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Setia’s appointment may become poll issue
EC braces for smooth conduct of Assembly elections
Poll Programme |
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Khanduri’s remarks on election date draw flak
Reconsider poll date, CPI ML tells EC
Uttarakhand Janmanch also opposes EC decision
Women vow to fight against social malpractices
DM holds election meeting
Proposal for dam-hit villages sent
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Setia’s appointment may become poll issue
Nainital, December 25 The president of the
UPP, PC Tewari, has stated: “We had moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court for the creation of the
UCRPC. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Sarvesh Kumar Gupta had ordered the creation of the same on July 15 this year. It was the duty of the state government to appoint someone who has been working for child rights but Khanduri on December 21, 2011, appointed Setia who has nothing to do either with Uttarakhand or with child rights. The appointment has been made by Khanduri keeping the elections in mind and to appease his masters in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
RSS). We demand that the appointment be withdrawn immediately. ” Tewari has threatened to once again approach the High Court against the appointment for which the High Court had given him the permission to do so in its order. The UPP has charged the state government with making frivolous appointments while keeping the coming Assembly poll in
mind. Tewari has charged that the Cabinet meetings that took place almost daily in the past few days are a proof of corruption which will not be tolerated by the
UPP. After having put the issue of Setia’s appointment as Information Commissioner (IC) in the state for a while since it was opposed by the Opposition during the Nishank regime, Khanduri is learnt to have “quietly” appointed him as Chairman of the UCRPC last week. Sources say that the appointment has been made under pressure from the
RSS. Setia is a former television journalist. Those opposed to the appointment have dubbed him as a
para-dropped candidate imposed upon the state on the recommendations of the senior central BJP leadership and the
RSS. |
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EC braces for smooth conduct of Assembly elections
Nainital, December 25 According to the ECI, in order to ensure that no voter is deprived of his or her franchise, separate instructions will be issued to allow additional documents for identification of voters, if needed. The commission claims to have already made arrangements to ensure availability of adequate number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for a smooth conduct of the elections. These machines will be prepared and set for the elections after the contesting candidates are finalised. At this stage also, candidates or their agents will be allowed to check and satisfy themselves in every manner about the functionality of the EVMs. Based on the assessment of the ground situation, the Central Police Forces (CPF) and State Armed Police (SAP) drawn from other states will be deployed during the ensuing elections. The CPF and SAP will be used generally for safeguarding the polling stations, the electors, poll-material and the polling personnel. Besides, these forces will be used for securing the strongrooms where the EVMs are stored pending counting and for securing the counting centres. The commission will be deploying general observers in adequate number to ensure a smooth conduct of the elections. The observers will be asked to keep a close watch on every stage of the electoral process to ensure free and fair elections. Their names, addresses within the district or constituency and their telephone numbers will be publicised in the local newspapers so that the general public can quickly approach them for redress of any grievance. The commission has also decided to appoint adequate number of expenditure observers and assistant expenditure observers who will exclusively monitor the election expenditure of the contesting candidates. For greater transparency and for ease of monitoring of election expenses, candidates would be required to open a separate bank account and incur their election expenses from that very account. Comprehensive instructions for the purpose of effective monitoring of the election expenditure of the candidates, including formation of flying squads, video surveillance teams in the constituency, involvement of investigation directorates of the Income Tax Department, etc, have been separately issued by the commission. To deal with the issue of paid news, monitoring committees have been set up at the district, state and commission levels and necessary instructions have been issued to the District Election Officers and the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of the state. In addition to the general observers, the commission will also deploy micro-observers to observe the poll proceedings in the polling stations on the poll day in selected critical polling stations. They will be chosen from the officials of the Central Government and Central Public Sector Undertakings. Micro-observers will observe the proceedings at the polling stations on the poll day right from the mock poll to the completion of poll and the process of sealing of the EVMs and other documents to make sure that all the instructions of the commission are complied with by the polling parties and agents. Polling in Uttarakhand will be carried out in 9,744 polling stations. For the facility of physically challenged persons, instructions have been issued to ensure that all polling stations as far as practicable, are located at ground floor and ramps are provided. Facilitation shall also be provided for locating electors’ names in a polling station or a group of polling stations through help lines and facilitation centres. |
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Poll Programme
Dehradun, December 25 She said all the employees of the state government would be considered as employees of the Election Commission till the elections were over. The state government cannot announce any new programmes, lay foundation stones or do “bhumi pujan” of any project and cannot spend government money that could help any political party. She said as per the directions of the Election Commission none of the political party would be allowed to use religion, caste or creed to influence voters besides applying unfair means like money or liquor. She further said political parties would coordinate with the local police and administration for holding meetings and rallies by taking prior permission. The state government ministers cannot claim exclusive right to stay in government guest houses and none of the state government can accompany them while they are involved in election activities. Meanwhile, Radha has directed the District Election Officers to complete the preparation of left-out electoral photo I-cards by December-end and also ensure its timely distribution. She has also directed for activating the flying squads for a strict monitoring of poll campaigning so as to ensure that none of the candidates tries to impress upon the voters through unfair means. Radha disclosed that election control rooms has been established at the headquarters of all the 13 districts where people may register their complaints and suggestions round the clock.
