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April 4
POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY IN DELHI
AIADMK tells Jaya to work out 'new alliance strategies'
"The coalition is a train, the AIADMK is the engine, and the BJP is only the driver," she said in a strongly worded speech. "We will throw out the driver if he misbehaves and run it with a new driver and new bogies, if it comes to that."
BJP refuses to 'budge an inch' on Bhagwat
The party said, "The real issue is different and will come out in future."
Fernandes refuses to resign
The defence minister said removal of the naval chief is the executive's prerogative. If the opposition has any charges against him, it should specify them. "They can't have a madman's ravings put down on a 10-rupee stamp paper, endorse it and say it is an affidavit."
BJP hopes to continue as minority government
A senior Cabinet minister told Rediff On The NeT that the BJP would fully exploit the fact that no other party is in a position to form a government.
Congress should go for it, says Moopanar
The TMC chief said if the secular forces fail to form an alternative government, a mid-term election is likely this year.
AIADMK-BJP row puts TMC in driver's seat
The AIADMK wants the Congress to woo the TMC into its fold. Only then will an electoral alliance between the two parties make sense.
BJP blasts Congress
The ruling party has decided to launch a nation-wide campaign to expose the Congress, which has been trying to 'destabilise' the coalition at the Centre.
No running after Sonia, says Bardhan
The Left will consider supporting the Congress president only if she takes the initiative to form an alternative government.
THE CONVERSIONS ROW
Advani likens BJP's birth to Christ's resurrection
The Union home minister recalled that Easter 1980 was the day the BJP was born after the Janata Party decided to detach itself from the Jan Sangh component on Good Friday.
Court directs SP to act in minors' conversion
According to Sadashiv Swain, secretary of a Bhubaneswar-based organisation, the 17-year-old twins are being forced by their father to adopt Christianity.
OTHER REPORTS
Blood bathes Jammu and Kashmir again
A spate of violence across the troubled state has left 32 persons dead and 10 injured in the last 48 hours.
INSAT-2E launched
India's most advanced satellite yet was successfully put into space by an Ariane launcher from Kourou in French Guyana.
Pakistan will continue to raise Kashmir issue at world fora
An official spokesman said the Lahore Declaration did not preclude this option.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
The little Lhasa
'It is the interest in the Dalai Lama, Buddhism and Tibet that keeps alive the Tibetans' dream of seeing their country acquire freedom from the Chinese yoke and of their triumphant return. If and when that happens, McLeodganj will always be revered for the role it played in keeping alive Tibetan culture,' Amberish K Diwanji reports from Dharamsala.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Vajpayee's 'friendly' enemies
'Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a sensitive, brilliant human being with a sense of mission for India. If he is to survive as prime minister, he needs to select not cronies but competent professionals to man his PMO and think about his obligation to History. Today, his worst enemies are his friends,' says Monu Nalapat.
Jaya won't tango with Sonia
'To begin with, if Jaya and Sonia decide to unite, the Congress can forget about reunion with G K Moopanar's Tamil Maanila Congress. To the TMC, Jayalalitha is an ogre. Further, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will step in to bolster the Vajpayee-led coalition.' Capital Buzz. Gossip from the Delhi Durbar.
The old man and his sad tale
'The Communists have given up all hope of ruling India in their own right. The CPI-M is confined to West Bengal, Kerala, and Tripura. The United Front and National Front experiments came crashing down. If the CPI-M wants any say in Delhi, it can only be as a Congress poodle. But Sonia Gandhi doesn't have any vacancies in the kennels at 10, Janpath,' says T V R Shenoy.
April 2
JAYALALITHA'S DELHI VISIT
Do it if you dare, Jaya challenges Vajpayee
The AIADMK declared that it would withdraw support within one hour if the prime minister endorsed Power Minister Kumaramangalam's stand that it should leave the government.
PM sees no threat to government
Vajpayee said the government did not court-martial Bhagwat because he did not want to take drastic action against the former naval chief. "Dismissal was more than enough," he quipped.
