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| Sunday,
April 8, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Solan rally show of strength Nalagarh Cong rally a damp
squib Allies deserting
NDA, claims Congress Cong to hold
counter-rally Congress out to see
Dhumal’s ouster MLA walks out of DCC meeting |
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Devi Lal worked
for poor: Bhan Milk supply system
disrupted
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Solan rally show of strength Shimla, April 7 The rally of Mr Virbahdra Singh was organised by his supporters at Solan yesterday, apparently in a bid to show that he had an upper hand in the Congress here. His supporters claim that the strength of legislators in the Virbhadra camp was at least 20. Some MLAs were unable to come because they were busy
elsewhere. Mr Kaul Singh was in Mandi, Mr Rattan Singh was busy settling a religious dispute at Poanta Sahib and Mr Virender Gautam was making arrangements for Mr Virbhadra Singh’s rally at Una tomorrow. So they were unable to attend yesterday’s public meeting at Solan. The Congress has 28 legislators in the Assembly. The legislators present at the Solan rally were Mr Chander Kumar, Mr Yogendera Chandra, Mrs Asha Kumari, Mr Harshwardhan Chauhan, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, Mr Ram Lal, Mr B.B. Butail, Mr Kashmir Singh, Mr Raghu Raj, Mr Dharampal, Mr Tek Chand, Dr Prem Singh, Mr Ishwar Dass, Mr Singhi Ram and Mr Kuldeep Kumar. This is not the first time that Mr Virbhadra Singh has demostrated his strength, many MLAs considered his supporters have not participated in functions organsied by Mrs Stokes. The “parallel” rally at Nalagarh in Solan district yesterday by supporters of Mrs Stokes remained unimpressive. Only one MLA, Mr Lajja Ram, participated. Mr Gian Chand Tutu and Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, former Presidents of the PCC, also attended the rally. However, her supporters claim that the rally was a constituency level one. Hence, it was not attended by any senior leader. The monthlong campaign of the Congress to highlight the “failures” of the BJP has, in fact, exposed serious dissensions within the Congress. Mrs Stokes and Mr Virbhadra Singh shared the dais here last week for the first time, but the event was marred by slogans by supporters of both leaders. Mr Jatinder Singh, AICC observer, today denied that parallel rallies were being held at various places by the two factions. He said barring the state-level protest rallies, the Congress leaders were free to organise public meetings against the BJP government. He said there was no split in the party, but there could be some “misunderstandings” among senior leaders. He said no one in the party had questioned the leadership of Mrs Stokes, but difference of opinion was the “essence of democracy”. |
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Nalagarh Cong rally a damp
squib Solan, April 7 The rally was organised on the same day CLP leader, Virbhadra Singh, currently out of favour with the Congress high command, addressed a rally here. The anti-Virbhadra faction had unofficially been billing the Nalagarh rally as a show of their strength in the district, days in advance of the actual event. While nearly 1500 Congress workers from Doon and Nalagarh constituency areas travelled up to Solan to attend the Virbhadra rally, less than 50 went to Nalagarh from here. Even former minister and erstwhile ruler of Nalagarh, Mr Vijendra Singh, who is no friend of the CLP leader was notable with his absence at the Nalagarh show. This had lead to speculation that new political equations could well be in the offing in the pardash Congress, with Virbhadra Singh enjoying a clear edge. These speculation had further been fuelled by the presence of former MLA and Pradesh Mahila Congress chief, Major Krishna Mohini and Zila Parishad Chairman, Amba Dutt Sharma, a close lieutenant of former PCC chief Gian Chand Tutu, a known Virbhadra baiter, at the Solan rally. Former MP Krishan Dutt Sultanpuri, former PCC President Gian Chand Tutu, PCC General Secretary Rajinder Jar, DCC, President Ram Asra, Doon MLA Lajja Ram addressed the Nalagarh meeting and later went in procession to the office of the SDM. They handed over a memorandum President, K.R. Narayanan. |
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Allies deserting
