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Tuesday,
February 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Cong
charges Centre with discrimination BJP
rakes up Sonia’s foreign origin issue KEY CONSTITUENCY—JOGINDERNAGAR KANGRA DISTRICT |
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fans turn to divine powers Kumarhatti, February 24 In order to win the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match on Saturday, local fans have turned to divine powers. Last night some shopkeepers running roadside khokhas at Dharampur collected money for puja of Devta. They themselves made generous contribution.
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Cong charges Centre with discrimination Shimla, February 24 All-India Congress Committee General Secretary incharge of the state, Mohsina Kidwai said starvation deaths were alleged in the states ruled by the Congress and it was due to the lack of funds the Centre provided to the Congress-ruled states that this situation had emerged. She said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had promised five lakh jobs in the state and was now promising to give 15 lakh despite having been not able to provide more than 50,000 jobs in the state. She said around 4,000 industries were closed in the state after Mr Dhumal took over, rendering thousands of youths jobless. She accused the Prime Minister of lowering the prestige of his office by holding out veiled threats to the people that the grants from the Centre would only come when a BJP government was elected. She said the Prime Minister was behaving as if he was only of one party and not of the entire country. Congress Working Committee member R.K. Dhawan accused the BJP of saying something and doing something else. He said when the allegations of corruption were levelled by ministers of Mr Dhumal, why did the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister not get an inquiry conducted. Mr Anand Sharma said that the BJP was spreading a misinformation campaign on the party’s position on POTA, saying that the Congress had objections on political misuse, which had now been confirmed with the arrests of Mr Vaiko and Raja Bhaiyya. He said now the BJP leaders were crying hoarse in the states against the provisions of POTA. HAMIRPUR: The Congress on Monday demanded from Mr Dhumal to tell the people how many jobs his government had provided to the unemployed youth. Mr B.K. Hari Prashad, all-India Secretary of the party and in charge of Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, told reporters here that the BJP government had failed to solve the problem of unemployment in the state. Mr Tej Nath, general secretary of the district unit of the party, was also present at the press conference. The Hamirpur District Congress Committee, on this occasion, released a two-page document naming the close relations of the Chief Minister and BJP leaders, who were given jobs in the state. He charged the Chief Minister of favouritism, nepotism and providing jobs on party lines. He accused the Chief Minister and the BJP of corruption on all fronts. Mr Prashad ridiculed the BJP for questioning the Congress charges of corruption when three ministers of the Dhumal government had already levelled such charges against the Chief Minister and his other ministers. The Congress leader also asked the Chief Minister to clarify the norms for giving government contracts in the state. He charged the state government of giving all contracts to the near and dear ones of the BJP leaders. Two of the relations of a former BJP MLA got contracts worth Rs 5 crore without any experience in the construction works, he added. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister, Sri Kant Jena dubbed the BSP as the B team of the RSS-BJP combine. This party had lost its credibility and stood fully exposed. Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Jena claimed that the Dalits and the OBCs would vote for the Congress. He said the BJP had failed to protect the interests of the Dalits and the OBCs and only the Congress could be their saviour. Mr Tanveer Akhtar, president of the Bihar Youth Congress, was also present at the press conference. Mr Jena said the people were fed up with the poor performance of the Dhumal government and would return the Congress to power this time. The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, dubbed the BJP as anti-defence forces and added that the Kargil war was the result of an inept handling of the situation by the NDA Government. Addressing a public meeting on Monday at Bijheri in favour of Congress nominee Vidya Zar, Capt Amarinder Singh said had the Central Government acted in a proper way and believed the reports of senior Army officers, the Kargil war could have been averted and lives of hundreds of innocent persons saved. He said the BJP was a party which was known for spreading rumours only to grab the power. He exhorted the people not to believe the BJP and its leaders. SOLAN: The AICC secretary, Ms Ambika Soni, on Monday flayed the BJP for having continued in power despite the nation’s security having been threatened time and again in the form of terrorist attacks. She said while Congress leaders like Madhav Rao Scindhia had resigned owning moral responsibility for train accidents during his ministerial term the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, was continuing despite repeated attacks on the country’s vital institutions, including December 13 attack on the Parliament. This showed their desperation to cling to power despite their inability to rule and lack of concern for the country’s security. Addressing a public gathering in favour of Congress candidate, Ms Krishna Mohini, she attacked the BJP for harping on the issue of security as its trump card and