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Chautala slams BJP, Centre INLD open to post-poll alliance Ganeshi Lal denies charges 2 Cong MLAs suspended from Assembly
Ex-PM of Mauritius goes down memory lane
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DC listens to complaints More power generating
stations for Haryana BSNL to expand service in Haryana Medicare for poor courtesy IT Haryana Board set to prevent copying Patiala LS seat sought
for Takkar College holds exhibition School board introduces
helpline HC seeks report on custodial death CSD goods seized from shop
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Chautala slams BJP, Centre Chandigarh, February 11 When Mr Krishan Pal Gurjar, leader of the BJP MLAs, tried to intervene, the Chief Minister screamed at the legislator, asking him to keep sitting. The Chief Minister also snubbed Ms Veena Chhibber (BJP), saying said that if she did not keep quiet, he would “reveal” all about her. The Chief Minister, was replying to the discussion on the Governor’s Address, alleged the BJP and the Congress had worked in tandem during at least two elections in the state to defeat the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidates. He claimed the BJP had helped the Congress candidates in the Fatehabad Assembly byelection and later in the local body elections at Dabwali. The Chief Minister also attacked the Vajpayee-led Government, saying that the agricultural sector had been totally ignored in the interim Budget. On the other hand, sops had been offered to affluent classes. Mr Chautala pulled up the Central Government for not giving any relief to the state for compensating the drought-affected farmers. The Centre had announced that the interest on long-term loans taken by farmers would be waived in view of the drought-like conditions. “ But one day after the announcement we received a letter from the Central Government, saying the interest burden would have to be borne by the respective state governments”, Mr Chautala claimed. He alleged that Haryana’s dues amounting to more than Rs 3,000 crore were not being given by the centre. The Chief Minister added the Centre also did not cooperate with Haryana on the SYL canal issue. The Centre gave it in writing to the court asking to be relieved of the responsibility of constructing the canal’s incomplete portion in Punjab. Only after persuasion by the Haryana Government, the Centre asked the court to name a central agency for constructing the canal, Mr Chautala said. Ridiculing the Congress, Mr Chautala said new jails were constructed after the Congress announced that it would launch a “jail bharo” agitation in the state, demanding completion of the canal. “But the Congress later backtracked,” he said. About the Opposition charge of deterioration in the law and order situation, Mr Chautala said he would admit that the law and order situation was not so good. But the police was also cracking cases, putting fear in the minds of criminals. Mr Chautala said a large number of canals were being repaired to facilitate farm irrigation. After the INLD came to power 36,000 tubewell connections had been released much more than those when the Bhajan Lal government was in power. Similarly, the number of industries set up during the current regime was much more than that during Mr Bhajan Lal’s tenure. Responding to the criticism about the installation of statues of Devi Lal in the state, Mr Chautala said the statues of other national leaders like Lal Bahadur Shastri and Deshbandhu Gupta had also been installed. He also announced the status of a subdivision for Adampur in Hisar district. Earlier, Mr Karan Singh Dalal, an Opposition MLA, while participating in the discussion on the Governor’s Address, claimed that Reliance Industries wanted to set up a gas-based power plant in Haryana for supplying power to Delhi. However, the company decided to set up the plant in UP instead when Mr Chautala insisted that it must be set up in Sirsa, his home district. Mr Dalal alleged that by driving away Reliance, the Chief Minister had deprived the state of the benefits the plant would have brought in the form of employment opportunities etc. Mr Dalal said while Mr Chautala must be lauded for having a small Council of Ministers, the Chief Minister distribute some of the 40-odd departments kept by him among his Cabinet colleagues.
