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Officials summoned
for code violation
Serving bureaucrat may contest as
Chautala begins poll campaign
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CEC notice to Chautala upsets party workers
Power cuts hit industry
MLA’s relative assaulted
Forensic lab gets certificate for excellence
Automatic signals for railway stations
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Officials summoned
for code violation
New Delhi, January 6 The Secretaries of the two department — Chief Engineers and Executive Engineers — who had signed the advertisement for inviting tenders were summoned after finding the reply of the state Chief Secretary “not satisfactory”. They have been asked to present themselves before the poll panel on January 10 at 11 am in the Capital. It was brought to the notice of the Election Commission that two tender notices were issued by the state government — one by the Public Works Department and the other by the Irrigation Department — for undertaking various construction works in Hisar and Sirsa districts in violation of the model code. The tenders were to be opened on January 27, 2005 and January 25, 2005, respectively. The total estimated expenditure on the construction works were showed as 133.66 lakh and 157.15 lakh, respectively. The commission called for explanation of the Secretaries concerned of the state government through the State Chief Secretary. After considering the explanation of the Secretaries received through the Chief Secretary, the commission directed that the tenders in question should not be opened till the model code of conduct was in force. |
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Serving bureaucrat may contest as INLD nominee
Chandigarh, January 6 The Assembly elections in the state scheduled to be held next month could see another serving bureaucrat himself jumping into the fray as a nominee of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The Chief Minister and INLD supremo, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said at a press conference here today that Mr B D Dhalia, currently holding the post of Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister(PSCM), could contest the Assembly elections on an INLD ticket. ''Mr Dhalia is a loyal officer. He cannot say no if I ask him to contest", Mr Chautala said. He said Mr Dhalia, who was to retire in April, would resign and contest in the elections. Mr Chautala, however, refused to spell out the constituency from where Mr Dhalia would contest. " He could win from any constituency in the state", was all Mr Chautala was ready to say in response to questions from reporters. The Chief Minister also revealed that his younger son, Mr Abhey Chautala, an MLA from Rori, would not contest in the coming elections. " From our family only one person would contest in the Assembly elections and that would be me", Mr Chautala said. He indicated that like the previous election, this time also he would contest from two seats. It may be recalled that in the Assembly elections in 2000, Mr Chautala won from both Narwana and Rori constituencies and later vacated the Rori seat which was then contested and won by Mr Abhey Chautala. Asked about the show-cause notice given by the EC regarding violation of the model code by Mr Abhey Chautala, Mr Chautala said he had seen the notice. He said the notice mentioned promises made by Abhey at Fatehabad regarding giving jobs to people during the period separating polling and counting of votes. The Chief Minister added that he would ask Abhey Chautala about the incident and then give a reply to the EC. While the CM stated that he would abide by all the directives of the EC, he did not hide his displeasure at the EC's repeated insistence on observation of the model code by the Haryana's ruling party. " All political parties make promises to people at the election manifesto. May be the EC would ask us to change the election manifesto also when it would be released", he said. He added that the Congress appeared to have set up a separate cell for making complaints to the EC regarding his actions. " Two Lok Sabha elections and one Assembly election had taken place in Haryana since the INLD came to power. All these elections were peaceful. Even the EC itself had admitted to this fact", Mr Chautala said. On his earlier promise that 33 per cent tickets would be given to women candidates, Mr Chautala said the first list of INLD nominees contained the names of five women. He, however, added that in view of the paucity of good women candidates, it might not be possible to put up 33 per cent women. The CM said while there was ideological similarity between the INLD and the BSP, no formal talk had been initiated between the top leaderships of the two parties to crystalise an alliance for the coming elections. He added that though the state-level leaders of the BSP had spoken to him on the subject, no talk had taken place with Ms Mayawati on the issue. Mr Chautala said an alliance between the BJP and the INLD appeared unlikely in view of the saffron party's adamant attitude. He asserted that the BJP would not be able to win even a single seat in the Assembly elections in Haryana by contesting on its own strength. |
