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Friday,
March 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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QUESTION HOUR Motions against Oppn go to Privileges Committee BJP gets importance though by default Oppn MLAs to fight ‘more aggressively’ Sadhus condemn use of religion in politics |
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State, doctor fined for failed tubectomy Reorient curriculum, law institutes urged
Cop caught
taking bribe Judicial custody for voucher scam
accused Man held for robbery bid Pollution board
sets up 4 labs
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QUESTION HOUR Chandigarh, March 7 There were noisy scenes inside the House as the Congress MLAs demanded a ruling on the notice of breach of privilege brought by them against the Speaker for preventing the entry of Congress legislators into the Assembly yesterday. As soon as question hour started, Mr Bhajan Lal, Leader of the Opposition who is also the leader of the CLP, and other Congress members stood up to press their demands. An unfazed Mr Kadian, however, did not pay heed to their shouts and initiated the proceedings for question hour by asking Cooperation Minister Kartar Singh Bhadana to answer the first question. In protest the Congress members, led by Mr Bhajan Lal, trooped out of the House. Mr Ramkishan Fauji, HVP member and the only non-Congress Opposition legislator present in the House at that time, also joined the Congress MLAs and walked out of the House. The MLAs, including Mr Ramkishan Fauji, returned to the House moments before question hour was over. With the Opposition legislators not present in the House, it was left to the Independent MLAs, representatives of the BJP and legislators from the ruling party to ask supplementary questions. While replying to a question asked by Mr Ramesh Kumar Khattak, Mr Bahadur Singh, Education Minister, said that that there was no plan to introduce computer education as a compulsory subject in schools. According to the minister, computer education had been started in 399 schools so far. “It will be gradually introduced in the remaining schools as per the demand of students, availability of adequate student strength and infrastructure”, he said. Replying to another question asked by Mr Balwant Singh Sadhaura, Mr Bahadur Singh said that a pension scheme for the staff working in government-aided private schools had been implemented. More than 5,000 teachers of 134 schools were covered under the scheme, he said. Questions relating to house tax and the amount of loans outstanding against cooperative sugar mills, asked by Mr Anil Vij, Independent MLA, were put in the unstarred category though references to them were made by Mr Vij during question hour. Mr Subhash Goyal, Urban Affairs Minister, revealed, following a question asked by Mr Vij, that house tax totalling more than Rs 121 crore was awaiting recovery in various municipal committees and corporations in the state. The corresponding figure for rent was Rs 18 crore and other taxes Rs 119 crore, according to the Urban affairs Minister. On the issue of loans pending against the cooperative sugar mills, Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, Cooperation Minister, said the amount of loan and interest against the sugar mills at Panipat, Rohtak, Sonepat, Meham, Kaithal and Bhuna saw a progressive increase during the past five years. Rehabilitation proposals in respect of the sugar mills having negative net worth Panipat, Rohtak, Sonepat, Meham, Kaithal and Bhuna were under consideration of the government”, Mr Bhadana said. He added that the staff strength of the cooperative sugar mills had been cut to reduce the expenditure on salary and wages. In reply to another unstarred question asked by Mr Vij, the Urban Affairs Minister stated that the equipment and number of safai karamcharis in the municipal bodies were not adequate to meet the normal requirements on account of the increase in population and area and the weak financial position of the municipalities. |
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Motions against Oppn go to Privileges Committee Chandigarh, March 7 The motions were moved one by one by several ruling party MLAs against Mr Jai Prakash Barwala, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Mr Dharamvir, Dr Raghbir Singh Kadian, all Congress; Mr Karan Singh Dalal, RPI; and Mr Jagjit Singh Sangwan, NCP. However, the president of the Haryana Mahila Congress, Mrs Anita Yadav, was spared by the Treasury Benches, perhaps in view of International Women’s Day tomorrow. These members were suspended for the rest of the week on March 5 after they had trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans against the Speaker in protest against the manner in which Mr Kadian had sought the leave of the House to move a motion, sponsored by the Opposition, for his removal. The matter was not listed in the business of the day and Mr Kadian had taken the Opposition by surprise. The Speaker disallowed the motion after only 13 members stood up in its support against the required number of 23. The privilege motions were admitted during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor for his Address to the House, during the extended sitting. Before the Treasury Benches brought their motions against the Opposition members, the Speaker announced that he had disallowed a similar Opposition motion, leading to a protest by the Congress members, who later walked out of the House. Today’s session was held in the backdrop of the meeting between the Governor, Babu Parmanand, and the Speaker and the Parliamentary. Affairs Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, at Raj Bhavan here last evening. Mr Kadian and Prof Sampat Singh denied that they were called by the Governor and maintained that they had gone to Raj Bhavan to make a
