Chandigarh, March 10
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to interfere with the selection of 20 multipurpose health workers in Haryana after making it clear that the selection process cannot be declared vitiated merely because candidates securing higher marks in academics were given lower marks in the interview.

Justice Augustine George Masih also took note of the fact that two of the selected candidates were related to a Haryana Staff Selection Commission member, but referred to an apex court judgment which said selection could not be set aside merely because some selected candidates were related to the members.

The ruling came on a petition filed by Mukesh Bala against Haryana and other respondents. He had alleged that the selection committee intentionally gave more marks in the interview to candidates they wanted to select and lower marks to those they wanted to exclude “irrespective of the academic marks obtained by the candidates”.

He added the interview committee was aware of “academic marks” scored by each candidate and accordingly adjusted the interview marks. He also alleged mala fides “at the behest of” commission member Lal Singh.

Counsel for the state , on the other hand, submitted Lal Singh was appointed to the commission after the interviews were over. He further contended: “Even if Lal Singh was a member of the commission, it would not have made any difference as he did not participate in the process of selection.

Taking up the matter, Justice Masih asserted: “A perusal of the marks assigned to the candidates to some extent reflects what has been asserted by counsel for the petitioner, but that cannot be accepted as a principle for coming to a conclusion that there were certain mala fides in making the selection of private respondents.

“Merely because some of the candidates, who had secured higher marks in the academic head of the criteria, have been given lower marks in the interview would not ipso-facto lead to a conclusion that this exercise has been done intentionally nor are specific allegations in this regard reflected in the petition or pleaded. Finding no merit in the present writ petition, the same stands dismissed”, Justice Masih said.

Chandigarh, March 10
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today restrained the Haryana Government from appointing State Police Complaints Authority(SPCA) Chairman without inviting names of retired Judges from the Chief Justice.

Issuing notice of motion to Haryana Government for April 7 on a petition filed in public interest by advocate HC Arora, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli also made it clear that the procedure prescribed by the apex xourt in Parkash Singh’s case was required to be followed.

The Supreme Courtin the judgment had directed the states to set up the state and district-level police complaints authorities.

The court had ruled that the state-level authority would be headed by a retired

Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, appointed out of a panel of names sent by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned. The states were also directed to enact appropriate legislation on this matter.

The state enacted the Haryana Police Act, 2007, and prescribed the setting up of a state-level authority, but it did not lay down the procedure to be followed by the government for appointment of the Chairman.

The Act, rather, provided that the Chairman could be either a retired Judge or a retired civil servant not below the rank of Secretary to the state or a lawyer well versed with criminal law with 20 years’ experience. 

Rewari, March 10
Almost all political parties advocate women’s participation in politics and claim to field ample numbers of women candidates in the election, but it is a sad state of affairs that merely five women leaders of the state have managed to reach the Lok Sabha in the last 12 polls held during 48 years after Haryana’s existence.

Though the women share around 49 per cent of total votes in the state and play a prime role in ensuring the victory of candidates, women leaders have always been neglected by every political party in the state.

Among the five women MPs, Congress leader Kumari Selja is the only one who romped home victorious for four times and that too from two separate constituencies. She is followed by Kailasho Saini being elected twice consecutively from Kurukshetra while contesting on the Indian National Lokdal (INLD) ticket.

Besides them, Chandrawati, Sudha Yadav and Shruti Choudhry have once won the Lok Sabha polls in the state. Chandrawati has the privilege of being the first woman elected as an MP in the state. She had defeated senior Congress leader Bansi Lal by getting over 67 per cent of the total votes in 1977.

Thereafter, no women candidate managed to get success in the next three Lok Sabha polls held in 1980, 1984 and 1989. Then, Congress nominee Kumari Selja was elected from Sirsa in 1991 and also retained her seat in the 1996 polls.

In the 12th Lok Sabha polls held in 1998, INLD candidate Kailasho Saini romped home from Kurukshetra and was also elected in 1999 for the second time. In the same election, another woman candidate — Sudha Yadav — emerged victorious on the BJP ticket from the Mahendragarh seat. It was for the first time when two women from the state make it to the Lok Sabha.

Kumar Selja, who had lost the 1998 polls, succeeded to win the seat for the third time in 2004 but this time she contested from the Ambala reserve constituency.

In the 15th Lok Sabha polls held in 2009, Shruti Choudhry, daughter of minister Kiran Choudhry, made her debut in poll politics and romped home by defeating Ajay Singh Chautala (INLD). Kumari Selja (Congress) also won the battle for the fourth time.

