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Wait for change: Mayawati
Paswan: LJP will hold key to govt formation
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HP VOTES
Vivekananda Institute
It’s Mahajan’s frustration: Pathania
‘Cong trying to create communal tension’
Shanta flays Cong policies
Thin attendance at Cong, BJP rallies
‘Declining sex ratio a cause for worry’
New education policy sought
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Wait for change: Mayawati
Shimla, December 8 The usual punch was missing as she delivered a written speech with practically no reference of Himachal-specific issues. It was the same old rhetoric about what the party had done for the Dalits and the poor upper caste in Uttar Pradesh. “The BSP has never been against any religion or caste and the infamous ‘tilak, tarazu, talwar’ slogan was the brainchild of our political opponents to defame our party and keep the upper caste away from the BSP fold,” she said. She was quick to mention that it was for this very reason that the BSP had projected Vijai Singh Mankotia, an upper caste, as its chief ministerial candidate in Himachal Pradesh. Used to rousing welcomes by mammoth crowds back home in Uttar Pradesh, it was probably the moderate gathering at the rally that made her say the BSP would not form the government in Himachal, but certainly the results would be surprising for all. She said her party was in favour of providing reservation to not just Dalits but also religious minorities and poor upper caste. She said the Congress and the BJP were trying to do away with reservation in the garb of privatisation. The lone reference in her speech to a local problem was the move by the state government to get dharas (encroachments) removed in Shimla. “I am shocked to learn that unlike in Uttar Pradesh where we have given land and money to construct two-room houses to the poor, the government here is rendering around 5,000 poor homeless without providing them any alternative accommodation,” she said. She said the policies of the BSP were pro-poor as the party had never fought elections on the funding from big corporate houses unlike the BJP and the Congress, which framed economic policies favouring
capitalists. |
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Rocks in Baddi, says Dalits ignored
Baddi, December 8 Taking exception to the utterances of the Congress during a public rally at Kullu, she said the use of derogatory words for the Dalits was a serious violation of the model code of conduct and she would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission of India in that regard. In her 40-minute speech she launched a scathing attack on the Congress for having failed to uplift the weaker sections, including poor belonging to upper castes. She urged the people to vote in favour of the BSP which, she claimed, was the only party that had provided reservation to the poor belonging to the upper castes in Uttar Pradesh. |
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Paswan: LJP will hold key to govt formation
Nahan, December 8 Elaborating on the point he claimed that the party was contesting on nearly 50 seats in the state and was hopeful that the LJP would hold the balance of power by winning some key seats, including Nahan. He lambasted Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh “for speaking lies’ on the issue of sanction of a steel plant by his ministry for the Nahan area. He said that as a special case two steel plants were sanctioned for Nahan and Jammu by his ministry, three months back. If Virbhadra proved the sanction to be fake then he was ready to quit politics. Stating Virbhadra’s statement of denying the sanction of a plant for the Nahan area as ‘shameful’, Paswan said he himself talked to the Chief Minister regarding the sanction of steel plant and had urged to provide land for the establishment of plant. He alleged that after the state government failed to provide the land for the plant, his ministry on its own took up the matter, selected the site and now the land was being purchased by his ministry to establish the plant in the Nahan area. He said had the state government provided the land for the plant, the plant would have been inaugurated by him by now. He came heavily on the state government for not taking interest in the development of the Sirmaur. Paswan alleged that the BJP was dividing the people of the country by perusing religious agenda for getting votes. He alleged that the BJP was voted to power in Uttar Pradesh and at the centre on the assurance of that the Ram Mandir would be constructed at Ayodhya but the BJP cheated Lord Rama and the common masses by not constructing the temple. He also ragged the BJP on the Gujrat issue and said it was not a trustworthy party. Paswan raised several issues to woo Muslim voters, including granting permission on his intervention to perform Id Namaj on the Military ground, Nahan, which was earlier refused by the Army. He also raised issue of Babri Masjid. He also hoped that the issue of proposed firing range in the Nahan area, which was being opposed by the residents, would be sorted out with the intervention of the defense minister. |
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Promises Rs 25,000 for every baby girl
Shimla, December 8 |
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Anand Sharma plays secular card
