Shahabuddin moves
for anticipatory bail

CHAPRA, BIHAR, Aug 2: Ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) MP MD Shahabuddin today moved a petition for anticipatory bail in the Siwan district . ......more

No plan to privatise
BSNL, MTNL: Minister

CHENNAI, Aug 2: Union Minister of State for Communications’s Thirunavukkarasar today ruled out any move to privatise BSNL or MTNL.........more

PM shows his true
colours: CPI-M

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: The CPI-M today condemned statements by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on the .....more

Court passes stricture against 2 accused in
IV fluid scandal

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: The Delhi High Court has directed the Central and Delhi Governments not give any post-retirement assignment.....more

HC advocates free hand
in admission on
‘managment quota’

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Rejecting a Delhi Government orderthat admissions on management quot, even within its five .....more

Talks with NSCN (I-M)
to continue even as
ceasefire is extended

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Extending the ceasefire for one more year till July 31 next year, the Union Government and the National ....more

PM promises more steps for welfare of farmers

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Promising more steps for the welfare of farmers, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today expressed readiness to recommend one......more

Govt for simultaneous LS and Assembly Polls: Advani

ON BOARD SPECIAL IAF AIRCRAFT, Aug 2: The Government is seriously thinking to either reschedule the ........more

UP coalition initiates ‘pressure tactics’ against BJP rebels ....

No disinvestment plans for BSNL and MTNL: Thirunavukkarasar .....

Retired defence, police officers form thinktank on security.....

Urgent need to provide safe drinking water stressed .....

Shahabuddin moves for anticipatory bail

CHAPRA, BIHAR, Aug 2: Ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) MP MD Shahabuddin today moved a petition for anticipatory bail in the Siwan district Court.

District Judge Abhijit Sinha called for the police diary of the case in which the arrest warrant was issued two days ago against the MP by the Police Headquarters. The next date of hearing has been fixed on August 7.

Meanwhile, Police Superintendent of the Special Task Force Vinay Kumar said the STF would take action only if MD Shahabuddin defies the Court orders. Instead of arresting him, they would give ample time to MD Shahabuddin to surrender in the Court, he said.

After the arrest orders issued by State Director General of Police D P Ojha in an old case of abduction against MD Shahabuddin, the MP once again hit the headlines.

Earlier, the State Police Headquarters had ordered the STF and District Police to arrest the MP and had also requested the Delhi Police to co-operate in arresting MD Shahabuddin who is in Delhi to attend the monsoon session of Parliament.

The sudden action of the DGP had generated much hue and cry in political circles and the ruling RJD came out openly in support of Md Shahabuddin. The RJD legislators even demanded the removal of the DGP.

Meanwhile, the opposition which two years ago had eyed MD Shahabuddin to uproot the Rabri Devi Government was now demanding CBI probe into the entire cases pending against MD Shahabuddin and to expose his alleged links with the international underworld.

The MP, who has allegedly unleashed a reign of terror in Siwan and was running a parallel Government there, claimed to have support of nearly 100 MLAs and accused the DGP of being vindictive and moved by personal grievances in intiating the action against him.

Meanwhile, a local Court of Siwan turned down the plea of the police to attach the property of MD Shahabuddin as the MP had moved anticipatory bail in the Court.

Meanwhile, the DGP has reportedly recomended a CBI probe into the criminal acts of MD Shahabuddin. (UNI)

No plan to privatiseBSNL, MTNL: Minister

CHENNAI, Aug 2: Union Minister of State for Communications’s Thirunavukkarasar today ruled out any move to privatise BSNL or MTNL.

Releasing the three-volume Chennai telephone directory, containing a subscriber base of 12.5 lakh, he said there was no plan either to privatise or disinvest in BSNL and MTNL now. "What will happen in the future after 50 or 100 years, I cannot forecast now," he said in a lighter vein.

The two public sector communication giants were enjoying a position of pre-eminence, much after private players were allowed to enter the communication arena. They would continue to do so, he asserted.

Despite about 20 players offering mobile telephone services, BSNL and MTNL were market leaders in mobile services as well. Every month about four lakh mobile subscribers were being added to the BSNL network, the minister said.

In Chennai, for example, over 90,000 subscribers had enrolled in the last two months. The number was likely to cross one lakh in the next few weeks.

Mr Thirunavukkarasar said giant strides had been made in telephone connectivity in the country after the Vajpayee Government took office four years ago.

