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Monday,
February 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP tells Cong to clarify stand on POTA
Shanta loyalists not keen on Modi Graft charges motivated: BJP Kangra key to saddle in Shimla Regional factor may not play major role |
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Feast for voters, tough time for administration Cong ultimatum to rebels
No move to lift ban on Pak TV
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BJP tells Cong to clarify stand on POTA Shimla, February 9 The Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the Congress must clarify its position in the light of the latest revelation that the Pakistani Embassy had been directly funding militants in Jammu and Kashmir. “More so because Himachal Pradesh, which was going to polls, shared its border with the troubled state and the Congress must tell the people whether or not it would invoke POTA in case militancy spilled over to the state,” he added. Mr Prasad said the Congress was not prepared for a debate on the issue of development as the track record of its own Chief Ministers was far from satisfactory, particularly in comparison to that of the Dhumal government in the state. “Projects involving an investment of over Rs 22,000 crore had been either approved or were being implemented in the state with the assistance of the Centre, the Congress governments had nothing to show,” he added. The Madhya Pradesh Government, where the Congress had been in power for the past nine years, had itself admitted that it had failed to develop basic infrastructure like roads and the Maharashtra Government was on the verge of bankruptcy. The manner in which the Rajasthan Government had handled the drought situation was known to all. The party had launched a slander campaign against the Chief Minister, Mr P.K.Dhumal, to sidetrack from the main issue of development, said Mr Prasad. Condemning the raids on the factories of Mr Dhumal in Punjab, he said Capt Amarinder Singh had not learnt a lesson from his past failures. “He blatantly misused the state machinery in the SGPC poll, but the SAD still emerged victorious. The people of Himachal Pradesh would give him a befitting reply by voting the BJP back to power in the state.” Mr Prasad said the Congress had lost direction and was not sure about what policy to follow on crucial issues. |
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Shanta loyalists not keen on Modi Dharamsala, February 9 The faction owing allegiance to Union Minister Shanta Kumar has little love lost for the Gujarat Chief Minister, who, as the party’s central observer, was instrumental in siding with the P.K. Dhumal faction during the bitter feud for the leadership of the party. With Mr Modi slated to campaign in Himachal Pradesh for only three days in the second phase of campaigning, BJP sources said it was almost certain he would not be invited to campaign in Kangra district, the stronghold of Mr Shanta Kumar. District BJP unit president, Dulo Ram said he had asked block party units to send in their requests for campaigning by senior BJP leaders in their areas. “We will forward their requests to the state and central BJP leadership. We do not have any objection to Mr Modi coming here to campaign,” he said. However, the fact was Mr Shanta Kumar and his loyalists had made it quite, clear, even before the elections when Mr Dhumal touted Mr Modi as the ‘star campaigner’ for the poll, that Mr Modi’s brand of campaigning could prove “counter productive” in the state, “Hindutva cannot be an agenda for the party in Himachal Pradesh which has never witnessed any polarisation on communal lines with 98 per cent of the population being Hindus”, commented a prominent BJP leader of Kangra district. BJP sources said none of the Shanta supported BJP candidates were keen to invite Mr Modi to their constituencies. A BJP MLA and a staunch Shanta loyalist was diplomatic on the issue of Mr Modi campaigning for the party in Himachal Pradesh. “He is the Chief Minister of a BJP-ruled state. If his campaigning benefits the party in any way in the state, we have no objections. We will welcome him as a senior party leader coming to our state,” he added. However, a minister in the state government was sceptical about Mr Modi’s efficacy as a campaigner in the state. “The situation in Himachal Pradesh is entirely different from Gujarat. I do not think Mr Modi’s brand of campaigning can have any real impact on the electorate of the state and benefit the party,” he said. In fact, the party at large seems to have veered round to the same view too. BJP General secretary Pramod Mahajan said, on reaching Shimla the other day, that Hindutva as such would not be the poll plank of the party for the forthcoming elections though the party would raise the issue of terrorism and national security. As for the Shanta loyalists, they would rather prefer it that way rather than having to invite Mr Modi in their constituencies. In fact, they were the ones who had revolted demanding the ouster of Mr Modi, as the party general secretary, in charge of Himachal Pradesh for slighting them for being the loyalists of Mr Shanta Kumar, who is heading the rival faction within the state BJP. |
