 |
|
|
Never spoke against Maya: Bishnoi
Byelections a virtual semifinal
Need for trained mediators, say judges
Only INLD can rein in bureaucracy: Chautala
Exhibition marks International Museum Day
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Jagadhri girl makes it to civil services
Bhiwani village to have sports hostel
Work on drain delayed
‘Train public for natural calamities’
3 of family consume poison, 2 die
2 gangsters in police net
1 held for murder
2 killed in road accidents
|
||||||||||
|
Never spoke against Maya: Bishnoi
Karnal, May 18 With just four days left for the byelections, a troubled Bishnoi claimed that he had never made any objectionable comments against BSP supremo Mayawati. “I have the highest regards for Mayawati and I was the first person to congratulate her on her victory in UP,” he said. He also threatened to sue the newspaper which had published the “false” comments attributed to him. But, he showed ignorance of the publication. However, the BSP seems to be in no mood of truce with Bishnoi and it has now decided to protest against his alleged “mischievous” comments against the BSP leadership. District president of the BSP Krishan Kumar Kutail today said party workers would burn an effigy of Bishnoi tomorrow morning at Ghanta Ghar Chowk here for his alleged remarks against the BSP chief. He said the party had given a loud message to its cadre that it had no understanding with any party. He said even the party workers were also agitated over Bishnoi’s false claims of having “hidden” support of the BSP to his party. Meanwhile, political observers felt that the ongoing controversy might affect the electoral prospects of the HJC (BL) candidates, particularly in the Indri assembly constituency. Certainly, all political parties were trying too woo Schedule Castes voters, which were considered as stronghold of the BSP. But the public opposition by the BSP leadership at this crucial time is expected to have an interesting impact on its voters, feel the political sources. |
|
|
Byelections a virtual semifinal
Chandigarh, May 18 Any party which comes nearest to the winning party, will make it to the finals, this is the general impression, particularly so in view of the fact that now there are more than one claimant for particular caste votes. Since the three constituencies represent different demographic areas of the state, they will be a good barometer for measuring the strength of various parties among different sections of
society. Gohana is considered as the Jat belt; Adampur represents the mix population and Indri is treated as a
non-Jat constituency. Earlier, the Jat voters used to be considered as the pocket borough of Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok
Dal. For the non-Jat votes, the Congress and the BJP used to be the
favourites. However, with the advent of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kuldeep Bishnoi and the BSP on the political scene of the state, the equations seem to have undergone a sea change. The INLD chief can no longer claim himself to be the undisputed leader of the
Jats. Hooda has made a clear dent in Chautala’s fortress, particularly in the Deswali Jat belt, spread across what is known as the old Rohtak district. The BJP’s claim over the
non-Jat votes, particularly in the urban areas, has been strongly challenged by the Haryana Janhit Congress
(HJC) of Bishnoi. The BSP too has spread its base among the Scheduled Castes, particularly among the “B” category of these communities. After the success of Mayawati in the UP elections, where the Brahmins went with her in a big way, the party is trying to extend its hold over the so-called upper caste communities in Haryana also. The party is following its
non-Jat agenda in Haryana unabashedly. Only a leader like Mayawati could have declared in a public meeting that if her party came to power in the state, it would make a
non-Jat the next Chief Minister. No other political leader can be so brazen. The BSP openly says that its doors are closed for the
non-Jats. Not even Bishnoi, who is also playing the non-Jat card to the hilt, has dared to say so. Since the BSP has boycotted the
byelections, its claim about its hold over the non-Jat communities will be tested only at the parliamentary elections. With the perceptible shift of the Jats from the INLD to the Congress, Hooda is on test to prove that the
non-Jat support of the Congress is more or less intact, barring the natural anti-incumbency factor, which every ruling party has to
face. Bishnoi, no doubt, has been able to mobilise supporters of his father, Bhajan
Lal, particularly those who had been feeling marginalised in the Congress after Hooda’s advent, in his new political outfit. He also discreetly plays the
