Fatehabad, June 6
Activists of the Patanjali Yog Samiti and the Bharat Swabhiman Trust today observed a black day and staged a demonstration against the government’s action against Baba Ramdev and his followers in Delhi yesterday.

A large number of local residents joined the activists of the two trusts in their demonstration against the UPA government. The protesters assembled at Laal Batti Chowk and held a silent procession in the town. Meanwhile, the state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has held Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responsible for the “brutal” police action against Baba Ramdev.

SIRSA: Over 15 NGOs and social organisations of the town expressed their anger against the UPA Government’s action.

The organisations included the Patanjali Yog Sabha, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Maruti Charitable Trust, Jagriti Manch, Sanskrit Adhyapak Sangh, Arya Samaj, Bar Association, Indian Medical Association, among others. A memorandum addressed to the President was later presented to the DC. Meanwhile, BJP leaders sat on dharna in protest against the government action at Sirsa and Dabwali on Monday.

KARNAL: Traders observed a partial bandh while followers of Baba Ramdev and activists of the BJP staged a dharna to protest against the police action. Traders in all markets pulled down their shutters. The BJP leaders along with a large number of workers sat on 24-hour fast to observe black day.

FARIDABAD: BJP activists led by its state president Krishan Pal Gurjar continued their 24-hour dharna in protest against the use of police force on Baba Ramdev. Senior BJP leaders spent night at the dharna site. Gurjar said the BJP would go all out against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre on the issue of corruption and its alleged failure to tackle terrorism. KURUKSHETRA: District BJP workers, led by president Krishan Bedi, demonstrated and launched a one-day fast in front of “Paatanjali Yog Peeth” here on Monday in protest against the brutal police action on Baba Ramdev and his followers in Delhi. Bedi alleged the Congress was acting like “Taliban”. Meanwhile, INLD president and local MLA Ashok Arora said during an awareness campaign at Majhaara village, 4 km from here, that the end of the Congress-led UPA Government, was inevitable.

REWARI: BJP activists led by district president Laxman Singh Yadav held a dharna at Moti Chowk here to register their protest against police brutality.

Chandigarh, June 6
The Haryana Speaker today sought “correction” of the June 2 order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court , recording an “undertaking” on his behalf to fix at least four dates of hearing every month.

He has submitted that “no such statement was ever made by senior counsel. Rather, it was the observation of the Bench that the Speaker should fix at least four dates of hearing in one month”.

His plea, filed today in the High Court, reads: “The Speaker is a constitutional functionary and it is for the Speaker to make every possible endeavour to decide the disqualification petitions at the earliest. This has already been so expressed by the Speaker…It seems that some typographical mistake has occurred while recording the order dated June 2 which needs to be corrected".

The Solicitor-General of India, Gopal Subramanium, on the behalf of the Speaker, had on April 29 expressed inclination towards “drawing a timetable after conferring with the parties and in order to dispose of the petition expeditiously”. Subramanium, on that day, had also asserted that the Speaker has made every endeavour to dispose of the petition as expeditiously as possible. As the case came up for hearing on June 2, the Bench again took on record the purported assurance on the Speaker’s behalf that the undertaking given by Subramanium would be kept in mind, and at least four dates of hearing would be fixed in a month. The Bench had added keeping that in view the timetable shall also be fixed.

The hearing before the Speaker was also advanced to June 6. The high court had earlier also expressed hope that Bishnoi’s plea in the defection matter would be decided expeditiously. The “defecting” MLAs -Satpal Sangwan, Vinod Bhyana, Narender Singh, Zileram and Dharam Singh - had joined the Congress in November, 2009.

Chandigarh, June 6
Less than three months after Haryana revised its policy on higher studies for government doctors and restricted the benefit of full pay and allowances to those completing five years of regular service, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a bunch of appeals.

The directions came on appeals by Dr Parmender Kumar and other appellants serving as members of the Haryana Civil Medical Service (HCMS).

According to the policy dated December 5, 2008, government doctors were to be treated on duty with full pay and allowances while undergoing post-graduate studies if they had rendered three-year regular service, with 24 months in a rural area. They were also required to seek an NOC from the employer.

As per prospectus issued for admissions to PG courses, 29 out of 145 seats were reserved for HCMS doctors.

But the government, through a memo dated March 31, revised its policy of 2008 “restricting the benefit of full pay, allowances and sponsorship against reserved seats in the quota to doctors, who had completed five years of regular, satisfactory service, out of which three years service should be in district/subdivisional hospitals and two years in rural-area institutions”.

The doctors completing three years of service were also eligible to apply for PG courses against open seats but were not entitled to salary during the period of higher education nor to sponsorship against reserved seats.

Aggrieved by the revised policy, they filed the petition, mainly on the ground that the revised policy decision could not be made applicable to the 2011 session, as the petitioners had already applied in January.

It was added the revised policy was not a part of the prospectus while the unrevised policy was a part of the prospectus and the conditions of prospectus could not be changed for the current admissions.

The single Judge considered the case whether the revision of policy was illegal on the ground that it amounted to change of the prospectus conditions but found it otherwise.

Dismissing the appeals, acting Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal asserted: “The single Judge was justified in rejecting the challenge to the new policy. The new policy was not alien to the prospectus and did not relate to admission qualifications as such, but to the grant of NOC by the state which was in the nature of service conditions for a concession to its employees”. 

Chandigarh, June 6
The Haryana Roadways Sanyukt Karamchari Sangh has decided to not to participate in the proposed strike on June 8.

This decision was taken by a delegation of the sangh in a meeting with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here today.

Following the meeting, Dalbir Singh Kirmara, president of the union, called off his six-day-long fast at Hisar, with the Chief Minister offering juice to him here.

Mr Kirmara said the sangh was fully satisfied now and 5000 roadways employees associated with it would not participate in the proposed strike. He claimed that the Chief Minister had asked the officers to sort out the grievances of employees on priority.

An official spokesman said the DGP had been directed to ensure smooth plying of buses and registration of criminal cases against the erring employees for obstructing official business on June 8. 

Sirsa, June 6
The police today produced Subhash, the accused in the Ellenabad double murder case, in the local court and obtained four days of police remand.

Judicial Magistrate Payal Mittal granted four-day police remand to the accused, directing the police to get him medically examined.

Subhash’s cousin Kalu Ram alleged that the police had falsely implicated Subhash in an effort to save itself from criticism.

“Subhash was among the first to reach the crime site after his master and the victim Bimla Devi’s son Ashok called him from Sirsa to see what had happened to his family members,” said Kalu Ram

Ashok Kumar, who lost his mother Bimla Devi and daughter Mehak on May 5, said though he would not comment on the police action, Subhash was one of his most trusted employees.

“I left all my business on his shoulders for six months when I started another venture in Delhi sometime ago. He never committed any breach of trust,” he maintained.

SP Satinder Kumar Gupta, however, claimed that the police had concrete evidence against Subhash.