Chandigarh, March 8
The Haryana government is considering filing an application in the Supreme Court for an early decision on the presidential reference related to the controversial act passed by the Punjab government terminating its water-sharing agreements with other states.

Addressing a press conference here today, Haryana transport and parliamentary affairs minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said the state government had been prompted to seek expedition of the reference in the wake of the recent statement made by Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal regarding scrapping section 5 of the controversial act.

Surjewala said by having threatened to scrap section 5, the Punjab Chief Minister wanted to deny Haryana its share of water of the Ravi and Beas rivers. This was a diabolical attempt being made by Badal to destabilise the peace and quiet prevailing in large parts of northern India, Surjewala said.

He added that traditionally the Akali-BJP alliance had created problems between Punjab and other states, whenever the combined had formed the government in Punjab.

“Badal’s statement is illegal, unconstitutional and against the idea of brotherhood of human beings,” Surjewala said.

He said the area that now constitutes Haryana was allocated its share of water even back in 1960 when Haryana used to form a part of Punjab. Surjewala said the Punjab Reorganisation Act had a clause that Haryana and Punjab should work out its water-sharing pattern mutually, and in case they failed to do so the centre would decide the matter.

In March, 1976, the centre allocated 3.5 MAF water to Haryana as the two states failed to arrive at a mutually acceptable settlement. Haryana paid Punjab Rs 1 crore in 1976 and Rs 1 crore again in 1979 for the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal. But despite these payments and decisions of the governments, the Eradi Tribunal and finally the Supreme Court, the Punjab government had declined to construct the SYL or give Haryana its share of water, rued Surjewala.

Surjewala conceded that former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who was a Congress Chief Minister, had committed a grave error by introducing the controversial act on the termination of water-sharing agreements. He said the Haryana Congress had strongly opposed the act.

Chandigarh, March 8
Satpal Kaushik, secretary of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), today expressed anguish at the suspension of Bhiwani Member of Parliament Kuldeep Bishnoi from the primary membership of the Congress. Kaushik said Bishnoi, who emerged victorious in the electoral battlefield of Bhiwani, symbolised the fighting spirit of the youth of Haryana.

His suspension would not go down well with the masses in Haryana, he said

Rohtak, March 8
The state’s political scene had been unusually calm after the landslide win of the Congress in the 2005 Assembly poll. Subsequently, the return of Om Parkash Chautala to the political scene and now the suspension of Congress MP from Bhiwani Kuldeep Bishnoi has given ample impetus to political debates that are doing the rounds in rural Haryana. It is these debates that ultimately decide the fate of political parties and their leaders at the appropriate time.

The latest discussions are now centred on the future course of action of Bishnoi and his father, former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

Two theories are currently doing the rounds of village chaupals. The first is that the father-son duo will float a new party a la Bansi Lal after his unceremonious ouster from the Congress decades ago.

The other is that instead of a state-level party, the Bishnois will prefer to float a party that has presence in some neighbouring states, particularly Rajasthan, where they have a possible ally in former external affairs minister Natwar Singh. The Bhajan Lal camp had been speculating on this possibility for several months.But the public display of bonhomie by the two disgruntled leaders on the steps of the Sansad Bhawan yesterday, has further cemented the public perception.

Proponents of the first theory, however, are of the view that the Bishnois may not be able to repeat Bansi Lal’s feat in case they launch a new party in Haryana. They say that Bansi Lal had the advantage of being a Jat. Through dogged politics Bansi Lal gained acceptance of the Jat belt which was a crucial factor in his resurrection. Whether the Bishnois can gain similar acceptance in the non-Jat districts is still a million dollar question.

This is where the Natwar Singh factor comes in. In case the Bishnois reach some kind of political arrangement with the Rajasthan leader, their new political outfit will have a Jat leader also in it though that is unlikely to swing much Jat votes towards any new political party. However, both Bhajan Lal and Natwar Singh can help each other in the border areas of the two states though that may be limited to a few hundred votes there.

Gurgaon, March 8
Until two years ago, Aloka Syal was just another woman proud to have a day to her name. But today, she is more thankful than proud. Back home after 16 months of captivity in Haryana’s Bondsi Jail which houses many hardened criminals, she cuts a brave figure as she recounts her nightmares.

“Being in jail was like being in a vacuum. We would be locked up by 6.30 pm, having finished our dinner by then. For 16 months, I didn’t see the moon. Others have not seen it for years. Being jailed is not as simple as it sounds. It is quite deathly,” says Aloka, who is finding it hard to return to normalcy.

At her home in Gurgaon, she still takes the dal-roti diet, which is all she can digest. She still sleeps at 6.30 pm and wakes up early. What’s more, she hates the noise of the traffic, having spent months in the deafening silence of the jail. “It’s like being frozen in time,” says Aloka, charged with the abetment of her mother-in-law’s suicide.

Booked on the complaint of her husband whom she married after seven years of fairy-tale romance, Aloka has many tasks ahead of her. Right now she is mustering the courage to defend herself, something she has lost during months of imprisonment.

