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INLD, BJP ignored Haryana’s interests: Hooda Debate in INLD over
tie-up with BJP Call for Central package to save sugar industry MLA’s
charges refuted Gujjar women want
good breed of buffaloes DSP booked for illegally occupying house |
Punjab page: Expert disputes Haryana claim on Punjab river waters |
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Mazdoor union flays ‘India Shining’ slogan 3 acquitted of murder charge Two killed in
accident
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INLD, BJP ignored Haryana’s interests: Hooda Hisar, February 6 Addressing a largely attended Sonia Lao, Desh Bachao rally at Narnaund, 45 km from here, he said in the 1996 polls Mr Om Parkash Chautala had tied up with the Bahujan Samaj Party and both the INLD and the BJP were criticizing each other. However, in the last assembly polls, the two joined hands without even formulating a common minimum programme for the welfare of Haryana. Now both the parties were blaming each other for rot that had set in. He said the Chief Minister was blaming the Centre for not allocating adequate funds for Haryana, while the BJP in turn was accusing Mr Chautala of misusing Central funds and claiming credit for the development projects executed with that money. This, he said proved that both parties were playing opportunistic politics and sacrificing the interests of the state. Describing the interim budget as ‘a gift for the creamy layer of the society’ he said the proposals would benefit only the top 10 per cent of the population. The poor and farmers would not benefit from it. He said only the Congress could safeguard the interests of these two sections of the society. Mr Hooda said besides steep rise in cost of living, the NDA’s policies had taken professional education out of the reach of the common people. The poor, he maintained, were now unable to afford these courses. This he said proved the indifference of the NDA government towards the economically weaker sections. Former Union Minister Ms Selja accused Mr Chautala of not pleading properly Haryana’s case for due allocation of central funds to the state. She said had the Chief Minister done so there would certainly have been something for Haryana in the interim budget. As for the BJP she said the party had completely ignored Haryana. She said crime situation was so bad that earlier even Punjab people preferred to travel through Haryana as its territory was considered safer. The situation had reversed now and even she herself preferred to take the Punjab route to Chandigarh to avoid criminal elements in Narwana constituency represented by Mr Chautala. She said crime had risen manifold in the past four years. The two leaders were brought to Narnaund in a procession from Mundhal in Bhiwani district. The procession was led by the organizer of the meeting Dr Ajay Singh Chaudhary whose father the late Mr Verendar Singh, a former Minister, represented the Narnaund Assembly segment for several terms. Both Mr Hooda and Ms Selja asked the people of Narnaund to support Dr Chaudhary who they said belonged to the “generation next” committed to eradicating corruption from politics. |
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Debate in
INLD over
tie-up with BJP
Chandigarh, February 6 According to sources, the INLD has also started looking at possible alternatives. Sources say while one school of thought feels that if the BJP contests the parliamentary elections on its own in Haryana, the INLD stands to gain. Votaries of this school of thought feel that the vote-bank of the Congress, the main adversary of the INLD in the state, and the BJP overlaps, particularly in the urban areas, which constitute the soft belly of the INLD. The BJP and the Congress, they argue, will divide the anti-INLD vote, giving an edge to the INLD nominees, particularly in the constituencies dominated by the rural areas. However, the other school of thought feels that the INLD has done well in the state only when it contested the elections in alliance with another party. The votaries of this thinking feel that the INLD leadership is itself responsible for the bitterness generated between it and the BJP, which is the natural ally of the INLD just as the latter was the natural ally of the Akalis in Punjab. Both INLD and the Akalis are traditionally opposed to the Congress and so is the BJP. They feel had the INLD leadership not annoyed state BJP leaders with unnecessary pin-pricks in the past four years — while keeping certain important Central leaders in good humour — the situation would not have reached such a sorry state. A senior INLD leader, however, sought to justify the treatment meted out to state BJP leaders by the Chief Minister by saying that these leaders had tried to blackmail Mr Om Prakash Chautala from the day the two parties joined hands. These BJP leaders, he said, insisted on contesting seats more than their party’s capacity in order to humiliate Mr Chautala, who had come to power after eight years. The BJP leaders wanted that after the Assembly elections, Mr Chautala should remain dependent upon them for staying in power just as Mr Bansi Lal was. The INLD supremo yielded at the time of the 1999 Lok Sabha elections when he agreed to share the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state equally with the BJP, though the latter had been contesting three or four seats, leaving the rest for its alliance partner in the past. Mr Chautala, who was well aware of the problems faced by Mr Bansi Lal, did not want to remain dependent upon the BJP in the Vidhan Sabha. After hard bargaining he agreed to give 29 seats to the BJP even though the latter had no chances of victory of the constituencies. In certain constituencies the INLD even gave its candidates to the BJP. It is another matter that they all lost. It was this attitude of the BJP leaders which soured their relations with Mr Chautala, the INLD leader