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Spate of rallies hots up political scene
Play of Politics |
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Woman loses baby, kin allege docs’ apathy
Govt told to pay claim under insurance scheme
Industry bigwigs discuss emerging technologies
Panel mooted to check foeticide in Ambala
Seminar on English language held
Bishnoi seeks JPC probe into 2G scam
Colloquium on prospects of biotechnology
Police stations earmarked for fake currency crimes
Suicide victim’s father alleges police inaction
Govt okays ROB at Delhi-Ambala level crossing
Discharge of murder suspect resented
Death mourned
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Spate of rallies hots up political scene
Sirsa, November 25 The Chief Minister recently addressed a rally at Bhiwani while he will be addressing another rally at Fatehabad on December 5. Earlier, Hooda addressed rallies at Panipat and Rewari. A rally at Sirsa was scheduled for November 7, but it was postponed due to Divali festivities. State Minister Gopal Kanda, who is to organise Sirsa rally, said a fresh date would be announced after consultation with Hooda. The Chief Minister will also be coming to Ellenabad on December 11 where Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court would inaugurate a newly constructed judicial complex. Hooda will also address a rally organised by Backward Classes on December 12 at Hisar. Ram Niwas Ghodela, Congress MLA from Barwala, the man behind the Backward Classes rally, said the people of his community would thank Hooda for his largesse for the community. Though the ostensible purpose of all these rallies has been different, the tone and tenor of speakers has always been the same, to glorify the image of the government headed by Hooda. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Bishnoi, HJC chief, will address a rally at Jind on December 2. The present phase of political activity started on November 1, when both INLD and the Congress organised parallel rallies in Gurgaon and Sonipat, respectively. The INLD, which organises a state-level rally on the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal on September 25 every year, had decided to hold this rally on November 1, the Haryana Day, from this year. As the INLD was preparing for its rally, sportspersons from Haryana started excelling in the Common Wealth Games and the INLD announced that all medal winners would be honoured in its rally. However, the Congress was in no mood to allow its rival to take credit of the victories and announced a rally on the same day to honour the sportspersons. The ruling party showered cash prizes and gifts to all medal winning sportspersons atn the rally. Meanwhile, Devi Lal Manjhu, a spokesperson of the HJC, said their party had chosen Jind as venue for its December 2 rally because whichever party has organised a successful rally at Jind in the past has come to power in the future elections. Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, chief parliamentary secretary, and MLA from Fatehabad, has been campaigning for the success Congress’ December 5 rally. He claims that the Chief Minister would announce some new projects for Fatehabad district. Though rallies are not uncommon in Haryana and rather these are the most favourite mode of communication with the masses for political parties, such activities normally start when half of the term of the party in power is over. However, in the present case, the political rallies have begun with Hooda government firmly in saddle for almost four next years. |
Play of Politics
Hisar, November 25 Though the induction may or may not come anytime soon, other hopefuls have upped their ante. Sangwan is one of the five legislators who were elected on the HJC ticket, but later defected to the Congress providing it a majority in the assembly. All of them have been hoping for a cabinet berth for the past one year. Now that Hooda has indicated his preference for Sangwan, the remaining four have started lobbying for themselves. Among them Vinod Bhayana from the Hansi assembly segment of this district has been lobbying for a cabinet berth. His claim was based on the fact that Hisar did not have any representation in the cabinet. However, now that Sangwan appears to be Hooda’s choice, Bhayana’s claim is likely to be rubbished. Sangwan’s possible inclusion may also affect the chances of Kiran Chadhary and Sampat Singh of the Congress who are also Jats like Sangwan. Kiran was a minister in the first edition Hooda cabinet from 2005 to 2009. She was not included in the cabinet after the last assembly elections despite the fact that she is considered close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Sampat Singh, who represents the Nalwa assembly constituency of Hisar, had missed out last year as the Congress failed to get majority on its own in the newly elected house. The limitations of running a lame duck government ruled out the chances of Sampat Singh who otherwise is the most experienced Congress legislator. However, he had joined the Congress after dumping the INLD just before the 2009 assembly elections. However, with Sangwan lined up from amongst Jat legislators, the chances of Kiran Chadhary and Sampat
