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Saturday,
April 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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CM keeps
opponents guessing on nominee First
witness against Rathore cross-examined
Suspended IGP gets bail |
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Martyr’s
mother awaits Haryana grant Temple
take-over: report finalised Resentment prevails
among arhtiyas Demonstration
by BJP workers KU
restores compartment system
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CM keeps
opponents guessing on nominee Fatehabad, April 18 During the four-day first phase of the campaigning, Mr Chautala visited all 84 villages, which fall in the constituency, and part of Fatehabad town. Instead of delivering longish speeches, he concentrated on holding a dialogue with the audience. In villages, he would open the dialogue by asking the listeners in the Bagri dialect about the remuneration of farm labourers. He would move on to ask children if there were sufficient amenities, like drinking water and rest-rooms, in their school. He advised them to study hard so that they could be self-employed. It was his indirect way of telling the villagers that the government was not in a position to give them jobs. In the villages dominated by the Bishnois, a community to which the Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhajan Lal, belongs, he would ask them if they would vote for the Congress if the former Chief Minister fielded his son, Kuldip. Mr Chautala told TNS that he was still in the process of consultation with his colleagues about the INLD candidate from Fatehabad. He said he wanted to nominate a candidate who should have his own vote base also besides the party vote bank. His remark immediately brought cheer to those party ticket aspirants who had earlier taken it for granted that the INLD ticket would go to a member of the family of Mr Lila Krishan. Mr Chautala added that the INLD could field a woman or even a Dalit from a general seat. Mr Chautala said the Finance Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, would be the election in charge of the INLD in Fatehabad. Prof Sampat Singh, who is the MLA from the neighbouring constituency of Bhattu, had won a byelection from Fatehabad in 1998, defeating the then ruling party, the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP), candidate. The delay in the finalisation of the name of the Congress candidate has led to demoralisation among party workers in the constituency. The inactiveness on the part of the Congress becomes more glaring when one compares it to the INLD and HVP camps. Thanks to Mr Chautala’s four-day visit, INLD workers are brimming with enthusiasm. They are already sensing victory, though the formal notification for the byelection will be issued on April 25. HVP workers are also on the streets following the nomination of Mr Prahlad Singh Gillankhera as the party nominee. Mr Surender Singh, secretary-general of the HVP, is camping here. He has already started door-to-door campaigning, besides holding village meetings. Mr Bhajan Lal told TNS on the phone that a meeting of Congressmen would be held in Fatehabad on April 23 to seek the opinion of grassroots workers about the possible party candidate. He claimed that the Congress would give a tough fight to the ruling party, which, he said, had alienated all sections. Meanwhile, it is learnt that among the names being considered by the Congress for giving the party ticket is that of a local surgeon, Dr Virender Siwach. In another development, the CPM today declared that if the other Opposition parties did not agree to support its candidate, the party would contest the byelection on its own. The state secretary of the party, Mr Inderjit Singh, told TNS that a meeting of the district committee of the party was held here today, at which it was decided that the party, which had always remained in the forefront of the struggle on various issues, like persecution of the peasantry and the working class, affecting the masses, must contest the byelection. He said the CPM was the nearest rival to the winning candidate in the 1987 and 1991 elections. In the last Assembly elections the party candidate, Mr Krishan Swarup, had polled over 12,000 votes. Therefore, if the Opposition parties were serious about defeating the “anti-people” Chautala government, they must support the CPM, he added. A meeting of the State Committee of the CPM will be held in Rohtak on April 20, at which the party candidate’s name would be finalised, besides drawing up election strategy. Mr Inderjit Singh did not rule out the possibility of renominating Mr Krishan Swarup. |