Hisar, March 10
If Haryana’s khap panchayats pay very close attention to women it’s hardly surprising that women will start paying very close attention to them. The attention, in this case, is scholarly attention.

No less than 12 women scholars belonging to different universities are presently researching different aspects of khap panchayats. Khap panchayats have frequently been in the news for interfering in the lives of young couples in the name of protecting the social fabric and caste or family honour. Athough the khaps have no legal authority, they behave like courts and this has brought them in conflict with the government.

In response to a spate of diktats by khap panchayats and incidents of honour killings in the past couple of years, Neelam Singh, a political science student from Delhi University is studying “community-based crime in North India”. She visited 12 villages in khap-dominated districts of Haryana and also attended several khap panchayat meetings to understand the nature of a khap and its style of functioning.

“These are community-based gotra gatherings which put the entire onus of family honour and pride on female members of the family and society. Self styled leaders in various villages often made the things worse by issuing weird diktats in an attempt to grab attention in society. But larger congregation of various gotras which are known as sarv khap mahapanchayat reverse the diktats in most of the cases”, she said.

Neelam says that she pities women her age living in rural Haryana as their lives are severely restricted. Their families too had to go by the unwritten rules of the gotras under pain of out social boycott – or as it is called in Haryana “hukka pani bandh”.

Khap panchayats are the subject of Antima Singh’s PhD. This scholar of Charan Singh University at Meerut says that khap panchayats do not play an entirely negative role and there have been instances of constructive contribution by certain khap panchayats. But she adds: “I found that women, downtrodden and Dalits have to face whimsical diktats of these panchayats.” She wants to see social awakening and unity to help women emerge from a conservative mindset.

Miranda House Professor of History Nonica Datta is heartened to see young scholars trying to understand the khap panchayats: “I believe students from Haryana universities should start working on social issues. The media has shown only the negative side of the highly patriarchal khap panchayats. A fuller understanding of the khap panchayats is needed.”

Sube Singh Samain, spokesperson of sarv khap panchayat welcomed the research scholars’ interest in khap panchayats and hoped that they would be able to bring out the positive contribution of khaps in social development.

Shakuntala Jakhar, an activist who takes up women’s issues, maintained that since women had been the victim of khaps, it’s good that educated counterparts from other parts had awaked to the plight of women in Haryana’s hinterland. “I hope that the high level research brings women issues to fore and help the policymakers stem the rot.”

Faridabad, March 10
The movement of dumper trucks carrying mines material to the crusher zone on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road has been causing inconvenience to residents of nearby villages and colonies.

Some villagers demanded a ban on the movement of stone-laden trucks on the stretch and a diversion of such vehicles. A delegation of protesters submitted a memorandum in this regard to the authorities concerned recently.

“We have become victims of the rash driving and overspeeding dumper trucks that ply on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road that connects the crusher zone with the main Sohna road.

It is difficult for pedestrians to pass through the stretch as it is slowly turning into a death trap due to over-speeding dumper trucks, said Satish Fagna, a resident of Bhakri village.

Satish was a member of the delegation which met the authorities and demanded a ban of material-laden trucks’ movement on the stretch.

He said around 20 persons had lost their lives and several others were maimed in accidents involving the dumper trucks in the past one year. At present, the number of trucks plying through the stretch is over 2,000.

He said the police, which ought to challan the overspeeding vehicles, was found missing from accident-prone spots.

“Two youths had lost their lives in similar accidents in the past two weeks,” said Satinder Kumar, another villager.

He alleged that the erring drivers go scot-free due to links between truck owners and the authorities concerned.

A dumper truck was set ablaze near Pali village last year after an accident claimed the life of a local resident, said Kanahiya Lal, a resident.

Reports said Bhakri, Pali, Mohabtabad, Pakhal, Dhauj, Sectors 48, 49 and Sainik Colony were among the most-affected localities.

The vehicular movement results in acute pollution level and damage to the roads in the area.

The residents have demanded a ban on the movement of such vehicles and a provision for an alternative route via Sirohi village to connect the Sohna road to the crusher zone.

Ambala, march 10
With sitting MP Kumari Selja already being nominated to the Rajya Sabha and the name of HPCC chief Ashok Tanwar being almost finalised for Sirsa, the Congress is finding itself in a position where fielding a senior stalwart to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Ambala seems unlikely.

Given the fact that Kumari Selja was a strong contender and a sure shot bet for the Congress if she had been fielded from here, the party is trying to find a suitable replacement for her. Party sources said even as the name of recently-appointment chief of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) was doing the rounds for party ticket to contest from Ambala, after he expressed his desire to contest from Sirsa the party high command was now looking for an alternative here.