NDA, claims Congress Shimla, April 7 Mr Sharma, along with Mr Jatinder Singh, AICC observer, was addressing mediapersons here today. He said that the BJP leadership was forced to cancel its rallies on the Tehelka issue at various places as the DMK, TDP and Janata Dal (United) refused to participate in them. The Trinamool Congress had already split from the NDA. Certain other parties were continuing the “opportunistic alliance” despite differences with the BJP. He said that the exposures by the Tehelka were a multidimensional aspect of the scam and the BJP leadership was incoherent and confused on the issue. The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, had lost the moral right to govern the country, but they were making attempts to mislead the people and hush up this serious issue as was visible from the terms of reference of the inquiry commission. This was the second time in two years that the failure of intelligence had come to the fore. Earlier, the intelligence agencies miserably failed in Kargil where the Pakistani forces had intruded in the Indian territory. Mr Sharma said that the BJP, which used to claim itself to be a party with difference and uncompromising with corruption, has badly been exposed by the Tehelka revelations as its leaders were for the first time caught on the camera while taking bribe. Now they were trying to mislead the people by claiming that no defence deal took place following taking of the money. But the Tehelka footage exposed the intentions of the BJP leaders who talked of purchases by the defence wing. He said that the Centre was trying to give a burial to the scandal by trying to protect those involved in the scandal against whom no criminal action had been taken so far. The Tehelka exposure has revealed that how vulnerable and porous the defence establishments were and how cheaply the security of the country could be compromised. Mr Sharma accused Mr Vajpayee of adopting different yardsticks against corruption during his tenure as Leader of the Opposition and after becoming the Prime Minister. He could wash his hands off from the Kargil and Tehelka issues by making lame excuses. Replying to questions about registration of a case by the CBI against Mr V. George, Private Secretary of Mrs Sonia Gandhi, for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets, Mr Sharma said it showed political purpose and diversional ploy and the timing was intriguing. |
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Cong to hold
counter-rally Dharamsala, April 7 Having obtained the consent of the AICC General Secretary, Mrs Mohsina
Kidwai, who is in charge of Himachal, the state level Congress rally will be held in Kangra district by the end of this month. The HPCC General Secretary and in charge of Kangra unit, Mr Harsh
Mahajan, said the rally would be a united show of the Congress, where the state party chief as well as the CLP leader, will address the party workers. “While action has been taken against defence officers and other bureaucrats, whose names have figured in the Tehelka tapes, no action has been taken against politicians like Mr Bangaru
Lakshman”, stated Mr Mahajan. The main agenda at the rally will be corruption, not just at the Centre but also in the state, he added. “Little remains to be said about the corruption, nepotism and favouritism under the BJP rule in
Himachal, as MLAs of the ruling party have themselves raised the banner of revolt against Mr
Dhumal, on these issues”, he stated. Moreover, the reinduction of these rebels into the state Cabinet only exposes the opportunism and compromise that is prevalent in the
BJP. Mr Mahajan, said the Congress would take its fight, against corruption to the people by holding rallies in all 16 blocks of the Congress, before April 30. Very soon the dates for all 16 blocks Congress committees, would be fixed. Mr Mahajan said the date for the state-level Congress rally will be finalised at the state executive meeting to be held in Shimla on April 16. Regarding the holding of parallel rallies by senior Congress leaders, he said the protest rallies were against the BJP and not against each other with in the party. “Since it is not possible for all the leaders to be present everywhere, they are separately covering the state, as per their availability”, he clarified. Former PCC chief and senior Congress leader, Mr Sat
Mahajan, said with the Tehelka expose and corruption charges against the Dhumal government by their own party
MLAs, the Kaul Singh committee report should be handed over to the CBI, for investigation. The Congress under the chairmanship of Mr Kaul Singh, MLA, had constituted a committee to draft a report regarding the alleged corruption and irregularities being committed in the state under the
BJP. Mr Mahajan, said the last-minute cancellation of the Prime Minister’s visit to
Hamirpur, was a clear indication of the differences between the Chief Minister, Mr Dhumal and the Union Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar. “It was a deliberate decision of the Prime Minister to stay away from the rally, as the state BJP is faction ridden”, he said A former minister and MLA, Mr Chander Kumar, said the state was facing a severe financial crunch. “The Rs 2350 crore loan, would be barely sufficient to disburse the monthly salaries of the government employees in the state”, he said. Practically all senior leaders, Mr Sat
Mahajan, Mr Chander Kumar, Mrs Viplove Thakur, Mr B.B.L. Butail, Mr
G.S. Bali, Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia, Dr M.R.