Singh have been adversely affected. So far as Hisar district is concerned, former minister Savitri Jindal, who represents the Hisar city assembly segment, is also looking for her re-induction into the
Hooda ministry. She too like Kiran Chaudhary was a minister from 2005 to 2009 having replaced her husband Om
Parkash Jindal after his death. Jindal has a strong lobby in the Congress as her son Naveen Jindal
is MP from Kurukshetra. He is quite active in Congress politics at the centre. Under the circumstances, she too will lobby hard for her inclusion. There are many other hopefuls in the Congress. While former Speaker Ragubir Singh Kadian is a strong contender, chief parliamentary secretary Dharamveer is also expecting elevation to a cabinet rank. He is among Hooda’s confidants. |
Woman loses baby, kin allege docs’ apathy
Fatehabad, November 25 The kin shifted the woman to a local private hospital in the afternoon where they were informed that the unborn child had died in mother’s womb. This infuriated the victim’s kin, who reached the general hospital and expressed their anger against the doctors. Later, the issue was resolved after a series of meetings between the doctors and members of the Labour Union, to which the woman’s husband belonged. Only recently, an expecting woman had lost her twin due to delay in delivery facilities at Bhuna and two expecting women, including an HIV positive, were denied delivery facilities at Fatehabad hospital. “I brought my wife Meena Devi to the local general hospital after she complained of labour pains in the morning. However, there was no one to look after her. A woman doctor, who examined her after much persuasion, told us that they did not have the facilities to perform delivery and asked us to shift her to Agroha Medical College,” alleged Meena’s husband, Ram Pal. He said he pleaded with the doctors that he was very poor and could not afford a private hospital, but they were not moved. He said he later shifted his wife to a private nursing home where they were informed about the death of the baby. He alleged that poor and downtrodden got no services in this hospital and only those who were able to pay were cared. Dr Surinder Bishnoi, resident medical officer of the general hospital, claimed that Dr Renu, a medical officer in the hospital, promptly examined the woman after she was brought to the hospital. However, she found that there was some complication in the case, which necessitated a caesarian section. He said Dr Renu opined that the kin had taken the services of some untrained midwife before coming to the hospital. Dr Bishnoi maintained that the hospital did not have the services of a gynecologist and the surgeon was on duty at a local court for some evidence. He said they had no option but to refer the patient to Agroha, but the woman’s husband was adamant to get the delivery done here. He even blamed Ram Pal for the delay in delivery. |
Govt told to pay claim under insurance scheme
Yamunanagar, November 25 The complainant’s husband, Ram Diya of Dusani village in the district had suffered injuries in 2004 after he was hit by a buffalo while he was milking the same. Later, he succumbed to his injuries. Parmali Devi, through her counsel Satpal Singh Saini, filed a petition to the SDM Jagadhari, the nodal officer of “Devi Rakshak Suraksha Beema Yojna”, seeking compensation of Rs 1 lakh. The SDM forwarded the application to New India Assurance Company and National Insurance Company, but the companies rejected the claim saying that at the time of death neither of the company had any agreement with the state government. After hearing both parties, Dina Nath Arora and VK Sharma, president and member of the forum, found that Ram Diya died due to attack by an animal, which was covered under the MoU with the insurance company and the government. However, at the time of incident, there was no agreement with insurance companies. The forum thus directed the state government to pay the compensation amount of Rs 1 lakh with 9 per cent interest per annum after three months of the death of Ram Diya to till its realisation. |
Industry bigwigs discuss emerging technologies
Gurgaon, November 25 The knowledge partner for the panel was PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd. The panel had an interesting discussion on possible opportunities in India, for national as well as foreign investors in insurance industry, due to its huge population base and large untapped market. The research topic dealt with assessing the issues and opportunities while using digital media as a channel for distribution in the insurance market in the country. The strategy panel was followed by ICRA’s Finance Panel, which discussed the topic “Role of Financial Markets in Developing India - Key Challenges & Opportunities”. The Social Responsibility Panel was in association with Youth for Safe Food. The panel brought forward the most relevant and critical topic in the present scenario: “Politics in the Food Industry”. Questions addressed in the panel were
