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Haryana BJP CHANDIGARH, Nov 11: Maintaining that it was "not very happy" with the performance of the Om Prakash Chautala .....more Ansari
group not to attend NEW DELHI, Nov 11: To protest the Pakistan High Commission addressing Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who ...more Sonia
demands par NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Expressing shock over media reports about alleged interference in the affairs of the public.....more World
leaders could NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Seventyfour-year-old Sol Teichman, who has seen his mother, sister, three brothers and over.....more |
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SC upholds Govt NEW DELHI, Nov 11: In a judgement affecting millions of public and private sector employees, the Supreme Court today upheld validity of 1996 ....more Shinde
rejects opposition MUMBAI, Nov 11: Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today rejected the opposition Sena-BJP demand for ....more Treat
music and cricket at NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh has called for treating music on a par with cricket, saying if ......more Haryana
emerges second CHANDIGARH, Nov 11: Haryana has emerged as the second state in per-capital realisation of ......more |
Haryana BJP preparing itself for Lok Sabha, state polls CHANDIGARH, Nov 11: Maintaining that it was "not very happy" with the performance of the Om Prakash Chautala led INLD Government in Haryana, the state unit of the BJP would organise several rallies and intensify the party’s membership drive over the next few months to gear itself ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Giving details of the preparations that were already on at "massive level", the new state unit chief of the BJP Ganeshi Lal told reporters here that the party intended to enroll 12 lakh members before the Lok Sabha polls scheduled next year. "So far we have around 2.10 lakh members. There are 1.30 crore voters and 14,873 polling booths in Haryana’s 90 assembly constituencies. We have divided the state into 345 mandals and so far 62,000 workers have had direct interaction with the people to propogate party’s programmes and policies," he said. Lal, who took over from Rattan Lal Kataria to become the new state BJP chief recently, while referring to the support of his party to the Chautala Government, maintained that the INLD was giving its support to the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre from outside and the BJP in Haryana was also giving its support to it from outside. He ducked questions from reporters and evaded a direct answer when asked if the BJP would go it alone in the Lok Sabha or state assembly elections. "This is for the party high command to decide. We keep apprsing the party leadership from time to time about the performance of our alliance partner, but the ultimate decision rests with them. I am sure our party high command will keep the opinion of state unit in mind when they have to decide," he said. Comparing his party with sea, Lal said "Kissi Nadi Ke Peechay Koyee Samundar Nahee Chaalta" (no sea follows a river). Lal said that while the state BJP would highlight the achievements of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led Government at the Centre, it would also raise the issues concerning people of state. "The anti-people decisions of the Chautala Government like imposition of VAT regime, putting farmers in jails, releasing convicts before time and imposition of tax on people who are living in self-occupied house, we will raise all these issues." He said from October 5-13, rallies had been held in five Parliamentary constituencies. From December 13 to December 21, party leaders will address rallies in the remaining Lok Sabha constituencies at Mahendragarh, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Sirsa and Hisar. Lal said that after a public meeting at Panipat on October 14 which was addressed among others by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, it had been decided to organise a state level rally on December 21 at Hansi in Hisar district. He said the party also plans to increase the number of morchas to five from four at present. "We will be adding minority morcha and the number of cells will be increased from 7 to 26." Lal denied his alleged involvement in the smuggling of liquor in Haryana during the prohibition period imposed by the Bansi Lal Government. He claimed that none of the Commissions appointed by the present Government to probe into liquor smuggling had called him for recording the statement and he had never been indicted in the report of the "so called Commission". Lal welcomed the handing over of the investigation in the journalist R C Chaterpati murder case to CBI. (PTI) |
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Ansari group not to attend Pak HC Iftar Geelani elated NEW DELHI, Nov 11: To protest the Pakistan High Commission addressing Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who floated a rival faction of the separatist conglomerate, as the Hurriyat chairman in the invitation, the Hurriyat Conference led by Moulvi Abbas Ansari has decided not to attend the mission’s Iftar on November 13 here. "Though I have received the invitation from the Pakistan High Commission, I will not attend the Iftar as I do not travel during the holy month of Ramzan," Mr Ansari told UNI over phone from Srinagar. Asked if other Hurriyat leaders will attend the party, he said, "it is their individual decision. We are not sending any official representative". About the Pakistan High Commission addressing Mr Geelani as the Hurriyat chairman, Mr Ansari said "we don’t care. Let them give any designation to whoever they want... It is the people of Jammu and Kashmir who will ultimately decide their real represenatives." However, sources said the Hurriyat (Ansari) leaders are peeved over the Pakistan High Commission addressing Mr Geelani as the Hurriyat chairman thus giving the much-needed recognition to the hardline faction of the Hurriyat led by him and as a mark of protest will not attend the Iftar party. Talking to UNI over phone from his hometown Sopore, Mr Geelani said, "I have received the invitation from the Pakistan High Commission. Yes, they have addressed me as the Hurriyat chairman as ours is the real Hurriyat." Mr Geelani said he would go to New Delhi to attend the Iftar and also meet diplomats of several countries as part of his group’s mass awareness programme. "Leaders of all the 15 constituents of the Hurriyat have received the invitation in their individual names," he added. The Pakistan High Commission had sent invitations to the Hurriyat Conference in their individual names with no reference to their religious or political parties they represented. (UNI) |