non-Jat card, though some of his supporters do not show this discretion and openly talk of their party being a party of
non-Jat communities. But these are the first elections being contested under the leadership of Bishnoi and he is yet to prove his mettle. His tactics of not quitting the Lok Sabha before the life of the House was reduced to less than a year (so that he does not have to face a
byelection) show that he was not yet prepared for the electoral test. The assembly byelections were virtually forced upon him after the Speaker disqualified the three
MLAs, who had defected from the Congress to his party. If the INLD puts up a good performance in the
byelections, it will be able to regain its Jat base to a large extent. However, a poor performance will further shrink its traditional support base. If Bishnoi is able to perform better than the
BJP, which is likely, his claim over the non-Jat votes will strengthen. But he will have to fight with the INLD for being the second semi-finalist. If the Congress fails to put up a less than impressive performance, the party cannot hope to win the parliamentary elections. If the BJP fails, its state leadership will be under increasing pressure from its high command to go for a tie-up with the INLD for the Lok Sabha elections. Something, which the state BJP leaders loath to do. |
|
|
Need for trained mediators, say judges
Panchkula, May 18 Justice Sinha was speaking on the concluding day of a two-day mediation and conciliation meet of judicial officers of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh at Inderdhanush Auditorium here today. Giving his views on short term plan for 2008, he said mediation was not only the simple resolution of the dispute, but also a mutual satisfactory resolution of the dispute and the new concept of mediation depended to a large extent, if the concept of mediation was institutionalised. He said the response to the centre that was started in the Supreme Court of India was very good and the same was expected in north zone as well. The mediation centre would handle a variety of cases covering matters relating to business contracts, transaction, real estate and construction, consumer issues, employment and service issues, industrial disputes, banking and insurance cases, trade mark and copyright disputes, accident-related claims, landlord-tenant disputes, partnership disputes, family and matrimonial disputes, partnership disputes, family and matrimonial disputes, child custody and visitation rights and verification in habeas corpus matters. Public sector undertakings, government departments and institutions would also be encouraged to participate. Interestingly, today’s session was chaired by Justice Mahesh Grover, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Justice Rajesh Tondon, Judge, Uttarakhand High Court. Speaking on the occasion, Grover said in order to make the process of mediation a success, training of mediator was of utmost importance. Calling upon various agencies of the government to give publicity to this newly introduced concept of mediation in north zone, Grover said public relations department of state governments could work better in rural areas because most of the disputes which were not settled in village panchayats were settled in courts. If the proposed plan was successfully implemented, it would reduce the pendency of the cases not only in Haryana and Punjab but also in Chandigarh, he said. Giving his views, Tondon spoke on the importance of co-operative or collaborative bargaining involved in the process of mediation. He stressed on the requirement of the trained mediators to go to the villages and remote areas for pre-mediation. He even decided to go to rural areas to awake people and planned to open mediation centres at districts levels in Uttarakhand. Justice Sunil Ambwani of the Allahabad High Court said to select mediators with impeccable integrity from amongst the lawyers of the Bar they experienced great difficulty. Identification of a good and ethical mediator was a difficult and cumbersome process, said Justice Deepak Gupta of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. A few judicial officers and advocates from Punjab and Haryana participated in the deliberation. |
|
Only INLD can rein in bureaucracy: Chautala
Hope the poll is
postponed! Having a dig at the state government during a poll meeting in Gumana village, Chautala asked the people present there whether they were getting enough electricity these days. Indicating that they were being given more electricity due to the approaching election, the former Chief Minister asked the villagers to hope that the poll was postponed by a month or so. “Chunav ke sahare thaari garmi te theek tey liked jaagi (At least this summer season will pass off comfortably in case the election is postponed),” he quipped.
