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Story
of softer sex From B L Kak
Bibi
asks Sikhs not PHAGWARA, Mar 25: Former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur today said the Sikhs should not accept a Muslim as.....more Tehelka
expose: NEW DELHI, Mar 25: Even as the ‘tehelka.Com expose’ gives a new dimension to investigative journalism, opinion is sharply divided among......more |
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UP Govt’s claim of
clean ALLAHABAD, Mar 25: The much-publicised claim of the Uttar Pradesh Government of a clean Ganga has proved...more From B L Kak India’s former Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. Shankar Roychowdhury, has created ripples in the none-too-placid waters by the expression......more Court
declares sisters of NEW DELHI, Mar 25: A Delhi Court has declared Sarojini Amma and Saraswati Amma, sisters of...more Seat sharing exercise over, some remain dissatisfied CHENNAI, Mar 25: Faced with the delicate situation of accommodating several partners, the DMK, which is heading the NDA in Tamil Nadu,......more Serious
contributors to NEW DELHI, Mar 25: Lack of meaningful cross-border and inter-state interaction, educated .......more |
Story
of softer sex From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Marc 25: Adopting all-is-fair-in-love-and-war methodology, the beleaguered NDA Government headed by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee seems to have planned to effectively prevent the aggressive Congress party from taking an edge over it and further exposing it among the urban and rural masses. Understandable, if not reasonable, in this context is the standpoint of the senior BJP leader and Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, blocking the passage, at least for the time being, of Ms Sonia Gandhi, the Congress president, to the Doordarshan studios for having her statement telecast. Ms Sushma Swaraj has adopted the clever ploy: Instead of directly telling Ms Sonia Gandhi that she won’t be permitted to have her statement telecast by the Doordarshan, the message was sent to 10 Janpath informing the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha that her (Mr Sonia’s) participation in an open discussion on the prevailing situation would be appreciated. Known for her personal equation with Mr Vajpayee, Ms Sushma Swaraj, insiders say, enjoyed the former’s full support and cooperation when she made use of such expression as to leave none in doubt about the NDA Government’s unwillingness to allow the lady of 10 Janpath to get the same facility which was earlier offered to the controversial leader, Mr George Fernandes, soon after he resigned as the Defence Minister. In other words, in the battle between the two ladies, Ms Sushma Swaraj seems to have adopted a strategy, seeking to silence Ms Sonia Gandhi. And, in the process, the I&B Minister has triggered a bit of commotion, a bit of unease among the Opposition leaders. Precisely, critics of the Government have fired a set of questions, which are unlikely to be answered convincingly by the Prime Minister and his colleagues. Indeed, these questions have been provoked by the Governmental move aimed at preventing Opposition leaders, particularly Ms Sonia Gandhi, from using the same medium (Doordarshan) which was used by Mr George Fernandes on March 15. It can be said without any contradiction that Mr Fernandes’ statement was loaded with harsh expressions against the Opposition parties. Mr George Fernandes castigated them. Hence, all the more reason for the Opposition leaders to demand an equal opportunity to defend themselves on the same medium. The explanation given by anonymous sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in support of the move to prevent the Opposition from using Doordarshan to answer disparaging remarks by Mr Fernandes, is unconvincing. Mr Fernandes’ statement contained the damning preface. And he was officially encouraged to make polemical remarks against the entire Opposition. An independent media organisation, experts argue, would have excised the damning preface in the long statement of Mr Fernandes telecast on March 15. Having failed to do that, the authority that encouraged what the independent observers described as "this unethical act" should have readily given an opportunity of rebuttal to those whom former Defence Minister maligned. Ms Sonia Gandhi may suffer from inferiority complex as a political novice, but she has fully understood the message flowing out of Mr Fernandes’ statement. No wonder, she, in the course of a meeting with a group of Congress leaders, made a pointed reference to the first paragraph of Mr Fernandes’ statement. Mr Fernandes sought to justify the use of Doordarshan by him on the basis of the allegation that the Opposition blocked Parliament, thereby preventing him from telling the "truth". Mr Fernandes and his supporters, including the Prime Minister, cannot deny the fact that the Tehelka disclosures have severely discredited the BJP-led coalition at the Centre. The Vajpayee Government is desperately trying to fend off the spirited protest campaign by the Opposition, especially the Congress. Interestingly, the BJP leaders, including Ms Sushma Swaraj, in an obvious attempt to deflect the heat generated by Opposition on the Government following the Tehelka expose, lost no time in playing up the disproportionate assets case against Ms Sonia Gandhi’s private secretary, Mr Vincent George, suggesting that the Congress seek the resignation of Ms Sonia instead of the Prime Minister, Mr Vajpayee. Large sections of the population seem to be convinced that probity platform of the BJP and its coalition partners has suffered a serious damage post-Tehelka. But indications are by no means uncertain that the NDA Government will capitalise on the CBI case against Ms Sonia’s private secretary to fend off Opposition attack and take the battle into the Congress camp. The Congress leadership will find itself severely handicapped in its attempt to seize the high moral ground. |
