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Uttarakhand
POlls 2012
Delimitation blues for heavyweights
Cong responsible for inflation, corruption, says Sushma
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj addresses a rally of ex-servicemen in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph |
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Scramble for Cong ticket
BJP to release candidates’ list by January 2
Drive to remove banners begins
Congress terms BJP rally as flop show
Special monitoring of poll expenses of candidates
Former Doon Mayor felicitated
Former Dehradun Mayor Manorama Sharma Dobriyal being felicitated at a function in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph
CPI (ML) slams UKD (P)
Villagers threaten to boycott poll
CITU stands up for 108 emergency staff
Morcha reiterates demand for direct rail service
Soccer: Balaji club, Garhwal Sportings victorious
Players in action in a match in the 44th Amar Shaheed Kharag Bahadur Bisht Memorial Football Tournament in Dehradun on Monday. A Tribune photograph
U’khand, Delhi, Haryana teams win
Scotch seized
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Uttarakhand
POlls 2012
Nainital, December 26 In Nainital, District Election Officer (DEO) and District Magistrate Nidhi Mani Tripathi had convened a meeting of the returning officers and assistant returning officers on Sunday evening for the purpose and had ordered that a drive be carried out for removal of such material from Monday morning. This exercise is being replicated in the other districts of the state as well. Tripathi has also called upon government officials to ensure that no such banners or hoardings remain on the premises of their offices and institutions. The administration in various districts has also ordered that no government employee would proceed on leave, and in case of emergencies, leave can only be availed with prior permission. It has also been underlined that processions and public meetings would be held only with the prior permission of the designated officers. It was clarified by the Joint Chief Election Officer in the state that no candidate or political party should to put up banners and posters on the property owned by others. She said that not only would the parties and candidates have to seek prior permission of the owners for putting up their posters and banners on someone’s property, but they would have also have to take the permission of the latter in writing in the form of a proper certificate for doing so. There is a heavy resentment prevailing amongst the people with regard to the claimants of the party ticket on various seats resorting to defacing walls of private properties. In places like Bhimtal and Kaladhungi, a large number of people have threatened to approach the Election Commission on this issue. |
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Delimitation blues for heavyweights
Nainital, December 26 The problem pertains to relocating from their traditional constituency in the face of the new delimitation of the Assembly constituencies. The problem is being faced by the heavyweights of all the political parties. Their relocation would also mean other aspiring leaders to pave the way for them so that they can hit the bull’s eye when it comes to the actual contest. The list of such heavyweights is pretty large. To begin with are the names of present Chief Minister, Major-Gen Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri (retd), and his predecessor Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. In the last Assembly, Khanduri had been the legislator from the Dhumakot constituency. The fresh delimitation has resulted in the dilution of the constituency and the areas under it being merged with the other constituencies. Till now neither Khanduri nor his party, the BJP, has given any indication from where the General Khanduri would be fielded. The same holds true for Nishank whose constituency of Thalisain has had the same fate as that of Dhumakot. With his popularity having been considerably plummeted during his regime, Nishank is learnt to be having a tough time on deciding upon his new constituency. In the past there have been indications that he might contest from the Doiwala seat in Dehradun but that would mean another heavyweight and Cabinet minister Trivendra Singh Rawat having to make way for him. There are also reports of his being interested in contesting from Srinagar. Even the state Congress president Yashpal Arya is having a similar problem as the delimitation has resulted in his constituency of Mukteshwar being dissolved. Over the past one year it was being planted in the media that he would be contesting from Nainital which has been declared a reserved seat but sources close to him now say that he is likely to contest from the Bazpur seat. Meanwhile, Nainital is expected to see a ‘sonrise’ as there are strong indications that his son Sanjeev Arya might be fielded by the party from this seat. The declaration of Nainital as a reserved constituency also means that the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) heavyweight Narayan Singh Jantwal would have to look for a fresh pasture. Sources close to him say that he is likely to contest from the Kaladhungi seat. Cabinet ministers Balwant Singh Nhauryal and Gobind Singh Bisht are also facing a similar dilemma. In case of Bhauryal, his constituency of Kanda is no more in existence. This would mean that he either gets to contest from Kapkot if Sher Singh Garia who is said to be a protégé of former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari makes way for him or he gets relocated elsewhere. With Bisht’s constituency of Dhari also having gone, he would have to contest either from Bhimtal or elsewhere. |
