H I M A C H A L   P R A D E S H

Four Virbhadra loyalists expelled
Solan, September 21
The District Congress Committee President, Mr Ram Asra, today expelled four Virbhadra Singh loyalists from the primary membership of the Congress for six years for “indulging in anti-party activities”.

• Pathania asks leaders to unite

Sikh convention in Mandi on Sept 23
Chandigarh, September 21
Upset over the denial of “minority status” and also to press their long-standing demands, Sikhs of Himachal Pradesh have called a state-level convention in Mandi on September 23.

Collection of toll tax resented
Dalhousie, September 21
The people of Chamba region are up in arms against the Dalhousie Cantonment Board over the toll tax charged by its authorities at the traffic barrier at Banikhet on the Pathankot-Chamba highway.

POSTINGS/ TRANSFERS
Dhiman, Verma swap places
Shimla, September 21
In a minor reshuffle of IAS officers tonight, the Himachal Pradesh Government appointed Mr R.D. Dhiman, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, as Director of Food and Civil Supplies in place of Mr K.C. Verma, who swaps place with him.

College closed amid students’ protest
Hamirpur, September 21
Dr Tej Partap Kaushal, Vice-Chancellor, HP Agricultural University, today ordered the closure of College of Agriculture for indefinite period. This step has been taken following the students’ strike against the expulsion of nine students found involved in the ragging of juniors.

Drive against female foeticide
Una, September 21
The Society for Advancement of Village Economy (SAVE), Epos-GT2, a German agency, and the district health authorities joined hands to launch a campaign against female foeticide and started work on it from Haroli block of the district yesterday.

Pandemonium at MC meeting
Shimla, September 21
A special meeting of the Shimla Municipal Corporation held here today was marred by noisy scenes.

Four Virbhadra loyalists expelled
Our Correspondent

Solan, September 21
The District Congress Committee President, Mr Ram Asra, today expelled four Virbhadra Singh loyalists from the primary membership of the Congress for six years for “indulging in anti-party activities”.

The four expelled Congressmen are Mr Sunjay Sharma, Mr Satya Narain, Mr Yoginder Sethi and Mr Bhupinder Sharma. They along with a vast majority of active Congress workers, had objected to the manner in which the elections to the executive body of the Solan Constituency Congress Committee were held here on September 23 last.

Mr Ashok Sood, Assistant Returning Officer deputed by the party to hold the elections, had allegedly left the venue of the elections on some pretext without giving the voters any chance to cast their ballot. He later announced a list of seven persons who, he claimed, had been elected unanimously. This caused a lot of heartburn in the Virbhadra camp, which expected to win a majority of the seats.

Later, three of the four, who were expelled today, filed a petition in a local court praying that all seven so-called unanimously elected persons be restrained from acting as members of the committee and the September 23 elections be declared as null and void. The court had granted the interim injunction.

Mr Bhupinder Sharma, one of the four expelled, had filed a separate case seeking declaration of a similar organisational elections for the Arki Constituency Congress Committee as null and void on similar grounds.

According to Mr Shiv Kumar, DCC delegate to the PCC, the immediate provocation for the expulsion of the four Congressmen was “their continued defiance of the PCC orders requiring them to withdraw the court cases. The PCC had, in fact, given them 15 days’ time to do so failing which they would be expelled”.

Loyalists of the Virbhadra group say the expulsion has been done to preempt a move by their leader to get at least one of the four expelled Congressmen nominated as Assistant Returning Officer for the forthcoming Youth Congress organisational elections.

Pathania asks leaders to unite
Our Correspondent

Nurpur, September 21
Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, former Transport Minister, has expressed concern over the ongoing political friction in the state Congress leadership and stressed the need for ending differences among top party leaders.

Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Pathania said the tussle in the party leadership was detrimental to the party loyalists.

Mr Pathania, who hails from the Nurpur Assembly segment and has contested four Assembly elections from here and the last two elections from the Jawalamukhi Assembly constituency, said Congress leaders of Kangra district would soon organise a rally in the district in which both the CLP leader and former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the PCC Chief, Ms Vidya Stokes, would share a dais.

Reacting to a report published in a section of the Press relating to his switching over loyalty from the Virbhadra to the Stokes faction, Mr Pathania said he had not participated in the public meetings of Mr Virbhadra Singh held recently at Jawali and Palampur in Kangra district as these were merely regional rallies of the party “Mr Virbhadra Singh is a leader of the masses and a former Chief Minister and Ms Stokes has been nominated PPC chief by the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

Hence, she is our party leader as the Congress has full faith in the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi,” he said.

Sikh convention in Mandi on Sept 23
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 21
Upset over the denial of “minority status” and also to press their long-standing demands, Sikhs of Himachal Pradesh have called a state-level convention in Mandi on September 23.

The meeting, though convened by the Himachal state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, is open to all Sikhs irrespective of their political or other affiliation, say Mr Habhajan Singh and Mr Paramjit Singh Chanana, president and general secretary of the unit, respectively.

