AYODHYA, Feb 7 (UNI) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have turned the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad saffron to welcome prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his visit here.
Vajpayee would inaugurate a railway bridge over river Saryu by travelling on a VVIP train from Katra station in Gonda district to Faizabad.
Several posters and banners demanding an early construction of a 'grand Ram temple' at the disputed site have come up in the twin cities overnight.
Also most of the telephone and electricity poles had saffron and BJP flags on them.
The Sangh activists had also placed megaphones to 'broadcast' live the prime minister's public rally at Faizabad airstrip.
However, police, have removed some of the 'provocative' posters from the cities even as a large posse of security personnel were patrolling the area on foot and in open trucks.
The Congress has, meanwhile, criticised the central government for 'unnecessarily delaying' the inauguration of the Rs 51 crore bridge.
"The bridge was ready in March last year itself.
The year-long delay is aimed at gauning mileage during Lok Sabha elections," alleged UPCC president Jagdambika Pal.
He claimed that in principle, the project was cleared during the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi, while the financial nod was given by a Congress prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.
The 8.7 km-long bridge over river Saryu has three halts Ramghat halt, Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar and Ayodhya and eight crossings (with five in Faizabad and three in Ayodhya).
But during today's run, the PM's train would not stop at any halt, including at Ayodhya.
Annual budget for 2004-05 to be presented on Feb 11 CHENNAI, Feb 7 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu annual budget for the year 2004-05 will be presented to the state assembly on February 11.
Announcing this in a three-line press release, assembly secretary V Rajaraman said the budget would be presented at 1430 hrs.
This was the first time in the history of the state's legislature that the budget was being presented in the afternoon.
Finance minister C Ponnaiyan would present the budget.
Official sources here indicated that there would be no full fledged discussion on the budget, which would normally last for a month.
Instead, the House, after a Vote On Account, was likely to be adjourned on February 13 in view of the coming Lok Sabha elections, the sources said.
The Business Advisory Committee would be meeting after the presentation of the budget on February 11 and take a decision to this effect, the sources added.
The presentation of the budget will come a day after chief minister J Jayalalithaa replies to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the House.
Fernandes' contribution to armed forces Flag Day NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (UNI) In a unique gesture of solidarity with the very armed forces he ministers, George Fernandes today handed over to the flag day fund a handsome Rs 35,000 he had collected over the last two months.
On the last armed forces Flag Day December 7 last, the defence minister, in a novel endeavour, had appealed to everyone visiting his office in the South Block here to contribute Rs 100 each and deposit the amount in a donation box placed there for the purpose.
The total collections so far amounted to Rs 35,000 and these were handed over to Director General Resettlement (DGR) Major General VS Budhwar at a simple function earlier in the day today.
The amount shall go towards the armed forces Flag Day Fund which is utilised for a number of welfare programmes instituted by the 'Kendriya Sainik Board' at the centre and the 'Rajya Sainik Boards' at the states-level for the benefit and empowerment of war-widows, disabled soldiers-sailors-airmen, and ex-servicemen and their dependants as also for serving personnel.
Observed every December 7 as a national event, the armed forces Flag Day affords the nation and its citizenry an opportunity to reinforce their solidarity with and express their gratitude and appreciation for its armed forces by contributing to the armed forces Flag Day Fund.
Vajpayee for peaceful solution to Ayodhya issue LUCKNOW, Feb 7 (UNI) Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today advocated a peaceful solution to the Ayodhya issue through dialogue.
In a brief interaction with reporters here on way to Faizabad, Vajpayee said he was in favour of a peaceful solution to the vexed Ayodhya problem.
"Baatcheet se yeh mudda suljhaana hai (the issue can be resolved through dialogue)," he added.
He said the BJP had never left the Ayodhya issue and hence, there was no need to keep raising it.
Punjab to plead its case with president, PM CHANDIGARH, Feb 7 (UNI) Ahead of Tuesday hearing in the Supreme Court, an all-party meet by the Amarinder government here today decided to plead the Punjab's case on Satluz-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and Ravi-Beas rivers water with the president, prime minister, water resources and law ministers in view of the 'altered circumstances' and sudden resusiciation of the Eradi tribunal after 17 years.
"An All-Party Draft Committee will draft the memorandum tomorrow" to be submitted to the dignitaries, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh told a media conference after presiding over the meeting which lasted nearly two hours.
The principal opposition Akali-BJP combine and Bahujan Samaj Party boycotted the meeting.
Describing the boycott by three of the 13 parties invited to the meeting as 'unfortunate', Capt Singh said "our government wants peaceful settlement of the issue unlike Badal who has been talking of spilling blood" on the issue.