related to three areas: food security, food safety and food poverty. The discussions ranged from political aspects of production, control, regulation, inspection and distribution of food to marketing of food products to children by companies, endorsement and labelling rackets, lobbyists using their clout to bring about genetically modified food products, etc. The research on the topic also included the method of suggesting different ways to improve information visibility not only to the organisations fighting for providing right food to society, but also to the end consumers who, at present, are completely unaware of the actual scenario. The last panel for the day was the Communications Panel, which, in association with the Perfect Relations, discussed the “Impact of Social Media Campaigns on Communications Strategies of Businesses in the Global Scenario”. The panelists included Aman Gupta, CEO, Imprimis Life PR; Deepak Mukarji, country head (Corporate Affairs), Shell Group of Companies; Gaurav Mishra, director (digital and social media) at MS&L Group Asia; Meena Vaidhyanathan, director (development), Dialogue Social Enterprise; and Prof Gita Bajaj, faculty and chairperson-Corporate Communications at MDI. The discussion was focused on the way consumers behave in social media space and analysed the user behaviour in the US and European countries vis-à-vis in India. The panelists tried to identify the industries/companies/brands which can easily leverage social media for their advantage. They discussed about the most successful and unsuccessful social media campaigns. They also analysed the readiness of India for the social media revolution. The first day of the management convention had enlivening discussions on Marketing, HR, IT, Operations and Entrepreneurship. The panels were headed by industry bigwigs from Aditya Birla Group, Hewitt, DELL and Keane. “Delphique 2010” was concluded with the valedictory ceremony which was presided by Sanjeev Aggarwal, founder, IBM Daksh, and currently managing director, Helion Ventures. |
Tibetans laud film on Buddhism in Haryana
Yamunanagar, November 25 Talking to The Tribune, Sidhartha, director and producer of the documentary film, said the film was made after exhaustive research for three years and support from renowned archaeologists of Haryana. The film has been already telecast in 147 countries, he added. Sidhartha said the film highlighted the history of Buddhism in Haryana since Ashokan period up to 14th century. According to Buddhist scriptures, the foundation of Buddhism in the state was laid by Buddha himself where he delivered several discourses. The film also focuses on the neglected and grim condition of Buddhist monuments in the state. He further said the special feature of the film is the 2000-year-old Buddhist idols made in Gandhar, Afghanistan. Members of the Tibetan parliament were amazed to see the richness of ancient Buddhist monuments and culture of Haryana. In his message, Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of Tibet-in-exile, said, “I believe this film will certainly create awareness about the existence of Buddhism, particularly ancient monuments, in Haryana. Therefore, I invite all people to watch this documentary and spread Buddha’s teachings of peace and non-violence”. Penpa Tsering, speaker, Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said the documentary would be a guiding force in attracting many Buddhist pilgrims to Haryana. The film highlights that Adi Badri, Sugh, Chaneti, Kurukshetra, Asandh, Agroha etc were important centres of Buddhism in ancient times in Haryana. Penpa said, “It is an eye opener for me to witness 2300-year-old Buddhist monuments in Haryana. I am sure this documentary will be the guiding force in attracting many Buddhist pilgrims to Haryana. This will not only help preserve the invaluable Buddhist monuments but also enrich the long existing Buddhist heritage”. |
Panel mooted to check foeticide in Ambala
Ambala, November 25 According to sources, the existing mechanisms to check foeticide have not been very effective. It is now thinking of setting up a committee to check the scourge and punish the guilty. The committee would involve officials from a range of departments and fields constituted by the IMA and have greater power, the sources added. Deputy commissioner Sameer Pal Saro said representatives of social organisations and the principal of MDSD Girls College, Ambala, Kiran Angra, along with residents, actively participated in the cause for sensitising the community with reference to the declining sex ratio, which is a matter of concern for the country. Stress was laid on removing gender bias which has led to a skewed sex ratio. Dr Kamboj emphasised that governmental and non-governmental agencies, educational institutions, social and religious leaders and concerned individuals from all walks of life should get actively associated in curbing the menace. He urged the community to create awareness amongst women folk and encourage them to take a leading role in checking discrimination against girl child. Dr Kamboj further said the committee could apply some innovative and bold methods to identify doctors conducting foeticide. These also include identifying illegal centres with the help of the city police which carry out abortions and ensuring that the guilty are punished. “The sex ratio as per the record in the district is 788. There is an urgent need to curb and reverse this trend to save the human race and we are taking every possible step in this direction,” he added. A district-level workshop in this connection will also be organised shortly in which Union Minister Kumari Selja would be the chief guest. |
