Shimla, April 27
A fresh controversy has arisen with regard to the complaint filed by suspended ADGP BS Thind against Chief Minister PK Dhumal as there were reports that he today requested the Lokayukta for dropping of charges against Dhumal. The controversial officer, however, maintained that he had not made any such request.

Thind had filed a complaint before the Lokayukta against the Chief Minister levelling charges of abuse of position and indulging in corrupt practices on April 4. He had also levelled serious allegations against three IPS officers, CBI Director Ashwani Kumar, DGP (Vigilance) DS Manhas and IG (Law and Order) SR Mardi.

Surprisingly, the 1974-batch IPS officer, when contacted on the telephone, denied having filed any affidavit or request before the Lokayukta for dropping of charges against the Chief Minister. “I am still awaiting notice from the Lokayukta with regard to the complaint filed by me against Dhumal and three others so that I can depose before it,” he said.

On the other hand, sources in the Lokayukta confirmed that an affidavit had been sent by Thind through a messenger that he was dropping charges against the Chief Minister. Sources said he had mentioned that he was not under any duress for seeking dropping of charges against Dhumal.

The development has taken all by surprise as the filing of the complaint by Thind against Dhumal and three other senior police officers barely three weeks had given rise to a political debate about his intentions.

It was being expected that the Congress was considering including the allegations levelled by Thind in its charge sheet being prepared against the BJP regime. The contents of the charge sheet at this stage, when the polling for the Lok Sabha elections is barely three weeks away, was likely to have an impact on the outcome of the elections.

The name of Thind had figured prominently in the charge sheet that the BJP had prepared while the Congress was in power as he was considered close to former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. As such, his arrest earlier this month was very much along the expected lines. He was placed under suspension a few months earlier following framing of charges against him by the CBI in a case in Punjab.

Mandi, April 27
CPM-CPI candidate from Mandi Onkar Shad, 49, a gold medalist in botany from Himachal Pradesh University, is a humble soft-spoken middle-class farmer-turned- academician-turned democratic Leftist from Shagagi village in Ani tehsil in Kullu district. He rejected a comfortable college lecturer’s job and took a plunge into politics to take the “Third alternative political agenda” to the people in the Mandi-Kullu region.

When asked what made him turn Leftist when he knew that rivals like the Congress and the BJP were well-trenched in the Mandi region, he said, “After being attracted to the democratic socialism of time, I joined the SFI in Rampur college and went on to become a CPM activist. I found people are disillusioned with the BJP and the Congress and they are seeking a third alternative.”

He left the college job because he wanted to serve farmers, poor workers and neglected sections of the state, who remained steeped in poverty even after 62 years of independence, he said. “The BJP and the Congress are protecting “interests of the rich and big companies” in the state. We want to consolidate our base and we are moving on,” he claimed.

Shad said the BJP and the Congress had no agenda for the common man and were engaged in a blame game. “We have approached the common man with real problems they were faced with. These include monkey menace, TD rights, crop failures, drought-natural calamities, lack of roads, quality health and education in villages and the response is very good,” he asserted.

As per the affidavit that he submitted to the returning officer at the time of filing his nomination, Shad is a middle-class progressive farmer, but a socialist to core. He has not invested his savings in private banks, debentures and shares, but he has taken five postal and LIC policies worth Rs 5.1 lakh and deposits worth 1.86 lakh in his and his spouse, Sneh Lata’s name.

Besides cash-in-hand of Rs 5,000 and Rs 31,000 in bank deposits, Shad owns 16 bighas of land worth 16 lakh while his wife owns 2.5 bighas of land worth Rs 2.5 lakh in their native village. He has a house worth Rs 8 lakh. He has taken loans worth Rs 1 lakh from PNB, Rampur and Rs 40,000 from the LIC.

Shimla, April 27
Declining rates of power are adding to the woes of the hill state that is heading for tough times on the financial front because of lack of buoyancy in tax collections due to the economic slowdown.

