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BSP’s decision on poll pact in Haryana by March 15, says Maya
A shot
in the arm for Cong, BJP Advani’s
yatra to enter Haryana on March 24 Poll
campaign: BJP forms 2,600 teams Probe
sought into sanitation contract |
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VC lays
stress on moral values 10-yr
jail for possessing charas, opium
34
villages declared hypersensitive Panchayat
‘brokers’ peace between warring groups Docs,
chemists observe strike against thefts Travel
agent booked for cheating 6 of
marriage party hurt in mishap
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BSP’s decision on poll pact in Haryana by March
15, Rohtak, March 10 She was addressing reporters after addressing a rally here. She did not take up the issue of alliances in her hour-long speech. However, when newspersons asked her to clarify her party’s stand after her speech, she said no decision had been taken as yet but added that she hoped to do so by March 15. She did not indicate the parties with which the BSP could reach an accord. The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister however gave ample indications of this during her speech in which Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal’s criticism was milder compared to the venom she spat on the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. She described Mr Chautala as a “manuwadi and opportunist”. She said he was in the habit of backtracking on agreements he made with different political parties during elections. She said all Lals of Haryana were manuwadis and worked against the oppressed classes. Mrs Mayawati said members of the Scheduled Castes, backward classes, OBCs and minority communities together accounted for 65 per cent of the nation’s population. Yet, political power had always been in the hands of others. She said the BSP aimed at retaining the balance of political power in its hands till it was in a position to come to power at the Centre on its own. For this purpose she appealed to her supporters to ensure that the maximum number of BSP nominees were elected to the Lok Sabha. She said her party favoured reservations on the basis of population. “In a country like ours, the only way to ensure equality was to make reservations in proportion to the population of various castes and communities”, she said adding that the BSP was not against reservations for economically weaker sections of the so called upper castes and promised to support any move to extend reservations to them. She said the Congress had always worked against Dr B.R. Ambedkar and alleged that the bias was apparent even in the pre independence period. After the independence the Congress worked against Dr Ambedkar in elections he contested from the then Bombay. She termed the BJP as the biggest champion of “manuwad”. She said such forces had to be defeated because these posed a threat to the society. She said the BJP was also politically unreliable. |
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A shot in the arm for Cong, BJP Chandigarh, March 10 If the Congress got the support of two Independent MLAs, Mr Udey Bhan from Hassanpur and Mr Tejvir Singh from Pundri, the BJP got the support of the Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD) of Mr Prakash Singh Badal. The Independent MLAs, who had their roots in the Congress before the 2000 Assembly elections, had been supporting the Chautala Government so far. That the Independent MLAs chose to withdraw support from the INLD even though the Assembly elections are scheduled to be held next year does not bode well for the ruling party. Of course, the withdrawal of their support does not pose any danger to the INLD Government which has the strength of 48(including the Speaker) in the House of 90. Their withdrawal of support, coupled with the resignation of the Treasurer of the Haryana unit of the INLD, Mr Ashok Jain, however, may be described by many as the beginning of a trickle out of the ruling party when it is facing rough weather. The BJP got a big boost when the President of the SAD, Mr Prakash Singh Badal, having close family ties with the Chautalas, declared yesterday that his party would support the BJP, and not the INLD, in the Lok Sabha elections. Mr Badal
overruled his son, Sukhbir, who had earlier declared the SAD support to the INLD in Haryana at the Jhajjar rally organised to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Chautala Government on March 2 . Sources in the SAD attribute the statement of the younger Badal, who is the General Secretary of the party, to a “communication gap” between him and the party leadership. However, informed sources say the elder Badal had to beat a hasty retreat following a virtual revolt in the Haryana unit of the SAD and some hard talk by the BJP central high command. Haryana Akali leaders had similar grievances against Mr Chautala as their counterparts in the state BJP had. They complain that while Mr Chautala kept his relations with central leaders warm he continued to ignore and humiliate them. Immediately after Sukhbir’s statement, the Haryana Akalis started contacting BJP leaders on their own. They were emboldened when the state BJP seemed favourable to their demand for a Lok Sabha seat. The Haryana Akalis led by the President and the General Secretary of the state unit of the SAD, Mr Sukhdev Singh Gobindgarh and Mr Kartar Singh Takkar, respectively, met BJP spokesman, Vijay Malhotra, as well as General Secretary (Organisation), Sanjay Joshi in Delhi yesterday. They were told by the BJP leaders that the party President, Mr Venkaiah Naidu, had already told Mr Badal not to ride two boats. The Haryana Akalis also pressed their demand for the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat. It is not