courtesy call. But Congress leaders like Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda said when they had gone to see Babu Parmanand to bring to his notice how the Opposition members had been locked out of the House yesterday, the Governor had assured them that he would have a word with the Speaker. One thing is certain. Raj Bhavan did make inquiries with the Vidhan Sabha about yesterday’s incident, before the Speaker and Prof Sampat Singh met the Governor. Following the meeting the Speaker had called an all-party meeting this morning to find ways to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly. The meeting was held in the Speaker’s chamber before the session commenced. However, the issue of the revocation of the suspension of the seven members remained unresolved. Mr Kadian said while Mr Bhajan Lal was willing to express regrets on behalf of the Congress members, this was not acceptable to the ruling party. Moreover, Mr Bhajan Lal could not represent the RPI and NCP members. He said the Congress leaders gave an assurance that they would uphold the dignity of the House by not raising any slogans or rushing into the well. He said Mr Hooda was convinced that the wearing of black badges inside the House was objectionable after a telephonic talk with the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha. However, Mr Hooda denied that he had any such talk. The Congress members, who today lodged their protest on two occasions by walking out of the House, however, told newsmen that the Speaker’s attitude towards the Opposition had remained unchanged even after his meeting with the Governor. Earlier, participating in the debate on the Governor’s Address, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Chautala government had failed on all fronts. He said the INLD was claiming undue credit for the Supreme Court judgement on the SYL canal. The case was pursued by him and Mr Bansi Lal. He said Haryana should not repair the portion of the canal in its territory before the completion of the canal in Punjab. Intervening in the debate, Prof Sampat Singh said the INLD government had pursued the matter at different levels and followed it up in the interest of the people of Haryana, though initially the government faced some problems because the issue had been politicised by successive regimes earlier. Mr Bhajan Lal said though the INLD had won the Yamunanagar byelection, its candidates had lost their security deposits in western UP. Mr Bansi Lal had forcefully raised the controversial issue of the Khanak mines in Bhiwani district while participating in the debate yesterday. He alleged that certain persons were forcibly collecting funds from those labourers who had mining rights over a certain area. He also said that the repair of the SYL canal should not be undertaken till the completion of the canal in Punjab. Rao Inderjit Singh, Mr Shadi Lal Batra, Rao Dan Singh and Mr Sher Singh, all Congress, while opposing the Motion of Thanks highlighted the “failures” of the government on various fronts. Mr Sher Singh demanded that the ex-gratia grant to personnel of the paramilitary forces sacrificing their lives for the country should be on a par with that paid to men of the armed forces. Vaid Kapur Chand, Mrs Sarita Nayar and Mr Kanwar Pal, all BJP, were among those who participated in the debate. |
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BJP gets importance though by default Chandigarh, March 7 The BJP, which has been snubbed by the INLD, having a strength of 48 in the House of 90, suddenly feels that its six members hold the key to one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana falling vacant on April 9. The ruling INLD is sure to win one seat but it does not have the requisite number of MLAs to win the second seat if the BJP does not vote for the candidate of a party which is still supporting the Vajpayee government at the Centre. At least 31 first preference votes are needed to win a Rajya Sabha seat. The INLD claims the support of 66 MLAs. Besides its 48 members, the INLD counts on the support of six BJP members, 11 Independent MLAs and one BSP MLA. If the BJP members are excluded from the tally of those supporting the government, the INLD falls short of two MLAs to win both seats. The dilemma before the BJP is two fold. The party high command is still to take a decision on the request of the state unit to formally break its alliance with the INLD at the state-level. Secondly, the BJP, in any case, cannot vote for the Congress, which has 20 MLAs, however bitter its relations with the INLD may be. According to sources in the BJP, the party high command has called leaders of the state unit to Delhi on March 9 to take a final decision on their request to break the alliance with the INLD in Haryana. Certain state BJP leaders say the party MLAs can abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. But that will suit the INLD as the number of first preference votes to ensure the victory of its men in the Rajya Sabha elections will be less. The formula to determine the success of a candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections is “one-third plus one” of the valid votes polled. The Congress is still undecided whether to contest the Rajya Sabha elections or not. It knows that its candidate will not be in a position to win the elections even if the BJP abstains. Certain Congress leaders are exploring the possibilities of