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State of parties
Hooda seeks vote on good governance
BSP’s nominee pulls out of fray
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Cop shot at, robbed of Rs 10 lakh
100 women officers on poll duty
Rebels opt out, much to Cong relief
Arun Jaitley promises transparent governance
In Rohtak, CM leaves it to son, wife
Play fair, CEO tells parties
... Blames govt for AI crisis
Five polling booths in Adampur, Narnaund split
Undertrial hoodwinks cops, escapes from hospital
Fine doesn’t mean cut
in family pension
Tata rolls out GSM services in Haryana
Bishnoi hits out at govt
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State of parties
Chandigarh, September 29 But there is a whiff of fresh air and new life in the party with the anointment of Krishan Pal Gurjar as party president. This being a make-or-break election for the BJP, it is not only crucial in terms of proving its very existence in Haryana but also for the fact that it may provide the party an opportunity to prove that it is better off without the Chautalas and their INLD. Though the BJP has decided to go it alone this time, it has certainly benefited from alliances in the past. In 1996, the BJP joined hands with Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party and shared power till the government fell in 1999. Then, it forged a pact with Om Parkash Chautala’s INLD which continued till the 2004 Lok Sabha poll. While the BJP won only one Lok Sabha seat in 2004 , its former alliance partner, the INLD, despite being in power, could not win a single one. However, in the the 2005 assembly poll the BJP could win only two seats. Despite its bitter experience, the BJP once again decided to fall back on the INLD for support in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. This came at the insistence of the central party leaders despite opposition from its state rank and file. The results proved to be the undoing of the alliance which was rejected by the electorate and neither party stood anywhere in the final tally. Before the break-up and in the runup to the assembly elections, the party replaced its president Atam Prakash Manchanda with Gurjar to boost the morale of party cadres. If this will pay off at all is anybody’s guess. The party, before deciding to go it alone, held talks with the HJC of Kuldeep Bishnoi for an alliance, which failed.
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Hooda seeks vote on good governance
Karnal, September 29 Addressing meetings at Nilokheri, Karnal, Balah, Indri and Gharaunda, the Chief Minister lambasted former Chief Ministers Om Prakash Chautala and Bhajan Lal for making power shortage a poll issue and asked how many power plants were commissioned when they were in power. Assuring people that the power situation would ease after the power plants with a generation capacity of 5000 MW were commissioned and Haryana would be power surplus in one and a half years, Hooda said the previous governments headed by Chautala and Bhajan Lal must take the blame for chronic power shortage faced by the people. The response at the meeting at Nilokheri was lukewarm as the crowd was thin and the sitting MLA from Nilokheri, Jai Singh Rana, who was denied the party ticket from Gharaunda after the Nilokheri constituency was reserved, was conspicuous by his absence. Touching upon a wide range of issues at his meetings, Hooda announced that wheat and rice would be made available to BPL families at a subsidised rate of Rs 3 per kg and “errors and discrepancies” in BPL ration cards would be rectified. Lauding Karnal MLA Sumita Singh for her “dedicated services” to the people, Hooda said she took great pains to save the people living in unauthorised colonies from eviction. Taking exception to offensive advertisements being given on TV channels to present the state in poor light by showing visuals of semi-nude and poverty-stricken children, Hooda said these advertisements were factually wrong and insulting. He asked opposition leaders to see the reality and refrain from casting aspersions on poor people. Repudiating the oft repeated charge that development had not taken place in Karnal, Hooda said how could he neglect Karnal where he had his education and said developmental works were visible on the ground. Sumita Singh detailed the developmental activities and other works in Karnal and lashed out at those trying to belittle the achievements of the government. She got a boost with members of the Aggarwal Sabha and brother of INLD candidate Ashok Manik, announcing support to the Congress. The local MP, Arvind Sharma, who had been alleging discrimination with his Karnal parliamentary constituency in developmental works and jobs sang a different tune today and said enough jobs had been given to people in the region and if there was any imbalance, more jobs would be provided. Hooda announced that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi would address a rally at Karnal on October 4 and urged the people to turn up in large numbers. Hooda spoke in same vein in all places, asking people to “reward him for his performance” and targeted the INLD and the HJC while the BJP hardly found any mention.
