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| Assam CM hails NDFB truce GUWAHATI, Oct 9: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today hailed the unilateral ceasefire declared by the banned...more Accord
with BNLF ready, AIZAWL, Oct 9: Mizoram Government and the underground Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) are all set to sign an....more Charges
framed against CHANDIGARH, Oct 9: Charges were framed against Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today in a defamation.....more I would have loved to perform in Kashmir: Munnizae Jehangir SRINAGAR, Oct 8: Her dance guru is none other than the internationally acclaimed Kathak ......more |
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AIMPLB to consider model Nikahnama LUCKNOW, Oct 9: Faced with alleged misuse of tripple Talaq practice, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.....more Armed
tribals demand KORAPUT, ORISSA, Oct 9: Daily rituals at the 900-year-old Gupteswar Siva temple remain disrupted for the past three.....more India,
Russia to NEW DELHI, Oct 9: India and Russia will soon initiate a dialogue to liberalise visa rules to boost trade and bilateral ties......more 20 pc
polling in WB KOLKATA, Oct 9: Over 20 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in by-elections.......more |
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GUWAHATI, Oct 9: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today hailed the unilateral ceasefire declared by the banned bodo National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and termed it as a step in the right direction. Talking to newspersons at the capital complex here, Mr Gogoi hailed the NDFB for declaring a unilateral truce for six months beginning October 15 in response to announcement made by the Assam Government earlier this month. Mr Gogoi had announced that his Government was in favour of truce with the banned ULFA and NDFB, effective from October 15, to create a conducive atmosphere for holding peace talks provided the outfits also reciprocated the gesture. While, the banned ULFA rejected the truce offer by Mr Gogoi terming the Assam Government a ‘puppet’ in the hands of the Union Government, the NDFB’s initial response was that it was seriously considering the State Government’s offer. The Chief Minister was somewhat guarded in his response to the NDFB declartion and informed that at the moment the State Government was responding to it on the basis of newspaper reports as the Bodo outfit was yet to establish communication with the Government. Mr Gogoi said the question of suspending Counter-Insurgency (CI) operations against the banned outfit in the wake of its ceasefire announcement did not arise till it sets up a direct communication channel with the Government. He also stated that the bodo outfit was not in direct contact with the Central Government. Meanwhile, in response to the request of Assam Government, the Centre has sent 14 additional companies of para-military force to the state to augment CI operations in the wake of recent spurt in killings in the state. Another 26 companies of Central forces will arrive in the state by middle of this month. Mr Gogoi stated that insurgency had taken a heavy toll on Assam with respect to loss of human lives and development activities. He informed that since 1991 till date insurgents had killed 3,000 civilians and 769 securitymen. 2,003 militants have been killed during the same period. The ultras kidnapped 1,281 persons and 12,391 rebels surrendered during the same period. Mr Gogoi said insurgeny should not be viewed only as a law and order problem as it also had an economic dimension. He said creation of jobs for lakhs of unemployed held the key to solution of the insurgency problem. Regarding controversy over the ‘technical help’ offered by the US Ambassador to India to the Assam Government in investigating the recent explosions, Mr Gogoi said, "I haven’t replied to the US Ambassador’s letter. Assam Government will be able to avail technical help offered by the US only if the Government of India approves." (UNI) |
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Accord with BNLF ready, ball in
centre’s AIZAWL, Oct 9: Mizoram Government and the underground Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) are all set to sign an agreement and the ball is now in the centre’s court, Chief Minister Zoramthanga said here today. The Mizoram Government and the BNLF during the 11 rounds of talks held since September 2001 had found the formula that was agreeable to both the parties regarding repatriation, resettlement and rehabilitation of the Bru refugees now lodged in six relief camps in neighbouring north Tripura district, Zoramthanga told PTI. "We had submitted a proposal for funding the expenses of resettlement and rehabilitation of armed militants and civilians in the relief camps to the Centre and we are now waiting for the Centre to approve the proposal." The agreement with BNLF could be and would be signed as soon as the Centre approved and sanctioned the