Excelsior... Nation

Bravery award winner
faces hard knocks
of life durg

CHHATTISGARH, Dec 10: When Nemchand Nirmalkar received the bravery award from President K R Narayanan .....more

Kerala asks Centre to extend visa of Pak citizen

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 10: Kerala Government has asked the Centre to extend the visa period of Pakistani citizens of .....more

CAG pulls up Navy
on INS Udaygiri contract

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: The Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the Navy for awarding contract to refit ins Udaygiri warship to a private firm ...more

Nonchalance, motto
of Dada Saheb Phalke
winner Dev’s life

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: "Main Jindagi Ka Saath Nibhaata Chala Gaya. Har Fikra Ko...more

475 custodial deaths
during last three years

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: There were 475 custodial deaths during the last three years (between 2000-2003) in the police station in the country, Rajya Sabha ...more

Congress crisis in
Kerala hits Govt
functioning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 10: Development issues in Kerala have taken the backstage in Kerala due to the ongoing high-pitch political drama ...more

SC adjourns hearing
in Salman case as vital
papers not filed

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Hearing on the appeal filed by Maharashtra challenging quashing.....more

Security personnel inadequate: Advani

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Admitting that the number of security personnel in the country ......more

Gangaikonda Cholapuram to be beautified .....

Shinde denies discussing Vidarbha issue with Sonia ......

Sheila, the empress of Delhi politics ......

Bravery award winner faces hard knocks of life durg

CHHATTISGARH, Dec 10: When Nemchand Nirmalkar received the bravery award from President K R Narayanan three years ago, he thought that it would at least fetch him books required for his studies.

But despite promises from various quarters, the recognition did not bring any changes in his life. As his family was unable to arrange books for him, he lost track of studies at school level and is forced to work as a labourer in the Government sponsored relief works.

In March 1999, Nemchand, who was then 14 years old, had jumped into a 32 feet deep well and rescued a five year old girl Babita Ravat, in village Mahakakhurd in Patan block in durg district.

For this exemplary brave conduct, children welfare council of India selected him for the bravery award, which he had received from the then President K R Narayanan at a function in New Delhi on January 17, 2000. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also felicitated him.

This year too on children’s day, Nemchand was busy in his work in the fields to eke a living for himself and his sisters.

"I could not buy books. I failed in the XI standard examinations. And as per rules, the school struck my name off the rolls, Nemchand told UNI at his village.

"After returning from school, I go for work , he said adding that he had worked as labourer in relief works Parewadeeh-Dundera approach road, Bada Mahka tank and Ramnagar tank during in April-May this year. Even though he was a minor, his name was recorded in the muster roll.

"Apart from Jeevanraksha medal, I had also received a cash award of Rs 13,000," Nemchand said adding that Children Welfare Council of India chairperson Sunita Gadgil and general secretary Geeta Siddharth had promised him Rs 200 per month for continuing studies upto the twelfth standard level. Besides, they had also promised admission in professional course without appearing in competitive examinations, he claimed.

But his dreams appears to be shattered. He now goes to a school, located about 12 Kms away in Bhilai sector three, as the school at village Pahador, where he was studying, has been brought under CBSE syllabus by the State Government.

Nemchand’s father Asharam Nirmalkar and mother Mrs Savana Bai are daily wage earners, who are finding it difficult to meet both ends. It is beyond their capacity to raise money for education of Nemchand and his three sisters Premin, Nemvanti and Sonia.

Yet, Nemchand’s mother Savana Bai sees it in a different perspective. "Its true that bravery prize has not not changed by son’s life. But we have an immense satisfaction that our son had saved a life of a child, who is now seven years old and resides in the same village." (UNI)

Kerala asks Centre to extend visa of Pak citizen

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 10: Kerala Government has asked the Centre to extend the visa period of Pakistani citizens of above 60 years of age and overstaying in the state, by ten years, Chief Minister A K Antony, said today.

Antony told reporters after a cabinet meeting that a decision to this effect was taken at it. This would provide them with enough time to secure Indian citizenship, he said.

It has also been resolved to request the Centre to give three more months time to those below the age of 60 years to complete the formalities for getting Indian citizenship.

