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JBT scam guilty should be punished, says Chautala Cong mounts pressure
on CM to quit RS poll to test strength of Congress, INLD Despite good show, Cong a divided house 20-yr-old rescued from police custody Inside Babudom |
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The test for admission to medical and dental colleges in Haryana, which was to be conducted earlier by the Maharshi Dayanand University, will now be conducted under the supervision of the director of the local Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, it is learnt. Haryana Govt’s days numbered, says Jindal Mr Naveen Jindal, newly elected Member of Parliament of Kurukshetra Parliament constituency, while talking to newspersons here last evening said the Haryana Assembly election would be held very shortly in which the Congress would emerge as the number one party. High Court Congress leaders pay tributes to Nehru BKU dissolves state executive Ekta Shakti, BJP form alliance Punia murder: daughter, husband held guilty Judicial custody for 2 held in bribe case Woman, daughter commit suicide
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JBT scam guilty should be punished, says Chautala Karnal, May 27 In reply to a question he said that CBI was probing the case of recruitment of JBT teachers on the directions of the Supreme Court and therefore he could not comment on the role of CBI. Mr Chautala sought to play down his role in the case, saying all such recruitments were made by the Selection Board, where a Chief Minister hardly has a role to play. Replying to a question about raids at official residences of his political advisor Sher Singh Badshami and IAS officer Vidya
Dhar, who was Deputy Principal Secretary to Mr Chautala before being posted as Sonepat Deputy Commissioner six days ago, Mr Chautala said, “The CBI is merely doing its duty.” He reiterated that the State Assembly elections would be held on schedule in March 2005. When asked about the four vacancies in the Assembly seats, he said he was prepared for the bye-elections for these seats; however, the Election Commission would take the final decision. He said the options of an alliance with any likeminded party were open for the coming Assembly elections. Mr Chautala said he didn’t favour giving free power and water to the consumers. He said the Congress was misleading the people by promising to provide free power and water to the farmers if voted to power in the State. When pointed out that the private sugar mills were not paying the price fixed by the state government to the cane growers, Mr Chautala said these mills did not pay remunerative price because of the wrong decision of the Central Government. He said his government had sought permission from the Central Government to take over those private sugar mills which were not paying the price fixed by the government, but the Central Government did not approve the proposal. He said now the private sugar mills would have to give the enhanced price as a result of the decision of the Supreme Court. This, he said, had also been recorded in a meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board. He described the INLD as a secular party and said a number of facilities had been provided to all sections of society. He urged the media to be fair while reporting. He said Haryana was a peaceful state and nobody should try to vitiate its peaceful atmosphere by spreading the venom of
casteism. While referring to the statements being made by the Congress leaders asking the Chief Minister to resign on the issue of result of the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Chautala questioned as to why Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda did not resign when he was the Congress President and the Congress was defeated badly. He said once Mr Birender Singh had said that he would become the Chief Minister of Haryana, but when the appropriate time came, he proposed the name of Mr Bhajan Lal. When asked to comment on the announcement of providing 50,000 jobs, Mr Chautala said these vacancies would be filled shortly. The lists of vacancies had already been sought from various departments and these would be filled by state’s recruitment agencies, he added. In reply to a question on the results of the INLD in the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Chautala said he had been touring the state to discuss the issue with the people so as to know the reasons behind the poor performance of the INLD candidates. He said these reasons would be analysed and shortcomings, if any, would be rectified. |
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Chautala lashes out at media Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who had called a press conference here this morning to talk on issues concerning development and strengthening of the party cadre, did not answer critical questions of mediapersons. Mr Chautala even lost patience at times and lashed out at representatives of various newspapers to express his anguish for “not supporting” his government by highlighting his “achievements” during the Lok Sabha elections. The scene at the press conference became so “muddled” that Mr Chautala stood up from his seat and went out of the room where the press conference was being held without giving answers to the questions posed by some mediapersons. He even threatened a correspondent of an English daily, saying, “Aapki himmat kaise hui mere se yeh prashan poochne
ki”. |
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Chautala blames media for defeat Panipat, May 27 Addressing party workers in the PWD rest house here, Mr Chautala urged the party workers to stay away from the newspapers, alleging that these were responsible for his defeat in the elections. Mr Chautala also warned that those newspapers which campaigned against him during the elections would have to pay the price. His frustration reached its height when, during his speech, Mr Chautala asked the newsmen to leave his meeting despite the fact that the District Public Relations Department had called the media in advance to attend Mr Chautala’s meeting. |