said instead of boosting the morale of the security forces their confidence had taken a drubbing due to undecisiveness of the BJP. Earlier the AICC Secretary, Mr Satyajit Gaekwad, while addressing the gathering, said due to the BJP misrule the number of unemployed youth had risen to 12.5 lakh. MANDI: CWC member Arjun Singh on Monday criticised the NDA Government at the Centre and the BJP Government in Himachal for what he described as their “dismal performance” due to lack of experience in governance. Addressing a rally at Seri Pavilion in favour of Congress candidate Thakur Durga Dutt, who is fighting against HVC leader Sukh Ram, he said the BJP neither had the mandate of the people at the Centre nor in Himachal. He said 25 parties motivated by lust for power formed the NDA Government in New Delhi while Mr Sukh Ram in Himachal joined hands with the same BJP which had not allowed Parliament and the HP Assembly to function for days together. It was an unholy alliance against the wishes of the people, he remarked. He lambasted Mr Sukh Ram for ditching the party due to which he enjoyed ministerial berths for a long time and added that people would not forgive him. As for corruption the law would take its own course. He asked the voters not to waste their votes as Mr Sukh Ram was no more a force to reckon with. Punjab PCC chief H.S. Hanspal said Mr Dhumal, Mr Badal and Mr Chautala were the chips of the same block. Mr Badal built assets in Haryana while Mr Dhumal in Jalandhar. “We are happy that he is promoting industry in Punjab but we fail to know why he was not setting up industries in Himachal. He said Mr Dhumal came from Pakistan in 1947 and first settled in Jalandhar.” CHAMBA: Capt Amarinder Singh has asked Mr Dhumal to publicly disclose his assets amassed during the past few years. Addressing a public meeting at the historic Chowgan here, Capt Amarinder Singh said the Dhumal government had given a boost to corruption instead of development and accused Mr Dhumal of amassing property in Jalandhar. He accused the BJP of damaging the democratic and economic health of the country. Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Mrs Ambika Soni, General Secretary of the AICC, hit back at the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, for raising the issue of national security and asked the latter to make clear as to whose integrity he was doubting. She alleged that Mr Advani being the Home Minister failed to save the Parliament of the country from militants attack. The Centre spent Rs 10,000 crore on the national security and the Congress had always extended its whole-hearted support in this regard. She lamented that the BJP leaders had been issuing tall statements sitting in Delhi and did not go to Jammu and Kashmir to meet and see the mental agony of the people there. She said people in various states were voting the Congress to power as they had lost faith in the BJP. Mrs Girija Vyas, President, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, expressed hope that the Congress would form the government with a majority in Himachal Pradesh. She said the Congress governments in 16 states were surviving without financial assistance from the NDA government at the Centre. Earlier, welcoming national leaders of the Congress, Mr Harsh Mahajan, a Congress candidate from Chamba Assembly segment, criticised the BJP for fanning out communalism and regionalism. NURPUR: Delhi Chief Minister Sheela Dikshit has alleged that the BJP had always instigated religious sentiments of the masses and divided the people on regional and religion lines. While addressing a well-attended election rally at Bhadwar, near here, in support of Congress candidate. Sat Mahajan, she claimed that the Congress had always sought votes on the issue national integration and development. |
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BJP
rakes up Sonia’s foreign origin issue Shimla, February 24 “Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has proposed the issue of a person of east Punjab in Himachal Pradesh. He has raised the issue of outsider and the BJP will now consider to make it an issue,” Mr Naidu said at a press conference here. He said when the issue of outsider was raised by the Congress, how could it have an Italian as its leader. The BJP President asked the Congress to come clean on Hindutva, anti-conversion laws, cow slaughter, terrorism, infiltration and nationality, on which it had been showing “dual standards.” He sought an unconditional apology from the Congress for allegedly having termed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as beef eater. He said if the apology and the sacking of the Youth Congress president of Madhya Pradesh did not come, the BJP would be forced to take legal action. The BJP President produced a letter from the youth Congress of Madhya Pradesh, denying having distributed the pamphlet saying Mr Vajpayee ate beef. He said the letter, however, did not disown the content in the pamphlet. Terming Congress governments in states as obstructionist, he said development of states had been dependent on harmonious Centre-state releations and Mr Dhumal could be termed as the best Chief Minister in this regard. Mr Naidu said the performance of Congress governments could be gauged from the fact there had been starvation deaths in Rajasthan. He said the fiscal mismanagement in Maharashtra was to the extent that the court had to attach a part of the secretariat for
its failure to honour guarantees given by the government. He said the by-election results had shown that the Congress-led states were heading for a change. Mr Naidu said that the recent surveys had confirmed that Mr Vajpayee would return to power after the next Lok Sabha elections. He said in Nagaland and Meghalaya, Congress rule was going to end.
