Jind, January 17
Haryana Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Public Works (Building and Roads) Randeep Singh Surjewala reached here this noon to hold talks with the agitating Sarvakhap Sarvajatiya Mahapanchayat on its demands even as train services remained disrupted on the Jind-Ferozpur section for the third day today.

The Mahapanchayat had threatened to intensify the stir from tomorrow. It wants a fresh probe into the Mirchpur violence, that erupted in April last year, and is opposed to the trial of the accused being shifted to Delhi.

As the Mahapanchayat was preparing to discuss its next course of action this morning, it received a call from the authorities concerned and a meeting was organised at the railway station. But there was no headway.

The protesters were again asked to reach the local PWD Rest House for talks with Surjewala.Though there was no comment from the Mahapanchayat, a delegation of protesters left for the site of the dharna at 4 pm to consult other members of the Mahapanchayat.

When contacted, Surjewala said he was here to hold parleys with the protesters and had met a delegation of the Mahapanchayat.

He said the talks were underway and he was hopeful of a positive outcome.He said he was trying to work out a “peaceful” solution but declined to give a deadline for the same.

Deputy Commissioner Abhay Singh Yadav said the authorities had been in touch with the protesters and they were being convinced to end the agitation so that the rail services were restored.

However, the DC said he did not know of the talks between the protesters and the Minister.

“The authorities came out of their shell only after the Mahapanchayat threatened to spread the stir to other parts of the state and block the Bhiwani-Sirsa rail route,” claimed one of the members of the core committee of the Mahapanchayat, on the condition that he not be named.

He said the Mahapanchayat would not budge from its demands.

The state government has deployed 45 companies of the police to keep a watch on public property and sensitive points in the district. The protesters, a large number of them women, continued to squat on the rail track near Julani village today. 

Chandigarh, January 17
The “letter missiles” fired by Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav at Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has generated a lot of heat in the corridors of power.

Yadav has written on issues varying from land acquisition to opening of a university in his area. It is odd that the Minister has chosen to raise issues of public interest with the Chief Minister through letters instead of raising these at Cabinet meetings or conveying his sentiments on various issues to the CM in person. The mode of communication chosen by Capt Yadav is indicative of something wrong between him and Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Is it an attempt by Yadav to project himself as a “non-Jat alternative” within the Congress? Yadav firmly refutes this contention. He says as an MLA, who has won his seat six times in a row for the party, he does not need to project himself. Recognising his seniority, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had nominated him to the coordination committee, he points out.

Yadav denies any differences with Hooda. He claims he had played a major role in helping Hooda become Chief Minister in 2005 when, as acting leader of the Congress Legislature Party, he had worked with Hooda as a team. Similarly, in 2009 he had told the high command that Hooda was the best candidate for the post of Chief Minister under the circumstances.

“Whatever differences there may be are not such that cannot be resolved,” he says. He says his only concern is to see that his party’s government in the state should run more cohesively and more democratically.

Yadav’s reported appreciation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Sirsa has given an opportunity to his detractors to get back at him. They have started demanding action against him for praising a man, who leaves no opportunity to abuse Sonia Gandhi. They are trying to find a link between Yadav’s recent outbursts against Hooda and his praise for the BJP leader.

It will be unkind to Yadav to suggest that he can have any business with the BJP. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dan Singh says he is not aware of what exactly Yadav had said at Sirsa. “But it is unthinkable for any Congress man to praise Modi,” he says. Yadav’s detractors link his letter to the CM to the possible presidential sanction for prosecution of his sister, Justice Nirmal Yadav, a suspect in the “cash-in-the- bag case”. Yadav calls the insinuation as uncalled for. He points out that the Himachal Pradesh revenue authorities have found no irregularity in the manner permission was granted to his sister and other family members to purchase land in that state. Nor had the authorities found evasion of stamp duty. 

Gurgaon, January 17
Minister for Finance and Irrigation Capt Ajay Singh Yadav has said that he has done nothing wrong by appreciating the agricultural policy of Gujarat.

“Gujarat is not the property of Narendra Modi. It is the land of Gandhi and Patel,” the minister said while talking to The Tribune today. Retaliating against local Congress leaders seeking his ouster, Capt Yadav said petty politics was behind the demand.

“My father declared 800 acres of his land as surplus under the Land Sealing Act during the regime of the late Indira Gandhi. “I am a farmer’s son and can feel the pain of parting with one’s land,” he said.

