Chandigarh Headlines

Go public on CTBT, US tells India
India and the US today got down to sorting the devil in detail in their bilateral relationship, with US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and the Prime Minister’s key aide Jaswant Singh having exhaustive talks over how to "narrow the gap", especially on security-related matters. The US team is believed to have told the Indian side that it should make more public its intentions about signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, only after which Washington may consider going ahead with the visit of US President Bill Clinton to India.

Tuteja PSEB chairman
S.K. Tuteja is the new chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala, replacing Bikramjit Singh, who was holding additional charge of the post. Rajan Kashyap will be the principal secretary, Department of Revenue and Rehabilitation. These are among the 24 transfers announced by the Punjab government today.

JMM (Soren) in Yadav front
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Shibu Soren along with 18 party MLAs today joined the newly-floated Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) to strengthen the new political front aimed at facilitating of a non-BJP government at the Centre. The Morcha was constituted on June 24 by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Laloo Prasad Yadav to pull down the BJP government and form an alternative secular government.

Construction by 2001: VHP
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today declared that it would begin construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya on "Ekadesi Day" in the month of Karthik in the year 2001. VHP secretary general Giriraj Kishore expressed the hope that by then, the Supreme Court would give a verdict favourable to the VHP.