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| Tuesday, October 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Dhumal to decide
on Mohinder’s fate 20 officers reshuffled in
Himachal Rattan lashes out at HVC,
Cong Sonia may name PCC chief Election
as per statute, says Sher
Singh |
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Two stamps on Tabo monastery SHIMLA, Oct 16 — Two commemorative stamps on the historic Tabo Monastery was formally released here today by the head Lama Sonam Wangdi and the Chief Post-Master General, Mr Vijay Bhushan. HPTDC makes hotel booking
online Rail passengers
stranded Fasting for husbands’ long life
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Dhumal to decide
on Mohinder’s fate SHIMLA, Oct 16 — The state executive committee of the BJP has authorised Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, to take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time depending on the circumstances over the continuation of Mr Mohinder Singh, Himachal Public Works Department Minister, in the Cabinet The matter was himself raised by Mr Dhumal during the two-day meeting of the executive, which concluded at Chintpurni yesterday. He said though it was the prerogative of the Chief Minister to induct or drop any minister in the Cabinet, he wanted to take the partymen into confidence on the issue. Explaining the background, he said, the HVC chief Mr Sukh Ram, had been demanding the removal of Mr Mohinder Singh but he made the demand only after expelling him from the party. Since Mr Mohinder Singh was no longer a member of the HVC, the demand was misplaced. Moreover, Mr Mohinder Singh had all along provided unstinted support to the coalition. Some partymen also had reservations regarding the functioning of the PWD Minister and the main grouse was that he had been visiting various constituencies without informing the legislator and the party. This problem could be sorted out. Mr Dhumal also briefly referred to the charges levelled by the Congress against the minister and said these were vague and unsubstantiated. The political resolution adopted at the meeting complimented the Vajpayee-led coalition at the Centre for completing one year in office and the state government for completing two-and-half years. It expressed satisfaction over the performance of the Dhumal government which achieved stability, improved the financial position and speeded up development. On the other hand the Congress instead of playing the role of opposition, had been embroiled it in an intense factional fight. It called upon the state government to curtail its consumption of petrol and diesel so that it did not put additional burden on the state exchequer. It also underlined the need to elect persons with clean image in the ensuing panchayat and local body polls. The meeting expressed sorrow over the large scale loss of life and property in Kinnaur and Shimla districts caused by flash floods and appreciated the prompt relief and restoration measures taken by the government. It also hailed the decision to raise the age limit for entry into government service from 38 to 40 years. The party decided to organise a “Dalit sammelan” in the second week of November to which the party President, Mr Bangaru Laxman, will be invited. It also decided to conduct a campaign in the state to educate the masses about the welfare schemes started by the Centre from October 18 to 25. |
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20 officers reshuffled in
Himachal SHIMLA, Oct 16 — In a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle the Himachal Government today transferred 20 officers of the rank of Financial Commissioner and Secretary-cum-Commissioner and posted Mr Harsh Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, as Chairman of the state electricity board. Mrs Asha Swaroop, chairperson of the electricity board, takes over as Financial Commissioner, Finance, in place of Mr Yogesh Khanna who has been appointed Minister (Economic) in the Indian Embassy at Washington. Mr Dev Swaroop, Financial Commissioner, Forests, takes over the charge of the Home Department vice Mr Ajay Prasad who is proceeding on central deputation. Mr Swaroop will also hold the charge of Vigilance and Science and Technology. Mr Ravi Dhingra, Financial Commissioner, Cooperation, will also function as Financial Commissioner, Appeals, in place of Mrs Rajindra Bhattacharya who has been posted as Financial Commissioner, Transport, Labour, Employment and Training. Mr Arvind Kaul will be the new Financial Commissioner, Industry. Mr S.K.Sood, Financial Commissioner, Public Works Department, has been given the additional charge of Housing and Urban Development. Mr C. Balakrishnan Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Education, has been promoted as Financial Commissioner and given additional charge of Technical Education. Mr Avay Shukla, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Agriculture, has been posted as Financial Commissioner, Forests, Town and Country Planning and Biotechnology. Mr S.S. Parmar, Financial Commissioner (Health), has been posted as Financial Commissioner (Horticulture, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries) while Mr S. Roy, Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Health), has been shifted to Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Mr T.G. Negi, Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Industry), has been posted as Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Youth and Sports Printing and Stationery) and will continue to work as Secretary, Industry, under the Financial Commissioner (Industry). Mr P.C. Kapoor, Managing Director, Himachal Tourism Development Corporation (HPTC) and Agro India Packaging Ltd (AIPL), has been posted as Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Health and Ayurveda) while the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Ajay Tyagi, has been posted Managing Director, HPTDC, in addition to Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Information Technology). Mr Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary-cum-Commissioner (PWD and IPH) would be the new Excise Taxation Commissioner while Ms Sarita Prasad, Financial Commissioner, (Food and Supply) would also hold the charge of Tourism. |
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Rattan lashes out at HVC,
