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Devi Lal too declined post of PM Surjewala seeks special schemes for farmers Regular power supply after December: CM
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VC calls for mobilising resources Students denied admission, courtesy AICTE CPM supports varsity teachers’ demand Concessional steel for
Haryana SSIs Question to CM led to attack on me, says lawyer Haryana shifts 12 IAS officers 5 Haryana IPS officers shifted High Court Polythene flags used by
parties choke drains 15,000 pulse polio booths in Haryana
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Devi Lal too declined post of PM Chandigarh, May 20 But Mr Gandhi, there had been such a person in India earlier too, who refused the august office. He was none other than Haryana’s Tau Devi Lal. After Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress was voted out following a campaign by Mr V.P. Singh on the Bofors issue, a dispute arose between Mr Chandra Shekhar and Mr V.P. Singh as to who should head the Janata Dal Legislature Party in 1989. Circumstances at that time were a little bit similar to those prevailing now. The Janata Dal did not have a majority of its own. It was being supported by various parties like the BJP and some Left parties. Mr Chandra Shekhar, who, like Mr V.P. Singh, belonged to UP, did not want Mr V.P. Singh to become the Prime Minister though the 1989 Lok Sabha elections were contested by the Opposition, projecting Mr Singh as “cleaner than Mr Gandhi”. It was left to Mr Chandra Shekhar to name the leader. Since he knew that he was not acceptable to a large number of party MPs, Mr Chandra Shekhar proposed the name of Mr Devi Lal, the then Chief Minister of Haryana, who played a key role in bringing various political streams, which were a part of the Janata Party after Emergency was lifted, on one platform. Mr Devi Lal’s name was duly seconded by all. He was taken to the rostrum. Then came the anti-climax. Mr Devi Lal rose and declared that since he had been elected Leader of the legislature party, he had the right to propose another name. The House agreed. He proposed the name of Mr V.P. Singh, much to the discomfort of Mr Chandra Shekhar. As a token of gratitude, Mr V.P. Singh appointed Mr Devi Lal as the Deputy Prime Minister in his Cabinet. Mr Chandra Shekhar remained cut up with Mr Devi Lal for a long time for helping Mr V.P. Singh to become the Prime Minister. It is another matter that after a few months Mr Devi Lal fell apart with Mr Singh and quit his Cabinet. He and Mr Chandra Shekhar again joined hands. While Mr Chandra Shekhar became the Prime Minister with the support of the Congress, Mr Devi Lal became his Deputy. The Chandra Shekhar Government fell after two intelligence personnel of Haryana were caught outside Mr Gandhi’s house and the Congress raised a ruckus over the issue, leading to the withdrawal of its support to the minority government. Many believe that the drama which took place in the Central Hall of Parliament, leading to the election of Mr V.P. Singh as the Leader of the Janata Dal Legislature Party, was pre-planned. They also believe that the 1989 situation cannot be compared with the Sonia episode because while there is no challenge to Sonia’s leadership, there were two contenders for the post of Prime Minister in 1989. |
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Surjewala seeks special schemes for farmers Chandigarh, May 20 Talking to newsmen here today Mr Surjewala said he had written to Mrs Gandhi giving eight proposals to be included in the CMP. Releasing copies of his letter to the Press, Mr Surjewala said Mrs Gandhi visited Haryana in 1998 at his instance to meet families of those farmers who had committed suicide due to indebtedness. She had promised then that when a Congress Government would be formed at the Centre, it would pay special attention to agricultural growth and social welfare. Mr Surjewala demanded that the rate of interest on agricultural loans should be brought down to less than 8 per cent both by the nationalised and cooperative banks. The provision for consumption loans should be made for landless people, small and marginal farmers and rural artisans. The black laws which provided for the detention of defaulter farmers for 40 days and auctioning of their land should be abolished. Mr Surjewala, a former President of the Haryana Congress, said the minimum support price for foodgrains should be fixed after taking into account the cost of production and a reasonable margin of profit. The public distribution system should be revamped for the poor. Power for agricultural purposes, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas should be highly subsidised. He said in certain cases power for agricultural purposes should be made free. A package for rural unemployed persons should be implemented within a given time frame. Pension for old, widows, handicapped and destitutes should be increased to at least Rs 500 per month. |
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Regular power supply after December: CM
Panipat, May 20 Mr Chautala reviewed the progress of the work on seventh and eighth units of the plant at a meeting with the senior officers of the Plant here last evening. These units would be of 250 mw each and cost an estimated expenditure of Rs 1785 crore. Mr Chautala expressed the hope that the eighth unit of the thermal plant would be commissioned by December 15. He said Haryana would get an uninterrupted supply of power after December 31 this year as both these units would be commissioned by then. These units would generate 120 lakh units of power per day, increasing the generation capacity of the plant from 860 mw to 1360 mw. — UNI
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Chandigarh, May 20 Mr Badshami said the INLD suffered defeat in the state because of its association with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He said that he was submitting his resignation following the party decision authorising Mr Chautala to take steps to strengthen the party. He said his step would give a free hand to Mr Chautala. — TNS
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VC calls for mobilising resources Kurukshetra, May 20 He said the resource persons attending the programme from all over country would discuss various issues relating to education like financial implications, management, policy matter, technical education and distance education. The programme was organised in Senate Hall of the university. In his presidential address, the Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Dr
