The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	BJP seeks dismissal of Virbhadra govt Tribune News Service Shimla, April 28 The BJP has urged the Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, to dismiss the Virbhadra Singh government in view of the strictures passed by the high court on the conduct of its officers who interfered in the functioning of the state public service commission. A deputation of the party led by Mr Suresh Bhardwaj, state BJP chief, today met Mr Kokje at Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum demanding the dismissal of the Congress government which had lost the moral right to remain in office following the adverse comments by the high court in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the selection of assistant engineers. It was a serious matter as Mr Virbhadra Singh had publicly asked the chairperson of the commission to either resign or face a vigilance probe. The memorandum pointed out that the court had disapproved of the action of Mr V.K. Malik, a member of the commission appointed by the present regime, in reporting the matter to the state government instead of taking it up with the chairperson. It had also indicted the Additional Director-General of Police (CID) for seeking information from the commission which undermined the autonomy of the constitutional body. The court had also not spared even the two experts, one of whom happened to be the Chief Engineer of the Irrigation and Public Health Department. The party alleged that the Congress government was functioning in an autocratic way and trying to scuttle the autonomy of constitutional bodies. The verdict of the court had vindicated the stand of the BJP and as such the state government deserved to be dismissed.
	Virbhadra involved in job scam, alleges Dhumal Our Correspondent Una, April 28 Former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has said in the HPSSSB job scam, in which former chairman S.M. Katwal had been implicated by the Congress government, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had recommended the names of certain candidates for selection. He said when BJP forms government in Himachal Pradesh, all politicians involved in the case would be prosecuted. He said that after NDA government is formed at the Centre, the state Congress government would be dismissed on account of financial crisis and deteriorating and order situation. The former Chief Minister said Mr Sukh Ram, who had vowed to end Mr Virbhadra Singh’s rule, had merged his party with the Congress. Mr Dhumal said the Congress government in the state was claiming to have provided employment to 12,000 unemployed youth, which was false. He demanded a White Paper in this regard. He claimed that the BJP would win all four parliamentary seats in Himachal Pradesh.
	BJP claims misleading, says CM Our Correspondent Nahan, April 28 Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, yesterday addressing election rallies at Rajgarh and Haripur Dhar 100 km from here said that the Congress would form the next government at the Centre with support from like-minded parties. He charged that the BJP had no issue against the Congress and out of frustration BJP leaders were making irresponsible statements to misguide public. He claimed that Prime Minister Vajpayee was not so popular in H.P., as the Panchayat under which Mr Vajpayee had constructed a house, in Preeni village, was headed by a Congress leader. He said that the BJP was rejected by the people of Himachal in Assembly elections, due to its (BJP’s) corruption, many cases of which were being probed. He announced that he and his government would fight for Scheduled Tribe status for the Trans Giri people of Sirmaur. He announced that till the Centre accepted the case of Trans-Giri people, they would be provided with all facilities available to tribal people. He alleged that the case of Trans Giri area was rejected by the NDA government. He also charged that the BJP did not sanction funds for Rajgarh water supply scheme. He announced the completion of the scheme after the poll. Mr G.R. Musafir, Speaker H.P. Vidhan Sabha and Col. (Ret.) D.R. Shandil, Congress candidate also addressed the rallies.
	BJP candidate’s poll plea dismissed Legal Correspondent Shimla, April 28 The Himachal Pradesh High Court today dismissed the election petition filed by Mr Rikhi Ram Kaundal, BJP candidate from the Gherwin Assembly constituency (Reserve). While upholding the election of an Independent candidate, Dr Beeru Ram, Mr Justice R.L. Khurana observed that the petitioner had failed to prove the allegation that the Congress candidate, Mrs Roop Rani, did not belong to the Schedule Caste (SC). It is important to mention that this Vidhan Sabha seat is reserved for the Schedule Caste category candidate. It was alleged in the petition that Mrs Roop Rani was not a SC candidate and her nomination paper was wrongly accepted by the returning officer. Wrong acceptance of her nomination papers had affected the result of the elections. The court observed that the petitioner could not prove on record the allegations levelled by him in the petition.
