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Oppn assure support NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Newly-elected opposition members today....more
Support base of NEW DELHI, Oct 20: The support base of the dreaded Naga.....more
No problem in NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Civil Aviation Minister and Janata Dal....more Balayogi emerges NEW DELHI, Oct 20: GMC Balayogi is all set to become...more |
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An officer and a gentleman NOIDA, Oct 20: Ruksana lost her speech when her father was brutally murdered by militants in front of her eyes in her village in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and it took all of Kargil martyr Captain Vijayant Thapar’s love to get it back. .....more
MP Governor could JAGDALPUR, Oct 20: The Madhya Pradesh Governor...more
BHUBANESWAR, Oct 20: Union Minister for Mines and....more
Focus on Sonia at NEW DELHI, Oct 20: As the 13th Lok Sabha went into action with the...more |
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Oppn assure support to Govt on national interest issues NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Newly-elected opposition members today assured support to the Government on issues relating to national interest, even as NCP leader Sharad Pawar ruled out pressing for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Kargil episode and alleged sugar scam. Our armed forces have done an excellent job. There is no need for JPC (probe) into these issues (Kargil and alleged sugar scam), Pawar told reporters while entering Parliament to take oath. Clad in a rust-coloured saree, Congress president and leader of opposition Sonia Gandhi evaded questions as she was swarmed by mediapersons and walked straight into Parliament building for the first time as an MP. Opposition members, including Pawar, BSP leader Mayawati and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, were not forthcoming on their parties’ stand on various issues saying they would look into it. Mayawati said her party will take stand in the interests of the Bahujan Samaj and the country. Mulayam Singh Yadav said his party would stick to its stand of maintaining equi-distance from both BJP and Congress even as he accused the latter of being instrumental in the installation of BJP-led Government at the Centre. INLD leader Ajay Chautala said his party would request the Government to reconsider the decision to increase the price of diesel, saying it had affected lot of farmers. Pawar said we would like to understand from the Government what was the reason for the hike. MDMK leader Vaiko said his party would strengthen the NDA Government and expressed confidence that it would complete its full term under the commendable leadership of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Asked about the TDP’s stand on speakership, K Yerrannaidu said wait for two days. To a question on whether the party will join the NDA, he said the TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has already stated the party’s stand. National Conference first-timer Hassan Khan, who represents Ladakh, said the people of Kargil and Batalik were facing the aftermath of the conflict. What is required is rebuilding that area. Instead of frequent polls the money should be spent on development. The youngest MP in the 13th Lok Sabha Bhavna Gawli (Shiv Sena) said she would raise women’s issues as her party MPs entered Parliament shouting Jai Shivaji slogans. DMK leader and Commerce and Industries Minister Murasoli Maran said his party will support and strengthen the Government. JD (U) leader Ram Vilas Paswan walked in with his brother and first-time MP Ram Prasad Paswan. (PTI) |
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Support base of NSCN (I-M) dwindling: Jamir NEW DELHI, Oct 20: The support base of the dreaded Naga militant group, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M), was dwindling, state Chief Minister S C Jamir claimed here today as he welcomed Centre’s recent warning to the group on violation of ground rules of the on-going cease-fire. Turnout of an overwhelming 76 per cent of people in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls in the state exposed the limited area of influence the Isak-Muivah faction has, Jamir told here. Maintaining that strict adherence to the mutually agreed rules between the insurgents and the Government was a pre-requisite For the success of talks, he said the statement of the Centre is in the right direction. Warning or otherwise, NSCN (I-M) should strictly adhere to the ground rules. There were reports last month that the militants were attempting to sabotage the polls in the state. Following this, the Union Home Ministry had warned the NSCN (I-M) not to interfere in the well laid-out election process. Referring to the polls to the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state, Jamir said it is my sincere appeal to the underground faction to recognise the reality of the situation and the mood of the Naga people. Should any outfit or group of people defy the wishes of the people it would be completely at their own risk, he warned. (PTI) |