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Chautala begins poll campaign
Panchkula, January 6 Mr Chautala sought votes for his party on the ‘Bi Pa Sa’ (Bijli, Paani, Sadak) issue, saying that during his tenure as the Chief Minister, he had ensured that there was all round development in the Kalka constituency. “We built several culverts and bridges across seasonal rivulets, laid hundreds of kilometers of roads, strengthened the water supply and power system, in the urban and rural areas,” he said. He was addressing a meeting of party workers after inaugurating the party office in Sector 9 this afternoon. The Chief Minister exhorted the residents to vote for his party, if they wanted further development of the state. “We have led Haryana to being one of the most developed states in the country. The pace of development here has been appreciated and is better than most developed states,” he said. Mr Chautala criticised the Congress by saying that it was a party of traders, and that they never kept the interests of farmers and comman man in mind. “The rising prices of all essential commodities and petroleum products, have gone up since the Congress-led UPA government came in power at the Centre,” he said. Mr Pradeep Chaudhary, who is also the Chairman of the Haryana Tourism, said the INLD government had set up a state- of- the-art sports complex, a golf course, and built many roads and bridges in Panchkula. He said an all girls college was coming up in Panchkula and upgradation of government schools was done. He sought votes, saying that if voted, he would initiate further development of Panchkula. |
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CEC notice to Chautala upsets party workers
Sirsa, January 6 Talking to this correspondent, a senior INLD party activist said the delay and uncertainty over the final decision about the fate of their leaders was the main reason to initiate the canvassing to the grassroot level. On Tuesday, the ruling INLD announced the candidature of Dr Sita Ram from Dabwali in which the native village of the CM, Chautala village, falls. Party sources say though the sitting MLA has started approaching villagers but feel “insecure” in while moving in the constituency. It is worth mentioning that Mr Chautala had hinted on the possibility of alliance with the BSP and announced in New Delhi on Tuesday that the list of the candidates released could be reworked. Upset over the similar repeated announcements, the party sources say it has hampered the courage of the party workers. Another problem faced by the workers, mainly into strengthening the party cadres, is of CEC’s show-cause notice to the high command over the alleged violation of model code of conduct. “It is really discouraging and pity that the party is getting feedback at this juncture when the countdown for poll has started,” said a party worker. Though they feel that leadership would come out of the problem with a clean face, they admit that it was creating confusion among the workers. |
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INLD may face rebel in Samalkha
Panipat, January 6 The official candidate of INLD, Mr Katar Singh
Chhokar, may face a rebel candidate at Samalkha seat of Panipat district. Disappointed over denial of ticket to him, district general secretary of INLD Inder Singh Chhokar may contest from this seat to express his dissatisfaction and show his strength. While Mr Inder Singh Chhokar has already made his mind to try his luck from Samalkha seat, the final decision in this regard will be taken in the proposed meeting of the ‘mahapanchayat’ in new grain market shortly. Talking to The Tribune over phone, Mr Inder Singh said he had resigned from the post of district general secretary of the INLD and sent his resignation to party supremo Om Prakash Chautala yesterday. |
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INLD leaders revolt, suspended
Hisar, January 6 The INLD leadership had fielded Youth INLD state president Umed Lohan for the seat. However, his candidature was opposed by many party workers of the constituency. When INLD general secretary Ajay Chautala visited Barwala yesterday, the workers brought the matter to his notice. The protesters did not even allow Mr Lohan to speak in the presence of Mr Chautala. Mr Raja as well as Mr Sandhu, accompanied by their supporters, registered their protest at a meeting with Mr Chautala. Following this, Mr Chautala assured the workers that he would apprise the Chief Minister of the matter. However, later, both rebel leaders were suspended. INLD spokesperson Rajmal Kajal said Mr Raja and Mr Sandhu had been issued show-cause notices. Mr Kajal said they had been given three days’ time to explain their stance. Some INLD leaders alleged that the revolt “drama” had been staged at the behest of their political rivals. |
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Campaign begins; BJP faces revolt at Ratia
