Modi befooling people by false development campaign: CM
Seeks votes for Pradeep Tamta in Almora, Pithoragarh
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 5
Chief Minister Harish Rawat lashed out at BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi here today saying the latter was befooling people through false campaigns though he had done nothing for the development of Gujarat. Modi like a salesman was trying to present an image of his in an attractive manner to garner attention and votes.

“Contrary to Modi, my party governments at the Centre and in the state have done remarkable development works for the betterment of the common man,” Rawat said while addressing public meetings at Charong in Lamgara subdivision of Almora district and Thal town in Pithoragarh district.

The Chief Minister also sought votes for Pradeep Tamta, Congress candidate from Almora. He said the works carried out by Tamta were unmatched as he had not only succeeded in saving Himalayan forests but also got framed development policies for the state and the Himalayan region.

“The opposition MPs in Uttarakhand could not do even one per cent of the works done by our local MP Pradeep Tamta in the last five years,” he said.

He added that over 5,000 government posts that were kept vacant by the previous BJP government were advertised when the Congress came to power. “We have not only announced the posts but also sanctioned finances for these,” said Harish Rawat.

He added his government was committed to starting the Char Dham yatra on schedule even though several agencies were claiming it was not possible. “We had promised to do things in time whether it was the Char Dham yatra or rehabilitation of disaster-affected people of Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts,” Harish Rawat said.

Congress leaders Govind Singh Kunjwal, Manoj Tiwari, Rajendra Barakoti, Diwan Singh Abhisora and Prashan Bhainsora were present at the Lamgara meeting while Harish Dhami, Mahedra Singh Lunthi and Mayukh Singh Mahar and Narayan Ram were present at the Thal meeting.

Khanduri to campaign for Kirron Kher in Chandigarh
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 5
Uttarakhand BJP leaders would be campaigning extensively outside the state to shore up the prospects of party candidates in the Lok Sabha polls. Among them are former Chief Ministers BC Khanduri, BS Koshiyari and the new entrant in the party Satpal Maharaj would be extensively touring different parts of the country.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri will campaign in Chandigarh on April 7 to sway the votes of Uttarakhandis in favour of party nominee Kirron Kher.

There is a sizeable population of Uttarakhandi voters in Chandigarh who have their own association by the name of Garhwal Sabha set up in 1958 and could impact the prospects of the candidate.

Sensing the need to target this section, the BJP high command decided to nominate Khanduri who could also strike a chord with the ex-servicemen in the city.

"Though he is also contesting the elections from Pauri Garhwal where the polls are due on May 7, the party leadership in New Delhi decided to use his services in April. Khanduri has a special appeal on the national firmament due to the work culture that he managed to bring forth during his stint as a minister under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As a votary of clean politics, he had brought the Lokayukta Act in the state. We will be using his services in Chandigarh," said Teerath Singh Rawat, president of the Uttarakhand BJP. Khanduri will also be campaigning in New Delhi on April 6.

Meanwhile, Satpal Maharaj too has been given the responsibility of canvassing for the BJP candidates in Uttar Pradesh. He will campaign for the BJP candidates in Khurja on April 7, in Bulandshehar on April 8, in Karnal on April 9 and in Darjeeling April 10.

On the other hand, former Chief Minister BS Koshiyari would be campaigning in Ghaziabad on April 7 and in New Delhi on April 8. Another former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will campaign in New Delhi on April 8.

Teerath Singh Rawat too will hit the campaign trail for the BJP candidate in Lucknow. He will campaign in Lucknow on April 5 and in Gaziabad on April 6 for the BJP nominees.

Koshiyari campaigns in Khatima on bullock cart

Bhagat Singh Koshiyari

Dehradun, April 5
To shore up his campaign and highlight the poor condition of roads, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Uttarakhand BJP candidate from the Nainital parliamentary seat, came riding a bullock cart on the first day of his campaign in the constituency today.

Koshiyari hit the campaign trail in a bullock cart in Khatima, which is among the most-backward areas of Kumaon. “Roads are in a pitiable condition. The Uttarakhand government has failed to spruce up infrastructure. The condition of roads is worse in disaster-affected areas of the state,” Koshiyari said.

