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Badal, Tohra parties strike another concordant note

NEW DELHI, Mar 3: Less than a week after a surprise one-to-one meeting between Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Parkash Singh Badal and his arch-rival Gurcharan Singh Tohra over clemency for a death-row prisoner, the split parties have voiced unanimity again, this time over religious constructions.

The new issue stems from planned a car parking outside Delhi’s historic Bangla Sahib Gurdwara by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which they view as Government interference in Sikh religious affairs.

Akalis in the past have rejected a Government-sponsored rebuilding of the Akal Takht, the highest seat of Sikh temporal authority, after it was damaged in operation Blue Star.

The Government-rebuilt Takht was then brought down and raised again by the resource-rich and Akali-controlled Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the top Sikh religious administration.

Earlier this year, Union Akali Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa even lodged a protest with his Cabinet colleague and Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar after he laid the foundation stone of the proposed NDMC underground car parking outside the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara.

Mr Dhindsa, also secretary-general of the SAD, has called the planned construction "sinful selling of Sikh religious assets by the present controllers of the community’s historic shrines in Delhi".

Significantly, the stone-laying ceremony was organised by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, a rich businessman, who wrested control of the powerful religious body, which administers a number of historic Gurdwaras and institutions, from the SAD less than a year ago.

"The Delhi Gurdwara Act of 1975 does not allow a DSGMC president to take such key decisions without calling a general house meeting of all 51 members," remarked top Badal aide Manjit Singh, son of slain Akali leader Jathedar Santokh Singh.

He warned Mr Sarna of street protests if he failed to call a general house meeting within a week. "The party and a majority of DSGMC members, Sikh scholars and leading community entrepreneurs met today (Sunday) and decided to notify Mr Sarna to call a general house meeting over the issue." The SAD (B)’s opinion that the Sikh community would not accept Government-commissioned construction of religious structures even received a frank approval from the SHSAD of Mr Tohra.

"If there is Government interference in any religious construction, it will never be accepted by the SHSAD," said SGPC member Harinderpal Singh, a Tohra aide.

Mr Tohra, who supported Mr Sarna during last year’s DSGMC general elections, has already distanced himself from the controversy.

"I say it again, that too clearly, that Mr Tohra will never approve of any Government interference in Sikh religious affairs," Mr Harinderpal Singh, who fiercely criticised Mr Badal when he was the Punjab Chief Minister, said.

His remarks came barely a week less than the coming-together of Mr Badal and his bete noire Tohra as they met Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani with a request for clemency to Prof Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, who is under a death sentence for carrying out a bloody bomb attack in 1993 outside the Indian Youth Congress office in New Delhi.

Last month’s surprise Badal-Tohra meeting, seen as a unity move by political experts, came for a first time since 1999, when both leaders had parted ways amid the hype of the historic tercentenary celebrations of the order of the Khalsa, or the pure, in then SAD-BJP ruled Punjab.

Mr Tohra then unceremoniously quit as president of the Badal-dominated SGPC as he demanded the reinstallation of a sacked Jathedar or decision-maker of the Akal Takht.

Bhai Ranjit Singh, who had served a jail sentence for the assassination of then Nirankari chief Gurbachan Singh, was removed from the powerful Sikh office in 1999.

His reinstallation has been a key demand of Mr Tohra for a patch-up with Mr Badal whose party controls the SGPC which appoints jathedars.

Political experts say they now see a "100 per cent unity move" among Akalis in the backdrop of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s fierce crackdown on Mr Badal and his party for their alleged corruption during rule and Mr tThra’s ignominious defeat in last year’s SGPC elections.

"Both supplement each other. The two need each other for their own political survival," said columnist Jaspal Singh, also a former ambassador. (UNI)

Cong, CPI(M) stage walkout in AP Assembly

HYDERABAD, Mar 3: Main opposition Congress and CPI(M) members staged a walk out in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly today protesting against the Government’s failure to cover all female children born in Below Poverty Line (BPL) families under the girl child protection scheme in the State.

Leader of the opposition Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, who led the walkout, said though the TDP had promised to deposit Rs 5,000 in banks in favour of all girl children on the eve of the last Assembly elections only two lakh and odd children have been covered under the scheme so far.

There were more than 1.20 crore BPL families in the State, he pointed out.

The House witnessed noisy scenes during the heated discussion on the issue for over an hour with the Congress members rushing towards the podium more than once. The TDP legislators and the Congress members also traded charges.

At one stage, Congress members angrily protested against certain remarks of major Industries Minister K Vidyadhar Rao and demanded an apology from him.

