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SYL no longer an
issue with farmers
Only Cong can ensure SYL completion: Hooda
EC must function within limits, says Sampat
EC team to meet party representatives
Arrangements complete for a fair poll: CEO
Cong to release
manifesto today
Cong dividing people, says Ajay Chautala
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Chautala govt’s days are numbered, says Surjewala
Assets of 3 Lal families worth crores
60 women candidates are in the fray
Cong to act against rebels
Congress activists campaign for candidate
Cong candidate promises Bill on HSGPC
Two killed in road mishaps
Ziledar gets 2-year jail
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SYL no longer an
issue with farmers
Karnal, January 23 Echoing similar views, Rajinder Kalyan of Safidon says that farmers of Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Panipat and Jind will not be benefited from the SYL waters as politicians of Haryana are trying to take the waters to southern districts and Sirsa. He further says that the SYL is no more a political issue for the farmers of this area. “It is the politicians who mislead the people and make needless issues that at times it even affects national integration and communal harmony.” A large section of farmers of these districts feels that the major issues concerning them include cheap and regular supply of power and water, availability of quality fertilisers and subsidised seeds, easy procurement of produce and easy loans. Surjit Singh of Nilokheri says that the politicians mostly mislead them on issues and try to create divisions in society. “If Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala or leaders of other parties are so serious about the SYL issue, they should have gone to the Supreme Court and filed a contempt of court against those who did not comply with the directions of the apex court,” he adds. The attempt of the politicians of Haryana to mobilise the public on this issue by sidelining all other basic issues concerning the farmers is not justified and reflects poor vision, feels Balwinder Singh Sandhu of Pehowa in Kurukshetra district. Rajvir Singh of Matloda in Panipat asserts that the politicians are more concerned about Sirsa, Hisar, Rohtak and Bhiwani districts. Most of the canal waters of the state have already been diverted to these districts, ignoring the northern districts that contribute more in the GDP. “We are facing a serious water crisis that will ultimately ruin the agro-economy of the state if concrete steps are not taken to conserve water,” he adds. |
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Only Cong can ensure SYL completion: Hooda
Rohtak, January 23 In an informal chat here he said the SYL canal project had been lingering on for years because of the ‘Nyaya yudh’ movement launched by the late Devi Lal and a BJP leader, Dr Mangal Sein, after the Rajiv-Longowal Accord was signed in 1985. Had these two leaders not opposed the accord, the canal would have been completed by now. He said the apex court had given its decision in this case in favour of Haryana on the basis of the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, which proved that the opposition to the agreement by Devi Lal and Dr Mangal Sein was a wrong step and had harmed the interests of Haryana. Mr Hooda said the Centre had referred the Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act to the President on the express request of the Haryana Congress. Therefore, it was not justified to say the Centre had not taken steps to safeguard the interests of Haryana on this issue. He said the Vajpayee government had not taken any steps to get the canal completed during its entire term. It was only the Congress which could ensure that the canal was completed speedily and that Haryana got its rightful share of the water from Punjab. Asked what steps he would take to ensure that the balance of political power shifted to Rohtak, he said he treated the whole state as a single entity and had never stated that he would shift the balance in favour of this district alone. He said this area had remained backward just because many chief ministers had been discriminating against this area to benefit their own home districts. He wanted the entire state to be treated as a single unit for this purpose irrespective of who became the Chief Minister. Asked who would be the next Chief Minister if the Congress came to power, he said the issue would be decided by the party high command in consultation with the MLAs after the elections. When pointed out that the HPCC chief had been claiming that he would be the next Chief Minister, Mr Hooda said he did not approve of such statements. However, he hastened to add that the Congress would never approve of a “tainted personality” as its Chief Minister. He refused to respond to the question whether he would accept Mr Bhajan Lal as Chief Minister. Later, campaigning in the Hasangarh constituency for the Congress nominee, Mr Chakravarty Sharma, Mr Hooda addressed a meeting at Sampla, 22 km from here. He admitted that he had tried to secure the party ticket from this constituency for his man Friday, Professsor Virender. However, he said the Congress was a big organisation and it had to bear several things in mind before allotting the party ticket. He said he would be able to persuade Professor Virender to work for the party once he was discharged from hospital. He said Mr Sharma, too, was his ally and appealed to the people to vote for him. In return, Mr Sharma announced that he would always be loyal to Mr Hooda and would do his best to ensure that he became the Chief Minister after the elections. |