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Graft charges motivated: BJP Dharamsala, February 9 He said if the Congress was serious about corruption charges against Mr Dhumal, it should have levelled these charges earlier so that the matter could be investigated. Raising the issue just prior to the elections, makes one think that the only reason for it was to derive political mileage. Mr
Khurana said the BJP would contest the elections on the issues of development, security and progress. He said the formal launch of the BJP campaign in Kangra would commence with a public rally at Dharamsala by Deputy Prime Minister L.K.Advani. He said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would address public meetings at Palampur and Hamirpur on February 21 while Union Minister Shatrughan Sinha would address public meetings in Kangra on February 22 and 24. Mr Khurana asserted that people of Himachal knew that development without full support from the Centre was not possible in this small state and as such had always voted for the party in power at Centre. He said during the past five years, Himachal had received ample financial assistance from the Centre resulting in phenomenal development of the state. |
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Kangra key to saddle in Shimla Dharamsala A district big enough to be considered for division in the aborted plans of the ruling BJP for the creation of new districts has always held the master card for forming a government in the state. A peep into the electoral history of Himachal confirms the significance of Kangra district as in the past whichever party has won a majority of the seats in the district has gone on to form the government in Shimla. It was true in 1990 when the BJP formed the government led by Mr Shanta Kumar and the BJP candidates won from 13 of the 16 segments from Kangra district. In 1993, it was the turn of the Congress to form the government and once again the district played a major role by sending 12 Congress MLAs. In the 1998 elections, 11 BJP candidates made it to the State Assembly from Kangra district, paving the way for the formation of a BJP Government in Shimla. However, what has always baffled political observers is the fact that despite holding an ace in government formation, the district has produced only one Chief Minister in Mr Shanta Kumar (BJP). After being pipped for the Chief
Minister’s chair by Mr P.K. Dhumal in the intra-party squabbles after the 1998 elections, Mr Shanta Kumar has once again ruled himself out of state politics. So, whatever the election results of the February 26 voting, there will not be any Congress or BJP Chief Minister from the district. For the BJP its chief ministerial candidate P.K. Dhumal hails from Hamirpur district while the Congress chief ministerial candidates Virbhadra Singh and HPCC chief Vidya Stokes — hail from Shimla district. All Congress Chief Ministers in the state have come from old Himachal areas — from either Shimla (Virbhadra Singh and Ram Lal Thakur) or from Sirmaur district Dr Y.S. Parmar. A demand for the Chief Minister from the lower belt of Himachal was once again raised after the 1993 Assembly elections by the Congress leaders from Kangra district after 12 Congress candidates from the district entered the state Assembly. However, Mr Virbhadra Singh was elected Chief Minister for the third time. For the Congress, perhaps Dr Saligram had once formed the strongest pressure group posing a challenge to the leadership of Dr Y.S. Parmar, the first Chief Minister of Himachal. In recent times, Mr Sat Mahajan, a former HPCC chief from Nurpur has emerged as the tallest Congress leader in the district. However, he has always remained on the fringe of any battle for the Chief Minister’s chair. After contesting the parliamentary elections from Kangra, he has once again made a comeback to state politics. His entry into the fray is being watched keenly since the veteran Congressman has shrewdly maintained equidistance from both Virbhadra and Stokes camps. However, politics is the art of the possible. Who knows there is a dark horse waiting in the wings in either of the two parties who will gallop to the Chief Minister’s chair from the biggest district of the state this time. |
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Regional factor may not play major role Shimla Sharp differences between the two top BJP leaders in “new Himachal” and that of the Congress in “old Himachal” have to a large extent blurred the line that separated the two politically significant regions. While the Congress, which is traditionally identified with the old areas, has not projected any leader, the factional war between the rival camps headed by Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, and Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Rural Development, has undermined the political solidarity of the new areas. In the changed scenario there is more of Hamirpur versus Kangra, the home districts of the two BJP leaders, than the “old” versus “new” rivalry. Moreover, Mr Dhumal, who has been conscious of this fact, has taken pains to woo the people of the old areas by giving a fair deal to the apple growers and