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Bali Episode
No further action needed, says Virbhadra
Dissolve Assembly: Mankotia
No FIR for now
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Race for Mandi MC hots up
No police help, no check on illegal construction
CPM protests against Andhra firing
‘Drop FIR against my dead husband’
Father seeks justice for missing son
Women lock up liquor vend
CM’s political adviser injured
Wild bear attacks girl
Woman killed in accident
Resentment over erratic BSNL services
2 killed in mishaps
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Bali Episode
Mandi, July 30 The BJP also demanded a judicial probe into Bali's birthday ball and legal action against the officials who participated in the party that day. Addressing the rally, the BJP leaders alleged that the Virbhadra Singh government had lost the moral authority to stay in power in the state after the Bali's expose as it had brought shame to people of the state. “The audio CD released by suspended Congress leader V.S. Mankotia that contained voices of the Chief Minister and his wife Mandi MP Pratibha Singh and recent videos on Bali's birthday party at Dharamsala have proved beyond doubt that the Congress has no moral authority to continue in office”, they charged. Leading the protest today included BJP chief, Jai Ram Thakur, former Vidhan Sabha speaker Gulab Singh Thakur, former forest minister Rup Singh Thakur, district president Col Inder Singh, Dharampur BJP MLA Mohinder Singh Thakur, state yuva mrcha chief Rakesh Jamval, BJP party in charge for Mandi, Dulo Ram, BJP Balh MLA Damodar Das, state vice-president Ram Swarup Sharma and others BJP leaders and workers Later Jai Ram Thakur told reporters at press conference that judicial inquiry should be conducted into the Bali's birthday party and legal action should be taken against all officials present at the party. Shimla: The BJP today demanded the dismissal of the Congress government in the state and holding of fresh elections in wake of the monetary and moral corruption in the state. Addressing a press conference here today, state BJP spokesperson Randhir Sharma today said after the disclosures made by a new channel about the moral conduct of a minister, the Virbhadra regime had lost the moral right to continue in office. He said keeping in view all factors Governor V.S, Kokje must dismiss the government. “In case the Governor does not dismiss the government, the BJP will intensify its ongoing agitation and make it a mass movement,” he remarked. “The Chief Minister cannot wash his hands off the issue by merely accepting the resignation of former tourism and transport minister G. S Bali, as Virbhadra himself was present at his birthday celebrations during the day time,” he said. He added that the Chief Minister was equally responsible for Bali’s conduct as he had always shielded and encouraged him. The BJP leader said Bali had already been surrounded by controversies right from the beginning. “Be it the scam as far as purchase of busses is concerned, wet leasing or the Mumbai musical blast held at Dharamshala, Bali has always been in the news for wrong reasons,” he said. Sharma said despite the BJP raising these issues, no action was taken and the name of Bali had prominently figured even in the chargesheet given by the BJP to the Governor. “Ever since his entry into politics the controversial leader has given birth to a new ‘Bali culture’ which was unknown to Himachal politics,” he said. Taking strong exception to the name of BJP legislator Virender Kanwar being dragged into the Bali controversy, he said the Chief Minister must tender a public apology failing which the BJP would file a privilege motion and defamation suit. “It was highly irresponsible for a person of the stature of the Chief Minister to say that the BJP MLA was also present at the function,” he said.
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Pathania set to join Cabinet
Shimla, July 30 An indication to this effect was given by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. He maintained that he had decided to induct Pathania much earlier but he could not be sworn as Governor V.S.Kokje was away on a tour. He asserted that the induction of Pathania was not linked to the exit of Bali. The assertions of Virbhadra Singh apart, the induction of Pathania is indeed a fallout of the Bali episode. Kangra is not only the biggest district of the state, accounting for 16 out the 68 Assembly seats, but also politically the most significant. With just one minister left in the Cabinet from the district the Chief Minister had no option but to induct a minister immediately to fill the vacancy. The opposition BJP and former minister Vijay Mankotia, who quit the Congress to take up the reins of the BSP, have been making discrimination against Kangra a major issue. Pathania hails from the Rajput community and his elevation will enable the Congress to counter the impact of former ministers, Mankotia and Kewal Singh Pathania, who have jumped on to the Mayawati bandwagon. Rajputs and other backward classes are two major communities in Kangra but they were unrepresented in the ministry since the downsizing exercise which saw the number of ministers from the district decline from six to two. While Chander Kumar who represented the OBCs resigned after being elected to the Lok Sabha, the two Rajput ministers, Vijay Singh Mankotia and Chandresh Kumari, were dropped. It was the downsizing exercise which sowed the seeds of discontent in the party culminating in the exit of Mankotia from the party. The strength of the ministry could go up to a maximum of 12 and as such there will be still scope for induction of another minister, besides Pathania. The Chief Minister has also indicated that there could be a further expansion. He could induct one minister from Hamirpur district, which does not have any representative in the ministry at present. |
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No further action needed, says Virbhadra
Shimla, July 30 Talking to mediapersons he said appropriate action had been taken in the matter but he would consider the demand of Bali for a judicial probe into his conduct during the party if he made a written request. Further, the state high court would also come into the picture as he had demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge. He said the “expose” could be a conspiracy of political adversaries of Bali as Bali was a competent, effective and result-oriented minister and always delivered the goods. He had complete command over the departments he held. Replying to a query he said if Bali’s name was cleared he could be again inducted into the ministry with the approval of the high command. He said the exit of opportunist leaders like Mankotia, Vijay Joshi and Kewal Singh Pathania would only help cleanse the Congress of undesirable elements. The party needed leaders of substance and not turncoats who frequently switched loyalties. There was no room for a third front in the state where a two-party system with the Congress and the BJP on the center-stage had come to stay. The BSP had been contesting elections in the past but it had failed to mark its presence on the election scene. He ridiculed the BJP for demanding dismissal of the Congress government over the Bali episode and said such a demand only betrayed “political bankruptcy” of its leaders. He said former Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal had been projecting himself as the next Chief Minister and he had started handing out threats to officers. However, with the BJP high command making it clear that the issue of leadership would be decided by it had left him demoralised. The BJP was a house divided and a civil war was going on with a number of leaders fighting for the top slot.