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CPM to contest 15 seats; seeks extension of poll date
Haridwar, December 25 After Chief Minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri has demanded extension of the polling date, today the Communist Party of India (Marxist)/CPM, too, demanded the same, though citing cold climatic conditions that engulf a major portion of the hilly districts during January-end. Member of state secretariat committee of the CPM Bachi Ram Kanswal has based the party’s apprehension on a smooth conduct of voting during the said date on chilling weather conditions in the upper reaches of the hilly districts of Garhwal. “Many Assembly segments like Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Pindar-Tharalli remain covered in snow during late January and early February, so how can the Election Commission conduct a smooth polling and ensure good turnout of voters there. Local geographical and weather conditions as well as the suggestions from political parties should have been taken into consideration,” said Kaunswal who is a prominent Communist leader in Uttarakhand. Talking to The Tribune, he said the CPM would contest 15 Assembly segments in the state on its own while it would support the third front parties and even independent candidates to make sure that both the BJP and the Congress didn’t come to power again. “We are confident of winning seats in these 15 segments and of changing the political scenario in more than 20 Assembly segments by supporting outfits such as the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal(Panwar), Raksha Morcha and the CPI. As soon as we forge an alliance, the third front will be a potent force in the state,” said Bachi Ram. The CPM also has decided to field a candidate each in the plain districts of Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar with the three seats being Ranipur-BHEL, Shahspur and Nanakmatta respectively. The party also disclosed the name of its candidate Pitambar Dutt Baloni from Ranipur-BHEL Assembly seat. |
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Khanduri’s remarks on election date draw flak
Dehradun, December 25 Aggarwal, in a statement, alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), due to the fear of a defeat, had started criticising the Election Commissions’ decision of holding the elections on January 30. He further said the defeat of the BJP was a far- gone conclusion as witnessed in the unprecedented response to the Congress rally addressed by Rahul Gandhi on December 23. Aggarwal said that the BJP leaders had now started showing concern about the people of the state but asked what all they had done for the people of the state during their five years’ of rule. “The people were the worst sufferers during the BJP rule as the state government failed utterly in providing facilities like electricity, roads and water to the people of the hills,” he charged. The Congress spokesperson said the BJP had no right to question the decision of the Election Commission. He further added that the party should be prepared to abdicate power after the peoples’ verdict on January 30. |
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Reconsider poll date, CPI ML tells EC
Dehradun, December 25 In a letter sent to the Chief Election Commissioner, Maikhuri has said most of the hill districts of Uttarakhand experienced snowfall and cold wave conditions during January-end and asserted that voters would desist from going to the polling booths due to extreme cold conditions on that day. Maikhuri also criticised Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat for welcoming January 30 as polling date for Uttarakhand. |
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Uttarakhand Janmanch also opposes EC decision
Dehradun, December 25 In a fax message sent to the commission, Uttarakhand Janmanch general secretary Rajen Todaria said there was no point holding elections during the month of January in a Himalayan state like Uttarakhand. Todaria said polling on January 30 when hill districts are reeling under the winter chill would only discourage people of exercising their adult franchise. He said the Chief Election Commissioner of India should have visited the higher reaches of the districts of Chamoli, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh and Almora before taking the decision. Todaria pointed out that the communication facilities in the hill districts was available to only to 40 per cent of the population and rest of the 60 per cent population got to know of the contesting candidates only through door-to-door canvassing conducted by party workers. He said with elections now on January 30 and winters already on its peak, it would not be possible to reach out to the inhabitants of far-flung villages in the hill districts of the state. |
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Raksha Morcha has no objection
Dehradun, December 25 Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, General Rawat said there was no question of seeking postponement of polling in Uttarakhand. “There is no point in seeking extension of January 30 polling date to February, as it does not make much difference,” he pointed out. The board examinations usually take place in February and March and thus the extension of the polling date in Uttarakhand is certainly not advisable, he added. The Raksha Morcha president also did not rule out alliance with the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD)-led third front for the coming Assembly elections. “Talks are on and we are hopeful of a positive outcome,” he said, adding that in case talks did not materialise the morcha will be contesting most of the Assembly seats in the state. Responding to a query, he said the delay in the formation of third front was due to unification talks between two factions of the UKD. He has also said the morcha will be getting its election symbol from the Election Commission by coming Tuesday. The party will also be coming out with its manifesto shortly. |
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Women vow to fight against social malpractices