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Sonia demands par probe into allegations against ministers NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Expressing shock over media reports about alleged interference in the affairs of the public sector undertakings by Union Ministers, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has demanded an Independent Parliamentary probe into the allegations. "In the interest of probity and accountability, I urge you to agree to immediately institute an independent Parliamentary inquiry into the allegations made against the ministers and reveal their identities," Gandhi, in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said. The November 10 letter, copies of which were released to the press here today, said serious thought also needs to be given to the framing rules and regulations to protect the PSUs from ministerial interference that amounts to misuse and make such interference punishable with severe penalties. "The reported misuse of the PSUs for personal or political benefits has apparently been played out to such a degree that it has forced the Chief vVgilance Commissioner to personally bring the matter to Prime Minister’s notice. "Of equal concern is the fact that, even after the issue has been highlighted by the media for several days, no action seems to have been taken at your level," she said. "It is ironical that a Government, that has been so keen to dispose off and privatise PSUs without a clear declared policy or Parliamentary scrutiny without any thought to strategic industries or workers’ interests, is at the same time allowing the exploitation of those very PSUs by its ministers," she said. Instead of strengthening the PSUs though professionalisation and greater autonomy, the members of the cabinet have apparently attempted to run them as "their fiefdoms," she said. "I hope look forward to a quick and positive response from you in this matter," she added. (PTI) |
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Treat music and cricket at par on Indo-Pak turf: Jagjit NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh has called for treating music on a par with cricket, saying if cricketing ties between India and Pakistan can be resumed, artistes from India should also be allowed to perform in the neighbouring country. "India has resumed cricketing ties with Pakistan, but our artistes are not allowed to perform there. This is a dichotomy which must be rectified. The field should be open for all or none," he told UNI. Earlier, Jagjit had submitted a memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani to ban Pakistani singers from coming to India on the ground that the other country had not been favourable towards Indian artistes. Pakistani singers like Mehndi Hasan, Ghulam Ali, Abeeda Parveen, Adnan Sami and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan have been close to Indian hearts. "When we can appreciate Pakistani talent, why can’t they allow us on their soil?" said the 62-year-old soulful singer. An avid admirer of Mehndi Hasan, Jagjit said: "The Pakistani veteran’s rendition and ‘Gayaki’ are matchless." Refuting that ghazal has lost its pristine glory, the singer said, "it has reoriented itself vis-a-vis the changing mood. If I sing Ghalib today, most of the people will not understand chaste Urdu. Ghazal has found a distinctive glory by reaching out to the masses. "Ghalib’s poetry is old while Gulzar and Nida Fazli are better understood by people," he said. Asked about the discouraging trend in pursuing ghazals, Jagjit said: "There is a lot of insecurity in this profession. Besides, the youngsters today are confused and lack direction. "See the case of Hariharan, who is a very good singer but has not been successful in ghazals. So he turned towards film music." Jagjit, who introduced Hyderabadi singer Talat Aziz in 1978, said he was open to lend support to up and coming artistes of the country. Interestingly, Talat composed for Jagjit in the teleserial ‘Sailaab’. On his latest offering "close to my heart" comprising songs from old Hindi films, the ghazal king said, "there are a few precious memories that remain fresh and some songs you always feel like singing. I have taken from life, a few such timeless songs from classic Hindi films and some precious memories to make the album." Jagjit, who loves to read books on historical monuments and India’s cultural heritage, said he would rather appreciate his ghazals being remixed. "I will be very happy if someone remixes my compositions." Despite ruling the Indian hearts for more than three decades, the versatile composer, who is working on his next album which will be in the market by February next, said: "None of my previous ghazals are my favourite. The best is yet to come." (UNI) |