known what assurance they got from the BJP high command. The Akali leaders say either they would support the BJP in Haryana or would contest on their own but in no case would support the INLD. In another development for the Congress, former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and Ms Selja, an AICC Secretary, have resolved their differences. According to informed sources, Ms Selja, considered a formidable candidate from the Sirsa Lok Sabha (reserve) constituency, was reluctant to contest from there, fearing opposition from Mr Bhajan Lal, who commands the loyalty of about 60,000 Bishnoi voters in that constituency. Mr Bhajan Lal confirmed to TNS today that he had assured his “complete support” to Ms Selja in the presence of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. He said as the state unit President, he would “whole-heartedly” support all party candidates. He said he wanted to remain free to
campaign in all constituencies, while his son, Kuldip, was likely to contest the Faridabad seat. The inclusion of certain leaders from the Faridabad area like Mr Mahendra Pratap Singh and Mr Hasan Mohd, both former Ministers, and a former Mayor of Faridabad, Subedar Suman, in the party yesterday should help Kuldip if he contests from there. |
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Advani’s yatra to enter Haryana on March 24 Rohtak, March 10 Disclosing this, Mr Pardeep Jain, Haryana BJP spokesperson and chairman of the party’s election management panel said here today that Mr Advani’s entourage would stop at 51 places in the four districts through which it would pass. These districts were: Ambala, Sonepat, Kurukshetra and Karnal. He said the Haryana BJP chief, Mr Ganeshi Lal, would meet the Chief Election Commissioner in Delhi on March 18 to apprise him of the violations of the moral code of conduct by the INLD government. Mr Jain said the BJP apprehended large-scale bungling by the ruling party during election and the Election Commission would also be requested to take preventive measures. He demanded the immediate removal of the thousands of hoardings put up by the Haryana Government all over the state highlighting the achievements of the Chautala government. If these were not removed soon, the BJP would ask the Election Commission to add the cost of these hoardings to the poll expenses of the INLD candidates for the Lok Sabha poll. The BJP spokesman also sought the immediate removal of the Director-General of the Haryana Police, Mr M.S. Malik, since his wife was likely to contest as INLD nominee from the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat. He said there could not be a free and fair poll when the spouse of the DGP was contesting on the ruling party ticket. Mr Jain said the BJP would hold rallies in all 90 Assembly segments of Haryana by the first week of April. Besides a state level one-day camp would be organised at Nirjan village in Jind district on March 26 to train party workers who would man polling booths during elections. |
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Poll campaign: BJP forms 2,600 teams Sirsa, March 10 Prof. Ganeshi Lal said that party had planned to constitute seven-member booth-level committees for all 12,555 by March 20. For this party has divided state into six divisions Mr. Kawanarpal party’s state secretary will look after these committees in Kurukshetra division whereas Mr Santosh Atreja will look after Karnal division. Party’s General Secretary Veer Kumar Yadav will supervise the constitution of these committees in Rohtak area, in Bhiwani Bharat Bhushan Bharti, Hisar Shir Niwash Goyal and in Faridabad division these committees will be constituted under the guidance of party’s organizing secretary Ram Pyare Pandey. Prof Ganeshi Lal said that party had decided to organize rallies in all the 90 Assembly segments from April 2 to April 11. For this 11 teams have been constituted. The party is planning to contact 60 per cent voters of the state. Workers would also request all families to contribute to the party fund, he added. On party’s candidates Prof. Ganeshi Lal said that central leadership had given indication of re-nominating all sitting MPs of the party in the state and at parliamentary-level public rallies central leaders had announced the candidature of four sitting MPs. These are Dr Sudha Yadav, Mr Ram Chander Bendha, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria and Mr Krishan Sangwan. For remaining five seats a panel of three names had to be prepared for that consultations are going on these would be submitted before the central election committee meeting, he added. |
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Ankur Gupta named election observer Chandigarh, March 10 Mr M.L. Arora, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Inspection), Kaithal, has been appointed Observer (Expenditure). Election Commissioner of Haryana T.D. Jogpal said here today that 78 persons had filed nomination papers for 15 wards of the committee. |
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Probe sought into sanitation contract Rohtak, March 10 According to PGIMS sources, the contract was awarded for 33093.24 sq metres at the rate of Rs 8.76 per sq metre despite the fact that other bidders had quoted lower rates. The contract was allegedly signed on January 1 last four months after the Delhi-based firm had actually started providing the service. It is learnt that the contractor submitted a bill for Rs 19.78 lakh on March 3 and despite objections by the Accounts Department it was sanctioned on the same day itself. One of the objections raised by the Accounts Department was that the bill was inflated and the actual amount due to the contractor was Rs 11.59 lakh only. The sources said the contract had neither been registered nor attested giving rise to speculations that clauses could be changed to suit the contractor if needed. There are also allegations that the contractor providing security services in the institute had deployed 35 persons less than the number he was supposed to provide under the contract. Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, Spokesperson of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, has demanded a probe into the alleged bungling in the award of both contracts. |
