Excelsior... Nation

Book on voices
of Kashmir children
released today

NEW DELHI, Apr 12: An innovative all-children forum which discusses the concerns and development of young citizens from Leh and Kargil districts of Jammu and Kashmir finds voice in a new book released here today by save the children UK (SC - UK)......more

Roll back of some
proposals in budget
likely: BJP

PANAJI, Apr 12: BJP today gave enough hints of a possibility of a roll back of some of the proposals in the Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s budget for 2002-03 under attack, an issue that has agitated even party MPs......more

BJP rejects demand
for Modi’s removal

PANAJI, Apr 12: Brushing aside the demand of even crucial allies like TDP, the BJP today rejected the possibility of removal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying the nation needs to be saved from "forces . ...more

TN to pass resolution
demanding extradition
of Prabhakaran

CHENNAI, Apr 12: The Tamil Nadu Assembly is all set to pass a resolution demanding the extradition of LTTE chief V Prabhakarn to stand trial here in ....more

SC says no to any
modification on order
against saffronisation

NEW DELHI, Apr 12: Reiterating its earlier orders putting an interim ban on alleged attempts......more

Capital’s pollution level
comes down by 40 per cent

NEW DELHI, Apr 12: A week after diesel buses have been off the city roads following the Supreme .......more

SC says no to any
modification on order
against saffronisation

NEW DELHI, Apr 12: Reiterating its earlier orders putting an interim ban on alleged attempts to...more

Book on voices of Kashmir children released today

"Our voices...Are you listening?"highlights the aims, objectives and success of the Children’s Committee for Village Development (CCVD) in Leh and Kargil over the last four years.

In his brief remarks at the book’s launch, SC UK - India programme director Martin Kelsey said children’s citizenship is all about developing skills and encouraging active participation of children and young people within their families, community and society at large.

He described CCVD as an initiative on the part of SC-UK to address the concerns of children and combine policy with practice by mobilising children as participants rather than recipients in development and promote their rights within the community.

As young Fayaz Ahmad, a CCVD member, asserted confidently: "We want children’s voices not to be restricted to the home or even the village, but it should reach out to the district level authorities".

Earlier releasing the book, UK Deputy High Commissioner to India Tom Macan said education is a recurrent theme in the publication which he described as an ambitious experiment in the empowerment of children. The CCVDs have once and for all changed adult perceptions about children’s ability to contribute to village development. Fayaz narrates how children in his village in Kargil have been denied the basic right of free elementary education because construction of the proposed school in the village was stopped midway.

A visit by a children’s delegation of the CCVD to block level officers yielded no positive response so they next contacted the Superintendent of Police.

"It is all due to the efforts of the SP who had the construction work resumed by sanctioning funds from his department. Hopefully, our school will be ready in three months", the young activist said.

The Children’s Council for Development in Leh (CCDL) and the Children’s Council for Development in Kargil (CCDK) were formed democratically through the election process. The local Government in these regions support the action plans put forward by the children’s council. These plans contribute to the development of their villages, blocs and districts as a whole under the guidance of the bodies at the district level. (UNI)

Roll back of some proposals in budget likely: BJP

"There is an impression tht some of our budget proposals have also contributed to our setback (in elections). Even our Prime Minister has made mention of it," party president Jana Krishnamurthy said in his presidential address to the three-day national executive that began today.

He said "this is a matter that needs to be gone into carefully and if this impression proves to be correct then the matter needs to be examined as to how to neutralise the adverse impact or to go in for immunisation."

BJP leaders have been voicing concern over withdrawal of some tax saving concessions which they feel have hit hard the middle class, a strong vote bank of the party and the reduction of the interest rate of the small savings.

In his speech, Krishnamurthy said in a country like India where there was no adequate social safety net, often retired persons had to depend on their hard-earned savings during their old age.

The BJP chief said whatever may be the economic justification behind the cut in interest rates many retired persons had suddenly been made to look around for support due to fall in income through cut in interest on savings.

"It is purely a humanitarian issue. Where should they go for their livelihood?," he asked strongly pleading the case.

Krishnamurthy said it was crucial to have cooperation of the people for implementation of economic reforms.

"While they have to tighten their belt, whether it is surcharge on income tax, cut in interest rates on small savings or hike in prices of petroleum products, people expect that their sacrifice would go for noble national cause," he said holding that austerity measures by the Government would go a long way in winning goodwill of common people.

