1 more arrested in campus murder case Saturday, September 29, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: The Navrangpura police caught one more youth on Thursday in connection with the murder of the Gujarat College student, Bharat Patel, near the Nehru Bridge on Wednesday.
The youth has been identified as Bhavesh Makwana, a resident of Dani Limda. The 18-year-old was detained for questioning and then arrested by the police for 'common intention'. "We are yet to confirm whether he was also possessing weapons or not", police inspector O A Mazumdar told TNN.
Makwana, who is not registered with any college, is believed to have been hanging around on the campus and was an associate of prime accused Deepak Vidyadhar, who was arrested on Wednesday for killing the 21-year-old Bharat.
The motive, which is getting clearer is that the two groups of boys fought over standing at the Lal Darwaja bus depot. Some girls, who also stayed at Ranip and were students of S V College, were reportedly teased by the rival group from Dani Limda and this turned into a serious fight between the groups leading to the murder.
rucker looted, killed: Four gangsters, aged around 30 years, waylaid a truck (KA 1 C 993) opposite a petrol pump on the Bareja-Jetalpur road and killed the driver after attacking him with knives and other blunt weapons on Wednesday night. The driver has been identified as R Rajaramar (23).
The miscreants decamped with Rs 3,000 from the truck's cabin. The truck was loaded with firecrackers, and was coming from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu heading towards Punjab.
A complaint was lodged at the Vatva police station by the co-driver of the truck, R Marugesan Ramaswamy Gaunder, who also belongs to Tamil Nadu.
Related News: College student kills fellow in Ahmedabad
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Disgruntled AMC Cong men return to work Saturday, September 29, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Corporators and chairmen of AMC's civic committees returned to work on Thursday after staying away from work on Wednesday.
After GPCC president Amarsinh Chaudhary's assurances of at least one post to every Congress corporator, the disgruntled Congress men calmed down.
Hasankhan Pathan, chairman of the AMC's town planning committee, who sources said was the loudest in demanding a change, said on Thursday: "There was no problem at all. Democracy has always prevailed in the Congress. All the 70 Congress corporators were present at a meeting with our state party chief where we discussed internal issues."
Insiders however said the disgruntled corporators were closeted in an over-two-hour meeting with Chaudhary at the Congress Legislative Party office at Gandhinagar from 12.30 pm.
After pouring their hearts out on subjects like no in-party democracy in the AMC, AMC-Cong leadership playing favourites, lack of civic development during Congress's year-long tenure, the complainants were assured of a training camp for corporators and that the newly formed co-ordination committee, headed by Rajkumar Gupta, will look into all civic problems taken up by the party's corporators.
However, a senior Congress man told TOI: "This hullabaloo, for a majority, was to ensure that they capture plum committees after the first term ends in October. While the whole episode was disguised as advocacy for the many capable Congress leaders being left out and that everyone should get a shy at power seats, the disgruntled section did get a hearing from the state Congress president."
One of the chairmen who had abstained from work on Wednesday said, "we have put across all our grievances to Chaudhary who has assured to look into each of them. While the disgruntled were asked to keep their tempers in check as Congress is getting back to its winning days, Congress leadership at the AMC were directed to be democratic and more sympathetic towards the appeals of fellow corporators."
He added, "We were never desirous of harming our party's image or organisation. It was a mark of protest through which we wanted to set right certain unacceptable ways of functioning in AMC's Congress leadership. We have succeeded in our mission and got assurances. Hopefully better days await Congress at the corporation."
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Did an aggressive CM tame BJP's central leadership? Saturday, September 29, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
GANDHINAGAR: Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has reportedly given enough indications to the BJP leadership that he has no intentions of stepping down to facilitate a change of guard in the state. Besides, the BJP is also not confidant whether a new chief minister from among the present MPs will get elected to the state Assembly with certainty.
On the return of the chief minister from New Delhi, ministers close to him and those claiming to know the developments over the past two days say Keshubhai had, in fact, been quite point-blank with the BJP president Jana Krishnamurthy during a discussion on change of leadership and possible alternatives.
In fact, the chief minister showed no interest in alternatives and, instead, said he was not inclined to make away for someone else.
The alternatives discussed included the names of two Union ministers -- Kashiram Rana and Vallabh Kathiria -- and state BJP president Rajendrasinh Rana, well-placed ministerial sources revealed on Friday. The CM claimed he had "complete support" of the state legislature party and his ministerial team.
The CM , who was on defensive on the first day of discussions, hardened his stance after he strongly objected to BJP state in-charge Madan Lal Khurana's statement that the leadership change issue was being discussed and a decision would be made known.
In fact, Keshubhai went on the counter-offensive against Khurana and forced a clarification from him that he had not said anything about a leadership change. Seeing Keshubhai's belligerent posture, the high command decided to go slow on the discussion over possible replacements and decided not to act in haste.
