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INLD makes bid to woo voters back
Hooda slated to get top post, feel supporters Congressmen distribute sweets after Selja takes oath
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Govt harassing BJP workers, says Sangwan Haryana SAD panel on fund expenditure Chamber’s plea to Manmohan Singh Steps to prevent epidemics Engg students make robotic arm Women get tips on
dairy farming PMT postponed Snag in engine delays train Little rise in literacy rate Rotary project for cancer patients launched Water shortage in
Yamunanagar
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INLD makes bid to woo voters back Rohtak, May 22 According to highly placed sources, the party think tank has devised a three-pronged strategy for the purpose. On the political front, Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala and his two sons will extensively tour the state to interact with the masses. All party legislators accompanied by the INLD district-level leaders will undertake similar tours of their respective constituencies. The idea is to identify the causes of the disillusionment of the voters from the party and bring the party closer to the voters. The blitzkrieg, already under way in some areas is aimed at winning back party supporters who had shifted loyalties before the parliamentary poll because they did not have any say in the government at the local level. The sources said one of the biggest problems faced by party nominees in the recent elections was that only a few chosen party workers and supporters were cornering all the spoils of power in the villages, leading to resentment among villagers. Efforts would be made to accommodate as many of them as possible by redressing their personal grievances. On the administrative front, the Chief Minister is likely to open the state’s coffers for development works in both rural and urban areas. Though, to be fair to the Chautala regime, a record number of such projects were executed during the past four years, the effort did not yield the desired results. Efforts now would be not to reject any projects suggested by the people of the area. Earlier, the bureaucrats had an overwhelming say in the selection of the projects which negated the purpose with which the Chief Minister was sanctioning these. The sources said the administration would be overhauled in stages within the next few weeks. Thursday’s transfers of DCs and SPs are likely to be followed by more transfers at all administrative levels. This will be further followed by large-scale transfers of junior functionaries like teachers, clerks and other employees to accommodate as many of them as possible and win votes of their families. Finally, the Chautala regime is likely to take some important populist measures. These would in all probability include raising the old age pension from Rs 200 to Rs 300 and power for tubewells free of cost. The government is also likely to put off the recovery of arrears of power bills at least till the Assembly poll is over. This one issue had led to trouble with the Bharatiya Kisan Union in particular and the peasantry in general. The Chief Minister’s insistence on payment of arrears before improving infrastructure in the villages made his regime unpopular in the villages. Now that Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have already announced such sops, there would be no hitch in extending a similar benefit to Haryana farmers who were at one stage the backbone of the INLD. According to sources, the regime is now likely to be less dependent on the bureaucracy for advice whether administrative or political. The Lok Sabha poll revealed that an overbearing bureaucracy was largely responsible for misguiding the political leadership and driving a wedge between the leadership and the public. |
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Ajay blames BJP for INLD defeat in LS poll Sirsa, May 22 Accusing the BJP of opportunism, Mr Ajay Chautala said it had always betrayed those they allied with. He said the BJP opposed the public welfare policies of his party. The appeal made by the former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, at Palwal to vote for the Congress instead of the regional parties exposed the opportunistic face of the party, he said. As a consequence of this attitude of the BJP, the INLD lost all seats in spite of its record of carrying out developmental works in the state. He claimed that these developmental works were being appreciated in other states. The misconceptions of the public would be addressed soon and the pace of development would continue, he added. |
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CM asks party men to sink differences Fatehabad, May 22 Some workers pointed out that they had been sidelined by the party leadership. Mr Chautala assured his supporters that the party structure would be revamped soon. He said he would soon announce the new office-bearers of the party. He told his party workers that they should be thankful to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had shown them the mood of the voters by advancing the time of parliamentary elections. |
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Hooda slated to get top post, feel supporters Chandigarh, May 22 On the other hand Mr Hooda’s opponents in the Congress allege that he did not get a berth in the Council of Ministers even after much persuation. “ Mr Natwar Singh and Mr Shish Ram, both from the Jat community, have been made Cabinet ministers. There is, therefore, no place for Mr Hooda in the Council of Ministers”, a senior party leader claimed. Mr Hooda had always maintained that he was not interested in getting a berth in the Union Council of Minister headed by Dr Manmohan Singh. “ I shall certainly join the Union Government if directed by Mrs Gandhi. Importantly, the selection of Congress candidates for the Lok Sabha elections had been marked by rivalry between Mr Bhajan Lal, the PCC chief and Mr Hooda, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, as each of them tried to put the other in the fray from the state and thereby secure his own position for leading the government in the state in case the Congress managed to set the majority. While Mr Bhajan Lal wriggled out from fighting the Assembly poll, Mr Hooda became candidate from the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat. This made his rivals happy who claimed that this would be