Shimla, January 22
Stepping up its campaign against the ruling BJP in the triple CDs issue, the Congressmen today marched to the Raj Bhawan and urged the Governor Prabha Rau to sack the Dhumal government in view of the unsavoury “facts” regarding illegal phone tapping and corruption brought to light by a sordid episode.

The party men led by Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh submitted a memorandum demanding immediate registration of FIRs to investigate the facts revealed by the CDs, CBI probe into illegal phone tapping, suspension of director-general of police, vigilance, D.S.Manhas and dismissal of BJP MP Virender Kashyap from the Lok Sabha.

It alleged that the government had been trying its best to suppress the matter and there was no possibility of a fair probe as the state agencies would be under the influence of the Chief Minister and the DGP who were the key figures in the case. Moreover, the Chief Minister had dubbed the CDs as fabricated even before ordering an inquiry and the entire exercise was aimed at hushing up the matter. It was thus essential that the inquiry was handed over to the CBI to bring out the truth.

The most serious issue was that the DGP (Vigilance) was himself seeking clearance from the chief minister for tapping the phone of union steel minister Virbhadra Singh, instead the CID doing it. The involvement of Chief Minister in the illegal act had established beyond doubt as the police had also acquired some special gadgets for the purpose. It was a grave situation which warranted immediate dismissal of the government.

The video CD had only revived the “cash in camera” case which the police under pressure from the ruling party hushed up during the Lok Sabha polls. Action must be taken against the police officers who were instrumental in sweeping the case under the carpet. It had also highlighted corruption in grant of permission for acquiring land under Section 118 of the Land Reforms and Tenancy Act.

About a dozen MLAs, former speaker Gangu Ram Musafir, former minister Ram Lal Thakur, party general secretary Kuldeep Rathore and other officer-bearers accompanied the PCC chief. 

Mandi, January 22
Youth Congress and district Congress activists took out a protest rally and burnt effigies of Chief Minister PK Dhumal, Shimla BJP MP Virender Kashyap and Director General (Vigilance) DS Manhas here today. They further, in a memorandum addressed to the Governor and President, demanded that the state government should be dismissed as it had lost constitutional legitimacy to be in the office.

Addressing the protest rally against the BJP leaders, former Excise and Taxation Minister Rangila Ram Rao said the triple CDs had exposed the real face of the BJP that highlighted how neck-deep the present regime was in corruption.

Joining the protest included district Congress president Puran Chand, former Nachen MLA Tek Chand Dogra, former Milkfed chairman Chet Ram Thakur, additional Seva Dal chief Chander Sekhar, Youth Congress district president Dharmender Sharma, former Minority Cell chairman Gulzar Muhamad Bharti, and Kheti-Kisan Mazdoor spokesperson Tarun Pathak besides over 200 Congress activists from the district.

The Congress leaders further said the Chief Minister had no moral right to stay in the office and he should resign.

The leaders rejected a CID probe into the CD case stating that the Chief Minister headed the home department and DG Manhas was a senior officer.

“We have faith in the integrity of CID head ID Bhandari who is investigating the triple CDs case. However, the pulls and pressure from the top boss is bound to influence the outcome of the CID probe,” they stated.

They further ridiculed Dhumal’s conflicting statements in the media.

In another memorandum addressed to the President of India, they asked to dismiss the Dhumal government for violating democratic rights as the government was misusing the government machinery to settle personal scores with political opponents.

Meanwhile, BJP president Khimi Ram dismissed the Congress allegations as political propaganda to tarnish the image of the government.

The Congress men are raising similar allegations that the BJP had raised when the CD related to Virbhadra Singh was released. However Virbhadra never resigned, he claimed.

He said the CM had ordered a CID probe to know the truth behind the CDs. There is no question of resignation over the CDs they contain nothing objectionable, he claimed.

Hamirpur, January 22
While several organisations of the Opposition parties in the state have become quite vocal on the issue of CDs about revelations of alleged involvement of the BJP’s top leaders in corruption cases, Congress activists today burnt effigy of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to highlight this issue. They also demanded a CBI probe in the matter.

The Congress activists, under the banner of Block Congress Committee, today assembled at Bhota Chowk and started raising slogans against the state government and BJP leaders.

They also burnt the effigy of Dhumal, holding him responsible for the alleged corruption in the state.

The Congress leaders also accused the state government of trying to cover up corruption issues.

Former MLA Kuldeep Pathania, Block Congress president Suman Bharti, district Mahila Congress president Raj Dhiman and other Congress leaders were present on this occasion.

Meanwhile, CITU state general secretary Dr Kashmir Singh Thakur has accused a few leaders of both the BJP and the Congress for indulging in corruption to make money by misusing official positions.

