"I am being hounded for political reasons": Solanki

NEW DELHI, Nov 10: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Madhavsinh Solanki today alleged that he was being hounded for political reasons by the CBI, which has sought to prosecute him for allegedly having attempted to obstruct the course of justice by handing over a "fabricated" letter to a Swiss minister to "influence" the Bofors probe in 1992.

"CBI came to know about it in July 1992 and now they want to launch prosecution against him (Solanki) after over 10 years. It’s all for political reaosns," Solanki’s counsel Kapil Sibal told Justice J D Kapoor of the Delhi High Court.

Solanki has challenged an order of the Special Court that issued a notice to him on CBI’s plea for action against him in connection with the said ‘incident’, when a letters rogatory from the Court was pending there for execution.

After hearing arguments from CBI counsel N Natrajan and Sibal, Justice Kapoor reserved his orders on Solanki’s plea.

Pointing out that CBI has "failed" to explain the delay in launching prosecution against Solanki, Sibal requested the Court to set aside the special Court’s order.

Sibal contended that the said letter was neither forged nor fabricated and the content thereof was also correct in as much as it referred to the fact that nothing has been found in inquiry. The word "inquiry" in the letter referred to JPC inquiry and not CBI probe, he clarified.

CBI alleged that the conduct of Solanki, who was then External Affairs Minister, in handing over the said letter containing "false" statements to his Swiss counterpart Rene Felber, amounted to an offence under sections 192 and 340 of CRPC (attempting to obstruct the course of justice). (PTI)

Developing countries should be watchful of developed countries: Patel

ANAND, Nov 10: Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Amruta Patel today said developing countries should be watchful of attempts of the developed nations to skew international trade in their favour.

Speaking at the inauguration of the international workshop on livestock and livelihoods here, Dr Patel raised pertinent questions like sustaining pressures from Governments of developed countries in favour of growth in trade in their respective countries.

"Fortunately, the stars have been shining on the poor and developing countries by their coming together at the earth summit and at Cancun," she pointed out.

The workshop on ‘livestock and livelihoods : Challenges and opportunities for Asia in the emerging market environment’ is being hosted by the NDDB (India) and Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Facility (PPLPF) of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, which has brought together selected individuals, representing national and international organisations involved in livestock research, development and policy making in Asian countries, to deliberate on the challenges faced by small holder producers.

Dr Patel further said that the evolution of rules of international trade is a subject of greater concern to all the countries present, and while developed countries continue to subsidies milk production and the export of dairy commodities, they are pressurising international bodies to legitimize non-tariff barrier that would otherwise be unsustainable scientifically, she pointed out.

The game plan of the developed countries is the single most obstacle and threat to countries truely desirous of creating the space to enable their small holder become productive and to help them find the means to better life, she added.

Dr Patel also said that FAO’s PPLPF initiative can play key and important role. "Policy and programme formulation requires unbiased objective and realistic information. Livestock policy making in India and other developing countries suffer a serious disability because of lack of reliable data and knowledge," she said. .

Asian countries like Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Vietnam and eight organisations like Swiss agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC), Department For International Development (DFID), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Farm Comparisons Network (IFCN), Capitalization of Livestock Project Experiences India Project (CALPI), FAO and NDDB are participating in the workshop.

Some of the distinguished participants of the workshop include Mrs Leticia Ramos Shahani, Presidential Adviser on Culture, Republic of Philippines Dr Samuel Jutzi, Director, Animal Production and Health Division of the FAO, Rome and Dr David Leonard, Dean of International Studies, University of California, Berkley, United States.

Dr John Mellor, former Director General of IFPRI, delivered the keynote address on ‘agricultural growth and poverty reduction - the rapidly increasing role of smallholder livestock’.

Dr Mellor said that the livestock production in Asia is growing at a much faster rate than any other agricultural commodity and it is expected that in a few years, it would account for nearly half of the agricultural output, in value terms.

"In India, dairy product accounts for about 70 per cent of the livestock produce. The demand for livestock products in developing countries is predicted to triple in the next 20 years, offering opportunities to farmers to improve their incomes," he said.

He said small-scale producers supply the largest amount of livestock prdoucts consumed in south Asia, and an estimated 235 million rural poor sustain their livelihoods through livestock sector.

Mr Mellor said although the rural poor have a major stake in the livestock sector, the large majority of them have, thus far, not been able to get desired benefits of the opportunities presented by the demand led growth for livestock prdoucts. (UNI)

Assembly polls test for incumbent Congress CMs: Mahajan

LONDON, Nov 10: Asserting that the upcoming assembly elections would be fought on issues concerning the states going to polls, BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan has said they would be a test for icumbent Congress Chief Ministers and not for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Mahajan also expressed confidence that the BJP will win in four of the five states going to assembly polls.

"Definitely, the BJP will defeat the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. In Mizoram, we are still a small party, and we will definitely enter the assembly there," Mahajan told BBC Hindi special programme Aap Ki Baat BBC Ke Saath broadcast last night.

He said in all the five states going to polls in the next three weeks, it would be issues concerning the states on which the elections would be fought.

