Many senior Congress leaders could not get seat on the main dais with Rahul Gandhi and had to sit among the public. Photos: Kamaljeet

Besides Anand Sharma, the leader of opposition Vidya Stokes, former Himachal minister Sat Mahajan also joined the rally at Rehan.

Sidelights l In Rahul Gandhi’s rallies special importance was accorded to the Youth Congress leaders as they were allowed to share the main dais with him while the local MLAs had to sit with the crowd. The state president of Himachal Youth Congress Manmohan Katoch hogged the limelight at Rehan rally. l In the rallies the contesting candidates of Congress Narinder Thakur from Hamirpur and Chander Kumar from Kangra also stood by Rahul Gandhi. However, due to shortage of time they did not address the crowd in rallies. l The former Himachal minister and senior Congress leader presented an album of his memoirs with the Gandhi family to Rahul Gandhi. He also presented him the herbal tea produced locally and honey. He told The Tribune that Indira Gandhi once told him that her children were very fond of honey. l The craze among the locals to see the next generation of Gandhi family scion was overwhelming than all other issues. l Four helicopters were used by the Congress for the rally, including one each by Anand Sharma and Kaul Singh and two by Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders

Bhuntar/Bhanghrotu, May 11
BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally at Bhuntar today. He charged the Congress-led UPA government of failing to tackle terrorism and Naxalism in the country because of its vote bank politics.

He went on to say that the UPA had been reduced to the “untied prime ministers alliance” and Manmohan Singh would go down in the history as a prime ministerial candidate who did not contest the election. He also addressed a rally in support of BJP candidate Maheshwar Singh at Bhangrotu in Mandi.

He arrived here around 4.30 pm. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the BJP-led NDA on the issue of terrorism, Modi counter-charged the Congress blaming it for letting free five terrorists cornered by the Army in the Charar-e-Shareef incident. Eighty Naxals were also allowed to be set free by the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

He took a dig at Virbhadra Singh terming him a sleeping CM and called Dhumal a strong leader who bargained hard with the Centre for the rights of Himachal.

He demanded that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress should come out with a statement whether they thought that the 150 passengers held hostage by terrorists at Kandahar should have been allowed to be killed there.

Kullu, May 11
All-India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi said here today that the BJP-led NDA was a “divided house of weak leaders” who released a dreaded terrorist at Kandahar. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a strong leader who decided that the nuclear deal with the USA was good for the future of India and did not bother to sacrifice his government for that.

After landing at the Kullu-Manali airport, he reached Dhalpur Maidan where a huge gathering greeted him. He immediately struck an emotional chord with the upbeat crowd invoking the legacy of late Jawaharlal Nehru.

He said, “The BJP changes its stance according to place and time. It said different things in Bihar where it threw out people from UP, did something else in Karnataka and Orissa, where it threw out Christians. Its doing was different in Gujarat,” he alleged.

He said NDA minister Jaswant Singh accompanied a dreaded terrorist to Kandahar and released him there under the so-called strong leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said it was ironic that the BJP had been terming Manmohan Singh a weak Prime Minister although he was successful in getting Pakistan isolated globally after the Mumbai attacks and had signed a nuclear deal with the USA not carrying a damn for the survival his government.

He said the Congress and the UPA introduced NREGA for the common man and the Tribal Act for tribals. On the other hand, the BJP gave empty slogan of “India Shining” that over 60 per cent Indians could not understand.

He said Himachal had got an IIT, an ESIC medical college and an NIFT centre, but these should not be construed as gifts of the Nehru-Gandhi family as these were their “rights”.

Virbhadra Singh said the state of Himachal came into being because of late Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, who wanted to see it develop as a model hill state. The successive Congress governments in the state had realised their dream, he claimed.

Kaul Singh Thakur expressed hope that the party would win all four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Shimla, May 11
With just two days to go for the polling in the state, inactiveness of their respective senior leaders, including MLAs, is causing worry to both the ruling BJP and the Congress, especially in Hamirpur and Kangra parliamentary constituencies.

Despite making tall claims of victory, both parties are internally aware of the fact that damage is being caused to their prospects by their own men. In Hamirpur and Kangra, the equations across party lines have left party leaderships in quandary.

Although the candidature of Narinder Thakur has made the contest interesting in Hamirpur, those who opposed him right from the beginning have not fully reconciled to his being made the party candidate. “Although all such leaders are campaigning for Narinder, it seems more of a formality rather than a whole-hearted attempt to garner support for him,” admitted an office-bearer of the HPCC.

If the Congress leadership in Hamirpur is faced with problem of complacency by a section of party men, the BJP is also not untouched by it. “Even those who have been given due importance by the Chief Minister in Bilaspur district are not taking keen interest in campaigning, which could harm the party,” he said.