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BSP’s nominee pulls out of fray
Fatehabad, September 29 “On the directions of the party, a rally was organised at the vegetable market today. But, none of the leaders, including Narinder Kashyap, a minister in the UP cabinet, and Fauji attended the rally,” said a very upset Kakkar. He said two months back, he had organised a workers’ meeting at the local Panchayat Bhawan which was to be addressed by the three leaders, but none had turned up even then causing him much embarrassment. Kakkar said he held party supremo Mayawati in high regard, but it was regrettable that the state leaders had been befooling her. Sanjay Sharma, general secretary of the Haryana unit, who is contesting from Tohana, refuted the allegations. He said the fact was that Kakkar and had been “purchased” by the Congress.
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Cop shot at, robbed of Rs 10 lakh
Rohtak, September 29 The cop, Dinesh Kumar, was shot at and has been admitted to the PGIMS, where his condition is stated to be stable. Dinesh Kumar, posted in the IG office here, was on his way to make the payment of a house he had bought in Dev Colony when a youth, with his face covered with a cloth, intercepted the car of the policeman and his brother, Balwan, at a traffic intersection near Dev Colony at around noon. The robber suddenly pulled out a gun and fired shots at the victims. He then fled on a mobike along with a bag carrying cash which was kept in the car. The victims had withdrawn Rs 10.3 lakh from two banks in the town to make the pa yment. Dinesh received a bullet in his stomach and was taken to the PGIMS. V Kamaraja, IG, Rohtak Range, met the victim in the hospital. He said an investigation had been launched. The incident has shocked the city residents who werer looking forward to the festive season. A case has been registered.
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CM, Guv congratulate champ Vijender
Chandigarh, September 29 The Bhiwani boxer, who brought the first medal for India in the World Championship in Italy earlier this month, has been ranked ahead of Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan, the eventual winner, whom the Indian lost in the semi-final of the championship. Describing the achievement as a landmark in the annals of sports history of India, they said Vijender had brought laurels not only for the state but also for the country.
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100 women officers on poll duty
Kaithal, September 29 This information was given to mediapersons by District Election Officer Amneet P Kumar here today. She said 25 polling booths each in all Assembly constituencies of kaithal district had been identified where the number of female voters was more than 50 per cent. This deployment had been made in deference to the instructions of the Election Commission that wanted to help women voters, she said.Elaborating further, Amneet said out of 6,40,280 voters in the district more than 50 per cent were female. Cong manifesto
Chandigarh: The Congress manifesto will be released by AICC general secretary Prithavi Raj Chauvan, in the party office in the presence of party president Phool Chand Mullana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and chairman of the manifesto committee, Dr Ram
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Rebels opt out, much to Cong relief
Chandigarh, September 29 At least one INLD rebel, Satya Bala Malik, who had contested the last election on the party symbol, withdrew from Hansi. According to reports, three BSP candidates, including those from Tigaon and Fatehabad, ditched their party and withdrew from the contest. In Yamunanagar, only one woman candidate remained in the fray out of the total 49 candidates contesting in the four assembly segments after the last date of withdrawals. Despite tall claims by all major parties on women empowerment, none of the major parties, including the Congress, BJP, INLD and BSP, have opted for any woman candidate. The lone woman candidate is Saroj