Collective efforts sought to curb foeticide
Sonepat, November 25 This was stated by deputy commissioner Ajit Joshi while addressing a seminar on eradication of foeticide organised by the Health Department here in Chhotu Ram Dharamshala yesterday. He disclosed that there was a plan to start mobile library equipped with videos and screens in near future to create awareness -among people against
foeticide. He also opined that merely the ban of sex determination through ultrasound machines was not the permanent solution to check the menace in the district. Rather, well-to-do families could get sex determination test secretly at some other places, he added. Joshi suggested that all social and voluntary
organisations, Anganwari workers and ASHA activists should make united efforts for the eradication of foeticide and for that they should ensure that all pregnant women coming in their contacts were registered immediately. Dr Vandana Gupta, deputy director of the Health Department, detailed out the PNDT Act and other incentives being given by the department and sought cooperation from various organisations and public-opinion makers to contribute in making
anti-foeticide campaign a success in the state. Civil surgeon Ramesh
Sethi, DIPRA Mahesh Sardhana, prominent social activists Shanta Jain and Usha
Bhandari, deputy civil surgeon Jagbir Singh, secretary District Red Cross Society Subhash
Vashist, and Dr Paliwal also addressed the seminar. On the occasion, the deputy commissioner honoured the gram panchayats of Butana Khetlan and Butana Kundu with cash rewards of Rs 50,000 each for increasing sex ratio in the village. According to official information, the number of female in the village was 1,066 against 1,000 male in 2009. |
Murthal varsity’s computer head gets NIXI fellowship
Sonepat, November 25 The NIXI has launched fellowship programme for qualified young Internet professionals from academia, industry, civil society, public sector and the media. The objective of the fellowship is to groom the next generation leaders in the field of Internet technology, policy and business. Thirty-five scholars have been selected and the first interaction is scheduled to be held in Bangalore on November 28. RK Arora, registrar, has informed that under the NIXI fellowship, fellows will get a chance to attend two international events and two workshops or conferences in the country related to Internet. Each of the fellows will get an opportunity of being under the mentorship of experts from eminent bodies of the country. Darshana had earlier received the All-India Merit Scholarship of the Ministry of Human Resource Department from 1988-92 and also won the first prize in the Talent Search Examinations of the Rajasthan Education Board. |
Seminar on English language held
Kaithal, November 25 In a highly self-analytical mode, participants and teachers in a state-level one-day seminar, organised by RKSD (PG) College, Kaithal, and sponsored by the higher education commissioner, Haryana, recently, expressed the urgency of transforming the existing condition of English studies into a student centric and functional field of language, literary and cultural studies. The theme of the seminar, “State of English Studies in Haryana: A Post-colonial Review”, proved quite thought provoking. While inaugurating the seminar, Syeed Norruzamman, Sr. Assistant Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, said for the betterment and progress of coming generation, the state should systematically promote English language. He also emphasised the role of teachers in promoting the language. Delivering the keynote address, Prof Brajesh Sawhney, chairman, Department of English, Kurukshetra University, stressed the urgency of collective efforts on the part of English teachers of colleges and universities so that needful reforms in curriculum and pedagogy are effectively chalked out and implemented. He focused his speech on “Discipline and Practice of English Studies in India - Post-colonial Review” and paid a floral tribute to the legacy of Dr Swarup Singh, Dr BK Kalia, Dr RS Singh, BS Dahyia and Dr OP Grewal for evolving English studies in the state in a self-reflexive mode. Earlier, Dr SK Garg, principal, welcomed the guests and described the strong tradition of the English Department in the college. Dr Rajbir Parashar, organising secretary of the seminar, introduced the theme of the seminar and emphasised the urgency of decolonising the curriculum of English studies in the state for which the sole responsibility lies with academicians and teachers. The