fund, he said. Both the sides have reportedly reached a broad agreement of special development package for the Bru inhabited areas and resettlement and rehabilitation of BNLF cadres and Brus lodged in Tripura refugee camps, official sources said. The State Government also agreed in principle that all the Brus who were bona fide residents of Mizoram would be repatriated and resettled in the state. It had submitted a Rs 25 crore proposal to the Centre for resettlement and rehabilitation of Brus, the sources added. BNLF, which began its activities in late 1997, was demanding a separate Autonomous District Council for the Brus carved out from the north western parts of the state. The outfit had changed its demand from autonomous district council to regional council and then to a Bru Area Development Council during the course of negotiations last year. The talks, which began in September 2001, gained significance as the State Government insisted that repatriation of Brus who fled Mizoram to Tripura in the last part of 1997 would not be implemented unless and until the BNLF eschew violence and come overground. (PTI) |
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Charges framed against Amarinder
Singh CHANDIGARH, Oct 9: Charges were framed against Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today in a defamation case filed by Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary and member of Parliament Sukhbir Singh Badal over two years back. "The charges have been framed against the Chief Minister under section 500 of the IPC," Sukhbir’s counsel told reporters outside the court complex. Amarinder Singh, who was present in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Paramvir Nijjar, furnished the bail bond of Rs 10,000 surety and the court adjourned the case till January 15 next year. Sukhbir Singh Badal had filed the criminal defamation case against Amarinder Singh on August 4, 2002 and accused the latter of tarnishing his and the image of his family by launching a "slanderous" media campaign just before the Punjab Assembly polls in February 2002. The court while allowing bail to the Chief Minister directed the complainant to record evidence on January 15. "The facts are very clear that the Badals have amassed ill-gotten assets over the years when they were in privileged position. They will have to face the consequences for their actions," Amarinder Singh told repoters after coming out from the court complex. Asked to comment on the Supreme Court staying the trial in the disproportionate assets case filed by the Punjab vigilance bureau against Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and some of his family members, the Chief Minister said "we will prove they (the Badals) are corrupt." The Apex Court had issued notices recently to the Chief Minister and state of Punjab on a petition of Parkash Singh Badal raising the issue of sanction from competent authorities to try him in the disproportionate assets case. Asked that in the defamation case he had been accused by the Badals of trying to avoid facing the judiciary, Amarinder replied "I am prepared to face the trial. I will expose they are thoroughly corrupt people. They (the Badals) themselves know they are neck-deep in corruption, which is why they are making baseless comments." Sukhbir Singh Badal reiterated that Amarinder Singh’s charge that the family had amassed assets worth Rs 3,500 crore was baseless. "The court today released the Chief Minister on bail and now during the trial we will prove that he had levelled false, malicious and baseless allegations against me and my family," he said. (PTI) I would have loved to perform in Kashmir: Munnizae Jehangir SRINAGAR, Oct 8: Her dance guru is none other than the internationally acclaimed Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj and she takes pride in saying that. Munnizae Jehangir, the daughter of famous Pakistani Human Rights Activist Asma Jehangir, has been performing the Indian dance in Pakistan and abroad since the age of five. "I learnt the art from Pandit Birju Maharaj. I am proud to be his student... But it was only for a brief period of three months. I wish it had been for a longer duration," she says. Ms Jehangir, who is here as a member of a Pakistani media delegation on its first ever visit to Jammu and Kashmir, says Pandit Birju Maharaj gave Kathak dance a new dimension by developing his own unique style and popularised the classical genre not only in India but all over the world. "He is perhaps the foremost exponent of Kathak." "I would have loved to perform in Kashmir, but...." she says. When asked to elaborate, Ms Jehangir laments that she is not carrying the costumes required for the performance. She has also learnt the art from late Maharaj Ghulam Hussain Kathak of Lahore and Nahid Siddiqui, the first south Asian woman to perform with the royal ballet of England. Ms Jehangir has been honoured with a number of awards, including the President of Pakistan’s pride of performance, the Faiz, and the dance umbrella award given by the international city