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VC lays stress on moral values Hisar, March 10 Addressing the convocation function of Government College here yesterday, he said a morally educated person would be better equipped to move up in his life than an educated but morally bankrupt person. All-round development of students should be the main focus of education. Presently, more stress was being laid on academic education instead of moral and social values in most of educational institutions in the country, he pointed out. Dr Dahiya asked the students to uphold values and ethics in their professional careers. He said discipline was the most important asset of a student and nothing in life could be achieved without discipline. The Vice-Chancellor also stressed the need to introduce technical courses in educational institutions. Degrees were conferred on 726 students on this occasion. |
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10-yr jail for possessing charas, opium Jind, March 10 The Judge also ordered him to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh. In case of default of payment of fine, Satish Kumar will have to undergo further imprisonment for three years. According to the prosecution, the Jind police led by Mr D. Suresh, the then Subdivisional Magistrate, Jind and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Safidon, conducted a raid on the residence of Satish Kumar in the local Vishwakarma colony on May 6, 1998, and seized about 84 kg of charas and 5 kg of opium. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against him at the city police station. |
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292 students get degrees Ambala, March 10 Graduate and postgraduate degrees were awarded to 292 students. The degrees were awarded to 100 BA students, 118 BCom students, 40 BSc students, 18 MA (Political Science) students, six MSc (IT) students and 10 MA (English) students. The Kurukshetra University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Avinash Kumar Chawla, was the chief guest. Dr Rattana Ram Malik, Mr Bhupinder Singh Jauhar, Mr Laxmi Sagar, Mrs Trehan, Mr Randhir Choudhary, Ms Bedi, Dr Jha, Mr Chauhan and Dr U.V. Singh were also present. INLD rally
Naggal MLA Jasbir Mallour said on Wednesday that there was a likelihood of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala announcing the INLD candidate for the Ambala parliamentary seat at a rally to be held at Naggal. Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Mallour said Mr Chautala would address the rally on March 14. Mr Mallour said development work costing Rs 80 crore had been carried out in Naggal under the chief ministership of Mr Chautala. “A bridge is being constructed on the Tangri river and it will be ready by June 4. A project costing Rs 10 crore is being carried out in Babyal,” he said. He said Navodaya Vidyalaya would be set up in Naggal area. HPCC secy
Mr Arun Garg, a former municipal councillor of Ambala City, has been appointed secretary of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC). The appointment was made by the HPCC chief, Mr Bhajan Lal. Killed in mishap A newly wedded woman was killed in an accident on the GT Road near Shastri Colony early on Wednesday morning. The woman, Ashima, along with her husband, Ali Asghar and two others were travelling in a car when it turned turtle. The incident took place around 3.30 am. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital, from where they were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. Ashima died on way to Chandigarh. The driver of the car, Kamal, was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantonment. Man shot
One person was shot dead near Bhunni village, located close to the Punjab-Haryana border on Wednesday evening. The victim was identified as Jeet Singh, a resident of Chugni village, in Naggal, near the city. Jeet Singh, a “kabari” was going on his bicycle when three motor cycle-borne youths shot him from close range. Later, the youths fled towards the Punjab side. The DSP, Mr Ashok Sawarwal, and the SHO, Naggal, visited the scene of the crime. |
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34 villages declared
hypersensitive Kaithal, March 10 Giving this information to mediapersons here today, the Deputy Commissioner- cum-District Electoral Officer, Mr Anurag Agarwal, said in Kaithal, Patti
Afgan, Khurana , Manas, Guhna and Keorak have been declared as hypersensitive and Patti Dogar and Farsh Mazra sensitive. In Guhla
Siwan, Ferozepur ,Kawartan, Kangthli, Kheri Gulam Ali, Daban Kheri,
Mehmoodpur, Kharkan, Chakku Ladana, Sinh Mazra, Bhatian, Chaba,
Madkaliyan, Balbehra Peedaland Arnoli have been declared hypersensitive and
Kakra, Kakeormazra, Bhuna, Paharpur, Pisole, Mazri Sarola, Agondh, Azim
Garh, Harigarh Kingan, Kallar Mazra Tatiana and Bhagal sensitive. In Pundri Assembly constituency
Habri, Faral, Rasina, Pabnawa, Kaul, Jajanpur and Sarsa have been declared hypersensitive and
Sirsal, Dhand , Aahoon, Chuharmazra, Barna, Lohar Mazra, Kamoda, Bhainsi Mazra and Khizarpura villages have been declared as sensitive . In the Pai Assembly constituency, Mundri and Mandwal have been declared hypersensitive and