Despite the caste balance in Kangra being in favour of Congress candidate Chander Kumar, it is the damage being caused to him by senior Congress leaders that is giving him anxious time.

“There are certain Congress leaders who are internally supporting BJP candidate Rajan Sushant. The OBC community, which constitutes a huge chunk of the electorate, can prove to be the deciding factor,” admits a Congress MLA.

To add to the worries of the Congress, certain parts of Kangra district, which earlier fell in the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency and have now been included in the Kangra parliamentary constituency, are witnessing slackness of Congress leaders.

If the Congress is plagued by slackness of workers in some areas, BJP candidate Rajan Sushant has also antagonised many of his fellow colleagues and party leaders, courtesy his aggressive and brash nature. “Majority of BJP legislators in Kangra feel that the selection of the candidate was not a very wise decision in terms of caste alignment as well as the personal rapport of the nominee,” admitted senior leaders.

Considering these factors, even the ruling party’s prospects in Kangra could be marred to a certain extent.

Not only that national leaders like L.K.Advani and Narinder Modi had also been focussing on the constituency as prestige of Dhumal was at stake. 

Bilaspur, May 11
State Congress president Kaul Singh Thakur has repudiated the BJP charge of disunity among Congress ranks. He declared that the party was now fully united and all leaders and followers were out in the field to ensure the victory of all four party candidates in the state. He claimed that this was the greatest achievement of his presidentship.

Giving an impression of their being united in the battle of elections, Kaul Singh and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh travelled in the same helicopter and addressed a rally at the Main Market here yesterday.

Declaring the BJP as the “enemy No 1” of the Congress, he said the party was responsible for clashes and divisions in society.

He said it was a party of “liars”, who enjoyed hurling corruption charges against opponents.

He said the Central government-sponsored NREGA project, which was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 1, 2001, was now being claimed by the BJP.

He challenged BJP leaders to name a single project or scheme that was sponsored, budgeted and financed by their government in the past 15 months.

He claimed that they were only inaugurating the old schemes of the Congress party.

Nurpur, May 11
BJP candidate from the Kangra parliamentary constituency Rajan Sushant has vowed to fight for the rights of the state if voted to power and appealed to voters to rely upon him.

Addressing an election meeting in the town yesterday, he said unlike sitting Lok Sabha MP and Congress candidate Chander Kurmar, he would raise the issues of “one rank one pension” for ex-Army men and pong dam oustees’ problems.

Recalling his agitations in the past, he said he also experienced police cane charge during agitations launched for the Shah Nehar irrigation project and enhancement of wages of daily wagers.

Sushant claimed that the Dhumal government in the state had worked honestly to give relief to every section of society during the past 15 months.

He promised to visit every Assembly segment in his parliamentary constituency after every six months and distribute MP development fund equally and without prejudice, if he voted to power.

Mandi, May 10
Former Chief Minister and present scion of the erstwhile Rampur Bushair state Virbhadra Singh’s political stature and mass appeal coupled with his long vigorous campaigning have turned out to be his main political strength against his BJP rival Maheshwar Singh.

Maheshwar infused energy into his campaigning covering almost every nook and corner of the 17 Assembly segments.

In Kullu, which has four segments with nearly 2.7 lakh voters, the BJP is trying to pay the regional card but it has not cut much ice.

The BJP, however, managed to cut into the Congress base in Kullu Sadar by inducting Dhami into the fold. But the Congress has diluted this move by inducting Maheshwar’s brother Karan Singh into the party.

The real challenge that Virbhadra faces this time is that the BJP holds 12 Assembly segments out of 17 in the Mandi Lok Sabha. But margins of victories range from over 8,000 votes to 16 votes in Pangi and Brahmaur, thereby meaning that the Congress needs to manage a 1.5 per cent vote swing in its favour, say political observers here.

What is going against Maheshwar Singh is that the BJP has not been able to activate its cadre, including the Sangh Parivar, to his advantage. On the other hand, the Congress cadre appears more activated in most parts of the 17 segments.

Virbhadra and state president Kaul Singh Thakur have managed to present a united face before the public in meetings. All rival Congressmen in Chachiot and Karsog are united thereby giving a tough time to the BJP.

No doubt, BJP top leaders ---Chief Minister Prem Kumar, national vice-president Shanta Kumar---have been playing up the “Sukh Ram factor”, Sukh Ram’s son and Congress MLA Anil Sharma and Balh MLA Parkash Chaudhary have been campaigning with Virbhadra telling voters that they would give maximum leads to the Congress.

Virbhadra enjoys decisive advantage in Rampur Bushair, Ani and Kinnaur, claimed his supporters. On the other, Maheshwar claimed to enjoy advantage in Kullu Sadar, Sundernagar and Jogindernagar.

But the contest is keen as Pratibha Singh had won the seat by a margin of 66,000 votes, defeating Maheshwar Singh.

