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Tuesday,
May 27, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Tribal area voters sans enthusiasm BJP betrayed people’s mandate: Virbhadra Mankotia blames PWD
for poor roads Disability
pension after 51 years Man remanded for graft |
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FIR registered on court ruling Contractor
ordered to pay compensation Collecting notes is his passion
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Tribal area voters sans enthusiasm Shimla, May 26 Having secured a comfortable majority by winning 40 seats in a House of 68, the Congress is firmly in the saddle and the outcome of the election to the three seats where polling was deferred due to snow is not likely to have any material impact on the government. However, the results will to an extent reflect on the popularity of the leadership of the ruling Congress and the main opposition BJP. Much has happened in the two faction-ridden parties since. Mr Virbhadra Singh has emerged stronger after taking over as Chief Minister in face of heavy odds. The Congress is still divided into Virbhadra Singh and Stokes camps but the party is in much better shape than it was in February 1998. Things have gone from bad to worse in the BJP .The hold of the Dhumal camp, which virtually enjoyed a free hand in running the party and the government for five years, has been further strengthened with the sacking of Mr Shanta Kumar from the Union Cabinet. The popularity of Mr P.K.Dhumal,a former Chief Minister, will be put to test as it will be first election after the disciplinary action against Mr Shanta Kumar. More so because the Dhumal government had all along been claiming that it had carried out unprecedented development in the tribal areas, which were neglected by the Congress during its rule. In the Assembly elections the BJP and HVC had joined hands to ensure the defeat of the Congress as the coalition needed to win all three seats to gain majority. The BJP won the Kinnaur and Bharmour seats, while the HVC emerged victorious in Lahaul and Spiti. All three parties have put candidates for three seats. Since most of the Independents have retired either in favour of the Congress or the BJP, the contest will essentially be triangular in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti where the HVC is well entrenched. Dr Ram Lal Markandey who won the Lahaul-Spiti seat is again in the fray as an HVC candidate. He is facing Mr Phunchog Rai of the Congress and Mr Yuv Raj of the BJP. In Kinnaur Mr Chet Ram Negi, who won the seat in 1998, has been denied ticket by the BJP. The Contest this time is among Mr Jagat Singh Negi (Congress), Mr Tejwant Negi (BJP) and Mr S.C. Negi (HVC). In Bharmour it will be virtually a direct fight between Mr Tulsi Ram of the BJP and Mr Thakur Singh of the Congress, though Mr Kartar Singh (HVC) and two Independents are also in the field. In the last election Mr Tulsi Ram defeated Mr Thakur Singh by 3824 votes. The Congress and the BJP are making all out efforts to win the seat. The Congress is in an advantageous position as in the past the tribals have always favoured the party, which formed the government. The Party is, however, not taking any chances. Mr Virbhadra Singh who has already visited the three segments once, flew to Pangi yesterday. He will address election meetings in Bharmour and Lahaul- Spiti up to May 28 and tour Kinnaur and Spiti areas from June 3 to June 6. The BJP is utilising the services of national leaders like Mrs Jayawant Mehta, the union minister of state for power, Mr Juol Oram, the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs who would be touring the state from May 26 to June 1. While Mr Dhumal is scheduled to address meetings in all three seats, Mr Shanta Kumar will be confined to Bharmour seat. Mr Maheshwar Singh, M.P. and coordinator for the campaign will be devoting five days to each seat. |
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BJP betrayed people’s mandate: Virbhadra Shimla, May 26 Addressing election meetings at Kolang, Darcha and Gemur in Lahaul, he said the people watched the performance of the party closely and ousted it at the first opportunity. Had the BJP really carried out development works as its leaders had been claiming, the party would have been voted back to power, he added. He said it was during Congress rule that the Lahaul and Spiti area which was part of Punjab was made part of Himachal Pradesh. He said besides securing tribal status for the people of the geographically difficult area, a special tribal sub-plan was also formulated to cater to the development needs. Mr Virbhadra Singh said time had come for the tribals to reaffirm their faith in the policies and programmes of the Congress. Meanwhile, Mr Amarjit Singh, candidate of the Himachal Lok Tantrik Morcha from Lahaul and Spiti seat, decided to retire in favour of Congress candidate, Mr Raghubir Singh Thakur. He joined the Congress, along with his supporters and expressed faith in the leadership of Mr Virbhadra Singh. Mr Parveen Thakur, a Himachal Vikas Congress leader, and Mr Sonam Angrup and Bir Singh, local BJP leaders, also joined the Congress, along with
their supporters. |
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Mankotia blames PWD
for poor roads Dharamsala, May 26 He was speaking at the inaugural function of a four-day orientation programme for the police and Home Guards organised jointly by the Tourism Department of Himachal University, Shimla, and the Tourism and Civil Aviation Departments. Major Mankotia said crores of rupees had been spent on roads under various schemes, but their condition remained deplorable. He blamed certain elements, including Kashmiri porters who were “enticing” tourists away to Jammy and Kashmir. He asked the authorities to deal with such persons firmly. He also suggested a check on taxi operators who “blackmailed” tourists. Welcoming the chief guest, the Director, Tourism, Mr CRB Lalit, said efforts were on to ensure that tourists were not harassed. The DIG, North Range, and the Kangra SP also spoke. More than 40 traffic constables, head constables and Home Guard jawans are attending the course. |
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Disability
pension after 51 years Shimla, May 26 The petitioner was enrolled as a sepoy in the Baluch Regiment of the Indian Army on March 30, 1942. After Partition, he came to serve the Dogra Regiment. He was removed from service on November 23, 1952, since he was found suffering from “severe anxiety.” He was not paid disability pension. He made several representations to the Government of India, but nothing was done. In 1996, he approached the court and after a gap of 51 years, the court directed the government to grant him pension. |
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Man remanded for graft Una, May 26 According to information, when the team, headed by DSP Ramesh Chhajata, raided his house, he offered Rs 1 lakh bribe when the team found chits pertaining to TGT appointments and Chadda’s affidavit admitting that he had received Rs 1.25 lakh for some work. |
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FIR registered on court ruling Nurpur, May 26 The complainant had reported the matter to the DSP last month who forwarded the complaint to Nurpur police station for investigation and taking action against the accused. The police took preventive action under Sections 107/151 of the Cr. P.C. OC |
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Contractor
ordered to pay compensation Nurpur, May 26 Mr Ashok Kumar in his complaint to the forum alleged that despite repeated reminders to the contractor, no corrective measures were taken by him. The forum on Saturday also ordered the contractor to pay Rs 10,000 and Rs 1,000 as damages and litigation expenses, respectively, to the complainant despite nine per cent interest from the date of filing complaint. |
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Collecting notes is his passion Hamirpur, May 26 He is none other than Mr Rajesh Kaushal of Dho village in Hamirpur district. He is working as Senior Assistant with the RTO, Hamirpur. His father was with the Department of Posts. His collections included the oldest coin of Bismilla dated back to 1616 A.D. He had 85 coins of different denominations of 33 countries. He has collected notes of different denominations with the names of various Governors of the Reserve Bank of India and notes ending with digits 786. |
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Dalai Lama’s envoy leaves Dharamsala, May 26 The team is led by the special envoy, Lodi Gyari
Gyaltsen, and envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen, according to a statement by Mr Tenzin Geyche Tethong issued on behalf of the Dalai Lama. |
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Hailstorm in Shimla Shimla, May 26 The hailstorm and rain caused a sharp fall in the temperature. The sky remained overcast for most of the day. PTI |
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