Gohana, May 18 “There is little check on government officials, due to which they have become fearless,” he said, adding that only the INLD could rein in the bureaucrats. The INLD leader appealed to the people to vote for his party candidate K.C. Bangar in the bypoll if they thought that he was better than the other candidates. Chautala was addressing a public gathering at Bhainswal, the village of Congress nominee for the forthcoming Gohana assembly byelection Jagbir Singh Malik, last evening. Holding the Congress responsible for the rising prices, the former Chief Minister alleged that the stance of the Congress had always been “pro-industrialist”. “That explains why the prices of goods needed to be purchased by you are increasing day by day, while you (the farmers) are not getting remunerative price for your produce,” he maintained. Chautala asserted that if his party was voted back to power in Haryana, they would increase the minimum support price for wheat and provide wheat at reasonable rates to the poor. “We will also increase the old-age pension at least to Rs 500 per month and try if we can get it raised to Rs 700,” he claimed. After holding a series of poll meetings in different villages of the constituency, the INLD chief also addressed a workers’ meeting late in the evening. |
|
Exhibition marks International Museum Day
Kurukshetra, May 18 Speaking on the occasion, Verma laid stress on the need of water conservation and sustainable development. He also spoke on the issue of cleanliness drive and the common man’s participation. He lauded the efforts of the kar sewaks, who had been striving hard to achieve the goal. Deputy director of the museum Rajesh Purohit said the museum had been celebrating the International Museum Day since 2003 based on the theme prescribed by the International Council of Museum (ICOM), this time the museum had put up an exhibition on the theme of community-based service programme initiated by the Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) for the cleaning of Brahmasarovar here. He said for the past 23 days, various communities had been participating in the cleanliness drive of Brahmasarovar. Photographs of people, who had been participating in the cleanliness drive, were captured and portrayed in galleries of the specially set up exhibition. He further said the objective of the exhibition was to inculcate social service and community participation among the local people. Besides the exhibition, a powerpoint presentation on the theme prescribed by the ICOM was shown in the lecture hall of the museum. He said the International Museum Day was being celebrated on May 18 all over the world every year since 1977. The ICOM, whose headquarters are in Paris, prescribed the theme of the International Museum Day every year. The theme for this year was “agents for social change and development”. |
|
Studious girl does parents proud
Fatehabad, May 18 Currently pursuing her doctorate in biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Kanchan was recently awarded the gold medal for standing first in the MPharm examination conducted by Delhi University. Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the UPA, conferred the degree and the medal on Kanchan. Daughter of a pharmacist working in the general hospital, Tohana, Kanchan did her schooling from a Hindi-medium government school in the town. But by her sheer hard work and dedication, she was able to surpass those who came from better schools and colleges. Her father Tarsem Chand Garg is a proud father today and says Kanchan has proved that with hard work and resilience, one can overcome other handicaps like small town education and lack of resources. |
|
|
Jagadhri girl makes it to civil services
Yamunanagar, May 18 After she failed to make it to the civil services during her first two attempts, she returned home from Delhi where she was preparing for the exams. However, her mother Rita Arora and brother Deepika Arora motivated her and she again took up the preparations. A student of Vivekanand Public School, Jagadhri, Deepika did BTech in electronic communication from the Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering, Bathinda. Her father, the late D.N. Arora, wanted her to become a civil servant. |
|
Bhiwani village to have sports hostel
Bhiwani, May 18 Deputy commissioner T.L. Satyaprakash said it was a matter of great pride for the district as four boxers namely Jitender Singh, Akhil Kumar, Vijender Singh and Dinesh Kumar of the Sports Training
Centre, Bhiwani, had qualified for the Olympics. He stated that new sports hostel would be equipped with ultra-modern facilities. About 150 rooms would be constructed in the hostel, he said. He also informed that under the Ashiana Scheme, the Zila Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran would construct about 1,000 houses at block Bawani Khera for the below poverty line families. The deputy commissioner said a proposal had been sent to the government and land has been identified. Similarly, about 1,000 houses would also be constructed in Bhiwani and Dadri under the Slums Development Scheme. To cope with the shortage of potable water supply during the summer season, a proposal to set up a water works at Bhiwani had already been sent and the same would be approved soon, Satyaprakash stated. In order to ensure sufficient potable water supply to the people, new tube wells would also be set up at Bawani Khera and
Tosham. To a question, Satyaprakash said to educate each and every child in the district, a special campaign had been initiated by the district administration. Under this, efforts were on for re-admission of more than 8,000 children who had stopped going to school. |
