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BJP stages silent protest in House
Dhumal resorting to devious ways: CM
Policy for landless soon, says Virbhadra
Govt avoiding main issues: Dhumal
Row over possession of truck union
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Irrigation Dept to go ahead with sewerage scheme
Unemployed teachers contest CM’s assertion
Martyr cremated with honours
Patwari gets 2-year RI
DC’s directive on migrant labour
Residents seek link roads for Taragarh
Chapter from Class V book to be deleted
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BJP stages silent protest in House
Shimla, August 11 Mr P.K. Dhumal pleaded for extending the session by a day so that important issues for which the party legislators had given notices but were not taken up could be discussed. However, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister , expressed inability to extend the session on the plea that engagements for the next few days were already fixed. Moreover, a meeting of the delimitation committee was also fixed next week. He said the agenda for the day, which was earmarked for private-member business, was already set. Thereafter, the Speaker , Mr Gangu Ram , proceeded with the listed business. This infuriated the BJP members who disapproved of the attitude of the government and trooped into the well of the House and staged a dharna with their lips tied with handkerchiefs. While the BJP members were continuing with their dharna, four Bills were passed by the House. These included the State Groundwater Regulation Bill, the State Municipal Amendment Bill and the State Electricity Duty Amendment Bill. Mr Virbhadra Singh condemned the behaviour of the BJP members and said even if they had a grouse, Mr Dhumal should have found some dignified way of lodging protest. He said he was not happy to see them in such a state. He said it was the prerogative of the Speaker to take a decision whether to accept or reject a notice. Once he had announced decision, it had to be respected by all members. The protest of the BJP members was not against the government but against the ruling of the Speaker. |
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Dhumal resorting to devious ways: CM
Shimla, August 11 Addressing a press conference, he said already five cases had been filed in the court in connection with the irregularities in recruitment against Mr
S. M. Katwal, a former Chairman of the State Subordinate Services Selection Board, and some more were in the offing. Mr Dhumal was still defending Mr Katwal. He said there was strong circumstantial evidence to link the irregularities in selection to the former Chief Minister as the data retrieved from the hard disk of his office not only contained recommendations for appointments but also for not selecting some candidates. He said the entire data in the hard disk was deleted before the change of government but the Central Forensic Science Laboratory was able to retrieve it. He said the staff of the former Chief Minister had given statements that all the information in the hard disk was fed in the computer at the behest of Mr Dhumal. He reiterated that his government would not indulge in witch-hunting and cases would be filed only if credible evidence which could stand in the court of law was available. No innocent person would be harassed and no one guilty, howsoever influential, spared. Mr Virbhadra Singh said that Mr Dhumal was again raising his land cases which had been adjudicated in his favour at courts at various levels. Not only that Mr Dhumal during his five-year term as Chief Minster tried his best to implicate him in false cases and got several inquires conducted against him. Having failed in his designs he was now using his party men to file PILs against him in these cases. Two PILs had been filed by spokespersons of the BJP and one by an officer who conducted an ex-party inquiry against him during the Dhumal regime. He said he had to pay this price for launching a crusade against corruption. Earlier, he earned the wrath of the forest mafia but that did not deter him from pursuing the fight against graft. He said instead of discussing matter in the House he was making allegations outside. He said Mr Dhumal was providing a very poor leadership to the young legislators of his party. |
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Policy for landless soon, says Virbhadra
Shimla, August 11 He stated this while supplementing the reply of Mr Kaul Singh, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, to the discussion on the private-member resolution moved by Ms Asha Kumari. She urged the government to frame a comprehensive time-bound policy for providing two biswas of land to landless families in the state, particularly the Balmikis in urban areas. He said the encroachments of those who owned land would not be regularised under the proposed policy. His government , he said , would not follow the disastrous policy of the previous Dhumal government which led to a sudden surge in cases of encroachments. Earlier ,Mr Kaul Singh said a fresh survey of landless was being conducted in the state and once it was completed the government would frame a policy. |
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Govt avoiding main issues: Dhumal
Shimla, August 11 Addressing a press conference here today, he justified the silent protest by the BJP members in the House today and said it was the only way to highlight the issues which they could not raise in the House. He said had the government been sincere about discussing issues the session would have been extended. He said the fact that the bills passed in April had to be amended within months through ordinances reflected on the competence and foresight on the part of the government. He said that normally an act if properly framed was not required to be amended for years. He said those who had themselves illegally retained hundreds of bighas of land were trying to find faults with the policy to regularise encroachments framed by the BJP government.