fielding an independent candidate, who, besides the support of the 20 party MLAs, may also be able to get the votes of the MLAs of other parties. One such candidate is the industrialist-turned-politician, Mr O.P. Jindal, Congress MLA from Hisar. But there is one big hurdle in his way. According to informed sources, a senior Congress leader had held exploratory talks with the HVP President, Mr Bansi Lal, a couple of days ago on the strategy to be adopted by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha elections. The sources said while Mr Bansi Lal was willing to vote with the Opposition in order to deny the second seat to the INLD, his reaction to the name of Mr Jindal was very strong. In view of the HVP stand, it was unlikely that Mr Jindal would contest. The Congress was likely to take a decision on the Rajya Sabha elections on March 9. The INLD on its part is confident of winning both seats, whether the BJP votes for its candidates or not. A senior party leader said the results of the Rajya Sabha elections would show how many “friends(read black sheep) we have in the other parties.” The election process will commence from tomorrow when the notification will be issued. The last date for filing the nomination papers is March 14. The papers will be scrutinised on March 15. The election, if necessary, will be held on March 27. The Haryana vacancies in the Rajya Sabha are arising because of the retirement of Mr Lachhman Singh and Mr Banarsi Dass, both Congress. |
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Oppn MLAs to fight ‘more
aggressively’ Chandigarh, March 7 Talking to TNS, Mr Ajay Singh Yadav, Congress Deputy Leader in the House, said that he would now fight more aggressively against the INLD inside and outside the House. While stating that there was an instance of termination of a representative's membership of the House by the Privileges Committee in 1972, Mr Yadav said that the INLD move today had shown that the government was keen to gag the Opposition. "We have been elected by a popular verdict and we will not be cowed by the ruling party's machinations", he said. Mr Karan Singh Dalal of the Republican Party of India, who is also a known detractor of the Chief Minister, said that they did not do anything in the House which could amount to a breach of privilege. "I presume that by referring my name to the Privileges Committee, they are threatening to terminate my membership of the House. I am ready to resign and fight fresh elections against the INLD and still I will win", Mr Dalal said. He added that the recommendation of the Privileges Committee could be challenged in court. "However, the most important court is the court of the people and I am sure that I will get a favourable verdict there", Mr Dalal said. Importantly, one Congress MLA, who has not been subjected to any action by the Speaker, had earlier said that the Speaker's consent might create some "tension" for the affected MLAs as the possibility of the termination of membership would haunt them. Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, HPCC chief, who, too, was not subjected to any action by the Speaker, however, dismissed the assertion that the affected MLAs might rue their actions in the Assembly on Tuesday. " They are in high spirits", he said. The Congress MLAs and Mr Jagjit Singh Sangwan of the NCP were positively in a jubilant mood yesterday
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Sadhus condemn use of religion in politics Pehowa, March 7 Saints and ‘sadhus’ from Rishikesh, Hardwar, Punjab and Haryana participated in the 2 km procession, which started from the historic Pashupati Nath temple. A large number of Sikhs, from the adjoining villages, also participated in the procession. Mahant Gangapuri, general secretary of the Maha Nirvani Akhara, who led the procession, condemned the communal frenzy which had let to riots in Gujarat and other parts of the country. While talking to The Tribune, he said that majority of ‘akharas’ of Dasnami sadhus were not against the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya, but they did not want bloodshed in the country. He said Hinduism signified religious tolerance and politicians should shun from using it against any other community. Mahant Parbhatpuri of the Sthaneshwar Temple of Kurukshetra said that a ‘sarv dharam’ prayer centre be built at Ayodhya. Lord Rama’s name should not be used for religious bigotry and killing of innocent people, he said. Mahant Vijay Giri, general secretary of the Maha Nirvani Akhara of Hardwar, also urged the people not to use the name of religious places for spreading communal disharmony. All along the route devotees raised slogans in support of communal harmony. The students of Baba Sharvan Nath School, here, also participated in the procession, which ended at Sanghmeshwar Mahadev temple at Arunai village. The procession included tableaux depicting various facets on Lord Shiva’s life. |
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Cong holds dharna Sirsa, March 7 Speaking on this occasion the local sitting MLA Lachhman Dass Arora said that the new house tax policy of the Haryana Government was unjust to the people. He said that the Congress would struggle for the rights of the people of Haryana if the government did not adopt positive attitude towards it. Former Minister Jagdish Nehra also criticised the Chautala government for anti-people policies due to which the people of Haryana were facing financial problems. Chairman of the Sirsa Municipal Council Padam Jain said that the lack of support to the dharna of the Congress meant acceptance of house tax policy of the government by the people.
