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APRIL 5, 1998
VHP goes ahead with Ram temple construction
Rather than put the brakes on its temple construction efforts, the VHP is overseeing the work that is currently going on in bits and pieces at four sites -- Kojura, Ajari and Pindwara in Shirohi district in Rajasthan and in Ayodhya itself. Further, there is no stealth about the ongoing work, with the VHP even distributing photographs of the four workshops quite liberally.
Was Madani the link between ISI and Al-Umma?
The Kerala sleuths believe so. The arrested People's Democratic Party chief, they say, used to arrange for extremists to be trained in Pakistan. He attempted to
send Mohammad Ashraf, one of the Coimbatore blast accused, over the
border, but the plan had come unstuck.
Madani's bail plea rejected
The bail plea of People's Democratic Party chairman Abdul Nasser Madani, who was arrested for his alleged links with the suspects of the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts, was rejected by chief judicial magistrate K K Utharan on Friday.
Sonia's desire for a vibrant Congress may see heads rolling
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is poised to bring young blood into
the party after Monday's All India Congress Committee special session.
Jain report will have explosive findings: Moopanar
Tamil Maanila Congress president G K Moopanar said that the
Justice Milap Chand Jain Commission final report would contain
explosive material involving some people.
Jain Commission was a waste of resources, says Maran
Reacting to the publication of the excerpts of the Jain Commission
report in an English daily today, Maran said the people knew they
(the DMK) were not involved in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
The Special Investigation Team of the Central Bureau of Investigation
had not chargesheeted any DMK member. Of the 26 accused convicted
for the assassination by the special court, no one was a DMK
member.
Naidu rules out joining BJP govt
The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said he will review the Telugu Desam Party's support if the Vajpayee government did anything to harm the interests of secularism and minorities.
Advani to give identity cards to all Indians
Through a citizen's ID card scheme, to be
introduced soon. The card would serve as an all-purpose identification document.
Farooq suddenly finds BJP flag unacceptable
Kashmiris, said the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, whose National Conference had, just a week before, extended 'issue-based' support to the BJP, have never accepted the party.
Expatriate Tamils keep the Eelam flame burning in London
Various Tamil organisations in the British capital are thought to raise about 250,000 pounds sterling every month for the LTTE. The worldwide income is believed to be about 1.25 million pounds, much of it collected from the 400,000 Sri Lankan Tamils living in Europe and North America. Some of the money is spent on humanitarian aid, but the lion's share funds the Tigers' formidable war machine.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Defence Budget Blues
'In 1998-99 the Indian defence establishment will set a record of sorts by exceeding Rs 300 billion in defence expenditure. After debt repayments and subsidies, defence will eat up the largest portion of the national cake, a full 18 per cent of it. And what
exactly will this whopping amount buy us? Practically nothing,' says Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd).
By George! Pawar's in a jam
Once upon a time, there lived a defence minister in the country of
Indians. He was wise, he was shrewd, and, to top it, had big, hard biceps, the size of Kerala coconuts. So big, so hard that he, from the land of Marathas, was suitably nicknamed Maratha Strongman. Now he's in a jam, over a certain US $ 35.44 million deal with the Yugoslavians... Capital Buzz from the Delhi Durbar.
Karnataka:Cabinet expanded
Kerala: Red citadel in all-out effort to go green
New Delhi: CAG pulls up Delhi government for all-round mismanagement
Tamil Nadu: Madras police hunt for Ayesha in Bangalore
APRIL 3, 1998
Vajpayee rules out dismissing TN government
''We will not misuse Article 356 (of the Constitution),''
the prime minister said, amid thumping of desks by Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha. He was replying to the three-day debate on the motion of thanks to the President for his address to the joint session of Parliament.
BJP wins in Patna
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Dr C P Thakur was declared
elected from the Patna Lok Sabha constituency today, for which
repolling was held on March 30. Dr Thakur wrested the seat
defeating his nearest Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate Ram Kripal
Yadav by a margin of 52,606 votes.
No one controls BJP, says Advani, there is no remote control
"Only the PM controls the government. And the government is being controlled by Parliament and the people," the BJP president and Union home minister said in Ahmedabad.
