MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, she wondered what "Raj Dharma" he had advised Mr. Modi to perform.
(Hindu 2.5.02)
2 ND May 02
Rs. 150 cr. for rehabilitation (7)
NEW DELHI, MAY 1. The Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, today announced a Rs 150 crore rehabilitation
package for the victims of the communal carnage in Gujarat. This includes assistance for reconstruction
and repair of damaged houses and shops in urban and rural centers, and aid for the self employed among
the victims to restart their business, commercial and industrial activities. (Hindu 2.5.02)
2 ND May 02
BJP indulges in media bashing (7)
NEW DELHI: Rattled by the combined attack by the opposition and its allies in the NDA over its handling
of the Gujarat carnage, the B JP has resorted to blaming the media for the continuing violence in the state.
While B JP leaders have for several days now been targeting the media for what they call one-sided
coverage of the Gujarat violence, media bashing was carried out inside Parliament when the
opposition-sponsored censure motion was being debated in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Several
hardliners on the treasury benches struck out at the media and contrasted the coverage of the national
press with that of the more favourable local Gujarati media. Even Prime Minister Vajpayee joined his
colleagues in questioning the role of the press in the ongoing violence. Attacking the media, Vajpayee said
there is an urgent need to look seriously at the role of the press in such situations. He questioned the
repeated telecast of shots of persons being burnt or attacked, and said this only worsens the situation.
(Times of India 2.5.02)
2ND May 02
All casualties of this clash belong to one community (7)
AHMEDABAD, MAY 1: THE Gujarat police might well give themselves a pat on the back for "controlling"
mobs in Chandola last week but the facts seem to tell a different story. The official police release says the
cops opened fire after two groups clashed. Surprisingly, all the dead and injured were members of one
community. No policeman was even injured. ""They killed innocent people in Gomtipur too. But there at
least there was the provocation erf a constable having been killed by a mob. Who provoked here? Why
did they open fire at us?" asked 56-year-old Sheikh Mustafa Mohammed, a resident of Chandola, while
tending to the injured at VS. Hospital. Sheikh saw a larger conspiracy in the entire episode. "There are
some who want us to leave this area as they want to acquire ourland," he said. (Indian Exp 2.5.02)
2 ND May 02
Minorities have no absolute right: Centre (7)
NEW DELHI, MAY: The minorities have no absolute right under the Constitution to establish and
administer educational institutions as such a right was subject to "reasonable restrictions", the
Solicitor-General, Harish Salve, today submitted before a 11-Iudge Constitution Bench of the Supreme
Court hearing 11 questions relating to the rights of the minorities. Beginning his arguments at the
conclusion of elaborate arguments (which began on April 2) by counsel for the petitioner institutions, Mr.
Salve differed with the petitioners' contention that the minorities had absolute rights to establish and
administer educational institutions, including professional colleges. The right to impart education was
subject to "reasonable restrictions" and the earlier Constitution Benches had correctly interpreted the
issues and the problem was only in applying the principles. (Hindu 2.5.02)
2 ND May 02
Govt. wins vote but NDA shaken (7)
New Delhi, May 1: AS THE nation slept, the Vajpayee government survived a trial of strength in the Lok
Sabha in the sarly hours of Wednesday The opppsition-sponsored censure notion was defeated — 276 to
182, with eight members, abstaining— but the numbers don't really tell the story. The marathon 16 hour
debate, which culminated with the vote at 4.25 am, often slipped to abysmal-low levels, but in the end, one
thing was clear: the cracks in the NDA coalition are now wider than they have ever been. (Hindustan
Times 2.5.02)