Rewari, November 16
The INLD supremo and former Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, has said that the Hooda government cobbled together through “inducements and defections” would collapse under its own weight any time.

He was addressing workers at Narnaul and Rewari today.

He criticised the appointment of as many as nine chief parliamentary secretaries, stating that this was not only “unconstitutional” but an unjustified burden on the state exchequer as well.

He said before Punjab was split, the Gopi Chand Bhargava, Bhim Sen Sachar and Pratap Singh Kairon governments had only one chief parliamentary secretary each. He said his party would soon file a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and would not rest till the nullification of the appointment of these chief parliamentary secretaries.

Criticising the Hooda government for “squandering away incredible amounts” to keep itself in the saddle, he said under the circumstances, it would scarcely be able to provide funds for implementation of development projects which were being announced by the Chief Minister in a big way every month.

As regards the INLD, Chautala said he was focussed on strengthening and invigorating the organisational setup in all districts.

He announced that a fully geared INLD would soon take up the cudgels against the “anti-people and anti-farmer” policies and programmes of the state.

Chandigarh, November 16
With the Congress having finally “managed” a stable government in Haryana with the support of Independents and a merger, the results of the assembly elections are back in focus.

As party leaders put their heads together to interpret the results, the pro and anti-Chief Minister camps have their own interpretations to offer.

If Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s camp is sore that it hasn’t been given “due credit” for coming back to power in the state, the detractors say that it was lop-sided development as also the “Haryana No. 1” campaign that had backfired.Aides of Hooda maintain that no party in power has managed to reach the double-digit mark in successive elections but the Congress had not only managed to win 40 seats but also form government for the second time in a row. “All this noise by the detractors is but an attempt at nullifying the CM’s achievement in single-handedly steering the party to power in the state,” said an aide.

The CM camp is at pains to explain that the “lop-sided” development was a non-issue raked up by vested interests. It claims that the vote share of the Congress actually increased in most parliamentary seats between the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha elections while it fell in Rohtak and Sonepat, which is seen as Hooda’s turf. “From 9.23 lakh, we came down to 7.66 lakh at these two seats while the vote share increased from 2.48 lakh to 2.56 lakh in the remaining eight parliamentary seats taken together. Individually, the seats of Kurukshetra and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh registered a fall in the vote share to 80,000 and 30,000 votes, respectively.

However, the detractors continue to maintain that the Congress went into the election mode on a “high note”, expecting 65-70 seats.

Not only did the Haryana government’s over-hyped campaign boomerang on the party for its “false claims”, but the development of Rohtak and Sonepat at the cost of the rest of the areas also cost the Congress heavy.

Even as this tug-of-war between the camps continues, the party, working on identifying its weaknesses, is now focusing on strengthening its organisation ,which may include a change of guard in the state unit in weeks to come. 

The Hayrana Pradesh Congress Committee is learnt to have issued show-cause notices to leaders who allegedly indulged in anti-party activities during the assembly elections.

The HPCC had received complaints to this effect after the results were declared. While some notices have been issued, more are in the process. Sources said the leaders had been given 15 days to reply.

Fatehabad, November 16
“Visuals are fast taking precedence over words in journalism today,” said Bandana Pandey, chairperson of the Advertisement and Public Relation Department in the Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology.

Pandey was addressing mediapersons as chief guest in a seminar on “National Press Day” in the Panchayat Bhawan in Fatehabad today.

She said not only in the electronic media, but also in print media visuals had assumed greater importance, which is in a way going back to the pre-literacy era, when visuals were the only means of communication. Pandey regretted that there was great disparity in media’s emphasis on “India and Bharat.” “While great emphasis is being laid on issues confronting the rich India, poor and rural Bharat is being ignored,” she added.She categorised global media into two categories. Push media, which include television, newspapers and radio under which a group of editors and reporters push the information of their choice to the people and pull media, which include web media, where the reader has to click the mouse of his computer to have assess to a particular type of information.Virender Singh Chauhan, chairperson of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department, said the Press Council had failed to deliver.

