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Ratia Byelection
Ratia Assembly Byelection
24 in the fray from Ratia
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Teachers serve ultimatum on demands, threaten stir
Price Crash
Centre’s export policy has ‘harmed’ paddy growers
Road safety campaign under way
Stand up to corruption, Khandelwal exhorts youth
Use of Blind Hippo in Circus
Rs 15.71 crore refunded to students
Haryana Pavilion to showcase folk art
Father, son killed in road mishap
ASI nabbed taking bribe
Patwari held taking bribe
Woman dies in accident
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Ratia Byelection
Chandigarh, November 13 While Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda fights with his back to the wall in Ratia in the backdrop of an embarrassing defeat in the recently held Hisar Lok Sabha byelection, his Punjab counterpart is in a state of tizzy on the issue of the SAD’s support to the BJP-HJC combine or the INLD candidates. In a triangular contest, the SAD’s support to either of the BJP-HJC combine and the INLD assumes importance since the Ratia constituency, bordering Punjab, has reportedly over 50,000 registered Sikh voters. In fact, during the recent SGPC elections, the SAD had bagged two seats in the Ratia area with the support of the INLD. Already the BJP-HJC combine and the INLD have started a chorus for the crucial SAD support. ”Being a part of the NDA, the SAD should extend its support to the BJP-HJC candidate to defeat the Congress and the INLD candidates,” Gian Chand Gupta, treasurer of the Haryana unit of the BJP told The Tribune here today. BJP sources said with the Punjab elections round the corner, the SAD leadership should send the right signals for a lasting relationship with the BJP. “The SAD must abide by the coalition dharna and keep the personal relationship on the backburner for the Ratia Assembly byelection,” a senior BJP leader asserted. President of the Haryana unit of the INLD Askok Arora, on the other hand, claimed that the SAD and the INLD had been alliance partners since the 2009 Assembly elections in Haryana. ”Since the SAD won the two SGPC seats with the support of the INLD, the Akalis will support the INLD candidate in the November 30 election,” Arora said, hoping that Badal would campaign for the INLD candidate in the run-up to the elections. A senior SAD functionary conceded that the “open” support to any of the two candidates would put the party in a difficult position. He said to avoid any ackward position, senior leaders of the party might not campaign for any of the two candidates and local leadership would be given a free hand to align with a candidate of their choice. The Ratia (reserved) seat is witnessing a triangular contest with Jarnail Singh (Congress), Sarfi Bai (INLD) and Mahabir Prasad (BJP-HJC combine) fighting it out. |
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Ratia Assembly Byelection
Ratia (Fatehabad), November 13 Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who addressed a rally here for Congress nominee Jarnail Singh yesterday, challenged his bete noire and INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala and offered to quit politics if his figures on development of Ratia were proved wrong. Claiming that he has so far spent Rs 272.92 crore on the development of Ratia from 2005, when he came to power, against Rs 78.51 crore spent by Chautala during his six-year regime from 1999 to 2005, Hooda asked Chautala to quit politics. Hooda said the figures quoted by him were from official records and he would immediately resign if Chautala proved these wrong. In fact, it was Chautala, who initiated the debate during his tour of the Ratia Assembly segment in support of his nominee, Sarfi Bai, when he alleged that the present Hooda government had forsaken Ratia, and had not spent a penny since 2005 when the Congress came to power in Haryana. Chautala said when he was in power, he ensured all-round development of Ratia by launching projects in various villages while the present Chief Minister had adopted a step-motherly attitude towards Ratia. HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi, whose party is supporting BJP candidate Mahabir Prashad, accused both Hooda and Chautala of “poor development” in Ratia. Addressing a series of meetings in Lali, Lalwas, Kalotha, Alika, Malwala, Madh, Ganda, Biranbadi, Hanspur, Khunan, Nagpur, Hukmawali, Haroli, Nagpur, Jallopur and Rattakhera villages , Bishnoi alleged neither Hooda cared to address people’s woes in his seven-year rule nor Chautala did any development in his six-year regime. When Chautala’s attention was drawn towards Hooda’s challenge, he alleged both Hooda and Bishnoi were in the habit of throwing false challenges. “Had he spent Rs 272 crores in Ratia, it should have been visible on the ground,” Chautala said disputing Hooda’s claims. |
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24 in the fray from Ratia