|
|
Work on drain delayed
Yamunanagar, May 18 Sources in the Haryana Pollution Control Board said the work had been delayed as some farmers had moved court and obtained a stay alleging that the canal department had started digging the ditch without demarcation of land. The work on the 22-km ditch had been started and 20 km of the drain had already been dug and the work on construction of small bridges on the drain was underway, sources said. The ditch was to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 11.27 crore. An official of the board claimed that the work would have been completed by February 28 had the farmers not moved the court. Farmers from Radaur block, including Kali Ram and Mani Ram of Dhaulara and Ram Bala of Ghespur villages, had alleged that digging was started without demarcation of land. Four industrial units, Bharat Starch Mill, Saraswati Sugar Mill, BILT and Haryana Distillery and Sewerage Treatment Plant, had contributed funds for the digging of the drain. |
|
‘Train public for natural calamities’
Yamunanagar, May 18 The commissioner asked the officials concerned to tell people to remain calm and patient during calamities. He also asked them train the public to save those trapped in the floods. The trainers were asked to extend their skills to general public so that the latter could also help people in distress. Deputy commissioner,
Yamunanagar, Nitin Kumar Yadav, informed that two fibre boats would remain at the disposal of the authorities concerned during rainy seasons. |
|
|
3 of family consume poison, 2 die
Yamunanagar, May 18 Rajinder (40) and his daughter Somakshi (11) died while his wife Sonia is still fighting for her life at the PGI, Chandigarh. The adults decided against poisoning the fourth member of the family, Madan (7), as he was “too young” and sleeping when the three took poison at their Tilak Nagar residence here. A team of the local police had gone to record the statement of Sonia at the PGI when the reports last came in. Police sources said the family had been facing an acute financial crisis and the two adults took the decision to end their lives along with their daughter. After consuming poison, Rajinder called up his brother-in-law in New Delhi to report the incident. The family lived on the first floor of a house in Tilak Nagar while the ground floor was occupied by Rajinder’s father, mother, two sisters, brother and his family. When asked about the reason behind the extreme step taken by the Rajinder’s family, his brother and father expressed ignorance. According to them, they came to know about the incident when a few people reached the house to take the three to a hospital. Rajinder’s brother-in-law sent his acquaintances to the Rajinder’s house, where the three were found lying on the floor. A plate with half consumed food and three empty glasses were found. The three were taken to a private hospital here, from where they were taken to the PGI, Chandigarh. Rajinder used to run a tractor-trailer manufacturing business with his brother. Few months ago, Rajinder had asked his father to divide the house they were living in but the latter refused to do so till the marriage of his two daughters. |
|
2 gangsters in police net
Gurgaon, May 18 The gangster, Sube Singh of Bargurjar village under the jurisdiction of the Manesar police station, and his accomplice Ramphal, alias Langda, originally of Buraka village, Uttar Pradesh, and at present living in Naharpur Rupa Colony, here belonged to the dreaded Kaushal gang. The police was looking for them since they murdered Harbhaj of Naharpur Rupa in 2006. Both were arrested yesterday on the Saras road after a brief exchange of fire with a police party of the CIA staff-II, according to a press note. On a tip-off that the accused and his accomplice Ramphal would be leaving for DLF-III from Bhaleshwari Market on a motorcycle bearing registration number HR 26 AF 9138, the police set up a naka on the way. The accused fired at the police from his revolver when asked to stop. The police also retaliated. But both gave up when their motorcycle lost balance after being chased by the police. A case has been registered against them at the DLF-Phase II police station. The police has recovered two revolvers, 17 live cartridges and two shells from them. The accused was wanted in three cases each of murder, firing and threats of extortion. The accused Sube Singh confessed to having committed the murder of Chhalu at the busy Rajiv Chowk in 2006. The murder took place when the deceased was in police custody. He also confessed to having murdered Mukesh, owner of hotel Suyransh on the Sohna-Gurgaon road in 2007. |
|
|
1 held for murder
Sonepat, May 18 According to police sources, the arrested business partner was identified as Man Preet, alias Minto, a resident of Paschim Vihar, New Delhi. He confessed to have murdered a trader, Jaswinder Singh, by inflicting knife injuries on him on May 11. After murdering him, he threw the body on the GT Road near Pio Manyari village in Sonepat district. The accused said he had a business dispute to the tune of Rs 60 lakh with Jaswinder Singh and this was the main cause behind the crime.
— PTI |
|
2 killed in road accidents
Rewari, May 18 In another incident, Mahender Singh (26) of Musepur village was killed when the motorcycle he was riding on reportedly collided with a jeep on the Berli-Rewari road near Beharipur village last evening. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