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No problem in JD-U, says Sharad Yadav NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Civil Aviation Minister and Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav today sought to downplay the simmering discontent in the party over non-inclusion of some senior leaders, including Ramakrishna Hegde, in the Vajpayee Ministry, saying there was no problem in the party. There is no problem in the party. Hegde is our senior leader and he should be respected for playing a crucial role in building the party, Yadav told reporters here. Yadav said he had already spoken to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee two days back on the matter as it pertained to the entire National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and not to the JD(U) alone. Asked if he would offer party presidentship to hegde to mollify his hurt feelings, Yadav said everything cannot be disclosed publicly. Differences in the JD(U) had cropped up the day the Union Council of Ministers was sworn in with Hegde angry over his being dropped from the cabinet and some Bihar party MPs including Prabhunath Singh and Jai Narain Prasad Nishad openly accusing George Fernandes for ignoring certain castes in the state which had played a crucial role in defeating the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidates. (PTI) |
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NOIDA, Oct 20: Ruksana lost her speech when her father was brutally murdered by militants in front of her eyes in her village in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and it took all of Kargil martyr Captain Vijayant Thapar’s love to get it back. The six-year-old’s world had come crashing down around her after her father Mohammad Akbar was gunned down by foreign mercenaries sent to spread terror in Kashmir. The 22-year-old gentleman officer, fresh into the army, met her through the principal of the school and started loving the child immensely. Capt Thapar and his Sahayak Sepoy Jagmal Singh Shekhawat, who also died next to his Saheb in the battle to capture the Knoll’ feature in Drass sub-sector, used to steal away from the unit and visit Ruksana each evening and take sweets and toffees for her, soldiers in the battalion say. Their love developed into trust and Capt Thapar’s persistent efforts finally paid off when Ruksana started speaking again. He used to contribute a small amount of money each month to the girl’s poor family towards her education and minutes before going on the operation that would be his last, the young officer, probably on a premonition, wrote to his family and asked them to take care of her. (PTI) |
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Focus on Sonia at oath-taking ceremony NEW DELHI, Oct 20: As the 13th Lok Sabha went into action with the oath-taking ceremony, the focus was unmistakably on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, taking up the onerous responsibility of the leader of the opposition, 20 years after her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi played that role. Sonia Gandhi, representing the Gandhi family’s pocketborough of Amethi, walked into the house ten minutes before 1100 hours, escorted by Kamal Nath, MP from Madhya Pradesh and a friend of both her assassinated husband Rajiv Gandhi and his younger brother Sanjay. Clad in a maroon saree with a matching blouse, the 53-year-old daughter of Stefano and Paula Maino, residents of a village near Turin in Italy, took oath in Hindi, watched by her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra from the ‘distinguished visitors’ gallery. The hour, proud for the family, was also momentous for India’s democracy making it possible for a foreign-born citizen to make it to its highest forum, the house of the people. As she went to take oath, she was cheered by her partymen with thumping of desks. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who came to the house five minutes after Sonia’s arrival, walked upto her seat to greet her before the oath taking ceremony which began at 1100 hours. Sonia’s children and her son-in-law watched the proceedings for about half an hour. The house also saw for the first time the presence of both the daughters-in-law of Indira Gandhi with Maneka Gandhi occupying her seat among the treasury benches. There was palpable suspense in the galleries whether the estranged daughters-in-law of Indira Gandhi would at least make a show of courtesies on the floor of the house. After taking her oath, 46-year-old Maneka, clad in a pleasing light-colour dotted saree, just walked past the opposition benches without looking at Sonia, reflecting the still blowing coldness in relations. Wearing a somewhat bored expression on her face with a constant batting of the eyelids, Sonia sat for a little over an hour and left the house. Apparently looking nervous on her first day in Parliament, Sonia showed eagerness to learn the ropes as fast as possible. Party colleague and former minister Paban Singh Ghatowar was seen explaining the seating arrangement to her while others chipped in, possibly giving the leader of the opposition a few tips on parliamentary procedures. (PTI) |
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Balayogi emerges consensus
candidate NEW DELHI, Oct 20: GMC Balayogi is all set to become the Speaker of the 13th Lok Sabha with his name being accepted today as a consensus candidate for Wednesday’s election to the post. As the Speaker’s election was notified, Government swung into action seeking the consent of all major groups in the Lok Sabha, including the main opposition party, Congress. Congress president Sonia Gandhi signed in the House on the papers nominating Balayogi’s candidature followed by Home Minister L.K. Advani. The nomination papers were later taken by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan to leaders of other allied and opposition groups including DMK’s Murasoli Maran, CPI(M)’s Somnath Chatterjee and Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav. Balayogi himself was seen signing on the papers presented to him by Mahajan. The deadline for filing of nomiantions for the election expires 1200 hours tomorrow. Earlier, minutes before the house was to meet for the first time, Balayogi went around shaking hands with leaders in the front row and exchanged pleasantries with Gandhi. (PTI) |
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