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EC must function within limits, says Sampat
Hisar/Durjanpur, January 23 Talking to The Tribune at her residence here today, the Union Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation and Urban Employment, Ms Selja, said in view of the “gross misuse of government machinery and criminal elements at work ” under the Chautala regime, the Central Election Commission should initiate even more strict measures. She, however, maintained that the people, fed up with the Chautala government , had made up their mind to oust the INLD from power. “ There is a wave in favour of the Congress in the entire state and the party will get an overwhelming majority in the Assembly,”
she claimed. On being asked about the impact of rising prices on the poll outcome , Ms Selja blamed the previous NDA government for the situation. She said the price rise had now been controlled and the fiscal condition would improve soon. On the other hand, the Haryana Finance Minister and senior INLD leader, Prof Sampat Singh, said they respected the institution of the Election Commission, but it should function within its constitutional limits. “We are religiously following the Model Code of Conduct laid down by the commission,” he added. talking to The Tribune at Durjanpur village, about 15 km from Hisar, today, he observed that to strengthen the democratic structure of the country, it was essential that the legislature, the judiciary, as well as the executive functioned within the constitutional framework and did not encroach on the jurisdiction of others. When questioned whether the Election Commission was working under the influence of the Congress, he opined that there was "some conspiracy" by the Congress. The Finance Minister alleged that some EC directions were against the interests of Haryana. He refuted the allegations regarding the misuse of government machinery by the INLD. Lamenting the “excessive and undue pressure” of the Election Commission, Prof Sampat Singh remarked that several developmental schemes had to be halted unnecessarily due to the orders of the commission. Regarding the shifting of the Hisar Deputy Commissioner, he said the legal ground to shift him was not sound as administrative officers were authorised to hear and redress the grievances of the people. “If an officer has a political bias, strictest possible action should be taken against him or her. But the move to transfer the Hisar Deputy Commissioner is both unfair and legally unsound,” he added. |
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EC team to meet party representatives on Jan 25
Chandigarh, January 23 Political parties would nevertheless make their representations to the full commission team headed by CEC T.S. Krishna Murthi during its visit to Chandigarh on January 25 to review the preparation for the Assembly elections in Haryana. The EC team would arrive at Chandigarh on the evening of January 24 and the next day they would meet representatives of various political parties and listen to their grievances. This meeting would be followed by meetings with the Chief Secretary, DGP, Home Secretary, Range IGPs, Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners and SPs of districts. The EC members would take up with the officials any complaint made by the political parties’ representatives about violation of the model code by the state government. It was learnt that the BJP had assigned former union minister I.D. Swamy and former state party chief R.L. Kattaria the job of preparing a memorandum to be given to the EC during its visit to Chandigarh. The ruling INLD’s main rival, the Congress, will also make a representation to the EC. Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, officiating CLP leader, said one of the issues that would be taken by the Congress was intimidation of officials by a senior INLD leader to persuade them to do things in violation of the model code. It was also learnt that the Congress working president Randeep Singh Surjewala could take up with the EC the probable use of anti-social elements by the Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala in Narwana constituency where Mr Chautala was locked in a contest with Mr Surjewala. Mr Chautala yesterday made light of the Z category security given to Mr Surjewala by the Home Ministry, and said the Home Ministry decision was politically motivated. Listing steps taken by the police to ensure violence-free polls, an official here said the police had already rounded up 256 persons having criminal background as a preventive measure to ensure peaceful elections. Also, 73 unlicensed arms had been confiscated in the state.
