Chandigarh, September 29
Reiterating his opposition to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be set up in Haryana by Reliance, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) President, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today threatened that he and his supporters would stage a sit-in at the proposed site and not allow the transfer of land for the project.

Talking to newsmen here Mr Chautala said he would be the first to face bullets if the government tried to give possession of the land, worth crores of rupees, to Reliance at a throwaway price. In his typical style Mr Chautala said: “‘Zamin pe ja kar baith jaunga aur hone nahin dunga. Main pehli goli khaunga uske baad hi sarkar zamin Reliance ko de paye gi.”

The INLD leader sought to drag the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, into the controversy over the Reliance SEZ. “No Congress Chief Minister can dare to take such decisions without Sonia’s prior approval. However, now since it has snowballed into a big controversy, she is trying to escape the blame by saying that no fertile land should be given for SEZs.”

Mr Chautala alleged that five big scandals had taken place during the regime of the Hooda government. He listed them as the SEZ, the allotment of liquor vends, power purchase agreements, the conversion of industrial areas in five towns and changes in the master plans of four towns.

He also alleged that the Public Health Minister, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, who had challenged Mr Chautala to an open debate on the “misrule” of the INLD a couple of days ago, had recruited nearly 2,000 employees in his department against the rules. He also accused Mr Surjewala of helping Mr Jagat Singh, son of the former External Affairs Minister, Mr Natwar Singh, in the food-for-oil scam in Iraq. Claiming that the Pathak committee in its report had indicted Mr Surjewala for his role in giving an introduction letter to Mr Jagat Singh, the INLD leader demanded his resignation from the Cabinet.

Mr Chautala also demanded the dismissal of the Power Minister, Mr Venod Sharma, in the wake of allegations that he bought witnesses in the Jessica Lal murder case to help his son, Manu, who was the main accused in the case. ‘’Venod Sharma should resign on moral grounds or be dismissed in the wake of such allegations,’’ he added.

He also demanded that Mr Sharma should be booked as a co-accused under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Mr Chautala said he would appear before the CBI when called by it. But before answering any queries, he would ask the CBI to first transfer those properties which it “alleges to be mine, in my name.”

He said efforts were on for the formation of a third front because both the Congress and the BJP had failed to live up to the expectations of the people.

Ambala, September 29
Air Officer Commanding, Ambala Air Base, Air Cmdr H.H. Patel today said an inquiry was being conducted into yesterday’s MiG-29 crash. He said the exact cause of the crash would be known only after the probe.

Air Commodore Patel observed that the possibility of a bird hit leading to engine failure could not be considered as birds were not cited around the base at the time of the crash.

Also, pilot Squadron Leader Nair did not fly through a flock of birds. “It could probably be a technical problem,” he observed.

He said the pilot heard a noise and noticed one of his engines stall. He immediately informed the air traffic control about the problem. When the pilot started to gain height with the second engine, it too stalled.

Thereafter, the pilot had no other option but to bail out of the fighter aircraft.

Air Commodore Patel said two MiG-29 from Adampur Air Base were practising for the October 8 Air Force Day flypast at Hindon, over the Ambala Air Base.

The incident took place during a practice sortie.

Ambala, September 29
An impressive airshow was held at Ambala Air Base this evening. Fighter aircraft Jaguar as well as MiG-21 Bison carried out formations along with Sarang helicopter team leaving the audience spellbound with their daredevilry.

Jaguar, which is a deep penetration attack aircraft, and MiG-21 Bison carried out high-speed manoeuvers.

The airshow began with two Jaguars flying toward the audience at high speed and then peeling away.

They were followed by Jaguars flying in a formation of five. The Jaguars were closely followed by MiG-21s flying in a tight formation.

This was followed by Sarang helicopter team, which kept the audience on the edge of their seats with high-precision flying.

The four helicopters of the team carried out various manoeuvers. They criss-crossed at high speeds and in one particular move, a Sarang helicopter flew backwards into three approaching helicopters. The four helicopters then moved towards the audience and went straight up.

The helicopters also showed their prowess in flying in tight formation.

Hisar, September 29
All nambardars of the state will get increased commission (panchotra) with effect from January 1, 2006. The state government has increased this commission from 5 per cent to 10 per cent and the nambardars of the state will get the increased commission by November 1.

This was announced by Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at a state-level convention of the nambardars here today. He also stated that all 22,000 nambardars of the state would soon get identity cards by the government.