Ratia (Fatehabad), November 13 Among the candidates of major political parties, who have filed their nominations are the Congress candidate, Jarnail Singh, and his wife and covering candidate Manjit Kaur, the BJP candidate, Mahabir Prashad, and his wife and covering candidate Savita Devi, the INLD candidate Sarfi Bai and her covering candidate and stepson Gulab Raj and the CPM candidate Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria. Besides these, Balwant Singh and Jarmal Singh have filed their nominations from the Bhartiya Sant Mat Party, Ranjit Singh from the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Devi Lal from the Rashtriya Bahujan Hitai Party. The Independents, who have filed their nomination papers are: Ram Singh, Bhaga Ram, Bharat Kumar, Lachhman Dass, Balbir Singh, Pyare Lal, Surinder Kumar, Karnail Singh, Ram Lal, Balraj, Kuldeep Singh, Darshan Singh and Jai Prakash. Meanwhile, ML Kaushik, District Election Officer, Fatehabad, said all 900 EVMs to be used in this election were being inspected by engineers. |
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Manmohan a weak Prime Minister: Advani
Sirsa/Fatehabad, November 13 A couple of Simranjit Singh Mann’s SAD (Amritsar) supporters tried to disrupt the yatra by raising slogans at Bathinda Chowk in Dabwali, but the police overpowered them. The yatra reached Sirsa late last night for an overnight stay here before proceeding for Punjab, making brief halts at Odhan and Dabwali in Sirsa. Journalists, who went to the PWD Rest House at Sirsa to attend Advani’s press conference in the morning, were denied access and informed that the event had been cancelled. Later, Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP’s chief spokesperson, apologised for the faux pas and said the local unit had organised the event without consulting them. Referring to his party’s recent alliance with Kuldeep Bishnoi’s Haryana Janhit Congress, Advani said the results produced by the two parties in the Hisar bypoll had promised that the state would have a better future. About corruption, Advani said people should themselves stop tolerating corruption before asking politicians to stop graft. He said if over Rs 25 lakh crores of Indian rupees kept in Switzerland banks was brought back, the money would accomplish several developmental works, including interlinking of rivers with an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh crores. Hisar: LK Advani described Manmohan Singh as a ‘weak’ Prime Minister who had surrendered all his powers as the head of government to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Addressing a public meeting here on Saturday night, Advani said since Independence Manmohan Singh was the only Prime Minister who had no final say and all decisions were being taken by Sonia Gandhi.
The BJP leader said the UPA government was the first government at the Centre whose ministers had to go to jail on corruption charges and that too because of the judiciary, not by the government. He said it was impossible to believe that the Prime Minister was unaware of his ministers’ corruption. |
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Teachers serve ultimatum on demands, threaten stir
Jhajjar, November 13 Moreover, representatives of the association will also stage an indefinite dharna at Ratia town from November 23 to apprise the people of Ratia Assembly constituency about the "anti-teacher" policies of the state government. The course of action was decided at a state-level meeting of the association’s office-bearers and representatives, which was held at Shri Ram Park here today before a demonstration was held in front of the local residence of Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal in protest against the “apathetic” attitude of the government towards the association's demands. The protesters also shouted anti-government slogans in front of the minister’s house and submitted a memorandum in favour of their demands to the Jhajjar tehsildar. The protesters were demanding promotion of teachers to the post of Head Masters in the government schools besides filling all the posts lying vacant at the block level at the earliest and extending the benefits of ACP, LTC, medical bill reimbursement, etc. Addressing the protesters, Ramesh Malik, state president of the association, said nearly 80 per cent posts of Head Master/ Mistress in government senior secondary schools and 98 per cent posts in government middle schools in the state were lying vacant for a long time, but the government was not making any effort to fill the posts. “The state government is discriminating with the employees of the Education Department in the matter of providing the LTC benefit. Despite tall claims, the government does not seem to be serious towards allocating the budget for the LTC prior to December 31," said Harminder Singh, vice-president of the association, adding that the association had so many times met the Education Minister to get their demands accepted, but to no avail.