taking up development works like construction of roads and fruit — based wineries. The regional factor came into play after the hill areas of Punjab were merged into the state during the reorganisation of states in 1966. As the Congress leaders from old Himachal continued to dominate the ruling Congress discontent started brewing among the partymen in the merged areas who felt humiliated. In a bid to upstage the established leadership of the party, leaders of the new areas raised the issue of discrimination on regional considerations. The BJP, then Jan Sangh, which had a significant presence in these areas, took a cue from the disgruntled Congressmen and exploited the regional sentiment to the hilt to expand its base. As the influence of the BJP largely remained confined to the new areas with the Congress maintaining its hold over the old areas, the people were emotionally divided on regional lines. Not surprisingly, all Non-Congress Chief Minister have so far come from the merged areas. As the regional divide widened the BJP earned the “anti-apple growers” tag and the Congress came to be largely seen as anti-merged areas. Mr
Virbhadra Singh, who had a long stint as the Chief Minister, tried to win over the people of lower hills by taking steps like the “winter move” and setting up the medical college during his last term. The measures, however, did not make much difference and the Congress lost heavily in the merged areas and lost power to the BJP. Mr Dhumal has over the past five years tried to dispel the impression that the BJP was anti-apple growers by increasing the support price for apple twice and taking various other measures to improve the economy of fruit growers. The BJP has been claiming that it has demolished the walls of regionalism by ensuring equitable development of all areas. The outcome of the coming poll will indicate whether the claim was true or far- fetched. |
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Feast for voters, tough time for administration Hamirpur Though Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and All-India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi will be missing from the first round of campaigning, voters will have a closer glimpse of the political bigwigs of other states, including Chief Ministers of some Congress-ruled states. Also missing in the first round will be Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Both Mr Vajpayee and Mrs Gandhi are expected to enliven the electoral battle before it reaches its climax on the last two days of campaigning on February 23 and 24. Never before may the people of the state have witnessed so many rallies by so many Central leaders in two days — Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be the Congress which will fire the first salvo, when it brings here the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, besides the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and several Central leaders. The Congress is planning 10 major election rallies in different parts of the state on February 11 and the BJP follows it up with almost double the number of rallies the next day . The Congress leaders visiting Himachal Pradesh on February 11 will include Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Moti Lal Vora, Ms Mohsina Kidwai, Mr Arjun Singh, Mr R.K. Dhawan, Ms Girija Vyas, Ms Meira Kumar, Capt Amarinder Singh, Ms Sheila Dixit, Mr Ajit Jogi, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma and Mr Bhajan Lal. They will be joined by Ms Vidya Stokes and Mr Virbhadra Singh. The BJP is bringing to the state Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani, BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu, Mr Pramod Mahajan, Mr Rajnath Singh, Ms Uma Bharti, Ms Sushma Swaraj, Mr Madan Lal Khurana and Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra. They will be joined by Mr Shanta Kumar and Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal. With so many Central and other political leaders visiting the state, the administration, including the police, will have a tough time in making sure that nothing goes wrong anywhere. Some of the VIP visitors will carry with them their own security umbrellas, while Central leaders may have NSG security cover. Synchronisation with other police forces, including crack NSG commandos, may not be an easy task to accomplish under the present scenario, when the Himachal police will have its hands full. Until a couple of days back, not many districts had received any request from any political party for permission to hold a rally. Under the Election Commission norms, the returning officer or assistant returning officer has to earmark open spaces where political rallies will be permitted with prior permission. Being a hill state, Himachal Pradesh has limited places for big public rallies. Though satiating an average voter with its political manifesto will be the endeavour of both the Congress and the BJP, the mediapersons covering the state may face an uphill task for covering each rally being organised in their respective districts. Long distances, slow movement of traffic, long power cuts and clash of timings may add to their problems. Since newspapers have space constraints, it may not be feasible to take appropriate notice of every important rally either on February 11 or February 12. The difficulties for the district administrations are going to be too many. Some of the senior leaders will travel by helicopters and address rallies in remote areas for wider audience. Making arrangements at all venues within a district by quickly shifting police and paramilitary forces, ensuring proper flow of traffic and maintaining basic services, including power supply, at the venue of the rally may not be easy. District officials maintain that besides the rallies by Central leaders of both parties, other players in the electoral battle will also hold their rallies, which will also entail monitoring by the administration. |
