 |
Saturday,
April 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
BKU
warms up to Congress Move
to induct Nagi into MCI faces roadblock Parties
gear up for byelection A test
for Chautala government Order
to clear cases pending since Dec ’98 NHRC
to monitor human trafficking cases |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
KU
defers all BA-level exams Pvt
bus operators await CM’s nod Journalist
gets bail Murder
case solved Award
for biotech scientist Cleaning
canal in sowing season anti-farmer: Nehra MiG crash victim awaits compensation Solar
energy park planned Gang
of robbers arrested
|
|
BKU warms up to Congress Chandigarh, April 11 The
BKU, which claims to represent and champion the farmers’ interests, remained on the right side of the INLD or its earlier incarnations for almost two decades. So much so, at times, it became difficult to distinguish the difference between the rank and file of the INLD and the
BKU. Though the top BKU leadership always claimed to be non-political, the grassroot workers of the two organisations always intermingled. The reason was understandable. The INLD and its leaders were identified in popular perception as political representatives of the rural masses in general and of the farmers in particular. Often when the INLD wanted to embarrass the ruling parties, may it be the Congress or the HVP, the BKU invariably launched agitations in the state in the name of farmers, with tacit support of the INLD. Till the INLD remained in opposition, its leaders promised to cater to the BKU demands for free power and water to the agricultural sector, once their party came to power. But after the INLD came to power in 1999 after the fall of the Bansi Lal Government, its leaders realised how tough it was to implement populist promises in the wake of hard realities of administration. To be fair to the INLD, before it faced the assembly elections in 2000, it backtracked from its promise of free power and water. Haryana BKU President Ghasi Ram Nain, once very close to the INLD, is now persona non-grata. He has been in jail for the past several months and has not been granted bail. Now the BKU has turned to the President of the Indian Youth Congress, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, to try to get bail for Mr Nain. Mr Surjewala, who had been practising in the Punjab and Haryana High Court before he was given the top assignment in the Youth Congress, filed a bail application before the High Court yesterday. The court has issued a notice to the state for April 29. |
|
Move to induct Nagi into MCI faces roadblock Chandigarh, April 11 In response to the Haryana Government’s proposal regarding Dr Nagi’s induction into the MCI, the Health Ministry has written a letter to the Haryana Government making queries about the doctor’s credentials. The ministry has sought the state government’s comments on Dr Nagi’s residential status as well as on a court case filed by another doctor challenging Dr Nagi’s appointment as the Dean in the PGIMS here. It was learnt that Mr Krishan Singh Sangwan, BJP MP from Sonepat, wrote an official letter to the Union Health Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, requesting her to examine the Haryana Government’s proposal in the light of a complaint made to Mr Sangwan by a resident of Rohtak on the issue of the proposed induction of Dr Nagi in the MCI. Mr Sangwan’s letter as well as the original complaint against Dr Nagi’s nomination have been sent to the Haryana Government by the Health Ministry. “It can be an attempt by someone jealous of Dr Nagi who does not want him to become a member of the MCI”, a source said here. According to the source, Dr Nagi, Head of the Orthopaedics Department in the PGIMS here, has been treating Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala and the latter has handpicked the doctor for the prestigious assignment. Dr Nagi is to replace Dr Kartar Singh Siwatch, whose term in the MCI is about to expire. State government officials said here that they would try to defend Dr Nagi’s nomination to the MCI. It would be pointed out to the Union Health Ministry that Dr Nagi had given a Panchkula address to the Haryana authorities when his name was proposed as Haryana’s representative to the MCI. As for the court case which led to removal of Dr Nagi from the Dean’s post, the state government would ask the Health Ministry to ascertain the facts at its own level. If the Haryana Government’s proposal regarding Dr Nagi finally comes through, it will be the second instance of a doctor representing Haryana in the MCI who is not the Director General of Health Services (DGHS). It was the practice earlier to have the DGHS as the state’s representative in the MCI to ensure better coordination between the state government and the council. It was Mr Bansi Lal who during his last tenure as the Chief Minister who made a departure from the practice and got Dr Kartar Singh Siwatch, who happens to be his son-in-law, inducted in the MCI as the representative of Haryana. The DGHS was made to resign from the MCI to pave the way for Dr Siwatch, PGIMS doctor. |
|
Parties
gear up for byelection Fatehabad, April 11 The byelection is significant for all three major political parties of Haryana, the ruling
INLD, the Congress and the Haryana Vikas Party. For the INLD it is a test to prove popularity. The by-election has been necessitated due to the death of INLD sitting MLA Leela
