Yamunanagar, October 22
State BJP president Atam Prakash Manchanda has said he is not authorised to take action against BJP legislature party leader Ram Kumar Gautam, who had criticised the BJP-INLD alliance, adding that only BJP national president Rajnath Singh could take action against him.

“We have sent the details about Gautam’s outburst against the alliance in the media to Rajnath Singh and he will take action accordingly. Besides, a letter written by Gautam demanding a review of the BJP’s alliance with the INLD has also been received by Rajnath Singh,” he said.

Commenting on the alliance with the INLD despite differences in the past, he said, “The BJP’s state unit favoured contesting the Lok Sabha elections on its own. The high command took the decision regarding the alliance with the INLD and we abide by it. It’s a new beginning and we have forgotten our differences with the INLD. The alliance is also in the interests of the nation and the people of the state.”

On the sharing of 10 Lok Sabha seats, he said a decision about the allotment of the tickets would be taken by party leaders purely on the basis of the candidate winning prospects.

Manchanda, along with INLD state president Ashok Arora, was here to address the first joint meeting of the INLD-BJP workers at Punjabi Dharamshala in Jagadhri.

INLD leader Ashok Arora said leaders of both parties had learnt a lot from the “past mistakes”. “Now, there is no chance of committing mistakes and we have formed the alliance to root out the Congress from the state. Corruption and crime are on the rise during the Congress regime,” he said. Rattan Lal Kataria, former BJP MP from Ambala, also spoke on the occasion.

FARIDABAD: The youth wing of the BJP on Wednesday demanded disciplinary action against Gautam.

President of the state unit of the youth wing of the party Jawahar Yadav said here that Gautam should not have deviated from the party’s decision to forge an alliance with the INLD. Since he has done it publicly, action must be taken against him, he said. He asserted that no one was bigger than the party.

Referring to the functioning of the Congress government in Haryana, he alleged that it had failed on all fronts.

Samalkha (Panipat), October 22
The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) has stepped up its campaign for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The party yesterday organised a rally here in which the party workers participated in a large numbers.

The rally was organised to pay tributes to senior leader of the HJC Inder Singh Chhokar. Party president Kuldip Bishnoi unveiled the statue of the departed leader and lauded the contributions made by him in consolidating the party’s position.

Speaking to mediapersons before addressing the rally, Bishnoi expressed his disapproval of the INLD-BJP alliance. He said the alliance was impracticable as BJP workers across the state were against it.

He said both parties would “fall apart”. He denied that the HJC was marred by personal discontent amongst the party rank and file, but said the difference of opinion between members of the party were natural within any outfit.

Bishnoi said the HJC was fast emerging as an alternative to the Congress and other parties in the state. 

Sirsa, October 22
Partap Singh Chautala, a general secretary of Kuldeep Bishnoi's Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) and brother of INLD chief Om Parkash Chautala, today announced his decision to join the Congress.

Partap Singh Chautala took the decision after meeting Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Chandigarh today.

Speaking to The Tribune on the telephone after joining the Congress, Partap Singh Chautala said the lack of intra-party democracy in the HJC (BL) and the inability of Kuldeep Bishnoi to stop Om Parkash Chautala from coming back to power had prompted him to join the Congress.

"My sole aim in politics is to thwart the attempts of Om Parkash Chautala to come back to power in Haryana and it is with that in mind that I had joined the HJC (BL). But, Bishnoi is no longer in a position to stop the INLD," said Partap Singh Chautala.

"There is no intra-party democracy in the HJC (BL) and all decisions are taken by Bishnoi on his own without consulting anyone. The recent nominations to the working committee and the parliamentary committee are testimony to that. Persons like Dharam Pal Malik, who could not save their security deposit in the recently concluded bypoll, have again been given a prominent place in the party. Old supporters of Bishnoi, who helped him establish the party, are being insulted," he alleged.

Partap Singh Chautala said this was just a beginning and many more leaders would soon follow suit.

He claimed that the exit of former MLA Jarnail Singh and senior HJC (BL) leader Krishan Roz and his wife Bimla Roz was a part of the collective decision taken by several party leaders from Sirsa and Fatehabad districts.

He said he had announced the decision to join the Congress after meeting the Chief Minister in Chandigarh. After that he had taken primary membership of the party in the presence of party president Phool Chand Mulana according to the directions of Hooda.

Jind, October 22
The deputy superintendent and two other employees of the local jail, including a head constable, have been booked in connection with the alleged beating up and abuse on caste lines of a person held on a theft charge a few months ago. 

