India facing problems
on WTO discussions
on agriculture: Ajit

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Admitting that India was facing severe problems in its WTO discussions in the farm sector, Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh today . ......more

My family would know
the real me and I hope
that it is good: Big B

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: "I truly believe that in the 30 years that I’ve been in the film industry, we have been through several characters and characterisations ...more

Minorities begin fast
against ordinance

CHENNAI, Oct 24: Christian, Muslim and Dalit leaders began a one-day fast here today as most of the minority managed educational institutions in the .....more

Jaya Jaitly asked to
file ‘review’ petition

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Delhi High Court today gave liberty to Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitly to file a ‘review’ petition for expunction of certain alleged factual errors in the court’s earlier order dismissing her plea. . .....more

Mayawati meets Advani,
rules out threat to Govt

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Ruling out any threat to her Government in the wake of revolt by BJP MLAs, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today ruled out .......more

‘Need to protect
Parsee literature’

MUMBAI, Oct 24: The Parsee literature of the yesteryears needs to be preserved and protected, as in it lies the window to glimpse the rich heritage of the community, a cross-section . ......more

Punjab gets tech savvy, to set up model IT district ..........

Indian paras find series of joint exercises beneficial ........

Court rejects bail petitions of Gaud, Daga, Paul....

BJP gives time to dissidents, blames SP for crisis in UP....

India facing problems on WTO discussions on agriculture: Ajit

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Admitting that India was facing severe problems in its WTO discussions in the farm sector, Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh today appealed for a political consensus even while assuring protection of farmers’ interests at all costs.

"Our farmers may have lower level of technology but they can beat anyone in the world", Singh said while demanding a level playing field in the new WTO agreement on agriculture which would have to be completed before January 1, 2005.

The minister, who was addressing the meeting of Agriculture Ministers of States/UTs to work out a strategy for renegotiation of WTO agreement on agriculture said the State Governments will be fully consulted on the issue.

Stating that it was not possible for India now to wriggle out of the WTO, Singh said even those nations who were not a member of the organisation were trying hard to gain entry due to its various advantages.

"There has to be a political will to ensure our negotiators go about with their job smoothly", he said.

The minister said the developed countries will have to reduce their export subsidies to enable nations like India to compete in the global market.

He said India’s problem is not due to its subsidies which are lower than the stipulations but that of funds.

Stating that India should not be deprived of the WTO advantages as a result of resource problems, the minister expressed concern over increase in farm subsidies in the developed countries due to political and other considerations. Ajit Singh said unfortunately India could not be bracketed with any group of countries due to its varied interests.

For example, he said, New Delhi had to represent the developing countries even though some African and other nations did not largely depend on agriculture.

Since India is pre-dominantly an agriculture country, it had to balance between various groups through discussions, the minister said.

"The core issue in negotiations is the high tariff rate of some countries", he said, adding countries which had specialised or concentrated on some commodities were hesitant to give up their dominance.

Stating that some developed countries were giving millions of dollars as export subsidy, Singh said the reason for a drop in international prices of agricultural products during the last few years was not due to reduction in production cost but due to increased subsidies by developed nations.

"There are a lot of distortions in agriculture trade", he said adding some developed countries also desired a large surplus of food products to yield "clout" amongst the poor countries.

As per the provisions of the earlier WTO agreement on agriculture, the developed countries would complete their reduction commitments within 6 years that is by 2000 whereas the committments of the developing countries would be completed within 10 years, by 2004.

The least developed countries are not required to make any reduction. (PTI)

My family would know the real me and I hope that it is good: Big B

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: "I truly believe that in the 30 years that I’ve been in the film industry, we have been through several characters and characterisations which completely exhausts you from inside", says India’s megastar Amitabh Bachchan, adding, "my family would know what the real me is and I hope that it’s good."

Asked how he would describe himself, he said in an interview on CNN’s new programme ‘Your World Today’ that it was a difficult question. "I think most creative artists would like to believe that they spend a lot of time in front of the camera, playing different characters, different roles and they need a bit of space for themselves," he added.

Amitabh, who was interviewed in London where he was to release the book on himself edited by his wife Jaya Bachchan to mark his sixtieth birthday, said he planned to do more work as long as he could. "I will go back to India, back to the studios and start shooting again. I am working on a couple of projects and hopefully there will be more television early next year."

About how he felt completing sixty years of age, the megastar quipped: "It’s the first time that I’ve got here so it’s a little tough to say how it feels to be 60." But in more serious vein, he added that he was "deeply honored. I am very grateful to the people of my country for this support, for this co-operation, for making me get there."

