Vajpayee upset over attacks by Sangh Parivar

          Mumbai: Upset over the attacks on him from within the Sangh Parivar after the recent poll debacle, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday night said he has "had enough" and indicated that he will not be leading the party any more. His outburst came at a BJP rally when his supporters shouted the famous slogan Abki bari Atal Bihari (it is Atal Bihari's turn) after release of a book on him. Vajpayee retorted in Marathi Aata nako bari. Pushakal jhale (Now no more turn. I have had enough). Meanwhile, discontent in the BJP came out in the open with a former chief minister Keshubhai Patel accusing the present incumbent of stifling democratic rights of legislators. "There was emergency imposed on the country 28 years ago and there was fear. Today, I feel that there is an atmosphere of fear in Gujarat. There is no emergency but the atmosphere is like that...I have said that there is an atmosphere of emergency. The legislative members also feel so," Patel said. The anti-Modi camp in Gujarat had demanded a change in the leadership holding him responsible for the party's loss in the elections. Vajpayee had also called for the removal of Modi. Other BJP leaders have vetoed any discussion on Modi's fate or of the Gujarat riots at the executive meeting. Analysts say the BJP's handling of the Modi issue is a rebuff to Vajpayee and a sign of a shift to the right.

Rebellion against Modi intensifies (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: The discontent in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat came out in the open on Wednesday with a former state chief minister accusing the present incumbent of stifling democratic rights of legislators. The internal feud in the party has been simmering eversince the party's poor performance in the April-May national elections. Hardline state chief Narendra Modi, accused of turing a blind eye to the religious killings of 2002, has been blamed for the debacle. Former state chief Keshubhai Patel told reporters in that even legislators were afraid to express their feelings in the open. "There was emergency imposed on the country 28 years ago and there was fear. Today, I feel that there is an atmosphere of fear in (western) Gujarat. There is no emergency but the atmosphere is like that...I have said that there is an atmosphere of emergency. The legislative members also feel so," Patel said. The anti-Modi camp in Gujarat had demanded a change in the leadership holding him responsible for the party's loss in the elections. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had also called for the removal of Modi. Other BJP leaders have vetoed any discussion on Modi's fate or of the Gujarat riots at this week's national executive meeting in Mumbai, giving hardliners victory in round one of the battle for the BJP's soul. Analysts say the BJP's handling of the Modi issue is a rebuff to Vajpayee and a sign of a shift to the right.

India, Pakistan to reopen Mumbai, Karachi missions (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: India and Pakistan will reopen consulates in Mumbai and Karachi, a spokesman said on Wednesday, in yet another sign of a growing friendship between the longtime foes. "There is an agreement in principle on re-opening the consulates in Mumbai and Karachi and restoring the strength of the respective high commissions to 110. This would be discussed furthur and operationalised when the foreign secretaries of the two countries meet on June 27-28," foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters here. The consulates were closed in the mid-1990s.

Lawyers on warpath against Marxists  (Go To Top)
by Gautam Ghosh

          Kolkata: West Bengal lawyers are on the warpath against the Marxists over what is being considered in political circles as the ruling party's veiled attempts to establish its stranglehold on the judiciary at the grassroots level. The lawyers, belonging to the West Bengal Bar Council, today observed a state-wide ceasework as a mark of protest against the Left Front government's move to bring a bill in the state Assembly's budget session to provide legal sanction to the conciliation meetings often organised by the CPI(M)-dominated panchayats to resolve rural disputes.

           The bill, called "West Bengal Block-level Conciliation Board Bill," intends to bring village conciliation directly under the respective panchayat samitis, thereby paving the way for the CPI(M)'s virtual control over grassroots-level judiciary. The matter has already assumed a political colour with mainline opposition parties like the Congress and Trinamul Congress expressing their determination to resist the bill tooth and nail and launch a mass movement across the state. Under the proposed Act, the concerned panchayat samitis will be empowered to form the conciliation boards in consultation with the State Legal Services Authority. Each conciliation board will comprise a conciliator, a legal adviser and a counsellor. The panchayat samiti will also enjoy the sole power and authority to remove a member of the conciliation board on grounds of "inefficiency and moral turpitude." The board will be formed for a term of two years. As the panchayat samiti president happens to be a political person and generally a CPI(M) functionary, the conciliation board will virtually serve as a party organisation and may only be expected to play a partisan role instead of providing justice to the aggrieved villagers. The state CPI(M) leadership as well as judiciary minister Nisith Adhikari have sought to allay the opposition parties' apprehension over the matter, saying a villager is free to move a higher court against the verdict given by the conciliation board. The minister has also argued that the proposed boards will help the rural poor cut down their legal expenses which they will otherwise have to bear to resolve disputes.

