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Wednesday,
March 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP leader takes swipe at INLD Abhay Chautala to contest from Kalka I’m not worried about Chahal report: Bansi 7 ultrasound machines confiscated in Haryana $1 million note seized, 5 held
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Senior citizens want hike in pension HIGH COURT Deaf and dumb protest
against ‘ill-treatment’ Three killed in
road mishap Spurious liquor kills 3 Medal winners felicitated Traders protest
against magistrate Anti-encroachment
drive started Probe sought into man’s death
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BJP leader takes swipe at INLD Chandigarh, March 11 The Leader of the BJP Legislature Party, Mr Krishan Pal Gurjar, a known critic of the Chautala Government, sought to give the credit for various development works in Haryana by saying that it was the Central Government led by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee which was giving financial assistance to the state. He indirectly hinted that the INLD was unjustified in taking credit for these schemes when he remarked: “Maal kiska, kamaal kiska”. Provoked by Mr Gurjar’s tenor of the speech, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala intervened and said the members should not cross their limits. Prof Sampat Singh, who also holds the Parliamentary Affairs Department, reminded Mr Gurjar that it was the NDA, of which the INLD was a member, which was ruling the Centre and not the BJP alone. When Mr Gurjar continued to highlight various schemes prepared by the Centre, INLD MLA from Meham Balbir Singh Balli intervened to say that when Mr Gurjar was a minister in the Bansi Lal Government, which was an ally of the BJP, why there was no development activity in the state at that time. He also alleged that Mr Gurjar’s buses were used to carry illegal liquor. Mr Gurjar counter-alleged that Mr Balli was involved in illegal mining. The Meham MLA further provoked Mr Gurjar by passing certain comments against him and RPI MLA Karan Singh Dalal. Before the comments were expunged by the Chair, Mr Gurjar used the title of a story from the Arabian Nights to describe the ruling party, which infuriated the Chief Minister, who insisted that either. Mr Gurjar should withdraw his comments or elaborate against whom he had used the title of the Arabian Nights story. However, the BJP leader was evasive on both counts. Former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal intervened to plead that if Mr Gurjar was not willing to withdraw his comments, these could be expunged. His suggestion was turned down by the Chief Minister. It was obvious that if Mr Gurjar stuck to his remarks, the INLD supremo would like to use the Vidhan Sabha record to complain to the BJP high command against him. The Deputy Speaker, Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot, said either Mr Gurjar should concede one of the demands of Mr Chautala or nothing of his speech would be recorded. On the suggestion of the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Ram Pal Majra, Mr Gurjar ultimately withdrew his comments after being on his legs for about 60 minutes. But the ties between the two allies remained in ruins. Earlier, opening the debate the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said unless Haryana waged a relentless war, the SYL canal in Punjab would not be completed. Offering full cooperation to the government on the canal issue, Mr Hooda said even if it filed a contempt petition against the Punjab Chief Minister on the SYL issue, the Haryana Congress would rise above party politics and support the government. Accusing the government of being callous towards the farmers, Mr Hooda said meagre cash compensation had been given to the farmers affected by drought. He said a CBI inquiry should be conducted into the Kandela funds (allegedly collected by him), the Fiji funds and the funds collected in the name of the Devi Lal Memorial Trust. Mr Anil Vij (Ind), who supported the Budget, said an increase of 5.1 per cent in the GDP was very satisfactory. Seminars should be held to educate traders on VAT, which should be implemented in the entire country simultaneously. Moreover, the traders should be given time to sell their existing stocks on which they had already paid tax. He said there should be a permanent and transparent transfer policy for employees. The revenue units should be in consonance with the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. Depots of oil companies should be shifted out of the thickly populated areas of Ambala cantonment. The Tangri bridge on the Ambala-Saha road should be widened and streetlights on the flyover near the Ambala cantonment railway station should be installed. He regretted that no provision had been made in the Budget for urban roads. The Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Capt Ajay Yadav, said the actual deficit would be to the tune of Rs 900 crore and not Rs 670 crore as projected in the Budget. He said the