After the CM's firm 'no' to put in his papers and make it easy for the leadership to effect a change, sources said the alternatives were "discussed only to be rejected" as the feeling went around that removal of Keshubhai might destabilise things further. Besides, it was felt that one could not risk any of the Members of Parliament to seek election to the state Assembly, as of now.
Both the Rana and Kathiria are Lok Sabha MPs. Putting them on the CM's seat would mean going in for two more by-elections -- for an Assembly seat and also a Lok Sabha seat. The view was strong that with the sagging BJP image in the state, this was a huge risk.
Meanwhile, liberal opponents belonging to the Suresh Mehta and Kashiram Rana camps do not think that the type of changes the BJP high command wishes to bring about in the state BJP would in any way help the present state of affairs of the party. The dissidents feel that the leaders is taking views of only state president Rajendrasinh Rana, general secretary Sanjay Joshi, and the CM himself -- all belonging to the same camp.
The dissidents, however, have one thing in common with the loyalists in the BJP. They are also apprehensive about the possible return of Narendra Modi to Gujarat. The dissidents do not think this would help solve the situation in the state. Modi, a man with extremist views, is still considered responsible for the rebellion that struck the state led by Shankarsinh Vaghela in 1995-96.
Short tempered, Modi is known to be hostile to the moderate camp which does not get along with the RSS and could make matters worse for the likes of Suresh Mehta, who take satisfaction in the fact that, unlike Modi, Keshubhai is quite tolerant.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
GCCI against octroi hike Saturday, September 29, 2001
Source Times News Network
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed to the state government to "seriously reconsider" the proposal of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to hike octroi rates.
The deputy general secretary of GCCI, S.C. Shah, pointed towards the prevalent recessionary situation and world-wide fall in demand of goods produced while objecting to AMC's desire to raise octroi charges on no less than 38 consumer goods.
Shah says in his statement, "Any step to raise octroi duty would not only be ill-timed but would also prove detrimental to health of trade and industry of Gujarat. Such a step would also be ill-conceived since the state government is bound to remove octroi tax from six municipal areas of Gujarat at the earliest."
While talking about anger and outrage among representatives of trade and industry, GCCI members threatened that the business community would not hesitate to take up agitationary stance, if their sentiments are not given due and sympathetic hearing.
Shah added: "In 1998, GCCI had extended full co-operation to AMC in hiking the octroi rates despite protests from trade and industry. It was also discussed then that octroi rates would be levied on ad-valorem basis to reflect rise in prices of commodities with a subsequent rise in AMC's octroi income. New proposals to hike octroi duty is contrary to the understanding between GCCI and AMC."
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Govt clear AMC's Rs 100-cr bond issue Saturday, September 29, 2001
Source Times News Network
AHMEDABAD: After a long, painful wait - one that saw the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation miss its deadline of March - for issuance the Rs 100-crore tax-free bonds, the corporation finally got the nod from the Gujarat government on Friday.
With the magic word being tax-free, those investing in the bonds will earn non-taxable interest on the debenture. This is however the second avtaar of the path-breaking non-convertible debentures first launched by the AMC in 1998.
The Rs 100 crore bond (non-convertible debentures) is part of a Rs 300-crore water and sewerage project drawn up by the corporation to spruce up the water supply and sewage system of a city awaiting megacity status.
Unlike in 1998, however, when the AMC earned accolades as a trendsetter -- the first municipal corporation in India to issue public bonds based on an enviable AA(SO) rating by CRISIL, this time the corporation authorities are prepared to while their time till the opportune moment arrives.
AMC commissioner K. Kailashnathan told TNN: "Though we have got the green signal from the state government we will have to wait a while. The terrorists attack on WTC in New York has in its global, ripple effect has boosted prevalent rate of interest (in the open market) on loans taken to almost 10.5 per cent. We however want the interest rate to be around 9 and 9.5 per cent when we float the bonds. I expect the market to stabilise within a week from now."
Unlike the public bonds issued in 1998 the ones belonging to a new millennium will not be marketed and will be sold by "word of mouth" that too only to large commercial groups or financial institutions.
The other major change could be the proposed 10-year period for the new debentures instead of the seven, as in 1998. The bonds will hold out interest rate ranging around 9.5 per cent (as compared to the 14 per cent of 1998) which is expected to draw good response as its premium will be tax-free.
Meanwhile, the corporation has already done its homework by attracting investors for the tax-free bonds worth Rs 100 crore. A source in AMC disclosed: "Since this bond is only meant for financial institutions, contacts have been established with ICICI, Gujarat State Financial Services and ILFS. Now it is just buying time till the right moment."
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
