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Centre
bound to fund HP, Shanta
Kumar misused MP’s fund: Rathore
BJP,
Cong step up campaign |
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BJP govt patronised
corruption, says CM BJP
seeks CM’s resignation BJP
humiliating OBC officers, alleges Cong Cong,
BJP lodge counter-complaints Dissidents
to work for BJP candidates Cong
ignored farmers: BJP Congress
spreading misinformation: Dhumal PAN
card, driving licence can fill in for photo identity card 25
left in fray after scrutiny Poll
papers of 11 found in order Taking
Sanawarians beyond rock
'n' roll Awareness on organ transplants stressed There are stories where a pet dog has sacrificed life for saving its master, but a man sacrificing his life for his dog are rare. Delay
in passport issuance irks residents The delay in the issuance of passports from the Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh, has led to resentment among applicants here. The applicants complained that the passport office website did not give any status information. Dharamsala, April 25 Hundreds of Tibetans, including monks, nuns and students, along with their foreign supporters, took out a protest march here today.
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Centre bound to fund HP, says Congress Mandi, April 25 Addressing a news conference, he said Himachal was one of many other states where the government in power was different from that of the Centre and added that it was the constitutional duty of the Central Government to finance such states and ensure their equal development. He reminded the BJP leaders that the Centre was funding Himachal Pradesh under a constitutional obligation and not as a matter of favour. “It is not the BJP which was giving grants to the Congress government in Himachal”, he remarked. Mr Rauthor claimed that the party had emerged stronger with the merger of the HVC and readmission of the expelled Congress men in the party and exuded confidence that the Congress was poised to win all four seats. Ms Sudha Joshi, AICC observer-cum-coordinator, said during the past five decades the country had made
progress during the tenure of the successive Congress government at the Centre. The claim of the NDA government that it did everything during its short tenure was ridiculous, she said. She described the foreign origin issue against Mrs Sonia Gandhi as “absurd and irrational”. In a democracy such issues should not be raised as the mandate of the people was supreme, she maintained. |
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Shanta Kumar misused MP’s fund: Rathore Dharamsala, April 25 The Congress general secretary, who was here in connection with setting up of a media centre for the Kangra parliamentary seat, said that uncertainty in the BJP can be gauged from the fact that the Prime Minister asked Mr Ram Jethmalani not to contest against him. He also criticised the BJP for the saree-distribution stampede in Lucknow and demanded action against Mr Vajpayee. He said that return of the HVC in the Congress fold had strengthened the Congress which now would win all four seats in the state. He said the MP local Area Development Fund was misused by Mr Shanta Kumar during the last five years. Mr Rathore said that the money was handed over to BJP workers close to the former minister and there were allegations of corruption. He said similar complaints were got about funds collected for Vivekanand Medical Research Trust. He said all these funds were people’s money and Mr Shanta Kumar should have issued a white paper on the allocation of MPLAD funds and asked for an audit by the CAG. He also blamed Mr Shanta Kumar for forgetting promises made to people of Kangra and Chamba of railway projects, employment generation programmes, industrial development of the area and welfare projects for the poor people of the area. |
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No leader can match Vajpayee: Shanta Shimla, April 25 He said it was “Vajpayee versus none” in the elections and the Congress had been forced to withdraw the name of Congress President Sonia Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate as the opposition parties were wary of projecting any leader as the prospective Prime Minister. He lashed out at the Chief Minister for alleging discrimination by the Centre in the allocation of funds and said that Rs 183 crore had been released to Himachal under various Centrally-sponsored schemes during the past three weeks. He lambasted State Industries Minister Ram Lal Thakur for describing the Prime Minister as “Langara” and said it did not behove him to use such a language for an esteemed leader. He also lashed out at Congress leader for raising the controversy over the Vivekanand Medical Research Trust. He said the accounts of the trust were open to scrutiny. He said the donations were received on his birthday and all donors, including a large number of Congressmen, were given the receipts on the spot. The cheques were deposited in the bank and the functioning of the trust was transparent. Mr Shanta Kumar said his family had been donating Rs 25,000 per month to the trust and the contribution had touched Rs 10 lakh till date.