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INLD open to post-poll alliance
Karnal, February 11 Mr Chautala said his party was open to post-poll alliance with other parties but it would not support a Congress-led government at the Centre. The INLD’s strategy for the Lok Sabha elections would be formed at the party’s working committee meeting at Bhiwani on February 18, he said. Regarding the BJP’s “feel good” slogan, he said the party’s performance at the hustings would be akin to the Indian cricket team’s performance in Australia. The Indian team had to face humiliating defeat after an excellent performance in the beginning. After its victory in the assembly elections in three states, the BJP would be “bowled out” in the “finals” of the parliamentary elections, he said. “In Haryana, the BJP cannot win even a Vidhan Sabha seat on its own, what to talk of a parliamentary seat. It needs crutches of other parties in the state”, Mr Chautala said. He castigated the Vajpayee government for spending tax-payers’ money on advertisements in the print and electronic media to promote the BJP. He claimed that a hefty sum of Rs 1,500 crore had been spent so far on the advertisements. Referring to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statement on the Ram temple issue, he said the construction of temples and mosques was the task of religious leaders not politicians whose duty was towards the nation. — UNI
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Ganeshi Lal denies charges Sirsa, February 11 Replying to a question regarding the allegations levelled against him by former district president Krishan Lal Saini, including his son’s involvement in liquor smuggling during his tenure as the Prohibition Minister, Prof Ganeshi Lal offered not only to quit politics but also leave Haryana if the charges were proved. With regard to the allegations levelled by Chautala’s brothers, he said since they had been his students, he would not like to comment against them. He said the state BJP would hold sammelans from February 18. The sammelans would be addressed by BJP President Venkaiah Naidu, BJP general secretaries Parmod Mahajan and Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi, and Central ministers Sushma Swaraj, Sahib Singh Verma and Rajnath Singh. |
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2 Cong MLAs suspended from Assembly Chandigarh, February 11 The Congress MLAs, along with their colleagues, Ms Anita Yadav, Mr Sher Singh and Mr Shadi Lal Batra, trooped into the well of the House in protest against the mentioning of a dowry case registered against the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and his family on a complaint of Mr Hooda’s daughter-in-law. The incident took place towards the end of question hour when the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Ram Pal Majra, was replying to a question related to atrocities committed on women. A ruling party MLA, Mr Ram Bhagat, asked Mr Majra if any dowry case had been registered against an MLA of the state. Mr Majra started reading from the FIR lodged against Mr Hooda. This infuriated the Congress MLAs, who strongly protested against raising the matter concerning Mr Hooda’s family. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, moved a motion stating that the conduct of Dr Kadian and Mr Barwala was “unbecoming of a member of the august House”. The motion was carried by voice vote. Intervening, the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said since Mr Hooda was present in the House, he could place the facts of the case before it. Describing the allegations against him as false, Mr Hooda said he would not say more than this because the matter was sub judice. He also pointed out that he and two members of his family had been granted anticipatory bail by an Ambala court. The Congress MLAs, however, staged a walkout against the motion but returned to the
House after some time. After their return, Mr Hooda and former Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal pleaded with the
Speaker to recall the suspended members to the House. After their
pleas were turned down, the Congress again walked out of the House. |
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BSP high command to decide on alliance: Sherwal Yamunanagar, February 11 He said the state executive committee had sent names of candidates for the six parliamentary seats in Haryana and the names would be announced by the high command. |
