Hisar, October 10
The shadow of Anna Hazare and the civil society leadership loomed large over a big election rally organised by the Congress here today in support of its nominee for the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection.

Though the Congress leaders carefully avoided mentioning Anna Hazare’s name, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal became the favourite whipping boy for many of them. Kejriwal is currently touring the constituency appealing to the voters to vote against the Congress.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however, chose not to name both Anna Hazare and Kejriwal. But, he questioned the motives and methodology of “those asking you not to vote for the Congress,” saying that corruption could not be ended by promoting corrupt candidates. He said the Congress candidate had a clean record while the two other main contestants were tainted.

Hooda said he and his party were committed to ending corruption and Haryana would soon enact an effective law to end corruption. Hooda said his party was in favour of a strong Lokpal.

The Chief Minister said the voters should differentiate between a byelection and the general election. Since this was a byelection, the people stood to gain by electing the candidate of the party in power both at the Centre and in the state. This, he said, was important because it would help develop the area speedily.

Hooda said he agreed that fertiliser prices had gone up due to prices of raw materials in the international market. But, to compensate the farmers the Centre had raised the minimum support price of every crop.

He said both Bhajan Lal and Chautala clans had been shifting to other constituencies every now and then. This was because they stood exposed once they were elected from one constituency as people never voted for them again.

He said he was promising a clean and corruption-free government which would speed up development and it was for this reason that he was seeking votes.

Union minister Selja said there would be no effect of the anti-Congress campaign by Team Anna in the Hisar byelection. These elements were opposition parties wearing the mask of the civil society, she said, adding that the Congress knew how to deal with this issue both on the political and electoral platforms.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said people should note that the civil society had not launched any anti-graft movement in any of the states ruled by non-Congress parties. This showed that these elements were only targeting the Congress for obvious reasons, she added.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the Congress was the only party with a national and secular perspective. Sonia Gandhi had set an example by forsaking the Prime Minister’s office and installing Manmohan Singh instead. Since then the country had seen unprecedented development.

Congress nominee Jai Prakash said those involved in the anti-Congress sampaign were themselves hand in glove with the corrupt. He said his track record was the cleanest whereas the two main candidates opposing him were tainted.

Without naming Team Anna, actor-turned politician Raj Babbar said the Congress was capable of dealing with them. Let them come to UP, he said. 

Chandigarh, October 10
If the Congress had no dearth of “star campaigners” in the run-up to the Hisar parliamentary seat byelection, the HJC-BJP combine had to make do without them, courtesy a faux pas.

Sources said though the HJC submitted a list of 25 leaders of the BJP as its star campaigners well within the stipulated time, its application stood rejected on grounds that the party could not seek approval for “star campaigners” of another party.

The HJC, as per its application received in the CEO office on September 26, had sought permission to designate BJP president Nitin Gadkari and other senior BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as its official star campaigners.

However, Sumita Misra, Chief Electoral Officer, refused permission, stating that the “leader of another political party” cannot be covered under the “star campaigner” category. In this situation, the BJP had to apply for permission to designate its leaders as “star campaigners”. This refusal has meant that the expenses on all BJP leaders who campaigned for HJC-BJP candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi will be added to his account.

Under the provisions, the expenses incurred during canvassing by “star campaigners” for a party during campaigning are not added to the budget of the candidate. Also, while a national party is permitted 40 star campaigners, a regional party has a limit of 20 such campaigners.

The Congress, on the other hand, sent 40 names, which included that of Central leaders like Motilal Vora, Janardhan Dewedi, Sachin Pilot, Rajathan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state unit president Phool Chand Mullana, nearly all MPs and Cabinet Ministers.

The INLD, despite having a limit of 20 names, sent the name of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, as its “star campaigner” .

Meanwhile, the candidates have submitted their final accounts with the expenditure observer and the Hisar district administration. While all of them are well within the Rs 40-lakh limit, the HJC-BJP combine has spent the maximum as per the “shadow register” maintained by the district administration.

Sources said while the administration had estimated an expenditure of Rs 33 lakh, the account of the HJC suggests it is nearly half of this. The Congress had spent Rs 28 lakh as per official estimates while the party’s calculations suggested it was Rs 25 lakh. 

Sirsa, October 10
Hectic political activities have begun in Dabwali town in the district for the election of the president and the vice-president of the municipal committee, scheduled for October 14.

