Chandigarh, March 12
Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana and former party working president Ram Prakash have emerged as front runners for the nomination to the Rajya Sabha from the party.

Two Rajya Sabha seats from the state will fall vacant on the retirement of Ram Prakash and Harender Malik on April 9. The last date for filing nomination papers is March 15.

The Congress has enough strength in the Assembly to win both seats. In fact, the main opposition party, the INLD, does not even possess the minimum requisite number of MLAs, 10, to propose a candidate.

Informed sources say while the nomination of Ram Prakash by the Congress is near certain, that of Mullana is subject to a last-minute change. Ram Prakash was elected to the Rajya Sabha last year after sitting member Sumitra Mahajan died.

While Ram Prakash belongs to the Backward Classes, Mullana is a member of the Scheduled Castes. The nomination of the two by the Congress is seen as a move to checkmate the influence of the BSP in the state and to consolidate the votes of the two communities, which are considered to be traditional voters of the Congress.

The sources say the decision to nominate Mullana can be changed only if the high command decides to send an outside leader to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana. So far, the high command is believed not to have indicated any such move.

Meanwhile, several leaders of the Haryana Shromani Akali Dal(Badal) like Didar Singh Habri, Kartar Singh Takkar, Ranbir Singh Fauji, Pyara Singh Layalpuri, Surjit Singh Chauhan and Harpal Singh Pali, president of the Haryana Youth Akali Dal, have demanded that the Congress should send a Sikh to the Rajya Sabha from the state.

There is already a representative of the community in the Upper House in Tarlochan Singh, former chairman of the National Minorities Commission.

Karnal, March 12
Deputy director general, Animal Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), K.M. Bujarbaruah has lauded the role of the National Dairy Research of India (NDRI) for significantly developing human resources for dairy industry of the country.

He was here to inaugurate the two-day national seminar on Dairy Education on the NDRI campus. As many as 450 delegates attended the golden jubilee celebrations of the Dairy Science College (DSC) of the institute.

Bujarbaruah stressed that health foods were the demand of the day. He said there was a need to intensify our efforts in the area of “ingredient technologies” with special emphasis on functional and food safety ingredients, including enzymes and low-calorie sweeteners.

Dr M.L. Madan, vice-chancellor of the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Veterinary & Animal Science University, Mathura (UP), in his address said there was an estimated future annual growth of over 4 per cent in milk production and 3.5 per cent in consumption.

He said the education related to agriculture and allied disciplines needed to be introduced with special emphasis for developing the vocational trainings especially keeping in view the needs of the rural entrepreneurs.

Dr Sushil Kumar, director of the NDRI during the past 50 years, more than 3,600 professionals from India and overseas, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Holland and Egypt had been trained in different disciplines of dairying at the NDRI. The students of the 1957-58 first batch of DSC were also honoured on the occasion.

Rohtak, March 12
After getting the report of the inquiry committee probing allegations of irregularities in the MD/MS/MDS/PG Diploma entrance examination conducted by Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here, the university authorities have decided to recommend remedial action to the state government.

According to reliable sources, the MDU administration is likely to recommend to the Haryana government that the entrance test held on February 24 be scrapped and a fresh exam conducted.

The university authorities have also made up their mind to request the state government for a thorough probe into the entire episode. Most likely, the state Vigilance Bureau will conduct an inquiry into the matter.

Detailed deliberations were held regarding the issue among the MDU vice-chancellor, Prof R.P.Hooda, the PGIMS director, Prof S.S. Sangwan, and Rohtak deputy commissioner R.S. Doon.

The sources said Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda personally intervened in the matter and it was after consultation with him that a consensus was reached. The state leadership has been apprised of the latest developments in this regard. After the deliberations at the highest level, it was resolved to make the aforesaid recommendations to the state government.

Meanwhile, a delegation of protesting medicos met the authorities concerned today. They were assured that a just and conscientious decision would be taken regarding the issue. Following the assurance, the medicos suspended their ongoing agitation for 24 hours and decided to meet again at 4 p.m tomorrow.

In a statement issued late this evening, the Residents Doctors Association of the local PGIMS said the authorities had also assured them that no action would be taken against the agitating medicos and the police administration would apologise for lathicharge on them.