Declining to attribute motives to the resurrection of the Eradi tribunal, revived recently after it had submitted its interim report on the river waters dispute between Punjab and Haryana in January, 1987, the chief minister only quipped "we are concerned but not clear asto why the tribunal has been revived." Capt Singh sought a new tribunal in view of the altered circumstances due to decline in the flow of water in the two rivers.
Eradi tribunal had allocated water to the two states on the basis of time-in-flow data of 1960-80 period at 17.17 MAF (Million Acre Feet).
The chief minister said flow had now declined to 14.34 maf as deterimned by the 1980-2002 data obtained by the Punjab government from Bakhra Beas Manangement Board (BBMB), a central governemnt body.
Capt Singh said besides the memo, the all-party meeting authorised the Punjab government to pursue all legal channels to protect the interests of the state.
Punjab's review petition against the apex court order of January 15, 2002 on SYl canal issue had been dismissed by the court in March same year.
The Supreme Court had ordered the state government to complete the canal in its territory within one year, failing which it had directed the centre to get it completed through a central agency.
However, neither the canal has been completed nor conflict over share of the rivers water resolved even after lapse of two years now.
Punjab irrigation's principal secretary KR Lakhanpal today said its plea that the supreme court order was not implementable was still pending in the apex court.
Another petition challanging the Haryana government's plea on non-maintainbility of Punjab's plea is also pending in the Supreme Court, he added.
Reiterating the need for a new tribunal, as already resolved by the state cabinet, Capt Singh said it has become necessary as terms of reference of the Rradi tribunal does not cover new ground realities on the issue.
The chief minister said now Yamuna has been linked with Sharda river and Haryana would get more water from Yamuna.
Eradi tribunal was constituted as part of the Rajiv-Longowal Accord in July, 1985 and had submitted its interim report in January, 1987.
Punjab had filed a review petition against the interim report in August, 1987 and it has been pending since.
Now the central government has revived the tribunal and Punjab government has contested its revival after 17 years.
Lyngdoh demits office NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (UNI) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) James Michael Lyngdoh, who had steered the elections in Hujarat and Jammu and Kashmir and earned international acclaim with the coveted Magsaysay Award, today demitted office after serving for seven eventful years in the poll panel.
Lyngdoh, who became Election Commissioner in march 1997, was elevated as CEC in June 2001.
Before departing for Hydrabad today, Lyngdoh signed the letter relinguishing charge.
Talking to mediapersons after demitting office, Lyngdoh said that holding free and fair elections in Kashmir was the "high watermark as CEC." Lyngdoh, who turned 65 today, said he was satisfied with his seven-year stint in the Election Commission.
He did not regret his controversial remarks on politicans, he said.
Regarding his statement that conditions in Chhattisgarh were worse than Gujarat, the outgoing CEC said the state administration had no control in Chhattisgarh while in Gujarat, the state administration was under the control of the government.
Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy and BB Tandon besides senior officials of EC were present when Lyngdoh relinquished charge.
Krishnamurthy will formally take over as CEC tommorrow and his place will be taken by home secretary N Gopalaswami.
Lyngdoh, who is of Khasi tribal origin from Meghalaya and an IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, acquired a tough image as the CEC by his handling of the assembly elections in Gujarat in the aftermath of the post-Godhra violence that had rocked the state.
He declined to hold early elections in Gujarat as desired by chief minister Narendra Modi, saying the situation was not conducive for polls, and finally held them in 2002.
The centre had made a presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the issue, but the apex court upheld the Election Commission's stand.
The peaceful elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which were widely seen as being free and fair, earned him international fame.
Lyngdoh, who drove by road to Hyderabad in the Toyota Quallis, was accompanied by his wife and three pet dogs.
He said a legislation is required to keep criminals out of the electoral fray.
One of the last acts by Lyngdoh in office was to preside over a meeting here earlier this week of Chief Electoral Officers from the states to discuss arrangements for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
According to him, the Gujarat elections were not a big challenge, though he felt "it was not a nice experience." He said he was confident that the commission would continue to be independent "because of the kind of people that we have." Justifying the government decision to appoint an insider as CEC, he said the government took the sensible decision even now and at the time of his appointment.
I think that the government will also take sensible decisions on the appointment of CEC in future also .
Lyngdoh was honoured with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2003.
'In electing James Michael Lyngdoh to receive the 2003 Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, the board of trustees recognizes his convincing validation of free and fair elections as the foundation and best hope of secular democracy in strife-torn India," the citation read.
An economics graduate, Lyngdoh joined the Indian administrative service in 1961.
