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Violating code in name of security threat
30 injured in clashes
2 Hizbul militants killed in Sopore
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BJP, Sena eye valley
Annulment of Hazratbal
byelection
Polling sinks to 17 pc in Pul Doda
Serve in rural areas, Omar to docs
Drive against ad agencies
Fire in wheat field controlled
CM back from pilgrimage
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Violating code in name of security threat
Flouting the model code of conduct in the name of “security threat” here has become a rule rather than an exception. Every political party flouts the code with impunity and gets away with it without the batting of an eyelid.
Though the model code clearly prohibits use of official vehicles and government buildings, Dak Bunglows, etc. for election-related activity, politicians give a damn here. Vehicles with red beacon are common on top of vehicles during the ongoing campaign for the third phase of polling in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency. Ruling NC and Congress Ministers and MLA are omnipresent in the constituency, accompanied by their security escorts and chauffeur-driven white Ambassador cars. Though every politician is flouting the code, the Election Commission has hardly received any complaint. Today, state Congress president Saif-ud-din Soz, who is also the Union Minister for Water Resources, held a workers’ rally in Dak Bunglow, Anantnag, on the pretext of mobilising the party cadres for the first-ever visit of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to address a public rally in Anantnag on April 27, a day before campaigning for the third phase of election comes to an end. Soz remained huddled with district presidents and other senior leaders, including state Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, in the rooms of the Dak Bunglow for hours. In fact, the entire Dak Bunglow was converted into a Congress office with the entire area hoisting the Congress flags and banners. Interestingly, office of the Returning Officer and office of the Election Commission has been setup in the same building. However, Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad told The Tribune that the Congress had been given permission to hold the rally due to security reasons. “The area outside the building has been barricaded, parties have been told to use the ground and they can even use the rooms, but cannot stay there at night.” Even if the Congress was granted permission for security reasons, it did not remain confined to the allocated ground in the complex. Besides, using official vehicles for campaigning certainly cannot be exempt from the model code under any rule. It is learnt that the entire proceedings of the day have been video recorded and can be presented before the Election Commission if required by some official agencies. The entire building complex will be handed over to the Special Operations Group (SOP) today evening for “sanitation” before Rahul Gandhi’s visit, putting the general public to lot of inconvenience. Not only did Soz violate the model code, the state Education Minister too arrived in his official Ambassador car with the red beacon and his security escort. |
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Rahul coming to campaign
Srinagar, April 24 |
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30 injured in clashes
Srinagar, April 24 Protests were held in the Jamia Masjid area after the Friday prayers here against the restrictions on the movement of senior APHC leaders, including the Mirwaiz. The protesters were demanding the release of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, who continues to be in captivity since August last year in the wake of protest marches and the killing of Sheikh Abdul Aziz during Muzaffarabad Chalo. The issue of preventing Hurriyat leaders, particularly the Mirwaiz, from offering Friday prayers had also become an issue during the Assembly elections. A day after APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq announced the launch of a poll-boycott campaign, he was put under house arrest at his Nigeen residence. Several other APHC leaders have also been kept under house arrest at their respective places. The hard line Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who had already announced to boycott the Lok Sabha elections in Kashmir, continued to be under house arrest for the past three weeks. JKLF chairman Yasin Malik, who had addressed an anti-election rally in Pulwama the other day, had also been kept under house arrest since yesterday. The police also held Zafar Akbar Bhat, chief of the Salvation Movement, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference (Mirwaiz), when he led a protest after Friday prayers in Anantnag town of south Kashmir. Earlier, launching an anti-election campaign while addressing the Friday congregation in the town, he said elections were not the substitute to the right of self-determination. A spokesman for the APHC said the police took away Zafar to an unknown destination. Other moderate APHC leaders, who have been kept under house arrest, include provincial president of the APHC Nayeem Ahmad Khan, media adviser Syed Saleem Geelani, Javed Ahmad Mir and Hakeem Abdul Rashid. |
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2 Hizbul militants killed in Sopore
Srinagar, April 24 On a tipoff about the presence of two militants in Akhoonpora in Sopore the forces launched a cordon-and-search operation. Militants fired upon the advancing party but were killed in retaliatory fire. The police said one militant,
Shaheen, hailed from PoK while the other, Mohammad Yaqoob Dar, was from Pattan here. Two AK 47 rifles, three grenades, one radio set and eight AK magazines were seized from the site of encounter. In another operation, the security forces seized an IED weighing about 4 kg hidden in a pressure cooker, one pistol, one pistol magazine from the house of Abdul Majeed Sofi at Warpora in
Sopore. Warpora has been a hotbed of militancy and seen some fierce encounters with many of its men joining different militant outfits JAMMU:
The Army and the police launched a joint operation in the forest area of Malsu in Ghata village, 5 km from
Bhaderwah, after two suspected terrorists were seen in the area. As per Additional SP of Bhaderwah TR
Katoch, a joint team of the police and the Army launched a search operation on specific information about the presence of two suspected militants in the area. A brief exchange of fire was also reported between the security forces and the militants. However, the operation had to be suspended due to darkness. The security forces had encircled the entire area. “We have cordoned off the area and would launch a combing operation in the morning. Two militants were spotted and on specific information we launched a joint operation. There was a brief exchange of fire, but we had to call off the operation due to darkness. The operation would resume in the morning,” Katoch said. The encounter comes days ahead of the proposed visit of Defence Minister AK Antony to Rajouri to take stock of the situation on the LoC after reports that more than 50 armed terrorists had managed to infiltrate to disrupt the poll process in the country. As per the sources, the two militants hiding in the forests of Malsu could be part of a larger group that might be hiding in the jungles of the area. “The group could be much larger. We are taking no chances and with the first light the operation would resume in the area,” a police source said. |