Missarwala (Paonta Doon), December 8 Amidst recitations from the Holy Quran made by students of Madrassa Quadria, the largest Muslim school in the segment, Sharma kickstarted his campaign on the note of communal harmony. “Whatever you do, you will be considered good only if you value all religions,” Sharma said to students at Missarwala, the village with highest Muslim population in the segment. As he made the point, the gathering, including school principal Kabiruddin Mazahiri, broke into thunderous applause. The applause was followed by a warm reception hosted by Mazhiri, a very respectable man in Missarwala, where over 90 per cent of the population is Muslim. No wonder Sharma was greeted by several Muslim leaders on his way from the madrassa to the public rally in Missarwala, which was well attended. Conspicuous by his absence here was Kirnesh Jung, the Congress candidate from Paonta Doon, who has twice earlier contested as an independent (even against the Congress candidate Ratan Singh). This year the Congress chose Jung over veteran Sikh leader Singh, who is these days helping Jung gain ground against Sukh Ram, the BJP candidate and sitting MLA. “Jung has fine prospects. He has been asked to continue with his campaigns in the segment. With few days left for elections, we can’t afford to keep pulling out candidates for rallies,” Sharma told The Tribune after he had addressed the public rally, where women (the area being Muslim) remained in the background. They simply watched the show from their terrace not forgetting to clap, as Sharma built a case in the favour of the Congress, which he projected as historic in comparison to a young BJP. Muted in his ways, he had, by the end of the rally, thrown the ball in the electorate’s court. “Make your decision on December 19,” he said, “and strike a rapport with the Congress, which has the power to get India’s voice heard at the global level.” As the crowds cheered the Congress leader, he again introduced Jung as a dynamic Rajput, with a potential to deliver. |
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HP VOTES
Kullu, December 8 The fact that the political players are the same but from different parties this time, has made the contest even more interesting on at least two of the three seats, falling under Kullu district. The presence of former education minister, Karan Singh, in the Dhumal regime on the BSP ticket has made the going tough for the BJP in Banjar. The Congress is faced with a similar predicament in Kullu where a rebel, Dharamvir Dhami, has jumped into the fray on the BSP ticket. As such the BSP, which is making its entry into Himachal politics in such a big way for the first time is making quite an impact in the state. On the Ani seat, the contest is mainly between Congress MLA Ishwar Dass and Kishori Lal of the BJP. Karan Singh, who was denied the party ticket even during the last Assembly elections has shown his defiance by jumping into the fray this time but the silence of his elder brother, Maheshwar Singh, a former MP and state BJP chief is causing a lot of uneasiness to the BJP in the state. Maheshwar Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Kullu was a strong contender for the party ticket from Kullu seat, while Karan Singh had applied from Banjar. The sidelining of the two leaders could prove to be damaging for the party which has fielded its sitting MLA Khimi Ram from Banjar and Govind Thakur from Kullu. Khimi Ram had won the last election by a margin of 4,542 votes. In fact Maheshwar even caused a stir when he chose to stay away from the rally addressed by L.K. Advani at Kullu along with the BJP candidate from Ani, Kishori Lal. The presence of Dhami as the BSP candidate from Kullu has compounded the problems of the Congress. Moreover he is the nephew of Congress candidate and horticulture minister, Raj Kishan Gaur and was keen that he be made his political heir. He had contested the last election as an Independent and had polled 12,953 votes. |
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Vivekananda Institute
Palampur, December 8 Talking to mediapersons Dhumal said there would have been a hospital maintaining the standard of AIIMS at Palampur if Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had not refused to give his consent to the Vajpayee government in 2003. He said the Union government was ready to convert the VMRT into a hospital and the then Union health minister Sushma Swaraj had also written a letter to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh asking his consent for the project. Dhumal said the Union government was to provide 3,000 crore for the project. He said Shanta Kumar who was the then Union minister for rural development had personally met the Chief Minister and requested for his consent, but to no avail. He said the Vajpayee government had opened six hospitals maintaining the standard of AIIMS during its tenure and the seventh one was to be set up at Palampur. He said the Congress sacrificed the interests of the state. Dhumal strongly criticised the recent statement of Virbhadra Singh where he threatened to take over the VMRT if the Congress came to power. He said people had made up their mind to reject the Congress in the ensuing Assembly elections. He said the VMRT was a public trust and functioned as per norms laid under the Indian Trust Act. He regretted that the Chief Minister was unnecessarily dragging the VMRT into politics. |
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It’s Mahajan’s frustration: Pathania
Nurpur, December 8 In a statement issued here, Pathania said he did not believe in the politics of character assassination as alleged by Mahajan. He said the issue involving lakhs of rupees as subsidy from various government departments by Mahajan had not been highlighted by him but a vernacular daily a few months ago. “The filing of defamation suit against him and warning me to face a case of contempt of court is only political frustration,” he added. He dared Mahajan to come out for a public debate with him on the issue of development rather than threatening him. |
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J&K poll Cong posters for Himachal?
