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Saturday,
August 31, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Speaker rejects Congress
charges ‘Kainthla panel didn’t call witness’ BJP seeks apology from Sonia HVC for poll
pact with BJP 15 lakh meters out of order: HPSEB
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Protest planned against Army restrictions MPs show concern for
Tibet Idols stolen from 8th century temple 10,000 take holy dip in Manimahesh
Lake Ayurvedic pharmacy council soon
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Speaker rejects Congress
charges Shimla, August 30 Addressing a press conference here, he said he had been deeply hurt by the allegation made by the Congress members at the fag end of the term of the Vidhan Sabha.He had been more than fair to the Opposition over the past over four years and the Congress legislators, led by Mr Virbhadra Singh, had on numerous occasions appreciated the manner in which he had been conducting the proceedings. He said he had been constrained to go to the Press as the Congress legislators had not only criticised his functioning in the notice but also made certain uncalled-for remarks against him outside the House. He had put the record straight as they presented a one-sided picture. The notice for his removal was submitted to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat at 4 p.m. on August 28 and released to the Press immediately which was patently wrong. Under the rules, a notice could not be released to the Press until admitted by the Speaker. Visibly anguished over the accusations Mr Thakur said he had entered the Vidhan Sabha for the fifth term and was fully aware of the important role of the Opposition in a democratic set up. He reeled out comparative statistics of the questions asked, notices admitted and the time allotted over the past four years to rebut the allegation of discriminating against the opposition. He said the Congress members asked 6,249 questions as against 1,057 by the ruling party. Similarly, 376 notices of the Opposition were admitted as compared to 78 of the ruling combine. In all, the Opposition was allowed 51.40 hours as against 42.20 hours allotted to the Treasury Benches. Referring to the happenings in the ongoing session, he said the Congress members trooped into the well to protest against mainly the Kainthala Commission report and the petrol station allotment scam. There was no occasion for adopting such tactics as he had already had a discussion on the report on September 2 and the protesting members had not given any notice in regard to the petrol station scam. Entering the well of the house was a violation of Rule 299, but still he took a lenient view and did not take any harsh action . When asked if the congress members had made the allegations against him to achieve political ends, Mr Thakur quipped that it was for the presspersons to judge. He said he was not in touch with any party and had not even given a thought to the elections. |
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‘Kainthla panel didn’t call witness’ Shimla, August 30 Talking to mediapersons he said Mr Dhwala came to Shimla via Chandigarh along with him on March 5 after being declared elected to hold consultations with leaders of the Congress and the BJP, as both required his support to form the government. He said there had neither been any pressure nor assault by any Congress legislator or worker. He claimed that the Punjab police stopped them after every few kilometres until they reached Chandigarh, where Mr M. M. Mittal, the then Punjab Food and Supplies Minister, met Mr
Dhwala. He said there was no pressure on Mr Dhwala, who, after becoming a minister in the Virbhadra Singh Cabinet toured various parts of state upto March 24, when the Dhumal government assumed office. |
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BJP seeks apology from Sonia Shimla, August 30 Mr Jaikrishan Sharma, state BJP chief, said here today that allotments were made during the 45- year rule of the party without adopting any procedure. He said Mrs Gandhi had no moral right to demand the resignation of Mr Ram Naik, Union Petroleum Minister, unless she atoned for the wrongs committed during the regimes of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He said it was surprising that the party, which failed to observe any norms while in power, was talking of morality to the NDA government which laid down norms for allotments for the first time. Dealer-selection boards, headed by a retired judge, were set up in all states to ensure fair-play in selections. Further, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee showed exemplary moral courage in cancelling the allotments made after January, 2000. It was an unprecedented decision. It was now the turn of Mrs Gandhi to match the actions of Mr Vajpayee by taking suitable corrective action. Congressmen were not expected to surrender their petrol stations and LPG agencies, but Mrs Gandhi could at least ensure that those who has benefited from the allotments did not hold any position in the Congress organisation. |
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HVC for poll