Admitting that there had been many ups and downs in his film career, he said, "one gets used to taking the highs with the lows and I quite enjoyed that. Getting into the Indian film industry was a tough job and I’m very fortunate that I got an opportunity to work with some of the greatest directors that the country has produced. I think my association with all these directors, the writers that wrote wonderful scripts for me have been the high points of my career."

"One of the greatest high points have been my foray into television and ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. That was something very revealing and very exciting", he added. (UNI)

Minorities begin fast against ordinance

CHENNAI, Oct 24: Christian, Muslim and Dalit leaders began a one-day fast here today as most of the minority managed educational institutions in the State remained closed demanding immediate repeal of the recent Tamil Nadu Government ordinance, banning ‘forcible’ religious conversions.

Thousands of minorities from within the city and outside gathered at the St Andrews Church compound to participate in the fast and prayer protesting against the ordinance.

Catholic Bishop of Vellore, Chinnappa inaugurated the fast in which Roman catholics, members of church of South India, pentecost missions and Islamic forums besides hundreds of Dalits participated.

Other prominent persons observing the fast included CSI Tiruchirappalli Bishop D James Srinivasan, another CSI bishop Devasagayam and secretary of Muslim Student Federation, Chennai, A Shaik Mudar.

Speakers at the fast stressed they had nothing against any individual and there would be no personal remarks. It was their right to do service to society and if this was usurped or infringed upon, they would turn to god, they said.

Educational institutions managed by Christians remained closed throughout the State, leaders at the fast claimed. Other minorities have also announced they would close their institutions in support of the Christians.

The Oct 5 ordinance, seeking to ban conversions by "coercion and inducement", has triggered strong protests from minority communities and several political parties, who are apprehensive that the law might be misused.

A report from Coimbatore said nearly 400 Christian and Muslim managed educational institutions were closed in Coimbatore and neighbouring Erode and Nilgiris districts.

While about 215 institutions, including 65 in the city, were closed in Coimbatore district, 120 schools were closed in Erode and 80 in Nilgiris districts, police said.

However, a handful of schools belonging to Islamic minorities remained open in Erode district, they said.

Today’s fast is part of an agitational plan chalked out at a conference of leaders of minority communities in Madurai recently to press the Government to repeal the ordinance.

However, Government has decided to bring in a bill during the winter session of the Assembly, which commenced today, to replace the ordinance, with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa yesterday reiterating that it was not directed against any particular community or religion and it would not be misused.

The ordinance has received the support of BJP and other Sangh Parivar organisations like VHP and Hindu Munnani.

The closure of educational institutions by the minorities was challenged before the Madras High Court, but the court declined to grant any interim stay even though it observed that the move did not have legal sanction.

In a late night development yesterday, three minority organisations — All India Christian People’s Forum, Christian Dalit Liberation Movement and the Dalit Sena — opposed the compulsory closure of educational institutions.

But they came down heavily on the ordinance, alleging it had been promulgated to please communal and fundamentalist forces. (PTI)

Jaya Jaitly asked to file ‘review’ petition

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Delhi High Court today gave liberty to Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitly to file a ‘review’ petition for expunction of certain alleged factual errors in the court’s earlier order dismissing her plea.

She had sought forensic examination of the Tehelka tapes and deposition of the portal’s journalists at the Venkataswami Commission before her examination.

After hearing Ms Jaitly’s counsel Arvind Nigam at length on the alleged factual inaccuracies in that order, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice A K Sikri said the matter should be considered by the single judge who pronounced the order.

It directed that an appeal be filed by the petitioner within a week and heard by the judge on November one. The bench, however, kept the case pending with itself and posted the matter for November 14, to decide any unsettled issue.

On September two, the high court had issued notices on Ms Jaitly’s appeal seeking expunction of certain inferences drawn by the court in its order dismissing her plea.

The petition claimed that Justice Manmohan Sarin in his June five order had also erroneously recorded certain statements which were not borne out by the records.

Justice Sarin in his order said: "From the foregoing, it would be seen that the petitioner accepts the meeting, which took place at the residence of the Defence Minister and donation was to be accepted on behalf of the party from those presenting themselves as arms dealers."

"Further, she would intercede with the Fefence Minister in case dealers were not short-listed by the officials and denied a fair opportunity to compete."