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Cong responsible for inflation, corruption, says Sushma
Dehradun, December 26 “Your have a great sense of professional brotherhood and Khanduri is a highly decorated officer who also won the kudos for building roads as Union Surface Transport Minister under former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He managed to spread the network of roads and there were no allegations of corruption against him. Vote him back to power,” said Sushma Swaraj. On her part, she promised to fight for the interest of ex-servicemen by ensuring that the retired armed forces personnels’ long-pending demand for one rank, one pay that recently got the backing of the Rajya Sabha committee on petitions is implemented. Sushma Swaraj also held the Congress responsible for inflation and corruption. “Under the Congress rule, the prices of daily consumption items have gone up. We believe that wrong polices and corruption are responsible for inflation. On the election day, press the button in favour of the BJP to oust the Congress,” she said. State party chief Bishan Singh Chufal alleged that the Congress government at the Centre had failed to extend the term of the industrial package and also did not grant the status of special state as it was in the case of the North-Eastern states. “The five elected MPs from Uttarakhand have so far remained mum on the issue,” he said. Chief Minister BC Khanduri said having been a soldier himself. he had first-hand experience of the problems being faced by the soldiers. “During my tenure, not only the soldiers in armed forces but also in paramilitary forces have been given due attention and their problems addressed,” he claimed. In his address, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank lashed out at the Congress for being anti-Uttarakhand. “None of the leaders was in the forefront of the statehood agitation. How can these leaders protect the interests of the state and claim to be its well-wishers?” he asked. All top leaders of the BJP, including Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay, election in charge for Uttarakhand Dharmender Pradhan and BJP national spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman were present on the occasion. |
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Scramble for Cong ticket
Dehradun, December 26 It is expected that the Congress Central Parliamentary Board would release the first list of nearly 25 candidates from New Delhi on December 27. Like all other political parties, the announcement by the Election Commission to hold the state Assembly elections on January 30 has surprised the Congress party. It was expected that the state Assembly poll would be held in the second or the third week of February like the earlier elections held in 2002 and 2007. However, the announcement by the Election Commission caught all political parties off guard as none was prepared with their party candidates. It was only the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that had taken the initiative of announcing its candidates last month. The first ever state Assembly election in 2002 was held on February 18 while the second Assembly poll in on February 21, 2007. However, this year the Election Commission has advanced the election date in the state. With only 34 days left for elections, the central screening committee, headed by Union Minister Anand Sharma, met yesterday and again today to finalise the panel of names for each of the 70 Assembly segments. According to Congress sources, the screening committee having Mukul Vasnik, leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat and state Congress Chief Yashpal Arya are expected to finalise the names of at least 25 party candidates, including sitting legislators and other senior leaders who are sure to get the party nominations. The screening committee would forward its recommendations and the Central Congress Parliamentary Board headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to meet on December 27 to finalise the first list of candidates. It is expected that 20 sitting Congress legislators, except for few, and the names of other senior state Congress leaders like Indira Hariydesh and Subodh Uniyal, who lost the last assembly elections, are likely to be announced in the first list. For other seats, the central screening committee would send the panel of three names on each seat to the Central Parliamentary Board to take a final decision later this week. The nominations for the Assembly poll would start from January 5. |
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BJP to release candidates’ list by January 2
