Dehradun, December 27
The two-day state executive committee meeting of the BJP today got under way at Roorkee. The party’s national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal, Uttarakhand BJP chief Bachi Singh Rawat, state office-bearers and members of the state executive committee attended the meeting.

The meeting continued for several hours and preparations for the coming Lok Sabha elections was the main issue of discussion.

In his speech, state BJP chief Bachi Singh Rawat said that party’s main poll plank would be the achievements of the Khanduri government and failures of the UPA government.

“During the two-year rule, the BJP government in Uttarakhand is credited with attracting industrial investment worth hundreds of crores.”

“The new industrial policy announced by the state government has generated a lot of interest among the big industrial units,” he said, while adding that as a result of the congenial environment and government support, industry is coming up in the state in a big way.

Rawat further said that Chief Minister Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) has been pleading with the Union government to extend the industrial package till 2013, as done by the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

State general secretary Ajay Bhatt presented the political agenda before the state executive committee.

The political agenda flayed the Central government for its wrong economic policies.

“Inflation has increased considerably and the economy of the country has suffered a blow due to the ill-vision of the UPA government”, mentioned the political agenda.

The political agenda further read that the Union government has miserably failed as far as the internal security of the country was concerned. “One after the other, terror attacks are taking place and the government is not able to take corrective measures”, the agenda read.

When asked that whether any discussions were held regarding the candidates of the party for the general election, BJP state spokesman Vishwas Dabur said, “The matter did not come up for discussion as it is the BJP’s parliamentary board which decides the candidates.”

He further said that on concluding day of the meeting tomorrow, Chief Minister BC Khanduri would be attending the meeting.

Dehradun, December 27
The year 2008 has been a year of wasted chances and intense internecine war within the Uttarakhand Congress, the main opposition party of the state.

The fast approaching Lok Sabha elections would again bring to the fore the intense internal feud within the Uttarakhand Congress. Already, the knives are out to cut each other to size among various state Congress leaders.

The Congress lost to rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the February 2007 assembly elections paving the way for Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) as the Chief Minister.

Khanduri would be completing two years in office in March 2009 but the state Congress leaders have failed to take on his government and were busy fighting among themselves.

The change in the state party leadership from Harish Rawat to Yashpal Arya, a Tiwari loyalist, last year and appointment of R.K. Dhawan as in charge of party affairs failed to enthuse party cadres and led to more factionalism.

It was on the first day of 2008 that Chief Minister Khanduri provided the opposition with the required ammunition to fire at him by distributing various government offices to ruling party leaders.

It was one of the major issues on which the BJP floored the Congress in the February 2007 assembly elections alleging large scale distribution of such offices during the Congress regime. However, the Congress response was muted in and outside the assembly.

The Congress failed to nail the Chief Minister in Pauri Garhwal by-election exactly a year after he took office. The party utterly failed to fine-tune its election campaign.

The party candidate, Satpal Maharaj, lost despite winning in the votes polled in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). BJP candidate Lt Gen TPS Rawat (retd) won after getting a lead in the ballot votes polled by servicemen.

The party failed to cash on the anti-government feelings in the civic elections held in March 2008 and lost the prestigious Dehradun Municipal Corporation due to wrong choice of candidate and mismanagement fuelled by internal feuds.

The party legislators divided in various factions also failed to put up a spirited fight to the government on the floor of the assembly on various issues whether it was the distribution of offices to BJP leaders and taking out of various government positions out of the purview of Office of Profit Act, state of industrial scenario and lack of developmental activities in the state.

The party legislators did resort to walkouts, giving ample opportunity to the treasury benches to pass the legislations the way they wanted.

As the year comes to a close, party workers, under the leadership of Yashpal Arya, protesting against the anti-people and undemocratic policies of the Khanduri government did court arrest in thousands throughout the state. But a major faction led by former chief Harish Rawat stayed away from the party programme.

For the Pauri Garhwal seat, which the Congress lost by a small margin in the by-elections held in February, Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat has staked claim opposing Satpal Maharaj, a senior party leader.

The ‘Harish Rawat’ factor is going to play an important role in the outcome of the parliamentary polls. Although, Harish Rawat has categorically stated that he was not interested in contesting the Lok sabha elections, he has been active in Haridwar much to the chagrin of local Congress ticket aspirants.

Harish Rawat, who originally hails from the Kumoan region, finds himself in a piquant situation following reservation of his home Lok Sabha constituency of Almora.

