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US officers in Arunachal in
search for missing planes
Itanagar, Sep
04 (PTI):
Two US military officers were now on a familiarisation trip to
Arunachal Pradesh before a joint Indo-US search next month for
wreckage of hundreds of US fighter planes missing in action (MIA)
during World War II in China-Burma-India theatre and their pilots’
remains. Jeffrey Collins and Craig Tippins arrived here yesterday
and left for Marivang in Upper Siang district in the state today. In
the past few years wreckage of at least eight MIA planes has been
located in different parts of the mountaineous border state by an US
private investigator Clayton Khules, aided by a local tour operator
Oden Tayeng. One of them was found on a hilltop right in this state
capital town. The discovery brought the then US Consul General in
Kolkata, Henry V Jardine, to Arunachal Pradesh and made him trek to
some of the wrekage spots in March. A five-member US defence team
also came to the state in June to coordinate a joint Indo-US search
as relatives of missing pilots were still awaiting information of
the fate of those pilots. Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had assured
the team from US joint prisoners of war/MIA accounting command of
all help to its mission.
Two rebel SP MPs fate hangs in
balance
New Delhi,
Sept 04 (PTI):
The fate of two rebel Samajwadi Party MPs in Uttar Pradesh hangs in
balance as the SP-Congress talks are underway to put up a united
fight in the backdrop of resurgence by Mayawati-led BSP. Raj Babbar
and Beni Prasad Verma find themselves in a ticklish situation as
they have moved closer to the Congress but have won the last Lok
Sabha polls on SP tickets. While Verma represents Kaiserganj since
1996, Babbar represents Agra since 1999. Agra has become reserved
seat after the latest delimitation. While Congress has agreed to
take the two in its fold, the ongoing seat-sharing talks between the
parties have raised doubts about the possibility of them getting
desired seats on a Congress ticket. Sources in the Uttar Pradesh
Congress pointed out that the problem lies in the fact that Verma
and Babbar want to contest from new constituencies.
While Verma has
already announced his plans to contest from Gonda in East UP, Babbar
wants to fight from the newly- created LS constituency of Fatehpur
Sekri. Sources claimed the issue of Beni Prasad Verma came for
discussion during the first round of meeting on Monday last with SP
opposing the idea as it has a sitting MP from Gonda, Kirti Vardhan
Singh. Congress General Secretary in charge of UP affairs Digvijay
Singh while refusing to go into the dynamics of seat sharing and who
will contest from where, said winnability and image was the only
criteria for the candidates. Round two of the discussions will take
place on September 8.
CBI withholds chargesheet step
until Tuesday
Kolkata, Sep
04 (PTI):
Hearing a prayer to stay an earlier order directing the central
agency to file chargesheet in the Rizwanur Rahman death case, the
CBI today informed the Calcutta High Court that it would not take
any step until Tuesday - the next date of hearing. A division bench
comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice Maharaj Sinha
refused to pass any stay till completion of hearing, but allowed the
CBI to state before it that no action would be taken till the next
hearing. The bench is hearing an appeal by Rizwanur’s father- in-law
Ashok Todi and another relative Anil Saraogi against whom Justice
Dipankar Dutta had directed the CBI to file chargesheet alongwith
five others. Ashok Todi and another relative yesterday claimed
before the High Court that a trial court order directing CBI to
chargesheet them in connection with the youth’s death was
unconstitutional and void. Counsel Pradip Ghosh stated that his
client had not been given fair opportunity to defend himself and it
was thus violative of his fundamental rights. Ghosh stated that the
order of Justice Dipankar Dutta came on the basis of a CBI report,
but his client was not provided a copy of the report in order to
defend himself. He claimed that Justice Dutta’s court was a writ
court and did not enjoy the jurisdiction of a criminal court, but
the case and the order were in the nature of a criminal one. Ghosh
prayed for a stay of the order during pendency of the appeal.
BJP MP from
Hathras passes away
Aligarh, Sept
04 (PTI):
Kishan Lal Daler, a BJP MP from the Hathras seat, passed away here
today following a cardiac arrest. He was 87. Daler was admitted to
AMUJN Medical College and Hospital after he suffered a massive heart
attack early today. Daler was elected to the Hathras (reserved) Lok
Sabha constituency for the fourth time in 2004.
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Chairman of
Assembly committee demands text of Tata agreement
Kolkata, Sept
04 (PTI):
The chairman of a West Bengal Assembly committee today threatened to
resign if the text of the agreement between the West Bengal
government and the Tatas on the Singur small car project was not
submitted by tomorrow. Chairman of the Standing Committee on
Commerce and Industry in the Assembly Sudip Bandopadhay, who belongs
to the Congress, said the contents of the agreement were read out by
Industries Secretary Sabyasachi Sen at a meeting of the panel on
August 27, but a copy was not given.
“I will resign
as chairman if the agreement is not submitted tomorrow when the
standing committee will meet,” Bandyopadhay, who met Governor Gopal
Krishna Gandhi at his invitation at Raj Bhavan, told PTI. Industry
Minister Nirupam Sen had earlier said that the government could not
divulge the contents of the agreement which was commercial in nature
to a third party under the provisions of the Right to Information
Act, without the consent of the Tatas. Bandyopadhay said he placed a
number of suggestions before the governor. Among the suggestions
were constitution of a committee to find 300 to 400 acres opposite
the small car plant at Singur where the ancilliary units could be
set up or unwilling farmers offered land.
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