Pawar promises to let Vajpayee rule
The Opposition leader said the Congress would not destabilise the government in power. But it would make sure the BJP stuck to its national agenda.
DMK government will collapse on its own, says Kumaramangalam
Union Power Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam today said there was no necessity for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
government at the Centre to dismiss the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu, as it would fall on its own.
Jaya repeats demand to sack Karunanidhi
Talking to the media after her hour-long meeting with
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee at his residence in New Delhi, Jayalalitha said, ''We do want the dismissal of the DMK government. But everything has to be done at a proper time and certain procedure has to be followed.''
TMC rejects Moopanar's resignation, freezes merger issue
The crucial executive committee meeting of the Tamil Maanila Congress
skirted the question of the party's merger with the Congress,
while predictably rejecting party veteran G K Moopanar's offer of
resignation from the post of party president.
Hindu vote bank threatens DMK in TN?
''There is definitely a 'Hindu vote bank' in the state now, though it may differ from the 'Hindutva vote bank' elsewhere in details," says an informed source. "While the 'Hindutva vote bank' is the consolidation of the 'fundamentalist Hindu view' in the aftermath of the Ayodhya row, the 'Hindu vote bank' in Tamiil Nadu has been a fallout of the 'Coimbatore blasts' of February 14, aided in a way by the daily seizures of explosives from various corners of the state in the past month."
Karnataka govt on warpath against AP
Levelling serious allegations against the Andhra Pradesh government, Karnataka has threatened to approach the World Bank with a litany of complaints. The alleged 'illegal activities' of the Andhra Pradesh government pertain to the implementation of permanent projects in the Krishna basin. Karnataka feels that the World Bank should stop funds for these projects immediately.
TDP will not join BJP: Naidu
Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu today asserted that the party would have good relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre, but it would not join the government 'under any circumstances'.
BJP's Bengal chief says they will be equal partner to Trinamul
The Bharatiya Janata Party's West Bengal unit president and member of Parliament, Tapan Sikdar, today said his party would not allow any
attempt to undermine it while constituting any front in the
state.
Kochi police arrest Madani
With the arrest of PDP chief Madani in Kochi on Tuesday night, the Tamil Nadu police hopes to have a lead on the source of Islamic fundamentalism in the south.
BJP turns UP bureaucracy upside down
A brand new chief secretary and police chief are the BJP's gift to
Uttar Pradesh. Plus, a reshuffle of 16 top cops.
PM sticks by 'no more elections' stand
''I have already announced that after five years, I will not go
to the people again,'' he said in the Rajya Sabha.
High court pulls up Centre over Kesri case
The Delhi high court today severely rebuked the Central government for its failure to investigate the Foreign
Contribution Regulation Act violation case against the
Congress and its former president Sitaram Kesri, saying that
the probe was conveniently closed down.
English for primary kids from 1999: Basu
The West Bengal government has appointed a one-member
committee to suggest steps for reintroducing English at the
primary level.
PM to meet north-east CMs
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will soon convene a meeting of the chief ministers of north-eastern states where all problems relating to insurgency and development of the region will be discussed, said Union Home Minister L K Advani.
Noisy scenes in AP assembly over Muslim minister's quitting
Pandemonium prevailed in the Andhra Pradesh assembly for more than one hour today with the main opposition
Congress demanding a discussion on the resignation of
Heavy Industry Minister Basheeruddin Babu Khan from the Nara Chandrababu Naidu cabinet over the ruling Telugu Desam Party's support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre.
US congressman asks PM to take 'positive' initiative
Democratic congressman Sherrod Brown last night urged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to respond with his 'positive and far-reaching' proposals to the United States's desire for 'expanded political, strategic and economic' ties with India to build 'even stronger relationship between the two countries'.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Hindutva rules, Communism drools
'You know what,' says Varsha Bhosle, 'if the Imam of Jama Masjid would've said what Shabanabibi and Masudmiya did, I wouldn't have cared. For, the Imam does not profess to be a secularist. However, people like Azmi howl about secularism -- and then go to the US to help collect funds for just the "Muslim Indian" (and not Indian Muslim) community.'
