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Tuesday,
March 18, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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BKU leader Nain in tight spot 3 BKU activists hurt BKU activist starts indefinite fast Express highway for Tajewala planned ‘Meeting on linking of rivers soon’ HAU kisan mela concludes HIGH COURT |
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Traders to
oppose VAT Chamber for deferment of VAT Woman shot by brother-in-law Hike in diesel price flayed
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BKU leader Nain in tight spot Chandigarh, March 17 During the BKU-led agitation in Jind district and its neighbourhood last year, Mr Nain had imense importance, with the state government bending backwards to meet his demands. He also endeared himself to the state Congress leadership, particularly, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the then president of the HPCC, who extended whole-hearted support to the agitation. This time (Mr Nain was) arrested and kept in the Ambala jail for spearheading a movement of agitated sugarcane farmers. He was arrested on November 25 and more than four months have passed since then but none of those who took active interest in him at the time of the Jind agitation have come out to his help. “No political party is coming forward to help us. I do not know why they are doing so”, Mr Ramphal Kandela, general secretary of the BKU, said when contacted at his residence in Kandela village in Jind district. Loyalists of Mr Hooda initially justified their reluctance to take up the issue of Mr Nain’s imprisonment, saying that it is up to the newly constituted HPCC to protest against the state government’s step. However, Mr Hooda, who is now the CLP leader as well as the Leader of the Opposition, had an ample opportunity to take up Mr Nain’s imprisonment in the Budget session which started on March 5 and lasted till March 14. However, while passing mentions about Mr Nain were made during the session by some of the Congress MLAs, Mr Hooda had remained silent. Congress sources said they were put off by the BKU’s decision to hold parleys with the state government team led by Finance Minister, Sampat Singh and consequently call off the Jind agitation shortly before the Congress was to hold a rally in Delhi to protest against the police firing on BKU supporters during the agitation. The BKU decision weakened the rationale of the Congress rally and now that Mr Nain had landed up in jail, the Congress had decided to ignore the issue. This, of course, makes Mr Nain’s position unenviable as he has antagonised Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala also for turning the heat on the INLD supremo during the Jind agitation. Apart from putting Mr Nain in the jail, the state government also allegedly played a role in Mr Dharam Singh becoming President of the BKU in place of Mr Nain. Mr Ramphal Kandela, however, claimed that Mr Dharam Singh had been made the ad-hoc President since Mr Nain was in jail. BKU activists had already launched indefinite fasts in various districts on March 14, demanding Mr Nain’s release. If the government did not release Mr Nain, they would obtain bail for the elderly BKU leader and continue their agitation against the government. BKU sources claimed that they had held negotiations with the Chief Minister, also on the issue. While Mr Chautala was ready to accept other demands of the BKU, he would not pave the way for Mr Nain’s release from prison, the sources said. |
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3 BKU activists hurt Kaithal, March 17 Three BKU office-bearers were injured in the lathi charge. They are Jia Lal, Gurnam Singh Kalayat and Suresh Kumar . The cops misbehaved with a press photographer covering this incident and later forcibly snatched his film roll. The police swung into action when the BKU activists were making
preparations to burn the effigy of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, outside the Mini Secretariat building. The lathi-wielding cops snatched the effigy of the Chief Minister from the agitating workers and chased them away with lathi blows. A large number of lawyers and litigants rushed to the spot. Mr Satish
Brara, a press photographer who was taking photographs, was noticed by the police. Though he left the spot, he was picked up by the police from his shop and forced to hand over the film roll. When contacted Mr
A.S. Chawla, SP denied that BKU activists were lathi charged and denied any knowledge of misbehaviour with a press photographer but promised to look into the complaint . Mr Tejinder Mann and Mr Dharam Pal
Chhot, state president and general secretary, respectively, of the Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress, Mr Nar Singh Dhanda a former minister, Mr Ishwar Singh President, DCC, Kaithal, Mr Gopal
Bhatt, President, Backward cell DYC, Mr Balwan Singh, press spokesman, District Congress Committee, Mr Sudhir Mehta, member HPCC condemned the police lathi charge on BKU workers. |
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BKU activist starts indefinite fast Jind, March 17 Meanwhile, the relay fast by BKU activists at Jind entered its fourth day today. A batch of five BKU activists had started the fast on March 14 at the Mini
Secretariat in support of their demand for the release of Mr Ghasi Ram
Nain. The call for the relay fast was given by the state unit of the BKU at a meeting held at Bhadhra village in Bhiwani district on March 11. It may be recalled that Mr Ghasi Ram Nain was arrested in Ambala district in connection with farmers agitation a few months ago. The BKU activists are also demanding the implementation of agreement between the BKU and the Haryana Government in June 2002 and the withdrawal of cases registered against farmers in connection with the agitation. |
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Express