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Cong mounts pressure
on CM to quit Gurgaon, May 27 A former leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly and now Congress MP from Rohtak, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who came here after attending a function at Rewari, said though the Chief Minister had not been substantively indicted by the court of law in the case, he should step down on moral grounds to ensure a free and fair investigation in the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Mr Hooda said a public figure must lead by example in upholding constitutional values. Mr Hooda, however, did not specify constitutional measures the Congress would take recourse to so as to put pressure on Mr Chautala to quit. Mr Hooda voiced similar sentiments in Rewari. Mr Hooda’s tough posturing on the JBT recruitment issue gave broad hints that the Congress was in no mood to let the issue go by, especially with the Assembly elections in the state only a few months away. His statement assumes significance following his growing clout in the Congress, especially after the parliamentary elections. Mr Hooda said besides the JBT recruitment case, his party would take up several other issues during its public meetings. He said the would tour the state from May 30. He said his prime concern was to rejuvenate the Congress, leaving the issue of chief ministership to the party’s Central leadership. |
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RS poll to test strength of Congress, INLD Chandigarh, May 27 Elections to two Rajya Sabha seats from the state are due in August following the expiry of terms of Rao Maan Singh of the Indian National Lok Dal(INLD) and Mr Swaraj Kaushal of the Haryana Vikas Party. The notification regarding the elections is expected to be issued sometime in July. Given the composition of the Assembly, the Independent legislators are likely to play a key role in deciding the fate of one of the two nominees. All 11 Independent legislators were willy nilly supporting the ruling party in the begining of the Chautala-led regime's stint. Cracks, however, have appeared in the relationship which may further widen as the Assembly elections of the state draw near. For a candidate to win a Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana, he must get 29 first preference votes from MLAs. After the resignation of Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana from the Assembly, the strength of the INLD in the House has become 47. While victory of the INLD nominee for one of the two seats is certain, it can clinch the other seat only if all the Independent MLAs support the party's second nominee. The BJP has already snapped ties with the INLD and it is unlikely to enter into an understanding with the INLD for the Rajya Sabha elections. Independent MLAs, Mr Uday Bhan, Mr Tejveer Singh and Mr Daryao Singh, who were earlier supporting the government, have recently announced that they will henceforth support the Congress. This makes the INLD three MLAs short of the support required for winning both seats.The shortfall cannot be made up even if the lone Bahujan Samaj Party legislator, Mr B. S. Saini, casts his vote in favour of the INLD's nominee. The Congress has 19 MLAs in the House. If all Independent MLAs support the party's nominee, the Congress candidate will make it to the Rajya Sabha by getting 30 first preference votes. Mr Ajay Singh Yadav, Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, admitted that they would be aiming at getting support of the Independent legislators so that the Congress could win at least one Rajya Sabha seat from the state. The Congress, it was learnt, was also counting on the support of two Haryana Vikas Party legislators. The BJP has already snapped its ties with the INLD and it would not support the Congress for the Rajya Sabha elections. Having only six MLAs in its kitty, the saffron party will not be able to put up any candidate on its own. The BJP, it was learnt, would try to set up a candidate who is not attached to either the INLD or the Congress. |
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Despite good show, Cong a divided house Rohtak, May 27 Before the elections, the tussle was mainly between the factions led by Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Now, it has become a three-cornered contest for supremacy, with former Haryana Congress chief Birender Singh, too, pitching in. After lying low for months, he yesterday dismissed claims by all other Congress leaders for the post of Chief Minister, should the party win the Assembly elections too. Simultaneously, he announced independent plans for a political campaign. There is yet another ginger group led by another former Haryana Congress chief, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, which, however, is presently lying low after his son, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala failed to get party ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. All factions are working at cross purposes, which could easily make the party fritter away its chances of forming a government in Haryana after the next Assembly elections, due early next year. Immediately after the Lok Sabha elections, Bhiwani district Congress chief Sandeep Singh, who belongs to the Hooda faction, was served a show-cause notice by the party for allegedly working against the party nominee. The Congress nominee from Sonepat Mr Dharam Pal Malik, who is a protege of Mr Bhajan