Shimla, July 3
A showdown between two warring factions of the Congress over election of the next Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief seems inevitable as leaders from the two camps are engaged in hectic lobbying with the poll process getting underway.

The two feuding factions, led by Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vidya Stokes, are keen that their man gets the top party post.

While the Stokes camp, which also has the support of Union Minister Anand Sharma, is keen to see HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur being given a second innings, the former chief minister wants the reins of the party in the hands of his trusted lieutenant.

The Virbhadra camp has floated names of OBC leader and former MP Chander Kumar from Kangra, former Speaker Gangu Ram Musafir from Sirmour and Rangila Ram Rao, a Gujjar, from Mandi district.

Being viewed as a tactical move, the Union Minister has a leader each from the Scheduled Caste, OBC and SST, depending on the mood of the high command.

In case there is stiff opposition to the name of Kaul Singh by Virbhadra faction, former minister from Chamba, Asha Kumari, could find favour. She has blessings of the Stokes camp and being a woman, she could get a chance as the party has made reservation for 33 per cent women in the organisation.

Even as both factions are lobbying to ensure that their men get elected as PCC delegates and DCC chiefs, in all probability it is AICC chief Sonia Gandhi who will be the deciding factor. With bleak chances of voting, it will be left to the AICC chief to decide on the name of the HPCC chief to be elected on July 24.

The polls for electing delegates at the block-level will begin from July 8 and continue till July 13. The elections of the DCC will be completed from July 14 to 18 with the finale on July 24, when the name of the HPCC chief will be decided.

Shimla, July 3
Chairman of the National Legal Cell of the BJP, Satya Pal Jain, today urged the Centre to convene a meeting of northern states, including Punjab, Himachal, Haryana and Chandigarh to resolve inter-state disputes amicably.

Addressing a press conference here today, Jain, who is also in charge of the BJP in Himachal, said the only way such disputes between neighbouring states could be resolved was through dialogue. “Unfortunately, the Congress-led UPA regime has exhibited a very callous and rather indifferent attitude towards the matter,” he added.

Jain said it was the duty of the central government to step in and resolve such disputes.

“By convening a meeting of all chief ministers, automatically all political parties would be represented and disputes could be settled across the table,” he suggested.

He said the neighbouring states were opposed to each other on several issues such as extension of industrial package to Himachal, water sharing, royalty and now the latest issue of Haryana seeking a separate high court.

“Tension has been brewing between the neighbouring states. Hence, it is only appropriate that the Centre steps in to resolve such issues,” he said.

Jain announced that the BJP too would observe a complete strike on July 5 against hike in prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene.

On the issue of controversy surrounding celebrations by MP Anurag Thakur on his elevation as BJP youth wing chief while a martyr was being cremated, Jain said the incident was unfortunate and could have been avoided

Solan, July 3
Chief Justice of the Himachal High Court Kurian Joseph inaugurated a sub-divisional judicial complex at Kandaghat today. Addressing the gathering on this occasion he said courts were temples of justice, places for good conscience. He urged the legal fraternity to make state’s judicial system the best in the country. He said the state topped in the country in the matter of disposal of cases.

He asked them to evolve such a system that cases were decided within a year. He asked every one to ensure that the Kandaghat court became a model court in the state.

Later, addressing members of the bar association here the Chief Justice asked lawyers to lead society and play the role in solving problem of the people. He said freedom struggle was full of contribution of eminent lawyers and said that similar zeal was required from lawyers to show a new path to the society.

Justice A.K. Goyal, president of the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, said the facility at Kandaghat would speed up the process of deliverance of justice at this place. Minister of Health and Ayurved Dr Rajeev Bindal enumerated the development made during the present regime in and around Kandaghat.

District and Session Judge, Solan, C.B. Barowalia said the performance of the court and dispensation of justice would speed up with the opening of the new complex at Kandaghat.

Bilaspur, July 3
The Himachal Kisan Manch, an organisation devoted to the cause of farmers of the state, has strongly criticised fuel price hike and said this would virtually break the backbone of the agrarian community.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Krishan Kumar Kaushal, former MLA and now chief convener of the association, took to task both the Congress and the BJP for their “anti-people and anti-kisan policies”. He said both the parties were equally responsible for the miserable condition of the masses.

Shimla, July 3
Elaborate arrangements have been made to welcome the ‘Queen’s Baton Relay’ (QBR) for the 19th Commonwealth Games in the hill state.

Stating this here today Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal today said all arrangements had been completed to give a rousing welcome to the Queen’s Baton on its entry into Himachal on July 4 at Mehatpur in Una district. He further said the baton would travel around 560 km in Himachal Pradesh before it entered Uttarakhand on July 6.