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Arrangements complete for a fair poll: CEO
Chandigarh, January 23 There were 2,322 sensitive and 2,526 hyper-sensitive polling booths in the state. Apart from deploying Central security forces, the officials of the Central Government would also be deployed at such polling booths for the security of the electors. As many as 1,157 polling booths had been specially set up for the members belonging to weaker sections of society so that they may cast their vote without any fear. The state had a total number of 1,27,35,067 electors, including 77,090 service electors. She said that about 60,000 government officers and officials would be put on election duty on the polling day and they would include 14,000 returning officers, 42,000 polling officers, 1,400 supervisors and about 1,000 sector magistrates. As many as 50,000 officers of police, Central security forces and home guards would be on duty to maintain law and order and infuse a sense of security among the electors. These included 70 companies of the Central security force, about 14,000 home guards, 370 non-gazetted officers and 27,000 constables and head constables of the state police. She said that helplines would be available in all the districts to facilitate the electors in getting election-related information like publication of their names and numbers in the voters’ list and location of the polling booths. This information could also be obtained from the Election Department website,
http://ceoharyana.eci.gov.in. |
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Cong to release
manifesto today Chandigarh, January 23 He attacked Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala for promising to give job guarantee saying he had sought to take credit for the Congress agenda. Mr
Tanwar, who is pursuing a Ph.D in JNU, took over as the youth Congress President on January 19. Mr Tanwar held a meeting of youth units of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh to prepare them for the Haryana Assembly
elections.
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Cong dividing people, says Ajay Chautala
Durala (Pehowa), January 23 He accused the Congress of misleading the people with its false propaganda so as to distract the people from the progress made by Haryana under the INLD rule. He said the false propaganda of the Congress was aimed at instilling doubt in the mind of the large number of dissident Congress candidates so that they retired from the contest in favour of the official but weak Congress candidates. He said the Congress-led UPA government was seriously contemplating withdrawing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for cash crops. This would spell ruin for small farmers, he warned. He lashed out at the Congress for creating divisions among communities to grab power. The rally, at which a majority of people were Jat Sikhs, he promised that the INLD was committed to the welfare of Sikh community which had worked hard to convert the barren land into fertile land, bringing the state on the world map as far as the production of foodgrains was concerned. “We cannot ignore the minority community at any cost,” he assured. Expressing gratitude towards the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) headed by Mr Prakash Singh Badal, he said the Akalis had announced unconditional support to the INLD. “It is an, indeed, a great decision not only to bridge the gap between the people of the two neighbouring states, but also strengthen the bond between communities,” he added. He said contrary to this, the Congress, whenever in power, had created friction among communities. He claimed that the INLD government had also improved the existing infrastructure of the state, thereby benefiting the common man. “Our works tell all and one can notice this moment one enters the state”, he said. The junior Chautala claimed that as of date, INLD candidates were comfortably placed in 58 constituencies and were in a tight contest in 16 others. He accused the Congress of deliberately trying to create tension and bitterness in some constituencies. He appealed to the gathering to vote in favour of the local INLD candidate, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, who had for the past 15 years stood by them. |
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Chautala govt’s days are numbered, says Surjewala