Antony said there were about 255 Kerala born Pakistani citizens in the state and among them 12 were below the age of 60 years.

State Government has already requested the Centre to consider the cases of Pakistani citizens overstaying in the state as a special case on humanitarian ground as most of them were old, he said.

State Government has also requested the Centre to speed up the formalities for granting Indian citizenship to these people, he said.

Antony said presently these people had to go to Delhi to complete the formalities and hence the State Government has asked the Centre to depute the concerned officers to hold sittings at Kochi and Kozhikode to help these aged persons. (PTI)

CAG pulls up Navy on INS Udaygiri contract

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: The Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the Navy for awarding contract to refit ins Udaygiri warship to a private firm whose rates were not the lowest.

The CAG also pointed out that documents of the firm supplied for the contract were incomplete.

Informing Rajya Sabha about the same in a written reply, Defence Minister George Fernandes said refit of the warship was partially offloaded to Mumbai firm Homa engineering which included dry docking and other works like replacement of hull and pipes, besides refitting of valves.

The Navy has said it is in the process of serving an action taken note as per laid down procedures, he said.

Replying to another question, Fernandes said no agreement has been signed with Russia for acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier and 25 MIG-29K so far.

The minister said the first of SU-30 MKI aircraft manufactured under license at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would be delivered to IAF in 2004-5.

He informed the House that Government has accorded sanction to licensed manufacture of frontline fighters, its engine and accessories at HAL at a cost of Rs 22,122.78 crores (48,093 million US dollars)

Fernandes said contract for upgradation of deep penetration Jaguar aircraft, specially to improve navigation and weapon aiming capabilities, has been finalised with HAL.

He said HAL, in collaboration with defence avionics research establishment, had also taken up the indigenous development of the long-range fighter inducted into the IAF in later 70’s.

On naval research, the minister informed the House that DRDO successfuly developed an indigenous sonobuoy processing and control system in 1989 and the technology has been transferred to electronics corporation of India for commercial production.

Fernandes rebutted reports that some field firing ranges were being taken away from the Army, specially the one at prestigious Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

He said no ranges have been taken from Army in the last ten years. As far as IMA firing ranges were concerened, the minister said the range at ASAN had been notified till Septmeber 13 next year and on expiry, it would be renewed.

On the Indian Air Force recruitment rally in Srinagar, Fernandes said the response had been encouraging with 379 candidates, who had passed, found to be medically fit. (PTI)

Nonchalance, motto of Dada Saheb Phalke winner Dev’s life

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: "Main Jindagi Ka Saath Nibhaata Chala Gaya. Har Fikra Ko Dhuen Me Udata Chala Gaya".

The above song from Navketan’s 60s classic "Hum Dono" aptly characterises the motto of life of Dev Anand, who has been selected for the Dada Saheb Phalke Award yesterday for his contribution to the Indian cinema.

For the ‘handsome and debonair’ Dev Anand, one of the greatest stars the Hindi film industry has seen, the award may seem to have come quite late in the day. While his contemporaries Raj Kapoor and Ashok Kumar got the award more than a decade and a half ago, in 1988 and 1989, Dilip Kumar with whom Dev formed a trinity along with Ashok Kumar, received it way back in 1995. But Dev Sahib , as he is fondly known in the film industry, is beyond caring for such honours.

For the "zestful" Dev, who has seen numerous ‘ups’ and ‘downs in his almost six decades stint in Bollywood, it is immense thrust for creativity that still keeps him going at the age of 80 ( he turned 80 in September), even as his contemporaries have either died (Rajkapoor, Nargis, Guru Dutt, Madhubala) or gone into semi-retirement(Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman). However, Dev Anand, christened by fans as the "evergreen star", shows no sign of slowing down, an advancing age and the failure of his last few films(Main Solah Baras Ki and Censor) notwithstanding.

Born Dev Dutt Pishori Mal Anand in Gurdaspur, Punjab, the middle son of a well-to-do advocate, Dev graduated in English literature from the Government college, Lahore and left for Bombay to join elder brother Chetan Anand in the Ipta. The initial years were full of struggle as among other things he even had to sell some of his possessions and even worked in the military censor s office reading soldiers letters to their families.

