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CHANDIGARH, Oct 21: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh....more
Thakre to assess NEW DELHI, Oct 21: BJP president Kushabhau Thakre will.....more
Comprehensive re-look NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley....more |
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Religious
leaders flay Sangh Parivar’s campaign against Pope NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Representatives of various religions today condemned the hate campaign unleashed by some Sangh Parivar outfits against Pope John Paul II’s forthcoming India visit and urged the Government to ensure that the country’s image is not tarnished by their acts....more
Jaswant Singh NEW DELHI, Oct 21: External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh is the new leader of the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla announced today when the Upper House met for first time after the new Government took over......more Vajpayee, Jinnah 2 sides THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 21: Equating Prime Minister A B Vajpayee with...more NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Ten newly-elected Rajya Sabha members....more CRPF heroes of hot NEW DELHI, Oct 21: When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your...more |
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CHANDIGARH, Oct 21: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has taken serious view of the casual approach and indiscipline of certain Government employees who remain absent from duty for long without intimating competent authorities. Mr Badal has directed the secretaries and departmental heads to take strict administrative action against those found guilty of violation of Government norms and conduct rules, said an official spokesman here yesterday. In compliance with the Chief Minister’s directions, the Punjab Government had dismissed a chemistry lecturer Kuljinder Kaur of Government Mohindra College, Patiala, he said. The lecturer remained absent from Government duties without prior intimation and she did not respond to the chargesheet served upon her in this regard, the spokesman added. (UNI) |
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Thakre to assess post-election status of BJP NEW DELHI, Oct 21: BJP president Kushabhau Thakre will undertake a four-day exercise from October 25 to assess the party’s post-election status in the country through meetings with members of Parliament from the States and is devoting one day to Uttar Pradesh where the party had suffered a debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Party president will meet the members of Parliament in batches from October 25 and members from Uttar Pradesh to meet on October 27 to discuss the political situation in the States, party spokesman Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here today. He said on the first day Thakre would be meeting MPs from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Andaman and Nicobar followed by a meeting with those from Goa, Maharasthra and Madhya Pradesh on October 26. On the concluding day on October 28, Thakre would be meeting members from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, he said. Naidu said the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting tomorrow would discuss the issues likely to figure in ongoing session of Parliament. He said the party was happy to see that the tradition of electing Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker by consensus with the ruling coalition getting the speakership. (PTI) |
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Comprehensive re-look at Prasar Bharati before appointments NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said today that a comprehensive re-look of broadcasting and cable laws will have to precede any attempts at filling the top posts in Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India). Answering questions at a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club of India, Mr Jaitley said the re-examination must precede any meeting of the selection committee under the Prasar Bharati to fill vacant posts. He assured that any final decision would be taken after taking all political parties and Parliament into confidence. The minister said the primary need was to strengthen the public broadcaster as an institution and ensure its credibility, quality, autonomy and accountability. This will also mean a close look at malpractices which had led to large-scale corruption, he said, adding that this was a matter for decision-making by the Prasar Bharati administration and the Government could only give advice. At the outset, the minister said his Government’s approach would be to ensure a vibrant, free and independent electronic and print media which will also be transparent. Mr Jaitley said in answer to a question that it was also necessary to ensure that the public broadcaster was commercially viable and had a transparency which would help prevent corruption. At the same time, he said that the BBC model may not be applicable here since the broadcaster could not be made accessible only to those who can afford a licence fee. Referring to the remarks by his predecessor Mr Pramod Mahajan that Prasar Bharati had lost all relevance today and should be wound up, Mr Jaitley said that Prasar Bharati had emerged because of a situation created during the emergency imposed by Mrs Indira Gandhi. But it had taken thirteen years for the legislation to get government approval and another seven to get it notified. By this time, the situation had vastly changed and it was not possible to control what people should see in an era of multiplicity of channels. But any decision could be taken after the comprehensive re-look promised by him. He added that this would mean an examination of the existing Prasar Bharati and cable networks regulation acts as well as the proposed Broadcasting Bill. Whether the public broadcaster becomes autonomous or remains part of the Government, a regulatory mechanism was a necessary pre-requisite, he added. The minister said that it was also necessary to find ways to strengthen the regional television channels as well as All India Radio, which still had a larger reach than the visual media. On a question about direct-to-home television, he said the matter was pending with the group of ministers. Responding to a suggestion that the movie channels being run by cable operators in their respective localities should be banned as this would help check video piracy, Mr Jaitley said this would form part of the examination of the existing cable laws. He said there was no specific provision at present to ban telecast of any channel on any grounds other than obscenity and vulgarity. On a question about censorship of films shown on television, he said that such a move in addition to the existing censorship on films would not be compatible with the concept of democratic functioning. He said he was also clear that he could not interfere in matters relating to censorship or the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) as these were Quasi-judicial issues. He said the film ‘Elizabeth’ had been cleared by the fcat with some cuts. (UNI) |
