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Saturday,
February 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Factionalism afflicts Congress, BJP
CPM willing to help Congress form govt Cong: BJP selling dreams to people CM to submit latest list of assets |
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KEY CONSTITUENCY
PAONTA-DOON More women voters in 23 constituencies BJP in dock over graft: Bhajan Virbhadra, Dhumal address rallies Virbhadra not clean: BJP
3 killed, 11 hurt in mishap
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Factionalism afflicts Congress, BJP Dharamsala, February 14 The extent to which the chasm still persists can be gauged from the fact that the posters of Transport Minister and BJP candidate from Dharamsala, Mr Kishan Kapoor, carry photographs of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and his mentor, Mr Shanta Kumar. The face of Mr Dhumal, under whose leadership the BJP is contesting the elections, is missing. In order to put up a pretence, a small inconspicuous cutout of Mr Dhumal was pasted temporarily in one corner of the banner, fluttering on the dais from which Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani addressed an election rally here on Wednesday. The fact that not much effort was made to put up the name or photograph of the Chief Minister, not even for the eyes of Mr Advani, clearly establishes that there is still a schism in the ruling party. Despite heading the BJP government for five years it is not Mr Dhumal, but Mr Shanta Kumar, who has more following in Kangra, considered to be a BJP citadel. Keeping this very fact in mind, Mr Rakesh Pathania, a confidant of the Chief Minister, is trying his level best to get Mr Shanta Kumar to campaign in Nurpur. His supporters say apart from a joint election meeting of Mr Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar, he has succeeded in getting the consent of the Union Minister for devoting a day for his campaign in Nurpur. “The party high command could afford to ignore Mr Shanta Kumar, but not the contestants in Kangra. They know that they will get votes in the name of the Union Minister, who has emerged to be the tallest leader and the only Chief Minister from new Himachal,” agree party cadres. The equations in the Congress are no different, where it is not the HPCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, but the CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, who is in demand. “Even those who have been siding with the party chief in the power struggle and have managed to get a ticket because of her support are well aware that without the blessings of Mr Virbhadra Singh, registering a victory will be difficult,” admits a candidate known for his proximity to Mrs Stokes. Elated at the Congress high command’s decision of not projecting anyone as the chief ministerial candidate, the BJP circles too agree that it is not Mrs Stokes but Mr Virbhadra Singh who may swing the votes in favour of his party. Supporters of Mr Virbhadra Singh in Kangra like Mr Chander Kumar, Mr B.B.L. Butail and Mrs Chandresh Kumari have not bothered to get photographs of Mrs Stokes on their election posters. The posters have photographs of Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Mr Virbhadra Singh and the candidate. A tour of Kangra and Chamba has confirmed that it was mostly Mr Virbhadra Singh and Mr Shanta Kumar, who figure prominently on the posters of the candidates. Now it remains to be seen whether Mr Virbhadra Singh, like Mr Shanta Kumar, will prefer to restrict himself to campaigning in the constituencies of his supporters. At least Mr Shanta Kumar has so far stuck to this principle. He conveniently skipped Shahpur and Nurpur areas, from where Dhumal loyalists were trying their luck. |
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CPM willing to help Congress form govt Shimla, February 14 Addressing a press conference here, Mr Yechuri said the propagation and choice of religion was a fundamental right of an Indian under the Constitution and there were provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code to tackle conversion through coercion rendering anti-conversion laws as unwanted. He asked the BJP whether V.D. Savarkar had not termed Hindutva as a political instrument having nothing to do with religion as such, whether the Supreme Court ruling on Hinduism being a way of life was not about religion instead of Hindutva and whether Hindutva was not being used for a political purpose of befooling the people on an emotional issue. The CPM leader said the party, apart from Shimla, would decide on seat-to-seat basis whom to support to ensure the defeat of the BJP. He said the party would not be averse to help the Congress form a government if it was short of majority. Referring to the BJP’s appeal to the Supreme Court for the vacation of the ban on any religious activity on the acquired land in Ayodhya, he said the government had taken an oath to uphold the rule of law, which in this case was the Supreme Court verdict. He alleged that the government was playing a partisan role by siding with the VHP and was violating the spirit of the Constitution. Mr Yechuri said the debt servicing of Himachal Pradesh had gone past revenue of the state, making it a perfect case for bankruptcy, which would result in retrenchment of workers, closure of industrial units, privatisation and suppression of people’s democratic rights. Giving an indication of corruption in the name of disinvestment, he said the Kanishka hotel had been sold for Rs 96 crore and within a few days, the private party which bought it sold a part of it for Rs 150 crore to another private party. |
