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Saturday,
September 28, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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NEWS ANALYSIS Haryana flays Centre on paddy
MSP MSP: farmers feel
betrayed Employees to gherao
MLAs CM announces aid for
disabled Sirsa to have school for blind |
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HIGH COURT Krishna Mohan is DPR
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NEWS ANALYSIS Hisar, September 27 There has been a spate of rallies by different parties all over the state during the past few weeks. The HVP which has been holding constituency-level rallies for almost three years has now intensified its efforts in recent weeks. The Congress rallies in several districts immediately after Mr Bhajan Lal replaced Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the HPCC chief made the average Haryanavi sit up and notice the subtle political undercurrents. What really kicked off the common man’s interest in the rallies was the announcement of a state-level rally by the INLD on the birth anniversary of its founder the late Mr Devi Lal. Though comparisons are as always odious, it is more so where Haryana’s political parties are concerned. Still to be fair to all, while the INLD show was a state level show, its other two rivals had been staging much smaller shows at the constituency or at the most the district level. However, what has hit party supremos is that if the crowds were to be compared proportionately to the geographical area covered by the rally, the scores of all three outfits could be tied. And this translated in practical terms means the electorate has an open mind and that it is thinking. Publicly, these parties tend to interpret such subtle indications from these rallies to suit their convenience but they do so only at their own peril. While the INLD can draw much satisfaction from yesterday’s show and claim that it is getting better and stronger by the day, its huge show has to be viewed through the wide angle lens. It had two distinct advantages: political power and the emotional chord struck by the occasion — Mr Devi Lal’s birth anniversary. It cannot ignore the fact that many of those present who have backed it so far are wavering now. The number of such supporters who may cross over in the next two years if their feelings are not soothed is enormous. They are playing the waiting game. So, for the INLD the message is clear: you have time to improve your score card or else.... So far as the Congress is concerned, the success of Mr Bhajan Lal’s rallies especially the one at Sirsa is a very encouraging factor. If nothing else, at least a very strong component of its mass base — the non Jats — has been galvanised. However, the real message from the electorate to the party is: unite and win over others and we may back you. This tentative backing can prove to be very slippery especially when the anti-INLD forces have an alternative in the HVP. In Haryana’s unethical and opportunist political wastelands, one politico’s loss is another’s gain. The demotion of Mr Hooda has certainly given a fillip to the HVP in that Jats loath both the INLD and Mr Bhajan Lal are now backing it by default. However, this is not to deny it the credit for regaining much of the lost ground even before this development. But, the message from the electorate is unequivocal: we can forget the prohibition fiasco provided you can prove you are really different. It is still a long time to go before they get to vote. In fact, the ‘manthan’ in the voters’ mind has begun a bit early. But that only proves Haryanavis are maturing. |
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Haryana flays Centre on paddy
MSP Chandigarh, September 27 Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, Agriculture Minister, said that the MSP should have been increased as the farmers had suffered a lot due to drought. The Agriculture Minister was contacted in Delhi where he had gone to attend a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister, Ajit Singh. Mr Sandhu, however, added that the state government would try hard to persuade the centre to review its decision on the MSP. “We may also take up the issue with the Prime Minister”, he added. Predictably the Centre’s decision has come as a blow to Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who refused to say anything when he was contacted here this morning. The Congress has come out strongly against the ruling party of Haryana as well the NDA Government in Delhi for retaining last year’s MSP. In a statement issued here today, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress MLA and the Leader of the Opposition in Haryana, said that Mr Chautala had done nothing on the MSP issue. The statement said “if Chautala is genuinely interested in the welfare of farmers, the INLD should withdraw its support from the NDA Government.” |
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MSP: farmers feel
betrayed Karnal, September 27 Mr Mohinder Singh Lather, a former national president of the Kisan Cell of the ruling BJP, termed the announcement as “total betrayal of the interests of the farmers”. Mr Lather said the announcement was “a cruel joke” on the farmers. He said particularly pinching was the silence of the Haryana Government over the issue. The farmers had been doubly hit as earlier they had to bear the onslaught of the drought and spend through the nose to save their withering crops, and now they had been given no added relief. Farmers reacted with disgust to the new MSP. A farmer, Shamsher Singh, said the Chautala regime, which had been boasting of its pro-farmer stance, had left them in the lurch. The state government had not paid even a single penny as “drought relief” in this area. Now it had failed to take up the farmers’ cause with the Centre. If this trend continued, the farmers in this rice belt would take to other crops. Many farmers, including Hazara Singh of Badagaon village, felt that traders would now openly fleece the farmers as the procurement agencies had not declared any date of entering the market. Furthermore, the farmer’s produce could be easily rejected on the basis of “moisture content”. The moisture content was naturally bound to be more due to rains in the region, they added. Many farmers also complained that the rains had also discoloured paddy grain. The traders were exploiting this. The farmers were forced to sell their produce anywhere between Rs 400 to 450. A senior FCI officer, on the condition of anonymity, told The Tribune that the “no change policy of MSP” and the delayed announcement was part of the government’s plan to ultimately do away with the MSP. |
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Drought-hit farmer ends life Hisar, September 27 Initial investigations have releaved that Om Singh (32) of Dhingrala village in Churu district of Rajasthan was in debt due to drought. He had taken loans from some people and was unable to repay them, so he decided to end his life. Om Singh was taken to a private hospital here where he died this morning.