Nurpur, December 8 The poster war is on full swing, in the Congress posters AICC chief Sonia Gandhi has been shown making appeal to voters to cast their votes in favour of the Congress, and the message read that the Congress was committed to stop bloodshed in the state. These posters can be seen in the Nurpur assembly constituency, where Congress candidate and state Congress general secretary Ajay Mahajan is in the fray. In this connection state Congress spokesperson and general secretary Kuldeep Rathore said it could be an error of the AICC office, New Delhi, which inadvertently rushed party posters meant for Jammu and Kashmir to the state Congress office. “The candidates in the state are being directed not to paste these posters in their respective constituencies if they have got wrong delivery of the same,” he added. |
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‘Cong trying to create communal tension’
Shimla, December 8 Addressing a press conference here, in charge of party affairs in Himachal Satya Pal Jain said the commission should take strict note of the utterances by union minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma who called the BJP Godse’s party. “The statement is highly provocative and objectionable and amounts to violation of the law. It should not go unnoticed,” he said. Citing repeated instances of violation of the election code of conduct by the Congress government and the Chief Minister, he said the commission should issue a final warning in that regard. “In case the Congress still continues with violations, strict action of de-recognising the party and debarring the candidate concerned from contesting should also be considered,” he said. He said the commission was a constitutional authority whose directives should be respected by all. The CM and other Congress leaders were using derogatory and objectionable language against the commission, he alleged. He said if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi could be asked to file a reply within three days on a notice issued by the Election Commission for a speech given by him, the situation in Himachal warranted much serious action as things were much worse here. He said the Congress had still not issued its election manifesto as it had failed to honour the promises it made during the last elections. |
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Shanta flays Cong policies
Sundernagar, December 8 He criticised the statement of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that they had no magic wand to control inflation. He said the BJP government was able to control inflation during its tenure without any magic wand. He said the Congress had ruled the country for around 50 years, while the BJP had done the same for just around 10 years but there had been more development during the BJP tenure than that of the Congress. |
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Thin attendance at Cong, BJP rallies
Solan, December 8 While BJP’s rally addressed by Prem Kumar Dhumal attracted only around 5,000 persons, the rally of union minister for state for external affairs Anand Sharma also failed to catch the fancy of the electorate at Solan. The Congress rally that started over two hours late saw a thin gathering much to the embarrassment of the Congress men. Sharma launched a scathing attack on the BJP. He said the Congress was sure to recapture power in the state. |
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‘Declining sex ratio a cause for worry’
Mandi, December 8 He cautioned various law enforcement agencies to take steps to ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994. Inaugurating the two-day colloquium organised by HP State Judicial Academy in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund on the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act at Nagwain, Justice Ahuja said there was an urgent need to join hands to ensure implementations of the Act and making the masses aware about the dangers of the declining female-sex ratio. The United Nations Population Fund in collaboration with the HP State Judicial Academy has taken the lead to spread awareness among people. |
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New education policy sought
Kangra, December 8 In a press note issued here today Dr R. D. Sharma, former deputy director of education and convener of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Consultant Forum demanded nurturing the economy by formulating dynamic rational policies, including improvised educational policy. He was critical of Chief Minister Virbhdra Singh for allegedly spoiling the education system by disregarding the recruitment and promotion rules in the appointment of the TGTs and replacing them with ‘political Congress rules’ like para teachers, PTAs, and PATs. He said the present government was lacking in good governance, which was evident from the Education Department headed by the Chief Minister himself. It had issued more than a dozen different notifications to teach class IX and X by TGTs and school lecturers, when there was limited time for the students to appear in the final examinations and hence students had suffered. Sharma sought a clear cut policy for tackling the problem of unemployment in the state when more than 10 lakh youths were craving for jobs. He was critical of the Chief Minister for his announcement at Una of regularising the PTA and para teachers by ignoring TGTs on a batch wise basis. Susheel Kumar Sharma, another former deputy director of education from Shimla and member of the forum, deplored the government for appointing PAT and para teachers ignoring norms. |
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