Cong UNA, Oct 16 — Mr O.P. Rattan , President of newly formed Himachal Vikas Party, talking to reporters lashed out at the so-called leaders of the HVC, the Congress and the BJP who had started a campaign for the past six months or so against Mr Mohinder Singh, PWD Minister, without specific charges and in spite of Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister’s statements that it was the prerogative of the Chief Minister whom to keep or sack as a minister. Certain vested interests were bent upon creating problems for the Chief Minister and said were trying to weaken his government. Mr Rattan said the HVP had decided to claim either the “rising Sun or the Haldhar” as the symbol of the HVP. He said Mr Sukhram’s efforts to weaken this government may not succeed. Mr Rattan said Mr Virbhadra Singh should remember what his supporters did during the last Congress party elections and said in Una alone more than 12 Congressmen who knocked the door of court to seek justice against the wrong conduct of Congress election were expelled from the Congress party by him. Mr Rattan said Mr Virbhadra was getting back what he had sown in the party. Mr Rattan said the HVP would render issue-based support to the BJP in state and would not hesitate to bring before the government the problems being faced by the people of the state. KULU: The impasse on Mr Mohinder Singh, PWD Minister, in the BJP-HVC coalition had ended up with the declaration of Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister that he would remain in the government. Mr Dhumal was replying to a question by this corrospondent, while he was addressing presspersons at Sarwari Hotel here on the concluding day of the Dasehra festival. He had been asked whether it was his compulsion to humiliate Mr Sukh Ram and retain Mr Mohinder Singh as Minister despite his being declared unattached by the Speaker and the derecognition of his party as the HVC by the Election Commission. Mr Dhumal said it was not his compulsion nor any plan to humiliate anyone, but, of course, it was the “necessity” of the time. When asked what was the status of Mr Mohinder Singh after the decision of the Speaker, he said he was an MLA like Mr Dhwala who was taken as minister by Mr Virbhadra Singh. The Chief Minister ridiculed the statements by some Congress leaders that the BJP-HVC coalition would face a threat if Mr Mohinder Singh continued as minister. |
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Sonia may name PCC chief SHIMLA, Oct 16 — Having come out on the streets against each other during the first two phases of organisational elections in Himachal Pradesh, stalwarts of both factions of the Congress are now inclined to leave it to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, AICC chief, to nominate the new president of the PCC. The organisational elections of the Congress here were unprecedented this time as factionalism came virtually on the streets amidst allegations of largescale rigging and various groups holding parallel elections. The CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today told The Tribune that he was not averse to the idea of leaving it to Mrs Sonia Gandhi to nominate the new PCC chief. “In fact this might be a better course to avoid further bitterness in the party”, he said. A former Chief Minister,Thakur Ram Lal, when contacted, said that nobody should stand on prestige and all leaders should sit together to hammer out a solution instead of quarrelling. Nothing has yet been lost, he said and favoured the decision being left to Mrs Sonia Gandhi. He said that the recent bitterness among the two groups might become an important issue against the Congress in the coming panchayat elections in case the dispute was not settled among themselves by the party leaders. The PCC chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, has also made it clear that he was totally in favour of a concensus on selection of the PCC chief. It is worth mentioning that most of the delegates of the Kangra district have reportedly signed a resolution authorising Mrs Sonia Gandhi to nominate the new PCC chief. The first two phases of electing the Block Congress Committees (BCCs) and District Congress Committees (DCCs) have been completed and as per the
schedule, the election of the PCC chief will take place sometime in mid-November. The two groups held parallel elections for the DCC chiefs in the districts of Shimla (rural), Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Chamba. However, the anti Virbhadra Singh faction consisting of Thakur Ram Lal, Mrs Vidya Stokes and Mr J.B.L. Khachi, has claimed that it was for the first time that the organisational elections were held in a free and fair manner in the state. While talking to The Tribune, Mr Virbhadra Singh alleged that a handful of people had connived to rig the elections and grab the party through “fraudulant elections and manipulation”. Unfortunately, he alleged, that Mr V. Hanumantha Rao, Chairman of the Pradesh Election Authority (PEA) and Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, a member of the PEA, joined hands with such elements. Without their willing participation, rigging at this scale would not have been possible. A visibly upset Mr Virbhadra Singh said that he was not surprised by what has happened as “I” had all along been warning of the possibility of
rigging. What “I”had been saying has come true. He said that the election results do not reflect the opinion of the vast majority of leaders and rank and file of the party. The final decision lies with the people of the state where no amount of rigging and manipulation can help anybody. He said that over 24 appeals of the BCC elections were pending with the PEA when the elections for the DCC were held. The elections were held in a “haphazard and partisan manner” putting a big question mark on the credibility of the PEA. Mr Rao and Mr Sultanpuri played a partisan role throughout the election process by aligning with a particular group, he alleged. Mr Virbhadra Singh, who has been a three term Chief Minister, said that the entire exercise has left the party weak and in
disarray. Even people who were behind the drama will not be benefited. He vehemently denied that there was any move to split the party and forming another
party. Afterall the congress has been built with the sweat and toil of thousands of workers including “myself”. We are not going to leave the party to a handful of political adventurists, “Aya Rams and Gaya Rams” and friends of the BJP and Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, he said. In the coming days our battle will be with the ruling BJP and not among ourselves. After these elections are thankfully over all our concentration and effort should be to fight the “corrupt, anti-people and parochial government of the BJP” in the state. |