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State,
doctor fined for failed
tubectomy Kaithal, March 7 The plaintiff, Mrs Krishna had undergone a tubectomy operation at the Community Health Centre, Kalayat on August 11 , 1989 . This operation was performed by Dr Vinod Arora who was posted at the Civil Hospital Narwana . In spite of the operation, the plaintiff gave birth to a daughter in October, 1992. When the woman complained about the birth of the child, she was told that the operation on her had not been successful as a result, she had conceived again. The complainant alleged that the operation had not succeeded due to negligence and carelessness on the part of the doctor. Aggrieved she filed a suit in May, 1993, in the court of the Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), Kaithal, against the state of Haryana through the Secretary, Health Department, and the doctor who had performed the operation. She claimed a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh. The plaintiff prayed that she already had three children and to bring up a fourth one was very difficult for her due to financial constraints and no source of income. On the other hand, counsel representing the state government as well as the defendant doctor argued that the plaintiff had been told that the failure rate of such operations was 7 per cent and there was no negligence. Moreover, the woman could have undergone an abortion. After going through arguments put forward by the plaintiff and the defendants, the court held that the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages from the state government as the effectiveness of a tubectomy operation depended on how the fallopian tubes had been blocked. The state was at liberty to determine the liability of the doctor as it was a internal department affair. The court ordered the
defendant the state, to pay Rs 1.08 lack as maintenance allowance at the rate of Rs 500 per month from the date of birth 6.10.92 of the child till she attained the age of 18. The court also held that the amount of damages be paid with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of the suit till it’s actual realisation . The court also ordered the defendants to pay the complainant Rs 8770 spent as court fee. |
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Reorient curriculum, law institutes urged Kurukshetra, March 7 He said the departments and institutes of law should reorient their curriculum by introducing newly emerging areas, including environmental and cyber laws. Speaking on the occasion, the Director of the National Institute of Law, Dr Veer Singh, said the institute was introducing new subjects in its curriculum. The Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Mr R.S. Chaudhry, appreciated the series of lectures organised by the institute. |
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We are second to none Ambala, March 7 They opined that Women’s Day is specially significant for Indian women since it allows them to reaffirm their pride in Indian womanhood and stress upon the importance of being a woman. Pretty Aggarwal, a B.Com first year student, said Women’s Day is an important day. “I feel that there has been a considerable change in the status of women in society. Some changes have been brought about, particularly in the last couple of years, which have enabled women to be at par with men,” she said. She said the road to equality is long and bumpy and it would take some time before Women’s Day truly becomes a day for rejoicing womanhood. Her college mates, Meenakshi Gautam and Neha Wadhawan, were of the opinion that Women’s Day is definitely not like any other day. “Women’s Day is for women only. It is our day and we feel that there is a gradual change in mindset of the people towards women,” they said. Arti Dhamija and Shivani Sengupta, both MA English final year students at SD College, Ambala Cantt, said the earlier mindset of male superiority in orthodox families is gradually changing. “We are second to none. However, in rural areas, positive changes are still needed,” they said. “The thinking in society towards women is changing and what better day to stress on this fact than to celebrate Women’s Day. There is no greater liberty and freedom to women,” they said. In a lighter vein, they said women were extremely important, otherwise celebrations such as Valentine’s Day would have come to a naught. DAV Public Senior Secondary School teachers Poonam Rampal and Ranjana, observed that it would not have been possible for our country to progress without the effort put in by the women. “Awareness regarding equality of women and men needs to be generated so that the process of removing inequalities is speeded up,” they said. They pointed out that Women’s Day is specially important since it gives an opportunity to society to know the equal status of women. “Although things are changing, society still has a long way to go before men and women are on equal footing,” they said. School students, Akriti Yadav and Megha Sain, both of whom are in Class XI, said women have their own importance