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Tuesday,
March 11, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Oppn misleading people: Chautala Cong backs BJP on MC chief’s issue
No Central aid received HIGH COURT |
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2 BKU leaders held Essay, poetry writing contests
Girl succumbs to burn injuries
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Oppn misleading people: Chautala Chandigarh, March 10 The Opposition repeatedly interrupted the Chief Minister when he was replying to the allegations of inequitable distribution of canal water among various districts of the state to the disadvantage of what constitutes southern Haryana. The opposition members wanted the Chief Minister to elaborate in which ratio the canal water was being distributed among various districts. However, Mr Chautala, who evaded a direct reply, said the issue of distribution of water would be decided when the SYL canal would be completed and the river water from Punjab started flowing to Haryana. However, he categorically stated that the SYL water was meant for southern Haryana. Denying that his government was responsible for inequitable distribution of canal water, Mr Chautala said several Congress leaders, including Mr Ranbir Singh, father of Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda; Mr Bhajan Lal, Mr Bansi Lal and Rao Birendra Singh had been in power both as Chief Minister as well as Irrigation and Power Minister. If there was any discrimination in water distribution, they should have undone it at that time. He said the Opposition was now only misleading the people of the state. Describing “political stability” as the biggest achievement of his government, Mr Chautala said in the past Haryana had become infamous for political defections. But his government had ensured political stability in the state, which had led to all-round development. Mr Bhajan Lal was a special target of Mr Chautala’s attack in this respect. He said Mr Bhajan Lal had promised Mrs Sonia Gandhi that he would topple the Chautala Government within three months of his becoming the Congress President. Mr Chautala said his government would last its full term and Mr Bhajan Lal would not be able to topple it. He dared him to move a no-confidence motion against his government. Denying the allegation, Mr Bhajan Lal said if he made efforts to topple the government, it would not last even six days. Another former Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, too, did not escape Mr Chautala’s wrath. Asserting that unlike the past now jobs were being given on merit in Haryana. Mr Chautala said the HVP leader was still dreaming of power and was misleading the people by asking them to fill application forms for jobs. If Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bansi Lal were criticised by Mr Chautala for their past acts, he did not spare Mr Hooda either. Obviously stung by Mr Hooda’s repeated references to the funds collected for the deposed Fiji Prime Minister, Mr Mahinder Chaudhry, the Chief Minister said the funds were collected at the suggestion of Mr Hooda under the banner of the Indo-Fiji Friendship Society of which he was not a member. The entire money collected by the society had been deposited in a Chandigarh bank. He said it could not be transferred to Fiji because of certain diplomatic hurdles. Mr Bansi Lal suggested that Mr Chautala should request Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to allow the transfer of funds to Fiji. Mr Chautala accepted the suggestion. However, Mr Chautala alleged that Mr Hooda had collected and misappropriated about Rs 75 lakh in the name of agitating BKU activists at Kandela in Jind district last year. He threatened that an inquiry would be held into the collection of these funds and action taken against those guilty of misappropriation. Welcoming the announcement, Mr Hooda said an inquiry should also be held into the collection of funds for the deposed Fiji Prime Minister as well as the Devi Lal Memorial Trust. |
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Cong backs BJP on MC chief’s issue
Ambala, March 10 The memorandum, signed by the councillors, states that the cases against Pandit Shankar Dass and municipal councillors Ved Prakash, Raj Kumar Garg and Rajesh Kumar should be withdrawn. The Congress delegation which met the Deputy Commissioner was led by Mr Hira Lal Yadav. Later, talking to
mediapersons, BJP Ambala Cantt mandal president Shish Pal Bhola said the BJP municipal councillors did not present themselves in the Deputy Commissioner’s office for the ‘identity parade’. “We strongly object to the identity parade since the signatories to the no-confidence motion were present when the application was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner,” he said. Mr Bhola said regarding the withdrawal of signature by two municipal councillors yesterday, they had informed the official concerned that the signatures could only be withdrawn en masse. “We referred to the relevant section to impress upon them the fact that only two persons could not withdraw their signature from the no-confidence motion application,” he said. He stated that Deputy Commissioner D.D. Gautam, had told them that certain clarifications were being sought from the Local Bodies Department. He said Ms Bhagwati Devi and Mr Gokulesh Awasthi had sought to withdraw their signature under pressure from Ambala Cantt MLA and vikas parishad chief Anil
Vij. He claimed that Mr Vij was pursuing ‘aimless’ politics. “During the tenure of Pandit Shankar
Dass, whenever there was a creditable development, the credit was taken by Mr Anil Vij while the failures were dumped upon Pandit Shankar
Dass,” he said. Mr Bhola alleged that special treatment was being accorded to Mr Vij by the district administration since the application for withdrawal of signatures was received by the Deputy Commissioner’s camp office on Sunday. |
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No Central aid received Chandigarh, March 10 Transport Minister Ashok Arora, told Mr Sher Singh (Cong) that during the past three years 78 bus permits were issued 58 to private operators. Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, told Mr Dalal that last year 114 sportsmen and 10 sports women were recruited in the police. Of these 22 sportsmen belonged to Bhiwani, which was the maximum number from one district, fallowed by 15 sportsmen from Sonepat district. Social Welfare Minister Risal Singh told Mr Dalal that 3, 19, 105 widow were getting pension in the state. The highest number of widows getting pension in a district was 26,784 in Hisar and the minimum number was 3,951 in Panchkula district. |