           The Bar Council members as well as the opposition parties, however, feel the Marxists will force the poor villagers to accept the conciliation boards' verdicts without any protest. "The CPI(M) will certainly use its strong-arm tactic to prevent any aggrieved person from approaching a court of law aginst the conciliation board's order. The entire judicial system in Bengal will be adversely affected by the Marxists' current attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary and make it subservient to the executive," said a senior Trinamul Congress legislator associated with the party's agitation over the issue. The Bar Council also fears that the CPI(M)-controlled panchayat samitis may select hand-picked lawyers as legal advisers to the conciliation boards and thereby serve the party's political purpose.

           The CPI(M) has cited the 73rd amendment to the Constitution, brought by the former Congress government led by Rajiv Gandhi, as the guiding spirit behind the new bill. The judiciary minister has also referred to the 11th Schedule of the Constitution which called for decentralisation of rural administration and sought more power for the panchayats. However, the 11th Schedule does not mention any need for the panchayat samitis to form conciliation boards. Both the Congress and Trinamul Congress have decided to oppose the bill inside the Assembly once it is formally tabled by the judiciary minister. There is, of course, every possibility of the CPI(M) getting the bill passed by a majority vote in the House, but the Bar Council and a number of voluntary organisations are equally determined to challenge its legality in higher courts. The CPI(M)-led state government is now trying to meet the state Bar Council's 'threat to paralyse work in the law courts" with the support from the "Democratic Lawyers' Association(DLA)," a body of lawyers owing allegiance to the party. However, since there are very few members of the DLA in the Bar Council, the Marxists are relying on their brute political strength inside and outside the legislature to have their way on the controversial issue.

Meghalaya ministers resign for downsizing (Go To Top)

          Shillong: Several Meghalaya ministers are reported to have resigned apparently to give a free hand to Chief Minister D.D.Lapang for downsizing his ministry before the July 6 deadline, official sources said on Wednesday. The exact number of ministers to have put in their papers were not available immediately. Unconfirmed reports, however, said 30 ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Donkupar Roy, have already resigned or are in the process of doing so. Meghalaya PCC President S C Marak, a member of the core committee, also expressed ignorance about the number of resignations but said the resignations were in consonance with a resolution of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) passed last week. The Congress-led MDA comprises four other regional parties besides a few independents. In the 60-member assembly, MDA has 32 cabinet ministers and 9 ministers of state.

Imran, Jemima to share custody of their kids (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Following the divorce between Imran Khan and Jemima, the focus is now shifting to what the settlement terms will be, and who would get the custody of their children. As regards property, a family law expert in Pakistan is of the opinion that Jemima would get half of Imran's property owned by him in England. "Any property owned by Imran Khan in England would be considered maternal property, thus Jemima Khan getting half the share in the same," the News quoted the family law practioner as saying. As far as the custody of their two sons - Suleman (7) and Qasim (5) - is concerned, family sources quoted by The Nation, said that the couple had decided to rotate the custody of the children between them. The children will stay with Jemima, but will visit Pakistan during the winter vacations from October to December to be with Imran.

Imran's Muslim orthodoxy destroyed his marriage (Go To Top)

          Lahore: Imran Khan's active involvement in Pakistan politics was not the only reason for his divorce from Jemima, The Friday Times publisher Jugnu Mohsin has said adding that it was just a part of the entire story. Ms Mohsin was reacting to Imran's post-divorce statement saying that his "political life had made it difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan." According to the Daily Times, Ms Mohsin an interview with the BBC on Tuesday said that Imran being an orthodox and conservative Muslim male was a major factor for the breakdown of the marriage. "I think one of the reasons that Jemima found it difficult was that Imran remained a very conservative Muslim male. His life in the West made him familiar with the parties seen in the West, but his mind never really changed. He remained the conservative orthodox person that he always was," she reportedly said. She added: "Jemima was a very young woman when she married Imran. I think she was attracted by his exotic orientalism, his popularity with British women, and that he was a driven and a very focused personality. But living that life is very different from being romantic and interested in it from afar."

          The publisher further said that one of the reasons could be that Imran's career as politician failed to take off. Stating that Imran's political career didn't get anywhere, she said: "If Imran had been a phenomenally successful politician Jemima would have been only to happy to bask in his glory." She also cited the age difference between the duo as another reason for the divorce. "Many people are able to transcend their generation gap." Imran had definite ideas about how a woman should behave and look, she said adding "But Jemima didn't want to adhere to all those strictures."