 |
Wednesday,
February 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Cong launches election campaign, holds nine rallies
Congress
manifesto ‘vague, misleading’ DISTRICT ROUNDUP BILASPUR |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
DISTRICT ROUNDUP CHAMBA
|
|
Cong
launches election campaign, holds nine rallies Shimla, February 11 Addressing the rally at Kotkhai in upper Shimla, Mr R.K. Dhawan came down heavily on the Dhumal government for not fulfilling promises and plunging the state into a deep financial crisis by its extravagant ways. he said instead of declaring the assets of legislators as promised in the BJP’s manifesto, the party patronised corruption. Similarly the party conveniently ignored the promise of regularising the services of the workers after five years of service and miserably failed to provide jobs to the unemployed. Its biggest achievement was in raising indiscriminate loans, leading the state into a debt trap. Having a dig at the BJP candidate from the local Jubbal-Kotkhai seat, Mr Narinder Bragta, he said the Horticulture Minister would not have been forced to shift from Shimla, had he earnestly worked for the development of the constituency. Such leader could not be trusted particularly when the Congress had nominated Mr Rohit Thakur, a grandson of ThakurRam Lal, whose family had been serving the people since the past over four decades. Mr Anand Sharma, spokesperson for the AICC, dubbed the Dhumal government as the most corrupt in the history of the hill state and asserted that the charges levelled by the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, were true. Instead of coming out with details of his property in the light of the list of assets released by the AICC, Mr Dhumal had gone to the court. This was ridiculous as his own ministers had made serious charges of corrupton against him and his ministers, but no such legal action was initiated against them and they were retained in the Cabinet. Bilaspur: The Congress will not only come to power in Himachal Pradesh, but also at the Centre within the next two years. This was declared on Tuesday by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while addressing a rally in support of party candidate from Kotkehloor and former state Health Minister Ram Lal Thakur at Teba Kulanwala, 90 km from here. She claimed that Himachal Pradesh was indebted to Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as they had helped the state and its people the maximum and the existence of Himachal Pradesh was due to their family. It was due to the Congress that Himachal Pradesh was now walking ahead on the road to progress, she said. Ms Dikshit strongly lashed out at BJP leaders for charging the Congress with being soft towards terrorism and terrorists with reference to the release of some detained persons in Jammu and Kashmir. She asserted that the BJP should not issue such statements. Hamirpur: Congress Treasurer and former UP Governor Moti Lal Vora on Tuesday blasted the BJP governments, both at the Centre and state, for their failure on all fronts. Talking to mediapersons here he said the nation had not seen such an inefficient and corrupt government since India got freedom, adding that the NDA government had even got money for the purchase of coffins for Kargil martyrs. Mr Vora said the central policy of the NDA government, led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, was defective and had downgraded the position of India internationally. The situation had come to such a pass that countries like Bangladesh had been showing teeth to us, he added. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP government in the state had been spending lavishly in elections. Mr Vora denied charges of the BJP that the Congress was to be blamed for a spurt in terrorist activities in India. He said in fact it was the NDA government that was to be blamed for this. Nearly 33,000 people had been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the past four-and-a-half years of the NDA government rule. Mr Vora strongly opposed the enforcement of POTA and added that the Congress would continue to oppose it. There were many laws with the present Indian Penal Code to deal with anti-national and anti-social elements. The BJP had brought POTA only to harm its political opponents’ he alleged. Later, addressing an election rally at Tal village of this district, Mr Vora called upon people to join the mainstream of the Congress. The state had witnessed no development after the Congress was voted out of power in 1998. If any new projects came, they had been in the pipeline since the Congress regime. He alleged that the state was facing worst drought-like situation due to scanty rainfall, but the government had remained indifferent to the plight of poor farmers, who constituted 90 per cent of the population in the state. Una: Adding a new dimension to Congress politics in Himachal Pradesh, the state Congress chief, Ms Vidya Stokes, said on Tuesday that she would not shirk from the duties of a Chief Minister, if the party high command wished so, adding that the first aim of the party was to win the Assembly elections