Kaithal, January 23 Mr Mehta was a strong aspirant for a Congress ticket from Kaithal, but did not succeed as Mr Shamsher Singh got it. Mr Mehta, who was unhappy till now over the denial of ticket to him, assured to extend support to Mr Surjewala. Mr Randeep Surjewala, who was here for canvassing in support of his father Shamsher Singh Surjewala, contesting from Kaithal Assembly constituency, said the people of state would get rid of Chautala-led INLD government soon as there was a strong wave in favour of the Congress. He alleged that during the past more than five years the people of state had been living under constant fear of criminals as they were having a field day due to leniency of the state government. He held Chautala family responsible for deteriorating law and order situation in the state and said that businessmen, mediapersons and hundreds of other persons had been murdered by the criminals and still the government released number of hardcore criminals from jails, who were convicted for heinous crimes by the courts. Mr Surjewala alleged that the business community was being fleeced and number of them had shifted their base to other states. He said the farmers of the state also feel cheated as promises made to them during last elections were not fulfilled. |
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Assets of 3 Lal families worth crores
Chandigarh, January 23 There was considerable interest about the wealth of the Lals during the Lok Sabha elections too. Ajay and Abhey, sons of the Haryana Chief Minister and INLD chief, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Kuldeep, son of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President and former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, and Mr Surinder Singh, son of former Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, were candidates in the Lok Sabha elections held in May. All four scions of the Lal families had declared assets in crores. The coming polls on February 3 is going to be the first Assembly elections in Haryana after the EC made it mandatory for candidates to file affidavits on cash and assets. Once again the
Lals, including the one who unsuccessfully fought in the Lok Sabha, are in the fray. While Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala himself is a candidate this time from Rori and Narwana seats, Mr Bhajan Lal and his elder son, Mr
Chandermohan, are contesting from Adampur and Kalka, respectively. Mr Chandermohan has declared cash and assets worth over Rs 4 crore, including wealth owned by his wife. Mr Bhajan Lal, who was the Chief Minister of Haryana on three occasions, has declared total assets worth over Rs 7.5 crore out of which more than Rs 6 crore has been shown in his wife’s name. The cash alone in Mr Bhajan Lal’s wife, Ms Jasna Devi’s hand amounted to Rs 67, 97,240. Mr Chautala, another immensely rich politician, has cash and assets worth more than Rs 5 crore. With spouse Ms Sneh Lata, alias Ms Kesar Devi, the Chautala husband and wife are worth over Rs 6 crore. Mr Bansi Lal himself is not a candidate, though his son and successor, Mr Surinder Singh, is contesting from Tosham on a Congress ticket. Mr Bansi Lal’s other son, Mr Ranbir
Mohindra, Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, is also a Congress candidate, but since he has remained estranged from his father for a long time, his money is not accounted as a part of the family’s wealth. Mr Surinder Singh and wife, Ms Kiran Choudhry, who is a politician herself, are worth more than Rs 6 crore. It is, however, not true that the four Lals in the fray are the richest among the candidates. Mr O. P. Jindal, an industrialist, who is seeking re-election from Hisar on a Congress ticket, has dwarfed them. Mr Jindal and his wife, Ms Savitri Devi, are worth a cool Rs 27 crore as per Mr Jindal’s declaration. Other rich candidates include hotelier Mr Venod Sharma, Congress nominee from Ambala City (Rs 10 crore including wife’s assets), and businessman Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, BJP aspirant from Sohna (Rs 3.38 crore including wife’s assets). People like Mr Jindal, Mr Sharma and Mr Bhadana had made money by being in business or industry. But how the Lals have made so much wealth? Let people ask them this question when Mr Chautala or Mr Bhajan Lal or Mr Surinder Singh goes out for seeking votes |
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60 women candidates are in the fray
Karnal, January 23 As per the details available from the EC, among the three major political parties of the state, the Congress has fielded 10 women candidates, the INLD nine and the BJP eight women candidates. In the last elections, the Congress had fielded 10 candidates, while the INLD and the BJP four each. The other parties like the Ekta Shakti, the CPM, the Lok Janshakti Party, the BSP, the Samajwadi Party and the Republican Party had fielded one woman candidate each, while the Lok Dal had fielded two women candidates. All the four outgoing women MLAs — two belonging to the BJP and one each to the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) — had been renominated by their respective parties. Interestingly, the 60 