guide time out. She says Nahid Siddiqui has also been teaching Kathak since 1984 at the University of Surrey in England, where she lived for almost 20 years. She adds that the Nahid Siddiqui and company was formed in 1991 and has toured worldwide, staging some 14 productions. Ms Jehangir has also performed in several countries, including Germany, the UK, the US and Canada. "I am not a professional dancer but dance is my passion... Something which I cannot leave," she told UNI in an interview. Ms Jehangir, 27, is presently working for Pakistan’s independent news network, GEO TV. She had produced and directed ‘search for freedom,’ a documentary recently screened by the amnesty international in Washington and New York. The documentary portrays how the conflicts of Afghanistan affected the lives of four Afghan women, from 1920s to the present day. It was among the 16 films chosen from around the world to be screened at Amnesty international’s film festivals across the US. She has been a freelance journalist for the past 10 years and reported on environmental issues, child labour and human rights abuses. Ms Jehangir attained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and English from Mcgill university, Montreal, Canada and did her Master’s in Media Studies, with concentration in film and video from New School University, New York. She is very critical of the situation of classical arts in Pakistan. "Dance was a taboo in the Pakistani society. It was banned in the country for ten years. But now the image is breaking and the mindset is changing. We have world class dancers in Pakistan." However, she laments that Kathak is a dying art form in Pakistan. "We need to do something seriously about reviving it." Coming to politics, Ms Jehangir says Pakistan must give up Kashmir as a core issue. "The Kashmir issue is not a priority for the people of Pakistan and India... It is the matter of survival for all. It has been an issue since over a decade but today is held hostage to respective political compulsions in the two countries." "The country must have democracy in the real sense if it has to walk along with the rest of the world towards progress." "A democratic Government is the desire of every Pakistani but it eludes them today since they are victims of not only military dictatorship but also of the international gameplan," she claims. She says there is a general feeling among the Pakistani youth that the focus on Kashmir and the continuing conflict between the two countries would hamper the development of both the nations. About the atrocities on women and violation of women’s rights in Pakistan, Ms Jehangir says, "women’s rights are being crushed all over the world but it is unfortunate that Pakistan has laws that discriminate against women." Ms Jehangir calls for more people-to-people contact to strenthen ties betwen the two countries. "There should be no negative political intervention," she adds. (UNI) |
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20 pc polling in WB Assembly by-elections KOLKATA, Oct 9: Over 20 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in by-elections to the three Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. Long queues of voters were seen outside the booths in Jorabagan, Shyampukur and entally constituencies in Kolkata where polling has been necessitated with the respective mlas of the Left front getting elected to the Lok Sabha. "The polling so far is quite peaceful and there is no report of any untoward incident. Over 20 per cent of the voters have cast their votes in the first two hours," State Joint Chief Electoral Officer Rabin Ganguly told PTI here. A total of 27 candidates are in the fray in the three constituencies although the contest is mainly confined among the Left Front, Trinamool Congress and Congress nominees. Ten candidates are seeking the people’s mandate in Jorabagan, nine in Shaympukur and eight in entally. The voting commenced at 8 am and will end at 5 pm. Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful polls in the three constituencies, with over 3000 policemen deployed to maintain law and order. The three constituencies together have 2,95,849 voters. The by-polls to the three Assembly seats in the metropolis have assumed importance in view of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections scheduled next year. At Shyampukur, the CPI(M)-backed forward bloc nominee Jiban Saha is pitted against Trinamool Congress’ Madan Mitra and Shibaji Sinha Roy of the Congress. CPI(M) candidate Parimal Biswas, Trianmool Congress Sanjay Bakshi and Rajesh Kumar Sinha of the Congress are trying their luck in the hustings from Jorabagan. At Entally, CPI(M)’s Abu Sufiyan, Trianmool Congress’ Manzar Iqbal and Congress’ Khalid Ebadullah are in the fray. The counting of ballots will take place on October 16. The by-polls are being held following the election of three MLAs — Sudhanshu Sil (Jorabagan), MD Salim (Entally), both CPIM and Subrata Bose (forward bloc) to the Lok Sabha. (PTI) |
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