During 36 years as a civil servant, Lyngdoh served as the Managing Director, Food Corporation of India, Relief Commissioner, Additional Secretary in the Agriculture ministry, and as Secretary, Coordination and Public Grievances, in the cabinet secretariat.
I was not subjected to hardship: Vaiko VELLORE, TAMIL NADU, Feb 7 (UNI) Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko today said he was not subjected to any kind of harassment or hardship during his 577-day detainment under POTA in the central prison here.
Narrating his experiences to reporters, he said he was forced to travel a total distance of 47,730 km to the Nagapattinam court and the Poonamallee (POTA) court in connection with two cases.
"I played volleyball in the evenings and took walks in the mornings," Vaiko said while commenting on his routine in the prison.
"I never discussed politics with anyone inside the prison.
I took part in a number of religious discourses, both Hindu and Muslim, and read numerous books, besides penning a few," he added.
On why he had relented from his tough stand of not seeking bail in the POTA case, he said he had done so on an appeal from DMK president M Karunanidhi and in view of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Navy engaged in towing damaged ship to coast MUMBAI, Feb 7 (UNI) The Indian navy is continuing with its efforts to tow back the medium-sized anti-submarine warship INS Agray, which was damaged in an underwater explosion during an excercise on the night of February five, some 100 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast.
It is a slow process to tow the ship back as its engine room had been flooded with water following the explosion, defence ministry sources told UNI here today.
The navy personnel from the rescue party have been pumping out the water from the engine room and towing the damaged ship slowly, the sources said.
There were no no injuries to the crew in the accident and all of them were rescued by helicopters.
INS Agray's underwater hull was damaged in an underwater rocket explosion during an annual routine anti-submarine warfare excercise in which submarines, ships and aircraft of the Western Naval Command (WNC) were participating.
Senior officers of the WNC held a high-level meeting soon after the incident.
British women MPs hail Vajpayee's peace initiatives JAMMU, Feb 7 (UNI) British women MPs of the Labour Friends of India have expressed optimism that lasting peace will soon be established in the subcontinent with India and Pakistan initiating steps to resolve all outstanding issues through bilateral dialogue.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by Depty Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mangat Ram Sharma in honour of the visiting parliamentarians last night, the leader of the delegation, Dari Taylor, said Confidence Building Measures initiated by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had paved the way for a composite Indo-Pak dialogue for resolving all issues amicably.
Taylor said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was gradually improving following the measures taken by the state government to address the alienation problem and win hearts and minds of the people of the state.
She hoped that complete peace and normalcy would soon return to the troubled state.
The deputy chief minister gave a detailed account to the delegation of the current political and security situation in the state.
He said the the peoples' belief in Indian democracy was further strengthened after free and fair assembly elections in 2002.
"The turnaround in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was possible due to peoples' yearning for peace as they have suffered immensely due to militancy in the past 14 years.
The steps taken by the state government for restoration of peace and normalcy have given a great fillip to the tourism industry, the backbone of state's economy," the deputy chief minister said.
He said the state government had given 33 per cent reservation to women in Panchayats and every grassroot level democratic institution would now have three women members who would be nominated soon.
Sharma said development of rural areas had been accorded priority and several schemes were being taken up for improving the socio-economic condition of the people.
Gujarat incident has shaken a pillar of democracy: Shekhawat JAIPUR, Feb 7 (UNI) Expressing anguish over the recent bribery scandal involving a Gujarat magistrate, vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today called upon the judiciary to take firm steps to clean up its image and turn courts into 'temples of justice'.
Democracy would get strengthened even if one of its pillars the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and the media set the highest standards of functioning, he said after laying the foundation stone of an extension building of the Jaipur district court.
"The Gujarat incident has shaken one of these pillars," he said, pointing out that the responsibility to improve the judicial system rested with the judiciary only.
Even a High Court judge has been arrested on corruption charges.
"Whenever such cases come up the whole pillar is shaken," he said.
"One stale fish can spoil the whole tank...
God save our country if the judiciary is not reformed" Earlier, in his welcome address, Rajasthan High Court chief justice Anil Dev Singh pointed out that barely 0.2 per cent of the annual budget was allocated for the judiciary.
"Effective functioning is difficult when the infrastructure is poor," he had said, adding more funds were needed for improving the system.
Supreme Court judge Shivraj Patil too referred to the shortage of courts in the country.
The vice-president maintained that it was not due to the shortage of infrastructure or manpower that the judiciary was weak.
Cases that could be dealt with in five minutes too dragged on for years while the common man dreaded approaching courts, he said.
People make all sorts of demands from politicians.