seminar was divided into two technical sessions. Dr Geeta Goyal coordinated the first session, while Prof Satbir Sirohi chaired it. The second and the post-lunch session was conducted by Prof Seema Gupta and chaired by Prof RL Goyal. Papers were presented by more than 40 speakers, including Prof Suman Sirohi, Dr Shammi Nagpal, Gaurav Jogi Pathania, Prof Satbir Sirohi, Prof Jarnail Singh, Prof Sunil Garg, Prof Naresh Garg and Dr Geeta Goyal. In her valedictory address, Prof Tejinder Kaur, director, Distance Education, Punjabi University, Patiala, said: “English is a language of opportunities and the main problem is that students have not been taken into account for offering them functional alternatives”. She said this negation of the perspective of students is the general problem of the status of English studies in Third World Countries. She exhorted the teachers to convert the inputs arising out of such seminars into concrete policy shifts for the betterment of students. At the end, Dr Rajbir Parashar thanked the guests and principal Dr SK Garg and the head of the Department of English, Chetna Sharma, presented mementos to the invited speakers and guests. |
Bishnoi seeks JPC probe into 2G scam
Rohtak, November 25 Bishnoi claimed that there was something fishy about the whole issue as the Congress chief and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had been maintaining silence. “It suggests there could be more and influential persons behind the scam which is perhaps the biggest in the country so far”. Asking Congress leadership to come out open about the allegations, he said the way and manner these leaders had been behaving had made the people believe that only one person was not to blame as the rot ran deep. Bishnoi, who addressed party workers at Kalanaur town in connection with their December 2 rally at Jind, said the Congress had no moral authority to remain in power. He said the situation in Haryana was no better. He alleged that a major scam in the name of developing SEZs had already taken place. While hundreds of acres of precious land had been acquired by the government in the name of SEZs, there was no progress in their development, he alleged. Claiming that the land acquisition policy was faulty, he said a large number of farmers had been deprived of their agricultural land and were rendered landless labourers. Condemning the claims of the government, he said there were numerous villages in various districts where residents had openly opposed the move to acquire their land by the government and had staged protests against it. Regarding the law and order situation, Bishnoi said the rising crime graph in CM’s hometown was enough to tell the entire story that criminals were ruling the roost and the police had failed miserably on this account. |
Colloquium on prospects of biotechnology
Sonepat, November 25 Vice-Chancellor of Ch Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University Dr KS Khokhar was the chief guest and the event was presided over by HS
Chahal, Vice-Chancellor of Murthal university. Dr Khokhar underlined the importance of biotechnology in various fields, particularly agricultural innovations. Prof RC Kuhad from the University of Delhi, South Campus, and the president-elect of the AMI, emphasised the importance and significance of biotechnology for mankind by stating that biotechnology had brought about a complete revolution in almost all sectors, including agriculture, human and animal healthcare, environment, pharmaceuticals and waste treatment. He also highlighted the future prospects of biotechnology. Appreciating the efforts of the AMI in organising the seminar, Chahal said such seminars bring experts from various places together to not only share knowledge and experiences, but also to help in networking of experts in their pursuit of knowledge exploration. Registrar of the university RK Arora said the seminar, which was sponsored by Invitrogen and the
SBI, Sonepat, was attended by over 150 participants from various universities and colleges, research institutes, laboratories and biotech companies. The inaugural session was followed by three technical sessions. Five eminent scientists in the field of biotechnology - Prof TR Sreekrishnan and Prof James Gomes from
IIT, New Delhi, Prof Subeer Majumdar from NII, New Delhi, Prof Suneel Kateria from Delhi University, South Campus, New Delhi, and Prof Rakesh Sharma from
IGIB, New Delhi, participated in the deliberations. The seminar covered almost all major areas of biotechnology, including industrial, medical and agricultural biotechnology, highlighting the importance, major achievements, current research activities and future prospects of this new and revolutionary field. A majority of speakers agreed that the trajectory of development of biotechnology had intersected every walk of life. |
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Police stations earmarked for fake currency crimes