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Ex-PM of Mauritius goes down memory lane Kurukshetra, February 11 He said Indo-Mauritius relations were not merely based on political ideology but deep-rooted emotional bonding of the people of both the nations. He claimed that the socio-economic relations between the two nations had reached the height of glory during his tenure as Prime Minister from 1995 to 2000 and hoped that the relations would further strengthen in the days to come. While addressing a gathering of students and their parents, Dr Ramgoolam said: “India has always been a source of inspiration for us, especially for our ‘self-renewal’ through the teachings of the Bhagavadgita and Swami Dayanand to root out meaningless traditions, superstitions and many other social evils”. Expressing his emotional feelings with India, he said: “Bharat mera desh hai, main chote Bharat se aya hun”. He said his ancestors were migrated by Britishers from India with false promises. They were treated as bonded labourers in Mauritius. However, the social reform movement carried out by the Arya Samaj united the Indian community in struggle against the British empire for freedom. His father, Shiv Sagar Ramgoolam, who is the father of the nation in Mauritius had remained the Prime Minister for at least 15 years. His grandfather, Sita Ramgoolam, migrated to Mauritius in 1896. Both his grandfather and father played a pivotal role in struggle for freedom. Highlighting the role of women in building up a strong society, he said freedom in Mauritius was possible only after the women were imparted education influenced by the teachings of Swami Dayanand during the Arya Samaj movement. Dr Ramgoolam said it was a momentous day for the students as they were being awarded degrees. “However, it is just a beginning of life for you as it is a continuous struggle for success but one should never give up in life”, he appealed to the students. He also invited the educated people from India saying: “We need people from India to strengthen the link between India and Mauritius”. Ms Madhu Gujadhar, an Indian-born social activist, during her address in typical Hindi language invited the students in Mauritius as part of an exchange programme in a bid to strengthen the social relations between the two nations. She stressed upon the students to keep their traditional culture and customs alive. Ms Veena Ramgoolam, wife of Dr Naveen Chandra, gave away prizes to 31 students, while Dr Sudesh Kathuria, Principal, awarded degrees to 12 students of MA (English), 37 students of B.Com and 190 students of BA. She also presented the annual report. Earlier, Dr Ram Prakash, president of the college managing committee, Dr Ramgoolam and other guests. Dr Ramgoolam, Ms Ramgoolam, Ms Gujadhar and mother, father and sister of Ms Ramgoolam later paid obeisance at Jyotisar and other religious places.
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DC listens to complaints Fatehabad, February 11 Presiding over the weekly ‘open door administrative camp’ organised by the district administration here, the Deputy Commissioner asked the SDM probe whether the wheat flour being supplied by the government under its BPL scheme on subsidised rates was reaching its real beneficiaries. He directed the District Food and Supplies Controller to mend the working of his department. The Deputy Commissioner listened to 67 complaints. On a complaint, Mr Sahrawat directed the General Manager of Haryana Roadways to start buses on the Tohana-Darakora-Rahanwali route. The Additional District Commissioner, Mr Nitin Kumar Yadav, the SDM, Mr Subhash Sheoran, the Magistrate, Mr Munish Nagpal, and senior officers of various government departments were present. |
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More power
generating stations for Haryana Bapauli (Panipat), February 11 Claiming that the government had given highest priority to the power generating sector, Mr Chautala said with the installation of the seventh and eighth units of 250 MW capacity each at Tau Devi Lal Thermal Power Station in Panipat at the end of this year, the state would not only become self-reliance in the power generating sector, but also be able to supply electricity to neighbouring states. Talking about the SYL issue, he said the matter was pending in the court. “We are hopeful that we would get a favourable decision. If Punjab does not came forward to complete the SYL, it is the duty of the Centre to do so,” he said. About thermal projects, he said the government had been discussing the projects with private companies.
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BSNL to expand service in Haryana Ambala, February 11 He said there was a plan to add one lakh mobile phone lines this year to cover additional 73 towns and all highways. At present the BSNL had crossed the figure of 1,50,000 cellular connections in the state maintaining its No. 1 position in terms of number and coverage, he added. He said the BSNL had decided to withdraw the charges for resetting the STD code. At present Rs 30 is charged for this facility. Subscribers had not to pay charges for getting the detailed bill. The BSNL had launched a scheme for getting post-paid cellular connection reinstalled without payment of rental for the period from date of disconnection to the date of reinstallation. This scheme is one-time measure for three months. The reinstallation charges would be Rs 200 per connection, he added. Mr Nagpal said the corporation had also decided to start a scheme for reinstallation of basic telephone too without payment of rental for the disconnection period for a period of one month. He said the charges for national SMS for post-paid service had been reduced to 40 paise per message (maximum 160 characters) instead of 60 paise per message for all plans. A new tariff option had also been introduced for existing and new customers of the WLL (M), he added.