"It may also be noted that other 8-b notices have also in their respective affidavits confirmed the factum of the meeting with the petitioner and filed affidavits as to what transpired, namely, Surinder Kumar Surekha, Maj Gen P S K Chaudhary has also filed his affidavit. The deponents accept what has been depicted and recorded in the tapes, of course, subject to giving their own explanation for their utterances."

"These findings were factually wrong and not even part of the transcripts of the tapes placed with the commission."

On June five, the high court had dismissed her plea saying the petition had no merit and the court would not interfere with the working of the commission.

"The commission has the freedom to devise its own procedure, the approach adopted by the Commission cannot be faulted with or said to be violate of principles of natural justice or causing any prejudice to the petitioner or other notices," the order said. (UNI)

Mayawati meets Advani, rules out threat to Govt

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: Ruling out any threat to her Government in the wake of revolt by BJP MLAs, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today ruled out any major expansion of her ministry but a couple of them could be included any time.

"Cabinet expansion has already taken place and there will be no further expansion.....But there can be one or two more ministers from BJP proportionate to their strength," she said.

Replying to questions from reporters after her two-hour long meeting with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, she said senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon and his party colleagues met her to demand "proportionate" representation for their party in the coalition Government.

Mayawati said if there were one or two more claims from BJP, the matter would be considered. "Whenever the BJP leaders make the demand, it will be done," she said.

Asked to comment on the demand of some independent MLAs that they should be made ministers, she said everyone aspired to be a part of the Government.

Mayawati said dissidence in BJP was an internal matter of that party and the revolt by some MLAs was not directed against her Government.

"There is no threat to my Government," she asserted when her attention was drawn towards Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s claim that the BSP-BJP ministry had been reduced to a minority. "Rather than making such a claim, Yadav should prove it," she said.

Mayawati, however, said the UP developments did not come up during her talks with Advani. (PTI)

‘Need to protect Parsee literature’

MUMBAI, Oct 24: The Parsee literature of the yesteryears needs to be preserved and protected, as in it lies the window to glimpse the rich heritage of the community, a cross-section of Zorastrian experts assert.

"The libraries which have old books may be illuminated from outside, but there is hardly any light inside to read these books," says Rusheed Wadia, a researcher at the Centre for Historical Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

We need to maintain these archives, asserts, Wadia who is attending a three-day seminar on ‘Treasures from the Zorastrian world’ organised by the Museum Society of India at the Prince of Wales Museum which began here today.

Another participant added that corporates apart from the Godrej and Tatas must come forward to protect the literary heritage so that manuscripts can be protected before they are lost for the future researches and studies.

To highlight the Parsee traditions and heritage, a walk has also been organised next Sunday, which will be led by Khojeste Mistree, who obtained a degree in oriental studies from University of Oxford and co-founded the Athravan Educational Trust.

Mr Mistree also said that there are more than 70 to 80 heritage sites in Mumbai which showcase Zorastrian culture — and during the walk, he will try to cover the important ones.

"It is going to be an unique experience," he said.

Dr John Curtis, who is the keeper of the Department of Ancient near east at the British Museum highlighted on the oxus treasure —the most important hoard of gold and silver objects to have survived the achaemenid period.

Retired Director of Archaeology and Museums of the Maharashtra Government Dr Arvind P Jamkhedkar, informed that archaeological research is being carried out in Turkmenistan and Iran and the history of the Iranians will similarly be more clear with the help of understanding the material culture and the inter-relationship of Harappans and West Asian culture.

More than 100 experts are attending the seminar.

Dr Sarah Stewart, head of programmes at the centre of near and middle eastern studies, discussed various aspects of ritual life, focussing on domestic rituals rather than those which take place in the agiary.

This seminar is seen as an important event as Mumbai is home to the largest population of Parsees. While there are around 45,000 parsees in Mumbai, the total population in the State is around 80,000. The global population of the Parsees is around 1,30,000.

Experts also stressed the need to protect the Alpaiwalla Museum being run by the Parsee Panchayat.

Museum society of Bombay’s Honarary Secretary Pheroza Godrej said that the seminar promises to be of great interest and "it is a good opportunity for Parsees to know more about the past and the present of their community.’’

Society’s Chairperson Arti Mehta stated that there is a need to learn more on the Zorastrian culture and the seminar is a good platform especially as several foreign experts are attending. (UNI)

Punjab gets tech savvy, to set up model IT district

CHANDIGARH, Oct 24: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today announced that one model IT district would soon be set up in the State.

He also requested the Union Government to provide sufficient funds to the States in the tenth plan for establishing a common communication and access infrastructure up to the village level and common databases for implementing citizen centric services.