Rani, who belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is contesting from Jagadhri. The sex ratio in the Sadhaura assembly segment is 825 females against 1000 men, 816 in Jagadhri and 816 in Yamunanagar and 810 in Radaur. The main candidates left in fray from Yamunanagar are Congress candidate Devinder Chawla, Dilbag Singh of the INLD, Ghanshyam Dass of the BJP, from Jagadhri Congress candidate and sitting MLA Subhash Chowdhary, BSP’s Akram Khan, BJP’s Kanwar Pal and the INLD’s Rajiv Kumar. Suresh Kumar of the Congress, Bishan Lal of the INLD, Sham Singh of the BJP and Ashwani Kumar of the BSP are from the Radaur assembly segment, while Balwant Singh of the INLD, Rajpal of the Congress, Data Ram of the BJP and Ravi Bhushan of the BSP are from Sadhaura. In Gurgaon 13 candidates withdrew their nominations in all four assembly segments of Gurgaon district, leaving 63 candidates, including 30 Independents, in the contest. Now, 12 are in fray from Gurgaon, 15 from Pataudi, 11 Badshahpur and 12 Sohna. In Kaithal 56 candidates remain in contest from the four constituencies from this district after six candidates withdrew their nominations. In Karnal the battle lines are drawn with 72 left in the fray for five constituencies. The highest number of 16 candidates are contesting from Indri and Assandh, 15 from Gharaunda, 14 from Nilokheri and 11 from Karnal after 19 Independents withdraw their nominations. It was a relief for Congress nominee Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur when former minister Ved Singh Malik withdrew his nomination in the presence of Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda. However, another formidable Independent candidate from Gohana, Kitab singh Malik, who represented the constituency in 1981 and 1991, did not withdraw. Meanwhile, 66 candidates remain in the contest from all six constituencies of Sonepat district. In Sirsa two prominent Congress rebels withdrew from the contest today. Om Prakash Keharwala, a senior Congress leader, withdrew from Kalanwali and Anil Khod withdrew in favour of Congress nominee Bharat Singh Beniwal, who is challenging Om Prakash Chautala of the INLD from Ellenabad. Bachan Lal Bajaj, a prominent Dera Sacha Sauda follower, who had filed his nominations against industries minister and Congress candidate Lachhman Dass Arora, withdrew from Sirsa. However, Ravi Chautala, a Congress rebel, contesting from Dabwali against party’s nominee KV Singh, did not withdraw his papers. Now, 55 candidates are in fray from five seats in the district. against party’s nominee KV Singh, did not withdraw his papers.
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Arun Jaitley promises transparent governance
Chandigarh, September 29 The BJP has announced Rs 15,000 per acre compensation for crop damaged due to any natural calamity, 12 per cent growth rate, a loan of Rs 2 lakh at four per cent interest to landless backward sections and reservation to SC Group A on the basis of their numbers. The manifesto was released by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. Also present on the occasion was party in charge of Haryana affairs Vijay Goel and state unit president Krishan Pal Gujjar. Jaitley promised a crime-free, transparent and honest governance.He said the BJP had decided to contest all 90 seats on its own to increase its vote bank and number of seats. “There are a couple of national issues that go against the Congress. These are price hike of food items when we are still recovering from recession, the soft stand of the Congress on terrorism and succumbing to international pressure on foreign policy. “The central Congress leadership has failed the people. In Haryana, there is the issue of lop-sided development.” Vijay Goel pointed out that unlike the Congress which had become a government of “announcements and scams”, the BJP’s priority areas would be power, water, law and order, health and education. For campaigning, Goel said the party had acquired 20 video raths which would show the dismal state of affairs in Haryana through films and songs.
