PM to address nation today

New Delhi, June 23 (NNN): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the nation on Thursday and is likely to clear the air on the so-called 'tainted ministers', an issue on which the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) disrupted proceedings of both the Houses during the inaugural session of 14th Lok Sabha.

The Prime Minister's first address to the nation will be telecasted on Doordarshan at 1930 p.m.

both in English and Hindi.

The 20 to 25 minute speech of Manmohan Singh is expected to make a reference to the issue of 'tainted' ministers, informed sources said.

The Prime Minister is also expected to make an appeal to the opposition to ensure that the Budget session of parliament beginning on July five is smoothly conducted.

Manmohan Singh, who has kept a low profile so far he after assuming office last month, has been planning to address the nation ever since the disruption in Parliament by the opposition on the issue of tainted ministers.

As a result of the disruption there was no discussion not even on the motion of thanks to the President's address.

The discussion on the motion of thanks gives the Prime Minister an opportunity to reply to the debate on the government's policies and programmes.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister on Wednesday continued his pre-budget meetings today with trade union leaders.

Privatisation, labour reforms, small saving and the right to strike are likely to figure in the meeting's agenda.

This will be the first time that the Prime Minister will be having a formal meeting with trade unions before the budget and it is clear that the unions want to discuss contentious decisions already taken by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

"We do not mind private investors building airports in new areas.

We are opposed to privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports," says W R Varada Rajan, Secretary, CITU.

Meanwhile, the Left trade unions are also worried about how the budget will treat more sensitive issue of labour reforms and returns on small savings.

The unions do not want the government to cut the present interest rate of 9.5 per cent on Employees Provident Fund.

In addition, they are demanding a bill ensuring minimum wages for farm labour and agricultural workers.

They also want government employees to get back the right to strike.

However, it is the demand from its own party union, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), which the Congress-led government may have to address first.

INTUC wants workers of PSUs, which have been divested to get majority shares on a preferential basis.

It is also demanding an increase in the income tax exemption limit from the current Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

And a new law to take care of the 370 million workers in the non-organised sector.

In their meeting, the trade unions would want that, at least, some of their demands should be met if not all.

Natwar persuing pressing jobs while in China home KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, June 23: Even while in China, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh did not forget the pressing jobs he had to perform back in Delhi.

One such job was to request President APJ Abdul Kalam for a convenient time to present the Jawaharlal Nehru Award.

He phoned the Rashtrapati Bhawan from Beijing to remind that he had put in a request to the President and prompt came Kalam's response: 6.30 PM on July 9 at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

And, yes, invitees should not exceed 50.

Kalam's prompt response made Natwar too happy to complete a task so quickly even while he is far away from Delhi.

Before leaving for China, Natwar Singh also informed the Prime Minister that he would like to visit UAE in the second week of July in view of frantic messages from the Indian embassies in Oman , Dubai and Kuwait to plan a trip at the earliest.

The only hurdle is the protocol, under which the Cabinet Minister does not follow the Minister of State in paying a visit to a country.

The "Chhota" Minister of External Affairs, E Ahmed, has already airdashed to the UAE, spending five long days there.

Ahmed, who has been allocated Passport and Visa counsel division, Haj and UAE, chose to make a trip to UAE since it came under him in the allocation of work.

Natwar Singh learnt about his trip only when he was taking the flight, sources said.

Yet another task to which Natwar Singh was put while in China relates to the Singapore Prime Minister's slated visit to India on July 8.

The Prime Minister's Office wanted the Foreign Office to tell him to suggest the Singapore regime to advance the visit by a day on July 7.

The PMO left it up to Natwar Singh as to how he communicates that July 8 is not a convenient date since the entire government would be busy with the presentation of the Union Budget to Parliament that day.

Clinton intervened in Kargil conflict at Nawaz Sharif's bidding KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, June 23: Contrary to common perception, US President Bill Clinton did not intervene on his own in the Kargil conflict in 1999 to force withdrawal of the Pakistani forces and thus avert a war between India and Pakistan.

