Lok Sabha ajourned

NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) The Lok Sabha adjourned today for the day after paying homage to union cabinet minister Murasoli Maran, sitting BJP member from Karnataka G Mallikarjunappa and seven former members, who died after the Monsoon session.

Maran, who was elected from Madras Central Parliamentary constituency, was the member of Vajpayee government since 1999.

He was earlier holding charge of the commerce minister.

He died on November 23 at the age of 69.

Paying tributes, speaker Manohar Joshi said that former member and Governor of Rajasthan Nirmal Chandra Jain, BK Nair, S Ramasamy, Kalicharan Sakargayam, Subdhra Joshi, Kushak Bakula and ML Sondhi passed away during the inter-session.

Mamata forgoes salary, surrenders phones, pays own airfare NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) The All India Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has not been drawing any salary as a cabinet minister.

According to sources close to Banerjee, she has declined to accept the salary on the grounds that she is a cabinet minister without a portfolio which practically means no work and the question of a payment does not arise.

As a cabinet minister, Banerjee is entitled to get a furnishing allowance of Rs one lakh from the Lok Sabha secretariat which also she has not yet availed of, the sources said.

She has also declined her entitlement for 17 staff members in her post as a cabinet minister.

Banerjee has also not availed of the free air ticket facilities provided to all member of parliament.

Even as a cabinet minister, she had travelled as a companion of her fellow party MP Dinesh Trivedi when she rushed to Mumbai after the twin bomb blasts in September as also to Hyderabad to see Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu after he was injured in the Peoples War militants attack near Tirupati, the sources said.

She has come to attend the Winter session of Parliament by air from Kolkata at her own expense, they added.

Banerjee had already written a letter to the Lok Sabha secretariat on November 24 for surrendering her telephone connection provided to her as MP in Kolkata as also her personal mobile phone.

LS greets speaker on birthday NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) The Lok Sabha today greeted speaker Manohar Joshi on his 64th birthday today, which is incidently the first day of the Winter session.

Soon after the house assembled, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD) greeted Joshi on his birthday.

Members from both the treasury and opposition benches also extended their greetings.

Joshi smiled and accepted the greetings of the house.

Mamata, Ramachandran introduced in LS NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today introduced in the Lok Sabha Mamata Banerjee and Gingee Ramachandran, who were inducted in the council of ministers in first week of September.

While Banerjee is a cabinet minister without portfolio, Ramachandran is holding the charge of minister of state for textiles.

Both the ministers had resigned from the Vajpayee government but were re-inducted in the council of ministers.

Gujarat files for production of additional appeal grounds AHMEDABAD, Dec 2 (UNI) Advocate General SN Shelat, on behalf of the Gujarat government today filed an application in the High Court for production of additional grounds of appeal in the Best Bakery case.

A division bench had yesterday directed Shelat to file an application before the court, after he had sought permission to submit papers for additional grounds for appeal.

Shelat said yesterday that such a step was a matter of record for the court and the state had the right to produce it before the court, whenever the state "thought it fit." The court observed that the hearing on this matter would be taken up on December 17 along with the re-examination of the five witnesses of the case.

Azad amused by 'childish' pranks of Naidu HYDERABAD, Dec 2 (UNI) Describing Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's act of prematurely dissolving the Assembly as a "childish" prank, congress working committee member Ghulam Nabi Azad today said his party would make the most of this opportunity to dislodge the TDP government from power.

Addressing party workers at a state-level election orientation camp held at Gandhi Bhavan, the APCC headquarters here, he said Naidu had failed to take advantage of the two-thirds majority the TDP enjoyed in the dissolved assembly.

Instead of charging the Congress and the Naxalites with hindering development, the TDP government could have used their majority to pass any legislation it wanted to curb extremism or lead the state towards development, Azad, also the leader in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, felt.

Stating that it was "sad" that the chief minister chose to club the Congress with the Naxalites while making out a case for dissolving the assembly, he said the "real problem is that Mr Naidu had never attempted to understand the genesis of the Naxalite problem to find a solution to it." Referring to the experiences in Kashmir, the Congress leader pointed out that despite over 30,000 officials and militants having been killed in terrorist violence in that state, the union government was still prepared for talks with Pakistan, which was accused of sponsoring cross-border terrorism.

"That does not mean that our prime minister is pro-Pakistan," Azad noted.

Similarly, if the Congress suggested that talks be held with the Naxalites, that does not mean it was pro-extremists, he added, asserting that in democracy, the doors for dialogue must be kept open.

Replying to Naidu's criticism that the Congress was opportunistic, Azad said "had we been opportunistic, our party would have been in power." The TDP's alliance with the BJP proved who was opportunistic, he added.

