M A I N   N E W S

BJP rebels harden stand
From S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Nov 29 — Five rebels of the ruling BJP, including three ministers, have refused to budge and extend a friendly hand towards Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal until their two main demands, including that of sacking PWD Minister Mohinder Singh were met.

The rebels told this correspondent on telephone from some undisclosed destination outside Himachal Pradesh that they would not relent unless their two demands were immediately accepted.

They said the Chief Minister should drop Mr Mohinder Singh from the Cabinet and also terminate the services of his own officer on special duty, Mr Omkar Thakur, to create a congenial atmosphere for further talks.

They expressed surprise why Mr Dhumal was reluctant to accept these demands even as the image of the BJP was getting damaged with Mr Mohinder Singh continuing as minister.

They said it was strange that Mr Dhumal was willing to sacrifice his party’s legislators and not take action against the minister against whom there were serious allegations of misuse of office.

They said the BJP had contested the elections with the agenda of providing a clean and corruption-free administration, but after coming to power Prof Dhumal was running the government with the help of “tainted” persons.

The rebels said they were not trying to destabilise the government, but were only raising their voice against “wrong doings”

They indicated that they might take some drastic action in case their demands were not met and things within the government and the organisation not set right.

They alleged that the services of Mr Omkar Thakur should be terminated as he had been misbehaving with ministers and legislators.

Since yesterday’s talks initiated by RSS leaders, the rebels have further hardened their stand.

Meanwhile, Prof Dhumal told newspersons that some of the demands of the dissidents could be implemented in due course of time. He, however, said removing ministers on demand would set a wrong precedent.

Mr Mohinder Singh met Prof Dhumal last night. Two ministers, Mr J.P. Nadda and Mr Parveen Sharma, close to Prof Dhumal, were closeted with Mr Mohinder Singh this afternoon. Later, accompanied by Industries Minister Kishori Lal, they had a long meeting with the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Mr Ram Markandey, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, today met Prof Dhumal and reiterated his demand for dropping Mr Mohinder Singh from the Cabinet. He, however, said he would continue to support Prof Dhumal.

In a joint statement, Mr Kishori Lal, Mr Nadda, Mr Parveen Sharma, Mr Jai Ram Thakur, MLA, Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, Vice-President, state unit of the BJP, and Mr Sandapnee Bhardwaj, Chairman, Kailash Federation, said all BJP men were solidly behind Prof Dhumal.

Shepherds’ bane, smugglers’ boon
From Raman Mohan

HISAR, Nov 29 — Famished sheep, ailing cattle and starving young bullocks with vermillion tilaks on their foreheads have become a common sight in Haryana villages bordering drought-hit Rajasthan districts, where ranchers and shepherds are abandoning cattle by the thousands because of acute fodder shortage.

But look at the irony of fate, one man’s misfortune is proving to be a windfall for another. While the owners left the animals to fend for themselves after praying for them and applying tilaks to their foreheads, cattle smugglers from the two states are herding them in trucks for illegal butchering in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

In Haryana, the smugglers are reported to be most active in Gurgaon district. The unfortunate herds include hundreds of cows too.

The small fry among the smugglers — who have turned cattle smugglers overnight — are even taking them on foot from Hisar, Sirsa, Mahendragarh and Bhiwani districts to Gurgaon, where the animals are passed on to established cattle smugglers for onward transportation to butcheries outside the state.

Maan Singh, a shepherd from a remote village of Churu district, told The Tribune last evening that he had abandoned his herd comprising over 30 sheep, 10 cows and eight calves. “There is nothing to eat for me, how am I expected to feed my animals. There is no greenery anywhere back home. The trees are devoid of leaves. Those that have are accessible only to camels. Smaller grazing animals can’t reach for them”, he said.

He explained that he had migrated to Haryana a few weeks ago in the hope that he could tide over the bad times. But, he decided to abandon the animals after exhausting all his resources. “I can not see my animals dying of hunger and disease. How long could our Haryanvi hosts feed so many mouths? But I cannot sell my animals to butchers. I come from a tribe, which has reared cattle since ages. These animals have fed my tribesmen for generations. I will any day leave them to their fate than earn something by selling them to butchers. It will be more like eating them”, Maan Singh added.

Enquiries reveal that relief measures taken by the Rajasthan Government are wholly inadequate considering the magnitude of the problem. There is not enough food for humans. Under the circumstances, distressed ranchers and shepherds have to abandon their livestock in the hope that their natural instincts will help many of them survive the drought.

Maan Singh’s brother, Bharat Singh said they had learnt from their forefathers that it is better to abandon cattle during a drought because the dying animals could otherwise trigger disease in the villages, threatening the human population. Asked what they would do now that their main wealth had been abandoned, he replied that like his ancestors, he would make a fresh beginning when the rains come.

Brave words for a man, considering the rains could play truant in the desert for years at a stretch.