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Voters cold-shoulder rallies; parties sweat it out door to door
INLD playing divisive politics: Surjewala
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HJC leader joins INLD
Constituency declared highly sensitive
Urea Shortage
Addl sum of Rs 2,000 crore sought from Centre
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Voters cold-shoulder rallies; parties sweat it out door to door
Chandigarh, January 13 While the two parties are leaving nothing to chance in this battle for the ballot where each vote will count in the total tally, political honchos and voters are chilled to the bone, even as campaigning gathers steam in the week before polling. In biting winds and on foggy days, this byelection, everybody seems out in the cold, quite literally. Campaign managers on both sides agree on one thing-that campaigning has run into cold weather. Unlike other elections and byelections when rallies and public meetings dominate the scene, Ellenabad has become a more personal one-to-one affair. Sources in the INLD maintain that campaigning is essentially being spearheaded by the Chautala clan, the INLD supremo and his two sons, Ajay and Abhey (party candidate). He says too many cooks could spoil the broth. “Our local workers are on the job and a few senior leaders have been given supervisory duties. Since the days are short and the evenings uncomfortably cold, we are forced to begin door-to-door campaign late and wind up early. “Also, in such conditions, it’s unjust to keep the people waiting for rallies. Everything put together is, indeed, a deterrent,” another INLD leader said. The Congress, too, is reeling under the cold weather syndrome. Though all its leaders, big and small, are camping in Ellenabad, “working” on the voters, the falling temperature is impacting their plans.Says working president Kuldeep Sharma: “This election, given the inclement weather, has become a more one-to-one affair than anticipated. Since big rallies are not possible, we confine ourselves to village meetings and call it a day before the evenings get numbing. Despite the cold, our leaders are among the people.” Sampat Singh, who along with his entire family is neck-deep in reaching out to the people, explains: “My workers have fanned out in every village and give a feedback on which leader is needed where every evening, which is conveyed to the party office.” He has even brought his 87-year-old father to woo voters . “There are relatives of families in my earlier constituencies who are in Ellenabad. We have contacted each one individually. Since I have been in the INLD, I am able to target INLD voters in pockets where I wield influence,” he maintains. With the chill freezing the election thrill, the INLD and the Congress are both sweating it out. Voters, and not the weather, will ultimately decide which party ultimately gets cold-shouldered. |
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INLD playing divisive politics: Surjewala
Ellenabad, January 13 He alleged that caste divide and urban-rural divide had earlier been the hallmark of INLD politics and now divisions on a district-basis had begun. Responding to these charges, Chautala said the Congress had been discriminating against certain districts. “ The Hooda government has been step-motherly towards Sirsa and Ellenabad and it is not the INLD but the local people who have come out against the government bias in this bypoll,” he claimed while talking to mediapersons at Darba village today. Meanwhile, Samast Bharatiya Party candidate Kusum Chaudhary maintained that neither development nor regional bias was an issue. “People want to get rid of corrupt politicians. Development will come automatically if the polity is cleansed of corruption,” she maintained talking to the media at Shakar Mandori. The Congress, meanwhile, continued to claim that the government headed by Hooda had spent much more than the Chautala government in the education sector. “Against Chautala government’s budgetary provision of Rs 1622.89 crore in 2004-05, the Congress government has made a provision of Rs 5812 crore in 2009-10,” Surjewala claimed. “Three universities, sanctioning of four deemed universities, a central university and a defence university are testimony to the Congress government’s commitment to education,” he said. He said the Chautalas had opened only one university in Chaudhary Devi Lal’s name and that too had been starved of funds. |
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HJC leader joins INLD
Ellenabad, January 13 Birender Singh, whom INLD Supremo Om Parkash Chautala had defeated in former’s stronghold Uchana
Kalan, made an appeal to the people to defeat the Chautalas. “You elect Chautala after Devi
Lal; Ajay and Abhey after Chautala. Can’t you find a person outside the Chautala clan as leader,” Birender Singh asked the voters at Makhosaran
village. He said family rule had no place in a democracy. Meanwhile, Devi Lal
Beniwal, a senior HJC leader, who contested the October 2009 assembly election from
Ellenabad, today announced his decision to join the INLD. Devi Lal is a resident of
Darba, the native village of the Congress nominee. |
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Constituency declared highly sensitive
Sirsa, January 13 Vinod Agarwal, Chief Election Observer, said 170 ‘micro’ observers would be appointed for the byelection, out of which 142 would be appointed at polling booths. The others would be kept in reserve. Agarwal, along with other observer Ashok Meena, Deputy Commissioner Yudhvir Singh Khaylia, SSP Shrikant Jadhav, RO Munish Nagpal and other officers associated with the poll process today interacted with the Chief Electoral Officer through videoconferencing and discussed bypoll preparations. Meanwhile, to ensure free, fair and peaceful byelection, Chief Electoral Officer Sumita Misra has directed the DC-cum-District Election Officer, Sirsa, to get videography and photography done for every important event during the campaign period, such as election meetings. She has directed that videography and photography at each polling station must be ensured. In a written communication, she has also directed that adequate security arrangements are made and a detailed deployment plan sent to the ECI and the Chief Electoral officer. |
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Urea Shortage