end to his ambition of becoming the next Congress Chief Minister of Haryana. Indications are, however, afoot that despite getting elected to the Lok Sabha from Rohtak (this is fourth victory from the seat), Mr Hooda is firmly focussed on the Haryana Chief Minister’s office. Sources close to him pointed out that at least six out of the nine victorious party candidates of Haryana had got ticket despite opposition of Mr Bhajan Lal. The performance of these candidates would have a bearing on Mr Bhajan Lal’s clout inside the party, the sources claimed. Importantly, two Congress MPs from Haryana, Ms Selja and Rao Inderjit Singh, who were sworn in as members of the Union Council of Ministers today, both came from the anti-Bhajan Lal camp. While Ms Selja changed her constituency from Sirsa to Ambala fearing opposition from Mr Bhajan Lal’s supporters in the Sirsa constituency, in the Mahendragarh constituency of Rao Inderjit Singh, the PCC chief had backed the candidature of Col Ram Singh. The charge given to Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, who was Deputy Leader of the CLP in Haryana, to work as the officiating CLP leader in Mr Hooda’s absence has also enthused Mr Hooda’s supporters. They claim that since the new CLP leader was not from the Jat community, a Jat would be made the chief of the PCC to placate this numerically strong community of Haryana. Mr Bhajan Lal is on his way out from the PCC chief’s post and he would be replaced by Mr Hooda, they argue. |
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Congressmen distribute sweets after Ambala, May 22 Congress leaders distributed sweets after Kumari Selja took oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As soon as Kumari Selja completed her oath, Congress activists congratulated each other. Mr Nirmal Singh, former Haryana minister who was incharge of Kumari Selja's campaign, said that he was very happy on Kumari Selja becoming a minister in the Union Government. "Ambala can look forward to overall development as the constituency will get support from the Centre," he said. He said that with Kumari Selja becoming a Minister, the Congress will become even more politically strong in Haryana. Mr Ashok Jain, district Congress Ambala cantt unit president, said that he was delighted on Kumari Selja becoming a minister. "Development works will be accorded top priority in the Ambala constituency," he said. He stated that Kumari Selja had always strived hard for the welfare of the people in the state. "The people of Ambala had ensured the victory of Kumari Selja with a handsome margin," he said. Former district Congress Ambala city unit president, Balwant Gupta, while welcoming the inclusion of Kumari Selja in the Dr Manmohan Singh's ministry, said that it is a historic day for the residents of Ambala. "We were all looking forward to Kumari Selja being made a minister and we thank Congress president Sonia Gandhi for giving an opportunity to Kumari Selja to serve the people of the country," he said. Congress leaders Brahm Pal Rana and Mr Narinder Pal Singh Shera said that they were very happy with Kumari Selja being made a minister in the Union Government. |
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Govt harassing BJP workers, says Sangwan Sonepat, May 22 Talking to media persons here, he alleged that the Chautala government had registered false criminal cases against his son Pradeep Sangwan, brother Jaipal Singh Sangwan and nephew Ajit Singh Sangwan on the day of the Lok Sabha polling. Mr Sangwan threatened to gherao the office of the Superintendent of Police and all police stations if the “false” criminal cases were not withdrawn by the government. He appealed to the BJP workers to prepare themselves for the Assembly elections so that the party could form a government in the state. Mr Sangwan ruled out any alliance for the Assembly elections and said the party would field its candidates in all 90 Assembly seats. He alleged that there was a lot of bogus voting in favour of the ruling INLD candidate, Mrs Krishna Malik, who had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Sonepat. |
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Haryana SAD panel on fund expenditure Ambala, May 22 The committee members comprise Mr Kartar Singh Takkar, Mr Ranbir Singh Fauji, Mr Sant Singh Kandhari, Mr Harpal Singh Machonda, Mr Bhupinder Singh Bindra, Mr Ajit Singh Sondha, Mr Surendra Singh Gaursiyan and Mr Harbhajan Singh. A press statement issued by Mr Ranbir Singh Fauji, general secretary, SAD, Haryana, said the party president, Mr Sukhdev Singh Gobindgarh, had been asked about the party fund as well as assistance received from others. Mr Fauji said a crucial meeting of the party was likely to be held soon in which some major decisions would be taken. |
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Chamber’s plea to Manmohan Singh Ambala, May 22 Dr N.C. Jain, senior state vice-president of the HCCI, said the prices of raw material were steadily increasing, specially over the past three months. This has led to a financial crunch in the industry and the consumers are affected. Welcoming Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, Dr Jain said the industry and trade were looking forward to his able leadership to improve the tiny, cottage and small-scale industries. He said the full budget for 2004-05 would be presented shortly and the Chamber was preparing a list of proposals for consideration for the Budget. |
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Steps to prevent epidemics Chandigarh, May 22 Dr B.S. Dahiya, Director-General, Health, said district-level committees had been constituted to take preventive measures against water-borne diseases. He said water samples were being collected and sent for bacteriological and chemical examination. He said supply of potable drinking water would be ensured by the government. The government would take steps to prevent sale of uncovered cut fruits, he said and added that chlorine tablets, oral rehydration suspension and IV fluids had been made available at all health institutions. Dr Dahiya said the government was keeping watch on fever cases and it had made available chloroquine in the health institutions for administration when necessary. |