Chandigarh, November 25 A police spokesman said here recently that the step had been taken to control the crime of counterfeit currency production and usage and to provide law and order support to banks. He said the step was appreciated in a meeting of the 21st state-level Security Committee held recently. The meeting was convened by the RBI and chaired by Haryana Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Home, Samir Mathur. He said one DSP-level officer for each of the districts would be available for sorting out security-related problems of the banks. The record of the state had been good in solving crimes related to counterfeit currency as five out of seven FIRs had been sorted out. The minimum level of security arrangements, including CCTVs and provision of guards in banks, would also be standardised. The banking sector had been assured support for providing security both at the banks as well as for the transportation of the currency. |
Suicide victim’s father alleges police inaction
Rohtak, November 25 In his letter to the district police chief, he has sought speedy probe into the death of his son, Shamsher Singh (39), who was posted as headmaster of Government High School, Dhandlan village, in Jhajjar district. He claims that if the culprits are allowed to roam free, they could hatch a conspiracy against him and his family to stop them from seeking an impartial probe. Shamsher Singh committed suicide at his house on October 18. He had left a note charging some persons, including a woman and vigilance cops, of harassing him and forcing him to take to this extreme step. According to the complainant, his son was under pressure for the past few months following a case of alleged embezzlement of funds against him. Though an enquiry conducted by the Vigilance Department did not find him guilty, it is claimed that certain people continued to harass him, which made him to commit suicide, states Vijay Singh. He claims that his son was not involved in any kind of bungling. The probe could not indict him, but it was the constant threat and harassment by the accused that forced his son to end his life, he adds. Vijay says though the police registered a case under Section 306 of the IPC on October 25 and the FIR named one of the accused as Kalawati, a former JBT teacher, it neither arrested her nor interrogated other persons named in the suicide note. He has requested the district police chief to probe the matter independently and take action against the culprits. |
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State throwball players win laurels
Rewari, November 25 Aruna Deshwal, chief of the Rewari District Throwball Association, said it was a matter of pride that four Rewari girls, Deepa of Chhawwa village, Nisha of Khushpura village, Nisha of
Fatehpuri village and Annu of Khushpura village were part of the winning team. Recently, when both teams went to meet Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Delhi, the latter congratulated them for their success and exhorted them to maintain their winning spree in future as well. |
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Govt okays ROB at Delhi-Ambala level crossing
Kurukshetra, November 25 This was announced by former MLA Ramesh Gupta at a party workers meeting held at his residence recently. Gupta claimed that when he was MLA from the Thanesar Assembly Constituency, since then he had been demanding the approval to this project. He hoped that after the completion of the project, it would prove to be a boon for pilgrims reaching
Brahamsarover, farmers as well as general public facing traffic jams mostly due to closing of the level crossing near Sunderpur village. |
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Discharge of murder suspect resented
Fatehabad, November 25 Anil Kumar, alias Lekhu, was gunned down in full public glare at a religious function in the village on the night of September 18. The murder had sparked angry protests and blocking of the national highway by the villagers. The villagers alleged that the police had a soft corner for Dharam Pal, one of the main accused named in this case. However, SP Jagwant Singh Lamba said that the police had arrested the accused on suspicion. However, his role was not found in the crime on investigation. He said Dharam Pal has been released on bail based on the police investigation report.
— TNS |
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Death mourned
Rewari, November 25
Besides Buwaniwala, Ram Niwas Garg, working president of the AVS, and other senior functionaries of the AVS have also mourned his death. The body of Kishan was cremated at his native Neem Ka Thana town of Sikar district in Rajasthan yesterday. His son Vishnu Modi is presently a Congress MLA from the Pushkar constituency of Rajasthan. Paying homage to Kishan, Buwaniwala said with a noble mission of consolidating the Agarwal Samaj, Kishan had founded a national organisation, AIAS, in 1975. Late Chief Minister and a Samaj stalwart Benarsi Das Gupta remained at the helm of affairs of the AIAS for a pretty long time. Buwaniwala said while the Agarwal Samaj had been deprived of a chieftain of integrity and vision, several prominent religious organisations too had lost a dedicated patron. — OC |
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