Chandigarh, January 29
The “please all” approach doesn’t always work and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s Cabinet expansion in Haryana is a case in point. While inducting new ministers and balancing caste equations may be all very well, the juggling of portfolios and, more importantly, the seniority record of the Haryana Cabinet has ruffled a few feathers.

Sources maintain that the Finance Minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, is unhappy over being lowered to the number three position in the Cabinet. Power Minister Mahender Pratap Singh, too, is sore over the raw deal meted out to him, not only in terms of the Cabinet ranking but also in terms of “lightening” his workload.

Capt Yadav, a six-time MLA, has been replaced by the latest entrant, Harmohinder Singh Chatha, at the number two position. Though Yadav’s portfolios are untouched, the sources maintain that he hasn’t taken kindly to Chatha’s ranking above him since the latter is a four-time MLA though he has been a three-time minister and Speaker in the past.

Mahender Pratap Singh’s grievance, too, stems from a similar reason. Close aides claim that the minister is a five-time MLA and it is for the government to ensure that senior party leaders are given their due. The Power Minister is ranked below Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala who is a three-time MLA and was inducted into the Cabinet for the first time in 2005.

Capt Yadav and Mahendera Pratap Singh, maintained, “We are one among equals. The government should feel free to rank us below our other Cabinet colleagues if it satisfies it,” they said.

However, the government does not share their point of view, maintaining that the two leaders are being unjust since seniority is not decided by the number of times an MLA is elected to the Vidhan Sabha but on the basis of his induction into the Cabinet. Officials add that in the last term of the Congress rule, Capt Yadav was ranked below Chatha while Mahender Pratap has only been a Minister of State in the past and is technically below Surjewala, who joined as a Cabinet Minister.

Hisar, January 29
The Dalit community at Mirchpur village in this district has split into two groups with one group of villagers living in tents inside a farmhouse here and the other shifting from there to a dharamshala here. Those who have shifted to the dharamshala began an indefinite dharna at the mini-secretariat here today.

They are demanding a government job for one member of each Dalit family of the village and allotment of 100 sq yard plots to all the Dalit families. The protesters submitted a memorandum to the district authorities listing these two demands.

Amar Lal, son of Tara Chand who had died in the violence in the village, also joined the protesters. He said the “other community” in the village had been creating “hungamas” every day and therefore the Dalits could not stay in the village anymore. He said many Dalit youths had applied for grant of firearm licences.

Suresh Balmiki, who brought this group from the farmhouse, said there was no possibility of restoring brotherhood among different communities in the village and therefore the Dalits could no longer stay in Mirchpur. He said the government had to settle them elsewhere by giving them plots.

The protesters have decided to stage a dharna everyday from 9 am to 5 pm and then spend the night in the dharamshala.

The Dalits families had staged a dharna for a long time here after the April 21 incidents last year. They had gone back to the village after a slew of relief measures were announced by the government. At that time too they had raised the demand for plots but the government had refused to do so, saying that shifting them from the village was no permanent solution.

A Dalit man and his daughter had been killed in violence on April 21 last year. As many as 103 accused are undergoing trial in the case in a Delhi court.

Ballabgarh, January 29
Chlorine leaked from a factory, Eva Industry, located on the outskirts of Hirapur village, about 15 km from here, last night and affected more than 100 persons, who were provided treatment. All of them are stated to be fine now.

The police has registered an FIR against the owner of the factory, Puneet Sharma. The police said the owner was at large and efforts were on to arrest him.

Two drums of chlorine were reportedly kept on the factory premises. Gas leaked from one of the drums and reportedly spread to the residential pockets of the village.

According to Shyam, a resident of Hirapur, villagers felt pungency in the air late in the afternoon yesterday. For several hours, they did not pay much attention, thinking that it was probably due to the burning of some material at a distant place. However, late in the evening, a number of residents started complaining of headache and a burning sensation in the eyes and lungs. The administration was informed and it was found that gas had leaked from the factory. Villagers became panicky as soon as they learnt of the gas leak. Medical teams were sent to the spot at night and four fire engines were pressed into service to control the leakage.