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Wednesday,
February 19, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Virbhadra
promises probe into corruption charges Rebels to
alter BJP, Cong calculations Cong
stooping low: Khanna Capt
should quit: BJP DISTRICT ROUNDUP KULU |
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MANIFESTOES— OTHER
PARTIES CONGRESS MANIFESTO Veteran BJP leader
Balak Ram dead
The Dhauladhar ranges
received heavy snowfall on Tuesday. This picture was taken in the evening when
the sky cleared for a while. Photo by Chander Shekhar Sharma
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Virbhadra promises probe into corruption charges Dharamsala, February 18 Addressing mediapersons here, Mr Virbhadra Singh said the amassing of property by Chief Minister P. K. Dhumal and his relatives and allotment of petrol pumps in Punjab had put all other issues in the background. He said when the deeds of corruption of BJP leadership was exposed, they have started a smear campaign to divert attention and were indulging in character assassination of senior Congress leaders by raising old and legally settled issues with the intention of confusing the voters. This all shows the panic prevalent in the BJP, he said. Ridiculing the statements of BJP leaders that disclosure of properties amassed by the Chief Minister and his family in Jalandhar was an insult to 60 lakh Himachalis, the former Chief Minister questioned how Mr Dhumal could equate himself with Himachal Pradesh. He said the state was more important than any individual and misdeeds of the last five years has dwarfed the political stature of Mr P. K. Dhumal. Mr Virbhadra Singh declared that the Congress would order inquiries into all charges of corruption against various BJP leaders, including ministers and MLAs and corrupt officials who were a party to this and action would be taken. He said there would be no political victimisation or revenge in this action. Commenting on the charges of allotment of petrol pumps to the near and dear ones of the Chief Minister the CLP leader said it was surprising that the kith and kin of Kargil martyrs belongings to Himachal Pradesh had failed to get petrol pumps or gas agencies allotted despite promises by the BJP at the Centre and in the state. He said this was misuse of political power and no one could be allowed to do so. Mr Virbhadra Singh admitted that some senior leaders of the Congress high command had tried to pressurise him in party matters, but said he was a disciplined soldier of the party and always accepted the directives of the high command in the right spirit. He said in certain cases, the decision on allotment of ticket was not correct but this did not mean that he had extended support to any rebel. He appealed to voters to discard all party rebels who were trying to claim his patronage and only support the party candidates. Meanwhile All-India Mahila Congress President Ms Chandresh Kumari today declared that she had decided to return to state politics. Talking to media persons here, she said her decision to withdraw from the national political scene had been conveyed to the party high command and that was the reason she was contesting from Dharamsala. |
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Rebels to alter BJP, Cong calculations SHIMLA: The presence of potential rebels and HVC candidates has altered the electoral arithmetic in almost 36 Assembly constituencies to upset the calculations of the BJP and the Congress, the two main contenders for power in the state. The ruling BJP has been more severely affected by the rebel phenomenon as compared to the Congress. While 18 BJP rebels have entered the fray as Independents, some others are contesting on the HVC ticket. Similarly, about 12 Congress rebels are challenging the official party candidates either as Independents or HVC candidates. Besides, some other parties like the Lok Jan Shakti, the NCP and the Him Loktantrik Morcha have also put up candidates to add to the confusion. Political observes are not surprised over the development and maintain that with the failure of the two major parties to bridge the factional divide such a situation was expected. In the last elections too the HVC, a breakaway faction of the Congress, which came into existence on the poll eve, gained from the infighting in two parties and eventually won five seats to form a coalition with the BJP. The prominent BJP rebels in the fray include Mr Mohinder Sofat in Solan, Mr Ram Chand Pal in Arki, Mr Lakhwinder Rana in Nalagarh, Mr Jagat Singh Negi in Shillai, Mr Rakesh Verma in Theog, Mr Des Raj Modgil and Mr Ram Das Malanger in Kutlehar, Mr Khub Ram in Ani, Mr Gobind Thakur in Kulu, Mr Naveen Dhiman in