Krishan. The party would like to retain the seat. For the Congress, leader Mr Bhajan Lal it is first election in the state since he assumed control of the party. As Mr Bhajan Lal’s ancestral village Mohamadpur Rohi falls in his constituency, Fatehabad is like home constituency for him. He would make best efforts as the result of the byelection will determine his hold on electorate. The Haryana Vikas Party lost power to the INLD due to defection in its ranks three years ago. The party contested the Yamuna Nagar
bypoll. It faired better than the Congress while the observers had written it off. The party general secretary has already made it clear that the party would contest the bypoll for a win. With all political parties gearing up, the bypoll is going to be an interesting electoral battle, political observers feel. The secretary-general of the
HVP, Mr Surender Singh, has announced that he would camp in the Fatehabad constituency from April 14 till the elections. The Haryana Vikas Party today ruled out the fielding of a joint opposition candidate against the ruling INLD in the byelection to the Fatehabad Assembly seat. The byelection is slated for May 21 this year. Mr Kanwal Singh, a former Haryana Minister and Chairman of the HVP Parliamentary Board told reporters here that the Haryana Vikas Party would contest the election on its own and there was no possibility of any understanding with the Congress in this regard. The HVP leader here in connection with the byelection said that he would start the campaign from tomorrow and tour all 86 villages of the constituency in the next four days. Former Minister Attar Singh Saini is party’s likely candidate Mr Pahlad Singh Gillankhrea and other leaders of the party accompanied him. He said that party’s general secretary Surinder Singh would join the campaign in the next two to four days and by that time the party would also decide its candidate for the
byelection. Mr Kanwal Singh said that his party would contest the election against, what he called, anti-people policies of the state government and added that the party would expose the ‘misdeeds’ of the Chautala government. He alleged that the INLD came to power on the basis of false promises and it would again try to ‘befool’ people by making such promises. He claimed that the party got district status for Fatehabad and opened a girls’ college in the town. The HVP leader apprehended that the ruling INLD government might resort to undemocratic ways to win this election but his party would not allow such designs to succeed. He said that his party would request the Chief Election Commissioner to direct Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his two sons to stay away from Fatehabad constituency on the polling day to avoid rigging. |
|
A test for Chautala government Chandigarh, April 11 Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who has been busy making preparations for
(INLD) participation in the Rajasthan Assembly elections has now turned the focus on
Fatehabad, where he will spend three days from April 15 to visit various villages of the constituency. The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, is also gearing up for the elections. The rebel faction of the party is
likely to postpone its rally at Kaithal on the SYL canal issue in the wake of the announcement regarding the date of the
byelection. Party sources said that the “jail bharo” agitation from May 15, announced by PCC chief Bhajan Lal on the same issue, would also suspended so that the party could concentrate on the Fatehabad election. This is the third byelection in the state since the formation of the INLD Government. The first was for the Rori constituency, which was relinquished by Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala to pave the way for his son Mr Abhay Chautala, to come to the Assembly and the latter won the seat by a record margin of more than 80,000 votes. The next byelection at Yamunanagar, caused due to the death of the sitting Congress MLA was also won comprehensively by Mr Malik Chand Gambhir
(INLD) by trouncing his nearest rival by over 12,000 votes. However, the Fatehabad byelection necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA Leela Krishan on March 27, is expected to be a hard battle between the Congress and the
INLD. It is believed that three years in the government has already triggered the anti-incumbency factor against the ruling party which will benefit the Congress. Besides, Mr Bhajan
Lal, has a sizeable following in Fatehabad as he hails from the place. In fact, one of the probable candidates is stated to be Mr Bhajan Lal’s nephew, Mr Dura Ram. Mr Bhajan
Lal, however, remained non-committal on the Congress nominee from
Fatehabad. The constituency, which had 1,37,405 electors in the February 2000, poll, has sizeable segments of
Jat, Punjabi and backward caste voters. The late Mr Lila Krishan, belonging to the Punjabi community, had won on the INLD ticket in the last election though he had also been a Congress representative from the same constituency. Mr Lila Krishan got 44,129 votes in the last election while his nearest rival from the Congress secured 23,133 votes. The Haryana Vikas Party, which is also expected to contest the election, secured only 156 votes in 2000. Mr Krishan Swarup
(CPM) had got the third position by getting 12,099 votes. Significantly, the BJP is also toying up with the idea of putting up a candidate at
Fatehabad. If the party finally does so, it will be yet another blow to the INLD-BJP alliance in the state. |
|
Order to clear cases