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Haryana emerges second in realisation of sales tax CHANDIGARH, Nov 11: Haryana has emerged as the second state in per-capital realisation of sales tax in the country by realising Rs 1580 per capita during the year 2002-03 besides doubling all its tax collections in the last four years as a result of better tax management, rationalistion of tax structures and various incentives given to the trade and industrial sector. This was revealed in the meeting of the Excise and Taxation Department held under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala to review its working, an official release said here today. Chautala directed the Excise and Taxation Department to ensure proper collection of taxes as the Government was providing all basic amenities and facilities to the people of the state. During the review meeting held here, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Excise and Taxation Chander Singh, informed that during the year 1998-99, the total tax collection was Rs 2398 crore which had risen to Rs 4477 crore during the year 2002-03. He said that during the current financial year, the sales tax collections were expected to touch mark of Rs 3750 crore despite levying of no new taxes and no further increase in the rates of tax. He pointed out that the tax rates in Haryana were the lowest in the country barring a few items. He also revealed that as a result of the conducive environment created in the state for the growth of trade and industry, the present State Government had been able to collect Rs 17,523 crore as taxes during its tenure of four years from 1999 to October, 2003 as against the collection of Rs 16,914 crore made during the previous 32 years spanning from the year 1968 to 1999. Speaking in the meeting, the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, S N Roy disclosed that while the rate of tax revenue growth had been quite low in the neighbouring states, being below five per cent in Rajasthan, eight per cent in Delhi, seven percent in Punjab and nine per cent in Himachal, the revenue receipts of Haryana had shown an upward trend of 13 per cent from April to September, 2003. (PTI) NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Holding that tea could not be included in the category of foodstuff, the Supreme Court has termed it as "a mere stimulant" and quashed provisions of a 26-year-old Tamil Nadu Government order declaring tea as an essential foodstuff commodity. A bench comprising Justice R C Lahoti and Justice Ashok Bhan said that as the Central Government in 1972 had delegated power to the State Government to issue orders under the Essential Commodities Act, 1952, tea could not be included as the delegation was for the specific purpose of foodstuffs. The bench set aside a Madras High Court order which had held that tea could be included under foodstuff as "many a poor man who live under the poverty line take a cup of tea more as a food as it keeps them active for some time and enabled them to work". Disagreeing with the view expressed by the High Court, the Apex Court said "it is a wrong assumption to say that many a poor man in the country take a cup of tea more as a food. The High Court has confused a mere stimulant with an article of food or food stuff". Referring to the Tamil Nadu Government order, the bench said in the 1972 Central Government notification delegation of power was confined to foodstuffs alone. Justice Lahoti, writing for the bench, said that by a notification dated February 1978, the Central Government has declared the commodity ‘tea’ to be en essential commodity. "But then there was no delegation of powers by the Central Government under section 5 of the Essential Commodities Act in relation to tea," he said. Consulting various authorities on the subject, the bench said that whether a solid or liquid, the substance called ‘food’ should possess the quality to maintain life and its growth and it must have nutritive or nourishing value so as to enable the growth, repair and maintenance of body. Extracting the meaning given in the ‘new encyclopaedia britannica’ to tea and coffee, the bench said that coffee and tea by thmeselves were of no nutritive value, except that coffee contained some niacin and tea contained fluride and manganese, but they could be a vehicle for intakes of sugar, milk or lemon. "Tea is not taken for the purpose of nourishment and therefore cannot be included in the term ‘food’," Justice Lhoti said and added that "tea neither nourishes the body nor sustains or promoted its growth". "In common parlance, any one who has taken tea would not say that he has taken or eaten food. Thus tea is not food. It is not understood as `food’ or `foodstuff’ either in common parlance or by the opinion of lexicographers," he said. (PTI) 3 arrested under POTA for planting bomb in a bus MUMBAI, Nov 11: In a fresh development in the recent bomb blast cases, police today arrested three accused under POTA on the charge of planting an explosive in a bus and produced the trio before a special court which placed them in police remand till November 24. An unexploded crude bomb were found by police on December 2 last year in a bus parked in a depot near Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in suburban Andheri. The accused— Syed Mohhamad Hanif, his wife Fahimida and associate Arshat Ansari— were arrested by ACP Suresh Wallishetty and produced before designated judge A P Bhangale. All the three accused were earlier arrested for alleged complicity in July 28 Ghatkopar bomb blast and August 25 twin bomb blast at Gateway of India and Zaveri bazar. In another development, the trio were also remanded to judicial custody till November 24 in Zaveri bazaar bomb blast case. The court further remanded them to judicial custody till the same period in Ghatkopar bomb blast case. Altogether two persons were killed and 31 injured in the Ghatkopar bomb blast while 53 people were killed and over 100 injured in twin blasts at Gateway of India and Zaveri bazaar. According to police, the three accused had conspired to create a series of explosions in the city and had assembled bombs at Hanif’s residence. Arshat and deceased accused Nasir carried explosives in a taxi that exploded at Zaveri bazaar while Hanif, wife Fahmida and their minor daughter travelled in another taxi which went off at Gateway of India. Nasir was killed in a police encounter while Hanif’s minor daughter has been sent to remand home.(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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