highway for Tajewala planned Yamunanagar, March 17 Mr Chautala said the government was committed to providing all basic facilities to people and the government would also undertake construction work of Harijan chaupals where 50 houses of the community reside in the state. The Chief Minister said the present government had tried its best to put Haryana back on the path of progress. He emphasised the need of providing basic facilities and development of the rural areas. The other announcements he made included the replacing of rusted electricity poles, the removal of lose electricity wires passing over schools and residential area. He assured that encroachments on government, panchayat or public places would be removed to usher in a new era of development. Later addressing mediapersons, Mr Chautala refuted the charge being levelled by some disgruntled BJP activists about alleged police action against them at Faridabad. Mr Faqeer Chand Mulana, MP, Mr Risal Singh, Social Welfare Minister, Mr Rajesh Sharma, Deputy Chairman, Planning Board, Haryana, Dr Malik Chand Gambhir, Mr Balwant Singh, Dr Bishan Lal Saini all MLAs, general secretary, INLD Mr Raj Kumar Saini, Mr Mahipal Singh, District ex-president, Mr Mahipal Sandhay, district Youth President, Mr Vijayendra Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajinder Singh, SP and other INLD leaders and officers were present at the function. |
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‘Meeting
on linking of rivers soon’ Sirsa, March 17 Speaking about the SYL canal, he claimed that the Haryana Government was committed to the implementation of the Supreme Court decision on the issue. |
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HAU kisan mela concludes Hisar, March 17 The farmers evinced keen interest in new crop varieties, medicinal plants, vermicompost, the management of soil micro-nutrients as well as the production technology of hybrid cotton. The agro-industrial exhibition proved to be a major attraction. Products and technology, developed by over 150 public and private sector units, were on display. Besides, about 40 departments of the university also showcased their achievements in agriculture and allied areas. Home science experts apprised the farmers of time and labour saving household practices and income generating ventures. The visiting farmers also availed themselves of the facility of soil and water sample testing. Farm literature brought out by the university, worth over Rs 50,000, was also sold. Meanwhile, to finalise a package of practices for horticultural crops in Haryana, a two-day horticultural officers workshop (HOW) will be organised by the university on March 20 and 21. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, March 17 Mr Bansal, a Haryana government contractor, was apprehending arrest in a case registered by Rohtak’s Vigilance Bureau under Sections 409, 420, 467, 486, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, besides under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Seeking the grant of anticipatory bail in the case, he had added that non-bailable warrants had been issued against him by Panipat’s Additional District and Sessions Judge. Claiming to have been implicated in the case, he had added that sub-standard material had not been used for repairing roads. Giving details, he had asserted that the first information report in the matter was registered against the employees of Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board and others. The police, after carrying out the initial investigation, had found the petitioner to be innocent following which his name was placed in column number two. However, at a later stage an application for summoning him was filed, his counsel had asserted.
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Traders
to oppose VAT Chandigarh, March 17 In a statement here today the President of the Ambala Wholesale Cloth Market Association, Mr Harcharan Singh Bhatia, said while the new system would definitely create problems for the traders who would have to cope with increased paper work and would always be under the thumb of the authorities. He said the association had decided to observe a one-day token strike against VAT on March 19. Mr Bhatia said if the government did not reconsider its decision, about 50,000 wholesale and retail cloth merchants would be forced to go on an indefinite strike.
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Chamber
for deferment of VAT Ambala, March 17 Mr N.C. Jain, senior vice-president of the chamber, said the Haryana Government had recently decided in the Assembly session that VAT would be implemented from April 1. “The adjoining states like Punjab, UP, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi have not decided to implement VAT and the Bill has not been passed by their legislature,” a press note said. “Under these circumstances it is demanded from the Chief Minister Mr
O.P. Chautala, that VAT should not be implemented till such time the adjoining states do not implement it.
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Woman shot by brother-in-law Hisar, March 17 Kanwaljeet Singh had been released on bail last month and is an accused in a murder case.
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Hike in diesel price flayed Chandigarh, March 17 In a statement issued here today the president of the
samaj, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, said this was for the eighth time that the prices of petroleum products had been increased in the past two years. Even after the presentation of this year’s Budget, the prices of petroleum products had been increased twice. First a cess of Rs 1.50 per litre was imposed and now the prices had been increased by more than Re 1 per litre, though in the international market the crude price was slipping.
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