Delivering the inaugural address at the sixth national conference on e-governance here, the Chief Minister said the State Government had already chalked out an elaborate action plan for implementing e-governance in the State in a phased manner.

Stating that the IT has been helping in strengthening citizen-government relationship across the country, he said, there was no reason that why the State Governments should lag behind in adopting it as the medium for development.

"The test of e-governance is whether it has improved the quality of life of an average citizen," he added. Despite the fact that Punjab was facing resource crunch, the State Government had been initiating efforts to adopt it in the fields of education, health, information and other essential services, the Chief Minister said.

He hoped that the much-publicised upcoming it park at Mohali, adjacent to Chandigarh, would soon be formally announced.

Pointing out that one of the basic requirements of it was uninterrupted power supply, the Chief Minister said his Government has undertaken a number of steps to reform power sector in the State.

He said this conference could not have come at a more appropriate occasion than this, when the Punjab Government was all committed to introduce efficiency, transparency and accountability in its functioning. (UNI)

Indian paras find series of joint exercises beneficial

AGRA, Oct 24: The ongoing joint Indo-US defence exercise at Agra is part of a series of joint exercises aimed at augmenting the already impressive combat capabilities of the Indian paratroopers.

This is the third joint exercise to be held this year. Balance Iroquois , held here only in May and the recently concluded Geronimo Thrust , in Alaska, featured both Indian and American paratroopers. The ongoing exercise Cope India , features Indian paratroopers only.

Col Kuriakose of the paras, monitoring the exercise as the observer from army headquarters, told UNI the exercises were helpful as the paras were being exposed to American equipment and techniques and they had learnt a lot of new things.

Major Anil Gorshe of the 6th paras, who had jumped on the first day of the exercise, told UNI that the aim was to get as many personnel to participate as possible. Those selected for jumps were drawn from all the ten para battalions of the Indian army.

The landing zone had a red flag-the American technique of marking the landing zone. A small fire, emitting smoke, was already lit in the drop zone. The smoke, which is the only thing clearly visible to the pilot, is used to gauge the speed and the direction of wind, the para officers told UNI.

As the aircraft came into view and dropped their loads right around the ‘impact point’ marked by a red flag, all of them congratulated each other for achieving a perfect drop.

The paradrop was also smooth, with almost all the men landing in close proximity of the impact point. One drifted some distance away. Major SN Tiwari, also of the sixth paras, who had just returned after participating in the Alaska exercise, told UNI that it was most important that all the paratroopers land in close to the drop zone and hurriedly regroup for their mission.

Referring to the sole man who had dropped some distance away, he said in actual combat conditions, when the aircraft are at a higher speed, it was possible that some men may land up to a kilometre away from the landing zone. They would take time in rejoining their comrades, thus disrupting their mission schedule. Col Kuriakose spoke of the importance of the paratrooper units of an army and how quickly they could be deployed behind enemy lines to attack them from the rear and destroy their first line of defence. Also, they could disrupt his lines of communication and supply, as well as the chain of command by attacking supply bases and formation headquarters.

He, however, stressed the need for maintaining operational security, as the effectiveness of the paras depended on surprising the enemy. He disclosed that the IAF had developed a new technique in which troops could be lifted from various peacetime locations, marshalled in the air and taken to the designated objective.

The paras are finding the scheme of exercises extremely beneficial. Major Vineet Seth, who had also jumped on the first day of exercise, and was inspecting his men getting ready for the day’s jump told UNI that it was ‘a most interesting and informative experience.

Reports about the Alaska exercise indicate that the 80 Indian paras from the 50th Independent Para Brigade who took part earned the admiration of their american counterparts from the 501st parachute infantry regiment. The commander of the American regiment Lt Col Charlie Glenn said the Indians were "a professional group with lots of experience".

UNI learnt that during the exercise the Indians completed a series of day and night jumps as well as joint team squad and platoon ground attacks. They also practised entering and clearing a hostile building. The major highlight was the US weapons familiarization briefing. The Indian troops learnt to operate the American M240b machine gun and the 60mm mortar launcher, while the Americans got to fire the Indian AK-47s.