HAMIRPUR: Criticising the Congress for its ugly campaign against the BJP and its leaders, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal exhorted the people on Monday not to be misled by the false propaganda. He asked them to extend their co-operation and support to the BJP in the elections. Addressing a series of corner meetings at various parts of Hamirpur and Bamsan constituencies today, he claimed that the BJP was the only party that was for development. He said that development and the BJP were two sides of the same coin. He told the people that each of their votes for the BJP would be a vote for development. He alleged that the Congress had launched a vicious campaign against the BJP only to grab power and to rule in the state once more. The party had harmed the nation and should not be allowed to return to power, he added. Mr Dhumal castigated the Congress leaders for their campaign, during which they had stooped low. He said that in a democratic set-up, the opposition was allowed to raise its voice, but not of the present standard, where mudslinging was going on. He blasted Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for levelling various charges against him and the BJP. He clarified that all these charges were false. The people of the state in general and of Hamirpur district in particular knew about his property, he said. SOLAN: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi accused Ms Sonia Gandhi on Monday of aligning with anti-national forces to gain political mileage. Basing his allegation on the release of militants in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Congress was prepared to stoop to any extent to remain in power. Giving a new dimension to the beef controversy, he sought to ask the Congress chief if she or her family members had never consumed beef while she stayed in Italy. Taking the Congress to task for having raked up the issue at this juncture, he said the fact that the Congress was being led by a non-Indian leader was the reason why a cheap gimmick in the form of beef consumption was being used as a political tool. Taking exception to the Congress harping the issue of corruption, he asserted that it did not behove of a party like the Congress, whose top leaders were steeped in corruption, to use corruption as an election plank. Had corruption been a real problem in Himachal Pradesh, what had stopped the Congress from raising the problem in the Assembly in five years, he asked. Referring to the role of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in the elections, he said the Chief Minister was not only intimidating the BJP men in Himachal Pradesh but also the common man. Castigating the Congress for raising a hue and cry over the Ram temple issue, he said it wanted to derive political mileage out of it.  |
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KEY
CONSTITUENCY—JOGINDERNAGAR Jogindernagar Although there six other candidates in the field, the main opposition to Mr Thakur comes from his own nephew, Mr Surender Pal Thakur (Congress). At the centre of Mr Gulab Singh Thakur’s troubles lies his penchant for party hopping. Observers here say that by joining the BJP on the eve of Assembly poll, the five-time Congress minister may have finally bitten more than he can chew. By crossing over from the Congress to the BJP, Mr Thakur has turned the local political scene topsy-turvy. The BJP cadres, which have been opposing him tooth and nail in every election during the past about half a century, now find themselves straining every nerve in his support. In the last election, Mr Thakur won by just 1,691 votes, defeating his BJP rival, Col Ganga Singh Jamwal (retd). There are many who believe that Col Jamwal could have won the seat this time had he been given the BJP ticket. Instead, he is being forced to solicit support for Mr Thakur. Similarly, the Congressmen who have worked for the success of Mr Thakur all these years, are now out to take revenge for his “betrayal”. The selection of his nephew, Mr Surender Pal Singh, as the Congress candidate is said to have been made personally by the former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and his confidante, Thakur Kaul Singh, who is contesting from the neighbouring constituency of Drang. Mr Surender Pal Singh has stood by his uncle in every political battle so far and, by shrewdly pitting him against Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, the Congress leadership feels that it may found the Speaker’s Achilles’ heel. Mr Gulab Singh Thakur began his political career in 1977 when he won the Jogindernagar seat as a candidate of the Janata Party and became a minister in the Shanta Kumar ministry. Three years later, he joined the Congress and was once again elected to the Vidhan Sabha and became minister in Thakur Ram Lal’s Cabinet. The Congress denied him the ticket in 1982, but he did not lose heart. He contested as an Independent and was elected to the Vidhan Sabha once again. Political compulsions forced the Congress to readmit him and make him a minister as well. After that, he won three elections to the Vidhan Sabha in a row in 1985, 1988 and 1993 as a nominee of the Congress and became a minister on every occasion. In 1998, he was again elected from Jogindernagar constituency on a Congress ticket, but in the hung Assembly, found it politically more convenient to side with the BJP-HVC combine. He became the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha. After the five-year term of the assembly was over, the five-time Congress minister formally joined the BJP. He is now fighting the contest for the Jogindernagar assembly as a candidate of the BJP. Local BJP leaders are trying to put up a brave front and say that Mr Gulab Singh Thakur’s frequent change of parties is not a poll issue. “People vote for Mr Gulab Singh, irrespective of the party he joins,” they quip. |
