Kalka, February 21
It’s election time and the Congress worker is the king yet again. If the “Karyakarta Samman Yatra” kicked off by the Congress from the Kalka constituency here today drove home this point, it also struck a discordant note on day one even as it was “handled” in time.

Supporters of leaders present contested a slogan-shouting match for oneupmanship, bringing infighting in the party to the fore. However, party campaign committee in charge Venod Sharma tried to tackle the issue and termed it as a “dialogue within the Congress family”.

In the otherwise smooth meeting where workers were referred to as “messengers” and “bridges between the leaders and the public”, trouble arose when one of the local leaders, Ram Prakash Khangwal, took to the stage.

“This amounts to deceit. Our MLA has deserted us. Local MP Selja, too, has been unable to resolve our issue,” he said. The very instant he said this, Selja’s supporters were on their feet, raising slogans of “Selja zindabad”, countered by pro-government slogans from some workers.

Realising that the situation could turn ugly, Sharma appealed to the workers to maintain discipline and settle down.

He asked them to keep the name of the party high and send back the Congress candidates with a bigger margin in the forthcoming parliamentary election.

Amidst supporters raising slogans in her favour which seemed “unpalatable” to some leaders present, Selja, too, addressed the workers, urging them to take the policies of the Centre to the people. “On all your issues, especially those of demolitions in Kalka, I am with you in your fight. I have held meeting to discuss where the administration was when the encroachments were happening. We will tackle this too”, she maintained.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana urged the workers to present a united front to fight the Opposition while Virender, political adviser to the Chief Minister, said a rath yatra to highlight the achievements of the government would be taken out. “We are making 50 raths which will be flagged off from Panchkula on February 24. Five raths each will be sent to each parliamentary seat for publicity,” he added.

Bhiwani, February 21
The ownership issue of late Chief Minister Bansi Lal’s residence, situated at local Vijay Nagar here, intensified today when Bansi Lal’s son and Mundhal MLA Ranbir Singh Mahendra along with his son Aniruddh Choudhry, sister Saroj and supporters forcibly ousted the bodyguard and supporters of Haryana Tourism and Forest Minister Kiran Choudhry.

Later, he broke open the locks of rooms, which are stated to be under the possession of Kiran and replaced them with his locks. Meanwhile, no supporter of Kiran was allowed to enter the house.

The incident took place just one day after the rasam pagri ceremony of late Vidya Devi, widow of Bansi Lal. Later, a heavy police force was deployed at the residence to avoid any untoward incident.

Supporters of Kiran Choudhry, Parmajit Maddu, Tosh Kumar and Jitender told mediapersons that Ranbir Singh Mahendra arrived at the residence at 11 am and manhandled the bodyguard, Rajbir Singh, and supporters of Kiran. They were forcibly evicted from the house, alleged Maddu.

Rajbir Singh alleged that when he stopped Ranbir Mahendra and Aniruddh from breaking the locks, they thrashed him and forcibly ousted him from the residence. He alleged that he was beaten up with canes brought by supporters of Mahendra.

Jitender, who had taken snaps when Mahendra’s men were locking the rooms, said he had moved an application to the police for his security. Jitender was also allegedly beaten up by the supporters of Mahendra.

Rajbir Singh, Jitender and Balwan later lodged a report with the police describing the whole incident and sought action against Mahendra and his supporters.

Mediapersons entered the house when Mahendra and his supporters left. They found that different articles were spread on the floor.

DSP Inder Singh said the police could not be instrumental in breaking or opening the locks, as it was a family matter. However, the police would not allow anyone to take law in his hands.

Chandigarh, February 21
The Haryana government has decided to further modify the relevant revised pay scales of HCMS doctors in the Health Department, which were earlier revised with effect from January 1, 2006.

The government has, on the recommendations of the Pay Anomalies Committee, also decided to further modify the pay scales of personal assistants and private secretaries.

He said as per the modified assured career progression (ACP) pay structure, medical officers would get a pay band of entry level that was Rs 9,300-34,800, have pay band code PB-2 and would get grade pay of Rs 5,400.

