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Walkout in House
over tapes
Dhumal for CBI probe into Katwal tapes Challan filed against
Katwal, 2 others |
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BJP activists burn Virbhadra’s effigy No-confidence motion aborted
Team inspects stone crushers HP House passes university amendment Bill
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Walkout
in House over tapes Shimla, December 15 The BJP members, led by Mr Ravinder Ravi and Dr Rajiv Bindal, were on their legs after obituary references to O.C. Verma, a former MLA, who died last month. They demanded that their adjournment motions be taken up immediately. Mr Gangu Ram, the Speaker, said he had received six adjournment motions and these were under his consideration. Dissatisfied with his reply, the BJP members, along with Mr Mohinder Singh of the Him Lok Tantrik Morcha, started raising slogans. The members of the treasury benches raised counter slogans and nothing could be heard in the din. Mr Ravinder Ravi was seen displaying a banner with slogans written on it. When efforts to restore order failed, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes. The BJP members continued with slogan raising when the House reassembled but the speaker proceeded with the question hour. Later, the protesting members walked into the well and tried to disrupt the proceedings. Finally, they walked out of the House. Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Leader of the BJP, did not enter the well but joined the walkout. Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister, condemned the “undemocratic” behaviour of the BJP and said the walkout was pre-planned to divert attention from the vigilance case against Mr S.M. Katwal, Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Board, the challan against whom had been put in the court of Special Judge, Hamirpur, today. The Chief Minister claimed that there was sufficient evidence to show that irregularities in the board were being committed under the patronage and connivance of Professor Dhumal. Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Minister for Cooperatives whose conversation had allegedly been recorded in the audio tape, said Mr Katwal had pressurised him to revolt against Mr Virbhadra Singh. He said the BJP was demanding a CBI probe now but it did not order any inquiry when four ministers of the Dhumal government alleged corruption and nepotism in the recruitment made by the board. Mr Singhi Ram, Civil Supplies Minister, denied having recommended any candidate to Mr
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Dhumal for CBI probe into Katwal tapes Shimla, December 15 Addressing a press conference after his party staged a walkout in the Vidhan Sabha, he said an impartial probe into the matter would not be possible as long as Mr Virbhadra Singh and two other ministers whose names figured in the tape continued in office of the Chief Minister. The state investigating agencies, which functioned under the Chief Minister, would be under constant pressure as the conversation of Mr Virbhadra Singh figured in the tape. The only other alternative was that an independent agency like the CBI be asked to inquire into the matter. He said it was for this reason that BJP members had given notices for adjournment motions so that the issue could be discussed immediately. However, the Speaker did not admit the motions, leaving the members with no alternative but to stage a protest in the House. He said Mr
S.M. Katwal, had submitted an audio cassette on April 6 to Mr Arvind Kaul, the then Additional Chief Secretary but it was not made part of the evidence. About a month ago, he requested the vigilance authorities to include the tape in the evidence and also to interrogate Mr Virbhadra Singh. Finally, he gave a week’s notice after which the tape was released. He said Mr Virbhadra Singh had moral right to criticise the BJP as he had himself given 2,912 jobs in gross violation of rules and regulation without financial sanction and by passing the employment exchange. He said the rules of business for the board were to be framed in due course. It was no big issue as the rules of business of the state Public Service Commission, which was set up in 1972, were framed by his government in as late as 1999. He maintained that the record pertaining to selections challenged in court were retained. |
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Challan filed against
Katwal, 2 others Hamirpur, December 15 The challan was filed under Sections 109, 193, 201, 217, 218, 419, 420, 465, 468, 471, 12B of the IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr R.S. Negi, SP (Enforcement), Dharamsala, confirmed that a challan was filed in the court of Special Judge at Hamirpur. It was alleged that Narain Singh had appeared in the vidya upasak examination in place of his brother Jagat Ram. The SIT sleuths had raided the office and residence of the former Chairman of the board in the second week of March, 2003, and had seized many records on the basis of which the challan was put up against Mr. Katwal and others. |
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BJP activists burn Virbhadra’s effigy Hamirpur, December 15 Earlier, they held a procession, carrying flags and placards, which passed through the main bazar. The protesters raised anti-government and anti-Chief Minister slogans. Led by Mr Pyere Lal Sharma, district BJP chief and other senior district-level leaders sat on a dharna for three hours at chowk. The BJP workers demanded CBI probe into the Katwal tape controversy. They demanded that Mr Virbhadra Singh and two of his ministers should immediately resign from their posts in view of the release of the tape by Mr Katwal. The BJP leaders also met the district administration and handed over a memorandum for forwarding the same to Himachal Governor. The memorandum demanded the sacking of the Chief Minister and two ministers. CHAMBA: Activists of the district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party took out a protest march in the main bazars of the town and burnt an effigy of Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, on a call given by state unit of the BJP to register their protest against the recent tape scandal in which certain Congress ministers, including Chief Minister had sought favours from Mr Katwal. The protest march, which was led by Mrs Ranu Chadha, district president of the BJP, sought the suspension of the Chief Minister. The protesters flayed the double standards of the Congress. |