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In Rohtak, CM leaves it to son, wife
Rohtak, September 29 “Deepender, who won with a record margin in the recent Lok Sabha elections, has now taken up the task of making things easier for his party candidates,” claimed a party spokesperson. He said the young MP would focus on Rohtak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Jind districts. The MP is likely to cover at least 50 assembly segments, said party sources. Asha Hooda has started local tours to cajole supporters lying low due to resentment over the ticket distribution. She has held a series of meetings in the town in support of Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Batra, a political ‘novice’. She described the candidate as a younger brother of the Chief Minister and said his win would be the Hoodas’ personal victory. ‘State under Hooda power-full’ Sonepat, September 29 “ Four new power generating plants at Yamunanagar, Khedar, Jharli and Khanpur are ample proof before the people to refute the false allegations of the opposition parties,” he said.He said power generation at Yamunanagar had already commenced and three other projects were nearing completion. — OC
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Play fair, CEO tells parties
Chandigarh, September 29 He said here today that criticism of other parties should be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work. The parties and candidates should refrain from criticism of private life, not connected with the public activities of leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion should be avoided. There should be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Places of worship should not be used as a forum for election propaganda. All parties and candidates should avoid scrupulously all activities which are “corrupt practices” and offences under the election law, such as bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of voters, canvassing within 100 metres of polling stations, holding public meetings during 48 hours before the close of the poll. He said organising demonstrations or picketing before houses of individuals to protest against their opinions or activities should not be resorted to under any circumstances. Sajjan Singh asked parties and candidates to ensure that their supporters did not create obstructions in meetings and processions organised by other parties. Posters issued by one party should not be removed by workers of another party. JIND: Returning officers have been directed to videograph a majority of the social, religious and private functions in order to detect any violation of the code of conduct by candidates. Any candidate found to be asking or appealing for votes in functions such as marriage, reception, ‘mundan’ , birthday (anniversary)and ‘jagrata’ would be fined with the total expenditure of the function and it would be included in the election expenses of the candidate. This warning was issued by Central Election Observer of the Jind assembly segment Raj Pratap Singh while addressing a meeting of election officials and representatives of the candidates at the mini-secretariat here today.
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... Blames govt for AI crisis
Chandigarh, September 29 However, he lamented that Air India and the Ministry for Civil Aviation were now at war with their own staff. Jaitley said the problem was because certain ministries of the UPA government were “arrogant” and “lacked humility”.Jaitley said, “There is a sense of arrogance in certain ministries. There is no humility in their functioning, may it be the Ministry of Civil Aviation or the attitude of HRD Minister Kapil Sibal towards the faculty of the IITs. Humility has become foreign to the UPA government.” Jaitley, who was here to release the manifesto of the Haryana BJP, said recently Home Minister P Chidambaram told the people of Delhi to change their behaviour before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “If the Home Minister himself learns humility, I am sure the people of Delhi won’t lag behind,” he had a dig at Chidambaram. To a question, Jaitley said he had not read LK Advani’s own statement about his desire to retire from politics. He said Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani had made valuable contribution to the growth of the BJP over the past five decades. The party rank and file would always have regard for them. They would continue to guide the party whether they hold any post or not. Jaitley saw nothing abnormal in the alliance between the INLD and the Akali Dal in Haryana. (The Akalis are an alliance partner of the BJP in Punjab). He said these were state-level alliances and the Akali Dal continued to be part of the NDA.Jaitley said the state units had the authority to take a stand in the interests of their states on inter-state issues, while the national unit only decided on mechanism to resolve these issues.
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Five polling booths in Adampur, Narnaund split
Chandigarh, September 29 Polling booth No. 39, Mandi Adampur, has been bifurcated into 39-Mandi Adampur and 39-A-Mandi Adampur booths. The former has been set up at Government Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, Mandi Adampur (western wing)and 39 A booth at Government Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, Mandi Adampur (middle wing). The 68-Siswal polling booth has been bifurcated into 68 Siswal and 68-A Siswal booths, the former at Government Senior Secondary School, Siswal (eastern wing) and the latter at Government Senior Secondary School, Siswal (western wing). The 69-Siswal polling booth had been bifurcated into 69 Siswal and 69-A Siswal polling booths, the former at Government Senior Secondary School, Siswal (western wing) and the latter at the school’s northern wing. Similarly, the 70-Siswal polling booth had been bifurcated into 70 Siswal and 70-A Siswal polling booths, the former ar Government Girls High School, Siswal (eastern wing) and the latter st the school’s middle wing. The 53-Khanpur polling booth in the Narnaund constituency had been transferred from the Veterinary Hospital to Government Girls Middle School, Khanpur.