Pragpur, Mr Vidya Sagar in Kangra, Mr Kamal Padha in Shahpur, Mr Harnam Singh in Nurpur, Mr Narinder Thakur in Hamirpur, Mr Raghubir Singh in Nadaun, Mr Rattan Singh Rana in Nadaunta and Mr Bhupinder Singh in Bhatiyat. Besides, Mr K.K. Kaushal is contesting from Kot Kehloor as the HVC candidate. The Congress is also facing rebels like Mr Sohan Lal (Kusumpati), Dr Pramod Sharma (Kumarsain), Mr Arun Bhandari (Chopal), Mr Manjit Dogra (Nadaunta), Mr Kuldeep Pathania (Bhatiyat), Mr Dharmvir (Kulu), Dr Biru Ram (Geharwin), Mr Daulat Chaudhari (Kangra), Mr Pritam Chand (Rajgir), Mr Ranjit Bakshi (Nurpur) and Mr Jagroop Chaudhari (Santokhgarh). Further Mr Ram Swaroop is contesting on the HVC ticket from Dharamsala. In Paonta-Doon Mr Kirnesh Jung, who is contesting as a candidate of the Him Loktantrik Morcha, is being supported by the rebels of both parties. Of the 68 members of the dissolved House all but three are contesting. While the Congress has renominated all 26 sitting
legislators, the BJP denied the tickets to five of them. Out of these Mr Ram Das Malanger and Mr Vidya Sagar have entered the fray as Independents. Mr Naveen Dhiman, a son of Mrs Nirmala Devi, who was denied the ticket, is also contesting as an Independent. Mr Chander Sen and Mr Chet Ram Negi, who were denied the ticket, withdrew their nomination papers. |
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Cong stooping low: Khanna Kangra, February 18 Addressing a press conference here today, he said that the Central Government had contained terrorism in the country. Efforts were on to identify illegal immigrants in India. The BSF was vigilant on the borders but even then a lot many Bangladeshi nationals slipped into Indian territory. Regarding the Hindu card played by the BJP in the Gujarat poll Mr Khanna alleged that this card was played by the Congress which made the issue. The Godhra issue was also highlighted by the Congress as the poll lit was round the corner in Gujarat at that time. “It is unfortunate that the Congress was stooping low and indulging in personal attacks and such allegations as were levelled against Prof P.K. Dhumal were earlier levelled against former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal but not proved till date”. Mr Khanna earlier addressed a public meeting at Nagrota Surian despite a heavy rainfall and cold conditions.. In Kangra town, the scheduled public meeting could not be held due to bad weather but he addressed party workers in a local hotel. |
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Capt should quit: BJP Shimla, February 18 He said it was shocking that instead of dropping the ministers allegedly involved in the sex scandal in Gujarat, the Punjab Chief Minister and other Congress leaders were defending them. He said the issue would boomerang on the Congress as its campaign had been virtually hijacked by the Punjab unit of the party. The Punjab leaders who had levelled ‘baseless’ charges against the Chief
Minister, Mr P.K.Dhumal, would face the music now. The people of the state had taken the action of these leaders as an affront to their dignity and honour. He said it was not the solitary case and only recently, a case of moral turpitude involving a top bureaucrat had came to light. Further, the conduct of Capt Amarinder Singh had not been above board and all sorts of allegations had been levelled against him, he said. |
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Weather
plays spoilsport again Shimla, February 18 Electioneering was about to peak, with the rallies of star campaigners like Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and Mr Narendra Modi. Incessant heavy rain, accompanied with high velocity winds, forced the Congress to postpone the two-day tour of Mrs Gandhi. Mr Modi reached Shimla by road, but could not proceed further to address his scheduled election meetings at Sundernagar and Santokhgarh. Both meetings had to be cancelled. Mr Pramod Mahajan, the other main campaigner, also could not address any election meeting today. The rallies of Mr P. K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, at Nahan and Paonta Sahib were also cancelled. |
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7 polling
stations hypersensitive Paonta Sahib, February 18 |
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Poll material despatched Shimla, February 18 Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used for the first time in 5,934 polling booths. Though voters identity cards have not been made compulsory, 17 documents have been notified for establishing the identity of the voters, Chief Election Officer Manisha Nanda told reporters. Training in the use of EVMs was being imparted to voters, she said.
