Hamirpur, April 18
The state Congress today put up a good show of strength at Hamirpur during filing of nomination by Congress nominee Narinder Thakur for the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency.

While state president of the Congress committee Kaul Singh Thakur came especially to be present on the occasion all party MLAs from the constituency were also present.

Addressing a public meeting at the Gandhi Chowk, Thakur castigated the previous NDA government on its failure on several counts and narrated various achievements of the UPA government. He said, “It was during the government of NDA that terrorist attack on Parliament, Akshardham temple took place and Kandhar episode occurred”.

He said, “Chief Minister PK Dhumal is making a double speak nowadays; while earlier he used to praise the UPA government for giving projects to the state now he is talking of the Central government’s discrimination with the state.”

The Congress president said, “Though the BJP government has completed 15-month rule in the state, people have got nothing except price rise and reduction in PDS ration and the state government is bent upon finishing this scheme completely.”

Addressing the rally, Congress candidate Narinder Thakur said, “Though our family had made great contribution for raising the BJP in the state, efforts were made to finish our family politically and Dhumal even feels uncomfortable taking name of my father Jagdev Chand Thakur.”

He said, “Today the BJP has been hijacked by Dhumal and in love of his son he has forgotten every body else in the party.”

Addressing the rally MLAs Mukesh Agnihotri, Rajesh Dharmani, Rakesh Kalia, Yog Raj, Sukhvinder Singh, Manu Sharma, former ministers Ram Lal Thakur, and Kuldeep Kumar and other party leaders criticised Dhumal for ignoring the poor and for allegedly watching the interests of his family only.”

Earlier, Congress candidate Narinder Thakur filed his nomination papers before Hamirpur returning officer Abhishek Jain.

Shimla, April 18
The Congress candidate from the Shimla parliamentary constituency, Dhani Ram Shandil, today said he was seeking public mandate on the basis of development works undertaken during the past five years and several issues raised at the Centre.

Shandil, who is seeking re-election for the third time, today filed his nominations papers in the presence of Congress leaders Virbhadra Singh, Anand Sharma and Vidya Stokes. He filed three sets of nomination papers with Anand Sharma, Stokes and Harish Chander being the proposers.

The 68-year-old army officer turned politician, Shandil contested the first election on the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) ticket after which he joined the Congress and contested the second election.

“I have tried to bring about uniform development in all the 17 assembly segments by distributing the MP Local Area Development Fund equally in all the areas,” he said. He said seeing his work and the pro-people policies of the UPA regime he would succeed in making a hat-trick.

In the affidavit filed by him along with his nomination papers he has stated that there are no police or other cases registered against him anywhere. Giving details of the cash and bank accounts he has stated that he has Rs 49,712 in Indian Overseas Bank, Rs 1.05 lakh in pension account in PNB and Rs 9,584 in another joint account. He has RS 6.81 lakh in his PPF and a Rs 1 lakh as FDR.

As per details of the bank deposits in Delhi he has Rs 4.53 lakh in cash and Rs 19.64 FDR in the SBI and PFC bonds worth Rs 10,000. He has stated that he has a cash of Rs 15,000 with him. His wife Anuradha Shandil has cash of Rs 20,000 with her and Rs 2.08 lakh in the SBI and Rs 21.33 lakh in GPF in Delhi. She also has an LIC policy of Rs 1,60,000.

While Shandil himself has a Honda city car, his better-half has Getz model. He has disclosed that he has two rings of 5 gms each valued at Rs 5,000. His wife has 100 gm of gold valued at Rs 1 lakh. He has disclosed that he has a house valued at Rs 50 lakh in the Summer Hill area of Shimla and an ancestral house valued at Rs 2 lakh in Basheel village.

In the details of properties listed by Shandil he has 1.02 bighas land in his native villagel in Kandaghat valued at Rs 2 lakh and 3.05 bighas non-agricultural land in the same place valued at Rs 3.50 lakh.

Shandil in his affidavit filed on April 19, 2004 at the time of filing of nominations had cash and deposits worth Rs 18.47 lakh which have now risen to Rs 33.88 lakh. Though there is no addition to his immovable assets but his wife has acquired an apartment worth Rs 45 lakh at Gurgaon.

Shimla, April 18
The presence of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at the time of filing of nomination papers by the Congress candidate from the Shimla parliamentary constituency today enthused party workers, who turned out in a large number with all senior leaders, too, making an appearance.