Krishnamurthy said economic reform measures were crucial if one was seriously committed to bringing the economy out of mess.

In a fiscal situation where the country has to borrow even to meet part of the debt servicing, let alone be able to meet developmental and current expenditure, tightening up of belt is a must.

Moreover, he said, it was quite essential to generate resources to meet social sector developments like primary education, healthcare and drinking water.

"The party is deeply committed to social sector development since we cannot afford to keep a section of the society out of developmental benefits for long.

"Corrections of fiscal imbalances and the need to meet social and physical infrastructure developments necessitate some amount of sacrifice by the comparatively better off sections," he added.

But, the crucial questions, Krishnamurthy wondered was how much the party would be able to convince the section of the society which is affected by the economic reforms —specially the second generation.

"Phase and sequencing of economic reforms should also keep in mind our capacity to manage politically. Time has come for an in depth analysis of the issue so that a healthy balance could be struck between economic rationality behind economic reforms and capacity of the party for political management," he said.

Referring to the public distribution system, the BJP chief said though below poverty line families could get 35 kg of food grains in a month they would not be able to benefit from that because they were mostly daily wage earners.

Instead, he suggested that there should be flexibility in distribution so to enable them to purchase on daily basis. Probably, issue of food coupons may be a better proposition in this context.

He said as the country was now moving into second generation reforms, there was absolute necessity to make a thorough assessment of the impact of the first generation reforms for which a committee of competent persons could be appointed.

In order to ameliorate the difficulties of the textile industry sector afflicted with numerous problems, Krishnamurthy said coordinated efforts by the textile, finance and small scale industry ministries were required to restore its health. (PTI)

BJP rejects demand for Modi’s removal

"I strongly condemn the hue and cry of those who demanded the head of the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The nation needs to be saved from these forces whose only aim seems to be to destabilise the BJP Government even when the situation demanded the cooperation of everyone to restore normalcy in a riot-torn state," party president Jana Krishnamurthy said in his presidential address at the three-day meeting of the national executive that began here.

Even as the "oust Modi" issue cast a cloud over the deliberations here, the BJP president appeared unapologetic over criticism from opposition and some of the party allies over Modi’s handling of the communal violence that claimed lives of several hundred Muslims.

"I must mention here that the role of opposition and our critics was not exactly commendable but on the other hand condemnable. Every time Guajarat faced severe situations, our opponents and critics mounted a severe attack on the State Governement with an orchestrated voice demanding the head of the Chief Minister.

"When the people are facing a calamity and when the Government was struggling to calm down the situation, the role of opposition and our opponents was to strengthen the efforts of all those who are strenuously exerting themselves to contain the situation.

"But their efforts were directed towards demoralising and discrediting those who were carrying out their responsibilities sincerely," he said giving a clean chit to the Modi Government in the presence of top party leaders including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Home Minister L K Advani, Chief Ministers including Modi and the Union Ministers and over 170 executive members.

Krishnamurthy took the opportunity to make the point that the country would have to find a solution to the communal strife if it were to progress. Social harmony and internal strife could not help the nation to move forward. All sections of people need to ponder over this.

In an apparent reference to the Godhra carnage and the subsequent communal violence that claimed hundreds of lives of the minority community and in a variation of the RSS line that the security of the minority lies in the goodwill of the majority, he said "every section of society when it thinks it is whole of the part must realise that is simply part of the whole so much so its welfare and well being depends upon those of the entire society."

Maintaining that in any communal strife there is always one who provokes and another provoked, the BJP chief said the effort had so far mainly remained in advising and attacking the provoked which had given rise to a psychology amidst the provoked that it was the victim in every sense.

"If the message can go to everyone in the society that whosoever provokes another, and whoever takes initiative in provoking or attacking another, whatever religion he may belong to as goondaism does not have religion, the state as well as society will come down on him heavily to punish him, then the whole society and everyone in society will remain assured that there is justice rendered to all with no appeasement of anyone.

"I feel this is the only solution to this vexed problem and I appeal to everyone especially the political parties, social and other organsiations and media to ponder over this and cooperate," he said.

Krishnamurthy attacked the Congress saying the attitude of the main opposition party was not at all healthy and conducive to the healthy growth of democracy.

"Whether Congress likes it or not, the Indian electorate has given its verdict in favour of an NDA Government at the Centre and made Congress to sit in the opposition. This verdict of the electorate must be respected and Congress must learn to respect it.

"As an opposition party it has the right to criticise and attack the Government. We do not deny that right. But they are crossing all limits," he said.