Mamata, Atal and Jyoti
Mamata Bannerjee has invited the prime minister to come down and address a meeting or two in Bengal before the local body election. She is even asking for the Budget to be postponed. That last request may not be feasible, says T V R Shenoy, but a possible compromise is being discussed -- presentation of the Budget in the third week of May, but voting only in June.
Andhra Pradesh: I am not afraid to be a RSS activist: BJP assembly floor leader
Andhra Pradesh: AP irrigation projects to be run by farmers
New Delhi: Purnima Sethi sworn-in as minister
Maharashtra: Joshi is a friend but a political rival, says Pawar
Maharashtra: Joshi, Munde to discuss new airport with PM
Maharashtra: Dudhat committee report against Sutar to be tabled before April 19
Sikkim: Chamling's party admitted to NE political grouping
Tamil Nadu: Karuninidhi warns of destabilisation moves by political rivals
Tamil Nadu: Special police teams fan out to other states to hunt for Ayesha
Tamil Nadu: HC dismisses plea to have Vajpayee sack 'corrupt' minister
TODAY'S WEATHER
Heat wave in Rajasthan
Severe temperatures prevailed in Saurashtra and Kutch, too.
APRIL 2, 1998
BJP ditches coordination committee
Even as the Opposition cries itself hoarse over the short shrift given to the BJP's claims of running the government through consensus right at the outset by sneaking in a candidate for speakership, the BJP has quietly decided to bury the co-ordination committee which it promised its allies in the pre-poll days.
BJP cheated allies and voters, says Gadgil; Congress not raising real issues, says Naidu
The Congress said today that the Bharatiya Janata Party has cheated its
own followers by dropping its major programmes, and others by
retaining an 'invisible agenda.' And the BJP countered that Congress members were deliberately not raising issues concerning the country's governance as that would
mean admission of their own misgovernance.
Laloo sets out to conquer desertion-plagued UF
Certain UF leaders seem to have reservations against the RJD chief. A UF functionary said, ''When Laloo Yadav found that the UF leaders did not immediately respond to his overtures, he thought that he had scored a point. Thereafter, he began demanding that Sharad Yadav be removed as JD chief if he has to join the UF.''
Mayawati gets anticipatory bail in pump scam
The Bahujan Samaj Party MP contended that the first information report in the case was inspired by political vendetta. It was registered to cause unlawful and illegal pressure on her to vote in favour of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.
New BJP chief by May 2
Party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu said the new president will be elected at the national council meeting, to be held between May 1 and 3. The venue of the meeting is yet to be decided.
Vajpayee, Advani praise RSS in Parliament
Vajpayee said that the RSS had stood by the nation at difficult times. For example, it had taken part in the Republic Day parade at a time when the entire armed forces were at the border facing the Chinese troops in 1962. Asserting that the Uniform Civil Code was part of the Constitution, Advani said the RSS promotes the values of patriotism and discipline.
TDP not to join BJP govt as another Muslim leader quits
Party general secretary S M Laljan Basha said the BJP government should be allowed to complete its five-year term. He said it was in the interest of the minorities to support the TDP and the Vajpayee government.
RAF deployed in Kumbh Mela to prevent violence
The Rapid Action Force has been deployed at sensitive places in the Kumbh Mela area to prevent recurrence of incidents like the clash on March 28 between the
sadhus of two akharas.
Farooq's alignment with BJP is 'illogical': Mufti Mohammad
The former Union minister also said the Vajpayee government should initiate dialogue with Kashmiris to end the gun culture in the state.
Move to rid Constitution of sexist language
A Parliamentary committee report, presented in the Rajya Sabha
on Wednesday, has recommended that all new legislations
be drafted using non-sexist language.
Balayogi may start refresher course for new MPs
The Lok Sabha Speaker said there were 288 'freshers' in the 12th Lok Sabha and he was planning a course for them on parliamentary procedures and practices and the way members should conduct themselves in the House.
Atal and Indira, what binds them together?
Well, they are the only prime ministers who have made it to the top seat twice.