Describing the BJP as a "cancer" afflicting the country, Azad said the TDP was supporting that party despite the unsavoury developments in Gujarat and elsewhere.

The onus was now on the TDP to prove whether they were secular or opportunistic, he added.

Ridiculing Naidu for dissolving the Assembly with an eye on strengthening his party's numbers in the house, he claimed that the TDP would not get the same number of seats in the coming elections.

"I could imagine if Mr Naidu had decided to dissolve the house while heading a minority or a coalition government.

But, when his hands were already strengthened, it beats logic to seek a fresh mandate," Azad said.

The Congress leader exhorted his partymen to be hard working, united and disciplined to dislodge the TDP and install the congress in power in the state.

Meanwhile, Azad said the party would shortly announce the Congress Coordination Committee for Telangana, the absence of which had led to heartburn among partymen earlier.

He made the announcement at a state-level election coordination camp for APCC workers held here.

Azad said the party high command would take a decision on electoral alliances after duly consulting the state leaders, as was the "usual practice." His clarification was apparently to silence the ruling TDP's criticism that the APCC leaders were powerless and had to look up to their bosses in Delhi for every decision.

Azad exhorted his partymen to concentrate on campaigning in their respective Assembly segments instead of coming to Delhi, seeking party ticket for elections.

"We will come to you and offer ticket to contest elections," he said, assuring the cadres that selection of candidates would be done based only on merit and nepotism and money had no role to play in that process.

Stating that the public had a very short memory, the Congress leader said despite the good work done during the last four years, it was the work done in the last two months that mattered the most.

India wins GSP case against Pak NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) After months of sustained efforts in the WTO dispute settlement panel, India has won a trade war against Pakistan which was receiving favoured treatment from the European communities under the "drug arrangements" window of its Generalised System of Preferences (GSPs).

The dispute settlement panel of the World Trade Organisation, established at India's request, has upheld New Delhi's contention that the EC has violated the WTO obligations in granting tariff preferences to 12 countries, mainly Pakistan under the "drug arrangements" of the GSP scheme.

"India's dispute with EC had arisen primarily because EC included Pakistan as beneficiary country under the special tariff arrangement for combating drug production and trafficking under GSP for the years 2002-04," official sources said here today.

While the scheme was in operation even in earlier years,Indian exporters were directly affected after Pakistan got included in the dispensation of beneficiary countries.

It got a sudden and significant tariff preference of 9.6 per cent in apparel products hitting the Indian exporters.

The ruling will provide relief to Indian exporters to Europe, particularly those in the apparel sector.

"India invoked dispute settlement proceedings after having exhausted all avenues for a negotiated settlement with the EC," they said.

The dispute settlement panel was not convinced with the EC's contention that the drug arrangements were justified under the 'enabling clause'.

It has recommended that the dispute settlement body requests the EC to bring its measure into conformity with its obligations under the GATT.

CPI(M) welcomes ceasefire, calls on Vajpayee to meet Musharraf NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) Welcoming the government's decision to observe a ceasefire from the Actual Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) today called on prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to meet Pakistan president Parvez Musharraf during the SAARC summit.

CPI(M) parliamentary party leader Somnath Chatterjee, talking to newspersons here today, said it (the ceasefire) is a good decision and there was no reason to protest on this issue.

"We, in fact, are also in favour of a one-to-one dialogue between Pakistan president General Parvez Musharaf and prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the upcoming SAARC meet at Islamabad in January next year," he added.

Shashank takes over as foreign secretary NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI) Seasoned diplomat Shashank today formally assumed charge as foreign secretary, emphasising that Indian diplomacy has a very important role to play in world affairs.

A 1966 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Shashank suceeds Kanwal Sibal.

"We have been planning to obtain the best synergies to meet challenges of the present phase of globalisation," he said as he was escorted to his room in the South block by senior officials of the external affairs ministry.

Shashank was named as foreign secretary on November 18 by the Cabinet Committee on Appointments.

Hitherto, he was secretary (Europe, Africas and the Americas) in the external affairs ministry, a job he has held since since July 2002.

Shashank has been India's ambassador to Denmark, Libya and South Korea.

He has also been minister (political) in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

He has also served in New York, Brussels and Cairo.

His appointment has taken place at a time when India and Pakistan are making serious efforts to normalise bilateral ties.

Shashank's first major diplomatic assignment will be the CHOGM Summit at Abuja in Nigeria later this week, at which prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will lead the Indian delegation.

Next month, Shashank will be called upon to ensure India's success at the SAARC summit in Islamabad.