Dehradun, December 26 But now, forced to declare the list at the earliest after the Election Commission of India announced the election date, the BJP top leadership has been having several rounds of meetings since Sunday. “The panel of candidates from the state is already ready to be put before the Central Parliamentary Board. Of the 70 Assembly seats, there are at least two-three names we would be able to finalise by January 2. We may either release the complete list of candidate for all the 70 seats, or the first the list of 12 candidates,” said Dharmender Pradhan, BJP national general secretary and election in-charge (Uttarakhand). The BJP mational chief, together with the Central Parliamentary Board, would decide on the finalisation of the names. A the panel of names, of at least three on each seat, would be sent. “There is no confusion. The names of the candidates would be released on time,” said Pradhan. BJP party officials say among the sitting MLAs, the BJP will have to work on at least 12 Assembly seats that have been hit by the new delimitation and reorganisation process. “On these seats, some new faces may be brought, or the seats may be swapped,” said Pradhan. Some of these Assembly seats are Rajpur, Badrinath, Sahaspur, Srinagar, Kanda, Gangolihaat and Kotdwar. While the BJP top leadership remained tight-lipped on the number of seats that would be allocated to the women candidates, there are indications that the BJP may set aside at least 12 seats for women candidates. Along with three sitting MLAs - Vijay Barthwal from Yamkeshwar, Asha Nautiyal from Kedarnath and Beena Maharana from Champawat - the other probable candidates in the race include Vinod Uniyal from Dharampur, Sushila Baluni from Yamnotri and Geeta from Gangolihaat and Deepti Rawat from Chaubattakhal. In the last elections at least eight seats were set aside for women candidates and three
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Drive to remove banners begins
Dehradun December 26 The drive was started on the direction of District Magistrate Dileep Jawalkar to adhere by the election code of conduct in the wake of the forthcoming Assembly polls. The entire drive remained peaceful. Rajesh Naithani, tax inspector, DMC, said it took them a lot of time in removing plenty of banners which were hung on the arrival of senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in the city today, especially on EC road. Similarly, banners and a few large hoardings were also removed from Rajpur road as well, which were pasted on bus-stops, electricity poles, walls and even on trees. |
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Congress terms BJP rally as flop show
Dehradun, December 26 “The gathering was held without the participation of many ex-servicemen. The BJP has time and time again used the services of ex-servicemen for it’s own narrow, vested interests. Now the time has come to expose the BJP,” he charged. The Congress Party spokesperson also said that the people wanted a change and the BJP would be routed in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
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Special monitoring of poll expenses of candidates
Nainital, December 26 the expenses incurred by the contestants and several fresh initiatives have been put in place for the purpose. Replying to a query raised by The Tribune, Joint Chief Election Officer for the state Saujanya stated here on Monday that this time the commission’s own teams would be monitoring the expenses incurred instead of the earlier practice of relying only on the declarations made by the candidates. “We definitely want to work more on this issue,” she said after having convened a meeting of the returning officers and assistant returning officers here. She disclosed that a full-fledged shadow observation system had been put in place for the purpose. The officials would be maintaining parallel records and the expenses would be verified no less than three times. She pointed out that the Subdivisional Magistrates (SDMs) would be keeping clippings pertaining to campaign details like rallies, etc. “Even if the media comes up with compact disc (CD) recordings of events organised by the candidates, it would be treated as evidence,” she said. She also asserted that stringent measures would be taken to check the menace of paid news. Media certification and monitoring committees at the district, state and commission levels would be keeping a close watch to check the practice. Replying to a query pertaining to the facilities to be provided to the officials who would be conducting the polling exercise in remote areas of a difficult terrain amidst inclement weather conditions, she said:”We would be providing them with every facility. We have asked for a helicopter to airlift officials to the site closest to the polling stations in the remote places in the high mountainous areas. We would provide them with woollens and the patwaris of those areas have already been apprised of the requirements of these officials.” She further stated that an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh in case of a casualty had been provided to the poll officials, while a cover of Rs 2.5 lakh would be provided for a permanent injury. Saujanya also disclosed that vulnerability mapping of the polling stations was being carried out in order to ascertain the booths that were critical, vulnerable and sensitive. She said that every sector officer was visiting 10 to 12 booths for the purpose and this exercise would be completed soon. |