The case has been registered after an inquiry into the matter by an official of the DSP rank. The inquiry was conducted following directions of a local court after the victim, identified as Balwan Singh, hailing from Kanno village in Hisar district, had filed a petition in the court regarding the treatment meted out to him during his judicial remand. He had sought action against those guilty.

He had alleged that he had been thrashed and abused on caste lines by three officials of the jail - deputy superintendent Dharamvir Malik, havildar Satpal and warder Ashok Kumar. The incident happened on August 17, 2008.

The case was registered today after a report was submitted by the DSP (Headquarters) which indicted the three officials.

Chandigarh, October 22
Nearly 17 years after he went missing, a petition has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the murder of Dera Sacha Sauda manager Faquir Chand.

Describing himself as a dera follower, petitioner Ram Kumar Bishnoi said Faquir Chand had been missing since 1991. Complaints were submitted to Sirsa superintendent of police in 1992, followed by another complaint the next year. But the Haryana police did nothing as the accused were influential persons with “big vote bank”.

Taking up the petition, Justice S.D. Anand today issued notice of motion to the State of Haryana, Sirsa superintendent of police and CBI director.

It was submitted in view of the statement by one of the accused before the media that the CBI should be directed to probe the murder. The petitioner quoted extracts from the alleged statement of Gobind Singh, former driver of Dera head, narrating details of how Faquir Chand was kept in a secret room and was done away with, allegedly on the instructions of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Jind, October 22
A proposed meeting of the managing body of the Indian Red Cross Society, Haryana state branch, is scheduled to be held in Chandigarh tomorrow.

The issue of the inter-district transfer of secretaries of the district branches, which has been a controversial matter for several years, is expected to be taken up at the meeting.

A transfer order by the head of the state unit of the society had been set aside by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2001 in response to a writ petition (12350/20010) filed by secretaries.

It had been reportedly admitted on the grounds that the society has been a state within the meaning of the Article 12 of the Constitution of India and there was no provision in the rules of the society for the transfer of the district secretaries.

The state branch of the society had, however, filed a Special Leave Petition in the apex court against the order of the high court for which status quo was granted.

The state branch has now made a move to amend the district rules to make a provision for the transfer of district secretaries and to avoid further litigation, it is stated in the agenda of the meeting.

However, this has irked a section of the secretaries, who on condition of anonymity, claimed that the move was wrong and would put undue pressure on their functioning.

It is further claimed that empowering the state branch to transfer the secretaries would be unjustified and would affect their day-to-day work.

While the authorities of the state branch have described the move in the interest of the organisation, there has been rumblings and concern among officials in certain districts, who want the agenda item to be removed immediately.

A move was opposed vehemently when it was taken up a few years back as a spat reportedly took place between functionaries of the state branch and the political powers at that time.

The Chief Minister, the Social Welfare Minister, the Health Minister and the Education Minister besides the deputy commissioners, who have been holding charge of the district branches, are likely to take part in the meeting tomorrow.

Karnal, October 22
Members of the Deaf and Dumb Welfare Society, seeking jobs and better facilities for themselves, today held a silent procession to attract the attention of the government towards their plight.

“We cannot hear or speak and can only see, but even then we have been forced to stage a silent march,” members of the society said in a memorandum handed over to SDM Rajiv Mehta.

“The attitude of the government has remained callous and unsympathetic towards our demands and none of the letter or demand charters sent to the government during past 10 years has been acknowledged leave aside taking any action to mitigate our sufferings,” the protesters rued.

They regretted that jobs reserved for the differently abled were being cornered by other categories and the deaf and dumb were being discarded, both by the government and private employers.

The memorandum said a meagre pension of Rs 600 per month was no solution to their problem and vacant posts reserved for them should be filled by accommodating the deaf and dumb.

Further, the government should effectively intervene in getting them employment in the private sector as even petty jobs were being denied to them even after acquiring degree in various trades from ITIs.

“Our only fault is that we cannot express ourselves and no department has any official who can understand the sign language and converse with us,” wrote a spokesman for the society on a piece of paper.

The society has appealed to the government, NGOs and other social organisations to take up their cause so that they can live a life of dignity.

Karnal, October 22
A four-day Rabi Kisan Mela which was inaugurated with great pomp and show by Chief Minister B.S.Hooda here yesterday, lost its charm in less than 24 hours and most of the stalls put up at the mela wore a deserted look.