The country had since independence built up just about 3.5 crore telephone connections till 1998. The connectivity now stood at over seven crore with a telephone density of seven per 100 population. This was expected to rise to 17 per 100 population by the end of the tenth plan in 2007-08, he said.

The minister admitted that the BSNL and MTNL had become more productive and efficient after intense competition from private players who offer basic and mobile services.

Similarly in software services exports, the country was making major strides with exportsstanding at Rs 46,500 crore now as against Rs 6500 crore in 1992-93.

However, in internet penetration the country was still at a low ebb with just one per cent of the population using the facility.

Public sector telephone services were now available on demand against long queues and waiting list in the past and the once coveted MPs quota had no takers now, he added.

The Chennai telephone directory, both in printed and CD form, would be distributed to subscribers of the city from August 4 free of cost. (UNI)

PM shows his true colours: CPI-M

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: The CPI-M today condemned statements by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and said it was an "endorsement" of the RSS’ views on the issue.

Describing it as a complete negation of letter and spirit of the Indian constitution, the CPI-M polit bureau said in a statement here that a judicial verdict was the only solution to the dispute.

"The Prime Minister has once again revealed the true colours of being an unadulterated RSS Swayamsevak by pledging in Ayodhya that Ram temple will be built at Ram Janmasthan (birth place)," it said adding that he had reneged from his commitments to Parliament that a solution to the dispute will be determined by a court verdict or through a negotiated settlement.

The party also attacked Advani for terming construction of a temple as a reflection of the national sentiment. "Advani has endorsed the RSS view that only the Hindu sentiment can be considered as national sentiment."

The statement appealed to people not to fall prey to "obvious tactics of rousing communal passions" around the Ayodhya issue by RSS and BJP outfits in the run up to the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the CPI central secretariat also condemned the speeches made by Vajpayee and Advani for "openly taking the position of the RSS-VHP."

"It is unheard of a Prime Minister making a declaration at a funeral with regard to an issue which is pending before the court," it said in a statement.

The CPI alleged the Prime Minister has not shown any respect for Parliament or judiciary, where the title suit of the disputed site is being heard, and urged all "secular, democratic" forces to raise their voice against this. (PTI)

Court passes stricture against 2 accused in IV fluid scandal

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: The Delhi High Court has directed the Central and Delhi Governments not give any post-retirement assignment to dr R C Rai and Dr A K Mukherjee, who were allegedly involved in the purchase of contaminated intravenous fluids in Safdarjung hospital during 1993-94, due to which four patients had died.

A division bench comprising Dalveer Bhandari and M K Sharma directed the Central and State Govenments not to give any post retirement assignment of the Government or public undertaking to the two.

"It is unfortunate that officials who are responsible for such major scandals go scot free because of high level conspiracy to throttle any action against erring officials, with the aid of classic bureaucratic delays," the Judges remarked.

A conspiracy had been hatched by senior officials to ensure that the guilty persons were not brought to book and no action was taken against them, they said.

"It is clear that the senior officials responsible for the purchase of contaminated IV fluids at exorbitant prices was Dr Rai, the then Medical Superintendent of the hospital. Instead of taking action against him, he was promoted to the post of Additional Director General of Health Services," the Judges said.

Similarly, no action whatsoever was taken against Dr Mukherjee, the then Director General of Health Services, they added.

The bench noted that even though the duo were clearly indicted in the status reports filed by the CBI, no legally sustainable action could be possible at this stage.

"When the premier investigating agency of the country, the CBI, is of the opinion that no sustainable action can be taken against them, at this stage, we would not like the CBI to further undertake a totally futile exercise and waste public time and money," they said.

The CBI was of the opinion that because of the limitation and expiry of time, no sustainable action could be taken against the erring officials.

However, saying they were deeply disturbed by the purchase of contaminated IV fluids in the hospital, the Court, directed the CBI and other agencies concerned to expedite the criminal action which had been initiated against some other officials.

The contaminated IV fluid bottles had been purchased at a cost of Rs 23-29 each as opposed to the then prevailing price of Rs 10-12 per bottle.

On July 30, cracking down on spurious drugs business, the High Court had recommended to the Central Government to enact a suitable legislation so that severe punishment could be given to those engaged in manufacture, distribution, and trade of spurious drugs.

