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Wednesday,
April 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Faridabad lathi charge sours
BJP-INLD ties Haryana fails to secure drought relief Haryana Govt to tap benefits from Exim policy
Justice Jain’s assurance to Karnal Bar Criminal cases recommended against six |
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BKU to oppose CM’s visit Nod to Pro-VC posts’ abolition Arms found at tea vendor’s house
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Faridabad lathi
charge sours BJP-INLD ties Chandigarh, April 1 Several senior Haryana BJP leaders, led by their President, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, had met BJP President Venkaih Naidu, and Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani to protest against the “brutal” lathi charge by the Faridabad police on BJP MPs and MLAs, including Mr Kataria, and the Leader of the Haryana BJP Legislature Party, Mr Kishan Pal Gurjar, last month. The Haryana BJP legislators had gone to protest against the demolitions carried out by the Faridabad authorities in Sector 29 in that town. Instead of giving the legislators respect due to them as representatives of the people, the police greated them with lathis. The sources say when the Haryana BJP leaders showed the injuries sustained by them in the lathi charge, an anguished senior leader quipped : “The BJP leaders were never treated in such a manner even by a Congress Government.” Emboldened by the senior leader’s remark, the Haryana BJP leaders reportedly told the high command categorically that now it was impossible for them to continue supporting the Chautala Government. They were told by another senior BJP senior leader to wait till November next when the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh are due. However, the sources say, the Haryana leaders were given the green signal to pursue their party agenda in the state. The sources say the green signal had emboldened Mr Kataria to say on record that the Chautala Government would not last more than a few months. He also said on record that the relations between the Haryana BJP and the INLD had soured to such an extent that even the high command could not set the things right. Mr Kataria says whenever the INLD(or its earlier incarnations) had come to power in Haryana, it had contested the assembly elections in alliance with the BJP. For that matter, he says, no non-Congress party had been able to form a Government in Haryana without the support of the BJP. Be it 1977, 1987, 1996, 1999 or 2000. He says in 1996, the BJP contested the assembly elections in alliance with Mr Bansi Lal’s HVP. Despite a strong anti-Congress sentiment in the state, the INLD, which contested the elections alone, could not form the government. The state had an HVP-led government that year. Again in 1999, when Mr Chautala became the Chief Minister after the fall of the Bansi Lal Government, it was only with the support of the BJP. However, Mr Kataria regrets that Mr Chautala has been “systematically annihilating” the BJP after the 1999 parliamentary elections so that state politics is bipolarised between the Congress and the INLD. He feels Mr Chautala has been helped in carrying out his designs against the BJP by the “coalition compulsions” at the Centre. Mr Chautala’s party has five Lok Sabha members, whose support is considered crucial by the Vajpayee Government. Haryana BJP leaders feel that Mr Chautala’s dabbling in Rajasthan politics and his decision to contest the assembly elections in that state alone, will prove to be a blessing in disguise for the party in that state. Rajputs and Jats are two major communities which dominate in Rajasthan politics. Perhaps Rajasthan is the only state in which the Jats are traditional supporters of the Congress, unlike their brethern in Haryana and western U.P. The Rajputs, on the contrary, are traditional supporters of the BJP in Rajasthan. It is with an eye on the Jat voters, who are believed to be not very happy with the Congress this time as the party had not made a Jat leader the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, that Mr Chautala promised at a well-attended rally in Jaipur yesterday that if his party came to power in that state, a farmer would be made the Chief Minister. Many believe that in the INLD vocabulary. “farmer” means a Jat. The BJP leaders feel that by going alone in the Rajasthan Assembly elections, Mr Chautala will unintentionally help the cause of the BJP. Since Mr Chautala would be primarily targeting the Jat votes, he will only cut into the Congress vote-bank. Haryana BJP leaders are confident that the alliance between their party and the INLD would be formally dissolved after the assembly elections in the five states. The alliance, they say, in any case has already broken. |
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Haryana fails to secure drought relief Chandigarh, April 1 In a statement issued here today, Mr Hooda said Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh had been given drought relief ranging from Rs 258.44 crore to Rs 25.67 crore, besides huge quantities of foodgrains, for the drought-affected persons in these states. Regretting that the Haryana Government had failed to secure any relief from the Centre, Mr Hooda alleged that Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala stood on false prestige and did not meet Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh to plead the case of drought-affected people of Haryana. Mr Hooda claimed that when certain political persons from Haryana met the Prime Minister to urge him to release funds for the drought-affected people of the state, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee remarked that the funds could be released only if the Chautala Government had made a request. The Prime Minister’s remark, he said, proved that Mr Chautala was not interested in the welfare of farmers and the weaker sections of society in Haryana. Criticising the “indifferent attitude” of Mr Chautala towards the farmers and landless people of his own state, Mr Hooda said the Chief Minister was instead trying to champion the cause of farmers of UP and Rajasthan. He alleged that Mr Chautala was now indulging in Rajasthan politics at the expense of money collected from tax-payers of Haryana. |