Lal, attributed his defeat to Mr Hooda and his supporters. On the other hand, the Hooda faction has complained to the party high command about the negative role played by Bhajan Lal supporters Krishan Murti Hooda and Subhash Batra during Mr Hooda’s bid for the Rohtak parliamentary seat. While other political parties, including the ruling Indian National Lok Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Haryana Vikas Party, lost no time in reaching out to the masses after the poll reverses, it is the Congress which is yet to put its political act together, victory notwithstanding. Within days of the declaration of results, the INLD think tank prepared an action plan and implemented it immediately. The administration is being revamped and senior party leaders are touring the state trying to win back support. The BJP, too, has done the same. Its top leaders have visited most of the districts and formed panels to try and strengthen the party before the Assembly elections. Top party leaders say Haryana could expect a blitzkrieg in the coming weeks, with second-rung party leadership doing the ground work in all 90 Assembly segments. Mr Bansi Lal’s HVP also has not allowed itself to be bogged down by the dismal performance in the elections. Its general secretary, Mr Surinder Singh, is on a whirlwind tour of the state to keep the party banner flying despite the odds. However, the Congress is nowhere to be seen after the elections. There are no plans yet to exploit the pro-Congress sentiment in the state and keep the goodwill intact till the state goes to the polls to elect its assembly. The state leadership has not even met once after the Lok Sabha elections to draw plans for the Assembly elections. |
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20-yr-old rescued from police custody Panipat, May 27 He had been there for the past four days without the registration of a case. Giving details, the father of the victim, Mr Jai Bhagwan, told The Tribune that his son was picked up by the police on May 22 from Joshi village. Since then he was being subjected to torture. He said with the help of an NGO, Naujavan Bharat Sabha, he had moved a habeas corpus petition in the high court, directing the police officials to release Pawan. The court has also issued a notice of motion to the police officials for May 29. Mr Bhagwan said earlier on May 20 and 21 he was also illegally detained by the police at Matloda police station. He alleged that the police had harassed him and his son as they had differences with certain influential persons of the village. Convener of the NGO P.P. Kapur said they want to get the victim medical examined and had moved an application in this regard before the SDM. As the latter was on leave today therefore the medical examination of the youth would be conducted tomorrow, he added. Meanwhile, the police has denied the allegation and claimed that they had called the youth to the police station as he was suspected of being involved in the abduction of a married girl of the same village. |
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Inside Babudom Chandigarh, May 27 Dr Malik will also continue to hold the additional charge of Director, State Vigilance Bureau. When Dr Malik had returned from leave on May 14, he was posted as Director, Vigilance. But it was known that he would regain the reins of the state police after Mr Lall’s retirement. It was a good gesture on the part of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to allow Mr Lall to retire as the DGP. With Mr Lall’s retirement the post of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Haryana Police Housing Corporation will also fall vacant. Mr Lall also holds the post of Chairman of the Shivalik Development Board. It is not known if Mr Chautala will retain him as the head of the board, which has no retirement age. Dr Malik had taken over as the officiating DGP after Mr S.P.S. Rathore proceeded on leave following his indictment by the CBI in the Ruchika molestation case. After working as the officiating DGP for several months, he was posted as the regular DGP with additional charge of the vigilance post. While Mr Chautala has already made certain changes in the police, more changes are likely after Dr Malik takes over as the DGP. The Chief Minister may or may not like to have a full-time Inspector-General of Police, CID. Following the transfer of Mr K.P. Singh, as I.G., Ambala Range, Mr K. Selvaraj has been given the additional charge of the I.G., CID, who is supposed to be the eyes and ears of the Chief Minister. It is widely believed in police circles that Dr Malik and Mr K.P. Singh did not enjoy the best of the relations. In case Mr Chautala decides to go for a full-time I.G., CID, in the election year, Dr Malik may play a crucial role in the selection of the new incumbent. But the I.G., CID, can play a meaningful role only if the Chief Minister is prepared to listen to unpleasant truth also. After Mr Lall’s retirement, a post of DGP-rank will also fall vacant. The senior-most Additional DG is Mr Vilas. However, it is doutful if Mr Vilas will get his rightful due, because Mr Chautala is known for his elephantine memory, particularly when it comes to people who, in his perception, might have worked against his interests at any time. Mr Vilas was DIG, CID, with Mr Banarasi Dass Gupta, who was made the Chief Minister by Mr Devi Lal when the Janata Dal was in power. Mr Gupta, however, could not last long in the saddle and he was replaced by Mr Hukam Singh, a Chautala-favourite. Mr Vilas is now heading the Home Guards. Mr Chautala will have to find the successor to Mr Lall in the housing corporation also. The race is said to be between Mr K. Koshie and Mr G.S. Malhi. |
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Implement VAT throughout
country, says Prof Sampat