TN speaker to allot time to members a la Parliament
Tamil Nadu assembly Speaker P T R Palanivel
Rajan today ruled that he would follow Parliament's procedure and allot time to members on the basis of the respective strength of their parties in the house.
Press Council Chairman warns of growing monopoly in world media
Press Council of India Chairman Justice P B
Sawant today expressed concern over the growing monopoly of press barons over the media, and termed it ''detrimental to the interest of democracy and freedom of the press''.
Vajpayee may have fought his last election
During his reply in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks to
the President for his address to the joint sitting of both Houses on Tuesday,
Vajpayee said this had been his last election.
Flesh trade most in Maharashtra, least in Delhi
Maharashtra has 350,000 female prostitutes. And Delhi, just 3,500.
UP at the receiving end of counterfeit notes, courtesy ISI
Brand new counterfeit currency notes are being pumped into the country by the ISI and at least in Uttar Pradesh, they are already in circulation in a big way.
Court rejects CBI petition in Lakhubhai case
The petition, which sought the admission of three foreign national witnesses's statements in the case, was dismissed after Narasimha Rao questioned the legal validity of the documents.
Nadeem's application on tapped phone calls rejected
Rejecting the application, the principal sessions judge observed that Nadeem has not surrendered before the police and he does not have any locus standi for claiming the documents. He said he should have moved the application before the court in Britain, where his extradition proceedings are going on.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'Chandrababu Naidu has gone a bit too far in voting in favour of the BJP'
Basheeruddin Babu Khan, who dented Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's secular credentials with his resignation as minister, explains his actions.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
The 'Twain Shall Meet
For one who believes passionately in India, all this finger-pointing divisiveness is hard to come to terms with. If India today is a freer and more optimistic nation than its neighbours, it is because we have embraced the notions of equality and oneness better than they have, says Ashwin Mahesh.
Maharashtra: 2 killed in industrial accident
Maharashtra: Revenue minister threatened me, says Congress MLA
Maharashtra: Dhule divided to create Nandurbar
Maharashtra: Motion on mayoral bill defeated again
Tripura: Sinha was a leading litterateur
Uttar Pradesh: Probe ordered into attempt on minister's life
TODAY'S WEATHER
Hot day in Kashmir again
Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in Kashmir and north Gujarat.
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'Old habits die hard'
Of Vajpayee's faux paus, and sleight of tongue, in Parliament.
APRIL 1, 1998
Sonia tells Congress MPs to expect the worst from this government, and prepare for the best
Reiterating the party's resolve to be a constructive opposition
which kept the interests of the people and the country foremost in
its concerns, Sonia Gandhi told the Congress Parliamentary Party
that the 'valuable lesson' provided by the ruling coalition would
not cast aside the party's constructive approach.
Naidu holds the key to Cabinet expansion
If Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu demands more than two Cabinet berths, the BJP may ask him to surrender the Speaker's post.
Congress walks out of LS over Advani's 'reversal of stand'
Congress members led by Motilal Vora and Rajesh Pilot said
BJP president and Home Minister L K Advani had cleverly reversed the position taken by the prime minister by saying that the party was not apologetic about the inclusion of issues like Ayodhya and Article 370 in its manifesto.
Sonia will ask Congress rebels to return
In an effort to revive and unite the Congress under one banner, party president Sonia Gandhi will formally invite all former Congressmen to rejoin the parent party during the special session of the All India Congress Committee on April 6.
Farooq's flirtation with Vajpayee kills Kashmiris's love for NC
"The National Conference," says Abdul Hamid, who, not so long ago, was a staunch partyman, "is a dead body that the Kashmiris have to carry on their shoulders. The next election will give them an opportunity to bury it."
The DMK is in desperate need of allies
Given the TDP's example, the DMK in Tamil Nadu too cannot be faulted if it chose its own environs to strike a political course that
is most suited for it, which includes aligning with the BJP when the time comes.
AIADMK members walk out from RS over proposal on spreading Hindi
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam walked out of the Rajya Sabha protesting against a suggestion by Samajwadi Party member Janeshwar Mishra that steps should be taken to promote the spread of Hindi as a national language all over the country.