state was sinking under public debt. Supporting the Budget, Mr Krishan Lal Pawar and Mr Shashi Parmar appreciated the reforms in the power sector. Mr Banta Ram (INLD) read out a long list of officers belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Backward Classes who had been given important assignments by the Chautala Government. Mr Ram Kumar Saini (INLD) described the Budget as balanced. Former Finance Minister Mange Ram Gupta(Cong) regretted that every year the Budget deficit was increasing. While the last Congress Budget presented in 1996 depicted a deficit of Rs 20 crore, it had now increased to about Rs 700 crore. Mr Dalal said barring the Chief Minister and his immediate family, nobody was prospering in Haryana. He accused the Chief Minister of humiliating an honest officer, Mrs Meenaxi Anand Chaudhry, former Chairperson of the Power Utilities, for “vested interests”. Among others who participated in the debate were Dr Raghbir Singh Kadian, Mrs Anita Yadav, Mr Dharamvir and Mr Jai Prakash (all Congress). |
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Abhay Chautala to contest from Kalka Panchkula, March 11 Mr Abhay Chautala, who was here to participate in a function organised by a group of 12 recently elected councillors of the Panchkula Municipal Council, said he would dare Mr Chander Mohan in the next Assembly elections from this constituency. While calling Mr Chander Mohan “a dummy MLA who has never raised any issue about his constituency”, he said he was confident of a win with a massive margin. The statement gains significance, especially in wake of the fact that Panchkula has traditionally been a Congress seat. It was thus that former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal had chosen this seat for his son Chander Mohan. The latter has been the sitting MLA for the third consecutive term since 1993. Even earlier, the Kalka Vidhan Sabha seat was represented by either Congress or an Independent. This challenge for the president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief comes at a time when his decision to boycott the recently held municipal council elections boomeranged, with Congress losing a sizeable number of its supporters to the ruling INLD. The Congress suffered a major setback when a large number of its supporters and office-bearers, defying official diktats of boycott, jumped in the fray. With the party leadership seeing these elections as a challenge to the influence of Mr Chander Mohan, it was decided to boycott the elections much against the wishes of Mr Bhajan Lal’s bete noire and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda. As many as 16 of the total seats (31) were bagged by these Congressmen, thus forcing the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee to stake claim to the post of president of the council. However, the ruling INLD managed to win over five of these Congress councillors on their side, thus leaving the Congress with no choice but to withdraw from the power game for the Panchkula Municipal Council. |
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I’m not worried about Chahal report: Bansi Chandigarh, March 11 Earlier, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, while responding to BJP legislator Chander Bhatia’s question, said the report would be first put up before the Cabinet and then tabled in the assembly. Pointing out that Mr Bansi Lal was not present in the House, Mr Chautala claimed that he was not coming because he was scared of the Chahal Commission findings. This was, however, protested by Mr Bansi Lal’s old foe, Mr Bhajan Lal, who said it was usual for Mr Bansi Lal to come late to the assembly. Mr Chautala added even when Mr Bansi Lal was Chief Minister, the state government had assigned an agency to look into the implementation of the policy of prohibition. But the report was never tabled by the government in the House, Mr Chautala said and added that the INLD Government had already tabled the report of the probe carried out by the Divisional Commissioner of Rohtak into the Dulina incident. This report, however, was yet to be tabled though none of the Opposition MLAs cared to draw the CM’s attention to this fact. Mr Chautala added there was a spurt in crime by the liquor mafia when prohibition was in force and the Chahal Commission had been asked to probe their activities. Mr Bansi Lal, who leads the two-member HVP team in the House, later came to the assembly. The Speaker dismissed a call-attention notice by RPI legislator Karan Singh Dalal and others about the spread of cancer in the state. Two call-attention notices given by Congress legislators were also turned down. |
