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Tuesday,
September 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Not keen to topple Chautala, says Bhajan
Cong rift may cast shadow Cong set to ‘floor’ govt in House |
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Board not entitled to charge penal interest, rules HC High Court CBI probe sought into Avedna issue Girls take to
streets over student's murder Mixed response to Jind bandh Leaf from history Disability no handicap for him ‘Khula darbar’ organised Body of drowned boy found
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Not keen to topple Chautala, says Bhajan Chandigarh, September 8 Talking to newsmen after admitting Mr Umed Singh Kashyap, husband of bandit queen-turned-politician Phoolan Devi, into the Congress, Mr Bhajan Lal said various surveys had shown that the Chautala Government was one of the most unpopular state governments. Claiming that Mr Kashyap’s entry into the Congress would boost its prospects in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, Mr Bhajan Lal said many more leaders would join the party soon. In this context he indicated the names of RPI MLA Karan Singh Dalal, NCP MLA Jagjit Singh Sangwan and former MLA Raghu Yadav. Mr Kashyap, who said he belonged to Sonepat, had contested against Mr Bhajan Lal from Karnal in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections on the Lok Dal ticket. He said he enjoyed large support among the backward classes. He said he had decided to join the Congress because this was the only party which really worked for the poor and the downtrodden. Mr Bhajan Lal evaded a direct answer when asked if the Congress would field Mr Kashyap in the next elections. He said it was too early to decide. Denying any infighting in the Congress, Mr Bhajan Lal said there was no alternative to him in the party. He said though he himself could take action against the party MLA from Beri, Dr Raghbir Singh Kadian, the notice to him from the AICC was a better option. When asked to comment on Dr Kadian’s allegation that he was in league with Mr Chautala, Mr Bhajan Lal said he was No 1 enemy of the INLD supremo. He said former MLA Nirmal Singh had not sought permission of the PCC to hold his proposed “Hisab chukao” rally. Referring to the monsoon session beginning tomorrow, Mr Bhajan Lal said the INLD Government had made a mockery of the democratic process by planning to hold just a one-and-a-half day session. During such a short time, no vital issue could be discussed. Moreover, he said the Opposition was not allowed to speak. Hence, it had no option but to stage a walkout. The government should not make it a prestige issue to affiliate colleges of certain districts with Choudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, against the wishes of students. The Congress would reconsider the issue after coming to power. |
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Cong rift may cast shadow Chandigarh, September 8 The recent upsurge in the infighting in the Congress between loyalists of Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Leader of the Opposition, and Mr Bhajan Lal, the PCC chief, will be certainly exploited by the Treasury Benches to put the Opposition in a spot. Mr Hooda’s plan to seek cooperation from both Mr Karan Singh Dalal, the lone representative of the RPI in the House, and Mr Jagjit Singh Sangwan, the only MLA from the NCP, to bolster the Opposition onslaught against the government may also go awry in the light of Mr Bhajan Lal’s move to woo these two legislators. In the Budget session held in March, there were more than one occasions when the Hooda loyalists left the House following a call for a walkout while followers of Mr Bhajan Lal kept sitting since the PCC chief was stuck in an argument with members of the Treasury Benches. Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is firmly in control of all MLAs of his party but he has a problem in Mr Krishan Pal Gurjar, Leader of the BJP legislators, who are officially supporting the government. While other BJP legislators have never shown any rebelliousness, Mr Gurjar against whom the state government has instituted a vigilance probe, has been turning the heat on the Chief Minister in the state assembly. In fact, it is Mr Gurjar who has been making the most devastating attacks on Mr Chautala in the assembly. Mr Gurjar and Mr Hooda may collaborate at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting here tomorrow in which the duration of the session is to be decided. While the government has proposed that the session may have three sittings in two days (September 9 and 10), Mr Hooda is on record having said that the session should be held for at least 10 days. The government’s view, however, will prevail since the INLD has a majority in the seven-member BAC. Business in the House tomorrow comprises obituary resolutions, question hour, ratification of the supplementary grants of last year and voting on the supplementary expenses of the current year. The Opposition is likely to demand discussion on critical issues such as the agitation of students in Bhiwani, Jind and other Haryana districts against the affiliation of colleges with the new Devi Lal University at Sirsa. The Haryana unit of the Indian Youth Congress is also slated to organise a demonstration in front of the assembly on various issues, including the students’ agitation. The assembly Secretariat has so far received three Bills for presentation in the House on Wednesday. These are regarding amendments to the legislations on house tax, local area development tax and entertainment tax. |