Serdha, Karora , Nandkaran Majra Pai and Bakal sensitive. In the Kalayat Assembly constituency, Simla , Lole Khan , Kurar and Khrak Pandwa have been declared hypersensitive and Balu, Matour and Kailram sensitive. |
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Panchayat ‘brokers’ peace between warring groups Karnal, March 10 A clash between the two groups last week left four persons injured and many jhuggis were set ablaze. However, the police so far has not registered a case against the persons responsible for injuring the poor people and torching their jhuggis. To resolve the issue the panchayat meeting was called yesterday that went on till late in the evening to bring a compromise between the two ‘warring’ parties. Local MLA Krishan Panwar was also invited to the meeting. Sarpanch of Salwan village Bhopal Singh told The Tribune on the telephone that both parties had agreed to withdraw the civil cases against each other from the courts regarding the land dispute. The situation was tense between the two groups (communities) in the past one-week following the clash. Poor people of the village earlier alleged that a few influential people of the village displaced them forcibly from their jhuggis constructed on a piece of land allotted to them by the panchayat in 1994. They also claimed that hundreds of people were forcibly displaced by allegedly by beating them up and torching jhuggis. The administration had also confirmed that the panchayat allotted plots in 1994 to 736 economically weaker families. Entry of at least 500 plots out of them were mentioned in khasra no 469 of the revenue record. On the other hand, District Magistrate of Karnal R.S. Doon had claimed that the situation was under control and there was no possibility of clash between the groups. |
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Docs, chemists observe strike against thefts Kaithal, March 10 The doctors and chemists held a meeting and expressed their resentment over the delay in the arrest of thieves. Member of the local Beopar Mandal also expressed their solidarity with the protesters. Meanwhile, a number of residents of the town have expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the town. They have also questioned the police patrolling at night which has hardly yielded any positive results. On the other hand, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Sukhdev Singh, said the police had arrested several persons involved in various crimes in the district and the recent theft cases would be solved
soon. |
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Travel agent booked for cheating Yamunanagar, March 10 Aggarwal allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh and assured that the boy would reach Siberia without any problem. On June 11, 2003, Mr Goswami handed over Rs 75,000 and a passport of his son Shiv to Aggarwal. After about a month, Aggarwal asked Mr Goswami to prepare a draft for Rs 3,40,000 in favour of Thomas Cook India Ltd. He also demanded Rs 50,000 for ticket, Rs 25,000 for medical expenses and Rs 10,000 for miscellaneous expenditure. On July 20, Shiv boarded the flight. However, after some time, his parents received a phone call from their son from Yugoslavia. He said he had been deceived by the travel agent and there was no chance of going to
Siberia. |
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204 kg of poppy husk seized Fatehabad, March 10 The police has arrested four persons for illicit trafficking of liquor and seized 70 bottles of illicit liquor from their possession. The police has also arrested four persons for betting and three others with unlicensed pistols. |
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Wrestler stabbed to death Panipat, March 10 The incident took place when a villager, Narender, who was in an inebriated condition, started abusing Sanjay’s brother, Vikram, over a small dispute. But with the interference of villagers, the dispute was solved. Later Narender, accompanied with his relatives, reached there again and started beating Vikram. Sanjay along with his elder brother, Dilbag, also reached there. The accused stabbed Sanjay and his two brothers a number of times and escaped. Sanjay died on the way to hospital while his brothers were initially admitted in the Civil Hospital here but later referred to the PGI, Rohtak. The police had registered a case of murder against the five persons. Sanjay had won “Delhi Kesri” and “Delhi Kumar” trophies in 2001. |
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6 of marriage party hurt in mishap Hisar, March 10 According to reports, Sunil Kumar, Ramesh, Budlu Ram, Jagdish, Rajesh and Ram Kumar, all residents of Dhand village, were on their way to Dhansu village near here in a mini-truck to attend a marriage there. As they reached near the new Police Lines on the Hisar-Delhi National Highway here, the driver, who was reportedly in an inebriated state, suddenly lost control over the vehicle and it overturned. They received serious injuries. Meanwhile, a youth committed suicide in the Barwali Dhani area here today. According to the police, Vipin Kumar (22), a fruit seller, had consumed some insecticide in his house this morning. Later, he died on way to the local Civil Hospital. |
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Traders wear black badges Rohtak, March 10 The call for the protest had been given by organisations of businessmen and shopkeepers which had organised a bandh here last week in protest against the murder of a sweetmeat seller here. A deputation of the traders’ organisations will meet the Chief Minister tomorrow when he visits to the district and present to him a memorandum demanding a check on activities of criminals. Significantly, four local shopkeepers have been murdered in the past few weeks. |
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