A number of present and former MBBS students had been protesting against the alleged irregularities in the entrance examination conducted by MDU on February 24. The MDU authorities had constituted a committee comprising senior faculty members of the university as well as the PGIMS to probe the charges.

In its report submitted last evening, the committee had observed that there was some variance in the pattern of the examination results as compared to the past few years. On the basis of this, the inquiry committee had recommended that the matter be investigated further by some competent authority.

Apparently sensing that the authorities concerned are thinking of cancelling the entrance test, now the candidates who had been selected in the exam have resorted to a protest.

Not only have they put up a tent in front of the MDU vice-chancellor’s office, they also met top MDU, PGIMS and district officials today and conveyed their concerns in writing.

The selected candidates maintained that there were no irregularities in the exam and only some unsuccessful candidates were levelling baseless allegations.

In case the entrance exam held on February 24 is scrapped, the selected candidates will, in all probability, move court, which is likely to further complicate the matter.

Yamunanagar, March 12
The Yamunanagar Municipal Committee was finding difficulty in proceeding against those who axed or chopped trees standing on public land.

There had been several cases where trees were pruned or chopped by people or shop owners on their own.

Sources in the MC said the MC had no direct powers to proceed against the people damaging the trees. So the MC reported the matter to the police.

But till date no stern action had been taken against any offender, the sources said. The matter was also taken up with senior officials of the district administration.

Executive officer of the MC K.K Jain admitted that the MC had received several complaints from the public regarding damage to the trees. He said besides taking action on its part, the MC had also approached the police.

On the other hand, the sources in the police department said it had not received any such complaint from the MC.

The Haryana Environmental Society (HES), which has planted more than 50,000 trees in the district and ensured survival of most of them, has made several representations to the MC for action against the people who damage trees.

President of the HES S.L Saini said the government should enact a law to deter people for axing or chopping trees. He informed that last year in September, a full-grown tree standing on Bakshi Achraj Lal Marg, in December last year, three trees near DAV Girls College, two trees in Model Town and a tree near Payara Chowk were axed but no action was taken against the culprits.

Sonepat, March 12
It was a memorable moment in the life of 98-year-old Mool Chand and his 95-year-old wife Phool Pati of Agwanpur village yesterday.

Their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren organised a “Jeevan Yagya” to seek public wishes for couple’s happy and long life. People from as many as 12 villages were invited in the yagya.

On the occasion, the family arranged a “bhandara” which started in the morning around 9 am and continued till late night as thousands of people from the villages were served the meal.

The couple thanked the God for blessing them such a family that maintains values in this era of “Kalyug”, when there are reports of neglect of senior citizens of the families by their children.

The couple’s sons Jagdish, Azad, Raj and Mahender said: “We are around 50 members in the family and have inherited everything, including social and cultural values, from our father and mother. It is our good luck that the God has given us opportunity to serve our elders.”

Chandigarh, March 12
Taking a serious view of an investigating officer and another cop’s failure to turn up in the court in connection with a drug trafficking case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the issuance of contempt notice.

Issuing the directions in an open court, Justice Harbans Lal of the High Court observed: “Vide order dated February 22 of this court, the investigating officer of case FIR number 89 dated September 5, 2006 under Section 15 of the NDPS Act, registered at police station Moonak, as well as head constable Major Singh of police post Chottian were directed to be preset in the court on March 5.

The registry has reported that notices were issued to the officers on February 23, 2008. On March 5, they did not put in their appearance and the matter was adjourned for today. Even today, they have not put in their appearance in the court. Let notice of contempt be issued to the officers for April 3.”

Earlier, Dhira of Fatehabad had filed a petition for clarification of an order dated February 1 vide which the high court had directed the petitioner to surrender before the investigating officer on February 13 and move application for regular bail.

Chandigarh, March 12
Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadian gave Om Prakash Chautala 43 minutes to put across his point, but the INLD leader is not the one to take restrictions lying down.

In a speech marred by interruptions from members of the ruling party, Chautala today finally managed to have his say on the floor of the House.

After speaking for one hour and 10 minutes during the debate on the Governor’s Address, he chose to walk out of the House “for not being heard”.

Other INLD members followed suit and the House witnessed a walkout for the third day running by them.

This despite the debate having resumed under more “amicable” circumstances after the “uneasy truce” arrived at between the Congress and the INLD following an all-party meeting in the office of the Speaker this morning.