Besides, a proposal to make the post of nambardar hereditary was under consideration, he added.

Lauding the role of nambardars, Mr Hooda said they acted as a bridge between the government and the people and were directly related to the process of development. He also narrated a humorous anecdote related to nambardars in chaste Haryanavi, which made the audience burst into peals of laughter.

Earlier, the Chief Minister, who was accompanied by state Revenue and Irrigation Minister Ajay Yadav, local MP Jai Prakash, Haryana Nambardar Association president Hari Singh Khokher and several local Congress leaders and MLAs, inaugurated a blood-donation camp organised by the nambardars’ association. As many as 594 persons donated blood on the occasion. Mr Hooda also laid the foundation stone of an independent drinking water scheme at Ludas village in the district.

Addressing the rally, the Chief Minister asserted that his mission was to provide a bright future for the next generation. He observed that electricity, water and law and order were the three main indicators of development.

“While the law and order situation has shown marked improvement following the change of regime, work is under way on various power and water projects,” he maintained. Mr Hooda remarked that some vested interests could not digest the pace of development in the state and were issuing baseless statements to divert the attention of the people.

Later, addressing a news conference at the local Panchayat Bhavan, the Chief Minister stated that the development of SEZs would not have any adverse impact on agriculture in Haryana as there was sufficient cultivable land in the state.

On the issue of the Opposition seeking the resignation of Power Minister Venod Sharma, Mr Hooda dismissed the demand, stating that the law was taking its course. Similarly, in response to a question regarding sealing, he said the government was implementing court’s order.

Chandigarh, September 29
The Haryana Government today passed an order directing the Hisar district administration to take over Vishwas Senior Secondary School after its management failed to give a satisfactory reply to a government notice. In the notice issued by the Director-General School Education, Mr K.K Khandelwal, information was sought on the measures the school had taken to punish the guilty.

Disclosing this here, the state Education Minister, Mr Phool Chand Mulana said the file was cleared today and an intimation would be sent to the Hisar administration. The state would now appoint an administrator for the school, who would not be below the rank of SDM.

The school came in the news recently after its Director was accused of molesting a school student, leading to an agitation in the city. The school is being taken over under the Haryana School Education Rules, 2003. Mr Khandelwal said the takeover of the school had been delayed due to certain legal formalities.

According to state officials private and aided schools in Haryana can face disciplinary action such as takeover on several grounds.

He said the takeover of the school had become necessary. The report submitted by the Deputy Commissioner, Hisar, had found the school management guilty of aiding and abetting the activities of school Director Rishi Viyas.

Mr Mulana said the government would not tolerate any incident of this nature.

Rewari, September 29
Yoga guru Swami Ramdev has stated that his mission abroad would mainly focus on ‘yoga culture’ in place of the prevailing ‘ pub culture’.

Giving a brief account of his recent 45-day tour of the United Kingdom where over 50,000 men and women attended his yoga training Camps in July and August recently, he said that it was a successful tour which made him realise that yoga culture was an urgent need of the western world. He went on to say that wine, drug addiction and sexual propensity were rife among youths in the west.

Making a mention of the numerous ailments which were a product of the increasing drug addiction as well as their lifestyle, he said in spite of spending huge amounts on treatment, there was no let-up in such diseases in the west. He asserted that yoga, which awakened latent powers of men, could be instrumental in changing their lives.

He further informed that America, Canada, Australia and several other countries were now on his future itinerary.

Rewari, September 29
A young woman who was just returning home with a bundle of grass on her head, was overpowered and taken to a nearby field where she was allegedly raped by a village youth at Jainabad village, about 26 km from here, on Wednesday.

On hearing her cries, some women, working in the field, rushed to her rescue, but the accused managed to flee.

Later when the victim, along with her husband Mr Suresh Kumar Yadav, made a complaint to the Khol police, it registered a case of rape under Section 376 of the IPC against the accused, Harish Yadav, who reportedly absconded soon after the crime.

Rewari, September 29
Two persons, Rajender Singh and Soni, both residents of Mangleshwar village near Bawal, were killed on the spot when their bicycle was hit by a speeding tanker near Khera Murar village, about 12 km from here, in the wee hours on Wednesday.

The mishap occurred when they were returning home after watching Ramlila held there.

A case has been registered against the tanker driver.