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NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Lok Sabha was today plunged into turmoil with agitated opposition members storming the well of the House demanding .....more ‘Success
of CAS in south Delhi will determine its NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Government today made it mandatory for cable operators to offer consumers an option ....more Post-Godhra
riots AHMEDABAD, Dec 23: Gujarat’s political and social environment continued to be clouded by the post-Godhra ......more JPC did not find Sinha guilty in stock scam: Minister NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Government today gave a clean chit to former Finance Minister......more |
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Prohibitory order clamped in maharashtra town in view of VHP meet MUMBAI, Dec 23: With a determined VHP set to hold a ‘conversion sammelan’ tomorrow in Navapur town...more Raj
for sanyasin, sanyas BHOPAL, Dec 23: It was "Raj" for a sanyasin and "sanyas" for a Raja in Madhya Pradesh as Sadhvi Uma Bharti stormed ......more Peace
process marks KOHIMA, Dec 23: The year 2003 witnessed a new dawn of peace in the insurgency- .....more Chhattisgarh Govt to act tough against Naxalites, says Governor RAIPUR, Dec 23: Chhattisgarh Government will take stern action against Naxalite ......more |
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NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Lok Sabha was today plunged into turmoil with agitated opposition members storming the well of the House demanding withdrawal of UGC circular "detroying the minority character" of Aligarh Muslim University by directing it to hold common entrance tests for professional courses alongwith other universities. Amid pandemonium, Speaker Manohar Joshi adjourned the House for 15 minutes. A similar scene prevailed for sometime after the House reassembled. Members from Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, RJD and Left parties were up in arms after Minister of State for HRD Vallabhai Katheria made a statement giving details of the circular issued by University Grants Commission and trooped into the well. The members wanted immediate withdrawal of the circular which they alleged would destroy the minority character and the autonomy of Aligarh Muslim University. Samajwadi Party member Akhilesh Singh squatted in the well for 10 minutes. He was, however, persuaded by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Bhavanaben Chikalia and RJD leader Raghuvansh Pratap Singh to go back to his seat. Pulling up Singh, the Speaker said "if you are unhappy with Government’s reply, you can walk out. It is not proper to halt the proceedings in this manner. You are lowering the dignity of the House." Congress chief whip Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the academic council of Amu was supreme and its Vice Chancellor had written to the Government seeking immediate withdrawal of the UGC circular. Katheria’s assurance that Government would discuss the matter with the Vice-Chancellor had no no pacifying effect on the members who continued their tirade against the ruling NDA. The Speaker repeatedly said that he could do little in the matter and they should allow normal proceedings in view of the minister’s assurance. Responding to the issue raised last week, Katheria, in a statement, said that the UGC on November 7 wrote to all universities, including Amu, a fully Government Funded Central University, not to issue advertisements for admission nor to conduct any entrance tests for admission to various profesional courses till such time the UGC formulated its interim policy regulations for 2004-05 for admission. Pointing out that the UGC issued interim regulations on December 17 last for admission to specified professional programmes, the minister said in accordance with the regulations, all admissions on all India basis for 2004-05 shall be made on merit determined through common entrance examination. Taking exception to the details of the circular given by Minister of state for Human Resource Development Vallabhai Katheria, opposition members said that the character of Amu which was governed by a separate act of Parliament would be diluted by the UGC move. With opposition members storming the well, Speaker Manohar Joshi adjourned the House for 15 minutes. (PTI) |