After a minor quibble about the time allotted to him, Chautala said that the Governor’s Address was “insipid”.

He said there was ambiguity about the “unduly much-publicised” Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver scheme of the UPA government.

He went on to add that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, too, had changed his stance on the number of beneficiaries and the benefit.

This prompted parliamentary affairs minister Randeep Singh Surjewala to rise in defence of the Chief Minister who is away to Mauritius. After this first interruption, Chautala urged the Speaker to restrain members from giving a point-to-point reply to all that he said.

Urging the government to adopt the Swaminathan report to give maximum benefit to farmers, he suggested that the government should frame a policy to ensure farmers did not fall back into a debt trap since a waiver would only encourage more defaulters.

“Farmers have suffered a blow because of the severe cold which damaged their mustard and wheat crops. We have no grouse if the government wants to take political advantage of this situation by giving ‘adequate’ compensation to the farmers,” he stated.

The “inaction” of the government in pursuing the SYL canal opened a Pandora’s box for Chautala and invited frequent “interruptions” by Surjewala and the irrigation minister, Capt Ajay Yadav.

After trading charges and counter-charges on laxity by the previous and present governments, the discussion wound its way to the Yamuna Accord and to the Hansi Butana link canal.

Without naming Bhajan Lal, Chautala said the accord controversy was an attempt to malign a former Chief Minister of the Congress.

He also demanded to know where the water for the link canal would come from and who would be accountable for loss of public money which had gone into making the canal if the Central Water Commission did not give permission to take water from the mainline.

Chautala said the Congress government was only limiting itself to giving statements on increased power generation and the Yamunanagar plant was still to produce a single unit.

He maintained that while the state was “powerless”, power was being given to Delhi, Uttaranchal and Maharashtra.

Surjewala, also the power minister, countered this by stating that no power was being provided to any state.

The former Chief Minister demanded a White Paper from the government on the number of industries which had left during his regime, condemned the SEZ policy for uprooting farmers before staging a walkout to protest against “frequent interruptions and appeals to wind up his speech” along with “his men” amid a din by the INLD and Congress alike.

Chandigarh, March 12
Has Haryana also witnessed a mini “fodder scam” on the pattern of the “fodder scam” of Bihar?

Yes, if the answer by parliamentary affairs minister Randeep Singh Surjewala to a question by his father, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, in the assembly here today is an indication.

The senior Surjewala had sought details of any criminal case or inquiry against former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his associates pending with the state vigilance bureau.

Just as unscrupulous elements, with the help of political bosses, had misappropriated grants received by the animal husbandry department in Bihar for the welfare of animals, in Haryana also grants under various centrally-sponsored programmes were misappropriated in the state animal husbandry department during the INLD regime, though not on the scale of Bihar.

The younger Surjewala, who was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is on an official tour to Mauritius these days, said an enquiry (no. 10/2005-Chandigarh) against Chautala and the then director, animal husbandry department, was pending with the vigilance bureau regarding the alleged misappropriation of grants under various centrally-sponsored schemes.

He said so far misappropriation of about Rs 1.30 crore had been detected. He said the inquiry was likely to be completed by June next.

The Haryana government had received 37 complaints about irregularities in the selection of candidates for various posts during the INLD regime. Mostly, the complaints alleged that either the candidates were overage or they do not fulfil the prescribed educational and other qualifications.

He said apart from the irregularities in the HCS and allied services examination, the posts for which ineligible candidates were allegedly selected included those of forest officer (class B), naib tehsildar, SDO (electrical), senior analyst, deputy director, agriculture, and statistical research officer.

Randeep said an FIR (no. 20 of October 18, 2005) was registered against Chautala, former chairman of the Haryana public service commission K.C. Bangar and others under sections 420/467/471/120-B, IPC, at the Hisar police station of the vigilance bureau.

The FIR was registered after an inquiry (no. 3/2005-Chandigarh) was conducted into the alleged irregularities in the HCS and allied services examination.

After the commission refused to hand over most of the relevant records to the bureau, the latter filed an application before the chief judicial magistrate, Hisar, for obtaining search warrants. However, the judge declined the request.

The sessions judge, Hisar, also dismissed the bureau’s request. Now the bureau had challenged the orders of the subordinate courts before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where its plea was still being heard.