Jaya has the last word, but little else
"If by breaking bread with Jayalalitha, Sonia Gandhi succeeded in exposing the fragile nature of the Vajpayee government, the Congress president also succeeded in showing her up as the one who held the rival's future in her hands."
JPC or trust vote, Swamy gives PM the choice
By not agreeing to a joint parliamentary committee inquiry into Bhagwat's dismissal and allegations, Vajpayee is compounding the threat to national security posed by Defence Minister George Fernandes, the Janata Party politician said.
Fernandes gets clean chit from Mamata
"Mr Fernandes is just a pretext, the aim is something else," the Trinamul Congress chief said. "One who is the most corrupt is talking about corruption charges. This does not look nice."
A mad-hatter's tea-party
The buzz turned into bedlam as Sonia Gandhi scurried in almost rat-like. Her lean hard face in sharp contrast to the rotund Madonna. Her hurried moments so different from the royal, cautious steps of the Supreme Human Being. Her frown offset by the other's beatific smile. Her brisk tone so different from the convent-educated, cultivated speech of the Queen of Hearts. A study in contrasts, these two.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'I think I must begin to meditate because nowadays I find that my blood pressure is going up...'
"The possibilities are endless in politics, and one cannot rule out anything. But I don't think anyone wants a general election. So naturally I would also do my best to see that another election to Lok Sabha doesn't take place so soon." The second and concluding part of an exclusive interview with J Jayalalitha.
THE CHAMOLI EARTHQUAKE
Tremors cease in Garhwal
Meanwhile, with two more of the injured succumbing to injuries in Chamoli late on Wednesday night, the official toll has gone up to 103.
OTHER REPORTS
Clinton's visit delinked from CTBT question
"China fires missiles over Taiwan, flexes its muscles, has human rights violations and yet we in the US continue to give it most-favoured nation status. We have to understand India's concerns," Congressman Jim McDermott said.
Bus diplomacy has made no difference to Kashmir, says army commander
"Pakistan is still making desperate attempts to capture some of our strategic posts in the Siachen glacier," Lieutenant General Krishan Pal said. "Efforts to send trained and well-equipped militants continue. Across-the-border shelling on Indian positions has not ceased."
Seven militants killed in J&K
Three were shot in Anantnag district while the rest fell in Baramulla. Three Kalashnikov rifles and one wireless set were recovered from them.
MP launches 'district government' system
Under the scheme, decision-making powers have been delegated to the district planning committees. "This will be written in golden words in the democratic history of Madhya Pradesh," Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said.
Vigilance officials set to indict Karunakaran
They claim to have sufficient evidence to drown the former chief minister in the Palmolein import case of 1991.
Free education for girls... without funds?
The BJP-led coalition's promise seems destined to remain on paper -- no allocation has been made for the purpose in the government's second Budget either.
Indian astronomy student discovers asteroid
The asteroid has been dubbed a minor planet by the Minor Planet Centre in the US and designated X C 1999 220.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Exile and the kingdom
'The Dalai Lama is the greatest symbol of the Tibetan movement. Tibetans revere him above all else save the Buddha. His smiling face can be seen on every wall, in every hall occupied by a Tibetan today. In Tibet though, the Chinese have banned his pictures.' Amberish K Diwanji reports from Dharamshala.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
The more things change...
'The ruling elite has long since lost touch with reality. But that in itself is not the tragedy. The bigger weep is that those who are meant to serve as the link between the government and the people -- the Opposition, legislators, corporators, Fourth Estate and party cadre -- have forfeited their responsibility,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Old habits die hard
'Now that Hindus are eligible to receive minority status in six states, and since "secularists" have doubled their efforts to ensure that we receive the benefit at the national level, along with a Bawa Singh and a James Massey and a Tahir Mahmood, may we, pretty please, have a self-respecting Hindu in the NCM to investigate areas where Hindus are a minority...?' pleads Varsha Bhosle.
