Dec 24, 2024 07:10 IST
First published on: Dec 24, 2024 at 07:10 IST
THE BASIC SHAPE of the eighth Lok Sabha will be cast when voters in 379 constituencies accounting for more than 70 per cent of the seats exercise their franchise. The political fortunes of 28 central ministers led by PM Rajiv Gandhi, as well as 16 prominent Opposition leaders will be decided in the first round of polling. Sixteen states and six Union territories are involved in the first phase of the election.
Union Carbide license
RENEWAL OF LICENSE of the Union Carbide pesticide factory at Bhopal for the year 1985 has been refused by the chief inspector of factories in Madhya Pradesh, in view of the “breach of the provisions governing safeguards” and the “inadequacy of provisions for safety.” After receiving the application from Union Carbide India on October 18, it was rejected by the chief on December 14. This comes after the killer gas leakage from the factory that killed over 2,000 persons.
Tamil bills rift
DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE Sri Lanka Cabinet over the government draft bills to resolve the ethnic problem have come into the open with Industries Minister Cyril Mathew, a Sinhalese Buddhist hardliner, publicly voicing his opposition to them. The position of Buddhism under the proposed amendments, the power vested in the district councils and the official language to be used by these councils, were raised. Mathew claimed that these bills were “so vast and independent from any real central control that it very nearly grants the desired Eelam.”
Six killed in Dhaka
SIX PEOPLE WERE killed in two separate incidents in Dhaka on December 23, when police opened fire on unruly demonstrators taking part in a 48-hour general strike to protest the martial law government, opposition and local administration. Security forces deployed in major cities made more than a thousand arrests as picketing, marches and minor clashes were reported from around the country during the second day of the strike.
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