Bhiwani, April 22
All three progenies of the “Lals” of Haryana are worth crores of rupees. The declarations made by Mr Ajay Chautala, Mr Surender Singh and Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, while filing their nomination papers from this constituency, show each of them having a few crores in terms of movable and immovable properties.

Congress nominee Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of HPCC chief and former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, has more than Rs 1.23 crore in the form of cash and deposits in various banks. He also owns agricultural land worth Rs 2.18 crore. Mr Bishnoi has also made an advance investment of over Rs 8 crore with companies and individuals. There are however, loans amounting to more than Rs 2 crore payable by him.

The cash and deposits in the name of Mr Ajay Chautala, INLD nominee and son of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, over Rs 25 lakh, are modest compared to Mr Kuldeep. Mr Chautala, however, owns properties, including flats, worth more than Rs 1.28 crore.

Mr Surender Singh, candidate of the Haryana Vikas Party and son of former Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, has more than Rs 31 lakh as cash and deposits in banks and other institutions. His properties, which include two residences in Delhi and one in Gurgaon, are valued at Rs 1.45 crore. He has agricultural land worth Rs 7.5 lakh. He also has shares in cash deposits and properties belonging to family.

Among the wives, Mr Surinder Singh’s wife, Kiran Chaudhary, who is herself a Delhi-based politician, is the richest. She has cash and bank deposits worth over Rs 1.79 crore, has shares worth Rs 13 lakh in various companies and debentures amounting to Rs 1.32 lakh. She owns a house in Delhi which has been valued at Rs 50 lakh. She has LIC policies worth over Rs 56 lakh.

Mr Ajay Chautala’s wife has cash and deposits worth over Rs 28 lakh, while the property owned by her is valued at Rs 1.18 crore. Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi’s wife has Rs 3.76 lakh in cash and deposits.

According to the declarations, Mr Kiran Chaudhary owns diamonds worth Rs 13.51 lakh, while the diamonds of Mr Ajay Chautala’s wife have been valued at Rs 8.5 lakh. The jewellery of Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi’s wife has been valued at Rs 2.5 lakh.

Mr Ajay Chautala’s declaration said he had one Ford car, one Zen car, one jeep and one tractor. Mr Bishnoi said he had one Sonata car and one Santro car. Mr Surender Singh did not declare any automobile.

Chandigarh, April 22
The Haryana Congress has seen a considerable erosion in its ranks in the recent days following the fiasco over the distribution of the party ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. Several prominent leaders have quit the party in protest against the denial of the ticket. Many of them joined the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) today.

Interestingly, most of those leaders who quit the Congress owed their allegiance to the factions opposed to the Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhajan Lal, within the party. It is believed that while allotting the party ticket, the high command did not accommodate Mr Bhajan Lal much. Candidates like Mr Naveen Jindal (Kurukshetra), Mr Jai Prakash Barwala (Hisar) and Mr Avtar Singh Bhadana (Faridabad), who were sponsored by the factions opposed to him were given preference over his nominees.

Among those who quit the party and joined the INLD is Mr Vasdev Sharma, president of the Bhiwani District Congress Committee (Urban). Mr Bhajan Lal's younger son, Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, is contesting from Bhiwani on the Congress ticket. Mr Sharma was made the chief of the district unit when Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda headed the state unit.

Similarly, a former president of the Karnal District Congress Committee (Rural), Mr Kuldip Sharma, has decided to contest the Karnal seat as an Independent candidate to oppose the official candidate of the party, Mr Arvind Sharma. He also owed allegiance to the factions opposed to Mr Bhajan Lal.

A number of former ministers like Mr Chanda Singh, Mr Khurshid Ahmed, Mr Tayyab Hussein and Mr Satbir Singh Malik, who belonged to either the Birender Singh faction or the Hooda faction, have quit the party.

Mrs Shashi Saini, president of the Haryana Mahila Sewa Dal, who contested the 2000 assembly elections on the Congress ticket from Kurukshetra, also joined the INLD today. She was considered close to Mr Hooda.