	Former BJP MLA joins Congress Nahan, April 28 Mr Fateh Singh Mahraloo, former BJP MLA from Paonta Assembly constituency, today joined the Congress at an election rally organised by the Congress on Paonta Municipal ground. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister of HP welcomed him in the party. Mr Maharaloo, who is known as strong Bahti leader in the Paonta valley, was elected MLA in 1990 on BJP ticket. Later on he left the BJP and joined HVC. Bahatis, who constitute about 60 per cent of the total population of Paonta Assembly segment, are known as traditional vote bank of the BJP. — OC
	CM nurturing Rohru at cost of other areas: BJP Our Correspondent Nurpur, April 28 The Kangra district unit of the Yuva BJP Morcha has alleged that the Virbhadra Singh government has been discriminating against the “merged” areas. Mr Parveen Sharma, president of morcha, said here today that the maximum number of para-teachers had been permitted by the government in the case of Rohru at the cost of other assembly segments of the state. He termed the government as anti-unemployed youth and alleged that it had commercialised industrial training institutes in the state. Rejecting the claim of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh that his government had provided employment to 80,000 youth during his one-year rule, Mr Sharma dared the Congress MLAs and ministers from Kangra district to disclose how many jobs had been provided in their respective assembly constituencies. Criticising Mr B.R. Rahi, Chairman the HP Board of School Education, Mr Sharma alleged that he was behaving like a Congress spokesman.
	Shahi Imam’s call to support BJP challenged Our Correspondent Bilaspur, April 28 Bilaspur Sadar Block Congress Committee general secretary Hussain Ali has challenged the statement of Maulana Abdulla Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid New Delhi that Muslim should support the BJP as the Prime Minister had changed his attitude and the country could not progress without active participation of the Muslim community in this process and the government had to redress their grievances. Addressing reporters here yesterday, Mr Hussain Ali said that these were ‘crocodile tears’ at the time of Lok Sabha elections to deceive or impress the Muslims. Mr Ali said that Shahi Imam should breach religion and not dabble into politics as he would be suspected to have been won over by the BJP for something in return. He said the Imam should realise that Muslims could not be treated like dumb cattle and such suggestions from a religious leader were unpalatable.
	BJP seeks Rs 25 support price for garlic Tribune News Service Shimla, April 28 The state unit of the BJP has demanded support price of Rs 25 per kg for garlic to save farmers from financial hardship. Mr Chander Sen, general secretary of the party, addressing a press conference here today, alleged that the Virbhadra Singh government was ignoring farmers and it had shelved projects started by the previous Dhumal government which were aimed at ensuring remunerative returns for them. He said the Congress, during the Assembly elections, assured to give support price of Rs 25 per kg for garlic but it had not kept it promise. He said arrears of apple growers, from whom fruit had been procured under the market intervention scheme last year, had not been cleared so far. Various procurement agencies owed Rs 14 crore to the growers, who desperately needed money to purchase fungicides, pesticides, fertilisers and other inputs. He alleged that the project to set up two apple-based wineries at Pragatinagar in Shimla and Nagwain in Mandi in collaboration with Indage company was being scuttled. The BJP government had started work on these projects to ensure remunerative prices for growers, he added. The NDA government sanctioned a Rs 80-crore technology mission to improve horticultural productivity but it had not made any headway because of the indifferent attitude of the state government, he alleged. He said the growers were being supplied pesticides and fungicides which they had never used before as a result of which they were apprehensive about their efficacy. He said the government should explain why it had abruptly replaced the fungicides which had proved effective all these years.
	Thunderstorm damages crops, houses in HP Tribune Reporters and Agencies Shimla, April 28 Several areas of Himachal Pradesh were lashed by a thunderstorm, followed by hail and rain, causing extensive damage to crops and houses and disrupting normal life. About 36 houses were damaged in Baijnath and Chhota Bhangal areas of Kangra district. Trees were uprooted, boards, hoardings and roofs of kutcha houses were blown off at several places. As many as 30 houses were damaged in Multhan valley in Chhota Bhangal, roofs of houses were blown off and uprooted trees caused damage to the property, the SDM, Baijnath, Mr Sanjeev Kumar, said. He said Revenue officers had been deputed to assess the loss and relief was being provided. Four houses were damaged in Baijnath area when two uprooted trees fell over them, while two cars were damaged by uprooted trees in Dharamsala. Roads were blocked due to uprooted trees, overhead transmission power and telecommunication wires were snapped, reports reaching here said. The storm caused extensive damage to the standing wheat crop in the high-altitude areas. Shimla and its surrounding areas were also hit by a thunderstorm, followed by intermittent rains and hail, disrupting normal life. The storm caused sharp fall in the day temperature. The Dhauladhar hills in Kangra and other high mountain passes experienced a moderate snowfall while the adjoining valleys were lashed by rain and hail. Higher reaches in far-flung areas of Jammu and Kashmir, including the glaciers, too, had fresh spells of light to moderate snowfall in the past 24 hours while several parts of Kashmir Valley, including summer capital Srinagar, had rain. Srinagar recorded 14.2 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. PALAMPUR: High-velocity wind accompanied by thunderstorm and rain lashed the Palampur region of Himachal Pradesh last night, causing widespread damage to standing crop. The thunderstorm began around 2 a.m. and continued for about two hours. Hundreds of trees, power supply and telephone poles were uprooted. Palampur and many adjoining villages remained without power for 10 hours. Telecommunication services have also been affected in various parts. Part of state-owned Hotel Tea Bud suffered extensive damage when trees fell on the building. No loss of life has been reported. The hotel was almost full with the occupants when the tree fell on the building. A house in Lohana village was also damaged when a tree fell on it. Vehicular traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway also remained disrupted for hours as trees blocked the highway at several points. Later, PWD workers removed the trees and restored the traffic. Briefing mediapersons Mr KC Chaman, SDM, said no loss of life had been reported from any part of the region. He said around six houses had been damaged. The revenue authorities have been asked to prepare the details of losses suffered by the people here so that the same could be sent to the government. DHARAMSALA: Widespread damage was caused due to a storm which lashed the entire Kangra late last night. No loss of life has been reported from any part of the district. Hundreds of trees were uprooted, causing extensive damage to property. A tree fell on two vehicles parked on road, damaging them.