Still perplexed over what went wrong, she says, “I still remember I had sent off my mother-in-law in a taxi that day. She was to visit her sister in Delhi. I and my husband were at home when the news of her death came. She had jumped off the 8th floor of Sushant Apartments here. The next thing - my husband was gunning for me. First I thought he was just angry. I surrendered and joined police investigations.”

But that didn’t help. Aloka’s bail was adjourned 24 times, a matter highlighted by The Tribune earlier. Meanwhile, Aloka’s husband kept moving applications against her and Haryana’s special investigation team which had ruled out homicide. “My bail was pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court while my husband moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe. I got relief only when I joined the case in the SC which then directed the High Court to hear my bail on priority.”

Aloka drove home on March 2, a day before Holi. But she didn’t know life would be so colourless. Except with her parents, she doesn’t find solace anywhere. 

Rewari, March 8
Following verification done by the women's cell, of a complaint lodged by Tara Devi of Mohalla Balluwara here, who alleged that her two married daughters, Arti and Rajni were subjected to cruelty for dowry by their in-laws, the city police has registered a case of harassment for dowry, breach of trust and molestation under sections 498-A, 406, 354, 34 of the IPC against Arti's husband Siddharth, Rajni's husband Alok, their father-in-law Rohtash and mother-in-law Pushpa Devi, all residents of Palam Vihar Colony of Delhi.

The complainant Tara Devi also alleged that when things became unbearable owing to Rohtash's (father-in-law) stubborn bid to outrage the modesty of Rajni (younger daughter-in-law), both Arti and Rajni left their marital home and returned to Rewari.

In a second such instance, the Kosli police has booked Rajesh (husband), Bimla Devi (mother-in-law) and six others, all residents of Tighra village of Mahendergarh district, on charges of harassment for dowry and breach of trust. 

Fatehabad, March 8
The district unit of the All India Democratic Women's Association demonstrated against the alleged anti-women policies of the Central and the state government on the occasion of the International Women’s Day today.

Activists led by president of the association Jatinder Pal Kaur and secretary Anita Kranti gathered at the Ambedkar Park to hold a protest meeting.

Addressing women, Jatinder Pal Kaur said the Supreme Court had issued specific orders that women should dominate in each department to listen to complaints like sexual exploitation. But, most of the departments were yet to comply with the apex court’s directives, she added.

Kranti said on one hand we worship women as 'Shakti' and 'Durga' but on the other incidents of rapes and sexual exploitation were on the rise in the country. Several other activists also spoke on the occasion.

Later, the activists marched towards the mini-secretariat and gave a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to the deputy commissioner.

The association alleged in its memorandum that the attitude of the administration and ministers had been found to be anti-women, whenever any case of exploitation of women had come to fore. The government had even failed to provide basic facilities like toilets to women at workplaces.

The association also demanded constitution of the state women commission, enactment of Women's Reservation Bill, check on the rising prices, universalisation of public distribution system, ban on the displaying women as commodities in TV advertisements and on the sale of obscene literatures and CDs.

Bhiwani, March 8
Dr. Krishna Sangwan, Head, department of gynaecology, PGIMS, Rohtak, while inaugurating a medical camp for pregnant women, organised by the Bhiwani Maternity and Gynaecologist Society, to mark 'International Women's Day' today, said humanity was the prime religion and we should dedicate ourselves to the cause of service to the humanity.

She said a doctor had to play vital role in the society.

Applauding the doctors for holding the camp for, she said the poor and needy women residing in the remote villages could not come to towns and such camps could help them in getting their medical problems treated.

Unit president of the society Dr. Kamla Bhardwaj thanked the chief medical officer Dr. Khazan Singh, principal medical officer Dr. Karni Singh Rathore and ESI hospital in charge Dr. K L Bawa for extending their cooperation in holding the camp.

Dr. Sangwan honoured advocate Savitri Devi, principal Asha Pahuja, HPCC general secretary Bimla Parmar and lecturer Rashmi Bajaj by presenting mementos for rendering services to the society in different field.

Dr. Bhardwaj later said that out of 400 women registered at the camp, 386 pregnant women were examined and given iron and vitamin tablets free of cost.

Meawhile, cheques worth Rs 25 lakh were distributed among 25 beneficiaries under the Rajiv Gandhi Parivar Bima Yojna at a function organised to mark International Women's Day at panchayat bhavan on Thursday. Deputy Commissioner Mohinder Kumar who preside over the function, said as many as 225 beneficiaries had been given Rs. 2.25 crore sofar in the district.

Seventy women were also honoured for their outstanding work in the field of education, sports, blood donation, social works, women awareness and empowerment, cultural programmes and female foeticide campaign.

Chandigarh, March 8
The Haryana Ex-Airmen Welfare Association has urged Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL) to relax the professional qualifications of ex-servicemen for recruitment in the corporation.

General secretary of the association Rajinder Godara has written a letter to the HPGCL's recruitment cell saying that the chief secretary had issued instructions back in 1972 for ignoring the percentage of marks obtained by an ex-serviceman for his recruitment to a post reserved for candidates of this category.