GL Sharma, president of the District Congress Committee (Urban), had urged party president Sonia Gandhi and state unit chief Phool Chand Mullana to sack Capt Yadav and initiate disciplinary action against him for his pro-Modi remarks.

Sharma, a confidant of local Congress MP Rao Inderjeet Singh, had said that the minister’s remarks had harmed the party image. “The minister’s statement contradicts the stance of party president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi who have appreciated the government’s acquisition policy,” he had maintained.

On this observation, Capt Yadav said there was no contradiction as he had not criticised Haryana’s land acquisition policy, but only made suggestions to improve the same. “I stand by my suggestions, which include not acquiring fertile land, acquiring farmers’ land at the market rate, giving farmers industrial or commercial plots in lieu of agricultural land along with the right to rent our their industrial/commercial premises ,” the minister said.

Gharaunda, January 17
Holding “untimely and excessive” rains, which caused heavy crop losses, responsible for the steep hike in the prices of onion, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today refused to take the blame that his ministry failed to take effective steps to rein in the onion prices and said “much hype has been created over the issue and no one is concerned about the plight of farmers”.

Refusing to give any assurance of an immediate relief from the steep hike in the prices of onions, tomatoes and vegetables, Pawar talked about climate change, which, he said, led to untimely and excessive rains. Pawar, who was here to inaugurate a Rs 6-crore project, “Centre of excellence for vegetables”, under Indo-Israel corporation spoke about food security. Referring to the increase in the prices of pulses, Pawar claimed that the area under pulses had increased and a bumper crop was expected, but the production would still be much less than the demand.Attributing the increase in the prices of milk to the increase in the prices of fodder, Pawar said, “We have requested World Bank for a Rs 17,000-crore aid to strengthen the Indian dairy sector”.

When his attention was drawn to a shortage of godowns, resulting in the rotting of foodgrains, and the storage problem in view of a likely bumper rabi crop, the Union Minister claimed that arrangements for storage had been made and more godowns were being constructed.

Gharaunda, January 17
The state, the second largest contributor of foodgrains to the central pool, which has been sanctioned centres of excellence for vegetables and horticulture at Gharaunda and Sirsa, will get a third centre of excellence for floriculture at Hisar Agricultural University, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar announced here today.

Inaugurating a Rs 6-crore Indo-Israel project for growing off-season vegetables at Gharaunda along with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Ambassador of Israel to India, Mark Shofer, he said many such hubs (centres of excellence) would be set up across the country to increase fruit and vegetable production by growing off-season vegetables and fruits, which would also help combat the problems generated by climate change.

A centres of excellence for fruits would soon come up in Sirsa, for orchards in Maharashtra and for orange and pomegranate in Mangalore, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 9.70 crore was being spent on the Sirsa centre.

Spelling out the broad future strategy to check the hike in the prices of vegetables, Pawar said his ministry was mulling a unique scheme to set up “polyhouses” within a radius of 20 to 25 km of major cities, having a population of two to three lakhs, for producing vegetables which matured early and were comparatively free from the vagaries of nature to meet the demand of urban areas. This would help Haryana farmers as they had the ability to meet the demand of fruits and vegetables of the national Capital.

Asserting that the new Israeli technique would help increase production, and as a result the income of farmers, Pawar asked the farming community to reap the maximum benefits from the “scarce land” that was available. Stressing that the pressure on land was increasing, Pawar said it was imperative to increase production through the latest technology and by making optimum use of the resources.

The Ambassador of Israel to India, Mark Sofer, stressed the need for connectivity between business houses and farm experts. 

Yamunanagar, January 17
The Haryana Vanchit Varg Sangharsh Samiti has sought the intervention of the Haryana Governor to protect Dalits and other non-Jat communities at Mirchpur village in Hisar district.

In a memorandum to Governor Jagannath Pahadia, Roshan Lal Arya, a former legislator and president of the samiti, has demanded the deployment of central forces at Mirchpur to safeguard the life and property of the Dalits. Arya alleged that it was due the weak administration of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda that Dalits and non-Jats were living under a shadow of fear at Mirchpur and other parts of the state. He alleged that Jats did not want non-Jats to survive in Haryana. The samiti hailed the Supreme Court decision to shift the Mirchpur case to Delhi for trial. Jat leaders were now pressuring Dalits to withdraw cases against them, alleged Arya.