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Jaswant Singh is new leader of Rajya Sabha NEW DELHI, Oct 21: External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh is the new leader of the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla announced today when the Upper House met for first time after the new Government took over. Heptulla said she had received communication from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee nominating Jaswant Singh as the new leader of the House. The outgoing leader of the House, Sikander Bakht, who does not figure in the Union Council of Ministers, was also present. The Congress party has already announced that Dr Manmohan Singh would continue to be the leader of the opposition. (PTI) |
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CRPF heroes of hot spring remembered NEW DELHI, Oct 21: When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today. This was the message left by 10 jawans of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who were killed while fighting Chinese troops in Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir exactly four decades back. This day is observed throughout the country in memory of these jawans who laid their lives for the territorial integrity of the country while fighting the enemy at hot spring. Braving the cold weather, several officials of the state and para-military forces paid rich tributes to these soldiers at a memorial erected in their memory at hot spring In Ladakh sector, a CRPF release said here. On October 21, 1959, Chinese troops, positioned at a hill top, ambushed an unsuspecting patrol party of CRPF near hot springs killing 10 of its jawans. During the middle of 1959, this sector suddenly became active due to transgression by Chinese troops and in october when the Indian police, which had the duty of administering and policing the 2500 miles of normally peaceful frontier of tibet, were pounded by Chinese troops. However, the brave CRPF jawans, who were armed with rifles only, held their ground until they were not overpowered by a superioratary contributions of policemen all over the country which was completed in 1962. Since then the representatives of all states and central forces undergo hardships to trudge their way across a perilious route to pay homage to these martyrs at hot spring. M N Sabharwal was the first Director General of CRPF who visited the memorial to offer his obeisance on behalf of the force last year. (PTI) |
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Religious leaders flay Sangh
Parivar’s campaign NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Representatives of various religions today condemned the hate campaign unleashed by some Sangh Parivar outfits against Pope John Paul II’s forthcoming India visit and urged the Government to ensure that the country’s image is not tarnished by their acts. We denounce the attempt on the part of certain forces to derive political and communal mileage out of this religious event. Any discourtesy shown to the Pope will tarnish the image of our country in the eyes of the world community, the religious leaders said at a joint press conference here. They included the Seer of Prayag Mutt, Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Madhvanand Saraswati, noted Islamic thinker Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Sikh scholar Dr Mohinder Singh, Delhi Minorities Commission member Reverend Valson Thampu and some Jain monks. The Government should ensure that nothing that detracts the spiritual significance of the visit happens, they said. Hindu saints and leaders are welcomed and respected around the world. By welcoming the Pope, we will only add to the respect given to our religious leaders, the Shankaracharya told reporters. The opposition to the visit is wrong. It only reflects their (Sangha Parivar’s) limited vision. The Pope is coming here with a message of love and peace. If he says anything against Hinduism, I will be his worst opponent, he said. Why should the Pope apologise for the crimes of others as demanded by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), he asked. Why should Lord Ram apologise for the sins of demon king Ravana, though both are Hindus, the Shankaracharya asked. The religious leaders said dishonouring guests were not part of the country’s culture or traditions. Let us rise to this historic occasion and turn it into a celebration of our essential oneness, and not allow vested interests to abuse it for promoting communal alienation and disunity, they said. They appealed to all people to respond unitedly to this historic event in the true spirit of our religious traditions, all of which teach us to love and to treat one another with respect and courtesy. Christian leader Rev Valson Thampu said the hue and cry being raised by some Sangh Parivar outfits was aimed at drawing global attention. Like multinationals at World Cup, they are trying to derive publicity out of the event, he said. Noted Islamic thinker Maulana Wahiduddin Khan recalled that Swami Vivekananda was allowed to address the world parliament of religions in Chicago despite the fact that he was not invited to the same. He also preached Hinduism in America for three years. Sikh scholar and director of Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, Dr Mohinder Singh, said India has always been a refuge for the oppressed people of the world, whether it be the Parsis, Tibetans or Bahais. The Pope’s visit is the right opportunity to for us to convey our message of peace and love to the world, he said. (PTI) |
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