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Power Minister Suresh Prabhu resigns from post
New Delhi, Aug. 20 (ANI): Power Minister Suresh Prabhu has, it is reported, quit the Union Cabinet. He belongs to Shiv Sena, a constituent of the ruling NDA, and is considered a pro-reform personality. Prabhu submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee following differences with party supremo Bal Thackeray who, sources say, is interested in getting the portfolio transferred to Sena nominee Anant Geete, currently Minister of State for Finance. Prabhu, it is believed , has gone to Rajapur, his constituency in Maharashtra. (ANI) Armitage's Delhi visit on Friday
New Delhi, Aug. 19 (ANI): Richard Armitage, US Deputy Secretary of State, will be here on August 23 to hold talks on cooperation to fight terrorism and other key issues. Armitage, who would be arriving here from Colombo, for a daylong trip, is scheduled to meet Defence Minister George Fernandes, National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, according to officials. He will leave for Islamabad the following day. This would be Armitage's second visit to the two countries in the last three months in the wake of continued Indo-Pak standoff. (ANI) President has approved govt reference on Gujarat polls: Advani
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to top New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): The government's reference to the Supreme Court on polls in riot-hit Gujarat has received President's approval, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani told mediapersons on Tuesday morning as he left for a four-day visit to England. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government wanted to hold early elections in Gujarat but the Election Commission ruled that the state had not yet sufficiently recovered from the trauma of blood-stained communal clashes in March and April. "It was decided that) the Supreme Court's advice be taken on Article 143 of the Constitution on whether it is constitutional for the Election Commission to take a decision violating the Constitution and suggest on that basis that Article 356 be imposed," Advani said. He added that "we prepared a note on this day before yesterday and sent it to the President yesterday. The President has given his consent and sent it back to the government. And most probably, the government will submit it to the Supreme Court today." The view of the court would be expressed in the form of a non- binding legal opinion. The BJP, which dissolved the Assembly last month, says the state is now peaceful and the state government has a right to seek a new electoral mandate. Congress, the main Opposition party, said the BJP was trying to intimidate the independent election panel, whose ruling has been applauded by riot survivors. The deputy premier informed that terrorism would top the agenda during his talks with British officials. "Recently, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw was here to discuss about cross- border terrorism in Kashmir. I hope to discuss the issue in the context of Kashmir elections during my visit," he elaborated. (ANI)
Militants kill 19 para-military troops Go to top Guwahati, Aug. 20 (ANI): Tribal rebels ambushed a patrol in Tripura on Tuesday and killed as many as 19 soldiers of a para- military outfit, the police said. Five were critically injured. Details of the incident are awaited. (ANI)
Rain in Chhattisgarh, farmer's hope aroused
Raipur, Aug 20 (ANI): Drought-hit Chhattisgarh has been blessed with rains for three successive days and the farmers are smiling. Monsoon has in fact descended everywhere in northern India. The rains have ushered in new hope. The farmers are trying their best to complete the sowing operations which have been already delayed. "I can't say anything about profits yet. We have just started working since yesterday. If it rains like this later also, then the crops will be good," said Bodharam, a cultivation. According to weather officials, about 382 of India's 523 districts received scanty or deficient rainfall in the first two months of the monsoon season, i.e. June and July. And now the worry is that the late rainfall will only limit damage and not reverse fortunes. Bhupesh Baghel, Rehabilitation Minister of Chhattisgarh, says that output may be less because of late sowing of crops. "If we look in terms of the farming year, then we usually end sowing by the 15th of August. But this year we are beginning to sow after that date. So agricultural production will obviously be low. Because the saplings have been in the nursery for more than the stipulated 60 days. And the production of the early variety paddy crops will certainly be affected," Baghel explained. Economists have said the drought might cut deeper into growth than previous monsoon failures due to the economy's increasing reliance on expenditure by rural consumers.(ANI)
Encroachment a criminal offence in Himachal Pradesh Go to top New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): Encroachment of government land will be considered a criminal offence in Himachal Pradesh, said State Revenue Minister Rajan Sushant here on Tuesday. He said the state government has formulated the stringent law under which a provision of one year's imprisonment has been made for encroachment. The Revenue Minister said the Government has taken strong preventive steps to eliminate benami transaction practice under which the group photographs of seller, buyers, witnesses and revenue offercer has been made mandatory at the time of land transactions and land registry. Rajan Sushant said the 16th century practice of using Urdu and Persian words in revenue department has been dispensed with and instead a new dictionary of simple Hindi and English words has been prepared and would be put in use in the revenue department for common man. (ANI) |