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Sonia makes her presence felt

Opposition fails to take on lady of 10 Janpath

9/1/2006 9:37:30 PM

B L KAK NEW DELHI: Much against the wishes of her political foes the Congress supremo, Sonia Gandhi, has emerged as a force to reckon with. Her critics do exist in her own party as well. But happily for her and her loyalists, none of these critics has the required courage to take on her, at least for the present. And the state of affairs of the non-Congress groups and leaders, arrayed against her, is not inspirng at all. Hardline BJP. And 'socialist' Samajwadi Party. Both these parties have not concealed their dangerous desperation to counter Sonia Gandhi’s growing clout. More often than not, in recent times, the Opposition launched below-the-belt attacks on the Congress presid...

Jupiter is her uplifter

Sonia Gandhi ranks 13th most powerful woman

9/1/2006 9:36:42 PM

B L KAK NEW DELHI, SEPT. 1: Sonia Gandhi has been named 13th among the 100 most powerful women on the planet. As per a ranking put together by the prestigious Forbes magazine, Sonia Gandhi is ahead of US First Lady, Laura Bush, and England's Queen Elizabeth. The Forbes magazine says that Sonia Gandhi "is widely revered, especially among the country's poor millions and heads the Left-leaning party where she aqcts as Oppositon leader to pro-business Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh". The citation addes: "Sonia frequently expresses concern that India's astounding economic growth is leaving the poor behind and that her country is not doing enough to help its farmers". Sonia Gandhi...

IS INDO-PAK PEACE PROCESS ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE?

TROOP MOVEMENT SPOTTED ACROSS BORDER, LINE OF CONTROL

9/1/2006 9:36:21 PM

Jammu,September 1:-Is the Indo-Pakistan peace process on the verge of a collapse? This question has assumed significance following reports of movement of troops across the border in recent days. Reports reaching Jammu from across the border have revealed that Pakistani Government has ordered deployment of additional companies of troops across the border. According to these reports, at least three Brigades have been deployed across Chammb and Pallanwala sectors in Jammu division. These brigades have replaced the Mujahid battalions and the new brigades had been moved from Kharia and Gujranwala in Pakistan. Reports said that during the last three days more than two armed and artillery b...

'Army prepared to thwart any repeat of Kargil intrusions'

9/1/2006 9:33:58 PM

Kargil (J-K), Sep 1: The army was prepared to thwart any repeat of the Kargil intrusions of 1999, which were the result of "trusting the adversary", a senior military officer said here today. "The army was deceived by the adversary as we believed that they would abide by the Shimla Agreement. We were at fault in 1999 in trusting our adversary," General Officer Commanding, 14 Corps, Lt Gen J K Mohanty told visiting mediamen on the occassion of Golden Jubilee of Kargil Brigade. Mohanty said the army had taken several steps to prevent a repetation of 1999 when India lost over 500 soldiers while evicting Pakistan-backed intruders from strategic heights in the Kargil region. "The entire...

NHRC unhappy with Amendment Bill for Human Rights Act

9/1/2006 9:33:24 PM

New Delhi, Sep 1: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today expressed dissatisfaction with the Bill passed recently by Parliament for amendment to the Human Rights Act, saying the changes proposed by the rights panel have not been incorporated in it. "In the Amendment Bill, as passed by both the Houses of Parliament, unfortunately all the amendments which had been proposed by the Commission, based on the Report of Justice Ahmadi Committee, have found no place," NHRC Chairperson Justice A S Anand said here. Anand was giving his inaugural address at the annual meeting between NHRC and the state human rights commissions. He said the Commission had been emphasising on the nee...

Congress distances itself from PDP's move against Beigh

9/1/2006 9:32:48 PM

New Delhi, Sept 1: Congress today sought to wash its hands off the controversy arising out of the demand for the sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh by PDP and made it clear that the coalition partner's (rpt partner's) nomination of a new deputy CM would be accepted. The Congress said the development would not affect the stability of the Kashmir government led by Ghulam Nabi Azad. "It is an internal matter of the PDP. We do not interfere in it. It does not affect the stability of the coalition government," Union Minister Ambika Soni told PTI from Pune. Soni, who is also in-charge of party affairs in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, said PDP chie...