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Election
as per statute, says Sher
Singh MANDI, Oct 16 — Thakur Sher Singh, who was elected DCC President at Sundernagar last week claimed at a news confernece here this evening that he had been elected in accordance with the party constitution and added that the defeated persons were making unnecessary hue and cry. Replying to a question he said the stay order restraining the election of DCC and PCC office-bearers issued by a Mandi court was received by him only today. When asked why elections were held in Sundernagar instead of the Congress office at Gandhi Bhavan,
Mandi, which had been the usual venue over the decades, Mr Sher Singh said it was the prerogative of the DRO to fix the venue of election. He experssed ignorance whether date and venue of election had been displayed on the notice board of the Congress office here. He evaded anwers to questions by reporters saying he would confine himself to Mandi district only. When a reporter insisted that he had ditched Mr Virbhadra Singh and was siding with the “rootless leaders” he asserted that he still considered Mr Virbhadra Singh as his leader. He replied in the affirmitive when another correspondent asked if he was prepared to face fresh election through ballot if ordered by the court. He denied the allegations that the Chairman, CEA, Mr V. Hanumantha Rao, Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, member, CEA and the DRO, Mr Hoshiar Singh, had taken sides with the anti-Virbhadra Singh forces. |
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Two stamps on Tabo monastery SHIMLA, Oct 16 — Two commemorative stamps on the historic Tabo Monastery was formally released here today by the head Lama Sonam Wangdi and the Chief Post-Master General, Mr Vijay Bhushan. The stamps depict the Tabo Gompa situated in the picturesque Lahaul-Spiti district. The monastery is more than 1,000 years old and has nine halls where besides stucco images of the Buddha, wall paintings depict Buddha’s life and stories from the Jataka tales. The first stamp depicts the monastery as it stands in Spiti overshadowed by snowclad mountains, while the other is the reconstruction of paintings from the southern wall of the main hall which forms part of the continuous painted frieze. The first day cover released along with the stamps depicts the famous Baha’i Temple in Delhi. |
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HPTDC makes hotel booking
online SHIMLA, Oct 16 — The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) has launched the official website for reservation in its hotels and luxury buses. According to Mr P.C. Kapoor, Managing Director of HPTDC, the website would cover the tourist circuits, properties, transportation, hotels, restaurants and places of tourist interest. It will also provide information about adventure sports and other activities of HPTDC. The site is available at http.//hptdc.nic.in. He said that over 20,000 people have accessed the website since its launch in April. The HPTDC had added a very important feature of online hotel reservation at this site. The NIC unit developed the software. The HPTDC is the only tourism corporation to network all its marketing offices in the country and provide the exact availability status of accommodation of all hotels. The status is updated every minute enabling the prospective tourists from anywhere in the world to reserve accommodation. The Kapoor said that the HPTDC was going all-out for computerising its important activities this year. |
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Rail passengers
stranded KUMARHATTI, Oct 16 — Around 150 passengers travelling by UP Mix train from Kalka to Shimla had to face lot of inconvenience today when its engine developed a snag at Sanwara railway station, 10 km from here. The train could resume its further journey at 1 p.m. when a relief engine from Kalka reached the spot. The passengers were stranded for more than two-and-half-hours. Sources said the lack of maintenance of the diesel engine was the main reason for the incident. Reliable sources in the Railways on the condition of anonymity said 1970-made ZDM-3 diesel locomotive engine had failed on many occasions in the past. The alarming rise in the failure of these outdated engines have affected the rail-traffic flow on the Kalka-Shimla track, sources said, adding that at present there were only 13 diesel engines deployed on this route. The lack of proper maintenance of these engines and the scarcity of imported components of the engines have aggravated the situation. |
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Fasting for husbands’ long life SHIMLA, Oct 16 — It was a riot of colour as thousands of women, attired in their bridal best, thronged the Historic Ridge to offer prayers to moon on the occasion of Karva Chauth” this evening. The elevated ground from where the moon is visible much earlier than the low lying areas of the city, was transformed into a huge ‘Karva Chauth angan’ as the fasting women performed “arati” of the celestial lord en masse. The city witnessed an informal fashion parade as women draped in shimmering ‘saris; colourful bridal suits and other attractive apparel and laden with glittering ornaments marched through the Mall and Scandal Point to assemble at the Ridge. The traditional Hindu festival of fasting and feasting has over the years come to acquire a special significance for the ‘queen of hills’ and taken the shape of mass celebrations. While no one exactly knows when this tradition of celebrating the festival on the Ridge started, old timers recall that it was sore time around Independence that women begin converging on the ground for an early ‘darshan’ of the moon for prayers. During the British days it was the sole privilege of the ‘Phirangi’ sahibs and mem sahibs to stroll on the Mall and the Ridge and these elite areas were virtually out of bounds for the average Indians, particularly women. However, the local women broke into the exclusive preserve of ‘whites’ just before the Independence and on one objected as the British who were on their way out chose to lie
low. |
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