Former HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana has already pulled himself away from the election race. Sources said the name of his son Varun Mullana, who till recently was trying to get a Congress ticket to contest the assembly polls from Mullana, has been included in the list of probable being considered from Ambala.

Another name in active consideration of the party high command is that of Raj Kumar Balmiki, chairman of the Haryana Harijan Kalyana Nigam, who had earlier contested the LS election from Ambala but had failed to get the mandate.

Party sources said the name of sitting Sadhoura MLA and a Selja loyalist Rajpal Bhukri was also being discussed at the highest level as she was supporting his claims at the centre.

They said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was trying to push Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal to contest from Ambala and her husband had also held discreet meetings with local leaders recently to gauge the situation and take an appropriate decision.

The BJP has almost zeroed in on the name of Rattan Lal Kataria, a political veteran and former MP, who successfully contested in the LS election from here in 1999. Kataria had lost to Selja in the previous elections.

Sources said the INLD was deliberating over the name of Ashok Sherwal, a former state president of BSP and presently the general secretary of INLD. He had contested the assembly polls twice but lost by narrow margins. Balwant Singh, a two-time MLA from Sadhaura, besides sitting MLA Rajbir Barara from Mullana assembly seat, who defeated former HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana in the last assembly elections, are also believed to be in the race for INLD ticket.

Meanwhile, the AAP, in its fourth list today, finalised the name of youth leader S P Singh from Panchkula to contest on the party ticket and the Bahujan Samaj Party has already named Kapoor Singh as its candidate. The BSP had won from Ambala in 1998 when Aman Kumar Nagar contested the LS elections. 

Chandigarh, March 10
The Haryana Government has come out with a policy for the change of land use (CLU) of the school sites in the state. Sources said the new policy was an 
offshoot of the reported complaints about the hardships faced by the persons seeking CLU permissions from various departments.

Currently, there was no uniform policy as various departments had different area norms for the setting up of educational institutions.

A meeting was held under the Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning Department, here recently to rationalise the current policy. At the meeting, the area norms for the grant of CLU to the schools sites for primary, middle and high/senior secondary were re-fixed, an order of the Director General of the Department of the Town and Country Planning (DTCP) said.

According to the new policy, a primary and middle school can now be established on an area of 1 acre. On the other hand, a high or senior secondary school without the residential facility can be established over an area of 3 acres. For the residential schools in that category, the area required would be 5 acres.

Under the earlier policy, the primary school could be set up over an area of 0.5 acre in the urbanisable limit or old MC area for which the permission was given by the Education Department. The area requirement for the primary school for which the permission was given by the DTCP in the agricultural zone was also 0.5 acre.

For the middle schools, the area norm in rural area was 1 acre for the urbanisable limit or old MC area (permission given by the Education Department) and the agricultural zone (permission given by the DTCP). The area norm for urban areas (permission given by the Education Department) was 1 acre. For rural area for which the permission was given by the DTCP, the area norm was 2 acres.

For setting up high/senior secondary schools, the area required in the urbanizable/old MC area (with the permission of the Education Department) was 2 acre. The area norms of 2 acres were also applicable for the schools without residential facility in agricultural zones (with the permission by the DTCP).

For residential facility, the area required was 4 acres. Similarly, in case of the schools to be established with the permission of the DTCP in rural 
area, the land requirement was 5 acres.

Sirsa, March 10
Accusing the authorities of doing little to save their future jeopardised by the Bar Council of India’s refusal to recognise LLB course of Chaudhary Devi Lal (CDL) University, four students of the Law department began their indefinite fast from today.

The fasting students, including two girls Mamta and Chanchal and two boys Rohit and Yunis, began their fast outside Tagore Bhawan Teaching Block of the university.

Mamta passed her LLB course from the university in 2013, while the other three are still studying in the Law Department.

“The university authorities are not concerned about our future,” said Rohit.

Students of the Law department have been agitating because the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana has declined enrolment of students who passed their LLB course in and after 2013 as advocates due to the want of recognition from the Bar Council of India to their degrees.

Kartar Singh, an RTI activist , alleged that the university continued admitting students in the course, though the BCI had specifically barred it from this due to several shortcomings found during its inspection in 2009.

Vice Chancellor Radhe Sham Sharma, however, said the university had already initiated steps in the direction of the approval and inspection of the department by a
team of the BCI was expected soon.