Dev’s first acting assignment came with Prabhat’s Hum Ek Hain (1946) but the film didn t do anything at all for his career. However at Prabhat, he met the young choreographer of the film, Guru Dutt. A friendship blossomed between the two of them. They promised each other that if Guru Dutt were to turn filmmaker he would take Dev as his hero and if Dev were to produce a film then he would take Guru Dutt as its Director. Ziddi (1948) at Bombay talkies was Dev’s first success.

The following year he turned producer and launched his own Banner, Navketan. Navketan’s first offering was Afsar (1950) starring Dev and lady love Suraiya and was directed by elder brother Chetan. The film however flopped at the box office. Dev, remembering his promise to Guru Dutt, invited him to make a film for Navketan.

Thus 1951 saw the release of Baazi, Guru Dutt’s directorial debut. The film, written by actor Balraj Sahni, was a trendsetter of sorts leading to the spate of urban crime thrillers Bollywood churned out in the 1950s. The film took Dev Anand to dramatic star status. It was also the beginning of seeing Dev play mostly hard-bitten characters living in the urban underbelly.

The next pairing of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt was Jaal (1952), but the film didn t do too well at the box-office. The partnership came to an end when Guru Dutt decided to act in his own films. Dev meanwhile went from strength to strength and along with Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor ruled the Hindi film industry in the 1950s -they were known as the Trimurthi of Bollywood. To quote Amit Knanna Dev Anand’s forte was the boy next door. Part lover, part clown, part do-gooder.

However in between his lover boy roles like Munimjee (1955) and paying guest (1957), Dev repeatedly played shaded roles such as the Pickpocket in Pocketmaar (1955), the absconding gang member in Dushman (1957), the black-marketeer in Kala Bazaar (1960) or the murderer in Bombai Ka Babu (1960) though by now his starry mannerisms - his sing-song dialogue delivery, his puff in his hair, his total nonchalance were part of every character he played. Consequently he was never rated too high as a performer but to be fair to him, he did give a fine performance under Raj Khosla as the anguished son trying to prove his father’s innocence in Kala Pani (1958) winning a filmfare award for the same. Hum Dono (1961) saw him excel in a double role and guide (1965) saw a perfectly nuanced performance from him, perhaps the best of his career, fetching him his second filmfare best actor award.

Dev Anand entered the 1970s on a high with Johnny Mera Naam (1970) and also took to direction with Prem Pujari (1970). His best efforts in this field were Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) and Desh Pardes (1978). The former, set amongst Hare Krishna cultists (presented as dope-smoking hippies) was Dev Anand’s call to nationalist Indian values and by far the best film he ever directed. The film launched the career of Zeenat Aman who made a tremendous impact as his sister in the middle of the cultists.

Other heroines he has launched include Tina Munim (now Ambani), Natasha Sinha and Ekta. He also tried to launch his son Suneil with Anand Aur Anand (1984) but was unsuccessful.

An almost six decades stint in Bollywood seems to have withered neither Dev’s zest nor his thirst for creativity.

"In fact, the thrust for creativity only keeps on increasing with every film. So much so, that I feel till now, I have only scratched the tip of the ocean of creativity and that there is still a long way to go, Dev Anand, displaying that strikingly familiar romantic charm and nonchalance that have made him a darling of many generation of film viwers, told UNI recently.

Revealing the secret of his continuing zest, Dev, who is currently busy in giving finishing touches to the script of his latest venture, "song of life", a story trade sources say is based on life of Pandit Ravi Shankar and his daughter from his American companion Su, says, by the time, I have completed one film, the idea for the next one is already crystal clear in my mind. So, immediately after completing one film, I start working on a completely fresh idea or subject. Where then is the question of boredom?

Also, when I start work on my film, I start with a positive attitude, a spirit of taking the whole world along with me. Once I begin my work, I let nothing else occupy my mind.