Fatehabad, January 6 The INLD candidate from the Fatehabad assembly seat Ms Swatantra Bala Chaudhary started campaign from Gorakhpur village, the biggest village of the district, after offering prayers in Baba Gorakhnath Mandir situated at the village. She also addressed senior party functionaries of the constituency at her residence. She said she would contest the poll on the issue of development done in the constituency since her election in bypoll in May, 2003. In the absence of Haryana Finance Minister Sampat Singh, who is busy with the Chief Minister in party rallies, his wife Mrs Krishana Sampat Singh has started his campaign in the Bhattu Kalan Assembly constituency. She has been touring various villages of the constituency for the past three days and mobilising workers for the coming poll. She has also been meeting village elders and seeking blessings for her husband. The BJP candidate for the Bhattu Kalan constituency, Mr Daya Nand
Bainda, has also started his campaign. Mr Bainda is a close relative of the former BJP MP from Faridabad, Mr Ram Chander
Bainda. The district INLD president, Mr Nishan Singh, has started poll campaign from Tohana Assembly seat. He is also the sitting MLA from there. The BJP candidate, Mr Subhash
Barala, has also begun campaign. In fact, battle lines have already been drawn from Tohana as the Congress has also nominated Mr Paramveer Singh, a son of former Haryana Minister. He too has started his poll campaign by addressing nukkar meetings. The INLD is yet to announce the nominee from the Ratia Assembly seat. The campaign of the BJP nominee, Mr Laddoo
Bajigar, has been hampered due to a virtual revolt by the party ranks there against allotment of ticket to him. The BJP ranks have alleged that the party had nominated a paratrooper ignoring the claims of party loyalists. People are eagerly waiting for the announcement of Congress nominees from Fatehabad, Ratia and Bhattu Kalan seats, where a large number of applicants are in the race. |
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Wives spearhead campaign
for Rewari candidates
Rewari, January 6 Besides being instrumental in seeking potential support, particularly of the female voters, their forceful entry has tended to make the electoral battle highly-pitched here. Ms Shakuntala Yadav, wife of Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, a hero of four successive electoral battles, has plunged headlong into electioneering for her husband whose continued pre-occupation with the on-going proceedings of the state election committee has been proving detrimental to his appearance in person before the electorate to canvass for himself. Accompanied by Ms Mithlesh Chaturvedi, former district chief of the women's wing of the erstwhile Haryana Vikas Party and several other activists of the Mahila Congress, Ms Yadav has done extensive door-to-door canvassing in the city. She said if the robust popular response was any indication, this time it was going to be a one-sided affair for her husband in Rewari. Close on the heels Ms Manju Somany, wife of Rashtriya Navchetna candidate Vijay Somany, who lost to Captain Yadav by a narrow margin in the February 2000 Assembly elections, was also engaged in hectic electioneering. Accompanied by a host of prominent women activists, she had been assiduously working among women voters to enable her husband to pulverise Captain Yadav's 15-year long monopoly over the "London of Ahirs" (Rewari). She asserted that the winds of change which were now tossing the minds of most women here had further fortified her resolve to achieve the feat this time. |
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RLD releases first list of 8 candidates
Chandigarh, January 6 Talking to reporters here, RLD national general-secretary, Yudhvir Singh said his party had held talks with the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Janata Dal (Secular), the CPI, CPM, the Samata Party and the Ekta Shakti. He said the party was thinking of putting up candidates for 45 seats in Haryana while its alliance partners would contest in the 45 remaining seats. The RLD would have a common election manifesto with its alliance partners, he said. The RLD leader said the party would focus on problems faced by ordinary people, particularly the farmers. It would also raise the Satluj-Yamuna Link canal issue, he said. The list released by him today contained the names of Haryana RLD president Rattan Singh Saurath from Hathin assembly constituency, Rohtas Rathi (Meham), Ramdhani Shastri (Rajundh), Manveer Singh (Mundhal), Sadhuram Sharma (Mahendgarh), Krishan Kumar (Hansi), Kawal Singh Chauhan (Rai) and Labh Singh Pehlawan (Narnaundh). |
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Punjabi voters hold key in Hisar constituency
Hisar, January 6 So far, only the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has declared Rajya Sabha member Sumitra Mahajan as its official nominee for the seat. Former minister Hari Singh Saini, who is contesting as an Independent candidate, is another contender for the seat. Sitting Congress MLA and noted industrialist Om Prakash Jindal is most likely to get the Congress ticket, though his name has not been officially announced. However, Mr Jindal has already started holding public meetings to garner support of people. The BJP has not announced its candidate for the seat, though its state spokesperson Sarvadanand Arya is among the front-runners for the party ticket. Since the BJP is contesting the state Assembly poll on its own, it is relying upon its loyal vote bank. Besides the anti-incumbency factor, development of