Rohtak, March 10
The authorities of Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences (UHS), Rohtak, have decided to probe the matter of foreign and domestic visits made by some faculty members with sponsorship of a global medical device company.

The Tribune had recently reported that Synthes Medical Private Ltd had sponsored six faculty members of the university to attend training courses in Switzerland and other places.

Prof SS Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor, maintained that comments would be sought from the faculty members mentioned in the report.

“In case they admit their fault, action would be taken against them. However, if they deny the facts stated in the report, an inquiry would be instituted to get to the bottom of the matter. In any case, whoever is found guilty will not be spared,” Professor Sangwan told this correspondent here today.

Meanwhile, informed sources said the probe panel which was looking into the matter of a PGIDS professor’s sponsored visit to Switzerland to attend a course had also recommended an inquiry against other faculty members of the university whose trips had been sponsored by the firm. 

Sirsa, March 10
Sirsa District Brick Kiln Owners’ Association today accused leaders of the Lal Jhanda Mazdoor Union, an association of labourers working at kilns, of misguiding their workers and threatening them of physical injuries.

Demanding security for brick kilns functioning in the district, Bhim Jhunthra, district president of the association, said out of 200 brick kilns of Sirsa, 175 had already been closed due to the “naxalite” and “maoist-like” activities of the Union and the rest were also likely to be closed in the next three to four days.

Brick kiln workers in the district have been holding a dharna against indifference of the authorities to implement labour laws properly against owners, denial of minimum wages to them and some other demands.

As many as 11 women brick kiln workers had observed fast on International Women’s Day on these issues.

The Sirsa District Brick Kiln Owners’ Association’s threat to close all kilns today is being seen as a move to counter the agitation by their workers.

“In the name of agitation, the leaders of Lal Jhanda Mazdoor Union instigate their workers to attack us with lathis, axes and spades. Our complaints to the DC, the SP and the officials of the Labour Department have yielded little results,” Jhunthra complained in a press conference today.

He threatened that if the authorities did not act forthwith, the brick kiln owners in the district will go on indefinite strike.

The Lal Jhanda Mazdoor Union, however, denied these allegations.

The union rather alleged that the brick kiln owners had been exploiting their workers and denying them their due, in connivance with the authorities and the Labour Department. 

Faridabad, March 10
The ambitious pillar box system, worth around Rs 250 crore, seems to have run into rough weather in view of alleged irregularities in the work.

The authorities have ordered a probe into the complaint regarding the work in the Faridabad circle, where work had begun three months ago.

The scheme was launched in the state last year in order to improve supply and curb pilferage. The department had announced a rebate on payment of electricity bills for consumers opting for pillar boxes.

The department stopped the work in view of a complaint and ordered an inquiry, said a senior DHBVN official.

He said work would be resumed as soon as the probe was completed.
The alleged irregularities surfaced after a complaint by an RTI activist.

It was alleged that the official concerned had got the work allotted without inviting tenders and had not framed estimates according to rules. The contractor and officials had reportedly not followed rules regarding bank guarantee.

Sources said the pillar box system was at an infant stage in the district and ordering a probe was surprising.

They said the authorities should check the performance in districts like Bhiwani and Hisar where the scheme had been completed.

The project was carried out by the contractor under the supervision of senior officials and the inquiry should start from the districts where it was complete, said an employee on the condition of anonymity.

The total cost of the project was around Rs 250 crore and it aimed to cover the state, with focus on circles and subdivisions where line losses and power thefts were common, said an official.

A DHBVN spokesperson said it was an upgraded power transmission apparatus and they planned to cover the maximum area. He added that a rebate of 30 per cent was being given in villages opting for the scheme.

It was stated that under this system, the low tension portion of supply was being minimised and naked conductors replaced with insulated cables.

Chandigarh, March 10
The Shivalik Vikas Manch (SVM) will organise “swabhiman padyatra” from Kalka to Chandigarh on March 12 to highlight discrimination with residents of the Shivalik region comprising Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Ambala districts.

Manch president Vijay Bansal said here today that the yatra would start from Kalka and culminate at Haryana Raj Bhavan after passing through Pinjore, Surajpur, Chandimandir and Sectors 2, 6 and 7 of Panchkula .

Demanding a special economic package for the Shivalik region, Bansal demanded a judicial probe into skewed development and nepotism in government jobs in Haryana.

A medical college, upgradation of Raipur Rani as a sub-tehsil, a mini-secretariat at Kalka, four-laning of the Panchkula-Yamunanagar highway, setting of an IIT and an IIM in the Shivalik region were among the demands of the region, Bansal said. 