— PTI |
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BJP, Cong step up campaign Sundernagar, April 25 The BJP is mainly organising the big gathering in assembly segments. On the other hand the Congress has started corner meetings at various places. In the past two days, Mr Shanta Kumar, former Union Minister, along with BJP candidate from Mandi Parliamentary Constituency Maheshwar Singh, campaigned in Mandi. Both addressed a series of public meetings in Lad Bhadol, Jogindernagar, Padahar, Sundernagar, Pandar, Karsog and Sunni in seven different Assembly segments. Mr Shanta Kumar who, visited Mandi District after about 10 years, was given a warm welcome at different places. According to reports, the gathering was eager to listen to the former minister and waited for his speech till late night. He asked the voters to vote for BJP for the development. The BJP leaders of Mandi also accompanied him. On the other hand, Ms Pratibha Kumari, Congress candidate, has started campaign. She is holding small corner meetings, along with the help of local leaders. Yesterday, she addressed 14 corner meetings at Gohar Subdivision in Nachan. She started her campaign around Sundernagar and addressed 15 places at different adjoining places. She was accompanied by Congress MLA from Nachan, Tek Chand Dogra. |
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BJP govt patronised
corruption, says CM Una, April 25 At Dulehar the Chief Minister said that during BJP rule in Himachal Pradesh corruption increased and those found guilty of corruption would be punished. He said that BJP rule let behind loan of Rs 15,000 crore. The loan was not utilised for development. He said the BJP leaders who had no money even for travelling in buses were now having two or three cars and living in big houses. Mr Mukesh Agnihotri, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, addressing people at Dulehar village said that the BJP ignored Santoshgarh constituency for development. But the Congress pumped Rs 100 crore for development in the area. He asked the people to vote for Thakur Ram Lal to strengthen the hands of Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party for the formation of Congress Government at the Centre, Mr Kuldeep Kumar Minister for Co-operation, said that rule of the BJP for five years would be remember for corruption in Himachal. |
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BJP
seeks CM’s resignation Shimla, April 25 Mr Suresh Bhardwaj of the BJP said the charge levelled by his party that the government was interfering in the functioning of constitutional bodies and undermining their autonomy had been substantiated by the court verdict. The court had observed that Mr V.K. Malik, a member appointed by the Congress government, should not have approached the government if he had felt that the list of selected candidates had been changed and instead should have taken up the matter with the Chairman of the commission. Mr Bhardwaj alleged that Mr Malik and Mr Thind had acted at the behest of the Chief Minister. He said a delegation of the party would soon meet the Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, and urge him to remove Mr Virbhadra Singh. |
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BJP humiliating OBC officers, alleges Cong Kangra, April 25 Mr Bali told mediapersons at a press conference at his residence here while commenting on the transfer of two Executive Engineers under the direction of the Election Commission on the complaint of the BJP. He alleged that the BJP action had demoralised the officials and this would affect efficient working of the administration. Mr Bali said the BJP had for the first time, made the government officers of a particular community a target for its political interests. Mr Bali demanded that the accounts of the Vivekananda Super Specialty Hospital at Palampur, headed by former Union Minister Shanta Kumar should be audited by the Accountant-General of Himachal Pradesh as crores of rupees were involved and the state government donated land worth Rs 20 crore for this project. He demanded that Mr Shanta Kumar should disclose how much funds were raised for this hospital during his chief ministership and when he was a union minister and how much was collected when he was out of power. |
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Cong, BJP lodge
counter-complaints Shimla, April 25 Mr Singhi Ram, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, met Mr Krishnamurthy and urged him to stop BJP leader P.K. Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar from making provocative and unconstitutional statements. He submitted a written complaint, alleging that the BJP leaders were publicly holding out threats that the Virbhadra Singh government would be sacked as soon as the NDA was voted back to power. Such statements could influence voters and affect the outcome of the poll, he said. A BJP delegation led by Mr Ram Swaroop Sharma, state vice-president of the party, also met Mr Krishnamurthy and alleged that the code of conduct was being violated with impunity by the Congress government and urged the appointment of special observers to ensure free and fair poll. He mentioned the name of an officer of the Chief Minister’s secretariat who visited Mandi on April 17 and 18 and met leaders and government employees to seek support for Mrs Pratibha Singh, Congress candidate and wife of the Chief Minister. |