Though there is a strong anti-incumbency mood against Congress nominee KC Singh Baba, who has again got the party ticket, Koshiyari too has his task cut out for him due to dwindling local support. “We wanted to draw the attention of the country towards poor condition of roads and what better way than to ride a bullock cart as part of the roadshow,” BJP president Teerath Singh Rawat said. — TNS

AAP scotches speculation, fields Negi against Khanduri
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 5
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has finally fielded Dr Rakesh Singh Negi against former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and BJP candidate from Pauri Garhwal BC Khanduri. The AAP took the decision to give the ticket to Negi yesterday.

Riding its anti-corruption tirade after its phenomenal success in the Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP has been eyeing Uttarakhand Lok Sabha elections from the very beginning. The people of Uttarakhand had actively participated in the Anna Hazare agitation, a fact that Aam Aadmi Party strategists kept in mind.

The AAP was among the first to declare its candidates for four out of the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand. But the party looked hesitant to announce its candidate for the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat, the traditional seat of BC Khanduri.

Prashant Bhushan, a senior AAP leader, who was in Dehradun a month ago, too lauded Khanduri's commitment as a politician to fight corruption.

“Khanduri’s anti-graft Bill was broadly in line with the concept of the AAP’s Jan Lokpal,” Bhushan had said. Since then, there were reports that the AAP would not fielded a candidate against Khanduri. But it yesterday decided to field Negi from Pauri Garhwal.

Shamsher Singh Bisht, election convener of the AAP for Uttarakhand, said the party thought that Khanduri’s anti-graft Bill was an effort on his part to fight against corruption.

“Not putting up a candidate against BC Khanduri would have meant that we were supporting a fascist like Narendra Modi, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, which was unacceptable to us,” said Bisht.

He said the AAP had reaffirmed its commitment to field fresh faces Negi was one such candidate from the Pauri Garhwal seat. “Negi is young and an academician and thus is the unanimous choice,” he added.

Uttarakhand is among the few states in the country where the AAP is contesting all Lok Sabha seats. The party has announced former DGP Kanchan Chowdhary Bhattacharya as its candidate from the Haridwar seat, state agitator Bali Singh Cheema from the Nainital seat, corporate honcho-turned social activist Anoop Nautiyal from the Tehri Garhwal seat and Harish Arya, who hails from the family of freedom fighters, from the Almora-Pithoragarh Lok Sabha constituency.

Bisht said the AAP was taking all five Lok Sabha seats seriously. He added Prashant Bhushan and Prof Anand Kumar would be spending a considerable time to canvass for the AAP candidates in Uttarakhand. Efforts were also being made to bring in Arvind Kejriwal and Medha Patekar to Uttarakhand to motivate voters to support the AAP.

Ayub Khan joins Archana Puran Singh in campaign for AAP candidate
Tribune News service

Mussoorie, April 5
Eminent Bollywood artistes Ayub Khan and Archana Puran Singh along with several volunteers today campaigned door to door in Mussoorie and sought support and vote for Anoop Nauityal, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat.

They gathered at Picture Palace and from there party workers carrying brooms walked all the way through Mall Road till Library Bazaar raising slogans in Nautiyal’s favour.

The Bollywood stars appealed to the people to vote for Nautiyal in the Lok Sabha elections.

Archana Puran Singh said people like her had joined the party due to its commitment to getting the country rid of corruption. The people did not trust the BJP and the Congress any longer and therefore they were joining the AAP in large numbers, she added.

She appealed to the people of Mussoorie to vote for Nautiyal to ensure his victory from Tehri Garhwal.

Ayub Khan told the people that by voting and electing Nautiyal they would empower themselves. They would also be able to themselves take decisions regarding the constituency.

Asked about politicians making derogatory remarks, he said it happened whenever leaders did not have issues and hence they stooped to a low level for political gains, which was unfortunate. “Politicians should use good language while seeking votes from people,” said Ayub Khan.