Party candidate Dhani Ram Shandil was accompanied by Virbhadra Singh, Union Minister of External Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma, CLP leader Vidya Stokes and a host of party legislators. He filed his nomination papers in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, who is the returning officer for the Shimla Lok Sabha seat.

“I will certainly campaign for three-four days in the Shimla parliamentary constituency and will try to take out time for other two seats of Kangra and Hamirpur,” Shandil said, when asked about his plans to campaign outside Mandi.

Virbhadra today left for Sarahan to start his campaign in tribal districts of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur. Having campaigned for almost two months extensively in the Mandi Lok Sabha seat from where he is contesting the elections, the former CM made an appearance here after a long time. It is not just Congress candidates but even party leaders and workers all over the state who have been demanding that Virbhadra Singh should hold election rallies in their constituencies.

Senior party leaders said he would campaign in all seats and shortly his tour programme would be finalised. It was also the availability of a chopper which would decided as to how many days he could spend outside Mandi from where he was contesting elections in place of his wife Pratibha Singh, who is the sitting MP, the leaders added.

Mandi, April 18
Former Chief Minister and Mandi Congress candidate Virbhadra Singh and state president Kaul Singh Thakur yesterday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

They alleged that the BJP was a party with a “divisive mindset”. They also accused Dhumal of discriminating against the people of Mandi despite the fact that he became the CM after he had got support of former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram from Mandi in 1998 for the first time.

Addressing public meetings at Kunu, Pani and Paddar in Drang, Virbhadra Singh said: “PK Dhumal always adopted an anti-Mandi stand whenever he came to power in the state”.

Dhumal shut down scores of zonal offices in Mandi, giving a raw deal to people of Mandi, but the Congress restored those offices in 2003-08 when they formed the next government, he claimed.

Virbhadra Singh further said after assuming power in the state, the present Dhumal government cancelled the notification for a government medical college and issued a fresh notification to attach Mandi zonal hospital to the proposed private college, which the Congress would never tolerate, he said.

“We had announced the setting up of the government medical college in the 2007 budget speech and issued a notification in this regard. A 500-bedded zonal hospital with an investment of Rs 15 crore was also constructed,” he added.

Virbhadra Singh urged voters to vote in favour of him as an MP and promised that he would take problems of the common man to Parliament.

Meanwhile, Kaul Singh Thakur said the BJP always took an anti-Mandi stand and all developments works like roads, schools and hospitals in Drang were achievements of the Congress.

Shimla, April 18
Union minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma today said the BJP was trying to capture power by linking the two issues of religion and terrorism to politics which was certainly not in the interest of the nation.

Addressing a press conference here today, the minister said the BJP which lacked direction and able leadership was trying to get political gain by linking the sensitive issue of terrorism and religion to politics. “To fight against outside threats, internal unity is a must which the BJP can never bring about considering their politics of dividing people in the name of religion and community,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of lowering the level of political discourse and debate, the minister said they had launched personal attack on the Prime Minister who was respected worldwide as an eminent economist. “It was the strong leadership and steely resolve of Manmohan Singh who took the risk of facing the no-confidence motion in Parliament only to uphold India’s supreme national interest and credibility in the international community,” he remarked.

Reacting to the issue of unaccounted money stacked in Swiss banks being raised by Advani, the minister said he ought to clarify which government or the bank has provided him with this astounding figure. “Since he lacks a coherent agenda to inspire the people of India talking of money in Swiss banks is nothing but electoral posturing to get political mileage,” he remarked.

Castigating this approach of sensationalism he said the Money Laundering Act had always been in place and India hasd an agreement with 70 nations to check movement of money by Indians.

“I would like to ask Advani as to what did the NDA regime do and he in his personal capacity of Home Minister to bring back Rs 75,000 lakh crore being quoted by him,” he quipped.

IN reply to a query he said that the Congress party had already clarified that there would be no pre-poll alliances as even the UPA had been formed post- election.

The minister said the Congress was seeking mandate not by making tall claims but on the basis of its performance over the past five years which is rooted in facts for all to see.

Mandi, April 18
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate from the Mandi seat Lala Ram (35) who filled his nomination papers here today is a “matriculate landless homeless farmer as neither he himself nor his wife owns an inch of land or house” in their name. Ironically, he has taken a house loan worth Rs 2.6 lakh from a bank in Karsog, his hometown, that has put him on the spot.