It is going to be a difficult year as the state has to absorb a financial shock of over Rs 2,500 crore on account of pay revision. The state had done reasonably well in achieving the targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act over the past three years mainly due to buoyancy in VAT collection and unusual increase in non-tax revenue on account of sale of power.

With the economic slowdown affecting the resource position significantly and the expenditure set to take quantum leap due to the impending pay revision, the state is in for a tough time on the financial front in 2009-10. The revenue from the power sector, which increased from Rs 53 crore in 2003-4 to over Rs 1,300 crore in 2007-08, came down to Rs 1,255 crore during the last financial year.

The sale price of power came down to Rs 7.01 per unit last year from Rs 7.15 per unit in the previous year. This year, the neighbouring states that procure bulk of the power have quoted a rate of Rs 6.10 per unit, but government has not accepted the offer and negotiations were on to get higher rate. While the finance department expects the rates to soften up in due course, it is not willing to accept a rate of less than Rs 6.65 per unit for the current year.

The impact of the economic slowdown started affecting the revenue collection towards the end of the last financial year. Last year, tax collections fell short of target by about Rs 50 crore.

The annual expenditure on salaries will go up from Rs 3,000 crore last year to Rs 4,351 crore after pay revision and the pension liability will swell from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 1,400 crore. The state is hoping that the inflation remains in control so that it does not have to pay much by way of additional dearness allowance.

Shimla, April 27
Going a step further on the issue of bringing back the money stashed away in tax havens, national vice-president of the BJP Shanta Kumar today advocated enactment of a suitable law to force Indians to disclose their secret accounts.

Addressing a press conference here last evening, he said the issue had been put on the centre of the poll agenda as never before and it had presented the menace of corruption in a new perspective before the people. As per estimates, tainted money to the tune of around Rs 70 lakh crore was lying in tax haven countries, which, if brought back, could change the face of India. The Congress governments had been soft-pedalling on the issue as names of members of the Nehru family were linked with Swiss bank accounts during the Bofors controversy.

Enacting a legislation with punitive provisions like 10-year imprisonment for those who failed to disclose details of their secret bank accounts and deposits within a stipulated period could certainly help in bringing back the money. Such a law would prove effective now as the developed countries had created tremendous pressure for ensuring transparency in banking by doing away with secret accounts and rules were being indeed changed.

In fact, the Swiss government had recently supplied details of accounts held by Germans in their country. The G-20 countries had also taken up the issue and it was becoming easier to track such accounts, he added.

He said it was essential to attack corruption at the very root as it was mainly responsible for rampant poverty and growing economic disparities that ultimately forced people to adopt violent means. The pro-rich policies of the UPA regime had made things worse.

While 36 millionaires accounted for $19,000 crore, 26 crore people were living below the poverty line, out of which 12 crore were living on Rs 8 per day. Around 1.5 lakh farmers had committed suicide so far. In such a situation, it was hardly surprising that 125 districts in the country were severely affected by naxalite violence, he added.

Shanta Kumar said instability and corruption were inherent in parliamentary democracy and he personally favoured a presidential type of government. It was not essential to adopt the American form, but some amended form to suit the ground realities of the country could be given a try, he added.

Hamirpur, April 27
Congress candidate Narinder Thakur has demanded sacking of a minister from the state cabinet for allegedly creating a scene in public in inebriated condition.

Addressing election meetings at Jawali and Cholthra under the Dharampur assembly segment of the Hamirpur constituency today, he said, “It is a shameful act by the minister in Dhumal’s cabinet that deserve strong condemnation.” He demanded that Dhumal should immediately sack him from the cabinet.

Drawing a parallel with a similar incident during Shanta Kumar’s government, Thakur said, “The then minister Sadhu Ram, who had entered the police station in inebriated condition, was immediately sacked from the ministry. However, Dhumal is maintaining a complete silence in this case. This is the difference between Jagdev’s BJP and Dhumal’s BJP.”

He said, “Politics has become a means to acquire assets today and while my father Jagdev Chand, who remained a minister in the BJP government twice and was also a successful lawyer, had just Rs 1.5 lakh in his bank account at the time of his death, today Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur posses assets over Rs 2 crore.”