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‘Success of CAS in south Delhi will determine its rollout further’ NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Government today made it mandatory for cable operators to offer consumers an option of taking set top boxes on rent while asserting that the success of conditional access system in south Delhi will determine whether it gets implemented in the rest of the city. In a notification, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said "every consumer must be given a choice of either purchasing a set top box outright or acquiring it through rental scheme which will entitle him to a refund should he not wish to use the STB for any reason". Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and I&B Minister Ravi Shanker Prasad, who met today, also decided to set up a dedicated consumer Court to settle cable-related disputes and appoint Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) as nodal regulators for CAS implementation. "Yes, some implementation hiccups have occured (on CAS in south Delhi) but we want the system to be consumer-friendly. Implementation of CAS in the rest of Delhi will depend upon its success in south Delhi," Prasad told reporters here. "We would expect all stakeholders to settle any corporate rivalry....Failure to address these issues adequately would certainly jeopardise the implementation of CAS in other areas," he added. Asked if Government was considering CAS rollback, both Prasad and Dikshit replied in the negative. The Delhi CM said her Government will issue another advertisement explaning all issues related to CAS while asking cable opertors to take the lead in explaining CAS to consumers. Besides setting up a consumer Court to deal with cable issues, the Government has also empowered SDMs to act as nodal regulator for implementing CAS. Also, it has asked the Delhi Government’s Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra to call a meeting of all Deputy Commissioners and explain Government’s position on CAS. Prasad said it was agreed at the meeting today that cable operators should not force consumers to buy STBs. As per the notification, cable operators and MSOs must ensure that a consumer is given a refund on STBs, whatever reason he may have for seeking such a refund. "MSOs and cable operators must keep in mind that consumer friendly measures such as easily affordable rental schemes and quick refunds are essential to the smooth implementation of CAS. Failure to address these issue adequately would certainly jeopardise the implementation of CAS in other areas". Meanwhile, leading MSOs including Hathway and SITI, are scheduled to meet senior I&B Ministry officials later in the day on CAS. MSOs and cable operators have given January 1 deadline for unleashing a complete blackout of pay channels unless routed through an STB. (PTI) |
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Post-Godhra riots cloud Gujarat in 2003 AHMEDABAD, Dec 23: Gujarat’s political and social environment continued to be clouded by the post-Godhra communal riots in 2003, despite efforts by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government to shake off the ghost. Throughout 2002, Gujarat had hit the headlines due to the riots which continued for about four months, triggered by the February 27 train carnage at Godhra. The riots had claimed nearly 1,000 lives and caused losses to the tune of crores of rupees. It was in the backdrop of this grim scenario that the state went to assembly elections in December last year. The new year began with old wounds reopening time and again as riot victims continued to relate their tales of woe to the Nanavati-Shah commission, constituted by the State Government to inquire into the train carnage and the subsequent riots. In some cases, eye-witnesses to the ghastly crime turned hostile, leading to collapse of the cases in the Court. Two such examples are — burning of a sales tax official in Ahmedabad and the Lal Akhara case of Vadodara. On May 26, however, a fast track Court in Vadodara acquitted all the 21 accused for want of adequate evidence in the Best Bakery case in which 14 people belonging to the minority community were allegedly burnt alive by a violent mob on March 1 last year. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and eye-witness Zahira Sheikh, whose father owned the Bakery, moved the Supreme Court against this acquittal. The Apex Court then directed the Gujarat Government to go in for fresh appeal in the High Court challenging the acquittal. The Supreme Court put the Gujarat Government on notice in the Best Bakery case and the state’s Chief Secretary, the Director-General of Police had to appear before it to explain the Government’s stand on various issues, particularly on providing safety to the riot victims and eye-witnesses. BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastava was charged with ensuring that the eye-witnesses in the Best Bakery case turned hostile. Meanwhile, Zahira Sheikh emerged as the symbol of riot victims amongst women even as her counterpart among men, Qutubuddin Ansari of Ahmedabad, a tailor by profession, left for Kolkata to settle there. Ansari had become the face of Gujarat riots when his photo, begging for life with folded hands and tears, appeared in the media. Amidst the ongoing inquiries into the nearly 3,000 police cases related to last year’s riots across half-a-dozen districts of Gujarat, terrorists remained active in the already surcharged atmosphere. If they had targetted the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar in September 2002, they found a soft target in senior BJP leader and former Home Minister Haren Pandya who was gunned down