Nautiyal later told mediapersons that he had joined politics to check corruption and assist in creating employment avenues for the youth in his constituency and better health services in the state. Ranbir Chaudhary (state treasurer), Rajesh Bahuguna (district secretary), Tushar Rawat (Mussoorie convener), Suneeta Singh (Dehradun co-convener), Pooja Bhalla, Vishal Kumar, Dependra Bhandari, Jaigopal, Rita Kumar and others also campaigned for Nautiyal.

Bahuguna poll-shy as he fears voters’ backlash
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 5
Former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is reluctant to contest from the Tehri Garhwal parliamentary seat as he fears that the people would punish him for his poor display of leadership after the natural disaster hit the state last year, said Balraj Passi, spokesperson for the Uttarakhand BJP.

“Former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna may have cited his wife’s health as one of the reasons for his inability to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Tehri Garhwal but I think he has sensed the mood of the people who are ready to punish him and his party’s government for their inactivity after the natural disaster last year,” said Passi while addressing a press conference here yesterday.

He said the BJP had taken a head start in the elections by declaring the names of the candidates and they were already campaigning in their constituencies. “We believe there will no difficulty in our path to victory. Our candidates are already campaigning and receiving a good response,” added Passi. 

Dinesh Aggarwal holds padyatra in Dharampur
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 5
Cabinet minister Dinesh Aggarwal held a padyatra in Dharampur that falls under the Haridwar constituency today to garner support for the Congress in the forthcoming general elections.

Accompanied by gram pradhan Nimmi Chetri, Aggarwal met villagers and urged them to vote in favour of the Congress.

Aggarwal spoke to villagers and said the Congress had always adopted public welfare policies. “The BJP has always befooled the public and stalled progress during its rule at the Centre and in the state. The Congress has always tried to restart projects stalled by the BJP government so that the common man is not harassed,” he said.

“The people of Uttarakhand are aware of the development carried out in the state by the Congress-led government. We need not highlight that repeatedly. In fact, it is because of these development and welfare activities carried out by the Congress that people will vote for us,” he said.

“We will emerge victorious in all five constituencies,” Aggarwal said.

Saraswati Sen, Neema Shahi, Omprakash, Naveen Walia, KK Mittal, Anupama Pandey and Lekhraj Aggarwal and several others accompanied the minister.

Public holiday on May 7

Dehradun, April 5
Principal Secretary, Labour and Employment, Om Prakash, has directed Commissioners of the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions and all district magistrates to ensure that all factories in the state observe a public holiday on May 7 when polling for the Lok Sabha polls is scheduled.

He said, according to the People's Representation Act, the day of polling, if not a weekly off, would be considered a public holiday so that their employees could exercise their right to franchise,” he added. — TNS

Sphurti 2014 begins, ICFAI university win by 7 wickets

Dehradun, April 5
The four-day sports fest, ‘Sphurti 2014’, started with the reciting of ‘Ganesh Vandana’ on the Dehradun Institute of Technology (DIT) campus here today. Cricket, basketball and football matches were played at different venues.

In the inaugural cricket match, ICFAI University defeated Shiwalik College by seven wickets. In the second match, DIT ‘B’ defeated DBS PG College by 11 runs. In basketball, DIT ‘A’ defeated the GRD Academy 37-16 and DIT ‘B’ beat ICFAI University 24-20. In volleyball, GRD defeated the Jaspal Rana Academy 25-22, 26-24 while Himgiri Zee University beat IMS Unison University 15-14, 24-23. In football, DIT thrashed the Maya Institute of Technology 8-0. — TNS

St Patrick's Academy School inaugurated

Dehradun, April 5
St Patrick's Academy School, established by The Patrician Brothers of the Indian Province, was inaugurated at Clement Town here today.

The school is the latest addition made to the educational institutions being run by the Society of St Patrick’s including St Joseph Academy.

The day commenced with the welcome speech delivered by the superior of St Joseph's Academy, Brother Sebastian. The building was inaugurated by Rev Brother Stanislaus Arun Susai, Province Leader, Patrician Brothers.

A cultural programme was also organised. St Joseph Academy’s choir enthralled all those present. The campus of St Patrick's Academy stands in an area of 11,300 sq ft and the total land area covered is four acres. The building comprises 64 spacious classrooms, an auditorium, a library and well-equipped laboratories. — TNS