Citing the instance of POTO, Krishnamurthy said Congress which had "misused" TADA opposed the very need of a tough anti-terrorism law when even the Congress-ruled States and police machinery there wanted such a law to fight terrorism. Their opposition necessitated the summoning of the joint sitting of Parliament to pass the bill.

Maintaining that BJP had been moving in the direction of consensus politics, he said BJP’s desire was to go in for consensus with Congress at least on vital issues as poverty, unemployment, growth-oriented economic approach, on fighting terrorism and building social harmony.

"In the name of the best national interests, I urge the Congress to see reason and cooperate where it can and should. But if the Congress choses to stick to the path of confrontation, the BJP inspite of having chosen the path of consensus is prepared to accept the challenge of Congress in its politics of confrontation," he said. (PTI)

TN to pass resolution demanding extradition of Prabhakaran

CHENNAI, Apr 12: The Tamil Nadu Assembly is all set to pass a resolution demanding the extradition of LTTE chief V Prabhakarn to stand trial here in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa told the State Assembly here today that a resolution to this effect would be moved in the House on April 16 and sought the support of all politicial parties to unanimously pass the resolution.

Responding to Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) group leader S R Balasubramanian’s plea, earlier during zero hour, to move a resolution in this regard, Ms Jayalalithaa said that she had already written a letter to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee urging him to take steps for the extradition of Mr Prabhakaran, whom she described as the "leader of Sri Lankan terrorist organisation—the LTTE". If necessary, the Indian army should be sent to Sri Kanka to apprehend Mr Prabhakaran and bring him here to face trial, she said.

The Chief Minister categorically stated that the Government could not take one stand with regard to Pakistani terrorists and a different one for the LTTE terrorists.

India had demanded the extradition of 20 terrorists from Pakistan for the offences committed on Indian soil.

Calling Mr Prabhakaran a terrorist leader, Ms Jayalalithaa said the Centre should not accept him as a popular leader, as being projected in certain quarters. He had been declared as a proclaimed offender by the court here, she pointed out. Pointing out that the Indian courts had established the LTTE’s role in the assassination of Mr Rajiv Gandhi, the Chief Minister said Mr Prabhakharan, who had surfaced again to address the international media on April ten near Vavuniya, had only said that the incident had taken place ten years ago and he did not want to go into the details. Anyone supporting the LTTE was a traitor, she said.

Saying that it was she who took the first step to ban the LTTE in 1992, Ms Jayalalithaa said the ban on the organisation should be extended to two more years, as it expires on May 13, 2002.

Earlier, Mr Balasubramanian pointed out that Prabhakaran had not even expressed regret for the assassination of the former Prime Minister. He had also not disowned responsibility for the act, he added.

Pointing out that there was an extradition treaty between the Governments of India and Sri Lanka, the TMC leader demanded that Prabhakaran be brought back here and made to face trial, as he is the prime accused in the case.

The LTTE had betrayed India and particularly the state as Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on Tamil Nadu soil, he said.

Mr Balasubramanian welcomed the Chief Minister’s stand on the issue and appreciated her for writing to the Prime Minister in this regard.

"Some people have suggested leniency to the LTTE and some have even projected Prabhakaran as a hero. They are all traitors of the nation," he said. (UNI)

SC says no to any modification on order against saffronisation

NEW DELHI, Apr 12: Reiterating its earlier orders putting an interim ban on alleged attempts to saffronise the secondary education, the Supreme Court today dismissed an application by the NCERT seeking release of more books under the changed syllabi for this academic session.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice S P Bharucha, Justice S V Patil and Justice H M Sema, dismissing the application by National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), also rejected the suggestion of Solicitor General Harish Salve that some of the books could be released if an independent persons like Justice P B Sawant cleared them.

The bench said "we are not going to permit release of the books under the new syllabus".

A PIL filed by Aruna Roy, B G Verghese and Meena Radhakrishna Tyabji had challenged the implementation of controversial National Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education (NCFSE), termed by many educationist as an attempt to saffronise the education system.

They had alleged that an important decision to change school syllabi was taken without consulting the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), an apex body set up decide the national education policy. Many educationists had termed the introduction of the new scheme as an attempt to "saffronise" the school syllabi, the PIL said.

"The application is dismissed. The order passed on March one read with March 22 shall operate pending final disposal of the petition", the bench said in its order today.