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Cong set to ‘floor’ govt in House Gurgaon, September 8 The Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was in south Haryana yesterday evening, alleged that the government was keeping the Opposition and the people of the state in the dark on vital issues. He said the Assembly session would be used as an occasion by the Congress to force the government to clear the mist and be more transparent in its functioning. The Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), Capt Ajay Yadav, who was accompanying Mr Hooda, said the response of the government to the Supreme Court’s query on ways to be taken by the Centre to expedite the construction of the stretch of the SYL canal falling in Punjab was unclear. Opposition parties have only newspaper reports that the state government has suggested roping in the Border Roads Organisation. The Congress will seek a White Paper or some other authenticated literature on details of investments made by foreign companies in the state since 2000. This move is a sequel to a recent statement of a Union Minister on the floor of the Lok Sabha that there has been no FDI in Haryana since 2000. The Congress will take issue with the Treasury Benches on Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his ministerial colleagues making four foreign trips with the avowed aim of soliciting foreign investments. According to Captain Yadav, the government has spent about Rs 80 crore of public money on the visits. Also, the statement of the Union Minister contradicts Mr Chautala’s public claims that there has be foreign investments of Rs 28,000 crore in the state. The Congress will try to rope in other Opposition parties to take the government to talk on these issues. The Congress also has plans to make a strong case for rolling back the hike in fees for vocational studies and also against the government’s decision to affiliate some colleges in the state, especially those falling in areas of south Haryana, with the newly formed Devi Lal University in Sirsa. These colleges were affiliated with Maharshi Dayanand University and the Congress’ will take up the cause of the students, who are presently on the path of agitation. The Congress also has on its agenda the recent hike in bus fares. The other issues the Congress plans to take up on the floor of the House include “framing” of political opponents of the INLD in cases, withdrawal of cases against criminals, including those booked for heinous crimes, and failed moves of the government to release convicts and
undertrials, and issues pertaining to sugar mills. |
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Cong men hold demonstration Yamunanagar, September 8 Mr Sat Pal Kaushik, secretary of the Haryana Pradesh Congress, Mr Raj Kumar Tyagi, president of the district Congress (urban), Mr Subhash Chaudhary, former minister, Mr Ram Kumar Gupta, block president, Mr Gurdayal Puri and Mr N.K. Sharma, Congress leaders, and many more lashed out at the Haryana Government for creating “anarchy” in the state. The Congress leaders demanded the intervention of the Governor who should direct the state government to stop demolitions. |
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RLD to hold rally in Ambala Ambala, September 8 This was stated by the Haryana unit president of the dal, Swami Indervesh, while talking to mediapersons here today. He said Mr Ajit Singh would preside over the rally in which people from different walks of life would participate. He said their party would contest all five Assembly seats in Ambala district. “We have already started preparations and the local units have been activated. Today, we held a state-level meeting to chalk out strategy for it,” he said. He said they would stress on two major issues. “The first is that this year is the 100th birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh. He worked for the betterment of the poor, farmers and workers. We will tell people about various policies launched by him,” he said. He said the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was working as a dictator. “He hardly sits in his office at Chandigarh. How can a person take care of the interest of the state when he is not available in his office to discharge his duties,” he said. He said the law and order situation had deteriorated in the state and people were feeling unsafe. He said students of Jind, Rewari and Bhiwani were agitating over the forcible transfer to Sirsa University. “The INLD came to power by making false promises to farmers. They have taken a wrong action against BKU leader, Mr Ghasi Ram
Nain. He was only raising the voice of the farmers,” he said. |
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Board not entitled to charge penal interest, rules HC Chandigarh, September 8 In a ruling on a bunch of petitions, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice S.K. Mittal, has also held that the board was not entitled to charge interest on the instalments until or unless the facilities were provided to the allottees. The allottees had claimed that it was not possible for them to raise constructions on the plots in the absence of the amenities. Allowing the petitions, the judges directed the board and another respondent to provide, within a year of receiving the order's copy, the water supply and sewerage connections, besides other facilities mentioned in the building plans sanctioned for the new grain markets at Shahabad and Barwala in Haryana. The judges also restrained the respondents from charging "interest and penal interest till the water and sewerage facilities were provided". In their petitions, Mr Om Parkash and other allottees had earlier submitted that the basic amenities had not been provided in the new markets established at Shahabad and Barwala despite the fact that the plots were handed over to them in 2000. Going into the background, the petitioners had submitted that the board had initially decided to allot the plots "by way of public auction" following which the process was initiated. Arguing before the court, their counsel had submitted that the plots were handed over to the petitioners as they were the highest bidders. However, even after the allotment of the plots, the basic amenities were not provided forcing them to move the court for seeking necessary directions, counsel had argued. After going through the documents and the record, the judges observed: "The petitioners are not in a position either to raise construction or to enjoy the benefits of the plots in the absence of the basic amenities". |
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High Court Chandigarh, September 8 The Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta, also directed that the affidavit should be filed within two weeks. The case will now come up for hearing on October 17. In their petition, Col Balwant Singh and three others had earlier sought directions to the state of Haryana and other respondents to lease out land by open auction. Taking up the case, another Division Bench, headed by Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta, had earlier observed: "There were huge areas of approximately 600 acres in Mohanpur village and another 1018 acres in Bodhni village that were being given on lease by the panchayats without following the prescribed procedure...."