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7 ultrasound machines confiscated in Haryana Chandigarh, March 11 Responding to Mr Banta Ram’s question on implementation of the PNDT Act in the state, Mr M.L. Ranga, Minister of State for Health, said Haryana was the first state in the country to lodge two FIRs for violation of the Act. Personnel of the Health Department were investigating 11 complaints while seven ultrasound machines had been confiscated so far. The Health Minister said 713 ultrasound machines had been registered so far while instructions were to book those having unregistered machines. The minister also spoke about the Devirupak scheme which, he said, would be useful for restoring parity in the sex ratio of Haryana. Instead of the coercive method used for family planning during Emergency, this scheme would also help control population through cash incentives. While the Chief Minister not present in the House, the MLAs struck a gay note at the mention of population control and Mr Bhagi Ram (INLD) stood up and said that the single MLAs should also be given cash incentives as they were not contributing to the population at all. The mood also caught on Mr Sampat Singh, Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, who said the Speaker, in his capacity as the custodian of the house, must arrange for the marriage of the three single MLAs. The Speaker, however, was not amused by the responsibility thrust upon him by the Finance Minister and asked him to take his seat. Mr Bhajan Lal, chief of the Haryana Congress, assured the single MLAs now that they were legislators, they should not face any problem in getting married. Capt Ajay Singh Yadav (Cong) was heard saying that each of the three MLAs should be given at least Rs 2000 per month. This prompted Ms Sarita Narayan (BJP) to say that the MLAs were concerned only about their single male colleagues.”Single women MLAs should also be given incentives”, she said. Replying to a question asked by Mr Nafe Singh Rathi regarding the number of cases of atrocities committed on women Mr Om Prakash Chautala said in 2002, there were 243 cases of dowry death, 1562 cases of dowry harassment, 363 cases of rape, 298 cases of abduction and 432 cases of molestation. The total number of such cases was 2898 during 2002 as compared to 2956 in 2001. The Chief Minister said the government intended to include domestic violence by government employees as misconduct in the service rules. |
$1 million note seized, 5 held Ambala, March 11 Talking to mediapersons here late this evening, the Ambala SP, said the note had been recovered along with a authenticity. “Apparently, the $ one million note seems to be
genuine, but we are coordinating with other Central agencies,” he said. He said on March 5, the SHO of Mullana received information that Jai Pal, an ex-serviceman, had been shot at near the Mullana Engineering College. “Jai Pal was on friendly terms with Girdhari Lal, a property dealer of Yamunanagar. On that day, Girdhari Lal had told Jai Pal that some persons wanted to buy land and a meeting was fixed,” he said. He stated that six persons came in an Indica car. These persons shot at Jai Pal and took away his motor cycle. “Investigations carried out by us
revealed that they had not come for the land deal, but regarding this US currency,” he said. The five persons arrested included Jaswinder Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Sarvjeet Singh, Manish and Mukesh. The police seized a country-made revolver and a case was registered. The SP said the $ one million note had been shown to a few local banks. They opined that the currency was
genuine. “We are working on several factors in the case,” he said. |
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Senior citizens want hike in pension Yamunanagar, March 11 Mr B.M. Bakshi, patron of the association at a function here also demanded family pension for the children of pensioners who were crippled/mentally retarded on the pattern followed in the Government of India, Punjab government and Himachal government. Mr Bakshi said that medical allowance be increased from Rs 125 to Rs 250 per month and the government should make full reimbursement of the expenses incurred for the treatment of chronic diseases. He added that the LTC should be equal to one-month basic pension on the Punjab pattern. Bus fare concession to 50 per cent for pensioners after the age of 60 years was demanded. Mr S.C. Kapila, President and Mr R.S. Khurana, general secretary of the association demanded pension for the Municipal employees who had retired before April 15, 1992. The Association hailed the Haryana government approving treatment for pensioners and employees from Fortis Heart Centre, Mohali, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital, New Delhi, Apollo Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi. Later a memorandum was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, Yamunanagar for forwarding it to the Chief Minister. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, March 11 Issuing the directions, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice S.S. Grewal, also asked the state to see that the rules were enforced by all the schools in the state. In their petition, Shivalik Modern Public High School and other schools had earlier contended that eight years had passed, but the rules had not been framed. The same was breeding corruption, counsel for the petitioners had added.