On March 1, the Supreme Court had stayed implementation of NCFSE while issuing notices to Union Human Resource Development Ministry, Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The bench, while giving two weeks time to the respondent to reply to a PIL, said "in the meantime, there shall be a direction to the HRD Ministry, CBSE and NCERT not to further implement the new curriculum without consultation with CABE."

However, on March 22 the court had modified its March one order and allowed NCERT to publish and sell all books for secondary education except social sciences, including history and religion, and Hindi which were allegedly changed in a bid to ‘saffronise’ the education system.

Today, Salve went to the extent of saying that the NCERT was ready to remove all those portions from the text books which were objectionable to the petitioners to get an order from the court for release of the books.

He said apart from the large number of schools in India, there were many schools abroad which were affiliated to CBSE and the ban on publication of books under the syllabus was affecting them much to the benefit of the private publishers who were wooing them to take books from them.

Justice Bharucha said "let me be very clear about it. The situation is entirely your creation."

Senior advocate P P Rao, appearing for CBSE, said if the cheap books published by the CBSE were not allowed to be released, the private publishers would make money by selling them at a higher price.

The bench said "there is much more at stake than money". (PTI)

Capital’s pollution level comes down by 40 per cent

NEW DELHI, Apr 12: A week after diesel buses have been off the city roads following the Supreme Court order imposing heavy fine on them for non-convergence to CNG mode, the air pollution level here has come down by a substantial 40 per cent this week, the Central Pollution Control Board said here.

CPCB Additional Director S D Makhijani told UNI today that among the major pollutants in Delhi, considered as one of the most polluted cities of the world, the level of Respirable Suspended Particlute Matter (RSPM) and the nitrogen dioxide gas has come down substantially in the first three days of this week as compared to the last week.

The Supreme Court order had come into effect from April 6.

"The RSPM level was 262 to 375 microgram per cubic meter between April 1 to 7 which has come down to 149 to 209 microgram during the first three days of this week as per the figures obtained by the board," Mr Makhijani said.

This indicated a 40 per cent decrease in the level of RSPM, a major pollutant responsible for respiratory diseases, including lung cancer. "But still, the RSPM level was much above the standard 100 micrograms per cubic meter," he pointed out.

The level of nitrogen oxides have also decreased during the period. "Last week, it was between 49 to 71 micrograms which has gone down to 40 to 48 micrograms between this Monday and Wednesday," he said.

Sulphur dioxide, which was 5 to 9 micrograms last week, has come down to 4 to 6 micrograms. However, CNG buses were not expected to make much change in this regard as due to use of low sulphur diesel, its level has already come down and it was below the standard level, he said and added that controlling RSPM level was the primary concern as it much above the standard level.

"But more diesel buses have started plying in the last couple of days and if it continues, we don’t know whether reductionary trend continues or not as about 72 per cent of air pollution was caused by vehicular emission," he said.

However, compared to last year when there were no cng buses, the quality of air in the capital has substantially improved as the pollution came down by 20 per cent, Dr Makhijani pointed out. The CPCB Director said, "this is important as every year, about 5 per cent new vehicles join Delhi roads and also, ageing of vehicles increase emission levels."

However, he said one needed to be pragmatic and as pollution problem could not be solved overnight. "We have already made a road map for next eight to ten years to reduce pollution and initiative have also been taken. What is required now is to emphatically follow these measures," he said.

Mr Makhijani said apart from total conversion of vehicles to CNG mode, using eco-friendly and improved engine and fuel, people should also develop habits that would reduce the pollution level. They should avoid using vehicles for short distances and drive more eco-friendly vehicles.

The adoption of Euro III and Euro IV norms for all vehicles by 2010 in the country would also help in reducing pollution, he opined. "But we need to stick to the time schedule for introducing them."

Use of metro rail, first phase of which is expected to be completed this year, would also help in solving the problem of pollution as number of buses would come down on road. Besides, the use of ring railway should be increased as in the case of Mumbai for normal commuting, he said. (UNI)

SC says no to any modification on order
against saffronisation

The bench said "we are not going to permit release of the books under the new syllabus".

"The application is dismissed. The order passed on March one read with March 22 shall operate pending final disposal of the petition", the bench said in its order today.

Justice Bharucha said "let me be very clear about it. The situation is entirely your creation."

Senior advocate P P Rao, appearing for CBSE, said if the cheap books published by the CBSE were not allowed to be released, the private publishers would make money by selling them at a higher price.

The bench said "there is much more at stake than money". (PTI)