Arya demanded that the Mirchpur Dalits should be shifted to Talwandi Rana village near Hisar as that was the only way to defuse the tension at Mirchpur village. He said a deputation of the samiti would meet the President shortly. The former MLA asked leaders of the Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti to withdraw their stir for reservation in jobs, terming their demand as unjustified. 

Gurgaon, January 17
The Gurgaon police has busted a gang of looters who allegedly used to loot commuters by offering them lift in their car. Three members of this gang have been arrested. The gang was allegedly involved in more than 50 criminal incidents in Gurgaon and nearby areas.

This was stated by Haryana ADGP-cum-Gurgaon Police Commissioner SS Deswal at a press conference at his office here today. Explaining the modus operandi adopted by the gang, Deswal said the members of this gang used to offer lift to the commuters waiting for some transport at night and looted them at gunpoint.

“They used to snatch ATM cards of the passengers and ask the passwords to withdraw money from their accounts. Then, they used to injure their victims and dump them at secluded places,” said Deswal.

The Police Commissioner congratulated DCP (Gurgaon-East) Vikas Arora and his team comprising ACP (DLF) Dalbir Singh, SHO Jagdish Parsad, ASI Jai Bhagwan, head constables Dinesh Kumar and Mukesh Kumar and constable Surender Kumar and announced a reward of Rs 21,000 for them.

He said during interrogation, the accused had revealed that there were nearly 10 more members in their gang, adding that the gang had committed more than 50 crimes in Gurgaon, Dharuhera, Bhiwadi, Faridabad and Jhajjar.

The matter came to light when Praveen of Sonepat and Deepak of Uttar Pradesh reported at a local police station on January 16 that on the previous night, they were offered lift in a black Santro car from IFFCO Chowk and HUDA City Centre, respectively. On the way, the occupants of the car assaulted them with an iron rod and snatched their mobile phone handsets and other belongings. DCP (East) Vikas Arora then constituted a team to nab the criminals. While the team members were waiting at IFFCO Chowk, a PCR van informed them that a black Santro car carrying four suspicious-looking youths was seen moving towards the Leisure Valley park.

The team soon traced the car and asked the occupants to stop. However, instead of stopping, the driver tried to flee, breaking a barricade. The police personnel immediately swung into action and nabbed three youths. The arrested members of the gang have been identified as Shamim, alias Samir, son of Sher Mohammad of Raipuri village, Arshad, son of Leela of Jalalpur village under the Hathin police station in Palwal district, and Hamid, alias Kalur, son of Sirdar of Dhimri village under the Pahari police station in Bharatpur district in Rajasthan.

The police has recovered a black Santro car (No. HR-03J-2882), seven mobile phone handsets, a pistol, two live cartridges and a silver ring from their possession. 

Chandigarh, January 17
The state government is evolving a policy framework to check the menace of female foeticide. Health Minister Geeta Bhukkal said name-based tracking of expectant women would soon be started and all primary health centres were being computerised and linked with the Internet for the purpose.

Besides, the government planned to set up a new directorate in the University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, for regulating paramedical education, which held the potential of providing employment to lakhs of children.

“Unless the issue of paramedical education is addressed properly, sufficient trained medical manpower will not become available in the country,” she said.

Bhukkal asked the central government to develop policies for opening of more nursing, pharmacy, multi-purpose health workers and other paramedical training institutions.

Jhajjar, January 17
A farmer was allegedly shot dead in Barahi village under Bahadurgarh subdivision here last night. The deceased has been identified as Satnarayan (45). Land dispute is said to be the cause behind the murder.

The police has registered a case of murder against three brothers of the same village in this regard.

The incident took place when Satnarayan along with his brother Rajbir Singh was irrigating his fields last night.

Ranjeet and his brother Jaswant came there and had a verbal duel with Satnarayan over an old issue. Both the brothers then returned home, but came again to the fields with another brother Joginder, who allegedly opened fire on Satnarayan. The trio fled from the spot leaving Satnarayan in a critical condition. Later, Satnarayan succumbed to his injuries.

The police sent the body to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem after taking a stock of the situation.

A case under Section 302 of the IPC and Sections 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against three brothers - Joginder, Ranjeet and Jaswant - on the complaint of Rajbir. 

Kaithal, January 17
A sum of Rs 11 crore will be spent to preserve rich cultural heritage sites, historical and religious places in the district. This was stated by PWD and Public Health Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala while addressing mediapersons at Kisan Bhawan here after laying the foundation stone of renovation works on religious and cultural sites here today.

Surjewala said as many as 102 cultural and religious sites had been identified in Kaithal district. — OC