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Hooda flays Budget Chandigarh, March 10 The state was heading for bankruptcy. When 40 per cent of the Budget was going towards loan repayment, the financial situation could be well imagined. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, March 10 The commission had been appointed for looking into the implementation of the prohibition policy by the HVP-BJP regime and its subsequent withdrawal in 1998. Challenging the notification, Haryana’s former Chief Minister Bansi Lal had also sought the quashing of a show-cause notice issued to him on May 2 last year. He had claimed that the commission, under political pressure exerted by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his son, Ajay, had manipulated affidavits and statements of rival party activists from Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Gurgaon. His counsel Hawa Singh Hooda had claimed that in most of the cases, the deponents were not even aware of the purpose behind procuring the affidavits and had simply put their signatures or thump impressions on blank papers. Taking up the petition, a Single Judge of the high court had allowed the same. Subsequently, in an appeal, the state of Haryana had challenged the judgment on as many as 24 grounds. The state had contended that the order was liable to be set aside as it was based on conjectures and surmises. The judgment was against the law and facts, was illegal, void abinitio and against the principles of natural justice. Giving details, the state had submitted that an anomalous situation had arisen because of the fact that the commission had completed its proceedings and had already submitted its final report to the state government prior to the pronouncement of the judgment. Thus, the commission had become “functus-officio”. The Single Judge was apprised of the situation. Now, a question of law was whether the quashing of the notification regarding the appointment of the commission was sustainable in law as it had become “functus-officio” after the submission of its final report. It was further submitted that the Judge had erred in holding that material was not placed before the Council of Ministers for forming an opinion regarding the appointment of the commission. No such material was required to be placed formally before the council. Moreover, the Judge had failed to appreciate the fact that the policy of prohibition was withdrawn by Bansi Lal himself. Acting on the appeal, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr B.K. Roy and Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar, had stayed the operation of the order. Today, seeking the vacation of the stay “in the interest of justice”, Mr S.K. Garg contended on the applicant’s behalf that the state should be restrained from initiating any action against the applicant or his son. Directions for not publishing the report in the electronic or print media were also sought. It was added that the applicant and his son would suffer irreparable loss and injury to their reputation in case the state was not restrained. The inquiry report, it was added, was lying in a sealed cover with the state government. In fact the state wanted to use the same to malign the reputation of the applicant and his son, it was concluded. |
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2 BKU leaders held Ambala, March 10 The BKU leaders were to appear in a court in a case registered against them and the then, president, Mr Ghasi Ram Nain, on November 25 Shahjadpur for blocking the national highway and attacking police personnel. A case had been registered against 18 BKU activists along with Mr Nain. According to information, when Mr Nain was brought to the court the BKU leaders raised slogans against the government and demanded his release. The Superintendent of Police, Ambala, Mr Hardeep Singh Doon, said the two BKU leaders were arrested for breaching peace and raising slogans at public place. The police had made tight security arrangements outside the court premises. Meanwhile, the district president of the BKU, Ambala, Madan Pal Rana, has alleged that the police arrested the BKU leaders without any provocation. Mr Rana told media persons that on March 12 a meeting of BKU activists had been called at village Bada Gaon near Naraingarh to discuss the strategy to pressurise the government to release Mr Nain. He said the agitation for releasing Mr Nain would be started soon from Shahjadpur from where the Ambala police had arrested their leader. The BKU leaders have announced that they would not allow the Naraingarh Sugar Mill administration to run it without clearing the arrears of sugar- cane producers of the area. |
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Essay, poetry writing contests
Ambala, March 10 The competition was presided over by the SD College Principal, Dr Desh Bandhu. Among others, Major Amrao Singh Shergill (retd), Mr Atma Ram Sharma and Dr R.S. Dhillon were present. The competition was conducted at two levels ie graduation level and postgraduation level. In graduation level, the first prize was won by Devinder Bibipuriya of SD College, Ambala Cantt, while second prize was won by Manu Lakhotra of Dev Samaj College, Ambala City, and the third prize went to Sohan Singh of Government College, Panchkula. In essay writing competition, the joint winners of first prize were Bhupinder Singh of DAV College, Pehowa, and Mr Budh Singh of Government National College, Sirsa. In second place was Ritu Wadhwa of Dev Samaj College, Ambala City, and in third place was Divya Arora of Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamuna Nagar. In postgraduation level, Sumanjeet Kaur of Guru Nanak Girls College, Yamuna Nagar, Samrat of Government PG College, Ambala
Cantt, and Lakbir Chandi of Government National College, Sirsa, got first, second and third prizes, respectively, in poetry writing. In essay writing, Gursimran Kaur of Government PG College, Ambala
Cantt, Manjeet Singh of Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamuna Nagar, and Mandeep Kaur of Government National College, Sirsa, secured first, second and third position, respectively. |
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Girl succumbs to burn injuries Ambala, March 10 According to information, her parents had fome to Ambala for some work. Her grandmother, Mohan Devi, asked Boti to prepare tea.When Boti was making tea, her clothes caught fire from the stove. Later she was rushed to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. According to hospital sources, her body suffered around 75 per cent burns. After the postmortem, the body was handed over to her relatives. |
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