Kaithal, March 10
Shocking, but true. Only one classroom with an attached verandah for as many as 412 students in Shakti Nagar Government Primary School, located in district headquarters town of Kaithal. This one classroom is presently also being used as kitchen to cook food during rains or inclement whether and to store school furniture, mid-day meal food stocks and other utensils.

Due to non-availability of a separate kitchen, the mid-day meal is generally cooked in the open but during rains it is cooked in this room where classes are held simultaneously.

The only one toilet here is in bad shape and is used by all students, including girls, and men and women staff members.

Drinking water is stored in a tank during water supply hours and is used by staff and students but in the absence of supply, water has to be fetched from hand or submersible pumps located in the vicinity of the school.

Also, a major portion of the school building is dilapidated. It was declared unsafe and was dismantled and auctioned by the government long ago. Five sessions of classes I, II, III and IV are held in this one-room building, verandah and open space, irrespective of the weather conditions. The remaining classes are held in two separate chaupals, located at a distance of 300 and 500 yards, respectively, from the school. The chaupals lack drinking water and toilet facilities, forcing students and staff to come to the main school building for these facilities.

Also, due to the scarcity of covered space, the furniture meant for the school, including about 200 chairs and 80 benches received a few months ago, have been kept in a building provided by the local municipal councilor.

An important question in the current scenario is when the school does not have enough space for holding classes, why is furniture worth lakhs being sent to the school?

When inquired, District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) Shish Rana said a proposal had been forwarded to the Director, Elementary Education, Haryana, for allocation of budget and grant of approval for construction of additional building in the school.

Yamunanagar, March 10
Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh held a demonstration at the mini secretariat here today. Farmers, led by Bharatiya Kisan Sangh district president Rambir Singh Chuahan, met City Magistrate Naveen Ahuja and handed him over a memorandum of their demands addressed to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Chauhan said local sugar mill should first buy sugar canes of those farmers who were associated with the mill and then purchase it from outsiders. Demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s report, he said the diesel used in agriculture and other farm equipment should be made tax-free.

He said the farmers whose land was acquired for the Dadupur-Nalvi canal should be given more compensation as their land was acquired on lower rates than the prevailing market price.

Hisar, March 10
Terming the BJP as a fundamentalist force, CPM central secretariat member Nilotpal Basu has said the country stands the risk of following the path of Pakistan if the BJP succeeds in pursuing its agenda.

Addressing a press conference here recently, Basu said the pitiable condition of democracy was mainly due to a theocratic state which gave birth to fundamentalism.

"Such a path is not acceptable to the people of our country," he said. He added that there was hardly anything to choose between the Congress and the BJP.

The CPM leader said the party would focus its election campaign on the livelihood issues of the people, for which it had been fighting round the year.

He stated that the working class and poor sections of society had high stakes in the outcome of the forthcoming General Election.

State CPM secretary Inderjit Singh claimed that the CPM and the CPI were the only parties which were upholding value-based and principled politics.

He said they had never indulged in opportunism nor played politics based on caste or religious sentiments.

He said they had forged unity of people based on workers and farmers and defended the rights of marginalised and weaker sections.

He said the party had decided to observe March 23 as a day against imperialism and communalism, against which Bhagat Singh and his compatriots had fought.

The party had decided to adopt its election campaign by going door to door for seeking support for policy change and not replacing leaders.

Karnal, March 10
Four districts of the state, including Karnal, Yamunanagar, Panchcula and Ambala, have an alarming situation on malnutrition. On an average, 37.4 per cent children are underweight, 42.8 per cent children have stunting growth (less height according to age) and 17.5 per cent children are suffering from wasting (less weight according to height) in these districts.

This was revealed in a recent study conducted on children under the age of five years by the PGI, Chandigarh.

Dr Rakesh Gupta, Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), said 18.6 per cent children of Ambala were suffering from wasting, 45 per cent had stunting growth and 39.1 per cent were underweight. 23.7 per cent children of Karnal were suffering from wasting, 41.8 per cent had stunting growth and 40.3 per cent children were underweight, he added.

He said the figure of Panchcula and Yamunanagar were also same. “14.4 per cent children are suffering from wasting, 41.0 per cent have stunting growth and 35.3 per cent are underweight in Panchkula. 14.7 per cent children of Yamunanagar are suffering from wasting, 43.2 per cent have stunting growth and 35.6 per cent children are underweight,” he added.

“Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have 9 times higher risk of dying than well-nourished children. 53 per cent deaths under the age of five were due to malnutrition in Haryana,” said Dr Gupta.