Chandigarh, January 13 Even as various farmers’ organisations have threatened to launch an agitation across the state on the issue, the state government claimed that there is no shortage of urea. Officials in the state Agriculture Department informed TNS that as of date 7.23 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of urea has already been released to the 9,300 odd retail points across the state, and farmers can buy it at will. Officials also maintain that the slight problem, if any, is because of long time taken in transit of urea because of the foggy weather. They said about 23,700 metric tonnes of urea was in transit, and once it reached the retail points, there would be no problem. However, they admitted that though 9.60 LMT of urea should have been utilised till date, only 7.23 LMT had been released. “This year, we have received a higher allocation of urea as compared to last year. As against 10.44 LMT released during the last rabi season, we have been allocated 11.15 LMT for this rabi season,” said the official. However, information gathered by TNS revealed that there is a shortage of urea in Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal and Bhiwani districts. Dayanand Punia, general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, alleged that at many places farmers were being forced to pay Rs 50 as premium on one bag of urea. “As against a price of Rs 242 per bag, farmers are being forced to pay Rs 290 per bag. We have received complaints from farmers in Karnal that they are also being forced by the retailers to buy other fertilisers, in case they want to get urea,” he complained. Supporting his complaint, Virender Singh Billu, vice-president of Bhartiya Kisan Union, said not only were farmers finding it difficult to buy urea, but in places like Barwala, Narnaund and Hisar, retailers were trying to sell them last years’ stock of urea. “With the agriculture authorities in these places refusing to come to the rescue of farmers, we have no option but to take an agitational recourse. “We will now start submitting memorandum of demand to the deputy commissioners and stage dharnas,” he said. Agriculture department officials said they were monitoring the situation on a day to day basis, and complaints against any dealer was being dealt with seriously. “We have the best system of fertiliser distribution. It is because of the foggy weather that the rakes of urea are not reaching on time, but there is no shortage of urea,” said a senior official. |
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NGO celebrates Lohri in honour of girlchild
Karnal, January 13 The birth of the girl child was considered a curse and practice of female foeticide was rampant in northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The NIFAA took the initiative to celebrate Lohri with a theme “Lohri Beti Ke Naam” at a function in NDRI auditorium. The objective behind the function was to send a message that there should be no discrimination against the girl child and she should be allowed to come into the world and treated equally with a male child. NIFFA chairman Prit Pal Singh Punnu said social activities could help in overcoming orthodox traditions and taboos to make a harmonious society, free from atrocities, discrimination and socio-cultural inequalities. The mass-level function organised in collaboration with the Haryana State Council of Child Welfare was part of the state-level project against female foeticide entitled “Mission 2010”. Appreciation certificates were presented to all parents who happily welcomed the birth of the
girlchild. Prof Virender Singh, Political Adviser to Haryana Chief Minister, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said there was a need to change the mindset of society as girls were competing with boys in every walk of life and making valuable contributions in all walks of life. Local MLA Sumita Singh congratulated the organisers for setting a new trend to raise concern against gender discrimination and said a positive female sex ratio was must for a balanced and progressing society. Manju Gupta, secretary, Haryana State Child Welfare Council, said in this male-dominated society, celebrating Lohri on the birth of girl child was really a laudable step. Similar functions would be organised by the NIFAA in other parts of the state during the next few days and participation of 5,000 families with newborn girls would be ensured. The NIFAA would also provide facilities for free-of-cost medical check-up at each place and healthiest and youngest girls would be honoured with a memento and given cash prize of Rs 1,100. All parents, who took the step to celebrate the birth of girl child, were honoured with special mementos bearing photograph of their child and a special message that their daughter can also earn name and fame like Lata Mangeshkar, Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Sania Mirza and Kiran Bedi if showered love and given equal access to all facilities and opportunities. |
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Addl sum of Rs 2,000 crore sought from Centre
New Delhi, January 13 Capt Yadav said a burden of Rs 6,000 crore had been added to the state expenses following the Sixth Pay Commission. He was speaking at a pre-budget meeting of Union Finance Ministers of states. Capt Yadav maintained that the implication on account of arrears payments on account of pension would be about Rs 1,350 crore. On the other hand, government of India earns rich dividend by way of income tax about 30 per cent merely Rs 2,000 crore must be transferred back to the state. He also sought incentives on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh and
Uttaranchal. |
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Probationer Army
nurses take oath Chandigarh, January 13 Addressing the army’s future nursing officers, Hospital Commandant Maj-Gen Pankaj Tyagi exhorted students to strive for high standards of the nursing profession. He also urged them to inculcate the sense of maturity, empathy dedication and commitment and to keep abreast with the latest technical advancements and scientific knowledge. Maj Rekha Gupta administered the Nightingale Pledge to students. The School of Nursing’s annual report was also read out on the occasion. The lighting ceremony signifies the resolve of the students to be trained to care for the sick and wounded soldiers and their families. The lighting of the lamp symbolises transfer of knowledge, skills and the spirit of nursing as established by Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing.
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