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Medicare
for poor courtesy IT Panchkula, February 11 According to the Director-General of Health Services, Dr B.S. Dahiya, the dial-up networking with the district health offices had been done and communication through the e-mail had been established to strengthen the supportive
supervision. The drug inventory had been developed and prescription of the generic medicines made compulsory in the health institutes. Officials highlighted that the retail price of the generic medicine had been slashed in consultation with the chemists. A medicine policy and essential medicine list have been prepared. Besides, the state was all set for decentralised planning. The interface among the three bodies — the State Health Society, the District Health and Family Welfare Society and the institutional-level body —have been planned. Swasthya Kalyan Samities have been planned and in the first phase of the implementation all district-level bodies will be provided orientation. To encourage private sector participation in the sector, the networking of the NGOs and the private sector had been completed. To supplement these efforts, the district-wise directory and atlas have been prepared to identify the health resources, he informed. The state has planned to launch an innovative health scheme, “Swasth Kutumb” to cater to the urban poor in four districts of
Rewari, Ambala, Panipat and Hisar. Under the scheme, all the OPDs services and delivery services would be the provided free of cost to the urban poor. Dr Dahiya said that to make the e-governance programme a success the department was in the process of appointing computer professionals. Besides, the Indian System of Medicine is being promoted by the department in big way for the benefit of the general
public.
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Haryana
Board set to prevent copying Panchkula, February 11 Mr Gupta directed the officers to keep a strict vigil at all examination centres and take action against any teacher found helping students in copying. Similarly, cases would also be registered against the students involved in cases of copying. Control rooms had been set up in five district headquarters to monitor the examination centres in the state. He said 28 centres had been set up in Panchkula district only. The centres had been divided into sectors for effective monitoring. He urged the people to educate the children about the evils of copying and work hard for their examinations. The SP, Mr Ranbir Sharma, said sufficient police force would be deployed at the centres through rotation system and no outsider would be allowed to interfere during the examination. Identity cards had been issued to staff members so as avoid the presence of any non-deputed member at the centres.
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Patiala LS
seat sought for Takkar Chandigarh, February 11 He said the nomination of Mr Takkar from Patiala would also remove the misconception about the Shiromani Akali Dal that it represented only Punjab and that too the Jat Sikhs. In case the nomination of Mr Takkar from Patiala was not possible, he could be nominated from Ludhiana also. Mr Harbhajan Singh and Mr Paramjit Singh Chanana, President and General Secretary respectively, of the Himachal Akali Dal, have also supported the demand of the Haryana Akalis. |
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College holds exhibition Hisar, February 11 Ms Satya
Bhaskar, a former Principal of the college, inaugurated it. Teachers explained visitors how they could de-stress themselves in today’s busy life in the stress management section of the exhibition. Students explained different concepts of psychology like abnormal behaviour and mental tensions through various models and charts. Ms Geeta
Daber, Principal, said though they had arranged the exhibition for a day, it had been decided to extend it for another day considering good response from local residents. |
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School board
introduces helpline Bhiwani, February 11 He said the board had brought out a booklet containing the names of 10,530 candidates who were caught copying in 2003. It would be provided free of cost to all government and recognised schools. The names, schools and districts as well as the punishment awarded to the candidates had been published in the booklet. |
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HC seeks report on custodial death Chandigarh, February 11 In his petition taken up by a Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, Mr Justice B.K. Roy, Mr Bajinder Singh of Panipat district had earlier sought directions to the state of Haryana and other respondents for ordering an independent probe into the alleged custodial death of his father Jag Phul Singh. Going into the background of the case, the petitioner had submitted that his father was tortured to death after being picked up by the police on August 25 last year. |
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CSD goods seized from shop Ambala, February 11 An officer said they had received information about CSD goods being sold at the shop. The shop was cordoned off and extensive search was carried out on the premises. CSD goods were reportedly recovered from a room. The consignment was seized.  |
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Jawan run over by train Ambala, February 11 He was in 20s and had joined the Army three years ago. A postmortem examination was conducted at Civil Hospital here and it was handed over to the military officials for last rites.
UNI
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