He also demanded a CBI probe in all CDs released with allegations of exchange of money naming Congress and BJP leaders.

Thakur said, “No impartial investigation is possible by the CID team in the state and a probe only by a central agency can bring out the truth.”

Meanwhile, Deepak Sharma, state spokesman of the Congress, has also demanded a CBI probe in the CD episode showing alleged acceptance of money by MP Virender Kashyap and allegations of incriminating talks between Dhumal and DGP (Vigilance) DS Manhas. 

Chamba, January 22
“There is no claimant of the fabricated CDs targeted against innocent BJP leaders,” said Mohan Lal, a former minister and a veteran BJP leader, while reacting to the mayhem created by the Congress.

Hitting out at the cheap propaganda launched by the Congress over the CD issue, Mohan Lal described it as an “ill-founded, mischievous and a politically motivated conspiracy”. He said the Congress leaders were using the fabricated CDs as a weapon to malign the image of Chief Minster PK Dhumal and other innocent leaders taking political mileage.

On the other hand, the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress had sought a high-level probe into the CD episode against the state BJP leaders.

In a memorandum submitted to the President of India and Governor of Himachal Pradesh, state secretary of the HP Youth Congress Liaket Ali said the CDs had divulged the secret deeds of corruption in which the faces of BJP leaders had been unveiled.

In the wake of much-talked about CDs, the state BJP government had no moral right to stay on the government seat and should resign on ethical grounds, advised Ali.

Shimla, January 22
Blaming the wrong polices of economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the unprecedented price rise, BJP general secretary Vijay Goyal today demanded discontinuation of forward trading in foodgrain, release of more ration from the buffer stocks, restoration of APL (above poverty line) families and streamlining of the public distribution system (PDS) as immediate measures to contain inflation.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the entire world had been hit by recession. However, India was the only country which was reeling under spiralling prices. The UPA regime failed to monitor agriculture production, particularly the impact of drought, as a result of which timely steps were not taken to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

He said he did not blame Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, whose statements had been drawing flak, and held the PM responsible for the messy state of affairs. Being an economist, he was expected to handle the situation much better, he added.

The impact on the urban middle class had been more severe because of the reduction in the quota of APL families and incoherent export and import policy. Speculative buying by big players forward trading and unchecked hoarding had compounded the problem. Besides taking care of these factors, long-term measures like increasing investment on farm sector, removing middlemen from foodgrain trade and putting in place a mechanism in place managing production, distribution and trading of foodgrain in professional manner were also required.

It was a pity that the UPA government could not think of anything more than importing various commodities and reducing duties to deal with the situation. Such ad-hoc measure required time for implementation and did not provide immediate relief to the people, he said.

The BJP has decided to carry out a countrywide stir against price rise from January 25 to February 15. A detailed programme for HP would be finalised shortly.

Dharamsala, January 22
The state is no position to protect the privacy of people being tapped in stings or phone tapping. It comes under the preview of the Telegraph Act which is a central Act. Only the Union government can take a decision in this regard.

This was stated by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal when asked if the state was contemplating certain Act to protect the privacy of people in view of consistent sting operations haunting politicians and bureaucrats in the state.

Fear has set in politicians and bureaucrats and they are suspecting that their rivals might get them trapped in some casual conversation or hire professional agencies for the job. The conversation on mobile phone by those in power has gone measured. With this in mind, the demand for an Act to protect the privacy of individuals against organised stings has picked up.

When asked about the recent CD expose allegedly having his voice, the CM said it was bogus. “The CD is doctored and investigations will prove the fact very soon,” he said.

Talking about the allegations of phone tapping in the state, Dhumal said when a Union Minister (Virbhadra Singh), levelled allegations that his phone was being taped by state agencies, he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and offered that the charges should be got investigated by any independent agency.

The CM also admitted that the recent CD expose might be a deliberate conspiracy to dilute the case of old CD case involving Virbhadra Singh. He said though the Congress leaders had been levelling charges against the present government for tapping the phones of their leaders, the old CD case came to the fore during the Congress rule.

The CD was released by a prominent leader (Vijay Singh Mankotia) and was also allegedly recorded during the Congress rule.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders, especially those loyal to Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh, have stepped up the tempo, demanding resignations of those who featured in alleged controversial CDs. Kewal Singh Pathania, spokesperson of the HPCC, said if a case could be registered against Virbhadra Singh, the leaders featuring in present CDs should also be booked.

Sources available here said though the audio CDs released recently seemed to be doctored, the video CD containing allegations against a BJP MP would be hard to negate.

Shimla, January 22
All employment offices in the state will be computerised to facilitate registration of unemployed persons and renewal of registration.

