Shimla, May 1
The Congress received a major boost before the Lok Sabha elections in the state today when around 25 BSP leaders, including some close lieutenants of former party supremo Major Vijay Singh Mankotia joined the party.

More importantly, these leaders raised slogans in favour of Mankotia while formally joining the Congress in the presence of PCC chief Kaul Singh.

This gave ample indication that their leader could also join the party in due course. Mankotia had quit politics after the BSP’s poor showing in the Assembly elections.

Onkar Singh Rana, Ram Swaroop Sharma and Vijay Kumar, all general secretaries of the BSP, Hari Dut Sharma, a former MLA from Chintpurani, and Rohit Chauhan, state pracharak, were among those who joined the Congress today.

Onkar Singh Rana has been the right hand man of Mankotia. He contested the last Assembly election from the Shahpur seat after Mankotia shifted to Dharamsala. He polled 16,148 votes and ended up at the second position after the BJP.

Hari Dut remained MLA from Chintpurani for one term. He won as an Independent in 1993 and later joined the Congress.

The homecoming of these leaders, who deserted the Congress along with Mankotia, would strengthen the party’s base in Kangra district and prove beneficial for it in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. With this, the BSP has been all but completely wiped out from the state.

Barring Mankotia, who has on his own opted for “political sanyas”, no leader of substance has been left in the party. Earlier, Karan Singh, a former minister, had joined the party.

The Congress had caused the biggest embarrassment to the BJP by inducting Narinder Thakur, son of late BJP stalwart Jagdev Chand, who was contesting the Lok Sabha election against Anurag Thakur from the Hamirpur seat. Former minister Mansa Ram had also quit the BJP and joined the Congress.

With this, the Congress had taken back almost all significant leaders who had left the party for one reason or the other over the past five years, except Pramod Sharma, who contested against the leader of the CLP Vidya Stokes from the Kumarsain seat in the last Assembly elections.

Kaul Singh said the fact that such a large number of leaders and workers from various political parties, including the BJP, were joining the Congress only indicated that the common people had been disillusioned with the Dhumal regime. They were backing the rival party to ensure the defeat of the BJP.

Shimla, May 1
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh has lambasted former union minister Shanta Kumar for blaming the UPA regime for price rise and asserted that the people of the state had been reeling under inflation because of the irrational policies of the Dhumal government.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said Chief Minister PK Dhumal had been adamant on “not reducing” VAT on cooking gas, diesel and petrol in the state where roads were the only mode of transportation.

Since all essential commodities were transported by road, the high rates of petro products were having a chain effect.

The state was suffering a double blow as the sale of diesel and petrol was declining due to huge difference in the rates of these commodities in the neighbouring states.

The NDA government had virtually given a free hand to hoarders and black marketeers by ending the “inspector raj”. It virtually lifted all checks on traders for which the people were paying the price.

The Congress president said the BJP was fast losing ground in Hamirpur and Chief Minister PK Dhumal, who had publicly stated that the victory of his son Anurag was a foregone conclusion and that he would not need to campaign for him, had be virtually pinned down to Hamirpur.

The position of his party had become so shaky even in Hamirpur, its stronghold, that it had been forced to bring national leaders like LK Advani and Narendra Modi to address rallies there. He alleged some officers were working like BJP agents.

He specifically mentioned the names of deputy commissioner of Una, resident commissioner of Pangi and superintendent of police, Solan, in that regard. The party would lodge a complaint with the election commission against them, he added.

Shimla, May 1
Reacting to a complaint filed by the BJP with regard to putting up of posters, buntings and banners by the Congress party, the Election Commission of India (ECI) today directed the Congress party to remove all such publicity material which had been put up in view of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi’s visit to the state capital tomorrow.

The state secretary of the BJP, H.N. Kashyap today filed a complaint before the ECI that the Congress party was putting up posters and banners all over the town.

“It is only with the permission of the municipal corporation (MC) that posters can be put up but since the MC is Congress-ruled, the violation is being done on the directions of the mayor himself,” said Kashyap.

The chief electoral officer, Anil Khachi confirmed that it was on the basis of a complaint filed by the BJP that he had directed the district administration to get all such banners and posters removed.

“In fact the directions have been complied with and the ADM has reported that all such material is being removed,” he said.

The Congress which has complied with the directions is fuming at such an attitude of the district administration.

“We have removed all such banners and posters which had been put up to welcome Sonia Gandhi only to avoid any controversy though the fact is that the ruling BJP has also put up similar posters all over,” said HPCC spokesperson Kuldeep Rathore.

The BJP has pointed out that since Shimla is a tourist destination, such banners and streamers spoil the scenic beauty of the town.

The Congress had decorated the entire route of Sonia Gandhi from Anandale till the rally venue by putting up posters and banners.

Shimla, May 1
Reiterating its allegation of discrimination with Himachal by the UPA regime, the BJP today said that AICC chief Sonia Gandhi must come out clean on the issue as the people of state had a right to know her party’s stand when she was coming here to seek votes for the Congress nominees.

Addressing a press conference here today, convener of the state BJP media cell, Ashok Kapatia said that his party wanted Sonia to clarify certain issues where Himachal had been discriminated by the Congress-led UPA regime.

“On her visit here tomorrow she must clarify as to why not a single penny out of the special package announced by Dr Manmohan Singh had been released and why was the tenure of the industrial package reduced from 2013 till 2010,” he said.

Kapatia said the tenure of the special industrial package given to Himachal by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee till 2013 had been reduced.