Fatehabad, March 12
A letter to deputy commissioner O. P. Sheoran written by a class V student seeking his intervention in stalling her marriage prompted the district authorities to stop the wedding yesterday as the girl was barely nine-year-old.

Komal Kanwar had written in her letter that she was just nine years of age and was studying in class V at her Bhattu Kalan village.

She said her parents had fixed the marriage of her elder sister Anju with Devender Singh for yesterday.

But as her sister’s marriage date drew near, they also fixed her marriage with Dharmender Singh for the same day.

She said in her letter that she was too young for getting married and wanted to continue her studies.

The deputy commissioner after getting the letter immediately stalled the
marriage ceremonies.

Bhiwani, March 12
Six persons were killed and 13 others sustained injuries when their bus collided with a truck near Charkhi village late last night.

The injured have been referred to the Medical College, Rohtak. The marriage party of Sumer of Jhagdoli village in Mahendergarh district reportedly had come to Bhiwani yesterday.

After solemnising the wedding, members of the barat were returning in a bus to the village. As the bus arrived near Charkhi village, the bus driver tried to overtake and in an attempt to save a tractor coming from front collided with a truck, parked near the road.

The front part of the bus was badly damaged in the accident and two persons boarded on the bus died on the spot. Nearby, the villagers on hearing of accident went to the scene and started rescuing the passengers.

The injured were sent to the Charkhi Dadri Hospital where doctors declared three persons brought dead.

Later, three other injured also succumbed to their injuries. Those deceased have been identified as Prakash Yadav, Mahender Joshi, Bhim Singh, Surender and Balmukund.

One injured Anand told that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the bus driver, who managed to escape after the accident.

Chandigarh, March 12
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today expressed state government’s desire to cooperate with Mauritius for jointly establishing projects with Island nation’s companies for mutual benefit.

Hooda today expressed Haryana’s desire to Madan Murlidhar Dullo, minister of foreign affairs international trade and corporation, Republic of Mauritius, to establish various projects in partnership with the companies of that country.

The Chief Minister had made a courtesy call on Dullo at his office in Port Louis, Mauritius, a Haryana government release said here.

The meeting was attended by MP Ram Prakash, Sanjiv Ranjan, Deputy High Commission, Office of High Commission, senior officers of the state government and members of the CII accompanying the Chief Minister.

Senior civil officers of the Government of Mauritius, ministry of foreign affairs international trade and cooperation attended the meeting. — PTI

Residents of about half a dozen villagers adopted this technique to protest against shortage of cooking gas yesterday.

Sonepat, March 12
Showing its displeasure over the investigation being conducted by the police into a criminal case involving the Sonepat jail superintendent, the state prisons department has requested the DGP to hand over the case to the crime branch.

Sources confirmed that the office of the DGP had received a communiqué demanding a “fair investigation”.

The prisons department had charged its staff with providing a “safe passage” to prisoners sentenced to life to move out of the jail.

It was observed by the department that five prisoners were taken out of the jail regularly since October 10, 2007, without permission.

In a communiqué to The Tribune, the prisons department had said that “the possibility of prisoners of Sonepat jail visiting their houses cannot be ruled out”.

Meanwhile, the prisons department has reportedly complained that the police did not even bother to examine complainants and prison officials to ascertain the conduct of its employee before giving a clean chit to Rai Singh, the controversial jailor of the Sonepat district jail.

Mandiwal, who was reportedly “missing” from duty, finally rejoined office last week after “securing” a clean chit from the police. Incidentally, the prisons department is under Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

A case was registered against Mandiwal and his three subordinate officials - the deputy superintendent, sub-assistant superintendent and the head warden.

Though the subordinate staffers were arrested and later suspended, Mandiwal managed to evade action.

Investigation made by this correspondent revealed that three elected public representatives of the ruling Congress and a senior IPS officer were allegedly involved in “lobbying” to shield the tainted jail official.

Following a specific complaint, the prisons department had raided the jail premises on December 28 and found several irregularities in its functioning.

The jail staff was charged with “violating the Punjab jail manual and criminal misconduct in the jail administration”.

On January 2, The Tribune had quoted the IGP, prisons, confirming that Mandiwal was “absconding” from duty.

This follows a spurt in crime involving servants, particularly in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Panchkula. — UNI

He alleged that only one out of the 37 selected candidates was a truly deserving student finding a place in the list of selected persons.