and the issue of leadership would come later. Talking to The Tribune here she refused to answer any direct question on if she was in the race for Chiefministership. But, in her softspoken and understated style said: “I will do what the high command asks me to do.” The issue will be settled after the elections are over and once we win, she said while claiming that the Congress should win at least 45-46 seats in the state Assembly. The elections to the 68-seat Assembly are being held in 65 constituencies while the poll in three others are scheduled after the winter was over. So far the projection of the Chief Minister of the Congress has been an issue which has divided the Virbhadra Singh and Stokes, camps. Mr Virbhadra Singh has been insisting that the issue should be settled during the poll campaign. On its part the Congress high command, true to its style, has been secretive giving gist to the rumour mill. In several constituencies candidates are using the photos of both Mr Virbhadra Singh and Ms Stokes on their banners and posters. Some of them who are openly in one camp or the other use photos of either of the two leaders. Congress workers in the state have also been facing taunts from the BJP that the Congress was akin to a ‘baraat’ without a bridegroom thus giving rise to demands that the candidature for the Chiefministership needs to be clarified. Ms Stokes, who was in Una to address a rally in Bhera village that falls in the adjoining constituency of Chintpurni, was accompanied by the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Mangat Ram. On the issue of rebel candidates affecting the chances of party’s candidates. Ms Stokes said the public should vote for the party candidate. Rebel candidates were there among the BJP also, she said when asked if this factor could work against the Congress. Revenue generation in the state needed to be looked into and the Congress, if came to power, would aim at electricity generation. Taxes and royalty on this could bring in good money for the state. Nalagarh (UNI): Spearheading the Congress poll campaign in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday promised to undertake development works in the adjoining hill state if the people elected the party to power in the February 26 Assembly elections. Addressing an election rally of his sister-in-law Ms Sukriti Kumari at Nalagarh in Solan district, Capt Amarinder Singh tried to strike an emotional bond with the electorate by pointing out that this region had been the part of the erstwhile Pepsu state and he had blood relations with the people here. Significantly, the Congress candidate Ms Sukriti Kumari, fielded for the first time after her husband’s defeat in the 1998 Assembly elections, hailed Capt Amarinder Singh as "maharaja" of the local people in an apparant attempt to garner their support. The women among the crowd showered flower petals on the erstwhile royals of the formerly princely states of Nalagarh and Patiala and hailed them with slogans like "Maharaja sahib zindabad, Maharani Preneet Kaur sahiba zindabad, Rani Sukriti Kumari sahiba
zindabad". |
|
Congress
manifesto ‘vague, misleading’ Shimla,
February 11 He said the party had made similar promises like free electricity to farmers in Punjab but after coming to power it made a u-turn and backed out of the
promise. The manifesto released yesterday would also meet the same fate in Himachal if the party emerged victorious . He said the achievements of the Dhumal government in infrastructure development, particularly the expansion of road network and exploitation of the hydel power potential of the state had, put the performance of the previous Congress Governments to shade. For instance, it constructed 3038 km of new roads during the past five years as compared to 1748 km of roads built during its four-year tenure by the previous Virbhadra Singh Government . Similarly, the present government also did well on the employment front by providing over 65,000 jobs. The performance of the Congress over its 45-year rule could be judged from the fact that there were over 9 lakh unemployed in the live registers in the state when the BJP assumed office in 1998. Referring to the allegations levelled by Capt Amarinder Singh, the Punjab Chief Minister, against Mr P.K.Dhumal, Chief Minister, he said it was a pity that the over 100 year-old party, which had played a major role in the country’s freedom struggle was being dominated by such leaders. |
|