YAMUNANAGAR: The media needs to be more responsible while covering events related to national security like Mumbai attacks. The detailed electronic media coverage of the terrorists attack on Taj and Oberoi hotels reflected irresponsible journalism. The information was closely monitored by the terrorist’s kingpin in Pakistan and accordingly they had directed the terrorists.

This was stated by consulting editor and former bureau chief of The Tribune Gobind Thukral while addressing a seminar on Press Day held in the DAV College for Girls here on Monday.

He said the primary role of the media was to highlight the plight of the poor and expose scandals in public interest. However, due to pressure of the market-driven journalism, many newspapers and electronic media had shifted their focus from real issues.

SONEPAT: City Magistrate Yash Pal Yadav said today that many a time the media had guided the judiciary and administration in reshaping its policies and decisions in the interest of public and justice. He was addressing mediapersons on the occasion of Press Day .“People believe in media and have chosen it as a means to reach the authorities concerned,” he said. President of the Sonepat Press Club Jasbir Khatri sought the administration’s cooperation in setting up a common media centre at the district headquarters.

KAITHAL: Press Day was celebrated at the mini-secretariat here. A large number of mediapersons, DC Amneet P Kumar, SSP Sandeep Khirwar and DPRO HL Verma were among those present on the occasion. The DC said the media had been playing its role effectively and in the larger public interest. 

Pehowa, November 16
MD DAV Public School, Ambala City, won the running trophy in the inter-district senior English debate competition hosted by DAV Centenary Public School here 
yesterday.

The topic of the debate, in which 11 teams from MD DAV Public School, Ambala City; Police DAV Public School, Ambala City; Major RN Kapoor DAV Sr Sec School, Ambala Cantt; DAV School, Kurukshetra; DAV School, Pundri; OSDAV Public School, Kaithal; Pooja Modern School, Kurukshetra; Gurukul, Kurukshetra; Guru Nanak Dev Academy, Pehowa; and Tagore Public School, Pehowa; participated, was “Should Board’s marks have considerable weightage in IIT, JEE, AIEEE & PMT”.

The cash prize for the best debater went to Isha from Major RN Kapoor DAV School, Ambala Cantt. The host school took part in the debate, but did not compete for the running trophy, according to principal  NC Bindal.

Dr AK Singh, chairman of computer engineering and information technology department, and Dr Sharma, chairperson of the department of education, Kurukshetra University, judged the debate.

Sihwa (Panipat), November 16
Yet another marriage has hit the gotra obstacle, this time with Dalits of Sihwa rigidly opposing Satish’s marriage to a girl from Manoli in Sonepat.

The girl belongs to the Ranga gotra. As people of this gotra reside in the village, she cannot be accepted as a daughter-in-law, they maintain.

On July 10 last year, Satish, son of Sundra, who belongs to the Narwal gotra, married Rachana. But people belonging to the Narwal, Ranga, Bhola and Phuliya gotra all live in Sihwa village.

So they raised objections to the match, saying it was socially inacceptable.

They forced the marriage party to return without the girl.

However, Satish and Rachna, who were in love, decided to marry despite the social pressure and tied the nuptial knot six months later. The marriage was kept a secret.

But a few days back the villagers got to know about the marriage and held a mahapanchayat yesterday in which representatives from five villages discussed the issue.

The mahapanchayat demanded that family members of Satish be asked to leave the village for breaking social mores. But members of the panchayat could not reach a consensus on the matter.

It was then decided to hold another mahapanchayat on November 22 or 29 for a final decision. Satish and his family members are now living under uncertainty. They refuse to speak to the media, fearing that it might spell more trouble for them. 

Panipat, November 16
General Secretary of the All-India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat Maulana Ahmed Juma has urged the Centre to provide reservation to members of the Muslim community on the basis of the recommendations made in the Sachar Committee report. Speaking to mediapersons, the general secretary said minority communities in the country were feeling neglected as the Centre had failed to take steps for their social and economic uplift.

He said even though one year had lapsed since the Sachar Committee, which advocated reservation for minorities, had submitted its report, nothing had been done by the government.