Andhra Pradesh: Trial of film star Roja posted for April 9
Andhra Pradesh: Naxal squad wiped out
Kerala: Madani's release sparks violence
THE WEATHER
Nothing cool 'bout Kashmir now!
Severe heat wave conditions prevail in Jammu and Kashmir, north Rajasthan and parts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
April 1
JAYALALITHA'S DELHI VISIT
'I don't [see myself as prime minister], but anything is possible in politics'
'If the government has really nothing to hide, if the defence minister says, as he says, that he has not really done anything wrong, then why should they be afraid to constitute a JPC, why should they be afraid to face a JPC?' AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha holds forth on politics, the arts, and her career in an exclusive interview.
BJP will empower PM to call Jaya's bluff
Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has been deputed to talk to the TMC and DMK and seek their support if and when Jayalalitha goes out of the ruling coalition.
BJP minister attacks Jayalalitha as 'undependable'
'This Bhagwat issue cannot be compromised on, come what may,' Power Minister Kumaramangalam said, 'even -if the government has to fall on this issue. Anyone who asks that the admiral be reinstated is saying they want army rule in the country.'
BJP in no mood to humour Jaya, admits J P Mathur
The BJP vice-president, however, dismissed the speculation that the government is in danger due to the latest moves of the AIADMK leader.
No imminent threat to government: Jaya
The AIADMK chief said there was 'nothing unusual' about her meeting with Sonia Gandhi. The current political scenario is in a flux, and anything can happen, she said.
Coalition meet rejects Jaya's demand
The emergency meeting was not attended by the AIADMK.
THE CHAMOLI EARTHQUAKE
More tremors have survivors in a panic
Residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Pauri Garhwal, which were worst affected by the earthquake, are not venturing into their houses.
OTHER REPORTS
Kerala protests against ban on l-otteries
State Finance Minister T Sivadasa Menon said the decision would throw not only the Rs1 billion 'fortune industry' into a crisis but also the entire economy of the state.
Hyderabad cops unearth another child-trafficking racket
Police raided a creche at Gandhinagar and found 124 children, 114 of them girls.
SC asks Centre to explain delay in releasing Bhopal compensation
The court also directed the Madhya Pradesh government to appoint an official of the rank of secretary to supervise the medical relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the disaster.
Pak attempt to capture Siachen post foiled
Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in the shootout. This was the eleventh attempt by the Pakistanis to capture the important post.
UP minister quits
Devendra Singh 'Bholey' has accused CM Kalyan Singh of being 'partisan' and 'vindictive'.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Flight From Lhasa, 40 Years On
In March 1959, the peaceful Tibetan-s revolted, only to be mercilessly crushed by the People's Liberation Army. Thousands fled to the relative safety of India. Rediff On The NeT marks the 40th anniversary of the uprising and the flight of the Dalai Lama with a unique series.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
The Satara district biscuit sting
'Pardhis live in miserable huts, always on the outskirts of villages, in constant dread of being rounded up by the police. Every single Pardhi I have met -- several dozen-, by now -- has spoken of that dread,' says Dilip D'Souza.
Tragic Memory Lapse
'We must nag the government. We must growl. We must demand answers, specific answers. Instead of accepting the usual homilies that are thrown our way, like meat to animals in captivity, to keep us quiet. Otherwise, public amnesia will only result in more crime, more corruption,' says Pritish Nandy.
Maharashtra: Vajpayee pays tribute to Shivaji
Orissa: Dara Singh interview sparks storm in assembly
Tamil Nadu: Major disaster averted in Madras
Tamil Nadu: AIADMK MLA wears helmet to protect himself in assembly
March 31
JAYALALITHA'S DELHI VISIT
Reinstate Bhagwat or shift George: Jaya
"Fernandes spoke to me for 90 minutes in my hotel room. But even after that, my stand on the issue remains the same," the AIADMK leader told Rediff On The NeT in an exclusive interview.
