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Congress
sets September 23 deadline for Paswan on Bihar polls
New
Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Chief Ram Vilas Paswan
was today given time till September 23 to decide whether
he wanted to join the RJD-led UPA alliance in the upcoming
Bihar Assembly polls. After Paswan's hour-long meeting with
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary Digvijay
Singh told reporters that Paswan has been told to take a
decision about his position as early as possible as the
Congress "can't wait forever". "It cannot be open ended,
the obvious deadline is September 23 when the notification
for the polls will be issued," said Singh, who is also the
incharge of Congress affairs in Bihar. The former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister said that during the meeting Paswan
conceded that if a Third Front is floated it would obviously
benefit the BJP-led NDA. Asked whether Paswan could remain
in the alliance at the Centre if he failed to be with it
in Bihar, Singh said that it was for the UPA to decide,
and "the Congress president has immense patience." Singh
also said that he did not see merit in Paswan`s insistence
on a Muslim Chief Minister in the State, as it was an issue
that could be decided only after the elections. On the other
hand, later at his residence Paswan told reporters that
he apprised the UPA Chairperson of the political situation
in Bihar and stuck to his demand for a Muslim Chief Minister.
"I told her that if RJD could float the name of Rabri Devi
as the chief ministerial candidate and NDA could prop up
the name of Nitish Kumar, then why my demand for a Muslim
Chief Minister is being dubbed unrealistic," he said. Paswan,
who is also working towards a second secular alliance with
CPI and CPI(ML), said that he explained to Gandhi that they
should think of long-term gains rather than limiting themselves
to state elections. Earlier, the Congress had said that
it would contest in every constituency where Paswan's LJP
will run for office.
Change
in Bihar poll dates ruled out by Shailendra (Go
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Patna:
Chief Election Commissioner BB Tandon on Wednesday turned
down a request by several political parties for revising
the dates for Bihar polls, saying the Election Commission
had announced the schedule after taking into consideration
all aspects. "There would be no revision of the election
schedule and we have announced it after giving due consideration
to religious festivals and all other aspects," Tandon, who
arrived at Patna on a two-day Bihar visit to assess poll
preparedness, told reporters at the airport. Several parties,
including the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and the Communist
Party of India had sought a revision of the poll schedule
in view of Ramzan and Dussehra as also floods in some parts
of the state. It is mandatory for the Commission to complete
the election process within six months of the dissolution
of the House and it expires on November 22, he said. Before
leaving for Gaya to hold discussions with top officials
of Magadh division, Tandon said the Commission wanted "effective
deployment" of central para-military personnel to the maximum
possible extent "so there is no question of having any rethink
on the number of phases in which the polling will be held
or the dates." "The aspect of movement of the CPMF has also
been taken into account before announcing the schedule,"
Tandon said.
Hurriyat
team calls on Sonia Gandhi (Go
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New
Delhi: Leaders of the moderate faction of the All Party
Hurriyat Conference (APHC) met Congress President Sonia
Gandhi on Wednesday, two days after holding significant
talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the way forward
on resolving the Kashmir issue, ''The meeting with Gandhi
was a courtesy call. It was a good meeting,'' Mirwaiz Unmer
Farooq, the leader of the delegation, said after the 25-minute
meeting at Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence. Besides Mirwaiz,
other members of the Hurriyat delegation -- Prof Abdul Ghani
Bhat, Maulana Abbas Ansari (both former Hurriyat Chairpersons),
Bilal Ghani Lone and Fazal Haq Qureshi -- attended the meeting.
Mirwaiz said Gandhi was briefed on the Hurriyat's September
five meeting with the Prime Minister and its June two visit
to Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PoK). ''Gandhi
has assured the delegation about her full support and cooperation
in taking forward the Kashmir peace process,'' he said.
''Gandhi had taken personal interest in the talks as the
UPA Chairperson and we met her to ensure that the momentum
of the talks is maintained,'' he added.
During
a marathon three-hour meeting with the delegation on September
five, the Prime Minister agreed to troop reduction and a
time-bound review of cases of those held under the Public
Safety Act (PSA) and POTA in Jammu and Kashmir if violence
and infiltration came to an end. After the meeting, Mirwaiz
said the dialogue process had come a full circle and the
Kashmir issue must be resolved through a ''trilateral mechanism.''
''First we had two rounds of parleys with the NDA, then
we met the leadership of Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir and now we are holding talks with the UPA government,''
he said. He reiterated that Kashmir was a trilateral issue
and the involvement of India, Pakistan and the people of
the state was necessary for a permanent and peaceful solution.
''We hope that the dialogue process continues between India
and Pakistan, India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir,
and also between Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir,''
he added.
Clinton
in UP to launch health, women's education programmes
(Go
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Lucknow:
Former American President Bill Clinton will arrive here
today where he is scheduled to launch programmes for health
and women's education organised by the Clinton Foundation.
The charitable organisation, which was set up and run by
the former US President, is aimed at providing health and
social services, and to reconcile racial, ethnic and religious
beliefs. Earlier in 2003, such programmes were also launched
in Saharanpur district of the State by the foundation. Another
non-profit organisation, American India Foundation, which
had played a major role in relief programmes after the Gujarat
Brit
Katrina missing down to 96 from 131 (Go
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London:
The number of British Nationals still unaccounted for
following Hurricane Katrina has dropped from 131 to 96.
"Consular staff have been going to every address where we
believe that there might have been a British citizen and
they've been doing that not just in New Orleans but throughout
Louisiana and Mississippi, and in many cases in very dangerous
areas," said Lord Triesman, Foreign Office Minister for
Consular Policy. "Most of the people who we have found over
the last twenty four hours have been found by our consular
officials on the ground conducting house to house searches.
In addition we are in regular touch with families who have
registered a missing person with us to ensure they have
not already been found by other means," he added. There
have been so far no British casualties recorded. Meanwhile,
two Rapid Deployment Teams from the UK, and staff from our
missions across the USA have been sent to the affected areas
to assist British nationals. Consular staff entered New
Orleans on September 4. They returned on September 6 after
visiting several parts of the city following up several
addresses given to them by concerned family/friends. They
will return on a daily basis to follow up addresses and
potential leads given by family and friends.
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