Plot allowed Coming down heavily on the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board for illegally and arbitrarily denying the claim of a firm seeking the allotment of a plot in a grain market, a Division Bench of the High Court has directed the respondents to allot the same within three months. Pronouncing the orders on a petition filed by the Chottu Ram Rajesh Kumar firm, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice S.K. Mittal, ruled that the impugned order denying the petitioner the allotment of the plot had been passed without jurisdiction and in a gross violation of the principles of natural justice". Quashing the orders, the judges added that the firm had been found eligible for the allotment of plot, but the order was reviewed even though there were no powers to do so. Moreover, opportunity of hearing was not provided. |
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CBI probe sought into Avedna issue Ambala, September 8 The speakers at the meeting demanded a CBI inquiry into the issue. They suggested that a committee should be formed to look into various aspects of the case. Newly married Avedna Sharma, who had gone missing from Ludhiana under mysterious circumstances, had later stated in the High Court that she had married a junior engineer of the Punjab Wakf Board. Besides leaders of the BJP, the Congress and the Vikas Parishad, members of the Arya Samaj and the Brahman Sabha were also present in the meeting. Among others, Mr Anil Vij, MLA, Ambala Cantonment, Dr Ved Prakash, Mr Suresh Trehan and Mr Shish Pal Bhola were also present. Mr Ashok Sharma, Avedna’s father, alleged there was a fraud in preparing marriage documents. He said the claim that his daughter was married to Zakhir Hussain was wrong as the affidavit had been found to be false. He said it was a deep-rooted conspiracy. Meanwhile, a delegation led by the local MLA, Mr Anil Vij, met the Deputy Commissioner and submitted a memorandum under the banner of Sarwdaliya Sangharsh Samiti. Representatives of various organisations who were present in the delegation included Mr Dau Dayal Sharma, Mr Ram Pal Sharma (district president, VHP), Mr M.L. Gupta (vice-president, Shiv Sena, Haryana unit), Mr Bhushan Obrei (president, Arya Samaj, Ambala), Mr K.L. Sehgal (Ambala Cantonment Bar Association), Mr Fateh Chand Goel (vice-president, Aggarwal Sabha), Mr Narender Jain (Jain Sabha), Mr Subhadesh Mittal (BJP), Mr Suresh Garg (vice-president, Ambala Sadar Municipal Council), Mr Pawan Dhiman (RSS), Mr Balwant Singh (Punjabi Sabha), Mr Shiv Kumar (Dharam Jagran Manch), Mr Deepak Rana (Bajrang Dal) and Mr Naresh Batra (Vaidik Prachar Mandal).