The former President has revealed this in his first person account in his autobiography "My Life" published on Tuesday in the United States and expected to reach the Indian bookstores by next week for sale at Rs 895.

"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan called and asked if he could come to Washington on July 4 to discuss the dangerous standoff with India that had begun several weeks earlier when Pakistani forces under the command of General Pervez Musharraf crossed the Line of Control (LoC)." Clinton's first person acount of the US diplomacy throws authoritative light on America's approach to India-Pakistan issues and is certain to be a factor with the new policymakers in Delhi as they weigh their psotions on the vexing trilateral issues involving India, Pakistan and the United States.

Clinton writes in his memoirs that following the now-exiled Pakistani Prime Minister's plea to be allowed to visit the White House: "I told Sharif that he was welcome in Washington, even on July 4.

But if he wanted me to spend America's Independence Day with him, he had to come to the US knowing two things: First, he had to agree to withdraw his troops back across the LoC; and Second, I would not agree to intervene in the Kashmir dispute, especially under circumstances that appeared to reward Pakistan's wrongful incursion.

"Sharif said he wanted to come anyway.

On July 4, we met at Blair House (the residence of state guests adjacent to the White House.

"Sharif was concerned that the situation Pakistan had created was getting out of control...

Once more, Sharif urged me to intervene in Kashmir, and again I explained that without India's consent it would be counterproductive, but that I would urge (Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee to resume the bilateral dialogue if the Pakistani troops withdrew.

He agreed and we released a joint statement saying that steps would be taken to restore the LoC and that I would support and encourage the resumption...

of bilateral talks once the violence had stopped." The rest is history.

Clinton's book reveals that the US was unwilling _at least at that stage _ to do anything beyond what it had already done to help India and that it was Sharif's desperation for the settlement that forced Washington into picture.

Indeed, Sharif had to force himself on Clinton to make peace with India.

But why did Clinton come to Sharif's rescue? "I needed his cooperation in the fight against terrorism." It is the same rationale used by the Bush administration in support of Musharraf, the author of Kargil.

"Before our July 4 meeting," writes Clinton, "I had asked Sharif on three occasions for help in apprehending Osama bin Laden...

We had intelligence reports that al Qaida was planning attacks on US officials and facilities...

perhaps in the US as well.

We had bee successful in breaking up cells and arresting a number of al Qaida members, but unless bin Laden and his top lieutenants were apprehended or killed, the threat would remain." Cong ridicules Jaitley assertion KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, June 23: The Congress on Wednesday ridiculed BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley, saying that as a former Union Law Minister he should know that there are no "political crimes" in the Indian Penal Code.

Referring to Jaitley differentiating the cases of the "tainted" ministers in the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre from those of former Deputy PM Lal Krishna Advani and others in the Babri Mosque demolition case, Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said he cannot cover up "heinous crimes" of his leaders by dubbing them as political crimes.

Sharma asserted that Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti were inducted in the previous BJP-led NDA government despite the cases of heinous crime pending against them and as such the BJP had no right to raise accusing finger at some of the ministers in the Manmohan Singh Government facing the court cases.

The amended election law requires every candidate to declare the pending cases against him and if he is eligible to contest the election despite such cases as declared, he has all the right also to become the minister, Sharma affirmed.

He also blasted the BJP for its political resolution at the ongoing national executive meeting in Mumbai describing Congress President Sonia Gandhi as a "super power" and asserting that there were two power centres in the present government.

Pointing out that Sonia's role is "limited to the common minimum programme (CMP) implementation" as the chairperson of the national advisory council" to keep a watch on the UPA government's commitment to CMP, Sharma said the dual power centres really existed during the NDA rule "when the RSS leaders having no official status would not only attend meetings at the official residence of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee but leaders like Madan Das Devi and Ram Madhav even make official pronouncements on behalf of the government." About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.

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