women candidates were contesting on 45 seats. Out of these, 19 were contesting as Independent candidates. In the last elections, as many as 21 women candidates had contested the Assembly elections as Independent candidates. In the ensuing elections, 12 women candidates belong to the Dalit communities. Congress and the INLD had fielded five out of them. Five Dalit women are trying their luck as Independent candidates, while the BSP and the Lok Dal had fielded one each Dalit women candidate. Those women candidates fighting the elections on the Congress ticket are Ms Krishna Pandit (Yamunanagar), Ms Sumita Singh (Karnal), Ms Mina Mandal (Jundla), Ms Rajrani Poonam (Assandh), Ms Kartari Devi (Kalanaur), Ms Anita Yadav (Salhawas), Ms Krishna Gehlawat (Rohat), Ms Gita Bhukkal (Kalayat), Ms Sharda Rathore (Balabhgarh) and Ms Prassani Devi (Naulatha). The women candidates contesting the elections on the BJP ticket are Ms Veena Chibbar (Ambala), Ms Mina Chaudhary (Meham), Ms Santosh Goshi (Beri), Ms Sudha Yadav (Gurgaon), Ms Sarita Narayan (Kalanaur), Ms Pooja Sharma (Rajaundh), Ms Renu Sharma (Rori) and Ms Durgesh Arora (Fatehabad). The women candidates of the INLD are Ms Swatantra Bala (Fatehabad), Ms Sumitra Mahajan (Hisar), Ms Santosh (Ateli), Ms Kanta Devi (Jhajjar), Ms Vidhya Beniwal (Darhba), Ms Satya Bala Malik (Hansi), Ms Rajranai Jaglaan (Naulatha), Ms Rekha Rana (Gharaunda) and Ms Saroj Mor (Narnaud). Ms Sunita Kashyap of the Ekta Shakti is contesting from Chachrauli, Ms Kamla of the Lok Dal from Nilokheri, Ms Sushma of the CPM from Gharaunda, Ms Maharani Inderjit Kaur of the LJP from Jind, Ms Rajender Kaur of the Lok Dal from Dabwali, Ms Lalita of the BSP from Rewari, Ms Sunita Devi of the Republican Party from Jadusana and Ms Saroj Devi of the SP from Salhawas. |
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Cong to act against rebels
Bhiwani, January 23 Mr Pratap, who is also the general secretary of the Uttaranchal Pradesh Congress Committee and state minister, said the Congress would win-two-thirds majority and form the government. He said Mr Bansi Lal, who recently merged his HVP with the Congress, would prove a boon for the party. He asked party workers not to be over-confident and work hard to register an victory. To a question regarding disgruntled elements in the party, he said the party would take stern action against them if they remained in the fray. He said the party would release its manifesto tomorrow. |
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Congress activists
campaign for candidate
Ambala, January 23 Activists carried out door-to-door campaign and addressed corner meetings. Activists reached out to the electorate, specially women voters. They pointed out that the Chautala government has failed to provide jobs for the youth and excessive taxation by the Chautala government has hit their budgets. They visited Church compound, Naya Gaon, Baldev Nagar, Geeta Nagri, Vijay Nagar, Kanshi Nagar and Model Town. |
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Cong candidate promises Bill on HSGPC
Yamunanagar, January 23 Addressing a press conference here, Ms Pandit said the Sikhs have faith in the Congress and she would be the one who would introduce a bill for a separate prabandhak committee. Accompanying her were seven elected SGPC members from Haryana who claimed the support of Sikhs in the state. Mr Didar Singh Nalvi, executive member, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and general secretary, Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC), said the Sikhs would this time vote for Congress as the senior party leaders including its president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have given indication for a separate gurdwara prabandhak committee. Mr Jagdish Singh Jhinla, member, SGPC and president, HSGPC, claimed that the Sikhs of the state were with them and they could not be misled by Mr Parkash Singh Badal. He accused the SGPC of ignoring gurdwaras in Haryana even though the contribution to the funds of the SGPC from the state was to a tune of Rs 18 crore annually. |
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Using ice-cream and cake as symbols
Chandigarh, January 23 Ten other parties have also been allowed to use symbols in Haryana which are associated with them in other states. These parties either enjoy the status of recognised parties in those states or became unrecognised within the past six years or less. These parties are Samajwadi Janata Party, Rastriya (tree), Republican Party of India (rising sun), Samata Party(flaming torch), Janata Dal, Secular(woman with paddy on her head), Rastriya Lok Dal