The minister, however, stood his ground and said there was no need for him to apologise. Mr Suresh Reddy (Cong) wanted to know as to why the target for the current year was lowered to 28,000-odd from 54,000-odd from last year.

As the Congress members continued to seek clarification and demanded a categorical assurance that the Government would cover all girl children under the scheme, an exasperated speaker K Pratibha Bharathi was heard saying "do as you like....You do not want the remaining business (of the day) to be taken up".

Intervening, Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu said the Congress members were trying to politicise the issue despite the Government’s assurance that all eligible girls would be covered under the same.

He said the Government would launch a "sensitising" programme for MLAs on the scheme.

Referring to the Congress members’ objection to the remarks of the Industries Minister, he said it was a case of the ‘devil quoting the scripture’.

Minister for Women and Child Welfare S Saraswathi said there were 21,000-odd pending applications which would be cleared by the end of the current month.

She said 2.62 lakh girls had benefited from the scheme so far and the eligibility for the scheme was that the girl should be below two years of age and that there should not be more than two female children in a family.

The minister said there were reservations in the scheme for SCs (15 per cent), STs (6 per cent), BCs (26 per cent), minorities (6 per cent) and physically handicapped (3 per cent). (UNI)

Vidya Stokes, contender for HP Chief Ministership, meets Sonia

NEW DELHI, Mar 3: Himachal PCC president Vidya Stokes, one of the strong contenders for the Chief Minister’s post, today met party chief Sonia Gandhi here and apprised her of the political situation in the State where the party is set to form the new ministry.

CLP leader in the outgoing Assembly and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Sing is the other contender for the post.

Three party observers for the State, AICC general secretary incharge of Himachal Pradesh Mohsina Kidwai, Moti Lal Vora and R K Dhawan, also met Gandhi separately and discussed strategies for the formation of the Government in the State, a day ahead of CLP meeting to be held in Shimla.

Kidwai, after meeting Gandhi told reporters that they met party president to apprise her of the political situation as also discussed several things including Government formation in the State where the party has secured a near two-third majority defeating the ruling BJP.

Asked who would head the Congress ministry in the State, Kidwai said Congress being a democratic party it has been the tradition for the newly elected MLAs to elect their leader.

Kidwai, along with two other observers Vora and Dhawan, would be leaving for Shimla to be present during the CLP meet to be held at 1600 hours tomorrow.

They would also ascertain the views of the party MLAs with regard to CLP leadership and convey the decision to party chief Gandhi, who would finally take a decision based on the wishes of the party MLAs.

Asked if the idea of a Deputy Chief Minister also cropped up during their meeting with Gandhi, Kidwai said all these issues are "open" and would be taken up at a later date, possibly after the CLP meeting.

Kidwai also denied that there was any likelihood of a show of strength between Stokes and Virbhadra Singh for the post and whatever decision the party high comman took would be acceptable to all.

She also downplayed the presence of Stokes in Delhi and her meeting with Gandhi along with the AICC observers, saying the PCC chief came here on her personal work and met Gandhi to thank her for the victory in the State.

Denying suggestions that she came here to muster support for her candidature for the top post in the State, Stokes told reporters that she came here to see one of her ailing relatives and she would be leaving for Shimla today itself.

"Since I happened to be here I met Gandhi and thanked her for the party’s victory in Himachal Pradesh", the PCC chief and former Speaker of the State Assembly said.

Stokes also feigned ignorance about the presence of her loyalist MLAs campaigning for her here and said she came here alone and was not aware of any campaign on her behalf.

Asked how far she is from the post of Chief Ministership, Stokes said "I never thought of it. Whatever be the decision of the high command, it would be acceptable to me".

Maintaining that her party’s vtory for "secularism", Kidwai said its impact would have all india repercussions as "Hindutva" forces had failed to implement their Gujarat agenda in the State barely two months after they claimed its resurgence nationwide.

Asked if the result would have been different if a Chief Ministerial candidate had been projected in advance, Kidwai said it has never been the party tradition to name a Chief Minister before the polls. (PTI)

Demand for Bharat Ratna to the woman astronaut
Path from dreams to reality does exist: Kalpana Chawla

NEW DELHI, Mar 3: India’s first woman astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died along with other crew members exactly a month ago when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated just 16 minutes before touchdown on earth, should be accorded the highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

This demand has been raised by the alumni of the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Eeronautical Engineering in 1982.

In a public homage assembly held here recently by the Delhi Chapter of the Punjab Engineering College Old Boys Association (PECOBA) to condole her death, Professor V S Malhotra who was head of the Aeronautical Engineering Department when she was a student there read out a message he had received from her in January 25 while in the space shuttle: "The path from dreams to reality does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get onto it, and the perseverance to follow it".