in Ahmedabad in March this year, indicating the fragile nature of peace. Several accused, both local and from outside, were held under POTA in the Akshardham and Pandya murder cases and alleged "sleeping cells" of terror networks continued to be busted by the police, leading to arrest of several people whose families staged demonstrations charging the police with harassing "innocents". With a view to bring the state back to its harmonious past, the Modi Government availed the opportunity afforded by this year’s Navaratri and Diwali festivals to let the people concentrate on cultural and economic issues. The nine-day Navaratri festival was organised all over the State by the Government in collaboration with the Reliance group followed by a‘Vibrant Gujarat 2003’ extravaganza, both aimed at attracting tourists and investment. While Navaratri helped bring back some normalcy, the Vibrant Gujarat Event, according to the Government, concluded with MoUs being signed by the State with Foreign and NRI investors who agreed to invest to the tune of Rs 66,000 crore. However, the dream of making Navaratri an event to attract cultural tourists remained unfulfilled as few turned up on the Gujarat shores. The Modi Government is now embarking on yet another yatra, ‘Siddhi Yatra’ this month, to highlight achievements of the Government during the last one year. While the BJP and its Government remained busy for half-the-year in fighting last year’s communal fires, the main opposition Congress party, still smarting under the humiliating defeat in the assembly polls of December 2002, remained in Limbo. Its top leaders, Gujarat Congress president Shankarsinh Vaghela and leader of the opposition Amarsinh Choudhary, made it to headlines time and again for their spats. Mr Vaghela, who had "offered" to resign from his post in December last year taking responsibility for the poll rout, waited for a whole year to do so. Finally, while still in the post, he floated a ‘Shakti Dal’, also known as the lathi-weilding ‘Danda Sena’ of about 500 "volunteers" which he claimed would fight the Vishra Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal workers. Mr Choudhary denounced the move to create a parallel body to the party’s official front, Sewa Dal, and the two leaders clashed in a PCC meeting over the issue. But a determined Mr Vaghela went ahead, claiming he had taken permission to float the outfit from "whosoever matters in the Congress high command." The ruling BJP, on the other hand, groped in the dark to find its new state unit president in place of the incumbent, Rajendrasinh Rana, who had completed two terms of two years each. However, Mr Modi tried to spread his wings far and wide in his quest to emerge on the national scene. Although his ‘Moditva Magic’ had failed to reinstall the BJP in Himachal Pradesh earlier this year, his 70-odd election meetings in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections recently brought him into the limelight again in party circles, despite the BJP going to town with its stress on development issues rather than Hindutva. (UNI) |
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Peace process marks Naga politics in 2003 KOHIMA, Dec 23: The year 2003 witnessed a new dawn of peace in the insurgency-ridden Nagaland with a series of political dialogues between the Centre and the NSCN (IM) as the yearning for peace grew stronger and the reconciliation process initiated by the State Government and mass-based civil societies, gained momentum during the year gone by. The year was also marked by political upheavals with establishment of a new Government, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), a conglomeration of various regional and national political parties, by dethroning the ten-year-old Congress regime from the state politics. Despite the State Government’s claim of improvement in the law and order situation in the state during the year, factional clashes coupled with killings continued unabated. Altogether, 123 people were killed during the year in insurgency related violence. The year also witnessed a series of defection in various political parties besides public uprising in Mokokchung against the NSCN (Khaplang), which forced the latter to vacate the town known as its strong bastion. Around 28 NSCN(K) cadres from Mokokchung, literally known as the ao region joined the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) forcing a setback for the group during the year. The year 2003 was also fortunate for the state following announcement of a special economic package by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his maiden trip to the state in the month of October. The most significant development for the state during the year was the visit of top NSCN (IM) leaders to New Delhi in January to boost the peace process towards finding an amicable solution to the over five-decade-old Naga political problem. Giving a fillip to the process, subsequent peace parleys were held abroad and the ceasefire with the two groups of the NSCN was extended for