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Cong legislatures
NEW DELHI, Nov 30: All the allies of the
BJP-led coalition Government today reaffirmed their
support to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee......more |
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Law, order
matters not discussed with Gill: Mahanta
GUWAHATI, Nov 30: Assam Chief Minister
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today said law and order related
matters were not discussed with former Punjab Police .
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Cong legislatures authorises Sonia to select leader JAIPUR, Nov 30: Newly elected Congress legislatures in Rajasthan today authorised AICC president Sonia Gandhi to select their leader in the state. A one-line resolution was adopted at its first meeting here this afternoon at its state party headquarters. The members met in presence of the four AICC observers, including Mr Madhav Rao Scindia Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ms Mohasina Kidwai, who arrived earlier in the day to smoothan the process of electing its new leader. Congress won a record 150 seats in the 200 members in the State Assembly. The process for election of the new leader for the CLP began immediately after the AICC observers arrived in the state capital town. All the 150 elected members of the party reached to the State Government- owned hotel, Khasa Kithi, where the AICC observers were lodged. Hectic parleys continued for the choice. The AICC observers also had separate one to one talks with the elected members in their bid to draw a consensus with the new legislators. Subsequently they met at the party headquarters and authorised Ms Gandhi to take final decision. (UNI) |
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Allies of BJP-led Govt reaffirms support to PM NEW DELHI, Nov 30: All the allies of the BJP-led coalition Government today reaffirmed their support to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The assurance was extended at a meeting of the allies convened by Mr Vajpayee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana said after the meeting. Mr Khurana said the meeting was also attended by representatives of the AIADMK. Minister of Law and Justice Thambi Durai (AIADMK) met Mr Vajpayee twice since yesterday. Mr Vajpayee rejected the demand by opposition parties for the resignation of the Government in view of the BJP’s debacle in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, saying there was no such precedent that a ruling party at the Centre had resigned because of its poor showing in Assembly elections in states. Since 1993 when Congress was in power at the Centre the party had lost Assembly elections in several states, including Delhi and Rajasthan, but the minority Central Government continued, Mr Khurana said. Mr Vajpayee said the party needed to introspect on the defeat it faced in the recent Assembly elections. Price rise of essential commodities which was a country-wide phenomenon, and some local issues had been made the main electoral planks by the Congress, which succeeded in winning the support of the people. The Prime Minister and Chief Ministers recently met to discuss ways to control price rise. The Centre and State Governments agreed to work out a strategy together to get over the problem. The Government decided to move the Essential Commodities (amendment) Bill to curb hoarding and profiteering, Mr Vajpayee informed and said the State Government however had enough power to tackle the menace of black marketeering and hoarding. A long term plan was being prepared to set a chain of cold-storages for preservation of perishable commodities. In this effort, the private and Governments would be involved, he said. Mr Vajpayee said that farmers should get remunerative prices even when they had good crops and it must also be ensured that consumer was made available commodities at reasonable prices even if crops failed due to natural calamities. Accepting the election results, Mr Vajpayee said we should not feel disappointed. Instead we should try to take corrective measure and have better coordination. He said that the BJP had won all the six Lok Sabha bye elections in the past eight months, including Bahrauch, which was recently here. This had indicated that the people had not rejected the Central Government’s policies and programmes. Transparency would continue to be the hallmark of his governance and the Government was ready to discuss all issues, including price rise, in Parliament. Mr Khurana said the opposition had suggested eight issues to be taken up during the Winter session. These were price rise, railway accident, CTBT—PM’s talks, attack on minorities, shortage of manure, PSU disinvestment, floods/natural calamity and take over of the research institutions. The Government had agreed to discuss all these issues and requested speaker GMC Balayogi to fix time for the same. The Business Advisory Committee would meet tomorrow for this purpose. The issues were raised by the opposition parties at a meeting with the speaker earlier during the day. Mr Khurana said the Government as well as the opposition had agreed to send the Essential Commodities (amendment) Bill to the Joint Committee of Parliament. The Joint Committee would be asked to submit its report within ten days so that the Bill could be passed in this session. (UNI) Gehlot to be youngest CM of Rajasthan JAIPUR, Nov 30: Forty seven year old Ashok Gehlot, who will take over as the 11th Chief Minister of Rajasthan, will be the youngest leader to assume the high office following his election as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) today. For the soft-spoken and Suave Gehlot, the honour comes as reward for painstaking efforts to revive the fortunes of Congress as the Pradesh Congress Chief. Born on May 3, 1951 in Jodhpur in Western Rajasthan, Gehlot has been returned to the Lok Sabha from his native city since 1980 barring 1989 poll when he lost to Jaswant Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. Although he never contested any Assembly election, he had a brief stint as Home Minister in the Shiv Charan Mathur Cabinet for a few months before the 1990 elections. He served as Deputy Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation in the Indira Gandhi Government in 1882 and as Deputy Minister for Sports in the Rajiv Gandhi Ministry in 1984. He was again made Minister of State for Textile with independent charge in 1991 in the Narisimha Rao Government. He had been serving as the Pradesh Congress Chief for the second term since 1994. He occupied the PCC Chief’s post from 1985 to 1989 also. Gehlot was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 and again in 1984. After tating his first electoral defeat in 1989, he sprang back to win successive polls in 1991, 1996 and 1998. Born in a middle class family, Gehlot began his political life by joining National Students Union of India (NSUI) heading its state unit from 1979 to 1983. He became General Secretary of the Jodhpur District Congress Committee