BSP nominee shot at
Rohtak, March 19
Mr Lokendra, Bahujan Samaj Party nominee from the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, was seriously injured when unidentified miscreants shot at him from point-blank range here late last night.

Yamunanagar, March 19
The Haryana Vikas Party has ruled out the possibility of an alliance with any political party in Haryana, Mr Bansi Lal, Haryana Vikas Party supremo, while addressing a public meeting at Damla village near here today afternoon said the BJP wanted an alliance with his party but there was no question of it because the BJP had lost its credibility. Mr Bansi Lal stated that the HVP had an alliance with the BJP in 1996 but the party had betrayed them in 1999 by withdrawing support.

He criticised Ms Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress, and said he would not tolerate a foreign citizen becoming Prime Minister of the country. He said there was no question of Congress gaining in Haryana as there was a vertical split in the party.

Mr Bansi Lal also criticised Chautala government and said the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated.

He announced that Mr Jatinder Singh Kaka would be the HVP nominee from Kurukshetra Parliamentary constituency.

KURUKSHETRA: Mr Bansi Lal claimed that the HVP would win the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. He was talking to mediapersons at Pipli, 5 km from here, yesterday after returning from Guhla-Cheeka, 50 km from here.

Kaithal, March 19
The proposed “Samman” rally of the BKU will now be held at Kandela on March21 and not on March 22 in Jind as announced earlier.

The decision was taken at a state-level meeting of the BKU presided over by Ghasi Ram Nain and held at Jawahar Park here. Addressing BKU activists the state unit president, Mr Ghasi Ram Nain, said farmers from all over the state would participate in the March 21 rally.

He said the decision regarding the support to any political party and policy to be adopted in the coming Lok Sabha poll would also be taken at that meeting. He also hinted that the BKU may extend support to the party which supported them during the Kandela agitation. He criticised Chief Minister Mr Om Parkash Chautala for his dictatorial attitude towards the farmers. He said by his acts Mr Chautala had proved beyond any doubt that he was anti-farmer and he had forgotten the support extended to him by the BKU during the last elections.

Ambala, March 19
With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, it is going to be an extremely busy time for politicians eager to score brownie points with voters.

Campaigning will keep politicians on their toes and they will have to dress up in a manner which will go down well with the electorate. Also, the dress should be comfortable since the hot summer months are going to sap their energy.

Although, it is hardwork and not good dresses alone which will ensure victory at the hustings, politicians still require to appeal to the voters. A favourite for most political activists is the `traditional spotless white kurta-pyjama.

Ms Vandana of the National Institute of Fashion Design, Ambala, observed that cotton was the preferred cloth. Lightweight khadi cotton is likely to be popular. Besides white, light shades like beige, pista green, pale blue, grey and brown may find takers among politicians.

An Ambala-based politician seems to have found a way out for maintaining the fresh look throughout the day. He has several sets of white cotton kurta-pyjama. He frequently changes clothes to ensure that he has a `clean’ look.

During the next couple of weeks, sweat and dust is going to spoil the look within a few minutes of hitting the campaign path. So, it is advisable to have spare clothes of exactly the same kind handy. Although, it is not necessary to have the same look throughout the campaigning, uniformity in clothing is suggested by seasoned politicians.

For the feet, it is best to wear sports shoes as it is comfortable during long padyatras. Eventhough Kolhapuris or Mojaris look good with kurta-pyjama, a politician needs to trade looks for comfort.

An important accessory these days are the trendy sunglasses. Rayban aviator goggles are common and young politicians are experimenting with other colours too. Slim sunglasses seem to be popular among politicians.

Chandigarh, March 19
The Congress is unlikely to finalise its candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in Haryana before March 25, according to sources in the party.

The screening committee, appointed by AICC President Sonia Gandhi, to shortlist the candidates for the party ticket in Haryana under the chairmanship of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh, could not meet in Delhi today. The meeting had to be postponed because Mr Arjun Singh was preoccupied.

The meetings of the committee were postponed twice earlier also. The sources say Mr Arjun Singh, a veteran party leader, has been given many assignments. Since the elections in Haryana will be held in the last lap, the state is not on his priority list yet.

The sources say the screening committee will not be able to meet before March 21. Meanwhile, senior Haryana Congress leaders, Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who are also members of the committee, are camping in Delhi so as to participate in its meeting at short notice.

Panipat, March 19
Taking note of the order passed by the Election Commission after 10 days, the Haryana Government today began removing the hoardings installed on the National highway passing through Panipat, Karnal and Ambala.

The Election Commission had issued an order for the immediate removal of ‘India Shining’ and other state-sponsored propaganda advertisements and hoardings at several places. The commission had ordered that the display of such advertisements was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Since issuing of new advertisements was prohibited under the code, even continued display of such material was also a violation of the code, the commission had ordered.

Employees of the Haryana Government removed hoardings this afternoon from the GT Road passing through the middle of the town and several other places in the district. However, nothing was done to erase the messages highlighting the achievements of the Chautala government from the walls outside the various private and government buildings besides glowsign boards. Posters of the Haryana Chief Minister had been pasted at various places recently highlighting his achievements.