The division bench said, "this (spurious drugs business) indeed is a very alarming and serious problem faced by this country. Unfortunately, a very big market of spurious drugs is flourishing in our country."

Guilty people who play with the lives of millions were rarely brought to book. It was unfortunate that no action was taken against them. There was hardly any deterrence against such enemies of humanity, the Judges said.

The Court also suggested to the Government to constitute a committee within a period of three months to see that no new drug was launched in the market without the approval of the committee.

"The Ministry of Health and the Director General of Health Services and other agencies concerned, without further loss of time, must ensure that the drug manufacturers are not be permitted to market their drugs unless the quality of the drugs is approved by the high level committee or body consisting of doctors and other experts of impeccable integrity and eminence."

It was also imperative that once a drug had been permitted to be marketed, the quality of the same be periodically evaluated preferably after every six months, the bench said.

The Police Commissioner or other agencies concerned be directed to conduct periodical raids on the manufacturers and dealers of these spurious drugs, it added.

The Judges directed that every Government hospital must have a hospital evaluation committee to look into things like the purchase of equipment and its maintenance.

They further said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare must ensure that the drugs, which have been banned in other parts of the world, may not be permitted to be sold in this country.

The Court passed the order while disposing of a PIL filed by ‘People’s Union of Civil Liberties’. (UNI)

HC advocates free hand in admission on ‘managment quota’

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Rejecting a Delhi Government orderthat admissions on management quot, even within its five per cent allocation, have to be granted strictly on merit, the Delhi High Court has directed the Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology to admit a student under the quota disregarding the merit list.

Directing the institute to grant admission to the girl who was ranked 10754, Justice Vikramajit Sen said, "I fail to appreciate what discretion is granted to the management if, even within their five per cent allocation, they have to strictly adhere to the standing of candidates in the merit list".

The institute, affiliated to the Guru Govind Singh Indraprashtha University, had disallowed her admission, saying candidates on the merit list must be granted admission according to their position, even in respect of the management quota.

The university had issued a direction pertaining to general list candidates that students after rank 6180 on the merit list would not be entitled to admission, although students up to rank 18000 were admitted in some other categories.

"If such direction of the State Government and university is to be implemented, and the managment is constrained or enjoined to grant admission even in respect of its five per cent quota strictly in accordance with the merit list, the discretion, which the Supreme Court has found salutary to vest in the management, would immediately disappear," the Judge said.

Privatisation is not feasible unless some incentive or reward is available in the post-school education sector. It is for this reason that allocation of the five per cent seats was carved out either to enable the management to collect some profit for its efforts, or to entitle it to give admission as per this discretion, he said.

"Some incentive or advantage or prerogative must be available to societies or individuals who have entered into the field of education, provided standards are maintained, and provided 95 per cent of the general public benefit from their enterprise and effort."

The petitioner possessed the requisite eligibility and fared well in the CBSE (qualifying exam), the Judge further said.

In this case, as in almost all other cases, it has become the practice and norm that the result in the CBSE or the ICSE is given no credence other than it being treated as a mere eligibility criteria, he added.

"India is the repository of learning from the most ancient times but today we are a nation fixated with holding exams. CBSE and ICSE certification are not enough to get our students into most colleges and IITs and University Degrees are of little value for entering Post Graduate courses within the same university. In the bargain, we are reducing our students into exam taking automation and there is total shift from development of a comprehensive personality."

Justice Sen observed that holding of entrance tests is also a lucrative source of income to educational institutions and there is every possibility that this is why such tests are conducted more often than not. This is also the public perception and complaint, he remarked.

When the number of students and courses to which they apply is considered in totality, the income reaped assumes staggering and astronomical proportions, he said, and added that keeping in mind that a student applies for multiple courses, in different universities and colleges, the outflow from the family purse is considerable.

Dealing with another case, the Judge has held that an institute has the right to interview condidates but it does not possess untrammeled powers of rejection solely on the performance of persons in the interview, unless specifically stated otherwise.

The institute could not assume such limitless power. The burden of proving that it has acted in a fair and non-arbitrary manner would lie on the authorities concerned, he said.

However, the Judge refused to grant relief to some students only on the ground that he felt it would not be correct to direct an institute to accommodate the candidates midway in a course, nor could they be given admission in the next session as this would affect the right of third parties (students who apply next year). (UNI)

Talks with NSCN (I-M) to continue even as ceasefire is extended

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Extending the ceasefire for one more year till July 31 next year, the Union Government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaac Muivah) have agreed that talks to find a lasting and peaceful solution must continue.

