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..::India News::..
Crucial meeting: UPA, Left discuss differences
Thursday, May 12, 2005 (New Delhi):
The Left-UPA coordination committee met this morning to thrash out differences between the two.
During the meeting, the Left criticised the UPA government for not speeding up the process to bring comprehensive legislation on agricultural workers.
PM briefs Left leaders
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also briefed Left leaders about the progress in implementation of promises made in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).
The Left is bitterly opposed to the resumption of arms supplies to Nepal as there has been no move towards a restoration of democracy.
Banking reforms and the tribal reforms bill were also discussed during the meeting, which was attended by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
The Left is opposed to privatisation of PSU banks and wants deprived tribals living on the edges of forests to have access to resources which they say are their natural right.
Target BJP
The leaders of the UPA government and the Left parties also sought steps to introduce the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament and attacked the BJP for boycotting Parliament.
They also reiterated the demand for a CBI enquiry into the sale of two Centaur hotels in Mumbai.
The hour-long meeting was attended by Prakash Karat (CPIM), D Raja (CPI), Abani Roy (RSP) and CPI leader A B Bardhan.
The UPA was also represented by leader of Lok Sabha and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel and Prithviraj Chauhan.
(With PTI inputs)
NDA to decide on boycotting Parliament
Monday, May 2, 2005 (New Delhi):
The NDA will today take a decision on whether to continue its boycott of Parliament or not.
The NDA boycotted Parliament for the last three days of the past week demanding the resignation of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad after he was chargesheeted in a second case relating to the multi crore fodder scam.
The BJP-led opposition has charged that the government has not done anything to resolve the deadlock, except for a telephone call by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to BJP President L K Advani.
The Lok Sabha is scheduled to debate the Finance Bill today and the BJP had said last week that it plans to move amendments to the Bill.
Probity in public life
Meanwhile, as the tainted ministers issue continues to disrupt proceedings in Parliament, the Law Ministry will give its note on probity in public life to the Prime Minister in two days.
The note, being prepared by Union Law Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj on the PM's direction, could push for amendments to the Representation of People's Act.
The new Act would make it tougher for people with criminal records to contest elections.
However, the ministry says there is nothing in the law that disqualifies any MP tainted or otherwise from becoming a minister.
"As per the Representation of People's Act, nothing can stop any MP from becoming a minister. There have to be some changes here," said Bhardwaj.
'Presumption of innocence'
This note will decide the agenda for the all-party meeting that the Prime Minister is planning to hold on who should be barred from becoming a minister.
But the government has reiterated that it cannot drop Lalu from the Cabinet simply because charges have been framed against him.
"A chargesheet cannot be the basis of disqualification. In law, there's a presumption of innocence," Bhardwaj pointed out.
The government already has the recommendations of the Election Commission and the Ethics Committees of Parliament as well as guidelines for an electoral code of conduct for political parties to follow. This includes denying tickets to people with criminal records.
It's not the first time an effort is being made to find political consensus to resolve the controversy of tainted ministers. But given the bitterness seen last week, a solution could be a long way off.
Several feared dead in train accident in Gujarat
Thursday, April 21, 2005 (Vadodara):
Several passengers have been killed in a train accident when Sabarmati Express collided head on with a goods train near Samaliya village in Vadodara district of Gujarat.
The casualty figures have not been confirmed as yet, but at least eight bodies have been recovered so far.
Ambulances have rushed to the site, where at least seven bogies are reported to have derailed.
A disaster management team has rushed from Gandhinagar and relief operations are on.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told NDTV India that the government had mobilised relief.
Centre-Naga peace parleys at a crucial stage, says NSCN :
[India News] Bangalore/ Dimapur, April 15 : With only two days left for another round of peace talks between the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) and the Government of India, the organization claims that the peace talks has entered a crucial stage.
At the same time, the NSCN has alleged that some organizations in Nagaland and in the neighbouring northeastern states are trying to derail the ongoing peace talks by tarnishing the image of the NSCN.
“So far in spite of the difference on the part of the government of India, we are trying our best to go with the peace process”, Special Emissary to the collective leadership General (Retd.) V S Atem told ANI over phone form Bangalore.
“So far the talks held in cordial environment and we are ready for the next round of talks,” he added.