As judged by his political gestures, silent campaign and the documents he filed at the Mandi DC office, Lala Ram has turned out be a political nonentity when you compare with stalwarts like Congress candidate Virbhadra Singh, BJP Maheshwar Singh and CPI Dr Onkar Shad contesting from Mandi this time.

Lala Ram while talking to The Tribune after filing his papers said, “I joined the BSP in 1994 when I saw poverty in my home areas in Karsog. Mayawati has vision for poor, while the BJP and the Congress have failed to redeem poverty. I was district coordinator before I was declared candidate from Mandi.” However, he refused to comment further when asked about how he took a house loan when he has no house.

In fact, Lala Ram has turned out to be a stopgap candidate to drum up the presence of the BSP in the region after its firebrand convener Maj VS Mankotia, former minister Karan Singh, Dharamvir Dhami from Kullu and Rajinder Mohan from Mandi deserted the party.

Accompanied by BSP state coordinator Bhagwant Singh and cover candidate Bhola Ram, Lala Ram came in silence, filed his papers and made a silent exit. He has no land and no house as per his papers. He has Rs 20,000 cash, Rs 5,000 deposits in Cooperative Bank, Karsog, Rs 63,000 bonds and debentures in ICICI bank and golden jewellery wroth Rs 75,000.

Lala Ram is in debts. He has taken loans worth Rs 26,000 from Cooperative Bank, Karsog, and Rs 2.6 lakh as house loan from SBoP that has raised questions about his claims that he neither owns a house nor any land in his name, revealed his documents. However, he still claims to have no house in his name.

Chamba, April 18
With the Lok Sabha polling date slated for May 13 in the state, out of 572 polling stations in Chamba district, 47 polling stations have been declared hypersensitive and 122 sensitive.

Most of the hypersensitive polling stations are located on the border of the district adjacent to militancy-infested belts of Jammu and Kashmir. There are 129 polling stations in the district where poll officials will have to tread in more than 3 km of distance to reach their destinations.

As per the information available with the media centre set up at the district headquarters, 52 sector officers had also been appointed and assigned their duties to oversee the poll staff, conduct of poll and collection of EVMs (electronic voting machines) in different parts of the district.

The appointment of poll personnel assembly segment-wise presiding and polling officers along with reserve staff had been made from officials working in the Central, state government departments and public sector undertakings owned by the government. Names and particulars of around 2,800 officials had been entered in electronic database, in addition to 20 per cent reserve staff in the district, the information revealed.

It further revealed that of the total five Assembly constituencies in the district, four assembly constituencies --- Churah (SC-reserved), Chamba, Dalhousie and Bhattiyat fall in the Kangra Lok Sabha constituency while the Bharmour (ST-reserved) Assembly constituency falls in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency that will go to polls on May 13.

Mandi, April 18
Chief Minister PK Dhumal and Mandi BJP candidate Maheshwar Singh’s pleas that they will take up “legalising the illegal cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis” grown in the remote areas of Chauhar-Chachiot-Banjar and Malana with help of the Central government has kicked up a row as former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and state Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur have joined chorus accusing them of spreading false populist propaganda.

After issue raised by Maheshwar Singh in his bid to woo voters, Dhumal while addressing a public meeting at Paddar yesterday told voters that he would take up the matter of cultivation of opium poppy with the Central Government for legalising it in the state the way it is done in Madhya Pradesh.

Dhumal also claimed that the Congress and Kaul Singh always misled people in Chauhar valley. “We have declared this area as Backward and OBC so that people benefit from the government schemes”.

Dhumal’s comment has put a question mark behind controlling the drug menace in the state, making mockery of the anti-poppy and cannabis drives launched by the police and the Narcotics Control Bureau in these areas, enforcing the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act.

Virbhadra said Dhumal was misleading people as the Congress governments had taken up the matter of cultivation of poppy in the remote areas where it is grown traditionally several times with the Centre, but it was rejected on the ground that the government and international law are restricting its cultivation. The Central government had told the state that the quality of poppy in Himachal is not good, he added.

He said the Congress had encouraged cultivation of cash crops like apple, peas and potatoes like it had been done in most of the areas in Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and Chamba districts and its cultivation is picking up slowly in opium or cannabis growing areas as well.

On the other hand, Kaul Singh said it was Dhumal who rejected a resolution on giving relief to opium cultivators in Chauhar and Chachiot in the Vidhan Sabha raised by him recently. Now, Dhumal and Maheshwar are raising it just to mislead people,” he charged.