Minister murdered in Madhya Pradesh
In the first incident of its kind in Madhya Pradesh, Naxalites belonging to the People's War Group hacked to death a minister, Likhiram Kawre, in the early hours of Thursday at his ancestral house in Sonepur village in Balghat district.

The blood-spattered body of the minister with a long knife running right through his neck was found in front of the gate of his resience around 6 a.m.

Another report, however, said the neck had been chopped and severed with a saw.

Local sources said Kawre was dragged out of bed and done to death while his personal guards were asleep.

Kawre, who held the transport portfolio, had been camping at Balaghat for the past few days in connection with the civic polls in the state later this month.

Claiming reponsibility for the killing, the PWG men left behind a handwritten poster titled "Karimnagar ka badla next to the minister's body. The poster said the killing was an act of revenge for the kidnapping and killing of three top PWG leaders in a recent "fake" police encounter at Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh which also revenge killings on Wednesday night.

Various theories are in circulation about the background to the killing. According to one, the minister, who allegedly had informal links with the Naxalites,was under pressure to secure the release of a PWG member, Ram Siya Bai, who had been arrested by the police sometime ago. Subscribers to ths theory claim that the Naxalites had even attacked the Roopjhar police station where she was confined. A four-hour-long battle ensued with the police.

Chief minister Digvijay Singh left for the village along with home minister Nand Kumar Patel and senior state officials soon after news of the killing reached here. The CM condemned the murder and called it an act of cowardice. The state government also declared a three-day state morning.

The state BJP, on its part, sought the CM's resignation on account of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. A BJP spokesman said the CM's casual attitude was reprehensible when MLAs were being beaten up. More than 10,000 women had been murdered, 20,000 reped and about 38,000 dowry related complaints recorded in the last six years.


Clinton arriving in March
Will he, won't he is no longer the question. President Bill Clinton is coming to India in the second half of March, though the exact dates have yet to be finalised. The trip is not linked with New Delhi signing the test ban treaty, according to senior US officials. However, they say the tone and tenor of the trip will be determined by India signing the comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

"If India is really interested in Indo-US ties taking off, signing the CTBT will be a good way to do so. It will invest the presidential visit with a speical significance," a senior US diplomat said. But Clinton will not call off his trip if the Vajpayee government does not sign on the dotted line. The first visit by a US President in over two decades will still be an important event.

Though the US Congress has refused to ratify the CTBT, non-proliferation still remains the Clinton administration's pet refrain. Indo-US ties are looking up and if New Delhi decides to sign CTBT, without necessarily fatifying it, it will be good enough for Washington.

Sharif vows to fight back, terms charges cooked up
Pakistan's deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday that the charges being brought against him by the military led government were "cooked up". The anti-terrorist court hearing the case adjourned for a week the formal laying of the charges against him. Judge Shabir Ahmed instructed lawyers to return next Monday to settle a dispute over evidence. The court asked the defence and prosecution to bring expers on December 20 to settle a dispute over whether copies of key audio and video evidence should be given to the defence before the laying of formal charges.

Sharif, his brother Shahbaz, the former chief minister of Punjab province, and five others have been accused of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, attempted murder and hijacking - a charge that could lead to a death sentence.

The court was alos likely to charge Sharif with likely to charge sharif with waging was against Pakistan, an allegation not made in the initial complaint lodged with police last month. "We know, and the lawyers community knows, what is the reality of this case. My opinion... is that it's a made-up case a cooked-up case," Sharif told reporters minutes before an anti-terrorism court began hearing the case here. Calling army charges of treason and attempted hijacking "fabricated", Sharif vowed to fight the charges and win."The Government lawyers have no case," Sharif told reporters. "They are at a dead end."

Sharif was expected to be formally charged although his defense lawyers said they would ask for a further delay after prosecution ignored an earlier court order to hand over transcripts of witnesses testimony as well as video and audio cassettes pertinent to the case.

The laying of formal charges was also delayed a week earlier to allow the government to appoint a new judge after a change in the law governing the proceedings of the anti-terrorism court.

Soon after the submission of the chargesheet, the judge was expected to read out the charges before the accused and take their pleas, paving the way for the trial to start.


Sharif in Jail
Almost all male member of Sharif's family, including his father Mian Mohammed Sharif, younger brother Abbas Sharif, son Hussain Nawaz and nephew Hamza Shahbaz are under arrested. They are likely to be booked under the accountability law.