Haridwar, December 25 The occasion was a special function organised by the Vaishya Ladies Club at BHEL, where successful women, who have made their names prominent in respective fields, were honoured and urged to take forward the club’s mission. Emphasising the need to make illiterate and rural region women aware of their rights and women empowerment, IAS Sneh Lata Aggarwal said the educated women had more responsibility to take forward the cause of the women than those who were suppressed and did not have support of their families. Former state Women Commission chief Dr Santosh Chauhan cited social malpractices prevalent in the society like female infanticide, dowry, untouchability and biased attitude that women faced in the working atmosphere that became hindrances in achieving women empowerment. Chief Medical Officer Dr Deepa Gupta and head of the Ladies Club Rashmi Gupta honoured several women who have achieved success sustained socio-financial problems. Skits based on social malpractices were also enacted along with cultural programmes and discussions. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Veena Gupta, Braj Bala, Mamta Aggarwal, Anjana Goyal, Chaya Gupta, Aditi Mital and Ravi Kant Gupta. |
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Govt not possible without our support: Samajwadi Party
Dehradun, December 25 Presiding over a meeting of the party leaders here, state party president Vinod Barthwal said the people of the state had understood that both the BJP and the Congress had cheated the people. He said the Samajwadi Party would decide as to which party would form the government in Uttarakhand. Barthwal said the Samajwadi Party supported reservation for poor children in the private and public English-medium schools of Dehradun. State party vice-president SN Sachan said the minorities and Dalits were not getting justice in Uttarakhand. He also said the backwards were not getting reservation benefits in the state. A total of 150 key party leaders attended the meeting. |
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DM holds election meeting
Dehradun, December 25 Jawalkar said the officials should encourage voters to cast their voters and satiate their queries in this regard. He directed them to keep a strict vigil on the expenditure of candidates and their agents. They were asked to prepare videography of candidate rallies and programmes on daily basis. They were also asked to submit them to the Subdivisional Magistrate. He said the police officials in charge of the election would be responsible for maintaining coordination between the police and the election department. Similarly, the traffic police would take care of the traffic flow and route diversion on the voting day. The meeting was attended by SSP GN Goswami, Additional District Magistrate Dr Neeraj Kherwal, Vinod Suman, all election in charge and assistant in charge.
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People wish for Vajpayee’s wellbeing on his 87th birthday
Haridwar, December 25 A programme on the occasion was organised at Ambedkar Bhawan where a discussion was held on the life, achievements and tenure of Vajpayee as a Prime Minister of India, Foreign Minister and national chief of the Jansangh as well as the BJP. Social activist Tej Prakash Sahu termed Vajppayee as a leader that changed the usual image associated with the politicians. “Be it the Kargil War or paving way for three separate states including Uttarakhand or managing 13 alliance parties, Vajpayee showed his class and vision in all. We wish for his good health,” said Sahu. BJP activists under the leadership of Sanjay Triwal distributed fruits to poor people. |
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Proposal for dam-hit villages sent
Mussoorie, December 25 Speaking to the media here yesterday, Juyal said the long struggle of the dam-affected villagers had borne fruit. He has demanded from the Centre to release the amount as soon as possible so that the affected villagers can be rehabilitated elsewhere. |
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Gurukul scrape past IDPL in hockey tourney
Haridwar, December 25 The Gurukul team beat IDPL by a solitary margin with Anuj Kumar scoring a neat field goal in the 47th minute. The Gurukul team got nine penalty corners and IDPL got three. Both the teams, however, failed to utilise them to their advantage. In the second match, DHA Itawa beat AOC Secunderabad by 4-3 goal margin. In the penalty stroke, the DHA players, particularly the goal keeper, performed brilliantly to edge past their rivals. AOC team players Mani, Sameer and Roshan converted penalty strokes into goals. The third match of the day between the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Shahbad Markandey was a more defensive match with Charanjeet from UP cops scoring the lone solitary goal of the match. The referees for the matches held today were Raj Kumar, Kumer Singh, Sardar Joga Singh and RC Sharma. |
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Twenty20: Tanush Academy register win
Dehradun, December 25 Electing to bat after winning the toss, the Doon Combined Cricket team was all out for 88 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Aman Verma was the top scorer with 27 runs while Pawan, Pramod and Shubham took two wickets each. Chasing the score, Tanush Academy scored 92 runs for 3 wickets to win the match by 7 wickets. Pawan was the highest scorer with 27 runs. Laxman took two wickets for 14 runs. |
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The Uttarakhand Parivartan Party
(UPP) is the latest one to fire a salvo at the Chief Minister, Major-Gen Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri
(retd), over the appointment. The UPP has questioned the grounds on which the appointment has been made and has stated that the move comes from purely political considerations and is wrong. The party has called for immediate cancellation of the appointment that was done with “political motives in mind”.
The model code of conduct would also be applicable with immediate effect to all the ministers and nominated persons holding the rank of Minister of State (MoS). All Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners, District Magistrates, Head of Departments, and Private Secretaries to the Ministers, among others, have been apprised of the model code of conduct of the Election Commission of India, to ensure its faithful compliance.