Cong distances itself from PDP's move against Beigh

9/1/2006 9:26:19 PM

New Delhi, Sept 1 :Congress today sought to wash its hands off the controversy arising out of the demand for the sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh by PDP and made it clear that the coalition's nomination of a new deputy CM would be accepted. The Congress said the development would not affect the stability of the Kashmir government led by Ghulam Nabi Azad. "It is an internal matter of the PDP. We do not interfere in it. It does not affect the stability of the coalition government," Union Minister Ambika Soni told PTI from Pune. Soni, who is also in-charge of party affairs in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has written a...

Money and money for legislators but not a penny for contractual employees

8/1/2006 6:04:15 PM

Srinagar,August 1:-Despite cash crunch,which is reflected in the Government's inability to increase the monthly wages of teachers appointed under Rehbr-i-Taleem scheme,SPOs,doctors and engineers appointed on contract basis,the ruling coalition has sanctioned higher emoluments for legislators and ministers,besides the presiding officers of the two Houses. In one stroke the monthly salary,including perks,of legislators has gone up from about Rs.23,000 to over Rs.40,000.And the ministers would get anything between Rs.45,000 and Rs.50,000. During the budget session of the assembly in February-March in Jammu legislators cutting across the party affiliations had pleaded for better emolume...

Major political crisis brewing in UP

Angry, ambitious BJP cadres for greener pastures

8/1/2006 6:03:37 PM

B L KAK NEW DELHI, AUG. 1: India's all-important State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is going to witness stormy political events in the coming weeks and months. As people in politics cannot always have just limited aspirations and ambitions, crossing of floor is not ruled out. And when angry and ambitious people, particularly legislators, are involved in the game of switching their loyalties, the situation is bound to be somewhat alarming. In UP, the BJP is facing a major political crisis with several of its legislators seeking nominations by its political rivals, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), for the coming Assembly polls. The exodus appears to be more emba...

Congress party intensifies anti-Jaswant campaign

8/1/2006 6:03:13 PM

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, AUG. 1: The controversy over the former External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh's book has further deepened, with the decision of the Congress party to intensify its anti-Jaswant campaign. In a swift turn of events, Sonia Gandhi-led party has asked Jaswant Singh to either provide the name of the mole to the nation or change the name of his book to 'A Call to Dishonour'. Abhishek Singhvi, Congress spokesman, said in the course of an informal chat with EARLY TIMES that Jaswant Singh had resorted to "misinformation in order to boost the sales of his book". The Congress party, which is the oldest organisation in India, cannot be expected to keep...

Propaganda machine should be cautious

Indian Army's reputation takes a beating

8/1/2006 6:02:53 PM

B L KAK NEW DELHI: Spit-and-polish reputation of the Indian Army has taken a beating, with the circulation of a false report of a Pakistani Army Major having got killed in an anti-terrorist operation in Kashmir. On the night of July 28 when the story broke across India on all television channels, the local Army spokesman in Kashmir claimed proof of the "Pakistani hand" in Kashmiri terrorism. The Army Headquarters in Delhi, after speedy investigations, denied both claim and proof. This left many faces embarrassed. Critics of the Indian Army in Kashmir--Muslims rebels and separatists, to be precise--automatically got an opportunity to run down the security forces and throw ...

India, Pak agree to pursue peace process

8/1/2006 5:58:04 PM

Dhaka, 1 Aug :India and Pakistan today agreed to pursue the present peace process and make efforts so the process is not in anyway adversely affected. The agreement came at the talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistan counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan at Hotel Sheraton tonight. "Peace process between the two countries is important and all possible efforts should be made to see that the process is not anyway adversely affected," Shyam Saran told journalists after nearly one hour talks. In reply to a question, he said all aspects of bilateral relations were discussed at the meeting. Asked about any date for further meeting on composite dialogue, Saran said...