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Bibi asks Sikhs not to accept a Muslim as PGPC chief PHAGWARA, Mar 25: Former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur today said the Sikhs should not accept a Muslim as the head of Pakistan Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (PGPC) without required amendment in the SGPC Act of 1925, and sending Sikh Jathas to that country. It was "Tauhin" (insult) of and "Hamla" (attack) on Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC), Sikhs and entire Qaum (clan) to accept a Pakistani Muslim as PGPC head and sending Sikh Jathas to Pakistan, she told reporters here. Bibi said former ISI chief-led PGPC was floated to divide Sikhs and to embarrass the SGPC and the Union Government. She cautioned that Sikh Jathas would face insult in Pakistan by those who had floated PGPC to violate Sikh "Rehat-Maryada" (code). (PTI) |
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Tehelka expose: Some legal views NEW DELHI, Mar 25: Even as the ‘tehelka.Com expose’ gives a new dimension to investigative journalism, opinion is sharply divided among experts on the legal implications of the expose and who all would be brought to book on the basis of a deal, that the self-proclaimed investigators themselves said was fictitious. As the wheeling-dealings in the corridors of power make it to the drawing rooms of Indian homes against the backdrop of the Bofors deal which is still being contested in the courts, a perplexed audience wonders whether the persons charged in the films with accepting money could actually be prosecuted under existing laws in case of fictitious deals. Can politicians get away with accepting any kind of money in the name of party donations ? have the bureaucrats and journalists overstepped their respective permissible briefs ? finally does the expose’ legally establish all the charges made in the videotapes ? Even before Justice Venkataswami’s Commission of Inquiry starts its hearing in the expose, there is no second opinion among experts that the officials cited could be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act. But they are divided on whether the politicians named committed a criminal offence by accepting money for the party without commitment of favour in a deal. "In law it does not matter that the deals were fictitious. What matters is that the people are admitting and accepting money, whereby they have transgressed the norms of the offices they were serving," says Professor A K Kaul, Dean Law Faculty Delhi University. "Here it is a question of the propriety of office and moral rectitude that has been vitiated," notes Prof Kaul. In similar vein, eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan, points out that bribery is a criminal offence and "even a politician cannot accept money for the party in exchange for a favour. However, Supreme Court lawyer, Gautam Banerjee felt that framing a politician could become difficult as he could seek protection by arguing that he accepted money towards the party fund. "Prosecuting a political personality for a criminal offence at par with a citizenry is still a far cry," notes Banerjee saying the distinguishing line between donations and bribes in such cases is very thin and it could be difficult to prove. Former Election Commissioner, GVG Krishnamurthy says "it’s not a criminal act for a party leader to accept money without commitment of favour in a deal." While the former Election Commission official refuses any further comment on the expose’, Banerjee points out that political parties in India are governed by their own rules and the broad guidelines laid in the representation of peoples act or the Foreign Exchange Contributions Regulations Act (FCRA) in case of foreign currency donations. Interestingly, there is a clause in the company’s act according to which a firm no less than three years old can donate up to Rs one lakh or five per cent of its annual profits to a political party towards election fund. "But it has to be reflected in the company’s records", says Banerjee. Thus a company becomes answerable in case it doesn’t stick to the rule book but the politician has no restriction whatsoever, he notes. (PTI). |
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Seat sharing exercise over, some remain dissatisfied CHENNAI, Mar 25: Faced with the delicate situation of accommodating several partners, the DMK, which is heading the NDA in Tamil Nadu, wrapped up its seat-sharing exercise last night, apportioning 79 of the 234 Assembly seats, but not without antagonising a couple of its existing partners. After a marathon exercise lasting a fortnight, the DMK roped in 13 parties into its fold, including a few newcomers and some caste-based organisations. In the process, it could not meet the demands of some of its allies like the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) and the MGR Anna DMK, which are waiting for an opportunity to leave the nda at the state-level. Both the TRC, an offshoot of the Congress and headed by former Union Petroleum Minister Vazhapadi Ramamurthy, and the MGR Anna DMK led by S Thirunavukkarasu, a former AIADMK minister, but presently a constituent of the NDA at the centre, are sore over being allotted just two seats each. While Thirunavukkarasu is slated to announce his next move later this evening, Ramamurthy will decide by March 28 on whether to continue in the NDA or not. While finalising the exercise last night, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi chose to retain 155 seats for his party, saying the DMK needed that many seats to establish a rule of its own after the elections. To avoid a conflict between two of its existing partners, the BJP and the MDMK, which were angling for the number two slot in the NDA front, Karunanidhi took away two of the 23 seats allotted to the former, to maintain parity with the MDMK. Though the new justice party, headed by former AIADMK MP and MLA A C Shanmugham, held talks with the DMK, it was not included in the front, probably because of that party’s high expectations on the number of seats to be allotted. Meanwhile, a third front, comprising some national and regional parties, has already been formed. It remains to be seen whether the disgruntled parties find their way there. The JD(S) has already joined the front. (PTI) |