	Number of voters rises to 41,81,995 Tribune News Service Shimla, April 28 The total number of voters in the state has gone up to 41,81,995 with the latest revision of the electoral rolls up to April 23,2004. Mrs Manisha Nanda, Chief Electoral Officer, said that it would be the final list for the May 10 poll. There were 21,28,828 male and 20,53,167 female voters in the state. Special arrangements had been made to send postal ballot papers to the service voters. In all, the state had 48,909 service voters, the highest number being in the Hamirpur constituency. Such voters had also been given the facility of proxy voting.
	Plus II syllabus: teachers, board at cross purposes Our Correspondent Kangra, April 28 Controversy has arisen between senior academicians and the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education over the changing of syllabus of Plus II. The board on Monday evening said that the Plus I and Plus II syllabi were changed after consultations with the teaching community and considering various aspects of the issue. It was approved after the recommendation of the Academic Committee. Senior teachers describe the change in the syllabi in Plus II as “illogical”. Chairman Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education B. R. Rahi yesterday told The Tribune that syllabi of Plus I and Plus II classes was changed simultaneously so that students could appear in various entrance tests at the national-level in 2005. He said that change in the syllabi made in a phased manner students would have been deprived of appearing in the entrance tests in 2005. Spokesperson of the Board Ms Anju Pathak said that there was no resentment among the teaching community regarding the change in syllabi except those teachers who either were running tuition houses or engaged in taking private tuitions as the new syllabi might burden them as new inputs in the syllabi would require them to put in more labour and time . She alleged that apart from it such teachers would not be able to spare time for their tuition houses since they would have to devote time in institutions to cover up accelerated course for Plus II. She said that new syllabi would help students join the national mainstream which they were hitherto deprived of. She said that the teaching community had not suggested that the change should be in phased manner. She said, “Accelerated course developed in the subjects of Maths and Biology for Plus II has been so designed by experts that students will not feel burden since extra periods allotted for any subject always help in consolidating their academic base”. Prof S.C. Khita, of MCM DAV College said that senior teachers were not opposed to the change in syllabi but wanted it in a phased manner. He said actually there is no change in syllabi but simply syllabi has been restructured and in Plus II only important units deleted with no addition. He said that as the deleted but important units like genetics and Morphology of organs in biology and vector in mathematics in Plus II are non-evaluative units so neither the students nor the teachers would be interested in studying these units despite accelerated course. These units have not been studied by the students of Plus II in the previous class so they would be deprived of these important units, Prof Khita said. Prof Khita said that students had no time to complete defined syllabi how they would study the non-evaluative units and they would suffer in competitive tests. He said that allegation of the Board regarding teachers running tuition houses was ‘most unfortunate’. Prof V.C. Bandari Head of the Biology Department MCM DAV College here said, instead of looking into the genuineness of the issue raised the Board authorities have blamed him for running tuition. He said, I am not involved in teaching the Plus I and Plus II students within and outside college”. Another senior academic said, “ The Board should consider the academic inputs of senior teachers and academic observations in the larger interests of the student community in particular and society in general”. He said that the Board should not make it a prestige issue as the future of the students was at stake following this decision.
	Plus II exam result today Our Correspondent Dharamsala, April 28 The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education will declare the result of Plus 2 science stream tomorrow. This was disclosed by the Chairman of the board, Mr B.R. Rahi, here today. Mr Rahi said the examinations had finished on April 2 and due to the hard work put in by teachers and board staff the result was ready to be declared. He said the result would be available on the Internet as well as telephone and could be checked through mobile phone after 5 pm tomorrow.