"This is a test for Digvijay Singh, (Chief Minister of MP), Ashok Gehlot (Chief Minister of Rajasthan), Ajit Jogi (Chief Minister of Chattisgarh) and Sheila Dikshit (Chief Minister of Delhi). This is not a test for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

Asked why BJP has given up Art 370, construction of Ram Temple and other major issues, Mahajan said: "We are ready to abrogate Art 370 from the Indian Constitution tomorrow, but it requires two-third majority, which we do not have. Common Civil Code is the need of the hour. It is a necessity. But except us there is nobody in Parliament who is prepared for it."

Mahajan claimed that during the last five years, the progress made by India economically, socially and at the international level, would ensure the BJP victory in the next Lok Sabha elections.

As far as the Centre is concerned, "the development has been unprecedented during tenure of Vajpayee Government. The foreign exchange reserve is 100 billion US dollars. For the first time we are returning the debts of IMF and the World Bank.

"Earlier 2 lakh people had mobiles, now two crore of them have it. But this election is not being fought on the performance of the Centre. It is being fought on state issues.

Though these assembly elections would not have any impact on the Lok Sabha elections, "we would like to be victorious in these, as we want to be in the Lok Sabha elections."

When a listener from Sambalpur in Orissa referred to the confidence expressed by Ajit Jogi in sweeping the polls in Chattisgarh, Mahajan said "Jogi has never won an election in Chhattisgarh. He was not even a member of the state assembly when he became the Chief Minister. He was parachuted to become the CM.

"In our view, in the assembly of 90 seats, we have either won 80 seats at some time, and we were behind in about five-seven seats.

"If you look carefully, the boat of Ajit Jogi is rocking in Chattisgarh, and finally he would find it difficult to pull it through even for his own seat." (PTI)

Former MP Congress gen secretary sentenced to 7 yrs RI

BHOPAL, Nov 10: A local Court today sentenced former Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary Inder Prajapat to seven years rigorous imprisonment for a murderous attack on party colleague Manak Agarwal in July, 2001.

Holding Prajapat guilty of attempt to murder, Additional Sessions Judge Abhay Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 and ordered that the convict’s jail sentence would be extended by one year if he failed to pay the penalty.

In his judgement, pronounced in Prajapat’s presence, who had appeared before the Court in view of the arrest warrant issued against him on November 5, the Judge observed that since the accused did not have a criminal background, no tough punishment was being given as he was unlikely to pose any threat to society.

The Court observed that the fact that Prajapat committed the crime in a fit of rage following reports about his wife in newspapers, cannot be ignored.

However, since Prajapat had opened fire at Agarwal and the latter could have succumbed to bullet injuries had immediate medical attention not been available, he must be punished, the Judge held.

According to the prosecution, irked by certain reports about his second wife, Prajapat had rushed to the house of Agarwal, also a former state Congress general secretary in the morning of July 29, 2001 and opened fire from a pistol when the latter was plucking flowers in the garden.

Prajapat later surrendered to the police thinking Agarwal, who is currently chairman of State Small Scale Industries Corporation, had been killed. (PTI)

Nanavati Commission asks noticees to reply by Decemeber 12

NEW DELHI, Nov 10: The Nanavati Commission, probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, today asked senior Congress leaders Vasant Sathe and Kamal Nath and Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Amodh Kanth and other noticees to reply by December 12 to the evidence brought against them on record by the witnesses.

The Commission on October 28 had issued notices to them and 11 others under the Commission of inquiry act asking them to produce evidence in their defence as it felt their reputation was likely to be "prejudicially affected" by the inquiry report.

The noticees were today supplied with the materials and were directed to reply to the evidence brought against them in respect of the riots that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Asked to comment on the evidence which has come against him before the Commission, Sathe told reporters that "I have just got the materials and I have to go through it."

However, his counsel and party MP R K Anand was quick to add that "everything has been politically motivated".

Anand, appearing as counsel for Kamal Nath accepted the materials on his behalf.

The then Congress MP from Karol Bagh, Dharam Das Shastri and the then Additional Commissioner of Police Gautam Kaul appeared before the Commission.

About the evidence against him, Kaul said there has been a small mention about him in the statement of a witness regarding an incident around Rakabganj Gurudwara. "I will clarify them to the Commission," he said.

Kanth failed to appear before the commission.

Others who appeared before the Commission were the the SHO of Paharganj K K Manan and SI Hoshiyar Singh, then in-charge of police force in north avenue.

Kamal Nath and Sathe are alleged to have led a mob that attacked Gurudwara Rakabganj here while Kanth and Manan are accused of arresting 16 Sikhs including five minors and four women who were firing in their defence during the riots in Paharganj area.

Later, both Kanth and Manan, now an ACP, were awarded President’s medal for the their role in arresting them.

The one man Commission headed by Justice G T Nanavati, has already completed recording of evidence and is scrutinising the same before writing his report.

However, the Commission is supposed to issue notices to all those persons whose reputation, in its opinion, was likely to be prejudicially affected by the inquiry. (PTI)

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