In his message sent to PECOBA on this occasion, President A P J Abdul Kalam said "I am sure, the space flight endeavours of Ms Chawla will always be remembered and will serve as an inspiration for younger generation to dream and to be able to touch the stars".

Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral said "in Kalpana Chawla’s demise, the world of science and technology has lost a great deal, and India particularly, has been deprived of a remarkable personality".

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s message said "she showed us what young Indians can do if they are given the environment that encourages their passion, allow their talents to blossom, and reward their dedication and determination"

Those present at the a assembly unanimously adopted a resolution moved by PECOBA founder general secretary Amarjit Singh Kohli urging the Government to accord the highest honour posthumously to Ms Chawla.

Among those who attended were Kalpana’s uncle Amrik Chand Chawla, aunts Sujata Gulati and Kanta Gulati, and about thirty other members of the family. Also present was Kalpana’s school teacher Diljit Kaur Madan who taught her for eight years at Tagore Balniketan School, Karnal. Eight of her batchmates at PEC (1982) were also there to pay homage.

The head of the Aeronautical Department Prof S C Sharma urged that the PEC should be renamed as ‘Kalpana Chawla PEC Institute of Engineering’ and given a Deemed University status. Prof S K Suman who is general secretary of the PEC Teachers Association wanted a ‘Kalpana Chawla research centre and memorial library’ to be established, for which he has already received support from the PEC alumni in the United States. Dr Marjorie R Harrison, exchange officer at the US embassy, read out two poems composed by her on Kalpana. Prominent PEC alumni who paid homage included A K Goswami (IAS, Secretary, Water Resources), Jarnail Singh (IAS, Joint Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office), Prithipal Singh (CMD, BSNL), Dr K K Aggarwal (VC, GGS Indraprastha University), H L Bajaj (Chairman, CEA), and P K Garg (Chief Wireless Advisor). Journalists T S Bedi and Dev Prakash read poems composed by them on Kalpana.

The function ended with a musical tribute to Kalpana Chawla entitled ‘Kalpana Ki Kalpana’, produced by Mr Kohli and presented by Seema Verma with orchestration by Satish Popli.

Born in Karnal, Kalpana enjoyed flying, hiking, back-packing, and reading. She held a certificated flight instructor’s license with airplane and glider ratings, commercial pilot’s licenses for single and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and gliders, and instrument rating for aeroplanes.

She graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, in 1976. After her bachelor of science degree from PEC, she received her master of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas, 1984, and Doctorate of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.

She started work at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Centre in 1988 in the area of powered-lift computational fluid dynamics. Her research concentrated on simulation of complex air flows encountered around aircraft such as the harrier in ‘ground-effect’.

Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993, Kalpana joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as vice president and research scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization.

Kalpana was selected by NASA in December 1994 and reported to the Johnson Space Centre in March 1995 as an astronaut candidate in the 15th group of astronauts. After completing a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned as crew representative to work technical issues for the astronaut office eva/robotics and computer branches.

Her assignments included work on development of robotic situational awareness displays and testing space shuttle control software in the shuttle avionics integration laboratory. In November, 1996, Kalpana Chawla was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on STS-87. In January 1998, she was assigned as crew representative for shuttle and station flight crew equipment, and subsequently served as lead for astronaut office’s crew systems and habitability section. She flew on STS-87 (1997) and STS-107 (2003) and has logged 30 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space. (UNI)

Fall in vote share for both Congress and BJP in Himachal

SHIMLA, Mar 3: Congress increased its tally from 31 to 40 in the 60-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly despite a three per cent fall in its vote share compared to the 1998 elections, while the BJP’s strength in the House fell from 29 to 16 with a 3.5 per cent decline in the votes polled by it.

An increase of 14 per cent in the vote share of independents and smaller parties contributed to the decline in percentage of votes polled by Congress and BJP.

The Congress’ vote share fell from 43.5 per cent in 1998 to 40.5 per cent in 2003 and that of the saffron party from 39.03 to 35.5 per cent.

Former Union Minister Sukh Ram’s Haryana Vikas Congress (HVC), which had a post-poll pact with the BJP in 1998 and fought the present elections alone, suffered a loss of 4.4 per cent in its vote share, bagging 5.5 per cent of the votes.

The surge in the vote share of independents was mainly due to the presence of rebels from both Congress and BJP in a number of seats.

However, it was BJP which suffered more damage with its prospects marred in at least 10 constituencies while the Congress was affected in at least seven contituencies.

