HVP denies BJP’s allegations
CHANDIGARH, June 28 — The HVP today reacted sharply to the allegation levelled by the Leader of the Haryana BJP Legislature Party, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, that the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, had stalled the visit of the Prime Minister to Panipat on June 24 on grounds of Mr Bansi Lal’s health and security reasons.

More relief pours in for martyrs
YAMUNANAGAR, June 28 — The staff of the Yamunanagar Central Cooperative Bank Limited has contributed one day's salary towards the Chief Minister's Heroes Relief Fund totalling Rs 75,971. This was stated by Mr Ram Kumar, Managing Director of the bank.

Chandigarh Sonepat Rohtak Faridabad Hisar Yamunanagar

Lachhman for Bansi to complete term
CHANDIGARH, June 28 — With senior leaders of the Haryana Congress trying to placate their angry supporters by telling them in private that once the HVP merged with the Congress, the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, will be asked by the high command to step down in favour of one of them (each leader, obviously, obliquely projects himself), the bed-ridden Chief Minister has received support from unexpected quarters.

Probe sought into BJP MLAs' assets
ROHTAK, June 28 — Leaders and workers of the Haryana Vikas Party have sought a probe into the assets and property of the MLA's of the BJP who were ministers in the coalition government prior to the withdrawal of support by the BJP to the Bansi Lal government in Haryana.

Gas power project commissioned
FARIDABAD, June 28 — The first 143MW unit of the 432 MW gas power project at Mujedi, near here, started generating electricity today, six months ahead of the scheduled date in January 2000.

Plan to shift office resented
HISAR, June 28 — The public here has expressed resentment over the proposal of the Telecom Department to shift the telegraph office from its present location.

Couple killed

HVP denies BJP’s allegations
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 28 — The HVP today reacted sharply to the allegation levelled by the Leader of the Haryana BJP Legislature Party, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, that the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, had stalled the visit of the Prime Minister to Panipat on June 24 on grounds of Mr Bansi Lal’s health and security reasons.

In a statement issued here today the General Secretary of the HVP, Mr Rajeev Jain, said the Chief Minister had himself clarified on the floor of the House that he had been bed-ridden since June 17 because of a heart problem. On June 21 Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee rang up Mr Bansi Lal when the latter informed him about his ill-health.

When Mr Vajpayee asked Mr Bansi Lal whether he would be able to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Panipat refinery on June 24, Mr Bansi Lal told him that if doctors allowed him he would reach Panipat on June 23 and spend the night there.

Mr Jain alleged that then Mr Vajpayee connived a plan to deceive Mr Bansi Lal. Next day the Haryana BJP submitted the letter of withdrawal of support to the Governor. The same day Mr Vajpayee cancelled his visit to Panipat and the Haryana Government received a fix message in the evening.

The HVP leader said it was thus evident that Mr Vajpayee had himself cancelled his visit to Panipat and had deceived Mr Bansi Lal by withdrawing support at a time when he was confined to bed. Mr Jain said Mr Bansi Lal was still not well and was under round-the-clock observation of heart specialists of the PGI.

He said Mr Sharma was levelling such baseless allegations out of sheer frustration because his dream of becoming the Chief Minister had not been fulfilled. He said: "The people on whom Mr Sharma had depended while deserting Mr Bansi Lal have also ditched him now and have left him in the lurch."

Mr Jain, however, did not elaborate as to who were the people on whom Mr Sharma depended and who had now ditched the BJP leader.

Lachhman for Bansi to complete term
By Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 28 — With senior leaders of the Haryana Congress trying to placate their angry supporters by telling them in private that once the HVP merged with the Congress, the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, will be asked by the high command to step down in favour of one of them (each leader, obviously, obliquely projects himself), the bed-ridden Chief Minister has received support from unexpected quarters.

A Congress Rajya Sabha member, Mr Lachhman Singh, who is considered to be a camp follower of the former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, said here today that it would not behove the Congress to ask Mr Bansi Lal to step down because the party had extended support to the beleaguered HVP government on a principle and not as part of a deal. It may be recalled that Mr Bhajan Lal was vehemently opposed to any tie-up with the HVP.