Godara wrote that HPGCL had issued an advertisement recently for posts of assistant engineer in which the minimum qualification was 60 per cent marks in BE for general category candidates and 55 per cent for Scheduled Castes and backward class candidates. However, its sister organisation, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) also issued advertisements for posts of assistant engineer and gave 55 per cent marks in BE as the minimum qualification for all reserved category candidates, including ex-servicemen.

Godara urged HPGCL to follow the example of the UHBVN and treat ex-servicemen as equivalent to SC and BC candidates for filling the vacancies meant for ex-servicemen.

Ambala, March 8
A section of candidates, who had applied for the post of shift attendant in the power department, protested against the computer eligibility norms during the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) interviews here today.

The candidates claimed that they were not being allowed to take the interview albeit they had interview letters. However, HSSC member Ashok Jain said candidates who were fulfilling the eligibility criteria set by the department were being interviewed.

A number of candidates from different districts of Haryana had come to attend the interview being held at PWD Rest House, Ambala Cantt. At the time of arrival, they had to undertake scrutiny of their documents and it was found that some of the candidates did not have the necessary computer certification from a government recognised institute.

The candidates who lacked proper documentation were not allowed to appear for the interview. Protesting the move, these candidates demanded that they should be allowed to take the interview since they held valid interview letters. They said they had come from far-off places and the denial amounted to harassment. They further stated that they should have been given prior intimation about the computer eligibility requirement.

Ashok Jain, who was taking the interviews, said eligibility criteria was set by the department for this post and the commission was a medium for carrying out the selection.

He explained that all advertisements of the commission clearly stated that in case any candidate had any doubt, the candidate could seek clarification from the commission. He said the interview letters were issued with the understanding that the candidates had carefully gone through the advertisement and would meet the necessary requirements.

Ashok Jain said he had advised the candidates to go to the commission office at Panchkula and explain their problem there. "We are a candidate-friendly commission and the actions taken by us are in line to ensure that the candidates do not face any inconvenience," he stressed.

Ambala, March 8
Election for 20 members of the District Planning Committee was held at Panchayat Bhavan, Ambala City, today.

While the lone candidate from Naraingarh and 13 members of the Zila Parishad were unanimously elected unopposed, the election took place for three seats each of MC, Ambala City and MC, Ambala Sadar.

The Zila Parishad members who were elected unopposed include Brahmpal Rana, Surendra Kumar, Baldev Singh, Naib Singh Saini, Jasbir Singh, Balkar Singh, Kanta Rani, Paramjeet Kaur, Satya Bharati, Raj Rani, Kiran Bala, Krishna and Balwinder Punia. Baikunth Nath was elected unopposed from Naraingarh.

The election was held for seat numbers 14, 15 and 16 for MC Ambala City. Rupan Guglani won from seat number 14 by securing 25 votes while Kripal Singh got four votes. Daljeet Singh Goga won from seat number 15 while Pawan Kumar Dimpy was the winner from seat number 16.

From MC Ambala Sadar, Bhupesh Sharma, Gagan Dang and Vikas Bhateja were the winners. 

Ambala, March 8
Cross-voting during elections to the district planning committee has exposed factionalism in the Congress in Ambala Cantonment.

Municipal councillor Ajay Walia, who was a Congress candidate, was defeated and the number of votes polled in her favour was considerably less than the total number of Congress municipal councillors in Ambala Sadar.

For seat 18, Walia got just eight votes, though the strength of the Congress was 13.

This clearly showed that at least five Congress councillors voted against her.

The result of the cross-voting was that INLD councillor Gagan Dang won from seat 18.

Dang was the sole Indian National Lok Dal councillor in Ambala Sadar. BJP candidate Bhupesh Sharma won from seat 17 despite the strength of the BJP being seven.

Vikas Bhateja was the only Congress candidate to win, from seat 19, and he got 16 votes.

Kamal Kishore Jain was a close second with 11 votes in his favour.

Upset with the turn of events, Walia today shot off a letter to Haryana pradesh Congress committee working president Ram Prakash, seeking a thorough inquiry into the matter.

Walia demanded that the black sheep be identified and stern action taken against them.

She said she was the Congress candidate and she had been asked to contest the elections by Ambala Cantonment MLA D.K. Bansal as well as district Congress committee president Narender Pal Singh Shera.

She said Shera had assured her that an understanding had been reached with the BJP, under which two Congress candidates would win while one BJP candidate 
would win.

Walia observed that Shera had informed her that she and Bhateja were the Congress candidates while Bhupesh was the BJP 
candidate.

Bansal said he had received a copy of Walia’s letter to Ram Prakash.

“It is for the party high command to decide on the action it wants to take in the matter”, he said.

He said Walia, along with a few other councillors, had come and met him.

He said Walia wanted to contest, but he had not proposed her name.

The Congress did not face similar problems in Ambala City, where all its three candidates won.

The winners included Rupan Guglani from seat 14, Daljeet Singh Goga from seat 15 and Pawan Kumar Dimpy from seat 16.