Local Congress leaders Chandershekhar and block Congress president Ramesh Thakur and other leaders also addressed these meetings.

Mandi, April 27
The District Congress and PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur today locked horns on the “charge of indulging in hooliganism by latter during his way to Jogindernagar on Saturday evening after the minister addressed the public meeting at Mandal in Balh”. The Congress also went on to accuse Forest Minister JP Nadda of violating code of conduct using Parashar Sarai for holding an election meeting.

Though the BJP has taken cognisance of whole issue, Gulab Singh Thakur termed the news item published in vernacular that he created scene near Samkhetar in the town and abused the party candidate while addressing the public meeting in Mandal Balh on Saturday as “baseless, concocted and with an intention to malign him”. “I did not abuse anybody and created problem for commuters that day,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, at a press conference here today district president Puran Chand Thakur charged that Gulab Singh Thakur created a scene in the town and blocked road for commuters. He, quoting media reports, also used un-parliamentary language against the Congress candidate while addressing a public meeting in Mandal on Saturday, he charged.

Puran Chand said the BJP was pushed on the defensive thanks to popularity of Virbhadra Singh. “The participants in the rally were from 17 assembly segments. If the BJP call them outsiders and BJP minister uses an un-parliamentary language against the Congress candidate then it shows that the BJP is in frustration and insulting people by resorting to the cheap tactics,” he charged.

Interestingly, Congress Balh MLA Parkash Chaudhary said he did not know that the PWD Minister held a meeting at Mandal in Balh on Saturday. “No Congress worker has brought it to his notice that the minister used some foul language so far,” he claimed.

State president Jai Ram Thakur said Gulab Singh Thakur is a senior party leader and the party is confident that he cannot do such things. “We are getting the facts verified, but the Congress is exaggerating the whole issue to get political mileage,” he clarified.

Shimla, April 27
The Election Commission (EC) while granting approval to certain projects has said implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) should be deferred till completion of election process in the state.

Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Khachi said here today that the EC had desired that certain other projects like installation of the hail control system and repair of the old structure at Chheb in Kangra by PWD for housing the National Institute of Fashion Technology must be held back till the holding of the elections.

The EC has, however, given approval for inviting tenders for printing of textbooks for the academic session 2010-2011 by the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board.

Kangra, April 27
The Health Department has received inputs from different hospitals of the district regarding Reduced Osmolarity Oral Rehydration Salts IP (ORS) packets that were supplied by an Indore-based laboratory and were without the manufacturing date.

Chief Medical Officer, Kangra, Dr Anil Mahajan said yesterday following a news report in The Tribune, that ORS packets were supplied to the state government hospitals and dispensaries for onward distribution was without manufacturing date, the medical authorities swung into action and sought details about the supply from all BMOs and SMOs in the district. He said these packets have been detected in Gangath, Civil Hospital, Kangra, and other hospitals. Details were awaited and would be received within a week or so. He said recovery of such ORS packets from the fields had also been ordered.

He said the supply was received by the district health authorities in packed boxes and were supplied further to hospitals and dispensaries. They did not open the boxes before passing it on and it remains to be seen at which stage negligence had taken place.

Kullu, April 27
The District Brahmin Sabha here on the occasion of Parshuram Jayanti organised a ‘Shobha Yatra’ today.

The procession with tableau and palanquin of Bhagwan Parshuram started from the Ramshilla bypass and went through Ramshilla, Akhara Bazar, Sarwari and Lower Dhalpur and finally terminated at the camp temple of Jamdagini Rishi in the historical Dhalpur ground here. More than 2,000 devotees, including a large number of women, participated in the yatra.

President of the sabha Arun Sharma said the sabha had participated in the state-level meetings and demanded that Parshuram Jayanti to be a national holiday. He called upon the Brahmin community to maintain communal harmony and said today’s function was “Sarvdharam Sammelan” in Kullu.