Another prominent person who quit the Congress and joined the INLD is Mr Maan Singh Baarwa, an important Jat leader in Kurukshetra. He organised an impressive rally a few months ago which was addressed by Mr Birender Singh, a former Haryana Congress President. Similarly, a prominent Rajput leader of the Kurukshetra area, Mr Shyam Singh Rana, who was once close to Mr Barwala, has also quit the Congress.

Chandigarh, April 22
As many as 53 candidates, including Mr Ajay Singh Chautala and Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, sons of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Mr I.D. Swami, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr Avtar Singh Bhadana and Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan filed their nomination papers in Haryana today. With this, a total of 139 candidates are in the fray for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

While Mr Ajay Singh of the INLD filed his papers from Bhiwani, Mr Abhey Singh of the INLD filed the papers from Kurukshetra.

Among the 10, who filed their nominations from Bhiwani are Mr Naina Singh of the INLD, Mr Suraj Pal Singh (Shiv Sena), Mr Rambilas (BJP) and Mr Sanjeev, Mr Bhal Singh, Mr Hawa Singh, Mr Surinder Kumar, Mr Surinder and Mr Dharminder Singh (all Independents).

Seven candidates filed their nominations from Ambala (SC). They included Mr Ashok Kumar (INLD), Mr Rajbir Singh (Haryana Vikas Party), Mr Chander Pal and Mr Naresh Kumar (BSP), Mr Nalin Singh (INC), Mr Jagdish Chand and Mr Ram Sarup (both Independents).

Besides Mr Abhey Singh, Mr Jitender Singh (HVP), Mr Bhupinder Singh and Mr Jagmohan Singh ( both Independents) filed their papers from Kurukshetra.

Eight candidates filed their nomination papers from Karnal. They included Mr I.D. Swami (BJP), Mr Arvind Sharma (INC), Mr Ram Chander Jangra and Mr Ashok Kumar (HVP), Mr Raghu Mal Bhatt (SJP), Ms Premwati (Federal Congress of India), Mr Mahender Singh (CPI Marxist Laninist Liberation Party) and Mr Parmod Kumar (Independent).

Four candidates who filed their papers from Sonepat are Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan and Mr Pardeep Singh Sangwan (BJP), Mr Balbir Singh (Swabhiman Party) and Mr Sant Ram (Independent).

In Rohtak, six candidates who filed their nomination papers are Mr Bhim Singh (INLD), Mr Shish Pal (Samta Party), Mr Ashok (HVP), Mr Chander Kuldeep Singh (Independent), Mr Ajay Singh (All India Forward Bloc) and Mr Inder Singh (INLD).

Five candidates, who filed their papers from Faridabad are Mr Shish Ram (Rashtriya Samaj Sudhar Party), Mr Avtar Singh Bhadana (INC), Mr Ram Chander (BJP), Mr Chander Bhan Sharma (Independent) and Mr Abdul Malik (BSP).

Only two candidates, Mr Om Parkash and Mr Bal Kishan, filed their nomination papers as Independents from Mahendragarh.

Karnal, April 22
The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr I.D. Swami, filed his nomination papers on BJP ticket from Karnal Lok Sabha constituency today. Six other candidates, including those of the Congress and the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP), also filed their nomination papers.

It was exceptional rush at the Civil Secretariat as supporters of all seven candidates, who filed their nominations, came in processions. Apart from Mr Swami, Mr Arvind Sharma of the Congress, Mr Raghu Mal Bhatt of the Samajwadi Party, Mr Mahender Singh of the Communist Party of India (Maley), Ms Premvati of the Federal Congress of India, Mr Ram Chandra Jhangra of the HVP and Mr Parmod as Independent candidate filed their nomination papers.

In an affidavit filed before the returning officer, Mr Swami declared his assets, including that of the dependents to the tune of Rs 60 lakh. As per the details, Mr Swami has bank deposits of Rs 3.60 lakh in his name, Rs 6.60 lakh in his wife’s name, Rs 1 lakh in his dependent Ms Sidhia’s name, bonds of UTI worth Rs 45,800, Rs 2,18,286 in the PPF account, 900 grams of jewellery worth Rs 4.95 lakh, two acres worth Rs 5.40 lakh, one house worth Rs 24 lakh and two vehicles.