“Prevention and treatment of micronutrient deficiencies is very important,” he said and added that as per the study of the PGI, 95 per cent children were anaemic only in Karnal, which was alarming for the authority and the people.

Hisar, March 10
Ruling out chances of joining hands with the INLD, HJC supremo and Hisar MP Kuldeep Bishnoi maintained that his alliance partner BJP had also dismissed any possibility of having an electoral pact with the INLD in Haryana.

Addressing HJC workers here today, Bishnoi, who is also the chief ministerial candidate of the HJC-BJP alliance, alleged that the INLD has been spreading rumours to confuse the electorate ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. His tirade against the INLD indicated that he was in no mood to give any space to the Chautalas even though they had been reportedly making last-ditch attempt to join the NDA.

The MP said he was ready to re-enter the fray from Hisar as per the wishes of party workers. The HJC and the BJP would soon announce the nominees from all 10 Lok Sabha seats as per the seat sharing agreement under which the HJC would contest two seats.

Claiming that there was a Modi wave in the country and the NDA would come to power at the Centre, Bishnoi stated that the Lok Sabha poll would set the tone for the next Assembly elections in Haryana where their coalition would form the next government in the state. 

Chandigarh March 10
Over 1.56 crore electors will be eligible to exercise their franchise at 16,129 polling stations on April 10 for the 10 parliamentary constituencies of the state. There are about 85 lakh men and about 71 lakh women electors.

Over 1.55 crore are general electors. There are over 1.02 lakh service electors, of which about 70,000 are men and 31,000 women.

In the Ambala (SC) parliamentary constituency, 16,49,960 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,759 polling stations.

In the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency, 14,60,521 electors will eligible to vote at 1,534 polling stations.

In the Sirsa parliamentary constituency, 16,38,240 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,673 polling stations. In the Hisar parliamentary constituency, 14,84,737 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,509 polling stations.

In the Karnal parliamentary constituency, 16,42,692 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,548 polling stations. In the Sonepat parliamentary constituency, 13,85,118 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,475 polling stations.

In the Rohtak parliamentary constituency, 15,25,626 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,612 polling stations. In the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency, 14,43,395 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,618 polling stations.

In the Gurgaon parliamentary constituency, 17,82,755 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,793 polling stations. In the Faridabad parliamentary constituency, 16,83,862 electors will be eligible to cast their vote at 1,608 polling stations.

Sirsa, March 10
Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar is still in a dilemma on whether to contest the parliamentary poll from Sirsa or to shift base to Ambala. The Sirsa MP remained non-committal on this issue to a large number of his supporters from Sirsa and Fatehabad, who rushed to Delhi today to request him to contest the upcoming poll from his old constituency.

The MP, according to sources, told them that he would abide by the directions of the party high command, which, he said, would take the final call on his ticket on March 12.

The Congress leadership will take a decision on March 12 whether to field its newly appointed state presidents Ashok Tanwar (Haryana), Sachin Pilot (Rajasthan) and Arun Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) in the upcoming parliamentary polls or not.

Congress leaders from Sirsa Hoshiari Lal Sharma, a spokesperson for the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), Bhupesh Mehta, president of Sirsa urban unit of party, Naresh Sardana, president of the Fatehabad Industrial Area Association and a nominated member of the All-India Handicraft Board and several others went to Delhi today to persuade Tanwar to retain his Sirsa seat in the upcoming parliamentary poll.

Addressing a function on the International Women’s Day, his wife Avantika Tanwar had said he would contest the April 10 poll from Sirsa.

When contacted today, she said as far as she or other members of her family were concerned, they all wanted Tanwar to contest from Sirsa.

“We have worked hard in this constituency and brought several projects from the centre as well as the state for the constituency, so I am sure people of this constituency will reward Tanwar for his efforts,” she said.

Avantika, however, admitted that there was pressure from a section in the party leadership as well as from the Congress workers of Ambala that Ashok Tanwar shifts his constituency to Ambala this time. 

Faridabad, March 10
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced the candidature of Purshottam Dagar, a 32-year-old mechanical engineer, from the Faridabad parliamentary constituency. A total of 70 aspirants had applied for the ticket. The BJP and the INLD are still to announce their candidates.

The Congress has already announced the candidature of Avatar Singh Bhadana, its outgoing MP, for the third consecutive time. If the BJP and the INLD fail to forge an alliance, then it would be a multi-cornered contest.