Various problems facing the Sikh community in general and the Punjabi-speaking population in particular, are to be taken up at the convention. It may also take up the issue of the introduction of the teaching of Punjabi in all schools of the state.

Until recently, Sikhs living in Himachal were being issued certificates that they belonged to a “minority community”. Without this certificate, Himachali Sikh youth become ineligible for recruitment to the Sikh Regiment or even for getting loans from the Himachal Pradesh Minorities Finance Corporation.

“When we took up this issue with the authorities concerned, we were told that there was no provision for issuing any certificate to any Sikh as a member of a minority community. Certificates could only be issued to members belonging to a particular caste, say Jat, Saini, etc., but not to a Sikh,” says Mr Chanana.

“Now the file is with the Additional Secretary, Welfare, in Shimla. We are fed up with this red tape and have decided to take up the issue with the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, direct,” he adds.

Mr Habhajan Singh and Mr Chanana say that the Dal is contemplating taking up this matter with the National Minorities Commission as well.

The Mandi convention, they say, will also take up the issue of the teaching of Punjabi in schools of the state. The National Minorities Commission had summoned the Secretary and Director of Education of Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi last month. But so far no follow-up announcement has been made by the state government on the issue of the teaching of Punjabi from Class VI to X in all schools. 

Collection of toll tax resented
Our Correspondent

Dalhousie, September 21
The people of Chamba region are up in arms against the Dalhousie Cantonment Board over the toll tax charged by its authorities at the traffic barrier at Banikhet on the Pathankot-Chamba highway.

Residents of Chamba say that the toll tax should be imposed only on vehicles entering the board premises or on their way to Dalhousie.

Only a 1.1 km-long stretch of the road falls within the board premises on the Pathankot-Chamba highway, where a traffic barrier was set up by the board sometime back to collect toll tax.

When contacted over phone, Mr O.P. Kaundal, Chief Executive Officer of the board, said the barrier had been set up as per Central Government rules. He said the cantonment board charged Rs 15 for a loaded truck, Rs 5 for an unloaded truck, Rs 5 each for a car or jeep and Rs 1 per passenger travelling in buses coming from outside Chamba district and entering the 1.1 km-long stretch of the road.

In a representation made by the people of Chamba to the Central Government through the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System, Mr Shanta Kumar , it has been demanded that the barrier set up by the board for the collection of toll tax, be removed.

They have threatened to resort to direct action if the “anomaly” in toll tax collection is not reviewed and rectified.

POSTINGS/ TRANSFERS
Dhiman, Verma swap places
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 21
In a minor reshuffle of IAS officers tonight, the Himachal Pradesh Government appointed Mr R.D. Dhiman, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, as Director of Food and Civil Supplies in place of Mr K.C. Verma, who swaps place with him.

Mr Arvind Kaul, Financial Commissioner, has been given additional charge of Urban Development. Mr Ashok Thakur, Secretary Tourism, has been given additional charge of Youth Services and Sports Department.

Mr Vineet Chaudhary, Health Secretary, has been given additional charge of the Biotechnology Department. Mr B.S. Nainta, Additional Secretary, Agriculture, has been given charge of Managing Director of Agro-industries Corporation.

College closed amid students’ protest
Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, September 21
Dr Tej Partap Kaushal, Vice-Chancellor, HP Agricultural University, today ordered the closure of College of Agriculture for indefinite period. This step has been taken following the students’ strike against the expulsion of nine students found involved in the ragging of juniors.

Addressing a press conference here this morning, Dr Kaushal said he had also ordered the students to vacate hostels within 24 hours. The Vice-Chancellor said this step was taken when all efforts to persuade the students to call off the strike failed and there was no alternative left except to close down the college.

In reply to a question, the Vice-Chancellor said the expulsion of students could not be revoked since a high-level inquiry committee had indicated them.

Drive against female foeticide
Our Correspondent

Una, September 21
The Society for Advancement of Village Economy (SAVE), Epos-GT2, a German agency, and the district health authorities joined hands to launch a campaign against female foeticide and started work on it from Haroli block of the district yesterday.

Mr K.K. Pant, Deputy Commissioner, formally inaugurated the campaign at Bachat Bhavan here. While addressing the delegates, he said female foeticide was a social evil and must be curbed with strong hands, adding that he had no hesitation to held women equally responsible for this evil.

Mr Abhishek Trivedi, Superintendent of Police, said women who were forced to abort the female foetus by their family members should report the matter to the police.

Pandemonium at MC meeting
Our Correspondent

Shimla, September 21
A special meeting of the Shimla Municipal Corporation held here today was marred by noisy scenes.

The meeting was convened to discuss the development of the town and also the issue of “interference” of the Horticulture Minister, Mr Narender Bragta, in the functioning of the corporation.

The Congress councillors alleged that the BJP councillors were creating noisy scenes to divert the attention of the House. They urged the Mayor, Mrs Jenny Prem, to take action against them for creating disorder in the House and politicising the meeting.