A.K. Chawla said as the country was engaged in the process of development in a big way, therefore, effective management had become very important. He maintained that grants from state governments and University Grants Commission were not enough for the growth of institutions. Therefore, without mobilisation its own resources no institution could make progress. He disclosed that Kurukshetra University had taken a lead in mobilising its own resources. Dr Chawla also stressed the need for collaborations and exchange programmes with other universities. He said Kurukshetra University had taken a lead in this direction. The university had signed a memorandum with James Cook University, Australia, and a Letter of Intent with San Jose State University, USA. It had also signed an agreement with Montefort University, Britain for exchange of programmes in the areas of academics and research. The Vice-Chancellor hoped that the conference would prove useful in exchanging experiences on the crucial issues and concerted efforts would lead to possible solutions. Earlier, the Dean, Academic Affairs of the university, Dr
V.K. Aggarwal welcomed the chief guest and dignitaries attending the conference. The conference is being attended by Dr
R.K. Chauhan, Additional Secretary University Grants Commission, Vice-Chancellor,
GJU, Hisar, Vice-Chancellor, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Vice-Chancellor, Rajasthan University, Vice-Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi, the Director, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. |
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Students denied admission, courtesy AICTE Chandigarh, May 20 In a representation to the Chairman of the (AICTE), the students have alleged that an expert committee of the council has failed to carry out the directions of the Delhi High Court regarding admission to them in a bridge course by the YMCA Institute of Engineering, Faridabad. The committee, they arrested had not even considered their case as was directed by the court. These students completed diploma courses in mechanical engineering from various institutes after they had passed their plus two examinations with physics, chemistry and maths. After which they did the two-year advanced diploma course in tool engineering from the Faridabad institute. Following a court decision the institute started a one-year bridge course in 2001 so that the students could be awarded the B.Tech degree. The course was run for two years as per the court directions. However, no such course was started for students of the tool engineering course. These students went to the Delhi High Court, which ordered in March last that the bridge course should be conducted for one more year. The court also asked the AICTE to consider whether the students who had completed the diploma course in mechanical engineering from other institutes and the advanced diploma course in tool engineering from the Faridabad institute were entitled for admission to the bridge course. The court also made it clear that the students who had not passed the plus two examinations with physics, chemistry and maths were not eligible for admission to the bridge course. The AICTE, it seems, did not apply its mind while considering the case of those students who had passed their plus two examinations with physics, chemistry and maths. The court had issued similar directions to the AICTE in the case of those students who had passed their matric examinations. The AICTE informed the advocate of the matriculate students, Ms Madhu Tiwatia, that the council did not consider them to be eligible for admission to the bridge course because, among other things, “the study of basic science subjects (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) at the plus two level is totally missing”. Interestingly, the council sent a similar reply to the advocate of the plus two students, Mr B.T. Singh. The plus two students were informed that their “study of basic science subjects at the plus two level is totally missing”. The students say this shows the complete non-application of mind by the council. They suspect that someone in the AICTE might have been influenced by the institute management because in both cases a stereotyped reply has been filed by the council. The students say that if the council denied them justice, they would approach the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court because they have no more money to pay the advocates. |
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CPM supports varsity teachers’ demand Rohtak, May 20 In a statement issued here today, Mr Inderjit, state secretary of the CPM, said the manner in which the state government was ignoring the objections raised by senior teachers and members of the university’s executive council over the constitution of the panel was reprehensible. He said the panel was appointed even before the then Vice-Chancellor Maj Gen (retd) Bhim Singh Suhag quit his post. This reflected the government’s intention to manipulate the selection procedure. The objections raised by members of the council were overruled by the Vice-Chancellor. The constitution of the panel was never on the agenda of that meeting of the council. Mr Inderjit said the state government was politicising the seat of higher education. It wanted to appoint its own henchmen to higher posts in educational institutions. The party demanded that the rules and statutes of the universities must be followed at the time of appointment of vice-chancellors and day-to-day during the functioning of the universities. |
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Concessional steel for
Haryana SSIs Panchkula, May 20 According to sources, the Ministry of Steel has authorised the Mohali Centre of the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) to supply steel to the Haryana SSIs under the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) quota. The centre would pass on various relevant benefits to the units. The decision to supply concessional steel was taken at a recent meeting of the JPC with representatives of various industries associations in New Delhi. Besides easy availability of steel,the decision will lead to a lots of savings for the industry, the Joint Manager of the centre, Mr Rajesh Jain, told Chandigarh Tribune. Claiming that the dealers’ margins had been done away withunder the new arrangement, the sources said the steel purchased by the NSIC came to be much cheaper than that purchased by the dealers. Since, the NSIC got the “quantity discount” in the bulk purchase, it could afford to sell the steel at the cheaper rates, Mr Satish Gupta, chairman of the Panchkula district unit of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said. Hailing the decision of the Ministry of Steel, Mr Gupta expressed the hope the concesssional supply of steel would go long way in reviving the Haryana industry, which was currently reeling under severe rccession. Since steel was a raw material for almost all SSIs, the ministry’s step will give a boost to all industries as quality steel would be avialable them.