said. Sources say the INLD is now thinking of an alliance with the BSP, with which it had contested the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Then, the INLD had won three seats and the BSP was able to register its maiden victory. Sources say a trusted lieutenant of Mr Chautala, who has a good equation with the ailing BSP supremo, Mr Kanshi Ram, has been asked to again explore the possibility of a tieup. This lieutenant of Mr Chautala, sources say, played a key role in engineering an alliance between the INLD and the BSP in 1998 also. It was he who persuaded Mr Kanshi Ram to agree to contest three Lok Sabha seats against his earlier demand of four seats. Mr Chautala was not agreeable to this. The alliance was virtually on the breaking point even before it was formally announced. However, there is a catch. The lieutenant’s equation with Ms Mayawati, who now calls the shots in the BSP, is not as strong as it is with Mr Kanshi Ram. Moreover, BSP leaders had felt let down by Mr Chautala after the 1998 elections, because he announced unconditional support to the BJP as the results were out. |
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Call for Central package to save sugar industry Yamunanagar, February 6 The Central Government recently announced the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) for sugarcane at Rs 73 per quintal linked to 8.5 per cent recovery against last year’s Rs 69.50 per quintal thereby increasing the SMP by Rs 3.50 per quintal. However, the Haryana Government this year continued with last year’s State Advised Price (SAP) of Rs 104 per quintal for general variety of cane, Rs 106 per quintal for mid-variety of cane and Rs 110 per quintal for early variety of cane. Although SAP is higher than the SMP, private sugar factories in Haryana are paying the SMP as announced by the Central Government. Mr V.K. Sachdeva, Executive Director of Yamunanagar Sugar Mill, the biggest sugar mill in India, said in spite of the fact that the sugar industry in India was passing through a difficult phase, they had been able to make payment to farmers for the cane purchased by their mill although they had a huge stock of 17 lakh bags of sugar, including 8 lakh bags of sugar produced in the last season. He further commented that it generally took 16 to 17 months to sell the sugar from the day it was produced thereby not only adding to their woes by keeping the stock blocked, but also increasing their costs by way of interest on blocked capital. He said: “If the sugar industry in India is to survive, the solution lies only in encouraging export of sugar and rationalising the sugarcane price viz-a-viz the price of sugar in the market.” He suggested that the government should come out with a package for revitalising the sugar industry. Mr Sachdeva further informed that the sugar industry in India had suffered a loss of Rs 5,000 crore in the past two years and the cane arrears for the cane purchased last season (2002-03) amounted to Rs 3,000 crore for the country. But in Haryana there are no cane price arrears for the cane purchased in the last season. He squarely blamed the Central Government for the sorry state of affairs in the sugar industry. he attributed the financial plight of the sugar industry in India to the heavy sugar stocks and interests thereof, the declining sugar prices in the market over the years and the indifferent attitude of the government towards the industry. In Haryana there are 12 cooperative sugar mills and three private sugar mills. The cooperative sugar mills put together will crush 3.4 crore quintals of cane and the three private sugar mills will crush around 2.6 crore quintals of cane this year. That means all Haryana sugar mills put together will crush around 6 crore quintals of cane this year out of which 2 crore quintals of cane will be crushed by Yamunanagar Sugar Mill alone. He said Saraswati Sugar Mill, Yamunanagar, in comparison to the above said State Advised Price was paying Rs 93.40 for the general variety, Rs 95.60 for the mid-variety and Rs 99.40 for the early variety of cane. Mr Sat Pal Kaushik, Secretary, Haryana Pradesh Congress, alleged that Yamunanagar Sugar Mill was paying Rs 10.60 per quintal less than the State Advised Price and the other private sugar factories were paying even lower than Yamunanagar Sugar Mill. He said it was nothing but exploitation of the farmers, both by the state and private sugar mills. He further alleged that the Centre was not coming forward to take care of the sufferings of the farmers. He suggested that either the state government or the Centre should come out with a package to pay the farmers the difference between the SAP and the SMP. He further said if the farmers were paid SAP by private factories, they would be losers by around Rs 30 crore. He criticised the Central Government for having announced two packages worth Rs 578 crore and Rs 680 crore for the sugarcane growers, but doing nothing for the implementation of these packages and disbursement of money to the sugarcane growers. |
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MLA’s
charges refuted Chandigarh, February 6 Describing the allegation as “mischievous and motivated”, an official spokesman admitted here today that land was released and showroom sites were allotted to a private party in Sector 10-A of Gurgaon. However, he clarified that this was done on the basis of “adjustment and exchange due to litigation which prolonged for more than 15 years and because of which the area could not be developed”. Out of a total area of 3800 square yards belonging to the party, 2142 square yards was released to it. About 2140 square yards, falling under roads and parking areas, was taken by the department from the party free of cost. Moreover, the party was required to take permission for change of land-use or licence from the Town and Country Planning Department and pay the relevant fee. Contrary to what Mr Dalal had claimed, the party had not taken any compensation for the land acquired by the government. The spokesman said Mr Dalal should first get his facts cross-checked before levelling