Dagar, a resident of Jharsently village in the district and presently residing in Rajiv Colony here, had been a dedicated and hardworking worker of the AAP since it came into being in November 2012.

“Dagar will enjoy the advantage of being the youngest candidate and would be able to get support of a majority of the young voters who wanted to ensure a change in the political system and to implement the concept of local governance,” said Sachin Sharma, media in charge of the party.

He said Faridabad had failed to get the development it required mainly due to rampant corruption in the political system.

District BJP president Ajay Gaur said the party would finalise the name of the candidate by March 13.

Local INLD spokesperson said the party would field its candidate only if there was no alliance with the BJP.

Subhash Katyal, a former minister, and RK Anand, a legal expert, are among the contenders for the INLD ticket from here.

Kurukshetra, March 10
The Indian Bahujan Sandesh Party (IBSP) (Kashiram) has decided to field its president Kanta Alariya from Kurukshetra seat. “We are committed to become the voice of the oppressed class. The party has a good vote bank and support in the constituency,” said Kanta.

She said the party was open to everyone who wanted to fight for the rights of the oppressed classes.

She said the party would contest only from the Kurukshetra seat as it wanted to establish itself in the region first rather than going for all seats at once.

On Congress candidate Naveen Jindal, she said how could he promise clean governance when serious corruption charges had been levelled against?

Kanta was associated with the Samajwadi Party for 17 years and was a member of the national executive and the state chief, but resigned from her post in 2009 and formed her own party.— TNS

Chandigarh, March 10
The Election Commission has issued guidelines on tours of the Chief Minister during the model code of conduct in the state. Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad said that one member of the personal staff of the Chief Minister has been allowed to accompany him on a personal or private tour . The person accompanying the Chief Minister should be a non-gazetted officer.

Such personal staff would not take part in any political activity or assist the Chief Minister in his political work.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has released the list of disqualified persons under the Representation of People Act, 1951, for not fulfilling the guidelines during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Haryana.

Walgad said that the list of disqualified persons was available on website www.eci.nic.in under heading Judicial Reference- List of Disqualified Persons for use by the returning officers and other election authorities concerned.

He said Ramesh Kumar, Amar Mohammad, Jagan, Nazir Ahmed, Naresh Yadav, Naveen, Manbir Singh, Rakesh and Satinder Singh Thakran had been disqualified up to September 7 and Vinod Kumar up to July 7.

Similarly, Ashok, Lal Singh, Anand Parkash, Mulakh Raj have been disqualified up to August 8. A number of others had also been disqualified.

Also, the Election Commission had decided that for wider dissemination of information, apart from the existing mode of dissemination of information, an abstract of the affidavit filed by the contesting candidates would be displayed at specified additional public offices like the Collectorate, Zila Parishad Office, SDM’s office, Panchayat Samiti office that is Block Office, office of the municipal body or bodies in the constituency, tehsil/taluka office and panchayat office. This would be done within five days of the date of withdrawal of candidature.

Similarly, if there were more than one constituency in a subdivision, all abstracts of all candidates in such constituencies would be displayed in SDM’s office

Ambala, March 10
To keep a vigil on strict adherence of the model code of conduct, use of money and other temptations in the district during the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission has constituted three teams of flying squads and one of static surveillance for the four Vidhan Sabha areas, namely Naraingarh, Ambala Cantt, Ambala City and Mullana.

Each team will comprise of one executive magistrate and one police officer with four to five constables. These teams, on receiving complaints, will not only check violations of the model code of conduct and use of money, power and temptation but will do videography for maintaining complete transparency.

Assistant Returning Officer Vinay Partap Singh said the teams would function independently and the report of the flying squads would be sent to the Election Commission daily. — OC

Hisar, March 10
The CPI-M and the CPI have fielded their candidates in five Lok Sabha seats of the state. Three CPI-M nominees are Phool Singh Sheokand from Hisar, Ramkumar Bahbalpuria from Sirsa (reserved) and Master Sher Singh from Bhiwani. While Maamchand Saini and Arun Kumar would contest from Karnal and Ambala (reserved), respectively on the CPI symbol.

Sheokand, 56, had been at the forefront of various agitations since his college days and was elected as president of the Hisar Agriculture University Students Union twice. Later, he got associated with trade unions. He had contested on the party ticket twice from Hisar Lok Sabha seat.

Ramkumar Bahbalpuria, 46, has been a khet majdoor union activist. He owns no personal property in his name and stayed in the party office in Fatehabad for many years. He has led several agitations on the issues of landless farmers, bonded labour at brick kilns and also mobilised farmers on the Gurakhpur nuclear plant.