PTI |
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DISTRICT
ROUNDUP
KULU KULU: If small is beautiful, nothing illustrates it better than this district. Nestling in the midst of snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas, Kulu is one of the smaller districts of the state and has three seats in the 68-member Vidhan Sabha. But this has not prevented it from wielding considerable influence in Shimla. MLAs elected from this district have always found a berth in the ministry irrespective of the party in power. The Prime Minister’s cottage in Prini village in the district, has added to the importance of the district in recent times. Its voters have been electing their representatives intelligently and change them whenever they fail to deliver on their promises or come up to their expectations. The Congress and the BJP have been two main contenders for power in the state and the choice of voters in Kulu has alternated between candidates of these two parties. In the three elections held during the past more than a decade, the voters have chosen to send all three MLAs belonging to one party only to dump them in the next poll. In the 1990 poll, all three MLAs — Mr Kunj Lal from Kulu, Mr Karan Singh from Banjar and Mr Khub Ram from Ani — belonged to the BJP. However, in 1993, the voters dumped them all and elected the Congress nominees, namely Mr Raj Krishan Gaur from Kulu, Mr Satya Parkash Thakur from Banjar and Mr Ishwar Dass from Ani. In 1998, two of the MLAs elected — Mr Chander Sen Thakur from Kulu and Mr Karan Singh from Banjar — belonged to the BJP while Mr Ishwar Dass from Ani belonged to the Congress. In 1990, Mr Raj Kishan Gaur (Congress) lost to Mr Kunj Lal (BJP) by just 208 votes. in a keenly contested election, Mr Gaur polled 20,303 votes against 20,511 secured by Mr Kunj Lal. However, Mr Gaur humbled Mr Kunj Lal in 1993 by a few thousand votes in the Kulu constituency. He, however, lost five years later to Mr Chander Sen Thakur (BJP) by just 58 votes. A former minister, Mr Gaur is once again in the fray for the Kulu seat. But he is being opposed in his attempt by Mr Karan Singh, a BJP stalwart who is a brother of the erstwhile ‘Raja’ of Kulu, Mr Maheshwar Singh, who is also a BJP MP. Mr Gaur is also facing opposition from his own nephew, Mr Dharam Vir Dhami. In the neighbouring Banjar constituency, Mr Satya Parkash Thakur (Congress), a former minister of state, was elected in 1990 and 1993 but he was defeated by Mr Karan Singh (BJP) five years later. This time, Mr Thakur is once again in the field but his main opponent is Mr Khimi Ram (BJP), chairman of the Kulu Zila Parishad. Mr Karan Singh who was elected from this constituency in 1998, has been shifted to Kulu. Mr Ishwar Dass of the Congress has represented the Ani (reserved) constituency for five terms which is a record of sorts. He won from here for the first time in 1972 when he defeated Mr Talku Ram (CPI). He repeated the feat five years later against the same opponent. However, he lost to Mr Khub Ram (BJP) in 1982 only to win it again in 1985. Mr Khub Ram (BJP) won the seat in 1990 but it was Mr Ishwar Dass again who emerged victorious in 1993. Five years later, he repeated the feat, defeating Mr Tej Ram of the BJP by more than 2,000 votes. He is in the fray once again and is being opposed by his old rival, Mr Tej Ram. Mr Khub Ram is also in the fray, but this time as an independent. |
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MANIFESTOES—OTHER PARTIES Dharamsala, February 18 All attempts to forge a third front at the time of poll, which could provide a viable alternative to the two main political players in the election arena, could not succeed. In the current elections too, some of the national parties like the CPM, the CPI, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Lok Janshakti Party, and a regional party, the Him Loktantrik Morcha, have fielded their candidates, but do not seem to be attaching much importance to a small state like Himachal Pradesh, which has a mere four Lok Sabha seats, making the state insignificant in national politics. Barring the inroads made by the Janata Dal under a pre-poll alliance in the 1990 elections and the good performance by the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), floated by former Telecommunications Minister Sukh Ram in 1998, no third force has been able to become a potent force in Himachal Pradesh, which has emerged as a model hill state of the country. The Janata Dal managed to perform superbly only because it contested 17 seats under an electoral alliance with the BJP, winning 11 seats. Apart from this, it was the HVC, which did well in the 1998 elections. Way back in 1972, a number of Independent candidates won under the banner of the Lok Raj Party, with stalwarts like former Assembly Speaker Thakur Sen Negi and Congress leader J.B.L. Khachi, being its prominent leaders. Amongst the national parties, the CPI and the CPM, had a marginal foothold in Himachal politics even if it was restricted to a few pockets, mainly industrial areas, where there was strong unionism. With CPI candidates Tara Chand winning from Balh in Mandi in 1962, Paras Ram from Jaswan and Bansi Lal from Baijnath in 1967, Tulsi Ram from Balh in 1971 and CPM candidate Rakesh Singha from Shimla in 1993, Leftists have proved beyond doubt that they have fared better than many others. All political players in these elections have focused on employment generation, keeping in mind the increasing number of unemployed youth, tourism promotion, industry and power generation. The joint alliance of the SP and the Loktantrik Morcha, floated by former PWD Minister, Mohinder Singh, is contesting from all 68 Assembly constituencies. While the SP has fielded 40 candidates, the rest are from the Loktantrik Morcha. The promises made by them include providing a clean government, with focus on tourism promotion, employment generation and industrialisation. With a mere token presence in the state, the party does not seem to have much hold. The BSP has fielded its
candidates from 24 seats, most of them in border districts like Una and