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Cong: BJP selling dreams to people Shimla, February 14 Mr Anand Sharma, spokesperson for the All-India Congress Committee, said many promises were a rehash of its last manifesto and their reappearance only confirmed the fact that promises had not been fulfilled. The party promised to provide job to at least one person in each family and create one lakh employment opportunities every year although the number of unemployed persons rose by 3.50 lakh over the period. This time it had promised 13 lakh jobs to wipe out unemployment altogether. Similarly, it had promised to usher in an industrial revolution with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore whereas the reality was that over the five years about 4,000 industries had been closed down. Not only that another Rs 30,000 crore would be invested to develop two special economic zones which was nothing more than a pipe dream given the precarious financial position of the state. The promise had been made by a fund -starved government that had not been able to have equity participation in any major hydroelectric project and had virtually sold off state’s vital economic
interests. Not only that, it was not able to fulfil its financial commitments in the Nathpa-Jhakri Project. All this had, however, not deterred the party from making promises involving investment of thousands of crores of rupees. He said much was being made of the financial assistance provided by the Centre, but the party had no answer to question why the debt burden increased by three-fold to Rs 15,000 crore during its tenure. The spokesperson listed at least 24 promises which the party had allegedly failed to fulfil. |
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CM to submit latest list of assets Shimla, February 14 Addressing a press conference here, he said the erstwhile “Raja” had not reconciled to the fact that a common person could occupy the high office of the Chief Minister. He said his personal tirade against him was, in fact, an affront to the dignity and honour of the “Himachalis” and they would give the Congress a befitting reply on February 26. He reiterated that he did not own any assets other than those mentioned in his income tax returns. He again released a copy of the details of his assets submitted by him to the Speaker in April, 1998. He said he would submit the latest details subsequently. Having a dig at the Congress, Mr Dhumal said leaders of the party had not made their assets public but they were asking BJP legislators to do so. The BJP in the very first session of the next Vidhan Sabha would bring a legislation to make it mandatory for all members of the House to declare their assets within three months of their election. The Congress was dubbing his government as corrupt whereas it had pursued cases registered against officers under the Prevention of Corruption Act vigorously. In fact, it took action in 73 cases which remained pending during the Congress, some over a decade old. It took action against 64 officers, including four from the IAS and five from state administrative services. Over the past five years, 192 cases had been registered and challans filed in 127 cases as compared to 134 cases and 81 challans filed during 1993-98. Regarding irregularities in recruitment, the Chief Minister said it was during the Virbhadra Singh regime that jobs were given on recommendatory “chits” and the inquiries ordered by him had revealed that 2,912 persons were given employment on ‘chits’. It was precisely for this reason that the government had to set up the Subordinate Services Selection Board. In case anyone had any complaints of corruption or irregularities, he was free to approach the Lokayukta. He asserted that his government did not believe in politics of personal vendetta and it took the government four years to register a case against Mr Virbhadra Singh, in khair wood allotment scam. It got all documents examined before registering a case. He had to approach the court for getting bail. The Congress was harping on corruption, but the in charge of its campaign was himself booked in several cases. Mr Virbhadra Singh, he reminded, had in the House declared that he would quit politics if it was proved that he possessed even an inch of land in excess to which he was legally entitled to but failed to keep his promise when the case of 161 bighas of land, unauthorisedly transferred in his name, was detected. Instead, he applied for correction in the land records and got the Land Ceiling Act challenged in the court by his daughter to delay action in the case. KULU: The BJP generate 11 lakh new jobs for the unemployed in Himachal and set up a separate employment department for the purpose, Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, said at an election rally at Banjar, about 50 km from here, on Friday. Three lakh jobs would be generated in the industrial sector, five lakh in the hydroelectric projects and one lakh in tourism, besides two lakh by providing avenues for self-employment. |
