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US
opposed to separate
Azad quits as Cong BELLARY, Oct 6: Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said......more
Cong will play its role BHOPAL, Oct 7: The Congress will play its role in the new Lok Sabha....more Cong, NCP likely to come NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Congress and Nationalist Congress...more |
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Cong likely to review NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Congress today said that it could........more
TDP non-committal on NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister....more
Pawar causes substantial MUMBAI, Oct 7: Nationalist Congress Party leader.....more MUMBAI, Oct 7: Veteran film star Sunil Dutt, who was...more |
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From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Oct 7: A sensational development has taken place, with the preparation of maps of a "new Kashmir" by a US think-tank. Identified as the Kashmir Study Group(KSG), known for its clout in Washington’s power corridors, the think-tank has discussed the events that forced the majority of Kashmiri Hindus to flee their homes and hearths in the Valley in the beginning of 1990, but its paper on the future administrative and constitutional set-up of different regions of Jammu and Kashmir has not supported the demand of Kashmiri Pandits’ organisation, Panun Kashmir, for a separate homeland for the Pandit community. The KSG’s detailed paper has taken due cognizance of Muslims living in three regions of Jammu and Kashmir, namely, the Valley, Jammu province and Ladakh. The KSG functions an advisory body of the US State Department. Therefore, US-watchers in Delhi seem to have been prompted to take note of the KSG’s plans and perception vis-à-vis India’s "integral part", namely, Jammu and Kashmir. Reports from Washington state that the US think-tank’s report on J&K was prepared on the basis of responses from both India and Pakistan. The responses had been invited from opinion-makers as well as Government officials in the two countries. Precisely, the US body’s paper and maps pertain to a "new" Kashmir entity or entities, each with its own Government and constitution. And the US think-tank’s significant suggestion: Kashmir proper, Poonch and three tehsils of Rajouri district, Doda district, and Gool Gulabgarh in Udhampur district, known for their sizeable Muslim population, could be made part of the "new" Kashmir entity or entities acceptable to both India and Pakistan and the people of Kashmir. Precisely, again, the US State Department’s advisory body has, for obvious political and strategic reasons, chosen to highlight the equally important party to Kashmir problem, namely, the people of Kashmir. And the advisory body’s paper has also highlighted three options. First, two Kashmiri entities on either side of the Line of Control (LoC). Second, one entity straddling the LoC. Third, just one entity on the Indian side of the LoC. In another significant development, Washington has sought to insist on the "need" for its specific role in aiding Indo-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir. Although Washington has, once again, informed New Delhi that the US State Department and President, Mr Bill Clinton, are distancing themselves from any mediatory role in the "larger" Kashmir issue, the American Government, it is pointed out, wants to be helpful in the context of a bilateral framework. Washington’s fresh hints about its line of thinking vis-à-vis the ‘dispute’ between India and Pakistan over Kashmir have reached Delhi at a time when the Nawaz Sharief Government in Islamabad has appreciated the standpoint of Mr Bill Clinton, making it clear that he has no plans to abandon the message in the joint statement issued by him and Pakistan Prime Minister in Washington in the wake of Kargil war. The message: US President would take personal interest in encouraging an expeditious resumption and intensification of India-Pakistan bilateral talks, once the sanctity of the Line of Control(LoC) in the Kargil region has been fully restored. Mr Bill Clinton’s latest message that his Government is interested in being helpful in the context of a bilateral framework has, according to diplomatic sources, been dashed off to Islamabad as well. In fact, that is the message Pakistan Government has also received from London, Moscow and Beijing. The semantic jugglery has been necessitated by the phrase ‘personal interest’ to be taken by the US President in encouraging an expeditious resumption and intensification of India-Pakistan dialogue. And this phrase has already left room for interpretation. A US State Department official was, after New Delhi’s opposition to third-party mediation on Kashmir, forced to mark out this minimal position: "We are not being pulled in as a mediator. We are aware of people’s desire to have us involved, but we know we won’t be able to do anything if both parties don’t want us". A large section of the ruling political class in Islamabad wants to get the US involved, although groups of Muslim