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Wednesday,
January 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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EC considering freeze of MPLADS funds ‘Vishvas
yatra’ a flop show: MLA BJP undid Cong’s
injustice: Parmar 2 HP ministers may quit, rejoin HVC |
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Congress to hold
‘unity’ rallies Cong warned against truck with Sukh Ram
MLA accused of
misleading people No job guarantee for nurses HP Paramedical Council formed School lecturers to
hold rally Water crisis at Jahoo Kangra-Delhi
flights resume Leopard caught near village
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EC considering freeze of MPLADS funds Shimla, January 14 She said the Election Commission had directed that no fresh release of funds under the MPLADS could be made in any part of the country where elections were in progress. No fresh release of funds under the MLAs’ local areas development fund could be made, if any such schemes were in operation, till the completion of the election process. The Chief Electoral Officer said work should not be started even if the work order had been issued before the operation of the model code of conduct, but the work had actually not commenced in the field. It could be started only after the completion of the election process. If the work had been started, it could continue. Ms Nanda said there would be no bar on the release of payments for completed work, subject to the full satisfaction of officials concerned. Meanwhile, the Congress today urged the Election Commission to ensure the removal of hoardings and strict enforcement of the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference here, party spokesman Kuldip Singh Rathore said although the Election Commission had called for removal of hoardings by the government, these continued to exist at various places. These hoardings, which gave details of the so-called development undertaken in the state by the government, were in violation of the election code and hence should be removed, he added. Similarly, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s “Vishvas Yatra”, in which, he alleged, the government machinery was being misused, should be stopped. Mr Rathore said the Congress had planned to start a pre-poll campaign in all four parliamentary constituencies in the state, beginning with a rally at Solan on January 17. |
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‘Vishvas yatra’ a flop show: MLA Chamba, January 14 Mr Mahajan said the issues in Himachal Pradesh were quite different from those in Gujarat where Mr Modi had cashed in on communalisation and polarisation. Challenging Mr Modi’s overconfidence, Mr Mahajan said if he wanted to campaign for his party in the state, he could come and test his “overconfidence” and added that Mr Modi had already worked for his party in Himachal but had failed and had to return disappointed. Mr Mahajan said there was factionalism in the Himachal BJP which had resulted in hampering the development of the state, especially Chamba and Kangra districts, which were represented by Mr Shanta Kumar. Mr Mahajan described “vishvas yatra” of Mr P.K. Dhumal in the state as a government-sponsored yatra which was a flop show. It had failed to win the confidence of even the
ministerial colleagues of the Chief Minister. The HPCC would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission to restrict the so-called yatra in which government machinery was being used to woo voters. Mr Mahajan slammed the BJP for not safeguarding the interests of the state while signing the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with regard to power projects and said the Congress would rescind all these MoUs if voted to
power. |
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BJP undid Cong’s
injustice: Parmar Shimla, January 14 In a
statement issued here today he said the Virbhadra Singh government had
played a fraud on the people of merged areas of the state by first
declaring Dharamsala as the second capital of the state and later
backing out of the commitment. Mr Parmar said Mr Virbhadra had
dubbed his tour to this part of the state to keep away from the biting
cold of Shimla. He said this political fraud cost the state exchequer
lakhs of rupees as for a few days’ stay a profit-making Kashmir
House unit of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC)
was converted into a royal retreat and kept vacant for the whole year.