Stating this while speaking at the conference of Labour Ministers in New Delhi today, Health Minister Rajiv Bindal said out of 67 employment offices, 16 were already providing these services online.

A software had been developed to help cover the remaining offices in a phased manner, he added. He urged the Centre to provide financial assistance on the 90:10 ratio, augmenting facilities in employment offices, as was being done in case of North Eastern states under the Mission Mode Project.

There was only one office of Labour Bureau in Shimla which oversaw the working of central government employees and controlled industries. As such, cement plants should be kept out of the list of controlled industries of the central government, he said.

Himachal Pradesh was the first state to make identity cards mandatory for workers and so far 2.10 lakh workers had been issued such cards. Further, to put an end to exploitation of the workers, an amendment should be made in the labour laws to enable payment to contractual workers by cheque and their ESI and EPF accounts made online.

Under the Skill Development Mission, companies should sponsor training programmes for their workers as it would ensure availability of trained manpower.

The government had set a target of setting up of one hydro engineering college, one institute of engineering technology, five polytechnic colleges, nine ITIs and 100 industrial training centres by 2013.

Dharamsala, January 22
Tarun Kumar, a resident of Dharnu village, near Dharamsala, who is suffering from heart ailment got a relief today as Chief Minister PK Dhumal came to his aid and sanctioned Rs 1 lakh for his medical treatment at PGI.

Kishan Pal Singh, father of Tarun Kumar, met the CM at Dharamsala Secretariat and pleaded that he had meagre sources of income and his son required immediate bypass surgery at the PGI for which doctors have given an estimate of Rs 1.5 lakh. The CM immediately sanctioned the release of Rs 1 lakh for the applicant.

Besides, the CM also released Rs 3,000 for the marriage of Rumala Devi’s daughter, a resident of the Nagrota Surian area.

Earlier during the day, the CM presided over the meeting of the Gorkha Kalyan Board. In the meeting he sanctioned Rs 2 lakh for beautification of Major Durgamal and Captain Bahadur Thapa memorials.

The Chief Minister said the state government was committed for socio-economic uplift of Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian. Various training programmes, scholarships and skill upgrade schemes were benefiting the eligible persons of these communities. As many as 532 eligible candidates were given scholarships worth Rs 30.15 lakh last year and a proposal to provide scholarship to 1,400 candidates have been sent to the Central government.

As per the census of 2001, there were 2,76,450 persons of minority communities which constituted 4.5 per cent of the total population. Punjabi, Urdu and Bhoti languages had been introduced in schools for religious, social and educational uplift of minorities in the state.

He said the HP Wakf Board had decided 341 cases of various disputes and the remaining 393 cases would be decided soon.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary said her department was giving social security pension to 2,52,048 eligible persons besides sanctioning 34,565 new pension cases during the past two years. The state government was also providing benefits under various welfare schemes to the weaker section of society. In addition to this, the government was providing pre-exam coaching at the centre opened in Himachal Pradesh University free of cost so that candidates belonging to these communities could compete in higher and professional courses.

Mandi, January 22
The Right to Information (RTI) Act has exposed a case of forgery and cheating involving a panchayat pradhan and officials at Bari Gumanu in Mandi Sadar, who allegedly forged signatures of the two complainants — Bhupinder Singh and Mohinderpal Singh — and got payments worth Rs 1,400 each against their names.

The police yesterday booked the case of forgery and cheating under Sections 420, 467, 471 of the IPC on the complaint at Mandi Sadar.

According to sources, the police has registered a case of cheating and forgery after Bhupinder, son of Karam Singh, and Mohinder Pal, son Devi Singh, both from Bari Gumanu village, lodged the complaint yesterday.

They got the information under the RTI Act and found that their signatures were forged by the panchayat representatives and officials in connection with a work carried under muster roll no. 89 from January 15, 2008, to January 25, 2008, for 14 days under NREGA.

They charged the false attendances were appended against their names by the said person who managed the mustrol and withdrew money. Mandi ASP Abhishek Dular said a case had been registered against the alleged accused and investigations were underway.

Kangra, January 22 
Primary Education Director Dr Rajeev Sharma today made a surprise visit to government primary school, Bohdar Bala, on the outskirts of the town and found teachers not available at 9 am. He personally made the students recite the prayer in the absence of the teachers. 

Rajeev Sharma, while talking to The Tribune, said one teacher Kusum Lata reached the school at 9.15 am. Head teacher Saroj Bala did not reach the school till he left the premises, he added. 

He said he had ordered an inquiry into the matter to be conducted by Kangra block primary education officer and the centre head teacher.

Meanwhile, GC Bedi and Kamal Jeet, district and block presidents of Primary Teachers’ Federation, respectively, called on Sharma at Dharamsala in this connection.