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Dissidents to work for BJP candidates Hamirpur, April 25 They had contested from more than 12 Vidhan Sabha seats in 2003 and won Pragpur seat. They were also instrumental in the defeat of many BJP candidates. Mr Narendra Thakur, son of late Thakur Jagdev Chand and a Mitar Milan leader said here that they decided to help BJP candidates to make Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee the Prime Minister of India. He appealed to people to vote for Mr Suresh Chandel, (Hamirpur), Mr Shanta Kumar, (Kangra), Mr Maheshwara Singh, Mandi and Mr Hira Nand Kashyap, from Shimla (Reserve) seat. Majority of dissidents have already joined the party, three senior activists of the Mitar Milan namely — Mr Narendra Thakur, Hamirpur, Kamal Padha, Shahpur and Mohinder Sofat, Solan are still out of the party. |
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Cong ignored farmers: BJP Hamirpur, April 25 He said the Congress party befooled them with slogans but gave them nothing. The BJP leader charged the Congress with terrorising people, especially the functionaries of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, to work for the Congress party or their grants would be stopped. He asked Congress leaders to account for the grants they had given to gram panchayats for development. He appealed to people to vote for Mr Suresh Chandel. Mr Dhumal blasted the government for ignoring the farmers who had lost their crops due to drought conditions in the state. |
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Congress spreading misinformation: Dhumal Hamirpur, April 25 Before leaving for election campaign in Bilaspur district in favour of party nominee, Suresh Chandel this morning, he said the Congress party was not a party of Mahatma Gandhi. Bapu Gandhi left the party when he saw that the Congress was becoming a party of corrupt and anti social elements, he alleged. Mr Dhumal said that the Congress had come to power in the state on the slogan of job to one person in each family. However, it failed to fulfil this promise. Instead, the Congress leaders and the Chief Minister gave jobs to their relatives. Mr Dhumal appealed to the people to oust the Congress from power in the State. |
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Virbhadra
gave jobs on chits, alleges Rana Chandigarh, April 25 In the Katwal tape case, Mr Virbhadra Singh had admitted having telephoned Mr Katwal to give jobs to his favourites. During Virbhadra Singh’s tenure as Chief Minister jobs were given to 2912 persons on chits as per record kept in the Vidhan Sabha. |
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Send CM on leave, says employees’ leader
Solan, April 25 Addressing mediapersons here today he drew an analogy between the Haryana DGP, M.S. Malik and said when he could be sent on a 36-day leave as his wife was contesting from Sonepat and directed to stay away from that constituency why the CM here can could not be directed to do the same as his wife, too, was contesting from Mandi.
— OC |
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PAN card, driving licence can fill in for Shimla, April 25 Mrs Manisha Nanda, Himachal chief electoral officer, said here on Friday that those who did not have voter’s photo identity cards have to produce documents like passport, driving licence, permanent account number of Income Tax (PAN card), service identity cards issued by the government, public sector undertakings, local bodies or private industrial houses, bank and Kisan pass books and students identity cards issued by recognised educational institutions. Registered deeds, ration cards and SC, ST and OBC certificates issued by competent authority on or before March 31 could also be produced before polling officers. The voters could also furnish pension documents such as pension payment order, exservicemen’s passbooks, old-age pension order, freedom fighter identity cards and arms licences as proof of identity. |
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25 left in fray after scrutiny Shimla, April 25 The maximum of 11 candidates entered the fray from Hamirpur, followed by 6 in Kangra 5 in Mandi and 3 in Shimla. While the BJP, the Congress and the BSP are contesting all seats, the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal (S) has put up one candidate each. There are 11 independents. A clear picture will emerge on April 26, the last day for withdrawals. |
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Poll papers of 11 found
in order Hamirpur, April 25 The candidates of the BJP, the Congress, the BSP and the Janata Dal (Secular) are in the fray in addition to seven Independents. The nomination papers can be withdrawn by April 26 and the elections will be held on May 10. |
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Taking Sanawarians beyond rock