Hisar, April 22
The BJP today suffered a big blow when its nominee for the Hisar Lok Sabha seat Jaibeer Godara failed to file nomination papers.

Supporters of the BJP waited patiently at the old government college grounds here for hours together for Mr Godara to turn up. Even a flower-decked vehicle was kept parked there for him to proceed to the office of the returning officer. The disheartened supporters returned to their homes as the 3 pm deadline for filing the papers expired. Tomorrow is the last date for filing nominations.

It is learnt that Mr Godara had gone to Delhi to meet the Election Commission officials after he discovered yesterday that his name did not figure in the electoral rolls. He returned here this morning hoping that the commission would sort things out. But nothing happened.

The party was in for another shock. It had been announced yesterday that former Miss India Yukta Mookhey and some other celebrities would attend the party rally here and accompany Mr Godara for filing his nomination papers. However, neither Ms Mookhey nor any senior party leader turned up at the rally.

It is learnt that the BJP leadership is now looking for a substitute for Mr Godara. Significantly, several local BJP leaders had resigned yesterday in protest against the allotment of party ticket to Mr Godara.

Chandigarh, April 22
The BJP candidate from the Sonepat Lok Sabha constituency, Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan, apprehends that his nomination paper may be rejected by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer of Sonepat, Mr M.R. Anand, on "some trumped-up and frivolous ground".

In a letter written to the Election Commission of India yesterday, Mr Sangwan said the scrutiny of the papers should be held in the presence of the election observers appointed by the commission for the Sonepat constituency. He demanded that in case of a dispute, the final decision on his papers should be taken by the Returning Officer only after seeking clearance from the commission.

He said Mr Anand was posted Deputy Commissioner of Sonepat a few days before the code of conduct came into force. He alleged that the antecedents of Mr Anand would show that he "was not capable of discharging his duties as Returning Officer in a fair and impartial manner".

He claimed that a court of law had found Mr Anand to be "unfit" to act as Presiding Officer over judicial cases.

Mr Sangwan alleged that while posted as the SDO (Civil) in Gurgaon district during the previous regime of Mr Om Prakash Chautala in 1991, Mr Anand had illegally transferred land categorised as "shamlat deh" (village common land) to certain individuals. His action was challenged before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The court observed in its judgment that "counsel for the state of Haryana was directed to give the name of the SDO (Civil) and his present place of posting, who ordered mutation... But the same has not been supplied... It can be taken that the attempt is being made to shield the erring revenue officials.

"The office is directed to send a copy of the judgment to the Chief Secretary, Haryana, who is directed to take an appropriate action against the erring officials and record so in their annual confidential reports. The SDO (Civil), who ordered for sanctioning mutation, if not retired, be not entrusted with any judicial work."

Rohtak, April 22
Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today warned his party men against trying to sabotage election campaigns of Indian National Lok Dal candidates, saying that he would not tolerate indiscipline.

Addressing a public meeting here before the INLD nominee, Maj-Gen Bhim Singh Suhag (retd) filed his nomination papers, Mr Chautala accused the Independent legislator from Jhajjar, Mr Daryav Singh, who is backing the INLD government, of opposing the party nominee at the behest of the BJP nominee.

Mr Chautala said he was aware of the activities of similar elements and he knew how to tackle them. He said such elements would not be spared.

Mr Chautala also came down heavily on those who were describing General Suhag as a weak candidate, saying that in the 1999 poll, too, people had billed Capt Inder Singh as a weak candidate but he had won by a big margin. “If need be, I will camp for the rest of the campaigning period in Rohtak and ensure General Suhag’s victory”, he added.

Sirsa, April 22
The Congress will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, claimed Haryana Congress president, Bhajan Lal, while addressing a gathering and later a press conference here today.

He also accompanied the Congress candidate from Sirsa reserved parliamentary constituency, Mr Atma Singh Gill, when he filed his nomination papers.