the city and provision of civic amenities are the major issues involved in the electoral battle. Apart from this, the opponents of Mr Jindal allege that he had not been approachable to the common people. The Punjabi vote is also being seen as a crucial factor, owing to the considerable Punjabi population in the city. It was perhaps one of the deciding factors which made the INLD field Ms Mahajan for the seat. Ms Mahajan is the widow of the late Om Prakash Mahajan, who was elected to the state Assembly twice from the constituency, both times as an Independent candidate. He enjoyed the support of the Punjabis, which played a vital role in his victory. By fielding Ms Mahajan, the INLD hopes to get the support of the Punjabi voters. Had the INLD not fielded Ms Mahajan, the Punjabi votes would have been divided between Mr Jindal and Mr Saini. Apart from their traditional vote banks and dedicated supporters, the Congress, BJP, INLD as well as Mr Saini are targeting the Punjabi voters who hold the key to the prestigious Assembly seat. |
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Power cuts hit industry
Sonepat, January 6 While large units have their own heat-treatment facilities, a majority of medium and small units, which are engaged in electroplating and manufacturing steel, medicines and auto-parts, need to get the job done from specialised units which provide the heat treatment facility. If power supply disrupts, ancilliaries may not be able to provide the services to these units on time. As a result, the units may be forced to procure those services from units located in other parts of the country. The local ancilliaries will lose in the process. According to some entrepreneurs, though most units had in-house generators, there is hardly any unit that can afford the generator continuously for hours. Many industrialists also say the power crisis has started taking a toll on the industrial and commercial activity in the region and claim that they will suffer huge losses if the situation does not improve. They said the power cuts range between 10 and 12 hours each day. The situation has been aggravated following stoppage of power generation in various power plants. Export-oriented units are the worst-hit. Residents of Sonepat have been subjected to frequent and long spell of power cuts for the past one week. It exposes the claims of the Haryana Government that power cuts has been withdrawn after the rains in the
region. Some officials of the UHBVN had expressed ignorance about the unscheduled and unorganised power cuts. This gives alive to the statements of government functionaries, including Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, that there was sufficient power supply and water in the state. |
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MLA’s relative assaulted
Sonepat, January 6 According to a report, he has been hospitalised and stated to be out of danger. The police has registered a case. The victim was coming in a jeep from Katwal to Gohana along with three youths. They all got down from the jeep at the Fawara chowk in Gohana. When he reached near the Rohtak gate area, he was waylaid by the assailaints. Another youth, however, remained a silent spectator. He was later identified as Virender of Katwal village. Meanwhile, a youth Mukesh is reported to have committed suicide by taking some poisonous substance in his house in the Dev Nagar area here today. According to a report, family fued is stated to be the main cause of the suicide. A case has been registered. |
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Forensic lab gets certificate for excellence
Madhuban (Karnal), January 6 In a function held at the police training centre here today, Dr M.S. Rao, Chief Forensic Scientist, Directorate of Forensic Science, presented the certificate to Dr M.S. Malik, DGP, Haryana. Dr Vijender Singh, Director, FSL, claimed that the FSL had attained this award in just six months. This certificate had been provided for excellence in technical scientific competence of the international standards, which also required an international standard of quality and management relating to examination of crime cases as per International Organisation of Standards (ISO) and International Electro-chemical Commission (IEC 17025). He further said all districts of the state had been provided with mobile forensic laboratory science vans. These vans were equipped with quality equipments and trained personnel. |
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Automatic signals for railway stations
Sonepat, January 6 Stating this, Mr Pradeep Kumar Goel, Divisional Railways Manager (DRM) of Northern Railway, told mediapersons here that the Railways had also decided to strengthen the railway track. Both the works, would be completed by the end of the current year. Mr Goel also stated that the Railways had approved the construction of an overbridge on the crossing near Ganaur railway station. Earlier, the DRM undertook an inspection tour of the railway station. |
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Two die of cold in Panipat
Panipat, January 6 The body has been sent to Bhim Sen Sachar Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
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