Tamil Nadu Congress unit looks forward to Moopanar's re-entry
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K V
Thangabalu today welcomed Tamil Maanila Congress president
G K Moopanar's stand on unification of the two parties, and said the Congress high command had been urged to take steps in this
regard.
OTHER REPORTS
Minister promises functional autonomy to CBI
The government wanted to ''create an environment where your
credibility as an organisation is never suspected,'' Minister of State for Personnel K R Janarthanan said while inaugurating a one-day conference of CBI officers in New Delhi.
Probe into alleged police action against UP students
Prime Minister Vajpayee promised the Lok Sabha that an enquiry would be ordered into the allegation that the Uttar Pradesh police stopped students from appearing for board exams.
Threats force US consulate staff in Karachi to return
The United States has taken additional security precautions at its missions in Pakistan, including sending some of the Karachi consulate employees back home.
Global march against child labour gets poor response from Centre
The Indian bureaucracy is creating hurdles for the marchers.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'Sanyas is going to be my path of the future. I want to keep aloof from all the dirty things going on'
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray reiterates his decision to take a break from the hurly-burly of politics.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
The news is public, at any rate
On February 16, 1998, Justice B N Srikrishna submitted the report of his inquiry to the government. We still don't know what it contains, because the
government has not yet made
it public, says Dilip D'Souza.
Unfair!
Serious resentment is brewing among BJP MPs over
the party high command's attitude while allotting
ministerial berths. Several MPs, in fact, have lodged protests with senior
party leaders, says Rajiv Shukla.
Andhra Pradesh: Protests force minister to abandon English
Andhra Pradesh: Parvathi halts assembly over NTR's death
Andhra Pradesh: 'Krishna water for Hyderabad' project to begin soon
Himachal Pradesh: BJP-HVC alliance wins trust vote
Karnataka: Four hurt in community clash
Maharashtra: International air passenger and cargo hub coming up in
Nagpur
Maharashtra: 60 school children arrested in Bombay
Punjab: Police persuade deported terrorist to surrender
Meghalaya: Tax-free budget in state
Tripura: Minister killed in ambush
TODAY'S WEATHER
Hot day in paradise on earth
Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in Kashmir. And in southwest Rajasthan and coastal Karnataka.
MARCH 31
Explain warrant, red alert against Quattrocchi, Delhi high court tells CBI
With the controversial Italian businessman readying himself to fight the CBI in Indian courts, one of the first major decisions of the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre will be to unravel the Bofors mystery completely. Sources said most of Vajpayee's 18-party partners in the government want the prime minister to table the Bofors report in Parliament.
Pressure mounts on Sonia to 'expose BJP's bluff' on Bofors
With Prime Minister A B Vajpayee asserting that the Bofors scandal will be pursued to its logical conclusion, senior Congress leaders have urged party chief Sonia Gandhi to confront the BJP-led coalition on the issue. Several Congressmen feel that the Vajpayee government is trying to hide its anxiety on the saffron alliance's 'brittle' nature by kicking up the Bofors issue.
Moopanar quits as TMC president
On the possibility of the TMC returning to the Congress fold,
Moopanar said there was a lot of confusion over the matter. However, it was for the Congress leadership to decide on the issue and then we will decide, he added.
Naidu suffers a jolt as minister quits
The Nara Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh suffered a serious setback with Major Industries Minister Basheeruddin Babu Khan resigning from the cabinet within 24 hours after the Telugu Desam Party bailed out the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre.
Opposition stalls AP house over minister's resignation
As soon as the house assembled for the day, Congress members
rushed to the well of the house demanding that their adjournment
motion on Basheeruddin Babu Khan's resignation issue be taken up. They were supported by the Left parties, the Majlis, Majlis Bachao Tehrik and the NTR-Telugu Desam Party, who
insisted on a statement from Babu Khan.
BJP will soon have a new chief
Though Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's term ended in November last year, the party presidential poll had to be postponed in anticipation of the Lok Sabha elections. According to party sources, the front runners for the post are senior-most general secretary Kushabhau Thakre and former Lok Sabha deputy speaker Suraj Bhan.