“It will be a historic moment when the QBR enters Himachal and people from all walks of life, including schoolchildren, will be involved in the welcome functions to be held all over the state,” he said. He said the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of Una, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur had been directed to ensure a proper welcome and make security arrangements for QBR.

He said this was a memorable moment when QBR in its maiden voyage through the state would traverse through seven out of 12 districts covering more than half of the state and finally leave Himachal on July 6 at Paonta Sahib to move into Uttarakhand. He said the QBR would reach Shimla on July 5 and the festivities would be marked by various cultural activities at the historic Gaiety Theatre. 

Dharamsala, July 3
The district police has released a poster of drug peddlers who are allegedly targeting students in Kangra district. The poster carries photographs of 20 drug peddlers who are accused of supplying drugs to school and college students.

Residents have been asked to keep a track of the drug peddlers and inform the police if they happen to spot them.

The step has been taken by the police to curb increasing menace of drug addiction among students. In the recent past, the district police had detected cases in which drug addiction was reaching schoolchildren in unusual ways.

The police had arrested a shopkeeper in Dharamsala on charges of selling ink-removing fluid to schoolchildren. The children used to smell the fluid for getting a ‘high’. The matter was reported to the police by alert parents.

They observed that their wards slept deeply after coming from school.

The police, meanwhile, recovered a large number of ink-removing bottles from the shopkeeper.

In another case, an interstate gang of drug peddlers was busted that was selling psychotropic drugs to school and college children. The gang was busted with the chance arrest of two drug peddlers from Sansarpur terrace area of Kangra district when they were nabbed bringing psychotropic drugs on a motorcycle from Punjab.

According to sources, the accused revealed that they were procuring psychotropic drugs in huge quantity from a Jalandhar-based wholesaler of medicines. It was further being sold to school and college children. Due to increase demand of psychotropic drugs among students, the peddlers were making good business.

Earlier, too, the police had booked a Jalandhar-based drug wholesaler for illegal sale of psychotropic drugs. Psychotropic drugs, that are commonly being used for addiction, include painkillers, tranquilisers, anti-depressants, sleeping pills and stimulants.

Earlier, drug menace in the area was limited to visiting foreign tourists who used to come here to taste charas made from cannabis weed.

However, traditional drugs are fast being replaced by psychotropic drugs that are easy to procure and comparatively safe to market. However, the process has now started affecting innocent students who are seen as soft target by peddlers and this has become a cause of concern for state authorities.

Solan, July 3
In a case of blatant lawlessness, a youth was not only kidnapped on gunpoint from his house, but his family was brutally beaten up with sharp-edged weapons and rods when six miscreants entered their house around 10.30 pm on Thursday night at Baddi.

The family of Amit Sharma, his wife Kanta and two sons Vivek and Manoj, who reside at Basanti Bagh area of Baddi, were taken aback when the armed youths forcibly entered their house and let loose an hour of torture on them. Kanta lost two teeth in the beating and they were warned against going to the police as they took Vivek along with them.

The family immediately approached the police with a complaint and the Baddi police swung into action and registered a case under Sections 452, 453, 365, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC.

Vivek, meanwhile, landed at the Nalagarh police station along with one Ranjeet who claimed that Vivek had fired shots at him and a country pistol was produced by him supporting his claim around 1 am.

Even as the Nalagarh police was ascertaining the facts, they received a message from their Baddi counterparts about the kidnapping of Vivek. Hearing this, Ranjeet and his companions immediately fled the spot, leaving a brutally injured and unconscious Vivek at the police station while the police remained a silent spectator.

He was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. After regaining consciousness, he said he was taken to a forest area near Saned village and thrashed by the youths who later brought him to the Nalagarh police station.

Meanwhile, Zila Parishad chairman Ramkumar Chowdhary said the police was protecting wrong doers. He said RTI information sought by him revealed that Ranjeet had been granted an NOC by the police for his arms licence despite criminal cases pending against him.

Numerous such licences had been granted in the region and they were being misused for criminal activities, he added.

Baddi SP Chander Shekhar Pandit said the six youths had been identified and efforts were on to trace them.

Bilaspur, July 3
The police has seized 370 gm of opium from Baldev Kumar (30) of Hirapur village and arrested him under Section 18 of the NDPS Act.

SP Kapil Sharma said on receiving persisting complaints regarding the activities of this youth, the police raided Baldev’s house. On searching his house, they found the contraband hidden in a plastic bag kept in an old pair of shoes in a garbage box. — OC