Solan, May 11
Local BJP MLA and Health Minister Rajiv Bindal said here today that the Congress was misleading the masses to gain political mileage and to cover up its non-performance.

Reacting to the personal allegations levelled by former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh demanding to know why the minister had not been arrested in a recruitment scam that occurred during his tenure as a municipal committee chairman, Bindal said it was an attempt to divert the issues concerning the common man.

He said it was unfortunate that the Congress had stooped to an abysmally low level of campaigning and they were deliberately raking up such personal issues. He said the Congress campaign was bereft of any worthwhile issue and the people who were irate with continuous absence of their MP DR Shandil would give them a befitting reply in the ensuing elections.

In the instant case, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had conducted a probe while the Congress was in power and it was now barely a tactic to mislead the masses.

He said the two-time Congress MP had failed to make himself available in the constituency and had no convincing reply for his absence. The people were fed up with his absence and lack of interest for the masses was obvious in the manner in which he had dispensed lakhs on constructing a tennis court in the elite Durga Club, which only the rich visited.

The same money could have been used to construct several roads and carry out other development works benefiting the masses. The BJP would benefit from this anti-incumbency wave and register a comfortable victory, he added.

Hopeful of winning the Shimla parliamentary seat by a margin of more than 50,000, he said their poll campaign had been very organised right from the beginning and they had managed to reach the masses.

Shimla, May 11
Campaign din in the four parliamentary constituencies subsided in the hill state as the long-drawn campaign came to a close today. Rahul Gandhi wrapped up the Congress campaign by addressing a series of rallies in three out of the four constituencies in the state.

For the BJP, it was Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who delivered the final punch by addressing election meetings at Hamirpur, Mandi and Bhuntar.

The state has been in the election mode for almost six months and the ruling BJP, having decided its candidates well in advance, had launched its campaign much earlier.

The Congress entered the arena quite late and the electioneering, except the final phase, was a lacklustre affair as the main campaigners were busy in other states that went to the polls in the first four phases.

The campaigning picked up only towards the first week of May when Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressed a rally in the state capital.

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani, national president Rajnath Singh and prominent leader Sushma Swaraj also campaigned in the state during the final phase.

Minister for External Affairs Anand Sharma campaigned extensively for the Congress and addressed more than 12 rallies. National general secretary of the party Mohsina Kidwai also addressed a couple of meetings.

State leaders PK Dhumal and Shanta Kumar for the BJP and Virbhadra Singh and Kaul Singh for the Congress spearheaded the campaigning for their respective parties.

Issues fell by the wayside as electioneering gathered momentum and personal charges dominated the scene.

The Mandi seat from where five-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is in fray and Hamirpur, where prestige of Chief Minister PK Dhumal is at stake, witnessed the most intense campaigning. Congress candidate from Hamirpur and son of BJP stalwart late Jagdev Chand Narinder Thakur targeted Dhumal and his son, Anurag. In return, the BJP retaliated by attacking Jagdev Chand. Virbhadra Singh also spared time to campaign for other candidates.

The BJP sought votes on the basis of the performance of the Dhumal government. It also highlighted failures of the UPA regime and the alleged discrimination against the state.

The Congress, on the other hand, made achievements of the Manmohan Singh government, particularly the mega projects sanctioned to the state, as its major issues for these elections.

Palampur, May 11
The Income Tax Department has brought more benami immovable properties held by the Tibetans in the purview of its investigation, which included large chunks of lands in Palampur, Baijnath, Bir and other parts of Kangra and Mandi districts purchased over the past few years.

A high-level team of the department that was camping in Kangra district for the past one week had gone through revenue records in different revenue offices to know details of real owners of these properties, their financial capacities to purchase lands and complete address of sellers.

These properties were at present held by the Tibetans for running their religious institutions, residences and for other purposes.

Earlier, the investigation was only restricted to the properties held by Karmappa, but now the Income Tax authorities have expanded the base of its investigation to other benami deals made by the Tibetans in the name of Indians.

A senior officer of the Income Tax Department from the office of the Director General Investigation, Chandigarh, had a discussion with Kangra Deputy Commissioner Kamlesh Pant in this regard and sought his cooperation to ascertain the truth.

It has been revealed that officials of the department were in constant touch with officials of the Home Ministry, who had initiated this action after the IB reports received from Dharamsala.

The IB had informed the Centre that the entire money for such purchases was flown from China and other parts of the world and purchase prices of such deals were in crores.

A senior revenue officer said yesterday that in most of the cases, sale deeds were registered in the name of Himachal residents while the purchase value was paid by the Tibetans.

The HP Revenue Act debars outsiders to buy land in the state, therefore the Tibetans had made benami land deals in the name of bonafide Himachalis, who were either their disciples or students studying Budhism in their institutions.