Fatehabad, March 19
Politicians from Punjab province of Pakistan do not find any difference between the people, their dialect, towns, villages, buildings and landscapes of their province and those here, and say that had they been made to cross the border blindfolded, they would not have been able to tell that they were in a different country. The only difference they found was that of the language used on milestones. This is the view of three prominent politicians of Punjab province, who are here on a private visit.

The politicians — Chowdhary Nazar Hussain Gondal, a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly from Jhelum and Parliamentary Secretary for Education in the Punjab Provincial Government, Mr Javaid Iqbal Khan Khichi, a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly from Mailsi and Parliamentary Secretary for Forest, and Major Hafiz Asghar Hayat Kalyar (retd), Adviser to the Chief Minister of Punjab province. They are here on an invitation of Mr Dev Raj Batra, a local philanthropist, his nephew Mr Chander Parkash Batra and Mr Ramesh Sachdeva. The Batras had migrated here in 1947 from Mailsi tehsil of Punjab province and had since been maintaining good relations with Mr Khichi and his family.

Talking to this correspondent here on Wednesday, they said they were overwhelmed by the hospitality they had been receiving here ever since they arrived on Monday night. Speaking in the Sirayaki (Multani) dialect, also spoken by the local Punjabi community, the three Pakistani leaders, belonging to the ruling Muslim League, they had been flooded with invitations for breakfast, lunch and dinner from local people.

Major Kalyar said looking at the affection peoples of both countries had for each other, one wondered what made the two countries enter bloody conflicts on several occasions. He said people in Pakistan had welcomed the recent peace initiatives pursued by leaders of the two countries and after arriving here they felt that the people here too shared the same feelings. He stressed the need for better people-to-people relations between the two countries. He advocated mutual goodwill tours of businessmen, advocates, professionals, industrialists, labourers and other sections from the two countries.

He said they had come here with a message that the people of Pakistan wanted peace with India.

Chowdhary Gondal said on his way here from New Delhi he saw several high and senior secondary schools in Haryana villages. He said they found this part of India much more advanced than Pakistan on this count. Some villages in Pakistan do have primary schools, but high and senior secondary schools in villages are not a common sight.

Pakistan was much ahead of India regarding the public transport system, said Mr Khichi. He said they had motorways which could be compared with the best in the world. He said the status of women had improved considerably in their country and women had 33 per cent reservation on the tehsil and district councils and in the provincials and national assemblies.

New Delhi, March 19
The European Union’s mid-term review mission has lauded the Haryana Community Forestry Project for the successful implementation of the scheme and providing benefit to the village communities.

The report released here yesterday by D.S. Dhesi, Commissioner, Forests, Haryana, said: “The Review Commission has concluded that the project is managed to a high standard and is making significant contribution to the environment amelioration through its tree planting activities.”

For the nine-year Rs 126-crore project has been funded by a grant of Euro 23 million by the European Union and covers 300 villages in 10 districts of the state, the report said.

The report said of the 300 villages 288 villages had so far been included in the project.

Hisar, March 19
The election to the post of the chairman of the local municipal council, which was to be held yesterday, has been postponed by the Returning Officer-cum-SDM, Mr Vinay Kumar.

He said here yesterday that the election had been postponed on the direction of the Commissioner and Secretary of the Local Bodies Department. The fresh date for the election would be announced later. He said the local authorities had sought directions from the Commissioner and the Secretary of the department on this issue. The department found that the notice, which was issued to councillors for election, was wrong on technical grounds.

Hisar, March 19
The Judicial Magistrate, Mr Parveen Kumar, yesterday remanded another eunuch in judicial custody for 14 days in connection with a castration case. The court had earlier sent an eunuch and her associate to judicial custody in this connection.

The police produced eunuch Chameli, a resident of Faridkot, in the court last evening after arresting her from Punjab. The court had already remanded Jhanjhar and her associate Jaggi, both residents of Budhladha, in judicial custody on March 13. The court had also issued arrest warrants against Chameli, Darshan and a doctor on that day.

Mr Bal Krishan, a resident of nearby Mangali village, had alleged that Jhanjhar, Darshan and Jaggi had allegedly castrated him with the help of Dr K.K. Shrivastva, a resident of Farukhabad in Uttar Pardesh, after kidnapping him from his village last year. After this, they sold him to Chameli for Rs 85,000.

Ambala, March 19
The Ambala city civil hospital authorities are worried about the security of a new born child whose mentally retarded mother ran away from the hospital, abandoning the child.

The woman delivered a baby boy on the Ambala-Chandigarh road near Ambala city on March 15 around midnight. Two police constables passing by brought the male child and the mother to the civil hospital in a gypsy.

The woman stayed in the hospital for two days and later disappeared. She introduced herself as Ram Piyari, a resident of Lalru. Later, the police found the address given by the woman was incorrect.

Staff nurses have been taking care of the child. He has been named as Shivam.

Kurukshetra, March 19
About three lakh pilgrims took a holy dip today in Sarswati Tirtha on the occasion of Chaitra Chaudas Fair and performed pind-dan for their ancesstors at Pehowa 25 km from here. The District Administration has made eleborate arrangements for the security of the pilgrims.

The pilgrims started coming early in the morning.

The mela administrator, Mr Prem Chand, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Nripjeet Singh, said that 650 police and Home Guard Jawans had been put on duty for the safety of the pilgrims.