Ambala, May 27 Talking to mediapersons here, he said the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had sought for the introduction of VAT during his tenure as the Finance Minister. “The other two important suggestions of Dr Manmohan Singh were uniform sales tax throughout the country and ending industrial incentive with regard to sales tax,” he added. He said Haryana must be allowed to retain the petrol and diesel cess collected by it. “While we are collecting the cess, the Centre is taking away most of our collections,” he added. To a query, Prof Sampat Singh said the INLD had to pay the price for the wrong policies of the previous government and added that NDA government had hiked the prices of cement, LPG, coal and other items of basic necessity and the people had voted against the BJP. He said the INLD had always opposed the wrong policies but as it had been a part of the NDA, the party had to bear the brunt of electoral ire. He said the Haryana Government had tried its best to sort out major issues like private sugar mill and Satluj Yamuna Link canal but the previous government pursued wrong policies. |
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PGIMS to hold entrance test Rohtak, May 27 The test was scheduled to be held on May 28 but was postponed following a directive from the state government last week. According to reliable sources, the state government today partially modified its order in which the MDU was declared the competent authority to hold the test. As per the modified order, the director of the PGIMS will now oversee the conduct of the test. Major-Gen V.S. Poonia (retd), Director, PGIMS, confirmed the receipt of the modified order but said no date had yet been fixed for the test. The postponement of the test had upset plans of students who normally appear for several such tests which are held within days of each other. Several organisations had also raised doubts over the reasons behind the postponement, expressing fears of bungling in the test. |
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Haryana Govt’s days numbered, says Jindal Yamunanagar, May 27 He said if anybody was found guilty, including Congressmen, he not be spared. He said the demands of Dadupur-Nalwi Canal and Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal would be taken up when the Congress forms the government in Haryana. Mr Jindal said he would take up the matter with Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, Union Railway Minister, for the railway link between Yamunanagar and Patiala via Kurukshetra. Mr Raj Kumar Tyagi, district Congress unit president (Urban), Mr Subhash Chaudhry, former minister Mr Satpal Kaushik, secretary, Haryana Pradesh Congress Mr Gurdyalpuri, former general secretary of the district Congress unit, Mr Niley Saini, member, HPCC, were among those present on the occasion. |
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High Court Chandigarh, May 27 In its order on two petitions seeking directions to the a government to appoint the President of the commission, the Bench of Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar and Mr Justice Rajive Bhalla also asked the government to ensure that in future also timely steps were taken to fill the post if it got vacant. In their separate public interest petitions, the National Consumer Awareness Group and advocate D.S. Rawat had pointed out that the functioning of the commission was being affected due to the failure of the government to fill the post of the President. The last President, Justice Amarjit Chaudhary (retd), retired on September 4, 2003. Since then, no body was appointed to head the commission, the petitioners said. In its detailed order, the Bench ordered the government to make appointment to the post within one month. |
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Congress leaders pay tributes to Nehru Karnal, May 27 YAMUNANAGAR: The 40th death anniversary of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru was observed here on Thursday. Several Congress leaders paid tributes to Pandit Nehru. Mr Lehri Singh, district Congess (rural) president, appreciated the contribution of the Nehru family in the country’s freedom struggle. Mr Anil Goel, general secretary, Haryana Congress (Vyapar Cell), Mr Vijay Gautam, city Congress president, Jagadhri, Mr Raj Kumar, vice-president, city Congress committee, Jagadhri, and other leaders observed a two-minute silence in memory of Pandit Nehru. |
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BKU dissolves state executive Jind, May 27 The resolution was adopted at a meeting of farmers held at Kandela village in the district today. Mr Ghasi Ram Nain presided over the meeting. It was decided in the meeting that Mr Nain would announce the names of new office-bearers of the BKU at a meeting to be held at Kandela village on June 27. Speaking at the meeting, Mr Nain said the economic condition of the farmers had deteriorated as they were not getting remunerative prices of their produce. — PTI |
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Ekta Shakti, BJP form alliance Panipat, May 27 |
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Punia murder: daughter, husband held guilty
Hisar, May 27 The court will announce the sentence on May 31. District and Sessions Judge Arvind Goyal acquitted Sonia’s father-in-law Subodh, mother-in-law Rajwanshi and Anoop, brother of Sanjeev in the case due to lack of evidence. Relu Ram Punia, his wife, Krishna Punia, their daughter, Priyanka, son, Sunil, his wife, Shakuntla, and their three children, Lokesh, Preeti and Shiwani, were clubbed to death on the night of August 23, 2001, while they were asleep at their farm house at Litani village in Hisar district. The police had registered a case against Sonia, her husband and other family members of her-in-laws.