TDP will not join BJP govt: Naidu
Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu maintained that he was secular and would oppose the BJP if it became anti-TDP. But he would support any good decision taken by the Vajpayee government.
TDP joining BJP govt cannot be ruled out: Vajpayee
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee said, ''Talks are going on with them in this regard and we will only be too glad if they joined us.'' As for the National Conference, he said, ''So far I have not had any discussion with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah on this issue.''
Mamta invites BJP to join 'save Bengal front'
This was the first time when Banerjee openly proposed the BJP
for such an alliance, giving a clear indication that the present
relationship between the two parties was going to stay.
Cabinet berth for Kumaramangalam upsets TN BJP
Undercurrents of disgruntlement are rocking the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu. This time, the ire is over Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, a recent entry to the BJP, walking away not only with a party nomination in the recent Lok Sabha election but also that he was made a Cabinet minister in the Vajpayee government while veterans who built the party in the state have been sidelined.
BJP vows to protect secularism
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies today assured Parliament that the secular fabric would be protected and promoted by their coalition government. Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on motion of thanks to President K R Narayanan for his address to the joint session of Parliament on March 25, ruling party members tried to remove the apprehensions from the minds of the Opposition.
'Naidu was a master in the art of deception'
UF spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy questions the morality of the man who was, till recently, the head honcho of the United Front.
Swamy says absence during trust vote was not 'deliberate'
Dr Swamy said he was pained that he was listed as 'absent' during voting in the Lok Sabha since he had assured All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader J Jayalalitha that he would definitely cast his vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
coalition government despite BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan's provocative statement that they did not care for his vote.
OTHER REPORTS
Canada offers a nuclear handshake to Vajpayee
Canadian Revenue Minister Herb Dhaliwal said his country would positively consider reviving cooperation with India to set up nuclear power projects if the new government so desired.
'Atal, have you become such a big man that I cannot get near you?'
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, obviously, hasn't. He turns, wades
through layers of securitymen, and gathers the speaker, a frail
woman, in a tight embrace. Tears roll down his cheeks...
UP speaker in the eye of a storm over ruling on BSP defections
If yesterday it was a governor who blatantly displayed his biases
and prejudices in actions and utterances, today it is the speaker,
whose decision to grant recognition to a splinter group of the Bahujan Samaj Party has plunged him in the eye of the storm.
68 dacoits escape in sensational AP jail-break
The superintendent, the jailor and the deputy jailor of the Nizamabad jail were suspended today even as efforts were on to nab the 68 convicts who had escaped in a sensational jail-break last night.
Trinath Mishra to head CBI 'on ad-hoc basis'
Mishra will be appointed director in charge as the Supreme Court had recently directed that the CBI director can only be selected by a three-member board under the supervision of the Central Vigilance Commission board. Since the new government has yet to appoint the CVC board, Mishra's appointment will be on an ad-hoc basis.
Paddy stir may cultivate fresh trouble in Kerala CPI-M
The decision of the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union, the ruling CPI-M's peasant wing, to resume agitation against paddy field conversion is seen as a political move by the Achutanandan faction to score over detractors.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
This Bane of Swadeshi Politics
'Only a nation that lacks dignity and self respect preaches swadeshi,' says Pritish Nandy. 'Because swadeshi means acknowledging one's inability to compete with the world. It means hobbling around on crutches and expecting others to pity you. In India, it also means reinforcing the ugly nexus between business and politics.'
In the State's court
The Karla Faye Tucker episode in Texas, says Venu Menon, raises some pertinent points. It puts the onus of rehabilitation squarely on the shoulders of the state. The killing hand can be stayed if the state steps in at the right time. It has a stake in nurturing life as much as in snuffing it out. Death row needs to be preceded by life support. It is up to the state, finally.
Karnataka: Patel to expand cabinet
Himachal Pradesh: Congressman elected speaker
Tamil Nadu: 20 kg explosives seized from locked house in Madras
Tamil Nadu: Jaya expels ex-legislator
Tamil Nadu: Charges to be framed against ex-minister in corruption case
TODAY'S WEATHER
North-East in for wet weather
Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at many
places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
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