fundamentalists in Pakistan are bitter against Mr Bill Clinton for having formed the country’s Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharief to sign the statement at the end of his meeting with the former in Washington on July 4. Significantly, Mr Nawaz Sharief has not hitherto denied reports that he had to "agree’ to every single point raised and to sign the joint statement even before Mr Clinton had agreed to meet. Be that as it may, the Government of India’s visible determination against third-party mediation on Jammu and Kashmir has resulted in a significant development: Both the United States and China have carefully avoided the idea of mediation in deference to New Delhi. In fact, by the time Washington’s message about its plan not to give up efforts to encourage an expeditious resumption and intensification of Indo-Pakistan bilateral talks, equally significant word poured in which explained: "Mediators try to set the lines and terms of a settlement and try to get the parties to agree to these. A facilitator wouldn’t set terms. This role would be better for the US". Yet another significant development: At a time when Prof Robert Wirsing of the University of South Carolina has insisted that without a US role as "something akin to a mediator, there was virutally no possibility of resolution" of Kashmir issue. And senior White House officials have been quoted by the media as having stressed that Mr Clinton’s ‘personal interest’ was part of his ongoing monitoring of the South Asia situation. |
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Azad quits as Cong general secretary BELLARY, Oct 6: Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said he had resigned from his post keeping his word that he would do so if party president Sonia Gandhi’s victory margin in Bellary Lok Sabha constituency was less than one lakh. Sonia won the seat with a margin of 56,100 votes over BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. Azad told reporters here the people of Karnataka had rejected the issue of foreign origin raised against Gandhi by her opponents, and had voted for principles and policies of Congress. Azad, who had overseen Gandhi’s campaign in Bellary, had announced he would quit as general secretary if Gandhi failed to win the seat with a margin of less than one lakh votes. He said his party was heading for a two-thirds majority in the Assembly polls in Karnataka. KPCC campaign committee chairman Janardhana Poojary said the people of Karnataka had rejected the "Swadeshi-Videshi agenda" of BJP. (PTI) |
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Cong will play its role in new LS: Digvijay BHOPAL, Oct 7: The Congress will play its role in the new Lok Sabha in accordance with the public mandate, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said today. He was replying to a question whether the Congress would sit in the opposition in the light of a fractured mandate in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections. "We will honour the peoples verdict", he told UNI at Bairagrah Airport before leaving for Delhi. He was accompanied by former Union Minister Kamal Nath. Asked about the poor performance of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Singh said the results have to be viewed in a national perspective and not in isolation. Except in BJP ruled states where anti-incumbancy factor has been prominent, the BJP performed well in other places. Disagreeing with the argument that "Sonia versus Atal" factor had influenced the outcome, the Chief Minister said "there was a strong undercurrent in favour of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee as apparently the people felt that he should have been given more opportunity". Denying that there was any erosion of popular base of Congress in the state, he said his party’s vote had increased by more than four per cent as compared to the last Lok Sabha elections. In the three Assembly by-elections held along with the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had retained them with bigger margins, he added. (UNI)dr 5digvijay-congress two last bhopal stating that the congress could not counter the propagandaunleashed by the bjp, mr singh admitted that his party could not properly counter some of the ‘’national issues’. Besides, there was a two party polarisation in madhya pradeshwhere a swing of just one to two per cent could would make or marthe prospects of any party, he added. Mr singh said apart from the party,the personality and image ofthe candidates also weighed in the minds of the people of thoseconstituencies which returned congress nominees with a huge margin.’’ where the party was strong, we could manage’’, he added. Asked whether the era of coalition politics would continue tostay for long, the chief minister said it was difficult to say atthis moment. He did not agree with the view that opting out of contest bysome leaders and defeat of few stalwarts had created a vacuum in theupper rung of the party leadership in the state. About his younger brother laxman singh’s win over televisionartist nitish bharadwaj in rajgarh, mr singh described it as a’’consistent victory’’ in the past four elections. He said the people of rajgarh were not swayed by thetele-glamour and had distinguished between the ‘’ real and reellife’’. Uni jj ls sp1442delhi 16 33jammu 16 54 |