Both the posts are lying vacant since July 1, 2010, when Simpa Jain, president, and Harnek Singh, vice-president, respectively of the Dabwali Municipal Committee were removed from their posts by a no- confidence vote.

Both office-bearers, owing their allegiance to the Congress, were elected to their respective posts after municipal elections on May 5, 2009.

Earlier, the authorities had fixed a meeting of the committee for the election of new office-bearers on July 8, 2010, but the meeting was later postponed.

The INLD, which claimed to have majority of the councillors, had criticised the postponement, attributing political motives to the action of the authorities. 

Chandigarh, October 10
Haryana Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha today announced an increase in the dearness allowance (DA) of the state government employees from 51 to 58 per cent with effect from July 1, 2011.

He said the increase of 7 per cent in the DA of the state government employees had been made on the pattern of the Central Government employees. He said this would put a burden of Rs 36.40 crore per month on the state exchequer.

Hisar, October 10
The Congress put up a show of solidarity at an election rally organised here today. Union Minister Selja made her debut in the campaign. Thus far, she had not campaigned in the constituency.

Chief Ministers of two states which share their borders with Haryana, Sheela Dikshit of Delhi and Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, lent support to their Haryana counterpart at the rally. Bollywood actor Raj Babbar, now a Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh, added a dash of glamour to the show.

Most speakers from Haryana interspersed their speeches with Haryanvi. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda noticed that the audience was sweating profusely. He commented, “Yeh paseena nahin hai. Is Gangajal mein naha ke aur Congress ko vote deke apne dukh door kar lo.”

Due to the presence of so many VVIPs, armed commandos swarmed the back of the stage. But they could not find enough shade to sit and beat the sun. They took turns standing guard and resting at the few such places available.

The swank SUVs of the VVIPs were parked in neat rows in front of the VIP entry gate, giving the place a look of a MNC car showroom. People were seen guessing the price of each car. Curious street urchins were vying with each other to have a glimpse at the interiors.

However, the rally caused unprecedented traffic jams in the city till late in the evening. The police stopped vehicular traffic at several points in the city to facilitate VVIP movement. People had to wait for about half an hour at several places before proceeding to their destination.

All three main candidates have chosen the Old Government College grounds for their rallies. Before the Congress, the HJC-BJP combine held a rally here yesterday. The INLD is holding a rally at the same venue tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi today bolstered the anti-Congress campaign in the Hisar parliamentary constituency by addressing meetings at Adampur and Hansi. Bedi said the nation’s hard-earned money was being cornered by corrupt politicians. This was affecting the nation’s growth and development.

Fatehabad, October 10
Actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar today launched a scathing attack on Anna Hazare and his civil society. He said the social activist was not honest enough to accept his links with the RSS, though the association, he said, had been clearly established in the Hisar parliamentary byelection.

Speaking to mediapersons at a helipad built in the Police Lines here today, where his chopper halted to pick Karnal MP Arvind Sharma, the Congress MP from Firozabad (UP) said Team Anna’s real face had come before people during the byelection. “When Annaji started his movement, he had claimed that it was for rooting out corruption from the society and bringing a strong Jan Lokpal Bill. Now, it had become clear that he was hand in glove with the RSS to disparage the Congress,” Raj Babbar said. “If he has a little of honesty left in him, Anna ji should accept his relations with the RSS,” added the former actor.

He said it was very strange that members of Team Anna were helping the RSS agenda in Hisar and even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had claimed his swayamsewaks’ support for Anna, but the civil society was not mustering the courage to own this publicly. When asked, whether he was accusing Anna Hazare of dishonesty, the Congress MP said people would decide this.

Raj Babbar claimed that the Team Anna’s campaign against the Congress in Hisar would backfire, as people, he said, had seen the real face of Anna and his civil society.

Karnal, October 10
Residents of Karnal today paid a musical tribute to Jagjit Singh at Noor Mahal, the same place where the Ghazal King had rendered his last “Live Concert” in the region on September 18.

In his memory, Haryana Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA) who brought Jagjit Singh face-to-face with the residents named its Signature series, a series to bring artist to the state to perform, as Jagjit Singh series and also announced a music award to be given to the best singer in the state in his name.

Pyush, HIFA president, has requested the administration of Kurukshetra University (KU) to set up a chair in the name of Jagjit Singh who did his postgraduation in history from KU as the university is proud to have a student like him.