After five and 10 years of regular satisfactory service in the cadre, they would get a higher pay band, pay band code PB-3 and grade pay. After 15 years of regular service, their pay band would be Rs 37,400-67,000 with pay band code PB-4 and grade pay of Rs 8,700.

Pay scales of senior medical officers (SMOs), medical superintendents, deputy directors and district programme officers have also been revised. In case of specialist doctors, rural service in community health centres has been made mandatory from September 1, 2009.

The doctors becoming eligible for the first or second or the third ACP, as the case may be, up to August 31, 2009 would be granted respective ACP on its due date without enforcing rural service condition. The doctors becoming eligible for the first or second or the third ACP after September 1, 2009, shall have to render rural service equal to 2/5 of the period between March 1, 2009, and the date on which ACP becomes due or two years, whichever is less.

The Health Department shall obtain option for rural service from the doctors within 15 days of issue of the notification. Subsequently, the department shall invite options from them for rural posting twice a year, in the first fortnight of January and again in the first fortnight of July.

Meanwhile, the salaries of personal assistants working in the Haryana Civil Secretariat, offices of Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Haryana Public Service Commission, Legal Remembrancer and Governor House would get modified pay scale of Rs 6,500-10,500 with pay band code PB-2 plus grade pay of Rs 4,200.

The modifications would be subject to the condition that in future, the official would be required to pass basic-level computer appreciation course. This would be in addition to the other departmental test, if any, prescribed by the government or provided in the departmental service rules.

Sirsa, February 21
The Haryana Government’s latest moves towards the creation of a separate gurdwara parbandhak committee has drawn flak from former Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities and independent Rajya Sabha member from Haryana Tarlochan Singh.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Tarlochan Singh said it was a matter of concern for Sikhs that Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had tried to trivialise an important issue like the separate SGPC.

He said Hooda had recently made a number of announcements, which were clearly aimed at getting electoral favour from voters and the manner in which Haryana Agriculture Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha had been made to submit his report to the Chief Minister in a hurried manner, it was clear that Hooda was considering this very important issue on a par with less important issues.

He said the report had been lying with Chatha for more than a year and the government chose this particular time, when parliamentary elections were likely to be announced any time.

Terming this as the Congress party’s ploy to divide Sikh voters in Haryana, the Rajya Sabha member maintained that Sikhs were intelligent enough to see through the game plan of the Hooda government and would not be taken in by such gimmicks.

Tarlochan Singh said developments in the past few days after Jagdish Singh Jhinda had started his “shukrana yatra” had proved that merely two out of 12 elected members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) from Haryana were with the state government on the issue.

He reiterated his earlier stand that the issue of a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana should be resolved by constituting a regional committee of the SGPC comprising all elected members of the committee from Haryana and the president and the secretary of the SGPC as its members.

He said the regional committee could very well ensure that funds collected from Haryana gurdwaras were used in Haryana only and sewadars appointed for Haryana gurdwaras were appointed from among Sikhs in the state.

Karnal, February 21
The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) has welcomed the setting up of a three-member committee to study the Chatha committee report on the separate SGPC issue but reiterated its earlier stand that the separate panel must come into existence before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

"The decision of the government to set up a committee headed by the Advocate-General is welcome as it will go into all legal aspects before the implementation of the report, but it must give its final recommendations within a week", “president” of the HSGPC (ad hoc) Jagdish Singh Jhinda told The Tribune.

The Chatha panel took more than three years to submit the report and there were reasonable apprehensions that the new committee might take a longer period than required. However, the HSGPC was firm on its demand that all legal formalities should be completed to put a separate gurdwara body in place before the Lok Sabha elections, he added.

Expressing his concern over reports in a section of the press that the Chatha committee had also suggested that a 31-member ad hoc committee with 12 SGPC members should be constituted till the matter was finally resolved, Jhinda said: "We reject any such suggestion.”

Aware of the fact that the Assembly was not in session and the Lok Sabha elections could be announced any time, Jhinda said the state government was empowered to constitute a separate SGPC for the state under section 72 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. It should promulgate an ordinance to meet the aspirations of Haryana Sikhs, he said.