Record The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Gurgaon’s Deputy Commissioner to seal the record pertaining to the release on parole of four convicts in a murder case from the jail. Issuing the directions on a petition filed by Lakhan Lal of Gurgaon district, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice S.S. Grewal, also fixed April 8 as the next date of hearing in the case. |
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Deaf and dumb protest
against ‘ill-treatment’ Fatehabad, March 11 Mr Devender Gaur, general secretary of the state unit of the association, and Mr Krishan Kumar, secretary of the local unit, alleged that they had written to the officials about the date of their demonstration well in advance. They said deaf and dumb persons, throughout the state, were facing a plethora of problems but no one had the time to redress their grievances. They said though the state government had opened several schools for the deaf and dumb, but teachers in most of these schools were not trained in the sign language. They also alleged that the state government had failed to provide adequate job opportunities to the deaf and dumb. Mr Gaur said the association had been demanding free travel for its members in the Haryana Roadways buses, besides reservation in the allotment of HUDA plots. He said the members face a lot of problem in government offices as no one understood their language. He said the association had been demanding that the sign language be made a compulsory subject in the schools. The association, he said, was also demanding reservation in the allotment of petrol pumps and gas agencies and starting programmes for the deaf and dumb an television. |
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Three killed in road mishap Karnal, March 11 According to the police, six persons, all residents of Iraipura village, were returning home after purchasing sugarcane seed from a sugar mill when a truck hit their tractor-trailer from behind. Kulbir (40), Darampal (45) and Pawan Kumar (25) were crushed under the truck. The injured, Tejpal, Yashpal and Satpal, have been admitted to a nearby hospital.
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Spurious liquor kills 3 Fatehabad, March 11 According to reports, the men — Kala Singh (23) of Rattia, his uncle Balkar Singh of Ahlupur in Punjab and another Kala Singh — consumed liquor procured from Bisan Khokhar village, soon after which, their condition started deteriorating. Kala Singh of Chotian village in Punjab died on the spot and the others were rushed to a Tohana hospital. While Balkar died before reaching the hospital, Kala Singh of Ratia died on way to Patiala. |
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Medal winners felicitated Sirsa, March 11 Speaking on this occasion, the Deputy Commissioner said such competitions not only link physically challenged children with society but also create self-confidence in them. In the competitions held on March 8 and 9, nearly 450 mentally challenged children participated. Seventeen students from Disha won 10 gold, four silver and nine bronze medals. Those who won prizes are Harpeet and Ravi Sharma (gold in cycling); Pawan Kumar (gold in 400 m and shotput); Vipin Kumar (gold in 200 m and bronze in 400 m); Raj Rani (gold in shotput and silver in 200 m); Sunita (gold in 200 m and bronze in long jump); Jodha Singh (gold, silver and bronze medals in 100 m, 50 m and softball, respectively); Gulshan (bronze in shotput); Mukhtiyar Singh (silver and bronze in 200 m and shotput); Gurpreet (bronze in 25 m) Jyoti (bronze in standing long jump); Neetu (bronze in 100 m); and Lovely (silver and bronze in 100 m and standing long jump). |
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Traders protest
against magistrate Sirsa, March 11 A memorandum in this regard signed by about 100 shopkeepers was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner when contacted said he would inquire into the incident. |
Anti-encroachment
drive started Ambala,
March 11 Executive Officer, Municipal Council,
Ambala Sadar, K.K. Jain, said action would be taken if goods were
found stocked outside shops. “I appeal to the shopkeepers to keep
the goods inside their shops”, he said. Mr Jain further said efforts would be made to ensure that the goods were not kept on roadsides as it hampered the smooth flow of traffic. He
stated that a drive to herd stray cattle was also being started. “He
added that owners of cattle would have to bear the expenses, if their
cattle were found moving about on roads, he said. |
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Probe sought into man’s death Ambala, March 11 She alleged that they had also lost Rs 25,000 and the keys of his locker at the hospital. |
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