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KEY CONSTITUENCY BAMSAN HAMIRPUR: Will Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, the first-ever Chief Minister from Hamirpur, be able to represent Bamsan in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha for the second consecutive term? This question is on everybody’s lips here as the constituency has never before elected the same candidate for the second successive time. Mr Dhumal faces a strong challenge from Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, a former president of the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress Committee, who represented this constituency from 1993 to 1998. For Mr Pathania this is the third contest in a row as he had lost by 8,800 votes to Mr Dhumal in 1998. Bamsan had returned Mr Lashkari Ram, one-time industrial partner of the Dhumals, in 1982 and again in 1990. In 1982, Mr Lashkari Ram had defeated the then sitting MLA, Mr Ranjit Verma of the Congress, by almost 3,000 votes. In 1985, the Congress wrested back the seat when Mr Karam Singh defeated Mr Bidhi Chand of the BJP by a little more than 3,000 votes. In 1990, Mr Lashkari Ram returned to electoral politics to trounce Mr Karam Singh by more than 9,000 votes, the highest margin recorded in this constituency, with a total of 59,960 votes. In 1993, Mr Lashkari Ram tasted his first defeat in this constituency when his attempt to make it for the second successive term and third time in general was thwarted by a new entrant, Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, by a razor-thin margin of 213 votes. It was Mr Dhumal, who thwarted Mr Pathania’s attempt to break the jinx by defeating him by 8,800 votes in 1998. While the Chief Minister claims that there is no issue in Bamsan because of unprecedented development in the constituency during the past five years, Mr Pathania contests his claim, maintaining that there was more development in this constituency during his term (1993-98) than during the present term of Mr Dhumal. Mr Pathania has come out with a poster, revealing the figures of works completed during his term as MLA. He has claimed that the number of high schools upgraded, veterinary dispensaries and hospitals opened and ayurvedic dispensaries and primary health centres opened in the constituency during his time were far more than during the last five years. Mr Pathania claims that another major issue has been unemployment. He admits that some qualified youths got jobs, but only those who were either close or related to the Chief Minister or who could pay the price of the job. Other eligible and meritorious candidates were left sulking, he alleges. Mr Pathania also alleges that a water scheme (Kanda Pattan), approved during his tenure, was put in cold storage. As such, the problem of drinking water continues in the constituency, he adds. The major election issue, claims Mr Pathania, is rampant corruption witnessed during BJP rule. He says jobs were on sale and the government put emphasis on purchases than commissioning the completed schemes. These claims and allegations of Mr Pathania are refuted by BJP workers and leaders. Mr Rup Singh Dhumal, elder brother of the Chief Minister, who is managing the party office here, says not only Bamsan, but all five seats in the district will go back to the BJP. He says allegations of corruption are politically motivated and there is nothing in it. Development has been the main issue and the people of the constituency are happy with the works completed during the last five years, he states. “So much so, that even Harijans were turning in the large numbers in support of the BJP nominees everywhere. They feel that only the BJP, with support of the NDA government at the Centre, can continue to usher in new avenues of development in the state,” adds Mr Dhumal. Many in the constituency feel that though the Chief Minister will break the finx his win this time will be marginalised. The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, will be here on February 21 and the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, will follow him the next day. How much these visits will influence the outcome of this constituency of the Chief Minister, only EVMs will tell on March 1. |
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KEY CONSTITUENCY PAONTA-DOON PAONTA SAHIB: The efforts of the Congress to retain Paonta-Doon for the third consecutive time by fielding Mr Rattan Singh, the winner in the 1993 and 1998 Assembly elections, is proving to be a tough task, this time. With Mr Kirnesh Jung, a Him Loktantrik Morcha candidate, who left the Congress after the denial of party ticket, making serious efforts to dent the traditional Congress vote bank, it will not be smooth sailing for Mr Rattan Singh. Paonta-Doon has been a traditional Congress stronghold, where the BJP has won only on one occasion in 1990 following an anti-Congress wave. The constituency has about 70,000 voters. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Mr Sukh Ram, who contested in 1998 and belongs to the dominant Bhati community, having a vote share of about 18,000 in this constituency. Mr Mulk Raj was the lone Bhati to win the seat as an Independent in 1977. As more than one candidate contested from the Bhati community in the last elections, it divided the votes polled by Bhatis. Mr Fateh Singh’s last-moment refusal to contest on the Lok Janshakti Party ticket has raised speculations of the community’s sway. Another member of the Bhati community, Mr Fateh Singh, had once won the election on BJP ticket. He had contested in 1998 as HVC candidate, when he had forfeited his security, and also in 1993 as BJP candidate, when he had secured 5,183 votes. Mr Kirnesh Jung, tried for a Congress ticket this time, is being seen as a potential rival to Mr Rattan Singh. While contesting as an Independent, he had secured 12,697 votes in 1998, losing by 2,872 votes. The leaning of Muslim voters, about 10,000, against the Congress may not augur well for Mr Rattan Singh. This was taken note