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Haryana Govt to tap benefits from Exim policy Chandigarh, April 1 According to officials of the Industry Department, the state has a lot of potential to get tax exemptions for exporters in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), that is being set up at Garhi Essru in Gurgaon district and in food parks being developed at Rai, Saha and Kundli towns. The state is hopeful that the Central Government’s decision to give tax exemptions to the units in other areas on the supply of raw material to the units in the SEZ would give a boost to the SEZ and the ancillary units in Faridabad, Gurgaon and other industrial towns. A senior official of the department claimed that the state government has already acquired more than 3,000 acres of land to develop SEZ. Number of MNCs in the software sector have shown keen interest make investment worth hundreds of crores in that
area. Under the exim policy, he said, the auto parts units in Faridabad and Gurgaon alone would be eligible to get tax breaks over Rs 300 crore annually. Further the state is also expecting, he said, some attractive offers from the private players in the agro processing units. He said, the Containers Corporation of India has already announced to invest over Rs 70 crore to build up a cold chain in the food park, apart from about 40 applications to invest in the food parks. They could get tax exemptions, under the government’s policy to offer incentives to corporate houses and private players in the food parks. The state is a major player in exporting basmati rice and pickles in the country. The handlloom exports from Panipat, which has crossed over Rs 1500 crore are also likely to get a boost with the government’s decision to offer tax exemptions for the import of second hand machinery. It would accelerate the upgradation of industrial units in this city. The cell in the Industrial Department, headed by a Joint Director, is also studying how the software sector, pharmaceutical sector and auto parts, which contributes about Rs 4,200 crore, Rs 300 crore, and Rs 600 crore annually to the total exports from the state, could benefit from the exim policy. |
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Polytechnics to be on Internet Ambala, April 1 Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Haryana, Technical Education, Mr Dharam Vir, stated this. He was the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the three-day inter-polytechnic cultural POLYFEST-2003 at Government Polytechnic for Boys, Ambala city. He said grant to link seven polytechnics in the state had been released and the remaining institutes would also be linked by the May end. With this students of these institutes will be able to acquire the latest technology and it would help them get jobs after completing courses. Mr Dharm Vir said that changes were also being affected in the syllabus of certain courses in the forthcoming semester. Ms Shakuntla Jakhu, Technical Education Commissioner and Special Secretary, Haryana, said that the department had decided to issue a calendar by May, listing cultural and sports events to be held during the year and students would be trained accordingly. College principal, Ms Indra Vij, said students from 20 polytechnics were participating in the fest during which competitions in folk songs, quiz, fancy dress, skit and group dance would be organised in the Kalpana Chawla Government Polytechnic for Women, and Government Polytechnic, Ambala city. Students and few mediapersons found it difficult to reach the venue due to resistance from the police managing the crowds. |
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Justice Jain’s assurance to Karnal Bar Karnal, April 1 Mr Justice Jain, who is also the administrative Judge of the Karnal courts, was here on an inspection. He also assured the Karnal Bar that the courts would not be shifted till adequate number of Lawyers chambers were constructed in the new complex. Mr Justice Jain said that the High Court would not act as per the desires of the district administration as far as the shifting of courts was concerned. The building committee of the High Court, headed by Mr Justice N.K. Sodhi, was seized of the issue. Mr V.P. Sahni, senior advocate said the new Library building would not be adequate for 850 members of the Karnal Bar. |
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Criminal cases recommended against six Chandigarh, April 1 A spokesman of the HSVB said departmental action and recovery of money had also been recommended against 31 gazetted officers, 21 officials and six others in six inquiries. The revenue wing of the HSVB had detected two cases of leakage of revenue and recommended departmental action against 14 gazetted officers and one official. Six government officials were caught accepting illegal gratification ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 3000. A patwari of Kaund (Karnal) and a kanungo were convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Another patwari of Bhaudri (Karnal) was convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined Rs 1000. |
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BKU to oppose CM’s visit Kaithal, April 1 Mr Kundan, president of the Kaithal district unit of the union, in a statement here yesterday, said the Chief Minister was trying to divide the BKU. He also criticised the Chief Minister for not releasing the BKU state president, Mr Ghasi Ram Nain, from jail. He also expressed concern about the deteriorating health of the three activists who had been on an indefinite fast for the past 16 days. Meanwhile, hundreds of women from Balu village staged a dharna in front of mini-secretariat here to demand the release of Mr
Nain. |
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Nod to Pro-VC posts’ abolition Chandigarh, April 1 The Bill was passed at the recently concluded Budget session of the Assembly held here last month. With the Governor giving the assent to the Bill, it will pave the way for the government to abolish the posts of Pro-VC at Guru
Jambeshwar University, Hisar, Kurukshetra University and Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak. |
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Arms found at tea vendor’s house Yamunanagar, April 1 On a tip-off the Jagadhri police raided Ram Singh’s house today at 11 am and found six country made pistols and 98 live cartridges. Ram Singh has fled away. A case under Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against him. |
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