another year. During the year the people of the state voted the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) to power in the February assembly elections defeating the ten-year old Congress regime and the state saw the emergence of the saffron brigade as a coalition partner in a Christian dominated state. The Congress which won 21 seats out of 60 in the elections suffered another setback, as seven of its members joined the Nagaland Peoples Front (NPF), the largest constituents of the DAN coalition. The Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM), the JDU also faced defection problem after the swearing-in ceremony of the new Government in March. The Centre, after installation of the new Government offered a grant of Rs 365 crore to the state to bail it out of the growing deficit and annual plan allocation for Nagaland posted a quantum jump during the current fiscal. The state also received the highest ever economic package of Rs 1050 crore from the Centre fro socio-economic development. The new Government further consolidated the process of decentralisation of public institutions and services, intiated by the previous Congress regime, by introducing the process of communitisation. In retrospection, the year 2003 was one of the worst year for the NSCN (K) group as they bore the burnt of public outcry against them, forcing them to leave the town, in August. Like the previous year, various Naga NGOs and Church organisations played active role in furthering the cause of peace and reconciliation among the warring factions of the underground outfits during the year. Leading to many insurgents laying their arms. While NSCN (IM) reportedly stuck to its demand for integration of contiguous Naga inhabited areas, various political parties and NGOs intensified the campaign in support of integration of all Naga inhabited areas under a single administrative unit in a bid to resolve the Naga problem. However both the, Naga National Council (NNC), which authored the Naga political struggle for a separate Naga homeland in the late 40s, and opposition Congress, insisted that Naga integration was not the main issue of the political movement. Rather, the negotiating parties should talk-on "sovereignty" for finding a permanent solution to the protracted Naga issue. In the development sector, the state also witnessed a few strides during the year, including completion of a few Government buildings, and roads. On the cultural front, celebration of a few mega festivals and tourism extravaganzas kept the spirit high. (UNI) |
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Chhattisgarh Govt to act tough against Naxalites, says Governor RAIPUR, Dec 23: Chhattisgarh Government will take stern action against Naxalite outfits if the extremists did not cease violent activities, State Governor Lt Gen (rtd) Krishna Mohan Seth said today. The new Government will take all possible steps to solve the Naxalite problem. We will not hesitate to act tough if they continued violence, he said in his address to the newly elected 90 member assembly. My Government is keen to bring the misguided tribal youth and others to the mainstream , he said adding that steps would also be taken to find a solution to the socio-economic problems being faced in the Naxalite areas besides launching development initiatives in the tribal areas. In Chhattisgarh, Naxalites belonging to the Peoples’ War (PW) are active in Bastar region, bordering Andhra Pradesh, while Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) cadres have influence in several districts of Sarguja region neighbouring Jharkhand. Throwing light on the priorities of the BJP Government, which came into power in the December 1 assembly elections, the Governor said police administration would be kept free from any political interference and law and order would be maintained at any cost. Referring to the increase in crimes against women, the Governor said the State Government would set up district level committees of women, headed by the Superintendent of Police. These committees would review the complaints and give necessary guidelines to deal with such cases. Stating that the State Women’s Commission would be further strengthened, Mr Seth said women would be given priority in employment in the Government and other sectors. Mahila markets would be established in all the 16 districts. Making the new BJP Government’s stand clear on the issue of religious conversions, the Governor said the anti-conversion law would be made more stringent so as to take action against those who try to lure the poor and weaker sections to embrace other faiths. "Simultaneously, we will also take necessary steps for the socio-economic upliftment of these sections of society so that they did not not fell prey to such designs", he added. Reiterating the State Government’s commitment to make safe drinking water available and increase irrigation facilities, the Governor said a time bound programme would be chalked out soon to achieve this goal. Mr Seth said the Government would write off the old dues