 |
|
Congress not averse to alliances in UP, says Sonia
Encroachments removed on Kalka-Shimla highway March 6 gazetted
holiday in HP |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
No change in datesheets of school exams 
|
|
Congress not averse to alliances in UP, says Sonia Mandi, March 4 Ms Gandhi, who was talking to mediapersons outside the Circuit House here, said, “We are not averse to alliances with like-minded parties, but in the event of their failure, the Congress, of its own, will contest all seats in Uttar Pradesh. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party have already ruled out the possibility of entering into any alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and it is clear that the Congress will field its candidates on all seats in UP. Replying to a question, she said “corruption” in the NDA government would be one of the main issues in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and added that, “I do not know whether we would make communalism an election issue.” When a reporter asked if she was not endangering her life by walking into crowds and talking to people, defying security norms, she said, “I am not afraid. One has to take risks in public life by mixing with the people.” Ms Gandhi said she was overwhelmed by her reception and the “tremendous love” showered up on her during her roadshow in the state. She covered a stretch of about 175 km in the rural areas during the first leg of her roadshow yesterday and stayed at the local Circuit House last night. She was the lone occupant there. The Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, his colleagues and Congress leaders accompanying her stayed elsewhere in the town. She was accompanied by the Chief Minister, state Congress President, Ms Vidya Stokes, the in charge of party affairs in Himachal Pradesh, Mr Ashok Gehlot, an AICC spokesman, Mr Anand Sharma, former Union Minister, Ms Shelja Sharma, and Congress leaders of Himachal Pradesh. Despite their best efforts to hide factionalism within the Congress, the rift and rivalries in the party remained conspicuous. Ms Gandhi today started from Mandi the 140 km-long second leg of her roadshow covering Hamirpur and Una districts. On way she stopped at Nerchowk and Sundernagar for a while where crowds had assembled to have a glimpse of her. She is covering three of the four parliamentary constituencies of Himachal Pradesh which are known as the strongholds of the BJP. During the previous elections the BJP had won three seats from Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur while the fourth seat of Shimla had gone to the HVC, alliance partner of the BJP. Now the MP of the HVC, Mr Dhani Ram Shandil, has joined the Congress. The list of the Congress candidates from Himachal Pradesh is likely to be released tomorrow after a meeting of the state leaders with the Congress high command, it is reliably learnt. The roadshow left a trail of disappointment among the people at several of places between Ghatta and Bilaspur in the district. The large rural gatherings were keen to listen to Ms Gandhi. All that she did in most of the places was mere “waving of her hand” as her car slowed down. Even in Mandi town, a gathering of 5,000-strong went home disappointed as Ms Gandhi did not stop here and straightway went to the Circuit House. Similarly, the press conference for which the PRO had extended an invitation to the electronic and the print media was a flop. Mediapersons were held up at the gate of the Circuit House for about 30 minutes. The SPG, however, was dictating things. Finally, Ms Gandhi came out to the gate for less than two minutes and left the scene abruptly while mediapersons were still posing questions. She replied to only three questions. SUNDERNAGAR: Ms Sonia Gandhi, while addressing a gathering at Jawahar Park here today, appealed to the people to vote for the Congress in forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. She said the policies of the NDA government had proved to be wrong and were affecting the development of country adversely. Ms Gandhi appealed to the voters to exercise their right to vote discriminatingly. She said she had visited many states during the past few days and found that the public would vote for a change just like it did in Himachal Pradesh. The AICC President reached here at 10.10 am and remained here for about 15 minutes. She was welcomed by the local MLA, Mr Sohan Lal Thakur and other Congressmen. After starting from Mandi, she halted at Bhangrotu and left for the next destination. Kanaid, about 5 km from here, where she was received by the MLA, Nachan, Mr Tek Chand Dogra. The public had gathered on both sides of the National Highway here. Ms Gandhi stopped and interacted with the gathering and listened to people’s grievances. She asked a youth, Raju (27), who had met with an accident, how he was injured. Mr Lahku Ram told Ms Gandhi that the PWD department had retired him prior to the age of superannuation and it was not paying any pension to him. Ms Gandhi directed Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, to take immediate action in the matter. She also asked Mr Tek Chand Dogra, MLA, to look into the problem. From Sundernagar, Ms Gandhi travelled back up to Ner Chowk where people were waiting for her. She did not stop there and left for Bhambla in Hamirpur. Ms Gandhi addressed a gathering at Sundernagar. Earlier Sundernagar was not included in the roadshow, but it was later on. There was no arrangement to address the public, but when Ms Gandhi desired to address the public, a mike was arranged. Many Congress leaders were not allowed by SPG to go into the prohibited areas. HAMIRPUR: Ms Gandhi on Thursday gave a clarion call to the people to reject the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections for its failure to deal with unemployment, farmers’ and women’s problems and the issue of price rise. In her brief speech at Jahoo during her roadshow on Thursday morning, she said women were facing many problems due to a heavy rise in the prices of various commodities and they were all set to vote for the Congress in the next Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, she entered Jahoo (Hamirpur) from Bhambla (Mandi) during her daylong roadshow. She alighted from her car and mingled with people, especially women. She was accompanied by Ashok Gehlot, former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Kumari Shailja, former MP, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mrs Vidya Stokes, Himachal Pradesh Congress chief, Mr Anand Sharma, spokesman for the Congress, and other senior leaders. State Industries Minister, Ram Lal Thakur and MLA and secretary of the All India-Congress Committee Anita Verma received Ms Gandhi at Jahoo. At Jahoo, after addressing the people, she straightaway went to the crowd and mingled with women. She also greeted mediapersons, who were standing in a corner of the dais where the function was held. From Jahoo, she reached Bhota via Bhareri and Bhoranj. She also addressed the public at Bhareri for a while. At Bhareri, she criticised the BJP for its “anti people” policies. At Bhota, Congress workers led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhoo, MLA and president of the Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress, gave her a rousing reception. She also interacted with Mr Sukhoo and other Congress leaders and exchanged pleasantries with the crowd standing on the western side of the road. UNA: On the last leg of her two-day roadshow, Ms Gandhi arrived on Thursday at Lathiani village, 45 km from here. Ms Gandhi reached by road at Lathiani at 3.50 pm and passed through Lathiani Bazar waving towards men, women and children, standing on both sides of the road. Though the district unit of the party failed to collect a big crowd at Lathiani, yet women outnumbered men who came to the venue of the meeting in their traditional dress. Ms Gandhi accepted the greetings of the people while standing in her car. Just a few kilometres away from Lathiani, at Ghatti village, a temporary helipad was made and a few hundred people were there to welcome Ms Gandhi. Before boarding the helicopter, she mingled with the people and talked to some of them. She also asked about their welfare. |
|
Encroachments removed on Kalka-Shimla highway Kumarhatti, March 4 Mr Raghav said stern action would be taken against violators. The administration was also looking for a permanent solution to the ever-increasing problem of truck parking at Parwanoo. On an average around 300 trucks remain parked on road there, he said. Regarding slum dwellers’ problem in Parwanoo, he said it was also planned to provide residential area to slum dwellers. |
|
March 6 gazetted
holiday in HP Shimla, March 4 All offices of the government, various boards, corporations and educational institutions will remain closed. It will also be a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. As such offices of nationalised banks and insurance companies will also remain closed. |
|
No change in datesheets of school exams Kangra, March 4 Ms Anju Pathak, spokesperson for education board, said here today in a statement that the Hindi paper for Class VIII and the English paper for Class X would be held as per schedule on March 6, despite it being Holy as declared by the state government. |
|
Ex-servicemen cell gets new convener Shimla, March 4 |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