pending since Dec ’98 Chandigarh, April 11 This is not all. According to information reaching here, over 100 inmates, lodged in Jind jail for petty offences, were sentenced to period already undergone, or were ordered to be released in accordance with the law. Their cases were taken up by the Chief Judicial Magistrate during a “mobile court” under the directions of Mr Justice Mittal. Meanwhile, in a copy of the order on old cases sent to the Presidents of the Jind, Narwana and Safidon Bar Associations, Mr Justice Mittal directed that “no adjournments on any count shall be given by the Presiding Officers”. Bar members were further requested to cooperate. The orders passed for the first time, perhaps, by Mr Justice Mittal during the inspection of the courts falling under the Jind Sessions Division are significant as “they will go a long way in solving the problem of pending cases before the subordinate courts”. In his orders, copies of which have been put up on the notice boards, Mr Justice Mittal ruled: “At the time of inspecting the courts situated in the Jind Sessions Division, it came to my knowledge that a large number of criminal cases at the stage of defence and arguments were pending before the courts of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrates and other Judicial Magistrates....” The Judge added “The matter was discussed in detail with the District and Sessions Judge. Keeping in view the pendency of the old criminal cases for such a long time and in the interest of justice, it was decided that the courts concerned should be directed to dispose of all such criminal matters prior to December 1998 on or before May 31 positively even by preponing the dates with consent, if necessary”. Mr Justice Mittal concluded that “a copy of the order be circulated among the presiding officers where the cases are pending for strict compliance” and an intimidation in this regard should be sent to him on July 20. The Judge, during his visit, also directed the transfer of record pertaining to consigned cases from the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the district courts. In less than 12 hours after the orders were passed, about 11,000 files were shifted. In a related development, power connection was restored to the “litigation shed” within hours of Mr Justice Mittal’s intervention. The shed had been without electricity for the past four months. |
|
NHRC to monitor human trafficking cases Chandigarh, April 11 This was stated by Ms
Justice(retd) Sujata V. Manohar, member of the NHRC, while delivering key note address at a one-day seminar on immoral trafficking in women in India, organised jointly by the
Institute of Social Sciences, Delhi and the Haryana Police here today. She also stressed the need for evolving a legal framework to make trafficking a crime against humanity. She added that apart from the prosecution of traffickers, emphasis should also be laid on proper rehabilitation of the victims. Mr George Mathew, Director of the Institute of Social Sciences, said the problem of trafficking in women could be resolved if the police showed determination. Mr Shankar
Sen, Senior Fellow of the Institute of Social Sciences and a former IPS officer, said though the problem was normally associated with sex trade, trafficking of girls for recruiting as domestic helps or for working as bonded labourers was also a cognisable offence. Mr M. S.
Malik, DGP of Haryana, said though there was no red-light area in Haryana, hotels and petrol pumps were used for running prostitution rackets. Mr K. P. Singh, DIG in the Haryana Police’s CID branch, said although a large number of cases related to trafficking in women are registered every year, there was hardly any case of conviction. A large number of police officers, educationists, social activists and others attended the seminar. |
|
KU defers all
BA-level exams Karnal, April 11 Dr J.S. Kadiyan, Controller of Examinations, said the
examinations had been postponed due to holidays falling between April 11 to April 16. The varsity took decision late last night in consultation with Vice-Chancellor Dr A.K. Chawla. Earlier the Controller of Examinations had ordered the cancellation of Hindi compulsory paper of BA part-II . The examination for the cancelled Hindi paper was held in the evening shift on April 10 itself. Principals of at least three colleges said they had received telephonic message from the Controller of Examinations before 12 noon that the examination for Hindi paper scheduled for evening shift on April 10 should not be held because there were reports that the paper had been leaked out. After- wards, all colleges in Haryana were telephonically informed by 1 pm that the Hindi paper should be held as per schedule. Some colleges received calls from private secretary, Jaiveer Singh of the Controller of Examinations. The secretary had told the Principals that the earlier instructions regarding the postponement of the paper were given because of the rumours that the Hindi paper had been leaked out. The Hindi paper after the latest instructions was held. But the paper was finally cancelled late evening . Enquiries show that the postponement of the examinations on such a large scale was due to the allegations and fear that papers of the coming examinations were also likely to be leaked out. So far three examination papers of the
varsity have faced leakages since the annual examinations started. It is also learnt that following leakages a three member committee of senior faculty members comprising Dr VK Aggarwal, Dean Academic Affairs, Dr Hari Singh Saini, and Dr Chauturvedi had probed the leakage. |