'n' roll The Headmaster, Prof Gautam Chatterjee, says, “There is no magic bullet or general panacea for success. The key is sustained hours of work. We have students who have to be taught and teachers who have to be taken care of. It is as simple as that.” Taking over the legacy of dissatisfied teachers, vacant posts and falling academic standards in September, Mr Chatterjee’s priority was the students. “I didn’t know the power ‘Lawrence School’ embodied. It was just another school for me where students’ concerns were central. The idea was to take them beyond the rock ‘n’ roll to a higher level of thinking. So, I decided to conduct chapel meetings to counsel them. In a few months, the difference has been made dramatic. Things are beginning to look up again,” he says. A student at Harvard University, and with a teaching experience of 31 years, Mr Chatterjee says the disinterest of the students towards books pained him when he took over and the school had nothing in the name of a library. “I did up the school library with books I selected personally and toned down the overenthusiastic response of the students to sports activities. A well-rounded personality is not just about excelling in academics and sports, but also about the ability to question things, empathise with people and develop the spirit of service. This is my agenda and I am going about it with the help of the faculty,” he says. He is open to experiments provided these are in the interest of the students. He has introduced on-campus tuitions for senior classes. There are no compromises on discipline, which explains why a Class IX student, accused of supplying liquor to a fellow German student, was shown the door. “Nothing untoward happened with the girl. She had a drinking problem and had undergone counselling in Germany before she came to our school. She had asked one of the boys, to book a room in a hotel for her and persuaded him to get liquor for her, which he did. She probably consumed more than she could take and became unwell. The boy, along with a couple of other schoolboys, brought her back to the school. We called up the girl’s mother and asked her to withdraw her from the school. The boy’s parents were also called and told to take him away,” he says, adding that “We cannot bend our rules for anyone. Discipline cannot be given a go-by and my policy on this is non-negotiable. I believe that a person who cannot follow rules is also a person who cannot lead.” |
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Awareness on organ transplants stressed Shimla, April 25 Cadaver donors are not available due to lack of awareness among common people and even medical personnel. Besides, requisite facilities are not available for brainstem death cases which are to be kept on ventilators, Dr Sakhuja added. He was here in connection with the two-day conference of the society at Shilon Bagh, near here. During the past five years (after the Act was passed) only about 400 renal replacement operations have been carried out. Malpractices in procuring kidney from unrelated donors also come in the way as deals mostly involve middlemen. Such problems are due to lack of uniformity in the functioning of authorisation committees which permit such donations. The exposure of kidney rackets in Amritsar and elsewhere in the recent past has given a further setback to renal replacement surgeries. He said the situation could improve if the government puts a mechanism in place to ensure transparency in deals involving unrelated donors. Dr Min Sun Park, a nephrologist from South Korea, said continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (APD) was a better option than naemo dialysis for renal-failure patients living in remote areas of Himachal Pradesh. |
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Man sacrifices life for pet Bilaspur, April 25 Such a mishap occurred on the West bank of the Sutlej near Behna Jattan village, about 3 km from here, yesterday evening. Reports said Sadaram Chaudhary (60), a retired S.S.B. employee, brought his dog to the river side. It jumped into the river and got trapped in a massive whirlpool. Sadaram, a good swimmer, immediately jumped into the river and threw it out. He tried his best to fight the current to failed and shouted for help. Two fishermen and some villagers rushed to save him but the dog did not allow them to come near the bank. One of the fishermen Ram Dittu, told the correspondent that by the time they reached the bank Sadaram had drowned. His wife Sukhandevi (50) could not bear the shock and took some poison and died. Sadaram’s elder son, a school teacher, is already at the zonal hospital here with a severe attack of hypertension and he is unconscious. |
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Delay in passport issuance irks residents Kulu, April 25 In another case a minor’s father got a letter on April 20, asking him to submit a copy of his passport. Interestingly when the man opened the site he was surprised to see a message which said his passport was ready and was expected to be dispatched by May 5. The applicants urged the authorities concerned to look into the reasons responsible for the delay.
— OC |
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Panchen
Lama’s release sought Dharamsala, April
25 In a
joint statement released today, the National Democratic Party of
Tibet, the Tibetan Women’s Association and the Tibetan Youth
Congress appealed to the international community and the United
Nations to put pressure on Beijing for the release of the Panchen
Lama. |
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Woman found murdered Nahan, April 25 The body of Darshni Devi was wrapped in a blanket and put in a gunny bag. The bag was spotted by a rehriwala and the police was informed. Her legs were tide with a rope and her throat also bore impressions of rope. Mr S.R. Sharma, SP, Sirmour, said here today that the deceased had left her village for Nahan on Wednesday and did not return home. Post mortem examinations of the body were being done at a Paonta hospital today. He said the police had received vital clues about the murder. |
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Sanawar, April 25