Talking about his journey, Dev said, for me nothing has changed from the time I landed 60 years ago in Bombay to make it as an actor. I am the same person today as I was then. I like making movies and will continue to do so till I can.’’ handsome and debonair, he was the epitome of the Suave, urban gentleman.

The Dada Saheb Phalke award for Dev comes two years after he was, on January 26, 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Indian cinema. However, Dev feels that his greatest achievement in life has been the trmendous love and affection bestowed on him by people in India as well as abroad.

"That, for me, is greater than any award,"he says. (UNI)

475 custodial deaths during last three years

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: There were 475 custodial deaths during the last three years (between 2000-2003) in the police station in the country, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Stating this in a written reply, Minister of State for Home and I D Swami said while 183 custodial deaths were reported in 2002-2003, as many as 127 and 165 deaths took place during 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, respectively.

Adultery: He said that Malimath Committee on reforms of criminal justice system in its report has recommended to make section 497 of the IPC, 1860 which is regarding offence of adultery, as gender neutral.

The State Governments and Union Territory Administrations have been requested for their views on the recommendations contained in the above mentioned report as the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure are on the Concurrent List of the seventh schedule to the Constitution, he said.

Witness: To prevent the evil of witness turning hostile, a bill namely, the Criminal Law (amendment) bill, 2003 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 22, 2003, which proposed to amend sections 161, 162 and 344 and to insert new sections 164A and 344A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, he said.

Kumbh: Swami informed the House that 29 persons were killed and 118 injured during Kumbh Mahotsav at Nasik during August-September this year.

Naxalites: on the request of Ministry of Home Affairs, Planning Commission has included all the 55 Naxalite-affected districts under the Backward Districts Initiative (BDI) which provides for an additional Rs 15 crore per district per year for a period of three years to enable filling up of critical gaps in their physical and social infrastructure, he said.

MDF: Swami said the Government was aware of the activities of agents provocateurs using the banner of Muslim Defence Force and some of these elements have been noticed to be involved in terrorists activities in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The Central and State Security and Intelligence Agencies have been taking all possible measures to curb the activities of disruptionist elements, he said.

Force: Minister of State for Home Affairs Swami Chinmayanand said that four battalions of Central Para Military Forces have been earmarked for responding to terrorists attacks involving use of radioactive material and biological/chemical agents.

The nodal training institutions have been identified and Qualitative Requirements (QRs), training faculty and the syllabus have been finalised, and the training of trainers would commence from January, 2004, he said. (PTI)

Congress crisis in Kerala hits Govt functioning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 10: Development issues in Kerala have taken the backstage in Kerala due to the ongoing high-pitch political drama within the ruling Congress.

It seems top officials are enjoying an unofficial vacation as their political bosses are busy fighting with each other.

Several development projects are facing an uncertain future, while important files are piling up in the state secretariat.

"Everybody wants to wait till the problems within the ruling party are over," said a senior official, referring to the three-month-old crisis arising out of the demand by veteran leader K Karunakaran for a leadership change.

Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony, who advised his ministers to spend at least four days a week in the State Secretariat, himself finding it difficult to act as a model for others.

He would be once again rushing back to Delhi, after a gap of couple of days, to participate in another round of discussions to sort out the problems.

So is the case with his ministers belonging to rival factions and also the coalition partners. The Congress ministers are in and out of Delhi to present their views before the Congress high command. Last week itself, four cabinet members — Information Minister M M Hassan, Tourism Minister K V Thomas, Health Minister P Sankaran and Electricity Minister Kadavoor Sivadasan — were in Delhi in connection with the bitter group politics.

Coalition partners, which together sent a representative to Delhi earlier, are now thinking in terms of sending their own ministers. Leaders of some udf constituents had openly stated that though it was an internal matter of the Congress, they would like to give their version to the high command.

Adding to the confusion is the reports of a cabinet reshuffle as a solution to the present crisis. Mr Kadavoor Sivadasan and Mr Sankaran are reportedly facing the axe due to their open involvement in the Karunakaran-led rebellion in the party. Similarly, a few more ministers are expecting a change in their portfolios if the high command decided to pick up a new KPCC president from the Cabinet.