— PTI |
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Judicial custody for 2 held in bribe case Karnal, May 27 Head constable Kuldip Singh and driver Rajbir Singh were trapped by a Vigilance team while taking a bribe of Rs 4,500 from a truck owner. Sums of Rs 2,500 and Rs 2,000 were recovered from the pockets of Kuldip Singh and Rajbir Singh, respectively. According to the truck owner, Mr Dharamvir, two trucks of his were stopped by the Additional DTO, Mr Balbir Sharma, on Friday near Indri. The head constable and the driver were with him at the time, he said. “They demanded a ‘monthly’ from me and promised not to challan my trucks,” he alleged. The truck owner then reported the matter to the state Vigilance Department, following which a trap was laid that led to the arrests. However, the department was yet to ascertain whether there was the involvement of any higher official in the case. |
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10 hurt in lathi charge Hisar, May 27 Members of the Sarv Beopar Mandal, Indian Medical Association and other organisations were staging dharna on the road in protest against the firing on a doctor by three unidentified youths late last night, resulting in serious injuries to the doctor. They were demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. The police also allegedly misbehaved with mediapersons. Later, the mediapersons sat on a dharna on the road to express their resentment against the police.
— PTI |
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Woman, daughter commit suicide Hisar, May 27 Shakuntala (29) of Dhani Raju village, who was reportedly facing some domestic problems, went to the railway track along with her six-year-old daughter Poonam and jumped before the Kisan Express train, the police said. The mother and daughter were crushed to death. Their bodies were handed over to their relatives after post-mortem examination, the police added.
— PTI |
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Caretaker of mazar found dead Kaithal, May 27 Baba Karam Singh, who had been looking after the mazar for the past many years, went missing three days ago. A woman devotee, noticed the body floating in the tank.
— OC |
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Anti-Terrorist Front of India office-bearers Ambala, May 27 Senior vice-president, Mr Sudarshan Sachdeva — Mr Mohan Lal
Chal; vice-president — and Mr Narendra Singh Nehra; general secretary — Capt Kedar Nath; organising secretary — Subedar Attar Singh; secretary — Mr Attar Singh; and spokesman — Mr Gulshan Gulati. Mr Balbir Pal Shah, Mr Ajay Singh Yadav, Mr Bachan Singh Arya and Dr Maha Singh have been appointed advisers to the front. Ambala district president is Mr Gurdev Singh, Hisar district president Mr Krishan Alahabadi and Rohtak district president Lovely Kalia, he said. |
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Enrolment date extended Chandigarh, May 27 A spokesman of the commission said here today that those eligible could get themselves enrolled by submitting applications to the returning officer of the constituency in which they reside. The fee for submitting an application to the returning officer would be Re 1. They could also submit enrolment applications to the respective Deputy Commissioners at a fee of Rs 5. Haryana SAD to contest SGPC poll
Ambala, May 27
Mr Amrik Singh Barnala of the unit has said that candidates will be fielded from all 11 constituencies in Haryana. He claimed that the SGPC members from Haryana are with the SAD.
TNS Vasu wins silver medal Ambala, May 27 Shed sought at railway court Ambala, May 27 Mr Malik said the railway court was housed in an old building provided by the Railways. Mr Malik has sent a memorandum to Mr Justice B.K. Roy, Chairman Railway Board, Mr
R.K. Singh and Mr R.R. Jaruhar. |
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