The Indian paras are one of the oldest airborne units in the world, having their first formation—the 50th Independent Para Brigade—raised in October 1941. They were given the name Red Devils by the soldiers of the German ‘Afrika Korps’, against whom they fought in the African campaign of the second World War. The name comes from their headgear- the maroon coloured beret, which is now a trademark for paratroopers throughout the world. (UNI)

Court rejects bail petitions of Gaud, Daga, Paul

KOLKATA, Oct 24: A city court today rejected bail petition of former vice-president of Calcutta Stock Exchange K K Daga, arrested in connection with Rs 120 crore scam at the bourse last year, and remanded him to police custody till October 31.

The court also rejected bail prayers of former CEO and Managing Director of Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL) B V Gaud and senior vice president of Hinduja-controlled Indusind Bank S N Paul and remanded them to judicial custody till November seven.

Earlier, Public Prosecutor argued that granting bail to the accused would be detrimental to the investigation which was at ‘crossroad’ after commencing on September nine on a complaint filed by CSE.

He also said the bails could not be granted as some of the accused, including alleged main conspirator Dinesh Kumar Singhania, was still absconding.

Daga was arrested on October 17 for his alleged role in suppressing information provided by Indusind Bank related with dishonour of cheques issued by some of the CSE brokers against their margin payments in March 2001. Police claimed that had Daga not suppressed the information, the extent of payment crisis would have been much lower.

Daga’s counsel, however, today denied the allegation and claimed that he had passed the information to the then president Kamal Parekh. He also argued that it was the responsibility of surveillance department to keep a tab on information related with dishonour of cheques.

Gaud was charged with offering ‘extra’ facilities to one of the prime accused in the scam, including Harish Chander Biyani, under SHCIL’s ‘Sell-n-Cash’ scheme and was arrested on October 10.

Gaud, who retired in June this year, was the head of the organisation when the scam took place.

He had reportedly denied the allegation saying the particular scheme was looked after by SHCIL’s senior vice-president K S Murthy and after this deposition Murthy was being interrogated by the police for the last two days.

Paul, on the other hand, was also arrested on October ten along with Gaud and was charged with deliberately delaying passing off information to CSE authorities by two days about dishonour of cheques issued by three leading brokers during the same period.

Meanwhile, city police had asked Indusind Management to send its Mubai-based senior vice-president (Investment Banking) V B Raju for interrogation. The bank had, however, informed that Raju was on leave.

A total of 11 persons - six brokers, an employee of a firm owned by prime accused Dinesh Singhania and Managing Director of SREI Securities Dinesh Jain - had so far been arrested in the scam while a large number of those named in the complaint were still at large. (PTI)

BJP gives time to dissidents, blames SP for crisis in UP

LUCKNOW, Oct 24: Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party today gave more time to the dissident legislators to mend their ways even as the party blamed the main opposition Samajwadi Party for the present crisis.

The party has announced to hold up its decision to take action against the rebel leaders as a couple of dissident MLAs have returned to the party fold, claimed state party president Vinay Katiyar here.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Katiyar blamed the Samajwadi Party for the present crisis and alleged that the MLAs were being contacted by the SP leaders. "The party has enough evidence to prove that SP is involved in the present crisis and to break the BJP," he further claimed.

"When several of the dissident legislators got to know about the involvement of SP, they returned to the party fold today", he claimed and introduced a rebel MLA Sumaru Ram, who was present in the press meet.

He, however, clarified that the suspension or other action against the rebels has not not been " dropped" yet. "We are watching the situation carefully and will take any action accordingly".

Mr Katiyar disclosed that the party had launched a major "operation" to contact the rebel legislators since last night. "The operation will continue tonight also and hope that it will yield good results".

Meanwhile former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh has arrived here to tackle the situation. Mr Singh held a series of meeting with the senior BJP leaders and even contacted some rebel BJP legislators. He is also expected to meet some independent MLAs.

On the other hand SP general secretary Amar Singh also has met the rebel independent MLAs.

Mr Katiyar, however, refused to say how many dissident MLAs have joined the party fold.

He said by tomorrow evening everything would be clear and there is all possibility of the end of the crisis.’’ we cannot predict anything on the political scenario as anything can happen any time’’.

To a question on Chief Minister Mayawati’s move to accommodate some more Ministers, he said ‘ I too had said earlier that a small expansion is always on the cards".

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the rebel legislators, Ramasheesh Rai told newsmen here today that they would not compromise on their demands. He said, our leaders were also waiting for the reply from the Prime Minister and other central BJP leaders on the memorandum sent to them on Monday last.

He wondered the BSP can support the NDA Government at the Centre from the outside why can’t the BJP do the same for BSP in the state.

Mr Rai said that the party had already served show cause notices to six legislators in connection with the present crisis.(UNI)

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