According to indications, the party high command, which is now busy with the Ajit Jogi episode and election debacle in Hindi heartland, is unlikely to settle the crisis soon.

As a result, total confusion prevailed in the administration, though the ministers are claiming that everything is going smooth. At a recent meeting of the officials, the Chief Minister himself had admitted that recurring problems were slowing down the Government’s work.

The focal point of the opposition campaign in the recent Thiruvalla assembly byelection was the administrative paralysis due to the infighting within the Congress. "There is a total administrative crisis now," said leader of the opposition V S Achuthanandan.

The two-and-a-half-year-old United Democratic Front Government, which came to power with a huge majority of 100 seats in the 140-member House, has already lost a considerable time due to the infighting within the Congress. Political uncertainty had also spoiled the investment climate in the state as the follow-up action of several projects that came up during the global investor meet could not be undertaken.

Earlier, on a similar occasion after resolving the crisis arising out of the selection of Rajya Sabha candidate, the Chief Minister stated "we lost a few months due to the crisis. Everybody has to work overtime to make it."

Now, the question before everybody is how long the UDF ministry will have to work overtime to make up for the lost time. (UNI)

SC adjourns hearing in Salman case as vital papers not filed

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Hearing on the appeal filed by Maharashtra challenging quashing of culpable homicide charges against actor Salman Khan in rash and negligent driving case was adjourned today by the Supreme Court as the state had not filed certain vital trial case documents.

Posting the matter for hearing on December 16, a bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice B P Singh asked state counsel Mukesh Giri to file document containing the charges, which was read out by the trial Court to the actor before framing of charges against him.

It was alleged by state through senior advocate Ashwini Kumar that the actor, despite being warned repeatedly by the security guard, drove his land cruiser car in a drunken state ultimately losing control and rammed it into a bakery killing one and injuring four others on September 27 last year.

He said that there was no justification for the High Court to quash charges of culpable homicide as the actor knew well that speed at which he was driving and that too in a drunken state could cause deaths in case of an accident.

However, he surprised almost everybody in the Court room by arguing that the High Court committed a gross error by quashing the charge before it was framed by the trial Court.

Kumar went on to cite a case law in this regard but faced embarassment when Khan’s counsel, senior advocate Harish Salve, pointed out that the charge was framed in May this year. (PTI)

Security personnel inadequate: Advani

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Admitting that the number of security personnel in the country was "inadequate", Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today assured Rajya Sabha that efforts were being made towards "optimum utilisation" of the available strength of security forces.

"Security forces have to be deployed for law and order, for elections. The number is inadequate. But whatever forces are available, efforts are made towards their optimum utilisation," he said responding to supplementaries during question hour.

Advani said realising the fact that states’ resources were not enough to modernise the police, the Centre gave assistance to the states to deal with problems like insurgency which became a major problem only recently.

He said while Rs 526 crore central assistance was given from 1970 to 1999, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had assured the Chief Ministers’ conference here in 2000 that since the assistance was inadequate, the Centre would give Rs 1000 crore every year to the states for modernisation of police.

A coordination committee was formed for this purpose and the Planning Commission was persuaded for assistance, he said. (PTI)

Gangaikonda Cholapuram to be beautified

PERAMBALUR, (TN), Dec 10: The Chola period architectural masterpiece of Gangaikonda Cholapuram in this district is all set to get a facelift, with the district administration proposing to improve the facilities in the 1012-year-old shrine.

Official sources here said the district administration had planned to provide basic amenities and a parking lot in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, a replica of the famed Brahadeeswara temple (big temple) in southern Thanjavur, to attract more pilgrims and tourists. Besides, the ‘Thirukulam’ (temple pond) would also be deepened and cleaned, they added.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which had been controlling the temple for the past 80 years, had given its nod for carrying out the activities, the sources said.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram, along with the 900-year-old Dharasuram in Thanjavur district, was in the limelight when an International Council of Monuments and Sites Evaluation (ICOMOS) official made an on-the-spot assessment of the two Chola period structures on Sunday last for according world heritage monument status to them, as sought by the ASI.

