MDU resents MCI 'meddling'
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 18 — A controversy has arisen between the Medical Council of India and Maharshi Dayanand University over fresh migration rules recently framed by the council.

According to sources, the council had served notice on September 9 last to the university regarding cancellation of the admissions of 6 medical students who had migrated to the local Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak in 'violation' of the migration rules framed by the council. But the university administration, in place of considering the genuineness of the migrated students, has put a question mark on the right to intervene of the council itself and its jurisdiction over the university.

Although the university administration and the PGIMS authorities refused to comment on the issue, sources reveal that the university administration has decided to challenge the intervention of the council in the functioning of university.

It is learnt that the Vice-Chancellor, Lt. Gen (retd) OP Kaushik has written a letter to the chairman of the council in which he reportedly stated that the council had the right to frame the rules but was not authorised to intervene in the jurisdiction of university. The letter also reportedly stated that the university had been adhering to the rules framed by the council so far.

On the other hand, officials of the council have alleged that the university administration had ignored all the four migration rules in 'migrating' six medical students to the PGIMS last year.

The university officials have said that the authority for migration lies with the varsity and it cannot be challenged by the council.

When this correspondent talked to certain senior doctors of the institute they said that only a student who has passed his 10+2 examination from Haryana was eligible for entrance to the PGIMS as per the condition laid down by the government. They expressed surprise at even this basic condition being flouted in the garb of migration.

They alleged that the number of students usually exceeded the required level due to admission of migrated students. This had adversely affected studies, practicals and scholarships of the students.

They also alleged that only the wards of influential people had been benefited by the facility. Supporting this claim a doctor said that a student who had got the 14th rank in the migration list was placed at the 6th rank by manipulation and migrated to the PGIMS as he belonged to a senior leader of the ruling party.

Earlier, the university had enjoyed the rights of migration. But now on the ground of alleged irregularities in migrations, the council had taken the right upon itself.

Descendants fight for land
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

HISAR: About 40 km from here is a small village named Shaheed (martyr). Originally named as Rohnat, the village got its new name for the participation of its entire populace in the Mutiny of 1857 and the consequent reprisal by the British.

The entire village with over 20,000 bighas of land was acquired by the British, as all villagers were declared "rebels". The land was subsequently auctioned for a nominal price. Besides several men found involved in the Mutiny were done to death at Hansi. One road at Hansi is still known as Lal Sadak (red road) as scores of people were crushed to death after a road roller was run over them.

Until Independence, the villagers for 90 long years fought the British to get their land restored. But they could not. With the Independence, hope dawned for them only to realise over a period of time that it hardly made any difference to them. Says, Bhale Singh Boora, an ex-serviceman, now fighting for the restoration of land to the villagers, "We are still slaves as we were during the British period. Independence has made hardly any difference to us".

In 1970, the then Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, had sanctioned Rs 1.5 lakh to them as relief. However, this was "too little and too late" for the villagers. They have been demanding that the land "snatched" from their ancestors either be restored to them or they be awarded the same area of land at some other places or given compensation on the prevailing prices.

According to Mr Boora, it is his fourth generation that has been fighting the case for the restoration of their land. After Independence it is the second. The villagers have approached all Prime Ministers, without any exception, with their case. Nor have they left out any Chief Minister, first in joint Punjab and now in Haryana. But nobody seems to care.

There were about 500 families who were dispossessed of their land by the British on July 20, 1858. Now their number is much more. In fact, their shared history, too tragic to be forgotten, has kept them together. They have spread to adjacent villages also. Most of them have purchased some land from which they make their living. For them, the issue is too sensitive to be forgotten. "If the Jews could fight for 2,000 years, why cannot we? Our case is no different from theirs", claims Mr Boora.

The government on the other hand has been finding it difficult to restore them this land. The land in 1858 was purchased by 61 persons for a nominal amount of Rs 81,00. Now the land costs crores of rupees and has been divided into hundreds of shares during the past 150 years. "But that is none of their concern", argues Mr Boora, adding that a wrong done to their ancestors needed to be rectified, as it directly concerned them.

Chautala in dilemma on support issue
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Oct 18 — Indian National Lok Dal strongman Om Prakash Chautala is finding it difficult to decide the future strategy of the party. The INLD, which is in the Opposition in Haryana, has given unconditional support to the BJP-led government at the Centre.

The INLD leadership is of the opinion that it has major stakes in at least two states of Delhi and Rajasthan, which are going to the polls next month. The presence of Jat voters in these states has given the party, which claims itself to be their (Jats') sole representative, an added bargaining option.

It is most likely going to be a battle between the Congress and the BJP in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Although the party has little stakes in the third state, it wants to get the maximum in the bargain in the states of Delhi and Rajasthan. Obviously, the BJP would have been the natural choice for the party.