such allegations. |
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Gujjar women want
good breed of buffaloes Karnal, February 6 Balkis, 17, a Muslim Gujjar girl from Dhargujran village of Amb block in Una district, is a plus two student. She was among a 14-member group of Muslim Gujjar women who had come on an exposure visit to the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) here this week, from Kangra and Una districts of Himachal Pradesh. The visit was sponsored by the Integrated Watershed Development Project (IWDP), Hills-II. When asked why she had accompanied the group, she said, “Since, dairying is our traditional profession, I am interested in knowing technological advancements in the dairy sector.” After visiting the cattle yard of the NDRI and dairy farms of a few progressive farmers in a nearby village Phusgarh (adopted by the NDRI), the Gujjar women were keen on keeping murrah buffaloes. Most of them with whom this reporter interacted had low-milk-yielding buffaloes. Bano Bibi (25), a resident of Barikhad said that along with her husband she grazed a herd of 12 buffaloes for four months in a year. “Leaving our children with the in-laws we covered a track of at least 100 km”, she added. Adding that the efforts put in by her family to keep the herd was not economically viable. She demanded that the IWDP should provide the best available breed of buffaloes to the Gujjars. Miss Sheetal Sapheya, a watershed participatory development facilitator, working on the project for the past couple of years, said that the Muslim Gujjars living in the 17-Barikhad watershed area were attached with the profession of dairying, despite the hardships it entailed. She further said; “various developmental agencies should concentrate their efforts on dairy development especially for Gujjars”. Hassan
Bibi, 42, from Una district claimed that she had a buffalo, which was in 17th lactation. She was still interested that the buffalo should conceive, adding that this buffalo had been adjudged ‘best’ in various competitions organized by the
IWDP. Dr J.C. Markanday, head of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of the
NDRI, said that the Gujjar women were practically exposed to the latest dairy technologies developed by the institute. Mr Dalip K.
Gosain, a senior scientist of the KVK, who coordinated the visit here, said that the high-yielding breeds of buffalo and cattle could improve the economy of the
Gujjars. |
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DSP booked for illegally occupying house Rohtak, February 6 The judge has directed the SHO of Civil Lines police station here to register a case and investigate it. The complainant, Mr Navrang Pal, had alleged in his complaint that the DSP, Mr Amar Singh Dagar, the SI, Mr Neki Ram, and five other local residents had illegally occupied a house located in the posh Sector 1 here belonging to his brother. He said the five local residents accompanied by the two policemen occupied the house on November 8 last year and were continuing to occupy the same. The complainant claimed he had taped a conversation with the DSP in which the police official had stated that he was acting at the behest of his seniors. |
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Mazdoor union flays ‘India Shining’ slogan Fatehabad, February 6 Addressing a general body meeting of the union, Mr Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria, state president of the Akhil Bhartiya Khet Mazdoor Union, said 6.5 crore metric ton of grain was rotting. The Central Government had also exported 2.5 crore metric ton of wheat at a throwaway price of Rs 430 per quintal, he added. He said the prices of essential commodities had been soaring and employment avenues for the poor had depleted. Mr Bahbalpuria said the union would organise a ‘jan jagran’ week from February 23 to 29 to strengthen the organisation and organised a dharna in front of the DC’s office. |
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3 acquitted of murder charge Ambala, February 6 According to prosecution on October 4 last year the watchman of the cremation ground of Ambala Cantonment had found a body of a youth on the crematorium premises. The deceased had sustained injuries to his head. The police later cremated the body as it could not be identified. Meanwhile, Chandan Singh filed an application with the police stating that his son Sunny had been missing since October 3. After a few days he learnt from a newspaper about the body of a youth at the crematorium, which the police had cremated. From the photograph and clothes of the deceased, he identified the body as that of his son. Later, during the investigation the police learnt that Sunny had a quarrel with the three youths — Manjit Singh, Tek Chand and Pulkit Jain — a few days before the murder. The police rounded up the youths and after their interrogation, it registered a case of murder against them. The counsel for the accused, Mr Man Singh Kakran, argued that the youths had been falsely implicated in the case. After hearing the arguments of both side, the District and Sessions Judge acquitted Manjit Singh, Tek Chand and
Pulkit. |
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Two killed in
accident Ambala, February 6 According to the police, the accident occurred when Amarjit Singh and Harpreet Kaur were on the way to Panjokhra. Their car collided with a cyclist and later rammed into a tree. The cyclist, Mohinder Singh, died on the spot. Harpreet died on the way to hospital. Amarjit who was driving the car has been admitted to the Civil Hospital in Ambala City. The bodies have been handed over to their relatives after a post-mortem examination today. 9 IAS officers
elevated Chandigarh, February
6 |
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