He demanded that the Union Government should set up a madrasa board and new schools should be opened in areas where minorities were in large numbers.

He also sought that the Punjab Wakf Board be reconstituted. 

Gurgaon, November 16
An ex-servicemen rally will be organised at the District War Memorial here on Wednesday to commemorate the martyrs of Rezang La (Ladakh) during Chinas aggression of 1962.

Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia will be the chief guest at the rally, where he will also honour the war widows and decorated soldiers.

This was disclosed by Deputy Commissioner Rajender Kataria here today. He said the ex-servicemen rally was being organised jointly by the Rajya Sainik Board and Vijay Diwas and Rezangla Shahidi Samaroh Samiti. The Haryana Finance and Irrigation Minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperation Sukhbir Singh Kataria and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ramkishan Fauji are expected to attend the rally.

Narrating the historic importance of Rezang La Martyrs Day, which falls on November 18, president of the Vijay Diwas and Rezang La Shahidi Samaroh Samiti, Major TC Rao, said November 18, 1962, saw a battle that was unique in many ways.

Never before in the world’s military history had a major battle been fought at such an altitude, he said, adding that the forces arrayed were also unequally matched.

He recalled that the Battle of Rezang La commenced hours before the shelling that the rest of brigade saw from a distance. In fact, the first Chinese attack was “silent”, with an intention to surprise the defenders of Rezang La, in which, the Chinese failed. During the wee hours, it was noticed that a large body of enemy troops, scrambling up through gullies towards a platoon post. Within no time every man of the Kumaon Company under Maj Shaitan Singh was at ‘ready for action’ state. Every gully that descended to the dry bed of Rezang Lungpa was swarming with Chinese. Just when the Chinese came within range, Maj Shaitan Singh ordered to open fire and the company under Maj Shaitan Singh let the attackers have it. Many of the enemies fell; others continued to advance. But with every weapon of the company firing, the gullies were soon full of dead and wounded Chinese. Evidence of large number of the enemy casualties came, when Rezang La was visited three months later.

According to those who visited Rezang La, three months later - “The dead men were found in their trenches, frozen stiff, still holding their weapons. Broken light machine gun bipods, and some men holding only the butts of their rifles while the remaining weapon had blown off, bore witness to the enemy fire.”

The odds against the company were heavy, superior numbers and firepower was beginning to tell. But the Rezang La company-defended locality was being astutely defended till the end. Finding his company surrounded, after the enemy shelling, Maj Shaitan Singh reorganised the position and resisted the automatic weapons to take on the enemy attack. It was during the reorganisation, which Maj Shaitan Singh was personally supervising, that he received a burst of fire in one arm. After a while, he received another light machine gun burst in his abdomen. His mortal remains were found three months later. By any test, every man of the company who fought and died at Rezang La was a hero and the grateful nation continues to remember each one of them as such. The name of Maj Shaitan Singh, who fired these men with the spirit that prefers death to surrender, will live forever in the pages of India’s history.

The Kumaonis “fought till the last man last bullet” at the icy heights of Rezangla. The nations highest decoration for gallantry - the Param Vir Chakra — was conferred on him posthumously. His body was flown to his hometown, Jodhpur, where it was cremated with honours befitting a national hero.

Chandigarh, November 16
Despite scanty rainfall and adverse weather conditions that prevailed in Haryana during the kharif season, the paddy production in the state this year is expected to exceed the production of last year, as till yesterday over 39.05 lakh tonnes of paddy arrived in the mandis as compared to 35.95 lakh tonnes of paddy during the corresponding period last year.

Mahendra Partap Singh, Food and Supplies Minister, Haryana, said here today that Kurukshetra district was leading in paddy arrivals, where over 8.88 lakh tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis, followed by Karnal district, where over 6.60 lakh tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis. Kaithal district had recorded an arrival of over 4.57 lakh tonnes of paddy, Fatehabad over 4.07 lakh tonnes, Ambala about 3.79 lakh tonnes, Yamunanagar over 3.14 lakh tonnes, Jind over 2.06 lakh tonnes, Panipat over 1.78 lakh tonnes, Sirsa over 1.54 lakh tonnes, Sonepat over 1.11 lakh tonnes and Panchkula over 55,567 tonnes. He said over 25.74 lakh tonnes of paddy had been purchased by various government agencies.