Addressing a gathering at the local Congress Bhavan, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Chautala government was a total failure. He said the people of Haryana were sick of them.

He said INLD candidates would face defeat in Haryana while Congress candidates would win.

Later, he also addressed a press conference in the local Bar room. Replying to a question regarding the infighting in the Congress at Karnal, he said the Congress was a big family and differences were bound to arise.

He said the failure to get ticket should not cause rebellion. The party would take an appropriate action in this connection.

When asked about the absence of some prominent Congress leaders from Sirsa in today’s programme, Mr Bhajan Lal said they were busy campaigning for Congress candidates elsewhere and would join the campaign for the local candidate soon.

When reminded of his claim of toppling the Chautala government within six months after becoming the Haryana Congress president, Mr Bhajan Lal said he could do it in three months but he didn’t want to use his formula till the appropriate time came.

Mrs Surjeet Kaur, wife of Congress candidate Atma Singh Gill, also filed the nominations as a covering candidate.

According to the assets declaration made by Mr Atma Singh Gill, he owns Rs 21,714 and bank, agriculture land worth Rs 8.43 lakh a house worth Rs 3 lakh.

Faridabad, April 22
Mr Ram Chander Bainda, the outgoing MP and BJP nominee, and Mr Avtar Singh Bhadana, Congress candidate from here, filed their nomination papers for the Faridabad Lok Sabha seat here today.

Both candidates were accompanied by their supporters when they reached the office of the district returning officer.

Addressing party activists before submitting his papers, Mr Bainda claimed the NDA would emerge more stronger in these elections. He said the people would consider the work done by the Vajpayee government and him in the constituency. He was confident that the voters would send him to Parliament for the fourth time in a row. He said he had utilised the maximum part of the funds received as part of the MP’s quota for various development projects in the constituency. He claimed there was hardly any village or area in the constituency which had not been benefitted by the development projects taken up by him in the past about eight years.

Mr Bhadana, speaking at a meeting organised in Sector 19 after filing his nomination, said Ms Sonia Gandhi had made him the party candidate from here and, if elected he would try to come up to the expectations of the party president and the people of the area. He said there was no infighting in the party over the allotment of the ticket to him.

Candidates of the INLD and the HVP will file their nomination papers tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) has announced to field Mr Devender Bhadhana as its candidate from here.

Bhiwani, April 22
The Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) has got a major relief in the wake of an Election Commission’s order allowing the party to retain its symbol of boy and girl. The order, dated April 21, said the party could use the symbol for its candidates in all the Lok Sabha constituencies of Haryana.

Kurukshetra, April 22
The Haryana State Sikh Forum (HSSF) has praised the Central Sikh Forum for deciding not to vote for the Congress in Lok Sabha Election.

Chandigarh, April 22
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking Z category security for himself on the premise that he faces grave threat to his life.

In his application, he has claimed that since the son of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is facing his son in the Bhiwani Lok Sabha constituency he is not sure if he would be protected properly during his visits to various parts of the state.

He has also pointed out that the wife of Haryana Director General of Police is also a nominee of the ruling party from Sonepat seat.

Claiming that the present government has freed many undertrials from jails and who are freely roaming around, Mr Bansi Lal has said that in order to secure his life, Z category security be provided to him.

Hisar, April 22
Ten persons were injured when a minor dispute between two groups of farmers in Ladwa village, 10 km from here, turned violent.

The hostility had arisen over a common passage to the fields of the two groups. Yesterday, one group reportedly armed with weapons and in a pre-planned manner attacked the rival group inflicting injuries on 10 persons in their fields.

Yamunanagar, April 22
Twenty two students of DAV Dental College here fell sick of gastroenteritis creating a peculiar situation here. It is reported that on Tuesday night girl students went to the hostel mess for dinner and some had fruit custard.

Yesterday morning some students started vomiting and had loose motions.

Dr B.R. Chetal, Principal of the college, immediately admitted the affected girls to Maharishi Dayanand & General Hospital for first-aid. The Principal informed newspersons that eight girls were given drip and 14 were given oral medicine treatment.