of irrigation cess on farmers and also take initiative to lower irrigation cess in a time bound manner. A state seed corporation would be established to make quality seeds available to the farmers, the Governor said adding that a ‘Farmers Welfare Samiti’ and an emergency fund would be set up for the welfare and benefit of the farmers. Referring to the recent decision to impose a total ban on cow slaughter, Mr Seth said all steps would be taken to ensure its strict implementation. He said a detailed plan would be chalked out to promote animal husbandry as it could generate income. Pointing out that the Government had already announced to provide an allowance of Rs 500 per month to the unemployed youth, who have passed the twelfth standard examination, the Governor said steps would also be taken to generate employment opportunities. Stating that the new Government wanted to promote girls education, Mr Seth said the State Government would launch soon a scheme to supply bicycles free of cost to girl students studying at the high school level in the tribal areas. Referring to the mushrooming number of private universities in Chhattisgarh, the Governor said his Government was keen to promote private educational institutions but would not not allow commercialisation of education under its grab. "The Government will work out an action plan to promote tourism and to develop tourism infrastructure in the state", Mr Seth said adding efforts that would be make affordable accommodation available in tourist places. Mr Seth said the Government would protect the interests of its employees and would be ‘sensitive’ to their genuine rights." the State Government has already set in motion a process for the rationalisation of professional tax", he added. (UNI) Curriculum for Environment courses to be ready by April next KANCHEEPURAM, Dec 23 : Curriculum for environmental courses for classes one to 12 would be ready by April 14 next, NCERT Director J S Rajput said today. Rajput, who was here in connection with a two-day seminar on educational perspectives, told reporters that the Supreme Court’s comments on environment cources had vindicated NCERT stand. "The invitation we have received from the Supreme Court to prepare environmental curriculam for the entire country only proves the credibility of NCERT’s established capabilities," he said. There were apprehensions about the value based syllabus recommended by the NCERT and this was challenged, but the apex court judgement of September 2002 had said that such a curriculam should have been thought off much earlier. Values like ethics, right conduct and non-violence were common for all religions and could not be construed as imposition of any religion on the classrooms, he said. He said the demand for NCERT books had gone up three fold from two crores to six crore units. Rajput said the perspective of history itself had undergone a sea change during the last three decades and therefore curricula had to keep pace with such developments. Rajput said the primary level syllabus in the country should be simplified and enriched with art and aesthetics as contents. While there had to be uniformity in syllabus, it must give special emphasis to the regional variations to suit different areas, he said. Himachal Pradesh Governor Vishnu Sadasiv Kokje, who was the chief guest, said the cause for tensions and rise in occurences of suicide among students was because the education system remained divorced from the traditional values. The education system favoured only the intellectually well endowed students, and totally abandoned the students who really required care and attention, he said. On the occasion, several educationists were by Kanchi Mutt head Jayendra Saraswati and junior Acharya Vijayendra Saraswati. (PTI) Conviction in Staines murder case dominates Orissa during the year BHUBANESWAR, Dec 23: The trial of the Graham Staines murder case and the award of death sentence to prime accused Dara Singh and life imprisonmnet to 12 others dominated the events in Orissa in 2003. The coastal state, vulnerable to natural calamities, witnessed floods of high intensity during the year, causing havoc and forcing the Government to seek the services of the defence forces for relief and rescue operations. The Judev video tape expose led to a stalemate consecutively for three days in the winter session in the State Assembly with the opposition demanding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik be brought under the perview of the CBI inquiry anounced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On the political front, BJP MLA Balgopl Mishra’s Koshal Rath Yatra for the creation of a separate Koshal state, discontentment in the main opposition Congress over the leadership of Sharat Pattnaik and the Municipal Elections hogged the spotlight during the year. The state also witnessed a unique celestial event when meteorites fell in various parts of coastal and northern Orissa on the night of September 27, causing panic among lakhs of people who viewed the incident as a bad omen