DISTRICT ROUNDUP BILASPUR Bilaspur Like Hamirpur, all four sitting MLAs — two each of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party — are in the fray again. While Health Minister Jagat Prakesh Nadda (BJP) is pitted against young Tilak Raj Gupta of the Congress, Mr Baldev Thakur has been put up by the Himachal Vikas Congress. Interestingly, if one scans through the past record, one finds that main contestants from this district have remained unchanged since 1990. The Congress must have heaved a sigh of relief after Mr Bambar Thakur, a rebel, volunteered to withdraw his papers yesterday. At Ghumarwin, it will be Mr Kashmir Singh (Congress) facing his traditional rival Mr Karam Dev Dharmani of the BJP again. Also in the contest is Mr Gian Chand Rattan of the Himachal Vikas Congress. In fact, it is a repeat of the triangular contest of 1998. In Geharwin, Mr Rikhi Ram Kondal of the BJP is pitted against new entrant Rup Rani of the Congress. Dr Biru Ram Kishore, Congress rebel, has refused to withdraw from the contest. In Kotkehloor, sitting Congress legislator, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, faces a new challenger in Mr Randhir Sharma of the BJP while the Himachal Vikas Congress has also named a new candidate here in Mr Ratan Lal Thakur. It is from this seat that the CPI has put up Mr K.K. Kaushal. Looking back, between 1954 and 1967, it was the Maharaja of Bilaspur who dominated the political scene. Reorganisation of the state led to the entry of the Congress. Since 1967, both the Congress and the BJP (Jan Sangh and Janata Party) had been sharing honours. This is the only district which has sent a CPI candidate to the Himachal Vidhan Sabha. In 1990, Mr K.K. Kaushal was declared elected from Kotkehloor. The same year (1990), the remaining three seats had gone to the BJP. In 1993, Mr Ram Lal Thakur of the Congress was the winner from Kotkehloor. That year, the Congress had won three of the four seats. In 1993, Dr Biru Ram Kishore, now Congress rebel, had won from the Geharwin (SC) seat while Mr Kashmir Singh, also of the Congress, was elected from Ghumarwin. Interestingly, this district has 42 hypersensitive polling stations. |
|
DISTRICT ROUNDUP CHAMBA Chamba Though comprising five Assembly constituency, polling for the Bharmour seat will be held in June, as some parts are snowbound during winter. The four constituencies of Chamba, Banikhet, Rajnagar and Bhattiyat will go to the polls on February 26. During the last Assembly elections in 1998, while BJP won from Rajnagar, Bhattiyat and Bharmour and the Congress retained its hold on Chamba and Ranikhet. With a total electorate of 2.82 lakh, it is mainly the familiar political figures who are once again trying their luck at the hustings. However, it is the entry of a former IAS officer from the Chamba seat, Mr B.K. Chauhan, in the election arena, which is attracting the attention of one and all. Hailing from Kundi village in Chamba, the former Jharkhand cadre bureaucrat is putting up a stiff challenge to the Congress candidate, Mr Harsh Mahajan, who had won in the last two elections. With a majority of the Congress as well as BJP nominees in the past, including Mr Sagar Chand Nayyar, Mr Kishori Lal and Mr Harsh Mahajan, hailing from urban areas, Mr Chauhan’s candidature is being considered as a smart tactical move by the ruling party. Not only does he have the advantage of being from a rural area, but is starting on a clean slate. Though there are five candidates, including Mr D.P. Malhotra (HVC), Mr Nand Lal (Lok Janshakti) and Mr Chander Mani, Independent, the main contest will be between the Congress and the BJP. In Banikhet, which not only has the maximum number of voters (69,954), but is also the most spread out, the contest is once again between friends-turned-foes. Congress nominee Asha Kumari of the erstwhile Chamba royal family and BJP candidate Renu Chaddha are pitted against each other for the second time. The situation seems quite similar to the one in 1998, when the Congress had won the seat by a slender margin of 421 votes. The denial of the HVC ticket to Col Kripal Singh (retd) seems to have gone in favour of the Congress, as he, along with his supporters, is backing the party. The HVC this time has fielded. Mr Shaukat Ali, with the intention of making a dent into the Muslim votes, who have traditionally backed the Congress. Others in the fray include CPI candidate Rajinder Kumar and Independents Bodh Raj, Mr Hem Raj Chandel and Bias Dev. The presence of rebel candidates from both the Congress as well as the BJP in the Bhattiyat constituency, seem to be adding to the woes of the official candidates. Congress rebel Kuldeep Pathania, a staunch Virbhadra Singh loyalist, was denied the ticket and preference was given to an old-timer, Mr Shiv Kumar Upmanyu. On the other hand, BJP rebel Group Captain (retd) Bhupinder Chauhan, a one-time staunch supporter of Industries Minister, Kishori Lal, is contesting as an Independent. In fact, both rebels have a strong presence in the constituency. In the Rajnagar seat, Ayurveda Minister Mohan Lal is pitted against Congress candidate, Surinder Bhardwaj, who took voluntary retirement to take over the reins of the political legacy of his father, Vidya Sagar, a senior Congress leader, who passed away last year. The HVC candidate, Mr Nand Kumar Chauhan, who had polled almost 5,000 votes in 1998 as a rebel Congress candidate, is once again in the fray. Others in the fray include BJP rebel Ajay Kumar and Lok Janshakti candidate Karam Singh. |
|
Dhumal turns up early Sundernagar BJP manifesto on Feb 13 Shimla HPCC appointments Shimla Holiday declared on Feb 26 Shimla |
|
NABARD grant
for Himachal Shimla, February 11 These road and bridge projects will provide new/improved connectivity to 203 villages.
PTI |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