The Dhumal government had reconverted it into a tourist hotel. The
BJP MP said after the elections to the state Assembly in February the
new BJP government would start functioning from Dharamsala during
winters by holding regular Cabinet meetings and at least one session
of the Assembly at Dharamsala. |
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2 HP ministers may quit, rejoin HVC Shimla, January 14 Mr Sukh Ram, party supremo, had engineered a tactical split in his own party to prevent Mr Virbhadra Singh from becoming the Chief Minister again through defections in the wake of the hung Assembly. Subsequently, both Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary, the new entrants to the BJP, were made ministers. However, the BJP cadre never accepted the two leaders and this led to a lot of problems between the two parties, specially in Mandi district. Now when the elections have been announced, the two leaders feel that they do not have any future in the party. More so because the BJP, which won only two out of the total of 10 seats in Mandi district, is keen on improving its tally. There is little likelihood of the BJP granting the party ticket to the two ministers, who have all along been treated as “outsiders”. According to HVC sources the two leaders have already discussed the issue with Mr Sukh Ram who is in Delhi to have talks with the Congress high command for an electoral alliance. In case the talks fail and the HVC goes to the polls on its own, the two leaders will contest on the party ticket. If there is an agreement to have adjustment of seats, Mr Sukh Ram will try his best to protect their interests. The ministers are likely to resign from the cabinet and the BJP in the next few days. |
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Congress to hold
‘unity’ rallies Shimla, January 14 Mr Virbhadra Singh had all along been avoiding sharing of the dais with Mrs Stokes at public meetings, except those addressed by Central leaders like Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mrs Moshina Kidwai. The two leaders had been pulling in opposite directions creating confusion among partymen who were keen to see the Congress back in power in the state. The party high command took a major step to end factionalism by making Mr Virbhadra Singh the convener of the party’s campaign committee to ensure that the two leaders jointly shouldered the responsibility of leading the party at the
hustings. The programme for holding joint rallies was also finalised by Mr Satyajit
Gaikwad, national secretary of the party, who met the two leaders separately here yesterday. As per the programme, the first joint rally would be held at Solan on January 17. It will be followed by rallies at Hamirpur (January 18), Drang (January 19) and Dharamsala (January 20). Besides Mrs Stokes and Mr Virbhadra Singh, a senior national leader, party leaders and Mrs Moshina
Kidwai, general secretary in charge of the party affairs in the state, will also address the rallies. Mrs Sonia Gandhi will be the star campaigner for the party and she will address election meetings in every district. Mr Kuldeep
Rathore, party spokesman, said the party would not allow the BJP to dictate the poll agenda, as was being claimed by Mr Arun
Jaitley, the party general secretary, and raise its own issues. The BJP’s plans to make security and hindutva as the main poll planks would come a cropper as Himachal was neither a communally sensitive state nor was it plagued with the problem of terrorism. He said instead it was the issue of corruption and malgovernance which would click. The Dhumal government had earned the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt and inefficient government in the history of the hill state. The situation had come to such a pass that even the BJP’s own ministers and legislators levelled serious charges of corruption against their own government. The Chief Minister had to compromise with them to save the government and they continued as ministers. |
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Cong warned against truck with Sukh Ram Mandi, January 14 They said Mr Sukh Ram had played a villain’s role in 1998, as a result of which the Congress could not form the government. He had spent the full term in the government enjoying Cabinet rank and was now he hobnobbing with some members of the Central leadership, knowing that the Congress was poised to win two-thirds majority in the elections. Congress leaders
D.D. Thakur, and Pushp Raj Sharma called upon the Central leadership not to fall in the trap laid by Mr Sukh Ram. |
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Verma
seeks Cong ticket Bilaspur, January 14 |
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Pollution board chief violates code? Solan, January 14 The violator in this case happens to be the HP State Pollution Control Board, whose administrative head is none other than Mr Nagin
Nanda, husband of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Ms Manisha
Nanda. The local MLA, Dr Rajiv Bindal, a close lieutenant of Chief Minister Prem Kumar
Dhumal, is the board’s Chairman. His personal secretary had often been misusing the board’s stationery for issuing press notes covering political activities of the MLA-cum-Chairman in the past even after the impropriety had been brought to the notice of Mr
Bindal. Yesterday, a woman who claimed she was speaking from the State Pollution Control Board, sent a fax message from the official number (273018) of Mr Nagin Nanda to a local PCO for forwarding a few journalists. Some of the local journalists regularly use this PCO to send and receive the Press messages. The fax message contained a statement of Mr Netar Singh, alias Leshu Bhai, an influential local politician, to the effect that he had joined the BJP after being impressed by the working style, development achievements and farmer-friendly policies of Chief Minister Dhumal. He closed his statement by saying that he would now work whole-heartedly for the BJP in the coming elections. Mr Netar Singh contested the byelections from the Solan constituency and gave many a sleepless night to both the BJP and the Congress candidates. He mustered as many as 11,500 votes. He continues to enjoy a substantial mass base in the rural areas and has been wooed by many an aspirant for the Solan seat. Dr Bindal succeeded in his efforts and has been misusing official machinery for propaganda. |
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Ban orders in Una district
Una (HP), January 14 According to the notification, carrying of firearms, explosives and lethal weapons, except by uniformed personnel on duty, has been banned and the restrictions would be in effect till one week after the declaration of the results of election.