The talks were held in Bangkok from July 16 to 18, and according to an official press note today, the militant group had agreed to extension of the ceasefire ‘after persuasion by the Government of India representatves’. The ceasefire was to have ended on July 31 this year.

The Centre’s interlocutor on the vexed Naga issue, Mr K Padmanabhaiah who is a former Home Secretary had told UNI after the talks that there had been ‘a lot of hurdles’ initially but these had been overcome and the two sides decided to extend the ceasefire by another year. The main agenda of the talks which were the third since January had been the extension of ceasefire.

He had denied as ‘baseless’ reports that there was any proposal by the Centre to granting statutory status to Naga Hoho, the apex Body of the Nagas, in lieu of NSCN (I-M)’s key demand for creating ‘Greater Nagaland’. Home Secetary N Gopalaswamy had also denied this early last month, he added. The outfit has been demanding creation of ‘Greater Nagaland’ comprising Nagaland and Naga inhabited areas in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The issue of integration of the contiguous Naga-inhabited areas has been the biggest impediment in the successful conclusion of the peace talks aimed at ending the five-decade old insurgency in Nagaland.

In the earlier meeting between Mr Padmanabhaiah and the NSCN (I-M) leaders in Bangkok in May, both sides were reported to have made progress on less contentious issues including autonomy and devolution of powers and decided to continue the talks despite the difference of opinions on the controversial issues including the creation of ‘Greater Nagaland’.

According to a joint communique issued after the latest talks, both sides decided to hold frequent meetings to expedite the peace process. "There was general satisfaction that peace had prevailed amidst mutual trust, goodwill and confidence," the communique said.

"The need for strict observance of the ground rules of the ceasefire by the two parties was reiterated so that the possibility of any untoward incident is totally pre-empted. In this context, it was felt necessary to expedite the process of the armed cadres going into camps," it added.

The Government delegation was led by its interlocutor on the Naga issue K Padmanabhaiah and comprised Intelligence Bureau chief K P Singh. The NSCN (I-M) team included its general secretary T Muivah and eight other senior members. However, chairman Isak Chisi Swu was not present at the talks. (UNI)

PM promises more steps for welfare of farmers

NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Promising more steps for the welfare of farmers, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today expressed readiness to recommend one and a half time increase in support prices of pulses and oilseeds provided they boost production to make the country self-reliant.

Addressing a function organised by BJP’s Kisan Morcha to felicitate him for lowering interest on crop loans and purchase of farm equipments, Vajpayee said welfare of farmers had always remained on top of his Government’s agenda and promised "more steps" in this regard.

Complimenting the farmers for helping the country export Rs 6,000 crore of foodgrains, he said this showed that the farmer could meet any challenge provided he took a resolve.

He said now the time has come for farmers to make experiments for boosting the production of pulses and oilseeds and Government would be ready to extend a helping hand.

Stating that precious foreign exchange was being lost in the import of edible oils, he said the country should import only those things which could not be produced in the country.

Advocating the need for a movement to promote rainwater harvesting, Vajpayee made a strong plea to farmers to change the pattern of cultivation to raise per hectare output, focus on value addition and turn to food processing to ensure maximum return to their produce.

Several Union Ministers, including Agriculture Minister Raj Nath Singh and Food Minister Sharad Yadav, as also BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, who addressed the function, hailed the Prime Minister’s initiative in giving a fair deal to the farmer.

Expressing concern over the loss of foodgrains due to lack of proper storage, the Prime Ninister said 25 per cent of farm produce rotted for lack of appropriate storage. He regretted that though plans were made for effective storage of farm produce, they were not implemented well.

Referring to diversification, he said that there has been much demand for flowers in Europe during winters and farmers should use this opportunity for export.

He said that the "Gram Sadak Yojana" would help farmers to speedily reach their produce to markets at home and abroad.

Naidu wanted the Centre to either set up a task force or convene a meeting of Chief Ministers for extending the scope of the crop insurance scheme which was now limited to a few crops.(PTI)

Govt for simultaneous LS and Assembly Polls: Advani

ON BOARD SPECIAL IAF AIRCRAFT, Aug 2: The Government is seriously thinking to either reschedule the poll time table or, if necessary, make Constitutional amendments for "restoring the synchronity" between Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani said today.