However, according to party sources, there is no consensus within the party on forming an alliance with the BJP. But for the last-minute changes in the BJP leadership in Delhi, it would have been much easy for the INLD to go in for an alliance with it. But the situation has turned out to be reverse.

Mr Chautala's aversion for the Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, is too well known. In fact he blames Mrs Swaraj for not letting the BJP to form an alliance with his party in 1996, which could have led to Mr Chautala becoming the Chief Minister.

Out of the 60 seats, Jat voters can play a decisive role in as many as 23 constituencies in Delhi alone. This gives an edge to Mr Chautala, vis-a-vis his bargain with the BJP. The BJP, on the other hand, will definitely need a party like the INLD, which enjoys tremendous influence among Jat voters, to pacify this section which is feeling aggrieved after the unceremonious exit shown to Mr Sahib Singh Verma.

In Rajasthan again, the INLD would prefer the BJP. The president of the youth wing of the INLD and son of Mr Chautala, Mr Ajay Chautala, is already a Janata Dal MLA from there.

Given this situation, Mr Chautala will need to do a tough thinking over the options he would avail. At the working committee meeting held at Jind the other day, Mr Chautala was authorised to take a final decision on the party's strategy for the forthcoming assembly elections. Mr Chautala, later told newsmen that there were "no untouchables in politics". He was reported having said that even the options of alliance with the Congress were also open.

But this is being termed as part of his pressure tactics. Mr Chautala and the INLD, according to inside sources, were confident that the BJP desperately needed its support in Delhi and Rajasthan. By adopting such tactics, Mr Chautala has been trying to make maximum advantage of his and the party's position.

Extensive damage to paddy crop
From Ashwani Dutta

YAMUNANAGAR, October 18 — Due to unprecedented rain the main crop of this region, paddy, has been extensively damaged.

In a number of villages paddy crop has been extensively damaged. Sunil Dhawan of Naharpur village and Mangat Ram of Bahadurpur village claimed that their paddy crop had been damaged and even 300 trees of poplar had been uprooted.

The residents of Naharpur had already given a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner to provide them compensation because even now the stagnant water had not been drained out by the administration.

The farmers alleged that nobody from the administration side had even visited or come to their rescue.

Various political leaders, including Aman Kumar Nagra President, Bahujan Samaj party, had demanded compensation for farmers whose crop had been damaged due to rain. He also gave a memorandum to the local officers to forward it to the government for immediate action.

It is learnt that the Irrigation Department of Haryana is working on the plan of having an escape channel along with the W.J.C. Western Jammu Canal area to drain out the rain water and help in solving the seepage problem.

The district administration has deployed a number of pumping sets to drain out the stagnant water so that the farmers could harvest their paddy crops.

Rs 1,200 cr crop damaged: Hooda
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 18 — Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MP, President, Haryana Pradesh Congress (I) Committee has expressed agony over the loss of crops due to incessant unseasonal rain in the state, and conveyed his sympathy with the farmers who have suffered a huge loss on that account.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Hooda said already the state had experienced heavy unseasonal rains, hailstorms and squalls during the last two months. The incessant rain during the previous three days had caused havoc and added to the miseries of the farmers of the state, whose crops of paddy, cotton and bajra had been badly hit and had been destroyed, causing a loss to the tune of over Rs 1200 crore.

Mr Hooda said in several parts of the state the farmers had not been able to sow new crops on account of stagnant water, whereas in other areas the crops had been completely destroyed on account of incessant unseasonal rains, water-logging and drought.

Mr Hooda urged the state government to order a special girdawari for the destroyed crops; waive off of electricity bills and postpone for at least one year recovery of loans from the affected farmers. Mr Hooda also demanded a compensation of Rs 5000 per acre for the crops destroyed due to the unseasonal rains and to those kisans who had not been able to sow new crop on account of stagnant water.

Robbers' gang busted
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Oct 18 — With the arrest of six persons, the Rai police today claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of highway robbers operating in Haryana and Rajasthan.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr K. Selvraj, identified the arrested members of the gang as Pappli, Babu, Pande and Ram Khilari of Ladosh (Rajasthan), Yogesh of Asadpur (UP) and Jatinder of Urova (UP).

The police had recovered a stolen jeep, a country-made pistol, a cartridge, a knife and a dagger from their possession.

The jeep had been stolen from Baldi village under Mahowa police station in Rajasthan and its registration number was RK 29 E-0035.

Mr Selvraj said the police got a tip-off that the culprits were sitting in the jeep at a deserted 'kotha' near Chauhan Joshi village and planning to commit a decoity. The police, he said, immediately swung into action and arrested all the culprits.

A case under the Indian Arms Act and the Indian Penal Code has been registered against all the culprits.