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Question
to CM led to attack on me, says lawyer Sirsa, May 20 They were protesting against the assault on a member of the Bar Association, Mr Gurratan Pal Singh Kingra, a few days ago. The demonstrators demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. Mr Kingra alleged that the reason behind the attack on him was question he had asked the Chief Minister in a programme aired on Star News channel. He alleged that since the assailants were close to the ruling party, the police had not arrested them. In this connection, various political parties held a meeting here last evening and constituted the Save Democracy Front to register their protest. The demonstrators asserted that this terrorising attitude of the state government must end. They also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr D. Suresh, said he has instructed the DSP (City) to register a case in this regard. |
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Haryana shifts 12 IAS officers Chandigarh, May 20 Mr Balraj Singh, Joint Secretary, Secretariat Establishment, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Sirsa, in place of Mr D. Suresh, who has been posted as Director and Joint Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology. Mr Suresh will replace Mr Ashok Khemka, who goes as Joint Secretary, Secretariat Establishment. Mr C.R. Rana, Administrator, HUDA, goes as Deputy Commissioner, Rewari, in place of Mrs Neerja, whose posting orders will be issued later. Mr Subhash Chandra, ADC, Hisar, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, and Director and Joint Secretary, Archaeology and Museum in place of Mrs Sukriti Likhi, whose posting orders will be issued later. Mrs Neelam Pardeep Kasni, ADC, Panchkula, and Chief Executive Officer, Shivalik Development Agency, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, in place of Mrs Satwanti Ahlawat, whose posting orders will be issued later. |
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5 Haryana IPS officers shifted Chandigarh, May 20 Mrs Bharti Arora, SP (Security-II) will now be SP, Kurukshetra. She will replace Mr Yoginder Singh Nehra, who has been posted as SP, Home Guards. Mr Rajinder Kumar, SP, Faridabad, goes as SP (Traffic), Karnal.
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High Court Chandigarh, May 20 Seeking quashing of various notifications of the Haryana Government by which the JC Verma Commission has been constituted, Mr Bansi Lal has said that there was no fresh evidence before the government to merit the constitution of the commission. He has pointed out that the previous Chahal Commission of Inquiry had been disbanded on the orders of the High Court after it came out that there was no need for the commission. He has said that the government should have examined the material before it and only then constituted the commission, if it felt the need. After hearing counsel, a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice HS Bedi and Mr Justice KS Garewal issued notice to the respondents, including Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.
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Polythene
flags used by parties choke drains Ambala, May 20 More than five lakh polythene flags, buntings and banners were used in various Assembly segments of the Ambala parliamentary constituency during the election campaign. Cloth flags were used only by a few candidates as these were costlier than polythene flags. Some political parties ignored the direction of the state government, which had put a ban on the use of recycled polythene material. An Election Commission guideline also prohibited the use of polythene material in the election. Although all political parties had put their flags in urban as well as rural areas, most of those visible belonged to the BJP, Congress and INLD. Three Central observers appointed by the Election Commission also did not take notice of it. The Returning Officer of Ambala also left it unnoticed. Nobody has asked the political parties to dispose of the polythene material. The model code of conduct does not permit political parties to deface public walls by writing slogans in favour of their parties or candidates but in Ambala, the political parties did not bother about it. A local environmentalist said the Election Commission should strictly ban the use of polythene flags, buntings and banners during the election campaign. He said all polythene flags and other material should be dumped. A leader of an opposition party said they were not aware that the Election Commission had put a ban on the use of polythene material. He said as polythene material was cheaper and durable than cloth material, most of the candidates preferred to use it. |
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15,000 pulse polio
booths in Haryana Chandigarh, May 20 The Director General of Health Services, Dr. B.S. Dahiya, said here today that 15,000 pulse polio immunisation booths, including transit booths, and mobile teams would be operational at locations convenient to the people. These booths would be manned by 60,000 vaccinators drawn from the Health, ICDS and Education Departments. |
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2 crushed to death Yamunanagar, May 20 Their scooter skidded due to oil spilled on the road. The Jagadhri police has registered a case against the truck driver. The bodies were handed over to relatives after a post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital, Jagadhri. |
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Truck driver dies in mishap Karnal, May 20 |
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YAMUNANAGAR: Mr Bhupinder Singh Jauhar, Chairman, World Punjabi Organisation and Guru Nanak Khalsa Institutions, Yamunanagar, said here on Thursday that for the first time the leadership of the nation had been handed over to a selfless, dedicated, sincere and honest man like Dr Manmohan Singh. He said Dr Manmohan Singh’s services as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and his stint as Finance Minister were the occasions when the nation experienced his love for reforms.
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Prisoner on parole escapes Hisar, May 20 Mahavir Singh, a resident of Sisai Kalirawan village, who was jailed in connection with an attempt to murder case, did not return after his parole expired on May 6.
— PTI |
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1 dies in road accident Fatehabad, May 20
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