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Engg students make robotic arm Ambala, May 22 Jaswinder Singh, Vivek Gupta, Ravinder Singh, Rajiv Pundir, Sanjeev Kumar and Mohinder Kumar say they are keen to develop a robotic arm at a low cost. The arm has an electro-magnetic "plucker" for a pick-and-place movement. The students have used the software Lab View. The project cost them Rs 15,000. It took five months to design the programming logic controller, three months for fabrication and one month for programming the arm. It runs on a stepper motor and has the capacity to pick up a load of a quarter kg. According to the students the robotic arm is useful for assembly line movement without human interference. |
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Women get tips on
dairy farming Karnal, May 22 Dr Nagendera Sharma, Director, NDRI, said this was the third successive training programme organised in the institute during this year. Four such training programmes would be organised for the beneficiaries of IDDP from different blocks of Kangra district by the end of June he added. Dr P.S.Oberoi, a senior scientist of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, NDRI, stressed the need to integrate fisheries and bee- keeping in the mixed farming system. |
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PMT postponed Rohtak, May 22 The government directive was received by the MDU authorities today by fax. It gave no reason for the postponement. However, it is learnt that a new date will be fixed shortly and the test will be conducted by the Director of the local Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. The decision has been criticised widely by students, parents and teachers. In a statement, the MDU Teachers Association demanded a probe into the postponement alleging that it feared large-scale bunglings in the test. The association has sent representations in this regard to the Indian Council of Medical Research, the President of India, the Governor of Haryana, the Chief Minister of Haryana and the Union Health Minister. It alleged that the university was divested of the power to hold the test as its Acting Vice-Chancellor was unwilling to compromise with his integrity. The decision has shocked students since they appear in several such tests and their plans have been disturbed. |
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Snag in engine delays train Karnal, May 22 The electrical engineers of the Northern Railway were called but they failed to identify the problem. Another engine was called from Ambala to enable the train to resume its onward journey. However, the train was delayed for about three hours. The New Delhi-bound Shan-e-Punjab Express, that was passing through Karnal, stopped at Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat, and some other railway stations to clear the rush of the waiting passengers. |
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Little rise in literacy rate Karnal, May 22 Literacy campaign of the district administration seems to have failed even as the population growth of the district declined from 24.76 per cent in 1991 to 23.13 per cent in 2001. Literacy rate in the district in the past decade increased by just 1.16 per cent per year due delayed release of funds instalments. As a result, literacy programme could reach in just 245 villages of the 434 villages in the district. Mr Ashok Arora, Secretary, district literacy programme, said that the National Literacy Mission (NLM) sanctioned Rs 77.40 lakh for the post literacy programme in March 2002 but the district administration received only Rs. 32.36 lakh. But the state Government released only Rs 10 lakh in addition to the funds released by the
NLM. |
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Rotary project for cancer patients launched Ambala, May 22 Mr Ajay Aggarwal, president of Rotary Club, Ambala, said the project was being launched in cooperation with Global Cancer Concern, India. “Our endeavour will be to ease the suffering of terminally ill cancer patients and give guidance to their family members,” he said. Mr Subhash Bansal of the club said former President R. Venkataraman was the patron of Global Cancer Concern and Ms I.K. Pannu its president. The organisation had a number of regional centres, including one in Chandigarh. “They coordinate with hospitals and government agencies to provide aid,” he said. |
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Water
shortage in Yamunanagar Yamunanagar, May 22 According to a survey, the residents of various colonies, including Krishna Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Chhoti Line, Raja Ram Gali, Kansepur and Krishna Gali, are facing the water problem. Mr K.K. Mehta, Executive Engineer, Public Health admitted that a few colonies were experiencing water shortage. He said steps were being taken by the department to ensure proper supply to these areas. He said three tubewells would be sunk in the town. |
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Women get tips on dairy farming Karnal, May 22 Dr Nagendera Sharma, Director, NDRI, said this was the third successive training programme organised in the institute during this year. Four such training programmes would be organised for the beneficiaries of IDDP from different blocks of Kangra district by the end of June he added. Dr P.S.Oberoi, a senior scientist of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, NDRI, stressed the need to integrate fisheries and bee- keeping in the mixed farming system. |
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Forest Dept workers hold protest Sirsa, May 22 The agitating employees poured their resentment against the Haryana Government over the contractual system of employment and non-payment of salaries. Addressing the demonstrators, Mr Vijay Singh said instead of regularising the services of labourers the Haryana government had imposed a forced retirement on them, despite its promise. |
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Convict dies on way to hospital Ambala, May 22 The deceased Mehndi Hasan was a resident of Saharanpur (UP) and had been lodged in the jail for committing a murder for the past several years. Police sources said Hasan was suffering from jaundice and Civil Hospital doctors had referred him to the PGI, Chandigarh. The body was brought to the Civil Hospital for a post mortem. |
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3 Haryana MLAs quit Vidhan Sabha Chandigarh, May 22 |
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Adventure camps from June 2 Chandigarh, May 22 |
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