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Composite dialogue with Pak, reforms on track: PM
by Ashok Dixit

          New Delhi: Addressing the first press conference by a Prime Minister after nearly a decade, Dr Manmohan Singh today came across as a person in command and confident about the issues confronting his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. Held at the Vigyan Bhavan complex on Saturday evening, the nearly two-hour long news conference was an expansive exercise on a whole gamut of issues that clearly elaborated the government's stand - be it relations with Pakistan or China, the Kashmir issue, the economic problems confronting the administration, the Manipur imbroglio, Kashmir etc. The conference started off with Singh sparing the media the agony of reading out a prepared statement, saying that he was taking it " as read" to provide the fourth estate every opportunity to raise and field questions concerning his over 100-day old administration. Close to 30 questions were posed and all of them were answered with equanimity and poise.

         The focus naturally was on the next two days (Sunday and Monday), when the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan will meet to review the progress made by their officials on the eight-point agenda governing the bilateral composite dialogue process that was initiated through a series of CBMs from April 2003. Singh told the media that his government intended to carry forward the dialogue process with Pakistan, but maintained that progress has to be "measured step by step". He further went on to say that his government had "gone through the exercise of completing the first round of composite dialogue with Pakistan and what we have achieved is not insignificant."

        The Prime Minister also affirmed that the government would bring out an ordinance to repeal the controversial anti-terrorism law POTA soon. "It is our intention to come out with an ordinance very soon to repeal POTA," Singh said while acknowledging that it was indeed regrettable that the Bill to repeal POTA could not be introduced in the last session of Parliament. On the 'tainted ministers' issue, Singh said he was in favour of a consensus among all political parties to evolve a mechanism to prevent the entry of tainted people to legislatures. The Prime Minister also denied the Opposition charge that there were two centres of power in the government. He also said that he had not applied his mind over getting elected to the Lok Sabha. He asserted that reforms initiated by him between 1991 and 1996 were on track and that the economy was on a growth path with a focus on employment generation and benefits to the agriculture sector. On private sector quota, Singh hoped that the private sector would create opportunities to provide employment for the marginalised sections of society without the government having to seek recourse to legislation. Singh also distanced himself from his cabinet colleague Mani Shankar Aiyar on the Savarkar issue, saying it was Aiyar's personal view and not that of the government. Describing Savarkar as a freedom fighter and a patriot, he said there were some aspects of his life with which "we did not agree". Stating that even though he was not an aspirant for the top political post in the country, it was a "great challenge, honour and opportunity" to occupy the chair.

India, Pakistan agree to deepen peace process (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: India and Pakistan agreed today to "deepen and broaden" a peace process that in recent months has appeared to stall over the Kashmir issue. In a joint statement, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar said they had held productive and cordial talks on Saturday to lay the ground for a two-day meeting between the two foreign ministers. "I think there is a commitment both in India and Pakistan to take the peace process forward and to address the issue of Jammu and Kashmir," Pakistan foreign office spokesman Masood Khan told a news conference here. Khan denied reports of heightened tension fuelled by some provocative rhetoric from leaders in the neighbouring countries saying the process was continuing and in an extremely important phase. "I won't say that we are starting from a scratch. Pakistan's foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri, who will begin talks with his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh on Sunday said resolving disputes was imperative for the prosperity of both the nations. "I am looking forward to a constructive engagement with my counterpart. I think we should all strive for peace. Pakistan and India need peace more than most countries do. Our problems are basically problems of poverty, furthermore we live in a post- industrial post-modern age. Problems of this age are better tackled at a supra- national level. Let us be together, let's fight those problems. After all we live in a age where there is Kyoto treaty. Even the U.S is having second thoughts about the Kyoto treaty," Kasuri said.

DUSU poll results out (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: The results of the Delhi University Students Union polls are out. The Congress-backed union NSUI has won three out of the top four seats. NSUI has got the post of the president, vice-president and general secretary. The BJP-backed ABVP has won the post of joint secretary.

Manipur Govt invites agitators for talks with Patil  (Go To Top)

         Imphal: Manipur Government today invited the working committee of the 32 organisations spearheading the stir for removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for talks with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil when the latter visits the state on Sunday. Official sources said the formal invitation was given to the convener of the committee to send a delegation of the organisation to hold a meeting with Patil at the Governor's residence. A spokesman of the committee said if the talks were held, the discussion should centre only on the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the state. The Manipur Forward Youth Front (MFYF) said in a statement that all leaders arrested under the NSA should be freed before holding the talks and charged the ruling Secular Progressive Front ministry with 'double talk'.

'Education is the only solution to fight communalism: Arjun (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Human Resource and Development Minister Arjun Singh said today that education can be the only solution to combat communalism and politics of hatred spreading in India. Addressing a conference organised by education activists on Right to Social Security, the minister said that education is a struggle to make democracy stronger in our country. "To achieve religious unity, to fight communalism, to provide each and every person their fundamental rights, that education is what we need, its the solution for everything," said Arjun Singh.

Kerala ministry tomorrow (Go To Top)

          Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today announced the list of 10 Congress ministerial nominees setting the ground for the cabinet expansion tomorrow, amidst rumblings in the Karunakaran camp. Prominent among those figuring in the entirely new team were Assembly Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman, former minister Aryadan Mohammad and Antony loyalist Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan. Others getting the Cabinet berth are KP Viswanathan, KK Ramachandran Master, Adoor Prakash, KC Venugopal, Dominic Presentation, N Sakthan and AP Anil Kumar. Therambil Ramakrishan is tipped to become Assembly Speaker and former KPCC president PP Thankachan the UDF convener. Chandy, who returned from Delhi this morning after getting the high command's clearance for the list, announced the names after meeting Governor RL Bhatia at the Raj Bhavan. While Purushothaman, Aryadan Mohammad, KP Viswanathan and Ramachandran Master had served as ministers at different points of time, the remaining six are finding their way to the cabinet for the first time. Though three Karunakaran campers figured in the list, the senior leader is upset over the exclusion of some his hard-core loyalists. The strength of the Congress representation in the ministry would go up to 11 from nine in the previous cabinet, following the dumping of UDF partners Kerala Congress (Jacob) and Kerala Congress (Pillai).