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Undertrial hoodwinks cops, escapes from hospital
Sirsa, September 29 The police has launched a manhunt for the prisoner, Babu Singh, son of Naib Singh, a resident of Mithadi village near Dabwali. Babu Singh, according to sources in the district jail, was in judicial custody for a case registered against him under the NDPS Act and was admitted to the local general hospital on September 26 after some ailment. He was being taken to some private hospital on the Circular Road for an ultrasound test, when he slipped out of the grip of cops handling him.
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Fine doesn’t mean cut
in family pension
Chandigarh, September 29 The significant ruling, expected to go a long way in alleviating the financial hardships of the families struggling hard to make the both ends meet after the breadwinners’ departure, came on a petition by Krishna. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “What would be the fate of family pension when the deceased employee was receiving pension with cut imposed by way of a punishment is an issue of significant importance arising in the present writ petition. The petitioner would of course plead full-family pension to be paid to her without considering the cut imposed in the pension payable to her late husband.” The petitioner’s husband retired from Haryana police in January 2006, soon after two departmental enquiries were initiated. He was exonerated in both, but Inspector-General, HAP, Madhuban, imposed cuts on the pension. Before his appeals could be decided, he died. Family pension was granted after imposing a cut of 33 per cent. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “As per the scheme of family pension, the monthly pension to widow or children is payable at the rate of 30 per cent of the pay. Thus, the monthly family pension is payable having regard to the pay and not in regard to the pension that the employee was receiving.” “In the entire scheme, the family pension is payable not on the basis of pension, which the employee was drawing, but is required to be calculated on the basis of a last pay drawn. The action of the respondents, thus, to fix the family pension by imposing a cut is not justified. The petitioner, being wife of the employee, would be entitled to family pension fixed at the rate now applicable on the last pay drawn by her late husband, as per the scheme.” Allowing the writ, Justice Ranjit Singh directed the respondents to release full-family pension without any cut from the date she was entitled to receive it. |
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Tata rolls out GSM services in Haryana
Chandigarh, September 29 The launch was made even as the company was looking to raise its revenue from Value Added Services (VAS) to 15 per cent in the current fiscal. "We have spent Rs 300 crore on launching our GSM mobile in Haryana as part of our $2 billion capital expenditure plans outlined over a period of two years on launching services," Tata Teleservices (TTSL) MD Anil Sardana said here today. Tata DOCOMO, which is a brand of TTSL, will have coverage in 386 towns and 1,750 villages in Haryana. However, coverage in districts of Fatehabad and Sirsa would be provided after the receipt of spectrum. The company has already launched operations in nine circles, including Haryana, and is anticipating to introduce GSM services in 10 more circles by the end of this year. "We have plans to have pan India presence in respect of GSM services by the year end," Sardana said. TTSL bagged the license to operate GSM telecom services in 19 circles in 2008 and was allotted spectrum in 18 circles. On being asked about raising additional money for capital expenditure, Sardana said the company would soon approach its shareholders for raising $1 billion more that would be part of capital outlay for capacity enhancement. “We expect to have approval from shareholders within a month for raising money,” he said. — PTI
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Gannaur, September 29 Addressing a rally here, Bishnoi criticised the Hooda government for its “biased approach” in the allocation of development projects and government jobs. — OC
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Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today hit the campaign trail in Karnal district, hitting out at his opponents for projecting Haryanvis in poor light and seeking vote on the “good work” done by his government.
If the INLD promised the moon in its manifesto, its estranged partner, the
BJP, today came out with a more realistic one.Unlike the last assembly elections when the party had promised free power to one tubewell and 50 per cent rise in the minimum support price
(MSP) of foodgrains over and above the central government announcement, this time the manifesto promises only that which is “achievable”.
With Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda deciding to concentrate on constituencies outside his home turf, it has been left to his son Deepender Singh
Hooda, MP, and his wife Asha Hooda to campaign in Rohtak district.“Deepender, who won with a record margin in the recent Lok Sabha elections, has now taken up the task of making things easier for his party candidates,” claimed a party spokesperson.