“Despite the Himachal assembly passing a unanimous resolution for restoring the industrial package till 2013, the UPA regime has not acceded to the demand which is aimed at industrialisation and creation of more employment opportunities,” he said.

The BJP leader said the Congress which claimed itself to be the party of the “aam admi” must also explain why despite having three renowned economists on its side, the UPA regime had failed to check price rise which had increased by 125 per cent in the past five years.

“Despite the prices of petroleum products coming down, there has been no relief to the common man as far as prices of pulses, edible oils and other commodities are concerned,” he said.

He said the decision of the UPA regime to reduce the quota of rice for Himachal from 18,000 metric tonnes had been reduced to 8,000 metric tonnes.

He said that the UPA regime had failed to tackle terrorism and the AICC chief must explain why Afzal Guru had still not been hanged.

Dharamsala, May 1
The economist Prime Minister of the Congress Manmohan Singh has failed to check prices of essential commodities.

It is during his stint in power that sugar is sold at a record price of Rs 30 per kg and prices of edible oils have skyrocketed.

The national spokesperson of the BJP and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad levelled these allegations while addressing a press conference here this evening.

First UPA failure is to check the prices of essential commodities despite the fact that its prime minister is a famous economist. The unemployment has increased during the Congress regime.

The survey by labour bureau, a government of India organisation, has revealed that between October to December, 2008, 5 lakh people have lost jobs in organised sectors in the country.

The organised sector is just 6 per cent of the total economy of the country and impact in other sectors can be gauged accordingly.

The third major failure is to respond to threat from the Pakistan-based terrorist organisations, especially Taliban.

It has shown its weakness in dealing with Kasab case and not implementing the death penalty on Afzal accused of masterminding attack on Parliament.

The Congress is also reluctant in coming clean on the issue of black money of Indians stacked in Swiss banks, Ravi Shankar alleged.

When asked what efforts the NDA government put during its stint in power to bring the black money stacked in Swiss banks back, Ravi Shankar said that the issue had assumed significance after 2006.

Now during recession in world economy most of the countries, including the USA and Germany, are pressing on Swiss banks to know the details of ill-gotten money of their citizens in secret accounts. However, it is strange that the Congress was not willing to come clean on the issue.

Bilaspur, May 1
The District Congress here has charged the BJP with violation of the election code of conduct with impunity and has drawn attention of the Chief Election Commissioner towards the threats and methods of alleged intimidation being employed by the BJP in most parts of the district here.

Addressing mediapersons at the district Congress office in the presence of senior leaders former MLAs Dr Baburam Gauttam and Tilak Raj Sharma and senior general secretary Gopal Sharma, district Congress president Rajesh Dharmani said those households which were flying the Congress flags were being threatened to take it down or get drinking water connection disconnected.

Taps of even some of the Congress supporters have already been disconnected after it was found that the threats did not work and the families did not cooperate with the BJP.

He said the villagers were being openly threatened that if the BJP did not get lead at their polling booth, then there would be no development in the area in the remaining part of the BJP rule.

He said the EC should take serious note of such threats as this could certainly vitiate atmosphere during the election, which is not at all desirable.

Bilaspur, May 1
May Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm at various places in the state as thousands of labourers joined hands to remember those four “Martyrs of Chicago” who were hanged after a police firing on thousands of workers who were on a historical strike there demanding fixation of duty hours.

This was stated by state assistant secretary of the CPI Pravesh Chandel while addressing mediapersons here this afternoon.

He said the district-level May Day function was organised at Kaulan wala Toba, about 90 km from here.

Veteran trade union leaders Comrade Bhag Singh and Comrade Jeet Singh Chaudhary, BBMB workers union president Karam Chand and Naangli addressed labourers working under the NREGA Workers Union and Gramin Kaamgar Sanghthan.

They paid tributes to those martyrs who suffered and gave their lives for providing essential facilities to the labourers.

The leaders said whatever benefits labour enjoys today, are the result of the sacrifices of the struggling masses and labour and if today an 8 hour working day had been fixed, it was the contribution and result of all those perpetual struggles.

They said that the struggle still had not ended as rights and privileges of labourers are still being denied at some of the power projects and there are a number of factories and industries, including cement plants.

They warned that restraint of labour class should not be taken as its weakness and the government and industrialists should collaborate to give them their rights and benefit from such a cordial situation rather than suppressing their rights.

Hamirpur, May 1
Exasperated after a CBI raid last month at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, the director of the institute has put a ban on the entry of mediapersons on the campus.

A verbal order to this effect has been issued to the security personnel manning the main gates of the NIT who are not allowing any mediaperson inside the campus.

Confirming this, security supervisor of New Vision Commercial and Escorts Security Daulat Ram said, “We have been ordered by our senior supervisor Jitender Kumar not to allow any mediaperson in the institute as per the direction of the NIT director.”

After getting information that chairman of the Board of Governors of the NIT and a few other members were coming to Hamirpur today to discuss things about the issues raised by aggrieved parties related to the affairs of the institute, some mediapersons went to talk to them but they were not allowed to enter the gates of the NIT despite long persuasion.

All other people were allowed entry into the campus. The mobile phone of the chairman of the BoG remained switched off and he could not be contacted.

Police sources said suddenly one of them pointed a weapon at the deputy manager of the bank, asking him to hand over the cash. Having taken the cash, the three fled on their bikes.

The SP of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh special police district, Sumedha Diwedi
said it was through the police personnel in the PCR van that the police got to know
of the incident.