— TNS |
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Row over possession of truck union
Nurpur, August 11 Meanwhile, the former president along with the Congress activists forcibly took possession of the office record and started a parallel union office in the building of the local panchayat samiti. Mr Pathania alleged that this all happened under the political pressure of the former president. He said the local police did not act against workers of the Congress. He further alleged that Mr Rajeev had illegally formed the union with none of truck operators as its member. He accused the police of sheltering the non-truck operators who allegedly had been harassing the mini truck operators by forcibly collecting token money from them. Mr Baldev Pappi, chairman of the panchayat samiti, asserted that the samiti would not allow any union to run its office from the building of the samiti at Jassur. |
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Irrigation Dept to go ahead with sewerage scheme
Kangra, August 11 Mr Bal Krishen, president, Kangra Municipal Committee, yesterday told The Tribune that it was resolved at the meeting of the KMC that the IPH Department would be allowed to go on with the work of laying pipes in the town. He said he had talked to the Chief Minister on the telephone, who assured that funds would be provided for repair of the roads, lanes and bylanes. The KMC and the IPH had earlier locked horns over the financial matters and stopped work on the Kangra sewerage scheme in the town, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Chief Minister as the IPH Department failed to deposit the estimated amount of Rs 12.70 lakh for repair of lanes and roads.
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Unemployed teachers contest CM’s assertion
Nurpur, August 11 Mr Susheel Kaushal, state president of the union, here today alleged that the assertion of the Chief Minister was beyond the facts, barring 45 ex-servicemen, the state government had not recruited any PGT through the state public service commission since 1998. He demanded to publish the list of those 216 PGTs who had been appointed on a regular basis so that the truth could come out. Mr Kaushal said the union had moved in the apex court against the practice of the state government to appoint para teachers through the backdoor. He demanded that the state government should adopt a transparent system for appointments of teachers on merit basis.
— OC |
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Martyr cremated with honours
Chamba, August 11 On the occasion, the district authorities laid wreaths on behalf of the Himachal Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, and the Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, on the body of the martyr. On Tuesday morning, Devinder Singh along with his troop came under fierce firing from the militants, who were hiding in the nearby jungles. Devinder and Naik Preet Raj succumbed to bullet injuries. Devinder Singh is survived by his wife Indu Bala, a six-month-old son and a seven-year-old daughter, besides his father and mother. The entire village was sorrowful when the news of death of Devinder reached his native village. He was the only bread winner in the family. The body of the martyr was brought to his native village late last night, wrapped in the Tricolour and was taken to the banks of the Ravi for cremation this morning. Capt S. Chakravorty laid wreath on behalf of the Army, besides a number of residents of the area were present to pay their tributes to the martyr. Mr Harsh Mahajan, Animal Husbandry Minister, Mr Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Finance Commission, Mrs Asha Kumari, MLA, Banikhet, Mr Surinder Bhardwaj, MLA, Rajnagar, expressed their condolences to the bereaved family.
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Patwari gets 2-year RI
Kulu, August 11 The Deputy Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) said a complaint was registered on July 16, 2003, by one Mr Rajeev Rashpa, an advocate, against the patwari that he was demanding Rs 1,000 for doing “intkaal” (permanent transfer) of his land at Rila Shani village. The vigilance party, headed by the DSP, caught him taking bribe. Mr B. R. Chandel, Special Judge and the District and Session Judge, today announced the sentence to the erring employee. |
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DC’s directive on migrant labour
Mandi, August 11 In a press release issued here today, Mr Panda said that this was being done to check entry of anti-social elements working in the garb of labourer or in other form in the district, who created law and order problem. Mr Panda warned that those found guilty of
violating the mandatory registration of the migrant labour or employee would be punished under Section 180 of the IPC. |
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Residents seek link roads for Taragarh
Chamba, August 11 The residents allege that the politicians visit this only during the election times and forget all their promises as soon as elections are over. The lack of proper roads and bridges is the main cause of backwardness of this belt. The residents have been demanding the construction of link roads for long but nothing has been done so far.
— OC |
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Chapter from Class V book to be deleted
Shimla, August 11 The report of the committee, headed by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Dharam Pal, was presented in the house today by Mrs Asha Kumari. The issue was raised through a call attention motion by Mr Sukh Ram and BJP members after which the committee was set up on the suggestion of Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, who said that the House must follow some procedure as these were likely to crop up time and again. |
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