Almost an year after the ASI had sent a proposal to the UNESCO, seeking declaration of the two Chola shrines as world heritage monuments, ICOMOS had deputed its Bangladesh National Committee president Prof Enamul Haque to assess them.

Accompanied by top ASI officials, Prof Haque, a specialist in Hindu iconography and Temple architecture, evaluated the historic Temples.

History has it that King Rajendra Chola-I conceived and built Gangaikonda Cholapuram after his victory over the kingdoms, bordering river Ganga.

The main shrine of the Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is flanked by two subsidiary shrines to its north and south called ‘Vada Kailasam’ and ‘Then Kailasam.’ apart from the huge Nandi, the Temple houses some breathtaking sculptures like a dancing Ganesha, a lion-headed well and a stunning frieze depicting King Rajendra being crowned by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

The unique feature of the masterpiece, which has a 200-Ft Dravidian ‘Vimana’ (superstructure over the sanctum sanctorum), is a set of 50 sculptures found on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum.

When the ASI took over Gangaikonda Cholapuram eight decades ago, it was in shambles, with the entrance wall and facade pulled down. From scratch, the ASI had repacked the wall, stone by stone, and conserved the structure.

Though allowed to send only one proposal a year, India had pushed the cases of Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Dharasuram as "extension" proposals to go with the big temple by despatching detailed documents highlighting the Temples.

UNESCO had given its informal nod for declaring the two shrines as extended world heritages and it was only a question of completing formalities to allow them to go global.

When UNESCO approves the proposal, the two shrines would join the exclusive club of 17 world heritage structures in the country.

Tamil Nadu already had two world heritage monuments — the rock temple at Mamallapuram, once a flourishing port of the Pallavas of ancient India, and the Brahadeeswara temple in Thanjavur. (UNI)

Shinde denies discussing Vidarbha issue with Sonia

NAGPUR, Dec 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here today that he had not discussed the issue of separate statehood for the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on his visit to New Delhi last Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, the Chief Minister said he had called on Ms Gandhi and wished her on her 57th birthday. He, however, did not discuss the issue of a Vidarbha state with her, he informed.

Mr Shinde said he had later met chairman of the Committee for Smaller States Pranav Mukherjee and discussed the Vidarbha issue with him but Mr Mukherjee had responded by saying that he was not in favour of a separate Vidarbha, at present.

Prior to leaving for New Delhi, Mr Shinde had told senior Congress leader from Vidarbha Vasant Sathe that he would request Ms Gandhi to issue a whip to Congress state legislators to vote in favour of a resolution for a separate state of Vidarbha to be moved in the state legislature in the on-going winter session here.

He had also asked Mr Sathe to postpone his decision to go on a hunger strike on the issue.

But Mr Shinde failure to take up the issue with Mrs Gandhi and reservation expressed by some Congressmen on the carving out of a separate Vidarbha state, is being seen in political circles here as a set-back to the movement.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Ranjeet Deshmukh and other seniors Congress leaders from the region including Nagpur district guardian Satish Chaturvedi.

Mr Shinde called a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting and apprised them of the meetings with Mrs Gandhi and Mr Mukherjee.

Though some of the Congress members supported the resolution to be moved in the state legislature, a majority of the Congress were not in favour of it, the Chief Minister said.

Secondly, Mr Shinde said, the party high command would not issue a whip to the Congress legislators to vote in favour of the resolution.

Mr Shinde said he had suggested other options including a resolution to be moved by an independent MLA. But without the whip, the support of the Congress legislators throughout the state could not be taken for granted, he said.

The Chief Minister said other parties including the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the BJP and all factions of the RPI had expressed their support to the resolution. Only the Shiv Sena was opposing the move. In such circumstances, any other party could take the initiative to move the resolution and this was also an option, he added.(UNI)

Sheila, the empress of Delhi politics

NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who halted the imperious march of saffron juggernaut in Delhi leading her party to a spectacular victory in the Assembly elections, has left nobody in doubt that she is the empress of Delhi politics and a darling of the masses.

Pitted against Mr Madan Lal Khurana, the ageing patriarch of Delhi BJP who had boasted of hammering the Congress bastion in the December 1 election, the diminutive but livewire Ms Dikshit has added several notches to her political stature in the aftermath of the resounding victory.