of seriously by the Congress when local Muslim leaders tried to win back the estranged members of the community by publicly admitting at Mr Manmohan Singh’s rally held on Tuesday that they would invite Begum Anju Quershi, heading the Muslim Quatoon Society, from Malerkotla to Paonta. It was also being felt that a number of other Congressmen, peeved at being denied the ticket, were distancing themselves from Mr Rattan Singh and could align with Mr Kirnesh Jung to ensure his victory. With a view to win back the favour of the Muslims, Mr Rattan Singh’s supporters have roped in an uncle of Mr Kirnesh Jung, Mr Sailesh Jung, who owning to some family dispute, has now been canvassing against Mr Kirnesh Jung. Mr Tapinder Singh’s estrangement from the Congress may also cost it some Sikh votes out of the little over seven per cent of the Sikh votes here, which may go to Mr Kirnesh Jung. While the BJP stands to benefit from the
scenario, a lot will depend on the sway of the influential Bhati community for Mr Sukh Ram. |
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More women voters in 23 constituencies SHIMLA: Women voters outnumber men in 23 of the 68 constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. The maximum number of 12 constituencies where women voters exceed men fall in Kangra district, followed by five in Hamirpur, three in Mandi and one each in Una, Solan and Bilaspur districts. Except in Nurpur, Gangath (SC) and Dharamsala, women voters outnumber men in all the 13 remaining constituencies of Kangra district, which has a total of 33,826 women voters as compared to 33,097 men voters. All five constituencies in Hamirpur district are dominated by women aggregating 1,59,719 against the male voter strength of 1,45,093. In Mandi district, comprising 10 constituencies with total electorate of 6,15,211, women voters exceed men in the three constituencies of Gopalpur, Dharampur and Jogindernagar. Out of the four constituencies in Bilaspur district, women voters outnumber men in Ghumarwin, where out of a total electorate of 65,178, 32,985 are women. Similarly, Arki in Solan district and Gagret in Una district have more women voters than men voters. However, the final tally of women voters in all 12 districts in Himachal Pradesh show that their number is less by 44,733 than the strength of male voters. The state has a total electorate of 40,88,844, including 20,06,716 women. UNI |
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BJP in dock over graft: Bhajan Shimla, February 14 Addressing a press conference here he said the ovewhelming response of the people to the election meetings of the Congress left no one in doubt that the party was set to wrest power from the BJP. The BJP had been put in the dock on the issue of corruption and the entire leadership right from Mr L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, to the lower-rung leaders were busy defending Mr P.K. Dhumal, who was facing a serious charge of accumulating assets through questionable means. Not only that the wife of Union Minister Shanta Kumar had also levelled serious allegations against the Chief Minister and accused him of humiliating his husband. The party with a difference, which took pride in pursuing principled politics, had been fully exposed over the past four years. It did not allow Parliament to function for 13 days in protest against the telecom scandal but subsequently it took the support of Mr Sukh Ram to form a government in Himachal. |
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Virbhadra, Dhumal address rallies Nahan, February 14 Mr Dhumal claimed that he had eliminated rule by the royal class in Himachal Pradesh and had taken a pledge to uproot the feaudalistic rule’ of Capt Amarinder Singh in Punjab. Development by his government in the state had baffled Capt Amarinder Singh, Mr Dhumal stated. He was addressing a rally at Kafota in the Shilai constituency. Speaking at an election rally in Bara Chowk, Nahan, Mr Virbhadra Singh alleged that corruption was nurtured and partronised by the government during the past five years. He alleged that the Chief Minister and his colleagues had amassed huge assets in and outside the state. |
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Virbhadra not clean: BJP Shimla, February 14 The people would like to know from the Congress leadership what it considered about Rs 200-crore scam relating to land-grab and tree felling allegedly involving Mr Virbhadra Singh, BJP spokesman Baldev Sharma said at a press conference here. The spokesman released unsigned copies of documents showing that the former Chief Minister had allegedly felled 8,000 trees on the forest land despite writing in his own letter to the Chief Secretary and Additional Director-General (Enforcement) Forest, that the land had not been mutated in his land. |
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3 killed, 11 hurt in mishap Nurpur, February 14 |
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SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Government has declared February 26 as a gazetted holiday in the state except in the area of Kinnaur, Bharmour and Lahaul-Spiti Vidhan Sabha constituencies in view of elections to 65 constituencies to enable the employees working in all government offices, boards, corporations, educational institutions and industrial establishments in Himachal Pradesh to vote. All shops and commercial establishments will also remain closed. PTI HVC candidate alleges code violation ‘Cong against move on tribal areas’
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