But "never in 50 years of my political career did I meet a man who said give us a court," he said amid peals of laughter.
"The day people's faith in the judiciary gets strengthened, all your infrastructural problems will vanish," he said, exhorting the judiciary to ensure cheap and speedy justice to the people.
Judicial reforms, electoral reforms and population stabilisation were crucial elements in the healthy functioning of democracy, he averred.
People's faith in the judicial process would be strengthened if judgement was fast in at least cases of corruption, rape and other such issues having a bearing on public mind, he said.
As part of the reform process, he suggested that comments passed by higher courts on the quality of judgement passed by lower courts should be necessarily used while deciding on promotions.
Labour Party to demand seat reservation for women in British parliament KOLKATA, Feb 7 (UNI) British prime minister Tony Blair's Labour Party is going to demand reservation of seats for women in British parliament, labour party MP Dari Taylor told reporters here today.
"In fact this is one of the main issues for our campaign in the coming election," Taylor said after a meeting with West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee here today.
Taylor, leading a ten-member delegation of women MPs of her party, said at least 40 per cent of the British parliament should be reserved for women.
"At present women representation is only 18 per cent," she pointed out.
The labour party delegation also enquired about the bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in India, which had been shelved by parliament.
During discussions with Bhattacharjee, the visiting MPs also enquired about rural and urban poverty and partnership with the industries for West Bengal's development.
"We came to know from Mr Bhattacharjee that in rural areas women are more active.
We also came to know from him that the enormous problem of poverty is being tackled and there was slow improvement in literacy campaign and primary education," she added.
Bitta under threat from Beant's killers: police NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (UNI) The Punjab police has informed its Delhi counterpart that All India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman MS Bitta faced a major security threat to his life from Babar Khalsa terrorists Jagtar Singh Hawara and his three accomplices who escaped from the Burail jail last month, and demanded adequate security cover.
The additional DGP (security) of Punjab police in a letter to Delhi police commissioner KK Paul said that the escape of four terrorists, facing trial for the assasination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, from the jail has increased security risks for Bitta.
Pointing out that Bitta has already been given Z" security at his Chandigarh residence, the Punjab police official urged the Delhi police to take precautionary security measures against IED blast or human bomb blasts at the Delhi residence, stay and function places of Bitta and also during his movement.
TN govt files petition seeking cancellation of Vaiko's bail CHENNAI, Feb 7 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu government today filed a petition in Madras High Court, seeking to cancel the conditional bail granted to MDMK general secretary vaiko by a special court in a POTA case.
This petition is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.
Details of the petition were not made available to the media.
It was only today that Vaiko, who was incarcerated in the Vellore central prison ever since his arrest on July 11, 2002, under the anti-terror act for making pro-LTTE speeches at a public meeting, was released on conditional bail.
The special court had imposed stringent conditions to let out Vaiko on bail.
However, on a petition filed by Vaiko, the High Court had relaxed certain conditions.
The MDMK leader filed a memo of undertaking on February five that he would abide by the conditions.
Cong panel recommends Ambika Soni for Hoshiarpur CHANDIGARH, Feb 7 (UNI) Congress general secretary Ambika Soni has been recommended as party candidate from the Hoshiarpur constituency for Lok Sabha elections.
District Congress Committees (DCCs) of Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahar and Ropar, under which the Hoshiarpur constituency falls, recommended her candidacy to the AICC.
She has been replaced by MP Charanjit Singh Channi, the sole omission among the Congress Lok Sabha members proposed as party candidates again.
Other Congress recommendations consist of RL Bhatia from Amritsar, Balbir Singh from Jalandhar, Santosh Choudhary from Phillaur (reserve), Shamsher Singh Dullo from Ropar (reserve), Preneet Kaur, wife of chief minister Amarinder Singh, from Patiala, Gurcharan Singh Ghalib from Ludhiana, and Jagmeet Singh Brar from Faridkot.
Congress had eight MPs, Shiromani Akali Dal two, and the BJP, the CPI and Akali Dal (Mann) one each from Punjab in the dissolved house.
Bathinda (reserve) fell vacant a month ago with the death of Bhan Singh Bhaura of the CPI.
Minister of state for external affairs Vinod Khanna was the Lone BJP member from Punjab (Gurdaspur), while Sangrur was represented hardline Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann.
Ferozepur and Tarn Taran were held by SAD (Badal)'s Zora Singh Mann and Tarlochan Singh Tur.
The SAD-BJP combine won only three of the 13 seats in the 1999 general elections and will fight the upcoming polls as allies again.
However, the Congress, which allied with the CPI last time, has yet to chose its partner.