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KANGRA
DISTRICT Dharamsala With none of the candidates in either of the two main political parties, the Congress and the BJP, having a cakewalk, there appears to be a close fight in practically all constituencies. The fate of political bigwigs like former HPCC Chief, Sat Mahajan from Nurpur, All-India Mahila Congress chief Chandresh Kumari from Dharamsala, BJP ministers Kishan Kapoor, Ramesh Chaudhary and Vidya Sagar would be decided by the electorate on February 26. While the Congress appears to have consolidated its position in Guler, Jwali, Sulah, Shahpur, Palampur, Nurpur, the BJP is faring well in Jwalamukhi, Thural, and Rajgir. Interestingly, there seems to be a very close contest in Dharamsala and Baijnath, where the voting pattern adopted by the Gaddi community could well be the deciding factor. Rebel BJP candidates, contesting as Independents, in the form of Mr Naveen Dhiman in Pragpur and former Agriculture Minister, Vidya Sagar in Kangra are making their presence felt in a big way. Despite the BJP’s best efforts to stall senior Congress leaders and former IPH Minister Chander Kumar’s third successive victory from the Guler Assembly segment, the OBC leader seems to be placed comfortably, against his main opponent, Dr Harbans Singh Rana of the
ruling party. Being a non-controversial figure with a clean image, Mr Chander Kumar has all along maintained close ties with his electorate. The adjoining constituency of Jwali, too, seems to be favouring Congress nominee Sujan Singh Pathania, as Revenue Minister, Dr Rajan Sushan is having a tough time. In comparison the BJP candidate from Ganggath, Mr Des Raj, is locked in a fierce battle with Congress candidate Bodh Raj. It is, however, the Nurpur Assembly segment where Mr Rakesh Pathania, a young BJP leader and confidant of the Chief Minister, has put up a still challenge to veteran Congress leader Sat Mahajan. Known for his political acumen and the fact that it is a question of political survival for Mr Mahajan, who could well be playing his last innings, the emotional appeal could see him through. Interestingly, in Palampur and Baijnath sub divisions, the going appears to be most comfortable for the Congress. Even though Sulah is the native place of Union Rural Development Minister Shanta Kumar, Congress candidate Jagjivan Pal, who had lost the last election by a slender margin of 125 votes, seems to have an upper hand this time. Similarly in Palampur and Baijnath, too, the Congress seems to have consolidated its position, while the BJP is better placed in Thural and Rajgir. BJP candidate and Parliamentary Secretary Sarveen Chaudhary seems to be facing rough weather at the hands of charismatic Congress leader, Vijai Singh Mankotia in the Shahpur Assembly segment. In sharp contrast, Congress leader G.S. Bali, who had sprung a surprise by winning an OBC dominated seat of Nagrota in 1993 is having a tough time. Political analysts feel that his success would depend upon his ability to prevent the OBC’s from voting en bloc for candidates from their own community, as he himself is a Brahmin. In the Jaswan segment, the BJP’s new face, Mr Vikram Thakur, trying his luck for the first time in electoral politics has made the going tough for senior Congress leader Viplove Thakur, who is known for maintaining close ties with her people. In Pragpur, BJP rebel and son of former BJP legislator, Nirmala Devi, who was denied the ticket, seems to have an edge over other contestants. |
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Election observers Door-to-door campaigning Naresh Mehta rejoins BJP HVC candidate takes out rally Donation given to BJP candidate Ban on sale of liquor |
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Cricket
fans turn to divine powers Kumarhatti, February 24 Last night some shopkeepers running roadside khokhas at Dharampur collected money for puja of Devta. They themselves made generous contribution. “Whosoever lifts the World Cup is a matter of least concern for us but defeat at the hands of Pakistan is not acceptable at any cost. That is why we have decided to donate liberally on Saturday to keep the divine forces with us,” explained a shopkeeper, who runs a cigarette shop. Meanwhile, most hotels and dhabas along the Kalka-Shimla National Highway have started to make special arrangements for the live telecast of the match for tourists. We have replaced our small-screen TV sets with bigger ones for the sake of tourists,” said an owner of a leading dhaba. |
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