Huge crowds were present at the inaugural ceremony but the mela failed to attract farmers today. The 120-odd stalls put up by government departments and private individuals had very few visitors and even officials were perplexed by the poor response.

The officials and attendants at the stalls were sitting idle as the farmers' groups for which the mela was organised were nowhere to be seen. "We did not expect such a lukewarm response and even the investment made by us will not be recovered" said a private stall manager.

He claimed that he was asked to pay Rs 7,000 for the stall, but deputy director, Agriculture Department, S.S. Dahia refuted his claim and said that nothing was charged. Private participants might have paid money for tents, carpets or furniture but the department was not concerned with it, he added.

When asked about the poor attendance of farmers at the mela, he said it was right that the routine attendance could not match the crowds which gathered on the opening day, but still more than 3,000 farmers visited the stalls today.

He also claimed that a six-member team of the Agriculture Department which visited the stalls today was satisfied with the response of various departments and farmers.

However, a local farmer, Raunak Singh, who spent about an hour at the mela, said most of the farmers were busy with the harvesting and marketing of paddy and could not find time to come. Moreover, progressive farmers in the villages were aware of modern trends and kept in touch with the Agriculture Department and research institutions for guidance.

Vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Rattan Mann said the farmers were not informed about the mela and the organisers were responsible for the poor response. If the attendance was below expectations due to the harvesting season, the department was to be blamed as it should have been aware of such aspects, he added. 

Chandigarh, October 22
Acting on a bunch of over 21 petitions by Haryana police constables, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed Haryana and other respondents to depute the petitioners and similarly placed persons to the lower school course in accordance with seniority in the quota of 35 per cent seats reserved on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness.

The petitioners, Balraj Singh and others, had sought the quashing of B1 selection list under the 35 per cent quota. Their grievance was that despite meeting the minimum bench marks fixed by the department for selection, juniors had been selected and deputed to lower school course in total violation of the statutory rules.

List B is maintained by each superintendent of police and includes the names of constables selected for admission to lower school course.

The directions by the Bench of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Augustine George Masih are significant as the judgment will benefit not just the petitioners before the court, but all similarly placed persons. The copy of the judgment was not yet available.

In the detailed orders pronounced in the open court, the Bench asked the respondents to consider the claims of the petitioners and similarly placed persons for including their names in list B of the selected constables within two months from receiving the order’s copy.

The Bench added the constables shall be deemed to have qualified the lower school course from the date constables junior to them qualified the same.

Speaking for the Bench, Justice Masih took strong note of the failure of the authorities concerned to implement the order for the benefit of all affected. Justice Masih ruled the respondents should not wait for similarly placed persons to approach the courts to get the orders on similar grounds.

Justice Masih added this was against the public policy and added to the burden on the courts. As such, the state was required to act in a responsible manner and to assist the justice delivery system, rather than adding to the burden.

Faridabad, October 22
The body of a standard IV student was found on his school campus in his native village, Sahjahanpur, today after he went missing last Monday.

The deceased, Sacchin, had allegedly gone to a temple adjoining the village on Monday evening, but did not return home. Sometimes in the past, he used to go to the temple and often slept there at night.The parents thought that this time, too,he had stayed overnight at the temple.

Relatives, however, got suspicious and informed the police.

This morning the student’s body was found in a pit which had water on the campus of the primary school where he used to study.

The police has registered a case.

The body had injuries on the head and there were indications of sodomy.

The police said it had got vital clues and the culprits were likely to be arrested shortly.

Fatehabad, October 22
Additional district and sessions judge N.P. Dewet today sentenced three brothers to life imprisonment in a case of murder. The court acquitted two women in the case for want of evidence.

Bajrang, Pawan and Rajinder, all brothers, Roshni, wife of Bajrang, and Krishna, wife of Rajinder, were booked on May 15, 2005, for the murder of Bagrawat, a resident of Kumaria.

According to the police version, Bajrang, Pawan and Rajinder owed some money to Bagrawat as the latter had worked in their fields with his tractor.

The accused were annoyed with the victim as he had, according to the accused, insulted them in public for money.

On May 15, 2005, at about 11 in the night, when Bagrawat and his brother Mohan Lal were going to the fields, the three accused waited for him and attacked him with lathis.

Bagrawat was seriously injured and later succumbed to his injuries.

The court, while convicting the three brothers, acquitted the two women for want of evidence against them.