(handpump), CPI-ML (flag with three stars), Forward Bloc (lion), Samajwadi Party (bicycle), Janata Dal-United (arrow), and Janata Party (a man carrying plough within a wheel). Besides, there are six national parties—the Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM, BSP and NCP—that will fight elections in Haryana in symbols reserved for them by the EC on a countrywide basis. The INLD is a state party and its symbol is protected. For the Independent candidates or candidates from parties that lost recognition or are yet to be recognised, there are 74 “free symbols” to choose from. These symbols are arranged in an alphabetical order. The food items as symbols have a definite western flavour. There is cake, a slice of bread and a dollop of ice cream. One wonders why Indian confectionaries like laddoo or jalebi have not found a place. There are apparels, too. The dapper can choose from a coat, necktie and hat. There is also a picture of a frock. A cricket bat and a batsman are two other symbols. Among other symbols are toffee, road-roller, necklace, ring, fork and spoon. The candidates of Haryana, it is learnt, are going in for more traditional symbols like cot, banana, carrot and blackboard. |
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INLD, Cong candidates
woo voters Panchkula, January 23 “Even though Panchkula had a councillor from the Opposition, the INLD government showed no discrimination in initiating development here. I am expecting at least 80 per cent votes from the rural areas of Doon, Raitan and Barwala,” he added. Mr Chaudhary said he was getting a good response even in the urban areas of Panchkula and Kalka and added that there was an anti-incumbency wave against Mr Chander Mohan. Meanwhile, the Congress candidate, Mr Chander Mohan, today met representatives of the Beopar Mandal and listened to their grievances. Mr Kuldeep Chitkara, President, and Mr B.B. Kochhar, senior Vice-President of the mandal, opposed the constitution of the Municipal Council. They said the people and traders were being forced to pay taxes to the local body, though arrears paid by the residents were pending with HUDA. The traders also urged Mr Chander Mohan to provide a piece of land for setting up a Beopar Bhavan. Mr Chander Mohan also toured various parts of Panchkula and held election meetings at Sector 15, 16, 17, 11, 12-A, 14 and 19. He said before the INLD government came to power, Panchkula was considered the best district in the state. However, the INLD discriminated against Panchkula and no new development projects were undertaken. The BJP candidate, Mr Sham Lal Bansal, today toured various villages of the Barwala block. He also did door-to-door campaigning in Sectors 11, 15 and Power Colony. Later in the evening, he toured the slum and labour colonies of Panchkula. A senior BJP leader, Mr Ravinder Sehgal inaugurated the party office in Pinjore. Mr Venkaih Naidu will address a meeting of intellectuals at Sood Bhavan, Sector 10, Panchkula, according to a press note issued by the BJP office today.
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INLD candidate talks of
development
Ambala, January 23 Mr Mallour said “We have spent lakhs in each village”. He said that a several of the activists from Congress had joined the INLD. He said that the Congress activists who have joined the INLD were from Dilipgarh village, Kardhan village, Durga Nagar village, Teja, Lakhnaur, Sondha and Bhadi. |
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Two killed in road mishaps
Sonepat, January 23 According to a report, the Tata 407 vehicle was on its way to Rohtak while the bus was coming from the opposite side. Both vehicles collided, causing injuries to at least 12 persons including three women. All the injured were rushed to a private hospital where from three of them, including a woman, were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak, for further treatment. One of the injured succumbed to his injuries. The police has registered a case and sent the body of the victim for a post-mortam examination. According to another report, one person was killed and three others were injured when a truck collided with the tempo on the GT Road near Jet Joshi village, 12 km from here, last night. The deceased was identified as Pankaj, a resident of Housing Board Colony, Sector 15, Sonepat. |
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Ziledar gets 2-year jail
Fatehabad, January 23 The convicted official will also have to pay a fine of Rs 6,000. According to the prosecution case, Mr Ram Chander, a farmer from Hinjrawan Kalan, had lodged a complaint against Ziledar Durga Ram. The farmer had alleged that the official had dismantled the water course coming towards his agricultural land, though the government had approved it in January, 1996. Durga Ram demanded a bribe of Rs 4,000 for the construction of the water course.
— OC |
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