PMK quits Govt., NDA
Two Union Ministers, Mr. N. T. Shanmugham and
Mr. E. Ponnuswamy, both belonging to the Pattali Makkal Katchi
(PMK), resigned from the Atal Behari Vajpayee government today,
but the Prime Minister has not yet accepted the resignations and
efforts are on to make the PMK leaders change their mind.
PMK has parted company: Laxman
The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) hope that
the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) crack in the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) will not develop into a fissure was all but dashed
this evening when the party president, Mr. Bangaru Laxman,
admitted that the PMK had withdrawn.
Violence mars Jammu bandh, Army called in
At least one person was killed and three others
injured when security forces opened fire to quell a violent mob
in the Narwal area here today during the bandh called in protest
against the killing of six Sikhs in Srinagar on Saturday.
Farooq faces Sikh ire
The Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, today
faced the ire of hundreds of Sikhs at the Mehjoor Nagar Gurdwara
in Srinagar. The Sikhs had gathered to protest the killing of six
of their community on Saturday.
Mahathir for larger 'Asian grouping'
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad, has said he favours the creation of a larger
``Asian grouping'' - one which would go beyond current regional
entities and include all Asian nations.
Miner's body floats out
The body of one of the 38 trapped miners today
floated out during dewatering operations at the Bagdihi mines,
but the possibility of finding survivors was not ruled out even
76 hours after the accident, the Directorate-General of Mine
Safety chief said.
Tax levy comes into effect
The President, Mr.K. R. Narayanan, has
promulgated an ordinance to give effect to the Government
decision to levy an additional income and corporate tax surcharge
of two per cent to cover the expenditure for Gujarat
rehabilitation. The ordinance comes into effect immediately.
Biswas term extended
The Supreme Court today approved the extension
of service to Mr. U.N. Biswas, Additional Director, CBI, heading
the investigation into fodder scam case in Bihar, till January
31.
HC notice to CBI
The Hinduja brothers will have to stay here
for a week more as the Delhi High Court today issued notice to
the CBI on their petitions challenging a trial court order
barring their exit from the country pending CBI investigation of
their involvement in the Bofors pay-off case.
Numbers mystery
Three telephone numbers against a name
beginning with `R' have been prominently written in the pocket
diary reportedly recovered from the spot of the encounter between
STF and the Veerappan gang in Sambhandikkaddu three days ago,
police sources said here.
Ramadoss to meet Jayalalitha today
The PMK leader, Dr. S. Ramadoss, told
presspersons late on Monday that he would meet the AIADMK
general-secretary, Ms. J. Jayalalitha, at her residence tomorrow.