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No-confidence motion aborted Mandi, December 15 Eight members representing the BJP and HVC resolved their differences and decided not to hand over the parishad to the Congress which had three members only. This happened reportedly due to the intervention of the BJP MP, Mr Maheshwar Singh, who specially rushed here last evening to solve the crisis. Later, Mrs Sheela told mediapersons that the grievances highlighted by the members would be redressed within a week and added that the cleanliness of the town would be initiated on a war-footing. |
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Heavy snow, region shivers
under cold wave Shimla, December 15 The Hatoo peak, over-looking Narkanda, had received 35 cm of snow by the afternoon. The nearby tourist resort of Kufri had 15 cm and Fagu 20 cm of snow. Kiair, Kharapathar and Chanshal range in Rohru wore a more thick white blanket. The state capital and its surrounding areas were lashed by hailstorm in the afternoon. The hills remained engulfed in thick fog. Traffic moved at snail’s pace due to poor visibility. The upper areas of Shimla district and Kinnaur were cut off as snow blocked the Hindustan-Tibet road at various points. The buses bound for Rampur were diverted via Basantpur. The various link roads in upper Shimla beyond Chhrabra were also blocked. MANALI: The entire region experienced the second snowfall of the session, while the lower parts of the region were lashed by rain. The snowfall started this afternoon renewing the cold wave in the region. The tourists enjoyed the snowfall. Normal life was partially affected in the upper Manali region by the snowfall as it was difficult for the vehicles to move. Icy winds, which lashed the region throughout the day, further intensified the cold wave. The 13,050 ft high Rohtang pass, gateway to Lahaul-Spiti, Pir Panjal range, Bhrighu slopes Hemta pass and Chander Khani pass have also been experiencing heavy snowfall since Sunday. The famous ski slopes of the Solang Valley Kathi, Gulaba and Dhundi also experienced fresh snow. HAMIRPUR:
Various parts of the district were lashed by heavy rains preceded by sharp winds this morning. The rain brought down the temperature. However, farmers were happy over the rains which according to them were beneficial for the growth of rabi crops. MANDI:
Higher reaches of the region had a heavy snowfall today. It started snowing around mid-night and was still continuing high mountains were under a thick sheet of snow. It was raining in the lower reaches. Entire region was in the grip of a severe cold wave. The rain and snow were stated to be beneficial for wheat, vegetable and fruit crops. KUMARHATTI:
The intermittent rain throughout the day today brought much-needed relief to farmers of region who had not sown the rabi crops, mainly wheat, on time for want of water in the fourth year in a row. Today’s rain was joy for farmers who were set to sow the late varieties of wheat like HS-295, HPW-42, 2380 and 2338. The region experienced 10.5 mm downpour today, ending the dry spell, said Ms Parminder Kaur Babeja, Agro-Meteorological scientist in the soil department, Dr Y.S. Parmar University. The rain besides increasing moisture content in atmosphere, would benefit the rabi and fruit crops, she said. The maximum temperature nose-dived to 13°C today with minimum-recorded at 6.5°C. Meanwhile the town and its surrounding area of Barog and Dagshai experienced sleet in evening. KULU:
The constant rain in the lower parts of this district and snow on the higher reaches intensified the cold wave gripping this part of the region today. The Mount mountain range, including the Bijli Mahadev, Kais Dhar and Peej, had snow fall since early morning today. The heavy rains caused temporary blockade of roads to interior parts of this district. The Jagson Airlines fight from Delhi to Kulu was diverted to Chandigarh due to the rains.
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Team inspects stone crushers Hamirpur, December 15 Mr B.R. Kaundel, SDM, Hamirpur, and District Mining Officer, accompanied the team as one of its local members. There are nine stone crushers operating in the district, out of which six are functioning at present. The team was constituted by the Himachal Pradesh High Court to suggest ways and means to improve the working of the crushers in the state and thereby giving a new life to the environment of the state. A group of women hailing from Masyana village met the team at the Kunah Khad site on the Hamirpur-Dhaned road, where Jagdamba stone crusher is located. Ladies registered their complaints with the team and told the members that they have been suffering since the start of crusher in the khad. They said the crusher was polluting atmosphere.
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HP House passes university amendment Bill Shimla, December 15 The ordinance, tabled by the state Education Minister, Ms Asha Kumari, was adopted by a voice vote as the Opposition had earlier staged a walkout on the Katwal tape issue. The ordinance had been promulgated by Governor V.S. Kokje on September 9 this year to order an inquiry, in his capacity as Chancellor of the university, into allegations of financial and administrative irregularities by a former HPU Vice-Chancellor, Prof S.D. Sharma. — UNI
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Minor Dalit
raped Nahan, December 15
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Bridge
declared unsafe
Shimla, December 15
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