Finance Minister has let it be known that to over come this, it has been planned, as a long term measure, to modernise the mints at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai. And the modernisation plan, according to him, is nearing completion.

Mr Sinha divulged that coins were also being imported to bridge the gap between the indent of coins from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and supply of coins by mints. His yet another disclosure: Reprinting of lower denomination currency notes is under consideration of the Government.

On the continuing smuggling of goods into India from Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Finance Minister has explained that smuggling being a clandestine activity, it is not possible to assess exact quantum of smuggling from these two countries. However, the available reports about the seizure of contraband goods, Mr Sinha said, did indicate smuggling of goods from Bangladesh and Myanmar into India.

According to statistics available with the Finance Minister, during the last one year-that is, up to February 2001, smuggled goods valued at Rs 34.01 crores have been seized by the field formations under the Customs Department. And Mr Sinha’s assurance: Field formations under the Customs Department are alert and vigilant to detect and prevent any attempts of smuggling, including smuggling from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The International Narcotics Control Board report for the year 2000 has, to quote the Finance Minister, speculated that the Indo-Myanmar border could become a major illicit drug producing area. However, as per reports available, Mr Sinha pointed out, no manufacturing facility for drugs had been reported in India along the Indo-Myanmar border. He admitted that the smuggling into India from Myanmar, although "on a very small scale", had registered a "slight increase" during the last three years.

The Finance Minister has justified the official move, notifying the precursor chemicals ephedrine and pseudoephedrine used in the manufacture of Amphetamine/Methamphetamine tablets as ‘controlled substances’ under the NDPS Act. According to him, other significant steps taken by the Government of India to stop smuggling along the Indo-Myanmar border include constant vigil, stepping up of enforcement efforts, gearing up of intelligence machinery, vesting of powers in BSF under the Customs Act to interdict drugs on the border, entering into a comprehensive bilateral agreement by the Government of India with the Government of Myanmar for reducing demand and preventing illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, providing drug sniffer dogs and training of dog handlers of Myanmar and stringent action under NDPS Act against persons arrested for drug trafficking.