Solan and in new Himachal. BSP supremo Kanshi Ram visited the state and it was the Dalit leaders whom he blamed for poor political awareness amongst the people of their community. Though the BSP has made attempts to make inroads into Himachal Pradesh during the last two elections, it has not released its election manifesto, spelling its priorities for the people of the state. The Lok Janshakti Party is also trying to make its political debut in Himachal Pradesh. It has fielded candidates from 30 seats. Releasing its election manifesto, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan focused on creating employment, welfare schemes for widows, the handicapped and the aged, health cover to all, clean administration and strengthening of the road network in the state. The NCP too has fielded candidates from 14 seats, with preference to ex-servicemen, seven of whom have been given tickets. With Gen R.S. Dayal, (retd) being the state president, the party promises an honest government, transparency, power, at low rates, creating job opportunities and promoting agriculture and horticulture. As chances of any most of these political parties making a mark in these elections appear bleak, the voters too seem to be taking their presence in the election arena as a mere formality. |
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CONGRESS
MANIFESTO Hamirpur, February 18 On the eve of elections, political parties make promise the moon to the voters. This may not be possible any more as people remember the promises and commitments made to them by the political parties concerned. For the February 26 Assembly elections, both the BJP and the Congress have tried to outsmart each other by promising them all that can woo voters. For playing to the gallery and for general public interest, promises on fighting corruption and ending nepotism, favouritism, graft and immorality look impressive, but in reality will it go beyond the printed manifesto remains to be seen. Promising clean administration is one thing that appeals to an average man, but what mechanism will be used to achieve it is not revealed. Similar promises were made in Punjab by the Congress, but practically things stood as they were in the previous SAD-BJP regime. Every job still has a price tag attached to it. Probing of corruption charges against the BJP government and reviewing the memorandums of understanding signed with private parties for execution of hydel-power projects are the issues which may not directly affect the common man. Issues like giving a job to at least one member from the below poverty line families, raising the minimum wages to Rs 75 a day, reviewing user charges in hospitals and regularising services of those who have put in seven years of service are the issues which make sense to an average villager or a labourer or a skilled or unskilled worker. Himachal Pradesh is one state where every young man, on attaining a certain skill or qualification, hopes to get a government job. With growing emphasis on privatisation and shrinking job base, giving jobs is a challenging promise, especially in context with which employment is viewed. A cross-section of Himachalis, for example, do not consider self-employment or jobs in private sector as adequate employment. For them employment means jobs in the state or Central Government . Himachal Pradesh is known to contribute substantially to the defence forces. But rampant corruption in recruitment in armed forces has virtually put jobs in the armed forces beyond the reach of a lower-middle-class or middle -class family. Interestingly, for many of the infrastructure development projects in the state undertaken by private contractors and construction companies, those employed are mostly outsiders as local people do not volunteer to work for private employers. In Bamsan, the constituency of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, in one village — Tonny Devi — of 750 persons, the number of Bihari migrant labourers is estimated to be about 350. At present, the number of unemployed persons on the live rolls of the state employment agencies is anything between nine and 11 lakh. The figure, admit the officials, is misleading as more than 50 per cent of these are either self employed or working in private sector. The Congress has failed to spell out how and where it will create permanent job opportunities in government departments. The state needs to look forward to develop its horticulture and information technology sectors, besides giving impetus to the advancing science of biotechnology. The Congress manifesto does not dwell much on these issues though mentions of these areas in the manifesto are peripheral. The fiscal deficit has been growing at a rapid pace. From where the money will be generated for the schemes and promises mentioned in the manifesto is not known. The manifesto promises honourable living to every Himachali. Only time will tell whether the Congress will be able to honour whatever it is promising. |
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Veteran BJP leader
Balak Ram dead Shimla, February 18 He was 85. He is survived by three sons and as many daughters. The cremation will take place here tomorrow. Himachal Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have expressed grief over the demise of Balak Ram. They lauded the services rendered by him for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society and for the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden. Mr Balak Ram started his career as a clerk in the Ministry of Defence and retired as class-1 Gazetted Officer before joining the politics.
UNI |
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CM, Shanta address poll meetings
Defeat divisive BJP: Tarigami HP staff to support BJP State cash position in mess: Cong |
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Snow in HP SHIMLA:
The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh had a fresh snowfall, while the North-West plains, including Punjab and Haryana, were lashed by rains for the past 24 hours. The day temperatures fell in Himachal as well as in the adjoining plains of Punjab and Haryana due to this precipitation, caused due to the Western disturbances over Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Pakistan, the weather office said here today. The tourist resorts of Manali, Kufri and Narkanda had another spell of fresh snowfall while lower reaches in Himachal Pradesh experienced incessant rain last night, bringing a sharp fall in the temperature in the region. Shimla and its adjoining areas were lashed by incessant rain at 25.7 cm, accompanied by high velocity wind, throughout the night, causing a steep fall in the temperature. The capital town reeled under severe cold wave conditions. CHAMBA: Normal life in Chamba and surrounding areas has been paralysed due to disruption of vehicular traffic following heavy downpour for the past 24 hours. However, the work is in progress to clear the debris on various highways. Meanwhile, according to official reports, the Chamba hill in Himachal Pradesh, the adjoining mountain peaks of Pir Panjal and the hills of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir have been experiencing heavy snowfall |
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