for the state. Dara Singh, the prime accused in the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, remained the focus point as the trial of the five year old case came to an end with the pronouncement of the judgement on September 22 last by trial Judge Mahendra Nath Pattnaik. The trial, which took nearly 29 months to complete, finally sentenced Dara Singh to the gallows while 12 other accused were given life imprisonment. Staines and his sons Phillip and Timothy -were burnt to death while they were asleep in their vehicle on the night of January 22, 1999 in Manoharour village in Orissa’s tribal dominated Keonjhar district. Only one of the 14 accused in the case was acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence. Four of the convicts, including Dara Singh, later moved the Orissa High Court challenging the sentence awarded by the trial Court in the case. Heavy rains on the catchment areas of Mahanadi river for a fortnight triggered severe floods in the delta regions, affecting more than three million people in several coastal districts. The floods wreaked havoc in three phases between August and October in coastal, western and southern Orissa and the State Government sought the help of the Army to undertake relief and rescue operations. A Central team visited the flood-hit areas at the request of the State Government to assess the damages. The State Government sought an assistance of Rs 1793.05 crores for relief and rehabilitation for the first two phases of flood and Rs 348.78 crores for the third phase. The Government also asked the Centre for release of 12 lakh tonnes of food grains to undertake the relief operation in the flood devastated areas. The floods claimed 94 lives, 62 of them reported during the second phase alone. The year also saw a bitter conflict between the legislature and executive when the Orissa assembly passed a unanimous resolution recommending the Government suspend senior IAS officer Hrushikesh Panda for allegedly misbehaving with a minister and an independent MLA. The IAS officer defied the order of the House Committee to appear before it in this regard. The matter was then referred to the privilege committee of the House which subsequently found him guilty of Contempt of House and breach of privilage. The bureaucrat was suspended by the Government in view of the Speaker’s direction which was upheld by the Central Adminstratrive Tribunal but subsequently Mr Panda got a stay on the Government order from the High Court. The privilege committee which submitted its report to the House recommended that Mr Panda be admonished for showing disregard to the House by refusing to appear before the Committee. The process of disinvestment of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) suffered a major setback as the agitated employees resorted to violent agiation and prevented the entry of officials to inspect the NALCO plants at Angul and Damonjodi prior to the finalisation of the sale of the largest aluminium plant in the country. The Centre finally decided not to go ahead with the disinvestment of NALCO at present in view of stiff resistance from the various trade unions and employees of the NALCO. On the crime front, the state witnessed Naxalite violence in the southern parts of Orissa which continued to be a cause of concern. During the year, eleven security personnel, two extremists and four civilians lost their lives. However, a spontaneous and popular anti left wing extremism awakening surfaced in many parts of Gajapati and Rayagada districts where the tribals took up arms against the ultras. The State Government also intensified its combing operation to flush out the Naxalites from the area.The police action resulted in the arrest of as many as 267 extremists while 88 Naxalites surrendered before the police. In one of the worst ever accidents, a bus carrying mostly businessman of Baripada town in Mayurbhanj district caught fire after an accident near Pamiara, close to Howrah, in which as many as 37 passengers were burnt alive. The bodies were brought to Baripada town for mass cremation. The state also witnessed political violence with the gunning down of Congress leader and Jharsugura district Congress president Shyama Sundar Kedia. In another incident, former president of Sundargarh Zilla Parishad Harshita Lungun was shot dead. One of the accused in Kedia murder case was also gunned down by the assailants while he was taken to the Jharsugura Court to appear before the Magistrates in connection with the murder case. Several prominent personalities of the state also passed away during the year.They included former Deputy Chief Minister Basant Kumar Biswal, senior Congress leader Krupasindhu Bhoi and eminent Dramatist Gopal Chhotray. The Koshal Ratha Yatra launched by senior BJP MLA from western Orissa demading a separate state for the districts of western Orissa caused much furore in the political circle. The BJP, the ruling alliance partner of BJD, however, clarified its stand stating that the party had not approved Mr Mishra’s action. Orissa