The principle guiding the Congress course of action was to keep the casteist and communal forces away from the seat of power in Haryana, particularly at the time of the Lok Sabha elections. After acting on a principle, the Congress should not try to extract a price for its support by way of asking Mr Bansi Lal to step down or to insist on the dissolution of the State Assembly.

In an exclusive interview to TNS Mr Lachhman Singh said as and when Mr Bansi Lal merged his party with the Congress on his own volition, the Congress should follow the precedent set by late Indira Gandhi in 1980. Mrs Gandhi, he said, did not ask Mr Bhajan Lal to step down when the latter merged almost the entire Janata Party in Haryana with the Congress. At that time too, like the present case, the remaining life of the Assembly was for two years. In 1982 when the Assembly elections were held on schedule, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 36 seats.

Mr Lachhman Singh said Mr Bansi Lal should be allowed to complete his agenda of providing round-the-clock power supply and repairing the roads. The Congress should also not insist on the dissolution of the Assembly because by doing so it would be providing an opportunity to the same casteist and communal forces to come to power which it had successfully prevented from forming the government by extending support to the Bansi Lal government.

He said the least the Congress could do was to carefully watch the performance of the Chief Minister till the Lok Sabha elections. If the election results were not up to the expectations of the Congress, it could think of replacing Mr Bansi Lal. In that case too, Mr Lachhman Singh demanded the party high command should hand over the reins of the government to either a Sikh, a Punjabi Hindu, a Muslim, a Scheduled Caste or a member of the Backward Classes or any other non-Jat leader.

Mr Lachhman Singh said if Mr Bansi Lal was to be replaced by a Jat leader, then, he said, Mr Bansi Lal "is definitely a better Jat, being a secular minded non-casteist person".

More relief pours in for martyrs
From Tribune Reporters

YAMUNANAGAR, June 28 — The staff of the Yamunanagar Central Cooperative Bank Limited has contributed one day's salary towards the Chief Minister's Heroes Relief Fund totalling Rs 75,971. This was stated by Mr Ram Kumar, Managing Director of the bank.

A cheque of Rs 21,000 was given by the Jagadhri Metal Manufacturers Association to Mrs Dolly Vaid, wife of Navin Vaid, who laid down his life at Naushera in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Raj Saluja President of the Aluminium Association said it had been decided to provide free education to the children of the martyrs at SD School, Jagadhri.

SHAHABAD: The local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad has collected donations for the welfare of the families of the martyrs who have laid down their lives for the country. President of the parishad, Prof Sunil Gupta, said here today that the parishad had sent a draft of Rs 11,000 towards the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. More contributions would be sent shortly, he added.

Meanwhile, a "gayatri yajna" was performed at Khera Mandir, here yesterday in which a large number of citizens prayed for the peace of the souls of martyrs.

FATEHABAD: A meeting of the district unit of the Indian Medical Association was held here today and a two-minute silence was observed for those Indian soldiers, who had laid down their lives in the Kargil operation.

It decided to contribute Rs 21,000 towards Prime Minister's relief fund. Members also decided to contribute Rs 5100 to the family of Sepoy Manohar Lal of Dhani Dulet village.

The association has also decided to provide free lifelong medical aid to the families of the martyrs.

KAPURTHALA: A district-level all-party association, Kargil Soldiers Welfare Council, has been formed with Mr V.K. Singh, Deputy Commissioner, as its convener.

At its first meeting, the district industries association, rice shellers association, commission agents association, NRI sabhas, gram panchayat (Bhandal Bat), employees of the local Bombay Motors, government employees of the district donated Rs 10 lakh.

The council has been formed to look after the welfare of soldiers fighting in the Kargil sector.

Addressing the function, Mr Raghbir Singh, Transport Minister, announced that bus route permits would be given to families of soldiers who had sacrificed their lives. He said the state government was giving an ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh to family of those killed and Rs 5 lakh for the construction of a house.