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Girls take to
streets over student's murder Sirsa, September 8 Enraged over the increasing insecurity following the Suneeta murder case, the students broke open the college gate and took out a procession through the main market demanding the arrest of the culprits. Their request to shopkeepers to close down shops was acceded to. They staged a dharna outside the camp office and dispersed only after SDM Roshan Lal assured them that the case would be solved by September 15. Meanwhile, a large number of villagers from Nejandela, the village the murdered girl belonged to, held a procession from the village to the ADC office, where they were assured that the culprits would be arrested within 48 hours. |
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Mixed response to Jind bandh Jind, September 8 The Students’ Joint Action Committee, with the support of various trade organisations, had decided to observe a bandh on September 8 as a part of their ongoing agitation. District leaders of the Congress, Haryana Vikas Party and the CPM at a joint meeting had extended support to the bandh. The leaders of these parties said there was no justification in affiliating Jind colleges with Sirsa university. They said the demand of the agitating students was reasonable and justified. Mr Som Dutt Siwaha, convener of the Joint Action Committee, claimed that the bandh was successful. He said that the support of the traders and opposition parties to the students agitation had proved that the demand of the students was reasonable. He said the government, instead of accepting the demands of the agitating students, had adopted repressive measures to curb their agitation. He said the students would continue their agitation till their demand was accepted. The district administration had made strict security arrangements in view of today’s bandh. |
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Leaf from history Although the State Central Library came into being in 1957, the building was in use by the Education Department, and during the British period a school of instruction had been set up in the building. Records reveal that an indenture was made on October 6, 1919, between Secretary of State for India in Council and Honorary Secretary, Lahore Diocesan Board of Education. The indenture was signed on October 14, 1919, by Mr E.M. Hobday and C.E. Headly, Major General Commanding, Ambala Brigade, Kasauli. Interestingly, the building rent, which was fixed at Rs 9 in those days, continues to be the same. The money is now also duly deposited in the Municipal Committee. A form which was filled up more than 80 years back states: “Form ‘A’ — Form of lease to be executed in cases of land applied for by a railway company or for the purpose of executing any building which in the opinion of the cantonment authority will be for the public benefit." The British had laid down a number of conditions regarding the building. “The building to be erected on the land shall be commenced within six months from the execution of the lease and shall be completed within the period. Commencement and completion of the buildings specified in the note endorsed on such plan or within such further period (if any) as the authority which sanctioned the application under chapter XXI of the Cantonment Code, 1912, may be order in writing allowed.” Another condition of the British was: “So long as the lessee shall duly pay the said rent of Rs 9 and observe the conditions hereinbefore specified, it may be subject to condition, I hold the land forever without interruption by the Secretary of State." This was presented by Reverend H. Spooner, Chaplain of Ambala on Feb 2, 1920, and it was signed by Mr
B.N. Bosworth Smith Sub Registrar. Librarian Usha Rani stated that the State Central Library building has a history which dates back to 1920. “I have gone through documents which show that the building was being utilised as a school of instruction during the British period," she said. “Interestingly, a document revealed that an officer had decried that no outsider was permitted to drink water from within this building complex," she added. She said: “We have been told by old-timers that during the British Raj, officers on their way to Shimla used to stopover in this building. The construction clearly shows signs of British influence in construction. The typical fireplace is a case in point besides the building being thick walled.” Ms Usha Rani said that the oldest book in their possession dated back to 1938 and the book was published in Urdu. “Our library has about 64,000 books. The books are in various languages, including English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi. There are general reading books as well as reference books," she said. She stated that books in reference section are referred to by the scholars as well as postgraduate and Ph.D students. “We have about 4,000 regular members. Our reading room has a number of weekly, fortnightly and monthly magazines, besides 15 newspapers being subscribed daily," she said. |
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Disability no handicap for him Ambala, September 8 35-year-old Jagtar Singh, who lost both his arms in an accident, can drive a tractor and do other jobs. He cultivates his land by operating a tractor with his feet. While a normal man will feel exhausted after driving a tractor for 5-6 hours, Jagtar Singh can do so for 10-12 hours. He got married in February, 1991. Barely four months after the marriage, he was electrocuted. He lost both his arms in the accident. But, he did not lose hope and learned to drive a tractor with his feet. Reversing a tractor-trailer is a difficult task. Jagtar Singh not only learnt to reverse it, but also won a contest in reversing a tractor-trailer. He has also learnt to write his name, address and important message with his feet. He reads newspaper everyday by holding it with his feet. He does not want to become a liability on anyone. Although he can do different works, he has to be assisted in eating and dressing up. His wife, Sunita, and members of his family help him out. |
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‘Khula darbar’ organised Fatehabad, September 8 He redressed most on the spot and asked officials of the departments concerned to redress the rest. Residents of Ahlisardar village complained of poor supply of potable water. Villagers of Karnoli had irrigation water problems and demanded brick-lining of the water channel. The Deputy Commissioner urged the farmers to take proper care while selecting pesticides for cotton crop. He said due to moisture, chances of the cotton crop getting infested with worms was more. He urged the farmers to get the bills of the pesticides purchased by them. |
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Body of drowned boy found Yamunanagar, September 8 Vaibhav Bhatia, son of Tajinder Bhatia, a student of plus one at Spring Fields Public School, had gone along with five more friends on Saturday afternoon to Kala Bridge near here. The children did not know swimming. After the news of Vaibhav drowning spread, rescue operation was started and about two dozens divers were pressed into service. A postmortem was conducted today evening at Civil Hospital, Yamunanagar and the body was cremated today late evening. |
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Gupta made member of MDU courts Chandigarh, September 8 |
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AMBALA: State Central Library is Haryana’s main library. The library building is more than 80-year-old and land for the building was given by the British so that a public service institution could come up.