UNI |
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MLA accused of
misleading people Solan, January 14 Addressing mediapersons here today, he said both BJP and Congress had bypassed the interests of the masses. Demanding an inquiry into a claim of spending Rs 16 crore on the construction of a sabzi
mandi, he said the construction of bus stand, sewerage schemes and water augmentation schemes had begun before the MLA’s tenure. Charging BJP leaders of indulging in political corruption, he pointed out that no action had been taken against Mr Kushal
Jethi. |
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No job guarantee for nurses Nurpur, January 14 According to sources, earlier the nurses during their training were getting Rs 500 per month as stipend from the Health Department. But now they will be burdened with Rs 21,000 as annual fee in government and Rs 31,000 for private-run nurses training institutes, respectively. The training fee has been enforced in the current batch. Moreover, the Health Department which earlier ensured jobs for trained nurses in government institutions had now taken an undertaking from the nurses that the state government would not be responsible for providing them job. Interestingly, the Health Department is presently facing a shortage of as many as 500 staff nurses. There are five government and two private nurses training institutes in the state which impart training to 215 candidates each year. The Director, Medical Education Research, Himachal Pradesh, could be contacted as he was away. |
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HP Paramedical Council formed Shimla, January 14 Other members of the council are the Director of Dental Health Services, Director of
Ayurveda, Heads of departments of orthopaedics, microbiology, biochemistry, pathology, radiology, physiotherapy of Indira Gandhi Medical College and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College. The council will have a term of three years from the date of its first meeting. |
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School lecturers to
hold rally Hamirpur, January 14 In a press note issued here today, he said the relay fast of the sangh in support of its demands entered its 26th day today. He said a meeting of the steering committee of the sangh was held here last night, which decided to be ready for any sort of sacrifice in view of the rigid stance of the government. |
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Water crisis at Jahoo Hamirpur, January 14 The crisis has arisen due
to damage to the main pipeline by miscreants. The water supply system
is being manned by the local gram panchayat. Gram panchayat pradhan
Ram Rakha lamented that neither the state government nor the district
administration had taken any action against those who had damaged the
pipeline at three main points. Villagers have demanded that the
district authorities should immediately provide water to them. |
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Kangra-Delhi
flights resume Kangra, January 14 Mr Dhumal said the route would connect Kangra, Kulu and Shimla. He announced that Jagson Airlines would operate a helicopter service in the higher reaches of the state which remained cut off during winters. He said the Defence Ministry had approved government takeover of the Annadale grounds in Shimla, presently under the Army’s possession. He said it would be developed as an international cricket stadium. He added that a shooting range would be set up in the Summer Hill area in Shimla at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. |
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Leopard caught near village Mandi, January 14 The huge cat had sustained some injuries. It was taken to veterinary doctors at Bhangrotu, who administered tranquilisers and injections to the leopard. It would be shifted to the Gopalpur zoo in Kangra district. |
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30,000 pilgrims
visit Brajeshwari shrine Kangra, January 14 |
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