Master Sher Singh, 69, has been a teacher who remained active in Haryana teacher union when it was constituted in 1969. He has also been associated with issues of employees and farmers and sat on a hunger strike for 44 days while leading the agitation of the Local Bodies' Department in 1997. He is presently the president of the Kisan Sabha and claimed to have forced bribe seekers to return Rs 53 lakh in a number of cases during his struggle against corruption.

Maamchand Saini had joined the trade union movement in 1968 and became a member of the party in 1972. He is a member of the CPI state council.

Arun Kumar Advocate is the youngest of the candidates who joined the party in 2002. He is a member of the party's state council and state president of the All India Youth Federation.

CPI-M state secretary Inderjit Singh hoped that the party would put up a good show this time as they had succeeded in organising a successful rally in Hisar recently. The Left had not won any Lok Sabha seat in Haryana since 1967, when Pratap Singh Daulta won on the United Communist Party ticket.

Jhajjar, March 10
In the run-up to the General Election, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are vying to get the ticket from the Rohtak seat which covers Rohtak and Jhajjar districts.

BJP national spokesman Capt Abhimanyu, BJP Kisan Morcha national president Om Prakash Dhankhar and state vice-president Naresh Malik are the main contenders for the party ticket here. Abhimanyu unsuccessfully contested from Rohtak in 2004 and 2005.

He was first defeated by Congress nominee Bhupinder Singh Hooda and then trounced by his son Deepender Hooda in the 2005 bypoll. He had also contested the assembly poll from Narnaud (Hisar) in 2009, but he was rejected by the voters.

Party sources said Abhimanyu was also trying his best to get a ticket from the Sonepat seat from where Kishan Singh Sangwan won the contest twice on the BJP ticket.

Naresh Malik, who is known for doling out huge donations, has served as an MLA from the Hasangarh Assembly segment from 2005 to 2009 after facing a debacle as an Independent in his debut poll in 2001. Malik had also contested the Assembly poll from Bahadurgarh in 2009, but failed to get success.

Om Prakash Dhankhar, state convener for the iron collection drive for the Statue of Unity, is also confident of securing the party ticket from Rohtak. He, who is considered to be close to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, had begun his political career from the ABVP and had served at various posts in the party organisation in the last 18 years. Dhankhar, who lost the assembly poll from Dadri (Bhiwani) in 2009, has been active in raising the farmers’ issues at the national level. 

Rohtak, March 10
Rohtak Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Amit Agarwal has asked the persons aspiring to contest the Lok Sabha elections to follow the model code of conduct and exercise restraint in their conduct.

He has appealed to political parties, aspirants of Lok Sabha membership and their supporters to comply with the provisions of the model code of conduct and cooperate in organising free, fair and peaceful elections.

In orders to this effect issued here today, he said the criticism of rival parties or candidates should be limited to their policies, programmes and previous functioning or records.

“The candidates and their supporters should refrain from levelling unsubstantiated personal allegations based on distorted facts,” he said.

Amit Kumar said they would keep a close vigil on the election-related expenses of the candidates.

The Central Election Commission has fixed the upper limit of poll expenses for each candidate at Rs 70 lakh. The candidates are supposed to get an account opened in a nationalised bank for the poll-related transactions.

Agarwal has directed the managers of all nationalised banks of the Rohtak constituency to submit transaction reports of candidates’ accounts on a daily basis.

The bank authorities have also been told to inform the Income Tax Department in case an amount exceeding Rs 1 lakh is withdrawn from any such account on a single day.

Agarwal has also enforced Section 144 of the CrPC in and around the local mini-secretariat during the poll process, which will be operational from March 15 to 26.

Legal action under Section 188 would be taken against the persons found violating the orders, he said.

As per the orders, a maximum of five persons (including the candidate) can enter the office of the returning officer (court room of the district magistrate) during the nomination process. A candidate cannot bring more than three vehicles within the 100-m radius of the returning officer’s office. “The number of vehicles brought by a candidate would be added to the election expenditure,” said the orders. 

Ambala, March 10
LED televisions (TVs) worth Rs 9 lakh were stolen from an electronic showroom near Bal Bhawan in Ambala City on Saturday night. Owner of the showroom Ravinder Singh, in a complaint filed with the police, said 27 LED TVs were stolen.

He said he came to know about the theft when he went to the showroom next morning.

He found that the locks of the shutter were broken and the LEDs fixed on the wall were missing.

After getting the complaint, the police reached the showroom and collected the CCTV footage.