PTI |
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Employees to gherao
MLAs Yamunanagar, September 27 The union leaders said the employees would gherao MLAs of all political parties, including the INLD. They alleged that the present government had terminated 40,000 employees and most of the government jobs had been filled on the contract basis. They also criticised the state government for stopping the grant for higher education. The government had also planned to retrench 17,000 employees, they added. The union leaders questioned the MLAs of different political parties why they were silent on such an important issue. |
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CM announces aid for
disabled Yamunanagar, September 27 The Chief Minister was addressing the viklang seva shivar (a camp for the service of handicapped persons) organised by the Shri Krishan Kripa Seva Manch; Jagadhari, under the aegis of Swami Gyanand Ji Maharaj in collaboration with Kalyanam Karoti, Viklang Jan Sansthan, Lions Club and district Red Cross Society at Jagadhari today. Mr Chautala said he had initiated this scheme from Sirsa and stressed that the government was committed towards the welfare of physically challenged persons. A number of welfare schemes had been started for their benefit, including bus travel free of cost, 3 per cent reservation in government jobs and stipend for education. Mr Chautala called upon the non government organisations (NGOs) to serve mankind and lauded the role of industrialists and business houses especially in Rajasthan, where they had helped establish schools, hospitals and other facilities. He hoped that such practices would be emulated in Haryana, especially by those industrialist who belonged to the state and had thriving businesses in other states or abroad. He emphasised that Haryana was known world over as the land of the Bhagavadgita, which gave the message of victory of righteousness over falsehood. The Chief Minister distributed 150 tricycles, 20 wheelchairs, 100 crutches, 50 hearing aids and 80 artificial limbs to handicapped persons. |
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Sirsa to have school for blind Sirsa, September 27 This was announced at a two-day relief camp organised to mark the 89th birthday of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal here yesterday, where a number of tricycles, wheelchairs, hearing aids, eye appliances and walking sticks worth Rs 25 lakh were distributed among the disabled. The camp was inaugurated by Haryana Governor Babu Parmanand and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala presided over at the Deaf and Dumb Welfare Centre. Mr Chautala complimented the National Institute for Visually Handicapped for providing relief worth Rs 25 lakh to the disabled of Sirsa district through this camp. He also urged the institute to open a school for the blind in Sirsa for which the state government would also give all help for this purpose. He condemned the menace of terrorism in the world and expressed satisfaction that there was no communal tension and terrorism in the state. Dr S.R. Shukla, Director, National Institute for Visually Handicapped, agreed to set up a blind school in Sirsa.
PTI |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, September 27 Delivering the verdict, Mr Justice Kumar added that the inquiry report should be submitted within two months from the date of receiving the copy of the order. The Judge ruled: “The
FIR has been registered by ASI Jagdish Chander, SHO of Pehowa police station, on April 12, 1993. There was no notification issued on the date when FIR was registered declaring Tilla of Vishwamitar as a protected monument.... It is not understood how the FIR was registered when the process of issuing the final notification had been initiated. Thus, it is a serious aberration on the part of the ASI which has
unnecessarily interfered in the personal liberty of a citizen”. The Judge concluded: “Article 21 of the Constitution protects the fundamental right of personal liberty of a citizen. He cannot be deprived of his personal liberty without following the due process of law. Under Article 20 of the Constitution, no ex-post facto law can be made declaring an act to be an offence triable in a criminal court. These principles are basic rudiments of our constitutional machinery of which the police is a significant wing. However, the Constitution has been flagrantly violated. The petitioner had to obtain anticipatory bail and file the present petition for redressal of his grievances. Who is responsible for such a brazen violation of the Constitution? The DIG is directed to hold an inquiry....”
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Krishna Mohan is DPR Chandigarh, September 27 Mr S.S. Dhillon, Registrar, Cooperative Societies, and Adviser and Special Secretary, Civil Aviation Department, has been given additional charge as MD, Hafed. Mr Dinesh Singh Yadav, SDO(Civil), Sonepat has been posted as Under Secretary, Printing and Stationery Department, relieving Mr Balbir Singh of the said charge. |
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Mr G.S. Malhi Chandigarh, September 27
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‘Trifurcate J&K’ Ambala, September 27 |
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