The Government has been sounding members of the Election Commission informally in this regard but formally no decision has yet been taken either in the Government or at the party level, Mr Advani told reporters on way to Pune where he is headed for attending a series of functions.

"The past five years in the Government have made us intensely conscious of the fact that the continuing election mode, in which the ruling party is, is a serious handicap for good governance. Every important decision, including budget, is influenced by how the voters would react."

Elaborating on the problem, the Deputy Prime Minister said the first two decades of independence and first four general elections saw Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections being held simultaneously. This problem was not there except in 1971 when Lok Sabha elections were held and later Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections were delinked.

He said gradually a situation arose when the country had a mini general election almost every alternate year.

"These days, we are seriously thinking if either by rescheduling the poll time table or, if necessary, by some amendment of the Constitution, this synchronity of Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections can be restored.

"Informally we have been sounding the members of the Election Commission also from the Government side. Formally, however, no decision in the Government or the party has been taken."

He said achieving full synchorinity would take time.

Replying to questions, Mr Advani said if something was to be decided formally in this connection, the main opposition party would also have to be consulted.

"Parliament Elections may be in our hands but Assembly Elections are in the hands of the State Government."

Asked whether the NDA partners had been consulted on the matter, Mr Advani said at least one NDA ally had been taken into confidence.

Asked what would be the suitable time in a year for holding elections, he said it should be the first quarter.

Replying to questions, Mr Advani said several pieces of legislations relating to poll reforms would be taken up during the current session of Parliament. These include proxy voting by the Army, electoral funding and open voting for Rajya Sabha, he added.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he had been regularly going to various army functions and discussing with jawans and officials how they exercise their franchise.

"Almost everybody had told me that they could not vote." later on Mr Advani formally took up the matter with the then Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill and informed him about the feedback received from the Army.

He said he told Mr Gill that something should be done about it and accordingly a Committee was set up which gave several recommendations. "We tried to implement them but there was opposition," Mr Advani said.

When asked whether it would be difficult to implement a decision in a coalition Government, he said, inspite of a coalition Government if the BJP and the Congress agree on any issue it can be resolved. (UNI)

UP coalition initiates ‘pressure tactics’ against BJP rebels

LUCKNOW, Aug 2: A day after BJP dissident MLAs joined hands with the opposition to dislodge the Mayawati-led coalition in Uttar Pradesh, the State Government has initiated pressure tactics to deal with the rebels.

Yesterday, eight BJP dissident MLAs had met Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh here and assured their support to dislodge the coalition Government.

According to a rebel BJP MLA, the Government, through their party leadership, had hinted towards harsh action against them if they did not relent.

The Government has already asked one of the dissidents, suspended former BJP MLC, Ramashish Rai to vacate his Government accomodation at Darulshafa this morning.

Sources said the dissidents had definite information about the Government move to harass them on various pretexts so that they could not raise their grievances.

A similar rebellion was crushed by Ms Mayawati in November when the leader of the rebel group, independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, along with his father and MLA cousin Akshay Pratap Singh, were jailed under POTA.

Meanwhile, a RLD source said here today some new BJP dissident MLAs had also met Mr Singh at New Delhi this morning. On the other hand, the BJP State leadership claimed there was no such dissident activity on in the party.

However, BJP sources hinted the party was likely to take action against the MLAs who had met the RLD chief and were trying to dislodge the BSP-BJP Government.

"There is all possibility of the party initiating action against these legislators including pressing for their disqualification from the Assembly which is pending before the Speaker since February ," sources added.

The rebel BJP sources claimed that at least 20 dissident MLAs had joined their ‘club’ after losing hope on the party leadership to solve their problems. "The harrassment of the BJP legislators has reached a flash point and we are forced to make such a move," sources added.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi was yet to be informed by BJP legislature party leader Lalji Tandon on the fate of the five rebel BJP MLAs against whom the party had moved a disqualification petition. (UNI)

No disinvestment plans for BSNL and MTNL: Thirunavukkarasar

CHENNAI, Aug 2: The Centre, at present, has no plans for disinvestment of public sector telecom PSUS - BSNL and MTNL - as the two were performing well in the competitive telecom sector, Union Minister of State for Communications and IT, S Thirunavukkarasar said today.