Deleting Rajiv's name impossible, says CBI
The CBI told the high court on Monday the removal of Rajiv Gandhi's name from the Bofors chargesheet was a legal impossibility. The arguments concluded in the case on Monday.
"If CBI fails to mention Rajiv Gandhi's name in it, it will amount to dereliction of duty and the prosecution will be guilty of not furnishing information required by the court," additional solicitor general S B Jaisinghani, appearing for CBI, told judge Cyriac Joseph.
"Its role will be suspect. People will think it has favoured Rajiv because he was the prime minister," Jaisinghani said.
Arguing that Rajiv's role in the gun deal has been examined by the court despite the fact that he is dead, Jaisinghani said removing his name from the chargesheet would impair the prosecution's case.
Inclusion of Rajiv's name in Column two - "Accused Not sent Up for Trial" - of the main page of the chargesheet filed by the CBI on October 23 kicked up a controversy.
One Rajiv Gandhi Ekta Samiti filed a petition, alleging Rajiv's name has been included maliciously to tarnish his image and called for its deletion.
The CBI accused Rajiv of abetment, conspiracy and corruption in the Rs 1,437 crore 155 mm Howitzer gun deal in which Swedish company Bofors allegedly paid Rs 64 crore as kickback to clinch the deal - in violation clear warning from the Indian government htat there would be no middleman in the award of contract.
"The late prime minister's name has been wrongly and maliciously mentioned in the case so that his reputation is harmed. He is not alive to defent his reputation," Samiti's counsel Vijay Shukla argued.
Shukla insisted the case will not suffer if his name is taken out.
During hte arguments, the judge wondered if instead of mentioning "Late Rajiv Gandhi" in the disputed column the prosecution agency could be more specific by writing - "Rajiv Gandhi, not sent up for Trial, because he is de4ad."
The state counsel said "late" was put there by CBI only for the sake of brevity and also because of love and affection for Rajiv Gandhi.
Challenging hte locus standi of the Samiti as the proclaimed guardian of Rajiv's reputation, Jaisinghani said when close family members and Rajiv's wife (Sonia Gandhi), who is leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, has preferred to keep quite over the issue, then why is a group of unrelated persons so interested. "Anyone can set the criminal law in motion but everone can not obstruct the same. If there is a judicial regress, it must be in the interest of justice, not for personal or political interests," Jaisinghani argued, citing judgements.

Ayodhya -- Oppn guns for Advani

Demonstrations and counter-protest rallies in several parts of the country today marked the seventh anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition, which passed off peacefully even as the issue rocked Parliament with the Opposition questioning continuance of Home Minister L K Advani and two other chargesheeted BJP ministers in the government set-up.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day with the Opposition forcing adjournment to demand that Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati keep out of government till the demolition case was disposed of.

In Ayodhya, where the authorities had made elaborate security arrangements, 59 people, including some Shiv Sena activists, were taken into custody while trying to reach the disputed site. Elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh, nearly 800 workers of different political parties and religious organisations were arrested for violating prohibitory orders.

Earlier in the Lok Sabha, pandemonium broke out during zero hour, leading to three adjournments that failed topacify the members from almost all the Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Left. They unanimously held that not only Advani but also two others, HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Tourism Minister Uma Bharti, stood accused in the matter and had no business to be in the Government. A few Shiv Oppn guns for Sena members sporting scarves with the message Jai Shri Ram further brought up the decibel level in the House. When asked, Speaker G M C Balayogi held that he had not permitted them to wear the scarves. Rajya Sabha also witnessed the tremors of the anniversary anger. A heated row erupted among the members when Shiv Sena's Sanjay Nirupam said that Babar (the Mughal emperor) was an invader who had razed Ram temples to build mosques.

The slogan-shouting Congress brigade - at one point, Sonia Gandhi was seen trying to calm them down - was led by the party's chief whip Priya Ranjan Das Munshi and senior member Santosh MohanDeb. But the tempo against the ruling benches was built by the smaller parties like the RJD, SP and the BSP when, in a flash, their members stormed to the well of the House and squatted in front of the Speaker's chair.

Muslim League's G M Banatwala triggered the Opposition's salvo through his supplementary to the main question on Babri. He inquired what the Government was doing to re-erect the demolished structure at Ayodhya.

Advani's brief intervention that the status quo was being maintained in view of the Supreme Court's direction in the matter failed to pacify the Opposition. Participating in the din, Banatwala shouted that what more could be expected of the Minister who himself was involved in the demolition.

After three interruptions, the House was finally adjourned for the day at 4 pm.

Bharatiya Janata Party's spokesperson Venkaiah Naidu castigated the Opposition for stalling the proceedings in the House. "The original question pertained to the status of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi suit.Advani is not an accused in this case," he said. Another senior party leader questioned the Opposition's timing in raising the issue. "Advani," he held, "has been the Home Minister for two years now. Why rake up the mud today? Obviously they want cheap publicity."

Congress spokesperson Ajit Jogi countered the charge by demanding that the Union Ministers chargesheeted in the demolition case had no moral right to continue in office. "But we leave the decision to their conscience," he added. Jogi insisted that the Congress wanted a speedy trial in the case and the Centre should take steps in this direction.