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Cong ultimatum to rebels Chamba, February 9 In a press note issued here today, Mr Shiv Kumar Upmanyu, chairman of the committee, said despite repeated requests of the party high command, if they did not withdraw, strict disciplinary action would be initiated against them, which would be decided by the state disciplinary committee or by the high command. Mr Upmanyu warned that the activities of such candidates against the Congress in the state were being noticed and were being referred to the party high command for information and necessary action. HAMIRPUR: Dissidents in the BJP and the Congress are posing a threat to the parties. Leaders are upset over the large turnout of people with the candidates of ‘Mitar Milans’ at Hamirpur, Nadaun and Mahre. National leader of both parties camping in the state may try to pursue them to withdraw and to work for party candidates. While Mr Narendra Thakur and Mr Raghubir Singh have filed their papers from Hamirpur and Nadaun, respectively, as BJP rebels, Mr Manjeet Singh Dogra has filed his papers as Congress rebel from
Nadaunta. |
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Amarinder’s effigy burnt Bilaspur, February 9 Later, Mr Nadda began his door-to-door election campaign. Meanwhile, former BJP MLA Sadaram Thakur, now in the Congress flayed the BJP for burning of effigies. |
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No move to lift ban on Pak TV Shimla, February 9 Addressing a press conference, here today, he said Pakistan TV had been relentlessly pursuing its “hate agenda” against India but its misinformation campaign had not cut much ice with the people. He cited the example of Gujarat elections in this regard and said Pakistan TV tried its best to see the BJP defeated but its effort proved futile. He said Pakistan desperately wanted that the NDA should be defeated, but it would not succeed in its endeavour. Regarding the coverage of sensitive issues like riots and terrorist attacks, he said it was for the electronic media to decide whether it was necessary to have live coverage of such incidents. The live coverage of incidents like the Akshardham attack could be used by Pakistani agencies to inform militants about the plans of the security forces using mobile phones and as such could be a grave security risk. Similarly, showing bloodsoaked bodies during riots also did not help in maintaining peace. He said in developed countries like the USA and Japan, there were stringent laws to deal with such situations. He cited the example of the destruction of the twin WTC towers in which over 5,000 people were killed but not a single body was shown on the electronic media. Replying to a question, he said the government was not in favour of moral policing to curb telecast of objectionable contents but wanted the satellite channels to uphold the cultural and ethical values of the country. The government was hopeful that the electronic media would evolve its own code in this regard and the government would take measures only when it became absolutely necessary to do so. Mr Prasad said the government was keen to introduce a pension scheme for journalists at the earliest. It was already in the process of collecting data on the journalists working across the country and a proposal would be framed after holding consultations with the employers and insurance companies. Referring to the steps taken by his ministry to improve the coverage of Doordarshan and AIR in the state, he said over the past four years as many as seven LPTs and VLPTs (very low-powered transmitters) had been installed and five more were in the pipeline. The TV transmitter at Kasauli had been upgraded to a high-powered one and uplinking facility had been provided at
Shimla. The TV transmitter at Dharamsala was being upgraded to HPT. |
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KUMARHATTI: The Election Commission has banned the use of polythene-base materials for election campaign, but political parties seem to be taking little care to follow the guidelines. The BJP has taken the lead in violating the prescribed norms with its polythene banners and buntings made a mockery of the commission’s orders. All along Kalka-Shimla national highway, between Parwanoo and Solan, polythene-based posters and handbills have been pasted on private and public properties in complete violation of the norms. OC Control rooms set up
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