Goma, Mr Vikram Katoch, Mr Sujan Singh Pathania and Mr Jagjivan Pal, attended the general house meeting of Kangra District Congress Committee. |
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Congress out to see
Dhumal’s ouster Solan, April 7 Addressing a public meeting here yesterday, he said that “the three-year rule of the present government, headed by Mr P.K. Dhumal had ruined economy of the state and brought miseries upon the people, particularly the rural poor.” He said that government after having failed to manage properly the economy, had started resorting to measures like hefty hikes in power, water, bus fare and health care tariff which had overburdened the poor. “The government should have resorted to taxing only the rich instead of squeezing the starving poor.” He said that instead of effecting economy in government expenditure, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal had tried to make do by raising heavy loans. While the previous state government headed by him, had kept the loan amount to a manageable Rs 800 crore, the present one had already raised Rs 2500 crore and proposed to raise another loan of Rs 2317 crore during the current year. He warned that the government was leading the state to bankruptcy as the state exchequer, with its limited resources, would not be able to repay such heavy debt. He also criticised the government over its recent moves of privatisation of certain state-run hospitals and to close down certain primary schools having less than 20 students on rolls. He said that the Congress “which believed that every citizen was entitled to state sponsored basic welfare amenities like health care and education” would oppose these anti-people measures. The former Chief Minister chided Mr P.K. Dhumal for choosing the sacred Mahavir Jayanti day for laying the foundation stone of a winery at Vikasnagar in Shimla district, adding that such acts were characteristic of the present regime. Earlier, Mr Virbhadra Singh was welcomed by thousands of Congress men, who reached here from all parts of the district. |
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MLA walks out of DCC meeting Dharamsala, April 7 Mr Bali staged a walkout along with his supporters alleging that the meeting had been organised here on the very same day of his rally to sabotage his show. He said in the very first place it was wrong to keep the meeting the same day and if it was inevitable, the venue could have been Kangra. Mr Bali, said the presence of all senior party leaders at Kangra would have been very encouraging for the workers,. |
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Devi Lal worked
for poor: Bhan Shimla, April 7 Dr Suraj Bhan said Mr Devi Lal throughout his life worked for the upliftment and welfare of the farmers and the poor. He said in his death, the nation had lost a dynamic leader whose loss would always remain irreparable. Mr Dhumal, said in his death the country has lost a seasoned politician who always struggled for the welfare of farmers. Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Government has declared a three-day mourning in the state from today as a mark of respect to former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. According to an official spokesman here, the National Flag will fly at half mast on all buildings and there will be no official entertainment during the period of mourning. |
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Milk supply system
disrupted Mandi, April 7 The current crisis has been created by a decision of the Board of Directors of the HP Cooperative Milk Producers Federation to withdraw four Class IV employees who used to check quality and quantity of milk at the four collection centres which had no chilling plants. The milk used to be directly transported to the plant from these centres. The Board of Directors decided that with effect from April 1 the quantity and quality of the milk would be determined at the plant itself. This has sparked off widespread resentment among the milk producers cooperative societies. As local officials of the federation were helpless to do anything, the 51 societies which contribute about half of the total collection of the Chakkar Plant had to take a drastic decision to stop the supply of milk which is causing huge loss to the federation and great hardship to consumers. An unfortunate aspect of the present crisis is that the private suppliers who had been exploiting milk producers for a long time prior to the setting up of the Chakkar Plant have become active and are fishing in troubled waters. Irked by the “unwise decision” of the Board of Directors Mr Anant Ram Thakur, the lone Director from Mandi district, has resigned. He said if the decision was not reversed immediately, the system of collection and distribution of milk would be paralysed and the societies which had been constituted with hard labour of decades would either cease to exist or become non-functional. Realising the gravity of the situation the Managing Director of the Milk Producers Federation, Mr I.D. Moudgil, has rushed to Mandi and is making efforts to restore the milk supply. He told this reporter that solution to the prevailing crisis would be found out soon. Milk producers are bitter about the decision which they describe as “imprudent”. They insist that the quality and quantity of milk should be checked in their presence at the collection centres as was being done prior to April 1. |
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