Chiefs of staff must be included in National Security Council: Jaya
The AIADMK chief took up the matter during her meeting with Vajpayee yesterday following a request by members of the United Services Institution. The USI is the official think-tank of the armed forces.
THE CHAMOLI EARTHQUAKE
Sombre Garhwals get down to clearing up
The toll in Sunday's earthquake has gone up to 110. Experts say the damage could have been much higher had the epicentre of the quake not been as far below the surface as 30km.
Tremors will continue for some more days
"Both pre-shocks and aftershocks are a common phenomenon in any earthquake of high magnitude," Geological Survey of India Deputy Director General Ravi Prakash said.
Tehri too affected
Yet another report reaching the Uttar Pradesh home department said the tremors in the hilly Garhwal region had caused extensive damage in neighbouring Pauri district too.
'Delhi is prone to earthquakes'
The capital has been placed in 'zone IV' in the country's seismic map, which indicates the second most susceptible region.
Deeper epicentre reduced the damage
"The depth of the epicentre of the Uttarkashi quake of October 20, 1991, was merely 12km. This caused a large number of casualties, though the quake measured only 6.6 on the Richter scale."
OTHER REPORTS
Muslim incurs fundamentalists' wrath for learning Kathakali
Saying his decision would help propagate Hinduism, the fundamentalists have slapped a social boycott on Palthody Abdul Rasheed's poverty-stricken family.
Centre decides to ban all state lotteries
The Cabinet has also decided to ask all state legislatures to adopt resolutions authorising Parliament to ban private lotteries and gambling, which come in the state list of subjects.
Infighting in LDF may bring Nayanar down
Speculation is rife that a new political polarisation will take place shortly in Kerala's bipolar political scene. Which, observers say, will be the end of the three-year-old government.
Bedlam in AP assembly over 'Janmabhoomi'
Congress members trooped into the well demanding a judicial probe into the implementation of the government's much publicised self-help programme.
Indian, Pak experts to talk CTBT in April
Pakistani Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad said the two countries would also start a new round of secretary-level talks in the second fortnight of May.
Fundamentalism is a child of globalisation: Giddens
"It has nothing to do with the context of beliefs, religious or otherwise. What matters is how the truth of beliefs is defended or asserted," the London School of Economics director said.
Over half the Indians in the Gulf are Malayalees!
Kerala continues to top the list of Indian states contributing labour to foreign countries, supplying more than one-third of the overall figure. Punjab comes second.
Will UNESCO make that dream come true?
Imagine sipping Darjeeling tea and savouring the beauty of the Himalayas. Imagine meandering your way towards the famous hill-station, on board one of those century-old toy trains. That depends on the UN organisation accepting the Darjeeling Himalayan railway as a world heritage site.
Andhra Pradesh: Flutter in assembly as MLA tries to consume pesticide
Goa: BJP may launch poll campaign this week
THE WEATHER
Wet weather spreads to Himachal
Rain or thundershowers are also likely at isolated places in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
March 30
THE CHAMOLI EARTHQUAKE
88 killed as massive quake rocks UP hills
The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, was the strongest in the seismically sensitive region in 94 years. 'Fortunately, this is not the pilgrim season. Otherwise Hindu devotees, who throng the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines in the upper reaches of Chamoli district [the epicentre] would have died in large numbers.'
Seismologists find quake extraordinary
"In seismically active areas, a quake measuring more than 6.5 may occurs once in 20 years, and that measuring six once in 10 years," they said. But the Chamoli quake was the second in less than nine years.
Himalayan quakes devastate larger areas, says expert
'In the Latur earthquake, the major damage was confined to a 15km radius since it was a shallow quake -- 2.8km deep. But in the case of quakes in the Himalayan region, the damage is normally spread over a 100km radius as these quakes have depths of 10 to 20km,' said eminent seismologist B K Rastogi of the National Geophysical Research Institute.
No way to predict the event, says expert
"Seismologists still don't have the technology for it," Dr S C Shukla of the Indian Meteorological Department said.