Minister’s effigy burnt
Jhajjar: The Ambedkar Missionaries Vidharthi Association on Sunday burnt the effigy of Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal at Chikkara chowk after holding a brief protest demonstration here. Though the protesters wanted to assemble near the local residence of the minister, they were restrained by the police at Chikkara Chowk. Vikram Singh Dumoliya, a leader of the association, alleged that the minister had failed to protect the rights of lower castes as a large number of posts of reserved categories had been lying vacant in the government schools. |
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Price Crash
Karnal, November 13 They laid a siege to the main rice market at Taroauri, near here, for two days, demanding remunerative prices for basmati paddy and lifted the blockade only after the government assured them to look into the matter in four to five days. “The prices of all inputs like seeds, fertilisers and insecticides have gone up during the past few years, but the farmers’ returns this year will be less. In case the government did not intervene, a large number of basmati growers will fall into the “debt trap”, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) state president Ghasi Ram said. The plight of basmati growers has become worse as the prices of PUSA 1121 paddy have plunged to Rs 16-18 against per kg as compared to Rs 24-24 per kg last year while the basmati production had gone up by 15 to 20 per cent as the farmers were attracted to grow basmati due to handsome prices it fetched last year. Even the area under the basmati has gone up with Pusa 1121 having been accorded the basmati status. The area under the basmati increased from 3.5 lakh hectare and 5 lakh hectare in Punjab and Haryana during 2008-09 to 6 lakh hectare and 7.5 lakh hectares, respectively, in 2011-12, increasing production by 15 to 20 per cent. However, the basmati exports, which were expected to cross the 3.5 million-tonne mark, may stay at last year’s level of 2.2 million tonne as exporters are facing several problems and have sufficient carry forward stock of last year, purchased at a very high price.
Wary of market fluctuations, the millers and exporters, main buyers of the basmati, are keen to exhaust their old stocks and, as a result, the purchase of basmati paddy by them has gone down considerably and the farmers are left in the lurch. |
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Centre’s export policy has ‘harmed’ paddy growers
Sonepat, November 13 He pointed out that most of the farmers in the region cultivated ‘muchhal’ and basmati 1121, hoping to get remunerative prices for these export-quality rice. However, he said, the procurement prices of ‘muchhal’ that was purchased at up to Rs 4,500 per quintal in 2008, Rs 3,500 per quintal in 2009, Rs 2,500 per quintal in 2010 had crashed to Rs 1,500 per quintal, with the farmers incurring heavy losses. Similarly, the prices of basmati 1121 had also come down from Rs 2,400 per quintal in 2010 to Rs 1,600 per quintal during this season, he said, adding that the government was pursuing “anti-farmer” policies
and the BJP would oppose these. The worst hit were the farmers who had taken agricultural land on a six-month lease for paddy cultivation at amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 and had spent a lot of money on labour and inputs. |
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Road safety campaign under way
Faridabad, November 13 An open canter with a damaged Wagno R and a motorcycle atop it has been employed in the campaign. The car had collided with a truck on the Delhi-Agra National Highway in Faridabad two years back in which four persons died on the spot. Photos and slogans also have been printed on the canter’s body to educate and tickle the conscience of the public. Kapoor said: “Apart from imbuing the public with a sense of pathos, the scene will act as a harsh reminder to it about a possible cruel fate in case they are not sensitive to road-rules.” He said the number of deaths in road accidents in the country was large. According to him, about 4,866 persons died in 2009 in Haryana. The figure marginally reduced in 2010 and so far this year. “There is a pressing need to reduce the number as a sizeable chunk who died were in the youth category,” he said. |
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Stand up to corruption, Khandelwal exhorts youth
Gurgaon, November 13 Addressing college students at the concluding ceremony of the three-day zonal youth festival of MDU Rohtak at Government College in Sector 14 here recently, Dr Khandelwal exhorted the youth to take a pledge not to tolerate injustice and oppose corruption by government officials whenever they came across any such instance. Dr Khandelwal cited the examples of countries like Sudan, Libya and Egypt, where the youth revolted against oppression, malpractices and corruption. He pointed out that in India, youth comprise more than 50 per cent of the population and if they work with dedication, nobody can stop India from becoming a super power. He gave tips to the students for achieving success in life and said the core term for the 21st century was “team work”. “You should also shun the tendency of jealousy and set high aims in life. Keep a focused approach like an eagle and achieve your aim after overcoming all challenges on the way. No matter to which caste, class or community you belong, your vision and right attitude can take you places,” he maintained. Earlier, Dr Ashok Diwakar, Principal of the host college, welcomed the guests. City Magistrate KK Gupta was also present. In Gurgaon zone, DAV Centenary College, Faridabad, was adjudged the overall topper while the host Government College of Sector 14, Gurgaon, stood second and Aggarwal College, Ballabhgarh, bagged the third position. As many as 97 colleges of four districts participated in this youth festival, in which artistes performed in 41 events. |