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First witness against Rathore cross-examined Ambala, April 18 Mr Anand Prakash was asked why he had changed his name frequently during his service career and whether or not he had joined service in the Haryana PWD in 1969 under the name of A.P. Singla. He was asked why he had been made to take compulsory retirement from this department on embezzlement charge. Mr Anand Parkash denied all allegations and said he had left the job because he had been selected as a lecturer by the Haryana Public Service Commission. He could not recall the date of joining the service. The witness was asked why he had been told by the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board to accept retirement at the age of 55. He said he had been sacked at the instance of S.P.S. Rathore, after which, he had filed a writ petition in court against this order. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered his reinstatement. On persistent questioning, he admitted that he had given a statement against Rathore to the then Financial Commissioner (Home) of Haryana, Mr J.K Duggal, but said it had been part of a joint memorandum signed by several other persons, besides him. Mr Prakash said the memorandum had no mention that his wife, Madhu, had informed him on August 17, 1990, about the incident of alleged molestation on August 12 that year. It also does not mention that when Ruchika’s friend Aradhana, when sent to call the HLTA coach T. Thomas, had found Ruchika struggling to free herself from Rathore’s clutches in his office. There is no mention of even Ruchika running out of the office. The defence tried to highlight where the witness had deviated from his yesterday’s statement in the court. Regarding Rathore’s alleged message to Aradhana for Ruchika: “Ask her to keep cool. I will do whatever she will say”, Mr Prakash said, while the words “ask her to keep cool” find mention in the memorandum, the remaining had been deliberately left out. A copy of the memorandum had been given to the then SHO of Panchkula, Mr Anil Dhawan, on August 18, 1990. When shown the original memorandum with 11 signature on it, he said page 6 of the original memorandum containing the remaining signatures had been missing. He denied that the signatures had been forged. About the paper recovered from him in the court yesterday, he said it had been given to him by then Subdivisional Magistrate of Panchkula, Mr S.K. Joshi, on August 16, 1990. He admitted that a case had been registered against his family by Rathore, but denied that he had ever been in custody. Rathore had filed two other civil suits against the family. The hearing was adjourned till May 24. |
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Suspended
IGP gets bail Ambala, April 18 Mr Rai’s lawyer told the court that the investigations in the case were completed. And that now nothing was to be recovered from his client. Mr Rai was on deputation with the DDA in New Delhi in 1997. The lawyer told the court that since he had exposed some builders of that area, he was being falsely implicated in a case. The CBI had registered a case against Mr Rai on November 1, 2000, alleging that during his posting as the district police chief (SP), Gurgaon (1992-94), he had “dishonestly” got about 20 acres of land purchased in the name a non existing person, of Joginder Singh, in a Gurgaon village. Later on May 11, 1994, the lease deed was executed by Mr Rai in his favour, which was registered with
Sub-Registrar,Sohna in May 1994. The defence counsel pleaded that Mr Rai, winner of President’s Police Medal in 1990 was cooperating with the CBI in its investigations and since no recoveries were pending, he should be granted regular bail. He also pleaded that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed Mr Rai to apply for a regular bail in the competent court on April 17. Mr Rai alleged that during 1997 when he was the Chief Vigilance Officer with the Delhi Development Authority
(DDA) he had raided offices of some of the builders and DDA officials. In retaliation to this, they started harassing him. |
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Martyr’s mother awaits
Haryana grant Chandigarh, April 18 Though his death was declared a battle casualty, his mother Surinder Kaur is yet to receive the payment from the Haryana government. Interestingly, she was handed over exgratia payment by the Centre, besides the Jammu and Kashmir government. But her request for grant of Rs10 lakh “payable to the kith and kin of battle casualties” by the Haryana state was turned down. The reason behind her claim’s rejection is beyond her comprehension. A letter sent to her by the authorities simply says, “Varinder Singh of 8 Rashtriya Rifles is not covered under the laid down policy…. He is ineligible for exgratia grant from the state government”. Dejected, but not defeated, Ambala resident Surinder Kaur has now sent a “demand notice” to Haryana Chief Secretary blaming the government for rejecting her claim without assigning any reason. Describing the rejection orders passed by Rajya Sainik Board Secretary as “cryptic”, she has asserted that the authorities concerned have failed to specify why her case was not within the purview of instructions issued by the Haryana government. In her notice issued through the All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, she