Epicentre was in the UP hills
The intensity of Sunday's earthquake was more than the ones felt in Jabalpur (6), Latur (6.3) and Uttarkashi (6.6) in recent times which claimed hundreds of lives and left thousands maimed.
JAYALALITHA'S DELHI VISIT
Jaya meets Sonia, warns of 'political quake'
The entire top brass of the Congress -- barring Sharad Pawar -- queued up to meet the AIADMK chief, sending out a clear message that the party is not averse to doing business with her again.
Vajpayee spurns Jaya, refuses to shift George
Sources said that despite the PM's assertion that the defence minister would not be shifted, Jayalalitha insisted that a joint parliamentary committee be set up to investigate the charges levelled against him by ex-admiral Vishnu Bhagwat.
Mamata gives PM a free hand with Fernandes
The Trinamul Congress leader has said the sacking of Union Defence Minister George Fernandes should be left to Vajpayee.
Fernandes to answer Bhagwat on Apr 12
'Nobody is more secular than Mr Fernandes... He is the simplest and most hard-working defence minister. I must say he is the most efficient and best defence minister in the world today,' said I&B Minister Pramod Mahajan.
OTHER REPORTS
Powerful bomb found at Ayodhya railway station
The bomb, detected at 0500 hours IST on Sunday by a vendor, was timed to explode at 0730 hours -- the scheduled arrival time of the Sealdah and Marudhar express trains.
Kalyan Singh reiterates commitment to Ram temple
"Construction of the Ram temple has not only been our priority commitment, but also our commitment to the people of this country. And we are going to fulfil it," said the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Seized 'spy' plane brings memories of Purulia
Intelligence sleuths believe the case of the American plane should be investigated by the Aviation Research Centre of the Research and Analysis Wing.
Moopanar loses out to Sonia
The Tamil Maanila Congress's N Dennis, six-term Lok Sabha member from Nagercoil, proposes to return to the parent organisation.
Child-trafficker arrested in Hyderabad
Sankala Peter Subbaiah had turned adoption into a lucrative business, selling 18 infants to foreigners in the last six months.
Vajpayee condemns NATO war in Kosovo
Reiterating India's stand on the bombardment of Yugoslavia, the prime minister has called for the immediate withdrawal of troops, a halt on strikes, and the matter to be taken up by the United Nations.
War is not the way to peace, says Vajpayee
Home in Lucknow, his electoral constituency, the prime minister emphasised the need for a no-war pact with Pakistan, and closer ties with all neighbours.
ISI ex-boss opposes peace talks
Lt Gen (retired) Asad Durrani does not want Pakistan to have peace talks until India "is helpless and cannot keep the (Kashmir) valley with it any longer".
Suu Kyi will not to attend husband's funeral
She still does not believe the military government will allow her to return to Burma.
Id violence claims three in Karachi
The police said this was an act of terrorism tied to the festival, celebrated after the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
How to hate Hindus and incite Muslims
'There is nothing that can be done to defang Professor Mahmood, to halt his dangerous campaign that verges on reviving Jinnah's campaign of Muslim separatism. To even try and tame him would invite the wrath of the secularist brigade,' says Kanchan Gupta.
Mr Walker's last mile
'Even if you've never heard of Lee Falk, my guess is that you have heard of his two most famous creations: Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom, The Ghost Who Walks. And if you've heard of them, you'll know why Falk's death marks the end of an era for people of my generation,' says Vir Sanghvi.
The value of a human life
'It is big news if a white person dies in India. Of course, this may have some scientific rationale: it has been calculated that every resident of the US causes 35 times more damage to the planet's environment than a resident of India. Therefore 1 American = 35 Indians. So if the dead white person is an American, you have to give 35 times the importance to his/her death,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Andhra Pradesh: BJP leader shot dead
Assam: 4 ultras killed, 2 injured
Jammu & Kashmir: Sub-inspector strangled to death
THE WEATHER
J&K in for wet weather
Rain or thundershowers are also likely to fall at isolated places in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, West Bengal and Sikkim.
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