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Cong likely to review alliance with AIADMK, RJD NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Congress today said that it could reconsider its alliance with the regional partners AIADMK and RJD in the face of its poor showing in the current Lok Sabha polls admitting that party had to pay for its alliance in Bihar. Agey humey phir dekhna hoga (we have to look at it once again), Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal said participating in a television programme. He admitted that the party had to pay heavily due to its alliance with Laloo Prasad-led RJD in Bihar. Asked whether Laloo Prasad’s alleged involvement in corruption cases were not taken into consideration by Congress leadership before going in for the alliance, Sibal said we did realise this factor earlier as well. He said although BJP seemed to have done better with its alliance partners, In the long run it would not be helpful for BJP as the party could not make much inroads in states like Andhra Pradesh. (PTI) |
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MUMBAI, Oct 7: Veteran film star Sunil Dutt, who was into a self imposed exile from electoral scene four years ago, staged a spectacular comeback, when he wrested the prestigious Mumbai North-West parliamentary constituency, which he had represented for eleven years, from the Shiv Sena. Dutt defeated sitting MP and senior Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar by a huge margin of 80,000 votes. Dutt polled 3,66,669 votes as against 2,81,130 votes of Mr Sarpotdar. Sunil Dutt first contested from the Mumbai North West constituency in 1984 from noted jurist Ram Jethmalani and retained the seat in 1989 and 1991 as well. He refused to contest the 1996 Lok Sabha elections due to his son, Sanjay Dutt’s arrest and subsequent detainment under TADA. His critics said that Dutt was heavily indebted to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray for his personal intervention in getting Sanjay released on bail. However, Dutt maintained that his loyalty to the Congress was unquestionable and his refusal to contest elections was purely personal. When he announced his decision to contest the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Dutt said that he felt that the Congress needed him at this juncture and the state party leaders who would have "sabotaged" his win were no longer in the party. Dutt is not the only member of the Mumbai Tinsel town to be elected as member of the Lok Sabha. Another noted actor Raj Babbar of the Samajwadi Party has been elected from the Agra parliamentary constituency. Former macho man of Hindi films Vinod Khanna has been re-elected from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. While results are yet to be declared in the Rajgadh Lok Sabha constituency where Nitish Bharadwaj who shot into fame with the role of "krishna" is the BJP candidate. (UNI) |
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Cong, NCP likely to come together in Maharashtra NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today expressed desire to form a coalition Government in Maharashtra to keep the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance at bay. Congress general secretary Sushil Kumar Shinde welcomed the proposal of NCP general secretary Chagan Bhujbal to form a coalition Government in the state to prevent BJP-Shiv Sena alliance from forming the Government. However, former Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, who won the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha seat for Shiv Sena, said though the alliance would fall 20 short of simple majority in the 288 member legislature, it will definitely form the Government. All the three leaders were speaking to Doordarshan from Mumbai. Asked who would be the Chief Minister in the Congress-NCP alliance, Shinde said, once all the results are out, the legislature party will meet and communicate its decision to the Congress high command for the final decision. Bhujbal said MLAs from both the parties will decide as to who should head the coalition Government. Shinde said the NCP was most welcome to come back to the Congress but they should feel sorry for their acts. Bhujbal said the two parties should talk about how to form the next Government rather than finding fault with what one party or the other did in the past. Agar aise hi ladte rahenge to BJP-Shiv Sena sarkar bana legi (if we fight like this, the BJP-Sena alliance will form the Government). Joshi exuded confidence about the alliance forming the Government, saying, last time also we had fallen short of the majority but formed the Government. The same will be repeated this time. Bhujbal countered him saying last time there were over 40 independents... But this time the number of independents is very less and the trick of the BJP-Sena alliance will not work. (PTI) |
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