M A I N   N E W S

Azhar deposes before Madhavan

HYDERABAD, Nov 16 (UNI) — Former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin finally appeared before BCCI special commissioner K. Madhavan today, breaking 18 days of self-imposed isolation in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation naming him and four others in the match-fixing scandal.

Giving a slip to 100-odd print and electronic mediapersons, Azhar made his way to the executive suite on the fourth floor of Hotel Ramada from the airport side entrance.

Mr K. Madhavan, a former CBI Joint-Director, who remained incommunicado since morning, had shifted the venue of inquiry to the second floor where he was locked-in with Azhar and Mr P.K. Sharma, an advocate, who had accompanied him from New Delhi last night, hotel sources said.

Around 12.45 p.m. a hotel billboard displayed a message saying Mr Madhavan would meet the Press in the evening “depending upon contingency of work”.

Haryana staff begin strike
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 16 — Haryana Government employees belonging to the general categories and backward classes based in Chandigarh and Panchkula restarted their pen-down strike from this afternoon to press their demand for the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement in the Ajit Singh Janjua case on accelerated promotion to the Scheduled Castes employees as well as to protest against, what they called, backtracking by the state government on its assurance to implement the judgement.

The decision to restart the agitation was announced at a rally of the employees by their leaders who flew a shell to mark the beginning of the strike. A member of the action committee of the Haryana General and Backward Classes Employees Welfare Organisation, Mr Prithvi Singh Loyal, also started an indefinite fast. Speaker after speaker criticised the state government for its “partisan role”.

Meanwhile, an official spokesman alleged that the employees were being misguided by certain mischievous elements having vested interests. Cautioning the employees against being misled by such elements, the spokesman said they should not forget that the government had already invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act. Therefore, they should desist from resorting to any agitation. He warned that those found taking the law into their own hands would invite stern disciplinary action.

The spokesman clarified that the Supreme Court , while dismissing a contempt petition against a former Chief Secretary, Mr R.S. Varma, and certain other officers arising out of the Janjua case judgement on November 13, had stated that the “dismissal of this contempt petition shall not be construed as any expression of opinion on the issues raised in the petition and that it shall be open to the petitioners to take recourse to such other remedy in such forum as may be available to them in law.”

He said the Solicitor-General, Mr Harish Salve, the Advocate-General of Haryana, Mr Surya Kant Sharma, and the Advocate-on-Record, Mr Mahabir Singh, were directed by the apex court orally not to revert the affected persons from the reserved category for one week so that they could take recourse before any court for the available remedy.

After this oral direction, the spokesman said, the government had no choice but to hold the implementation of its earlier orders reverting certain employees till November 20.

However, the agitating employees deny any such directions by the apex court. Their president, Mr Desh Raj Lamba, said after the dismissal of their contempt petition the Scheduled Castes employees “have no locus standi to enjoy the undue benefit of accelerated promotion.”

Mr Lamba said if the government did not implement its order of reversion, the employees’ agitation could spread to the entire state.