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Former Doon Mayor felicitated
Dehradun, December 26 Dobriyal is a contender for the Congress ticket from Raipur for Dehradun Cantonement Assembly segments in Dehradun. The employees honoured her for her untiring efforts in getting B-2 status for the city for the purpose of the House Rent Allowance (HRA) for the Central Government employees. MS Bhandari, who chaired the function, applauded the efforts of Dobriyal in getting the genuine demand of the employees of Dehradun fulfiled. Dobriyal said she was a daughter of a soldier and understood the problems faced by the employees very well. She recalled her fight to get the B-2 status for Dehradun, starting from passing a resolution in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation and then writing to the Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the issue. General secretary of the Central Employees Joint Coordination Committee Jagdish Kukreti, vice-president of the state irrigation advisory committee Rishiraj Dabral and Girish Upreti from Ordance Factory spoke on the occasion. |
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CPI (ML) slams UKD (P)
Dehradun, December 26 Member of state committee and Garhwal secretary Indresh condemned a leader of the UKD (P) for blaming the CPI (ML) for announcing its candidates without consulting steering committee and offending coalition dharma. He said, their party was never invited in the UURF meeting after December 7. He got to know of their expulsion from the UURF from the statements of Panwar released in newspapers. He said UKD (P) leader Kashi Singh Aeri had been claiming that his party would fight all 70 seats in the Assembly election. He said the UKD (P) had been castigating them for not leaving the Dharchula seat for Kashi Singh Aeri whereas Aeri had been fighting from Kalanicheena which now fell under Didihaat. Indresh said Dharchula had been the fighting ground for their leader Jagat Martolia who had been waging various agitations from this constituency for a long time. He also rebuffed the UKD (P) for alleging that the CPI (ML) vied for 12 seats. He said it was the CPI (ML) along with the CPI and CPM that collectively made claims for 15 seats in the UURF meetings. |
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Villagers threaten to boycott poll
Mussoorie, December 26 According to gram pradhan from Kimoi village Tara Chand Aswal, the villagers had been demanding a metallic road to their village that would have served as a lifeline during any emergency, medical or otherwise. He further said that under the Congress regime in 2006, its MLA Kaul Das had sanctioned the 12 km road and also laid the foundation stone with much fanfare. Even after the change in the government, the project was yet to see the light of the day. Tara Chand also informed that both the Congress and the BJP had turned a blind eye towards the project, leading to escalation in its cost every year, apart from the fact that the villagers were still facing immense difficulty in maintaining contact with the outside world.The road, if constructed, would also connect other villages of Thatyur block and save travelling time, too, he added. Tara Chand lamented the fact that despite repeated reminders, both the Congress and the BJP Governments had failed to deliver. He warned that if the construction work on the roads was not initiated, the villagers would be forced to boycott the forthcoming elections as they were already disgusted with the public representatives, who had failed in their duties till now. MLA Kaul Das, when contacted, said that the project was sanctioned during his tenure but was no given permission from the Ministry of Environment. After the change in guard, the BJP Government dumped the project. BJP MLA Khajan Das was not available for comments despite repeated efforts. |
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CITU stands up for 108 emergency staff
Dehradun, December 26 Pitambhar Dutt, senior union leader, who chaired the meeting, said the 108 emergency medical service had reached an agreement with the Health Secretary of the state but still its employees were not getting the benefits according to the labour laws. The members also supported the agitation launched by the employees of Honey Well Factory at Selaqui. They opposed deduction of 10 days salaries of women workers of the anganwaris in Dehradun. The said the minimum wages had not been revised for the past eight years despite the CM’s assurance in this regard. They said the employees of the Jal Sansthan, Transport Corporation and the 108 emergency medical service must be given better facilities and allowances for working on public holidays. |
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Morcha reiterates demand for direct rail service
Dehradun, December 26 President of the organisation Devnath said they wanted the train to pass through Purvanchal towns, namely Shahganj, Mau, Belthra Road, Bhatni and Devriya on its way to Gorakhpur.
