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Leaders’ veiled potshots reign in Congress meeting
Newly appointed Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who is Punjab and Haryana affairs in charge, speaks as Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda looks on at Sector 28 in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan
Shakeel Ahmed to address pending party issues
Hooda in line of fire over
babus' re-employment
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Flood-control measures set to miss deadline
Govt transfers police officers
Tractor-trailer hit by train on Kaithal-Kurukshetra track
A tractor-trailer hit by a train on the Kaithal-Kurukshetra railway track in Kaithal on Friday.
Lovers jump before train, die
Man booked for rape
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Leaders’ veiled potshots reign in Congress meeting
Chandigarh, June 29 Though in-your-face attacks were not made, the toned-down alternative touched upon all discordant issues that divided the party. Most leaders were unanimous on a clampdown on rallies by leaders without taking the state and party leadership into confidence, a direct reference to recent rallies organised by Rajya Sabha member Ishwar Singh. While speakers from Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's camp made no bones about their disappointment over giving party dissidents a long rope, Rajya Sabha member Birender Singh, the sole flag-bearer of the detractors' camp, minced no words when it came to winning a third term of Congress rule in the state. Sources said he admitted that the opposition was in disarray, but it did not translate into a cakewalk for the Congress. "It is advantage Congress with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief in jail and the longevity of the Bharatiya Janta Party-Haryana Janhit Congress alliance in doubt. It can turn into a disadvantage with a laid-back approach," he is learnt to have said. He attributed the Congress win in 2005 to public disillusionment with the INLD, ill-governance and rampant corruption. "We came back with 67 seats, but dropped to 40 in 2009. The 2014 Assembly elections is anybody's guess if we do not pull up our socks," he is said to have emphasised. While recommending a sooner-rather-than-later decision on state unit chief Phool Chand Mullana's continuation on the post, he said those in the driver's seat could not always be disciplined and blame the 'disadvantaged' group for indiscipline. "Any utterances by them get the stamp of discipline while even airing the slightest grievance gets christened as indiscipline for the rest," he claimed. Without naming anybody, legislator Venod Sharma was critical of the fact that Congressmen themselves were providing ammunition to the 'issue-less' opposition. "Congress leaders claiming that the Hooda government was not delivering was the same as saying the Congress government was not doing well, which the opposition used against the government. It did not behove senior leaders to blame their defeat on workers as workers fought their battle at the grassroots," he is learnt to have remarked. Ranjit Chautala rued the free-play given to the state bureaucracy, insisting that they be made to fall in line and be directed to take calls of local leaders. He favoured the widening of the scope of the 'coterie' involved in decision-making. Former Member of Parliament Jai Prakash emphasised ac5tion against party leaders for anti-party activity in the elections and tried to downplay the 'regional bias' allegation of the detractors' camp by stating that development had taken place equally the state over. Secretary in charge Asha Kumari gave the 'UPA-III, Haryana-III' slogan to underline the party's return to power at the Centre and in the state in 2014. Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said his role would be limited to strengthening the party by better co-ordination between the state and the organisation and initiatin4g corrective steps by seeking worker feedback. Highlights
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Shakeel Ahmed to address pending party issues
Chandigarh, June 29 Addressing a press conference after his meeting with the leaders of the state Congress, Ahmed said leaders gave indications of regional bias in their speeches without making any direct reference to it. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. “This was the first meeting. We will meet the leaders separately also and attend district and block-level meetings to identify the problems, if any, and proceed to taking action,” he said. Maintaining that there was no factionalism within the party, Ahmed said it was only a gap in
perception and uniting the party was his main agenda as the in charge. On being asked if the party would put a stop to the rallies organised by leaders without taking the district units or state units into confidence as sought by the state chief, Ahmed said this was only his first meeting and he was not aware of the demand. “I will take stock of the complaints and the allegations and make sure the needful is done,” he said. On the dilemma surrounding state chief Phool Chand Mullana’s continuation as president of the Pradesh Congress Committee, he said the former was the president till he was replaced. When asked about the absence of most of the MPs in the detractor camp, Ahmed said Union Minister Selja had expressed her inability to come to the meeting as had Sonepat MP Jitender Malik. “MP Shruti Choudhry could not come because she has to be in her constituency to attend the cremation of a soldier who lost his life during the rescue operation in Uttrakhand. I think it is commendable that she has taken responsibility to be there. Similarly, all those who could not make it must have had their own reasons,” he said. Ahmed said the meeting dwelt on the ways of strengthening the party in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and said building of a consensus among party leaders was