Senior NSCN leaders have been touring various parts of the country to escape from the scorching heat prevailing in Delhi. In their last leg, NSCN General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and others visited, Karnataka, where the climate is moderate.
The NSCN leaders called on Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh and Former Prime Minister H D Deve Godwa.
“The discussion with the Karnataka Chief Minister and Former Prime Minister was very positive. They gave full support to the ongoing peace talks”, Atem added.
The Naga insurgent leaders were also given a warm welcome by Naga students studying in Bangalore. The NSCN delegation will leave for Delhi tomorrow. The next round of talks would begin on Monday (April 18).
The scene in the NSCN arena in Nagaland is different altogether. The organization is banking on building image as the peace parlays enters a crucial stage. The organisation’s top spokesperson in Nagaland, Kraibo Chawang, said over phone from camp Hebron: “Various anti-social organizations in Nagaland and neighbouring states opposed to the peace process are trying to derail the peace process by tarnishing the image of NSCN (I-M)”.
There is no change in the team of negotiators on either side. The NSCN delegation is expected to meet the Central ministerial team on Monday,headed by Minister of State for Statistics & Programme Implementation Oscar Fernandes. Minister of State Prithiviraj Chauhan, S. Raghuati are the other members of the negotiating team.
Senior NSCN leaders Muivah and Isak arrived in India in December last year for talks with the Indian government. They have utilised the past four months in meeting a cross-section of the Indian political leadership and had several meetings with a cross-section of Naga society to assess the impact of their visit back home after more than four decades and to get a feel of the reactions on ground to their talks with the Centre.
By and large, the talks between the two sides have been welcomed as a much needed respite from decades of insurgency and instability that has affected the socio-economic development of the state and India’s north east overall. (ANI)
Posted on 13 April 2005
A tale of many PMs and the train that finally chugs off
(IANS News) Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir), : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flags off a 52-km train service through the Himalayas from Jammu to Udhampur on Wednesday, exactly 22 years after Indira Gandhi laid the foundation stone for the ambitious railway project.
The project has seen eight prime ministers come and go before it finally took shape, crossing many geological hurdles and shortage of funds.
It was a rainy day in April 1983 when then prime minister Indira Gandhi, protected by a large umbrella, laid the foundation stone for the Rs.520 million ($ 12 million) Jammu-Udhampur rail link.
She heard the loud complaint of then chief minister Farooq Abdullah that "the centre announces projects, but never completes those in time".
Gandhi, who had by that time decided that her Congress party was not going to have any alliance with Abdullah's National Conference in the June 1983 assembly elections, retorted: "You take it from me, and I assure all of you that this train would be running on time in five years from now."
A rain-drenched crowd cheered the announcement. And the dream of the first train to the Himalayas took off.
Five years later in 1988, Indira Gandhi's son and then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi came to the state to commission the first phase of the Salal hydroelectric project in Udhampur district.
He was addressing a rally in the town of Reasi when state Congress chief Ghulam Rasool Kar commented: "I would be delighted if my grandchildren would see the train run."
After all, the five-year deadline had passed and the rail link was still in its infancy, managing only Rs.10 million to Rs. 20 million a year from the railway ministry.
Rajiv Gandhi took up the bait and promised, pointing towards Kar: "Kar Sahib, this train will run in your lifetime, and you will board it." The words, which met with huge applause, have proved prophetic. Kar is in his eighties and has indeed lived to see the train chugging through the mountain passes.
Two prime ministers, V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar, did not visit Jammu and Kashmir. And Congress' P.V. Narasimha Rao did visit the state for the 1996 parliamentary elections, but never travelled to Udhampur to say a word on the train.
His successors H.D. Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral did speak out, promising that the rail link would be extended to the valley. But still the train to Udhampur did not steam in.
And then came Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who did not make any commitments, but enhanced the allocation of funds for the project.
Well, the rail line, which negotiates some sharp curves and boasts of more than 150 bridges and 20 tunnels through some of the most beautiful parts of the state, is ready.
And it falls on Vajpayee's successor Manmohan Singh to launch the train linking the two halves of Jammu and Kashmir, just as he flagged off the bus service connecting the two Kashmirs just six days ago. (India News)
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