Congress chief Sharat Pattnaik also launched a month-long Sankalp Rath Yatra to expose the "corrupt" Government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The yatra covered almost the entire state despite disturbances enroute by the dissidents in the party. An assistant Sub Inspector of Police, convicted on the charges of murdering a lady Sub Inspector and her causin last year, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a local Court this month in Rourkela. (UNI) Sonia hopes for impartial CBI probe into Judev case and others NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Noting that the CBI has finally instituted an inquiry against former Union Minister Dilip Singh Judev, leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi today hoped that it would complete an impartial inquiry into this and "other episodes in Chhattisgarh" in all its dimensions. "This confirms that the FIR was deliberately delayed by more than a month with the intention of sparing the BJP more embarrassment during the elections," she said while addressing a general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party on the concluding day of the winter session of Parliament. Explaining why she had used the word "impartial inquiry" deliberately, the Congress president said it was because both the Home Minister and the Law Minister had acknowledged their role in the sting operation against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. Welcoming the new law against defection, Ms Gandhi said it was a step forward. "All of us can legitimately take credit for its enactment", she said, adding, "what had been passed into law was exactly what Rajiv Gandhi had originally proposed". Referring to the amendments in the POTA, she said the possibility of the misuse of POTA against political opponents, innocent men, women and children was still there. On Telgi stamp paper scam, the Congress president said it was not enough for the Government to take recourse to the familiar "systemic failure argument." she alleged that in spite of being briefed at all stages by the Karnataka Government, the Union Finance Ministry did not take any action on the lapses pointed out. Referring to the action taken report on the JPC on the stock market scam, Ms Gandhi said the ATR had confirmed the party’s worst fears of "a complete whitewash of a gigantic scandal." crores of small investors and senior citizens had been devastated by this huge loss and yet the Government had not held the guilty accountable, she alleged. The Congress president said even the JPC chairman had identified areas where the Government had not followed up on its recommendations. "It is also a measure of the Government’s hypocrisy that the Prime Minister and his Deputy, who adopted a high moral posture during the earlier securities scam in the mid 1990s when they were in the opposition, have adopted a completely different stance on the 1999-2001 scam and the JPC on it". Ridiculing the Government’s talk of its commitment to social justice, she said she saw no commitment. She pointed out that over two years ago, two Constitution Amendment Bills were passed to rectify defects in administrative OMS dealing with recruitment and promotion of SC/STs in Government service. Yet there had been no follow-up action, Ms Gandhi added. The leader of the oposition welcomed the action of the royal Bhutanese Army in launching a major offensive against militants and terrorists and hoped this would result in bringing peace in the north east region. She also welcomed Mr Vajpayee’s forthcoming visit to Pakistan to attend SAARC summit and hoped it would be conducive to a positive dialogue between the two countries. She regretted that the Government had once again found a way not to take up the Women’s Reservation Bill and Lokpal bill in spite of the Congress’s support to both. "The continuing delay reveals their true intentions," Ms Gandhi claimed. (UNI) Bijapur SP arrested on charge of killing wife RAIPUR, Dec 23: Chhattisgarh police today arrested Bijapur Superintendent of Police J S Batti on the charge of killing his wife, a top police official said. Batti was arrested from his native Narharpur village in Kanker district of the state, Additional Director General of Police, Rajeev Mathur, told PTI here. Batti’s arrest was under various sections of IPC for allegedly conspiring and killing his wife Vimla (40) at Mankeshari village, near the district headquarters of Kanker, Mathur said. Vimla was staying alone at Mankeshari village, about 110 Km from the state capital, and was suspected to have been killed for allegedly practicing witch-craft, police sources police sources told PTI. They said four days ago four people were arrested in connection Vimla’s murder and one of them had claimed that Batti was also involved in the crime. The four had been remanded to 15 days’ judicial custody. Batti is an official of Chhattisgarh police service and not of IPS cadre, Mathur added. Batti was arrested by a Crime Branch team. (PTI) |
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