has added that the battle casualty certificate issued to her stated clearly that 22-year-old Varinder Singh was killed in action, but somehow the government was not considering it. Association Chairman Bhim Sen Sehgal submitted on her behalf that the “sole purpose of granting exgratia grant would be nullified if frivolous objections were raised”. Terming the action of the authorities as “totally illegal, null and void,” he claimed that the rejection orders were not “sustainable in the eyes of the law”. The Haryana government had failed to do the needful even though the Centre had sanctioned exgratia payment. If the Centre considered soldier Varinder Singh’s death as a battle casualty, why was the Haryana government hesitating, Mr Sehgal questioned. Going into the background of the case, Mr Sehgal asserted in the notice that the took place on April 7, 2001, when Varinder Singh was returning with the arms and ammunition recovered from a hideout near Pul Doda. The soldier was taken to a hospital in Udhampur where he was declared brought dead. Seeking sympathetic consideration of the matter, Mr Sehgal concluded, “It is hoped that all the dues would be granted in order to avoid legal complications which would not be in good taste”. |
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Temple take-over: report finalised Kurukshetra, April 18 Official sources said the sub-committee had taken a final decision in this regard at its meeting here last evening. Its decision and recommendations were being forwarded to the government. The final approval of these recommendations would be accorded by the Cabinet shortly. The Haryana Government had taken over the management of the historical Mansa Devi Temple at Panchkula, near Chandigarh, several years ago. Since then, it had undergone a sea change in religious and cultural activities. The sources said temples situated at the periphery of historical and religious places like the Brahamsarovar, the Sannihit Sarovar and the Jyotisar Teeratha here and the Saraswati Teeratha at Pehowa, 25 km from here, would be acquired by the state government. He said important among these were the Naabhikamal Mandir, the Kaleshwar Mahahdev Mandir and the Pracheen Hanuman Mandir, besides all temples of the Jyotisar, Narkatari, Baanganga and Saraswati Teerathas. The sub-committee sources decided not to recommend the take-over of the Dukhbhanjan Mandir and the Dhruvanarayan Mandir near the Sannihit Sarovar and the Sthaneeshwar Mandir and the Bhadrakaali Mandir on the Kurukshetra-Jhansa road. The sources said priests, pandas and purohits associated with the temples to be acquired would be allowed to conduct their rituals as usual, provided their functioning did not hinder beautification. The members of the sub-committee included Agriculture Minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, Transport Minister Ashok Arora, Urban Development Minister Subhash Goyal, Urban Development Commissioner Manik Sonawane, Deputy Commissioner Abhilaksh Likhi, Kurukshetra Development Board Chief Executive Officer Hema Sharma, Sub-Divisional Magistrates of Pehowa and Thanesar and officials of the district administration.
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Resentment
prevails among arhtiyas Kaithal, April 18 Talking to media persons outside the camp office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Mr Anurag Agarwal, here today, the commission agents who had come to meet the DC said the government agency had purchased about 65,000 bags of wheat,
out of which about 8000 bags have been lifted from the mandi and rest of the bags were lying in the mandi. As a result the farmers were being forced to unload their crop outside the mandi. The commission agents pointed out that they had brought the matter to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner when he was on a tour of the mandi .They had also brought the matter to the notice of the DM warehousing corporation Mr S.K. Sharma, and the local MLA, Mr Leela Ram, but to no avail. Later a deputation of the commission agents met the Deputy Commissioner and requested him to order the lifting of wheat bags. |
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Demonstration by BJP workers
Ambala, April 18 The role of the local MLA, Mr Anil Vij, for misleading the public and the shopkeepers was also criticised. Mr Shish Pal Bhola, president of the Ambala
Cantt unit of the BJP, and Ms Veena
Chibber, MLA, Ambala City, condemned the incident. TNS |
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KU restores compartment
system Hisar, April 18 Informing this here today, Haryana Principals Association president Subhash Sharma said the Vice-Chancellor had announced this at a function at Ambala yesterday. The association thanked the VC for allowing the examiners to carry home the answer books for evaluation.
UNI |
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Addl charge
for Bhaskar Chandigarh, April 18 |
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