"Both BSNL and MTNL are faring quite well in the highly competitive telecom scenario and no disinvestment plans are on the cards as of now", he said here while releasing the Chennai telephone directory-2002.

However, he said this did not amount to a long term guarantee of what would happen in the next 50 or 100 years.

A total of about 40 lakh "cellone" connections had already been given across the country, he said adding that at present four lakh "cellone" connections were being added every month.

He said the tele-density of the country, which currently stood at seven per cent, was poised to touch 17 per cent in the next few years.

Referring to the IT scenario, Thirunavukkarasar said it was heartening that software exports from the country currently stood at Rs 46,000 crore as against Rs 6400 crore in 1992-93.

Of this, 50 per cent was from the Southern States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he said, adding 80 per cent of the total software exports were through the software technology parks of India.

Karnataka alone accounted for exports to the tune of Rs 12500 crore, he added.

He said efforts were on to boost hardware exports by attracting leading hardware firms from countries like China and Japan for investments in this sector. Hardware exports from the country currently stood at Rs 6000 crore.

He said Government-to-Government level talks would be undertaken to sort out the issues arising out of certain "prohibitive legislations" in some US states against Indian software exports. (PTI)

Retired defence, police officers form thinktank on security

CHANDIGARH, Aug 2: Concerned over the internal and the external security threats to the country, a group of retired defence and police officers have launched a forum which could serve as a thinktank to help the Government formulate an integrated policy on national security.

Announcing the formation of the ‘forum on integrated national security’, its convenor former Punjab Police Chief P C Dogra said the intelligentsia of the country had been "feeling uneasy" about the security situations of the country and its preparedness to meet such challenges effectively.

"After the 1962 debacle, we continue to betray symptoms of ‘battered India’. Now a strategic China-Pak nexus has emerged," Mr Dogra said at a press conference here. He was accompanied by former Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal P S Brar and Air Marshal R S Bedi.

Mr Dogra said there was no fresh thinking in the Government strategy to deal with security. There were no regular research mechanisms or thinktanks in the country for formulation of defence policy, he added.

Regarding internal security, he said there was a lack of operational cohesion between paramilitary forces and State Police. Forces."It is believed that intelligence agencies are working at cross purposes."

Mr Dogra also expressed concern over the continued Pak-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and acts of subversion "unleashed by our hostile neighbour" in other parts of the country.

The presence of 15 to 20 million Bangladeshis in the country who were "illegal residents" of India was also an issue of concern, he pointed out.

The newly floated forum, he said, would study all these issues in depth and analyse them in a holistic and integrated manner.

"The nation has an unlimited reservoir of talent in retired Generals, Air Marshals, Admirals and Police Officers. We will try to tap their potential by holding seminars and conducting studies on various security-related matters," he added. (UNI)

Mithi seeks postponement of trail of strength, moves court

ITANAGAR, Aug 2: Ahead of the crucial trial of strength today, beleaguered Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Mukut Mithi asked the Governor to postpone the special assembly session in the wake of a petition challenging the Speaker’s order recognising the United Democratic Front of breakaway Congressmen.

There was legal infirmity in Speaker Tamiyo Taga’s order recognising the splinter group of 38 from the Congress legislature party as he has also signed as a defector along with others, he said urging Governor V C Pande to put off the session pending the ruling of the Itanagar bench of Gauhati High Court on the Congress petition.

As the matter is Sub-Judice and the Speaker’s order has no validity, the Chief Minister said, he has written to the Governor to postpone the assembly session.

Meanwhile, the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court has directed the Congress to amend its plea after finding it technically faulty.

Justice H K K Singh of the single bench told the petitioner, Health and Family Welfare Minister Hari Notung, yesterday to file the petition afresh on Monday.

According to the petitioner, both Taga and his Deputy Rajesh Tacho were among the dissident Congressmen, who had staked claim to form a new Government under former Chief Minister Gegong Apang’s United Democratic Front, and therefore could not preside over the special session.

Following the writ by the Congress, the UDF has also filed a caveat stating that they be heard before final disposal of the petition.

Mithi’s Congress Government was reduced to a minority on July 27 after 31 party MLAs broke ranks and formed the Congress D following which the Governor asked him to prove his strength at a special session which is scheduled this afternoon.

The breakway Congressmen, together with two associates and an unattached member, claim the numbers are on there side in the 60-member House. (PTI)

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