in everyday life. “Women are coming forward in various fields and they are not only managing the household, but are also having successful careers”, they said. They stressed that a woman creates and nurtures a family, a role which is especially important. “For us, Women’s Day is going to be a day in which we are going to look ahead for the role of women in our fast changing social world,” they said. School teacher, Amanpreet, said gradually the responsibility of women has increased as compared to men. “Women’s Day is a day which refers to woman power. Although, our’s is a male dominated society, there has been a shift towards women and women in rural areas are slowly becoming conscious of their rights,” she said. She said more girls in rural areas have now started to go to school and discrimination is being reduced. “We still have a long way to go but the process for a positive change has started and ultimately, it will translate into well being of women,” she said. The Municipal Councillor, Amisha Chawla, said women today are no longer dependent on men. “Women are more liberated and women today are aware that they should do something on their own”, she said. “For me, Women’s Day is a day to practically “worship” Indian woman and to strive for ensuring more equality for women. Women today cannot be ignored. Interestingly, when a woman goes out to get a job done, she gets more respect than a man,” she said. Amisha Chawla observed that politically women are doing well Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj are some such examples. She stated that the change is perceptible, even on a day-to-day basis. “Ambala is opening up and the thinking of the people here is improving”, she added. Rekha Ahlawat, a lawyer, said women are progressing. “Women’s Day is a day for women and a salute to Indian womanhood,” she said. “When were studying law, there used to be practically no girls in Rohtak courts and in less than five years, a number of girls are becoming lawyers. It is an encouraging change,” she said. She stressed that mindset has to change towards women and the change has to come from within. “No external factor can possible change a person’s mindset and once a change comes from within, women will definitely a firmer footing in the society”, she said. Alka Ghai, secretary of District Red Cross Society, said significant changes were taking place in society today and Women’s Day is going to be a day to reiterate our belief in the strength of womanhood. “When we go to rural areas, we feel that women are coming forward.”
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Cop
caught
taking bribe Sirsa, March 7 According to the information, Najar Singh of Kurangawali in the district had alleged that a false case under the Gambling Act, showing a recovery of Rs 4,800 from him, was registered against him on February 28. He alleged that the in charge of the police station, Budh Singh, threatened that if Najar Singh did not give him a bribe of Rs 10,000, he would be booked in a case under the NDPS Act. Following the complaint by Najar Singh, the vigilance party reached Kalanwali today morning and caught Budh Singh red-handed and seized Rs 6,000 from him. A case under the Anti-Corruption Act has been registered against Budh Singh. When contacted, Budh Singh, however, said he had been falsely implicated in the case.
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Judicial custody for voucher scam
accused Ambala, March 7 The court has already sent another accused in the case, Neena Gupta, in judicial custody till March 18. She was arrested when the police found around Rs 95 lakh drawn through fake refund vouchers by a forged firm deposited in her account. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Sandeep Khirwar, said the police had attached the movable and immovable property worth Rs 1.65 crore belonging to the accused. He said the police had also recovered a cash and some papers of property from Faridabad where the accused was staying. Meanwhile, the Treasury Officer, Ambala, has sent a detailed report to the Financial Commissioner, in this regard. The Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Mukesh Gambhir, has already sent a report to the government in this matter.
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Man held for robbery bid Kurukshetra, March 7 |
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Pollution board
sets up 4 labs Chandigarh, March 7 Stating this here today, Mr H.S. Bains, Chairman of the board, said it had also set up its nine regional offices in Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Bahadurgarh, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Chandigarh and Hisar. He said to streamline the functioning of the board it had been decided to construct its own office buildings in Panchkula, Faridabad and Hisar. He further said Mr Ajay Chautala, MP, would lay the foundation stone of the building of regional office at Hisar tomorrow.
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Anubhuti 2002 Ambala, March 7
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