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Dissolve Assembly: Mankotia
Dharamsala, July 30 Talking to mediapersons here today, he said the state government had lost credibility after the audio-CD and Bali episodes. He said the latest happening had again reaffirmed that the government was not being ruled by good people. He said the bureaucrats identified during the recent sting operation should be placed under suspension immediately and chargesheeted as per existing rules for their alleged role in the indecent expose. |
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No FIR for now
Dharamsala, July 30 Kangra SP Gyaneshwar Singh said the complaint was entered in the daily-dairy record, but no FIR could be registered as ‘no prima facie case could be made out on the basis of that complaint’. He said the offences mentioned in the complaint were non-cognisable; therefore the police was not bound to register an FIR merely on the basis of the complaint without conducting a proper inquiry. He ruled out any political pressure in the case. When specifically asked about the violation of the hotel timings, he said the matter was under the preview of the district magistrate. District magistrate Bharat Khera said he had not issued any order as regards the timings for hotels. Moreover, the administration could not impose any time restrictions on private parties taking place in hotels/restaurants, he said. On the issue of the misuse of official vehicles by government officials present in the party, he said it needed to be probed at the departmental level. As regards dresses of the girls, he said there was nothing objectionable as far as the law applicable to the entire country was concerned. Meanwhile, the complainant had said that he would file a case of contempt of court against the police for not complying with orders of the Supreme Court that had made it mandatory to register FIR on the basis of any complaint received at a police station. He said he would also file an application in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate seeking directions under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC for registration of an FIR on the basis of his complaint. |
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Race for Mandi MC hots up
Mandi, July 30 Leading the race this time is veteran councillor, Anand Behl, who enjoys the support of Sukh Ram and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh as the MMC is dominated by pro-Congress councillors. “The BJP has four
councillors, including president H.R. Vaidya who faced the no-confidence motion”, revealed insiders. Former MMC's president Sushila
Sonkhla, who is Sukh Ram's supporter is also in race, but she faces flack, following a report that she had paid ‘her private telephone bill worth Rs 80,000 from the council funds when she was the president’. Another former president Pushp Raj, a pro-Congress councillor has expressed his unwillingness for the post. An independent, Gagan Kashyap, is in the race and enjoys support of Sushila Sonkhla, but is considered to be a junior as compared to Anand Behl, who enjoys a clean image. |
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Hotel Row Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, July 30 The state government, through its chief secretary, and the local district magistrate had given an undertaking to the committee earlier this month that the construction had been stopped at the controversial site. Even after this, M/s Prashanti Surya Constructions, which was ‘fraudulently’ given this project on build-operate-transfer basis by the state government, had started construction once again a few days back under political patronage with the district magistrate almost becoming a mute spectator to the activity. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had also given an undertaking to the committee that it had denied permission to the state government for change of land use. Santosh Patial, additional superintendent of police, Kangra district, confirmed that the Forest Department had approached the Dharamsala police five days ago for assistance in stopping the construction work. He said the police would go through the instructions of the Union Government, the state government and the Supreme Court committee and act accordingly. Apart from the state government’s undertaking to the committee that the construction had been stopped, district magistrate of Kangra Bharat Khera had earlier also served a notice under Section 39 of the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977, on the local divisional manager of the Transport Department to restore the land in the condition existing before the development work took place within one month from the date of service of the notice. The district magistrate also asked the Transport Department ‘to demolish the development made by you in contravention of the provisions of the Act and rules made thereunder’ and ‘to stop/discontinue the development operation-further construction’, but the construction continued at intermittent times.
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CPM protests against Andhra firing
Shimla, July 30 They demanded the dismissal of Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhar besides demanding strict action against the police officials responsible for the firing. “The state government must give adequate compensation to the families of those killed and injured in the firing,” said Sanjay Chauhan, district secretary of the party.