|
Pvt bus operators await CM’s nod Chandigarh, April 11 A Haryana Transport Department official said the proposal, prepared by a committee of ministers headed by Transport Minister, Ashok
Arora, had re-drawn a large number of routes to avoid as far as possible competition between Haryana Roadways and private buses. The employees’ unions of Haryana Roadways are staunchly opposed to opening of routes reserved for the roadways buses to private operators and the committee of ministers is stated to have re-drawn the routes in view of the employees’ resentment over the privatisation move. “Only a few routes, will have parallel service”, a source here claimed. The source said initially private participation was encouraged only on routes that link destinations in a particular district. “The plan is to follow this up by opening up inter-district routes as well, the source said, adding that alternative route plans for all 19 districts had been given in the proposal currently lying with the Chief Minister. Haryana Roadways has 3500 buses and it has been decided not to raise the number of buses since any addition will entail extra expenditure. Since 3500 buses are not adequate for the rising number of commuters, it has been decided to encourage private operators to ply more
buses. |
|
Journalist
gets bail Kaithal, April 11 Mediapersons had condemned the arrest, calling it an attack on the freedom of the Press and had demanded the withdrawal of the case. Mr Virender Singh, president, Haryana Union of Journalists, who visited Kaithal today, and Mr K.B. Pandit, president, Haryana Patrakar Sangh, condemned the arrest of Bhardwaj. |
|
Murder
case solved Yamunanagar, April 11 Sukhpal was also involved in many heinous crimes and had fled from jail. The terrorist said he killed Sukhpal because he had misbehaved with his sister. The police is now searching for Waryam Singh’s brother Avtar Singh, who is also involved in many crimes. Waryam Singh has been sent to judicial lock-up. |
|
Award for biotech scientist Karnal, April 11 The award is given for significant achievements and outstanding scientific leadership in science and technology, contributing to national development. The award carries a sum of Rs 1 lakh a memento, and a citation. Professor Madan’s research in livestock has helped in understanding the effects of heat stress and seasonal changes on growth, development, work production and reproduction in animals and helped in development of technologies and management practices for augmenting reproduction and production. His pioneering research work has been in the area of bovine endocrinology, reproduction, embryo biotechnology and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), including world’s first in-vitro fertilised buffalo calf. Professor Madan has served as the Project Director (animal biotechnology) and Joint Director at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Deputy Director General (animal sciences), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi and Vice-Chancellor, Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Agriculture University, Akola (Maharashtra). |
|
Cleaning
canal in sowing season anti-farmer: Nehra Sirsa, April 11 This was stated by former Haryana Irrigation Minister Jagdesh Nehra here yesterday. Mr Nehra said such a decision would add fuel to fire for the farmers of the state, who were reeling under crisis due to the scarcity of water and electricity. The Congress leader also criticised the ruling government for this decision saying that sowing season was not an appropriate time for cleaning the
canals. He alleged that the government was making things worse for farmers. |
|
MiG crash victim awaits compensation Ambala, April 11 He is awaiting compensation from the Air Force authorities and the district administration, five days after the incident. Mr Gobind Singh’s house was totally destroyed on April 7 when a fighter aircraft of the Ambala airbase crashed into it. Two of his family members sustained serious injuries in the incident. Mr Gobind Singh has submitted a list of damaged goods to the Deputy Commissioner and the Air Force authorities in which he has said that he lost household goods worth Rs 1.25 lakh, including a refrigerator, a TV set, a washing machine, jewellery and Rs 3,500 in the fire caused by the crash. A few politicians and officers had visited the house to express lip sympathy.
|
|
Solar energy park planned Karnal, April 11 Disclosing this here today, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.S. Doon, said the aim of setting up the park was to make people aware regarding the use of solar energy in their homes, besides imparting training to them in the use of solar energy. He said solar television, solar geyser, solar still, solar distilled water project, smokeless chullah and the biogas model would be exbibited in the park for the benefit of consumers. A solar water pump and a solar streetlight have already been set up in the secretariat complex. |
|
Gang of robbers arrested Yamunanagar, April 11 Mr Rajinder Singh, superintendent of Police, Yamunanagar, informed here today that three persons Joginder of Muzaffarnagar (UP), Rajinder of Saharanpur and Sanjay of Yamunanagar had been arrested. He said jewellery worth Rs 82,000 had been recovered from them. The accused have been sent in police remand. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