in 1977 and its chief in 1979. Son of a noted magician and social worker Laxman Singh Gehlot, he did post graduation and obtained a degree in law from Jodhpur University. (PTI) Law, order matters not discussed with Gill: Mahanta GUWAHATI, Nov 30: Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today said law and order related matters were not discussed with former Punjab Police Chief K P S Gill during his recent visit to the state. Replying to a question in the State Assembly here, Mahanta said Gill recently visited the state in the capacity of the president of the Indian Hockey Federation and his visit had no relevance on law ad order. Gill is not a Government servant and as an Indian citizen he had the right to meet everybody, the Chief Minister said. While chiding Congress members who brought out the allegation that senior police officials had discussed the strategy on dealing with militants with Gill during his visit, the Chief Minister said serious matters as this should not be taken lightly. Claiming that the law and order situation had improved in the state, Mahanta denied the presence of secret killers for eliminating anti-socials. Earlier AGP’s Dilip Kumar Saikia alleged that secret killers were at work in the state who had eliminated several persons having doubtful antecedents. Congress member Bharat Narah alleged that after Gill’s visit, secret killers were put into action and wants to know about the nature of talks the top police officials held with the former Punjab Police Director General. (PTI) |
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Lankan army steps up air surveillance COLOMBO, Nov 30: The Sri Lankan army has stepped up air surveillance in the wake of reports that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is in the possession of aircraft, which the LTTE claims had been used during the "heroes" week’ last Friday for showing flowers at a cemetry of its cadres killed in conflicts. "There is no concrete evidence that the LTTE is in possession of any aircraft. But we are not ruling out the possibility of such a threat", army commander Lt Gen Rohan Daluwatte said. The Sri Lankan navy had detected a mysterious light and sound in the air on two occasions a fortnight ago. However, there was no evidence of anything airborne being shot down, sources in the army said. The army had mounted three anti-aircraft guns on the sprawling Parliament house complex situated some ten km from the heart of the Colombo city, to foil any possible air attack by the LTTE. The island newspaper reported that the police intelligence received a report that a LTTE clandestine radio transmitting station is in operation in the vicinity of Colombo city. Police had also interecepted such transmission but the exact location of the this radio station still remains elusive, the paper said. "The matter is under investigation", a senior police official said. The LTTE is already operating a clandestine radio transmitting station (voice of Tigers) from the Wanni jungles. The are reports that it had recently launched a Sinhalese service targetted at soldiers engaged in operation Jayasekuru. The 30-minute programme, crackling with static, could be picked up on fm in parts of Northern Sri Lanka, including Vavuniya town. So far, vot broadcast Tamil programmes laced with LTTE propaganda. (UNI) |
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Vajpayee need not to resign: Karunanidhi CHENNAI Nov 30: The DMK today said Prime Minister A B Vajpayee need not to resign for the BJP’s reverses in the Assembly elections in four states, even though it was a vote against the Centre’s policies. Party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Krunanidhi told newsmen here that the BJP-led coalition should rectify its mistakes, drawing lessons from the election outcome. He pointed out that even senior BJP leaders like L K Advani had stated that the results had taught the BJP a lessons and stressed the need for taking corrective steps. Asked whether the DMK would support a no-confidence motion against Vajpayee Government in the Lok Sabha if the opposition moved one, Karunanidhi said the DMK parliamentary party leader Murosoli Maran, in consulation with the party high command would take a decision on this. He said the bickerings among the coalition partners, Centre’s inaction in controlling the price rise and its attempts to pursue a ‘communal agenda’ were the reasons for the BJP’s rout in Assembly polls. However, the Government need not to resign because of the reverses as the elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies were held in different circumstances. Karunanidhi said Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s entry into active politics had enthused the Congress cadre, which was one of the reasons for the party’s spectacular performence in the elections. He said thepeople did not accept the communal agenda of the BJP and this was reflected in the results. Because of the internal problems in the coalition, the BJP could not fulfil its poll promise of a ‘stable Government’. On the demand for the resignation of Vajpayee Government Karunandihi said when the DMK front got only ten seats in 1998 Lok Sabha elections, there were demands for his resignation. He had taken the view that his Government need not resign due to poll reverses and he would not policies to demand the resignation of Vajpayee, he added. Asked whether the DMK would support a Congress Government at the Centre if the BJP Government fell, he said the party executive would meet to take a decision on this, whenever such a situation arose. The Congress had not approached DMK so far, he said. (PTI) |
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Mahanta for extremists on negotiation table GUWAHATI, Nov 30: Assam Chief Minister P K Mahanta today said the State Government has no objection if extremist outfits negotiate directly with the Centre in any part of the world to solve their problems. The Chief Minister informed the Assembly that efforts were on to bring the extremists to the negotiation table. Meanwhile, according to statements laid before the assembly, a record 304 civilians were killed till October this year in extremist related violence in Assam. This figure was the highest since 1996. Last year 246 civilians were killed while the proceeding year saw the killing of 272 persons. In the first ten months this year 130 extremists were killed while in the preceding year the figure was 134. However, there was a marginal decline in the number of security personnel killed during the period. So far this year 71 security personnel, including 17 armymen, have been killed. Last year 123 security personnel, including 32 armymen, were killed by extremists. The House was also informed that 194 ultras surrendered since May 15, 1996. Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta informed the House that a policy for surrendered extremists was being formulated by the Union Home Ministry. He said 2085 people were kidnapped till October this year. (UNI) |
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