Similarly, sitting Member of Parliament Vijay Bahuguna is facing stiff opposition from party legislators from his own parliamentary constituency. A conclave held by Harish Rawat camp at Chakrata two months ago and attended by many party legislators was an attempt to focus on "anti-Vijay Bahuguna" campaign.

Basically, all senior Congress leaders, with an eye on next assembly polls in 2012, are trying to defeat each other in the coming Lok Sabha elections. As per their calculations, if any one - Harish Rawat, Vijay Bahuguna or Satpal Maharaj - manages to make it to Lok Sabha in the Lok Sabha elections, the winner could be projected as the Chief Minister for the 2012 assembly polls. The distant scenario is making the Uttarakhand Congress leaders fight their political battles now. 

Dehradun, December 27
The Uttarakhand Congress has urged the state government to immediately grant land for the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) sanctioned by the Union government in Kumaon region. Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson Suryakant Dhasmana in a statement issued here today hoped that it would give a boost to higher education in the state.

He said that since IIT, Roorkee, already has central status and now HNB Garhwal University has also been accorded central university status, the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) should be built in Kumaon region. He requested Chief Minister Khanduri to immediately allot land for the IIM in Kumaon.

He also thanked the union government for sanctioning four laning of the Muzzafarnagar-Dehradun highway. “The road would pave the way for speedy industrial development and give a boost to tourism in the state,” he added.

Mussoorie, December 27
Cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar, the soft-spoken and kind-hearted man that he is, has gifted a tricycle to a local differently abled child, thereby fulfilling a promise he had made to the child during his previous visit to Mussoorie.

Guddu, a youngster from Kolti village near Mussoorie, is a fan of Tendulkar and had met the master blaster during his previous visit to Mussoorie in March. At that time, Tendulkar had thought of helping his young fan who cannot walk. He had therefore promised to give him a tricycle.

Guddu was thrilled yesterday when Tendulkar presented him with a tricycle and chatted with him for some time. Guddu said, “This is like a dream come true and I am perhaps the luckiest child in the world.”

Meanwhile, a large number of fans thronged the Lal Tibba area to get a glimpse of the champion batsman. The fans were disappointed in the morning today as Tendulkar and his family had gone sightseeing to Tehri and Dhanolti.

Tendulkar did not disappoint his fans yesterday and a number of people were lucky to get his autograph or a picture with him.

Shobhit, a ten-year-old boy from New Delhi, who along with his parents has come to Mussoorie, was overjoyed after meeting Tendulkar. “I am a great fan of Sachin and it was a proud moment to speak to him and get a picture with him.”

Abhinav Mathur, a doctor from Meerut, was completely oblivious of the fact that Tendulkar was in Mussoorie. The young doctor took a long time to recognise Tendulkar as he walked past him. “I saw Sachin and thought that this person resembles Tendulkar. Only when he came near did I realise that it was actually the great man himself and I rushed to get an autograph.” 

Dehradun, December 27
The Dehradun police has planned a major crackdown on shopkeepers engaged in sale of the Chinese mobile phones in the city.

Confirming this, Dehradun SSP Amit Kumar Sinha said that in the wake of the directions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) banning the use of mobile phones without International Mobile Station Equipment Identities (IMEI) number, they have decided to launch a drive to check the sale of Chinese mobile phones.

“The Chinese mobile phones are not only without IMEI number but also the shopkeepers here are selling them without billing them,” he said.

Recently, the union government had expressed concern over the Chinese mobile phones that do not support IMEI and had instructed the mobile service providers to block the calls of mobiles without IMEI number from January 6.

Senior police officials said as the mobile service provider can’t trace the location of the handset without the IMEI number, the Chinese mobiles were reportedly being used by anti-national and anti-social elements.

“Complying with the instructions issued with respect to the IMEI number, we would be taking action against those selling mobiles without IMEI numbers. It has also come to our notice that shopkeepers are selling the mobile phones without billing which is serious offence,” SSP Amit Kumar Sinha said.

Haridwar, December 27
The stage is set for the crowning of the best University hockey team in the country. With the final slated tomorrow the talk of the town is who will be the champion. Whether it be the Gurukul University or Panjab University, Chandigarh. In the semifinals played today, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar thrashed Kurukshetra University while Panjab University outclassed Purvanchal University, Jaunpur to enter in the finals of the National Inter-University Hockey Championship being held in Gurukul University Dayanand Stadium here.