Farm labourers sore over govt apathy
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, June 28 — Mr Bhan Singh Bhaura, a former MP and the Vice-President of the Haryana Khet Mazdoor Union, said here today that even 50 years after Independence, the successive governments at the Centre had failed to enact any legislation for the welfare of agricultural labourers at the national level.

In a press statement, he alleged that neither the Central Government nor the state government had been able to ensure adequate employment opportunities to agricultural labourers so far. On account of mechanisation of farming in the country, landless labourers had suffered badly and they found it difficult to make both ends meet.

He also observed that on account of poor financial conditions, landless labourers were being exploited and womenfolk of this section were the victims of rape and other heinous crimes.

The union leader disclosed that the National Front Government at the Centre had brought forward legislation on this issue but it could not be passed following the withdrawal of support to it by the Congress. He also regretted that the BJP-led coalition Government had not included this demand of agricultural labourers in its national agenda. He alleged that the "anti-worker" attitude of the Vajpayee Government had led to widespread resentment among agricultural labourers and they were planning to launch a nation-wide agitation on this issue.

Mr Daryao Singh Kashyap, General Secretary of the state union, and Mr Raghbir Singh Chaudhary, a CPI leader, criticised the Bansi Lal Government for its failure to accept the demands of the agricultural labourers. They demanded immediate inclusion of agricultural labourers in the list of poor living below the poverty line, increase in the old-age, handicapped and widow pensions, allotment of residential plots to agricultural labourers and provision of other facilities.

They announced the union would hold procession and rallies on July 15 at all district headquarters in the state in support of the demands.

Probe sought into BJP MLAs' assets
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, June 28 — Leaders and workers of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) have sought a probe into the assets and property of the MLA's of the BJP who were ministers in the coalition government prior to the withdrawal of support by the BJP to the Bansi Lal government in Haryana.

The President of the district (urban) unit, Mr Vijender Jain, said here today that there had been several complaints of corruption and accumulation of assets and property by some of the ministers belonging to the BJP during their tenure. He said the Chief Minister should take steps to expose such leaders who claim to be honest.

Mr Jain also led a protest march here on Saturday, which was organised against the decision of the BJP regarding support. The workers also burnt effigies of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the state BJP President, Mr Om Prakash Grover, and a former Education Minister Mr Ram Bilas Sharma.

All speakers who addressed the gathering criticised the BJP leaders and described the decision as "stabbing in the back." They thanked the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and the Pradesh Congress chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for extending support.

Gas power project commissioned
Tribune News Service

FARIDABAD, June 28 — The first 143MW unit of the 432 MW gas power project at Mujedi, near here, started generating electricity today, six months ahead of the scheduled date in January 2000.

According to the power purchase agreement, signed between the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) which has executed the project and the Haryana Government, the entire electricity generated at the plant will be supplied to Haryana through Samaipur and Palla substations.

A spokesman of the NTPC told TNS here today that they were confident of commissioning the second and third units of the project by March 2000 and January 2001, respectively.

The financial assistance for the Rs 1163.60 crore project has been provided by the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan. The gas for the project is being supplied by the Gas Authority of India Ltd through its Hazira, Bijapur, Jagdispur pipeline.

The foundation stone of the project was laid by Mr I.K. Gujral, the then Prime Minister on August 3, 1997.

The spokesman said with the commissioning of the first unit the total installed capacity of the NTPC in the country had increased to 17,878 MW. This was country's 18th power plant and the seventh gas-based project.

Plan to shift office resented
Tribune News Service

HISAR, June 28 — The public here has expressed resentment over the proposal of the Telecom Department to shift the telegraph office from its present location.

Officials of the Department said the office was to be shifted soon. This was likely to put hundreds of people including soldiers, in difficulty, as the office was to be shifted to an interior area of the city.

Journalists here and around have also opposed the proposal, since the planned office is not easily accessible. It usually remains inundated during the rainy season.

Telecom authorities have been urged not to shift the office till some alternate arrangements are made close to the present location.

Couple killed
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, June 28 — A motor cycle-borne couple was killed when they were hit by a Haryana Roadwas bus at the local Hafed chowk today.

The deceased have been identified as Ajit Singh and his wife, Prem Lata, of Kamal Colony here.