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Hooda in line of fire over
babus' re-employment
Chandigarh, June 29 "This trend which bodes ill for the functioning of the state administration in the long run," rued Ved Prakash Vidrohi, president of the NGO Grameen Bharat. In a direct attack, he wanted to know what had compelled the Chief Minister to re-employ former officers. He alleged that the Hooda regime had re-employed 31 IAS officers during the last eight years. If police officers and other officers were included in the list of those re-employed by the state government, the figure might cross 100, which had put an avoidable strain on the state exchequer, he alleged. Echoing similar sentiments, Roshan Lal Arya, president of the Haryana Sarvajan Party, alleged that by retaining senior bureaucrats and other officers in government service after retirement, the state government was harming the interests of serving officers and the unemployed youth. Shivalik Vikas Manch president Vijay Bansal demanded a White Paper on the expenditure incurred on salaries and perks of the re-employed officers. The money spent on payment of salaries and perks to re-employed officers could have been spent on development, he asserted. Hooda is liberal in 'rewarding' his favourite officers even after retirement. That is perhaps the reason a large number of bureaucrats, including six former Chief Secretaries, had been rehabilitated by the Chief Minister during his eight-year tenure. Even the Chief Minister's office and residence are being manned by a substantial number of re-employed officers. |
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Flood-control measures set to miss deadline
Jind, June 29 "The Gatauli-Karela drain, which drains out excess water in the Julana region, is still choked with wild grass and plants," said Sandeep of Gatauli village. He said officials could make tall claims on preparations, but the condition spoke volumes about the work done. The drain could house snakes and other reptiles, said Prakash of the same village. According to departmental sources, a majority of the 22 drains in the Jind subdivision and 21 in the Safidon subdivision had wild growth and the situation could turn worse in case of heavy rain. "While the work of cleaning drains is of the Irrigation Department, cleaning sewers and drains within city limits is the job of the municipal council. The civic body seems to have taken measures only on paper as garbage fills a majority of outlets," claimed Ravinder of Jind. He said the work of cleanliness and garbage removal had been a victim of official apathy. Rajiv Chopra, Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Department, said the work of cleaning all 16 major drains in the district had been going on at full steam. He admitted that it had been interrupted due to rain last week. He added that it was a routine annual exercise and the work was likely to be completed by the end of the first week of July. He asserted that there was no cause of concern on this front. |
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Govt transfers police officers
Chandigarh, June 29 RC Mishra, IG, Modernisation, is IG, CID. Balbir Singh, IG, Karnal Range, will hold additional charge of Hisar Range during the leave period of SS Kapur. OP Singh, IGP, South Range, Rewari, has been made IG, Modernisation. DK Bhardwaj, Commdt, 1st IRB, Bondsi, has been given additional charge of Commdt, 2nd IRB, Bondsi. SP Ranga, IG, CID, is the new IG, South Range, Rewari. He will hold additional charge of IG, Rohtak, during the leave period of Anil Kumar Rao. |
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Tractor-trailer hit by train on Kaithal-Kurukshetra track
Kaithal, June 29 The tractor-trailer was badly damaged but the driver and another person jumped out of the vehicle. Hearing a loud thud, a large number of villagers rushed to the spot. The driver and guard informed the railway authorities about the accident. The train remained standstill for about 20 minutes. Residents of surrounding villages have expressed their resentment over the delay in posting an attendant on the crossing. They said it could lead to major
accidents as hundreds of vehicles, including school buses, pass through the unmanned crossing everyday. |
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Lovers jump before train, die
Bhiwani, June 29 Poonam was married to Jaibir in Kharkari Makhwan village of Bhiwani three years ago. She soon developed relations with Jaibir’s cousin, Deepak. For the past one month, Poonam was living with her parents at Sumrakhera village. Deepak’s family sources said he left his home in the morning on his motorcycle. Later, his motorcycle was found parked near railway lines. The police took the bodies to General Hospital,
Bhiwani, for postmortem. |
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Man booked for rape
Fatehabad, June 29 The husband alleged that the accused had an old rivalry with him. The police booked the accused under Sections 376, 452 and 506 of the IPC. |
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Chandigarh, June 29
A major mishap was avoided on an unmanned railway crossing near Solu Majra village on the Kaithal-Kurukshetra railway track yesterday when a brick-laden tractor-trailer got stuck on the track and was hit by a passing passenger train.
The tractor-trailer was badly damaged but the driver and another person jumped out of the vehicle. Hearing a loud thud, a large number of villagers rushed to the spot.