Hiding her steely determination under a genteel demeanour, she has not only marginalised the dissidents and detractors in her party, but also firmly entrenched her position in the city s politics.

The icing on the cake comes from the fact that she has been able to discard the tag of an ‘outsider’ in her Gole Market constituency, underscored by her vastly improved winning margin.

In the 1998 election, she triumphed over her nearest BJP rival Kirti Azad, the cricketer-turned-politician, by over 5,000 votes. This time round, she defeated his wife Poonam Azad by a margin of nearly 13,000 votes.

Whether it was the huge outbursts of dissidence in the party against her style of governance or the ganging up of the city’s top leaders against her, she has shown enough political adroitness to change adversity into political benefit.

Ms Dikshit, who was one time MP from Kannauj, enjoys a clean reputation, an urbane and dignified image and the record of "good governance" that makes her stand head and shoulders over the other contenders to the throne.

With her grey hair swept back in a tight bun, she carries the by-now-familiar big handbag and sports a grey shawl to present a conscious image of a lady with middle class moorings and appearance.

"I want to transform Delhi into a modern city, clean and neat. We have been able to deliver. Though there are some shortcomings at the micro level, there are many improvements at the macro level. Delhi will soon have 52 flyovers. The metro has arrived and by the end of 2005, ther will be 62 km of metro rail. The work being done in the transport sector has been appreciated in the India Infrastructure Report, 2003."

Ms Dikshit, who first assumed the office of the Chief Minister on December 3, 1998, is the second woman to adorn the high office after Sushma Swaraj, now Union Health Minister.

Born on March 31, 1938 at Kapurthala in Punjab, she is the eldest of three sisters. A post-graduate in History, she did her schooling at Jesus and Mary, Delhi and graduated from Miranda House, Delhi University.

Married into the family of late freedom fighter and Union Minister Uma Shankar Dikshit, her husband the late Vinod Dikshit was an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. She is mother of a son and a daughter.

Ms Dikshit brings to the administration vast experience in administrative and parliamentary matters. She was a member of the 8th Lok Sabha and represented Kannuaj Parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh during 1984-89.

As an MP, she served on the Estimates Committee of the Lok Sabha and later became a Minister in the Union Cabinet during 1986-89, first as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and later had additional charge as Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office.

She also chaired the implementation committee for commemoration of 40 years of India’s Independence and Jawaharlal Nehru centenary.

In May 1998, Ms Dikshit was appointed president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), and she led her party to a sweeping victory in the Delhi Assembly elections the same year.

During her first stint as Chief Minister, she initiated a number of steps to realise her dream and ambition of turning Delhi into a world class capital city. People’s partnership in governance as symbolised in her Bhagidari system and giving momentum to developmental works were two major planks of her dispensation.

As part of the bhagidari system, she set up District Development Committees with people’s representatives and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) for making her Government responsive and transparent. This partnership was encouraged to make Delhi a cleaner and greener city through the introduction of the CNG-powered transport fleet and metro rail. The credit for the metro rail, though, has generated a rancorous debate between the Congress and the BJP.

Amongst her priorities is to make Delhi a first rate ‘cyber city’ and bring in e-governance for a transparent, corruption-free and responsive Government.

A tireless campaigner for women’s cause at various fora, she has been a leading figure in the movement for granting of equal rights to women. She represented India on UN Commission on Status of Women (1984-89). In Uttar Pradesh, she, along with her 82 colleagues, was jailed in August 1990 by the state Government when she led a people’s movement against some incidents of atrocity on women.

In the early 70s, she as chairperson of the Young Women’s Association was instrumental in the setting up of two women’s hostels in Delhi.

Ms Dikshit is the Secretary of the India Gandhi Memorial Trust, which has come to play a leading role in promotion of international understanding. It presents the India Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development and organises conferences on issues of global concern.

She has been especially interested in the promotion of handicrafts and of rural artisans all over the country. Promotion of folk theatre has been one of her abiding commitments over the years. Between 1978 and 1983, she was executive secretary of the Garment Exporters Association.(UNI)