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Serious contributors to
multiplicity of NEW DELHI, Mar 25: Lack of meaningful cross-border and inter-state interaction, educated unemployment, poor infrastructure, and minimal recreational and creative avenues have posed as serious contributors to the rapid multiplicity of the dreaded HIV/AIDS in the country’s North East. But the issue being low on the priority list of planners and administrators and certainly not on the agenda of politicians, the seriousness of it is being skirted. Stating this, grassroots workers in the HIV/AIDS sector in the NE, who assembled here yesterday in an interactive session on reality and myth of HIV/AIDS in the North East , called for a social movement as well as a favourable political process to tame the killer disease in the region. The workers, both from the Governmental and non-Governmental levels, said the pattern of the factors adding to the spread of the disease in the region was quite different from the mainland India and thus there was an urgent need for separate policy measures to tackle the situation. "At any time of the day, one would find drug peddlars roaming around freely on the Indo-Myanmar border. Whatever measures we take to discourage drug addicts, there is an easy availability of drugs and so full addressal of the issue needs meaningful participation of workers from across the border, said Mr Nabkishore Singh of Centre for Social Development, an NGO based in the border town of Moreh. Urging the Union Government to facilitate such interaction with volunteers from across the border, Mr Singh, said there had been some favourable response from the Christian society of Myanmar and the salvation army. Sharing international borders with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan and being quite close to Nepal, the eight states of Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have become hotspots of drug trafficking, peddaled from the infamous golden triangle. Also as most of the provisions and other requirements of the states came from the rest of the there are a substantial number of truck drivers, passing through the region, who indulge in unsafe sexual behaviour. Another identified high-risk group is the umpteen number of paramilitary personnel deployed in the region. The workers said though the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), the nodal agency fore AIDS prevention in the country, had put Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu at the top of their list of high-incidence areas, none of these shared the NE pattern. Dr Kumini Kathipri, deputy director of the Nagaland AIDS Control Society, said population-wise, the NE states were far below the bigger states but if one looked at the number of HIV/AIDS cases, the difference was small. "So, the point of serious concern is that, such a large number of cases are detected among so less people," Dr Kathipri said. Close on the lines of Manipur Governor Ved Marwah’s inaugural speech at the one-day session organised by the New Delhi-based Centre for North East and Policy Research, Dr Kathipri said that with no jobs available and minimal recreational and entertainment avenues in the entire region, frustrated youths got hooked to drugs which were easily available and ultimately many became carriers of HIV/AIDS through sharing of infected syringes. Dr Kathipri also called for healthy interaction among the Northeastern States to tackle the menace. There has been increasing cases of oral drug use in the recent past. Investigations reveal that such drugs are pumped in by the peddlars from Assam. So, one needs constant interaction with the neighbouring states and a joint effort, she said in her presentation. Dr Nilotpal Banerjee, a practicing microbiologist and working with the AIDS surveillance centre in Tripura, however, said disposable needle syringes were not the answer for preventing HIV/AIDS. "I myself tested many such new syringes and found bacteria. The answer probably is the traditional way of boiling them so that they are properly disinfected." He called for involving the youths of the region in the prevention of the disease besides launching cost-effective and conveniently timed campaigns targeting the lower rung of society. Dr S I Ahmed from AIDS prevention, an NGO from Assam, said one should not get fooled by mere statistics. The AIDS awareness level in the NE was the highest in the country and yet the number of cases had not decreased. "This shows that people of the region have accepted the fact that HIV/AIDS is a problem. The need of the hour is involving them in creating a social movement besides a political commitment to end the menace," he said. Dr Ahmed said the state having a large number of migrant population had also been contributing to the increasing cases of AIDS. Besides, with major national highways connecting the rest of NE passes through the state, a large number of truckers who enter the state, indulge in high-risk sexual behaviour. "In the absence of established red light areas in the region, innovative approaches have to be formulated to reach out to the target population and make them aware of early treatment of sexually, transmitted diseases as presence of untreated STDs make them ten times more vulnerable to acquiring HIV," he added. He concurred with fellow participants that there should be political and social interventions and participation on a wider scale and on an emergency basis to curb the spread of the virus. (UNI) |
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