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Use of Blind Hippo in Circus
Panipat, November 13 The court has directed the SHO concerned to inquire into the matter and submit a report on November 26, which was fixed as the next date of hearing. The court also stated that the inquiry would assist the court in summoning the accused. It was on November 8 that Naresh Kadyan, the Indian representative of the OPIA, had moved the court against the owners of the circus, which had been using a blind hippo named Raja to entertain public during the performances. He had also submitted in the court that the owners were subjecting the animals and birds, including the blind Hippo, elephants along with horses, cats, docked-tail dogs, feathers-chopped parrots, camels and pelicans to cruelty, which was punishable under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. Besides, the circus was using some exotic species that were covered under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The Chief Wild Life Warden of Haryana had banned the performance of Raja along with the use of iron ‘ankush’ on elephants, but the circus violated these orders and continued to use the hippo during the shows. The NGO had contended that the circus animals were not being provided with proper food and shelter and were kept in a pathetic condition without proper space for movement. The animals were also denied medical treatment as no regular veterinarian had been appointed by the circus, which was mandatory under the Performance Rules. |
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Rs 15.71 crore refunded to students
Chandigarh, November 13 Surina Rajan, Principal Secretary, Education, said here today that all children in the 6-14 age group were provided free and compulsory educationunder the RTE Act She said the condition of submitting the birth and transfer certificates for getting admission to government schools had also been waived so that children might not get deprived of admission due to these formalities. It was the result of the implementation of the Right to Education Act that the government had abolished the board examination for class VIII in the state. Rajan said that responsibility of private schools had also been fixed under the RTE Act and provision had been made to reserve 25 per cent seats in these school for poor children. |
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Haryana Pavilion to showcase folk art
Chandigarh, November 13 The displays at Haryana Pavilion showcase the achievements of artisans by way of a wide range of their products, as per the theme of the IITF-2011 i.e. Indian Handicrafts-Magic of gifted hands. In spite of being an agricultural state, Haryana today has made tremendous progress in various fields of industry , which is aptly shown in the pavilion. As many as 114 industrial units, 25 government departments along with boards and corporations and Iskcon temple are taking part this year. |
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Father, son killed in road mishap
Sonepat, November 13 Jitender’s wife, Jyoti, and Scooty-driver Anju were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak, by doctors
of the local Civil Hospital. According to information, Jitender along with wife and son was returning to his village from Sonepat last evening in a car. When the car reached the Murthal University turning point, Anju coming from the university on a Scooty suddenly entered the main road. Jitender took a sharp right turn to save the Scooty-borne women but it collided against a bus coming from Murthal. The police has registered a case. The victims’ bodies were handed over to their family members after a postmortem examination. |
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ASI nabbed taking bribe
Yamunanagar, November 13 The Deputy Commissioner deputed Suresh Kaushik, DSP, Jagadhari, who laid a trap at Mustafabad village. Harnek Singh called the ASI to the spot. The police team nabbed Rishi Pal while accepting the bribe. The accused was produced before the Duty Magistrate today who sent him in judicial custody. The ASI, however, claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case. |
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Patwari held taking bribe
Rewari, November 13 Amar Chand Kaushik, deputy CEO of the Rewari zila parishad, acted as the Duty Magistrate during the proceedings. A case under Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against him. He was produced in a court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajesh Kumar Bhankar who remanded him in 14-day judicial custody. Inspector Jagat Singh informed that when Rakesh made a complaint that Hemant was demanding Rs 15,000 to rectify a name in their mutation record, a trap was laid that led to Hemant’s apprehension. |
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Woman dies in accident
Rewari, November 13 The mishap occurred when the couple was returning after paying obeisance at Baba Mohan Ram’s shrine, while the tractor too was coming towards Dharuhera.
— TNS |
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