While BJP rebel Naveen Dhiman and two independents supported by the party dissidents won the elections defeating official party nominees, the saffron party lost Hamirpur, Chopal, Theog, Shallai, Nadaun, Kangra, Bhatiyat, Kullu, Ani and Arki seats due to presence of rebel candidates.

However, BJP won Solan, Malagarh, Kutlehar and Nadaunata seats despite the presence of rebels.

Congress rebels were in the fray in about 20 seats and they won from Kusumpti, Gherwin and Bhatiyyat. However, in most places, including Santokgarh, Doon, Kasuali, Kullu, Nurpur, Kangra, Rajnagar and Dharamsala, Congress nominees tamed strong rebels to emerge victorious.

The Congress’ prospects were marred by rebels in Balh, Kutlehar, Rajgir and Rraragpur constituencies. In Bhatiyyat and Paragpur constituencies, the contest was between BJP and Congress rebels and the official nominees of the two parties finished third and fourth.

BJP finished third in 15 seats and the Congress in eight.

Absence of strong HVC candidates contributed to the defeat of BJP candidates in many seats as compared to 1998.

Both BJP and Congress had won seven seats each with a margin of less than 4,000 votes in 1998. This time around, 12 of these 14 constituencies went the Congress’ way.

The margin of victory for Congress in many constituencies fell sharply in Shimla and Sirmaur districts. But the party wrested many seats in Kangra, Hamirpur, Una and Kullu which the BJP had won by thin margins in 1998.

Congress had won 10 seats by a margin of over 8,000 votes in 1998, while the BJP had secured 8000 plus lead in two.

Congress had won seven seats with a margin of over 10,000 votes with former Chief Ministers V B Singh and Ram Lal winning by a massive lead of 26,148 and 18034 votes. This time Singh’s margin has fallen to 17,300.

Ram Lal’s grandson retained his seat with reduced margin of 6844.

In 1977, the independents had polled 20.69 per cent votes winning six seats. Janata Party had swept the polls then winning 53 seats with the Congress’ vote share reduced to 27.74.

In 1982, independents polled 14.22 per cent votes winning six seats. BJP had polled 35.16 per cent votes securing 29 seats while the Congress had polled 42.52 per cent and won 31 seats. Huge victory margins for Congress candidates in old Himachal areas had contributed to the high vote share of the party.

The independents were swept out in 1985 when they won just two seats with 8.28 per cent vote share, while Congress polled 55.46 per cent votes to win 58 out of 68 seats.

In 1990, BJP which contested 51 seats in alliance with Janata Dal, won 46 seats polling 41.78 per cent votes while Congress which polled 37.56 per cent votes, got only nine. The Janata Dal which contested 17 seats polled 10.83 per cent votes winning eleven seats. Only one independent won and 185 independents in the fray polled only 4.89 per cent votes.

The 1993 elections saw reversal of the trend and independents won 9.21 per cent votes winning seven seats while the BJP which got 36.14 per cent votes securing only eight seats. Congress won 52 seats with 49.37 per cent votes.

Independents were again rejected in 1998 elections when only one BJP rebel was elected and the vote share of independents was reduced to 4.18 per cent. (PTI)

Uttaranchal has made great strides in past one year: CM

DEHRA DUN, Mar 3: Uttaranchal Chief Minister N D Tiwari has said that the hill State has made "great strides" towards development in the past one year of the Congress regime in Uttaranchal.

Addressing newspersons late last evening at his residence on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Congress Government in the State, the Chief Minister said that the recent victory of Congress in Himachal Pradesh would go a long way in facilitating coordination between Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh especially in the industrial sphere.

He said that the industrial policy of Uttaranchal was now on the anvil."We are basing it on the concessional industrial package released by the Central Government for Uttaranchal", he said.

Mr Tiwari emphasised the importance of tourism, especially pilgrim tourism, as a source of employment and revenue in the State."Char Dhams are unique to us and we will ensure that they become the pivot of all tourism-related activities in Uttaranchal", said the Chief Minister.

He said that the concept of ecotourism was a common one for all Himalayan States and should be treated specifically and jointly by all these States."In this regard, I would like to say that there is an urgent need to create the Himalayan Council which was planned a long time ago by the Central Government". The Chief Minister, while demonstrating videoconferencing to the newspersons, said that this method was proving helpful in distance educaton in the State which abounds in remote hill areas.

"Our efforts to make this a technologically strong State are now bearing fruit", the Chief Minister said.

He said that hydro-power was a priority for the Government and various hydroelectric projects were nearing completion in the hill State."We have set up new hydel sub stations in Hardwar to improve the power situation in that district".

He said that he was satisfied with the pace of development in the State."We are confident that the strong foundation being laid by us will put the fledgeling State on the path towards all round development", he added. (UNI)