Police acted ruthlessly on lawyers: Vajpayee (Go To Top)

          Lucknow: Former Prime Minister and local MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee has termed yesterday's police action on lawyers here as "barbaric" and demanded action against the guilty. After reaching his constituency for a day-long visit today, Vajpayee said such ruthless action on lawyers should be condemned and added that the government must ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future.

Uma case: Court to pass order on Monday (Go To Top)

          Hubli: The Judicial Magistrate First Class today posted for September 6 his orders on the plea for withdrawal of cases against former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti. The JMFC Mohammed Ismail reserved the orders after receiving the written comments from the Additional Public Prosecutor who submitted it in a sealed cover. The High Court had on Monday last asked the JMFC court to consider the "material facts and the substance" of the earlier application filed by the APP in 2002 for withdrawal of cases after getting the "comments and reasons" from the APP. The JMFC had on Tuesday refused to grant the APP a week's time to file his written comments. The APP had challenged it in the Additional District and Sessions Court but refusing to interfere with the JMFC's "discretionary order", it had on Friday dismissed the revision petition and asked him to file the comments at 11 am on Saturday. Meanwhile, five persons, including Gauri Lankesh, journalist, filed separate applications in the JMFC praying that the cases against Bharti should not be allowed to be withdrawn. Their counsel BT Venkatesh argued that no public interest was involved and the government could not interfere with the process of the judiciary.

Russian school death toll rises to over 320 (Go To Top)

          Moscow: The death toll from the three-day hostage crisis in a school in Beslan in Southern Russian has risen up to over 320. According to the BBC, more than 320 bodies have been pulled from the rubble of the school, which ended in a bloodbath, officials say. Work has been slowed by the presence of mines in the building, where militants demanding Chechen independence held children and adults for three days. Smoke still hung over the school, where hundreds were also injured, as President Putin visited the injured in hospitals. The Russian leader confirmed there had been no plans to storm the building. "We are still identifying the bodies. We have recovered 322 bodies, 155 of them are children," Russia's Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky told reporters in Beslan today. "These are not the final figures, and they will probably grow, but not by too much," he added.

PM lauds Russian forces for ending hostage crisis (Go To Top)

          Moscow: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lauded the Russian security forces for their measured action in ending the hostage crisis at a school in the Caucasian town of Beslan in Ossetia province, a release from the Indian embassy in Moscow said. "I have learnt with relief that the appalling action of terrorists holding schoolchildren hostage in North Ossetia has been brought to an end," Singh wrote in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Russian Forces were compelled to act in very difficult circumstances and we commend them for their measured response," the Prime Minister wrote.

Commonwealth okays Pakistan's membership (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: The Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has approved the revival of Pakistan's membership in the Commonwealth. According to statement issued here on Saturday from Senate Secretariat, the General Assembly of CPA would accord the formal approval in its session in Toronto, next week. The 50th CPA Conference is being held in Quebec City and Toronto, Canada from September 1 to 9. Chairman Senate, Mohammedmian Soomro is leading the parliamentary delegation of Pakistan. The delegation includes Speaker, National Assembly, Ch. Amir Hussain, Senator Raza Muhammad Raza, MNAs Saleem Jan Mazari, Zeb Gohar Ayub Khan, Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur and Speakers of the Provincial Assemblies. Earlier, the Governor General of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson, inaugurated the Conference. The Chairman Senate attended the meetings of the regional committees. He also met the leaders of the delegations of various countries and discussed matters pertaining to the promotion of bilateral and parliamentary cooperation with them. The leaders of the delegations expressed their happiness over Pakistan's re-entry in the Commonwealth. It may be added that Pakistan is attending the Conference of CPA, for the first time, after the restoration of its membership in the Commonwealth.

Osama can be nabbed any time now claims Bush envoy (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Saudi dissident and mastermind of the Al Qaeda terrorist network Osama bin Laden may be nabbed anytime soon, if the claims made by the US Coordinator on counter- terrorism, Ambassador J Cofer Black, are to be believed. "Everything is in place and a little bit is needed to localise these people and catch them," the Daily Times quoted Black as saying. "The programmes are in place. We are after these guys globally. Success against people that you know about, Osama could happen tomorrow, could happen the day after, a week from now, or month from now," he added. "I tell the people and the media in the US that I would be surprised but not shocked that Osama and all his lieutenants have been caught and none of these guys are in jail. It will be a good day for the people of this world in terms of counter-terrorism," he said.

Shaukat Aziz is a fan of Vajpayee (Go To Top)

         Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has described former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a leader of wisdom and statesmanship. In a reply to Vajpayee, who had sent a letter congratulating him on his assumption of office, Aziz said that he was quite impressed with Vajpayee's wisdom and statesmanship during his visit to Islamabad in January this year when he was the latter's minister-in-waiting at the 12th SAARC summit. "I thank you for your gracious message on my assuming the office of the prime minister. I am grateful for the kind sentiments expressed by you in your letter. I was impressed by your wisdom and statesmanship during your visit to Islamabad in January this year. I am confident that you would continue to play an effective role in forging better relations between our two countries. I wish you good health, long life and happiness," The News quoted Aziz as saying.