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BJP, Sena eye valley
Jammu, April 24 BJP in charge for Kashmir Affairs Sardar Charanjit Singh Khalsa said: “We want our workers to remain agile throughout the elections and gain wider
experience. We also want our party to become a part of election as much as we can and increase our vote percentage in the valley. Sadiq Khan, BJP candidate for Srinagar, whose nomination was rejected by the Election Commission in the Assembly elections on the ground of his being in government service, is now contesting for the parliamentary election. Sadiq said: “Last time, I was ditched, and despite the fact
that I had filed my NOC certificate regarding my government service, my nomination was rejected.” It is an astute move by the BJP to field a Muslim candidate in Kashmir as Khalsa said: “With Muslim candidate, we will garner more votes and it will also strengthen secular image of the party.” Pandita, who has earlier fought against PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in Wachi, is fighting the parliamentary elections for the first time from the Anantnag seat. He has a strong grip over the area as he unlike others returned to the valley in 1992 and continued to stay there. “My main objective would be to convince Kashmiri Pandits living in camps to return to their homes,” Pandita said. Pandita, like Shiv Sena Hindustan candidate Rajiv Mahajan from Anantnag, is convincing Kashmiri Pandits to join the elections and defy poll
boycott. |
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Annulment of Hazratbal
byelection Tribune News Service
Srinagar, April 24 PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said at a press conference that the EC’s decision had exposed the NC’s scant regard for the democratic norms. “This party has a history of going to any extent to win. Kashmir has not forgotten its rigging of the 1987 elections and they are up to it again,” she said. The controversy over Kamal’s candidature had first erupted when his rivals pointed out that the party’s authorisation letter did not mention his name, thus invalidating his nomination. However, the returning officer brushed aside their complaints and declared his candidature valid. Things took a U-turn when the Election Commission agreed that the acceptance of Kamal’s papers was “improper” and annulled the election notification. Mehbooba welcomed EC’s intervention but said the commission should have punished the guilty instead of cancelling the election which has affected all other candidates while the culprit has been let off. She said the NC-led government forced the returning officer to accept Kamal’s papers.
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Polling sinks to 17 pc in Pul Doda
Jammu, April 24 The Baglihar project dam over the river has caused the problem for the residents. Water is just a couple of feet below the Doda bridge now. The figures of a polling booth set up in the sinking town, received here this evening, say only 105 persons out of the 384 voters turned out to vote yesterday. Ramesh Kumar, a displaced shopkeeper, told The Tribune during a recent visit that people were angry over being forced to leave the town. “We are yet to receive full compensation,” he rued. Ramesh has not left the place, whereas his family has moved out. The Chenab water accumulating here after the construction of the dam is threatening to submerge the town. A spokesperson for the Chief Electoral Officer, Doda, said 384 persons had voted in the Assembly elections. Residents of nearby villages, who may not be affected by the rising Chenab water, were also to vote in the same booth. But the percentage suggests a few of them came out to vote. The spokesman said the polling in the entire district was 33 per cent, but here it was far more low. |
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Serve in rural areas, Omar to docs
Jammu, April 24 He said people in these areas required focused attention in health care. He asked them to render their services in remote areas as an obligation and commitment toward the state. Addressing the 15th foundation day function of Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences,
Sidhra, Omar said the young doctors should volunteer to serve in rural and remote areas and come up to the expectations
of people. “I do not want you to renounce the comforts of metropolitans, but expect you to serve in the rural areas for some time,” he said. He added the government spent a lot of money on the education of doctors and expected them to serve the poor in the rural areas. The Chief Minister said it had been observed that there was more pressure in government hospitals in the cities as most of the doctors posted in the rural areas do not stay there. He added when there were sufficient facilities in rural hospitals and health
centres, he wondered why patients should visit city hospitals even for minor surgeries and treatment. The director and principal of the institution, VK
Gandotra, in his annual report, said 800 graduates and 36 postgraduates had passed out from the institution. He said the institution also runs a Nursing School with seven branches having 100 seats. |
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Drive against ad agencies
Jammu, April 24 The drive was launched in different areas like Jewel Chowk, Vikram Chowk and Talab Tillo, from where three truckload of hoardings and posters were collected and taken away to the corporation. The drive will continue until all unauthorised hoardings and posters were removed completely. Talking to the Tribune, Municipal Commissioner Mubarak Singh said according to the municipal laws the corporation made a contract with the advertising agencies, only after which they could put their hoardings within the municipal limits. He said strict action would be taken against the advertising companies that put hoardings or paste posters without taking the permission from the Municipal Corporation. For implementing the drive effectively, the corporation has constituted a team consisting of three khalafwardi/ revenue officers of the corporation along with seven municipal employees to each. The corporation will file an FIR against those who continue to violate the municipal
laws. |
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Fire in wheat field controlled
Jammu, April 24 Repeated incidents of fire have so far damaged wheat crop on 372 kanals. Amongst four incidents of fire, three took place in RS Pura itself within less than a week. According to villagers, today’s fire which broke out due to unknown reasons damaged wheat on nearly two kanals before it was controlled. The farmers have reiterated their demand for more fire extinguishers to cope with such fire incidents that are quite common during the summer.
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CM back from pilgrimage
Jammu, April 24 The Chief Minister was received by a large number of people at his residence here, who had come to felicitate him on returning from the pilgrimage. Omar said he prayed for the wellbeing of the people and return of peace and prosperity in the state. |
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2 held with 8 kg charas
Jammu, April 24 |
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23 file papers for Baramulla
Srinagar, April 24 |
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Nearly 30 persons were injured in clashes between stone-throwing demonstrators and the security forces in the Jamia Masjid area here, and elsewhere in Sopore and Anantnag towns, during anti-election protests today.