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‘Drop FIR against my dead husband’
Dharamsala, July 30 She alleged that instead of booking the culprit who hit her husband that killed him, the police had registered an FIR under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC against her dead husband at the Shahpur police station. She had pleaded before the SP that the criminal proceedings against her deceased husband be dropped and the main culprit who hit him be booked under relevant laws. The SP had marked an inquiry into the whole episode. The aggrieved woman demanded that the higher authorities should take action against those police officials who registered a wrong FIR. |
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Father seeks justice for missing son
Shimla, July 30 Kamlesh Rana, 34, along with some fellow villagers had come to Kumarsen in Shimla district for resin tapping work from the Khundian area of Kangra district with a contractor. The family was informed later telephonically on June 3 that their son had gone missing. But ever since they had not been given any satisfactory reason for his disappearance. Roshan Lal said a message was conveyed to him by the contractor that his son was missing. But eversince, the contractor did not take our calls and gave us conflicting statements, he added. He said his son’s belongings were recovered from the the contractor’s room, who was later taken for questioning. “Despite the police assuring us that the recovery of clothes and belongings of my son from the contractor’s room was evidence enough to book him, they later said that only a missing report could be filed,” he rued. He said Kamlesh had left behind a wife and three children. The police registered a case on July 16 only after Roshan Lal met the SP. The family apprehends that the police was trying to shelter the accused. “Either the police should recover my son or at least his body so that we can perform his last rites so that he lives in eternal peace,” says the distraught father.
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Women lock up liquor vend
Nahan, July 30 After noticing aggressive mood of the women, vend contractor hurriedly packed his bags and left the village. At present, there two locks are hanging on the liquor shop. They alleged that the selling of liquor in had sent a wrong message among the young generation their village and earning members of poor families were spending their money buying liquor. — OC |
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Concern over decay at IIAS
Shimla, July 30 The convener of the Shimla Chapter of INTACH B.S. Malhans in his report has pointed out that leakage at several places is damaging woodwork. In fact, it is on the basis of his report that the national head of INTACH has raised the matter with the ASI. He has written a letter to the ASI director-general S.K. Mishra in this connection. INTACH has expressed concern over the failure of the ASI to take steps to plug the leakages so that the monument can be protected and saved from further dilapidation. “The situation in the study rooms allotted to research scholars in the annex adjacent to the main building complex is rather bad as there is a lot of leakage,” said Malhans. He also felt that the ASI staff deputed here was probably not competent enough to take care of the building which has been a part of national history and many historic events took place here. INTACH is also of the opinion that no guests should be allowed to stay in the rooms on the first floor of the main building, as is being done. “Only dry use of such monuments should be allowed as being more than century old these cannot afford to take wet use which would be very damaging for the structure in the long run,” points out Malhans. Despite the fact that the IIAS has a guest house in which all research scholars and guests are put up, even the rooms in the main complex are opened for guests. “It is a well- established fact that the ASI takes better care of monuments which are not in use rather than a living monument like the IIAS,” he stresses. It is probably for this reason that the IIAS was not given to the ITC which was keen to convert it into an international-level convention centre in the early nineties. Being under the Human Resource Development Ministry the IIAS is now only used for academic and research-oriented work.
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CM’s political adviser injured
Palampur, July 30 Butail is Congress MLA from Palampur. He fell unconscious after the incident. He was taken to the Palampur Civil Hospital where he was given five stitches on the head, sources said. His condition was stated to be out of danger. — PTI |
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Wild bear attacks girl
Kangra, July 30 According to Mohinder and his wife Veena Devi, their daughter Rashmi was in the fields this morning when she was attacked by a wild bear. The bear inflicted severe injuries on her right thigh. The couple rushed Rashmi in a taxi from their village to Dr R.P. Government Medical College Hospital, Dharamsala. They reached there around 10.30 am, but there was no doctor in the emergency and the hospital staff suggested them to rush the girl to Tanda as she was bleeding profusely. At Tanda, doctors asked them to take her back to Dharamsala as there was no arrangement for such treatment there. The girl was later taken to the local Civil Hospital here around 1.30 pm. A doctor said the injuries suffered by the girl could have been easily treated by the doctors at Dharamsala. The couple has sought intervention of the Chief Minister, who holds the health portfolio, so that proper healthcare was made available in hospitals, at least in case of emergencies. |
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Woman killed in accident
Kullu, July 30 |
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Resentment over erratic BSNL services
Solan, July 30 The BSNL launched this plan for state government employees by providing unlimited free inter-CUG calls last year. With a monthly rental of Rs 250 and free talk time of Rs 150, the plan attracted thousands of employees. Subscribers rued that they were not able to make use of the CUG facility for the past five days. BSNL officials said a fault had developed in the exchange at Chandigarh and it was being looked into. The fault would be rectified soon, they claimed. Subscribers said it was not only difficult to make calls during peak hours, but the calls were often disconnected midway. Cross-calls were also common. They said poor services provided by the BSNL were once again making them look towards private companies.
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2 killed in mishaps
Kumarhatti, July 30 In another accident, Pyare Lal (25) of Kakkar village in Hamirpur district was killed on the spot when his motor cycle (KA-02-W-9901) collided with a Swaraj Mazda at Lakkar Depot, Barotiwala, today. |
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