In the first semifinal clash, Gurukul University used the penalty corners to score goals with two coming out of them. The game started with Gurkul players trying to put pressure on Kurukshetra defence with strikers running into the Kurukshetra defence at fast pace. This move fructified with brilliant move by midfield striker Dinesh who penetrated the first defence with classic dribbling and ball movement and striked in record time with barely two minutes passed in the first half.

In the 14th minute, on a midfield move, Gurukul got a penalty corner. Striker Devendra converted the penalty corner into a goal. Soon in the 31st minute on another penalty corner, Hirikesh scored on a drag flick. In the second half, Devndra scored the fourth goal for the Gurukul. For Kurukshetra, Malak Singh scored the consolation goal as the Kurukhshetra team never was in the game specially after conceding in the very 2nd minute. Gurukul won comprehensively by a margin of 4-1.

The second semifinal was billed as a clash of titans as the both Panjab and Jaunpur teams were equivalent in terms of excellent scoring strikers and walled players. But in the end it boiled down to the test of temperament and withstanding the pressure of big match, the test in which the Panjab University players passed with full marks. The first half was a tussle between the mid fielders of both the teams. In the 14th minute on a move by the midfield Amit Bhargav striked a goal dodging two defenders to pass through the goalkeeper. The game got intensified from heron and both sides resorted to attacking play soon Jaunpur got the reward as it got a penalty corner in the 26th minute and Janardhan earned a goal out of a difficult angle. The first half ended with score line showing 1-1. The second half started with Panjab attacking from beginning and within nine minutes scored three goals. In the 61st minute, Guru Das scored the second goal for the team on a classic move while Gurbit scored two goals in 66th and 69th minute. The Jaunpur strikers went all out after this sudden spurge of goals but in the end couldn’t convert their moves into goals with Panjab displaying solid defence. In the end Panjab University, Chandigarh won by 4-1 margin.

The final league standing games will be played today. The first match for the third place will be between Jaunpur Purvanchal University and Kurukshetra University while the final clash between the Gurukul University and Panjab University, Chandigarh will be staged at 11 am.

Haridwar, December 27
The Seventh State Junior Kabaddi Championship witnessed teams competing from all over the Uttarakhand state. Held under the aegis of Uttaranchal Kabaddi Association at Rishikul Vidyapeeth ground, Dehradun Girls clinched the girl’s title while Haridwar reigned the boy’s championship.

In the first semifinal of boys, played between Haridwar and Uddham Singh Nagar teams, Haridwar won easily by 29-14 margin.

In the second semifinal, Haridwar rural team entered final stage with a comprehensive score line of 48-14.

In the girls category, the first semifinal was played between Dehradun and Uddham Singh Nagar team, which was a lopsided affair with Dehradun winning easily by a margin of 25-10. In the second semifinal, Tehri Garhwal romped into the final with a easy win of 29-14 points.

In the final of the championship in Girls section, Dehradun team started aggressively and raced to 5-0 deficit but then Tehri girls bounced back and took match to 10-10 but then Dehradun girls showed their mettle in the final and took their points tally to 29 and won comprehensively.

In boys section, the Haridwar team defeated Haridwar Rural with score line of 42-34 points. The match was a close contest but with innovative bouts the Haridwar team turned the match in their favour.

Dehradun, December 27
Ravi Rawat clinched the senior category chess title while K Bansal and Ujjwal bagged Junior and Sub-Junior titles respectively in three-day State Chess Championship that concluded at Hindi Bhawan Dehradun here today.

Pauri resident Ravi Rawat emerged senior chess champion by achieving maximum points. V Barathwal and Vinay Raj Bhatt stood at second and third positions respectively in this category. As of Junior level, K Bansal emerged as title champion followed by Deepankar Karki and Rithik who bagged second and third positions respectively. In sub-juniors, Ujjwal won the title while Sonali Dhoundiyal and Ajay Gusain got second and third positions respectively. Presenting the trophies to the winners, Uttarakhand Congress media-in-charge and president of State Chess Association, Suryakant Dhasmana, said the game of chess required some sharp mental skills and was one of the best sports to keep oneself mentally alert.

He also called for promotion of traditional sport like Chess, which he said has been part of the country since medieval ages. MK Rana, general secretary of State Chess Association expressed satisfaction over successful completion of the championship. Pradeep Kumar, joint secretary and other association office-bearers were present on the occasion. As many as 120 participants from across the state took part in the three-day championship.