Kurukshetra, November 16
Haryana Education and Languages Minister Geeta Bhukkal has called upon the youth to play an active role in preserving their cultural heritage and values. She stated this while inaugurating a five-day 25th Kurukshetra University North Zone Inter-University Youth Festival - KUNZ Fest- 2009 here today.

The minister said participation in cultural events helped the youth develop all-round personality. Sampson David, Under Secretary, Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, expressed happiness over the arrangements made by the host university.

The Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Lt-Gen DDS Sandhu, who presided over the inaugural function, said events like “KUNZ Fest” had great significance for students as these not only provided them with an opportunity to express their creative talent but also gave them a chance to learn “values of unity and leadership”.

Anoop Lather, convener of the festival and Director, Youth and Cultural Affairs, Kurukshetra University, said the event was dedicated to the “preservation of our heritage and culture”. Earlier, a cultural procession with participants dressed up in the traditional attires of their respective states and regions was taken out to mark the beginning of the fest.

As many as 23 teams comprising 781 participants drawn from eight universities of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand are participating in the youth festival. 

Rewari, November 16
A five-member team of CBI officials headed by DSP Chanderhas today started investigations into a case of custodial death following an order issued by Justice Mahesh Grover of the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently.

The high court issued the above order on a petition filed by Khillo Devi, wife of deceased Chhaju Ram, who had died in police custody here on July 14, 2005.

Chhaju Ram, a native of Manakpur village of Charkhi Dadri area of Bhiwani district, had been living in a rented accommodation here.

Earlier, the police had registered a case against the then Inspector, Randhir Singh, now retired from service as DSP, the then ASI, Raghuvir Singh, the then havildars, Rakesh Kumar and Gur Dayal Singh, Dr PD Mehra, Dr JK Saini and Dr Ashok Saini, all three medical officers of the local Civil Hospital, the then Rewari SDM, Sujan Singh (now Narnaul SDM), and the then Rewari DSP, Pat Ram.

On the basis of a revelation made by a criminal, Vinod Sharma, that Chhaju Ram had links with the underworld, Chhaju Ram was abruptly picked up from his home here on July 14, 2005, and brought to the CIA police post here for interrogation. Later, when his condition worsened , he was taken to the Civil Hospital, where he died.

A postmortem was conducted by a board of three doctors, who said in a report that Chhaju Ram died of cardiac arrest.

However, when a second postmortem was conducted on a plea made by Karan Singh, brother of the deceased, and when doctors of the PGIMS, Rohtak, reported that injuries found on the body could have caused the death, Khillo Devi filed a petition in the high court.

Rohtak, November 16
A youth was reportedly looted of Rs 6 lakh at gunpoint here today. The police has registered a case in this regard.

The incident took place when a local resident identified as Vivek, a field officer with a construction company, was on the way to his office after drawing a cash of Rs 6 lakh on a motorcycle. The cash was drawn from the Axis bank here.

A motorcycle-borne youth reportedly intercepted Vivek near the office in Sector 14 here and asked him to hand over the cash. The youth snatched the bag and ran away threatening to kill Vivek if he followed. — TNS

Yamunanagar, November 16
Four persons of the same family, including two women, were today sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a journalist of a Hindi national daily, Raj Kumar Bawa, and his son.Yashpal, Parveen Kumari, Rishu and Deepak were sentenced to life imprisonment in the double murder case by Additional District and Sessions Judge Ritu Tagore.

The incident took place on July 10, 2007, when Rishu entered into a heated argument with her husband Janak Raj.

She called her father and brothers at her residence. Rishu’s father Yashpal, brother Deepak along with two others had attacked Raj Kumar Bawa and his three sons , Janak Raj, Jitender and Sarabjit Bawa, with swords, following which Raj Kumar Bawa and Jitender died.