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Soccer: Balaji club, Garhwal Sportings victorious
Dehradun, December 26 In the first match, the Balaji team defeated Gorkha Rangers 3-1 in tiebreaker. Both teams played well and were held 1-1 draw in stipulated time. The first goal of the match was scored by Jeeti of Gorkha Rangers in the 27th minute of the match but Malasi of the Balaji scored the equaliser in the 61st minute of the game. Both teams were tied at 1-1 at the end of the stipulated time forcing the match to go into tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, the Balaji team won the game 3-1. Nitin, Vijay Rahi and Kuldeep scored for Balaji Boys while only Rohit could score for Gorkha Rangers. Vijay Rahi was declared the man of the match. In the second match, Garhwal Sporting defeated Dehra XI 2-0. Shuivam of the Garhwal team scored both goals in 30th and 51st minutes. He was also declared the man of the match. |
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U’khand, Delhi, Haryana teams win
Dehradun, December 26
VN Sharma, Additional Provident Fund Commissioner, Delhi and Uttarakhand, inaugurated the tournament. In the first match, the Delhi team defeated Punjab by 9 wickets. Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the Punjab team scored a total of 92 runs all out in 20 overs. Amarjeet with 22 runs and Deepak with 21 were the top scorers of the team. Vijay Singh took 3 wickets for 10 runs for the Delhi team. In reply, the Delhi team made 95 runs for the loss of a single wicket to win the match by 9 wickets. Opener Devender scored 35 runs while Amit Sahgal remained unbeaten on 53 runs. In the second match, the Uttarakhand team defeated the Himachal Pradesh by 3 wickets. Batting first, the Himachal Pradesh team scored 96 runs all out. Ashok was the top scorer with 21 runs. Alok Saxena was the most successful bowler, taking 6 wickets for 20 runs. In reply, the Uttarakhand team scored 99 runs for the loss 7 wickets to win the match. Opener Amit Kumar scored 25 runs while Anant Arya scored unbeaten 21 runs. Rajender Thakur took 3 wickets for 10 runs. In the third match, Haryana defeated Uttar Pradesh by 80 runs. Batting first, Haryana scored 221 for 3 wickets with the help of a brilliant century by Bhupender who scored 138 unbeaten runs. In reply, the Uttar Pradesh team scored 141 runs for 4 wickets in their allotted 20 overs losing the match by 80 runs. Sarvjeet scored an unbeaten 56 runs. Secretariat XI humble Health Directorate Secretariat XI defeated the Health Directorate cricket team by 100 runs in a match in the 60th Dehradun District Cricket League being played at the Survey Stadium here today. Batting first, the Secretariat XI team scored 254 runs all out in 35 overs. Opener Lalit Joshi was the top scorer with 78 runs scored with the help of 12 hits to the boundary. Mukesh also scored 59 runs. Yashwant, Akash and Ankur took two wickets each for the Health Directorate team. In reply, the Health Directorate team was all out for 154 runs in 25 overs losing the match by 100 runs. Openers Vinod and Santosh scored 37 and 36 runs, respectively. Anil Negi took three wickets for 15 runs while Bhupender Joshi took two wickets for 27 runs. Himalayan Cricket Academy triumph The Himalayan Cricket Academy Cricket team beat the Tanush Academy Cricket Club by 63 runs in the quarter finals of the Twenty20 Beehive Challengers Cup Cricket Tournament played at Matawala Bagh ground here today. Tanush Academy won the toss and put their rivals to bat first. Himalayan Cricket Academy scored 143 for 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Vijay Singh was the highest scorer with 44 runs. Ravinder took 3 wickets for 27 runs while Shubham and Itish took 2 wickets each. In reply, Tanush Academy team was bundled out for 80 runs losing the match by 63 runs. Aman scored 35 runs. Shakil, Ravinder and Manish took 2 wickets each for Himalayan Cricket Academy.
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Scotch seized
Dehradun, December 26 a resident of GMS road, said he worked for Parminder alias Happy of Dallanwala. Later, the police caught Parminder as well and found two bottles of scotch from his residence. |
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Sounding the poll bugle for the BJP at a large gathering of party’s ex-servicemen cell today, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj exhorted them to vote Chief Minister BC Khanduri back to power in the Assembly elections slated for January 30.
Dehradun, December 26
Dehradun, December 26