Songs like “hey ram hey ram, jeevan safal hoga re bande, dil mein ram basaale and chithi na koi sandesh” rent the air as singer Vivek Ranga paid a tribute to Jagjit Singh.

Chandigarh, October 10
The stalemate between the management and workers of the auto-giant Maruti’s Manesar plants continues with no sign of an early breakthrough. The workers have been staging a dharna inside as well as outside the Manesar plants of the Maruti, bringing the production to a standstill.

A management spokesman said here today that the Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant “is effectively captive in the hands of the striking workers.” He also accused the workers of being “bent upon violence” as they “have beaten up company managers, supervisors and those co-workers who are not supporting the strike”.

He said the production at the company's Gurgaon plant had also been impacted today because supply of diesel engines and transmission systems from the SPIL had stopped. Today’s production at the Gurgaon plant was likely to be 1,800 vehicles against the normal 2,800 units.

The 33-day standoff between the workers and the management had ended on October 1 after the intervention of the Labour Department. However, the trouble arose again on October 7 when the management did not allow casual workers to resume duty. The regular workers went on a strike and staged a dharna inside and outside the plant, demanding that their colleagues should also be allowed to work. Soon the trouble spread to the other plants of Maruti at Manesar.

The withdrawal of the transportation facility between Gurgaon and Manesar by the management further added fuel to the fire as the workers alleged that this had been done to punish them. It is learnt that the transportation facility, available to the workers for the last many years, was withdrawn against the advice of the district administration.

About 1,500 workers have been sitting in the plant for the past three days. After the management closed the canteen, the workers have started bringing food from outside the plant.

Meanwhile, the police today arrested a contractor of Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. (SMIPL), whose workers are also on strike in support of their colleagues in Maruti Suzuki’s plant. The contractor had allegedly opened fire at the agitating employees yesterday. The contactor has been remanded in judicial custody.

Though Haryana Labour Minister Shiv Charan Sharma has blamed the workers for the situation, the government is unlikely to take any harsh measure against them before the conclusion of the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection, scheduled for October 13. 

Karnal, October 10
The death toll in last night’s fire in a godown in Sriram Colony here where firecrackers were illegally stored rose to two today with one person succumbing to burn injuries.

Aggrieved family members of the deceased along with residents today blocked Hansi Road near Gogripur railway crossing for five hours from 8 am, protesting against the “insensitive” attitude of the administration as no official visited the place after the fire last night.

The protesters alleged that laxity on the part of cops was responsible for the deaths as they not only forced the residents to pick the crackers and place these in the police van but also raided the residential area without proper safety measures. The blockade was lifted after the Deputy Commissioner and the SP assured the residents that a time-barred high-level probe would be ordered into the matter.

The fire reportedly broke out when a policeman dropped firecrackers while removing them from the godown, following a raid by a CIA team.

The deceased were identified as Naresh Kumar (35) and Vikas (20) while the injured included two constables of the CIA team, Satyawan and Gurmail, who were referred to Fortis, Delhi. A five-year-old girl Simran, Santro Devi and Roshan Lal were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, and Jai Bhagvan (Lila) to the PGI, Rohtak.

The fire brigade assisted by local people took about an hour to douse the fire. In fact, local people had already started the operation before the fire brigade arrived and avoided a major mishap by not allowing the fire to spread to adjoining houses.

SP Rakesh Arya said the owner of the building, Shamsher Saini, and Vakila, who rented out the place to store crackers illegally in a residential area, had been booked under the Explosives Act. 

Sonepat, October 10
Mohit Chhabra (30), a resident of Gannaur, along with his one and a half years old son committed suicide by jumping before a running train, near Gannaur, late last evening.

After receiving information of the incident from the train driver, a team of the Government Raiway Police (GRP) from Sonepat reached the place. After preliminary investigations, the bodies were brought to the Civil Hospital here for a postmortem.

According to the GRP, the bodies were identified by the victim’s brother-in-law, Shailender, who also reportedly told the police that Mohit was under some mental duress because of the death of his mother and blindness of his father.

However, Mohit’s family members claimed to have found a suicide note from his shop. In this handwritten note, Mohit had blamed his mother-in-law and wife for compelling him to take this extreme step.

The suicide note has been handed over to the GRP, they said.

Pawan Kumar, SHO, GRP, Sonepat, confirmed to have received a handwritten note and added that the case was being investigated from all angles.