pact with BJP Nahan, August 30 While answering a question Mr Sukh Ram said that he would not speak anything against coalition partner, the BJP in the forthcoming election but will go to the people of the state with party’s manifesto with two major points, debt-free Himachal and employment for every youth. Mr Sukh Ram said by supporting a coalition government in Himachal the HVC had created climate of faith and stability for itself among the public. Mr Sukh Ram denied charges of promoting family within the HVC and said the HVC executive committee decided to make his son Anil Sharma president of the party. When asked that the charge sheet given by him against former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has proved to be false as Mr Virbhadra Singh has been given a clean chit by CBI and the court also has dismissed charges against him, Mr Sukh Ram gave an evasive reply. Mr Sukh Ram also announced that both Members of Parliament of his party would fight for the demands of declaring the Transgiri area as a Scheduled Tribe in Sirmaur district. |
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15 lakh meters out of order: HPSEB
staff Dharamsala, August 30 In a press note Mr Chander Bhushan Mishra, a spokesperson of the federation alleged that the employees were being denied bonus this year due to financial constraints. He said it is first time that Himachal power board had come out with an excuse to deny the employees their due. Mr Mishra alleged that there is no fresh recruitment of class III, IV and technical employees in the board and vacancies following to retirements were not being filled giving financial difficulties as the reason. But no sooner a senior level position falls vacant, than it is filled by promotion. He said increasing strength of senior officials was a matter of grave concern. Mr Mishra also alleged that the board officials were wasting crores on the purchase of equipment which he termed as useless while basic requirement of home meters and other such essential items was being ignored. He alleged that 15 lakh household meters were defective and causing huge loss to the board but instead of purchasing cost-effective single and three-phase meters, the official had wasted Rs 36 crore on costly electronic meters. He said that due to mishandling and lack of knowledge these meters were causing losses to the board. He also alleged that due to corruption rampant in purchase, the board was buying substandard material and demanded a high-level inquiry into many allegations of corruption already forwarded to the state government on bunglings in the HPSEB. |
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Protest planned against Army restrictions Nahan, August 30 The residents on Wednesday held a protest march and submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner,
Sirmaur, copies of which were also sent to the Defence Minister and other senior officials of the state and Central governments. They said the Army had also imposed an “unannounced” ban on construction as there were restrictions on the transportation of construction material. During the past few years, there have been many clashes between Army personnel and civilians. Mr Onkar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner,
Sirmaur, said the district administration had tried to resolve the situation but due to the “rigid” attitude of Army officials, no progress could be made. The issue had now been taken up with the Home Ministry. He said legal action had been initiated against the Army authorities regarding the closure of public path and the SDM, Nahan, had issued notices to the Army under Section 133,
CrPC. |
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MPs show concern for
Tibet Dharamsala, August 30 Tibet is the orgin of many rivers which flow through some South Asian countries and any tampering with its ecology may cause demographic danger for the region. The members said that they were committed to working for the preservation of the Tibetan cultural heritage and ensuring that human rights of Tibetans were protected. Mr Bashishtha Narain Singh, Rajya Sabha Member, said China had been given an ultimatum by the European Union to settle the issue within three years. He hoped that in the near future, Tibetans would go back to their homeland with dignity. |
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Idols stolen from 8th century temple Nurpur, August 30 The temple management is being run by the state government, which had taken it over a few years ago. According to information, the locks of the temple were found broken by the priest on Wednesday and valuable idols missing. The police has registered a theft case. The temple officer-cum-tehsildar also visited the temple. |
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10,000 take holy dip in Manimahesh
Lake Chamba, August 30 According to Mr Rahul anand, Deputy Commissioner, the pilgrims also had a view of Mt Karlash. The DC said the main and final phase of pilgrimage would conclude on September 14. He said the “chhari” for Manimahesh would leave the district headquarters a week before the holy bath on the occasion of Radhashtami on September 14. |
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Ayurvedic pharmacy council soon Shimla, August 30 He said these assurances were given by Minister of State for Ayurveda Mohan Lal to a delegation of the federation which held detailed discussions with him regarding their demands. He said 46 delegates of pharmacists from all over the state participated in the discussions and the federation’s demands for reappointment of retired pharmacists to meet the shortage and grant of Punjab scales to homoeopathic pharmacists were also accepted, he said.
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